#i may make a yume blog here too who knows

[astrobloos]

Altair, of StARCROSS

Offstage name: Rin

Age: 21

Pronouns: he/him (they/them, spe/space)

Height: 5’2” / 158 cm

Sign: Libra

Likes: whale sharks, baseball

Dislikes: doing the laundry

Position: vocalist, keyboardist

Color: muted matcha

Symbol: down bow

Emoji: 🎍

Relatives: unnamed parents, unnamed younger sister, unnamed younger brother, Aretta (younger sister), unnamed cousin

"Humans are so weird… As an alien, I find them fascinating to observe. They're quite hard for me to replicate, though. Mayhaps it's because humans are so diverse."

"I may be a space cadet, but it's not rocket science to know that hard work pays off."

A man who yearns for outer space. He hides many worries behind a relaxed facade, but it is hard to tell when he is doing so. Despite being loud at times, he’s actually a rather shy person and has social anxiety. Due to this, he finds comfort in music and uses it as a form of escapism. 5 years ago, he stayed over at a relative’s place near the sea and his life changed forever. He took graphic design as his major in university and worked at a record shop before working under Hoshiame Productions, hoping to earn enough money to pay his medical bills, and make his family "proud of him for once".

my partner in crime & design: @day-night-darlix (also tysm for the second artwork 🥹)

アルテア

ＣＶ:？？？

StARCROSSのボーカリスト。星の光のような目を持っているアイドル。「宇宙から来た星人」っと言う。でもそれは本当なのでしょうか。。？

年齢: 21歳

身長: 158cm

誕生日: 10月21日

血液型: AB型

靴サイズ: 25cm

体重: 51kg

好きなもの: ジンベイザメ、野球

苦手なもの: 洗濯

Altair

(CV: ???)

Age: 21

Height: 158 cm

Birthday: October 21

Blood type: AB

Weight: 51 kg

Likes: whale sharks, baseball

Dislikes: laundry

An idol with eyes that shine like stars. He claims to be an alien from outer space, but is that really true...?

[twilightmalachite]

VS★PRINCESS - World Order 2

Characters: Mao, Leo, Subaru, Tsukasa, Esu, Fuyume, Nice

Translator: Mika Enstars

JP Proofreader: 310mc

"Esu~. ♪ Now that the explanation is over, Princess Yume will be judging you as well. ♪"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Prince Castle (Hall)

Nice: “Akehoshi-kun, Tsukinaga-kun, great work!”

“Since this “showdown” just now was only a mock battle, there’s no need for it to be scored, but what a magnificent battle that was! It’s hard to discern who did best!”

“If hypothetically it was I who took this win, however, this is how it would display on the screen throughout the course of the program.”

[WINNER—Nice Arneb Thunder, “Sweets”]

Subaru: Ahaha, the staff members are haulin’ in all kinds of sweets!

They swooped in so readily, almost as if they were gonna make NiceP win from the start, huh~?

Mao: Nah, they said that the work is done as it progresses, didn’t they? You should listen to what’s being said, you know~.

But well, in reality, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if NiceP did win it. I can’t afford to be careless if I’m gonna get judged by someone as talented as that.

Nice: “Fufu, that was truly a magnificent demonstration, wasn’t it? Only to be expected from the best gathered here for 4piece!”

“In this manner, the opinion of the victor will be quickly implemented. Some of the topic items may take longer than others, but it shouldn’t interfere with the progression of the program.”

“And this time, as the only word that was specified was “sweets”, a plethora of sweets of all varieties have been prepared.”

“Rice crackers, cotton candy, roll cake… Not very unified, is it?”

“These sweets are going to be retrieved later, but they served their purpose by demonstrating orders, did they not? Without making the appropriate demands, the “Best Ball” cannot be achieved.”

“And with that, that concludes the explanation!”

“Prince Castle will at last begin starting from here onwards. Are you ready, participants?”

“—Now. let the judging begin for 4piece’s first venue, Prince Castle!”

Fuyume: Esu~. ♪ Now that the explanation is over, Princess Yume will be judging you as well. ♪

Esu: What explanation were you listening to? You do realize the audition’s about to start, right?

Fuyume: Ufufu. Yume awards Esu “number one”. The very best award out there. ♪

Esu: No, see? Didn’t your parents teach you to listen to others, even if it’s only half of what they say?!

Since you've come all this way, can’t you at least face forwards towards the audition?

Fuyume: Got it. If Esu says so, then Yume will try a little harder. ♪

Esu: I’m worried about what’s to come…

Tsukasa: Everyone, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.

As Nice-san has explained, these “competitions” each hold their own unique Rules.

We have a fixed amount of orders, of which the contents of must be extremely specific.

Moreover, if more than one person makes an order, there will be a “showdown” to settle it.

While you can showcase your abilities and Appeal to the judges in these “showdowns”, as long as each person’s idea of the “Best Ball” differs, the outcome will lack unity.

Mao: Seeing the trees but not the forest, huh?

If we argue every time over every little detail, we’ll fail to get any Competition Points, and at worst, nobody in the venue will qualify.

Tsukasa: Exactly. It would make for a very tragic end for an Audition aimed for the world.

So, how about all of us here begin by putting together a blueprint for our “Best Ball”?

We can bring together and combine our opinions, and move forward in a unified direction. In that way, we all can gain a uniform amount of Competition Points without anybody losing out.

Leo: Suo~ immediately took on the role of lead organizer! I grant him one Individual Point!

Subaru: I give him one too!

Tsukasa: Please take this seriously, you two. Judging has already begun, you know!

Tsukasa: Moving on. Allow me to make the announcements, as the lead speaker.

My “Best Ball” is a mature social Party that ladies and gentlemen can attend with their minds at ease.

I have been acquainted with high society for quite some time—I can provide you with a ball that is as close to an actual noble society as possible, down to the very last detail. ♪

You cannot go wrong by following my lead. With my taking care of all the orders, I can guarantee everyone here a perfect score of Competition Points!

Subaru: Whoa, as expected of Cathy~! That’s our honors student!

I can rest assured if it’s Cathy~. With this, it looks like everyone will be able to get a perfect Competition Point score.

Mao: Nah, this is a trap, plain and simple.

If there’s no “competition” at all, then how are the judges supposed to give us Individual Points?

If that happens, then the person in charge of the orders, Suou, will be the winner-take-all. While it’s safer to avoid arguments that are pointless, you still need to actually show off at the very least.

Subaru: Ah, you're right. Then I can’t do that, huh~…

Guess in the end, we’ve got no choice but to “compete” for what each of us believes is the “Best Ball”, huh? I’ve got no time to stand by, so lemme put in an order right away! ☆

Subaru: Ni~ce! ☆ Prepare a huge, sparkly mirror ball for the venue!

Tsukasa: Wai– don’t just start on your own!

And what even is that order…?! You can’t call it a “ball” if there’s a Mirror Ball at the venue!

Subaru: Huh, really? But personally, I think making it more sparkly like a club or a dance hall would be more interesting?

Tsukasa: Gaahh…! To think you used up a precious order for something like this…!

Mao: He’s abiding by the rules, so there’s nothing you can do about that.

You do make a valid point though, Suou. But, you know that we’re not one of those people who sit around and obediently comply.

So what’ll you do? Need me to go and demand for normal lighting, then?

Tsukasa: No, allow me to raise my hand here. If “competition” is what will be determining the future of this Audition, then it is only inevitable.

Tsukasa: Ni~ce…☆

—I didn’t have to do it like that, did I?! I got influenced by Akehoshi-senpai and ended up making the announcement in an embarrassing manner!

Nice-san, I have a demand as well!

Prepare as many magnificent Chandeliers—chandeliers needed to illuminate this entire venue!

Nice: “Orders received. Akehoshi-kun, Suou-kun…”

“Now—let the “showdown” begin!”

[Order #01]

[Topic: What lighting will be provided at the venue?”]

[Contestants: Akehoshi Subaru, “Giant Mirror Ball” vs. Suou Tsukasa, “Multiple Magnificent Chandeliers”]

Nice: “Our momentous first round will be a “portrait contest”!”

“As an idol, you must always hold a cutting-edge sense of design! I’m sure you’ve all learned to at least hold a paintbrush during your minimum years of compulsory education?”

“The aesthetic sense that you’ve refined through your activities up until now—I hope you will show off the results of your efforts without regret! ♪”

[ ☆ ]

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[fumikomiyasaki]

I posted 5,197 times in 2022

That's 2,530 more posts than 2021!

2,522 posts created (49%)

2,675 posts reblogged (51%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fumikomiyasaki

@hourglassstationacademy

@rookvonhunt

@twsted-princess

@multydoodles

I tagged 4,573 of my posts in 2022

Only 12% of my posts had no tags

#twisted wonderland oc - 2,543 posts

#twst oc - 2,522 posts

#twst - 2,473 posts

#twisted wonderland - 2,473 posts

#twisted wonderland ocs - 2,447 posts

#twst ocs - 2,396 posts

#disney twst - 2,235 posts

#twistedwonderland - 1,982 posts

#twistedwonderlandoc - 1,697 posts

#twisted wonderland fanschool - 1,584 posts

Longest Tag: 115 characters

#yeah i think cause i have put a warning and a read more i think i can share this here too for those who are curious

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Introducing another RSA DORM!

Crystaleon

Crystaleon is based on the Wishes of the Eternal Stone.It is based on the Final Fantasy series.

Previously it was a Hourglass Station Academy dormitory… but they moved to RSA after many discussions between the dorm leaders about the occupation to choose and as an offer of a fresh start. However, given these Quarrels and problems with a teacher, the dorm is not on best terms with HSA.Compared to other dorms, it has two dorm leaders and no Vice leader, given the dorm leaders maintain Balance in the dorm. 

However this also means the dormitory,  which is a huge floating airship, is split in two sections,  each led by one of the dorm leaders.

Dorm color:

See the full post

57 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#4

Send me a ⏳ to draw a Adult version of my character

Send me a 🧒 to draw a young version of my character

Picrews are also fine

67 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

#3

Carol Tsum

Thought I might try to make a Tsum version of Carol... at least a little. Its not perfect I know but I am still happy with it... Would you pet her... let her look over your homework? She is just here to help.

73 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

#2

I didn’t know what to draw today so in the morning I decided to lightly make some gifts for friends, people I like their characters or people I admires. This is mainly Sonas, Yuus and MCs here.

In order:

Carol (mine), Kirsten ( @rookvonhunt ), Nyphy ( @multydoodles ), Melanie ( @twsted-princess ), Keres ( @terrovaniadorm

Yuuta ( @thetwstwildcard ), Yuuki ( @anunluckyrabbit ) , Hana ( @nuitthegoddess ), Agatha ( @nicoliaki @nicoliharu ) , Yuu-mun ( @just-an-otakus-blog )

Tristan ( @atwstedstory ), Yuuta ( @bunnwich ), Yume ( @comingyourlugubriousness ), Mimi ( @mimitwst ), Vic ( @tinyfantasminha )

Anyways this was a fun small thing. Time to think what to draw next. Hope you guys like it.

