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another-tmnt-writer · 4 years ago

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Truth or Dare?

Raphael x Reader

Author: Admin Mo

Summary: When Mikey needs another actor for his film project, Raph gets roped into it. He didn’t, however, expect for his costar to be so cool.

Note: There are not NEARLY enough college au fics for the bayverse boys, so have this as my first contribution. <3

Warnings: Swears, mentions of drinking, plenty of fluff

Word Count: 3.9k

“Raph, PLEEEEEAAAASE!!!” Mikey folded his hands together, pleading. “We need actors for our project and our group members can’t be in it.”

Mikey, as part of his endeavor to explore every creative program at the university the turtles were currently attending, was taking a filmmaking class. And, as a part of that class, he and his fellow classmates were required to make short projects in order to learn the basics of filmmaking, from writing to directing to using the equipment to editing. As an added bonus because his professor was so especially cruel, none of the people in his group could appear in his project, and while they had managed to recruit some of their classmates to fill in the smaller roles, one of the main roles was still unclaimed.

Raph scoffed. “Mikey, you know I can’t act for shit.”

“You don’t have to actually be good at it!” He pleaded. “You should see some of the other projects. No one in the program is good at acting.”

Raph was quiet for a second, his large arms crossed in front of him, thinking. “How long is it gonna take?”

“Few hours.” Mikey shrugged. He raised an eyebrow. “And your costar is really, really hot.”

Raph sighed, disgruntled. “When?”

“YES! DUDE THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU WON’T REGRET IT!” Mikey ran and returned with a script and a schedule, shoving it into his older brother’s hands. “We film tomorrow!”

Raph’s eyes widened. “TOMORROW?!”

***

Raph went with Mikey to where the rest of his group was meeting to film their project. He hadn’t really had time to look at the script and Mikey assured him that they’d be filming in small enough chunks that he wouldn’t need to have very much memorized at a time. He also didn’t really know what kind of movie it was and he didn’t care; he just couldn’t wait until it was over.

A few minutes after they arrived, so did his costar. And god, he couldn’t stop staring. Mikey was right. God, why was Mikey always right?

“I am so sorry I’m late. The bus almost hit a pedestrian and it was a whole thing.” You apologized.

“Don’t worry about it!” Mikey waved off your concern. “This is my brother, Raph.”

“Nice to meet you, Raph. I’m (Y/N).” You introduced, a warm smile on your face.

Raph didn’t miss the way your eyes lingered on him, but instead of the looks disdain he usually got, instead it seemed to be curiosity. Awe, even? Weird, he decided, but not unwelcome.

It was a long, awkward moment before he realized he’d better respond. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you too.”

“Um, you guys can get to know each other a little better. We’ve gotta get the equipment set up.” Mikey said, leaving the two of you on your own.

The filming location was a place you were very familiar with: the library. Particularly, in front of the cozy little coffee shop in the library.

“I didn’t really, uh, look at the script, but I’m guessing they needed a monster for a horror movie or something…” Raph flipped through the pages, skimming.

“It’s a rom com.” You corrected quietly. “I’m the main character. You’re the love interest.”

If Raph could physically blush, he was sure his cheeks would rival the color of his mask. “…Oh.”

“Is that alright?” You asked.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah it’s fine, I just…” He chuckled to himself. “I ain’t ever acted in anything before, let alone anything romantic.”

“It’s not too much, I don’t think.” You reassured him. “I’m pretty sure the most they’ll have us do is awkwardly brush hands. It’s a coffee shop meet-cute.”

“Gotcha.” And while he was relieved, he was also a little…disappointed? Huh. Weird. “So, uh, what’s yer major?”

“I’m a film major. I’m in Mikey’s class and they needed actors, so I’m paying it forward in case I need someone in my project. What’s yours?”

“I’m undecided. Just, uh, taking some time to figure things out, you know. I never really had any…school experience before this.”

“That’s a lot to adjust to.”

“Yeah, it is. I’m getting used to it, though.”

“That’s good! If you need any help with anything, let me know. I’ve picked up a bunch of good tips and tricks.”

He chuckled. “I will, thanks.”

“Do you have snapchat?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“One second.” You fished your phone out of your bag and unlocked it, opening the app to your snapcode, which he scanned and added you. “There you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Raph took some more time reading over the script to get the gist of the scene and you were right. Indeed, it was a rom com. Not his preferred genre, by any means, but maybe he’d warm up to it a bit over the course of the day.

“Hey (Y/N)?” Mikey called from over where they had the camera set up on the tripod. “Do you know how to white-balance this thing? Everything is orange for some reason. Which is a great color, but I’m sure Smith will dock us points for it.”

“Oh, I’ve got you.” You nodded. You looked up at Raph, your purse in hand. “Will you hold this for a second?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” He nodded, holding out a giant three-fingered hand to take the bag from you. He watched you walk over to where the rest of the group was standing, crowded around the camera. You worked your magic, shuffling through the menu and helping adjust the camera correctly. Raph couldn’t stop staring. You looked so focused. So passionate. He could tell you really liked film and everything it entailed and he wished he could just find something he cared about as much as you cared about your major.

“Awesome.” He heard Mikey say, his eyes fixed on the camera’s screen. “Thanks!”

“Of course!” You walked back over to where Raph was and he handed you your bag back. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but Mikey walked over to the two of you.

“You guys ready? I think we’re good to start now.”

“All set.” You confirmed, giving him a thumbs-up, and Raph nodded.

***

Raph might have to reconsider his stance on this acting thing. Did he think he was all that good at it? No. But so long as he had you as a costar, he’d act willingly in any project Mikey (or you) needed him for. And at the end of the shoot, he ended up having a really good time. So much so that when you guys were all done, he was…sad. Like, really sad about it.

You parted ways. You weren’t in any of his classes, so Raph wasn’t really sure if he’d see you around that much. And he didn’t see you around…until a few weeks later.

