#More A3s should have been preserved

[hazel-of-sodor]

Its 4/4, it just so happens I just finished the A1/A3 Pacifc, including an updated pre-rebuild Gordon. I didn’t plan to post this on Gordon Day, it just worked out this way. Representing the A1, is 4480 Enterprise, who is Gordon’s running mate on the Wild Nor’Western in my AU. Representing the A3, is Flying Scotsman himself. I will be making more liveries and variant for these, as they are one of my favorite engines of all time.

[moonlight404-translates]

A3! Mikage Hisoka | SSR+ - A Mirage in the Moonlight | Translation

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

Disclaimer: Neither English nor Japanese is my native language, but I did my best with the translation. If you find any mistakes, feel free to mention it!

Flowers for you / 1

Guy: Mikage, could you sweep the front of the shop?  Hisoka: Okay. 

Hisoka: …?  Hisoka: (There’s something on the bench… A bouquet…?) Hisoka: — Hisoka: (Pale green preserved flowers…)

April: Hey.  December: …What?  April: August’s birthday is coming, but I have a mission.  December: And…?  April: …You can’t take the hint, huh?  April: You will have to prepare August’s birthday this year.  December: …Isn’t that April’s job?  April: I only did it because you are idle and wouldn’t do it.  December: I don’t mind, but… what present should I get him?  April: Think that for yourself. I will send you the ingredients for the cake. Don’t you dare to buy marshmallows even by mistake.  December: It would be more tasty if you added marshmallows to it…  April: Then, I’m going out to complete my mission.  December: Take care.  December: (...What do I do with the present?) December: (I don’t know what August would want…) 

December: August, what do you want for your birthday?  August: My birthday? Aah… December will prepare it this year.  August: Because April is still on a mission.  August: I would be happy with anything you gave me, but yeah…  August: —Flowers would be nice to receive.  December: Flowers? …What kind of flowers?  August: I will leave that to you, December. 

December: (He said he would like flowers, but I haven’t bought flowers until now…) December: (First, let’s search what type of flowers are.)  December: (This flower is pretty but not suitable for celebrations… This flower… has a flower language that means ominous.) December: (...There are many restrictions for them. What a problem.) April: Did you decide what you will do, December?  December: August said he wanted flowers. …But there are many problematic things you must be careful with. April: Don’t use that as a reason to desist.  December: …I know.  December: (I wasn’t planning to desist, but there’s a lot to think about this, should I just buy something like that in a flower shop…?)

Flowers for you / 2

December: … Employee: Are you looking for something in particular?  December: …I want to give a present to a family member, but I don’t know which would be good.  Employee: In that case, I could help you with that. When is their birthday? December: …It’s in August.  Employee: It’s still a bit early for it… by the way, when do you plan to give the bouquet?  December: On the birthday day.  Employee: I understand… Employee: With all due respect… if you buy it now, the flowers might be mostly withered by then.  December: (Now that I think of it, that might be true…) December: (But, if I wait until his birthday to buy them, I will forget. And April will get mad at me for sure…) December: What should I do…?  Employee: …That’s it. How about preserved flowers?  December: Preserved…?  Employee: Those won’t wither.  December: Heh…  Employee: Unfortunately, we don’t work with those flowers yet… But you can search for a shop that has them.  December: …Thank you. I will do it.

December: (I haven’t been here in a while…)  December: (It seems like there’s a flower shop selling them around here according to my search…) December: (...This shop.) Employee: Welcome.  December: Do you have preserved flowers…?  Employee: Yes, they are these here.  December: (These…? There aren’t any colorful ones left…)  December: (But these flowers… have a color similar to August’s hair.)  December: (Let’s pick this.)

December: (I’m glad I could buy the present. Now I should head back to the hideout—) Child A: You’re creepy!  Child B: Go away!  Child C: Uugh…  December: —- December: Hey, what did that child do?  Child A: What, that has nothing to with you!  December: But it’s unfair to gang up against a single person. Child B: Shut up! Go away!  – They try to hit December, but he avoids it – December: …  December: (My right eye…)

Flowers for you / 3

Child A: …H-His right eye looks weird!  Child B: Run!  December: Ah… 

Man: That eye is no good…  Woman: If that child is close, bad things will happen.  Man: He must be jinxed.  Hisoka: That’s not true… I… 

Child C: …Big brother.  December: …! December: …Are you okay? Child C: Yes, thanks. Didn’t they hit your right side…?  December: No. I avoided it just in time.  Child C: I’m glad. So there are kind people like you, big brother.  December: …It would be nice if everyone could be like that.  Child C: …Yes.  December: … Child C: …This is the first time someone pats my head like this.  Child C: Then, I’ll get going.  December: Take care.  December: Sigh…  December: (The flowers’ color… is similar to my eye color.) December: (Maybe I shouldn’t give him a flower with that color…)

December: (I finished the mission, now I just have to get back. Then we will have August's birthday party.) December: (But… is it really okay to give him these flowers?) August: December, you were here?  April: What made you space out?  December: You two… why…  August: We got tired of waiting for you to come back and came to pick you up.  August: Is that bouquet for me?  December: …Yes, but…  August: It’s so pretty. It’s the same color as December’s eyes.  December: My eye color…  December: …I’m glad that it made you happy.  August: Of course, I’m happy. You choose it for me, December.  April: …We have to go back soon before the date change.  August: The first thing we will do when we’re back is make the cake.  April: But I will be the one doing most of the work on the end.  December: That’s April’s job.

Hisoka: (What a nostalgic memory…) Boy: Ah! That…!  Hisoka: Are these flowers yours?  Boy: Yes! I’m glad I could find it~.  Hisoka: Here.  Boy: Thank you!  Boy: I was going to give them to my mom, but I got engrossed in the conversation with my friend on the bench…  Hisoka: I see… I’m glad you could come to get it.Boy: Thank you very much! Bye-bye~!  Hisoka: Take care.  Homare: Ooh, are you sweeping, Hisoka-kun?  Azuma: The shop might not be open yet.  Hisoka: Everyone… came to have a drink.  Tsumugi: It happened that our schedules matched today.  Tasuku: Can we give these refreshments to Guy?  Hisoka: …Sure, no problem.  Hisoka: I was about to put the open sign, so please get inside.

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

Curiosity: In Hisoka's Superb ★ Winter Fruits backstage, there's a reference about Hisoka's eyes color. When Hisoka was going to pick some sea glass for the director, he was unsure if she would like the color. But then she mentions that the color is like his eyes color. Then he cheers up and pick up the sea glass for her. Does this have anything to do with the backstage? Nope, but I just remembered it while I was translating it (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

[tornadoyoungiron]

TRAINTOBER | Day 31 - Lights Out

Flying Scotsman meets the City of Truro for the first time. It doesn't go well. 

~~~

“The LNER bought the City of Truro?” The young Jubliee class at the other platform was stunned. “Did the Great Western not want to save such a special engine?”

“He wasn’t even bought, he was donated to the museum,” the B12 next to her responded to her. “The Great Western didn’t want to spend money to preserve them.”

“Oh that’s a shame, Truro’s such a pretty engine!” The Jubilee cooed sweetly but there was a humph from the platform across the way. The Jubliee and B12 looked over to find a Gresley Pacific A3 with a sour look on his face.

“What’s the matter Solario? Can’t handle the fact that your twin got beat by a pretty little Great Western,” The B12 jeered and Solario snorted in response.

“City of Truro’s record is a fraud, the only official record is held by Scotsman,” he snapped annoyed. “We should never have allowed that engine into the museum.”

“You Gresley engines are all the same pompous snot-nosed gits," The B12 scoffed and Solario smirked. 

"Our arrogance is not without precedence," Solario preened. "If even a wimpy engine such as my brother could outclass the rest, then what does that say about the rest of you?"

"Such a horrible thing to say about your own brother! He’s your twin! You should be close!" The Jubilee exclaimed horrified. 

Solario rolled his eyes at her. The LMS engines and their undying loyalty to family did not breed success, it was childish and it was absurd.

“My brother is a foolish and weak-willed engine,” Solario scowled. “He does not deserve the time of day from me or our other sibling and especially Sir Gresley.”

The Jubilee was about to retort when the loud wheesh of an engine departing the station suddenly echoed through the station. The engines looked several platforms over the find the one and only Flying Scotsman departing the station, his expression unreadable and blank.

The B12 smirked but the Jubilee looked back at Solario angrily.

“For ones who pride themselves on being hospitable to your passengers, you’re real pieces of work you know that!” She snapped at them and Solario just huffed steam in response.

“The price of success demands it so, as Great Northern says,” Solario snapped back and without another word the Gresley A3 was gone, following his twin brother out of the station.

“Great Northern is a fool, everyone knows that!” The B12 sneered at his retreating tender but there was no response, the A3 long gone.

~~~

Flying Scotsman made his way to the museum. He didn’t really know why or what he was doing but he just knew that Solario’s words had stung him quite badly.

He had heard of the City of Truro. Great Northern railed at length against the engine, considering him a fraud, a phoney for even daring to try and claim ‘their’ record. Scotsman frowned, it wasn’t North’s record, it was his record. It certainly wasn’t that boastful child that was Papyrus’s record. 

Scotsman rolled his eyes at the thought of his sister. She was boastful and entitled and demanded respect yet failed to have it because of the way she acted. A horrid and cold engine who found complaint in anything anyone did. She made even Great Northern seem like a saint by comparison.

Scotsman was the judge of who and what could lay claim to his record and it surprised him that after all this time he had never met the Great Western’s famous engine.

Solario’s words had spurred him on. He had met Great Western engines before, the wonderful Pendennis Castle whomst they had hosted on their railway for the exchange trials. Then again he had met him in person at the Empire Exhibition. Pendennis had been nothing but lovely and charming. 

Scotsman found himself admiring and befriending the Castle Class. He wished he could see more of the handsome and beautiful engine.

He hoped that Truro would be the same. 

He liked the Great Westerns, admired them even. Their smart green and gold lined liveries. They appeared delicate yet strong and powerful. He liked that. He liked that a lot. 

He knew that Sir Gresley appreciated them too. Although he didn’t agree with certain aspects of their design, he remember Sir Gresley being very pleased and gave his approval to Pendennis Castle, a high appraisal indeed.

“Is something wrong, my good engine? May I assist you in any way?” A voice asked and Scotsman jumped and looked down to find a Steamworks engine, barely as tall as the average man.

“No, why do you ask?” Scotsman eyed the little engine, slightly annoyed at being startled.

“Your cheeks are red,” the little engine mumbled, Scotsman huffed embarrassed and glared at the engine who then seemed to notice his nameplate and squeaked. “I meant no offence Mr Flying Scotsman sir!”

“It’s okay,” Scotsman gave the little engine a comforting smile. “What’s your name little one?”

“Hendrick, sir! Hendrick the Steamworks Engine! If you have any faults come to me and I’ll get them fixed just like the day you rolled out of the works!” the little Wren peeped and Scotsman chuckled. 

“I’m certain I will if the need arises,” Scotsman smiled. He glanced around at the museum, searching for the engine he was looking for. “Is- is City of Truro here?”

Hendrick gazed at the big engine suspiscously. 

“I don’t want to start anything, I just want to meet him,” Scotsman assured the engine. Hendrick didn’t look convinced but he wasn’t exactly about to talk back to the railway CME’s favourite engine. 

“This way, Flying Scotsman,” the little wren lead the large engine deeper into the facility where other engines sat. Some unnervingly had no faces which irked him. 

"Why do some of these engine not have faces? What happened to them?" Scotsman asked and Hendrick seemed scared. 

"I don't like to talk about it Mr Scotsman sir," Hendrick explained. "But those engines suffered from Cold Iron Sleep and died from it."

"What is-"

"No more questions please, I'll get into trouble with the engineers!" Hendrick begged the Scotsman and the A3 Pacific pressed no further. 

They came to an alcove where a shining, polished Great Western engine sat, proud and glossy. The gold on its trim reflected the lights upon it, giving it a dazzling glow. 

"This is the City of Truro!" Hendrick squeaked as the said engine turned its attention to the Flying Scotsman. 

Scotsman looked the engine up and down. Though he was very impressed with the look of the engine, he found himself… disappointed. 

"You are quite the handsome engine I must say! Though, I apologise if I sound rude but I thought that you would be larger," Scotsman remarked quietly and the City class turned a disapproving eye to Scotsman. 

"Ah yes, another one of Gresley's fat, cumbersome engines come to try and pick a fight with me I see," City of Truro snapped at him and Scotsman was taken aback. 

"Fat? Cumbersome?" Scotsman was deeply offended. "I am neither of those things!"

Truro eyed him disparagingly with distaste in his gaze. 

"You are clunky and don't think I didn't hear you squeaking! An engine like this steals my record from me, how appalling! How embarrassing!" Truro hissed and Scotsman blasted steam in anger. 

"I did not steal your record! You never had it in the first place!" Flying Scotsman snapped back, incensed by this engine. 

Truro's eyes widened and he glanced down at Scotsman's number, painted on his buffer beam.

"Ah," Truro's expression turned sour. "So it's you. My rival."

"Rival? Rival!" Scotsman thundered furiously. "You? You! A simple goods engine?! You are NOT my rival I assure you! I'll have you find that Pendennis Castle is my rival, not some riff-raff like you!"

"This 'riff-raff' made 100 mph before you were even drawn!" Truro spat back angrily. 

"You don't even deserve the dignity of being melted down to be the tracks under my wheels!" Scotsman snarled. 

"Good because your heavy lard ass would just stress the rails so hard that you'd flatten them to sheet iron!" Truro shrieked. 

"Stop calling me fat!" Scotsman exploded. "You are an uncouth and nasty little engine!"

"ENOUGH!" A voice suddenly shouted and they both turned to find one of the LNER directors striding towards them angrily, his face a picture of fury. "Scotsman! You are usually one of the best behaved and gentlemanly of engines! I am surprised at you, acting like a child!"

Scotsman looked at his buffers shamefully. He didn't know how or why but Truro had somehow antagonised him. He did not like it in the slightest. 

"I am sorry sir. This is not like me, I know," Scotsman apologised profusely. "I just wanted to meet City of Truro. I had no intention of-"

"Stop. That's enough excuses. Sir Gresley will hear about this," the director snapped. "You will go back to your shed and you will not pull any trains for the rest of the week."

Truro chuckled and the Scotsman threw a glare at him. 

"But sir!" He implored but he was ignored. 

"Go!" The director snapped, pointing at the exit and Scotsman took his leave, feeling humiliated as Truro laughed at him. 

Hendrick’s basis - a 0-4-0T Beyer & Peacock ‘Wren’ 

~~~

The City of Truro was displeased to find that he had been taken out of the shed at the last minute to stand in for a failed rail tour engine. There is something about a lack of maintenance on one of the Stanier 8F’s and its replacement also failing.

Truro was displeased. Not because he had been pulled out of the sheds but because he knew that the Stainer 8F deserved so much better. They were one of the hardest working engine classes in the British Isles, nay, the entire world. The fact that it’s replacement had failed was even more of a concern to Truro.

It saddened Truro greatly, the lack of respect towards the working iron horses these days. It was depressing. 

“Thank you for saving our skins, City of Truro!” The Heritage controller thanked him. “It’s unprecedented that two engines would fail simultaneously.”

“Perhaps you need to keep a closer eye on maintenance,” Truro advised. “We Steam Engines are fussy things. We demand a lot more than a diesel or an electric engine.”

The controller seemed offended that Truro had chastised him but said nothing. Truro winched, wondering if he was turning bossy and pedantic like Coppernob. Maybe that was just what happened when one got to this age.

“Well, the Stainer 8F had a good maintenance record but Flying Scotsman did just return from Australia so we’re unsure what her condition is,” The controller remarked and Truro was surprised. 

“Flying Scotsman is here?” He asked and the Controller nodded. 

“You can see her if you like,” he offered and Truro thinning his lips in contemplation. 

“I’ll think about it,” Truro finally spoke and the controller nodded before offering a parting word.

~~~

The rail tour itself went smoothly and Truro found himself in a pleasant mood. Maybe it was a good thing that both engines had failed that day. He so rarely got to do a proper run these days and he felt good for it. 

He thanked the 8F and paused in the yard, contemplating whether to both his ‘rival’. Of course, Flying Scotsman never saw him as a rival, that position was reserved for Pendennis Castle. 

A dark cloud darkened his mind and he frowned. He didn’t know why but seeing Pendennis and Scotsman together made him angry, it had always made him sad. 

It shouldn’t have. Pendennis was a close friend, and he wanted to be happy for him and yet… when Scotsman had broken off the relationship, Truro had felt a sort of sadistic glee that made him feel ashamed.

He glanced over at the sheds and found the doors to Flying Scotsman’s berth closed. He contemplated leaving, he didn’t want to start a fight with her but he, despite himself, really wanted to see her.

Why? He had no clue.

