#continuing to make more and more niche contentent xD

[blastedking]

So I made a replacement mod for the Wizard Sprites in Stardew Valley.

You can Download the mod on Nexusmods [[here]].

[adornesibley]

NAME GOES HERE: a Newsletter

Reading: Old Gods of Appalachia TTRPG by Monte Cook Games, Starter Villain by John Scalzi, The Secrets We Keep by Shirley Patton

Finished Reading: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Future by Naomi Alderman

Podcast: Unwell

Playing: God Hand (PS2(on PS3(Thank God Hand for PS2 Classics)))

Making: Zines and Doom Levels

Writing: Project E

Word Count: 168317

TLDR: EfanGamez needs food help badly! CHEAP TTRPG BUNDLE! Working on working titles. The, frankly, crowded writing scene and AI intruders. ADHD and unfinished proj… Wingspan is so cute and so fun~ We’re Here because We’re Here because… Mekborg and Steel Psalm want YOU!

An indie TTRPG designer needs help badly! EfanGamez has put all of their paid TTRPGs and supplements together into a tidy little bundle and is currently offering it for $25USD on their itch.io page! This sale is on for another 19 days as of the posting of this newsletter and I HIGHLY encourage anyone interested in trying out TTRPGs that are out of the norm to take advantage of this deal. Grim and Mourn are two first-person-shooter-inspired TTRPGs that I can recommend in particular.

I have been working on Project E, the working title, of which she’s had many. Just recently, I decided it was necessary to completely rewrite every bit of dialogue for the main villain, allowing him a more gradual, consistent descent into madness. It’s going well, and progress is happening. I want to touch on something in the first sentence of this paragraph. It’s FASCINATING to me how some stories get their names with minimal teeth-pulling. Hell, I’ve had stories who received their names BEFORE I wrote a word of them. But Project E has gone through so many iterations of names that I’ve sort of decided to keep this working title until I’m done and maybe even after Beta Readers have had their turn. I know the name will come when it’s meant to. Part of my problem is the book is about a very specific theme, its plot has some consistent elements, and its setting is vivid… but to wrap up enough of these separate elements together in a title is proving… troublesome.

Trying to get your work out into the world as an author (in ways where people will actually see it that is) is SO freakin difficult. The market is saturated now more than ever. We, as writers, not only have to “contend” with our fellow writers but now with AI as there is an influx of AI-generated content being submitted to journals and magazines around the world. I am glad I am not in the publishing industry right now. But, nevertheless, I have submitted to two anthologies this past month. One bigger name bi-monthly and one niche market which was INSANELY fun to write. Hopefully, something will come of them. But if not, what do you do? We, as writers, continue on. We heed the call in our hearts and minds, we sling that ink and continue forward, one lie at a time.

Speaking of which, I have so many unfinished works XD I tend to post about something I’m working on then distraction occurs and all of a sudden it has been a month and I have totally forgotten about the project I had been working on. I have no doubt picked up something new or something old and once-forgotten. ADHD brains often feel like a quagmire, hard to pull thoughts through, sometimes you lose them altogether to the deep dark, sometimes they resurface, grimy and forgotten… what was I talking about again?

Last month, my little TTRPG group didn’t meet as several folks were unavailable… so instead we got the remaining few of us together and I got to play Wingspan for the first time! What a blast~ It was certainly complicated starting off but the rules become pretty easy to grasp after about two rounds of play. After that, when you’re about one round from the end is when it becomes clear how you’re supposed to plan for the ending if you’re intent on winning. Or of course, you could just enjoy all the beautiful birds, the weird facts, and the wonderful time shared with your friends.

I am a long-term Nerdfighter. 2012 era. If you are unsure of what this means, I’ll briefly explain. John and Hank Green are two authors/ YouTubers /philanthropists/ podcasters/ educators/ nerds/ TBFighters (I could go on… these guys are PROLIFIC) and they have been vlogging since 2007 and around that vlog (originally meant to bring them closer as brothers which I think is/was/whatever a resounding success) has grown a community called Nerdfighteria, among many other things. They have recently started a “good news” newsletter called We’re Here. “A nice little email for people from Earth.” I highly recommend signing up. These humans have continued to make the world less sucky by their presence and their actions. It’s beautiful how these massively powerful, famous, and influential creators are using their network to support folks in their extended community and using their community and influence to make so much good change in the world. Please go check out We’re Here and Vlogbrothers.

Speaking of community and supporting one another, DMDave is starting a Kickstarter for two books! Mekborg, which seems to be Warhammer 40k grimdark meets Battletech, is/was/whatever designed by John K Webb who has a LOT of design credits for the magazines Broadsword and Sidequest. As well, there’s Steel Psalm, designed by Dave himself, which from the name I’d presume is the same setting, but using wargaming rules similar to Forbidden Psalm (Also big recommendation). The Kickstarter is launching April 16th and the best part? When it’s done, the digital copies will go out immediately and by June or July the books will be shipped out (depending on how long printing takes) as the books are already finished! I’ll fully admit DMDave probably doesn’t “need” help to get the project funded, but the more support there is, the more likely projects like this will be created in the future!

Support weird. Support indie.

[tuliharja]

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation episode 9 review

And after a week's break, the anime is back~. And we're continuing right where we left off.

Good thing Ichigo and the company bounced back to the action after Uryuu joined Yhwach and Jugram. It was a quick and shift moment, but I get a feeling it was mostly thanks to Chad's reassurance. Of course, Orihime too helped, but I feel like Chad got that small spotlight to be Ichigo's main support this time around which felt just nice.

It was also interesting to see shinigami picking themselves after that blast Yhwach and company left because in the manga there wasn't such a scene.

I must admit I was genuinely surprised we saw Iba and Komamura. That was just a nice addition the anime team made, along with Byakuya surrounded by the Quincies and Renji protecting Rukia from that blast. Little additions like those really add to things in the long run as those explain what happened to other characters when something was going on. Sure, it's nice to see the main gang in action and follow them, but it just gives this feeling of many characters and stories, when there are little bits like these in anime (and manga).

Lol! Renji talking smack about Bazz-B. xD Just for Bazz-B to compliment Renji. That was an adorable moment, even though Renji ended up pissing off Bazz-B with his chicken comment...like yes. It's nice chickens lay eggs and all, but I'm not sure if a guy would like such a compliment. Poor Bazz-B. His Burner Finger Four was very cool. Reminded me again just how good the animation is in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War ~.

Oh, so they really went for that scene with Yumichika revealing Giselle isn't biologically a girl, huh? It really wasn't that clever way of Yumichika wanting to make more accurate points of Giselle. (And before anyone asks, yes, in the original TV-broadcast Yumichika uses the lines he uses in the manga. [Making that scene just tacky -at least from my mind.] In the international version they've censored that line and also Giselle's one line as far as I'm aware.) But I suppose they just wanted that scene to be added, because...I'm not sure. I don't think anyone would have minded if that scene had been fully scrapped, because what would have mattered in the end if we wouldn't have been sure of Giselle's biological gender? Giselle identifies herself as a girl, so it should have been fine. But I suppose for some reason or another, they just wanted to push that little niche fact about Giselle. At least they tried their best with that scene. That's all that I'll write about it.

Now moving on~. To be honest, I was dreading this part of the anime because zombies are a big nope to me. Luckily the zombies in this didn't look as bad as those could, otherwise, I would have had to skip quite a lot of content from this episode, as it centered around quite heavily around zombies.

I'm kind of glad Yoruichi was introduced in such a neutral manner, unlike in the manga. Now the focus was on the task of 'how to get Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad to Soul King's palace?' Kisuke's explanation was interesting and I'm glad we learned what Yoruichi was up to, since up until now we hadn't seen her! Not to mention what exactly was Hiyori's, Lisa's, and Hachigen's task at the World of the Living. This all actually made me question if Kisuke (and Mayuri) did foresee Yhwach going to the Royal Palace and if they allowed such a thing to happen on purpose. Because now remember, Kyoraku all but hinted Ichibe allowed on purpose such a thing to occur...is there a secret scheme going on or what? Because that all seemed like such a big mishap, I wouldn't say all was just 'pure coincidence'.

Seeing Yumichika and Ikkaku fighting against zombie Bambietta was very nice. They really work very well together and I believe before this we hadn't really seen them fighting together. At least I can't recall such an event as usually, they would work separately I recall Ikkaku insisted on fighting alone against his own opponent and Yumichika felt shamed for his kido skills. But this time around, it seemed like they had managed to solve such issues and worked together quite well. Too bad their fight against Bambietta was a short one. But it was nice to see sunflower!Mayuri enters the stage~.

Mayuri going against Bambietta and Giselle looked visually very cool. Though when Giselle brought her Gotei Thirteen zombies, I almost snorted when Mayuri explained he wouldn't be able to go against them because of the 'goodness of his heart'. Yeah, like he hadn't previously in his life killed many of his subordinates. Not at all! ...but in all seriousness, I think he just wanted to flaunt his own zombies to Giselle. (And yes, just moments later when Mayuri told off both Ikkaku and Yumichika, proved he is still the same old Mayuri. Now with more facts under his belt that he can use against other people to do what he wants, though.) A good way to bring out already dead characters.

I must admit, zombified Toshiro wearing a Wandenreich outfit suited somehow extremely well to him. I still feel sorry for him, though. The fact he turned into a zombie and now has to go against his allies...not good at all. But we all will see more about that in next week's episode as the whole zombie thing is still far from over! (Again, I'm happy the zombies don't look like typical ones.)

[kazuza-art]

The RIDDLEDORE FIC REC

I wanted to make a rec list of my fav rare pairing on the HP fandom. I just don’t get how this pairing have so little shipper when their is so much possibilities in it but I suspect Dumbledore physical appearence when he meet Tom might have to do with it Xd I mean I am pretty sure if it has been Jude law playing younger Albus coming to take see Tom at the orphanage…. Anyway, good fics on Tom/Voldemort x Dumbledore are as rare as they are precious!

Why I love the pairing? I found Albus being the most interesting chara of HP by far and Voldemort Tom have an infinite potential in the fanfiction area. I love obsessive, twisted and power play relationship where both the character are powerful and manipulative, enemi to lover to enemi, father issue, unrequited, dubcon… this pairing hit all my kink just right and have so much potential for exploring the characters psyche… it is just too good in my opinion. Sadly i ALWAYS have to fall for rare pairing, Always. And not rare pair but still a bit popular noooo the niche pair that only five people know about and like 🥲

Four little fics but so well put together. How Tom obsessive hatred take another turn because of amorencia potion accident is very ironic yet so fitting. It is by far the most canon compliant fic on this pair I read so far. It is tragic as most fic with Tom tend to be and painfully sad. Love cannot win it all, it can’t make everything better and sometimes it can even make things worse.

Sad it is not over. I would have loved to see Grindelwald throw in the mix.

Grounded in canon too. Tom explore hate mixed with desire fantasy. Albus is a bit thrown off by it XD it is fun to see him not all knowing and self righteous and Tom to be so human, obviously working on serious oeudipian complex there XD

A guilty pleasure for me. The fic skim over many points i would have like to see developed but the main relationship is so well explored. Albus take upon himself to be a responsible adult in this one and to take young Tom as his protegé. Tom developed an obsession after witnessing great power beyond his reach and here we go for a dark obsessive and twisted love. I was particularly surprise by a kind of happy ending that was very believable. I didnt think with such a pairing it could happend. But it did and it is totally believable for me. A must read. Steamy hot scene on Albus’s study floor on top of it XD

This one is more a Tom centric but it has some interesting Albus/Tom point. I found that diabetic Tom quite interesting and they are in it both manipulative asshole, as it should be. Sad it won’t be continued at the point 🥺

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2595818/1/Rectifier

This one is one of my very favorite. It is not finished and probably wont be but it is worth is. Not shipping but their relationship as father son is totally my kind of jam too.

An unapologetic Tom riddle that didnt chose the Voldemort path and live a fulfilling life as a teacher/researcher invent alternative world travel and end up in Hp canon world. In this world he is confronted to the consequences of the choice he could have made and find himself caught in Albus/voldemort war.

This Tom is so interesting. He is still a psychopath, feels no remorse for the murder of his family but his Albus manage to be a responsible adult in his world and broadened his horizon enough for him to chose something else than cutting his own soul in pieces. It is so refreshing to see him so mature and content with himself. His relationship with both Albus are a delight and so are those with Snape and Harry. I always have a soft spot for teacher tom. Harsh but fair. This one is such a must read guys.

A classic. I just wish it was a longer fic

Another hilarious classic. Instead of beimg scared of Dumbledore baby Tom extreme positivity morph the hateful obsession on… hero worship obsession. It is so dark yet very very funny. Or how Dumbledore find himself with a slytherin fanclub he didn’t know he never wanted XD

I love this one. Nothing is better than a good old Voldi going back in the past to kill Dumbledore and falling for a bright young redhead and being a teacher at the same time XD this one is quite not canon especially with the gellert albus but it is still quite good, funny and have a really positive and believable ending. Or when Albus is way too lonely and way too much into dark lords XD

Both those fics have similar setting. Steamy hot sex. Albus dealing with his feeling for Gellert through Tom, Tom dealing with obvious daddy and authority issues, Gellert is a jerk. Everything is hot dark and painful.

One of my fav so far (who am i kidding i am obsess with it recently XD) only three chap but i pray for a loooong good one. Au Voldi go back in time to kill Albus, find him young and lovely and VERY reluctantly fall for him XD the old one are always the best. Please check it, it is hilarious and I love the way this author write Voldemort and Albus and very much all the other character. It is just too good.

Hope it this will help other fellow Albus/Voldemort shipper out there!

Guys if anyone has good rec to give me on this ship, them being a couple or being in a father mentor son relationship I’ll take it. Please no Dumbledore pedophile or bashing tho, i really hate those 😟

[birdgirlamp]

Guillermo Deep Dive

Alright, I’ve gotten back into WWDITS fandom in the wake of binging the rest of Season 4 this week, and I’ve been in adjacent fandom orbits like Good Omens and OFMD for practically as long as the shows have been out. While I haven’t been seeking out a ton of fan content directly from WWDITS, I’ve seen plenty tangentially. Often, posts that mention our beloved Silly Vampires in passing make comments like, “Oh, I can’t wait for Nandermo to become canon” or, “I know things are bad between Nandor and Guilermo right now, but I fully anticipate them becoming a couple eventually”. I know that they’re some of the main leads of the show and people are hungry for more queer content, but I’m rather surprised about how universal and positive people are about this ship, and the extent to which people believe that their relationship is a foregone conclusion. Soo, I’m just gonna give my two cents in the form of an essay of a meta post. Whoops, my hand slipped. xD Full disclosure, as I’m writing this the last episode of the season hasn’t dropped yet, so this speculation may be rendered completely irrelevant depending on how the finale plays out next week. However, I hope that it still fuels fandom discussion about critically examining the show, especially through the lens of Guillermo’s character and how he impacts the show as a whole. 

The two elements that I think would fundamentally make their relationship challenging to execute in a satisfying way are the goals of the show and Guillermo’s pseudo-character arc.

I’ll address the former first. As much as fandom, including myself of course, likes to celebrate the similarities between this show and other queer content like OFMD, Good Omens, etc., I think within that it is important to differentiate the focus of WDDITS from those shows for the purposes of this discussion. While OFMD and Good Omens are both tonally comedies, the plot revolved principally around their A couples and their themes. Both shows, with OFMD to a more obvious extent, were willing to sacrifice their usual levity for the sake of furthering themes or character arcs. The humor was a facet of the show, not it’s main purpose. 

WWDITS is different. WDDITIS isn’t just tonally a comedy, being irreverent and absurdist is it’s entire goal. While characters may superficially change, their growth isn’t the purpose of the show, it’s mostly an element designed to keep the premise of each season fresh and to spawn new conflict for characters to bounce off of. The characters are exaggerated and selfish in service of the comedy. Continuity and logic are optional easter eggs. 

Pointing this out is not meant to de-legitimize WWDITIS or suggest that it is vapid or meaningless. Tons of “pure comedy” shows can absolutely have value. Some people prefer a more relaxed, less serial show that’s fun to watch rather as opposed to all shows feeling like they need to have Shakespearean levels of tragedy and drama in order to have meaning. Additionally, a less plot focused show can perform more ridiculous stunts and satire and have more creative freedom. For example, the last season of The Amazing World of Gumball really found its niche in this ridiculous, over the top genre of comedy, but had some surprisingly biting sarcasm and political commentary under the guise of zany humor. 

So, to bring it back around to Guillermo, what does Guillermo need to be to maintain this tone? At the end of the day, Guillermo is absolutely the linchpin of the show, both in universe and on a meta level. He’s the straight man, and the most intelligent member of the group. He keeps the ragtag band of vampires together, mediating their disputes and solving their problems. He protects them from both internal and external threats, and puts up with their absurd demands and mistreatment as the show’s punching bag. It is to the show’s advantage to maintain the status quo and Guillermo’s unique position as someone invested, but often a step removed from, the conflict. It’s funny and an essential component of the show for Guillermo to parent the vampires, constantly giving them advice to be ignored and feelings to thoughtlessly trample for the sake of a joke. 

However, is that what’s right for his relationship to Nandor? Right now, for all that Nandor has made tentative, ham-fisted attempts to befriend Guillermo, there’s a huge power imbalance in their relationship. So long as Guillermo is his familiar, no matter how much progress they make or how much they bond, he won’t be Nandor’s equal, he’ll still be his servant, even if he’s treated better. That transcends comedic and becomes uncomfortable. If they’re meant to become a couple in any reciprocal way, Guillermo needs to become a vampire, and thus symbolically a full member of the household. While I personally may not be a huge Nandermo shipper, if this was the start of personal growth for them, I would accept this outcome as one of the few that could be the backbone for a healthy(ish) relationship between them. 

However, taking this route would fundamentally undermine Guillermo’s pre-established role, and thus it would be difficult to retain the dynamic that makes him so crucial to the comedic elements of the show. Guillermo becoming a vampire would essentially give Guillermo the agency he is currently denied. Right now, he can suggest smart, efficient uses of the vampires’ powers as solutions to their problems, and then subsequently be ignored as a catalyst for further shenanigans. If he were a vampire, he would have the ability to follow through with his own ideas without having to persuade or seek the approval of his supernatural housemates. He would also be able to stand up for himself and pursue his own interests, rather than repeatedly having to answer to the whims or be the victim of the other vampires’ drama of the day. While this creates conflict, it’s a different kind of conflict that the other vampires can already have with each other, and thus Guillermo’s niche as someone the vampires can boss around and mistreat without consequence also vanishes, along with its liberal comedic functions. It also makes him a much less sympathetic figure for the audience, as his underdog and bullied status endears us to an otherwise flawed character. He helps guide and orient the audience by having somewhat relatable and (sometimes) altruistic goals to protect his found family in contrast to the vampires’ non stop egotism. As soon as Guillermo is just one of the vampires, his goal accomplished and no longer pushed around, it makes him less approachable for the audience’s sympathy. 

This has been a lot of discussion about what would be best for the comedy, and what would be best for Nandor, but what would be best for Guillermo himself and his aforementioned germ of a character arc? Guillermo thinks he wants to be a vampire, but would that actually solve his problems or be the proper culmination of his character arc thus far? Each season we have a different “flavor” of Guillermo character arc. Season one he’s a door mat, slowly coming to terms with how little the vampires actually respect him. Season two he wears himself ragged grappling with his vampire hunting legacy and trying to protect the vampires without being found out. Season three is him regaining their trust, wrangling with his crush on Nandor, and then having their falling out. Season four Guillermo is more jaded and resigned to his role, but also stands up for himself more, and desperately tries to balance his familiar duties with a personal life. Again and again, Guillermo tries to balance his co-dependent relationship with these vampires and his desperation for their approval and companionship with his own needs, and crucially continues to fail. He runs himself ragged covering up for the vampires and fixing their self destructive tendencies, while only Nandor seems to slowly warm up to him and treat him with any semblance of decency. But even Nandor is often blinded by his own needs and is thoughtlessly cruel to Guillermo, most recently and obviously regarding Freddie. And Guillermo’s not a blameless little angel either. He obviously directly and indirectly kills and injures people on behalf of the vampires regularly, scandalized looks at the camera notwithstanding, and is embezzling from the night club. His relationship with the vampires is mutually unhealthy and toxic, and has been amply demonstrated in every season. 

This why I propose, radically, that the conclusion of Guillermo’s character arc that makes the most sense logically is for him to leave. As much as we love these self-centered vampires, for Guillermo they’re a supernatural cult that preyed on his loneliness and desire for community and broke him down so that he feels like his own self worth is tied to successfully saving them from themselves. He considers the vampires family, but that sentiment is rarely if ever reciprocated. They see him as an occasional walking solution to their problems, but usually an unwelcome irritant. Even if Nandor is trying to improve, it’s against his nature to be kind, and as Guillermo’s closest confidant within the house he frequently looks down on and manipulates Guillermo in order to fix his problems. Guillermo has spent this entire season desperately trying to live with one foot in both worlds. He can recognize the vampires are bad for him, but he can’t bring himself to cut ties so he tries to squeeze in his personal life in around the edges of his duties. Each failure further isolates Guillermo and dilutes his confidence, thus making him even more bitter towards, but contradictorily more dependent on, the vampires. Guillermo has always been in conflict with himself and hiding secrets from others. His Van Helsing lineage, his sexuality, his affiliation with the vampires and all their subsequent secrets, and this pressure and secrecy stems from Guillermo’s insecurity and feeling like an outcast. He uses the vampires as a crutch because they need him as much as he needs them, so he can fall back on them when he feels like he can’t maintain a functional life of his own. Choosing to become a vampire would essentially be giving up on any semblance of a normal life, and all of his close personal relationships with mortal humans. 

Now obviously, both Guilermo becoming a vampire and him leaving would be detrimental to the tone of the show, and I doubt the writers will do either. I don’t necessarily believe that’s a bad thing, as not every show needs to be Bojack Horseman and redeem their characters or call out their toxic patterns. Guilermo can retain his current dynamic, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But, the point I wanted to underline is, I don’t think that he can also have any kind of positive romantic relationship with Nandor within that context.

[emerald-amidst-gold]

OC Interview: Fane Lavellan

Thank you for the tag @dungeons-and-dragon-age! I’ve been eyeing up this meme for a while actually, so this was perfect timing! X3

This takes place Post-Trespasser, about a month or two after, in fact. Solas brought the idea forward, and of course, Fane refused. But after some coaxing, some explanation as to why, and the promise of a whole cake, Fane agreed to humor the request. 

*THERE BE BIG THINGS REGARDING FANE HERE* 

I got carried awaaaaaay! XD

Introduction

Can you introduce yourself?

“I can, but it’s a lengthy list,” He sighs, “...Those who are close to me, who see as but an elf, call me Fane. Those who wish to meet cobble, call me Lavellan or Herald. Those who are blinded by reverence call me ‘He Who Flew Above’. Denizens of the Fade refer to me as, ‘Devotion’ or ‘Tenacity’. However, my true name is..” He sighs again, “...Aterian. I rarely go by it, but the truth won’t be ignored. It never can be.”

What is your gender identity, orientation and relationship status?

“Male. Elvhen. Dragon.” He huffs through his nose, shifting his gaze off to the side, “That’s all I’ll say on that. As for orientation, I’m...emotionally driven. If you asked me to look at another and tell you what’s attractive about them I would say, ‘Nothing.’ I don’t know them, so I feel nothing for them.“ He shrugs, turning his gaze back, but brandishes a glare, “There’s only one person who defies that response, and that’s because he knows me, without and within. More than that, is none of your business.”

Where and when were you born?

He lifts a hand, massaging a temple, “The ‘where’ is simple; Elvhenan. Specifics are lost to me, however, so you’ll have to be content with that response.” He shifts his gaze downwards, slowly crossing his arms, “As to when?” He sighs heavily, “...I have no answer for that other than: I’m roughly the same age, if not older, as Solas. Does it matter, honestly? Numbers fall through the cracks after a specific threshold is crossed.” What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

He unravels a crossed arm and guides his hand downwards, tapping the pommel of a sword he has fastened to his waist, “Sword. I use either long swords, short swords, or great swords.” He raises an eyebrow as a question is forwarded, “Shields?” He sneers a bit. “I don’t use shields. They get in the way, and anyways,” He raises his hand once more, the expanse steadily beginning to glow blue and silver before a spectral coating of scales cover the entirety, “this is better than any shield. I prefer the front lines, the place I can make sure no one breaches, and the lingering memory of what I once was makes sure I can do just that.” He dispels the scales and shakes out his hand before returning it to his crossed counterpart, “It takes energy to maintain, but I’m getting better at holding it for longer.”  Lastly, are you happy?

He blinks before his entire expression softens, two toned eyes shining with primary gold as they shift downwards, “...If you had asked that of me over twelve years ago I would have spat in your face and said, ‘Happiness doesn’t exist in this world’. But now..” He trails off, casting a sidelong glance towards one of the fortress’s entryways; a familiar voice sounding, firm, but soft, as if reprimanding a child, “...I understand what happiness is, and it’s in every corner if you allow yourself to see it.” His eyes shift back, holding a far away look and voice coming forward in a murmur, “I only wish we all could be happy; together.”

Family and Friends

What’s your family like? What is your relationship with them?

His face holds a conflicted look, as if the memory is painful before speaking, “Complicated,” he says before beginning to tap a finger against his bicep, “I had a mother. She died when I was fifteen from a wasting disease, but she was the picture of serenity. Calm, guiding, measured. Hair like moonlight. Eyes like a clear autumn day. She was--” Unbranded features twist with a look of grief, eyes going dark as his voice drops, “...I’d rather not speak of her. It still hurts to. It hurts to speak of any of them,” His eyes narrow, grief stricken expression turning somewhat bitter, “...Especially those who throw all you did for them back into your face because they refused to listen when you needed them to most. Even so, I still wish for her happiness. Cullen better be treating her right,” That bitter turns outright malicious, dark eyes going darker as another question is meekly asked, “Father? I have no father. I only had a monster that haunted my childhood, tore my token of devotion apart, and then stalked me in my dreams. So, no. I have nothing to say about that concept.”

Have you ever ran away from home?

He chuckles, “Many, many times,” He throws most of his weight into one side, tilting his head back as if thinking, counting, “I can’t even remember the amount of times I fled into the forests, to be honest. All I know is that it happened weekly, maybe even daily,” He brings his head back, snowy hair moving with the action to brush the tops of his cheekbones, “Why do you look so surprised?” he asks, snorting a bit at the meek response of, ‘Why so often?’, “Because I refused to endure being treated like a beast every hour of the day merely because I believed differently, or rather, not at all.” He sighs within the next moment, “...I wasn’t any better than the Dalish, though. I lashed out, I spat in their face, dragged their heritage through the dirt, inflicted harm from the smallest of things...” He squeezes his arms, eyes narrowing into a glare, but seeming to see through everything, “...The past repeats. An infernal spiral that will never slow.” Would you consider marriage or having children?

“Marriage? Children?” He blinks, pale visage suddenly going flush before he snarls, “Why do I need to answer those questions?!” The blush deepens and he responds despite his displeased expression, muttering and biting the inside of his cheek, “...Damned keen eyed elves. They know, don’t they? I swear if Abelas fucking ran that mouth of his, I’ll--” He sighs heavily, letting his head fall limp a bit in defeat, “...Yes. To both. The latter is already taken care of, as everyone situated in the Crossroads knows, but...” Pointed ears are now a deep shade of red, “...marriage is...on hold. War time isn’t an ideal summer wedding.” His voice drops, eyes shimmering as if he was before the person his heart yearned for, “...The sky deserves a venue better than a garden of death and deceit.” Do you secretly hate one of your friends?

“There were those in the Inquisition who I didn’t exactly see eye to eye with,” he started before shaking his head, “but I didn’t hate anyone. Everyone is entitled to their own views and what they find important.” He scowls a bit, tapping his bicep once again with a finger, “...Even if they didn’t extend the same kindness to me in the beginning. ‘Do you believe in the Maker?’ ‘Do you believe you’re chosen?’ ‘You need to use the people’s faith. It gives them hope.’” He mocks before snorting harshly, “No. No, I don’t. Oh, that suddenly makes me trash? Ohhh. How terrible.” He scoffs. “Disgusting.” Which friend knows everything about you?

“Solas,” He says within a heart beat before clearing his throat, shifting his gaze away sheepishly, “He knows me without and within.” Emerald and gold blaze as the orbs go wide, the blush of roses coming back in full force, “Wait, wait, wait! I didn’t mean--! Fuck! You better wipe that shit eating grin off your face, elf, or I swear I’ll do it for you!” He growls in frustation, throwing his hands in the air, “Why did I agree to this? What fucking dragon entertains an interview!? This is worst than the courts in Arlathan used to be! And that’s saying something!”

Asked by Fans

Are you literate? Have you been to school?

”I am literate. Sometimes to a fault, in fact,” He smiles a bit, “Poetry is my niche; a lingering memory of my mother. So, I speak cryptically at times,” He snorts, amused, “Although, I guess that isn’t much of a surprise since the Elvhen language is riddled in verse rather than practical application. Still, even some of the ancients left have a hard time deciphering my words,” He shrugs, smile turning into a smirk, “They never expected a dragon to be able to talk, I guess. Well, ta-dah.”  The eeriest prediction you made that later came true?

A somber expression flits across his visage and eyes, “...That, eventually, I would hurt the one person I never wanted to.” The corner of his mouth twitches, holding both bitterness and grief; a painful duo, “...And retribution came just as swiftly, but it--” He sighs, shaking his head in defeat before muttering under his breath, “Observe and accept. Observe that what came to pass was uncontrollable, and accept that it had to happen for your path to continue, for your soul to be complete.” What is something you were embarrassingly late to realize?

His face blanks, mouth going into a hard line before a sigh exits through his nose slowly, “...That I don’t have tail.” He snarls, blank expression twisting in warning, “Laugh, elf. Do it.” He nods in the next second when no sounds of amusement come forth, expression going stoic once more, “That’s what I thought. You try living centuries in one form and then transitioning. See what happens.” Do you have mental health or physical issues?

He nods, sighing tiredly. “Like my names, I have a lot.” A hand motions to his body lazily, “My entire body is littered in scars, inflicted through crude experiments by an abomination that sought power like so many others,” He expression sours, jaw working back a forth, “They’ve calmed over the years, but the memories are not so kind.” He sighs, trying to calm himself and lifts his left hand; the Anchor glowing faintly and his eyes watch it, “I have an illness, or rather, sensitivity to any Fade born essence. That, too, has calmed and I’m grateful for that. As for my mind..” He trails off, grimacing a bit as if suddenly in pain, “...Visualize the Void, and there’s your answer. Black walls with crimson torches, seats empty, but somehow wanting for memories to take their seats. However, those occupants never come, burnt to ash by fury’s flame. That’s my mind in a nutshell.” What is your current main goal?

He raises his eyebrows, pursing his lips, “Mm, as of right now, I’m busy helping Solas unlock the eluvians that he couldn’t while I was away,” He flexes his marked hand, watching it with a look of determination in his eyes, “That’ll take time, but after, my people, my kin will have their skies back. I won’t let this power be squandered, and I won’t let the key that I’ve been entrusted with fall into the wrong hands.” His face hardens further, “For if that key rusts, the locks break and the sky will blacken as surely as the earth will redden.”

Choices

Drink or food?

“Drinks.” He says with ease, shrugging, “Food is comforting, especially sweets, but a glass of rum or ale, or a cup of chamomile tea really pounds the word ‘relaxation’ into my head.” Cats or dogs?

He smiles, warmth caressing its edges, “You’ve seen Nislean wandering about the halls, laying on the window sills and curling up in front of the fire,” He hums suddenly, crossing his arms again, “Which reminds me, I need to go out of the Crossroads for milk. I’ll be getting more than five bottles this time.” Optimist or pessimist?

“Depends on who you ask,” He shrugs, seeming unbothered, “I’m neither from a personal standpoint. I try to see the bright spots, but shadows can be very persistent.”   Sassy or sarcastic?

He snorts, “Ask Fen’harel,” his voice is light upon the title, playfully mocking in its deepness, “He knows all about that side. Although, he would label it, ‘insufferable’. I would call myself dryly sarcastic, though.”

Have You Ever

Been caught sneaking out?

He purses his lips, “Hmm. Not that I can recall,” he says slowly before his brows jumped and his eyes lit up with memory, “Oh! Wait. There was that one time where I was with Solas and Mythal in a...courtyard, I think?” He shrugs before shrugging, “Doesn’t matter. But, I tried to slip away, tail and all, and I...may have shattered one or two or three eluvians trying to get to the balcony.” He somewhat wistfully, smirking, “Elgar’nan got fucking stuck in a far off settlement for a week, though. Completely worth getting my horn chewed off by a wolf.” Broken a bone?

“Surprisingly, no.” He huffs in amusement, “Wonder of wonders, truthfully.” Received flowers?

“I have,” He scowls, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disgust, “but I always throw them into the fire. Most are from suitors, those who don’t know what the fuck ‘taken’ means.” Ghosted someone?

His face tightens, completely deadpan, “...No?”, he says, voice raising in question a bit, “At least I don’t believe so. But, then again...oh.” He blanks further, “...Oh. I understand the term now. You mortals are forever twisting the languages, aren’t you? I can’t keep up, but the answer is still no.” Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn’t get?

“Maybe once or twice, but I don’t ‘laugh’ per say.” He huffs through his nose deliberately, “I do that; a puff of air. Some habits are never truly able to be broken. No matter the form.”

Tagging: @oxygenforthewicked @blueheaded @little-lightning-lavellan @noire-pandora @the-dreadful-canine and anyone else that’d like to play! (no pressure, of course!)

[novantinuum]

4 or 24?

Fic ask game!

Thank you for sending some in! :D

__

4: Tell me about one of your abandoned WIPs. Why did you abandon it?

I abandoned a Stevonnie-meets-Spinel AU called Hollowed Moon a good two years ago. I started this on a complete whim after the movie, just to play in the space, and then it got SUPER, intimidatingly popular out of nowhere. After a while, continuing to write it began to feel like more of an obligation than a fun hobby, so I dropped it to focus on other stories.

Additionally... there were some really... erm, opinionated people who left comments on that fic, and I was tired of dealing with that particular crowd. I don't really make content about Spinel anymore for that reason. I enjoy the character, but... alas this a character who seems to garner much discourse.

24: Which fic of yours do you wish people would ask about more? Why?

Hmmm... Honestly, any of them. Fic writers definitely don't attract the same kind of attention that comic writers/artists do in this fandom, which... is understandable, given visual media is more easily consumed, but we fic writers appreciate receiving asks about our work just as much as anyone else.

Some of my favorite bits of writing that I feel don't get asked about much are:

No Escaping the Weather

Fight the Future

Intake

Oceans

Hah, to be entirely honest, though- the reason they probably don't get asked about much is that almost all of them are very niche pieces on the very specific topic of Steven and mental unwellness/mental health recovery. I am nothing if not predictable. XD

[rubyjcat]

[Behind-the-Scenes] HELIOS Rising Heroes: Animation Showcase

“HELIOS Rising Heroes: Animation Showcase” is an English voice fan project I worked on all by myself (barring voice actors) that took five months to make.

The original plan was to make just one video, but it ended up being eighteen of them!

Link to YouTube playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0UbdFyWSx0n_ewcd-t0iAB0adGe5lghH

In this write-up, I’ll be discussing details about the response to the project, recording all the footage, video editing, voice acting + audio processing, script translations + rewriting, which fonts were used, and even the emulator used. I’ve organized it into sections to make it easier to find certain things. Also, this is directed to English-speaking readers since I’m not gonna bother translating the entire thing to Japanese.

THE DREAM

I wanted to make this fandub ever since the game was released (in Aug 2020). I just knew that English voices would be extremely fitting to the world of HELIOS with a setting inspired by America and characters, places, and terms mostly in English. I was disappointed to hear that the studio behind the game, Cacalia Studio of Happy Elements K.K., had no interest to localize their games outside of Asia, which meant the chances of an English dub, let alone a global release were close to zero.

I was able to understand how to play the game thanks to the fan translators, some of which came from other Cacalia Studio games, and got inspired to continue learning Japanese (there was a previous attempt to translate Japanese lyrics years back).

What I thought was just the silly dream of one overseas player’s became something much more!

THE TIMELINE (BRIEF OVERVIEW)

I played the game for about two months prior to working on the project. Before starting the project, I had to sort out graphical and technical issues on my end first as I was unable to play the game smoothly until November.

November 2020

Finding all the in-game battle lines

Writing transliterations (romaji) of lines by ear

Learning and translating lines to Japanese

Started recording footage

December 2020

Further translation revisions

Held a casting call

Script rewriting and finalizing

January 2021

Completed casting

Started video editing (learning process)

Started audio processing

Recorded more footage

February 2021

Recorded more footage

Japanese script revisions

Finished working with VAs

Finished audio processing

Continued video editing

Published Preview video

March 2021

Recorded the last of the footage

Japanese subtitle revisions

Finished Showcase video

Finished Individual battle clips

Gave recommendations to VAs

The exact start and end dates were Nov 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2021. Pretty neat.

RESPONSE TO THE PROJECT

I was absolutely shocked with the response to the preview video, which at the time of writing has just hit 10K views and almost 600 likes on Twitter and YouTube combined. Not bad for an unpaid hobby fandub (a joke only I find funny...) of an otherwise “niche” Japanese-only mobile game.

As of Apr 4th, 2021 - Thank you so much. This is more than I could’ve asked for.

The preview video blew up way more than anticipated, setting up for a bit of disappointment when the Showcase video was released.

The amount of views I expected for this project within its prime were a couple hundred views, so I’m content that the Showcase video reached that amount (it had ~500 by the end of March).

The expectations for the battle clips were an average of 100 views and a handful of likes - and each one got roughly that amount (or more) - so I’m also content with that, especially for something that’s just “bonus material”.

I tried my best to promote this project on Twitter with three main tweets. My one regret with promoting the project was making the second tweet after publishing the Showcase because the Japanese I wrote there was pretty terrible (as I was all worn out from editing and was in a haste to tweet about it). I tried to make up for it in a follow-up reply the next day, but it was too late. I was satisfied with how my third and final tweet and thread of battle clips turned out, but it sadly didn’t garner much attention. A reason for this was probably due to bad timing. I knew that the timing of the last tweet was awful as HeliosR did something special for April Fools’ day, plus the Easter event was being hyped around the same time, but I really wanted to finish up the project within March (my timezone, at least. It was already April 1st in Japan).

It was important to also make the videos accessible to the Japanese audience as they were a large portion of the viewers. This proved to be a challenge as my knowledge of Japanese is limited - at least for me, it’s easier to translate grammar-correct Japanese than it is to write my own sentences.

I ultimately decided against posting any of the videos on NicoNico because I wasn’t sure about Japan’s laws regarding copyrighted material. I knew it was already risky enough posting on social media and didn’t want to take any additional risks.

ABOUT THE FOOTAGE (1) – HEROES & ATTACK ORDER

HeliosR uses a gacha system, so to be able to even make something like this, you’d first need access to all 16 ★4 OG Heroes in the game.

I had them spread across five different accounts, four of which were reroll accounts. Asakou from the Cacalia RPG server gave me two of those accounts, and I rerolled myself for Keith and Ren during their Birthday Orders (one free 10-pull per account). Every account is also given a free ★4 selector ticket which I made good use of.

3,000 rubies (in-game currency) were sacrificed to pity the ★4 OG Dino when he was released in December just for the sake of the fandub!

Besides covering all of the Heroes, I also needed to play through each account to unlock certain story chapters, event stages, and evolve the Heroes for their shiny evolved CG art. Some of the Expert event stages (that had the Nighttime backgrounds) proved difficult to clear with a new account.

When using skills, the order of the Heroes were edited such that everyone was able to have the majority of their lines used at least once. All Heroes had two “receiving support” lines, two or three “supporting” lines, and two or three “skills against the enemy” lines. Some of the extra lines didn’t make it into the Showcase, so they were used for the individual clips instead.

I should’ve used Gray instead of Marion for the account that had Billy because you can see Marion’s sprite in Billy’s image. xD

In the Showcase, you may notice that the "Union Attacks" consist of all the ★4 CG images. These were spliced together; I never had all four Heroes of the same sector on the same account. For example, I would have Gray, Asch, and Jay on one account and Billy on another account, recorded their ★4 Bursts separately using the same background (from unlocking the Expert stages on both accounts), and then edited all the footage together.

Jay’s Burst was later re-recorded with a different attacking order so that he wouldn’t link to Billy.

It was also important to keep the same order of Bursts as well as use all four Bursts in the same turn. The ★4 Burst order was usually determined by who didn’t link skill with one another (with the exception of East sector as I was still figuring things out) because I didn’t want the link skill activation getting in the way of the animations.

As a little bonus, I also showed off the exclusive damaging skills of the Chapter 6 and 7 ★4 frames that I was lucky enough to pull from the gacha: Marion’s "Invitation To The Dance“ (roses), Faith’s “Synthetic Vibes” (beats), and Dino’s “Crow Mark Dead End” (claw marks).

ABOUT THE FOOTAGE (2) - BACKGROUNDS

Since I didn’t want to use the same battle music and backgrounds for all of the videos, I decided to use some of the themes from the limited-time events which went as far back as Nov 2020.

Each background has three variants (Daytime, Afternoon, Nighttime) and so I carefully picked them based on the colours. I ended up using mostly Expert stages - or Nighttime backgrounds, since Daytime versions were only used for Normal difficulty stages (which are too easy to clear).

The backgrounds used for the Showcase, all from limited-time events.

I decided to mix up some of the Heroes from other sectors in the individual clips for fun, basing it off of their relationships with each other. Using South sector’s background for Gast’s clip was a purposeful choice because I already used the North sector’s background for the other three North sector Heroes. I made sure to include Akira and Will of the South sector in Gast’s clip so it didn’t feel too random!

The only default background I didn’t use was Chapter 2’s because I already made use of the Casino theme for OG West sector’s individual clips. (...Plus I didn’t really like that background :p)

Here’s a list of all the backgrounds I used:

Escape the Prison (Nov 2020) - used for Showcase [EAST]

Mission of CASINO (Nov 2020) - used for Junior, Faith, & Keith clips

HAPPY NEW YEAR SHOW! (Jan 2021) - used for Showcase [SOUTH]

Help! Cooking Hero! (Jan 2021) - used for Will and Oscar clips

A Sweet Spell Garnished With Chocolate (Feb 2021) - used for Showcase [WEST]

Grandiose Chinoiserie (Mar 2021) - used for Showcase [NORTH]

The Hero Is A Detective!? (Mar 2021) - used for Billy and Jay clips

Default backgrounds: Chapters 1, 3, 4 (shared with 7), 5 (shared with 6) - used for all other clips

The Christmas event was the only event that went unused during the Nov 2020 - Mar 2021 period.

I didn’t record the East sector event (Christmas) in Dec 2020 because I was actually too busy with the casting call! I also didn’t think I would make use of it after already recording the Prison event intended for East sector. The project ended up taking so long that it actually benefited from having a wider selection of events over the months, which also showcased the beauty of the game.

ABOUT THE WORK & VIDEO EDITING

Hardware:

A decent computer.

A pair of no-name earbuds I found while cleaning out some junk.

Software:

All FREE!

*There’s a catch

NoxPlayer* emulator (debloated, read more about in its own section) and Open Broadcast Studio were used to record game footage and sounds.

Davinci Resolve was the main tool I used to edit the videos. A very demanding program that I only recommend using if you have a mid to high end computer.

MediBang was used to edit some of the art like the logos, but I ended up using Resolve for the majority of the graphics, including the thumbnails.

Audacity and Cakewalk were used to edit audio.

Many aspects for this project took longer than I had hoped because there was a learning process with using Resolve for the first time. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist, re-exporting videos tons of times just to fix small mistakes. Lastly, the time it took to make all the fancy effects was longer than I’d estimated. As the project dragged on, there was pressure to not delay the release of the videos any longer than I had to. A lot of this was self-imposed though.

There were days where I just did something else other than work on the project, which helped re-fuel my motivation when I decided to pick it up again.

Pretty much everything in the videos were taken from the game itself. The only graphics that were taken from the official website instead were the Substance symbols (the pictures with HERO at the bottom).

Additional overlay graphics were custom-made. It took two whole days to make the 3-second long sector intros and another two days to create and animate the arrow graphics for the credits. These were made using Resolve’s fusion and colour features. Much of the edit was inspired by the official HeliosR designs.

Left: Official in-game graphics // Right: My fanmade video (sector intros)

Sector intros were inspired by the four Heroes version of Union Attacks in-game.

Left: Official HeliosR video // Right: My fanmade video

The Preview video took after the ★4 Burst mini-previews as part of HeliosR’s promotional campaign, uploaded before the game was released.

Left: Official HeliosR video // Right: My fanmade video

The credits at the end of the Showcase were inspired by a different video, this time being the Half-Anniversary video.

The Showcase - which had a duration of 29:07 - was 11.5GB large in size. It took almost three hours to render (which I re-rendered to fix things) and two DAYS to upload to YouTube because I experienced multiple uploading interruptions. It’s a good thing you can re-upload the same video to continue where you left off without having to restart the entire process.

The individual hero clips didn’t take as long to make (but they took a while anyway as I re-uploaded some of them to fix minor mistakes). The recommendations for the VAs that were given alongside the publishing of each clip also spanned over another five days as I wanted to personalize and think about each one carefully.

A pretty frustrating part of the project was the prevalent lag when recording footage, which may have been due to the emulator and/or some technical things on my end. The Prison event used for the Showcase was the very first one I recorded when I wasn’t as aware about the lag, and so it suffered a bit as a result. The Union Attacks were the worst offender. I re-recorded the same battle scenes several times each just in case, then went through the footage frame-by-frame in Resolve and chose the ones with the least amount of lag. If all of the recorded footage suffered lag at different parts, I would even compare and splice together parts of them that didn’t lag. There was also audio lag (a known issue of NoxPlayer) so I had to move all of the audio forward by 1/3 of a second.

By the end of the project I had over 200 videos of game footage with a total size of over 24GB and a total duration exceeding 9 hours, not even counting all the ones that went unused.

The Heroes weren’t the only ones who evolved. MS Paint not recommended for thumbnails.

Overall, (despite the few mistakes here and there that nobody other than me would notice) I was happy with how everything turned out, down to the gorgeous thumbnails! I am an artist, after all~ :^)

I also have much more respect for video editors. They should be called VIDEO ANIMATORS!

ABOUT THE VOICES & AUDIO PROCESSING

When making a dub, it doesn’t mean we want to replace or best the original language, we just want to give it a new interpretation. In fact, the characters’ voice descriptions and direction provided in the scripts were heavily inspired by the seiyuu (Japanese VAs) and how they performed their lines.

Honestly, this was THE dream cast!! Some of the VAs had comparably similar voices to the Japanese ones which was an amazing coincidence. The ones that may not have sounded as similar had unique interpretations that I felt still suited their characters well. I also chose actors based on their performance, and everyone delivered!

Voice actors were not expected to imitate the Japanese voices and lines. They were provided direction and reference videos to help time their lines, but were otherwise given liberty when it came to their own interpretations.

You shouldn’t hear any jarring differences between the voice actors’ microphones and setups. That’s because I took the time to process the audio. Faith’s audio was submitted to me post-processed so it was used as a guideline for what the audio quality should sound like. Some of the others had comparable quality to Faith’s, so I only added compression to balance their volumes. Most of them benefited from equalization of various levels - this took some experimenting back and forth with the frequency spectrum. Lastly, a couple more benefited from clip fixing, noise gate, de-essing and/or click removal. It was very important for VAs to have at least decent room treatment; while small differences between mic frequencies can always be altered, echoes are difficult if not impossible to remove completely.

I feel that audio engineering is highly underrated and more important than ever as voice actors continue to record from home studios.

And in case it wasn’t already clear, this was purely voluntary work. No VAs or myself were paid to contribute anything for the project. Though, the experience alone was worth more than any amount of money.

ABOUT THE SCRIPT & TRANSLATIONS

HELIOS Rising Heroes「エリオスR」English Translation - Battle Lines

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ImWrAfvS_hgp6qr5qt30vCP63uHEk2o79uqY0h-3wL4/edit?usp=sharing

This spreadsheet consists of the literal translations for all the battle lines I could find in the game (it still isn’t done -yet-, plan to finish it when I get the chance). These are only fanmade and are not guaranteed to be accurate, especially as I wasn’t able to find another translator to help or proofread it.

After translating the lines, I made many additional revisions from the literal meanings such as changing the intention of the line slightly to flow better, having extra words added in to provide more context, or changing them completely. Thus, the lines used in the video are NOT literal TLs!

Another thing of note that may not seem apparent, but is what I feel an important aspect of character writing, is to remain completely unbiased towards all the characters. Personal favourites aside, I ensured that every Hero had their own spotlight as well as lines written in a way that remained faithful to their personality, no matter how unlikeable they were (looking at you, Asch Albright).

Even after giving voice actors their scripts, I made another revision in February after the release of the aforementioned Half-Anniversary video with the transcriptions for the ★4 Bursts, which is when I discovered a couple of mistakes with my transcriptions. This resulted in me having to edit out a part of one of the voice actors’ lines (Billy’s “String Show” line in his ★4 Burst) because of a translation mistake! I’m really glad I was able to double-check the correct lines before releasing the Preview video, or it would’ve looked pretty silly to Japanese viewers.

The last set of revisions were just minor edits to the subtitles (such as using kanji instead of kana) while I was working on subtitling all the videos.

Notable changes included:

WILL SPROUT

During attacking combo

Original line:

tanonda zo... ike! / “Counting on you... Reach!”

Rewritten line:

“I’ll become stronger... For everyone!”

The rewritten line is a condensed version of one of Will’s ★4 Evolved CG lines (“For everyone... I’ll become more and more stronger!”). He had “Reach!” in both his attacking combo and regular Burst, so I gave him an extra unique line.

★4 Burst

Original line:

warui kedo... kore de oshimai da! / “Sorry, but... it ends with this!”

Rewritten line:

“I’m sorry, but... it’s over for you! HAAAH!”

There were a couple of oversights I made with the script, and this was one of them that didn’t fit the animation properly. Props to Ryan for coming up with the extra shout at the end! So yeah, we kinda winged this line.

OSCAR BALE

When using skills against the enemy, during attacking combo, and in the ★4 Burst (repeat line)

Original line:

osoi! / “Slow!”

Rewritten lines:

“Too slow!” / “You’re slow!” / “Over here!”

Rewritten simply because I wanted to minimize repeated lines and change things up.

GAST ADLER

When supporting an ally, and during attacking combo

Original lines:

tetsudau ze / “I’ll help (you).”

itchouagari / “All done.”

Rewritten lines:

“I’ve got your six.”

“Target eliminated.”

I wanted to add in a few military terms to reflect Gast’s background.

FAITH BEAMS

★4 CG line (for the credits)

Original line (literal TL):

“It’s not terrible or evil, right? Surely this isn’t punishing... I guess?”

Rewritten line (with “mistake”):

“I’m not doing anything horrible or evil, alright? This is just business as usual... I suppose?”

Faith’s CG line had a mistake when I first translated and handed it off to his actor. I accidentally wrote “oshigoto” (work/business) instead of “oshioki” (punishment). The original has him pretty much saying the same thing twice anyway, so I would say the intention was still retained.

KEITH MAX

When supporting an ally

Original line:

gambare yo~ / “Do your best~.” or “Hang in there~.”

Rewritten line:

“Stay alive, would ya~?”

I know Keith’s meant to say “serious” things in a sarcastic or snarky way, but I just had to add in this fun line!

DINO ALBANI

Using skills against the enemy

Original lines:

haa! / “Haah!”

hei! / “Hey!”

Rewritten lines:

“I can do this!”

“Leave it to me!”

The Japanese lines for Dino’s offensive skills were rather basic, with the third and unchanged line “Here goes!” being a repeat line Dino also says when attacking. I wanted to give him some more lines - as standard as they are - to show his personality a bit more, along with having an additional fun West sector interaction. The changes fit the animations better too. (I actually had his VA say the "Haah!" line, but ended up using a different take of “Here goes!” in place of it.)

ABOUT THE FONTS

Fonts were taken from various sources and were either FREE for personal use or had an open font license. I didn’t have access to the commercial fonts (such as Futura) used in-game, so these were the following fonts I made use of:

Techna Sans looked similar enough to Futura when capitalized, and still looked decent in lowercase.

Jost* is a font that was derived from Futura. Some of its uppercase letters are sharper than Futura's, but it worked pretty well for the text in the credits.

Gau Font Over Drive was used for the ANIMATION SHOWCASE text.

Gen Jyuu Gothic LP was used for the majority of the Japanese text and its English letters were also used for the battle clip subtitles on Twitter.

Meiryo UI (default font) was used for the Preview videos’ subtitles.

Noto Serif JP (default Google font) was used for the serif Japanese text in the credits.

ABOUT NOXPLAYER ANDROID EMULATOR

ETA: AS OF VERSION 1.1.18 (04/23/21), EMULATORS NO LONGER WORK WITH HELIOSR (AS WELL AS OTHER CACALIA STUDIO GAMES). THE BELOW INFORMATION IS OUTDATED.

If, for whatever reason you’re interested in using NoxPlayer, you should take caution when installing it onto your machine. I don’t advocate for or recommend installing Nox. I had to resort to emulation so that I could record the footage and sounds directly from my computer using OBS. The reason why I used Nox specifically is because Cacalia Studio doesn’t like emulators, blocking most of them from running their games. I found further instructions on how to run the game in Nox from the Cacalia RPG Discord (via Twitter @HeliosR_en).

First, not all Nox versions are safe. It should only be installed from the official website, Bignox. More recent versions (I believe from 6.3.0.6 and up) may contain malware such as Segurazo and Chromium packaged with the installer which can be annoying to remove. The version of Nox I used was 6.3.0.0 (you can install older versions, then just don’t update it), which has Android 7 and doesn’t contain packaged malware (AFAIK).

Second, NoxPlayer may be “free” to use, but it comes with bloatware and profits off of its users’ data by collecting and sending it to many different servers. The below guide is what I used to debloat Nox and minimize communication to these servers. Scroll down the comments for additional domains to add to the hosts file.

Debloating & Optimizing Nox:

https://gist.github.com/Log1x/12d330ef7685d6fbc611d1d57efb5c29

This is another good guide that makes use of command prompt to remove additional bloatware from the emulator.

How to Remove Bloatware on Nox and LDPlayer Emulator:

https://codefaq.org/emulator/how-to-remove-bloatware-on-nox-and-ldplayer-emulator/

ENDING NOTES (TL;DR)

Images of the first and last video for the HeliosR project. We’ve come full circle!

One very tired and average person decided to translate, script, cast, direct, and edit an ambitious project all by herself using only FREE tools, and ended up taking too long to finish it. But at least she finished it, right?

Translators = RESPECT

Voice actors = RESPECT

Video editors = RESPECT

Audio engineers = R E S P E C T (their work is especially behind-the-scenes)

Hell, I even like Asch now.

During my time working on this, there was one question I always had in mind: “What would the fans want?”

I hope this follow-up has given you a bit of insight into the makings of the HeliosR project. Thank you for reading!

~RubyJCat

[putschki1969]

I hope everything is fine with you. I would like to know something about Kalafina's artistic performance, if you can. How was the music scene in Japan during the period in which they were active (2008/2019) and the receptivity of their music? Was the group very successful, selling a lot of records? Were the girls part of a Top5 or Top10 of the best japanese singers/bands? Were they successful outside Japan? (to be continued...)

(continuation)  And how were the criticisms in general about Kalafina's music with each album released? Sorry if the content is extensive, but as a great fan of Kalafina, I think it’s interesting to know how they were as artists in the music market, especially here, where there is no such information. If you can add anything else, I appreciate it very much. Thanks from your fan. 

I am so sorry, I have no excuses. I have been procrastinating for a very long time because I wasn’t sure I could do justice to your question. As a matter of fact, I still don’t know but I thought I would give it a try. Don’t want to make you wait any longer.

Please note that I am by no means an expert when it comes to the Japanese music market. Kalafina are literally the only Japanese group I have ever followed so I am having a hard time comparing their success to the success of other artists.

Overall I would say that Kalafina were moderately successful (but definitely underrated) during their 10 years of being active. Like so many Japanese artists, they gained popularity through their anime-tie-ins and were mostly defined by that. Many of the animes they have sung for have been extremely successful both in Japan as well as overseas so otakus around the globe have an idea of who Kalafina are and their work is generally well-received I would say. Kalafina’s continuous participation at various big anime conventions/anime events in Japan and other countries throughout their entire career is proof of that. (Although it still shocks me that many otakus apparently used Kalafina’s acts at anime events for bathroom breaks ¬_¬ Blasphemy!!)

Unfortunately due to their “niche” image/vocals they were forever stuck singing ending themes (which are typically not as popular among the masses as opening themes) so they were never able to reach a super high level of popularity. It is no coincidence that the three OP they have done in their career (Hikari no Senritsu, to the beginning, heavenly blue) are among their most popular and most frequently performed songs. They were sung at almost every live and event to please the crowd.

Let’s take a look at Kalafina’s Oricon Chart Ranking, shall we? They have never reached #1 of the Oricon Charts with a single or an album. Their highest single ranking was #4 with “Kimi no Gin no Niwa”, their highest album ranking was #3 with THE BEST “Blue”. On a side note, the BEST albums as well as “heavenly blue” were arguably a turning point for them since those came with a notable surge in popularity. Things really changed for them starting in mid 2014, their fanbase grew considerably, so much more PR, their first Budokan live being announced, bigger tours, more elaborate stage productions, more generic anime-tie-ins, etc..

Anyways, let’s get back to the rankings. A majority of their singles (14 to be precise) did at least reach the Top10 and all of their studio albums hit the Top10 as well (with “far on the water” being the most popular among them). However, unlike other artists of the anisong genre, they never managed to stay in the charts for a very long time. Sony also never really bothered to make Kalafina’s music easily accessible to international audiences which was probably not very beneficial either.

Kalafina’s numbers pale in comparison to let’s say, LiSA’s. They were active at roughly the same time, are more or less the same age and have done songs for similar projects so it’s not like we are comparing apples with pears. Lots of similarities can be found in their career paths and yet, LiSA has been far more successful, both in Japan as well as worldwide. This could have many reasons of course but it’s certainly not for lack of trying on Kalafina’s part. They have worked very hard throughout the years. We also know that Kalafina have amazing talent and an outstanding discography so that can’t be the reason either. I think it’s mainly due to the fact LiSA has done more popular OPs and has a more generic sound/voice that appeals to a wider audience. But that’s just an assumption...

That’s really all I can say about this topic. Feel free to click yourself through Oricon rankings of other artists to get a feel for their popularity as far as sales are concerned. I have never really cared much about other people’s opinions so I am not really sure how fans thought of Kalafina throughout the years. But based on the brief glimpses I got of old CPM threads I guess there have always been fans who talked trash about Kalafina and then there have always been those who worshipped the ground they walked on. And a bunch of casual fans thrown into the mix for good measure. Once again, I can only recommend to check out those threads for yourself in order to get a general idea of how the individual releases were received.

Everyone, feel free to elaborate, this is not the end-all-be-all summary of Kalafina’s career XD

[uiux-design]

15+ Figma Plugins to Help You Design Better

Figma, the second most-used tool for designing user interfaces (and the first most-used tool when counting only Windows OS), has really taken the digital design industry by storm lately, with even Adobe XD shipping their own version of Figma’s multiplayer feature (naming it “coediting”).

However, the hot topic at Figma right now is the release of plugins — extensions that Figma users can install on Figma to allow for extra functionality or to improve their design workflow.

Let’s take a look at some of the best Figma plugins so far.

1. Arrow Auto (create user flows)

Arrow Auto adds flowchart functionality to Figma, which is useful for creating user flow maps. Select any two objects on the canvas and Arrow Auto will enable you to draw a connector between them. You can also hide and show the flows on demand.

Autoflow is a decent (and maybe nicer looking) alternative, but Arrow Auto has more features, including the ability to switch connector directions and also move connected objects around while keeping connectors intact.

2. Angle (utilize device mockups)

Angle allows you to display your screens (i.e. artboards) from within a number of realistic or matte-effect device frames that each come with a variety of angle options and shadow styles.

Impressively, they’re 100% vector as well.

Artboard Studio isn’t quite the same thing, as it allows for inserting a whole bunch of random 3D objects onto the canvas (like a kiwi, for example). If you only care about device mockups, I’d install Angle. Vectory 3D is similar to Artboard Studio, but it outputs actual 3D assets.

3. Master (manage components more easily)

Master offers a better way to manage components, such as the ability to turn multiple identical objects into a component, duplicate components into other Figma files, and much more.

4. Clean Document (auto-clean documents)

Clean Document, well … cleans your document! It deletes hidden layers, sorts them intelligently, renames them according to your liking, ungroups single-layer groups, and even rounds dimensions to the nearest pixel. A terrific tool for obsessive neat freaks!

5. Similayer (select similar layers)

Quite simply, Similayer allows you to select layers based on their similarity to the layer that’s currently selected. Let’s say that you wanted to change a shadow style that’s being used on a number of different elements: Similayer could do that.

You could also use it to batch-reassign multiple components.

6. Viewports (change the viewport)

Find out the correct market share of all viewport dimensions, then apply them to frames. It’s insane how useful this is!

Viewport data is live-sourced from StatCounter.

7. Todo (create todo lists)

There are dozens of terrific todo lists, but this one exists within Figma. It’s not designed to replace your everyday todo list, but it’s a more convenient way of keeping track of your design-specific todos without needing to leave Figma. Have a list of changes to make? Need to establish priorities?

If so, install Todo.

8. Font Scale (establish a font scale)

Establish a visually consistent/hierarchical font scale by choosing a base size and scale factor, then save the results to your document for continuous reference (as either em or px).

9. Content Reel (insert better-than-lorem-ipsum content)

Content Reel inserts “real” content into your design. Need a quick address? Or an avatar? For some reason can’t think of a single name when you need one? Content Reel has your back.

Designing with real data ensures that the design doesn’t look odd once developed, and also helps us to design for edge cases.

10. Google Sheets Sync (sync data from Google Sheets)

Whether your app has an API or you just want to create a table of data manually, Google Sheets Sync will basically allow you to sync this data directly into Figma. It’s like Content Reel, but instead you define the data yourself. It’s useful for designers that want to build ultra-realistic mockups with data from their actual niche (or live application), and it’s especially useful for teams that want to design using the same library of data.

11. Chart (create “real data” charts)

Create stunning, customizable charts with data from Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets, or simply import a local CSV or JSON file. Datavizer is suitable alternative, but Chart can also sync with live JSON (i.e. you can connect Chart to a REST API).

12. Iconify (utilize icon fonts)

All icon fonts, right inside Figma. Material Design Icons, FontAwesome, Jam Icons, EmojiOne, Twitter Emoji — you name it.

Pretty iconic, really.

13. Figmotion (create animations)

If the thought of exploring animation scares you, or you dread switching tools to access advanced animation features, Figmotion makes animation a lot less anxiety-inducing. The animations are also easy to hand off, since they’re based on web technologies.

14. Split Shape (make columns … and stuff)

An interesting method of creating columns, Split Shape splits, say, a rectangle into multiple rectangles from which you can then create columns (or rows, or whatever). Split Shape can be used for various things if one thinks outside the box! 😁

15. Remove BG (create transparent bitmaps)

Remove BG is a web tool that removes the background of bitmap images, effectively turning them into transparent PNGs. Remove BG for Figma essentially does the same thing, but within Figma.

If you’ve been hoarding Adobe Photoshop only so that you can remove backgrounds, you can now delete it and probably free up approximately 80 thousand million GBs of space on your SSD 😌.

Popular Figma Plugins

There are a few Figma Plugins that I didn’t mention because they’re already super well-known to users of other UI design tools such as Sketch. You probably have these ones already:

Confetti (create dispersions)

Unsplash (insert stock images)

Rename It (rename layers more efficiently)

Humaaans (insert mix-n-match illustrations)

Stark or A11y – Color Contrast Checker (measure color contrast)

Bonus Figma Plugins

These Figma Plugins are awesome, but you might not need them often (if at all). It’s nice to know they’re there, though.

Arc (arch text)

Roto (rotate-extrude shapes)

Table Generator (create tables)

To Path (create text on a path)

Brandfetch (source brand assets)

Isometric (make objects isometric)

Mapsicle or Map Maker (create maps)

Skew (create simple isometric mockups)

Image Tracer (convert bitmaps to vectors)

Shadow Picker (intelligently create shadows)

Metaball/Blobs/Waves (create abstract shapes)

And finally, all Figma Plugins (in case you just can’t get enough of ’em! 😉).

Keen to learn the ins and outs of developing your own plugins, either to improve your workflow or the workflow of others? Check out Figma’s Plugin Docs.

[fox-fic-and-ink]

COVID is forcing me to do some evaluations and make some changes. TLDR at bottom.

First, I'm not continuing with Patreon as of May 1st. It's never quite been what I wanted in a platform and it doesn't suit my creative flow (which is usually more sprinter bursts suited to prompt lists). I never figured out a way to incorporate multiple fandoms in reward tiers and the Destiny fandom/my niche in it is too narrow for the Patreon payout to be worth the extra posting. I appreciate the support I received there and am finishing out the remaining rewards but it's tiresome to repost a single thought across Tumblr, Twitter, Discord, and Patreon just to try and be seen. I can at least nix one of those and wipe one set of login info from my brain. XD

Second, fandoms.... I still have an incredible attachment to Destiny but my increasing frustrations with it have proven it's time to branch out a little for my own growth and sanity. Meaning this blog is about to get weird with fandoms. Some Final Fantasy, maybe some Megaman, older stuff like Tintin and Transformers, all the Good Omens content I passed on because it didn't fit my theme. Might finally dip into the worlds of Overwatch and My Hero Academia. I'm writing DuckTales/Three Caballeros fic right now!?!?!?! ...like, idk, ya'll. I guess I just need the stimulation of some fandom potpourri.

I've been a Destiny/+fanfic blog since the beginning (and I'll continue to post that!) BUT I get it if you don't want to see any of that other stuff. You can just block the 'not destiny' tag. Thanks for being cool.

TLDR- no more Patreon, still posting Destiny stuff, posting lots of other not Destiny stuff now, filter it out if you want to by blocking 'not destiny' tag. Thanks

[nyxwordsmith]

Ahhhhh chptr 22 was so good (of chemically imbalanced) mood my god I swear to god I’m in love with ur writing. How long have you been writing any tips?? ☁️💫🎩

I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! It was a hard chapter to write (it didn’t wanna flow D’:) but I’m glad it was still enjoyable! I, uh, have been writing for a really long time. Like...fifteen years? Since I was eight at least. I always liked telling stories and it was easier sometimes to write it down. I have always had an overactive imagination XD

 As for writing tips, I have a few.

1) Write what you like. It took me a really long time to find my own personal little ‘niche’, but I found it eventually. It’s no fun if you’re busy trying to fulfill someone else’s dreams for writing and that was a hard lesson for me to learn too. If you’re not enjoying the process, what’s the point?

2) Explore other options. It’s all well and good to have a niche, but go crazy. Go wild. Try new things. Try new genres, tones, content, characters, pacing, whatever tickles your fancy. You can explore anything you want, have fun with it!

3) Constructive criticism is helpful. Constructive criticism is helpful to learning, and developing your own creative voice. However, understanding what is, and is not, constructive criticism will be 100000 times more beneficial. On the flip side, there is a limit to how much you should sway to criticism. Understanding your own voice, and style, will help with that. Don’t push away feedback but analyse it carefully.

4) Develop your voice/style. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that many of the writers/authors on here have unique styles and ‘voices’ to their writing. It took me a good portion of the last 15 years to figure mine out. And it could change in the next 5-10. Who knows. But developing your style/voice can make your writing even more enjoyable.

5) Learn from others. I find it impossible to approach other author’s and pick their brains, but I love studying their writing. I love coming across a sentence structure, or a really nice metaphor and I can’t help but explore it a little in my own work. Studying their work, or talking to them about it, can help you develop your own voice/style as well as pick out mistakes before they happen.

6) You don’t have to post/share everything you write. This one is more of a personal tip. For a good 5 years, I wasn’t posting or sharing my work with anyone. These was for various reasons, but in those five years my writing changed a lot. It also allowed me to enjoy some self-indulgent and carthartic writing that I didn’t want anyone to see. It’s okay to write for yourself, and keep it to yourself. You don’t owe anyone your work.

7) You don’t owe anyone your work. This is still one I actually struggle with XD If you stop enjoying a fic your writing, if you hate where the plot is leading, if a character isn’t working anymore, you do not have to continue it. Back to point 1: Write what you enjoy. Because if you’re not enjoying it? You’re going to avoid it.

8) Not everything will be perfect. It is okay to have fics or ideas that aren’t perfect. Not every idea is going to be perfect. It’s okay to have fics go in the wrong direction or change plot altogether. What you choose to do with them is up to you. I, personally, have scrapped a fic I was halfway through to re-write because I hated where it was going. I’ve re-written an original story of mine on-and-off for years because I find flaws in the plot or I want to explore “what if the main had this backstory?” It’s okay for your work not to be perfect. Some people may not like it, some may be cruel about it, but what matters is that (1) You wrote it and (2) You had the balls to share it.

9) Draft. Draft. Draft. Draft. The first time you sit down to write a chapter or a fic, it’s not going to be perfect. You may misspell. You may miss punctuation. That’s fine! Once you’ve reached a point you’re happy with, take a break and come back to it, edit. Evaluate your writing. Is this where I want Character A to go? Where can I take this interaction? Could I use it later?

10) Plan the way that works for you. I see plenty of posts about “How You Should Plan To Write The Best Fic/Novel Ever” but not every author is the same. Take my girlfriend and I for example. My gf will plan her entire fic, chapter by chapter, writing notes for interactions and plot points to cover later. Each chapter has a summary that she’ll follow and a word count she normally limits herself to. I, on the otherhand, do very little planning. I will create a plot, character interactions/ships and an intended ending, but other than that it’s free range. Each chapter is based of what happened last time, where I want to go. My mind works from scene to scene. I bring this up because if I plan the way my girlfriend does, I feel trapped. I feel like I don’t have the room to explore new ideas as they come up. While I’m sure if my gf planned the way I do, she’d feel lost and without direction. It’s important to find a way that works for you and it may also change over time. That’s fine.

Last one, promise!

11) It’s okay for your work to change. By this, I mean over time. I look back at work I wrote way back in 2012 and I hate it BUT. But I can see where and how I’ve improved. I can see that my style changed, I developed my own voice, and my planning style changed. It’s okay for this to happen. Let it happen as you explore your own writing.

WOW Okay, I got a little carried away, but these are things I kinda wish someone had told me way back when. So I hope these help you on your journey and if you have any questions, want me to elaborate, or even just want me to look over a fic? Hit me up!

[athyrabunlord]

So I’m having major LLSHP AU withdrawal symptoms so I was wondering whatever blip you choose it could be from that universe? first choice is: 8. “Your smile is not as bright as it used to be.” Kanamari after Mari was attacked in Hogsmeade and her power had been drained Or either: 45. “I think I made a mistake.” (Kanan) 46. “Shut up, I am a delight!” (Mari)- Kanamari prequel When they first started dating if possible? As I’m desperate to know how their relationship started! Thank you!

“Shut up, I am a delight!” [Prompt List] (closed)A/N: I skipped 6 asks to do this one sorry XD;; Don’t worry, I’ll do all the existing asks. As said in this post, I’m glad to be asked about this AU Anon! A/N2: This would be a teaser from the prequel-Interlude “Delphinus”, which is about kanadiamari’s Hogwarts days prior to the main story, told in Mari’s POV.Words: 2,696As usual, “italicized words” = Mari’s Engrish

“What’s up with her…?”

Mari lowers her Omnioculars and fiddles with the buttons on the side before looking through them again. Her objective is jogging at a decent speed, not at all deterred by the bumpy and uneven shore around the Black Lake. The girl’s expression is one of utmost concentration, her dark-indigo ponytail fluttering behind her like a, well, pony’s tail. Dressed in jeans and a shabby hoodie, Kanan Matsuura looks like a lost Muggle who somehow wandered into Hogwarts grounds.

Alas, the carelessly strewn Gryffindor cloak and scarf beside a rock remind Mari that Kanan is indeed a fellow student, Muggleborn or not.

She sure can run… ugh, stupid tree in the way.

Mari narrows her eyes and shuffles from one hiding spot to another. They say curiosity kills the cat, but she happens to be quite resilient! Each and every one of her adventures make her into the shiny person she is today!

Once an idea has taken root, Mari is sure to follow it through until boredom wins and sends her elsewhere. So far, her observation of Kanan is, frankly, tedious. Other than learning her peer has seemingly inexhaustible stamina and appears to be unaffected by the cold weather, nothing exciting has happened.

Mari grumbles under her breath as she reapplies the Hot-Air Charm for the umpteenth time. Waking up at the ungodly hour of 5AM is horrible already, let alone on a friggin’ Sunday! And Kanan’s done nothing but jog around the Black Lake for over an hour now! After the first twenty minutes, Mari had given up sneaking around the bushes and merely settled for perching on a high vantage point so she could oversee the Lake’s perimeters.

Sighing, Mari uses the Omnioculars to slow down Kanan’s movement and watches the replay to see if she could find anything interesting. As expected of binoculars specifically made for Quidditch games, she could see every single detail clearly, such as how Kanan’s sweaty bangs are messy and her cheeks flushed from the jog.

Mari blinks, noticing a particular detail for the first time.

Is she… smiling?

She considers herself an active person, having flown around on her broom and her precious Hippogriff since she was a little girl, but all the fun had been obtained through magical means. She doesn’t understand what could be so enjoyable about something as mundane as just… running. It’s not a game of Tag, and there is no goal, no incentive as far as she can see.

What’s so fun about this?

Sure, Quidditch players are known to train around the Black Lake, but even they would not wake up this early on a Sunday (she really can’t get over this fact). At least, such outdoorsy and tenacious spirit fits the Gryffindor stereotype. Mari has always wondered why Kanan got Sorted into Gryffindor - she isn’t rowdy and prone to mischief; while she appears smart enough in lessons, she isn’t academic like the Ravenclaws; she certainly exhibits no ambition whatsoever like the Slytherins.

Really, Kanan should be an easygoing, peaceful Hufflepuff. From weeks of observation, Mari decides that most of her peers fit the norm, and everyone seems to be mingling just fine. It’s only their First Year at Hogwarts after all, so it takes a different amount of time for an individual to find his or her niche.

Mari herself is quite friendly with her fellow Ravenclaws, finding their intelligence on par with her own and thus making it easy to strike interesting conversations. And, if she gets a little bored, she would challenge the Gryffindors to Exploding Snaps or even secret duels (she has yet to get caught!). Chilling in front of the fireplace or enjoy the rare afternoon sun? No problem, she has a few Hufflepuff buddies to share that lazy but content sort of joy too!

And there’s always Dia Kurosawa to tease and prank. Really, the only reason Mari even tries so hard in tests is just so she could flaunt her scores over the studious Slytherin. They’re evenly matched so far, with her being slightly ahead at Transfiguration and Dia at Potions. Like the rest of the students, other Muggleborns have more or less settled in the daily routine of school life here at Hogwarts.

Yet, why does this Kanan Matsuura still seem out of place? It’s not like she gets ostracized in lessons, and she sometimes participates in class discussions or naps through droll lectures. She’s like any regular teenager, so why is there something off about her?

Chartreuse eyes blaze in determination. That’s why she, Mari Ohara, is here to solve the mystery! The Sorting Hat must have placed Kanan in the House of Gryffindor for a reason, surely not just because this jogging-maniac has muscles!

Oh, she’s finally stopped. Hmm, what’s she doing now?

Kanan has returned to the boulder where she had discarded her cloak and scarf earlier. Instead of donning them, she simply stands there with her hands in her hoodie’s pouch and is looking out towards the Lake. Since her back is facing Mari, this only gives the blonde Ravenclaw two options: go around the trees to another vantage point, or just go over to confront the girl in question!

Smirking, Mari nimbly hops down from a branch, utilizing Sticking Charms and other small tricks to muffle the noises from her movements. She’s tired of all this spying (totally not stalking) and is ready for some action!

She casts a few more Charms to ensure that her approach inaudible. She does hesitate for a moment when she notices the slightly forlorn expression on Kanan’s visage, but she quickly steels her resolve.

Eheh, I bet you weren’t expecting any spectator, are you, Miss Ponytail?

Mustering all her energy, Mari darts out from the bushes and leaps for her target when she’s close enough.

To her shock, Kanan somehow detects her pounce and dodges to the side. Their mutually startled eyes meet for a brief second before momentum pulls Mari towards the rocky shore.

“Shit!”

Though confident in her own swimming ability, Mari could feel her limbs cramping up under the icy lake water. Bubbles burst from her mouth as she panics, her uncooperative fingers unable to reach the wand in her pocket.

A muffled splash later, she glimpses a dark silhouette diving towards her. Strong arms wrap around her waist behind her and she faintly feels propelled upwards where the light is. As soon as she breaks the surface, she gulps for air and tries to swim but only ends up flailing about.

“Be still! You’re in no shape to swim. Try to relax, I’ll get you to shore.” A calm yet firm voice stops her movements.

With her mind muddled, Mari could only nod and allow her savior to lead. She struggles to drag herself ashore, though the drenched clothing is weighing her down more than she could ever imagine. Again, strong arms haul her up and soon, she finds herself seated atop the boulder where the Gryffindor cloak and scarf remain rumpled in a pile nearby.

“Just what were you thinking! Do you have any how dangerous that was?!”

Kanan looks and sounds furious, wearing a dark expression never before seen and thus surprises Mari into silence.

After opening and closing her mouth a few times, she could only mouth a word. “Sorry.”

Glaring, Kanan is probably about to scold some more when a chilly breeze blows past them, making Mari shudder and her teeth chatter.

Wordlessly, Kanan wraps her cloak around Mari and begins to dry her in brusque movements.

“Erm, you should dry yourself first-?”

Indeed, the soaked ponytail is plastered to Kanan’s equally sodden hoodie. A scowl is all Mari receives as Kanan continues to wipe at her head.

Honestly, Mari feels like a little kid under reprimand and in no position to argue.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Mari retrieves her wand and gives it a complicated wave. Kanan recoils, her amethyst eyes wary and her fists clenched even as Mari calmly directs the wand’s tip over her.

Her stance only relaxes when it’s obvious that the magic is simply drying her clothes via controlled hot air. Smiling, Mari then dries herself with this nifty Hot-Air Charm and holds up her hands akimbo.

“Tada~ See, no need to manually do it. It’d take forever to wring out the water, yes?”

“Right, what was I thinking. You’re a Witch and we’re at Hogwarts.” Kanan’s tone is oddly aloof, as if she doesn’t consider herself a fellow Witch as well.

“Yup! I can do this too,” she utilizes one of the more advanced Transfiguration spells and manages to conjure a jar from a piece of the Omniocular. Under Kanan’s watchful gaze, Mari smoothly aims Bluebell Flames into the container. “See? You can even carry this around if you get cold!”

“Useful, I suppose.” Again, Kanan’s voice is rather flat, not in a dismissive way but more like all of this has nothing to do with her. Her eyes are still trained on Mari, scrutinizing at her from the top and down to her feet.

“What?” Though unabashed most of the time, Mari feels quite self-conscious under such an intense gaze. “Am I so pretty that you can’t look away?”

Ha, she couldn’t help but add that cheeky remark.

Kanan, as expected, ignores her and points at her leg. “You got a spell for the cramp too?”

“Damn, you got me,” Mari playfully holds up her hands. “That’s for a Healer’s level.”

At last, Kanan’s hardened expression is replaced by a small smile. “See, it’s still necessary to do it yourself, rather than rely on magic.”

“U-um…” Again, Mari finds herself rendered speechless as Kanan begins to massage her leg. Her hands are well-practiced, as if knowing exactly where and how much pressure to apply.

“How do you feel? Does anywhere else hurt?”

Blinking out of her daze, Mari shakes her head. “You seem knowledgeable about this. Do you do this often? Is this a way to hit on girls?”

Kanan gives her a blank look. “Huh?”

Mari rolls her eyes. “Never mind that. So, this massage, the swimming, and all that, you seem like a professional-?”

At this, Kanan holds her head a bit higher. “I already have my lifeguard license, back in the Muggle world I mean. My grandpa… well, I used to work at a diving shop,” her voice falters a little but her enthusiasm quickly takes over again. “See, I live at this small town by the sea and-”

Always ready to learn new things, Mari becomes absorbed in Kanan’s story and especially her passion about the sea. Despite having quarter Muggle blood, the Ohara ojousama grew up in a magical community and mostly interacted with Pureblood peers. As she grew older, her father would take her around the world to build connections with foreign communities, hence she has some pen pals from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and even Ilvermorny. The acquaintances she does know from the Muggle world all have power and position, so she has yet to befriend a Muggleborn like this.

Well, she’s always been fascinated by Muggle contraptions anyway, so this could be her chance?

“Hey, teach me more!”

“What-?”

“Like, what were you doing around the Lake? Can’t be only jogging! It’s a Sunday!”

Kanan’s relaxed expression tenses again in annoyance. “I was just exercising! I do this every day, and that reminds me, what were you doing spying on me and-”

“Don’t mind don’t mind~ At least we’re talking now right? You chat with your Housemates and other students just fine but I notice you always pull away before the conversation gets any longer.”

“That’s- I was just-” Kanan furrows her brows. “How long have you been watching me? And why me?”

Honestly, Mari doesn’t know. She tends to go with her instincts and just rolls with it. Some would argue that is actually a Gryffindor trait, but hey, a shiny and creative mind like hers could only belong to Ravenclaw! Everyone has bits of qualities from each House, sì?

“It’s a secret~ To find out, all you have to do is teach me more about Muggle life style~” Mari ends her sentence with an award-winning wink.

Needless to say, Kanan appears unaffected. “I don’t really… besides, I can see that our personalities don’t match and-”

“Shut up! I’m a delight!” Mari pats Kanan’s shoulder and gives her a thumbs-up. “Stick with me and I promise your life here will be shiny every single day~”

Reluctance oozes from Kanan’s body language. “Surely there are other choices? Aren’t there some Muggleborns in Ravenclaw and I bet they’re smarter than me-”

“Nope. I’ve picked you, and that’s the end of the discussion.”

Kanan lets out a quiet and contemplative hum. “You sure are headstrong. What do I get out of this then?”

Shrugging, Mari glances at the blue fire flickering in the jar. “Hmm, I could teach you cool tricks like this? Whatever I can think of to help your daily exercise or something?”

“That… could be helpful,” Kanan mumbles and seems hesitant for the first time in their conversation. “Well, being a Muggleborn, there are some stuff I don’t quite get about the magical world, and I do have trouble with some of the assignments and spell works, so, um…”

“No problem!” Eager to be of help, Mari shakes Kanan’s warm hand and grins triumphantly. “Deal! We help each other out and, well, we’ll go from there, Kanan!”

“We’re on first-name basis already?” Kanan’s lips twitch in a hint of a smile, which Mari takes as a good sign.

“Of course~ We’re gonna be spending a lot of time together, so get used to it!” The blonde pauses when a thought occurs to her. “But, huh, I thought Gryffindor Lions would take you under their wing. Pride of Lions as they say, no?”

Kanan does not reply to that, her expression rigid. Mari puts that away to her To-Investigate List and waves it off.

“No matter, I’ll be a much better influence than those rowdy Cubs anyway, hehe. Oh, actually, I have a better idea.”

“What?” Kanan asks warily.

“I’d love to be the one tutoring you but my attention span isn’t long enough for that~” Her dear acquaintance and perhaps the only person she considers a friend would surely accept. Dia’s outstanding achievements in every class have already made her famous in the school, on top of her prestige as the heiress of an ancient Pureblood family. However, such distinguished status causes a distance between her and her peers, even her Housemates. They don’t dare to approach her out of reverence, and Dia likes to keep her personal space anyway.

Until Mari Ohara comes along, that is.

“I have the perfect candidate in mind. Why don’t we go to her right now?” Grinning, Mari tries to stand up but almost stumbles when her cramped leg refuses to cooperate. She could support her own weight, though the sensation of weakness is disconcerting enough to make her growl in frustration.

Where is her broom when she needs it!

Suddenly, she is lifted up as if she weighs nothing.

“First, we need to go to the Infirmary. Your leg still needs to get looked at properly,” Kanan says evenly, not at all out of breath as she begins to walk towards the castle.

It takes several moments for the gears in Mari’s head to resume functioning. Didn’t her morning start with trailing after this ponytailed Gryffindor? How did that lead to her being wrapped in the said Gryffindor’s cloak and carried like a princess?

“Okay, giddy-up!”

“I’m not your horse.”

“Go fetch!”

“I’m not your dog either.”

“What are you then?” Mari peers up at Kanan, fluttering her eyelashes theatrically.

Kanan looks down and huffs in exasperation. “I suppose, we’re… friends now?”

“Good answer! Ten points to Gryffindor!”

Kanan sighs and Mari giggles to herself. Perhaps, by sticking with Kanan, it is her life that will be shiny every single day!

[pixiecamelja-blog]

Online Business Ideas You Can Do

Owning and maintaining an online business gives entrepreneurs the freedom to generate money from anywhere in the world. The idea is enticing, and more potential than ever, but many entrepreneurs do not know where to begin. The most important step in establishing a profitable online business is to get a business idea that fits with your skills and strengths.

Whether you're looking to be a full-time entrepreneur or merely to begin a part-time business for passive income, then your service or product should fulfill a particular consumer need. We've compiled a collection of profitable need-based businesses, with minimal startup costs, which you can begin as soon as possible.

SEO consultant If you understand the intricacies of search engines and have specialized skills in platforms such as Google Ads and Google Analytics, getting a search engine optimization consultant might be a lucrative option for you. Many small business owners do not realize just how much of an effective search engine optimization (search engine optimization ) can have on their business. Begin your online consulting business by teaching those business owners on the power of SEO to help transform their sites and increase their conversion rates.

You can use your marketing skills to demonstrate business owners the benefits of utilizing analytics data, strategic keyword phrases, and content structure to acquire more organic traffic. If you're unfamiliar with SEO or wish to brush up on your digital marketing skills, you can consult with Moz's Beginner's Guide to SEO.

Small business consultant Bear in mind that Google's algorithms are constantly changing, so you'll have to continue your education on SEO to stay relevant and effective in this area. For those who have a lot of business experience and knowledge, why not create a business that helps aspiring entrepreneurs find success? As a business consultant, you can use your skills to assist new business owners to get off to a fantastic start and help experienced entrepreneurs keep up with demand.

Your odds of success are greater if you concentrate your strategy on a market component of business consulting. To grow your credibility, demonstrate your experience and bring in customers, it's helpful to be within the digital business community. You can result in small business communities such as business.com or write business articles on platforms such as LinkedIn.

Social media consultant Larger businesses can employ an agency or full-time staff member to conduct their social networking accounts, but smaller businesses often have to take care of their own social networking marketing. With all these responsibilities, business owners are often too busy, overwhelmed, or undereducated about the significance of a social networking presence to spend some time developing and implementing a great social media strategy. As a social networking consultant, it is possible to help small businesses determine the best approaches, posting content, and schedules for their target market.

Facebook and Twitter are still the very best business networks, but businesses often tend to fight with more visual platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Snapchat. All these platforms have enormous consumer audiences, but many businesses do not realize how large they are, how successful they could be, and how to make them work for their brand. In case you've got a background in social networking marketing and a passion for photography, focusing on your consulting business on one particular platform, such as Instagram, can be a terrific way to generate money while assisting other businesses to improve their content and reach their business objectives.

Niche market e-commerce retailer There is an audience for everything, even if it's as specific as dollhouse furniture or organic dog food. With a niche e-commerce website, you can reach clients who seek your precise products. Building a business in a niche market can help you distinguish yourself from other brands and build your credibility and experience. Look to social media or your own consumer should think of a product to market on your online shop.

To receive your e-commerce business up and running, all you need is a web hosting service with an integrated shopping cart feature or e-commerce program. To simplify the delivery process, it is possible to use vendors to ship products to customers on your behalf. This can reduce the amount of stock you will need to keep onsite.

Web designer or web developer If you're a creative, digital professional who thrives on forming the design, visual theme, font collection, and color palette of a site, freelance web design could be a great path for you. In case you have little to no expertise in this area, you can learn the fundamentals of web design and learn the tools you will need for success, such as Adobe XD, Chrome DevTools, and text editor program.

If you're more interested in the coding side of constructing sites, freelance web development maybe your wheelhouse. If you already know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript and have a fantastic eye for solving problems with innovative solutions, you can start a service to construct attractive, easy-to-use websites for small businesses. If you will need to learn the fundamentals of web development before starting your full-stack career, you can have a very simple beginner's course to begin.

Put your creative and technical skills to great use for business owners that wish to take their online presence to another level. Build a comprehensive portfolio, and then make your own site to show off it and attract a steady flow of customers.

[florrie003games-blog]

Never Only Sit down At this time there! Start ONLINE GAME

The Apple Tv Gaming Blog

It's time to recognize the very best gaming blogs of the year. The true income in the video gaming niche comes from the affiliate sales. Not only promoting games, but selling the other products that go along with them. This can range from something to game guides, to digital currency for use within the games, to headsets, to the consoles themselves. Let's assume about your target industry for a minute. Gamers will do whatever they can to get an edge more than their competitors, even if that suggests paying for a ton for it. That's dollars going straight into your bank account.

Amazon's Fire Television, at the moment selling for $99, markets itself additional as a general entertainment box than a gaming console, but it can be utilised as a console with purchase of a separate controller. Moreover, the Amazon name has allowed it to draw a wonderful deal of help. Most streaming solutions have an app offered for the box. And whilst its games library is not massive, it does boast some big name titles like Minecraft Pocket Edition, The Walking Dead, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

It seems there was no a single at White Wolf who recognized that leaving this passage out would not have an effect on the book in any meaningful way whatsoever - no 1 operating a game at their kitchen table is having their gaming group's characters travel to Chechnya to discover the persecution of homosexuals throughout their Friday night game, and if they are, they should be intelligent enough men and women to do so with out White Wolf's published words. Leaving it out impacts practically nothing. Leaving it in affects the company's reputation.

The retail giant is nicely-identified for its expansions into novel industries and it is gone and completed it once more with game development. Amazon Lumberyard is a game engine born from Amazon's belief that game developers 'Ëœdeserve a further choice'. Absolutely free, powerful, and totally customisable, Lumberyard can be employed on projects for Computer, console and mobile gaming, and you only pay for the Amazon Web Services that you opt for to use.

MH Joystick lite is an awesome free responsive magazine WordPress theme. This theme is completely widgetized so that the customers can simply manage the content by using quick to use widgets. And the theme is excellent for gaming magazines, publishers, blogs, dynamic news, editors, online, newspapers, magazine, and news portals, and any inventive web-site. The theme is a well-optimized theme that helps you to load your web page on the major of Google completely. Also, the theme is completely responsive that looks equally awesome on all the screen sizes.

When it comes to mobile gaming, Android no longer finds itself in the shadow cast by the iPhone. And that is excellent news if you have gotten your hands on game-friendly phones like the Galaxy Note 9 , ROG phone or Razer Phone 2 — or seriously, any brand new Android telephone ready to fill up with all sorts of games. Browse through Google Play, and you'll come across a surplus of best games across a wide range of genres. No matter if it is action and adventure, puzzle games, or titles that the whole family members can love, our roundup of the most effective games accessible for Android presents anything for every sort of gamer.

For the moment, classic consoles are much more preferred than ever, but it's not a stretch to think about them dying out. Cloud gaming technologies is rapidly maturing to the point where it could very easily turn into the mainstream choice, even if other individuals continue to exist for enthusiasts. Equivalent to how film buffs still seek out physical media and music fans nonetheless commit thousands on record collections, specialised hardware will in all probability often have a spot in the homes of hardcore gamers.

According to Newzoo, the international mobile industry reached $24.5Bn in 2014, following impressive development prices of +33% and +57% for (clever)phones and tablets respectively. Growth is expected to continue in the coming years, with the mobile marketplace producing more than $40Bn by 2017. Regardless of a extensively reported slump in new tablet unit sales, game revenues on tablets are growing more quickly than smartphones, cementing their position as a crucial gaming device.

It wouldn't be a surprise to obtain a massive number of our viewers getting dedicated gamers. In today's context, it is a affordable factor to consider progressing your business enterprise or profession in the field of gaming. And for a fantastic cause also as it is such as an fascinating business venture. But, gamers as a crowd are fickle, in particular when it comes to design and style and functionality.

Revenues of the Southeast Asian games market are anticipated to double to $two.2Bn by 2017. Thailand will stay the largest market place in terms of gaming revenues in Southeast Asia, closely followed by Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore will continue to grow but http://freememberships4all.com/ will drop market share to faster expanding countries. Vietnam and Thailand will grow in line with the overall industry, maintaining their market share.

The firm prides itself on taking distinctive approaches to building its solution lines. In the course of 2012 Green Man Gaming acquired the Playfire social gaming network to both broaden its user base, as properly as leverage the wealth of player data accessible. The firm has also got into independent game publishing in 2014. To much better recognize how Green Man Gaming got to where it is, and where the online retailer fits in amongst larger digital distributors such as Steam and Origin, DFC spoke with founder and chief executive Paul Sulyok.

Make The Most Out of BRAVE and Facebook

Due to the fact we did not want to give regular news updates or gaming reviews we focused on offering high-quality content material about competitive games. We are passionate about mastering about new multiplayer games and we like to get fantastic at these games quickly. This passion is what drove us to write high quality guides and beneficial information and facts about these games.

GPD XD Plus portable combines cutting-edge components and technologies to provide remarkable mobile efficiency and precision gameplay for significant gamers. From subsequent-generation Android games to retro emulator games, GPD XD gamepad is gaming The Way It's Meant to be Played. For now, GPD XD Plus (GPD XD 2018 upgrade version) is offered. Massive things had been upgraded on this most up-to-date device- six parts upgraded: Android 7., vulkan engine, MTK8176 Quad-core+ power VR, Bluetooth shared net, RAM 4GB, E-ink book mode.

You are quietly accepting and at peace with your selection to become a board gamer for life. Your loved ones knows you adore board games and probably play them with you. Your friends know adore board games, and you have wonderful gaming groups. You've committed to assigning element of your home to be a board gaming area. For the first time, you have started to take away games from your collection. Maybe you have sold the games, or you just never have space to maintain virtually all of them. Mentally you accept that you don't want to play just about every game, and you've almost certainly narrowed down a handful of games that you want to play regularly.

Play is a bold and minimalist cost-free WordPress theme perfect for the gamers if you are thinking to create a fantastic gaming internet site. This theme is totally integrated with WooComerce plugin that helps you to open an on line organization. It is created with lots of incredible attributes that aid you to produce a significant number of versatile content. This theme is Search engine marketing optimized that is fantastic to get started your journey in the gaming sector. The theme is actively maintained and usually updated before each and every significant WordPress release. And the theme appears outstanding on all the screen sizes.

[reistellae]

A really really long reflection 1/3

So, the other day, there was some controversy and I’ve been having thoughts about it since literally last night. This’ll be a long post, so don’t feel the need to read through all of it if you are not interested or don’t know what I’m talking about. 

NOTE: I realized this one was getting super long so I made it a multipart. I’ll add links to any subsequent parts as they’re posted.

Part Two

Part Three

I won’t dwell too long on the initial thing, but basically a post from an anonymous opinion blog was shared around Twitter. Those of you who know what happened, know pretty well how quickly that post went to all hell. People were being accused of racism and one blog even reported getting death threats (one that was posted told the user to “get r**** and die of AIDS.”) I won’t give my opinion on the subject in question itself, but I do want to give further context into how this situation happened and what it means about stan culture, conversations about race, and diversity within pop culture as a whole.

America has been historically racist against every non white group, that shouldn’t be a surprise. And since racism is something that is deeply rooted within a society, it is not something that can just easily be erased because of some laws or some money. Reminder that the slavery of Africans had been occurring for 300 years before they were “free.” Just because African-Americans have civil rights and white people love Beyonce, doesn’t mean that racism is dead. 300 years of mistreatment, trauma, stripping people of their humanity cannot go away in the nearly 60 years since the civil rights movement. 

In the entertainment industry and pop culture alone, minorities are still discriminated against (large due to the fact that those in charge of entertainment agencies were/are old white men). Japanese silent film actors in the 1910s-1930s were popular until WWII virtually wiped out all main roles for Asians/Asian Americans. They were relegated to yellow face or straight up racist caricatures of dog eaters, communists, and unable to speak English properly. This role of “the comedic Asian” has prevailed almost unchallenged except for in martial arts films. Asians/Asian-Americans also are ignored within the music industry. Every now and then, there would be a glimmer of change, but the status quo would remain unchanged. Genres like jpop and jrock saw a surge in popularity in the 1990s-late 2000s because of the rise in popularity of anime but these were mostly considered niche interests and the Internet was not quite as widespread or sophisticated as it is now. 

Enter kpop. Kpop used to also be a niche interest, usually only indulged in by Korean-Americans and other Asian-Americans. Around the late 2000s/early 2010s is when kpop had its initial huge surge in Western visibility. Wonder Girls were on tour with the Jonas Brothers, BoA and Girls Generation released albums in the United States and had made appearances on Good Morning America and Late Night with David Letterman, Psy’s Gangnam Style had become a viral sensation, and Super Junior, Bigbang, 2NE1, and Girls Generation were being nominated for and winning various international awards such as Mashable, Youtube, MTV and more. Bi Rain was featured in TIME Magazine in 2006 and 2007, sold out two Madison Square Garden shows in a matter of days, topped TIME polls for 3 consecutive years, and starred in three Hollywood films (Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin, and The Prince). Aside from Gangnam Style, kpop itself had not yet fully entered the mainstream, but 2012 definitely saw a surge in the visibility of kpop.

Around this time, the Internet had become more widespread and was becoming the dominant source of entertainment and information for the average home. Youtubers began making videos reacting to popularly requested kpop videos like EXO’s Growl, 2NE1′s I Am The Best, BIGBANG’s Fantastic Baby, and Super Junior’s Mr. Simple. Some of these channels only did them for the additional views, but some Youtubers and their regular fans became curious and looked more into kpop. Reaction channels were huge in the early 2010s because of this and this trend would continue well into 2015.

2015 was what, I would consider, the first initial surge in popularity for a particular kpop band; BTS. The group had debuted in 2013 and appealed to a lot of western listeners with their early dark hip hop concept and their songs featured lyrics that deeply resonated with their teenaged audience. Themes consisted of following their dreams, wanting to be successful, and young love. 2015 saw the beginning of what some ARMYs would call their greatest era: HYYH/The Most Beautiful Moment In Life. One of the promoted tracks, Dope, would become a viral hit. The song was infectious and high energy and really showcased the group’s crisp choreography. HYYH would have 2 part mini albums before part 3 came out in 2016. Each video they dropped would do consistently well: I Need U, Run, Fire, Spring Day. Their fans, enthusiastically spreading about the Internet, would want to share their favorite songs and communicate with like minded fans, thus creating the phrase “Any ARMYs here? XD” that would often show up in Youtube video comments, regardless of the content of the video. 

I know this history lesson is long winded and most of you guys DON’T want to/need to read it but as I said, I think it’s important to look at things contextually before drawing a final opinion on a topic. Me personally? I got into kpop in 2011 and it was the natural progression from me liking jpop from 2008. So most of what I’m saying, I saw firsthand. Obviously my perception isn’t unbiased, but I am reading articles and pages to make sure I’m stating things correctly and am trying to not come off as biased. 

Part Two

Part Three