83 notes - Posted May 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Just something I wanted to say in general...

Don't let others in the fandom tell you how you are supposed to make characters... do what is the most fun to you. If you wanna Twist something outside of Disney but are unsure, Just do it as long as it's fun.

Hourglass Station academy to me was the most fun project I had and got me so many people to talk about similar interests... and I do want people to go wild and interpret characters their own way so.

All I wanna say it loosen Up, don't force yourself into guidelines others give you and just enjoy creating.

Original characters, things twisted from movies, Games and other Sources are as valid as Disney stuff.

181 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[more-than-a-princess]

@awesomeuchuu​ asked: 7. “What motivates you to get to those drafts?” 8. “Any current reads you’d recommend?”

Munday Questions (It’s not Munday but there’s a lot going on offline for me right now and I could use all the good vibes. Especially tomorrow!) - Accepting

7. “What motivates you to get to those drafts?”

A few things! But to be fair, I don’t need a lot of motivation most of the time.

Writing is my escape from work and other offline responsibilities. Overall, unless I’ve hit a writers block or I’m annoyed by something on dash, I’m really happy to be here. At any given time, I’m often into some threads and interactions more than others, meaning ideas and how to continue them come naturally without having to think it over too much or plot with the other mun. But I still like what I create here: I try to only take on what I’m comfortable with, which is why this blog has fewer threads and longer turnaround times than others I’ve seen, but have longer threads and more detailed interactions as well.

In terms of process though, I keep to a content calendar (or schedule) and try to gauge my dash as to when to post and what to post. If I didn’t write nearly every day or post every day, I believe I’d simply abandon the blog altogether or drop every thread/ask in order to start anew often. I really dislike this behavior and so I do my best not to do it myself: knowing how much one can handle is important. No matter what: you can’t write with everyone you want to at any given time (for most people, at least!). There just isn’t enough time in the day to make that happen, which is why I try to cap my asks and urge those without interactions to send them in. It’s the best I can do to give as many interested muns a chance to interact.

8. “Any current reads you’d recommend?”

I miss reading actual books for pleasure. A lot of what I read now outside of work is reddit and blogs for various interests and advice (I’m reading a lot about being a first time home buyer, real estate, interest rates, and other things regarding buying property right now). I have a stack of Julia Quinn novels I’ve yet to get to and I feel like until I’m able to go on a slow-paced vacation (like the beach, despite how much I don’t like tropical beaches), I’ll never get to them all. And the other books I’ve been collecting for awhile (with another in a series I read coming out at the end of May!).

Instead, I read some online manga or manhwa during my downtime during meals or right before bed. Mangakatana is my preference, so I’ll link a few things that I’m reading that aren’t popular/made into a recent anime right now. My preferred genres are Josei and Seinen, for the most part, and I’ve tried to link titles that aren’t entirely NSFW-focused. For the ones with the smut tag, the sex is only part of the story without being the full story, if that makes sense!

Here we go, the recommendations:

A Rare Marriage: How to Grill Our Love - Slice of Life manga about a young, newly married couple in their thirties who deal with couple-y situations and day-to-day issues by grilling meat. Yes, you will get hungry. Yes, you will want to hug your significant other.

I Found Somebody To Love - Legal age difference manhwa between a college professor and a former student. Feels.

Real Clothes - Are you a fan of fashion-themed manga like Paradise Kiss and Princess Jellyfish? Read this next: it’s more industry-based than romance-based, but still great. Also see: Bibi.

Gold - Soap. Opera. Cheese. Fashion, high society, screwed up families, romantic liaisons (yes this means sex). Yes, the art looks like it’s straight out of the 80s. It’s great.

Collectors - I’ve never identified with two women more in my life based on their hobbies. One loves fashion, the other loves books, I’m wondering how to fit both into my living space (but these two seem to be figuring it out). 

Yume no Shizuku, Kin no Torikago - Loosely based on real 16th Century history in the Ottoman Empire. Smut for obvious historical reasons: the MC becomes part of a harem. Some questionable consent, in case you don’t want to read that.

Lonely Planet - That One Manga Everyone’s OC Has A FC From. But it’s a good read. To pay off her father’s debts, a high school student becomes a housekeeper for a writer.

Bread & Butter - Two thirty-somethings find love again over baking. Now that I’m in my 30s, I love when there’s older protags in romantic relationships and it’s not just them focusing on parenthood. 

Lucia and Under The Oak Tree - The two European-styled Josei manhwa I read. Fewer jokes/humor than other historical manhwa, lots of drama, some sex.

Innocent - The cooler, edgier big sister of Rose of Versailles. French Revolution with all the gore, sex, family drama, and generally screwed up situations that Lady Oscar never had to face. This one is a hard read, but a very good one. Some of the most beautiful art ever. And almost everyone needs a hug.

NOTE: This manga is split up into two different series. Read Innocent first, and then go on to Innocent Rouge. It’s the second half of the story.

An Hour Of Romance - I need the K-drama adaptation ASAP. A marketing executive and her new intern, after visiting a Korean temple, switch bodies for an hour every day and have to figure out how to stay themselves. Permanently. Freaky Friday with all the cuteness, angst, and will-they-won’t-they that K-dramas provide.

The God of Pro Wrestling - One of these things is not like the others...and this is it. I read this with my fiancé actually, who has been a wrestling fan for a long time. He gets all the WWF/WWE references that I miss (I only started watching off and on 6-7 years ago or so), but it’s a pretty fun interpretation of the American wrestling industry in the late 90s/early 2000s (based on the real-life wrestlers and personalities who have fictional portrayals here). I’m still waiting on my WWE faves to show up at some point. 

And a few more popular things I re-read or try to keep up with: Tokyo Manji Revengers, The Way of the House Husband, Princess Jellyfish, Tokyo Tarareba Girls (this one is a mood. Often.), Love Is Hard For An Otaku, Welcome to the Ballroom, Paradise Kiss, and if it ever gets updated...Nana. I miss you, Ai Yazawa. 

[no-whump-on-main]

My Experiences and Safety Concerns on the Whumper Gathering and Niji  Discord Servers

      A content warning for this post: I am discussing a real case involving sexualization of a minor and predatory behavior by an adult. Please proceed with caution if you are sensitive to these issues. I remain as vague as I can be throughout the post while still accurately describing what happened and capturing the gravity of the situation.

     I want to start this out by saying I hate cancel culture. I hate it, I hate witch hunts, I hate call out posts, I hate bitching about people on the internet for no good reason.

     But I draw the line when there is a reason. I draw the line where other people, especially minors, are legitimately at risk.

     There have been many posts on the topic of the Whumper Gathering server. Two that explain the situation well are this one and this one. I won’t pick the server itself apart piece by piece here, as I only intend on sharing my own experience there and why I am so concerned for everyone still in the server, and for those who interact with its’ owner, Yume.

     I first joined the Whumper Gathering server in November of 2019. Back then, it was a welcoming place, serving as a hub of roleplay and character discussion. There were a few bumps along the road, but they were routine server issues that Yume handled delicately. Everything was fine. I made close friends there.

     The issues involving me began around the end of January. Yume approached me on the 31st asking if I’d like to be a moderator of the server. I accepted quickly, overjoyed to be a bigger part of the community that I loved so much.

     Unfortunately, that conversation was when everything started to go downhill. The first instance where I felt incredibly unnerved by Yume’s behavior toward me was when she asked this incredibly off-handed question right after I agreed to be a moderator:

     I am a minor. At the time that this conversation occurred, I was thirteen. Yume was completely aware of this, she knew it from my introduction in the server, yet she still somehow considered it appropriate to ask me a question with romantic implications.

     I was extremely confused and taken aback in the moment. I just laughed it off because I didn’t know what else to do.

     Yume’s conduct toward me did not stop or change after that. If anything, it worsened. After I made one joke in the server implying that I wanted to go to college to be a trophy wife, she gripped onto the name for months, and called me HER trophy wife hundreds of times despite the original joke having nothing to do with her. I was too afraid to call her out on how inappropriate it was for her to talk to me like that when she was an adult and I was, by every definition, a child. I tried to drop hints that I was uncomfortable, and while it isn’t her fault for not being able to read between my lines, even when I did finally gain the courage to flat out say I was uncomfortable, she completely brushed me off. A few examples of this behavior are below, the last being her excusing her behavior after I finally told her I didn’t want to be called her trophy wife. *Please note that the names and profile pictures of others involved in the conversations have been crossed out, because they did not consent to being involved with this post in any way, and did not do anything wrong.

    These are just a FEW examples. Again, I don’t want this to be a witch hunt, so I am only providing necessary examples and not leaving unnecessary screenshots to gawk at. Also, there is a 10 image limit per post and I’m trying to fit everything.

     More rather disturbing screenshots that go further than the “trophy wife” deal:

     The first: Completely unpromtedly implying/saying that she wanted to cuddle with me, at the time a 13 year old. I just wanted to talk about bringing my blanket to school.

     The second: Calling me the “titty police” and going on to talk about me in relation to breasts further. 

     This is just what happened in public chats.

     One of the scariest instances of her conduct toward me happened in a moderator chat. I do not have any screenshot evidence for this, because Yume deleted the entire moderator chat after people began to call her out for her behaviors, but I do have the word of the other former moderators who witnessed this happen.

     Soon after I was appointed as a moderator, we had a situation with a user making inappropriate sexual comments/requests in our roleplay channels. This person by all means could’ve been considered a predator. Yume quickly decided that this person needed to be addressed. There were 3 adult moderators at the time, as well as myself and another minor moderator. We all banded together to figure out a message to send to this person as an immediate warning to stop their behaviors.

     Everything went well until it came to who had to send the message. By now, only Yume and Kekune, Yume’s best friend, were online, along with myself. Yume immediately said that her anxiety was too bad to send it, and said it wasn’t a possibility. Kekune also counted herself out on the grounds of simply not wanting to. That left me, a minor, to go privately DM an adult who was breaking rules in an NSFW manner. I was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, but was pressured into it by both Yume and Kekune and guilted about Yume’s anxiety until I gave in.

     Later into my time as a staff member, when I was a promoted to a co-admin, Yume refused to turn off the “administrator” permission for my role. This meant that I could see all of the server’s NSFW channels. I immediately muted and collapsed them, and told her that I was uncomfortable even being able to view them, but she refused to change the permission for weeks because she preferred to just click administrator and it was anxiety inducing for her to do the permissions individually.

     Yume has also engaged in multiple explicit NSFW roleplays in main roleplay chats and refused to move them to a section where minors could not view them, but I will not elaborate because though I was there and witnessed it, it was not a personal matter to me.

