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vampanic · 4 years

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okay here’s what i remember from THE CON

i can’t remember if the ticket was cheap or pricey. i don’t know why. i wanna say it was more expensive or of equal value to a bigger con and i justified it to my parents and myself because it was the first one. but i went because i thought the idea of a con that was centered on the various fandoms popular on this site at the time was a genuinely neat idea. i also thought, okay let me just go because it’s another one to attend.

i should note: that have been to a lot conventions in my time. i’ve been to acen twice i think? i’ve been to nebkon twice. sadly i have never been to c2e2 or flashback chicago (which i may never get to go to now whoops) and i’ve been to wizard world chicago i wanna say 4 times?

now at these cons (mostly wizard world) these fandoms aren’t as present. in fact, the main demo of that con was adult to middle age to older visitors as well as families, so usually teens and young adults would find each other at this con (whether planned ahead or by accident there) and freak the fuck out over our cosplays or mutual love of whatever.

so because of this again the idea of a t.umblr con was exciting to me, even though i was already at the end of being interested in those fandoms (as i’m sure most people were at the time)

okay so first, this con was far. wizard world and acen are held at the rosemont convention center which while kind of far from where i live, is accessible by train via downtown or via one of chicago’s big airports. i always got a ride though which with summer traffic, took forever. so much like that this con was a journey away.

the hotel the con choose i remember thinking it seemed new, but it was far from where i lived which inpacted the amount of time i spent at the con and the decision to only go two days (i didn’t return the last day because it was a shit show)

i went to this con by myself because i think at this point i had already had a falling out with my friend who i went to cons in the area with (she did not attend that i know of). i wore two cosplays that i had made already for other things, gwen stacy and america chavez. this would have been the ideal place for me to cosplay something more niche, but i just didn’t care that much about it. maybe i didn’t think it was worth it at the time since it wasn’t going to be a big con.

so i get there and there’s no long line to get my badge in fact i don’t even remember a line at all. which, for me, was bizarre. every con i’ve been to before had huge lines even on off hours to get badges. but whatever. i cant remember if where i got my badge was in the the same room as where the ball pit was or not. but yes, i did go into the ball pit and i was silly in it with some other people because

idk you see a ball pit you go in the ball pit? in hindsight i know it’s not acceptable to have this at a con, but shit i guess i was high on life at the time. someone took a pic of me in the pit, but i have never seen it.

i remember seeing some very impressive cosplays at this con. i also bought some really great art in the dealers room which was small. (here’s the artist. also this was nonfandom art. i don’t remember buying anything else from anyone because i don’t think i saw anything i liked/could afford) there was no unlicensed night vale merch sold here that i remember, but i do remember receiving free unlicsenced night vale like pamphlets from a random vendor and also there was a vendor who was giving away a large piece of night vale fan art with a purchase of over something dollars i dont remember.

panels: i don’t remember there being many panels or even very interesting panels. panels i remember going to include: bisexuality in media/bisexuality representation (which was put on by the bisexualbooks tumblr), ask an avenger (which was put on by various marvel cosplayers), and a panel that was about female characters in supernatural (i was a spn stan back in the day jsyk).

the bi one was good. i remember it being the most like a panel that you’d go to at a larger convention. they had slides and info and they took questions and had several speakers.

the avengers one was what we’d call today “cringey” but it was cute. it was exactly what it sounds like. avengers cosplayers sat up on a stage answering questions in character. i believe that all the cosplayers had rp and/or ask blogs which is why they were chosen.

the supernatural panel was, like the bi one, complete with slides and various speakers, but from what i remember it was mostly going down the list of female characters in the show. i remember from the fandom that there a good chunk of people who love the characters, but they’re often killed off or abandoned and this is something a lot of fans did have gripes with. this is gonna sound fake when i say it, but this did happen, we got to charlie and someone said “yeah i like charlie she’s cool because she’s a lesbian but she doesn’t act like one like she’s still feminine” and i spoke up and said “well yeah it’s cool she’s a lesbian, but what do you mean she doesn’t act like one. like queer female character shouldn’t have to be feminine to be seen as good rep.” and people clapped. i know that sounds fake, but please believe me because this is a setting where people are inclined to clap when they agree with statements. people clapped at others too.

i also attended the costume contest, the night vale panel, and the meet and greet with doug jones.

the contest was fine. there was one individual at this con who i can’t name because i didnt know their name, but they cosplayed as ed from edd ed and eddy and they were in character the whole time to the point of discomfort. it wasn’t just for the contest i found myself in a cards against humanity game that they were in and it was even there and it was weird.

then the night vale panel happened and ooooooooohhhh boy

this was the most filled room in the whole con. a main reason i went to this con was to see them and im pretty sure this was everyone’s main reason to go. i known someone from other cons who came from florida to see this. (fun fact: we were mutuals on various platforms and had hung out at various cons and i knew their name, but they could not remember mine and i thought that was bogus so i ghosted them. dont know if i was justified in that but whatever)

so here we all were waiting. for over an hour. during this time people talked and i remember someone cosplaying the glow cloud went up and down the isle with a little glow cloud baby in a stroller and we all laughed and cheered. people started playing card games. we kept busy. for me though.

this was one of the most boring cons i’ve been to honestly. i’m having trouble remember a lot of it and that’s because i went solo. i had no friends there. i cosplayed gwen from like the 60s and this was before spidey joined the mcu and before itsv was a thing so spidey was basically an niche fandom (i was active in the tasm and dane deha.an fandoms at this time and the latter became toxic as fuck but that’s a whole other story) or something older comic fans liked.

my other cosplay was america chavez from young avengers which never got that popular either (though kate bishop and kid loki where more recognized, but for their connection to bigger marvel names). so it wasn’t like other cons where my cosplay was an ice breaker and i could join groups. i was alone.

so a lot of the con for that reason was awkward and waiting for night vale was like being the person texting in the corner at a distant relative’s party because they know no one.

so they finally come on stage to say that night vale will not be performing and people went ballistic people were shouting and the person said “we have doug jones in the next hall you should go over to that” and someone yelled “WE DON’T WANT TO SEE HIM”

i went to see doug jones and i was previously unaware of what his name was but i knew who he was. he talked about his work and acting process and did a meet and greet after. mr. jones was a delight and i’m wondering how they even got him there in the first place. he was leagues above this.

i had to leave the con early that day to go to my brother’s football game, but i believe that was the night they “protested” at the con and i kept seeing on tumblr that it was cancelled. i decided not to go back the next day because i was unsure of what was happening and because it was too far.

and the rest is history. i’m sure i went to other panels, but i can’t remember them. i do remember going into the room where they were watching pacific rim, but it was on a shitty projection screen and i wanted to go to a panel instead.

it’s shitty what happened with the con. and a lot of the unrest came from literal teens who were cheated from money who didn’t know how to act, but all the responsibility goes to the people who organized it poorly. The concept of a tu.mblr con i don’t think should have been inherently bad. i think it would have been cool to have a con that focused on more niche interests. but shouldn’t have been as big as they wanted it to be for the first go.

anyway that’s most of what i can remember. it’s kind of blur because i spent most of it by myself and there wasn’t much to do so i didn’t even spend the whole day there.

quite frankly, i’m glad i wasn’t there when they started singing les mis because i have no idea how i would have acted.

#[out of coffins]#/under a cut because it's long

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darkspellmaster · 5 years

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So a need to Rant about Anime Midwest 2019, and give some Praise to Anime Central 2019

So this year I went to my two usual summer conventions. Anime Central and Anime Midwest, and boy oh boy were they way different from each other. Now a quick warning, if you had fun at Midwest this year, great, I hold no issues with that. I however did not, and I’ll be explaining why below.

Let me begin by saying I have been going to Anime central since around 2006, I would have been going earlier but I didn’t know it existed at the time back when it first started in 1998. (Would have been nice to know as it probably would have helped me a lot in Highschool to have people around me that liked Anime too at a period of time when I needed that, but that’s neither here nor there.) ACen, for the most part, save a few minor years, has been pretty good to me. When I started to do panels with a friend of mine, everyone that was working there seemed to know what the heck they were doing. The tech organization was on the ball, for the most part, and the projectors worked well, (although there have been issues with the speaker systems), and typically we have a good group of people that come to our panels.

This past Acen went off without a hitch, although I should have put it in for an earlier time, that’s on me. Outside each room in the DESCC(Donald E. Stevens Convention Center) was a sign that listed the panel room number and what was going to be happening in that room and what time. Canceled panels were updated on the guide, and also on the board, so no one was too confused. (Although with a lot of people it’s bound to happen where some don’t know where to go.) If, and this is only one thing, there was anything that I thought could have been done better, it was the larger line structure, maybe add ropes to help set the line up so that when they do snake, they can be more easily managed? Other than that, the set up for the projection systems and mics were perfect. There were hookups for all types of computers, and the tech guy and person at the door introduced themselves so that we knew who to call if there was an issue.

Again, I stress, no problems with this aspect of the convention.

On the other hand...Anime Midwest was a mess!

To start with I will give kudos to the two young staff ladies that helped me out in the DESCC, Baily I belive was one, and I didn’t get the other young ladies name. Thank you both for trying to help me out. And I did appreciate the large banners announcing the room. I’ll also say that the two people I met at Con Ops were very polite to me.

However...here’s where things become annoying. There were no signs saying what was in what room. No one was at the doors to keep a line going, and help out if there was a tech problem. People seemed to be wandering around and peeking into rooms to see what was going on to guess what the panels were about as there was no way to tell what was going on there as there were no signs.

So we found the room, and I was inquiring about if there was an HDMI cord for the projector. As I said above, Acen has a bunch of cables for the different PCs, and I should say that Midwest's Con Ops said they could provide me with one, however, they also said that we should have brought them ourselves, but I’ll get to that soon. We could see you could use the projector, meaning that there was a monitor cord on there for the projector to hook up to the laptop, if you had a connector for it. But, some older cords don’t work well with certain laptops, and without it...you’re screwed when it comes to showing off your powerpoint.

So I asked the ladies on staff about it. They didn’t know and were trying to get in contact with Con Ops about it. Not tech, but Con Ops. Now I know that smaller cons can put the groups under one unit, but given the size of this con, even if it is smaller than Acen, you would think that there would be a split off by now. So I was recommended to go to Con ops, after being informed that it would take some time to get an answer by text. Understandable.

We, that would be my sister and I (she’s my co-panelist), head for where the Con Ops area is. Here we have two gents in suits waiting and I asked if they were con ops. Nope, turns out there was one lone young man working there, on a Friday night. Thankfully he was able to get his Manager to come out and speak with us, but it took a rather long time as it was only her and him, again, on a Friday night.

So as I said, we were informed by the Manager that they could give us an HDMI, but they would rather we bring our own. Again I can understand this, but again, it’s weird to not at least have a set up for different Laptops for that projector. So we went to the panel room at our designated time, and thankfully the monitor cord worked...but we lost out on several people who were looking for our panel because...again...no signs. Just because it’s on the website doesn’t mean that the room may not change and people don’t constantly want to look at the damn phone to know what’s happening and what’s not.

Again, no one there to help us with the setup, no one there to give the other panelists warning for time, etc. The whole thing felt out of wack.

Other issues that seemed to be going on, was that there were signs warning others to watch out for drunk people at the bar, I have no idea where security was at the time. I know my friend got catcalled on her way to the convention outside of it. And another cosplayer, male, was saying that while in costume guys kept bothering him and trying to flip his skirt and such.

This is not to mention that a number of Acts couldn’t make it to the convention due to bad work with their Visas, and while the con issued an apology, they took no action during the con to update that Lia, one of the acts who came from Japan -and who managed to get in -held a Q&A and Anime Midwest did not update that there was going to be this meeting. Apparently, no one showed up for that.

The line to get into the con was 2 hours long, and apparently longer on Saturday. Autograph lines only had 4 people, at most, working them, and the attendees seemed to have to monitor it themselves. Artist Alley was way too tight and it was hard for a person who could walk to get around, I would hate to have to think about anyone in a wheelchair trying to get through that mess.

