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ramblingaboutglee · 1 year

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Season 6 - What Glee Should Be

Okay hear me out, I have a point I swear

Glee was cancelled going into S6. A half-length season, everyone knew it was over. There was no need to hold back, no need to compromise - and what we got was a highly divisive season that nevertheless feels like it was what the writers wanted to be doing for the last five years.

Note the focus on teacher-roles, Rachel instructing the New New New Directions, and Will and Sue’s rivalry taking the fore in later episodes. Note how none of the students get any more than one episode arcs, where even romantic subplots are constrained to single episodes unless it’s drama surrounding the teachers. It’s reminiscent of Season 1 of Glee, before the show was re-geared to be about the kids rather than Will and Emma.

But now the original kids are the teachers having the romantic subplot, creating an interesting middle-ground. But all in all, this feels so much more like the show that Glee was intended to be, now that there were no consequences for unpopularity or low ratings. It’s easy to imagine that, had the fandom not focused so much on the students, this might have been what Glee would have always looked like.

Does this mean it was good? That’s always going to be down to personal taste. But certainly, it is interesting to see the thought process shift.

Let’s look at them side by side

But seriously. There’s no escaping the fact that a lot of the heyday of Glee, and a lot of the things the fandom loves, weren’t part of the show’s original conception. There were always character arcs with the kids, a dash of acknowledging some real-world topics, but it was through the lens of, well, Will Schuester as the main character. Which is a sentence that feels so weird to type, but watching the pilot, watching the first season (especially 1A), it’s undeniable.

The show is about a teacher who learns from his kids, and through doing so has their life improved and helps figure out what they want in life and in their relationships. It’s about the idea of wasting your youth, and trying to recapture that and live your dreams even after feeling like you let them pass you by. That’s Glee season 1, before they had any idea of the huge fanbase they had, and what that fanbase wanted.

And Glee season 6? Rachel returns to McKinley, unsure of her place in life, and as she figures it out she chooses to become a teacher. She goes from hitting a low point, at the start of the season, to sorting out her priorities, finding romance again, and finding joy in helping others get the spotlight rather than being in it herself. And in much the same way, Blaine gets a comparable journey, going from a relationship that gets an alarming amount of vitriol, to finding himself with the Warblers, the school he went to originally, and having that help spark his development. Both of them have left behind successful performances to, well, teach Glee after something in their life crashed.

Rachel, Blaine and Will all get the same story.

Plus, of course, the throwback to building the Glee club one member at the time.

Parallel lines, who meet

You could complain about repetition. I’d argue that’s the point. Going to S1 again, it’s all about the parallels - right from the Pilot, Will and Terri and Emma are paralleled with Rachel and Quinn and Finn. There are a dozen tiny examples threaded throughout, like Quinn and Puck naming Beth and the immediate next scene being Shelby asking Rachel why her dads named her that - Glee likes to lay adult and teenage life side by side, and look at similarities and differences.

We’d be here a while if we listed everything. In S1, 3 and 4 especially, the show loves to compare and contrast - so having the original teens live the same arc as the teacher, well, it’s not unexpected. (shout out to Final Countdown having Kurt and Rachel watch Will and Sue have their sing-off and “...We cannot end up like them.”)

The echoes are the point. And when Glee goes out, it goes for parallels between Will and the kids, just like it did when it began.

Ain’t we got fun?

I feel like humour is going to be one of the most divisive things about S6. For me, it was a breath of fresh air - S5 had definitely gotten a little stale with some of the jokes. It referenced for the sake of referencing sometimes, and had grand set pieces that were played up like they were funny, and... weren’t, so it just ended up feeling a little weird.

S6, at least, is different. Love or hate Sue’s terrifying shipper-robot, it’s certainly not just a rehash of an old joke. Sue as an adversary is nothing new, but the dynamic she has in S6 as the over-the-top principal is different. There is imagination to a lot of the new quips, whether or not they work for you.

Then we have The Final Countdown, which harkens back to Run Joey Run and Baby Got Back as an unabashedly comedic musical number. The season gets a couple of those, and while the genre seems despised by the fandom, the writers seem to enjoy them, so given the chance, they added more.

It’s interesting. I’d probably say that one of the biggest issues Glee ran into was how it started to feel samey, and I wonder if that was a result of the same thought process that governed the show after S1 - trying to just do the things that the fandom reacted to. And when it’s too late to get the fandom back, they have the freedom to go for different things. There is genuine effort to do different rather than just do more - which inevitably runs the risk of alienating fans, but they were cancelled anyway so...

Lending a shoulder

So let’s talk about the social awareness side. How does S6 fare?

Honestly, surprisingly well. It’s still Glee, so not perfect, but there were beats that I noticed while watching that genuinely felt like an apology.

So let’s talk about Beiste. There is nuance here. Coach Beiste comes out as a trans man this season - I’ve seen this criticised, and I understand the criticism, that it undercuts Beiste’s arc in previous seasons. Originally, the depiction of a cis woman who was not conventionally attractive nor conventionally feminine still wanting acknowledgement and respect was, in its way, radical - then again, Beiste has had very little to do for a while. If the alternative was nothing, then I’m content with mere continuity wonkiness.

So let’s talk about the quality of this depiction. Glee’s previous foray into trans issues is Unique, and right from her name you get that uncomfortable vibe that they were just writing a drag queen, and there is that distinct undercurrent to some of her appearances. There was some good, but there was also a lot of... well, just imagine a ‘you tried’ star here.

Then comes Sheldon Beiste. I think this was the first time the word ‘transgender’ was actually said on the show. He’s explicit, upfront, takes a name that isn’t just ‘Badass’ or some such, and is otherwise presented and treated as just a guy, with other characters treating him without the transphobia Unique faced. Plus there is the off-handed scene where he mentions that he’s always been attracted to guys, and that’s probably not going to change - a mainstream show acknowledging that not all trans people are straight in 2015 feels bizarrely radical, especially after Unique.

Then there was Becky getting an episode that pretty much just existed to call out how she’d been consistently infantilised in previous seasons. Honestly that was one I had to google after the episode was done because there are a lot of things I don’t know about Down’s - the fact Glee of all shows got that reaction is kinda impressive.

Certainly, there are bits that are handled with the usual lack of tact, but there is a surprising amount to admire here. Which then, again, makes for a season one comparison and makes me wonder - in S1, the major dynamics that went for commentary were Kurt’s relationship with his dad, and Quinn’s arc dealing with conservative-family expectation and pressures, and a lot of that is well-handled compared to what a lot of people might expect from Glee going forwards.

There’s a lot of potential speculation there, but if nothing else, it indicates the season wasn’t low-effort.

Being the kids, as well as the sitter

Glee is about growing up, and it’s about what that means. We have a season where the teacher takes centre stage, like was originally planned, only it’s teachers that more people care about - Rachel, Kurt and Blaine probably have more fans than Will.

But what of the kids?

Given that they only have half a season, they’re impressive. It helps that they’re well cast - most only really get one or two big songs, but they’re able to nail them (if you haven’t, go listen to Roderick’s Take Me To Church, thank you), and all of them feel distinct from previous archetypes. There are also fresh dynamics here - Roderick and Spencer’s neat friendship, Jane fitting in with Dalton is brand new, Mason and Madison offer a sibling dynamic we surprisingly haven’t seen before given how rarely Glee has siblings (Kurt and Finn didn’t really act it, and Puck and Jake had few interactions).

Again, there’s genuine effort and freshness put into them, but it’s effort with the understanding that they aren’t leads. They don’t get multi-episode focuses on any love triangles or romance plots, they’re unmistakable secondary characters but it’s in that role that they thrive.

Is season 6 the best season of the show? No. And it’s one it’s easy to imagine being hated, because it is a departure from previous seasons. I could list flaws - there’s a lack of focus, a desire to bring back characters that can give a very scattershot approach, and some dynamics do feel definitely underexplored. There’s no arc to compare to, say, Quinn’s development in S1.

But for a half-length season that’s also wrapping up past characters, it does about as well as it reasonably could.

It really feels like this was the show that they meant to make, though. You can feel the extra effort that goes into it - plus the music that was selected sticks out. A Burt Bacharach episode, a Carole King/Alanis Morisette episode, these are definitely from the era and genres that the writers showed a preference for earlier on. We get another Queen song, we get Styx as the finale - bands that have both appeared before. This is a victory lap. There are certainly more modern songs included, but it’s reminiscent of, again, Season 1 thriving on the back of Journey and showtunes and Queen, before a younger audience made them insert more contemporary music. It feels as though the songs they’re including are the songs that the writers like, rather than leaning on chart-toppers - the Bacharach theme episode is one of the lowest watched episodes in the show’s run, which is kind of shocking given how easily artist-focus episodes could get a bump in viewership. For some reason though, fans of a songwriter whose heyday was in the 1950s/60s don’t cross over massively with Glee.

And yet they went for it. Why? Because they wanted to, they liked the songs (Bacharach tends to be basically showtune-adjacent, you’ll find a wealth of musical singers who’ll do his songs for albums and concerts), as we can tell by S1 using his ‘I Say A Little Prayer.’ This is what the show would have been if there was no care about what the audience wanted.

For me, the biggest flaw with Glee was the fact that they had no bloody idea what they wanted the show to be, or who the target audience even was. It goes from edgy teenage comedy, to teachable-moment kids’ show, to shockingly nuanced adult drama.

Hence the title of this ramble - this is what Glee feels like it was meant to be, regardless of personal taste. How much a show should listen to its audience is a heck of a complex question, way too much to go into this far into an already too-long ramble, but it’s still interesting to see. When they aren’t trying to balance intent and audience, you get a fascinating lens through which to look at the show.

There is effort here, which raises the question - if this is the show that they wanted to make, as it seems to be with how effective it is as a redo of the original season and original intent of the show and thereby the interests of the writers, what does that say of past seasons? Where are the compromises, where are the decisions made to feed into what the fandom wanted? And are the departures from this vision strengths or weaknesses?

I feel like everyone’s going to have a different answer to that question, and I do wonder if that’s why Glee fandom often seems so divided. Functionally, there are two shows going on here - it just depends which you were tuning in to see.

#Glee #Glee Meta #Glee Season 6 #Rachel Berry #Roderick Meeks #Spencer Porter #Jane Hayward #Madison McCarthy #Mason McCarthy #Kurt Hummel #Will Schuester

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pillow-anime-talk · 3 years

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his talented baby. {pt.1}

synopsis: You as a person with a huge (and hidden) talent, and also a girl who really surprises your boyfriend.

# tags: scenarios; current relationships; romance; fluff; some PDA; sfw

includes: female reader ft. ken kaneki & nishiki nishio {tokyo ghoul} + yuuma isogai & itona horibe {assclass}

— KEN (ft. singing)

Your closest friends invited you to a popular karaoke bar on one Friday night to celebrate a successfully passed semester in college. Of course, you couldn’t forget about your lovely boyfriend, who was at the same university, but in a different field (i.e. Japanese literature) and always supported you with all his might, knowing how much you want to do your dream job in the future.

So you went to the meeting together, and on the way to the designated place you talked all the time about what the next year of study would bring you. As soon as you reached the room where your three closest besties and one male friend were waiting for you, you both greeted them warmly, immediately taking off your thick coats and taking your seats on a soft, leather couch next to a table filled with tasty-looking snacks and colorful drinks.

Long minutes of conversations between the six of you resulted in drunk plenty of alcohol and blushes on the faces. After drinking, you always got more talkative and more self-confident, so you suggested using the TV and the karaoke machine. Of course, you first offered your friends and Ken to sing something, but they all declined, saying that you should start as an initiator. One of the girls, blonde-haired Minami, smiled at you with a sparkle in her pretty golden eyes, adding that you are the best in this and you should show how to do it correctly. You chuckled in response, waving your hand at her to dismiss compliment.

Kaneki, on the other hand, frowned as he looked at the boy who was sitting on his right.

“... Oh, you don’t know? Y/N-san hasn’t yet praised herself to you that she has a wonderful voice? Huh, huh.” The black-haired boy shook his head, reaching for the glass filled with blue something again. “Hmmm, well. Normally Y/N’s very shy, but she always sings at trips when she’s drunk.” He chuckled while you picked one of your favorite songs in the meantime. So everyone looked at your standing figure, then heard the characteristic sounds from one of Selena Gomez’s songs coming from the gray speakers.

“My dear, I dedicate it to you~!” You looked with joy on your face towards the eighteen-year-old, giving him a quick wink, and then you started your little performance with ‘Love you like a love song’ from the above-mentioned artist.

Your friends didn’t seem surprised and instead started clapping to the beat of the music... but Ken’s eyes widened and he spat out his high-percentage drink, not knowing how to react to the fact that for nine, long months of your relationship, you concealed the fact that you could sing so well and so beautifully. Your voice was perfect for the song that was playing now, and you seemed to be having a great time – there was a huge smile on your lips, your eyelids were slightly closed and your hand was over your heart. If it weren’t for the fact that you were at a karaoke bar, everyone would definitely think you are playing a concert on the biggest stage in Tokyo city.

After the song was over, another girl got up to present a completely different choice, and you handed her the dark microphone, bowing in the process.

Kaneki still seemed speechless and as soon as you sat down next to him, he immediately kissed you on the warm forehead, asking you to sing more to him, especially when you two are going to be alone, because he probably fell in love with you once again and just wanted to experience that love every day thereafter.

— NISHIKI (ft. ballet)

Nishiki, as a pharmacy student, didn’t have much time for extra-curricular activities or unnecessary meetings; in addition, the fact that he was a bloodthirsty ghoul and had to watch over himself made it difficult for him to function normally in the life of Kamii University. However, the brown-haired man always found time for you, for his beloved girlfriend.

You had been dating for over three, long years, and the man definitely couldn’t imagine his own life without you by his side. You knew each other better than anyone else in this world, but sometimes some tiny things of your ordinary day eluded Nishio; of course you understood it perfectly and you weren’t angry or disappointed with him. After all, he had to protect himself, you, take care of his specific menu, be vigilant at every step, and additionally he had to pretend to be the perfect student, senpai (or kouhai) and friend of other people.

So you weren’t surprised when one day you handed him a silverish ticket for probably the most important show of your life and he just looked at you in wonderment. At the beginning, the twenty-year-old asked if it was a performance related to singing or playing an instrument due to the fact that the colorful paper didn’t tell him too much, but you just smirked as you tweaked the unruly, soft hair on his head.

“Hmm. If you don’t remember what I do in my free time, it’s even better, I guess. Come and see it for yourself, honey. I think that thanks to this you will even calm down a little and rest due to the recent weeks.” You announced in a light tone of voice, and the young man sighed under his breath.

