- Dash and Lily communicate via notebook.
So Midori, if you could leave a notebook
with a secret message,
where would you leave it
and what would be the secret you'd put in there?
- If I could leave it anywhere, I think I would leave it, like,
at the bottom of the ocean, but not deep.
Like, kind of just where you can jump in
and - no, no, stop, stop, stop.
And then - stop.
I would put it in a -
[laughing]
I would put it in a big bottle
and I'd be like,
"Hey, what were you doing looking
at the bottom of the ocean?"
- I would leave it, in space.
[laughing]
I'd just go up there
and I'd leave it there.
- That's not realistic.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- So, our show is set around the holidays.
Would you say
that the holidays
are, generally speaking, a romantic time for you,
or for people generally?
- I think for people generally, no.
I mean, I think it's a lot of different things.
There's the blues, like the holiday blues, you know?
- The holiday blues are real. Yeah.
- I mean there is, romance, but I don't think it's like,
just particularly that.
I think there's a lot of emotions.
There's so much family involved. - Mmm.
- I think there can be a lot of different emotions
that come into play.
Did the show
sway your feelings about the holidays being romantic?
- So, I already find the holidays to be extremely romantic.
There were times when I think
that was challenged because, you know,
it's 4 AM and you know,
you're trying to get into the holiday spirit.
But, ultimately, it kind of felt like a battle.
It was like me versus Christmas,
and we both have to work together.
And then, in the end, Christmas won
and I was still excited about Christmas
when it actually came.
I think because there's something
to me that's nice about having to be happy.
Like, the sheer act of having
to be like, "Merry Christmas,"
or like, "Happy Holidays."
Like, it forces you
to, like, treat the day a bit more special.
And even the grumpiest of grumps kind of have
to put on a smile.
And so, I appreciate that.
And I find that super romantic.
There's nothing like forced cheer, you know?
So, I like it.
- All right.
So, Dash and Lily,
they communicate exclusively through the notebook
and they don't communicate through social media.
You know, they don't know each other,
so they're not able to look each other up
and all that kind of stuff.
- You're right, they don't even know each others' names.
- Yeah, so, do you feel like there's positives to that,
or negatives?
- I think in a lot of ways,
like, our series is almost impossible
to have these days, in real time,
and why it's magical. Because it's like,
if you know someone's name,
you could just do a quick search and kind of get their gist,
and make assumptions about them.
So, the fact that we remain anonymous to each other,
that's super cool and rare.
- I think these characters, particularly, seem to have,
or at least Dash has problems, like, communicating.
- Mmm.
- I don't know, feeling like he's gonna get judged
or something like that?
- Yeah.
- And so, I think the anonymity of not knowing
who they're talking to seems to be kind of helpful.
I feel like they can divulge more about themselves
'cause they feel less judged.
- One thing that I just want to say is Austin is not
on social media and I think that's super admirable and cool.
So Austin, what do you think the benefits are
about not being on social media?
- There's no numbers.
There's no, like, "You have this however many followers."
So, there's not -
- That means that. - Even the thought
of being like, "How many people do I have?"
Like, "How popular am I?"
Well, how do you feel being on it?
What are the positives do you feel like of it?
- I feel, personally, being, like, a woman
and being a woman of color and being - well,
we'll just stop it there.
But, I feel like there's something positive about the fact
that I have control over my image. - Mmm.
- So, the minute somebody wants
to turn me into something
or market me a particular way, like, at the end of the day,
I'm the final word,
in, like, what I put out into the universe.
You know so, if I just don't want to make it about, like, being pretty,
for example, I can put my poetry out there,
or if I wanna, you know, speak out about something, I can.
And so, I definitely feel like
that's a positive thing.
And I do feel like in recent years,
part of the reason why diversity has, like, increased
or whatever,
not to get super deep here, is because of social media.
Because it kind of, like, diversified all
of the voices out there
and, like, kind of gave people who didn't have power, power.
- Yeah.
- So, yeah.
I wouldn't wanna get rid of mine just because I feel like,
I feel safe.
I'm like, \"OK.
"I know that no matter what goes down, I have my own say."
Yeah.
Do you feel that playing Dash, for the months
that you played him,
do you feel like after we wrapped,
anything that you did with Dash,
or anything Dash taught you, kind of stuck around?
- I do appreciate his willingness to change.
There's parts of himself that he's not, like, crazy about.
Like, 'cause he's so lonely
and I think that's quite painful for him.
I think, ultimately, he doesn't really like that
and he really starts to put himself out there.
So, I would say that's moreso, perhaps, inspiring.
Is there anything for you,
you feel like you took away from Lily?
- Yeah. I think that -
Oh god, I don't wanna get emotional.
I think that every time I play a character
who, like, I have to go back
to being 17 and remember what it feels like
to feel insecure and, like, not confident in myself.
I feel like, at the time, it's a bit triggering or, like, weird.
But, afterwards, I come out a lot stronger as a person.
And so, for me,
I think of all the girls watching this
who maybe don't know it's OK to be themselves or be weird.
And, like, after playing Lily,
I definitely feel stronger in myself
and, like, cool with myself, thanks to Lily.