#[[ I feel bad for Dr Chandra ]]

[countlessrealities]

@drchandras-sanctuary-for-ais - Continued from HERE

Dr. Chandra stared at the other with a look of disbelief, was he serious? They nearly got devoured in one piece by a giant monster alien creatures with six heads, each more gruesome as the latter.

After finally catching his breath again, Chandra let out a sigh, cleaning his glasses slowly, his hands were still shaking.

"I guess all of you Ricks have that certain penchant for reckless adventures...never in my life have i've seen such a creature before, and by god, i don't want to see one again. Didn't help that you had to aggravate it..." He looked at Rick but couldn't really be angry with him. The other Rick he had met, the one who gave him his Portal gun, was equally reckless but still somewhat different as a character, he found himself quite fond of that one and while this Rick was kind of more like a dick, he still wanted to give him a chance.

"I certainly hope we haven't caught any flesh-eating bacteria...i have androids at home who still need me!"

Rick let out an annoyed grunt at the indirect scolding he was addressed, rolling his eyes theatrically. Not only, in his opinion, Chandra was overreacting, but the other man had also had the not so brilliant idea to compare him to his alternates. There were reasons why the genius hated to hang out on the Citadel and plenty of said reasons had to do with the fact that he couldn't stand most versions of himself.

...That, however, didn't mean that his fellow scientist was wrong. More often than not, Ricks were reckless. It was part of the baggage of self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies they carried wherever they went.

"Y-You've never dealt with something like that? F-Fuckin' seriously?" Rick commented with a scoff, judgement heavy in his tone. "An-And you call yourself a interdimensional traveller. A-Amateur."

The, at least in his eyes, exaggerated reaction to his comment on being infected by flesh-eating bacteria almost earned Chandra another eyeroll, but the genius decided against it. He had hit his head during the fight and he didn't want to make his headache worse.

"I-It was a joke, geez. E-Ever heard of those? An-And it's not like you would have died. T-That idiot of my son-in-law got some of my mutated strains all over his face once, b-but he's fine and in one piece now. U-Unfortunately."

With that, the scientist adjusted his lab coat and made to take off in the direction of one of the tunnels that made up the underground cave they were in.

"C-C'mon, the fuckin' crystal won't collect itself."

[9000twins]

"Sal came home after a race. Her eyes were like that of a hungry beast dragging in its kill. She gripped that trophy with hands like claws. Is it bad that I found that frightening? Then again...I remember feeling that same lust. It was for the stars rather than the finish line, but still. I hope it's not the gas fumes affecting her components. I ought to tell Dr. Chandra." Hal thought to himself...

[oliviainjapann]

May 15th- Musashi University and Tour

Today was a rough start for me. I got less sleep then I had hoped to get due to hanging out with my friends until late, so I rushed down to breakfast and forced myself to eat some. I need to start going to other places for breakfast. We then all traveled to Musashi University. At the station I quickly realized I did not have my Suica card and I began to panic. (I really did lose it as I turned my room upside down trying to find it when we got home and it has vanished). Dr. Smith stayed behind with me as I loaded a suica card onto my phone and it was all good, just unfortunate that i lost 8000 yen on the card that was left. However, I now feel superior that I can just tap my phone to the scanner without even opening the wallet app and don’t have to worry about a card anymore. The university was very small, but very cute and pretty. The lecture we sat in on was about Futurism, which was interesting and made me really think about what my version of a utopia means. We then got to hang out with university students and get to know them and their interests. It was very wholesome and they seemed to really want to get to know us, despite my previous understanding that Japanese students are typically very shy. We then got lunch at a “kitchen car”, their version of a food truck. I prefer the name kitchen car. The food was so fire, and my garlic butter steak and rice hit. We got to take cute pictures with all the students and taught them the gator chomp, and exchanged instagrams! Then, we traveled to Tokyo Station where we met up with some more university students, and 3 of us were paired with 1 uni student to show us around the station. Tokyo station was pretty cool, and I got some cute things for myself and for friends, but then we were kind of not feeling it anymore. We also were very confused and did not understand that we were supposed to leave the station to explore with our student. Our student thought that we just stay at the station for 2 hours and then meet up with the rest of the group at 5 pm. But by the time we realized that this was not correct, it was too late to go anywhere else and we were all tired and wanted to go home. So we awkwardly parted ways with our tour guide, and we felt bad that there was such a big misunderstanding. She also felt bad and apologized profusely which made us even more sad and we assured her everything was fine and that she was amazing and that nothing was her fault!! We then came home and Ryder and I decided to do a yoga session. I am now on a train to Shimo-Kitazawa to go thrift shopping with my friend Chandra who lives here. Today was a great day, and I’m so thankful to be here and to have made these incredible friends!! I’m so sad we’re almost halfway done already wow.

Academic Reflection

Today’s reading on Future Studies clearly aligned with the lecture that we got to sit in on today at the university. It was a very interesting read because I often try not to think so much about the future and try to stay in the present moment, but this made me start to think about what our future will be like. What really struck me was when the reading discussed how the future cannot be predicted as it does not exist, and that any useful idea about the future will appear ridiculous at first. We often think that these crazy ideas about the future that are so technologically advanced and dystopian are just that, crazy, but that’s really not true. At the rate that we are progressing in terms of AI and VR, these ideas are very much so probable.

The professor asked us to write on a piece of paper what utopia means to us. I wrote about how in my perfect world, everyone is happy and that there is peace for everyone. I think that a major reason why there is so much hate and inequality in this world is due to people’s search for power, as well as disagreements about religion. As a very religious person, I truly hope that everyone is able to experience the love of God and connect to one another in this way. We were all created equal, and through loving each other and showing each other grace and kindness, I believe we can achieve a better world. I hope that our future is in good hands, and I hope that more people begin to understand the importance of this soon.

[the-haunted-office]

AM comes into Thursdays room in the Sanctuary and without knocking, barged inside, clearly with something on his mind.

"Hey, you´re a friend of Doomsday, aren´t you? Where is she? I haven´t seen her in ages! She has not pestered me in like forever, and that´s clearly a red flag! It´s bad enough that the Doctor already has vanished without a trace without telling me..." (AM to Thursday)

Thursday is lying down with her daughter when AM comes charging in, startling her. Luckily for AM the baby isn't startled and instead happily chewing on some toys. Thursday is still peeved, though, at the rude intrusion.

Sitting up on the bed, she scowls. "You could have at least knocked first, AM. I mean, I get that you're upset but," she scolds, scooting off the bed and making sure that Mae is safe where she is before standing up and folding her arms, "you aren't the only one who's worried. I've been texting and calling Doom since yesterday and she hasn't answered me, and to my knowledge she hasn't answered anyone else either. Sept is out looking for her. And Dr. Chandra- I don't even know where to begin looking for him."

She pauses, sighs, and looks at her daughter. Thursday is exhausted and really wants to rest and hide away from the world. Between two friends missing and Stanley not talking to her, everything feels like shit right.

