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sapphic-yearning-lesbian · 3 years

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Epilogue (The Kumandra Memorial Hospital)

As annoying as it sounds I had this sitting on computer for a long time; I was just struggling to like it. SOO two days ago I rewrote the ending; so roughly 4,000 words out of 7,000... ANYWAY’S happy with it now.

Summary: Namaari and Raya being soft for each-other! Basically all fluff!

Warning’s: Mention of liquor, mild swearing, and implied sexual intercourse.

Here’s a preview, the rest of the story is on A03

The First Date

Raya had been discharged from the hospital for over a week, but she was still on bed rest, meaning she couldn't leave her house. Being surrounded by the same four walls was driving her insane. Even so, she was still thankful for her friends, family, and especially Namaari. They always came around and kept her company.

So what was Namaari to Raya?

Hell, as if Raya knew!

Namaari usually came around when others were present, so they hadn't gotten the opportunity to grow to know each other romantically any further. Yet, Namaari always found time to come and visit Raya, knowing they wouldn't be alone.

Maari, even bothering to show up, always meant the world to Raya as she genuinely felt wanted in her life.

Raya was looking in the bathroom mirror as she was towel drying her hair. Simultaneously, Sisu was changing her dampened wound bandages. Anticipating this, Raya had placed saran wrap over bandages to prevent this, but some water did manage to seep in. Thankfully Sisu remembers the basics of wound care and helps her change them.

Once Raya's hair isn't dripping, she brushes her hair as Sisu finishes. "Your bruise has gotten better," Sisu muttered under her breath, causing Raya to chuckle.

"Ohh, that's nothing!" Raya answers as she looks down at her chest in the mirror. She notices her bruise is fading and green now, only crawling partially on her left boob, mostly on her ribcage. "The bruise was spread across my whole rib cage and boob before in a grape purple."

Sisu nodded as she turned away and tossed Raya a huge oversized shirt. "I'll be outside the door," She said while making a peace sign exiting the bathroom.

Raya sighed as she slowly put on the shirt, trying not to injure herself further. Usually, Sisu or her Ba help her, but she's trying to do things independently; or at least try. She eventually managed to get the shirt on but was slightly winded by the effort needed to do the task.

Once she was all dressed in her oversized tan shirt with cheeky black underwear, she opened the bathroom door and found Namaari outside the door smiling at her. "NAMAARI!" Raya squealed as she lightly threw her arms over Maari's shoulders, pulling her into a hug.

"Raya," Namaari hummed as she wrapped one arm around Raya's waist as the other made its way up to her hair, gently massaging her scalp. "I need you to trust me, okay!" Namaari whispered as she pressed a quick kiss on Raya's right cheek, pulling away.

The warmth of Maari's lips kissing Raya's cheek still lingered as she nodded a quick yes. The next thing Raya knew, Namaari had pulled away and placed one hand over her eyes, as the other hand remained wrapped around her waist, leading her through the house.

"I know you're tired of being stuck at home," Namaari voice varies in high and low pinches, revealing her underlying nervousness. "I hope this helps," She admits as she guides Raya out to the backyard before removing her hand from her face. "SUPRISE"

When Raya opens her eyes, she first notices a white fabric hut in the middle of her backyard. The inside is full of comfy pillows and blankets. Her eyes then shift to the right, where she finds an array of foods and desserts on a picnic blanket; in the center sits a bottle of champagne and its glasses. She smiles as she shifts her gaze back to the left and notices a tiny projector pointing to her house.

The gasp that leaves Raya's mouth is full of amusement and pure joy. She couldn't believe Namaari pulled this all off in less than 30 minutes because that's how long she took showering and changing. "It's beautiful, Maari... words cannot describe what I'm feeling." Her stomach had erupted in butterflies while her core tingled ever so slightly.

Namaari only chuckles in amusement as she leads Raya to the assortment of foods she's provided. Once Raya comfortably sat down, she plops down (not so gracefully) next to her; she just wanted to be near her.

Maari understands how typical dates work: You sit across your date to get to know them better. But Namaari had learned so much about Raya these last four weeks.

That's all Namaari could really do; listen.

Technically Namaari was just another of Raya's friends. She couldn't comfortably kiss her or even touch her platonically, surrounded by others, out of respect, as they weren't official.

A friend who also happens to know the taste of the back of Raya's throat?

Anyways! Namaari knows Raya.

Raya loves the outdoor's more than anything, and her preferred way of exercising is hiking.

Raya has a prominent inner child.

Raya lives her day-to-day life in the spur of the moment but is very detail-oriented while working.

Raya's favorite color is turquoise because it's a mixture of both blue and green.

Raya is a night owl but will not work nightshifts.

Namaari knows Raya!

Raya smiled from ear to ear as Namaari popped the champagne bottle. "Woahhh, look at the bubble," She spoke in awe as she noticed the way Namaari bicep tightened as she popped off the cork.

The truth is Raya had quickly become obsessed with Namaari. She found herself missing her voice, the warm feeling in her abdomen when she was near, and her scoff.

Anytime Namaari scoffed, Raya felt as she died and returned to earth. She cannot come to explain the mixture of feelings that small action has on her entire being.

Raya is also very aware of Namaari's physical beauty; sometimes, she questions if Leonardo da Vinci sculpted her out of clay because there is genuinely nothing not to love! Raya loves Maari's rounded and wide nose, her pump upper lip missing its cupid bow, her squinted and curved eyes, her clean and maintained brows. But most of all, Raya loves Namaari's glistening, beautiful brown skin.

But of course, Raya also learned to appreciate Namaari as a whole. She liked to believe that she knew Namaari.

Her favorite color is gold.

She's an early bird!

Her favorite pass time is running marathons or volunteering with children. She is also very hard-headed and focused when working; sometimes, that seeps into her every day.

Maari also claims to be emotionally unattached, but Raya can see past that: She sees how much she wants to be understood and loved for all her flaws. And Raya hopes to be that for her.

Namaari poured the champagne into both their glasses, handing one to Raya once she finished. She then raised her glass to make a toast, Raya quickly mimicking her movements. "I want to toast to the beautiful stars and the moon shining above us." She raises the glass higher "And even as bright as they are, somehow you shine brighter than them, in your beauty." Namaari watches as Raya's face is engulfed in a red tint as she lightly shoves her shoulder with her own.

"I want to make a toast to Tong!" Raya spoke with a grin, only watching Namaari raise an eyebrow in confusion, "Because of him...I stumbled into the arms of this gorgeous specimen sitting beside me." She said, replacing her grin with a smile. "Cheers"

"Cheers."

They clinched their glasses before bringing the alcohol to their lips, both of them looking at each other with such fire and passion.

At that moment, a new feeling settled in their hearts, which they wouldn't express that night because love is scary.

...

For the rest of the night, they engaged in heartfelt conversations, passion-filled conversations, plenty of stolen or perfectly choreographed glances, the perfect amount of physical contact, and plenty of kisses—all amongst eating smores, shrimp Chao, a wide variety of fruits, and rice dumplings.

Once they finished conversating around 2 am they settled in the tent, watching the projected movie Luca on the side of Raya's house.

Namaari was the big spoon, and Raya was the small spoon.

They didn't actually watch the movie as they were too busy kissing each other's faces. Overall, they enjoyed having alone time as it allowed them to explore their romantic feelings for one another.

As the movie came to an end, Raya started to doze off. Namaari only watched her as she struggled to keep her eyes open, a smile resting on her lips. Never did that smile leave her face the entire night. Maari only scoffed as she bent her head down to press a kiss onto the tip of Raya's nose. "Are you awake, Dep La?" She asked in a whisper as the other only nodded while nuzzling deeper into her chest. "Can you look at me?"

Raya yawned into Namaari's chest as she pulled her face away just enough to lock her eyes onto Maari's. "Is this when you tell me our relationship is platonic?" She questions with the tiniest smirk on her lips. Namari only smirked back at her, causing her heart to began to flutter.

"Actually, about that...will you be my girlfriend? Like officially?" Namaari questioned as she ran on hand through her hair. All the while watching as Raya's eyes widen as a cheerful gasp slipped from her lips.

"AHHHH, I GOT THE HOT ER NURSE TO ASK ME OUT," Raya yelps as she lifts her free hand, pumping the air. "That's a yes." She finally clarifies as they both burst out laughing.

---

Apparently I’m a hopeless romantic for these two. Good to know XD.

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ryuichirou · 4 years

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do u have any favorite dj artists?

Yeah, a bunch of them! I’ll name a few, but there are definitely more very cool artists that I’m forgetting about right now. These ones are just those who I came to mind first + those whose work I had saved for the occasional appreciation.

Please keep in mind that despite me whining about the characters being OOC all the time, these are also somewhat OOC (some of them are very OOC). I guess their characteristics are simply shifted in a way that we like so I don’t mind is as much, and sometimes the concept/artstyle/everything is just way too good for me to think about how character act.

Another disclaimer: the words “weird” and “messed up” are going to be used a bunch of times, but I mean them as compliments. When it comes to us and djs, the weirder and more messed up they are, the merrier. Here is the list with my little and not helpful summaries:

Atsukunare Kubota (Ereri) – I’d marry her djs if I could lol Her artstyle is so much fun to look at, her ideas are, well, a little weird, but this is why I love them – you’ll never be like “oh right I forgot that I read that”, they’ll be stuck with you forever. And I mean it, it really is the type of stuff where you go “oh I’m not sure if I’m going to like it- woah ok that was fun I’m kind of into it”. I’m so sad she doesn’t post new stuff on pixiv anymore…

Ongre/Onjire/Tamy (Ereri) – another fave when it comes to Ereri djs. Her works are extremely funny and fun to read, some of them radiate such chaotic energy... it’s so enjoyable to watch lol Her Eren is insane, her Levi is grumpy and cute and she always does her best to showcase how feral Eren is and how adorable Levi is. She has good nsfw scenes too!

8205 (Ereri) – this one is very dear to me and very unique. 8205’s work is very interesting, she rewrites everything about the characters – their age, their “role” (for example, in the latest dj Reiner and Bert are Connie’s grandparents), and it still works well somehow?? Sometimes it all feels ridiculous and funny, but it still is very touching and beautiful. And creepy, it’s also creepy from time to time, I love it. I think I’d read those works even if they weren’t SnK djs. There are some nsfw scenes here and there, but not many, unfortunately. Katsu’s note: I’m ready to die for her Eren and for the author’s fashion sense.

Zokugun Porno/Inumoto (Ereri) – their djs are more story-oriented, and their stories are interesting to read. I wouldn’t call them super creepy or dark and heavy per-se, but there is some ehh fleur of tragedy in some of their work. The atmosphere is amazing, I love this type of stuff. These djs also have some nice nsfw scenes, these are amazing too. Oh, and I really like how they work with Eren/Levi dynamic and incorporate it into AUs.

Melomelow/Hyura (Eruri) – our all-time fave. The queen of size difference between Levi and Erwin. Her nsfw scenes are hot af, her Erwin is not ok in a beautiful way, her Levi is… well I was thinking for 5 min but I couldn’t come up with a perfect way to describe him lol, he’s just too good.

Chiruchiru (Eruri) – she has some good depressing djs, some more or less light-hearted ones, but her nsfw scenes are always great (and sometimes it gets weird…). She does Eruri’s size difference justice too, I appreciate her work a lot.

Hakodume/x_hako (Eruri) – I absolutely adore her work. The storyboard, the frame composition, the artstyle itself – it’s gorgeous. Too bad she keeps deleting all of her galleries ;w; Her work is mostly sfw though, but still, very beautiful.

Uchu Kago (Eruri) – I don’t even have words for this one, every time they’re kind enough to share their dj in its entirety on pixiv I cry a little because of how good their Eruris are. Their AUs are very interesting, they has tons of very cool concepts with them, and oh my god THE SIZE DIFFEREEENCEEEEE it murders me every time we read any of their djs.

鼻子 (Eruri) – their works have such a great dark and depressing atmosphere. They’re mostly story-oriented with great and very fitting visuals: dramatic shading, hatching, rough lines, all this stuff makes their djs feel very… unnerving. In a very good way, I love it when djs make me feel uneasy.

Honorable mentions: here are a bunch of great artists who post short comics and art that we really enjoy. It’s mostly comical and sfw, but occasionally there is nsfw stuff too.

Si_tano (Ereri) – this person draws djs too and have a lot of previews on their pixiv page, and I’d commit a rumbling to be able to pay them and read any of those, but they also post a lot of short funny comics about Eren and Levi. They also have a series of sketches with Erewan

Migiri (Ereri AND Eruri!) – this person’s short comics art hilarious, I adore their portrayal of Levi and the fact that they ship both of our fav ships. A lof of their works have “two idiots are madly in love with Levi who is just chillin’ there” dynamic and it’s great.

Zundamochi (Ereri) – we’re in love with this artist’s Eren LOL he’s so moody and clingy and angry, it’s so close to how we see Eren, it’s always a national holiday for us when they post something new. Such a joy. Levi is adorable too

Bubiomaru – they mostly post non-shippy art nowadays, but they have short comics with both Ereri and Eruri. Although their non-shippy art is hilarious too

Koka-tin (Ereri, Eruri, etc) – they mostly post illustrations, but there are some short stories here and there (both sfw and nsfw). Levi-centric, and oh god if their Levi is good. They illustrate his nature and his sexiness perfectly. There are a lot of unexpected ideas, stories and characters’ combinations, their mind amazes me. And the art itself is breathtaking good .

シャケ (Ereri, Eruri, Zevi, etc…) - their Levi is round, soft, smol, tiny, kittenish, everything. And woah they ship him with Zeke!! Well, they ship him with a lot of people, but Zeke is one of them and I’m grateful for that. You most likely won’t like their stuff though, I’m pretty sure about that. You’ll see what I mean when you see their Levi lol

Once again, there are a lot of people that I’m forgetting about or don’t remember well enough to describe their work, since it’s been forever since I’ve reread some of the older djs… But I think that’s enough for now lol