Biting the bullet he approached her berth and waited for the crew to open the doors. Inside he found Flying Scotsman, asleep, her face pale and not looking all that well.

He was about to change his mind a leave her to rest when she stirred, groggy and extremely lethargic.

“...City… Truro?” She weakly croaked as she laid her eyes on him.

“You need your rest, I apologise for waking you, I’ll be going,” Truro tried to beg her pardon but Scotsman seemed to shake her frames to wake herself up in response.

“No, no, it’s alright, stay,” Scotsman gave him a weary smile. “I’m awake now anyway.”

“Quite,” Truro murmured and focused on her appearance. “You don’t look at all well.”

“I feel even worse,” Scotsman chuckled. “The Australian Outback did a number on me I think. I’m not used to such a harsh environment. What are you doing here?”

“Covering for you,” Truro smirked. “Did you enjoy Australia at least?”

“That I did,” Scotsman smiled. “Pendennis sends his regards.”

“Oh,” Truro looked away with a huff. “Are you two still, you know, together?”

“We talked about it,” Scotsman hummed to herself. “I decided not to pursue a relationship any longer. I didn’t see a future with him, even if we were still in England.”

Truro suppressed the sudden smile that came to his face.

Why was he glad that they had broken up?

“I’m going to wait a while before I consider a relationship with anyone else though,” Scotsman continued. “I need to get my smokebox in the right place first.”

“Of course, of course,” Truro mused. “No need to rush into anything. But if you were, did you have anyone in mind?”

Scotsman raised an eyebrow. 

“Didn’t think you would’ve cared about my love life, City of Truro,” Scotsman smirked. 

“I just want to know if you’re going to chase any of my colleagues,” Truro retorted and Scotsman gave a snort of mirth. 

“So you can chase them away and claim me for yourself?” She sneakily suggested and City of Truro turned bright red. Scotsman smirked at his reaction.

“What on Earth makes you think I would do something like that?” Truro scoffed a bit too quickly.

“No reason,” Scotsman smirked but the look in her eyes suggested that she very well knew the reason. “No reason at all.”

Truro felt his face burn with heat and he jolted himself backwards in a hurry to leave. 

“Right, well, I best be going,” Truro cleared his smokebox. 

“Of course, of course, good talk, Truro, good talk,” Scotsman’s expression became conceited and smug, she had the audacity to give him a flirtatious wink.

Truro humphed in response. He knew exactly what she was insinuating and he had a very good idea that Scotsman and Pendennis had discussed him at length in Australia.

“You are appalling,” Truro huffed and Scotsman laughed. “You and Pendennis both!”

“Oh, we know,” Scotsman extolled. “But I’ll come to you first when I'm ready to date again, yes?”

Truro turned completely red.

“Is that a threat?” He scoffed, flummoxed.

“No. It’s a promise.”

With that, Scotsman seemed to grow weary again, her eyelids growing heavy.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to rest," she murmured and Truro took the hint that she wanted to be left alone.

"Very well, rest easy, Flying Scotsman," he wished as the crew flicked the lights back off in her berth.

"I'll try," Scotsman smiled and gave him a wink.

