Brown Sugar Cocoa recipe <3

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #24

This recipe is my variation on the Brown Sugar Macchiato, which in turn is a variation of the caramel macchiato. 

You've probably heard of the caramel macchiato before, but maybe not the brown sugar macchiato. Well, it's actually the name of a drama in which the main characters are served brown sugar macchiato every day.

I thought it would be fun to recreate this drink, but you know how you're not supposed to drink coffee when you're young? I searched for a caramel macchiato recipe without coffee, but with no success. 

So, time for some deduction and experimentation. Caramel macchiato uses strong expresso, vanilla syrup, milk, and caramel syrup. Expresso is bitter, what can I use to replace it?

And so the brown sugar cocoa was born! Please enjoy the recipe below. 

INGREDIENTS

-cocoa powder

-vanilla extract

-brown sugar

-water

-milk

-whipped cream (opt.)

-chocolate syrup (opt.)

METHOD

Add two tablespoons of cocoa powder to a cup. It is essential that cocoa powder is used and not hot chocolate powder! 

Add one teaspoon vanilla extract and add just enough hot water for the cocoa to dissolve. 

Fill the rest of the cup with steaming milk or microwave on high for one minute. 

Stir in brown sugar to taste. For me, that's about two tablespoons. 

Now it's ready to drink! If you want to be fancy, add whipped cream and drizzle chocolate sauce on top. 

Enjoy!

Please support SERA00!

SERA00 Stories: The Decision to Audition - Harley and Fracken

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #23

So have you guys ever wondered how the top stars of SERA00 got where they are now? Imagine, if they had never decided to audition for SERA00, they wouldn't the famous SERA00 member they are today. As a result, I, Evie, donned my reporter's cap and went off in search of answers!

First, I found Harley, who is a fourth generation. Which also happens to be me and Rome's generation as well. Is it hard to believe that Harley and I are from the same generation? Although she's older, the gap between is us is admittedly very big. Harley was one of the fastest 00 ranks to be promoted, and for whatever reason, she and her motorcycle girl image shot to fame rapidly. Maybe it's because SERA00 is mainly composed of "cute" girls, but Harley can pull off both. She can slide into a sparkly pink uniform and sing and dance onstage and then don a leather jacket and pose with a motorcycle for a photoshoot right after, and she looks totally comfortable. Okay getting off track here.

Harley's background is somewhat famous for being unknown. Yep, did you have to read that twice? Harley's background is kind of a mystery; there aren't any official details on the SERA00 site, she never talks about it and has managed to dodge every talk show host's questions about her past. Even Angel, who is considered the closest member to Harley, once admitted in an interview that she didn't know anything about Harley's past. Or if she did, she never let on. 

So what does this talented yet mysterious girl have to say on this? *storytelling mode, switch on!*

"Umm," Harley furrowed her brows. "Is it that noticeable?"

"Not in the moment," I responded. "You dodge questions very smoothly but looking back on it, it's noticeable."

Harley nodded slowly, and then smiled at me. "Well I guess there's your answer then."

I pouted. "See, you're doing it again!"

Harley laughed. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Why you decided to audition for SERA00 and how come you never talk about your past."

Harley nodded again, as if she was actually going to fully answer both questions. Ha. As if. "Back then, my best friend and I were very close, but something happened that made me realize who she truly was, but in a good way. So then I decided I needed to make something of myself too. The day she took me to a Nighterfighter concert was the day I decided to audition for SERA00." For those of you who don't remember, Nighterfighter was one of the four in SERA00's pioneer generation, and is Team Night's namesake. 

"And why don't you reveal your past life?" I pressed on. 

Harley paused before answering carefully. "It's mainly because my entire past is affiliated with her, my best friend, and I deeply feel the need to respect her wishes, which is that none of the past we share gets out to the public."

I thanked Harley and moved on to a second gen member, Fracken, SERA00's fashion goddess.

"Hey Fracken!"

"Yeah? What's up, Evie?"

"Can I ask you some questions for the blog?"

"Sure."

"So, how or why did you you decide to audition for SERA00?"

"Honestly, when I auditioned for SERA00, my goals were very different from what they are now," Fracken said. "When I auditioned for SERA00, it was for the second generation, and SERA00 hadn't yet achieved the level of popularity as we have recently, so I wasn't doing it out of wanting to be an idol."

"Can you explain further?" I said, furiously jotting down notes. 

"Even back then, I was really interested in fashion. I joined SERA00 for the intention of adding experience to my resume, because I thought it would help propel me towards my dream career of modeling. But now, the way I view being an idol is very different. Actually being an idol myself makes me realize what's so special about this job, and I wouldn't have hesitated to make the same decision again. I love modeling, but being an idol is my life."

Ooh, very inspiring words from our fashion queen, Fracken! "Did you know about SERA00 prior to auditioning?"

Fracken thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "No, I don't think I did. Me and a group of friends were attending an anime convention, and we got a flyer for SERA00's second generation auditions. My friends suggested as a joke that I should try out, but I actually went home and searched up SERA00. I saw that although they weren't very popular, the first generation already had their own songs and had modeled for several promotional photoshoots, so I jumped on it as an opportunity to expand my modeling aspirations. And now here I am!"

So there are Harley and Fracken's stories, stay tuned for more!

Please support SERA00!

Introducing ECTI

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #22

YS ENTERTAINMENT ROSTER: ECTI

Pronounced "E-C-T-I" and stylized as "ECTI", this is a four-member boy band. The members are leader Park Sung-hyo "Sung-hyo" (17), Alex Xue "Alex" (17), Lee Woo-joon "Woo-joon" (17), and Fukuhara Kyou "Kyou" (18). 