Too bad there are no Zevi djs yet…….sob

#replies

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tyrustrash · 4 years

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Huge Updates

Hey, all! As you know, the world is in a certain state right now causing us to change our daily lives. One change for me is that I now have more time and motivation to write. Also, I published a book on Amazon!! It is a collection of short stories, some of which you have seen but with some changes (For obvious reasons) The link is this: Orientation https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085RRGQ2N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_919HEbGVEBPPR Also, I am in the process of writing three more books!!!! Which is what I wanted to share with you. The chapters below will be the first two chapters of my young adult novel. The story is about two guys from seemingly different paths meet each other and bond over their shared pain. Theo is a member of a band that is trying to get signed to an agency, while Lucky is his college's best soccer player trying to get his team to nationals. They begin a secret relationship as they uncover more about themselves and their dark pasts. Some more info about the book: the couple is white-latino/asain, contains some sexual content, eating disorders, self-harm, and more. The other novels in development are as followed: 1. A story following a group of guys on a reality competition show competing to be members of a new boy band. 2. A group of teenagers gaining special powers and forming a team to save their town, and the world, from danger. (Has potential to be a series) 3. The other book I mentioned is another collection of never before seen short stories. I hope y'all enjoy the preview of my first novel! Chapter 1: Lo Mejor Comienza The crowd cheered their lungs out as they hyped up their favorite band, Going After You. The sold-out stadium held 40,000 of their fans holding every bit of merchandise the group had. There were a few fortunate fans that struggled their way onto the stage to get ahold of a member, but security managed to drag them away. However, one fan was able to grab the edge of Lucas' shirt and pull off a piece as she was being dragged off. Lucas didn't mind it though, he took it as a sign that he was their favorite, which he had that thought for all the fans. The members of the band looked out into the crowd and smiled as they continued their set. Lucas made sure to make his perfectly white teeth reflect the stage lights into the audience as he gave his perfect smile while he sang. His posture gave off high-end clothing store mannequin vibes: same old them as the rest, but somehow seen as better since where it came from. Gabe banged the drums while giving his rounds of pterodactyl screeching in between beats. The sweat coming from his head flew across the stage because of his hair flinging around caused by his head banging. Blake played his guitar with his swift fingers as he harmonized with Lucas. He had this chill aura around him that seemed to say that he was going with the flow. Lastly, Theo focused his attention on his keyboard. Unlike his bandmates, Theo chose to maintain his attention on his instrument. Not because he didn't appreciate his fans, all the hours spent writing letters and sending autographs said otherwise. He found it hard to multitask since he would get caught up in one thing and ignore the other. At one point in the concert he attempted to nod and smile to the fans, but he got off-key and played the wrong notes. Other than that one mishap, that night had gone well. The band stayed after for three hours to do the meet and greet with the fans. Although their entire bodies were hurting like hell, the pain was worth it if it meant making their fans happy. Everything was running smoothly. Fans stood in a straight line, which was harder than it seemed given they would let their excitement control them and try to form a tsunami, then they would get a picture with the group. So on and so on. This whole cycle repeated itself, concert and after show activities, for three weeks, with another six to go, they never wanted it to end. It was what they always dreamt about. All the hard work, all the nights without sleep, all the tears shed due to the stress-induced anxiety. All of it was finally worth it. However, sometimes it seemed liked hell on Earth. The pain and scars on their hands from their instruments. The times where they lost their voice from singing for up to eight hours a day. The visits to the hospital for when fans get too wild and would manage to make contact with a member. It was challenging in the beginning to form a balance, but it eventually happened. They wanted stardom to continue. They wanted to win a Grammy, star in their own movie, and go down as one of the greatest bands in musical history. Aside from those generic goals, each member had their own goal. Lucas wanted to be a model in New York Fashion Week. Gabe wanted to be the new owner of Playboy magazine. Blake wanted to start a non-profit organization. Theo wanted the loud banging would end. The loud banging. Theo rapidly blinked his eyes and looked around, suddenly snapping out of his daydream. He felt the cold water of the shower over his body. He wiped some of the water off of his face, also while taking a deep breath. He was at a loss of words, mainly because there was nothing for him to say at this point. "Two and a half hours." Lucas softly yelled, but in a nice way, from the other side of the door. "Hurry up. Some of us need our beauty shower." Although his time in the shower always took at least two hours, which all the others knew at that point, it felt like ten minutes. He always tried to shorten his time, but he never got around to fixing it. He never got around to fixing himself. "That's not a real thing." Theo heard Blake make the comment. "Oh shut up" Lucas said as his voice faded off, presumably going off to get his bathing kit from his room. Theo looked down and realized that there were still bits of thrown up food on the floor of the shower. It was rare that he would go off into his imagination after his habit. His shower routine typically consisted of beginning contemplating life, then spend most of his time dreaming, and end with him panic purging while rushing to get done. But lately he has been under a lot of stress. He finished up cleaning and turned the shower off. He placed an extra towel on the floor, per the request of Lucas, so that water didn't get all over the floor. As he dried himself off, he wiped off some steam that was on the mirror. The way he looked at his reflection, it was like seeing someone he didn't know. It was like there was something missing, something wrong. He looked around the room and his eyes fixated on random objects. Blake's razor that he always left out. A pair of Gabe's underwear, something that the boy always forgot to take to his room once he finished showering. Judging by the pair it seemed like it had been there for two days. His eyes locked on the can of air freshener sitting on top of the toilet. He felt short of breath seeing the tiny droplet of blood on the bottom of the can. He picked it up and turned it. Feeling the aluminum on his hands made his breathing stagger, it made his lip quiver. He inhaled sharply as his hands gripped the can tighter. Bringing the can closer to his body, a tear rolled down his cheek. Before he could do anything else, Lucas shouting stopped him, for now. "I need to get in now if I plan on getting enough sleep tonight." "I'm almost done." Theo said monotonal. He wished he meant it, but it's only the beginning. Gripping the can, causing his hands to fade into red, he turned his attention to the door. What was on the other side could have helped him, but it was no use. He was of no use. Not wanting to do anything else, he came back to his normal state of mind and brushed his hair with the brush that he has had since he was eight. He checked his phone for any notifications, but there was nothing. He frowned thinking he ruined everything. He put on his night hoodie and shorts then exited into the hall. Upon entering the hallway, he took note of Lucas and Blake arguing over some skincare routine. Lucas swore he needed to spend at least an hour on his routine for it to work, however, Blake counterattacked that he shouldn't be rushing Theo since he would spend as much time in the bathroom. Lucas grabbed his suitcase-sized bag of products and carried it into the bathroom. Theo grew worried that he was the one who had caused their argument, then wished he had used the can. Blake sighed as he plopped down on the couch. He turned on the TV and Pitch Perfect was playing. He turned up the volume but made sure it wasn't loud enough to wake up Gabe who was already asleep. They had their TV set to just music-themed programs, thanks to Gabe's technological skill. Last night they watched the first season of Glee. They wanted to watch every known music-related thing so they could take inspiration and help with their band. Their band. Although they had only been active for a year, they managed to gain a steady following and regular gigs at some small clubs that would allow a group of high schoolers to perform. Going After You was named after them chasing their dream to be the next big thing, which didn't make sense to some people but it was the group's style. However, they have yet to make any real progress in the real world. Maybe it had to do with them constantly changing their music style, but whatever it was, they needed to buckle down. Theo walked to the kitchen and poured himself a big glass of milk, with a bendy straw to go through the lid. He contemplated for a bit before he made the cup, but he needed something to ease his stomach. He made his way over to the couch and sat next to Blake. "Just like my showers, you should be used to Lucas' skin routine." Theo said as he brought his legs up to sit crisscrossed. Blake chuckled as he took a bite of the sandwich he had made earlier. "I know, but it still gets annoying. Mainly because he thinks it'll actually work. He's been doing that shit for a year now and it hasn't done a damn thing." Theo laughed a little, nearly causing him to snort out milk. "Come on, you're supposed to be the nice one of us." "Can't be the nice one when Lucas has been keeping me awake for the past two hours because he needed someone to complain to about not being able to get into the bathroom." "Sorry." Theo said with a soft voice. "Don't worry about it, I had some fun messing with him. It's so fun freaking him out." Theo gave out a soft laugh before Blake straightened himself a little. His face became a mixture of concern and stern, making Theo tense up and scoot away from him. "So, you know you're supposed to be last in the bathroom order." Theo looked down at his cup. He tried not frowning, but kept his feelings to himself, like always. "It was just that I had dinner before you guys." "What does that have to do with anything?" Before Theo could answer, Gabe walked in from his room, in only his underwear. He scratched his lower back as he made his way to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and drank some milk straight from the jug. Blake let out a heavy groan, but Gabe didn't care. After that, Gabe grabbed a beer and went to sit in the recliner. Gabe was the one that didn't care about how he looked, he always had high confidence in himself that he didn't care what others thought about him. One time he went to school in a skintight spandex suit that outlined some of his more prominent features, resulting in him having to be sent home to change. Another time he went streaking across the neighborhood. He even managed to outrun the cops that were called. As he sipped his beer, Gabe adjusted his crotch which caused Blake to make a face of disgust. "Bro, I'm trying to eat." "Don't act like you've never adjusted yourself." Gabe replied while keeping his focus on the TV. He took another sip. "We're all guys, we've all done it." "But at least I have the decency to not do that while someone's eating." As the two discussed crotch touching and other typical guy things that Theo never understood or cared enough to learn more about, Theo stared blankly ahead, focusing on nothing. The world around him started fading and his surroundings transitioned into a new setting as he went back into his dreamworld for the eighth time that day. This time he imagined them all performing at his future wedding. He was marrying the person people expected him to marry, but he was sharing the moment with his closest friends, nothing could ruin it. Well, one thing. The person he imagined he was marrying. It was the wrong person. Wrong for him, but right for his parents. As he played his keyboard, he used his peripheral vision and he saw his parents sitting in the front while cheering his name. Their cheers grew louder and louder. Every time they said his name, he found it harder to concentrate. The loudness became unbearable to the point it snapped him back to reality, where he found where he heard his name being shouted. Theo sat between his two friends as they were both looking at him. Gabe patted Theo's shoulder as he leaned closer. "So, which is it?" "Which is what?" Theo asked as he became confused. He looked at the hand on his shoulder and started to build up panic. Blake let out a sigh as he tossed his paper plate in the trash can next to the couch. "The theme for our gig tomorrow night. I wanted to go for more modern and pop-ish since it would fit the crowd, but Gabe wants full out punk and rock and roll." "I thought y'all were talking about crotches." Theo remarked as he stirred the straw in his cup, seemingly easing himself. He scrunched his face thinking about his friends talk about touching themselves. "We were." Said Gabe. He finished his beer and tossed it towards the trash can, but missed. Blake picked it up and threw it away. "But it turned into trying to finalize what we're doing tomorrow." "I don't care. Just decide. It's just a soccer game that we're performing at. I mean, who even does that? And a college game too." Gabe chuckled as he patted Theo's back. "It's a paid gig, and it's exposure. "You say that every time." Blake told him. "Well, it is. And it would be one of the biggest crowds we've performed at. Anyone could be watching, like an agent, or scouts for a reality show." "You also say that every time." "Man, what's your deal? You don't seem like you care." "I care. It's just that if we keep changing our style for each performance, then it'll be harder to get signed to a label." "It's called having range. It shows we can do any genre." Gabe turned back to Theo. "So, what style? "Pop, I guess. We've done that the most and it seems to be a crowd pleaser every time." Theo said after thinking for a second. Like Gabe, he was just as eager to get signed. But like Blake, he had the mindset of sticking to one style until they get signed. Another moment in their band career that seemed to be one of the most challenging things. Before Theo could get up and go to his room, he noticed the marks on Gabe. There were kiss marks made from pink lipstick covering the area above Gabe's boxers. He pointed at them, resulting in the other two to look. "What's that?" Gabe laughed. "Come on, man. I know you haven't been with a girl, but I'm sure you know what this is and where it came from." "Is she here now?" Blake asked as he stood up. His face getting redder than a teacher's mark on a test when they give someone an "F". "I mean, obviously. I came out of my room when we finished. Fucking my girlfriend really makes me thirsty." "Bro, you know what the lease says. No overnight guests." "What they don't know won't hurt them." "Hold up, how long has she been here? When did you bring her?" "About four hours ago. We've been at it that long, a new record. Had to miss dinner, but don't worry, I ate alright." Theo shook his head. "Wait, she's been here for a while? Usually you two make as much noise as possible." "Wanted to try it out to see if we could, now we know we can do it even while y'all are asleep. But it was hard getting it one while having to hear y'all argue over some damn skincare routine, but perhaps the arguing helped cover it up a little." "No no no." Blake interjected, completely ignoring the second part. "She is not allowed overnight." "Come on. It's not that serious. She has stayed over countless times before and no one noticed." "What! Do you know how much trouble we'll be in if we're caught? We could be evicted!" "Calm thyself. We haven't been caught yet, and we won't. As long as you don't snitch. Besides, don't act like you've never broken that rule." Blake fell silent for a quick second. He blinked rapidly before speaking with a slightly higher-pitched voice. "I don't know what you're talking about." "Melissa. I know she has stayed over before after one of your escapades." "That was different." "How?" "It was accidental. We went to sleep immediately afterwards and forgot." "Yeah right." "Theo, you have anything to say right now?" Blake asked as a way of changing the subject, but no response. He and Gabe looked back and saw Theo standing at the side of the couch staring blankly at the wall. "THEO!" Theo blinked rapidly and gazed his attention to the two of them. "What now?" "Nothing." Blake sighed. "Just go to bed now. You really need the sleep." Before anyone could do anything else, the bathroom door opened and Lucas stepped out. His face was covered with one of his face masks. "Can y'all stop arguing, please. The yelling isn't good for my skin." "The hell." Gabe said. "How is us yelling upsetting your skin?" "I'll have you know that people yelling makes me stress, and stress can cause breakouts. I can't have any of that, especially at tomorrow's gig. In fact, I can't have that ever. I have to stay looking flawless." Before Lucas could continue with his routine, he turned to Blake. "Before you freak out again and we have a repeat of tonight, I've also broken that rule. Better get your rage out now and soon. Can't have too much more yelling." Blake couldn't say anything to him since he quickly slammed the door. With a final huff for the night he went to his room. Gabe smirked. "It's adorable when he loses." "Maybe." Theo said. He went to the kitchen and rinsed out his cup. While he was there, he began doing everyone's dishes, not because they had a rotation, but because he wanted to. "Sometimes it's hard dealing with an argument over the smallest things." "But sometimes it's fun. Right?" Theo smiled a little. "Yeah. Can be." "That's the spirit!" Gabe grabbed two more beers from the fridge and before he headed to his room, he went beside Theo. He placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Theo to become worried. "Hey, you'll find a girl someday, just keep looking. And I'll make sure to not tell Blake if you bring her over and you want her to stay over." "Thanks." The faintness of Theo's voice was barely audible. He didn't even look at Gabe, only keeping his head down. Gabe went into his room, leaving Theo alone. He looked around and took in his surroundings. Just a plain and small apartment the group found a few months ago. They saved up from all their gigs for nearly a year to be able to afford it. It wasn't anything to brag about, but it was better than what he had before. His family, his neighbors, everything about his old life, it was too much. He wanted to leave it all, and he did. Or so he thought. After pushing back any memories from his past he wanted to forget, and also finishing washing the dishes, he made his way to his room. Along the way he heard moaning coming from Gabe's room. Before he could enter his own room, Lucas stepped out of the bathroom, bare naked except for some scrub covering most of his body. Theo attempted not to look, but failed since Lucas always made a presence when he entered a room. "Ayo, Theo." He said, his hand on his hip, hip sticking out. "Don't worry about what Gabe said. You know how he is." Theo could barely form a sentence. "How do you know what he said?" "Dude, the apartment is smaller than Gabe's brain. You can hear everything." They laughed. Theo turned the handle of his door. "Nice to see you taking time out of your routine to console me." Lucas shrugged. "No biggie. Besides, I had to let my body scrub settle." "I can see." He thought for a second. "Well, I don't want to see. I've always questioned what you did in there for so long, maybe I didn't have to know." "Well, know you do. Now, what do you do in the shower that takes two hours?" Theo's eyes slightly widened. He felt short of breath but pulled together a response. "You'll never know." He said in a quick and sassy tone. Lucas nodded at Theo before he went back inside the bathroom. Theo opened his bedroom door and went in. He slammed the door and leaned back on it. He exhaled heavily. After standing for a minute, he made his way to his bed. It helped clear his mind by looking around his room and seeing all his favorites things. His room was decorated with posters of his favorite musicians, including various Kpop groups, mainly Got7, Kard, Twice, CLC, Day6, and Girls' Generation, and posters of American artists like Ariana Grande and boy band In Real Life. He had lots of stuffed animals scattered around the room. There was a box of snacks beside his bed that held snacks that he saved up for weeks. He sat on his bed the main dating app on his phone. He opened the chat he had started with someone he has been talking to for the past few weeks. Still no new response. He plugged his phone onto its charger and placed it on the windowsill next to him. He pulled out and opened his laptop and pulled up his search engine. He began researching the college they would be performing at. Although it was in their town, he somehow knew nothing about it other than that it valued sports over academics, like most American schools. He mainly focused on the soccer team. He found articles talking about how the team has had a mixed season so far and was unsure if they'll qualify for nationals. Searching further, he found profiles for each member. He spent the next hour reading about what each person was like personality wise and about their skill level. All of them seemed impressive on paper, but somehow weren't on the field at times. They had never qualified for Nationals, which made them the only team at their university not to do so. Statistics show that this season was their best, which wasn't saying much since it was like a toss of a coin if they won a game or not. During his time reading, one player in particular caught his attention. Lucky Moon. Not just because of his name, but his other attributes, he stood out. He made the most goals this season, given that he was the striker. Off the field, he helped volunteer by tutoring other students and being an assistant coach for a little league team. He seemed like the model student, the perfect person. Theo smiled reading more about him. Delving deeper, Theo learned that the college actually did halftime shows for all the sporting events. One time they had an aerial acrobatics group perform at a volleyball match. Although it seemed weird for a college to go all out for a sporting event, it could pay off for their band in the end. Hopefully. Shutting down for the night, he put up his computer and covered himself with his favorite blanket, the one he had since he was a child. He laid his head down on his green monkey pillow as he thought about tomorrow. How it could be the best day of the group's career. All the possibilities that could come from it. The best began tomorrow. Chapter 2: Stop the Rain The mixture of rain and sweat covered Lucky's face as he ran across the field. He didn't bother wiping it off, it made him stronger, it built up endurance. The grass was harder to run across because he hasn't been cleaning his shoes properly and almost had moments where he almost slipped. There was only one set of lights on, somewhat keeping him warm. He kept on running, while also kicking the ball, for what seemed like forever. He had just reached the halfway point. Every so often he would tighten his fists, which kept him awake. It was two in the morning. He had hardly gotten sleep the night before, and the night before that, and basically every night for the past week. Soccer cleared his mind, made all the stress go away. Not only was this time in the early mornings useful for extra practice, it was his time to think and relax. His schedule was filled with classes and practice that he doesn't get a break. Whenever he was in his dorm, his roommate made too much noise with his gaming stuff and the occasional party. Lucky started getting up early to get some alone time on the field before he went back to his dorm to get a little more rest before his seven o'clock class. It wasn't the healthiest schedule experts might say, but it worked, it helped him stay stable, physically and emotionally. Something that he always needed work on. He shook his head thinking about his wounds, he needed to focus. Focus on his future, his grades, his happiness, but most importantly the ball he was kicking. He finally reached near the goal to shoot. With a hard kick, the ball leaped off the ground and swerved to the back of the net, nearly tearing it. He slightly nodded and gathered the ball. He made his way to the nearest bench, which held a towel and his water bottle. He sat down and wiped his face with the towel, which was about useless since the rain had gotten it damp. What it did was absorb what it could, but his face had streaks of liquid. In the end, he didn't know why he did anything with the towel other than it was muscle memory, the rain would just get his face wetter. He took several chugs from his bottle, the water moisturizing his dry throat. Picking up his bag, he placed the bottle in the side pouch and the ball in the back. While he was standing to leave, he saw a figure walking towards him. Upon closer examination, it was Coach Jupiter. She carried an umbrella and was dressed in her coaching attire. Coach Jupiter held out the umbrella to Lucky, but he remained in his spot next to the bench. She slightly nodded and got as close to him without making him feel uncomfortable. "What're you doing out here at this time of day?" Lucky shrugged his shoulders. When he opened his mouth his words came out bold, yet calm. "Extra practice." "It's not good to practice out in the rain." She came closer to him to try getting him under the umbrella, but he stepped back. "It helps build stamina." He said with even more boldness, but with a kind inflection. He didn't know if it was true, he thought it sounded like she would believe him. "Also helps with feet work." "Need someone to practice with?" "I was just leaving." "Too bad. I thought since you were here at this hour you were committed to the team." "I am!" Lucky shouted. Upon realizing that he raised his voice, he lowered his head in shame. "Sorry." "No need to apologize. Besides, how did you even get on the field?" Lucky kept his head down, feeling ashamed at what he did. "I picked the lock on the gate. But I always make sure to lock it back up when I leave." "Always?" She said while raising an eyebrow. Lucky realized what he said and step back a little while scratching his leg with his foot. "You've done this before? When? How long?" "Every day for the past two weeks." His voice was weaker than before. He sat down on the bench, resting his head in his hands. He began sobbing, his words becoming semi-inaudible. "I'm so sorry. Please don't kick me off the team." Coach Jupiter sat down next to him and held the umbrella over both of them. "Hey, calm down, it's alright. You're not off the team." "Really? Isn't what I did against some kind of rules?" Coach shrugged. "Yeah, most definitely, but I'm not going to report you or do anything." "Thank you." He said with a sigh of relief. However, he raised an eyebrow. "How did you know I was here?" "I got a notice from a bystander saying the lights were on. I came to see what was up." Lucky nodded a little. "I didn't mean any harm." "I know, but," She started saying, causing Lucky to look up and gulp. "If you wanted more time to practice, why didn't you contact me and set up an extra schedule? I would've worked with you. That's what I'm here for." Lucky stayed silent for a minute. Coach looked at him with her wide eyes, trying to figure him out based on his body language. He was hunched over, feet shaking, his right hand was brushing through his hair, and he still had a few tears coming out. "It's okay." She said. "Take your time." Lucky took a deep breath. Thoughts ran through his head and he didn't know what to say. He could tell the truth, which was more than likely a bad idea. Or he could say what she more than likely wanted to hear. Whatever he said, he made sure to make it seem better what was the truth. "I just wanted to practice some more. I know nationals means a lot to the team, and to you since it'll be your first one as a coach, and I felt like since the others look up to me, I needed to be better so we can win some more and qualify. I didn't ask for your help because I wanted to improve on my own. To show that I have the discipline and dedication." All Coach could do was nod and pat Lucky's shoulder, which seemed to calm him down. "Lucky, you are an amazing player, perhaps the best one on the team." "And I want to be better." He interjected. "I want us to go to nationals. I want to see that trophy in our case." Coach Jupiter let out a soothing sigh. "And we will, one day. Maybe this year, or maybe next year, but we will win it. But we won't if we're not in our best condition. Next time you want extra practice, talk to me and we can work out a healthier and somewhat better schedule. How does that sound?" Lucky looked her in her eyes. He couldn't form any kind of facial expression. But Coach made a face though. She seemed like she cared. He was happy to have someone in his life that seemed like they cared about him, someone who wanted to spend time with him, but he shook his head. "Thanks, but I'll see about it." He told her as he stood and put on his bag. "Let's see how we do at this next game." Coach stood up. She gave him another pat on the shoulder before she walked off, leaving him standing in the rain. Lucky looked up at the sky. A few drops of rain hit his eyes, causing him to blink rapidly. As he started walking to his dorm, he wiped some rain away, kicked some grass, and sighed heavily. He managed to get to the door and lock it back up, making it seem no one was ever there. As he walked away, the single set of lights that was on started flickering, then went dark. Lucky entered his dorm building and pushed the button for the elevator. He rested his hand on his hip as he waited. The elevator always took forever, even though there were only five floors. He didn't mind waiting, especially after practicing. It gave him a little time to cool off. The elevator dinged. The doors opened and there was only one person getting out. "Sup, Lucky!" The guy said as he went into a bro hug. Lucky accepted the hug. Although he wasn't too close to him, they did have some sort of friendship through Lucky's tutoring sessions. The guy left and Lucky took his spot in the elevator. He pushed the button for the fifth floor and watched the door close. The elevator always felt like it was going slower than a snail. He thought since they were paying a ridiculous amount for housing, the service would be good quality. The long time, the interior falling about, and the constant smell of sewage, and all that was just for the elevator. The rooms were worse. Upon coming onto his floor, he looked around at all the decorations. Each floor had a different theme, and his theme was the ocean. Cut-outs of different ocean animals covered the wall, along with streamers of different shades of blue. A pinboard hanging on the wall next to the elevator held mini questionnaires filled out by the residents of the floor. One of the questions was if they were a sea creature, which would they be. Lucky answered dolphin, because they are sleek, fast, and that people often make assumptions about them and have no reason to worry. He reached his assigned room at the end of the hall. He looked at his name tag, which was a dolphin, which he thought was a coincidence. He tapped the head of the dolphin before entering, a ritual he had since he started college. Touching his name tag before he entered his room. The first thing he saw was one of his roommates, Matt, asleep on the couch. Lucky grabbed a blanket form the rack in the corner and covered him up. Matt let out a weird groaning noise and turned but stayed asleep. When Lucky went to open his bedroom door, it was locked. "I'm busy!" His main roommate, Spada, yelled from the room. "Come back in a few minutes!" Before walking off, Lucky could hear the noise of a bed squeaking. Grunting, he went to the little kitchen area. Every time he really needed to get some rest, Spada pulled some shit like that. Every time he was gone for longer than thirty minutes Spada had her over. But he never had the strength to say anything. Opening the fridge, his face remained emotionless at the sight of a basically empty fridge. At that point, he was just over his roommates not keeping up with the one simple task of grocery shopping. The only thing edible he could see was some milk, a few slices of leftover pizza, and a half empty ketchup bottle. He grabbed a slice of pizza and poured him a glass of milk. As he chewed, he pulled out his phone and opened a dating app and went to the message section. There was only one person who had a conversation. Lucky smiled for the first time that day. He thought he might've met someone but didn't know if it would work out. He didn't know what to respond with. He hadn't replied for at least five hours. The right words had yet to come, even though the other person's message was really simple. It asked what he was like when he was younger. They had been getting to know each other better, but he has been picky about what he shared, especially life before college. He didn't want to change the subject since it seemed rude, but he also didn't want to make them mad by lying. He began typing a sentence but stopped when he heard his bedroom door open. Spada's girlfriend lurked out of the dorm, waving to him as she exited. Spada came out next, only in his boxer briefs. He went to the fridge and sipped some of the milk straight from the jug. "Can you please use a glass?" Lucky said as he took another bite of the pizza. Spada placed the milk back in the fridge. He maneuvered his way around the tiny kitchen space and leaned up against the counter next to Lucky. "You already have some." "Besides the point. Others might want some later and they more than likely don't want your germs. Besides, I know where your mouth has been." Before Spada could respond, he finally got a sniff of Lucky and nearly gagged. "Dude, you stink." Lucky sniffed his own armpit and shrugged. He has grown accustomed to his stench that he built up an immunity to it. It took him really trying to sniff to catch it. "Yeah, I do. It's called sweating. It's what comes when one is physically active." "I'm physically active." "Sex and parties don't count." "Hey, don't diss those. I be sweating pretty hard while doing so." Spada crossed his arms. "You need to shower. I don't want to be smelling that the rest of the night." Lucky turned to him and scolded him. "I was going to when I got here, but you were busy." Spada stood straight up in a defensive manner. "You know the rule we set up at the beginning of the year. If one of us has company over, we shall give them privacy." "But I didn't think it would include the middle of the night." "There weren't any time restrictions when we made the deal." "Whatever." Lucky sighed as he made his way to the bedroom. Before he took off to the shower, he looked back at Spada, who was shaking his head. "You know," Spada started saying. "I wouldn't mind waiting out here for whatever amount of time you needed. That's if you ever bring a girl over." With that, Lucky slammed the door. There were times he despised Spada. Times where just his presence caused annoyance. He had the typically rich daddy's boy vibe, but lacked the rich daddy. Whined whenever he didn't get his way, bitch until he does, just plain punchable. On the other hand, there were times Spada was kind of tolerable. The times where they got drunk together were nice and good bonding moments, but those were rare sense Lucky didn't want to risk showing up to class or practice with a hangover. Spada once invited him to a threeway with his girlfriend on the terms that they wouldn't do anything with each other, but he declined out of respect. One time they to the arcade and made a mountain with all the tickets they had earned, then destroying it by jumping into it and rolling around. Putting all those thoughts behind him, Lucky went straight to the bathroom and locked the door. He stood in front of the mirror and stood straight into his eyes. He began that state of being where everything around him became too real and where he started contemplating life. What life was, what he was doing there, and what will happen if he dies. Or in his case what would've happened if he had died. Or what things would be like if he was never born. Shaking his head rapidly, he got out of those thoughts. He turned on the shower and waited for it to get hot. In the meantime, he took off his clothes and placed them neatly in the corner. Remaining in only his black briefs, he went back to staring at himself in the mirror. This time he stared at his body. At the wounds he had. The cuts across his six-pack. The bruises on his sides. The everlasting burn wound on the upper part of his arm. As he ran his fingers over it all, he tried staying strong. He kept reassuring himself that it'll all be over soon. He wanted to continue looking, but the mirror fogging up stopped him. He took off his underwear and stepped into the shower. The hot water hit him sharply, giving him the best feeling he has had for the day. He simply stood in the middle of the shower and let the water go all over him. It took him a good minute or two to begin. He poured some of his Axe body wash on his hands and started rubbing his body. He took it easy around his wounds since they were sensitive. He used the green apple shampoo his sister got him, only because he was out of his regular kind. He let his hand slip down his body until he reached his v-line. He tapped his fingers across it, enjoying the tingling sensation that slowed throughout his body. He let out a soft moan as he reached lower. He grasped his crotch and let out a louder moan. His head flung back and his eyes closed. Just the feeling could've made him finish since it had been forever since he had felt some sort of pleasure. He started moving his hand, the shampoo helped made a smooth rhythm. He used his other hand to rub his chest. His hands became synchronized in motion resulting in a higher amount of pleasure. All the feelings going through his body sped up his hands and he couldn't stop. It felt like electricity going through his veins, lighting was about to be next. Just as he was about to release, there was a loud bang on the door. It startled him so much that his hand sharply gripped over himself and he released over the front of the shower. His knees felt like jelly and he had to hold onto the rail so he wouldn't fall to the ground. "Hurry up, bro!" Spada said. Lucky took a moment to catch his breath. "I can't fall asleep with the shower running." Lucky groaned as he cleaned up, again, and turned the shower off. He stepped out, dried off, and wrapped the towel around his waist. He wiped off some of the steam on the mirror and brushed his hair. In the corner, he saw some of his residue on the corner of the tub. He took the edge of the towel and wiped it up so that Spada wouldn't complain. Finally finished, he grabbed his dirty clothes and walked into the bedroom and over to his dresser. He took off his towel and tossed it and the clothes into the basket. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of light blue briefs. After he put them on, Spada turned on his bed and faced the ceiling. "Sorry about earlier." Lucky went to his bed and got under the covers. He took note of Spada's weird change in attitude, which wasn't uncommon. He adjusted himself and his pillows before responding. "About what?" "About saying if you ever bring a girl over." Spada let out a sigh. "I didn't mean to come off snarky." "It's fine." No it wasn't, but it wasn't the time. "Don't worry about it." "My thing is," He started, resulting in a soft groan from Lucky. "You're so attractive, no homo, you can get any girl you want. You're the star soccer player, a people helper, and you're Asian, girls love ethnic guys now." "Don't say that!" Lucky slightly yelled. He hated it when people brought up his race, not because he was ashamed, but because he thought it was never needed to be brought up. "I thought you were tired? Why don't you get some sleep, maybe it'll help your brain." "Hey, don't get upset at me for stating facts." "Well I don't want to hear your so-called facts." "Well, what do you want to hear?" "You sleeping." Spada chuckled. "Man, I can help you." "I don't need your help." Lucky turned to face the wall. "What's your type? Blonde, brunette, redhead? Maybe another ethnic person." Lucky became furious. He grabbed a bottle of water from under his bed and threw it at Spada. "Stop saying that! As I said before, I don't want or need your help. Stay out of my personal life and leave me the fuck alone!" Without saying anything, Spada made a face of confusion with a mix of anger. He tried throwing the bottle back, but it failed to reach halfway across the room. He huffed and turned to face the wall. Lucky wept silent tears. He pulled out his phone and went back to the message conversation. He scrolled through the entire thread, wanting to relive one of the happy parts his life had. From where they talked about school, hobbies, and dreams for the future. Although he had a gist of what he wanted for his dream, all he could think about was making a new dream reality. After a long time of thinking, he finally decided what to say. Let's talk, in person, after my soccer game. I know a place we could go and be alone. With a simple click of a button, his life changed. Whether it was for good or bad, that was debatable. What wasn't was his feelings. Feelings for soccer, feelings for freedom, and feelings for the one person that could truly care about him. A ding. Lucky looked back at his phone and formed a small smile at the message notification. He smiled more when he read it. I'll be there.