“So... I’ll find out in three days, am I right?” He made sure by correcting his glasses and you nodded, then grabbing his rough hand and kissing his cool cheek. A short while later you suggested going to your apartment and catching up on a few episodes of your favorite series that you started quite recently.

The anticipation of your important day passed very quickly and on Saturday, at 6 p.m., when everyone took their seats (with your boyfriend sitting on one of the balconies with the best view of the stage), delicate music was played in the theater, which made everyone shiver on the whole body. Until then, the brown-eyed boy somewhere in the back of his head had the impression that it was a theater performance or an opera, but when he saw your person appear on stage in a beautifully tailored dress and ballet shoes, all the questions that flickered in his mind disappeared in literally one second.

‘Well, yeah. I remember now. She always told me about ballet classes and new shoes.’ A huge, proud smirk came on his pale face and you glanced out of the corner of your eye towards his VIP seat.

Though your expression was cold and composed, you felt an enormous heat in your small heart as the man waved at you, showing two thumbs up. His lips moved even slightly, and although Nishiki tried to hide it, you knew perfectly well that the pink blush and mute ‘I love you’ was sincere and even better than being able to play Odetta, the White Swan, in a ballet spectacle.

— YUUMA (ft. songwriting and guitar playing)

Christmas at school was never what you enjoyed; maybe due to the fact that before, your classmates on main campus were quite specific and you definitely didn’t fit with their strange ‘ideals’. It was only in the class E that you felt that you could find real friends or people who would share your ideas.

But, hmm. Still, you seemed to stand out from the rest of the girls in the class who had more... down-to-earth hobbies or characters than you; Okuda liked chemistry and was really excellent at it, Kirara loved reading, Rio was the best at English and had a great sense of fashion, and Toka was pretty good at cooking. Contrary to them, you preferred to... do more ‘intimate’ things. Writing short poems filled your heart with peace and prevented you from being as critical of yourself as usual. And when you wrote the lyrics of the songs, made notes or melodies to them and sang quietly, you could feel like a real artist that everyone wanted to admire and imitate.

Therefore, when your first and last class holidays with the rest of the 3-E students were fast approaching, Koro-sensei was the one who asked you for a short talk. You weren’t sure what this was about, but moments later your uncertainties were dispelled.

“Y/N-san, I think you mistook your notebooks today and instead of giving me your homework, you gave to me... this.” He said in his as always happy voice, and seeing the black notebook in which you always wrote songs and notes, you blushed all over your face, apologizing profusely for the mistake. “Huh? But this is no mistake, my dear. If it weren’t for this, I would never even think that we have such a talented soul in Class 3-E. So would you like to perform in front of the rest of the students and teachers during the holidays?” The easy question made you widen your eyes and sighed.

“I-I’ve never played in front of anyone, so...” You admitted shyly, and the tall, yellow octopus just chuckled.

“I’m pretty sure they will love it. We can practice together.”

Well, you couldn’t refuse (especially when Koro-sensei offered to bring your favorite, foreign snacks...) and on class Christmas day you showed up with your acoustic guitar and a notebook full of chords and songs. Everyone was surprised and curious at how well you play guitar. After all, you’ve never even mentioned that you can play any instrument before. On the other hand, the class representative, and your boyfriend at the same time, immediately came up to you, asking if you were really okay; better than anyone else, Isogai knew that you didn’t like too much attention and big crowds. But you reassured him it was okay and promised your teacher you would do it, so you smiled at him and then took your seat under the blackboard with a wooden guitar on your lap.

The song you chose for the day was a song you wrote quite recently. It had a little bit of magic, and at the same moment it seemed very romantic and delicate. Even Karma seemed delighted with your beautiful play and soft voice that echoed from time to time between the walls of huge classroom.

At the end of the song, you decided to raise your gaze and simultaneously look at your all friends, three teachers and other half; everyone was really happy and positively speechless. So you gave Yuuma a slight wink, making him blush sweetly.

The young teenager definitely hoped you would show him more of your songs someday, not necessarily the happy Christmas carols Kaede and Ritsu asked for.

— ITONA (ft. dancing)

“... You never mentioned that you can dance.” He admitted softly, and you squeezed his smooth hand tighter.

“So... I mention it right now. It’s not a big deal, baby. I just ... like it and enjoy it a lot.” You giggled as you correcting the black sports bag over your shoulder, then opened the heavy door to the training room, immediately jumping up at the sound of loud squeals and greetings from your closest friends. “Guys, this is Itona Horibe, my boyfriend that I told to you before! Love, it’s Aki-chan, Yui-chan, Kazuya-kun, Saburo-kun, and our cameraman and editor Ryuu senpai. Most often, the five of us cooperate with each other when it comes to dance in groups of five people. And... today we are going to cover a song so I hope you’ll like it. I’ll go change and you all, please, don’t scare my boyfriend and give him something to drink!”

As a group leader, you often came up with choreographies and warm-ups for yourself and others. So, it couldn’t be otherwise this time. For the last week and a half you have been practicing the choreo you came up with and today you were supposed to record material for the video on your quite popular YouTube account. You were extremely excited, not only with the new content, but most of all with the fact that your beloved one would be able to watch it live and evaluate your skills that have been refined over the years. So as soon as you got back to the teens waiting for you, you kissed the light-blue-haired quickly on the right cheek and told him that he could sit against the wall, close to the table full of snacks and the contact for charging the phone.

Then you talked with everyone for a while, doing a short warm-up and reminding the cameraman about how to move the cam. A few short minutes later, you lined up in the middle of a huge white room with Ryuu in front of you. You knelt down in the center, of course, gently moving your shoulders to calm your rapidly pounding heart and heavy breathing, and when a song by Ariana Grande started playing all over the bright room, you all looked at the already activated camera, shaking your heads and then you got up from the wooden floor.

Itona... was speechless. He has never seen people dancing before, he has never even been interested in others, only you and what you like. Today he got to know your little passion, which turned out to be a breathtaking talent, and the boy wondered if you could do anything else; are you good at one specific dance genre or are you able to move your body in a completely different rhythm than he currently saw?

From Koro-sensei’s history lessons, when you two were in junior high, the eighteen-year-old remembered perfectly well that there is also classical dance, tango and breakdance. So could you also do that? He had to ask you about it later.

But now his curious gaze was focused on you and your huge, radiant smile, and the sound of feet hitting the ground. He also looked at your legs, tiny hands, stomach, and hair, while he wondered if he might learn to dance too, to be even closer to you and your hobby. After all, you looked so beautiful and so joyful... He wanted to share these emotions.

#— 🍁#tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul scenarios #tokyo ghoul x reader #kaneki ken #kaneki ken scenarios #kaneki ken x reader #nishio nishiki #nishio nishiki scenarios #nishio nishiki x reader #assassination classroom #assassination classroom scenarios #assassination classroom x reader #itona horibe #itona horibe scenarios #itona horibe x reader #yuuma isogai #yuuma isogai scenarios #yuuma isogai x reader

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mishinashen · 3 years

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Self-Portrait by Alphonse Mucha, 1899

Alfons Maria Mucha (Czech: 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, and designs, which became among the best-known images of the period.

In the second part of his career, at the age of 43, he returned to his homeland of Bohemia-Moravia region in Austria and devoted himself to painting a series of twenty monumental canvases known as The Slav Epic, depicting the history of all the Slavic peoples of the world, which he painted between 1912 and 1926. In 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the independence of Czechoslovakia, he presented the series to the Czech nation. He considered it his most important work. It is now on display in Prague.

Alphonse Mucha was born on 24 July 1860 in the small town of Ivančice in southern Moravia, then a province of the Austrian Empire (currently a region of the Czech Republic). His family had a very modest income; his father Ondřej was a court usher, and his mother Amálie was a miller's daughter. Ondřej had six children, all with names starting with A. Alphonse was his first child with Amálie, followed by Anna and Anděla.

Alphonse showed an early talent for drawing; a local merchant impressed by his work provided him with paper for free, though it was considered a luxury. In the preschool period, he drew exclusively with his left hand. He also had a talent for music: he was an alto singer and violin player

After completing volksschule, he wanted to continue with his studies, but his family was not able to fund them, as they were already funding the studies of his three step-siblings] His music teacher sent him to Pavel Křížkovský, choirmaster of St Thomas's Abbey in Brno, to be admitted to the choir and to have his studies funded by the monastery. Křížovský was impressed by his talent, but he was not able to admit and fund him, as he had just admitted another talented young musician, Leoš Janáček.

Křížovský sent him to a choirmaster of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, who admitted him as a chorister and funded his studies at the gymnasium in Brno, where he received his secondary school education. After his voice broke, he gave up his chorister position, but played as a violinist during masses.

He became devoutly religious, and wrote later, "For me, the notions of painting, going to church, and music are so closely knit that often I cannot decide whether I like church for its music, or music for its place in the mystery which it accompanies." He grew up in an environment of intense Czech nationalism in all the arts, from music to literature and painting. He designed flyers and posters for patriotic rallies.

His singing abilities allowed him to continue his musical education at the Gymnázium Brno in the Moravian capital of Brno, but his true ambition was to become an artist. He found some employment designing theatrical scenery and other decorations. In 1878 he applied without success to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, but was rejected and advised to "find a different career". In 1880, at the age of 19, he traveled to Vienna, the political and cultural capital of the Empire, and found employment as an apprentice scenery painter for a company which made sets for Vienna theaters. While in Vienna, he discovered the museums, churches, palaces and especially theaters, for which he received free tickets from his employer. He also discovered Hans Makart, a very prominent academic painter, who created murals for many of the palaces and government buildings in Vienna, and was a master of portraits and historical paintings in grand format. His style turned Mucha in that artistic direction and influenced his later work. He also began experimenting with photography, which became an important tool in his later work.

To his misfortune, a terrible fire in 1881 destroyed the Ringtheater, the major client of his firm. Later in 1881, almost without funds, he took a train as far north as his money would take him. He arrived in Mikulov in southern Moravia, and began making portraits, decorative art and lettering for tombstones. His work was appreciated, and he was commissioned by Count Eduard Khuen Belasi, a local landlord and nobleman, to paint a series of murals for his residence at Emmahof Castle, and then at his ancestral home in the Tyrol, Gandegg Castle. The paintings at Emmahof were destroyed by fire in 1948, but his early versions in small format exist (now on display at the museum in Brno). He showed his skill at mythological themes, the female form, and lush vegetal decoration. Belasi, who was also an amateur painter, took Mucha on expeditions to see art in Venice, Florence and Milan, and introduced him to many artists, including the famous Bavarian romantic painter, Wilhelm Kray, who lived in Munich.

Count Belasi decided to bring Mucha to Munich for formal training, and paid his tuition fees and living expenses at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He moved there in September 1885. It is not clear how Mucha actually studied at the Munich Academy; there is no record of his being enrolled as a student there. However, he did become friends with a number of notable Slavic artists there, including the Czechs Karel Vítězslav Mašek and Ludek Marold and the Russian Leonid Pasternak, father of the famous poet and novelist Boris Pasternak. He founded a Czech students' club, and contributed political illustrations to nationalist publications in Prague. In 1886 he received a notable commission for a painting of the Czech patron saints Cyril and Methodius, from a group of Czech emigrants, including some of his relatives, who had founded a Roman Catholic church in the town of Pisek, North Dakota. He was very happy with the artistic environment of Munich: he wrote to friends, "Here I am in my new element, painting. I cross all sorts of currents, but without effort, and even with joy. Here, for the first time, I can find the objectives to reach which used to seem inaccessible." However, he found he could not remain forever in Munich; the Bavarian authorities imposed increasing restrictions upon foreign students and residents. Count Belasi suggested that he travel either to Rome or to Paris. With Belasi's financial support, he decided in 1887 to move to Paris.

Mucha moved to Paris in 1888 where he enrolled in the Académie Julian[18] and the following year, 1889, Académie Colarossi. The two schools taught a wide variety of different styles. His first professors at the Academie Julien were Jules Lefebvre who specialized in female nudes and allegorical paintings, and Jean-Paul Laurens, whose specialties were historical and religious paintings in a realistic and dramatic style. At the end of 1889, as he approached the age of thirty, his patron, Count Belasi, decided that Mucha had received enough education and ended his subsidies.

When he arrived in Paris, Mucha found shelter with the help of the large Slavic community. He lived in a boarding house called the Crémerie at 13 rue de la Grande Chaumière, whose owner, Charlotte Caron, was famous for sheltering struggling artists; when needed she accepted paintings or drawings in place of rent. Mucha decided to follow the path of another Czech painter he knew from Munich, Ludek Marold, who had made a successful career as an illustrator for magazines. In 1890 and 1891, he began providing illustrations for the weekly magazine La Vie populaire, which published novels in weekly segments. His illustration for a novel by Guy de Maupassant, called The Useless Beauty, was on the cover of 22 May 1890 edition. He also made illustrations for Le Petit Français Illustré, which published stories for young people in both magazine and book form. For this magazine he provided dramatic scenes of battles and other historic events, including a cover illustration of a scene from the Franco-Prussian War which was on 23 January 1892 edition.

His illustrations began to give him a regular income. He was able to buy a harmonium to continue his musical interests, and his first camera, which used glass-plate negatives. He took pictures of himself and his friends, and also regularly used it to compose his drawings. He became friends with Paul Gauguin, and shared a studio with him for a time when Gauguin returned from Tahiti in the summer of 1893. In late autumn 1894 he also became friends with the playwright August Strindberg, with whom he had a common interest in philosophy and mysticism.

His magazine illustrations led to book illustration; he was commissioned to provide illustrations for Scenes and Episodes of German History by historian Charles Seignobos. Four of his illustrations, including one depicting the death of Frederic Barbarossa, were chosen for display at the 1894 Paris Salon of Artists. He received a medal of honor, his first official recognition.

Mucha added another important client in the early 1890s; the Central Library of Fine Arts, which specialized in the publication of books about art, architecture and the decorative arts. It later launched a new magazine in 1897 called Art et Decoration, which played an early and important role in publicizing the Art Nouveau style. He continued to publish illustrations for his other clients, including illustrating a children's book of poetry by Eugène Manuel, and illustrations for a magazine of the theater arts, called La Costume au théâtre.

#czech art #art noveau

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londonspirit · 3 years

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After the pandemic delayed its highly-anticipated release, the In the Heights movie is finally coming to very thirsty fans this Friday - and, to make the premiere even better, a special behind-the-scenes look at the movie is hitting bookshelves. In the Heights: Finding Home is a joint venture with Lin-Manuel Miranda, screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter - it combines never-before-seen photos and oral history style-storytelling to take readers onto the Washington Heights set, spilling all sorts of filming secrets. Here, in an exclusive excerpt, read along as the cast battles record heat to complete the "Carnaval del Barrio" number.

