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toonstarterz · 5 years

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BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #147

In today’s chapter, Watamote goes back to its roots as we find Tomoko hankering for some alone time. But you’d be wrong if you think it’s going to be that simple. Because underneath all the nostalgia moments lies what may just be the most crucial development that Tomoko has ever undertaken, and it’s the type of growth that could’ve only been realized by taking a quick trip down memory lane.

Chapter 147: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Wander Around Alone

Oh hey, it’s that one male teacher who’s made periodic appearances throughout the series. Thank you for being there during Tomoko’s character establishing moment.

So Wada is pretty good at English, huh? So not only do they both like manga, but Tomoko and Wada are also knowledgeable in the same subject. How nice.

Better break out the pitchforks.

A common social “rule” in Japan is the emphasis on being able to read the room and reciprocating that atmosphere, or at the very least, not rock the boat. Tomoko has never really supported or condemned that notion, though unlike Yuri, is more likely to go with the flow. As someone who lives in a culture that discourages group mentality, it’s nice to see a character like Tomoko benefit from it.

Cliques? What high school cliques? All I see is a group of distinctly unique girls organically enjoying each other’s company.

This first-person POV shot looks straight out of a harem manga, only more authentic and devoid of cattiness.

Let it be known that in this moment, Tomoko actually does break the mood. For the first time in as long as I can remember, Tomoko finds herself in a social situation with little risk, but actively breaks away from it in favor of alone time.

With that, the seed of Tomoko’s greatest epiphany has sprouted.

Not in the mood to binge through twenty volumes this time, huh?

Boy does this take me back...

Compared to Tomoko’s first solo trip to Not-McDonald’s, it’s amazing to see the way she’s changed alongside the ways she hasn’t. Her anxiety is 95% gone, with the remaining 5% accounting for general uncertainty, hence the very brief stuttering. Embrace that 5% Tomoko–that’s all you.

Introvert Problems #051: Activities that are individual in nature double as recharging opportunities, but can come off as unfriendly if openly pursued.

Okay honestly, this is the type of growth I’ve been low-key hoping for since the very start of the series. Tomoko has finally realized that a desire to be alone is not something she needed to fix, but to accept. For the longest time, she didn’t realize a large part of her alone time was because she craved it. It brought her comfort, even if she didn’t want to believe it. And it took having a considerable amount of friends (whose companionship was definitely necessary) for her to understand that she didn’t want to get rid of being alone.

She wanted to get rid of being lonely.

Professional slacking. Otherwise known as, putting in the bare minimum effort to avoid future hardships.

Nom.

I’m sure there are various theories for both perspectives, but I think the main takeaway is that food tastes the best when you’re in your comfort zone. Whether that includes company for not is based on your personal preference.

Indeed, it is. This is none other than the class representative of Tomoko’s second year, Girl-With-Awesome-Hair. Naturally, taking up two whole panels is a clear sign that this isn’t the last we’ll see of her.

Ah, yes, the classic “normies suck” self-fulfilling prophecy–other people are jerks, and that’s why I’m alone. Tomoko was guilty of having this perspective, but she didn’t really recognize it until the first cafeteria chapter with Nemo. That was the point she realized that all those “popular” people are genuinely nice people. It was jarring at first, but once Tomoko got used to people being nice to her, she stopped perceiving that kindness as some kind of exception, and just took it as normal behavior. While alluding to the possibility of getting shit-talked behind her back is more of her realism at work, it thankfully doesn’t fall too deep into self-destructive cynicism.

Could it be that Tomoko’s recent friendships are subconsciously making her pursue more public activities even on her loner vacation? You better believe it.

Tomoko’s become quite financially savvy lately, don’t ‘cha think? It certainly beats spending $150 on a whim for a Vocaloid.

I cannot think of any other nickname that suits her better.

For a girl with the single most stylized face in the series, her entrance in this chapter sure makes an impact with the way she strikes such an alluring pose. Of course, that’s the joke, ain’t it?

It would seem that we’re getting a “doesn’t-care-what-anybody-else-thinks”-type of character for her. Well, she’s a competitive gamer as we soon learn, so not giving a shit about her social status is kind of a prerequisite.

I honestly did a double-take at this, as it’s the first time Tomoko has addressed Yoshida in her mind by her real name instead of “the delinquent”. We’re just a hair’s length away from reaching official “friend” status with these two.

Aw, that’s adorable. Tomoko actually sort of cares about Yoshida’s financial wellbeing. I’ve also noticed a bit of a trend with Tomoko in that she gets “terrified” of her friends breaking her expectations of them, even if they’re not doing anything that terrifying. In Yoshida’s case, I think that’s partly because Tomoko has a bit of a superiority complex that would get broken if Yoshida was a better person than she likes to believe.

Tomoko’s nicknaming game is on point today.

It was hinted before that Futaki may be popular with the boys what with being a “gamer girl” and all. While it’s still a little too early to confirm or deny that, the fact that most of the onlookers here are guys has to count for something.

I remember when fans gave her the name “Potential-san”. Given where this chapter is headed, I think that name fits even more with Futaki’s blooming characterization.

It’s amazing how much of their personalities you can see in this single panel. Yoshida is all easygoing, grasping her drink from the top all aloof-like. Reina is the toughest, taking a quietly aggressive stance with her elbows on the table like a boss. And Anna is the most inviting, smiling with a crêpe in her hand to signify her (relative) sweetness.

I find it fascinating that Anna can say some pretty rude things that borderline on mean, but it never really comes off as malicious (or is it just me?). She gives off that vibe of someone who mercilessly teases people in a way that’s “all in good fun”, and I hope to see more of that side to her.

First off, Tomoko being a full table’s length away from the scary delinquents is gold.

Second and not to beat a dead horse, Anna’s a cool chick.

I think I’m gonna need to call upon the Council of WataMote Fans with Too Much Time On Our Hands for this. Why exactly is that name so unusual?

Of course, Anna wouldn’t be part of the delinquent squad if she didn’t shit-talk every now and then. But as I said before, she has this style of going about it that feels more like brash innocence than deliberate antagonism. Maybe it’s the heroin eyes...

Other than that, she does imply that she’s the smartest of her group, though whether that perception is actually reflective of herself isn’t certain yet.

More of Tomoko’s superiority complex at work here. All she really knows about Futaki is that she plays games, and is assumedly a slacker. That fact that she still managed to outscore her must’ve been quite the blow to Tomoko’s insecurity. The only thing “worse” is if even Yoshida managed to rank higher than her.

I love dialogue gags like this, though usually the characters’ inner words are in parenthesizes in-between their actual spoken words. If Tomoko actually lowered her voice at the word “lower”, that’d be humorously sad.

It got “worse”.

Because a superiority complex actually requires a deep-seated sense of inferiority, Tomoko must be hella blown back right now. Grades were one of the only things she could feasibly claim dominance over, but now that she’s about to be usurped by the supposedly dumb delinquents, she only has her otaku interests to fall back on, which...isn’t always something to brag about.

Also, I especially like how Tomoko has started to compare delinquents to the yakuza. You know both would beat the tar out of her if they heard her compare them to the other.

You know, it makes perfect sense that Tomoko would be a top scorer in Japanese, English, and History. Since she’s such an avid reader (even if it is only manga and light novels), all that extra literature has most certainly been indirect study material, even if the actual course material isn’t nearly as lewd.

Additionally, slackerism loves company.

Yeah, if it wasn’t already abundantly clear than Reina is the delinquent among delinquents...

...she is.

Rekt to infinity.

But you know, this is actually an ingenious way to develop a gag character like Futaki. Her apparent gaming skills have always been played like a joke, but by having it be her long-term goal, it restructures that “quirk” of hers into a fleshed out personality. It doesn’t invalidate anything we’ve already seen from Futaki, and it neatly sets up a direction for her character to take.

I imagine Tomoko must feel pretty betrayed right now. She herself entertained the idea of being a gamer, but discarded that dream likely because it wouldn’t be a “proper” job. Now that she sees this girl she hardly knows who apparently has the luxury of making that dream a reality, Tomoko’s envy levels just skyrocketed. Sure, Futaki has no loyalty to Tomoko, so that sense of betrayal has no basis, but like how Akari felt about “angelic” Komiyama in chapter 108...

“...this just isn’t fair!”

I’m getting a Crazy Rich Asians vibe from this girl.

So Reina’s the competitive type, huh? I can dig it. It generally fits with the whole “eyes-must-not-be-seen” aesthetic, but it also explains why she and Yoshida have that “vitriolic best buds” relationship going on. I’d imagine that Reina’s the type to bet high stakes if she can get away with it...

Just ice cream? Eh, no big loss. Unless it’s chocolate chip mint, then it’s a very big loss.

I wouldn’t exactly have these rankings as indicators of their skill level, since mahjong does involves a bit of luck and certainly reading your opponents. While it’s surprising that Futaki ended up in last place, I think it does help to nerf her power level somewhat. Shiro from No Game No Life she is not.

Careful, Futaki. That’s no excuse when you’re looking to be a professional gamer.

I must say, having Futaki unofficially join the delinquent crew is the last thing I would’ve expected, but it’s a delightful surprise nonetheless. They have some pretty good chemistry what them all being slackers/gamers. Plus, Futaki’s strange, but odd cuteness adds a dynamic that the delinquents were lacking until now.

Delinquents may be delinquents, but they always know how to have a good time.

Ho ho! So Nemo has officially been indoctrinated into their group? That poor, poor girl.

Council! I require your guidance! Is Haruna the last name for Anna? Or did Tomoko just get her name wrong! I must solve this conundrum at all costs!

If you try to tell me that Yoshida isn’t absolutely gorgeous in this shot, then you’re a big, fat liar.

Looking back on this chapter, Yoshida didn’t actually have many notable lines until this moment. But this single bit of dialogue greatly makes up for it. This is the very first time that Yoshida has personally offered to hang out with Tomoko without any sort of coercion or reluctance. It’s the most damning evidence we now have that says Yoshida now openly views Tomoko as her friend. As a long-time reader, I couldn’t feel any more proud.

In comic book terms, we call this The Negative Space of Melancholy.

And really, wasn’t that the “goal” of this series all along? Making friends wasn’t the real endgame. If it were, it very well could’ve betrayed what makes the series so special, hence why Tomoko’s growth was so agonizingly slow. Tomoko is, was, and always will be a loner. It was just a matter of time before she could make the most out of that status.

It wouldn’t be a chapter about Tomoko’s growth if she didn’t wax lyrical about her current situation.

Even if self-satisfaction about being a loner is the “goal” of this series, reality is hardly so linear. As this chapter shows, Tomoko finds herself inexplicably drawn to social situations even when trying to avoid them. Not intentionally, but out of a natural, subconscious attraction to them. Tomoko’s life is a series of circular ebbs and flows. She’ll gain something at the cost of losing something else, only to regain a variation of what was lost once what was gained becomes stagnant. Such is it the path to making connections. While the hoops in Tomoko’s development appear drastic close-up, her life is a slow, naturalistic mountain climb when viewed from on top.

#watamote #watamote review #chapter 147 #no matter how i look at it it's you guys' fault i'm not popular!#tomoko kuroki #yoshinori kiyota #wada #asuka katou #mako tanaka #kotomi komiyama #yuri tamura #hina nemoto #akane okada #futaki shiki #masaki yoshida #anna haruna #rena #review

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chemicalmagecraft · 5 years

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The Gamer Hero, Deku Chapter 3

A/N: We got over 2,000 views in... what, like a month? That's good, right? Thanks for that and all the likes and stuff. Also, some of you left really funny reviews, so thanks for that.

xoxoxo

"Your Quirk is really weird," the green-haired doctor said. He didn't act too serious, so that didn't surprise me, but...

"Shouldn't you be a little more professional about this?" I asked. I was actually really excited. Who'd have thought that I'd get taken to a Quirk counselor!

"Alright," he said, then adjusted his glasses. "In my professional opinion, your Quirk is really weird. I think it's probably Mutant because it's always on, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on your appearance and manifested very late, even though most Mutant Quirks are usually present from the beginning. So you say you can see titles? Tell me what it says about me, please.

Bamboo Doctor

LV 10

Takenaka Saburou

"Bamboo Doctor, level ten, Takenaka Saburou," I recited.

"Interesting," he said, then turned his fingers into bamboo. "The title even provided a clue to my Quirk, Bamboo Shoot... What's yours say?"

"The Gamer, level six, Midoriya Izuku. It used to be level five, but I got a level up off a quest." He wrote something down on his clipboard.

"Okay. So you said that you have a main menu?"

"Yeah. I've only looked at one of the menus on it yet, but it looked like it worked like a game.

"Can you open it?"

"Sure. Main Menu!" I found out after telling my mom about my Quirk that I could trigger my skills and things by saying them out loud, too.

Status Screen

Skill List

Skill Grimoir

Inventory

Party Options

Map

Quest Log

Options

"Huh," I said.

"What is it?" Takenaka-sensei asked me.

"I have a new menu that I didn't have before called Skill Grimoir. I got something called the Skill Grimoir system as the reward for a quest, so I guess that's what that is."

"Okay... why don't you just tell me what they are?"

"Status Screen, Skill List, Skill Grimoir, Inventory, Party Options, Map, Quest Log, and Options."

"Y'know what, just open all the menus and tell me whatever you think's important. You seem like a smart kid. I trust you"

"Thanks, I think." I heard a ping.

A quest has been created!

Tutorial Level

You really should learn what your new Quirk can do. Open up all the menus.

Completion: 500 EXP, 100 Skill Fragments, Increased closeness with Bakugou

That last one was a little out there, but... "I just got a tutorial quest."

"What?"

"I got a quest telling me to look at my menus.”

"Well then do that."

"Alright." I clicked the Status Screen button. "First I have the Status Screen."

Name: Midoriya Izuku

Title: The Gamer

Level: 6

HP: 325/325

MP: 400/400

STR: 10

VIT: 12

DEX: 11

INT: 30

WIS: 12

LUK: 11

POINTS: 5

MONEY: 0 Yen

SKILL FRAGMENTS: 3500

"It shows all of the things that my title shows, though it lists them name, title, level instead of title, level, name. After that, it shows my current HP, MP, some stats, points that I think I get five of per level and can be used to raise my stats, money, and Skill Fragments. I got the Skill Fragments when I unlocked the Skill Grimoir, so I think that they're linked. I can also raise my stats by doing activities that you would expect them to be used. For example, studying raises INT and stamina exercise raises VIT"

"Alright." He handed me a piece of paper. "Write down your current stats so the readers don't have to read you repeating those, too." What? "Next menu?"

"Skill List." The Skill List opened. "A list of my skills appeared with little icons representing them."

"Skills?"

"I got some things called skills. I guess you could say that they're like spells in a game? That's not exactly right, but I don't know what else to call them. I get them by doing certain things and they seem to be able to level up if I use them enough."

"Alright, so what skills do you have?"

"There's Observe, which gives me a text box with a bunch of information on what I use it on."

"Scan, cool. Do you get, like, a background or just what it is?"

"I only get a description of objects, but when I use it on people, it gives me a box a little like my Status Screen, only for them."

"Okay, can you use it on me, then write my Observe thing on the back of that paper?" I used Observe.

Name: Takenaka Saburou

Title: Bamboo Doctor

Level: 10

HP: 600/600

MP: 650/650

STR: 10

VIT: 12

DEX: 13

INT: 32

WIS: 49

LUC: 14

Quirk: Bamboo Shoot

Emotions: Interested, curious

"I also have Meditate, which I got by meditating."

"As one does."

"It allows me to restore my HP and MP as well as train my WIS."

"As one does."

"I got three skills called Sense Danger, Sense Bloodthirst, and Physical Endurance when I got attacked by a villain. Those three are..." I tapped on their skills, opening their windows.

Sense Danger (Passive) LV1 EXP 99.99%

A skill that allows one to sense impending danger in one's surroundings.

Sense Bloodthirst (Passive) LV1 EXP 51.08%

A skill that allows one to sense other's ill will towards one.

Physical Endurance (Passive) LV1 EXP 35.24%

The body's toughness increases, reducing damage from physical attacks.

3% decrease in damage taken by physical attacks.

"Different. They say they're passive."

"So they're always on?"

"I guess. I have a skill called Tear that lets me tear things and..." I noticed that I had no idea what the first two were. "Two skills called Gamer's Body and Gamer's Mind. Hang on, I'll see what those two do."

Gamer's Body (Passive) LV MAX

Grants a body that allows the user to live life like a game.

Gamer's Mind (Passive) LV MAX

Allows the user to calmly think things through. Allows a peaceful state of mind. Grants immunity to psychological status effects.

"Both passive. One gives me the body to live life like a game, which I think might be why I didn't have a bruise after the villain attack, and the other makes me constantly calm. Both are at max level. They're probably a manifestation of my Quirk."

"Okay. Sounds legit. What next?" I completed the copies of the text boxes that he'd asked of me. "I feel like I should feel insulted by the fact that I have the strength of a fifteen-year-old, but I've literally never touched a weight before so I can't really complain. So what's the next menu thing?"

"It's the Skill Grimoir that I got from a quest."

"Okay, crack that baby open!"

"Skill Grimoir," I said. A glowing ball of green light appeared in front of me and shifted into the shape of a book. It then dulled, turning into a book with a blank green cover. "It's a book," I said.

"I can see that," he told me, then wrote something down.

"You can see the book?" I asked.

"Yup. Weird, I wasn't able to see any of the other things... Open that thing and see what's inside." I opened the book and saw a list of skills with a short description of what they were and the words "Skill Fragments" followed by a number for each of them.

"I think it's a skill shop. There's a list of skills and what's probably a Skill Fragment price."

"Well the best way to test that hypothesis would be to try and buy one," he told me.

"Okay," I said. I looked over the skills for one that looked interesting within my price range and immediately saw one that was worth exactly as much Skill Fragments as the Quest was going to give me.

Mana Bolt (Active) Skill Fragments: 100

A skill that attacks by shooting a ball of mana.

Attack power increases with INT

Range 10m

Hello, beautiful. I tapped it. A blue box appeared.

You are attempting to learn the skill 'Mana Bolt.' This will cost you 100 Skill Fragments. Confirm purchase?

YES/NO

"It's definitely a skill shop. I just got a message telling me to confirm my purchase of Mana Bolt," I told him.

"Well now we should see what happens when you purchase a skill." I tapped yes. The words on the Mana Bolt section began to glow, then the light shot into me. I felt the knowledge enter my head as the words were erased. When they were fully gone, the rest of the text shifted so that there wasn't a gap where Mana Bolt was.

Mana Bolt (Active) LV1 EXP 0.00% MP 5

A skill that attacks by shooting a ball of mana.

Attack power increases with INT and skill level.

Range 10m

"I learned it. I can now shoot mana out of my palms as an attack."

"Mana?"

"MP, I'm pretty sure. The skill seemed good because it has more power the higher my INT is and I have thirty INT. It also only costs five MP."

He sighed. "Well I'm going to have to get some targets for you to test that out on. What next?"

"I'd like to know what happens if I try to open my Skill Grimoir while my Skill Grimoir's already open. I can't close it like my other windows. Or I just haven't found the X. Skill Grimoir." The current Skill Grimoir burst into motes of light that faded from existence as a second Skill Grimoir appeared with the same animation. I looked through it and it was identical to the other one. "I guess it just gives me a new one. That's good to know in case I lose it."

"What happens if you damage it?" Takenaka-sensei asked. I ripped the corner off of one of the pages. The book immediately burst into motes of light, like the old book. "Found the X," he said, and wrote some more things down. "Next menu?"

"Inventory," I said. A box appeared in front of me. This one didn't have any text and instead consisted of a grid and a separate box showing a silhouette of a person with a bunch of boxes that had my clothing in it. "I'm pretty sure that it works like a video game inventory. There's also an equipment screen, which I'm sure is what it is because it has my clothes for the equipment."

He tossed me his pen. "Only one way to find out about the other one, though," he told me. I touched the pen to the box and it was swallowed by a distortion of space... or something. "That looked so cool from my point of view." He held up his clipboard as if to write something down. He stared at it for a second, then looked up and said, "Can I have my pen back?" I handed him his pen and he said, "Right, now why don't you just mess around with it for a bit and see what happens. Maybe start by seeing if you can store something big, like that chair." I got up and focused. As I'd hoped, the inventory box moved where I commanded it to without me having to touch it. It swallowed up the chair, then spat it back out when I told it to. I tested to see how far away from me it would go and found that it stopped just over my arm's length away from my body. I then made it shrink down to one slot (with the equipment screen disappearing) and expand until it fully blocked my body from Takenaka-sensei's. Thankfully it was translucent, so I could still see him.

"Try throwing the pen at me again, " I said. He threw the pen and it was intercepted by my inventory, vanishing. I pulled the pen out of the inventory, closed the box, and threw the pen back to him. "I'm pretty sure I could catch projectiles with this."

"You're probably right, though you might want to be careful with it. Just in case. Next menu?"

"Party Options," I said. I looked at the resulting box. "It just brought up a box telling me that I need to form a party to get party options."

"Well then try inviting me to your party."

"Invite Takenaka Saburou to party," I intoned. He immediately jumped out of his chair and started protecting his face with his arms, the forearms of which turned into bamboo. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"There's a box! It's blue and floaty and 2-D and appeared out of nowhere!" After a bit, he calmed down enough to sit back down and return his arms to normal. He cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses, and said, "That never happened. Right, so it says 'Midoriya Izuku has invited you to the party. Accept?' then 'Yes' or 'No.' I'm guessing I should press the yes button." He pressed what I assumed was the yes button. I couldn't see his box for some weird reason. I immediately got a notification that he had accepted a party invite. "Right, so I'm going to try to do stuff that being in a party would logically allow me to do while you look into the party options," he told me.

"Okay," I said. I opened up the Party Options box again. "I can see all the members, send them messages, bring them up on the map, and kick them." I noticed a button at the top and pressed it. "There's also a second tab for other options. Looks like I can change the party name and turn on experience sharing, though that one has a warning that it won't work if there's a level difference of ten or higher. What did you-" I was interrupted by a ping.

Takenaka: sup bro

"I found party chat," he told me. "It says that there're options for sending messages to one person or a whole group and also a voice chat. So I guess you're also a telepath of sorts. I can also open up a status menu that implies I can get points from leveling up like you, though I'm assuming I have to be in your party to get that. That's probably it for parties, which is a sentence I thought I'd never say. Leave party." A box showed up telling me that Takenaka Saburou left the party. "Next thing?"

"Map," I said. "I feel like I shouldn't have to say that I got a map. It shows me where I am and has dots that I'm pretty sure are people. Quest Log now?" He wrote something down and nodded. "It's also pretty straightforward. It has a tab for completed quests and ongoing quests. They both work like MMO quests, even have checklists of what I have to do." He wrote it down. "Onto the Options. I can mess with sound, which is interesting because I apparently have background music that's currently muted." I turned the music on. It was actually really nice. It was relaxed, just the kind of music you'd expect in a tutorial level. "I could listen to this for a while. Apparently I have an option between retro-sounding and orchestral music, which is nice of my Quirk to provide. Says here I can open my music up to party members or everyone." I pressed the everyone button. "Do you hear it?"

He bobbed his head. "Yup, that's tutorial music. You should probably switch that back to just you before you leave, by the way."

I switched it back and continued. "I can invert the Y-axis, which I will never ever do ever. Oh, those are subtitles. I can turn subtitles on." I did it. "I don't suppose you know any other languages so I can see if it translates it?" I saw that even my words had subtitles. Despite the fact that they were at the bottom of my vision and there was no way I should've been able to read them, I could see them perfectly fine, like with my health bar. He said some things in... was that Spanish? At any rate, I was able to read the subtitles giving me first what he said and then in parentheses the translation (I'm Spanish on my mother's side). "I saw the translation, which is awesome. That's about it. What now?"

"Well we've gotta see what that Mana Bolt skill ya got was, but first I've gotta tell you some things. I'm a Quirk counselor, remember? Your Quirk is pretty geared toward heroics, which is good because you said you're trying for Yuuei, right?"

"Yes, I'm really hoping to get into Yuuei even with my late start."

"Right, well I'm going to send them a letter of recommendation. It won't be enough on its own to get you into Yuuei or even get one of the recommended spots, but they're probably going to be looking out for you in the entrance exam. You'll still have to actually try, but doing your best should be enough. Next, public Quirk usage laws. You haven't had to deal with these so far, but you're going to have to remember not to use your Quirk in public. At least, don't make it obvious you're using your Quirk." He winked at me. "'Course, those laws only apply to active Quirk usage. You shouldn't have to worry too much about passive skills, though if they're really obvious like, say, super speed then you might want to exercise caution."

"I feel like super speed would be an active skill that drains a lot of MP," I said.

"That's beside the point. Another thing you shouldn't have to worry about is your Skill Grimoir. While you can't make it in public, Quirk usage laws state that Quirk-created objects are fine to bring into the public if they aren't something really out there like a glowing magical sword, so long as you don't purposefully use any anomalous effects that the object in question might have. In other words, you can't buy anything and don't break it on purpose, but nobody can do anything about you looking through the pages."

"Got it," I said.

"Right, I'm also supposed to recommend what I think is the best way to develop your Quirk. You don't actually have to listen to this, but I suggest you do. You should save your points for now. They'll probably be more useful in the future when you're trying to go from one hundred to one hundred and one than now when you're going from ten to eleven. Just save them for a rainy day or something. I suggest you also only spend Skill Fragments on skills you're absolutely sure about. Something tells me that it won't be as bad with those, but you should still spend them wisely. I also think you should get a healing spell and something defensive, like a barrier. Another great thing to get would be something like elemental manipulation which can have a lot of uses. Try also to see if you can make new skills by doing something to your old skills, like seeing if you can charge mana bolt or maybe trying to release the mana differently. That's about all I can think of right now, except maybe grind your stats some more before taking the entrance exam, so let's move on to seeing what Mana Bolt can do." He got up and had me follow him. We walked to a sort of gymnasium that was reinforced. "This," he said, gesturing around the room, "is the practical testing area. It's designed to withstand the punishment some of the more drastic Quirks can dish out." He pointed at an archery target standing in one corner of the room. "Give it a shot. We'll test what happens at different lengths away from the target to see the range on that thing."

"Actually, it's ten meters. The skill said so," I told him.

He sighed. "Well then just hit it at ten meters and see what happens."

