#also if any of you have experience organizing a fan event and would be open to questions pls message me i'd be forever in your debt

[strangesickness]

i was thinking it would be fun to run an IT fandom event of some kind! is anyone interested in this? is this already happening and i have no idea? please let me know!

i've never really been personally involved with fandom... before the creation of strangesickness i usually just dropped fics and then disappeared for another six months without talking to anyone so i don't really have any idea what i'm doing... BUT i had some ideas i thought might be fun:

a comment fest with bingos specific to IT like what feedthefandomfest has been doing (i recommend looking through their blog! very cool :])

character/ship/etc weeks with various prompts, topics i thought might be interesting were the years in between, alternate universe, or miniseries/book.

a fanwork appreciation event where there are different prompts and then you create a rec list of all your favorite fanworks that match that prompt.

again, i really have no idea what i'm doing, but i think it could be fun! if you're interested or have ideas please please please send me a message or ask (absolutely not asking for any sort of commitment, i just want to get ideas going and maybe see what could work/what people would be interested in)!

[linxuelian]

Comic Fiesta 2023 Anime Convention Experience Log - With Photos!

Hey there! After posting my previous experience log on Anime Fest+ 2024, I realized I'd shared photos from Comic Fiesta 2023 on Twitter but never did on Tumblr. Since this happened way back in late December 2023, I've forgotten a good portion of my experience there (I have unfortunately the memory of a goldfish) - so it'll mostly be photos of the crowd and MXTX cosplayers, whom I have some loose commentary on based on what I remember from our very short and random interactions.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this as an MDZS/TGCF fan as much as I do! I spent only a few hours there, but I did have a good time hunting down cosplays from the MXTX fandom during that time.

I'll begin with pictures of the crowd. If you don't already know, Comic Fiesta is an anime convention held in Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Malaysia, and it's one of the oldest here too. As of 2023, it's opened its doors to roughly 70,000 attendees, which is rather big considering our country's quite small in size. I've heard from my friend that there are attendees from overseas too, namely Singapore and Indonesia, due to the famous people the organizers tend to invite, so it does make sense that it's grown this large over time.

While the convention itself is held indoors, there's a large park outside where cosplayers tend to hang around and take pictures. A number of people don't buy tickets and go into the convention hall either - and I get why; the last time I was in the hall, I was squashed like a sardine, and not the fancy kind, either. We're a sweaty bunch after a good whole morning of lining up.

Anyway, the park is very pretty, as well as mostly green and neatly trimmed:

It's at this park where you can get the best shots of cosplayers, and find some space to line up for photos of them.

It's got this giant Christmas tree up at around this time of year too, which is super wonderful:

With that aside, I'll get to the cosplays. Let's start off with my favorite best girl of all time, Jiang Yanli:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/clairegsw/

I'll admit I was both surprised and stoked to see a Jiang Yanli cosplayer around! She seemed pretty surprised too to have someone ask her for a picture - she was taking one with two elaborate bride cosplays, but as I'm a fangirl with heaps of love for Yanli, I thought she shone like the brightest star at that event. You go, Claire!

Next up is our boy Xie Lian, who seems to get quite a number of cosplays done of him:

Credits: https://www.instagram.com/ayana_liyana/ and https://www.instagram.com/itsmeira_az/

These two came together and were looking for wild, lone San Lang cosplayers to catch in Pokemon battle-like sequences respectively. Sadly, as it goes in the BL cosplay world, there's always a shortage of gong/top/seme cosplayers in a con. Everyone wants to be the beauty, it seems, and quite understandably too.

That said, here's another beauteous Xie Lian cosplay:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/jingzu518/

Cute, nice, and also decidedly not looking for wild semes to capture.

Anyway, no Xie Lian is complete without a Hua Cheng by his side in any event, so here's the obligatory couple cosplay I saw by the escalators when I got up to the entrance:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/njq_03/

This particular Hua Cheng cosplayer's one of the first dudes I've seen doing TGCF cosplay, which is pretty interesting considering the reception of BL by male anime fans in my country hasn't been... the best - or the kindest, from personal experience. But I'm happy to see it and would like to take this as a positive sign of changing times where our BL fandom gets more mixed in demographics.

Speaking of HuaHuas, here's a particularly fun and cheerful one:

Credit: https://twitter.com/meechandes

When I told this HuaHua that there were Xie Lians looking to form a couple, I was told that they already have a Xie Lian of their own! Again, HuaHuas are in great shortage! You'll definitely get a lot of attention dressed as him as he's both very flashy and coveted in the danmei cosplay scene as a character.

Moving along, here's a pic of my favorite best boy Jin Ling, the snazziest and most golden young master in the universe:

Credit: https://twitter.com/koni_kn

This particular cosplayer was kind enough to humor me at a crowded, fast-paced subway. We managed to find a quieter spot to take a picture. Look at how pretty it looks, bless! 😍 I'm so glad Jin Ling got some representation as a side character. He's absolutely the best!

On cue are his uncles, the twin heroes of Yunmeng, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian (whom Jin Ling will probably deny is his uncle, but hey, Mo Xuanyu's body will uncle him however he wants):

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/feza_yu/

The duo came with their own professional photographer, who also doubled as their translator (thank you, photographer man!). This Jiang Cheng's also the softest, gentlest and shyest Jiang Cheng I've ever met in my life. Legs are safe when he's around since he won't be breaking them anytime soon!

Next on the itinerary are our not-so-elusive, staple-of-any-con Wei Wuxians:

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/ken520.cos/

I dub this guy the Balenciaga Wei Wuxian, because, you know, I took his photo right in front of Balenciaga and he looked like the richest Wei Wuxian cosplayer there. No joke - his outfit even had pleather, and he'd spent about 270 bucks on it. I saw it up-close since he was pretty friendly. His arm bracers even had details sewn onto them instead of just being prints! Talk about luxury! I coughed up jealousy like blood from my mouth.

The outfit is from CQL, but he knows MDZS too. I'm familiar with the donghua but too lazy to finish it, so he's definitely put me to shame here as a fan as well, blast him!

Last but not least, we have kitty ears Wei Wuxian (a.k.a. Lan Wangji's Incense Burner Dream #965):

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/mikaecsr/

Now, I won't lie - I first thought they were wolf ears. But as Wei Wuxian does not like dogs of any kind, nature or breed, I'm going to assume that these are feline ears.

Whatever ears they are, though, Lan Wangji will be sure to get hot and toasty seeing them. Wei Ying, you devil you.

Anyway, this marks the end of my write-up! I hope you enjoyed the descriptions. As I don't have Instagram, feel free to hit up any of these cosplayers I've credited and link them here so that they can download pics of themselves and read what some random Internet weirdo had to say about their outfits.

Over and out!

[wordsnstuff]

Hello! I see you’ve answered questions on outlining chapters for stories/novels, how to begin chapters, and chapter length, but my question is, when should your fan fiction be a one shot or a multi-chapter work and if you make it a multi-chapter work, how do you decide where to split everything up into the chapters? If you’d like, I can PM you a sample of my current WIP so you can see what I mean. Thank you!

Selecting the placement of chapter breaks...

There are several factors you should consider when strategizing the chapter structure of your story, and the ending is by far one of the most critical. The way you manipulate the breaks in the narrative is imperative to holding your reader's attention and maintaining the addictive quality of the story. This concept is easily extended to fanfiction, and fanfiction is one of the best places to examine how people organically utilize this device, as it is episodic in nature and often updated over lengths of time, mimicking the experience of media like television.

For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to focus on how one would approach this in a traditional novel format but please remember that these principles can be applied to multiple formats including fanfiction and even television scripts.

When approaching the end of a chapter, your goal is to build tension and anticipation in the reader. Essentially, you need to make whatever might happen next seem too intriguing to walk away from. You want to leave a question (old or new) unanswered but make it clear that their curiosity will be satisfying if only they stick around a few more pages.

You can also elicit this feeling by resolving something within the narrative that creates a moment of satisfaction, and this feeling will leave them in search for more. Like giving them a taste and promising that on the other side of the next chapter header, there is more of that feeling to indulge in. It is simply good practice to consistently weave these satisfying chapter endings throughout the story, otherwise the reader may become frustrated with a lack of perceived payoff to the build-up.

Overall, a chapter should serve as somewhat of a container. Identify what your chapters are designed contain, and then correspond the chapter breaks to that design. For example, if the chapter is primarily about progress in a character's arc or a major new event in the conflict, centralize the chapter on that factor. As you approach the ending, create some kind of resolution to the central factor while leaving a loose string that the reader will definitely notice and desire to pull on in the next chapter.

I hope this helps, and of course if you have any further questions my ask box is always open.

x Kate

–

Masterlist

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[xceanlynx]

Hi! It's me, waking up from a nice nap to give my lovely mutuals, but especially @khaofirsts @hushedstars @drama-nonsense (the amazing people who accepted my letter-delivering proposal lol) my detailed experience in the FirstKhao fanmeet in Brazil!

So, I only got there by 3:45pm, and the gates would open to the general audience by 4pm (only the people who got VIP1 — the ones y'all probably saw taking solo pictures with First and Khaotung — got to enter earlier) and oh my God the lines were LONG. It was a bit more organized than how it was earlier (in the morning there was only one giant line that was divided by sectors in the afternoon) and the temperature was very nice, not as nearly as hot as it was the day before. Here, it was just a few minutes before it started:

One thing I want to emphasize so much is that there were so many different kinds of people there! Usually in events like this, with asian celebrities, the crowd tends to be more white, female presenting, more emo/punk vibes, and definitely more lgbtq+, but my guys, when I say there were people of all types, I MEAN IT. There were some nice ladies (that were probably 50+) cheering so much in the line, at first I thought they were mothers accompanying their kids but NO, they were fans! There were also a lot of men too, and gender non conforming people, trans people, you name it!

There were also many black and asian people, although white and white presenting people were still the majority (also, many photos may have you think there were only white and whiteish people but the lights that lit the crowd were so strong they basically made everyone look pale lol).

There were also many people from other countries. There were two guys (i believe they are a couple) that I have no idea where they were from, they only talked to staff in english but to each other they spoke some language I have no idea. There were also many latam groups, I saw some girls from paraguay, I know there was a group from Chile too, and there were probably more that I haven't seen. The crowd was DIVERSE!

But enough of all this pre fanmeet talk, let's get to the real stuff!

My moots. Dear moots. I almost lost my hearing /j. We were so loud, and we always are, it's basically cultural of Brazil to be louder than the artist, but last night was something else. Everyone was so excited, really, it is a different atmosphere.

The boys were so, so nervous! It was very easy to see how nervous they were in the beginning, but I think they got a lot more relaxed as the fanmeet went on. When they first entered singing, oh my god... They really got so surprised we were singing so loudly, I bet y'all have seen the footage already, it's all over twitter. They couldn't believe what they were seeing lol

Just a tiny video I took of part of their introduction (IN ALMOST PERFECT PORTUGUESE MIGHT I ADD) — bear with me I own a 6-year-old samsung and I was in the box seats, the quality won't be qualitying lmao (I made a friend while waiting in line and she'll send me some of her videos, thankfully)

I was kinda shocked, yet not really shocked, when I noticed that First wasn't singing live. Like I get it, we all know he isn't really a singer, and considering this was their largest event (by number of people: ~4k), they probably thought that it would be better that way. In any case, I don't think people really minded at all. We scream so loudly anyway that live or not, we would barely hear it lmao and he was such a charismatic performer, he interacted with everyone he could in the standing crowd. Mr. Kanaphan is a tease, you all!!!

Idk if that was just me but Khaotung sounded a little bit rough in his song, which he sang live. Maybe he had a sore throat? No idea, but by the last song (let's try) he sounded very good. Maybe it was recorded, but I really didn't noticed. Their stage presence got better and better at every song. AND RAPPER KHAOTUNG? OKAY! GIVE ME SOME MORE OF THAT!!!