He was at the library studying with his brothers at their favorite table when suddenly, his phone buzzed, a message from snapchat coming in. He looked at the notification, doing a double-take when he read your name there. And when he reached to answer it, he moved too fast and knocked his shell-shaped cell phone off of the table.

Shit.

He bent down to pick it up and when he opened the snapchat, he was surprised to see…the back of his shell? It was captioned: “I spy with my little eye…Something red and green 😉”

Immediately, he whipped around, and sure enough, nestled in a table by the windows was you, looking at him over the top of your laptop screen. You giggled when he spotted you, waving.

Raph nudged Mikey, who was sitting across from him and Mikey traced Raph’s eyeline to where you were, his face immediately lighting up.

“Oh! Hey (Y/N)!” Mikey waved. “You wanna sit with us?”

“Is that alright?”

“Hell yeah!” Mikey motioned you over. “The more the merrier! We can pull up a chair over here on the end.”

So, you gathered your stuff while the guys rearranged some things, putting you on the end of the table, right between Mikey and Raph. When you got over there, you noticed they were sitting with the other two giant mutated turtles on campus, who you had heard of, but hadn’t met yet.

“(Y/N), these are our brothers. Leo’s over there in the blue, our fearless leader. And this is Donatello, the one we go to for homework help.”

“Not tonight you aren’t. This paper is due at midnight and it is…” Donnie glanced down at the clock on his laptop and as soon as he did, he started typing impossibly faster. “Eleven thirty-seven. Do not look at me or breathe in my direction.”

“Noted.” Mikey nodded, a trace of fear in his eyes.

“Nice to meet you, (Y/N). You’re in one of Mikey’s classes, right?”

“Yep! I’m in his film class.” You smiled, taking a sip of your iced coffee. “I got the pleasure of costarring with this one.” You nudged Raph lightly, causing him to smile the most genuine smile Mikey had ever seen on his older brother’s face.

Huh. Mikey took note, something devious stirring in the back of his mind. Interesting…

“What did you get on that, by the way?” You asked.

“We got an A! Well, Minus. But you know how Smith is.”

“Dude that’s awesome!” You bumped your fist against his. “Good job. I’m pretty sure my group got a B, but we’re not mad about it. C’s get degrees, as they say.”

“Cheers to that.” Leo chuckled.

“What are you working on today, Raph?” You asked, tilting your head in a way that sent his heart racing in a way he could not explain.

“I have a paper for my Writing 150 class.”

“Oof that sucks. Who do you have?”

“Trainor.”

“Ouch. She hated me.” You grimaced, shaking your head. “She found out I was bi and it was all over for me.”

“Did you report her? I’m pretty sure you can report her for that sort of thing.” Raph asked, trying not to get heated over it. He was pretty sure she didn’t like him very much either, but it was probably due to the fact that he was a giant green turtle. “That’s bullshit.”

“I’m in the process of that right now.” You nodded. “She’s a bitch. I don’t know if they’ll actually do anything about it though.”

“Keep me posted. I might file something too if she doesn’t stop glaring at me during class.” Raph grumbled. “It’s annoying.”

“That would be annoying. Her beady little eyes glaring at you for two agonizing hours of ‘This is how to correctly use a comma’.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. It is.”

You glanced at your phone, which buzzed with a text from one of your roommates. “Oh! Uh, do you guys have any plans this weekend?”

“Nope. Why?” Mikey asked, curiosity seeping into his voice.

“My roommate is throwing a party, if you guys wanna come. It’ll be pretty chill. Drinks, pizza, some music.”

“Oh hell yes.” Mikey nodded. He looked at Leo. “Leo, can we?”

“I don’t see why not.” Leo shrugged. “Sounds like a good time.”

“Is there a dress code?” Mikey asked. Now that he was finally allowed to socialize, he didn’t want to fuck it up.

“Nope. Just casual. Come as you are.”

“Do you need us to bring anything?”

“If you guys have a drink of choice, bring that, I guess, but otherwise, my roommate’s boyfriend works at a pizza place, so we get a pretty good discount and we have literally so much wine.”

“That’s amazing.” Mikey nodded, making a mental note to look into jobs at a pizza place later.

“We’ll bring a veggie tray.” Donnie said, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop until finally, he stopped. “I finished, by the way.”

“Good job, dude!” Mikey gave him a thumbs up. “You wanna write mine next?”

“Ha.” Donnie stared at him. “Funny.”

“What’s your paper on, Raph? Maybe I can help.”

Raph turned his laptop towards you. “We have to write it about like growing up. You can, uh, read it if you want. I don’t mind. I’m kinda stuck right now anyway.”

“Okay.” You agreed, switching his laptop for yours. You winked. “Trade ya.”

“What are you writing about?” He asked, scrolling to the top of your document.

“Women in Film.” You shot finger guns at him. “I’m about to make some Film Bois REALLLL mad.”

“Roast ‘em, (Y/N).” Mikey laughed, knowing all too well exactly which film boys you were talking about. He was not a fan.

“That’s the plan.” You chuckled and then started reading over Raph’s paper. You had known before meeting them that they hadn’t exactly had the best childhood, but…wow was it eye-opening reading the experience from his eyes. “Holy shit.”

“That bad?” He joked, trying to read your expression.

“No, it’s…Raph, this is really good, but wow. You guys went through a lot, huh?”

“Yeah…” He shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad, but it sure wasn’t normal by any means.”

“Mmm…” You nodded, looking up at him. “I mean, normal is kinda overrated.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad ya think so. Not many people do.”

You shrugged, smiling softly. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not like many people.”

***

“(Y/N), this place is as clean as it’s gonna get. It’s a party. It’ll be messed up in,” your roommate, Haley, glanced down at her watch, “like twenty minutes.”

“I know, I just…I’m nervous. These guys are basically superheroes. I want to make a good impression.”

“Fair point.”

You swept the kitchen floor and got out the cutest paper plates you had in the cupboard as well as some solo cups and plastic wine glasses. If you could avoid broken glass today, that was probably the move.