You might recognize the name Alex Xue. Although not as popular as Huang Yu Yan, he is also a solo artist under YS Entertainment. Both DRE4M and ECTI started out as school idol groups made of Guilun Academy students. However as they gained popularity, and with the help of YS artists Alex and Yu Yan, they were able to sign with YS and debut successfully. 

Sung-hyo is the most athletic of the four, and is the leader and main dancer. Alex is probably the most well known of the four, and he is the lead singer. Woo-joon is known for his playful personality, and is ECTI's main rapper. Last but not least, Kyou, the oldest, is the group's stabilizing influence and sometimes collaborates with songwriters to write their own songs. He is the main instrumentalist. 

QUICK TRIVIA:

Has SERA00 met them before? No :(

Has SERA00 worked with them before? Unfortunately, no again...

Are any SERA00 members fans of ECTI? Well let's see, we're a bunch of (used to be) love-banned girls, plus a famous boy band in our same company whom we could potentially work with in the future... ((o(>.<)o)) <= *extreme fangirling* I think it would be hard to find a member who doesn't know ECTI, Huang Yu Yan, and DRE4M. 

My favourite song of theirs: Restless

Please support SERA00!

Dance studio remodeling, SERA00 School, Vancouver gala and more (am Igetting worse at titles?)

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #21

(this is harder than I thought it was going to be)

Remember the voting for remodeling our dance studios? Well, the final tallies are in and they're set to be renovated this weekend! Here are the results. 

Birch   42%

Blue    37%

Metal  67%

4.8      58%

So we will be having birch dance floors with blue walls, metal barres and the 4.8 sound system! Yayyyy~ 

As for SERA00 School, we're onto our fourth day of applications. There are still ten more days (or only ten more days) until the application period of two weeks is over. Although no preference is given to the order of applications, it's still good to get yours in earlier. There might be problems such as glitches in the system where your application isn't processed properly and didn't get through. If you submit last minute and it doesn't get through, there's no way of applying again after the application period closes. 

So far we have a little over a hundred applications scattered across the country but mainly in Ontario. 

Yesterday, Team Angel and Team Night attended the ceremony of this new provincial music program. It's a program created to help students gain more exposure to music, and it will be implemented by the provincial government. So far the program, called InTune, has been passed by Ontario and British Columbia. They held simultaneous ceremony gala-type dinner things for patrons and officials, you know what I mean. 

And so the beauty of SERA00 comes into play! We were invited to perform at the gala, but let's do the math here: two galas...one SERA00...or is it only one? The advantage of having so many members and splitting us up is that it allows us to do many things at the same time. 

Team Night performed at the gala in Toronto, Team Angel flew to Vancouver to perform at that gala, while Team Aurora filmed a TV appearance and covered yesterday's SERA00 Stage, along with the 00 ranks (I shouldn't be calling them all 00 ranks...but I still haven't revealed who got promoted. I'll remember to do that soon!). 

Anyways, it was really fun. We wore our costumes from the newest single, My Heartbeat. I don't think I've described them before, but basically the base top is red and black checkered material, with a black skirt that has one red stripe near the hem. On top there's a white vest with double buttons going down, and chains connecting the buttons side by side. 

...I just tried to draw a picture of it out of emoticon characters...fail. 

The red is more of a deep velvet red than a bright primary colour type red. There are also shallow caps. What are they called again? The stereotypical painter's hat...buvet? Duvet? Shoot, I seriously forgot. Beret!!!! Omg how could I forget? So about a third of us have red berets, and another third have black, and the rest have white. I have the red one. The colours match the ones on the uniform. 

Anyways, it was really fun. Because it was announced beforehand that we were flying into Vancouver the day of the gala, a bunch of fans were waiting at the airport to see us. Although regretfully there wasn't enough time to talk to you guys it was really nice seeing you! Thanks to the fan who gave me the phone charm!

Please support SERA00!

Introducing Huang Yu Yan

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #20

YS ENTERTAINMENT ROSTER: Huang Yu Yan

Huang Yu Yan is an extremely famous idol in Taiwan, and in the recent years her fame has spread to include most of the overseas countries. (You guys know what I'm talking about - Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, etc) She started out as a child actress before beginning her career as an idol. She is YS Entertainment's star in their roster and is only 16 years old.

In the past few years her career has stabilized, so she started attending Guilun Academy, where she met and started collaborating with DRE4M and ECTI. Since she has been in the entertainment industry since she was young, she cited the reason for attending school as wanting a "normal" high school experience and wanting to make friends. 

Many compare her to Alex Xue, who, like Yu Yan is a YS solo artist. However, Alex joined ECTI, Guilun's boy band, while Yu Yan did not join Guilun's girl group DRE4M. She has never given any reason for this except to deny a speculation that she thought she was too popular to join a school idol club. 

Huang Yu Yan has beautiful long blonde hair (like bleached to a type of Asian blonde only attainable by idols... I once had a friend who tried and turned orange -_-) is described by other artists as kind, down-to-earth, and with as normal of a personality as idols can get. She is rumoured to be dating fellow artist Alex Xue. 

QUICK TRIVIA:

Has SERA00 met Yu Yan before? I wish. 

Has SERA00 worked with Yu Yan before? No, but CASU-J will be filming a drama with her. Omg I'm so jealous!!! >:(

Are any SERA00 members fans of Yu Yan? Absolutely. Me, Sassan, Angel, Taz, Sammi, a lot of us know her. 

My favourite song of hers: Ai Shang Ni

Please support SERA00!

Arrival of the Idol: Episode 2 recap

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #19

Since episode 2 of Arrival of the Idol was broadcast yesterday I'll write a short recap. 

