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glitxhwayventeen · 3 years

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Lonely Hearts Club

Seokmin: Chapter 3 (I Wanna Know)

Characters: Seokmin x female reader

Genre/Warnings: multi-member au (different scenarios), werewolf au, fantasy, angst, fluff, genocide mentions, runaways, mental illness (depression implied), sexual mentions, crying, mentions of death, mentions of violence. Any others will be put as warnings when future chapters are thought up/written.

Author’s Note: Your girl is in some serious fucking pain but she managed to get another chapter out because she couldn’t sleep! So low and behold, I give you a decent chapter for DK

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

Bold= Dialogue Italics= Thoughts

🥀 & ☁️

Lonely Hearts Club Master List

Chapter 3: I Wanna Know

You were in heat for a few more days. Seokmin stayed with you the whole time and took care of… your every need. Though he looked worn out, he didn’t complain once. He liked that you let him help you. And he was hoping now that your heat was over, you’d let him in a bit more.

Your legs felt like jello, your hair looked like a birds nest, your skin was covered in variously healed bruises. You were a mess. But it was still time to go back to the pack. You made a promise and you always followed through with your promises, even if you were in a horny induced daze when you made it. You were just hoping they wouldn’t know, or at least, wouldn’t make a big deal out of what had happened.

Seokmin helped get you back to your feet and get dressed, putting your arms through your tank top and putting you in your shorts one leg at a time. He had already managed to get himself together as he had woken up earlier than you had. He figured you’d be in worse shape than him after everything… everything you’d been through and he wanted to be sure you were as okay as possible before you started your journey back home.

“There we go, all done!” He chirped after finally buttoning the last button on your jean shorts.

He took a step back to look at you. Aside from the bruises, you physically looked pretty normal now that he had helped you tame your ridiculously tangled hair. But he knew the pack was gonna smell you. You smelled like him from the week of animalistic sex sessions you two had been having due to your heat. It was unavoidable. He knew they’d all know you two slept together the second you walked through the door. He just wasn’t sure how you’d react to their inevitable and unavoidable teasing.

You quickly looked down after you had seen your reflection in one of your buckets of water, “I look like a walking disaster.” You muttered.

“It’s not THAT bad…,” He failed miserably at reassuring you, “But it doesn’t matter anyways, we’re mates. It doesn’t matter if we slept together or not. We would have eventually anyways” Seokmin tried to reason, bringing himself to walk up to you and hold your small hands in his large ones hesitantly.

“They’re all gonna make fun of me.” You pouted at him, looking down at your feet and smiling a bit in embarrassment.

You had never really taken the time to look at him before your whole mating fiasco happened. You had done literally everything in your power to avoid him at all costs so you wouldn’t catch feelings for him. But now that you had spent a good portion of time alone with him, you realized just how much bigger than you Seokmin was. He always seemed so… subservient around the pack that you never really gave his physical appearance much thought when it came to size. He must’ve been almost a foot taller than you, and now that you had seen him shirtless and naked, you also knew just how much muscle he actually had. He was MUCH larger than you had thought. Even his feet looked like they could crush yours with one fast stomp.

He held back a giggle at your cuteness before he spoke up, “They won’t make fun of yoooou. Especially because you could EASILY beat most of them to a bloody pulp with your special wolfie powers and all.”

“Aya! They’re not special ‘wolfie powers.’ They’re just my normal powers. And it’s not my fault you guys are more diluted forms than me.” You chuckled, playfully smacking his toned chest with your hand.

He cocked his head to the side at your statement, “Is that how it works? The longer the line the less of a wolf you are?” He asked curiously while bringing the back of your hand up to his lips and giving it a chaste kiss.

You almost laughed out loud at his question before you remembered that he didn’t grow up with other werewolves. He was a bitten wolf, not genetically a wolf. You remembered that Seungcheol had told you that no one in his family had ever been a wolf before him. He probably had no clue how it all worked, especially since his pack wasn’t always the best help when it came to educating each other on important matters. You felt a little guilty for thinking he was just being sort of dumb. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t know anything about it. So you held back your little outburst and nodded instead.

“Yeah basically. I mean, most genetic lines now can still obviously transform, but they’re still not…” You tapped your chin with your index finger for a moment while thinking of the correct words to explain what you meant, “As much of a wolf as me.” You decided.

Your mate was watching you intensely, listening to every word you said closely, as if he was learning the most important information he’d ever need to know,“I’m honestly probably more wolf than I am human. But most modern day wolves are more human than wolf, that’s why it’s relatively easy for them to assimilate into human societies and blend in.” You informed him, the both of you gathering the rest of your things and making your way out the cave to the path leading back to the forest.

“But hiding our eyes isn’t always easy!” He interjected with enthusiasm you found oddly cute, “If we get too emotional, the potions disintegrate and our real eye color shows. So it’s not really SUPER simple with us.” Seokmin responded, grabbing your hand closest to him and interlocking your fingers.

For a moment, you wanted to pull away from him and push him for initiating the sudden contact. But you also promised him that you’d give him a chance and that you’d try to be the best mate to him that you could be. Plus, the warmth of his hand felt… kind of nice on yours. So you kept your hands together, giving his fingers an involuntary squeeze that made Seokmin’s face light up.

“I suppose you’re right. But really, as long as a wolf can keep their shit together, they can seem very human. When my people were still around, we were very obviously NOT human. We couldn’t be even if we had tried.” You casually let out, skipping over a large rock in your way.

“What were your people like?” He questioned, genuinely wanting to know what your life was like before you lost everything. His pack had tried to ask you before, but you’d always clam up and make up some excuse to leave the conversations. He was hoping with it just being the two of you, you might actually be okay with sharing some more personal information with him.

You waited a moment before you spoke up. What WERE your people like? It had been so long that you hardly even remembered anythings about them. You usually tried to push away all the thoughts of them because remembering all you lost hurt too much. But when he asked you the question, it was like everything came rushing back to you all at once.

Your family, your tribe, your traditions. You remembered how the tribal elders used to let you sit in on council meetings because your father insisted you needed to know everything there was to know about running the tribe. It made you feel so important when he did that, like you were his pride and joy. You thought about all the times you had sat next to your mom as she cooked up potions and remedies in her old stone cauldron for the healer to use on the sick and injured. She always cared so much about everything and everyone around her, you always loved to help her help people. And you could all but see your 11 big goofball brothers running up to you holding their latest hunting prizes with the most giant toothy grins they could muster. Those dumbasses, they always made the most of life. You missed them so fucking much.

Everything started swirling around your head and it made a huge smile appear on your face with watery eyes at the thought of your early life. Seokmin took notice and felt a bit proud of himself that he had made you that happy, you had never beamed a smile that big before in front of him or his pack.

“My people… they were… they were just-” You paused, “They were just the most amazing family a person could ever ask for.” You started, wiping away a sudden tear that had fallen down the side of your face from the memory of them, hopefully before your mate could notice. Of course, he still saw, but he said nothing because he knew it would upset you.

“They were always just sooooo happy. I remember every night was basically like a huge party. We’d all dance and sing around the campfire, there’d be elders telling stories and offering the young words of wisdom while the parents would scold us for interrupting anytime anything got cool or surprising.” You sadly laughed, “We were all just… one big happy family. Even if I wasn’t actually related to all of them. I can’t really explain the connection I felt to them… it was just as strong as the one I had to my biological family.” You sighed, finally reaching the edge of the forest and finding the proper trail for the both of you to set towards home.

He could hear the pain in your voice as you spoke of your past life. You must’ve really missed them. But there were so many questions he still had. What about your actual family? Did you have brothers or sisters? What kind of life did you have? How did you sleep or eat? Where did you come from? But he knew he shouldn’t ask so many at once, he didn’t want to overwhelm you or hound you with his thoughts all at once. So instead, he asked just one question he knew he should probably know the answer to: “What- What happened to them?”

His words made you halt your movements for a second. Remembering that day wasn’t something you liked to do. In fact, you went to great lengths to avoid the memory. It haunted everything you did. Every minute of everyday was plagued with the thought of their demise. You had nightmares every night. You saw their hallowed faces in every person you met. You smelt ash and burnt flesh more than you smelt anything else. Their screams were still stuck to your mind like gum on the bottom of a shoe. It tore you apart to think of it. But still, you knew he deserved to know. You’d want to know if you were him.

“They were… they were massacred.” You sadly shrugged, biting your lip to keep yourself from letting sobs out. He stroked your hand in his in an effort to soothe your sad soul. You took comfort in his small affectionate touch, it grounded you and pulled your tortured mind back down to the conversation you were having.

You took in a deep breath, “It was just any other day, at least, to me it was,” you gulped before you continued, “I was helping my mom with some new herbal remedies for some of our sick warriors when suddenly we heard this loud BANG. My mom wasn’t a wolf, in fact, back then no female was. Well, no female but me that is, but that’s beside the point,” you shook your head and tried to get yourself back on the topic at hand.

“I could feel the vibration under my feet. It was a cannon, but we didn’t know that then. They weren’t really used in our part of the world, they’d freeze in the cold weather and couldn’t always light at the altitude that my village was set on. But somehow, the Cossacks found a way to make them work… they always found a way…” you stated flatly, looking up to the sky out of respect for your fallen family.

“They were upset that my pack had killed some of their soldiers that had hurt a group of women in a neighboring tribe. So they punished us the only way they knew how: by brutally murdering everyone and setting everything they could on fire. Fire’s one of the few ways Icyan wolves can actually be killed. They killed almost everybody. As far as I know, Cyrus and me were the only ones who got out.” You swallowed back the lump stuck in your throat as you and Seokmin continued onward to your destination.

Now this question really worried him, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted answers to it. But he, again, wanted to know more about you and how you got to him. He’d figure it out eventually, might as well try to get it out of you today while he had you going already.

“Can you- can you tell me a bit about him…?” He almost whispered, afraid to say it any louder as he didn’t want to upset you.

“W-What?” You asked for clarification.

“I- I Wanna Know more about… him… Can you tell me about him?” Seokmin stuttered out. He was still unsure if he should’ve said it to begin with, but he couldn’t help it. He had to know more about the man who had you crying constantly over him.

You turned your head to look at him, “About who? Cyrus?” A bit of fear crossed your face as you attempted to confirm what he asked.

“Y-Yeah. He was your mate. And Jun kind of explained what you told him had happened to him the other day, but I don’t know much about him. Like how you two got out. Or why he died…” He looked you in the eyes and say that tears and immense sadness had began to pool in them, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to! I just figured… that it would be better to get it out in the open now…” Seokmin bit his lip as he waited for your reaction/response.

“Cyrus was… Cyrus. He is- was… my best friend.” You sighed defeatedly out loud before you continued, “He always took care of me. He imprinted on me right after I was born, so he was always there for me.” You started, still trying to find the right words to emphasize what he meant to you. But it was hard, you weren’t very touchy feely like Seokmin was. Feelings were all new to you, so you weren’t sure how to share them aloud.

You didn’t want to upset Seokmin by speaking too fondly about your past mate, but you also couldn’t help the pang in your heart you felt Everytime you heard Cyrus’s name. Part of you wanted to never speak of him again, another part of you wanted to never shut up about him. Your mind was full of conflict but your heart was full of sorrow. How could you possibly ever forget Cyrus enough to have a new mate? How could you ever emphasize how important he was to you when Seokmin, your current lover, was holding your hand? How were you supposed to pick and choose such things when your heart was pleading for a break?