     After I finally left the server in July, Yume proceeded to gossip about me privately with other adults and spread misinformation to the members in her server. I have had multiple adult acquaintances tell me they had to shut Yume down from ranting about me to them on many occasions, and rationally, I can assume there’s many more people Yume talked to about me who did not tell me. Below is a screenshot of Yume spreading blatant misinformation about me in the main chat of Whumper Gathering, saying I sent her hate anons when I could not have possibly done so, since she blocked me.

     Again, I want to reiterate this is the surface level of things. There have been many, many more instances of Yume behaving inappropriately toward me or speaking about me in an inappropriate way. 

     What makes this worse is Yume and some members of her new staff team’s responses.

     Yume adamantly denies any wrongdoing and mongers people around her to agree with her by guilting them with her anxiety, triggers, and sex repulsion. She repeatedly tries to use her asexuality to excuse her actions, or to say that she couldn’t possibly be a predator because of her trauma. She denies every aspect of this situation and blames me.

     She blatantly lies about stopping calling me her trophy wife, as the nickname usage did not stop until I left the server and had no further contact with her. She also completely makes up me implying all asexual people are predators. That never happened. She calls my statements contradictory and tries to explain away her actions, taking no personal responsibility for the situation. She tries to use her sex repulsion as an excuse, and does not own up to being at fault for any part of the situation.

     This is just one of her many, many “apologies”/public statements.

     I rejoined both Whumper Gathering and Niji in July with the intention of shedding light on how dangerous of a person Yume was. Niji was originally an RWBY fandom project, but quickly devolved into Yume’s side server and personal venting space.

     I was met with the support of many members, both in Niji and Whumper Gathering, but Yume’s new mod team (not any of the mods I worked with, there was a mass walk out shortly before I rejoined; this is a newly hired set) had some particularly disgusting responses to me. I was attacked, called a liar, and demeaned, particularly by Kekune. Kekune, who is also an adult, said extremely nasty things to me and completely defended Yume and her actions while also flat out attacking me. She blamed me for everything in relation to Yume while trying to garner support from other server members.

     As you can see, Kekune not only excuses Yume’s behavior, but lies about the facts of the situation, and blames me, the literal child in the situation, for every aspect and states that I should‘ve prevented myself from being sexualized by an adult. “She didn’t mean it like that” is just one of many excuses made during this conversation.

     This entire situation has been extremely emotionally and physically exhausting for me. I’ve put off making this post out of fear of backlash, but at this point, I am more concerned about general and minor safety of the whump community than about whatever hate I may receive. There are many, many other horrible behaviors and things Yume has done in the WG and Niji servers; these are just my own personal experiences, as I think the posts I linked above do plenty of explaining, and I don’t need to beat a dead horse.

     My message and point with sharing this is simple. Do Not Interact, particularly if you are a minor. If you are still in WG or Niji, leave. Yume is a dangerous individual, as are many of her mods.

     Yume has over a hundred side blogs. The ones I know she uses most are @/whump-dream and @/midian-alexandra. I urge EVERYONE, particularly minors, not to interact with her or either of her servers. It is not safe. You could end up gaslit, manipulated, and/or verbally abused. It’s not worth being there for entertainment or to “watch the drama.”

     All of the above words are mine and mine only. No one else edited this, or even saw it before I posted it publicly. You are welcome to reblog for signal boost if you’d like, but I ask that you please do not add any comments and message me privately with any concerns, because I do not want this to turn into a witch hunt or a flame war against Yume or her staff, and again, this post is 100% from me. Please be safe, friends. The whump community is meant to be safe and welcoming and individuals like this prevent that from being the case.

-Sara (nowhumponmain)

[kaleidodreams]

Getting To Know You Questions

Tagged by @shnuggletea:

What do you prefer to be called name-wise?

Margaret and Meg IRL, Pearl or Yume online.

When is your birthday?

November 2

Where do you live?

In a teeeeeeny-tiny town in Oklahoma. Seriously, it’s so small that it’s not even considered legally considered a town.

Three things you are doing right now?

Answering these questions, checking what’s new on Discord, and watching a Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel.

Four fandoms that have peaked your interest?

My mains are Sailor Moon, Yuri!!! on Ice, Fruits Basket, and Kaleido Star.

How has the pandemic been treating you?

Eh, fine. It hasn’t really affected my life too much, honestly, since I don’t out much anyway.

A song you can’t stop listening to right now?

Nothing really comes to mind.

Recommend a movie 

My favorite is The American President.

How old are you?

In my late 30s.

School, university, occupation, etc

I sell stuff on eBay.

Do you prefer heat or cold?

Cold. Definitely cold.

Name one fact others may not know about you.

I was born with spina bifida.

Are you shy?

Yes, very much so.

Preferred pronouns

She/her

Biggest pet peeves

Yelling. I can’t stand to hear people yell.

What is your favourite ‘dere’ type?

Tsundere 

Rate your life from 1-10

Eh, 4? I don’t know.

What’s your main blog?

This one.

List your side blogs and what they’re used for

I have a side Tumblr, @talesofthemoon, where I reblog people’s Sailor Moon fanfiction posts, and I still have my Livejournal, although I usually only post once or twice a month there, mostly about new merchandise I’ve bought and new anime I’m watching. (I also technically have a writing LJ and a Kaleido Star community LJ, but those haven’t been updated in forever.) Although they’re not side blogs, you can find my fanfiction at AO3 and FF.net. Oh, and here’s my eBay profile, if you’re interested.

Is there something people need to know about you before becoming friends?

I’m not terribly sociable, and I will likely never reach out to you first to talk privately, although I’m happy to chat if you make the first move. 

Tagging some people:  Anybody who feels like doing it!

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: YumeTwins October 19

I wasn’t feeling well yesterday for some reason, but today I feel better; my game came too!

“October is here and it’ll soon be Halloween! Halloween might be traditionally spooky bu you can always count on Japan to help kawaii-ify even the creepiest of things. We searched long and hard through plenty of scary and spooky items to find those with that perfect mix of monstrous and cute just for you! We hope you’ll love the Halloween Festival box this month! Don’t get too frightened!“

Photo Contest and Yume Prize

This month, the Prize heavily pays attribute to Kuromi and My Melody in honor of their involvement with the content.

Meanwhile, the Photo Contest focuses on Agretsuko carrying goods, including two shoulder bags and coin pouches.

My Melody x Kuromi Festive Halloween Pouch

Our first item is perfect for getting you into that festive mood, featuring a cute Halloween party design that features My Melody on one side, and Kuromi on the other:

I’ve always been a Hello Kitty girl, but I love Kuromi ♥ she’s so cute~

Meanwhile, I think this would be a nice pouch for a variety of uses. It’s a decent size, and it even has a pocket, so I think it’d be perfect for things like makeup items, stationery, toiletries, or just various little items you want to keep nearby or organized.

The fabric also feels really nice and of good quality, the zipper works smoothly. I’m thinking I might use this to help organize some of the contents in my drawer. Even though I removed a lot of stuff from it, I feel like with so much space its harder to find things :P

Sumikko Gurashi Squishy

Legit Japanese squishy make me SO happy ♥ especially if its as cute as this one! For this month we had a chance to get 1 of 2 food-based Sumikko Gurashi Squishy, both of which featured Shirokuma on a pudding, or dressed as a yummy onigiri/rice ball. Who is my favorite besides Neko (in case you’re new to the blog and haven’t heard me say that yet) from the series.

As you can see, this squishy comes with a gold ball chain so that you have the option to make it a keychain if you would like to bring it with you. I probably won’t do that because I usually don’t bring my Squishy anywhere, I like to keep them in safe locations, nice and clean.

It’s very soft, in terms of squish speed it took about 15 seconds to puff up back to normal. It has a strong generic squishy scent (not like rubber or plastic, but its different from that “powdered soybean” scent) but I assume if kept out of packaging it would probably fade. I like the scent I don’t really have any complaints. It’s very crisp looking, the seam is just barely messy in a few really tiny spots, and I did notice mine has like... a small fault on its face. You might be able to see it in the pic next to the left eye. I tried pulling it off but I don’t want to risk removing the paint (and not scrap material like I thought initially), so for now it’s staying.  

If you like Squishy I would recommend this little guy if you can find him, I’d recommend checking their online store, Japan Haul.

My Melody x Kuromi Folding Comb & Compact Mirror

Our next two items are the perfect buddies for the pouch we got earlier :3 they’re also very handy for on the go emergency mirror touch-ups you may experience while out of the house. I’ve gotten a couple of these before but it’s been a long time, so it will be fun to swap out my old ones.

As you can see, both the mirror and comb were made to match each other, as well as the pouch. I really like that detail and find it to be aesthetically pleasing ♥  Plus I love the glittery coating.

Okay, so honestly I never use combs. I have long and thick hair and they do not work for that- they either break or just hurt. BUT these are perfect for my bangs, which often get messy or like to curl in weird ways whenever I least suspect it. So it comes in handy while I’m out. The mirror also can lean with its lid to be hands free, and while small, it’s easy to see all the facial details.

Sumikko Gurashi Halloween Lamp

This our last item, a really cute new Sumikko Gurashi Halloween-themed lamp :D there are 3 variations, each pink, but featuring a different image and a character on top.

If you read my previous blog review then you might recognize the image they used from the drink cup we got. Basically, I think this is a “default SG pic“ they use and just modify to fit the scenario. Nothing wrong with that, but I only really took notice of it while observing this.

Here is the character I got:

Not my favorite, but I seem to get him almost as much as Neko and Shirokuma; it’s very rare for me to get Penguin?, and I never get Tonkatsu.

The character on top does something very special~

Cool huh?! It also changes colors!

The lamp requires x3 AA batteries to work, luckily I had some from my Kirby Lamp I got a few months back so I just swapped them out. As much as I love my Kirby lamp I really like this one too, it’s soothing to watch the image feature, and the light is a nice, vibrant white in comparison to its warm yellow. 

♡ Cutie Ranking ♡

Content - 4.5 out of 5. Everything is strongly useful, in that I mean I will use them quite frequently. Everything was also cute with just that tiny hint of spookiness; which was my only issue. I wish the spookiness factor was a more prominent because I love cute-scary things, and this felt more... child friendly Halloween if you know what I mean. 

Theme: 5 out of 5. Everything goes together perfectly, and it has a heavy Halloween vibe! They did a great job!

Total Rank: 10 out of 10. I really liked everything that we got :3 I’d recommend every item!

♡ Cutie Scale ♡

1. Squishy - I love squishy and I wish we got them WAY more often. I shall cherish this as much as I do the sleepy bear I bought from Japan Haul~

2. Lamp - I love it! I especially like how Neko is dressed as a black cat and Shirokuma looks like a vampire x3 two of my favorite things. The light feature is really fun too!

3. Halloween Pouch - This will be a great addition to the drawer I’m having trouble keeping straight. I love how soft and smooth it feels~

4. Mirror - This will come in handy, I’ll be swapping my old one out right after I post this :3

5. Comb - As I can only really use it for my bangs it’ll probably get the least use out of everything.

Okay guys, that will be it for now! I hope you enjoyed the review, next up I actually have 2 GachaGacha Crates to review so stay tuned until then!

