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magicalyaku · 1 year ago

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August felt soo long. At first, it was great with my vacation and a successful convention and great books and then reality came crashing back in with developments at work that left me reeling for a bit. I'm bad with change. /D Anyway, on to the books! I had a lot of train time this month, so there's quite a few.

Slippery Creatures, Subtle Blood, The Sugared Game (The Will Darling Adventures 1-3) (KJ Charles): Ooh, these took me by surprise! I read two of the author's other books last month and needed something light and easy for my train trips. These were so much more delightful than I expected. I read all 3 of them within five days. Fun! Adventure! Intrigue! Characters I actually like! No really, I loved Will and his attitude. Sure, he has kind of a short temper and resorts to violence quickly, but … everyone deserved it! (And it's just a book.) This is my fantasy, you know. Actually spitting people in their face when they annoy me. Actually telling them off no matter the consequences. Hah. I guess, this is why I like this sort of character. (The Tarot Sequence's Brand and All for the Game's Andrew come to mind … Interestingly, just like Kim in here their partners are lying little shit's as well. And seen from that angle, Laurent and Damen of Captive Prince fit that category as well. I'm starting to see patterns in what I like to read. :'D) So anyway, I had a lot of fun reading this series! <3

Lose you to find me (Erik J. Brown): I have things to say. 8D First of all, yes, it's cute. It made me smile when my day was shit and while the characters had their annoying phases I'm glad it turned out how it did in the end. Before reading, though, I was so disappointed it was just a contempory romance. After All that's left in the world with it's postapocalyptic but not too outlandish setting I was hoping I'd get more of that "a little different". Yeah, didn't work out, but the pain eased a little because the book was nice actually and we reconciled for real with author's afterword. And to be fair, usually, I'm all in when authors do different things with each book instead of writing the same all over again, so I have to give him credit for this. But there's still one more thing I have to mention. Why is there no content warning for SEVERED BODY PARTS?! Like what the hell seriously. I'm not squeamish usually but one of my coworkers cut off a part of his finger permanently at the beginning of the year, so this was waaay too real to me. A warning would have been appreciated. /D

Prince in Disguise (Perilous Courts 2) (Tavia Lark): More stuff that's easy to read. I liked the first volume better because the stakes were higher but it was still pretty okay. I definitely like how close these volumes are in timeline and story while still being separate adventures. I wish Whisper's mission in this would have had a little more impact but well, it is what it is. (I think I just like Whisper more than Bell or Rakos 8D). Also new mascot animal. Cute! I wonder if there'll be one in volume 3 as well … 8D

Afterglow (Golden Boys 2) (Phil Stamper): After Lose you to find me I was in the mood for more contemporary YA and as it turns out the themes in this one are similar. High school graduation, college applications, self-discovery. It also felt very American to me. As a European reading books like this is always like a cultural study. :'D I think, what I liked most about Golden Boys was its quiet tone. It had its dramatic moments but, at least in my memory overall, it was more calm and understated and while I love my adventure stories reading something nice and calm was a good change of pace. And the sequel takes it even one step further. While there's anxiety towards the future it's never the kind of overwhelming where I have to squeeze my eyes shut and take a moment to calm my nerves before I can continue reading. 8D In terms of content this works because it's a sequel and we already know everyone and their previous struggles. I have a lot of respect for the writing process. Juggling four boys and the timeline? Ugh. And yeah, I liked the book and the paths the boys take. All these different perspectives on life. It's not just another "where's the next party" and "oh he doesn't like me what should i do" but focusses on the characters and their indivual worries and their friendship. It's nice and it's warm. :)

Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston (Esme Symes-Smith): Well … I wish I liked this better than I did. The story is fine, the characters are fine (in comparison to the next book below they a stellar), the themes are important and I can see what it wants to do and most of it it does pretty well, but … Yes, in order to overthrow a system you first need to establish it. But the first third of the book was hard to get through as the world Callie steps into is very rigid in its rules surrounding gender and stuff and it's making Callie hurt, angry and defensive and even though I knew it would eventually lead to a better place, it was making me angry as well and I get angry easily everytime I step outside, I don't really need that in my books. It gets better once the kids actually meet for real and spend more time with each other. But there's the other part that I didn't like: There's something jarring about the writing style. Like bumps on a smooth road - the more bumps we ride over the more annoying they get. It happened most noticably with distances and the passage of time. The hole that Callie's mother left in her heart took years to grow over, but never fully healed. But they've only been away from said mother for two years. When Callie confronts Peran, Papa draws them backwards, Neal steps between them, yet Peran's face is so close, they can see coloured specks in his irises. He's also way taller than them, so how does that work? At one point I wondered if the author might have less visual imagination power than I do because all the descriptions of distances around the castle, the town, the bridge and the forest just felt jumbled to me. (Or maybe I was just not reading well.) Last example: Callie and Edwyn circle around the dragon and attack their back with swords and it's said in a single simple sentence like it's nothing. But that dragon must be huge, because their face is as large as a human, and also it was flying a few minutes earlier and directly afterwards it's said how there's fire all around them. But yeah, apparently that swing was super easy to do, so one sentence is enough to say it happened. It just felt weird and it happened so often. And I feel bad for picking at a book for kids with a good cause but damn. All these things are so easy to make better and more coherent. :I

The Last Fallen Moon (Gifted Clans 2) (Graci Kim): Ugh, I don't know, this might be the first middle grade book I read where I'd say "I'm too old for this." Not really a fan of the humor and the attempted quirkiness, the pop culture references (and how it basically says that all (Korean?) celebrities are witches which I find actually offensive. Pretty sure none of the kids reading these books will have any magical abilities, so they won't ever make it to stardom or what no matter how hard they try? Hmm.) It was also hard to be patient when things are so obvious and still get treated like a big revelation pages after (The Stairbucks toilets?!) And the characters felt so bland to me. I couldn't tell you a single interesting thing about any of them. Things got better towards the end, when everything starts to fall into place instead of being a string of small tasks that can never be completed because there's suddenly some new issue. The two things I liked are that Riley gains a brother rather than a love interest (or a brother who is a love interest … 8D) and that her sister has an active part this time. Will I read the next installment? …. Probably not?

Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett): Oops, something totally different in here for once. I like theatre, but liking in this case means, that I know all plays by Eugene Ionesco and Oscar Wilde, topped with a singular Wedekind and this one. :'D I'm terribly picky and not actively seeking out new stuff. But the Theatre of the Absurd especially has a way with words and weird situations that I always found fascinating. I read Godot a long time ago and went to see it on stage a couple of years ago but when I thought of it recently I realised I didn't remember anything so I reread it and well … I understood why my memory failed. I don't know if I'd actually call the piece good. It's weird, it's weirdly sad and therefore it's weirdly endearing. But most of all it's a giant "what the fuck is going on". It made me think of all that "Is our life a simulation"-crap since Estragon seems to be the only one capable of remembering previous events. But I'm not going to try to think about what it all could mean as it will lead nowhere anyway. :'D

Dark Rise (C.S. Pacat): The sequel is coming in November so I thought it time to refresh my memory! I own the English edition but went and borrowed the German edition from the library for all the things I might have missed and because it's interesting to read the translation vs. the original. I remember having a blast reading this for the first time (I think this was the first time for me writing something book-related on my blog because it was just too wild to contain 8D). And now, knowing the twists and turns it was delicious to look for the foreshadowing (and the twists and turns were delicious as well like hnng!!). And now waiting for the next volume is even harder. Damn!

For September I have planned something nice! Please look forward to it!

#yaku reads #august wrap up #books #queer books #queer lit #lgbtq books #bookblr #the will darling adventures #perilous courts #dark rise #afterglow #the last fallen moon #waiting for godot #sir callie and the champions of helston #lose you to find me

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evelhak · 1 year ago

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Old art #12: Fate/Once Upon a Time

Some more ancient history. I used to be obsessed with Fate/Stay Night and could not swallow the ending of the Fate route of the visual novel/2006 anime when I was in high school, so obviously I drew several hundred pages of fan comic to fix it. I used to post it on DeviantArt, but life got in the way back then, so I left it in like chapter 3. (Yes it took like a hundred pages per chapter because I'm me). And I had something like 52 chapters planned, I think. I still pretty much remember the story, so I've been considering reposting the pages somewhere with a summary of how it would have gone, to give closure to people who loved it back then, even though it's very late, and it's pretty unlikely anyone from that time would stumble across it anymore.

At least I had been able to draw and post the whole reason why I began to make the comic, by the end of chapter 1, so I wasn't completely torn about it when I wasn't able to continue. Anyway... in case anyone was curious, this is kind of where I come from. This was my start in fan works. It was a fix-it comic that consumed my life for a while. (Two years, I think.) I could not stop, I was drawing every minute I could. I remember carrying a folder with me everywhere, not only was I drawing on breaks at school and secretly in class, literally even during my folk dance groups' training camp I was already in some corner drawing if we had a five-minute break, same at backstage while someone was braiding my hair for a performance. I could not waste a minute. (My days were full already.)

