#they do a better job in Sing to introduce and develop a full team of main characters than most team-based superhero movies

[manda-kat]

The Sing movies are good. I'm tired of pretending they're cringe.

[the-firebird69]

And it's horrible these people need to die and sit there admitting what they done to us huge huge teams fishing for them pulling them out giant teams it takes all day we need better stuff so we're going to start that I used to work real well and we're hoping it up

Mac

We had a lot of these assholes back by making businesses they don't like like Harley-Davidson and stuff they seem to leave you alone but they're not leaving hard knock alone you want to open it in a few dealerships that would be great says he will we'll see it's kind of tough just put it somewhere that sort of action can happen okay so I started figure out something it's a good idea okay can't get over here bring them over here good idea

Mac says

I opened up lawsuits on them on the Trump's a bunch of them there as I said they're causing him stress emotional physical this is terrible the guy is an a****** and won't leave me alone and she feels really good about something it's like near you it's across the way at the home Depot place any song is going I have a fake gun sounds like 20 people around him saying we heard you sing that you had a gun and he said it's legal in Florida they said let's see it because you are threatening us with it and now said yeah we got ours here they all had guns 20 people they said we see you threatening the s*** out of them all the time we want you off him we're going to shoot you all day long and you can see your cover but your brain gets hit I don't care anymore I said we're going to shoot you then so you step out of the vehicle we're all we're all police and we're all deputized said no you're sloppy and unprofessional and then he said it's time for you to get out and he wouldn't so they told him to step down and he was not wanting to get out and they pulled him out and went through his truck and found a couple guns I've been doing it everyday just something more subtley, and others can walk around you with a weapon and not much happens but not that s*** head and he knows he's seen cops all the time even Korean cops Chinese military full blown military with AK-47 is out and loaded and this guy has a conniption. He keeps saying it a weapon I had a stick in the woods she's a liar about every encounter there is the guy is a huge liar and everybody sees it too so they surrounded him pulled them out arrested him took him down and he's out in minutes true so they follow him and shot him and shot his people and they're doing it now okay the fun thing about it is that when you're using the weapon like this quite often and you probably already know but you compare weapons you compare the time to cooling and you compare styles that's a lot of fun and different ammo but different ammo manufacturers and of course different rounds for this s*** hey you got dumb dumbs and you have all sorts of armor piercing and you see which one works better and which one is better and it gives you like something to do and you ignore how how inane and stupid the guy is and it also will make it a lot easier to do the job so let's start paying attention he said I'm fine and hit it where I want that's also perfect it's trying to develop a proficiency because if you're down or sick you want to have an edge you have like an 80% energy sick it goes to 40 you still be able to save yourself even though you might not hit where you want so I'm saying thank you very much Mr weapons this is what I do in this idiot keeps coming up to me with my people like where the hell do we hit him today he hit him in Markham with it so that's what we do that's what to do with his and that's another thing you can do it brings attention here so let's try doing that and it works better.

I presented the lawsuit against him and yeah he's Morgan and Morgan so we're going to sue the firm and take it down today we're going to introduce another one

Pursuing up there in Buffalo and it's against steel and the fang is trying to say Stella and he was the girl and all scrap and he's been doing it for years he says I remember Brenda so he started getting really mad and said what am I what you doing hilarious cuz you're going to get arrested over and over shortly and the guys really a s***** actor so we're going to ask him for that too as soon for libel in Buffalo we're soon for stressing you out we're soon for causing injury but soon for threats for keeping you from your money for keeping you from work and for trying to start a conflict in the United States all that stuff is going up there to his area he says my area just say it is so you're going to draw tons of people up there and we shut down and we're going to kill them all anybody who wants some and we're doing it shortly we all go up there and they cause problems like good so he's going to help do it just like the casino then he's going to lose.

The particular case of the case are secret but we went to the courthouse and he just wants to know what happened if he can if I can say and they said we're accepting the case conditionally that we reserve the right to request that he comes up here I said fine and sorry repeat it I said fine those are only says we reserve the right to request he comes up here I said that's fine and he goes on comes back to it and says oh I mean we reserve the right to demand he comes up here and so that's fine then he says we'll accept it if he comes up here this is a contradict yourself three times which one is it he said we're going to demand he comes up here and said what for and said he's a witness without him there is no case and I presented 10 witnesses and the court side then he said no that's not good enough so I called some other witnesses police and the county fire and actually the governor at the time he said no that's good enough not good enough I said you're actually insane I'm going to arrest you now he said good I'm tired of doing this job and it was the Sun said I can't stop him yes we do this stuff because he doesn't want to more trouble he keeps causing trouble and I keep getting in trouble I said you do and we arrested him and took him away now he might look like the Santa's in the movie but that's who he is and that's where he's going cuz he's a liar. Another judge came in and that's incredible he says. And all sudden we saw what I said they're sending some code about this leather jacket guy I don't know what it is thier doing it again... It means it's going to look away and our son's going to watch this back he's actually going after his girlfriend and they mean Venus so thank you for the lame sloppy code I'm going to take you down since screaming you're going to have us do that that's what you're saying the lawsuit went in after the third judge the second one was a trumpster and it wasn't him and the third one was a Mac and they accepted it it's on the docket and says Christopher akerley and others versus Stel. And yes Tommy f owns it and we name the big fat woman as one of the defendants and was suing her personally too and some covering a big huge conspiracy by hand and they're not going to win and keep talking and talking and talking everybody is investigating them because State Police and FBI are involved does it keep harassing you to do stuff so. Now these lawsuits are hefty and we're suing for the whole organization and we're suing the hospital and assuming for their money big money and they're going to have nothing they won't have any characters nowhere to go they don't want to pay a dime so we could just taking their stuff he keeps screaming and yelling all night long they're going to get him and stuff like that I'm going after the park pulling them out and taking it taking all their stuff here and it won't shut up and again just a little bit more nasty there it's quite heinous and driving on the road they were anus especially when you come back spit up and actually we pulled them over and with police the max pulled up too and said we'll handle it this afternoon and wait until they took them I thought that was good trying to run into me arrested for attempted vehicular homicide that way it sticks they thought about it and decided to do it to see what happens it's a good idea now that guy is going off to jail

So the case is accepted and buffalo is getting swamped and Dan is in jail and he's being held there by Macs and for impersonating a judge and he did it at Saint Elizabeth it is in a lot of trouble because he kept doing it and doing it and Trump's having to do it and he couldn't help it cuz Trump had more stuff more money it's absolutely true the disparity was huge it was almost like you to your dad your dad had a ton of businesses and stuff wouldn't let you have any small and we get beat up so I don't care if you're small it's a lie you're teeny and you getting beat up if you do anything different it's very risky and you shouldn't take the risk so he heard you I'll be self supportive and then the dildos and retards decide to put me on social security like forever when I say is I'm stuck in the molec room later on 1993 Ford I work off and on and then like 2009 they don't let me work just sitting there so you wrote it down they give it to him and he said this is their plan to stick them on social security so it's kind of their area and they both worked on it and they pulled it out recently and said here it is solutions and some are all but we think they work and they went to town some people care but not much these people are so ornery and stupid so I'm working on it and we put the case in and we're seeing results already huge contingents of Dan are heading up there and they're going after Trump because they think he's behind it cuz he wants to go up there and attract his to go after tomorrow night and other stuff so it's working

Bitol and Goddess what a great day I've never had so much fun in my life this is a huge change no but it is a big move instead of the meeting ones and he says what I'm doing in Massachusetts and DC is by far very huge it's just going to come out slower because it's beating them up and it's right at the core and now I understand that and it's right where they want to bring me it's a matter of fact I'm going to go over there now introduce a bunch of lawsuits people that have held you in the hospital they don't seem to think they need to pay and they're holding the money the barcade is getting beat up it's going to be down this afternoon they don't have anything that's high class out there they try to bring their fleet in their fleet gets destroyed . And we're going to handle Trump ships shortly so huge conspiracy against him everyone against him now I'm serious doing to you is bothering you and harassing and trying to harm him you're going to harm him he's a prick and a loser and a f** I don't really want to deal with him anymore it's gross it's got a lot of people after him and it's logical that we should be able to take him down for some reason it's been harder than anticipated and taking longer and then the Sun Burst was unanticipated and they put me off guard I looked into it and you're right they're doing it to push themselves so bringing them charges of treason and sedition and terrorism the max are pretty keen on that and they don't like people singing about it and stuff and taking his home and making it into that was risky but they needed it to see it again they've done it before but not like that like that it shows that one of them went wacko cuz he's not cases but he's fighting him and he lost people of his own and we can't stand him the terrorists and they say they're not so dumb no Brad is insisting that Tommy have not talk about it he's going to get talked about cuz he's a liar too I'm going to bring a big charges against him and banning and Beaumont now huge lawsuit for him showing his stupid face and we're actually assuming Trump for everything he's got up there huge lawsuit against that fat ass version of him the woman version and Tommy f and bipolar and got his wife said that last three sentences or four we're getting it done we're going to take care of business we got a huge Force that's at the blockade and they're going to break through this afternoon got a whole bunch of ships they say I'll be ready this afternoon I really will be this evening late this evening and too late they're going to break through in many places and the Saturday will empty the one in the golf and we reviewed your idea we need the space for all that stuff so we need to pull out the Godzillas and the camera for space and we met on it and agreed and we can put in the tube and intubate and it's huge it's kind of how it works into a surgeons it looks like you're doing a carpentry so you'll be fine she says funny things to him now don't put the tube in too far just come out the other side it says I won't puncture the creature it's just a joke it wasn't in real time and so you went out the butt so I'm going to watch him make sure it's really cool cuz we need this we need them to be together and happy it's bothering everyone really we need to have this case closed on this Trump guy and then going real slow and DC it's a pain in the ass they're not doing anything so he's going to be out there for Halloween too tonight as well as Halloween one it starts with entirely and Halloween too starts after Halloween one and we did see how she's still in the house telling the kids to run and his phone over after getting hit and so he's going to research Halloween 3 to see how that starts

Thor Freya

It's the big one he says the season of the witch and it starts off Doctor Who and then it starts off pirates of the Caribbean and they go out there and they feed the Kraken and then the board ship leaves and Star Trek begins and the cracking gets up and if the crack is up it goes down to the Baja peninsula and the creek is then found with pirates of the Caribbean and there is a birth of a new creature and then another new creature and it happens on the same series and then the new creature which is some sort of manta ray hammerhead shark octopus squid and some other stuff but it's also mixed with a mutant the Kraken it's goes into a crevice and is picked up by Trump and put there with a blasters are it hasn't happened yet so he puts in there so he feels like he can drive up to it and do something but instead he fights everybody and they all get infected even though they're infected now and everything so and then it begins to serious but I wonder where it's oh he says it's in that movie abyss and they come up in the ship which is one of his really weird ideas to make people think of building huge ships it's a plastic ship that was just going up and down in the ocean it was bringing things up and down too and George was using it

Thor Freya

[goji-pilled]

Okay @princekirijo you want an essay? Well here it is now, or as I like to call it Felix's "Asumari is great and this fandom has no fucking taste" rambling and infodump. Congrats fellas, thanks to Prince you ALL get an asumari essay. But before that I'll try to give you a rundown of Mari and Asuka. 

(I'm also so sorry for putting this long ass post on everyone's dashboard)

(Spoiler warning for Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time!!)

Alright on one hand we have Mari Illustrious Makinami. Her whole deal? She's a walking ray of sunshine, literally lol. Unlike any other character in the Evangelion franchise she doesn't suffer from her trauma, she's quite literally the only healthy and functioning human being, she's just slightly leaning towards "batshit crazy" with the stunts she pulls 🤷‍♂️. Other than that she just loves living, she loves being with people, she keeps moving forward, stays positive and decides to live life to it's fullest even after she experiences loss and multiple apocalyptic events (Second Impact, Third Impact, etc.) and she really just embodies the joy of living. That's all there is to her, or at least all we know.

On the other hand, we have Asuka Langley Shikinami who is... well it's hard to explain what she is to be honest. She's part-German and part-Japanese and part of a line of clones specifically made with the purpose to pilot an Evangelion and later on be used as a sacrifice to trigger another Impact (ITS COMPLICATED I KNOW-) Asuka is, unlike Mari, very much suffering from her trauma. She doesn't have her parents and has a very deep seated belief that she's completely alone, which she says doesn't matter as long as she can pilot the Eva. She also very much wants to fight and kill angels all by herself, and it's seriously messing with her when she can't achieve that.

Now we get to the more interesting parts (hopefully this so far wasn't too confusing, then again it's Eva and even I can't fully wrap my head around it all LMAO)

In the second Rebuild movie (Evangelion 2.0 You can (not) advance) we get introduced to both of them, Mari's introduction scene (in the original English dub) has her pilot an Eva and singing about how she'll take the world on by herself, while in the third movie's (Evangelion 3.0 You can (not) redo) opening scene she's piloting the Eva again but this time it's together with Asuka (in her own Unit 02 though) and during that Mari sings about how wonderful it is not to be alone. It's nothing big yet, but it's a really cute detail me thinks,,, you know what else I love about them? They bicker and they banter and it's genuinely so fun to listen to shskdhsuwj

(For a quick catch up: During the end of 2.0 Shinji (the protagonist) triggers another apocalyptic event, the Near Third Impact, and was only stopped due to Kaworu (the guy in my pfp) stepping in. Also between 1.0/2.0 and 3.0/3.0+1.0 are about 14 years (without Shinji bc he's like comatose) where A LOT happens AND we learn in 3.0 that Eva pilots don't age physically bc of "The curse of the Eva"... honestly Eva is wild lmao)

Okay okay I'll get back to it!

So one thing that happens is that Asuka during 2.0 develops a crush on Shinji (girl why-), unfortunately things take a turn for the worse. Asuka had volunteered to be the testpilot for a new Eva (Unit 03), she seemed happy at the time and it was a really sweet build up with the "I can smile, I didn't know I could still do that."-line. And then? Then it turns out the Ninth Angel had infected Unit 03 (Angels are basically the Kaijus they fight using Evas btw). The thing goes on a loose and Shinji is forced to fight it (With Asuka inside mind you), he refuses and his father uses an autopilot to destroy Unit 03. And boy did it destroy the angel, well it and it crushed Asuka between its jaws (you can actually hear her scream btw haha pain :)).

Asuka survived though, but the whole incident cost her her humanity and she ended up becoming an angel herself/she took the place of the Ninth. But despite that, there's one person who keeps believing in Asuka's humanity, who fiercely believes Asuka is still a human and tells her as much.

Yep, that one person is Mari and she keeps holding onto that belief until the very end when Asuka uses her last resort, which is using the power of an angel (Doing so was a guaranteed death sentence btw). Mari's own words (in the German dub) were, "Princess, you're giving up being human…" AND IT MAKES ME SO EMO GOD FUCK

While I'm at it, Mari and Asuka are a fucking killer combo as a team. They rely on each other for support in combat, listen to the other's orders and advice. Especially in Asuka's case it's kind of a big deal that she so openly relies and counts on Mari's support. Like these two trust each other with their damn lifes!!! Holy shit!!

Guess what though, they also have nicknames for eachother. Mari always calls Asuka "Princess" or "(Your) Highness" while Asuka calles Mari "Four-eyes" / "Four-eyed chrony (idk how you spell that tbh RIP" Even better though, in the German dub Asuka calls Mari "Brillerella" as in a combination of "Brille" (German for glasses) and "Cinderella",,,,Cinderella and her Prince,,,Brillerella and her Princess,,, man, that was a gay fucking move of the translation team. Spoiler: I owe them my life.

Funfact: There's exactly two times throughout the Rebuild movies where Mari uses Asuka's actual name. These two times being when she watches Asuka "die" and be used as a sacrifice for Gendo's selfish plan and when later on she begs Shinji, "So please the Princess… Asuka needs your help!" And the best part? That wasn't even the first time she did that. The mentioned line came from 3.0+1.0, but she did that too in 3.0 with the, "At least save the Princess!" line (although her tone was much more...pissed, like she was really angry lol)

Remember the crush Asuka had on Shinji? Well due to the Unit 03 incident a whole lot of other shit got mixed into that and her feelings for him in general became really bitter (understandably so). Now Mari being who she is sometimes teases Asuka about said old crush but she really does want Asuka to get closure and sort that mess out. 

As an example for the teasing, in 3.0 there's a scene that goes like this (please imagine Mari with a literal :3 face while saying that):

"Unit! Are you back in the game?"

