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All the latest information about Death Note: reports, gossip, releases, analyses, speculation and discussion.

Death Note news articles

Mello/Matt Fandom! MangaBullet's Guns and Games Community Regrouping in my Forum

31/5/2015

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Guns and Games MangaBullet MxM Community

MangaBullet's Guns and Games Group Banner

Forum for MelloxMatt Fan-Fiction Authors

After yesterday's blog, you may be wondering what the frig just happened to prompt such accelerated progress on my 11th MxM novel. After all, it's been in limbo for well over two years now.

That's no big mystery. I've been enthused into finishing the story (well, nearly finishing - I'm about ten chapters from completion at the moment, but sssh, don't tell anyone) by the sudden influx of old MangaBullet people onto my website's forum.

What's blowing my mind is where they've all come from, why now and wow! Look how that one's quickly snowballing into a fast filling, highly active and buzzing Mello and Matt fandom community once more.  I guess its time had come. My forum appears to be the place enough people checked out, until they eventually did it simultaneously and bam! We're back in business!

Popping up to post over the past few weeks (in no particular order and apologies if I missed anyone):  Orangepunch, Spoiled-Kitten, kinofdragons, Mistress 9, Alexhliel/ShinigamiMailJeevas, Melmat, Miyamashi, Aaria, Matt1337Gamer, Kittypup and newcomer DefeatCigarettes. I heard from AnimePrincess earlier too, who indicated that she may well be about to return (and possibly resume her chapter by chapter discussion threads - for the new novel!!!).

So where are the rest of you?  Coming to play?  We're all waiting for you to get your backside in there, you know.  Yes, YOU!


Nor is it all about me anymore.

Other Mello and Matt fan-fiction writers are uploading their stories into the library and then coming into their own dedicated area of the forum to chat about their work.

In short, He Moves Me Differently forum is in the process of metamorphosing into a cyber meeting place for all Mello/Matt fans. That's what will keep it going long after you've all tired of my stuff.

Mistress 9: Rebuilding the Mello/Matt Fandom

Mistress 9 with Mello and Matt
Mello and Matt watch Mistress 9
A very special mention must be reserved here for Mistress 9 - whose personality, encouragement and pure energy whipped up a buzz enough to keep a core group of us there, and the posts coming accordingly.

What began in the serendipity of a few people turning up at the same time, became a spark of forum life carefully nurtured by that lady.

That has been swiftly fanned into a frenzy of daily posts, discussions, sharing lives, reading fan-fiction above and beyond my own - interest enough to keep the forum going without necessarily resting upon my stuff.

You can be certain that Mistress 9 was holding the bellows at the time.

She's practically living in my PM box with ideas, suggestions and a keen eye on what's needful for individual users and the whole forum alike. At her instigation, I've upgraded the place to make it more user-friendly; fixed a load of bugs; begun to catch up on the out-standing website content; and added more forums etc.  She's like a Union secretary for anyone with account issues too. Letting me know if anyone's stuck in the wrong user group, locked out or whatever else might get in the way of them enjoying the forum, so I can make all problems go away.

It was Mistress 9's idea to bring in other MxM fan-fiction writers AND to add an area facilitating fan-fiction of my fan-fiction - as in Mello and Matt stories within my own universe, but written by other MxM authors.

Now THAT was bloody exciting. Being the author, I've never read original Matti!universe tales before!  I cried at the first one posted; the honour and delight was that raw. I don't think I'll ever be able to take those tales in my stride. They'll never be less than novelty, received with the kind of coy gratitude which has Orangepunch - witnessing it in real life - going 'awwww!' and telling the forum how cute I became upon receipt of the reading.

Matti!Universe Mello  and Matt Fan-Fiction

So yes, that's my final bit of news for those who enjoy the It Matters series of Mello and Matt fan-fiction.

You've now got a whole new avenue opened up in stories to read.

The powerful play goes on, as Uncle Walt so famously wrote, and you may contribute a verse.

MxM Fan Girls by Orangepunch

Misadventures of FanGirls...
by Orangepunch
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Ghosting the Street: Out Now 11th Novel in MRSJeevas's Mello/Matt Fan-Fiction Series

30/5/2015

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Picture
After much prodding by readers over the years, it's finally happened. Every single one of my MxM Death Note fan-fiction novels have been converted into eBooks.