I’ll say this much the people that were there as guests and vendors were very kind, but a lot of what I liked about the con seems to have been stripped, and I’m kind of wondering if I want to go next year or not.

#Anime central #anime central 2019 #anime midwest #anime midwest 2019 #acen2019 #acen #amw #rant #issues with convention

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rothwell-juliet · 5 years

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The Blue Line || POV

O barulho das gordas gotas de chuva contra a tenda improvisada tornava quase impossível escutar o discurso do diretor do curso de Literatura. Uma, duas, três vezes ele batera contra o dedo contra o microfone, aumentando o tom de voz e perguntando se os presentes conseguiam entender com clareza tudo o que ele dizia. A chuva torrencial que insistia em cair era incomum para a época de verão em Manchester. Por sorte, Juliet era uma das convidadas para sentar sobre o palco de madeira, e não junto ao resto dos alunos e convidados, nas cadeiras brancas dispostas ritmicamente na grama verde. Havia sido escolhida como oradora da turma, e em alguns minutos seria convidada para fazer o seu próprio discurso.

Mantinha o olhar fixo em Karen e Sky, sentadas uma ao lado da outra com vestidos característicos e reveladores de suas personalidades singulares. As duas haviam passado o dia inteiro ajudando-a a se arrumar e ficar minimamente satisfeita por ter de usar um traje roxo e amarelo ouro que a engordava. Algumas fileiras a frente, sua irmã, olhando constantemente para o limite da tenda como quem pergunta se existe alguma chance de ser molhada em breve, sua mãe, com um lenço nas mãos secando as lágrimas, e seu pai, com o olhar fixo no diretor Booth, sem expressão alguma que revelasse o que sentia. Com um tom de voz monótono, ele caminhava para o final de sua fala, enquanto a morena ajeitava os cabelos de maneira distraída para ter certeza que quando subisse no pódio, nenhum meme seria gerado.

Juliet sentia seu peito subir e descer rapidamente, a respiração pesava de nervosismo, posto que não era de seu feitio falar para aquela quantidade de pessoas. Foi então que, em rompante entrou ele, com uma camisa social branca levemente amassada e um terno grafite desabotoado. Completamente encharcado devido ao caminho trilhado do carro até ali. Troye passou as mãos pelos cabelos que pingavam em seu rosto uma última vez antes de ocupar a cadeira vazia ao lado de Sky, cumprimentando primeiro as duas, para então erguer as orbes verdes que logo foram de encontro ao castanho brilhante de sua namorada, sentada a metros de distância. Abrindo um sorriso, ela acenou discretamente no mesmo segundo em que seu nome foi pronunciado.

Pela primeira vez em anos, o tilintar de seus saltos Gucci contra o chão não podia ser ouvido com facilidade. Atrás dela podia se enxergar a muralha de tijolos dos castelos da propriedade, e pendurada nele uma faixa com mais de cinco metros, completamente roxa, exceto pelos dizeres ‘Literature Class of 2018′. Notando que seu pai agora virava para cumprimentar Troye à distância, Juliet pigarreou diante do microfone. “Can you make this a little bit louder, please? Thank you.” Pediu ao técnico, forçando um sorriso sem dentes. “Faculty members, fellow students, family and friends, welcome. We never thought this day would come. We prayed for it’s quick delivery , and now that it’s here, I’m sorry it is, because it means putting behind the best phase of our lifes, where knowledge is a great unkown world.”

“These days a person that means a lot to me mentioned a quote by one of his favourite philosophers, and I think it fits perfectly here.” Seu olhar encontrou o de Troye outra vez, apenas para liberar uma piscadela, e então voltou a focar no papel. “Rousseau said that ‘ The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.’ Though I agree with a lot that he says, I feel like this time he was a bit far off.” Uma careta se fez, seguida de uma breve risada. “I live in two worlds. One is a world of books. Far rewarding, but still inferior to the second world, which is populated with characters slightly less eccentric, but supremely real; Made of flesh and bone, full of love, who are my ultimate inspiration for everything.” Buscou as cabeças loira e morena. “Karen and Sky, my best friends who have been by my side since the beggining, are funny, bold, and unfainlingly generous people. They are my twin pillars without whom I could not stand.”

“But my ultimate inspiration comes from my role model... Your headmaster... My father. The incredible man whom I recieved my name and blood. Hugo Rothwell never gave me any idea that I couldn’t do this, or be the next great... Whomever I want to be.” Riu fraco. “He unflagged in his efforts to give me great female companies, from Jane Austen to my mom, who is the most graceful woman I’ve met. And as he guided me through this years, I don’t know if he ever realized the person I want to be was him... So, daddy, if I’m standing here today it’s because of you. That’s why Rousseau was wrong when he said that only imagination is bountless; Because reality is right around the corner waiting for the next adventure with those you love to begin. Thank you.”

Guiados pelos gritos de Karen, Sky, e pelos assobios de Troye, um a um, todos ficaram de pés, aplaudindo a oradora da turma. Juliet correu os olhos por todos os seus conhecidos outra vez, quando descia as escadas com o diploma na mão. Entregou-se ao abraço de suas melhores amigas. “Take me out of this hiddeous gown now, please.” Reinvidicou, já se livrando da manta que a cobria e ficando apenas com o que usava por baixo. Em seguida, depositou um breve selinho em Troye. “You came.” Falou, tirando alguns fios ainda molhados do rosto dele com um sorriso singelo. Por algum motivo, nos últimos meses, ela não conseguia mais encará-lo com brilho nos olhos. “Have you seen daddy?” Disparou, sem pensar, posto que desde o começo do namoro, seu pai parecia centenas de vezes mais interessado em qualquer discussão tida com Troye, chegando até mesmo a elogiar uma de suas tatuagens num dia de piscina, do que a menor das frases advinda de Juliet. “He was talking to Mr. Booth.” Scarlett interrompeu, passando a mão pelo ombro de Troye - ato que antes a irritava profundamente, mas agora estranhamente só causava indiferença. “Oh, okay.” Respondeu, indo na direção indicada sem se importar com muito.

Assim que o avistou, correu sorridente. “Look what I got!” Brincou, estendendo o pedaço de papel com todo o orgulho do mundo. “Hello, dear.” Ele retrucou, sorrindo fraco. Depositou-lhe um beijo na testa e então pegou o material de suas mãos. Abriu-o e passou alguns segundos lendo-o. “That’s it?” Ele perguntou, ao que ela franziu o cenho. “No honors? What will people think? You’re the headmaster’s daughter, Juliet, is it possible that you can’t handle everything in your life well enough to at least spare me from buying you a diploma that’s actually worth something?” Estática, ela apenas entreabriu a boca, procurando a resposta correta. Seus olhos já marejavam. “Don’t cry in front all this people. It will only make you weaker.” Engoliu em seco. “All the books, all the classes, all the teachers... And you only got a 94% grade? You know how much me and your mom got? 98%. That means honors.” Sequer sabia de onde tirara a indagação, mas sua próxima frase fora “Did you at least hear all of my speech?” A primeira das lágrimas já descia, mas ela se mantinha firme. “I left when you were blabbing about those distracting friends of yours to talk to Mr. Booth.”

A partir de então Juliet não lembrava mais com clareza do que se sucedeu. Não respondeu seu pai, deu adeus aos seus convidados, ou sequer ligou para o fato da chuva borrar sua maquiagem, destruir seu penteado e transparecer suas roupas. Já tremia de frio quando entrara no carro, mas de nada aquilo adiantara para diminuir a velocidade com a qual irrompera para longe dali, rumo à mansão Orloff, onde poderia se sentir livre e segura. Aos prantos e dominada pela dor de ter aguentado tanto para que, quando aquele momento chegasse, pudesse finalmente sentir o peso que carregara a vida toda ser tirado de seus ombros.

Anos de comportamento exemplar, educação magnata, esforço incomparável e abdicação dos seus prazeres. Lia para agradar, escutava para agradar, vestia para agradar. Toda uma personalidade construída em volta de um homem. Uma figura da qual ela não exigia nada além de um “Congratulations, honey”. O único pai que parecia ter ficado mais feliz na oferta de bolsa do namorado do que na formatura da própria filha. As imagens de Hugo sorrindo enquanto discursava avidamente sobre filosofia e sociologia com Troye vinham à tona aos milhares, ao passo que eram praticamente inexistentes os momentos em que ele elogiara qualquer redação feita por Juliet ao invés de criticar e indicá-la um caminho, sob seu ponto de vista melhor, para a nota máxima. Não era difícil estudar para provas, tampouco conciliar vida social com acadêmica. O desafiante dos últimos anos fora ficar quieta diante das imposições e ordens de seu pai, por acreditar que ele não queria nada além do seu melhor. Aparentemente, Juliet ainda estava 6% longe do que ele acreditava ser o melhor.

#tbl

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usagitomusashi · 6 years

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Two Days at ACEN 2018 - day 2

I arrived home at about 2:00 AM from day one's activity. I live 40 miles away but at that time of night the drive was fairly quick. It was 3:00 AM by the time I had showered and gone to bed. I set the alarm for 8:00 wanting to get an early start on Saturday. I try to park in a commuter lot that's about 2 - 3 blocks from the Con site. There, it costs about $9 for 15 hours versus at least $20 for parking in the garage near the hotels.

My alarm went off at 7:30 as I had forgotten that I have one set for our cat's insulin shot. So, up at 7:30 with a bit of a headache for lack of sleep. I made breakfast for my wife and me then headed out to do a couple errands before heading back to the Con.

As I got nearby, I stopped at Target for some Advil and then arrived at the commuter lot which had available parking after all.

I recognized this car from the day prior. When I arrived at the lot on Friday, both entrance lanes were blocked and I got out to ask what the issue was. A guy explained that the gate was up and wouldn't dispense a ticket. (This was the car.) I decided to drive through and sort things out later. (It all worked out okay.)

Anyway, by the time I got to the site, I had missed a panel I had hoped to attend: the Japanese Cultural Center - ZEN Meditation.

So, instead, I headed to the manga library where I donated several books including two that are Japanese language only. I didn't spend any time reading. I think it's great that they're there and it would be a nice opportunity to explore some titles. However, it's just not an activity I parsed out time to do. Maybe some other time.

I also skipped the Crunchyroll presentation of Cardcaptor Sakura as I had seen it at the theater. So, instead, I headed to the Pachinko Parlor. It wasn't busy and I had toyed with the idea of trying it each of my last two ACENs but never did. I'm not very into gaming, but I finally asked them to show me how to play.

These are the three machines I played. The vintage machine seemed to pay out better and takes longer to play whereas the modern machines have more bells and whistles but consume your balls more quickly. I had some fun for only $5. I did get a gold ball which is worth 25 others and I gave it to the person in samurai armor as a thank you for allowing me to take her photo.

Samurai armor girl:

Then, I headed off to my final panel of the weekend, Basic Japanese, which was fun and informative.

After that, I visited the RWBY cosplay shoot. I watch RWBY but the cosplayers are into it on a level that makes little sense to me. They engage in role playing dialog that is hard for me to decipher but I appreciate their ardent enthusiasm.

I came to see one particular individual, "twifairy" (I'm not tagging her here since this is a long blog and I'm only making a brief mention). Frankly, many of the cosplayers put an admirable amount of creativity and effort into their costumes. You can say what you want about young people but if you saw what they accomplish, you'd be impressed.

When my wife and I visited the first time, we just got a brief glimpse and, afterward, I checked out photos on various sites. At one point, I came across the RWBY photo shoot and twifairy did a very good Cinder!

In the years since, she has continued to evolve her character cosplays to include several of the show's roles. She does her own designs and sewing and, what's impressive is that she was a mid-teen several years ago (who could tell?). So, I'm saying that the creativity and dedication to craft is impressive in a young person. And, she's polite. (Most of the con-goers are polite and well behaved [they call me "sir" a lot ... haha], so again, it's impressive. They're just there to have fun!

I posted photos of twifairy in her gender bending turn as Qrow in a separate post and she's in the second photo below.

... more to come ...

