#might join a local cosplay group.

[oflgtfol]

we are so back (in my star wars era)

[azuretl]

B-PROJECT

I am honored to announce that I was part of the fantastic localization team that's bringing Ryusei*Fantasia to the west!

With Ryusei*Fantasia announced, I thought I could write a little bit about my experiences with B-PRO and the interesting coincidences that led me to this fantastic franchise. Since I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this blog, and I'm deadly sick still, I might as well do a bit of random writing and talk a bit about the project! Weird rambling under the cut.

So, I actually knew about B-PRO when it was first announced years ago. My sister and I are huge fans of TMR (TM Revolution, aka Takanori Nishikawa) which stemmed from our love for the Sengoku Basara franchise. (I can go on forever about that one... We did cosplays, photoshoots, nightly gaming sessions [we had all the games in Japanese], I wrote fanfics... um yeah. It was...*a time* :P ) We caught wind that TMR was producing a new virtual idol group...and that's when I learned about B-PRO.

I didn't know the boys, but I did know that the music was going to be FIRE... And after seeing images of the characters, they didn't really have a lasting impression (except for Korekuni... At the time, I recognized him as "Kishio Daisuke's character" :'D I'm also a seiyuu fanatic, so...).

(Ahhh...the Daisuke team for KITAKADO...)

Fast forward to a few years later, B-PRO was still in its infancy, and, being the huge seiyuu fan that I am, I listened to a lot of seiyuu music. (I-CHU, Actors franchise, i7, etc. etc...) When just playing a random song list, I ran into some B-PRO music. That's really the extent of what I knew about it... It had a great voice cast and the music is FIRE.

I also found out that Kato Kazuki is voicing in it :O (And then I was certain the music was going to be SOOOO GOOOOD). I'm also a huuuge tenipuri fan (POT head here :'D. Cosplays, fanfics, fanart, dream novels [do people even remember those?] I've done it all.) and naturally, I became a huge Tenimyu fan as well (Prince of Tennis Musicals... I even got a group of friends together to cosplay + reenact some dances from Tenimyu for cosplay contests...and won quite a few of them too ;) ). My favorite Tenimyu cast was the Dream Live 3 group. (I guess they're considered season 2 Seigaku?) with the D-boys and Yanagi Kotaro/Endou Yuya as their Ryouma. (People who don't know Tenimyu, sorry for all the terminology that probably doesn't make sense to you lol... *sweat*) And my favorite school happened to be Hyoutei.

Now, for those who don't know, Kato Kazuki (voice of Aizome) played the captain of Hyoutei's tennis club in the musicals (Atobe Keigo) and he EMBODIED that smug, ore-sama sonuvabitch <3 aura. If you don't know PoT, Atobe is basically Aizome but younger and filthy rich. And naturally, Tenimyu being a musical, meant Kato Kazuki had to sing live... and I fell in LOVE with his voice. He is such an amazing singer! And actor! (I also started watching Kamen Rider Kabuto because of him... he plays one of the Kamen Riders and he is, again, a smug, ore-sama sonuvabitch... I guess he gets typecasted a lot...)

All this is to say, I really really really like Kato Kazuki...as an actor, singer, performer... he excudes sexy and he has so. much. presence. Seeing him working in an idol franchise was pretty refreshing and exciting!

(Side note, Goshi's voice actor- Toyonaga Toshiyuki is also in the Prince of Tennis musical... and he shared the stage with Aizome's voice actor, Kato Kazuki, quite a lot. They also interacted a lot in the backstage behind-the-scenes videos. They're really good friends so... queue my utter surprise when I found out how Goshi and Aizome interact in the stories >>;;;; )

So that was really the extent of my knowledge of B-PRO. Great music, great cast, great character designs. So when I was approached about joining the team, I was very eager to throw my hat into the ring. (PLUS my absolute favorite voice actor, Kakihara Tetsuya is in it... I HAD TO!!!) But boy, oh boy, was I hit with UTTER SURPRISE when I found out how much DRAMA and INTENSITY and STORY the franchise actually has!!!

What I thought might've been "just another idol game" turned out to be so full of drama... It was such a nice, pleasant surprise. I won't go too much into the process and the stories, since you'll all have to play the game to find out! But wow, all the boys were *nothing* like I thought they were at first.

Just for fun, here's what I thought at first vs what I think of them now. (Opinions are my own... and I'm sorry that some of my earlier opinions were...for lack of a better word, *dumb* )

THRIVE:

Goshi Typical bad boy chara -> I would love to have this character as a bigger brother. He's caring and really looks out for his kouhai... How can anyone NOT like him??? He's my second favorite...!

Aizome It's Kato Kazuki...so the typical Ore-sama kei, smug, flirty -> Ore-sama kei, smug, (playfully) flirty, and someone with so, so much depth. I want to be his friend...just to be there for him. He needs Goshi and Ashu more than he thinks. And you'll never convince me that he and Goshi aren't an old married couple that gets into fights literally every two seconds.

Ashu Genki boi #1 -> I remember his scenes very strongly, oddly enough. THRIVE needs him. Aizome and Goshi need him. He may act like a happy-go-lucky boyo with too much energy, but he's the water that helps keep the other Aizome and Goshi flowers alive, whether they realize that or not. He's also a really, really good senpai :')

KITAKORE

Kitakado Prince-kei. It's Ono Daisuke so...guessing we're gonna get something like his Starry Sky counterpart. -> Pretty much that... but he's also sooo silly whenever Korekuni is involved. Has a silly side to him, and a very loving and charming side too. He's a good guy XD and no one can convince me that he's NOT a married couple with Korekuni ._.

Korekuni Kishio Daisuke!!!! The Daisuke combo! Pretty boy. Guess he's snobby? -> I see a lot of myself in him. He's highly professional and demands the same level of professionalism from his peers, though that can come off as strict. He's so much more than his appearance, and he's not afraid to show that.

MooNs

Masunaga (I'M SO SORRY FOR SAYING THIS)I thought he looked...kinda boring...? -> He was one of the characters that I did the most research on because I wanted to grasp his character and who he really is...and when I did, boy... the tears were everywhere. I just want him to be happy. His side story is one that I remember MOST vividly. He's a good leader and a good person and I just really really really want him to be happy.

Onzai KAKKIIIIIII *screams and flails my arms around* I thought I would love him the most because of his voice actor. (I am obsessed with Kakihara Tetsuya) -> *pats his head* You're a good boy. I wish you will love yourself and realize how much everyone loves you ;~; He's more than his pretty looks... and he's very insightful. He really understands his teammates and cares for them deeply.

Osari The last time I heard Morikubo Shotaro voice a genki boy was GET BACKERS. [I KNOW I'M SHOWING MY AGE BY SAYING THAT...] Genki Boi #2. -> The mood-maker and a ray of sunshine. His crazy nicknames almost drove me nuts 8'D but he's such a lovable character. It's impossible to dislike him. I know one of the TLers on the team REALLY likes him and I can understand why!

Nome I love this character design SO MUCH!!! He's so good-looking! -> He's still really good-looking...I love his hair color...his build...his everything. Character-design wise, he's still my favorite. Was funny when I found out he's a gym buff :'D makes sense... He would also make a good big brother to the boys ;u; Though I THINK he has a big brother?? If I remember one of the special events I translated right...

Sekimura I'm usually not a fan of megane-types. He's okay. (I'M SO SORRY FOR SAYING THAT...AND I HATE MYSELF FOR NOT APPRECIATING HIM MORE BEFORE) -> WOW where to start. I want him to be successful. I want him to be happy. He has SO, SO, SO much depth. He deserves SO, SO, SO much. He breaks the usual megane-type trope and he's his own self that stands out SO MUCH. I appreciate him so much for his faithful, loyal support of his friends and I just REALLY want him to be happy. And no one can convince me that he's NOT madly obsessed with Onzai. He'd date him if he got the chance. :P

KiLLER KiNG

First off, before diving into characters, can I say that THESE BOYS ARE THE FURTHEST THING FROM SOMETHING AS EDGY AS "KILLER KING" I expected super edgy boys in this band... ._.;;

Haruhi Genki Boy #3. Ah, I think this will be my favorite genki boy. -> He is not my favorite genki boy :'D He's still great of course!!! But it's funny how that didn't turn out the way I thought it would. He's also a giant ray of sunshine, though a bit selfish, but that's part of his charm. The side story for him though... *Haaah* Haruhi... just...whyyyy... But I really really really liked his backstory. He admits his faults and grows to overcome them and I truly, really respect that.

Yuduki The gloomier of the twins. Lack self-esteem? -> He does lack self-esteem, but he grows from it too. I actually really like Yuduki...I was surprised because I didn't expect that. Again, he's another boy that had way more depth than I imagined. He takes good care of Haruhi, but he's not limited to being Haruhi's shadow. His individual stories away from Haruhi are where he really shines, I think. Go for it, Yuduki! Ganbare!!!

Akane Genki boy #4. -> MUST. PROTECC. AKANEEEE. *HISSSSS* The BIGGEST surprise for me is that Akane became my TOP. FAVORITE. BOY. His background story and his interactions in the special event stories made me empathize with him A LOT. He has INTENSE imposter syndrome and he doesn't know when to stand up for himself...so he needs his friends to help him. And in response, he LOVES his friends and will do anything to help them. He's selfless for his friends but tends to forget to care for himself. I can go ON AND ON but please, please PLEASE check out his backstory when the game comes out!!! That hit me really hard... and it resonated with me a lot. It might not with others, but it really did with me. Akane love. *sob sob sob*

Shingari Ah, it's Egu... Egu? With that kinda character design? I guess he's the silent type then? -> There's more depth than I imagined. I remember his backstory quite well, too, because it showed a more vulnerable side to him, and I came to understand Shingari really well after it. *pats his head* He's a good boy. I hope him success. Don't worry, you'll have your friends and your senpai with you! It's okay to be a bit vulnerable sometimes!

So...that was my evaluation of the characters before and after working on the series. It's okay if you don't agree with my views on the boys, I'm not saying they're the only view and the right view...it's just *my* view, after working on the select parts of the game that I did. It was *amazing* how much my opinions changed. No one was really entirely what I thought they were like...that just shows how much depth the characters really have. They're not bound to just their trope, but there's so much more about them... and I came to appreciate them and the franchise EVEN MORE than ever.

I am so genuinely blessed to have gotten the chance to work on this series and I am so genuinely grateful to PQube and the team that was put together for this title. I can't wait for all of you to play the game and experience this yourself, whether you're new to B-PRO or a veteran fan.

[krazys-ass-emporium]

8 Shows to know you

@j-ellyfish​ tagged me and my slow ass is finally filling this out.

1. Star Trek (Mostly TOS, but also TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Sorry, but the new stuff just doesn’t look like Star Trek to me.)

This was my first fandom I guess?? I didn’t actually interact with anyone since this is before I ventured onto the depths of the interwebs. I was 10 years old and everyone kept calling me a Vulcan because of how literal I was. I did not know what a Vulcan was but soon found out and got my grubby hands on every piece of media I could find at the local library. I probably watched every VHS and read every novel they had. Spock is still my favorite to this day. I wrote my freaking GED essay about him.

2. Redwall

I might have been even younger when I got into this than when I got into Star Trek. This is just so unknown no one knows what I’m talking about lolol. It was more the books than the show, but it has a short animated series so it still counts. I was obsessed with this. I made forts out of logs by the stream across the street from my house and swords out of wood and play-fought my brother with them.