"I'm on it, your Highness. But first things first, how was our little puppy (Shinji)? Did he sit like a good little boy?"

"He's exactly the same! Same stupid face talking mayhem!"

"That goofy face of his, that's what you wanted to see? Riiiiight?"

"Shut up! I went there to bat him one!... And I feel better!"

There's also a very short bonus manga that was released in Japan for Thrice Upon a Time's release that has Mari trying to convince Asuka to come with her on the mission to get Shinji, given everything that follows, it's just another thing to prove my point. And the final bit relating to that is this:

"Feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I do feel better."

That's the exchange Asuka and Mari have after they talked to Shinji, it's nothing special but I think it's really sweet and this time Asuka actually sounded like she was feeling better instead of when she was screaming after she nearly broke pretty thick glass with her fist (If she had hit someone with that much force she definitely would've broken something omggg #violentimpulsesgang)

To get back on track though: I already mentioned it but during the second half of 3.0+1.0 Asuka "dies" (and honestly that entire scene is worth its own in-depth post because its just one huge parallel to The End of Evangelion), the point is: You can tell that the loss of Asuka honestly hits Mari hard. Not only because of how Mari screams Asuka's name but also because of her expressions. They're pained, like really fucking pained and Mari even apologizes to her that she has to fall back due to the fact that she's injured AND because eveything is going wrong.

After the events of Evangelion 3.0 these two got seperated from eachother, Mari was with WILLE (the organization both of them are with) and on board of Wunder (the ship WILLE basically operates from) while Asuka was in a Village full of (Near) Third Impact Survivors. When they do meet again it went like this:

Asuka, barely back, comes to the door and calls, "I'm back." And within seconds of Asuka stepping into their room after the door opens Mari already runs towards her, arms wide open and she says, "Welcome back, your Highness! Good job. I missed you so much!" And she says that while she literally nuzzles into Asuka,,,like,,,what the fuck gay people real!!! 

Best part? Asuka clearly has enough strength to push Mari completely away if she were uncomfortable, but she doesn't. Asuka merely wanted enough space to look at the room (because Mari managed to horde even more books lol) and play her game. During their entire renunion Mari keeps hugging her, and part of me thinks that perhaps deep down Asuka actually enjoys the feeling of physical affection.

Before we get to the last point though, let me say that Asuka and Mari have scenes in 3.0+1.0 that parallel Shinji and Kaworu's from 3.0. (Fyi Kaworu loves Shinji (yeah, like that, and 3.0 was basically them being gay as fuck for an hour) so like...do I even need to explain? 

And then of course there's also this, the "Take care of yourself, Princess…" line. That is the last time Mari talks to Asuka and as much as that line alone already is so much, it's Mari's expression in particular that kills me. Because this? This soft, almost bittersweet expression she has, as she basically says goodbye? Because she knows Asuka will finally be happy and safe? It just makes me feel so much actually. Man.

In the end it's a fact that Mari loved Asuka, wether that is interpreted as platonic or romantic by someone is up to them. But it is a fact that Asuka was loved enough that someone wanted to hug her, was happy to see her, to praise her, was hurt by her loss, wanted her to be safe, that someone told her "Take care of yourself…" Asuka was really and honestly so loved that someone would tell her, "I missed you."

But Asuka? Asuka was too hurt, too wrapped up in her own head to actually see how loved she was by Mari (and other people) that she genuinely believed she's completely alone and always will be alone.

It makes the "Take care of yourself" line hit even harder to me, because it's not only Mari's goodbye, but it's a goodbye during the one time Asuka allowed herself to be vulnerable and admit what she really wanted.

And honestly? All of this? Its makes me feel so many things and I just love them  so much man.

[itsany62]

SteveTony - Getting Together

Here are some Getting Together fics that I adore. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Lovesick, by royal_chandler, 3 k >, fluff.

The depth of the flu aisle in the pharmacy is substantial, overwhelmingly so, and Steve is half-convinced he needs to return to the front and trade his basket for a full-on cart.

There's a Party Going on Right Here, by Annie D (scaramouche), Post-Endgame.

After the Battle of Earth, Tony hosts a party.

Open Tab , by machi_kun , 5k> words, Post-Avengers 2012.

Tony has a lot of money. Really. More money he could possibly ever spend by himself. So what if he spends some of it buying gifts for his friends? People like gifts! And Steve is his friend. His best friend, actually, inside the Avengers, and he’s glad it turned out this way - so it’s also a way of saying 'thanks for putting up with me', he thinks. He just wants Steve to be happy. If Tony can make him happy, then why wouldn’t he? Tony buying Steve gifts is no big deal. Shut up, Rhodey.

(Pretty) Odd, by machi_kun, 5 k> words, Developing Relationship, Fluff.

In his file, Tony Stark had been described as eccentric. He had also been described as a narcissist, as a self-destructive liability, as not-recommended, and all sort of fancy words that are used to disguise the fact that they were calling him an all-around asshole; And that’s a very long list of bad adjectives, for a guy Steve saw carry a nuke behind his back to save the city, gave them a place to stay, and is slowly showing himself to be one of the most curious people Steve has ever met. Maybe Tony Stark is eccentric – and maybe he is a bit of an asshole. But maybe he’s also more than that.

Six Times DUM-E Made It Worse (and One Time He Fixed It) by FestiveFerret, 4 k > words, Outsider POV.

DUM-E has a lot of Very Important jobs to do, and he does his best to do them right. Sometimes, though, things don't work out very well.

All he wants is for his humans to be happy.

Sweet Child O' Mine by starspangledsprocket, 9 k > words, Age Regression/De-Aging, Fluff.

After just their second outing as the Avengers, everyone except for Steve and Tony are turned into toddlers. Madness ensues.

'Cause Everytime We Touch by Perlmutt, 5 k > words, Touch-Starved.

Steve noticed it the first time they were officially introduced at Fury’s office after the battle of New York.

He extended his hand for a handshake, a silent peace offer after their horrible first meeting at the helicarrier almost a week ago. Stark looked at it like it would bite him any second. Steve could see how his hands twitched where he’d buried them in his pockets. But instead of taking his hand, he stared into his eyes for a moment and nodded before turning back to Fury.

Only later would Steve learn that it wasn’t hatred or aversion.

how the thought of you does things to me by Finduilas, 6 k > words, Mutual Pining, Domestic Avengers.

Steve has a thing for Tony's butt. Tony has a thing for Steve's beard. They're both very obvious about it (just ask any of their friends!), but somehow they manage to also be completely oblivious.

Right here waiting by gottalovev, 19 k > words, Cat Dads.

Steve has been missing Tony like crazy since he left the compound. One day, Steve drops in unannounced at the tower, and when on a walk for coffee they rescue newborn kittens.

Or: A yearning Steve, an oblivious Tony, and co-parenting kittens. (= fuff!)

picture perfect (picture us) by starklystar, 18 k > words, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Photo Shoots.

Tony has a habit of being handsy during photoshoots.

Steve has a habit of being flustered whenever Tony touches him.

Misunderstandings happen.

Or, five times Steve and Tony went to a photoshoot

+ the one time they had better things to do.

++ the one time they take their photoshoot online.

take me out (to the ball game) by muItifandomjess, 1 k > words, Fluff.

“Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd,” Steve sings, his shoulder bumping into Tony’s as he sways back and forth. “Come on, Tony, sing!”

“I am a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist,” Tony protests around a mouthful of hot dog. “I do not sing.”

Or, Steve and Tony go to a ball game. It all kind of snowballs from there.

Drifting Further Everyday by GotTheSilver, 8 k > words, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Steve’s quiet a lot of the time, it’s almost like living with a ghost, and Tony kind of hates it; he lives with more than enough actual ghosts every day. The longer time goes on, the more Tony recognises what’s going on, sees the jumpiness, the haunted look on his face, and he gets it. Realises they’re both trying to bury things they don’t want to talk about. More often than not, Tony turns around in the workshop to see Steve sitting there, patiently working on something in his sketchbook or reading an actual book, usually something he missed during the years he was frozen.

Somehow Steve is filling all the gaps in his life Tony didn’t realise he needed filling.

Goop, Or Five Times Steve Rogers Was Covered In... Something, And One Time Tony Was by Bill_Longbow, 7 k > words, Mutual Pining.

There were a lot of things Steve had expected about the future; sleek buildings, sleeker electronics, and all the food you can eat. Being covered in alien goop wasn't one of them.

or

How Steve being covered in... stuff, brings Tony and Steve closer.

The art of longing by itsallAvengers, 63 k > words, Oblivious Tony, Not Actually Unrequited Love.

Steve's used to missing his shot. To being too late, too scared, and losing everything. But he really did think that this time, with Tony, something could work.

Then Tony meets Mark. He's cool and charming, he's a scientist and he's perfect for a man like Tony Stark.

And suddenly Steve...

Well. Steve just doesn't have a place anymore

earth laughs in flowers by starksnack, 3 k > words, Love Confessions, Secret Admirer.

A secret admirer has been sending Tony flowers and confessions of love.

Crash Into You by FestiveFerret, 15 K > words, Post-Avengers (2012), Stranded.

Tony was pretty used to crashing.

It seemed like these days more often than not his return to earth in the Iron Man suit was at least somewhat out of control. He couldn't count the number of times he'd used a helpfully situated building, a local landmark, or, hey, even a teammate to slow a wild descent. And he'd be damned if he'd admit it to Pepper, but on more than one occasion he hadn't even been conscious when he'd hit the ground.

So crashing wasn't really a new experience. He would get banged up a bit, maybe put a scratch in the suit somewhere, but bruised ribs healed and there was no better way to work off the post-battle high than smoothing dents out of his most prized possession.

He had a feeling crashing in the Quinjet, without his armour, was going to be a bit different..

I like me better (when I'm with you) by I_write_things_sometimes, 79 k > words, Domestic Avengers, Friends to Lovers.

If you ask either of them how they got together, they'd go back to an unremarkable night filled with expensive food, rich donors, and lots of schmoozing. And, of course, the anxiety attack that started it all.

"Not recognizing someone was strange enough, but the longer the two men spoke with — or, more accurately at — Tony, the more convinced Steve was that the conversation was unwanted, at least on Tony’s part.

The first clue was that Tony was actively leaning away from the men he was talking to. Steve had learned firsthand that Tony was an incredibly tactile person. When he wanted to talk to you, Tony engaged completely; he’d sling his arm around your shoulders, squeeze your arm, or drag you around as he talked, walked and usually did at least two other things. Even when he argued, Tony was often immediate and in his opponent's space; Steve knew that from experience.

Right now? Tony was scanning the outskirts of the room rather than making eye contact with the men near him. If Steve had to guess, Tony was looking for the nearest exit."

Or, the way Steve Rogers and Tony Stark became friends and then more.

Mission SteveTony by itsallAvengers, 7 k > words, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Steve Rogers.

If the entire team of Avengers could please stop trying to get it on with Tony when Steve is right there, he would really appreciate that, thank you

you'll wait a long time by nanasekei, 16 k > words, Pining, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie).

Steve and Tony share a moment during a wedding. Things escalate from there.

-

Alternatively: Four weddings, a funeral, and one very emotionally stunted idiot.

The Game by FestiveFerret, 5 k > words, Gay Chicken.

The game starts when Tony walks into the garage to find Steve sitting astride the R1200RS, staring down at his phone, and he maybe, just a little bit, walks into a car.

Talking Bodies by itsallAvengers, 13 k > words, Misunderstandings, Insecure Steve Rogers.

Coincidentally, the physical effects of romantic and sexual desire match up very closely with the physical effects of fear. But it's not a problem-- it's not like anyone is going to be able to hear the way your heart speeds up, or see the minute dilation of your pupils, are they? They'd have to be some sort of Superhuman to do that.

And what's worse than a Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and concluding that you're in love with them?

A Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and thinking you're terrified of them.

more than just a dream. by frostfall, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Parent Tony Stark.

Tony: Fine.

Tony: I think I might.

Tony: Just might.

Tony: Have a teensy-weensy crush.

Peter: ;)

Peter: Is it who I think it is?

Tony: Unfortunately, yes.

Tony: You happy now?

(Peter thinks he's found the perfect partner for his dad. Tony thinks his son has officially lost his mind. Steve's just oblivious to the fact that he's out of Tony's league.)

don’t want you to get it on (with nobody else but me). by frostfall, 4 k > words, Jealous Steve Rogers, The Pocky Game.

There are a lot of things that Steve doesn’t get about the future. But it’s fine. He will, eventually. He has time.

But one thing he knows is that he’ll never, ever be able to wrap his head around is the fanfare surrounding Pocky.

(Or Steve’s jealous of biscuit sticks.)

check yes (if the feeling isn't new) by cvptains, 12 k > words, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Meddling.

After the battle with Thanos, both Tony and Steve struggle with reconnecting in certain aspects of their lives. Sam Wilson and Peter Parker are totally over it.

Where both Steve and Tony's respective friends make accounts for them on the renowned dating app, FlickLove, and the results come out a bit... surprising. Cue unadvisable meddling that really — honestly — comes from good intentions.

take my heart clean apart by mistymountainking, 13 k > words, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues.

He’s tired, so tired of waiting, tired of touches with no meaning, tired of holding his breath when Steve’s in the room, tired of keeping this love to himself.

“I can’t—I can’t, if you don’t mean it.”

***

Tony comes home exhausted after an SI event. Steve acts as welcoming committee. It's an old, careworn routine they've perfected over the years, but tonight ends up going in a very different direction.

[hi-i-love-u-bitch]

She lives in a constant state of perpetual indifference as she has lived in Burbank her whole life and there for has grownup surrounded by toons. She's always had a soft spot for Toons as they embody the pure comedy and innocence of the world, living only to make people laugh. This unfortunately leads a lot of them to get taken advantage of and mistreated; and this in turn lead her to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, specifically business and law in which favors Toons.

She ends up in Law school but unfortunately her family isn't made of money so she takes up a few part time jobs, mainly babysitting. Despite her bleak out look on life and dry sarcasm Tianna is actually very good with kids. Which leads to her getting a call from the CEO of Warner Bro Studios himself.

There must have been at least a hundred nannies and babysitters lined up for the interview; each anxiously awaiting their turn as they all listened to the absolute chaos happening behind the door of Psychiatrists Dr. Scratchansniff.

Tianna didn't have to wait too long though as half the candidates noped out before they were even called and the other half ran away screaming 5 minutes after entering. Tianna had absolutely no idea what she was getting into.

She was finally called in by an attractive yet tired looking nurse alongside two older gentleman who Tianna guessed as the CEO and Scratchansniff.

They briefed her on the situation at hand before introducing her to the "patients". Tianna has heard of the Warner siblings before, used to watch a lot of their older cartoons when she was a kid; their random sarcastic comedy always amused her. Apparently they've been getting a lot more out of hand as of late and the studio lot can't take anymore property damage.

Long story short they needed someone to wrangle them into submission, at least for a little bit, until the accounting team can set up a better budget for all the property damage.

Tianna knew that this was impossible and she told them as much; not only were they toons but they were also children, a combination that is a recipe for success entertainment wise but also came with dire consequences business wise.

They begged her to try anyway, promising to pay her double, triple if they had to.

Usually Tianna thrived on seeing corporate fat cats and CEO's suffer for their foolish actions but this.....it was starting to get sad. They all looked very tired and their sanity seemed to be hanging by a thread, especially Scratchansniff.

Tianna reluctantly agreed to give it a shot but only if she receives compensation for any damage (mental or physical) she may suffer while attempting this.

They quickly lead her into another room beyond the office, there she finds the Warner siblings waiting for her on the couch. Well, not so much waiting but more constructing some sort of elaborate Irish river dance while simultaneously playing hopscotch on the couch.

The door was then slammed behind her, and the sound of about a dozen locks clicking all at once let her know that she wasn't going anywhere for a while. That's when the Warners finally noticed her.

She waved awkwardly and they merely stared at her like some sort of demented cat caught eating something it wasn't supposed to.

Before she could even speak a proper hello the two brothers ran at full speed into her arms, kissed her cheeks, and simultaneously said "Helloooo nurse!"

Once able to regain her balance Tianna gave them both an annoyed glare before leading them back to the couch. She sat them back with their sister, who had been quietly observing the situation (probably looking of a funny opening to join in), stepped back with arms crossed and a stern look.

Tianna: That is not a nice thing to do, especially to a woman, let alone a stranger you've just met.

That apparently took them all aback for a moment as if the thought had never occurred to them. It was further confirmed when Wakko raised his hand and ask "why?"

