#Rocky horror convention

[rkoarmy]

RKO Army coming in hot for next year!

Join fellow Rocky Horror Picture Show fanatics July 30 - August 2, 2025 in Providence, RI for the 50th Anniversary hosted by RKO Army.

Get ready to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the iconic cult classic with fellow fans from around the world.

Experience multiple shadowcast productions put on by our all star casts, panels, workshops, parties, our unique vendor room, and more during our multi day event. Prior conventions have included performances of Repo the Genetic Opera, The Room, Shock Treatment and Rocky Horror (of course).

Buy your ticket and find additional information here

[kerosene-saint]

pov that time I was in line for the Alex Brightman photo op at a convention, sitting in the disabled/fast line and looking at the other disabled fans waiting for him, all decked out in beetlejuice themed things, me in my beetlejuice lanyard, then looking over at EVERYONE ELSE waiting in line for him and just seeing. mass amounts of Hazbin Hotel cosplayers, people holding cardboard standees of the hazbin characters, hazbin hotel merch all over everyone.

[languidlovers]

'oh yeah i need to remember to buy tickets from my laptop later!' <- has not done it three days after saying this

[tornadotame]

🌪️

[randombisexualghoulette]

Had an amazing time at the second popcorn con yesterday. Lots of great horror stuff there this year. Got to wear my newest cosplay even though I had the mask off most of the time. Didn’t meet any of the celebrities this time but got to listen to some of them with the panel talks.

[casserolecosplay]

Edmonton Expo lineup!

Friday: Patrick Star

Saturday: Jinx

Sunday: Columbia

A con lineup without a hunterxhunter cosplay?! That's unheard of for me!

[abnormalpsychology]

My dealer, Frank N Furter: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “the time warp (again)” 😜🌀🕰️ you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯💯💯

Me, Brad Majors: yeah whatever. I don’t feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude I swear I just saw Rocky Horror rise to life from his tank at the Annual Transylvanian Convention over at the frankenstein place

My fiancée Janet Weiss pacing: Dr Scott is lying to us

[merakiui]

okay but what about mangaka jade who is known for writing some of the most batshit insane stories? they’re always so bloody and graphic, scenes depicting victims having their organs removed are always so… realistic in their portrayal some internet users have begun suspecting him of the bodies found around the city! but it’s just fiction, of course - it’s not like he derives any pleasure from seeing the human body disfigured beyond belief, until it’s but a lump of flesh and organs in disarray. just don’t question too much when you receive a request to model for mangaka! jade, even if the location he sends you is hours away from the city >_<

OOOOOO imagine being an internet sleuth trying to decipher the strange and mysterious mangaka known only by the pen name: naoh. They're a very talented artist and storyteller, but they're just so shrouded in anonymity! naoh never attends any conventions or events, but they do self-publish and sell their works through doujinshi and manga websites. naoh is rather particular when it comes to their work. They never resell works that have already been published. In essence, once a work is sold out it's never going to be sold again, and they only ever create a maximum of two works each year with limited numbers of copies. naoh themself isn't very active on their social media, only ever posting the rare WIP or an update on when a new work will be up for sale. Despite their quiet social media presence, they have gained quite the following. naoh never follows anyone on their account, and it seems like they rarely engage with fellow mangaka and creators with similar interests. They work alone.

You're a fan of naoh's work. The way they draw the human body is fascinating. It's something that could be seen in an anatomy textbook; it's always so realistic and yet still so eerily beautiful and stylized! You'll never forget how they draw emaciated bodies. It's an image imprinted in your brain: horrifyingly realistic and skeletal, a figure so gaunt it's quite literally skin and bones drowning in clothing that can no longer fit comfortably. You've always wondered how they manage to draw such visceral scenes (like the ones depicting clinical dissections or decaying corpses). And then there's the way they depict fear. It's almost always raw, stretching the characters' features into something horrific. It looks so real; it feels tangible. Fans often speculate if naoh has a job in law enforcement or any other profession that deals with the more grotesque and graphic sides of humans, which could be references for some of their horror stories and could explain why they're so good at depicting details.