Bearing original artwork by Spoiled-Kitten (gracias, guapa!) on their covers, they are available for download - absolutely free of charge - over here.  Some have two versions: an original and a remastered one. Others haven't been proof-read at all, but have been rushed into this format because it was the right thing to do.

I do hope that you enjoy them.

All of MRSJeevas's Fan-Fiction as eBooks

Image: MRSJeevas MxM Fanfiction eBooks

All of my Death Note fan-fiction eBook covers to date
As for why the sudden outpouring of creativity from me? That's a blog for another day. Tomorrow, in fact.

The hint lies with an old familiar icon.

Guns and Games Avatar
Well, it's been pretty exciting back-stage here with much going on. The big news that most will be waiting to hear (only for about the last two years...) is that I do have another MxM fan-fiction novel in the process of being published.

Called Ghosting the Street, it is the 11th novel in the It Matters series.

Chapters are appearing on a daily basis over on the He Moves Me Differently website's forum. Discussions regarding them are in full swing with seven chapters already posted.

The story picks up nearly two years after Walls Came Tumbling Down ended. In that novel, Matt made a promise to Ann that he'd kick the Seroxat. Though Mello never demanded anything, it was strongly implied that he'd soon be ensuring that Matt followed through on that vow. 'In before Seroxat ban' was probably the mentality behind Matt's epilogue comment that he'd be going through cold turkey, and Mello's response that he'd support him.

So how's that going for them?

Ghosting the Street is where you get to find out. But that isn't the only story being told here. There are three distinct parts within the same novel, each sparked by the other. The Seroxat situation is only the first part. After all of that, Matt deserves a nice treat, so Mello gives him something he's only ever dreamed could be a reality.

You'd be amazed just how many dreams can become reality, if you just dare to achieve them.  The third part contains a storyline which will leave readers wide-eyed with wonder. I've left loose threads casually flapping throughout several novels, which were always going to be caught and tied up here.

Time to actually do it then.

Ghosting the Street will eventually be published in the website's library and on AFF too, as well as being available as a downloadable eBook.

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Death Note's Matt Finally Gets His Musical Themes - A B C - Original Compositions

29/5/2015

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Image: Death Note Matt Musical Themes
Death Note's Matt listening to his music... ish

Death Note - Matt's Theme A B C | Original Themes by Lucas King

Every major Death Note character has their musical themes but Matt. Light, L, Misa, Mello, Near - we could all enjoy the hints of personality lifted from their scores, as composed by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi - but they missed Matt out.

Ok, there's a school of thought which says that Matt isn't a major character. It's one spouted by no-one who's ever taken a close look at the fandom and therefore grasps the popularity of young Mail Jeevas.

Now finally this musical deficiency has been made good by Lucas King. He's presented the world with three original compositions, inspired by Death Note's Matt, matching the genre, style and rhythms of those canon theme sets affixed to the other major players.

Let me introduce you to Death Note's Matt Themes A, B and C. They truly are quite wonderful. Thank you, Mr King.
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Cosplay Death Note News Store Now Open

22/5/2015

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Death Note costumes

Roll Up! Roll Up! Get your Matt goggles, Ryuk wings and Misa wig here!
I'd hardly say that these things are ever complete - what with different items coming on and off the market as whim and supply takes them - but insofar as I can make out, Death Note News now contains a tidied and open costume emporium.

Be gentle. You wouldn't believe the time it takes to crop, cut, snip and otherwise shove images of all shapes and sizes into anything approximating tidy. If nothing else, I'd be very grateful if you'd look merely to return and comment that the pictures look lovely. 

Tears were shed and tea was drunk. I'm British. The latter remains as read.

However, if you are in the market for a Death Note costume for all your convention, photography and prancing around the bedroom needs, then our Death Note cosplay store applauds your beautiful buying power.

And while you're about it, feel free to check out the other Death Note gift shops too.  Wonders await and you'll be keeping me in tea-bags.

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Death Note Memory Game to Download & Play

20/5/2015

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Looking to train your memory and reaction times in hitherto unforetold skills and greatness? 

Well, I've stumbled across a downloadable PC memory game with Death Note characters.  Which should make things a bit more fun.

Death Note PC Memory Game cards

Look! There's Matt! And an eye!
The set comes with twenty card - 5x4 - whereupon you have to match them up into identical pairs within the shortest possible time-frame.