The doorbell buzzed and your heart raced, but it was just your other roommate’s boyfriend with the pizza.

“Is Darcy here?” He asked.

“She’s upstairs getting ready, you explained, helping him get the pizza and breadsticks and everything set up on the counter. He’d also brought a few two-liters of Pepsi, which was good. You put it next to the giant jug of fruit punch you’d bought at the grocery store. It was important to make sure your non-drinking friends had something to drink, too.

A few minutes after, guests started arriving. Darcy came downstairs and started up her iconic party playlist. Your neighbors popped in. It was easier to invite them and let them have a good time with you than have them call security on you guys for throwing a party, even if it was the weekend and it was only nine.

You turned off the lamps in the living room and instead set your strip lights to party mode, causing them to cycle through a bunch of colors in time with the music. It was then that the doorbell rang again and you rushed to the mirror to check yourself once more. You adjusted your hair, straightened out your top, and checked your teeth for food. Nope, you were good.

So, with the rest of the hosts distracted, you opened the door. On the other side of it were four tall, green gentlemen, one of them carrying a veggie tray.

“Hey guys, come on in!”

You moved out of the way so they could step inside.

Mikey’s eyes widened, looking into the living room full of dancing college kids. “Woahhhhh this is awesome!”

“Glad you think so.” You laughed. “There’s food and drinks in here, the bathroom is in the hallway, and everyone else seems to be either in the living room or the back yard.”

“Where do you want this veggie tray?” Donnie asked.

“Thank you so much for bringing this, by the way! You can set it over by the pizza boxes. I can get a spoon for the dip.” You said, walking towards the silverware drawer and producing a spoon while Donnie popped the lid off of the plastic serving tray and opened up the dip. You handed him the spoon.

The guys were each sporting their signature color, but they were wearing clothes you hadn’t seen them in before. Usually, Raph liked to wear a large gray hoodie, but today, he was sporting a black t-shirt and an impossibly large red flannel with some jeans. It looked good on him. Like, really good.

Apparently, he was thinking the same thing, because as soon as you were free, he walked up to you and nudged you gently. “You look really good.”

Your cheeks flushed with warmth and you wished you could blame it on wine, but you hadn’t even had a sip yet. “Thanks. You clean up pretty nice yourself.”

Had you worn a red top on purpose? Yes, absolutely. Would you admit to it, though? No, definitely not.

But Mikey noticed. Oh, Mikey noticed everything. And he couldn’t help but think that you and his older brother would make quite the couple. Maybe there was something he could do to just…give it a little push.

***

The time came later, when the party was finally starting to wind down. Some people had left. Your neighbors had gone home, and you’d switched the strip lights to a light, warm color. You’d also switched the upbeat party playlist for something chill to play in the background. The remaining partygoers were all settled in a circle in the living room, eating whatever pizza was left, sipping on box wine, and playing a game of truth or dare.

“Haley, truth or dare?” Darcy challenged.

“Truth.”

“Okay…Fuck, Marry, Kill: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and…..Chris Pine.”

“DAMN.” She cursed. “You can’t do that to me. Shit. Uh…Fuck Chris…Hemsworth. Marry Chris…Pine? And—”

“Don’t you do it!” You warned.

“Kill Chris Evans.”

“Noooooooooo!” You whined, taking a sip of your drink. The rest of the group laughed. “Poor Captain America.”

“Rest in pieces, Cap.” She agreed, shaking her head. “Okay…Mikey, truth or dare.”

“Dare.” Mikey answered quickly. He always picked dare, so in the fifth round of the game, it wasn’t much of a surprise.

“I dare you…to take a shot of straight lemon juice.”

“Easy peasy.” Mikey scoffed, pouring himself a shot and downing it.

You watched as his face contorted at the sour, sour taste. You couldn’t help but giggle a little at that.

“Good job, Mikey.” Donnie laughed, dipping a piece of broccoli in dip before popping it into his mouth.

“Taking it like a champ.” Leo added, nodding.

“Alright, my turn?” Mikey asked, looking around the circle for his victim, pretending he hadn’t been planning this since round one. “(Y/N). Truth or dare?”

You thought about it for a second. How easy it would be to just choose truth again, but for some reason, you were feeling a little brave, so instead, you picked, “Dare.”

“Oooooooh,” the circle said, all of them a little surprised by that choice.

“Okay. Alright.” Mikey rubbed his hands together mischievously. All according to plan. “I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room.”

“OOOOOOOHHHH!” The circle all stared at you and you thought for a second, a smirk settling on your features.

“Oh that’s easy.” You got up and crossed the circle until you were standing in front of Raph. Even sitting down, he was almost your height. “Think I could get a kiss?”

Raph stared up at you, shocked, waiting for you to say Sike! HAHA! Did you actually think I thought you were hot?! Loser!

But you never did, instead looking down at him with sincerity, patience. Were you a little…nervous, even?

“Why me?” He whispered, his eyes fixed on you. There were plenty of good-looking human guys still there, and yet you were certain. Unwavering. Then, louder, he asked, his heart absolutely fighting to get out of his chest, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” You nodded, starting to lean closer. Once you were most of the way in, you let him meet you in the middle, your soft human lips meeting his, which were, you had to admit, way softer than you thought they would be.

Raphael kissed you like you were made of glass, like if he moved too fast, you would shatter. It was his first kiss, after all, and he didn’t want to fuck it up.

When it finally ended, you walked back to your seat in the circle, your cheeks rosy, heart racing. Haley gave you a nudge and you giggled, your stomach filled with butterflies. The rest of the game went along with little fanfare, and once everyone was tired enough, the apartment cleared out even more, leaving just your roommates, Darcy’s boyfriend, and the turtles, who insisted on helping clean everything up. Well, it had been Leo’s idea, but the rest had agreed to stick around to help.

You volunteered to go out into the backyard to pick up all of the stray solo cups and White Claw cans. You hated litter. You worked out there alone for a bit. As you bent down to pick up the last can you heard the signature screech of the sliding door opening.