The questions and games were very fun! I'm not the type that like much fanservice (all of this was fanservice, I know, but like, those obvious one, you get me?) but they were really nice and not much forced. The questions were also very nice and well-curated (no nonsense ship questions), although I think there were a couple of questions the translator didn't understand fully (also, we were screaming so much I can't blame her for not hearing) and she probably translated to them wrong/not complete, so their answers were a bit weird but we understood what they meant. Also, they tried to samba! The crowd singing Zeca Pagodinho! So random... poor boys were so, so awful lmao but we can forgive them because they're cute

The game interactions with the two fans were also really nice! The girls were very polite (one of them was very young and timid, poor thing) and yeah, it was cool *alexa, play "That Should Be Me" by Justin Bieber*

The surprise fan video was so wholesome. I was almost tearing up lol and when, in the video, a deaf fan appeared signing how much she loved them I lost it and just started crying. Really, they are such great people and their talent has entertained and inspired so many different groups, it really is heartwarming.

Okay, now for the picture: Look, I was in a trance like state. I have absolutely no idea how I got on that stage to take the photo. I was the last one of the group so I couldn't sit next to them, but I believe I got to be somewhat behind Khaotung? I remember seeing the top of his head. Oh my god I really blanked out

As for the hi touch, it was so fast I kinda also did not register much? My brain really was malfunctioning. What I can remember is: They aren't as tall as I thought? Like, I don't think they are lying about their height, I just realized I'm not as short as I thought lol I am 168cm and, with the shoes I was wearing I was probably ~171cm. Still shorter but not as short as I somehow thought I would be.

Their hands are soft. Very soft. Also, their skin literally is flawless, everyone was commenting how perfect it was, just like porcelain. I don't know what treatments they do, and what makeup they use, but I need the detailed list right now!

Also, fuck my life: I can try to say anything, literally anything, but when I get in front of celebs the only thing I can mutter is "hi" with a giant smile. What the fuck I couldn't even say something like "i love you" or "you're handsome".... NO. I JUST SAID HI AND LEFT 😭😭😭

Okay, that's pretty much how it went. Oh, and as I was waiting for my uber to arrive, and I was more distant from the venue so I could avoid the crowd. I was in the street right in front of the gates of the venue, but still more distant, there were probably like 10 people around me. I heard so many people screaming at the entrance of the venue — firstkhao were going back to the hotel (you can see the van in an earlier post of mine). They entered the van and then the van was signaling they were going to turn left to the same street I was waiting the uber. Oh. My. God. I started waving like crazy, they could not have missed me looking like those gas station inflatable men lmao I couldn't see them because the window was very dark but boy I just know they saw me again 😂😂😂😂

To finish up, as the official photo wasn't released yet, let me show where I am in the gmmtv pic. Look at top left where the arrows are pointing. See the two hands? That's me, baby

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi miss Raven!! I was wondering what is Rollo's character actually like in game?? I've seen people talk about it but only about how he's obsessed with Malleus. There's gotta be more to his character right?? 😭😭

The whole “Rollo is obsessed with Malleus” thing is being circulated because it’s based on a single sinister line in the opening to Glorious Masquerade. He talks about how he wants to erase “those irritating people” (it is not specified who he is referring to), then achieving peace and freedom as a result of that. Rollo follows up by saying that he’s looking forward to seeing Malleus in particular out of all the guests for the masquerade (while making THIS suspicious expression):

If you listen to this opening, Rollo is also heard doing the classic “evil villain laugh”, and he sounds markedly self-assured and arrogant. This is many people’s first experience with the character, and perhaps the most “overt” and easily recognizable trait about him, so that’s probably why it’s the thing people most remember or immediately jump to when describing Rollo.

Fans are still theory crafting based on that line from the opening (ie they’ve come to the conclusion that Rollo is fixated on Malleus) and the fact that Rollo’s Disney counterpart was also infamously obsessive. Some people seem to think the sentiment is negative (ie Rollo has an issue with Malleus and/or with fae in particular), while others think the sentiment is positive (ie Rollo is a secret Malleus fanboy/just wants to be Malleus’s friend, but is constantly misread because of his dour face). In any case, we have not gotten confirmation of either theory, and nor is “obsessed with Malleus” Rollo’s entire personality. (I mean, even the ACTUAL confirmed “obsessed with Malleus” character, Sebek, has his own personality outside of that.)

When the NRC students actually get to meet Rollo in the event’s story, he doesn’t initially present the same character as he does in the opening. Here is what we know to be true of Rollo, as well as some broad observations I’ve made about him. (PLEASE NOTE: as of this post going live, there are only 2 out of 5 parts of the event out; the observations made below are reflective ONLY of those first 2 parts.)

Rollo is introduced as a third year and the student council president of Noble Bell College, a status which is similar to that of dorm leader at Night Raven College.

A lot of people have been assuming that it was Rollo that explicitly extended a personal invitation for Malleus to attend the symposium; however, this is not confirmed to be the case. When Crowley goes to Malleus to communicate that he’s been chosen to go along with the other 10 picked via lottery, Crowley says, the “hosts” (plural; ie Noble Bell College students organizing the event) wanted Malleus to attend. It can be inferred that Rollo may have played a role in this or used his influence as student council president to pull the strings. However, it is just as likely that everyone else at NBC wanted Malleus to come because of Malleus’s notoriety (crown prince AND one of the top 5 strongest mages in the world) and Rollo just agreed with it because it aligned with his personal motives.

He is shown to be very polite, but also aloof (note that he is not speaking with the same fervor as he did in the opening). Deuce thinks that Rollo is expressionless, and Epel thinks Rollo looks angry. This seems to make Rollo akin to the “kuudere” archetype (at least on a superficial level), which is defined by being stoic, cold, and emotionless but having a secret side to them (usually far sweeter than their initial personality would have you believe).

Rollo prefers to remain formal; he’s confused by Rook gracing him with a nickname (then again, who wouldn’t be?) and generally speaks politely.

Continuing from the previous point, Rollo seems to take offense to Sebek referring to him as “human”. Remarkably, Rollo is the first character to correct Sebek by reminding him what his actual name is.

It seems like Rollo is disguising his true thoughts and intentions; when Sebek overhears him saying something negative (”it’s deplorable”), Rollo calmly denies having ever said anything at all.

Rollo is implied to be dutiful and diligent, not only in his work as student council president but also as one of the hosts for the symposium; he read up on each attendee before they arrived on his campus (thanks to the documents Crowley provided for him), and is aware of their full names, titles, races, and various family connections. Something that Azul mentions (after being handed his masquerade outfit) is that it’s unnerving that NBC (and thus, potentially Rollo) is aware of the prescription of his lenses (as they provided him with new glasses with his new look).

Rollo prioritizes his responsibilities; he stays behind at NBC to process other guests before going out to the City of Flowers for the festivities.

Despite his cold exterior, Rollo can be affable too. He invites the NRC students to approach him and have a conversation with him if they spot him in town.

Silver remarks that Rollo must have a good memory to remember so many new names. Again, this plays into his diligence.

Some people have noticed that Rollo is strangely friendly to Yuu (he says to them that it must be troublesome being a magicless human surrounded by magic users all the time, then invites them to relax and enjoy the event). At this point, it’s unclear whether this is fanservice for the player or if there is more meaning behind his words, but this may indicate sympathy for Yuu or those similar to Yuu.

Rollo tells us that students of Noble Bell like to keep things clean and, above all else, have faith in purity and integrity. Presumably, this is also true of himself (example: he catches Ruggie about to steal the coins in a hat and, while glaring at Ruggie, says something to the effect of, “I hope you weren’t intending to take the contents of that”).

Continuing from the last point, Rollo seems to hold a disdain for those that violate the peace and disregard laws, such as petty thieves.

It’s implied that Rollo approves of using any means necessary to stop evil deeds; he remarks that doing such a thing is “wonderful”.

He has a habit of holding a handkerchief over his nose and mouth. This seems to mostly be done in instances when Rollo is annoyed about something, such as talking about how noisy others are or when he’s trying to stay polite about something he disagrees with (such as his vice president and aide insisting that everyone wear festival clothes for the symposium).

There’s a lot of fan theories flying around about how Rollo may dislike the fae, but there are also implications that he dislikes the poor or those of “lower class”, as he grimaces and does the handkerchief thing when Ruggie comments about people of all classes and backgrounds dressing up for the festivities.

The vice president tells Idia that Rollo is strict about keeping schedules.

He is very knowledgeable and serves as a good tour guide for the NRC boys. Rollo shares many of his favorite spots and local treats and goods with them

He explains the history of important businesses and icons in the city and is genuinely proud of where he comes from. Rollo also seems to take offense when others question the traditions of the City of Flowers or seek to only gain from them or take advantage of them (ie like when Idia comments on the security is “too loose” if you toss your coins into a hat for street vendors, when Ruggie tries to steal the coins in the hat, etc.)

Basically, what we know of Rollo in the event opening vs in the actual event story is like knowing two different people that share the same face (although the story has certainly alluded that Rollo is hiding something). He is level-headed and intelligent; he is someone that values tradition and formalities, and displays disdain for those that rebel against certain conventions.

I’m personally really looking forward to the big reveal to see the full scope of Rollo’s character! Fingers crossed for more Rollo content in part 3! 🤞

[toujokaname]

Card shuffle / Episode 11

Author: Akira

Characters: Aira, Hiiro, Tatsumi, Mayoi

"I'll win by any means necessary. The winner is justice, and I was raised for the sake of protecting Amagi justice."

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[ Read on my site for a better viewing experience using Ois~su ♪ ]

Season: Winter

Location: MDM Stage

Aira: (Hm~...? He seems strangely confident despite being Hiro-kun? No, wait, isn't he always like this?)

(It was weirder in the summer when he was depressed, doubting himself.)

(Even then, he quickly perked up after I held him in my arms and comforted him.)

Hiiro: I'll surrender the opening move to you. After all, Matrix's plan was full of flaws, and there wasn't any indication of who should sing first.

Tatsumi: Discovering these shortcomings on the spot for the first time is also unsettling. It feels like crossing a tattered suspension bridge.

Mayoi: I hope we all make it across without falling... Uuu, if it comes to that, please save yourselves even if it means sacrificing me!

Hiiro: Hehe. In that case, we'll all fall together and then work together to crawl our way back up. That's the way ALKALOID does things ♪

Mayoi: (Fufu... Thank goodness. I was concerned that Hiiro-san might have changed, since the Crazy:B members were strangely taken aback by him...)

(But, Hiiro-san is still Hiiro-san after all. Always earnest, bright, and positive. A good kid...♪)

Tatsumi: —Oh, our song's intro has started playing.

Mayoi: Ah, they haven't even sent the signal yet, but you sure are quick on the uptake.

Hiiro: Umu. I anticipated this turn of events, or rather, I realized Nii-san's strategy, so I informed the staff of our arrangement beforehand.

Aira: ...?

(S-Something's off... But messing up the start of the song would be the worst, so let's focus.)

(Being around Hiro-kun always makes me feel like I gotta be the mature one, but I'll show that we're perfectly fine without him!)

"♪~♪~♪"

Tatsumi & Mayoi: "~...♪"

Hiiro: "♪♪♪♪♪"

Aira: —Huhh?!

Mayoi: H-Hiiro-san? Why are you singing, um, didn't you say you'd let us go first? It's our turn now, isn't it?

Hiiro: "♪~♪~♪"

Mayoi: (Eh? Did he start singing his part of the ALKALOID song out of habit, or conditioned reflex?)

(No, Hiiro-san wouldn't make such a careless mistake...?)

(So, this could be some kind of scheme! What kind of...?!)

Hiiro: —Hehe, sure enough, it's painful for me to deceive everyone, so I'll confess. I'm sure you guys won't slack off on stage even if you know the truth.

Come on, look behind you.