Washington Heights is dense enough, and lively enough, to offer a distilled version of the New York paradox: Life is a nerve-fraying ordeal that you miss terribly as soon as it's gone. (According to local custom, people don't just double-park here, they triple-park.) Everybody knew that shooting a movie there would be difficult and expensive. But Jon [M. Chu, the director,] couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

For all of its fantastical touches-what Jon calls its "sing-to-the-stars-y" energy-Heights has always drawn power from its realism, a depiction of life as it's actually lived. The sweet spot for the movie, Jon felt, would be offering "a very truthful take on living in Washington Heights, then upping it."

In other words: No matter how fraught the process might be, the cast, the crew, and all of their gear-up to and including their fake sun in the sky-were going to spend the summer of 2019 in Washington Heights.

"The essence of a movie dictates where you shoot it," explains Kevin McCormick, a Warner Bros. executive who was integral to Heights. "And there's no way you could not have made this in Washington Heights. To have a movie about this community and not film there would be such a lost opportunity."

The first thing they did there was listen. Members of the production team, particularly Samson Jacobson, the location manager (born and raised in the area-a definite plus), and Karla Sayles, the director of public affairs at Warner Bros., met with community leaders to field questions and respond to concerns. Once again, Luis Miranda was a vital resource, drawing on relationships he had built over decades to make introductions.

The producers vowed to do all they could to limit the physical footprint of the shoot. Cast members shared trailers that they might otherwise have kept to themselves. The production hired people from the neighborhood for roles onscreen and off. Instead of catering every meal, they encouraged actors and crew to buy lunch in area restaurants. They even funded a student production of the show at George Washington high school.

What you see onscreen is a two-hour-and-fourteen-minute record of movie professionals falling in love with a place and its people. They arrived uptown to discover that Washington Heights really was different from most places in New York. Locals opened the hydrants on hot afternoons and played dominoes on the sidewalks. The piragüeros really did park their carts on the sidewalk to hawk their flavors of the day. The fascination seemed to be mutual: Actors got used to seeing whole families-little kids and their abuelitas-watching from their stoops at any time of the day or night.

Which is not to say that it came easily.

To Alice Brooks, the director of photography, the weather problems were "insane." If a storm popped up on the radar anywhere nearby, they had to suspend production. This happened with schedule-wrecking regularity. They expected to be free of such interruptions when they went underground to shoot "Paciencia y Fe" on the subway. Instead, they experienced a torment familiar to every New Yorker but with a twist: They weren't waiting for the train to appear so they could ride it to work, they just needed the garbage train to pass by so they could go back to shooting their movie.

The need to solve the endless riddles of New York filmmaking had led the producers to add Anthony Bregman to the team. At this point, he reckons, he's filmed in just about every corner of his hometown, always looking for ways to capture the authentic look and feel of a place-even when the movie is surreal. (He produced Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a valuable point of reference for the reality-bending frame of Quiara's screenplay.) So he wasn't especially rattled when, on the night they filmed "Alabanza," a nearby building caught fire, or when, on another night, gunshots rang out nearby.

"You want the life of the city?" Anthony asks. "The life of the city is complicated."

The production lost valuable shooting time on both of those nights. They found ways to make it up later. But other days offered no second chances. Anthony remembers looking at the calendar before summer began, getting a feel for what lay ahead. Some days seemed manageable; some days seemed tough. Then there was "Carnaval del Barrio."

"That day," he says, "was impossible."

What turned out to be a defining episode in the whole long history of In the Heights almost didn't happen at all. Many a movie executive had suggested over the years that there wasn't enough plot in "Carnaval del Barrio" to justify a song that was very long and very crowded, which made it very expensive. But the song's power doesn't come from the plot, it comes from the theme. The characters rally one another's spirits amid a citywide blackout. They raise their flags and celebrate their heritage-and their humanity-in defiance of every force telling them not to.

That community-fortifying aspect of the song is "essentially the DNA of In the Heights for me," Quiara says. Beneath the joy, there's a legacy of struggle and resilience. " 'Carnaval' unearths that history. All we have is our fight to be here together, the testimony to our spirit."

To help ensure that the number would remain in the movie, she hooked it into the plot more securely, situating it as a farewell number for the salon ladies, who have been priced out of the neighborhood. But the budget wasn't the only limiting factor. "Carnaval" is unique in requiring virtually every member of the cast to be present at the same time.

The actors' complicated schedules meant that Jon wouldn't get all the filming days he wanted. He would get only one.

Which meant it was time for the hard, slow, unglamorous legwork of moviemaking: planning, organizing, rehearsing, designing, equipping, and rehearsing some more-months of it, all to give themselves the best possible chance to "make the day," to film the whole gigantic number in the time available.

In the world of making movies, "day" is a flexible unit of time, especially for a scene that would be filmed outdoors- in this case, a courtyard between two apartment buildings around the corner from where Lin went to preschool. They scheduled the shoot for a Monday, when union rules would let them start the earliest. And they picked June 24, one of the longest days of the year.

They didn't realize it would also be one of the hottest.

The song would be filmed more or less in order. Which meant that for the production, as for the characters, the salon ladies would lead the way.

Some of the movie's actors were new to musicals. Not Daphne Rubin-Vega, who plays Daniela. When Rent blew the mind of seventeen-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, she was onstage, playing Mimi. But when she arrived for hair and makeup on "Carnaval" day-at 4:30 in the morning-even she was feeling nerves. The uneven concrete floor of the courtyard wasn't like where they had rehearsed. The prospect of filming a seven-page song before nightfall seemed crazy.

She began to hear a voice of doubt in her brain, one that's encoded in a specific ugly memory. After wrapping her first film, she had gone to the airport to fly home to New York and mentioned to the woman at the ticket counter that she had just acted in a movie.

"That's funny," said the woman, who Daphne believes to have been Latina like herself. "You don't look like an actress."

Worries about how they looked, questions about what they were wearing, a general feeling of negativity-Dascha Polanco was feeling them, too. She always loved arriving on set to play Cuca, one of Daniela's fellow salon ladies, because it felt so much like coming home. She was born in the Dominican Republic and while growing up in Brooklyn used to make frequent trips to the Heights with her friends. ("Washington Heights is a small Dominican Republic," she explains.) Now she, too, wondered if she belonged. Am I capable of remembering the steps? she asked herself.

She decided to stop those doubts-for herself and the other salon ladies. She grabbed the hands of Daphne and Stephanie Beatriz, who played Carla, and formed the women into a profane prayer circle.

"Shake that s--- off," she told them. "I'm not going to let anyone or anything interfere with my performance today."

Daphne laughs as she tells the story. "She was so hilarious and said we were going to protect each other from that insecurity. That was such a beautiful thing-going in there with that determination to represent."

By 5:30 A.M., when the sun rose over Queens, sixty dancers had arrived. Christopher Scott, the film's choreographer, tried to prepare them for what was coming, backed by his full team of associate choreographers: Emilio Dosal, Ebony Williams, and Dana Wilson, as well as associate Latin choreographer Eddie Torres, Jr., and assistant Latin choreographer Princess Serrano. By six A.M., dozens of crew members had joined them, making the thousand careful adjustments needed to help a movie look spontaneous.

It was almost nine A.M. by the time Jon called "Action." The cameras started rolling, Daphne started singing, and the clock kept ticking.

Arrange the actors, position the cameras, do a take, reset everybody, do it again. As the sun climbed higher that morning, the temperature rose to what one crew member estimated to be nine hundred degrees. Look closely-see the sweat on people's bodies? Most of it didn't come from the makeup department. But there wasn't time for extra breaks to cool off.

"Please be quiet," a voice on the loudspeaker boomed at one point. "We gotta go."

At one point that morning, Jimmy Smits got his turn to shine. Playing Kevin Rosario wasn't his first Height experience. He had seen the show Off-Broadway and been "blown away" by it, he says. He had offered to help in any way he could, eventually recording a radio ad for the show.

His devotion to Heights carried into rehearsals for the film. As they got underway, he told Chris Scott and the choreography team, "I know I'm playing the dad, but the last thing I want to see is myself in the background, just waving my hands. I want to go all in." They obliged him. He sometimes hobbled home from the dance studio to ice himself for hours.

His payoff came on "Carnaval" day. He had a featured moment in the song: an intricate, whirling combination. The cast and crew watched him do it again and again, cheering him on. He could feel "a lightning bolt of energy" around the set, something he'd experienced only rarely in his long career.

Over the applause after one take, a voice rang out, ricocheting off the walls: "That s--- was crazy! For our ancestors!" It was Anthony Ramos. He, too, had a long history with Heights, but it wasn't as happy as Jimmy's.

Very early in his career, he had tried to get cast as Sonny on the show's national tour. It meant taking a bus into Manhattan from a gig he was doing in New Jersey, going through round after round of auditions. At last he made it to the big moment: a callback in front of Tommy Kail, Alex Lacamoire, and Lin himself.

He gave the song everything he had. He didn't get the part.

He thought he'd missed the one chance he would get to work with Lin, the writer who'd evoked Anthony's own world, Latino New York, so beautifully on a Broadway stage. He needn't have worried. A few years later, the same guys would hire him to originate the roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, Alexander's son, in Hamilton.

When Anthony got to know Tommy and Lac well enough, he asked if they remembered not casting him as Sonny. They said they did.

"You weren't ready yet," Lac said.

Anthony knew he was right. "Only a homie would tell you that," he says.

But he needed one more break to make his way back to Heights and find himself sweating in the courtyard that morning.

In 2018, Stephanie Klemons, an original cast member of both In the Heights and Hamilton, directed a production of Heights at the Kennedy Center in Washington. The night before rehearsals were set to begin, she lost an actor to an injury. She reached out to Anthony: Could he step in with zero notice?

He didn't feel physically or mentally ready, and was about to pass, but decided to do it. That's how he got a second chance to show Lin what he could do in Heights-not as Sonny this time, as Usnavi. In a series of tweets, reproduced on this page, Lin commemorated how overwhelmed he was watching Anthony step into the role he once played. He, Quiara, and Jon all agreed that when the cameras started rolling, Anthony should be their Usnavi.

The bond between Anthony and Lin added to the drama of filming "Carnaval." Lin played Piragua Guy, so he was in the courtyard, too-or, rather, directly above it, on a fire escape. It meant that the whole cast and crew had a clear view of the brief duet that he and Anthony sing in the middle of the number. To people who knew their history, the sight made time go all swirly. Anthony had originated the role of Lin's son in Hamilton, and now he was playing the role that Lin had originated, and somehow the two of them were singing a duet in Washington Heights.

A quirk of the production process made the moment even stranger and more potent. All day, the actors had been singing along to prerecorded versions of "Carnaval" piped over the loudspeakers. But somehow they hadn't gotten around to recording Anthony's side of his duet, so they had to fall back on the only other version on hand: the Broadway cast album. Which meant that Lin wasn't just singing with Anthony that day, he was harmonizing with himself at age twenty-eight, when every bit of what was happening around him would have seemed like a ludicrous dream. "It was like time travel," Lin says.

By three p.m., when everybody had returned from their lunch break-blood sugar bolstered by the ice cream truck that Stephanie Beatriz had hired-time was growing shorter, the day hotter. Now when choreographer Chris Scott talked to the dancers, many listened with hands on hips, hands on knees.

From his fire escape, Lin did his bit to keep up morale. He joined in the clapping that broke out between scenes; he made silly faces; he pulled up his shirt and did belly rolls. Guests watched from the edges of the shoot: Lin's dad and wife, Quiara's sister, Chris's mom, Anthony's sister and mom. Anna Wintour stopped by.

Jon is not the type to direct through a bullhorn, barking orders from the shade. When they'd filmed "96,000" earlier that month on a couple of unseasonably frigid days, he had jumped in the Highbridge Park pool with the cast.

On this day, he darted around the courtyard, giving notes to actors, framing shots, conferring with Alice. He is also not the type to speak in mystical terms, but when he thinks back on that day, he remembers "the sun shining down like a laser-it was like the sun was shining out of everybody."

By late afternoon, the boundary between the make-believe world of the movie and the real world of the shoot had all but melted away. They had reached the part of the song where Usnavi and Daniela try to call forth their neighbors' pride in where they come from. Anthony climbed onto a picnic table and faced the whole cast, rapping, "Can we sing so loud and raucous they can hear us across the bridge in East Secaucus?" Daphne stood near him, arms wide apart, raising them up, willing everybody to stand tall, to keep going.

Both of them were throwing all their skill and commitment into their performances, the stars of two of Broadway's epoch-making musicals doing what they had trained to do. But they also weren't acting.

"To raise the flag for your country, to dance and recognize that we're all here together, and belong here, we don't need to be forgiven for it, or ashamed for it," says Daphne of what she was feeling. "There's a pride in being here from Colombia, or Panama, the D.R., Puerto Rico, Cuba, wherever."

At eight o'clock, with the sun sinking toward New Jersey, the dancers were still dancing. Eleven hours had passed since Daphne had belted out "Hey!" to start the song. Now Jon was trying to get the right take of sixty-plus voices shouting "Hey!" to finish it. In the movie version of the scene, the blackout ends when the song does, so a voice on the loudspeaker would announce, "The power's on!" That's how the actors knew the right moment to cheer that it was over.

After one such cheer, it really was over. Not just the take-the song.

They had done it. They had made the day.

Jon jumped into a swarm of dancers. (Ever see a baseball player hit a walk-off home run, then leap onto home plate into the waiting arms of his cheering teammates? That's what this jump looked like.) People were clapping and shouting and hugging and crying. Alice thought the whole thing was a miracle.

"You know when you see people at a concert cry, and you're like, 'I would never do that'?" asks costume designer Mitchell Travers. "That's what I did." He thinks it's the most sheer human energy he has ever been close to.

Anthony Ramos, in the middle of the crowd, launched into a speech. He can't remember his exact words. He hadn't planned what he was going to say-he hadn't planned to speak at all. He just felt that something needed to be said.

"I might have said, today we made history," he recalls. "This was for our ancestors who didn't get the opportunity to do this-who were fighting to have a chance to do what we just did. It was for love of the culture. It was for our kids, who look like us, to be able to see themselves on the big screen, to see us singing about our pride. Some s--- like that."

Somewhere in the crowd stood Dascha Polanco, cheering with the rest. She was sweaty, tired, tear-streaked-and beginning to feel the spirit move.

"I looked down and saw that concrete floor," she says, "and I saw those fire escapes up there, and I was like, 'New York.' "

She began a chant. It was slow and pitched low: "N-e-e-e-e-w York, N-e-e-e-e-w York." In seconds, the whole crowd took it up. "N-e-e-e-e-w York! N-e-e-e-e-w York!"