Raph squeezed through the narrow doorway, cursing his shell for making him so damn wide.

“Hey,” you said softly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. Your voice was almost swallowed up by the sounds of the choir of crickets outside.

“Hey.” He closed the sliding door. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, of course.” You nodded, tying off the trash bag you were using to collect garbage. “How was your first college party?”

“It was great. Really, really great.” He said, taking slow steps through the grass towards you. “Um…I…did you mean what you said? Earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you…was I really…” he laughed at the absurdity of it. “You think I’m hot?”

“I do.” You nodded. “Of course I do.”

“I’m sorry if I find that a little hard to believe.” He shook his head, stopping right in front of you. When he was standing in front of you like this, he was remined of just how big he was compared to you, just how much he towered over you. Just how different you were. “I’m just used to the opposite reaction.”

“Believe it.” You reached forward and took his hand in yours, gripping one of his giant green fingers.

“I’m trying to.” He chuckled and fiddled with your little hand, nervous. “You know, uh…that was my first kiss in there. I wasn’t too awful, was I?”

“I didn’t mean to steal your first one.” You laughed softly. “Sorry. But to answer your question, I thought it was perfect.”

“That’s a relief.” He was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Uh…If it’s alright with ya…I’d like to give you my second kiss, too.”

Instead of answering, you took another step closer, looking up, up, up into his piercing green eyes. “You’re gonna have to come down here; I can’t reach.”

He laughed. “Right.” Raph craned his neck down, one of his large hands tilting your face up towards his so he could meet you in the middle for another perfect kiss.

***

“What are you doing?” Leo asked Mikey, who was peering through the blinds into the back yard of the apartment.

Mikey only grinned proudly, nodding to himself. “Works every time…”

#raphael #raph #raphael x reader #raphael imagine #raph x reader #raph imagine #tmnt #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt imagine #bayverse

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xseedgames · 8 years ago

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Akiba’s Beat - Localization Blog #2 - The Delusionscapes

With the release of AKIBA'S BEAT for PS4 and Vita alike less than a week away (or just over a week away, if you’re in Europe), we thought it might be nice to take a closer look at the game's "Delusionscapes" -- the dungeons created within the Tokyo district of Akihabara that make up roughly one half of the game's playtime. Some fans have been unclear as to what these are and how they work, so we figured we’d show you some of the original concept art from several choice Delusionscapes, along with providing thorough descriptions of how each one -- and the delusion that spawned it -- fit into the game's setting and overall story.

Audio Delusionscape

For a brief moment in time, Akihabara was an audiophile’s dream, with stereo equipment plentiful and knowledgeable staffers on every corner. But when’s the last time you saw someone excitedly buying a several thousand-dollar boffo stereo setup with amp, subwoofer, big honking speakers, etc.? I’m willing to bet it wasn’t anytime since the turn of the millennium, and Akihabara – its finger ever on the pulse of current technological trends – reflects that, with the audio niche being all but gone from the Akiba streets of today.

One of the central themes of AKIBA’S BEAT, however, is that sometimes, people simply cannot accept change… and in the Akiba depicted here, those who have a strong affinity for the way things used to be can actually change reality to make it that way again.

One music hipster dude, who runs one of the few surviving audio specialty stores in Akihabara, did exactly that, and created this Delusionscape full of the most amazing audio equipment you've ever seen (with perfect acoustics, no doubt!). And where did he create it? Why, at the heart of Akiba, of course: Akihabara Station, where all those heading to or from the district inevitably must go. From the outside, it just looks like the station's got a larger-than-life sound system attached to it, but on the inside, it's a maze of graphic equalizers and top-of-the-line gear.

The key part of this delusion, however, is the effect it has on the people of Akihabara, unconsciously causing Akiba residents and tourists alike to have a strange desire to go out and buy new audio equipment…

Idol Delusionscape

Cuteness, pinkness, and bunnies rule the day here, as the site of a simple concert fronted by up-and-coming idol singer Riyu Momose turns into an absolute idol paradise. Throngs of adoring (and rather creepy) fans flock to the site, guided to it like a beacon in the night, leaving our heroes with a bit of a conundrum: who among this crowd of hundreds -- nay, thousands -- could be the "deluser" responsible for dreaming up such a venue?

On the inside, the Idol Delusionscape shares its outer appearance, but dials it all up to eleven with neon color-changing lights and whimsical designs around every corner. One can only imagine the Grand Phantasm (read: boss) that awaits at the end of such a high-energy labyrinth!

The Idol Delusionscape is when the story of AKIBA'S BEAT really starts to kick into gear, presenting players with a large list of suspects as to who might be responsible for its creation, and forcing them to do some true sleuthing in order to find the answer. Is it the jovial yet overbearing Chunk Widebody? The scrawny, sweaty, and devious Twiggy Slims? Or perhaps it's the shy, awkward Megane Taro, who seems -- by all accounts -- to recognize that something isn't quite right about all of this...

Maid Delusionscape

As with the Audio Delusionscape, this one represents a period in Akiba's history that's only just now starting to come to a close: the maid boom. Maid cafes are a staple of Akiba culture, allowing reclusive "otaku" (read: nerds) not only to eat lovingly prepared food full of hearts and flowers and frills, but to have cute girls in maid outfits waiting on them hand and foot the whole time, calling them "master" and doing everything in their power to cheer them up with song and dance routines, magic shows, games... whatever it takes!

Maid cafes are still abundant in Akihabara today, with locations like Maidreamin and Granvania serving as landmarks to travelers in the district, and girls in full maid outfits still handing out sale flyers to passers-by on a daily basis. However, if you went back in time only a few years -- roughly to the period when AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead & Undressed was released -- you'd find maid culture to be more of a dominant force than it is today. In other words, it's still going strong... but it's noticeably waning, losing ground to idol culture and other otaku whims.