I took aim. I held out my right hand, palm facing the target. I'd never done it before, but channeling my mana to my hand felt so natural. "Mana Bolt!" I shouted. A ball of sky blue light shot from my hand and hit the target dead-on, blasting a hole in the center of the target. Takenaka-sensei whistled. I thought back to what he said about trying to make new skills with my existing skills. I closed my eyes, focusing. Getting Mana Bolt didn't just let me shoot mana from my palms. It gave me the ability to feel and use mana. So instead of releasing the mana this time when I used Mana Bolt, I let it pool up. When it felt ready to burst, I opened my eyes and looked at my creation. It was a giant ball of blue light. I narrowed my eyes in thought. "It doesn't feel quite right," I muttered. "Maybe if I..." I started spinning the ball. After a few seconds, I released it and it flew at the target. When it hit the target, it exploded violently, destroying the target completely and making a crater in the floor. "Oops," I said.

"Don't worry about it, that happens a lot," Takenaka-sensei told me. "You're not in trouble or anything, though this is certainly one of the more impressive craters I've seen. Did you just make a new skill?"

"Yeah," I said. I looked at the text box that popped up after I threw the skill.

You have made a new skill. What would you like to name it?

"Spiral Mana Bomb," I said. Now that I had named it, a proper skill box popped up

Spiral Mana Bomb (Active) LV1 EXP 4.27% MP 25

A skill that pools mana and spins it for increased damage.

20% defense penetration.

600% damage increase

4 second charge time.

Can be charged for an additional 10 seconds to increase damage.

Additional 25 MP used per second.

"It's powerful, but it has a charge time so I won't be able to use it on the fly. It also eats a lot more mana than Mana Bolt. I can only just barely use it at the highest power when at full mana."

"You mean that wasn't full power?" he asked incredulously.

"That was about four seconds, which is the minimum charge time," I replied.

"I know I said it was fine that you blew up the floor, but could you please not do that in here? Also you should be really careful with that."

"I figured that giant bombs are a good thing not to throw around everywhere."

"Right, good. That's about everything for today. If you ever think of any questions or concerns about your Quirk, remember that my job is literally to help you with that, so..."

"Got it. Goodbye, and thanks for everything."

"Bye kid. I expect to hear about you doing hero stuff soon." I smiled at him as I left.

xoxoxo

I couldn't sleep the previous night. Today was the first day that All Might was going to teach me hero work! I ended up staying up all night grinding my INT, WIS, LUC, and seeing if I could increase Physical Endurance by biting myself.

Through repeated studying, your INT has increased by one!

Through repeated meditation, your WIS has increased by one! (x3)

Through repeated games of chance, your LUC has increased by one! (x5)

The level of the skill Physical Endurance has increased by one! (x8)

A skill has been created through special action! By repeatedly biting things, the skill 'Bite' has been created!

The level of the skill Bite has increased by one! (x8)

That was a productive night and yet I somehow didn't feel tired at all. It was pretty obvious that it'd be harder to upgrade stats as they increased in level, but I was prepared to deal with that. When the alarm I'd set to go off when I was supposed to wake up went off I got up from my desk and went downstairs to make myself breakfast. After I was done getting ready for the morning, I went to wait by the door and started meditating. Right after my WIS increased by one again, I heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it," I yelled at my mom excitedly. This was it! All Might was going to train me! I opened my door to see...

"Hey, ya shitty Deku!" Kacchan yelled at me. I almost laughed with how suddenly the music changed from calm, homey music to heavy metal. He didn't look like he was too angry, so I used Observe on him.

Emotions: Relieved, regretful

What? "What do you want?" I asked him cautiously.

"The hag told me she heard from your mom that you finally got your Quirk. Took you fucking long enough. I figured that even if we haven't been the best of friends in a while, that's the sort of thing you're supposed to celebrate, so I... wanted to take you to the arcade or something. Maybe blow stuff up and whatever you can do later." Was he blushing? The emotions thing changed to also include embarrased, so probably.

"You certainly changed your tone about me pretty fast. Why do you want to be my friend now?"

"Shut the fuck up, shitty Deku!" Kacchan shouted. "It's not like I was worried about a Quirkless loser like you getting himself killed 'cause he can't do anything like blow shit up or punch the air so hard it makes shockwaves!" Huh, that was actually pretty sweet for him. Still, though...

"So you were worried about me and wanted to discourage me from being a hero because I didn't have a Quirk," I realized. "You do realize that there are heroes who can get by totally fine without using their Quirks, right? The pro hero Mandalay has Telepath, which lets her send one-way telepathic messages to people, and yet I've seen videos of her taking down villains. Eraserhead's Quirk doesn't work at all on Mutant Quirks, yet I've still heard about him taking down Mutant villains. I've also heard about villains still giving him trouble with his Quirk being used on them, meaning that they were skilled enough to fight without their Quirks. Recovery Girl was in the top twenty at one point and her Quirk heals people, which has negative use in most one-on-one fights. There are even more examples of people with Quirks that are useless or finicky in combat who can beat villains. Heck, a relative of mine who is Quirkless used to be a vigilante, and actually took down villains! A Quirkless person could totally be a hero, though me being a Quirkless hero is kind of not an issue anymore."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry! There, I fucking said it! Now why don't we go blow shit up to blow off steam? I bet you could use some practice with your Quirk," he said.

"I'd like to, surprisingly enough, but I already made plans for today."

"What kind of plans?"

"Uhhh-" I was very glad to be interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Young Midoriya, is that a friend of yours?" All Might asked as he walked up in his civilian form.

"Yeah, I guess so, this is Kacchan," I told him.

"Well hello, young Kacchan!" he greeted.

"Deku I swear to God don't get everyone to start calling me Kacchan again," Kacchan growled at me. "It took half a year for everyone in first grade to stop calling me Kacchan." All Might started laughing. "And don't you dare start, fucking Skeletor! My name is Bakugou Katsuki, got that?"

"Got it memorized?" I said, with the appropriate gesture.

"Deku stop making fucking videogame references you fucking nerd. And what are you doing here, Papyrus?" What was that about videogame references, Kacchan?

"I was impressed by young Midoriya's courage in the sludge villain attack, so I decided to train him when he told me he wanted to go to Yuuei," All Might explained.

Kacchan burst out into laughter. "Deku's going to actually train for Yuuei? Fucking finally!"

"I thought you didn't want me to go to Yuuei when we thought I didn't have a Quirk?" I said.

"Yeah, but I thought that you just saying that you wanted to be a hero and then doing nothing to accomplish that except take fucking notes about everybody's Quirks, like that'll SOMEHOW MAKE YOU INVINCIBLE WAS FUCKING STUPID FUCKING DEKU!"

"Well why didn't you say anything?"

"I was already trying to get you to give up. Telling you to take karate lessons would've been a mixed message!"

All Might cleared his throat. Then started coughing up blood again. I really needed to see if I could fix that a bit with a healing spell or something. "As I said, I decided to train young Midoriya. My name is Yagi Toshinori."

"How the fuck does a fucking beanpole like you know anything about fitness anyway?" Kacchan asked.

"I used to be in quite good shape," All Might explained. "I was in a very unfortunate accident and while I did survive, parts of my internal organs, unfortunately, did not. Now, I'm afraid that Young Midoriya and I must be leaving. It will take a lot of effort to get Midoriya in shape for Yuuei and I would also like to help him with his Quirk."

"You two got room for one more? I'm going to Yuuei too, so being in better shape'll probably be a good idea. Plus, this way I get to see what Deku's Quirk is too."

"If young Midoriya is fine with it, I would be glad to help develop another hero in the making."

"It's fine," I said. It actually felt really nice knowing that I could be friends with Kacchan again. "Let's go."

On the way there, All Might asked about both of our Quirks. Kacchan answered first, then looked at me like he really wanted to hear what mine was. When I was finished, he snorted and said, "Your Quirk is really fucking weird. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that a video game nerd like you would have a Quirk like that."

"Be kind, young Bakugou. Though I must say, it is really weird," All Might said. "I'll probably have to move some things around with the training, but this could actually be really good." He stopped. "We're here." Kacchan and I looked up at the huge piles of trash strewn across the beach. "Trash gets washed in by the current on this beach, and people just dump their stuff here because there's already so much trash. Fighting villains might be a part of hero work, but so is community service. By the end of these ten months, this beach will be spotless. That will be part of your training. I also have the paperwork necessary to be a Quirk tutor, so a secluded place like this with no people will be fine for the two of you to train your Quirks."

"So we gotta clean this shit up, right? Got it!" Kacchan exclaimed, then did that exploding fist punch thing that he really likes to do.

"You go ahead, Kacchan. I have to talk to Yagi-sensei about my Quirk," I told him. I walked over to All Might and pulled out my Skill Grimoir. Once Kacchan was out of earshot I said, "I think Kacchan would be okay if you told him everything, All Might. He's a big fan of yours too, so he'd probably keep it a secret if you told him. Also, could you please look this over while we're training?"

"Alright, young Midoriya. Is this that Skill Grimoir that you spoke of?"

"Yes. I discovered that if you say bookmark while holding it open to a page, a bookmark will appear on that page. Would it be possible for you to read some of it and bookmark anything that you think I might find useful? Be sure to pay close attention to anything to do with healing, defense, barriers, movement enhancement, strength enhancement, elemental manipulation, teleportation, flight, and anything that uses the words 'super mode' and 'limit break.'"

"Don't worry, young Midoriya. It may seem odd to know that an old man like myself has played video games, but I have played quite a few. I still know some cool 'strats' and 'hax,'" he said, giving me the thumbs up as he accepted the book. There was something really hilarious about All Might talking video games. "Now perhaps we should fill in young Bakugou." We walked over to where Kacchan was lifting a tire. "Young Bakugou, I must speak to you."

Kacchan looked up from his tire. "What is it?" he asked.

"I haven't exactly been entirely honest with you. It is true that I wanted to train young Midoriya because he impressed me, but that isn't the only thing. I was also going to pass my Quirk on to him."

Kacchan blinked. "I'd call that a load of crap, but Deku's Quirk makes him a fucking video game, so now I'm just curious about why the fuck Deku would want that."

"I am, believe it or not, a pro hero. The accident that I told you about that left me like this was the attack of a powerful villain. My Quirk allows me to stockpile massive amounts of energy, which lets me still do hero work for three hours each day."

"WHY THE EVERLOVING FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT TO YOURSELF YOU FUCKING MORON?!" Kacchan shouted. "IF YOU'RE SO FUCKING BANGED UP WHY COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK THAT FUCKING HERO WORK IS A GOOD FUCKING IDEA!?"

"Because," All Might said, "my hero name is All Might." With that, he went into his muscle form. Kacchan's mouth dropped. "If I, the symbol of peace, were to retire, there would be chaos! That is why I would like to train young Midoriya here to be my successor!"

"Dammit, this is going to have to be a secret, isn't it?" Kacchan grumbled.

"Exactly, young Bakugou!" All Might said, then reverted back to his regular form. "At least, until such time as I retire. Then I'm going to probably have to reveal to everyone why I retired."

"Okay, fine. Your secret's safe with me. Now why haven't you given Deku your Quirk yet? Shouldn't he have enough time to practice with it?"

"About that... my Quirk, One For All, is rather... powerful. The backlash would blow young Midoriya's limbs off unless he gains enough muscle to properly contain it. As such, the training is necessary to prevent that."

I blinked. "You mean I could blow my arms and legs off if I don't train hard enough?" Ping.

A quest has been created!

Roaring Muscles

As you are now, the power of One For All would immediately destroy you. Get at least 50 ViT before the Yuuei entrance exam or do it without One For All.

Completion: One For All, 5000 EXP, 5000 Skiil Fragments, Increased closeness with Bakugou, Increased closeness with Toshinori.

Failure: Decreased closeness with Bakugou, Decreased closeness with Toshinori.

"I just got a Quest to get fifty VIT in ten months with One For All listed as a reward. That's probably sufficient, right?"

"I suppose that if your Quest says it's okay, I'll just give you One For All then. That being said, perhaps the two of you should start working now?"

"Right!" we both said at the same time, then went off to pick up junk.

xoxoxo

A/N: Yeah I'm trash for fics where Bakugou is Midoriya's friend. That being said, I'd like to say that after the time skip, Midoriya will most likely have stats close to or over fifty in all categories. It just makes sense to me that he'd be a jack-of-all-stats with his intelligence and All Might's training. I unfortunately can't think of any good skills that he'd get for getting fifty aside from Mana Affinity from The Gamer and the other stat increase skills from Ryuuji's The Games We Play, and I feel a little leery about just taking the skills from The Games We Play, no matter how awesome that fic was. I'd also like to put some focus on Elementals, but that would involve having a system a bit like TGWP, too. I was wondering what to do about those issues, then I realized that you guys might be able to help me there. So please tell me if you're fine with more things like TGWP, or if you just want me to flat-out make sure I'm not copying anything aside from The Gamer and BNHA. I figure that if you guys say it's okay, then I don't have to worry about you guys getting mad at me about it. Also, for those of you who haven't read TGWP, you really should. It's what got me into The Gamer in the first place and it's actually way better than The Gamer, at least in my opinion. That being said, I'll see you guys next time!

#The Gamer Hero Deku #Gamer Hero Deku #fanfiction #GHD CH3 #BNHA

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syncogon · 6 years

Text

[QZGS Prequel TL] Ch 8: Inheritance

(info post and links for the translations of the QZGS prequel, 巅峰荣耀 Top Glory)

summary: Thanks to a contribution of rare materials from a mysterious benefactor, a silver weapon for Troubling Rain has been completed. The time has come for the Sword and Curse to lead Blue Rain to glory.

(This is only a short chapter, and I’d already mostly translated it in my Summer Days of Blue Rain, but for completeness I figured I should clean it up and post it here. Normal disclaimers apply. Read/comment/enjoy!)

Translated by: Syncogon

“They won, they won again!”

“Who won?”

“Tiny Herb, of course it’s Tiny Herb!”

On the television, on the computer, in the Glory game, game forums, Weibo, QQ groups…

Anywhere where people gathered, anywhere where there were Glory players, the news of Tiny Herb’s victory spread like an exploding stove.

Glory Professional Alliance Season 3, in the final round of the regular season, the highly eye-catching Tiny Herb didn’t disappoint. Even when they had already secured their spot in the playoffs, they still played seriously to earn the last victory in the regular season, entering the playoffs at third place.

Tiny Herb wasn’t new to the playoffs, but this Tiny Herb, in their eyes, was an entirely new Tiny Herb.

And in reality, they had only switched one person.

Tiny Herb’s captain, the controller of core character Vaccaria, was now changed to a new person. And this new player’s name, along with his title, had echoed through the entirety of Glory from early on.

The Magician, Wang Jiexi.

This was a title that belonged to him, entirely unrelated to the character he controlled. His brilliant, incredible play was like magic. Let alone the ordinary gamers who wished to imitate it, even among the pros there was no one who could fathom the mystery. The experience of the seniors unraveled in front of this never-before-seen playstyle, and one expert after another fell to Wang Jiexi’s Vaccaria.

He was a rookie. In the beginning, they called him a challenger.

But now, at the end of the season, the challenger had quietly become the conqueror.

True, Wang Jiexi didn’t win every single battle. But only the Arena had ever had that kind of win record, and there was no way to surpass Ye Qiu there.*

In the Glory professional circle, people saw too many pro players rendered helpless in front of Wang Jiexi.

In the Glory in-game circle, the Witch accounts that sprung up trying to emulate his style were abandoned soon enough. They had no way of replicating Wang Jiexi’s Magician playstyle, and this kind of Witch naturally had no way of displaying the radiance they had hoped to see.

And now, the unique Magician was about to begin a new journey.

“Season 3 Playoffs, the Magician Arrives!” Huang Shaotian read aloud the headline of Esports Weekly. They were the greatest authority of esports media in the country; putting Wang Jiexi as the star of the final report of the regular season was proof of the anticipation toward this player. But after Huang Shaotian saw this title, he only spared a casual glance at the contents of the article before studying the player’s photograph in the article, and he revealed an unusual expression of melancholy.

“That guy, he’s already gotten to that level.” Huang Shaotian tossed the newspaper back onto the table. He tucked his arms behind his head, tilted back, and grumbled at the ceiling.

To the side, Yu Wenzhou was carefully studying a Glory battle and occasionally making notes in his notebook on the table. After hearing Huang Shaotian’s mutter, he paused the match and turned his head, his eyes sweeping across the large headline on the front page of the newspaper.

“The Magician. An accurate name.” This was his reaction after looking at the article.

“You…” Huang Shaotian was somewhat disappointed by Yu Wenzhou’s lackluster response, and he straightened in his chair. “Got any good analysis on him?”

“He-”

“Shaotian!”

Just when Yu Wenzhou opened his mouth, another young new Blue Rain trainee crashed into the training room, loudly hollering Huang Shaotian’s name.

“R&D just completed a silver weapon for Troubling Rain! Captain wants you to go look!” As soon as the youth caught his breath, he was already yelling these next words.

“What?” Haung Shaotian’s eyes instantly widened, and he leapt from his chair.

“Let’s go let’s go!” he yelled, already forgetting about the question he’d asked Yu Wenzhou as he flew out of the room.

Yu Wenzhou, who had just gotten out a “he,” could only smile and shake his head. He turned back to the computer, and was just about to unpause his video when the trainee that had called Huang Shaotian spoke again.

“Wenzhou, aren’t you going too? They’re saying that they only managed to complete this silver weapon because a mysterious player sent a whole lot of rare materials to Blue Brook Guild!” the youth said.

Hearing that, Yu Wenzhou froze. “A mysterious player?”

“Yeah,” the trainee confirmed.

Yu Wenzhou’s gaze drifted across the training room, landing upon that one computer that hadn’t been touched in almost a year.

After their former captain had made that simple announcement of “I’m leaving,” the seat he had used was left empty, his computer left idle. The Blue Rain members reached a tacit agreement that no one would touch his spot, as though hoping that one day, as suddenly as he had left, that man would return and take his place once more.

“But… you haven’t really left, have you,” Yu Wenzhou mused to himself, his mood like Huang Shaotian’s earlier, somewhat melancholy.

“Wenzhou, are you coming or not?” The other boy’s impatient voice cut into his thoughts.

“I’m coming,” Yu Wenzhou answered, gathering his notebook and pen and quickly walking toward the door. The trainee was holding the door open as he waited, and Yu Wenzhou noticed that the fingers of his right hand were moving restlessly on the doorknob, as though controlling a mouse or tapping a keyboard.

“Your hand speed’s pretty high,” Yu Wenzhou smiled, seeing that restless hand.

“I’d rather discuss that topic with Shaotian…” the boy said.

Yu Wenzhou chuckled; he was well known within Blue Rain for his inescapably slow hand speed, no matter how hard he trained. Of course, by now, no one would think to mock him for it. Despite this handicap, he still won many matches in their circle with this kind of APM. He demonstrated remarkable talent that was more than enough to make up for his weakness.

As for this trainee, he wasn’t really insulting Yu Wenzhou with that comment; he was simply the mischievous type. Captain Fang Shijing had mentioned that he liked this trainee’s style, and Yu Wenzhou suspected that this was a major reason for his recruiting this youth from the Challenger League into the Blue Rain training camp.

However, even just considering raw skill and potential, there was nothing to criticize about Captain Fang Shijing’s choice.

“If we only consider right hand APM, his hand speed is even higher than Shaotian’s.” This was one of Fang Shijing’s important evaluations of him, and indeed it was the case.

Yu Wenzhou didn’t otherwise respond to the trainee’s teasing. “Let’s go, Fang Rui,” he said to him as he walked out the door.

Blue Rain, R&D department.

For any professional team, the technical department was the most heavily guarded secret area. Information on how the team’s silver equipment was developed, or the specifics of their stats, could not under any circumstances be allowed to leak to the public.

After Wei Chen pulled the prodigy Huang Shaotian into Blue Rain’s training camp, Blue Rain’s technical team gained a new top priority – developing the silver equipment for Huang Shaotian’s Blade Master, Troubling Rain.

And today, they completed the most important piece of this most important work.

The weapon!

A self-made weapon belonging to Troubling Rain alone, a silver weapon, was finally created.

This wasn’t something that an ordinary Glory player could have made by just throwing together rare materials in the editor. Most silver weapons made by ordinary players weren’t any different from normal weapons, aside from the silver-colored name. But this was a true silver weapon, one that elevated its user’s stats far beyond what any normal weapon could hope to accomplish.

When Yu Wenzhou and Fang Rui entered, they found the room completely silent. Everyone was crowded around one computer, and most didn’t even bother to look up at the sound of their entrance. Those that did only glanced over before quickly turning back.

With effort, the two of them maneuvered through the crowd to a vantage point from which they could see the screen.

The screen displayed this precious weapon – a light saber, slowly rotating. The blade looked like a crystal raindrop, elongated and sharpened; it glowed with threads of pale blue light and wisps of icy mist.

The silence in the room lasted for an indeterminable amount of time before it was finally broken by Huang Shaotian, who, despite his talkative mouth, had only one word to say.

“Amazing.”

Standing right beside him, Captain Fang Shijing said to him, “Try it out.”

Huang Shaotian nodded sharply. In a flurry of movement, he equipped the weapon on his character and entered a match in the Arena.

When the battle began, no one paid attention to his poor opponent or his class; they only saw the flashes of blue light from the sword in Troubling Rain’s hand. They watched it dance, jump, kill. Blood droplets scattered across the ground as his opponent fell.

“This is fantastic!” This time, Huang Shaotian said three words, and he jumped up onto his chair. “With him, next season I’ll give them a show! What Battle God, King of Fighting, Blood and Blossoms, Magician… Just you all wait!”

“Alright!” No one moved to stop Huang Shaotian’s excited movement. All of the Blue Rain members, staff and players alike, had been awaiting this day for a long time.

This season, Wei Chen had retired, Fang Shijing had stepped up, Blue Rain hadn’t even made it to the playoffs. To outsiders, it seemed as though this team’s days of being a powerhouse were over, that they were now fading from the spotlight.

But no one at Blue Rain believed this.

Even if their record this season was poor, even if they were forgotten this summer. No matter what, they had faith that Blue Rain would have an era that belonged to them. And this era, with the birth of this silver weapon, was about to begin.

“It’s up to you, Shaotian!” one of the technical workers said, and others immediately voiced their agreement.

“Do you even need to say that? Of course!” said Huang Shaotian. But just that one battle wasn’t enough for him to fully try out this new weapon. He quickly sat back in his chair and entered a new battle, this time chattering away at the tech workers sitting near him as he experimented with his new capabilities.

By this time, Captain Fang Shijing had quietly made his way through the crowd to stand by Yu Wenzhou.

“Are you ready?” he asked, abruptly.

Yu Wenzhou turned to look at him. But Fang Shijing was staring out the window, gazing at that brilliant blue sky beyond.

“Yes,” answered Yu Wenzhou.

“Then it’s time to entrust this to you.” As he spoke, Fang Shijing’s gaze shifted down to his hand, and the account card it held. Without fanfare, this card was passed to its new owner.

“From today on, you are the captain of Team Blue Rain, user of the Warlock Swoksaar.”

*the original text said “诚然王杰希也不是百战百胜，但是竞技场上，从来没有这样的胜率，强如叶秋，也不可能。” which I read as something like “True, Wang Jiexi didn’t win every single battle. But the Arena had never seen this kind of win record before, and there was no way to surpass Ye Qiu.” But no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t figure out how that sentence was true / made sense.

#quan zhi gao shou #qzgs #the king's avatar #tka #全职高手 #translation #mine #qzgs prequel #it's been a while and this isn't super new content so apologies #main novel takes priority #but there are only 3 chapters left! tbt when i said there was no way i'd do the whole thing lmao

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theclouddiver · 6 years

Text

Cherry-Colored {YouTuber!AU}

Summary: When Jungkook does not give his boyfriend the attention he needs, Taehyung decides to find a new way to make the younger male notice him.

Pairing: BTS Taehyung x Jungkook Genre: Fluff, Smut Word Count: 4.5k Warnings: SMUT Requested by anon. I never noticed how much I enjoy listening to Exo when writing smut.

Finishing the last few touches of his make-up, Taehyung smirked at his own reflection in the mirror. The young male had spent the last 30 minutes in the bathroom drawing what looked like cherry-colored hickeys across his neck and chest. Taehyung was not an expert at make-up, but fortunately, YouTube was out there to help him. After watching a few tutorials, he had successfully mastered eyeshadows and makeup brushes. A wide grin was plastered across Taehyung’s face and a giddy feeling started to rise in the pit of his stomach when he thought about his plan to trick his long-term boyfriend into thinking that he had gotten hickeys from making out with a stranger. Jungkook, whom he had met at a gaming convention a couple of months back, had never been the type to get jealous easily. Not that Taehyung minded; after all, his boyfriend’s laid-back attitude had saved the couple a lot of arguments about irrelevant things and was a symbol of the strong trust that existed between the two boys like an unspoken promise.

But there was something that Taehyung was slightly annoyed about. Jungkook had been a huge fan of the game Overwatch from the beginning of their relationship. This, in itself, did not pose a problem; after all, Taehyung was a professional gamer himself and regularly uploaded Let’s Plays and gaming guides on his personal YouTube channel. Although Taehyung preferred action-adventure games such as Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda (when Breath of the Wild came out, Taehyung didn’t leave the house for three consecutive days because he was so into the game), the older boy had spent many hours watching Jungkook play Overwatch, and even joined a few battles every now and then. But recently, Jungkook’s obsession with his favorite game had been too much: the younger male had basically become one with his computer, and at this point Taehyung started to wonder whether he was more important to Jungkook or his gaming equipment.

Of course, Taehyung knew the answer, but he still wanted to test his boyfriend and chastise Jungkook for not spending enough time with him. And that’s where his idea of doing the hickey prank on Jungkook came from. After days of debating whether his plan would work and a few stressful hours in front of shelves filled with make-up articles which seemed like an enigma to Taehyung, he was finally ready to trick his boyfriend into thinking that he kissed another man. With a last look into the mirror and an excited glint in his eyes, Taehyung turned off the lights in the bathroom and eagerly made his way over to the couch in the living room to wait for Jungkook to return home from buying groceries from the convenience store next door.