#acen 2018 #acen 2018 day 2

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animedelivered · 7 years

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Anime Central 2017 Review

This year Anime Central celebrated their 20th anniversary, being the strongest, biggest midwest convention there is. Fans from just about everywhere come to this milestone anime convention, to share their passion for anime, cosplaying, hobbies, arts, games, interests, and just about everything a convention can have.

Location

Since 1997 the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Rosemont Convention Center, has been Anime Central home, giving it 18 year at this location. Acen (for short) is still expanding and making the most of the space from both venues. With tons of hotels surrounding the Rosemont Convention Center, you don’t have to worry about Acen being booked, but if you are looking to room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, you will need to book the day they are released. That’s right, this convention is so popular, the main venue hotel sells out within minutes! You want to be sure to stay connected to #AnimeCentral social medias to recieve up to date posts.

If you are not rooming in the hotel and you’re just a local, the option of taking public transit train is a block away. If you are looking to drive there, parking was available just about everywhere, from hotel garages to train station parking. Driving to AnimeCentral, your best bet would be to park at the Blue line train station, not only is it cheap but, you are able to leave and come back when you want. Unlike the garage parking provided for the hotels, once you’re out, its risking finding the same parking spot or being full.

Wasn’t thinking about packing food for the weekend? It’s ok! the Hyatt Rosemont has 2 restaurant, 1 being the bar/grill and the other being a buffet restaurant. Need something really fast and don’t want to wait for your food? They have that too! The Hyatt offered a discount for Acen attendees on Lunch and Dinner tables, where you can grab what you like and pay at the register. Didn’t like what they offered? Just outside the Hyatt, food trucks were also available, with staple foods like: hot dogs, burgers, tacos, salads, ice cream, pizza, etc. If non of this fancies you, taking a drive out or if you prefer walking within 2 miles, Chain restaurants were also available. If you need food now and don’t want to leave your hotel room, the Hyatt provides menus for places in the area that deliver to the hotel, and bring it to your room! You can never go hungry at Anime Central.

Registration

This year registration ran smoothly with some enhancements into place. People lined up hours in advance to pick up their badges, or to purchase at the door. They had everyone sectioned off in groups, pick up badges, buying a badge with a debit/credit card, buying a badge with cash, will call, and people that had their badges mailed to them. Giving everyone many ways to getting in and out of registration with out guessing what-is-what and “where am i suppose to go?”

We purchased our badges in advance and waited at the will call line. Once at the booth you were greeted with a staff member asking for an ID and a barcode, which was given to us via email at purchase. They scanned your bar code and Handed you a beautiful badge with your name sticker on it. Landyards, guidbooks, and bags were being handed out in front of registration, but theses weren’t just any grab bags, these were limited edition convention backpacks! Sentai Filmworks was also handing out these colorful bags to the first 10 thousand people who attended Acen.

This was the first time a convention of this size handled registration so well in our experience! We hope other conventions take note on what Anime Central has going on. 😉

Dealer Room

A convention is not complete without a dealer room, which Anime Central perfects so well each year. Bringing the veteran and new set of booths to the con for attendees to surround. Upon entering the dealer room, we are in Awe with big named companies. Big booths such as, Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Funimation, Good Smile Company, Sentai Filmworks, Sekai Project, Kotobukiya, Viz Media, and tons more. Anime Central merch booth was located in 2 areas of the dealer room this year. The usual booth located by the entrance of the dealer room, and the newest addition was located towards the center of the dealer room. Showing off all of Acens merchandise in glass cases from old to new. Providing a media deck giving the best bird eye view of just about all of the dealer room. Under it were backdrop of their mascots photo-ready for everyone that likes to take selfies and group pictures to remember this amazing event!

This years dealer room was set up a little bit different, as we mentioned the bigger companies at the entrance, but the right side of the dealer room upon entering was the artist alley. Rows and rows of unique work done by the artist themselves, in one room! Given the location of the artist alley, it was set up to have its very own entrance as well, giving attendees easy access right into the artist alley. Towards the end of the artist alley, Visiting convention booths were available for attendees to purchase advance tickets to their convention. Up next, was a section for cosplayers! Anime Central provided photo scenes for cospalay gatherings as well for their attendees. We hoping Acen provides more photo scenes to the venue all around for other photo gatherings, this something we have not seen at any other convention and love the idea.

Right next to the cosplay photo scene, was a company that was a first for this years convention, called Bang-Zoom! With a medium size stage, as well as seats and tables for people to enjoy the show. This wasn’t just any show, Bang-Zoom! is actually a big deal for people that are interested in voice acting. They offered auditions for an anime called March Comes in like a Lion. Yes you heard correctly, Bang-Zoom! is giving the chosen winner tickets to fly to California to their recording studios to help dub the anime. Hoping this isn’t just a one time opportunity, we would love to see more of Bang Zoom! coming to Anime Central, giving inspiration to anyone attending the con and those around the area the chance to fulfill their dreams of being a voice actor.

To the right of their stage, you are faced with tons of Exhibitors with just about everything you can think of to purchase. If you are a figure collector, like ourselves, the exhibit hall is just for you. Sellers with old and rare to find items, as well as new and must have things. Aside of figures, sellers catered to just about everyone, from furry accessories,K-pop merch, Swords, Anime posters, kawaii plushies to hentai.

Held at the Rosemont Convention center, the venue provided lots of food, beverages, alcoholic drinks, and desserts. If fast food wasn’t your thing, within the convention hall, their restaurant was open for you to sit down and enjoy.

We truly love and enjoyed the convention hall, the dealers, the artist alley, and the photo scenes provided, and full heartily recommend checking out the dealer room on your next visit.

Panels

A Convention isn’t a convention without Panels! Every year Anime Central is loaded with panels, with just about any subject you can think of, even non anime related discussions. Panels such as: Godzilla vs Anime, Her legs are how long?, How to make you’re very own video game, Anime improve comedy, Waifu Wars 3D, Whose Line is it Anime, Sports Bras Over Athletic Cups, and tons of others including 18 plus panels, for the adults that enjoy the entertainment.

With over 200 plus panels going on through out the weekend at Anime Central, it can be hard to decide what to do. For new attendees we recommend checking out main panels like the Masquerade, where talented cosplayer walk on stage and show off their work and craftsmanship to bring the character to life.

We noticed something might have changed this year regarding the panels held at night, there weren’t any panels scheduled to start after 1am. Previous years at Acen had held panels going on almost all night until the next morning. Leaving you the option of checking out the video programming, video game or board game room if you were looking for late night activities.

Our favorite main event at ACEN has always been the Masquerade and this year’s was special in its hosting format. In a tribute to the legacy of ACEN on its 20th anniversary, the event rotated between several sets of MC’s during different stages of the show. This was a wonderful way to convey the love and dedication that the staff has had for this convention and it’s attendees for the past two decades. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and meet some new(older?) ones to get a grasp on how ACEN came to be and has continued to grow through the years as the reins were passed down to newer generations.

Once the show got started proper, the walk-on section started and we were able to see the best-of-the-best cosplay on stage! Right out of the gate there were several larger cosplays from Escaflowne, Gundam and Pokemon to get everyone excited. They were quickly followed by droves of smaller but no less impressive costumes with a few notable standouts from Overwatch, Suisei No Gargantia and Metal Gear Revengeance (personal favorite!).

Next up was the performance section which is comprised of many skits for attendees to show off their creativity. As with every year, there were some cleverly designed plays dealing with the hottest crazes in the anime and gaming scenes and a couple of misses. That said, it was easy to tell everyone on stage put forth their all into every song, dance or play making the entire experience enjoyable as a whole. A good time indeed!

There was also a performance piece and memorial video done specially to honor a member of the ACEN staff that had passed earlier in the year to honor her love and commitment to the cosplay scene and conventions.

All in all it was a fantastic reminder of all the things we love about ACEN and the people that make it happen. We’ll be patiently waiting to see what pops up next year!

Video Game / Tabletop

Leading into the Video Game Room, Acen has surprised us this year with a massive game room brought together by 3 companies for all the attendees at Anime Central!

Tokyo Attack providing all your favorite rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution, Taiko Drum Master arcade, Dance Evolution, Pop n Music, Sound Voltex, Jubeat, Pump it Up, Beatmania. As well as other arcade games such as, Fighting Climax Ignition, Silent Scope Bone Eater, Initial D Arcade, and Super Table Flip.

World 9 Gaming provided consoles dating back to Atari to current generation consoles, PC LAN gaming, and a vast library of games.

Lastly Pachinko Fever, who brought about a dozen of Japanese pachinko machines for the attendees to try.

Sounds like a lot? It was! Which is why the game room was moved to the Rosemont Convention Center. Taking the walkway from the Hyatt hotel, it was just towards the very end on the left entry where you would find the game room, there is no way you can miss it, music and lights were booming as if there was a dance party going on. Upon entering you see a hallway of arcade cabinets and a few pinball machines. Moving forward you enter the mother load of all games, with retro consoles, the PlayStation VR, tons of DDR games, Rock Band with a dedicated stage, 3 projectors showing the tournaments going on, almost at each corner.

This years game room was by far the best we have seen out of all convention we’ve been to the past years. We highly recommend checking out the game room when attending Anime Central!

Guest

Anime Central brought phenomenal guests this year, which featured:

• DJ Amaya • Daniel Coglan • Jillian Coglan • Crispin Freeman • Toru Furuya • Gacharic Spin • DJ HeavyGrinder • Imeruat • Eric Maruscak • May’n • Helen McCarthy • Emily Neves • Final Fantasy – A New World • Tony Oliver • Putumayo • Micah Solusod • John Swasey • TeddyLoid • Alexis Tipton • Shinichi Watanabe • Lisle Wilkerson • Mamoru Yokota

A huge combination of international and local guests, to bring us the best of the best! Our highlight was seeing Crispin Freeman, which whom we haven’t meet in a very long time. He is a voice actor known for many roles such as popular series, Naruto, Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell, Big O, Slayers, Chobits, Last Exile, and Witch Hunter Robin. Not only is he well know in Anime industry, but in the Video game too! You can hear his work in Diablo 3 as the male wizard, Helios the Sun God in God of War, and in Transformers: War of Cybertron. He is a very knowledgeable and down to earth kinda guy, and is happy to give advice to just about everyone seeking a career in voice acting.

Another guest we had targeted this year was the craziest of crazy! A man who made an anime with himself as a character in the show called Excel Saga, non-other than Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe. He directed Excel Saga, Nerima daikon Brothers, and Puni Puni Poemy. Just like the anime he produces, he aims to make the audience laugh and have fun, he is approachable and fun to be around, though his English isn’t great, he tries to communicate to his fans and does his best to make you smile. He also held a panel showing off some of his work and some we didn’t know he was a part of.

Our next guest we were super excited to check out was Teddy Loid, a music/DJ artist who performed his work at Hardcore Synergy, also known as the Friday Rave. Very timid kinda of guy in person, but as soon as he gets in the notion of his performance, he shines and shows his rhythm. Which brings us to our next topic to talk about it, the rave!

Rave

One of most popular event at Anime Central is the Rave, like the previous year, Acen sold separate Rave badges for those that were only interested in dancing, listening to music or just enjoy the light show. Every single year the line for the rave just gets bigger and bigger, people lining up hours in advance just to be up close to the stage where you can check out Acens guest as they put on the best music they have created. Bringing DJ’s from Japan like TeddyLoid! Best known for producing music for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Mekakucity Actors, Popular video Me! Me! Me!, Mugen ***Knights, and Wrecking Crew Orchestra. Another guest of honor is Taku Takahashi, who is part of another group called M-Flo. The group escalated the popularity charts by selling 2 million copies of their soundtrack. Given already the fame, Taku is well known for remixing music for prominent artist across several genres!

We were lucky enough to experience Japan awesome DJ’s all in one roof! The rave is an main event to not miss!

Closing Remarks

We thank Anime Central for giving us the opportunity to enjoy the convention as members of the Press. The opportunity to talk in a more intimate setting with their guest of honor is always the best part.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time and experience at Acen, and every year we are given something to “wow” about. We can not wait to see what Acen will be bring us next year! 🙂

Please be sure to check out our Anime Central gallery for more photos on the event!