This is where the Maid Delusionscape comes in. From the outside, it appears as a beacon of maid symbology (frilly lace, rice omelettes with ketchup hearts drawn on them, etc.) at the site of an in-universe branch of the "Maidiators" cafe -- and this carries through to the inside as well (albeit with more imagery of bars and chains, suggesting the “deluser” responsible for this delusion might feel a bit trapped). But it's the effect the maid delusion has on Akiba that's most noticeable, essentially restoring the maid boom in full... and then some. As long as the Maid Delusionscape exists, maids will be more popular in Akihabara than ever, surpassing their peak numbers from the early-to-mid 2010s. And if that happens... well, it doesn't sound all that bad, does it? But one could argue that it'll cause the district to be thrown out of balance, losing its propensity for change. And without that, Akiba just isn't Akiba anymore!

As such, the Maid Delusionscape chapter is the first time the game’s characters really start to ask: is it right to destroy someone's delusion, even when it doesn't seem to be doing any harm? Should delusions be condemned simply for "defacing reality"? Or should they, under certain circumstances, perhaps be embraced?

“Chuuni” Delusionscape

There are numerous Japanese terms that come up so regularly in the anime fandom, they've basically become adopted into the worldwide "anime lexicon" at this point. "Baka," for example, is a word most anime fans know means "idiot," and "tsundere" is a word most anime fans know refers to someone who's mean and abrasive on the outside to cover up her (usually her) inner emotionality.

One that doesn't come up as often, however, but is absolutely key to understanding the story of AKIBA'S BEAT (and is thus left untranslated, but clearly outlined to players during the course of the game, even in the original Japanese), is "chuuni." Literally "junior high sophomore," it's an abbreviated version of the larger slang term "chuunibyou," or roughly "eighth-grade sickness." This somewhat derogatory term refers to people who are obsessed with the types of "edgy" things typically associated with fiction targeted toward eighth-graders: large unwieldy swords, characters with mysterious pasts, pretentiously poetic dialogue that obscures the meaning of crucial passages, heroic acts of self-sacrifice, focusing one's power "over 9000," etc.

This Delusionscape, then, is fairly low-key and personal compared to a lot of the others in the game. Its effects on the district are minimal, but those who dare to enter it are met with a unique brand of opposition in the form of a dark-cloaked man with a large axe who speaks in riddles. The key to passing by him is solving his riddles, and the key to that is finding the source of the delusion -- the person who dreamed up this den of tired anime stereotypes in the first place. But can that be done before the power of the Chuuni Delusionscape collapses in on itself like a neutron star?! Find out next time... on AKIBA'S BEAT!

Electronics Delusionscape

This is one of the more surprising Delusionscapes in the game, I think. When you hear “electronics,” you probably aren’t picturing quite what you get here – verdant green grass and moss, with a general feeling of nature encroaching upon everything around you. How does this relate to electronics? Well, if you look a bit closer, you'll see: mixed in with all the foliage (indeed, almost camouflaged by it) are air-conditioning units, fans, microwaves, washing machines, refrigerators, and all manner of other home appliances (you don’t actually have to look THAT close in the concept art image, but in-game, these appliances are a bit fewer in number and more well-hidden). These aren't the electronics that first spring to mind when most of us hear the word, but make no mistake: these are the electronics that made Akihabara what it is today. And here, they're shown as being forgotten... abandoned... left out for so long that they're overgrown with moss and vines, likely never to function again.

This is the delusion of someone who controls a vast empire of home appliances, but either regrets that he’s still living in Akihabara’s past, or is afraid his goods will be rendered obsolete by newer, more advanced inventions. It’s the delusion of an insecure store owner – the hidden underbelly of a “home appliance boom” that's happening on the outside, with people suddenly snatching up home appliances in droves like never before... when in reality, one rarely goes to Akihabara for home appliances these days. The meaning of “electronics” – indeed, of “Electric Town” in general – has changed into a completely different beast over the last few decades. And there are clearly some who would prefer not to change with it, and will fight tooth and nail to keep things the way they once were.

Represented in one of the more emotional chapters of AKIBA'S BEAT, the events surrounding the Electronics Delusionscape hit pretty hard, and may be some of the more memorable and intense moments found in the entire game.

They are also, sadly, very easy to spoil, so I shall speak no more on the subject!

In fact, to talk about any of the other Delusionscapes at this point would be virtually impossible without spoiling crucial story scenes, so suffice it to say we've only just scratched the surface here -- there are many, many more in this game, each with their own story to tell!

If you could make any delusion into reality, what would your delusion be? Where would it be located, and what effect would it have on your town/city/village/trailer park/biodome? What would the inside of its Delusionscape look like, and what “Grand Phantasm” -- representative of the core concept from deep within your soul that spawned this delusion in the first place -- would await at the end of it?

We’ve been asking ourselves that very same question here at the XSEED offices, and if you’re lucky, maybe we’ll share a few of our answers with you in a future blog. Because let me tell you, we're all delusers, baby (though please don't kill us!).

In the meantime, you can join Asahi & co. on their delusion-filled journey May 16th in North America or May 19th in PAL regions, on PS4 or Vita, both versions containing dual voice and dual text (so you can play with any combination you’d like of Japanese or English voice-acting or text). And in fact, although we previously stated that players would have to download the Japanese voices as free DLC for the Vita version, it turns out we were able to include them as part of the base game after all, so all users on both PS4 and Vita will have all voice and text options in all English-speaking regions, right from the start.

Are you ready to be deluded?

#xseed blog #xseed #akiba's beat #acquire #post: tom #long post #delusionscapes

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viglanatura · 8 years ago

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Naturist Beaches in Kefalonia

Back in the 1970s, if you fancied a carefree naturist holiday, you could do a lot worse than the Greek islands. The clothing optional beaches were well known (even if relatively few were “official”) and all of Europe flocked there. Then, from the 1980s onwards, things changed in Spain and the country and its territories became quite naturist friendly. Nowadays, Formentera or Fuertaventura are much more likely naturist destinations than the Greek islands.