3. Teen Titans

This was probably my segue into anime. Yes, this isn’t actually an anime, but since it incorporates anime aspects it got me used to them?? I was very into superheroes in general when I was like 12 to 15 or so, but these were my top fave. Controversial opinion: DC is better than Marvel. I made my very first OC based on Teen Titans I think she might have been partly Star Trek too lol. I also started drawing people because of this show. Before that I only drew horses and wolves.

4. InuYasha

My very first anime. It all started when I saw a manga at the library and then looked up the anime on YouTube. Ah, the memories of watching an episode in three parts and you’d never know if it would be the dub or the sub. This was the first fandom where I actually joined the interwebs and interacted with human type people. The internet in 2006 was a very different place lol. I got my first email address (which I still have lol) to join this website called Fanart Central so I could post my InuYasha fanart. I found my first online friends there too. I miss them...

5.  Pokémon

I’m not entirely sure how I managed to watch as much of this as I did, but I only gave up when I got to Alola. The original is my favorite, but I also liked some of the newer stuff too. I drew art for Pokémon too and let me tell you, it’s the most toxic hell hole of a fandom ever. I’ve never gotten flames before Pokémon, all for liking an unpopular ship lol. The internet in 2010 was the Wild West.

6. Yu-Gi-Oh!

Holy crap was I into Ygo. I still have my room covered in it lol. I still love it to bits, but I’ve calmed down a lot. I have a lot of cards too and I do know how to play, but not competitively and I don’t know anyone in person who wants to duel me :( I got into cosplay because of Ygo and made my first cosplay (Joey Wheeler) in 2013. I apparently like to suffer because Ygo cosplays are NOT easy. I made my still best friend in this fandom. Seriously, this is one of the best fandoms out there, most everyone is so nice.

7. Supernatural

(Don’t look at me, I know pfft). I can’t deny how much I like this show... it’s honestly the one I’ve rewatched the most times. I no not know why. I guess it’s just easy to binge lol. You can blame my group of gay guy friends back in 2013 for me getting into this. It’s also why I got Netflix, and tumblr. And here I still am...

8. Hetalia

Oh wow, a Hetalia blog having Hetalia on the list, weird. Got into this at the crusty old age of 28, so I don’t have the nostalgia for it like a lot of y’all. I fell hard pretty fast. I also have made way more friends than probably any other fandom I’ve been in? Probably because I stuck my head out of my shell for a bit lol.

I tag no one because I’m lazy, do it if you want and you can blame me pfft.

[cosplayinamerica]

I had the opportunity to send some questions to Andrew Liptak about his new book Cosplay: A History so I asked him about his cosplaying days first.

1) What was your first cosplay and what are you working on currently?

My first “real” costume after Halloween costumes was an Imperial Stormtrooper. It was a costume that I’d coveted ever since seeing A New Hope in theaters in 1997, and I’d spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make one. In my final year of high school, my high school band played music from Star Wars (I played trumpet), and we were able to get a member of the 501st Legion to come and join us.

His costume blew me away, and that summer, he sold me an FX kit (the then-standard Stormtrooper costume that was out there), which I then assembled and wore for a little over a decade before I replaced it with a more accurate version. I still have it: it’s on a mannequin in my basement.

I’ve got a couple of random projects in the works now that are in pretty early stages. I have a Shoretrooper kit from 850 Armor Works that I’ve been piecing together. I’d originally bought it for my wife, but she sort of lost interest, so I’m planning on doing it up as a Captain variant of that particular costume. I also have a First Order stormtrooper kit that I want to put together to replace my existing FOTK (this new kit is plastic, so it’s much, much lighter than my current fiberglass costume.) And finally, I have a 212th Airborne Clone from Revenge of the Sith that is done: I just need to get it to fit me.

2) Has cosplay impacted your life personally?

Cosplay has impacted my life considerably: it provided a community at a time when I most needed it in the years after college. After graduating, I had disposable money and a car, so I was frequently out and about throughout New England trooping with my local 501st garrison. I’ve made some of my best friends in the world through the group, and it’s still a big part of my life.

But it’s also imparted an element of what I call “practical creativity”. I grew up in a household that had a workshop and I learned from my dad how to do things like cut wood, construct things out of it, change my own oil in my car, and generally do things on my own: working with my hands. Cosplay reinforced that: it’s helped me realize that with time, patience, and a little research, you can do a lot of things on your own: I’ve painted houses, redid my bathroom, fixed leaks/cracks/carpet/siding, etc at my house, and found creative solutions that I might not have arrived at if I hadn’t spent time building costumes. I know more about glue, paint, cutting materials, and whatnot, because of that experience.

3) What trends have you seen in cosplay from when you first started till today?

There are so many things that have changed! I think the first is just how popular science fiction and fantasy franchises have come since I started back in 2003: Star Wars has always been a mainstream thing, but the act of cosplaying has come a long way along with that growing popularity. Those films and genres have always been popular for good reasons: they’re exciting and interesting, and it’s good to see people reacting to it more and more, and with less shame than they might have before.

There are two other big trends that come to mind: the advances in how we use materials to build costumes has changed quite a bit. Materials like EVA foam and Worbla weren’t nearly as popular when I started, so the adoption of those materials makes it easier for cosplayers to start in on this hobby. Things like 3D printing and YouTube tutorials also really help.

The other is logistics, helped along by big online platforms like Amazon or Etsy: it’s easier than ever to buy a costume or the components. When I bought my first set of armor back in 2003, I had to know a guy who know a guy. Now, you can just click a couple of buttons.

4)  What's the process like in writing this book?

Long. The pitch for me to write it first came in 2016: the earlier version would have been entirely about the 501st Legion. But as I researched, I realized that I couldn’t just tell the story of the group: I had to expand it out beyond its borders to talk about the context of where it came from, which is what this ultimately became.

From there, it was a matter of coming up with an outline, which guided what I had to research: there was a lot of work in finding early examples of cosplay, looking through documents and records from older conventions and fan groups to try and get a clear story for how this hobby evolved over the decades.

The other component of that was interviews: I attended a whole bunch of cons in 2019 before the pandemic, and interviewed a whole bunch of folks about their experiences and history as cosplayers, and photographing them at cons. It was a lot of fun. It was also the tip of the iceberg: there are so many people in the cosplay field, with so many stories, and while I got a good cross-section of folks, there were so many rocks that I’d tip over to find a whole new thread of stories and people to talk to. But, the reality of the book is that there are deadlines and a finite number of pages, so you take what you can get and work with it.

5)  Has the book changed from the original conception to how it is today?

Very much so. As I noted a moment ago, I had originally set out to put together a book about the history of the 501st Legion. That didn’t end up happening for a variety of reasons, but I repackaged and repitched it as a history of cosplay as a whole. (The original title was Knights in Plastic Armor). I’m happy that I did that, because the larger story of cosplay is rich and fascinating.

But even while writing the book, we made some significant changes. I had originally outlined the book in three parts: When We Cosplay, Why We Cosplay, and House We Cosplay, which has been reorganized a bit for this final version (it’s much stronger now). There were also some interesting topics that I came across while researching: a picture of a reenactment in the 1800s led me down the path of living history and military reenactments, which I included. A chance encounter with a book about Jules Verne led me to track down details about a costume party he threw, and things like that: every new revelation brought with it new details to uncover, and every new interviewee brought me new fidelity to the history.

A good example here is a woman named Astrid Bear, who was heavily involved in the science fiction fan community. She was party to a lot of those early developments from an early age, and she outlined something really interesting to me in my interview with her: Star Trek had a huge impact on the cosplay community, because the costumes were relatively comfortable. When the show arrived, costuming at cons was largely restricted to designated times for specific events. When Star Trek arrived, it brought in new fans, but also new attitudes: fans started wearing the costumes in the halls (there was some friction from long-term con goers about this!) and that change in culture helped to bring about the con environment that we see these days.

6)  Were there topics cut from the book that you hope to revisit one day?

Not so much things that were cut: we made some cuts for length and clarity where I got a little too into the weeds, but there were some things that I’d hoped to have gotten to that I didn’t end up covering that much: I wanted to do a chapter about Furries, but just didn’t get to that. I also wanted to put together a chapter about the KKK and how they used masks to convey their horrible views, and the repercussions that came with that: masking laws and whatnot that still are on the books today. Author Arthur Conan Doyle liked to dress up as his character Professor Challenger, which I learned too late to include as another early example.

I’m hoping though, to actually write those chapters (and some others — I have a short list) up, and release them to my newsletter, Transfer Orbit as a series that I’m thinking I’ll call the “Lost Chapters”, which should be fun to do in the coming months.

7) Advice for first time cosplayers?

I think the best advice that I have is to make characters that you love: don’t pay attention to the cycle that we’ve found ourselves in where everyone rushes to make the most popular character of the moment (and by extension, don’t get sucked into the world of social media likes and churn). Make that obscure character that you’ve always wanted to do, take the time to make the costumes that you want to make, rather than rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline or to stay relevant.

Also, make sure you use proper ventilation when you’re using chemicals / sanding / painting, etc., wear safety equipment, and so forth. Safety first!

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

Ouran High HCs

For the fifteenth birthday of one of my favorite romantic comedies, and the day that I started watching said romantic comedy with my boyfriend who is relatively new to anime it got me thinking about these characters and how wonderfully diverse their personalities are. The show has 100% chaotic energy and I love it so much. I wanted to look at every major character in the host club (Haruhi, Tamaki, Kyoya, Hikaru, my favorite twin Kaoru, Honey-senpai, and of course Mori-senpai.) using all their personalities and make some head-canons for favorite group of crazies!

Haruhi:

- She/they icon, we stan

- Always preferred to wear more masculine clothes growing up, they were less expensive than the feminine ones. Plus she felt more comfortable in a pair of shorts as opposed to a dress.

- A very active child, she was always running around her neighborhood, going to the park and doing things with her dad.

- Her dad taught her everything that she needed to know about makeup once she became a member of the host club.

- She worked a part time job in order to help her dad pay the bills and to get food money.

- She thought that she was arosexual before joining the host club. Despite the confessions that she got in junior high they either went entirely over her head or she told them that she was too focused on her studies for romance at that time. Of course all that changed when she met our favorite blonde haired himbo goofball.

- She did wind up taking the conversational French with the twins and often times they'll slip into it for practice. Of course, Tamaki always understands when they talk shit about him so they just do it to mess with him.

Tamaki (my favorite):

- Bisexual king, honestly I love that for him out here living his best life.

- He didn't have much of a childhood between constantly needing to be there for his mom and make sure that she was healthy and okay. It's why he made the host club in the first place to live out his childhood that he was robbed of.

- Is actually way smarter academically than most people might think. If you were to look at the class grades he's always right behind Kyoya. He dedicates a lot of his free time to studying. He's not inherently stupid, just naive.

- His mom was the one that got him into cosplay by introducing him to the various kinds of fabrics. It stemmed into a personal interest that he could lose himself in and distract himself from the loneliness.

- He practiced flirting on Kyoya back in middle school for the future host club once he had his heart set on it.

Kyoya:

- In the words of the great immortal J Michael Tatum "Kyoya is probably gay". It was something that didn't even occur to me until I watched him do an Ouran panel and then I was like holy shit the king makes a good point.

- While Tamaki was his gay crisis, he quickly realized that he would spend forever pining after him and eventually shelved his feelings. Tamaki was his best friend and that was more important to him than his feelings.

