#and it's easier to cosplay in it since it could be any phantom (and the nose hole is better places)

[gay-jesus-probably]

I like the general fandom trend to just take the plot of Hyrule Warriors as a loose guideline at best and just use the whole concept as a good excuse to get blorbos to interact across timelines, BUT I'm very disappointed that everyone is missing the comedic potential of a very specific squad of characters:

Young Link (aka Mask), who walks out of the nightmare of Majora's Mask and immediately gets portal kidnapped into a temporal war, takes one look at the whole mess and decides that you could not fucking pay him to admit to being the resident expert on Time Shenanigans. He introduces himself with the title of Hero of Termina, and definitely doesn't have any other ones, that would be crazy. Hero of Time? Never heard of him.

Tetra, who is a kickass pirate captain with zero patience for people trying to shove her into the Designated Princess role, and realizes immediately that Oh Fuck, this Hyrule has a lot of Ideas about how the Hero and the Princess are supposed to properly play their parts, the second they realize she's technically a Zelda they're gonna shove her in a goddamn dress and damsel her again, that's not happening. So she's definitely just a really cool pirate captain, nothing else going on here at all, definitely not the heir of the Hylian royal family in her time, that'd be crazy.

Ravio, who is literally just a palette swapped Link, meaning that the second his hood comes off, things are gonna get Awkward. There's no way in hell he's dealing with all that Hero baggage, that's Link work, so that giant bunny hood/mask is practically superglued to his head, and he's not taking it off for love or money.

Spirit Tracks Zelda, who is just in the Phantom Armour the whole time, and passing herself off as just a friendly ghost posessing a suit of armour to help the Hero of Spirits. Of course she isn't Princess Zelda, that's ridiculous, if she were a Zelda then people would start getting really weird about her technically being dead, and boy does that ever sound like a whole Thing she doesn't want to deal with, so she can't possibly be Zelda, she's just a nice ghost knight. Also, her teenage grandma is here, and that's kinda weird, so it's easier to just not admit to being royalty and avoid that awkward conversation.

Finally there's Sheik, who is not the Princess Zelda of the era straight up abandoning her war torn country for months at a time so she can risk her life in extreme cosplay for no clear reason, but is instead the actual Sheik from Ocarina of Time, who just beat Ganondorf like a month ago and is still trying to process what the fuck to do now. Also, he's been pretending to be a boy since he was ten, and is realizing there's a pretty good chance that he isn't pretending anymore, so that's a whole other can of worms. But for the last seven years of his life, being Princess Zelda meant certain death, so he's not really inclined to introduce himself like when in a new and stressful situation (not to mention he might actually just not be a girl named Zelda anymore), so he automatically introduces himself as just Sheik the spooky ninja man, and fuck he's in too deep to back out now, looks like he's committing to the bit. If you think you sense the Triforce of Wisdom on him, no you don't.

Cue shenanigans as the five of them attempt to hide that they're all actually kind of A Big Deal. The group motto is "Nobody says shit", which is usually delivered as a frantic hiss whenever someone slips up. Just the reunion between Sheik and Mask alone would be absolutely buckwild given how they parted, and how they're both frantically pretending to Not be involved with each other. For added hilarity and/or drama, Sheik gives his semi-bullshit cover story of having just been a friend of the Hero of Time, then runs into said Hero of Time and they both have to desperately pretend not to know each other, because if anyone picks up on the mountain of baggage between them then Mask is busted, and he won't hesitate to drag Sheik down with him out of sheer spite. Not to mention the weird balance of Sheik being used to this Link being a teenager that's actually a small child, and now has to adjust to Link who is a small child that's actually a teenager.

Also, i really feel like we're all missing out on the comedy potential of Ganondorf recognizing Young Link on sight and the two of them immediately launching into a grudge match with some extremely personal and specific insults on both sides. Meanwhile literally everybody else is just standing there watching, trying to process the fact that out of every single person that's been pulled out of time, Ganondorf only has personal beef with a literal nine year old.

I just feel like we're all really sleeping on the potential for Shenanigans here. The whole thing is an absurd mess, why not have some fun with it?

[oraclememehacker]

He'd taken quite a while to figure out what he wanted to give her, and even longer to actually make it, but he managed to pull it off just in time for Christmas!

And so on the day in question, he was outside her window with a decently sized present under his arm, and a backpack over his shoulders.

"Merry Christmas! I was going to wear a Santa hat for this, but mine caught... fire-"

"... it's a long story. Anyways, mind if I come in?"

He made his way inside, handing her the present before taking off his mask and backpack and unveiling the contents inside.

"Before you open that, I have a bit of a bonus for ya-"

It was that same quadcopter drone he'd been working on a few months back, only now it was fully finished.

"I give you- Well, I was gonna call it the Oracle, but I figured that's a little on the nose, so... it actually doesn't have a name yet-"

"Anyhow, since you helped me develop the software for it, and it'll be far more useful to you than it'd be for me, I thought you might as well get to keep it. But like I said, it's just a bonus. Your real present is..."

When she unwrapped the present, she found a rather plain looking box. But inside that box was a near perfect recreation of the green ranger's helmet from Neo Featherman. Only it wasn't just a helmet. If she picked it up, she'd notice a cord dangling from the back.

"Took a good bit of time to get the details right, but I think I did alright. Try it on!"

The helmet was a snug, but comfy fit. He may or may not have gotten Ann's help making sure of that. The way she could accurately judge the right size off her eye sight alone was almost like her superpower. The view inside was about what you'd expect, clear but somewhat tinted darker, like wearing sunglasses.

"And now for pièce de résistance~"

He grabbed the cord and plugged it into her computer. Suddenly the helmet came alive, with a holographic display projected onto the visor, perfectly showcasing one of her monitors in crisp 1080p.

... because 4K was WAY out of his budget range-

"Pretty cool, right?? Got the idea from an old sci-fi movie. The projection has a couple of different settings to mimic different TV sizes, and you can even hook it up to your phone or your consoles to use it as a big screen. And if you ever wanna use it for cosplay, there's a hidden pocket in the back to store the cord away."

"Uh huh, uh huh...I think I can get that to work." She was working on some stuff, new programs, something for Aaron to help him improve on his things and make it easier for him to possibly track down criminals. It was gonna be an updated tracking system that would greatly improve the accuracy of where they were, down to just a few feet possibly due to using millimeter wave technology.

Hopefully there wasn't any issues with this new stuff she working on, though the millimeter wave stuff he was gonna have to incorporate with technology. As she was working on this she heard a small knock on her window. At first she didn't pay it any mind; she had music going on in her headphones and was just enjoying herself. However, the next set of knocks caused her to turn towards it.

Ah, it was the webbed phantom himself.

"Of course you can." She opened the window and allowed him to come in. First he showed off the quadcopter drone that he had been working on. She had indeed helped him with the software on this, and she was gonna reveal that she had a way to make it even better possibly. Though he was gonna give it to her as a bonus.

"I appreciate it, though I was working on something just now to make it even better."

But then she got the real present, and she pushed that aside to unwrap it. At first she was admittedly a bit confused since there was just a plain looking box. It was hard to figure out whatever it was that was inside. But when she opened the box it was a helmet. Featherman green's helmet to be precise. But apparently there was more than meets the eye with it.

Her eyes immediately lit up as he was going over the details of the thing. Not only was it custom designed for her, it had a holographic 1080p screen and could attach to devices for various use, and it could be used for cosplay as well! Oh wow. It was clear that she was having a hard time getting the words to say how she really felt. But she just gave him a huge hug.

"I love it, I love it I love it! Thank you so much Aaron!" She kept the hug up, squealing in excitement.

[britishchick09]

the phantom mask from spirit halloween vs. the official one from playbill! :D

[ciestessde]

Danny Fenton, Substitute Soul Reaper: Ch.2

Thanks to the now-dead Ashido, Danny is a substitute soul reaper -- but how will Ichigo & friends react when he shows up?

And how is Danny different from a normal substitute soul reaper? After all... he was already half ghost!

Chapter 1

“... our blades will not shatter! Have faith… that our hearts will not waver! And even if our paths should diverge…” Danny could hear a voice coming from further inside the tunnel.

He’d defeated all the… whatever those things were -- then found the exit as quickly as possible. Then he’d flown straight up to try and spot anyone in this giant desert, and this castle-place was the only thing he could see. Ashido had said the “friends” he was supposed to help were there to rescue someone -- so the hole in the wall seemed promising.

“... we all share a heart of iron! Swear… that even if the ground beneath us should be rent asunder…” Finally, he made it to them. It was an odd group -- but it’s not like ghosts were known for being “normal.”

A guy with super-spiky red hair, another guy with spiky orange hair, a really tall and muscular dude, a nerdy-looking guy in glasses -- and one girl. “we will… live-”

“‘Live’? That might be kind of difficult, don’t you think? Since we’re already dead, I mean.”

“What the-!” Spiky-Red stopped his… whatever he was doing -- and they all were pointing weapons at him before he could even blink. How did they move so fast?! Spiky-Red, Spiky-Orange, and The Girl pointed swords at him, Muscles just held up his fists, and an energy-bow had appeared in Glasses’ hands -- arrow aimed at Danny’s core.

“Whoa, easy! I’m on your side!” He said, holding his hands up in surrender. “Who are you?! Identify yourself!” screamed The Girl. “Danny! I’m just Danny- Danny Phantom!”