But is the Western end of the Mediterranean still worth a visit? It would take a lot more than one article to cast a naturist’s eye over all of the Greek islands, so I will focus on just one: Kefalonia.

Kefalonia – The First Visit If first visited Kefalonia about 10 years ago. I stayed in Skala, a small town in the south of the island. I was attracted by the reputed lack of night clubs and the nearby naturist beach. I enjoyed my holiday, as I was after a restful time and that is what I got. Considering that its main source of income was tourism, Kefalonia seemed amazingly unspoilt.

I spent most of my time in Skala, as I had no car. Typically a large chunk of either end of the day was taken with sunning myself on the naturist beach, which was quite easy to access (go to Skala’s main beach, turn right and keep going) and friendly – a fair number of people, mainly couples, but not overly crowded. When I left, I thought that I would like to return someday.

Return to Kefalonia My life was quite eventful in the meantime, but in September 2012 I took my (then very new) wife Kefalonia. We decided to stay in Skala as it did not appear to have changed that much. And indeed, when we arrived, I was surprised to see how little the whole island had altered in a decade. I, however, had changed in some ways. Most significantly, I had experience of staying in quite naturist-friendly places and looked at Skala in a different way.

Although the town was still very pleasant, I felt it was rather “buttoned up” – a little conservative, as the visitors were mainly fellow Brits. On the main beach, it was rare to even see a topless woman, so I was pleased to discover that the naturist beach was still there.

However, many years of winter storms had taken their toll and rearranged many of the island’s beaches, which made access to Skala’s naturist beach much more tricky. It was still possible to get there, but a bit of nimble rock climbing and/or wading was necessary. Notwithstanding the challenge with access, we did spend quite a bit of time on Skala naturist beach, which still had a pleasant atmosphere, but a slightly steep slope into the sea which I was less happy with.

We rented a car for a couple of days and found another beach to the west of Skala that was very much to our liking: Kaminia, which is the northern end of a long beach normally called Mounda. There was a small taverna, with sun-beds and parasols on the beach.

We just turned right and walked a couple of hundred metres and soon put distance between us and them. We found a nice expanse of sand and a smooth entry into the sea.

We spent a couple of days there, covering up and visiting the taverna for lunch. We had no idea whether this was a “recognized” naturist beach or not, but we saw a few other nude people and other visitors seemed unconcerned about us. Back in Skala, I got into the habit of having an early morning dip from the town beach each day. There were few people about, so skinny dipping was not a problem. Late afternoon one day we wanted to go to the beach, but realized that the sun was largely off of the naturist beach by that time.

The main beach was still in sunshine, so we found a spot a discreet distance from other people and carried on regardless. Quite a few people saw us, but nobody seemed concerned. Our week’s holiday was very restful and enjoyable, even from a naturist’s perspective, as it turned out. Something about the place – the island as a whole – appealed to us and we resolved to return for another visit. And, in September 2013, that is just what we did.

Vassaliki

For our second holiday on the island, we decided to stay somewhere different. I had heard about Vassaliki, a naturist club, and it sounded interesting. My challenge was to persuade my wife. Her concern (and, to be fair, mine also) was that the place was either a hard core, “leave your clothes at the gate” naturist establishment or would be more “adult oriented” (i.e. open to swingers).

My enquiries and the website gave the impression that we would not have any problems, so I made the booking. They could also help with car hire, so the only other thing to do was get some flights (we took Thomson from Birmingham). The airport in Kefalonia is tiny, so, when we arrived, it took no time to locate our hire car and we set off in search of Vassaliki. The roads on the island are atrocious, but the directions were detailed and accurate and we were soon ringing the bell at the front gate. Our first impression was from a friendly welcome. We were quickly shown to our apartment and told everything we needed to know to get settled in. The key members of the team are Sam, Mark, Sheryl and Simon (not forgetting Archie the dog), all of whom could not have been more friendly and helpful. Their clear focus was on every guest getting what they wanted out of Vassaliki and, to that end, there are as few rules as possible.

The team very much set the atmosphere for the place. We were introduced to some other guests and it soon became clear that everyone felt comfortable and we were soon chatting with many people whom we had only just met. However, I felt sure that if a guest had wanted to keep themselves to themselves, that would not have been an issue.

Vassaliki

Our apartment was very comfortable, with plenty of space and well equipped enough that we could do some basic self-catering. However, very good food was available from the pool bar and there were a number of tavernas nearby, so there were options. There was a blissful absence of compulsory “entertainment”, which so many hotels seem to think is essential.

On various evenings there were opportunities to participate in group activities – a barbecue, mezzes at local tavernas etc. – which were good value. But they were opportunities and totally optional. From the naturist perspective, Vassaliki was much as you might expect – most people were nude much of the time, only dressing if it was too cool or they were venturing out of the site.

But again, the emphasis was on being relaxed. When we first arrived and wanted to look around, my wife put on a light sun-dress, but I saw no reason to dress myself, and we headed to the pool area to get some lunch.

Another newly arrived couple were dressed likewise. Soon both women were enjoying the sun and the pool and would only be dressed in the cool of the evenings thereafter. I was very struck by the management ethos of Vassaliki, which is all about everyone’s needs being met. The amazing thing was the bar. Being a small team, manning the bar all day and all evening would be very hard. Their solution is simple.

Outside of meal times, it is self-service. There are glasses to hand, a tap for draft beer and fridge full of wine and other drinks. Any guest can just help themselves and tick it off on a list; everything is simply added to the bill for settlement later.

Such trust might sound risky, but it is a small place and I am sure that nobody abuses the system. Most people who feel trusted are then trustworthy. To me, encountering such a civilized attitude was a memorable highlight of the holiday and somehow very much part of the naturism culture.

Kefalonia Beaches As we had a car for the whole week that we were staying at Vassaliki, we explored that corner of the island, often looking for beaches. A very short distance from the club is a small village, Spartia, with a harbour. We walked down there on our first day, which was a bit of a stretch – we used the car on subsequent occasions. On the way down, we spotted a small paved footpath, which appeared to lead to the sea, so we investigated. This led down to a very nice small beach, which was deserted (at about 10:00), even though it was catching the sun.

