#but the overall thing was so aesthetically pretty i wanted to include the gifs after the dialogue as well

[sherrymagic]

Hopefully you won't be married to Master Kuea when I return from England. I have already made myself clear to everyone. What about you? This time...

Freen Sarocha as LADY PIN and Becky Armstrong as PRINCESS ANIN THE LOYAL PIN | EP. 7

[dannyboyzone]

Samuel, if he would have a child

this was not requested, but it's children's day in korea! and who is the most fun to read about if none other than our tiddy king Seungeun! yaaay! Also, I could like, make one of Eli and Yenna, but we all know Eli is the best dad in the lookism world 🖤

꒰ 🍨 ”♡ᵎ꒱ˀˀ ↷ ⋯ Sammy with his child...

baby life

- Samuel isn't the type that necessarily loves kids, however that doesn't mean he necessarily hates them. He wouldn't know how to react if his partner says they are pregnant or want to adopt. - or anything of the sort! - He would react in a polite and pleasant manner, but the heaviness wouldn't shrink in until a few weeks or month.

- Not going to lie, he would prefer a son over a girl. It's not that he is sexist, it's that he is afraid that he would kill whoever hurts his little princess, which would scare and distance her.

- However, he doesn't mind what the end result is, he would just want to be a good parent because he never had an actual good one. You would expect him to have the mentality of 'I suffered, so why shouldn't they?' But he truly doesn't.

- He would absolutely be lost with babies, but would be very willing to learn about how to take care of them. He would surprisingly smile at them a lot, and even speak in a babying voice. Big scary gangster has a heart.

- The crying would sometimes drive him crazy, but he would absolutely never take it out on the baby, just try to learn which cry means what exactly. If it goes on for long, he might as well cry too.

- He would absolutely never trust anyone expect his s/o with holding his baby. That's his baby, whoever hurts it will die. He has set his mind on that long ago, truly. He had a terrible childhood, he won't let that happen to his own kid.

- People are absolutely not allowed to be loud around his baby, or even smoke around them. He would go out of this place to protect them, but maybe be a little tense during it.

- Honestly, when he would be around his family, he would be very very vulnerable. It would be his special safety net, and his weak spot. He wouldn't try to show that though, so people don't hurt his family, he can't let that happen.

- He still wouldn't become a full on softy though, but when he is around his baby? Lord! He has a whole personality change. Samuel who? There is only SuYoung's dad here!

- Ah, did I mention? He would want the baby to have a name that starts with an S. It will either have Seung in it, but even if not that, it will definitely have 'Eun' in it. If that's not an option? Y'all are going to look at baby-name sites at 2 am. The! baby! needs! a! name! that! starts! with! an! S! Seriously, if the child is adopted and has a name already, it will just become their middle name. Samuel will not chill out.

- However, whatever happens, the child will either be his Princess/Prince/Snowflake. He will probably buy a lot of things that will make not only having a baby easier, but having a baby life easier. As in; Both the child and the parents will have it easier.

- Samuel would absolutely love to dress up his baby in ridiculous clothes, like a baby overall with a hoodie, that just makes them look like a big carrot. He would just take pictures of them, but dress them back up in normal baby clothes, to not make the baby uncomfortable.

- What he would love as well is to take pictures with the baby, and record important moments. Like first words, learning, saying first word ect. That baby would probably become the most important person in his life.

- Absolutely not going to lie, Samuel is the kind of person who would love his child(ren) way more than he loves his s/o. Sure, it's great to have a loving s/o, but his son/daughter/child? They are top priority, he is responsible for their birth, and he will make them have the best living experience possible. He isn't going to put them through what he went through.

- I think he would also feel very loved. Especially if the baby falls asleep on his chest or tummy, he would definitely feel like he is a good dad. He would just be proud 'hey! i created that! It's beautiful and lovely!'

- Sammy is also the type of person that would peck his baby since he loves them so much. Please don't think of anything sick though, it's pretty normal and a lot of parents do it. However, if the baby hits him or pushes him away due to uncomfortable, he would of course stop and stay with hugs. It's just that his monkey brain would go 'woah!!!!!!! princess/prince/snowflake!!!!!!!!!!!'

- Talking about hits, babies hit people since they are developing and don't know that it's not fine. Whenever he would get hit by the baby, he would stay totally calm. He would kiss their little hand and kindly say that hitting papa/dad isn't nice. He would find it quite adorable, actually. He would probably have a hard time to not laugh if the baby bites his nose even.

- He would absolutely be the best dad. He would feed the baby, bath the baby, change diapers, cut their nails so they don't scratch themselves! Literally best dad.

- Maybe, if in the future he will be on good terms with Eli, he would even ask for advice. He is a good dad, and that includes admitting that he doesn't know everything, and he needs help.

kiddo big baby life

- Samuel would honestly be the kind of dad other kids are jealous for. They would want a dad like him, you know? But at the same time, they would all respect and fear him because if they hurt his little baby? It won't have a happy end for anyone. Samuel wouldn't need to raise his voice or hand for that to happen.

- Samuel would always prepare bento for his kiddo, and definitely even make them breakfast. No matter how picky they are, he would try to make the food they ask for. However, he would never let them eat in bed, unless they are sick.

- Talking about that, sometimes he would pick up his kid from school earlier than he is supposed to, either because he feels like his kid doesn't want to be there, or just because he wants to make family memories. He would also lie to the teachers.

- Also! 'Hello' and 'Goodbye!' hugs and cheek kisses are a must. Samuel is not an affectionate person, but both him and his kiddo would agree that they should always do that. Also, 'goodnight' and 'good morning' forehead kisses are a must too. He does it because he loves his kid, but also because you can never know when will you see someone for the last time. He would never say that out loud tho.

- He would do it even if he is mad, but when he is mad he would be scary. Not because he would get violent with his kid, but extremely silent. The kind of silence that screams disappointment. Funny thing is though, he would be like that exactly to not turn violent. He doesn't trust himself, so he has to control himself. It wouldn't happen often tho.

- He would be a little strict, but nothing too much. Just general healthy strictness. Like no chocolate after 6pm, limited tv time, children lock on the tv, computer ect. He is protective, but not overwhelming.

- If his kid would as a lot of questions he would be fine with that. He would just look at it as an opportunity to teach them, so he would answer all in an appropriate way. Also, hey, at least he can teach his kid that cheating is disgusting.

- Talking about that, he would be terrified of becoming like his dad. So even if he wouldn't love his s/o after a few years, he would still keep in the relationship and hide his feelings so his baby can grow up in a happy environment. He would never cheat though, so that's that.

- He would still be a good dad though! He would be happy if his child has independence and his own interests. He would let them pick their clothes, but also choose aesthetic matching outfits for them.

- Also, Samuel wouldn't really care what their sexuality, gender, religion, style and thought manners are, as long as they have morals and don't have disrespect in their heart. He values respect a lot.

- Also, he would teach them to be polite because that brings them far in their life. However he would also teach them to never do what they don't want to. Seriously, he would at some point teach his kid to remember the quote that says "The hill that you carry was only supposed to be climbed"

- He would also like, be chill if they fight. Teacher calls in that his kid fought? Cool, he would calmly tell the teacher to watch out properly next time. At home he would ask how they stand and hold their fist while fighting. To teach them how to do it properly.

- He would probably also prefer to have them in a fighting class of some sort. He would list multiple material art styles, explain the rules and ask his kid if they would be fine to go to at least one. It's not that he wants his kid to be violent, but he wants them to be able to protect themselves.

- HEALTH IS TOP PRIORITY!! Sammy is the type of dad you can tell anything to because he won't judge. That includes health and mental health, he would be careful and set up a comfortable mood. He wouldn't be ablist at all and just take care of his kid the way he is supposed to.

- Also, when the kiddo needs to get a shot or their blood taken, he would be next to them, holding their hand. Softly talking to them so they can get through it. He would also praise them, probably buy stickers and ice cream.

- He also absolutely wouldn't mind spending money on his kid. Their room would look like a dream land full of plushies.

- The support in this house would be above the roof. His kid likes painting? There is a whole art room. His kid likes biking? There is a whole biking day each weak.

- He would also help the kiddo study, although he wouldn't always be the best. Samuel didn't get rich by studying after all.

- He would also teach them stranger danger, and have a secret word with them that means 'something is wrong, please come here and help me'.

teen ♡

- He would probably stop babying his child when they become 14, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be affectionate! He just wouldn't want to embarrass them.

- Not going to lie, he would hit his kid if they do something big enough to deserve it. For example, if his kid would willingly do drugs - forced is something different - he would definitely hit them. Or if they hide smoking, or smoke in general. It wouldn't be abusive, or a daily thing. He would only use if necessary. He saw how those effect people, and he experienced how bad smoking is, he would have strict rules and he wouldn't let his child go through it. They will either choose the easy way, or the hard way.

- Do not misunderstand though, he won't get mad at every single little mistake. He would be a smart parent, just a little stuck up to his own views. He would tell them that he would rather get a call from them saying they snuck out and need to be picked up than a call from the police that his child is dead or went missing.