Anime Central 2017 Convention Experience:

**Update** A total of 30,221 attendees for 2017

Anime Central 2017 Review was originally published on AnimeDelivered.com

#acen #acen2017 #anime central #anime central 2017 #Anime Con #anime conventions #AnimeCentral #chicago #con #convention #convention center #donald e stephan convention center #double tree #hilton #hyatt rosemont #midwest #rosemont

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voicesofchaos · 7 years

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The Yugioh Fandom at ACen 2017 was amazing!

I have been going to ACen since 2005 and it is really what I look forward to most every year. It fills me with immeasurable happiness. After 12 years of going I am pretty sure this was the best year ever! At least half if not more of that was because of the Yugioh fandom! So much sappyness below!

Thank you @homura-bakura so much for helping me with the Yugioh panel. You did a great job and your input just made it so much more enjoyable! I feel like the audience really enjoyed the panel this year and I know a large part of that was because of your shining personality in it. More about the future of that panel down below. But I also want to mention that I really enjoyed hanging out with you and your friends on Sunday as well. Typically Sunday is the worst day of the con and just the day I go home without doing much but chilling with @yusei-fudo, @amaethia, and @rin-amazing!

In fact I stayed later on Sunday than I ever had in 12 years because @lily-liegh stayed late and I got to duel a lot which made me really happy! You have become such a strong duelist in such a short time it amazes me. I can tell you really try super hard to improve yourself which is so admirable. Durbe would be proud of you Star Seraph deck! Getting to meet you in person was awesome! You were there for me and supported during a dark depressing period of my life when I honestly I probably didn’t deserve the help. I was really happy to make you a 3D Winged Kuriboh (remember when I asked your favorite Kuriboh a really long time ago?) to repay a fraction of your kindness. But you got me a way cooler gift and a super sweet letter than I am going to treasure and save forever! Also it was cool meeting @imgettingtoooldforthisship! I cannot believe how far away you both traveled from to come to my hometown anime conventions!

Also really loved hanging out with @precioussorakaibashun! I’m sad you missed all the Yugioh shenanigans on Friday but I am so glad you supported the Dangan Ronpa panel and we got to catch up on that fandom. Plus we got to duel and not pay enough attention to My Hero Academia LOL I’m glad you got your Kuriboh back that you almost lost! Watching you duel Lily-liegh was a ton of fun. You are the same way as someone who really pulled me back into the light when I was drowning in darkness so I will always cherish your friendship and feel in debt to you! I hope we can hang out more!

Another precious friend I saw who I wish I saw more than once a year was @justyourbelowaverageartist! I really wish I got to hang out with you more! We need to plan something next year. Even though you live fairly far away I really do wish we could hang out before next ACen. You are so cool, awesome, and just understanding of me. Your Aigami cosplay was awesome and I wish I saw the return of Shingo!

Of course I need to give a shoutout to my idols of cosplay, @sailoranime and her entire group like @viewtifulfox, @indyexploits, @daevaofsunflowers, and probably some more people I am missing. You are all always so on-point! Your cosplays blow me away and make my jar drop! For a few years I was going through a cosplay slump where I just wasn’t inspired to make new cosplays. Then I got a spark and got really active making cosplays again for a short time but have been dying back down again. SCREW THAT! Seeing how beautiful all of you are really gets me hyped to start working hard and trying my best to make cosplays again! Don’t get the wrong idea, not trying to compete with any of it nor am I jealous. I know we are all part of the same team. I just feel motivated to pull more of my weight on the team! Now I am going to burn my Kaito cosplay I hate LOL jk

Should also mention that @darkrebellionyuto looked amazing as Zarc! Not even a huge fan of the character but she just looked so badass in it! My favorite pictures from the photoshoot were the ones with both you and Homura-Bakura as the rivalry between your characters just oozed through! You are one the many people I often think secretly hates me (yeah I am too paranoid sometimes) but you were really friendly and nice! I am really glad that you also got to promote your stream during the panel.

Oh also @dumb-and-dumblr was there! Met her years ago at ACen and she hasn’t been able to come the past few years so that is an awesome surprise to see you! Rio cosplay really looks great!

@witchsblackrose the pictures of you just always look amazing. You just have this aura around you that personifies Aki. Also I like that you use a Rose Tentacles card, I love little touches likes that.

I really loved @arcadecryptid’s Cathy cosplay! I could tell that you were really getting into the poses! That spirit and enthusiasm is so cool!

I know she will probably never see it but just wanted to say that Blooming-Blooming’s Kotori cosplay was also really awesome and cool! I really loved the Ita bag with all the Yuma merchandise! I want that that bag LOL

When on the Facebook event somebody said they were going as the Arclight Brothers I totally didn’t believe it but there really was a III. a IV, and a V! I believe the IV is @arminizewithme. My favorite touch though was that the III had a sword! Absolutely perfect!

There was even a Yusaku cosplayers, totally called it!

One last awesome shoutout to everyone that came to the panel! Your enthusiasm and love for the series fills me with so much joy! i hope everyone that won a raffle prize or got a Star Pack through trivia is enjoying what they got. I know that the photoshoot was a little messy and not as organized as it should have been. I was made a co-host of the photoshoot (even though I didn’t want to be) so I do feel guilty that I wasn’t able to do more to manage it and bring order to it. The size of the Yugioh photoshoot has been drastically increasing (you can see the history of it here) and it just has its share of growing pains as it tries to adjust to the larger capacity. I will be talking with GingerFish55 about making some big changes for the 2018 photoshoot as we both want everybody to get as many awesome pictures of their cosplay as possible.

Speaking of 2018. I highly considered making this the last year running the Yugioh panel. I had a LOT of drama setting it up this year. Many people got hurt and upset over it. It was really stressful and sickening. Despite the hardship though many people really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. I want to continue that. I really feel a responsibility to the fandom to give them a great panel where we can express our passion for the fandom with fellow fans. As I said above the fandom has grown and evolved so much in the past several years. I have been trying to make changes to the panel to keep up but I think I am being too tame. To really serve the fandom best I am planning big changes to it for 2018 so stay tune when I announce the details of that in a few months.

Just one last thank you to the fandom as I try to hold tears back. The past few years have really been a rollercoaster for me. Lots of good times but sadly of horrible bad times too. I’ve made terrible mistakes that hurt the people I care most about. Even when at my low point though I could always rely on the Yugioh fandom (even more so than the anime or game itself) to pick me back up. This weekend felt like such a critical mass of all that. Now that my life feels more on track and I am really happy again I really wanted to give back to the Yugioh fandom like it always gives to me. I hope I can continue to keep serving the fandom weekly and make next year even better. Our Symbols Of Friendship won’t fade with time or distance, our bonds are stronger than that.

Kattobingu!

#Anime Central 2017 #ACen 2017 #Yugioh #Fandom #Emotional post #Lots of callouts #A long read more

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sound--life · 6 years

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I have had this written out for a couple weeks now, but in honor of all of Time’s Persons of the Year, today seems like a good day to post it. Below the cut is the story of my interactions with a certain anime English voice actor, and why he and I really DO NOT get along.

I’m lucky. Unlike most women I know, I have never been sexually assaulted. I can’t recall a specific time when I was catcalled or harassed. I’ve been called nasty names online, which is sadly all too common, but none of it was sexually charged. My own experience isn’t even violent, but it contains elements of manipulation that I, thankfully, was never caught by.

The first weekend in June of 2011, my best friend Sam and I drove to Sandusky, Ohio for Colossalcon. Colossal is an anime convention, and us being huge nerds and having become friends because of anime, and we jumped at the offer to room with some of her casual friends at a hotel down the road. I was particularly excited because a popular English voice actor, let’s call him Dan, was going to be there. He and I had first met at Anime Central in Chicago in 2010, and funnily enough, we were on the same flight to Japan just a week after ACen. I had noticed him as our flight was boarding, and while I was too anxious to say hi, I had been enough of a creep to sneak a picture and text all my friends. By the next day, he’d gotten wind of it via Facebook, and he told me to say hi the next time something funny like that happened.

Flash forward to Colossal 2011. After waiting in the autograph line for Dan for a bit, I finally got up to him. He flashed his usual smile and said hello. After I handed over my item to be signed, I said, “Hey, do you remember about a year ago when some random girl saw you at the airport in San Francisco? And you shared a flight but she didn’t say hi? And she took a picture of you? Yeah, that was me.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah, I remember. That was you?” He laughed. “Well, hi there.” Then his smile changed a little. “Do you play soccer?”

“Uh, no?” I said, confused. “I mean, I played volleyball in high school, but not anymore. I ran the Illinois Marathon back in April, though?”

“Oh, so you’re a runner then.” He laughed again. “Well you have great legs, my runner.”

I blinked, a little taken aback. “Oh, thanks, haha.” I said, laughing a little. I asked for a picture, and while my friend juggled with the camera and Dan had his arm around my shoulders, I felt almost nervous. Picture taken, I thanked him, and he said, “See you later, runner.”

At this point, Dan had been working to start a fanclub for his work. I’m not entirely sure of how it happened, but somehow Sam and I had ended up roped into it, being one of the 5-6 people who were working to “recruit” people and spread the word about the group. I was a busy college student at the time, though, so while I was interested enough, my actual participation was somewhat lacking. It’s the thought that counts, I guess.

Dan had a panel later that evening, and Sam and I went. After it was done, a small crowd of fans gathered near him to ask for photos and autographs. Sam and I waited near the edge, patient, as we wanted to get a picture with both of us with him. When we walked up to him, he smiled and said, “Hey, there’s my runner!” As we took the picture, Sam said, “You know, Alison and I here are two of the people working with ——- on your fanclub stuff.”

Dan’s interest was piqued. “Really? Hey, hang back a bit when this is done. I wanna chat with you guys.”

At this point, every anime fan alive would be having their “SENPAI NOTICED ME” moment, and we were no different. Giddy, we waited at the edge of the room for him to wrap up, and then he came over to us. He asked if we wanted to go sit in the lobby, and we said sure. He ended up sitting in one chair, and Sam in another. I sat close to them on the floor.

At first we just chatted about his fangroup. He seemed very excited about it, and he told us some of the things he wanted to do with it. We added our own thoughts, and it was great. Then he asked about how we’d enjoyed the convention so far.

“It’s great!” I said. “It’s even better because it’s actually my birthday on Monday, so it’s kind of like a birthday weekend adventure.”

“Your birthday? How old?” Dan asked. I told him I was going to be 20. He smiled and said, “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” In a couple minutes, he was back with a small glass from the bar. Pink, fruity-looking, with a little ice. “For the birthday girl,” he said, smiling as he handed it to me.“

"What’s in it?” I asked. I knew it was alcohol, obviously, but I was feeling wary about this. Sam didn’t have a drink, and I knew she was carefully watching this whole thing, but it wasn’t lost on me that a man 8 years older than me had just given me alcohol that I had not seen prepared. I may have been a fangirl, but I wasn’t stupid. This was odd.

Dan just waved his hand and smiled, “Oh, ya know. It’s good, I bet. Nothing crazy.” I was not one to turn down free alcohol, and my defenses were already on alert, so I sipped the drink slowly as we continued to chat. I don’t remember a lot of the specifics, but I do know that Dan mentioned that when he was in college; he had a girlfriend who lived a few hours away, but he would drive there every weekend so they could “read books” together, as he put it, complete with a wink.

After about an hour, we mentioned we had to be getting going, as I had to drive us and part of our group back to our hotel. “Oh, you’re not staying here?” Dan asked, confused.

“No, by the time any of us planned to go, all of the rooms here were long sold out,” Sam said. “We’re staying in a creepy room in which EVERYTHING is covered in teddy bears.” (You guys should see the pictures.)

“Well, if you guys want, I have plenty of room in my room if you guys wanted to stay here instead,” Dan said. And that, dear children, is the exact moment that I really and truly understood everything that had happened up to that point. Yes, a 27-year-old convention guest, a man with rising fame and influence, had made comments about my legs being nice, bought me alcohol knowing I was only 19, and invited me and my friend to sleep in his hotel room, all in the span of about five hours. Senpai was officially a fucking creep.