Truro felt his cheeks burn red hot but before he could answer, the doors to her berth shut in his face.

~~~

Flying Scotsman departs Kings Cross, 1967.

The City of Truro and the AUDACITY of this bitch. 

Scotsman has a type and that type is Great Western 👀 He thinks they’re pretty.

The little Wren, Hendrick is Dr Hendrick who appears in Young Iron and deals with Gold Dust issues and problems. Great Northern brought him back as a Gold Dust construct to be his assistant however Hendrick decided to study medicine and became a certified Doctor.

[shrilalmahal1]

Basmati Rice: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Basmati Rice?

Basmati rice is a long-grain rice variety renowned for its fragrant aroma, distinct flavor, and fluffy texture. It is predominantly grown in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India and Pakistan. Basmati rice has been an integral part of South Asian cuisine for centuries and is cherished globally for its unique qualities.

The Characteristics of Basmati Rice

Aroma: One of the defining features of Basmati rice is its aromatic fragrance, often compared to that of pandan leaves or popcorn.

Flavor: Basmati rice has a nutty and slightly floral taste, which enhances the flavor of dishes.

Texture: When cooked, Basmati rice grains remain separate and fluffy, making it an excellent choice for pilafs and biryanis.

Length: Basmati rice grains are notably longer than regular rice varieties and elongate further upon cooking.

Cultivation and Types of Basmati Rice

Basmati rice is primarily grown in the fertile plains of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in India and in the regions of Punjab in Pakistan. The climate and soil conditions of these areas contribute to the rice's unique characteristics.

There are several types of Basmati rice, including:

Traditional Basmati: Known for its aged grains and superior aroma.

Pusa Basmati: A high-yield variety developed through hybridization.

1121 Basmati: Noted for its extra-long grains.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Basmati Rice

Q1: What makes Basmati rice different from other rice varieties? A1: Basmati rice stands out due to its aromatic fragrance, long and slender grains, distinct nutty flavour, and its ability to remain fluffy and separate when cooked.

Q2: How do you cook Basmati rice? A2: To cook Basmati rice, rinse the grains thoroughly to remove excess starch. Soak the rice for 20-30 minutes, then cook it using a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat until the water is absorbed.

Q3: Is Basmati rice healthier than other rice types? A3: Basmati rice has a lower glycemic index compared to other rice varieties, making it a better option for managing blood sugar levels. It is also rich in essential nutrients like fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Q4: Can Basmati rice be used in all rice dishes? A4: Basmati rice is ideal for dishes that benefit from its aromatic and fluffy texture, such as biryanis, pilafs, and stir-fries. However, for dishes requiring stickier rice, like sushi or risotto, other rice varieties are more suitable.

Q5: How should Basmati rice be stored? A5: Store Basmati rice in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. For long-term storage, keeping it in the refrigerator can help preserve its aroma and flavor.

Q6: Is Basmati rice gluten-free? A6: Yes, Basmati rice is naturally gluten-free, making it a safe choice for those with gluten intolerance or celiac disease.

Q7: What are some popular dishes made with Basmati rice? A7: Some popular dishes include Chicken Biryani, Vegetable Pilaf, Jeera Rice, and Kheer (a type of rice pudding).

Q8: Can I use brown Basmati rice instead of white Basmati rice? A8: Yes, brown Basmati rice is a whole grain alternative to white Basmati rice. It has a chewier texture and a nuttier flavor, along with higher fiber content.

Q9: Why is aged Basmati rice considered superior? A9: Aging Basmati rice enhances its aroma, flavor, and cooking qualities. The grains become drier and harder, which helps them stay separate and fluffy when cooked.

Q10: How can I tell if my Basmati rice is authentic? A10: Authentic Basmati rice will have a distinct aroma and long, slender grains. Check for certifications and purchase from reputable suppliers to ensure authenticity.

By understanding what makes Basmati rice unique and how to utilize it in your cooking, you can elevate your culinary creations with this exceptional grain.

[flyingcookiegumtruckthing]

Random but like should I re-download snapshot.

I kinda removed it from my phone but didn't delete my account lol. So like 2 years ago when I got news of a3! English shutting down, I deleted snapchat to make more room on my phone for the game files. I tried to go through the character and event stories on twitch to like. "Preserve" the English version of the game. It was not very organized and I barely got anything done lol.

Then! Dragalia was shutting down, so i tried to kinda do the same thing. Dragalia was like 14 or 16 GB. So I kept snapchat deleted lol.

So I finally got the stupid corpse of the game off my phone and on an external hard drive, plus my save file from that game file extractor program someone put on github. I removed random photos from my phone and put them on an external hard drive. I finally have free space on my phone.

So should I re-download snapchat to see what my irl friends who I have not been in communication with for the past 3 or 4 years since covid lockdown lol. (My snapchat is for irl friends/college and high school classmates only.) (But also not having pressure to post stuff there for the past 3 years has been nice. But also I've not seen my friends for a very long time lol)

[flyingcookierambles]

sadness over a3! eng i guess

oof just on my 700th day.....

kinda sad because of the announcement about A3! ENG server shutting down soon due to financial difficulties at LIBER/CYBIRD in the past two years (covid-19 related, etc.). according to a rather in depth reddit comment that had links to LIBER's publicly available financial reports + some financial reports from LIBER's parent company, Aeria, in english, covid-19 really hit LIBER hard since they had to cancel many money making events, from pop-up shops for the typical anime merch trinkets (keychains, plushes, pins, etc.) to the huge in-person events (voice actor meetups, the stage plays of MANKAI LIVE, etc.). due to shrinking player base on the ENG server + major loss of profits on both JPN and ENG servers, LIBER had to choose one or the other and they chose the JPN one, which i totally understand since it's way bigger there and the JPN fanbase will continue to give the franchise money more often. also, another person found a financial report/estimate from the google play store or something, and A3! ENG only made ~$20K to ~$10K in the past few months, which i guess is not enough to keep a server and localization company afloat. 

i got pretty attached to the characters and it was a great game to help get by during college. and honestly, while i am very sad about this, again, i understand why LIBER did this, looking at their financial report from 2020. I would LIBER save the entire franchise rather than shut all the servers down, making us all unable to see our favorite actors ever again, even if it means that we ENG fans will have to go thru the extra steps of finding/reading fan translations, wikis, etc., to read any further stories from where A3! ENG left off. still, A3! ENG's localization was something special. i'm saying this as a TKRB JPN player who read the wiki for all the character voice lines and then had to see the official TKRB ENG localization make Yamabushi Kunihiro a rapper for some reason? lol. it was....weird.... meanwhile, all the memes and slang in A3! ENG didn't seem out of place and all fit their personalities because 3/4 of the troupes were all high school to college age and 3 of them were ~Gamers~. Out of all the gachas i've played, i feel like the only other F2P gacha game that had this incredibly smooth, all cultural jokes/puns translated in a way that still makes sense/fits the character/doesn't require a galaxy brain and some TL note to understand, is probably dragalia lost and that's only because it has frickin Nintendo localizing/publishing it globally for CyGames. Nintendo. i'll eventually read the fan translations of A3!'s Act 3 on the wiki, but it won't be the same without Kazunari's super high-energy influencer slang of "'whoa fam! that's totes 'blammable, gotta take a pic!" or Itaru's gremlin Gamer speak of "lol get rekt noobs" or Tsuzuru's tired dying breath of "that ain't it chief." the appropriate slang and relatable meme speak of the localization really helped humanize these characters as people of their respective ages, rather than just a typical formal speak or some directly translated JPN slang -> ENG that turns out super awkward that can be found in bad localizations.

going back to the reddit comment too, the death of A3! ENG servers could have bad repercussions in the future for other joseimuke games. josei, if you for some reason have been in the anime fandom but still don't know this term, is basically the genre of stories/video games/media/etc aimed at women. it's the mature adult counterpart to seinen, media aimed at adult men. basically shoujo/shonen = elementary/middle school/high school aimed while josei/seinen = high school/college/adult aimed if that helps. Joseimuke is a part of josei that is not specifically romance. while some josei/joseimuke can overlap with otome, aka female aimed dating sims/romance media, they have many things about them that make these all separate genres. one of the official A3! ENG translators and a known fan translator of another joseimuke gacha, Mahou Yaku/Wizard’s Promise, minami, goes more in depth with this in a twitter thread. 

A3! was an actor raising game, and a big part of it was found family and relationships that were platonic. yet it got advertised as an otome, which has more connotations with dating sims and brings to mind other shoujo/otome games and anime where the cast is all high schoolers and the setting is most often in a high school. but, other than some characters making flirty jokes or implied to have crushes on Izumi/player character, many character relationships with Izumi are platonic and not romantic at all. Spring Troupe in the game also jokingly calls themself a family. the entire Mankai Company is basically found family. plus, since the game actually has time passing in story and the characters age with each year, half of the characters aren’t even in high school anymore. a large majority of them are in college or are graduated by now, with only a few still in high school. i’m not surprised if a reason that some people left the game was due to feeling bored with the slice of life/not romantic story, feeling that they were lied to about it being an otome, which was falsely advertised since it is a game meant for the older teens/adults demographic of josei/joseimuke.

i’m worried that other japanese companies will look at this shut down as a “josei/joseimuke doesn’t work well in the west” and never localize other josei/joseimuke gacha games like Mahou Yaku, EnStars, Twisted Wonderland, Helios, etc.

while i like otome and shoujo, i, as a 23/soon to be 24 year old college graduate and now tax paying adult, want more stories that have more mature themes and characters that are more my age so i don’t have to feel awkward when i’m playing some dating sim and i, a literal 23 year old adult, and trying to woo a 16 year old. it’s...a little awkward to say the least. i would gladly welcome more mature media that is categorized as josei/joseimuke.

sorry if this is all over the place, but overall im just sad that A3! ENG is shutting down. i don’t know if i’ll join the JPN server yet. i’m def going to read the Act 3 story via fan translators on the wiki, but A3! gameplay was...boring lmao. as much as i love A3!, im sure that the constant event grind/burnout and boring rng gameplay turned people off too and i dont blame them. i felt the burnout bad since i participated in basically every event since day 1. it. is. rough. i’m not joining the hellish thunderdome that is the JPN server and im not ranking anymore as a F2P player lmao. literally had to play almost every waking free moment to get into the 30%-20% bracket as a F2P person and i never got to top 20%-10%, much less top 1% lmao. i’m don’t whale enough lol. 

i feel like i should probably just. crack open my genki 2 textbook and uhhh totally legal pdf copy of tobira. so i can just. get the JPN version of games in the first place so i don’t have to worry about getting shafted since overseas fans are often considered expendable. 

i wish that, when any games that are online end, gacha or mmo or anything, anything online, companies will let fans archive things. or like. release a book that is just the story text or something. like. CYBIRD is letting us still technically play the game and have the story and all, but what if they eventually later shut everything down? why not just release a pdf/ebook that’s just the text of the eng localization for some money? i’d buy it. for nostalgia and rereads and all and also archiving purposes. i think i’ll try to help with any english localization archive projects if i can so that the hilarious and incredible localization that was a work of love from the translation team doesn’t just disappear forever.

well.

that’s it for now. as i said, guess i’ll head to the app for one of the last times to read the last unread stories and mini stories i have left, then the wiki for Act 3, and then i guess i’ll crack open genki 2 and bunpo.....

some fun random links for you to think about!

random ffxi article that came to mind (if ffxiv ever shuts down in the next 20 years or whatever i’d be cool to get a statue of my character at the end)

and death of a game playlist by NerdSlayer Studios on Youtube that has me thinking a lot about game preservation and losing MMOs and games

the lost media wiki  and blameitonjorge’s lost media iceberg

other gacha games i’ve played that have shut down that i think about sometimes because the loss of A3! ENG isn’t my first rodeo:

terra battle & terra battle 2 (1)

AFTERL!FE

(related kitsu post link for archive reasons)

[annhellsing]

Crucible

notes: a3! has still got my life by the heart so have some heavy-handed smut for my favourite yakuza boss bc he deserves all the love. rating: explicit, this shit is p*rny as hell pairing: sakyo furuichi / reader word count: 2,717

And nothing in the world could steal the hook of his invincible smile. It’s quite a sight, watching Sakyo’s pride bloom as pretty as springtime-- even as October rolls through the city and brings its chill.

He did well on stage. He moved like a little boy who’d been waiting twenty years to get his chance. Better late than never.

He was so handsome, still is handsome with the sharp brim of his fedora casting a shadow over his eyes. And his pressed overcoat hangs from his shoulders but never falls. It’s too perfect to be casual, he’s too perfect.

But all Sakyo allows himself is that smile. Then, he tucks himself up in his room. He’s gone before you even have time to open your mouth, to speak every word you’ve ever tried to hide from him. 

Congratulations. You made it. You belong here. You’re loved.

The door closes with a quiet creak. It’s not enough to keep you out, though you doubt he was purposefully trying to. Instead you suppose he might be trying to keep himself in. To process in small sections the euphoria that is so clearly undeserved.

Bullshit. Nonsense. You try the handle and it swivels under your palm. You push your way inside.

“Sakoda, if I have to explain again the importance of knocking--” his voice sounds like a stone sinking. And there is no smile when he turns. 

His hat is still on his head, yes, but his coat has already been cast aside. Sakyo’s suit jacket is unbuttoned, his hand tugging on the tie knotted at his throat. He’s already set aside that brief moment of pride, trying to worm his way out of the uncomfortable feeling.

When he’s back in his day clothes, he convinces himself, reality won’t seem so harsh.

But he’s stopped in his tracks when he sees who’s standing at the other end of the room. You close the door quickly behind you to preserve a bit of his modesty. Rowdy teenage boys don’t need more ammunition than they already have.

“I didn’t knock for a reason,” you tell him. “I was hoping--”

“I’m getting ready for the wrap party,” he replies. He’s brusque, off-puttingly so. You’ve heard Sakyo angry before, but this is another beast entirely. There is a quiet plea in his voice when he continues, “So, do you mind?”

“I do,” you say. You step forward.

He knows how to tell you to leave, his tongue even fits around the syllables. But he can’t bring himself to say it, to drive another wedge between him and you.

“I wanted to tell you how amazing you were,” you say, “in private.”

“Thank you,” he nods. And the tops of his shoes must be suddenly very interesting to him. He finds it hard to meet your sincere gaze.

And to confront the look in your eye that says you want to do more than just tell him something.

You take another step and he’s filled with almighty fear. That’s love, he knows it too well. Nothing in the world makes one want to stay put, or to run as fast as one can. One extra step is all it takes to make his poor heart race.

He lifts his head, meets your stare and quiet grin. You’re happy for him, for his pride that he’s suffocated prematurely.

“You were smiling after the curtain call,” you tell him like it wasn’t his mouth it curled on. You have a way of holding yourself, a looseness that he can’t inhabit. No one’s been anything other than afraid of him for so long. But you walk to him like a lover.

Like he’s a husband you’ve come home to.

His office chair holds his coat. It’s poised right behind him, almost like it’s waiting. Your eyes flit to it and the plan you hadn’t planned starts to solidify in your mind. You draw yourself close to him, chest to chest in a way he’s partially familiar with. You and him have been friendly. But he thought that it was only ever for the sake of stress relief.

The two of you are the opposite of anxious, or at least you should be. Him, on the other hand-- it’s a different story.

“Come,” you tell him, “be proud, you did so well.”

“I--” he clears his throat, glancing over your shoulder at the closed but unlocked door.

He can’t help but flinch when you raise your hand. You, who holds so much power over him, is the only person Sakyo can think of who he’d allow to bring the pain. But you rest your palm on his cheek, your thumb brushing gently over the mole under his eye.

You’ve done that before and it’s only ever elicited surface level annoyance. A reminder that while you indulge certain desires with him, he will never be truly yours. This time it’s different, it feels different and he gives up a soft sigh. There’s a slight tremor in his shoulders.

“Smile, darling,” you say, your voice is soft and he knows the tone well. You’re trying to be enticing and goodness, it’s working. “Smile for me, you look beautiful when you do.”

His face stays stony, but your expression hardly shifts at all. Ah well, you didn’t expect a miracle.

Your hand moves from his cheek to his jaw, tracing that sharp line until goosebumps bloom on his skin. His neck is explored next, the neat column artfully lined and a little bit tense under your hand.

“Relax, Sakyo,” you say, “I won’t hurt you.”

And the admission is so honest, so truthful that he can’t help but believe it. He loosens up, almost taken by surprise. You acknowledge that he has cause to worry, to believe himself in danger when his vulnerable parts are laid bare. You don’t shame him for that.

Your fingers touch the collar of his shirt, pulling the fabric aside very gently. Under it, you find the red lip print you left before the start of the show. You made him weak in the knees when you claimed it was for good luck. Evidently, it worked.

He wants another for a job well done. Sakyo’s glad to have the chair behind him, just in case.

“You look sexy in this,” you mutter, your voice sounds heavy and sweet this close. You take the knot of his tie in your hand, it’s loosened enough to be no danger when you pull it taught. Sakyo grunts and leans with the tug. “Of course, you’d look sexier out of it.”

“But--” he starts, amazed that he can force out words with your lips now so close to his. It’s everything in him to swallow a soft whimper. 

“I know, cast party. I suppose you won’t have time to change,” you say. You sound genuinely disappointed, which throws him for a loop. You’ve already made up your mind about what you plan to do to him, it seems. 

And though Sakyo knows very well that he could stop such talk with a word, he does not.

“I won’t?” he asks, delighted by the light in your eyes and yet deeply embarrassed by the desperation that clings to the inside of his throat. What could you be thinking about?

“No. Sit down,” you are so effortlessly beautiful, pressed up against him without any shame.

You lift your hand and take his sharp fedora. Pulling back, you set the hat on your head. Sakyo stares, a little in a daze that this could be happening for his own benefit. His couplings with you often feel like he is merely the lucky recipient of your general attention.

He never dared to think that your lust could be specific.

“But first, kiss me,” you sigh, you lean in close enough to tempt. “Claim your reward.”

Sakyo blinks, embarrassed to note that the offer of a kiss is what makes his cheeks flush. But with only a small amount of hesitation, he meets you halfway and presses his thin lips to yours. His fingers, delicate and long, tilt your chin very slightly upward.

“You wanted me to sit?” he asks for clarification when he breaks the kiss. It was a good kiss, he thinks, and he’ll be missing your soft mouth for some time. The haze in his eyes tells you he really does need confirmation again. He’s been rattled, how sweet.

“That’s right, be good for me and have a seat. If you won’t allow yourself to be, then let me show you how proud I am,” your hands at his shoulders help to guide him.