- Also, he wouldn't tell them what they should wear or not, but he would always make sure to put something in their bag that they can cover themself up with incase they are around someone that makes them uncomfortable incase their outfit shows skin. The gender wouldn't matter, as he is not sexist.

- He would be supportive with whatever their dream is, but would make sure to tell them that dreams can change and that they should make a back up plan incase it does. He is just realistic.

- Talking about that, he would make sure that his kid has a safe to work at next to him incase they want that. He wouldn't force them, but he would like to be a good role model.

- Funny enough, he would know how dumb teenagers can get. His worst fear would be his kid becoming as dumb as him when he was a teenager. Literally, he knows he made bad decisions and let his worth be measured by others, and he wouldn't want his kid to be like that either.

- He would also be fun though, he is the type of parent you can have inside jokes with. He would sometimes not laugh, as he is used to kids saying dumb stuff, but if it's a good joke he definitely will just have a great time with you.

- He is a proud parent too! Literally, even if his kid is a dumbass or a himbo, he would love them and their achievements whatever those may be.

- Absolutely wouldn't know slang, but would still attempt to joke around and do it. It would be fun because he would use words incorrectly.

- A must is definitely teaching his kid about life. In how to view humans, how to treat them and that he should understand that everyone is different.

- Samuel is the type of dad that knows his kids every interest, but not because he is pushy but because they feel comfortable talking with him. It would make other parents jealous for sure. He doesn't understand though, he thinks it's normal.

- When it comes to dating, he wouldn't be a helicopter parent. However, he would teach his kid to not just trust anyone and choose wisely, also, to always have protection. Let that be pepper spray or condom, it works in different situations. Poor person who dates his kid tho. They would constantly get looks that say 'I am watching you, better be careful.' He wouldn't be watching.

- Well, there would be CCTVs around the house though, so if they come home drunk, or past their bed time he will know. And wait. It's not that he would scold, it's that he would have a serious conversation.

- He would still do fun things with them too though! Like having bike fridays, vacation weekends, movie marathons ect. He would be a mix up a lowkey fucked up parent and a mix of the fun and loving parent that's always there.

Yaaaayyaaay its done! Hopefully, it was enjoyable. I tried to focus on the positive aspects, but still be honest. Of course it's fine if you don't agree with me! Please be understanding if there is a mistake, I made 57 points and my brain felt like it was melting the more I wrote. Thank you for your time! ♡

[adoringeun]

Lemon Drop Café

Welcome to the Lemon Drop Café! My name is Eunha, I'm the owner of this place. It's a blessing to have you visit my café, what would you like to order?

Inside the Lemon Drop Café

In this café we offer a variety of different food and drinks! Don't be fooled by the name of the shop, we sell all kinds of food and beverages here. We even have a special delivery service for everyone!

T H E B A S I C S

-> This is in no way affiliated with the Idol I potray to be. I am not claiming to be her nor do I say this is how she acts in real life. Everything here is purely fictional and is all for your entertainment only!

-> As of now, the café is only open for chatbots and chatbots only.

-> This is mostly a delivery service chatbot meaning there will be no plots introduced, yet!

-> A schedule is included in this post that says the days I accept reservations, delivery requests, and answer asks.

-> Daily positivity posts and health reminders will be posted!

-> I will sometimes pop in people's dms to drop of treats from me! I'll try my best to send everyone at least one treat so you all will hopefully get a smile out of it ^-^

-> A bulletin board will be posted every once in a while. What is this for? Well, it will act as a chatbot news for everyone. For example, person #1 and person #2 are now engaged! Let us congratulate the soon to be married couple. If you have any new information or news to share, feel free to message me and I will post about it!

-> This bulletin board will also act as a spread of awareness to everyone. Not only to Korean entertainment related news, but to the many things that are happening around the globe. (example is BLM petitions and such)

R E S E R V A T I O N S

-> Reservations are basically you reserving for a table at the café. This is a perfect way to have a nice date with your partner, hang out with your friends and bond with your family!

-> If you don't have anyone to go with, you can still reserve a table! Only difference is, I will be there to keep you company as I serve you your food or drinks. I can even maybe teach you the ways of the kitchen, if you're lucky enough.

-> Once your reservation has been accepted, a GC will be made and you along with the person/s you are bringing will be invited.

-> Be patient with Eunha as she can get very busy making orders and accepting reservations.

-> More details will be said once you have been invited to the GC.

HOW TO RESERVE A TABLE

-> You can send me a message (or an ask if that's what you prefer) saying you would like to book a table, please include how many people you will be coming with.

Example:

“Hello! I would like to reserve a table for 3 people thank you 😊❤”

-> Shortly after your request has been accepted, you will be made a GC.

-> A menu listing all the available food and beverages we have will be given to you (and the people you are with)

-> Do tell me when you are finished eating so I can hand you your bill and delete the GC.

D E L I V E R I E S

-> For deliveries, we have a lot of methods for you to choose from!

— Asks [💭]

> The ask delivery can only be used as a letter service. Meaning, I will send an ask to the person whom you want to send a letter to. You don't have to write a long paragraph for this. It can simply be a short “Good Morning!” or “How is your day today?”

— Submissions [💌]

> Submission deliveries are like asks but gifts included in them. Example is person #1 saying “Have a good day!” to person #2 with a lemon pie and a bouquet of sunflowers as a gift.

— DMs [📩]

> This is pretty much self explanatory as a lot of other bots have done this as well. I call this Private Deliveries. Private deliveries are like submission deliveries but are sent through dms. [TW//NSFW] This is the most recommended option if you were to send lingerie for your s/o, give them a new toy, etc.

— Post [📌]

> Deliveries through posts are the most common way to send someone something. It's more like the DM method but it's public. No further explanations needed.

-> We don't only offer food as gifts, you can pretty much send anyone anything! Just make sure it's not as complicated as; A caramel macchiato, three pumps of pumpkin spice, slight whip cream, a chocolate drizzle, and a cherry on top. Don't be those type of people.

HOW TO REQUEST FOR A DELIVERY

-> Send me an ask or a message that includes the listed below.

1.) The @ of the person/s you are giving the gift to.

2.) Whether you would want to be tagged or want to stay anonymous.

3.) Send the letter/gifts you want to give to that said person/s. If you don't have any pictures or gifs of the gift, it's okay! I will look for the pictures/gifs for you.

-> Before I send something, I will send screenshots of the post for confirmation that everything is correct.

-> Please do be patient when I don't complete your delivery as soon as possible. Admin is very busy but will be sure to go on with your request one she is free.

A D V I C E

-> Do you need ever need advice but don't know who uou should ask? Lucky for you, I'm here to give that needed advice! It can differ from life tips, health tips, relationship talks, pretty much anything!

-> All you have to do is send an ask or a message and i'll give the best advice I can give!

-> !!! : I am not saying that the advice I will give will 100% work. I will try and understand your situation and give you the best I can give. Please note that there is no guarantee that it'll work.

A D V I C E —S L I D E T W O—

-> This is for all the love birds out there!!

-> If you have a certain person that you like and want to ask them out on a date but have no idea where to go, I can give you some possible locations that will fit both you and person #2

-> Following what was said above, if you're going on a date and plan on confessing there, you can also ask me for tips on how you can confess!

-> For the long term couples here, if any one of you plan on proposing, I can help you set up and plan things.

-> If you're planning a wedding but don't know where to start, you can also hire me as your wedding planner! Since most weddings are held in discord now, I can help with setting up the server, thinking of themes, and overall the aesthetic of your special day.

-> I will make sure all parties are satisfied with the final product and have smiles on their faces once they see it.

-> All in all, I pretty much help with anything. Heck, you can even hire me as your babysitter! I'll make sure the child/children will have the time of their lives with me ^-^

-> All you have to do is hit me up in my dms or send an ask! Simple as that.

B U L L E T I N B O A R D

-> The bulletin board is one of the most important things I have included here.

-> It will include not only the latest chatbot news and K entertainment news but also news outside of the K-media!

-> I will post about the many things that have been happening recently. Those who have not been given justice yet, the brutality of the police, etc! There are a lot of topics that need to be covered, but not have been given enough light yet. My main goal for this is to bring peoples' attention to these so more people will be aware of the wrong doings others are doing to innocent lives.

-> As I respect everyone, I will be putting trigger warnings whenever I post so people will proceed with caution when they see the warnings.

-> If you don't want to be tagged, please do let me know! I don't want to post a sensitive topic and have some people frowning in front of their screens because of it triggering them. Send me an ask or a message and i'll take you off my taglist ^-^

-> Same goes for those who want to be tagged. Send me an ask or message anytime you like! Or even just reblog my post saying you want to be tagged in future posts :)

GOT ANY NEWS YOU WANT TO SHARE?

-> Send me a dm/an ask! From chatbot related news to petitions people can sign, anything you want! You can even send a submission if that is what you prefer doing.