Time seemed to test his patience by ticking by at a slower pace. The boy’s fingers tapped against the armrest impatiently as he pulled out his phone from his pocket and started scrolling through his Facebook. Of course, like always when he needed to kill time, his feed was devoid of any interesting posts. Only a few minutes had passed, but Taehyung felt as if he had been sitting in the living room for half an hour already. How long did Jungkook need to get the few things on the shopping list?

Just when Taehyung started debating the likelihood of a kidnapping incident targeting the most handsome person in the grocery store - which, undoubtedly, would target his boyfriend - said person stepped over the threshold of the apartment and closed the front door behind him. “I’m back,” Jungkook briefly announced himself and made his way over to the kitchen. The giddy feeling in the pit of Taehyung’s stomach returned since he knew that the younger boy would have to pass the living room on his way to the kitchen. Finally, Taehyung’s efforts to prepare his little “surprise” for his boyfriend would pay off. As soon as Jungkook appeared in the doorframe, Taehyung stretched out his arms to welcome the younger boy with a hug. “Kookie, come over here. I’ve missed you.”

With a chuckle, Jungkook came closer and pecked the older boy’s lips, two heavy bags in his hands. Taehyung’s arms automatically wrapped around his boyfriend. “What are you talking about? I was gone for less than an hour. Instead of complaining about how much you’ve missed me, you could have come with me.” “To be the one carrying the heavy stuff and paying for all your snacks? Not going to happen,” Taehyung commented jokingly. He let himself fall on his back, inviting the younger boy to come cuddle with him on the couch. But instead of following Taehyung’s invitation, Jungkook walked straight into the kitchen. “Sorry, Hyung. There are a few things that need to be put into the fridge. Actually, can you come help me? I told my friends that I would join them in this important battle, and the faster I am done with this,” he said while shaking the bags in his hands for emphasis, “the better.” Taehyung rolled his eyes, barely able to suppress an annoyed groan. Of course, the first thing Jungkook wanted to do after coming back was playing Overwatch. Again. With a sigh, the older boy stood up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen counter where Jungkook had placed the two bags filled with groceries. If his boyfriend did not want to cuddle with him, Taehyung mused, he would have to be more obvious about his “surprise”. Jungkook was already in the middle of putting things into cupboards, shelves and the fridge. A pout on his lips, Taehyung snuck his arms around Jungkook’s waist. “Playing that game again? Can’t you wait a little, so that we can do something together first? Maybe we can watch a movie or check out that new shopping mall a few minutes from-“ Jungkook put down the cup of instant noodles in his hands and interrupted the older boy impatiently. “Tae, I told you that this season of battles is really important to me. Just let me play today, and we can do something together on the weekend, okay?” To be honest, Taehyung had not expected to hear anything else. Jungkook always found a way to refute Taehyung in situations like these. But today, Taehyung hoped to get a different reaction from Jungkook. Not wanting to give up, he asked, “Promise?” “Yeah, sure,” Jungkook replied, not paying much attention to Taehyung’s request. “Look into my eyes when you make a promise,” Taehyung whined, tugging at the hem of Jungkook’s shirt. Finally, the Jungkook turned around with a sigh, finding Taehyung’s gleaming eyes. “I promise that I’ll be all yours this weekend and that…,” Jungkook trailed off, distracted by the sight in front of him. Only now he noticed the cherry-colored spots on his boyfriend’s skin, and he was not sure what to make of them. “What are these,” Jungkook asked softly. Taehyung’s heartbeat sped up as soon as he heard these words. Although he wanted to smirk because his plan was finally working, Taehyung reminded himself that his plan had only just started and that everything depended on his acting skills from now on. “Um, nothing,” Taehyung lied while shrugging his shoulders and trying to look unaffected. “I must have bumped into something when I cleaned up our gaming equipment earlier. Seriously, you should put the controllers on the shelf as soon as you stop playing next time.” Jungkook only grunted at Taehyung’s remark and shifted his attention back to the task of putting the groceries away. He got very quiet, trying to decipher the meaning behind his boyfriend’s appearance. Were these red, purple spots really what he thought them to be…? Taehyung could almost feel how the younger boy’s gaze drifted back to his neck every now and then. When the two men had finished sorting the groceries, Jungkook suddenly turned to Taehyung, a blank expression on his face. “Do they hurt,” he demanded to know, nodding towards the red spots on his boyfriend’s neck.

“Just a little,” Taehyung admitted, raising his hand to touch his skin right below his jawline, hoping that he did not smudge any of the eyeshadow in the process.

The younger boy leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring at Taehyung. Jungkook bit the inside of his cheek, a clear sign that he was starting to feel annoyed. “Are you sure that you got them from cleaning up? They don’t look like bruises to me.” Taehyung shifted his stance uncomfortably, trying to avoid his boyfriend’s piercing eyes. “I don’t know how else I would have gotten them… I didn’t really notice until now.” He wanted to exit the kitchen, when Jungkook held him back.

“Stay here,” Jungkook called, voice calm but a little louder than usually. “What were you doing while I was gone?”

“Nothing,” Taehyung spoke truthfully. “I stayed here and waited for you. What else would I be doing, Kookie?” Taehyung was not prepared when Jungkook reached for his wrist and pulled him closer. Jungkook’s grip was strong, not planning on letting the older male go until Jungkook’s questions were answered. “And you were alone the entire time? You didn’t invite anyone over - say, one of your friends, or Jimin?”

Taehyung frowned, trying to shake off Jungkook’s fingers around his wrist, but failing almost immediately. Then it dawned on him. Was Jungkook suspecting that he had invited their neighbor over to their home while Jungkook was gone?

Park Jimin had been their neighbor since Jungkook and Taehyung had moved into this apartment to live together a few months ago. The three of them had gotten along well since the very beginning, or so Taehyung had thought. They had invited Jimin over to watch a movie before, and Jimin had also cooked for them on one occasion. Both Jungkook and Taehyung agreed that Jimin was one of the most beautiful men they had ever met - but only now Taehyung realized that Jungkook might be jealous. That would explain why Jungkook pushed Taehyung into their shared apartment whenever they met Jimin in the hallway and why Jungkook had offered to do the groceries lately. With a lot of difficulty, Taehyung suppressed the grin that made the corners of his mouth twitch when a new strategy crossed his mind.

“I might or might not have invited Jimin over - I mean, we are neighbors, after all, what’s wrong with that? I would be bored without you anyway,” Taehyung pretended to admit. Of course, he hadn’t talked to or even seen their neighbor all day today. He just wanted to test how far he could take it before Jungkook would snap.

Jungkook snorted in reply to Taehyung’s comment, getting more upset by the second. Not loosening his grip on Taehyung’s wrist, he tried to extinguish the rising flames of anger licking against his insides like wild beasts waiting for a chance to be released. “And what did the two of you do while I was gone? It doesn’t look like you were bored this time. Answer me,” Jungkook demanded when Taehyung looked to the ground, clearly growing uncomfortable under Jungkook’s controlling gaze. “It’s nothing, Jungkook. I told you I was cleaning up when something-,“ Taehyung tried to explain, but was cut off by his angry boyfriend before he could even finish his sentence. “Don’t lie to me, Hyung. I am not blind. I can tell hickeys from bruises. And these… things on your neck don’t look like bruises at all. I might be younger than you, but I am not a fool. Now tell me where the fuck you got them from.” Jungkook was no longer trying to control the anger that spilled from his heart like icy waves on a stormy sea. His voice was louder than usually and the neighbors might hear, but the young man didn’t care anymore. All he cared about was finding out the identity of the person who had given Taehyung these ugly-looking spots so that he could either vent his negative feelings on them or Taehyung. Taehyung winced at the sound of his boyfriend’s sharp voice. He had never seen Jungkook so upset before, but under the passionate emotion was also a hint of disappointment. Disappointment at the realization that the man Jungkook had trusted the most might have betrayed him.

Taehyung did not want to reveal the truth of the situation yet, so he continued to pour fuel on the fire. “I am telling you, it’s nothing. Yes, I invited Jimin over. We ended up trying out that new app I downloaded earlier, the one that’s similar to truth and dare and… um…,” Taehyung trailed off, hoping that Jungkook would take the bait.

Jungkook swallowed hard. “Don’t tell me that kissing was part of the game.” Taehyung bit his lower lip, unfounded guilt apparent on his face. Once more, Taehyung tried to break free from Jungkook’s grip, but the younger male was stronger than him and did not let him escape until he was finished with the conversation. “It’s really not what it looks like, Jungkook. It was just a game, nothing serious. Please, don’t fuss about it.” “Don’t fuss about it? What should I do instead, then? Sitting on the couch pretending to be all fine while my boyfriend makes out with our neighbor? Are you serious, Taehyung?” Finally, Jungkook let go of Taehyung’s wrist, clenching his fists instead. His expression was one of hurt, anger and disappointment. He didn’t want to stay in this stuffy apartment any longer; he needed to get some fresh air and let off his steam. When he tried to exit the kitchen though, Taehyung stepped in his way, desperately trying to hold the younger man back from leaving like this. “Kookie, listen. I am really sorry. I know it should have never happened, and that it’s my fault, but I am really sorry. Please, don’t leave right now. You are so important to me, and there is nobody that I love more than you!” Despite Taehyung’s plea to stay, Jungkook pushed his boyfriend to the side and strode towards the front door, feet hitting the floor angrily with each step. “You should have thought about that before inviting that prick Jimin over. I told you that I am not fine with dating a cheater.” Taehyung ran past Jungkook, blocking the front door to prevent his boyfriend from exiting. But when Jungkook had finished putting on his jacket and shoes and was greeted with the sight of Taehyung, arms spread out and a wide grin on his face, Jungkook’s vexation returned twice as powerful as before. “Is this a joke to you, Kim Taehyung? Are you seriously thinking your stupid smile is just going to fix this?” Jungkook spat out, clenching his teeth to prevent himself from yelling. Taehyung suppressed a giggle, finding the upset figure of his boyfriend amusing, ironically. It was finally time to resolve the tense situation. He jumped forward to give Jungkook a hug, but was pushed away before he could wrap his arms around the younger boy. “Kookie, listen. Of course I am not serious. It’s a prank.” Jungkook was still struggling to get out the door, but before he could push down the handle completely, he paused for a moment, trying to comprehend the meaning of Taehyung’s words. Still worked up from their argument, he could only bring out an irritated “What?!” Taehyung laughed out happily, taking Jungkook’s hand in his. This time, Jungkook did not pull back immediately. “Trust me, it’s not real! It’s just eyeshadow. Look, you can even wipe it away.” He gave a quick demonstration of rubbing over on of the cherry-colored marks and smudging the fake hickey. “See, just like this.” Jungkook did not believe his boyfriend’s words and needed to convince himself of the truth first. He licked his thumb to moisten it with saliva and rubbed over one of the red spots on Taehyung’s neck. As Taehyung had promised, the mark disappeared under his touch. Taehyung tried to turn away, disgust written all over his face. “Stop it, Jungkook. I don’t want to have your saliva all over me.” “Oh, shut up, Hyung,” Jungkook replied, annoyance evident in his voice. He reached for Taehyung’s arm to pull the older male closer and repeated the same motion of moistening his finger and wiping another fake hickey away as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. “You must be kidding me, this is so stupid.” Another laughter was heard when Taehyung managed to free himself from Jungkook. “Well, you are not wrong. I am kidding you right now, and you totally fell for it!” An angry grunt was heard and Taehyung ran away into the living room to escape Jungkook who was following him closely. Countless giggles fell from Taehyung’s lips as he was trying to dodge his boyfriend who was chasing him through the entire apartment. When Taehyung was close to running out of breath, he plopped down onto the couch in the living room, but instead of having the chance to regain his breath, he was pressed down into the soft cushions when Jungkook threw himself onto Taehyung. “Gotcha! Don’t try to run away, I am not done with you yet!” Before Taehyung could protest, Jungkook caught the older boy’s wrists and slid them overhead, pinning Taehyung beneath him. With his free hand, Jungkook poked Taehyung’s side, making him squirm from the ticklish sensation. As much as Taehyung tried to struggle free from his boyfriend’s torturous movements, Jungkook’s many visits to the gym did not go unnoticed, causing the younger man to dominate Taehyung with ease.

“K-kookie, s-stop,” Taehyung tried to argue breathlessly.

As Taehyung’s chest was rising and falling heavily, small whimpers escaping his innocent lips, Jungkook’s eyes suddenly turned a shade darker. “Don’t tell me what to do, Hyung,” Jungkook reprimanded, a small frown on his face. “You can’t imagine how scared I was just now. I really thought that I would lose you.” “S-sorry,” Taehyung apologized, still struggling to pump enough air into his exhausted lungs. “I didn’t mean to scare you, really. It’s just that you have been so distant to me lately, always playing Overwatch as soon as you come back. I… I didn’t know how else to get your attention.” The last sentence came out no louder than a whisper. Taehyung looked up at Jungkook apologetically, eyes shining with sincerity. Jungkook lifted one of his eyebrows, looking at his Hyung skeptically. “Don’t you think you went a step too far though?” Jungkook bent down to Taehyung’s face, now only millimeters aways from Taehyung’s ear. “Making me believe that you kissed another man… that wasn’t the best way to communicate with me.” A shiver ran down Taehyung’s spine when he felt Jungkook’s hot breath tickling his sensitive skin.

Instead of replying to his boyfriend’s accusation, Taehyung let out a shaky breath, feeling waves of heat spread throughout his body. Seeing Taehyung so fragile beneath him, tired from their little chase, gave Jungkook a lot of satisfaction. In the blink of an eye, Jungkook’s lips attached themselves to Taehyung’s neck, placing hot, needy kisses along Taehyung’s chest and making the older male moan in delight. Jungkook paused for a moment when he reached Taehyung’s collarbone. He pecked the soft kiss right above and suddenly sucked the skin harshly. Taehyung’s hands flew to Jungkook’s head, fingers wrapping around black strands of hair. “You’ve been bad to me,” Jungkook mumbled, continuing to leave hickeys - real ones, this time - across Taehyung’s skin. “I should punish you for your bad behavior.”

“I am sorry, Kookie. I’ll do anything you want,” Taehyung whispered, rocking his hips upward to let Jungkook know just how ready he was to receive his punishment. Even through the fabric of both of their pants, Taehyung could feel Jungkook’s growing bulge. The Overwatch battle Jungkook had been talking about earlier was long forgotten.

Jungkook moved away from Taehyung’s neck and connected their lips in a hungry, passionate kiss. When Taehyung opened his mouth to mutter the younger boy’s name, Jungkook took advantage of the moment and slipped his tongue inside. Taehyung’s face was flushed from both exhaustion and arousal, and he wanted nothing more than to feel his boyfriend’s touch and body. But when Taehyung tried to sneak one hand under Jungkook’s t-shirt, Jungkook shoved Taehyung’s fingers aside, a low growl falling from his lips. He broke the kiss and sat up slightly to look into Taehyung’s eyes. “From now on you will listen to me, Hyung. I want you to get up from this couch and strip for me, now would you?” Taehyung bit his lower lip and nodded in defeat. Although Jungkook was usually not as commanding, Taehyung enjoyed the change in his boyfriend’s temper, growing more excited to find out what Jungkook’s sudden confidence would lead to. After Jungkook had given Taehyung room to move, the latter got up from the couch slowly. Taehyung knew that although Jungkook seemed to be in control, it was not only the young boy who could tease him.

Jungkook was now sitting in the center of the couch, head leaning against the headrest, legs spread, erection boldly noticeable through the boy’s black jeans. At the delicious sight of his boyfriend spread out like this in front of him, a satisfied smirk appeared on Taehyung’s face. He raised one hand and ran his fingers through his hair after making sure to establish eye contact with Jungkook, lustful gaze meeting desirous eyes. Taehyung’s hand moved lower, grabbing the collar of his t-shirt and pulling it down just a bit, teasing Jungkook who wanted, needed to see more. Taehyung’s grin only widened when he noticed that Jungkook’s hand had wandered to his crotch, palming his growing erection through his pants. Jungkook’s breath quickened when Taehyung’s hands moved even farther down south, now grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head ever so slowly. An impatient growl escaped from Jungkook’s lips when Taehyung took longer than necessary to get rid of the piece of clothing.

Taehyung threw his shirt on the floor, moving on to the hem of his grey sweatpants. As his fingers played with the string at the front of his pants, Taehyung started swaying his hips seductively, to a rhythm that only existed in his head. Instead of removing his pants, Taehyung decided to tease Jungkook a little more by stroking his own cock through the soft, grey fabric. The delicious friction caused Taehyung’s head to fall back, eyes squeezed shut as a shaky moan escaped the man’s lips. “Fuck,” he could hear his boyfriend mutter on the couch, clearly as tuned on as he was himself. “Baby, if you don’t remove your fucking pants this second, you will regret it later.” “Someone’s impatient,” Taehyung chuckled, but obeyed his boyfriend’s demand. The piece of clothing hit the floor and Taehyung looked up to search Jungkook’s eyes, waiting for more instructions. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Come over,” Jungkook grunted, displeased by Taehyung’s teasing. When the older male stood in front of him, he added, “Down on your knees, Hyung. I want you to suck my dick, and I need you to suck me good.”

“With pleasure,” Taehyung murmured in agreement when he dropped to his knees in front of the younger boy. Taehyung unbuttoned his boyfriend’s pants before pulling down the zipper, feeling Jungkook’s growing bulge under his touch. He finally pushed down the black fabric, a pleased smile spreading on Taehyung’s face when he saw the wet spot on the front of Jungkook’s shorts. “Fuck, Jungkook. You’re so ready for me to put my lips around your beautiful cock, aren’t you?”

“S-shut up, Hyung. Just hurry up and suck me off,” Jungkook replied, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. Usually, Taehyung was the dominant one when they made love to each other, and even when Jungkook was more commanding than usually, Taehyung made sure to tease his boyfriend as much as he could. But seeing the desperate look on Jungkook’s face sent shivers of arousal down to Taehyung’s core, and he wanted nothing more than to make the man sitting in front of him feel good. Taehyung quickly yanked down Jungkook’s underwear, purring excitedly when he saw Jungkook’s throbbing dick spring free. There were already a few drops of precum shining on the tip and when Taehyung bent forward to lick it off, he could feel just how hard Jungkook was under him. As soon as Taehyung’s tongue wrapped around his dick, Jungkook’s head feel back and hit the headrest. Moans of pleasure fell from his lips as Taehyung worked magic on him. Jungkook clenched his fists next to his sides, trying to control the waves of electricity flowing through his body. But when Taehyung’s tongue wrapped around his shaft, sucking particularly harsh, his pretty eyes looking up to him all dark, Jungkook’s hips bucked upward and his hands flew to Taehyung’s head, gripping his hair and pulling Taehyung closer to where he needed his touch the most. “Ah, fuck,” Jungkook whined, “Stop teasing already, Hyung. I want you to suck me harder.”

Taehyung let his tongue glide over Jungkook’s cock a couple more times, alternating between hollowing his cheeks and sucking harshly to send him over the edge faster. Before Jungkook could grow any more impatient, Taehyung placed his two strong hands on Jungkook’s knees, caressing the soft skin of the young boy as he slowly moved his hands upward. With one hand, he reached for Jungkook’s balls and stroked them playfully with is fingers. Without warning, he suddenly started to suck harder, faster. Taehyung’s name mixed with a variety of curses spilled from Jungkook’s lips as he closed his eyes and gave himself to the pleasure cursing through his veins. He gripped Taehyung’s hair tighter, pushing his head further down. “A-ah, Hyung, I-I’m so close,” Jungkook managed to say, hips bucking upward furiously. Although Taehyung started feeling the gag reflex every time Jungkook’s dick was hitting the back of his throat, he didn’t slow down but instead increased his efforts to drive Jungkook closer to the edge by humming contentedly. Taehyung’s full lips wrapped around his cock, his fingers playing with his balls and the sweet vibrations of Taehyung’s voice were too much for Jungkook. His orgasm hit seconds later, causing the young man to quiver in pleasure and screaming out Taehyung’s name. Taehyung continued sucking and swallowing every precious drop of Jungkook’s love nectar until his boyfriend twitched under him, sensitive due to overstimulation.

Taehyung removed his lips with a popping sound, staring at the sight in front of him with awe. Jungkook’s chest was rising and falling heavily, his face flushed and eyes full of bliss. The fucked-out look suited him extremely well, Taehyung thought. Taehyung got up from the carpet and bent forward to peck Jungkook on the forehead. “Was I good,” Taehyung asked smugly but gave a loud groan when he felt Jungkook’s fingers wrap around his still erect dick through the fabric of his shorts. Taehyung looked at Jungkook with half-lidded eyes, arousal and pleasure spreading in the pit of his stomach. A smirk was on Jungkook’s face when he spoke. “Don’t think that I forgot about you, babe. It’s your turn now, and I won’t go easy on you.”

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thelonglazyworm · 7 years

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[TKA Fan Radio Drama] Glory Professional Alliance Sports Meet (with translated transcript)

One of those fan radio drama from a couple of years back. It’s pretty fun~

Many of the voices actors that took part in this ended up officially in the animation for characters such as Ye Xiu, Huang Shaotian, Steam Bun, Han Wenqing. This fan radio drama is actually one of the reasons why they ended up in their respective roles. I really love the voice acting here!

Someone put up the transcript so I took liberties to loosely translate it here. Many thanks to Amsdia & Merlin for doing a quick proofread!

I was halfway into the translation when I realised that people who finished the book probably don’t need this translation. -o- People who are following the English translation of the novel probably aren’t familiar with half of the characters here. There’s also bunch of spoilers... Oh well.... You’ve been warned.

Translation:

Glory Professional Alliance Sports Meet

Chairman Feng: We are at the tail-end of summer, as the autumn wind rounds the corner. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Sports Committee and the participants, the first Glory Alliance Sports Meet opens today! (Applause) Blah blah blah…...

Wei Chen: Damn it. Why is Old Feng so long-winded today? He was never this bad during the pro-league prize presentations.

Ye Xiu: Yeah, it’s been almost an hour. Man, I’m about to be burned to death.

Wei Chen: What the fuck are you doing?

Ye Xiu: I can barely stand. Come on, let me lean on you for a bit.

Wei Chen: Get off. Can’t you see that I’m in the same situation?

Ye Xiu: Get Cold Hands to recover your HP.

Wei Chen: Why don’t you do that!?

Fang Rui: Hey, will the two of you keep it down? Have some restraint.

Wei Chen: Fang Rui, you shameless fucker. Saying that when you’re about to fall onto Tyranny’s side yourself.

Ye Xiu: Say, Old Han, aren’t you Tyranny people feeling the heat in all that black clothing? Who’s the designer? Does he hate you?

Huang Shaotian: Hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell! Captain, don’t you think that the Alliance must be brain dead from the heat? What’s with organizing such a stupid Sports Meet before the competitions? That’s totally heartless and inhuman! Don’t you agree, Captain? Don’t you agree?

Yu Wenzhou: Chairman Feng has mentioned that the body is essential to playing games. Therefore pro-players also need to train up.

Wei Chen: Haha. Do you really buy that explanation?

Yu Wenzhou: Ah. Hello Captain Wei.

Huang Shaotian: Say, Boss Wei. How could you eavesdrop on others’ conversations?

Wei Chen: Bullshit, kid. Who needs to eavesdrop when you’re that loud? Didn’t you see Old Feng glaring at you from the corner of his eyes? [Pang Guang = corner of his eyes]

Huang Shaotian: Side glance, Boss, it should be side glance. “Pang Guang” is for pissing. [Pang Guang = bladder]

Wei Chen: Piss off! I meant “pang” as in side! Are you looking for a beating?

Huang Shaotian: Hey, hey, a gentleman doesn’t raise his hands.

Wei Chen: (hitting while saying) I am so raising them! Raising and using them!

Huang Shaotian: Sidestepping, sidestepping. Haha, heh, you can’t hit me~

Cheng Guo: (speechless) Seriously, that’s enough...

Tang Rou: Frankly, it’s a pretty daunting task for people who aren’t used to working out to compete in such sweltering heat.

Ye Xiu: Sigh. Should have applied for sick leave. I’m starting to miss the keyboard and in-game world.

Lin Jingyan: God Ye is sick? What illness?

Han Wenqing: Final stage of lazy cancer.

Everyone: Pft! (laughter)

Steam Bun: What? Boss has cancer? Oh no! When did that happen?

Ye Xiu: Steam Bun, you...

Su Mucheng: Shh. Quiet, quiet. The Chairman is almost done with his speech.

Chairman Feng: … And I hereby announce, the Glory Alliance Friendly Sports Meet, starts now!

Pan Lin: Hello everyone, I am Pan Lin, your announcer for today.

Li Yibo: And I am Li Yibo.

Pan Lin: First up is the Men’s 200m heats. Let us put our hands together to welcome our first group of competitors!

Li Yibo: They are: Wei Chen from Team Happy, Huang Shaotian from Team Blue Rain, Xiao Shiqin from Team Thunderclap, Wu Yuce from Team Void, and Li Hua from Team Misty Rain.

Wei Chen: Thank you! Thank you, everyone, for all your wishes and support towards me.

Huang Shaotian: Boss Wei, please keep your shamelessness in check. Are you sure those cheers are for you? Take a closer look. See, those are obviously banners for Blue Rain!

Blue Rain Fans: Blue Rain, Blue Rain is the best! Blue Rain, Blue Rain beats the rest!

Wei Chen: Hah. It even rhymes.

Pan Lin: Ok, everyone is prepared and ready to go. And the referee raises his gun.

(Cheers)

Pan Lin: And with a bang, Huang Shaotian is the first to head off, as expected of the best opportunist of the Alliance!

Li Yibo: Right on his heels is Wu Yuce. Ah! And Wu Yuce has overtaken Huang Shaotian! He is fast!

Pan Lin: But Huang Shaotian is not giving up. He is speeding up, and it seems… That he’s shouting something?

Huang Shaotian: Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you! Look, here’s my triple slash speed boost! AHHHH!

Li Yibo: Huang Shaotian sure is energetic...

Pan Lin: Ah, Li Hua is also close behind! And Misty Rain’s female fans are screaming their hearts out!

Li Yibo: Over at the finishing point, Dai Yanqi is waving her arms wildly, cheering for her team captain, Xiao Shiqin. Such touching team spirit!