So apparently nobody has taught these kids about personal space, boundaries, and/or asking for consent before and that was all very concerning to Tianna.

A little bit of Toon history: Toons in reality are very innocent beings even if they know a lot of raunchy humor and bad habits, but that is mostly kept on set or amongst themselves. Toons never mean any harm (real life threatening harm that is) even if they're drawn as "good" or "bad", their sole purpose in life is to entertain. Their ethics and morals are very different from that of regular humans and it had been a very long prosses to be able to integrate them with regular people. The problem isn't knowing right from wrong, the problem is teaching them what is taboo amongst humans that isn't taboo amongst Toons. This isn't necessarily their fault as they had been originally drawn with that intention by humans; so really it's humanities fault for playing God and not thinking about the consequences.

Anyways, the Warner siblings were from 1929, when cartoons were just coming out and barely considered living beings with no rights what-so-ever. Atop of that they were children with no parental figure or written background, they've been stuck in a water tower most of their lives, and the only interaction with the outside world they've ever had is through the entertainment industry. So yeah, even by Toon standards this was kind of messed up, these kids could get into some serious legal trouble and not even know it.

So Tianna sat down and talked with them, which is another thing the siblings seemed surprised about because apparently nobody ever just wanted to talk to them, let alone calmly explain to them why what they did was wrong and how they could learn form it. It was a very new experience for them and with each passing minute Tianna grew even more concerned.

The Warners seemed to enjoy talking to her; Dot always liked having another girl around to even things out in the group and excitedly asked if she could style Tianna's hair (she accepted of course). Yakko liked the challenge of trying to make her laugh, since Tianna was such a stoic person even the smallest of chuckles was a victory for him. Plus he enjoyed being able to talk as much as he wanted without somebody telling him to shut up. Wakko was just happy that somebody was willingly interacting with them for more than five minutes. He talked about his favorite snacks and asked if he could call her Tia for short (again she agreed).

She emerges from the room two hours later, hair a mess with uneven braids and pigtails, shirt stained with mustered and jelly, pants and shoes just a touch singed black, yet still happily waving goodbye to the Warners before heading back to the wait room.

It is there that the Nurse, Scratchansniff, and the CEO were anxiously waiting for her. There were surprised to not only see her in one piece but also to see that she wasn't running for the hills despite her disastrously look at the moment. They had no chance to ask her how it all went or if she'd accept the job because as soon as she saw them she started angrily screaming at them, tearing them all a collective new one.

Tianna: Do you have any idea how many ethical Toon entertainment laws you've broken? Not to mention all the child endangerment, mistreatment, and labor laws that have been violated. No wonder they won't cooperate with you, do you have any idea how much emotional and psychological trauma you've caused them? Of course they're Toons so they don't respond to it the same way humans do but there is still a lot of damage done! You've done nothing to teach them on how they should act outside the society of entertainment and instead reprimand them with no explanation what-so-ever. Did you honestly think isolating them inside a goddamn water tower would satiate their need for attention, cause that's all their asking for, just even a little bit of attention and kindness would of helped their psychological and emotional development!

She continued screaming at the three of them for a good half hour before her voice finally gave out, Tianna wasn't used to talking louder than a monotone speaking voice. That still didn't stop her from glaring at them, causing three grown adult that were older and supposedly wiser than her to cower behind a desk.

After a glass of water, a few aspirins, and a complimentary sandwich Tianna was calm enough to finally tell them how the session with the Warners went. She said that they were good kids and would be happy to babysit but also demanded living accommodations with all expenses paid for, five times the salary they promised her, and Sundays off, or so help her she will bring them a lawsuit so bad that it will burn the entire company to the ground. Of course this was all agreed to.

And thus began Tianna's adventures in babysitting the Warner siblings!

(Let me know if y'all want a part 2 with Tia and the Warners hijinks)

[coppicefics]

Masked Omens: Week Five

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads ‘Masked Omens’. 

Image 2 - A page from the Entertainment section of the Capital Herald, dated Saturday, 23rd January 2021. Full image description and transcript below cut. End ID.]

Read the fic here!

The Capital Herald - Saturday, 23rd January 2021 Entertainment, page 15

Top section: Stream of Consciousness: Shows To Make You Think A whole host of great documentaries, old and new, have just been added to streaming services Who doesn't love a good documentary? You can learn all sorts of things, and you don't have to do any of the research for yourself. Over the last couple of weeks, loads of people seem to have been tuning into the wealth of documentaries available on various streaming services; here are a few I particularly enjoyed. Green Planet (2020) is not your standard nature documentary; while there are some extremely cute shots of animals (including gorillas, whales, and giant squid) the main focus is on sustainable practices people are experimenting with in all sorts of industries and contexts, and the way they allow local wildlife to flourish. It's thought-provoking stuff. We're As Folk (2019) takes a look at the contemporary folk movement, interviewing figures from the second British revival right through to the present day; contributors include Seth Lakeman, Frank Turner, Anathema and Bellowhead. With folk-festival anecdotes aplenty, the documentary explores the intricacies of the genre and culminates in all the contributors performing a once-in-a-lifetime rendition of 'She Moved Through The Fair'. Gadget If You Can (2015) might be a little outdated now, but that's what makes it such a compelling watch. From watches that tell the time in 21 capital cities concurrently to hoverboards that actually, well, hover, this is a fascinating look at the new devices that seemed to be just on the horizon when it was released more than five years ago. Some have since appeared; some remain pipedreams. All are interesting! Making Fast Friends (2012) is the oldest documentary on this list, and the narrowest in scope. It was released alongside the SEGA charity single 'Fast Friends' and gives us a behind the scenes look at what happened when Sonic the Hedgehog teamed up with a whole bunch of children's TV presenters to make the record. Although largely factual in nature, it does also feature animated 'interviews' with Sonic and Knuckles, so it's entirely suitable for watching with your family. And P-White fans, in particular, will not want to miss this a second time around. A War Without War (2021), by contrast, is both up-to-the-minute and extremely disturbing to watch. It is composed of a mixture of expert analysis of the situation developing on the ground in Celestan and grim footage allegedly smuggled out of the country by fleeing residents. Moreover, with more episodes promised, it forces the viewer to acknowledge what is happening as the country breaks apart, and asks us the difficult question: can you have a war without war? Dinosaurs: The Punchline (2013) is frequently mistaken for a mockumentary thanks to its tongue-in-cheek title. It is, in fact, a thoughtful exploration of how religious groups respond to apparent conflicts between scientific facts and the tenets of their faith. Without shying away from the realities of science as we know it, this film takes a surprisingly sensitive approach to investigating how science and religion intersect in the modern world. By The Numbers (2018) looks back at the history of the televised National Lottery, along with its competitors on other channels and the entertainment chosen to appear directly after it. Featuring clips and interviews with stars from Marjorie Potts aka Telepathic Tracy, whose show aired after the draw for over a decade, to Marvin O. Bagman, whose sports-based quiz show had, at the time of the documentary’s release, the corresponding Channel 4 slot. It’s not groundbreaking, but it is very entertaining. CITRON DEUX-CHEVAL Have I missed any amazing documentaries you think I should be talking about? Drop me an email at entertainment@capitalherald.co.uk or leave a comment on our website and I might feature your recommendations in a future issue.

Centre left: Memory Lane: Kilcridhe Now there’s a vicar I’d have loved to meet at the altar Ask any male-attracted person of a certain age – well, my age and up, really – if they remember Kilcridhe, and you'll be met with flushed cheeks and a glassy expression. We remember Kilcridhe, all right – or perhaps it would be fairer to say that we remember Father Jacob MacCleod. It's hard to believe that heartthrob Jacob was Anthony Crowley's first major role on television, and harder still to believe that he was also one of his last. The show ran for only two six-episode series, between 2005 and 2006, but in those twelve hours I think it's fair to say a fair few of us fell irrevocably in love. Kilcridhe was named for the fictitious Scottish village where it was set, and largely revolved around the goings-on of the local church and its new minister. Much of the series' drama centred around Father MacCleod's ongoing attempts to fill the pews, which saw him trying everything from hosting a bake sale – for which he ended up baking everything himself – to arranging a community talent show, with predictably bizarre results. But during the course of these adventures, each episode also introduced us to one or more of Kilcridhe's residents. We got a glimpse into the little struggles and joys of their lives – most of which quickly became Jacob's struggles and joys, too. My main memory of this show is that it was pretty. Not just Jacob, but everything about it, from the location they chose for the exterior shots, to the tone added in post-production; everything was just slightly more saturated and colourful than real life, not enough to be jarring but enough to give the whole thing a strangely dreamlike feel. In fact, as Jacob remarked as he prepared to leave for Edinburgh at the end of series one (not knowing if he would return or if the show would be cancelled), “leaving [Kilcridhe] feels like waking from a dream, like going back to reality somehow”. It was, perhaps, for the best that Kilcridhe was cancelled after only two series. Shows originally envisioned as limited series rarely keep their charm past a second extension, and the central actor was to encounter personal problems not long after the end of the show. That's not to say that a revival couldn't work, perhaps with a completely new protagonist. But Father Jacob MacCleod lives on in the hearts of his many fans, smiling that enigmatic smile of his, and when that's not enough, there's always online fanfiction. So much fanfiction. SARAH JEUNE Memory Lane is our regular feature, looking back at the books, shows and films of yesteryear through a nostalgic lens. Do you miss something you’d like to see featured? Just send the show name (plus channel and airdates if you know them) in an email to: memorylane@capitalherald.co.uk - your prayers might just be answered!

Centre right: Correspondent’s Corner Stop talking about it Anathema is making waves again as she does the talk-show circuit to promote her new album, Narrative Devices. It's a very pretty album from a very lovely girl, but she does keep getting hung up on one point. Every time somebody describes her music as country, she interrupts to tell them it's folk. Well, I'm no music expert, but even I know that folk is a very European genre, and the United States' equivalent is country, or country and western music, to give it its full name, and to continue to argue to the contrary is simply courting controversy for controversy's sake. It is unbecoming of a young lady – even, or perhaps especially, a young lady with Anathema's obvious talent – to continue to argue with her elders on the subject, and even to correct the likes of Graham Norton and Giles Brandreth. These sage bastions of broadcasting deserve more respect, and they couldn't be more gracious in accepting their 'mistake'. But surely a young musician in the first flush of success should take the time to learn about what she's actually doing? It doesn't seem very much to ask. It’s not entirely her fault, of course; the youth of today are given far too much freedom by their parents and, on top of that, are often propelled to disproportionate success with no chance to prepare for it. Is it any wonder that it all goes to their heads? But there is no excuse for not making an effort to keep their egos in check and defer to their betters on matters of terminology and best practice. Naturally, we all hope that Anathema will enjoy a long and successful career making the music she enjoys the most and , more importantly, music we can all enjoy too. And I also hope that she will, eventually, acquire the humility so rarely found in young people these days and accept that she does not always know best. If she listens to the counsel of older and wiser heads than hers, she might even learn something. ANDY SANDALPHON What can’t they do? If there's one thing that's becoming apparent with every passing week of The Masked Singer UK, it's that celebrities are no longer to content to stay in their lane. No, these multi-talented marvels seem determined to push themselves to the limit in every possible field. So far, we’ve seen sergeants become singers, rugby players become rockers, doctors become divas and authors become, er, audible. And with weeks still to go in this competition, we still have eight masked celebrities to guess. Eight people whose day jobs probably don’t include getting on stage and belting out pop standards are still waiting to impress us with talents that aren’t even their thing. I mean, if I could sing and dance like the contestants on the show, you can bet your life I’d be making a living from it. It would be my number one talent, and I’d be rubbish at anything else, because most of us only get one main skill. Not these jammy gits, though. For them, this is a sideline. It's not just The Masked Singer, of course – from proving their talent for trivia on Pointless Celebrities and their wordplay wisdom on Celebrity Catchphrase to demonstrating their culinary qualities on Celebrity Masterchef and The Great Celebrity Bake Off, it seems that wherever you look someone is adding a new string to their bow. Being a phenomenally talented actor, singer, or footballer is all well and good, but more and more stars are now keen to show us that they really can do anything and everything. And why shouldn't they? It's phenomenally entertaining television to watch. And for those of us who sometimes feel inadequate compared to our famous idols, it can be very reassuring to watch, for example, a comedian weeping into his cupcake mix on Bake Off or an Oscar nominee fall on her face on Dancing On Ice. When they do well, it's amazing; when they do badly, it's life-affirming. That said, I've been blown away by the talent of the contestants on The Masked Singer this series. It's so inspirational, in fact, that I might take up watercolours. EDWARD BIGGS Bottom right (in blue box): Citron’s Quick Picks Fast favourites from Citron Deux-Cheval Look: Sea Change by Hastur LaVista There's never been a journey to to the top quite like P-White's. This authorised biography charts a course from children's presenter to global superstar through interviews, pictures and anecdotes. While the research sometimes seems a little slapdash, the story at the heart of the book is more than interesting enough to hold it together. And since it's authorised, Maputi themself has contributed plenty of private insights and observations. [Image description: A book, its cover featuring a blue-green gradient with black, dripping lines spilling across it. The title reads ‘Sea Change’. End ID.] Listen: Narrative Devices by Anathema Anathema's first album was well-received both within the folk community and beyond it. Now her second album, backed up by an obvious increase in resources, looks set to enjoy similar mainstream success, and deservedly so. The theme this time seems to be the act of telling stories, but it's also a story in itself. You'll have heard the singles, but it takes on new meaning when you play it in order! [Image description: An album cover featuring hands holding a book. The words “Anathema” and “Narrative Devices” are printed on it. End ID.] Laugh: Newtral Stance by AutoTuna on YouTube It's not the first time beleaguered commentator Newton Pulsifer has had his words edited into a supercut. It's not even the first time his frequent disagreements with the VAR have been autotuned – including by YouTube user AutoTuna. But this new edition adds an extra dimension in the form of a flat, robotic voice duetting – and duelling – with the frustrated human, taking the hilarity to a whole new level! [Image description: A screenshot of a young woman wearing a call centre headset (specifically, the woman who cold-calls Crowley in Good Omens and gets Hastur instead). She looks extremely bored. End ID.]

Advertisement, bottom right: IS THIS YOUR CARD? [Image Description: Two business cards with a white-to-yellow gradient, overlapping so that they are slightly fanned out. Printed on the left-hand side of each is ‘This is to certify The Amazing [blank] as a [blank] training under Mr A.Z. Fell.‘ The one behind is filled in with ‘Your Name-’ and ‘Sorcer-’. The front card is filled in in a more child-friendly font, with ‘Your Name Here’ and ‘Junior Magician’. Below this is space for a start and expiry date, filled in with ‘08/20′ and ‘08/21′ respectively. On the right-hand side of the card, a logo shows a rabbit emerging from an upturned top hat, and below it are the words ‘Harry’s Junior Magic Academy’. The word ‘Junior’ is in the same child-friendly font as before. End ID.] IT COULD BE. Membership is open to under 12s and 13-18 year-olds at www.harrys-magic.com

End of transcript.

[fmdsooaharchive]

CHO SOOAH — HEADCANON #4 (30 DAYS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT - IDOL EDITION)

SUMMARY: We ask ourselves why would you write more than 5.000 words in a single day for something that was supposed to go on for 30 days and we reach the conclusion that we needed the points and why not, am I right? While writing this I realized that Sooah doesn’t have many friends her age but also, she isn’t friends anyone in Gold Star besides her members so please befriend my kid. WC: 5.042 MENTIONS: way too many people to be honest. TW: Really bad writing because I did it when I was clearly sleepy.

+ Day One: Introduce your muse. Are they solo or in a group? What is their position in the group? Consider this day the day for writing the basics.

Cho Sooah is part of Gold Star Media’s five-member group, Fuse. She was added to the team in 2015, a few months after their official debut in 2014 as their rapper and vocal as well as becoming the new maknae of the team. 

+ Day Two: Talk about your muse’s childhood. Where did they grow up? Did they have any dream jobs besides being an idol? When did they realize they wanted to be an idol?

Sooah was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She had a pretty ideal childhood, she thinks. She was very lucky to have loving and supportive parents and very great older brothers who always looked out for her in their different ways. She was always connected to her family and that’s her grounding circle to this day. She’s very thankful to them for everything they did for her. While growing up, Sooah was always praised for her beauty and sweetness but she was usually taken advantage of and made fun of because of that. She had very little friends growing up but she didn’t mind that much because she had a pretty solid group that always supported her. Growing up, she wanted to become a stewardess and those were the plans until she was scouted by Gold Star. She never really realized she wanted to become an idol and even after she was signed under the company, she was still not sure about it. She became surer of it after she debuted and had a taste of how performing felt like.