E U N ' S S C H E D U L E

M O N D A Y : [Answering Asks, taking reservations, replying to dms, sending gifts]

T U E S D A Y : [Taking reservations, replying to dms]

W E D N E S D A Y : [ASK ONLY DAY!]

T H U R S D A Y : [Taking reservations, sending gifts]

F R I D A Y : [FREE DAY]

S A T U R D A Y : [ALL WORK DAY]

S U N D A Y : [ALL WORK DAY]

ALL WORK DAY – are days that I accept anything and everything from everyone. Meaning, everything is open and available (Reservations, advice giving, etc.)

FREE DAY – is a day where I only respond to important dms and reblog posts.

O T H E R I N F O

-> My asks aren't only open for requests and stuff, they are always open for anything!

-> I'm mostly active during the afternoon because I do work in the morning and at night.

-> Don't be afraid to message Eunha! She's always open and happy to make friends ^-^

-> My timezone is KST! (Korean Standard Time)

-> I will sometimes post “Inside Eun's Life” posts which are basically what and how I'm doing.

Credits to the person who made the idea of making chatbots, lots of love for you @yandereminholee!!

Special thanks to @your-roseanne and @floristluda for the inspiration!

Another special tag is @specialdeliveryforyou! Credits to them for starting the whole delivery service trend ^-^

And to @cherry-nayeon the OG café concept chatbot! All love and credits goes to her!!

Amazing people who you should also check out!

@mafia-minho @leextaeyong @5sosxseulgi @xiyeonnie @babyhj1sung @mafiajjh @mafiawyk @shinhaneul-oc @yoonhana @queenbeejessi @yourchungha @skaterchae @hunter-chaeyoung @og-aisha @sweetandsleepyjamie @fabricatedxkun @switchseola @seventeen-chatbot @mafia-chaeyoung @split-jiu @doll-hyunjin @wolfxhwasa @sub-chungha @chatwithchuu @bunjihyo @babieyuqi @domyeonjun @yvespunk @icyracer-chae @midari-jieun @peachyminju @yanderechenle @purgejaemin @spamnotes-cb @lovely-jisoo @amazingspiderhan @artsydahyun @xdomkangseulgixx @detectivexsicheng @yandere-lia @yanderetzuyu @time-for-confession @kittenjennie @urkai and more lovely people! ^-^

[grimoire-of-geekery]

Detect Magic: the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik

(pictured here- the deluxe edition [left] and the Arcanist edition of the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik)

Y'know, it's been a long time since I did one of these, but here goes. It's time for another Detect Magic review. I haven't put the Dork Magician hat on for a while, so let's give this a whirl!

Today we're taking a look at the Sixth World Tarot, by Echo and Lazarus Chernik. She has this available on her website (click the above link), which come signed by the artist and the author. I'm a bit bummed, I bought a copy of this deck juuuuust before she started signing them. Not her fault, but still. XD

For those of you unfamiliar with Shadowrun, it's a cyberpunk dystopian magic-and-mech RPG setting and fantasy novel universe which originated in the late 80's. The premise is that magic is growing stronger, the world experienced a big Awakening in the early 2000's, right around the same time that corporations managed to gain extraterritoriality. So, you have dragons running huge megacorps, which basically enslave people to be lifelong wageslaves from birth (or as soon as they can get their hands on a desired talent), immersive VR Matrix hackers, cyberware enhanced fighters and magic practitioners acting as "deniable assets" to said corps for all sorts of shady business.

Hence the name "Shadowrun."

This setting, one of my absolute favorite settings out there, has had the misfortune of developing a sort of eerie prophetic element akin to the Simpsons and its bizarre track record of prediction of ludicrous world events. Shadowrun was intended to be a cautionary tale, not an oracular one. That being said, that does make a tarot based on Shadowrun more than a little on-the-nose for predictive purposes. After all, they're telling the future without even trying. Wait until they actually put some effort into it...

All right, time to Detect Magic!

Accessory- Crit (4 out of 4) Stunning artwork, evocative imagery... this deck is gorgeous. It's so beautiful, and so intricate and well made, that people who don't even read tarot (or even particularly like tarot) buy several copies for their geeky collections, and even people who don't particularly care about Shadowrun have dropped their jaw when I showed the deck to them.

A bit busier than I'm used to working with (not the art, but the extras which I'll explain later), I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the cards when I first got them. The box for both editions I own are a nice durable gloss with a magnetic foldover closure, there's a ribbon inside each to help pull the cards and book out of the box, and the decorative artwork is gorgeous and fitting with the setting. Definitely aesthetically pleasing enough to take places, and durable enough to resist scuffing or tearing for on-the-go divination and gaming use.

Tome- Crit (4 out of 4) So, the Tome section of this review is supposed to be about how well the cards help one in the pursuit of learning magic and practicing geekomancy. And... really, I don't think I've found a deck (or any artifact of fandom) quite as good as this.

Let me explain.

Tarot, in the sorcery practice I teach, are already basically a pictorial grimoire, describing life in a way that allows us to learn the hidden movements, mysteries, and forces at play in our world. Art is good for things like that in general. It helps you see the world through a special lens, one which allows you to see things you might have missed.

The thing is, the lens of this deck is the Shadowrun continuity, which as I said earlier, has proven to be more than a little prophetic, and alarmingly so.

The magic system of Shadowrun is pretty adjacent to our own. Life force lines, spiritual power sites, astral projection and spirits and magical "energy" forms, initiatory mysteries... it's all pretty much the same as our own reality, just juiced up a bit, with some extra game elements added (don't even ask me about insect spirits).

This makes the deck particularly helpful if one wishes to learn magic in any of the myriad ways described in Shadowrun (and they're particularly respectful and diverse and true-to-life in their tradition descriptions).

BUT, it also has an entire lore-book called the Book of the Lost associated with it, which explains all these little secret sigils and images and easter eggs stored throughout the deck, which can be used for gamebuilding and storytelling, but are designed to be arcane indicators and omens, among other things. And the kinds of symbols they use range from sentences or mottos in dead languages, all the way to waveform patterns and dot-matrix maps. I swear, if you're one of those people who like puzzles and cryptography, this deck is even more fun than the Hermetic Tarot.

In summary, while you'll have to get some Shadowrun sourcebooks to really get deep into the canon lore, there's so much of it that the cards really show you on their own that I don't consider this a setback at all. Feel free to deep-dive with this deck, you'll learn a TON about magic if you let it guide you.

Relic- Success (3 out of 4) If you read the Book of the Lost, or Unearthed Arcana, or any of the 5th edition Shadowrun magic sourcebooks, you'll see that "tarot magic" is an up and coming thing in their canon. Each text helps you see how practitioners use the cards in-game for spellcasting, ritual magic, initiation practices and spirit summoning. The Tarot are already really valuable as central objects of importance to certain kinds of magical practice. This particular deck is designed to be so handy a central object that there's an entire book dedicated to it.

Weapon- Success (3 out of 4) The only reason I'm rating this a success instead of a crit is because they don't provide enough spreads in the various associated books for one to immediately begin casting spells with them, which means you'll have to do some designing. They do have a couple solid unique spreads for basic divination though.

The deck's canon in-game suggests ritual practices like gathering and doing a ritual with sets of related cards, and one such ritual was easily adapted in my own practice, into the Lucky Kimono spread I designed (which people can read about on my Patreon at the higher tiers). So, even without outright including spell-spreads, they sort of gave us clues anyway.

Again, you're going to need the sourcebooks, but it's only a few of them, and they're well worth a read even if you're not planning on playing the game (and I don't play in the actual Shadowrun mechanical system, though I do like the sourcebooks for campaign setting ideas).

Overall Rating: Critical Success (14 out of 16)

Achievement Unlocked: Novahot Echo's artwork is already legendary in the dork realms of geekomancy. She's done work for Dungeons and Dragons, Mage: the Ascension, House of Night... she's even working on a Fate: the Winx Saga playing card deck right now. Her art-nouveau delicacy combined with the powerful non-pandering way she draws women means that her paintings pack a punch!

That being said, it's rare that we see professional artists create a tarot deck of this magnitude as a gaming accessory. Most tarot decks of this caliber are found in professional occult catalogues or as independent projects by artists just wanting to flex their skills for their own reasons. To have a deck like this, clearly a labor of love by all involved, as a major element of gameplay within a franchise is really very special. And something this diverse, deep, and absolutely saturated with layers of ciphers and riddles... it's a geekomancer's dream come true.

Level Up: 2 Levels I think the only way anyone's going to be able to top this deck is if they manage to design a tarot deck that's also a fully immersive VR video game AND an AR game and divination tool useable with one's iPhone or Android. Legit, Echo and Lazarus left everyone in the dust. I haven't been this excited about Shadowrun since Shadowrun Returns first came out, and I got a set of dogtags that had a USB drive with the game on it.

It's just... crazy cool.