Spiky-Orange grumbled, “What kind of name is ‘Danny Phantom’?” Danny turned to him, eyebrow raised, “At least it’s better than ‘Inviso-Bill’.”

All-business, The Girl demanded, “What are you doing here?” Floating to the ground, Danny replied, “Ashido Kanō sent me.”

“Ashido…?” One-by-one, they lowered their weapons. And at the look on Danny’s face, Glasses asked hesitantly, “What… happened?”

Danny told them what he knew -- which wasn’t much, but it was enough.

“But we only just left him!” Spiky-Orange screamed. “That’s the life of a warrior,” said Spiky-Red, solemnly, “One must always be ready to die at any moment.”

The friends stood in silence.

Glasses looked up at him, “So… you’re a substitute soul reaper now, but you said you’re not human. What are you, then?” “Uh, well…” Danny rubbed his neck nervously, “Technically I am half human…”

“...” … Their staring was starting to make Danny uncomfortable.

He choked out, “I’m also, uh… half ghost.” “...” “... What’s that supposed to mean?” grumbled Spiky-Orange.

The Girl looked especially confused -- like she was trying to work out a difficult math problem. “So, what… you’re a Whole that was living inside a gigai? Or something?” she asked.

“... Huh?” It was Danny’s turn to be confused. “Um… maybe it’d be easier to just show you.”

He transformed back into a human -- to the EXTREME confusion of everyone present! “What… the HELL?!” exclaimed Spiky-Red. The Girl looked like she’d had a breakthrough, though, “He must be one of Aizen’s experiments…”

Danny changed back -- the air there was even more uncomfortable in his human form.

Without warning, something landed on Danny’s head, grabbing his hair. “How are you glowing, Bill?! Tell Nel!” “GAH!”

“EEP! -oof.”

On instinct, Danny had turned intangible. “Ow! Hey, what are you doing, Bill, throwing Nel on the floor! If you’re gonna throw Nel, throw Nel like you mean it!”

Danny: “o.O” Spiky-Orange: “-_-”

“Where did you guys go?” asked Glasses. “Nel” turned out to be a little girl wearing a mask on her head. She and two guys -- one looked like he was cosplaying as a bug (... A bug in a loincloth?) and the other looked like a living tiki mask -- had appeared out of nowhere! “Nel and her brothers felt a reeeaaally weird spiritual pressure coming, so we hid!” Her brothers nodded, going “Yeah” and “Of course.”

Looking EXTRA done at this turn of events, Spiky-Orange growled, “Whatever. Look, we don’t have time for this!” He pointed at Danny, “Whoever you are doesn’t matter! I’m not draggin’ anyone into this who isn’t involved!”

“Hey!” Nel broke in, “Nel isn’t involved, and she’s helping Ichigo!” “Exactly,” He said, deadpan, then suddenly condescendingly addressed Danny, “Hey, there you go! You can help by watching Nel!”

“-Wait…” The Girl interrupted, asking Nel and her brothers, “You could feel Danny coming?” “Yeah,” Nel nodded, shivering, “Bill feels really weird to Nel. Like a Soul Reaper, but also… something else.” Bug added, “It kinda feels like… Like a normal soul, but… squirmy? You guys really can’t feel it?”

The group of friends went quiet. “I feel… something. I think,” said Spiky-Orange.

“What the hell…!” Glasses was shivering and shaking -- he looked scared. “Uryu?” Spiky-Orange looked at him in concern, then glanced at Muscles -- who was sweating nervously. For the first time since Danny got there, Muscles spoke.

“He feels… like Death…”

“...”