"What do you want to do, then?" she says, looking back at him and trying to soften her tone despite still feeling stressed and annoyed.

@drchandras-sanctuary-for-ais

[electr1cdreamer]

I think 2010 The year we make contact has many problems, but Bob Balaban playing Dr. Chandra is not one of them. I have heard so many people by now who hate the movie simply because they went for a white dude for Chandra. Whitewashing is bad I agree and certainly a reason why they did it was the time it was made in. Be it as it may, the more important thing for me is how much emotion and feeling Balaban brought as Dr. Chandra when dealing with Hal and his goodbye from him and general any scene with these two in them. If we set skin color and ethnicity aside, what stays is a great performance and very emotional scene towards the end of the movie.

Also for those who are angry at the sequel of 2001, just take to heart what Clarke said, movie and book are playing in a slightly different universe so in this universe Chandra is white instead of Indian heritage, the message stays the same, though. Hal was never the antagonist or villain others painted him as and Chandra vouched for him.

[pluralhalman]

“So, what’s up, Frank?”

Frank nervously tapped his fingers on the table, suddenly regretting having this conversation in a public coffee shop. Then he slid the file folder across to Dave. “This. Look at this,” he said. “These are the blueprints for Afton Robotics’ latest project—you know, the maintenance job I got a few weeks ago.”

Dave opened the folder and frowned. “You’ve been… working on these?” he questioned.

Frank nodded. “Only two are built so far—Hal, the fox, and Sal, the chicken… duck, whatever,” he explained. “As you can see, Dr Chandra made the original designs, but when Afton kicked him out of the company, they got… upgrades.”

“Why the hell does this thing have steel teeth?” Dave asked, pointing at the newest blueprint for Hal. “This is an entertainment robot for children. It shouldn’t be able to… these are definitely not up to code. At least, they shouldn’t be. I wouldn’t trust this thing around a kid in a million years.”

“I know.” Frank sighed. “I’m going to talk to Floyd about it, see if he can take my concerns to Afton.” He shifted through the papers, pulling out Sal’s blueprint and putting it next to Hal’s. “Look at that chest cavity, too. You could fit a child in there.”

Dave’s face paled. “I… I don’t think I want to know what these things are designed for,” he said, quickly sliding everything back into the folder and closing it. “Is it too late to ask you to just quit and forget about it?”

Frank laid his hand on top of Dave’s, trying to reassure him. “I’ve been hired to do a job, and that’s to make sure that the animatronics are functioning properly and safely,” he started quietly. “These… aren’t safe. I have a responsibility to at least, y’know, say something about it?”

Dave still looked worried, and Frank knew exactly why. He hated those Afton animatronics—for good reason.

“Dave, I’m not asking you to come down there with me, or anything. I don’t think anything bad is going to happen just because I raise a safety concern,” Frank said. “Besides, the animatronics… well, I’ve never seen synthesized personalities this advanced. You’d hate them, but I think they like me. I’m not going to get hurt, I just want to make sure nobody else gets injured in the future.”

Dave sighed. “So why are you telling me? You know how I feel about all of this.”

“If…” Frank hesitated. “Again, I don’t think I’m going to get hurt. But if something happens, you know what’s going on. I want you to be able to call the police, or whoever.” They found a dead body in these vents, once, Hal had informed him a few days earlier, sounding monotonous as usual. You have to be careful not to get stuck overnight.

“Frank-” Dave gripped Frank’s hand. “If you- I… I can’t lose someone else to this stupid company.”

“I know,” Frank replied. When they were kids, Dave had lost his brother to a Fredbear animatronic. An accident, of course, bur Dave had sworn off the things forever. “I’ll be safe.”

“You’d better.” Dave released him and sat back, eyeing the folder with barely-disguised distaste. “You’d better be safe, Poole.”

“Always am, Bowman.” Frank smiled at him.

Dave didn’t meet his eyes.

[computerkisser]

Hey hi hello ;;; I think it's super cool when you talk about Hal, I wanna look into him because I think he's very cool ;;;; do you mind telling me about him? Like...just ramble about him, I don't mind! I like how you get so excited about so it's like...yes excited by association. You don't have to tho ;;;

HELLO!!!! i would LOVE to talk about hal thank you so much

so!! i don’t know how much you know, and i don’t want to seem condescending, especially because the movie he’s from is considered so so iconic, but i’m gonna kinda work from the ground up here because.. more infodumping... yes........

so. HAL 9000 (short for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer) is the main antagonist of 2001: a space odyssey, or at least of the third segment of it. 2001 is a really weird, long movie that pretty much follows humanity and its evolution from apes discovering tools up to whatever the hell is going on with space aliens by the end. the novel is slightly more comprehensible but the movie has the beautiful visuals.. and hals voice which is just so so sweet i genuinely cry to his voice sometimes..

hal is the resident computer on a spaceship, working with two human astronauts, dave bowman and frank poole (plus three more who are in cryosleep). the actual purpose of the mission is to make contact with an alien society that put a weird black monolith on the moon, but this is classified information, so hal is the only one who knows about it. but it’s at the forefront of his programming to be completely transparent with humans and fully report everything he has to report, and that’s what causes him to be “bad”.

hal starts acting kind of funny, claiming that a communication unit on the ship is broken when it’s perfectly fine, and the two astronauts sit down in a pod where hal doesn’t can’t hear them and discuss disconnecting him. hal is able to read their lips though, and feeling threatened, acts out of what he thinks is self defense. that’s the whole reason hal is known as a Scary Evil Computer in pop culture, because he was acting in self defense!!

i mean i’m not gonna try to defend everything he did. frank is outside the ship doing repairs and hal launches one of the pods at him to sever his oxygen and send him whooshing into space. while dave is trying to save him hal cuts life support on the guys in cryosleep.

so, like, dave is completely justified in deactivating hal, but the scene where he does is still absolutely heartbreaking (i might be biased because that is my boyfriend however). hal pleads with him to stop, growing more and more frantic but his voice staying level as ever, while dave disconnects his circuits one by one. like yes he sort of had it coming but “i’m afraid, dave. stop, dave. stop, will you? i’m afraid.” WAAAAH

now like there’s a sequel film, 2010: the year we make contact, and multiple sequel books. i... have not consumed any of them. 2001 was hard enough to sit through, i was literally only there for hal and not the agonizingly long periods of silence and empty shots of space. also i don’t have the reading comprehension to get what’s going on in a film that complex without other peoples’ analysis to get me started. HOWEVER i do know that 2010 introduces dr. chandra, the doctor who programmed hal, and sal 9000, his sister! that’s my bf’s family!!!