Dai Yanqi: Good luck, Captain! All the best! Captain is the coolest! (squeals)

Pan Lin: And so, Wei Chen is the last of them! He’s quite a distance from the finishing line, it’ll be quite hard to catch up.

Li Yibo: Well, it does seem like this level of activity is somewhat taxing for the old guard.

Pan Lin: Yeah.

Wei Chen: (sounds of panting and slow steps)

Pan Lin: As Wei Chen gets slower and slower, Wu Yuce becomes the first to cross the finishing line! That’s truly rare athleticism for a professional gamer!

(Wei Chen stops, panting)

Wei Chen: (gasping)

Ye Xiu: Say, can you still go on?

Wei Chen: Old… Old me… Is… Is just… Just...

Ye Xiu: I understand, I understand. This elderly one is proving a point~ Shall I call an ambulance for you?

Wei Chen: … Fuck off...!

Li Yibo: Next up, the 2nd heats of Men’s 200m is about to start. In the order of their respective lanes are: Wang Jiexi of Team Tiny Herb, Zhang Jiale from Team Tyranny, Zhou Zekai from Team Samsara, Yang Cong from Team 301, and Zou Yuan from Team Hundred Blossoms.

Zhang Xinjie: You’re up, Senior Zhang Jiale.

Lin Jingyan: All the best! We believe in you.

Zhang Jiale: No sweat. 200m is nothing.

Ye Xiu: Good luck, Le Le. Aim for number 2~

Zhang Jiale: (shows the middle finger) Fuck you!

Jiang Botao: Captain, do your best too.

Zhou Zekai: Mm!

Ye Xiu: Xiao Zhou looks like the kind who exercises regularly.

Zhou Zekai: Yes. Every day 20.

Ye Xiu: 20?

Zhou Zekai: 500m, 20 rounds.

Ye Xiu: …(awkward cough) Erm, go on quickly, the referee’s calling for you.

Pan Lin: Great, everyone’s now in their respective lanes.

(Gunshot)

Li Yibo: And the race starts! Zhou Zekai is staying put in the lead position and behind him are Zhang Jiale, Zou Yuan, Wang Jiexi, and Yang Cong.

Huang Shaotian: The hell? Does Zhou Zekai intend to run all the way with this speed? Good looks, great gaming skills, and this good at running? Heaven is being absurdly unfair!

Ye Xiu: Uh-huh, it’s quite unfair.

Huang Shaotian: You think so too, right?

Ye Xiu: Why are his conversation skill points all given to you?

Huang Shaotian: … You asshole!

Pan Lin: There’s 50m left! 30m! And Zhou Zekai has started sprinting! He’s sprinting!

Li Yibo: Awesome! Zhou Zekai leads all the way and is the first to cross the finishing line! That was superb!

Pan Lin: Zhang Jiale also meets everyone’s expectations, doing a good job of taking the number 2 spot. Ah, he’s pointing his... Middle finger at me, expressing his current, erm, enthusiastic feelings...

Ye Xiu: Take it easy, Old Sun.

Sun Zheping: Thanks.

(Ye Xiu turns, almost bumping into incoming Zhang Jiale)

Ye Xiu: Whoa! Hey, aren’t you too eager to see Old Sun? After all, Zhang Xinjie’s also in this round. You should put on your professional best to support your team, Tyranny.

Zhang Jiale: (gasping) Pah! As if you have any right to criticize me. Who’s the one that’s been going around all morning, putting a wedge among the rivals in competition?

(Zhang Jiale turns to wave at Sun Zheping)

Zhang Jiale: Do your best, Big Sun!

(A sudden burst of fangirls screaming among the spectators)

Fangirls: Zhang Jiale! Sun Zheping! One million years of Blossom and Blood! One~ Million~ Years~ [Blossom and Blood: their famous combo move]

Zhang Jiale: (shocked) What the hell… What is this!?

Ye Xiu: Just focus on watching the game...

(Zhang Jiale drinks water)

Zhang Jiale: (swallows) Sigh, I can’t tell what Sun Zheping is thinking. He usually doesn’t exercise. It’s a miracle if he even bothers to sweep the floor…. Hey, don’t spread this around. I’m screwed if he finds out I’ve been complaining behind his back.

Ye Xiu: No problem~

(Ye Xiu turns his head to shout)

Ye Xiu: Dear friends from Heavenly Sword! I’ve heard that Old Sun doesn’t even sweep his own floor! Send my heartfelt regards to your cleaning lady!

(Zhang Jiale spits out his drink)

Zhang Jiale: (coughs) Fuck, do you want to die? Don’t run!

Ye Xiu: I am off~

(Ye Xiu runs off)

Zhang Jiale: (shouts) Just you wait, Old Ye! I will get my revenge someday!

(At Samsara)

Du Ming: This looks nice. This one’s also good. So hard to choose...

Lu Boyuan: Du Ming! What are you doing, acting so suspiciously?

Du Ming: Ah?! No...nothing in particular!

(Phone is snatched)

Du Ming: Hey! Give it back!

Lu Boyuan: Yo! Pretty lady Tang Rou huh~ Not a bad photo.

(Jiang Botao walks over)

Jiang Botao: Tang Rou?

Du Ming: Um.. Taken just… Just now during the Women’s 200m race.

(Swipes the phone)

Jiang Botao: Well, this one looks nice.

Du Ming: Thank you, Vice Captain.

Jiang Botao: What is it for?

Lu Boyuan: Need you ask? For his handphone wallpaper, of course~

Du Ming: Go away!

Li Yibo: The morning matches have all ended. We will continue in the afternoon at 1.30pm. Have a good break, and we’ll see you again in the afternoon!

Li Yibo: Hello everyone, good afternoon! I am Li Yibo.

Pan Lin: And I am Pan Lin.

Li Yibo: Welcome back to the live of the first ever Glory Sports Meets. You probably still can’t get enough of the exciting matches from this morning. Worry not, as there’s more to come!

Pan Lin: First up is the finals for Men’s Long Jump. In this match, we have our famed Glory Textbook, God Ye Xiu! A rare sighting indeed!

Li Yibo: That’s right! What else could be more exciting than that?

(Behind the scenes)

Ye Xiu: Say… Is it too late for me to back out...?

Chen Guo: Too late! Go, go!

Su Mucheng: Do your best~

Steam Bun: Good luck, Boss! Good luck!

(Ye Xiu is pushed out)

(Crowd cheering)

Pan Lin: Oh? Speak of the devil! Team Happy’s Captain, Ye Xiu, has just appeared on the pit.

Li Yibo: God Ye Xiu immediately strikes up a conversation with Sun Xiang who is also competing in this category.

Pan Lin: The two of them have a somewhat delicate relation in the Pro-Alliance. I can’t help but wonder what they might talk about before the match.

Li Yibo: Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m curious too!

(Ye Xiu walks over)

Ye Xiu: Comrade Sun Xiang looks spirited. But are you prepared to admit your loss to this awesomeness in front of you?

Sun XIang: You…!

Jiang Botao: Sun Xiang, it’s your turn!

(Crowd cheering)

Sun Xiang: Hnn!

(Sun Xiang left)

Ye Xiu: Ah, that kid’s still as impulsive as ever.

(Sun Xiang aims)

Sun Xiang: Hng!

(Sun Xiang jumps)

Pan Lin: Sun Xiang’s record is a little unexpected… But to be able to jump 2.5m, it’s already not bad for a professional gamer, right? Yibo?

Li Yibo: Haha! That’s right. After Sun Xiang, we’ve now come to Ye Xiu’s turn. Fans here are pretty worked up right now! Ah, someone just threw a water bottle from Tyranny’s side.

(Cheers and Boos)

Ye Xiu: Fans are way too passionate. Oh well, with my overwhelming popularity, that can’t be helped.

(Ye Xiu walks over)

Pan Lin: God Ye Xiu is getting ready to jump! What will his result be? Let‘s keep our eyes peeled!

Ye Xiu: 1, 2, 3… Hey ho!

(Ye Xiu jumps and lands)

(Crowd boos)

Pan Lin: (awkward).....Erm… Ah…. This is a friendly match after all, nobody is a professional athlete. 1.9m is already quite good...

Li Yibo: Yes, yes… Ye Xiu is probably much better performing in Glory. Erm…. Moving on to the next match!

(Behind the scenes of Team Happy)

Wei Chen: My back is about to break!

Ye Xiu: Don’t say anymore. I have a headache – it’s as if I’ve listened Huang Shaotian perform a crosstalk…. For that team captain friendly something-or-other match later, can I pretend I’m dead?

(Chen Guo jumps up and slaps Ye Xiu’s back)

Chen Guo: Of course not!

Ye Xiu: Oooh ouch ouch pain pain pain!

Chen Guo: Other teams have gotten quite a few champions! We have nothing except for Steam Bun’s win at discus throwing!

Ye Xiu: Sis, it’s just a friendly match…. Surely you don’t have to be so serious?

Chen Guo: Even if it’s a friendly match!

Wei Chen: Girl, you’re getting desperate...

Chen Guo: Shut up!

Pan Lin: Everyone! We are now at the most exciting part of the day! The final match of this Sports Meet, the Three-Legged 200m Run!

Li Yibo: This is a friendly match where all the team captains participate together in groups of two. Each group is decided by random draw. Isn’t it exciting? Aren’t you looking forward to it?

(Crowd cheers and screams)

Li Yibo: Let us take a look at the final outcome of the draw.

Pan Lin: Okay.

Li Yibo: Blue Rain’s Yu Wenzhou with Samsara’s Zhou Zekai; Void’s Li Xuan with Hundred Blossom’s Yu Feng.

Pan Lin: Tiny Herb’s Wang Jiexi and Excellent Era’s Qiu Fei….. Oh? Who’d have thought, who’d have thought!? Team Happy’s Ye Xiu and Tyranny drew the same lot! Hahahahaha! This must be destiny!

(behind the scenes)

Ye Xiu: Are they trying to make a joke out of me?

Fang Rui: My, my! What a rare matchup! O’ Great Ye Xiu is lucky today!

Tang Rou: Do your best, I favour you two.

Wei Chen: (claps Ye Xiu’s shoulder) I truly admire the close relationship you two share.

Qiao Yifan: Captain, be careful not to trip.

An Wenyi: Captain, you… are really my idol.

Luo Ji: Captain, we’ll all be cheering for you!

Su Mucheng: I needn’t say anything. You know~

Mo Fan: Er… Good luck.

Chen Guo: (claps Ye Xiu’s shoulder) Get a hold of yourself! See, even Mo Fan is cheering for you. Do a good job and don’t tarnish Happy’s reputation!

Ye Xiu: You all definitely planned this together...

(Tyranny’s F4 comes over)

Zhang Jiale: Hahahaha! Serves you right! Karma’s a bitch!

Zhang Xinjie: (serious) All the best. I believe in the unspoken understanding between Captain and Senior Ye Xiu.

Lin Jingyan: (gleefully fanning fires) Haha! Me too!

(elbows Han Wenqing)

Ye Xiu: Wipe off that suffering look, Old Han. Do you think I’m happy? This is the fault of the ballot...

Han Wenqing: Don’t drag me down.

Ye Xiu: Che. That’s my line. Don’t you dare trip in the middle of it. Many pairs of eyes will be staring hard at you.

Han Wenqing: Same to you.

Steam Bun: Boss, you can definitely do it!

Fang Rui: Good luck, good luck~

Steam Bun: Good luck, Boss!

(Crowd cheers)

Tyranny Fans: Tyranny! All the best! Tyranny! All the best!

Happy Fans: Go Happy, go! Go Happy, go!

Su Mucheng: What’s there to fight about when those two are already tied together… Do the fans still want them to fight each other while tied up?

Wei Chen: Must be a sin...

Huang Shaotian: Captain good luck good luck good luck! Zhou Zekai, don’t you dare drag our Captain down!

Sun Xiang: For all you know, it’s the other way round.

Huang Shaotian: What about it? You looking for a fight? Tonight 8pm PK in the arena! Whoever doesn’t turn up is a scaredy cat!

Sun Xiang: Fine! What’s there to be afraid of?

Ye Xiu: It’s real lively, huh. Say, Old Han, let’s start with the tied legs first. Look at Xiao Shiqin and Yunxiu discussing, (leans over to whisper) I’ve heard all their tactics.

Han Wenqing: So did I.

Ye Xiu: Bravo, Old Han. Never knew that your heart’s pretty black too.

Han Wenqing: Hn, not as black as yours.

Ye Xiu: Hah.

Li Yibo: All the groups have been announced and the team captain’s legs are all tied together. Everyone’s ready to go.

Pan Lin: I’m sure all the fans with us are as excited as we are. Let’s cut the chatter. An amazing race is about to start!

Ye Xiu: (whisper) It’s this leg.

Han Wenqing: Shut up.

(Gunshot, Crowd cheers)

Fans: Go! Go!

Pan Lin: This three-legged match demands synchronisation from both partners. And as everyone knows, all the captains are opponents.

Li Yibo: That’s right. Will they be able to overcome their enmity in such a short time and become friends?

Yu Feng: (impatient) Li Xuan, is the rope a little loose? Why do I feel like my legs are getting lighter?

Li Xuan: (panting) That’s because my leg isn’t even reaching the ground okay!?

Qui Fei: (cautiously polite) Senior Wang Jiexi, aren’t we being… a bit too cautious? We have only moved four steps...

Yu Wenzhou: Wait a moment, Cap’n Zhou, hold on! You’re going too fast, I can barely keep up… Ah… now it seems too slow...

Chu Yunxiu: (testily) Darn you, Xiao Shiqin, run slower! Mind the pace, the pace! Counting 1, 2… That’s not 1! 1 is the right leg! Right! You are using your left!

Xiao Shiqin: Sis, my left leg is your right leg!

(Fans cheering)

Li Yibo: Looks like this particular competition is of some difficulty for these long-time rivals.

Pan Lin: But the most unbelievable thing is Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing, who are in the lead right now! And they’re ahead of the current number 2, Yu Feng and Li Xuan, by almost 50m!

Li Yibo: That’s right! Speaking of which, they’re both nearing the finishing line!

Li Yibo: Go for it!

Pan Lin: They’ve passed it! That’s simply incredible! The number 1s are actually Tyranny’s Han Wenqing and Happy’s Ye Xiu, who’ve been bitter rivals for 10 years! Have they just proven that “your enemy knows you best”? This is crazy! The fans of Tyranny and Happy are also ecstatic! They’re waving the team flags enthusiastically!

Tyranny fans: Tyranny! Champion! Tyranny! Champion!

Happy fans: Happy! Champion! Happy! Champion!

(Ye Xiu bends to untie the rope)

Ye Xiu: Damn it....

Han Wenqing: (impatient) What’s taking you so long?

Ye Xiu: Fuck… Who was the one who tied the rope on us!? It’s a dead knot!

Chairman Feng: To all the participants, referees, and people involved in this event. After a long day of intense matches, we’ve come to the end of the first ever Glory Alliance Sports Meet. Each exciting moment shall be a part of our memorable journey with Glory. Regardless of winning or losing, glory is forever in our hearts. Among all the blessings we’ve received, to be able to stand here together is our greatest blessing….

(below the stage, everyone is whispering/chatting)

Su Mucheng: Hahaha~

Cheng Guo: What’s so funny, Mu Mu?

Su Mucheng: Guo Guo, see this. Pictures of Old Ye and Old Han tied together are being spread all over Weibo by fans.

Tang Rou: That looks like the Alliance’s Weibo interaction with the fans, doesn’t it?

Fang Rui: Let me see! Let me see! Oh~ The photo’s pretty good.

Wei Chen: Hey, hey, this angle is a bit too….

Steam Bun: Woah, it’s trending like crazy! Boss, you’re a super hot topic~

Huang Shaotian: What is it? What is it? I want to see too, I want to see! Let me see! Damn it, Su Mucheng! Don’t you switch it off! Hey!

(ruckus)

Ye Xiu: Eh, Old Han. Maybe we should take a selfie of ourselves and post it up.

Han Wenqing: (black face) Go away!

Chairman Feng: …..and friends, thank you everyone for your eager participation in the Glory Alliance Sports Meet. Next year we shall continue to do our best!

Huang Shaotian: Geez! It’s finally over~ Seriously, the Alliance organising such a stupid sports event. Pah! Zhou Zekai you bugger! Getting three golds for Men’s 200m, 1000m and high jump alone! Where’s the fairness in that? And that Wu Yuce, so what if he has long legs? What’s so great about that? And that Yu Feng! And that, that Bao something! I protest! The Alliance should seriously consider banning these buggy people from competing! Oh~ Right, right~ Old Ye and Old Han’s photo broke a million views! That’s definitely a headline for the next Gaming Weekly Magazine! It totally proves that what goes around comes around~ Heaven has eyes and you can’t hide~ Hahahahahaha!!!

Ye Xiu: What is Shaotian muttering to himself over there?

Han Wenqing: His skin itches [for a good thrashing.]

[END]

P.s, If you liked this, do check out another fan radio drama, 全职高手之全员闹微博配音剧 (TKA: Chaos on Weibo). Because that’s another awesome production!

And if you need a translated transcript for that (shameless plugging =P):

https://thelonglazyworm.tumblr.com/post/162012493344/

#the king's avatar #quan zhi gao shou #全职高手 #全職高手 #qzgs #fan radio drama #translation

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obfuscobble · 7 years

Text

Quan Zhi Gao Shou

People are calling Quan Zhi Gao Shou the future of anime and superior to Japanese producer led animation but, my dudes, it’s just the same level yo. Y’all focusing so much on the pretty fight scenes that you’re ignoring the massive budget and time cuts elsewhere: awkward 3d models for bg characters, NUMEROUS reused bits of animation within the fights, flipped animation, wide shots with FX and smoke to cover up what would otherwise have to be animated, good ol gainax mouth hiding, overuse of still shots for a quarter second longer than is appropriate, etc. This does not make Quan Zhi Gao Shou inferior to Japanese anime; it’s just more of the same tricks with prettier snippets of fight animation backed by its obvious corporate backers.

There’s a reason this is one of the few anime that can have an uncensored McDonald’s logo: they literally advertise McDonalds’ food, call it delicious in dialogue, and make shilling for McDonald’s a “desirable character” intro. The plot has actually stopped to advertise McDonalds. It’s being done very well and seems in character as it’s written, but you have to be blind to not realise that these corporate sponsorships (including from drink makers and other entertainment companies) are what’s allowing the level of animation you admire. The cans that are left blank are cans that have ad space not yet paid for. Yes, this is indeed the future of anime. Just in a different way. (yeah i know japanese anime has started doing this too)

However, Quan Zhi Gao Shou is doing one thing much better than anime I have watched recently: character writing. You can still see the old tropes in it, but each character trope is softened by “reality,” thereby bringing it back closer to the realistic character depictions that started each trope way back in the day. Do we have an MC who is an omnipotent pretentious ass? Hoo boy yes we do, but he’s shown on screen to have earned his skill as a 25 year old professional with 10 years of experience in his job instead of a miracle teenager. Do we have a red haired tsundere who is sharp with the MC? Yeah, but she’s sharp with him because he’s a pretentious ass, and she’s giving him a job and a place to stay so he could maybe show her a little more respect plus attention to her feelings. None of which are romantic. Do we have a kawaii quiet girl? Indeed, but she’s not crushing on the MC at all and is driven by her own search for challenge in combat and life instead of being a wallflower. Do we have an idiot brawler boy? Yes and he is good and perfect and you will not bad mouth my son. Do we have a girl next door type with long hair and a yamato nadeshiko grace? Yes, there is a girl fitting that trope, in being the oldest female companion of the MC, but she’s a fellow professional who didn’t try to date him and whose skills he calls on with the shared bond of friendship and years fighting together. Do we have a calm and calculating nemesis who has a power limiter on otherwise he’d be too awesome? We have one, and he’s being fleshed out as a man who has sacrificed himself for his teammates, and he’s opposing the MC not for his own personal gain and glory, but to help his team and to rekindle his suppressed sense of battle style and joy in combat. Do we have a god damn rookie hunter? Yep, more than one, and one of them is in the middle of a redemption arc which is super rare for that character type.

Mmm, that character development. Mmm, that main character who has finished puberty and has an adult life. Mmm, that worldbuilding that allows so many little tropes and even advertising to be believable in context. MMM, that lack of a harem thus allowing female characters to be humans. This is what Japan needs to take a good long stare at. Free yourself from tropes or break them. Think hard about your worldbuilding so that you can explain each character’s actions without an asspull and so that the viewer is immersed without asking too many questions because you’ve already answered them. Try not to do it with so much sideline coach babble and onscreen text explanations like Quan Zhi Gao Shou does, but we’ll start where we can. I hate to be saying this, but even Quan Zhi Gao Shou’s in-character McDonalds advertisements enhance its world since they come in the context of quickly snagged unhealthy gamer fuel or corporate sponsorships aimed for by characters to supplement their income. (sort of like tiger & bunny)

Back to ragging on Quan Zhi Gao Shou though: it suffers from an editing style common to many mainland Chinese films since 2005 or so, where characters speak very fast and the cuts move likewise. This tapered off significantly after episode 6, allowing for more still shots (usually in order to save on animation though) but I can still feel this directorial influence. It takes a little getting used to if you’re more acclimated to Japanese or Hong Kong editing, or even if you’re accustomed to the equally fast paced and jarring dialogue/cuts pace of American output which is yet different in exact style. I’d say that fast American editing is influenced by actual film trailers and advertisements, whereas mainland Chinese editing is influenced by Hong Kong mo lei tau slapstick. They’re both trying to pack a lot of content into small packages, but mo lei tau has always had more of a stream of consciousness feel to its joke pace which is carried into these new editing styles. I’m not an editing expert, mind you; this is just me as a layman analysing. Chinese fast editing makes me want to take a hold of a sleeve, carefully remove a hand from its copy of Maya, and gently say “please, calm down, your effects are pretty and I want to hear your story but I also want to rest in emotional moments to allow them to impact me.” American fast editing makes me want to take a hold of a sleeve, body slam the editor, and shout “STOP IT. PUT THESE SHOTS IN ORDER.” while stealing their palette of film filters forevermore before the whip crack from Johnny Test can hurt me again. (johnny test is a canadian show btw but it still suffers from horrible editing)

Also I’d prefer Quan Zhi Gao Shou dubbed into Cantonese because then I could more or less follow it without subtitles taking up too much of the screen. My Mandarin is terrible. (wow watch me ask for the moon right lol) Chinese is not a language; it’s a language family thx. I’m aware that this Cantonese preference is 100% due to me growing up hearing it. Humans tend to prefer the familiar and I guess I’m a scrub. At least I’m not asking for it to be dubbed into Superior Harmonious Japanese Ohhhh like so many weirdos in the comments section do though. . . chill, y’all: it’s a Chinese anime so it’s going to be in Mandarin. . .i s2g. . .

So all in all, I give a positive rating to Quan Zhi Gao Shou! It has me wanting to see the MC and his companions succeed. None of the characters annoy me. This is rare. If you ragged on SAO or Familia Myth in the past, give Quan Zhi Gao Shou a try to see an MMO setting done in a mature manner and a modern context. If you don’t like anime based on games, you’ll want to give Quan Zhi Gao Shou a pass though, as gaming knowledge and the pro e-games corporate world are integral to its plot. But yeah: pleasantly surprised.

#quan zhi gao shou #analysis

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davidcarner · 7 years

Text

Chuck vs the Nanny Prologue

So after reading several different fan fic stories out there of Chuck, and finding some amazing ones, *cough* Steampunk.Chuckster *cough*, I decided I had to tell the story running around in my brain. I’m not 100% sure of all of it (if you’ve ever read any of my novels you should know I never outline what’s going to happen) but I have the basics down. Set 6 years after the finale, Chuck vs the Goodbye, this is what I think happened.

One important point Chuck does NOT have the intersect in this world (something I kinda misunderstood, but I’m too far in to fix, plus it works better that way.) I hope you enjoy it!

____

6 Years Ago

“Kiss me, Chuck.”

Morgan had told Chuck that with one kiss Sarah would remember everything. When she asked him to kiss her, Chuck hoped with everything in his body that it would work, but deep down, he knew it wouldn’t. He knew this could be the last time he kissed her, and as much as it hurt, as much as it killed him inside, he was going to cherish that moment.

As they pulled away, and Chuck looked into Sarah’s eyes, he knew. She had no idea what to say, but Chuck smiled at her and nodded. He leaned his head forward, and their forehead’s touched.

“What now?” she whispered.

“I guess that’s up to you.” She looked into his eyes, expecting to see hurt, but what she saw was a twinkle. “If you’d let me, I’d like to show you what we mean to each other, it’s kinda what I’ve done over the last 5 years.”

“It’s not fair,” she said, closing her eyes.

“It’s not, but I’ll do whatever you want, but I really hope you’ll give us a chance.” She didn’t say anything for a moment, and Chuck wondered if he went too far. She opened her eyes, and Chuck wasn’t sure what he was seeing.

“I still need time,” she began. Chuck began to nod, but she gave him a sly smile. “I need to go to D.C. and take care of some things, but I deserve to have the happiness that you say I had.”

“I believe you were happy,” Chuck said, trying not to get to excited. Sarah couldn’t help but smile, and suppressed a giggle. “I’ll be here, or I’ll go there, you tell me what to do.” She nodded.

“I need to go,” she said, not wanting to leave. Chuck pulled away, creating a little space between them. “I’ll call you.” Chuck nodded, stayed silent, but opened his arms. She hugged him, not knowing what drew her in, but draw her in he did. She was so confused, she didn’t know him, but she did. She wasn’t safe around anyone, but around him, she was. She quit fighting herself, and just enjoyed being held. Chuck was a perfect gentleman, and she was surprised to find herself nearly suggesting he not be so gentlemanly. “This isn’t goodbye,” she heard herself say. Chuck nodded into her neck and breathed deeply.

“I’m here, for whatever you need.” She nodded and pulled away. She stood up and looked down at him.

“Coming?” she asked. He shook his head.

“I don’t want you to feel like I’m chasing after you…unless you want me to.” She grinned at him. He returned the grin and continued. “So, I think I’ll sit here a bit…it’s kinda my place,” He gave her a smile, crinkling his nose, and Sarah felt a part of her heart leap.

“You okay?” she asked.

“No,” he said, reaching up and squeezing her hand. “But, I’m better than I was.” She squeezed his hand back, let it go, turned, and walked away. Chuck watched her, wondering when, if ever, he would see her again.