But then there are the fans who go beyond simple, innocent curiosity and begin to ask disturbing questions: What if naoh isn't with law enforcement? What if, rather, they're the exact opposite: a criminal? It feels like a silly theory, but when you flip through the physical copies of their work and compare the plots to the yet-to-be-solved cases throughout the past few months you begin to spot a few minor similarities. They're never glaring; after all, naoh is a master of crafting both cutthroat terrors and subtle horrors. The type that builds suspense over time. The type that crawls into your head through your ear to whisper nonsense at night. The type that slowly forms a picture over time, but once you realize this it will have been too late.

In their most recent work, a young man is out for a hike when he takes a stumble and falls down a dangerous slope, landing on a rocky outcrop that breaks his leg and leaves him trapped many feet above the ground. He tries to call for help, but no one seems to hear his voice. He spends days on the outcrop, slowly losing hope and sanity. By the end of the story, he's so certain he's going to die that he drags himself over to the edge and free-falls to the ground below. He lands in a spattering mess of shattered bone and stringy, bloody muscle. A lump of a human. The cruel twist is that his hiking partner had actually left to get help as soon as he had fallen and that the man had only been stuck up there for ten hours. Not even a full day, yet panic seized him and left him in hysterics. Had he remained calm and waited, he would have been saved.

It's a terrifying concept made even more scary when you realize there was a story just like this that hit the news. Only it wasn't a man who had slipped. A woman had been out for a run through mountainous woods; she was training for an upcoming cross-country journey through uneven terrain when she sustained blunt force trauma to the head. Many suspect her running buddy to be at fault, as she was never found, and it's theorized she's still on the run. The woman had attempted to flee, but with her head injuries her senses were vastly impaired and she took too many wrong turns. Police suspect she unintentionally ran herself to the edge of a cliff. From there, the story is foggy and difficult to piece together, but it ends terribly: she was found at the very bottom days later, decomposing in thorny bushes, her body mangled and twisted and smashed beyond recognition. The pathologist noted her body was in such disrepair that it's unclear what truly killed her, whether the fall or injuries she had sustained prior to the fall.

And it isn't just this story that somewhat mirrors naoh's works (often it's a setting or a circumstance or a facet of the true crime itself incorporated. Very rarely is it about the victim). You read up on very long threads regarding naoh and their identity, and slowly you find yourself doing research of your own. You have no idea where to start, so for now you keep track of each story you hear on the news and try to match pieces of it to naoh's works in hopes of learning anything new. Unsolved cases, though plentiful and murky, are where you turn to, as well as the discussion boards online. So many people are convinced naoh is a killer. After reading a few rational theories, you're beginning to think so, too. (Though something tells you it could be coincidence, or it could be naoh taking inspiration from reality. They might not even be a murderer like some think; it might just be hateful people trying to sully their name.)

One day, while scouring naoh's social media for any clues, you get the idea to type the pen name into the search bar as if it might yield something interesting. And the first thing that pops up is: Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), known commonly as lye or caustic soda, is... You stop reading and scramble to grab naoh's first-ever work: a work in which that same chemical plays a major role in murder. NaOH is a substance that, when heated to a certain degree, can dissolve a human body into a syrupy liquid in just three hours.

And that's the pen name of a mangaka who writes and illustrates horror stories about the sordid sides of humankind. A mangaka who might just be a murderer racking up a horrifying kill count, and no one knows anything about them or where they might be in the world. Most of all, no one knows where they'll strike next and who will fall victim to a dangerous killer.

naoh is a mangaka catalouging their murders, and you're determined to prove it.

[catblackard]

THIS WEEKEND (Thursday Aug 8th - Sunday Aug 11th) the annual Worldcon (aka The World Science Fiction Convention) hits Glasgow, Scotland - but you don't have to be in Scotland to attend!

Omniverse will be there, represented by myself, @cthulhumystery and @gbresurrection's Doug Banks, and @mothershewrote's @cmdrjessie, along with Tess Tanenbaum who you'll meet in an upcoming Surprise RPG project. (Tess is in-person in Glasgow, while the rest of us appear online.)