- Kyoya has always been a really keen observer of people's true intentions. He's excellent at reading people and knowing what they want from him. The only people he has never been able to read perfectly are Tamaki, Kaoru, and Haruhi.

- He originally didn't want to be a doctor but he eventually wanted to prove himself so badly that he told his father that he would surpass his expectations no matter how high they were.

- Doing background checks on people is fascinating to him. It's not just for blackmail purposes but he likes learning people's weaknesses. He's also an excellent chess player.

Hikaru:

- The definitive over protective sibling. Anybody hurts Kaoru they will wish that they were dead. Kaoru is the most important person in his life and he would do anything to protect him.

- His tsundere tendencies come from a place of wanting to protect those he loves not out of anger.

- While he is begrudgingly worse at letting in other people once you fight your way through his walls he's actually a really amazing friend and s/o.

- His love of the fashion industry stems more from the model side of things than anything else. He can't design anything of his own to save his life.

- He never cared about any girls in his life before Haruhi came into his. Even though he didn't know how to deal with his feelings she was the first person who ever really showed that she cared about him.

Kaoru (my preferred Hitachiin sib):

- One big gay disaster that is absolutely crushing on Kyoya (I just learned about this ship today and it has stolen my life juice.) To blush when he's working with Hikaru to please the ladies all he has to do is think of Kyoya in his brother's spot.

- Is the far superior designer that can actually make really beautiful clothes. Most of the costumes that are worn by the club are designed by Kaoru.

- His hair is a lot softer than Hikaru's even though it's the same style, hair product and everything. I think that his would be more poofy and Hikaru's more spikey.

- Kaoru has always felt like he had to work harder to be like his brother that when you spend time with him alone at first it will be almost like you're talking to a replica of Hikaru and not a separate entity. At first it's a little bit awkward but once you get him out of his shell you find what a sweet and amazing person he is.

- Kaoru is an incredible skateboarder. He loves the feeling that he gets from the wind in his hair and designed his own skateboard. A lot of his hobbies outside of the club are athletic related causing him to have a more defined body than his brother since Hikaru is basically a cat.

Honey-senpai: - If this boi could make cakes and pastries for a living without the threat of eating them all he would make the best sweets. He knows when something is just the right amount of sweet and when something is too sweet.

- He learned martial arts to be stronger because he knew that people would try to take advantage of him due to his childlike nature.

- Honey had a fight with his grandmother before she passed away over something completely selfish. That is why he is so attached to Usa-chan.

- Him and Mori were always really close, even as children and understand each other better than anybody.

- His constant animosity between him and his younger brother is because he feels like he is constantly being babied due to his personality.

Mori-senpai:

- Mori has autism. He is also selectively mute. I'm sorry I don't make the rules, the show itself gives them to me.

- Looks like a tough guy but in actuality would give the best hugs. I want a Mori hug. Haruhi probably gets the most Mori hugs because he is immensely protective over her.

- Aro-ace baby but gives the best platonic cuddles to any of the club members that are having parental issues.

- While he prefers spicy over sweet he does have a sweet tooth at random times of the day. Has been sighted at a local Cold Stone five minutes before closing in the dead of winter, while it's snowing outside by Kaoru and Kyoya while they were trying to find a place to get warm while out on a date.

- He actually didn't start his athletic endeavors with kendo, he started with ballet and gymnastics when he was really young.

And that's all my head-canons for the day! Happy anniversary to my favorite ridiculous throw everything against the wall and see what sticks to it romantic comedy. I hope that one day we will either get a season two or at this point it would be better to just do a hard reboot. Hoping that one day we will see our boys animated in high definition, even though I feel like an HD Tamaki would definitely kill me.

[rabbitindisguise]

This is a sort of a sad vent post about being gender fluid and also feeling like women's spaces are off limits because of how unethical it feels to participate in them when they require a lot of things I see as totally unethical for a lot of activist reasons. Namely, the amount of toxic femininity that is hostile to marginalized people in the group that, when concerns are raised, they respond by taking it out on the marginalized people that speak up rather than doing anything about it.

I had talked about maybe joining a certain Japanese fashion that will not be named because the American community is so . . . wretched. That might sound harsh but listen:

Completely lacking in self awareness! People will admit to knowing all about these criticisms but then in the very same post repeat the problems themselves and seem clueless to that stuff being the whole problem, no matter how they self justify it. "I have heard that people hate the community because of petty drama but that's not true and petty drama is fun anyways so nyeh!"

Incredible and strange hostility to the cosplay community. There's . . . literally no need for this. Teaming up is totally possible. Both communities go to anime cons. Same is true with the theatre costume community. And yet??

The rampant fatphobia. There's all sorts of minor criticisms and nuances but: even if I was willing to pay out the ass for custom sizing there were a grand total of 3 places I could turn to with a total of 5 things would want to buy each, not even composing a full outfit. And I'm not picky, and I'm barely plus sized in the women's section. I can buy clothes at Target, ffs, in all gender departments without much fuss. I can still find colorful bras easily! If I cannot get many things, just imagine how few resources people have to look and feel their best.

Classist gatekeeping. If these people cared as much as they say they do, there would be some kind of community organization to provide like centralized help and locally sourced second hand stuff and tailoring and all sorts of practical accessible things for onboarding. Kind of like the cosplay community does, there's all sorts of people on websites that process wigs and make Dave Strider glasses and tell you not to color on yourself with sharpies. I'm not even deep into cosplay and I know that.

Petty drama and infighting over knock offs. If brand loyalty is that important to you, there's always . . . getting more of their stuff yourself.

Hostility towards trans women, transfems, and crossdressers. People blame fetish, but like. Totally groundless. Any fetishes connected to this fashion are not gender segregated, and if they think crossdressers are inherently doing a fetish (or if that's any of their business!!!) then they're just flat wrong and ignorant by about three decades behind the rest of society.

These things really exemplify, to me, the toxic aspects of hyperfeminity. In the MTG, for example (the most "bro" space I've ever been in), there's incredibly well known trans people in the highest places in the game, regardless of if people like them or not. I've never seen a single shameful word about budget decks, even a hint of hostility towards people who do the game poorly- in fact there's so many types of gameplay that to say someone is doing a bad job by having fun is absurd. It's not to say that it doesn't have its own problems (while the people aren't overtly classist, winning the game can be difficult without large sums of money depending on formats and stuff, people can be hostile to certain kinds of gameplay and not want to play with these people, there's a lot of sexism and probably racism and ableism as well and women who play get harassed a lot). But the reason I personally as a gender fluid person that can pick between men's and women's spaces find the latter tolerable is there's also all the bad things in men's spaces in women's dominated spaces, but at least men's dominated spaces have a sense of accountability that just isn't there with women's spaces.

No one has ever stood up to cis women and it shows with how little humility they have, and how much hubris they exhibit about people voicing concerns within a community. There's a concern piece roughly every six month about getting women into magic. With the entirely women led community, whenever trans people, poor people, fat people, or people of color raise concerns the response is identical and the same: "we have heard your concerns and after internal investigation decided there is nothing to do about it and you're wrong anyways."

Now, there are fantastic communities that are women dominated and yet fairly healthy regardless. The witchcraft community, for example, is batshit in other ways (I say this affectionately as a witch) that are totally unrelated to anything gender based (books published that are full of culturally appropriated and sourceless stuff, people drinking rock juice, just flat out misinformation being circulated, etc) that are huge problems! But people value kindness and community support because of how heavily witchcraft is like, community venerating. Lots of people don't become witches unless they're okay being seen as a weird hippie that gives out free hugs. Not all, but so many witches are kind that it balances out whatever souped up too feminity that hyperfemme spaces generate. So people are genuinely concerned much more often when, idk a disabled witch is like "this isn't accessible." So the systematic problems are still totally there it's just the response is wildly different.

And these toxic aspects are especially prone to exist in any place that involves fashion, makeup, or things like that. The craft communities, even obscure things like hand dying, rarely fall into the same traps because it doesn't have that outward facing quality of femininity, it's all internal because it's an activity participated in not something that relies on the clout within a community to validate you. Because fashion is so incredibly subjective and inherently steeped in biases it often gets a sort of "well what did you expect?" kind of reaction form women getting these critiques. Do have any idea how much fashion advice I get from cis men on the regular with how to wear men's clothing? Practically whenever I ask for it.

And it's so sad to watch I want no part in it. I expect better and I'm disappointed. Feminity doesn't mean kindness if all you do when confronted with a problem is pretend it doesn't exist.

[liliplayschoices]

Do you have any headcanons for your ILITW MC?

My giiiiiiiirl 😍

I have a ton of headcanons for her ^^ most of them also include Andy though I gotta be honest so he might pop up a lot here 😂 also this is absolutely ramble-y because I just dumped all my thoughts here so... sorry about that lmao (also im on mobile so I can't use a read more, sorry xD)

Okay so I know in the events of the book, we don't see her interacting with other people at school but I think these weeks aren't representative of what her life looks like normally. I see her as an introvert, she won't enjoy big parties often or anything but she still has a really amiable nature so people tend to be friends with her easily.

I think Devon is a pretty artistic girl. She loves to read fantasy and sci fi, she loves to cosplay, maybe she's a theater kid, too. I think she draws too, but I don't know what kind of art she prefers (as in, digital, street art, painting,.... I don't know haha)

When the story starts she's had a crush on Andy for a little while now. Nothing major, mind you, but yeah, teenage crush, blushing when she sees him, that kinda stuff, you know ^^ so when they start hanging out again it comes naturally between them pretty fast.

When Andy is in the hospital after the events of the book (and after that when he's stuck at home until he gets better), she comes to hang out with him a lot. More often than not, Tom is there too, so the two of them become pretty close, they realize they have a lot in common so they hang out at school too and become close friends (yes I am ignoring the ILB canon that Tom doesn't know her well. I don't care.)

Anyway so the three of them play a toooon of video games during that time which leads to a tradition of game night for the three of them and it gets pretty intense, cause Andy gets super competitive 😂 ( @the-unconquered-queen and I talked about game night a few times and now I can't let go of this HC ^^)

And of course there are also a lot of times when Tom isn't there, so they basically have little date nights together, watching movies and shows. Devon brings junk food to him when he's in the hospital (the nurses know but they let it happen lmao) and she curls up on his bed and they watch movies on her laptop (cause the hospital tv never has anything interesting) and it's soooo cute cause they didnt really... get official at that point you know, but then they just start dating and falling in love and all 😍

Anywayyyyy back to Devon. So I think she never truly heals from what happened. She always felt like Jane's death was her fault, and even if rationally she knows that what Noah did isn't her fault, she can't help but feel guilty over it. So that's why she starts going into the woods again.

I think she never really held Noah responsible for what happened, because of her own guilt. Like, objectively she knows what he did was wrong but she also feels like it's her fault if Jane is dead so that's why she forgives him for his actions pretty quickly

She starts doing a lot of research into how she could help him, and the Power in general. She doesn't go to college after high school, but she starts working at the local library pretty soon and gets a little obsessed. After a while, she does starts college (to study graphic design), but she doesn't seem to be able to move on from Noah and wanting to free him. She doesn't focus much on studies because she can't get rid of her guilt and obsession to make things right.