Off you go, gamers.  Good fight.
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Death Note the Musical Songs in English

19/5/2015

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We've all been seeing Death Note Musical news and dress rehearsal videos coming out of Japan and Korea, but those of us in the English speaking world have yet to fully comprehend what we're hearing.

How can we know how Kira and L sound mid-duet, when the lyrics are strange to our ears? 

Obviously we could simply learn Japanese or Korean and stop being so lazy about it. But we don't have to, because a New York cast performed demos back in the day when Frank Wildhorn was writing all these songs. 

This is how they sound.

The Name is Kira - Death Note the Musical

- Peformed by Eric Anderson as Ryuk.

Where is the Justice? - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Jeremy Jordan as Light.

Stalemate - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Jeremy Jordan, Jarrod Spector and Adrienne Warren, as Light, L and Misa respectively.

Playing His Game - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Jeremy Jordan and Jarrod Spector as Light and L.

Honor Bound and Bound by Honesty - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Robert Cuccioli (I think!) as Soichiro Yagami.

When Love Comes - Death Note the Musical

Performed by Carrie Manolakos as Rem.

Only Human - Death Note the Musical

Performed by Eric Anderson and Carrie Manolakos as Ryuk and Rem.

At Any Price/Love You More - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Adriennne Warren as Misa Amane.
NOW what do you think of it all,  my fellow lazy monoglot compatriots?
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Ohio: Death Note Focus for The Anime Club

18/5/2015

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Image: Downtown Bucyrus, OhioDowntown Bucyrus by OHWiki
One here for Death Note fans in Ohio - particularly those in the Bucyrus area.

The Anime Club has chosen Death Note to be its monthly feature. Viewings begin on May 27th 2015, 5pm-7pm, in Bucyrus Public Library.

Newcomers wishing to attend should nip along to the library's Teen Room and grab a permission slip. Bring that to the event itself to be afforded access. Presumably old-timers already know what to do.

Lemonade and popcorn will be available to imbibe while watching Kira lose it on screen. You may pack your own snacks, if preferable.

For more details, contact Sherry Seiler on 419-562-7327 ext. 110, or ask at the library's reception desk.


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Lucas King Proposes Death Note's Matt Themes A, B and C Original Compositions

15/5/2015

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Time to bounce about in abject joy and happiness, Matt fans!

Pianist Lucas King is contemplating the composition of original music for Death Note's Matt.  While Kira, L, Mello, Near and others received the full three themes, poor Mail Jeevas received none.

Unless we count Action.

Death Note: The Piano Album by Lucas King
Cover from Lucas King's Death Note:
The Piano Album
Kickstarter campaign.
That only ever played during the Death Note anime scenes where Matt drove like a mad man across Tokyo, then was mowed down in a hail of bullets. The closest we had until now for a Matt Death Note theme.

But the ever talented Mr King is looking to make good this deficiency.

Last week, he nipped onto Death Note News to tell us all about his Kickstarter campaign, whereby his own arrangements of OST music - coupled with original tunes inspired by the story - would be released on an album.

I've been keeping my eye on his progress.  He's halfway towards his goal of £400 with just under two weeks to go.  But even more interesting than that was the comment he left in his updates:

Lucas King Matt Theme Promise
~ Lucas King Kickstarter Campaign promise (May 5th 2015)
If that strikes a chord with you, then you need to let him know. Click on the link to like it, comment, leave your pledge if you're feeling flush enough. But by all means tell him: YES!  DEATH NOTE'S MATT NEEDS THREE THEMES NOW PL0X In your own words naturally. kthxbai.

I, for one, am thoroughly over-excited by this one.  It's all about time too.
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Montreal Gets a Death Note Real Escape Game

14/5/2015

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Canadians are set to immerse themselves in a real world 5D Death Note game. Thus providing hope to the rest of the world that we'll all eventually get to play too.

Now open on Ontario Street, Montreal, 2-5 fans at a time may participate in the locked room adventure. Solving puzzles, following clues and otherwise using their wits to reach the exit within the allotted 60 minutes.

The Death Note Real Escape Game is available to play in both English and French, costing $56 a time. Though the grand opening allows half-price tickets - 25 Canadian dollars apiece - if you book online.

For us international types, this signals an opportunity to join the 10th Anniversary Death Note goodies previously on offer only in Japan.  The concept is clearly spreading out globally, which means it might be in our own countries before too long.

Anyone planning to go and check it out?