We're all taking part in a number of panels about all sorts of things: JRPGs, food in anime, horror podcasts... but the big ticket Omniverse item is on Friday at 12:30pm EST / 17:30pm BST:

Surprise RPGs: Interactive Storytelling on the Bleeding Edge Or… How a Back to the Future RPG Changed My Life

Gathering around the table to tell stories is a powerful experience - powerful enough to fuel new innovations in storytelling and even therapy. Actual play pioneers Cat Blackard and Doug Banks (The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program) take you down the rabbit hole of Surprise RPGs and "The Omniverse Method". Their experimental roleplay techniques pull players and audiences into the game like never before, opening hearts and minds and offering bold new storytelling opportunities that blur the lines between fiction and reality. They're joined by interactive narrative scholar and game designer Dr. Theresa Jean Tanenbaum and game master Jessica Mudd to share stories, findings, and advice for bringing your games to life.

We're discussing the methods of play we've developed for Surprise RPGs in a large public forum for the first time. This method began in concepts first tested in Ghostbusters: Resurrection and The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program and came to fruition in K8 Was Here, The Extermination, City of Daemons, and our upcoming shows A Walk in the Park and Étude of the Storm.

There's more info on all the other panels we're a part of below!

You can get online (and in person) tickets to Worldcon here* and if you can't make them live, your ticket gets you access to video replays.

*Not gonna lie, Worldcon's sign up/ ticketing is obtuse and not user friendly at all, but if you read the above linked page and follow the directions therein, you'll manage. I believe in you. 

OUR PANEL SCHEDULE:

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Let Them Cook - Food in Anime - 08:00 EDT / 13:00 BST (In-Person and Online) 

Omniverse personnel: Jessica Mudd 

We've all wanted to take a bite out of a gorgeous piece of animated food: the hearty and comforting bacon and eggs of Howl's Moving Castle, the explosively flavorful wagyu of Food Wars, or even the dubious treasure bug sorbet of Dungeon Meshi. Come find out with us how anime can create connections between food, the audience, and cooking - but bring your own snacks!

Friday, August 9, 2024

Predicting the Shape of Things to Come  - 05:00 EDT / 10:00 BST (In-Person)

Omniverse personnel: Tess Tanenbaum

The panel discusses how ideas from the past – whether presented as science fiction or factual predictions – have stood the test of time. Which have come true, which were way off, and which are still future possibilities? And who proved better at predicting the future? Was it the scientists, mathematicians and engineers… or the science fiction writers?

Sci-Fi and Fantasy Musicals on Stage -  09:30 EDT/ 14:30 BST (In-Person)

Omniverse personnel: Tess Tanenbaum (moderator)

Return to the Forbidden Planet rocked our spaceship. The Rocky Horror Picture Show had us dancing the Timewarp. The Little Shop of Horrors, taught us botany and Young Frankenstein put on the Ritz. The panel will talk about the best and worst SF musicals, originals versus adaptions, and why we should have more of them.

Surprise RPGs: Interactive Storytelling on the Bleeding Edge Or… How a Back to the Future RPG Changed My Life - 12:30 EDT/ 17:30 BST (Online)

Omniverse personnel: Cat Blackard, Doug Banks, Jessica Mudd, Tess Tanenbaum (moderator)

Gathering around the table to tell stories is a powerful experience - powerful enough to fuel new innovations in storytelling and even therapy. Actual play pioneers Cat Blackard and Doug Banks (The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program) take you down the rabbit hole of Surprise RPGs and The Omniverse Method. Their experimental roleplay techniques pull players and audiences into the game like never before, opening hearts and minds and offering bold new storytelling opportunities that blur the lines between fiction and reality. They're joined by interactive narrative scholar and game designer Dr. Theresa Jean Tanenbaum and game master Jessica Mudd to share stories, findings, and advice for bringing your games to life.

Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Return of the Witch to A Hostile World - 05:00 EDT/ 10:00 BST (In-person)

Omniverse personnel: Tess Tanenbaum

In recent years, fictional witchcraft has seen a large resurgence, both in online communities and in contemporary horror. How does this interact with the rise of real practitioners? Who are some of the great new witches of speculative fiction? What is it about the idea of witchcraft that appeals in these times of uncertainty, as queer/trans rights are being rolled back and abortion access denied?