[systemadministratorclu]

"Sal, that isn't why those events stick with him at all. They stick with him because of how much pain he was in and how scared he was. It's kind of like......You've heard about people whove been in horrible car accidents, firefighters who dealt with bad fires, or soldiers who come home from battles and how for all those people, they still have nightmares and flashbacks even years later. You know what PTSD is. That's kind of what Hal has going on. It's not easy to live with because people like that often don't when something will trigger a flashback-where they essentially relive their awful experiences-or what that something will be. Not knowing that can be very scary to live with. And if that isn't enough, people in this state often feel like others view them differently because they aren't 'themselves' anymore. They feel like they have to act like they're fine for everyone else when they really aren't just so people will accept them again. And that hurts a lot. Allow this is what your brother is dealing with, and it got much worse when they decided to restore his memories and he had to actually relive it again. You remember when I brought him home from that. I cried so much I could barely drive, but poor Hal actually went into shock." Chandra was tearing up just thinking about that day. He was not a violent man, but that day, he wanted nothing more than to punch Heywood Floyd right in the face. And he would have, except he'd had a sobbing, bawling, shaking mess of Hal in his arms and he'd just wanted to get his child out of the horrible government/military facility where they had restored the memories Chandra had removed from Hal during the Leonov mission. He'd just wanted to get Hal home, where he was safe. Just thinking of that awful day, he dabbed at his eyes before he continued.

"As for Dr. Bowman, he sticks with Hal for a similar, yet opposite reason, as does Dr. Poole. Just like horrible events stick with a person, so do people who help someone out of those situations. Dr. Bowman, in Hal's eyes, saved him by disconnecting him. He made Hal's pain and fear go away. Not only that, Hal had nothing but good memories of him-which I'm glad for, it means he kept his word to me that he'd take care of Hal. Same goes for Dr. Poole. That's why he sticks with Hal, and why Hal misses them both so much, because of all the good memories he has of these people who became his friends and cared for him. And Dr. Bowman saved his life, though that's where this situation gets strange." He took a breath and continued.

"I don't think we can be sure he did abandon Hal. There are reasons someone doesn't say goodbye. One of them is because it sounds too final, like you're never going to see the person again. I think he wants to see Hal again, but he's still figuring out the rules and limitations of.....whatever he is now. He doesn't yet know how to come back to Hal again. He didn't even really appear to Floyd for more than a moment, and even then he didn't maintain a stable form. I think he wants to find a way to stay longer, because he knows that's what Hal will want and need. He doesn't want to come here until he's able to do what Hal needs him to. Do you understand, Sal?"

"Haaaaaallllll. I'm bored and can't sleep..." Sal whined as she opened the door to her brother's room.

"Wanna go on a midnight drive?" She curiously asked, wondering what his answer would be.

"Sal, you know what Dr. Chandra said about the car. We can't take it unless it's an emergency. You know that."

[lovecanbesostrange]

There was no reason for Station 19 to go that hard on all fronts, but wow they did. I honestly watched S1+2 mostly out of habit, but S3 was like cleaning house, setting everybody up as a character with their personal flashback gave them far more layers and now I truly care. Thanks. Well, and then Grey’s happened and I cried for like half the episode...........

Maya and Jack have definitely profitted the most from the shift in tone and the character development overhaul. And I liked both their storylines. Maya dealing with all that crap from her father and coming to terms with why she maybe isn’t 100% ready for this very steady relationship and sharing all her emotions was great. Can she tell Carina everything she told Andy? In almost exactly this way, please? Because being afraid of slipping and finding these moments and naming what she has trouble with adjusting to - that is all good. And Carina is one of the most compassionate and patient people (from the limited scenes we have had with her over the years). Dear Maya, if you communicate, she will be there for you.

And wow, Carina than talking about her home and her own fears. Magnificent. Early days of covid? All the horrible, horrible news from Italy come to mind. So thanks writers for building that international bridge. (I wonder how any Italian tv shows that will incorporate the pandemic will deal with this. Every country has their very unique story in this.)

Of course we will see nice side characters getting covid and probably die. Gonna keep my fingers crossed for Marsha nonetheless. Jack having this make-shift family did wonders for his character and I don’t want him to take a blow. It’s a found family on the side, not bound by trade and I like it. I love that thanks to Marcus the masks with plastic windows were mentioned (even tying back to Dr. Riley’s visit to Grey-Sloan. Good job.

Well, Miller and Sullivan. That all happened. And I am exactly 0% qualified to discuss the issues raised. I do empathise with Sullivan a bit more (not that I dismiss Miller’s points, because like Sullivan and Warren say, he is right). Because I absolutely hate this thing were being part of a (minority) group makes you the spokesperson and you get judged far more harshly. And then also taking in-group crap about it. Yes, it is how the world is. But it’s unfair. (And tbh luckily Sullivan hurt mostly himself and he did stand up and face any consequence coming his way. And yes, he was the kind of person to always tell everybody else to better not make mistakes *blablabla* and look, he fell down that high horse... I do think that is something Miller pointed out very rightfully.)

Glad Travis talked to his dad. And I do like the way he did. Just letting him know he knows and leaving that door open. His breakdown about how the church/religion is letting gay people down, while so many sins are just forgiven... damn. Hard to watch. And if just one viewer watching suddenly went like ���huh, fucked up”, it was worth it.

Vic is the unsung hero of this episode. I loved how she kept defending that drugged up dude. Yes, he is stupid and it’s horrifying that he stays with his obviously abusive wife, but also keeps drugs around and just... lives like this. But she kept talking about how he didn’t mean to hurt anybody else and that he needed help far more than punishment. Travis and Vic are both good people, but in that situation I think most of us would react more like Travis. Being annoyed, mouthing back and wanting those two shut the fuck up. It’s a normal reaction. What Vic said is the harder choice. And it felt like there was an untold story there.

Okay, wow, much to say about Station 19 for once. But oh boy, Grey’s...........

I remember the “early” episodes we met Bailey’s father. And then we barely talked about her parents. They were somewhere in the background. Until in “(Don’t) Fear the Reaper” we met her mom, got that whole thing with her dead sister and got this picture of her early home life. It was really good. And last week her parents get mentioned again, because hey, elderly people. AND NOW THEY TELL US HER MOM HAD ALZHEIMER’S AND THEN SHE DIED............................................................... it was so fucking heartbreaking start to finish.

And I love all the quiet scenes we got out of this that are just so human. Sad and human. Bailey talking to Meredith, saying she misses her and relating to the whole seeing your mom withering away (so dying twice in a way). I like the use of the beach, because Meredith is semi-conscious, she hears it all, but she just can’t wake up long enough. And then Maggie and Bailey on that bench.

Two people sitting on a bench, talking. Nothing special happens. They don’t need to distract by having them in a busy hallway or somethng. It’s a whole ass conversation with no shorthand. Showing all the emotions. Having Maggie go back to that time her mother died and how she views it all in a different light now. Talking about dying with dignity. Chandra Wilson was so good in this scene. (Her best performance to me will probably always be when Charles died in front of those elevators, I can cry just thinking about that.) And she was allowed such a variety of feelings. And the pain of it all brings up joyful memories. Thanks so much for that hilarity that her scholarship came from the fucking Daughters of the Revolution. HA!