Full disclosure, I've had the deluxe edition of these cards for a while now, so I've basically been low-key squeeing about this deck since I first heard about it in 2018, even before I got it. I've been utterly astonished that people weren't more excited about them, and I wasn't hearing about them everywhere.

Before this, I created my own Shadowrun tarot method using the Universal Transparent Tarot (cuz, y'know, plastic and see-through and weird little mosaic readings all in one place, seemed fitting to me), and when I got the Sixth World Tarot? I don't think I've opened the UTT since!

Anyway, this is my review of this deck! Go follow the link up at the top of this post, and buy yourself one! And hey, let me know if you figure out the cool little map trick. My jaw literally dropped when I was shown that!

[dinosaurtsukki]

haikyuu!! music idol au (nekoma and fukurodani vers.)

i haven’t actually posted some hc’s in a while because i’ve been reading the manga but i hope you guys enjoy this surprise !! also check out the karasuno vers. and seijoh and shiratorizawa vers. for more music idol au’s 

TOKYO IDOLS ENTERTAINMENT

(this may or may not be the last of this series, maybe I’ll make one for inarizaki and date tech who knows?)

Also I hope y’all are ready for me Badly Titling Things Again

Okay so they’re both under Tokyo Idols Entertainment

Hah that wasn’t so bad was it just wait for it

Stray Cats and OWL6

This blogger’s brain cells are so fried that they’ve now resorted to puns

sO THEY’RE BOTH UNDER TOKYO IDOLS AND THEY’RE REALLY AMAZING GROUPS AND THEIR TALENT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SHITTY GROUP NAMES

anyway so it was set up by Nekomata and they’ve been pretty good at producing groups over the years but their biggest hits have been their two recent groups

both of them actually started at the same time but they work with quite different concepts and have different dynamics

but they tend to collab and interact with each other a lot which the fans love

so lets get into the groups

Stray Cats - Nekoma

their leader is Kuroo ofc and they work with a lot of bad boy/edgy concepts and their music is more on the hip-hop and R&B side

a lot of their music videos and outfits are in the black-and-white with pops of red, blue, and yellow

you think the fans would get tired of seeing them in matching suits and leather jackets but no

anyway, Kuroo’s they’re leader who’s also main rapper, dancer, and visuals

he actually started out as a vocalist but since Stray Cats was going to be more of a hip-hop group he eventually picked up rapping (although those who have Deeply Analyzed the backing vocals for some of their tracks claim that Kuroo’s vocals will save the world)

his dancing looks super fluid and natural because he also tried ballet dancing at one point

sometimes he films himself practicing and shows off by wearing stilettos and not once tripping over himself

kai and yaku were his fellow trainees and just like in the manga, kuroo and yaku did not get along and kai had to be there to make sure no one died

kuroo and yaku were quite competitive with their dancing but eventually they realized that the fans loved their dynamic during their dances and worked together for once

their choreos almost always involve someone carrying yaku on their shoulders

he’s also another main rapper and he’s really good at a variety of styles

he’s also the mom of the group and likes to check on everyone before going live

the one who trains the more inexperienced members with their choreography and while he’s very much a perfectionist, he’s also the one who reassures them when they make a mistake on a live stage

kai is actually the genius behind most of their songs because his producer skills are mad crazy he’s been invited to collab with so many other artists (including the wonderful Kiyoko-san)

kuroo and yaku have no idea what goes on in his head but it’s probably music

they always make sure that kai gets enough sleep and is eating right when he’s working on an album

his dancing is pretty solid but he’s more well-known for being a main rapper and his smooth, sultry voice during the chorus that gives everyone eargasms

next we have kenma who’s one of the few main vocalists of the group

his voice is a nice tenor and he can hit a good amount of the high notes

can harmonize like it’s nobody’s business

he and kuroo had been friends since they were practically born and while kuroo dreamed of becoming a music idol onstage, kenma was more interested in songwriting and producing music

he joined Tokyo Idols for the opportunity to be a producer but Nekomata was like ‘why not be an idol?’ and kenma was like ‘no, I’ll have to dance’

he was then persuaded by kuroo and kenma decided to do some vocal training to make up for not wanting to move around so much

so, most of the time, he’s in the back and during his turn in the chorus he’ll make a bit of an appearance

he has done a few live solo performances but he’s playing the piano in them so he doesn’t have to look at the audience so much

he loves working with kai in the studio more than anything

doesn’t have a social media account because he doesn’t want to see how the fans talk about him (they mostly say good stuff though!)

now we have taketora who’s the main rapper of the group as well

this guy is an expert beatboxer and he does a very good job of hyping up the crowd

his rap is the kind that even fires up his teammates and they always let him know that he did a good job after every performance

he actually has a good amount of tattoos on his arms and he used to cover them with long-sleeves but the fans love them arms and the tattoos even more so

#MakeTaketoraSleeveless movement on Twitter thus begins

Taketora was super flattered but okay with it

Fukunaga is another main vocalist and he has a very deep voice that blends really well with his fellow vocalists

His voice doesn’t stand out that much and he doesn’t have a lot of solos but Stray Cats’ specialty is really blending their vocals (aside from their rappers and dancers)

And you can also definitely notice a difference when Fukunaga isn’t singing a part

He’s also the kind of dancer who does a lot of cartwheel and flip-like stunts that come in during the dance breaks

Has this habit of staring blankly in the distance during group interviews and fans make memes using his face

He also likes messing with his senpai’s but they all blame lev and don’t suspect a thing with Fukunaga (well, that’s until he posts the video)

Lastly, we have lev who is the youngest among all of them and also main vocalist and visuals

He has a nice baritone voice and he does most of the singing in the chorus but tends to get a bit lost when Fukunaga and Kenma come in

A lot of his time is spent practicing how to not get lost when people are harmonizing with him, especially since that’s what Stray Cat’s known for

He actually came in a bit late, like after the group had its first debut since they felt like they needed another vocalist

Lev also has a natural talent when it comes to dancing so Nekomata added him to the group

It was a bit difficult integrating him into the group but he also added onto the overall chemistry as the baby of the group

As much as they know he makes mistakes, his senpais always congratulate Lev on how far he’s come

No one wants to admit that he gets handsomer by the day because it will add to his ego but the fans do enough of that

OWL6 - fukurodani

They only have four members (because idk a lot about all the members and I also wanted to have like a four-person group)

JUST BECAUSE THERE’S A NUMBER 6 IN THE NAME OF THE GROUP DOESN’T MEAN THAT’S HOW MANY MEMBERS THERE ARE *glares at SEVENTEEN* *also I ended up looking up how many members there are in Day6 and now I feel bad I’m sorry day6 fans*

aNYWAY

They’re a very small group since Tokyo Idol wanted to try out having a four-person group

They don’t really have a singular kind of aesthetic or style like Stray Cats does but work with a variety of them

They do a good number of lively pop songs as well as ballads for the b-side tracks

They’re also made up of four vocalists, two of which also know how to rap, and are overall pretty solid

Bokuto’s their leader (even though its mostly Akaashi who holds the group together) but he speaks a lot for the group during interviews

He’s main vocalist, main dancer, and also main visual

His stage presence is astounding especially with his natural talent for dancing and his stamina is endless

He can sing really well even busting out the hardest dance moves

Although he’s unquestionably talented, he does get hit hard by online haters and will shut himself in the dance studio to practice until everyone drags him out

He’s super endearing and sweet around his fans, he’ll remember a fan that he saw more than once and send letters in response to fanmail

Bokuto’s known for being super clumsy though and he has destroyed a mic or his clothes or someone else’s clothes more than once

Once tripped on the way when OWL6 was about to receive an award

Sarukui is another main vocalist and rapper

His voice is quite deep but it sounds really melodic and unique that anyone could tell when he’s singing

Also knows a thing or two about music production and has helped produce a few of their tracks

He’s the one assigned to saying ‘That’s our leader!’ to Bokuto when he’s feeling down

Also responsible for the ‘Bokuto and Akaashi are dating’ prank on Twitter that became a whole thing

A shitposter, basically

Konoha Akinori is once again our jack of all trades, especially since he’s rapper, dancer, vocalist, and visuals

I would say that his back hurts from carrying OWL6 but each member knows how to hold their own

His back just hurts from curling up like a shrimp when he’s asleep

He gets a lot of lines because of this and fans love it when he leads the dance breaks, that being said he’s also tired all the time

Konoha has fallen asleep in interviews more than once and Sarukui takes the pictures of him

Because of his jack of all trades nature he also has a lot of weird, random talents that he likes to showcase in variety shows

These weird talents range from being able to name all of the countries in Europe backwards to being able to make a slingshot using his feet and a rubber band

It’s always something new with him

Everyone cheers him on except for Akaashi who’s soul has left his body

And last but definitely not the least, we have the youngest in the group, Akaashi, who’s also main vocals and visual

Everyone in OWL6 agree that Akaashi is the prettiest among them  

He also has such a sweet and beautiful voice that gives everyone eargasms

Sometimes everyone has to stop dancing during practice whenever they hear Akaashi sing