+ Day Three: Take us back to when your muse was either recruited or auditioned to become an idol. How did that go? How did they feel getting up on stage for recruiters? If your muse could give their younger selves advice before the audition, what would they say?

Sooah is one of those people who go with their friends to an audition and end up being cast as well. She was accompanying Mia in her audition. She wanted to give her moral support and make sure everything would go as planned when one of the recruiters asked her to do something for them. Sooah was never really skillful. She couldn't sing or dance or act. But she’s pretty and that’s the main reason why they decided to sign with her. She was very nervous when she performed in front of them. She didn’t have anything prepared but a school song that they were supposed to perform in a festival soon and a guitar that she could barely play. 

Sooah would tell herself not to be so harsh because maybe they did hire her because of her looks but that doesn’t mean she was a complete talentless failure. She was always so gentle to others; she should learn to be gentler to herself too.

+ Day Four: Remember the trainee days? What are some of your muse’s memories of being a trainee? How long were they a trainee? Were they worried about potentially not making a debut? Talk about any challenges they might have encountered.

Sooah’s memories of trainee days are almost blurred together in a mess of constant practice and doubting herself. Those weren’t very happy times, she felt insecure and out of place because these more talented people were training with her and she was not sure of her abilities or if she even deserved to be there with these people. 

Sooah was a trainee for one year and four months, from November of 2013 to March of 2015 when was added to Fuse. Sooah always felt like she would never make it to a group and would eventually be kicked out by the company or be reassigned to a different department like modeling or acting. So, she had a constant fear of not making it to debut. 

+ Day Five: Recall your muse’s debut. What was the song they debuted with? How did it feel performing for the first time on stage as an idol? Feel free to bring up their thoughts about the concept, choreography, lyrics, music video, or other components. 

Sooah debuted with Fuse’s first EP and it was called ‘Ice Cream Cake’ from the album of the same name. She remembers quite vividly feeling very excited but also extremely terrified. She never performed in front of an audience before and the Fuse fans had made it pretty clear even before she made her first appearance that they weren’t fond of Gold Star’s strategy of adding a useless member to a group that was already perfect as four. But she was finally making it to debut and there was no hater in her life that would stop her from feeling ecstatic at this opportunity. 

Sooah liked ‘Ice Cream Cake’. Both the single and the album were nice. She thinks the MV was particularly aesthetically pleasing, her unnies looked stunning as always. She wasn’t certain about the ‘everyone will go blonde’ but the different tones made each of them stand out in different ways. At the time, she had never practiced choreography as much as she did for ‘Ice Cream Cake’. She went over and over this routine thousand times just to make sure she wouldn’t mess up. She was only sixteen at the time, so everything kind of overwhelmed her. 

+ Day Six: What concept does your muse think they can pull off best? Cutesy? Manly? Sexy? What concept do they have a hard time pulling off? What kind of concept would they want to do at some point?

Sooah can put off cutesy, happier concepts better than the more badass, girl crush ones and that has a lot to do with her looks more than with what she’s comfortable doing. She doesn’t mind their more happy and upbeat concepts just as she doesn’t mind when she has to do more serious stuff. ‘Peek-a-Boo’ remains as one of her favorite MV’s and songs to this day just as much as ‘Red Flavor’ and she thinks that’s nice because that’s the whole concept they were going for with Fuse. With how many weird concepts they’ve done in the past, Sooah thinks they can pull off pretty much anything at this point but she knows it’s very unlikely that Gold Star would invest in a concept similar to Lucid’s Nightmare trilogy. She would love to do something like that though.  

+ Day Seven: Which era is your muse’s favorite in their career? Why is it their favorite (think concept, promotions, choreography, etc.)? If your muse has recently debuted, talk about what they would want to do for their next comeback.

‘Russian Roulette’ is an era that she thinks many people end up forgetting and it’s not fair because it was pretty fun to promote. The storyline for the MV is not the lightest, of course, since they are trying to get the others to get badly injured but the scenarios were so colorful and full of life (ironic). The choreography was tricky, but all choreographies were tricky for Sooah. It was fun to learn though, and she had a lot of fun while learning it because it didn’t give her much of a headache and she quickly learned the movements. It was a very cute kind of concept that she remembers fondly. 

+ Day Eight: Talk about your muse’s strengths and weaknesses as an idol. Feel free to discuss their thoughts regarding these components. Think of qualities such as vocals, dancing, visuals, acting skills, and variety show skills, for example.

Sooah’s strengths as an idol are very reliant on her visuals and variety show skills, so everything that isn’t performative. Her looks were always something people praised her for even before auditioning to become a trainee. She was always very pretty and always had this soft look on her that works very well because it makes people feel at ease. It’s not the type of beauty that pushes people away but draws them in. 

She used to be very shy in variety shows but Sooah got much better at that as years went by. To be fair, she got a lot better over time, but her weaknesses are still singing, dancing, and rapping which is ironic since she’s an idol. The main problem there is her confidence, though. She doesn’t believe she’s good or capable and that uncertainty remains clear in the way she performs.

+ Day Nine: What is your muse’s fashion style? Talk about what kind of clothes they love to wear. To them, what is the essential thing to have in their closet? What is their favorite outfit?

It depends a lot on the season. During spring, Sooah will use very flowy and long skirts, with pastel colors, and be the princess of spring because that season fits her image incredibly well. During autumn, she’ll rely on more earth tones and long coats. Winter is the season she’ll just dress to not freeze, so everything comfy and warm, she’ll be using and summer, though not her favorite season, is the time in the year when she’ll allow herself to use short shorts and sleeveless shirts, maybe use more flannels and overalls. Sooah has a very consistent and good sense of fashion and she likes going shopping with friends. You’ll always find jean jackets in her wardrobe and she’ll try to fit them into some outfit she has to wear. Her favorite outfits are the more romantic ones though, so spring is the best time for that.

+ Day Ten: Talk about your muse’s three closest friends. How did they meet? How long have they known each other? What do they love most about their friends?

Yuanjun is one of her closest friends and someone she cherishes a lot because despite being a little different personality-wise, they get along well to form the infamous 99-line. She likes his company and appreciates that they could remain, friends, because there weren’t any scandals involving the two of them. Boys and girls can be friends in the end and she’s glad people learned that, in this case.

Mia is one of her long-time friends. She’s the reason why Sooah was scouted by Gold Star because Sooah was only accompanying Mia when she decided to audition. Their relationship was a little messy because Mia was always the talented one but she ended up not debuting while Sooah, who was always pretty useless managed to make her way into Fuse. Sooah always felt guilty but Mia is now making sure that she knows none of that was her fault and they are still in good terms. 

And last but not least, she would mention Minjung because despite not being the same age and being in the same team for work, Sooah still sees her as one of her closest friends and someone she can confide to. She was added to Fuse in 2015 and she was anxious because Minjung used to be their maknae and she was stealing the spot now but Minjung only proved to be very nice and sisterly to her and for that, she’ll be eternally thankful.

+ Day Eleven: Has your muse had any scandals? How have these scandals affected your muse as an idol or as a person? If your muse has not had any scandals, talk about their views on scandals. Is all publicity good publicity?

The only “scandal” of sorts Sooah was involved was when she was added to Fuse and some fans were not happy with Gold Star’s decision to add a pretty face to the team when they were perfect before. After that, Sooah lived pretty much like a saint, with no scandals and nothing that could tarnish Fuse’s or her image. It depends a lot on the scandal. Silly things as dating shouldn’t even be seen as scandals because idols are still humans but bullying scandals should surely be taken more seriously. And is bad to think that all publicity is good publicity because what kind of image they would want to build for the groups and company if they build their reputation around scandals. She’s not very fond of that idea.

+ Day Twelve: If your muse is in a group, what are the fun things about promoting with other members? What do they love about being in a group? What do they love about their members? If your muse is a solo artist, what are their thoughts on promoting alone? What do they love about being solo?

Sooah loves promoting with her members. She is very fond of them all and thinks she’s very lucky. She didn’t expect to be in a group where the members would be so supportive of her and look out for her the way her members do. It’s nice that the waiting rooms are never silent, there’s always someone talking and it’s noisy and because she grew up in a house full of people that is very comforting. She loves her members as a whole but also individually. She loves that Miyeon is like this force of nature that is amazing in pretty much everything but still has time to be supportive of Sooah. She loves that Suji was like a mother to her and took great care of her and made her feel comfortable in the group. She loves that Minjung is someone who likes to pamper her and is like a pretty sister she has now. They all feel like family to Sooah.

+ Day Thirteen: For the muses in a group, what are the challenges of being one of several people in a group? Have there been any troubles that have come along with being in a group environment and times they wish they were alone? For the solo artist muses, have you ever felt lonely promoting alone? Do you ever wish that you were in a group instead?

Sooah never hoped to be alone because she doesn’t think she can perform if she’s alone on the stage. Being in a group means that the public’s attention can deviate from a member to others and that’s only normal and it’s totally fine. There will be times she’ll feel like she did a good job but other members get more attention but Sooah thinks it’s only fair because she’s not exactly someone people will have their eyes set on for any reason in particular. She’s not the best singer, or dancer, or rapper. She knows people will look at her because she has great visuals though.

+ Day Fourteen: If your muse is in a group, how do you think they would have fared had they had a solo career instead? What kind of concept would they have? If your muse is a solo artist, how do you think they would have fared if they were in an idol group? What position of the group do you think they would have? 

Sooah would do very poorly as a solo artist. To be fair, she probably wouldn’t even be sent to be an idol and would be redirected to the modeling or acting department instead. But if they were silly enough to still debut her as a solo artist, they would go with something light and aesthetically pleasing to match with her visuals. The songs wouldn’t go to high places and everything vocal would be minimalistic. Think of Kriesha Chu or even SOLE or Younha and we’ll have Sooah as a solo artist. 

+ Day Fifteen: Who does your muse look up to in the industry? Why do they look up to this person?

Sooah looks up to everyone because she’s a sweetheart but if she had to pick three people she looks up to the most, those would be Lipstick’s Minah because she’s amazing in everything she does. She can sing, she can act, she can dance and she cooks amazing meals to Sooah. The perfect person who remained humble even after the success of her group. She wants to be like Minah when she grows up. She also looks up to Lux a lot and it’s not only because Lux helped her to write a song from scratch and promoted the song with her. She thinks Lux is an amazing artist and songwriter/composer and she wants to learn a lot from the older girl. On a similar note, there’s Joosung from Element. They worked together briefly during the BASE project and she saw him in this new light and thinks he’s a very talented and easy-going person. She aims to be a good producer like him in the future.

+ Day Sixteen: If your muse could do a special stage with another artist or idol group, who would it be and why? What song would they perform?

Sooah would love to work with the members of Lucid. Maybe Sooah and Alice, they are the same age and are already close because of the 99-line Sooah has going on. Since they have similar positions in their respective groups and because Alice is a great dancer, they could have a special stage singing to one of the classics of K-pop. Maybe a BoA song. If given a proper heads-up maybe she can even compose and write a song for them.

+ Day Seventeen: How would your muse fare in a variety show? If your muse could appear on any variety show, which variety would it be and why? If you don’t have a lot of knowledge of variety shows, talk about what kind of variety show they would go on.

It depends a lot on the variety show. If it’s something like DoReMi Market or Knowing Bros, she’ll do fairly well because she feels comfortable, it’s just them there having a talk and telling stories, sometimes playing some games. If it’s a show like Running Man or Law of the Jungle where she’ll have to actively show surviving skills or running and jumping, that makes her more anxious because she’s just not good at that kind of stuff. 

+ Day Eighteen: What entertainment agency is your muse a part of? What do they think of other groups and artists that are in the same agency as them? Which labelmates do they get along with the most, excluding group members?

Sooah is part of Gold Star Media. She thinks people in her agency are dope even if the company itself makes some questionable decisions sometimes. But every single one of their artists, Sooah likes and listens to their songs. From their soloists to the co-ed group they have. Gold Star releases really good songs, she thinks and she’s very musically oriented and the company offers her the kind of support she would need to thrive in that area. She’s not particularly close to anyone in her company, except her members, though.

+ Day Nineteen: Is there anything besides idol activities that your muse would want to do? Would they want to take their hand at hosting a variety show or act in a television show or drama? Would they want to try out modeling or a musical? If they have done things such as these, talk about their thoughts toward these things.

Sooah thrives in the modeling route and that’s the most obvious path for her because of her unapparelled young visuals. That’s something she would want to do especially because it’s very easy for her and it’s also fun but to be honest, she would like to try her hand in variety shows more now that Fuse already has an established image.

+ Day Twenty: If your muse was able to be a part of a supergroup that comprised of current idols, who would they want to be in the same group, and why? What kind of concept would this group have? How do you think the group would do in terms of popularity?

If Sooah was to pick members for a supergroup, she would struggle a lot because many others are better qualified. But she would pick Lipstick’s Hyeju, Lucid’s Hyoyeon and Jeonghwa and WISH’s Sophie, besides herself. All of them are skilled and have the visuals Sooah would want to see in a group, besides being charismatic so she thinks they would do well together? Because they would look very powerful, they would probably invest in a more powerful, girl crush concept, like the ones in Femme Fatale. And since they have big names in the industry, they would also do fairly okay, popularity-wise.

+ Day Twenty-One: How does your muse feel about their fans? How do they feel about sasaeng fans? How would they handle a situation in which they were faced with obsessive fans that followed them or invaded their privacy? If they’ve had problems with sasaeng fans before, how did they feel about it?

She’s appreciative of her fans and she’s extremely glad that they are kind to her and her members too. She’s grateful that they kind of protect her from OT4 stans and that warms her heart a lot. She doesn’t know what she should do with sasaeng fans though. She’s scared of them, more than anything. She’s scared of which boundaries they might break to get her attention and she fears there’ll be a day they’ll end up hurting someone to get to her. She would try to communicate her thoughts and ask them to leave, even though she knows that probably wouldn’t work out. She would just be scared and ask her manager to help her with it.

+ Day Twenty-Two: Talk about your muse’s goals that they have for their group or themselves if they are a solo artist. Where would they want to promote if given the chance? Do they want to do a solo album at one point? This can be any sort of professional goal.

There isn’t much she can think of because she’s good at following the flow and doing as she’s told. Fuse reached a point where things are comfortable and their name is established. She wants the other members to be able to have separate careers and still be successful with the things they want to do so maybe that means they’ll have to be more recognizable not only internationally but also locally. She never visited Central or South America and she would love to visit the countries in these regions sometime in the future to promote.

+ Day Twenty-Three: What are your muse’s thoughts on being an idol and dating? Are they against dating? Have they ever been in a relationship after debuting? If so, talk about the challenges that have come along with dating. If they aren’t dating, would they want to date?

She understands why some people are against it. She doesn’t agree with their thoughts. She thinks that they are young and they are surrounded by beautiful people all the time and at some point, is only natural to feel attraction towards someone. And as healthy, young people, they should be allowed to have normal experiences such as dating. Sooah was never in a relationship before or after debut. She was way too young when she became a trainee and she was way too focused on not messing up and practicing after she debuted. And of course, she would love to date someone if she feels it’s the right person.

+ Day Twenty-Four: Who is your muse’s ideal type? Why is this person their ideal type? 

She has been saying since debut that she finds Lee Dong Wook very attractive and nominated him as her idol type since 2015. She never talked to Lee Dong Wook personally so she can’t talk about anything but his good looks. The sharp jaw and the kind of eyes are what draws her to this kind of aesthetic and she’ll be the first to admit that people like him don’t look like they smile a lot but there’s a certain satisfaction in getting a smile from them and the possibility makes her heart flutter. She has to be able to rely on the person and feel comfortable being around them. They also have to know how to properly cook, otherwise, they’ll rely on take-out for a long while.

+ Day Twenty-Five: What does your muse want to be remembered for in the idol world? Do they want to be remembered for their vocal prowess? Their image? Their dancing skills? Their scandals?

Sooah wants to be remembered as someone who improved over the years and became great in the end. She won’t stand out in any meaningful way. She’ll never be the greatest singer or the best dancer or someone remembered because of her little rap lines in Fuse’s songs. She does expect people to have the image of someone who came from the bottom and still managed to become someone great and who learned and improved a lot. Someone who never really stagnated and worked on herself to become a better artist. 

+ Day Twenty-Six: Does your muse ever regret becoming an idol? Do they ever think about what they would be doing instead if they lived a normal life? If they could go back in time, would they do everything all over again? Or would they end up doing something else?