He does as you say, sitting heavily in his office chair. It’s nice, he thinks, to be the man at your side. You’re so very much like he remembers, but so much smarter now. So much more real and alive. You make jokes to ease his tension, you coax him into self-softness. And it feels so good.

But you don’t do as he expects. Far from it. Where you would usually straddle him, take him internally until his begging led you to have mercy on him-- this time, you sink to your knees.

Sakyo swallows hard. He knows how this will end.

You kiss him through his trousers, no time to wait or be shy. His legs were already spread, almost in anticipation of your prompt arrival. He’s been hard since you first put your hand to his cheek and he is not proud, but his cock gives a heady throb when you press your nose against his crotch.

“Aren’t we excited?” you tease him just to see if you can bring back some of that joy. It works a little, he exhales hard and white-knuckles the armrests.

“I thought we were short on time,” he comments and you lift an eyebrow. He can’t see you from under the brim of his hat, the uncertainty is unnerving. But when he presses his luck with clipped statements, it makes you press back.

“You’re lucky I already decided to reward you,” the authority in your voice is unexpected, but it does the trick. Sakyo huffs at the sudden, downward rush that grips between his legs. He grunts a little louder when you put your palm there, as if you could tell exactly where you were needed.

“Please,” his voice sounds breathy and soft, a warm sigh that has him slouching in the chair. His legs close just a bit around your hand.

“Please what?” you ask, “You were so good at remembering your lines on stage. What do we say?”

“Please, ma’am,” he grunts again, shifting his hips forward very slightly. “I-- I’ve earned it.”

“Yes, you have,” you smile, “very good.”

He’s too tired to argue, pushed to his limits by the demands of rehearsal and waning euphoria of being on stage. But Sakyo can’t help but think that this kind of appreciation outclasses any he received from tonight’s audience. 

His eyes close as you undo his belt, tugging his shirt from his trousers and pressing your fingers against the soft skin of his stomach. You kiss him there, slow and reverent. He gives a shaky sigh.

His fly is undone, you appear to be growing impatient. If he had the mind or energy to, he would tease you about it until you made him behave. He likes that best of all.

But you seem resigned to praising him. Sakyo presses his feet down on the floor, thrusting minutely against your exploring hands and mouth.

Sakyo keeps his own hands to himself, if only so you can have your fun with no interference. He barely knows what he likes, you have more of an understanding of his body than he surely does. He feels your tongue against his pelvic bone and stifles another embarrassing sound.

You don’t give him trouble for that, at least. When you’re alone with him, properly alone and away from the theatre you revel in every noise that he makes. But here, with friends so close at hand-- he’s under no obligation to please you.

Despite the time crunch, you take a moment to appreciate his cock when you gingerly take it from his trouser. He’s never considered it to be anything special, truth be told he’s never considered it at all, but you never fail to look a bit impressed. And a bit hungry.

That thought makes him jump and throb in your small hand. And when you put your tongue to the blunt head, Sakyo can’t quiet his sharp inhale.

You put your hand on his thigh, pushing and holding his leg open and giving you enough room to move. The bed of your tongue presses flat to veins and hot skin. He feels coiled like a spring, wound tight. Your mouth is so warm, so soft and he barely has time to anticipate how it will feel.

You’re on him, bobbing your head to a punishing rhythm. You’ll take no prisoners this evening, you aim to ease that feeling of intense compression in his lower abdomen. Sakyo is grateful, so grateful that the only thing he can say is your name. It’s mangled with satisfaction and desperation, but you still find it sweet.

His eyes are sky-wide. They are two violet stones when you close your mouth around him and give a gentle hum. You press him to the back of your throat, breathing carefully and doing only what you’re comfortable with.

That had to be explained to him the last time, that you would do nothing to him that you didn’t want. He stays quiet now, not wanting to distract. Instead, he wants to trust you.

Sakyo’s quiet, he always is. But this is a pensieve sort of quiet, even as he drifts from thought to painful thought. He wants this forever, not this act in specific but all of them. Everything, as long as he’s yours. 

It’s a beautiful thing to have the lion’s share of your attention. He feels giddy in a quick-lived rush of emotion, bucking his hips in an unprecedented attempt to chase that feeling.

You sputter, but look unoffended. Even as he tries to apologize, you brush off his hands.

“I’m fine,” you say, replacing your mouth with your loose fist for the time it takes to reassure him. “That means it feels good, yes?”

“Yes,” he sighs, “it does.”

“Okay, then it’s fine,” and you begin again with a new vigour. 

It doesn’t feel fine, it feels selfish. And Sakyo isn’t certain when his selfishness was something that became unforgivable.

He doesn’t last long after that. Holding your gaze, even with his fedora obscuring your eyes while you take care of him is a big ask. To his credit, he tries very hard to get your attention. To inform you in advance.

But you just smile, you stay where you are. You heard him, of course, you heard his stumbling attempts to tell you he was going to come. Trying to do so without embarrassment was an exercise in his own misery and he slumps back in his chair with a grunt of your name when he finishes.

His hand leaves the armrest for the first time since starting, he touches your shoulder and squeezes affectionately. Sakyo feels that sudden surge of euphoria again as he finishes, and you keep him in your mouth. Like last time, you swallow and his stomach drops.

“Thank you,” he gasps before he has time to stop himself. You make a show out of licking your lips, rising from your knees enough to grab him by his tie.

He’s kissed again, with more force and tenderness than he expects. Your lips taste like salt and his cheeks flush the colour of bricks.

“Any time,” you reply, “let’s get you presentable again. We have a wrap party to attend.”

It takes a while for his legs to feel steady again. It isn’t until his shirt is tucked in and his overcoat again hangs off his shoulders that he feels confident enough to go anywhere with you. 

You’re fine. You pop right up and take his hand. It’s a beautiful thing to be the man at your side, not just the one in your bed. Even if it’s just this once.

[king-moron]

-quiet rambles-

[a3tree]

1st Anniversary and Exclusive Cards

It’s been a few months since this announcement now!

What would the new original cards be and what would implementing them into the EN server look like? 🤔

I think we’re still a long few months away from getting these cards but I can’t say I’m not excited to see what we get! In order to think about how this will happen in EN server, let’s take a look at how the other servers implemented their own server exclusive cards!

For all of these servers, the cards were usually announced around or tied into the 1st Anniversary event, “3 Cheers for Mankai Company!” (as named in EN, the original name in JPN being “Let’s Bloom! Cheer MANKAI ☆”. As per rule on this blog, I will be referring to it by its EN name and shorten it to “3 Cheers” from here on.) The only server to not have “exclusive” cards from this event was the JPN server, being the main server and already having many cards that have not been distributed outside of Japan through events, collaborations, and album releases.

3 Cheers first ran in the JPN server from January 12th 2018 to January 22nd 2018 to celebrate the 1st Anniversary release of the game (January 27th 2017). This was the first (and only) “Cheer” event (“Support” in JPN), which was unique even to Anniversary events because of the exclusive voting, or “cheer” mechanic. During the event, alongside earning points, you could earn cheers to send to your favorite boys and unlock special badges for them. They also counted as votes towards the character, and the top 10 characters’ vote rankings were posted partway through the event on January 16th, and final rankings were announced February 4th following the event.

The top ten characters got special character goods and the top three characters got “Choice Scout SELECTION” gachas! A Choice Scout is a one time only paid scout with rate ups of previous gacha cards of the specified character! Along with the ten cards from the gacha, you would also receive a “Choice Medal” to exchange for any of these specified character cards at the Trading Post (ex. if you pulled from the Itaru Choice Scout Selection, you would be able to exchange your medal for SSR [Office Worker Santa] Itaru Chigasaki or SR [Don’t Jinx It] Itaru Chigasaki, among other Itaru cards).

In this case, the top 3 characters were Itaru in first, Banri in second, and Misumi in third, so all three of them got Choice Scouts! Itaru’s Choice Scout ran from March 1st to March 5th, Banri’s ran from April 2nd to April 6th, and Misumi’s ran from May 1st to May 4th.

Not only that, but the top ranking character from each troupe were added as the cast to A3!’s first ever Mixed Troupe event, “I Come with the Night.” with Itaru in the starring role, Banri as the co-lead, Misumi as supporting cast A, and Tsumugi as supporting cast B. With this being a performance event, Itaru and Banri also got SSRs drawn by Ryo Fujiwara! This event ran from October 17th 2018 to October 26th 2018.

(Side note: this Anniversary event seemed to be a bit stressful for fans since there were only rewards for half of the cast, and many were disappointed to let down the boys that did not win. This could be one of the reasons that following Anniversary events do not have this character ranking element.)

The next server that held 3 Cheers was the TN server, with the event running from August 15th 2019 to August 25th 2019 to celebrate the 1st Anniversary release of June 2018. (It possibly came a bit late due to other event/gacha scheduling conflicts.) The event ran virtually the same as it did in JPN with the ranking results announced on October 25th. Where this event differs from the JPN version is that it was announced that the top three characters got region exclusive cards to the TN server, with first place Itaru getting an SSR, second place Masumi getting an SR, and third place Misumi getting an R card!

(Funnily enough, the results mirror the midway results from the JPN server, with Itaru, Masumi, and Misumi being the top three.)

The TN exclusive cards were released in the same Choice Scout SELECTION gachas that the JPN version had. These were only obtainable through the Choice Medal at the Trading Post. Misumi’s Choice Scout ran from February 13th to February 18th 2020, Masumi’s ran from March 4th to March 8th, and Itaru’s ran from March 13th to March 17th.

The TN server also got the I Come with the Night event from April 7th to April 16th and all the cards that came with it, despite the featured characters being the winners from the JPN server’s ranking contest (If the winners were to match the TN server’s ranking, the cast would have been Itaru, Misumi, Tsumugi, and Sakyo). This of course makes complete sense as I imagine it would be difficult to implement a full exclusive event for each server, especially with how long it took to release the event story and play in the JPN server and with the differences in scheduling that each event has.

(Side note: the Masumi banner seems to be an error with the colors and flower motif being Itaru’s gerberas rather than Masumi’s violets.)

The CN server was released November 14th 2019 and celebrated its anniversary July 22nd 2020 to August 1st. (It seemed to celebrate the anniversary early in order to preserve story chronologic order because they’re going through events much quicker than the JPN server did.) The ranking of the top ten characters was announced August 3rd 2020. Like the TN server, the top three characters in their rankings got CN server exclusive cards made by the Japanese dev team! The top three were once again Itaru in first place getting an SSR, Masumi in second place getting an SR, and Misumi in third place getting an R card!

The CN server also got a special illustration drawn by Ryo Fujiwara and an exclusive special event PV written by story writer Tom was released online!

The exclusive cards were announced February 8th 2021, as part of their Chinese New Year/Spring Festival campaign! They were once again released in the Choice Scout SELECTION gachas, with Itaru’s, Masumi’s, and Misumi’s Choice Scouts all running February 12th to February 18th. Just like the TN server, these cards were obtainable through Choice Medals exchanged at the Trading Post!

So far, the I Come with the Night event has not dropped in the CN server but it seems likely that it will proceed as a normal event with the JPN ranking cast.

So... what does that mean for the EN server?

The EN server was released October 23rd 2019 and celebrated its Anniversary with the 3 Cheers event running from October 15th to October 25th 2020. The event was nearly identical to every others’ server with the notable distinction of there not being a cheer ranking component to the event. It is unclear why this part was not included into the Anniversary event, (maybe Cybird had difficulty working under COVID restrictions or they wanted to avoid the popularity vote?) so many fans cheered for as many characters as they could rather than pouring all their cheers into their favorite. Around this time, Cybird also released a survey in-game asking fans how they felt about certain elements of the game. Some questions in particular asked what were your top three characters from the game.

Towards the end of the event, Cybird revealed the above announcement that Ryo Fujiwara would be designing “new original cards for the English version scheduled for a 2021 release!” on October 23rd. Since then, there have been no announcements on what these cards will be like, who they are of, how they will be released, etc. But, based on what we know of the other three servers, we can make some educated guesses:

(These guesses are just for fun, please do not believe anything I say to be absolutely true)

So, who will the cards be of?

Since there was no voting announced in the Anniversary event for EN version, I don’t think they will use the Cheer points to determine who gets exclusive cards. This is probably for the best because the cards won’t be determined only by the players who spend the most in-game. However, because the survey asked for players’ top favorite characters, I believe they would use these results to determine the characters who get exclusive cards. This is a much more fair way to “vote” for characters because even F2P players and players who do not use social media were able to vote for their favs, and avoided mass voting because it was accessed through the players’ game.

Another option would be for Cybird or Liber themselves to decide who gets the cards. This doesn’t involve the players so I don’t know if they would actually do this but it’s still a possibility.

The last option would be for them to give new cards for all the characters. This would be the most fair and would probably generate the most money for them if all of them were available for paid gems, but it would definitely be a lot of work for a server that isn’t the main JPN one.

Of these all, using the survey results makes the most sense to me because they specifically asked for your top three characters (I wish I still had screenshots O|￣|_). Once again, it would make sense to eliminate the problems with the cheer rankings. Deciding on their own does not seem like something they would do and as much as I’d love every character to get a pretty new card, I don’t see why the EN server should get special treatment over the CN or the TN ones that only has three each for this event. It’s still a possibility though because the EN server is available across more countries, but I don’t think it reaches more players than the CN or the JPN server. So for now, let’s assume the new cards would go to the most voted characters of the survey.

The hitch to this idea though is mentioning Ryo Fujiwara, the lead character designer of A3! I think they did not draw any of the other exclusive cards, and only contributed to the CN server’s commemorative art. Their art is also only used in SR and SSR cards, I believe. They’ve done album covers that have been redeemed as SR cards in-game and does all of the performance event cards, which are all SSRs. If Cybird are having them draw these cards, these cards would definitely be very special and would most likely not include any R cards. This would mean that these exclusive cards will already be very different from the other servers’ cards.

How will these cards be implemented?

One theory I saw come up is that maybe EN server will have an exclusive performance event like how I Come with the Night was created as a result of the 1st Anniversary. While the fact that Fujiwara-sensei is drawing these cards support that idea because both the gacha and event SSRs would be drawn by them, I don’t know if Cybird has the liberty or capability to add something as major as a whole in-game event. The CN server had an interactive PV hosted on bilibili even though the scenario was written by Tom, the main story writer of A3!, which shows that even semi-canon events in other servers are not usually added to the game outside of the backstage stories of said exclusive cards. It would also be put in the middle of the timeline which would make formatting the server weird (already there have been some oddities from the timeline being off from the release dates of the JPN server) and would have to not further the characters’ development in a way that contradicts whats farther ahead in the timeline. What I love about A3! is that a lot of the interactions and conversations are remembered and referred back to in other cards and event stories so to have a whole event and not furthering the characters and have it not affect the three years the JPN server has on the EN server seems difficult to me. Plus, performance events in particular usually end up voiced and have play songs which I think would be a hassle to have to record for in a server the actors themselves don’t even play. I’d love it if they did and it would explain the wait time for these cards (plus it wouldn’t be too hard to skim over character development anyways since the I-Chu and PSYCHO PASS events were exclusive and I think the I-Chu event at least isn’t even canon?) and maybe it doesn’t even have to be a performance event but I do not think it will go this way.

Until we get more information, I assume that the exclusive cards will be released in the same way that the TN and the CN exclusive cards were by trading in a Choice Medal obtained from the Choice Scout SELECTION gachas. I also assume that the previous survey will decide which characters will get these exclusive cards. If anything, I hope the only difference the EN server gets is that since the cards are designed by Fujiwara-sensei, the cards will all be SRs and SSRs. I’m still unsure completely about the number of cards, but hopefully there will be more of them.

When will we hear more about these cards?

The JPN server concluded 3 Cheers on January 22nd 2018, announced rankings on February 4th, and had character Choice Scouts starting with Itaru in March. The highest voted character from each troupe were featured in I Come with the Night which ran in October. So ranking was announced under two weeks, Scout gachas started the month after, and the Mixed Troupe event ran nine months after the Anniversary.

The TN server concluded 3 Cheers on August 25th 2019, announced rankings on October 25th, and had character Choice Scouts starting with Misumi in February. I Come with the Night ran in April. So ranking was announced two months later, Scout gachas started four months after this announcement, and the Mixed Troupe event ran eight months after the Anniversary.

The CN server concluded 3 Cheers on August 1st 2020, announced rankings on August 3rd, and had character Choice Scouts all starting Febuary 2021. So ranking was announced two days later and Scout gacha started six months after this announcement.

The EN server concluded 3 Cheers on October 25th 2020. It has no rankings as of now (February 20th 2021, four month later) and therefore does not have Choice Scouts yet.

JPN had the shortest amount of time between the end of the Anniversary event and the beginning of Choice Scouts with only about a month in between. However, JPN did not need exclusive cards and did not implement the winners until I Come with the Night nine months later. Meanwhile, even though it took TN server two months to announce ranking results, both TN and CN servers started Choice Scouts six months after the Anniversary event. There’s no ranking in EN, so I can only count from when the event ended and the cards were announced at the end of October. If it were just exclusive cards, I would assume it would take six months like it had the TN and CN servers, which would mean sometime in April. But if they are doing something special with Fujiwara-sensei designing the cards, it would take some time, but not nearly as long as it did for them to come up with a whole new event scenario, so unless the EN version is getting an exclusive event, it should not take nine months which was as long as it took JPN server to get I Come with the Night. So before July.

So, based on all that and assuming scheduling is about the same as it is for all the other servers, we might be seeing these cards sometime between April and July.

What will these cards look like?