Aira: Behind...? Ah, when'd they put up that screen?!

Mayoi: H-Huh? Huuhhh? But w-waaait, it's our turn now, right?

Yet the screen reads Crazy:B, not ALKALOID?!

Hiiro: That's right—It's not ALKALOID's turn now, it's my turn as Crazy:B.

At least, officially.

Aira: W-What do you...?

Hiiro: Even a makeshift trick like this can be effective under these circumstances.

You were prompted by me and started to sing, thinking it was your turn first.

But actually, as I told the organizers beforehand, it's Crazy:B's turn now.

This showdown is being broadcast live, and the screen should be showing "First to Attack: Crazy:B" right now as well.

Tatsumi: So—

Hiiro: So, you're performing now, not as ALKALOID, but as Crazy:B.

You're singing ALKALOID's songs, which our fans who have gathered here love.

Me, Aira, Tatsumi-senpai and Mayoi-senpai, our full ALKALOID lineup. Just the perfect four of us, untouched by any odd elements.

Tatsumi: ... Is... that so.

Hiiro: Umu. Naturally, the fans will be delighted and vote for you a lot. I'm sure they'll give you high scores.

That's why I'm on stage wearing ALKALOID's outfit instead of Crazy:B's.

To outsiders, this will seem like a complete ALKALOID performance.

ALKALOID fans will certainly give it the highest score possible. That's what they wanted to see.

And as the first team to attack, you'll get a high score that the second team will never be able to compete with.

However. It'll be the officially announced first team that will get it, us in Crazy:B.

Aira: Eh? Eh? M-My head's spinning from all this ALKALOID and Crazy:B talk. Is this really happening?

Hiiro: It is happening, Aira. You've been fooled by me, and inadvertently aided the enemy.

You've stormed the castle with all your might, and reaped the spoils of war.

But. Every single one of those spoils will belong to us, Crazy:B.

What is this kind of thing called in the city? Let's see, an own goal?

Even if you sing your heart out as the second performers now that you know the truth, it's futile.

I won't sing then. So, you'll become an incomplete ALKALOID without me.

And the scores you'll receive will be lower compared to the first attackers.

As a result, the first match will be won by the first team, Crazy:B.

Even though only the official members of ALKALOID are on stage, the winners will be Crazy:B.

Hiiro: —Hehe, how amusing ♪

Mayoi: T-This is outrageous...?

Tatsumi: Indeed. I never imagined Hiiro-san was capable of committing such a horrible deception...

Hiiro: I'm sorry. It pains me, too. I didn't want to deceive you.

However. I really am sorry, but this is a competition.

I'll win by any means necessary.

The winner is justice, and I was raised for the sake of protecting Amagi justice.

Aira: ......

[ ☆ ]

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[theofficersacademy]

Fans flutter, jewels sparkle as they catch the light, and the air buzzes with students’ conversation, nervous and hopeful all at once. The Ethereal Ball has at last come to the monastery’s halls and the rumors that have been whispered all around the academy and beyond — they were all right: the glitz and glamor is a sight to behold.

Tapestries hang from the ceilings, depicting scenes of Fódlan’s most famous tales of chivalry: Wilhelm’s devotion to Seiros, Loog’s faithful service to the Maiden of Wind, the Lion of Riegan’s sacrifice to save Leicester from Almyran hordes, stories of love and loyalty to inspire the students on this unforgettable night. The music grows louder as you approach the Main Hall — the orchestra has already begun playing the first song of the night! You pick up the pace, squeezing past crowds, unwilling to miss a second more.

You're stopped at the door, however, and handed a brooch decorated with one of five kinds of decorations: black feathers, white feathers, strings of pearls, small bells, and teardrop crystals. "Trade your decorations with the other guests," says the door attendant, and sends you inside to socialize.

You’ve been formally invited to the Ethereal Ball

A once in a lifetime experience for students of the Officers Academy, this time an even more magical night full of excellent food and drink, endless dancing, and the highlight of the year for would-be couples and longtime lovers alike.

Not only have the party organizers upped the glitz and glamor this year, but in an effort to study Pasithee's illusion magic, a handful of the church's bishops have set up a magical ballroom separate from the main room where a mystical masquerade will take place.

What’s This Brooch?

Each attendee of the ball finds themselves with a brooch decorated in one of five decorations. See this list to find which one your muse has.

Note: all muses in TOA have been assigned a decoration for ease of randomizing them, but this does not obligate a muse to participate. BOLD your muse’s name on the list if they are participating.

How to Play

The goal is to gather one decoration for each of the 5 decorations represented at the ball, presumably after you’ve had a favorable conversation with the attendee and earned their approval and / or friendship (note: IC interactions do not actually have to be favorable to count toward the goal).

YES: A approaches B with the express intention of making a good impression and trading decorations

NO: A and B decide to ditch the party and make out in the surrounding forest (no mention of the brooch)

YES: A and B decide to ditch the party and make out in a beautiful clearing in the woods, and decide they might as well trade decorations from their brooches while they're at it

YES: A asks B to trade decorations, but B hates A and a fight ensues.

NO: B starts a fight with A for the hell of it, and neither of them mentions their brooch decoration.

Please tag your posts with #toaball2024

A Note on Interactions

This year, do not reblog any of the inbox memes or prompts.

Bold your muse’s name on the decorations designations list to signal to the rest of the group that they are open to ball-related interactions. 

A bolded name means that you are welcome to send any of the memes or prompts without asking beforehand.

You may unbold your muse’s name at any time. This will not affect whether or not they can claim their prizes at the end.

Schedule

New prompts will be released at the beginning of every week until the end of the month. The masquerade will run alongside the main ball for the entire duration of the event.

Prizes

Once you've filled your brooch out with all 5 decorations, you will be eligible to pick one prize from the Spring tab of our prize list!

You will also be eligible for exclusive access to the Dancer class! It will be treated as a Unique class with its own mastery ability. Mastering the class will also grant the character Refresh.

All characters who collect 5 different brooch decorations will receive the prizes.

Prizes can only be claimed after the event’s conclusion.

Please track your decorations somewhere, with the name of the other character (if unmasked) and a link to the interaction. Whether you do it on your blog or somewhere private is up to you, but you will be submitting this to claim the prize at the conclusion of the event

And that’s it! If you have any questions or concerns, please let the mods know!

The Ethereal Ball will run until May 31st at 11:59PM EST! We hope you have fun, and that your characters make a lot of new friends!

- The House Leaders

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

Okay, I know I've literally never talked about Supernatural before on this blog but I actually am a massive fan of the series. I could honestly run an entire separate blog about it. Anyway I rediscovered Milo Greene's song "What's the Matter" earlier and it got me thinking about the episode Bitten.

People have eased up on this episode in recent years but overall the general opinion is still pretty negative, which I think is sad since this is probably one of my personal favorites. Keep in mind it's been a couple years since I've rewatched the show, so I'm running mostly on memory here.

First things first, I think it helps keep the series connected to its roots. After season 5, they kept trying to one up themselves in terms of stakes, ultimately leading to such events as "Satan's son's birth opens the multiverse". And we were sitting in the aftermath of Dick and the Leviathans™ where the show was heading back on its stride, so it feels really nice to just remind us where we began. Saving people, hunting things.

Second, it actually does a lot for the worldbuilding. We get to actually see the perspective of both the people being saved and the things to be hunted, all while they have to grapple with it. While they may not be the most compelling, it was really important we got to see the evolution of these friends, a view into the mundane yet interesting history of these regular people's lives. That way it really hits when things go to shit, you (or at least me) genuinely wish things could have gone differently for them. These people had dreams and goals, loved ones, and now two of them are dead and the other is on the run. All that and they still manage to convey it in a way that feels mostly organic.

On top of that, we get a particularly interesting glimpse into how Sam and Dean look from the perspective of strangers, including some interesting character details. Their shenanigans, their work. We really never get to see people who recognize them from other things (like don't they technically still have warrants for their arrest?) so I thought it was cool how the characters pick up on that.

The found footage aspect is usually hated by people, but I thought it was a really cool way to see it unfold. Cause remember, they could have easily just given us an episode from someone else's POV. But instead, we experience it as the brothers experience it. Context for certain things is missing, there are time jumps and finally it ends with a message directly for them both.

It makes sense that they would film what they do too (for the most part). We see that these are people who record fun and mundane things just for the hell of it, so of course they would record one of the most strange and harrowing events of their lives. In an era where people record strangers for internet points, it's honestly refreshing to see people record mostly just for the sake of capturing memories or entertainment for themselves.

I know a lot of people like it, but it holds a special place in my heart. When I think of the heart of the show, I don't think about the world ending or the multiverse or any of that, I think of stuff like this. Things that really stick in your mind.

And also that song fucks.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (October 23-29, 2022)

Marvel published Ultraman: The Mystery of Ultraseven #3 (of 5) on Wednesday. Kaiju-Ultra combat dominates this one, with Hayata and Ultraman debating how to handle the out-of-control Ultraseven as well. I've fallen off with a lot of Ultra Series stuff, including the post-Z shows (hence Decker's absence from these reviews), but this reimagining of the classics continues to impress. Watch for the Pestar cameo!

Rumble has finally come to Blu-ray and DVD in the U.S. Made for theaters (the first trailer played before Sonic the Hedgehog) but banished to Paramount+ last December, this kaiju wrestling comedy went completely overlooked by genre fans. Maybe now it'll get its due. I quite enjoyed it—as a sports movie, it's pure formula, but as a monster movie it's something new. And yes, the wrestling organization has the same name as the old fanfic series on Godzilla Tower. I actually bought the artbook as prep for a podcast episode I recorded last year that never aired, so expect more posts on this one soon.

By the way, this is actually last week's news—I just didn't know about it until I found the DVD on a cart of new materials at my library.

Godzilla vs. Kong won the Saturn Award for Best Film Visual Effects, beating out a crowded field thanks to an almost two-year eligibility period. This is familiar territory for both monsters: Godzilla (1998) and King Kong (2005) were among the previous victors. Deserved over Top Gun: Maverick? Probably not, but I dunno why Maverick was one of the nominees to begin with. It was also nominated for Best Science Fiction Film, losing to Nope.

Varan won a remarkably intensive Godzilla Store poll earlier this year to become the next Movie Monster Series figure (Super Mechagodzilla placed second again after losing to Gorosaurus last year), and said figure has finally been revealed. It'll go on sale November 3. Other Godzilla Store-exclusive vinyls can be ordered through Buyee, so I expect this one will be too.

The upcoming CG short Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex is also getting MMS figures. No details yet that I could find, but since the film premieres November 3rd, I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped that day too.

Godzilla Battle Line is teasing Evangelion Unit 01 as the next new Battle Piece, a rare EvaGoji collaboration that won't require traveling to or importing from Japan to experience. That would cover three of the four films in the Shin series... can a giant Kamen Rider be far behind?

Godzilla's 68th birthday is next Thursday, and since reporting on all the U.S. tie-in screenings after the fact won't do anyone any good, I'm going to list them all now:

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla - Limited release nationwide through Fathom Events; check if it's playing near you here

Godzilla (1954) - Alamo Drafthouse locations; will use Toho's 4K restoration

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) - Roxy Cinema in NYC; 35mm print

Godzilla (1954); Rodan; Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster; The War of the Gargantuas - hosted by John Carpenter on various digital channels from November 3 to 6

Licensing International also has a list of all the non-film collaborations planned for that day. Nothing jumps out, to be honest, but I figured I'd include it.

But if you're like me and already have commitments that evening, why not check out @spacehunter-m's reconstruction of the 1956 German theatrical version of Godzilla instead? It premiered in West Germany just a few months after Godzilla, King of the Monsters! opened in the States, but it's actually based on the Japanese cut (just 13 minutes shorter). English subtitles are included.

