#but i watched the cast interviews and everyone is like ‘haha yeah my character’s main conflict is the bone deep guilt they grapple with!’ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

what-do-1000-swords-look-like · 3 years

Note

Sooo I've been thinking. Everyone's very secretive about ana being back or not.. I haven't seen any interviews or anything where anyone talked about it, I would've expected that if they were really taking the relationship seriously and after the shooting they'd be talking about its development and it getting more serious between eddie and ana after being confronted with him almost dying. But there's nothing, crickets... and the actress Gabrielle did q&a on ig yesterday and someone asked her if she was back in season 5 and she was very mysterious and said we'd have to tune in and find out. I mean I know it could very well be to promote and make ppl watch the show but you could also say yeah Im back tune in to see me and its gonna be so exciting to see where eddie and ana go from here. SOOOO after the long intro, here's what I'm thinking (it's more than likely just wishful thinking hahah) what if they broke up back in 4x14?! And we just dont know?! What if they talked in the hospital and eddie told her he realized he couldn't be with her (maaaaybe told her about buck, maybe she figured it out herself cause let's be real it pretty obvious) and so this is the reason for the little smile she have buck and moving away so he could get to eddie when he came running to the hospital, maybe that's the reason buck picked him up, maybe that's the reason they just kissed on the cheek when eddie came home. Plus she's not really on set, I think she went once. I hope it was to film a flashback of them breaking up haha, she's auditioning for other things, filming other things. I mean I know she's not a main character and won't be on set all the time but it's WEIRD no one's talking about her and eddieana. Sorry for the essay hehe

Hi, Nonnie! Oooo I have to admit, I did not know that about GW and her limited presence on set. Nor did I realize the cast is being cagey about it. Interesting, based on GW's IG posts last season. They had no problem promo'ing the hell out of it there so...very interesting indeed. I'm so glad you told me because that really gives such an intriguing feel to the upcoming season. And please never apologize for the length of an ask, have you seen my responses? LOL. Well, buckle up, Nonnie, you're about to. ;-)

I'm not sure if I read it in a mention on a post on this site or in an article but I thought I saw somewhere that Tim supposedly mentioned that yes, Ana will be be returning to season 5, in that Eddie absolutely needs to figure out completely what Carla meant in 4x13 and just what that entails, if he is choosing to keep Ana around then is he doing that for Christopher or also for himself, that kind of thing. But like you mentioned, we already have two very big clues that something is amiss after the shooting happened and I'm just going to include them for visual reference:

Her looking back at Buck after looking to Eddie, who is also looking at Buck and then of course the infamous Abuela-type kiss (which they literally showed right after he kisses his Abuela the same way):

Ana always seems to be gauging Eddie's reaction to things, from 4x08 with Christopher (0:18) to 4x13 with Carla arriving (0:23) to 4x14 at the party (0:21). So it really does make you wonder just why when she's gauging Eddie's reaction to seeing Buck again, but that it's Buck's reaction that is what breaks her focus on Eddie and turns it onto himself.

Personally, I hope you're right, Nonnie. Not because I want her gone like so many others, like a magic wand has been waved, or because I can't stand to see him with her anymore, but because of this expression right here after seeing Christopher and Ana laughing together:

That's a guy who is slowly starting to realize Carla is one smart lady and she's not buying the whole "perfect" family scenario he was trying to sell when she reunited with him and Christopher. He may not know right then just who he needs to follow his heart to, or even why Carla's words are hitting home, but it's the beginning of the doubt creeping in. Carla put voice to it and now the seed has been planted.

And the funny thing is, Carla has literally been there the whole time with Eddie and Ana:

youtube

Once Carla is out of the picture due to COVID, that's when they bring Ana in (funnily enough when a motherly figure is missing from Christopher's life). But once she's back, we almost see Eddie latching back onto Carla (and he is very worried about her opinion) and she slides back into the family unit.

youtube

And they purposely gave us this shot as Carla, Eddie, and Christopher are hugging when she comes back:

Ana literally standing off by herself, alone, watching.

Plus, once Ana leaves the room with Christopher, Eddie makes sure to say to Carla: "It is so good to have you back. We missed you."

And they also made sure to pull Carla into the Sheila and Charlie reveal scene once Ana tells him because it was affecting him emotionally. (and while Ana rubs his shoulder in silent comfort, we don't see Eddie reacting to it and he only seems to reply to Carla really, not so much Ana) I'm not taking away from Buck and Eddie's relationship with him, how important Buck is to Eddie (and Christopher), but it's really Carla that's sounding the death knell for this relationship between Eddie and Ana turning into something more than just dating or having fun, even before she shows up in 4x13 to give voice to it. Once Carla came back, Ana really didn't stand a chance. Not to make it sound like Eddie is using Ana, I don't think that at all, but there was a void left by Shannon, and then by Carla in Christopher's life. Carla and Buck who both urged Eddie to let Shannon back into Christopher's life. Carla and Buck who both commented that Ana was "pretty" when discussing her with Eddie. For Christopher, it's pretty obvious who Eddie has Ana standing in for, and then of course who Eddie has Ana standing in for him as a partner. Subconsciously of course, but I think it's pretty clear and as we move forward, I think the show will only make that clearer and sharpen it, bringing it into focus.

And I don't think it's any coincidence that before Eddie gets shot, he's dealing with Sheila (Shannon), a single mother, who is raising her kid alone and doesn't have help and her kid is her son Charlie (Christopher), who calls Eddie for help and it's Charlie who Eddie is offered to ride along with in the ambulance which he accepts. I'm not trying to equate Shannon to Sheila but I don't think this was by chance. Nor do I think it's by chance that they threw El Paso and Phoenix in there (for the GoFundMe pages) nor the last names being "Burns", "Young", and "Watts". Nor do I think it's accidental that Carla came back in this episode, told Eddie to follow his heart, Eddie gets shot after helping Charlie, and this opens up the whole scenario for the audience of what happens to Christopher when Eddie is out of commission, or what will happen if Eddie is ever permanently out of the picture. (it hurt me to type that, the show better never ever go there, looking right at you Tim)

To get back to Ana though, I mean, obviously Eddie and Ana had scenes alone together before and after, but they never led anywhere close to what was led to from 4x06 in Carla's absence. But the funny part about these alone scenes, like the apology in 3x12, yes Carla is absent but then they turned around and had her in this scene instead, with Buck, after Eddie followed Buck's (and Carla's) advice (instead of Ana's). She's filming the three of them just like she's filming Eddie and Christopher in class in 3x15. And even when Ana asks to talk to Eddie alone in 4x13, he almost seems reluctant to leave Christopher's room in a way, lingering to make a joke with Carla, giving Christopher the 'I'm watching you' gesture, etc. He is in a good mood, even playful when Ana starts talking, but once she starts to mention what she's found, he begins to get defensive, in body language cues and even in dialogue. I would almost be willing to argue that in the beginning of that scene, we see Eddie at his most relaxed (despite the subconscious reluctance) with Ana until she starts her explanation. We never saw that kind of comfort and ease between them in 3x12, 4x06, 4x08, or even 4x10. And the reason for the change: Carla. Which makes sense when they chose to leave Carla and Christopher in the room while Ana talked to Eddie. When we see Carla reading a story over webcam to Eddie and Christopher who fall asleep. When Christopher mentions Carla as one of the people he's come to miss when talking to Buck. Carla is part of the fam (just like she was a part of Abby's by the end of season 1) and a very important figure in Christopher's life. And of course they also gave us this scene:

youtube

This time, Buck is in Eddie's shoes, taking care of Christopher, making sure he eats breakfast and gets ready for school. And the kicker is that Carla says almost the exact same thing to Buck that she said to Eddie in 4x13 "He seems to be doing okay" vs "Christopher seems good." Then on top of it, when Christopher first speaks to Eddie via the phone, Carla is right there and she tells him "Buck and I have it under control." And when Buck is talking to Eddie after waking up, Buck mentions that Carla offered to bring Christopher to her house but Buck made the decision to keep Christopher home and stay with him since Eddie getting shot was overwhelming enough. Literally, Buck made the decision and Carla was an option. No mention of Ana (Ana isn't even in this scene funnily enough), but Christopher's other two important parental-type figures in his life stepped up to the plate while Eddie was incapacitated.

So going back to what you mentioned about Season 5, I think a few things may happen: 1) If Carla is still around, there is no way Eddie's relationship with Ana (if it's still a thing) will last long. Christopher already has a maternal figure in his life and I think Carla's return made that very clear not only to the audience but to Eddie himself, even if he doesn't fully grasp it 100% yet. 2) If Ana is still around, it could very well be a flashback like you talked about, or it could be him coming to the realization that she's not who his heart wants and the breakup happens at the end of that episode (or episodes). 3) For Christopher's sake, I do kind of hope that they don't just make her disappear, unless with the time jump, they somehow make it clear that Ana's relationship with Eddie and Christopher has been waning for some time before that.

Personally, I do kind of agree with the idea that you mentioned, that Eddie may have already broken up with Ana before 4x14 ended and that's why Ana is looking between Eddie and Buck to see both of their reactions at seeing one another again & the Abuela-type kiss at the party. It would make so much sense, honestly, and would explain the shift behind the dynamic in their interactions in this episode (or lack thereof). But even if Eddie didn't break it off, he will. It's only a matter of time. The fact that they chose to do things in this succession:

(kiss with Ana up above)

And Buck being the one to bring him home, to have been implied to be the one to set up this party (the second time he's organized something for Eddie like this, the first being in 3x10) - they're showing us just what dynamics are at play here. Christopher is first, as always. Abuela is next obviously. Then Ana. Then Carla. Then Pepa. And Carla gets a hug vs a kiss on the cheek because it separates her apart from the rest. Not saying that Eddie doesn't love Abuela or Pepa but kissing your relatives hello and goodbye, for anyone, can feel like the thing you just do when arriving or leaving, almost obligatory and performative (in some cases). Christopher gets a forehead kiss because he is also separated for obvious reasons and Taylor doesn't get a greeting that we see. But they purposely sandwiched Ana in with the rest of the fam, nothing to separate her apart, getting the same type of kiss Abuela got. And notice how they had Abuela and Ana reach out for Eddie, but Eddie only reaches out to Pepa to pull her into a kiss. They're purposely showing the difference, in these little cues.

So yeah, no, Ana won't last long. If anything, she might last as a friend that encourages Eddie in the one (or two) episodes she's in to do what's right for him and Christopher both. Or the breakup will happen. Or it could be a flashback (though something tells me, it won't to be so much of a flashback as something current, just thinking about that mention by Tim, but it's not going to last long at all). But I don't see Ana sticking around too much this season. And Taylor, well, we'll see. It depends on whether Buck has a realization or if he gets told something by Eddie or someone else or how he and Taylor work in a relationship or not. But Ana definitely already has one foot out the door.

My whole long point, Nonnie, is I like the way you think and I'm hoping beyond hope that Eddie has already broken up with Ana but this just hasn't been revealed to the audience yet but will be at some point in season 5.

Thank you for the ask! I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!!!! <3

#ask #eddie and ana #911 fox #season 5 speculation #911 season 5 #ask answered #eddie and ana breakup heading to the screen nearest you #eddie diaz ask

10 notes · View notes

earthstellar · 3 years

Text

INTERVIEW: Transformers lore and characters as discussed with my 74 year old mother

Backstory: I talk about fandom stuff a lot with my mom (she’s one of the original Star Trek fangirls so she knows her fandom shit lmao) and recently I’ve been discussing Transformers with her.

Me and my mom are very open with each other, and we have some interesting fandom conversations.

Here are some lines from a recent call with her that I thought might be interesting, regarding Transformers stuff and especially some interesting elderly person perspective on Ratchet. There’s also some talk of the theology in Transformers lore, including Drift and Spectralism, and a bunch of other stuff too.

All conversations transcribed from a recent Skype call, with my mom’s permission.

M is my mom, Me is just me-- So that you can tell who’s talking, lol. When other real people are mentioned, their names are redacted and replaced with an X for privacy.

Getting Started:

Me: Okay, there are a lot of younger fans for Transformers who might be interested in this kind of discussion, but I don’t see a lot of these conversations saved and shared anywhere, so if you don't mind I want to share some of your reactions to learning about Transformers stuff.

M: That’s okay, very professional of you to ask! The internet is a job now, I guess. I’m being interviewed, fancy.

On Ratchet’s Age/Health and older people in media:

Me: Ratchet’s the medic, he’s an old guy. Older than a lot of the other bots. In the comics (MTMTE/LL) he has a chronic illness and he eventually passes away from either that or complications related to it, although we don’t see it happen on the page. It made everyone sad; He’s a fan favourite.

M: I know how that feels, getting old and dying! I had years of thyroid symptoms before they had to take it out, I had endometriosis and they told me I couldn't have you, it’s an unsure thing. Now I’ve had skin cancers removed, I have too much potassium in my blood, I have fibromyalgia. I never expected to live this long.

Everyone is really just guessing at health stuff. It’s ironic that the doctor couldn’t diagnose himself, but I think he probably knew what was wrong and couldn't bring himself to accept it. Old people might accept that we can’t do some things any more but we tend to be depressed about it. Nobody really copes with it very well, you know X had a stroke and now she’s aphasic, can’t speak anymore, can’t read anymore, and she used to be a nurse. She’s older than I am, but it’s sad. She’s so smart and clever, and we’re just old. It’s what happens.

I bet Ratchet was scared. As a doctor, he’d know what can happen when you get old and decrepit. I think he was in denial, a lot of old guys seem to be like that.

Me: He was the medical lead on their ship, the Lost Light. I think you’re right and he wanted to be functional for as long as possible; He wants to be helpful and his job is his life. It would be hard for him; He struggles with retirement in the comics.

M: Sounds about right. I’m old as hell and I still work! Although that’s mostly because we all need money to live, and not so much because anybody wants to have a job at this age, but still. If he liked his job, he wouldn’t want to be pushed out. I loved working at the park; When I had to quit, it was devastating, but I didn’t really have a choice.

By the way, the audiobooks you sent me for X have really made her happy, she can read again, sort of! So thanks for that.

Me: I’m glad the audiobooks I sent you helped!

M: They have, you’re a life saver!

Me: I’m just glad they’re useful for her!

I think it’s interesting that his age is a part of his character in terms of personality and story arc; Do you enjoy seeing older characters in media that reflect the realities of age and being old, even when it’s difficult or possibly depressing?

M: Yes! There aren’t a lot of old characters, and the ones that are out there are mostly just joke characters or you never see them too often. I think the creators must think that old people don’t watch TV or anything, but the reason we don’t tune in is because everything is all about young people, and that can be hard. Watching people run around when you can’t anymore can be painful for those of us who have lost that ability now that we’re elderly, or watching kid-focused stuff can make us miss our families.