He also does a lot of vocal covers that he posts online and has released a few solo albums since he’s always working on making new music

Although everyone knows that he’d also do really well as a solo artist, Akaashi knows that his members were the reason why he wanted to debut in the first place and it just wouldn’t be the same without them

Extra HC’s for Stray Cats and OWL6

Kuroo and Bokuto have been friends since their trainee years and even though they were disappointed about not debuting in the same group they agreed to collab on a lot of things

During award shows they like to have a performance together, most often a dance cover, until Akaashi and Kenma decided to help out by writing a song for the two of them to perform

The members of both groups like to sneak into each other’s dorms because the more the merrier and they share and order food

Yaku and Kai actually like staying in the OWL6 dorms more because its quieter (since Lev and Tora aren’t there) but change their mind when they see Bokuto

Eventually they divided the dorms into ‘the quiet people’ and ‘the noisy people’

Both of the groups love doing those Halloween performances and dressing up really scary with the same level of production and everything

None of those cutesy costumes, Fukunaga will straight up come in a headless man costume and Sarukui brings a fake chainsaw with him

Some of them like to do really weird costumes though like Lev dressing up as a bottle of vodka and Konoha coming in dressed as Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street

Sometimes the fans just don’t know what goes on in their heads

Kai tends to get a lot of awards for his producing skills but the first time he did Stray Cats came onstage with him and basically cried all around him while Kai tried to do his speech

They also like to mess around in the comments section when another group is doing a VLive

For example, Kuroo commented ‘send feet pics’ during one of OWL6’s lives and Bokuto retaliated by uploading the ugly selfies that Kuroo takes on his phone

They also either make up the fanchants or memorize each other’s fanchants for the songs

Yahaba, watching Stray Cats doing the fanchant for OWL6′s song: why can’t we be like that?

Iwaizumi: because we have Oikawa

Oikawa: IT’S NOT MY FAULT IT’S USHIWAKA 

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream: Crash Bandicoot

Reviewing video games is not my forte. Like, sure, I can review the Metal Gear franchise because it’s near and dear to my heart and it’s incredibly story driven to a cinematic degree, but I’m not super good at touching on game design or any of that. I stick with movies. But then there are a lot of games I love and want to talk about, such as this game, Crash Bandicoot, and it’s like, how do I talk about this? This is a platformer that is very light on plot and is more about precision platforming than anything, and I’m just not really good at talking about gameplay.

But I’ve come up with a solution! One that I plan to use going forward for a few other games, too! I’ll start with a few paragraphs with my basic overview of the game, and then I will do a ranking of my favorite levels, and then how I’d rank the bosses. I’m much better at talking why I enjoy the challenge of specific elements of games like these then I am talking about the game as a whole, so let’s see how this turns out.

Crash Bandicoot was the first video game I ever played, and so is extremely near and dear to my heart. It’s a rather simple game, a “save the girl” platforming adventure in the vein of something like Mario, where an intrepid hero travels through platforming challenges to save the love of his life from an evil mastermind, though as the main character is a furry animal with a bit of 90s ‘tude, and his archenemy is a mad scientist who utilizes cyborgs to stop you, there’s a dash of Sonic in here too. Being a simple platforming game like this, you’d think there wouldn’t be all that much to the story… but surprisingly, that’s not totally the case (although the story is still relatively simple to later entries).

Crash was meant to be the ultimate soldier in Dr. Neo Cortex’s army of evil marsupials and other assorted critters, an army he presumably was going to use for world domination. After rigorous training, Crash was set to be brainwashed and turned into a mindless slave, but something got screwed up and Crash remained a good, heroic guy. He ended up chased out a window and washed up on the beach of a nearby island, and set out to save his buxom, big booty bandicoot babe Tawna from the creepy clutches of the cantankerous Cortex, causing chaos and crushing crates as he went along. The manual included with the original version of the game actually outlined sort of a little story for the first island, showing how the levels involved Crash infiltrating a native village, defeating its leader, and then riding a hog to escape on his way to the next island. It’s kind of fun and imaginative, and the next island keeps it up, with Crash having to brave ancient ruins to make it to the volcano on the other side of the island, before finally going through Cortex’s toxic power plant, causing a reactor meltdown, and climbing Cortex’s castle to confront him as his island burns to the ground. It’s a fun, simple story that’s not too challenging on the mind while still being engaging.

Perhaps the best thing about the game is the music, which was done by Josh Mancell with the assistance of Mark Mothersbaugh’s Mutato Muzika production company. Let’s not beat around the bush here: Every single track in this game slaps. Basically every track in the original trilogy slaps, but I feel pound for pound this game just hits all the right notes with its music. It perfectly sets the tone for each level, with eerie levels like Slippery Climb getting foreboding music and unsettling yet somewhat whimsical levels like Road to Nowhere getting music that perfectly suits it. This is the biggest downgrade of the remake; they redid the score, with no option to go back to the old tracks, and while some of the updated tunes are great, they don’t really hold a candle to the original (especially the creepier levels, which got dumbed down a fair bit to the point of narm).

The one thing this game is being known for these days is its pretty brutal difficulty, at least with the original release. A lot of the staple elements of the series like checkpoints saving the boxes you had previously broken and an actual save room were not present, so every level (including the brutal ones where the margin of error was incredibly slim) needed to be completed perfectly in one go. The challenging road to 100% completion was absolutely brutal, but thankfully the remake polished things and brought it more in line with its sequels to the point you only need a flawless run on colored gem levels. It can still be pretty tough since the colored gems are located in the hardest levels of the game, but it’s a lot easier than it once was.

The original game is a great, fun game, but only play the original release if you really want to test your skills; the remake is the way to go. The game holds up amazingly well even today, so no matter which version you end up playing you’re in for a fun platforming challenge.

Anyway, let’s get on to the levels!

TOP 10 LEVELS

10. Generator Room

There’s something to be said about the various one-shot themed levels of the third island. Toxic Waste is an interesting one we’ll talk about later, The Lab is a fun penultimate level, and Cortex Power is a frustrating slog of confusing backtracking. The Generator Room, though? This is unnerving atmosphere and dark ambience at its peak, with the eerie, minimalist music and the looming Cortex faces lending a chilling sense that you’re being watched as you make your way through this dark platforming challenge. It’s not the most exciting level, but among the one-shot themes it stands out for being a heaping helping of nightmare fuel… Though moreso in the original game. The remake sadly toned things down a bit too much, though it’s hard to blame them, really.

9. Native Fortress

The level that caps off the first island is a more challenging remake of The Great Gate, and closes out the story of the first island by showing how Crash escapes the territory of Papu Papu’s tribe. It’s a pretty fun and reasonable challenge for the point in the game, but my favorite aspect of the level has always been that, when you get the red gem, you get to fly up in the clouds and experience the painted background of the other two islands with less clutter. It’s just a simple background image, sure, but I have always found it very pretty and breathtaking.

8. Road to Nowhere

Everyone’s favorite! This is one of the more challenging levels if you don’t know what you’re doing because of the tricky and precise jumps you need, but it just has so much atmosphere and pleasant music it’s hard to get mad even if I screw up and plummet to my doom a few dozen times. Bouncing off of hibernating turtles to make long jumps and inexplicable evil hogs help make this memorable. Frankly, if you want to direct your ire to a stage, direct it to The High Road, the third island’s more challenging take on this level’s theme and which is a joyless, frustrating experience.

7. Castle Machinery

This level is honestly a bit of a breather for being so late in the game; sure, it has a lot of tricky jumps and an annoying crate bridge you need to really think about to conquer, but overall it’s just an improved take on Heavy Machinery without an obtuse branching path to figure out. Still, this level really makes the list because, if you have the right colored gem, you can just immediately skip the entire level and gain thirty free lives in the process in one of the single funniest moments in the game.

6. Toxic Waste

This level is simple, straightforward, and to the point. It’s one long-ass hallway where Crash is on a narrow walkway and has to avoid incoming barrels being tossed at him by the Mafia. It has no branching paths, no crazy elements, just Crash, some barrels, some boxes, and some bad guys. It’s almost too basic, but what saves it is the atmosphere of it all and the sheer awesomeness of the music, no matter which version you’re playing. It’s a level that has stuck in my mind since I was a kid. In a way, it also set the basis for colored gem unlocks in the games to follow, as avoiding the barrels is more of a puzzle than anything, much like the tricky puzzles you had to solve to unlock the colored gems in Cortex Strikes Back and It’s About Time. It’s a neat little first step even if it’s not quite there yet.

5. Boulder Dash

I almost didn’t include one of these levels, but God, these levels were trendsetters! The whole “Crash gets chased by dangerous thing” trend began in this game, and this second take on the boulder chase from the second island is a lot more fun and challenging than the earlier version of the level. And if you get the colored gem, you’re taken to a pretty underground alternate exit with tons of crates, which is pretty dope.