[kissdatbam]

[TRANS] Thairath News Interview 06 Sep 2023

Revealing BamBam’s heart: How his first solo World Tour mean to him

translated by kissdatbam

Story by: Supaluck Wuttikreethachai

It was a bomb to music industry, when “BamBam – Kunpimook Bhuwakul” or “BamBam GOT7” the well-known K-Pop artist with Thai nationality, growing experiences till the day that he is ready to throw his own soloist world tour “2023-2024 BamBam the 1st World Tour [Area 52] in Bangkok” on 28 October 2023 at 17.00 hrs. at Thunder Dome Stadium. The ticket shall be opened for sale on 10 September 2023 starting from 10.00 hrs. via Thai Ticket Major. Now, before the start of his world tour, “Entertainment News” snatched a time of “BamBam” to reveal his heart that shows his determination, and focus as well as his view toward IGOT7s, a name of GOT7’s fanclub, to ensure and confirm that we made the right choice to love this person!!.

Q1: For “BamBam” how does the word “the 1st World Tour” mean to you? BB: It’s like I’m growing up for another step. We had our group World Tour for 3 times. I am the last member that just started my soloist world tour because I want to release at least 3 albums first. For me, this is my ultimate dream ever since I started my solo career – after the world tour is finished, I may have other new goals krub. Q2: How do you prepare yourself for this world tour – for both your body and mind? BB: I’ve continuously rehearsed for the concert krub. I also returned to workout. With respect to my mentality, I admit that I felt both pressured and excited at the same time, so I try to build up my confidence so that I will have energy to pass to the audience. Q3: We heard that BamBam has a lot of participation and involvement in this concert – does this give any new experience to you? BB: I have learnt a lot of behind-the-scenes works. Since this is the 1st World Tour with my new company i.e., ABYSS, they let me participate in almost everything since the first place which includes the stage plan, and benefits give away for this event. They also allow me to get involved in setting the ticket price and shows. All with supporting teams to help. This makes me understand the feeling of the audience even more. Since I have a chance to get involved in all of these, from the perspective of a performer on a stage, I know what the audience wants the most, and what their expectations are. There’re also teams to support me.

Q4: What would you like to convey to fans through this concert? BB: There’re a lot of things krub. I saw many times that ticket price was increased too much to the extent that it’s unreachable/inaccessible. But for my first world tour, I want it to be like a festival that my fans gathering to celebrate it with me. So, I want to organize the ticket price and every given benefits to be on par with the standard they were used to be in 6-7 years ago, which were accessible to everyone, while the show performed in the concert is exceedingly greater than the ticket price. I want everyone to be happy.

Q5: What would you like the fans to see/acknowledge? BB: I want them to see/acknowledge the sincerity of me, ABYSS and IME Thailand that is a promoter, and I wish them to see my potential and growth like what I’ve changed and grew during these two and half years during my solo period.

Q6: Since Thailand is your homeland, do you have any special excitement with your first solo concert? BB: Now – there’ re two more months before the concert – so, I have not yet had any excitement. But I think that my excitement may be skyrocketing on the ticket on-sale date if the result come out as planned. Q7: Now your fans are super excited. BB: (smile) I am truly appreciated that krub. Even though there’s no information released – they are looking forward to attend this event already. Thank you to fans that always have trust in me. Q8: Did you see their excitement and preparation for their costumes/outfits for the concert? BB: I think that that’s a small event which they can enjoy along with the concert. The fact that they will dress to the theme is one of the activities that made them felt like they are part of the show. They asked me if I have a theme for the concert, and I answered that I did not have any specific dress code. I just told them a key word “Alien” (LOL)

Q9: BamBam is about to have the world tour, how do GOT7’s members support you? BB: Actually, everyone always supports each other. If you what to know to what extent my members give their supports to me, you may wait and see in my world tour because I cannot say more than this (smile). Q10: Did you have a chance to talk/update about the life frequently with the members? What is the most issue that you guys are talking about? BB: Sometimes we talked about our works. We also talked about the music – exchanging our songs and asked each other to give the comments. Since the style of our solo songs are totally different, when we meet each other, we always ask each other if there’s anything we can help each other. If there’s anything we can do, we would like to do so. If we have a chance to meet, we will try to help each other relieves the stress.

Q11: We always see that BamBam is closed with the fans and talked to them a lot in the social network. You also open up for their views such as their proposal for your hairstyle or even to call them back to GOT7 which made you are beloved by them even more….what made you want to get closer to them like this? BB: Though I call them back – there’s no sign of their return (smile). Well, I personally feel that since I have my own SNS channels, I want to use it as efficiently as I could. I want to communicate with them and want them to participate with me as much as possible. If I just only tell/invite them to my show – I think this is a waste of time. We can use such opportunities to have fun and have them all participated, so I tried to share my moment with them. However, if there’s any thing that I may have to keep as a secret, I have to do so (smile).

Q12: Many say that “BamBam” is an artist who made you feel that he’s your family member, be it – for mommy team, girlfriend team or those who are indecisive like a combination team (something between mom and girlfriend) – do you also feel like that? BB: For me, fans in each country have their own style. For example, in Thailand – the fans will have their motherhood so much since they see me ever since I was a kid. What they always did are like they really raise me up as their child for real. They always talk with me about my works like “you did really good today”, or “I think this hairdo might not fit you, how about this one”.

Q13: Just like a mother look after her child? BB: Yes krub. Thai fans usually give out this mother-like feeling. However, for other international fans – they do not have this vibe. They always in fans/girlfriend mode. Like if I go to the USA, or to my latest visit at Mexico, I will be in a 100% manly mode. If I am in Thailand – I will be in a baby mode, but if I go there, I will also be in other mode.

Q14: Do you have any special thing you would like to do or eat during your return to Thailand this time? BB: There’s nothing new for the food krub. But the newest thing for me is that I had a chance to participate in the Ghost Radio show. I have been their fan for 5 years, and I had a chance to meet with P’ Jack (the DJ) for the first time – and had a chance to create a new record to them. We both happy with this. I am really thankful since fans of the show also acknowledged me as a true fan for this show.

Q15: When you see your fans supporting you in everything be it big or small (e.g., when BamBam got hurt at his eyebrow – IGOT7s also felt hurt), how do you feel about this – does this fill up the good energy in you? BB: It’s a positive energy to me. Whenever they worried about me, the feeling that I had is that I wish I could repay them. So, this world tour will be a reward/ something that I would use to repay to them for everything all of them gave to me through these years. I tried to repay them as much as I could.

Q16: You’ve gone through so many things on your artist journey and now you have been acknowledged and accepted by fans in many countries including in Korea – you have continuously gained so many loves and supports – how do you feel with your current status? BB: I would like to thank my fans for still being with me. Seriously, if I release my song but there’s no one listening to it – then, there’s no point making the music. I am grateful that there’re fans who are still supporting me. I don’t know if my fans are increasing, decreasing, or staying the same in numbers, but I also felt that I’ve gained more acceptances in countries that I visited, especially these days in Korea. After I went to the show(s), when I was in Korea – people know me more these days and I’m happy with this.

Q17: When we were children, we used to have inspiration from artists, and now BamBam has become an inspiration to follow your dream for many people. Like recently, Nong Rod-Tu (a hilltribe man who showed up in a tv show in Thailand – having BB as his inspiration) drew your picture and talk about this in the show – how do you feel about this. BB: When I was young, I had so many artists as my inspirations, but I felt that I did not have any moment with or close to them. When I watched the show that Rod-Tu drew my portrait, I felt really good. I f want to do something to let him know that I got his message, so I put it on my IG story. I am happy to know that now I am at the point that I can be an inspiration for others just like when I used to have other artists as my inspiration, but more than that is I can also interact with them and be more approachable to them.

PDF version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DbOuFeLHY7UkJmtuJeagVW-DRmXXHqGi/view?usp=sharing Original Source: Thairath News https://www.thairath.co.th/entertain/news/2722771 Translated by kissdatbam may contain slight inaccuracies

[pinchraccoon]

I think I'm gonna write an actual like, real review of it, but here's my mini review of Pokemon Violet to get my thoughts summarized.

The latest entries to pokemon, while a bold step in a new direction, may be a step into Alaskan snow in flip-flops. The game has some great ideas and lofty ambitions, and for what it does accomplish, there's clearly a lot of fun to be had with the product that was delivered, however, the preparation given to bring these ideas into fruition was far under prioritized.

To speak kindly of the game before speaking ill, I have always, and will always, love pokemon. It's a series that is very near and dear to me, and there's a certain magic that comes with learning all about the new creatures that have been added to the growing roster of canonized monster designs I've come to love, especially on a semi-blind playthrough, the magic of learning about and hunting down as many new pokemon is unmatched. SV does deliver on this, as I feel that this generation has a series of lovely pokemon designs that I have fallen in love with in my short time with them. (Tinkaton, Revavroom, Ceruledge, Meowscarada, and Chi-Yu are all new favorites)

Additionally, the story of SV is quite well done, easily one of the best-executed stories in pokemon in a while, and while I don't think I'm comfortable calling it "better than" the story of BW/BW2, I feel that it's comparable in quality. Characters, themes, and plot points all feel surprisingly natural in a game that theoretically allows you to go off and challenge its many hurdles in any order, utilizing the scripted events that it does have cleverly, and to great effect. I particularly enjoyed the Team Star narrative, and how it takes the "evil team" formula that pokemon has had for a long time, and juxtaposes the idea of a group of bullies onto it, only to learn over time that they're just bullied people sticking together, and aren't bad, just misrepresented.

On the basis of the typical gameplay loop, SV delivers Very well. The incorporation of overworld encounters and optional trainer battles allows the player to feel free and uninhibited by the game itself, and free to engage with exactly as much content as they would like to, whether this be picking and choosing what pokemon to battle in the wild, or which trainers if any, they feel the need to battle. SV's design philosophy seems to be prioritizing freedom as much as possible, while also meaningfully rewarding progression, and I feel that the game flow comes off as organic.

This is to say, that this game has more team-building potential out of the gate than just about any other pokemon game, with countless pokemon accessible to the player even moments from starting the game, appealing to collection freaks and competitive fans alike.

Then, what's the problem?

In short, the game is unfinished. The game, at launch, would routinely dip to what I could ascertain to be 12-17 FPS regularly, and while steps have been taken already to make the drops in framerate far less drastic, the time to do that incredibly important work is before release, not after. The framerate, the chief among issues, and generally its lack of optimization for switch hardware, sometimes spoils the other wonderful parts of the game. Finding pokemon is less intriguing when extreme pop-in only allows you to look at pokemon less than 20 feet away from you, and somewhat harms the immersion of the experience. And while updated models and style of the pokemon have been made, and they're quite impressive, it's hard to say that the pokemon "look good" when after 4 appear on screen at once, or even two pokemon with some attacks, their frames drop far below what they should.

Additionally, while this game loads quickly traveling between areas, smaller, more subtle, but similarly important loading times feel far, far too long. The boxes take far too long to load the images of your pokemon in each individual box, which somewhat harms the collection fantasy, and upon starting a battle with a wild pokemon, their "low poly open world" model will still be loaded long into the first turn. Additionally, menuing remains rather clunky and sluggish, which quickly becomes annoying when things like Wonder Trade or other such "quick" menuing activities take a minimum of 45 seconds due to their lack of optimization.

The issues I'm listing sound comparatively minor, however, in an experience as dependent on a lack of obstruction as SV are clearly trying to be, the failure to deliver on a product that runs consistently and reasonably is a major slight against it.

These issues are not deliberate design choices that simply do not work, these larger issues are a product of the dev teams' inability to put out the product that wouldn't have these problems, and the issues with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are by and large issues with management, not the dev team themselves. The worrying pace at which Pokemon games are released, especially considering that SV is not even our first major open-world Pokemon release this year, is clearly harming Game Freak's ability to provide a product that will meet the expectations of both fans AND the artists themselves.