[rpgmgames]

August’s Featured Game: Shroom Soup

DEVELOPER(S): Shroomy ENGINE: RPGMaker 2000 GENRE: Adventure, RPG, Psychological Horror WARNINGS: listed here (may contain spoilers) SUMMARY: You play as Arnika, a gloomy teenage girl. Perpetually tired, you live off excessive sleep, lime juice, and instant soup. You look into the vortex forming in your cup of said soup, this time mushroom flavour. Next thing you know, you are in an entirely different world where everything, from buildings to people, is being devoured by fungi. It seems like you have no choice but to walk on... Your journey involves exploration, puzzle-solving and battles.

Download the demo here!

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! Hello! I am Shroomy, and I still haven't figured out which one of my nicknames I should go by, but I use "uboaappears" for art and "toxic shroom swamp" for games. I have a bachelor's degree in biology since two weeks ago and like everything surreal, gory and gay. Nice to meet you. I have been in the community since about 2012, and that might be also when I first wanted to make a game - a Yume Nikki fangame, because YN brought me here. I messed around with the engine for a long time, and certain characters and ideas gradually mutated to whatever this is now.

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Shroomy: It's about making a cup of instant soup and accidentally going on a very weird adventure. ...Okay, actually, it's a coming-of-age story with an emphasis on mental health, relationships, and toxic flesh-eating mushrooms. The idea came to me when I made myself an instant soup once. For some reason, I thought it would be cool if there was a portal into another world in the cup. That's how it started. (I was also into drawing mushrooms growing on people at the time, so that naturally made its way into my Awesome Game Idea.)

How long have you been working on your project? *Shroomy: ...A while. It's enough to say that I graduated from both high school and university with it. But to be honest, I didn't really do much with it until about two years ago. Right now I tend to think of the time before that as trial and error, playing around with ideas and learning to use the engine. I feel a little self-conscious about how long it took me to come up with a coherent story, but that might be a good thing. Since this is quite a personal game, it helped to grow as a person. I think it made for a more interesting and mature work than it would be otherwise.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Shroomy: I feel like I take little bits of inspirations from everything. But I'd say Yume Nikki and Re:Kinder were the biggest game influences. Maybe Hello Charlotte, too - the minimalistic world gave me some food for thought :> Design-wise, I think my current (character) style is a lovechild of Danganronpa, Killing Stalking and something else I am not sure about. Maybe just me.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Shroomy: I think the biggest challenges for me have always been centered around the lack of free time, the lack of energy or the lack of motivation. Some people manage to juggle life and gamedev, but I get exhausted really easily, so it's hard. This is an ongoing issue. I tend to try and free up a day just for relaxing and creative stuff. I've also started using the Forest app for focusing on things, and sometimes use it for gamedev as well. At the beginning I found it frustrating that my skills (in pixel art, for example) didn't match what I wanted to create. That one was improved by - you guessed it - making a lot of pixel art. Making and scrapping a bunch of tilesets for the game. It's as simple as practice and learning how to get the most out of your art program. (It also helps me to make a detailed sketch of a map before I start working, or at least brainstorm the main elements of it.) Another challenge was the incoherence of the story. Originally I wanted to make something really vague and open to interpretation, but... that actually didn't give me enough material to work with. In the end, I played around with the characters, tried to write them some backstories that no one was going to see, and somehow ended up with an actual plot..? Shocking, I know! And the final thing is putting gameplay into the game. To be honest, the puzzles in the demo were pretty random on my side, I just thought them up on the spot. In subsequent locations I tried to make them relevant to the game's themes and/or hint towards the story.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Shroomy: For one thing, the current project has a story and a plan, even if the story is presented in quite an obfuscated way. The original concept was not much more than an idea of a shroomy world. The characters also have a lot more depth and pain to them than they used to. The locations have changed a lot as well, to the point where most of the original ones don't exist anymore.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Shroomy: My team is mostly just me. At the beginning it was a young and naive me, and now we have a slightly older and better-at-art me. After I started my dev blog, I was contacted by Tommuel, who now helps me with sound design and music. And my old friend Robin has made a few NPC sprites for me, and might give a hand with more pixel art in the future. They're not really involved with other aspects of development, but I really appreciate their help anyway! I prefer to keep most of this game to myself - it feels too personal to share, plus I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

What is the best part of developing the game? *Shroomy: I would say it's putting my work out there and sharing it with the world. I'm also really proud of how much I've grown as an artist and writer through developing this. I got attached to this story and this world, with all of its fun, weird and sad details. It's also been really fun, amazing even, to get to know other devs and make friends through being part of this interesting and creative community. I owe some wonderful friendships to it.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Shroomy: I definitely play other games for inspiration, it helps me a lot. Though I try not to make things "just like" other games, but make it a transformative learning experience instead.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Shroomy: I feel like I have been through stages. At first I was Arnika, then Lina, now I feel like I'm turning into Arthur. I guess I put my traits into all of them. (Does that mean that Bernard is the next stage? I'm /so/ ready to transcend humanity, finally learn how to do maths and become everyone's favourite character.)

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Shroomy: I think the biggest mistake I made was jumping straight into making a game without thinking it through or considering the scope. In the end, the lack of planning set me back a lot. Admittedly, I was young and excitable, so I guess it was a learning experience? I didn't really know how to write stories or plan long-term projects, but over time, I somehow built up those skills. I think it's good to have a clear-ish idea of what you want to make before you start, and maybe start with something small. (So basically, do the opposite of what I did.)

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Shroomy: Aha. Actually, yes. I have accidentally started writing two sequels already. They will be small games focusing on other characters' perspectives (as opposed to Arnika). I'm not actually touching them yet though, only making some notes and writing scripts. Perhaps by the time the first game is released I'll have enough material to comfortably work on them.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Shroomy: Fan reaction, I think? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I think I'll just be enjoying the incredible dopamine rush after finally setting this child of mine free to explore the world and infect people's brains with all the shroomy memes it contains. (Also will probably get off the internet for about a week from the anxiety.) Then maybe being free to work on other things, indeed. And posting spoilery concept art >:D

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Shroomy: I am a little worried about the reception of the game's subject matter. If you looked at the list of warnings, you might have an idea what I mean. Sometimes it feels dangerous to explore certain themes in your stories, because people misinterpret depicting something bad as promoting it, for example. But that's why that list exists. I'm just going to let people know straight away that I explore dark themes in this project and I'm not going to hold back on how I do it. Creativity should flow freely, I think. (I am also a little worried about the ratio of my free time vs. gamedev time and /when/ I will finally be able to release it, but... Thankfully, I'm the one in charge of that.)

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Shroomy: Take some time to make a plan for your project, start small, fail faster, and aim for something finished before you aim for perfect. Make a system for organising your files. Back up often, and on a different drive/cloud than your game is on, preferably several. Most of all, make something you would love to play! And don't be too hard on yourself.

Question from last month's featured dev @blackcrystalsrpg: What are your game dev pet peeves?? *Shroomy: I dislike the fact that sometimes I want to have made a game more than I want to make a game, but to have made a game you need to go and make the game. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But there's no escape from fate, so... go, go and make that game happen!

We mods would like to thank Shroomy for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Shroom Soup if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Kakkou no Yume

Title: Kakkou no Yume (カッコウの夢)

Release Date: 2018/05/26

Author/Artist: Tamekou

Cast:

Saitou Souma x Matsuoka Yoshitsugu

Kobayashi Yuusuke

Synopsis: Natsuka has an unrequited love with his best friend Hakushima, for four years. He’s also sex friends with this guy, Seno, as his childhood friend’s replacement but on one fateful day, the two find themselves in an accident. Once his sex friend comes to, he says that he was in fact, his childhood friend. Could this be the chance Natsuka has been waiting for?

Review Proper

I have a bike, I have a suicidal friend - UGGGHHH car accident.

I’ve actually had this for a while and I wasn’t about to listen to just one CD ‘cause how do you expect me to cope if it all goes down hill? 😂 I waited ‘til I had my hands on both Boku no Omawari-san and Remnant before I listened to this. If you’re really one bored fellow and have managed to wonder in the mess that is my blog, you might have seen that in my May Releases that I was intrigued by the concept. Not too long after, some scan teams also picked the manga up so it was now a race for the CD or the manga to spoil the series to me. The CD ultimately won but it wasn’t that long until the scanlation was completed (good on you, Ikemen scans). The translation was at about chapter 3 or 4 when I started listening to the CD.

Now, where should I start?

Since I’m not really going to make a manga review for this, I guess it’s okay for me to voice everything I felt and noticed out here. I’m not cranky - don’t get me wrong (okay, maybe just a little bit) but, I have a lot of issues with the plot in general. Things just got resolved so easily like wtf? I’m not gonna dwell on the character personalities so much because there’s nothing really new or interesting there (asshole seme, desperate uke with no backbone, oblivious third party) but, seriously? Seno, if you really think about it, is nothing but a stranger to Natsuka and the only thing that ties them together is the sex. With these things in mind, it really makes me wonder how in the world can Natsuka just shift his feelings towards Hakushima to Seno that easily?

Seno: “You suck balls. Did you honestly believe that we switched bodies? Bye, Felicia.” *leaves*

Natsuka: “NANI THE FUCK??? But were your feelings real tho? *gasps* I THINK I LOVED HIM AND NOT HAKUSHIMA DURING THE TIME WE WERE TOGETHER.” *chases after Seno*

Literally what the fuck?

And Hakushima’s all “Oh, is that so? Damn, bro.”. I mean, that was your BEST FRIEND? That was duped? By a complete stranger? That yous loved him? Hakushima wasn’t even all that shocked that Natsuka was gay and that he’s loved him ever since hs. Natsuka better be considering giving that “best friend” title to someone else. Shouldn’t you be the least bit concerned yourself? That was fucking identity theft wtf. 

I don’t know. 

It’s a mess. Just like this review

I know that there are a lot of people who stand by this particular work saying that it’s “different” and “deep” which is why it’s so hyped up but, judging it by it’s face, it’s literally just a mess of plot, pacing, and logic. Tamekou had me the first few chapters - the potential was definitely there. Everything just went down hill after Natsuka, for the dick he turned out to be, lost his shit and pushed Seno down when he thought that he could get away with it since it was “Seno’s body”. Imagine if it Hakushima and Seno did exchange bodies, how do you think Hakushima would have felt after almost being raped by his best friend? 

“WHY WHERE YOU NICE TO ME THEN???” - Natsuka

Somebody post this on reddit under r/niceguys.

I do acknowledge that it’s fucked up but this is marketed as drama and my sadomasochistic ass ain’t be down with it. This PALES in comparison what, say, Saezuru offers. And if I were to name a series which is as fucked up but is significantly better plot-wise and can actually CAPTIVATE it’s readers, it would be Asahi Yohi’s Dakedo, Ashita no Hanashi o Shiyou. The latter is the “poser” plot executed to a T and the drama leaves you invested while the former makes you lose interest as you read along *rolls eyes*. I do have my qualms about that other series but, I can say that it’s way better than this one. 