In the episode we showed the swimming open, track open and track semi. Obviously, these are not winter sports, but the Idolympics happen in the summer so we have to do these events in winter in order to get them done by the time we attend the Idolympics overseas. 

It's okay, the Arrival of the Idol director is so nice, she especially asked the community centre ahead of time to make the water two degrees warmer! We call her Iva. 

We filmed the track portion because it was easier and we didn't have to spend tons of time waiting for everyone to dry up before the makeup team can fix us up and then shoot the track. Okay. Basically, track first!

It was really cold so we used the indoor track. They have this three lane track suspended around the outside of the second floor of the building, and the sides are all windows so you can see the runners from the inside of the second floor as well from outside. 

We had heats of three (I mean what else can we do?) and half the participants were cut out. I was cut out, I'll admit I'm not really a great runner and I'm tiny and short and slow...*sigh* Rome made it though, she's really fast and she just happened to be in my heat and laughed her head off when I literally finished fifty seconds slower than her. Hmph!

Long story short; it took us about twenty heats to get through everyone! We had to stop for lunch before filming the semis. Iva got us hot lunches. Huge pot of fried rice, vegetables, chicken, beef, pork. Are you wondering why there's so many plates of meat? Don't be offended, my vegetarian and vegan friends, we idols live off of meat... It gives us energy and energy equals high performance! I can't say that there weren't a couple of vegetarians who became non-vegetarians after joining SERA00 either. It's not that we want I intentionally kill and eat the animals, it's just a part of our diet. 

Anyways, I sat out the next hour or two since I flunked out of my first race, got my makeup waterproofed, hair done (they put my hair in a braid). 

And swimming...mwahahahaha!!! Rome can't swim for her life *evil grin* it's revenge time ;)

Am I a good swimmer? Watch the episode for yourself. I used to dive before SERA00, so I can do tricks off the diving board. Of course Iva seemed to know that so shots of me diving should have made it into the episode. I finished with a good time, advancing to the open in the 400m swim, and barely made it through for the water games. 

In the end, this is an entertainment show, so  we also included some games as competition so those who can't swim can participate too. So a bunch of floaty mats were lashed together to form a bridge and you go in pairs. You have to piggyback the other person and get across the pool first before the other pairs. 

I actually didn't team up with Rome cuz we couldn't lift each other so I was put with Brindle who is big enough to piggyback me. Needless to say we fell in the water three times getting across but still managed to qualify for the semi somehow! I don't expect to come out anywhere near the top in this "discipline" >.<

Please support SERA00!

Introducing DRE4M

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #18

YS ENTERTAINMENT ROSTER: DRE4M

Pronounced "dream" and stylized as "DRE4M", this is a three-member girl group. The members are leader Jeon Su-min "Sumin" (age 17), Yukimura Setsuna "Suna" (age 17), and maknae Miya Miyuu "Miyuu" (age 16), making for an average age of 16.7. 

This description will be considerably longer as I'm actually a big fan of them. And of ECTI and Huang Yu Yan, who will be introduced later, but you should keep these names in mind as these three acts are connected. 

So this girl group, as well as ECTI, there's not really one location you can put to them, but if I had to I'd choose Taiwan just because they were formed by YS Entertainment Taiwan. DRE4M is really popular in Korea and Japan as well, and spend as much time over there as they do in Taiwan. This is mostly due to the fact that the members are still in high school, and attend the prestigious international school Guilun Academy. Yep. Guilun Academy. 

Sumin is the leader of DRE4M. She's excellent at both vocals and dancing, and is rumored to be dating ECTI's leader. Because, DRE4M and ECTI work closely together, they have many fans who ship them. Suna is amazing at hitting high notes. She is fashion icon for many girls and is often ranked among the most beautiful idols. Miyuu is a petite girl with long black hair and a lot of spunk. She is the maknae (youngest) and is very flexible. 

QUICK TRIVIA:

Has SERA00 met them before? No. 

Has SERA00 worked with them before? No. I wish. 

Are any SERA00 members fans of DRE4M?

YESYESYESMEEEEE!!

Please support SERA00!

SERA00 School & backstage at the Winter Concert!

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #17

Oooh the atmosphere is both exciting and tense right now. We are backstage at the SERA00 2014 Winter Concert!! The Overture is about to play at 6:30, followed by O Canada, cuz like the Olympics :) For those of you who attend our theatre stages, yes, we usually start of with the anthem, but come on guys it's our Winter Concert!

The concert is titled "Snowflake Symphony" and will feature SERA00 and CASUT00. We've prepared some collaboration songs for you guys!

So anyways, we're about to go onstage, and I'm really nervous so I decided to post something. 

Remember how SERA00 crashed a school at the end of the school year last year? Well we're doing something like that again. But instead of performing this time, we're going to attend instead ;)

You heard it! SERA00 members will be attending schools across the country for one week! After, the members in each school will hold a mini-live for the city the school is in. 

Of course, all this is filmed. Recall time again: remember how I said there are four major activities associated with the four seasons? Summer is the Summer Concert, autumn is the election, winter is the Winter Concert, and spring is the? The spring promos and recruitment! Yesss it is that time of year again. Can you believe our 00 ranks have been in SERA00 for almost a year? I predict we'll be seeing quite a few promotions during the Winter Concert. And of course, with promotions also comes graduations :( dw guys I'm not graduating any time soon though!!

So basically, this project of "SERA00 School" is part of the spring promos and will be broadcast. Some of you might wonder, what about members who've already graduated high school? Will they take part? The answer is yes! If a member is still in school they will be put in a class of their actual grade. If a member has already graduated, they will come to your school as a student teacher ;) how many of you are already fangirling/fanboying at the prospect? 