Diversity in Tabletop RPGs - 08:00 EDT/ 13:00 BST (Online)*

Omniverse personnel: Cat Blackard (moderator)

Roleplaying games can provide players the opportunity to embody a diverse range of characters with different backgrounds, gender identities, sexualities, abilities, and more. Our panelists will discuss the importance of diversity in tabletop RPGs, introduce audiences to a wide variety of decolonizing and inclusive game systems, and look at how players can push beyond stereotypical representation.

*There are two versions of this panel, an online one and an in-person one, with different panelists. There is a chance that this one may be re-titled "LGBTQIA+ Representation in Tabletop RPGs"

The Immersive Possibilities of Horror Audio - 14:00 EDT/ 19:00 BST (Online)

Omniverse personnel: Cat Blackard

Eerie, unsettling, and spooky tales are a perfect fit for audio dramas. Our panelists converse on modern horror audio dramas, like The Lovecraft Investigations, The Magnus Archives, and Old Gods of Appalachia, and how they use clever sound design, ambient audio, and other audio techniques to immerse their audiences in the world of their stories.

 Sunday, August 11, 2024

Podcast Production: Audio Recording and Editing - 05:00 EDT/ 10:00 BST (Online)

Omniverse personnel:  Jessica Mudd, Cat Blackard (moderator)

How do you make sure your podcast audio is clean, professional, and appealing to the ears of your listeners? Join us for a deep dive into the audio recording and editing process, showcasing strategies for gracefully integrating music or sound effects into your podcast, integrating multiple audio files into a balanced and unified whole, improving the quality of sub-standard audio, and output formats appropriate to your unique circumstances.

Let's Kill and Dethrone God: the History of JRPGs - 08:00 EDT / 13:00 BST (Online and In-Person)

Omniverse personnel: Jessica Mudd, Cat Blackard (moderator)

Japanese Role Playing Games have developed relatively independently to their western counterpart, evolving their own unique tropes, mechanics, and worldbuilding staples. In this panel we will discuss what makes a JRPG, trace its history, and shed light on some hidden gems of the genre - it's not all just Final Fantasy!

[froward-bat]

My local art theater played The Wicker Man* tonight so I went in costume like it was Rocky Horror. Thrifted this afternoon - I think I may make a more screen-accurate dress if I go as Lord Summerisle to a horror convention, but I'm pretty happy with it for a last minute, cumulative $25 effort.

* the "final cut", which was exciting because I knew of it but hadn't seen it yet - very cool seeing an expanded version of a movie I already love on the big screen.

[rockyhorrorpictureshowpics]

I haven’t kept up in quite a bit but I’m here to announce I was cast as Magenta during Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite for the 48th Annual Rocky Horror Convention held in New Jersey that starts in less than a week! Can’t wait and hope to see a few of you there 💖

[demolitionghosts]

Ive never actually made an intro post for this blog, so here ya go!!

General stuff:

My name is Blyss! I use He/Him or maybe sometimes They/Them. I live in The Netherlands, and speak dutch and english!

Other blogs:

Art blog: @dontfallbehind

Somewhere to dump song/story ideas: @whentheskytalksback

Bands/music taste:

I generally enjoy rock, emo and punk music the most, but im also a fan of metal, alternative, indie or musicals!

Some of the band i listen to include:

My Chemical Romance (+ all their solo stuff), Leathermouth, (Pre Split) P!atd, La Dispute, Bring Me The Horizon, The Hush Sound, Mitski, Attack Attack!, Get Scared, AJJ, Bring Me The Horizon, Fall Out Boy, Pierce The Veil, Paramore, Glass Beach, Destructo Disk, Newgrounds Death Rugby, Flyleaf, Shin Guard, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Skeletons In The Closet, Sorority Noise, Raccoon Tour, Cheap Perfume, Acardia Grey, Homestyle Dinner Rolls, Rare Breed, Common Girl and Stomach book.

Some musicals i love are:

Hamilton, Heathers, Six, Mean Girls and The Rocky Horror Show

Fandoms/media i enjoy:

The main fandoms im in are:

Marble Hornets, Doctor Who, Creepypasta, FNaF, DDLC and MCR!!