The JPN winners were cast members for the I Come with the Night play event, with the play being school themed. The TN cards were boba themed to reflect how boba has nearly become the national icon of Taiwan. The CN cards were Chinese themed with Shanghai and pandas included in the designs, fitting for Chinese New Year.

Basically my answer is I have no idea what EN exclusive cards would look like. The EN server isn’t exclusive to one specific region like the others are. Many different countries are encompassed in the EN server, so it’s difficult to say. But they will definitely be gorgeous with Fujiwara-sensei designing them.

SO WHAT IS THE TLDR???

LONG story short, I’m guessing the EN cards will be added sometime between April and July, via the character Choice Scout SELECTION gachas. They will not be determined by cheers but instead will be cards of the highest voted characters from the survey released around the 1st Anniversary. The number of cards, the rarities, the design motifs, and the characters are still unknown as of now.

I don’t know a lot so this was a pretty long winded way to say “I don’t know” and give the most basic of guesses but seeing the history and predicting based on the data was super fun. I feel that having an approximate date guessed is better than nothing but unfortunately that is about all I can surmise.

Hopefully we’ll hear more about these cards soon! I’ll be keeping my eye out for them in April 😉 Thanks for reading!

[tateishitoshiki]

[Translation] Toshiki Tateishi Livedoor Interview (19/12/19)

I translated the interview that was posted on his birthday!

I also crossposted this to my translation blog on Wordpress.

From a firefighter to the world of entertainment――Looking back at Toshiki Tateishi’s journey to where he is now, on his 26th birthday

Celebrating Toshiki Tateishi who’s approaching his 26th birthday on December 19th with balloons and confetti! “I’m happy because it’s the first time that an article about me is getting released on my birthday!” he said, beaming from ear to ear as he did the photoshoot.

His stage debut was Musical The Prince of Tennis 3rd Season (hereinafter referred to as “Tenimyu”) in 2017. His popularity rose after he took part in Mankai Stage “A3!”, and in only a few years, he quickly became known as a popular young actor.

There is such a term as an Akita Beauty, but Tateishi surely classifies as an “Akita Adonis”.

Looks that you can’t get tired of looking at, skin that has a smooth, silk-like clearness, and an atmosphere that overflows with elegance…… It came as a shock that despite having this level of flawless beauty, he used to be a firefighter before going into the world of showbiz.

In this interview, he talked about the whole story of how he came to aspire to become a firefighter, and the encounters that brought him to reaffirm his feelings for singing.

For my birthday this year, I’d like to get myself an electric bike 

ーYou’re turning 26 on December 19th. Congratulations!

Thank you!

ーWe had a birthday-themed photoshoot today, with balloons and even confetti.

I had a lot of fun doing things I couldn’t do as a child (haha)

ーCan you tell us about your past birthday parties?

When I was young, I used to invite my friends from class to my house every year for a birthday party, but when I was in 1st or 2nd grade, my parents gave me a soccer ball. It made me so happy that I kicked it around inside the room, and it ended up landing on top of the cake, which hadn’t even been cut yet (haha)

ーHuh? Didn’t your parents get mad?

It was my birthday, so they couldn’t get mad at me (haha). Though I would say that they’re the type of parents that never really get mad.

ーThat’s such a charming story (haha). December 19th is pretty close to Christmas, isn’t it? Did you ever get only one present for both your birthday and Christmas? 

No, they always made it separate. I have sisters who are 5 and 7 years older than me, so as the youngest child, they were very affectionate to me. I guess I was quite spoiled (haha)

ーDo you plan on getting yourself anything for your birthday this year?

I haven’t thought about it. … But now I think I’d like to get an electric bicycle.

It’s because I went to a photoshoot by bike sometime ago, but I kept getting overtaken and it took quite some time to get there, so it was pretty tough (haha). I’ve also had people around me suggest it, saying, “You should definitely buy an electric bike,” so maybe I will buy one.

ーNow that you’re turning 26, you’ve reached the turning point of your 20s. Is there anything you’d like to do before you turn 30?

I’m not much of a planner, so… (haha)

ーHow about things like what you want to do in a job?

Thankfully, right now, I’m able to work both with music in a group and in stageplays, and I’ve just started working in film… Yeah, I would like to expand my horizons more. 

Ah, I love eating, so I would love to appear in a variety show or something that involves doing food reviews without having to stop working in music and acting.

ーI want to watch a program that shows more of your personality

Yes, please! Something like “TOshiki Tateishi’s TOwn Walk” sounds like fun! (haha)

Playing the role of Yukimura led me to grow as an actor and as a person 

ーYour birthday on December 19th is also the same day as the opening night of Musical The Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku VS Rikkai The Last Half.

That’s right!

ーYou play the role of Seiichi Yukimura of Rikkai. In a previous Livedoor interview, you talked about asking your manager to let you know if Tenimyu starts taking auditions. What made you want to be in Tenimyu in the first place?

After I quit being a firefighter, I passed an audition and started taking lessons. But, I fell into a slump and shut everything out, and there was a period when I didn’t go to my lessons and instead did nothing but watch movies.

At that time, I thought that watching films and then laughing and crying because of acting is the same as listening to music and then feeling moved. It made me think that I want to be someone like this, I want to try being an actor.

… So, the question is, why did I audition for Tenimyu, huh? (haha)

ーYes. (haha)

I heard that it was a gateway to success for young actors, so I wanted to challenge it.

ーI heard that you were in the swimming club and the baseball club when you were a student, but did you have any experience with tennis?

I didn’t. That’s why I don’t know the rules, and the first time I ever held a racket was in Tenimyu.

But I remember thinking of it this way. It took time to audition, and I got the part through that, so no matter how difficult the training is, I have no choice but to do it! Anyway, instead of thinking that it’s difficult, I desperately, frantically devoted myself to it.

ーGiven that you have a lot of co-stars, did you ever face any troubles occasionally?

I did find myself troubled with personal relationships. We had to make one production with that large number of people, so we were bound to have some conflicts, and now that I think about it, we couldn’t really make it work at first. But as we attended more rehearsals, we overcame our hardships and our bonds were formed.

ーWas there any pressure in debuting with the role of Yukimura? 

Of course there was. Rikkai is the champion school, so there was the impatience that I had to meet everyone’s expectations. I came in with no skills or anything at all, so there was still the shyness at having to act. It made me very worried.

ーSpeaking of Yukimura, being the captain of Rikkai makes him the strongest guy among all of Japan middle school tennis.

Yes. Yukimura started out with scenes wherein he was hospitalized instead of tennis scenes, so that part was difficult.

ーHow was it difficult?

I think it’s relatively easier to portray his strong “Child of God” side where he’s reigning at the summit of Rikkai. But when I had to sing in a scene where he was still hospitalized, I found it difficult to portray his frailty while also preserving the inner strength of his spirit.  

There’s a part where he sings, “Do your best, I’m praying for you,” to his friends in Rikkai, but I guess I sang it too weakly. The director told me, “Yukimura is originally a physically and mentally strong player, so express his hidden inner strength even through song,” so I had a fairly hard time dealing with that.

ーYou gain a deeper understanding of Yukimura while playing his role, but what do you think makes him attractive?

Like I mentioned, I guess it’s his mental strength as a person. His demeanor is fairly gentle, but I think he’s strong and likes tennis more than everyone else. He also has a ruthless side to him, he hates losing, he never wavers… he’s very cool. I respect who he is on the inside, and I think playing the role of Yukimura led me to grow as an actor and as a person.

I thought it’s amazing to have a job where you save lives 

ーI’d like to hear about the time before you entered this world, your firefighter days. Last October, Jun Utahiroba introduced your history in Mezamashi TV’s Ikemen Notebook corner.

A lot of people messaged me to say “I saw you”, and my Twitter follower count increased, haha. It even went trending on Twitter.

ー#Tateishi-kun (#立石くん) and #FirefighterDaysPic (#消防士時代の写真) did go trending on Twitter. I thought it was clever when Utahiroba said, “If he were dripping in sexiness like this, fires would go out on their own.”

He also said things like “Announcing a burning love alert!” haha. I’m very thankful. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Utahiroba again for featuring me in his corner.

ーOkay, I’ll write that down, haha. When you were deciding on your career, you had a hard time choosing between attending university or becoming a firefighter, weren’t you?

When my mom asked me, “Why do you want to go to college? What’s your purpose for going there?”, I couldn’t answer her. So when I thought again about what I wanted to do, I decided that I wanted to aim to become a firefighter. 

ーOf all the jobs out there, why firefighting?

There was a fire prevention drill at my elementary school, and the firefighters that came to lead it were cool. Boys at that age do find things they admire at least once. After that, the film “Umizaru” became popular when I was in middle school. The term “lifesaving” left a huge impression on me, and I thought that while it may be difficult, a job that saves lives is really wonderful. I wanted to have something worth doing like that as my profession.. 

ーYour sense of justice has been very strong since you were young.

Hmm, I wonder. Is it? Haha

ーI heard that the Tokyo Fire and Disaster Management Agency is quite hard to get into. Their acceptance rate is high; did you have to work hard at studying? 

I did, haha. They had a written exam and a physical strength exam, but I started studying since first year high school, had tutorials, and I asked my upperclassmen about it.

ーIt must have been hard to build physical strength as well.

Yes. I was already doing sports, so I had a foundation to build on, but I still did a lot of muscle training and running.

I cried in frustration at the words of an old stranger, one night in Kitasenju  

ーAfter that, you passed the entrance exam in one take and moved to Tokyo.

I didn’t exactly work immediately after I was employed. I went to a fire fighting school to learn the necessary information and skills, and there I experienced living in a dorm. I was raised with two older sisters and I always went to co-ed schools, so I was overwhelmed when I entered, haha. 

ーHaha. They must have been very strict with rules.

There’s a curfew at night and the time when you’re supposed to wake up is also fixed, so it was difficult to live out our lives with all those things decided for us. When we woke up in the morning, we ran and assembled at the oval, and then we had a roll-call. They even had rules on how to fold our mattresses. If you don’t fold it properly, you’ll have to do it over again, so they had very detailed rules like that.

ーWhat left a deep impression on you in your nearly two years of working as a firefighter?

What left the biggest impression was probably the people I met. The instructor and assistant instructor in my class were very compassionate people, and I’m very glad I met them. Above all, I still keep in touch with the assistant instructor. We even went out to drink together around the end of last year, just the two of us. 

ーHe’s still concerned about you even until now.

He’s the kind of person who would talk about things straight and to the point, which is something most adults wouldn’t do. I also opened up to him and talked to him about how I wanted to pursue music. …… Ahh, that brings me back, haha. Which reminds me, I was invited by my higher-up who likes music to perform at a small bar in Kitasenju. That assistant instructor also came to watch.

ーWhat did you sing?

A song by my higher-up’s favorite, Yutaka Ozaki. I didn’t know that song too well, but I tried to copy the way Ozaki sings when I sang it. When I did that, an old man who came as a guest told me, “Is that your real voice? You don’t leave an impression at all even if you copy voices like that.”

… Those words pierced through my chest, and after the live, I cried while eating sushi in front of my assistant instructor and my higher-up, haha.

ーYou cried tears of frustration.

I haven’t cried in front of anyone ever since I became an adult…… but it somehow spilled out.

ーIs that the point when your dreams of becoming a singer were brought back to life?

I suppose so. That time was frustrating, but I’m grateful to that old man now, haha. 

When anxiety and fear turned into “fun”. I found a turning point in Mankai Stage

ーAfter experiencing your debut at Tenimyu in 2017, you gained a sudden rise in popularity by appearing as Itaru Chigasaki in the 2018 production of Mankai Stage “A3!”. Do you remember the time when you got accepted for your role in Mankai Stage?

I went into Mankai Stage after experiencing two musicals in Tenimyu, but at the time, I was still afraid of standing on stage and felt embarrassed to act, so I was very anxious. On top of that, he’s an extremely popular character, and he’s really attractive, so I didn’t know what to do.

That’s why I consulted my co-actors a lot, like Yamato (Furuya) who plays Citron and Ray Fujita who plays Sakyo Furuichi. I stood on stage carrying all my unease at the start, but around the closing night, I felt like I finally had a grasp on Itaru’s character.

ーReally?

Itaru places distance between his colleagues in the Spring troupe and himself at the beginning, so in our first musical, I deliberately made a wall between the cast and myself.

ーWere you pulled in by your role?

It did have quite an effect at the time. I couldn’t really switch between work and private life, so I could only face them wholly. But now, of course, even if a role like that comes up again, I won’t be pulled in by my role, haha. 

ーThere’s a scene in the play where Itaru starts to find theatre fun. Has your own feelings ever overlapped with Itaru’s?

There was. The first performances in Tokyo ended in July, and the Tokyo return shows weren’t until 3 months after, so there was a lot of time in between. I was very frantic at first and it was just a lot, but by the Tokyo return shows, I found it fun.

ーHow did you feel on stage before the Tokyo return shows?

I didn’t know what to do, and I was pretty much just scared. I didn’t get to stand on stage all that much as Yukimura in Tenimyu, so I wasn’t used to the stage yet. I was a lot more nervous as Itaru than as Yukimura, haha. It almost felt like I was making my first stage appearance. From there, the Tokyo return shows passed and I grew accustomed to it little by little.

Apart from that, the Autumn & Winter 2019 performance which ran from January until March was also a turning point for me. Itaru appeared in it to support the Autumn troupe and the Winter troupe, but everyone’s acting made me want to do better too, and I was really impressed.

ーDuring the Osaka run, you also did things like go to Universal Studios Japan with the Winter troupe.

That’s right. We really got along well, and every time we ate during the provincial tour, it was like, the Winter troupe plus me, haha. Ryo Kitamura and Makki (Yoshihiko Aramaki), Kandai Ueda, Ue-chan (Keisuke Ueda), Ryosei Tanaka, would go, “Let’s grab some food,” and invite me. It was a very nice, comfortable place.

ーAnd, you mentioned before that during the the rehearsals for the Spring solo performance in April this year that the words of Director Fumiya Matsuzaki gave you confidence.

Yes. During the break, Director Matsuzaki told me, “The fact that you’re having fun while acting is showing in your performance this time,” and I felt really happy that he went out of his way just to tell me that. That gave me confidence. I really owe Director Matsuzaki a lot as my teacher.  

ーDid you welcome the Spring solo performance with that feeling?

It was the best! 

There were a lot of scenes where Itaru drags the stage, so I really felt like I had control of the stage, and while that came with a lot of responsibility, it was extremely fun. I felt the sense that I was creating the play along with everyone in the Spring troupe.

ー2019 was the year of development for you, wasn’t it?

I was. But Mankai Stage actually started the year before, even though I feel like it’s been three years, haha. I guess, with that, 2019 was quite a fruitful year.

Toshiki Tateishi takes on the “Would You Rather?” challenge!

ーQuestion 1: If you were to have only one friend for a lifetime, would you rather have... A. A friend who always cancels on you at the last minute B. A friend who always gets jealous easily

Will I ever get to meet my friend even if they always cancel at the last minute?

ーYou will meet them, but they will frequently message to say, “I can’t go today,” even if you’re already at your arranged meeting spot.

Then I guess it’s better to have a jealous friend.

ーHow come?

Isn’t it nice, though? You’re very much loved, haha. 

ーThey’ll keep nagging you with questions like, “Who were you with yesterday?”, though.

Isn’t that cute? Haha

If they ask, it would be fine to just answer and say, “I was with ___.” Even if they easily get jealous, I’m sure that if we hang out together, they’ll cheer up about it. Sudden cancellations just ruin plans, so that’s worse, haha.

ーQuestion 2: If you were to get married, would you rather be married to... A. A girl who doesn’t talk at all B. A girl who will talk your ears off for as long as you’re together

There are a lot of things you can’t communicate without talking, so it’s better to be with a girl who talks than a girl who doesn’t. I’d rather not be told something later on like, “The truth is, it was like this, but…”

ーThere are a lot of stories where someone doesn’t want to say something but wants their partner to notice on their own.

True. That’s why I’d be happier if they would just say it.

ーBut if you come home from work all tired, and they’ll keep talking and talking...

Then I’ll make them be quiet. I can’t just let them talk for 24 hours, haha.

ーQuestion 3: If you were to go on an overseas trip, would you rather... A. Be left behind in a jungle B. Be left behind in a desert

Aaaagh… both of those are really scary. There would probably be water and food in the jungle, but there would also be crocodiles and snakes and bears and insects, and there are a lot of dangers. On the other hand, it’s hot in the desert, and there would be nothing to drink, and even in the desert, there would still be snakes and scorpions.

(grimaces) Yikes...

ーIt’s “Would You Rather”, so you’ll have to make do... 

For the desert, it also depends on how long it would take for me to get to a town.

ーPerhaps you might find an oasis along the way.

If I’m allowed to wear proper, durable clothes, I’ll go for the desert. Even if I suddenly get attacked by a scorpion hidden in the sand, my clothes will be strong enough to defend me, haha.

ーQuestion 4: If you were to be reborn, would you rather be... A. A guy B. A girl

Huh, I’ve never thought of that before.

ーIs it because you have sisters? So you don’t have any curiosity towards what it’s like to be a girl.

That’s probably it. I’ve had friends who only have brothers tell me, “Must be nice to have sisters,” but I’d tell them, “Not really,” haha. 

Ahh, what do I do. I think I’d like to be a dolphin or a bird.

ーThat’s a good answer, haha.

Ah, but I don’t want to see the sea at night; it gets scary. Guess I’d rather turn into a bird after all, haha.

ーQuestion 5: What kind of 2020 would you rather have? A. A calm year where nothing good and nothing bad happens B. A turbulent year where you experience the best and worst moments of your life

I wonder how bad the worst moment could be, haha. I’m sure there are people who prefer to live a safe life with no gains and no losses, but that’s scary. … But, yeah, I guess I’d definitely go for a year with the best and worst moments.  

ーYou prefer the turbulent year?

It isn’t time for me to rest yet, I guess. It would be nice to spend my days peacefully someday, but for now, I want to experience a lot of things and grow more. So bring it on, turbulent 2020.

[hazel-of-sodor]

Day 5-Centennial

Day 5-Exhibition

Other Stories

Other Days

Pendennis Castle snuck up quietly alongside the A3, “Well what's a cute little thing like you doing here?”

Flying Scotsman mock groaned, “I can't believe that worked on me.” 

Pendennis chuckled, “I can, you were always a useless lesbian.”

“I was a male for fifty years!”

Pretty Polly opened her eyes from where she had been napping in front of her sibling “you were a useless lesbian even then.” She closed her eyes again as Scotsman spluttered.

Pendennis chuckled, “it was so easy to rile you up back then.”

“Only back then?” Polly said without bothering to open her eyes.

Scotsman gave a long sigh, “Had I known I would be bullied I wouldn't have agreed to this.”

Polly opened an eye to stare skeptically at her sister, “if you didn't like being bullied by Pendennis the last hundred years would have been very different.”

Scotsman sighed again, “why did I think this was a good idea?”

“Because you're a romantic sap who jumped at the chance to recreate the exhibition you met her at,” Polly said simply.

Scotsman thought for a second then gave the engine equivalent of a shrug, “ah, fair enough.”