“Wait- he imprinted on you right when you were born? I didn’t know that was possible…” he lost steam towards the end of his sentence and started to mumble while rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Oh no! It wasn’t like that!” You stopped him before he could get any further, “See, Icyan wolves start to shift really soon after birth, like only a month or two after. So it basically means that we’re able to phase our entire life. Cyrus was only five years older than me. He acted like an older brother to me until I hit 16 ish. But that’s when it all went wrong…” You held back a whimper that was threatening to spill past your lips.

“But the day everyone was killed, my dad and the other wolves came to defend out den. I was hiding in the hut while my mom was trying to do a protection spell. But they had killed most of our warriors already when they tried to save their families. We’re very protective of the ones we love” you sniffled slightly, still trying to hold your emotions back but obviously failing miserably.

“Cyrus came to find me after his family was killed. It was his instinct to protect me first, even though he loved his parents, they had each other still. And I was his mate, that’s how we work, mates and children before anyone else. He came into our home and tried to comfort me. We all thought we were gonna die. They had already killed my brothers by the river bank, it broke my parents. They saw red. But they knew I was still alive. So, before the Russians stormed our hut, my dad told Cyrus to take me and run as far as possible for as long as possible, so he did. After that, we were alone, but we had each other. It was like that for a few years. But then… I turned 16 and everything went to hell.” Your lip trembled and quivered with guilt.

Your current mate whined at your sadness, he wanted to help you, but he knew there was nothing he could say or do to make you feel better. So he just kept rubbing the back of your petite hand and giving you his full undivided attention. You had heard his whine, but you knew it was just because you were upset, so you gave him a small depressed smile before you kept speaking.

“Well you know that he- well that he’s obviously dead. Otherwise we couldn’t have imprinted on each other. But I’m sure you want to know… why he died” you mustered up all the courage you could before finally explaining it all to him, “He saved me. I fucked up. I was spotted by some towns people and he took the fall so they wouldn’t take me instead. Our wolf forms were similar. All Icyan wolves are white, we can just have different patterns to us. The villager that spotted me didn’t see the black spot on my head, he just saw a huge white wolf. They followed me back to our den and they were met with him. He refused to let me go. He was a telepath and he was an alpha. He ordered me to hide and he told me he loved me before he gave himself up to the angry mob.” You stopped walking and let the tears brimming your eyes freely fall.

Seokmin stood in front of you playing with your hair sweetly, trying to give you something to ground yourself and distract you from your heartache. It killed him to see you that way.

“I couldn’t- I couldn’t refuse his order. He was- he was my alpha. So I had to stay and watch them take him back to their town. I left after that to try and find him, he never told me that I couldn’t. But by the time I got there- they- they-” you sobbed out while bringing your shakey hands to your face, “They had already started torturing him. There had been reports of two huge wolves in the area and they thought he would lead them to me if they hurt him enough. But he never did.” Seokmin pulled you into his chest as you cried, barely able to breathe as you convulsed into loud whimpers and wails.

“I- I felt everything. Every cut they made, every punch, every hit. Because I’m of my shaman bloodline, I felt everything he felt, I- I’m an empath. He figured out I was in the crowd and just kept telling me that he loved me telepathically. That it wasn’t my fault. But- But how could it not be- be my fault?” You stuttered as you gripped onto Seokmin’s shirt for dear life, “I got him killed!” You all but screamed, crying into your mate’s chest so hard he was worried you’d pass out.

Seokmin just let you cry. He couldn’t imagine the guilt and pain you must have been feeling. He just held you and shushed you and told you that everything would be okay. But how could you be okay? You lost everyone in the most awful ways possible. No wonder you didn’t want him around before. If he were you, he wouldn’t either. He wouldn’t have wanted to risk losing MORE people.

He knew you thought it was your fault, but it wasn’t. If the roles were reversed, he knew you would’ve done the same thing as Cyrus. Just like he always knew that if push came to shove, he’d do the same exact thing your past mate had done to save you. You were his whole world, he’d never let anything or anybody hurt you if he could help it. He’d defend you with his very last breath if it meant you got even a second longer to live.

After a while, your breathing evened out and your sobs became just tears. Seokmin pulled you back up from his torso to look you in the glistening eyes. He quickly wiped away any water that had streamed down your face in the process. He really wanted to just kiss all your tears away, but now wasn’t the time for that.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N). I wish I could take away your pain. But I can’t. The best I can do is promise you that I’ll always be here for you.” He assured you, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ears.

“Even if I start crying over my dead mate?” You tried to sound sarcastic, but you honestly felt too weak to. It probably came out as more of a whine to him.

“Even if you start crying over him. Or if you miss him. Or even if you just want to talk about him. Or any of them. It’s okay. I understand and I’m here for you, no matter what.” He pecked your nose softly and gave you the most loving eyes you had ever seen.

You couldn’t help but pull him into a sweet, thankful kiss, attempting to show him how grateful you were for him with your actions rather than your words that always seemed to fail you. Once you pulled back, you realized just how tired you were. Seokmin seemed to pick up on it to because, suddenly, you were in his arms being carried through the woods bridal style. You gave him a look of uncertainty, he just nodded at you and gave you a loving smile, signaling that he would be okay to walk back the rest of the way to the house with you in his arms.

You wanted to protest it all for his sake, but your eyelids felt too heavy. So instead, you just snuggled your now swollen face into his chest and let the darkness take over, feeling safe in his arms and knowing he would never let anything bad happen to you. For the first time in a long time, you felt like maybe everything would be okay.

(Updated 9/17)

#seventeen #seventeen angst #seventeen au #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fluff #seventeen smut #svt au #seventeen x reader #svt seokmin #seokmin imagines #seokmin x reader #seokmin angst #seventeen seokmin #dokyeom #svt dk

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alitheamateur · 5 years

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The Grind- Chapter 31

A/N: Here we are, my precious jewels. The end of my own little era, but the beginning of a renewed passion. This story brought back a love for story-telling that I had long neglected, and although most don't understand the sentiment, I owe a lot of happiness to these characters. The Grind sprouted during a very dark, confusing, heartbreaking time in my life, and it became such a welcomed distraction from my emotional spiral. This piece of fiction will be held near and dear to my soul for all of eternity, and my heart beats with love for each & every one of you who has shared a kind word.

One last time, The Grind.

I was grateful that even over all the unsteady commotion, the gravel of his familiar voice busted through to my eardrums. The thud of my pulse hammered, already bringing along the gift of a taxing migraine that would only worsen once a pair of fists lashed into my skull. I was dreading the aching road of recovery before Kat and I had even thrown a punch.

Hers came first though. Quick, and robust it met the girlish roundness of my chin, shaking quivers over every hair on my skin. My footing staggered, and I swear to you my very eyeballs rattled. The early stages of pain I felt didn’t talk long to drag back the memo to my brain to protect my face as much as possible as she obsessively stalked to land an even more brutal hit the next time. I swished the blood laced spit around my jaws to wet my tongue, and settled in for war.

She could tell the blow had combusted an inkling of uncertainty in my spirit, and it only fed her desire for violence. With a random bout of bravery, I pointed an attempted swing for her ribs, connecting successfully to the tight ripples of her abdomen. Seeing as she hadn’t foreseen the body shot, it crippled her standing straight stance, and I was able to rock two more fists to the opposite cage of her ribs. Something felt off for a second when I heard her gasp for a breath when I released the wind from her belly. I felt… bad.

Violent nature was foreign to me, and I let myself feel briefly apologetic on the inside watching her suffer for air. Then, the fighting side of me rose to rule. I lobbed a club-foot kick to her chiseled thigh, victoriously capturing her balance. However, I couldn’t completely escape my often clumsy tactics, and I let my own legs tangle with hers as she dropped buoyantly to the mat.

I scurried with fluster to try and reach my standing position before Bex, but unfortunately her quickness outweighed my own. I brought my forearms to my face, doubling them as a shield of armor for my breakable nose. With her every delivery of a fist, my head bounced like a ball on the soft mat below. I prayed for her to tire, or somehow make a careless mistake and allow my escape. I could already feel the tenderness of plum-shaded bruises forming up and down my arms, and I just wanted to cower in Colton’s arms.

Where was his voice? Why couldn’t I hear the assuring yells of he and Tia?

Just as my arms began to weaken in defeat, the squealing of the timekeeper’s bell halted her strike.

Katrina stood to her feet with ease, running for the cool swig of water waiting in her corner, leaving a shaken and hallucinating swirl of stars swimming like a halo around my skull. I tried to assess myself on the mat, still surveying what damage may have been done. Aside from my fractured pride.

“Baby! Get up, c’mon! Get over here, Liv!”

I frenzied to my feet shakily, remembering the very limited seconds I had to steal a second with my coaches in between rounds. Tia tried to masquerade her reaction of pity, but the squinting sickness of her eyes told all the tale I needed. I didn’t feel much pain, other than a tight pressure settling inside my nostrils, so the unknown markings couldn’t have been of much severity, right?

Suddenly, settling on the 3-legged stool for a ticking minute of a break, I caught glimpse of the very sopped, very stained towel that Colt applied to my stuffy nose. He squeezed gently, and his touch seemed to re-apply sensation to my busted snout. I yelped as his massaged as gingerly as his rocky hands would, and plugged the holes with some sort of swabs to drink up the blood-spill.

“You good, Liv? Hey… Look at me, right now. Look in my eyes. Do you wanna keep going?” Colton shook my shoulders, demanding a surefire answer. Bless his soul, there was nothing but devoted protection and the will to be my strong tower in his silver eyes.

“Have a little faith, remember?”

He rehearsed his best fake smile, and slung the ruined rag over his shoulder to scoop up my cushioned seat when the ref tapped a finger to his imaginary watch hurrying us to pick up the pace.

Besides the whelped imprint of my ankle bone on the upper of her thigh, Bex would enter the second round only rested and ready for more. She would go viciously after my obviously very broken nose, so it was my responsibility to protect it like a mother bird to her helpless young.

Two nippy little jabs, but thankfully she had missed. The dodging alone of her efforted hits made my entire face spasm with pain, and I was already daydreaming about the blue-green blossoms of bruise I would wake up to in the morning. If I even made it that far…

“Go after that leg, Liv! She’s tryin’ to baby it, so get after her!”

With Tia’s help, I did begin to notice the awkward teeter to Katrina’s steps. She was hobbling in the slightest, and her leg carried a barely detectable limp of uneasiness. If I could numb that leg enough, and swipe her footing to crash, I knew I could get her. I needed just a cracked window of opportunity, and I wouldn’t let my submission training go to waste.

I fell into rhythm with bizarre fist fakes, confusing her reflexes when taking shot after shot at her leg. With unyielding focus, I beat the tender skin of her thigh with kicks like a well-oiled meat tenderizer, the stretch of my own groin muscle also suffering.

Dribbles from my nose spilled blood down my chest onto the mat, painting a slickness beneath our feet. The metallic flavored goo gurgled in the back of my throat, and I wanted to spit free my mouthguard and guzzle the strongest proof of some sort of dark alcohol to curb its stain on my tongue. I made a mental note that Colt make a liquor run once I settled into the featherbed in our hotel room.

As Katrina and I tiptoed on light feet ‘round the cage, I’d give side glances to Colt. Once finding his foot standing in the seat of my stool with his elbow resting on a knee, his mouth taut behind the hand his rested over his lips. Assessing. Strategizing. Criticizing?

Another moment his forearms interlocked over his beating chest, toes tapping in a wide stance, and even a barely traceable half-smile sitting across his face. Just knowing he was there, close to me, only a few arms-lengths away should danger really arrive, slowed the pace of my overbeating heart. I’d win this for him. For me, of course. But, it was decided nevertheless that Katrina’s very first loss tonight, would ultimately rally a victory for me, my camp, and my Colton.