Moving on to the technicalities,

Man, I don’t know who did the casting and I don’t know why they did this but, I think someone’s going to need a change of careers soon. I’m fine with Seno and Hakushima having the same tone of voice since it adds to their similarities but to have Natsuka in the same range too is pushing it. Half of the time I was struggling to figure out who was talking - add that to the fact that the translation was only half way done. I’m only familiar with Saitou Souma through his Mafuyu in Given (his voice is a little higher and more natural in Given than here) so that was the only voice I could count on for distinction. However, there are many instances where Saitou Souma’s voice grows higher making his and Shirai Yuusuke’s voice be in the same range - I find their mattress mambos the most confusing. I respect all the VAs tho and they did their best but, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed. 

Speaking of mattress mambos-

“I don’t make love. I fuck hard.” - Christian Grey, Fifty Shades of Grey

I don’t know but, it felt so disgusting to read and actually listen to. Maybe it’s because it’s made to be fucked up and unromantic that it made me feel that way. It just didn’t feel right. But hey, they were just sex friends then, right? I’d be glad if that was so but, I felt the same in the bonus track. *shrugs* maybe it’s just indigestion

To sum everything up, I think the plot was a mess, the casting wasn’t the best, and the mattress mambos felt off. I, in all honestly, wouldn’t recommend this to anyone but for those interested, I’d suggest never listening to the CD or reading the manga while listening if you’re not familiar with any of the VAs. For those who actually like this series then definitely give this a listen ‘cause it’s very loyal to the manga and there isn’t a lot of ad libs. 👌

[twilightmalachite]

VS★PRINCESS - Battle Royale 8

Characters: Mao, Subaru, Tsukasa, Esu, Fuyume Nice

Translator: Mika Enstars

JP Proofreader: 310mc

"It’s all because Esu shouldn’t have left Yume behind."

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Prince Castle (Exterior)

Around ten minutes later…

Fuyume: Sniffle, sniffle.

I got scolded to death for some reason.

Esu: Of course that’d happen… Just what were you thinking? Are you an idiot?

You can cause trouble to me all you’d like, but don’t cause trouble to the public!

Fuyume: Why?

Yume didn’t do anything wrong. Yume didn’t cause trouble for anyone, Yume just exclaimed Yume’s love for Yume's beloved Esu.

Esu: There’s a right time and place for that. You’ve caused confusion because someone completely unrelated to the judges was mixed in!

Mao: Things have gotten messy already, huh… and 4piece hasn’t even started yet.

Tsukasa: Umm, we too are puzzled. This person isn’t… actually a judge or anything… right?

Esu: He isn’t. Just some guy who wandered in here, with nothing to with the place at all.

Fuyume: That’s not true. Yume is Esu’s personal guardian, so—

Esu: Could the lunatic please be quiet?

Mao: (S-Sagiri’s being strangely harsh when it comes to this Yume kid for some reason. Such a contrast to how he was acting like such a good kid in front of us earlier…)

(Maybe they have that sort of easy-going relationship where they tease each other light-heartedly? Sort of like what Trickstar is to me…?)

Subaru: So, basically~…

That kid Esu knows, Yume a.k.a. Hanamura Fuyume, is just an ordinary person, not even participating in 4piece?

And… he was just sitting in the chair of the producer who was meant to be introduced—Anzu?

Esu: Yep. You’re right on the dot with that understanding.

Seems that he followed me on his own accord, got lost, and accidentally found his way into the judges’ seats?

Fuyume: It’s all because Esu shouldn’t have left Yume behind.

Yume searched all over the place. And when Yume walked into a room that had something like Esu’s scent, they all thought Yume was Anzu for some reason.

So, it’s all Esu’s fault. It’s because Esu ran away from Yume’s love—

Esu: If you were made to drink poison while being told it’ll be good for you, you’d normally just spit it out, wouldn’t you?

Fuyume: Don’t try to fool Yume with your strange analogies. Also, to correct you, Yume doesn’t have nothing to do with 4piece.

Because Esu said he was going to participate, Yume decided to as well.

Yume won’t ever let you escape… No matter the time, no matter the place, Yume is always together with Esu. ♪

Esu: Huh? You’re also participating in 4piece?

Don’t do that. You’re just a cosplayer, not an idol, aren’t you?

Fuyume: The same goes for Esu. Esu’s just an amateur—

Mao: Sorry to interrupt your argument, but it looks like they’re going to resume explaining the rules and such. Could you please keep it down for a bit?

Fuyume: Look, we got scolded. It’s all your fault, Esu, it always is.

Esu: I’d like to say the same thing right back at you, though?

Mao: Now now, Sagiri... It looked like you were looking for the Yume kid earlier, so. Whatever the case, the fact you were able to meet up is a good thing.

Don’t scold him so harshly, Sagiri. He also just wanted to reconvene with you; he didn’t mean any harm, did he?

Fuyume: See, even the forehead guy says so.

Mao: Forehead guy?!

Esu: I apologize. This guy forgot how to be polite while in his mother’s womb.

Fuyume: Mother? The things you say don’t make any sense, Yume is a fairy of love who arose naturally from a drop of dew upon a flower. ♪

Mao: … …

Esu: Yeah. I don’t recommend trying too hard to understand. I’ve already given up.

Mao: I see… I may not understand the situation well, but you don’t have it easy either, huh…

Nice: “—Now then.”

“We encountered a strange problem of sorts, but it’s been dealt with now and all’s good.”

“Now that we have introduced the judges, let us move on to the inner workings of 4piece.”

Mao: Oh, looks like they’re resuming the explanation.

Esu: We didn’t get to hear that much, all thanks to Fuyume… But well, I don’t know all too much about them but, the lineup of judges all appear to be pretty spectacular, don’t they?

Subaru: Yeah, but how’d you figure that out?

Esu: Just the general reactions from everyone else… I’m relatively good at picking up those sorts of things.

I mean, when you’re put in extreme circumstances like a jungle, if you don’t have sharpened senses like that you might actually die!

Subaru: I don’t really know much about how jungles work… But, you really do have the talent it takes to be an idol, Esu.

The ability to discern the reactions of those around you… That’s an essential skill for an idol.

When I first saw Hiiro, I thought the same thing. You too—maybe you have what it takes to lead the next generation of idols.

Wooow, what I said sounded like something Eichi-senpai would say! ♪

Fuyume: Who are you? You’re acting strangely buddy-buddy with Esu.

Esu: Don’t explode don’t explode don’t explode! Seriously, have mercy on me, please, no more strife! God, Buddha! Fuyume-sama…!

Fuyume: Heheh, Yume wants you to shower Yume with praise some more…☆

[ ☆ ]

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[twocoursemeal-blog]

TCM People’s Choice: Shabu & Mein!

TCM Ramen Month v2.0: Shabu & Mein (Lechmere)

The people have spoken, and they want Shabu & Mein! We had a poll on our facebook page asking our readers where they wanted to go for our first TCM Reader’s Choice Dinner. Our readers are pretty great, because they made an excellent decision!

We ate:

Some stuff we will not talk about:

Spicy Fried Calamari (solid, a little chewy, but nice)

Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms (I hope you like bacon grease. We do, these were great)

...and some stuff we will talk about:

Steamed Crab Shumai

Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen

Hell Ramen

We didn’t eat (personally), but ordered:

Lobster rangoon

Fried Soft Shell Shrimp with Miso Mayo

We drank:

Sungwa Old Fashion

Angela’s Thoughts:

I’d never been to Shabu & Mein (to be honest, I’d heard not-so-great things about it…). Matt continually tried to convince me of its goodness, but I was unmoved; I am glad that I was completely wrong! The restaurant was large and inviting, and the service was excellent. We’d requested a table for 10; 8 brave souls wanted to experience a Ramen Month review first-hand. To make it more of a special occasion, we all ordered drinks and shared appetizers.

The drink I ordered, the Sungwa Old Fashion, featured a Japanese Whisky front and center in a familiar cocktail. The drink was quite nice, and well-balanced. The use of Japanese Whisky made the cocktail pleasantly mild, but still complex and flavorful. It was on the seasonal menu, but I sincerely hope it sticks around for a while. We also shared a number of appetizers. Though I didn’t get to eat them all, they all looked pretty good! Lastly, I pored over the ramen menu, planning my line of attack.

The ramen at Shabu & Mein is very customizable. You can choose your broth (Tonkotsu, Miso, Soy, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, and variable specials), your style of noodles (thin ramen noodles, thick ramen noodles, udon, yam noodles, veggie noodles, and rice vermicelli), and you can add toppings (quite a substantial list). To be honest, it was all a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, Ramen Month was “only shoyu” month for me, which limited my decisions… until I saw the “Hell Ramen” on the specials menu.

It was billed as a “special spicy broth” with a number of toppings, like eggs, scallions, pork, corn, bean sprouts, and fish cake! I love fish cake! I asked our server what type of broth the Hell Ramen had, hoping it was shoyu-based. It wasn’t shoyu-based. It was pork- and beef- based. It was also $18... Despite that, at the 11th hour, I abandoned “Only Shoyu” Month. What can I say? I really missed Pikaichi’s Jigoku Ramen (RIP <3). I ordered the Hell Ramen with thick noodles, and all I can say is “No Regrets.” The Hell Ramen was absolutely delicious!

The broth was a striking red color, certainly reminiscent of the pits of hell. And wow, was it just as hot. The spice level was no joke. There were cut pieces of chili and entire peppercorns floating around the bowl, and when you tasted it, they made themselves known. The first few bites were fine, but by the end my mouth was burning and my nose was running a bit (but I still couldn’t stop eating). The flavor was very chili-forward, but the mala tingle from the Sichuan peppercorns brought it to the next level. If you’re not spice-tolerant, be careful. Otherwise, I highly recommend it!

The whites of the eggs were stained red just from their short time in the bowl. The egg is nice, though maybe a little north of ideal cooked texture. The marinade on the egg was sweet and delicious, which was a welcome juxtaposition against the spicy broth. The noodles were also well-cooked. They were nice, chewy, and tender, but not quite overcooked. I am pretty sensitive and unforgiving to noodles that end up over al dente, but the softness of the ramen noodles was pleasant, to me. The peppercorns and chili flakes tangled up in the thick curly noodles, making the spice relentless.

The pork slices were a bit smaller, but they were cooked very well. The pork was delicious, and perfectly tender. It didn’t have a strong meaty flavor (maybe it got lost in the sauce a bit), but it did have a nice, slightly sweet flavor. Mix that in with the broth, and you have an excellent serving of chashu. The corn and bean sprouts were there too, adding small pops of sweetness and relief from the spice, respectively.