To apply go to our official site for more information. You need permission from your principal to apply and applications start today! Good luck everyone and WISH ME GOOD LUCK TOO THE WINTER CONCERT IS STARTING OMGGGG I HEAR THE OVERTURE BYE GUYS!

Please support SERA00!

New hairstyle ^_^

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #16

l'll treat you to some random facts of the day. Let's see... Rome went to a doctor's appointment (she's got a mild cold, but dw the doctor said she's ok!) and Angel took Luraland and I to the hairdresser's. Luraland went a bit bolder this time; normally she dyes her hair a blonde one shade lighter than her natural hair, and has some pink streaks. Today she dyed her hair a milk chocolate brown, but keeping her signature pink highlights. 

Hey everyone'

I got my hair trimmed a bit, and warmed up the tone a bit (my hair's naturally an ashy brown colour), but didn't do much to it. LIAR GUYS SHE'S LYINGTOYOU SHE HOT A PWEM NOWSHEHEASWABYHAIRR

Translation of Rome's keyboard takeover: Liar guys she's lying to you she got a perm now she has wavy hair...

Ok she's right I doooo!! And I love it <3 ^_^ hehe my hair now has really big flowy waves now. 

And what did Angel do? Angel naturally has dark dark brown hair. She looks more Chinese than not, but because she's not fully of Chinese descent, as you guys know, her hair isn't jet black like Sassan's is. Or you know, was at birth before she became an idol and now it's even lighter than mine. Anyways, Angel dyes her hair too, her usual colour is a light caramel colour, and today she dyed it almost four or five shades lighter, matching even Luraland's blonde, and has really cool pastel colour streaks, blue, purple and pink. It looked really messy as I watched the hairstylist do Angel's hair as mine was being permed. It's not like her hair was blonde with a couple of streaks here and there. It was like, legit colourful, there's more pastel colours than blonde hair! It looked so messy and weird, like someone spilled a pallet of paint on her head at first. But when the stylist washed and dried her hair and combed it out, OMG SO BEAUTIFUL. Like it was a waterfall of pastel. And then he curled and styled it and like OMGGG SO JEALOUS. I wish I could pull it off!

I don't have a picture for you (yeah, you'd think SERA00's official blogger should have access to post photos of members on the blog! Ahhh management come on and sort the matter out already, it's been a YEAR) but I found one online that looks like it!

This is Sulli from f(x) it's kind of like that but the blonde is lighter. 

After that, Angel and Luraland were going to have tea and invited me along, but I declined cuz I have a lot to do. I have a heap of homework and have to attend extra practice for my solo in the Winter Concert on Sunday! Also it's kind of awkward going out with only Angel and Luraland, as they're always so silent! Since they use sign language to communicate. It's like

Angel:

Luraland: *nods*

Luraland:

Angel:

Luraland:

Angel:

Angel:

Luraland:

Angel: 

Angel: Evie, doing okay with your perm over there?

Me: Yep!

Angel:

Luraland:

Angel:

Luraland:

Me:...

Please support SERA00!

f(x) Sulli

Olympic thoughts~

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #15

Yep, that low low number up there, combined with today's date, is kind of freaking me out. I need ten more posts in seven days! Can I do it? 

Congrats to the men's hockey team in Canada vs USA today, WOOOO GO TEAM CANADA!

Did you know that during the duration of the Games, we've started off our theatre stages with the Canadian anthem instead of the Overture? We got on the news for that hehe ^_^

A lot of the figure skating fans in SERA00 are bummed out by the results from the women's figure skating. Adelina Sotnikova of Russia won the gold, defending champion Kim Yuna of South Korea won silver, and Carolina Kostner of Italy came in to collect the bronze. There's a lot of controversy around whether the scores are fair, or perhaps slanted in favour of the Russian skater. 

I'm seeing many netizens slamming the judges and Sotnikova for stealing Kim Yuna of her gold medal when she rightly deserved it. 

On YouTube, the video of Adelina Sotnikova has around a whopping 85% disapproval rate versus Kim Yuna's above ninety approval rate. All the comment boxes are filled with critical messages for Sotnikova and the judges, and full of praise and encouragement for Kim Yuna. 

What am I trying to get at? I don't know either, I'm just kind of ranting. I feel like ranting again after my recent photoshop rant. 

Who's side am I on? Kim Yuna. I am part of the many who believe that Kim Yuna outperformed Sotnikova so well that the five point gap between their scores is unfathomable. It should have been the other way around, with the Ice Queen on top. Kim's perfect program and beautiful poise just cannot be matched by any other figure skater. 

However, I do feel bad for Sotnikova as she's feeling the hate from the public. She was given a score that may or may not have been inflated, and is now facing the netizens' wrath, when I don't think she was really involved in the desicion. I read a comment that really made sense to me: Hate the scores, not the skater. And that's what I think we should all do. Protest your heart out for Kim Yuna; but at the scores, not the skater. Adelina Sotnikova did not skate badly, she was just given a questionable score. 

Anyways, I applaud you if you're still with me. Please support SERA00!

Winter Concert Date, Wynter Wondercyti photobook, Photoshop?

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #14

(INSERT: YEAH CANADA!!! Seriously amazing comeback for the gold in women's hockey!)

It's finally here! This Saturday is SERA00's long awaited Winter Concert! Parts of it will be aired the following Sunday right after the Arrival of the Idol slot for those who couldn't make the concert. 

Sometime in March we will be releasing our Wynter Wondercyti photobook to include photos from the Winter Concert. 