Im generally interested in everything to do with horror. Things like ARG's (i love watching people solve them, i suck at solving them myself.) Lost or disturbing media, old horror movies, analogue horror etc... i also really like everything that has to do with the sea! Like sharks, shipwrecks, the mystery of the sea blah blah blah. Im also a HUGE pokemon nerd! (My fav pokemon is Sylveon. Very basic ik!!!)

(Upfate in the favorite pokemon, i also LOVE LOVE LOVE milotic 🙏🙏)

In my free time i like to draw, write, collect cd's or just collect trinkets in general, listen to music and play video games like baldurs gate and pokemon!

On the topic of burning cd's, here a list of all the ones i made myself and the ones that i bought!!

Dni:

Just dont interact if you're an asshole idk?? Seems pretty simple to me. Just be a decent human being. If you dont like me or anything i post/repost feel free to block me! Its what its there for!! (Oh and MSI fans can suck my dick please never ever interact with me)

Other social media accounts:

Instagram: vvampirebite

Pinterest: ElegiacCamera

SpaceHey: DemolitionGhosts

Discord: v.vvampire

(If you have any other questions you can always just dm me!! Or just dm me if you feel like it, i love talking to people)

[hotmonkeelove]

My Anime Frontier '23 Odyssey

I probably shouldn't say it was an odyssey, as I was only there on Friday. It sure felt like one, though! First off, look who I stumbled upon:

Other than that, the only Black Butler stuff I saw were the Book of Circus and Book of Murder dvds (which I bought), the live action film dvd (which I passed on), and someone cosplaying Ciel in his female disguise. There might have been more stuff in the booths, but I was too anxious and in too much pain to browse more. So that was the only merchandise I bought. I did get a bag of chips and a soda for lunch, and refilled the bottle with water the rest of the time. The convention centre had those fountains that are specifically for that purpose.

I got to attend Steve Blum's panel and the Naruto cosplay meetup. I was the only one in a Boruto version costume and the only Anko. The majority there were Akatsuki. No one was mean to me, which I'm grateful for. A few actually asked for my picture and complimented my costume. I was also not the only disabled person there, so I didn't feel so awkward. Still, I was too shy to initiate conversations on my own. Being by myself and not knowing anyone there kept me in my shell. (I went to a con alone in 2017, but still ran into plenty of my old Rocky Horror friends.)

Anyway, here's my Anko cosplay. The bust on the dress was quite weird and we didn't have enough time to alter it correctly. The vintage bangles I bought won't fit over my right hand due to my arthritic knuckles (they fit the left, though), so we had to improvise with fabric and interfacing. Also, I had to get a second wig from a local shoppe, as I screwed up the first one.

I still had time before the uber was to fetch me, so I got Steve Blum's autograph and photos then. (By the way, he was incredibly nice and did an Orochimaru voice without me even asking him to!) Good thing, too, as uber cancelled my trip for Sunday morning, which was the last straw for me. The ride back on Friday night was nearly an hour late as the app kept glitching and wouldn't give proper directions or updates. I could see on my phone it was acting up, so I know it wasn't the driver's fault. But after that, the stress of finishing my cosplay on time, my wig being very uncomfortable, and being so sore from the walking, then another uber problem, I decided to spend Sunday at home.

But now for the kicker. While uploading my pictures with Steve Blum from my digital camera earlier this week, my laptop crashed and fried the memory card. I managed not to cry, but I was quite down. It was the whole reason I was attending the con! Fortunately, my partner (who is a saint!) was able to eventually recover them. So now I can at long last share them here!

And with that, I will likely spend a few more years on break from cons. Also, I'm kind of broke now.

[pynkhues]

this may be a weird ask so i'm sorry in advance! are we supposed to think that the long face is purposefully a bad song? i thought it was a solid rock song with a great guitar and interesting lyrics (especially love the part with the italian music terms) but so mamy people say its embarassingly bad and cringy and how much louis'd hate it and i'm confused? is it really objectively not that good and i'm just old and out of touch with reality? i know that music is very subjective so of course not everyone'll like it, but i've seen so many takes how lestat is a terrible songwriter and how louis will bully him over it and i'm like?? i'm autistic so i dont get certain things, again i'm sorry and have a nice day!