Death Note Real Escape Game in Montreal
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Korean Kira and Cast for Death Note the Musical Revealed

13/5/2015

2 Comments

 
An all singing, all dancing Kira is coming to Korea.

Running from Jun 20th - Aug 9th 2015, the Seongnam Arts Center Opera House, in Bundang, will witness the second world staging of Death Note the Musical, and the cast has been announced.
Death Note Musical Korea Kira Hong Kwang-ho
The starring role of Light Yagami will be filled by West End musical actor Hong Kwang-ho, alongside Korean pop sensation Kim Jun-su - aka Xia Jun-su - as his sparring rival L.

Fresh from Korea's stage production of Wicked!,
actresses Jung Sun-ah and Park Hye-na will be performing together again in the musical Death Note. They play Misa Aname and her shinigami Rem respectively.

The other shinigami, Ryuk, will be brought to life by Kang Hong-seok, whose most recent appearance was as Lola the drag queen in Kinky Boots. 

No word yet on who will be fulfilling the roles of Soichiro Yagami nor his tragic daughter Sayu. Not to mention the second actor undertaking the key part of his son Light. After all, there were two leading the show in Japan, playing Kira on alternate nights, as the position was so demanding.

However, there's already a trailer out and it looks freaking amazing!
Plus a poster circulating of the aforementioned Death Note the Musical Korean cast members already in costume:
Image: Death Note the Musical Korea

Clockwise from top left: Hong Kwang-ho (Light Yagami); Kim Jun-su (L); Death Note the Musical Korean
production poster;Kang Hong-seok (Ryuk); Park Hye-na (Rem); and Jung Sun-ah (Misa Amane).
Any thoughts so far on Korea's Death Note Musical casting?
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He Moves Me Differently: MRSJeevas Death Note Fan-Fiction Forum Upgraded & Updated

13/5/2015

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Header to MRSJeevas Death Note Fan-Fiction Site

Where the cool kids come to talk about Death Note fan-fiction...
My entire life seems to have been taken up with PhPBB code, group permissions, formatting and the like. At least insofar as 'my entire life' relates to today.

Rewind a couple of years and the He Moves Me Differently forum was buzzing with people wanting to discuss my Death Note fan-fiction.  That's back when I was crashing the counters on places like MangaBullet, receiving upwards of 300,000 hits within the space of about three months.

The website itself was a gift to my readers, voted into being as part of a poll post-The Mello Code.  I promised to produce something special, if I reached 6,000 hits on that novel. It hurtled way beyond that amount in about three days.  Then the forum was tacked onto the end, circa Annals of Fear 2, due to a request from Animeprincess.

But that was then, this is now.

More recently you could practically see the tumbleweed blowing through. Then suddenly, without any discernible warning at all, the place livened up again. I don't know which external forum or segment of cyber-space bigged up my stories, but it brought the people flocking to join in the chats.

Which meant that I really should update the blessed site, fix all of those bugs and ensure that the infrastructure was fit for purpose.

Naturally, I promptly crashed the whole thing. 

Several hours of wrestling with it later, all was working after a fashion, but I must have triggered some spambot alert somewhere. A veritable wall of spammers blocked the way into my notifications. The whole forum was at their mercy.  I had them summarily killed and built up our defenses.  All seems quiet now.

So onto fixing the multiple bugs I'd created in attempting to update it all in the first place.  That's what's taken up so much of today. But the result is a brand new, cleanly installed infrastructure; forum categories expanded/realigned/messed with; users assigned appropriate groups; and generally everything set out nicely for folk to visit and enjoy. I hope.

Amongst the new features is the capacity for Death Note fan-fiction other than my own to be under discussion.  Plus I'm creating a way for such tales to be added to my own website's library.  (In an exciting development for me, that includes other Death Note writers penning stories in my own universe!  There's already a couple of tales in there!)

Hopefully that will give the whole forum much more longevity and provide a place - above and beyond my own works - for folk like me to while away the long summer hours. 

Now all I need to do is fix the bloody header. As in - I can't get it to show up. Any ideas?

And if you used to be a regular on the forum, then may I recommend that you nip in again?  You might find much more going on than when you left.  All are most definitely welcome.


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It Matters Fan-Fiction: Watari 1 & 2, Plus Walls Came Tumbling Down as eBooks

12/5/2015

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I was approached yesterday by someone who has sight difficulties. She'd got as far as Annals 1, when the rest of the stories weren't in a format that she could read.