4. Fumbling in the Dark

The only one of the secret levels that requires a Cortex key to make the list, Fumbling in the Dark is a remix of Lights Out, the level it branches off of. That level is a bit of a cakewalk if you have the right gem, with an alternate exit being available to you before the level’s challenge ramps up. Not so with this level! You’ve gotta do some tricky timed jumps as quick as possible so you can get to the next Aku Aku mask before the light runs out. It’s a pretty fun and fair challenge, and it pushes my platforming skills to the limit. I also just really enjoy the creepy, Gothic aesthetic of the levels inside Cortex’s castle.

3. Hog Wild

This is, hands down, the funniest level in the game. From Crash’s really suggestive eyebrow waggle which leads to him tackling a pig to the extremely goofy music, this level is just an absolute blast. It does have an equally fun yet more challenging remix as an optional secret level, Whole Hog, but I have to give props to the original level for being the most hilarious thing I ever saw when I was little.

2. Slippery Climb

Where Stormy Ascent is a brutal, unrelenting challenge, Slippery Climb is more of a tough, but fair challenge. It’s definitely up there with Sunset Vista and The High Road in terms of difficulty, and the fact you’ve gotta do a flawless run of it if you want the red gem is daunting, but this is the most thoroughly rewarding mandatory level to conquer. You’re gonna feel really cool when you take this one down, guaranteed. Maybe not as much as when you take down Stormy Ascent, but still, this may be the toughest level in the game.

1. THE GREAT HALL

WOO YEAH BABY! LOOK AT THIS CHALLENGE!

Ok, ok, here’s the real number one:

1. N. Sanity Beach

This is the first level in the game and, thus, one of the easiest. And yet I placed it above all the levels I find to be more fun and challenging. Why? Well, for one, the pure nostalgia of it all. This was my first level in a video game, and I have fond memories of traversing the beach and jungle. For the other, this is one of the most perfect tutorial levels I have ever seen. Basically everything the game has to offer is laid out to you and slowly dished out to you: you start with a couple crates and a free life, move on to experience some enemies and pits, you can get total invincibility if you’re smart, you’re introduced to branching paths and backtracking… Everything is dished out to you at a solid pace so that any new player will be able to figure out what they’re doing with relative ease. Plus, the music slaps, and interestingly enough halfway through the level changes to a different song (the only level to do this). It really does encapsulate the game as a whole in one tiny package, and for that, I think it’s my favorite level of all.

Boss Ranking

The best way to describe the bosses in the original Crash is that they are incredibly basic. Most of them have simple patterns, easy tells, and don’t take much effort to take down. There’s not really anything here that will put your skills to the test, but none of them are really bad per se; in fact, considering how hard the levels can get, it’s sort of a breath of fresh air when you get to a boss that can be taken down without thinking hard.

6. Papu Papu

Coming in last place is our first boss, the big chief of the first island himself. He’s a pretty simple and straightforward boss battle: just jump on his head a few times and he’ll be out cold. It’s pretty nice to ease in new players, but it’s seriously not much of a challenge (though none of these bosses are particularly hard, mind you).

5. Koala Kong

So far, this has been Koala Kong’s sole major outing, as he was pretty quickly replaced with the more engaging Tiny Tiger in terms of dumb muscle.Tiny at least has some semblance of combat prowess and strategy, while this guy is just tossing boulders at you to spin back while he’s flexing and posing like he wants a part in the next volume of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. He’s certainly not the sharpest tool in the shed. Still, he’s not bad or anything, just a bit of a generic battle compared to the last three or the one before him.

4. Ripper Roo

Ripper Roo is a bit of a frustrating puzzle boss, requiring just the right timing to get in any damage on the guy. Still, the fun and bouncy music coupled with the amazing stock laugh does help make him a bit more memorable than the previous two bosses. I will say he’s probably worse in terms of an actual boss battle, because he ends up being more an exercise in precision than the typical dodging and waiting for the right moment to strike, but he’s also a funny kangaroo in a straitjacket, and I think that counts for something.

3. N. Brio

The longest boss in the game, Brio comes with a massive health bar that you’ll shave off pretty quickly for his first phase if you’re careful, and whose second phase features him hulking out into an incredible monstrosity. He’s simple and straightforward, much like all the bosses to be honest, but I think the bosses on the final island all have solid presentation to make up for that. Brio just comes out at the lower end, which is honestly a running theme for him in Crash games, as his battles are rarely the best out there and few can match his debut.

2. Pinstripe

Pinstripe may not be the most challenging boss in the world, but damn is he cool. A tommy gun-toting potoroo gangster who goes full-on Scarface and starts blasting up his office when you walk in while cackling like a madman? Awesome. Defeating him is also heavily implied to be the reason Cortex’s castle eventually starts burning down, as he accidentally shoots the generator upon defeat, which is a neat little touch. If nothing else, Pinstripe is just fun, and he has killer theme music to boot.

1. Cortex

Cortex begins his reign as the big bad of the franchise with a final boss battle that, while lacking in serious challenge, has such good music and presentation that it’s hard to really care. The fight is simple and straightforward: you dodge his blasts, and hit back the ones of a certain color so they blast his health off. All of this is done from atop his dirigible, as his island burns down in the background. The bosses just don’t get any cooler than this.

[rkjibeom]

MGA5 CALLBACK PERFORMANCE Singing Let Me Love You Mashup by Kiana Lede ; ( 0:10 - 2:05 )

Honestly, if anybody ever told Seungmin he’d make it for the MGAs callback, he would’ve just laughed it off and acted like it was nothing. Of course, that was merely joking around. The fact that it became a reality was a little disconcerting. He received the notification of the next step via e-mail and he just couldn’t believe his eyes.

He had so many people to tell, but he didn’t want to jinx anything whatsoever so he kept it to himself. In this short time frame, Seungmin mentally prepared and practiced with his whole heart on the line. With the address given to them for the recording, Seungmin traveled to the location. Since Seungmin and Changbin are roommates, they decided to go together.

“Binnie… this is so crazy. I can’t believe we’re really doing this. Like actually doing the MGAs. It’s insane.” He held onto his roommate’s hand as he found their way to the studio where the recording would take place.

Immediately upon arrival, Seungmin ran into Jeongin and excitedly dragged him over to everyone else including Jisung and Chan which they sat amongst each other. “This is so nerve-wracking, Innie… I hope we do well today.” He gripped the younger’s hand and squeezed for a little bit of reassurance -- more for himself than anything.

Seungmin quietly watches as other contestants pile into the studio and find themselves a seat among the hundred of chairs available. He notices a presence next to him sit down but doesn’t make much of it. It’s not until the voice speaks up. “Man, I’m nervous, how about you?”

Seungmin doesn’t even think twice before an automatic reply leaves his mouth. “Ugh, honestly, same.” He pauses for another second before he turns his head and that’s when it hits him like a goddamn train by letting out an audible gasp. His brother with the widest shit-eating grin on his face looking at him. Staring at him. Sitting right next to him. His mouth hangs slightly open and Seungmin is just absolutely shocked that his eyes widen considerably.

“Why are you here? Does mom know you’re doing this?” He starts blinking rapidly because he’s just so confused. Why was his brother here of all places? At auditions for the MGAs? It’s shaking him a lot just to see the older.

Seungmin blinks and looks to the other side of Jooyoung and finds his cousin, Hyojin, sitting near them too. Wow, it’s like a family reunion. “H-hyojin hyung? You’re auditioning for the MGAs too?” Shaking his head, he turns back to Jooyoung.

“Hyung… since when did you even like to perform? Do you sing or something?” Seungmin’s expression of confusion and shock slowly leaves his face as it turns colder. “Why didn’t you tell me you were auditioning? Nevermind, it’s not like you tell me anything anyways.”

Seungmin bites out that last harsh statement before turning away. The awkward silence between them is almost unbearable and he feels bad so he sighs before uttering one last thing to Jooyoung. “Good luck…”

For the rest of the waiting time, Seungmin faces towards Jeongin and Jisung and smiles as much as he can in hopes they don’t ask him anything. It’s hard pretending but he can’t let his brother being here affect him and his performance.

Finally, after all the contestants are settled and nestled into their respective seats, they reveal the judges who turn out to be the 5 CEOs of the big companies out right now. Seungmin stared in awe and clapped on cue, of course. He’s not surprised to see them considering they were here last season, but it’s nice. Although, since they’re the judges for this, it makes the performances seem scarier than normal. Something about this either being his last performance on stage or the beginning really unsettled Seungmin’s stomach. Naturally, he tries to will the nervous feelings down but he can’t really help it.

After the hundred of them give their performances, the CEOs will convene together to discuss who moves on and who doesn’t. Seungmin’s afraid of not making it. He’s afraid that his friends will get to hop to the next level and he’ll be left behind. This was different from last year when he managed to score an audience pass to watch some performances for MGA4. He dreamt about standing on stage and now that it’s so close and within reach, he’ll do whatever it takes to make it.

Seungmin exhales deeply and unclenches the fists that rested on his lap. He couldn’t let this get to him. Not now of all days. He had to relax or else his downfall will come sooner than later. One by one, contestants will be called to stand on stage and perform in front of everyone. Thankfully, he’s not called first and he watches with rapt attention at each contestant’s performance. Some are really eye-catching for sure and some he was okay with. There wasn’t anybody truly bad. Not like he could judge anyways. His performance might not be the best either.

Up next is a girl that catches Seungmin’s immediate attention. She’s pretty and looks mean -- like she could step on you and you would end up apologizing for getting in her way. Da-dum, da-dum. Seungmin flushes and clears his throat to will away the brush. Goddamn, this wasn’t some dating show for goodness sake. He’s so enarmored already and watching her performance that Seungmin notices when she turns to face the other contestants. He swears she winked at him. Him of all people. Or at least in his general direction. Either way, Seungmin flushed again and tried to watch the rest of it without embarrassing himself.

A couple more people went and it finally became Seungmin’s turn. With a smile towards his friends, his feet brought him on stage before the judges or the CEOs rather. Being requested to introduce himself, Seungmin smiled politely as his eyes crinkled with mirth. Bowing towards them, he stood back up straight and beamed. 

“Hello and what’s up! I’m 18 year old Kim Seungmin from Seoul.” He points to his red hair and laughs. “Just like my red hair, I hope to show you all my firery passion on this very stage.”

He was ready to get into position until he heard some cheering and hooting from the contestant section and he knows Jooyoung’s voice more than anything and he flushed only slightly before trying to ignore it and focus on his performance.

With a nod of his head and the microphone in hand, he got into position. He quickly looked towards the direction of his friends briefly and wished they could hold his hand or something. He even glanced over at his brother, Jooyoung, and was surprised to see the older with the utmost attention on him. It made him feel shy but maybe just a tad braver. He wanted to show Jooyoung what he was capable of and what he had missed out on for the years he was gone.

Taking a deep breath again, Seungmin let the music filter in before lifting up the microphone to his lips and started singing.

I used to believe We were burnin' on the edge of somethin' beautiful Somethin' beautiful Sellin' a dream Smoke and mirrors keep us waiting on a miracle On a miracle Say, go through the darkest of days Heaven's a heartbreak away Never let me down, never let me down

It’s an English song because Seungmin feels very comfortable doing a cover like that. It’s actually a mashup of Justin Bieber’s Let Me Love you, Mario’s Let Me Love You and Ne-Yo’s Let Me Love You. Overall, it’s a slower mashup rendition of the three faster paced songs. But Seungmin likes to think that it matches quite nicely with a slower tempo. He’s not here to play any games.

Don't you give up, nah-nah-nah I won't give up, nah-nah-nah Let me love you Let me

Seungmin doesn’t move around much on stage. His performance wasn’t meant to be that flashy or showy. He wanted to showcase his vocals off more than anything.

Should let me love you Let me be the one to Give you everything you want and need The good love and protection Make me your selection Show you the way love's supposed to be

One hand on the mic and the other hand resting where his heart is and singing with his whole damn chest. Seungmin needed to bare everything out. In front of himself, his brother, his friends, the CEOs. He didn’t want to be that same shy boy who was terrified of standing on stage. He was different now. He knew he had what it took to be an MGA winner. He just had to make it.

Girl let me love you And I will love you Until you learn to love yourself Girl let me love you I know you are trouble Don't be afraid, girl let me help

Seungmin locked eyes with each and every CEO glancing at them briefly before looking elsewhere. Lifting his hand off his chest, he brought it up so he was holding the microphone with both hands.

Much as you blame yourself, you can't be blamed for the way that you feel

Surprisingly enough, Seungmin’s voice is a lot more melodic and honey-like than he originally lets on. He looks like a handsome and dandy kind of boy but doesn’t seem like he offers much. But when he sings, it’s a different side of him that people ought to know and hear. He wants to let his voice be heard as much as possible.

Girl let me love you And I will love you Until you learn to love yourself Don't you give up, nah-nah-nah I won't give up, nah-nah-nah Let me love you

The end of the song slowed down once again but he sang in such a gently sweet voice that matched with the aesthetic of the song. Maybe his voice wasn’t as good as other people’s choices. It was slower and you had to really be able to command the attention of everyone in the room. He wanted that more than anything. When he sang the last line, Seungmin slowly let down the mic from his lips and exhaled out in relief that that part was over. It all rest in the CEOs hands now.

Quickly bowing profusely at the CEOs and thanking them for listening and watching his performance, Seungmin managed his way back to his seat. He grabbed onto Jisung’s hand first and squeezed tight before making it back to his seat. He shut his eyes closed and immediately his hand found Jeongin’s to hold in the meantime. It was certainly an experience and he couldn’t help it how his hands were shaking considerably now. He’s thankful to have stayed strong during his performance but now he could maybe breathe just a little more and get the jitters out of him.

[robynthomsonnapierfilm]

Film Adaption - workbook part 2

'Everything Julie Likes'

1. Finding Our Feet (meeting with Charlie/shot list/storyboard)

After getting sorted into our groups and officialising our group members' roles (Myself as director, Charlie as writer/cinematographer, Alyssa as sound recorder/sound editor, Alexander as sound editor/sound recorder, Laura as producer/production design) for Film Adaption (I chose Charlie's film, 'Everything Julie Likes'), Charlie and I had a couple of one on one meetings and chats about the direction we wanted 'Everything Julie Likes' to take. We spent time discussing Charlie's shot ideas - to which I gave my feedback - and plans of a shotlist, characters, and the general tone Charlie had in mind when first writing the script, so that I could accurately portray what she visualised her script as the film's director. One of the main things we wanted to get across in the film is the focus on Julie. Since it's made clear through the dialogue that Dave isn't overly present in her life, we wanted this to come across through the visuals of the film too. This would be done through close ups on Julie, and then whenever Dave is on screen he is only ever seen from behind, close ups on parts of him that don't show his face clearly, etc.

Here is the shot list I roughly jotted down during our first ever meeting together, and then the official shot list that was produced after these discussions:

2. finding Our Film (casting call/location scout)

Once we had a good idea of the skeleton of the film, we all got to work on finding our actors and location. Charlie and I had spoken a bit about how we pictured the characters - Julie and Dave - and so I passed that information onto Laura, who then made a casting call for our group to make public on social media and various casting groups on Facebook. This process was rather tedious as it took a while for people to get back to us, and then when they did.... very very veryyy slow replies... typical. We took to asking around the Napier acting students (including Alexander's own brother!), but that too deemed unsuccessful. in the end, we cast two of our course mates - Jagoda and Luke - as our Julie and Dave, but we had absolutely no complaints as their performances turned out really great.

Next on our list was finding a location. At this point, the top things on our checklist of what we were looking for in a location was a window with bright natural light, and a bed. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 we were unable to scout around for the perfect flat, but my bedroom in my flat luckily fit the description well enough. I sent various videos and pictures to our film's group chat so everyone could get an idea of the space. We all agreed it would work well, and so there we had it - our location was found.

3. the news of filming in uni/script changes

Unfortunately, right as we were sorting things out for our film, the class received an email bearing the news that - due to COVID-19 rules - we were no longer allowed to film in whatever location we wanted. Instead, we were now limited to one of two Merchiston campus classrooms available for filming. This meant we had to act quickly to change the script, shot list, story board, etc. to accompany these sudden changes in our plans.

Our original plan to shoot in a bedroom with both of the actors in bed was obviously no longer appropriate for the COVID-19 guidelines, and so we worked around how this could work in a classroom. We decided to have it set at a table instead, with far more focus on Julie than in the original script. Charlie got to work with editing the script, and we all got to work on planning how we could dress an Napier classroom to look like a realistic room in a family home.

We were also no faced with the task of creating natural light, as we no longer had my bedroom window to work with and this lighting was what we'd wanted from the start. We were sent some video tutorials on how to create cucoloris from our lecturers, and this (along with the use of sheers to dim harsh light) would be our best bet for mimicking the look of natural light shining through a window.

4. set dressing/Pinterest board

During the group meetings we had to prepare for this change, we had discussions of what we wanted our set to look like. This involved talk of colour palettes, who was able to provide what furniture, and thoughts of what Julie and Dave were like as people and the type of home they may live in.

We made it clear from the start that we wanted the flat to look lived in and slightly messy, as Julie is struggling quite a bit when we meet her in Charlie's script. This meant we sourced empty bottles, food containers, and various nick-nacks to complete this look, and by bringing our own stuff from home it would look as realistic as possible. To help give us ideas for making the room look realistic (and since none of us have ever built a room from the ground up before), I made a Pinterest board of various images to give us inspiration:

However, we decided some of the images looked too 'aesthetically pleasing' and not naturally messy enough, so we only picked up on small details i.e. the string of hanging pictures, layered books.

We also spoke about our desired colour palette for the film, and came to the conclusion that a muted tone would be best. We didn't want anything that would take too much attention away from the actors, as this film is very performance based. More so, we had to think about the characters Julie and Dave, and how they would realistically decorate their home. Since Julie's story is based around the fact there isn't much colour in her life anymore, any bright or statement decor just didn't feel right for her. Therefore, we settled on a muted coral type colour for the wallpaper, and a subtler approach to decoration.

5. shopping trip/making cookies to stand in for our new lack of window

To prepare for our shoot, Alyssa, Laura and I spent a day going to B&Q and various other shops to gather everything we needed to dress out film's set. This day turned out to be super fun!

Before heading off, Laura had made a list of everything we needed to buy ahead of time so that we wouldn't forget anything (including some items we may have already had at home):

In the end, it turned out so successfully and within the day we had pretty much everything we needed. While in B&Q, I would take pictures of all the wallpapers I thought were best, and would send them back to the group chat to get a second opinion from the rest of the group before making a final decision. Of course... the one wallpaper that was completely sold out was the most perfect out of the whole batch, but luckily we found it in the B&Q on the other side of Edinburgh - there's always something...

One of the other main things on our list was cardboard to make cucoloris/'cookies' for our window lighting, which a friendly Tesco employee gave away to us for free.

That night I got to work making them. Once I got the hang of it, they were easy enough to complete, and so I made 3 different variations of a window shape for us to try out on the prep day to see which one looked most realistically like a window.

6. prep day

The majority of our prep day was spent setting up the room. This involved sticking up the many sheets of wallpaper and decorating the table. The main struggle with the wallpaper was getting it to lie flat against the wall, as there was a rim of sockets that stuck out and ran around the entire room, making the paper slightly lumpy. We tried our best to get it to stick in a way that didn't look so obviously makeshift on camera and - although it may not have looked 100% perfect - I think Laura and Alexander did a good job of sticking it to the wall despite the confinements the room gave us.

Setting up the table consisted of continually replacing and shifting various objects until we reached that perfect 'natural', 'lived in' look for Julie's home.

Here is a before and after of the room (photo credit to Charlie!):

During this set dressing, Charlie did her job as the cinematographer and set up the camera and lighting, ready for the next day of filming.

She spent some time playing around with the lighting to see what worked best, and through a mix of gels and sheers - we had our perfect morning sun glow through the cucoloris. Switch out gels, and there was our night time lighting.

7. shoot day

Throughout shoot day, we did end up running slightly behind. However I think our rigorous planning, Laura's tight schedule, and our great team meant we managed to get back on top of things. Once we got into the swing of it, we were getting through shots at a comfortable speed, and once I's gotten into the grove of directing the actors, Jagoda and Luke did an excellent job of staying consistent with their performances throughout the day.

Our most ambitious shot of the day was the dolly shot, which we had left to the very end to give us all the time we needed at the end of the day for rehearsals and multiple takes. This dolly shot was to go along with a short monologue heard on a radio we see in shot, and so in order to make the editing easier for Alexander, I would call out the lines the way I wanted them to be read in post-production, as Charlie worked the camera. This did take us a few shots as we wanted to experiment with the speed at which we pushed the camera in - along with trying out how it looked with a focus pull. Kieran recommended we do an ambitious shot like this earlier in the shoot day incase we are pushed for time at the end of the day, so I will definitely bare this in mind for future shoots incase we fail to get back on schedule like we were able to on this shoot.

Overall, the shoot went really successfully! We covered everything we needed in good time, but worked well enough that we were capable of experimenting and making subtle changes throughout the day when need be.

8. edit/sound edit/colour grade

From this point, the film was then handed over to Alexander to edit the footage. He would send each draft to our group's google drive, which we would each watch and then have a Zoom meeting to give feedback. He did a good job of taking in any notes I had and soon enough we had picture lock.

Them, it was Alyssa's turn to edit sound. Before she began, her and I had a chat about some things I wanted - for example, during the montage of Julie scratching the cards I really wanted the sound to build, layering more scratching sounds to create a truly overwhelming feeling. After her first draft of the sound edit, she showed it to me and we called to talk about any feedback I had. Much like Alexander, she was really efficient with taking on feedback and made an excellent job of the sound.

After both picture and sound were locked, Charlie took on the task of colour grading.

9. my experience

Going into this project as a first time director, I was extremely nervous. I was scared I'd let down Charlie's script or that I wouldn't communicate to the actor's well enough or just that I may not do the project justice in general. I do still have a lot to learn and while my first time won't be perfect, I am still happy with how 'Everything Julie Likes' turned out. Everyone in this group was extremely hard working, creative, and worked super well as a team - I'm proud of what we managed to achieve despite all the last minute changes we had to face :)

10. the crit

[introtoassisitvetechspringn-blog]

Written Response to HW #2

[Intro. to Assistive Tech.]

(Adaptive Design Association Trip)

I am starting with my favorite thing I did this week, as this trip made my day.

Visiting the Adaptive Design Association led me to having multiple realizations about my everyday approach to problem solving. The major one being that I don’t need expensive materials or an overly complex approach in order to improve/improve someone’s experience. 

In the IM lab at NYUAD, there is a tendency to go overboard using acrylic, and prototypes are not always done to their full capabilities out of cardboard. After our trip to the ADA, I feel significantly more comfortable working with cardboard—and that was only after one workshop! I also thoroughly enjoyed our simple switch building. The switch with the toilet paper tube was simple, yet effective. It served as a pleasant reminder that not everything needs to be complicated when trying to problem solve.

Aside from the technical skills I learned that day, I personally really enjoyed the ADA’s goals and approach. I like the idea of personally looking at what each individual needs and creating something designed especially for their needs; all with everyday or easily accessible material. 

My younger sister is in a wheelchair, and there were many instances growing up when I wanted to make things for her, but I didn’t feel I had the adequate supplies to construct what I wanted. Never had the idea of using cardboard crossed my mind, and I wouldn’t have dared try to add a switch to things in fear of shocking myself. But now, I look forward to returning home and seeing if I can use this new knowledge to build some of my previous ideas!

(Tenement Museum)

Because this is my first time in New York, this was an especially interesting experience for me. Growing up in Texas, I knew that NY was very multicultural, but I got to see it firsthand in such a unique historical perspective. It was a great opportunity and I will look for similar museums to visit.

In terms of accessibility, I can see where some issues arise.

I can see the obvious effort to make the museum wheelchair accessible, but the very structure of the building works against this. Despite this fact, I think keeping the exhibit on the same floor worked well, and all the doorways seemed ample enough for various chair sizes too. 

I do hope that in the future there are more languages available in the audio aspects of the tours, including some of the the languages mentioned in the tour. (Yiddish, Spanish, and Mandarin) 

I will say that I was extremely impressed by their accessibility section on their website. The info was easy to find, and it really covered pretty much everything. (I don’t believe I have ever seen instructions on arriving to the location that clearly state which nearby subway stations are wheelchair accessible etc.) Even their chart of accessible options at the museum seems really comprehensive, and again, I was extremely impressed.

Being on the accessible tour, I don’t think we were able to witness the full extent of their implementation of accessibility features, but overall I felt it was all very well executed.  

(Design Meets Disability: Feeling Meets Testing)

The observation of the importance of prototyping and the types of prototyping is something I think more people should learn about. Again, as I have stated above, I have seen many students that when they are creating/designing, do not think about the in-between stages.  I have seen projects fail simply because in theory it was perfectly fine, but in application, something went wrong.

I really enjoyed when they mentioned the radio playing a voice for people with dementia. It served as a good example of the designer assuming something would be ineffective (or in this case too creepy to work) but in fact was the opposite. 

I can name a specific example that I went through. Last semester, I made a project in which holding a flashlight to a light sensor would trigger an animation on a screen. When I user tested, people had no problems pulling out their phones and flashing their flashlight on the light sensor; it was clearly visible and hard to miss. But when it came time to present my project in a showcase, many of the projects around me were utilizing computer vision. This, in turn, caused many of my users to shine their lights at the screen instead of the sensor, because that was what other projects had done.

This experience, along with the reading, describes how important it is to test things out in as close to the environment as possible. It is so easy to forget the diversity of your audience and differences in environment, and approach in usage. Because as the reading said, “. . .whereas prototyping an object and assessing its fitness is relatively straightforward, prototyping an experience is more challenging.

(Design Meets Disability: Identity Meets Ability)

I want to start by saying that I liked the fact that this article brought up the idea of “universal design” and questioned what it means in this context. I agree that there are too many instances in which the scope of a design is limited, and is not thought on how to be expanded upon in order to reach a larger audience.

Reading about the various watch designs that have been implemented was new for me. Looking back on some of the watches I have owned, I have realized that some of them had small things in order to help someone—say who was visually impaired for example—look at the time: Physical, easy to feel notches on each number, with thick hands and a loud click whenever the second hand moved. 

I do also agree that there should be more consideration within the aesthetics and quality of the products. This aspect seemed similar to Aimee Mullen’s TEDX talk “My 12 pairs of Legs” which we reviewed last week. She wanted to explore and enjoy the aesthetic aspects of her prosthetics, and other users should have the same opportunities with something as simple as their watches.