#gay #lgbt #bisexual #debut novel #books #gay books #fanfiction

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housebeleren · 4 years

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Theros Beyond Death Odds & Ends

We got a lot of updates regarding Theros Beyond Death this week. I’ve already talked about the trailer, so now I’ll just run through some of the other items and give my quick thoughts.

Elspeth & Ashiok

These are super sweet. Elspeth is looking fierce as ever, and that spear is fucking fantastic. As a card, I think she’s going to be a major player in Standard, as a recursive threat that’ll just keep generating value for you. Ashiok is gorgeously illustrated by one of my favorites, Raymond Swanland. The purples, blues, and blacks are basically all my favorite colors, so I’m sold. As a card, I think it’s super well balanced. Could be a great alternate finisher for control that comes down a turn earlier than Liliana or Ugin, but isn’t quite as clearly game-ending as those if it sticks. That said, pumping out a 2/3 every turn is pretty sweet unto itself. So yeah, I’m feeling both of these. My only wish is that they had flipped one of the arts so they’d be facing each other, Duel Deck style. That would have been just one extra little touch of awesome.

Also, these are freakin gorgeous. I particularly like the Ashiok one, but I’d be excited to get my hands on either of them.

Also, Maro has confirmed that there are 3 Planeswalkers in the set. Wonder who the third would be? By color alone, it would be someone Green/Red, But there aren’t a ton of those that seem like good fits, and it would be too similar to Theros, round 1. Only time will tell.

Gods & Demigods

We also got previews of a few other fun cards. Athreos, Shroud-Veiled is the buy-a-box promo for the set, which makes some amount of sense. My guess is, after the strong mono-color theme of Throne of Eldraine, we’ll see the five mono-color gods return in this set with new versions, and not get any of the other 2 color gods except Athreos, since he will likely play some part in the story, either as an element in or an obstacle to Elspeth’s escape.

We also got a Demigod, which is a new creature type that’s pretty awesome. Daxos, Blessed by the Sun is an interesting title, especially given it’s opposition to Elspeth’s “Sun’s Nemesis” title. My speculation is we’ll see Elspeth exact her revenge on Heliod, then she takes over the mantle as God of the Sun, and through her newfound God-power brings back Daxos. Totally speculation, but that’s what I’m reading from this.

Mechanics

We got a Theros Beyond Death Mechanics article, so I’ll run through them real quick:

Escape - This is the only new mechanic in the set, representing Elspeth’s escape of the Underworld. Seems like a solid workhorse mechanic for Standard, and there will almost certainly be at least one card that’s completely obscene in Modern or Legacy, because what’s ever gone wrong with graveyard mechanics in the past?

Devotion - Oooh, I called it. As soon as the strong mono-color theme in Throne of Eldraine became clear, I was sure we’d see Devotion again. It’s perfect seeding between sets. This is a fun one, and will continue to swing the pendulum towards 2 and 1 color play, which is honestly a good thing. It’ll be interesting to see if they find some new design space for it.

Constellation - Oooh, I called it again! Maro has been harping about the biggest mistake of original Theros block being that they didn’t do Enchantments-matter early enough, so it seemed all but certain that they would jump right on board with it this time around. Plus, it’s another perfect through-line from Throne of Eldraine’s W/U theme. Looks like they’re going to put Constellation on some non-Enchantment cards as well, so that’s a little new for it.

Sagas - I loved Sagas when they showed up in Dominaria, and I’m stoked to see them again here. They’re fun, they have interesting gameplay, and they’re just gorgeous to look at. My guess is they’ll play around with the number of chapters this time, just to keep it interesting.

Of course, we’ve got Enchantment Creatures coming back, and I did see one card that had a Heroic mechanic on it (sans keyword, of course), so that could be a fun limited archetype in this set. Plus, it’ll give Feather decks a little boost to maybe bring them back to playability.

Basic Lands

Okay, then there’s this. Truly, I do love the look of these, though I understand some people’s aversions to them. They do look a little like Pokemon Energy cards, for sure. That said, I am very excited to pull them, and some people will really love having them.

But I also want to mention these:

These are also basic lands for this set, and they are STUNNING. Every land has 2 variants, an overworld and an underworld version. You can see all of them on Wizards’ Twitter account. The catch? These lands are only available in the Bundle and Planeswalker decks. That’s it. You can’t open them in any booster product, at least to my understanding as of now.

And that’s a shame, because as cool as the full art Nyx lands are, these are beautiful works of art and should be seen! And lots of people just won’t. I would have strongly preferred they handle this like they did with Amonkhet, and have the full arts as just one of the standard rotation, along with these beauties.

This really gets at the heart of the biggest issue I have with Wizards’ product design at the moment, and it’s that it’s so hard to keep track of everything that’s out there. I love the spirit behind Project Booster Fun, but I’m sorry, it is so fucking complicated to figure out what comes in each product at this point. I’ve had to correct the shop owner of an LGS about the specific contents of Collector Boosters, and I don’t blame him for the mistake one bit. Because who can keep it all straight? Anyway, rant over. But Wizards, if you’re listening, tone it back a little. Stop dividing your cards in to a million different products.

Anyway, on one final good note:

Thirst

Whoever this hotness is. Holy shit, I thought Wizards was going after the “Gay & Thirsty” contingent with Oko but it’s clear they have no intentions of letting us ignore this set either.

That’s a gay Halloween costume right there, ready to go.

Given the landscape orientation here, I’m guessing he’s a generic card from the set, not a Planeswalker. But it’s possible we’re only getting some of the art, but I’d say that’s a long shot. Either way, I’m 100% here and living for more acceptably sexualized men in Magic. May the gods bless the Thirsty.

#MtG #theros beyond death

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4yourexcitement · 5 years

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Credit: Marc Brenner

After an amazing sell out run in London, Jamie Lloyd Company is bringing the production of Betrayal and its stars Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox to Broadway.

The play marks the Broadway debut for Hiddleston, who shot to fame in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Loki, brother of Thor. Hiddleston however is no stranger to the stage. Trained at RADA he has performed the title roles in productions of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus and Hamlet among others as well as working alongside Sir Kenneth Branagh in Checkov’s Ivanov.

During San Diego Comic-Con Hiddleston arrived in the US to promote the upcoming Disney+ series Loki, he sat down with EW to discuss bringing Betrayal to New York.

Hiddleston explained that he was first introduced to Betrayal at drama school. He told EW, “a teacher would assign each acting student a play and a role, and you had to read the play and you had to write a monologue for the character that wasn’t from the play itself, and then perform it to try and give the rest of the class a clue as to what the play was. And I was given Betrayal. I remember sitting down on a rainy Wednesday afternoon in the library and reading it in one sitting, because it’s quite short to read, thinking, ‘This is amazing, I’d love to do this one day’. But I was 20 years old and this is about people in their late 30s, early 40s. So I thought, ‘gosh, this is a long way off’ — of course, it came around quick!”

When asked about the play itself, Hiddleston said, “I find this play fascinating. It’s about the complexity of relationships, the profound commitment to trust, about knowledge, about time. And what’s thrilling about it for [my costars] Charlie Cox and Zawe Ashton and myself is none of us leave the stage. There’s a charge between the three of us that we hope reveals something new about the play, that these three relationships — the marriage, the friendship, and the affair — are actually codependent. And when one breaks down, they all break down.”

Hiddleston went on to say that he enjoys taking on different kinds of work, evidenced by everything from his big cinematic releases to his more art-house films with Jim Jarmusch and Ben Wheatley and his stage work. In relation to what drew him to Betrayal he said, “There is something very concentrated about this piece. There are so many scenes between two people, in between couples, and the third character is present on stage all the time — obviously not in the scene, not listening, but they’re representing that they’re in the mind of those people because there’s somebody in the background being talked about, being excluded, being heard.”

The London production of Betrayal closed in June at the Harold Pinter Theatre, rounding out a fantastic season of Pinter at The Pinter. When asked about picking up the play so soon Hiddleston said, “The great thing about this play is it’s never the same twice, because the audience changes the chemistry. There is humor in the play, it wouldn’t be Harold Pinter without some dark humor, and some audiences come and they’re very keen to laugh, and other audiences are keen to listen and be quiet. That always changes things. I think over the run it started to settle in us in a deeper way, but I’m looking forward to diving back in. The bones of the production will be the same, but we’ll find new things. And that’s the great joy of doing theater, is that you keep chasing down new shades of the truth, especially with a great piece of writing. It’ll only be over when it’s over.”

Also starring another Marvel actor (Charlie Cox who plays Daredevil), Hiddleston spoke about their experience saying, “It’s been curious swapping stories about that. But yeah, I never worked with him in that space.” He went on to explain that the pair had known each other for some time. “We bounced around in Los Angeles at the same time when were young actors trying to get work, auditioning for movies that neither of us would get, and ending up going for a burger afterwards and going, ‘oh well, next one!'”

The third actor in the production is Zawe Ashton, many will remember her from Not Safe for Work and Fresh Meat. The pair read together at The Pinter Gala in London in October 2018, and Hiddleston said while he has known her a long time, this is the first production they have been able to work together.