Since its not a solo photobook like some members have, it's basically photos from this past season of SERA00 doing stuff, and it's not actually shot from a photobook, like with posing and backgrounds. If you've never seen one, it basically has photos of members at concerts, singing and dancing onstage, around the complex, on the streets, at the theatre, eating, random shots, etc. These are arranged in collage format, with interspersed full-page photos of members. 

These are usually taken at an actual photoshoot, so it's only a couple of more famous members that have one or two full pages. But this time I'm so excited to announce that there's a two-shot of Romevie!!!!!!!! There's one full page photo of us!

I want to take this chance to address something to those who obviously don't know SERA00 well enough to be criticizing us; Photoshop. 

"They've been completely photoshopped" "too much photoshop" "look how much fat they chopped of her arm" PUHLEASE. We aren't IDOLS YOU CAN MEET for nothing. Buy a freaking CD with a handshake ticket or some event ticket and come see us for yourself in real life. I'm sure most SERA00 fans already know this as its talked about substantially in the forums. 

Any photo officially released by SERA00 is guaranteed not to have changed the idol's body shape through photoshop. That includes official photobooks, single covers, photos included with the singles, photos on merchandise from our official shop, signed posters, etc. 

I can't say that there's no photoshop involved, since it is used to improve lighting, colour correction, adding backgrounds and effects, but no, they don't shave off fat or enlarge our eyes! It's part of what makes us more like idols you can meet.

However, be careful of outside advertising of us though. We have limited control over, say, what a magazine's photoshop expert does to us. But I think most of the companies and people we work with recognize and respect our policies. 

So, anyways, that rant is over. Recap: Winter Concert this Saturday, Wynter Wondercyti photobook coming out soon!

Please support SERA00!

SERA00 and patisserie Yumirenn presents... the SERA00xYumirenn ShortFilm!

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #13

For Valentine's Day this year, SERA00 teamed up with the famous patisserie Yumirenn (pronounced you-me-renn) for a series of commercials!

You may have seen short commercials featuring different SERA00 members, but they were all made of clips taken from a twenty minute drama produced in collaboration with IEtv. The members featured in the commercials are the main cast of My Heartbeat, and other SERA00 members may have made cameos as extras. For example, Sassan's friends Kotoka, Yumichan and Tomiko graced a portion of the commercial. 

Basically, the drama follows a girl, Sassan, who is lamenting this year's Valentine's Day as she doesn't have anyone to spend it with. She walks past a bakery and stops to admire the pretty cakes. <<insert mouth-watering shots of Yumirenn desserts>> A waitress from the bakery, wearing a uniform with a clearly visible "Yumirenn" comes out and offers Sassan a macaroon to try. "Morning, miss, care to try one of Yumirenn's exquisite macaroons?"

This waitress is...River! So Sassan accepts and eats as she steps inside the fancy little shop. There are a couple of girls having tea; Kotoka, Yumichan, and Tomiko. They don't have any lines except conversing in mixed Jap-Eng in the background. 

Sassan ends up buying a couple of macaroons upon River's suggestion and sits down in the corner with a cup of tea. A couple of seconds later, a young girl rushes into the shop and shouts for "Rosie and River". This is Sammi. 

As Rosie comes out of the kitchen in matching uniforms with River, Sammi slams down a large stack of flyers. "They're printed!" They start talking. There's a close up of Sassan's face taking interest in what they're talking about. The camera doesn't move as some legs flash by; presumably Kotoka, Yumichan, and Tomiko leaving. 

Rosie, seeing Sassan's interest, nudges Sammi. "Bring one over to our guest." However, as soon as Sammi sets eyes on Sassan, her eyes widen, she gives a little scream and runs out the shop. In a good way. Kind of. 

Anyways, Rosie comes over and explains the flyer to Sassan. It's Yumirenn's Valentine's Day challenge. It's a scavenger hunt for ingredients around town, and friends of the Yumirenn staff each have one type of ingredient. If you get all, you'll win some cakes and desserts, etc. 

That's the basis of the drama. The rest of the drama has Sassan going around town and getting ingredients from different people, obviously SERA00 members. Along the way Sassan's character realizes that Valentine's Day is not all about having a significant other. 

I don't want to spoil all the parts~ but this is the breakdown of the drama into the commercials.

CF 1: "Sweet Discovery"

That's the beginning I described up there. Members: Sassan, River, Rosie, Sammi

CF 2: "The Little Ones"

Sassan finds her first ingredient at a childcare place. Members: Sassan, Geneviève, Maya, Brindle

CF 3: "Nostalgic Pages"

Sassan learns the stories of the storekeepers of a vintage bookstore and gets her second ingredient. Members: Sassan, Luraland, Evie, Rome 

CF 4: "Swimming Thoughts"

The third ingredient is being held somewhere rather different; a fish market. Members: Sassan, Luna, Wyoming, Eden

CF 5: "Runaway Memories"

Her final ingredient is given to her by two girls who run a small business, a ranch on a large piece of land inland. I'm pretty sure this one is the longest of the six CFs. Members: Sassan, Angel, Harley. 

CF 6: "Sweet Remembrance"

Having completed the challenge, Sassan has a new appreciation of Valentine's Day through the experience of meeting all the girls. She is enjoying her sweets <<again, generous shots of Yumirenn cakes, omg they look so good can I just eat them off the screen?? Of course all the CFs have shots of their food, but "Sweet Discovery" and "Sweet Remembrance" have the most>>. 

Sammi, who's character rushed out of the shop in the first part of the drama, makes her second appearance now. She has dragged another girl along with her - Fracken. She seems really annoyed by Sammi dragging her along, but she stops in her tracks and freezes as she sees Sassan, and so does Sassan when she sees Fracken. 