SV is in many ways, an extremely fun game that has been weighed down by the weight of the industry, and as much as I loved the time and fun that I had with it, its issues cannot be overlooked. I can't say that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, in their current state, are "good" games. Violet is a game that I enjoyed, it's a game that perhaps will be good in the future following patches and performance updates, but at current, the development issues that are so apparent and the clear lack of optimization for switch hardware made by these issues genuinely harm my perception of the game quite a bit.

Is it fun? Yeah. Is it good? No.

[zacharyja]

Monday, May 13th, 2024

Tsukiji Hongwanji, Mitsukoshi Ginza, and Bunraku Performance

Today began by waking up, skipping breakfast, going to my class meeting and then heading with the group to the train station. We made our way to the Tsukuji Hongwanji temple, which is a Buddhist temple opened in 1617 originally and has now been reconstructed a few times influenced by Indian architecture. This temple was pretty interesting as it was not like most of the other Japanese temples which were built of wood, as this is constructed with stone.

After viewing the temple and saying a prayer inside we then proceeded to the Tsukiji fish market, which is one of the largest in all of Tokyo. While here we went to a sushi place called “Sushizanmai”, I ordered just a basic tuna roll which was pretty decent, though I would probably hold off on the wasabi for next time as I am not really a fan of the flavor. Next we made our way to Ginza, which is one of Tokyo’s top shopping districts, and is where you might expect people with money to burn to be hanging out. My friends and I were not too interested in the Louis Vuitton type shops so we walked around for a bit and ended up at a random underground mall where we found a restaurant that had appetizing looking photos on the wall. The name of the izakaya restaurant was “Miroku Yaesu” where I ordered what I thought was beef curry, though I’m pretty certain that I ended up gettting offal, and I am not really a fan of animal entrails… I did not end up eating any of the meat and was not too happy with my meal choice to say the least.

After not enjoying this mid meal we walked to a cake shop and got some strawberry cake, which tasted infinitely better than the organs.

Once done with that we took the train back to our hotel and then walked around the neighborhood for a bit. While perusing we stumbled upon a random temple in the middle of the Yushima area near our hotel, which was beautiful and also completely void of people which is a weird site to see anywhere in Tokyo.

After researching it some I found out that this is called Reiunji Temple, and was founded in 1691. It really feels wild to just be randomly walking and stumble upon a building that has a longer history than the entire United States of America. Once viewing this temple for a while we headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit before making our way to a Bunraku performance. Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppetry dating back to the 17th century. This comprises of large wooden puppets controlled by multiple people, acting out a story while a “chanter” reads all the lines in an extremely emotionally charged performance, accompanied by a musical performance from a shamisen, which is a type of 3 stringed traditional musical instrument. The show was pretty interesting and definitely something I have never experienced before. The entire show was in Japanese, so I was not able to understand much but we were equipped with earbuds that told a brief synopsis of the plot every minute or so.

After the Bunraku performance we went back to the hotel and found a burger place in Akihabara called “Mos burger” where we had an okay meal, and despite me not really wanting a burger in Japan I went along as to not eat alone. After eating we all went back to the hotel and a group of about 12 of us hung out in the top floor conference room and watched a movie.

Academic Reflection

The Bunraku performance was an extremely unique experience, and after reading the story of the puppet performance, I was surprised to see it acted out much differently than I could have anticipated. The visual aspects of the puppets paired with the chanter and shamisen player sounds were quite the sight to behold. Seeing the events unfold, and knowing what was going to happen somehow added to the suspense and emotions as I knew what was coming next. The entire aspect of being there live in person definitely helped me to solidify the information and recall the events as they were unfolding right before my eyes. I thought that the whole substitution drama fit really well and I can see why there was a need for so much emotional impact. I enjoyed the scene near the beginning where Gonshiro finds out that he had mistakenly grabbed the wrong child, as this is really the turning point that knocked over the dominos and set the rest of the story into motion.

[andypantsx3]

unconventional | 1 | midoriya x reader

pairing: Midoriya Izuku/Reader

summary: HeroExpo is incredible, and that’s not even counting the really cute hero fanboy you just met. Well, you think he might be cute under that Deku cosplay. It’s hard to tell because it’s really, really good. Like, too good.

length: est ~13,000 words | 5 chapters

tags: romance, pro hero au, misunderstandings, conventions/fandom culture

warnings: aged up characters, eventual smut

 HeroExpo @heroexpo_official Excited to see more of your favorite heroes? Check out the additions to our weekend line up! http://bit.ly/9iJZ5jt

( ✧Д✧ )ᕗ @jell3_bell3 replying to @heroexpo_official okay but what if u just replaced every slot with an uravity panel

xinju @greenhopp replying to @jell3_bell3 and @heroexpo_official ooh concept: a red riot meet and greet, but instead of shaking hands u get to pet his abs

zennie | commissions open! @jennie_xz_art TBT to last year when I got yelled at by @officialdynamight. May you all be similarly blessed by him this weekend. #HeroX #spicyangriboi

green bean protection squad @bunnnniboi replying to @heroexpo_official they added a DEKU MEETING AND GREET?? you mean i get to see him IN PERSON???? brb astral projecting outta my fucken body

The truth of it was, you hadn’t originally planned on going.

HeroExpo sounded like the perfect thing for a huge hero nerd like you—a weekend packed full of panels, art, meet and greets, and a sea of fans just as wild for it all as you were. There was going to be all manner of food, merch, and even things directly relevant to your major—talks by support techs on building the next generation of hero gear, booths hawking knock off gear, and a hall specifically reserved for support item testing.

It would have been recreational and aspirational, and you had wanted to go for as long as you had known of the convention’s existence.

The issue was that HeroExpo cost money.

Lots of it.

As a college student nearing the end of a very intensive degree, you were not exactly raking in the big bucks, and you frankly had somewhat larger designs on the produce section of the grocery store than you did on HeroExpo. It was a hard draw between shelling out for tickets and eating something slightly more substantial than cup noodles for the rest of the semester.

You’d quite honestly been leaning towards the option where you ate actual food with a shelf life of under three years—especially since you’d recently heard tell of a sophomore who’d gotten scurvy off a semester of pasta and Ritz crackers—and you’d resigned yourself to another year of inattendance. You’d even started to make all the proper arrangements, bookmarking fan blogs and scrolling through twitter to follow people who said they would be attending HeroX so you could experience the event from the sidelines.

And that is when it happened. The patron saint of hero fangirls smiled down upon you, in the form of one very auspicious tweet.

HeroExpo @heroexpo_official Want to experience HeroX for free? Volunteer with our crew and get a free weekend pass! http://bit.ly/f1JX6ty

You had never clicked anything faster in your life, throwing your details into the form at speeds high enough to break the sound barrier. You shamelessly played up your support tech major, volunteering to help with any tech and tooling issues the staff encountered. And if you had also maybe buffed up the weight limit you could feasibly carry, and exaggerated your willingness to work with children, well, that was your own business. Besides, a few hours each day swearing and sweating over merch boxes would be well worth it to get into HeroX.

An organizer had called you within hours—eager college students with tons of enthusiasm and zero labor standards were apparently their target employment pool—and, after chatting with her over the phone and confirming the totally untrue weight limits you had just submitted, you were in.

And that was how you found yourself packed into the convention center downtown, with roughly thirty other hero nerds who, by the looks of them, had also definitely oversold their weight-carrying capabilities. You’d shown up the Thursday before to get your badges, then watched approximately a million hours of ancient work safety videos, detailing the appropriate use of ladders, operation of the trash compactors out back, and the suggested box lifting techniques.

Then they’d set you to work unpacking ten billion plastic chairs, laying out cheap scratchy tables along the hall that would become artist’s alley. You unfurled several hundred meters of line barriers with those retractable belts, and shunted boxes around like the grunt you were. It was backbreaking and totally unglamorous, and you’d started sweating only ten minutes into it.

It all proved worth it, though, when you caught your first glimpse of Red Riot passing through the lobby of the adjoining hotel, chatting animatedly with someone you guessed might be his manager, his bright red hair unmistakable even in his street clothes. Over the course of the afternoon, several other heroes followed, each one of them sending your heartbeat racing with a shocked little thrill.

It reignited the spark of your excitement for the weekend to come, and you’d started hauling boxes and unrolling barrier tape with renewed vigor. At the end of the day, you hauled yourself back to your apartment and passed out in your bed, exhausted but pleased, and excited for the prospect of tomorrow.

Had you known what awaited you when you showed up for your morning shift, however, you might not have been so excited.

Because when you walked into the staff room that Friday morning, a nightmare awaited you.

“You said you’re good with kids, right?” one of the organizers asked you. “We need you to wear this.”

You were actually not that good with kids, despite what you had claimed on your application, so the question itself was concerning enough.

But even more concerning was the this in question. A puffy, luridly-colored mascot suit, in the very vague shape of retired number one hero All Might. It puffed out in a bulge of stuffed muscles, moldering spandex, and an unfathomably large head, with a horrifyingly misshapen cut out in the smile where your face was probably supposed to poke out.

“No,” was out of your mouth the second your eyes locked onto it.

The organizer looked up from her phone, then, throwing you an evaluating look, and you realized that the fate of your afternoon attendance at HeroX rested on a different answer.

You backpedaled.

“Uh, I mean—how...how bad could it be,” you said faintly, eyes darting to the costume again. It stared back in a pile of lumpy muscles and yellow foam eyebrows. A hard pit of dread coiled in your stomach.

All Might was an icon. He had a special place in your heart—as he did with every member of your generation—and under other circumstances you would have been happy to pay homage to him in the stupidest outfit imaginable. But the suit was honestly super creepy and looked ancient as hell, and you could already see the way children were going to flock to it, like birds to a fat pile of bread crumbs.

Sweet lord above, you hoped the afternoon panels were gonna be worth this.

“You’re going to want to stick to one area, and look down if you do have to walk anywhere,” the organizer said briskly. “I’ve been told it’s hard to see where you’re going in that.”

She toed it towards you with the point of an ankle boot. “There’s an Uravity panel at ten in Hall C, you’ll probably want to start there. She’s popular with the younger kids.”

“Great,” you said hollowly, stooping to scoop it off the floor. You could barely fit your hands around the head, so you grabbed onto one of All Might’s signature bunny-ear bangs, hefting it over your shoulder like an axe. “Sounds great.”

Getting it through the door also proved a Sisyphean effort, but after several minutes of shoving and some creative angling, you managed to get it into the hall. Several of the other volunteer nerds eyed you sympathetically as you passed them, looking guiltily relieved that they’d escaped your fate.

Outside of Hall C, you wiggled your way into the suit, another endeavor that proved almost beyond human capability. Once you zipped it up, you discovered it was instantly stuffy inside, and smelled slightly mildewy, like it hardly ever saw the outside of a storage bin.

And it proved to get even stuffier over the course of the morning. Even with the mouth hole you could peek most of your face out of, the rest of the suit stayed warm, retaining your body heat and stubbornly resisting even the slightest modicum of airflow. As you had expected, children flocked to it, screaming with joy and rocketing towards you with all the speed and deadly intent of rampaging rhinoceroses.

By the end of the morning you'd worked up a mild headache from the heat and the spectacular volume of the convention-going children, and you were strongly looking forward to getting the damned thing off you. You needed to feel the cool air of the convention center on you once more the same way you needed air to breathe, or needed an advil for the pressure at your temples. You were also starving, and fully intended to descend upon Lunch Rush’s cafe station like a vulture on carrion.

So you may have been rushing as you made your way back to the staff rooms. Which is probably why you weren’t really being careful, or looking down as you had been advised to whenever you moved.

And that's when it happened.

As you passed the entrance to Hall C, your foot slid forward on something, shooting out from underneath you like you’d stepped on a skateboard. You stumbled backwards, arms whirling. You managed to slap the blunt edge of one wall with one of All Might’s foam hands, which bounced straight back off of it. And then you lost your balance, tripping backwards.