}o{

Today

Chuck pulled up in front of the white house with a picket fence and a red door. It was what Sarah had told Chuck was her dream home, before Quinn had the stole the memories from her. Chuck sat in the car, looking at the house. He banged his head on the steering wheel for a few minutes. He wasn’t ready to deal with today, but he had no choice and he knew it. He got out of the car, and entered the house. He looked at the living room, set up the way he wanted it with the gamer chairs when he had described it to Sarah. He looked over at a table near the fireplace with the pictures of the Woodcombs. He looked at his and Sarah’s wedding picture that Sarah still couldn’t remember. The house was silent, and Chuck was full of mixed emotions. He walked over to the door frame where he and Sarah had carved their initials. He traced his finger over them as he looked back to the table and saw the pictures of the two young children, Samantha and Stephen. He looked down at the door frame, where their heights had been marked as they grew. He walked to the back door in the kitchen, took a deep breath and opened the door. The yard was full of people, some would call them friends, but Chuck thought of them as family. He looked across the yard, looking for someone. Chuck watched all the children running around, enjoying the birthday party, but he was looking for one person, and through the crowd, he saw her, standing at the cake table. Chuck couldn’t help but grin. There stood super-spy, bad-ass extraordinaire, and now, super birthday party mom, Sarah. Sarah caught his glance and gave him a smile, no, not a smile, but the smile. The smile that made Chuck’s knees buckle and his heart flutter. His mind thought back to that day six years ago when his life changed…again.

}o{

6 Years Ago

As Chuck walked into his apartment, he tossed his briefcase onto the table, and sunk into the couch. He leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. He was lost in thought about how bad shape Carmichael Industries currently found itself. No Casey, no Sarah, no intersect, just Chuck and Morgan. Chuck groaned at how that even sounded in his mind.

“Beer?” came the soft voice beside him. He reached up and took it.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, and then snapped his head up. There, with an uncertain grin, but without the look in her eye that she was about to bolt, was Sarah. “Uh, what are you doing here.” She raised an eyebrow, amused. “I, uh, what I mean to say is…It’s good to see you, Sarah.”

“You too, Chuck,” she said as she motioned to a spot beside him on the couch. Chuck nodded and scooted over. Sarah smiled and instead of sitting in the spot that had some distance between them, she sat down right beside him. Chuck noticed she had her own drink in her hand. He had so many questions, but he knew from five years of experience with Sarah to just shut up. “I took care of everything I needed to in Washington.” Chuck nodded, trying not to appear excited. “I’m sorry I didn’t call, it’s just everything happened so fast, and I knew I had to come back here and figure things out.” She looked down, and then spoke softly. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“That’s been kinda our thing,” Chuck said, grinning. Sarah looked up at him and grinned back. “So, do you have a place to live?” Sarah shook her head. “There’s a spare room here if that would help, but if you don’t want to, I understand,” he said, trying to remain calm. Sarah smiled.

“So I can’t stay in my room?” she asked. Chuck was taking a drink as she asked, and he nearly choked and dropped his drink all at the same time. She laughed. Chuck joined in and the two laughed until tears welled up in their eyes. “I’d like the room down the hall,” she said through the chuckles at the end. “And, from there…we’ll see.” Chuck nodded, started to take a drink, stopped, glanced at her and grinned at her. “This is hard for me. Part of me has no idea who you are, and part of me feels like it knows everything about you. In D.C., I knew I couldn’t stay there. All I wanted to do was come here. I have no idea what I’ll do here, but I need to be here.” Chuck nodded.

“Well, I do know someone that could use your skill set if you’re looking for a job.” Sarah looked very interested. “Carmichael Industries could really use your help.” Sarah raised an eyebrow. Chuck looked desperate. “For the love of God, Sarah, it’s just me and Morgan! I mean if I had the intersect it would be one thing, but I don’t and I need someone, and frankly, you’re the best.” Sarah looked away, a soft smile on her face.

“So this isn’t pity?”

“If it is, it’s because you feel pity for me!” Sarah chuckled, and then nodded. “I’d like that,” she said softly.

“Yeah?” She nodded. “I promise, I will be the epitome of professionalism.” Sarah snorted and Chuck looked surprised. She looked at him, a coy grin on her face.

“Chuck, I have my personal tapes. We were NEVER the epitome of professionalism.” Chuck sighed, and had to agree she was right. She moved a strand of hair behind her ear, and continued, her voice a little lower. “And, from what I can tell, that’s one of the things that made up so good.” She held her drink up. “Here’s to us, doing what we do best.” Chuck clinked his drink against hers.

“And us?” He asked. Sarah took a drink and shrugged, grinning.

“Slow.” Chuck chuckled, and Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Tried that before.” Chuck nodded. Sarah bounced a shoulder. “Well, maybe history will repeat itself.” Before Chuck could turn five shades of red she hurried on. “Now, tell me what’s so bad that you and Morgan can’t handle.” Chuck stuck his tongue out at her, and Sarah laughed. That laugh made Chuck believe there was hope…again.

}o{

Today

As Chuck pulled himself out of his memories, he realized Sarah had made her way to him.

“Doing okay?” he asked her in a low voice as she handed him a cup of punch.

“I’m sweating,” she began.

“Has there been gunplay?” Chuck asked, unable to contain himself. She gave him a look.

“Quinn?” Chuck just nodded. “I wish he weren’t dead.” Chuck turned towards her, eyebrow raised. “I’d like to kill him again,” she said into her cup she had brought up to her lips. Chuck grinned as he took a drink and then nearly dropped the cup, not prepared for the alcohol. He turned toward his grinning bride. “I need something to get me through this.”

“I can’t believe you are drinking at my birthday party,” came the young voice behind them. The two smiled and turned toward the girl of the hour, who Chuck picked up into his arms. Samantha was only three, but spoke with the vocabulary of a grownup. If Chuck was forced to be honest, he wondered if she didn’t have a vocabulary better than he did. “Did Stephen do something?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Chuck said, looking at Sarah who was shaking her head. “Are you enjoying your party?”

“It’s enjoyable,” she said, Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look.

“You want to have a turn at the piñata don’t you?” Chuck asked. Samantha lit up. “Go tell Uncle Morgan it’s your turn.” Chuck thought he would drop her as she took off. Chuck was beginning to wonder about the advances his daughter was making at a rapid pace. No sooner than she sprinted away than Devon and Ellie came over to talk to the two. Chuck noticed the look on Ellie’s face and knew something was wrong, but he wanted to talk to Sarah while it was on his mind. “Sarah,” Chuck began, but Sarah shook her head, cutting him off, knowing what he was going to ask. Devon caught both of them in a bear hug before he could say anything else.

“Dad!” came a young boy’s voice and tackled Chuck just as he was released by Devon. “You’re back!”

The five watched as Samantha picked up the stick given to her by Uncle Morgan. Her eyes moved quickly for just a second. Morgan looked up in shock and locked eyes with Chuck. Sarah brought her hand to her mouth. It wasn’t Chuck’s flash, but there was something. Samantha took one look at the piñata, took one swing, and it exploded, candy flying everywhere.

“Dude, that was awesome!” Devon exclaimed and turned toward his wife and in-laws. He took one look at them and quickly changed his mind. “Or maybe it’s not.”

“Chuck, did Samantha just flash?” Ellie asked. Chuck looked at Sarah, who shrugged. They both turned toward Ellie.

“Not exactly…”

“Is there anything Stephen does I should know about?”

“I know kung-fu!” The four-and-a-half-year-old exclaimed. Ellie’s eyes got big as saucers. Sarah rolled her eyes.

“Uncle Morgan taught him “kung-fu”,” Sarah explained using finger quotes. Ellie gave Sarah a look that spoke volumes. “Uncle Morgan also has a theory about Samantha.”

“I’m sure he does,” Ellie said dryly, but with a smile that showed her affection for the bearded guy that had done so much for her family.

“It has something to do with Spider-girl getting her powers even though Spider-man got bit by a spider and wasn’t a mutant, or something. I forget. It’s like I don’t even care.” She turned to Chuck who was nearly drooling.

“You are so hot right now.” Sarah and Ellie both rolled their eyes.

“Walker,” came the gruff voice behind them. Everyone’s faces lit up as they turned to see Casey and Gertrude.

“It’s Mrs. Bartowski now,” she said, hugging Casey, and noticing he actually returned the hug. Maybe he had developed another feeling or two over the past several years with Gertrude.

“Hh,” he responded, and clapped Chuck on the arm as she let him go. “Don’t go getting your lady feelings wound up and start crying, Bartowski.”

“I missed you too, Casey,” Chuck responded, hugging the man. To everyone’s surprise, Casey didn’t shove him off as usual. Chuck pulled away. “It’s good to see the both of you. Not to sound unhospitable, but what are you doing here?”

“I sent for them,” came the voice behind them. Chuck and Sarah’s eyes got huge as they turned around. As Chuck turned he caught Ellie’s face, and realized she wasn’t surprised.

“General,” Casey said.

“Retired,” Beckman told Casey. Casey grunted and Beckman smiled. “Although one never really retires in this line of work, do they?” Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look. Chuck looked over at Ellie who caught his eye. She gave a shrug like an apology and Chuck was beginning to wonder what was going on.

“General,” Chuck said purposefully, earning an eyebrow raise. “I’m glad you’re here, but I’m thinking this isn’t a social call.”

“It’s not, Chuck,” Beckman confirmed. “We have reason to believe there is a new intersect being built.” Chuck ran his hand over his face, but that didn’t explain Ellie’s reactions. He watched Beckman and knew there was more.

“General, not to be rude, but just say it, we’ve been through too much.” Beckman looked up at Chuck with pride. Gone was the nerd that thought he wasn’t a hero, in front of her was a man who had nearly given up everything for his country and had earned her respect and all of those around him.

“I want to hire Carmichael Industries,” Beckman began. Chuck was surprised. “But there are two conditions.” Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look and Sarah nodded.

“We’re always open to our clients need, we’re the company that cares,” Chuck said, getting an eyeroll from Sarah and a grunt from Casey. Chuck looked at Casey, who shrugged.

“Old habits.”

“I want all of you, Devin and Ellie are moving from Chicago,” Chuck and Sarah looked at the two who shrugged and nodded. “Casey and Gertrude have already agreed,” the two affirmed what Beckman was saying, “And, God help me, I want the bearded one.”

“What is going on?” Chuck asked.

“I need you not to freak out,” Ellie began. Chuck looked at Beckman, who shrugged and inclined her head to Ellie as if to say, “listen to her.” Chuck turned his attention to Ellie. “I’ve been working on a cure for Sarah, and I think I found something.” Sarah gasped, and Ellie took her hands. “I’m sorry, not the cure but something about the intersect that we never thought of.” She was quiet for a second. “Morgan is kinda right.”

“EXCUSE ME?” Chuck and Sarah said at the same time, flabbergasted.

“Samantha might have a version of the intersect in her head.” Chuck and Sarah didn’t know what to do. Their daughter had always been advanced, but this…this was too much.

“I want you to use the nanny I’m going to provide to protect the children,” Beckman said softly. Chuck shook his head.

“General, I don’t know any woman I trust with my kids than I do Sarah.” Beckman stared at Chuck. Chuck was confused and looked at Sarah. Sarah gave her husband a smile.

“Sweetie, who says it’s a woman?” Chuck turned red.

“Well…my bad.” Chuck stuck his hands in his pockets and looked down embarrassed. Ellie laughed into the back of her hand, and Sarah looked away, trying not to laugh.

“I need team Bartowski. I need them to help me protect all the Bartowskis. Can I hire you?” Chuck and Sarah shared a look and looked over to Casey and Gertrude. Casey nodded and Gertrude mouthed “of course.” They looked at Devon and Ellie. Devon fist pounded Chuck and Ellie came over to hug her brother.

“Uhm, I do believe that if you will be employing the services of one Charmichael Industries to protect the Bartowskis, you have no choice but to include me. That’s in the best friend clause,” Morgan said, having for once been quiet. Chuck clapped his friend on the back. He turned to Sarah, who’s smile almost split her face.

“We have a mission!”

#Fan fic #Chuck #Sarah #My Season 6 #I may need this more than you #Putting the team back together #It might get fluffy #Karen does this better than I do #Charah

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recentanimenews · 5 years

Text

Cowboy Bebop Designer Toshihiro Kawamoto Talks Art Styles and Live-Action Adaptations

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of working with character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto at FanimeCon 2019 in San Jose, CA. The con had brought me in to moderate two of his events (including a live drawing session that has been uploaded to YouTube), and before getting on stage I had a chance to sit down for a one-on-one interview with Mr. Kawamoto.

Toshihiro Kawamoto is most well-known as a character designer thanks to his sleek, angular designs on series like Cowboy Bebop, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, and Wolf’s Rain. But like many designers, he began his career as an animator. He worked his way up the ranks at Sunrise and eventually got a chance to design the characters for Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. After the critically acclaimed Cowboy Bebop, Kawamoto joined forces with a number of key Sunrise staff, including producer Masahiko Minami (who I interviewed nearly 10 years ago!) and animator Hiroshi Osaka, to split off and create their own studio: BONES.

20 years later, Kawamoto serves as an executive at BONES, though it seems that much of his time is still spent working away at his drawings, whether they’re character designs for Blood Blockade Battlefront or key animation and animation directing for Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven.

My conversation with Mr. Kawamoto covers a range of topics: his design process, his early years as an animator at Sunrise, his consultation on an ill-advised live-action Gundam movie, and yes, his thoughts on the upcoming Cowboy Bebop Netflix adaptation. A huge thank you goes out to Fanime guest staff Jinni and Isabel, interpreter Momo, and of course, Mr. Kawamoto for taking the time to speak with me. Enjoy!

Early in your career you were mentored by animator Sachiko Kamimura. How did you first start working with her?

I first met Ms. Kamimura when I was a key animator for ZZ Gundam. While I was on the project with her, I got to know her. I learned a lot and got some inspiration from Ms. Kamimura.

What kinds of things do you think you learned from her?

I talked to her recently and got the sense that she believes if you allow people to properly learn and train and grow they will be able to blossom into whatever talent they want to get into, and become a full professional in their field. Ms. Kamimura expressed that when I was the only young animator on the ZZ Gundam team. Working together while I was still pretty young and fresh, I think that was a big influence.

Back then and even now I'm not really sure why she was so taken with me and thought I had such great potential. In those days, we had no time to really focus on certain kinds of things. All we could do was sit down and draw as fast as possible. So I really don't understand what Ms. Kamimura saw in me. Even today I think about it.

Ms. Kamimura had this idea that as long as you properly train and teach these young professionals, they would blossom into their full potential. For the past 30 years I’ve really taken that to heart.

Could you walk me through your process when designing a character?

There are two different kinds of processes, depending on whether the anime is original or an adaptation.

For adaptations, I personally feel like I don't want to change the art. I don't want to change the original style of the manga it's adapting from. So I often work with the director, going back and forth and doing a kind of tag team thing to make sure that we accurately portray the original work.

When it comes to original animation, I often meet with the director and talk over what their vision is for the characters. I'll take their descriptions and interpret them into art. Generally I’ll create three to five variations of those characters in order to pinpoint what the director is aiming for.

When trying to understand the director’s taste and what they’re aiming for, we often play “catch.” We go back and forth in order to find out how the characters should be portrayed. That was the process for Cowboy Bebop.

I know some directors contribute their own designs to that process. Is that common for you?

Yes, it does happen for directors that have artistic skills. But in terms of my own work, I often pair up with directors with no art skills. So the director might do a really rough sketch of what they're imagining, but I generally draw it myself and provide that imagery so the director can decide what they want to do with it.

In terms of anime storyboards, generally directors will draw those out, and just by seeing the storyboards it's easy to tell if the director has any artistic skill. For Cowboy Bebop, the director was Shinichiro Watanabe, who later worked on Space Dandy. When I compared the storyboards from the Cowboy Bebop days and the Space Dandy days, I noticed “oh, he’s improved his art skills a little bit.” And before Cowboy Bebop, Mr. Watanabe was an episode director and drew storyboards on Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. If you look at the storyboards from then, well... I don’t want to say too much because it'll sound like I’m complaining or bad-mouthing, but ... yeah. He’s come a long way.

Storyboards for Cowboy Bebop and Space Dandy, respectively.

Something that I admire about your work is that you have a distinctive character design style that’s very much your own, but your adapted works are a little more subtle and complement the original designer’s work. How do you decide where to add the Kawamoto touch and where to hold back a little bit?

Even though other people may think I have a distinct Kawamoto style, when I’m working on adaptations I really want to erase my own unique style. As a character designer, I aim to ensure that the character design techniques and the technical aspects are similar. But in terms of what I want to accomplish, I want to express the original work.

After working on Gundam 0083, I worked on character designs for different kinds of media like Leiji Matsumoto, Tatsuya Egawa, and Masamune Shirow’s works. For those I really tried to deemphasize my own style. But now that I’m thinking about it, I wonder if I didn’t do a good enough job. If I do have a distinct style, maybe I’m not erasing my own uniqueness enough.

While I was working on Golden Boy, I also worked on a Sega Saturn game for Gundam. Even though I worked on both Golden Boy and the Gundam project together, I was trying to make sure that they don’t cross over.

Actually, on the subject of Gundam, I have a question about a very weird Gundam project. You’re credited for conceptual design on G-Saviour.

G-Saviour?!

I’m curious what you actually did on that project.

If I look back on my memories, the G-Saviour project was made in collaboration with Studio Sunrise. I had never worked on a Hollywood adaptation ever in my life, so even though I had no experience and was very unsure of myself, through working on G-Saviour I tried to learn a lot and make sure the project went smoothly. In terms of what I did for G-Saviour, if something wasn’t going well or there were some hiccups during the production, then I would submit art for the character’s costumes or certain ideas for what the characters would do. I would express that in a storyboard and then submit the storyboards to help them move things along.

And that would get sent directly to the production team in Canada?

Oh right, it was probably too expensive to do it in Hollywood so they did it in Canada. So I would submit the artwork to Canada.

In fact, the reaction to the storyboards that I submitted to them was so positive, they were like, “Wow, I’ve never seen such beautiful and clean storyboards!” They were really happy to work with me and get those kinds of visuals. Even though they were really happy about it, it made me think, “If they’re so happy with this, where are their skill levels at? What are they used to?” It made me really uneasy to think, “What have they been doing so far?”

Speaking of live-action, I’m sure you’re aware of the live-action Cowboy Bebop series. Have you been consulted on it at all?

I haven’t touched the project at all. I’ve had zero participation in it.

I think it's actually good that I haven’t had any part in making the adaptation. I think that if they asked for my opinion I would influence it too much in a certain direction, so I really want to see what they will make of it on their own.

But there are some things that I am a little bit surprised about. Like Spike Spiegel being played by an Asian actor. (EDITOR’S NOTE: He’s talking about Star Trek and Harold & Kumar’s John Cho.) “Spike Spiegel” is a German name, so I would have expected someone with German ancestry. I find these choices interesting but I don’t want to influence too much or say too much.

Are there any other projects of yours that you’d love to see adapted into a live-action Hollywood version?

I have a lot of challenges in drawing animals in animation. They’re really hard to draw for me. So I’m really interested in seeing a live-action adaptation of Wolf’s Rain. I think that with today’s CG technology it would be very possible.

Cowboy Bebop Designer Toshihiro Kawamoto Talks Art Styles and Live-Action Adaptations originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on May 30, 2019 at 9:55 PM.

By: Evan Minto

#Anime #News #Ani-Gamers

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my-mystic-messenger · 7 years

Note

So like a lot of people like YouTube couples and stuff, right? What do you think how would RFA and Saeran react to MC turning out to be a YouTuber, maybe even inviting them into a video? Like what kind of video would they make and stuff like that. I'd really love to see your spin on things. Thanks for the hard work :3

Bless you, anon. This is the shit I am talking about! I tried to make this as diverse as possible, so the HC’s look quite different for each of them

|| REQUEST ARE (ALWAYS) OPEN!! ||

Zen

♬ asan actor Zen has to know how to handle media

♬ platformslike Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook have a big impact on his career

♬ theyalso give him the chance to see what his fans (and haters) thinkabout him

♬ still,all the time he was merely an observer

♬ henever even considered possibly going on YouTube and making videos

♬ untilhe caught you filming a video for your channel

♬ you’dbeen a little embarrassed about it, mainly because you’d kept it asecret for so long

♬ itjust sounded sort of…strange to say that you were a professionalYouTube

♬ butwith over 15 Million subscribers you were good in the game

♬ ittook Zen days to wrap his head around that number

♬ 15Million people just waiting for you to put up a video once a week

♬ whenyou told him just how much you earned on top of that, he was shook

♬ Zenwas obviously very happy for your success, but a small, ugly part ofhim was jealous

♬ he’donly dream of that big of a number of people admiring him

♬ youcould tell how much it was wearing down on him and you felt horrible

♬ youdidn’t have to work half as hard as Zen and still had the biggerfollowing

♬ thatis when you got the idea; you asked him to join you for a video

♬ aftertalking it over with his agency you set the video up

♬ thetwo of you still weren’t allowed to hint at the fact that you weredating, but you were allowed to be friends and continue to makevideos should they be a hit

♬ aftera while of discussing the two of you had decided on covering a songtogether

♬ youboth knew that a romantic song was out of question so the decisiondidn’t take long

♬ thetwo of you covered 7 years by Lukas Graham

♬ yousat beside each other, making the music together while singing at thesame time

♬ yourvoices sounded perfect together and neither of you could stop smilingand stealing glances

♬ onceup the video went viral extremely fast

♬ somepeople were fans of Zen, happy to hear him sing on YouTube, othersnow turned into fans

♬ hispopularity grew more and more with every day

♬ somuch so that people started demanding he start his own YouTubechannel or become a fixed part of your channel

♬ youwouldn’t have minded that at all and apparently Zen agreed

♬ whilehis agency didn’t allow him to start his own channel they did agreeto more collaborations

♬ so,you turned Friday into Collab-Day, posting a new song with Zen everyweek

♬ Zenpopularity reached it’s peak when producers and agency got more andmore drawn to him

♬ hecould barely fend off job offers

♬ abouta year after your first collab he was supposed to star in 5 moviesand had changed agencies

♬ morespecifically to one that was more acceptant of your relationship anddidn’t demand hiding it

♬ whenhe proposed to you he did it through song, during a video for thewhole world to know

♬ afterthat you started a second channel, just the two of you

♬ youposted everything on there, from music to vlogs

♬ butthe very first video was a little collage of your wedding and honeymoon

Yoosung

★ you see Yoosung is one of those people who follow Let’s Play type of channels, gamers like himself

★ the thing about those is though that a lot of them don’t show their faces (take Cry for example)

★ you were one of those so even after meeting you, he had no idea that you were a YouTuber

★ let alone the infamous SediLusiVici, one of the most famous gamers and the one he’d been following religiously for years now

★ he finds out in the – for him – most shocking and surprising way possible

★ SediLusiVici was having a collab with PewDiePie and the two of you decided to play LOLOL

★ PewDiePie suggested to attack the top three players of which two were none other than Seven and of course Yoosung

★ when he’d suggested that you’d laughed, telling PewDiePie that number one was one of your best friends and number two was your husband

★ Yoosung’s face had completely frozen as he stared at the screen, PewDiePie gasping in the background as you laughed your ass off

★ “You’re kidding, right?”

★ “No, man, I’m serious. I know both of them. I know their real names and what they do for a living and stuff like that and Yoosung is my real life husband.”

★ “Daaaamn…wanna ruin their top rankings?”

★ “You betcha, bro!”

★ so for about an hour Yoosung watched the two of you climb and climb in rankings until SediLusiVici had kicked HackerGod and SupremeYoosung from their respective spots on the top

★ it was as shocking as it was mesmerizing

★ by the time you came home from work Yoosung was still staring at the opened video

★ you greeted him cheerfully until you noticed what he was watching and blushed

★ “Fuck…I didn’t know you watched…that…”

★ you didn’t really fight about it, nor was he mad that you’d messed up his game, but he couldn’t believe that you never told him you were his absolutely favourite YouTuber?!

★ you were flattered and happy he liked your work and decided to invite him into a video

★ especially as a lot of people had requested a video of husband and wife together

★ of course Yoosung said yes and a couple of days later you started a Stream

★ you introduced your husband to your community and took the time to answer some of their questions

★ everyone was actually rather excited to get to know Yoosung as well!

★ Yoosung was shy about it at first, but very happy too

★ so many people actually admired him for his gaming skills!

★ in that video the two of you took the time to take down HackerGod together, laughing the entire time

★ it would be rather funny to read what Seven had to say about this once he saw he’d been defeated

★ twice…

★ with you on top and Yoosung back to second place you ended the stream

★ it was one of your most watched videos ever

★ after that you collab quite a lot, sometimes even Seven joins in

★ it’s usually you and Seven ganging up on Yoosung

★ he’s always grumpy about it

★ the fandom finds it hilarious

★ of course it’s all in good fun ;)

Jaehee

♨ shefound out in the probably most anti-climatic way

♨ youstraight up asked her whether you wanted her to post a little add onyour YouTube channel

♨ youthought that maybe it would bring in some more customers

♨ she’dagreed, of course

♨ theidea was brilliant and wouldn’t cost either of you any money

♨ whatshe didn’t really know was just how big your channel was

♨ andjust how much revenue it would bring to the cafe

♨ merelya couple of days after you told her you posted it, there wasn’t aminute the cafe wasn’t packed

♨ everyonewanted to try out that cafe you’d talked about in your latest blog

♨ whenit dawned on Jaehee just how popular you were she also realized thatyou must be putting a lot fo effort into your blog

♨ butwhen?