This was the first long story of mine that had readers I didn't know, who left comments and begged for me to continue. That was really something. I bet that really marks a turning point for a lot of storytellers. I had had ideas for fan works before, but I had always resisted because it "isn't original". Fate/Stay Night was the first time my need to create was too strong, it made me throw that philosophy out the window for a while. (I'm glad it did, obviously, even though part of the reason I quit was because I decided I had to focus on my original fiction at the time.)

My English was still not great, and I had even more problems with anatomy than I do now, but this project definitely made me develop both of those skills a lot. It's always the uncontrollable need to create something that makes me get better at things, because there's just no other way to accomplish what I want than to acquire the skills I need for it, and my brain just doesn't accept not succeeding. If it weren't for this fan comic, I probably wouldn't have done a lot of things I have since then. So I feel like I owe a lot to Fate, and I have many fond memories of this project.

Obviously, I also got mansplained a lot, since it was a pretty male dominant fandom. Guys who hadn't even bothered to read my story yet came to me like "Uuuuh do you have a clue how Fate works, I bet you don't so let me go on paragraphs of monologue" of things that I of course knew just as well as them. Or telling me that my story wasn't even possible because X, Y and Z problems would need to be solved before there could even be another Grail War as the Grail was destroyed... like, really? You thought I didn't think of that? You didn't even consider that maybe I actually have a brain and came up with entirely new concepts that don't exist in canon? (Not to mention, a gigantic franchise with multiple contradictory routes for the same story is a really stupid place to start telling people what is or isn't possible, geez. Why so small-minded?)

Or they were just dismissing me because my story "looked like a shojo manga". (Lol, I know, and that's not an accident. That's what's so great about it, actually. When you combine the high stakes and suspense of shonen with the aesthetic and emotional expression of shojo, how can you lose? When you combine conventions from two different sources, you'll always end up with something that doesn't exist in either of them. A union, a synthesis, is more than the sum of its parts. That's my philosophy, anyway...)

And appearances can be deceiving. Once these guys actually read my story, they told me I was "so good at creating suspense!!!!" and the emotional catharsis of a particular scene had them writing to me that I made them cry. Hah. In your face. (I certainly thought that, even if I had too much manners to tell them.) Don't you just love changing people's minds?

Anyway, looking back at this more than a decade old thing made me quite emotional.

Shiro x Saber forever. 💙💙💙

#repostober #fate/stay night #fan art #traditional art

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lrandconkdors · 2 years ago

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You know how anime usually have a packaged animation that they slowly run the ending credits over? Like, they just repeat this one song and dance with each episode and it's up to you to choose whether to let it run or not. Like, maybe you groove with it, maybe you cool down with it, maybe it clashes with the tone of the episode's last scene and you skip it, maybe it's just boring and you skip it. point is, they're not going to surprise you across the anime's run. But, what if they were... non-predictable? What if each iteration of the ED did its own thing?

Well, stop "what-if"ing. That literally just happened this fall. And I'm here to look back at each ED session and decide which I thought were cooler. The anime that dared to uproot convention like this is one that probably needs no introduction.

...actually, was Pop Team Season 2 that popular? I didn't know it was being made until it had already started. Either way, I don't feel like writing any more intro spiel.

D-tier

Episode 4 - the one where they make faces at each other

This is one of those classic Pop Team Epic absurdist moments where typical human concepts like "twist" or "punchline" are abandoned. The visual humor of watching them go off-model wears off once you realize they're looping back to reuse faces. But whereas this spurt of oddity lasted (I presume) for only four little panels in the original comic, the anime makes you gawk at them for 60 seconds before you can confirm that, yes, that's the whole skit. At least the rerun makes itself useful and decides to play outtake footage of a previous skit over the credits.

(No clue where to fit this into the summary but: Why are Popuko & Pipimi supplemented by chiptune noises that all acutely sound like SFX found in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga? M&L players, back me up.)

Episode 5 - upon which the anime's stock market value mysteriously drops

I enjoyed the company of Pop Team Epic B-side, one of the few aspects distinguishing this anime run from its original season, which acted out your ""ordinary"" PTE comedy, but replaced our ""heroines"" with lavishly animated bishonen counterparts. So, feelings were definitely felt when Pipihara informed Popuoka that their segment had, apparently, been cancelled. The latter responds by tossing a grenade at the conveniently nearby Takeshobo HQ, then looks back with a subdued smile, as the building explodes off-screen. The frame freezes on this visually arresting moment, and the credits sequence begins.

As a sad piano version of the ending song played and the screen slowly filled up with images of the boys' past moments (all five of them), I slowly succumbed to the realization that they probably weren't joking about the cancellation.

I saw B-side as the antithesis to the long reign of Bob Epic Team. By countering the uncanny off-model antics with unexpected off-brand sexiness, Pop Team Epic was instilled with balance. Seeing the new blood get sniped out of the sky, my chemistry with Bobunemimimmi dropped from tolerance to resentment. I no longer possess the moral high ground with which to point at people who complain about a network cancelling a cartoon they were rooting for while sustaining one they don't like.

Episode 9 - the one that got away

The last skit of Episode 9 opens on Popuko seemingly racing an R/C car - a very Popuko thing to partake in. But eventually, she runs out of stamina, so I guess she was only human after all. The ending music starts as the car drives off into the sunset, and then barely anything else happens until the chorus, which triggers a slideshow of the toy car visiting sites around the world. I feel like the bulk of this one's intrigue is trying to guess what this moment was like in the original comic. Maybe the whole travelogue sequence was adapted from one sole panel, for instance that panel could have been the image of Popuko receiving a post card we see at the end. Or maybe the anime crew made up that whole part, and it originally just ended on Popuko staring at the horizon.

C-tier

Episode 1 - the one thriving off of port priority

This scene is a bizarre cap off to a bizarre skit with a bizarre setup, bizarre punchline, and bizarre conclusion. It's also just a 60-second-long animated image that slowly zooms out. This may not be a great ED (they didn't even bother to upload this one to the official channel), but it's automatically a good first-episode ED, because it got to be the first to introduce my ears to the soulful triumph that is Nakayo Peas (is that what it's called? The English subtitles translates the song's refrain as "we're just two peas in a pod," but a later ED implies the ピース refers to 'peace,' and then I also saw an outside source that called it "Nakayopiece"...) I don't know of the comedy in Pipimi staring at a picture of herself pulling a super rare on her phone, while sitting at a window revealing the most beautiful ocean sunset of the anime season, but it sure does complement well with the wistful piano into techno breakdown of the ending theme.

No-Subject-tier

Episode 7 - the most bespoke scene of a man heading to the public restroom in anime history

This ending is hard to sort because a lot of the cool things about it are just an extension of the cool things about the episode itself. Episode 7 not only dedicates the entire 11 minutes to telling the story of Hellshake Yano's fall and comeback, but forgoes all animation and motion graphics in favor of recording two guys playing with notebooks using as few cuts as possible, with even the OP and ED using original sequences. If there's something the end credits have going exclusively for it, it's the way it handles the credits varying slightly between original and rerun. They shot two takes of the journey to the restroom, and in the second, a cut-up page is flipped over the cast list replacing the names accordingly.

██████-tier

Episode 11 - the one you've probably heard about already

So, have you seen the works of Kékéflipnote? That guy who draws the funny-cute animations of animals using an animation tool exclusive to a handheld gaming system? Well, someone at King Records clearly had, because we got an ending sequence depicting Pop & Pipi as Kéké's trademark blob-pigeons (among other creatures), engaging in Kéké's trademark buttery-smooth bouncy-dances, all the while presumably flipping the camera off. Furthering the homage, Nakayo Peas sports yet another rearrangement, peppered with synth arpeggios* which sound awfully similar to Robot Rock by Daft Punk, a track used in one of Kéké's more popular videos.

*Did I use either of these words properly here?

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If you already know all this and have witnessed ED11 for yourself, you may be questioning why this isn't higher on the list. Well, while I acknowledge what an insane crossover of worlds this was, I also have this petty annoyance with its execution. I just personally think that maybe they shouldn't have sunk all that time and talent into one joke if they were just going to, y'know, censor it out of existence?

By combining the time-forged wholesome aes of funny baguette Flipnote guy with the vulgar slant of kuso manga/anime, this animation holds the potential to revitalize the shock the world originally felt upon witnessing the sight of two (vaguely) moe school girls 🖕🏻deucing🖕🏻 the camera with comically large, anatomically menacing hands. Also, I heard a claim that the ending song's cryptic lyrics about "a game you can play with your fingers" is a disguised reference to the Gesture, so if true, this animation is very in sync with its BGM. But this show should know well that Japanese television broadcasters have feelings about deuces.