Now, to what I was most excited for: the fish cake. It, like the egg, had been stained by the broth (the outside was still that bright dyed pink, but the inside was a dull red). It was delightfully springy; one of my favorite aspects of fish cake is the texture -- it’s something that you don’t often get in ramen. It had a nice savory flavor, which paired well with the fruity sweet notes in the broth from the chili. It was a nice and interesting addition to an already-great bowl of ramen.

The cherry on top was the nori sheet, soaked during my entire meal in this spicy, fruity, chili oil drenched broth. It soaked up the spice so perfectly! It was an absolutely fantastic finish to the meal! Shabu & Mein (and Matt, and my readers, whom I doubted), forgive me. I was so wrong. Shabu & Mein was much better than my expectations, and I need to go back for that Hell Ramen.

Matt’s Thoughts:

In fairness, I’d been to Shabu & Mein many times before. It’s right down the street from my work, and it’s a common stop for our company outings. But worry not, dear readers - I won’t let my previous visits influence this most recent one. Shabu & Mein had better bring their A game.

This was our first ever TCM Fan Meal, and we were so excited that so many of our readers (read: friends who put up with our constant posts about the food we already eat), set aside time on a Friday night to join us for dinner. As y’all know, big groups pair well with small plates, and we were able to order a variety of different apps and small plates. Overall, they were very solid! I’ve enjoyed Shabu & Mein’s various apps several times before, and the consistency on flavor and cook always leaves me feeling optimistic when I think about trying something different. My favorite of the small plates was definitely the crab shumai, which had the classic light, delicate shumai texture plus pleasantly soft chunks of crab meat. I’d order them again in a heartbeat, and couldn’t bear to get them cooked any other way than steamed.

At Shabu & Mein, I got what I always get, which is the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen. As an added bonus, I remembered to ask for thick noodles, since Shabu & Mein generally provides the thinner straight style of ramen noodles in this dish. I’m a creature of habit. Don’t judge me. I also asked for my eggs on the side, since I’ve had so many good eggs ruined by sitting in hot broth for too long, waiting to be taken to the table. Shabu & Mein has generally done a great job of cooking their eggs to that perfect (for me, at least) runny-yolk consistency, and I’ll be honest, I wanted them to do well (an unnamed co-reviewer on this blog had previously expressed some concerns that Shabu & Mein’s ramen was not worth considering) [spoiler alert - the yolks were a little overcooked, but the whites were nice and had a surprisingly sweet soy-forward taste from the marinade].

After a remarkably glamorous tray full of halved ajitama arrived (huge props to the restaurant for giving you a FULL egg with your ramen instead of just a half), the ramen was distributed. I’ve got to say, it was definitely one of the more underwhelming initial bowl presentations we’ve experienced during Ramen Month v2.0. Color? A little drab and monotonous (though to be fair, some of that may have been due to the poor lighting at our table). Toppings? Aside from a tangle of wood ear mushrooms, a dollop of spicy paste, and a slice of pork covered partially in an already-submerged piece of nori, largely undetectable. Things were not looking good.

Until of course, I mixed it all together and took a sip. The powerfully deep, rich, balanced tonkotsu broth flooded my palate like a porky velvet blanket (it’s better than it sounds, I promise). At least, everything was nice and gentle until the spice came in and drop kicked me right in the back of the throat. Damn, that stuff is spicy! The texture of it almost reminds me of a soy-based paste, which adds an additional thickness and creaminess to the already decadent broth. This balance of “smooth pork - kick” went on in a way that kept me going back for more every time. Broth gets too rich? Capsaicin-induced pain can fix that. Pain too much? Just enjoy some of this silky pork bone broth. Oh, you just had a sip of broth, you say? And repeat.

Of course, you can’t have a broth like this NOT get into all of the toppings. Of course, the pork fat-infused nori sheet carried the heat just as well as a strong taste of the ocean. Of course, the noodles were perfectly cooked to that springy al dente texture, and carried the broth up like some kind of bizarre reverse firehose. We’re not here to debate any of this.

What we are here to talk about (at least, what I am here to talk about) is Shabu & Mein’s chashu.

Yep. You heard me right. Congrats, Shabu & Mein! You did it. You delivered my favorite chashu in all of Ramen Month v2.0. I am impressed.

Shabu & Mein’s pork was unbelievably tender. Not “overcooked-and-mushy” tender, not “it’s-all-fat-so-how-could-it-not-be-tender” tender. I’m talking “beautifully cooked, impeccably cut, smartly seasoned, deep, eye-closing-rock-back-and-forth-in-delight” tender. It was that good. I wish I had ordered a side of it. I may still go back there just to order a side of it. If they offered a way to buy a loaf of the stuff like Yume does, I may actually just take them up on it. When you can cut through your pork with chopsticks with little to no effort, but still have no issue picking it up to eat it, you know it’s done right.

Go to Shabu & Mein. Get whatever ramen calls out to your soul (it’ll be good, I’m sure). Or don’t, that’s fine too.

But whatever you do, make sure it comes with an extra side of pork.

Overall:

Great drinks, great ramen, and great company; what more could you ask for? The first TCM Reader’s Choice Meal was a rousing success, and we can’t wait to do something similar again. We’re so glad that Shabu & Mein rose to the challenge and gave us an all-around excellent meal. If you’re in the area (and even if you’re not), we really do recommend that you visit.

We give Shabu & Mein 4 plates of breathtakingly consistent ajitama out of 5.

Waow. You made it. The end of Ramen Month v2.0. How are you two doing?

Angela: What a great way to end. To say that I am pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. After the first two or three reviews, I kind of regretted doing Ramen Month v2.0. I’m glad that all turned around. As long as new ramen places keep opening in Boston, maybe we should make this an annual thing...

Matt: Talk about ending on a high note! After the terrible winter of 2s and 1s, I really thought there would be no end in sight. Did I wake up one day and not realize I had become Job? And then we went to Little Big Diner. And then we went to Oisa! And then we went to Shabu & Mein!! It felt like Boston’s ramen had been hiding from us, testing us to see if we were truly worthy of its gifts. Well, dear readers, we persevered, and we were blessed for our suffering. And what a blessing it was.

[buri-art]

Buri’s Original Stuff

novicesmileegao said: Well, @ buri-art, actually, the friend of mine asked, if you have original works and how to buy them, but I, being myself, totally forgot until I saw this post today again. So if it's possible, make some pdf e-book versions of your books available for shopping from Russia)

I-I-I-I-I-I’m so honored and happy whenever people show an interest in, and then actually enjoy my original stuff. T^T Or anything artistic I do besides fanart, for that matter. It’s very easy to get stuck in an “I’m only popular because people already like these characters” rut sometimes. Alas, popularity is not a purpose for doing art or anything creative, I know that, but it sure feels good to have your work appreciated for being what it is, whatever that might be.  I’ve posted a few original works here on Tumblr, most notably The King and His Pet, which is a completed manga one-shot that is part of a much larger story (side note, though it’s the kind of world I developed for ten years out of sheer guilty pleasure, I’ve recently started thinking about how I could adjust the story for a young novel-readying audience. No promises, though). This one-shot, as well as Dongshi’s Fake Frown, was part of a little self-publication I did in 2012. Before sending it off for printing I only asked people I knew personally if they wanted to pay for cheap copies, so 55 printed copies exist out there, and only 55 copies will ever exist. 

Followers from May-July 2015 (*waves*) probably remember my epic battle to make a short original piece to send in to Hana to Yume’s monthly manga contest. Ah, Uncanny Music. Despite all of the moral support (and some technical support!) I received, frankly, it sucks. I am too weak, I make too many mistakes. XD Although I’m still fond of what I was trying to do with it (and I’m really happy there was one reader here on Tumblr who appreciated the story for exactly the reasons I was going for and I love you for that).

Also of note for how it pertains to my Tumblr existence, I originally made my Tumblr to try to drive more traffic to my blog about the San’in region of Japan. I uploaded a few chunks of my Kojiki comics (yes, my own original manga interpretations of Shinto mythology to go along with nerdy introductions to where those myths took place), but not much, and they didn’t really get any reception here. (If you look in my Archive, you’ll see that July 2014 was full of these, but here’s another example of a lesser known myth.) Veeeeeeerrrrrry bad news regarding that four year project: I was hosting my images on Photobucket, and Photobucket now wants to charge me $400 per year to keep the 3rd party hosting function, so my very, very, very, very time consuming blog (but time well spent, I went on all kinds of cool adventures for it!) is now very broken. I considered it dead and announced such on my Facebook, and to my surprise, people liked it enough that many have said they’d be willing to contribute to some kind of crowdfunding project to get my work live again as an archive, or they tried to come out with other solutions and looked into them for me (so far, unsurprisingly, to no avail). For years people had also been saying that my Kojiki comics and other (severely typo-laden) articles on my blog should be compiled and sold as a book, but the comic panels were always meant for web-only viewing, so the original file sizes are too small to print well. And besides...

I’m really, reeeeeeaaaaally happy with a lot of the Kojiki manga, especially after all that research I put into it and how I worked some difficult but every interesting elements into the narrative, but I got super lazy on a lot of it too. I was ready to let my work die, but I’ve gotten enough encouragement from people who love it to try to find some way to salvage it, as well as at least the best of the rest of the blog, which has hundreds of entries. So I’m a little busy trying to figure that out... which isn’t easy, because when it comes to technical skills, I’m the worst. Sure, I can draw cute faces, but I sure can’t make them look nice. 

Let’s see, what else... ah! There was that time I poured a Noh script into a blender and poured it out as shoujo manga. It was pink and experimental and it won second place in a contest. Wind Between The Pine Needles is here and starts on page 34.

As far as illustrations here and there, most of the stand-alone things I’ve done in recent years that are actually illustrations instead random doodles had purposes for things i was up to back in Matsue (trust me, that old man drinking tea as he fondly gazes at camellias turned out super, super shiny). As for things I’d try to monetize by making available for printing, I do still have this greeting card design lying around, and I had thought about doing a small series of “Everything I need to know about love I learned from shoujo manga” to put on tote bags and stuff, but never did any of that... what do you guys think? Should I make stuff like that to put in an online shop? Oh!! Oh, if you want to buy an academic book about the production of shoujo manga, I did do the cover art for one! Thank you, U. of Hawai’i Press! It wasn’t a paid project though, I did it as a favor... ........come to think of it I’ve never been paid for my nice illustrations, only my doodles. o__o;;; ...........O_____O;;; Whoa. Why did I ever bother putting any effort into anything, if my doodles will suffice to bring joy to people? 

A-anyway. 

Speaking of effort and original stuff, I’m working on some writing projects lately. Although I spent a large chunk of my life and imagination dreaming of being a mangaka and I took a, for me, satisfying stab at it, I’m feeling more ambitious in my writing directions now. I’ll always draw for fun, at least, and I’ll always dream of seeing my original stories in anime format, but at least I’m still creating things, and that’s what counts. If I ever push to publish any of these novels I have in the works, I hope you all will support me in that endeavor as well. *bows* I’m still humbled by all that support I received, both within the SF squad and without, from when I was working the 2015 project. 