♨ youworked together and lived together

♨ youtold her that you used the nights to record as to not disturb her

♨ themoney you used mainly for bills or to invest into the cafe

♨ Jaehee’sheart melted when she found out

♨ sheinstantly asked you on how to make it up to you, do something for you

♨ youinsisted she didn’t need to, but she wanted it

♨ youthen suggested for her to join you in a video

♨ youhad an idea but needed help for it

♨ Jaeheehappily agreed

♨ thatis how the two of you found yourself in your kitchen at home, camerasaid

♨ youwere doing the cooking challenge

♨ whichin itself wasn’t a thing, but you made it one, since you couldn’tcook or bake for shit

♨ everythingstarted out fine, almost like a cooking tutorial

♨ Jaeheeand you had picked something simple to start with

♨ ifpeople liked it, you’d suggested making it a series

♨ thepasta actually turned out pretty fine and you were surprised

♨ youate it before continuing part two of the video and neither of you hadto throw up, so…

♨ parttwo is where it got really fun

♨ Jaeheewanted to teach you how to bake a cake

♨ thatis very complicated though

♨ itstarted when you accidentally tripped and flour was spread all overJaehee, you and the kitchen

♨ afterthat everything just turned into a little war

♨ bythe time you called it quits the video was extremely long, the cakewasn’t happening and the two of you were covered in everything andanything

♨ “So,if you want to learn how to destroy your kitchen in just a few easysteps feel free to follow this tutorial!”

♨ needlessto say that cooking challenge did turn into a series

Jumin

♛ Juminisn’t good with technology, he never was

♛ he’sincapable of using an IPhone camera and took ages to uncover all ofthe features of the RFA-app

♛ hedidn’t even really know what YouTube was, let alone how to use it

♛ hehad other things on his mind than silly little videos on the internet

♛ thatwas until he found out that apparently you were a professionalYouTuber

♛ anda very famous one at that

♛ atfirst he was confused and didn’t know whether to take it serious ornot

♛ butthen you told him you could work from home and he was extremelysupportive

♛ youstill had a job like you wanted, earned your own money like youwanted but never had to leave the apartment without him whichmeant you were safe and he didn’t have to worry – Perfect

♛ thatis until you ask him to join you for a video

♛ despitebeing a public figure, talking like that seems uncomfortable

♛ thatis until you explain what the boyfriend tag is and how it works

♛ heinstantly relaxes, happy to parade your relationship for everyone tosee and here

♛ thetwo of you sat down together, started the camera and you beganreading questions

Whendid we meet and where?

”Wemet in a special chatroom a couple of months ago”

“It’smuch sweeter than it sounds, really!”

Wherewas our first kiss?

“Atmy apartment.”

“Yeah,in front of Sarah.”

“You’restill mad about that?”

“Well,it sure wasn’t romantic, Jumin.”

Whosaid “I love you” first?

“Me,although you realized it first, I think.”

“Youwere very emotionally constipated when we first met.”

“Youstill chose me though.”

“Youwere rich.”

♛ whenhe looked at you unimpressed you laughed and stole a quick kiss

♛ theblush that spread on his cheeks was very pleasant to look at

Whendid you meet my parents?

“Atour wedding. They were very nice.”

“Thingswere very…quick, between the two of us…”

Whatis the one thing you wish I didn’t do?

“Putyourself in danger to help others all the time. I told you to be moreselfish.”

“Younever let me forget, honey, but you know I’ll still continue doingit.”

Wherewas our first date?

“Isyou sleeping at my place considered a date?”

“Jumin,that sounds perverted!”

“What?How? We didn’t even sleep in the same bed for most of the time”

“Jumin!”

♛ hewas the one to end the video by pulling you in for a passionate kisswhile reaching out for the camera to turn it off at the same time

Saeyoung/Seven

☼ Sevenobviously found out about your YouTuber activity when he did abackground check on you

☼ however,he never actually visited your channel or such

☼ hisprogram deemed it safe, so there was no need to do that

☼ untilyou started dating and he found out just how much money one couldmake off it

☼ allthese years he’d been busting his ass hacking and doing illegal shit

☼ constantlyliving in the shadows and hiding

☼ andthere you were, making funny sketches and skits for close to 20Million subscribers

☼ earninga whole chunk of money and doing so risk free

☼ hefelt a little betrayed by those circumstances, so he started his ownYouTube channel

☼ obviouslybeing a new YouTuber is hard, especially when there are so manyalready established ones

☼ sohe swallowed down his pride and asked you for help

☼ obviouslyyou said no at first

☼ youwere still paying him back for being a dick to you when you first met

☼ andall the pranks he pulled after

☼ whenhe’d dressed as a maid and begged you on your knees though, you had agood idea

☼ yousaid yes

☼ obviouslyafter taking a picture of him first…for research purposes

☼ thatnight he’d checked out as many of your videos as possible, making aprofile for himself

☼ he’dhad it all planned out, ready to film something funny andentertaining

☼ maybeeven a prank video

☼ insteadhe was met with a huge box of make-up waiting for him

☼ WTF?!You’d never done anything make-up related videos before

☼ didyou even know how to do make-up?

☼ the answer was no, Seven foundout soon after

☼ youwere doing the my boyfriend/girlfriend does my make-up thing

☼ you’dreally thought it would be funny, you really did

☼ youknew you were shit at make up, incapable of even so much as wingedeyeliner

☼ youthought Seven was the same and you’d both bullshit the whole thingfor jokes

☼ youthought wrong, because Seven took that shit serious

☼ hedid some mean contour, smokey eyes, perfect eyeliners and lips

☼ heeven did some magic on your eyebrows!

☼ youalmost felt bad when the two of you turned to the camera

☼ youeach looked at your reflection, then at each other, then back at thecamera

☼ Sevenburst into laughter first, you followed soon

☼ apparentlyhis crossdressing had taught him some valuable lessons

☼ “Subscribeto his channel my babies. He’ll give you some mean make-uptutorials.”

☼ you’dbarely gotten out the words between laughter before ending the video

☼ Sevendid actually give make-up tutorials

☼ notonly that but he also gave tips on cosplay, wig care and tips forcrossdressers in general

☼ sometimeshe also pranked Yoosung

☼ sometimestwice a week

☼ hegained followersvery quickly

Saeran

☀ youtold Saeran about your YouTube career relatively early on

☀ itwas during one of those days where he completely shut off and youfilled the silence with babble

☀ youtalked about how you’d started YouTube in the first place

☀ howyou used your channel to promote good causes and even raise money forshelters and stuff

☀ howyou wished you were good enough at make-up to do tutorials

☀ andhow you’d messed up even the most simple smokey eye in your eagerness

☀ sillystories in hopes of getting him out of his shell

☀ youhadn’t really thought that he’d listened to you

☀ notuntil one day, many many months later, he told you that he’d enjoyedyour latest video

☀ you’dbeen shocked for quite a while after, wondering how long he’d beenwatching

☀ whenyou’d finally gathered the courage to ask Saeran had blushed, leavingyou baffled

☀ headmitted that he’d been watching you way before you even told himabout it

☀ infact that is why he’d chosen you was because he’d known you from yourvideos

☀ somuch so that he’d desperately wanted you to join Magenta and Mint Eye

☀ whichfor Saeran is just a way of saying he found you cute

☀ afterthat you catch him watching your videos more often, always smiling tohimself

☀ heeven lurks around when you film them, obviously suppressing theexcitement he felt

☀ ittook you a while to invite him into your videos

☀ notbecause you were ashamed, but because you’d worried he’d hate theidea

☀ (youalso weren’t quite sure what kind of video he was okay filming)

☀ whenyou asked him he was extremely excited about the entire thing

☀ buthe did refuse to do anything boyfriend tag related

☀ youwere a little disappointed, but understood

☀ noteveryone liked that cutesy stuff and Saeran was one of those people

☀ insteadyou thought that following the trend might be a good idea

☀ ChallengeVideos

☀ the first video you filmed was a try not to cry challenge

☀ ittook you approximately two minutes and one video including a dog tobawl your eyes out

☀ Saeranmeanwhile just looked at the videos as if he was trying to solve ahard puzzle

☀ needlessto say he didn’t cry one

☀ “Do you even have a heart?!”

☀ “I thought we discussed this already, Princess. The answer is obviously no.”

☀ youjust stared at him for a while before ending the video

☀ peopleloved it

☀ thecontrast between you and what they assumed to be your boyfriend wasstraight up hilarious to them

☀ theyalso applauded him for not losing the challenge and asked for anothervideo

☀ thistime you took a different route; try not to laugh challenge

☀ youheld it in for as long as you could, but burst out laughing when theylooped someone falling on their nuts

☀ meanwhileSaeran had the same face again, frowning and focusing without asingle laugh

☀ “Dude,this is freaking grade A content how the hell are you notlaughing?”

☀ “Huh?The challenge said not to laugh. I’m good at that…”

☀ “…wow…thisgot really sad real quick

☀ “Wellit’s good then that this isn’t the try not to cry challenge then,right?”

☀ hesmirked at you and you frowned

☀ thedamn video got multiple million views

SediLusiVici means I sat, I played, I won in Latin, for anyone who cared…

250 notes · View notes

himjhu · 4 years

Text

What If I Pee Myself On The Soccer Field? I #AskASoccerPro Show Ep 080

11-year MLS veteran Quincy Amarikwa welcomes you to episode 80 of the #AskASoccerPro Show! This week Quincy talks about how to stay fit, going pro with no semi-pro experience, overcoming irrational fear, and more!Check out what Quincy covers this week:

00:00 – 02:45: Welcome To The #AskASoccerPro Show Ep 80!

02:47 – 08:08: Will Quincy Return To Play Soccer?

08:11 -11:20: How Many Days A Week Does Quincy Train? @ferramirez_14_

11:21 – 14:21: How Quincy Changes His Training When He’s About To Join A Team @ferramirez_14_

14:23 – 18:49: What Does Quincy Think About The Quakes Advancing In #MLSisBack Tournament? @shannonmeier1136

18:51 – 24:59: Is It Possible To Go Pro At 23 With No Semi-Pro Experience? @andersfsflow

25:00 – 27:42: Why YOU Should Make A Highlight Reel @connor_johnson2028

27:45 –30:03: Not In The Starting XI? How To Deal With The Mental Aspect Of Not Playing. @oscarrmejia

30:04 - 33:41: Why The Three S’s Of Self-Awareness So Important?

33:42 – 42:45: What If I Pee Myself On The Soccer Field? @lunacysoccer

42:46 – 47:03: Where To Go When You’re Ignored By A Coach And Need A Community That Can Help

47:07 – 51:58: Perfect Soccer Gamer Dylan Joins The Live! @nocontext_dylan

52:03 – 53:46: Quincy’s Recommendations For College Freshman Joining A Soccer Program? @_rubz11

53:51 – 58:24: How To Help Teammates Who Struggle With Their Mentality @john_hollinger27

58:25 – 59:54: Where Can You Get Your Own Perfect Soccer Bundle?

If you would like to listen to the episode:

If you would like to watch the episode:

If you would like to read the interview:

*Transcript is unedited and machine-generated. There will be errors. For further clarity please refer to the audio or video.

Quincy Amarikwa (00:00):

We're all here to ride the MSL wave. The #AskASoccerPro Show. I'd like to welcome you to another episode of the #AskASoccerPro Show. C underscore E L F a R O. What's going on? Katie joining and Joe Jackson. What's going on T a T. How am I supposed to pronounce your name? I know I always say T, but you had you'd you'd written out how to say it appropriately. Ryan, one L he said, what's up Quincy? What's going on, Ryan? Joe Jackson said, yo Quincy, what's up? Katie said what up? F E R a F E R Ramirez 14. Giving me a wave. What's going on Sammy. Welcome as always Connor. Johnson's joining in Jose Pardot. Brett Pratto 10 said what's good Quincy a, you know, it's good. It's the good word. It's time for another episode of the show. And I'm excited to get in today, get into today's episode, you know, shut up. I told her on that, so let's see what we got here. Ooh,

Quincy Amarikwa (01:09):

Oops.

Quincy Amarikwa (01:12):

Anders, Flo, what up, dude? I love your book. Perfect soccer and a lot of motivation, you know, thank you very much as you guys can see on the screen there, you see the little perfect soccer player, blueprint action. You'll shout out towed or for the dope dank meme. For those of you don't know, we just released the perfect soccer bundle, which is

Quincy Amarikwa (01:32):

Everyone I'm getting juiced with. What's coming out and how we're getting everything together. And I'm loving seeing everyone spamming that heart button. Cool. We're making ultimate ultimate things, dreams, everything come true. And one of the dope things I'm juiced about releasing and letting everybody know is available is the perfect soccer bundle. So it makes sure you hit over the perfect set of skills.com/store and check out what comes with it. Perfect soccer goal, perfect soccer balls skills Academy, be pro weekly training program. The perfect soccer player blueprint, the ultimate soccer college, college soccer recruiting boot plant, and more but that's a dope bundle that is coming at you at an extremely discounted amazing price. But let's see what else we got here. I'm seeing everyone's spam that heart button. So I'm seeing that many of you have probably just become aware of the perfect soccer bundle.

Quincy Amarikwa (02:21):

And I'm hoping to hear that many of you are copying your own perfect soccer bundle here soon. But again, shout out honors for saying he he's read. The book, loves the book. Joe co the gunners is joined in mass journalist is joined in and you know what it is when I ended up falling behind Tony, what's going on in Shannon, what's happening Taya T T. His name is Taya. Thank you very much. Ramirez asked, are you still going to play soccer? Well, I'm still a free agent, and I think the quarantine has just thrown a wrench into everything, the regular normal systems and processes. But I also do believe that this has been a great opportunity in time for many individuals, especially higher up in organizations to self reflect on what it is they were doing that got them to where they're at, but more importantly, that the changes in evolution and thinking they're going to need to have to make in order to evolve into what I think comes post quarantine.

Quincy Amarikwa (03:19):

So I know the MLS is back tournament is getting into the later stages. A few teams have been sent home. So I think many people are gonna start thinking about what happens after the tournament and what that means and what they're going to need to start putting into place so they can, they can build, they can build towards they can build towards building a longterm winner's mindset and longterm longterm goal for their organization. So what's been going on and that'll actually be good cause I'll, I'll transition into, I just had a, I just completed my my interview with the guys over at the designated player plot podcast. Last night, that podcast ended up going well over three hours, dope conversation, lots of insight. If those of you are wanting to get up to date as to kind of this, the state of soccer in America, as I currently see it based on my 11 plus years of professional experience, that podcast will definitely be the one that you want to check out, listen to download a relisten, to take notes on and you know, yeah, take notes and and take notice to see how things transpire and play out here, moving forward.

Quincy Amarikwa (04:42):

Cause

Quincy Amarikwa (04:42):

As most of you

Quincy Amarikwa (04:44):

Should know, if you don't know, this is the #AskASoccerPro Show episode 80. I'm pretty sure we're on episode 80 almost to the century club. And I'm excited to have you guys join in because I'm here to talk to you guys about the MSL or the mental strength league. Yes. I've been a major league soccer pro for over 11 years now, but the reason and ability and the way that I was able to get to year 11 and hopefully we'll see here year 12 and beyond is all thanks to the MSL or the mental strength league. The mentality that we discuss here every Thursday, 6:00 PM, PST 9:00 PM EST live on the perfect soccer account. Shout out Joe Jackson already dropping that I'm in your head emojis for 20 more episodes or [inaudible] yes, but on this show, we break down the AmeriCorps process. The seven step process that is necessary for you to be able to accomplish your goals.

Quincy Amarikwa (05:48):

If you want to reach your goals, let's make this a little bit bigger. If you want to reach your goals, if you want to reach them, you got to get down with the MSL. Cause this is the mindset and mentality you need to accomplish your goals to overcome that negativity, that insecurity that self doubt. And how do we do that? Can, can people drop down in the chat, those of you who have been around for a while, gotten a lot of value out of the brand, the MSL mentality and practice what we preach here every Thursday. Can you let me know what the three S's stand for, which is the pillar and foundation to the AmeriCorps process, the pillar and foundation to the MSL, our mentality and our community. Cause I'd love. I'd love to see if if our community can help educate those who may be paying attention or listening in for the first time as I start to look at the questions that are coming in, you know, shout out Joe, thank you, Joe, for putting that in there.

Quincy Amarikwa (06:43):

Let's pin that comment down there. The three S's. So if you guys could drop below what the three S's stand for, that would be amazing. And while you guys are dropping that below, as well as your comments and questions, I'm going to scroll back up a little bit here and start making my way through the questions. Over time GH said, keep up the good work boss, always, always in forever. Chris Floyd soccer said, I want to get a perfect soccer match ball so bad. How much is it? Well, well, Chris, the retail price of the ball is I think it's 89 95. It comes with free shipping and a lifetime warranty of the ball, but, but that's not. What's beautiful. I want you to head over and check out the perfect formation, right? The perfect formation, which is the perfect soccer bundle that is now live on the site.

Quincy Amarikwa (07:45):

And you're going to be able to get the ball, the goal, and all the other additional bonuses and content for an extremely reduced baller price. But if you want to get the ball by itself, Hey, go ahead. No problem. I love that. It's amazing. You're going to love it. It's great. But I definitely suggest you check out the bundle because if you wanted the ball, you're going to, you're going to faint over the bundle. Let's see, let's see F F E R R a M I R E Z, underscore 14, underscore asks, how many days a week do you train Quincy? And that all depends on where I'm at in the season and if I'm in my free agency or if I'm with an actual team and organization. So let's talk about today, how it works, how it looks, how I'm, how I train as of right now.

Quincy Amarikwa (08:39):

So typically when I'm in between teams and I don't know how long it's going to be before I may be joining an organization or team, I I really spread out my fitness and and, and, and keep a base level. And I've talked about this in the past that I understand that puts me about two weeks out from being 60 minute game fit. Now this is something that you'll probably be able to do and figure out once you have a bit more of experience and you understand your body a bit, a bit more, and when you're first starting out, you know, you're learning your body, you're learning your tendencies. What, what your physiology is, how foods affect you, how they, how they may or may not affect you, how training programs and different types of things may or may affect you. But by the time you've gotten to 11 years at the professional level, I would assume, or I'd hope that you've gotten to a level of understanding of your body and for me and for my physiology and how I how my body works to be about two weeks out from 60 minute game fit, I can work out three days a week.

Quincy Amarikwa (09:43):

So I'll typically go Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and I'll I'll have steady state runs and body weight exercises that I do on circuit. Every Monday, every Wednesday, every Friday, typically in the morning when I first wake up or, you know, after I get the kids through through their routines unit stuff. Now what that allows me to do is it allows me to build and maintain a certain level of stamina and cardio, right? So that if, and when I get that call from a team or organization about, Hey, we'd like you to join. We want you to get integrated. With, with having that baseline, I can, I'm able to, within two weeks, get 60 minutes fit for whichever type of organization that I'm joining. So, you know, if you're an organization that's a four 42 and you want to target striker, who's making runs in the box.

Quincy Amarikwa (10:30):

That's different than a four, three, three winger winger forward who has to play both sides of the ball. So I stay in a state that allows me to get fit for whichever organization, a team I eventually joined and the philosophy of the coach, right? So as I start to see how things are trending, I'll then start to adjust my training to now ramp up for if I'm anticipating or believing, there might be an opportunity or chance that I'll be joining an organization. So before the quarantine I was, I was under the belief and feeling that, Hey, things are starting to trend. I'll probably be joining an organization here soon, so I can start to ramp up then quarantine happened and that completely tapered that off. And I created a little bit of time for me to get rest and then got back to that baseline.

Quincy Amarikwa (11:21):

Now I'm starting to get that feeling again, right? Hey, there there's an opportunity or a chance that I probably may be joining an organization here sooner, rather than later, it doesn't mean it's guaranteed, but when that happens, then I'll start to increase my, my, my my training. So now I'm more at I'm still doing Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but I'm doing two sessions a day now. So we'll, I'll do the steady state stuff in the morning with the body weight and then touches touches in agility work. And then obviously I'll start working. I'll do all the things, especially a lot of the organizational stuff with black players for change. There's a massive amount of work that's been going on behind the scenes for quite some time. So I've been very heavily involved in that amongst the other things that we've got going on.

Quincy Amarikwa (12:09):

So then I'm transitioning to that. And then by the afternoon, then I'll go and have my secondary workout, which is more a steady state run with more body weight stuff. And sometimes a little bit of touches on the ball if I'm feeling inclined, like at that point in the morning, whether I feel like it or not, I'm getting touches in the afternoon. It comes down to if I'm feeling if I, if I want to, if it's fun, if it, if I feel inspired and I think many players understand what it's like, sometimes you just, you just don't feel inspired. You don't feel like doing it. You don't feel like being out there. You don't feel like touching the ball. On those days, those are the days that I forced myself to get touches on the ball. The days when I feel like I don't need it the days where I feel like I don't want to, or the days that I make sure I do at least a base level so that I don't start to create slowly deteriorating habits that that come up and bite me in the butt, you know, two or three weeks from now.

Quincy Amarikwa (13:08):

So hopefully that gives you guys a bit of, you know, perspective and kind of context of how to kind of build maybe in your mind some, some ways of which you can, you can build out your regimen and what you're doing. So if you guys are enjoying that and you like that, if that's helpful, share a little bit of insight, some feedback for me with what you guys are thinking just from that, on that routine. Cause like I said, I only want to spend time talking to you guys about things that you find valuable that you like. And if I'm not seeing you as spam the heart button and give me some feedback as to you, if you like it or not, I'm not going to share that type of information anymore. Cause what's the point. You guys know what it is. Time's our most valuable asset out here and there's no chance.

Quincy Amarikwa (13:53):

There's no guarantee as of right now that you're going to get any more of it. So this is an investment of our time. I appreciate the fact that you guys are willing to invest your time here with me. Listen to me, talk, ask me questions, but I want to be mindful of making sure I'm, I'm over delivering value, leaving every exchange haven't given more than I received. Cause you know, that is a pillar of our purpose here. I'm seeing you guys spam that heart button. So I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Let's see what we got here. Shannon asked Shannon, M E I E R one one three six. Asks what do you think about the quakes advancing? So I'm just now fully aware in this moment that the quakes have advanced through the tournament. I think I general, I was generally aware that they had Beaton's they kind of pulled their way through and, and being the team to kind of advance in the tournament, which also ties to what I spoke about last night on the designated player podcast about culture investing in culture and the need for that to actually have an opportunity or a chance to build a team that could, that can win something.

Quincy Amarikwa (14:58):

And I think San Jose has been doing a good job of that. As of late, I think w since I've, since I've not been with the organization, so since I was traded to Montreal they eventually, so towards the end of the year, I was traded to Montreal. Then at the end of that year, who was the coach at the time? Oh man, was it, I forget lots of coaches, I forget. But my main point is they brought in Almeda. And from what I've seen over this last year and a half, I think he's halfway into his second year, right? He's been extremely focused on building culture and an identity around that organization. And I think that's something that's been massively needed. It doesn't mean that it's going to pan out and result in championships, but it will mean at the very least that there's going to be comradery.

Quincy Amarikwa (15:49):

There's going to be a brotherhood. There's gonna, there's going to be something that people want to, you know, metaphorically die for on the field. And when you can create something like that, you make it really difficult to to not put yourself in a great position, to, to win games and have an opportunity to win, win championships. Having said all that, I think the, the philosophy and style of play that I've made it has chosen is one that will be very difficult to, to execute on for the longterm in MLS, because of all the limitations of like travel and under normal, typical circumstances, right? If we're doing everything like this tournament style in the bubble, I think, I think his philosophy, the way he's approaching it is, is kind of ideal for it. But when you're, when you're talking about the situation of traveling across country and the, the, the, the vast degree of different environments that you're preparing for and everything that comes along with what is MLS that's a kind of different, different ballgame, but that's kinda what I'm thinking about so far right now GK underscore L O R E N Z O S.

Quincy Amarikwa (17:05):

Do you know where I can find anything, any training drills with just me and someone else? What do you know where I can find any training drills with just me and someone else? I'm not really understanding that question. Are you saying you need a place to have training drills for, for just you, and if that's what you're looking for, I'd say go to perfect soccer skills.com/login account that's perfect soccer skills.com/login account, create yourself a free perfect soccer team membership accounts. And you'll be able to get access to all of our one-on-one or individual training drills, as well as our B pro training program. And some other tools and resources if saying to work with someone else one-on-one depending on where you're at, I would say to apply for our B pro be pro by perfect soccer program, which you could [email protected] slash B E P R O that's perfect soccer skills.com/b E P R O Ryan RB, pro general manager.

Quincy Amarikwa (18:06):

We will receive your application and we'll figure out how best to help you get connected with a pro who can work with you one on one, but that's a, you know, that's a paid service. So be mindful of that when filling out the application play P L a Y a w a Y G L O B a L underscore said, looking forward to hearing it and would love to have you on our show too, as well. Well, it reach on out, send a, an email to contact and perfect soccer skills. I've come with your request, what you're looking to do, and we'll see what we can make happen. Honor's we're flying, we're flying through the questions here, guys. I'm loving this. This is great. Andrea is a N D R S F S F L O w asks, is it possible to make it to the MLS at age 23 with no, semi-pro do you want to experience, but an insane hunger to be a professional, absolutely obsessed to make it a reality and legit skills.

Quincy Amarikwa (19:06):

Now, Anders, I will never say that something is impossible, but I can tell you what you were saying is nearly impossible. So understanding that means you are putting you are up against you're up against massive odds to make that happen. It doesn't mean that it can't happen, but the amount of work, effort, energy, and strategic, the strategic nature for which you need to operate to make them happen is top, top level stuff, man. And if, if you're serious about it and you're committed to it, then let's see. So let's break it down. Like if, if I was 23, so let's look at it, knowing what I know now and what it takes to get to the MLS level and the higher levels in the experiences that I have and to be here, right? Knowing what I know now, if I could know all of that being 23, but knowing I have no con connections, no context, no, nothing, none of that.

Quincy Amarikwa (20:16):

Where would I start? I would start, I think I would start with, I would start with becoming like a, like a trainer or like a, an assistant trainer or water boy for the organization or team. Okay. So now we're getting now we're thinking about it. That's where I would start. I would start with that because if you don't have any previous experience playing in, in, you don't have a resume or track record, nobody is going to even give you an opportunity or chance to even like, you might be able to go to a paid tryout, but nobody's looking at anybody at Patriots. They're just looking at that as an opportunity to maybe make some revenue or money for the organization and create promo material and marketing material, to get more people, to come to future games and learn about tickets and stuff. That's just, that's a marketing tactic.

Quincy Amarikwa (21:08):

And, you know, people don't understand that or know that then here now, you know, okay. It doesn't mean it's not worth going to, because you can see where you stack up compared to competition and other people who want to be there. But the likelihood that you go to that and you get picked up is, is probably lower than the chance of you making it to the pro level. So with that understanding, and because I know that, and I understand that where I'm saying where I'd start out if I was 23 and I want to make it happen. And I was actually good enough to play, I would become like a, an athletic trainer or like an assistant, or try to get in with an organization and be water boy, whatever I would, I would wash clothes. I would make kits. I would get it coffee for the coaches.