“So, wait…” Spiky-Red said, “The humans and hollows can feel him, but we can’t? Why?” Now the staring was really making Danny nervous.

~~~~~

If you liked this, please REBLOG!

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AO3 version

OSWs Master List

{This is part of my “OneShot Wednesday” project - I’m trying to write a one-shot every week that other people have requested! Original Requests one week, and Fanfic Requests the next.

While I will try to keep track of all the requests I receive regardless of how they’re sent, you can send Fanfic Requests through the pinned tweet on my Twitter, and Original Requests through either my email (CiestessDE@gmail.com) or my Patreon (if you’re a patron) if you want to make sure I see them.

Just about everything goes -- I’ll tell you if there’s a problem. But if you want to know more about how they work, you can read about Original OSWs here, and Fanfic OSWs here.

So please send me ALL the ideas!!! I will make sure to recognize whoever’s idea/request it was in the work – just ask if you want to remain anonymous.}

[askthiscpblog]

Silent Night....Ghostly Night

Ben finally can get out of the mansion for once. Yes, he was still searching the internet for the dumbass Jeff who up and got himself kidnapped a few weeks ago. For now, he was hanging out in Clever Bot as he normally does when bored, curious to see who is going to come up.

Silent maneuvered as fast as she could, ducking for covering every now and then. Run. Hide. Search. Repeat. She's lost, to say the least. She had gone into the forest to rest for a minute, only wanting a place to hide. But she wandered too far and now had no clue which way to go.

Ben had eyes all over the forest, looking and watching for anything and everything. Not that he kept watching, but he did keep alarms set up. Someone entered the Domain, and that caught his attention. Now, who could this be?

"Dang it," the punk teen muttered. She clutched at her growling stomach, willing it to be quiet. It had been a while since she had eaten and she felt exhausted. Give up, it doesn't matter, you don't matter. 'No,' she thought. Silent refused to listen to them, she had to keep going.

Smiling, the ghost curious about this teen. It isn't often he finds someone else roughly his age. Okay, she wasn't anywhere near his age. She was what, 6 years younger than he is? No matter. Deciding that he's bored, he went ethereal and drifted through the mansion heading to check out this child. Even grabbed some leftover Taco Bell from the fridge. If she isn't a dick, he might be nice after toying with her.

'Keep going, keep going,' she chanted internally. Her pace had slowed down by now, her body phasing in and out of existence. 'Not again.' As she forged ahead she began to notice the number of wandering ghosts around, almost all them mutilated. "What happened here?" she whispered to herself.

"Oh, so you're a ghosty goo too?" Ben asked, finding her and materializing from behind a tree. He gave a shit eating grin, the taco bell still behind the tree from where he came out of. "Weird that you can become solid even when in the normal world. What are you, Danny Phantom or something?"

The teen turned to face the owner of the voice. 'He's not real, he is a regular ghost, ignore him,' she told herself. Yet she couldn't stop the sarcasm from spilling out.

"You're one to talk, you died cosplaying Link," she remarked, beginning to walk away.

"At least someone fucking knows who I am. Nah, no cosplay. It's a long story." he responds, giving a grin as the blood and incur flowed out of his eyes. "What about you? You seem to be an in-between. Also, you're hungry. Meaning you have to eat, unlike me."

"It's... more of a curse, I guess. The bastard who gave it to me didn't mention the other stuff, only that I'd been able to see ghosts." She frowned as her stomach growled once again. "And, yeah, I'm starving. Wouldn't happen to have any food would ya?"

"Don't know, think you can give me an idea of who did this to you?" Ben crossed his arms and floated alongside her, laying down as he drifted.

She massaged her temple. "Not sure of the name," she responded, "but I know he was some kind of demon. He mistook me for someone else because he called me Elizabeth, and that's so far off from my real name."

"Oh really now? A demon you believe? What did they look like?" he responded. Maye this girl ran into Zalgo or something, and that could give a lead to him. Would be rather interesting to figure out.

"Like a fucking bastard," she muttered. "Or I guess what a normal demon would look like. I don't know, he's red and black, a bunch of mouths and demonic red eyes."

His face turned white, whiter than his normal skin would allow him to be. His face dropped, but he recovered in record time with his normal shit-eating grin. "Alright, for that I have something for you." He reached behind the tree and pulled out the Taco Bell.

His expression didn't go unnoticed Silent, but her need to eat was stronger than her curiosity at the moment. She accepted the food with greed and gluttony, "Thanks."

Tossing it to her, Ben went back to his more relaxed style watching her chow down on the food. "No problem, it wasn't going to be eaten anyways back where I am."

"Where'd you come from anyways. I don't see ghosts like you a lot, or at all," she asked. As she ate she could feel her body become more solid. Thank God she wouldn't have to phase out again.

"Me? I've been dead for a while now, but I kinda live in a house to haunt and annoy others," he explained, floating up to a tree branch to sit down watching her eat.

"Hm, well, You're don't seem that annoying," she said, finishing up her meal. "So anyway, why'd you asked about the demon?"

"Personal reasons." Was all that he responded with, not wanting to dive into that further.

"Alright then," she shrugged. She was never one to push things. "Since you live around here, can you tell me how to get out of here?" She stood up and stretched, resisting the urge to yawn. She still felt exhausted, but now that she'd eaten she should be able to last until she finds a safer place.

"Out of here?" he asked, looking down at her and grinning. He watched as her body became physical again. Funny, doing things physical brings her back to the material world. "Go back the way you came."

"Uh, about that..." She looked down and rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't exactly... know which way I came from."

"I could show you, or I could let the big man figure out what he wants to do with you." Ben teased, thinking of contacting Slender. If this child met good old Zal, then he would want to know about it and pry into her mind.

"Well, if they're anything like the demon, I'd prefer you'd show me the way out," she reasoned. She didn't want a repeat of last time, that much is for certain.

"He isn't a demon, nothing even close. Maybe. Honestly, I have no idea what the big man is nor do I care or want to." he says, hopping down from the branch to float an inch from the ground.

"How do I know you don't want him to kill me for you, or something?" She crossed her arms and took a step back. This was insane, she's about to trust a random ghost she met to bring her to his 'boss'. But it wasn't as if she had anything better to do.

"Why would I do that? You're a kid, one in a shitty situation I must add. Now that I think about it...yeah probably not a good idea for me to take you to the boss." Ben grumbled, crossing his arms as he scrunched up his body. If he took her to Slender, he might kill her after because of her being a child.

"Well, the way I see it I have to options: One, you lead me out of here and I die or get captured by the police or some shit. Two, I meet your boss and he either kills me or keeps me for his own purposes." Now that she thought about, the ghost was right, whatever she had gotten herself into was shit. "Win-win either way, right?" She sarcastically commented.

"For that, I might as well send you to him and let him eat you alive." Ben retorted, rolling his eyes at the girl his own tone sarcastic too.

Silent stifled back her laughter. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't missed having some form of company to talk to. Most ghosts aren't very talkative. "Got any other bright ideas then, genius?"

"Don't know. Could let you wonder the forest until the end of your days. This place is very dangerous."

"Dangerous how? I mean, I know you said you live with a bunch of psychos, but there can't be that many, right?" She sat down, laying against a tree.

Ben bursts out laughing at the idea of there not being that many. "You would be surprised. Very surprised at how many idiots the boss can keep under control. Idiot Prime is gone for now, so it makes it easier I suppose."

"What happened to idiot prime?"

"Him? Got kidnapped when we got raided."

"See why you call him idiot prime then." She flashed a small smile before shrugging. "So, uh... what exactly do you want with me?"

"More than that, he truly is an idiot. Survived this long based off of sheer willpower and stubbornness alone. And what do I want? You're unique, and am wondering if a child like yourself would be useful to us."

She laughed quietly at that, shaking her head. "Useful for what? If you haven't noticed, I can't even find my way out of the forest without help."

"Deceiving others, getting information. A babysitter for the ghost kid we got."

"You're going to believe that I'm capable of that? That I won't screw up or turn against you?"

"You turn against us, we will throw you to the demon who did this to you." Ben looked over at her with a wide grin, wider than what a human should be able to do. He floated closer, the ooze out of his eyes flowing quicker as he comes to her face to face.

"Alright, alright, I get it." She made a little 'shoo' motion with her hand in an attempt to get him to back off. "So I'm guessing I got to meet your boss then?"

Ben blinked a few time, seeing her shoo him away as if it was nothing. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Nah, he will find you and know what is going on. Come on, I'll take you to the mansion."

[redgreenbluesforloco]

Friends+ Interview with Shoma

Friends＋α 2018-19 with Shizuka Arakawa and Shoma Uno - 9/24/2018

disclaimer/notes: This is in transcript format to make it easier to read but it has NOT been transcribed and translated word for word. Since it’s a 48min interview translated by ear, a lot of it has been summarized or paraphrased. My Japanese isn’t totally fluent either, so there may be some mistakes and/or omissions. Oh and I just realized I still haven’t fixed the inconsistent use of lol and [laugh] throughout this and I’m too tired to do it right now so pls forgive ;;

Intro

Shizuka: Last time you said you wore the outfit they prepared for you. How about today?

Shoma: I woke up 30 minutes ago and this was the outfit that was laid out for me.

Shizuka: So, same as last time.

About off-season activities after the Olympics

Shoma: I’ve done ice shows, then training camp and then more ice shows. I think I did more of them last year. I thought it was a bit much last year [laugh], so this year I took the liberty of doing fewer shows.

Shizuka: Do you like ice shows?

Shoma: To be honest, I like competitions better. But on shows like The Ice, I got to skate last for the first time, and it felt like I had a bigger role to play. I used to just show up and do my part without thinking too much. Now I think more about the bigger picture: I’ve had to think more carefully about what I can do to contribute to the show and make the audience happy. I feel a stronger sense of responsibility now. Being the first one to come out and the last one to skate feels like a big deal. It was the first time in an ice show that I felt so strongly that I couldn’t make any mistakes. That was a good experience and honestly it was fun, too.

The Birth of Shoko-chan

Shoma: When I heard we were doing cosplay for the jump contest, I thought it was going to be too much time in the spotlight and I didn’t want it, to be honest. I would rather lose soon and just focus on performing. But the last event was going to be in Nagoya and Oda-kun said, “What are we gonna do if Shoma doesn’t win.” I also thought it’d be good jump practice. The cosplay had to be something funny, so for the 1st day I was Luigi. I thought I was gonna be Luigi the next time too, but Kazuki-kun, Kaori-chan and Marin-chan told me that was boring. Then I ended up being a blue power ranger [laugh].