As the round ended, Bex felt the buff weight of pressure stalking around her. As I turned, this time much more aware, towards my corner for a rushed break between blows, she smashed both palms to the blades of my shoulder, childishly showing me to the ground. Our ref consumed her with a tight embrace, quite firmly chastising into her ear. Thankfully for the much ,much needed backup, I bounced out of the way for Willow to swallow Tia inside a resisting bearhug, as I attempted to handle Colton’s own bursting of incoherent fury.

“Handle your fuckin’ girl, Tyler! You and I both knew we ain’t here for any shit like that!” My rumbling bear growled across the mat to Kat’s fumbling coach. “I see anything like that again, and me ‘n you may have to borrow this damn cage for a short minute.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Colton, hey. Stop, baby. C’mon! Look at me, I’m good, ok?” I purred and hummed into his hot ear. Hoping some sort of soothing spell would lull some calmness back into his raging eyes.

“COLT, STOP. Shit! Take a deep breath, Colton. Don’t ruin this for me, damn it! I’m fine, babe. I promise.” I was rambling to an empty shell. His spirit was climbing the rafters like a demonic spirt lurking above the darkest shadows. “Please…”

With that simplest plea, the pink of his cheeks reappeared, and his lips relaxed. I think his teeth cracked from the tense of his unbreakable jaws.

He shuddered, as if feeling his spirit mold back into his body, and turned away from Bex and her coach. Placing two firm paws atop my shoulders, he hurried me to a seat, kneeling himself to eye level.

“Beat. Her.” A growl buzzed from the back of his raw throat.

He knew her sideshow had embarrassed me, and if I wouldn’t let him intervene in my honor, I best do it myself.

Colton kissed me. Hard. Teetering the stool on its back legs. And if I couldn’t win this fight with that kind of motivation, I never had a chance to begin with.

The referee had taken some extra moments to scold Katrina for the uncalled for, untimely reaction, and began ushering Tia and Colt towards the cage door.

I hissed an engrossed inhale, focusing best I could to even out the pace of my tottering, rambunctious heart.

But my heart would be the only thing I would slow.

Barely registering the ‘ting’ of our timekeepers bell, I lunged forward sighting in on the nose protruding from the middle of her smug face. The girl hadn’t given a single clear peep at her face the entire match, but it seemed in that moment that fate had tied her hands for the upper hand of my fist.

Her eyes wept instantly at the burn of her nasal bone cracking in half. But that didn’t stop me. My humanity switched long flipped with the scent of a wound, and I was only out for blood no matter the cost. With battered knuckles, and uncontrolled swings, the light of defense dulled behind my opponents’ eyes.

A happen-stance shot deep into the mushy socket of her eye obliterated her focus, and the cage rumbled and rattled when her body fell limber at my feet. Until I was torn from her, and the match was called, I wouldn’t stop the invasive assault and risk any odds of a comeback.

Her head bobbled like a bottle cap rolling over the waves of a high tide ocean, and it seemed the way her eyelashes batted in slow motion that they themselves were even too heavy for her to bear. Our official closely observed her behavior, watching for signs of drooping unconsciousness, and any other medical qualifications for calling the match.

With one roll of my knuckles over her chin, her knee buckled at the bend and sent her tumbling. Trying to resist the inevitable admirably, in true fighters’ fashion, Katrina’s feeble, worn down body emptied of any overcoming abilities. Tears began to twine with red leaking down her face when the ring ref signaled to the timekeeper, calling the bout.

TKO.

Colton’s obsessing pride, uncontainable joy, and earnest tears of content dissipated whatever inkling of patience he was born with, and he kicked his lead foot into the cage door, bending loose the hinges to get to me. As my left hand was raised in baffling triumph, he pulled it right back into his own, sliding back into to place the sparkling gemstone on my ring finger.

Colton’s sentimental tears turned loose into an unbroken stream, his chest choking free chuckling sobs as he folded at the knee, and buried his reddening face into the pumping breaths of my belly. I could feel his mumblings vibrate into me, and his mouth movements tickling the bare skin above my waistband. Pulling him free and seeking his face, I combed through his shagged hair with giggling of my own.

“Baby. Hey! What is it, Colt?!”

I adored the way his smile danced with his tears, the odd coupling a beautiful one.

“You are fucking amazing, Liv Elliott! And fuck me for ever thinking you didn’t belong here.”

With an eager, rising fever to kiss his forever gorgeous lips, I cupped his face and willed him into me. His hands wormed under the crook of my arms and suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath my tired feet. No protest present, I hooked the clutches of my legs about his abdomen, and captured him. If I had any breath in me after the battle, he would’ve sucked it clear from my lungs with his smothering display of a kiss. I heard cameras snapping, analysts and fellow writers begging my name for a statement, but all the world might as well have been a foreign, unpopulated wonderland where only my soul and his could survive.

The fusing of his plush-skinned mouth with my own lit my spirit on fire, and I considered dragging him to the courthouse first thing the following day to marry him on the spot, just to be able to pair his own name with the word ‘husband’.

“Do your thing, champ. They wanna hear from you,” Colton plopped me down to meet to ground. “I’ll be right here. Always”

He eased himself backwards, dismissing himself from the sight of cameras and attention, pushing me to bathe in the limelight of the results of my hard work. He may not have been holding my hand in the literal sense, but the glow of his cheery cheeks as he watched me share the rundown from my point-of-view with the newspapers comforted me. I spied Tia even chatting at his side, with some strange sentiment resembling a genuine smile, as my parents weaved through the aisles.

Standing in my own portrayal of center stage, feeling the gratifying weight of his diamond promise on my finger, his last name soon-to-be mine on the wrist of my blood-stained gloves, and the unpredicted win of an MMA bout under my belt, there weren’t enough words in a Webster to define my state. Whether things would never be the same again, I knew all change would be for the better with the treasure of my Colton tucked in my back pocket for cherished keeping. With a determined heart, a driving passion, and maybe a few more callouses on my hands than before, I would strap down and relish in the ride to come. Lots of work, even more play, and back to The Grind.

TAGS: @torialeysha @eap1935 @mollybegger-blog @littleluna98

#Tom Hardy #tomhardy #tomhardyfanfiction #tomhardyfanfic #tommy conlon #Elizabeth Olsen #thegrind

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kawitchii · 6 years

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A Witch Watches: Little Witch Academia

A Witch Watches Little Witch Academia | The Witches’ Anime

When I watch Little Witch Academia, I geek out over a lot of things. The animation is fantastic and fluid and at times really, really beautiful. The character designs are adorable, original, and extremely expressive when they need to be. The characters themselves are all dynamic and most are so lovable that you can get attached almost immediately. The fantasy world that’s created is beautiful and imaginative and it makes me want to live in it for real.

But even with all of these technical and typical anime-lover reasons to geek out over Little Witch Academia, nothing gets me more excited in this show than its depiction of magic and witches. As I study more about magick myself, I’ve found more and more real elements of magick in this anime. Everything from the characters to the Shiny Chariot cards to even little background details reminds me of my own practice and the practices of others I’ve seen throughout my time as a witch.

Let’s face it. If a witch were to watch any anime, it would be Little Witch Academia.

*Warning: As always, this post is NOT spoiler free! I’ve done my best to not mention too many specifics, but if you wish to enjoy Little Witch Academia in its purest form with no spoilers at all, even minor ones, read no further!*

The Witchy Details

One of the reasons the world of Little Witch Academia feels so solid is because of how well researched it is. Fey folk and dragons and crystals are all included and so well done that, as a witch who has studied a lot of these subjects, I find myself connecting to the world even more than one would expect from an anime.

Take the constant witch symbolism throughout the show. The triple moon is a common symbol of the witch and in Wicca. A waxing crescent moon, a full moon, and a waning crescent moon are shown together to symbolize the three stages of a witch’s life. In the case of a female witch, whom all the characters of Little Witch Academia are, those stages are the maiden, the mother, and the crone. I could go into more detail, but for now let’s focus on the symbol itself.

Moons are present throughout the background and character designs. They appear as runes in episode 2, which Diana deciphers with flying colors. They also appear on the clothing of the professors at the academy. The Headmistress, the most powerful and important witch at the academy, is the only witch in the show to have the triple moons featured on her hat whereas everyone else has crescents, circles, or interlocking shapes. The triple moon in this case is a testament to the level at which she can cast magic. She is essentially the high priestess in the very large coven which is Luna Nova. There is only one other witch at Luna Nova who has the triple moon symbol featured in her design, and that is Ursula also known as Chariot du Nord or Shiny Chariot. Chariot is one of the most powerful witches who had graduated Luna Nova and was also chosen as the wielder of the Wand of the Seven Stars, so it makes sense that she too would have a triple moon somewhere in her design.

Speaking of triple moon, the goddess of the triple moon makes multiple appearances in the background. Hecate, a goddess commonly depicted with three heads, is commonly referred to as the goddess of witches and her statues are everywhere at Luna Nova! They’re based on a common Greek statue of her.

The witches of the academy also learn actual magick traditions as evidenced by the tree of life in the background of this scene in episode 2. This tree is part of the spiritual Hebrew tradition and marks the paths one takes in life to reach spiritual enlightenment. It can also be used in conjunction with similar spiritual path traditions such as the Major Arcana of the Tarot. And since the Major Arcana tell the story of the witch or magician in training throughout their life, it makes sense that it appears in Little Witch Academia.

Not only is the setting treated with a high detail in terms of real magick, the characters are too. With so many witches in one anime, the way each one stands out is how they approach their own magic.

The Characters and their Diverse Witchcraft

No two characters in Little Witch Academia are the same and that’s one of my favorite things about the show! Because of this diversity in character, there’s a huge diversity in the kinds of witchcraft each character specializes in. It’s all heavily personality based, but it also reflects the real diversity you see in real witchcraft.

Diana, for example, is extremely book smart which allows her to be more of a traditional witch. She practically has an encyclopedic knowledge of the history, the spells, and the lore of witchcraft. Diana is a descendant of witches and comes from a long and famed witch line. With the pressures that followed her throughout childhood, it’s no wonder Diana sticks to tradition, though she’s not afraid to learn from more non-traditional witches around her. I’m not a hereditary witch myself, but I’ve seen this kind of traditional, hereditary witch many times. They’re good for asking questions to and learning information from when they want to and Diana tends to act this way in the show as well.

Then there’s Lotte, a spiritworker with an affinity for fairy-type creatures. She has an incredible talent for working with them, once calming a group of restless spirits with a song in The Enchanted Parade. Another smaller spirit is often seen tagging along with her as well. For someone so small and quiet, she has a confidence with spirits that I’ve only seen in real life a few times. Funny enough, those people had similar personalities to Lotte.

Sucy, who is obsessed with poisons, is a botanical witch. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of mushrooms which likely rivals Diana’s knowledge of just about anything. Because of this, Sucy also can make potions and poisons quickly and easily. Some of her strongest potions in the series have been one that brings objects to life and a mandrake potion to increase magic powers.

Contanze has some of the most original magic within the show that even Akko questions at one point. While putting together potions in class, Contanze uses her special machinery to get the job done in episode 5. Akko exclaims, “Hey! That doesn’t look witchy at all!” This is something a lot of witches who are drawn to machinery and technology hear often. It might not look like traditional magic, but Contanze’s use of technology makes her magic stronger. She’s even able to create a magic powered mech for the Wild Hunt which takes down the dark magical creature that crashes the hunt.

There are many more examples of the characters and how their diverse personalities and talents reflect actual magick and witches, but these are the ones who stick out to me the most. Of course, Akko, the main character, is in a league of her own as a witch both as a student at Lunanova and a character in the show. It’s Akko’s character arc that makes her the most relatable in the show for a variety of reasons, but especially as a young witch.

Akko, the Fool’s Journey, and Staying True to Who You Are

Akko’s story is a familiar underdog kind of tale. She starts out as an overly optimistic dreamer going into a new situation where she may be way in over her head. Over time she learns and grows and becomes a powerful witch in her own right. The best way I can explain Akko’s character arc is through something that appears around the character often: cards.

Akko collects Shiny Chariot trading cards which describe different magical items, spells, happenings, and places. She often lays the cards out almost as if they were a tarot spread and in these cards, Akko seems to find the answers to her problems in the earlier parts of the series. Though Akko isn’t as gifted as Diana when it comes to memorizing and performing magic, Akko’s cards are her own tool for learning magic. It’s because of this, that I can’t help but draw a parallel between the tarot and Akko herself.

The Fool is usually considered the first card of the Major Arcana and marks the beginning of the cycle the Major Arcana depicts. Reckless, bright, and friendly Akko is essentially the definition of The Fool card, and not in the way of her intelligence level (though there is a running joke among fans that Akko is a beautiful, lovable idiot, but I’ll get to that in Little Witch 101). She is happy-go-lucky and overly optimistic when it comes to magic, often forgetting or disregarding the realities of magic around her. What others consider to be a childish fascination with magic for the joy of it, I consider to be an innocence. Akko was not raised in a family of witches and instead decided to become a witch all on her own. Of course Shiny Chariot was a big part of that choice, but Akko wants nothing more than to become a witch who can spread happiness in the same way.

Its Akko’s innocent, optimistic perspective on magic is what I think makes her so relatable for actual witches struggling with their own magick. Most witches I’ve seen have made the choice to be witches on their own rather than being born into the practice. Most are solitary, without covens or elders to teach them what to do. Even more witches go around looking for other witches on the internet to help them because actually meeting other witches in real life is difficult and even then, many witches feel as if they don’t have their own place in the witchcraft community or struggle with magick while on their own. When I see Akko, a young witch struggling to fit into the traditional witchcraft community especially when her own beliefs butt heads with the traditional ones, it reminds me that being a beginner is okay. Akko is able to learn and grow without changing her core beliefs which is something every struggling person in general should be able to look at and be inspired by.

The Fool card is labeled with a 0 for a reason. It is both the beginning and the end of the Major Arcana and life’s cycle. It is also the card with the greatest potential. Even after learning all knowledge The World can give, it is possible to live life as happily and innocently as The Fool. My favorite part of the overall story is that it starts and ends with Akko, The Fool. Though she went through life’s experiences at a rapid pace, and experienced heartbreak as well as ultimate victory, Akko still is the same person she started the series as deep down inside. She has learned how to harness powerful magic, but she doesn’t let that change her. The world around her is different though. This time, she has friends and mentors who love and support her. Akko tries to fly her broom once again, this time with all of her new friends watching. Finally, with their support and her continued belief in herself, Akko is able to float off of the ground. It is because believing in herself really was all that it took to make magic.

#a witch watches #little witch academia #lwa #little witch #mahou shojo #pop culture witchcraft #pc witchcraft

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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His Dark Materials: Secrets of Cittàgazze and the Meaning of Pan’s Different Forms

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The terrible problem of creating sets for film and television, says His Dark Materials production designer Joel Collins, is that the very best work is invisible. “When you build a world that isn’t real but looks real, everyone thinks you didn’t do anything! You must have just stayed at home or popped along to Oxford and dialled it in.”

“Or you just went to Italy,” laughs Framestore VFX Supervisor Russell Dodgson, whose team are responsible for, among many other computer-generated elements, His Dark Materials’ daemons.

To make Cittàgazze, one of season two’s big new locations, the team didn’t just go to Italy. They went everywhere, borrowing styles and inspiration from around the world and bringing it home to a backlot in Cardiff, where the spiralling town was built from scratch.

Cittàgazze Harbour concept art. Copyright: Painting Practice.

“In a lot of world-building fantasy shows, it’s about making the most ridiculous landscape and having big monsters chase everyone around,” says Dodgson. “But a big part of mine and Joel’s jobs are flavouring the story, giving it seasoning rather than smashing you in the face with it. If a daemon can just show a hint of subtext without overpowering the main performance, then we’ve done our job on the VFX side. With Joel’s stuff, it’s very rare that he hits you with a sledgehammer visually.”

It’s about including detail in such a way that viewers don’t stare directly at it, but would sense if it wasn’t there, says Collins. “Without it, things would look cardboardy or fake.”

Now that Cittàgazze has been unveiled on screen, Collins and Dodgson give Den of Geek a closer look at episode one’s behind-the-scenes details and Easter Eggs, from the town to BAMFing witches, and the meaning behind Pan’s new look…

Cittàgazze: the City of Magpies

Behind the Bad Wolf studios in Cardiff, on a patch of land where the cast trailers were stood in season one, Joel Collins and his design team built the streets of Cittàgazze. There was no question of filming the six month shoot on location – no tourist town would allow such a takeover. 120 real locations though, provided inspiration to the design team.

“We went to Morocco and bought huge amounts of windows and doors – the ones we didn’t make,” says Collins. “We went all over Europe buying details. It’s an Italianate town, an intriguing Mediterranean, slightly exotic place.” The town represents a new start for Lyra after the hardships of the North. “We needed to start afresh. Everything she was doing was moving on, so tonally the town needed to feel like a place of intrigue and interest to take her away from everything that’s gone before.”

Cittàgazze buildings, Escher-inspired roof tile design and concept sketch. Copyright: Painting Practice.

The concept for Cittàgazze’s mountainous land and seascapes were inspired by Guilin in China and Hawaii’s Kauai. The VFX team spent six days in Kauai, filming helicopter and ground shots to get coverage not available in Wales. The end result, says Dodgson, was a slightly weird mix of tropical and Mediterranean, which was perfect for the town’s multiple nature as a crossroads between worlds. It’s a magpie city, stealing elements from here, there and everywhere.

“If you walk around that set, every banister has got the knife sculpted into it,” enthuses Dodgson. “The bricks are magpie-shaped. It’s filled with detail and everything is thought about. You can’t just do shots of those things, because there’s no point of view for that, it’s too on-the-nose, as if you’re just watching your own work too much, but when it’s there just seasoning the tone of it, it’s at its best.”

M.C. Escher: a Lost Cittàgazzan?

Cittàgazze’s Escher-inspired steps and concept sketch. Copyright: HBO/BBC and Painting Practice.

When production designer Joel Collins was creating Cittàgazze’s spiralling town, he took inspiration from an old favorite. “I’ve always liked M.C. Escher for the heaven and hell connection in his work, the way he weaves things invisibly, merging from one to the next.” Cittàgazze’s staircase motif and cleverly interlocking tile designs are tributes to the work of Escher, who was famed for his optical illusions.

While researching Escher’s work, Collins developed a fan theory about the Dutch artist and mathematician. “I found that he’d done a huge amount of drawings of Italian mountain towns. and I felt that I’d stumbled across an actual Cittàgazzan, who’d fallen into our world through a window and never made it back!

Escher-inspired interlocking magpie floor tiles. Copyright: Painting Practice.

“If you look at his work, it’s almost as if he’s drawing Cittàgazze in lots of ways. I built this weird story in my head that ultimately, Escher had spent his life stuck in our world, drawing his way out of it, trying to explain to everyone where he was from, and everyone just thought he was bonkers, but there he is constantly drawing these mountain towns and these weird connections going ‘I’m actually not from here!’”

Torre degli Angeli: the Tower of Angels

Tower of Angels concept art. Copyright: Painting Practice.

Look closely at the tower rising up over the spiralling town in this article’s header image and you’ll seen an important design echo. The tower’s spiked roof is twisted to match the base of the Subtle Knife (as glimpsed in the season two trailer here). The original idea, says Collins, was to have the tower topped by the knife. “I stuck the actual knife on top of the tower and it looked like a kid’s toy, it was absurd, it really didn’t work, so that’s how it became the twisted roof.”

It wasn’t easy to get right, notes Dodgson. “The reference to the knife in the design of the tower was the only thing that almost caught us out, but we managed to tweak our way through it. When you view a twist from below, it becomes a weird perspective-bender so me and Joel ended up adjusting it and playing around with a few design things.”

Cittàgazze knife and angel wings balcony detail; knife brick design; magpie balcony. Copyright: Painting Practice.

Each design element in His Dark Materials has a story explanation, even if it’s only for the designers to know. The team devised a centuries-old history for Cittàgazze’s island, which began life as a small mound of rock, says Collins. “We built a story around the fact that the knife was forged on that site 300 years earlier and that forge became the base of the tower. The tower was built up, up, up, all the way up to the skies for the angels to protect the knife at the top and the town grew around the tower. That means the tower fell through the floor deep into the underground and went all the way down to its original forge where the knife was made.”

Reinventing the Witches

Mrs Coulter removing cloud-pine from a captive witch. Copyright: BBC/HBO

One change between His Dark Materials and Philip Pullman’s books fans will have noted in series one is that the TV series witches don’t fly using cloud-pine brooms. “They don’t get onto a broom and fly into the air like a witch does in a standard witchy way,” says Collins, who also serves as executive producer on the series. “We’ve reinvented witches to be what we think witches should be – as if this is what they’ve always been and everyone else got it wrong.”

As explained by a gruesome plot point in the series two opening episode, a witch’s cloud-pine is under their skin. “It’s in their system,” says Collins. “We’ve put the broom inside in the sense that the thing that allows them to fly is within them, within their DNA.”

Bamfing attacks

Ruta Skadi and Katya in His Dark Materials season 2 episode 1. Copyright: BBC/HBO

For the Witches’ fighting style, as demonstrated by Ruta Skadi in her attack on the Magisterium’s submarine, Framestore took inspiration from comic books. “We developed a sort of a riff on the old superhero idea of bamfing, which is disappearing from one place and turning up somewhere else,” explains Dodgson. “We turned it into a rush rather than an apparition. What’s great is that it gives them velocity but also punctuation. You can build a dynamic bam-bam-bam-bam! rhythm very quickly by punctuating them with bamfs.”

“There’s a mystery and a magic and a sensitivity but also an amazing deadliness to the witches, which Russell’s captured really well with the bamfing,” says Collins. “That action scene in the submarine was a complicated one to shoot to give them their sensitivity and viciousness at the same time. They’re quite sedate, lovely, emotional characters who are spiritual but also quite deadly.”

“We would match-animate the stunt double with our Ruta-double, then punctuate in-between so the bit you saw was always the most violent portion,” explains Dodgson. “Then we removed the bit in between so it’s just staccato violence. You can do it in a way that it feels violent, but it isn’t actually too violent for the 8pm time slot.”

Pan’s New Look

Pantalaimon’s new red panda form. Copyright: Framestore.

In Lyra’s world, the form an adult’s daemon takes reflects their nature: soldiers and servants tend to have dogs, while the villainous Magisterium teems with spiders, snakes, lizards and creepy-crawlies. Children’s daemons shift forms as they try on new identities. Those shifts aren’t random, explains Dodgson, but carefully chosen to reflect what’s happening in the story and a character’s emotions at a particular time. Pan’s white ermine form is Lyra’s default comfort daemon, appearing whenever she’s in need of reassurance. His pine marten form comes out on special occasions, when something of real significance is happening in the plot.

“In season one when Lyra goes North – which she’s always dreamed of – Pan becomes an Arctic creature because she’s been inspired by something new,” explains Dodgson. Lyra’s arrival in Cittàgazze sparks a different inspiration that gives Pan a brand new form – the red panda.

The red panda works well with Pan’s traditional forms because they’re sweet, says Dodgson, and they’re part-bear and part-mustelid, just like pine martens. The red panda’s slight adolescent clumsiness works really well to capture the sense of a teenage girl who’s just met an intriguing boy, and they’re exotic, reflecting Lyra’s strange new surroundings.

“There was a really great idea that in the end, fell by the wayside because of editorial pacing,” says Dodgson. “In Cittàgazze there’s a Red Panda brand of soda, and in one of the streets there’s a big mural advertising it. We did originally have a shot of Lyra looking up at the mural, and then later Pan turning into the red panda she’d seen. She’s something new, something more exotic, she’s excited about being around this new boy but she’s not so different that she’s left behind who she is.”

Learn more about Framestore’s His Dark Materials work here.

The post His Dark Materials: Secrets of Cittàgazze and the Meaning of Pan’s Different Forms appeared first on Den of Geek.

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yusenki · 7 years

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Interview with Eren’s & Erwin’s VA: Yuki Kaji x Daisuke Ono

[translation: @yusenki | editing: twitter@braunsofsteel | scans: @m-u-m-i ] Note: This interview took place after SNK season 2 episode 10 was aired.

Eren Yeager: A boy who dreams of the world outside the wall. After he graduated from the Training Corps, he joined the Survey Corps, which attempts to advance outside the walls. He has strong motivation, so he tends to be reckless.

Erwin Smith: The Commander of the Survey Corps. Ruthless with excellent leadership, even Levi acknowledges his superiority. Basically, he almost never shows his emotion.

The thrill of the series lies on the fear that your position may crumble at any point in time.

Journalist (J): Finally, after 4 years, SNK season 2 is here!

Kaji (K): Although it seems like in these 4 years I have been constantly involved with SNK recording projects—such as collaboration events, narrations, extra story parodies, with of all those various works, when I finally returned to the main series’ atmosphere, part of me still feels anxiety. We need to go back to that timeline when Eren and co. just learned the shocking truth about Annie’s true form.

Ono (O): It has been a while since I played Erwin. During season 1, I personally didn't grasp the full picture of Erwin and I'd thought, “I want to know more about Erwin. I want to know more about SNK”. The fact that season 2 exists fills me with happiness.

K: Ever since season 1, there are the charms from shocking developments, (character) portrayals, and extravagant battle scenes. However, my impression is that season 2 will be added with the charm of mystery. If I were to say that season 1 was filled with an intense, blazing red flame, the image of season 2 is the core of that flame, a calm blue flame that slowly burns.

J: It feels like the composition has completely changed from fighting against the titans, whose origins are unknown, to the doubt that the truth may be about human vs human.

K: That’s why there is an increase of scenes without titan transformation. Like the scene where Eren was intensely debating with Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir.

O: It made people think that the enemy is not just mindless beasts that simply attack, but it's like they might be more intelligent… In season 1 Erwin asked Eren, “What do you see?” I felt that question was also directed to us. I feel that it is getting more interesting, not only just the story. At the same time, we can also see deeper into characters’ backgrounds. Sasha’s father, who speaks in Oita *(prefecture in Japan) dialect also made his appearance.

K: When we know the background, we will feel more affection. In season one, the story revolves around the perspective of a group of people with Eren as the center. However, in season 2, there are many occasions where Eren doesn’t make his appearance and other members receive intense spotlight. I can strongly feel that each character is actually alive and it doesn’t feel that they are just part of a flock. That is the reason that every death is heavy…

J: As soon as season 2 starts, it gave such a huge impact with Mike meeting his heroic end.

O: Well… in season 1, most of the strong impression I got was of his olfactory senses.

K: Also his image was of a skilled soldier with a unique habit. Now it has been revealed what he thinks and his commitment.

O: He is someone who upholds the “we haven’t lost as long as we continue fighting” belief and his capabilities are second only to Levi. By all means, it was shocking to see someone like him defeated in one brief second. At the same time, all the things that have been piling up at that moment disappeared, and I finally felt that I have returned to the SNK.

K: I understand. Me too. I also felt the real sensation that this is the SNK world, when I returned to the moment where Oluo & co., the old Levi’s squad were just gone.

O: It is scary because your foothold can suddenly crumble.

J: Ono-san, have you checked out the SNK manga?

O: I have heard about developments afterward from people around me and I ended up checking it up myself because it occupied my thought.

K: On the contrary, because I am playing Eren, I try not to find out future developments. However, I think it is a good idea to know about future developments when you’re performing a character like Erwin.

O: Well, even though I asked Isayama-sensei about Erwin, the answer was unexpected. “Erwin is modelled after Clark Kent.” *laughs* Anyway, the only way is to look at the comic. Unexpectedly, Erwin had a long-standing appearance.

K: When I saw Ono-san at the recording of the first episode of season 1, I was quite bewildered, “Was Erwin actually here in the manga (first chapter)?” *laugh*.

O: The current him is here now because he is one of the SC soldiers during that expedition. Actually, it is inevitable. As my feelings grew deeper along with his appearance, I couldn’t help doubting whether he is actually a bad guy or not. But in fact, due to his pure desire to learn more about this world and titans, I got the philosophy of his behaviour. Because I could finally understand him, I changed my approach on his portrayal this time. For I, who has been blank for these 4 years, this is a positive direction. On the contrary, for Kaji-kun, this may be a bit heavy after 4 years of blankness.

K: The atmosphere after recording was indeed different, there might be some anxiety when you finally returned as the leader back then… Even though we were naturally pulled back when it started. When we gathered at that moment, each of us was trying to grasp what we need to do (we had to work individually to grasp it). There had been a lot of worries.

O: The atmosphere was like when everyone puts their lives on the line.

K: There are a lot of good things, but as a voice actor, this is a role with more hardships. There were almost no fun… That’s why everyone compensates at SNK the Real Game *laugh*.

O: Even people who were supposedly busy also came.

K: I could feel that everyone seriously aimed to complete this series successfully. I feel that this also can be the other way of enjoying the SNK series that delights everyone.

J: Speaking of VA, new cast like the Beast Titan’s VA, Takehito Koyasu and others, have also gained some attention.

O: There are many (recording) takes where Koyasu-san tried to perform in various patterns. It was through trial and error to get the right one.

K: I think that’s the way to achieve the right performance. The current form is the result from the perseverance in finding “how far the Beast Titan could talk”. Even for the staff, they wondered a lot on many things, like what kind of effect should be applied to the voice, how to credit Koyasu-san’s name.

O: It feels like in the midst of darkness where nobody knows the truth. Everyone is fumbling and pursuing for the light. For Erwin, that is the most intriguing subject, but I personally really like Koyasu-san’s performance, so I asked for permission to observe the recording.

J: In season 2, the shocking truth that Reiner and Bertolt can transform into titans, was revealed.

K: When I read the manga, I totally didn’t realize Reiner and Bertolt’s real form. I was just shocked… It was also because the revelation was done in a casual manner, behind the other characters’ conversation, so I was really surprised! *laugh*

O: I was not performing at that scene, but was surprised to hear that an important dialogue was performed like background chatter, just like in the manga.

K: To retain the flowing atmosphere of the scene, I even wanted to perform the scene with a pre-recording method, before the drawings were completed. Moreover, Reiner’s VA, Yoshimasa Hosoya-san, performed the confession in such a natural way at that moment, I was shaken just like Eren…That’s when I felt connected to Eren’s reaction, “You traitors!” Despite the connection through rage, during the recording, I felt not only anger but also the sadness of despair… It’s obvious since he thought that they were comrades, but they turned out to be enemies.

O: To be honest, I can sympathize with how they act based on their own objectives. I don’t know if it’s because I am playing Erwin, but I came to understand that each of us has our own justification.

K: There was also a moment where Reiner even forgot that he was actually lying. He had been deceiving himself for long.

O: My chest hurts when I think that each SNK character is fighting their own conflict during the time not shown in the anime. The next episode with Hannes-san’s big scene makes my heart wrench. When I think about it, there are a lot of people in this world who live, not for themselves, but for others. Yet they don’t talk it and only spit out their real feelings at their deathbed. Because of that, it made me feel like, “you should have said it out earlier…”

K: That’s so SNK. *laughs*

O: Nanaba also left an impression in season 2.

K: Since the manga, her death has left such an impression. The song’s influence was really effective. I thought, “The most impressive part of season 1’s song will be played here, right?”

J: Speaking about drama, the relationship between Christa and Ymir, has been uncovered bit by bit.

O: Honestly, at the beginning, I thought Christa was only cute. I didn’t think that she would have such drama. Sorry about it.

K: I didn’t even know that the Ymir character existed. She didn’t have much presence (in season 1) since her name was displayed as ‘Freckles’. To think that in season 2… *laugh* In summary, all of the characters’ drama is really interlocked in a complicated way. It is more like Eren doesn’t have much presence. Moreover, rather than being the one who saves, he is the one that is being saved *laugh*.

J: Rather than being a hero, he is more of a princess *laugh*.

O: That’s right!

K: This series says that even if you can transform into a titan, it doesn’t mean that you become the strongest, and that includes Eren too.The shonen manga theory does not apply to SNK.

O: It’s not all about if Eren works hard, he can do it. I think from Erwin’s point of view, all of us rely too much on Eren.

K: It’s not impossible, wanting to rely on the obtained titan transformation power.

O: While having that thought, it turned out that the enemies have more people who have that ability, and also there are collisions among comrades…This story is about how far this present situation can deteriorate. However, I am glad to find that each character’s real face was revealed because they didn’t rely on Eren’s power. In season 2, maybe it is about many soldiers’ stories, not about Eren. Although there were painful moments, as long as people witness our way of life without missing any single moment— whether it is Erwin's or mine—we are happy.

K: Despite only knowing this much, I think it is amazing that every week when I am watching the show being aired, I want to know what will happen next. The series is still ongoing. It will become even more interesting and also even more painful. Please enjoy it with resolution. Thank you!

Q: Which character would you want to have as a superior or subordinate?

O: I definitely want Levi to be my subordinate.

K: Are you speaking as Erwin? It will be a serious hardship for someone like Ono-san to deal with Levi.

O: If it’s Ono Daisuke…it’s impossible. No, it’s possible if we worked together on the radio (program)* for 10 years *laugh*.

*T/N: Erwin’s VA & Levi’s VA have a radio program together. The radio program has been on going for 10 years.

K: If you say that, won’t Hiroshi Kamiya (Levi’s VA) get mad at you? Is that alright? *laugh*

O: Seems like this is not alright, let’s end the conversation here. *laugh* Nevertheless, I admire the prowess of Levi being a one-man army, a guy who makes it through to the core by himself. Whether I can manage him is another matter.

K: On the contrary, I want to be Erwin’s subordinate, because he is the man that Levi placed his trust in, and that equals the person who we should follow, right? Well, since he is the leader, who gives extreme orders, there must be some complexity in the subordinates’ point of view.

O: In season 1, Armin made a reference to Erwin: “In order to achieve something, they need to leave behind their humanity”. The fast growing Armin has the potential to become Erwin’s successor. He realized that such extreme decisions are necessary in order to lead mankind… My personal thought as Ono Daisuke is that Armin is Erwin’s successor, but I have mixed feelings about it. I also don’t want him to be his successor.

K: You don’t want Armin to end up like him. As Eren, I think so too.