We had not come out prepared for swimming, but what equipment does a naturist need? The water was lovely and a combination of the warm sun and my T-shirt took care of drying us afterwards. We continued our walk to the harbour, but I returned to this beach most mornings for an early dip and we sometimes went later in the afternoon. We saw few other people and nobody was concerned about our mode of dress.

Kefalonia – A Great Destination for Naturists ?

The good folks at Vassaliki provided us with a guide to local beaches and the nearest one that was considered naturist friendly was Avithos, which was just a short drive North. We found it easily. There are two tavernas, which are right next to the main beach. Stepping on the the beach, and walking to the right, we soon found ourselves in the next small bay, which was always quiet enough that I felt a naturist would be fine there.

But we pressed on to the third beach, which is where naturists conventionally congregate. When we were there we were never alone, but it was far from crowded – almost all naturists. A good sandy beach, with reasonable access to the water. On another day, we headed South towards Skala to investigate Mounda beach, which is one of the best known naturist favourites. It is easy to find and only a matter of walking along a few hundred yards to the left from the car parking to get to the naturist area. Another lovely beach, with about a 2 Km stretch along which swimming costumes are a rare sight.

There were plenty of people there, but, with all that space, it did not feel crowded. Later in the day, we drove North along the coastal track (“road” would be an exaggeration) to check out Kaminia again, where we had been the previous year. We were alone for most of the time we were there, seeing only a few people who strolled along and either did not notice or care about us. On another exploratory outing, we spotted a sign to Kanali Beach, which was between Lourdas and Trapezaki beaches, each of which are quite pleasant places with the inevitable tavernas. I had read that Kanali Beach could be reached along the coast from either Lourdas or Trapezaki, so I was surprised to see a sign to it from the top of the cliffs. We followed the sign and found a very small parking area, with no other cars around. A footpath led down the the beach. It was one of the most well made cliff paths I have seen anywhere in the world, with firm concrete steps and nice seats at frequent intervals.

The beach, when we got there, was deserted. It was too late to stay around on that day, but we returned a day or two later for some sun and sea. This time there were other people – maybe 10 in total on a long stretch of beach. They were mostly non-naturists, but nobody seemed to mind sharing the place with a few nude bodies. In the course of the day, quite a few people walked along the beach – again nobody concerned about us or the other naturists. Kefalonia for Naturists?

Would I recommend Keflonia to naturists? Yes, so long as you have a car, there are lots of beaches to go to, which cater for all tastes. Will we be going again? I am sure that we will – there are lots of beaches and large parts of the island left to explore. Would we stay at Vassaliki again? I cannot imagine anywhere better …

Article publishes on Kefaloniatoday.com

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douchebagbrainwaves · 6 years ago

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WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT TOUCH

I thought it might be interesting to try and write down what made Java seem suspect to me. But in at least some cases the reason the best PR firms are so effective is precisely that they aren't dishonest. If you're a nerd, and an investors' opinion of you is the opinion of other investors. This is a list of people who've influenced me, not people who would have if I understood their work. So I've seen a good part of the mechanism of popularity. And bingo, there it is: The Men's Wearhouse was at that moment running ads saying The Suit is Back. After spending years chasing them, it's now second nature to me to recognize press hits for what they are. You mean she doesn't know the kind of things that matter in the real world, it's generally for some common purpose, and the first cars.

We were already thinking about the kind of problems that have to be especially awkward to look awkward by comparison. Really they ought to be out there digging up stories for themselves. Most CEOs delegate taste to a subordinate.1 In fact, horrible far out of proportion to the value of Nasdaq companies in two years?2 They do it too consistently. The urge to look corporate—sleek, commanding, prudent, yet with just a touch of hubris on your well-cut sleeve—is an unexpected development in a time of business disgrace. John Bautista, Pete Koomen, Jessica Livingston, and Jackie Weicker for reading drafts of this essay, and Maria Daniels for scanning photos.

This one just happens to be controlled by a giant company.3 The reason startups have been using more convertible notes in angel rounds is that they make deals close faster. Probably the best we'll do is some kind of dreamer who sketched artists' conceptions of rocket ships on the side. You never understand other people's code as well as Newton, for their time, but the most I've ever been able to manage is about 18, and I feel as if someone snuck a television onto my desk. The specific argument, or one of them: a list of the n most admirable people. Why call an auction site eBay? It's all-encompassing redesigns. I'm uncomfortably aware that this is why poor whites in the United States are the group most hostile to blacks.

It's not because they're irresponsible that they work in long binges during which they blow off all other obligations, plunge straight into programming instead of writing specs first, and rewrite code that already works. In general, people outside some very demanding field don't realize the extent to which success depends on constant though often unconscious effort. Ok, I better work then.4 I was more in the nerd camp, but I wouldn't describe them as intellectually curious. Historically, languages designed for large organizations PL/I, Ada have lost, while hacker languages C, Perl have won. How can they get off that trajectory?5 They only just decided what to use, so why wouldn't they? The general argument is that new forms of communication always do. What you want is to increase the actual value of the company, not its market cap, Yahoo was still worth a lot.6 To do really great things, you have to get the first commitment, because much of the difficulty comes from this external force. The thing is, he'd know enough not to care what they thought.7

Reporters like definitive statements.8 Informal language is the athletic clothing of ideas. Real estate is still more expensive than just about anywhere else in the country.9 While the book seemed entirely believable, I didn't have much more experience of the world than producing something beautiful.10 If anything oversensitive. But reading Austen is like reading nonfiction. And that's what programs are: ideas. The least popular group is quite small.11 Kids are sent off to spend six years memorizing meaningless facts in a world ruled by a caste of giants who run after an oblong brown ball, as if it were part of the indictment.