The two of them stare at each other until their eyes water, and a brief series of flashbacks tell us that the two were once best friends. The drama closes with the two hugging. The end <3

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

Please support SERA00!

Happy Valentine's Day!, LOVE BAN RULE? and Sochi Olympics

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #12

We're exactly halfway though the month and I'm not halfway through the challenge yet! Adfhjfkdjskakgottawritefastergottawritemore...

Those of you lamenting about Single's Awareness Day, please consider our SERA00 girls here, which, after the graduation of Lavina Stanbee, no one actually has a boyfriend. 

HOWEVER, we shall see!!! Because remember how Miss Avery said she had a present for us to be revealed on Valentine's Day? Oooh well that announcement brought about huge reactions among SERA00 fans. You might have already seen reactions online. But more about that later :)

Today was the men's figure skating final (EDIT: I wrote this on Valentine's Day!) and Patrick Chan won silver! And Yuzuru Hanyu won gold. So after, the members were all clustered around a computer watching interviews and videos of Yuzuru Hanyu, fangirling and making Sassan and Angel translate the Japanese. Canadian spirit at its best!

So, what was the announcement? Do you guys remember the "love ban rule"? It's not technically an official rule, since it's not legal in Canada to fire someone based in their relationship status. However, especially overseas, it's a general rule that idols, mostly idols in large "idols you can meet"-type groups, are discouraged from dating during the height of their career. 

Since we're under YS Entertainment, and overseas agency, it's inevitable that this hidden rule affects us. So although you can have a relationship and still be in SERA00 without being fired, the public and your fans will often look down on you, and more than often the member feels pressured to graduate. 

Today, Miss Avery announced that the relationship rule...would be lifted from SERA00! "SERA00 Management has been in talks of this for months now, and we thought today would be an appropriate day to announce this. This will be effective for one year until next Valentine's Day, subject to change, when we will reconsider and look back on the last year," Miss Avery announced as she appeared on the theatre stage. "SERA00 members should feel free to have a public relationship, and fans should not pressure members in relationships to graduate or leave SERA00."

Of course by now members onstage and backstage alike are in shock. I was backstage when it happened and it was totally silent. Creepily silent. 

Well, I wonder what this new development will mean for SERA00? We will wait and see ;)

(INSERT: wow, a couple of days after the announcement and SERA00 has completely dominated the front of the newspaper and magazines, and is one of the hottest search terms...just wait until the photos start popping up!)

Please support SERA00!

Arrival of the Idol: Episode 1 recap

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #11

Yesterday was the first filming for the preliminaries for the Idolympics! The show is called Arrival of the Idol: 2014 SERA00 Concours and it'll be broadcasted Sunday nights. I think the pilot will be broadcast next month? Don't take my word for it though. (EDIT: pilot episode on Family Day weekend!)

I'm so excited!! I got another access pass from Miss Avery so I can do the backstage report. Management made a deal with a sports club nearby our theatre where the show will be filmed. They've got big, new facilities and enough room for the filming crew and all of our members to wait comfortably.

So the first episode is dancing, the open. We filmed this in their biggest gym. We got there around nine in the morning, preparing for a five hour shoot for the first episode. The actual episodes are only one hour, so you can see the difference between the work done and the end product. A lot goes into one episode. But of course, since it's not a drama, there aren't retakes or anything, the camera just keeps rolling. 

The staff were setting up a lighting system, big spotlights transported from our theatre. We already encountered a misfortune before shooting started. The production team sent by the TV channel had a malfunctioning light that couldn't be quickly fixed, so Ms. Tallan had to go back to our theatre and get one of the guys to drive over a SERA00 truck with our own equipment -__- however the channel apologized and reimbursed us and promised it wouldn't happen again. 

For the first bit we chose team colours. Team Aurora, led by Fracken, chose pink. Team Angel chose white, Team Night chose black (yeah, very funny), and the 00 ranks chose multicolour.  We then changed into uniforms matching our respective colours. Aurora wore the Seventh Heaven uniform, which is like entirely pink. Angel wore the Wynter Wondercyti uniforms, which have more colours (and sparkles!) than white, but mainly white. (cuz like, snow) Night wore the Accelerate uniform, and 00s wore the Tea Party uniform, which is basically a mad mix of colours. 

If you watch the episode, it'll seem like we chose the colours on screen, and then went to change. But in reality (spoiler!) of course they were already chosen before and no matter how much we seemed to discuss it on screen, it would still have been the same results. I mean, each member didn't even bring more than one uniform!

Each team sent up a representative dancer, and they would get a thirty second dance off. Two dancers were eliminated each round by the panel of judges (I forget their names >.<) But you can't plan it, like "oh they're sending up that member, hey, I know you can beat her so you go up now". You can't do that since you're not told the other teams' order of dancers until they're actually up. 

Long story short, half our members were eliminated. Did I qualify for the next round? Did Sassan? Luna? Angel? ooooooh~ watch the first episode to find out ;)

Please support SERA00!

NEW 25th Single: My Heartbeat

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #10

The 25th single, My Heartbeat, is out! We performed it for the first time this morning on Music Morning, and it will be released on Valentine's Day <3

If you've followed my previous posts you might recognize the slight name change from Heartbeat to My Heartbeat. Idk, maybe they thought it was more Valentine-y?

Here's the main cast:

Luna 

Sassan 

Harley 

Angel 

Fracken 

Luraland

River 

Maya

Rosie 

Geneviève 

Evie

Rome

Sammi

Eden

Brindle

Wyoming

Comparison to 24th single main cast:

OUT: Kotoka, Alyss, Kansas, Cherry, Yumichan

IN: Rome, Sammi, Eden, Brindle, Wyoming

SERA00

My Heartbeat

Lyrics

VERSE

Sometimes you ask me why I run away

Do I love you do I care

I can't 

Can't lay my emotions bare

Sometimes you ask me why I look away

Look you straight in the eye 

I can't

Can't keep my thoughts calm

BRIDGE

Can you hear it pounding

Every time you get close?