She remembers regretting becoming an idol when she went back home after living with her members in the dorms. She was moving back home so she could spend some more time with her parents and she remembers seeing them after a long while and thinking, “they have aged”. There were wrinkles around her father’s eyes and her mother was slouching a little bit more and she remembers feeling very sad because she barely spent time with them in the last 4 years or so. She never thought she would have a normal life, to begin with. She dreamed of big adventures and in a way or another, this is a big adventure and she tries not to regret things or think how things would have turned out. She doesn’t think she would trade her life now for a “normal” life mainly because she can’t imagine herself not having the people, she has in her life now.

+ Day Twenty-Seven: After working hard on promotions, your muse is given the chance to take a two-week vacation anywhere in the world at any time they want, with nobody bothering them. Where would they go and when? Why would they want to take their vacation there? If they had the opportunity to bring three other people, who would they bring?

She always wanted to visit Machu-Pichu so maybe she would go there and hike her way up the mountains. She remembers seeing a documentary when she was younger and that became her plan with her mom that one day they would go to Peru and see the clouds from up there. She still didn’t have the time to do that with her. She would take her mom and her two older siblings with her. Dad is not very fond of that because he has back problems so he would have two weeks of freedom at home on his own. 

+ Day Twenty-Eight: Talk about your muse’s low point in life. Why was this a low point in their life? What kind of challenges did they face and how did they feel about this? Were they able to overcome it? If it is still ongoing, are they working on overcoming these challenges? 

During the trainee years, Sooah’s self-esteem hit a really low level. She was self-doubting a lot at the time and thinking she wasn’t enough and that she wouldn’t be able to ever get better regarding her skills. She was surrounded by incredibly talented people but there she was, not being remotely good in what she was supposed to do. Sooah thinks she’ll never get completely rid of this kind of thoughts, mainly because she knows she has a long way to go but things now are much better and because she has so many supportive figures in her life, she can rely on them more and not suffer on her own anymore.

+ Day Twenty-Nine: Talk about your muse’s most meaningful moment as an idol. This is what they feel so far is the highest point in their life and where they’ve never been happier. Recall the memory and describe it; what happened and how did they feel? 

Sooah remembers the moment of their first concert with a lot of fondness. They have been practicing for months at the time and Sooah was so nervous because it would be their first time doing a concert only with their fans and she didn’t want to mess things up. The moment they were waiting backstage to be okayed to go up and perform, she had a million thoughts in her head that slowly started dissipating as they sang and danced. She remembers feeling very warm in her heart when they had their first break and as they introduced themselves, she would hear the screams of the fans. When her turn came up and she heard their screams of support, Sooah laughed and her eyes teared a bit even. She was never so happy to perform like she was with the ‘Red Room’.

+ Day Thirty: Think about your muse’s life down the road. Where would they be and what would they be doing? Would they still be in the entertainment industry? Would they settle down and have a family?

When Fuse eventually disbands, Sooah will probably not get involved with music. At least she won’t be releasing songs for herself to sing. She’ll be more than happy to remain active as a lyricist/composer/producer and that’s her priority. Maybe invest more in her career as a model and start putting her visuals to good use, too. But she doesn’t exactly see herself wanting to be the center of attention like it happened in Fuse. She wants to slowly show her process of retirement, pretty much like Hyori wanted to do once in past. She sees herself settling down to have a family. She also sees herself traveling around the world and enjoying life differently too.

[blue-satellite-430]

Hey humans. Here's some basic background info on my main characters.

Due to the nature of my WIP, some of my main characters are absent from the current plot, and are introduced and explored using full scene flashbacks throughout the story. Jason dies in chapter 3, but his role in the story and the lives of the characters doesn't cease. And Amai goes into a several month long coma as a result of the shooting in chapter 3. The main friend group established before the start of the plot is apart for some time as they're going through shock as well as mourning. (Part of the plot is James trying to get everyone back together.)

James - The protagonist. He suffers from Bipolar 1 and PTSD which developed after he was first on the scene of his mother's suicide. He refuses to medicate or seek professional help for either. He now lives in an affluent neighborhood with his relatively wealthy adopted parents, who pay him a very high allowance he mostly doesn't use. He likes playing the keyboard, writing songs, martial arts, and anime. He speaks fluent English, American Sign Language, and Spanish and is learning Japanese. He can be violently protective of the people he loves.

Jason - James' late best friend and school shooter. He enjoyed watching movies and wanted to go to college for filmmaking. His family began shunning him after he announced he identified as an atheist. This led to a download spiral of depression and years of repressed anger which he kept hidden from his friends. His reasoning for committing his actions go unknown for most of the book.

Allisa - James' friend and love interest for much of the book. She lost her older brother to suicide when she was 12. She and James form a close bond out of this sad likeness they share. She's also fluent in English and Spanish. She loves painting, sketching, manga and anime.

Ariadne - Daughter of a Nigerian mother and Greek father, she grew up speaking Hausa, Greek, and English. She's an overachiever and a bit arrogant. She was selected by her highschool to sing the national anthem before games and pep rallies because of a frankly amazing singing voice. She's bisexual and does get around. (I know promiscuity is a stereotype for bisexual people, but I won't portray it in a negative light. Besides, stereotypes exist for a reason, and I promise it won't be the only representation bisexual people get in the story. I'll do my best to make sure Ariadne's gonna be a really compelling character in her own right.) She loves singing, cheerleading, and people watching.

Amai - She moved from Japan with her family when her father was offered a position teaching botany at the Everglades University. By which point she started going through culture shock and depression after leaving all her friends. She's quiet and reserved most of the time, but acts really silly around her friends. She plans on studying astrophysics in college. She likes nature documentaries, karaoke, and math.

Toby - Toby's an 8th grader in the middle school division of James' school. James recruited him to help record music after he saw him playing violin on the street for money. They became friends over time, and James sees a lot of himself in Toby. Toby lives with his mom in the ghetto, and he's trying to get into a school of the arts before 9th grade. He likes playing the violin and guitar and one day wants to play in a band or orchestra.

Sasha - Sasha's openly trans at school and at home. He's comically short and pale. His family came to the U.S. from Russia before he was born, but since he's always around them, he speaks with an accent. Sasha's very silly and bubbly like a cartoon character. He's the life of the party when he's with people, but he does exhibit symptoms of an undiagnosed mental illness such as self-harm and periods of self-isolation. He frequently switches hobbies, but consistently loves binging TV shows.

Xavier - James met Xavier at his kickboxing gym. He's basically the only one in James' group without mental problems or issues at home. (He's my token sane character.) He's openly bisexual, but closeted pansexual (if that makes sense), and likes play-fighting with James, even though it quickly devolves into James doing that scary laugh he does and getting a bit wild. Xavier's on the football team at James' school and dabbles in mechanical engineering.

Aiyden - James' adopted baby brother. James' adopted parents got Aiyden when he was 4, much to the dismay of our edgy protagonist. He didn't want to expose someone so innocent to how screwed up he was, and that manifested as hostility in the beginning. But over time, James grew to love him and became fiercely protective of him. When Aiyden was 8, he confided in James about realizing he was gay, and being bullied at school for it. He's 8, so I don't wanna make him seem to cerebral, but I was 8 once, and I waa a fucking nerd so fuck it. Aiyden likes mythology and documentaries.

Martha - James' adopted mother. She's a sweet person who comes from a very conservative Christian home and currently works in a real estate firm making mucho dinero. She and James don't get along much at all for a few reasons. She has no respect for James being an atheist (oh btw, James was raised atheist before he was adopted) and is regularly insensitive about his emotional state. James doesn't exactly appreciate her blatant homophobia either.

Tyler - James' adopted father. Tyler is a chef who owns a restaurant in Miami. He teaches James to cook and generally leaves him to his own devices. He had a suffocating childhood, and his approach to parenting is to let the child come to you. It's your job to let them know you're available to talk to, but other than that, leave them be. James would accept the offer, were it not for the fact Tyler can't keep any secrets from his wife to save a life.

And these are my main characters. I'm really enjoying writing the complexities of how they all interact. I've been reading on what having friends is like to better capture the feeling. 😂

[firelordizumi]

i know youre big on maiko but what are your thoughts on jinko (jin from ba sing se x zuko)

i just rewatched this episode actually and i think they’re cute! your second ask was asking how i like them versus mai/zuko so i’m just going to answer it here.

honestly, when mai’s crush on zuko was first introduced, i didn’t think anything of it. then when jin was introduced, i thought the romance was adorable and i was interested in how it would end up. i’ve seen a lot of “zuko should’ve ended up with jin from that one episode/the girl from the ba sing se episode” and while i find the ship adorable, i don’t see it playing out the way people think it would.

see, jin knows lee from the tea shop, not zuko. fire lord zuko and lee from the tea shop are two very different people, and there’s no indication that jin, a simple girl from ba sing se, would want to be thrust into the highest ranks of the fire nation and be involved in the political upheaval. that’s because she’s not a full character. we don’t know any of her backstory—just that she’s cute and charming and she and zuko share a cute date. it’s enticing to be drawn to that, to believe that jin is the light that zuko needs in his life, compared to gloomy, emo mai. in a similar way that people ship zuko and katara, believing that zuko needs bright and bubbly to offset his dramatic angst. in a similar way, people see him marrying jin, an earth kingdom commoner, as a romantic love story that builds the bridge between two nations and represents peace. while all that’s good and fun, i don’t think it’s the partner zuko wants or needs. he’s stated himself in both the headband and to sokka in the boiling rock episode that he likes her gloomy side. people can find it cringey, but zuko thinks it’s cute. then there’s more under the cut bc this got long for no reason lmao

the reason i ship mai and zuko, and why while i do wish there was more development for their relationship, am okay with the way their relationship was almost abrupt, tumultuous and full of ups and downs. i’ve heard the argument that zuko being with mai is just him clinging onto his past life pre-banishment, but through zuko’s interactions with her in book 3, you can see that that’s not the case. the beach episode was meant for them to be at their worst, and it was meant to shed some light to why the four fire nation kids were the way they were—raised in an era of war, trained to be warriors, but still struggling with basic teenage problems (ty lee’s struggle for individuality with her sisters, mai’s past of being unable to express herself properly for the fear of being punished, azula’s even put in a light that shows that she’s nothing more than an awkward teenage girl with no social skills, and zuko’s anger and being unsure of right and wrong). zuko lashes out at her for talking to a guy, and mai doesn’t stand for it. even when he tells her “my life hasn’t been easy either, mai” she tells him that it doesn’t excuse his behavior. in that short scene, they bicker, but they promise to do better. they’re not perfect. they’re young and inexperienced and suck at communicating, but at the end of the day, they promise to do better. zuko wants mai to express herself, and mai wants him to learn to control his anger. and they do it together. despite all that life’s thrown at them, despite everything that the fire nation has done to zuko, she’s one of the things—if not the only thing—he finds redeemable about home. they’re both fire nation, and they’re both people of nobility, so there’s not that commoner/king, two countries united/color scheme dynamic, but that’s what zuko needs all the same? he needs a partner as dedicated to reforming the fire nation as he is, the one who knows the political landscape in and out and not only supports but understands his vision for his nation, an imperialistic regime, moving forward. she can help reform the fire nation while zuko provides help and refuge internationally and helps aang build republic city. because it’s her home, and she and zuko don’t have to split their time between any two nations. together, they're the team to usher the fire nation into an era of peace and kindness.  

they’re complicated and messy, but they’re not toxic. them breaking up! the way they have! isn’t toxic! (the first breakup was because he lashed out and fought a guy for talking to mai, the second was because he, once again, became a fugitive of the fire nation, and the last time in the comics is because he’s a man of secrets and she can’t keep standing by and watch him spiral. it’s not her job to plead with him to communicate with her, however valid his reasons may be). 

[zachvillasource]

interview | zach villa - schonmagazine.com

As the infamous Night Stalker, Iowa-born actor Zach Villa is a chaotic evil in the latest series of American Horror Story. Entitled AHS: 1984, the show plays off the hopes and tropes of the 1980s, incorporating elements from films like Friday the 13th and Halloween into a spine-tingling thrill ride. The chief villain of the series is Villa’s Richard Ramirez, a reality-based serial killer set on making the lead characters’ lives a living hell — quite literally.

In real life, however, Villa is an obvious contrast. A multihyphenate with a strong career across a range of disciplines, he first caught the attention of the mainstream from his collaboration with Evan Rachel Wood in the project Rebel and a Basketcase. Now, as AHS: 1984 keeps audiences around the world thoroughly spooked, Villa opens up to Schön! about growing up in Iowa, his willingness to collaborate with Taylor Swift, and the unexpected call that announced his role on American Horror Story.

How did you get your start in acting?

Well, I’ve been on stage since I was two, so the whole shebang started quite early. Acting, oddly, was an afterthought when I first started. I had been dancing and singing on stage for years, idolising great song-and-dance performers like Gene Kelly, Donald O’ Connor, and Sammy Davis Jr. when it occurred to me that I should probably focus on learning the craft of acting if I wanted to continue pursuing that particular path in the entertainment industry. I had focused intensely on two out of the three “triple threat” disciplines, so I guessed it was time that I figured out the third part. It was an accessory to being able to perform musical theatre roles more effectively, and I guess that backfired in a sense and became a more central focus as I developed.

Iowa isn’t the most common birthplace for a big-time actor. What does your family — and presumably other Midwestern relatives — think of your journey into Hollywood?

They are both thrilled and confused. Don’t get me wrong — my family is very happy for me, and while we have had our spats over the years about whether or not I should be pursuing a highly volatile, financial unstable career, they have ultimately come through and rooted for me and my success.

That being said, I think pursuing a career in the mainstream entertainment industry is a very singular experience. Unless you’ve lived it and hit the pavement in NYC, L.A., etc., it’s very hard to understand the day-to-day struggles of a performing artist. I think that certain regions of the country are — generally — a majority of media consumers as opposed to creators, and there is a disconnect between the public and those of us pursuing an arts career that propagates the fallacy of things being easy and breezy, since you don’t have to get up every day at 6 AM, go to the office, and then come home and make dinner. People see that lack of structure as undisciplined and fancy-free. Let me tell you, it’s anything but. Artists have to hit the pavement in a very different way that is highly varied from day to day, and that uncertainty introduces a unique kind of stress, in addition, to actually trying to be good at your job. I always say that booking work is my “job” as an actor, and when I actually book a gig, that’s where the job ends and the craft and career begins. Translating that to someone without firsthand experience can be infuriatingly difficult.

Where were you when you found out about landing AHS: 1984 and the scope of your role? What did you do?Who did you call first?

I was in the studio recording an audiobook — one of the many ways that this particular actor has been able to supplement their income, and it has been such a gift. I was waiting on the call, and I stopped narrating mid-sentence — much to the puzzlement of my audio engineer — and picked up. I got the news, opened the door of the vocal booth and leaned against the front wall, sliding down to a sitting fetal position, and started to tear up. I called a few close friends and family and walked around for the better part of an hour mildly freaking out. The studio staff secretly went and bought a bottle of champagne down the street, and after I finished my page quota for the day they surprised me with a toast. Then everything in my life became a blur.

Of course, without spoiling anything, what can you tell us about your role as Richard Ramirez in AHS: 1984?

Oh, that’s a very difficult question. Richard Ramirez was a real person. I am playing a character that shares his name and is informed by him and his history. Beyond that, you’ll just have to wait and see.

What was the most memorable moment from shooting the series?

I can’t say my absolute favourite without revealing secrets! But I’ll say that the encounter with the hiker in episode two was quite “fun” — if you can call pretending to murder someone “fun.” The makeup and FX team on the show is the best in the biz, and the blood rig that was used in that scene was just wild. It was messy and crazy, and [there was] high pressure to get it right in one take, and I loved it.

What’s your method for getting into character, both in the weeks and moments leading up to a shoot or performance?

I have to play these cards close to the chest. Some of it is instinct. I just feel as though I am inside the character’s head at some point after spending enough time with the material, but it’s different with each role.

Sometimes I need to know how they sound, sometimes it’s historical research. It’s ALWAYS spending an exorbitant amount of time with the script — that’s the golden rule for me. Whether its Shakespeare or the 200th episode of Friends, you have to start with the text as an actor, and the most minute differences in phrasing, punctuation, word choice, etc. are clues to how this person operates as a human being and in the world. I always come back to the text. Any other secret sauce that I do I’ll keep secret for now.

What’s been the most challenging part of playing a character like this?