It would be nice to see old characters that are included and are competent.

Me: Representation is important.

M: Yes.

On Religion in Transformers:

Me: So, you work in a church. Just pointing it out so readers know where we’re coming from on this.

M: Yep, Episcopalian on the beach here, a small church. Services are mostly online due to COVID so I’ve lost hours on Friday, unfortunately... But I’m not complaining.

Me: And we both like the more spiritual lore type of content, it’s some good shit.

M: Always love seeing ancient Gods in space!

Me: So, there’s another old guy character, Alpha Trion, who’s a kind of sage-like mentor to Optimus Prime.

M: Optimus! He’s the truck! Everyone knows him, he’s the main guy.

Me: Yep! So Alpha Trion is an archivist, and when Optimus Prime was younger, depending on what version of the story we look at, he also used to be an archivist.

M: Librarian truck!

Me: Yes!

M: I love it. You worked at a library for a little bit.

Me: That work placement was the best, loved it. But Alpha Trion, depending on which version of the lore we look at, is hinted to be one of the formative deity-entities on their home planet, Cybertron.

M: Cybertroooooon. Haha! Good robot planet name. I’m into this so far, very cool.

Me: It is! And Alpha Trion is sort of the living memory of the early days of their planet and civilisation, but nobody knows. Everyone just thinks he’s a kind of cryptic weird old guy.

M: Relatable. I like this concept.

Me: It’s pretty good. So generally, things vary a lot from version to version of the story, but there are usually a handful of beings, early Transformers, who make up the character of their ancient lore. These are called the Primes, named after Primus, who pretty much always is depicted as their main God. Like Zeus, or Odin.

M: Very cool. Optimus is a Prime!

Me: Right! In a few versions of the story, he is the final Prime essentially reincarnated. The Thirteenth Prime.

M: That’s very cool.

Me: And in some other stories, Prime is mostly purely a title that has political connotations as well; It gets into a sort of weird Divine Right kind of area to help underscore some of the problems in their planetary political structure that led to the conflict that eventually became their civil war.

M: That sucks, but unfortunately, also relatable. It’s very real world, especially right now. It’s interesting how Transformers is so incredibly in depth; I never would have guessed from the cartoon ads that were on TV when you were little.

Me: Yeah, they seem to hide a lot of the lore, which is a shame. The comics are more adult than most of the TV shows, I think you’d like them.

M: Sounds like it. I love the spiritual robot stuff.

Me: In the comics, there is a religious practice called Spectralism that you might really like. They see auras by filtering different light wave bandwidths through their optics in order to detect mood, and all the colours have meanings assigned to them. They change their paint colours in accordance with those colour meanings as well, on some occasions. Meditation is part of the practice. One of the transformers, Drift, had at least one vision; It’s hinted there might be more to Spectralism, but we don’t see all that much of it in any further detail, unfortunately. They also believe in Primus as a deity.

M: It’s a shame they don’t elaborate more on it. It sounds very cool, like the stuff we were doing in the sixties and seventies. I bet Drift has some black light posters in his room, we had tons of them. Loved the velvet ones.

Me: He does have an altar, I think. Or a least a prayer area, it’s mentioned he meditates fairly frequently, from what I remember.

M: (Starts singing Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple) That was the best, put some tunes on... Good driving music, too!

On Femme Transformers and Sexism in Sci-Fi:

Me: So there are some lady Transformers, too!

M: Ooh!

Me: There’s Arcee, who is the pink one you probably remember from the ads or the cartoons, and in the comics she’s officially transgender.

M: Excellent! Trans-formers. Good.

Me: Yes! And there’s not just her, there’s Nautica and Velocity in the comics as well, plus Elita-One... (I showed her pictures of each.)

M: I like Velocity. I love the teal, the Thunderbird on the back is excellent.

Me: I like Velocity, too.

M: Elita has the head cones, not sure how I feel about that. She’s also pink, it’s hard to keep track of them all. I like Arcee, she has the Princess Leia hair helmet!

Me: I figured you’d like that. It’s pretty good.

M: I like Arcee and Velocity the best so far.

Me: There’s quite a few female or femme transformers now. There didn't used to be, and there were some mistakes made here and there, but nowadays there’s a much wider cast.

M: That’s good, I’m surprised, but in a good way. There were never women main characters in sci-fi stuff when I was a kid, it’s why Star Trek was such a big deal, and even then, it wasn’t all that great. There was Uhura, Nurse Chapel, but there were a lot of weird episodes...

Me: I love the Romulan Commander, though.

M: She was the best! Wished we got to see her more.

Me: Me too. But in Transformers, they’re doing a good job with the female coded characters, as least as far as I’ve seen.

M: That’s good to know. I’m glad that exists for girls who want to play Transformers, too. It always seemed like such a macho thing, the way they advertised it.

Me: Yeah, that’s still a problem to some degree, but I remember it being way more aggressively worse in the 80s/90s.

M: It was worse in the 50s when I was a kid! Cooking sets were the girl toy. They made Star Trek for boys, but when all the girls ended up being the main demographic that watched it, they cancelled it. It was Lucy from I Love Lucy who brought it back, I remember you told me that!

Me: Yep!

M: I’m glad little girls have Arcee. And little boys. They’re robots, they don’t have gender!

Me: Exactly!

If this kind of interview/conversation excerpt type thing is interesting to anyone, we’re happy to keep doing it!

Give me questions or things to ask my mom, she’s happy to give you some “old lady perspective”, lmao. ❤️

#Transformers #Transformers Prime #TFP #interview #fandom #MTMTE #LL #Maccadam #Maccadams #tf ratchet #tf drift #spectralism #transformers lore

38 notes · View notes

blakesbell · 4 years

Note

Thoughts on everything that went down today? I feel like you would be someone who is up to date on this stuff haha

oh yes you’ve come to the right person

under the cut cause i ramble a lot

but tldr; i am not giving up on bellarke, i still think they’ll be endgame. i may be clowning, but i’ll clown til the credits roll. :))

the main thing is that everyone on twitter (and tons of ppl here too obvi) immediately assumes the worst possible outcomes and i just try to keep an optimistic mindset until watching the ep

so first off: the sneak peak we got today. everyone’s immediate reaction: “oh no b*cho breakup isn’t happening!” and i’m like uhhh first off if it’s happening why would they post it in the sneak peak. in the promo we see a scene w bell & echo (which isn’t in the sneak peak) so it’s still possible that can be a breakup scene.

second: the whole TT interview. i try not to get too involved in the cast cause they’re not the ppl i watch the show for. i watch the show for the fictional characters. but i do know that TT has had a history of baiting blarkes and honestly anything that the cast says, i take with a grain of salt. i highly doubt she would spoil the end of the show. i think she was just giving her own opinions on bellarke, that’s all.

and why would jason fuck over his own show? not giving us this practically ruins his chances of getting his prequel picked up. idk i just think narratively it wouldn’t make sense for them to not get together after 7 seasons of build up. but that’s just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

i think overall the thing is everyone likes to assume what’s gonna happen without watching the episode. i like to hold off on being pessimistic until the episode airs. obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion and they can post whatever they want whenever they want; everyone is free to speak their thoughts. i just personally don’t handle negativity well bc it kills my mood so i try to stay away from it and keep a hopeful mindset :)

and yeah ik that i got myself into this when i decided to be a more active part of the fandom but this show has sucked me in so i’m just waiting for it to be over at this point so ik how it ends! i’m still super excited for tmrw’s ep even if i’m setting myself up for disappointment.

so tldr; despite everything that happens, i’m holding out hope for bellarke until the credits roll (and ig we’ll find out if i was clowning then)

#lots of thoughts after today but yup thats all #the 100 spoilers #bellarke #ruch rambles #a lot clearly #s7 #spec tag #? is this even spec lmao #the 100 #anti becho #ruch answers #anon

29 notes · View notes

kimmyyang · 4 years

Text

My views on ‘The Untamed 陈情令’

I never thought I would write a review on a drama although I have watched a lot of dramas of different genres for about 15/16 years. There is something about ‘The Untamed’ that made me want to write a review or at least write out my feelings. I’m not going to write too deep and get into all the details. But I guess this could be a way for me to get out of this trap or try to get it off my chest.

I’m not a fan of the original novel (well, not yet) as I don’t like reading so I haven’t read it yet. However, I have decided to read it as I have finished the drama and couldn’t get over it no matter how much I want to escape from it.

Trust me, I don’t usually get THIS attached to a drama or any characters, I mean yeah, the casts are handsome and all, but I stayed for the plot and the characters, not just the good looks of those actors. Especially if it’s 50 episodes long, I wouldn’t stay for someone’s visuals like I ain’t got time for that – I can just watch the cuts of that actor lol. I’m quite picky because I have seen A LOT of dramas, if I watch 2 episodes and it bores me then bye and I don't like long dramas. But after the 50 episodes, I felt so empty like I wanted more??? I know that's normal since I have experienced that before but this time was slightly different.

I personally think everyone portrayed their characters very well, despite most of them are young actors/ actresses. I usually skip or play supporting characters’ parts in 1.5 speed if they’re not as interesting as the main characters. But they kept me riveted throughout the entire drama, I didn’t skip one bit. Most characters hit me at some point during the drama, and I loved it (while shedding buckets of tears haha).

Apart from WWX and LWJ, my FAVORITE character is Jiang Yan Li - notice how I capitalized the word and it's in bold, that’s how much I loved her. She’s the best shijie/ sister that anyone could ask for. I feel like she’s WWX’s half mother, she takes care of him. She is a gentle and polite woman. She isn’t powerful in the Cultivation World (she mainly just focused on cooking tbh lol it's cute tho) but she doesn’t hesitate to protect WWX. She stood up for him even in front of her future mother-in-law, she trusted him until the end even when everyone went against him, and when her parents got killed, she didn’t blame him (it wasn’t his fault anyway) and eventually sacrificed her life for him. Her death was just so tragic like I was bawling my eyes out, she didn’t deserve it, she really didn’t. She was just a simple girl that wanted the best for her family. But she is the last straw that broke the camel’s back aka WWX, if she didn’t die for him, he probably wouldn’t get out of control. It was so cruel to WWX but I kind of understand why the author did it.

I also enjoyed the cinematography, scenery and OST, all of it was so astounding. Even the name of the locations were beautiful like 云深不知处 – it sounds so poetic. I loved how each sect had their own colors which reflected their characteristics in the Cultivation World. The characters also had their own OST, my favorite ones are Wen Ning’s & Jiang Yan Li’s songs – it still hurts when I listen to them, and I nearly cried few times (yes, I have a soft spot for Wen Ning, too.) I want to add that Jiang Yan Li & Jin Zi Xuan's song hurts a lot as well, the lyrics are like a fucking knife stabbing me in the chest. I thought I was strong enough to watch the MV, but I couldn't control my tears gdi. You know when you're cutting onions and tears just streaming down your face, that's what happened to me - except there were no onions. *I was a fan of the singer when I was younger so watching him singing the song on the stage also took me back to the old days ah~ This song gave me double feels lol ;~;

A part of me regrets that I didn’t watch it last year but a part of me is thankful that I finally got to watch it this year. It was already a hot topic before it even aired in China, so of course I have heard about it and I know briefly what it is based on. But I didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon and be like I’m a huge fan of the drama just because it’s popular (it’s hard to explain but I’m quite stubborn sometimes lol). Many said that you wouldn’t understand the story or the little details in the drama if you haven’t read the novel (I watched the animation before the drama, so I know a bit of the story). I don’t like reading anyway so I didn’t bother with it. Also, the genre of the novel isn’t something that I would read so that’s another reason why I left it. I’m not against any type of love, I just feel a bit iffy about reading it, which is kind of stupid now that I think about it lol. Another reason is that I don’t like depressing dramas, I used to watch a lot of those in my younger days, most of the plots are quite cliche. Although 'The Untamed' is sad, there were sweet, happy moments and it has a happy ending, so I loved it.

A lot of people didn’t like the ending, but I think it was a good ending. I mean they can’t really do much as they have to pass the censorship. My interpretation of the ending is that LWJ went to sort out everything in the Cultivation World so that he could be with (or protect) WWX later. He found WWX (maybe a few years) later and called WWX’s name. In that scene, WWX’s black outfit is different to when they parted, so it can’t be LWJ came back to WWX right after they went separate ways – that would very irresponsible to do since he is the Chief Cultivator. It’s an open-ended ending, so it’s up to the audience’s imagination, you can interpret it however you like. The camera didn’t show LWJ at the end so it could also be WWX imagined that LWJ called his name. But I believe that they got together, you can just tell just by looking at WWX’s facial expressions. It isn’t that difficult to figure it out, the novel has a happy ending so yeah. I also read it somewhere that when LWJ went to meet up with WWX, he also changed his outfit but apparently that part didn't pass the censorship (wtf?) so maybe that's why they didn't show LWJ at the end.

I guess the good thing is that I can’t get all the related merch, if I watched it last year, I would definitely ask one of my relatives to buy and send everything over for me lmao goodbye my money. But I would buy the physical novel when I get the chance. If a drama left a big impact on me, I would buy the novel (if it has one of course).

I think I need a long cool-off period after this drama, I don’t want to watch anything else except their bts, interviews (even supporting actors’ interviews, I usually don’t watch those), crack videos lol, variety shows, fan meeting – basically everything that I can find, I don't think I have watched everything though. When I watched a cut of the cast saying goodbye to their characters on the fan meeting, I cried again (ffs just get over it). It’s definitely one of the best dramas I’ve ever watched and would definitely recommend to those who likes Chinese dramas. Not that anyone cares, but I would rate it 9/10 (if shijie was alive, I would give another 0.5 lol). I don’t know how good the subtitles are, but I did see some odd bits here and there (I watched it without the English subtitles). Sometimes it’s really hard to translate Chinese especially when it’s a xianxia drama – making it even more difficult. Anyway, if I get to finish reading the novel, I might write my views on the novel if I can be bothered lol – I’m a very lazy person XD

I kind of want to write another post just about WWX and LWJ, and how good Xiao Zhan & Yibo’s acting skills were. Basically, complimenting them for 2 pages haha. Ngl, I did fell for Xiao Zhan. I might watch it again just to focus on them a bit more. From the interviews I have seen, Xiao Zhan seems like a very humble, kind, genuine person – you can just tell from his eyes. He’s definitely a treasure boy (硬翻'宝藏男孩'). I don’t think I need to say much about Yibo, he’s super talented, I was already a fan of UNIQ when they were active. The character really suited Yibo and he did a great job portraying LWJ.