She ultimately tells the rest of the group and it does not go well. Especially with Andy. They've been dating for years at this point but this is the biggest fight they ever have. I think Andy is the kind of guy who holds a grudge so he would still be pissed at Noah, and there's the added layer of him feeling like Devon didnt trust him and put herself in danger needlessly and he's scared that he might have lost her without knowing it. They do work it out after a while because ultimately they love each other enough to work through it but yeah, that happens and it's a pretty big fight.

I feel like most of the rest of the group are mad but they come around to helping her at some point. Ava is immediately jumping at the chance to help Devon with all the supernatural research and stuff.

Dan has another approach. He can see that what Devon does is pretty unhealthy because of how she's clinging to the past, so he tries to help her work through her guilt and her trauma. It does help, and she becomes less obsessed after a while (she's still hell-bent on freeing Noah's spirit but she also starts moving on in other aspects of her life, paying attention in class, thinking about the future,...)

Oh total change of subject lmao but you know how Andy is in college on a basketball scholarship? Yeah so I think Andy would be a total frat bro 😂 like, he'd go to frat parties and do keg stands and stupid harmless dares and stuff. You know the type of guy. So Devon goes to frat parties because she knows he loves it despite it not reslly being her scene ^^ but she stills ends up having fun and does make friends with Andy's friends too

Also she gets into the habit of stealing and wearing his basketball jacket ( I got @kingkangs on board with this one and i will get the whole fandom to accept Devon wearing Andy's basketball jacket) and he says he minds, but... you know... He really doesn't ;)

To be honest, I feel like Devon would never truly be able to move on while Noah was still trapped, she would still feel obligated to help him. So I imagine that after a long time, they do manage to free his spirit (I don't know how okay I'm not writing IL3 😂 let's just say they do!)

So after that, she starts truly thinking of the future. She starts looking for a long-term job, Andy and her move in together after college.

They still have game nights with Tom on the regular (Harper, my ILB MC, joins them cause her and Tom are dating ^^) and Andy is still super competitive cause that hasn't changed 😂

Devon still loves cosplay so she convinces Andy to go to conventions with her and he's like "....fine I'll do it" begrudgingly but once he's there he's having a blast 😂

Anyway I think that's pretty much it for now! I rambled a lot, sorry... But you did ask! That was super fun so thank youu for your ask!!!

[mostweakhamlets]

Renaissance Faire AU

This was really fun and I’ve been to one ren faire so I’m sorry for any inaccuracies

Aziraphale works there during the summers when he’s not in school. He kinda hates it. Nothing is historically accurate. It’s hot. The guests are rude. He has to push local history books in “ye olde bookshoppe.”

Crowley is an enthusiastic cosplayer. He goes with his friends (the hell gang) even though they’re not really good friends. But Crowley likes dressing up as Tauriel despite everyone telling him the Hobbit movies were shit. 

At one point, Crowley splits from the group. He wanders off for a cool place because he’s so unbearably hot in his outfit. He finds the bookshop and looks around, half-heartedly. 

Aziraphale watches him. A lot of people don’t put in that much effort into their costumes. He’s seen half-hearted attempts at various DND races (that he’s only aware of because the 11-year-old he tutors insists on trying to distract him with his DND manuals). He’s seen Game of Thrones characters that he can’t quite name. He’s seen people with cheap, Halloween capes. Most of that isn’t even the same time period. If he’s stuck in his Renaissance ruff, the guests should make the same effort. 

But Crowley has beautiful latex ears (you can’t even see the seam), his hair (which is… real?) is plaited perfectly, and he has a well-put-together outfit and a bow. He has a prop.  

He’s also being respectful and quiet. Aziraphale respects that a lot. 

Until his friends join. Suddenly, books tumble to the floor as Crowley gets berated for not being any fun. Books are placed in the wrong spot, some are left open. Aziraphale watches in dismay as the group leaves (sans Crowley) and a pile of pamphlets fly to the floor off the stand that stood next to the door. 

“I’m sorry about them,” Crowley says as Aziraphale picks up the pamphlets. 

Crowley is trying to fix the books. 

“It’s alright. I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Still not okay.”

Crowley makes his way to the front with a book on the history of the local coffin factory that shut down 30 years ago. 

“Are you actually buying this?” Aziraphale asks. The book looks older than the both of them. 

“Might as well give you some business. Besides, it’s something to do. Can I read in here?”

“Sure. But why don’t you want to go back out?”

Crowley has a small satchel tied to his waist. He pulls out a debit card. 

“Too hot out there.”

Aziraphale can see his cheeks are flushed. He passes the debit card back to Crowley with a receipt.

“Do you want water?”

There’s a mini-fridge underneath the counter, full of bottled water for the employees. He figures one missing won’t hurt anyone. Besides, how would it look if a guest collapsed of heat exhaustion in the shop? 

“Sure.”

Aziraphale hands him a bottle. Instead of drinking it, Crowley immediately puts it on his forehead. Aziraphale tries not to smile. 

“Do you like The Hobbit?” he asks. And it’s a dumb question. Of course, he does. 

“Yeah! I liked the book better than the movies, but I like Tauriel and there’s not a lot of long-haired, red-headed characters to cosplay.”

“I thought the movies were a bit fun. Tauriel was a good addition.”

“They were! As long as you’re not overly critical. The movies and the book can serve different purposes.”

“Yes!”

And they spend an hour talking before Crowley leaves for the day, but he promises to come back the next day. And he does, in “civilian” clothing because his costume was too sweaty and smelly to wear again. But Aziraphale think he looks even more alluring in his dark outfit and his hair (now curly) piled onto the top of his head in a bun. 

[yaninus-de-venoix]

hi, id love to know more abt the metal parts of your armor! i saw a post abt you adjusting your helmet, does that mean you know how to make all of that yourself? if you wanna be detailed as hell, be my guest, please! ive been curious abt medieval style fighting for a little while, it seems fun, but even if i dont do it, i still have cosplay im working on that requires armor, so knowing how to at least make it look realistic would help me a lot! links to tutorials would already be a huge help!

that's super cool! so I'm not necessarily the best person to ask, there are other folks who are way more into making their own armor. but I'll do my best. First thing, if you're interested in doing medieval style fighting, you should see if there's an SCA branch in your area! There are also other armored combat groups, but I don't know as much about them. At least where I live, if you know what branch you're in, if you look them up on facebook there's probably a local fighter fb group. Join that, and especially if you let someone know ahead of time so they can bring loaner gear, you can probably just… show up to a practice and people will help you get set up and loan you some armor and teach you the basics. If you don't have facebook, look up the local SCA branch and email the chatelaine (their job is to welcome newcomers), or any other relevant official. Say that you're interested in learning heavy fighting (assuming that's what you're interested in? heavy fighting is wacky-wacky, what I do. rapier fighting is swishy-poky, more like fencing), and ask them about fight practices in your area, and who to contact about loaner gear. They'll get you set up. Once you've been to a fight practice or two, you've tried it out with loaner armor, if you've made up your mind that this is something you want to do, you can probably just talk to the people you've met at practice and they'll be happy to help you get your own armor figured out. Now, because of quarantine, irl practices aren't happening rn. But the facebook groups are still pretty active! So if you can find the fb groups for your local sca branch and the fight practices in your area, you can introduce yourself and ask your questions on there. I'll give you a quick run-down on what I know… Most of my armor is leather, which is a bit easier to work with, especially with limited tools. Basic principles for working with leather is, you get it wet (move it around a bit under the water to make sure it soaks in all the way), shape it into the form you want, and then set it up so it'll dry in the right shape. Then you dye it if you're going to do that thing, then wax it. Then you stitch it, by poking or drilling holes in it and then sewing it with sinew. You'll need to know how to set a rivet, that's easy enough to look up on youtube. Simple sandwich rivets are fine for most things, actual rivets with washers are good for when you need something more heavy-duty. Most of the metal bits I bought online. Helms are hard to make yourself. With the shoulder and knee bits, you could do it yourself, but it's a bit of a pain. Doing some poking around online, r/sca has some good resources, there's a thread that's pretty similar to your question right here: https://www.reddit.com/r/sca/comments/2x89pa/how_do_you_guys_make_armor_specifically_metal_and/ and I found an old forum with a lot more resources: http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/ and for specific skills, like "how to set a rivet" or "how to dish metal", youtube is really useful. @sca-nerd might be able to refer you to more info? Good luck!

[creepingsharia]

Wisconsin: Son of Muslim Immigrant Joins Neo-Nazis, Vandalizes Synagogue in Racine

Yousef Barasneh, the son of a Jordanian immigrant, was arrested with others in the group known as The Base.

by Daniel Greenfield

In Wisconsin, the dairy capital of the nation, Muslims and Nazis revisited their old alliance when Yousef Barasneh, the son of a Jordanian immigrant active in the Muslim community, joined the Neo-Nazi group, The Base (which shares the meaning of its name with Al Qaeda), and vandalized a synagogue.

The synagogue, Beth Israel Sinai Congregation in Racine, had the term, “Jude”, German for “Jew”, swastikas, the symbol of the Nazi Secret Service, and The Base white supremacist symbol, scrawled on it in September. Later that year, a Base leader ratted out Yousef as the perpetrator to the FBI.

When communicating with his Neo-Nazi pals, Yousef anglicized or polonized his Arabic first name to “Joseph” or “Josef”. Despite his Muslim convert mother’s Polish ancestry, Yousef might not have been confident of the welcome he would receive as “Yousef” from a white supremacist organization.

But when The Base called for vandalizing synagogues, the son of a Jordanian immigrant was eager.

“Imagine if across the country on local news, Everyone is reporting on new nazi presence," he wrote in Nazi chat. "Our op will be a perfect f___ you to these kikes if we become terrorists.”

Yousef was overlaying the terrorism of his Islamic background on his new Nazi affiliation. Mass immigration advocates often claim that immigrants bring things to this country that we don’t have. Does America really have such a Nazi shortage that we need to import white supremacists from Jordan?

Later Yousef joined a Base session in Georgia where members trained with guns and sacrificed a goat.

It’s unclear if he took part in the ‘Blot’ goat sacrifice to pagan gods that white supremacists are reviving in order to banish Judeo-Christian values and revive the pagan beliefs championed by Nazi Germany.

Sacrificing a goat to the gods would have been frowned on by the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. But goat sacrifices are a regular part of Islam and Yousef would likely have had more experience sacrificing goats than his cosplaying Nazi pals who had to google Kristallnacht to find out what it involved.

And a Jordanian Muslim making blood sacrifices to Norse gods in a Neo-Nazi cult after vandalizing a synagogue is undeniably multicultural. It’s just not the multiculturalism anyone needs or wants.

According to media accounts, Yousef Omar is the son of Omar and Aliceann Basraneh. The Jordanian flag flies in the breeze outside Omar’s house in Oak Park and a photo in the Wisconsin Muslim Journal shows Omar and Aliceann in a gaudy hijab. An older photo shows Omar, Aliceann, and Yousef at the Dome of the Rock: the victory mosque that Muslims had erected on the holiest Jewish site in Jerusalem.

Omar’s Facebook likes included a campus branch of the anti-Semitic hate group Students for Justice in Palestine at Marquette U, and the Muslim Student Association at the University of Michigan.

Omar, a coach at Salam High School, has been quoted in the media on Muslim issues. Aliceann also used to work at the Salam school. The Salam school is run by the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. The ISM was established by the Muslim Students Association which was set up by the Muslim Brotherhood.