Ah, don't apologise, anon! You're totally right about music being subjective, and I personally love the song for all the reasons you said, plus for how good Sam's voice sounds in it, but I can get why people may not like it too.

I -- mmm. I think there is a portion of people who are treating it as a song independent of the context of not just the show, but of the genre the show is shifting into. Which makes sense! The song's been dropped in a teaser, we're not seeing it within the framework of an episode itself, but I think to treat it as a commercial song designed to chart is actually completely divorced from the fact that it's a part of a musical soundtrack.

Lestat might be a rockstar in the universe of the show, but that universe is one that is highly dictated by the structure and conventions of theatre. I mean, his character is literally a theatre kid being written by theatre kids, and Rolin's been pretty clear that this season is being heavily influenced by rock opera musicals like Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Rocky Horror (and I see other rock opera influences too, personally, which I talked about here). It's going to be loud and camp and ridiculous, because that's the genre, and people should probably be expecting more Time Warp than Long Way to the Top.

[purenguyening]

For the Ace Attorney ask: 3, 4 and 10

[Ace Attorney Asks]

3: Favorite case?

Farewell, My Turnabout. The themes always get me, and I think it's rather fitting design wise. The case is centered two actors and I think it works well to convey this idea that everyone has "a role to play". The sections where the background fade to black and the characters speak directly to the player remind me of plays that have monologue sections that have a similar effect as a way to engage the audience. I think it works incredibly well, since Phoenix was formally a Theaters Arts Major and the case served to solidify his exact role in the judicial system.

It's also really nice for the smaller moments, like Phoenix admitting to himself he relies on Pearl to cry for both of them when they think about the situation Maya's in, and of course the famous "Edgeworth snatched up the bear" moment. I always feel the need to replay it because I always miss this line:

For what it's worth, this case made a big influence in how I read the optional dialogue and think of lines that aren't strictly part of the progression of the story as them ad-libbing, hence some of the really insane ribbing that you see in later games.

I like a lot of cases, but this one just feels really distinct because I do chalk this up as Phoenix's first real loss in court.

4: Least favorite case?

Probably Turnabout Reminiscence (4th case of the first Investigation games). It's mostly due to Edgeworth's developing working dynamic with Gumshoe can come across a little too mean-spirited for my liking. I know in context this is their early meetings so a rocky relationship isn't unusual, but it just kind of felt off in context to the rest of the game.

In terms of frustrating leaps of logic, probably Turnabout Big Top still irritates me, the case and how it works for story telling I can deal with, but suspending my disbelief to buy the idea that once the bust fell the cape Russell Berry was wearing magically float back up and got stuck to the bust as Acro hauls it up? Not as much.

I'm actually willing to forgive Turnabout Serenade since the game warns us (via Phoenix) you'll have to use a lot less conventional means to win this case.

Though, I think it actually wouldn't have taken much to make the case flow smoother by having Apollo point out on the first day of trial that the murder weapon would have had a pretty powerful kickback. So, whoever fired the gun would have had some intense pain since this was heavily emphasized on the first day of investigation. Hell, one of Machi's sprites has him clutching his arm, which could have brought suspicion back to him.

Then, I think there was (probably) some intent to shift the suspicion back to Daryan because of him missing a cue (implied due to him feeling the after effect of the 45 caliber gun on his shoulder), though this was never brought up. But I can see him waving it off as him having an off day and then it'd force Apollo to take Phoenix's advice and approach solving the case from a different angle by unraveling all the mysteries.

10: Best villain and why?

Damon Gant.

He only appears in one case, but there something that gets me as a "what-if" because his intents and sense of justice were in the right place, but he really showed how easily you can "stray off the path" and how it can rapidly spiral before you know it.

Once the truth has been revealed, I always think about his final lines as he laments to the Judge he'll have to cancel their lunch plans. It's just such a powerful moment, how the people running this system aren't some deities, but people.

Also, as a casual horror fan, I always adore how he has such a long and unnerving stare that makes you pause and wonder whether or not your game froze, lmao.

P.S. (boop)