I’ll modify the question to ask what’s the most important part of playing a character like this… and that, I think, is being able to let it go at the end of the day — which I don’t always succeed in doing. Sometimes after an intense shoot it takes me a minute to let go of the energy I was carrying around on set. I pride myself on being able to flip in and out, but that is challenging from time to time for me on this particular project.

If you could only watch one film and one television series for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

The Back to the Future Trilogy for movies and Battlestar Galactica for TV. Nerd alert.

Apart from acting (and dance) you’re also well-versed in music. How did you begin as a musician?

The same time that I started hearing it, so very, very early. Growing up with a dance studio attached to your house, you hear a lot of very diverse music over the years. That all seeped into my subconscious, and I was writing full-on symphonies in my head walking through the woods in Iowa when I was seven or eight years old. Mind you, I didn’t have the skills to put that into writing or notation — and still don’t, not for the symphonies anyway.

I learned how to read music by playing the violin in elementary school. I didn’t pick up a guitar or actually start producing original music in any tangible way until my junior year at Interlochen Arts Academy. There, my roommate Filip — a wildly talented self-taught metal guitarist and visual arts student from Macedonia — taught me things here and there, and I also taught myself by ear. The Internet, man.

Who are some other musicians with whom you’d like to collaborate?

St. Vincent. Top of the list. Blink 182 — a childhood dream. Jimmy Eat World. John Mayer but only if he lets me be in his next ridiculous green screen music video. Mac Ayers, Tears For Fears, Snail Mail, and oh, I dunno… Taylor Swift. Come at me.

Who are your biggest musical inspirations? And what have you been listening to lately?

Biggest? That’s tough because it changes with each project. Tower of Power is a huge influence for me. My first band was funk-based, and man, they are so groovy. If you don’t know, now you know go listen to them. St. Vincent. Jimmy Eat World. And, regardless of the drama surrounding this artist from time to time, John Mayer. He really is one of the great guitarists of our generation, and more importantly, the songwriting that he produces is top-notch. I’ve learned a lot from diving deep into his material over the years. Miles Davis, and jazz in general, is huge for me. Brain fuel. Listening lately to Sleater-Kinney’s new record, Knuckle Puck, and a lot of 2000s pop-punk.

What else can we look forward to from Zach Villa — be in 2019, 2020 or later?

World domination.

The track on the video content [for this shoot] is the first single — a tease if you will — of my new solo project. Go check it out. My band Sorry Kyle will be dropping a ton of music over the next few months if you’re into punk and emo.

And that’s just music. Acting-wise, post-AHS I’m waiting to see what comes down the pipe. I’m always creating. I want to be fluid in music, movement, film and TV, directing, etc. There’s no time like the present and the present is, well, now. So hang on tight.  

[acabang]

Nerding out on the Borderlands

I finally got around to playing Borderlands 3 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Personal order of preference for the franchise: Tales ≥ BL2 > BL3 > BL1 > TPS

Depending on how the DLC goes though, 3 could be just as good as 2 for me. Unlikely but it’s possible.

I really enjoyed playing all the Vault Hunters, Zane in particular, even if it seems like he lags behind the rest of them. And while she’s fun as just a straight up gunner, my only real bummer is Moze. For me when it comes to the playable characters, it’s all about their Action Skills and if I don’t find myself using it regularly then I hope they have something fun in their skill trees to make up for the lack of it other than shooting guns exceptionally well (ie. Gaige with Ricochet-Anarchy stacking abuse, Krieg with Flame of the Firehawk-Raving Retribution Hellborn madness, etc.). The idea of Iron Bear is rad but vehicles have never been useful outside of a means of map traversal, which this mech isn’t for, and if I’m gonna give up the benefits of my gear then it better be fucking OP or at least viable, especially at the highest of difficulties. So far it’s not looking like it is and I don’t expect it ever will get to that level. For the most part though, she’s still a lot of fun to use as a Plain Jane FPS character.

Overall, I actually enjoy all four initial characters pretty much equally which I can’t say about the other games. I still had fun with them but I didn’t like Roland, Salvador and Nisha as much as their fellow Vault Hunters in their respective games. I’m really looking forward to what DLC Vault Hunters they have in store though, they’ve all been pretty solid and just plain fun to play as.

                               -SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT-

I liked the story well enough and felt engaged the entire time. I didn’t really feel bogged down throughout and enjoyed the pace. Even the sidequests I thought played along well with the storyline missions, they didn’t feel as jarring with too much backtracking or as tediously boring as The Pre-Sequel had it. Although, all the games are guilty of this, the Underdome/Circle of Slaughter missions are still lame.

I loved pretty much most of the new NPCs, however major or minor a role they played. Lorelei was interesting and I want to know more about her, the same goes for Clay, who I could both see becoming Vault Hunters themselves (hopefully) in a future game. The Katagawa-Rhys dynamic was fun, as was BALEX and GenIVIV. I loved Wainwright Jakobs and I especially loved Typhon DeLeon, two of the more likable and wholesome characters in the entire franchise. They don’t hold a candle to Loader Bot & Gortys from Tales but still very admirable in a universe full of assholes and psychopaths. Even some of the minor villains were fun, the Traunt Brothers and Pain & Terror specifically.

Now it’s going to be unfair to compare the Twins to Jack but... they still could've been written better. Brats with god complexes and one with an inferiority complex to boot is fine, not the most compelling, but wait! They’re also streamers because *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*. Despite that, the VA performances of what they were given were both still very well done. When they start to actively antagonize each other is when they started to turn around for me, especially with the power corrupting Troy to the point of almost killing off Tyreen. The Twins being the children of Typhon is a neat twist reveal but I feel like if you’ve been discovering his logs throughout the maps you can put two and two together long before they outright state it.

Though I should probably give credit to the Twins for being a part of why I love Typhon so much. With him being revered the way he was, especially by Tannis, as the first Vault Hunter, it’s refreshing to see a fabricated myth actually turn out to be mostly a myth and not a 100% accurate depiction or historic event like most other games usually do. Even the damn posters of Typhon got him all wrong which I loved. He’s endearingly flawed and his admittance to not being the best father to Tyreen & Troy after they lost their mother actually really got to me. He wasn’t around for long but it was smart of Gearbox to have built up his backstory through those logs, it allowed his character to make some sort of impact like it did on me which made his death actually quite poignant.

Thus leading to probably what I can only assume, since I haven’t bothered to read other people’s reaction to it, is the most controversial part of the game. I love character deaths, especially for ones I adore. When done properly it brings more meaning to them and for the character that may have taken their lives. Bloodwing and Roland helped build Jack up to be even more of the villain that most people love (to hate). Hell, even Sasha’s death in Tales actually had me crying... then immediately laughing because I totally got baited by it especially after already losing Scooter.

Now, like I said, I love character deaths and I’m totally fine with Maya being the one we lose but the way she dies was more of a pathetic wail than whatever Gearbox was hoping to achieve. And for what? All I hope for in a character death is to have more meaning to it than a passing of the torch to a cipher of a character that was basically just introduced and I have no real connection towards, good or bad, because going forward from then on certainly isn’t going to be positive at all. Who knows, she could end up being a favourite character of mine in the future as she develops more but as of right now, no, the only reason for her existence in this game world so far was to take the place from two beloved characters that hasn’t been earned yet.

The other character being Lilith as she sacrifices herself to keep Pandora closed. I don’t believe she’s actually dead, gone for now but at least not dead. It’ll probably be the main focus of the next game, if not in a DLC, in figuring out a way to get her back from Elpis, if she’s even stuck up there. It’s sad to lose her immediately after regaining her powers back but at least she went out with Alicia Keys singing her a fire swan song. Unfortunately, before going off to save the day and Gearbox not being entirely satisfied yet with shoving Ava down our throats the first time, Lilith hands over protection of Sanctuary III to her. Hopefully Ava is given an extremely satisfying character arc in the proceeding games because woof, that’s going to be a tough mountain to climb especially if it takes another 2-5 years for the next game to release.

I don’t actually hate Ava, I just don’t care about her. Also our Vault Hunter(s) were right there, technically, and as was Tannis. She may not be able to fight but she’s more than capable of leading the Crimson Raiders. She’s also the most consistently well written character that’s shown growth over the games that she’s been a part of in the franchise, in my opinion.

As for the rest of the characters, I’m good with moving on from Vaughn now. He was unexpectedly funny to okay during Tales but yeah, he’s already worn out his welcome for me. Rhys was fine, not as good as he was in Tales but he wasn’t really even my favourite character from that game anyway. Who I was missing was Fiona, I really wish that she had shown up but hopefully that might still be a possibility in DLC. Maybe she’ll show up alongside Athena & Janey, continuing her VH training somehow saved from wherever she disappeared off to. Preferably with Loader Bot and Gortys as well. It’d also be nice to run into Axton, Sal, Gaige and especially Kreig considering the whole Maya situation and her promising to see him again.

Then there’s also the B-Team, which a part of me wanted to interact with more but another part where I think I’m okay with what we got. I was disappointed in Tina’s development however, I didn’t expect a full maturation of character but I also hoped she wouldn’t be the spaz that she was when she was a young teen. Even in Dragon Keep she showed a little bit of growth with her acceptance of Roland’s death but I guess they wanted to keep her annoying, which was fine back in 2 and TPS when she was basically a kid but I believe she’s supposed to be at least 18 now? I guess it’s fine as long as it fits the dynamic between her, Brick and Mordecai. I will also say that Mordecai’s side quest to attend his protégé’s birthday party was really bittersweet, I loved that brief respite from the chaos that is the rest of the game and a stark reminder that Pandora sucks.

Aside from the actual plot and characters, I thought they did an even better job at world building the rest of the universe. The mega-corporations side of Borderlands has always been fascinating to me and I feel like they often take a backseat by most fans since they’re just these ever present entities in the universe and not actual characters themselves, despite each of them having quite unique “personalities” in the products they manufacture and the individuals that represent them. We had Commandant Steele & General Knoxx show off a militaristic side of the original Atlas as The Crimson Lance, then there was Jack as the face of the Hyperion we knew, and the fallout from his demise during Tales. There’s also Tannis giving us slight tidbits of how Dahl operated on Pandora between the first & second game and, of course, Mr. Torgue with, well, Torgue and I guess now he’s in charge of the battle arenas. Now we get insight on the current incarnation of Atlas with Rhys at the helm, Maliwan with Katagawa Jr. and Wainwright as the heir to Jakobs. It’s just fun to see these corporations steadily being fleshed out with each game and I’m interested to see how Tediore, Vladof and maybe even S&S Munitions, if they ever make a return, will turn out.

On the other end of the spectrum and more of an active danger to the universe are the Vaults, their purpose and the monsters contained within, one of them called the Timekeeper who we have yet to encounter. Also more insight into who the Eridians were, the siren Nyriad’s role with their eradication and warning of a seventh siren who shouldn’t be found. There’s definitely plenty of seeds that were planted, it’s just a shame that it’ll probably be a long time from now before any of them get answered unless they start pumping out these games which I hope they don’t. Oversaturation and fatigue can ruin a franchise.

This has been my TED Talk, thank you for reading.

[thefederalistfreestyle]

One key scene helped cement ‘Hamilton’ as a Broadway legend. The team that crafted it explains how. (WaPo):

[. . .]  When it was suggested that the interview focus on one galvanizing interlude of “Hamilton,” and how each played their part in making it happen, the reaction was immediate and electric. It was an opportunity for them to reflect on the profound psychic-income aspect of their group achievement and the ineffable bond that feeds artistic success.

“This speaks to a sense of trust that I think is evident, as you watch all of us kind of lean forward in our seats, getting a chance to talk about this one particular thing,” Kail, 40, says. “The difference between a show that might have an opportunity to be its full expression — when ideas are allowed to flow and be identified — and when they’re squelched, because it’s not your job or you shouldn’t be saying this or you don’t feel the comfort of being able to say it.”

“I’ve worked on other shows where you propose a change because the moment isn’t working, and all of a sudden, you feel the grins tightening, you just see the arms lock. With this group, that has never happened,” adds Lacamoire, 43. “There’s always been a thing about, ‘You know, this isn’t quite landing,’ and then we all think about, how can we make it better?”

[. .  .]

The vignette-filled “Satisfied,” which comes smack-dab in the middle of Act 1, proves to be a wonderful springboard for discussion, because it embodies so many of the musical’s irresistible attributes: its restless, energetic resourcefulness; its ability to paint a historical mural and apply a modern varnish of commentary at the same time; its perspective shifts, its wit, its rigor. It’s no wonder the song drew on and conjured for Miranda and company all manner of cultural references, including “West Side Story,” “A Chorus Line,” “The Matrix” and “Ratatouille.”

It’s a song that was the breakthrough indicator of how much story their deeply researched musical, based largely on Ron Chernow’s best-selling biography, could pack into a conventional two-act structure. Because before “Satisfied,” Angelica Schuyler did not exist in the show. “The question of whether Eliza’s sister would be a character was up for debate,” Miranda recalls. “I mean, she is a confidante of her sister, she had these letters with Hamilton, and it’s, ‘Do I have time to get into that?’ ”

Devising “Satisfied” for Angelica, a role originated in 2015 at off-Broadway’s Public Theater and on Broadway by Renee Elise Goldsberry, who would win a Tony for it, proved crucial to developing the emotional core of “Hamilton.” It took Miranda about a month to write it, and it sets in motion the show’s tragic element, how passion unfulfilled — in this case, Angelica’s for Alexander — eventually tears apart Hamilton and those around him. The song, which includes ingeniously rhymed rap to dramatize the dizzying sophistication of Angelica’s own intellect, begins as Angelica’s toast to the marriage of Hamilton to her sister, Eliza; Angelica has introduced her to Hamilton during the previous song, Eliza’s “Helpless.”

“I liked the idea of a wedding toast,” Miranda says. “I’ve been to enough wedding toasts where the wrong things tumble out.”

“To your union,” Angelica sings in the five-minute-plus number’s opening segment, “And the hope that you provide/May you always/Be satisfied.” What then follows is what the song identifies as a “rewind”: going back to the events of “Helpless,” but told now from Angelica’s anguished perspective, in a way that crystallizes a pivotal facet of her character. “I remember that night, I might regret that night for the rest of my days,” she sings, in the song’s defining line.

In returning to that moment, Kail says, “we realized that there was an opportunity for Lin to play with the timeline, and the way that we moved through time.” That concept would repeat itself at another climactic moment of “Hamilton,” in the freeze-frame rendering of the bullet that fatally strikes Hamilton in his duel with Aaron Burr. It was not an original idea, actually: The creative team was borrowing a cinematic technique, one of many they use in the show.

Kail says: “This is something I talk to the actors playing Angelica a lot — about ‘Ratatouille’ ” — the 2007 animated movie about the rat that becomes a Parisian chef.

“Totally ‘Ratatouille’ ” Blankenbuehler interjects. “We use it as a verb and an adjective.”

Kail explains that the freezing of time in “Hamilton” has its parallel in the moment in the film when the food critic, voiced by the late Peter O’Toole, has an epiphany as he savors a piece of food.

“When the critic takes the bite, and you go into the critic’s eye, that’s what we’re doing,” the director says. In other words, the instant in which the cartoon critic samples the food stops time; viewers are given a protracted, imagistic impression of what is happening in the critic’s mind. That same stopping of time occurs in “Satisfied.”

“I love that, sonically, it takes someplace we haven’t been to before,” adds Lacamoire, the music director and orchestrator. For Blankenbuehler, the choreographer, “Satisfied” was a feast of new possibility, too: “I think the first time I heard the song was at a reading,” he says. “And I just remember the right hand on the piano, and the tinkles, and I instantly saw women suspended, like on top of a cake, like on pointe, like how things rotate on a wedding cake.”

But perhaps the most complicated choreographic element of “Satisfied” is what happens in the interlude in which prerecorded voices take us into the “rewind” portion of the song. Because the dancing ensemble, assembled for the wedding, physically rewinds, too, to the movement of “Helpless.”

“All of ‘Helpless’ goes counterclockwise,” Blankenbuehler explains. “So when you rewind in ‘Satisfied,’ and for just a moment you go clockwise, you understand it. When they dance in ‘Helpless’ and ‘Satisfied,’ the same dance movement matches both lyrics.”

[. . .]

It feels as though these guys could talk about this one song all day. But they all have other places to be. So maybe Miranda captures the essence of collaboration best as he listens to his longtime colleagues talk about their approaches to “Satisfied,” and then says with a laugh:

“These are all the things I do not see when I write a song!”