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

There’s more, read it all at the link belo

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E63 (May 21, 2019)

Sorry it’s late, guys. @eponymous-rose has narrowly avoided being blown away by tornadoes and I’ve narrowly avoided drowning in equally dangerous paperwork, so here we are at the end of all things. Preroll is post-its of donors for Red Nose Day.

Tonight’s guests: Sam Riegel & Liam O’Brien.

Tonight’s announcements: We’re opened by Mark Hulmes instead of BWF. He dabs. No one blinks an eye. After the music open, we find out BWF’s neighbor’s kid stole his keys and then he lost his wallet. It hasn’t mattered, because he’s about to be Mr. Ashley Johnson & people just keep giving him what he needs. They’re still raising money for RedNoseDay. Thursday morning, the Colbert one-shot airs on the Critical Role Youtube. You can donate at critrole.com/rednoseday. Mark Hulmes joined Taliesin & BWF today for an episode available on the CR Twitch.

Episode 63: Intervention

CR Stats: Caleb cast his 700th spell, Gift of Alacrity, on Caduceus. Nott rolled her 40th natural 1 this episode to understand the local sewer system. This was Caduceus’s first HDYWTDT. Everyone mourns that someone stole the Golden Snitch from Matt’s bag.

It’s more stressful not knowing everyone’s motivations, both within the party and the game world. Sam talks about Yasha’s mysterious past and Beau’s dangerous ties to the Empire, especially given how much they understood in the first campaign about (at least) who the bad guys were. Sam feels like once they have a shred of information, he wants to jump on it ASAP and make big, bold decisions on them. He’s dealing with the discovery that this might be not as great an idea. He’s not experienced this kind of “trepidation, failure, uncertainty...I don’t like this game. I don’t like it at all!”

Caleb likes using the little bit of dunamantic magic as a taste of a drug--each little hit makes him want more and more and more.

Danimancy? Make a Carrcana check. Sigh, Sam.

Sam made two big mistakes in the last fight: he missed the gender of the dragonborn, so he thought that one of the other voices Matt was doing was actually the dragonborn giving orders (and therefore the one in charge, while the drow was the one taking orders). He also saw the dragonborn leaving and was worried that he was waiting on the party to give him (Nott) the go-ahead to kick things off. He recognizes he put Caleb in a terrible position both in a meta yes-and sense and in the Nott-Caleb team sense.

The world devolves into campaign slander and propaganda. Everyone’s in it, including BWF and Dani. #samforpresident

Caleb told the Brightqueen about his past because he feels like they’re on a very tight timeline, looking for very slight drips of information like gold. He thought it was worth the shot.

Sam desperately wants to know what the missing years in Yasha’s memory hold. BWF tells him to get what he can out of her while she’s here; her show’s been renewed for another season. He sounds genuinely bitter as he says it, but he notes at least it’s the last one. :(

They ask Mark Hulmes about what Charm does for people. He helpfully tells us it doesn’t say if they remember or not. Sam also points out Nott has blown up Caduceus before, so doing a few more points to Yasha is *wigglehands*.

Caleb did not mean to kill the horse on purpose. Sam tries to get him to confess that on camera, but instead Liam needles him about not cuddling Henry.

Cosplay of the Week: @andy_srivastava’s cosplay of Beau. Gorgeous!

Both Sam and Nott feel the fight’s outcome was his/her fault. He expects her to feel very guilty next week. Sam genuinely felt and still feels bad about it. He also prefers hashing out reactions the night things happen instead of having to wait a week for the next Thursday. He feels it’s more genuine.

Caleb is very worried about Jester’s mom and Astrid’s crew finding ways to use her mom as leverage. He’s also worried about the kid, but is glad Shakaste is going to get him. Liam also always imagined running into his old crew against the backdrop of the Empire, and is now very worried that if he runs into them soon he’ll have the added perception of being a traitor since they’re in the Dynasty.

Liam and Caleb both were surprised he was given hints of dunamancy so freely. He looks forward to learning more.

Liam totally understands how easy it is to miss things now. He’s constantly looking things up and reading in an attempt to understand his spells, and therefore missing parts of the battle. He greatly sympathizes with Marisha. Sam, on the other hand, is finding it hard to adapt to rogue life; he doesn’t like the necessary “out there, bold choice” nature of rogues in D&D and having the pressure of making big decisions very fast. He prefers Scanlan’s nature of sitting in the back, casting spells, and being more reactionary than instigatory. Liam always is afraid of picking the wrong spells, and finds it much harder than Vax. BWF: “Dagger dagger dagger...dagger dagger dagger dagger?” Liam: “I kept track of that fine, it’s everyone else that was wrong.”

Sam is shocked the D&D Beyond campaign bit has dragged on. BWF calls his rebuttal “bogusly weak,” and Sam looks genuinely aghast. It’s hilarious. “I don’t know how he got to you, Brian, but this feels like coming on Fox News! You’re a partisan hack! I won’t take it anymore, but I love attention, so I will stay.”

Nott is super interested in the dodeca’s ability to give people different bodies, but Caleb is still the clearest path to getting her body back. It’s complicated because the Dynasty souls are “chosen” and Nott’s not likely to be so.

Liam is very excited to see this magic system Matt has created in dunamancy. Did he create it in response to Liam or had he already thought about it? Sam tells us he’s always been thoughtful about fate and the subverting of it. Liam is so pumped because in campaign one, fate strings existed and were uncontrollable, but in campaign two we’ve “developed physicists, tinkering.”

In re: Essik, Nott’s just happy Caleb has found a friend. She wishes he’d bring him home more often.

Sam finally busses Henry’s cheek and affirms to us that he actually loves dogs. Everyone in his family is voting for a new dog except for his daughter, who wants a cat.

Liam doesn’t want everything to be cat-themed, but likes retouching a few spells here and there for flavor. He also wanted to differentiate it from Scanlan’s Bigby’s Hand. Sam thinks he should reskin more spells.

SPOILERS FOR C1 IN THIS QUESTION. Sam talks about rogue high-stakes moments as genuinely, surprisingly stressful. Liam says Vax was stressful but exhilarating, especially when it came to moments that conflated poor meta decisions vs roleplay decisions. He specifically mentions Raishan’s chase as a terrible in-game decision but one that was right for the character. He and Sam will always do what’s right for the character, even if it’s bad narratively in the moment. Sam says he got a lot of support from the group thread this past week, though. END SPOILERS FOR C1.

Fanart of the Week: a gorgeous Caduceus portrait by @larndraws.

Nott trusts Shakaste to get Luke traveling safely. Sam also drops a bombshell on the world by telling us Luc is spelled Luc. It’s just that no one’s ever asked. Heavens!

Caleb’s made an effort to tell people he cares for them, but he fears it at the same time. He’s afraid he’s going to be put in a position where he needs it too much. Brian asks if he believes he’s truly irredeemable: Liam says there’s a certain road where he could feel he atoned, and there’s a road that might lead to balance, but there’s never a brass ring that he could reach that could let him relax entirely. I don’t entirely understand the metaphor, but I get what he means.

Sam likes that the theme of this campaign seems to be “atonement and reconciliation” compared to the first campaign’s “finding family.” There’s a bit of that in this campaign too, but he likes how everyone has something in their past that they’re clinging to, and he’s interested to see who will be able to resolve it, who will be able to handle it, and who won’t be able to let it go.

Mark Hulmes come on to talk about the Stream of Descent, which happened last weekend. He’s the DM for High Rollers, which airs at 9am Pacific on Sundays.

BWF talks about how C1 had a lot of the Hero’s Journey in various forms, and C2 feels a lot like “what it means to be good.” He doesn’t feel they fit the “antihero” archetype very well.

Liam thinks that if Caleb were going to leave the campaign, he’d have done it already.

Part of Caleb’s generation was to create a character the world would shun, and seeing if he could find a way to find compassion for them. He mentions the poem written for the Boston marathon bomber a while ago. BWF talks about how it’s a really interesting character choice because it depends on the rest of the table being willing to stick around and seek out that redeemable quality in your character, even when you’re making decisions that are true to the character but bad for the table/the rest of the group. You can’t always expect that to work with every group you play with.

Mark talks about Calliana being the other end of the spectrum from Caleb, because she also has a history of having done very terrible things, but she was taken in by a family who helped her understand she’d been manipulated and it was not her fault. He’s desperate for his recently mentioned package to be picked up because she has some messages for Caleb in it. Now she tries to see the best in everyone she meets as a result of her history. He has a whole folder of fanart of Calliana on his wall. Awwww.

It’s still never gotten old for Liam or Sam either.

Mark endorses Sam for President. Good job, foreign fellow. Is it Thursday yet?

[aceandaroacts]

On Being a Happy Family of One

[This month, I'm hosting the Carnival of Aces, a blogging festival where participants respond to a topic. The topic I've chosen for this month is "Conscious and Unconscious Differences". You can see the other submissions and join in here!]

Considering the experiences you’ve had that are tied to your asexuality, how have they made you stronger?

Hi! I'm aceandaroacts. If you met me in real life, I'd introduce myself as a coder of custom software and grandma-at-heart. But this is the internet!

The most important thing to know about me is not the things I've built, places I've gone, or the experiences I've overcome. It's my attitude: "I can do this!"

When I first started thinking about topics to write about for this month's Carnival of Aces, I was torn between several ideas. I love fashion. I understand none of it, and never know what I'm doing, but I have fun with it and am trying to figure out how to be more... visible? as one of the few agender people at my company. I also have a cool history with being forced to dress like a Gothic nun half my life and building cosplays and cool Halloween costumes in the present half. But that felt a little too intersectional, and might not be as useful from an academic lens.

I thought about cryptography, clandestine communication, and the obsession with language and selective secrecy I had as a kid, and how that connects to a lot of ace symbols - the black ring on the middle finger, ace cards, cake, dragons... and how I wound up spending two months and hundreds of hours consuming all the ace content I could find, because words and language and symbols are so important!

And I thought about my life; how it compares to the default narrative, and how I'm going about building my own.

This month's theme is conscious and unconscious differences. Unconscious, as in automatic, or as in: before I knew I was asexual. Conscious, as in: intentional. It's broad enough to wrap around all the above, but specific enough in the "how does this make you stronger" bit that I think we'll still see some cool patterns and strengths arise that help to establish our own narrative tropes.

I bought "unsexy" conservative outfits before I know I was asexual. I avoided people that showed too much interest in me automatically. I unconsciously avoided conversations about dating, sex, attraction, and masturbation with friends by walking away or changing the topic. My favorite colors have always been purple, silver, black, and white. Strategy games were my favorite. I'd obsess over characters that were mysterious, building all kinds of different backstories and futures for them in my head. I never had sleepovers, and didn't understand why people would want them. I was the "lone wolf" in my friend groups - a drifter that got along pretty well with all kinds of people, but ultimately did whatever they wanted with or without company. Around 60% of my friends were adults; I had great relationships with the teachers and staff members at my school, and I knew all the local librarians by name. The gender split of my friend group was always pretty close to 50-50, and populated with extremely different perspectives - punk anarchists, exchange students, female football players, native american sci-fi enthusiasts, anorexic wrestlers, etc. I loved words, loved codes and ciphers, loved fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and music with lyrics. I avoided drama like the plague. I had a very unstable home life, and moved locations almost every year. Home only extended as far as to the skin on my body. I never dreamed about weddings or fancy houses or kids (or even pets!). P.E. (Physical Education) was the worst - I felt uncomfortable in the dressing rooms, so I would arrive early before people started undressing and would change in the restrooms so I would have privacy and avoid seeing naked people as much as possible. I never obsessed over my body - I could go for months at a time without looking in a mirror. My reputation was based on my academics and random hobbies, not my looks or relationships. People sought me out as a mentor and constantly told me I was "mature" and "an old soul". When fights broke out, people looked to me as a fair and impartial judge of the situation, and respected whatever verdict I reached. It felt a lot like being a Buddha!