Pendennis smiled at her, “it's very sweet, although the railfans are already at it.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, what is it this time?” Polly asked

“They're claiming Scotsman isn't the original Scotsman anymore because she presents female now. That it proves she's had too many parts changed to be the original engine.”

Scotsman looked baffled, “I've presented female since Seventy-three, why is it a problem now?”

Polly shifted irritably, “you know what those railfans are like, they're not happy if they're not complaining about something.”

Pendennis realized something, “Scotty, you’ve spent more time presenting female than male now, haven't you?”

Scotsman thought for a moment, “I think so? My overhaul was… fifty-one years ago?”

“It suits you,” Polly said genuinely.

“It does,” Pendennis agreed.

Scotsman stretched her valve gear lazily, “At the time I was just glad to not hurt anymore,” she suddenly laughed, “you two should have seen the look on the workmen's faces when I woke though. They thought they had truly screwed up.”

Polly and Pendennis burst out laughing at the mental image.

“They thought they had screwed up Flying Scotsman’s overhaul. I bet they were writing their wills in their heads.”

Scotsman rolled her eyes, “it would hardly have been that bad.”

Pendennis and Polly looked at each other in askance.

“Darling you were, and in many ways still are, the symbol of preservation,” Pendennis said, “if there was ever an overhaul not to mess up, it was yours.”

“Especially then,” Polly said quietly, “the engines secretly preserved from the Other Railway had only just begun appearing…I had only been revealed weeks prior, and as far as anyone in Britain knew we were the last two A3s.”

“I’m shocked there was no more trouble over it than there was,” Pendennis admitted.

Scotsman shrugged, “they just fixed what went wrong with my last overhaul under the Other Railway. Everyone was happy to blame them.”

Pendennis’s drive came up carrying a sign, the two A3s glancing curiously. It was sat against Pendennis’s buffers and the cover removed, revealing the words, Most Powerful Express Locomotive In Britain.Scotsman took one glance at the sign, “REALLY?”

[mystarsignisno]

Song analysis - Karma (AJR) and Scott

For @londonflowerboy, who brought this to my attention Hope you enjoy a nice dose of Angst (TM)

--- I’ve been so good I’ve been helpful and friendly I’ve been so good Why am I feeling empty? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - Scott has been actively trying to be a better person for some time, but often you can't see the effect it has when you're the one enacting the change: that is, that Scott objectively has been a better person, but it doesn't make him feel fulfilled. I’ve been so good But it’s still getting harder I’ve been so good Where the hell is the karma? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - this lack of fulfillment has been wearing away at his motivation, and now he's struggling. He's looking for things to indicate improvement and to motivate himself, but isn't finding anything. Why Are you asking me why? My days and nights are filled with disappointment - Compared to the glory days of the LNER, current life must be a bit of a let down. I suppose preservation was very much viewed through rose tinted glass, made out to be better than one could expect. Fine Oh, no everything’s fine I’m not sure why I booked today’s appointment - However, Scott is lucky in that he's been preserved, and in working order. Therefore a lot of engines would say that Scott's life is, in fact, perfectly fine and he has nothing to complain about. Scott is possibly internalizing this attitude. I’ve been so good I’ve been helpful and friendly I’ve been so good Why am I feeling empty? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year And I’ve been so good But it’s still getting harder I’ve been so good Where the hell is the karma? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - See above, but all these questions Scott keeps asking himself don't seem to have satisfactory answers. If you keep coming up with one answer, surely it must be the right one...? What Am I normal or not? Am I crazier than other patients? - Perhaps a little dig at his celebrity status, that Scott hasn't been normal for a long time and never will be truly 'normal' ever again Right I’ve done everything right So where’s the karma doc I’ve lost my patience - He doesn't see any sort of positive return on his efforts to be a better person and he's running out of motivation and energy: if there's not going to be any real change, why bother striving to be more? ‘Cause I’ve been so good I’ve been working my ass off I’ve been so good Still I’m lonely and stressed out I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - Scott has been trying to 'pull his weight', taking excursion trains and generally trying to do his best for the museum. However, he's still one of only 2 A1/a3s (assuming Gordon does not absolutely insist on his A0 classification), and is still quite lonely. And I’ve been so good But it’s still getting harder I’ve been so good Where the hell is the karma? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - With no visible benefit and flagging motivation, Scott's about to give up. Why try if does no good? (Ah ah ah ah) (x6) I’ve been so good this year (x2) Time I know we’re out of time But what if sad thoughts come and I can’t stop it? - Struggling with one's own thoughts is a common experience, but for someone like Scott who assumably spends extended periods without support (this is laid out a bit like a therapy session and getting a Gresley to therapy is like getting James to skip out on a new coat of paint), he's worrying about his ability to cope Bye I don’t wanna say bye If only I could keep you in my pocket - Feelings of fear at the thought of leaving one of the (probably only) parts of his support network willing to sit and listen to him To give me Some diagnosis of why I’m so hollow Please give me instructions I promise I’ll follow - Scott is absolutely desperate and seeking ways to feel better (even if it means following instructions, which he rarely would do normally) I tripped on my ankle and fractured my elbow But doesn’t that mean that the tour’s gonna sell, though? - Self deprecation. Like a great number of comedians, Scott tries to offset his pain by highlighting any positive he can find: even if it's correlation not causation I try to explain the good faith that’s been wasted But after an hour it sounds like complaining - Scott hates trying to explain how he feels because it ends up feeling so selfish that he can't rationalise it to himself, even if it's unhealthy to bottle up his feelings Wait, don’t go away, can I lie here forever? You say that I’m better, why don’t I feel better? - Even if people tell him he's doing better, he'd have trouble believing anything he can't see. He would much rather stay somewhere he can read the people around him easier and be absolutely sure he isn't messing up The universe works in mysterious ways But I’m starting to think it ain’t working for me Doctor, should I be good, should I be good this year? - More questioning. What Scott really needs is some direction, a reason to do things so that he can just follow a plan set out for him. To be on track, so to speak.

[utk-hlp]

Blockchain Virtual Entire world Evaluation

After more than 24 months of development, the as soon as highly anticipated chain game king Decentraland has finally launched. What is this "blockchain+VR+Second Life" concept product? This article uses "My Time in Decentraland" to take you around One turn, furthermore, the four-day "treasure hunt" action is not to be missed. DR close friends have already started to open up the treasure box frantically. At the end of this article, let the team explore together!

What is Decentraland (MANA) Whatever the blockchain group and the currency group, Decentraland is considered an old project. As soon as August 2017, Decentraland completed the initial public offering (ICO, Initial Gold coin Offering) of its token MANA, setting a proud report of raising 24 million US dollars worth of ether (ETH) within 35 seconds. After a round of bulls and bears, MANA's performance is rather good. The fundraising price will be $0.024. The current price will be $0.055. Weighed against most of the 90%+ tokens, it really is already quite conscientious. Prolonged reading: data within the chainThis time, Justin Sun really was cut off (blockchain fund online game JUST.GAME) Prolonged reading: 2019 Year in ReviewWhat changes can blockchain bring to the "online game"? - "Trivia" The price trend from the token MANA from the blockchain VR virtual world game Decentraland" data-medium-file="%E5%8D%80%E5%A1%8A%E9%8F%88VR%E8%99%9B%E6%93 %AC%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E9%81%8A%E6%88%B2Decentraland%E7%9A%84%E4%BB%A3%E5%B9%A3MANA%E5%83%B9 %E6%A0%BC%E8%B5%B0%E5%8B%A2-300x201.png" data-large-file="%E5%8D%80%E5%A1%8A%E9%8F%88VR%E8 %99%9B%E6%93%AC%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E9%81%8A%E6%88%B2Decentraland%E7%9A%84%E4%BB%A3%E5%B9 %A3MANA%E5%83%B9%E6%A0%BC%E8%B5%B0%E5%8B%A2-1024x686.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48371 sluggish" src ="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201600%201072'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E5%8D%80% E5%A1%8A%E9%8F%88VR%E8%99%9B%E6%93%AC%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E9%81%8A%E6%88%B2Decentraland%E7% 9A%84%E4%BB%A3%E5%B9%A3MANA%E5%83%B9%E6%A0%BC%E8%B5%B0%E5%8B%A2.png" alt="Blockchain VR Virtual The price trend from the token MANA of the world video game Decentraland" width="1600" elevation="1072"/>The price trend from the token MANA from the blockchain VR digital world video game Decentraland The big brother-level project from the blockchain video game 1.0 apart from the currency price Look, Decentraland should be the major brother in the 1.0 stage of blockchain video games. After all, his story will be beautiful. ¨Minute Living〃 empowered by ¨Blockchain〃 and ¨VR (Virtual Fact)〃 is within Dapp. When Review was first established, Vincent mentioned he just paid attention to the concept I wish to open my budget and move stud. Coupled with the movie "Levels 1 Player" that came out in those days, the concept of VR has been hyped right up, so from 2017 to 2018, Decentraland can be said to be the most concerned and popular project in the application form layer. In simple terms, Decentraland is really a decentralized digital reality platform based on the Ethereum blockchain; in the Decentraland platform, users will be able to create their own exclusive content and applications, not only can encounter them personally but additionally Tokenize them. Prolonged reading: [?Basic knowledge] DApp ecology-N things you need to know about DApp Extended reading: Seven entire world events of "blockchain and cryptocurrency" that you need to know in 2020 The core asset of the game: Property The core asset in LandDecentraland may be the limited, passable 3D virtual space LAND, which is an NFT asset preserved by the Ethereum Smart Contract. The holder of LAND, that's, the landlord, can fully control the content environment and applications he created, which range from a static 3D scene to an application or game with more interactive functions. LAND can further form themed communities, also called communities, to create a number of curiosity tribes and shared spaces with rich makes use of. Prolonged reading: Bargaining KingTaiwan's first asset tokenized shopping platform, "Millions of cars" converted into NFT, can be traded within the exchange More reading: Cryptocurrency assets vs. Traditional resources: That has more "dark swans"? Decentraland Property" data-medium-file="%E5%9C%9F%E5%9C%B0-Property-300x300.png" data-large-file="%E5%9C%9F%E5%9C%B0- Property-1024x1024.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48372 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200% 201600%201600'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E5%9C%9F%E5%9C%B0-Land.png" alt="Decentraland Property" width="1600" elevation=" 1600"/>Decentraland Property Decentraland In the initial auction by the end of 2017, a complete of 34,356 pieces of LAND were sold, well worth 161 million MANA, which was about 30 million All of us dollars at that time! At the end of 2018, the remaining 9331 plots were sold for the second time, and a complete of 109 million MANA was destroyed, which was 6.6 million US dollars at that time. 2 yrs of development, officially launched on February 20! After more than 2 yrs of development, Decentraland is finally officially open to everyone on February 20, 2020 (the day before). Gamers can directly get on the game to generate an Avatar and have fun with in the game planet of Decentraland. Decentraland is officially launched on the general public series" data-medium-file="%E5%85%AC%E9%96%8B%E4%B8%8A%E7%B7%9A%E6%AD%The3%E5%BC%8F% E5%95%9F%E5%8B%95-300x133.png" data-large-file="%E5%85%AC%E9%96%8B%E4%B8%8A%E7%B7%9A%E6% AD%A3%E5%BC%8F%E5%95%9F%E5%8B%95-1024x453.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48373 sluggish" src="data:picture /svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=``%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20708'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E5%85%AC%E9%96%8B %E4%B8%8A%E7%B7%9A%E6%AD%A3%E5%BC%8F%E5%95%9F%E5%8B%95.png" alt="Decentraland is officially launched to the general public" width= "1600" elevation="708"/>Decentraland is publicly launched and officially launched. Prolonged reading: Trivial issuesNFT collection <2> What is NFT? - The main element to the integration of blockchain and digital reality, everything can be currency? To celebrate the official launch, the four-day "Treasure Hunt" was officially held. The prizes are worth a complete of 100,000 US bucks, which includes NFT (Non-Fungible Token, non-fungible token), token, and in-game Virtual products:

* 1.25 million MANA tokens * 596,000 ANJ tokens * 14.49 million MATIC tokens * 25 Property plots * 5011 CryptoKitties (CryptoKitties) * 30 Axies * 1 HTC EXodus1 encrypted phone (physical!) * Thousands of outfits in Decentraland As long as you bind your budget, find the treasure chest, you can receive the prize! While earning money, along the way, I furthermore experienced a series of colorful activities in the virtual planet of Decentraland, such as for example culture, sports, amusement, and nightlife, with both religious and material civilization. Let's take you to see the daily routine of this day in Decentraland (hereinafter referred to as DCL) and the knowledge of scalloping made of woll. My day of preparation in DCL is simple. Open up the Ethereum web browser budget, recharge the accounts with Ethereum to cover the gas charge, and prepare the garbage bag (because I am dizzy in 3D). Enter and start pinching the face, DCL's pinching continues to be a little magical. After squeezing the face, it is possible to name it. To find the name, you need at hand in 100MANA, but I am here to squeeze the made of woll, and I decisively select Guest to get into. Squeeze your face and name" data-medium-file="%E6%8D%8F%E8%87%89%E3%80%81%E5%8F%96%E5%90%8D%E5%AD%97- 300x253.png" data-large-file="%E6%8D%8F%E8%87%89%E3%80%81%E5%8F%96%E5%90%8D%E5%AD%97-1024x865. png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48375 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201600%201351' %3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E6%8D%8F%E8%87%89%E3%80%81%E5%8F%96%E5%90%8D%E5%AD%97 .png" alt="Pinch your face, name it" width="1600" elevation="1351"/>Pinch your face, name it, and adhere to the instruction to stroll and jump, get into the portal and start the game. I was born in Genesis Plaza (Genesis Plaza). The first thing I saw has been the strong Chinese style, "Little bridges and flowing water, historic temples and giant Buddhas, along with a green leek industry (no, it's bamboo), rice paddies, traffic, chickens and canines. I heard that there is a genus from the fertile fields as well as the genus of mulberry." I walked here for ten minutes, enjoying the pleasant scenery.

As soon as I walked out of "Peach Blossom Spring", the design of painting changed all of a sudden and I found a picture called "Merlin's Preserve" (Merlin's Preserve). The strong magical atmosphere attracted me. After exploring completely, there is a red dragon hidden in the mountains, entrenched here. At the foot of the dragon, there's a golden treasure chest! Decentraland suddenly changed his style and found a location called "Merlin Fortress"" data-medium-file="%E7%95%AB%E9%The2%The8%E7%AA%81%E8%AE%8A%EF% BC%8C%E4%BE%86%E5%88%B0%E4%B8%80%E8%99%95%E5%90%8D%E7%82%BThe%E2%80%9C%E6%The2% 85%E6%9E%97%E8%A6%81%E5%A1%9E%E2%80%9D-300x139.png" data-large-file="%E7%95%AB%E9%A2%A8% E7%AA%81%E8%AE%8A%EF%BC%8C%E4%Become%86%E5%88%B0%E4%B8%80%E8%99%95%E5%90%8D%E7% 82%BA%E2%80%9C%E6%A2%85%E6%9E%97%E8%A6%81%E5%A1%9E%E2%80%9D-1024x476.png" launching="sluggish" course ="size-full wp-image-48378 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20743'%3E%3C/svg%3E "data-src="%E7%95%AB%E9%A2%A8%E7%AA%81%E8%AE%8A%EF%BC%8C%E4%Become%86%E5%88%B0%E4 %B8%80%E8%99%95%E5%90%8D%E7%82%BA%E2%80%9C%E6%A2%85%E6%9E%97%E8%A6%81%E5%A1 %9E%E2%80%9D.png" alt="Decentraland has a sudden change in style, and found a place called "Merlin Fortress"" width="1600" elevation="743"/>Decentraland has a sudden change in style and found a location It's called "Merlin Fortress" and I produced a step of faith, and easily came under the wings from the red dragon. I thought it would trigger a boss fight. I really think too much. This video game doesn't have even a blood tank and an apparatus bar. What boss to fight. Open the cherish chest swaggeringly, harvest a head wear along with a spotted CryptoKitties (CryptoKitties). Get NFT hats and CryptoKitties" data-medium-file="%E7%8D%B2%E5%Become%97NFT%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90%E5%92%8C%E8 %AC%8E%E6%88%80%E8%B2%93%EF%BC%88CryptoKitties%EF%BC%89-300x139.png" data-large-file="%E7%8D%B2%E5%Become %97NFT%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90%E5%92%8C%E8%AC%8E%E6%88%80%E8%B2%93%EF%BC%88CryptoKitties%EF%BC%89 -1024x474.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48379 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201600 %20741'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E7%8D%B2%E5%Become%97NFT%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90%E5%92%8C%E8% AC%8E%E6%88%80%E8%B2%93%EF%BC%88CryptoKitties%EF%BC%89.png" alt="Get NFT hats and CryptoKitties (CryptoKitties)" width="1600" elevation ="741"/>Get NFT hats and CryptoKitties. It turns out that this may be the so-called Treasure Hunt. Essentially, you are walking around in this world and searching for treasure chests. Since the planet is too large, it really is impossible to visit anywhere by relying on legs, so are there natural shortcuts. Press Enter to enter the chat box, Entering /help will screen some popular commands. The way to have a shortcut may be the portal /goto coordinate command. As a soccer fan, Moonshot Stadium (60, 10) is naturally never to be missed. Below we enter: /goto 60,10

I entered the soccer field because the offensive "gamer + referee" of both edges. I brought the ball to the goalkeeper single-handedly. He has been overwhelmed by my complete power, and I performed and scored easily.