Thank you all again. Oh, and... *cough* One more thing about my original works: 

[naruto-oc-critiques]

Michiyō Madoka

Here’s your OC review, @michiyomadoka  Sorry for the long wait! I’ll be putting it under a Read More since it was/is so long.

Name: Michiyō Madoka - “Michiyō” means “sunny path” (道陽) and “Madoka” means “circle” (円). Note: The sun is used as a plot device as she associated it with Pain after he stopped the rain in Amegakure and only after his death was able to let go of her hatred of the sun. While the rain in her story is used as a symbol of the “genjutsu world”, the sun is used as a symbol of the “real world”, which she has to make peace with in the end.

C: My Japanese isn’t the best, but I think Madoka is 円か. There’s probably another blog on tumblr that could help you with the translation if you’re interested in knowing the kanji, but I imagine that in most cases you’ll stick to saying Madoka in romaji and not using the kanji so it’s not massively important. There’s also Japandict which I find rather helpful.

Syn - Pain didn’t stop the rain though? It’s near constant downpour there throughout his reign. The only times he stopped it were on Sundays and when he left the village. It was/is used as a sensory jutsu to check for infiltrators.

Gender: Female

Age: Part I: 13-14 and Part II: 17-18

Time set in: Naruto and Naruto Shippūden

Birthplace: Harawa Village, Land of Rain

Lives in: Amegakure

Appearance:

Michiyō is 174 cm tall and weighs 64 kg in Shippūden. She has pale skin, grey eyes and waist-length blonde hair with blunt bangs.

Syn- Weight according to height and gender are good! The hair could be an issue though; such long hair could be problematic; especially if she has it while she’s still young and new. It takes a degree of skill to fight with long hair, especially with close up styles. Even then it’s not very recommended.

C: Details on her actual build would be helpful too. Is her hair usually loose or tied up? As Syn mentioned, long loose hair can get ninjas into all sorts of trouble.

In Part I Michiyō wears a black skirt that reach her mid thighs with slits on both sides and the kanji for dream (夢, yume) in yellow and a sleeveless black crop top with a zipper in front. Underneath she wears a sleeveless mesh suit with black lining, covering her from the neck down to the thighs. She also wears grey shorts and short grey fingerless gloves in rubber with black-lined mesh underneath and has her grey Amegakure forehead protector tied around her hips, as well as a grey shuriken holster on her right thigh. She wears a pair of regular black shinobi sandals with knee-high black-lined mesh stockings and has black nail polish on her fingernails and toenails. She also carries a grey and yellow tantō strapped on her back.

Syn - Yellow seems a bit out of place in a darker village like Ame. Most colors you see there apart from Yahiko and Konan’s hair are dark and dull. Also, why with the rubber?

C: The reason behind the kanji for Yume would be nice to know.

In Part II she wears a pale grey sleeveless, knee-length dress with slits on both sides and the kanji for dream (夢, yume) in yellow, with a narrow low-cut V-neck almost reaching her navel. Underneath she wears a sleeveless mesh suit with yellow lining, which covers her from the neck to down the thighs. She wears still grey shorts but has replaced her short gloves with long grey fingerless gloves in rubber with metal plating on the backhand and yellow-lined mesh underneath as well as a pair of matching, knee-high grey rubber boots with the same yellow lined mesh stockings underneath. She wears a grey belt around her waist with her Amegakure forehead protector plate on and a grey shuriken holster on her right thigh and now has yellow nail polish on her fingernails and toenails. She also carries her sword strapped on her back, which is concealed inside a grey and yellow oil-paper umbrella. As a member of Amegakure’s Anbu unit Namida, Michiyō wears a grey, hooded, ankle-length rain cloak with a zipper in front over her usual outfit and a metal mask designed with slanted eye-holes with four dots trailing down from each corner, the kanji for “tears” (涙, namida) on the forehead and four vertical lines in place of the mouth, resembling the Amegakure village symbol. Her mask uniquely has yellow markings around the eyes and trailing down the cheeks. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Michiyō wore a standard Amegakure slate grey flak jacket with swirls on the chest, on top of her normal outfit.

Syn - Why the kanji? What kind of swirls on the flak jacket? Why did she have a special flak jacket? I do like the idea of different ANBU divisions though.

C: Is the rain cloak and mask the standard ANBU uniform for her division? How come they don’t have a full standard outfit/style like other ANBU?

Michiyō is also noted for always wearing a simple silver necklace with a small teardrop-shaped pendant around her neck - a gift from Hanzō that is actually a concealed vial containing the only known antidote to his poison, which she usually wears tucked away underneath her shirt for protection.    

C: You’ve not mentioned what this vial is made of, but I’d advise making it metal or similar rather than glass so that it’s not easily breakable.

Family:

Rin Madoka (mother, deceased): Her only living family, the relationship was very poor as her mother drank and neglected, as well as verbally and emotionally abusing her. When she died Michiyō did not mourn her and only felt relief when thinking about her death.

Unknown father (father, presumed deceased): The relationship is non-existent as he left her when she was a baby. When confronted she blames him for not taking care of her, but never really thinks about him otherwise.

C: It’d be handy for us to know who he is, even if Michiyo doesn’t.

Occupation: Anbu captain

Rank: Part I: Genin and Part II: Anbu

Team:

Team 4: Michiyō Madoka, Natsuko Long, Kai Jakushi and Sensei Kinichirō Togawa. Michiyō’s assigned genin team. I was thinking about this team having a dynamic similar to Team 7: Michiyō/Naruto was in love with Kai/Sakura and Kai/Sakura was in love with Natsuko/Sasuke, while despite their differences Michiyō/Naruto and Natsuko/Sasuke were best friends.

Syn - It’s important to think of team dynamics, but this seems like too much of a Team 7 parallel to me.

C: I would also avoid spelling out where your inspiration comes from in general, as then the parallels become particularly obvious. If your OCs would genuinely have that kind of dynamic then that’s fair enough, but I still feel like there should be some differences between your team and team 7’s.

Team Akuma: Tsuyu Saitō, Kohaku Itō and Captain Michiyō Madoka (codename Akuma). Anbu team within the Anbu unit Namida, specialized in ambush/protection and serves as bodyguards for the village head.

Syn - Somehow I kind of doubt Pain would want/need an ANBU protection squad? None the less one ran by Hanzo’s “daughter”. The general Ambush/Protection classification is generally fine though!

C: I’m not convinced on the team name either. Team Michiyo would be better, or an entirely different codename for the team as a whole.

Syn - Like going by Alpha, Beta, ect. Something like that.

Friends:

Hanzō (caretaker/father figure): After Hanzō took her in and made her his student Michiyō came to love him as a father figure and was devastated when he was killed by Pain. His death had a profound impact on Michiyō and afterwards she gave up on the idea of peace and bonding with others and bended down to Pain in order to survive, trying to let go of Hanzō. When she later met the reanimated Hanzō she admitted that she had not been able to let him go and despite all the bad things he had done she still loved him.

Syn - I just...don’t think of Hanzō as the type to take someone in. I could see him hearing about an oddly talented civilian and conscripting them to the academy though.

C: Shouldn’t Pain have killed her if they were close? From the wiki “the Six Paths of Pain confronted and single-handedly killed Hanzō, systematically slaughtered every person he was ever in league, or affiliated with; from family and servants, to even ambassadors of the villages who he was associated with”.

Natsuko Long (best friend/teammate): Was her best friend, but they grew apart in the Academy when Natsuko became popular and Michiyō as the outsider began isolating herself becoming solely focused on getting stronger. When Natsuko died, Michiyō did not go to her funeral as she at that point had suppressed her emotions completely, something she later regretted and after the war was finally able to mourn her.

Syn - How can they be best friends if they grew apart in the academy and never reconciled?

C: It’s nice to see her regretting her past actions, though I realise that may sound awful.

Kai Jakushi (friend/childhood crush/teammate): Due to Michiyō being an outsider and he was popular, Michiyō was forced to pretend that they were not friends in the Academy, while hiding her crush on him. While team mates her feelings for him disappeared as she suppressed her emotions and they grew apart when team disbanded and after Natsuko’s death they never spoke again.

Syn - So, she and Kai stayed friends but not her and Natsuko? Why?

Kinichirō Togawa (sensei): She liked and admired him, and felt sad when he drank himself to death not long after his retirement when Team 4 disbanded, but tried to let it go and not think about it.

Syn - Why did he become an alcoholic? Because Natsuko died?

C: It would be nice to have a bit more detail here, like why she admired him, and more details on her feelings rather than just “sad” when he passed away.

Kakashi Hatake (friend/romantic interest): When they met in Part II after Pain’s defeat, she came to respect and admire him during the preparation for the war and slowly developed feelings for him. However she hid them as she still feared they made her weak and vulnerable. Note: I’m not sure whether to just leave it at a crush/friends or to have them become a couple in the end after she breaks out of her emotionless shell - I don’t plan on them getting married or having children or anything like that, I thought of them more as lovers/partners and I am still not entirely sure whether she would move to Konoha for him – any advice on if the relationship even seems plausible would be fine :)  

Syn - honestly i think konoha shinobi would be wary of most ame shinobi. Also, i don’t believe Ame participated in the fourth war, as they’d just lost their leaders. They would have been too embroiled in finding a leader, likely through civil war given the country’s history.

C: It was just the main 5 villages and the samurai who participated in the war. We could really do with more detail on how they actually meet, and how any kind of relationship has time to develop.

Personality: As a child she was happy, cheerful and stubborn with a fierce temper much like Naruto Uzumaki, but due to the lack of love in her childhood she became introverted, reserved and taught herself to supress her emotions and put up a façade.

C: Becoming introverted and reserved makes sense if she had a difficult childhood. Does she still have the same temper “under the surface” then? I’m curious as to whether or not she has any “ticks” that give may away her hidden emotions to anyone who knows her well enough.

After Hanzō’s death, she lost all hope in other people and believed that bonding with others would only make her weak. Though she hated Pain, she never sought revenge, as she was too afraid of him and believed that he could never be defeated.

C: It’s good to see that she understands the limits of her power, though I’m curious as to why she lost hope in other people at this time too. Logically speaking, if she could gather up a reasonably large band of at least semi skilled people, then she could have had a chance at beating Pain. If she was that attached to Hanzo I feel like she would have tried to do something, though obviously not if it was a lost cause.

Trapped under Pain, unable to deal with all her anger, hatred and sorrow she instead chose to completely shut off her emotions and slowly turned her own heart into ice. Michiyō came to believe that the only way she could survive and become strong was to let it all go and forget about the past and everything that had happened and she willingly bended down to Pain in order to survive. The past became a taboo which she never thought or spoke about and her only focus was to keep moving forward at all cost. She became obsessed with getting stronger and all her waking hours she trained her genjutsu, which with time became the only way she could express her emotions. Most of the time Michiyō is calm and composed, with an aloof and confident attitude. However she is also talkative, strong-opinionated, and can also be funny and charismatic at times, but her cheerful exterior is often only a part of her facade and she always keeps people at an arms-length, never showing her true emotions.