They were pointing to the sky. They were dancing.

"N-e-e-e-e-w York! N-e-e-e-e-w York!"

"It wasn't like chanting, 'Oh, I love New York,' " Anthony says later-meaning it wasn't a casual thing someone would casually say. "It was"-he drops his voice an octave and leans in-"I motherf---ing love New York. I'm proud to be from New York. I'm proud to be Latino from New York. That was the chant."

Lin, on his fire escape, was overwhelmed. Quiara, in the courtyard, guessed that people could hear them all chanting for blocks around. "It was the sound of joy and survival," she says. "And the sound of people who were really proud to be artists in community together-all our stories braided and interwoven at that one moment."

The long months of preparation had yielded the thing that movie people dream of creating: the burst of real emotion, the flash of genuine spontaneity. Some of it infuses what you see in the finished version of the song, but some of it can't be recovered now. It's an experience only for the people who got to be part of that impromptu celebration, the carnaval that followed "Carnaval."

That long day and its joyous finale capture, in miniature form, a lot of the Heights experience-what's powerful about it, what's rare. Instead of expecting little from the actors it featured, Heights demanded everything-not just what they could do, but who they were and where they came from. By fusing them with dozens of other artists making the same commitment, it gave them the feeling that Lin had wanted so badly for himself when he started writing the show: a sense of belonging, of being part of a group of people working toward a goal they all hold dear. That's why Anthony, looking back on filming "Carnaval," says, "That was one of the greatest days of my life. Period. If I never do another movie again, I did this."

"Something that arises in 'Carnaval' is a feeling of, 'There's a place for us,' " says Quiara. "But the place is not one that says, 'Oh, I definitely fit in' or 'I definitely don't.' It holds those questions. It allows those questions to exist."

Those questions, she has come to see, are universal.

"People are like, 'What is my place in the world?' That question is actually part of your place in the world," she says. "There's something about In the Heights. It takes such a burden off to hear, 'Yeah, there's a place for you. Here it is.'"

#in the heights #ith movie #in the heights - the movie #spoilers #ith spoilers #sorry - super long post #long post #but I needed the whole text here because it's fucking BEAUTIFUL #and I don't want it to vanish!!!#carnival del barrio

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dangermousie · 4 years

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‘They can’t do transmigration properly due to censors’ what do you mean by that?

I have just answered it in a previous ask, but a little more detail.

China, like many dictatorships, has a censorship office that ensures that whatever media comes out does not say anything those in power dislike for whatever reason (from completely understandable the government will ban it - no criticism of the Communist Party or the ruling President, to bizarre as hell - no time travel or zombies.)

Because of this, every show released in China must be entirely filmed and then submitted to censors for approval. Censors will then either clear it or state what changes need to be made (or say it’s unsalvageable.) That is a reason some shows sit on the shelf for a while. Two of my most anticipated dramas, The Wolf and The Fated General, have been on the shelf since 2017. The former, due to episode count and violence. The latter, due to episode count - which censorship also limits, and because it’s about a historical person and the rules there are super strict, is likely to never see the light of day. There is also Love of Hypnosis, for example, which ran afoul of censorship, because one of secondary actors made comments about the Massacre of Nanking that were not good. There are many other examples.

Sometimes the censors can yank a show bare minutes before airing - happened to my second most favorite cdrama, Novoland Eagle Flag, which literally got yanked 20 minutes before it was set to air and didn’t premiere for months and had to be edited. Sometimes they will yank it mid airing - as happened with Luo Jin’s Gods. Sometimes the show is released but the censors messed with the storyline to its detriment. The recent near-masterpieces Rise of the Phoenixes and Royal Nirvana missed the masterpiece status due the storyline cuts and changes mandated by censors.

The rules are somewhat looser for web-only dramas than those that air on TV but the bulk of them apply to both. And censors have been getting extra zealous recently. It gets especially tricky for period dramas because they are too popular.

Anyway, censorship rules are arcane and change from month to month and sometimes are completely arbitrary. They also seem to vary from drama to drama (I have no idea how Love and Redemption or The Untamed were able to get away with half of what they got away with.)

But nonetheless, there are also a number of topics that are explicitly prohibited. If you don’t have them, the drama might still run into issues. If you have them, you certainly will. Everyone knows those rules and tap dances around them.

Transmigration (ie a person waking up in a body of some fictional or real person in another world/era/setting) has been banned since 2011, when Bu Bu Jing Xin and Jade Person Lock Heart became monster hits - the heroines of both of them transmigrate into a body of a Qing person. Ostensibly, the reason was because some deeply disturbed person tried to transmigrate and died. What the real reason was who knows, though censors and rules don’t seem to like things that are popular and too fantastical (with exception for things in traditional Chinese folklore, like fox demons and similar.) Until recently, they weren’t even big on science fiction.

So, you can not have a character transmigrate on screen. This is a sure way to have your drama banned. However, transmigration is one of the most popular set-ups in web novels many dramas are based on. So the makers have to come with work arounds.

They include:

1. Completely ignoring transmigration and just making the transmigrator a person of that period/country. Some of my favorite dramas do this - The Story of Minglan, Ever Night, The Princess Agents, Singing All Along, General and I. Those are usually stories where the fact that the person transmigrated is relatively easy to deal with by just making them a normal very smart/tough person.

2. Making that person somehow magical/twin/double instead of a transmigrator into the original body - Princess Silver, Legend of Fuyao, Untouchable Lovers.

3. Wink wink nudge nudge. In Love Better than Immortality, the heroine supposedly enters a game simulator. In Joy of Love, they really did an eff you and the set-up is the student telling his professor story the main character of which transmigrates, heh. The Untamed is a great example - in the novel, the protagonist’s soul gets summoned from the dead and put into another body. In the drama they play coy and make damn muddy as to whether he even died in the first place and magic just somehow revived him in his original body.

4. Shared dream or coma until it’s time to wake up. Go Princess Go - sort of (as an older web drama they got away with a lot more than a drama could nowadays), The Romance of Tiger and Rose. Though even there, they usually make sure to have the person wake up in the end and it was somehow a shared dream or similar.

So, basically, they could not have the heroine of Renascence transmigrate her soul into her sister’s per se. Having her soul merge with her sister’s is skirting a millimeter away from what is forbidden, but as someone who comes from another country with censorship, there is a talent in knowing exactly how far you can push without breaking the rules and how to have things between the lines.

#asks #cdrama #censorship

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jessgartner · 3 years

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2020 Life Olympics

The real Olympics may have been canceled in 2020 but the Life Olympics persevered like the postal service of Olympics.

First, I’d like to apologize for my role in the chaos of 2020 because I think I had a slight miscommunication with the powers that be and I feel partly responsible. Here was my plan for 2020:

My theme for 2020 is Intention because I want to take the energy I feel right now and deploy it with more intentionality next year - bringing increased mindfulness to how I spend my time, money, physical and mental energy. And because I love wordplay, I also literally want to spend more time camping “in-tent” to enjoy more peace and quiet and beauty in nature.

The universe was like, “Oh, she wants to spend less money and more time outside? Well, shut it down. Shut the whole planet down.”

I mean, mission accomplished, I guess? I did spend less money and more time outside and had to be VERY intentional with my mental energy to survive the day-to-day morass of 2020. Next time, I will be more specific with my annual manifestations. Sorry to all.

2020 was brutal for pretty much everything and everyone. I don’t know anyone who isn’t in some state of grief right now, including myself. I debated doing a Life Olympics at all this year, feeling like-- what is the point? Hundreds of thousands of people died, our democracy is hanging on by a thread, and millions of people lost jobs, businesses, and homes.

Like many people, I’ve been struggling with anxiety and depression this year which intensified as it got darker and colder outside. At a low point, I talked with my therapist about the struggle of just not wanting to do any of the things that usually bring me joy-- and how periods of relief were so fleeting. “But you have to keep doing those things,” she said, “even if they’re not working right now, you have to keep doing those things and trust the process; the joy will return.”

So even though I don’t really feel like it and kind of feel like it’s dumb, I’m writing the 2020 Life Olympics. I’m trusting the process.

2020 Life Olympics Recap

Work - Participation Trophy

Starting a company is hard, operating a company is harder, but running a company during a global pandemic and economic crisis is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. 2020 was not a fun year to lead a business; it was hell. On March 15, the plan for the year pretty much went out the window and everything went into survival mode. I never take the company or my team for granted, but I’m particularly grateful to be able to usher this work into 2021.

Despite the craziness, we still had some big wins this year. We launched new product partnerships with PowerSchool and Amazon Business. We rebuilt our tool for equitably calculating district funding formulas. And I got to flex my creative muscles with EdFinToks! Throughout it all, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a team of people who are as compassionate as they are talented.

I’m worried about public education more than ever after this year, but I’m going to keep fighting every day to make it work better for kids.

This is Work-Lite but I also spent a good chunk of time this year leading the modernization workgroup for Bill Henry’s transition committee after his spring primary election to become the new Baltimore City Comptroller, ousting a 25-year incumbent, Joan Pratt. This was an enlightening (and infuriating) experience for me that gave me a glimpse into the operations of a segment of the City government. This process also really helped crystallize how much I enjoy making public agencies function more efficiently; I’m excited to see what Bill does with the recommendations (some are already being put in action!)

Health - Gold

This is the second year in a row (and ever) that I’m giving myself a Gold medal for Health. This was easily a year that I could have regressed on all of my healthy habits and no one would have blamed me. Instead, I leaned into protecting and improving my physical and mental health in 2020. It’s not an exaggeration to say that walking probably saved my life this year. I spent a lot of time walking around my neighborhood and various state and city parks-- walking is maybe not the best word; I stomp and charge around like I have a score to settle with the ground beneath me. My walking increased 370% in 2020. This is a habit of 2020 that I’d like to keep. My brain and body are happier if I can spend a little time walking-- stomping-- around outside each day.

I also did a lot of biking this summer. My cycling increased 200% this year-- with much more time spent cycling outdoors. My crowning achievement this year was biking to and from Annapolis:

I spent a LOT more time outside this year which was critical for my mental health. On the downside, I only did 90% as much yoga and 60% as much strength training, so I want to try to be a little more balanced next year.

I also invested a lot in my mental health this year. I kept up with therapy every 2-4 weeks and in October I decided to pursue a formal diagnosis for ADHD which I definitely have! Needless to say, staying in one place this year has been a special kind of hell for me.

Home - Silver

Well, I definitely spent less money this year. And the way I did spend money made me (mostly) sad:

Travel down 70%

Auto & Transportation up 200% (boo cars)

Shopping down 60%

Personal Care down 35%

Gifts and donations up 200%

Food and Dining down 40%

Entertainment down 35% (I kept up my singing lessons virtually which accounts for a lot of this category)

2020 was quite the palate cleanser from my 2019 year of hedonism but maybe we can go for a happy medium in 2021? Just kidding-- I will resume my hedonist ways the minute the world opens.

I also redid my home office like every other work-from-homer on the planet and replaced my crumbling kitchen floor so the house got some TLC.

But nobody enjoyed having me home all year as much as Darwin:

Relationships - Bronze

What a weird year for relationships of all kinds. I’m giving this a Bronze because while I invested a lot into a few relationships this year, there are also a lot of people in my life to whom I haven’t been able to give my time and love.

One of the most important relationships in my life this year was with one of my former students. After bouncing around in the foster system for many years, we reconnected around the holidays in 2019 and he started crashing with me while we tried to figure out stable housing and employment. He was arrested in January and was incarcerated for the next several months awaiting trial. Finally, we were able to negotiate a plea agreement with the State’s Attorney and he came home around Independence Day. We spent the next several months getting him set up with a phone and various identification documents-- a nightmare in normal times and a total abyss during the pandemic. I got him registered to vote when we got his ID card and I took him to vote for the first time (a supreme treat for this former social studies teacher):

He’s now got a full-time job and stable living situation. Calling this THE success of 2020. Thank you to everyone who helped me with resources all year for housing, legal processes, and documents. It takes a village.

It was a bizarre year for family. We lost my grandmother in September, so not being able to spend the holidays together felt like an especially cruel loss. Other big losses this year include a trip to France to celebrate a milestone birthday for my mother and my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding (Mosby seemed pretty ok with the alternative plan, though):

But in many ways, my family has been more together than ever this year thanks to prolific group chats and photo-sharing. Mostly, I’m just glad everyone else is safe and healthy. As my father often reminds me, “Our problems are small.”

And dating? What to do with this weird Jane-Austen-esque dating scene-- as if modern dating weren’t fraught enough. Is this the universe punishing me for ending my 2019 dating hiatus early? I, for one, have given up. You win this one, pandemic. I’m just going to have my little Twitter crush and call it a year. Next year, though...

Horizons - Silver Gold

You know what? It’s hard to expand your horizons without people or places.

I did the best I could. I finally got back on track with my Goodreads challenge and actually had a really good year of reading, including finally embracing audiobooks through my Libro.fm subscriptions. I especially enjoyed Michelle Obama’s book Becoming and Mike Birbiglia’s The New One on audio-- both narrated by their authors.

I camped in Pocomoke (MD), Western MD, Lake Michigan, and Ohiopyle (PA):

I explored over 30 new hiking/biking trails-- some favorites including the Youghiegheny River trail in PA, the NCR trail, Catoctin Mountain, the C&O Canal Towpath, Annapolis Rock, and of course, Stoney Run in my backyard.

I left Facebook and started the Life Olympics newsletter. I’ll be honest, I don’t miss Facebook but I also don’t understand where that energy, time, and brain space went. I was spending cumulatively hours a day mindlessly scrolling Facebook and I quit cold turkey and barely noticed-- what black hole of our brains does social media occupy? I kind of thought that with all that extra time I would write the next great American novel or something. I’m probably spending a little more time on Twitter, which I could stand to cut back on. Other than that, I think I was just trying to process the shitstorm of this year. Maybe I’ll write the next great American novel post-pandemic.

For the first time in my life, I feel somewhat ‘caught up’ on pop-culture. I finally watched Parks and Recreation (twice); I watched The Mandalorian and finally actually watched Star Wars (episodes IV-IX); I watched the final seasons of The Good Place and Schitt’s Creek; I’m caught up on Insecure; I watched The Prom and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Jingle Jangle; I even started Bridgerton. I know what everyone is talking about and I’m catching so many more pop-culture references these days. (I guess instead of writing the next great American novel I watched Netflix?)

2020 Lessons

I’ve spent plenty of time mourning the missed opportunities of 2020 and will probably always wonder what this year could have been in an alternate universe with a functioning government. But we only have this reality for now, and we made the best of it.

I wanted to slow down in 2020, try to be more intentional, more mindful, and...