CHORUS

The blood rushes to my face

When you look at me

Can't control my heartbeat

My heartbeat

It jumps and skips a beat

When you brush against me

Can't control my heartbeat

My heartbeat 

~

Please support SERA00!

Arrival of the Idol Events listing!

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #9

(I actually tried to post this last night but the wifi wasn't working properly, sorry!)

So because the listings for the Idolympics have been published, but only for management so I can't post it here yet, the Arrival of the Idol events have been finalized. They will cover the major events from the Idolympics. 

We're actually almost done filming the Arrival of the Idol episodes, we're on the 7th, the second last. I'm told episodes start airing sometime this or next week? I'm in the process of writing some posts on it!

The Idolympics begin shooting around the beginning of March. It's not all dancing and singing, it actually covers sports as well. Because of its lengthy run, they shoot everything from winter sports in March to summer sports when it gets longer and everything idoly in between. 

So here's the events. We just need to shoot the new ones on the finalized lists and we're done! There are three rounds for each event; open, semi, and final. 

BROADCASTED

EP 1

Dancing Open Part 1

EP 2

Swimming Open

Track Open

Track Semi

EP 3

Dancing Open Part 2

EP 4

Ski & Snowboard Open

Ski & Snowboard Semi

Ski & Snowboard Final

EP 5

Singing Open Part 1

EP 6

Figure Skating Semi

Swimming Semi

Track Final

EP 7

Singing Open Part 2

EP 8

Figure Skating Final

Results Announcement

No, you didn't read it wrong. Only the Opens for Dancing and Singing are broadcasted, don't want to flaunt our secret weapons so soon ;)

Luraland fans will be disappointed cuz she got a free pass to the Singing Finals as she usually does (throat condition), so she doesn't sing at all in the show. 

Also Figure Skating doesn't have an Open, since if you don't already know the sport there's basically no way for you to compete. So that's that, and when the results come out I'll tell you that!

Please support SERA00! 

Introducing Dolce

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #8

...I think I'm falling behind schedule, it's already the tenth of February!! Anyways...

YS ENTERTAINMENT ROSTER: Dolce

Pronounced "DOUL-chay" and stylized as "Dolce", this is a seven-member girl group. They are known for their cutesy style catchy songs. Their average age is 21, and their leader is Sasaki Aria. 

QUICK TRIVIA:

Has SERA00 met them before? Yep, when Dolce came to Canada on their world tour. SERA00 guest starred in their concert, cuz you know, same company and stuff. 

Has SERA00 worked with them before? Yes, on the world tour. Also we shot a MV with Aria. 

Are any SERA00 members fans of Dolce? Hmm hard to say, I think pretty much all of us are aware of Dolce and will discuss new songs and stuff, but I'm not sure whether anyone actively follows them?

My favourite song of theirs: Catch Me If You Can

Please support SERA00!

Vote for dance studio remodeling!

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #7

Have you guys seen any of the SERA00 remodeling ads around town? You can vote online for how our dance studio should look! And there will be a lucky draw of all voters, and five of them will be chosen to tour the Complex and meet with their favourite member :)

The decision will be made up of 40% members' votes, 20% public votes, and 40% management votes. So vote vote vote!

The choices are as follows. You choose one from each category. 

DANCE FLOOR

1) rubber

2) birch

3) expresso

4) maple

WALLS

1) blue

2) pink

3) purple

4) green

5) yellow

BARRE

1) metal

2) wood

3) plastic

SOUND SYSTEM (see voting page for more details)

1) 5.5

2) 2.1

3) 4.8

I already casted my vote :D

Please support SERA00!

Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics~

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #6

Did you watch the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony? All the members were glued to the grand hall today where the ceremony was being shown >.< it was really cool though, especially all the galaxy and universe stuff. I really like those ^_^ anyways, just wanted to share with you!

Ahh if the Olympics come back to Canada I wish we could perform at the opening ceremony. Or closing.

Please support SERA00 and WOOOOOOOOO GO CANADAAAAAAAAA!

Introducing Tem:po

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #5

Remember our company, YS Entertainment? Its headquarters scattered across Asia, but they manage international artists as well. I thought I'd introduce you guys to the other artists in our company's roster. 

YS ENTERTAINMENT ROSTER: Tem:po

Pronounced "tempo" and stylized as "Tem:po", this is a three-member ballad boy band. 

Tem:po is located in Taiwan, and they are popular amongst teens in their twenties and older women. The average age of this group is 28, the oldest average of the company. 

The members are Cay (27), Pak Ho "P.H." (28), and the leader Liem (29). 

QUICK TRIVIA:

Has SERA00 met them before? Not that I know of. 

Has SERA00 worked with them before? Obviously not, then. Their average is a lot higher than our 19. It used to be higher before the late twenties members like Lavina Stanbee graduates and the latest batch of 00 ranks swarmed in and pulled down the average. 

Are any SERA00 members fans of Tem:po? Luraland is. Because Tem:po undoubtedly has the best vocals of all the male groups. I'm not sure about anyone else. 

My favourite song of theirs: Wo Kan Jian Ni (I See You)

Please support SERA00!

The Job Board...and remodeling!!

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #4

The job board came back today. Usually it only happens when SERA00 Management is overloaded, but maybe they also do it once in a while as a sort of "gift" for the less popular members. 