You’d just let out a strangled squeak of panic when there was a woosh of air, and your back bumped something that was decidedly higher than the floor. You could feel something shift through the foam of All Might’s caped shoulder, and the ceiling moved strangely in front of your eyes. It took you a moment to realize you were being helped back onto your feet.

“Um, are you alright?” someone asked you, slightly muffled through All Might’s giant head. The tone was male, gentle but sure, a careful lilt in it that you could have sworn you’d heard before.

You had to turn your entire body to see over your shoulder.

The person who had caught you was a guy. A super cute guy, at least as far as you could tell. He was fairly tall, packed with lean muscle, and broad across the shoulders—but it was hard to make out how much of that was real.

The issue was that he was wearing the most convincing Deku costume you had ever seen—no, the most convincing cosplay overall that you’d ever seen.

He had all the details of Deku’s suit just right, down to the material of his leg bracers and the color of the hardware on his gloves. It seemed to fit him just right, too, tapering in at his trim waist and stretching enticingly across those broad shoulders, cupping lovingly to a downright illegal set of biceps. You wondered absently if those were real or foam cut out, and had to stop yourself from reaching out to find out.

He even had tiny little freckles painted on, had achieved the same fluffy, bed head consistency to his inky green curls, and had clearly let someone work incredible professional magic with his makeup. His facial structure looked almost exactly the same as Deku’s, maybe just a little sharper than the Deku you knew from TV.

You’d always thought Deku himself was fairly handsome, if implausibly sweet-looking for someone with that amount of raw power, but this guy was almost something else entirely. He was definitely nailing the wholesome thing, too, but that strong jawline and the watchful attentiveness of his gaze were doing something to you that the Deku from TV did not.

You realized you were staring, and quickly moved to correct course.

“I’m alright, thank you for catching me,” you said, gesturing with one of All Might’s thick arms. “I literally do not know if I would have been capable of getting back up.”

Those green eyes flicked over you, and a smile pulled at his mouth. It hit you like a flash of bright sunshine, charmingly sincere, and you had to remind yourself that breathing was a thing you should probably be doing.

“Save people with a smile, right?” he said.

You laughed. How very Deku of him.

“And what a truly heinous villain I have been rescued from,” you said, finally catching sight of your trip hazard. The offending candy wrapper stared back up at you from the floor, villainously. You didn’t dare lean down to collect it in case the Deku fanboy had to cause to save you again.

He noticed it too, however, and leaned over and plucked it off the floor to toss it in a nearby trash can. You tried very hard not to notice the way the muscles in his thighs pulled as he leaned over.

So. Those appeared to be very, very real.

“Do you also need rescuing from, um, All Might?” he asked, eyes flicking over your mascot suit again as he straightened. “He looks hard to navigate in.”

You couldn’t help but grin back at him. “I’ll be free of him in a couple minutes for lunch break, but thanks. All Might is lucky he’s the only hero I would put up with this for.”

Even then, you still kind of wanted to dump the damn suit in the trash compactor out back and watch its huge head get compacted until it exploded, but you kept that particular fantasy to yourself. It could have been the costume, but this guy looked way too nice for petty shit like that.

The Deku fanboy perked up. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”

Ah, so an All Might fan in addition to a Deku fan. But who wasn’t, really?

“He’s a legend for a reason,” you said earnestly. “I’m glad we’ve moved past the All Might era to a structure where heroes aren’t expected to shoulder the burdens of society alone like that. But I can’t begin to imagine the kind of selflessness and strength it took for him to be the icon he was for so long. I still feel safe whenever I look at him.”

The fanboy’s eyes brightened, lighting on you speculatively. “That’s it exactly.”

He smiled again, intimate and almost conspiratorial, like a ray of summer sunshine washing over you. You wanted to bask in it like a cat in a warm window. You couldn't help but feel weirdly drawn to him for someone you had just met, like he was someone familiar to you, someone you might be safe with.

Honestly, this dude could have given Deku himself a run for his money.

“What’s your name?” you found yourself asking.

The fanboy blinked, almost like he was surprised you had asked. “Izuku. What’s yours?”

You stifled a surprised laugh. Either he was staying super in character, or you had just found out why Deku was clearly his favorite hero.

Cute.

“Ah, of course,” you said agreeably, though you felt none of the same need to masquerade as All Might. Especially given that you were about to be mercifully free of him. “I’m Y/N.”

“Y/N,” he echoed, smiling again, and the sound of your name in that gentle but firm tone did weird things to your ability to breathe.

It was maybe this lack of oxygen flow to your brain that prompted you to ask your next question, something you never might have done if you hadn’t been so strangely, instantly charmed by him. Something that, you would find out only later, would set off the chain of events that led to the rest of your weekend.

“Hey, I’m about to be off shift for the rest of the afternoon,” you told him. “Can I treat you to lunch, as a thanks for the save?”

The fanboy looked back at you, those green eyes flickering over you with a keen discernment almost at odds with that warm smile. You felt suddenly like he caught everything, every little detail, like he was the type who could pick something apart and put it back together with just a look alone. You ignored the recessed part of your brain that began to pipe up about his potential to take you apart.

You had just met him, and no matter how cute he was, you needed to at least get to know the guy first. Plus, you were wearing a moldering All Might mascot suit and he’d watched you wipe out on a candy wrapper. He likely was not finding you the epitome of sexy right now.

The fanboy looked a little shy, then, and lifted an arm to tousle the curls at the back of his head. You had occasion to notice that the muscles in his arm were also very, very real, and your mouth went kind of dry.

“I think I’d like that,” he said, another smile turning up the corner of his mouth. “Where did you have in mind?”

Your mouth pulled into a grin again, pleased, and you gestured vaguely to your All Might suit. “Let me rid myself of this monstrosity, and I’ll treat you to Lunch Rush’s?”

He nodded that head of wild curls. “Sounds great. I’ll, um, wait for you here?”

You nodded as best you were able to in the All Might costume, feeling strangely giddy. It was just lunch, but you were excited to have made an acquaintance at the convention, and it didn't hurt that he was as weirdly winsome as he was.

It wasn’t every day you found another hero fan with a smile that pretty, and it was all but unheard of for a fanboy to be as built as this dude obviously was. Plus, if the save and the shy hair tousling was anything to go by, this guy was genuinely a nice boy, and the accuracy of his suit told you he might even be a bigger hero nerd than you were. You hoped desperately that the two of you would hit it off over lunch.

And with that thought, you waved him off. You turned on your heel, darting back to the staff rooms as quickly as All Might would allow, your heartbeat fluttering in your chest.

And that is how things started.

Just a heads up that this fic is going to be posted somewhat slower than my usual pace!! I'm going to be taking a little more time off of writing than I typically do for ~self care~ because I've been getting a little burnt out at work. Thank you for understanding!! 💕

[baku-bowl]

broke 1,000 followers (the fuck? I don't even make content people), so decided to write up a list of some (but not all, I'll make other lists later) of my favorite Bakugou-centric fic recs. my tastes run towards hurt/comfort, as you'll probably figure from the list. if there are some Baku-centric fics that you've enjoyed that aren't on here, please add them - this is definitely not a complete list of the ones I've read and love, but I'm always up for some recs. <3

fair warning, most of these are wips.

------------------------------------------------

Social Media 101 by WindsChild8178

Part 1: Survival Guide to Fucking Up

[Solely Bakugou’s point of view]

Katsuki Bakugou doesn’t have a gentle bone in his body. He’s aggressive in everything he does and does everything with 100% of his heart in it. After the Sport’s Festival, Katsuki starts to get harassed by strangers for his unheroic demeanor. It starts with letters but it doesn’t end there. The moment Katsuki realizes the harassment has entered dangerous territory and he needs to tell someone, it’s already too late.

Part 2: Post Traumatic Life Disorder

[Point of View opens up to Bakugou, teachers and classmates]

When the Dorms are finally built, everyone is settling in well, but things become tense as people begin to realize something isn’t right with the recently rescued Bakugou.

[Cannon compliant right up to after the License Exam]

hands down my favorite fic in the fandom right now. it’s the one that converted me into a Bakugou lover. if you have any fondness for Bakugou as a character then it’s likely you’ve read this one already, but if not, I can’t recommend it enough. incredibly depressing, but with the hope that comfort is coming soon in the next few chapters.

The Kids Will Be Alright, Eventually by NotWithThatAttitude

Bakugou is spiraling in the aftermath of Kamino and his friends are starting to notice. He's stubborn, aggressively independent, and less than willing to dig into his past, but after a breakdown that ends with a painful secret revealed, he starts to get help.

Whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile, a new kind of villain threatens an uneasy peace following the loss of Allmight. Whispers build as a new narrative slowly takes shape:

Hero society needs to change.

Feat. Therapy, Dadzawa, best boy Kirishima, dysfunctional families, healing, growing up, and the mortifying ordeal of being known

guys.. the medical accuracy of this fic is just... *chef’s kiss*

I rarely see mental health genuinely handled well in fics, but this one goes above and beyond. kudos to the author for doing such excellent research into psychology, and making the application of it in here not-boring. also, while this one does have abusive!Mitsuki, it’s done in a way that feels realistic, and how I usually will see it occur in real life, rather than just for the hurt/comfort feels.

fair warning, the fic can be incredibly triggering (themes of severe depression, PTSD, panic attacks, rape survival, abuse survival, suicidal ideation/attempted suicide, among other things), so be safe and heed the tw’s if you decide to read. legitimately one of my Top Favorite fics in this fandom.

Lock and Key by autochorystalize

Bakugou made a choked, gravelly noise before croaking out a low, “You can’t be serious.” His fingers ached to blow up everything in the room.

“I’m sorry, young man, but you can’t change reality! This sometimes happens.” Recovery Girl clicked through his file, adding a new symbol in a previously empty slot.

- - -

A pair of eyes discreetly locked on to an explosive blond plowing his way forward, parting people in his path. He recognized the kid, of course. Anyone in the underbelly of society would recognize him, after the publicity of both UA’s Sports Festival and the events leading up to All Might’s fall. The uniform he was wearing cast away any doubts about the young man’s identity.

It was a bit of a surprise that the little firecracker presented as an omega.

- - - - - - - - -

Or: there are certain types of evil that seemed too distant, archaic violations and perversions that would never actually threaten bright-eyed heroes-in-training in the clean, modern world...but sometimes those evils aren't as distant as one might think.

remember when I said that I love a/b/o fics that are full of plot and world-building and gender-induced tension? that’s this one. the OC’s are fabulous and you love to hate ‘em. also, it’s the fic that made me fall head-over-heels for the TodoBaku dynamic, so it’s got a special place in my cold, dead heart. 

be warned, there are rather explicit non-con scenes between an adult (OC) and a minor (Bakugou) in this one, but the author warns for them in advance, and you could likely skip those parts without missing too much if you need to.

Never and Always, Eventually by Wawa_Boonliang

"Katsuki can remember the exact moment that he and Deku…that he and Midoriya Izuku became friends. He can also remember the moment he and Izuku became fierce rivals, a time when they were almost enemies.

However, what he remembers most clearly about their relationship is the moment that they moved passed rivals and became something more close than mere friends. Something more like brotherhood, something forged in fire and secured in the middle of a battlefield or in the midst of natural disaster where the number of the dead was climbing ever higher. And then it was torn from him."

Katsuki is given a second chance. A chance to save everyone. A chance to change everything.

But should he?

y’all. I’m a slutty, slutty whore for time travel fics. a time travel fic with autistic!coded Bakugou? it was love at first read.

Lessons Learned by Sif (Rosae)

Rather than the police station, Katsuki's friends bring him to a hospital after rescuing him from the villains. His wounds were minor, but it didn't make having them treated any less important. As it would so happen, Best Jeanist was also brought to this hospital after the attack.