No thank you! I liked the pace of my life; it makes my brain and heart happy. I’m happiest when I wake up in a different city three days in a row. I like darting around every borough of Manhattan for nine meetings and three cocktails and then taking a red-eye to Europe. I want to run around to eight conferences for 18-hours a day for three weeks and then sleep for 22 hours. I miss overloading my brain so much that I need a deprivation chamber to sleep. This is who I am. This is how I like to live. And when I was locked down alone in the house for a year, slowing down, being mindful, I never once thought, “I should have... when I had the chance.” Because I always did. And I always will.

2021

We shake with joy, we shake with grief.

What a time they have, these two housed as they are in the same body.

Mary Oliver

We’ve had enough grief. 2021 is going to be all about joy.

Universe, let me be clear: this is not a euphemism or code or secret signal.

I want pure, unadulterated, abundant, joy. I want multi-course dinners in restaurants with lots of close friends and good wine. I want the virus so far gone that I can make-out with handsome strangers. I want a rollicking good time in France and/or Brazil and/or Prague and/or New Zealand and/or Bali. I want to spend the day after Christmas in NYC with my father. I want to be a glutton for theatre and art and music. I want celebrations and parties and sequins.

I want to shake with joy.

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#lifeolympics

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noahmanskar · 3 years

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The Best Albums of 2020 (and from the Before Times)

I read a lot of year-end music roundups, and several this year have come with a resonant caveat: It’s been harder to discover new music this year, both because of physical limitations (no shows, no record-store browsing, no chats with friends about your latest finds), and because the way we used music fundamentally changed. It certainly did for me. Rather than serving as the backdrop for a commute or a night out, it created moments of solace from cabin fever while doing dishes, or showering, or running semi-weekly errands. So I often turned to what was comfortable and familiar, songs that conjured memories and feelings to get me through the day. Even on the rare occasions of social listening, the groups I was with drifted into nostalgia — middle school dance tracks, mid-2000s emo, inherited dad rock, even songs from just a year or two ago, when everything was simpler, relatively speaking.

That’s not to say nothing new moved me. There was a handful of albums and songs that were crucial to getting through the doldrums. They soundtracked bike rides, long walks, longer drives and lots of small moments mentioned above. But I don’t think I can think about my favorite music of this year without thinking about the albums of the past that got me through it. Besides, one of the many lessons 2020 taught is that time is a bizarre illusion anyway. (This exercise also lets me write about some recent albums that I didn’t get to write about when they were actually released.

So here are the albums, past and present, that made 2020 bearable. I hope you found yours, too.

Tame Impala, “The Slow Rush”

Tame Impala’s fourth LP came out on Valentine’s Day. That afternoon, Claire and I had a lunch date to mark the occasion before we got on a plane to visit my parents. The night before, we had gone out to dinner with friends visiting from San Francisco and then to a bar, where we huddled next to strangers on a water bed. Roughly a month later, all of this would be unimaginable, and Kevin Parker’s lyrics to “One More Year” would be eerily prescient as we settled into this new normal:

But now I worry our horizon's been nothing new 'Cause I get this feeling and maybe you get it too We're on a rollercoaster stuck on its loop-de-loop 'Cause what we did one day on a whim Has slowly become all we do

The song is really about surrendering to time, and not worrying about it passing in spite of your ambivalence. The opening chants of Parker’s “Gregorian Robot Choir” make it easy to surrender. They carry you into a world where, as the cover art suggests, all that time you were worrying about has already passed, so you might as well dance. At the same time, the songs that follow, like “Borderline,” “Breathe Deeper” and “Lost In Yesterday” make it easy to remember what it was like to dance in a sweaty room with people you love, and to look forward to doing it again, after a little more time passes.

Fleet Foxes, “Shore”

There’s something comforting about the fact that Fleet Foxes released this record on the exact moment of the autumnal equinox. It’s a reminder that nature has its own rhythms that carry on regardless of what occurs in our human lives. They give us a measure of certainty in uncertain times. One of these rhythms — death — looms large in “Sunblind,” an ode to Robin Pecknold’s departed musical forebears: David Berman, Bill Withers, John Prine and others. This song exuding calm acceptance shifts into “Can I Believe You,” which wrestles frankly with doubt and fear.

These tracks contain profound contradictions, but sonically, they're both bright, hopeful and sure. That’s what made this album such a balm in the sixth month of this pandemic, a time of both growing darkness and hope for what might be on the other side. It reminds us that there’s power and beauty in feeling all these things at once.

Lil Uzi Vert, “Eternal Atake”

This one spent two years in label purgatory, but it finally arrived in March to prove Lil Uzi Vert can do it all. He’s at his most versatile here, spitting and crooning, boasting and balladeering. “You Better Move” is an early standout packed with playful nostalgia, including a beat that samples that classic PC pinball game and delightful jabs like these:

Yeah, step on competition, changin' my shoes Green shirt, bitch, I'm Steve, where is Blue? Every chain on, I pity a fool I'm an iPod, man, you more like a Zune Made her eat on my dick with a spoon, ew Versace drawers, bitch, you Fruit of the Loom

Then there are the melodic tracks like “Urgency,” which compel you to hum along even on the first listen. The excellent diversity made it worth the wait for this hourlong journey to another planet.

Sturgill Simpson, “Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions”

I haven’t spent much time with Sturgill Simpson outside of 2014′s “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,” and I can’t say I’ve ever listened to another bluegrass album all the way through. But these new cuts of songs picked from Simpson’s catalog are wonderfully enticing. Simpson puts the talents of his backing band front and center, and their harmonies and rhythms illuminate his vivd songwriting in new ways. It was a great introduction to the genre for me.

Fiona Apple, “Fetch The Bolt Cutters”

I got here after the hype, after the perfect 10, after all the year-end number-ones. Fiona Apple lives up to all of it. Her compositions are complex and evocative, the lyrics tender and biting at once. Her artistry is unsparing. The chorus to the title track is already getting stuck in my head, and I can’t wait to spend more time with this one.

Bea Troxel, “The Way That It Feels” (2017)

Almost a decade has passed since I first saw Bea Troxel play. She was in an incredibly talented trio with two of my high school classmates: Maeve Thorne (who has an entrancing solo EP of her own), and Rita Pfeiffer (the violinist on this record). They ended up winning my school’s battle of the bands, and I got to interview them for the student newspaper. Shortly after our senior year, they recorded an album that still outshines most of today’s indie folk. So I jumped at the chance to all three of them again in Brooklyn.

Troxel’s performance in particular was a revelation. I won’t ever forget how I fell into a trance as she picked away at “Talc,” which exemplifies her gift for natural metaphor. I haven’t stopped playing her record since, and it’s been a constant comfort throughout this year. Her voice is one of a kind, her songwriting is rich, and the compositions flow together beautifully. I can’t wait for more; in the meantime, “The Way That It Feels” will be on repeat.

Travis Scott, “Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight” (2016)

There’s been much ado about the brilliance of “Astroworld,” Travis Scott’s magnum opus, but I have a soft spot for his sophomore LP, where he reached the peak of the spare and heavy sound that started to take shape on “Owl Pharaoh.” There are plenty of sonic layers here, and the ordering of the tracks is a craft in itself — a series of peaks and valleys that glides from the haze of “beibs in the trap” to the climax of “goosebumps” and then into the cool waters of “pick up the phone.” It feels like Scott is guiding you to and from these destinations. The journey is, as The Weeknd might put it, “wonderful.”

Harmonium, “Harmonium” (1974)

One of my pandemic binges was “Letterkenny,” the sharp Ontario-set sitcom with top-notch banter and a great soundtrack full of indie hits and Canadian deep cuts. The fight scenes are elegantly choreographed, but so are the handful of sequences at the end of key episodes that reveal the show’s emotional bedrock. One such scene is set to Harmonium’s “Un musicien parmi tant d'autres” — the main characters are reveling in a bar with their Québécois pals, whom they’ve just helped beat up a rival group. As the song builds to its climactic chorus, leading man Wayne, surrounded by couples, realizes his longing for companionship. Another fight breaks out, but instead of joining in, Wayne makes his way through the slow-motion fray toward the woman he’ll propose to in the next season. (Their relationship later falls apart, but that doesn’t undercut this scene’s beauty.)

This is probably the first foreign-language album I’ve listened to in full, but all of it evokes that feeling for me — the joy of walking through the chaos to reach what’s really important. Not a bad sentiment for these times.

Bon Iver, “22, A Million”

To talk about this weird, dark and brilliant album, I need to talk about “715 - CR∑∑KS.” Everyone I’ve talked to about the third track on “22, A Million” either loves it or can’t stand it. I’m devoted to it to the extent that it was my most-played song on Spotify this year. It oscillates between tenderness and fear, between silence and explosions of sound. The lyrics are an epitome of Justin Vernon’s cryptic poetry. It’s isolated and spare and enthralling and beautiful in its own bizarre way — just like the rest of the album, which is rich with themes of persevering through the darkness in spite of the uncertainty about when the light will appear. Vernon is alone on “CR∑∑KS,” but he’s accompanied by a cacophony of his own voice. As alone as we might feel right now, there’s always someone else shouting through the darkness with us, even if we can’t see them.

#music #2020 #bon iver #harmonium #bea troxel #travis scott #lil uzi vert #sturgill simpson #fiona apple #fleet foxes #tame impala

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storm-of-aegis · 3 years

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Art Club leads

Name: Naoko Hokusai Age: 15-16 Nationality: Japanese Year: Sophomore Ability: Light Manipulation Gender: Female Club: Art Bio: Naoko was born near the northern coastal town of Ishinomaki. She never knew her parents. Her father was completely unknown, allegedly a soldier from another country stationed in the country for a while who left the country when he was stationed elsewhere. Her mother abandoned her within the childcare system, stating that she wishes for the child to find a proper home. Naoko was always a quiet and shy child. Many of the other children would make fun of her largely due to her never wanting to fight back. She just wanted to be invisible, so the torment would stop. Because of the constant harassment, she generally kept to herself. That was until Yui came to her orphanage. Yui had been taken from her home at a young age and moved from around through several orphanages do to her having special and unique abilities. Upon arriving at the orphanage, Yui frightened the other kids, even Naoko. She was an older girl, and a bit brash. One day a boy tried to push her down to prove she was nothing to fear, only for her to grab his hand and flip him over her head onto a table. With her strength she broke the table, and his arm. If anyone wasn’t afraid of her before, they surely were now. Naoko was bound and determined to avoid her from here on out. Time past as it always does, and the abuse for Naoko began to get worse. That was, until one day when a group of kids decided they were going to get back at Naoko for something someone else did, but since they didn’t know who it was, it had to have been Naoko. Naoko began to cry as the other kids pulled her hair and called her names, only stopping when Yui picked the biggest kid up and threatened to use him to beat the others. That alone was creepy enough, but the smile she had didn’t help matters much. As Yui began to walk away, Naoko stood up and introduced herself. Yui stopped, turned to face her and said that she knew, and introduced herself as Yui. From then on the 2 became good friends, almost inseperable. They read comics, and played games and Yui was even introduced to art by Naoko. One day Yui got into a fight with the headmaster who was hitting another student because he had a candy bar. Yui threw a trashcan at him, knocking him over. Befuddled, the man stood up, looked around and then ran right past Naoko and Yui. He never even saw them. Unbeknownst to Naoko, she had grabbed onto Yui to try and pull her away, when in a startling awakening, her power had materialized. She warped the light around them, making them seemingly disappear. Naoko never let anyone else know about her ability, and often used it to go see and read manga with her friend as she was punished for various deeds she had and even ones she had not done. Naoko unfortunately had to say good bye to Yui one day, as she was pushed off to yet another orphanage, and soon after Naoko was adopted by a salaryman and his family in Tokyo. Naoko lost contact with Yui, but always hoped she’d be able to meet her “Big Sister” again.

Name: Eugenio Bianchi Age: 16 Nationality: Italian Year: Sophomore Ability: Ventus-Kinesis (Air) Gender: Male Club: Art Bio: The youngest of a long line of artisans, Eugenio carries on the tradition of bringing beauty into the world, except for one small problem, Eugenio’s less of a visual artist as he is a literary one. While talented with paint, and even with sculpture, his true calling is with the written word. He can begin a work on a canvas, and quickly lose his motivation to see it through. So many statues started, and left to nothing short of unfinished rubble. Such skill and artistry sealed behind a door, that only opens fully when he had his book and pen in hand. His mind opens and the creative flow can barely be contained. He envisions worlds of fantasy and whimsy, chivalrous knights, cunning heroines and powerful artifacts of unimaginable might. But he toils away, trying to find that which his siblings has, that his mother has, that his grandparents had all the way through the ages past. Perhaps a new setting will help his lethargy at play, or help him prove he knows what’s best for him.

Name: Ainsley Maclachlan Age: 17 Nationality: Scottish Year: Junior Ability: Vibration Manipulation Gender: Female Club: Art Bio: Ainsley grew up in the town of Skye. Her parents were often off on various forms of business, so she lived with her grandmother much of the time. She learned much from her, like working in the garden, building and repairing various items ranging from barbecues to walls, horseback riding and even how sing. Her grandmother was an opera singer in her youth, where she met the man who would eventually become Ainsley’s grandfather. After having 2 boys and a daughter, her husband passed away. While she knew what to teach her little girl, she had to learn how to raise her boys and what to teach them. All of those years of knowledge, now passed on to her Ainsley. But the one thing Ainsley loved most was riding her Clydesdale along with her Gran, and spending hours over looking various structures and castles and even the lakes drawing what she saw as her Gran would sing to her to pass the time. When Ainsley was 11, her Grandmother began to turn gravely ill, forcing her mother to return home. Ainsley was deeply worried, to which her Mother told her that everything would be fine. As they awaited word of how her Grandmother’s condition was, her mother asked if she would like to travel with either her or her father so she’s not so stranded her in Scotland, to which Ainsley surprisingly told her, “Why would I leave. Gran’s here. Would she be going with us?”. While her Grandmother’s condition was still unknown Ainsley’s mother, fearing the worst, tried to convince Ainsley to travel with them as to put less stress on her mother. Ainsley refused saying that if her Gran was left alone, who knows what could happen. She wasn’t going to leave, no matter what. Ainsley’s mother asked, would she prefer that she move back instead then. Ainsley surprised said she would love to have her mother stay there. Then there’d be her, and Gran and mum. Only thing missing would be her Da, and her uncles and aunts and all her cousins. Ainsley’s mother began to explain how Gran may not necessarily be able to stay with us, to which she told her daughter that she wouldn’t be going anywhere but to her home. And that if her cousins were coming by, she’d need to do some shoppin’, them boys eat like locusts after a famine, and she’s not feedin’ them anymore drywall. Barely enough walls as is. Overcome with joy, Ainsley ran over and hugger her Gran tightly, to where she told Ainsley that she needs to be careful, she’s still a bit wobbly, but she’ll be headin home soon. Ainsley’s mother transferred to a nearby office so she wouldn’t have to move about so often. Ainsley’s Gran began to slow down a bit after her episode, but always made time to go off on an adventure with Ainsley whenever the wind had the sweet scent of mischief about it. Eventually, Ainsley grew up and was offered an opportunity to go to a prestigious school in a vastly different place. Sensing Ainsley was apprehensive to leave her Gran behind, her Grandmother told her that this wasn’t the Granddaughter she raised. That the Ainsley she knew would never turn down an adventure. That she’d walk down to that airport and tell the pilot to sit back, she’d get this bird to that island herself. Concerned, Ainsley stated that she didn’t want to leave her Gran behind, but didn’t want to miss out on what could be a grand adventure. Tearfully, she agreed to go, but swore she’d call every day. To which her Gran told her, that with her voice and singing, I’ll hear you clear as a whistle from here. With tears in both of their eyes, and one last hug goodbye, Ainsley took off to begin an adventure, all on her own.