The supporters cheered for me magically. I greeted them with a grin, converted around and noticed the treasure chest in the middle of the stadium, and got away the 10MANA and a small NFT prize inside. The supporters cheered for me magically. I greeted them with a grin, converted around and noticed the treasure chest in the middle of the stadium, and got away the 10MANA and a small NFT prize inside. "data-medium-file="%E7%90%83%E8%BF%B7%E5%80%91%E9%AD%94%E6%80%A7%E5%9C%B0%E7%82%BA %E6%88%91%E6%AD%A1%E5%91%BC%EF%BC%8C%E6%88%91%E5%90%91%E4%BB%96%E5%80%91%E5 %Become%AE%E7%AC%91%E8%87%B4%E6%84%8F%EF%BC%8C%E7%80%9F%E7%81%91%E8%BD%89%E8%BA %Abdominal exercises%EF%BC%8C%E7%9C%8B%E5%88%B0%E4%BA%86%E7%90%83%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE %E5%87%BA%E7%8F%Become%E7%9A%84%E5%AF%B6%E7%AE%B1%EF%BC%8C%E6%8B%BF%E8%B5%B0%E4 %BA%86%E8%A3%A1%E9%9D%A2%E7%9A%8410MANA%E5%92%8C%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8BNFT%E5%B0%8F%E7%8D %8E%E5%93%81%E3%80%82-300x173.gif" data-large-file="%E7%90%83%E8%BF%B7%E5%80%91%E9%AD%94 %E6%80%A7%E5%9C%B0%E7%82%BA%E6%88%91%E6%AD%A1%E5%91%BC%EF%BC%8C%E6%88%91%E5 %90%91%E4%BB%96%E5%80%91%E5%BE%AE%E7%AC%91%E8%87%B4%E6%84%8F%EF%BC%8C%E7%80 %9F%E7%81%91%E8%BD%89%E8%BA%AB%EF%BC%8C%E7%9C%8B%E5%88%B0%E4%BA%86%E7%90%83 %E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%87%BA%E7%8F%BE%E7%9A%84%E5%AF%B6%E7%AE%B1%EF %BC%8C%E6%8B%BF%E8%B5%B0%E4%BA%86%E8%A3%A1%E9%9D%A2%E7%9A%8410MANA%E5%92%8C%E4%B8 %80%E5%80%8BNFT%E5%B0%8F%E7%8D%8E%E5%93%81%E3%80%82.gif" launching ="sluggish" class="size-full wp-image-48382 sluggish" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%20480%20276'%3E% 3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E7%90%83%E8%BF%B7%E5%80%91%E9%AD%94%E6%80%A7%E5%9C%B0%E7% 82%BA%E6%88%91%E6%AD%A1%E5%91%BC%EF%BC%8C%E6%88%91%E5%90%91%E4%BB%96%E5%80% 91%E5%BE%AE%E7%AC%91%E8%87%B4%E6%84%8F%EF%BC%8C%E7%80%9F%E7%81%91%E8%BD%89% E8%BA%AB%EF%BC%8C%E7%9C%8B%E5%88%B0%E4%BA%86%E7%90%83%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%AD%E5% A4%AE%E5%87%BA%E7%8F%BE%E7%9A%84%E5%AF%B6%E7%AE%B1%EF%BC%8C%E6%8B%BF%E8%B5% B0%E4%BA%86%E8%A3%A1%E9%9D%A2%E7%9A%8410MANA%E5%92%8C%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8BNFT%E5%B0%8F% E7%8D%8E%E5%93%81%E3%80%82.gif" alt="The fans cheered for me magically, I greeted them with a grin, turned around and saw the treasure chest in the middle of the stadium, and took it away I acquired 10MANA and a small NFT prize inside. "width="480" elevation="276"/> The supporters cheered for me magically. I greeted them with a grin, converted around and noticed the treasure chest in the middle of the stadium, and got away the 10MANA and a small NFT prize inside. The supporters cheered for me magically. I greeted them with a grin, converted around and noticed the treasure chest in the middle of the stadium, and got away the 10MANA and a small NFT prize inside." data-medium-file="%E7%90% 83%E8%BF%B7%E5%80%91%E9%AD%94%E6%80%A7%E5%9C%B0%E7%82%BThe%E6%88%91%E6%AD%The1% E5%91%BC%EF%BC%8C%E6%88%91%E5%90%91%E4%BB%96%E5%80%91%E5%BE%AE%E7%AC%91%E8% 87%B4%E6%84%8F%EF%BC%8C%E7%80%9F%E7%81%91%E8%BD%89%E8%BThe%Abdominal exercises%EF%BC%8C%E7%9C% 8B%E5%88%B0%E4%BThe%86%E7%90%83%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%AD%E5%The4%AE%E5%87%BThe%E7%8F%Become% E7%9A%84%E5%AF%B6%E7%AE%B1%EF%BC%8C%E6%8B%BF%E8%B5%B0%E4%BA%86%E8%A3%A1%E9% 9D%The2%E7%9A%8410MANA%E5%92%8C%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8BNFT%E5%B0%8F%E7%8D%8E%E5%93%81%E3%80% 82-2-300x184.png" data-large-file="%E7%90%83%E8%BF%B7%E5%80%91%E9%AD%94%E6%80%A7%E5%9C% B0%E7%82%BA%E6%88%91%E6%AD%A1%E5%91%BC%EF%BC%8C%E6%88%91%E5%90%91%E4%BB%96% E5%80%91%E5%BE%AE%E7%AC%91%E8%87%B4%E6%84%8F%EF%BC%8C%E7%80%9F%E7%81%91%E8% BD%89%E8%BA%AB%EF%BC%8C%E7%9C%8B%E5%88%B0%E4%BA%86%E7%90%83%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8% AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%87%BA%E7%8F%Become%E7%9A%84%E5%AF%B6%E7%AE% B1%EF%BC%8C%E6%8B%BF%E8%B5%B0%E4%BA%86%E8%A3%A1%E9%9D%A2%E7%9A%8410MANA%E5%92%8C% E4%B8%80%E5%80%8BNFT%E5%B0%8F%E7%8D%8E%E5%93%81%E3%80%82-2-1024x627.png" launching="sluggish" course=" size-full wp-image-48385 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20980'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data -src="%E7%90%83%E8%BF%B7%E5%80%91%E9%AD%94%E6%80%A7%E5%9C%B0%E7%82%BA%E6%88 %91%E6%AD%A1%E5%91%BC%EF%BC%8C%E6%88%91%E5%90%91%E4%BB%96%E5%80%91%E5%BE%AE %E7%AC%91%E8%87%B4%E6%84%8F%EF%BC%8C%E7%80%9F%E7%81%91%E8%BD%89%E8%BA%AB%EF %BC%8C%E7%9C%8B%E5%88%B0%E4%BA%86%E7%90%83%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%87 %BA%E7%8F%Become%E7%9A%84%E5%AF%B6%E7%AE%B1%EF%BC%8C%E6%8B%BF%E8%B5%B0%E4%BA%86 %E8%A3%A1%E9%9D%A2%E7%9A%8410MANA%E5%92%8C%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8BNFT%E5%B0%8F%E7%8D%8E%E5 %93%81%E3%80%82-2.png" alt="The fans cheered for me magically, I greeted them with a grin, converted around, and saw the treasure chest in the center of the stadium, and took away the 10MANA and A little NFT prize. "width="1600" elevation="980"/> The supporters cheered for me magically. I greeted them with a grin, converted around and noticed the treasure chest in the middle of the stadium, and got away the 10MANA and a small NFT prize inside. Good guiding ideology of both style and style, I won the competition and decided to cultivate my sentiment, so I found the well-known museum area (14,76). There are many paintings, characters, landscapes, and stills on display in the large and small exhibition halls. It is dazzling to find out. The works are from musicians from all around the globe. When you enjoy a number of the works, the author's Ins will pop-up. Account number and introduction. Museum area (14,76)" data-medium-file="%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A4%A8%E5%8D%801476-300x190.png" data-large-file= "%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A4%A8%E5%8D%801476-1024x650.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48386 sluggish" src= "data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201280%20812'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E5%8D%9A%E7 %89%A9%E9%A4%A8%E5%8D%801476.png" alt="Museum area (14,76)" width="1280" elevation="812"/>Museum area (14,76) Decisively followed the long-legged treasure super model tiffany livingston Ins.

Along with works of art, I furthermore saw some beautifully crafted models.

Decentraland artwork "data-medium-file="%E8%97%9D%E8%The1%93%E5%93%81-300x240.gif" data-large-file="%E8%97%9D%E8% A1%93%E5%93%81.gif" launching="sluggish" class="size-full wp-image-48389 sluggish" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox ='0%200%20320%20256'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E8%97%9D%E8%A1%93%E5%93%81.gif" alt="Decentraland Art Item" width="320" height="256"/>Decentraland artwork seems to support creation in DCL really well. After visiting the museum, knowledge exploded in my mind, and We needed to find a place to relax. The labyrinth (113, -5) from the herb siege made me feel ample oxygen over the screen. This is the feeling. I threatened to apparent the level in five minutes, but has been lost with this green ocean for half an hour. I had to think of a way. After all, the garbage luggage I prepared in advance were full of vomit; I climbed to a mountain next to the maze and neglected the entire maze, and discovered a treasure chest hidden in the center of the maze! My IQ soared to 150 immediately and recorded the whole picture from the maze.

With my amazing memory, I walked to the center of the labyrinth and took away the prizes that were hidden in my fame. After exhausting my energy in the maze, I decided to find a lighter entertainment project and found the hot air balloon at (-55,142). I had been sitting within the hot air balloon, considering the sky silently, thinking of failing woefully to confess to the goddess on Valentine's Day the other day, tears loading down my face. Decentraland Valentine's Day Balloon" data-medium-file="%E6%83%85%E4%BThe%BA%E7%AF%80%E6%B0%A3%E7%90%83-300x146.png" data-large -file="%E6%83%85%E4%BA%BA%E7%AF%80%E6%B0%A3%E7%90%83-1024x500.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48392 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=``%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20781'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src= "%E6%83%85%E4%BA%BA%E7%AF%80%E6%B0%A3%E7%90%83.png" alt="Decentraland Valentine's Day Balloon" width="1600" elevation=" 781"/>Decentraland Valentine's Day Balloon I wiped away my tears and stepped lower firmly in the hot air balloon. I found that there is a casino next to it. As a professional coin owner (dog betting), I must not skip it. I wiped away my tears and stepped lower firmly in the hot air balloon, only to discover that there's a casino next to it. As a professional coin owner (dog gaming), I must not skip it. "data-medium-file="%E8%B3%AD%E5%A0%B4-1-1-1-1-300x168.png" data-large-file="%E8%B3%AD%E5%A0 %B4-1-1-1-1-1024x573.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48393 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=' '%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20896'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E8%B3%AD%E5%A0%B4-1-1-1-1.png" alt="I wiped away my tears and strolled down firmly in the hot air balloon, only to discover that there's a casino next to it. As a professional coin owner (dog gaming), I must not skip it. "width="1600" elevation="896"/>I wiped away my tears, and strolled down in the hot air balloon firmly, only to discover that there's a casino next to it. As a professional coin owner (dog gaming), I must not skip it. I put the goddess' birthday in Baccarat Stud and dropped all my money. The world is indeed cruel. I thought We jumped a hundred from the second floor, but I found a treasure chest within the balcony.

Mountain darkly, vista. I decided to have some real fun.

I saw a huge black high-heeled shoe (69, -135) rising from the ground. The upper has been dotted with striped stripes of homosexual purple. The back heel was a tall and sturdy cylinder. The center of gravity of the entire building rested on this column. on. Perhaps it had been worried about the stability from the column. A elegant woman leaned back slightly, supported the very best from the back heel with her fingers, and leaned her body within the column. Who can stand it! When I found the stairway, a huge red "Stop" blocked my way. All the facts below read "adult content material, 18+", which reminded me which i came to the proper place. Decentraland restricted area 18+exclusive area" data-medium-file="%E7%The6%81%E5%8D%80-18%E7%89%B9%E6%AE%8A%E5%9C%B0%E5%8D %80-1-300x167.png" data-large-file="%E7%A6%81%E5%8D%80-18%E7%89%B9%E6%AE%8A%E5%9C%B0%E5 %8D%80-1-1024x568.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48396 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox= '0%200%201600%20888'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E7%A6%81%E5%8D%80-18%E7%89%B9%E6%AE%8A% E5%9C%B0%E5%8D%80-1.png" alt="Decentraland restricted area 18+special area" width="1600" elevation="888"/>Decentraland restricted area 18+special area stroll along the stairs to the floor You can force the entranceway and enter. Surprisingly, there are only two girls performing ball aerobics in the club, not really a single guest. The orange-haired girl on the proper was originally residing at the bar. Each time she pours a glass of wine for herself, she'll dance and jump on the pub and twist her waistline. The most amazing thing is the fact that whenever she stacks up, the clothing on her body will become clear, so when she squatted down, it will turn black again. Decentraland Pole Dancing" data-medium-file="" data-large-file="" launching="lazy" course="size-full wp-image-48397 lazy" src="data:picture/svg+xml,% 3Csvg%20xmlns=``%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20881'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="" alt="Decentraland pole dancing" width="1600" elevation="881" />Decentraland Pole Dancing The black ponytail lady on the still left hand side continues to be standing in the center of the dancing floor, revealing her pole dance. When the dancing is happening, she will reduce Luo Chang and start ball sports. Do you consider she's not dressed up to any extent further? Don't get worried, her clothing will grow back in ten seconds. I needed to jump onto the dancing floor and dancing with her. I had been sweating and couldn't jump in. Sure enough, I can appear far away and not have fun with with it. Since it has been so dull, I appreciated it a large number of instances, and left with guilt at the goddess.

After a tiring day, I wish to find a place to sleep. I heard how the depths of Taoyuan at (59, -66) are a good resort. The peach blossoms within the human face reflect the red, especially the large green on the floor that makes me feel particularly comfortable. I just wished to sit under a tree to rest, but all of a sudden a treasure box popped right out of the side. I reluctantly got the prizes inside and cursed, "The poor money that disturbs my rest!" and ended the journey nowadays. To sum up, after a long time of traveling, we found out Decentraland skins and adornments worth nearly one thousand, as well as several MANA tokens. Even though whole experience is quite joyful, there have been many game page crashes and freezes. Decentraland has not been downloaded yet, and the car is still flying in the sky (1)" data-medium-file="%E9%82%84%E6%B2%92%E4%B8%8B%E8%BC%89%E5%AE %8C%E6%88%90%EF%BC%8C%E8%BB%8A%E9%82%84%E5%9C%The8%E5%The4%The9%E4%B8%8A%E9%The3%9B -1-300x187.png" data-large-file="%E9%82%84%E6%B2%92%E4%B8%8B%E8%BC%89%E5%AE%8C%E6%88%90 %EF%BC%8C%E8%BB%8A%E9%82%84%E5%9C%A8%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8A%E9%A3%9B-1-1024x639.png" launching ="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48399 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20998'%3E% 3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E9%82%84%E6%B2%92%E4%B8%8B%E8%BC%89%E5%AE%8C%E6%88%90%EF% BC%8C%E8%BB%8A%E9%82%84%E5%9C%A8%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8A%E9%A3%9B-1.png" alt="Decentraland not the download is complete, the car is still flying in the sky (1)" width="1600" elevation="998"/>Decentraland has not been downloaded yet, the car is still flying in the sky (1) This little theater in the sky I never know how to get there "data-medium-file="%E9%80%99%E5%80%8B%E5%A4%A9%E7%A9%BA%E4%B8%AD%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%8F %E5%8A%87%E5%A0%B4%E6%88%91%E4%B8%80%E7%9B%B4%E4%B8%8D%E7%9F%A5%E9%81%93%E6 %80%8E%E9%BA%BC%E5%8E%BB-300x139.png" data-large-file="%E9%80%99%E5%80%8B%E5%A4%A9%E7%A9 %BA%E4%B8%AD%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%8F%E5 %8A%87%E5%A0%B4%E6%88%91%E4%B8%80%E7%9B%B4%E4%B8%8D%E7%9F%A5%E9%81%93%E6%80 %8E%E9%BA%BC%E5%8E%BB-1024x475.png" launching="sluggish" course="size-full wp-image-48400 sluggish" src="data:picture/svg+xml,%3Csvg %20xmlns=``%20viewBox='0%200%201600%20742'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E9%80%99%E5%80%8B%E5%A4%A9% E7%A9%BA%E4%B8%AD%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%8F%E5%8A%87%E5%A0%B4%E6%88%91%E4%B8%80%E7% 9B%B4%E4%B8%8D%E7%9F%A5%E9%81%93%E6%80%8E%E9%BA%BC%E5%8E%BB.png" alt="The tiny in the sky I never know how to get to the theater" width="1600" elevation="742"/>This little theater in the sky I never know how to see my floating pose" data-medium-file="%E7%9C %8B%E6%88%91%E9%80%99%E5%80%8B%E6%87%B8%E7%A9%BA%E6%BC%82%E6%B5%AE%E5%A7%BF %E5%8B%A2-300x193.gif" data-large-file="%E7%9C%8B%E6%88%91%E9%80%99%E5%80%8B%E6%87%B8%E7 %A9%BA%E6%BC%82%E6%B5%AE%E5%A7%BF%E5%8B%A2-1024x658.gif" launching="sluggish" class="size-full wp-image-48401 sluggish "src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=''%20viewBox='0%200%201154%20742'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="%E7%9C% 8B%E6%88%91%E9%80%99%E5%80%8B%E6%87%B8%E7%A9%BA%E6%BC%82%E6%B5%AE%E5%A7%BF% E5%8B%A2.gif" alt="Look at my suspended floating position, appear at my suspended floating position" width="1154" elevation="742"/>Look at my suspended floating position. From the product perspective, the above articles is merely for Bojun's grin, why don't we below From the product perspective, briefly discuss the true experience of the game: Overall, Decentraland continues to be in a very early state. There are lots of "coming in contact with" insects in both the screen and the knowledge. The interactivity of the game is slightly rough. A lot more than 99% from the moments, buildings, and objects cannot directly connect to the player. The physics engine is quite rudimentary, & most from the gameplay is performed through extremely simple program logic. At present, the number of people on the internet at exactly the same time shouldn't exceed 200, as well as the launching speed of many moments has encountered problems, as well as the performance problems when several people are on a single screen are worrying (at most we have encountered 3 people using one screen). In terms of social functions, there is currently nothing but public channel chat. The merchandise or communities made by the designers on the property are all remarkable and rich in imagination, however they are all at the amount of sketches or demos. Is it possible to form a system effect to pull the designers in to the god-level ecosystem for Decentraland? That is back again A chicken-and-egg problem, did users or products come first? According to the product form delivered in 24 months, it really is conservatively estimated that when you want to polish this video game into a more mainstream video game, it will take a minimum of 3 years. As for the inclusion of VR? Right now, let's pay attention to the storyplot and wear it the agenda in 3 years (if it can live for 3 years). The above evaluation might be a bit harsh to get a blockchain video game, but don't forget, this can be a project that has raised 24 million US dollars and claims to build a game product and ecology, not really a public string (Public Chain) project . Prolonged reading: Wilson's column | strong application of blockchain, the rise of decentralized finance DeFi (part 1) Extended reading: The most full introduction to DeFi: Why is decentralized finance the second breakthrough in the history of encryption? Further reading: Trivial thingsNFT series <2> What is NFT? - The main element to the integration of blockchain and digital reality is everything can be currency? Prolonged reading: Weibo banned! TRON Justin Sunlight and Binance "One Sister" are blocked: the brand new accounts (Aunt He Yi) will only post selfies More reading: DisneyTRON trademark is banned by "Disney" from applying in the U.S. Justin Sunlight TRON 6 Twitter responses Prolonged reading: Introduction to Decentralized FinanceUnderstand the lending mechanism in five minutes, what's "DeFi Bank" Chemical substance? Related reviews "What did Kobe Bryant talk about with Justin Direct sun light, the founder of TRON" in the summit? 500 days later, the second "large gamble" era of individual encrypted bonds within the blockchain version of Hearthstone video game Gods Unchained: NBA gamers, Ethereum and individual bonds NBA finally launched the blockchain "gamer collectible video game", Cooperate with the development group of CryptoKitties and discharge the "

[yarilokadalovgrad703]

Synthesis Part 1: Interview Compilation

This was the first step in my Synthesis process. 

I took all of the interview answers from each interviewee and compiled the main/most important parts into one whole document. 

I wrote the the names of the interviewees at the start in order of how each question’s replies are ordered. So in each question Raz’s answer was put down first, then it was Matt’s answer and so on.

The purpose of sorting the data this way is to allow me in the future to be able to go back if need be and retrieve any quotes or particular comments/replies and be able to attribute them to the user who was interviewed. 

The big spaces between each answer is what denotes the answer of one interviewee’s answer ending and the beginning of the next interviewee’s answer. 

The point of part 1 of the Synthesis is to get all of the information gathered from the interviews into 1 big document. So that I could then go through it and filter it even further, determining potential patterns, similarities etc. The image above showcases the highlighting that ensued after the compilation was created.

The next part of the Synthesis process is explained in the next post.

Potential Focus:

How can people effectively and efficiently find out about specific food additives?

Interview Questions:

Raz, Matt, Rakin, Anastasia

1)    How much do you know about food additives in general?

the purpose of food additives which can add colour, textures and flavours to foods and also to keep them fresh.

Do not know common type of food additives used, would not be able to easily identify them.

 slightly more than the ‘average’ person

 Artificially made,

made to serve a purpose to enhance the taste, flavour or colour.

Everything to sell the product, nothing that just comes with the ingredients themselves.

Make it better for the consumer.

If it can be preserved longer, make it look nicer or taste better.

 2)    Why do you think they exist, what purpose do they serve?

the high demand of processed and readily available food risen from mass production.

necessary to find chemicals to keep up with this demand in order to keep food fresh.

Presumably, making food and beverage more appealing to the senses. Both visually and taste-wise.

Preservatives would also need to be used for types of processed meats such as salami and bacon.

 Taste better without the real calorie dense ingredients. Artificial sweeteners can be used, but labelled as no sugar. So people are incentivised. Make more money for the company.

 Used for enhancing foodstuffs flavour profiles, used to enhance the appeal of food, colour and smell can be improved with additives. Food can be made softer and crunchier also (softening and hardening agents). To preserve foodstuffs for longer shelf life.

 3)    Why do you personally try to avoid food additives or why not?

I generally try to eat a wholesome fresh diet

I do not feel eating processed food will allow me to have a rich diet with vitamins and minerals

 At one point I had to make sure I knew what I was consuming for the sake of my health. vast majority of things were okay to consume for me.

I had to watch out for (artificial flavours & sweeteners etc).

 Don’t go out of my way to avoid it. I believe anything in moderation should not be able to harm you.

Don’t go overboard on the artificial sweeteners.

 I think organic food is better absorbed and digested by the body.

I believe the human body needs time in order to recognise what has been consumed, additives can lead to confusion of the body in this regard.

food additives enhance the flavour so much than an addiction can begin to form which can lead to overconsumption of a foodstuff. Example: Eating Bacon flavoured chips leads the brain to thinking you are consuming bacon, yet in reality you are eating potato chips.

This means the brain and taste receptors are mismatched in their understanding, this means the body is not getting the food it believed it was initially getting.

I believe this can lead to problems regarding a person’s metabolism.

  4)    Which food additives have you heard of as potentially dangerous (food additives that have a bad reputation)?

artificial color, flavouring, MSG and corn syrup.

MSG and artificial flavours and sweeteners

Preservatives can upset some people too

allergies or sensitivities to additives

 Aspartame, tested on rats.

 Artificial food colouring, preservatives, added salt, added sugars, lemon acid, artificial flavour enhancers.

  5)    Do you or anyone in your immediate circle make it a point to shop for mostly organic products that are low in additives?

Yes – father owns a café and catering business, aims to serves as much organic/fresh food as possible.

 My family and I would usually just shop normally (conventionally).

 My Wife prefers shopping for whole foods and organic foods.

 Yes I do, I have two co-workers who are vegan, and they try to avoid all inorganic products

  6)    If so, then why or why not?

To improve health

reduce lifestyle diseases

promote awareness of wholesome rich foods.

 Most organic or additive free foods/supplements are much more expensive than the norm, make a point to buy ‘normal’ things.

We do look for the products with the least additives of the products we’re shopping for

 His wife is health conscious

 The co-workers prefer no added salt or sugar.

  7)    Prior to eating a foodstuff do you make sure to check its ingredients label for any additives you may wish to avoid consuming?

I generally shop in the organic or health aisles

I feel have clear labels

to artificial flavouring and colors not being added.

 not imperative that anyone in my household avoid additives,