Sometimes, small choices have a big impact on how a story plays out.

classic Bakugou hurt/comfort. this fic opened me up to the potential that could be a genuinely good Best Jeanist & Katsuki mentor-mentee relationship, and I kind of dig it and search ravenously for it in other fics now. I’m also a huge fan of the behind-the-scences Pro Hero Chat group.

Slope by sunfleurmoon

“I’m not a hero. Or a good person,” Katsuki says, giving Aizawa a pointed look, “So leave me alone. I don’t care about the League or UA, or you—” The two years he’s been away have been fine, more than fine, fucking fantastic actually if you ignore the bi-monthly near-death experiences. He doesn’t need this place. He doesn’t miss this place.

And yet, longing, a childish desire to tear up, or maybe blow something to bits, they all twist in his chest like a band of traitors regardless. “—I just want to go home.”

Or: the one where Katsuki and Izuku fail the first term exam, Aizawa discovers their pasts, and Katsuki is booted from UA. Featuring questionable descriptions of villain organizations, a slightly illegal moving shop, and your favorite emotionally constipated badass in distress with a newly discovered penchant for collecting strays.

paaaaaaiiiiiiiin. the hurt is ALIVE in this one. lots of tortured, angsty exploding child goodness. the OC’s are excellently crafted, and the Bakugou & Eri relationship? beautiful. definitely deserves a read.

Ground Zero by WindsChild8178

In the wake of Kamino, Katsuki is tested more than anyone could imagine. Bound by a villain’s quirk to keep his silence or die, he lives each day knowing it might very well be his last. He continues to work towards becoming a hero, keeping his secret from his classmates and teachers, focusing on making it through each day and trying not to allow the panic or depression to get the best of him. When the villain finally corners him with demands in exchange for his life, there is really only one answer Katsuki Bakugou can give.

honestly don't know which I want updated more - social media 101 or ground zero. this author's fics are amazing, and I really wasn't expecting the twist in this one. can't wait for windschild to come back to this fic some day.

The Defect by LadyGreenFrisbee

"Why do you want to win the Sports Festival so badly?" 

Because I want to see if the defect could usurp the masterpiece.

(In which Endeavor holds a terrible secret and Bakugo has to suffer since childhood for it.)

a great concept, and I adore the shouto and Katsuki sibling interaction here. hoping the author will come back to this one some day.

A Name That You'll Remember by Heronfem

Kirishima Eijirou is a Hero. Bakugou Katsuki... is not. Trapped in his toxic workplace and increasingly desperate to get out, Red Riot's days are only brightened by a new villain known as Caution, who's not exactly villainous and keeps accidentally doing good deeds. But when a real villain appears, a threat from the past that demands that Red Riot make the ultimate sacrifice to keep the public safe, Bakugou is forced into saving the day... and eventually, Red Riot himself.

sob story good guy villains are my weakness, this fic is a gem, and I'd kill for the sequel.

Our Hero by AnonymousTwit

He felt everything jerk to the side and throw his balance off before he saw anything, dust clouding his vision and irritating his lungs as the earth itself opened up to swallow them whole. For a single moment, in a millisecond's time, his wild eyes locked with Raccoon Eyes', hers alight with fear and adrenaline-fueled desperation. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that it was the first time she'd looked at him with something other than long-deserved hatred in days.

And then he was free falling.

Or

After a particularly nasty encounter between childhood friends, the class learns about Bakugou and Midoriya's dark history and practically ostracizes Bakugou while trying to defend Midoriya. An earthquake during an outing has all sides regretting their decisions.

just fucking tear apart my self-sacrificing faves in every way imaginable while their loved ones watch on in terror. 💖🥰💖 this one is heavy on the Bakusquad and Class-1A feels, and VERY heavy on the Mina & Bakugou relationship (platonic).

Running back the tape, watching it replay by Faralyne

For someone ripped from their time, ripped from the few but strong relationships built by time and personal development, by self-reflection and swallowed pride, ripped from the one thing that made him feel worthwhile and needed and put-together, and forced to forge everything over again—Katsuki thinks he is handling it pretty fucking well.

Or

A villain’s quirk sends a 29-year-old Bakugou back in time to his middle school days.

am I a sucker for time travel? yes. am I a sucker for vigilante!bakugou? also yes. am I a sucker for this fic? literally refreshing the page in wait for an update as we speak.

Liability by sandelf

After All-Might dies rescuing Bakugou from the League, Bakugou is determined to prove it wasn't for nothing.

But the world is against him, his grief is overwhelming, and his stability is splitting at the edges.

very self-indulgent bakugou angst. tw for harassment, severe depression, and suicidality.

Special Mentions:

How To Win The Sport Festival: A Step By Step Guide by mhwright

Short re-imagining of the Sports Festival Arc if Shinso had planned a little better and worked a little harder to win the Sports Festival and if the match-ups had been slightly different. Self-indulgent fic of watching him succeed.

this is completely Shinsou-centric, not Bakugou-centric, but I love and adore it and am dying for a sequel. Shinsou is Best Boy here and you'll be rooting for him the whole time.

[cyndavilachase]

I’m Looking Forward Now 💖Thank you and good bye

So, it’s been a little over a week since Steven Universe Future ended… 

I’ve been hesitant to write this, honestly, but I’m tired of holding myself back from properly expressing myself in fear of appearing overly invested in the media I consume, even in private. Writing helps me organize my thoughts and feelings, and I feel like these thoughts in particular may resonate with many, so I want to share them. I want to talk about what Steven Universe has done for me personally, both as an artist, and as a person.

I’ve been around since the day the first episode of the original series aired. I actually remember when Steven Universe was just a logo on Wikipedia’s “List of Upcoming Cartoon Network Shows” list, back when I was a freshman in high school. It piqued my interest, but when commercials finally dropped for it, I thought it was going to be bad because of the way marketing handled introducing Steven as a likeable character. There was still something about it that made me want to give it a chance though, so I went online and watched the pilot before the first episode's release. I was hooked immediately. I knew I was going to love it, and I did. I fell so absolutely in love with Steven as a character, and the world that he and the gems lived in. I became obsessed. I was always so excited for new episodes to come out. Little did I know what else it would do for me as I went through my adolescence alongside it.

As the show progressed, it was evident that what I wanted out of a western animated childrens’ cartoon was finally coming into fruition: this show was becoming serialized. There was continuity, there was plot, there was character development-- it was getting deep. It was pushing the groundwork that Adventure Time laid out even further (thank you, Adventure Time).  

I will give credit where credit is due: earlier western childrens’ cartoons I grew up with like Hey Arnold, and Rugrats, among others, also touched on heavy topics, but Steven Universe was able to take similar ideas (and even more complex ones, concerning mental health and relationships) and expand on them outside of contained episodes and/or short arcs. These themes, which were a part of the show’s overarching story, spanned across its entirety. Continuity was rampant. 

What did this mean? It meant kids cartoons didn’t have to be silly and fun all the time and characters weren’t just actors playing a part in 11-minute skits. Steven and the gems would remember things that happened to them, and it affected them and how they would function and play a part in their story. This was a huge deal to me as a teenager. I always wanted the cartoons I grew up with featuring kid characters to feel more. In my own work, I often felt discouraged when combining a fun, cutesy western art style with themes as dark or layered as anime would cover. I always thought it had to be one or the other because an audience wouldn’t take a combination of the two seriously enough, based on discussions I had with classmates, friends, and online analysis I read at the time. Steven Universe proved to me otherwise. This show was opening the door for future cartoons exploring in-depth, adult concepts. I felt so seen as a kid, and was inspired to stick with what I love doing.

I was actually very worried about the show’s survival. It was in fact immensely underrated and the fandom was miniscule. Then in 2014, JailBreak dropped, and it’s popularity exploded. Part of it was because of the complex plot and the themes it was covering like I mentioned, but also because of its representation. 

I remember when fandom theorized that Garnet was a fusion due to grand, tragic reasons. Turns out, she’s simply a metaphor for a very loving w|w relationship. This was huge. I cannot stress how important it is that we continue to normalize healthy canon queer relationships in childens’ media, and Steven Universe finally was the first to do that proper. Introducing these themes offers the chance for a kid to sit there and ask themselves, “Why is this demonized by so many people?” I asked myself exactly that. Ruby and Sapphire were my cartoon LGBT rep. They were the first LGBT couple I ever ecstatically drew fanart of. I was dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia at the time, and they showed me that I was allowed to love women and feel normal about it. The process of overcoming this was a long one, but they played a part in my very first steps into becoming comfortable with my sexuality. I could go on and on about it’s representation in general-- how it breaks the mold when it comes to showcasing a diverse set of characters in design, in casting, and in breaking gender roles. It’s focus on love and empathy. Steven himself is a big boy, but he's the protagonist, and the show never once makes fun of his weight, or any other bigger characters for that matter. It wasn’t hard to see why the fandom had grown so large.

Fandom was always a joy for me. It was a hobby I picked up when I was in middle school, like many of us here did. I would always cater my experience to fun, and fun only. I only started getting more deeply involved in SU’s fandom when I had just turned into an adult. During the summer of 2016, between my first and second year of college, I drew for the show almost every day non-stop when the Summer of Steven event was going on and posted them online. This was a form of practice for me in order to become not just more comfortable with experimenting with my art, but also to meet new artists, make new friends, and learn to interact with strangers without fear. I dealt with a ton of anxiety when I was in high school. When I was a senior applying to art school for animation, I decided I was going to overcome that anxiety. I made plans to take baby steps to improve myself over the course of my 4 years of college. Joining the fandom, while unforeseen, was definitely a part of that process. I started feeling more confident in sharing my ideas, even if they were fan-made. I fell in love with storyboarding after that summer, when I took my first storyboarding class, and genuinely felt like I was actually getting somewhere with all of this. I remember finally coming to a point in my classes where I could pitch and not feel hopelessly insecure about it. I was opening up more to my friends and peers. 

But this process, unfortunately, came to a screeching halt. 

My life completely, utterly crumbled under me in the Fall of 2017 due to a series of blows in my personal life that happened in the span of just a couple weeks. My mental health and sense of identity were completely destroyed. All of that confidence I had worked for-- completely ruined. I was alone. I nearly died. My stay at college was extended to 4 and half years, instead of the 4 I had intended. I lost my love for animation-- making it, and watching it. I could no longer watch Steven Universe with the same love I had for it beforehand. It’s a terrible thing, trying to give your attention to something you don’t love anymore, and wanting so desperately to love again. I dropped so many things I loved in my life, including the fandom.

Healing was a long and complicated road. I continued to watch the show all the way up until Change Your Mind aired in the beginning of 2019, and while I still felt empty, that was definitely a turning point for me with it’s encapsulation of self-love. I was hoping James Baxter would get to work on Steven Universe since he guest-animated on Adventure Time, and it was incredible seeing that wish actually come true. The movie came out and while I enjoyed it and thought highly of it, I was still having issues letting myself genuinely love things again, old and new. It was especially difficult because cartoons were my solace as a kid, when things got rough at home. I remember feeling sad because the show ended, and not getting the chance to love it again like I used to while it was still going.

By the time Steven Universe Future was announced, I was finally coming around. I was genuinely starting to feel excitement for art and animation again. I wasn’t expecting there to be a whole new epilogue series, but happily ever after, there we were! Prickly Pear aired, and the implications it left in terms of where the story was going did it. I was finally ready to let myself take the dive back into fandom in January of this year. My art blew up, something I wasn’t expecting considering my 2-year hiatus. Following this, I was invited into a discord server containing some of the biggest writers, artists, editors, and analysts in the fandom. I had no idea there were so many talented people in the fandom, some already with degrees, some getting their degrees-- creating stuff for it on the side just for fun. The amount of passion and productivity level here is insane, and so is the amount of discussion that has come out of it.

I didn’t realize it at first, but it was actually helping me gain back the courage to share ideas. I lost my confidence in pitching while I was taking the time to heal, and graduating meant there would no longer be a classroom setting I could practice in. This group helped immensely. 