They should also know well that said feelings don't extend very far beyond overlaying a dinky pixel effect that doesn't leave much up to imagination. So why, then, did the animator decide to instead erect giant black boxes that cover their entire arms? Besides the opinion that that's distracting, there's the fact that anything could be behind these boxes. Consider the following: do Popu-ké and Pipi-geon have KKFNesque, doodly thin arms? Or do they follow the PPTP way and use hyperrealistic human digits? What if they're not doing that at all? Maybe the birbs have nipples and that was what had to be ██████ed? What if the animals are, uhhh, are waving dildos around? And how would any of the above apply to a snake? I Guess We'll Never Know!!

I remember staring at the screen in disbelief, solemnly waiting for the credits to confirm that, yes, they did get the real Kékéflip to animate this bit. All that I could think about was how people all over the web would be talking about how cool it was that this happened, and how no one would feel the same way I did. I kept thinking about it, past the setting of the sun and into the next day. Whenever my mind wandered, I would hear the war chant set in again: Nakayo peeeeeeeaaaas, nakayo peeeeas, peeeeas, pi-pi- peas... I have used this word frequently in my life, but considering the place it mentally put me in, 仲良ピース（ＤａｎｃｅＲｏｃｋＭｉｘ） is most deserving of the term "Cursed."

Also, this anime partnering with a French animator reminds me that the JAPON MiGNON segment wasn't able to return this season, which by extension reminds me that its "replacement" Pop Team B-side died an early death GRAAAAFLKGJHDSK

B-tier

Episode 2 - The calm after a storm

This ending caps off episode 2's main story, which places the girls into a giant robot battle for the future of the anime or something like that. Not much visually to write home about, but for a one-use sequence to a parody of a mecha-drama, there could be a lot less. If this were the full-time ending to a real series, I would still respect the seq showing the internals of Biggus McHugeGuy for its unique-while-still-animation-efficient-ness. The music is also tasteful, starting minimalistic and letting the wistful vocals shine, before giving way to dauntless guitar riffing. Though, when I first watched this, my reaction was more like, "It's acoustic now?? But I was looking forward to the cool techno breakdown!"

Episode 12 - wake up babe, Shouta Aoi exercises are starting

So, uh, the season finale, am I right? They just... directed an entire late-game episode of a practically imaginary live-action tokusatsu series. And just when you've forgotten what you came for, and gotten unironically invested in the world of Endless L.O.V.E., the show leans over and mutters, "On your left." And then out of nowhere, an entire horde of Popukos and Pipimis from across the season's run show up to help our heroes (heralded by a triumphant marching band performace of Pop Team Epic's original theme song)! It was the most legendary moment of the anime season... up until they actually started battling, at which point the anime, in one final act of trolling the audience, elects to merely move around stiff .SVGs of the characters knocking a bunch of enemy mooks around, with "eco-friendly anime 😋" printed at the top of the screen.

Thankfully, after all was said and done, the final end roll, in its own way, did the concept a little more justice. Similar to the last episode of Season 1, Shouta Aoi takes the spotlight and does a little song and dance, but this time, he is backed up by (multiple variations of) Popuko and Pipimi, and they're actually animated this time! Hands down, Aoi Shouta Taisou is the most wholesome display to come out of this 4-D prank of an anime. It even takes its idea to a clever conclusion by including designs for Pop+Pipi never before seen - to Shouta Aoi's bewilderment.

Episode 3 - Pop Team Epic will become real in three minutes.

In this one, two mascot costumes of Popuko and Pipimi take a tour of King Records' building. It's demonstrated that Popuko is such an aggresive gal that even her hairdo can't traverse a closed space without getting in a standoff against any bypassers or protusions in the wall.

When I saw this ED, I was under the conception that this was going to be the ED for the season proper, with the first two being special exceptions. (Specifically, various anime hide away their proper OP or ED on the first episode, and episode 2 was clearly a one-off for the bit - imagine Kaguya-sama's first season, but if the special Chika ED was placed even earlier.) And I was completely fine with that. This sequence may not be at the top of this list, but if each of these entries had an entire season each to reign over, things would be different. It's unique and charming enough to be repeatedly entertaining (at least moreso than last season's Poppy Pappy Day), but not so weird and specific that it becomes exhausting.

I missed this when I first watched the episode, but the rerun features totally different footage, of the two visiting Takeshobo instead. Personally more of a fan of the female vocal version, it has a better excitement curve.

Episode 8 - the one where... where the... the..when..... uhhhhhm...

I mean, it's certainly, uhhh... the mixed media is so mixed that it... there are copious amounts of untranslated text, which... the arrangement...bass slaps surprisingly... every chord is somehow the wrong one, creating a sense of... 90% of the footage is different between versions, tricking me into a false Mandela effect..... HOT CAT.

Okay, as much as I want to talk about this one, it's a lot harder since I have no idea what I'm looking at. Like, this must be a homage to something like with ED11, right? there's no way a PTE staff member just felt like making it look specifically Like That, with no precedent. I wish I knew of the context (or at least could read all the on-screen text), because I do not know how to thread my thoughts on this otherwise. It trippy.

A-tier

Episode 10 - the reveal that nature is healing

The tenth ending uses a series of watercolor murals to depict the duo fooling around in some savanna - amongst a gaggle of fauna that prove Okawa bkub's iconic eyes have the potential to make for some freakin' cute critters, and not just the ugly-cute critters that are our protags. Its ending theme, which is now more relaxed than it already was, obtaining the aspect of a lazy river when the original already felt like waves rippling on a beach shore, is arguably the least necessary rearrangement of the bunch, but I'm not complaining.

But of course, there's something more about this safari that made me put it so high up. What's the first animal you see in it? An otter with a duplicitous grin. It looks just like the one in a skit from this very episode! And after that? There's Unyumaru, the thingy also featured earlier! And this jungle setting in general... it's clearly connecting to the nature documentary that centers the episode's Pop Team Story! (Said story kind of loses interest in the "let's import some hyenas with Popuko eyes before this ecosystem collapses in on itself" plot and turns into some sort of quiz parody instead, so it's nice to see how the biome has been doing since.)

Whereas every other credits sequence is connected to whatever came directly before it (like the 2nd), or welded onto the last skit of the ep (like #4), or it just does its own thing (like 8), End-roll № 10 has the innovative idea to draw from the events of its respective episode. And by innovative, I mean that a similar effect can be peeped in multiple video game credit sequences, and the endings of every other animated feature film ever. and probably also a handful of anime that ended their runs. But not one that ended a random one of its episodes! Episode 10 capitalizes on Season 2's unique ED format in a way that the others don't quite, creating a cute moment that isn't just "The credits that roll during skit 𝒙" or "The experimental short played at the end of Episode 𝒚," but truly "The Credits Sequence of PTE2 Episode 10."

Episode 6 - the one Peer Gynt was afraid to diss

My opinion on which ED is my fave flip-flops between the previously discussed and this about-to-be-discussed. But, if asked this question in public, I would find explaining the appeal of essentially four image pans inefficient compared to presenting the comedy gold that is Ending 6.

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All cards on the table, I love the animations of Asami Ike. She's only responsible for three bits across both seasons, but they were so revolutionary that I failed to notice there were only three before I was handed her Sakugabooru page. (Mini ranking, why not: this, then the shark short from season 1, and then the giraffe short at the top🦒)

And I love how hard the components of this scene devote themselves to the comedic timing. We get thirty seconds of Popuko acting like she's about to spit fire in the booth, before pulling up a flute, and then just as the song is about to hit the bass- the music cuts off. The art style shifts. The background turns bright yellow. Popuko absolutely holds onto this one note. She seems to get less on-model with each passing frame. The on-screen credits have gone completely scarce in this credits sequence. And then these little dudes crawl out of a hole in the ground and start throwing it back?? (Special shout-out to the official subs for not giving away the switch: the usual "just two peas in a pod" line is displayed in full, for all of one second. it would have been more honest to type only as much as, say, "We're just two--" but honesty wouldn't be as funny here.) The raw power of this bit's execution becomes a lot more impressive if you see the strip it was based on:

Wow!! That's not funny at all! The boys clearly put an insane amount of elbow grease into transforming this pile of ink and screentones into a brand new legend! If you think about it, the whole ethos of this anime series is based in striving to put a bit too much Time and Effort into adapting the world's most nonsensical manga. It's motivational, kinda.

Okay, goodnight, folks!

Originally, I was going to be stumped as to what to write at the end of this, but... you know, every time I came back to this listicle of a post in my drafts, I would see the visage of one miss Makima, backlit by the heavens.

I feel like there's a higher-than-usual chance my fakeout opening actually worked. Up to and during the time Pop Team was once more on air, I was seeing this woman's visage all over the place. Not so much for the girls. If you were to move a few strings of circumstance, I may simply have never found out that PTE was back. When Poptepipic was first unleashed upon television, it was unlike anything man had seen before. But when it received a second wave, its quirks were just what we expected from the famous 'kuso-anime.' PTE2 didn't do very much to subvert expectations. Maybe that's why this run didn't make as many waves. There were, like, how many new elements in this season? You had B-Side, whose fate I've already gone at length about. There was the way each episode had a collab with Square Enix or some sort of advertisement.. the episode previews for a nonexistent anime were replaced with voice actors chattering.. The most ambitious season 2 got was the two episodes they offered up entirely to a single bit each. (I feel like Gal and Dino did a better job of being a Pop Team Epic 2, or at least a cooler one.) This is why I hold the EDs so dearly - it was a mechanic that broke from both its predecessor and from general anime convention. What a shame that they ended up unveiling this the same season that a more popular anime pulled the same stunt but slightly better.