Shizuka: Was that your idea?

Shoma: That was chosen for me, too. Everyone who was younger than me was like “put this on,” and I was like “okay” [laugh]. Then at the last event I got into it as well, and when we were deciding what to do I gave my input as well, “let’s do crossdressing.” I asked Marin-chan and Kaori-chan for help with the makeup.

Shizuka: So you didn’t dislike it?

Shoma: [laugh] well…

Shizuka: You get used to things quickly.

SHoma: Yeah. That day rather than thinking it was embarrassing I thought it seemed like fun lol.

Shizuka: So you had fun.

Shoma: I had a lot of fun.

Collab with Stephane Shoma: That was a great opportunity for me. Stephane-san is very good at steps and I was afraid I wasn’t gonna be able to keep up. But I wanted to do a good job. To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to be doing my version of winter until the day of the event.

Shizuka: Really?! I’m sure we had talked about it. You knew there was a collaboration, right?

Shoma: I heard I was gonna be doing a collaboration but.…

Shizuka: Well, then! that means you were going to do it, no?

Shoma: LOL

Shizuka: You weren’t listening.

Shoma: No…I really panicked.

Shizuka: So you hadn’t practiced.

Shoma: I hadn’t practiced it since Worlds.

Shizuka: What? [disapprovingly] Huh.

Shoma: So I managed to focus on practicing on my own as soon as I arrived. But since I did that program for a year, my body still remembered it and the fact that I hadn’t done it for a while helped me realize what adjustments I could make. It was tricky doing the steps together and there was a lot of twizzles in the opposite direction. But it was fun to figure it out like that and I was happy I could do that kind of program.

Shizuka: I’ve thought for a long time Stéphane is a standout professional skater among all the pro-skaters I’ve seen. And for you to skate along side him…I think both of you seemed encouraged by one another and it was a sight to see.

Shoma: I was really nervous. I’m usually never nervous for the opening and finale, but this time I got through it despite being a bit nervous. From the moment I stood up, it was like I was going to a competition. Because Stephane-san is a really incredible person…and since we’re doing the program together, it’s even more important not to make mistakes than when I’m performing alone. I didn’t want to fall behind and I had to get the rhythm just right, so I was very focused.

Shizuka: You two do not have the same style, and it’s not that you “more or less matched each other” and made it work while still flaunting your individual styles…I mean, I thought your individuality became a plus rather than a hindrance. In the synchronized step sequence you two did at the end, you were both skating with such confidence. I loved that part when you came to the corner. I was watching from that corner and I thought, “Wow, those two look really cool.”

Shoma: [giggles]

Shizuka: So at what time during the program were you able to relax?

Shoma: As I was doing all the steps and going into the final spins, I had some confidence.

Shizuka: Right, you had that look of “it’s gone well today.” I liked that look on the two of you.

Shoma: We didn’t really decide on a precise number of steps, so I would look at Stephane and try to figure out just before, ‘oh today must be 8. Today must be 6.’ lol

Shizuka: Well, Stephane is an artist after all.

Shoma: I got it wrong and ended it early in practice once, so I told myself to remember to be careful around that part [laugh]. And I’m also very bad at doing twizzles in the other direction.

Shizuka: Everyone is, but Stephane is different, right? He’s basically equally good in either direction. When making the program for someone, he’ll add things whether you’re good at them or not.

Shoma: He sure put in a lot of them…

Shizuka: Before Dai-chan had also thought, “ah he’s adding too much of them” [laugh].  But I think he made you do it because he knew you could.

Shoma: I think he knew I was bad at doing them in the other direction…

Shizuka: But he thinks you’ll be able to figure it out. He probably evaluated you and figured you could do it. Meanwhile he asks me which direction I prefer [laugh].

Shoma: He probably thinks I should be challenging myself more.

Shizuka: It turned out great.

Shoma: Yes. I want to do more collaborations next year with lots of different people.

Shizuka: I’ll have to think of something stimulating for you then.

How were things backstage?

Shizuka: It was quite calm this year wasn’t it?

Shoma: Yes. But Stephane wasn’t dressed yet 3 minutes before the performance.

Shizuka: But that’s just Stephane.

Shoma: It’s always like that right?

Shizuka: He has that kind of authority. There’s such a thing as Stephane Time. He starts putting his boots on right when it’s go time [laugh].

Shoma: I kept worrying, “is he going to make it??” And then while I was doing my part of the performance I’d see Stephane coming in and it was such a relief lol

Shizuka: You must’ve been worried you were going to end up alone. You’d have to do his part, too!

Chicago this season

Shoma: It’s not that I go to Chicago to learn jumps: I have objectives like building up my stamina, getting [mentally] ready for the new season. I hate going abroad [laugh], so going to Chicago is a way to transition out of the off-season and get into the competitive mindset again.   When it comes to jumps, I’ve benefitted from a lot of advice and opinions from many different people, but the main part of the process has always been practicing on my own. When I was little, I’d get impatient waiting for the teachers who were helping Kanako and I would practice by myself. I’d try to figure it out by myself a lot, and little by little I’d get the hang of a new jump.

Shizuka: Does it feel like the joy you get leveling up in a game, like you learn a jump and ‘dah-dah-dah-dah’? [nintendo level-up sound effect, I think?]

Shoma: [laugh] No, I think it’s a bit different with jumps.

Shizuka: Ah, I apologize [laugh].

Shoma: No, no, no! I just mean, it’s kind of like, all of a sudden, it clicks. It’s not like you learn it because you became stronger, it’s just sudden. In games, you don’t level up suddenly, you get gradually get closer and closer. I think it’s different in that sense.

Shizuka: Ah, I see.

Shoma: I think leveling up is more similar to spins and interpretation.

Shizuka: So is it like finding an item?

Shoma: Yeah, it’s like finding a rare item! Like, “oh, here it is” lol. When it comes to being able to jump, I think that part of it comes from just random confidence, like thinking “it feels like I can do it.” When you do have that confidence for whatever reason, you just do it. Of course, first it takes a lot of hard work to get to that point, but that’s how I feel I was able to grasp the 3A.

Shizuka: Right now, what are the jumps that you feel you have to work on a bit more?

Shoma: Quad toe and quad flip. When I’m doing a lot of other jumps, the success rate of those 2 aren’t good and I feel like they become unstable. I’d like to do the toe-loop as consistently as I can do the axel. And as for the flip, I’d like for it to stop feeling so difficult in my mind. If I can think of it as a simpler jump…I’d like to lessen the intensity of my feelings about it this season.

About Daisuke’s Comeback

Shizuka: When you were a kid, you must have had opportunities to see the competitions he was in live or on TV?

Shoma: No, I didn’t. It was only once at Nationals when I got to see him perform Phantom of the Opera live. That was the first time I ever watched someone perform and thought, “I wanna be like him.” I think some people must have watched it even more times, but I watched the video like 3 or 4 times.

Shizuka: That’s not a lot lol. But in your case that’s a lot, right, and it seems like it was a big deal in your life as a skater.

Shoma: I don’t watch things more than once lol. That was the only time.

Shizuka: So when you heard that the only one you watched more than once, the one that had such an influence on you, was coming back to competition, what did you think?

Shoma: I was busy with a job somewhere and my manager came and said, “you know…” and that was most shocked I’ve been this whole year. I was so shocked. ‘Coming back to compete…you mean, to compete?’ For me this is a time when everything’s changed so much, so I tried to imagine if it was me in his place. I don’t think I could have come back. I’ve never retired so I can’t understand how he feels. But I think the fact that he could make the decision to come back is really amazing. At first I was just so shocked. But when I thought about it more calmly, it must be a matter of putting his feelings into action.

Shizuka: When you think about competing with this skater you’ve always looked up to, how do you feel?

Shoma: I still can’t picture it. It was only once that I was in the same competition as Daisuke Takahashi-san, only once that we skated at the same place and at the same time. Even then it didn’t really feel like we were in the same competition because he was on a different level. So I still have not experienced competing with him.

Shizuka: Not in the sense of being able to put up a fight.

SHoma: RIght. So I can’t even begin to imagine.

Shizuka: But now that you’re an olympic medalist, are you looking forward to getting that chance?

Shoma: I just can’t imagine it.

Shizuka: Your paths are going to be different, Daisuke’s going to regionals and then sectionals, so if you 2 were to meet it would be at Nationals. Or are you participating in Western Japan Championships (sectionals)?

Shoma: No, I’m just going with the towel to support him, like this [mimics].

Shizuka: Ah the pink one, right? lol.

Shoma: Hahaha. Yeah, I’m just a member of the audience.

Shizuka: This is the only time you’ve wanted to watch anything. You don’t go to watch competitions, right?

Shoma: No. I’ll go to Western Japan sectionals…

Shizuka: I want to see you waving that towel.

Shoma: lol

Shizuka: I wonder if he’ll like that.

Shoma: I want to see how it will turn out with Takahashi-san as a competitor.

Have you talked to Daisuke about it?

Shoma: No. We often chat a bit in ice shows but not about skating. I don’t really talk to people about skating outside of interviews.

Off-season stuff

Shoma: I was very focused on gaming this off-season. I was trying my hardest. I thought, wow the world is very big and there are a lot of strong people out there. As a skater I’m competing on an upper level, so I kept thinking a lot about how the top gamers managed to get to the top levels.

Shizuka: How does a standard day go for you?

Shoma: I wake up, then I sleep on the car on my way to the rink. I sleep until the last second before I start practice. Then I eat while playing games and go back to practice. I play games on my way home, then I eat and game some more before I go to sleep. It’s split in 3 parts: sleeping, skating and gaming. I think it’s 8 hours each. I game too much and forget to talk to my parents and reply to friends and stuff…so no one invites me to do anything anymore [laugh]. I really do the same things every day. When I have to talk to people, it’s kind of troublesome because I have nothing to talk about. The topics are really limited.

Shizuka: Don’t you watch TV?

Shoma: No…I don’t even need to have one at home.

Shizuka: So you must get lost talking to people sometimes.

Shoma: Yeah, I do, so I just nod and go “hmm.” I’m learning by listening [laugh].

Shizuka: Has anything changed since you became 20?

Shoma: Not really.

Shizuka: Do you drink alcohol now?

Shoma: Sometimes. Mostly on my own [laugh].  

Shizuka: You just stay home?

Shoma: Yeah, I’m not the type to leave the house. I don’t want to go anywhere. I just want walk around the house at night by myself.

Shizuka: [laughs] You’re like a grandpa.

Shoma: Sometimes I think about what I’ll do when I stop skating. I think I want to live a very slow, calm life lol.

Shizuka: It seems like you already are lol.