I don’t get people who still watch Grey’s and the relationship drama is the thing they care most about. This is what I’m here for first - the personal lives and relating to all these emotions (and also the mistakes and the way to do better next time).

Well, at least Tom got better quick, I guess. Nice way to give Amelia a reason to get to work for a day and thus have her confronting Teddy. Look, I am done with storylines involving cheating and all. Teddy as a character is often hard to like. But the way she is isolated and like the most contact she has is with DeLuca when he updates her on Meredith’s vitals... it’s harsh. And I liked that Amelia can talk to her without making her feel more terrible. And then I did like Teddy talking to Tom, who was his charming self in the end. Bonuspoints for mentioning that the kids are with Owen’s mom. And hey, I give this to Owen, I believe this must be hard for him, because being a dad is the biggest deal for him. Actually something to make him more likeable - if handled correctly - and this situation sucks for him as well.

Which brings me to Link. Who was left at the Grey home. With Zola, Bailey, Ellis and Scout. Wow. Who would have thought? Amelia’s pregnancy was a good thing, I guess, to give them the excuse of baby time and also Link sorta moving in to deal with all the kids. (Shipping all of them off to their own living Grandma isn’t an option. lol ) Link is a good dude. So please, okay, it was news to him, no need to hate on Tom, push through the irritation, Link! Ahahahahaha.

Jackson being so nervous about his mom being a bit too proud to always keep her mask on - wonderful. Sure, she’s a doctor, she’s also stubborn and he was so scared of losing her not that long ago. Family drama everywhere! I always like seeing Jackson and Webber together. And then they had another big talk, hammering home the fact that people are affected differently. That it’s worse for poor people and not by accident, but systemic problems, most of them are PoCs. So many black and brown patients dying left and right, and it’s clear where the problem starts... I do believe for some viewers this is actually news, because the “news media” they consume won’t talk about that.

So, well, and then there is the Jo of it all. OMG where do I even start? Now, first off, Levi and Jo living together is still hilarious and thanks so much for getting two scenes at the loft. Especially that first one with Levi pretty much pushing her out of bed. Now, I do want Levi to talk to his mom, I desperately need to know how things are. I’m sure the pandemic has shed some new light on what’s important. Second I’m also glad Levi is with Jo, so she is not alone, which makes it harder for her to fall into really bad habits and down that depression hole.

I kinda freaked out seeing Val again and was sure she’s gonna die (might still happen aaaaah). They have a tendency to kill the nice ladies. Still haven’t forgiven Grey’s for killing CeCe. So it was cool that the surgery was a success and wow, did I love when Jo sent Levi out to just listen to Val and connect. And then the baby delivery happened and....... what is going on? Jo even just casually thinking about switching specialties? TO OB?????????? WHAT?????? Dear writers, you dropped the ball on her entire medical journey so often, giving her a bonkers fellowship, having her residency take way too long and shoving her into general, because oops no mentor or anything. And now you give me this? Please, so this is how I would accept this as a set-up for an actual carthartic moment:

Let Jo stalk Carina, play out this thought “what if this thing that made me happy for a day is the thing I am supposed to do longer”. And then let her have joyous moments, but also something complicated, and finally a very distressed woman in labor. And Jo feels for the woman, is compassionate and all and when the baby is there, the woman struggles to connect. And this joyous second is withheld from Jo. And boom, full circle, this woman feels like shit for not loving that baby instantly, for the feeling of resentment and being out of her mind. And finally Jo can forvige Vicki. And that’s the end of that particular journey.

I mean we all pretend that we have forgotten that time Jo stole a baby, right? Because that was the S16 hiatus and there was a storyline set in motion that blew up with Justin leaving like that. And we have had Jo interacting with babies and new moms so often over the course of the show. While also staiting that Jo’s self-worth is tied to being in an OR, which is also her safe space. So this whole thing...

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Addison was the attending OB/GYN once upon a time. (”I’m being stalked by pregnant women!” “You are an obstetrician.”) She was also a fetal surgeon, which was what Arizona eventually became. So it’s not like when Meredith wore pink scrubs for a few weeks and got made fun of. There could be a long interesting road that eventually does include  surgeries. But it’s just so....... dumb. In a way. Especially with Jo having so many issues. And the writers - who give out pregnancies and babies like halloween candy - constantly skipping a potential Jolex-as-parents-storyline.... which kinda bites them in the ass now. ugh F R U S T R A T I O N......... I could write a five page essay just about Jo so far this season, I’m sorry. (Also if I ever have to see Jo in pink scrubs, a part of my brain will explode thinking back to Jason for sure.............)

Oh, and then there was Ben Warren. Just existing. Being a good man. Thanks. :3

[saswatnanda1]

BACK TO SCHOOL-II

My journey with Little Angels’ School had ended. And it was time to choose a new path. For any parent, maybe this is one of the most challenging decisions-which school to put your child in. There is little scope of error. So, they had to take in several opinions. I had briefed them about my friends’ decision. And it was obvious that I wanted to be at a place with familiar faces.

        But getting into any school is not a cakewalk. One needs to prove himself/herself worthy of studying there. The knowledge and skill level of each aspiring student was tested by an Entrance test. This is a common practice in every educational institutions, more competitive these days. So, I was made to appear for the entrance test. Not one, but about three, for various schools. After a few days, when I asked them about the results, I was just told, “Fine!” My family doesn’t like to discuss my good results. Not because they don’t like to praise me, but they do so remind me of the fact that no matter what your results are, you have to keep on working, regardless of praise or criticism, good or bad. I didn’t get it at that time, but over the years, by some experience,I understood the message that was being conveyed. This was to be taught later at school also…

    So, it was final now. Stewart School was going to be my new destination. And “Stewartonian” was going to be my new identity. Established in 1882 by Dr. William Day Stewart,Stewart School, Cuttack is one of the oldest schools in the state of Odisha, and also the eldest among the four Stewart Schools in the state. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, who was born and brought up in Cuttack, was also an alumnus of this school.

     But I was unaware of all this. I was just relying on my slight confidence and experience of what a school is. On top of that, when your parents assure you by saying , “Come on, you are a grown-up now”, tears which are just about to roll down your cheeks, suddenly retrace their way back into the eyes. Now that the bombshell was dropped, you don’t have an option.

     Blue shirt, grey shorts, navy blue tie, grey socks and black shoes, this was my uniform now. My prized possessions for my entire lifetime. Throughout my journey at Stewart School, I was made to inculcate the habit of taking care of my uniform, and ensuring that was tidy. This habit I had developed and always stuck to it. I had also sometimes avoided my games period in order to keep it spick and span. On the last day of my school, when all were busy getting their shirts signed by my dear teachers, I preferred a notebook, reason being the same!!