She wondered if I wouldn't mind uploading them onto a site, wherein she could easily transfer them into eBook format, then read on her Kindle.

Sod that. I have the technology, I can create. Thus I did.  The result is that you can now down every one of the already created eBooks in Kindle format here.


Each completed folder contains eBooks as ePUB, PDF, Mobi and AZW3.  If you need something else, ask and it will happen.

In addition to creating Walls Came Tumbling Down from scratch, I've uploaded Watari Pt 1 and Pt 2 - amalgamated into a single volume.  That's the one I've been on and off working towards proof-reading all this time. It's in there with typos and all.

You were going to get The Mello Code and Annals 1 too, but I had a bad migraine. I'm looking to get those created and uploaded over the next couple of days. Then you'll have the entire set.  I've linked each where you'll eventually find them.

Incidentally, I've joined her site too.  I'll upload the novels on Archive of Our Own sometime over the next week.

Enjoy!
Walls Came Tumbling Down Death Note fanfiction

Download Matti's Walls Came Tumbling Down as a free eBook here.
Download all MRSJeevas MxM Novels in our Death Note Bookstore

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Simon Barrett Won't Be Writing the US Death Note Movie Script - But Adam's Definitely In

11/5/2015

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Death Note Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
No light now for Simon's
presumed Death Note
As soon as the news broke that Adam Wingard would be directing the new Death Note movie, his usual scriptwriting partner was besieged by well wishers.

Prematurely, as it turned out.

It was an easy mistake to make. Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett tend to come as a double act. Barrett has penned the script for nearly half of Wingard's sixteen movies - 7 in total - including the one that they're working on right now (The Woods).

When they're not doing the director/writer thing, they're acting together, as in the movie 24 Exposures.  Or doing something randomly appreciated in the background. (Barrett received thanks in the credits of Wingard's Home Sick. It didn't say why.)

In short, it's a bona fide bromance. Where one goes the other generally follows. We might as well imagine Mello without Matt, as Wingard without Barrett. So pretty much everyone presumed that Adam's appointment - as director of the Death Note US live action movie - meant that Simon would be writing the script.

He's not.  He's outed himself as Death Note dumped on Twitter, after returning from a long day's filming on The Woods to find his social media straining under the weight of the fandom. An explosion of Death Note homies rushing to congratulate him on a plumb job snatched and landed.

Except he hasn't. Wingard's doing the big one without him. Poor love.

Image: Simon Barrett Death Note Tweet
~ Death Note Tweet by Simon Barrett on April 27th 2015
Maybe once Adam Wingard has his foot in the door, he'll try to ninja his old friend in.  You never know.  We'll just have to wait and see.

Contrary to the previous situation with Gus van Sant - last director in the frame - we do have some indication that Wingard is genuinely involved in our Death Note US live action film.  No frustrating silence there, he Tweeted a link to Hollywood Reporter article breaking the news; followed Manga US (and Todd Masters - Monster maker. Filmmaker. Creative Dude. - dunno if that is related); then finished up two days later with this lovely message:
Adam Wingard Death Note Tweet April 29th 2015
~ Death Note Tweet by Adam Wingard on April 29th 2015
Awww!  Bless him!  It must be pretty crazy being on the receiving end of all that!  Now as long as he makes the movie and doesn't break our hearts with watered down, moralistic crap - as Warner Bros was mooted to be pushing for under Shane Black's abortive tenure - then we'll continue to enthuse right along with him.

For now, I'm grinning right along in support and assuming that the director of V.H.S., The Guest and You're Next is going to  give us a Death Note that is suitably dark. 

(Or, at this stage, is it down to just 'give us a Death Note' in live action form?  Considers how bad that could possibly be given a Disney-esque filter or a non-ambiguous good guy/bad guy, black and white lens... No, I'd rather do without, if the only shades of grey allowed in Hollywood these days are the obligatory fifty of Christian's whip.)

Though with Simon Barrett's potential script already lost from the running, we can only assume that Adam Wingard will be working from the one already written and erstwhile gathering dust on the table. The original (give or take a dozen drafts and rewrites to date) penned by Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry, based on an earlier version - vetoed by Warner Bros - by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides.