Quincy Amarikwa (21:47):

I would do whatever I needed to do to be a part of the organization. And then through that, I would learn the philosophy of the team, the philosophy of the coach, how the organization ran and worked, that might take you a year or two all while training and doing additional things on my side on the side, on my own listening to the HASC the ASCA soccer pro show every Thursday you know, focusing on my MSL, doing my time management seat, reading the books doing individual training on my own, trying to play any, and every opportunity I possibly could. I would talk to the pros on the team if, if they were open and willing to have those conversations with me to learn as much as I could from them as quickly as possible, I would offer to train them for free.

Quincy Amarikwa (22:31):

And by that, I mean like, Hey, if they just want to show up and shoot after training in August shag balls for them, and that's what it takes, then that's where I start. And I would do that. And then maybe eventually they'd let me take some shots with them. Then maybe we could work together. You know what I'm saying? It's building relationships. This is the long slow grind I'm telling you guys what I would do. And more importantly, how I went about building my career, it was going about it like in this manner. And if it was necessary for me to do these things, this is what I would have done. And I've done even more in terms of just everything. And I'm sure I'll, I'll share more of those stories here in the future. And as you guys asked, but that's where I would start and that's how I'd go about.

Quincy Amarikwa (23:11):

And my plan would be like, hopefully in three to five years, I've developed enough of a name and people understand and know that I could hang that they would actually let me show up to the tryout with the team or go through preseason with the team to see if I could earn a contract that might take, you know, two, three, four, five years. So you're 23. Now, maybe by the time you're 28, you've earned the opportunity to come to preseason with that organization that you've been a part of. Now you have an actual opportunity and chance to sign a contract. Why? Because the team knows you, they know about you, you earned and got to a position in place where they're you, you've got this opportunity, the likelihood that they're going to be looking at you at that point in time is now there. And now if you perform and you're good enough, maybe then you can earn yourself a contract.

Quincy Amarikwa (24:00):

So that honors is how I'd go about doing it. If you're 23 with none of the connections that you're talking about, that is a great question. And I'm looking forward to when we clip this and share this, cause I think there's a lot of people who would want to know how to do that. And I think most would hear how much work it would take and realize that the likelihood that it all comes together perfectly is very low and not go about doing it. But there might be one of you out there who hears all that thinks about it, says, you know what, let me give that a try, let me do it because either five years is going to pass and it doesn't work pan out, which you know, could happen, or it does, which is amazing. But if it doesn't, if it doesn't, at least you're still a part of the organization and you've learned a lot from that experience and you can then join me on the ESSA soccer pro show here, maybe three or five years from now, let me know what that journey was like, what you learned and and what you got, right?

Speaker 1 (24:57):

What you got wrong. But that's a great question. I like that. And I'm seeing everybody's spamming that heart button, which is great. I've fallen. Wow. I've fallen so far behind all the questions and comments in the community, which is great. Thank you to everybody who's joining in K 23. Hampton said that's a great breakdown. Clap emojis. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Let's see. And I'm going to go through all the other stuff. Taya, Taya, dropping them in your head emojis. Let's see play a awake global asks. Oh, for, okay. He asked for, for what's stopping him from making a highlight reel. Well, actually, if you guys are in need and help of making highlight reels Connor what's Connor Connor said Lord of interns. I think his, he said he wanted his official title, the name to be. So that could be his his internal name, but we're coming up with Connor's official title within the perfect soccer organization. He is he has been an intern for the brand for, I think over a year now plus now, and has been doing some amazing work. He helps create highlight tapes and videos for you guys. So if you're interested in that, make sure you send an email to the account so we can connect you with Connor to get that taken care of on that side.

Quincy Amarikwa (26:23):

Let's see. This is a great guy. So I'm looking through trying to see Connor, Connor McCormick 42 said Quincy for president. Hey, you never know we're on that campaign trail. John Hollinger in 27 said great value and insight on your training routine. Quincy, thank you very much. I'm glad you guys are taking something from that. Conversely, Quincy is an MSL legend. That's right. We got it. We've got to teach you how to teach the people who want to learn. Matt, Matt dropped diamond. You had emojis. Let's see what we got here. Let's see what we got here.

Speaker 1 (27:10):

PO GBA junior, dropping them in your head. Emojis. Welcome. Welcome. I love that when you guys are dropping the emojis, I love seeing, I love when seeing when you guys are dropping the Ivan near and emojis on the MLS, the MLS posts and players posts just everywhere on the internet. I'll be looking at random stuff and I'll see you guys dropping that and loving it. Let's see what we got, man. Lots of people are joining in, which is great to see. Okay. At Oscar O S C a R R R M E J I a asked what's the mental aspect of dealing with not constantly playing or being in the starting 11.

Quincy Amarikwa (27:58):

Okay. Well, as you can see that pin there below courtesy of Joe Jackson, 11, a perfect cyber skills.com/sss would be what I would prescribe for you to make sure you immediately go and listen to after today's episode. Not only do I prescribe that you go do that being your soccer doctor, right. I also recommend that you take notes while listening to that and use those notes to come up with your plan for what you want to accomplish for yourself here, moving forward. And this is the same advice that I gave. I'm a fellow community member who sent an email into the account earlier today. And the reason for that is because of this, right? What we talked about here is how to build a, a, a mentality that allows you to learn how to learn and critically think for yourself. Okay. And, and doing so with the MSL mentality and, and leveraging the three S's of self awareness, which is self honesty, self initiative.

Quincy Amarikwa (29:03):

Self-Accountability, we're able to remove ourselves from our current situation. So we can try to create a plan based on looking at it as objectively as possible. And I think the thing that most people get wrong, and the problems that they run into is they allow their emotions to dictate their decisions, which means they get in their own way. And because of their emotions, they're not able to see how their emotions are preventing them from accomplishing what they want for themselves. And what the three S's of self awareness does is it allows you to have a process of thinking to remove yourself from your emotions so that you can think clearly to come up with a plan to overcome them. So there's nothing wrong with emotions and being emotional and having emotions. Those are, those are good things, and you want to utilize them and you want to leverage them to your benefit, but just as, just as they can be a very good thing and beneficial, they can also be very bad in the sense of they could prevent you from accomplishing the goals that you want for yourself.

Quincy Amarikwa (30:04):

So for instance, like being scared is an emotion, right? Like emotionally you're, you're fearful. And that can be a good thing because I'm scared of this lion. That's coming that the lion over here, I know to avoid the lion because the lion is going to get me. It's gonna, it's gonna eat me. That's good. Fear is good. You want to have that emotional response, but fear is bad. When I need to talk to this person, I need to go talk to my coach so I can learn better how to be, to, to be a better player. And if that fear prevents me from engaging in having that conversation will not that that fear is bad because it's preventing us from accomplishing our ultimate goal of talking to the coaches and necessary to learn what we need to so we can do the work to get better.

Quincy Amarikwa (30:49):

Well, it's bad in relation to accomplishing our goal, right? So what we talk about here and what we're really breaking down is how good and bad is subjective. Two people can look at the same thing and come to two completely different conclusions. And that's what we want to acknowledge. And that's what we do acknowledge here with the MSL mentality in how we critically think about the problem, the problems, the temporary obstacles that we're facing. Okay. And I really go in depth into that. And I keep referring back to the the designated player podcast that I just had last night. Cause we really broke that down. That was like a three hour conversation, really getting into the weeds of that subjectivity art versus robotics versus good versus bad, how that plays out, how you have to use your emotions as a, as an indicator for an opportunity and time to think for yourself.

Quincy Amarikwa (31:45):

So once you start feeling the emotion that's should be a trigger for you to go like, okay, let's think, why do I feel fear right now? Why do I feel anxiety? Let's break this down. I feel anxiety because I'm scared that I'm going to be embarrassed by taking a chance or taking a risk. Or I fear that people are going to ridicule me or criticize me for making a mistake. Right? That's those are, those are fears. Those are real. And you feel them, but usually because you feel them that prevents you from taking action. And because it's preventing you from taking action, you're taking an action, which is inaction. Okay. And, and when, when you get into a place where emotions are dictating your actions, or more importantly, your inaction, you are now controlled by your emotions. And that's when you can't see beyond yourself.

Quincy Amarikwa (32:43):

And that's what we're trying to do our best to talk through and convey to the group and audience so that we can think ourselves out of the, the world we've created for ourselves or the world, someone before us created for us, right. You might not be responsible for where you are now, but you were responsible for where you ended up. Right? and that's the mentality. That's the mindset. And that's what the three S's of self awareness helps build a foundation, a foundation for, as these are good questions, I'm feeling dialed in. What are you guys thinking? What are you guys thinking? Let me know, spam that heart button. If you're, if you're picking up what I'm putting down, give me a little bit of feedback from that, that little that MSL wave that we just went on. Riding that wave Taya said the three S's are self honesty, self initiative and self accountability.

Quincy Amarikwa (33:41):

That's what I'm talking about. Taya. You know what it is? GK Lorenzo said self accountability. What's your, okay. What's your favorite PEs of the three S's of self awareness. That would be great. Joe Jackson said stuff, honestly. Self initiative, self accountability. I loved that. Yeah. GK Lorenzo said self accountability Oh, self that said self responsibility, self self accountability, or sorry. Self-Initiative self accountability. Oh, now you've now you guys are messing me up. Cause you said response responsibility, self honesty, selfish, self self initiative, self accountability. I like that. Yo GK, Lorenzo. You got my head there for a minute, bro. Hey, look at that. The community is getting dialed in. Man, that's that's awesome. Let's see. Let's see what we got here. Loving, loving the comments. Section 11, the community, man. Let's see what we got here. Let's see.

Quincy Amarikwa (34:51):

PO GBA junior said underscore PO GBA. Junior said this is amazing. Seeing that I'm planning to try out for a team and I would go on YouTube and watch videos and I'm still planning on going on the perfect soccer website to see what it's all about later. There you go. Okay. Awesome. I think if you go to the link below three S's of self awareness, you can watch that. And in the comment section, there's a link to creating yourself your, your account so you can get access to all the other books, tools, and resources. Okay. So at L U M a C Y soccer asked, what about irrational fears? Like what if I pee myself on the field? Okay. Rational versus irrational fear. So let's use the, what if I pee myself on the fear on the field? Here's the thing you could pee on yourself on the field. So when you're, so when we're talking about rational versus irrational, and when we're saying subjective versus, you know, actual versus subjective, okay. Is it an irrational fear to think about if you're going to pee on yourself on the field, maybe not, maybe you have a bladder issue or problem, and you might literally pee on yourself on the field. So to be scared or mindful of that, would you say that's irrational? I wouldn't say that that's irrational, but within the context of the question, let's, let's kind of drill into that.

Quincy Amarikwa (36:14):

So either

Quincy Amarikwa (36:16):

We believe it's an irrational fear or it could be, how do we overcome that? Well, the best way in my mind, the way that I think about it and how I overcome, what I, or I try to turn things into irrational fears. So I go, okay, I could very well pee on myself on the field is being scared about peeing on myself, on the field. Helpful to me. Does it help me be a better player? Does it help me be dialed in? Does it help me take better touches, make better decisions. Some players play better in a fearful state. So you might see this word, get back to self awareness. You might be a player who knows how to harness fear to perform better on the field. And if that's the case, maybe being scared of peeing on yourself helps you. Right. It could be a good thing.

Quincy Amarikwa (37:05):

Now, if you're talking about, I'm constantly thinking about, I might pee on myself on the field and that is making me be a bad player because I'm not focused on my positioning, my, my understanding of the game. Like I'm making bad decisions because I'm too focused on this irrational fear of peeing on myself. Then I have the visual or I have the visualization exercise of thinking like, okay, why is the thought of ping on myself? So scary. Why am I scared of peeing on myself? What do I think could happen? What do I, what's the worst thing that can happen. And then I think about so this would be negative visualization. What's the worst possible outcome? Oh, IPN myself, everyone sees they point and laugh at me. They call me P P boy for the next year. They call me P people away and everyone in school always Snickers and laughs and calls me PV boy.

Quincy Amarikwa (38:01):

Okay. So, and then they kicked me out of school. Cause the pee on myself, like this is what I'm saying. So this is what I'm saying. They're going to kick you out of school. Cause he peed on yourself. Probably not. So that would be the point where the fear is now irrational. Okay. So you guys can understand where I'm going with this. Okay. So they're probably not going to kick you out of school because of it. But everyone in the school could very well make fun of you for being P P boy and peeing on yourself on the field. And then this is the point where I go. This is the MSL mentality is going like what's so bad about that. Well, I'll feel embarrassed. People will laugh at me and they'll do this. And I go, okay, what's the MSL mentality. What's the MSL mindset.

Quincy Amarikwa (38:41):

We take negativity. And we use that to propel ourselves and push ourselves forward. And I think about it and I go, well, if I pee on myself and everyone calls me PP boy, everybody knows me for being pee people way. Right? And now that's my superpower. I come to school the next day with PB boy on my chest. I'll wear a hat that says PB boy, every time someone goes, ah, ha you're PB. Boy. I go, yeah, PB boy, come over to [inaudible] dot com and buy my path, learn how to play soccer, right? Learn from me. And then eventually you take the power of them to make fun of you away. It's not fun to make fun of you anymore because you like it. You enjoy it. This is great. And this is in alignment with all the people who show up and maybe talk crap about the MSL and me and all that kind of, they're helping us, everybody.

Quincy Amarikwa (39:31):

They are helping you. They're helping you. If you embrace it. If you realize that is your superpower, their negativity is their attention is their time. It's their focus on you. And if you allow that to turn into insecurity, negativity, and self doubt, you won't reach your goals. Your goals will always be out of reach. Okay? But put, put that negativity in alignment with your goals and let it propel you forward. And then to the point, I'm not going to say, Hey, go out there on the soccer field and PP on yourself. Right. But don't be afraid of that happening. And if you are afraid of it happening for me, I'll just tell you what I would do. I would just go on the field, not pee on myself, just so I can get it out of my system. Hey, this scares me. You know what I need to be in myself.

Quincy Amarikwa (40:18):

And this time, this ties to what I was talking about earlier in the call with how I build my, my off my training when I'm in my free agency and between teams, the days in which I feel like I don't want to touch the ball. And I have a good reason, an excuse not to touch the ball cause I've been working hard and things are going good. Those are the days I forced. I go straight out there and I touched the ball more than I want to invite more. I texted ball more than I normally would because I'm not going to allow myself to self sabotage, to sabotage myself from reaching my goals and maintaining my goals because we're here to not only reach our goals, but we want to maintain our goals. We want to, we want to maintain our level and then we want to get better.

Quincy Amarikwa (41:01):

We want to keep moving forward. We want to keep making progress for as long as we want to for ourselves. That's what we're doing. And I'm sharing with you guys. What I would do, how I look at it, what the MSL mentality and mindset is. And if, if I had an irrational fear of peeing on myself and it was preventing me from being better on the field and I couldn't focus and I couldn't do those things, what I would do is I pee on myself so I could get it over with and take care of it. And the next day I'd have a shirt that says PP boy. And I would let everybody brand me as such. And I just deal with that until people got bored of bored of it, that's what I would do. And I hope that through these conversations and the things that we're talking about, cause sometimes they're just ridiculous and they're funny and they don't make sense, but, but that's the mentality you want to accomplish something of, of meaning that's of importance that will create real change, lasting change.

Quincy Amarikwa (41:58):

You're gonna make people angry or you at very least, people are gonna make fun of you or ridicule you all along the way and eventually you'll get there. And when you do, they'll say that they supported you all along the way and they always knew you could make it. And when they, when that happens, that's a whole new experience that will, we can discuss at a later time of how you deal with that and what goes along with that. But I very much appreciate our community and the question you guys send in because it gives me an opportunity to share my experience share my thinking. And I love, I love hearing the feedback of when things are helpful for you. And equally as much when I hear that I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm full of crap. So you guys are helping me be better every day.

Quincy Amarikwa (42:45):

So I appreciate that. Let's see. And we've got about 20 more minutes before the live is a complete. So if you've got any questions, make sure you guys are dropping them here below while I make my way through everything else. I think we are making great time and flying through these questions. I'm loving the engagement today. It seems like everybody has been, has come back refresh and ready to go. Joe Jackson had said, I've definitely had experience with letting emotions control decisions in an inside and outside of soccer. So being able to take emotions out of decision making is very beneficial. There we go. I'm loving that. John Hollinger had said love that being objective and doing an autopsy on your emotions. I like that. Yeah. An autopsy of your emotions. That's good. Let's see. Yeah, but Lucy, that was a good question. I liked that one. I feel K twenty-three Hampton and said, I feel having experience outside of my college career will put me in a better position to play at the next level after college, after college. I believe if you were looking at it that way and you're approaching it as a means to learn something new to better develop your strategy and plan for the future. The answer to that is yes, absolutely.

Quincy Amarikwa (44:28):

Andrew said again, thank you for the insight late for me on the East coast. I'll try to tune in next week. Thank you very much for joining by stopping by. I appreciate that. Let's see Joe Jackson's said my club has passed me up the last few years for moving up while people who I have outperformed have gone up. So I'm getting a trial with the club that's playing at the same level as the higher team. Okay. I think you're starting to have conversations with people in the in the comments section, which is great. Everyone should everyone here should be listening to these gyms. Thank you very much. John Hallinger had asked what about playing in lower divisions first, get video and perform and then move up. Okay. That's what I'm saying. Now I'm loving this. You guys are having conversations in the, in the comment section which is what I always love seeing.

Quincy Amarikwa (45:17):

And sometimes I'm, I'm reading them cause I'm thinking their question, but you guys are figuring stuff out amongst the group, which is, which is perfect, which makes me, which reminds me I'd encourage everybody to go and join the private Facebook group. You get access to that once you create a perfect soccer team membership. So we can continue the conversation over there. John, I think you're in the group, Joe. I also believe I could be wrong. I think you were over there, but this will be great for you guys to continue the conversation beyond the Instagram live chat. And also if you guys have the conversations over in the Facebook group, I'm able to keep up to date or at least chime in and see what's going on. And I also know that we're, we're working to get some people who are wanting to be administrators and interns for the brand.

Quincy Amarikwa (46:06):

I apologize if you know, if you're, you're someone who's, who's who I've even told will come on as an intern or as an not as an ambassador, but a moderator or helping with the community. We are working as fast as we can to get all the systems and processes in place. It's, it's ending up being a lot more work than we were originally thinking. And with all the stuff that I've been focused on with black players for change these last several weeks with negotiations and organizational structure and SLPs and stuff. My focus has been very like the bandwidth has been very much diluted. So I apologize. We are working to get that resolved as quickly as possible, but I still would like to encourage people to head over to the private Facebook group. I proceeded the understood. I appreciate the answers. Quincy, thank you for your time and perspective. Of course. Thank you for stopping by and asking your question.

Quincy Amarikwa (47:11):

Let's see. Let's see, let's see lots of engagements tonight, guys. I love, I love that kind of about 10, 13 minutes here left you F O K I G six one four asks tips to become a soccer pro. I don't think I've seen you during the community here before. Welcome to the community. And if you want tips on how to become a pro, I suggest you had two perfect soccer skills.com/log in account. Perfect soccer skills.com/log in account. Create yourself a perfect soccer team membership account, read our books for free, go through our webinar trainings and read our articles and listen to our podcasts. Cause they teach you and show you exactly how to become a pro. And let's see,

Quincy Amarikwa (48:04):

Got calling in here. So let's, let's get him in here and seeing what's what's going on on his side,

Dylan (48:13):

Quincy,

Quincy Amarikwa (48:14):

What's going on, brother? How you doing?

Dylan (48:16):

I'm just playing FIFA right now. Work on the team for you guys.

Quincy Amarikwa (48:20):

Ooh, I love that helps. So how far, how far are we from going live on the gamer on the perfect soccer gamer account?

Dylan (48:29):

Um I just got to do that a review video for you guys. And then I got to send that in and then I just need a good password and stuff, but like everything like on the gaming side set up.

Quincy Amarikwa (48:44):

Awesome. I'm loving that. So what are you, what are you most excited about here moving forward?

Dylan (48:49):

Um probably just honestly like the weekend tournaments so far for you guys, that's going to be 46. I already qualified for it. That was all, all done and stuff.

Quincy Amarikwa (49:04):

Nice. I'm loving that if everybody's seeing no context, Dylan is the second official gamer of the perfect soccer game or division. He's helping us get everything set up for what was the ultimate team is the focus, right? Yeah. So while I know many of you guys were joining in for the season, goes on with Earl Edwards jr. While he's been at the game, Melissa's back tournament as well as organizing for the blacklist for change that has been on pause. But Dylan has been here helping to get stuff set up so we can start doing this more regularly here, moving forward. So I'm excited for getting that launched. Let's see. Yeah, no, no else that fix your hair.

Dylan (49:50):

My friend, Roy. Yeah. Nice.

Quincy Amarikwa (49:56):

Let's see. So I'm seeing everybody else on here, so, all right. Well you want to let everybody know what before you're getting up, live on the account where you, where you streaming right now, or are you streaming as of now?

Dylan (50:10):

Um sometimes I stream on my tech talk when I have time and like I post like update videos on like the ultimate team that we got, like flip the camera for you guys. So I, I got all this going on for us and stuff. It's a bunch of decent players, so it should be pretty good entertaining, I think.

Quincy Amarikwa (50:32):

Nice. No, I love that. So what can our community do to support or what, what, what do they need to be doing before you start going live here?

Dylan (50:47):

I think you can just go ahead and if you're like interested in it just, you can go ahead over to my Tik Tok cause I like posts, like update videos on it. I'm probably gonna post a few like just like highlights from games I've done so far and stuff like that. And then probably just promoted more so like more of my followers. See it, and then they go over to the channel and watch.

Quincy Amarikwa (51:10):

Awesome. So you want to let everybody know Were to follow you on ticktock so that we can make sure everybody's staying up to date on all your highlight videos and joining it on the streams.

Dylan (51:20):

Sure. It's just no context Dylan on tape.

Quincy Amarikwa (51:25):

So no context dot Dylan on tic talk guys, make sure you go and follow him. He's a official perfect soccer gamer. Paul Paul PG sports just dropped in given the, the, the jesus' hand emojis and the 100, cause he's looking forward to watching stuff here soon. Dylan, thanks for dropping by bro. I appreciate it. We've got I think five more minutes here. So we'll answer a couple more questions before we wrap up today's show, but I'm looking forward to getting everything launched. You're live with you soon, man,

Dylan (51:56):

For sure. For sure.

Quincy Amarikwa (51:57):

Awesome brother, I'll speak to you soon.

Quincy Amarikwa (52:03):

Thanks for dropping by Dylan. And as we said, make sure you guys go follow a Dylan over on ticktock. He's doing some, some funny and fun soccer, soccer content over there on tick talk. We're excited to have him on with the brand and helping us get the ultimate team going. Let's see you make it any recommendations for incoming freshmen joining a college program. Okay. Ruby underscore R U B Z 11, as any recommendations for an incoming freshmen joining a college program and you guys are gonna hear me say the same things over and over and over again because the truth is true, whether you believe it or not, but head of perfect cyber skills.com/login account that is log in account, create yourself a perfect soccer team membership account. And I would recommend that you go and read the ultimate college soccer recruiting blueprint.

Quincy Amarikwa (53:06):

I think that will be massively helpful for you, especially if you're going to be joining a college program here. As soon as a freshmen, understand the process, start to finish what it looks like, how what you could have been doing to better help yourself leading into it. And then I think what would also be good is listening to some of the college the in depth with Ross episodes that Ross shot talking about his college experience at UVA, being a captain for the team, winning the NCAA championship back in his day. I think many of those lessons in that the insight and perspective would be very helpful and beneficial to to someone who's going to be joining their college program here.

Quincy Amarikwa (53:51):

Let's see John Hollinger 27 asks, what sorts of things do you do to help your teammates who may appear to be mentally off? So so I, I think most players now understand me to be a mental strength coach because they've been seeing what I've been doing for a while a while now, like officially as a mental strength coach, I think I've been one or not. I think I know I've been one for a lot longer than, you know, recently being an official mental strength coach. I was an unofficial mental strength coach and I, and I say I was unofficial because I would notice obviously every single player at different points in time in their career has difficulties that they're going through. And the, the mental side of the game is something that they have to figure out. And I've been always open to having conversations and dialogue with teammates who are willing to engage with me.

Quincy Amarikwa (54:55):

So not all teammates are willing to engage, but many, many, many of them have been. And because of that, I've had a lot of conversations with players to better understand where they're coming from better understand where I'm lacking or I'm not, I haven't done enough or worked hard enough or and providing enough value or communicating in a manner that guys can understand. So I think the simplest way to answer that question directly is just having an open door policy, basically just open line of communication. I think I, I hope most people understand that by sharing with me in this environment, it's a, it's a no judgment zone in the sense of there's a reason you've come to the conclusion you have. There's a reason you believe the things you do. And there's a reason you believe you're right in the way that you're thinking it doesn't mean you are right.

Quincy Amarikwa (55:51):

And it doesn't mean you're wrong. But at least at the very least, I believe I can be open and willing to hear where you're coming from to the best of my ability and ask questions so I can understand I think approaching it that way for the duration and time at which I've I've done, that has allowed me the ability to gain enough experience and understanding and perspective to, to to be able to become an official mental strength coach. Right? And I think many of the players who I talked to and I've worked with who are willing to publicly share that they've worked with me and the things that they've learned from the mentality, the mindset and our personal conversations, I'm very grateful for. And I'm glad that more players are willing to share. If when and how they've worked with me and you know, the players who maybe have spoken with me or have insights and talks about that, that, that side of the game who aren't at that point or level to wanting to share that that's cool as well too.