“Oh, no, thanks,” I said. “Our group has to go in two cars, and I’m the driver of one, so it’s fine. We’re fine, really.”

“Okay, then. Safe drive. But remember, my room is always an option,” Dan told us as he waved goodbye.

Listen, I’m aware that I was an adult, fully capable of giving consent. And Dan was an adult, fully allowed to pursue someone of legal age. I get that. But that’s where it stops. I was a convention attendee, and he was an industry guest. There’s a power imbalance there, magnified by the huge age gap. He bought me alcohol, which anyone knows is the foolproof way to make someone more relaxed and easily persuaded (except me, whose social anxiety comes in handy when it comes to not trusting anyone’s intentions). Worst of all, he invited two young women, two attendees, to sleep in his hotel room. Besides being fucking gross and manipulative, what kind of breach of guest protocol was that? And he knew that I was essentially a volunteer for his fan group – that’s not an appropriate way to act towards someone who is basically a co-worker. From that night on, I knew that I had to keep Dan at a distance. I could manage to be cordial, but there was never going to be a chance for anything other than that.

Dan and I managed to stay relatively friendly over the next couple years, but I always had that day lingering in the back of my mind with every interaction we had, online or in person. We’ve only ever seen each other once since that night – Colossalcon 2012, a year later. He was friendly to us and would acknowledge that he knew us more than an average con attendee, but kept his distance for (what I suspected and pretty much had confirmed later) other reasons, which weren’t malicious. Over the years, though, I witnessed a gradual shift in how he presented himself online. He seemed eager to play the devil’s advocate on sensitive issues, and some of his posts made it clear that his problematic behavior was unlikely to be a one-time lapse in judgement.

We had a somewhat public falling-out in late October 2016. He had shared a comic that basically questioned why a woman was allowed to dress sexy and seen as empowered, but when men drew or designed sexy women for pop culture, they were seen as pigs. In a few comments we made to each other, I expressed my disagreement with that sentiment, and he essentially said that I and other women were being overdramatic. In his last comment, he said that he had more experience in the world than me, and he called me a child. Furious, I addressed each of his outrageous points one by one, particularly his idea that I was somehow a child. I ended my comment with a brief but very clear message: that he was not as innocent as he liked to think, seeing as he knowingly bought me alcohol when I was 19 and invited me to sleep in his hotel room.

I was content to let it rest, but he decided to keep going. Not on Facebook, which made sense –why let the public in on his dirty laundry? Nor did he e-mail, which he easily could have, since he definitely had my information. No, he decided to send me DIRECT MESSAGES ON INSTAGRAM. Which means he had to look me up on there, since I know he hadn’t followed me before. He called me cynical, rude, and “dark.” He said that our interaction back at Colossalcon was strictly friendly and a group setting (I disagree with his idea of “group,” especially when he invited both female parties of said group to his room, but whatever). He also said that he wasn’t in a great place because he was going through things in his personal life. He ended with, “I’m sorry I offended you,” which would have held some weight if he hadn’t spent the rest of the message 1. insulting me and 2. making excuses for his actions, which he admitted did take place.

Obviously, his name isn’t Dan. And a good deal of you probably could figure out who this person is, either by already hearing snippets from me or just knowing general details about Dan’s work. I’m positive most of you know who he actually is. I could use his real name, obviously, and I originally wrote this with his actual name instead of a placeholder. Believe it or not, I’m not looking for a fight. Were his intentions truly just friendly? Perhaps, but that’s not at all how they came across, and he should have known better than to do any of the things he did. I interacted with another voice actor that weekend in casual company, and he was just as friendly without being at all imposing – he was gracious and listened to us and respected us. He’s got a reputation for being a bit overly-touchy, but I never felt creeped out or like I was a target, especially when compared to the encounter with Dan.

Because that’s how Dan had made me feel. Like a target. Like I was some silly teenage girl, starstruck enough and desperate enough for attention that I would give senpai anything he wanted just to feel like I was part of the cool kids. It didn’t make me feel violated – it made me pissed off. I was angry that he had written me off, that he had tested me out to see how easily-manipulated I was, and that there was nothing stopping him from doing this to someone else. Maybe he would find that girl who was desperate enough for validation that she would do anything for him. Maybe he has since then.

It’s only been with the emergence of the #MeToo movement that I’ve been able to properly sort out my feelings about this and word it how I want. I don’t want him to lose bookings or stop being invited to conventions. It’s enough for me that he knows that I’m out there, aware and unafraid. He already knows my feelings on the matter – I made them abundantly clear in that Facebook comment. I just want him to understand that he doesn’t get to do whatever the hell he wants because he’s got this tiny scrap of fame. I want him to understand that people will always remember how you make them feel, and I will never forget that night when I experienced what it truly means to be a woman in this world.

#personal

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cosplayinamerica · 6 years

Photo

I decided to cosplay as a Chozo after seeing Dan Cattell's, aka Chozoboy's, pixelated cosplay of a Torizo from Super Metroid. I was first introduced to both Dan and the idea of pixelated cosplays on DeviantART, where most of mine and Dan's conversations took place. After bouncing both compliments and ideas back and forth, Dan convinced me to take a shot at making a pixelated cosplay.

The idea of a pixelated 2-D cosplay that is automated by the human body in 3-D seemed liked a cool idea! In addition, I'm not familiar with sewing, so this was a perfect cosplay to try out that required mainly painting and drawing skills, my strong suits. Metroid has always been one of my favorite games with Samus being one of my favorite videogame characters. However, I like focusing on characters that are rarely represented in the cosplay community. This isn't to say that the Chozo aren't represented well enough throughout the Metroid series (seeing as how they are essential to upgrading your suit and moving forward in the game), but how often to you see people cosplay as them? It's rare. As a result, I've made and cosplayed as both a Chozo and Torizo.

There's method to my madness when it comes to my cosplays. Albeit, the materials and construction methods might be unconventional...but they work! My Chozo was constructed out of black foam core boards and each pixel was hand-painted with acrylic paint. Items such as recycled toilet and paper towel tubes were used to connect the joints together, with chopsticks being used as pins to lock the joints in place. I used materials such as velcro and ribbon to adhere the Chozo to my clothing. When it came to actually painting my Chozo, I used a sprite sheet from The Spriters Resource website as a reference so I could achieve an accurate shape, look, and color. Other than using a ruler to get straight lines, no measuring was actually used to make the cosplay - I eyeballed it!

There's a variety of responses that I've experienced while wearing my Chozo. Some curse with amazement or excitement, some bow, and others may not know what it is but are still in awe. My favorite response is when people react to the fact that there is a human inside it. The cosplay itself is essentially a human-powered puppet, but you wouldn't know it from looking at the sides. My mother and boyfriend always act as my eyes and ears while I wear my Chozo; as I'm sure you can imagine, vision is hindered in this cosplay and only a forward direction for sight exists. Most of the times congoers think my mother or boyfriend are pulling the cosplay along with invisible strings. I'm a shy person, so I'm rather humble when I witness or experience peoples' responses to me being inside of the Chozo and being the cause of its movement. When congoers finally walk in front of me and see I'm inside the Chozo, I kind of get that “IT WAS ME THE ENTIRE TIME” thought, ha ha!

When you cosplay as a Chozo, then you best expect to hold congoers' items as well as bestow them with upgrades, the Chozo statue's notable job if you will. I'm often requested by congoers to hold their items while they take my photo. It's the Chozo statue's trademark. Just as they sit and wait for Samus Aran to obtain her upgrades,I hold plushies, sometimes Mario coin blocks, or even bags and granola bars as people take photos of me in the iconic Chozo pose. As previously mentioned, sometimes congoers don't know I'm the one moving the Chozo from the inside. With this being said, I've been mistaken for a prop and even a cardboard cutout. I did scare one congoer who thought I was a statue; I took a brief break from moving and turned as they walked by, scaring them as a result.

I think cosplaying as a Chozo has made a positive impact on my life. I'm humble when it comes to my artwork and talent, as I prefer not to brag about my skills. Dan, the Metroid Cosplay community, my boyfriend, and my family have all motivated me to put my artwork out there so I can get recognition and realize that I'm talented. I honestly didn't think my Chozo would be as popular as it is but I'm glad I took a chance and made it. Despite being shy and humble, I believe it gave me the opportunity to open up with other cosplayers.

After Anime Central 2018 I retired my Metroid Zero Mission Chozo. However, I don't want readers or congoers of ACen to be sad...because I will be constructing another pixelated Metroid cosplay.

--- https://www.instagram.com/corvusdepastel/

Photo : https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi-u9YPllwt/

Shop on Amazon https://amzn.to/2sbo7Rt

#chozo #Metroid #cosplay

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deadcactuswalking · 6 years

Text

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 2nd September 2018

If you asked me where the UK Singles Chart was at right now, I’d hesitantly tell you that a lot of it is boring dancehall-infused trash, but really, I have no idea because this week has threw me for a loop. Let’s just scroll through the weirdness that has thrown me off this week. We have three debuts, two of which being the first ever K-pop groups in the UK top 40, there’s a borderline mash-up in the top 15 right now, credited to Gigi D’Agostino, who hasn’t charted since 2002 or so, meanwhile we have Panic! at the Disco in the top 40, as well as a guy who doesn’t even know how to correctly format his song titles on Spotify... but the weirdest part is probably the top 5, hell, the top 2.

Top 10

We start with a new #1... and I have no bloody idea why “Eastside” caught on so much. I am incredibly confused by this. It’s Halsey’s second #1, but Khalid and benny blanco are having their first... but I don’t see the appeal. This and the runner-up spot are perplexingly boring and just don’t have any real endearing hook. I’m confused by the immense success these two songs have had. If you read last week’s episode, you’d know that the second song here is...

“Promises” by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith is up two spots to number-two... somehow. Man, I’m fine with bad music being at the top like this but I really don’t understand why these two songs, being some of the most uninteresting schlock that’s been put out by any major pop artist in years, is getting this successful. I’m baffled, honestly, despite the strange happenings, this Top 40 still mostly feels like an immense slog and the fact that these two songs are reigning at the top just demonstrates that in a nice nutshell.

Former #1 “Shotgun” by George Ezra is down two spaces to number-three.

Drake’s “In My Feelings” featuring City Girls is now at number-four as it’s down two spaces from last week.

Oh, and more weirdness to add to this confusing tirefire of a singles chart, we have two absolute nobodies at number-five: Loud Luxury and brando with “Body”, not moving from last week.

Also not moving at all is “God is a woman” by Ariana Grande, still steady at number-six.

Oh, up two spots to number-seven is “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.

“No Brainer”, fortunately, by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo and Chance the Rapper, is down a space to number-eight.

Up one spot to number-nine is “Taste” by a pedophile and a proud self-proclaimed homophobe, because of course it is.

Finally, entering the top 10 at number-10 is “Lucid Dreams” by Juice WRLD... because the British public likes comedy rap now, apparently.

Climbers

As I said in the preamble, “In My Mind” by Dynoro and Gigi D’Agostino is up 21 spaces to #15, and right next to it at #16 is “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille, leaping up 15 spots. “High Hopes” by Panic! at the Disco jumps up nine positions to #25, and it definitely deserves that gain, while “Best Life” by Hardy Caprio featuring One Acen is up six spots to #26, while “Panic Room” by Au/Ra and CamelPhat, also deserving of its success, up five spaces to #33. That’s it in terms of what’s notable here though.

Fallers

There’s even LESS of note to talk about here on the falling side, as we have only a singular fall, albeit an absolutely massive one, as “Only You” – what a fitting name – by Cheat Codes and Little Mix has dropped down a whopping 27 spaces to #40, barely scraping onto the bottom of the charts. I could talk about the sad losses for Post Malone, Clean Bandit and 5 Seconds of Summer, but that’d be a waste of time since it’s not really worth bothering with.