I sometimes check ingredients  to be sure I’m not missing anything that could be potentially harmful.

 Artificial sweeteners, check to make sure it has natural sucralose or stevia.

 I often forget to as I don’t have the time or my attention may be elsewhere.

I try to eat foodstuffs I know and trust, these are mostly organic.

  8)    Does reading an ingredients label pose any difficulty for you? Any confusion? Lack of clarity? Potential pain points?

I do not recognise ingredients on some food products

scientific or commercial name which I may not recognise immediately is a food additive.

 Not so much.

pretty good at differentiating the harmful from the harmless.

 Guess so,

All these acids and numbers and things and stuff. Unless you know what you are looking for it can be confusing. The numbers are confusing, I don’t know what they mean.

Doesn’t impact my decision. Looks more at nutritional chart.

 Yes it does.

I don’t always know which ingredients are lab made versus naturally grown and harvested.

Don’t know the meaning of the letters and numbers (e.g. E and 472).

Unsure of what imported ingredients means, unsure if they are to be trusted if they are from other countries.

  9)    What methods of finding out if a foodstuff contains unwanted additives have you used in the past?

Internet research.

 reading the ingredients and/or researching

 Research a preworkout. label said it was a specific blend and a lot of people said it might be dodgy blend of ingredients.

I have noticed a direct correlation between foodstuff price and additive amount. I believe that due to a higher number of additives, the product is more costly to manufacture, as such the price may go up.

Foodstuffs with a high amount of preservatives tend to not go bad for overly long periods of time.

The shorter the ingredient list the more organic the food item generally is.

 10) Hypothetically, what type of product or service would you personally want to exist which could help you effectively and efficiently figure out if your foodstuff contains unwanted additives?

an app which allows you to search up common food products which identifies if food additive or preservatives have been used.

 a resource that would educate and empower people to learn about additives

commonly used in day to day things they’d buy in their grocery shop.

This would mean they can read ingredients lists and be confident

 When shopping a laminated chart. What the benefits are and what the side effect are. WHO approved, subject to certain amounts. One poster A3 or A2 per shop isle.

 I would like there to be shelves inside grocery store that state that all items on them are 100% organic.

Then a food isle that states that the foodstuffs within it contain no more 25% of total additives.

Another food isle that explicitly states that all items in the isle contain a concentration higher than 25% of total food additives within the foodstuffs.

Ingredients label: Higher risk food additives need to be written in a different colour to signify potential danger, e.g. Red

 11) If a product or service were to be created to serve the aforementioned purpose would you use it yourself and/or recommend it to your friends and family?

Yes.

 Yes,  it would mean they have the knowledge to make decisions about the food they’re consuming

 Yep would advise them to look out for the poster

 Using the above methods, the stores would be self-explanatory enough where I wouldn’t need to explain this to my close circle.

 12) Would you rather use a convenient product or tool to educate yourself about food additives and their role in the food you consume? Or, would you rather use a product or tool which could immediately provide you with information about the food additives in question on the spot?

A tool such as an app which will immediately provide me information of food additives.

 I would prefer to educate myself first.

I could then inform others who are concerned about the contents of their food and drink

empower people to make the best choices for themselves and others.

 On the spot would be easier. Due to time constraints and short vs long term memory. Unless you fully study it or are invested into it.

 Would rather use the tool that answers my question on the spot.

[ellenbeskow-blog]

National Collection of Aerial Photography Placement

As part of our second semester during third year, we were given the option to either choose a new module or take part in a placement. After reading an article in the Historic Scotland magazine, I came across the National Collection of Aerial Photography [NCAP]. ‘NCAP is the National Collection of Aerial Photography. It is one of the largest collections of aerial imagery in the world, containing tens of millions of aerial images featuring historic events and places around the world. It is the role of NCAP to collect and secure the future of these records, both digital and physical, to preserve them for generations to come, and to make them as accessible and available as possible. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, our operational and development costs are funded through commercial enterprise.’ Having been interested in both history and photography in high school, it was really interesting to learn that this kind of archive was based in Edinburgh. I reached out to NCAP about the possibility of going there for a placement, and I was delighted when it was confirmed! I went for an initial meeting with Alan Potts and Sam Martin to have a tour of the facilities and discuss what kind of work I’d be doing during my time there. 

My first proper day of the placement was Thursday the 23rd of January, starting at 9am. After signing in at the front desk and collecting my visitors pass I made my way up the the office on the 3rd floor. I was given a quick tour by Sam again, reminding me where things were and introducing me to the other people that work there. 

Working with Craig Cameron, I was shown how they scan in prints and film using Microtek scanners. In their collection they have around 5 million prints and 20 million frames, with the majority of them taken during WW2 and the Cold War. With this many images in the archive, it’s no surprise the scanners are in constant use. In the room that I was working in there are 8 Microtek scanners; 4 set up to scan prints and 4 to scan rolls of film. Scans are usually done at 1200dpi, which allows for a good level of detail in a relatively small file size. The prints and film can fall into two categories: ACIU - Allied Central Interpretation Unit, or JARIC - Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre. 

Image #1 - 2 out of the 4 print scanners. The blue squares are flat weights, placed on top of the prints when they're not getting scanned to ensure they stay as flat as possible. 

Image #2 - The other 2 of the 4 print scanners. In this picture it is easier to see the handles on the black covers that sit on top. These are heavily weighted to ensure the print is pressed as flat as possible against the glass to ensure a high quality scan. Can also see the number 12 on the bottom left of the scanner, as the print scanners are numbered 9-12. 

Image #3 - There are 2 monitors set up for the scanning. The monitor on the left shows the information from the 8 different scanners, which can be cycled through using buttons that connect to the eight different computers. The smaller monitor on the right is used for entering information for the Jobs Pending sheets. 

Craig went through all the different steps of how the scanning process works, and then I was able to try it myself. Although it seemed quite easy when he was explaining it, there are a lot of different steps to remember.  

Image #1- This is how the print(s) come prepared, in between 2 A3 sheets of acid free thick paper, with the job sheet placed on top. The job sheet contains information about the category, client, the flight and mission number, the box number that the print came from, the frame number(s) that are to be scanned and the condition of the print.

Image #2 - Prints are placed image side down onto the glass. It’s handy to try and place it straight, but this isn't a major issue as the scanning selection can be tilted on the monitor

Image #3 - A black plastic cover is placed over the scanner. This stops the light of the scanner from shining out too much and helps to protect the glass. 

Image #4 - A wooden panel is then placed on top of the plastic cover. Although fairly light weight, this just adds another layer to keep the print flat. 

Image #5 - The heavy metal lid is the final layer in the print scanning steps. This needs two hands to hold as it is pretty heavy, hence the two handles on top.

Image #6 - This shows the preview scan of the print. Whilst the preview scan is being created, the information sheet is used to create a new folder on the system. The long barcode is scanned twice; once to create the folder, and then again to name the scan. The frame number is entered onto the end of the scan name, to keep track of which is which. Once the preview scan has been done, the histogram can then be edited to ensure the scan is good quality. Although it seems natural to want to make the scan as high contrast as possible for ‘aesthetics’, these prints are better viewed if they are more muted.

Image #7 - Once the frame(s) have been scanned, the job sheet is used to complete the Jobs Pending information. The small barcode is scanned, which automatically brings up the information on the monitor. The only information that needs to be entered is how many frames in total were scanned for the job, and which scanner was used to do the job. By filling in which scanner was used, this allows them to keep track of any issues that occur. 

Image #8 - When the Job Pending is completed, the print(s) goes into the tray labelled Pigeon Hole. These are then taken back down to the preparation room and returned to their correct boxes. 

Once I had gotten to grips with how the print scanning worked, I was shown how the film scanning was done. The scanners are the same Microteks, but they still have the original lids attached, and have springs attached on either side to hold the roll of film. 

Image #1 - You can see the scanner, with the film attachments on either side. The flat light on the table helps to see the frame numbers of the film. 

Image #2 - This gives an idea of how large the rolls of film are. The width can vary quite a lot, but I would say that most of the ones that I saw were about 10-15cm in width.

Image #3 - Not the best image for getting a sense of scale, but the rolls are about 30cm tall. When they're around 15cm wide and 30cm tall, they can get quite heavy. 

Image #4 - Once the roll of film has been attached on the left hand side of the scanner, this is what it looks like. Getting it onto the attachments was basically like changing a roll of toilet paper, in terms of the movements required to fit it onto the springs. The label that can be seen at the end of the roll shows which way the numbers are starting from. This helps you to figure out where in the roll the frames that need to be scanned are. 

In the video above I was winding on the roll of film to find the correct frames for scanning. 

After a break for lunch I got to see one of the projects that they are working on at the minute. Thousands of photographs taken over areas in the Commonwealth as part of the Directorate of Overseas Surveys are being photographed and catalogued. These prints are being photographed in their entirety, which helps to show how the land has changed over the years due to a number of elements; conflict, climate change, migration, expansion of towns/cities etc. Before the prints can be photographed however, they need to be clean, i.e. without any chinagraph marks. These marks can easily be removed using Pec-12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner and thick paper towels.

Once the prints have been cleaned, they are then photographed. Using a Hasselblad to capture each frame, the process is done quickly and efficiently as there are so many thousands of frames to get through. The prints are placed under a glass lid, with a grid of where the edges of the print should sit. A wireless shutter button is connected to the Hasselblad, which means that the camera doesn't get moved about. 

In this video you can see Gavin giving the prints a quick check, before getting them into position and taking the photo. Working from left to right [with the prints still to be photographed on the left side of the desk, and the ones that have been done on the right side of the desk] allows the task to be completed smoothly.

My first day on placement was extremely productive and I certainly learnt a lot from it!

[peeppeephellofatface]

Yeah, what’s up, here’s the Spencer fic.

Some anonymous feeder fills up that big boy’s tummy with lots of treats. That’s really about it.

Obviously, stuffing, burping, chub, and some force-feeding in there :P

He had always been one of the softer ones of his class, with gently rounded rear, a considerable paunch to his middle, and fuller cheeks than his sharper-featured siblings.  If not for his silver dress, one could easily assume that somehow another A3 had survived.  And that was what had endeared him to them when they first saw him.  

"Are you done for the day, Spencer?"

They had snuck into his shed and stood in front of him, looking up at his smooth face.

"After all, we don't want to have a repeat of what happened that time they found you after a.... little overindulgence."

"Oh, I'm sure I'm finished.  It's awfully late, I can't imagine the Duke and Duchess are going anywhere at this hour."

They nodded back and extended their hand towards him as he materialized, holding it in his own.  His fingers were rather dainty considering his size.

He didn't bother to pause before starting to walk off towards the place, leaving them scrambling behind to catch up to his quick walking pace.  Much as he was in engine form, he was remarkably quick in this form, particularly with his bulk.

"Well, hurry up, won't you?  I'm rather hungry."

"Getting there faster won't matter, you'll still have to wait for me!"

He sighed and stopped to let them close the gap, pouting a bit and looking around in exaggerated annoyance.  Until they caught up, and slipped a hand up his shirt.  He yelped and blushed a bit as he felt them squeeze at a handful of his belly.  After a good chuckle, they let go of him and the two continued at much closer paces.  They smiled at how well his plump backside filled out his pants, getting a bit flustered themself.  They patted it for good measure as he unlocked the door.  They couldn't see his reaction, but heard him sigh in pleasure.  

--------

He was sprawled out across the couch as they finished arranging the plates of desserts for him.  As most engines did in preservation, Spencer had put on a bit more weight.  Not as much as many others with how active he was, but he was definitely a bit fatter now compared to the older pictures of him.  They crawled on top of him and squeezed his full thighs and chubby middle, purring at how good he felt.  But then they pulled back, narrowing their eyes as they looked over him more closely.  Was he... getting even bigger?

"Let me see that sweet tummy, big boy."

They tugged his shirt up to just under his chest, feeling his plump belly in their hands, as their own face got hot along with his.   Their hands trailed around to his sides, gently kneading at his soft flesh as they moved around his torso, feeling their fingers sink in a bit deeper than they had before.  

"Aw, looks like you're becoming an even bigger boy, aren't you?"

"What?  But... how?"

"I'm not sure.  But it's so adorable on you."

He scooted back a bit to position himself more upright, his fat middle resting on his lap.  He slowly met his hand to their own and marveled at what must have happened to him.  They slid theirs out from under his and beneath his chin, stroking it as they brought a first bite of cake to his lips.  While some may lament how dense cakes have grown over the years and yearned for the lighter, generic chocolate cakes of the past, Spencer loved rich food.  He moaned as they started to feed him more, petting the side of his belly the way he liked it.  It felt heavier and heavier as they filled him up, continuing their rubbing to help keep him from getting bloated and snippy as he sometimes did when he ate too much too fast.  He wasn't as bad as Scotty, sure, but for an A4 he had a vicious appetite, with how his coal consumption was usually higher than the others due to his single chimney.  After a while they straddled his middle and positioned theirself somewhere between his legs and his lap so they could get closer to him.  Warmth radiated from him, as it always did when he ate, drawing them closer.  

They rested an arm against him as they turned to another plate, accidentally putting a bit too much pressure on him.

"Could you scoot over a b-URP"

With the next plate in their hand, they turned around and giggled at him.  

"Heh, sorry about that!"

They gave his belly a light pat in apology with their free hand.  He was looking considerably bigger and wasn't as soft as he was normally.  Clearly getting pretty full.  They kept giving him little bites of the treats and stroking his middle until he started refusing them, looking away with a somewhat pained and annoyed expression.  They glanced down at how tight his pants were against his stomach and loosened them for him, rubbing the underside of it where it was a bit red and sore from the pressure afterwards.  

"You're getting so big, darling."

"I know."

"Think you can take more?"

"Pfft, of course!"

"Well, let's get out some of that air first."

Spencer blushed.  Burping was so embarrassing for him, especially when someone had to help him with it.  He just wasn't used to the sensation since he hadn't actually tried eating in this form until relatively recently.  He felt himself getting red as they slid back a bit and gently massaged his swollen belly, knowing what was coming.

Of course, his burps were, frankly, anticlimactic.  For how worked up he got over them, they were usually quiet and airy rather than more forceful like most of his siblings'.  They chuckled at his reaction.  It was so cute how his belches were so soft even though he was so big.  Their kneading got a bit firmer, making them a bit flustered from the feeling of their hands sinking into his warm flesh.  

"There, that should feel a little better.  And you'll have some more room for more, big boy."

They turned to the container of ice cream behind them to start scooping it out for him, only to realize how stupid they had been by leaving it out this whole time.  It was gooey, practically liquid from sitting around for a while.  But then they smiled, getting an even better idea.  Turning back to Spencer, they brought the container towards his lips and raised their eyebrows, smirking at him a bit to see if he got the hint.   His eyes widened a bit in surprise, but he slowly opened his mouth and let them pour it in, groaning and sighing between thick swallows.  They felt their own breathing growing heavy in excitement as they felt the hand on his belly rise as the thick liquid filled him.  His head tilted back further as they raised the angle of the container to pour it all in, until there were just a few sticky dregs left.  They pulled it away while he licked off his lips and spooned up the bit of solid ice cream for him.

"Ugh, can I have the other one as well?"

They gave him a look of shock and wonder at how he possibly would have room for more, but shrugged and opened the other carton. He greedily gulped it down as well, and they marveled at how much he was managing to put away.  Halfway through, they tilted it back a bit to slow the flow and give him a chance to breathe as he began struggling.  He moaned and winked at them, and they tipped it back the other way, forcing the last of it into him faster than before. His belly pushed further out and he teared up a bit as he found himself hitting his limit, shuddering with the each mouthful and seething once he had finished it off.  

"Uggh, I'm so full it hurts..."

"Oh, you're far beyond full, more like stuffed beyond your limit.  You're such a good boy, eating everything I wanted you to and even more like that.  Let's help that tummy settle and help that pain.  

He felt himself flush again as he looked down, realizing how bloated he was, and placed a hand to his side in wonder.  They nudged it aside and pressed their own hands into his belly, gently squeezing it and massaging the tight bulge of it, eliciting a muffled belch from him, blocked by his hand out of modesty.  He leaned back again to make himself more comfortable and give them better access to his hot, distended middle.  There was a faint slosh from the liquid inside of him as he moved.  They smiled at him and jiggled it a bit to rile him up and hear more of those noises.  He burped and moaned several times as they continued kneading his tummy, an occasional gurgle coming from it as it struggled to deal with so much food.

"It's funny, Spencer.  You only really seem to complain about your stomach hurting from overeating.  Seems you can eat just about anything without too much trouble, unlike some of your relatives."

He felt a bit of pride inside from that fact.

"Like how some of them get crampy and grumbly if they eat something too heavy or sweet, but then there's you, and you ate... so much and all you did was get some air stuck in there."

He gave himself a closed smile as he looked down at his stuffed gut, and tugged them into his warm, soft form.  They purred as they hugged his figure with one arm and continued stroking his quietly gurgling belly with the other.  He leaned his head back as began to slip into a food coma, but they had other ideas.  They moved back a little and kissed the top of his tummy, groping at his chubby sides and nibbling at his sensitive skin a little, trailing more of them downwards until they reached the underwear line.  They gave the bottom of his belly a last pat and squirmed back up to rest their head against his chest again as the two finally drifted off to sleep.