Realizing I was asexual didn't change much of that, but it did cause me to face choices head-on: would I try to find a partner, or not? Would I try to live with other roommates, or not? Would I try to be attractive, or not? Would I go to bars to make friends, or not? Would I worry about having a weak social network, or not? Would I want to live in a retirement community, or not? Would I want kids around, or not? What would my milestones in life be? How would I fulfill my human need to be social? Who would I trust to take care of me in an emergency?

I'm estranged from my birth family. I'm asexual, aromantic, agender, touch-averse, romance-repulsed, sex-repulsed, and introverted as can be. I tried dating and was so miserable that I wound up finding asexuality because of it in the first place. I don't trust myself to be a parent since my own parents screwed up so badly that it left me with three mental illnesses and a decade's worth of unwinding bad life lessons. So I'm in a fun position!

The "normal" life journey story goes like this: You grow up with two loving biological parents, get your education, graduate, get further training or education via school or a first job, find your partner in life, get into a steady career, get married and live together, have kids, raise those kids, watch them get their education and jobs and move away, then retire and die at an old age. My life only has the education and job bits (retirement? in this economy? die old? on this polluted planet?). I'm not going to look for a lifelong partner. I'm not having kids or adopting. There's a whole lot of white space where everyone else has milestones, and I've consciously accepted that as okay. I'm a family of one, and it's great!

The first milestones I set for myself were to find good roommates, help out fellow child abuse survivors, and own a home. I've achieved them! My next milestone is to do something big and artsy that makes a decent amount of people happy. I have no idea what it will be, yet - right now I've been doing lots of little things: teaching workshops, building costumes, painting, home renovation projects. I'm gonna try being in a music band this year. The milestone after that will be to have a big impact via a community-service type initiative. There's a woman in my city that created an LGBTQ homeless shelter that's an actual home-like environment (seasonal housing with free counseling, job training, stocked pantry, etc. aimed at guiding people to independence and self-sufficiency) which I thought was really cool, and I'd like to do something that's on a similar scale. After that, who knows? Maybe publish a book instead of writing 12 of them and letting them collect dust? Maybe run a small rainbow-themed cafe that makes fancy desserts? So many possibilities!

It's exactly these differences that bleed into my strengths. I'm super independent/self-motivated/self-directed, because I've had to be to survive. I excel at navigating uncertainty, ambiguity, assessing risks, and forecasting outcomes and trends, because my life has a lot of uncertainty and risk compared to the average population. I'm quick to pick up on communication styles and tailor my messages accordingly, because I've had to be mindful about it when navigating my parents and people that developed crushes on me and/or became stalkers. My superpower at work is my ability to dodge all of the politics at play and get everyone on board with factually beneficial solutions (so I still come across as an objective party vs someone playing favorites or only looking out for themselves). People have faith that I'm an expert in all things IT, even when I mess up, because I ask good questions and make fewer assumptions. (I assumed I was cis for 22 years and surprise! I was wrong. Anyone can be wrong. Especially if they are never forced to think about the thing!) I'm great at organizing live events - I plan multiple award shows and get-togethers. I also run an ace & aro meetup in my city! (The experience of being isolated will make an organizer out of you real quick!) People seek me out as a mentor and coach at work because I'm already satisfied with my life and who I am, and I genuinely want to help others without expecting anything in return. I intentionally stay in touch with and work to expand my friend group, which means I have a great professional network of actual friends that I find interesting and fun to be around, and not just LinkedIn faces. If I weren't ace, I wouldn't be doing that. And if I still didn't know I was ace, I wouldn't be doing it half as much as I do now - when you really focus on it, it's so worth it!

So, yeah. Asexuality is a part of me, and it's great. How does your identit(y/ies) make you great?

[thestrangedino]

idea: Virgil and Logan being dragged to a renaissance fair by Patton, where they encounter Noble Knight Roman who is looking for noble warriors to help him free the kingdom from the tyranny of the 'wicked' wizard (played by Deceit)

This is beautiful, thank you- 

*cracks knuckles* here we go!

Now, you might be wondering- on a beautiful day such as this, what in god’s name did Logan, Virgil, and Patton do to be called the heroes of a kingdom? 

Well, it’s quite simple, really. 

It started out as a normal morning for Logan and Virgil. Early-riser Logan made himself a cup of coffee and sat one the couch with a book. About an hour after, Virgil joined him with his own mug and scrolled through tumblr, legs across Logan’s lap. 

Here’s the catch: as college students with part-time jobs, they had to make time to spend with each other. That very day was their designated hang-out day, and it was Patton’s turn to choose what they would do. All that was left to do was to wait for their bubbly friend to arrive and announce their activity. 

There usually wasn’t anything they did that was too “out there”. Yeah, there were some rather weird things, like the time they went to an Asian restaurant and got chased out after Patton tried to tip their waiter (he was full Japanese). Other than that, they normally stuck to calmer activities. 

..that was, until Patton burst into Logan and Virgil’s apartment with a grin on his face, shopping bags in his hands, and an olden-day looking outfit on.Virgil practically leaped into the fan. 

“RENAISSANCE FAIR!” The freckled boy cheered, throwing his arms up. His eyes sparkled with a light that nobody could say no to. 

Virgil took a deep breath and crossed his arms to face Patton. “Patton, what the actual fuck?” He attempted to ask calmly. 

Patton just continued to beam. “Today’s activity is going to the Renaissance Fair! I found out it was in town, and I’ve been dying to go for years!!” He explained himself happily. “I even got you guys your own costumes!” 

Patton handed them each a bag, most likely having matching cosplays to his own. Logan took a peek inside his bag, then looked up to the grinning ball of fluff that was Patton. “This is.. rather thoughtful, Pat. I didn’t expect you, out of the three of us, to be the one to bring us to this festival.” He commented. He said nothing more, but it was clear to all of them that he definitely wasn’t going to object. 

The two looked over to Virgil, who sighed in defeat upon eye contact. “I can’t say no to Patton, so.. I’ll go, but I swear to god if one of you gets me into a LARP session, I will destroy you.” He reluctantly agreed with a shrug. This made Patton squeal in excitement, as well as jump up and down. 

“Go, go, put on your costumes! We have to leave soon if we want to get in before the line builds up.” Patton informed them while pulling them off the couch. 

The two roommates ushered off to their rooms, quickly got dressed, and left for the fair. They had no idea what was to come. 

Arriving about ten minutes later, the three boys piled out of the car and entered the Renaissance fair, which was being held in the local park. There were tents scattered about, each with different items inside. A fair amount of them had food, while others had fake weapons, art, clothing, and more. Despite having just started, the area was already filled with people in costume. 

Patton was dressed as the average peasant, while Logan was dressed as an elf and Virgil a knight. Patton had really gone all out in getting the costumes- it was rather impressive. 

The group wandered through the area, stopping at all different kinds of booths. They were having a really good time so far! 

As if jinxing the thought, the sound of galloping filled the air as the three traveled on a path. Virgil, Logan, and Patton all stopped and turned around just as a brilliant white horse slowed to a pause. 

“Young travelers!” A man in red and white knight costume bellowed. “I have come on a quest seeking help to overthrow the kingdom’s current ruler, Damien th-” Before he finished his sentence, his eyes landed on Logan. “BY GOD, IS THAT AN ELF?!” He shouted, to which Patton snickered and Virgil laughed. 

Logan groaned, realizing he was now stuck in this. “Why yes, I am, in fact, an elf. Now, if you’re done lamenting, we will be on our merry way.” He smiled satirically, almost turning and walking away before Patton stopped him. 

Virgil’s laughter died down and he stood straight again. “Has a knight like you really not seen an elf before? Sucks for you, I guess. What’s your name?” Virgil grinned with crossed arms. 

The man on the horse shook his head and regained his composure. “My name is Roman, and I hail from the kingdom of Leigebit!” Roman introduced himself. “I’ve journeyed far and wide to find worthy partners to aid me in overthrowing the wicked magi, Damien the Dark. Would you three be willing?” 

Roman’s voice and request reminded Virgil of an NPC in a game like The Legend of Zelda, or something like that. With this in mind, he couldn’t help but accept the offer. Patton was excited to help, but Logan swore (between him and Virgil) that it was only because Roman was his type. 

After a while of walking and jokes shared between the four, the arrived at a rather large clearing that held a village and an elegant looking castle. People mulled about from booth to booth. The set was pretty impressive. 

“Welcome the Leigebit, friends. We must wait until Damien shows his face, and then we attack!” Roman announced while dismounting his horse, but not too loud as to attract attention. It was clear the he was really into the role. 

Logan gave a small nod. “As discussed, Patton will be the distraction while Roman attacks from the back, and Virgil and I from the sides.” He prompted, getting a thumbs up from everyone.  

“I’ll go take my place in the crowd now,” Patton said with a bounce, “now we’ll just have to wait for Damien!” He chirped. 

As if on cue, a man walked through the doors of the castle with robes that could only be fit for a wizard. Patton walked up to him as the others took their spots. They could hear him happily speaking to Damien. 

“I love your robes! They’re such a pretty combo of black and yellow!” 

“Why thank you, young man. I get them from the best of the best.” Damien responded. 

That was the moment the three jumped from their hiding spots and tackled him. Logan and Virgil held him down while Roman pointed a fake sword at his face. 

Roman proudly grinned. “Your rule is over, Damien. Leigebit belongs to the Panemas once more!” He proclaimed loud enough for the villagers to hear. At this, they cheered for Roman. 

“But I cannot take all the credit, I am afraid,” Roman spoke, and a hush fell over the crowd, “with the help of these brave heroes, Logan Halaya, Patton Amore, and Virgil Shea. Thank you for joining me on this quest.” He gestured to the three, who stood and turned to face the crowd. “To my new friends, and the heroes of Leigebit!” 

The crowd cheered again, and a wave of admiration passed over them. It felt genuine, as well as really freaking good. They shared smiles and hugged each other. 

In the end, they made friends with Damien and Roman. It was a memorable day, and they were all glad that Patton dragged them along to the fair. 

[the-citrus-scale]

Cosplayer Interview: ariellemarshig

If you want a cosplayer who specializes in the most fluffy and adorable characters, look no further than @ariellemarshig. Her Disney-heavy repertoire includes all of your favorite princesses, including a mermaid, and her Sarah Sanderson is also to die for. Check out her page for tons of great pictures of a huge roster of cosplays. You might also run into her in any fandom theme park, if you’re lucky!

How did you first start cosplaying?

I have loved dressing up in costumes for as long as I can remember. I did theater in high school and had an extensive 'dress up' collection. I got introduced into the cosplay community when I graduated college and was encouraged by a coworker to join a local princess party company: A Characteristic Attitude. There I met tons of people who shared the same love of various fandoms such as Disney, Harry Potter, etc. and we started going to conventions together.  

Your costumes look so amazing! Do you buy pieces, make pieces, or both?

Both! It is a combination of purchased items and made items. I am personally not very savvy in making things and I am lucky to have much more talented friends who help me make the costumes come to life.  