Anyway, it’s time for me to say goodbye to 'The Untamed', I don’t know how long I will feel attached to this drama but hopefully there’s another masterpiece that could help me to get over it.

忘羡一曲远，曲终人不散。

24 notes · View notes

diegoh4rgreeves · 5 years

Text

#SelfiesForCastaneda

Story Summary: You’ve just finished watching The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. You follow the main cast on Twitter and get a Retweet from David Castaneda on your selfie! This prompts a conversation with you two. You hit it off and set a date.

Chapter: 1/1

Word Count: 2,420

Pairing: David Castaneda x Reader

Warnings: Anxious thoughts

It’s a rainy Friday night. Normally you’d go out with friends or go out to downtown Toronto. Because it was raining and you were exhausted from work though, you decided to veg out and finish watching the Netflix series, The Umbrella Academy. You were comfortable in your warm home, laid down on your plushy couch, with a fuzzy blanket covering you, and you were in your sweatpants and loose white t-shirt.

You forgot about this comfort once you were so stunned by the series finale of The Umbrella Academy. You could not wait for season 2. You also got attached to the characters and you loved Ellen Page and Robert Sheehan more than you already did before; back when you saw the movie Juno, and back when you watched the show Misfits. You thought Emmy Raver-Lampman was so pretty and seemingly sweet in real life. Your bisexual ass could not get over this. You hit the Follow button in Twitter for Ellen, Robert, and Emmy. The character Luther was your least favourite one, though you thought to get to know the actor for him, Tom Hopper, from interviews, and to Follow him on Twitter too. Justin H. Min was so handsome and so vulnerable as Ben. Aidan Gallagher was just a kid and did an amazing job playing an old man trapped in the body of a 12 year old. And last but not least, there was David Castaneda. He is the most handsome one to you. As Diego, he was so resentful. It didn’t make sense to you because all the siblings went through childhood trauma, from the same man who adopted them all. He was also spiteful towards a former lover, Detective Patch (who your gay ass also found attractive. That’s a story for another time). Still, there was something about Diego, or David, that made you feel good things.

You smile as you hit the Follow button on David. You have followed all the main cast of The Umbrella Academy, along with Mary J. Blige, who is just an icon. You also followed Gerard Way, who created the show and was the singer of the brilliant band My Chemical Romance.

You spend the rest of your evening lurking everyone you just followed. It feels good to be in love with something again.

As you lurk David and his Likes, you see a bunch of fan’s selfies he liked. Every selfie has the hashtag #SelfiesForCasataneda You’re intrigued by this. You wonder if he started this hashtag, or if some fans did. You are also pleased that he interacts with fans. He’s still at the level of fame where he can see fans in his notifications over being blinded by the plenty of Likes, Retweets, and Replies he gets.

This motivates you to get off the couch and to take a shower. As you take a shower, you think of an outfit idea for this selfie you’re thinking of posting. You’ll wear all black; the tight black turtleneck you bought a while ago and have worn plenty of times already, the baggy black jacket you’ve copped from your older sister, and black jeans. It was a Diego-esque outfit. You didn’t have to cosplay. You just always dress like this anyway, and you were the most confident in it.

After your shower, you slip into the outfit, put on some concealer, black winged eyeliner, and red lipstick. You snap some shots from the camera on your phone. You try out a bunch of angles. You scoff at some selfies and think there’s no way he’ll Like any of these. Well, he could, since he seemed like a support Liker to fans. You still wanted to dress to impress if he was going to actually see this selfie!

You beam up once you get another idea. You run to your kitchen to pick up 2 kitchen knives. You are aware of how funny this could look. You like to think that you’re a creative person, or so you decide to go the positive route of thinking.

You get the knives and put a self timer on from the camera of your phone. You criss-cross your arms, with a knife in each hand, and take the shot. Your phone took 3 shots, so there’s a chance of a good one. There is a good one indeed. Your face was lighted perfectly in this certain one. There was a glow. Your hair looked great too. You love the shape of your body as well.

You post the photo, and put in the hash tag, #SelfiesForCastaneda You press ‘Tweet’. At this point, you don’t care if no one would Like the selfie. You are just feelin’ your look!

Fortunately, you do get some Likes; a few were David Castaneda fan accounts, one from a supportive mutual, and a few others were from other fans of The Umbrella Academy. You Like everyone else’s most recent tweets and selfies back.

Then there is a Retweet. You beam up and think maybe it’s from one of the Likers. You view the Retweet and it’s from… @DavidCastanedaJ You think it’s another fan account, until you remember following this account earlier, and you notice the blue checkmark next to the username, which indicates that this is an official and verified celebrity account. Your heart is racing. What the fuck! you think. You check his account and think that maybe his support Liking evolved to support Retweeting. There is no other Retweet with the hashtag #SelfiesForCastaneda on his account though.

You leave your phone alone for 2 hours after your tweet gets more Likes and Retweets from other David fans. You even notice some haters in the thread. Luckily there are only a few haters. Everyone else says that your photo is bad-ass.

You’re not usually one for bragging. This is a very cool moment though, so you retweet David’s Retweet of your selfie, and you caption it with, 'Uhmmm… did David Castaneda just retweet my selfie!? Diego frickn Hargreeves!?“

You look at the time on your phone. It’s 1:30am! You’re usually a night owl. Somehow though, you were tired. You did sleep very little before you went to work, and you commuted in the rain. Being cozy and watching Netflix had to contribute to that tiredness as well. So, you snuggle up in your warm bed, which also has a fuzzy blanket, and sleep.

—

10:43am. You wake up naturally and pick up your phone which was laid on top of some pile of clothes you left on your floor beside your bed. You check your Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr. Finally, you check your Twitter to check on the selfie. You also see an Inbox notification. You wonder who that could be from. People don’t normally message you on Twitter. You open the inbox and in the preview, it’s @DavidCastanedaJ ! You can’t believe it. What could he possibly have to say to you? Your heart is racing.

What if he says that the retweet was an accident? Would he have had to message you that though? He could have deleted the Retweet if it was an accident. You would have understood that he didn’t mean to Retweet one fan’s selfie randomly.

You take a deep breath before opening the message to quit your overthinking and your doubts.

@DavidCastanedaJ: It’s a good selfie. I had to retweet it.

After lurking his Twitter last night, you notice that he’s got a dry and sarcastic tone. You’re unsure of what to respond to him with, or if you should even respond. Well, of course you should respond. He felt compelled to say something to you personally instead of being funny and fishing for Likes. Well, that’s speaking for if he’s not being sarcastic.

You tap your chin and wonder if you should screenshot this to your close friends, especially your sister who got you to watch the show and dealt with you ogling over him. You shake your head out of this and think that it’s best to reply to him ASAP. He sent his text around 6am. You’re not sure why he sent it that early. He’s in Toronto, a city not too far from yours. He’s not shooting a show, as far as you knew. There isn’t even an announcement of a season 2 for The Umbrella Academy yet.

You quit your overthinking again, and decide to reply with this:

[@YourUsername]: A good selfie how? Like, in what sense?

You take another deep breath and chuck your phone on the spot next to you on your bed. You get up from the bed and decide to leave your phone alone and try to think of something productive to do on your day off. Before you can do that, your phone buzzes. You beam up, and rush back over to your bed, which you sit on your knees for.

Twitter Notification: Preview of @DavidCastanedaJ Inbox message

@DavidCastanedaJ: Idk

@DavidCastanedaJ: I like your Diego get-up, and you’re aesthically pleasing

Your heart is skipping beats. What does he mean by aesthetically pleasing!? Is he implying that you’re attractive? Are you even his type in looks? Do you resemble Detective Patch? Are actors attracted to the type of people who play their love interests? Well it was the only reference you have for this emerging and handsome actor.

You’re in your 20s, and he’s 29. You still have a baby face and wonder if he thinks you look younger than you actually are. Why would he retweet your selfie though?

[@YourUsername]: Aesthetically pleasing? This face?

You hold your phone and stare at the thread. Maybe he’s online if he replied to your last text just seconds after it. Much to your surprise, there’s a blue checkmark which indicates that he read it. Maybe he’s just thinking of what to say. Or maybe you’re a suggestive creep! Wait, how could you be if he was the one who retweeted your selfie!? God, you really had to quit that. Stop letting it get to your head!

The thread shows a new bubble, from him.

@DavidCastanedaJ: Haha

@DavidCastanedaJ: Yes, this face

@DavidCastanedaJ: It’s a great face. What’s your secret?

You are now blushing and still manage to type.

[@YourUsername]: I did sleep 9 hours last night. You know what they say about 9 hours of sleep.

@DavidCastanedaJ: Yeah, that’s lucky

You are easing into this now, though you are also wondering if you should be careful, or if you’re just dreaming and didn’t actually wake up earlier than you usually do.

[@YourUsername]: I’m guessing you don’t have that luxury?

@DavidCastanedaJ: Well, maybe now I can sleep that much

@DavidCastanedaJ: Back when we were shooting the Umbrella Academy though, I was a mess!

[@YourUsername]: You seem so healthy

[@YourUsername]: At least with that body, you do…

David seems to like that response. You spend Saturday afternoon texting each other, and it’s still surreal to you that this is happening, much less how you two seem so connected.

—

A few hours later.

@DavidCastanedaJ: So, you said you’re in Toronto, right?

[@YourUsername]: Well, I’m in a city *near* Toronto, about a half hour away

@DavidCastanedaJ: Oh I see

[@YourUsername]: I’m there often anyway. I mostly go see local bands, and take their photos

@DavidCastanedaJ: Right. I remember you saying that earlier

You’re unsure of how this conversation could last at this point. You take a chance with a one-word response anyway.

[@YourUsername]: Yep!

@DavidCastanedaJ: How would you feel about coming to Toronto tonight? I thought maybe we could have dinner, and I could show you real Diego Hargreeves gear…

Your heart is racing again! In fact, you think that you’re going to shit your pants. You decide to have some banter with him to cover up your fangirling.

[@YourUsername]: "Real Diego Hargreeves gear.”

[@YourUsername]: Is that a sexual innuendo?

@DavidCastanedaJ: It is if you want it to be ;)

[@YourUsername]: Omg

@DavidCastanedaJ: I realize that did sound pretty sketchy, so sorry about that

[@YourUsername]: No, it’s totally fine! I was just teasing :)

[@YourUsername]: I would love to come to downtown tonight! When are you free?

@DavidCastanedaJ: Well, seeing as I’ve been texting a very beautiful girl all afternoon, I’d say my schedule is pretty flexible

[@YourUsername]: Really? Are you sure that Gerard Way isn’t barking at you to get back on set for season 2 as we speak?

@DavidCastanedaJ: Ahahah yeah totally

@DavidCastanedaJ: I’d tell him to wait though. I should get to spend my free time with someone cool first

From there, you hash out the details for the plans; what time, and where to meet. You both also decide to get a drink at Brooklynn Bar. You’re not much of a drinker, though for a celebrity like him you made an exception.

You decide to wear “the Diego get-up”, this time you style your hair, wear darker red lipstick, the same black eyeliner, and you sling a small black cross-body bag over your shoulder.

David texts you with his name. Then he tells you to keep him posted on your whereabouts. You make your way to downtown and your meeting spot with him. You eye the area and look for him. You turn to some side, and you see him walking over. Your heart is skipping beats again, and you gasp.

He looks so handsome with his tan peacoat, black jeans, his gelled black hair, and beard and mustache.

He smiles knowingly and walks over to you. He gives you a hug.

You cannot believe that it is actually him. You realise in this moment that you could have been catfished. You weakly hug him back in your disbelief over this moment.

He pulls you in closer and you hug back tighter.

“Oh my God!” you exclaim.

He pulls out the hug and he looks over at you with a toothy smile on his face. “What?”

“It’s you. It’s really you! God, this is so embarrassing. I think that I’m actually starstruck.”

He chuckles. “This is gonna sound weird, but I thought I was being catfished.”

You give him a puzzled look, although you are so flattered. “I thought that I was an annoying type of fan you’re annoyed of attracting!”

“What!?” he laughs. “Okay, we haven’t even had a drink yet and we’re already confusing each other.”

You let out a laugh.

He gestures an arm to the entry door. “Shall we go in?”

“Yeah sure!”

He signals for you to walk in first, and so your date begins. Things can only get better from here.

#the umbrella academy #diego hargreeves #david castaneda #david castaneda x reader #diego hargreeves x reader #tua #mine

42 notes · View notes

aeyaverseproject · 5 years

Text

The Fear of Yesterday Interview Questions

these are my answers to the questions from @alexprompts WIP weekly event. thanks for featuring my wip!

SETTING:

Three main settings are mentioned in your post, being Soma, the Facility, and Purgatory. Can you give us a description of all three and the relevance to the story?

the majority of the story takes place on Soma. it’s a tropical island where travel is heavily restricted. whoever is running the show has done a good job of keeping the “zombie” thing a secret, so even most of the people who have gone there have been sworn to secrecy. Soma is part of Vafria, the country the story is set in. the only people that actually live on the island are scientists; military personnel can be seen all over the island as well. Soma is where the next two areas are located.

the Facility is an underground bunker/shelter. due to it being so unnecessarily extravagant, it is thought to be owned by someone rich and powerful. in the Facility are quite a few hallways. these lead to different rooms, including the ones the cast resides in while they are held there. there is also an upper level, which is where the two masterminds behind the deadly game are hanging out.

the most notable areas within the Facility are the Lobby, a circular room with a tall domed ceiling that mimics a skylight, and the Library, which is by far the most spacious room in the Facility.

Purgatory is another underground building. Purgatory is where Robin and the others are sent after they lose the game. it is crawling with the zombies (referred to as Infected in the story). Robin is initially under the impression that only children are down here, but that’s not quite the case.

even though it’s much larger than the Facility, most of the people sent there remain on the bottom floor indefinitely. while down there everyone is required to team up in groups to protect each other from the Infected and survive. there seems to be a way to get to the second floor, but going down that path is frowned upon.

every floor is like a labyrinth, consisting of many twists and turns. the people of Purgatory know their way around the first floor and have no problem teaching outsiders. the rest of the floors, however…yeah. they’ll have to learn as they go.

Purgatory has its own civilization that is hidden from the outside world. Robin can never really get used to the way things work down there.

Are there any other relevant settings?

one other relevant setting is Greenworth, Robin’s hometown. we won’t get to see much of it though, as it only appears briefly. there’s another location that’ll be shown near the very end, but i’m keeping that one a secret for now. :)

What do you draw your settings from? Your reality, imagination, a combination?

the Facility was inspired by some of the locations in the Zero Escape games and the whole tropical island idea was kind of inspired by Danganronpa 2.