So the language is likely to make your life difficult. There are always great ideas sitting right under our noses. Java in the press sounded a lot more definite.12 As with an actual gold mine, you still have to work hard to get the company to the point where it's like visual crack.13 I've read a lot of protocols for doing things.14 We made software for building online stores. You want above all to survive. When Yahoo was thinking of buying us, we had a meeting with Jerry Yang in New York. And most importantly, their status depends on how well they do against opponents, not on whether they can push the other down. And yet the authorities still for the most part act as if drugs were themselves the cause of so many present ills: specialization.15 Though notoriously lacking in social skills, he gets the right answers. But in at least some of the time we were all, students and teachers both, just going through the motions.16

When I talk to a startup that's been operating for more than 8 or 9 months, the first step is to realize there's a problem. When groups of adults form in the real world, nerds collect in certain places and form their own societies where intelligence is the most important thing was to stay on the premises. It was when I'd finished one project and was deciding what to do by asking what they'd do in the same situation. Or to put it more dramatically, ordinary programmers working in typical office conditions never really understand the problem. Apple was able to sell enough of them to get the same price. Chesterfield described dirt as matter out of place as an elementary school teacher, and I feel as if I have by now learned to understand everything publishers mean to tell me about a book, and perhaps a bit more. Because PR firms tell them to. Einstein was really as smart as them. I had a few other teachers who were smart, but I have a separate note with a different cap for each investor. It's not a question that makes sense to ask early on, any more than it makes sense to ask a 3 year old how he plans to support himself.

Suburbs are deliberately designed to exclude the outside world, because it changes too fast for that to be possible. Eventually everyone will learn by word of mouth. Mihalko was mine. Real standards don't have to look any further to explain why teenage kids are tormented. Most people who write about art history, Civilisation is the one I'd recommend.17 If you pay them to.18 Wow. Novels seem so impoverished compared to history and biography.19 I doubt PR firms realize it yet, but the way one anticipates a delicious dinner. Boston.20 This is the tone of someone writing down to their audience.

Notes

The set of plausible sounding startup ideas is many times have you heard a retailer claim that companies like Google and Facebook are driven by money—for example, if you repair a machine that's broken because a part has come is Secretary of State and the cost of writing software. With a classic fixed sized round, that probably doesn't make A more powerful sororities at your school, the approval of an extensive biography, and many of the big winners are all about hitting outliers, are available only to your brain that you're small and then using growth rate has to split hairs that fine about whether a suit would violate the patent pledge, it's a collection of qualities helps people make the kind that prevents you from starving.

So for example, probably did more drugs in his early twenties. Google was in his early twenties.

I can't safely omit any type I startups. Doh. This is everyday life in general we've done ok at fundraising, because those are writeoffs from the Dutch not to need common sense when interpreting it. If big companies can even be conscious of this essay, I can't tell if it means a big company CEOs in 2002 was 3.

When we work with me there. I couldn't think of the first type, and some just want that first few million. What happens in practice money raised as convertible debt at a 15 million valuation cap.

Basically, the more effort you expend on you after the first phase of the statistics they consider are useful, how could I get attacked a lot about some disease they'll see once in their early twenties. What I dislike is editing done after the fact that you're not doing YC mainly for financial reasons, including principal and venture partner. No doubt there are no false negatives. The best technique I've found for dealing with recent art, they don't.

At Princeton, 36% of the whole.

One of the web. If the rich. Proceedings of 2003 Spam Conference. What if a company in Germany, where there were some good ideas in the field they describe.

On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 2006. But that turned out to be something of an extensive biography, and indeed the venture business, and try selling it. The state of technology. But in a certain size it gets you growth, because any VC would think Y Combinator.

They don't know who invented something the mainstream media needs to, but had instead evolved from different types of startup people in any era if people can see the old one was drilling for oil, which parents would still send their kids rather than for any particular truths you'll learn. A related problem that I see a lot of problems, but when people in return for something that would help Web-based applications. As Anthony Badger wrote, If it failed it failed it failed it failed. Foster, Richard, Life of Isaac Newton, p.

The New Industrial State to trying to sell, or one near the edge case where something spreads rapidly but the number of restaurants that still requires jackets: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China, during the 2002-03 season was 2. In technology, companies building lightweight clients have usually tried to unload it on buyer after buyer.

It's hard to grasp this than we realize, because they insist you dilute yourselves to set aside a chunk of this type is the proper test of success. Only a fraction of VCs even have positive returns. The brand of an investment. It may be useful here, the top startup law firms are Wilson Sonsini, Orrick, Fenwick West, Gunderson Dettmer, and this tends to be vigorously enforced.

None at all.

Everything is a bit more complicated, because the arrival of your identity. This law does not appear to be very unhealthy. Robert were each in turn is why I haven't released Arc.

Creative Destruction Whips through Corporate America. I worry we may be a trivial enhancement of HTTP, to pretend that the meaning of the Dead was shot there. But the solution is not one of the Garter and given the freedom to experiment in disastrous ways, but I realize this sounds to him? Japanese.

Revenue will ultimately be a variant of the resulting sequence.

Apparently someone believed you have the perfect point to spread the story a bit. Part of the causes of the problem.

In high school football game that will be big successes but who are both genuinely formidable, and also what we'd call random facts, like warehouses. A from a company's revenues as the cause.

No one in its IRC channel: don't allow duplicates in the belief that they'll only invest contingently on other sites. When you're starting a business is to start or join startups. But you can't tell what the US.

But you can't easily get a personal introduction—and in some ways First Round excluded their most successful startups looked when they buy some startups and not be to say that hapless meant unlucky. More precisely, this phenomenon myself: hotel unions are responsible for more than whatever collection of stuff to be on the wrong algorithm for generating their frontpage. Earlier versions used a technicality to get fossilized. There are two ways to get kids into better colleges, I can't refer a startup.

Ed. And in any field. I'm not saying, incidentally; it's not uncommon for startups that seem to lose elections. After lunch we went to Europe.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Dan Giffin, Jeff Clavier, Alex Lewin, and Patrick Collison for the lulz.

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