Dropouts

So, the website I use for that information does not have it available for this week, so, from what I can gather, “Bed” by Nicki Minaj featuring Ariana Grande is out from #39, “Ocean” by Martin Garrix and Khalid is out from #29, “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME” by the 1975 is, thankfully, out from #26, “sweetener” by Ariana Grande featuring Pharrell is out from #22 and “Praise the Lord (Da Shine)” by A$AP Rocky featuring Skepta is out from #20 but if I missed anything here, I’m sorry, it’s out of my control.

Returning Entries

Just “This is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble returning once again to #38, as well as “no tears left to cry” by Ariana Grande crawling back to #35... That’s pretty much the usual goings-on here in the returning entries.

The Ed Sheeran Update!

“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran is up four spaces to #57 and “Shape of You” is up two spaces to #78.

NEW ARRIVALS

#37 – “Baby Shark” – Pinkfong

Pinkfong? Like, “pink thong”? I mean, alright.

Okay, so, yeah, this band, Pinkfong, is a children’s music band, assumingly, as this is their song that samples the Jaws theme in the intro, slowly turning into a peaceful pop tune with some handclaps and an infuriatingly catchy earworm hook of ‘doo-doo-doo-doo’, before it increases in speed with some ascending and descending synths right before it immediately slows down and they are “safe at last” from Mommy, Daddy and Baby Shark. They claim that is the end of the song, then it IS the end of the song. It’s one minute and 36 seconds. It’s not awful, but it barely counts as anything more than a musical interlude. It should not be charting, yet alone debuting in the top 40. This is already a hit song, and yes, it’s probably because of the meme that combined “Johny Johny Yes Papa” with the song, that got loads of likes and retweets, leading to more attention on the song, I suppose? If this charts, I hope that gives way to much better meme songs like “MOOO!” by Doja Cat creeping their way onto the charts... actually, considering the recently discovered tweets and the pathetic apology for them, maybe let’s not make that happen either.

#36 – “Lost Without You” – Freya Ridings

Okay, so, who’s Freya Ridings? Well, from what I can gather, she’s an indie singer / songwriter who has released a few songs and even a live album after breaking out this year due to this song and its remix, as to be expected. Well, what about the unaltered song itself? Well, it’s not very special at all, but it’s a pretty well-done piano ballad. I love Ridings’ voice, it is very much like a Florence + the Machine influence, but I’d argue it fits much better than Florence Welch’s vocals on this type of simplistic yet effective piano-based composition and the pretty solid hook, so, yeah, I’m not necessarily complaining about this, hell, I’d say it does a damn good job at what it tries to be... I’m not usually a fan of ballads but this is something that tickles my fancy. It’s pretty graceful and subtle but it works.

#21 – “IDOL” – BTS featuring Nicki Minaj

I’ve heard... bad things. I’ve heard... very bad things about this single, and Nicki Minaj’s name plastered onto it is not a good sign, so I came in with the lowest possible expectations, despite enjoying BTS’ last record quite a lot, hell, I’ve reviewed “FAKE LOVE” despite it not peaking in the top 40 on a slightly slower week, but, yeah, this is history: the highest-peaking song by a K-pop band, and a K-pop act that’s not a meme (remember PSY?), although it may as well be, because this is hilariously awful.

It starts with some pretty glaringly GarageBand trumpets before transitioning into a rapidly moving and admittedly pretty nice rapping section where BTS’ rappers flow very nicely (the first guy has a great verse, actually) on a beat with a lot of heavy whistling for some reason, before choppily transitioning into a weak, autotuned hook that sounds pretty awful, and then it goes back to the whistles and the horns, now together into one barely-listenable mess, while there’s some loud yelling from BTS which just makes this post-hook feel incredibly cluttered... and then there’s the second rap section, where we have a laughably horrible verse where one of the members here shouts “I love myself!” and continues down that road in a painful autotuned croon, which, and I hate calling songs this, is just cringeworthingly bad. There’s a short bridge which feels out-of-place, and I’m not a fan of all the “oh-oh-oh” repetition in the post-hook... God, this is just a mess.

You notice by now that I’ve reviewed the solo BTS version pretty much, and that’s because Nicki Minaj adds nothing to the song at all other than rhyming “hands in the air” with itself about three or four times, and it’s no surprise that she doesn’t add much at this point.

Conclusion

So, it’s pretty obvious that BTS and Nicki get Worst of the Week for “IDOL”, but Best of the Week is going to “Lost Without You” by Freya Ridings, I could see that growing on me. See ya!

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obsidianarchives · 6 years

Text

Black Woman Creator: Briana Lawrence

As an author, freelance writer, and cosplayer, Briana Lawrence is working to get her works out into the world. Whether it’s creating a fantastical universe, writing articles pertaining to social issues in the geek community, or putting together fun scripts for WatchMojo.com, Briana is out to be the best “WRITTER” she can be. You can find her work at www.magnifiquenoir.com. We spoke with Briana about her inspirations and being a creator.

Black Girls Create: What do you create?

I’m that Black girl whose muses attack her in the shower, so she can create fantastical worlds where plus size Black women create exploding baked goods and hurl them at monsters who spout out derogatory comments about their size. Loosely translated, it means I’m a writer. I also do a lot of freelance writing for various websites where I combine geekdom with diversity, representation, and social justice.

BGC: Why do you create?

I’ve always wanted to write. I’m not quite sure what started it, but I know it’s something I’ve always been interested in. Growing up, I was really into cartoons, anime, video games, and some comic books. I was a certified geek. One of the things I loved is how through all the fantasy, the stories were basically about everyday people like you and me. The things we faced on a daily basis had been turned into these cool, out of these world tales, you know? Coming of age stories, but with magic. Dealing with discrimination, but with mutant superpowers. As I got older, writing became a way to express myself and tackle the issues of the world (and within myself) through creativity. By sharing it, I hope to inspire others and encourage them to believe in themselves.

BGC: How did you get into cosplay? How is it connected to your writing?

I discovered cosplay back in 2002 when I went to my very first anime convention: Anime Central (ACEN). I pretty much assumed it was Halloween, but for adults who were into nerd culture, so to me it was the greatest thing I’d ever seen! I started cosplaying in 2004 and would go to maybe one or two conventions a year, but now, with my books out, I go to as many shows as possible and usually have a different costume each day. In 2017, my partner and I did around 25 conventions and events, and I cosplayed at almost all of them.

Cosplay has helped me come out of my shell in ways I never expected. I was pretty much the quiet fat girl who wore hats to cover her hair and put on as much clothing as possible because, “Ew, no one wants to see that.” But something about portraying the characters I loved and altering the looks into styles I was comfortable with made me feel more confident in myself. I talk a lot about loving yourself, and that leaks into my writing with the characters I create. It also made me feel more confident about having Black women headline my work. When it comes to the world of fiction and the genres I’m into, Black women usually aren’t the main characters, so I assumed that I had to focus on white characters. As I put myself out there more with cosplay, I decided to do the same with my writing, and work to create the characters who represented who I was.

BGC: What is your favorite thing about fandom?

The sense of community within it. I know it has its ups and downs like every other community out there, but when you find your people, and get that love and support from them, it’s amazing. People within fan communities have this way of coming together, and it’s incredible. I’ve met some of the most important people in my life through fandom, including my partner of 16 years!

Fandom is also where I got introduced to queer content in a positive light, which was important when I came out. It was kinda hard to explore queerness when most forms of media didn’t touch the LGBTQ community back in 2001, so having a space where people wrote stories about queer characters and drew art of couples that wasn’t purely tragic was a big deal to me. The rest of the world may not have caught on, but fans did.

BGC: Who is your audience?

Everyone of all ages, especially those who are used to being underrepresented. The amount of, “Oh hey that’s me,” I hear when people see my work is really encouraging, and that’s something I set out to do.

BGC: Who/what inspired you to do what you do? Who/what continues to inspire you?

My older brother, most definitely, was a very good influence. He passed away when I was 13, but I’d like to think that he’s watching me and cheering me on as I go on this writing journey of book publishing and geekdom. My mom is also extremely encouraging. She reads and shares everything I do, and was the one who said, “I told you so,” when I FINALLY decided to pursue writing full-time. Then there’s my partner, who I bounce ideas off of. She really helps me flesh things out and is always supporting my work.

I also have some wonderful friends who really inspire me to keep going, not just because they support me, but because I watch them pursue their own dreams and seeing them succeed inspires me to go out there and do my best. And anyone who’s ever felt like they haven’t been represented properly encourages me to get my stuff out there, so they can have something to look at. I’m trying to create the kinds of stories that I wanted to see when I was younger.

BGC: Why is it important as a Black person to create?

For me, it’s how I get my story out there. As a queer woman of color, I know content that puts me smack on the front cover is rare, so I decided to do something about it. On top of getting my stories out there, I think Black creators inspire each other. Seeing one of us out here encourages more of us to take those steps. I think Black Panther is a good, recent example of this. With the success of that movie, other Black creators are like, “Oh wow, maybe I can do this!” Even with the attempted backlash, the overwhelming success and positivity with it spoke to so many of us. As a creator who is constantly told what does and does not sell, seeing a diverse work break the, “White is the default,” mold has affected future creators out there. As much as I want my work to speak to the audience, I really hope there’s another Black, queer creator who sees the book and decides that they can do this, too.

BGC: How do you balance creating with the rest of your life?

Since writing is my full-time career, I try to have a set schedule for when I write. Typically, I work in the morning, and I have an office space in my house that is just for the writing I do (or any other work I do, like trying to book shows to go to, and things like that). I also keep an up-to-date calendar to remind me of what has to get done, whether it’s an article or setting aside some time to work on one of my books.

I try my best to have the outside of the office be for non-work-related things, like playing video games, or watching whatever series I’m into... but muses tend to hit whenever they want, so having a phone I can take notes on is vital. My partner and I also have at least one day dedicated to not working at all, so we might go catch a movie or go hang out somewhere, or just hang out in the living room doing anything BUT work. We hold each other accountable for getting work done AND knowing when to relax and unwind. Bath bombs and comic books have been a godsend.

BGC: Advice for young creators/ones just starting?

For one thing, I want to say good job on taking that first step, because a lot of people don’t even get that far. That deserves praise. Now, don’t stress about publishing and all of that, not yet, the first thing you must do is get the story written. Once that’s done, you can look into publishing or whatever it is you want to do with your work. Also, it’s just as important to get yourself out there as it is to get your work out there. People want to do more than follow your work, they want to follow you, as a person. They want a glimpse at who you are.

If you’re a creator who is part of a marginalized group, I know there are a lot of detractors out there. This is gonna be difficult to do, but: Tune. Them. Out! Surround yourself with positive voices. Think about the moment when you finally felt like something properly represented you and keep that in your mind as you set out to create that same experience for someone else. And don’t be afraid to be proud of your accomplishments. Reward yourself and celebrate what you do. I look forward to seeing what you put out into the world.

BGC: Any future projects?

I have three! They are:

magnifiqueNOIR Book Two: You Are Magical

The second book in my Black, queer, magical girl series. In this installment, the girls (Galactic Purple, Cosmic Green, and Radical Rainbow) are trying to figure out who the mysterious Prism Pink is while learning about the previous group of magical girls from two decades ago... while balancing holiday season and college finals.

Page Turner: Hunters Book 3

The third book in my urban fantasy series with my partner. After the events of the second book, the Hunters (a group that hunts down demons to keep their city safe and unaware of the dangers that lurk in the shadows) set off to London in their ongoing quest to uncover the secrets of the Storyteller (a mythical being who can read your entire life like a book and change it anyway he wants) and prevent that power from going into the wrong hands.

Untitled Cosplay Comic

A comic I hope to have published that’s an anthology of shorts. Each story will tackle issues within the community such as slut-shaming, body-shaming, racism, and more. I’m currently writing the script, and when it’s done, I’ll be looking to collaborate with artists the same way I did with magnifiqueNOIR back in 2017.