The job board is basically a list of schedules for the next few weeks and how many members are needed for each. Anyone can sign up for an available space that fits in their schedule. Normally schedules are fully decided by the management, but if they claim they're busy then they'll bring out the job board. 

It's such a gift because members who aren't chosen often for high-exposure gigs have a chance to get themselves that schedule. 

A lot of girls were squealing over big names like the Peach magazine photoshoot, NYC catwalk, guest star on Shh!, etc. I kind of had a realization then. Maybe the fans on the internet are right? Is SERA00 Management starting to push me? I found that I didn't really have to look at the job board because 1) my schedule is already full, and 2) I'm already scheduled to participate in those events. I'm in for the Peach photoshoot, Shh!, and Music Café, an overseas music show. 

What else? I'm deviously thinking of ending this post here and continuing what I was about to write as a separate post since I just realized February ONLY HAS 28 DAYS O__O and I need at least 24 posts!

*sigh*

But I promised not to cheat so...

Remodeling! Ms. Tallan, the complex manager (remember her?) said that we're remodeling either the dance studios, including the grand hall, or the dorms. Of course a lot of members (...yes, including me...) immediately voted for the dorms, but in the end the dance studios won over because all the seniors were like "dance studios are more practical since SERA00 is your job" and everything. 

Right now our multiple dance studios have peeling rubber floors - no, that is not a special type of rubber; the rubber is really so used its peeling off -_-. And one wall of mirrors/barres. That's basically it. The ceilings aren't even finished. 

When the renovation is completed later this week, the walls will be painted, hardwood floors will be put in, and floor to ceiling windows, and a high-tech sound system in the grand hall. 

Are you thinking why we aren't renovating the theatre first? Hmm I think it's because it's been with us since debut and fans and members alike recognize it as a SERA00 space. So if we renovate it, it will probably be only a touch-up paint job or new carpets, lighting and sound. We won't be able to make use of the entire value of the sponsored renovation ;)

Please support SERA00!

Snow Day? :)

Heyyy everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #3

How was the snow day today? I heard from some of my non-SERA00 friends that the snow was really heavy and there was a lot of traffic. Most of them said they stayed home. 

Well...here at the Complex...ahh, everything is in the same building. Residential, school, practice, recording, performing. We have no reason to not attend. Therefore I will never experience the joy that are snow days TT_TT

Oh well. 

It's just been announced on our website, SERA00's Valentine's Super Encore! Normally for events like Valentine's Day we settle with a SERA00 Encore performance but this year we're going SUPER encore! Lol >.< remember way back when I said I'm going to become the person who names SERA00 events and locations and stuff? My unique dream still stands. 

Anyways we'll be having our usual encore at a big mall in Toronto instead. Miss Avery hinted about an announcement? O.o I wonder what it could be...

Please support SERA00!

Preparation for the Idolympics: Dance battle!

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #2

In "preparation" for the Idolympics, the seniors came up with this idea for practicing our dancing. They put names of k-pop and j-pop songs in a hat and everyone had to draw a song. Then you went with the other members who got the same song as you and practice for an hour and then come back and see who picked up the fastest. 

I picked AKB48's "River" along with Sassan, Maya, and Briar Rose. Rome, Luna, Wyoming, Taz, Bryce, Sammi, Alyss, and Luraland got SNSD's "I Got a Boy". I don't remember some of them but then of course there was the completely jacked team of Angel, Harley, Geneviève, River, and Fracken who are SERA00's dance goddesses, and they got f(x)'s "NU ABO". 

Do I even have to continue? 

Basically, Briar Rose and I couldn't even get past the first part where they rap "mae susume, got it!" so we messed up Sassan and Maya's chance of winning >.<

Rome's group was pretty well of with members like Luna, Wyoming, and Taz, who actually knew the dance for the chorus of that song, so even though she was centre, they had eight members and it ended up kind of messy. 

Leave it to the f(x) group to master the entire song including the formation changes in only one hour and the only mistake they made was turning left when they should have turned right. Needless to say, Rowan, who had helpfully agrees to judge us, picked f(x)'s "NU ABO". 

How to become a photographer for SERA00

Hey everyone!

FEBRUARY POST CHALLENGE #1

First of all, happy Chinese new year! Gung hei fat choi~ Xin nian kwai le (I have no idea how to romanize it). It's the year of the horse. 

Do you remember in the previous post when I said that all photographers for the SERA00 Photo Event are fans of SERA00 like you guys? Many of you are probably wondering how to become a photographer. Yes, it is a paid job! But of course a side job, how many photo events in a year can there be?

So basically, if you are a member of SERA00's fan club INFINITY00, then you know of the SERA00 forums on the site. Most people have the SERA00 Event account cuz it's free, but you can only read threads and you can't post, comment, etc. 

There's a thread on the forum called "SERA00 Photo Event: Photographers", just search around, you'll find it. There you post your best photos. Entry is open year round, and there's no limit. When we are looking for more photographers, management will go to that thread. They only see the most popular ones, the ones with most "hearts". That's where the public comes in; if you see a photo you think is good on the thread, you can "heart" it. 

The more hearts your photo has, the bigger the chance of the management seeing it, since they don't have time to sort through the hundreds of new photos posted every day. 

If your picture catches their eye, then they'll call you in for an interview, and te rest is pretty much like any other job. 

There are three requirements. 

1) You must be over 16 years old. 

2) You cannot have or have had a yellow or red card in the past. 

3) You are absolutely not allowed to alter the photo you upload in any way, including filters and photoshop.

For those of you who didn't know this job opportunity, now you know so say "KIMCHI!!" and take a photo! (sorry, my new phone has this thing where if you say kimchi out loud it'll take a photo >.<)

Please support SERA00!