I have made so many friends through this wonderful series, and I have so many fond memories talking to like-minded creatives, getting feedback and a myriad of sources for inspiration, as well as all of the memes and jokes and weekly theorizations that came about as we all waited on the edges of our seats for episodes to air. I needed this so badly, I needed to get back in touch with my roots, when I would go absolutely hog-wild over a cartoon I loved with people who loved it as much I did. Future has been a blessing for me in this way. I graduated feeling like I was back at square-one, but now I feel like I’m on my way again.

It’s 2020 and while I’m doing great right now, I am honestly still recovering from the total exhaustion that followed after graduating a few months ago, and finally leaving the campus where my life fell apart behind. Needless to say, watching Future was like looking into a mirror. Watching one of my favorite characters of all time-- one that grew up with me-- go through so many of the same things I went through not too long ago was absolutely insane to watch unfold. It’s such an important thing too, to show a character go through the process of breaking down over trauma and all the nasty things that come with it, and to have them go on the road to healing. Steven got that therapy. He wasn’t blamed. The gems were called out. The finale was everything I could have ever hoped for. The catharsis I experienced watching it was out of this world.

As I continue my own healing journey, I will always look up to the storyboard artists, revisionists, and designers that I have been following over these past 7 years, as well as the new ones introduced in Future. It's been such a joy watching these artists release their promo art for episodes, talk about their experiences working on the show, and post the work they've done for it alongside episodes airing.

Thank you Rebecca Sugar, the Crewniverse, and the fans, for making this such a truly wonderful and unique experience. Thank you for reminding me that I am, and always will be, an artist, a cartoonist, and a fan. Thank you, my followers, for the overwhelmingly positive response to my artwork. I have had so much fun interacting and discussing the show with you all again over these past few months. Steven Universe and it’s fandom will always have a special place in my heart, and it will always be a classic that I will return to for comfort and inspiration for decades to come. I am sad that the cartoon renaissance is over, but so many doors have been opened thanks to this show. I am so, so excited to see what this show will inspire in the future, and I hope one day I get the opportunity to be a part of that. 

Goodbye Steven, thank you for everything. I wish you healing, and I wish Rebecca and the team a well-deserved rest. ♥️

-Cynthia D.

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 1

It’s been longer than usual since our last answer session, so I’m answering a ton of questions today! It’s so big I split it into two parts. Thank you for the patience on getting a response to these.

Thanks for reaching out to us with your questions and kind words ^^!

Sorry if this has been asked before or isn't something you can say but is there anyway for Cove to confess in step 4? I wanted him to confess in step 3 and followed all the steps to make him do it but ended up texting my family instead of Cove at the end.

Yeah, Cove can confess in Step 4!

Hello! I heard that Cove is on the spectrum, albeit undiagnosed. As someone who is ND, this makes me UNBELIEVABLY happy. I literally was brought to tears! Thank you for that!

Out of curiosity, will Cove be diagnosed in Step 4? I have a strong feeling y’all won’t make it a HUGE deal/make it out to be negative, so I’m not worried about that whatsoever! I’m just curious just he’ll off handedly mention it? Or will it just not be touched upon at all (which is ok!)?

Either way is ok, I’m just curious!

I’m happy it made you happy! Admittedly, Cove simply being someone with autism that grew up not being diagnosed was something I included for myself. I didn’t really think anyone would notice or ask about it, aha. But players did start to have questions about his traits, so I started to talk about it outside of the game. It’s great to see it get such a positive response and now I do feel like having it be a non-topic may have been the wrong choice and bringing it up would’ve been good in terms of having positive representation for that. I don’t know if I’ll find a way to mention it in Step 4 now, with how far along the game is, but I am at least thinking about it when originally it wasn’t something I really even considered.

Hey!  Just wanted to say thank you for Our Life.  It's been a bright spot and a needed escape in what's otherwise been a crummy year.  I know you just did a Q&A post but I figured I'd ask anyway.  Was just curious about Step 4.  Will it be similar to the other Steps in that it consists of several different moments or will it just be one long sequence?

Step 4 is shorter than the prior Steps because it’s just an epilogue rather than a full arc of a story. It’ll consist of scenes that all happen in a set row one after the other. There won’t be a collection of Moments to choose from. But it’ll still be very sweet and fun.

¡hola!, you see, first I want to say that I love Our Life! (°◡°♡) and I have 2 important questions, would Cove cry watching titanic? and what is the saddest part according to him? (sorry for my english) 

Titanic would make him cry. He’d probably think the parts showing people who aren’t able to make it to the life boats/are choosing to stay and go down with the ship were the saddest.

Hello, I wanted to ask how much you earn with creating games? Like is it possible to make a living? Thank you >< <3 

How much I earn varies a lot month to month based on Steam sales, Patreon backers, and how many projects are in full production at the time. It’s also hard to say how much I make historically, since that also changes dramatically year by year. But I do earn enough to work on these games full time! I really appreciate all the support that allows me to do that.

Hey!! I was wondering for the 18+ Our Life moment, will there be an emphasis on safety/comfort for all involved? I feel like there  would be just going off of what the rest of the game is like, but I wanted to ask 

Yes! Cove is a nervous boy himself and also super cautious about doing anything the MC doesn’t like, so clear consent from both is absolutely needed for anything to happen. It’s a conversational sexy times Moment with stops/starts so the two can talk about how they’re feeling, rather than a heat of the moment just going for it kind of thing.

Hey!! I was wondering how long the wedding dlc would be? Will it be broken up into moments, or just one big event? 

It’s one long series of scenes all in a row rather than a collection of Moments to pick from. It’s the shortest and the least expensive of all the DLCs. It’s not super crucial to get and those who aren’t into big weddings can totally skip it without worry.

HELLO AMAZING DEVS 👋 i am hopelessly in love with the worst guy ever (jeremy king) and because of this i have a really stupid question: does he really hate people who are nice to him? TvT he’s too cute to be mean to istg it’s a miracle JB held the urge to be consistently nice to him bc just look at his FACE he is so cute! thank you for jeremy’s route it’s so lovely (and awful bc he’s scum 11/10) it gave me so much laughs LMAO i hope you guys have a good day!! 

Haha, thank you. He doesn’t hate them but he’s certainly not pleased with them. Jeremy is either uncomfortable with or annoyed by people being sweet on him, depending on how they approach it. He’s far more comfortable with jerkiness. It lets him relax and he can be himself without it being a problem, since he’s also a jerk. He feels a level of guilt being such a little punk to kind people, not enough to be a better person but still.

Has Cove dated or been interested in someone other than MC? 

Nope! He stays single over the course of the game if he’s not with the MC.

Is Step 4 more mature? Or it's gonna be set in similar atmosphere as Step 3? 

Step 4 is a similar atmosphere as Step 3. Though, it’s actually kind of less mature-topic heavy than Step 3 since it’s just a ‘hey, let’s check in on the gang to see what they’re up to’ style epilogue rather than a story arc with serious issues.

will there be new music for now and forever?? or will the old our life music be reused? 

It’s gonna be a brand new soundtrack. We’ll be opening up a job position for that soon.

Hi, is it okay if we use the assets in Our Life (like the sprites) for fanworks or fan content content, like edits? 

Sure! Just as long as you don’t use the assets made by those artists to make money.

Quick clarification on Step 3 choices: I hope I didn't come off rude (because I LOVE the game, really!!), I was just curious because the intro threw me off at times. For example, you could choose how you felt about Elizabeth in Step 2 (Dinner), but during the Step 3 intro, it says that you got closer to Liz and I didn't get a choice in it. 

For the example, it can’t be helped that you’re closer to Liz in Step 3 than you were in Step 2 because she’s inherently closer to the MC regardless of whether you liked her or not in Step 2. Her feelings are out of your control and the game isn’t so dramatic that you can push her affection away and not let her bond with you, haha. But ‘being closer’ can still be relative. For some people maybe that means you’re best buds now and for others it might just mean you’re not fighting all the time any more. If there’s other parts you want to mention, feel free to let us know.

Did the illustrator for Our Life change? 

We have many OL artists! The main artists who set the game’s style haven’t changed, but there’s multiple other artists who help finish assets.

So Miranda's type is confident and outgoing, huh? So...does that mean Terri's her type?? 👀 

Haha, sorry for the late reply on this. As you might’ve seen in our post yesterday- yeah that is her type.

Hey! First, I just want to say I've really enjoyed how detailed OL got with gender identity and sexuality and how respectful the topics were handled! It's been so wonderful to play since the experiences could be close to my own (I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up at parts). Second, I was wondering, would future games explore the topic of polyamory? I'd love to see more visual novels allow room for that and I saw you've explored the topic before.

Keep up the amazing work! ♡

Thank you! We do want to include polyamory in at least some of our future projects. Floret Bond, which might be what you’re referring to when mentioning how we’ve explored the topic before, is on hold unfortunately. So right now I’m not sure when something might release or what will be the first game of ours to come out with poly relationships (we might do something else before FB is done). We’ll have see how things ends up coming together.

Hey um. I feel like im not allowed to ask this on the private discord cuz people will yell at me but why is there so much focus on OL2 and not finishing OL1 stuff? I like the new people but i kind of want to finish cove's story and get derek and baxter stuff first. didn't people pay for it? 

I’m sorry, I don’t understand entirely what’s making that situation a concern. There’s a channel in the discord for critique where no one is allowed to comment back. People can voice things they’re worried about without any way for others to push back on it. And the two teams working on the OL games are different. We try to post pretty often about how we’re hiring brand new people to start on Our Life: Now & Forever. The OL1 team is all still working on OL1 like normal. There’s only more updates on the Patreon for OL2 because the expansions to the first game are mostly script-based at this point while OL2 is just starting to get all its art, which means there’s a lot more to show off as previews.

Also, there was a Kickstarter for the first Our Life, if that’s what you mean by people paying for it. But one of the stretch goals was to start Our Life 2 early, before fully completing Our Life 1, so that the new game could be out sooner. It wouldn’t make sense to stop doing OL2 work because that would be going against what backers were promised. Maybe you didn’t get the full story before and hopefully this clears it up!

Hello! I know it's up to every player but.. What is your recommendation for playing order? Did you ever had any timeline  events planned? 

I didn’t make the events with a planned timeline. The events got made simply as I had ideas for them and then I just kind of organized them from left to right on the screen in an order to space out more dramatic ones between more lighthearted ones. Any order the player wants to go with is totally valid!

Hi! It's Step 4 a paid dlc or update? And how long it's planned to be? Ps. Love the game! 

The Step 4 epilogue is free! The Cove Wedding DLC does cost money, though. Those are planned to be shorter than the usual Steps/DLCs.

Will we have options for what sort of job the MC might have by the time step 4 takes place? 

Yeah, you can. It’s not super exact or detailed, but there are options about it.

Is there a pandemic in Our Life world, or is it just in a better timeline with no pestilence? 

Our Life is pandemic-free! That didn’t exist when we began working on the project and it’s not something we’d like to feature in this story now that it has unfortunately come along, aha.

Hi, you said that you can play tic-tac-toe or hangman with Cove in Boating if you're sick/scared but I keep getting tic-tac-toe. Am I doing something wrong?

After being sick/scared you have to continue to be upset/unwell. If you calm down and decide to just chill you’ll end up playing tic-tac-toe.

Hi, GB Patch! Since Lee was initially commissioned to only appear in two Steps does this mean she won't appear in the Wedding DLC? I really like her character so it'll be a little weird to not have our cousin at our wedding, aha.

She is gonna be in Step 4/the wedding DLC after all! We’re still working with her creator to make sure it fits with what they wanted.

Is Sunset Bird based on a real place? Asking for a friend, not trying to move there or anything. 👀

It’s based on small beach towns in So-Cal, but not one specific town you could go see in real life, I’m afraid. It’d be nice if it was real, though.

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We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog