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Interviewer: Hello and welcome, viewers! I'm here on the set of the Mecha show, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, which has had an explosive season so far! As you know, Gundam 00 is part of the larger Gundam franchise, but 00 is unique in that it ostensibly takes place in our own world, in the Anno Domini timeline. And with me to discuss the show is the main protagonist, Soran Ibrahim, otherwise known as Setsuna F. Seiei. Setsuna: Ha! I guess you really do have to say the full name, don't you? Interviewer: Indeed we do! Which brings us to your role as the protagonist! How has it been? Setsuna: It's been wonderful, honestly. The rest of the cast has been a blast to work with, especially the other Gundam Meisters. Allelujah, Lockon, and Tieria and I have all gotten really close. And working with Sumeragi Lee Noriega was a treat; she's a real professional, there were moments where the entire crew of the Ptolemaios and crew on set would stand up and clap after her performance. Interviewer: So

Ariana was a brilliant student surrounded by terrible people. Her parents were strict and controlling, sometimes absolutely relentless. But she had more than enough backbone normally to push back when she needed to; her thigh length scarlet hair was her main symbol of defiance, as well as her pride and joy. Of course her parents wanted her to keep her hair short in order to maintain their control on her, but she never relented, and often had to be taken kicking and screaming to get her hair cut. Eventually, Ariana’s parents became so exhausted and tired of having to battle their daughter over hair, so her father struck up a deal: Keep her grades high and her hair clean, and she could keep her hair as long as she wanted. It was a good system for the most part, but Ariana never felt the tension around the deal dissipate; every test, project quiz and report was a matter of life or death, and she would not allow her parents to chop off the hair she had come to cherish so much. But one week

After Wood Workshop, the rest of the day went by quickly. A few brave souls came up to compliment and admire my braid, and they also made the effort to try to comfort me after Chauncey's attempt at cutting my hair. But I wasn't really paying attention to all the fawning and what have you that I was receiving. I was far more focused on what to do now that I had effectively invited my not-yet-girlfriend to our house without first clearing it with either of our parents. After all, this was new territory; 'Mother and Father' didn't exactly allow us to bring friends or even acquaintances into the house without their prior approval... or screening. It would be nice for that to change, but I wasn't sure how I'd react if I got a yes, or a no. If they said No, then that would be the end of the conversation for that day, but how long would this new life last? How did I know if this wasn't just a dream? Or some temporary stay in some other world? I might not get a chance like this again, and I'm

Turns out: Yes, it could get better. As I made my way to my next class, I caught more and more admiring looks and excited whispers: "Look at that hair! I wish I had hair like it." "It's so shiny and pretty... Oh, what I wouldn't just to have a minute alone with him to play with it!" "He should be a model, looking that handsome and gorgeous!" All this admiration and attention followed me the entire day with the exception of when I ran into my siblings. I assume they were already used to my hair in this life, because they didn't stop to address it when they had time. My older brother Sid merely paid me a hello as we passed each other in the hall, but my sister Elaine did stop by me in the hallway to ruffle my hair and say "Word's spread that you've managed to ask out Joy Hoang, little brother. Congrats on pulling the trigger!" She said, giving me a fist bump. "She might be a little too preppy for me, but I know you liked her, so good on you for finally asking her out!" With that, she

Dad drove us all to school, and I relished the new sensation of having the wind in my new glorious mane. It made the car ride so much more visceral, as I took in the sights, the sound of cars on either side of us, even the strange scent of the car's interior. What made this ride even better was sharing it with my siblings. From what I could gather from them, they seemed to think we'd been like this since we'd been born. Mom and Dad really made the effort to hand raise us, and they balanced their lives between being our parents and running the company. It was so surreal, knowing that today, I had this whole other different life, one where my parents cared about us instead of the company. "C'mon, Andrew, you of all people should remember the time we took mom and dad to that concert!" chirped my sister Elaine, "You especially. You'd lost a bet to me the month previous, so I got to give you a little goth makeover!" she giggled. Our father laughed. "I still have the photos of us all

I was drifting, as this strange dark mass surrounded me. I heard a female voice call out, "Those who care for you don't care for how you want yourself to be. They only care of their own image." I shook my head. "I don't know why. I simply do not understand why we have to be their... dolls. That's what they treat us like; dolls. Dolls to be displayed and seen, but not touched or heard." I heard the voice grunt. "Would you rather have different ones?" I scoffed. "Like that could ever happen." I sighed. "I just... wish they were different. I wish I could just have my life they way I want it to be... Even just for a day." I then heard the voice... snicker and chuckle a bit. "Is that so? Only a day? How do you think this would affect your life?" I looked around, but saw no presence, so I just looked up, and said, "It would improve it for starters. Perhaps Joy would notice me, and maybe I could convince her not to chop her hair off." Suddenly, a bright shining presence enveloped the space

Life is difficult enough when your dream is nigh unattainable. It's even worse when you see others around you that unintentionally remind you just how far off your dream is. In my case, my dream is... well, pretty simple: I want to have LONG hair. Like, I mean REALLY long; perhaps down to my knees. Ever since I was young, I had dreamed that my ultra-dark brown wavy hair could move past my shoulders, grow out of its wiry and unruly state, and metamorphosis into the godly crowning glory I knew it had the potential to be. From the moment I was born, I had relatives, cousins, even strangers galore tell me it would look lovely long, but alas, my family didn't share this view. My parents were conservative and strictly regimented the appearances of my siblings and me because our family, the Mercy family, ran a big software company. And what made matters worse was that my older siblings claimed my mother especially took this to heart, often telling my siblings "You will look how we say so