Excepting Charley, all three are still listed by IMDb as the US Death Note scriptwriters, but they've since been joined by Fantastic Four screenplay writer Jeremy Slater. He was also responsible for The Lazarus Effect.

In short, is this still the script turned down by Shane Black as being too ridiculous to contemplate?  Or has Slater reinserted the Shinigami and returned Light to being the God of this New (or in our case, quite old and familiar now) World?  I guess time will tell whether we'll be pleased, or sobbing over could have beens before a silver screen resolutely not listing Simon Barrett's credit.

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Focus on a Fan: Mistress 9 from MangaBullet

9/5/2015

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As part of this blog, I promised to highlight those Death Note fans who scattered when MangaBullet went down.  Welcome to our monthly Focus on a Fan feature!

The rest of this entry is given over to, and penned by, Mistress 9!

Hello everybody! Mistress 9 from MB here. If you knew me from ffnet, then I used to write under the name Miharu is Haruka's Love Child. I think I have that name on AdFan too, but I've long since forgot my log in details from there. Oops? XD
Mistress 9 Death Note Fan

Mistress 9: Obligatory Selfie Collage
I wasn't around when MB went down for the count and as for my ffnet account? It got compromised and all my stories were wiped so I had to start fresh, like a phoenix from the ashes. The old account is still there but it's empty. I currently write as Banen.

So. My name is Madelyn Holly, aka Banen, and yes I answer to all of those IRL. I never used to give my name out, but I'm nearly 24 so I'm less paranoid now. I live in sunny southern California, just a short traffic-filled drive from Downtown LA.

I'm not sure where to start so I'll go ahead and begin with my ongoing relationship with Death Note and all the things that branch from it.

I was seventeen and a senior in high school when I discovered Death Note. I hadn't been much of a manga reader before then, but I had a few volumes of One Piece, Rave Master, Sailor Moon, and Yu Yu Hakusho, so I knew what I was getting into when my buddy Rosa handed me a copy of Death Note volume 1 during silent reading.

It was love at first light (bad pun).

That was 2008. This was during the time of my life where my only online presence was a long-forgotten MySpace and a semi active MSN messenger. I was a total n00b with computers; I'm surprised I had an email! And then 2009 happened.

2009 is important for several reasons. UCLA and Japan.

Mistress 9: Yaoi and UCLA

Mistress 9 and her Converse

My first pair of Converse and they had to be Batman and the Joker.
I entered UCLA in September of 2009 and my life changed because I discovered the power of non-dial up internet (I had dial-up internet in my house until late 2010).

With the explosion of the internet came my ability to explore the online world, albeit only while I was on campus because I've been a commuter student all my life.

(That's one hellish commute btw. I live only 33 miles from campus but I still have to get up at 4:30 AM to get to school on time).

One the first courses I ever took at UCLA was a year-long general education cluster titled Politics, Society, and Culture of Modern East Asia. I had four professors and nine post-doc teaching fellows teaching that class (you read that right, exactly thirteen people, each with their own specialty, working together to teach a single class).

That class was amazing for all kinds of reasons, but one of the main professors who covered (never forgot his name, Yamaji Smith) had us read a selection from the God Child manga as part of the curriculum. That was when I got my introduction to yaoi.

Yes, yaoi was on the curriculum.

That was also the time I found out about manga scans and where to read manga online. I quickly rediscovered Death Note and my world changed.

Then in November my parents surprised me with a late 18th birthday present - they sent me to Japan.

MangaBullet's Mistress 9 Goes to Japan

There were many many wonderful and beautiful things about Japan.

Going to the Pokemon Center, visiting Akihabara, Harajuku fashion, all the hype for the tenth anniversary of One Piece, eating real ramen for the first time, rubbing the statue of Hachiko and pretending like I was Neku from The World Ends With You DS game as I ran around all the places featured in the game, riding the subway, visiting shrines, taking pictures of Lolita and wedding ceremonies, discovering that Palette Town is a real place, going to Tokyo Disney Sea...
Mistress 9 in Akihabara

Akihabara 2009
Japan was more than I'd ever imagined it to be.

Due to some magical intervention from my cousin, I was set up at the Prince Park Tower in Akebanebashi district just a floor below the penthouse suites, and I kid you not, the view from where we ate breakfast... it was nearly the same view of the Tokyo tower that Light and Takada have during one of their meetings in the manga!

I was blown away. So very blown away. Best time of my life.