[multiverseanimecrossover]

Black Clover: Fire Blood is DONE!

Welcome to the Misadventure Mission of Manliest Man Magna Swing! Join Magna, Luck, Sol and Kirsch as they get into a whole lot of trouble when a wild red haired princess runs away from home. Find out what happens next. 

While out on a Magic Knight mission as always; Magna and Luck walked in on a tea party, they were shocked to see bloodied corpses seated at the table while a trio of people consisted of an elder man, a young fellow and a young lady sitting at the end. “What the hell?!” Magna yelped. “Sir, you are troubling our guests and interfering with our fine dining.” The elder man scolded. “You call this ‘fine dining’? This is a massacre!” Magna protested. The young man smirked at him, “Why don’t you die and join the tea party?” He suggested. “All right!” Luck cheered. They were ready for battle but heard someone coming. “Eleazar! Lakeith! Tala! What the hell is going on here?” A voice called out. “Ah, Princess! We have interlopers, would you like to kill them for you?” The elder man name Eleazar asked. The girl had long red hair, her eyes green like emeralds and skin so fair with a bit of color to her. But her face lit up when she noticed Magna and Luck. “Oh my God~! You two are from the Black Bulls Squad, aren’t you?” The red haired girl squealed. This shocked the trio. “The Black Bulls?” Eleazar inquired. “You gotta be kidding me!” The young man name Lakeith cried. “What…?” The young lady name Tala asked. “You heard about us?” Magna asked. “Indeed, we heard you came in second place at the Stars Festival. Congratulations.” Eleazar said. Magna and Luck were ecstatic to hear that. “Awww, thanks~! You’re far to kind!” Magna said with a grin. “Princess Kurenai, you know you’re not supposed to be outside the castle walls!” A woman called, marching over. “Relax Adara, we have guests. These two happen to be part of the Black Bulls Squad.” Kurenai introduced. The woman, Adara, perked up with curiosity. “Oh?” She asked. “Name’s Magna Swing, and this brat here is Luck Voltia.” Magna replied. “Adara, I am the right hand lady of Her Majesty.” Adara stated. She leans over and whispers, “Sorry about the Princess, she tends to have a rebellious streak to her.” Magna just grinned, “It’s all good, don’t worry.” He mumbled back. But inside the castle, Noblewoman name Carmen was not so kind to anyone except her son name Robin, she and Kurenai had a strained relationship with each other as they did not get along so often. After having a full blown argument; Kurenai packed her stuff as she was going to run away from home—despite pleas from her servants, her adviser, Magna and Luck. “Forget it! She doesn’t care about me, she’s better off with a son like my brother than a daughter like me.” Kurenai stated. As the sun was about to rise; Magna, Luck, Eleazar, Lakeith, Tala and Adara went over the castle walls to the other side. Just as Kurenai was about to leap over the castle walls, she took one last look at the castle. “Goodbye forever.” Kurenai whispered. With that, Kurenai turned and left it all behind her!

While on the run; Kurenai reveals to have Blood Magic with a Grimoire with all Spells to her Blood Creation Magic. Adara has Briar Magic, almost like Charlotte Roselei of the Blue Roses, Eleazar has Light Magic, Lakeith has Slash Magic and Tala has Water Magic. During the battle against Rogues that are confronted with; Magna bumped into something as he saw who it was. A girl and some flamboyant guy! “Oh no! It’s you two!” Magna groaned. The girl made a face, “You again? Aw great.” She complained. “I never wanted to see you again either!” The pompous boy uttered. Kurenai look at the snobby boy, the girl and Magna. “You guys know each other?” She inquired. “Like I’d tell!” The snobby boy retorted. “Don’t ask, don’t even ask!” The girl hissed. “Forget it, Kurenai! I’m not talking and you can’t make me!” Magna snapped. Kurenai giggled, “Eleazar…” She called in a sing song voice. Eleazar stood over Magna and the other two, he placed his hand over a tree and then it disintegrated! Magna, the girl and the snobby boy are in shock. Eleazar looked smug while Lakeith snickered and Tala sneered too. “Now, let’s try that again…How do the three of you know each other?” Kurenai asked. The girl is Sol Marron and the guy is Kirsch Vermilion. It was then things were getting hectic Magna, Sol and Kirsch were not thrilled to be forced to work together however they have to be on the same team in order to survive against the rogues. As personalities clashed over different types of strategies and the rogues attacking; the ever so flamboyant Kirsch offers to be bait when the rogues get closer, then Magna and Sol will pop out and they can attack. The plan worked charmed! “See? I told you, now…Praise me~!” Kirsch belted out. “No.” Magna and Sol said in unison. Magna, Sol and Kirsch were relieved however they remembered they hate each other as they turned away with a huff of annoyance. Even though they hated each other; Magna, Sol and Kirsch slowly developed a mutual respect for each other. But the situation is a pattern: One minute they can’t stand one another, and the next minute they can’t live without the other.

Down the road as everyone jumped to the other side while Magna couldn’t do it; Kurenai becomes catty and makes comments about Magna that affect him, Adara called her out but Kurenai doesn’t care however Magna ran away—he seemed upset. “Yeah, that’s right! Run away, coward!” Kurenai hollered. She turns away with a scoff, “Who does that ass clown think he is? Good God, he’s so annoying with his tough guy attitude! I just can’t stand him!” Kurenai mumbled. “Princess?” Eleazar asked. “I mean, he has that whole delinquent image but no one wants someone who doesn’t seem cool once you get to know him. It’s pathetic really, does he have any idea who I am?! No, he thinks he’s hot shit!” Kurenai continued, snubbing Eleazar. “Princess.” Lakeith said. “It’s so infuriating to be around him, all he does is yell and act like a tough guy when he’s nothing more than a mere prick!” Kurenai rambled, she also ignored Lakeith. “PRINCESS!!!” Adara exclaimed, she finally got the red head princess’s attention. “What is it?!” Kurenai cried. Adara pointed a finger over, “Look.” She uttered. There was Magna running at the speed of light, his shoes on fire from his Magic he was using! He was attempting to jump over to get to the others. “Magna?” gasped Luck. “What is he doing?” Eleazar asked. “Holy crap, is he--?” Lakeith inquired. “No, he’s not!” Tala cried. “Wait, you don’t think…” Kirsch started to say. “You wouldn’t dare!” Sol protested. “NO, DON’T YOU’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!!!!” Kurenai hollered. “WATCH ME!!!” shouted Magna. With one leap, he was in the air and tumbled down in front of the others. There was silence, Magna rose up panting but managed to grin with excitement. Luck cheered: “Way to go!” Eleazar smiled, “Impressive.” He admitted. “Not bad, hot head.” Lakeith remarked. “Nice one.” Tala said. “My, you really are strong.” Adara answered. “I hate to say this but nice job out there.” Sol declared. “Yes, that execution was beautifully flawless~!” Kirsch chirped up. But Kurenai had smoke coming out of her ears, she took Magna by his shirt and dragged him off. She then pins him against the wall, a look of anger in her eyes. “You….You are crazy!” She spat. “Give me a sec, will ya? I’m outta breath…” Magna managed to say through breaths. Kurenai lets him go and sized him up. “OK then, but remember—my world, my rules. Got it?” She challenged. Magna nodded and they were on their way. But then there was more trouble: Oberon is the captain as his squad members consisted of Donato, Kane and Takashi. They have orders from Lady Carmen to fetch the Princess. Nevertheless, Kurenai refused to go with them! A fight broke out as Magna and the others got away in the midst of chaos.

Want to read more? Check it out here: https://www.quotev.com/story/12471946/Black-Clover-Fire-Blood

Thank you so much~! 

To @askmagnaswing and @flauntingdante; hope you like it! 

[furederiko]

"Shin Sakura Taisen Rekidai Kayoushuu" Review (Part 2)

SEGA boldly (or is it a risky move?) introduces new Kagekidans that represent new cities with this game. Not one or two, but just THREE for now, with a fourth one debuting later in the Spring TV series. Track 4 to 6 of the album are specifically slotted for these new heroines...

Contrary to reports in various sites that had reported them as such, in my opinion, these are definitely NOT character image songs. Kouhei Tanaka-sensei has openly referenced them as "[City Name] GEKITEI". So these sit in line with Paris Kagekidan's "Mihata no Moto ni" and New York Kagekidan's "Chijou no Senshi". Whatever happens to those teams, by the way? Hmmm...

One might argue that unlike "Shin GEKITEI", only one member sings these songs. But they seem to forget one thing: Sakura Shinguuji sang solo on the first vanilla version of that song. I don't know what the future holds, but there's a possibility that in the sequel(s), we might get another take of these songs that incorporate other members of their teams. For two of them, at least. We'll just have to wait and see. For now, let's embark on a globetrotting journey!

Niji no Kanata (Other Side of the Rainbow) by. Huang Yui (Sumire Uesaka)

As soon as I heard the full version, I wasn't completely sure how I felt about it. Surprisingly, I think I enjoyed the short MV version better. When SEGA started releasing one MV after another, starting from Berlin to this one, "Shanghai GEKITEI" totally stole my attention. I proudly declared it as my favorite of the three. Perhaps because the verses felt more concise (with less instrumental parts) that made it sound more... kickass? Even though it had a somewhat odd lyric, which you will understand why. This full-length version somehow exuded a different vibe. The verses were longer, which was the bit that I'm not too fond of. On the other hand, the lyrics flowed better and made more sense. And then there's an issue with Yui's voice. She had a playful and childlike tone in "Aratanaru". Assuming that's her who got the shortest line in the interlude, of course. I prefer the more gallant take that she used here, but the inconsistency threw me off. Suffice to say, I had to hear it a few times to finally get the hang of it. But goodness gracious, the Chinese vibe, which was even stronger (that should be obvious, I know! Ahaha), never failed to win me over. Just like the verses, the instrumental portions were also longer, thus giving it a slower and elegant pace. That serenading sound of Erhu just hit my soft spot every single time, likely resonating with some part of my genes. Combined that with a blast of modern instruments, and it blew me away. I sure want to see a live orchestra perform this with a Chinese theatre dance to accompany it! Its lyrics, courtesy of Ouji Hiroi, carried a similar message of Teito, Paris, and New York themes. Protect the city, its people, and seize the dream. Why does the title use 'Rainbow', though? Especially considering 7, while being a good number for a relationship, is considered as unlucky in Mandarin (ghost month). The key is in the kanji for 'Rainbow', because it is also known as 'Hong' or 'Jiang', the name of a two-headed dragon in Chinese mythology. And what does the symbol of Shanghai Kagekidan look like? Yep, a DRAGON! So while in Japanese it literally translates as "Other Side of the Rainbow", the context also points to it being "Other Side of the Dragon". Even though it might take me a while to get used to this, and it's no longer my number one, it's an amazing piece nonetheless. I'm old, so I'm not familiar with Sumire Uesaka's pop songs. But so far, I haven't heard her sang a song like this. As Kouhei-sensei had stated, these new "GEKITEI" were composed to challenge the VAs vocal prowess. That seems to be the case here, to which Uesaka did a great job! PS: Wikipedia told me that Uesaka is a fan of Russia. I wonder how she would feel if she was cast as a leader of the Moscow Kagekidan instead?

Entaku no Kishi (Knights of the Round Table) by. Lancelot (Manami Numakura)

Just like the previous song, I had a completely opposite reaction to this as well. It honestly took a while for me to like or even understand the London Kagekidan theme when its official MV first came out. This full anthem also sounds different but in a far more positive light! How so? The second Westminster Bells kicked off, my mouth grinned so wide. Then the music slowly developed into that familiar tone, but continued to build up even more with meticulous touches and flares of fanfare, horns, trumpets, and an electrifying mix of the electric guitar. And suddenly I was transported into the medieval era, with images of brave knights flashing on my mind, en route for a battle to protect the land. Daaaang... Kouhei-sensei totally knows how to make something sound so graceful, yet gallant and rich, huh?! A sensation that young'uns nowadays would easily call 'EPIC'. My lingering issue with this song remains as-is: Manami Numakura's voice. Don't get me wrong, she is a wonderful VA with a unique vocal tone (Kohaku in "Dr. STONE", right?). I'm just not a fan of her singing voice, never was since her Idolmaster days. Even when it's my least favorite part of the song, that tomboy-ish charm blends perfectly with the song and gives it a distinct sound. The end result is something that continues to delight me and puts a smile on my face. Oh, what about the title, you ask? I think it's obvious enough. London Kagekidan is clearly based on the tales of King Arthur. Arthur is (likely, the code-name of) its blond-haired, high priest-dressed Captain, while our female lead here is the loyal Lancelot. It intrigued me when the lyrics, by Shouko Fujibayashi, mentioned 12 knights just like its lore. Does the team really have that many members? Assuming it will feature in the sequel, that would be fun to see. Then again, Idolmaster started out with 10(+1) idols, so I'm sure Lancelot would fit along just fine! Hahahaha... PS: Do you think that echoing bell at the intro and interlude sound convincing? Well, Kouhei-sensei said they actually recorded it at the actual location! Another good reason to appreciate this song.

Kurogane no Hoshi (Iron Star) by. Elise (Nana Mizuki)

*standing ovation* This. This IS a SCARY song! And by scary, I mean what a challenge it IS to pull off. Imagine trying to do at least an okay job at this in a karaoke booth? Godspeed. Nuh-uh, I don't think this song will work without Nana Mizuki's powerful vocals. Not just because I'm a fan of her, or have always wanted her to be part of this franchise. But I love Elise because she adds that much-needed heavier tone to the cast. Her brief but scene-stealing lines in "Aratanaru" proved that notion. You could easily recognize her voice amidst the chorus. If you think the short MV version (the actual first 1:20 minutes) that you see above already sounds amazing, just wait till you hear the middle part of this song. It slowed down, with various strings gently swayed you to enter another realm. Then it went FULL OPERA, with a piercing vocal work that would send nothing but genuine shivers to your soul! Goosebumps. All the time. The music had clear influences of Wagner's compositions, and those who are at least aware of classical music (or have seen "ClassicaLoid Season 2" Hahaha) would probably notice that almost immediately. Song of Valkyrie, anyone? Because of that, Kouhei-sensei personally did the arrangement for this number, seeing that it required a full-blown orchestra ensemble. Sensei showed the first part of the music sheets during one of the Teigeki Report, and I had a feeling it must've blown away everyone who saw it. I mean, Seijuurou Kamiyama's VA Youhei Azakami was literally jaw-dropped. He also revealed that Nana went above and beyond on that last high note, hitting it longer than she was supposed to, in time for the grand orchestra finish. Seriously, goosebumps. It is certainly one of the highlights of the album, and you DEFINITELY need to listen to this. Also, this is the only Kagekidan theme that I'm not sure can work as a group song. It IS still a Berlin Kagekidan song, proclaiming the might and power of the team that started it all. But can it be performed by a team of Hoshigumi? Dealing with that complicated lyrics by Shouko Fujibayashi ("...Schwarzer Stern, kurogane no hoshi..."), and fast-paced tempo will undoubtedly leave them breathless. Now I'm patiently counting the days to see Nana perform this in a live concert! Mindblown... PS: By the way, original Hanagumi's "Dream/Yume no 1 Pound" and Kanadegumi's "Enbukyoku, Kimi ni" came to mind when I tried to analyze this song. Presumably due to that middle part, which is true to Kouhei-sensei's style. You'll be hearing that magic touch of him again in some of the next tracks.

Next: the curtain rises for the Shin Hanagumi ladies!

Video is available on SEGA Official Youtube Channel. "Shin Sakura Taisen" is produced by SEGA, and RED Entertainment. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[thequeerwitch]

First fanfic: Charlotte Russo: The Lost Angel of Empire Bay (Vito Scaletta x OC)  Introduction

Hey everyone, thanks so much for the support I’ve received with my transition to this blog. It’s time that I post my first fanfic to this blog. This story will follow a character from a fandom that’s not very well known, but deserves to be recognized, nonetheless. Vito Scaletta from Mafia 2 & 3. I played Mafia 3 first and absolutely fell in love with Vito, so I decided to play Mafia 2 as well. I can’t tell you which one I like better, I love them both equally. I highly recommend everyone who loves open world GTA-type games to play this game. It’s funny, action packed, emotional at times, and filled with plenty of colorful characters. Players be warned, however, that the game is rated M and deals with mature themes such as drug use, sex, cursing, violence, basically anything you’d expect from a GTA/Godfather mashup. Keep in mind that the fanfic will also be of a similar rating, though I will provide a trigger warning at the beginning of each chapter, as well as a word count and a general rating of each story. Alright, enough chit-chat. I’d like to introduce you to the OC of the evening: Charlotte Russo.