Shoma: I do like exercising. I have one day off a week, and if I just stay home the next day I can’t move well at practice, so I go out once. I have friends from university like Matsuda Yura, Takeuchi Kotaro, Nitaya Rin-chan and others. So I go bowling or something with them once a week. It’s the only time I’ll go out each week [laugh].

Shizuka: [laugh] You’re like a mole who won’t leave the burrow.

How he spends his time

Shoma: I hate not having anything to do. If I have time, I want to use it for something. That’s why I game whenever I have free time. I can’t just not do anything so it’s like, I have to game. Whenever I’m free, I just game, so I seriously wonder what other people do in their free time [laugh].  You must be very busy being a mom, right?

Shizuka: Yeah, nowadays I’m busy raising my kids, but when I was competing I had lots of free time. I liked drinking with friends at home. I liked talking to friends.

Shoma: I’m really bad at talking. I had to do a lot of interviews, so now I can talk at least this much, but I used to be terrible at it and I’m still not very good. So it’s more comfortable drinking alone at home rather than with a bunch of people. I like Cassius orange, Smirnoff and Peach Long...

Shizuka: You like sweet drinks, huh! I like Piña Colada.

Shoma: Pina…Cola…da?

Shizuka: Yeah, it’s a pineapple drink, feels very tropical. I don’t think you’re into ‘tropical’ though lol Skaters usually want to take a vacation somewhere with a warm climate where you can go to the beach, don’t you like the beach?

Shoma: I haven’t been in a while. Sometimes I think it’d be nice to go alone to a place where no one’s around, with beautiful natural scenery.

Shizuka: Alone?

Shoma: Yeah, definitely alone lol. I’d first cool off, get refreshed. I don’t think it fits my image but…

Shizuka: You want to try it right.

Shoma: I want to go alone, but I think that person over there would probably say no [looking off-camera, to his manager, presumably?].

While doing a pose for the “friends plus” promo thing, producer asks him, “Could you do it one more time with more energy?” Shoma: “[laughs bitterly] that had plenty of energy though…”

Things he likes in his programs, either in the SP or FS

Shoma: In the SP, my favorite part is the step sequence where I do some steps, spin on one knee, then get up, dance and go back into the steps. And I like the music, the way the guitar melody [in the beginning] changes into a tango-like melody during that part [the stsq]. I like the contrast.

Shizuka: It feels like something new to you?

Shoma: Yes, I’ve been challenging so many new things this year, now I don’t really get that feeling of it being a ‘new thing.’ I just find something to enjoy in it.

Shizuka: You’ve been having fun with it?

Shoma: Yes.

Shizuka: I like the bit before the 3A where you brush your hair up. I thought that looked cool and very new.

Shoma: I got it when I was training in Canada. When I was training there, I got some choreography advice too, and the coach there came up with it.

Shizuka: Who was it?

[silence while Shoma gives her a look like, ‘uh oh, I’m not gonna know this.’ Shoma’s manager says Marie France]

Shizuka: Ah, Marie France, the ice dancer?

Shoma: My hair got very long and it would get in my face, so I kept brushing it back during practice. And she said, we should add that, it’ll look cool. I thought it was a joke at first lol.  But then we really put it in the program…

Shizuka: I thought it looked very cool. It’s not like, “I’m gonna jump an Axel now!!” There’s a very casual elegance about it. It’s very impressive to be able express that through choreography.

Shoma: I quite like it too, but there’s also a concern that, “if I’m acting cool, now I better not make a mistake.” [both laugh]

Shizuka: I think it looks very cool. I want to see it again.

Shoma: [giggles]

About costumes

Shoma: I’ve had a lot of them so far. What I don’t like is frills and pink.

Shizuka: Have you decided on the costumes?

Shoma: I dunno. Every year I have like four and I don’t know which one is the real – I mean, which one I’ll be wearing in competitions.

Shizuka: Who decides?

Shoma: Mostly it’s my mom. If there’s something that can be fixed or improved, she’ll do it by hand. And if she thinks it can’t be fixed by hand, then we make a new one. It happens a lot. I just hate trying it on/getting measurements taken. I’m fine with anything, but I just have to stand there like this [mimics] for such a long time – I hate that.  

Working with Shae-Lynn

Shoma: Shae-Lynn-san has a lot of experience with uptempo programs and I wanted to try that. I thought that experience would also be useful for my competitive programs. The movements were very fast. She said it was just a matter of moving my body lightly, but it was really difficult, and then the next day my body was stiff and I could barely move. My neck, too, my entire body.  At first I had doubts if I could really pull it off, and to be honest I performed with some embarrassment. But the more I did it on ice shows, the more I liked it, and now it’s a program I really like performing.

Shizuka: Do you get embarrassed often?

Shoma: I get embarrassed when I feel like I’m not doing something well. I don’t like to show people something that I haven’t mastered yet. It’s been that way for a long time, even with people who know me. I don’t want to show something half-done.

Shizuka: You’re a perfectionist then.

Shoma: I guess. But lately I’ve been feeling less embarrassment.

Shizuka: How do you set your goals as a competitor?

Shoma: I don’t really…do that. I mean, I don’t see it as setting goals. I just ask myself what I want to do at that moment, make a decision and then aim for the closest objective. Right now, I think about the next competition and what I have to do to get ready, then I practice. This might be a bad way to explain it, but in games, I’m always thinking of how to get my character to the next level…and sometimes I wonder what am I doing it for – it’s not like there’s a final objective [laugh] but I still just want to get to the next level and keep improving, because I don’t like to lose.

Shizuka: Since you became an Olympic medalist and a World medalist I think the expectations surrounding you as you start the season are higher. But as for you yourself, what kind of results are you going to be aiming for?

Shoma:  Last season I kept coming in 2nd all the time. That’s not all bad, but of course I want to come in 1st. I want to practice so I can win and live up to those expectations. But even though the rules have changed, I want to keep being myself and also show people that I have grown. First I just want to do well at practice without thinking only of results.   

---

[goat--ish]

Probs not a proper one-shot

I’m not really part of the fandom so come and take this nonsense from my clammy hands, please.

It was funny to write this even tho it probs makes no sense and has like 0 consistency but I tried (and laughed all the way to the end). Main two ideas come from @kkrazy256  (Kaito taking photos from himself) and @ninthfeather (Kaito knowing about the “Shinichi is Kid” theory) (+ an anon)

It’s kinda long so Imma put it after a read more or whatever. Also, sorry if it cant be read, english is hard

Kaito loved having so much attention. He craved it every time he went on a heist and people -his audience- would be there, waiting for him and his magic.

He loved the idea of having fans and having people wonder about his tricks with every heist. There was something so addictive about it and he wasn't even going to reflect on why he needed someone's attention so much, on why he desired it with almost every fiber of his body.

He was a thief, or that was how the police call him. He wasn't even sure himself since everything he had taken had been returned a few days later, maybe he didn't have to keep something and the act of taking it by force was what made a thief, well, a thief. Still, there was the fact that he didn't keep any of the jewels and, even when her mother was sending him money pretty often, he was a teenager living alone that made the occasional and normal bad choice to buy something expensive leaving him without money to pay for electricity or water, and also a famous thief that needed lot's of materials to actually do some acceptable magic tricks to entertain HIS people.

Maybe he had Aoko helping him with the food and the old man did most of the planning for the heists -and got most of the things Kaito needed-, but he needed money and didn't have the courage to ask for more to his mom. He did say he was going to be Kid with so much confidence, he felt like asking for more help would be cheating.

So yeah, he needed money.

The idea had occurred to him a few times but it wasn't until he checked the news of his last heist that struck him that it might be a good one. Kaito knew the heist hadn't been his best one and was nervous to see what his critics and audience was saying about it. Had it been as bad as he thought? Hadn't he been as astonish as he wanted to be?

Of course, the police was bragging his good work to the world, how the police were so awesome that they stopped Kid from getting the diamond he was after. What caught his attention was the comments section at the very end of the article, where some of his fans were complaining that Kid deserved that diamond even if his game wasn't as good as other occasions.

That was a bullet to the heart and if it wasn't for that one comment he would have gone to sleep for the next three day, feeling depressed and guilty. Between the madness that was the comment section, there was one comment of how someone not just wanted, but was ready to pay and kill for a good photo of his favorite phantom thief.

Kaito had seen the insane amount of photos people had taken of Kid during the last years, most of them being just blurry figures or a stain of white between too much light. There was the occasional photo taken by a professional but even those were images of Kid being too far away to have a proper look to his suit.

The idea was too good to let it slide and never do something about it. Of course, he wasn't so sure about it but his ego wouldn't shut up about how people would love a proper photo of Kid, of him. That's why the next heist he made sure to not only prepare everything he needed to steal the jewel but also prepared a few cameras on strategic spots that he was sure would take his best angle.

At the end of the night, Kaito had the jewels and a dozen of photos that didn't quite looked like he wanted. They were dynamic and definitely made Kid look as awesome and handsome as he felt but there was something bothering him and didn't know what.

It was until he got to his house that it clicked.

The photos were great but the quality of the camera made them look fake, or almost fake as if it was someone cosplaying and not the real phantom thief.

Perhaps it was better that way, wouldn't it be too much of a joke if The Kid was taking photos of himself to sell them? It was a silly thought now that he considered all the things that could go wrong with that, so this was perfect.

So he logged in with a temporary account in a definitely trashy webpage and put a price tag to the photos, still unsure if this would be a good idea. The first hour he got an incredible number of five comments, five people telling him that the photos were fantastic but that they were too broke to purchase any of them.

Three hours after, Kaito was still in front of his computer feeling dumb because no one else had shown any interest. He was ready to delete the post when he got his first client.

It was his first sell so he wasn't as cautious as he normally was. The person was happy to give him money and he was as happy to receive it, so the process was pretty normal but at the end of it, Kaito felt his ego go up a few hundred times. Someone had purchased one of his photos and gave him a tip. This was a good idea, he could feel it.

And that's how he started entering the same webpage over and over again, selling his photos and slowly gaining fame between the usual users and even others that came into de webpage just to buy a photo from him. Of course, he took more precautions so he couldn't be found and still get the money.

