The piece I bring to you today is by an up-and-coming artist. Her name is Lorelei, she’s eight, and she’s obsessed with Persona 4.

She likes to look at (mother-approved) fanart, watches the cutscenes on YouTube whenever she can, and listens to the OST on her DSi. She can’t stop talking about hiimdaisy’s Persona comics and has ads and reviews cut out from magazines stuck on her bedroom wall. She wanted to be Chie for Halloween last year, and while that didn’t work out, she still bugs my mom about making her a Chie-style jacket.

I mean, she even wants to make a gaming ‘zine with me and write about P4, but is worried that nobody will want to read it. I told her that if she were serious, I’m sure that there would be quite a few people interested.

Lor’s a bit weird, I’ll admit.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when she busted this rough sketch out the other day. While it’s nowhere near her best quality of work (she makes books and draws constantly), I just can’t get over it — I mean, it’s Chie! Drooling over steak at the Junes food court! You can’t get any cooler than that!

Maybe I’m weird too, but this is way better than being the (token) Student of the Month (which she actually is but doesn’t know it yet).

Today, I headed over to the Capitol Theatre to watch the premiere of The Van Job, a short film by Olympia’s Mutually Assured Productions. I knew a few of the guys who worked on it in high school, and they’ve always been passionate about making short films and such, so I swallowed my crippling social anxiety and went to support them.

You know, even if I didn’t know them, I’d still tell you to try and buy the DVD if/when they sell it online. For a film that was just made for kicks and practice, there is a level of polish to it that can only come from hard work and a hell of a lot of care. I don’t want to tell you too much more about it (it is only eighteen minutes, and therefore it’d be easy to give up the entire plot), but it’s well-scripted and acted, and the cinematography is great considering their equipment. The sound quality is what really impressed me, though — every piece fit the tone of the film perfectly. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do next!

To learn more about Mutually Assured Productions, check them out on Facebook (their website is still under construction).

UPDATE! Here’s the whole thing!