Purgatory is mostly just drawn from my imagination. however, i watched a movie a few years ago (can’t remember the name) where a character mentioned an underground labyrinth that no one could escape and that really, really freaked me out. so that’s how that happened haha

CHARACTERS:

How does the main character, Robin, get caught up in the story you’re telling?

someone he trusts is about to start working on the island. this guy knew Robin and Marina’s parents when they were younger, and he also knows that they’re on Soma, as well. he never tells them how or why, but he is allowed to bring people with him. he already has the trust of Robin and Marina’s respective guardians, so they just kinda. let him do that. the people in Greenworth don’t know what’s going on on Soma, but they definitely didn’t expect it to be something like this.

after a tragic turn of events, Robin has no way to get home. things just go downhill from there.

What is the most important piece of character development you have written or planned so far?

so far, the most important piece of character development i have planned for the story has to do with some shared knowledge between Daphnis and Tiffiny. right now all i have is an overheard conversation between them, but it adds to the overall mystery of the story. without spoiling anything, i can say that they just know way too much. but they do use their knowledge to help their team out when they can.

Where do you choose your names from?

the character names so far have been mostly random. even One was random, to be honest. i don’t usually name the characters after anything or anyone in particular, and there’s no theme when it comes to names or anything. usually i’ll think of common names i’ve heard in the past, then if none of those work, i’ll think of japanese names i’ve heard.

however, Daphnis is an exception, here. i’m sure you’ve noticed his name is much different than the others’. i purposely named him after one of saturn’s moons, and i wasn’t sure why at first. but after looking through the plot in detail i’ve noticed that it fits very well. like eerily so. but that was a total coincidence.

STORY:

How do you plan?

when i first started this story, i didn’t have any plans, actually. over time i would type up any idea that came to mind and copy it to my notes later. eventually i had enough of those entries to start creating an outline. it’s not organized or anything, but it helps me keep the story in order.

Where did the inspiration for your story come from?

the Zero Escape series inspired this story, for sure. after i finished the trilogy, i decided i wanted to put my own spin on the whole deadly game thing.

THE FUTURE:

Do you plan sequels? If so, how many, and what will their connections/places in the universe be?

The Fear of Yesterday is part of a four-book series called Tomorrow’s Message! there is no direct sequel, but some of the characters in this book show up in the other entries. the other books are from the pov’s of two other characters in the series.

book two, The Door to Tomorrow, is the first half of book one told from Chuck’s perspective. it shows what really was going on in his head as well as his motives.

book three, Today and Forever, is about Joseph’s life (from his pov). it’ll reveal more of his involvement with this whole mess and how he feels about it. it’ll also showcase what’s really happening and why. as such, this book will answer a lot of the questions brought up in The Fear of Yesterday. there will be a detailed intrigue plot, a group of childhood friends, and lots more of that conspiracy stuff.

book four, New Century Endeavor, is told from Chuck’s pov once again. this focuses on his life after he’s come to terms with what he learned about himself in the Facility. this has almost nothing to do with the intrigue/conspiracy and is mostly about how his life gets totally derailed shortly after meeting a certain someone.

i’m currently trying to write the whole series at once. so far ive completed book two, which is actually quite short. this method is challenging and i’m not sure if i can recommend this kind of approach, but it’s fun connecting the stories together while they’re simultaneously being written.

Do you plan to publish? If so, what is your biggest goal in relation?

i plan to self-publish this series eventually. i’m not really sure what the goal is yet i just want a lot of people to enjoy my work.

If your story were to be turned into a movie, who would you want to play your main characters ideally?

well, i’d imagine it to be an anime-style movie. when i think of The Fear of Yesterday as a movie, i think of those netflix anime titles. so, i’d prefer for it to be a netflix movie, but a theatrical release would be cool, too. as for the cast, i… actually have no idea haha. but they’d be anime voice actors for sure.

#writing #alexprompts #alexpromptswipweekly #my wip #writeblr #tfoy

4 notes · View notes

beneaththetangles · 5 years

Text

Crunchyroll Expo 2019: Interview with Miho Okasaki, the Voice of Rimuru

An up and comer in the world of voice acting, Miho Okasaki is now best known for her breakout role as Rimuru in That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime. I’m Enterprise has produced a few of the most popular and talented voice actors in the industry, and it seems Miho is one of the newest ones they hope to raise up. At Crunchyroll Expo 2019, we and several other outlets visited with Miho to ask about her newfound fame and experiences with voicing Rimuru in Tensura.

-----

Q: You’ve stated you wanted to be a voice actress since you were young. Was there a catalyst or something that inspired you to pursue this career?

Miho: When I was in middle school, I was in the badminton club. I was really shy and not good at making friends, but the girls I wanted to be friends with were into anime and anison. So that’s how I got introduced and hooked into the world of anime and learned about the path of voice acting.

Q: I heard you like karaoke. What is your go-to song when you karaoke?

Miho: Ariel’s “Part of Your World” from Little Mermaid. I really like Disney, but I also like Tensura’s songs, so I sing its opening and ending songs too.

Q: One of your first roles was for Miku Nishio from Ongaku Shoujo. You also took part in the idol group of the same name. Do you consider singing as part of your career and something you plan on doing?

Miho: If I’m good enough then that would be great. I like singing a lot. But I haven’t done a lot of singing as a character. Miku gave me some experience for it, so it’d be nice if I get another opportunity.

Q: Are you a bad slime and what made you audition for the role of Rimuru?

Miho: Haha. I’m not a bad slime (in Rimuru’s voice). I was just giving the chance to audition for it. So I took the opportunity and studied and practiced for it.

Q: How familiar were you with the source material when you started voicing Rimuru?

Miho: I knew the name, but every day I was so busy with work, I never got to read it. When I got the role for the anime, I started reading the manga.

Q: Were you interested in the isekai genre before getting the role for Slime?

Miho: I didn’t know about it all. I was like, what’s the isekai genre? When I got introduced to it through the anime, I found the idea of being reincarnated into another world really interesting and fun.

Q: Rimuru speaks differently whenever he’s in slime or human form. How challenging is it shifting between the two voices?

Miho: When I’m speaking as a slime, I try to be more relaxed and friendly with everyone around him. But when I’m speaking as a human, I speak more as a country’s ruler with authority. I try to have a switch in my mind that changes between a relaxed mode and a ruler or working mode, and make sure to activate it when he changes forms.

Q: Do you have a preferred form?

Miho: Slime. Hahaha.

Q: Slime has an impressive and immense cast. What was your studio experience like?

Miho: That’s true. I was super nervous. But I’m the kind of person who doesn’t show it even when I am. So I was still able to talk with all of my senpai, and they gave me a lot of advice. I haven’t really had that kind of experience before, so it was a really valuable opportunity for me.

Q: Were there any challenges to voicing a slime who is actually a salaryman reincarnated as a slime?

Miho: It was really hard. He looks really cute but he’s actually had 37 years of life experience as a man. It was a challenge to make a cute voice but also make sure that the thoughts from the life experience of a 37-year-old man were still there.

Q: In Tensura, Rimuru enjoys the company of a lot of females. How do you get into that “male side” aspect of him when you’re doing the voicing?

Miho: Well, I’m often asked how being able to do that seems difficult. But I really like cute girls, even if we are the same gender. It just kind of came naturally to me. In the studio, when I see my male coworkers laugh at my performance, it encourages me to do an even more interesting job and get more laughs out of them.

Q: Both the show and your character are incredibly popular. What was your impression when the show began airing and all of this excitement around the show and especially your character began?

Miho: Of course, I was happy but the first reaction was relief. There were a lot of fans of the original work and expectations for the anime. I wasn’t sure how well I could fulfill their hopes, so when the fans were pleased with it, I was really relieved.

art by KEApriciti (reprinted w/permission)

Q: If you were to be a type of creature in the world of Tensura, what would it be?

Miho: Ehhh? I don’t want to be defeated…I want to fly in the sky so maybe a bird. But birds are kind of weak…so maybe a dragon? They seem strong and can fly so that sounds nice.

Q: In the anime, Rimuru consults the Great Sage inside of him. If you had a Great Sage, what would you ask it?

Miho: I would ask it to please wake me up in the morning! “You need to go to sleep now,” or “If you want to wake up at this time, sleep at this time.” I want it to help me manage my time!

Q: How has your perception of Rimuru changed since you started voicing him when the anime first started?

Miho: At first, I was just thinking how he was a slime, and his physical appearance affected my impression. But over time, Rimuru shows he’s thoughtful even toward enemies, and I liked him for that human side. After meeting Shizu, he gains a strong resolve, which I also grew to love.

Q: There are lots of protagonists in isekai that have superpowers. What do you think makes Rimuru different or stand out from other isekai?

Miho: Well, slimes give off a super weak impression. But the fact that he’s so strong is the biggest thing about Tensura’s charm. It’s not a species that people want to become or are jealous of. Normally you’d be super worried if you got reincarnated as a slime, but Rimuru wasn’t depressed about it and just started exploring. That’s what I find interesting about it.

Q: With 2018 being a breakout year for you, how has it been being a new voice actress and have you received any advice from your veteran voice actors?

Miho: I’m really happy that I had the chance to be in Tensura, which has been my breakout role. I don’t have much experience or skill, but I hope to be able to meet everyone’s expectations. It’s comforting to know that my veteran voice actors often struggle to find a voice for the characters they play as. They also tell me not to worry about small mistakes and keep trying.

Q: What manga would you like to see adapted to an anime, and what role would you like to portray in it?

Miho: That’s a hard question. Lately everything I like already has an anime announced with a full cast. The process seems to be getting faster and faster. Well, there is a genre that I would be interested in. Rather than the late night anime, I want to do something that airs during prime time for children. I would love to have the chance to do a lead role in that kind of anime

Q: You’ve played a lot of “girl A” or “voice B” characters. Were you ever discouraged in your career from playing so many small roles?

Miho: All the time. I’m always worried about future roles and auditions. When I heard I got the role as Rimuru, it was out of nowhere. But I’m always battling with the worry and fear that I won’t get a role. Despite that, I want to remain strong and keep trying.

Q: What’s the transition in your mindset when going from background characters to main characters?

Miho: Obviously there are a lot more lines to do. But each character, even “person A” and “person B,” is someone who is living in the anime world on the screen. So I don’t actually put in any different amounts of effort for the character just because it is or isn’t a protagonist.

Q: Your career as a voice actress is still in its early stages, so what kind of goals do you have for yourself that you want to accomplish?

Miho: Like I said earlier, I want to do a genre that kids watch. When I was younger, I really liked Doraemon. I want to be involved in an anime that gives children courage and dreams. Of course, Tensura is popular with kids so I’m kind of already doing that, but I really want to be in anime like that.

Q: As a voice actress, do genres alter the way you use your voice?

Miho: Yes, I do pay attention to that. With Tensura, I knew there would be people of all ages and genders watching. So I tried to use a voice that would fit the character and appeal to everyone. But in the case of Ongaku Shoujo, the show is aimed at males, so I tried to use a cute voice that would be liked by guys. It’s easier when there is a clear target audience like that when I act.

Q: Is being a voice actress just like you imagined?

Miho: I think it’s…going to be like I imagined? But there’re still things that will be difficult, so I want to make sure I work hard to overcome the worries that will come along the way.

Q: As mentioned before, your popularity has increased dramatically since you got the role as Rimuru. Were you expecting it to be such a big and influential role when you first got it?

Miho: Honestly, yeah, since it was such a big title and it was the first time I was the protagonist, I did have those hopes. But even though I thought that, if you have those self-centered thoughts while you work, you won’t be able to do a good job. I don’t think it should be the priority, and I think the other veteran voice actors probably think the same.

Q: What are your thoughts on the popularity of anime in the west?

Miho: I’m really happy. I was always interested in going overseas, but it takes a lot of energy to come to America. Since I got the opportunity to do that through my work with Tensura, it’s really great. I’m also just so happy that everyone is so accepting of me here.

Q: What would you like the overseas fans to know about you?

Miho: Hmm…well, I’m still nervous and shy at these events. But I want them to know that I’m actually a more fun and interesting person!

Q: How has your time in San Jose been? You’ve been to Chicago, but what’s your impression of the West Coast?

Miho: It’s super relaxing and easy to live here. The weather is incredible. I haven’t explored much, but the city is really pretty and the food is delicious. It’s probably a lot nicer to live here than Japan.

Q: Are there any Western anime that you like?

Miho: Spongebob. I really like Spongebob and watched it growing up.

Q: Do you have any funny or maybe embarrassing stories about your time as a voice actress?

Miho: It’s a little technical, but when I started as a voice actress, my first role was in Idolish7. I didn’t know that when they do the concert scene and the fangirls go “kyaahhh!” they do it as a group at the end of the recording. So I ended up going by myself and went “kyahhhh!” and everyone was like, “what is this girl doing?” It was super embarrassing.

-----

Miho Okasaki is still in the early stages of her career, but be sure to keep an eye out for her name as she’s certain to become a more popular name in the coming years! Tensura, or, That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

#Anime #Anime Conventions #Miho Okasaki #That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime #Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken #TenSura #Seiyuus #Voice Actors #Crunchyroll Expo #Crunchyroll Expo 2019 #Ongaku Shoujo #Idolish7 #Interviews #Voice Acting #Articles #Author: Kaze

2 notes · View notes

sage-nebula · 5 years

Text

@nerd-bastard replied to your post: “I’m going to make numerous posts about season two of The Dragon Prince...”

well said. i'm still a little raw after vld, and part of me is still upset that the writers deemed it necessary for them to die, but yeah, p much everything you already said. i'm willing to try and trust them based on how clearly important social justice is to their story.

First, I’m sorry this reply is so late! I laid down to rest pretty much immediately after I wrote that post last night and then slept for . . . a long time, haha. But I do want to reply to you, because I have seen a lot of comparisons to VLD ever since The Dragon Prince released, but I really, truly believe we don’t have anything to worry about here. I truly believe there is not even a sliver of a chance that The Dragon Prince will end up anything like VLD. And if I can pass a bit of that reassurance onto you, then I want to (or at least, I want to try).

(Note: This is very long, and also full of VLD negativity / salt / criticism.)