Charlotte Russo: Mafia 2

Charlotte Russo: The Blissful Angel 

Charlotte Russo: Mafia 3

Basic Stats:

Name: Charlotte Russo, “Big Tits” Charlie Alfonsi

Age: 19 (beginning), 42 (near the end)

Sex/Gender/Pronouns: Female, Woman, she/her

Race/Ethnicity: Italian

Fandom: Mafia

Background: Charlotte’s family emigrated from Sicily to Empire Bay in 1927 when her mother was pregnant with her.  Marco began working for Frank Vinci and built up a reasonable living. He planned to will his eldest daughter, Alessandra, the business, but she married and moved away as soon as she could. Charlotte became her father’s golden child, the one who would carry on the legacy and see the business out. When Charlotte was eighteen, her father was involved in a risky hit and was killed in the process. Don Frank Vinci severed ties with the family, but provided a certain amount of protection for them to survive off of until they got back on their feet. In the meantime, Charlotte scrambled to get a steady job and keep food on the table, electricity on in their tiny apartment, and a roof over their heads.

Appearance:

Figure/Eyes/Skin/Hair/Other: Charlotte has a thick, pair shaped figure with an average bust and full hips. She has tawny eyes, olive skin, and charcoal black hair with bangs across her forehead, full lips, a freckle on her cheek, and a scar cutting down the bridge of her nose.

Dress style: She typically dresses comfortably, but appropriate for her job. What that job is often varies from a dancer in a cathouse (lingerie) to running hits on the streets for her boss (jeans and a blouse).

Relationships:

Parents: Marco and Gianna Russo. Charlotte was always a daddy’s girl. She picked up much from her father including her strength, fighting skills, and her taste for fancy cigars. The death of her father tore Charlotte up, it was hard for her to think of much else for a while afterwards, but she was forced to keep moving to keep money coming in. Her mother isn’t exactly the same story. Charlotte picked up cooking and cleaning skills, many things that would make a good housewife, but she was never drawn to that path. She preferred the life of crime and action, like her father. Gianna didn’t take her husband’s death well. She started drinking to wash away the pain, but she wasn’t a happy drunk. When she was drunk, everything came out. Secrets, insults, truths that no one wants to hear, and a side of Gianni that she would be ashamed of sober. Charlotte’s relationship with Gianni was never great, they always fought over Charlotte’s future and wellbeing, which would drive a wedge between the two in their final years of communication.

Siblings: Alessandra Russo-Lombardi was ten years old when Charlotte was born. At the ripe, young age of 21, Alessandra married her high school sweetheart and moved far away from Empire Bay. She still maintains a good relationship with Charlotte, calling every couple of months to check in, but is mostly estranged from the rest of her family.

Love interest(s): Vito Scaletta, the mysterious man who saved her life and took her under his wing to show the ways of casual crime.

Friends: Margaret Young, a close friend and neighbor since Charlotte could remember. Their mothers were both stay at home moms, and her father owned a small bakery below Charlotte’s apartment. The two worked together between cathouses and department stores, and their bond often felt more like sisters than friends. Joe Barbaro was a friend of Vito who helped introduce Charlotte into the crime world. Matteo Ricci was a young man who Charlotte saves at some point in the story, and for her charity, Matteo sets out to repay her by giving back to the world in some way. Ronnie Espinoza, the only friend Charlotte has to depend on when she is at her lowest. More on him in the fic.

Enemies: Sidney “The Fat Man” Penn was an ex-boss of Charlotte, Lorenzo Alfonsi was Charlotte’s ex-husband from a loveless marriage, and Sal Marcano attempted to work with Charlotte under impossible terms and set out to have her killed when she didn’t agree to them. More on all of them in the story.

Sexuality and Romance:

Sexuality: Pansexual

Attraction: Charlotte was a butt person. She loved a nice, plump ass on men and women that she could pinch or smack during intercourse.

Experience: Charlotte experimented a little before finding Vito. She had a steady boyfriend for about a year before she found out he cheated on her, and a girlfriend who moved away and never contacted her again.

Skills and Work Life:

Skills: Charlotte learned how to take care of a house and a child from her mother, skills she retained her whole life. She learned how to defend herself and handle a knife from her father, and she learned how to drive and shoot a gun from Vito. Charlotte always had a knack for performance. She loved to sing, dance, and act both in public and private.

Hobbies: In her downtime, Charlotte loved to read, and secretly enjoyed to sew. She always wanted to be a seamstress as a child, a dream she secretly retained through her adult life.

Education: Charlotte had a middle school education, but was forced to drop out when her family couldn’t afford it anymore. She knows how to speak English and Italian.

Job: Dancer in a cathouse, made woman under Alberto Clemente, seamstress.

Personal:

Theme Songs: Troublemaker by Olly Murs, Bottom of the River by Delta Rae

Personality: Charlotte was a family girl, always taking steps to protect her team over herself. She liked to develop a first name basis with everyone she worked with to show a form of mutual respect. She was a tough cookie, but she managed to keep her emotions in check pretty well. It took a lot to break her, but when you do, be prepared. Her anger was scary, and her sadness usually results

Likes: Cars, clothes, jewelry, classic literature, jazz music, dancing

Dislikes: Not getting her way, cucumbers, liars, cheaters,

Philosophy:

Colors: Blue, purple, red, black

Beliefs/Spirituality: She grew up Catholic and retains general Christian beliefs, but she’s not a very good Christian. 

Fears: Death, dogs, wasps, knives, betrayal

Goals: To get out of Empire Bay, to survive in the mafia world, to become rich enough and settle down with Vito, other goals revealed in the fic.

Other

The titles of the chapters are lyrics from songs I associate with major scenes throughout the chapter. I’ll release the soundtrack after I finish the story as there will be some major spoilers within the soundtrack. 

Each chapter will be pretty long, around 6000 words each. 

I used this avatar creator to design them Charlotte’s avatars: http://www.azaleasdolls.com/dressupgames/1940s-fashion.php 

As Charlotte was present for many events from Mafia 2, the story is written as a documentary, titled “Charlotte Russo: The Lost Angel of Empire Bay.” I did this so I wouldn’t have to recap events from the game that just had Charlotte shoehorned in. Thus the story is split into different narrative styles. The narrative of the story will follow a similar structure as Mafia 3, told through flashbacks and interviews like a documentary. The formatting for each POV will look different, so I'll provide a key here to explain it.

Documentary narration

"Interviews" —Person's Name

Time period

Charlotte’s narration

The investigator of the documentary is going to be Jonathan Maguire from Mafia 3. I know he was only investigating the Lincoln Clay files, but I’m gonna level with you guys, I’m too lazy to make my own. :P 

Charlotte's narration

[videoranch]

The View from the Side of the Stage

Words and photos by Melodie Akers

Embarking on a 12-date tour seemed like the last thing Nez should have done a month ago. Before the New York show on September 20, I told him how proud I was of him. I had feared he would either decide to go home after three dates or complete the tour without the energy to play or sing his best. The Mike & Micky Show had been far from fun; apart from the shows -- which were incredible -- it had been full of sleepless nights on a shaky tour bus and empty-stomached afternoons in emergency rooms, clutching my copy of Science & Health, while Nez joked with the nurses. I dreaded a repeat of that awful month.

The September FNBR tour had all the opportunities to be grueling. It kicked off with three dates in a row, and there was another block of three in the middle. Days off were singular and rare. Despite having little time for rest, Nez organized his team and resources so that he made it through the journey feeling better by the end than at the beginning.

Nez has been expressing a desire for a jet since before the January tour. In late August, he decided it would be a perfect “ambulance” to shuttle him through the tour. At first it didn’t work how he intended. The driver who was taking us to the airport -- or FBO as I learned to call it -- would be late, or Jonathan and Susan wouldn’t be ready to leave so Nez and I were sitting in the car alone. Or the plane would not be ready, or worse -- broken. The food provided by the jet company turned out to not be up to Nez’s standard. By the time we left Texas, Dan, our tour manager, and I figured out how to use the jet to its full benefit. I started having the jet bring in outside catering from Jewish delis or we’d have a runner grab Popeye’s during the show. Dan started ordering the car earlier, so it was ready and waiting for luggage while Nez fulfilled his Meet & Greet duties. I worked out an organization system of Nez’s luggage that allowed me to pack up quickly and easily after the shows -- something I had finally worked out after struggling all through the Mike & Micky Show. Nez instructed me to call the pilots once we were rolling, providing them our ETA so our plane would be ready and waiting just like the car had been. Once we got it down to this science, a quick flight -- usually less than an hour -- and we’d be touched down with full bellies and headed to the hotel, tucked in bed by 2am.

Jet rides were a welcome time to decompress after the hard work of shows. We’d laugh while discussing the show’s high points and how it was developing. Nez always polled us on what was his funniest joke of the night. As fans have pointed out, no show was the same; Nez did this intentionally. He didn’t wear his hat on stage in Virginia because he had started to feel like it was a cliche! His between-song-banter appeared in the moment each night, and he adjusted the set list as the tour progressed. After the first shows, he cut four songs, then added them back in and even introduced Marie’s Theme as he visibly gained strength and confidence with each performance. His ability to continuously spontaneously create not only reflected his live career as a whole, but showed his developing connection with the Redux band’s interpretation of his work. We listened to a lot of his early ‘70s albums in Sparky just before leaving for rehearsals -- and our listening sessions brought forward some of the ideas he thought were unexpressed in January. Last month, rather than simply “play the album”, he introduced Redux to new ideas and then expressed them onstage. Many of those ideas appeared first within the safety and comfort of the jet.

This was my third tour working as Nez’s handler. “Handler” essentially means I am responsible for getting Nez where he needs to be when he needs to be there with all of his luggage, prepare his costume, make sure he has clean underwear, gets enough rest, and eats at meal times. Nez has told me repeatedly that it is not my job to make sure he is happy, but I still try my best to achieve that, too. In addition to handler, during the tour I kept my positions as his assistant, running his social media, and sending these newsletters. I tried to share shows from the side of the stage through Facebook Live, but many comments from fans complained about the sound. The sound of a show changes depending on where you are stood. From the side of the stage, all you’re hearing is the musician’s monitors and a little bleed of the “front of house mix” -- what the crowd hears. Therefore, stage left was heavily Christian and stage right was heavily Alex and Pete; neither are a great place to hear Nez’s vocal. Nez became frustrated with me because I didn’t have much to say after shows. Even though I stood there waiting to be needed while broadcasting live, I couldn’t hear the real show. For several shows, I stubbornly refused to move from my spot out of fear of not being there when he needed me.

During the Mike & Micky Show, I stood by in case Nez needed more water, a towel, someone to hold his guitar, someone to unlock his iPad… whatever. Every show was a struggle the second he stepped off stage -- and I was half of the team there to hold him up. Dan and I supported him until he’d walk back on stage and perform beautifully. His abilities in June were incredible and confusing to me. However, a wise man once wrote: The devil has no access to the singing man.

The end of the first show in Houston was a massive achievement: It proved he could do the show, which was the principal concern on my mind. As his healing became more apparent, I felt more confident that it was not irresponsible to abandon my side of stage post. I started to complete my packing in the dressing room during the show while enjoying the front of house mix through the venue’s playback pumped into the room, and once I even had the guts to leave the venue to grab Popeye’s for the jet. By New York, I completed my packing backstage then sat in the audience most of the show and was able to give Nez a full review afterwards without neglecting any of my handling responsibilities.

The key elements of a hotel while handling a principal on tour are: blackout shades so he can sleep late, edible room service meals, and close proximity to Starbucks. Our hotel in Dallas had a Starbucks inside but it was closed -- the disappointment took away from Nez’s room having an actual breakfast nook. Nashville’s blackout shades were the best of the tour, even though the room was otherwise unremarkable, making it a standout; Susan called it “womblike”. Nez’s favorite hotel of the tour was the Peninsula in Chicago. When we walked into his room, he announced he was moving. Everything was high-tech: the TV remote was an iPad and even the light switches were touchscreen. But the room’s tech did not take away from its design’s classic beauty achieved through golden accents, dark wood, and deep navy bedding -- like sleeping in the night sky. And they somehow avoided the hotel restaurant curse by having wonderful meals.

The most bizarre hotel was in Detroit. Nez and I are 95% sure it was haunted. Nez’s room had a ballroom with a grand piano. Okay, not exactly -- but it had a mostly empty room bigger than my apartment with a grand piano in the corner. I asked him if he could play piano. “No, why do you ask?” “I’ve seen pictures of you sitting at pianos.” “Oh yeah, I can sit at pianos.” The entire suite (ballroom, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, vanity room, walk-in closet, and bathroom) was 60% empty -- its rooms’ sizes dwarfing their furniture. The bathroom and its vanity room were green marble blocks. Nez said the place was a perfect analogy for the automotive industry of a century ago -- uselessly ginormous. It was also filled with the craziest art -- including a piece in the lobby that made me ask Nez, “Why do they have a painting of Kate Bush?” The green marble vanity and bathroom still backdrop my nightmares.

Recently a friend asked me what touring is like because she is writing a novel about a touring band in the ‘60s. I responded with Nez’s first lesson: laundry and food. Those are the hardest things. I have no concept of how they pulled it off in the ‘60s, though, because they didn’t have Google Maps or Uber. Google Maps is my answer to everything on the road: finding laundromats who do fluff-and-fold, finding the nearest Starbucks, finding restaurants, finding a manicurist two hours before the show, etc.. The main function I wish Google Maps had was a sketch-meter. The number of times I’ve chosen a laundromat that’s 10 minutes away because of its high Google rating to find out that it’s in a “bad” part of town upon arrival... I was grateful to always have an Uber driver there with me, at least.

Uber is the best and worst part of touring in 2018. Depending on the town, it takes either 2 minutes or 20 for your driver to arrive -- and that is usually a good indicator of the arriving driver’s helpfulness. As an introvert, by the end of the tour I dreaded running errands, because being trapped in a car with a stranger whom I felt I was inconveniencing in some insane way took a special toll on my mental energy. But in comparison to ordering black cars and limos, Uber makes transporting a rock star beyond simple -- until you consider seatbelts. Seatbelts in stranger’s cars are somehow always hidden. Nez is terrible about wearing his seatbelt anyway, so I’ve taken to pouncing on him the second he sits down in any vehicle to make sure he is buckled in. I’ve asked him how he survived being a race car driver when he struggles to put on his seatbelt; he has no answer.

I half-joke with Nez that he only tours the east coast to have lobster. After seven shows of only talking about lobster, he finally got his cherished crustacean at lunch in Boston before the Somerville show. That was also my first lobster; Nez says west coast lobsters aren’t real lobster. It was delicious; I fully understand his quest now. We also had the best fried chicken in Nashville, while Nez made up songs at the table like, “Why am I standing in the garage? I know I came in here for something important,” after I shared his habit of making up incredible songs on afternoon drives to Jonathan and Susan. But the best aspect of meals on the road was our company and official tour drink. Most dinners were spent with Jonathan, Susan, and Hennessy sidecars -- Nez’s favorite cocktail! It started during rehearsals at our hotel in Burbank, and continued through the last shows on the east coast. We had a slight hiccup in Nashville when we got into a battle with our waitress as to whether it was salt or sugar on the rim of our glasses, and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere in a Chicago restaurant where our table was INSIDE a train car. These evenings were one of the first things Nez and I chased down upon returning home… but were disappointed to discover that Jonathan and Susan’s laughter could not be conjured by the sidecars alone.

Restaurants are usually the closest Nez and I got to sightseeing while on the road. Our tunnel of hotel-car-venue-car-plane-car-hotel didn’t offer much light. Most of my “days off” (HA!!) were spent running errands while Nez recuperated (i.e. slept and watched MSNBC in his hotel room). While returning to the hotel from the laundromat in Nashville, I was grateful my Uber driver took a wrong turn: I got to see 6th St from the backseat after Nez had broken his promise to take me the night before. He came through for me in Boston, though. Despite the rain, he felt well enough to happily venture out in an Uber so he could show me the Mother Church. Disappointingly the church was closed due to construction -- and the visit took an incredible turn away from my expectations into modern art. Nez led me into the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, a three-story stained glass globe created just before the Second World War. We stood and pointed out cities and countries to each other -- Rio, Australia, Carmel. Given the state of politics, it was comforting to stand surrounded by an illuminated world. As proven through this tour, art is healing.