Every time there was a heist, people would go directly to the page, knowing that the mysterious photographer would put at least a bunch of photos and would delete them after three hours, going into hiding until the next time Kid appeared. Until he didn't.

After months of doing the same, Kaito thought of something that was so painfully obvious and was surprised that he didn't think of it before. People thought he was a specially good cosplayer and others thought of him as a really sneaky photographer, and even when there were a few people that considered him suspicious there was nothing they could use to prove he was the real thief. So what was stopping him from going to a dark alley and take photos of himself dressed in Kid's suit and sell those? Just his lack of brain cells, he thought.

So he did that. Kaito took a camera, went to the highest place he could find so the city and the moon could be seen on the background and took as many photos as he could of himself doing magic tricks, possing and being overly flashy for the camera, thinking of how much his fans would love to see these.

A lot of his usual clients, the ones that always made sure to buy him at least one photo every time he appeared, lost it when he announced that he would open a permanent account so he could sell those pictures.

It was entertaining, to say the least. He was getting a little more money and was able to get out more with Aoko to show how grateful he was for always been there for him (not that he would tell her that).

Still, Kaito didn't come into real contact with his fans until the day one of his usual clients told him they used the photo as a cover for a fanfic which, to his surprise, was getting famous inside the fandom. Curious as he was and wanting to bust his ego a little more, Kaito made the conscious decision to read the whole thing at 2 a.m. which was a monster of 45,000 words, two side fics of 20,000 each one, and a one shot with the alternative ending for the main fic.

He didn't sleep for four days.

Yeah, the story had many mistakes of what really happened during the preparation stage of a heist and Kaito was sure he wasn't a middle age man with a mansion and copious amounts of money, but he was, in fact, as awesome, handsome, and cool as the author wrote him and was willing to read more.

He felt silly sitting in front of his computer in search of stories about him from the point of view of complete strangers. Kaito could feel his cheeks heat up while reading the titles of some of the stories he found on a new webpage.

Was he being too narcissistic? When was too much? And why were there so many stories of him with Shinichi Kudo as secondary protagonist?

Kaito felt irritated at the sight of that name. Why was the detective on so many fanfics that were supposed to be about Kid? He scrolled down, finding more and more about the detective and himself on so many fictional worlds. Somehow he felt betrayed by his fans.

It took him five more web pages and three hours to understand why his fans had betrayed him that way, and it was a hilarious reason, to be honest. Most people knew how often the phantom thief had dressed up as the detective so a lot had come up with the theory that he, Kaito Kid was, in fact, the young detective Shinichi Kudo.

Wasn't that fucked up or what?

There was a fair amount of people that wrote about them because they had confronted each other several times, but most of them believed with all their might that Kid was the detective and, even when he laughed out loud on the privacy of his room at 1 a.m., Kaito also felt as if he was being robbed of something. He wasn't sure of what yet, but he made a mental note to torture a little bit more the detective the next time he saw him for stealing... something?

Yeah, no. Scratch that. He wasn't going to do anything stupid on a heist just because of a bunch of people that couldn't see that Kaito Kid was way too cool to be that detective. What he did do was to enter the thread and create mayhem between the users on the chat for a few hours.

And it became a daily thing, which didn't make things easier for Kaito because now he wasn't only a teenager that was trying to not fail school because he forgot to do homework or a famous phantom thief in search of a miraculous diamond, now he was a famous (well, maybe not famous but recognized inside the fandom) photographer, an avid reader of his fans' stories (he wasn't even going to deny how narcissistic that was, but the kids could be really good at their fantasies and he wanted to see more of it) and a troll that couldn't keep one damn user name because the wars he started were that intense, and yeah, he needed a break or something.

However, he would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying himself. Yeah, maybe Aoko kept telling him to stop going to sleep to untold hours of the night because he was starting to look like a real-life zombie, but it was so worth it to see people trying to take his "Do you think Kid uses women underwear?" and "I have proof that Shinichi Kudo is a loser" threads seriously and ending up on wars that lasted at least a week.

To be fair, while a fair amount of people just wanted Shinichi to be the phantom thief for the drama and the angst, there were a few users that actually had good arguments while discussing the theory. They weren't as good as some of the arguments that Kaito could think of but were reasonable enough to shut up the chat for a few minutes before anyone saying something else.

Weeks of being on those types of forums made him develop a weird respect and admiration for those users that came into the madness willingly and tried to put order in hell. It was something he crushed almost daily but it was something impressive to see.

That's why the day he was trolling an especially cocky one, he felt... weird.

The kid was being way too smart, they didn't have the confidence of a hardcore fan or a know-it-all gal, they talked as if they knew of what they were talking and that made Kaito feel vulnerable for the first time in his new happy place. Most of the time the users would have an excellent logic but lots of errors in their final answers; this person didn't give long answers like the others but everything they had said on the last twenty minutes was right and that made him paranoid.

It wasn't the first time he ended a conversation with the old and trusty "Bold of you to assume I can read", but it was the first time he did when he still had time to kill.

That kid... It wasn't only that everything had been right but some of those things were things that no normal person could know, they had to been there to know those types of things, so now Kaito was locked in his room wondering with a nervous smile who in the police force was wasting their afternoons rambling against little kids on the internet?

Kaito laughed a little with the thought. No, he didn't count, he was there to follow his fans and his fans only, he could stop whenever he wanted, he didn't ramble against twelve-year-old kids like a loser... Ok, he did, but he did it to get a laugh out of it and never in a serious way, so who was the clown that was doing it and why hasn't he saw them before?

He turned off his computer and got out of his bedroom, determined to let the topic slide for this time and go to Aoko's house to see if he could annoy her a little more before dinner, not knowing that he left Shinichi looking at the screen of his phone with irritation at the stupid answer the troll gave him. The detective decided he had had enough internet for a day and returned to the book in his lap, at least that was better than the nonsense he had seen for the last twenty minutes.

[lydiaandarry]

{How To Dress Similarly To Your Favorite Cartoon Characters Pt.2 (Using Five Examples!)}

Hello there!

     My name is Arabella but you can call me Arry, if it’s easier. I don’t know about you but I basically grew up on cartoons. I watched Cartoon Network all day and I used to get so much inspiration from cartoon characters that probably followed me into my older years. Personality and fashion-wise. Have you ever wanted to dress similar to one of your favorite cartoon characters yet not wanting to look like a cosplay or costume? Well, you’ve come to the right gal because that is exactly what I am going to be helping you with but before I get onto the five examples, we must go over some basic knowledge. Fashion can say a lot about a character, especially in cartoons where the clothes rarely change. It has to be iconic yet true to the personality being demonstrated in some sense. Five things go into analyzing and copying a cartoon characters style: 1) Color Palette 2) Aesthetic 3) Overall Impression 4) Fashion Items 5) How It Shapes Their Personality? These are five things we are going to keep in mind during our five examples. Let’s invade this topic.

(Nazz)

   Nazz from Ed Edd n’ Eddy is probably one of the easiest old cartoon characters to make modern. Especially since her style has come back into trend with layering. Now I didn't grow up with Ed Edd n’ Eddy because my mother was fearful that I would develop behavior similar to the boys. But whenever I did see images of it or short scenes, I loved Nazz’s fashion (next to Marie’s). Starting with the first thing to think about when recreating a style of any cartoon character, color palette. A color palette is quite important especially when it comes to cartoon characters because these colors can be forever associated with this character. Nazz’s color palette includes black, white, denim, red, and occasionally green. These colors are great because they can go great with each other and makes a strong color palette. Nazz’s aesthetic is a mixture between Girl Next Door and Tomboy. She has boyish elements that allows her to be ‘one of the boys’ yet she also has a fun, flirty girly side. The third thing to consider is the overall impression of their clothes to the world around them. Now this may seem odd but this is worth consideration because it depends on how you want to be taken. As people judge upon appearances and your clothes can say a lot about you. Nazz’s overall impression and how it makes people see her is that Nazz is seen as very attractive and everyone wants to hang out with her. She’s the female character that has a lot of friends and is overall popular and kind. She isn’t the stereotypical mean girl despite dressing nice and being friends with a lot of people. She breaks that stereotype and shows that you can be cool yet nice. The fourth thing to consider is fashion items, unless you are planning on copying Nazz’s style piece by piece. It is great to really observe it and take pieces of it that may fit into her character yet is good for everyday use and not a cosplay. Remember, it’s all about inspiration. With Nazz, I recommend for tops, basic plain color shirts, crop tops, ringer tees, cropped sweaters, and cami tops. For bottoms, high waisted shorts, basic jeans or ripped jeans, flared jeans, and pleated skirts. For shoes, sneakers like Vans or Converse. For accessories, a quirky pair of sunglasses. And last but not least, the fifth thing to consider is how does her clothes shape her personality? Nazz’s clothes shape her personality in a sense of how she wants to look good. Nazz is very particular on how she looks and despite being confident, is upset if she looks anything but good. Her appearance is very important to her. It shapes her personality in how she likes hanging out with boys more so over girls in the show and is seen as one of the boys due to how her clothes aren’t overly feminine. She’s a great beginner choice for people who want to try this out.

(Mandy)