Of course, everyone is keen to find out about Hiddleston’s return to the screen as Loki, especially after the events of Endgame. The last we saw of the God of Mischief, was in a scene where he grabbed the tesseract and hot-footed it away from The Avengers. Speaking of the new series, Hiddleston said,“Loki will start at the top of next year. He’s such a classical character. (Thor and Loki), they’re from Norse myths, they have a kind of gravitas to them. Robert in Betrayal is much more earthbound. They’re both very complex, but Robert is a publisher and a husband and a father. Loki is the god of mischief. Two quite different figures!”

The Broadway production will have previews from the 14th August with the opening night on September 5th at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The season is scheduled to end on the 8th December.

Below are some still released prior to the London performance.

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Tom Hiddleston Talks About His Broadway Debut In Betrayal After an amazing sell out run in London, Jamie Lloyd Company is bringing the production of…

#betrayal #Broadway #Harold Pinter #Tom Hiddleston

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filmtexts · 4 years

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Improv Stage As Crime Scene – Axel Ranisch Does Tatort

November 1, 2016

While “quality” and “innovation” seem to be the attributes that US and British TV producers like to define their work as, in Germany “tradition” and “ritual” (as in private, pub and public viewing every Sunday evening at 8:15) are the watchwords – and they probably explain the appeal of weekly (with seasonal hiatuses) detective show “Tatort” (crime scene).

First broadcast in 1970 and gearing up for its 1000th episode on November 13, 2016, “Tatort” takes the federalist public broadcasting system in Germany and turns it into a unique feature of the series. Each state broadcaster has one or two crime-fighting teams that solve cases grounded in the regions they’re based in. That means lots of location shooting and detectives with regional accents and (stereotypical) traits like earthy, tough but tender “Ruhrpötter” Horst Schimanski, operating in Duisburg in the Western German coal-mining Rhein-Ruhr metro area. The hard-drinking, hard-loving and quick-tempered Schimanski, a 1980s departure from the heretofore straitlaced “Tatort” cops, was no less credible as played by the late acting legend Götz George, a native and life-long Berliner. Schimanski was also the first true superstar “Tatort” detective. In the pre-Schimanski era, how many people remember who was on the case in “Reifezeugnis” (1977), which put director Wolfgang Petersen on the map? (Kommissar Finke, played by Klaus Schwarzkopf, investigated.) However, almost everybody remembers the other beneficiary of that episode’s success, then 15 year-old Nastassja Kinski, who played a precocious femme fatale. Even if “Tatort” never had the most intricate plots, it serves as a map and social barometer (issues from child abuse to xenophobia are regularly explored) of the past 45+ years of West and reunited Germany.

To its credit, “Tatort” has tried to flex its dramatic and stylistic muscles, with varying degrees of success. 2014’s Frankfurt set “In Schmerz geboren” (Born in Pain), directed by Florian Schwarz and featuring Ulrich Tukur as Detective Felix Murot and Ulrich Matthes as his best friend turned nemesis Richard Harloff, achieved stratospheric acclaim. But do the show’s makers seriously expect a medal for heavy-handed Shakespeare references and vapid Tarantino knock-offs? Then there have been interesting variations within the detectives‘ characters. Some, like Jan Josef Liefers‘ Professor Boerne, take more than a page or two from the playbook of eccentric yet loveable forensic medicine geniuses in US series from “CSI” to “Bones”, but the comically vain Boerne is great fun to watch in tandem with schlubby yet can-do sidekick Frank Thiel (Axel Prahl as perfect foil). Others like the romantically involved Lessing and Kira Dorn don’t give the otherwise talented Christian Ulmen and Nora Tschirner, who can handle both the comic roles that established their careers as well as more serious fare, much to work with. Now, “Tatort”, the epitome of genre routine, has opened itself up to the free-wheeling improvisational process of director-actor Axel Ranisch.

Ranisch has become one of Germany’s most acclaimed new talents. His body of work includes “Heavy Girls”, famously produced for 517 euros, with support from his grandmother (lovely as one the three leads) and a founding text of the “German Mumblecore” wave of low budget, character-driven films; camp coming out and of age stories (“I Feel Disco”); fairy tales with a twist (“Reuber”) and the surreal addiction psychodrama “Alky Alky”. Ranisch studied under queer cinema icon Rosa von Praunheim at the Media University Konrad Wolf in Potsdam-Babelsberg and has cultivated an improvisational technique and reperatory company (did somebody say Cassavetes or Fassbinder?) centring around Schillertheater alumnus Heiko Pinkowski and acting newcomer Peter Trabner. Pinkowski and Trabner have since become German Mumblecore posterboys, and Trabner worked as improv coach (in ten cast workshops stretched over the course of a year) on the Ranisch “Tatort” episode, intriguingly and onomatopoetically titled “Babbeldasch”.

“Babbeldasch” is Palatine dialect for “blabbermouth” and the name of a (fictitious) dialect theater (shot in the Hemshofschachtel theater) in the southwestern German city of Ludwigshafen. This Rhineland town is the turf of detectives Mario Kopper (Andreas Hoppe), Johanna Stern (Lisa Bitter) and Lena Odenthal (Ulrike Folkerts). Lena Odenthal’s first case was in 1989, as only the third ever female “Tatort” detective. Now after 17 seasons she’s the series‘ senior crimefighter. The Odenthal character, as Folkerts portrays her, has been hailed as a fresh, self-confident, resourceful and well-rounded female role model (while Folkerts was one of the first “out” German female stars). In “Babbeldasch” Folkerts, her fellow “Tatort” cast members and non-professional actors seemingly revel in Ranisch taking them out of their comfort zones: working without a script, shooting in sequence and not knowing the story’s resolution beforehand.

This episode’s mystery involves the death of Sophie Fetter (played by Hemshofschachtel director Marie-Luise Mott), the impresario and diva of “Babbeldasch”. Odenthal and her colleague Peter Becker coincidentally witness the tragic incident while in the audience. What is first diagnosed as a lethal allergic reaction to poppyseed in a chocolate croissant might actually be more sinister. Sophie certainly was involved in enough potentially perilous personal and professional intrigue: a volatile love triangle, disgruntled ensemble members, estranged daughter (Petra Mott, Marie-Luise’s real-life daughter) and a greedy landlord eager to get his hands on the property for which Sophie had a lifelong lease. Odenthal should be off duty to compensate overtime, but Sophie keeps appearing to her in dreams, admonishing her to find the killer. So the next thing we know, Odenthal is undercover, acting a part (of dramatically inclined social worker) amongst the actors. The recurring dream sequences are just one of several well-placed running gags, which also include the improvised care of Johanna Stern’s toddlers and a flu-like bug.

As a “Tatort” episode set in the world of theater and artifice would have it, there’s no shortage of meta moments and fourth-walling. Johanna Stern refers to “Murder On The Orient Express” when she says everyone had a motive and maybe everybody did it all together. Lisa Bitter as Stern then hits the ball out of the park in a hilarious montage sequence of her interrogation of the entire “Babbeldasch” ensemble, keeping her face and the stories straight while wearing an absurd white protective suit. Odenthal also seems to be ever so subtly winking to the audience on some occasions.

At a Q&A after a preview coinciding with the opening of the “1000 Tatorte” exhibition at the Film Museum in Berlin, Folkerts commented that Odenthal is enjoying her life in “Babbeldasch” more than she has been in previous films, and that she hopes that this will continue. Bitter tempered her reportedly negative remarks about the improv process by saying at first the exercises brought back awkward memories of acting school, but then she got into it. Regular “Tatort” viewers also noted Odenthal’s flash new riverside digs, which apparently will be featured in future episodes. (Odenthal’s cat, largely absent in “Babbeldasch”, will return, Folkerts assured the audience.) Most importantly, one hopes that Ranisch’s spirit will sustainably impact “Tatort”’s aesthetic growth – maybe without year-long improv workshops but with a sense of adventure and discovery that the audience can share.

„Babbeldasch“ will be broadcast in early 2017. Watch films by Axel Ranisch on realeyz. The exbition „1000 Tatorte“ is on view until January 17, 2017 at the Museum of Film and Television Berlin.

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theonyxpath · 7 years

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Hi, folks, Rose here. ^_^ I’ve got two previews for you from the Storytelling chapter of Changeling: The Lost! Plus, come see us at Gen Con!

Changeling and Gen Con

Onyx Path will be at Gen Con in booth #145. If you stop by, I’d be happy to talk Changeling, as well as show you the pre-layout manuscript for the book.

We’ll also be running a “What’s Up With White Wolf RPGs?” panel at 11 AM Friday in Pennsylvania Station C, at the Crowne Plaza hotel. We’ll be talking about Changeling there, as well as Changeling-related projects like Dark Eras and a certain crossover book.

(Note: Due to the con, I’ll likely be less available on forums and our social media. Questions about today’s preview may need to wait for next week.)

Storytelling

Changeling‘s Storytelling chapter focuses on the chronicle as a collaboration between the Storyteller and all of the players. Today, I’d like to present two sections from that chapter, written by Jacqueline Bryk.

The first section is on chronicle building, featuring a system for tying together the human and supernatural elements of your game, and a series of questions to help you build an engaging group of characters.

The second is something we haven’t done much of in previous Chronicles of Darkness books: safety techniques. I don’t think it’ll surprise anybody when I say Changeling can get pretty dark. It’s a horror game that can evoke abuse and trauma, which are very real for all too many of us.

Some groups may want to avoid those elements, and some groups may want to dive as deep into them as possible. In my experience, most groups are somewhere in between: they want to explore the dark parts of the game, but don’t want to hurt the players behind the characters.

To that end, we present some discussion of the issues involved in running a Changeling game, as well as an overview of safety techniques that you can use at your table to make play an involving, but not harmful, experience.

In addition to these previews, the Storytelling chapter also covers how to build kiths, courts, Contracts, and Mantles.

Enjoy!

Building Your Chronicle

A chronicle is the tale told by the Storyteller and the players, spun out in threads of gossamer and tears. It’s the story of the player characters, their triumphs and failures, their escape from the Fae and their attempts to start a new life in a world that no longer recognizes them. While the Storyteller controls the world around the characters, it is their story. Players need to have input into designing the plots and problems their characters face throughout the chronicle. If the players all built social butterflies and the Storyteller’s chronicle is a combat-heavy slugfest, no one is going to have fun.

To build a chronicle, you first need to consider your props and themes. Once you’re finished with this part, you can move onto the Hedge Paths.

Themes

Themes are the human dramas that make your chronicle compelling. The overarching themes of Changeling: The Lost are beauty/agony, clarity/madness, and lost/found. In the tension between the opposites, one finds the game. Naturally, these aren’t going to be the only things you’ll explore — the Lost have to deal with very mundane issues in addition to being in the liminal space between humanity and Fae. Themes like “lost love,” “poverty,” and “hunger” could all work in a Changeling chronicle. Each might mean a very different thing to each character. “Loyalty,” for example, could mean protecting one’s freehold, sheltering one’s family even when they no longer claim them as kin, or hiding one’s undying fealty to one’s undying master in Arcadia.

Props

Props are the more fae parts of your chronicle, the magical weirdness that surrounds and permeates the lives of the Lost. Set pieces, scenes, and objects all fall under the heading of props. Anything from the Goblin <arkets to a specific token to a blue rose that only grows in the wall of a specific frozen Arcadian garden can be a prop.

Props can also be more mundane objects that show up throughout the chronicle. A player might choose to have her Bright One character associated with torches, for example, so any scene that revolves around her includes candles or flashlights or other small sources of bright light. Grand Princess Caesura, a lady of the Gentry who appears as a feminine form made of the absence of matter, is associated with open doors and missing keys.

Props don’t just have to be objects, either. Anything that will strongly influence the story can be a prop. A family curse, a bargain ill-made, a portal torn open, or a monarch corrupted by their own power can all be used as props. Really let your imagination run wild here — that’s what Changeling is all about, after all.

Using Props and Themes

When brainstorming your props and themes, note each one on a sticky note or a notecard. By the time you’re finished, you should have roughly one theme and one prop per player character. If there are more, that’s fine, those can be set aside as part of the secondary themes and props for the chronicle.

Lay the themes in a row on a table, then lay the props in a column perpendicular to the themes. For the intersection of each theme and prop, the players should choose a character. Ideally, this is a player character — an Ogre Gristlegrinder bouncer at the intersection of “hunger” and “the goblin market,” for example, or the Bright One above at the intersection of “torches” and “descent.” As a storyteller, this lets you know what sort of character-specific experience your players are looking for.

Free spaces are reserved for Storyteller characters. The intersection of “hunger” and “torches” might be a Huntsman coming after the player characters. Players and the Storyteller should work together to create compelling Storyteller characters that can come into the characters’ lives with some degree of commonality already established so that they better suit the overall aesthetic and feel of the chronicle.

Hedge Paths

A changeling doesn’t come into being in a vacuum. She has family, friends, a life she was pulled from, and a life she’s building. It’s important that both the Storyteller and the players know what’s going on with the troupe’s characters before the chronicle begins — otherwise they’re as lost as an escapee in the Hedge. Following the stages below will help you build well-rounded characters and connect them to the game.

The Life Before

All changelings were human before they were taken by their Keepers. Fae politics pale in comparison to the networks of family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, petty rivalries, romances, and other connections mortal humans have on Earth. Rare is the Lost who was taken without any sort of link to other people — otherwise, why would the Fae need to make fetches?

Decide who the changeling was before they were spirited away by UFOs or invisible horses. Ideally, this should include their occupation, their home life, and any important people they may be in a relationship of any kind with. It can also include the age they were taken, any identifying marks (tattoos, moles, scars, etc.) and anything else especially relevant to their mortal life.

Example: Ben decides that his changeling character was an ESL teacher in her mortal life. He names her Jocelyn and gives her a husband but no children, a house that they rent together, a book club that meets on Sundays, and a best friend who recently moved two cities away. She has just graduated with her Master’s degree and she is a friendly, if private, person. Ben decides to put Jocelyn’s husband, David, at the intersection of a prop and a theme, “ancient books” and “unconditional love.”

Sarah decides that her character was a college student by the name of Nate. He grew up in a loving, middle-class nuclear family that hunted and cooked together and encouraged his dreams pretty regularly. Nate does not have a significant other and does not particularly want one right now. He lives in the university dorms, has a close group of friends, and enjoys target shooting and knitting equally. Sarah writes down “favorite rifle” as a prop and “growing up too fast” as a theme. She places his soon-to-be court monarch, Mens Machinae, at the intersection of these elements.

Meg decides that her character, Holly Blue, was raised in a hippie commune out in the Pacific Northwest. Her upbringing very much followed the old adage “it takes a village to raise a child” and she remembers her childhood as a time of love and warmth. Holly Blue was homeschooled until she went to college. She took a year off after her junior year to try and find out what she really wanted out of life, and went on a road trip across the U.S. with some friends. Meg writes a prop, “the old car that should have stopped working” and decides to place Holly Blue’s best friend, Nevaeh, at the intersection of that prop and the theme “unconditional love.”

Emily’s character is named Hel, and is the youngest member of a large family. She lived with her divorced mother and only really saw her father on holidays. Emotional honesty was not really prized in her household, so her upbringing was comfortable, if a bit chilly. Hel got her Master’s in Computer Science and worked as a programmer at NASA. She had several partners, but was going through a divorce of her own due to finding the same coldness in her husband as she did in her mother.

Questions to Ask: What is your name? How old are you?

Did you grow up in a nuclear family? Are your parents still together? Divorced? Never married? Single-parent household?

Were you wealthy? Middle class? Poor?

What’s your gender? Does it match your presentation? Are you okay with that? What’s your sexual orientation? Who knows? Did you have a partner — or several?

Did you graduate university? Do you have more than one degree?

What was your occupation? Where were you living? Were you owning, renting, couch surfing, or squatting? Did you have a pet? More than one?

Did you have any identifying marks, like tattoos or scarification? What were your hobbies and pastimes? Who would notice if you were gone or acting strangely?

Promises: What was the biggest promise you made before you were taken?

Sidebar: A Note on Backstory

It is expected that the Storyteller will use her players’ backstories to enrich the play experience. While they should feel free to do so, players should also communicate with the Storyteller on things they would like left untouched — and, by the same token, things they would like messed with. Storyteller torture of characters via backstory should always be consensual. This is a game, after all.

The Capture

Something had to get that changeling into the Hedge into the first place. Something had to take her to Arcadia. Something had to lock her into shackles of bronze and roses, forcing her to do its bidding. Use this section to figure out how the changeling was stolen or seduced away. You may also use it to get a preliminary outline of her Keeper.

Example: Jocelyn is levelheaded and skeptical of offers that seem too good to be true (she might not have gotten through her Master’s program otherwise), so Ben decides she didn’t make a Faustian bargain. It’s unlikely that she was seduced, so he decides that she was kidnapped and dragged through a mirror while in the bathroom at a Halloween party. He places her Keeper at the intersection of a prop and a theme, “unexpected portals” and “not who they seem.”

Sarah decides that Nate was on a hunt with his family when he got separated in pursuit of a buck. At least, he thought it was a buck. He saw a flawless rack of horns flash through the dusk in the trees and followed it. The woods got thicker and gloomier, but that’s ok, he’s used to having to wait in thickets to get at his game. Nate lost sight of the buck and turned around to go home — only to find the buck and the buck’s master waiting for him. Sarah decides to place the buck that lured him in at the intersection of the prop “the hunters hunted” and “not who they seem”.

Meg likes the idea of Holly Blue being abducted on her road trip. As she and Nevaeh drive along I-80, they see an old woman at her fruit and honey store — really, little more than a shack. They decide to stop to purchase some food. Holly Blue strikes up a conversation with the proprietor, who offers to show her some of her fresher offerings. Holly Blue follows her around the back, only to find herself in the thorns. The woman is a privateer, and she’s taking her newest acquisition to Grandmother, Grandmother (see p. XX) to adopt.

Emily comes into the chronicle a bit later than everyone else, and so her character’s abduction has to be a little different than everyone else’s. She decides that, befitting a programmer at NASA, Hel is abducted by the Three Androgynes (see pg. XX). It’s somewhat unceremonious — one moment she’s walking home from work, and the next, she’s suspended in midair in a sterile room, her limbs and mouth bound by thorns.

Questions to Ask: Were you physically dragged off? Were you deceived?

Did you offend a True Fae somehow?

Did you misstep into the Hedge?

Where were you when you were taken? What do you remember of the journey?

Promises: What promise was made to you while you were en route?

In Durance Vile

The durance is the period of a changeling’s life that shapes their biggest challenges. In a twist of cruel irony, some changelings barely remember it except in nightmares, while others are always on the verge of a flashback or panic attack, seeing their Keeper and her knives around every corner. Most are somewhere in between. Trauma is a funny thing, and for many Lost, it remains safely locked in the back of their minds, slipping out at moments of tension or vulnerability. The durance determines the kith and seeming of the changeling, and may affect what court they choose to join later.

Don’t hold back in this section (at least within limits set by the group, see “Safe Hearth, Safe Table” on p. XX). True Fae are not known for mercy or obeying the laws of physics. How might a True Fae have caused you to turn into a Mirrorskin or a Helldiver? What fell pacts were made with the realm you were imprisoned in that you could survive it? Were you the only one in your motley there?