Before anything else, I just want to say that I completely understand being burned by VLD. I don’t know how much you know about my personal feelings on it given that you just started following me recently, but I actually dropped the show after season six because the way Lotor was treated in season six made me so upset that I had to miss work the next day because I was so physically ill from panic attacks. I’m a mixed-race child abuse survivor myself, and so to see Lotor treated the way that he was---to have JDS and LM confirm in a post-season interview that their intention really was to say, “unless you have a good parental figure in your life [like Keith had Shiro, was the example they used], you’ll end up evil and/or just like your abusive parents” was just too much for me. There were already a thousand reasons why I was upset with them for things they had done in VLD and in interviews (e.g. how they used the slur “half-breed” to refer to mixed-race characters, their treatment of female characters such as the generals, and so on), but that was the final straw. I know what happened in seasons seven and eight because it was impossible for me not to hear about it given how big the fandom is, so I know all about the queerbaiting with Adam and what their intentions were with him and Shiro’s sexuality, but I didn’t actually watch myself (outside of select bits of s8 because I couldn’t resist childhood flashbacks for Lotor), and I will not watch anything JDS or LM work on ever again. They have no respect or care for people like me, so I will not have any for them.

So I completely, completely understand still feeling hurt and upset over VLD. Believe me when I say that I am in the same boat, and I have nothing but empathy for you. But I also really, truly believe that we have nothing to fear when it comes to The Dragon Prince and its crew.

To begin with, just some base comparisons:

Voltron: Legendary Defender was produced by DreamWorks Animation, and though both LM and JDS have said that they were fans of the original 80s Voltron series, I think it’s far more believable that they accepted their roles of executive producers for VLD more because of the paycheck and the career boost it would give them than anything else. Surely, DreamWorks decided to create and air a new Voltron series because of the revenue it would bring them, given that it was already an established franchise in the past and it came ready-made with plenty of toy ideas. Likewise, being at the helm of a product that would already garner plenty of attention and exposure for them---and a massive boost to their careers if it was successful---would no doubt be attractive to LM and JDS. I don’t believe that VLD was ever a passion project for any of them. It was a job. It was a job that maybe had the potential to be fun, but it wasn’t something they came up with themselves because of a love for the story or the characters. And keep in mind, I’m not trying to bash them by saying this, I’m just stating what I think are the facts. Plenty of creators in television and even film sign onto projects they don’t necessarily love so that they can get the money and boost to their careers to make the things they do. That’s just how the business is sometimes, and I think that’s what happened here.

But that’s not the case with The Dragon Prince. The Dragon Prince is being created by Aaron Ehasz, Justin Richmond, and Giancarlo Volpe. Aaron and Justin founded WonderStorm in order to make this show (and the game that will tie in to the show). They had the ideas and passion for the story and characters first, before they made their studio. And that’s just it: Their studio of nineteen people exists solely to tell this story. Particularly since we know that Netflix doesn’t have an overhead for the content they air, this means that Aaron, Justin, Giancarlo, and everyone else can do whatever they want with this story. They don’t have executives twisting their arms behind their backs. But more importantly, they’re also telling this story because they want to be. Since they’re a small indie company, this was actually something of a risk for them; they’re not guaranteed more seasons, they’re not guaranteed financial success, and if The Dragon Prince failed, that could mean the end of their company. So they’re not doing this for critical acclaim or money (especially since they all could have gone to other projects being created by major companies like DreamWorks if they wanted more money or exposure). They’re doing it because they have a story they love, that they want to tell, that they want to share with others. All nineteen of them are here because they care, not because it’s “just a job” that they have to do in order to make money or get more exposure and fame.

And that might be all fine and dandy, but just because you’re doing something as a passion project doesn’t mean that you’re doing right by those you want to represent, right? I would agree with that, but I think we can already see massive differences between VLD and The Dragon Prince when it comes to representation.

VLD was originally acclaimed for its representation due to having characters with different racial backgrounds in the main cast. The fact that Shiro was disabled was also critically acclaimed as well, because he was a disabled main character who was still allowed to be a hero. The thing is, however, that VLD’s representation is by and large shallow. They don’t really care about actually representing anyone as much as they care about getting the accolades and praise for doing the bare minimum. As a few examples:

Shiro is disabled, but his disability might as well be a cosmetic difference than anything else. We see Shiro affected by his PTSD a grand total of once (when Sendak was mocking him in season one), and we never see him really impacted by his arm. Keep in mind that I am NOT saying that his character arc should have revolved around his disability. Writing disabled characters with their disability as their only personality trait is horrible writing, and would be even worse than what they actually did. But what I am saying is that while losing his arm and having it replaced with galra tech should have been something traumatizing for Shiro, we never actually see that. We never see him experience phantom pains from his missing limb (which he could do even with the galra arm, as we see with Edward Elric and his automail in the FMA manga). I can’t remember a time when the arm malfunctioned or broke down to the point where he only had one arm in a potentially dangerous situation, and had to cope. Instead, in all honesty, his arm just looked cool and gave him a ton of abilities he wouldn’t have without it. Whereas Edward Elric has phantom pains with his automail, has it break repeatedly, can’t go into very cold or very hot temperatures without risking serious injury and so much more, Shiro’s arm is pretty much there just to look cool and offer convenient solutions to galra problems. He’s disabled, yes, but he’s not shown actually having any of the experiences that disabled people with prosthetic limbs in real life have.

Similarly, we find out in season seven that he had a chronic illness . . . but we never actually see him experiencing that in the show itself. He had a chronic illness as we find out in flashbacks, but in seasons 1-6 he was never shown actually suffering from that chronic illness. The reason given is that Haggar had it removed while experimenting on him (which . . . makes his kidnapping a good thing because he would have died otherwise? What??), but the point still remains that while Shiro could have been excellent representation for people with chronic illness had we seen him have at least some effects of chronic illness on the show (needing medication at the least, or having some fatigue symptoms, or something), he wasn’t, because without being told that he had chronic illness in flashbacks in season seven, no one would have known. I’ve seen people say that he’s supposed to be representative of the chronically ill, but in my personal opinion invisible representation is not representation. It feels an awful lot more like JDS and LM just wanted to slap another representation label on him without doing any of the legwork and call it a day.

They included more female characters, but used them as plot devices or supports for male characters. I distinctly remember a pre-season three interview when LM was gushing about how excited she was for Lotor’s generals, because they were generals now instead of being a part of a harem as they apparently were in the 80s version (I didn’t watch the 80s version, so I couldn’t tell you). But at the end of the day, Acxa, Zethrid, Narti, and Ezor were glorified plot devices or supports for male characters, and other female characters on the show didn’t fare much better. A quick rundown:

Acxa was defined by her relationships to either Lotor or Keith. She was either Lotor’s most loyal general, wanting to carry through his vision or support him endlessly, or she was so moved by Keith’s sparse interactions with her that she wanted to do everything that he did. It briefly seemed as though Acxa did have her own motivations when she turned on Lotor in season four in order to protect Ezor and Zethrid, but in season six that was wiped away by showing that it was all a ploy and that she never lost her loyalty to Lotor in the first place. Don’t misunderstand, I love her relationships with Lotor and Keith as I write them in my works, but I also take care to give Acxa her own backstory and motivations that aren’t dependent on her relationships with those male characters. In canon, we didn’t get that. Not at all.

Narti was a disabled character who was both blind (unless linked with Kova) and mute. She was also abruptly killed off for no reason other than to give Lotor and the other generals a reason to separate. Narti was never given characterization, backstory, or a real purpose in the narrative. She was apparently trusted enough by Lotor to be given his beloved cat, but that ended the moment he struck her down. I used to think that perhaps this was foreshadowing for how he’d react when he found out about Shireplica, which would in turn set the rest of Team Voltron against him, but that wasn’t even it. Instead, it was just that Narti was seen as disposable by LM and JDS, possibly because since she was blind and mute, they didn’t consider her as worthwhile as the other generals. Disgusting.

Ezor and Zethrid were plot devices. In the beginning it seemed that they surely had motivations and character arcs of their own. Ezor was the most upset about Narti’s death, and was the first to call for mutiny, whereas Zethrid only agreed after the first attempt at the rift gateway failed. But as the seasons continued it became more than clear that they were only there to do as the plot commanded them to do. Zethrid suddenly wanted to conquer things in season five despite agreeing with Lotor’s vision before. Ezor was “glad to be on Lotor’s side again” in season six despite being the most upset over Narti and the first to call for mutiny in season four. I fully believe that the only reason why they were written as a couple in later seasons is because they were the only two remaining generals of Lotor’s who didn’t already have another potential love interest (as Acxa had Keith). I also believe they only miraculously survived in season eight due to backlash to their deaths in season seven. But whatever the case, it’s clear that Ezor and Zethrid were not given consideration as individuals. I can’t even list them individually here because that’s how little consideration JDS and LM gave them. It’s goddamn sad.

Krolia only exists to be Keith’s mom. That’s it! At first it might seem as though she did have her own motivations and goals when she was introduced in season five. It seemed highly likely that she left Keith behind because she believed in the cause and the mission to overthrow the Empire, something that she and her son would end up having in common (because Keith would likely make the same choice). But in season six, this was dashed. No, she was perfectly happy to abandon the mission and war to have a family, and only left because she wanted to protect Keith. Fuck the billions of people who were enslaved and dying that Krolia could have cared about---fuck her friends and found family in the Blade of Marmora that she could have cared about, fuck everything else she had going on in her life before she crash landed on Earth that she could have cared about---no, she only cared about Keith. And her role in the show from that point onward was just to be his mom, too. She did end up leading the galra alongside Kolivan later on in season eight, but everything she did was for Keith. She didn’t have any interests, any passions, any goals or opinions that weren’t tied to him in some way. She wasn’t created as her own character, she was created to be Keith’s Mom and that’s it. Disappointing. More important female characters were able to stand on their own for the most part, but even they were done dirty in similar ways. Pidge’s entire character arc revolved around wanting to find her father and brother, for the most part. She had little brief spots of wanting to connect with nature here or there, but for the most part it was all about her male relatives and how she wanted to find them. Her character was never explored more deeply than that. And Allura just wanted to follow in Alfor’s footsteps. All the choices she made with regards to wanting to be a paladin or an alchemist were all because her dad did it first. Rather than giving her an arc about wanting to carve out her own legacy, or realizing that she should want that because Alfor wasn’t the perfect paragon of goodness she believed he was, she instead just wanted to make him proud and that’s it. She was defined by how well she lived up to his legacy. (And that’s not even getting into the misogynoir of her ending, my god.) At the end of the day, LM and JDS wanted to get props for having Strong Female Characters™ without actually writing female characters in a strong way. It’s shallow representation at best.

And finally, the issue of queerbaiting and Bury Your Gays with Adam and Shiro. Prior to season seven, JDS and LM announced that Shiro was gay and had been in a relationship with another instructor at the garrison, Adam. Fans were promised that we would meet Adam and season seven. They generated as much buzz and fanfare as they could, got everyone excited . . . and then not only was it not evident without knowing beforehand that Shiro and Adam were romantically involved, but Adam died about five minutes after his introduction. What they essentially did was pull a JK Rowling: We only knew that Shiro was gay in season seven thanks to them telling us beforehand (similarly to Dumbledore’s “reveal”), and Adam died immediately so there would be no chance of a reconciliation. Shiro did later get to marry a man and have a kiss and all, which is at least something (though the fact that we didn’t get to see that relationship develop is highkey disappointing), but that doesn’t change what they did in season seven. To make matters worse, JDS admitted in his open letter that they knew they were doing the “Bury Your Gays” trope, but that they (paraphrased) “hoped that the reveal of Shiro’s orientation would overshadow it.” I.e., they just wanted the brownie points for saying, “Hey, Shiro’s gay!” instead of actually showing him in a loving relationship with another man and letting the story tell itself. They didn’t want to actually write a queer character or queer relationship; they just wanted the praise and positive buzz for saying they did.

And that’s the same pattern that almost all of VLD’s representation falls into. With the exception of the racial diversity on the show (and even that fails in some areas, such as the writing hinting that mixed-race galra are treated badly, but never delving further into it, though at least we did have skin color diversity among the human characters), VLD’s representation was shallow and only there for brownie points and accolades. The VLD staff did not actually care about representation; they just wanted the awards for having a diverse show. As far as I can recall, I believe that they only started talking about queer representation once people started pestering them about it on twitter. To that end, we could even surmise that it was never originally planned (which would explain why Shiro did not ask Keith about Adam after first waking up in season one, because even if they had broken up, Shiro had planned on marrying that man; you can’t tell me he wouldn’t have cared or been curious), but that they just slapped it on once they saw it would garner positive publicity after shows like Steven Universe aired. Everything LM and JDS ever did was for their own glory; it was never out of genuine care and consideration.

By contrast, The Dragon Prince has given us both representation and care. As another brief rundown:

General Amaya is a deaf character who speaks in ASL and who was created by the crew working with deaf and hard of hearing individuals to make sure she was portrayed authentically. The crew has said in numerous interviews that once they decided to make Amaya deaf, they worked with numerous deaf and hard of hearing people to make sure they were portraying her authentically. They had deaf and hard of hearing people doing ASL in the studio so that the animations were accurate and authentic, too. They didn’t just decide that Amaya was deaf and call it a day; they actually worked with people in that community to make sure that her portrayal would really speak to others in said community, that she wouldn’t be an offensive stereotype or a shallow presentation. And even more than that, we see how Amaya’s disability has informed her character and arc. While she can read lips (and the ability she has to do so is a bit realistic, but that’s been addressed by the creators saying they did a bit of leeway for the sake of the story flow), she still has an interpreter with her in her season one appearances, and we see that her soldiers have learned ASL as well. In fact, it’s because one of the soldiers knows ASL in season two that he is able to tip Amaya---and only Amaya---off to the fact that there are sunfire elves holding him hostage. Amaya being deaf doesn’t define her character, but we do see how it informs her character (and her relationship with her sister, when she and Sarai share a dirty joke that those who don’t know ASL don’t understand!), as well as how it informs and affects the plot.

The female characters are ALL well-rounded, and none of them are dependent on male characters for their arc. Honestly, I have so much to say about the lady characters in The Dragon Prince that I could be here all day if I tried to do a rundown like I did above for VLD, but the simple fact of the matter is that all of the lady characters---even ones we only get glimpses of, such as Sarai---show that they have thoughts, motivations, and character arcs that aren’t dependent on their relationships with male characters in the show. To try to keep it brief:

Rayla was raised and trained by Runaan to be an assassin, and she does want to get Azymondias back to the dragon queen, yes. But she’s also motivated by the sense of shame she has over her parents abandoning their duty as Dragon Guards to flee for their own lives instead. She’s motivated by a deep, internal sense of Right and Wrong that pushes her to hesitate to kill those who aren’t attacking her, and to defy Runaan’s orders once she learns that the egg wasn’t shattered after all. This same internal sense of Right or Wrong has her questioning her job as an assassin in season two, and pushes her to defend the defenseless dragon that Soren and Claudia want to chop to bits. She cares quite a lot about Callum and Ezran, given that it’s heavily implied that they’re the first friends she’s ever had her own age, but she’s not afraid to argue with (or even temporarily separate from) them in order to do what she feels is right. She’s her own character, and even if any of the male characters were removed, she’d have enough to stand on her own.