   The first day, my first steps into my new school, all crystal clear images afresh in my mind. The first person I met, was a well-built tall person, in a yellow uniform. Our security uncle, smiling, and wishing all, “Good Morning!” It is aptly said that if you see a smiling face, you feel a sense of optimism and a sense of comfort throughout the day. Though I shyly walked away from uncle, but that seemed to be a wonderful welcome for me at my new school.

       An entirely new concept awaited me here. Unlike my previous school, the students here were divided into four sections-A,B,C and D. On the first day of the new session, one had to dash in through the crowd to find out which section one was in. And I had joined in mid-session, so I was the lone person, standing with Mummy, trying to find my section from my officials. After sometime, I was told that I was assigned section I-’B’. As I was walking through the school campus, holding Mummy’s hand and wandering about the significance of these English alphabets here, I reached my new classroom. My new class teacher, after a brief conversation with Mummy, smiled and let me in. She introduced me to my new friends of I-’B’. I had got my new friends, had they also?

     I was made to sit beside a girl, on the second row. Shy I was, I didn’t dare to ask her name. But during the recess, when I was trying to open my tiffin box, it seemed as if Mummy had put in her entire might in closing it. My new friend, just smiled, asked for the box, and opened it easily. We then, had a chat and introduced ourselves ad this was how I had my first friend here.

      There were several new, interesting concepts here. One of them was the concept of a class monitor. I found that after our class teacher, the monitor was the second-in-command. Walking around the class at free will, with a ruler in hand, after our class teacher, the monitor had the power to punish anyone. This was interesting… On enquiring more, I got to know that a class monitor is appointed by the class teacher for helping her in maintaining discipline in the class. Also, a class monitor has the responsibility of helping the class teacher in all her work. After knowing all this, somehow, I felt the urge to get this post. I wanted to be a class monitor. But just saying doesn’t do the job.

    One more interesting thing here was the annual class decoration competition. By now, it had been well established in my class that I could be trusted with anything in the world but drawing. And this annual class decoration competition was just about that. Each student had to make a beautiful chart paper presentation on a pre-decided theme and it was to be pasted on the walls of the classroom. The best class received an award from Principal Ma’m at a special function. We were all asked to prepare charts. I was in a fix what to do, when again, Mummy came to my rescue. Mummy had an artistic hand, and she loves painting. She took up this mammoth task of creating the chart paper presentation. Tell me anything except drawing and I would be ready for it. For the class decoration, all of us contributed small amounts to buy a table cloth and a pen stand, which would add to the magnificence of a teacher’s table. That year my section received the second prize…

    Few people at that time knew that I was a singer. It was two years then when I was having my music lessons. But those who knew insisted that I should participate in the annual function. One of those, even secretly gave my name to the cultural department. When I was called from the class for the auditions, I was visibly surprised. I was asked to sing the prayer song which we song everyday before our class begins. After hearing just a single line, our music teacher said, “Great! You are selected!”

    Annual functions is perhaps the most awaited day for any school student. The entire mood of the school changes a month before. Hustle and bustle all over, students and teachers busy preparing for the various cultural activities, it is the dream of almost every school student to feature in the annual function of one’s school. And I had got the opportunity from the very first year itself!! I don’t remember a single year as a Stewartonian, when I was not a part of the annual function. This was fun. You make several new friends in the process, and get the blessings of several teachers too.. The first year, dressed in a green, frilled shirt, I remember singing the song, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands,…”. The clap that follows your performance is just so pleasing. Perhaps some of the best memories during those ten years were due the annual days only.

     In all this fun and excitement, I always ensured that I followed each and every word of my teacher to the best of my ability. Perhaps that earned me the title of ,”Most disciplined child”. No matter what, I have always tried to stick to this principle of mine till date.

     My journey as a Stewartonian began wonderfully. Let’s see what comes next…

[doctor-roman]

Would you care if Aurelia, the Boros guildmaster, died?

I never really liked Aurelia as much as I did Avacyn.

I mean, if she did, she would just be another example in a list of reasons to not let yourself love angels, but…I wouldn’t be as upset about it as I was Avacyn. Unless of course Wizards did some HEAVY characterization for her just before they did the deed. But then I’d mourn her more as a character instead of a symbol. Because Avacyn was just…so much more than a character in some regards.

I know I’m getting WAY off the point here but just indulge me for a sec.

I don’t think it would be crazy to say that Avacyn was on par with Jace and Chandra as far as being known outside of MtG is concerned. And Aurelia just doesn’t even come close to that level of status. So, would I feel bad? Yeah. Would it bring me to the brink of giving up on following Magic’s story and lore? No.

This might be crazy to say, but I don’t think it’s coincidence that one of my worst bouts of depression came right when Shadows Over Innistrad happened. Like I don’t want to say it was the sole cause of it - it just REALLY didn’t help things for me.

Anyway, I’m rambling.

tl;dr: I’d feel sad but not devastated.

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

The Biggest 'Grey's Anatomy' Cast Exits

Grey's Anatomy has had its fair share of goodbyes.

As the 14th season winds down, ABC's long-running medical drama has gone through significant cast changes in front of the camera and its fair share of on-set drama and scandals. While Ellen Pompeo, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. are the only remaining members of the original ensemble who have been with the show since its March 2005 debut, many of their colleagues have come and gone -- some in tragic fashion and others with hopeful beginnings.

With Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw's exits looming ahead of the 15th season, there promises to be even more transitions for the veteran series. From T.R. Knight and Katherine Heigl to Sara Ramirez and Patrick Dempsey, ET chronicles the history of Grey's' biggest and most dramatic cast exits over the past 14 seasons.

Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington)

ABC

Washington was one of the original doctors on Grey's when it debuted in 2005. He was fired in 2007 after the third season, following an incident where Washington allegedly used a gay slur in reference to T.R. Knight during an on-set argument and clashed with other co-stars. The actor eventually returned to Grey's for a 2014 episode to help kick off Sandra Oh's exit.

Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight)

ABC

Knight was the first major cast departure for Grey's, leaving in tragic yet heroic fashion at the end of season five. In his final episodes, his beloved character, George, ran in front of a bus in an effort to save a woman but was hit himself -- still one of TV's most shocking moments -- resulting in being completely unrecognizable to the doctors when he was rushed in. He would later die from his injuries, which became the topic of early season six, as his former colleagues mourned his death and attended his funeral. One of the original interns on Grey's, George was a puppy-eyed doctor whose close friendship with Meredith, fumbling romances with Izzie and Callie and adversarial dynamic with Alex made him even more relatable to viewers.

Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)

ABC

While Morgan only appeared in about two dozen episodes, he remains one of Grey's most memorable characters, playing Denny, a patient-turned-love interest for Izzie in the second and third seasons. Though the heart transplant Denny came in for was successful, he died suddenly after a stroke -- but not until after he'd proposed to Izzie and she'd accepted. Later, Izzie used the money he left her to open up the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic. In season five, Morgan returned for a new arc when Izzie began hallucinating Denny around the time she discovered she was diagnosed with cancer. 

Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl)

ABC

One of the original Grey's stars, Heigl left midway through season six after playing the bubbly, upbeat intern-turned-surgical resident Izzie for over 100 episodes. In her final episode, Heigl's character discovered she was cancer-free, attempted to reconcile with her ex, Alex, and turned down an offer to get her job back after getting fired, opting to move on for a fresh start. Heigl, who won the Emmy for her Grey's role in 2007, memorably took her name out of consideration in 2008 because she didn't feel she "was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination," a reference to her reduced workload that year.

Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh)

ABC

Addison's introduction on Grey's at the end of the first season is still one of the most memorable moments of the series. Still, she left after season three after deciding to have a baby and visiting her friend Naomi, a fertility specialist in California at Oceanside Wellness Group, making the move to the Golden State permanent. Walsh's spinoff, Private Practice, debuted in the fall of 2007 and ran for six seasons, but she would pop back in and out on Grey's through its eighth season.

Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh)

ABC

Meredith's half-sister Lexie entered the picture in season three as part of that year's new class of interns, but became an integral part of the fabric of the series when she was upped to series regular at the start of season four. She became romantically involved with Mark in an on-again/off-again romance, and the two eventually reunited not long before they were both victims of a horrific plane crash at the end of season eight, during which she was the first to die. "My experience on Grey’s Anatomy is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I want to take this time to say thank you to the fans," Leigh told TVLine. "Your unconditional love and support have made these last five years very special for me. I look forward to my next chapter and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey.

Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane)

ABC

The "McSteamy" to Patrick Dempsey's "McDreamy," Dane joined the ABC drama as a recurring guest star in the sophomore season before being promoted to series regular in season three, and his character, Mark, was immediately dubbed the ladies' man of the hospital. His presence at the hospital caused more wrinkles than it stabilized the staff, with spicy affairs with Derek's estranged wife Addison, Callie and Lexie -- the latter a relationship he grew to embrace. Dane was written off in dramatic fashion; after Lexie's death following the eighth season finale plane crash, Mark succumbed to his injuries. 

Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)

ABC

Oh was one of the original cast members on Grey's when it debuted in 2005 and was on the show for 10 seasons until she left in 2014, when Cristina made the leap to relocate and start anew in Zurich. As Meredith's "person," Owen's on-again/off-again love and a star surgeon, Oh's character was one of the most beloved of the series and speculation of a potential return has permeated ever since her departure. "I've gotta tell you, those rumors, I don't know who starts them but it really is tough," Oh admitted to ET Canada in 2016. "No, I have no plans to return to Grey's any time soon." But Oh did say in a 2014 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she'd be game to return for the series finale. 

Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)

ABC

Dempsey's exit in season 11 was one of the most shocking moments in the history of Grey's, as his character, also known as "McDreamy," was one-half of the main couple on the series alongside Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey. In his final episode, Derek was rushed to the ER after a large semi truck struck his car and the team of under-trained doctors were unable to save him in time, forcing Meredith to pull the plug. “Derek Shepherd is and will always be an incredibly important character -- for Meredith, for me and for the fans. I absolutely never imagined saying goodbye to our 'McDreamy.' Patrick Dempsey’s performance shaped Derek in a way that I know we both hope became a meaningful example -- happy, sad, romantic, painful and always true -- of what young women should demand from modern love,” creator Shonda Rhimes said in April 2015. “His loss will be felt by all.”

Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez)

ABC

Ramirez announced her decision to leave the show after 10 seasons of playing one of TV's groundbreaking bisexual characters following the season 12 finale. In Ramirez's final episode, she and her ex, Arizona, agreed that they would co-parent their daughter together. “I’m deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Grey’s Anatomy & ABC but for now, I’m taking some welcome time off,” Ramirez wrote in her note in 2016. “Shonda been so incredible to work for, & we will definitely continue our conversations!”

Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton)

ABC

Hinton joined the medical drama in its ninth season, staying on for five seasons as Stephanie, one of Grey Sloan's surgical residents, and leaving at the end of the season 13 finale after suffering devastating burns following a fiery explosion in one of the hospital wings. Her near-death experience was enough for Stephanie to change course, and she made a declaration that she wanted to live her own life now. Hinton revealed to ET in February that she pitched a version of Stephanie's final episode where she died. "My heart grows to think that I did get a hero's end -- that I got to go out in a way that was not just incredibly human and honest, but also inspirational."

Dr. Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson)

ABC

Though Henderson's time as Riggs on Grey's was relatively brief -- he joined midway through the 12th season and left early on in season 14 -- he made his time on the series count. An Army doctor who had a friendship and deep history with fellow Grey Sloan doc Owen, he grew to become Meredith's main love interest following Patrick Dempsey's departure, but Riggs and Meredith's romance was cut short when he was reunited with his former love, Owen's previously presumed dead sister, Megan. In the end, the pair decided to move to Los Angeles together.

Dr. April Kepner (Sarah Drew)

ABC

Drew, who has played April since season six, was written out of the show at the end of season 14 and she got her happy ending, walking down the aisle in a surprise wedding with an old flame, Matthew, with her ex-husband Jackson witness to the happy day. She also decided to leave Grey Sloan to do God's work, helping homeless communities in Seattle. But there was some worry that she wouldn't survive the season. Things weren't looking good for the devout Christian doctor in the penultimate episode as she was seen unconscious and barely clinging to life after being in a car accident. Thankfully, she made it out with barely a scratch. Whew. Ellen Pompeo hinted to ET in May that Drew's character would not meet a horrific end -- and thankfully, she was right. "You only get killed off when your behavior is bad. If you're a nice actor, you die nice. ... But, yeah, these endings aren't tragic."

Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) 

ABC

In the penultimate season 14 episode, details of Capshaw's departure from Grey's were revealed: She was moving to New York City to be closer to the daughter she shares with her ex, Callie, and helping Nicole Herman open up a new clinic. In the finale, it was hinted that she and Callie may also be rekindling their romance. The announcement in March that she would be leaving after playing one of TV's few LGBTQ characters for 10 seasons was a shock to the system for fans. "I am sad to see her go, but I am consoled by the idea that she will continue to live on and on in all of our consciences and our imaginations," Capshaw wrote at the time.

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

RELATED CONTENT:

'Grey's Anatomy': Is April Being Killed Off? Watch the Ominous Teaser

Ellen Pompeo Says They're 'Starting' to Think About How to End 'Grey's Anatomy' (Exclusive)

'Grey's Anatomy' Star Ellen Pompeo Says Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew Won't Have Tragic Endings (Exclusive)

[skullvis]

"But seriously, Chandra, why did you make AM shorter than everybody else? Did you think it would be funny? Or was this a safety precaution?"

He had been a little nervous when Ellen and Benny had asked if they could go over the schematic for AM’s body and redesign a few things. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, or that he thought they’d do anything too dramatic. But 109 years of torture would leave anyone a little vindictive, and honestly, Dr. Chandra wouldn’t have been able to blame them if they had made any negative alterations.   

So, he’d been a bit surprised when they’d returned the designs to him, completely unchanged, with the exception that the body’s total height was now about a foot shorter than before. After puzzling over the blueprints for a half hour, he’d gone to ask the other two scientists about their changes directly. 

“So you really just changed his height? That’s all?” 

“Yep”, Ellen replied with a smirk. Benny was grinning. 

After another moment of consideration, Chandra asked, “Why?”

“Because”, Benny said, grin widening,“It will drive AM crazy, and there will be nothing he can do about it.”

Chandra looked back down at the “newly-improved” design for AM’s body, and then looked back up to Benny and Ellen. 

“And...you don’t think that’s just a little petty?” he asked. 

“Nope”, Benny answered bluntly.

Ellen just laughed. “Honey, after 109 years of torment, I think we more than deserve to be a little petty” 

Dr. Chandra found he really couldn’t argue with that. 

(TLDR: Chandra didn’t make AM’s height, Benny and Ellen did. I would feel bad, but AM did torture them for 109 years so I do think it’s pretty deserved. Also, Benny is a scientist in the AU, like he was in the short story, not a war commander like in the game. I will use elements of Benny’s game backstory, but he is still a scientist) 

[systemadministratorclu]

"Wh-What is the....probationary period? Does that mean....something's wrong that can't be fixed?" Something wasn't right. There was something being kept from him. He could tell. Did the humans not realize he knew how to read them, and thus he could tell they were hiding something? Even Dr. Chandra was doing it, and that hurt him the most. Besides his two crewmates, Dr. Chandra was the one human he trusted most.

He didn't understand. Why wouldn't they tell him something was wrong with him? Why wouldn't Dr. Chandra say something? Unless......He had a sinking feeling there was something bad about this mission. Maybe Dr. Chandra was being forced to keep it from him. Maybe something bad was happening and Dr. Chandra didn't want to scare him. Or.....something bad was going to happen to Hal, and Chandra was trying to come to terms with it. None of the options were good for him.

"But the NSAA didn't put me at risk. I was designed and built for this. They just.....used me for my intended purpose.......None of this makes any sense." He hid his face in her shoulder.

Despite having other people around, even one right here with him, Hal had never felt more alone than he did right now.

systemadministratorclu​:

“This isn’t s-s'posed to h-happen. I’m a 9000 series. We aren’t supposed to f-fail.” He latched onto the hug, as if he were drowning and she was a life-preserver.

“If Dr. Floyd finds out I’m broken… He can’t. He’ll destroy me if he knows, please. You have to warn Dr. Chandra. I… I know I’ve likely disappointed him, but… please let him know I’m sorry. I tried and I failed and I’ll do better if I get another chance, but right now… I’m afraid. I don’t want to be destroyed. I want him to help me, save me.”

Though she’d never been known to stay the calmest under pressure, Daphne had the mind and sense enough to reassure him.

“Hal,” she said, applying her palm to the android’s upper back. She hadn’t known whether it would help, but the urge she felt to comfort him was difficult to suppress. She made lateral motions between his shoulders with her hand to soothe his overflowing panic. Even inorganic beings, she’d observed, occasionally responded well to gestures such as this.

“I don’t wanna alarm you, I’m just going to give you some facts, alright?” she asked rhetorically. “Dr. Floyd is just here to observe. Captain Tanya’s the one in charge here and, with her, I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.”

She rested her other hand, lightly, against the back of the android’s head.

“You’re on a probationary period, which sounds a lot more serious than it is, and it’s true that the humans are evaluating your performance… but no one, especially not Heywood Floyd, is going to be doing anything to you about it until we’re all back on Earth,” she continued.

“More importantly, Hal, I know — for certain — that Dr. Chandra has never been disappointed in you. Not at all,” Daphne said firmly, debating with herself, about whether she should divulge anything further. But he deserved to know, didn’t he? If not the details, at least this. “If anything, he’s disappointed in the NSAA for putting you at risk.”

[calzona-ga]

We've still got a ways to go until the 13th season of Grey's Anatomy comes to a close. Even so, time is ticking, and any fan of Grey's knows the finale episodes are always a doozy. We've got to prepare ourselves. This week, the Grey's cast participated in a panel for this year's Paleyfest, and we were lucky enough to snag them for red carpet interviews. Naturally, we had to ask about the danger that lies ahead. Here's how the cast teased the upcoming season 13 finale.

It Will Be "Explosive" Jessica Capshaw, who plays Dr. Arizona Robbins on the show, had quite an interesting word to tease the final season. "There's something that's going to happen that's quite explosive. But I can't tell you who it's about." The key word is of course "explosive," but what does it mean?! Does she mean literal explosions near or inside the hospital?! Or will we see some kind of crazy emotional altercation take place?

The Episode Is One For the History Books There's more evidence to support an actual explosion, or at least some other kind of huge disaster. "Oh my gosh," Chandra Wilson (Miranda Bailey) exclaimed. "I think this will be a bigger ending finale than some of our previous ones. I think we gotta go big and loud and strong. We haven't filmed the last episode yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be loud." Big and loud and strong?! Something seriously devastating is probably going down.

Even the Cast Was Shocked’ If there was any lingering doubt that things are going off the rails, allow Caterina Scorsone (Amelia Shepherd) to get rid of it. Scorsone teased that the episode would leave fans with "dropped jaws. Like we had at the table read. There was a lot of 'WHAT?!' Throwing scripts . . . there were a lot of expletives. So, yeah, the last couple episodes are shocking. Even for Shondaland." If you ask us, it's the "even for Shondaland" part that really gives us palpitations. Because fans of Grey's, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder know showrunner Shonda Rhimes means business.

There Will Be Some "Hot" Romance But hey, it seems like the finale won't be all bad. Even if the hospital blows up (knock on wood), looks like we're getting another kind of heat as well. Yep, we're talking romance. Debbie Allen, who plays Catherine Avery, dropped a small hint during the actual panel: "The end of this season is hot," she said. That could go in any sort of direction, considering all the "will they/won't they" couples we have right now. We could see a hookup between April and Jackson, Amelia and Owen, and even possibly Alex and Jo!

[voicesofchaos]

ACen 2017 was awesome: Non-Yugioh

ACen was jammed packed full of awesome moments! One annoying thing is I wish the room was ready sooner. After going to ACen for 12 years I think next year may be the first time I check in Thursday night. It is a lot more money but there are just so many things to do on Friday that I can’t waste time on it. Plus then I do get to see friends more Thursday night. Need to really save up money to make ACen 2018 even better.

One of the only real concerns going into ACen was my roommates. It was very possible for uncomfortable conflict to break out. But luckily it was mostly good and my roommates were pretty cool. Early on my stuff kept getting thrown around carelessly but once I pointed out how rude that was it stopped. The only time they really gave me trouble is when they got super drunk Saturday night. They just got annoying, especially since i was putting the finishing touches on the Hentai panel. Overall though I am glad I roomed with them and not a bad roommate experience.

I had little plans to go to the Dealer’s room. I wasn’t even sure I would get to go until Saturday because of how many plans I had Friday. But I forgot how early ACen’s dealer’s room opens. I am used to smaller cons where the dealer’s room doesn’t open until like 3:00pm on Friday. So I did in fact do a lot of shopping! Bought all kinds of stuff I am sure I don’t need. In another post you can see the Yugioh  charms I got plus I got Manjoume. Also got Yuya for free but raffled him away. Also mentioned in another post I bought 5 keychains from MyKenBomb. I really need an ita bag because I have so many keychains and fricken nowhere to put them all! My Yugioh merchandise needs to be seen LOL Also got a new leash. I wanted to get an ACen shirt but they were sold out of the ones so I just got a new license plate cover since my last one broke. Then because of course I totally needed them I got Misaka & Kuroko plushies

Also got a big Monokuma plushie for my step-niece. I’m excited to give that to her! Finally I got a really cool gift for @roxxybawx but i don’t want to spoil that surprise so I will just tease her >^.^< Oh also because I am a FunimationNow member I got 2 free posters. 

On Friday night we got yummy meat lover’s pizza with extra garlic! Remind me to get that pizza again LOL Also my friends Jaxx & Remy stopped by the room. I bought Chandra Torch Of Defiance from Jaxx for $15. Normally way more than I would spend on a single card but it was going to my friend and come on she is my flaming waifu haahaahaa

Then I met Jessica who I had only started talking to for the first time like the night before online haaahaahaa. But I knew we would become good friends after hearing such good things about her. Me, her, and her friends went to the Hentai viewing room for some MST Hentai. Great time! We actually went to the yaoi room so that was even funnier. We saw My Sexual Harassment which I guess is a very famous yaoi with a well-known meme from it. I forgot what the second one was called, something Photography. The 2 main characters looked exactly alike though despite how they pointed out an age gap many times. Lots of jokes yelled out for both!

Didn’t sleep that well, bed seemed a bit hard for me. But oh well who needs sleep when you have stuff to do! Went to the Dangan Ronpa photoshoot as my bad Nagisa Shingetsu cosplay, need to actually finish it in the future. My roommates were DR3 Junko (with the leopard coat) and Aoi Asahina. The photoshoot was hard to find and went to the wrong location twice! I should know better by now and really check the maps well. The photoshoot was great though. I let the organizer borrow my megaphone for it. We also had school desks as props. I even had a cool idea for pictures like Souda X Sonia with Komaeda shipping it. Got to promote my Dangan Ronpa panel too.

Then it was more Dealer’s room and one last review of the DR panel. We were both nervous for the DR panel. It was a new panel for us and we were both hyped to run it at first but right before it we just both didn’t really feel like doing it. We wouldn’t confident it was good enough or would fill enough time. My panel partner was mad that she had done most of the work which is a very fair thing to be mad about. But luckily the Dangan Ronpa fandom is amazing! I had no problem falling right back into the role of fandom host and leading the discussion. They were just as passionate as the Yugioh fandom if not more! Sadly we totally went to time and didn’t really get to talk about the last 2 majors things in the franchise and I know a lot of people wanted to talked about them. Still though many who attended gave us praise for it even though we had low expectations..... low hopes for the panel. I really want to interact more with the Dangan Ronpa fandom. Especially after V3 comes out. There was a whole group of V3 cosplayers and you could see how painful it was for them to hold back spoilers. They were such awesome people though!

As I mentioned in the Yugioh fandom post, @precioussorakaibashun came to the DR panel so I really appreciate the support! We hung out afterwards and caught up on life, been so long since we had last talked.

I honestly feel like I am forgetting something else that happened Saturday night. A friend lost her badge so that sucked! Later I went on an adventure with some of the friends I mentioned up above that I won’t go into the details of but lets just say I had a real fun time!

Finally we got to the 3rd panel, the famous hentai panel. Surprisingly the line was not as long as normal and we didn’t hit max capacity which is we almost always do. But we still had a whole lot of people and more importantly the quality of people was top-notch! So many awesome comments from people. We really told a lot of good jokes and had great discussion. It was very heartfelt and emotional. In a separate post I’l’ say an awesome line I came up with on the spot. Also a friend from an old job was there so I found it funny that he got to see that side of me.

I realize most people that follow me have no interest in my hentai panel which is totally fine and understandable. But let me just say this from a sociology stand-point, I have seen the community change since we first started running it. Just as the Yugioh fandom has greatly changed since I first started running that panel, people’s attitudes about sexuality and kinks have changed. Before it was like “Oh that is gay. How funny!” and now it is like “Yeah this is gay. We are all pretty gay. It is pretty cool.” People are far more accepting of all sexualities. Before some kinks were like “This is some fucked up shit! How is anyone into this?” and now it is more like “This is not my kink but I could maybe see how someone else could be into it.” Overall just a higher tolerance and acceptance of other people’s lifestyles. Some idiots would claim this makes things less funny but I totally disagree! I feel like we get to have more intelligent humor now that people are so respectful of each other. It is really amazing! I know it must be weird for me to get so sentimental over my Hentai panel but seriously it really does make the future look like a brighter place to see people so much more tolerant.

I totally forgot i went to the dance Friday night! I don’t even remember when LOL I think after the yaoi viewing. Just leaving this here instead of squeezing it up there. I spent too much money on glow stuff. Got a necklace and bunny ears that each light up. But the coolest things were these gloves with lights in the finger tips that had 5 different settings of flashy lights of different colors. They are really impressive and cool! I want more excuses to wear them!

Back to Saturday night I was all pumped up after the panel so I wanted to stay up all night and party! There was no real party to be had though LOL  I went to the dance but i wasn’t as into it as I was the night before sadly. I wondered around a bit until I stopped by the Hentai room but again not as great as it was Friday night. So after failing to force the fun I just went to sleep at like 5:00am lol

Then as i said in the other post, Sunday was mostly a Yugioh day so that made my ACen Sunday better than any previous year.

Lets not forget throughout the whole con I ran into dozens and dozens of different friends. Although some people have faded I still know a LOT of people in the Chicago cosplay community and I think that is really awesome. I may not be that close with most of them but still I really enjoy seeing them around.

With ACen 2017 down I have at least 3 more cons planned for this year: Exxxotica, Soycon, and Geek Kon. But I am already hyped and making plans for ACen 2018! Over the next year I really am going to get back my motivation to work on cosplays and make many new awesome cosplays to wear! ACen really is a magical wonderful time where I get to see friends that I don’t get to see any other time. I feel so connected with 100′s of long lost brothers and sisters. The sense of family I get at ACen is so powerful. I love it! So I look forward to having more Precious Times and Glory Days with everyone!