   Ah yes, the girl I aspired to be when I was younger and probably scared my mother some more. Mandy from Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. This is a fun character because her outfit… is completely different from her personality. She wears a pink flower dress, mary-janes and a headband. She looks like an innocent, girly girl but Mandy is evil. She’s a good type of evil but is still evil. Mandy’s color palette depends on where you want to take from it but I gathered white, black, pale pink, pale blue & pale yellow (counting the flower) and purple (her eyeshadow, at times). But if I was going to dress similarly, I would just do white, black and pale pink as the other colors are mere colors compared to those main three. Mandy doesn’t exactly have an aesthetic instead I guess she would be gothic with pink and a sort of doll-like quality. Mandy’s overall impression is that people mistake her for being sweet and innocent although her parents are terrified of her, everyone is mostly terrified of her. A grim reaper is terrified of her. Her clothes are deceiving but everyone knows that she is a very unhappy person due to her constant frown which was even in there inside the womb. Now onto the fun part, clothing choices. For jackets, I would suggest something like a Lazy Oaf jacket style (like their chore jackets) and oversized cardigans. For tops, mock necks, crop tops, layered shirts with a mock-neck under a shirt. Also pinafore dresses and a-line dresses. For bottoms, high-waisted shorts and pleated skirts. For shoes, mary-janes or sneakers. And for accessories, always have a headband on and maybe some skeleton or creepy accessories like a coffin backpack. Mandy’s clothing shapes her personality in a way for humor, she’s this scary person who can almost be a villain yet edges on being an anti-hero at most. It’s complete satire that she looks sweet and innocent with a gothic personality. So have fun with it because if anything, she shows that it’s not what is on the outside that counts after all. There’s a very creepy personality behind that color of pink.

(Sam Manson)

     Another favorite female character of mine. Okay, let’s say… that you don’t like pink or want to be a secret Goth. There is plenty of gothic female characters to choose from. But one of my favorites has always been Sam Manson from Danny Phantom. I mean, I loved that show in general. And I loved Sam’s design, even though I wasn’t allowed to wear crop-tops til I turned 18. Her color palette is purple, green, black. You’ve noticed that cartoon characters always seem to have a simple color palette. And of course, Sam’s aesthetic is gothic, even though she could also be eco-goth since I remember an episode of her wanting to save the Earth and becoming a vegetarian. For fashion choices, hm. For jackets, I feel like she would wear hoodies, oversized black denim jackets, and long coats or even a varsity jacket. For tops, crop-tops, band tees, mock-necks, muscle tees, fishnet tops and sheer tops with something underneath. If she wore a dress, it would probably be black and an a-line, once again with a mock-neck. For bottoms, plaid skirts, checkered shirts, pleated skirts, ripped jeans with fishnets underneath, high-waisted shorts. For shoes, Doc Martens, sneakers, mary-janes and platforms. For accessories, knee-high socks, fishnets, tights, chokers, patches and enamel pins, belt, and a cool backpack. Sam’s overall impression is kind of hard to sum up in a small summary since Danny Phantom is so complex so I recommend watching the show to get a better idea but it’s never really brought up as a main point in her character how she dresses. She’s a great gothic character for inspiration though.

(Valhallen)

   Okay now the first three characters and five characters of my last post were all girls. For those, who may not know Valhallen is a male character from “Justice Friends” which originated as a short from “Dexter’s Laboratory”, are you following me? Let’s say you’re a dude or you want to dress similar to a dude character. Valhallen is a great character to start with as he is a very simple character to modernized because you don’t even really have to go off his sense of style to dress similar to him. His color palette consists of black, yellow, and silver. Pretty simple. His aesthetic is kind of surfer mixed with metalhead mixed with Nordic god. He was created to be a parody of Thor. Which he succeeds greatly with. What is the overall impression of Valhallen? Well, he is quite a ladies man. He is definitely seen as the more attractive member. Valhallen doesn’t have much of an overall impression except the fact that the ladies love him from all realms and he is a fan favorite character. Onto the fun part! Fashion items. Now I chose Valhallen, because no offense but he does have a feminine touch on clothing that can easily be feminized. The dude wears a midriff. For jackets, denim jackets would suit, perhaps with patches of your favorite metal bands or enamel pins. For tops, crop-tops, midriffs, band tees, muscle tees, fishnet or sheer tops with something underneath, cropped camis. Don’t be afraid to show a lot of skin on your upper body. For bottoms, ripped jeans, basic jeans, high waisted shorts, bell bottoms. For shoes, knee high boots. For accessories, headpieces, fingerless gloves, studded jewelry, spiked belts. How does his clothes shape his personality? Well, he’s The Viking God of Rock. He has to look the part and this is basic metalhead fashion with God twists similar to Thor. He’s a goofy character who is hilariously rad and doesn’t take himself too seriously and his clothes show that. He’s less out there than Major Glory but can stand out more than The Infraggable Krunk. He’s obviously the more free-spirited one who isn’t afraid to be himself.

(Judy Jetson)

    Here is what I like to call expert mode because unlike the other four who have easily modernized looks. Judy is from the future yet has a vintage twist. Her clothes are not something a typical teenager or young adult would wear in this day and age. I mean, someone who isn’t as weird as me. So you have to kind of reinvent her and make her suit your taste yet keep elements about her that are amazing and what makes her lovely. Judy’s color palette is pale pink, red (in some lighting), darker pink, white and black. If anyone asks you about a known fact of me… I love pink with red and pink with black. I also love pink on pink. And Judy Jetson has two of my favorite pinks where it’s not Barbie Pink or Too Pink. The overall impression of Judy, well she’s seen as the teenage girl of the future. She’s boy-crazy, fun, has exciting hobbies, can be quite moody and sassy. She loves dancing, attends high school and spends her evening listening to her favorite boy bands. Parts of Judy have travelled into the future as I related to her a lot when I was sixteen. And still do! She can get out of hand sometimes and I feel like all girls do, even into early adult years. I’ve had my moments where I have overreacted. Onto fashion items! Now, with Judy, as I said before, you are going to have to reimagine outfits for her. With jackets, I suggest fit and flare, perhaps long jackets, something to show off the figure however. With tops, crop-tops, mock necks, fitted tops, fun bodysuits, sheer tops, about anything that is cool. With bottoms, flared skirts or pleated skirts, mini skirts, high-waisted shorts, suspender pants, pants or jeans. For dresses, pinafores, figure hugging, a-line. For shoes, sneakers, flats, boots, platforms. A tip for seeming more futuristic is adding in color palette fitting metallics and holographic. For accessories, tights, knee high socks, circle purses, star shaped things, hair bows, headbands, funky sunglasses, vintage gloves, roller-skates if you skate.  How does Judy’s clothes shape her personality? Well, her outfit is very youthful compared to her mother’s. She has more of a spark and quirky sense. Her clothes really show that she is bubbly and charismatic. She is out of this world. Something that I feel like girls should be more confident to try to be. To be unapologetically themselves. Just because her outfit isn’t exactly the future creators in the 60s were thinking of. It doesn’t mean that we can’t carry traits into this world.

    That was how to dress similarly to your favorite cartoon characters, part two! If you want to see part one, click here! Feel free to follow for more posts like this. Also feel free to like and reblog if you enjoyed it! I may turn this into a series as they are always a lot of fun. Just be you and have fun with fashion! I post every Wednesday and Saturday so I will see you on Wednesday! Peace out!

[dragonofyang]

Some ramblings under the cut because my mind is swirling with words once more lol

So I discovered recently that Love Never Dies is the sequel to my most favorite musical of all time Phantom of the Opera, and I went to see it last week and I was utterly blown away. But the problem is that it’s making one of the things that frustrates me most about myself resurface. I’m a very passionate and easily-impassioned person. Get me in the right mood on the right subject and I can rant and rave and cry delights and horrors over a single subject, and yet I can barely muster the passion to argue in an academic setting even if it’s a subject I’m well-versed in. I am easy to drag into fandoms if I meet somebody passionate about it, I am forming a fandom for a book my friend isn’t even done writing yet because they are passionate for it. They light up when they talk about it and because of that I want nothing more than to build the fandom for it myself and share its glories with the world. My goal for that book as a fan is to be able to cosplay the main character as he appears in their art and in the book, and to show people the magic of the world they’re writing and the characters they’re bringing to life. I’m either 100 or 0 and there’s hardly a true in-between, and I’ve met plenty of people capable of it but what is it to be effectively “in like” with something rather than “in love”? What is it to not be bowled over in beauty or disgust by a work of art? My emotions run wild and I see so much of my creative energy in the Phantom, but I also see myself in Christine because I desire nothing more than to have a taste of that wild beauty that runs through somebody’s mind and informs their own work, to meet somebody so capable of passion and creation that it’s a sublime wonder comparable to the spires of a mountain range cutting the sky or the interior of a gilt church, shimmering in rainbows of sunlit glass. The lyrics of “Beauty Underneath” sum up how it feels perfectly for me to be swallowed by a new passion, right down to the feverish tempo that makes my heart race at the thought of being able to just make something new, unfettered by fear or anxiety, to let my imagination run wild and beg of my hands to create what resides in my mind’s eye.

The problem with being so easily-impassioned, especially by music, is that it’s ultimately addictive and I know it’s not good for me to get swept up in something when I have other obligations like school. On the one hand I should’ve known better than to watch Love Never Dies right before classes started up again because POTO has this incredible ability to flip that switch on and tape it there so I can’t shut down the part of my mind/attention that begs to be let loose. On the other hand, I’ve gotten to make some truly amazing things so far by riding that level of creative mania. I wrote like 80k words for a fanfiction I’ve since abandoned (grew out of it and lost general steam because I was dissatisfied with it), I’ve made entire cosplays using nothing but the manic energy provided by the music, and back when I played violin nothing could stop me if I got into the mood. It’s a positive feedback loop unlike any other in my life and as much as I love it, I hate the timing of such bursts and drives. I just started my semester, my final semester I might add, and so distractions are detrimental. I didn’t even move my sewing machine up to my apartment so I wouldn’t have the temptation to procrastinate on school via cosplay.

I feel like I’m starving.