Claudia was taught dark magic by her father, Viren, and she cares a lot about her brother Soren, yes. However, she also has clear passion and love for dark magic; she considers it “fun” to turn chains into snakes, gets super excited when she has a new breakthrough, and is fascinated by magical ruins and artifacts. She studies magic not because she wants to be like her father or because she wants to make him proud, but because it genuinely fascinates her and she loves pushing her own potential. She’s also impatient and frustrated when her “shortcuts” don’t work out; she uses dark magic for convenience, as seen when she uses it to make pancakes, and she throws tantrums when things don’t go her way. She also has little regard for lives that aren’t human. She’s her own character, and even if any of the male characters were removed, she would still have enough character and motivation to stand on her own.

Sarai was Harrow’s wife, and mother of Callum and Ezran. Lesser shows would have just left her as that. But even though we’ve had hardly any time to get to know Sarai, we see that she was so much more than that. We see little details, like how she had a sweet tooth and felt that dreams that weren’t dirty were “boring.” We also see how she was Harrow’s closest adviser when she was alive, and how she “advised” him through sparring matches. We see how she was passionate that all life was sacred, how she argued against killing Xadians for the benefit of humans, even those humans in her own kingdom. We see how she was willing to stand by Harrow even when she disagreed with him, and that she didn’t let go of her disagreement, but still did what she felt was Right. And we also see that even when she disagreed, she could still see when the success of the mission was more important than anything else, as she gave her life to save Viren’s so that the people of Katolis and Duren would live. Sarai was her own character with her own motivations, and would have been strong even if she hadn’t been Queen of Katolis. These are just three brief examples, but the way that characters such as Amaya, Ellis, Lujanne, and Aanya were portrayed follows these same lines. The female characters in The Dragon Prince are written to be people rather than Strong Female Characters™. Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond never bragged about having strong female characters on their show, but they didn’t need to for us to see what a diverse and well-rounded cast of female characters they have.

Finally, the queer representation. In season one it was strongly hinted that Runaan and Tinker Elf from the credits were in a relationship, and I’m of the opinion that Aaron recently confirmed on twitter that Runaan is in fact queer (because when someone asked him if Runaan was the queer character who died, Aaron said “we all know Runaan isn’t dead :)” which would imply that while he’s not dead, he is queer). Unfortunately, they’re not happy together just yet, but I have hope that Runaan will be saved in the coming seasons, that we’ll get to meet Tinker, and that we’ll get to see them happy together. I hope so. Then there’s Aanya’s mothers. I already spoke about this in the post you replied to, so I won’t go on about it at length again, but I will point out that no one on the crew bragged about having queer representation this season (it was a Hypable reviewer who brought it up), nor was their relationship ambiguous in the show itself as Shiro’s and Adam’s was. Moreover, when Aaron addressed the fans, he agreed that fans had a right to be upset that they were, promised more representation in the future, and asked us to trust him. Rather than growing angry at the fans who were upset and liking petty salt posts defending him on twitter the way JDS did before admitting that all he wanted were brownie points, Aaron sympathized with the fans and promised to keep listening. And with the way they improved the animation after hearing fan feedback, I believe that they’ll take this to heart in the future. We already know that Ezran’s choice at the end of this season wasn’t originally planned, but that they went with it because they listened to his character. This tells us they aren’t married to their plot, and are instead writing to character. I believe that they’ll take all this into consideration moving forward.

No show is perfect, because no content creator is perfect. I’m not saying that The Dragon Prince hasn’t or will never make mistakes. But I am saying that we have already seen five billion times more care and consideration from the crew of The Dragon Prince than we ever saw from VLD. All the cards are in place for The Dragon Prince to truly do right by its story, characters, and fans, and that comes right down to the crew and what they’ve already shown us. Any depth and care that VLD had came from the fans rather than the creators or the show itself. With The Dragon Prince, we see depth and care within the first episode or two, and that has never lessened. I completely understand being burned by VLD, because I was, too, but The Dragon Prince is an entirely different project by an entirely different team from an entirely different studio and is on an entirely different (much higher) level. VLD’s sins have no place here, and I truly feel that we have nothing to worry about.

#nerd-bastard #//#///#////#/////#voltron salt #voltron negativity #representation

8 notes · View notes

strangeremembrances · 6 years

Note

Is the film as good as the book Megan? 🙏

WORLDS COLLIDE! Hannah!

Oh god, this is a question. I have a free evening so you’re getting my full attention and I’m always in the mood to talk CMBYN and unleash my ridiculous love so here goes!

First off, I will try not to be spoilery…. BUT THIS IS HUGE AND I HAVE OFFICIALLY GONE INTO HEART EYES MODE BUT HERE IS MY OVERVIEW.

I have loved the novel for so many years that it holds such a special and important significant for me so that’s difficult to compare anything to. I was 19 when I first read the novel and I’m nearly 29 now so that’s nearly 10 years of adoration….

That’s why I was terribly nervous when I heard they were making a movie. That kind of changed when I saw Armie’s instagram wayyyyyyyy back when in January 2017 around the same time as Sundance and he tagged it #billowyblueshirt - I pretty much lost my mind!!! I mean, THAT IS OLIVER. That’s how I pictured him (minus baby Harper of course!). He was a little younger looking in my head but Armie looked SO MUCH like the Oliver in my mind.

And then this came out:

youtube

I was so stunned because I didn’t really know much about Timmy. I recognised him from Homeland but that was it and yet, he looked like Elio. Again - I had the same response! He looked like the Elio I’d imagined in my head and that tiny clip made me so excited. It still didn’t stop me from being nervous as you can’t get much from a little clip but by the time the main trailer came out, I was BEYOND excited because so much of what I’d imagined was in front of me and so close to how I’d always pictured in my mind. Plus, the shots were so pretty and almost art house that it didn’t feel like they’d cheapened it or gone for the obvious adaption they so easily could have.

The trailer I first saw was this one:

youtube

I swear to you, the moment I saw the part where Elio says “listen, when the time comes, this is how he’ll say goodbye to us…Later”, I stopped being nervous. Completely. That scene still kills me.

I desperately tried to get tickets to the BFI screenings but they sold out so I could only see the movie opening night in the UK on 27 October but it was one of my favourite and one of the most memorable cinema experiences I’ve ever had, second to possibly seeing Titanic when I was a kid.

Yes, there are parts of the book that I wish were in there that sadly didn’t make the cut. I made a post about that ages ago. I have a tag on here that has all my ramblings under (HERE!) but I think I talked about that.

Does it have some flaws? Of course! There are a few editing moments that I thin would make non-novel readers unsure and some of the dialogue remains unexplained… unlike in the novel but I do wonder whether some of that is by choice to allow the viewers the ability to make up their own mind. I am definitely able to cast a critical eye but I am so fond of the movie as a whole and a novel!fan that I can’t help but be overly descriptive and gushy haha. It’s a marmite kind of thing for many and none of the characters are perfect in the book or movie but that’s what I love. They just happen to be fascinating and interesting to me.

SO NOW FOR THE RAMBLING……

The movie is different from the novel. There is about 1/3 of the novel in the movie. The entirety of Ghost Spots is gone. Most of San Clemente Syndrome is also gone. But yet the movie doesn’t suffer because of it. Luca has talked endlessly (and oh god i have wanted every single interview he’s done for this movie, I’m sure. I’m sure an admirer) about his decisions for the movie and one of the big ones is that he wanted the audience to grow with Elio. He didn’t want the novel’s reflective nature or the Proustian thing clouding the audience’s judgement of what was happening. He didn’t want voice overs or a narrator and, in my view, it is HANDS DOWN the best thing he did. You experience EVERY SINGLE MOMENT with Elio. From start to finish, you’re with him during his summer and you disappear. The movie is so immersive and beautiful for that, I’m so grateful to him.

PLEASE GO SEE THE MOVIE IN A CINEMA. That’s the best advice I can give. I hope it’s showing in the UK still where you are. Just take that time out and go see it. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is. From the second the credits start (and i swear, they’re some iconic bloody credits. The second I hear Hallelujah Junction *goosebumps*) it’s just the kind of movie that lifts you out of your life, drops you into Italy in the Summer and you spend every moment experiencing every second with these characters.

As for the comparison of the characters in the novel to those on screen. THIS IS WHERE I GET EMOTIONAL. Elio. Oh Elio Perlman is my sweetheart. The first time I read the book, I got him. He taught me so much about being brave. But novel!Elio is DRAMATIC as I’m sure you’re aware if you’ve read the book. He is hormonal and ridiculous and weird as hell. He’s so OTT and it the world’s most unreliable narrator so to play THAT right is just the most difficult task and it was what I was most frightened of. Let me tell you…. everything, EVERYTHING, that critics said about Timmy’s acting and his portrayal of Elio is spot on. It is one of my favourite piece of acting I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. All of those Elio thoughts and feelings in the novel, all the internalisation and the intense thoughts he has… getting that across is a TASK and you read them all on Timmy’s face. I can’t even list them. It’s every damn scene. Moments of note are the dinner table scene where Oliver doesn’t show up. I even made a post of this because it stunned me to much (HERE!). The scene in Mr P’s office when Oliver’s showing off about his apricot knowledge and novel readers know that Elio is already enamoured and thinking filthy thoughts…. it’s ALL THERE on Timmy’s face. I could go on and on and on about him and how he quite frankly blew my mind but the main thing I keep coming back to is that movie!Elio is a JOY. He is an absolute delight to behold. Novel!Elio is so intense and because you’re inside his mind, it’s difficult to see him the way the world does. Movie!Elio is so lovely. He’s every bit as intense and kind of difficult and bold and hormonal as novel!Elio but he’s also light and fun and playful and SWEET. He’s EXTREMELY SWEET. There are some tiny little moments that are so effervescent and make me smile so much because Elio sparkles on screen. He dances and shimmies and lazes about, he touches everything in sight, he climbs Oliver like a tree, he smiles and argues and fusses and swoons and is just PERFECTION. I’m not going to go on and on because I’d spoil stuff…. the ending thought. The very final 2 seconds of the movie are forever etched into my brain.

As for the movie itself. It’s blissful. The cinematography is breathtaking. You feel part of the home and the landscape and Luca’s heart is in every frame. It’s like a painting. The music is wonderful and fills every scene with nostalgia and this sense that the Perlman’s are effortlessly cultured. The editing AHHHHH. GOD. There are some editing choices that I could kiss Walter Fasano for. It has an arthouse feel (MY FAVOURITE), and is SO LONG. It’s a very long movie and that was the biggest treat. There are directorial choices that I want to cuddle Luca for, namely how certain scenes are framed - especially the nosebleed scene and the entire MIDNIGHT sequence. That sequence is long and drawn out but constructed with little details so beautifully.

The other characters are so RICH and I was devastated to let them go when the movie ended. Annella is so much more than in the novel and I adore her. Marzia is WONDERFUL. Mafalda is every bit as sassy and great as the novel even if her part is smaller. But the VP is Mr Perlman. Reading the novel, anyone will remember and feel moved by his speech to Elio about life and love and letting yourself experience life: good and bad. The movie version moves me to tears from start to finish, every single time I see it. Mr Perlman is a GIFT in this movie. Every single character was so real and warm and the family moments are some of my favourites from movie.

Finally, the chemistry. Everyone has chemistry with EVERYONE. Notably, Elio and his parents. The level of affection in this movie is off the charts. Everyone hugs and kisses and cuddles and touches and it’s the most refreshing thing. But obviously the chemistry everyone wants is between Oliver and Elio and it’s so natural and almost unstaged (especially the midnight scenes) that I was speechless. They are wonderful together. It’s so clear that Timmy and Armie became friends. They shot the movie chronologically and much of the way the movie developed and occurred was how Timmy and Armie met and became friends. Watch any interview… haha. They are special on screen together.

My absolute FAVOURITE thing though is how the movie is so thin on dialogue. Compared to most movies, it is sparce and treats the audience intelligently because so many of the BIG moments are simple and delivered through nuanced acting (specifically by Timmy and notable by Armie in the goodbye portion of the movie). There’s no exposition, very little emotional talk as it is SHOWN and that is hands down the reason this movie resonated with me so well because that’s what I wanted from an adaption of the book. I didn’t want Elio TELLING us, I wanted to see it. And you do. VERY WELL.

So yeah, ESSAY DONE. I could ramble on and on. I truly ADORE the movie. It is up there with my all time favourites and I said after seeing it for the first time, that gratitude is the overwhelming thing I felt when I walked out of the cinema and after I’d picked my broken heart up off the floor…. my feelings haven’t changed.

If Luca sticks by his intention on sequels to follow Elio’s life, well I’m on board. I’d have NEVER said that last year. I’d have never wanted anyone to touch the novel or expand on the novel for a second. But I trust Luca. I’m pretty much a bloody disciple at this point hahaha. I fell head over heels for these characters and I don’t want to never see them again - especially Elio. Once you’ve seen Timmy’s Elio, I’d defy anyone to NOT want more.

So, in summary. THE MOVIE IS MAGICAL. It is different from the novel in some areas, in some it brings to life the pivotal moments in the first portion of the novel and although it misses out some of my most cherished portions of the novel, in my view, the movies doesn’t suffer for it. I hold them both dear for different reasons and they compliment one another in the loveliest way!

23 notes · View notes

casscutting · 4 years

Text

Author Interview: David Viergutz

I had the pleasure of meeting David (online) by complete chance. I was mindlessly scrolling through my Instagram feed one night and came across a post from a writer that I follow. He had just finished reading this book with one of the most beautiful covers I’d seen in a while. I read the caption then immediately went to Goodreads to see what this book was about. I was HOOKED from the synopsis and added it to my “Want To Read” list.

I went back and commented on that post, gushing over the cover and saying how I needed to read this book. Sometime after I get a message request from this guy, David Viergutz, I am shit with names until I get to know someone (online and in-person) so it never dawned on me who it was.

But I opened the message and he was saying how he saw my post and offered to send me an e-book in exchange for an honest review and I JUMPED at the chance and I am glad I did. I knew from the first page of his book I was going to love it and I did. I also hoped that he would be down for an interview and I was elated when he said yes.

David is an amazing writer and author and I look forward to seeing his career take off because I know it will. I encourage every one of you to go and get a copy of his books you won’t regret it.

Why don’t we start off with an easy question, why do you tell us who you are and a little about yourself?