Find Briana’s work here:

Autographed Copies of magnifiqueNOIR Book One: I Am Magical

Kindle Copies of magnifiqueNOIR Book One: I Am Magical

Autographed Copies of Hunters Book One: Seeking the Storyteller

Autographed Copies of Hunters Book Two: Beneath the Chapter

Kindle Copies of Hunters Book One: Seeking the Storyteller

Kindle Copies of Hunters Book Two: Beneath the Chapter

#Black Woman Creator #Comics #writer

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deecherrywolf · 7 years

Text

Idea 3

I’m going to die, work is really testing me, BUT in two weeks - I go to ACen for vacation and boy, am I ready. Okay - here is another idea I had for the klance bigbang. The other two-three after this one aren’t as long. Hell, one is so short I may not even post it here. Anyways! It was a roadtrip idea. Lance is accompanying Hunk to go meet his LD girlfriend for the first time in person. Hunk also invites Keith for more support, unaware that Lance has a crush on him. I didn’t pick this one because too much research on looking up places I’ve never been and it was giving me a headache -.- if i’mma do research the way I was for this fic, I better be getting paid or graded lmao

Idea 1 - here || Idea 2 - here

warning: all of the fics i post are unfinished and do cut off abruptly, as i said - they were me experimenting with ideas and will have html stuff/typos abound

Lance McClain had big dreams of reaching the stars, going places that no man had gone before, and many other space daydreams. He planned to do as much, especially with graduating from the Galaxy Garrison, he had it all worked out, he’d barely graduated in the top 30 of his class in the fighter class, he planned to enroll in NASA’s deep space program. But for now, he had other plans. For now - he was packing his bags to go meet up with Hunk, his roomie from the Garrison and current best friend.

He had made many memories with the big guy, specifically ones of him convincing the other to sneak out with him, and he planned to make a few more.

He slung the backpack stuffed with clothes over his shoulder and slung a duffle over his shoulder, marching towards where Hunk was - packing the car his father had let Hunk use. It was surprising too, Hunk’s dad was very protective of his car. Lance didn’t see why - it was a standard sedan, but Lance knew how fanatical his dad and uncle were about their sports cars, so he couldn’t judge.

“All packed.”

“Great!” Hunk’s voice was pitched and he looked a little pale, his dark eyes frantic. Lance knew this would happen, knew that Hunk would start to feel nervous. His enginner during simulations had always barfed and had looked as if he could die, he did get better at it, but man, Hunk would probably always be the sort to get nauseous over new events. And boy, was this a new event.

They were planning to roadtrip together, a final farewell to the both of them - since they definitely had different lots in life, and to add to it - their final destination was New York City - where Hunk’s girlfriend lived. His Skype girlfriend. The girlfriend Hunk had never really met face to face before aside from crappy video sessions with the Garrison’s shoddy internet and low resolution computers. Hunk was, to say the very least, nervous as shit.

“Relax, we got some time before we have to arrive at New York. I figured we go it like this, we leave the Garrison, right? We can either go South and up or go in a straight line. If we go south, we can hit up Las Vegas before leaving.”

“I don’t think Hunk will be in a state to gamble.”

Lance blinked, his eyes shifting focus to a new person stepping over, a backpack slung over their shoulders. When said person placed their bag into Hunk’s trunk as well, Lance’s brows raised and his eyes narrowed.

“Um, excuse me, what are you doing?”

“Hunk invited me too.”

Lance’s heart damn near stopped and he whipped over to his friend, his eyes accusatory. Hunk grinned nervously, albeit apologetically. “Sorry! I thought I’d need some more support and he’s my friend too.”

Lance sniffed. “How in the world is this mullet your friend too?”

Keith Kogane was someone Lance had started out loathing but grew to tolerate as time went on. He had beaten Lance in everything and made him feel inferior in every class, that was, until he learned what an awkward recluse the other was. He’d never forget having to work with the other on an assignment and heading over to Keith’s single room - finding it impossibly bear and impossibly boring. The other also never talked about any of his friends, if he had any. Lance assumed he didn’t.

Hunk placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Come on man, the more the merrier, right? It will be fun.”

Lance scoffed, turning from Keith to face Hunk fully, leaning close as he hissed. “You owe me big time.”

Hunk gave him a smile, nodding as he shut the trunk. “Okay, we ready?”

“Yeah-” “Shotgun!”

Lance ignored any look Keith may have gave him, but Keith had only shrugged - as if he had expected that. Once in the car, Lance turned in his seat, giving Keith the stink eye.

“Okay Rule No 1, Shotgun gets control of the radio. When we rotate drivers, the design is so - I will play shotgun when Hunk drives, Hunk will shotgun when I drive and Hunk will shotgun with you drive.”

Hunk frowned, turning the key in the ignition. “Uh, Lance, I want to not shotgun at some point in this trip, I’d like to sleep.”

“Fine, I’ll shot gun when Keith drives.”

Keith raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward, eyes on Lance. “Are you that worried about me changing the station? I don’t care what music we listen to.”

Lance glowered at him. “You’re just saying that so you can turn it on some kind of emo music from the 70s, don’t lie.”

Keith’s brows raised while Lance immediately pulled out his phone, pulling up his music playlist. He had specifically made this playlist for this roadtrip. He wasn’t sure how much Keith liked Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, and a few others - but he didn’t care. Keith would just have to deal. He hadn’t been in Lance’s plans. This trip had been something Lance had been looking forward to forever now, he had thought he and Hunk would be able to laugh it up and enjoy the scenery as they traveled by car for the last time together - maybe meeting again on a spaceship, if they ever go that far. But now, Keith was thrown in the mix. Keith, who aggravated Lance to no end. Keith, who Lance couldn’t help but notice at every turn. Keith, who made Lance’s belly flip and heart pound - not that he’d tell the other that.

Now he’d have to endure that on this road trip; a trip he had planned to stretch out a week, now Lance was tempted to have it go the straight day and a half it would take to get there with no stops, just so he could get away with not having to deal with Keith for too long. But he didn’t want to ruin Hunk’s plans either - this trip was also meant to serve as a relaxer for Hunk before he met his Skype girlfriend, Shay, in person. The longer the trip, the more time for Hunk to grow more confidence in finally meeting his girlfriend. Lance didn’t want to take that away from Hunk just because he was being petty.

“Okay, here we go.”

“Yeah!”

Lance squirmed in his seat, ready for this trip to start. The sweet sounds of Beyonce already pumping out, and the air conditioner blowing back his hair, engine purring, but no wheels were rolling. He looked at Hunk, who looked nervous, his fingers gripping the wheel, his cheeks flushed though. How could they not be? He was about to meet his girlfriend… still.

“Hunk?”

“I’m okay.”

“Just breathe big guy, breathe… you can do this.”

Hunk took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly, brows furrowing and jaw set as he nodded, finally pulling out of his parking spot and hitting the road. Lance whooped, watching as the Garrison grew smaller and smaller. A strange sensation welled within him at the sight. It would probably be the last time he’d see the place… he had so many memories there, made so many discoveries. He sighed, leaning back in his chair.

Hunk cleared his throat. “So Keith, thanks for coming too.”

“Mmhm.”

“Do you have plans after this? I mean, Lance has a plane ticket back to his home in Florida, I’d assumed you did something similar?”

Keith nodded. “I’ll be heading back to Nevada after this.”

“So you’re from Nevada?”

“Well, my dad was originally from Texas, we moved to Nevada when I was a baby.”

Hunk looked amused. “Are you not aiming for NASA or anything? I mean, you were the top of your class.”

“Well, I-”

“Who cares,” groused Lance. “I know I’m going to get into the Kennedy Station.”

Keith’s brows raised. “You want to be an astronaut? What happened to fighter pilot?”

Lance didn’t answer, because really, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do - not really. He’d always wanted to reach for the stars, but what happened after he got there? When he got there? He’d wanted to be a fighter pilot so bad, wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself, but would that ever happen? Or would he be stuck fueling spaceships at the Kennedy Station, if they even let him do that?

He ignored the bitter sensation building up in his throat as he cleared it. “I’ll worry about that once I’m in space.”

He knew what he said didn’t make sense, he just turned up the volume, drowning out any negative thoughts. He didn’t want to think about his future on this road trip, he wanted to have fun - give Hunk a good time while preparing him to meet Shay. And he definitely didn’t want to focus on Keith either.

“Okay, according to Shiro, he says the best place to stop at first on the way to New York is Salt Lake City.”

Hunk smiled. “That was actually our original plan.”

Lance raised a brow, glancing back at Keith. “Shiro? You actually know Takashi Shirogane?”

Keith looked at Lance, making the other want to fidget in his seat. The way Keith stared at him… “Yeah, he’s a foster brother of sorts. When my dad came to Nevada, he kind of dumped me at a cousin’s house and left. That cousin happened to be Shiro’s dad.”

“You’re related to Takashi Shirogane!?” squawked Hunk, his eyes wide but not leaving the road.

Keith flushed, ducking his head as he nodded and oh, Lance’s heart was doing wicked things to his body, making him all too hot and making his gut clench. He swallowed around the growing feeling.

“Lucky.”

Keith looked up at that, a brow cocked. “I guess.”

“Well, if Shiro says Salt Lake City is a good stop, then I guess we can stick to our original plan.”

“And that was…?”

“Okay, so - we plan on hitting SLC first - staying the night at some little offbeat hotel if possible because, money, and take in a few sights if we can. Then we’ll head to Cheyenne after that, do the same - then Omaha, then Chicago, Cleveland, and then either booking it straight to New York or stopping somewhere in Pennsylvania, we haven’t decided on that one yet.”

“Fair enough.”

Hunk grinned at Keith through the rearview mirror. “Think you can handle Lance for that long?”

Keith’s mouth twitched into a half smile, half grin that made Lance’s heart skip a beat. “I don’t know…”

“Rude! You both are so rude, I don’t see how I put up with either of you.”

Hunk laughed. “You put up with me because I’m your best friend. You put up with Keith because he’s my guest.”

Lance grumbled, sinking into his seat, glancing at the GPS Hunk had set up, their arrow moving along. Lance then looked out the window, his eyes growing slightly heavy. The sound of another one of his favorite songs pulsing in his ear as he found himself falling asleep. The next time he woke up, it was to the need to pee and the need for gas. Hunk was pulling in on some roadside pitstop, which Lance was grateful for. He wanted to stretch his legs. He looked back at Keith, who was simply looking out the window, his brows drawn in - perhaps he was thinking of something.

Or, perhaps, Keith always just looked like that - as if he was in deep thought.

Either way, Lance couldn’t help but admire his profile. He had such a soft face, yet it still retained a masculine look to it - when Keith filled out some more, he’d definitely look more like Shiro.

He looked away before Keith could see him starring and slipped out of the parked car. He stretched, whining as his joints cracked.

“How long have we been on the road?”

“Four hours. Two and half more hours and we’ll be in Salt Lake City.”

“Cool. Keith, don’t you need to pee?”

Keith didn’t answer, just opened the door and slid out - following Lance into the pitstop. The cashier’s eyes flickered to them, sizing them up before turning away in disinterest. Lance strolled over to a rack of tacky souvenirs - a couple of magnets that had ‘Nevada’ on them, a couple of alien ones too. He clicked his tongue.

“I thought we were in Utah already.”

“We’re like, right on the border.”

Lance jerked slightly, unaware that Keith had followed closely behind him. It wasn’t uncomfortable - having Keith close to his side, but he couldn’t help but focus on the way he smelled, a nice scent that made Lance’s throat grow dry. He licked his lips and picked up one of the alien magnets, trying to ignore his racing heart.

“And why does Nevada always have to equal Area 51? I mean, really.”

Keith shifted, picking at an alien shaped hat. “Well, it is entertaining to a lot of people - the whole alien debate.”

Lance hummed, slipping on a pair of alien sunglasses, looking at Keith through them. “So tell me Keith, do you believe?”

“Yeah.”

Lance dipped the sunglasses, peering over the rim of them before snorting, peeling them off and putting them back on the rack. Keith’s brows pinched.

“That was kind of a stupid question, considering the Garrison has been in contact with alien life-”

“Shush, we aren’t supposed to talk about that, you know. Plus, I was joking. The whole thing with aliens was about the whole believing stuff.”

“Right.”

Lance gave Keith a stare before he sighed. “I’m going to go pee.”