We love your Sarah Sanderson cosplay since Hocus Pocus is one of our favorite movies. Why did you decide on this Sanderson sister? Do you have plans to ever cosplay the others?

Sarah has always been my favorite Sanderson sister since I saw the movie when I was young. I just love her bubbly, silly, personality, while still being pretty sinister. I, personally, don't plan on doing the others, however, one of my best friends @erin_elayne has an AMAZING Winifred Sanderson cosplay that I would love to do a collab photoshoot with.  

Talk to us about hair. How much work does it take to get yours into all the styles we see on your cosplays? Do you use wigs or extensions or have a professional stylist?

I have always felt that a wig can make or break a cosplay. I, typically, will get a cheap (preferably lace front) base off of Amazon, then my super talented friends @erin_elayne or @amariebauer will style it into the beautiful creations that you see.  

Your Ariel and Jasmine costumes are particularly awesome. How did you go about choosing which design to buy or make?

The costumes posted on my page are a combination of my personal cosplays and pieces from the princess party company I work for: A Characteristic Attitude.  My most recent Jasmine Cosplay that I debuted at the D23 Expo is based off the Signature Jasmine Doll. I love the dark blue color and the peacock details that it has. It has the essence of the classic costume from the movie while also being unique. The base was purchased off a Facebook cosplay resale group and then my friend @eclectic_eccentric brought it to life.  

We got together and came up with how we wanted it to look and she made it real. The Ariel costumes I have posted are from the princess party company, but my own personal mermaid cosplay is Mermaid Cypress. The beautiful tail was designed by @erin_elayne and made real by Merrow Fins. I have always wanted to have my own silicone mermaid tail and I am so happy that I finally have one to add some realism to my costume.  

How do you choose which characters to cosplay?

I cosplay the characters that I love. Jasmine and Belle are my particular favorites to do as I associate my personality with them the most. Harley Quinn is my favorite non-Disney cosplay to do. I am a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in real life so I love that Harley was a Psychiatrist. I also have an obsession with mermaids, so I love doing Ariel or my own mermaid creation. 

What advice do you have for anyone who wants to start cosplaying?

Just go for it! You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a costume to look amazing and have a great time. It is all about how you wear it and the confidence that you present. Everyone starts somewhere.  

It looks like you went to D23 this year and cosplayed there. What was that experience like?

It was completely magical. This was actually my second D23 Expo I have attended. The amount of creativity that people put into their cosplays for this expo is mind-blowing. I got to go with two of my best friends and we debuted our Bimbette group costume from Beauty and the Beast. We even made it on Buzzfeed for this cosplay! I think that was my favorite cosplay I have ever done.  

How many theme parks have you been to? Which was your favorite one and why?

I am a theme park junkie. Outside of Disney, I have been to Universal Studios in Florida and SeaWorld in California. My favorite theme parks are, of course, the Disney ones. My bucket list is to go to all of the Disney parks in the entire world! I have currently been to Disney World, Disneyland/California Adventure, Euro Disney in Paris, and Tokyo Disneyland/Tokyo Disney Sea. I just need to add the Shanghai Disney and Hong Kong Disney parks to my list.  

My favorite, by far, was Tokyo Disney Sea. Everything there was larger than life and more immersive than any other Disney park I have experienced. It has an entire Little Mermaid land that my mom had to literally drag me out of. The treats and merchandise are also on a whole other level. Disneybounding at the parks is also so much fun. I love putting together different outfits in preparation for my trips. I recently did a Jasmine and Belle Disneybound in California and a Jasmine and Ariel Disneybound in Florida. 

What message do you hope people take away about cosplay after seeing your page or meeting you when you’re cosplaying?

Just do what you love and don’t worry about what other people will think.  The cosplay community as a whole has been very welcoming and it is so cool to be around like-minded people who love fandoms as much as you do.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

The perfect double surprise

So @ebhenah, I tried twice and hated both of my attempts so I really hope you enjoy this. I mixed your date night and planning a surprise prompts and changed it up just slightly. Enjoy.

Edit: @vldpolyexchange

Adam was focused on grading papers, music helping him focus when a pair of hands slammed on his shoulders.

“Ahh!”

He pulled his earphones out and turned around to see Matt laughing at him. Adam let out a huff. He liked Matt as a friend and also as his boyfriend’s other boyfriend, but he could be such a little shit sometimes.

“What the fuck asshole?”

“Not my fault that you don’t pay attention. I was trying to get your attention for 5 minutes.” Adam rolled his eyes. “Anyway, what are you and Shiro doing for Valentine’s day?”

Adam stopped himself from stiffening. As much as he’d love to go out with Shiro for Valentine’s, Shiro had been busy with work recently and he thought Matt should get the chance to spend the day with him. Now if he could finally get the confirmation email for their surprise.

“Um, I don’t know if we’re doing anything. What about you?”

“I don’t know if I have to work that night. We’ll see.” Matt answered.

Adam’s phone buzzed and he picked it up to look at the screen, stifling a smile. It was the confirmation email he’d been waiting for when he purchased tickets to an orchestra who would be playing some of the songs from Matt and Shiro’s favourite video game.

“Anything good?” Matt asked, leaning in trying to snoop.

“Just one of my students trying to give me a sob story about their boyfriend dumping them so they can’t finish an essay. Nothing I haven’t heard around this time. Now another question. This is my apartment; how did you get in?”

“I might have stolen Shiro’s keys.”

Adam sighed, already done with Matt. “My boyfriend is dating a kleptomaniac.”

“Hey, this klepto managed to hack into a terrorist mainframe and find their location.” Matt said, boasting about his job as a government hacker.

“Ah yes, my hero. If you’re gonna stick around for Shiro, at least go and cook something.”

“Fine. Only because we all know you’d poison all of us if you were let into the kitchen.” Matt teased.

“Hey!”

Matt covered the pot to let the keep the finished pasta warm when his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“It’s your favourite person.”

“My stuck up and terrifying boss, Kolivan?”

“Asshole! It’s Lance!”

Matt laughed. “Calm down.”

“I can just hang up and tell Hunk to take his reservations back.” Lance warned, making Matt drop the spoon he was moving.

“No, no, no! I’m sorry!” he hissed.

Valentine’s was coming up and he wanted to treat Adam and Shiro to a date night. He didn’t mind spending the day with his video games. The two deserved it, so he asked Shiro’s brother’s boyfriend if he could ask his best friend to squeeze them onto the reservation list.

“That’s what I thought.” Lance said, sounding princely. “Hunk got Shiro and Adam onto the list but it’s under your last name because Hunk can’t remember how to spell Adam’s obnoxiously long last name and the hostess kept struggling with Shirogane for some reason so he got frustrated and just put your name.”

“Ouch.” Matt said.

“I mean, some people still struggle with Keith’s last name, which isn’t far from Shiro’s but whatever. Point is, they’re on the list. You’re welcome.”

“Thank you. Are you sure you don’t want me to hack into the system at Keith’s job and get him the night off?”

“I don’t think the police force would enjoy that but thanks. He already said I can come over and have Chinese in one of the conference rooms with him.” Lance said.

“Alright.” Matt heard the front door open and the nails of Shiro’s dog Lion running in. “Gotta go. Thank you again. Whatever you need next time, it’s yours.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Lance said before hanging up.

Matt left the kitchen and pouted as Lion ran over to Adam. “Hey, she ran to me last time. What gives?”

“Oh, so I guess my kisses won’t suffice.” Shiro said, dropping his bag on the couch and walked over to Matt, who opened his arms to let Shiro pull him in to kiss. “You left the door unlocked by the way. If your going to steal my keys at least make sure the two of you are safe.”

“Everyone in this building has seen Adam mad, I’m sure they know not to rob the place.” Matt joked.

“Hey!”

Shiro laughed at his boyfriends. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I left from your apartment this morning. What are you doing here?”

“I had to ask Adam something and I wanted to tell you something anyway. Besides, I made dinner.” A white furry body shoved her way between them. “Easy girl, you can join us.”

While Lion scarfed her dinner down, the three had sat down and dinner, talking about their day from Shiro’s job as a therapy dog trainer, the schemes Matt got into at his job and the insanity Adam dealt with in the classroom that day. Shiro took the plates to the sink and brought over a tub of Italian gelato and three spoons.

“So, what did you guys want to do for Valentine’s? It’s on Thursday.” Shiro asked, letting his boyfriends dig into the tub first.

“I have a surprise.” Adam and Matt said at the same time, making Shiro look at them.

“Is it the same thing?”

“I hope not.” Matt said. “Let me go first! I got you and Adam reservations to the restaurant Hunk works at for Valentine’s day. It’s under my last name so don’t give yours.”

Adam slowly pulled his spoon out of his mouth. “Um, Matt. I got you and Shiro tickets to that orchestra, the one who was doing a whole set of songs from that video game you like. It’s on Valentine’s day.”

“Oh.” Matt said.

Shiro looked at his boyfriends. He was really happy that each of them wanted him to spend the day with the other and he wanted to fix this. “Adam, when’s the performance?”

“Uh, 6:30 for an hour and a half.”

“Reservations?” Shiro asked Matt.

“8 because you two don’t like dinner at 7 for some reason.”

“Well then, I don’t see why I can’t do both.” The bispecaled boys looked confused so Shiro explained. “Matt and I will go to the concert and I can drop him back home and meet Adam for dinner. And if it’s ok with you guys, Adam and I can bring back dessert and we can all end the night with a movie.”

“That’s actually…” Adam started.

“A really good idea.” Matt finished.

“I’m glad you think so. Thank you you two. I’m sure there presents will be fun. And don’t worry, I’ve got something for you two as well.

“This is strange.” Matt sad, letting Adam fix the cuffs of his shirt.

“You doing an extremely casual cosplay of that character you and Shiro can’t stop drooling over?” Adam asked.

“Oh please, this is so not the first time I’ve casually cosplayed for an event like this. I mean, Shiro and I went to go see the BNHA movie the other day and we dressed in a version of their school uniform.”

Adam looked completely confused. “What? You know what, I don’t want to know. It’s enough that my boyfriend is a complete nerd. I don’t want to think about what you two nerds get into.”

“I mean you can watch.” Matt joked, Adam frowning at him. “Joking. But I was actually talking about this whole situation. I mean, Shiro, our boyfriend, spent the night at my apartment and we stayed here just so we could help the other choose outfits. Like we were like best friends or something.”

“Well, I consider you a very good friend.”

“I do to, it’s just, I also know you as my boyfriend’s other boyfriend who makes me feel compersion because you make Shiro really happy.” Matt said.

“You make him happy too. Goodness knows that if you never came along, I’d be dying trying to understand his gaming obsessions.”

“Hey. Usually we only go out with Shiro and we’ve never tried to go to something we all enjoy. My little sibling works at the local planetarium and there’s a ‘Myths behind the Stars’ event happening soon and I know you like the Greek myths a lot. I mean all of us are interested in space, maybe we can all go.” Matt suggested.

Adam’s smile was grateful. “I’d like to do that. Even though you and I aren’t dating, doesn’t mean we can’t all go out. You’re ready by the way.”

“Thanks. And thanks again for the tickets.”

“Of course. Are you sure the suit I have is fine for the restaurant? I heard what Hunk said, it’s a high establishment.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “It’ll be fine. Jez look at us, completely worried about what our boyfriend will think when we both know he’ll be completely head over heels for us anyway.”

“We are acting a bit crazy.”

Both their phones buzzed as their group chat got a new message.