So, I’m a bit of an oddball in the writing community, or so I feel. I’m a father of two (15 and 2, yeah…I know…) and a Law Enforcement Officer. I joined the Army straight out of high school and became a LEO shortly after. I had ZERO idea I wanted to be a writer. It wasn’t until my wife came around, about 10 years later, who convinced me I COULD be a writer. It was interesting, she looked at me and said, “Write the damn book!” after we had discussed how I had wanted to write one since I was 12. Like so many others, writing fell to the wayside as work took over.

Besides work, and writing, I’m a personal trainer and have my own business, and I recently dove head-in to leatherwork. I’m still learning, but it’s fun.

My wife is also a LEO and a medical student. I’m just counting down until residency so I can retire at 32 and write full-time, haha.

You are the author of The Box And The Bird a novella that came out in October 2019 as well as The Demonic Compendium a wonderful novel that I've had the pleasure of reading. Can you tell my readers a little about these books?

The Demonic Compendium is my flagship into the world I am writing. I never set out to write a book, I set out to create a universe. Most of my favorite series end so soon and I wish there was more. In writing epic-fantasy, I wanted to make sure this wasn’t an issue for my readers. That being said,

The Box and the Bird is a taste of The Demonic Compendium Universe, also known as The Darkenverse. (Think Marvel Cinematic Universe or the Star Wars Expanded Universe). This book is a fast-paced intense read that follows Samantha Lawson as her husband Richard returns home from a business trip with something terrible. This book ties into the main universe, but is not considered on the main timeline. I offer it free on my website davidviergutz.com.

The Demonic Compendium is my bread and butter and the first of many in the series. While it is epic fantasy, I bring in some elements that I think set it apart. Anti-heros, doom-and-gloom, dread, epic-battles and a fully immersive world. One reader said he felt like he wasn’t just in the story, he was also watching my main character Shaw cast wild demonic-magic and tromp through the castle.

The Demonic Compendium takes place in the wake of a terrible tragedy that has befallen a budding kingdom. We follow Shaw as he is forced to make terrible decisions for the greater good, and hopefully, find his purpose in the process. Not to give too much away, but there’s a reason my personal mantra for writing is:

“The hero doesn’t always win. The good guy doesn’t always get the girl. Things are going to get a lot worse.”

What was your inspiration for these stories, where did the original spark come from?

Well, I truly wrote the book I wanted to read. I thought back to a few captivating moments from what I’ve read and seen in movies and wanted my readers to get chills as they read the epic moments. Think about when Gandalf stands on the bridge with his infamous line. Or King Leonidas when he boots the emissary into the hole. Or when the Red Ranger screams “Tyrannosaurs!” I wanted a book FILLED with those moments, so I focused on those big events, and built a world to fit it.

The Demonic Compendium is the first book in your debut series, how many books do you have planned for the series altogether?

It’s hard to say. I’ve purchased covers for three additional books, as well as a novella from the same timeline following another lead character. As long as my readers love it, I’ll keep writing it. That said, I have a new series flagship releasing this year in the urban-fantasy genre.

Steering away from the book related questions. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I spoke above about my wife giving me inspiration to write this particular book, and get to the end of it, but my overall spark came when I was about 10 years old. I carried a black notebook with a home-made floppy-disk holder on the inside cover. I’d write my story paragraphs out, then read them to my friends and transfer them to the floppy disk.

This was my art, because I had failed art…I couldn’t connect two dots, I would have just eaten the crayon because I thought the assignment was stupid. I find my ability to write is a carry over from my ability to speak, so I stuck with what I was good at.

From idea to publication about how long does it take you to write a book?

Planning and plotting are about a solid two weeks (part time, a few hours a night). After that, my pace is a steady 1000 words an hour. On a good day (I’m married with kids remember) I can pump out 10k if I’m left alone. Most of my books are planned and plotted for 100k, minus the novellas. So, math aside, I’d say 30 days. I wouldn’t say a month, because life likes to drop a dragon in my living room. Now that I have my business processes down, 30 days is an accurate guess. When writing TDC, I had to learn the business, hire a cover artist, formatter, etc, so that delayed my process.

Both of your current books are indie published why did you choose to go this route and not the traditional one?

I love working for myself, and as I see my books as my art, I am reluctant to give that up. I’m very much a self-made-man, and I feel when my writing is loved and only my own efforts are responsible, it’s just that much sweeter when I make a single sale.

Which authors inspired you to write?

This is a tough one, as a lot of authors I enjoy have a lot of overlap. I prefer their methods instead of just their stories so I’ll mention those. From Dean Koontz, I loved The Husband for the mind-bending twist. Michael Crichton for the adventures in Jurassic Park, and Garth Nix for his epic magic in The Abhorsen Series.

What is the best writing advice you’ve heard?

Write the story you want to read. You don’t need to please everyone; you just need to please your fans.

Can you tell us about your writing process? What’s a typical writing day for you?

I’m a musically motivated to write. When I sit down at my desk, I make sure the music I’m listening to matches what’s happening in the story. There cannot be any words however, it must feel like I’ve got my own theme-song as I narrate on paper what I’m seeing in my mind.

My process is that of a plotter. I start with my epic moments, then think about who I want to be a part of them, then build in my what-if statements.

What-if a dragon lands in my living room? What-if it looks terrifying?

Now, I’m forced to answer my own questions with more plotting.

And then it seems to be entirely confused. And then it has crippling self-esteem issues.

I then arrange these series of thoughts into an outline, expand on them, and use that to write pages.

If the perfected productive writing day existed what would it look like for you?

I’m an easy fellow. 5:00 AM-6:59 AM workout. 7:00 AM-7:59 AM post-workout shake, shower, get ready, chores at home. 8:00 AM-11:59 AM in the office with hot coffee. 12:00-12:44 PM break to warm up meals and walk around neighborhood. 12:45-3:45, edit what I just wrote 4:00PM-5:00 PM, marketing, social media and business functions. 5:01-8:00 PM family time to include dinner. 8:01-11:00 PM, read, more writing or hobbies.

Why do you write?

Because I can’t afford to pay an author to write books exactly how I want to read them. I love my own stories.

What is the hardest thing about being a writer?

Okay besides the usual gripe that I hear/read people hear/write about, self-esteem, doubt, anxiety, introverts, socially awkward etc.…

How about the fact that we’re trying to make money on a commodity that has fallen to social media, instant gratification, and the digital age? The average e-book sells for $2.99. That’s a lot of books to sell just to fill the gas-tank.

What are you currently working on?

Book Two of The Demonic Compendium: The Queen of Duska Cereal of Third City: A novella from the TDC series timeline

The Bullet Board: An action packed urban-fantasy heist.

Lastly, what is the best advice you can offer someone who dreams of one day being an author?

Fake it until you make it. Undoubtedly you know something I don’t about writing, even if you’ve only written a Facebook post. You are the expert of YOUR stories. Stop looking for validation from others on how THEY would change YOUR story.

If they don’t like your story, they can write their own. Give yourself some credit and when you’ve finish something, anything, show it off, and be proud, it’s your art.

Author Links: Website Instagram Twitter Goodreads Facebook

Book Links: Goodreads Amazon

Question of the day:

If you could ask your favorite author a question what would it be?

0 notes

taeguboi · 6 years

Text

BTS x Other Idols pt 1

Request: ‘ Bts X other idols?’

It’s in 2 parts because these four came somewhat easily but I’m still thinking about the other three at the moment.

This post: Rap Monster, Suga, Jimin, V

Next post: Jin, J-Hope, Jungkook

BTS x Other Male Idols HCs:

Rap Monster x Young K (DAY6) - YoungMonster 영몬스터

Whilst I haven’t seen any Day6 / bts insteractions yet, it is now a dream of mine since my obsession for Day6 has grown extortionately

Smart and offensive

Brains brains brains

“I’ve always wanted to try bass”

*Young K starts to teach him*

*string snaps after two notes*

Falling asleep on the sofa together

after a busy day of trying to create the best collab track

Imagine that duet...

Or it’s just Young K asleep on the couch

and Rap Mon decides to put his stuff away for him

but halts when he reads what Young K has been writing

It’s beautiful, breath taking

and then at the bottom of the sheet, it says it’s for him

Don’t fully know their own strength

“Hey guys, can you help lift this furniture with me?”

“Sure”

*SNAP!* *THUD!* *TWANG* *insert all the onomatopoeias*

The hottest couple on Halloween

(I’ve just seem Young K as a vampire and oml)

Hands hands hands

Interviews and recorded interactions be like

Rap Mon: “Call him Young K”

Looking at you Jae...

s e x a p p e a l

OFFENSIVE

Fans would be like

“Hello, police? Yeah, I’d like to report an attack”

“Emergency services? Ambulance please. There’s been a murder”

and then your friend is at your hospital bedside like

“All they did was do a vlive together”

“WITH MALICIOUS INTENT!!”

Back to the hands

their fingers intertwine so perfectly

Jackson sometimes third wheels them

Like the Young Monster are about to have a moment

they’ve just gotten emotional after an argument

and are about to lean in for that make up kiss

then Jackson comes jumping in between like

“Let’s go grab a bite to eat!!! Whoo!!”

*simultaneous sighs* “Fine, let’s go...”

Ignore age, Jackson becomes their kid

so they let him run ahead to finish their moment

but he realizes before they can do that

“Come on guys! Let’s go!”

Suga x Chanyeol (EXO) - YoonYeol 윤열

Baby faces

Manly voices

Matching black tracksuits

don’t forget the baseball caps that hide their faces from the world when they just cba

Chan gets a bit eaily shook sometimes

but Sugs is used to is because of Hobi

kinda tol x kinda smol

Forming a side band together

Yoongs on piano / synths

Chanyeol on guitar

plus some other people they know I guess

Because it’s like a rock band, they play it cool on stage and on camera

but once that red light turns off, they’re so cutesy

and so gay for each other

but breathe a word about that and u die

Sugs might act cold and indifferent

but then Chan does something romantic and

Sugs is putty in his hands

Jimin x Taemin (SHINee) - 2MIN 둘민 / 2민

Okay this one didn’t need considering; I adore SHINee and I adore this interaction... Some say they’re probably doing the do... I mean, you know, maybe, but here’s a completely fictional HC haha [In which Jimin breaks a lot of hearts, particularly up10tion who seem to be mostly Jimin biased hahahaha]

Time for another idol appearance

Kai is a mutual friend

The most beautiful dance collab

it’s how the 2min emerges actually

All those rehearsals and getting to know each other

until Kai can’t make it to one of the sessions

2min getting flustered

because it only just clicks in that moment

that they might be low key crushing on one another

Kai comes back next time like

“Are you guys a thing yet?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, it’s obvious”

That couple everyone adores

Smol children that need looking after

until everyone finds out they’re a thing

then suddenly, they seem less pure

‘Magic hand Taemin’ finally touches something that he doesn’t lose or break

V x Baekhyun (EXO) - TaeBae 태배

Jesus, there’s so many to choose from! There’s Minjae, Minho, Hoshi, Hyungsik, Daehyun.... but I just had to go nuts and pick one of my BTS biases with my EXO bias and khhhfbdskfnbhgfbsnfkdlk the footage of them doing Rainism oml especially when at the time, Minho was also my SHINee bias I could have died

Social butterflies

Casual fashion

which still gets them a photo shoot for Vogue

Strange habits and quirks

probably annoy the shit out of YoonYeol

Charisma and manly charms on stage

Cutesy puppies off stage

competitive

but with kinda pointless things

first it’s like push ups

but then tomorrow, they’re seeing how many items they can fit inside a balloon

“Tae? Where’s my plushie?”

*looks across the room to see a plushie character head sticking out of a big ball of rubber*

Video games

sharing headphones

Outdoor dates

Teacher Tae because Baeks wants to skateboard

a c t o r s

they both get cast together in this k drama

it was supposed to be quite serious

but they add their own comedic element

and the directors can’t not incorporate their off camera gimmicks

and elements of their outtakes

it becomes an international success

it’s like the next Strong Woman Do Bong Soon:

a bit gay but both characters are completely straight

i think

fans are watching religiously each week

who will the main lady end up with?

neither: they run away into the sunset lmao... jks

2nd lead syndrome either way

no matter who you were rooting for

They start playing cupid with other members

only their choice of girl is the right choice

and not to get too nsfw but

Showers together

AEGYO

This wasn’t very specific so I just looked back on previous BTS interactions that I can remember and picked some favourites as well as creating my own (but not with GOT7 members since I already made this post, and not iKon either since I have that waiting in my box...)

I’m sorry at how long I’m taking to do requests recently! I just don’t care to close the requests either because I think people should be able to ask whenever they want, whenever they find my blog and see I do requests.

9 notes · View notes

aitaikimochi · 7 years

Text

High☆Speed Free! Starting Days Event Report

The High☆Speed Free! Starting Days event was held at the Ryogoku Kokukigan Sumo Wrestling arena, the exact same location where the Free! Eternal Summer event two years ago was held. The biggest announcements of the event were the three planned Free! continuation movies:

1) Free! Timeless Medley ~絆 Bonds~ This will be a compilation of scenes from Free! Eternal Summer as well as new scenes relating to Makoto, Haruka, Rei, and Nagisa

2) Free! Timeless Medley ~約束 Promises~ This will be a compilation of scenes from Free! Eternal Summer as well as new scenes relating to Sousuke and Rin’s promise to him

3) Free! Take Your Marks This will be a completely new full-length feature film following Haruka after he graduates from High School

For those interested in what happened during the Afternoon event, here’s a detailed report, so enjoy~

I personally am really happy that the High☆Speed event was held at the same location as the Free! Eternal Summer event two years ago, and it brought back a lot of nostalgia from the previous event. It was really a great experience.

The event was divided into several sections, and for sake of convenience I will refer to each character’s voice actor as their nickname, and the voice actors are as follows:

Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Tattsun): Makoto Nobunaga Shimazaki (Zakki): Haruka Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Tosshi): Asahi Koki Uchiyama (Ucchi): Ikuya Kenji Nojima (Nojima): Natsuya Satoshi Hino (Hino): Nao The sections of the events were the following:

1) ふりかえり Furikaeri (Recap of Scenes) After the introduction where all voice actors came to the stage in the middle of the arena, the first segment was the “ふりかえり” (Recap of Scenes). The scenes that each voice actor chose was as follows:

Tosshi (Asahi): Natsuya comforting Asahi after he is scared that he won’t be able to swim other styles anymore Ucchi (Ikuya): Ikuya copying Haruka’s bento box Nojima (Natsuya): Natsuya & Nao greeting the first years during swim training Hino (Nao): Nao’s scene in the hospital with the Iwatobi Swim Team Tattsun (Makoto): Nao asking Makoto if he likes swimming or if it’s because Haruka’s there that he likes swimming Zakki (Haruka): The sleepover scene where Makoto, Asahi, and Ikuya stay over at Haru’s place after he faints

During this Furikaeri portion of the event, Tattsun mentioned that during the previous Free! Eternal Summer event, there was a huge flub where instead of a simple announcement, they actually accidentally announced the new High☆Speed movie, and Zakki was like “Oh my god yeah I remember that happening too! It was so awkward!” A good portion of the audience also remembered what happened, so this was pretty funny to hear since a lot of Free! fans who came were also in the previous event two years ago.