It was in Japan that I found out what doujins were, and consequently fan-fiction in general.

A Californian Death Note Fan

When I got back to California I went straight to ffnet and went straight for Death Note. I started off in LxLight but quickly moved to LxMxN stories. I might have read all the MelloxNear fics on the sight by Christmas that year.

By chance one of the fics mentioned this redheaded character that I didn't remember from anime. I changed my search settings to look for stories with Matt. My mind exploded and I never went back. I began publishing my first Matt and Mello story in February of 2010.

That same year, in that same class I mentioned earlier, around the time we were coving yuri after watching Ghost in the Shell, my TA Noriko asked if any of us were into fan-fiction, and more specifically, yaoi fan-fiction. I raised my hand and tried not to explode as I explained to whole class the merits of MxM.

School is so awesome sometimes.


But as time went by I was slowly crashing into deep depression.

Dark Looking-Glass: When Mistress 9 Went Down the Rabbit Hole

I wasn't posting so often anymore. I wasn't logging into MangaBullet, ffnet, Facebook, anywhere. I slowly began to isolate myself and I stopped caring about anything.

Even spending my 21st birthday at the 21st anniversary of the Anime Expo and meeting Vegeta's original Japanese voice actor didn't lift my spirits out of deep depression.

Although dressing up as a Lolita and meeting fashion designer Cyril Lumboy (aka Dolldelight), was probably one of the most fantastic moments ever.
Nothing could hold my attention for long, though.

I started skipping classes and not doing my homework. UCLA threatened to kick me out if I didn't get my grades back up to par and I found myself switching majors just to keep myself afloat. It was an ordeal to force myself to shower in the morning, much less do anything else.

Fast forward to December of 2012 and I found myself very close to jumping in front of a train in Korea Town on my way to a final exam.

I will spare everyone the nitty-gritty details of my breakdown, because the important thing isn't what was going on in my head during the times I wanted very much to die. The important thing is that I was kicked out of school and told sent to professionals who helped me reclaim my brain.

And that is what I've been doing since February of 2013.
Mistress 9 as Lolita Alice in Wonderland

Me in my Alice in Wonderland themed Lolita dress.

A Life Reclaimed with Mello & Matt

Raichu painting by Mistress 9

First time painting in years, I love this innocent Raichu
For the past two years I have been on a mission to not give up on my life.

There were hits and misses.

I've had panic attacks, my hair fell out in chunks, I gained tons of weight after having lost a grip of it.


My brain turned to mush. I lost the ability to recognize emotions in both myself and other people and I honestly feel like I'm rediscovering everything. Sometimes I burst into tears folding socks because I realize that I'm having the emotion of 'oh this isn't so bad' and that freaks me out.

It's incredibly crazy. But I'm getting better.
Every morning I look at a picture that Striped Tabby sent me for winning a Halloween contest on MB one year. It reminds me of the years building up friendships around the world and how we all connected over these fictional characters and how much love we poured into making our fan works... and I want to be apart of it again.

Every morning I look at that little Matt and Mello as they gaze up at the full moon under a tree and lean into each other for support and it helps.

Because that is what Death Note is for me, it's my greatest help and my greatest therapy. Death Note will never let me down. Mello and Matt will always be there for me. I'll grow up and become a proper adult who pays bills and takes care of herself so that I can have time indulge in the great pleasure that is MxM. :3

So what am I up to at this very moment in time?

Nail Art: Mistress 9 Finds Her Claws

I had to cut them painfully short a few weeks ago so I could type again, but I legit grew myself a pair of claws!

I'm getting steadily better at nail art.
Mistress 9's fingernails

My nails. Yes, my real nails.

School: Educating Mistress 9

Since I was able to prove that I can do satisfactory school work again...and more importantly that I'm not suicidal anymore, I was re-admitted to UCLA back in January of this year.

I'll be graduating from UCLA in 5 weeks with a BA in Spanish and Linguistics.

Yay for finishing, finally! June 27 (my real birthday) is gonna be my graduation party. Anyone gonna be in the LA area? You're invited. <3

I'm currently tutoring English Language Development students at my old high school, deciding if I like the idea of being a teacher. I might try the whole substitute teacher thing. My mom wants me to join the Navy and that certainly would be awesome but I'd have to lose weight and get off my meds first.