Storytellers should feel free to do some light narration of this section before game, if their players are so inclined. See the sidebar “Narrating a Durance” for some guidelines on how to do so effectively.

Example: Jocelyn is taken to a realm of mind-numbing bureaucracy and byzantine laws. She is held in a small cell, a room that looks like an unfurnished apartment with the drywall torn out and the wires exposed, until her Keeper sends someone for her. She is taken before the True Fae, a being made entirely of paperwork and red tape. Its face is a white porcelain mask made to look like a baby’s head. Ben has already decided that Jocelyn will be a Fairest Notary, so he states that after being forced to swear fealty (in triplicate!), she is taken downstairs and has the pledge tattooed on her back by another changeling. Her Keeper, the Munificent Bureaucrat, and another True Fae watch. She is leashed and kept at her Keeper’s side to reference at will.

Sarah decides that her Ogre Artist character, Nate, was the one to tattoo Jocelyn’s back at their Keeper’s behest. Nate was taken a year before Jocelyn, and has been forced into his role as artisan of all trades. Not an artist before his durance, Nate was quick to pick up skills in order to avoid harsh punishments with chisels and pigment. He has been forced to reshape other changelings into different forms and configurations, and already he’s growing slowly deaf to their cries, for his own sanity.

Holly Blue, meanwhile, is chosen as Grandmother, Grandmother’s hardworking middle child who doesn’t get enough attention. This is not her normal state of being. She is used to love and affection from all of those around her, and is now constantly ignored and occasionally violently punished for the mischief of other changelings. She finds herself occasionally changing her voice or facial expression and sometimes outright lying to avoid Grandmother, Grandmother’s teeth and claws. Soon, she’s doing it all the time. She uses the voice and face that will keep her most safe, and in this way, Holly Blue becomes a Fairest Mirrorskin.

Hel doesn’t get much of a choice in her durance. She is kept in a zoo of changelings, occasionally taken out and vivisected and put back together again. Sometimes, she’s shown off, paraded in front of the Three Androgynes’ guests like a prized pet. She is not, however, petted and coddled like some of the others, and is subjected to an increasing parade of indignities. Her cell is immersed in the light of strange stars, and in her anger and humiliation, she begins to absorb the light as a source of comfort, becoming an Elemental Bright One.

Questions to Ask: Who is your Keeper? What is their title, or titles? How did they treat you?

What was the lightest part of your durance? The worst? The very worst? Were other members of your motley there, or was it just you?

What was the environment like? Were you mostly inside or outside? Was it hot, cold, or temperate?

What was the last straw?

Promises: What did you have to promise your Keeper to avoid punishment?

Sidebar: Narrating a Durance

If the players choose to play out their durance instead of merely having it as part of their backstory, the Storyteller should carefully consider how to carry it out. The durance is characterized by loss of autonomy, both bodily and spiritual. While the character loses their autonomy, the player should never lose hers. A durance is not an excuse for a Storyteller to torture her players outside of the boundaries of the game in the name of story. The player must always have a say in what happens in her durance. If possible, durances should be narrated in private (this can be done in text form, if that’s easier). Nothing makes a player feel more vulnerable and disrespected than playing out an intense scene, only for another player to interrupt with a joke or an off-color comment about what’s going on.

Decide between the Storyteller and the player what the character’s durance should focus on. A Bright One’s durance is probably not going to involve toiling in the mines, but she might light the way for Helldivers and Gristlegrinders instead. An Ogre is less likely than a Fairest or Darkling to be the lover of the Princess of the Red Crowns, but he might hold her lovers still while she whispers to them and lines up the hats to nail onto their heads.

The Storyteller should take careful note of what the player wants. The durance can be extremely disturbing and upsetting, and it’s important that the player is only disturbed or upset in the ways she wants to be. At any point, the Storyteller or player should be allowed to tap out or fade to black if the scene become too much for them. There’s no rush to tell the story of the durance. Suffering has no deadline.

The Escape

Some part of the enslaved changeling felt the call back to Earth. Perhaps it was the memory of their spouse’s laughter or the warmth in their chest when they held their child for the first time. It might even be a petty vendetta against a coworker left unsettled. Not all human memories are noble or loving, and that’s not the point. Memories of the mortal world are the changeling’s key out of Faerie, so if they have no memories of the world as it is now, they may not be able to make it back.

What was strong enough to bring the character back? This is the paramount question for this section. Even if none of the other questions are answered, the player should know the answer to this one. It’s a good indication of the changeling’s priorities later in the chronicle.

Example: Jocelyn’s memories of her husband and her studies see her through her durance. While reading some of the Munificent Bureaucrat’s paperwork, she finds a loophole inside of a subclause that would allow her to escape. Armed with this knowledge, she unlocks the collar around her neck and sets herself free.

Meanwhile, Nate the Artist is drawn back by thoughts of his friends and his hunts with his family. He creates a perfect likeness of himself, a statue that smiles, and flees. Nate and Jocelyn meet up in the massive air ducts of the domain, quite by accident, and agree to leave together. They both tear through the thorns of the Hedge, seeking a door to lead them home.

Holly Blue has been forced to sacrifice her emotional honesty and her happiness to survive. She is whatever Grandmother, Grandmother wants her to be, and she has not been cut in months. However, she has not forgotten Nevaeh, her best friend and latent crush. When her Keeper leaves to seal a pledge with another Kindly One, she flees through the forest she was told never to enter. The thorns open for her, and she finds herself back in the Hedge, seeking a way back to the fruit stand where she lost herself.

Finally, Hel has been subjected to one indignity too many. As the Three Androgynes bring her back to the operating theater for another procedure, she breaks free, blinding all three of them with the light of her rage. She flees down the infinite halls of their ship, and finds an escape shuttle docked in one of the many cargo bays. Her programming skills are barely a match for the byzantine controls of the shuttle, but she manages to hotwire it and flies out of the Androgynes’ massive ship. Just as she begins to despair of finding her way back to Earth, she crash-lands in the thorns, the nose of the shuttle poking out into the Air and Space Museum in D.C.

Questions to Ask: What was strong enough to bring you back?

Did you sneak out? Fight your way out? Make a bet with your Keeper? Did you not want to leave? Were you thrown out instead?

Did anyone else come with you? Did you have to leave anyone else behind?

What do you remember of your journey back? What were you searching for on your way through the thorns?

Promises: Who knew you got out? Who came with you, and who stayed behind and promised to cover your escape?

Home, But Briefly

The great tragedy of a changeling’s life is that she is forever displaced from what it used to be. Fetches take their place and families move on. Any encounter with former friends and loved ones will result in confusion — and that’s just the best-case scenario. Lost may show up thousands of miles away from their home, drawn by a memory of a favorite vacation or a proposal on a beach, or they may emerge gasping from the thorns 20 years after they were abducted — though only an hour passed in Faerie. For a newly freed slave of the Fae, this is a punch in the gut. Where will they belong? Will they ever belong?

Example: Jocelyn and Nate arrive on Earth, pulled by their shared memories of the university they attended. Jocelyn has been in Faerie for what seems like a decade — but only a week has passed on Earth. Nate has been in the clutches of the Munificent Bureaucrat for much longer, and doesn’t recognize the new buildings on campus.

They go to find Jocelyn’s husband, only to find out that he has never missed her — she’s taking a shower right now. Jocelyn desperately tries to appeal to her husband, who threatens to call the police. Nate’s family found him dead, accidentally shot by another hunter’s bullet. They’ve already mourned and buried him, and when he shows up, they accuse him of being an imposter and making fun of them. Neither family will take them in. Defeated, Jocelyn and Nate retreat to a nearby diner to grieve and figure out what’s next.

Holly Blue arrives on Earth, only to find that her friend left the stall and its nighttime in the dead of winter. Using the skills she’s learned in Faerie, she steals the visage of the privateer who stole her away, and with it, her car and wallet. Meg decides to put the privateer under “the old car that should have stopped working” and “this is mine now.” Holly Blue decides to drive out east, in the direction her friend went, hoping to discover a police report about her disappearance. However, she soon discovers that Nevaeh is not only back home, she is dating a creature with Holly Blue’s face, who had the courage to say to Nevaeh what Holly Blue herself did not. They’re getting handfasted this spring. Holly Blue finds herself alone in a university town out east, sobbing alone at a computer in a public library, unsure of what to do next.

Hel attempts to get back into the NASA headquarters at Two Independence Square, but she’s already working there. Or at least, someone wearing her face has just been fired from her job there. Hel’s clearance is deactivated and she finds herself stranded. Her partners all believe she’s gotten back with her husband and refuse to accept this new impostor, doing everything from slamming the door in her face to threatening restraining orders. She buys the ticket for the first bus she sees, determined not to panic.

Questions to Ask: Who do you seek first?

Are they still alive? Do they remember you?

Do you have a fetch? Where are they? How have they replaced you, or changed your life in a way you didn’t want?

How has your fetch lived your life in your absence? Do they know you’re there?

Promises: What promise did your fetch break to someone you love?

Freeholds and Courts

Unless the game starts with the capture and durance of the player characters, much of any given Changeling: The Lost chronicle will take place in and around the local freehold or freeholds. If any of the props and themes from earlier have gone unused, use them here. The courts of the local freehold are a key part of the story, and need to be fleshed out. The easiest way to do this is to set up the four Seasonal Courts, but see later in this chapter for guidance on building your own.

Unless a player character is beginning the game at the head of a court, creating the four seasonal kings, queens, or monarchs is a good first step. It’s easy enough to put an Ogre Bright One in charge of Summer, and definitely a good choice. However, what would it mean for a small, vulpine Darkling Hunterheart or a Wizened Artist to hold the same position? The monarchs say a lot about the local courts — and, by extension, the tone and symbolism of the chronicle itself. A Spring Court led by a Fairest Playmate is going to have a very different outlook and aesthetic than another freehold with an Elemental Snowskin Spring King.

Once the Monarchs are decided, the players can pick which courts they might have reasonably been convinced to join.

Example: Ben and Sarah decide to divide the courts between them. Ben takes Winter and Summer, and Sarah takes Autumn and Spring.

Ben decides that the Monarch of Winter is a gender-neutral Darkling Artist who goes by Mens Machinae and makes robots and animatronics — and clever constructs to fool the Fae. The Queen of Summer is a Wizened Chatelaine named Small Queen Jane. He decides that she got her position for her ability to command groups and plan tactical engagements, and not necessarily for her own personal puissance.

Sarah, meanwhile, decides that the head of Spring is an Ogre Helldiver who goes by ghost (the G is never capitalized). ghost prefers no titles or accolades; they merely serve and stay silent until needed. The King of Autumn is a jovial Elemental Hunterheart who has an extremely even temper until his people are threatened — and then he turns into a terrifying force of nature, using illusions and threats and dreams to keep the freehold safe.

After looking at their monarchs, Ben decides that Jocelyn became a member of the Winter Court. Sarah instead decides that Nate is courtless, but sympathizes with Autumn.

Meg joined the chronicle a little later, so she doesn’t assist in creating the courts. However, she decides that Holly Blue has joined the Spring Court, in search of a balm for her broken heart. She was personally recruited by a ghost after they found her sleeping in a tent at a local cemetery. That’s where she meets Jocelyn and Nate.

Emily also joined the chronicle late, so she has no hand in creating the courts. Hel decides to join the Summer Court after they put her in protective custody for blinding a local bartender after he hit on her. The Season of Wrath best suits her slow-burning anger after being constantly disregarded, humiliated, and torn apart at other’s whims.

Questions to Ask: Who is the head of your Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter Court? Why do they have that position?

Are there any other prominent figures in that court?

Why did you choose to join that court?

Where is the freehold located? What is it called?

Promises: What oath of fealty did you swear to your court, and how is it similar to the one you were forced to swear to your Keeper?

A Motley Crew

The motley is the core unit of changeling society, a chosen family that reaches beyond boundaries of seeming, kith, and court. Player characters are usually in a motley together and their connection should be one of the major focuses of the chronicle. Ideally, members of a motley are willing to face death for each other — but it could just as easily be a group of drinking buddies who fear being alone.

Example: Jocelyn and Nate have been through a lot together. From killing Jocelyn’s fetch with a car to showcasing Nate’s latest project at a meeting of two freeholds, they’ve supported each other through thick and thin. After they picked up Holly Blue and Hel, who are more recent escapees from the same realm, they form a motley of four. The freehold calls on them when they need delicate legal matters handled, or an important guest impressed. Unsaid, but also just as true: They are the first line of defense when they True Fae come a-knocking.

Questions to Ask: What drew you to each other?

Who is the leader, if anyone? Are any of you likely to betray the others?

Does your motley have a name? What is your common goal?

How do others in the freehold view your group? How do you view your group?

Promises: What pledge did you all make each other? How was it different from the one you were forced to swear to your Keeper? What was the pledge sworn on?

Sample Chronicle: The Blue Hen Motley

Jocelyn, Nate, Holly Blue, and Hel are all from very different backgrounds, but they all wound up in the same place. They decide to retrace Holly Blue’s road trip back to the Pacific Northwest in order to stop her fetch’s wedding to her unrequited love, Nevaeh. Along the way, they decide to stop to take out Hel’s fetch — except Hel decides to make a pledge with her fetch to not interfere in each other’s lives. Jocelyn oversees the pledge. This frees up Hel to continue on the journey. Nate and Jocelyn take out the privateer on I-80 while Holly Blue watches and smiles her inscrutable smile. Hel’s pledge gives the motley enough points of Glamour to speed up the trip, but their Keepers are all looking for their escaped slaves. The Blue Hen Motley now has to deal with Huntsmen while trying to make it in time for Holly Blue to confess her love…

Other Bonds

Many promises and connections could fit into any of the stages listed above, but aren’t tied to a specific one. Since they’re useful for fleshing out a player character, some examples of other, more general ties are listed below.

What is your single biggest regret?

When did you find true love and why was the form it took unexpected?

Who did you leave behind?

Who do you hate even more than your Keeper?

Why does one person in particular fascinate you?

Who do you dream about, then wake up shaking and sweating?

Safe Hearth, Safe Table

While it’s fun to play make believe with friends, Changeling: The Lost is, at its heart, a horror game. True, it is also funny and beautiful and wondrous — but that typically comes after being held against your will in a world of dreams and nightmares for months, years, or decades. Changelings may have their bodies altered and their minds played with. Personal autonomy is repeatedly violated by godlike entities to whom one cannot simply say “no.” The only way to make it stop is to escape and even then, that’s not a guarantee. The Gentry might find you eventually, or they might send someone to do it for them.

This can be extremely unsettling for players. While consensual fear is part of the game, the goal is not to traumatize the players outside of the play space. Rather, everyone should strive for a game that provides an engaging, terrifying, and beautiful story that gives everyone involved the sort of pleasant chills a really good horror movie leaves the audience with after the credits roll. Even if a character feels trapped and hopeless, the player should never feel the same way at the table. This is a game, after all.

What follows are some safety techniques to help both Storytellers and players maximize enjoyment without taking away any of the horror at the heart of Changeling: The Lost. Feel free to use none, some, or all of them.

Emotional Bleed

Many of the safety techniques talk about something being too uncomfortable or too intense “in a bad way.” This is for clarity of communication. Some players like being made uncomfortable or put into extremely emotionally intense situations. Such players may play horror games to cry or feel trapped as a sort of catharsis, a way to experience traumatic emotions in a low-consequence environment.

This is called emotional bleed, or just bleed for short. When a character experiences emotions the player is experiencing, that’s called bleed-in. Contrastingly, when a player experiences the emotions her character is feeling, that’s called bleed-out. Bleed itself is not bad, but it can sometimes be unpleasant for a player who wasn’t expecting it or didn’t want it. If a player is getting unreasonably frustrated or upset at a challenging circumstance, this could be a sign of bleed. Stop play and give everyone a breather before continuing if bleed begins to cause problems at your table. Bleed can absolutely enhance the play experience and add another dimension of emotional resonance, but only if everyone is on board. Check ins, occasional snack breaks, and use of the safety techniques in this chapter are extremely helpful if the table is experiencing high amounts of bleed.

Lines and Veils

A classic safety technique originally described by Ron Edwards, Lines and Veils allows players to pick and choose what they want to address in the chronicle. Before game, the Storyteller should prepare two sheets of paper. Label one “Lines” and the other “Veils.” Lines are things that will absolutely not be touched on in the chronicle, not even mentioned in passing. Veils are things that can happen, but will not be played out, and instead addressed with a “fade to black.” The Storyteller asks players what they’d like added to the lists, and notes that the lists can be edited at any time. Veils can be moved to Lines, Lines can be moved to Veils, new Veils or Lines can be added, or Veils or Lines can be taken away (with the consensus of the other players). Veils and Lines cannot be used to cut out antagonists (i.e. “I don’t want the True Fae to be a part of this chronicle at all, not even mentioned in passing”) but can be used to restrict antagonists’ actions that might be uncomfortable for some players (i.e. “I do not want the True Fae in this chronicle to use sexual violence”).

Common Lines: Sexual violence, explicit depiction of torture, force feeding, starvation, mutilation, racial slurs, gender-specific slurs, spiders, trypophobia-inducing imagery, needles, bestiality, explicit depiction of bodily functions

Common Veils: Explicit depiction of consensual sexual activity, torture, emotional abuse, physical abuse, body horror, human experimentation, dream or nightmare sequences, childhood memories, prophetic visions

Fade to Black

In a movie, when the hero is just about to get into bed with her love interest or be “forcibly interrogated,” sometimes the camera cuts away right before the action — occasionally with a moan or a scream included as appropriate. This technique is called “fade to black,” and can be used in your chronicle as appropriate. If you don’t want to narrate every caress of a love scene or the weirdness of a changeling’s personal nightmare or the agony of Faerie torments, simply fade to black and focus on another scene. A player can also request a fade to black if they are uncomfortable with what is happening at the table.

The Stoplight System

This is a relatively recent technique and was pioneered by the group Games to Gather. The Storyteller lays out three different colored circles on the table: red, yellow, and green. Each color indicates a response to different levels of intensity. Green means “yes, I am okay with and encourage the scene getting more intense.” Yellow means “the scene is fine at the intensity level it is now, and I would like it to stay here if possible.” Red means “the scene is too intense for me in a bad way and I need it to decrease or I need to tap out.” Players can tap the colored circles as appropriate to indicate to the Storyteller what they want or need at that moment.

The Storyteller can also use the stoplight system to ask the players if they’d like intensity increased or decreased as necessary without breaking the narrative flow. To do so, the Storyteller can repeatedly tap a color — green for “more intense,” yellow for “keep it here,” and red for “do you need me to stop?” The players can then touch a color in response. Players can also respond by saying the color in question out loud.