2) Iwatobi Middle School Training Program This segment of the event was basically the “interactive activity” part where there was a game board on the stage’s floor that had letters on each section, and the voice actors had to roll a dice to see how far they can progress on the board game.

The guys divided themselves into teams as follows: Makoto & Haruka Asahi & Ikuya Natsuya & Nao

The first roll of the dice was for Natsuya & Nao’s team, and they landed on the letter “O” that stood for “Oyasumi (Break Time).” This triggered the part of the game where a surprise guest’s video recording played, and the surprise guest was Hosoyan (Sousuke’s voice actor).

Now, Hosoyan is known to always give very strange and long-winded answers during interviews, and basically this was 5 minutes of Hosoyan being extremely random and saying stuff that no one was paying attention to because the video was playing on the stage’s floor, and Tosshi and Tattsun kept on making fun of Hosoyan’s face by lying down over his nose or sticking water bottles near his nose to make it look like he had nose hairs. It was really hilarious, to the point where no one was listening to Hosoyan anymore and was just laughing at what the voice actors were doing. When Hosoyan’s message seemed to almost be over, he would continue again with more random ramblings, and everyone was like “Man we really need to be careful not to land on ‘O’ anymore because if Hosoyan comes out again, we’re screwed!” It was really funny.

After Natsuya & Nao’s turn, it was Asahi & Ikuya as well as Makoto & Haruka’s turn afterwards, and both of them landed on “A” that stood for “Activity.”

The activity was しろとり (Shirotori, a kind of word game where you say a word and the next person has to say another word using the last syllable of the previous word), but to make it more challenging, the Shirotori game was combined with Pictionary so the voice actors had to DRAW each word. The first round was Asahi/Ikuya vs Natsuya/Nao, and the second round was Makoto/Haruka vs Natsuya/Nao, and it was hilarious because no one can draw LOL.

An interesting thing I noticed was the Tosshi (Asahi’s voice actor) is left-handed haha.

After the activity was finished, this segued into the third segment of the event.

3) KyoAni Shop Merchandise PR Basically during this segment, Tattsun and Zakki were doing a promotion of KyoAni Shop’s goods related to High☆Speed that will go on sale from now until May 2017. The two items in question were an Illustration Board Set that contained original illustrations of all the main characters of High☆Speed as well as a High☆Speed Storyboard Complete Set that also comes with a copy of Rin’s letter to Haruka.

After the little PR section was finished, the audience was treated to a short drama CD intro (I think this is the drama CD that came with the Premium Ticket), that segued into the live Drama performance

4) Iwatobi Swim Team’s 記憶会お疲れ様パーティー (Thank You Party with Memories) The live drama was a continuation of the Drama CD scenario, and basically it featured Makoto, Haruka, and Asahi going to Ikuya and Natsuya’s house for a small swim team party.

When the boys arrive, they note that the food that was prepared looks delicious, and Ikuya said his mom prepared the food. They then also see Nao there, and Nao says that he comes over to Natsuya’s house often to watch DVDs of swimming and just hang out.

After the boys finish eating food, they play several hilarious games where Makoto and Asahi had to pretend to have a Kansai accent and act out a scene together. This was really funny because after Asahi started going off about random stuff and then did a tongue-twister that was really difficult, Asahis’ voice actor (Tosshi) gave himself a high five because he performed that tongue-twister without messing up lol.

The next segment was a wrestling contest with Nao and Ikuya, and Nao likes teasing Ikuya, and I think it was Makoto who was like “Wow, Nao-senpai really likes teasing and torturing Ikuya,” LOL it was pretty funny.

The segment after that was Makoto and Haruka’s “telepathy,” where Makoto said to the boys that he can read Haruka’s thoughts. Natsuya asked Makoto what Haruka was thinking, and Makoto looked at Haruka and said “he’s thinking, Makoto your Kansai accent was terrible,” to which Haruka said he was correct lol.

After the party segments, the boys thanked Ikuya and Natsuya for their hospitality and went home.

5) Miyano Mamoru’s Message As the event was slowly wrapping up, one of the voice actors were like, “Oh wait, but we have one more special guest video message!” Soon after, Mamo appears on screen and says he wishes he could be there today but was not able to. However, voicing Rin really changed his life, and he really felt that he was growing up with Rin, sharing laughs and frustrations, tears, annd happiness together with the character. He ends the message saying he really wishes he can continue growing with Rin, and that they can make more and more things since Rin has really impacted him a lot as an actor and also as a person. This then segued to the big announcement of THREE FREE! MOVIES. The crowd all around me were all in tears and saying thank you to the cast for letting this happen.

6) Voice Actor Thank Yous After the huge announcements, each voice actor had a thank you message to say to the fans, and the most notable message was from Tattsun. I took some notes of his message and condensed it a bit, but he said more or less the following:

Free! is a work that brings smiles to everyone's faces, and I wanted to live up to what Makoto represents, which is positivity and an optimistic view on life that really resonates within me as a person. I prayed that we can continue Makoto and everyone's story. Although Today is an event for High☆Speed, I hope to see you all again from here on out for Free! and all it embodies. Thank you all!

I thought that Tattsun’s message was really touching as Free! really has been a very large impact on a lot of people’s lives, and I personally am really happy that we will be getting continuations because this just means that they really do listen to their fans (and money of course LOL), and it’s great to be able to see the boys again and see them live their dreams this time around.

6) Ending Message After the voice actors left the stage, an instrumental version of “Aching Horns” started playing, and the message on the screens was “See you next movie!”

~END~

I'm really excited to see what the Free! Timeless Medley movies as well as the Free! Take Your Marks movies are going to focus on, and although the Free! Take Your Marks movie brief synopsis is that it will focus on what Haruka does after he graduates from high school, I can’t help but feel that this might just bring us to Haruka and Rin training for the Olympics, but the true Olympics part will be an actual season, but who knows. All we know is that Free! is back, and hopefully they’ll make it better than ever~

#free!#free! timeless medley #makoto tachibana #haruka nanase #rin matsuoka #high speed movie #my translations #personal #gpoy #me

929 notes · View notes

mitsukimahoutranslations-blog · 7 years

Text

Ohira Shunya livedoor interview english translation

Original article with the beautiful pictures intact: http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/12825090/

Key: Pink bit = bits in italics and bold, the interviewer = bold, Shunya = normal text

And usal disclaimer that this translation may not be 100% as I suck big time at reading kanji and I had to take liberty with some of the translation or it wouldn’t of made sense in english haha (lot of going back and forth between the article and Jisho.org)

“To be able to experience the feeling of being greeted by a standing ovation again”

The stage play where we see Sendo Aichi and Kai Toshiki fight, strengthen their bonds and grow- “Cardfight Vanguard”. Last year I was surprised that a card game had been turned into a stage play and how one year has past and now we have a sequel. At the time of last year’s performance did you and the cast feel the feedback?

In the curtain call of the last performance we were greeted with a standing ovation and the vivid scene still remains with me. At that moment I thought that this piece of work had gotten through to everyone. Out of all the time I’ve been acting.it was a moment that made me thought ‘Ah, I’m really glad that I became an actor.’

A “live” reaction by the audience, then?

During rehearsal I felt that the cast bonds deepened but before the audinence it felt like our hearts had become one.

In the first place how are you meant to perform a card fight on stage? I can’t imagine it at all.

Same for us! (LOL) Before we entered rehearsal it was a constant ‘what was going through the head of the director’ or ‘how should we reproduce what he was thinking’. It was very difficult. When we entered rehearsal we were like “Ah, this is how the projection will be projected.”

When the audience saw it for the first time were they like ‘Ah, I see! This is how it’s going to be done.’

I was always thinking during rehearsal how the audience would view it from their perspective. We kept watching videos of us rehearsing and there were definietly going to be people who had never seen Cardfight Vanguard before and to those people I wondered what sort of piece of work they thought it would be like. I thought and I thought.

After all that suffering to bring it to life, a sequel has been annouonced...

I was really really happy. Also Some-san (Someya Toshiyuki/Suzukamori Ren) during curtain call was like ‘I want to do it 2, 3 more times!’. In joker-hen I want to see Narumi Asuka and Ren fight! I went and said that and now it is going to happen. I was seriously really happy.

“As leader I’ve got to be a reliable figure!”

About the main character, Sendo Aichi, that you play, what are your thoughts on the transformation into the new look with blue eyes and hair?

I feel it’s a little different from last time. Now that he has entered high school he feels slighly more adult like. Of course during the last performance I built up the character and this time I would also like to build Aichi up from zero again. When I looked at myself in the mirror I thought that I had to create a character that lives in the world on the stage.

Is there any particularly exciting and fun parts about this piece of work?

Last time Kai-kun (Kento) helped Aichi but this time it is my turn to help him. That part if really fun so please anticipate it!

You’re the same age as Kento-san, aren’t you?

We are quite close, going to fast food places toghether and playing vanguard together. So we were like ‘what are we Sendo Aichi and Kai Toshiki or something?” But now (I have a new deck of cards) everyone is too strong (at Vanguard) so cards from five years ago won’t work... is what we have been talking about. (LOL)

Seeing Aichi and Kai in unexpected places...(LOL)

From now on, I’m anticipating how Aichi-kun will get strong with his cards. I start to daydream about his future story. (LOL)

Following up from last time, you’ll be in the position of leader again.

I was concious of that all right. It would be bad if I was lazy, wouldn’t it?

I don’t think anyone thinks of you as lazy though... (LOL)

Usually we have a family-like relationship but when the time comes we do it properly. I want it to be a company like that so for that to happen I have to pull myself together! No one would want to follow a lazy leader, would they?

After all the different types of stage plays you’ve been in I bet you’ve seen loads of different types of leaders.

I’ve met many amazing leaders over the years and thought stuff like ‘this person was doing this’ or ‘I might as well do this too’. But when it came to actually doing it, of course the older people were helping and supporting the younger ones. I wanted to be a leader like that, I thought.

This time there are new members joining you.

Yeah there are. I’m really excited! There are the twins MIO-chan and YAE-san who play Jillian Chen and Sharlene Chen (this was before rehearsal started) and I couldn’t tell between the two. (LOL)

The capability of the leader is questioned there (LOL)

That’s bad, isn’t it? (LOL) Kento-kun and Some-san are friends from the last performance, and alongside the new members I think we will continue to love this piece of work!

“My school days when I stopped going to school...one meeting changed my life!”

This time we see Aichi all grown up in high school. What were you like during your middle and high school days?

Actually there was a period when I didn’t go to school...It was really painful and sad....(LOL). But a childhood friend senpei of mine said to me ‘come and play tennis’ and he invited me to play. And so everyday he came and invited me and before I know it I’m attending a tennis club and everyday slowly started to become fun and I started to want to go back to school. I feel like I’m like Aichi-kun in that respect. Because I have such a past, I feel like I can really cherish the friends and world that I have right now. I can really empathise with Aichi-kun’s life.

Aichi-kun had a time when he was withdrawn and cowardly but after meeting Kai-kun, he had loads of different meetings that helped him grow.

That’s right.I think I am blessed with all the people around me.School is another different world, different from the entertainment world, and there I met loads of different senpai that influenced me. I can now stand where I am today thanks to all the different people around me.

In the first place what made you want to be an actor?

Ever since I was young I was saying that I wanted to be an actor. Because of that I don’t remember what was the inital motive was (LOL). In my elementary school anthology I wrote ‘I will become’ as I felt a sense sense of purpose.

Sense of purpose!

I felt that ‘I had to live as an actor”. Because I had that sense of purpose I now think ‘With this job, this part is really interesting’ or ‘this senpai is really cool’ and gradually I got to understand the interesting parts of this job.(LOL)

Because you had such a strong sense of purpose, when you finally debuted were you concious of the fact that you were a ‘professional actor’?

At one point I did think that but because of Musical Touken ranbu I thought ‘Ah, there is no point to that’.

The trial performance of that started in October of 2015 which was only a few months before Vanguard it was pretty recent, wasn’t it?

To be satisfied with myself I don’t think of myself as a professional but that there are things needed to be done in order to be a professional but what they are I have no idea. It was the director Isamu Chino-san (TL note: is this his name? God knows with names haha) who tought me to hold affection and love.This meeting was sort of like a crossroad, as it pretty much meant hold those strong feelings that I’ve always held. I felt like I moved up a level.

(Does this make sense? I’m not sure myself tbh haha I’m so lost over what the hell he’s talking about here lol)

It seems right now is really fun, right?

(At a performance there is a surprising amount of loud voices) It’s really fun! I’ve had encounters strengthened bonds. Last year alone I worked with over 500 people including all events and plays. I don’t think there are many jobs where you are able to do that.

“Has a cute outward appearance but on the inside is an Japanese sake loving old man?!”

Although it may be rude, you are 163cm tall which is pretty small compared to the average male. In the world of stage plays where it is advantageous to be taller due to having to move your body around loads, do you ever feel any handicaps or complexes over it?

In all my life I’ve always had strong complexes over the tall people. I’ve been called a midget. Actually, I used to be very cute because of my height. Not that I’m boasting.

From the current you, I can imagine you being a very cute young boy.

Small and cute...I’ve always wondered ‘why won’t I grow any taller?’.But now that I’m in this world, it became my unique trait and I have my place here because of it.

Because you are now surrounded by even taller guys, do you still have a complex over it?

That’s right. Because it is my unique trait, I can use it as my weapon while working and I think that is a wonderful thing.

How do you feel when you are called cute?

Saeki Daichi who co-starred in Musical Touken ranbu with me says it a lot. That I’m the cutest. (LOL) It has become a unique trait needed to survive in this world. Right now, I have a place here and I’m thankful to my parents for that.

Compared to your outward appearance, what is your personality like?

Not at all cute. I’m basically an old man. An old man who like crab miso and Japanese sake. (LOL) When I get called cute I’m like ‘thank you so much’ but when I get called cool I get embarrassed. Really, as I’ve not been called it a lot I’m not used to it (LOL).

(Finally finished lol that was a long interview but a beautiful one at that haha and some parts I’m like really lost over what they meant so if something doesn’’t make sense it because I’m lost myself haha. If there are any major translation errors tho please point them out as this is the first time I’ve translated a long interview so there is probably a load of errors haha)

#Ohira Shunya #butai #stage play

37 notes · View notes