Name: Rachel Matthews Age: 15-16 Nationality: American- Caucasion Year: Freshman Ability: Pyrokinesis Gender: Female Club: Art Bio: Rachel grew up in New York City, eldest daughter to a major film composer and a stay at home dad who translated books into other languages from home. Rachel loved sitting in the window of her fathers’ office reading her favorite books. During the more intense parts she would begin to read out loud, only to realize her volume was so high and to find her father sitting back and watching her smiling. Immediately after, he take her to the kitchen to get a snack. “You can’t fight the Jabberwocky on an empty stomach.”, he would always tell her as he made her a turkey sandwich. They’d then go back to the office and continue working. At school, Rachel never had much of a problem making friends, but she preferred the company of her own thoughts. She loved books, and learning and dreaming about fantasy worlds. She was a dreamer, who never wanted to wake up. To her, the real world was less exciting than the books she had. But much like in the books she would read, there would be a dark twist to her story, when she developed her abilities.

She was barely 7 when, at school, her powers awakened. She was reading a rather intense section to her book in the library, when she began to speak out loud. The book was so impassioned her that she began to almost yell what she was reading. An enraged librarian walked over to her to get her to quiet down, startling the young girl by slamming his hand on the desk. Frightened she threw her book and from her hands erupted a massive ball of flame. The fireball set fire to the walls, demolished desks and lit so many of her beloved books aflame. The librarian had his arm burned, but was able to put it out quickly. Rachel’s attack was so powerful, using it knocked her out. When she woke up, she saw her mother and father running towards her. She didn’t know what happened, but she was wrapped in a silver blanket, and the fire dept was putting out a fire at the school. She saw kids huddling around, when suddenly one of the boys who was a friend of hers, pointed and yelled that she killed Mr. Bronson. Soon after all of the kids started pointing and chanting, “MONSTER! MONSTER! MONSTER!”. After her parents found out what happened, they pulled Rachel and her brothers from that school. Her brothers went to a new school, trying to hide their old school as much as they could. Rachel was home schooled from then on. They had a plethora of books, and could focus on a broader array of educational points for her. And her Father worked from home as is, so he would just cut back on his projects to work on her education, and then work on his job during “off” hours. Her family maintained, and no one blamed her for what happened, but now that she had what she wanted, she realized how much she really did enjoy being around others. But she was afraid that if she lost control again, what would happen. She got older, and after years of trying to figure out how to use her abilities, with little progress, heard of a school where she could attend classes with people like herself. She talked to her parents, and explained how she’d be able to go out and be normal again. How she wouldn’t have to be afraid of hurting anyone, or being judged. Although pricey, Rachel’s mother pulled some strings, and got her enrolled at the academy. Rachel kissed her parents goodbye, and she left for an adventure all her own.

#MyYearAbroad indieDev PersonalHistory

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precure-stuff · 4 years

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Aikatsu On Parade Rewrite Part 4(Episode 16-20)

READ PART 1-3 HERE OR READ THE CHANGES TO CANON LIST

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Changes to CANON:

Raki acquires the Constellation PR by studying Amahane’s design method with Sena.

Magic Blood performs Ragtime of The Moonlit Night is performed

Reflect Moon perform in their Jeweling Dresses

Aoi, Shion and Ako act together·

Raki and Sora are good friends(Designers)·

The Christmas live is Hello Winter Love (Raki. Hinaki. Lily. Juri. Maika. Ichigo)·

Aikatsu On Parade Episode 16- Remembering Joy

This episode starts with Aine and Mio appearing on TV. PP,HC and Raki are watching and can't seem to find out whats missing. This goes on until Wakaba walks in as the commercial plays on loop. "Huh? You two collabed with Yume?" Mio nods as her gaze remains fixed on the screen. "Then you two should sing together. Mio feels Vivid Inspiration and Aine turns to her. "That's what's missing. We need a song together!"

They send Raki to find Yume and she takes a bus to Yotsuboshi. As she's looking for Yume she runs past a woman carrying beautiful blue flowers. Raki stops and stares up at the woman's red eyes.

It's Hotaru. She mentions that she's on her way to Venus Ark. Raki asks her whether she's seen Yume. Hikaru's sister tells Raki that she'swith the S4. Raki finds Yume,Ruka,Mahiru and Ako. To her surprise they were also watching the commercial.Raki takes S4 to Star Harmony

The song writing process begins as Yume, Mio and Aine start writing As they work away the rest of S4 has fun outside. Maika and Ruka dance together as Ema talks to Ako about the movie she made. Kirara shows up and her and Ako start to bicker. Yume stops writing and opens the curtain tps tare outside. Koharu is standing behind her with candy and notices something is wrong. She walks up behind her and tells her to join them. She tosses Raki a candy through the window and walks out to meet her. Yume and PP realise they were being too serious and decide to have fun with the song. As they work on it late into the night they fall asleep. Raki and Koharu walk in to cover them in blankets and steal a peek at the lyrics.

The next day Yume and PP unveil their new song together as part of a children’s show on television. The song is Feeling Of Justice and the Appeal is Rainbow Palette Flight. A variation of Trio Flight from Aikatsu Season 3. As the show ends, PP and Yume celebrate at Star Harmony. Hotaru arrives to pick up Kirara in the middle of the party. Ako asks what they’re up to and Kirara says that Elza seeks an Aikatsu that surpasses all worlds. Ako is confused. Kirara seems a little more serious than usual and that detail unnerves her. The episode ends with a shot of Elza with cards of every idol that has appeared so far( In Aiparade)

Episode 17- The Explosive Dynamo

The episode starts with Raki looking for inspiration. She plans on designing a new PR but doesn’t know where to start. Aine arranges for her to have a sit down with Chiharu and sadly, nothing comes of it. At the end, a disappointed Chiharu suggests they go outside. “Are we looking at nature?” Raki asks. “No,” Chiharu says, “I simply want to show you something new. It’s a new phenomenon that only happens once a day.” Chiharu leads Raki to the field as Wakaba runs up to them. “You’re just in time.” Wakaba stares up at the dusk sky as three silhouettes emerge from the clouds. The three girls decline as Raki is left stunned by their skill. They eventually hold hands and begin to rotate as they launch their parachutes. They land at roughly the same time to the applause of their audience. “Excellent!” “Yes!” Hibiki and Kaede pose together as Mirai walks nonchalantly toward the girls. She mentions that the timing was a bit off but with some work it would be perfect. Raki asks who the other girls are. “Together we are Dynamo! Hibiki! Kaede! Mirai!” Wakaba squeals in excitement and mentions that Mirai trains her. (She’s more of a fangirl in this rewrite)

Hibiki mentions she needs to get to Venus Ark and runs off as Mirai wipes off her sweat. Kaede pulls flowers out of her hat and Wakaba loses it. She says she can’t wait to form a Friends and get to Mirai’s level. Raki realizes she doesn’t have a Friends unit either. She thinks to herself that Wakaba would be a great fit. Almost as if she read her mind Wakaba wants to perform with her instantly. Mirai is hesitant but says she’s intrigued by the pop they’ll produce. “Would you like to see Wakaba’s stage?” Mirai asks Raki. She agrees but Chiharu mentions its really late. The following morning Wakaba walks into Raki’s room and invites her to watch Dynamo’s practice. They sit by as Wakaba tells Raki all about Love Me Tear. Raki is overwhelmed and simply starts to talk about Dresses. Wakaba shows her the Humming Leaf cards and Raki’s eyes are caught by the Tiroler Tangerine Coord. She adores the lace over the middle of its bodice. Mirai smiles as she sees them getting along.

Dynamo puts on a live that evening for the Star Harmony students. Their song is Nice To Meet You! As for the coords, I like that Luminas sometimes wore somewhat matching coords from their individual brands. So here, Hibiki wears Dazzling Purple Coord. Mirai wears the Arabian Marble Coord. Kaede wears the Parallel Hunter Coord. As they watch the show together, Raki and Wakaba promise to get better together. Wakaba gives Raki a clover and makes a pun about her being lucky. The two promise to form a Friends once they become better idols. The last shot is of the clover pressed into the pages of Raki’s design books. (Coords for this episode below)

Episode 18- The Jewel of Solvette

Once again, Raki is doing research on dresses and decides to look up Dynamo. She sees a few articles about the members and realizes that she doesn’t know who Hibiki’s partner is. In the Aifriends rewrite I did, season two ends with Believe Me Tear(IB+LMT) VS Honey Palette(HC+PP) Raki looks up Alicia and is left stunned by the Jeweling Dress. There aren’t too many results as Alicia wasn’t as popular in Japan as the rest of Believe Me Tear. She logs onto a Solvette fan site and asks where she can see more of the dress. The fans inform her that the cards were stored in Solvette’s museum as a national treasure. This leads Raki to look for Hibiki as a meand to get to Solvette. The first stop on her search for Hibiki takes her to Wakaba.

“It’s you again!” Wakaba says. She runs up to Raki who asks where Mirai and the rest of Dynamo are. Wakaba tells her that they were training with Kaede at the moment. She asks her if there’s any way to find Hibiki directly and Wakaba mentions that she has her number. On a video chat with Hibiki she mentioned that she could have Raki come to Solvette in a week due to the processes. Raki smiles. Wakaba ends the call and asks Raki to take a break from designing by watching her stage. Wakaba performs This World is Wonderful in the Tiroler Tangerine Coord. Raki adores the stage and tells Wakaba she no longer seems like an idol rookie. Wakaba tells Raki that she’s not much of a rookie either. “You’ve performed with great idols and made amazing dresses”

Throughout the week, Raki sketches in her book as she receives visits from Koharu and Sora. They even bring her a mannequin. As the week passes by, Raki gets a passport and packs her luggage. At the end of the week she heads to the airport and meets Yume when she gets there. “What are you doing here?” Raki asks. Yume tells her that she has someone important to meet there. The two board the plane with Hibiki. Ideally the song, “Brand New Girl” from Prichan would be playing during this whole section to set the mood. As Raki alights she looks exhausted. Hibiki tells her that she must have really wanted to come. The three exit the airport.

The first thing that happens is that we hear a voice call out to Yume. Rola runs up to her and they hug and hold hands (like in the Aistars movie) This is immediately paralleled by I Believe reuniting. Raki nervously walks up to Alicia, fully aware that she’s royalty. Her guards stand before Raki. Alicia turns to face her and asks what she wants. Raki presents her cards and asks Alicia if she would let her perform in those cards. Alicia smiles mildly. She says that she is flattered. After seeing how much effort Raki put into it she claims she can see the love poured into the design. Alicia approves of the cards and lets Raki perform. Raki performs Your Entrance in the Jeweling Dress PR. Afterward Raki is exhausted and has to sleep on the way back to Japan. Alicia returns to Japan as well and tells Hibiki that she sees her younger self’s passion for Aikatsu in Raki. Rola feel asleep on Yume’s shoulder in the seat behind her.

Episode 19-Return of Rock

This episode opens with a guitar riff blasting through the Dream Academy Dorms. Noelle wakes up in frustration. She knows her sister is up to something and marches off toward her usual training stop. Seira and Rola are having a competition that has been going on since dawn. Yume is huddled in the corner covering her ears as Headmaster Tiara watches with glee. Eventually Seira and Rola both give in as Yume reveals Rola didn’t even eat Breakfast when she discovered a rocker nearby. This seems pointless to Tiara who interrupts and sees the opportunity for an event. She wants to make an event out of it. The opening plays here.

After the opening Raki receives a call from Ichigo. She mentions that Seira will be competing against Rola and would like her to watch. Raki agrees and informs Tamaki. Hariu is present at the time and suggests that Reflect Moon should accompany her. Sakuya and Kaguya join her in the taxi and she sits in the middle back seat. Sakuya instantly sleeps on the window. Raki shows Kaguya the Dark Lolita coord. Kaguya comments on Raki’s growth as a designer. They arrive at Dream Academy and notice a crowd. The driver comments that some of Rola’s foreign fans have showed up. There is a big poster on Dream Academy’s building depicting Rola and Seira wielding guitars like swords.

Rola is in her dressing room with Yume and Koharu who gives her candy. Mahiru rushes in to hug her followed by Ako and Tsubasa’s arrival. They reminisce on the events of Rola’s departure in Aistars season 2. Ako tells Rola that she’d better win but Rola says that winning isn’t her goal but rather going all out on stage. Ako huffs and says that she should do her best anyway. She then walks out to join Noelle on the main stage. Noelle tells the audience that Ako will entertain their children until the main event and steps off stage. Ako smiles nervously and asks herself why she chose to do this. Her smile fades when she sees Kirara join her. She brings Caroline with her which really gets the children going and then they perform Please Mary. Kirara wears the Marchen Lollipop Coord and Ako wears the Fluffy Cat Coord.

Afterward we cut to Raki buying merchandise with Akari and PP. They stop by a stand selling unit themed ribbons and Akari instinctively picks a 2wings Ribbon. They all try on other ribbons and have candy pops with Madoka and Rin. Sora and Maria are helping the event run smoothly. Elsewhere, Aria and Rey are walking about in disguises. “Elza wants us to stay focused on her project but we need to have fun too.” Rey tells Aria. They continue to sneak around

With all that said and done, the crowd all gather at the main stage. The clock strikes three and Noelle introduces the two rockstars. Rola walks on from the left with Yume at her side. Seira walks on from the right with Ichigo by her side. “And now, let the event begin!” Rola performs Miracle Force Magic in the Rocking Melody Chord with her season 2 aura. Seira performs Idol Activity(Rock) in the Pinkish Union Coord. Once the stages are over, they both stand on stage exhausted.