Quincy Amarikwa (56:57):

So I think the main thing on the mentality side, when you're wanting to help your teammates is not doing it for your, for any reason, other than your fiduciary responsibility to your teammate, which is to help them, help them, help themselves through whatever it is that they're going through. To the extent they're willing to accept your help and not doing it for any other reason, other than that. And I think if you, if you approach it that way over the longterm, good things will happen in the short term, you'll be taken advantage of things. Won't go your way. Things won't look the way that you would like them to look. But if you're doing it with the intentions that you're saying, which is for the betterment of your teammate, sometimes it will be at your expense. And that's what it costs to be the boss, right? And we're here talking about teamwork, dreamwork building bottom up, we're only as strong or as fast as our weakest link slowest player, most lowest IQ, whatever that is. If someone on your team has a low IQ, you have a low IQ and you guys can't move any faster than the lowest IQ. If someone on your team is really slow and you guys want to go fast, well, you can't go any faster than your slowest guy or girl.

Quincy Amarikwa (58:15):

And it might take you longer to get there, but we're talking about building culture. That'll last generations. So we've got a minute here left before Instagram officially kicks me off. If you guys enjoyed today's episode, please spam that heart button drops in Miami and your head emojis. Let me know what you're thinking. Total soccer training 2011 said, well said gave me some thumbs up fist bumps. Okay. Symbols and a soccer ball. Total soccer. I see that you're dropping in your question, but I've got a minute left. So please join in next week. I'll make sure to be on the lookout and answer your questions specifically. But yeah, guys got a minute left here. I want to thank everybody for joining in on episode 80 of the hashtag asset soccer per show. I would encourage everybody to have it over to the site to check out the perfect soccer bundle.

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jamesbyerj · 5 years

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Prime time with PrimeSonic

Today's guest in our Mod Author interview series is [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1733280]PrimeSonic[/url] - creator of a number of super useful feature mods for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica]Subnautica[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnauticabelowzero]Subnautica: Below Zero[/url]. [b]We'll start as we always do. For those who don't know you, can you tell us a bit about yourself? [/b] Hi there. I'm PrimeSonic and I've been using this name on the internet since the very early 2000s, back when "Web 2.0" was still in its infancy. I've been a modder on Nexus for just over a year now, although I joined long ago as simply a gamer looking for mods. My day job is in business software, which isn't remotely as sexy as video games, but it pays well and still scratches that "problem-solving itch" more often than not. I've been working as a professional software developer for about ten years now and I took my first steps into computer programming almost ten years before that. I'm a PC hardware enthusiast and you could call me a gamer in that games have always been an will be an important part of my life. And since we're here to talk about my Subnautica mods, remember that all my mods are open source and publicly available on [url=https://github.com/PrimeSonic/PrimeSonicSubnauticaMods]GitHub[/url]. [b]Given your handle - PrimeSonic - you must be a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. Which game would you say is the best in the franchise? [/b] The best Modern Sonic experience is still [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/71340/Sonic_Generations_Collection/]Sonic Generations[/url] (Get it on PC for mods). The best Classic Sonic experience is still somewhere between [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/Sonic_Mania/]Mania[/url] or the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=674578957]Sonic 3 & Knuckles Complete romhack[/url]. [b]How do you feel about the upcoming Sonic movie? [/b] As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't exist. [center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1565179483-1500290244.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1565180021-479003350.jpeg[/img][/center] [b]Could you tell us a little about your gaming history? [/b] My earliest gaming happened on an NES at the babysitter's and whatever demos I could get on our 486 machine downloaded off AOL Kids. I've been a SEGA diehard since the early 90s but Nintendo has certainly had a special place in my heart too. To list off the consoles I've personally owned myself: Genesis, Game Gear, Gameboy Color, Dreamcast, DS, Gamecube, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, Switch. But no matter what the generation of console, I always had games on my PC. My fond gaming memories are plentiful. I could probably play Sonic 3 & Knuckles in my sleep after all the time I devoted to it. Even after years of exploring the world of Arcanum, I still managed to keep on discovering new things, long after I thought I knew the game in and out. I remember eagerly jumping on Sonic Generations when it released, rushing to buy a new and better graphics card so I could actually play it. I did a couple of tours of WoW with good friends back in the day. In the future, I will get to fondly remember FF14 as the MMO I played side by side with my wife. [b]All of the mods you've shared with our community are from the Subnautica series. What was it about these games that inspired you to start modding them? [/b] It was one of those "right place, right time" things. One of my favourite YouTube gamers ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/videos/660]MegaGWolf[/url]) was doing a Subnautica series and I was really liking what I was seeing. Once the game came out of Early Access and I tried it for myself, I was absolutely hooked for weeks following. There were a respectable number of mods out at the time and used a fair number of them from the get-go. But it was the moment that I looked at some of the open-source mod code for myself that everything clicked. This was C#. I knew I could do this. Heck, I do stuff like this for a living. All at once I felt the rush of being able to apply my coding skills to something I was truly passionate about for the first time. [b]Your newer mods include a suite of upgrades for the Cyclops Submarine. Could you talk us through some of them?[/b] Yeah. Once I saw how big [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/101]MoreCyclopsUpgrades[/url] was getting, and just how much code reuse there was, I knew it was time to break it up and let people pick and choose the parts they want. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/273]CyclopsSolarUpgrades[/url] - It's finally its own mod again! This is somewhat of a spiritual successor to one of my earliest (and long deleted) mods: CyclopsSolarCharger. This mod adds an upgrade module for the Cyclops that works just like the Seamoth Solar Charger. Unlike the one on the Seamoth, you can add multiple copies of this upgrade module for added effect. Later on, it can be upgraded to a better version, just to give you something to work towards as you get into the later game. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/277]CyclopsBioReactor[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/274]CyclopsNuclearUpgrades[/url] - I put these mods together as they were developed in collaboration with the guys of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/users/66012691]FCStudios[/url]. I don't have any 3D modelling skill or experience. Heck, I can barely make any 2D sprites as it is. But these guys made such awesome work on their own I just knew we would be able to bring our skills together to make something awesome. In both cases, the mods add a new type of reactor that you can build in the Cyclops: a smaller Bioreactor and a smaller Nuclear Reactor. Both will feed power into the Cyclops similar to how those reactors would work in a base. The extra cool thing is that these mods were designed to give players more late-game stuff to work towards. Each one of these mods also includes new upgrade modules that can be equipped to the Cyclops that will enhance all of the bio/nuclear reactors on board at once! [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/276]CyclopsAutoZapper[/url] - The newest entry (and with updates to come in the future). This mod adds a new upgrade module that taps directly into a docked Seamoth's Electrical Defense System, overcharging it to fend off would-be aggressors. The cool thing is that it's completely automatic. If the Cyclops is under attack, it will engage. It's not really a mod I'd recommend for a player's first play-through, but for Subnautica veterans looking for a new tool to defend the Cyclops, this can make for a fun addition. There's plenty more, so check out the Requirements tab and see just how many mods were improved, or entirely made possible, by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/101]MoreCyclopsUpgrades[/url]. [center] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/News/14088_tile_1565186843.jpg[/img][/center] [b]If you had to say which one of your mods you are most proud of, which would it be and why? [/b] That honour probably had to go to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/114]CustomCraft2[/url]. Not just because of how feature-rich it became over time or for how it opened up the door to many non-coders to make some of their own Subnautica Mods. No, the main reason I'm proud of it is because that was where I put my brain to the test and created my own C# serialization language from scratch, complete with its own parser. I rarely get the chance to write code that complex, so to see it come together and prove to myself just what I was capable of was sheer joy. I'm just amazed that I was able to wrap my head around the problem in the first place considering that I had never done anything quite like that before. [b]When you play Subnautica, which difficulty setting do you prefer? [/b][b]I've always played on Survival but never actually finished the story. [/b] You really should complete the story at least once. It really does bring everything to a close. As for me, I very much enjoyed my first play-through on Freedom mode, since I was new to the whole survival genre of games and I really didn't want to stress myself over it. But on my second play-through, I understood just how rewarding it can be to play in Survival mode. There was a real sense of progression between having to catch my every meal in the early game to having a replenishing stockpile of food ready to feast on at any given time. These days, when I actually play the game, I spend more time in Creative mode just enjoying the scenery or tinkering with a new base idea. [b]What are your top 3 essential Subnautica mods? [/b] There's so many to pick from and I use so many myself, but if I had to pick just three that all players of all play style preferences should have: [list] [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/24]EasyCraft[/url] - Makes crafting fun again by taking away the tedium. Once you've used EasyCraft, you won't want to go back. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/12]SubnauticaMap[/url] - A well-balanced map feature that feels like a feature that could have been there all along. With the fog of war enabled, I feel it perfectly complements the game's exploration loop. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/207]Radial Tabs[/url] - Fixes the crafting trees so you don't have to worry about having too many crafting nodes. With how many crafting related mods there are, this mod here will guarantee that you never have to worry about crafting icons going off-screen. [/list] [b]What tools do you use when creating mods for Subnautica? [/b] It's important to remember that Subnautica wasn't created with a modding framework. So all the mods you see are, more or less, forms of code injection. Mods are made by adding to or replacing the original game code with the mod's code at runtime. As for the tools to make this happen, I'll list the 2 most important ones. [url=https://github.com/0xd4d/dnSpy/]dnSpy[/url] - Because Subnautica is developed in Unity, and Unity is developed in .NET, the DLL files themselves actually contain a surprising amount of meta-data, rather than just being binary blobs. On that note, dnSpy is a crucially important piece of software because what it does is read all that byte code and metadata and reassemble something that looks very close to the original source code. Sure, it's not a perfect recreation in that you lose some of the syntactic sugar, but it's enough for modders to be able to peek into the game's original code and see what we can do with it. [url=https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/]Visual Studio[/url] - Looking at the original game code isn't very useful if you can't also write your own and for writing C# code, Microsoft's own Visual Studio arguably sets the bar for what all development tools should offer. I've been using the various versions of Visual Studio in my professional work since the old 2010 edition. It's still a fantastic development environment and, best of all for young coders, it can be free! I may use an Enterprise version of Visual Studio at work, but at home, the Community edition offers everything I could need. Beyond these tools, everything else is in software libraries that make some aspects of modding Subnautica easier, or just outright possible in the first place. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/152]You can find more details on all this in oldark1's Modding Tutorial[/url]. [b]If a modder wanted to get started making their own Subnautica mods, what advice would you give them?[/b] Make sure you're comfortable working with C#, with object-oriented programming, and be ready to learn a few things about Unity along the way. I would also say that creating mods for Subnautica can arguably be harder than it was to write some parts of the game in the first place. Remember, we are injecting and replacing code here. There are no files to play around with. No text to tweak. The game doesn't officially support modding. The only modding framework that exists was created by the modding community. So be prepared to dive into some real challenges. You'll be faced with not just expressing your own ideas in your code but also with figuring out how to make them work around someone else's code. But if you're ready to do all that, there is quite literally no limit to what you could do. [center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1565255441-1080745880.jpeg[/img][/center] [b]Have you ever thought about making mods for other games?[/b] At this point, I know I could dive into modding any Unity-based game. Knowing what I know now, a lot more games just became "mod supported" for me, whether they were intended to be or not. But for right now, I still have Subnautica mods I want to create and others I want to improve. With the limited free time I have to do all that, it may be a while before I dive into modding for another game. It's certainly possible, but likely won't happen for a while. [b]As a Mod Author do you check out other Mod Authors to either compare or learn from?[/b] Absolutely and all the time. I wouldn't have started making any mods in the first place if it hadn't been for the modders who came before me. Their open-source code was an invaluable resource in getting me started. Even today, I'm always checking out what other modders are making. Maybe they've come up with a creative solution to a problem I never thought about or maybe they know Unity well enough to be able to do more with it. Heck, some of the best mods I'm attributed to came from direct collaboration with other modders who shared their skills. Some mods of mine, in part or in whole, simply wouldn't have been possible without the tips and insights I got from other modders in the community. [b]Are there any Mod Authors that you look up to or who inspire you? [/b] In the interest of time, I will pick one: The legendary [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/9322077]RandyKnapp[/url]. This was the guy whose works got me into modding in the first place and whose large collection of high-quality mods made me want to make more of them. [b]To wrap things up, is there anything else you'd like to say to the community?[/b] Never let anyone tell you that you're playing the game wrong. Whether you use one mod over another or none at all, whatever makes the game most enjoyable to you is how you should be playing it. [line] A big thank you to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1733280]PrimeSonic[/url] for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url]. Published first at Prime time with PrimeSonic

#Video Games #PC Gaming

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syncogon · 6 years

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summary: During the entirety of Ye Qiu's eight-and-a-half season Glory career, as far as the general public knows, One Autumn Leaf's user is male. A select few, however, she trusts enough to reveal the truth. (fem!Ye Xiu)

(( i finally (well, like a week ago) got an ao3! so here’s a shameless plug of a little one-shot I wrote and posted. there’s some other stuff too (and i’ll be posting/compiling my old things there too) so feel free to check it out!))

((since it’s not TOO long, i’ll put the full text on tumblr as well. please read/comment/enjoy!))

Ye Xiu is fifteen years old when she runs away from home. With hardly a semblance of a plan in mind, she carries her twin’s identity and belongings and she wanders until stumbling upon a certain internet café. She has limited money, but she pays for some time on a vacant computer and slides into the seat.

There’s a boy sitting nearby, about her age, laughing as he handily defeats challenger after challenger, money trading hands. Ye Xiu recognizes the game, of course, it’s one of many she’s played. And so when no one else seems quite so eager to take a turn, she speaks up.

“Hey, I’ll play you,” she says. The boy gives her a once over. His previous challengers had been of varying ages, but, notably, were all male. Still, if he’s surprised to see a young girl so boldly want to fight, he doesn’t show it.

“Sure,” he says with an easy and friendly grin. “You’re new here, so we’ll keep money out of this. But I won’t go easy on you!”

To that, Ye Xiu only smirks.

The boy is skilled, for sure. The match drags on, and there are several moments where Ye Xiu very nearly loses. But, ultimately, she executes a clever move that earns her the victory.

“Damnit!” she hears him yell. And then, a second later, “That was amazing! Rematch?”

“You’re on.”

Slowly, a crowd of internet café patrons gathers around them to watch. It seems that this boy – named Su Muqiu, as she eventually learns – is quite well-known around this crowd for his skill, and they’re excited to see him meet someone who can match him. There are some murmurs of surprise that his opponent is a girl, but Ye Xiu forces herself to ignore them.

Eventually, Su Muqiu declares that they should take a break.

“What, tired of losing?” she teases him, but she’s almost out of time on the computer anyway, and so stands up and logs off.

“You wish,” Su Muqiu snorts. “We’re settling this later. Mucheng, come on, let’s eat over there.”

The little girl whom Ye Xiu noticed earlier scurries forward, holding a bag that she offers to the boy. Siblings, judging by their appearances, and Ye Xiu feels a brief pang of regret at abandoning her twin. She furiously squashes the feeling. She would go back, eventually.

Su Muqiu takes several steps before pausing to find Ye Xiu still standing there next to the computers. “Well? Are you coming?” he asks, and Ye Xiu hurries over to join them, her new family.

********

“Glory supports female avatars,” says Su Muqiu one day, peering over at his friend’s screen curiously. “Why’re you still sticking to male?”

Ye Xiu gives Su Muqiu a look. “Do you have any idea what it’s like, being a so-called ‘girl gamer’?” she says flatly.

“…No?”

“It sucks.”

Su Muqiu waits for her to say more, but when she merely continues to maneuver the game in silence, he prompts, “In what way?”

“Well,” she begins, still staring intently at her screen, “it’s not 'proper' for girls to be interested in gaming, for one. So a lot of guys will be condescending and won’t take me seriously, even if I could beat them up in ten seconds, because apparently there’s no such thing as a girl that’s good at gaming.

“Any sexist joke you’ve heard of, kitchens, sandwiches, anything, I can guarantee someone’s made it to me. And I’ve had my fair share of disgusting comments and come-ons and general harassment as well. I’ve been lucky enough not to get in any physical danger, but I’ve heard plenty of stories about that too.

“Anyway, when Glory announced that they were including the option for female avatars, you should have seen the backlash – men were acting like it was a personal attack on their freedom to even have this option exist. ‘Pandering to feminazis’ they said, and a whole lot of other bullshit.

“So if I use a male avatar, I can pass as a guy, and avoid all of that trouble. Glory has voice chat, but my voice isn’t particularly feminine, so there haven’t been troubles on that end, yet.” Ye Xiu takes a deep breath. She isn’t usually the type to say so much at once, but Su Muqiu’s question prompted an outflow of all the grievances she’s quietly suffered during all these years playing games. She’s long since accepted it as a fact of the gaming world, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t irritated by it.

“Sorry for the rant, but yeah. That’s why One Autumn Leaf is male.”

“…Oh…” At the end of all of that, Su Muqiu is at somewhat of a loss for words. He was aware that these attitudes existed, of course, but he thought they were ridiculous – what did your gender have to do with how good you were? His friend here was living proof of that. He hadn’t realized just how prevalent these views were, and it makes him sick.

To think Ye Xiu has to deal with all of that… To think that she still loves gaming anyway. Su Muqiu feels his admiration for his friend grow.

“I’m sorry,” he says, even though he knows those are about the most useless words he could say.

She shrugs. “For what? You’re a good guy. This is just how things are.”

Later, when Su Muqiu starts making alternate accounts, he still makes Dancing Rain female for his sister. But he makes Lord Grim female as well, out of respect for a different girl.

********

When Ye Xiu steps onto the professional stage – no longer with her closest friend and best partner – she presents herself as her twin, Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu is female, like her, otherwise she’d never be able to pass her “borrowed” ID as her own. But she begs Club Excellent Era to hide her gender, in addition to her face and practically every other identifying piece of information about herself.

This still being the early days of the League, when things weren’t quite so commercialized, the Club agrees to these terms. Later, looking at the success of All-Stars Su Mucheng and Chu Yunxiu, some of the Club regret this decision. But at the time, it hadn’t seemed like that big a deal, not much of a stretch from allowing Ye Xiu to avoid all public appearances. And having their team publicly led by a female captain had seemed like a publicity risk, anyway.

Among her own teammates, of course, Ye Xiu can’t keep up the gender part of her identity lie. Wu Xuefeng is surprised to learn that the incredible Battle Mage with whom he’d played in-game all this time was actually a girl, but he’s nothing but supportive from the start. Some of the others are more skeptical, but their doubts are silenced after they see her in action.

A championship is a championship, after all, and Battle God One Autumn Leaf earns them three.

So during the entirety of Ye Qiu’s eight-and-a-half season professional career, as far as the fans and the public know, Ye Qiu is male. It’s much more difficult to hide from her fellow proplayers – but she doesn’t particularly want to hide from them, only from the public. As she says, Glory isn’t a single player game, and this means forming bonds with not only teammates but opponents as well. So to those proplayers that earn her respect and trust despite being on rival teams, she reveals herself in person:

***

Han Wenqing is even more terrifying in person than any pictures could convey, and he towers over the somewhat short and skinny girl in front of him. Not that she’s cowering. There’s an amused gleam in Ye Xiu’s eye as she looks at him. Surprising the steadfast King of Fighting is no easy task, after all. And though Han Wenqing is fairly good at hiding his emotions behind a scary poker face, the revelation that his longtime rival was actually a she was enough to get a reaction from him.

“So then,” asks Han Wenqing as he remembers another question he’s had for a while, “where is Autumn Tree? That player was quite skilled as well, he would do well in the professional scene.”

Han Wenqing isn’t the type of person to have regrets. He finds them unnecessary and a waste of time. In his view, one should simply concentrate on moving forward, channeling all energy and focus toward the future.

But now, seeing Ye Xiu’s expression tighten, he does wish he could retract that question.

“He’s gone,” she finally answers, quietly. “Car accident.”

“Oh.” What’s the proper thing to say to something like that? “That’s… a shame.”

“Yes. He would have been a god.” Ye Xiu sighs and looks off into the distance, looking so much… sadder… than her shameless in-game persona would have led him to believe possible.

But her eyes turn back to him soon enough. “But we keep living anyway. Isn’t that right, Old Han?”

Han Wenqing nods, and Ye Xiu smiles and makes to leave.

“Ye Qiu,” he calls after her, “see you on stage.”

She doesn’t look back, but does give a friendly wave in reply, and Han Wenqing hopes he’ll be able to see his remarkable rival again soon.

***

As Hundred Blossoms makes their way through the passageways under the stage after their startling defeat to Excellent Era, they come across a girl in red Excellent Era uniform leaning casually against the wall.

“Captain wishes to speak to you two,” she informs Zhang Jiale and Sun Zheping, who are standing at the head of the line. The passageway is narrow, so it’s hard for the other Hundred Blossom team members to catch a glimpse of her.

She’s avoiding their gazes, acting somewhat timid and nervous, but she seems sincere enough. Sun Zheping gestures for the rest of the team to head back to their room, and he and his vice captain follow the girl down a different path.

She leads them to a vacant room, where Zhang Jiale finally bursts out, impatient, “So where is this mysterious captain of yours, huh?”

“Right here.”

Zhang Jiale’s mouth actually falls open. Sun Zheping’s reaction is more subdued, though he’s just as stunned.

Meanwhile, Ye Xiu continues speaking, any semblance of the timid façade casually discarded. “To be honest, that match was kind of disappointing,” she says airily. “The undefeated Blood and Blossom duo was hyped up all this season, and when we finally face you, your combination just kind of falls apart like that? You new guys still have a long ways to go.”

She’s mocking them, but there’s no real animosity behind it. This sort of playful trashtalk was common in the pro scene. But, of course, Sun Zheping wasn’t going to take it lying down.

“My respect for Wu Xuefeng grows with each passing second,” he says, “for having to deal with you on a regular basis.”

Ye Xiu only smiles and makes a mock bow.

Zhang Jiale, having picked his jaw up off the floor, butts in, “We’ll beat you next time for sure!” He’s making finger guns for emphasis, and Ye Xiu can’t help but laugh at the enthusiasm.

“We’ll see, we’ll see.”

***

“Unexpected,” says Wang Jiexi, raising an eyebrow. The action only emphasizes his unnaturally large eye, and Ye Xiu stifles a snort.

“High praise from the unpredictable Magician,” she replies, instead.

“Is there any reason for telling this to me now?”

“Mm,” she tilts her head, “not really, I suppose, but it does feel nice to let people know. Sometimes their reactions are funny.”

“…I see.”

“Do you, though? With those mismatched eyes of yours?”

Wang Jiexi huffs at that, but Ye Xiu’s pleased to see the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

***

Yu Wenzhou takes in the news with hardly a blink, completely calm, like he is in every other aspect of his life. His companion, of course, reacts slightly differently.

“What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck One Autumn Leaf is actually a girl are you fucking serious my entire life is a lie there are already so few girls in the League and it turns out one of them is the Battle God are there any other big life changing revelations I’ve missed? But no ultimately it doesn’t make that big a difference I guess because you’re still a good player and I still want to fight you and I still won’t go easy on you at all got it that’s right I want to PKPKPKPKPK with you right now and you’re not getting out of this okay are you even listening to me huh?!”

“You’re even more of a headache in person…” Ye Xiu says flatly. “Captain Yu, I’m impressed you haven’t gone deaf.”

Yu Wenzhou smiles and shrugs helplessly.

Aside from the gender, One Autumn Leaf’s user is about what he expected, especially that aura of quiet confidence. And even just from their short interaction, Yu Wenzhou can tell that she has a true tactician’s mind, quick and lively and calculating. He hopes to speak with her again, if only to compare notes with the original of the four Master Tacticians.

Judging from how Huang Shaotian rambles on about “that girl” for days after, the talkative proplayer definitely feels the same.

***

“Senior…Ye Qiu?”

The girl nods.

Zhou Zekai stares at her in silence for a while, before finally mustering the strength to say, “You’re… pretty… amazing.” He wants to say more, but he isn’t sure how.

Ye Xiu laughs. “Why, thanks,” she says. “But so are you. I’m looking forward to our next match.”

At that, Zhou Zekai loses all capacity for speech, and can only nod.

***

Chu Yunxiu walks alongside Ye Xiu, unsure of what to say. The fact that the number one player of Glory, the number one of such a male-dominated field, was a girl… It didn’t change everything, of course, but it did change a lot.

“Do you resent me for hiding?” the other girl asks suddenly.

Chu Yunxiu considers. The polite response, of course, would be an immediate “no,” but the question is so unexpected it forces her to give it serious thought. Her own path would have been easier if there had been a figure at the top she could point at and say, look, there’s proof that girls can do this too, even better than boys.

But things had worked out in the end. She was among the top in this field, now, leading a powerhouse team with the highest female-to-male ratio in the League. And Chu Yunxiu was proud of the path she’d taken, what she’d accomplished in the gaming world. Of course, she didn’t play Glory to be an icon of feminine empowerment, or whatever the media called her.

But she would support the cause in the capacity she could, including as a symbol for young girls to follow their dreams.

“No,” replies Chu Yunxiu, after this thoughtful silence. She hesitates, looking at Ye Xiu, wondering if she should say more, or if the other girl understands.

Ye Xiu smiles faintly, and they continue walking.

***

Ye Xiu meets a few others in person as well. And so, among the upper levels of the proplayers – the captains and vice captains and All-Stars and powerhouse teams – the fact that One Autumn Leaf’s user is female is common knowledge, though they have the sense to keep it from spreading; plenty of the “ordinary” proplayers never find out. During large events and get-togethers where every player is obliged to make an appearance, those not in the know simply ignore or forget the plain black-haired girl, even though she seems seems comfortable casually joking with any of the gods.

In the middle of the eighth season, Ye Qiu is forced to retire. The underlying reasons are largely the same – her lack of commercial value to the Club owners – but it was perhaps fueled by some sexist attitudes as well, some teammates who didn’t take well to taking orders from a girl, others that wanted her and couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Sun Xiang sneers at her shaking hands as she passes over One Autumn Leaf – of course a girl would be so emotional; no wonder she wasn’t fit to lead.

Outside Excellent Era, Ye Xiu wraps her adopted sister in a tight hug and whispers in her ear. “I’ll rest for a year, and then return.” The twilight of a god, a promise of a brilliant show of glory.

And when the various Glory pros begin hearing of a mysterious, fearsome, female player terrorizing the tenth server, the same name crosses all of their minds.

Ye Qiu may be gone, but Ye Xiu is still here. And this goddess is ready to take the Glory world by storm.

#quan zhi gao shou #qzgs #the king's avatar #tka #mine #writing #fanfic #pls comment it gives me life haha #sorry if you've already seen this tho ahaha

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