The X Card

An up-and-coming technique, especially in storytelling-game circles, the X card was designed by John Stavropolous. The X card is fairly self-explanatory. A card or sheet of paper with an “X” drawn on it is placed in the middle of the table. At any point, a player or the Storyteller may touch the X card to call a halt to any action currently making them uncomfortable in a bad way. If they would like to explain themselves, they may, but it is absolutely not necessary and the Storyteller should continue play once everyone is settled back in.

The Door Is Always Open

This is another technique that needs very little explanation. If a player needs to stop play for any reason, they are free to do so after giving the Storyteller a heads up. The chapter (game session) is then on pause until that player either returns or leaves the premises. Storytellers should use this technique either in conjunction with other techniques, or during sessions where players may have to leave abruptly for personal reasons.

Debriefing

Debriefing is a post-game safety technique, and can be used along with any and all of the suggestions above. After the chapter is finished, the Storyteller asks the players to put away their character sheets and take some deep breaths. Soft music or snacks can also be used to assist in debriefing. Slipping into character is easy — slipping out can be a little less so. Debriefing is all about bringing the players back to the real world, back through the thorny maze of the chronicle they created with the Storyteller.

Use this time to talk about the game in a context other than first person. Players tend to refer to their characters as “I.” The Storyteller should encourage them to use the character’s names instead, and use first person only for things that they felt as players, not as characters. What did they think was the highlight of this session? What was their favorite interaction they had with another player’s character? An NPC? Is there anything the players think the Storyteller could be doing better? Are the safety techniques and chronicle-building techniques working out for everyone at the table? Should anything be changed to make the game more fun and engaging for everyone involved? These are all questions that can be asked during debriefing, though they’re not necessary. If there are other, more important topics that need to be covered, feel free to use debriefing time to cover those as well.

Debriefing does not need to last for a set amount of time. However, after a particularly intense session, it’s probably a good idea to have a longer debriefing period than normal. Changelings are forever changed by their experience with the True Fae. The players should not incur the same amount of trauma just from sitting at a gaming table. Tabletop gaming is a low-consequence environment to explore many different emotions and coping strategies in new and strange environments. To keep this space low consequence, it’s important to make sure that all players (including the Storyteller) are emotionally supported and cared for after particularly upsetting or bleed-heavy chapters.

#Onyx Path Publishing #White Wolf Entertainment #Changeling: The Lost #Changeling The Lost #Chronicles of Darkness

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marshmallowgoop · 7 years

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TRIGGER MAGAZINE: Kill la Kill Issues

Back when Kill la Kill was first airing, Studio Trigger sent out a weekly newsletter containing a production report from Higuchi, the script writer’s literary assistant, as well as commentary from Tatsuru/Tattun, Trigger’s PR specialist. Each newsletter also contained key frames and layouts from the show.

There was a newsletter devoted to each of the first 24 episodes of Kill la Kill, as well as one issue discussing the premiere. Compiled below is a list of these issues (Issues #000 - 025), complete with information about which episode the issue describes, production report highlights, and which key frames or layout drawings were included. All links to the magazine are courtesy of @triggermagazine.

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, you can do so by setting up an account at Trigger’s online shop here.

Please note: As these newsletters describe Kill la Kill, there is a tremendous amount of nudity and fanservice included. Please also be warned that there are depictions of sexual violence and harassment as well.

(All images in the magazine can be found here.)

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 000, October 2, 2013

Prior to episode 1

Production report highlights: “I bet all of you are familiar, but “KILL la KILL” is produced by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Kazuki Nakashima, the duo from “Gurren Lagann.” With the staffs being close with each other, each and every staff meeting was filled with jokes and laughter. Each and every staff was really having fun! Despite the staffs horsing around at time, their boldness to create what they truly enjoy, and not catering to the popular trend is something I admire. “KILL la KILL” definitely reflects on the creators passion, and it just might be the punch Japan needs in this laid back times.”

Included key frames/layout: Ryuko holding the Scissor Blade when she first meets Satsuki

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 001, October 8, 2013

Episode 1

Production report highlights: “KILL la KILL is a very distinct series, and I think we can agree that the talking sailor uniform got everyone’s attention. To those who are familiar with very old anime series and I mean “really” old series might have caught on to the similarities with Dokonjo Gaeru [Gutsy Frog]. Yes, KILL la KILL is influenced heavily by anime from the Showa period. Other series such as Sakigake!! Otokojuku [Charge!! Men’s Private School], Harisu no Kaze [Harris’s Whirlwind], and other major titles from the Showa period was brought to topic numerous time in the production meeting as well. However, just because the resource is from the Showa period, it does not mean that it will just be a reproduction. With modern techniques and talent worked in, it creates a whole new style of animation. So please stay tuned with KILL la KILL! You won’t be disappointed!”

Included key frames/layout: Senketsu and Ryuko’s first meeting, Ryuko/Senketsu vs. Fukuroda

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 003, October 16, 2013

Episode 2

Production report highlights: “Whenever I watch KILL la KILL, it reminds me of this specific act from Mr. Nakashima’s theatrical play Hana no Kurenai Tengu [Renaissance of the Scarlet Phantom]. This act also happens to be Mr. Imaishi’s favorite, and the title is “I will take the path I trust. Vigorously, even if there are no roads.” I feel that this phrase is the intersection between Mr. Imaishi and Mr. Nakashima. Just as their creators are, every character in KILL la KILL share the same unfaltering courage to stay bold with their beliefs. The story is full with passion but so is the character!”

Included key frames/layout: Satsuki and Bakuzan, Ryuko collapsed from blood loss, Aikuro stripping, Aikuro taking Ryuko’s blood

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 004, October 22, 2013

Episode 3

Production report highlights: “Some of you may already know, but KILL la KILL was originally planned to become the typical monster/villain of the week style of anime. The first time I attended the staff meeting was a year and a half before the airing of KILL la KILL started. And, that just happened to be the time when the staff decided to throw that style of composition out. With the static format gone, the weekly meeting became even more hectic, and it was almost impossible to keep up with the conversation if I were to take even one week off.”

Included key frames/layout: Baby Satsuki, Satsuki in Junketsu, Ryuko/Senketsu vs. Satsuki/Junketsu, Mako in pajamas, Ryuko and Senketsu trying to work together

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 005, October 29, 2013

Episode 4

Production report highlights: “It may be a surprise but all of the KILL la KILL episode titles come from popular Showa Japanese songs! Mr. Nakashima carefully picked out the most fitting song title for each episode, taking in the artist and the lyrics itself into account. The main staff would gather early to a meeting and listen to these songs to further discuss about the episode the individual songs were bound to. Believe it or not, these song titles were taken into account from a very early stage of production. To those who are familiar, the song title will feel nostalgic. To those who aren’t, the title should definitely leave a strong impression.”

Included key frames/layout: Guts and Senketsu, Mankanshoku boys leering at Ryuko, Maiko kicking Guts, Ryuko panty shot, Ryuko embarrassed by pajamas

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 006, November 6, 2013

Episode 5

Production report highlights: “How did everyone enjoy the 5th episode? Pretty hardboiled compared to the previous episode, right? A lot of people probably noticed the difference in the script. To reveal the secret, the scripts for episode four and five is actually not done by Mr. Nakashima. Episode four is done by the creative officer Hiromi Wakabayashi, and episode five is done by Hiroshi Seko! It’s quite the surprise how the script can affect the tone of the work so much! Each and every staff has their own taste, for example Mr. Wakabayashi always manages to come up with the most playful ideas and Mr. Seko favors a hardboiled stories. To top it all off, Mr. Nakashima somehow manages to get more pumped up in the script meeting than the actual characters in KILL la KILL! It’s really interesting to see how their taste reflects so much to the different episodes. Although all of the scripts will be done by Mr. Nakashima from episode 6, it may be interesting to re-watch the previous episodes with the individual script writers in mind.”

“One of the bigger surprise to us is the unexpected support we are receiving from oversea. KILL la KILL has little sprinkles of taste from the showa period, and we were worried if it would even appeal to the audience here in Japan at first. Regardless of the reason, it really feels nice to know that we have a supporting fan base even oversea.”

Included key frames/layout: Tsumugu smoking, Mako speech (“Up until now, the only friends I had were in my head!”), Nonon conducting, two more Mako speech frames

This issue also includes a fanart piece done by @belindraw!

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 007, November 11, 2013

Episode 6

Production report highlights: “…this episode was our first chance to get in touch with the Elite Four’s past. Not only does this episode function as a turning point for Sanageyama, it is also a vital episode for the other Elites Four as well. According to Mr. Nakashima, the scene where Sanageyama encounters Satsuki and the other three at North Kanto wasteland was the key factor to determine the individual characters personality. I guess if you observe carefully, you can get an idea of who met Satsuki first, and what kind of relation they have. It’s amazing how a single short scene is sufficient enough to provide the characters with their depths!”

Included key frames/layout:/layout Uzu’s Blade Regalia, Uzu’s defeat, Mataro, Mataro’s photos of Ryuko, Ryuko/Senketsu (during their fight against Uzu), Ragyo’s first appearance

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 008, November 19, 2013

Episode 7

Production report highlights: “Every week Mr. Toshihiko [Senketsu] wraps up the recording session with his narration for the preview. Mr. Toshihiko is precise to the second with his script and does not fail to impress Mr. Imaishi and Mr. Nakashima. A round of applause from the director’s booth is not a rare sight when it comes to KILL la KILL’s recording session. Did I mention that the preview covers more than just an advance showing of the next episode? The extended 30 second preview (available to view online) contains exclusive information from time to time as well!”

Included key frames/layout: Satsuki, Satsuki (during one of her “pigs in human clothing” speeches), Mankanshokus and Ryuko hug, Mako in her Goku uniform, the golden bust statue of Barazo, Mako in Fight Club

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 009, November 26, 2013

Episode 8

Production report highlights: “The idea of Naturals Election originated in one of the scenario meetings when Mr. Nakashima decided to throw out the original idea of 党首頂上決戦 and decided to play with words and went with 塔首頂上決戦. (The two kanji 党 and 塔 is pronounced the same with a different meaning. 塔 resembles tower or a pillar while 党 resembles a political faction or a party.) Mr. Imaishi quickly replied by drawing a sketch of an arena placed on top of a large tower. The teamwork between the two is simply amazing! Mr. Imaishi manages to pick up all of Mr. Nakashima’s idea! Watching the two create such an amazing piece of work out of almost nothing but paper and pencil is truly a magnificent sight to observe.”

Included key frames/layout: Ira, Ira in car, Ryuko/Senketsu, Satsuki, little Ryuko, Nonon

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 010, December 4, 2013

Episode 9

Production report highlights: “While the characters of KILL la KILL are distinct, the production of the series is also very distinct. For many animation series, the personality and the orientation of the characters are determined in the plot/script meeting. The designs of the individual characters are then determined in the visual design meeting. It’s normal to think that the characters are developed along with the plot. Surprisingly, there has been few occasions where that was not the case in KILL la KILL. Mr. Nakashima will at times like the character design so much, he would go through the trouble to rewrite the already made script to accommodate for the character. Even in the recording session, Mr. Nakashima has changed the character’s line in order to better match the actor’s voice. This flexibility in production is truly distinct for animation production, and I believe it is one of the many reasons that makes KILL la KILL such a wonderful series.”

Included key frames/layout: Ira’s Scourge Regalia, Ryuko/Senketsu vs. Ira, Mako nosebleed, Ryuko/Senketsu hanging from stage

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 011, December 13, 2013

Episode 10

Production report highlights: “I bet many of you are already hooked to the KILL la KILL tunes already, but the BGM to our series is really powerful! Many of the characters like Satsuki would just sound like a lunatic if we were to listen to them without the BGM. What makes Satsuki’s tyrannical speech sound convincing is definitely due to the help of Mr. Sawano’s BGM. Once the sound track is released it may be interesting to review the previous episodes again.”

Included key frames/layout: Nonon’s Symphony Regalia, Houka’s Probe Regalia, Nonon wink, Nonon transformation, little Nonon, little Nonon and Satsuki

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 012, December 17, 2013

Episode 11

Production report highlights: “One of the more popular gossips I hear amongst the animator in the studio is how hard it is to draw Mako. She’s cute, yet crazy in the mind. She’s crazy yet she somehow manages to be charming. Even trying to express her verbally is difficult! It really does surprises me how the crew manages to pull off such a crazy character. Mako is also the reason why KILL la KILL had to be written mostly by Mr. Nakashima. The original plan was to have multiple scriptwriters, but her wild personality proved to be too much for outside scriptwriters to handle. Mako is hard to draw for the animators; her personality is way over the top, yet something about her sounds very natural. Why is that? What could possibly make her insane nonsense sound so convincing? Yes, it must be due to the acting done by Ms. Suzaki! She even looks like Mako with her new haircut! Now, I’ve yet to confirm this myself but according to the rumors, even her personality seems to be identical to Mako! I have come to the conclusion that Mako as a character is only made possible due to the love and care of all of the staffs involved in this series!”

Included key frames/layout: Nonon’s defeat, Ryuko/Senketsu (during the Nonon fight), Satsuki telling Uzu to get away from Nui, Nui, Rei, Ryuko/Senketsu (during the Nonon fight), Sukuyo

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 013, December 25, 2013

Episode 12

Production report highlights: “We had Nui, Ragyou, and Hououmaru introduced in this episode, and they all have a powerful personality! But, something about these characters felt awkwardly masculine. Come to think of it, that applies to almost all of the female characters in KILL la KILL. A good amount of the characters in this series are female, but it feels as if this series is compiled of just male characters. According to Mr. Nakashima, this is not due to the fact that the characters in KILL la KILL possess a manly personality. It is because the supposed female characters are simply males “packaged” in female bodies. Although the characters gestures and reaction is very feminine, their behavioral principle is the one of a male personality. Mr. Nakashima says that he has intentionally designed his characters in this way. While having the cuteness of the girls, the characters possess the wildness to stir the story and the hook the viewer’s attention at the same time.”

Included key frames/layout: Satsuki vs. berserk!Ryuko/Senketsu, Tsumugu shooting, Nui flashback (with two eyes), Satsuki preparing to kill berserk!Ryuko/Senketsu, Satsuki striking berserk!Ryuko/Senketsu

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 014, January 16, 2014

Episode 13

Production report highlights: “With the story entering the second half, the recording booth is also becoming more and more crowded with actors. But that doesn’t stop the voice actors from having loads of fun! The recording session never fails to surprise me. For instance Ms. Koshimizu and Ms. Yuzuki would be having a pleasant conversation one moment, but as soon as the recording lamp lights up, the two would become hostile at each other as their given role as Ryuko and Satsuki. The booth that was filled with laughter is immediately transformed into a stern mood with shouting and yelling. How fast the actors are able to snap into their role amazes me every time, and the whole experience truly feels like a stage play.”

Included key frames/layout: Nui, Ragyo, Satsuki, “the bald dudes from the REVOCS business meeting”

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 015, January 21, 2014

Episode 14

Production report highlights: “How is everyone enjoying KILL la KILL’s stereotypical image of Kansai? If episode 4 was Mr. Imaishi’s free ticket to do whatever he wishes to do, Mr. Nakashima says episode 14 was his turn to do so! A lot of new characters were introduced in this week’s episode, but the most impressive out of the bunch is Kaneo Takarada without doubt! It seems like Kaneo has some feud going on with Satsuki, but what’s really amazing is the person inside the character! Mr. Awane who does the voice for Kaneo Takarada isn’t actually a professional voice actor, but a stage actor from Mr. Nakashima’s theatrical team Shinkansen! Mr. Nakashima and Mr. Awane have been working together for about 30 years, and the recording session really reflected that. Some of our subscriber may already know, but Ms. Shintani who does the voice for Nonon also comes from a theatrical team Nylon 100 Degrees Celsius. According to Mr. Imaishi, stage actors take a very different approach when acting their characters. That difference from normal voice actors may also be one of the many factors that give KILL la KILL such a distinct taste!”

Included key frames/layout: Ryuko without Senketsu, Mako in Osaka, tracksuit Nonon, Nonon with band member, three Takarada frames

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 016, January 29, 2014

Episode 15

Production report highlights: “According to the plot meeting, many stage performers call the cliff hanger scene “The end of the first act.” If KILL la KILL were to be a play, episode 15 would apply to the end of the first act. I have also made a comment to Mr. Nakashima that excluding Mako and Nonon, all of the characters that support Ryuko and Satsuki are men! Mr. Nakashima says that he has intentionally positioned the male characters to assist the female lead. He says that situation is very similar to the first work he and Mr. Imaishi worked as a pair, Re: Cutey Honey. Male characters supporting a struggling female lead, Mr. Nakashima sure is a gentleman!”

Included key frames/layout: Nonon (with a “scorning look” expression, jitome), Uzu’s Blade Regalia MKIII, Nonon’s Symphony Regalia MKII, Ira’s Shackle Regalia MKII, Houka’s Probe Regalia MKII, Satsuki in Overridden Junketsu, Ryuko and Senketsu (Senketsu-Senjin), Ryuko/Senketsu vs. Satsuki/Junketsu

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 018, February 5, 2014

Episode 16

Production report highlights: “The storyboard for episode 16 was done by Mr. Maeda Mahiro. Mr. Maeda has participated in many popular series such as Evangelion! Just a few days ago I had the honor to meet him in person, and was I surprised with how fashionable he was! This happens to remind me of the day I first met Mr. Nakashima as well. My first impression of Mr. Nakashima was oriented toward a father like person. I felt a considerable gap between his personality and the scripts he would write. After attending the KILL la KILL meeting for the first time, I saw Mr. Nakashima joyfully talk about his favorite past time manga and anime. That was the moment when I finally understood what kind of person Mr. Nakashima is. I also thought Mr. Imaishi to be a person with a bold personality since all of his works are so energetic and powerful. He actually turns out to be a lot different than what I imagined him to be. He turns out to be a really frank and kind hearted person. I have yet to see him without a smile on! There seems to be a considerable gap between the personality of the main staff and their creations. I guess the old saying “You can’t judge a book by the cover is ture!””

Included key frames/layout: Aikuro on the world, Ryuko embarrassed by Nudist Beach, Aikuro (before he goes “skinny diving”), Isshin, bath scene

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 019, February 13, 2014

Episode 17

Production report highlights: “The first time I attended the audio recording session, I was surprised that the session is conducted with only 4 microphones. Within the recording booth, about 20 voice actors work by sharing the limited microphones with each other. Talk about sharing and caring, right? This is something you don’t get the chance to see at the movies or stage acting. However, according to Ms. Shintani (Nonon Jakuzure) some people do feel uncomfortable when a stage actor gets involved in the scene of animation for their first time. But, I personally thought that the 4 microphones added to the whole experience! Some of our subscriber may already know, but the Elite Fours’ voice actor show strong physical resemblance to the characters they act as. It really packs a punch when the four stand in front of the microphone! It almost feels as if the Elite Four are actually standing in front of me! I’ve also found out that the four get along quite well, and they often go out for a drink together. The actors support one another just as the Elite Four do so in the series. How wonderful, don’t you think?”