Kaji’s message to Eren: Maybe it's "I understand your sadness, but keep fighting!". As for Reiner and Bertolt, "What was that smile for?!" I personally want to scream it out.

Ono’s message to Erwin: "What can your current self see?" I want to ask him that.

#erwin smith #eren yeager #eren jaeger #ono daisuke #kaji yuki #yusen translate #snk #shingeki no kyojin #snk official #thanks to my sis who helped me to double check the Japanese and do the first editing

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deadsummerdays · 7 years

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Let’s Movie Nerd-Out About Identity and Memory in ‘Swiss Army Man’

For a story conceived of as a running gag about the worst possible premise for a film, Swiss Army Man sure raises a lot of deep questions. (Heh, ‘raises.’) At first glance, this movie looks like an overly-sincere indie dramedy in which New Age open-mindedness dismantles antiquated social mores and Daniel Radcliffe farts as far away from the Harry Potter franchise as possible – a combination that works or flounders depending on whether you’re on board with the joke – but there’s a subtler side. Issues of identity and memory (or more broadly, knowledge) crop up everywhere in this love story, and I expect they will be a topic of speculation for many years to come. With a movie this crazy in particular, I want to acknowledge that we can all play the subtext game and wind up with wildly different interpretations, so this is not me painting anyone with an extra-saucy coat of shade. A lot depends on how you value the information a film throws at you, and generically, magical realism likes to force its audience to choose what to believe. So, bearing that in mind, let’s make like Hank and Manny and dive right in. Major spoilers below.

Now that we’re all down at the exclusive Club Spoilers, I should clarify my usage of the word “identity.” There are people who argue that Swiss is secretly a tale of transgenderism, and while I think the ending is open enough that this is possible (we simply don’t spend enough time with the newly-liberated Hank to know), it isn’t my purpose here to argue for or against that conclusion. Rather, I mean to look at Swiss’s theme of identity in a more holistic sense. Hank, Manny, and Sarah exist in a web of imposed and appropriated ‘selves’ which fluctuates over the course of the film, and it is this interlocking of the three characters that I intend to look at.

Some movies go out of their way to provide a full exposition of their main characters in the first several minutes, particularly when they appear to us someplace they wouldn’t normally be, like the middle of goddamn nowhere. Not so in Swiss Army Man, which is coy with a purpose. The less that is confirmed, the more the audience and other characters rely on imagination to fill in the blanks, and the easier it is to blend in magical elements without them feeling jarring; this produces an atmosphere that is conducive hyperbole. Our knowledge of Hank is vague and emotional, that he is a lonely, unfulfilled person driven to infirmity -- but like Manny, in absence of a concrete context, we accept the world of the film on his terms. At the moment that his life fails to flash before his eyes, a strange man appears on the shore, and we get our first memory: Hank on the bus, looking up (as we learn later) in anticipation of Sarah climbing aboard. He “didn’t see much” then, as he explains to the corpse he has resuscitated into only the barest, basest form of reflexive life – but he did see Manny. Cue the violins.

When Hank wakes up again on the coast, his attention shifts to trying to figure out whether Manny is a hallucination, a scientific oddity, or a miracle. It’s a question that is never totally resolved and which creates a fundamental problem in trying to ‘identify’ Manny, that he may be to a greater or lesser extent Hank’s projection. To start with, Hank treats him like a child, or more specifically, as Hank’s father treated him when he was a child. He then tries to stimulate Manny’s memory, but all it establishes is his fondness for music. For all intents and purposes, Manny is a blank slate, and so it falls to Hank to educate him about home and why they should go there. Making use of conveniently-placed garbage, he sets about illustrating life in his society, ostensibly for Manny’s benefit but also to a great extent for his own, using Manny as another tool through which to dramatize and fix his own personal perceptions and traumas. And because Manny has little to no background on what’s going on, like a child looking to his parent, the things Hank says and does become inflated in his mind: Hank humming to himself out of boredom makes singing an essential social activity, for example, and bus rides and e-cards become special rituals. But whereas Manny relies on his friend to indulge him with memories of home, Hank has the opposite problem: he remembers it all well enough, but because he was so unhappy in his old life, he doesn’t want to.

Already we see in the cinematography that mirroring of the two men abounds. This takes on even greater meaning in Swiss because Hank is the one doing the blocking. Since Manny can’t move on his own, Hank positions him, often in a way that either replicates his own posture (seated opposite each other on the beach, propped on their elbows in the cave) or allows Manny to execute a task Hank wants him to do. The implication that Hank is (perhaps unconsciously) imprinting himself on Manny is clear. This is, however, still within the fairly reasonable breadth of identity formation, with some of Hank’s influence rubbing off and much of Manny’s personality asserting itself despite him. Where things get a good deal more complicated is when Hank introduces Sarah into the mix.

The first curiosity with regards to Sarah is why Manny assumes that he knows her in at all. The phone falls in front of his eyes and he’s instantly attracted, but the fact of being attracted didn’t make him think that the magazine belonged to him, too, or that he knew any of the women in it. My best guess is that this is a case of “found it first” thinking: Sarah’s picture is the first object to which Manny develops an attachment independently of Hank’s interference, and so he believes that his connection to it is special and exclusive. Hank’s shame prevents him from correcting this mistake, so he entertains Manny’s illusion to the point of dressing up as Sarah in a fruitless effort to jog his ‘memory.’ Manny’s encouragement surprises Hank and helps him embrace the affect. There’s a change in the wind: armed with a concept, now Manny is making requests to fulfill his own vision of his life, using Hank as his resource. Also of note is how well Manny’s desires align with his friend’s: he isn’t only attracted to Sarah, but fixated on her, just like Hank is. If Manny isn’t a figment of Hank’s mind altogether, he certainly takes after him in an uncannily precise way.

In order to get Manny’s “compass” to work, Hank further develops Sarah into a character. It becomes clear that he looks to her the way Manny looks to him, as a person who sets the terms of how life should be: the bus she rides becomes a mythic space, the café she frequents is remembered in loving detail, and arguably even the racoon of its logo is the basis for her party costume. He and Manny construct sets in which to play out the fantasy, with Manny in the role of an idealized Hank and Hank in the role of an idealized Sarah. Responding to his prompts, Manny is convinced that he fell in love with Sarah on the bus but that he has yet to work up the courage to talk to her, which is exactly Hank’s problem; Hank, on the other hand, smooths over the complications of his real-life association with Sarah by making his version receptive.

This scene creates two severe logic problems, one of which is how Hank could produce the scenario of Manny encountering Sarah on the bus without Manny becoming suspicious. It is most plausible that he cited the fact that she was sitting by a bus window in the photograph as inspiration, but to a greater extent, we have to believe that Manny adopts Hank’s version of things as fact, assimilating his explanations into reality. Time is also a tricky factor here because the pair make no distinction in their plays between memory and destiny: since Hank cannot bring himself to acknowledge the full realm of possibilities, Manny is left with the impression that there is only one track his relationship with Sarah can follow, and so it doesn’t much matter whether he’s only at the beginning or if he’s already won her heart. In absence of his own memories or context, he assumes Hank’s lesson is a simulation of his real meeting with Sarah, making Hank’s characterization of her equally ‘factual.’ Thus, Manny takes up Hank’s role in the drama while Hank, freed from his uncertainties and disappointments, embraces being his own beloved.

Manny is the ‘movie character’ in Swiss Army Man, by which I mean that he has a filmic intelligence; whereas Hank stages his thoughts as interactive ‘sets,’ Manny appears to think in montage. It’s unsurprising that he enjoys movies and looking out of windows, both clear reflexive references: consigned to an existence of removed, immobile observation, he is a perpetual passenger and a perpetual spectator to whom the flow of real life already looks like a film. Manny is also capable of melding his thoughts with Hank’s, or is perhaps even inter-subjective with him (again, filmic), which could also explain their identical interest in Sarah. However, this opens up the second logic problem of the bus scene, which is the biggest one in the whole film: when Manny extracts Sarah’s name from Hank’s mind, why doesn’t it seem to bother Hank at all? It’s puzzling that he reacts to Manny’s intrusions with alarm during the campfire scene and not here, but whatever the reason (if it’s not merely a plot hole), Manny comes away persuaded that the memory is his own, and Hank is either too ashamed to press it or too invested in the fantasy to care. There are indications that Hank is beginning to lose himself in Sarah: her personality and emotions seem genuine rather than affected, and when Manny asks Hank to put his hand on her hand, he does so in her character.

The montage scene is of great consequence for both our heroes. Manny is introduced with much fanfare to cinema itself (complete with popcorn), which becomes important later, when he processes his grief over Sarah’s ‘affair’; Hank, meanwhile, spends more and more time as her until she seems to become a persona, a creative reproduction of Sarah Johnson as she exists in Hank’s mind. The romance that develops between the pair is not just a fiction of Hank and Sarah, then, but an actual relationship between Manny-as-Hank (or, if you assume they are one and same, Hank-as-Manny) and Hank-as-Sarah. Their trek home continues out of inertia, and yet, were it only so simple, they might have turned around. The fundamental rift between them is that Hank realizes the real object of his affection is Manny, whereas Manny believes that Hank-as-Sarah is a simulacrum: he’s aware of the distinction between Hank-as-Sarah and the genuine article, but he still assumes that everything he does with the former is a re-telling of what his relationship with the real Sarah was, is, or will be like. This seems to be an issue that is unique to him.

It’s a state of affairs that can’t last. Their courtship culminates in a party where Hank appears to have a realization about how deep their feelings for each other go, which prompts him to confront the corpse. He never gets to say what he intended to, though, because DanRad is a man with a plan.

After nearly kissing, Hank starts to sulk, ashamed once again of his weird feelings. Worse still, Manny makes it clear that he wants to see Sarah “for real,” putting his friend firmly in his place. Falling into the river, we see a few more shots that seem to be from Manny (or else that are shared) wherein scenes from his romance with Hank-as-Sarah become flooded with water. They’re striking illustrations of how memories contort when they are experienced, altering depending on one’s mood, present circumstances, needs, and so on. The moment Hank grabs Manny’s hand, these flashes become more forceful, warping the images of Manny and Sarah meeting on the bus into a kiss, and Hank’s eyes widen in surprise. Now Manny seems to be the one manipulating memories to fit his desires. However, the duality of Hank and Sarah makes this moment complicated. It seems likely that Manny imagines the kiss as being between him and (Hank-as-)Sarah, whereas Hank, in allowing himself to express his love for Manny, is acknowledging that Sarah and her feelings come from within him rather than from the real Sarah. Put simply, Manny is kissing Sarah, and Hank is kissing him back. The scene doesn’t spell it out clearly, but based on the discrimination with which Manny continues to treat Sarah and Hank, and judging by his ongoing fixation on wooing the former, there are compelling reasons to believe that he’s still misattributing Hank’s love to her. Thus, the identity confusion continues.

When Hank suggests that they stay in the forest instead of going home, it’s clear that his priorities have changed. One wonders how the two would have addressed the Sarah issue had this plan come to fruition, but we don’t get the chance to find out. (As a side note, how does Manny go from lying on the ground to sitting on the rock while Hank is checking his phone? That’s some high-level sorcery.) When Hank returns to the campfire, he’s finally accepted his desire to stay with Manny and decides to come clean, but unfortunately for him, Manny is still stuck on Sarah – and once he realizes that their romance has been a charade from the start, he feels betrayed. He blames Hank for tricking him into falling in love, but he can’t quite make sense of the slight, possibly on account of his demonstrated inability to parse out memories from inventions and experience from fiction when all appear equally filmic to him: still unable to distinguish between his Sarah and the real one, Manny constructs a fantasy of his own in which Hank is having an affair with her. Everything Hank did to reimagine his misery as innocent, childlike bliss reverts into the emotions he was trying to avoid: alienation, loneliness, depression, hopelessness, the feeling of being unloved. And with Hank’s subsequent injury, his and Manny’s role reversal is complete; incapacitated, out of love with Sarah, and fully reliant on his friend, Hank can no longer understand what Manny wants to go home for. He disconnects from his old life – so much so that when Manny forces the issue and brings them to Sarah’s home, Hank adopts his name and tries to cast away his old identity.

The painful disillusionment of meeting Sarah in reality is the last fissure in the Manny-as-Hank-as-Sarah amalgamation that makes it come apart. What love braided together unravels at the revelation that Sarah is leading her life without them, that Hank was only ever Hank, and that Manny is just a dead dude that nobody cared about. Thus divided, everything goes back to how it was in the beginning, and for a moment, Hank is offered the path of least resistance. But he chooses differently, and so, too, does his journey reverse to the shoreline. Bringing to its conclusion the parental dynamic of their relationship, Hank apologizes for screwing Manny up by hiding all the ugly, difficult facts of life from him. He seals their farewell with – what else? – a fart, and with that, Manny jets away. Daniels end the film on a mystery, giving Hank one last line of dialogue to Manny that goes unheard, so the way one interprets the final scene can vary depending on what he might have said. What is clear is that Hank has gained the courage to be himself without shame.

We’re left with lingering questions about Manny that the film echoes without answering: where did he come from, and where did he go? The most popular theory seems to be that he is a part of Hank’s psyche, or that he’s Hank’s soul, and the relationship drama is Hank berating himself for falling in love with a married woman based on his own fantasy of her. Where this seems to break down, though, is the campfire scene, when Hank declares that he doesn’t need Sarah anymore, representing a split between his and Manny’s desires which leads, further, to differences in how they react to meeting her. But the plausibility of one theory versus another depends entirely on whether you see Hank’s travails as magical or merely psychological. If it’s all in his head, then the answer is fairly plain: Manny is a projection and his Sarah guise is an attempt to satisfy impossible yearnings, through which he discovers that the love he attributed to them is displaced from himself. (A bit Freudian, that. It’s not difficult to extent this into a reading of Swiss as a conflict between the ego/Hank, the super-ego/Sarah, and the id/Manny.) There’s also a more meta way of looking at this, which is that Manny is really alive in the logic of the film, but he is a literalized metaphor for Hank’s soul or psyche, both him and not him (my own current theory); the third and similar option is that Manny is fully individual. Transformed into a multipurpose tool guy either by magic, miracles, or something so sci-fi it might as well be either of those, in these cases, his emergent identity confusion is very understandable. Like a child, we watch him both mirror and rebel against his ‘father,’ growing more independent and assertive, setting impossible standards and lofty ideals for his life until everything he thought he knew about the world comes crashing down – and it is only then that Manny is able to see the love that he doesn’t have to embark on some quixotic quest to get: the love that Hank gave him simply for being there, the one that finally sets him free.

#it wouldn't surprise me a bit to hear some wild disagreements with this #nevertheless #let's movie nerd out #swiss army man #daniels #paul dano #daniel radcliffe

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unifiedsocialblog · 6 years

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5 Industries That Have Strange and Specific Rules for Social Media

Social media can be a great space for boundary-pushing brands to experiment with innovative messaging. But there’s a reason you haven’t seen Family Guy’s bong-toting Brian the dog pop up in your feeds in a sponsored weed-vertisement.

In highly regulated industries, like marijuana, alcohol, and others, marketers need to understand special rules apply to their campaigns. Though some may seem strange (like who wouldn’t allow an ad featuring a canna-smoking canine?) platform operators have been known to crack down on users and brands who violate law or platform policies. In some cases, rule-breaking can mean getting banned, fined—and even sent to jail.

You’ll want to become familiar with guidelines for what is currently acceptable on social media channels. Rules vary across industries, and those rules often change. Below are some examples of what you can and can’t do, with highlights to help keep you out of trouble.

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

1. Marijuana: Don’t say what you’re selling.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, advertising and marketing rules in the sin-dustries (tobacco, alcohol, and gambling) are strict—and the rules regarding marijuana marketing are as well.

In Canada, Bill C-45 the Cannabis Act includes strict proposed advertising rules that prohibit brands from promoting:

Information about cannabis price or distribution;

in a way that appeals to minors;

using celebrity testimonials or endorsements;

featuring cartoons or other real or fictional characters;

by associating the brand with “a positive or negative emotion;”

by associating the brand with “a way of life such as one that includes glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.”

In the U.S., where marijuana is legal in some form (medical, recreational, or both) in 30 states and in the District of Columbia, advertising regulations differ from state to state. Similarly, Canadian provinces may soon follow suit with their own additional ad regulations.

A central difference between promoting beer and boosting bud relates to the use of imagery: marijuana marketers can use very little, despite the efforts of advocates who lobbied for laws regulating its promotion like those applying to alcohol instead of tobacco. Penalties for breaking these laws are heavy, ranging between $1,000 to $5 million fines, and six month to three-year jail terms.

Taking their cue from regulators, operators banned ads on Google and Twitter. On Facebook and Instagram, marijuana advocacy is allowed (or so Facebook claims), but not the sale or use of the drug. There, guidelines state ads are prohibited:

that “promote the sale or use of illegal, prescription, or recreational drugs;”

that depict bongs, rolling papers, vapes and anything else implying recreational and medical marijuana use.

In response, crafty-preneurs are now busy perfecting the art of marketing their brand without actually showcasing their product.

Producer MedReleaf launched its own beer line to advertise its brand while cannabis rules were being finalized. Available in Ontario, their “cannabis-inspired” San Rafael ’71 4:20 Pale Ale contains 4.20 percent alcohol content but no cannabis. The beer brand uses cheeky taglines including “grassfed” and “here today, bong tomorrow” that speaks to the company’s roots and aims.

Similarly, you won’t find any toking in Tweed’s “Hi” campaign, which can be found online, on video and out-of-home. The company launched the tongue in cheek promotion to introduce and entice new audiences to its brand—and eventually, its product.

Some cannabis activists link Health Canada’s regulations to a seeming shift in YouTube’s approach to marijuana-related materials. The platform recently made headlines for clamping down on canna-content. Videos were removed and channels of prominent marijuana vloggers and content creators were shuttered—some of whom had spent years building up a loyal cadre of followers, millions of views, and hundreds of hours of video.

The platform’s community guidelines have been less than helpful for those trying to figure out why content was flagged. The sections on “child safety” and “harmful and dangerous content” may have been the basis, particularly since the latter guide against videos that depict “hard drug use, or other acts where serious injury may result.” But the guidelines also state that videos may be allowed if videos are intended to be “educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic” and aren’t “gratuitously graphic.” – leaving some perplexed.

As a result of YouTube’s enhanced policing, many cannabis content creators have moved their content to friendlier video-sharing platforms like Vimeo—and the recently launched WeedTube.

Puff, puff, press play.

2. Alcohol: All about age-gating

For many people, drinking and socializing go hand-in- hand. So, it makes sense alcohol brands are spending billions to engage their customers on their favorite social networks. And studies show that they’re gaining traction.

The main issue with digital marketing for alcohol brands is ensuring it reaches the right age groups—industry oversight bodies have specified that at least 71.6 percent of the targeted audience should be of legal drinking age in the U.S. and at least 70 percent in Canada.

In the past, such restrictions led alcohol brands away from marketing on digital platforms; now more sophisticated age-gating tools exist on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, allowing them a way in.

The gates work a little differently on each platform:

Twitter restricts access to content based on the birth date provided when a user signs up.

Similarly, Google bases its YouTube restrictions on the age users enter on their Google Plus profile.

On Instagram age-gating is optional. Brands can activate it by contacting platform representatives. Despite these permissive guidelines, beer and spirit brands still have legal obligations to follow, which means many do activate.

Owned by Facebook, Instagram users are able to connect their account with their Facebook account. Facebook requires a birth date when users first set up their accounts. If a user isn’t logged in or connected to their Facebook account, an age gate will appear.

On Facebook you can add age restrictions to your Page so that only visitors that meet the requirements can view it.

In addition to age-gating features, most brands on social media include additional disclaimers in their profiles discouraging under aged users from following or viewing their content, even though this means using up precious few characters available for profile bios.

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

Get the free guide right now!

3. Cryptocurrency: Scammers beware

The frenzy around Bitcoin and blockchain-based currencies led to the creation of super strange coinage (RIP Fonziecoin and Pizzacoin) and a rush of advertising on social media designed to drive consumer interest in Initial Coin Offerings. Some suspect ICOs relied on celebrity endorsements (including by Floyd Mayfield, Evander Holyfield and Paris Hilton), and were later tagged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as scams.

Boxing legend and Hall of Famer Evander Holyfield has officially endorsed @AriseBank @BitShares Join the biggest fight in history. #arisebank $BTS #BTS pic.twitter.com/MFNCpZ5OJf

— Evander Holyfield (@holyfield) January 5, 2018

In an effort to curtail manipulative ads for fraudulent ICOs, Facebook, Twitter, and Google banned all cryptocurrency advertising. Twitter also cracked down on cryptocurrency scammers by banning bots and fake accounts.

For instance, using lookalike accounts (ex. @elonmuskik and @VitalikButerjm), scammers impersonating tech star Elon Musk and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, attempted to deceive users by asking them to trade small amounts of Ether for larger amounts they would never receive—prompting Buterin to tweet out his real social media account links.

Here is a VCR (Vitalik Curated Registry) of all of my active social media accounts:https://t.co/oDWViPcy3hhttps://t.co/VRy3MjICIjhttps://t.co/owiClvuf42

There may be a few smaller ones but nothing mainstream. Everything else I either don't use or is a scam.

— Vitalik Non-giver of Ether (@VitalikButerin) July 5, 2018

Six months after it initially banned ads, crypto marketers rejoiced when Facebook (sort of) backpedalled on its initial ban. The company released a new policy. Potential advertisers would now have to fill out a “cryptocurrency products and services onboarding request” to get ads approved. Whether that’ll be enough to discourage crypto scammers remains to be seen.

Otherwise, trying to generate legit buzz and attract positive press is a challenge in an increasingly crowded market of crypto startups. Some more credible ways startups are promoting projects include:

Sharing their stories on Medium and Steemit (a blogging platform for crypto enthusiasts)

Paying influencers on platforms like YouTube

Incentivizing users on Telegram (a messaging app for the crypto community).

4. Olympics: Avoid the “O” word

Not just anyone can launch a gold-winning social media campaign during the Olympic Games. Non-sponsoring businesses and brands have to tread carefully to avoid getting sued. Together with the International Olympic Committee, local organizing committees in each host country, control the Olympic brand in their jurisdictions.

The Olympic brand includes words, phrases, logos and designs related to the Olympic Movement. WIthout appropriate consent, don’t even think of trying to use:

Olympic

Olympian/d

Paralympic

Paralympian/d

Pan-American

The symbol of five interlocking rings (no, not even with onion rings)

And in the run up to each Olympics, using turns of phrase that reference the Games, like “the big event,” “let the games begin,” or “go for the gold” can be problematic. Even cute coinings, like “Snow-lympics,” are out too.

Non-sponsoring brands can’t use related branded hashtags like:

#TeamCanada

#TeamUSA

#Tokyo2020

#Beijing2022

In fact, seemingly innocuous gestures like cheering on athletes, posting results, sharing photos from the Games or social media posts from official Olympics accounts (including retweeting) could also result in a first-place headache. Instead, you can leverage on timing—sharing posts and tweeting about an Olympic sporting event when it’s happening is fine. Users can also share and engage with social media posts by Olympic sponsors.

The IOC is aggressive, keeping up with their guidelines is an Olympic-sized challenge—particularly for smaller brands with limited budgets who may be tempted to go rogue. But bending the rules and engaging in ambush marketing is not only frowned upon by IOC, it may also result in the wrong kind of publicity.

Vancouver yoga brand Lululemon Athletica quickly found that out when, ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, it launched a limited clothing line called “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition”. The name not only upset the local organizing committee, but also generated bad press for Lululemon’s allegedly unsportsmanlike marketing efforts.

But athletes themselves have also pushed back against the IOC’s marketing restrictions. Following a Twitter campaign launched by frustrated athletes during the 2012 London Olympics, the IOC relaxed a rule which precluded them from being featured in any kind of advertising by non-official sponsors—including even simple “congratulatory” social media posts—during the Olympic window. Now, these brands can apply for an advance exception, permitting pre-approved advertising during that period.

Gatorade, for example, was able to produce videos featuring tennis star Serena Williams and sprinter Usain Bolt, even though it wasn’t an official Olympic sponsor at the time.

5. Gambling: Know when to fold ‘em

It’s illegal for private companies to host or operate an online gambling business in the U.S. and Canada—and, don’t even think of advertising one.

In 2007, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo, then the three largest Internet companies, settled with the U.S. Justice Department for a whopping $31.5 million for accepting illegal online gambling ads between 1997 and 2007.

Canada has similar regulations, but their enforcement is another matter. Though the Criminal Code includes sections prohibiting gambling promotion, enforcing gambling ad standards has largely been left up to provincial efforts. Yet, unlicensed online sports and poker sites reportedly contribute “significant” advertising revenues to Canadian sports broadcasts and online.

In an effort to curtail illegal gambling adverts, the B.C. government recently proposed filing a multi-province complaint against the industry’s self-regulator, The Advertising Standards Council.

Platform rules for advertising on social media are not much clearer. Gambling-related advertising is treated as restricted content: ad policies outlined on Google, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram state they’ll allow it on a case by case basis. Interested operators must obtain advanced “written permission” or be “certified.” Authorized ads must then only target audiences of legal age residing in approved countries.

In short, it’s a confusing landscape for gambling ad sales.

Still, there are plenty of ways for legal gambling operators to engage audiences on social media. Licensed casino operators are becoming savvier in attracting customers using traditional digital marketing techniques such as video marketing campaigns on YouTube, and providing customer service through Twitter.

Social games are also increasingly popular marketing vehicles. Found on social networking sites like Facebook, they do not involve the gambling of real money, but do allow in-game purchases of tokens and other playing benefits. For gambling operations, developing social games on Facebook not only helps bring in customers but also provides an alternate revenue stream. Worldwide revenues for the social casino market reportedly hit $4.2 billion in 2016.

International Game Technology (IGT) is a major investor in social games. If you’ve ever played a slot-based game or video poker in Canada or the U.S. it was likely created by IGT. It’s app DoubleDown Casino is the world’s largest free-to-play social casino and a top-ranking app on Facebook. The Vegas-style game operates with virtual chips, and provides players with loyalty rewards within the flow of the game; its associated fan page (currently, 7.6 million fans) helps create dialogue to engage customers.Conclusion

As laws and codes regulating regulated industries shift and evolve, social platform operators adapt their own policies in effort to keep up. Brands and social media managers should be prepared to consult guidelines—and in certain cases, legal counsel—before investing in significant campaigns, as rules can vary depending on the country, province or state. Incomplete, or altogether ignored due diligence efforts can be a high stakes gamble.

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dillatont · 7 years

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Soundtrack Review: Rakuen

Welcome back! Another month means another review, so here it is. The original intent of these reviews was to focus on new releases, and for the first time, I can happily say that I've done that this month. The indie RPG Rakuen came out on May 10 after a years-long development that was created predominantly by just one person, Laura Shigihara. (Yes, that story should sound familiar: See Stardew Valley, Undertale, etc.) Shigihara already has experience in the video game industry, but not as a programmer. Rather, she has composed the music for a number of games, most notably the cute/dark soundtrack for the original Plants vs. Zombies game. She's decided since then to branch out, and has created and released her first game, Rakuen.

So, what does a game created by a composer actually play like? Well, I don't know, actually. I haven't played it yet. But...I want to. And the reason that I want to is that Shigihara's soundtrack is stellar. It is so good, in fact, that I am intrigued to play the game specifically because of the music. (Also, it has good review scores so far, but I'm about the music first and foremost)

I don't say that lightly. For me, that kind of soundtrack doesn't come around very often. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

What I do know of Rakuen's gameplay is this: it's story and puzzle-driven, with the setting of the game taking place both inside a hospital (where a young boy stays with his mother) and a fantasy dream world where the boy, with his mother by his side, grows to know the local creatures as he helps them solve their issues. The issues and characters in the fantasy world mirror the real-world inhabitants of the hospital, so the boy is in fact using the fantasy world to impact the real-world hospital.

That information is relevant to the soundtrack, because it's important to note that this game is driven by the story. The music here functions as a means to tell that story, rather than just simply acting as catchy background music. There's nothing wrong with catchy background music, mind you. I love a lot of game soundtracks for their catchiness (New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario Kart come to mind), but this is not one of those soundtracks. And that's okay, honestly. There's a place for that kind of video game and that kind of soundtrack in this world.

So, how is the story told? First and foremost, it should be noted that there are quite a few vocal tracks in the game (somewhere on the order of 10 occur during the 75-minute soundtrack). Each of these tracks advances a specific piece of the story, and they interlock in some very interesting ways (more on that later). Beyond that, though, the tone quality of the music is partially responsible for evoking the sense of interest that builds the more you listen. Each track is crisply orchestrated, with melodies standing out prominently in each piece of music, and with a quality of sound that indicates to the listener where their attentions should be. Further, there is just something about Shigihara's music that is different from much of the rest of the video game industry. She lets the instruments (and voices) speak clearly and with minimal percussion backing, so you spend so much more time listening to the melodies and harmonies present than the "beat", or any of the electronic fuzziness that you get with, say, an old-school NES soundtrack or even a newer Game Boy Advance soundtrack.

Of course, there are thematic elements to the music, too. Nearly all of the vocal tracks makes another appearance (or multiple apperances) elsewhere in the soundtrack in instrumental form. While this is a fairly common compositional device both in and out of video game soundtracks, it cannot be overstated how effective it is here. When you hear familiar themes popping up again and again, it constantly brings you back to the story, and that heightens the listening experience. While I think that many game composers do this, I do think that some are guilty of bringing back the themes a little bit too subtly, or transformed in such ways that make them completely unrecognizable to everybody except the composer. The balance of that is just right here, in my opinion. You know when a theme has popped back up, but you never feel like you're being hit over the head with it.

Which, to be quite frank, could be said for a lot of the game's music. This soundtrack is something that I don't see a lot in video game soundtracks: subtle. The more I listen, I hear little touches that were clearly carefully and painstakingly crafted, but that are not obvious on the first or second listening of the soundtrack. An example of that occurs with the vocal themes I mentioned earlier. My understanding of the story is that there are five portions of the game, each of which is tied to the young boy's interactions with another character in the hospital. At the end of each segment is a vocal piece that tells more of the game's story. At the end of the soundtrack, a particular track (Mori no Kokoro) takes all five of these vocals and places them on top of each other. My jaw dropped the first time I heard it, both because of the audacious simplicity of the connection, and, perhaps more importantly, how well they interspersed on top of each other. I listened to it a few more times, trying to figure out why it worked so well. My jaw dropped a second time when I realized it: all five melodies ended on the same note, in perfect unison, at the same time. I went back and listened to each piece individually to make sure it hadn't been some sort of editing trick. It had not. The five compositions, performed by three different singers, had been in the same key signature the entire time, with all ending on the same note, as had become clear in Mori no Kokoro. It's this kind of craftmanship that I'm referring to when I say that this soundtrack is excellent. To plan that out so carefully while still making sure that the pieces don't sound ALIKE shows just much attention to detail is present here.

Compositional devices such as those aren't technically anything revolutionary here, but they feel fresh because of how carefully crafted each piece of music is within this soundtrack. To be frank, that's an incredibly rewarding experience from a listening standpoint, because you realize with each listening of the soundtrack that there is just so much more to it than you possibly could have realized. It also leaves you more invested emotionally in the music.

That's yet another strength of this soundtrack. It holds some genuine emotion within it. Even without understanding the full story....you get it. I was surprisingly and absolutely wrecked my first time through the soundtrack when I got to a track near the end titled "Mom Broken". It somehow managed to pack more sadness and pathos into a 24-second track than most RPGs can manage in an entire story. Moments like that, even though they are hard, are what help make this soundtrack so enjoyable to listen to. You realize that each track is leading you through an emotional journey, and that you aren't really sure how that emotional journey will resolve...and more importantly, you realize that you shouldn't care, because it's a journey worth being on.

******************* Top Tracks in the Game:

Mori no Kokoro + all 5 component pieces My Home is Underwater (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQV5eG-HtMw) The Monsieur's Tea (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-eP0d7fFLc) Flowers Forever (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F30fWsI1X5o) These Gray Walls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgUNZV6nqWs)

The game has a wonderful mix of tracks, and one of the faster ones, Morizora's Cave, is notable for having a darker sound, despite the quick tempo. It's a neat effect that Shigihara has previously used in Plants vs. Zombies (if you haven't listened to "Loonboon", you are seriously missing out!), and it's great to see it make a re-appearance here. The Monsieur's Tea is just fun, and a nice (rare) use of low brass in a soundtrack. I'm sure I could spend a long time listening to this one without complaint, and I hope it was used in a major area within the game. Meanwhile, Flowers Forever, to me, stands out because it's a delicate minor key instrumental representation of a later love song, "Yours", that is one of the game's main vocal themes. Hearing it done in this way....well, I just have to know what happens in the story. It's got too much care put into it to not have something to say. Meanwhile, These Gray Walls is illustrative of another point: how do you showcase the complex set of emotions that come with time spent in a a hospital? I'm not exactly sure how to process it, but something like this is a good place to start. You hear pieces of the various emotions and moods (sadness, happiness, boredom, and some many others) that surely pervade such places.

Weakest Tracks in the Game: I shouldn't have put this feature into my reviews. I can't do it here. I just can't. Everything here feels like it's there for a specific purpose or reason, and it doesn't seem like any filler is present. Nor do I hear any obvious compositional mistakes. There's nothing that I skip as I listen through the soundtrack. You know the saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link? This here is a REALLY strong chain.

OVERALL: 9.5/10

I can find few faults within the music for Rakuen, in short. It's very well constructed technically speaking, it holds an emotional connection with the audience (even those like me who haven't played the game yet), it's a reasonable length, and [?????] . If there's any critique, it might just be that there aren't any "earworms" along the lines of what Shigihara has previously done with "There's a Zombie on Your Lawn" from Plants vs. Zombie. But, boy, is that a small critique. If you are looking for a pure, genuine, emotional video game music listening experience that incorporates a lot of vocals, piano, and strings.....this is absolutely the place to start. It is a delightful breath of fresh air, and you will surely appreciate the sort of thought and care that was put into creating this project. It is absolutely, without question, worth your time to check out, and I would highly recommend it.

#VideogameMusic #review #rakuen

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