I can’t talk with my parents about it, especially in terms of my latest hobbies. They don’t understand the allure of cosplay beyond a potential money-making business, nor do they understand convention culture. They think going in costume to a Ren Faire is weird, I can’t debate character development or plots with them or tell them about the cool things that English does when it’s not being a fucking trainwreck of a language. Don’t get me wrong, they indulge me and finance my cosplays a lot and listen if it’s clear I’m not gonna stop talking about something, but their eyes glaze over and they don’t pay much, if any, attention to anything after the first 10 seconds. To them, my love of dragons is strange and a remnant of my childhood, my anger at poor character development is a silly response, they don’t see the potential in a dress like I do. They don’t see the beauty in language the way I do, or at least to the extent I do, anyway. They don’t have the need for the beauty underneath, if you will. That all sounds edgy af, I know, but I feel like we’re talking in two different languages, which technically we are in terms of vernacular and subculture, but when I see no visible effort to respond what else am I supposed to think other than they have no care to understand my passions? It’s frustrating, and tbh I’m always a little afraid of going too far into the mania, both for myself and for my friends who’ve seen me get like this before. They understand better and I love them all the more for it, but at the same time I don’t want to frighten them with walls of text waxing poetic about my love for things or make them feel they don’t have a place to contribute or respond because I can’t get my mind to shut up long enough to listen to them. It’s also not healthy averaging 4 hours of sleep in the morning before working like a madwoman at a sewing machine. It’s a flaw that I’m steadily improving upon, and I think making costumes for my friends has helped a lot, because yes I have this crystal-clear image of what I want and think looks lovely, but my comfort and fashion senses are not what will be wearing the finished garment. So it forces me to quiet the part of me that insists it must be done one way so that I can listen to my friends and understand what they want and feel comfortable in. It’s good practice, but it’s hard. It’s gotten easier since I first started forcing myself to slow down and take a breath, but it’s still a struggle.

I’ve added Phantom and Christine to my future cosplay list, because ever since I was young the aesthetic of the Phantom has always appealed to my sense of the dramatic and Gerard Butler’s portrayal of him in the 2004 movie gave me such an appreciation for him as a character and design inspiration. If I could wear suits like that all the time I’d be happy tbh, there’s nothing better than a well-made tuxedo. I’ve drawn an elf dress that’s floated in my mind for months now. I’ve designed 12 garments based on the zodiac. By the time I graduate I’ll probably have walls covered in future outfits or projects I want to undertake. But the problem is that as much as I want nothing more than to drop everything and sew late into the night, only stopping because I fell asleep at my machine or remember to eat for once, I know better and won’t. The problem is that because of my overwhelming desire to make something, not having something to make is making me feel like I’m starving. Listening to music quells the desire somewhat, but it’s very hit and miss for me what kinds of songs will soothe my mind and what ones will inflame me into an even greater need.

Writing this has actually helped a lot because I can actually look and see my thoughts, rather than have the words bouncing around in my head like fucking rubber balls bouncing down a California street. I might yearn for human closeness, that emotional bond that so many have and that I once had but lost, I’m starting to wonder if anything short of raw and unadulterated passion for something will ever be satisfying to me. Romance is more appealing than the concept of sex, but only just, especially when I’m hit with bouts like this. I don’t know why. I see myself in Christine, but I have to wonder if in a way I’m the Phantom seeking an opera house of my own in which to craft masterpieces.

I just need to make something, something grand and beautiful that stimulates my mind and hands and grants me satisfaction to see completed. I want this kind of creative mania to come to me when I’m not burdened by school or work, or at least come at a time when I have more time and space to devote to such extracurriculars. Maybe I should take something strange like a glass-blowing class, take up the violin again, learn piano, get a singing tutor and practice singing again. I don’t know what it’ll take to calm the thunderous nature of my mind when I’m hit with passions like this, I never do. I just need to be able to rein it in enough that I can focus on classwork and hopefully direct some of that passion into my schooling. I’ve done it before, but like sudoku puzzles the answers are always different. I mean this in the best of ways but sometimes I wonder how my friends put up with my nonsense, because I get hit with often wildly-conflicting or rapidly-changing passions. I love them for it, though, and when my moods become truly terrible they’re always there to ground me and put some sense into me, because it’s so hard to come back into myself when I’m angry or excited.

[thisismydesignhannibal]

FannibalFest 2017 Recap! 1/3

PIC HEAVY!

PHEW!  Going to have to do a few of these to even attempt to cover such an amazing experience!  My apologies for taking so long with this... Con drop is real people! And even though I’m usually on Tumblr more, Twitter was easier to use during the Con. If you’re interested in even more pics and stuff, you can always go find me there (@MyDesignHanibl). I’ll do some general con stuff in this post, and follow up with two about the tours (one for each day).

FIRST OFF, WHAT AN AMAZING CON!!!!!  

If you were thinking about going but were on the fence, PLEASE consider it next time!  It was absolutely amazing. The guests, tours, panels, props, meals and overall vibes were just wonderful. @fannibalfest-toronto did an incredible job!

Our wonderful guests, Janice Poon, Vladimir Jon Cubrt, Martha De Laurentiis, Demore Barnes, Scott Thompson, and Aaron Abrams! And one of many appearances of special guest, Peking Hannibal... Janice brought him and he got a really good run for his money with us ;)

SO MANY MORE THE PICS under the cut!

I apologize in advance that my pics of the guests aren’t better... I was so busy clapping and giggling (not to mention not wanting to shove a camera in their faces) that they could be better :/

The cast arrived at the welcome ceremony ahead of Mamma Martha.  They seemed so happy and excited to see us, Vlad ran around the room giving high fives, Demore was incredibly eloquent, Aaron and Scott hilarious, and Janice adorable!

The guests were presented GORGEOUS personalized flower crowns by the incredibly talented @apoptoses​ Below, you can see the lovely crown she made for me, and her absolutely STUNNING cosplay of Margot!  Love and hugs my talented, funny, lovely Hannipologist friend XO P.S. She takes commissions!

Some photos of me with the Cast and one with Mamma Martha!  They were all so generous and seemed to get a real kick out of everyone’s poses. I love Janice being EXTRA in the group photo and Scott deciding to make it like an awkward family photo... Demore kept his hand on my back through the photo and I could barely concentrate ;P He really tries to make sure people are at ease and he is constantly dropping words of eloquent wisdom with that incredible voice of his!!! When it came time for my solo photo with him, he asked what I wanted and I just blurted out “I want you to strangle me!” he gave me that low chuckle and this pic is what came of it... we laughed later at the autograph session that it looks like I’m being strangled by a Dr Seuss character ;P Aaron and Scott really liked my photo with them, and Aaron even posted it on his Instagram! It was from Scott’s comments about how his gun instructor on the show had to keep telling him to tone down the Charlie’s Angels with how he wielded the gun, HA!  Vlad was super high energy and welcoming... I was able to borrow the plastic knife from the lovely @miasmatik and ask him to “cut my throat” Vlad asked if I wanted us to play serious to which I stupidly responded “I’m happy you’re murdering me!”  He laughed and said “Ok, then I’m going to be really menacing.” ;P They all loved @apoptoses flower crown and my shirt by @wisesnail <333

Mamma Martha! We were incredibly lucky that Martha announced at the last minute that she was going to do free autographs and selfies with everyone! She was so generous with her time and seemed really amazed by the dedication and creativity of the fandom. No major Season 4 news, but she’s definitely working on it and appreciates our ongoing support.

One of the biggest highlights for me was when my fic The Way I Changed You won the Stag Awards for the fluff category!!! Both Janice and Demore presented my award (a copy of the @radiance-anthology​ and a nice plaque!) and gave me some lovely hugs :) I’ll do a proper post for it soon, but I’ve finally got it up on AO3 if you’d like to read!

Aaron and Scott joking about not caring that the other is answering questions aimed only at them ;P  With all their hilarity and jokes, what struck me most is that they seem so much like an old married couple!  Aaron is such a long-suffering wife, and Scott constantly looks to Aaron to both rein him in and egg him on :P They riff off each other so much and seem really in sync. Both incredibly good sports and Aaron in particular seemed so fascinated and complimentary of the fandom and everything we do.

Martha did her own panel and told us so much about how Hannibal came to be, the complexities of rights, and how she found herself in the roll she’s in. I had no idea that she started out with a modeling scholarship that took her to New York... hating the modeling, she then went to school for accounting and started doing books for films in New York! Such an inspiring story. The final panel had everyone, including Janice, which was a lovely treat! Janice’s story was just as fascinating as Martha’s, including designing weddings for Saudi princesses, being an editor, and owning a fancy shop in Toronto’s high-end Yorkville neighbourhood.  She described herself as “rudderless” and said it was a wonderful thing :D

At his panel Demore spoke so eloquently about basically everything and gave two lucky Fannibals the opportunity to get played like a cello...to two songs he hummed from Phantom of the Opera ;P Aaron found he was missing a button at the Sassy Science panel...eventually he substituted a Hannibal pin to fill in the gap!

Some more photos of the cast... Demore being beautifully eloquent at the meet and greet, Aaron checking Scott before he said something he shouldn’t (he was slacking on the job a bit!), Vlad being Vlad and really coaxing the energy in the room, and Aaron making Hannidoll bow down to him in the meet and greet (take note of the pin). Mostly they asked questions about us at the meet and greet, and seemed so genuinely interested in the fandom and what we do. They said we feel like a family :)

A fun arrangement of Hannidolls that accidentally ended up as a centerpiece on the main table at the luncheon! Aaron in particular seemed to think it was hilarious and took a ton of pics ;P It was moved off the table since we didn’t want them to be uncomfortable, but they thought it was funny :)

Our dinner with Janice!  The menu had vegetarian options for us few vegetarian cannibals, which was lovely. Janice came around and sat with us while we ate and was honestly just ONE OF US. She’s just like talking to another Fannibal, albeit one who knows a bunch of stories about teaching Mads to cook and whether he swallows (he does ;P) and she can be just as wonderfully inappropriate as us (take for example her comment about hypothetically saving Hannibal’s cock in the freezer for “reasons” instead of eating it ;P) Afterwards she signed our menus and hung out. She in no way kept herself separate from us and often was seen around the Con or taking in panels (or messing around with the Peking Hannibal!)

Peking Hannibal was a big hit...Janice brought him to the party and he made lots of appearances throughout the Con. He’s an actual Mads body cast so you can imagine that we were...interested...for reasons ;P  Janice’s sanguinaccio dolce demo was on the second day and she had him all laid out and covered in fruit (top pic!) and was totally cool with us checking him out after the demo was over. 

OK!  I have so many pics but I should stop :P If you have any particular questions just let me know!

Stay tuned for 2 more posts on the two tours!!!

1st tour post

2nd tour post