Included key frames/layout: Satsuki and her Elite Four, Shiro, Satsuki stabbing Ragyo (two images), Barazo’s “serious” face, Satsuki with tea, Aikuro (DTR!)

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 020, February 19, 2014

Episode 18

Production report highlights: “According to the creators, KILL la KILL was intended to depict the characters in great depth! Because there are fewer characters than Guren Lagann, each and every character receives the necessary spotlight to display their personality and their beliefs in greater detail. Even then, there seems to be a lot of untold stories behind some of these characters. For those who are interested, this month’s issue of “Newtype” includes a short novel by Mr. Nakashima which covers the relation of Satsuki and the Elite Four. The BD/DVD also includes a drama CD which gives you the slice of life experience at the Honnouji Academy.”

Included key frames/layout: Ryuko/Senketsu vs. Nui (three images), Ira in his Shackle Regalia MKII, Ryuko/Senketsu and Satsuki, Rei

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 021, February 26, 2014

Episode 19

Production report highlights: “It really amazes me on how much effort and passion is put into KILL la KILL by the creators! Just the other day meg rock, the lyrics writer for KILL la KILL’s opening attended the audio recording session. (I must say that she was quite adorable, not that it’s important or anything.) During the first half of the session, she was enjoying the recording just as if anyone would. However, during the 2nd half of the recording, I noticed that she was in tears. After the recording she explained to me that she was extremely touched by today’s session. I say this again and again, but KILL la KILL really is created by the love of each and every staff involved in the series.”

Included key frames/layout: Little Ryuko in Isshin’s study, Uzu’s gang and COVERS, Ira, Nui, Ira

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 021, March 04, 2014

Episode 20

Production report highlights: “The recording session for the last episode has finally ended! Just as the session finished, I over heard Mr. Miki (va for Mikisugi) and Ms. Bak (va for Ragyo) commenting that the dialogues for KILL la KILL is very simple and pleasing to the mouth. According to Mr. Imaishi, he intentionally limited the dialogues to contain simple yet exhilarating phrases. His goal was to create a strong set of quotes by using simple vocabulary. Mr. Imaishi explains that it will leave a stronger impression to the viewer if they are familiar with the vocabulary. The simple dialogues also allows the voice actor to recite the line with passion without difficulties. I guess this is the secret to keep long dialogues sound interesting to the viewers!”

Included key frames/layout: Ryuko in Junketsu, Junketsu!Ryuko vs. Senketsu!Satsuki (two images), Nui coughing blood, Senketsu abandoned by Ryuko, Takarada salute

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 022, March 13, 2014

Episode 21

Production report highlights: “Just yesterday, I was talking with Mr. Nakashima, and he explained to me that he was surprised that he was able to make episode 20 and 21 so rich in content. He explains, that it’s definitely not a plot to be handled in a 22 minute episode, but it’s obviously not impossible. There must be some contents that other series wouldn’t dare to exclude. We gave it a good thought, and concluded to the fact that the characters in KILL la KILL never stumble upon a mental conflict, or even troubled. A typical series will depict several characters going through mental distress. These issues are barely depicted in KILL la KILL. Most of the characters in KILL la KILL are bold and believe in their motives without doubt. I guess the creators of KILL la KILL can relate to that (laughs).”

Included key frames/layout: Opening scene, Junketsu!Ryuko holding up Senketsu!Satsuki, Nudist Beach!Satsuki vs. Nui, Ryuko removing Junketsu (three images)

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 023, March 18, 2014

Episode 22

Production report highlights: “When Mr.Nakashima writes his scripts, he occasionally has an episode where his characters would start a conversation against his will. Mr. Nakashima explains that from their conversation, he is able pick up the overall plot of the story. The conversation between Ryuko and Nui from episode 22 is a great example of this. Nui claims that she is sick of Ryuko ranting about “friends.” Ryuko then explains that the term “friends” come nowhere close to explaining her relationship with Senketsu and Mako, and that their relationship is something much greater and unexplainable. Mr. Nakashima explains that their conversation was what lead to the concept of KILL la KILL. Something unexplainable and ambiguous. Despite having such a creative production team, the person who held the answer to the series was Ryuko. It was at this point when I realized that Ryuko was indeed leading the series as the main character.”

Included key frames/layout: Ryuko and Senketsu come back together (two images), Ryuko blushing at Senketsu’s words, Tsumugu, Shiro, Mako in her Goku uniform

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 024, March 27, 2014

Episode 23

Production report highlights: “KILL la KILL is of often compared to the composition of a manga due to their similarities. The series introduces new interesting ideas to the latest episode without hesitation. KILL la KILL is truly living in the moment. Only downside is that we are continuously tested to top or previous episode. This may be the reason why each episode seems so climatic!”

Included key frames/layout: Group shot before the heroes enter the final battle, Satsuki, Ira’s final Shackle Regalia, Uzu’s final Blade Regalia, Houka’s final Probe Regalia, Nonon’s final Symphony Regalia

TRIGGER MAGAZINE, Issue # 025, April 4, 2014

Episode 24

Production report highlights: “Episode 24 has really taught me the values of nonsensical things. The world is beautiful because there are so many things that are beyond our comprehension. It is the result of countless threads of unknown factors woven together. KILL la KILL is a grand example of this. Each and every staffs feelings, their passion are aggregated into a canvas we know as KILL la KILL. I know I am not making much sense right now, but I felt the same way with our creators as well. They are all crazy and over the top! But, after being able to interact with some of our viewers, I realized that our fans are just as crazy as our creators.”

Included key frames/layout: Final group hug, Ryuko in Senketsu-Kisaragi (two images), Ryuko’s tears at Senketsu’s death, Ryuko and Senketsu in Senketsu’s last moments, Ryuko panty shot, date (three images: ice cream together, Satsuki with hat, Satsuki trying on a new outfit)

#kill la kill #trigger magazine #studio trigger #kazuki nakashima #hiroyuki imaishi

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sepdet · 7 years

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Star Trek Discovery

Ep1 liveblog (edited)

TL;DR: It feels like Star Trek.

I didn't watch any previews, behind-the-scenes or promotional material whatsoever, because I hate spoilers.

Putting liveblog/reactions behind a cut.

ETA: I didn’t post this Sunday bc I was on iPad and current Tumblr app has no way to make break. Watched ep 2 on Tuesday night, which has somewhat tempered my excitement and unqualified endorsement of this show.

Opening scenario feels like a good thing for Federation vessel to do: discreetly save a large population and slip away, without making a big deal about it.

So nice to hear Number One used for a woman again who does sound a little like original Number One: cool and logical. Are her ears round or not? *squints*

FX are beautiful without being intrusive, characters and story in foreground. This may work. I love FX but I hate it when show relies on FX to entertain and keep audience off-balance, adrenaline pumped— using spectacle to substitute for good story and character.

Clever captain is clever. Already in love.

Vintage communicator made me HAPPY.

Lovely understated credits with an interesting vintage-map look and just a few old Trek grace notes in the music (and phaser and communicator)-- can't do nostalgia too much but it loves its roots.

The year is 2256. The construction of the Babylon 5 station is running behind schedule and over budget...No, wait, wrong universe.

THE BRIDGE NOISES ARE REAL BRIDGE NOISES. There's the chirrup chirp chirp sound!

Okay, this is SO SO COOL. Everything looks like a new 21st century show, as it should, and they're not afraid to change things up. But they let old Trekkies feel like we're on comfortable ground in the simplest and most subtle way possible: the original bridge noises, which for those of us who grew up as original or children of original Trekkies (raised on reruns) is as familiar as a mother's heartbeat. It sounds like home.

So, Michael is a bit reckless. Love her enthusiasm.

Just the TINIEST bit of classic Trek knowledge comes in handy here: we knew Klingons had gotten the Romulan cloaking device at some point, so as soon as there's something mucking with sensors, we wait with bated breath for uncloaking. But opening scene -- with some dramatic Klingon speechifying, fanservice to those who know the language -- tells newbies to expect Klingons, whatever the heck they are.

...

Okay, with all due respect to Klingons and Michael's ethical quandary — her intrusion led to conflict and a Klingon's death, whoops — the Klingon declaming is dragging a bit. (And I will have to get used to their new look, but it's no longer a shock the way it was in The first Trek movie when they mutated so much)

Flashback time! So that's why she sounds like a Vulcan. Great way to play with Spock/Data archetype: this time it's a human who was raised Vulcan instead of a half-human Vulcan. I'm delighted to see Sarek, although with one quibble: Sarek was an ambassador; AMANDA was the teacher! They better not forget Amanda.

(Dammit tumblr just killed my liveblog. Try to recap notes.)

Nice crisis moment: Michael rushing up to the bridge dangerously injured. Slightly gratuitous nudity, but much better than before (and at least it's to show her wounds, not TEH SEXY). Michael again being an effective and brave first officer.

Yeoh's so controlled and understated, I'm having a little trouble reading her character's personality, but she's an absolutely convincing captain with rock-solid gravitas, and it's a slightly unusual archetype for female characters, so, great.

DECLOAKING TIME! Klingons have taken an upgrade in ugly, even in their ship design. i'm sure they'd say the same about FEDS.

THE SHIPS ARE NOT IN THE SAME PLANE! RePeat, THE SHIPS ARE ACTUALLY NOT ORIENTED THE SAME WAY! IT TOOK 50 YEARS, BUT SPACE IS NOW THREE DIMENSIONAL!!!!!

...yeah, I'm zeroing in on the really important stuff. XP

I am forcing myself not to dwell on questionable science, but I feel like radiation doesn't work that way. Oh well.

Klingons dealing with racism within. Hm. A bit simplistic in the way classic Trek was, which is kind of interesting since the ethical dilemmas the Feds are facing isn't.

I love that Sarek is Michael's mentor, although I'm a little torn. Original Sarek: Refused to speak to his son for a decade after he joined Starfleet and was disappointed and angry at Spock leaving Vulcan. If he was that bent out of shape about Spock indulging his human side, then why would Sarek take in a human ward during the very years he wasn't speaking to Spock? But Sarek was always oddly inconsistent, marrying a human and then expecting her and his son to be assimilated to Vulcan. Still wonder how Amanda figures into all this; it's bizarre her husband's taken such an interest in this girl but Amanda Grayson, teacher and evidently a remarkable human to have captured Sarek's heart, is mysteriously absent.

Also, being able to summon the great Ambassador Sarek up to have a time out and talk to the pitching coach is a bit far-fetched? Oh well. Dramatic device, shortcut to get to meat of drama.

Oh, boy, holographic comms sure beat little viewscreens. And the usual scenario of being told by an Admiral back at Starfleet HQ to do nothing. This always goes well.

"There is a difference between race and culture." Oooo. Interesting postulate. Not sure if I agree or not. But then, here we are with 3 people of different races and at least one with a very different culture discussing it, so, QED? I like a Trek that poses questions worthy of debating.

Also the Federation isn't necessarily in the RIGHT here, but they're trying to figure out the right thing to do. That seems like an excellent way to update Trek: applying classic Trek optimism, ideals and ethics to situations that aren't as cut-and-dried. TOS tried to picture a better world but it and TNG tended towards a somewhat simplified utopia. This is subtly avoiding that unfortunate imperialist subtext that portrayed Kirk, Picard, and friends as coming from a morally superior stance and advanced civilization, giving themselves a kind of self-anointed authority akin to what Americans do when they go to "help" other countries.

Whereas this is messy and complicated like the real world and they are operating from a position of not having all the answers. Which is more like us.

And whoa, torch of Kahless. Klingon fans again must be overjoyed. i can be happy for them while missing jolly old Kor (I just adored him) and imposing Kang.

Random thought: both Who and Star Trek have good, three-dimensional, leading black women characters this year, almost for the first time, and in both cases they have what are usually men's names. Hrm. Why?

...WOW.

Michael's insubordination, argument with captain in the ready room, and that surprise vulcan nerve pinch were awesome and I have NO IDEA which of them is right here (except I lean towards Sarek) or what will happen now.

...

....all shit hits fan in a glorious way, and I like that the crew aren't stupid, Saru realizes Michael's mutinying.

And wow what a way to make the captain suddenly badass while staying cool and collected. Phaser out. Old phaser out. Turned on the Spock character (sort of; in some ways Phillipa is more Spockish, Michael more Kirk-heroic and rulebreaking.)

Shoulda realized it'd end with a cliffhanger. EXCELLENT cliffhanger.

Can i avoid online spoilers if I wait until I'm feeling better to watch? Fandom Auntie is tired and only got 4 hours of sleep last night.

[ETA: Here’s my commentary for part 2.]

#liveblog #star trek discovery #episode 1 #spoilers #star trek

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your-dietician · 3 years

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2021 Football Opponent Previews: North Texas Mean Green

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/ncaa-football/2021-football-opponent-previews-north-texas-mean-green/

2021 Football Opponent Previews: North Texas Mean Green

Catch up on previous 2021 opponent previews!

Central Michigan

Kentucky

Southeast Missouri State

Boston College

Tennessee

Whenever I played Dynasty mode on all the various iterations of NCAA Football, I would always inevitably end up 30 years into my coaching career and constantly wind up in two or three National Championship games against North Texas. As improbable as that is in real life – because, until the recent Playoff expansion to 12 teams, G5 teams were never allowed to play for a National Championship – at least in the game it made sense! Denton is located right in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which is the prime recruiting ground for Texas, as well as only being a four-hour drive to the other main recruiting turf of Houston. North Texas as a school has an annual enrollment of over 40,000 students with a nice alumni base for donations and booster-corps. And it’s located in the football-crazed state of Texas, so of course on paper (and in the game) a solid Mean Green football team was a totally feasible outcome.

That’s rarely been the case, however. They were pretty good back when “Mean” Joe Green was leading a dynamite defense in the 60s but they dropped down to the FCS level in the 70s and weren’t really even competitive at that level. They came back to the FBS level in the 90s and only really saw success in two instances since then: Darrell Dickey’s four consecutive Sun Belt Championship runs of 2001-2004 and then current coach Seth Littrell’s back-to-back 9-win seasons in 2017 and 2018.

Since then the Mean Green have been in a bit of funk, including last year. Check it out:

2020 North Texas Schedule Results

North Texas basically played two seasons in last year’s COVID season: from September 5th through October 17th the Mean Green went 2-3, beating Middle Tennessee and FCS Houston Baptist in shoot-outs while nobly falling to SMU and faceplanting against bad Southern Miss and Charlotte squads. Then they had a forced month off due to COVID cancellations before once again scraping out two wins against struggling Rice and UTEP teams and getting blown out by UTSA and Louisiana Tech. Because all teams were eligible for a bowl last year, North Texas had the honor of being a 4-5 bowl team, getting pantsed by Eli Drinkwitz’s old team, Appalachian State, 56-28 to close out the year.

North Texas’ wins were ugly and their losses were uglier. What does 2021 hold in store for them?

Coaching Staff

Seth Littrell

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Seth Littrell – 6th Year – 31-31 (21-18)

Back in the far away land of 2018, Seth Littrell was the hottest name in the fast-riser category of college football coach. The former North Carolina OC was 40 years young, was considered an excellent offensive mind, and built a program that had won 9-games twice in a row at a school that hadn’t seen success in quite some time. He interviewed for the Kansas State job but was told that he would have no say in who he could hire for his assistant coach staff. Given how incredibly rare and awkward a situation that is – and also the fact that he had an absolutely loaded offense, led by record-breaking quarterback Mason Fine and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, returning in 2019 – Littrell rebuked the Wildcats and elected to wait another year to try the coaching carousel after the 2019 season.

The Mean Green lost Harrell to USC and proceeded to go 4-8. Then went 4-6 last year for good measure.

Now, Littrell is firmly on the hot-seat in Denton, TX. This might be one of those ghost stories coaches tell each other at conventions about waiting too long to “make the jump” to the P5 level, but also, Kansas State gave Littrell a dirty deal so I don’t blame him for turning them down. He just happened to regress in the one year he couldn’t then had issues trying to rebuild during a COVID season. It doesn’t look great that his offenses without Graham Harrell have noticeably regressed, but this season will be the first where he has a solidified starter at quarterback in two years. I don’t know how this season will end up or how itchy the North Texas trigger finger is, but it would be in Littrell’s best interest to at least make a bowl this year. The anxiety is certainly palpable with his recent DC hire so it’s clear he feels the pressure to succeed quickly as well.

Coach Littrell’s Resume

Assistant Staff

Mike Bloesch & Tommy Mainord – Co-Offensive Coordinators: These two had the unenviable task of replacing offensive wunderkind Graham Harrell has coordinators for the Mean Green and, reader, the difference was noticeable. Harrell’s offenses excelled in the passing game, ranking 65th and 67th overall in the two years under his watch. Without Harrell calling the shot the Mean Green became more run-oriented as their quarterbacks lost their accuracy and the passing game became ever more reliant on the deep ball. Bloesch and Mainord juggled between two quarterbacks last year but the transfer portal has given them a single answer to the position for now. If they can help develop some reliable receivers – and Mainord doubles as the wide receivers coach so the pressure is double on him – then they can get the Mean Green back to competence in both aspects of offensive production.

Phil Bennett – Defensive Coordinator: Fun fact: Phil Bennett hasn’t coached a down of football since 2017 when he retired as Arizona State’s defensive coordinator. Before then he had spent six years as Baylor’s defensive coordinator under Art Briles, bringing an blitz-heavy, turnover-reliant scheme to pair with the Briles’ warp-speed offensive attack. The hire makes sense: Seth Littrell has only once fielded a defense that ranked better than 92nd, and with his up-tempo air-raid-ish offensive attack, he needs someone familiar with producing havoc-friendly defenses that can create a few turnovers, cause a few explosions, and build a two-three possession cushion for the offense to work with. At 65, Bennett certainly isn’t a fossil but he retired because of health reasons and one has to wonder how much he has recovered – and how much he’ll be into it – as he inherits a defense that could barely stop FCS Houston Baptist.

Chris Petrilli – Special Teams Coordinator

Blake Joseph – Quarterbacks

Patrick Cobbs – Running Backs

Adrian Mayes – Tight Ends

Matt Passwaters – Defensive Line

Jim Gush – Linebackers

Jarred Holley – Cornerbacks

Offense

Yes, the Mean Green offense ranked 83rd overall in SP+ last year but this is still a damn good offense when it’s clicking. Last year’s version did two things: run the ball for efficiency and sometimes connect on the deep ball. If they could do that then it was a race to score 60 first; if they couldn’t then they fell behind by three scores and could never make up the difference.

North Texas wasn’t the most explosive on the ground but was Top 30 in every other ground metric and excelled at both standard down success rate (37th) and passing down success rate (22nd). The issue? They were successful by running the ball on those downs. If they couldn’t get it on the ground then their surprisingly bad passing offense (62nd) couldn’t reliably make up the difference since it needed to hit on deep balls downfield (or have Jaelon Darden take a 1-yard screen and make magic happen). The quarterback, line, and running backs all return so expect another heavy-dosage of the quick-hitting run game; how the passing game develops, however, will tell the tale of how successful the ‘21 offense can be.

Austin Aune

Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Quarterback – Austin Aune – Redshirt Sophomore

Austin Aune Stats

Originally a 3-star prospect in the 2012 recruiting class, Aune spent six years in the New York Yankees farm system after being drafted in the 2nd round of the MLB Draft. After not making it past the High-A Tampa affiliation he decided to go back to school and walked-on at Arkansas. He then transferred to North Texas and is now a 28-year old fourth-year sophomore: a combination of age, eligibility, and classification that I will confidently assume has never been achieved before (thanks COVID!). Last year Aune and Jason Bean split time at quarterback but neither gentleman really set themselves apart: both had 54% completion rates (yuck) while Bean threw one more touchdown and interception and Aune took way fewer sacks. Bean hit the transfer portal at the end of 2020, however, and is now trying to salvage the kansas Football Jayhawks so Aune is the lone QB with any experience on the team now. It’ll be interesting to see what he can do with a full season of being “the guy”: does he level out with more snaps and knowing he’s the one quarterback that UNT rolls out? Does he keep the same scatter-shot accuracy and suck out loud for another season? UNT returns a ton of receivers but not a lot of production so the passing game might struggle for another season unless Aune can magically cover for that inexperience.

DeAndre Torrey

Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Running Back – DeAndre Torrey – Graduate Student

Torrey is the “lightening” of Mean Green running backs while Oscar Adaway III is the thunder. The two combined for 212 carries, 1,228 yards, and 9 touchdowns on the ground. At 5’7” and 195 pounds, Torrey is seemingly the faster, quicker back to Adaway’s 6’0”, 215-pound build but they both averaged nearly the same yards per carry (5.8) and yards-per-carry on inside runs (5.9) and zone-read runs (both over 7.0 YPC). The difference is that Torrey was stuffed 6% more of the time and struggled in 7-man boxes while Adaway averaged over 5-yards per run in a 7-man box or greater. Regardless, either is a home-run threat if they can get outside and will be relied upon to steady the UNT offense until a passing threat is found.

Deonte Simpson

Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Wide Receiver – Deonte Simpson – Sophomore

First, let’s appreciate what North Texas receiver Jaelon Darden did in 2020:

112 targets, 74 catches (66% catch rate), 1,190 yards, 19 touchdowns. And that was with two inaccurate quarterbacks throwing to him!

But Darden is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer now. So let’s look at Deonte Simpson, UNT’s second best receiver last year:

45 targets, 25 catches (56% catch rate), 517 yards, 4 touchdowns.

Yikes.

Darden was seemingly the first, second, and third read in the passing progression and, occasionally, Simpson would get a look as the deep threat guy (20.7 yards per catch, 11 yards per target). Unfortunately the Mean Green’s third-leading receiver hit the transfer portal so it’s Simpson and then a pu-pu platter of dudes with less than 25 targets for the entire season. Unless a freshman or underclassman from last year makes an immediate impact it’s hard to see the passing game carving up the Tiger secondary, even with all the new faces occupying the starting spots.

Defense

Let’s cut to the chase: the North Texas stunk last year. Let’s list all the metrics that North Texas was not in the bottom 30 for:

Passing Downs Success Rate: 31.9% (64th)

End of list.

Literally everything else was 80th or worse, including allowing nearly a 50% success rate on running plays (103rd), a 44% success rate on passing plays (83rd), and a whopping 54% success rate on standard downs (116th). And that was was with a play-making defensive tackle, two solid linebackers, a legitimate shutdown corner, and a do-everything safety in the lineup.

So what gives? Former kansas Defensive Coordinator Clint Bowen (the architect of those killer Jayhawk defenses from ‘06-’09) joined the Mean Green right before the pandemic hit, inheriting the 91st best defense of 2019 and crashing it into a wall as they tumbled to 121st. Whether it was a lack of practice time or just an inability to game plan well, Bowen’s 10-game run as DC ended as quickly as it began and Littrell brought former Baylor DC Phil Bennett out of retirement to salvage what he can from last year’s defense.

The good news, as it were: almost everyone comes back. “The 121st-best defense returns everyone” might not elicit much hope or enthusiasm but Bennett is known for his aggressive, attacking defenses and a tactical shift – or at least a different voice in the room – paired with some legitimate talent might be enough to turn this thing around.

…or they could continue to get blown the hell up every week in a similar fashion that every other Littrell-era defense has done. We’ll find out soon enough!

Dion Novil

Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Defensive Line – Dion Novil – Graduate Student

Novil is a rarity: a 3-4 nose tackle that lead the team in tackles for loss (7). Now, that probably speaks a lot more about the talent (or lack thereof) on the roster around him, but it’s still damn impressive for a 6’4”, 330-pound guy eating double teams every play to still log a team-high level of tackles for loss. The two other top linemen return for 2021 as well but, combined, their stats didn’t even come close to the production Novil put up. Mike Maietti and Case Cook will have their hands full on October 9th.

Larry Nixon III

Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Linebacker – Larry Nixon III – Redshirt Sophomore

The Mean Green have their own Larry Threesticks! Their version, Larry Nixon, had a breakout year last season, ending up third on the team in tackles and third on the team in tackles for loss. Every linebacker from last year’s team returns and, while they weren’t the best unit last year, they certainly got plenty of experience and are deep enough to provide a solid rotation throughout the year. Keep an eye on Gabriel Murphy as well: the redshirt freshman only logged 11 tackles but was second on the team with 5 tackles for loss.

Makyle Sanders

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Defensive Back – Makyle Sanders – Graduate Student

Sanders seemingly never left the field from his safety position, leading the defense in snaps (709), tackles (38), and interceptions (2). Like every other defensive position previewed here, most of the defensive backs return, including both starting corners and safeties (and Quin Whitlock is an excellent #1 cornerback). I’m not sure how much improvement one-year can make – ranking 83rd in passing success rate allowed and 97th in passing explosiveness doesn’t magically improve with 10 games of experience – but continuity should mean that they could probably get out of the 100-area ranking…for whatever that’s worth…

So what does it all mean?

2021 North Texas Schedule

You schedule these games to win them. The obvious statement is obvious but when you’re a middling SEC team you need to schedule an easy non-conference slate to gain experience and build up wins to get to a bowl game, get ranked, earn a little primetime tv time, and increase your recruiting by building the brand into a culture of winners.

So when you pay a North Texas or Central Michigan to come to your house you need to not only get the W but really put the hurting on them to show your athleticism and ability to be a cut above other teams at your peer level.

North Texas is vulnerable: their head coach is on the hot seat and making some desperate changes to save his job on the side of the ball that he’s never had success with. They have good players, yes, but the depth behind them absolutely sucks and their best offensive weapon last year is currently in the NFL.

Yes, some youth will step up and be good, and yes, a defensive-philosophy change that champions havoc and disruption will hit home a few times and cause a quick three-and-out or a bad turnover that causes some clinching among Missouri faithful. But if Eli Drinkwitz and this team are what we think they are – and the talent he’s bringing in is as good as we think they can be – and the weaknesses on this team have been sufficiently plugged through the transfer portal, then this should be a butt-kicking that we can collectively enjoy from halftime on.

Again, Missouri is too young and not good enough to ever give a C+ effort and expect a win. This game comes right after Tennessee and right before Texas A&M and UNT will be coming off of a Bye week. But even with all of that, this should be a comfortable 14-point win at a minimum. I foresee that coming to fruition.

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josephkchoi · 4 years

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Evergreen SaaS Landing Pages You Should Have Running at All Times [Examples]

It’s a vicious cycle that many SaaS marketers fall into—you’re trying to hit your lead-gen targets, but your budget and resources are tight. So you turn to a quick, one-off campaign to generate some leads.

Then, once that campaign runs its course, you start planning the next one.

And so on. (And so on.)

While this cycle can be effective in the short term, it’s just not sustainable. Running campaigns in this way create spikes in traffic that can quickly die out if you don’t invest in ongoing promotion. They also take a lot of effort to execute (and don’t guarantee returns).

Cue the infomercial voiceover: “There has to be a better way!”

Pictured: A typical SaaS marketer workin’ the lead-gen funnel.

Turns out, there is a better way.

If instead, you invest some time developing ‘always-on’ campaigns, you can drive consistent growth in a much more efficient, scalable way. For instance, if you have core assets (like a webinar, newsletter, or demo page) that you routinely drive prospects to, you can make these work year-round by creating some landing pages that run on auto-pilot.

There are tons of evergreen landing page campaign possibilities, but we’ve rounded up five that we think every SaaS marketer should have in their arsenal. Keep these ones running 24/7/365 for steady lead generation all year long.

1. The “We Solve Your Problem” Long-Form Landing Page

Do your prospects tend to do a lot of research before they start a new trial or demo your product?

This is where an evergreen, long-form landing page shines. Evaluation-stage prospects are hungry for details, proof of results, examples, and info tailored to their experience. They need to be persuaded to choose your offering over the alternatives.

So, for paid search ads targeting transactional keywords, you may want to create a standard SaaS long-form landing page explaining your offer.

Like this one:

Image courtesy of Pitchbook. Click it to see the whole thing.

The SaaS sales page above from Pitchbook has a preview video, a customer testimonial, and a logo bar of social proof to build credibility. It does a great job giving visitors a comprehensive rundown of the product’s features and benefits. All in support of that awesome ‘request a free trial’ call to action.

Why should you build one?

Long-form landing pages help your audience make more informed decisions by providing in-depth information about your software. With more sections on the page, you have room to expand about what sets your offering apart from competitors and the value you deliver.

As a bonus, these pages aren’t just effective for middle-of-the-funnel prospects. They can also help folks at earlier stages of awareness. For instance, people in the discovery stage may not know they have a problem, but they’re likely experiencing the symptoms. The extra length lets you conduct a thorough investigation and lead visitors down the path from the symptoms to the problem to (hopefully, your) solution.

With a long-form landing page that runs 24/7/365, you can show potential customers how their current situation is costing them money, time, resources—or any other problem you’ve helped them identify. You can also anticipate the objections your target customer might have about your software and address them with compelling, long-form storytelling.

2. The “Weekly How To” Webinar Landing Page

You can raise awareness of your webinar through your email and social media channels, and you’ll definitely see some engagement for your effort. (After all, how hard is it to click a little icon?) But without a dedicated landing page, it can be tough as old leather to convert interested people into actual registrants.

It’s easy to forget that once you finalize your content and secure your speakers, you still have to convince your visitors to register to attend.

This webinar landing page that Thinkific built with Unbounce gets it right:

Image courtesy of Thinkific. Click it to see the whole thing.

Promoting an entire digital summit, this page has a large, eye-catching header section that tells the viewer exactly what they’re going to get out of this online event. It also has strong calls-to-action placed above the fold and below the body copy, plus detailed descriptions of the speakers.

Thinkific even includes an FAQ section to help potential registrants get as much information as possible before they make the decision to sign up.

Why build your own webinar page?

If you’re asking prospects to give you their email details and an hour or more of their time, you need to make it clear what they’re getting in return. With a landing page, you can communicate the value of registering for an online or offline event using persuasive elements like benefit-oriented headlines, social proof, and testimonials.

You can also use these pages as an entry point for visitors to explore other relevant content. For example, the bottom of the Thinkific webinar landing page features a short value statement that highlights the benefits of their product in a call-to-action to start a free trial.

Editor’s note. Looking for some advice on how to run a webinar for your SaaS brand? We’ve got you covered: How to Build a Great Webinar from the Ground Up + 8 Examples That Don’t Suck.

3. The Interactive Lead Magnet Page

Let’s face it: the traditional lead magnet is losing its pull. Years ago, you could offer a simple downloadable piece of content like an ebook or a PDF resource and watch your conversions soar.

Today, it’s often a different story. Fewer visitors are willing to part with their email addresses—and if they are, you better have something truly valuable to offer in exchange. To address this, SaaS businesses are upping their lead magnet game by trying out quizzes and other types of personalized, interactive, or tool-based marketing elements.

Here at Unbounce, for example, we developed a free analyzer tool that offers insights on how you can optimize your landing pages:

While an ebook or downloadable PDF can also help to educate visitors, what happens once they finish with that static piece of content? It’s up to each individual to figure out how to apply the learnings, and they’re not always motivated to follow through. That means it’s often the end of the road. They close the book, and they’re done. That’s not great for engagement.

People also have to set aside some time to actually read through your material. In comparison, a quick tool like the analyzer provides each visitor with a personalized report on their specific pages—instantly. No pain, all gain.

And we serve this tool up on an Unbounce-built landing page that converts almost 30% of all visitors. It’s a great way to offer value, all the while serving as an evergreen awareness campaign that’s directly plugged into what we do.

Why should you consider a tool on a landing page like this?

Calculators, quizzes, and other tools are a great way to inject a little fun and—ideally—high value into your lead-gen or awareness strategy. They empower your visitors with insights on their specific situation. And they give you more info about your audience than you could get from a piece of static content.

Interactive lead magnets can also reduce the time your business spends on sales queries and save you time by automatically sending someone’s contact information through your funnel via integrations with your CRM or email marketing platform.

Finally, an interactive lead magnet can help instill loyalty in your visitors. If you’ve helped someone solve a problem, they’re much more likely to bookmark your page and remember you for next time. Plus, you get more credibility because you’ve proven that you know your stuff and understand your audience’s needs

4. The “Newsletter Audience-Builder” Landing Page

These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find a company without an email newsletter. It’s one of the most efficient, cost-effective ways to stay top-of-mind with your audience.

But people also find these newsletters increasingly easy to ignore, easy to tag as spam, and easy to unsubscribe from. That’s why it’s imperative that you keep your list fresh by adding new subscribers.

It’s easier than ever for someone to unsubscribe from your newsletter. (Source: AndroidPolice)

Sure, you can put a newsletter sign-up button on your website and call it a day. But if you really want to grow your mailing list, you should consider adding a dedicated landing page into the mix. With a landing page, you can experiment with copy and compelling visuals to ensure your newsletter’s differentiating value really comes across.

For instance, Pitchbook’s newsletter sign-up (which is another hit landing page from their team) checks all the boxes. It has a clear headline, uses visuals to show what the newsletter looks like in different formats, and has a short-but-sweet form:

Image courtesy of Pitchbook.

If you prefer to keep things simple, though, you could follow this example from Later. There’s not a lot of text on this page, but each piece of copy serves a purpose. The headline (“Never miss an Instagram trend again”) drives home the key benefit of signing up for their newsletter. And the subheading acts as social proof. (After all, a million-marketer-strong email list is nothing to scoff at.)

Image courtesy of Later.

The last section sets expectations around frequency, so potential subscribers can feel confident knowing Later won’t spam their inbox with multiple messages a week. And by only asking for an email, they make signing up even more enticing to their audience of marketers (who are usually wary about giving up their personal info, but often do so when it’s in exchange for more data).

5. The “Sign Up For a 1:1 Demo” Landing Page

While you can give your website visitors a small taste of what you offer through videos and webinars, this often can’t compare to leading someone through your product personally—where your guest can ask questions live. This is why offering a free demo is a common step in the SaaS buyer journey and a key landing page you’ll want to have available evergreen.

Visitors at this stage can be pretty close to making a purchasing decision, so your number one priority should be to make this process as frictionless as possible. Fortunately, a landing page is one of the easiest ways to do this:

Image courtesy of Skillshare.

The most effective demo landing pages are pretty straightforward. They typically have a clean and simple look, a form, a phone number field for an alternative form of contact, social proof, a video, bullet points, or another short message that outlines what users can expect from the demo.

While the “request a demo page” from Skillshare above is missing some social proof in the form of testimonials, all the other important elements are present. It’s easy to follow and the lead-gen form is a reasonable length to help the Skillshare team understand how to tailor the demo.

Conversion tip. You can take things a step further for your always-on demo landing pages by adding a pop-up. For example, you could use this calendar notification pop-up template and have it appear after someone converts. This would prompt your visitor to add a calendar reminder to join the session and ensure your live demo attendance is high.

Evergreen Your SaaS Landing Pages

If you set up these evergreen landing pages as a first step, you can generate a ton of leads for your software without developing campaigns on a typical one-by-one cadence.

As with any other type of campaign though, it’s a great idea to optimize these pages to ensure you’re getting the best results possible. Experiment with on-page elements, the copy on the page, or adding social proof. Even tiny tweaks can have a big impact.

The work of a SaaS marketer is never done, but by building pages for the long term you can create conditions that help you generate leads and conversions—without climbing on the campaign hamster wheel.

Evergreen SaaS Landing Pages You Should Have Running at All Times [Examples] published first on https://nickpontemrktg.wordpress.com/

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samanthasmeyers · 4 years

Text

Evergreen SaaS Landing Pages You Should Have Running at All Times [Examples]

Then, once that campaign runs its course, you start planning the next one.

And so on. (And so on.)

Cue the infomercial voiceover: “There has to be a better way!”

Pictured: A typical SaaS marketer workin’ the lead-gen funnel.

Turns out, there is a better way.

1. The “We Solve Your Problem” Long-Form Landing Page

Do your prospects tend to do a lot of research before they start a new trial or demo your product?

So, for paid search ads targeting transactional keywords, you may want to create a standard SaaS long-form landing page explaining your offer.

Like this one:

Image courtesy of Pitchbook. Click it to see the whole thing.

Why should you build one?

2. The “Weekly How To” Webinar Landing Page

It’s easy to forget that once you finalize your content and secure your speakers, you still have to convince your visitors to register to attend.

This webinar landing page that Thinkific built with Unbounce gets it right:

Image courtesy of Thinkific. Click it to see the whole thing.

Thinkific even includes an FAQ section to help potential registrants get as much information as possible before they make the decision to sign up.

Why build your own webinar page?

Editor’s note. Looking for some advice on how to run a webinar for your SaaS brand? We’ve got you covered: How to Build a Great Webinar from the Ground Up + 8 Examples That Don’t Suck.

3. The Interactive Lead Magnet Page

Let’s face it: the traditional lead magnet is losing its pull. Years ago, you could offer a simple downloadable piece of content like an ebook or a PDF resource and watch your conversions soar.

Here at Unbounce, for example, we developed a free analyzer tool that offers insights on how you can optimize your landing pages:

Why should you consider a tool on a landing page like this?

4. The “Newsletter Audience-Builder” Landing Page

These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find a company without an email newsletter. It’s one of the most efficient, cost-effective ways to stay top-of-mind with your audience.

It’s easier than ever for someone to unsubscribe from your newsletter. (Source: AndroidPolice)

Image courtesy of Pitchbook.

Image courtesy of Later.

5. The “Sign Up For a 1:1 Demo” Landing Page

Image courtesy of Skillshare.

Evergreen Your SaaS Landing Pages

If you set up these evergreen landing pages as a first step, you can generate a ton of leads for your software without developing campaigns on a typical one-by-one cadence.

from Marketing https://unbounce.com/landing-pages/evergreen-saas-landing-pages-you-should-have-running-at-all-times-examples/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

#Digital Marketing

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