...Anyways, see you in six months when I post a ranking of Chainsaw Man's EDs, and go on a tangent about how your favorite artistic collaboration filled me with existential horror!

#anime ed #tier list #chainsaw man #ED review #pop team epic #long post

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confused-reading-ink-rat · 8 months ago

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A Cup of Coffee

Tyson Hills might be a good lay, charmer, and flirt extraordinaire, but he has nothing on Jakes Verrera.

Hi, I'm Hailey Milson and I have a crush on the popular guy's best friend.

_______________________

If you live in Allentown, you'd know Tyson Hills, and if you go to Westwood High, you'd know that he fits the popular bad boy guy archetype to the tee.

Rich parents, conventional beauty, charisma, and flirting expertise. He has all the skills to take a girl home for the night, which he does often, topped off with a leather jacket, smooth voice, and a motorbike.

And yeah, every girl in school wants him to take her to prom except me.

I mean, I see the appeal, I get it, it's just not for me. I want to date for marriage, build a life, and a family (whatever kind that is) and have a serious committed relationship. One-night stands and summer flings with Tyson are not my cup of tea.

But you know who is? Let me introduce you to Jake Verrera, Tyson's best friend and right-hand man.

He's a guitarist and aspiring musician with a passion for making it big. Not only that, but he's also an animal lover, he's a barista and a mama's boy. Can a guy wave a bigger green flag? The man's got it all and I am all for it.

Being an average girl with daydreams of a knight-in-shining-armor, I’ll accept a man with a guitar as his weapon and a bicycle as his steed. My father is a mechanic, I’ll give him free repairs any time.

He’s also the reason for my latest coffee addiction. Do you know how many times a week I visit that cafe for that man? Five. I’m blowing off my monthly budget of 200 just for a guy like that.

One of these days I’m going up on that counter and giving him my number.

#fic prompt #writing prompt #original character #café #cafe #high school

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anarchxst · 2 years ago

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I started tagging things with "the pack" 8 years ago.

Eight years.

I'm not part of the oc community anymore, and that's okay, it's not my thing these days, but the fact that it began like nine-ish years ago with a handful of people who just really liked Teen Wolf and embraced a part of fanfic and fandom that is still largely frowned upon is wild.

I'm not a social person. I like my solitude. I don't really talk to people (even online), I don't come off as particularly empathetic in conversation, and I eventually ghost everyone — all of this thanks to a lovely combination of autism, social anxiety, and cptsd — but here's the thing:

For almost five years, I was here everyday. Even when I wasn't technically part of the group, it was still in my consciousness, leading to random message threads or ridiculous project undertakings for others just because I thought it was nice. You may have never had a conversation with me or fangirled with me, but you still might've gotten a gift.

And I don't think I would've finished my story if not for "the pack". The oc community is what made me a fan of my story. Ask games, AUs, gif sets, etc. I wouldn't be writing my horror novel series of not for this particular slice of Tumblr.

Do I miss it?

Sure, but in the same way I miss my favorite RP partner or group, or my first anime convention, or my poetry club from high school.

In the way that makes me nostalgic and thankful, but good with who and where I am now.

I dunno. I just woke up with this thought.

Thanks to all those in the know. You know who you are. I hope you are all well.

Anyway, here's my cat Arya being a goober.

#the pack #my ramblings #oc community #long post

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spacedustpan · 7 months ago

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This entirely.

Before I jump into my response I'd like to clarify that I'm all for disconnecting your value and self worth from your creations as a mechanism for maintaining positive self image and self worth. That's not what I'm talking about below.

I'm talking about the people in fandom that say stuff like this and either dont create art or write themselves or use that as a way to shut other people down when they're opening up about how hurt they are that they're being ignored in the fandom.

I really feel like fandom is developing a bad habit of entitlement like. They want the "content" -the artwork, the fics- but they don't want to put themselves out there to compliment the artist or writer on their hard work.

Hell people will avoid reblogs and sometimes even likes but will screenshot it and share it to their discord servers like.????

And they still expect someone to keep making the stuff they want to see. It's ridiculous.

I know the fact that we're online now blurs that line but like.

Fandom used to be your friends at school or work or people you knew irl and people you met irl at like conventions and parties and clubs and stuff.

Just sharing art and stories from person to person. In person. People would share sketchbooks with strangers and aquaintances.

And at the end of the day That Is Still The Case Now

It's just that we're in a digital convention-esque space where we have similar interests already by way of being in the same fandom tags.

Would you expect an irl acquaintance or the cool person you met and high fived at an anime convention to draw fanart or share stories with you if you just silently took it, took a picture with your phone, silently handed it back, and then text a completely different friend group about it while walking away?

Even if you said good and nice things to your group chat about it, how would they know?

Don't you think the person that took time to create that art or story would feel hurt or rejected by you seemingly ignoring their work?

It takes like 25 seconds to say "This is awesome!" Or "Beautiful work!" Or just leave a bunch of heart emojis or something similar and it can really make a huge difference for the artist or writer.

If you think that artists and writers should only be making their art and fic for themselves and you think that posts about wanting praise or validation for their work is vain or something to be looked down upon, then honestly think long and hard about whether or not you should even be in fandom spaces because they wouldn't even exist in the first place without people writing and drawing and posting meta analysis and headcanons and gifs and such.

The reason any of us are in fandom is to connect over how much we love these characters and the reason we're in online fandom spaces is that we want to connect with people online about it.

Being shy is different - but if you're shy please consider that the artist might be just as shy as you are and that they really put their heart and soul out there by gathering the courage to post. When youre shy and gather up the courage to post but get ignored its devastating. If you like the piece then maybe give them a thumbs up or heart emoji or something. It doesn't have to be eloquent to be validating. A simple "You're so right!💖" Feels like the warmth and light of the sun after an endless winter.

I was gonna reblog my reply on a post, but OP disabled reblogs. The OP basically said "if you spend six hours baking a cake for a party and nobody eats it, it's still disappointing even if you like the cake", and the notes were chock full of people going on about "write for yourself" and learning not to care and I just. Had some thoughts.

#It gives a strong ' I wouldn't be caught dead talking to this loser - but look at this cool shit they made about *Insert Fandom Here* '#It reeks and I hate it

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rainofaugustsith · 3 years ago

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So there's a dispute on SWTOR's official forum about the amount of money voiceover actors make for the video games, and how some of them are millionaires, and I'm laughing my ass off over here. Like yeah, the actors went on strike because the video game companies made them scream until their vocal cords were injured and often didn't even tell them the games they were being hired for, but they pay millions. Uh-huh.

If you're interested in the actual facts: yeah, nope. For anyone to say that video game voice over actors are rolling in money from that work, I'm sorry, you're a dumbass who has no idea what you are talking about.

Fun fact: voiceovers in video games don't get residuals or royalties. They get paid a flat fee for their time and that's it, even if the game is a best seller for the next decade. That alone makes them far less lucrative than other voice over work like commercials, films or animated series where residuals and royalties exist.

Here's SAG-AFTRA's current scale for video game voiceover work, which is considered "Interactive." This is AFTER THE STRIKE NEGOTIATIONS. If four hours doesn't sound like a lot to you, talk, cry and scream for four hours nearly nonstop and then let us know how your voice feels afterward.

If you don't want to read the PDF, I did a screenshot of a few points below. A day performer doing up to 3 voices/4 hours gets $956.75 currently. A day performer doing 1 voice/1 hour gets $478.50 + money for each additional voice. Someone doing a lot of voices over a 6 hour day gets $1914.25.

Ihttps://www.sagaftra.org/files/2020InteractiveRateSheetFinal.pdf

If you're curious as to how this stands against other stuff, here's the rate sheet for commercials, as a comparison.

https://www.sagaftra.org/files/2019%20All%20Commercial%20Rate%20Sheets%207.1.19.pdf

For something like Onslaught, I doubt they needed the principal voiceover actors for more than two or three days. The actors doing 1-3 voices likely netted something like $2000 at best for the work. With no residuals.

So why would someone do video game work? It's money.

1. It's. Fucking. Money.

2. It's fun for some actors.

3. It's obviously not like being on a TV set for 14 hour days, which makes it a good choice for actors who have scaled back their workload.

4. If an actor still has a heavy workload, it's not very time intensive compared to say a film.

5. It earns credit toward SAG-AFTRA's health insurance and pension plans, and since America doesn't care if people die in the streets when they are not able to work or don't have health coverage, this is important.

6. Voiceover actors who are liked and can do a lot of memorable voices can get a lot of work.

Oh, and keep in mind that in addition to taxes, both an actor's agent and SAG-AFTRA get a cut of their earnings. They have union dues, they have professional expenses.

Look at the resume for someone like Jennifer Hale or Lydia Leonard. Look at how many credits they have just for the past, say, five years. They're out there busting their asses on all sorts of voiceover and on screen work, not just video games. I looked up the female Sith Warrior, Natasha Little - she's doing one BBC series after another. Someone on that thread brought up Kari Wahlgren. Yeah, again, go look at her list of credits and how much she works, and how most of it is TV voiceovers like Animaniacs. Let's see, she's also done Owl House, a Star Trek series, Ricky & Morty - most isn't video games.

Then there's all the stuff that many actors do that doesn't get on IMDB - commercials, theatre, all the corporate voiceover stuff, going to conventions. Monetized social media streams or podcasts. The side gigs in writing, teaching acting or voiceover classes. The product endorsements or modeling some actors do. Investing.

Nobody's rolling in cash from doing a video game. If any of them are millionaires or have a net worth that is high, it's likely because they have invested and worked in a lot of other content that gives them residuals.

#swtor #seriously people on that forum why are you like that

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notwiselybuttoowell · 4 years ago

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We're Stewards of Our Land: The Rise of Female Farmers

'I was always fascinated by getting things out of the ground’

Sinead Fenton

Grows vegetables and edible flowers at Aweside Farm, East Sussex

Sinead Fenton is on an early lunch break, hiding from the sun. “It’s ridiculously intense, so I think we’re going to call it a day and crack back on in the evening,” she says. Fenton and her partner, Adam Smith, have been putting in beds and getting ahead on groundwork for next year. This year, there will be no commercial crops on the couple’s 4.5-acre plot.

They signed the papers on their farm last November and moved onto the land in March. Around the time they needed to make decisions about how they’d manage their first harvest, lockdown happened. With restaurants and florists – their main clients – out of action for the foreseeable future, they made the decision not to sow seeds but concentrate on opening up the land. “We were going to do it over three or four years, so we’re squeezing three years of work into this year, so we can focus on growing next year,” Fenton says.

She and Smith cut their scythes at Audacious Veg, a 0.1-acre plot in Hainault, at the end of the Central Line between Essex and London. Shortly after volunteering at the allotment in 2017, they heard the project was about to finish: “Naively, with about three weeks’ worth of growing experience, we decided that we’d take it on and get the produce to chefs.”

Smith worked in insurance accounting and while Fenton most recently worked in software and food policy, her background was in geology. “I came at farming from an activist point of view,” she says. “I was always fascinated by getting things out of the ground, but that is a destructive industry. Farming is nicer because I can do something for the system instead of taking everything from it.”

There was a lot of insecurity around the project. Land is contentious, especially in London, and land law is difficult and expensive to negotiate for those with no farming background. “Adam and I are both from cities – I’m from London, he’s from Essex. We’re from low-income families, and we had no access to farms growing up,” Fenton explains. “It’s basically impossible to get on the land, because it’s so expensive, or passed down through generations.”

They got the land for Aweside through the Ecological Land Co-op, which buys fields designated by Defra as only being good for arable crops, then splits them up to create smallholdings. Aweside is neighbours with a veg-box scheme, and waiting for others who’ll transform what once was a 20-acre maize field into a cluster of small farms rich with biodiversity. Now Fenton and Smith have a 150-year lease, and no worries that what they create will be taken away.

It’s not yet a permanent home. Fenton says they’ll be living in a caravan for a few years: “Another part of land law in the UK that makes land inaccessible is that if you want to live on your land you have to go through five years of proving your business is profitable, viable and that there is a functional need for you to live there.” Having livestock is an easy way to pass the test, but because Aweside is a vegan farm, Fenton and Smith need to cultivate and show they use every bit of plot.

It’s daunting but Fenton is excited about having a blank slate to work with. “There’s so much more to food than what supermarkets tell us to eat,” she says, explaining that they’ll grow varieties at risk of extinction, or that aren’t commonly grown in a mass market food system. “Seed diversity and plant genetics are serious issues.”

The three principles the couple work to are: more flowers, more trees, thriving soil. They’re working no-dig, putting compost directly on the ground and letting the soil life mix everything over time. They’re pesticide-free and are counting on the fact that the more diversity they have in the system, especially with a high proportion of flowers to pollinators and insects, the fewer problems they’ll face.

“Socially, economically and environmentally, something needs to change. Things have been done the same way by the same people for a long time,” says Fenton of the farming industry’s need for greater diversity. “I learned to grow on an allotment site where there are lots of different things growing at once. Bringing that approach into sites like this is needed – the industry needs it to keep itself relevant.”

'I'm hoping this will be seen as quite a cool career… even if it’s not’

Abi Aspen Glencross

Head of grains at Duchess Farms, Hertfordshire

It was, Abi Aspen Glencross was well aware, an odd, even inopportune time to launch a crowdfunding campaign. In June, with the country still locked down, Duchess Farms asked for support to buy dehulling, cleaning and milling equipment. The Hertfordshire farm needed about £16,000, and the money would go towards boosting the production of ancient and heritage grains for making flour.

“A lot of crowdfunders have been for charity or ‘please keep our restaurant open’,” says the 28-year-old Glencross, head of grains – or “senior flour nerd” – at Duchess Farms since 2019. “We felt a bit bad, but we lost a lot of our business overnight when all the restaurants closed and we were like: ‘God, we hope we don’t go under.’ It was quite a scary time for everyone.”

Still, if we have learned one thing from Covid-19, when times are hard, British people get baking. Perhaps inspired by countrywide shortages of flour, maybe invigorated by a new interest in left-field, older wheats such as einkorn and emmer, Duchess Farms sprinted to its target. “We’ve just done some ordering of equipment this morning,” says Aspen, when we speak in July. “It’s been a tough time for everyone but it has cascaded into some beautiful things and we’re just so thankful.”

Glencross’s path to farming was circuitous. She studied chemical engineering, but while her classmates were heading off for jobs at ExxonMobil and Procter & Gamble, she was more of “a hippy at heart”. She decided she wanted to learn more about soil and its role in food production. This led her to Blue Hill Stone Barns, Dan Barber’s pioneering farm-to-table restaurant in the Hudson Valley, north of New York. She spent four months working on the farm and in the bakery, receiving a crash course in ancient grains – an obsession of Barber’s. But the moment Glencross knew she herself wanted to farm came in 2016 in a field in Hertfordshire. She was with John Cherry, who was showing her around Weston Park Farms, 2,500 acres of land he maintains with minimal fertiliser use and zero tillage.

“We were walking around the fields of wheat and I just said: ‘Where does all this go? There’s so much of it,’” Glencross says. “And John goes: ‘Oh probably for animal feed. It’s a consistent market, they’ll take it, it’s easy, even if we don’t earn that much money from it.’ And I was like: ‘This is crazy.’ And that was the beginning of me getting on this grain bender because I was like: ‘Why can’t we grow these grains organically and not feed them to animals?’ So I realised I’d have to start a business, because there were not very many people doing that.”

Heritage grains can be harder to produce in vast quantities – einkorn, especially, is “a bitch to harvest” – but they do have advantages over conventional wheats. They typically have deep roots and grow tall, which means they shade out weeds and do not require chemical sprays. The end product is more nutritious and then there’s the taste. Since 2017, Glencross has run a roving supper club called the Sustainable Food Story with Sadhbh Moore, and Duchess Farms has worked closely with bakeries such as E5 Bakehouse in east London and Gail’s, and restaurants including Doug McMaster’s Silo. “Heritage grains are delicious: when you stop growing for yield and you start growing for quality the flavour is insane,” says Glencross.

Learning to farm from scratch has not been straightforward, but you sense that’s a big part of the appeal for Glencross. “There’s all these decisions the farmer makes throughout the year and why he sprays and why he doesn’t,” she says. “You realise that most people get up, sit at a computer all day and if they press the wrong button, they just delete it. When you’re a farmer, you plant at the wrong time of year and tomorrow it washes away your whole crop.”

Glencross acknowledges that it is almost unprecedented for women to run arable farms. She struggles to name a single other example in the UK. She also notes wryly that men dominate all the farming conferences, saying: “They have a wife but it’s always the men who have written the book and given the presentation.”

With more role models, Glencross hopes things will change. “I’m not cool in any way, but I’m a reasonably young lady,” she says, laughing. “And so when people say: ‘What do you do? Oh, you’re a farmer. Maybe I could do that …’ So I’m hoping that it might become seen as quite a desirable, almost cool career.” A pause: “Even if it’s very much not cool.”

#agriculture #long post #female farmers #farming

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toliveanddieinstarlight · 5 years ago

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Season 3, Episodes 3 and 4

Episode 3: A Day in the Strife

JESUS DELENN

For fuck's sake, Londo, can you please go at least five minutes without being the absolute worst. It’s a miracle Delenn didn’t have to immediately visit MedLab for conversational whiplash.

I really enjoy Ta’Lon as a character - the episode in which he was introduced was so weird to me, but at least we got him. Nice to see him and Sheridan getting a drink together.

Corwin has learned that Ivanova isn’t as scary as she seems and that is awesome.

Aaaaa fuck Ta'Lon you excellent dude.

Episode 4:

PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE

Brad Dourif is so fucking incredible. His performance just makes this episode. The religious themes here captivated me, the way it deals with forgiveness, redemption, the shouldering of one's burdens.

Lyta's throwing of some hardcore brainwashed/culty vibes, and of course Garibaldi is suspicious as hell. I mean, this is suspicious as hell.

Delenn is 0% interested in Garibaldi's position on capital punishment.

Brad Dourif played a very intense character for a while on Star Trek: Voyager that I was also fascinated with. He improves everything that he's in, and there have definitely been a handful of appearances he's made that have woefully underused him (LOOKING AT YOU, AGENTS OF SHIELD). Him telling Delenn and Lennier the story of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and what it means to him really stuck with me - it's very much one of my favorite episodes.

And hey, Lennier's a Valen fanboy! God that's cute.

Ok, so A - one murder is a hell of a thing to get sentenced to a mind wipe. B - without an official station telepath, now that Talia is gone, who did the mind wipe?

I've mentioned before that B5 can get some legit guest stars - I’m sure there are some heavy-hitters that I'm just not aware of, but something I noticed in later watches is that there are 5 significant horror movie actors that show up as guest stars. First is Jeffrey Combs (who, I have to brag, I met at a horror convention several years ago and he was an absolute delight) in Eyes, playing a very intense young telepath - he's probably best known for playing Herbert West in the Re-Animator films, as well as a number of roles in Star Trek. Second is Ken Foree in GROPOS - my personal favorite film of his is Devil's Den, but I guess most people would know him from Dawn of the Dead. Third is Brad Dourif, who is fuckin CHUCKY! And the last one is Robert Englund, motherfuckin Freddy Krueger! Now, you can make a pretty good case to include Patricia Tallman (recently-reappeared resident telepath Lyta Alexander), thanks to her appearance in Dawn of the Dead remake Night of the Living Dead, but she's basically a series regular.

I did not watch horror movies in high school. I was a hugely scared baby as a teen and didn't really start seeing any significant horror movies until I was in college, so there was no way I was recognizing any of these folks when I was first watching. Either way, it's been very fun for me to see these actors that I really enjoy in horror doing cool things in a show I love.

#babylon 5 #babylon 5 spoilers #londo mollari #delenn #john sheridan #brother theo #susan ivanova #david corwin #g'kar

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jungnoir · 7 years ago

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i'm so glad your requests are open!!! could i please request “Friends can kiss each other a little from time to time, right?” for nct's mark?

a fairy king and an elven warrior walk into a nerd convention;

mark lee | “Friends can kiss each other a little from time to time, right?” cosplay!au. | 4.4k words. | fluff, humor, v awkward mark lee and v awkward u as well.

a/n: because I received this prompt a few times, I’m doing my best to change each one up somehow so here’s a lil cosplaying with markiepooh

“I’m sorry, (Y/N),” Donghyuck’s words comes through the phone after a cacophony of violent coughing and groaning, voice drenched in regret despite the strain to speak clearly at all, “I don’t think I can stand around a crowded con for hours in plastic armor today. I can barely walk to the bathroom without getting dizzy… I have to bow out.”

“W-What?” You really hate how distinctly sad your voice sounds even as you muster all your might to stay calm. You were supposed to march into that convention center today in five pounds of armor that you’d meticulously spray-painted and tweaked to look just like your character’s, your face caked in makeup to create that flawless elven look that only existed in the world of warrior elves and demon fey, and your suffocating wig trimmed and styled to defy gravity itself with Donghyuck at your side. You and Donghyuck were famous for cosplaying as the married brave warrior elf Greer and dark fairy king Egi (respectively) at many conventions across the country, spending months on top of months perfecting your costumes and winning contests for your spot on depictions of the characters, but now you were a Greer without an Egi, and you didn’t know if you could do this alone. “Donghyuck, we’re a team. We always cosplay together.”

You hear Donghyuck sigh and feel instantly terrible for making him feel bad when he’s already suffering so much. The stomach bug that came like a thief in the night took your poor best friend out before the morning of the con came, and you were left sitting dumbfounded on the edge of your bed, half a face of concealer and heavy, heavy contour having to take a backseat to the bad news. You had been in such a good mood today, too.

You’re about to reassure him that it’s alright, that you’ll clean up and stop by his place to check up on him later and, if he’s up for it, maybe even bring your laptop so the two of you can binge watch the new anime you’d both started together when Donghyuck cuts in suddenly, “I figured you’d say that, so I got to thinking… how would you feel if, say, someone else took my place?”

“Someone? Take your place? You sure whatever you caught isn’t invading your brain right about now?” Your nervous joke falls on deaf ears as Donghyuck’s wheels begin to turn.

“I’m serious. Have someone take my place as Egi at the con. Granted, you won’t find anyone with nearly as much charisma and personality as me but… it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” “But who? People will know it isn’t you!” You honestly don’t mean to sound so indignant. Hell, you grimace right after complaining, but if there’s one thing you can’t warm up to, it’s the idea of a stranger taking Donghyuck’s place today.

You and Donghyuck had been doing this for years together, the two of you inseparable. Granted, there were times you did cosplay as other characters, but your interpretations of Greer and Egi were always top notch. Many a time would you find yourselves being praised on other cosplayers’ instagrams, people gushing about how realistically you both portray the characters compared to any other cosplayers they’d ever seen. You were a package duo always; anything that could disrupt the dynamic you both had was subject to distaste… until you were both two hours away from having to cancel a con you’d been promising your online following you’d be at for weeks. “I know people will know it isn’t me, but that’s not the point. It’s the characters that are the point. People are gonna be more focused on the costume than the person underneath anyway.”

“No, no… no. Do you remember all the different movie versions of Batman, Hyuck? Who plays the character matters.” Snorting, Donghyuck shifts the phone around while you whine. “This isn’t canon, edgelord. And it’s only for a few hours!”

The reminder of how long you’ll really be out there, half-heartedly cosplaying and meeting your followers only to have to inform them that no, that isn’t Donghyuck with you and yes, yes you are on the verge of an emotional breakdown because it feels all kinds of off looms over your head like a metaphorical storm cloud.

Maybe you were being dramatic?

…nah, not likely.

You’re so deep in your pity party that you just faintly pick up tapping on the other end of the phone, your attention quickly grabbed, “What’re you doing, Hyuck? What’s that sound?”

“I’m sending help your way, oh great warrior Greer. If you see a big dork in my outfit dawdling outside on your front porch in half an hour, don’t panic and let him in.” “But-” “(Y/N), you’ll be fine. And hey, he’s better than a total stranger.”

He? Donghyuck has already left the conversation by then, your next calls for clarification going straight to voicemail. Even your texts go read and ignored, the plotting little bastard. You had a plethora of cosplay friends but none of whom you could recall who were both not already cosplaying as someone else today and around Donghyuck’s size to wear his costume. For all you know, he could be sending someone like Jaemin or Jisung to your rescue.

Yours and Donghyuck’s cosplay life was no secret to your small group of high school friends, though it was fairly clear none of them were quite interested in it either. No one would bat an eyelash if you and Donghyuck had to cancel plans to go to the movies on the weekend because a con was coming up and the two of you wouldn’t miss it for the world. Aside from what you’d both upload on your instagrams, your friends didn’t delve too much into the world you two were enveloped in. In fact, the only one of them that actually did show interest was Mark.

Mark was the eldest of all your friends, sometimes out of place when he tried to act like it. Deep down he was just like all of you, just as confused about life as the rest of you. You would never go as far as to say he was a mature friend, far from it even, but he did always have such a calming aura about him that you didn’t often find in the rest of your group.

He was simple, sometimes incredibly naive, and easy to have fun with. He was also Donghyuck’s punching bag from time to time, but you’d seen the eldest snap back once in a while too. Where the others might tease you and Donghyuck about your cosplaying and be done with it, Mark would be attentive. He wouldn’t know the terms or the lingo but he’d always perk up when you’d mention how your outfit for (insert character he’s never heard of) was coming along, would even dare to ask you what it looks like so far. When you’d show him side by side pictures of the original and your creation, he’d always praise you on how identical they looked. Mark liked to see that spark in your eyes when you felt listened to by someone besides Donghyuck for once.

And maybe you liked Mark a bit. Maybe more than a bit.

Your crush was small, easy to hide and even easier to deny if the troublemakers of your group ever deigned to point out your lingering stares and unconscious smiles when Mark was in the midst of a story no one else was listening to. If it was that imperceptible, then you were confident Mark was none the wiser, and that’s all that mattered. God forbid you liked someone like Jaemin, what with his sixth sense being reading you like an open book.

You spend the next half hour in a fit of anxiety, forcing yourself to finish your makeup and getting dressed. Every moment you’re doing something repetitive, you find your thoughts drifting to who Donghyuck might have sent to go to the con with you. With each possible choice, your heart thumps louder in your chest. Who could he have possibly picked, and moreover, who would have even bothered to say yes to him?

You’re just about finished with setting on your wig when the doorbell rings, and you’re quick on your feet to go get it. Just as you get to the front door, you pause. You haven’t got the faintest idea what might be waiting for you on the other side of that door, of what might be lurking and deciding your fate for the rest of the day. You don’t know what you’re in for, and the only thing to do now is get it over with.

Tugging the door open tentatively, you’re met with the back of a head of shaggy chestnut hair haphazardly tucked into a bleach-blond braided wig. It’s clear that whoever Donghyuck had sent your way couldn’t have been able to get ready in half an hour on such short notice. They’re dressed in the armor that Donghyuck usually wears, and you can see the tiny details that had since been added to complete the look more. You’re unsure why they’re faced away from you, that is, until you hear a muttering voice saying “you can do this, you can do this” on repeat.

Your earlier anxiety is replaced with curiosity. You clear your throat to catch their attention and- oh.

With the makeup Donghyuck applied (heavy eyeliner, glimmering cheekbones doused in golden highlight, dramatic mascara), you almost don’t recognize Mark as Mark until his familiar voice reaches you, “H-Hyuck said you’d help with the wig…?”

“This place is so awesome- another Deadpool! That’s the third one we’ve seen since we got here!” You feel momentarily glad that a train of Spidermans (Spidermen?) haven’t come through yet because you’re fairly certain Mark would lose his absolute mind if they did. In fact, just as you think you’re in the clear, a cluster of them enter from one side of the con and you begin tugging Mark in the other direction before he can notice.

Honestly, showing Mark his first con is a bit like showing a baby their first “magic trick”; he’s all wide eyes and squealing, and while it’s freaking cute (I mean, how could anyone be that adorable while gushing over how realistic the fake blood looks on someone’s samurai sword?), you’re unfortunately in a perpetual state of worry, a feeling you haven’t felt since your first few conventions with Donghyuck. You worry that people will notice you, will want to take pictures of you, and you worry that those who recognize you will then recognize that the boy beside you is definitely not Donghyuck and be upset.

Mark had made it very clear on the ride to the con that he was more than happy to accompany you and take Donghyuck’s place, but he also placed great emphasis on the fact that he had absolutely no idea who he was dressed up as and would be more of a dead weight at your side than part of a complete pair. He’d stressed time and time again that he’d be willing to get on his bike and head home if you decided to go in alone, but by then you were receiving threatening texts from Donghyuck that promised more than just a royal smackdown if Mark turned up at his door before the day was over.

Why Donghyuck was so insistent on you attending the con with Mark was beyond you, but you very well couldn’t turn tail and run now.

The firecracker made an apologetic post before you arrived detailing the reasons he wouldn’t be attending, encouraging others to still seek you and your new “friend” out for pictures. He even asked to be tagged in them. It was almost like he was… no, that couldn’t be right, could it?

Whatever diabolical plan the kid had up his sleeve, you had other things to worry about.

“I know some of these characters,” Mark points out as you both stroll through the large room, completely tuned out to the shouted compliments he was receiving on his outfit, “maybe I should come to these things more often… but I don’t really have the talent to dress up like you and Hyuck.”

You just finish greeting a few people who recognize you when he says this. Glancing up at the boy, he doesn’t pay any mind with his arm hooked around your own, still surveying the room for things he’s familiar with.

“You don’t have to dress up to go to cons, Mark! They’re open to everyone.” You even point out a few people in jeans and tees, all having a fun enough time just being around people who like the same things they do, “It’s about having fun. Some people have fun in costumes, others not so much.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Mark trails off a little, making eye contact with you for a moment. You read him as being nervous, those gentle eyes not daring to look your way. You wonder if you’ve said something wrong. “…I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind going to something like this with you… and Hyuck too, of course… but I’d feel so out of place. You know? You guys go all out, like really all out.”

You aren’t able to ask him to elaborate on his thoughts because a pair of girls rush up to you immediately upon spotting you, calling your name with a mix of excitement and nerves. You shoot Mark an apologetic look for leaving him hanging and quickly greet the girls, the both of them asking if it’s alright to take photos. You grant them the permission, doing your character’s signature poses and even doing some silly selfies with the girls just for fun. Your nervousness of not having Donghyuck there is starting to melt away a bit, but leaving Mark all alone nudges at the back of your mind while you have all the fun.

You’re sending the girls off finally when you turn to find Mark standing like a deer in headlights, more than a few people standing around him and applauding his outfit. Some mention how he looks so much like Egi, others saying how he plays the stoic king perfectly. You’re glad they can’t tell because Mark is having a brain fart over what to say or do without you present and it’s really kinda cute.

You sidle up to the boy and he immediately slackens his tense shoulders when you start to speak, “Our friend made the outfit!”

One guy in leather pants and and slicked back hair is really impressed, shifting to the side while a greatsword hangs off his shoulder lazily, “That’s so cool. Can we get a pic of you two?”

Your knee jerk reaction is to say yes; you’re always proud to take photos in your costumes. After all, you put so much work into them. However, you quickly remember that this isn’t just you and Donghyuck right now, con veterans who get their pictures taken at every con like usual. Mark is new to this and has already voiced his uncertainty with “playing” the role of Egi.

Readying yourself to turn them down, you’re surprised when Mark suddenly chirps in instead with a “Sure!”

There’s a shaky smile on his face, the nerves very clear in his eyes but he does his damn best to hide it when you give him a concerned look. You ask him with your eyes if it’s really okay, and his answer is an almost too-tight grip on your waist with one hand while the other rises to make a peace sign. You and the others know that his character would never make such a gesture, but the entire group bursts into giggles at it anyway. They snap pics of you in a few more silly than serious poses and are on their way, thanking you for your time and disappearing to find the next cosplayer to talk to.

Mark doesn’t remember to release your side, his smile bordering on beaming, “That was actually really fun!”

How the mousy boy has suddenly found all the confidence in the world isn’t totally beyond you. You remember your first times cosplaying in public and being approached by so many kind people boosting your self-esteem that it made your nerves turn to mush and your excitement skyrocket. Even though Mark is red from his neck to his ears, he’s also grinning like an absolute fool. You can’t help but return the same enthusiasm, “Wanna walk around some more?”

He nods vigorously, tugging you along and bursting with questions about Egi all of a sudden (”How long has he been king? He’s in love with Greer, right? How did they fall in love?”). In between canon and non-canon explanations for it all, you get stopped by all kinds of people. You’re starting to lose count of the amount of pictures you’ve had taken, and Mark is so much more relaxed than when he first came in. You almost forget you’re not with Donghyuck… keyword: almost.

“Do you mind reenacting the kiss from season 3, episode 12? I always thought the kisses you and Donghyuck shared were so cute, but I haven’t seen you do this one yet!”

You’re aware that Mark is looking at you, but you’re frozen still. You had an inkling that you’d forgotten to tell him something important while showing Mark the pictures of you and Donghyuck cosplaying as Greer and Egi. Of course, the one thing you’d forget in your haste to get Mark all caught up on what he’d have to do was the one thing that actually mattered.

Every kiss you shared with Donghyuck was always innocent in nature and intention; never had you indulged in the fact that you and Donghyuck had lip-locked on more than one occasion all for the sake of the cosplay and staying in character. Silly kisses and reenactments for fans and photoshoots was all that it was, and at the end of the day, it meant nothing. Tons of cosplayers did the same all the time!

But, knowing that the others still followed your cosplay accounts to be the good friends that they were, neither you nor Donghyuck would ever post those kinds of pictures on your accounts. Ever. Which is why, when showing Mark your collection of photoshoots and the like, you had completely forgotten that some fans would ask for a quick kiss or two.

The fan’s smile seems to fall the longer it takes you to answer and she hastens to fix the atmosphere, “I-I’m sorry! I realized you’re with someone else this time but I still wanted to ask… I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything.”

Desperately, you want to tell her you’re not offended at all. That it’s not her fault. That if you had remembered this tiny detail about your cosplaying (in your defense, it was always such a nonchalant part of the entire cosplay that you didn’t find the need in making a big deal about it anyway) and warned Mark about it or even let Mark go back home in favor of attending by yourself, you wouldn’t be stuck here gaping at her like a blowfish at the very thought of kissing Mark Lee, your Mark Lee, your crush-who-doesn’t-know-he’s-a-crush-and-neither-does-anyone-else-but-goddamn-Donghyuck crush. Well, at least the thought of doing so in a situation where the opportunity is actually there and not just a daydream of yours again.

The words refuse to leave your lips and now it’s just getting awkward. Are you sweating? You’re pretty sure you’re going to perspire right through the pound of makeup it took to give yourself Greer’s battle scars and shining skin.

“…episode 12, you said?” You hear Mark ask. You make out the fan showing him her phone with a picture of said kiss. You probably also remember watching that episode and fawning over it with Donghyuck over text when it first aired but now the entire thing is lost on you.

Next thing you know, Mark is carefully turning you around by a hold on your hips and you’re completely pliant as he does. A few people are standing around now, looking on, and is he…?

“Is this okay?” Mark asks, setting one hand on the back of your neck while his free arm hooks you around the middle loosely. He’s in position, but he isn’t putting in the work until you answer.

It’s okay, you find yourself thinking instead of actually saying, this is so okay. I also might have a stroke if you really put your mouth on mine so I hope that’s okay too.

In that moment, you’re absolutely certain that this was on Donghyuck’s mind since this morning. You know that he was prepared for it, picking Mark for more than just being available. No, you know he picked Mark because he knows you like him, and he knows you wouldn’t tell him that you and Donghyuck kiss in costume sometimes for people because you’d forget under the pressure of being alone with Mark like that and you wouldn’t have the heart to send him home when he was so excited to go with you, would you?

Damn you, Lee Donghyuck. Damn you for helping fulfill even the nerdiest of my fantasies and damn you Mark Lee for playing along without a worry in the world (and for looking so… kissable).

You give him the go ahead, a small nod and a fluttering of eyelashes. The arm around your middle tightens and wakes you from your dazed state just in time to feel the absolute wave that washes over you when Mark Lee kisses you. You’ve forgotten how to breathe, you think. Maybe it’s because Mark is taking all of the air when his lips meet yours and he kisses you like he was the one who’d rewatched that stupid kissing scene over and over. You aren’t deaf to the hoots and hollers of the crowd; no, you never kissed Donghyuck like this and anyone who’s ever seen you cosplay with him would know that well. But even if you and Mark are total strangers to this crowd, everyone who stopped to watch is cheering you on like you’d just slain the dragon and won the heart of the handsome fairy king like all those heroes in the cheesy fantasies.

Mark pulls back, still holding you to his armored chest, but it’s only then you realize that the things are super huge and really in the way when he’s not kissing you anymore. Despite his feigned-cool expression, he’s totally shy and redder than ever. He turns to the fan who is covering her mouth in surprise, “Was… that okay?”

“More than okay…” She breathes, and then sends a flurry of thank you’s your way and promises to tag you in the photos later. Somewhere in the midst of your after-kiss shock, Mark had given her his handle and she’d been on her way. The crowd of people watching began to disperse, though a few hung around to ask for pictures as well, politely waiting for the stars in your eyes to disappear. You really couldn’t focus on much when your lips still tingled the way they did.

Mark starts to get concerned when you continue to stare at him like he’s grown two heads, “Hey, are you alright? I’m sorry for how forward that kiss was but… I uh…” The poor boy begins to forget how to speak halfway through, glimmers of the Mark you know and love coming through, “Well, you know. Sorry.”

He looks away from you, absolutely shameful. “Why?”

He looks up again, lips parted, “Oh… because I kissed you like that.”

“But I wanted you to,” you say softly, hands furiously wringing each other out behind your back, “and… I wouldn’t have given you the go ahead if I didn’t.”

This was starting to sound a lot like a confession.

Mark studies you as you study him, the world around you practically nonexistent otherwise. Licking his lips, your eyes immediately follow the movement and you start to really miss them on yours. “I see.” He answers simply, at a loss. “Well, did you… like it?”

You nod, forcing yourself to look in his eyes for this part. Your mouth is moving on its own accord even as every cell in your body feels like it’s on fire. “Hyuck doesn’t quite kiss like that.”

Mark’s eyes widen at the sudden mention of Donghyuck, “Oh, um, that’s- that’s good. I mean not good! Interesting, I meant interesting. God, um… I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with the fact that I just… did that to you. You’re my friend! Though, friends can kiss each other from time to time, right? I mean, I like you too so there’s that but- I- wait. Uh. Sorry.”

It’s comforting to know that you’re not the most awkward person right now at least, but you know that if you aren’t careful, you might confess to more than just liking him back, “Would you… would you like it if we kept… doing that… between us? Because I wouldn’t mind that. At all.”

“What about your cosplay with Hyuck? That girl said it’s your thing… I don’t want to get in the way of that.” Mark, bless his soul, is more worried about your hobby than the fact that you want to kiss him and him only. You couldn’t fall more for this boy if you tried.

You twist back and forth in lieu of having something to do with your body that isn’t falling to the floor in a fit of nervous giggles and disbelief. If people got a photo of that, you’re certain you would be no more, “If I’m being honest, I’d really rather kiss you more than Donghyuck anyday.” “Oh? That’s good. That’s… that’s… good. Yeah, I’d rather you kiss me too.”

(1) Unread Message(s)

received: 7:42 p.m., april 14th, 2018

hyuckieee 🙈: I’m being tagged in so many photos of you and lee kissing, it’s kinda making me jealous

sent: 7:45 p.m., april 14th, 2018

you: what can i say? everyone knows who the superior lee is here

received: 7:45 p.m., april 14th, 2018

hyuckieee 🙈: TAKE IT BACK

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dungeons-and-danis · 6 years ago

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Oh, neat! If you don't mind me asking, how did you meet your players? I know you said at a convention, but i'm just wondering about the details. It's always nice to hear how dnd teams meet.

Well I have five players right now, and we’re all sort of connected in a way! This is gonna be a bit of a long one just becos i love them so much and i want yall to know the weird string of events that lead to us all playing dnd together lol. So you’re invited to visit my lil story time beneath the cut!

The first one of my players that I met was Taylor at an anime convention in like… 2013 or 2014 i think. We were around 14-15 years old at the time. I met her because I was the first person in my city’s cosplay community to cosplay titan annie from attack on titan (literally 2 weeks or so after the episode first came out) and all the AoT cosplayers literally flocked to me, including Taylor who was cosplaying Armin. We later followed each other on tumblr and started hanging out casually maybe a year later.

Then, I hung out with and became mildly acquainted with some of Taylor’s friends at another anime convention in maybe spring 2015 when I was cosplaying the witch from L4D. It was there that I met Tayler (yes we have a tayler and a taylor. yes they are two different people lol) amongst the group I was hanging out with. But we didn’t really talk that much after that.

In the summer of 2015, I met Sam at yet ANOTHER convention (i know… i was a con fiend back in my teens) where I was cosplaying Queen Beryl from Sailor Moon and Gogo from Big Hero Six, also met via Taylor. Again, we didn’t really talk that much at the time.

It was toward the end of 2015, during my senior year in high school where I was having an incredibly rough time emotionally and academically. The first girl I ever dated broke up with me, my friends were treating me poorly, and I was barely going to school. I was posting on my personal tumblr about how miserable I was, when Taylor sent me a text inviting me to her ugly-sweater-themed Christmas party.

I. Hated. Parties. I didn’t want to go at all because all I knew parties to be was obnoxious, loud, annoying, and full of boys who would hit on me. But my mom saw how much I was suffering and managed to convince me to go anyways. I was so nervous, but when I knocked on her door that night, I was invited into one of the most loving, caring, and kind friendship groups i’ve ever come to know. Taylor, Tayler, and Sam were there, as well as my other players Madisen and Christine who I met for the first time right there.

This party was like nothing I ever experienced, yall. These girls were so nice and kind and had similar worldviews as me. This was the first friend circle I ever had where almost everyone was gay like me as well. So that was a huge comfort after struggling with my sexuality in high school and feeling isolated. Ever since this party, we became the best of friends throughout the years.

Cut to spring of 2018 when I finally broke up with my last ex girlfriend. I was in a terrible mood and crying my eyes out, when Madisen and Taylor decided to come over and bring me some comfort and a shoulder to cry on. While we talked about my breakup and my feelings and all that sappy stuff, I remember seeing my little D&D starter set on my desk that I had gotten from Christmas a few months prior. And I’m not sure how, but I kind of just got around to mentioning how I wish I could still play dnd (cos i played it with my ex a lot) but that I had nobody to play with. And they were ON IT. They immediately said they’d LOVE to play a game DM’ed by me, which is something i’d also mentioned wanting to do previously. I texted our group chat to see if the rest of them would be interested, and they were all ecstatic about it. So give or take a couple months of preparation, and we finally started our first game in August of 2018 with Madisen, Tayler, Taylor, and Sam.

A few months later, Christine (who hadnt yet become SUPER close with our circle yet) came to me saying she’d really love to join our campaign and thus, I gave her a heroic entrance into our campaign on a night in which the rest of the players thought she was simply present to spectate. She also joined our group chat and we’ve all gotten to be closer than we ever were before.

All in all, I would give the world for my players who are also coincidentally my best friends. They make me so super happy and D&D has allowed us to bond even more than we once did. I love working closely with each one of them on their characters and also being able to incorporate my love of writing and fiction and share that joy with my best friends who react so wonderfully to my stories. It’s truly the biggest blessing thats ever been laid upon me. I thank the stars every day for my friends and for D&D!

TL;DR: I met most of my players through anime conventions, and became much closer to them after a christmas party in december of 2015. I love them more than anything and also im really sappy and gross abt it toward the end.

#asks #Anonymous #dnd #im a fucking SAP okay #i love my players sm

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