The voting begins and the votes are adding up rapidly and stop right in the middle. Noelle announces a tie and the crowd goes wild. Seira tells Rola that if she’s Re then she’ll just be Mi. Rola says that they’ll continue through them and they’ll have a rematch someday. Raki goes backstage and meets Yume,Rola,Seira and Ichigo. They talk a little and we see Raki’s sister outside the dressing room door. She walks away with a smug smile and the episode ends.(All coords used appear below)

Episode 20- Double Moon Miracle

This scene opens in Elza’s office. Mizuki and Hime sit across the table with Elza holding her head in her hands. Kirara, Rey and Aria stand outside the office eavesdropping with concerned expressions. “You’re time is up Elza.” Hime starts, “You had your chance to recruit Mizuki and I to Venus Ark…however we are still far too powerful to affiliate with an idol school.” Elza tries to retort but her mouth remains shut. “While we acknowledge your prowess, your dream to plunder all the greatest idols is far from reality.” Mizuki and Hime stand up to leave and Elza bangs on her table and holds up a set of cards. Hime turns and smiles, “That power is well known to us.” With that the two moon idols leave Elza’s office.

Cut to Starlight Academy as Mizuki gives Hime a tour. “This is where I started Hime, being Starlight Queen was merely the first step for me. The position is similar to your S4 position.” A few students run up to Mizuki and she gives them her autograph.

“Aren’t you worried that you’ve grown rusty?”Hime asks. Mizuki turns and her aura appears.

“I don’t think so, have you?” Mizuki and Hime turn to face eachother. “There’s only one way to be certain.

Rumors soon spread that Mizuki is back in Starlight. This spreads to the other schools and their students buzz up. Reflect Moon tell the other Star Harmony girls that top idols of the moon will be performing at 4Star. Yozora lets the other girls know and metions even regional idols will be present.

4Star fills up with idols and fans as Hikaru sells them tickets. Anna berates him for still trying to save 4Star financially but he reminds her that her salary will come from the sales. Carol Alice shows up with a camera and reunites with Yume. “Elza wouldn’t come here herself and so she had me record it for her.” She reveals the hidden camera in her bonnet and sits down to watch. Mizuki and Hime perform Start Line in their LPRs. They have two appeals. Double Premium Moon Jewel and Double Premium Eternal Moonlight. The show ends and the crowd is left silenced. The silence stretches out as Hime and Mizuki walk off stage. The whole crowd erupts into applause. Hime and Mizuki congratulate each other and share a cup of tea backstage. They sit across each other on a table and Mizuki places a flower pot between them. “A new Aikatsu is blooming.” Mikuru says. The last shot is the flower pot with a seedling.

#aikatsu #on parade #rewrite #cure ice #wakaba #raki #hime #elza #mizuki #seira #rola #hibiki #kaede #mirai

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taihorror · 4 years

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April 29, 2020

I've never been a baker. The last time I baked something, I was in a home econs class with 40-something other bored teenagers and a scary old teacher who directed the last of her life energy towards glowering at us rather than teaching us any useful life skills.

That was misleading, by the way. I didn't actually bake. I was just one of the students crowding around that teacher watching her bake. The joys of a neighbourhood school...

The last time I actually baked was probably when I made Shepherd's Pie as a kid. You can tell I don't really have a sweet tooth.

Another reason for my mild aversion to baking: I've always hated being judged, being compared to girls who bake. You know: the pretty girl who brings cookies and just happened to make a personalised chocolate lava cake for everyone at the office, and can sing and cook and crochet and do karate and hand lettering and gets called "wife material"(Getting a bit personal here). More power to her, and she is living her best life! The problem is society expects us all to do that. And I hate it and have always thought baking was the gateway activity to catering to the people who unironically use terms like "wife material". And if I'm being perfectly honest, I am a little jealous too! I know it's internalised misogyny and I shouldn't be comparing myself to others. But I am also not the kind to want to outdo others when jealous of them, mostly because I am lazy AF. I am Jaye Tyler. Modern female slacker but without the hot guys hanging around (and without looks to attract said guys).

And yet, as I binge-watched Masterchef (after I binge-watched Community for the third time, Superstore, etc etc), the macaron episode made me sit up. I love macarons. And it made me crave them. Being in the hilariously termed "Covid-19 circuit breaker", it's impossible to just get them at a store as we did in ye olde capitalist times.

And so I dared to dream. Could I, a complete noob at baking, actually make macarons - one of the most challenging desserts to make, ever, and yet the easiest to scarf down?

Thankfully, I was equipped with an old electric mixer (none of us knew how it got there), an oven, and wifi. So I set about doing copious research on this tricky treat, getting vicariously high on others' successful macarons (hm... just an "i" away from macaroni? Just occured to me). A quick dash to the supermarket to buy the ingredients needed and a really nice dad who queued for more than an hour at an overtaxed baking supplies store later, I made my first attempt.

It ended in abject failure. Never in my life had I failed this hard. I made unforgivable blunders. Namely, I somehow accidentally added water to it mistaking it for egg whites. Speaking of egg whites, I broke a few eggs trying to seperate them like they do on Masterchef. Bad idea. The smart way was just to crack an egg normally and then seperate the yolk and the white into two different bowl using a spoon. But this, like many other common sensical things, did not occur to me at the time. And so I made the sweetest, hardest almond cookies of my life. I think if there were a hall of fame for how badly one can screw up a macaron, I'd be in it.

Crushed by failure, I slept on it. The next day I was really bored and decided to try again, very chanto style. There were significant improvements: for one, I didn't mistake water for egg whites. I made sure to follow every step as best as I could and remembered where I made mistakes. The piped batter even looked pretty! And so I waited for it to dry, for it to form that dry film that's so important.

An hour passed. Another hour. The fan on full blast, my poking at the batter increasingly desperate. I'd forgotten to account for the humidity of Singapore. I googled some solutions, and solutions there were! Bakers are some incredible geniuses. Obviously, these bakers were from Singapore and did all the thinking for me.

One of them suggested drying the batter in the oven to achieve that dry film (seriously. Brilliant.) Like magic, after 10 minutes, the oven gave me that dry film that the two hours of naturally flowing time could not. I almost cried tears of joy.

And in the oven, I watched my babies excitedly like a mom secretly watching her kid at their first day at school. They were doing well. Growing up fast! They were rising, and even dare I hope developing those beautiful feet! And then they suddenly deflated. Pockmarks appeared. Was this puberty?! I thought I should let them find their own way - surely they'll rise again, right? No. They started getting BURNT.

This was the end result:

And kids, that's when I learnt that oven settings are so important... I had just used to default setting I was so used to (the all round heating PLUS GRILL) that I didn't even think that could affect it. Basically, the oven was way too hot.

Also, they might not have developed feet because I'd let them rest for way too long (is this a metaphor?).

So today. Today I finally tried again. I made some decisive changes:

I aged my egg whites 24 hours in advance

I used a "drier" recipe from a Singaporean baker

I blended the dry ingredients

I changed my oven settings

And it worked. I'd have to say it was the recipe that really did the trick! Because of the scaled down egg white proportion, the batter developed that dry film (I never thought I would say these words so much) within 15 minutes, even without that oven trick! Thanks to that they weren't over-rested and were able to develop feet.

And what happened next made me so emotional. I actually jumped for joy.

Look at those beautiful feet! (No pornbots pls) They were still a little burnt but they were still beautiful. Just need to adjust the oven settings even more next time.

And that was my journey into the world of baking. It really does take a lot of effort and preparation. And when you're ready for it, it will change your life. I will never be that girl, but I have so much respect for her now. You put yourself through this for other people if you really care about them.

Me, I just wanted to eat macarons. And that's self love 2020.

#char siew bakes #macarons

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itwasjustablaise · 4 years

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( JENSEN ACKLES + MALE ) — Have you seen BLAISE JERRY JONES JR This 3 4 year old is a PROFESSOR/ARTIST who resides in BROOKLYN. HE has been living in NYC for 10 YEARS, and is known to be LOYAL + FOCUSED , but can also be RESERVED + DETACHED, if you cross them. People tend to associate them with PAINT COVERED PLAID SHIRTS and BURBON PECAN PIE~

triggers → Rape, Kidnap, Murder, Aggression

in character

name → Blaise Jerry Jones Jr.

nicknames → JJ, JR,

gender/pronouns → he/him

age → 34

neighborhood → Dumbo

career → Professor at Columbia University (Art History) / Artist owns a gallery in Harlem and Bushwick

faceclaim → Jensen Ackles

biography

triggers → Rape, Kidnap, Murder, Aggression

quote → “I never learned to count my blessings, I choose instead to dwell in my disasters.”

biography →

Imagine not only being born in a state who’s mantra is “Everything’s bigger in Texas,” but being born to the owner of the Dallas Cowboys and CEO of an oil empire. Very early in Blaise’s young life was he introduced to the life of fine and mighty. Blaise or other wise known as JR., is the eldest of four and next in line to own 65% of his fathers fortune. In Texas he and the rest of his blood line are known as what some may call Texan royals. Their name alone makes them some of the most respected, feared, and wanted individuals in the country, but of course the Jones family is far more recognizable in their state.

Blaise was and still is a mamas boy with a wild side, he loved to party and flaunt his name any chance he was presented. He was at one point his fathers pride and joy until the DUI’s and scandals began to hit the double digits and tarnish his son and his families name. Blaise never truly cared for his father, he was a drunk himself, except he was the worst kind of drunk there is, the abusive spouse. Blaise vowed to clean up after a late night chat with his baby sister who caught him tumbling into the pool house after a wild night out. She herself was also escaping the terrible reality that awaited her at home with her parents. It was after a 2 hour pow-wow of the two siblings talking and sharing their dreams, goals, and wishes with the other that the two were kidnapped for ransom. An entire week went by before the kidnapped socialite children lives were bargained for by their mother after much countless nights of begging. JR. was safely rescued from the hostages, but his younger sister Lily did not return home that night. Instead her lifeless body was found 2 weeks later on the property of the families oil company covered in bruises, bodily fluids, and rope burns.

Blaise could never forgive himself nor his father for the terrible death of his younger sister. After all, both had blood on their hands for poor sweet Lily’s death. It was after this terrible incident that Blaise vowed to keep the promise he made with his sister before their kidnapping and began to sober up. Through his sobriety he began to pursue all the things his sister loved, horse riding, history, charity work, and her up most favorite, art. Blaise made a name for himself in the world of art, graduating with a major in Art History and opening his own gallery in his hometown in honor of his sister, but everywhere he went he was reminded of her. Texas was no longer home for the native Texan, he needed to get away, and fast. Taking a one way trip with nothing but a single backpack, Blaise decided to move into the city of New York where a cousin of his was currently residing who also managed to make a name for himself in the world of art. It has now been 10 years since little J.R has stepped foot into Texas, making a name for himself in the city of New York as he shifted away from the royal blood line and into the world of art and education, securing a job as a professor in Art History at Columbia university, one of New York’s most prestigious private universities. You can find Blaise in one of of two places when the sun goes down, his gallery located in the heart of Williamsburg or your local bar playing pool or singing a tune.

Traits →

+ Loyal, Considerate, Focused, Humble, Brave

- Reserved, Stubborn, Detached, Lone-wolf, Adaptable (Making him hard to get to know), Short Tempered

Disorders →

Not severe seeing how he is dealing with the issue by seeking counseling and medication, however, on the anniversary of the death of his sister, or just a bad day he may be triggered.

PTSD

Nightmares

Plot Ideas →

His shrink

A student of his (Columbia University)

An upcoming artist who is a fan of his work (Maybe can add a dark spin on it and make them obsessed with him) @larisms

His best friend, the reason he came to New York (preferably a male and Jared Padalecki)

A family member: has another sister (half sibling from fathers affair) or even a cousin

Blaise sings in his free time, a friend or fan who knows of his secret talent @ofvioltts

A possible neighbor that knows of Blaise’s disorders (maybe they hear him crying or having his episodes) they are very sympathetic to him. @julietblake

A rival professor from another university

I would love to fill anything you think Blaise may be fit for, feel free to shoot me a message and we can plot something.

#codintro #hey im aj come and plot with me - ill be mobile for the rest of the night but id love to interact with you guys!#love my child - thanks~

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disneytva · 5 years

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youtube

Kooman and Dimond loved Disney animated movies. “It was a huge part of our influence,” and now they are making a musical episode of Vampirina

The duo met while students at Carnegie Mellon University and went on to write the musicals The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes and Romantics Anonymous, the latter of which is about to embark on an American tour. A Disney executive saw a reading of Howard Barnes when it was in development and asked the pair to audition for Disney Junior. Soon they found themselves writing all the songs for an animated show about a young vampire named Vee (Isabella Crovetti) who moves from Transylvania to Pennsylvania with her family and must adjust to living in the human world. The series hits on the themes of celebrating differences and working together to solve problems. “The heart of the show is just so strong and such a wonderful message to give to kids,” Dimond says.

Although the pair had never written for children before, they say it isn’t a big adjustment to adapt to the age of their viewing audience. “I think the worst thing you could possibly do when you’re writing for a younger audience is talk down to kids,” Dimond says. “Kids are a really smart audience. I don’t think our process changes drastically when we are writing for adults or children.” Kooman and Dimond recently challenged themselves by doing something they hadn’t yet tackled in their career—writing an episode that is entirely sung through. In “Vamp-Opera,” Vee casts a spell that inadvertently has the whole town singing. “We got to play around with a lot of different styles.” Kooman says of the episode. “We have this one chance to have the entire town singing. We thought it would be so much fun if we had a big throwback to the movie musicals with the MGM kind of sound because it’s so opposite of what they normally do.” The two are at an age where many of their friends and family have children in Vampirina’s target demographic, so they get to see first-hand the joy the show brings to children. They’ve also both been to Disney World and had the chance to experience the Vampirina fandom up close. “It was really a surreal, incredible, moving experience,” Dimond says. “It was really emotional. I got a little choked up.”

Kooman and Dimond see themselves writing for children for years to come. “It’s such a special job,” Kooman says. “All I do somedays is go to a piano and try to write a song that is going to make a kid happy, make a kid smile, or make a kid laugh. As the composer, if I’m sitting at the piano doing that I have to sort of embody that energy and that space to effectively communicate that emotion. So for a job, it’s just so wonderful because I get to inhabit this really beautiful positive mental space.”

See this song of “Vamp-opera” the first musical episode of Vampirina!

#Vampirina #Disney's Vampirina #Disney Junior #Disney Jr #Chris Nee #Anee Mary Peace #Michael Kooman #Christopher Dimond

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livsstories · 4 years

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A Year and Decade in Reflection: 2019

Here we sit, on the cusp of a new year and a new decade, and I find myself unable to break from my self-reflection regarding this past year and my first decade as an adult. How I look back and realize the growth that I have experienced, the loss I have endured, and the relationships I have kindled. I have to say that compared to where I was at the beginning of this decade, I am a completely different person; yet underneath lies that same innocence, that same optimism, and that eternal empathy I have for those around me.