The thought of graduation is super scary because I have no idea what is gonna happen and I'm scared of the thought of being an adult. I should be looking for a job but I'm not read to grow up! Somebody take me to Neverland!
Mistress 9 with a beard

#1 on my bucket list was always to have a beard...

Death Note Writing: Mistress 9's Fan-Fiction

I made a new fan-fiction account late last year on ffnet and a few months ago I started reposting all the old stuff. One of my readers from back in the day had some backups of stuff and I found some other things on the ancient desktop that my bro uses.

My main titles (Tearoom, Barbie Boy, and White Chocolate) are getting make-overs and dear God do they need them. But I hate editing so I'm going a little slow at it. I'm still sticking with Death Note 99% of the time. First loves die hard.

But I'm must more excited about two projects I've put the front of my writing folder!

The first is already up a few chapters and it's called The Headliner. It's an AU where Mello has been rotting in jail for forty years, long-since convicted as Kira (but not in the conventional sense of Kira). But suddenly he has a chance to leave prison to go hunt down and reunite with Matt (who should have been dead).

The real kicker here though is that I'm finally getting around to including a NearxMello scene in one of my fics. I had hinted to this sort of relationship at times in Tearoom and more than a handful of people told me I should try writing it because seme!Near is so off the wall bizarre to imagine. But I'm gonna do it, and keep it in character if it kills me... I just signed my own death warrant didn't I? *gulp*

Buuuuuut I'm drowning in plot bunnies at the moment for a project I was just given to the green light to do! A fanfiction of Mrs-Jeevas' fanfiction! *dies* My own take on how Mello paves his way into the Mafia, but written in Matti!Canon. *devilish grin*

I've never bothered to really sit down and research and get source materials for a story before, so if nothing else this will be the best researched story I have ever written... whether I actually adhere to my own research is another thing *cough* but I'm so excited I can't sleep at night. I'll be in the shower and imagining Mello doing xyz and then rush to my laptop to jot it down so I don't forget to add it later.

Mistress 9's 20 eye Doc Marten Boots

#2 on my bucket list was to own a pair of 20 eye Doc Martens

Hook Back Up with Mistress 9

Where to find me:
  • Email me: banen.holly@outlook.com Don't feel awkward about sending me emails. This is the easiest method to find me because I get everything to my cell phone;
  • Banen on ffnet, because ffnet is still my main home;
  • I just made an A03. Gonna start posting soon under my most recognizable pen name, Miharu_is_Harukas_Love_Child;
  • I'm still hArUkAs-lOvE-cHiLd on DA, though I'm rarely there;
  • Facebook. I don't discuss the yaoi in public, but I most certainly will in PMs. If you request me, please send me a PM explaining who you are and how you found me.

Contact me privately and I'm not above exchanging phone numbers. Or you could get one of those fake texting numbers that let's you text from your computer and hit me up that way. I'm terrified of phone conversations but I'm all for texting :D Texting is my favorite method of communication atm.

- Madelyn <3

If you'd like to feature in Focus on a Fan, then please let me know via the contact form on this site. It would be great to know where we can find the old gang!
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Chinese Cyber Authority Cracks Down on Death Note

6/5/2015

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From June 1st, internet providers in China risk executives summoned to answer for their crimes, if Death Note is allowed to stream in the country.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has tightened its control over what may or may not be legally browsed online. On April 28th 2015, it released its 'Ten Clause Directive' aimed at creating a 'clean' internet.

Amongst the casualties are Japanese anime sites with Death Note topping the list of undesirable subject matter.


The action is part of a long-running campaign directed at any cyber content which the authorities deem 'inappropriate'.

That includes anything judged to be vulgar, violence, pornographic or promoting terrorism.

Death Note
is seen as particularly damaging for young audiences, along with titles like Parasyte and Attack on Titan.  Earlier in April 2015, the Ministry of Culture closed down a huge number of websites streaming such anime.

CAC has already called in officials from China's biggest internet providers, who have reacted by issuing in-house directives in line with the tightened regulations. They each have until the end of the month to remove all prohibited content from their portion of cyberspace.

Beyond June 1st, all violations will incur at least a fine - and the suspension or closure of whole websites, even if only a segment is judged criminal. For repeat or mass offenders, a summoning into a court of law is threatened.

Tens of thousands of columns, websites, personal accounts and message forums have already been removed from Chinese cyberspace.  I guess my little blog won't be seen in the country any time soon.

Chinese Lanterns

No Light in China
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