Keith turned away, walking off leaving Lance to go to the bathroom. After relieving himself, he decided to buy a couple of snacks - and those sunglasses, before returning to the car. He sat back in his seat, placing the sunglasses on his nose and sighed. “Let’s roll.”

Hunk laughed. “Why in the world did you buy those?”

“Um, excuse me, these are a Gucci exclusive, don’t knock fashion when you don’t have any.”

“You’re crazy.”

Lance could see the little half smile on Keith’s face and it made him happy that he’d been able to put that there. His heart thumped as he started his phone’s playlist back up, pumping out tunes as they continued onward.

The two and a half hour drive went by quicker than Lance thought it would and before he knew it, they were in Salt Lake City, the only problem was it was dark and Lance felt like he could sleep for days. They ended up in a Quality Inn somewhere outside of the city itself, which was fine with Lance. They checked in, each of them carrying in just one of their bags - Lance assumed it was just a change of clothes and toiletries, like his own.

“Why didn’t we just stay at a hostel? It probably would have been cheaper.”

Lance’s nose wrinkled. “Okay, first of all - hostels are for foreign travel only, and second of all - ew. We’re going to be cramped together enough, let’s not add a dorm of like, three or ten more dudes.”

Keith placed his bag on one of the beds. “I’m just trying to economize here.”

Hunk rolled over. “Screw economizing right now, I think I’m going to order a pizza.”

“You do that, I’m going to shower.”

Lance walked into the bathroom, flicking on the lights. He pulled out his toiletries, which consisted of his own shampoo and conditioner, his face wash, his toner, his moisturizer, his night mask, and his body wash. He hummed, pulling out his toothbrush as well, setting it neatly on the corner as he turned to inspect the shower. He twisted the knob, watching the water pump out, feeling it first - freezing cold, so he twisted it. Still freezing cold. He grumbled until finally, he got it. God, why were hotel showers so annoying?

He stepped in, closing the curtain and then his eyes.

“Did you really have to take an hour long shower?”

Lance walked in, his towel wrapped on his head, pajamas on and robe in place. His night mask in place. He glared at Keith, who looked exasperated.

“Uh, yeah. I do. How else am I going to make sure I maintain my flawless skin?”

Keith said nothing but grumbles, pushing past Lance so he can get in next. Lance sniffed, sitting down on the bed he’d share with Hunk.

“I bet mullet boy only takes a ten minute shower.”

Hunk laughed, but his eyes were on his phone, thumbs moving. Lance’s chest pinched at that and he smiled. “Shay?”

“Yeah, I was just wishing her a good night and letting her know how we’re doing.”

Lance smiled, leaning back, eyes on the ceiling. “Must be nice, having a girlfriend.”

Hunk’s eyes left his phone, falling on Lance, studying him a bit. He put his phone on the beside table, pushing himself off the bed. “You could get a girlfriend if you really wanted to, you know.”

Lance snorted, rolling over to glare at the clock, then he heard Hunk laugh, voice full of amusement as he continued.

“Or a boyfriend.”

That, Lance hadn’t been expecting Hunk to say. He turned back around, giving Hunk a gaze. He was expecting the big guy to suddenly laugh - like he’d be making a gay joke to make Lance laugh, but he knew Hunk better than that. Knew that a sensitive soul like him wouldn’t make a joke like that. No, Hunk was serious. It made Lance’s gut twist.

“Um.”

“Hey, it’s okay man. I’m cool with it. I’ve always suspected it, I just didn’t want to out you in the Garrison. I know a lot of people there aren’t really accepting of that.”

“I’m bi, just so you know.”

“Oh, I know.”

Lance snorted at his tone, flicking a piece of lint on the comforter. He didn’t know what else to say to this… did Hunk know that Lance was crushing hardcore on Keith? Is that why Hunk invited him? Not to torture Lance, but to maybe bring them together? The hopeful side of him said yes, but no… Hunk couldn’t be that intuitive about it, right? He was about to ask when the door to the bathroom opened and Keith stepped out.

Lance almost bit his tongue till it bled. Keith came out with only his boxers on - towel wrapped around his shoulders, his black tresses still wet. His eyes were also hooded from the heat of the shower.

“Your turn Hunk.”

“Thanks man.”

Hunk ambled over to the shower, leaving Keith and Lance alone. Lance swallowed, chewing on his lower lip in thought as he wondered just what he should talk about with Keith. Keith scrubbed at his hair, his eyes falling on Lance.

“Don’t you have to wash that off soon?”

“Yeah, once Hunk is out of the shower I will. I mean, I could sleep in it, it’s designed to be an overnight mask, but I really don’t feel like paying a fee for messing up the sheets or some shit.”

Keith’s mouth twitched and Lance then realized what he said. “I can’t believe you caught that. Keith, the closet pervert.”

“You said it, not me.”

“You were thinking it. And no, not that way you dirty, dirty mind you!”

Keith chuckled and oh, the sound shot right through Lance’s heart. He wanted to hear Keith laugh more often.

Hunk came out moments later, which left the bathroom free. Lance walked in, hanging his robe up and then washing off the mask. He stared at himself in the mirror after he was done, noticing his blushing cheeks - still blushing from Keith’s cute laugh. He sucked in a breath, steeling himself - giving himself a look. “Okay Lance, you can do this. You can! You just gotta act natural around Keith for the next five days or so, depending on how long we stop at each destination… just be cool… be cool!”

His heart said otherwise as it continued to thump hard in his chest. He sighed and exited back out, his blush under control as he slipped in the covers beside Hunk. He stole a glance at Keith. He was on his phone, probably just mindlessly browsing something or playing a game. He turned onto his back to ignore Keith, his eyes on the ceiling before he forced them shut, willing himself to go to sleep.

He was woke up by Hunk’s alarm, blaring loud and clear - meaning they needed to be heading out. He yawned, sitting up to stretch while Hunk turned off his alarm with a grunt. Lance looked over to Keith, only to find him gone. He blinked.

“Where’s Keith?”

“Fitness.”

“Fitness?”

Hunk grunted again, rolling over, holding the phone to chest while closing his eyes again. “Yeah, he woke up hours ago and left to get some ‘fitness’ in.”

Lance got up, wondering if he should go check on Keith when the door opened. Keith walked in, wearing a pair of pants that were probably what he worked out in and a tight black tshirt - he was sweaty a little and Lance couldn’t help but stare, fighting back a blush.

“Oh, we about ready to go?”

“Yeah, are you going to shower again or something?”

“No, I’ll towel off and put on some deodorant. I typically don’t smell when I sweat.”

Lance frowned, watching Keith walk into the bathroom before looking at Hunk, who was about to start snoring again. He elbowed him.

“Huh? Wha?”

“Who doesn’t start to smell when they sweat? I mean really?”

Hunk rubbed at his eyes. “Some people don’t unless its like, really bad.”

“Hmph. Stupid perfect Keith.”

“Perfect?”

“Ugh, nothing. Let’s just get ready too.”

After Keith exited the bathroom, Lance and Hunk shared the space to get ready - packing their toiletries away and tending to themselves. Once ready, the three of them left, checking out and heading back into the car. Lance stretched, grin on his face.

“Guess it’s my turn to drive.”

He took the keys from Hunk, unlocking the doors and then jumped in, turning to talk to Hunk about where they should go in Utah, only to find Keith sitting beside him. His mouth immediately turned into a frown.

“Uhm? Why are you in Hunk’s seat?”

“Because Hunk wanted to sleep some more.”

Hunk got into the back seat and immediately flopped down, stretching out. “Sorry man, I’m still so sleepy, you and Keith can deal, can’t you?”

“But… what about sightseeing?”

“Pick a place and wake me when we get there.”

Lance sighed, turning the key into the ignition. He tried to ignore Keith’s presence beside him, but it was hard. There was just something about Keith that drew him in, he tried to ignore it but it was near impossible. He was about make conversation when Keith was plugging his phone in. Lance frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“Putting on my travel playlist.”

“Uhm, no-”

“Uh, yeah. You said, and I quote, ‘Shotgun controls the radio’’, and here I am, in shotgun.”

Lance grumbled. “You play The Cure and you’re going to be hitting the pavement.”

Keith merely raised an eyebrow, and then music pumped out and Lance’s shoulders relaxed as ‘Life is a Highway’ began playing. He sighed, but then looked at Keith out of the corner of his eyes. “This is acceptable, but I swear to god, if after this its all country music…”

Keith smiled in amusement. “And if it is?”

“Oh my god, no, please Keith - tell me you have better taste in music, please!”

“Guess you’ll just have to find out.”

Lance groaned, focusing on the road now, but after the song was over with, it wasn’t country that bled out, but it was another travel inspired song, which made Lance smile. Keith had an actual road trip playlist - not just a group of songs he loved, but an ironic playlist that was about traveling one way or another. His heart swelled at that thought. Lance cursed. “Hand me my sunglasses please.”

“Here.”

Lance blinked at the green alien frames. “Hardy har har, no, I mean my actual good ones.”

Keith clicked his tongue, taking the alien frames from Lance and handing him his normal sunglasses. “And you said these were Gucci.”

Lance smiled, focusing on the road once more as they drove on. As they approached the border between Wyoming and Utah, Lance was about to ask Keith if he wanted to stop anywhere only to fall silent at the sight of him sleeping, head tilted ever so slightly towards the car window. Lance looked away quickly, mostly to focus on the road but also to still his heart. It felt as if he was witnessing something sacred, seeing Keith sleep like this. It was different in a hotel room where sleep was one of the only things they could do, but inside the car with such close quarters… Lance couldn’t help but want to keep watching. Unfortunately, he was driving so he couldn’t do that. He looked at the rearview mirror, seeing Hunk still snoring too. It was all so peaceful, until Keith’s playlist began playing Come Sail Away. Lance laughed.

He’d never guessed how eclectic Keith’s taste in music was, that or he just googled ‘road trip songs’ or something, either way, Lance felt the urge to sing along.

He didn’t even notice when Hunk started to join in until he saw the other seated up, belting along with Styx. The two of them grinned at each other, continuing on with their singing, amping up for the chorus.

And then it happened, the chorus and holy shit, Keith joined in.

Keith… motherfucking Kogane, stoic best pilot, was belting out ‘come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me’ just as loud as Lance and Hunk and it was a glorious moment. Lance could feel that bond grow between them just by this alone.

And then the moment was gone and Keith’s eyes closed once more and he tipped his head back in its original position. Lance blinked, brow crinkling.

“Did he serious wake up just to sing the chorus, then go back to sleep?”

“Looks like it. Where are we?”

“Wyoming.”

“Uh, what happened to sight seeing in Utah?”

“You looked so adorable sleeping I couldn’t bear to wake you up, my Hunky Bear.”

Hunk snorted, stretching as he grabbed the bag of chips Lance had bought earlier, unrolling it and dipping his hand inside. “Any plans for Wyoming?”

“Mm… I’m not sure really. I figured if something stuck out to us, we can check it out, otherwise just making gas stops and hotel stops would be the main thing, you know? We could always choose a cool place to eat?”

Hunk’s stomach decided to gurgle then, making him laugh. “I am getting hungry already.”

“All right, why don’t you check out to see if there any good eateries around here.”

“There’s a McDonalds in like three miles.”

“Hunk… I can’t believe you’d suggested McDonalds.”

“It’s fast and easy, and cheap - we need to save money for gas and hotel rooms, and while I love food - and you know I do, and you know how much I trash McDonalds - which I do, I would be willing to eat it in sacrifice of the greater good.”

Lance clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes. He loathed McDonalds. It wasn’t that it was bad, per se, just that it was bad for him and he didn’t like to consume too many things that would lead to a break out the next day.

“There is a little local cafe in five miles.”

“Holy shit, Keith! When did you wake up?”

Keith frowned. “Uh, when Styx played? You saw me singing!”

“I thought you fell back asleep!”

“I was just resting, not sleeping.”

The entire time? Lance didn’t want to know the answer to that, as Keith may have seen him watch over him like a creeper. He swallowed and nodded. “Okay, we can try that.”

#dee is silly #myfics #klancebbrejects

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