At the beginning of this decade, I was in high school. I graduated in 2011, leaving home for the first time to attend a university hours from home. It was there I discovered many things: first and foremost, I discovered the wonderful world of the internet. It wasn’t that I didn’t know of or use the internet before, but I met so many people online who had similar interests as me, I created my own niche of internet closet space, and I discovered new subjects to read, explore, and indulge myself in.

This website, tumblr, was really where all of it began. I discovered groups of fans who shared my ‘10-’13 obsession with BBC’s Merlin. I rediscovered my love for Owl City and made dozens of friends on here through Adam Young’s music. Many of those friends I am still blessed to have today, and we have visited each other and kept in touch after all this time. And then, of course, there was the time I began following people from a livestream for BBC’s Sherlock episode Reichenbach Falls in January of 2012 - one of those who is now my husband and I would have never met outside of tumblr. I also found a love for all things minimalist and tiny - something I still enjoy after learning about tiny living 7 years ago.

This decade was one of love and one of loss. Heaven took a few beautiful souls in my life, most of them this year. My wonderful cousin Ellie passed away in April. A long-time family friend passed away in February. And our family dog passed away also in April. Emotionally, I lost many people as well. Most notable was my friend Kyra, who drifted away at a very difficult time in my life. I did suffer from depression and anxiety this decade as well, but defeated the former relatively quickly. Anxiety may flare up sometimes, but I now know how to recognize when my mind is issuing a nonessential fight or flight feeling. I am grateful to have known the people I’ve known and to have gone through the trials I had in order to become stronger and wiser.

This was an amazing decade. Despite the loss, it was a calm, peaceful time. I had many opportunities to travel, and I visited 23 states and 2 countries outside of North America. I adopted a beautiful cat named Tina Tuna, an absolute unit of a gray tabby calico who has brought nothing but joy to me. I married an amazing person after 7 years of knowing each other and 3 years of dating. I got to spend countless days visiting family and friends. I also rediscovered where I stood on the spiritual front, and I have only been happy since with my choices.

2019 has been a year of knowledge, a year of discovery, and a year of peace. My now 2 jobs have made working life hectic, but outside of this I have discovered what makes me happy. I finally paid off my very first car loan this year, which was an excellent stepping stone towards financial independence (next stop, paying off all the student loans!). I was able to dream and brainstorm and dream again with my husband about how to get to that financially elusive house we keep picturing (in many different ways because of course our ideas are always changing). I was able to sing in a church choir, mentor kids in high school robotics, and visit both grandparents at least once this year.

Looking ahead, 2020 is going to be pretty incredible, too. I have plans to pay off at least one of my looming student loans, vacation throughout my home state, be a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding, spend time with family and friends, and be continually blessed to spend my life with my partner, my equal, my Jeff.

I hope 2020 is a wonderful year for you, too. No matter what you believe, what your opinions are, what your attitude towards life is, or what you do with your life - this is the fresh, clean slate you’ve been looking for. Find your inner self and learn to fly!

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thousandeyesand-one · 5 years

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Tagged by @naomimakesart

■What are your top 3 favorite houses of Westeros?

HOUSE TARGARYEN. I mean Hello! 👀

HOUSE STARK. The Ice to my favorite fire house!

HOUSE DAYNE. Extremely underrated & unexplored I would love to know more.

■If you could live during one era in GRRM’s universe what era would it be? (Age of Heroes, Valyrian Empire, Conquest of Westeros, Dance of Dragons etc.)

I'd probably be like either a weirwood & live through all of these eras lol or I'd be a child of the forest secretly surviving since dawn age at the isle of faces or something! Coz I can't choose one era 😜

■What is your favorite episode/scene from the Game of Thrones TV series?

Battle of the Bastards, Loot train attack, Tower of Joy, First look at Ser Arthur Dayne 💜 basically every time arya is on screen. But I guess S05E04 holds a special place in my heart that whole episode was about Subtle hints at jon's Parentage/Subtle-mild hints at Jonerys future magical babies/ & had perhaps my most fav scene in the show of dany & Ser Barristan Selmy bonding over Rhaegar!

"Rhaegar never liked killing, he loved singing."

■What ruler do you think brought about the most change in Westeros, be it good or bad?

Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the Conciliator. Alysanne Targaryen, the Good Queen. I think they were the Obama's of the 7k literally inherited the realm from Maegor who almost crumbled the dynasty & the realm but they rebuilt it to last for two more centuries. While you asked Good & Bad I'd like to mention for 99% of good that Baehaerys did there was 1% of bad done by him too. The Iron Precedent of 101 A.C. that establishes male inheritance over female which single handedly caused DOD, Blackfyre Rebellions & is still a problem! If only Jaehaerys would've listened to Alysanne & made daenerys the heir! Listen to your wives Men! Make it a habit!

■If you could ask GRRM one question what would it be?

In a shitty, patriachial world like Westeros, where it is more than clear that men have build & sustained their kingdoms & legacies through Acts of War or Revenge or Want & Need to secure power. Why are women like Daenerys, Arya & Cersei criticized as would-be Mad or psychotic/Too far gone or Already Mad characters?

■If GRRM could write a short novel/series about one other family or historical time (besides the Targaryens) in his universe what would you want it to be about? (My choice would be Nymeria’s Journey!)

Good choice Naomi!👌

I would like to learn more about The Daynes man House Dayne! They are so peculiar, mysterious & any reader of asoiaf knows theres more to that house that is important for the endgame than what we know! More about this family dating back to the Dawn age & the era of the rule of Kings of Torrentine. More about Ashara Dayne & her eldest brother who is still unnamed what is his name? How did he actually look like if his son has valyrian features? was he a snack just like his younger brother?.. you know.. important questions like those needs to be answered!

■What was your first introduction to ASOIAF/Game of Thrones? Did someone tell you about it, did you see it online or did you come across it at a store/shop?

My cousin told me about the book series but I was busy with my studies at the time so I couldn't pick it up. But then the show happened & he told me about it too so I watched the first season before reading the books. Then I picked up my Jaw from the floor after watching S01 & straight away bought those books. & THAT'S HOW MY LIFE ENDED!

■What’s one thing that bothers you about GRRM’s series?

I think it's the doylism that bothers me. It has always bothered me I am a Tolkien nerd & that man wrote stories beyond human capacity & error. Middle earth is as fantasy as fantasy can be & even though J. R. R Tolkien was inspired to write his stories by the service he did in military during war his story isn't a doylist one, maybe mild references here & there but nothing as serious as asoiaf. I feel like doylism complicates everything in this story! (P.S I also never was much of a history student Biology was Life!)

■What’s one thing you unabashedly love about GRRM’s series?

The impossibly, irrevocably, unattainable & unfair high expectation of men (selective men) that GRRM has created. I mean good luck to myself on getting in a relationship or getting married coz you aint never gonna be Ser Arthur Dayne awesome or Rhaegar Targaryen & Jon Snow Broody, Melancholy sexy!

■What are your feelings about the prequel series in development at HBO right now for the Long Night?

I really really love Bran Stark & how he is connected to the rich 8,000 or longer history of Kings of Winter & the actual nature of this world, all the stuff that predates back to Dawn Age. First Long Night is something I would definitely love to watch, Fingers crossed am sure I'll like it! Also because valyria came into existence right after the First Long Night so this series only gives me hope for a Valyrian Freehold Prequel THAT WHICH I TRULY WANT!

Now tagged by @chillyravenart

Here goes..

■Which Westerosi castle would you like to live in?

Starfall, Dorne. Duh!

■Would you rather be a rich and influential lord, born into wealth and privilege or would you rather be someone who wields power from the sidelines, like Littlefinger?

I'd rather be born rich & influential because I know myself I won't be another cuckoo Lord or lady of the 7k. Plus it seems like anyone like Little Finger or varys who rises from sidelines have to sell their souls to the Satan with zero sense of humanity & everything being a race for power.

■Pick one: platinum hair or purple eyes?

I'll take purple eyes because I have jet black hair & purple eyes just compliment the fuck out of black hairs!

■Based on a tag I made once, based on your physical features, which part of Westeros/which house do you belong to?

In dorne probably House Martell.

■Who do you think will actually defeat the Night King?

I think Bran is the one who is truly going to defeat Night King.

■Three people you think will die in season 8?

Night King, Cersei & Varys. Can I add a fourth? Melisandre too.

■What would you name your dragon/direwolf?

My Dragon would be called Tzarax & my Direwolf would be called Amaris which means Child of the moon. She'd be an albino without red eyes maybe golden eyes!

■How must Ser Pounce be avenged?

Ser Pounce's daughter should train to be a faceless assassin & return all badass with many faces of cats & avenge Ser Pounce roaming around the red keep biting the hell out of anyone because Valar Mewghulis. All Men must be biten.

■Whose POV chapters are your favourite? (If you haven’t read the books... skip this and hang your head in shame lol jk jk jk)

My fav POV chapters are Bran, Dany, Jon, Arya. In that order!

Hang your head in shame lmao👏😂

■Your favourite ASOIAF/GOT antagonist?

Varys. This dude is going to burn in the seventh hell for all the bs he has unleashed upon just about everyone he has ever come across. I would name LF too but unfortunately it seems Varys outlived him so yeah The Spider & his webs are deadly as they come.

My Questions are:

1. What is that one moment or situation in asoiaf or GOT Tv show that inspires you positively?

2. YOUR ONE TRUE SHIP?

3. What is your favorite, ride or die character? CHOOSE ONE, ONLY ONE!

4. If you were to be the Ruler of Westeros & name Seven fighters to your Kingsguard who would they be? (They can be from the current generation of asoiaf or any fighter from any era, choice is all yours!)

6. Your own House sigil, house color(s) & house words?

5. What are your views about Robert's Rebellion?

7. Which is that one Character you wish had more screen time on the show (or) had a POV in the books?

8. Imagine Red Keep School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, which houses would the sorting hat sort these characters into? { Arya, Jon, Daenerys, Bran, Tyrion, Robb, Jaime, Cersei, Sansa, Rickon, Gendry, Joffery, Margaery, Brienne, Pod, Tormund, Hound, Missandei, Greyworm, Bronn, Sam & Gilly }

9. How do you prefer to watch the Final season? With a partner or spouse / alone by myself with no one to bug me / go to a watch party or bar episode events.

I'm Tagging @chillyravenart @naomimakesart @beautifuloutkasts @drakhus @phoebemaybe @mamadragon-daenerys @blue-roses-and-red-rubbies @northernlights37 @tomakeitbeautifultolive @toaquiprashippar @daenerys1417 @submarinesofpacific @crystalmusezz @ anyone who would like to do this i'd like to know your answers!

10. Nobody knows for sure how this story ends, but what is your ideal end to this story?

#tag #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #this was fun!#ya'll better answer these questions it took me forever to make them up!

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thebearwitchproject · 6 years

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Month of Spreads Day 3- The Gentle Spread

Question: What can I do to be more gentle towards myself?

I really enjoyed reflecting with today’s spread an. I wrote a lot more that I intended to about this reading so if your interested in what all I wrote:

I am in a transitionary period professionally, after two years of classroom teaching at two very different schools with two very challenging groups of students I decided to leave the classroom and pursue my dream of working as a professional environmental educator. It’s been a rough couple of months since the teaching paycheck stopped coming in and our two income home dropped down to one. I am quite lucky to have a husband who understands and has steady work as a teacher himself and he loves his job . But since his school year started it has left me home alone and feeling isolated somedays. As a drama teacher he has rehearsals after school and he is also currently singing in a production of Bernstein’s Mass so I am lucky to get 30 minute s with him while he scarfs down dinner before heading to another 3 hour rehearsal. Then when getting home we watch an episode or two of something and he heads to bed.

I am my own biggest critic and am very hard on myself sometimes. I strive for perfection and being the best and if I can’t be the best then I loose interest. Sometimes this culminates in a perfect storm of anxiety and self doubt and then being overwhelmed by it all I will shut down completely. This is something I am working on and could be its whole own post and very well might be soon

Anyway enough with background and let’s look at what the cards are saying today.

Obviously something that is immediately noticeable is all the cards in this reading are wands and this isn’t uncommon for me recently. I see wands ALOT in my readings. Being the suit of fire and related to creative pursuit this makes sense. I’m a Leo and am drawn to creative expression in everything. One of my daily practices is to try and create something with my hands each day. Here are just a few examples: In my World Card Mug from World Market there is self-brewed kombucha, the candle is a lavender scented candle I poured myself. I just ate some homemade pumpkin banana raisin bread for part of my lunch and I read my cards on a mat I sewed myself. I am wearing a bracelet I made for myself last night.

I find joy and energy (and a form of meditation) from these creative pursuits. It’s why I studied costume design and theatre in college.

So when asking the cards how to be gentle with myself there is the overwhelmingly loud sign to keep being as creative as possible.

1) Where am I with being gentle with myself? Daughter of Wands. Right now I am just at the beginning of understanding how to treat myself gently. I am passionate and stubborn. I often have an optimistic confidence about things that often skews towards naivety. She is also telling me to keep embracing my artistic pursuits, take everything and make it work together.

2) What is my end goal? What does being gentle look like? Six of Wands. Letting your self soar. This card is telling me that there is a limitless potential. Success is coming soon and be ready to embrace it. (This is awfully good news considering I have several applications out for jobs that excite me) Victory is quite literally in the cards.

3) How do I get to that goal of being more gentle with myself? Three of Wands. This is the second time this card has shown up while doing a reading for the Month of Spreads. It’s a card that pops up quite often for me. It tells me to clarify my goals. Embrace the risks but engage fully with the experiences that are coming my way. Be self reliant and blaze your own trail ( I leave on Saturday for a solo trip to Washington state for an EE conference next week and I’ll also be camping out several nights in various natural settings so I am taking this quite literally)

4) Shadow Card/ Another lens to see the cards through. I have started to include a shadow card on many of my readings just as a wrap up or further commentary. Mother of Wands. This is another of the Wands that pops up for me quite often. I see the whole court of Wands more often than any other type of cards. She is telling me to protect what matters and continue to practice gratitude and grace. The vibrant reds and oranges are full of steady energy. She is telling me that all of the other cards add up together to help me reach my goal of self-care that brought me back to practice after a ten year hiatus. Nothing quite sums up this card for me more than an Auntie Mame quote: “Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death. Live! Live!”

#MonthOfSpreads2 #wild unknown deck #tarot journal #tarot cards #gay witch #witchcrafty

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