“Shiro’s here. I’ll see you when we switch out.” Matt said.

“Have a nice time.”

Shiro was waiting for Matt in front the apartment, smiling when he realised what Matt was wearing.

“I’m letting you know it took everything in me not to do the same.” He said as Matt climbed in.

“Well great minds do think alike. Now let’s go. Adam said there’s supposed to be a small museum of things from the game before we go into the theatre.”

“Yes sir.”

They arrived at theatre and became the two nerds Adam had called them as they took in everything on display. When they finally got into the theatre, they were really excited for the concert.

“I’m really happy Adam got these tickets for us. It’s a shame we can’t get him into gaming.” Shiro said, resting his cheek in Matt’s hair, while the shorter one looked through the program.

“I think he’s happy with that. Hey, do you remember when you think I thought he didn’t like me?”

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh at the mess the relationship had been when Matt first joined. “Adam thought you didn’t like him.”

“He was so sophisticated.”

“And you were a complete nerd and he thought I’d just leave him for just you, just like you thought I’d dump you just to stay with him. Thank god we got that cleared up.”

“Bonding over the same insecurities, fun.”

“But I’m glad it worked out. I don’t know what my life would be without the two of you.”

Matt pulled his head away so he could smirk up at his boyfriend. “If it wasn’t for the fact that I was going to be spending the rest of the night with you and Adam, I’d think you were trying to get lucky.”

“Very funny. I’m serious.”

“Yeah, I know you are. You’d be lost without us.”

“Yes I would.” Shiro happily admitted, pressing a kiss to Matt’s lips.

“And don’t you forget it.”

“Reservation for 2 under Holt.” Adam told the hostess.

“Of course. Yes, here it is. Right this way.”

Adam took Shiro’s hand and squeezed through the unfortunate group of people who didn’t have reservations and were waiting. They were seated at a table, Shiro pulling Adam’s chair out before sitting himself. They were left with the menus and not long after a familiar face came to their table, wiping his hands on his apron.

“Hey lovebirds.” Hunk cooed.

“Hunk. Thank you for getting Matt the reservations.” Adam thanked.

“Of course. Poor guy kept begging, I couldn’t exactly say no. you are lucky that the person in charge of reservations though liked me. Don’t bother ordering from the menu, I have a set menu set up for you two.”

“Oh, you don’t have to.” Shiro tried to deny.

“Chef’s orders.” Hunk said, placing his hands on his hips.

Shiro sighed. He knew that pose. Hunk would push and push until he got his way and he always got his way.

“Can I at least request that dessert be taken home though. We have a very nerded out person back at the apartment.”

“Huh?”

“I got Shiro and Matt tickets to see this orchestra that was playing songs from their favourite game. Matt was still gushing about it when we switched.” Adam explained.

“Aww, Shiro, your boyfriends wanted to surprise you other halves.” Hunk gushed.

“Yeah, I’m a pretty lucky guy.” Shiro said, staring at Adam with a fond look as he took his hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of dessert. I’ll take these. Enjoy the night you two.” Hunk said, taking the menus and going back to the kitchen.

“I really am lucky you know.” Shiro said, taking Adam’s other hand, squeezing lightly at his fingers.

“I know. How was the concert though? I’m surprised I didn’t ask that on the ride over.”

“I thought Matt’s reaction would have been enough. It was amazing. Thank you for the present.”

“Your welcome. Though I think this dinner is more than enough repayment.”

Shiro couldn’t help but remember what he and Matt had been talking about while waiting for the event to start. “You know, it still surprises me that I’ve got the two of you. I remember in beginning when I started dating Matt, I was so worried you two wouldn’t get along because each of you were so sure the other didn’t like him.”

“Guess that’s proof that even V relationships still have to have communication.” Adam said, still remembering how ridiculous worried he’d been that Shiro would dump him for Matt. Now look at them, a prefect working machine to give their very deserving boyfriend all the love he needs.

“And I’m very glad that it worked out. I told this to Matt and it’s still very true, I don’t know where I’d be without the two of you.”

“Probably overworking to help people and maybe adopting too many dogs.” Adam guessed.

“You make it sound like adopting dogs is a bad thing.”

“Sweetie, Lion is enough of a handful and you’ve got me and Matt. You don’t need any more bundles of love.”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t complain with these amazing points.”

“Ohh,” Matt awed over the dessert Hunk had sent Shiro and Adam home with. Netflix was up and Shiro was choosing his pick of the three movies they’d watch for the night. “This is that lemon raspberry crepe cake Hunk makes. How did he do this? There’s no way this was on the menu.”

“It’s Hunk. I learn to just not question it.” Adam suggested.

“I do the same with Keith. And my sibling. Those two would get along.” Matt said.

Shiro uploaded his movie to their list when he remembered something. “Oh, I haven’t given you guys your gifts.” He passed the remote to Matt and got up off the couch.

“Grab some plates while your up. And a knife?” Matt asked.

“And forks, we’re not heathens Mathew.”

“That’s not what Shiro told me after last weekend when he stayed here because I had a long shift.” Matt teased, grinning as Adam turned red and threw a pillow at him.

Shiro came back with the requested items and two wrapped boxes. He checked the little marks he made on the side before handing them each to the right person. They opened the boxes to reveal a picture frame with three sets of pictures.

“Oh, this is my favourite picture of you and Matt.” Adam said looking at the photo next to the one of him and Shiro when Shiro first adopted Lion. Matt and Shiro were at the beach and Matt was on top Shiro’s shoulders.

“Hey, your pictures are different than mine.” Matt noticed. His favourite picture of Adam and Shiro wasn’t of them with Lion, it was them on a Ferris wheel with the night lights in the background. The one with him and Shiro was at their first convention together where someone happened to ask to take a picture when Shiro started carrying Matt on his back.

The last picture however was the same for them both. Adam, Shiro and Matt had a day off and decided to spend it in Disneyland and Adam insisted they all get matching headbands so they all wore matching sequenced Micky Mouse ears.

On the bottom, under the last photo the words, ‘It doesn’t matter who it started with, my life and love are complete with you two’ were etched on the bottom.

“Oh, Shiro.” Matt said looking at the words.

“Do you like them?” Shiro asked, seeming nervous, “It’s nothing like the two of you did but I wanted you two to remember how much I love you guys.”

“They’re perfect, thank you.” Adam said. “Come here.”

Shiro already knew what they wanted, and leaned down so his cheeks were presented, which had kisses pressed onto them.

“Happy Valentine’s day you two.” Shiro said.

“Happy Valentine’s day. Now can we eat the cake?” Matt asked, not even sorry as Adam and Shiro laughed at him.

[puppyexpressions]

Top 10 Dog-Friendliest Cities

If you’re a dog lover looking to move to the big city, pet-friendliness is a probably a big part of what you want in a new town. Even if you find a landlord who allows dogs, you’ll need to find things to do with your pup in your city. Dog parks, walking trails, events, and dog beaches all make for fun outings with your pooch. The cities on this list have plenty of ways for people and pets to play together. Here are the 10 dog-friendliest cities in the United States of America.

1. Portland, Oregon

Portland has 33 dog parks, more dog parks per capita than any big city in the country. It even has it’s own social network for dog lovers! It’s also home to the Lucky Labrador Brewing Company where you can have a beer and hang out with your pup at the same time. Speaking of grabbing a drink with your dog, Portland is one of the few cities outside of France where you can take your dog into a pub. There are also plenty of meetups like the Pug Crawl and Pit Bull Parade for like-minded fans of specific breeds to gather and celebrate.

2. Seattle, Washington

If your dog doesn’t like the rain, maybe Seattle isn’t the town for you. But if you don’t mind the wet climate, you’ll be in good company as there are more dogs in Seattle than children. There’s even an indoor dog park if you don’t want to pack the umbrella and rain boots, and you can get there nice and dry as dogs are allowed on city bus lines, light rail, ferries, and even seaplanes. There are over 32 meetup groups for dog lovers, and plenty of dog-friendly businesses for you to visit with your pup.

3. San Francisco, California

San Francisco has the lowest average pet deposit for dog owners looking to rent. Pups are allowed on trolleys, in several restaurants, and a few gyms if you want your pooch to spot you while you work out. San Fran is also home to DogFest, an annual festival that celebrates dogs and raises money for a local elementary school. There are also more than 50 different dog meetup groups, so get social.

4. Austin, Texas

If you love pictures of your dog, Austin may be the place for you, as it’s home to 35 pet photographers. Bow-Wow Bones is a local food truck that serves up plenty of natural treats for pups out on a walk. Most restaurants welcome dogs to join diners on the patio, and the temperate climate is perfect for eating outside. If your pup is looking to cool off, you can stop by Red Bud Isle, which is a swimming spot for dogs only. Or you can find your inner peace with Austin Doga, a yoga class you can take with your dog.

5. Chicago, Illinois

As this is my home town, I may be a bit biased. But Chicago is very dog-friendly, down to the local restaurants and bars that leave big bowls of ice water out on hot days so pups on walks can stop and hydrate. Chicago’s Montrose Dog Beach is a great place for pups to play in the waters of Lake Michigan, and the Chicago White Sox baseball team holds a Dog Day every year for dogs to join their owners for the great American pastime. There are tons of scenic walking paths along the lake and through Chicago’s neighborhoods, including The 606, a new elevated path just for walkers and bikers.

6. Colorado Springs, Colorado

Nature may seem like a distant fantasy to city-dwellers, but not for dogs and humans who live in Colorado Springs. Not only are there plenty of dog parks, there are places like the Crags Trail through Pike National Forest, or Seven Falls, a canyon filled with beautiful waterfalls. Or you can hike through Garden of the Gods Park, a Registered National Landmark, and one that I’ve visited personally. It’s absolutely incredible and should be on your list of places to visit with your dog before you die.

7. Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is a fun town for pups and owners, as many local bars offer “Yappy Hours” where patrons can bring their dogs along while they grab a pint. Dogs are also allowed to ride the first subway built in America during off-peak hours, as well as dog-friendly cruises of Boston Harbor, so it’s a perfect place for pups on the go. There are plenty of dog-friendly neighborhoods and apartments, too, so you can rest assured that your neighbors probably share your affinity for canines.

8. San Diego, California

San Diego may be the only city on this list where you can take your dog surfing. In fact, it’s home to the annual Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon. Restaurants have patios where pups can join owners. There are plenty of dog parks and dog boutiques for fashionable west coast dogs who want to strut their stuff on the boardwalk. Not to mention all the dog themed events, like Paw-micon--the canine answer to San Diego’s Comic-Con–where pups can engage in “paws-play” rather than “cosplay”.

9. Tucson, Arizona

With sunshine 350 days of the year, Tuscson is a great place if you’re the opposite of a Seattle person. For dry-weather-loving breeds, it’s a paradise. Local parks and trails provide scenic desert views to enjoy with your best friend. And Tucson is home to Pitbulooza, a festival celebrating Pit Bulls for National Pit Bull Awareness Day. No need to worry about breed specific legislation here!

10. Albuquerque, New Mexico

Also on the dry side, though not quite as dry as Tucson, Albuquerque has 33,000 acres of public parks. To put that in perspective, that’s a quarter acre for each dog, cat, and bird in the city. And since it only rains about 60 days out of the year, there’s plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors. You can walk along the Rio Grande, or take a hike in the Sandia foothills. There are plenty of dog parks available, but you might not even need to go to one considering how many dog-friendly places there are to go with your pup.