C: To be honest, being charismatic at times gives off something of a manipulative vibe to me, though I’m not sure if you were aiming for this.

Syn - I could see the manipulative side developing after all that she’s been through though.

She is extremely enduring and also adaptable under extreme circumstances, unflappable and very good at keeping her cool in any situation. She is very determined and ambitious, but can turn obsessive under too much pressure. Due to her upbringing she is also quite mature for her age and very independent as she is used to relying only on herself and can therefore also be very selfish, always putting herself before others.

C: Selfishness is a good flaw, and makes sense for her too.

Syn - Makes sense with the manipulative vibe too!

As she prefers her own company most of the time, she has very few friends and when not on duty she spends her time alone in her apartment painting or reading as she likes being creative, which helps her develop ideas for her genjutsu. The thing she fears above anything else is being vulnerable and weak, opening up and then being betrayed or exploited, which is why she trusts no one and keeps to herself. Her fear is her weakest point, as she has never learned to be brave and has had to flee and hide her entire life to survive.

C: I like these fears.

Syn - Sounds very much like someone who grew up so close to the center of a war-torn country.

However, after Pain’s death everything changed for her and her meeting with Naruto and watching his refusal to give up made her realize that she had been wrong to despair and give up on other people and she regained her hope in a better future. This helped her break out of her emotionless shell and shed her façade, no longer believing bonds and feelings is just weaknesses and she began creating new bonds and also finding the courage and will to fight for her village and others than herself.

C: It’s good to see her grow and move on from her old feelings. Naruto has changed so many characters in canon though, so it can feel a bit stale when he’s the reason for an OCs change too. I would consider linking it to the actions of her friends, fellow villagers or something, so it feels a bit fresher (I hope you get what I mean here).

Abilities: Despite her being born into a civilian family, Michiyō was born with immense genjutsu powers. Learning the basic theory behind chakra by years of listening in on the shinobi teams passing through her village, she was able to teach herself how to mould chakra and create genjutsu and even before she joined the Academy she had surprisingly good control of her abilities. She was even able to catch a fully-fledged shinobi in a Genjutsu Binding when she was 8 years old, which were enough to catch the eye of the legendary shinobi Hanzō, who took her as his student.

Syn - That’s a little over-powered, for some civilian kid with not family history of shinobi. I could see maybe a Kurama kid being able to do this.

C: This is definitely beyond the realm of what an untrained child could be reasonably expected to learn without some kind of formal tuition. If you want Hanzo to take an interest in her, why not wait until they start to teach genjutsu at the academy?

As she has trained herself to suppress her emotions her entire life, with time her genjutsu became the only way she could express her emotions and therefore became very dependent on them. Her powers are so strong that overuse eventually breaks down her mind and personally, so that she at last is just an empty shell.

Syn - I can see the becoming dependent of genjutsu thing, as that seems like a viable side effect from emotional suppression. But by that last sentence do you mean she ends up killing herself with her genjutsu? Or at least puts herself into a vegetative state?

C: I’m guessing that you’re aiming for a ROOT style personality, though I feel like if she loses too much then she won’t care about missions, or even self care and could just fade away, or die due to carelessness on a mission.

Note: I am still working on the mechanics of her genjutsu powers as I don’t want it to be just a copy of the Kurama Clan’s genjutsu, but I still want it to be something that defines and shapes her throughout the story, so any suggestions is very much appreciated :)

Syn - I just don’t see how the genjutsu could be developed into something that isn’t too close to the Kurama clan’s. Strong genjutsu like that just screams Kurama. C, you got any ideas?

C: To be honest, I feel like your best route might be to just have her being distantly related to the Kurama clan (maybe by a grandparent or mystery dad). Ame is basically a mixing pot of the surrounding countries, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for someone from Konoha to wind up there. I just think that at the moment, what you’re aiming for is too similar to the Kurama clans KG to try and make it something different, and there’s nothing in canon stopping you from borrowing it.

Syn -  Yes. Mystery Dad. But, yeah, Rain is basically the New York of Naruto. Lots of refugees from other nations.

As she has chosen to focus almost solely on her genjutsu, her other skills have naturally suffered and she is quite average in other general shinobi skills. She is amongst other things unable to use any elemental chakra natures only Yin Release and because she was born a civilian she naturally has a very small amount of chakra which gives her a low stamina.

C: Her maximum amount of chakra can be increased with training (to an extent), so I wouldn’t make it too low as I think it’s something that she would spend time developing. She should also have a natural element which would be nice to know regardless or whether or not she can really use it.

As she has been naturally focused on her mind and on studying, she is particularly weak in terms of physical strength and endurance and taijustu. As she is usually extremely well-protected by her genjutsu powers this does not normally pose a problem, but in a taijutsu match she could easily be beaten by someone like Ino Yamanaka and if ever punched directly by Sakura Haruno or Tsunade she would properly be killed. However, to make up for this she has worked on her speed and evasion and she is very quick. Michiyō is also extremely skilled in kenjutsu, wielding the ninjatō Tīdaami meaning “sunshower” (太陽雨), which she can use to induce her genjutsu when infusing it with her yin chakra-flow.

Syn - So her lack of elemental jutsu is due to her focus on genjutsu? I can see that, but I think at least one or two low level ninjutsu would be a good idea. Besides, if genjutsu was literally the only skill she’s good at I could hardly see her making it past being low-leveled chuunin. Though, I really do like the idea of the tanto/genjutsu combination. But if she’s good with kenjutsu then I think she should be at least decent with taijutsu as well.

Also, on the chakra front, she won’t be able to use a lot of strong genjutsu without a decent bit of chakra, or one of those that consumes it over time. So Id’s do what C recommended and have her train it up some.

Due to her training with Hanzō, she also has great knowledge in creating poisons and antidotes and she can use her umbrella both to release a hallucinogenic Poison Mist that she uses in her genjutsu, while she is also able to use a unique summon – an earthworm, which she is able to ride on top of, is poisonous like Ibuse and can also consume physical energy. Due to her training in the Anbu she is also a very capable assassin.  

Syn - Earthworms are also different, which is nice, but they’re not really poisonous creatures. Caterpillars might be a better choice on that front.

C: You could also go for a parasitic worm of some kind. I don’t know much about worms, so you’ll have to do the research on it though.

Stats: Part I: 14 Part II: 24

Ninjutsu: Part I: 1 Part II: 3

Taijutsu: Part I: 0.5 Part II: 1

Genjutsu: Part I: 4 Part II 5

Intelligence: Part I: 2 Part II: 4

Strength: Part I: 0.5 Part: 1

Speed: Part I: 2 Part II: 4

Stamina: Part I: 1 Part II: 2

Hand seals: Part I: 2 Part II: 4

Syn - Hey, don’t these stats actually make her weaker than Sakura overall? I don’t see how she could be ANBU with these? Kurenai is a Jounin specializing in genjutsu and her overall stats are almost 30 in total.

C: Naruto had total stats of 14.5 at the age of 12, and was rock bottom of his class. He also doesn’t have any skills below a 1, and his genjutsu goes up to 2 by part II despite him being hopeless at it. I’d shift her stats up to at least 18 or so, with none lower than 1 in part I. I’m not sure if you want Michiyo to be on Kurenai’s level, but if that’s the kind of skill you’re aiming for in part II, then you need to be around the 29 mark. If not, 24 is pretty reasonable for an average shinobi of that age, and is on par with Shikamaru in shippuden.

History:

Background: She grew up in the small village Harawa born to civilian parents, her father left her when she was a baby and her mother began drinking after that. She had no friends and was bullied, until she used her genjutsu to scare the other children away, resulting in them leaving her alone and giving her the nickname Akuma meaning “demon/devil”.

Syn - Why was she bullied in the first place? And this is where you got her squad name, yeah? I don’t think someone would use a childhood insult as their team name unless they were sadistic with a good dosage of self-loathing.

C: I’ve personally seen this nickname too many times, and would advise picking something else, if you even need the nickname at all.

When she was 8 years old, a battle between Hanzō’s forces and the Akatsuki burned down her village, killing her mother. After Hanzō watched the young Michiyō stop one of his shinobi who mistook her for the enemy in a Genjutsu Binding, he decided to make her his student and use her in the civil war. When she was 10 years old Hanzō was killed by Pain, however Michiyō was lucky to escape through a secret pathway through the sewers. After that she lived on the streets – I am thinking of placing her in an orphanage instead where she perhaps is recruited into Namida, but I’m not sure whether Amegakure even had orphanages at this point?

Syn - Once again, I think Hanzo pulling her to to academy would make more sense, rather than making her his student. This would also rectify the “Akatsuki killing everyone Hanzo is connected to” problem as well. She could still admire him for giving her a new chance at life or a new purpose maybe?

C: If Hanzo wanted to use her as a weapon some kind of ROOT equivalent would make the most sense if he wanted her trained quickly, though you’d need to bump her skills up. It’d also mean quite a bit of rewriting. With Nagato and co’s experience of Ame, I’m not convinced that there would be any orphanages. Also, with Pains sensing abilities, I really doubt that a 10 year old would be able to escape him. If you want her to live she can’t be that close to him.

One day she met another girl her age named Natsuko and they became best friends. Together they started in the Academy, but Michiyō was an outsider and was bullied due to her ragged looks from living on the streets and kept to herself. While she was extremely skilled in genjutsu, she lacked any other shinobi skills and it took her three tries to graduate, but she managed to graduate as the top kunoichi on her third try. She was put into Team 4 with Natsuko and their mutual friend Kai under the jōnin sensei Kinichirō.     

Syn -  Most Academy classes start when the kids are six, not ten. That would be far, far too late for them to develop skills in time to graduate at 11 or 12. Also, with her lacking in so many of the other skills I don’t see how she could have possibly been kunoichi of the year.

C: With the state of Ame, I feel like there would be a couple of street kids in every class, so it wouldn’t be that much of a reason to bully someone. Taking three attempts to graduate and then being the best kunoichi don’t fit together either, unless something happened to really aid her development in that time period.

Part I: Team 4 participated in the Chūnin Exams in Konoha. They passed the written exams due to Michiyō using her genjutsu on the other students while collecting the answers. During the Forest of Death challenge they came across Team 7 and a battle between Kai and Sasuke ensued, ending with Kai being seriously injured. On the last day Team 4 was able to secure the earth scroll and passed, however in the preliminaries Kai’s injuries were so serious that he was forced to withdraw by their sensei. Michiyō and Natsuko then met each other in battle, with Michiyō winning due to playing on Natsuko’s fears with her genjutsu, causing her rift between them. During the finals, Michiyō was assigned to fight Dosu Kinuta, however as Dosu was killed by Gaara they never got to fight. After Chūnin finals were stopped due to the invasion of Konoha, Shikamaru was the only one who was promoted chūnin and Michiyō and Team 4 travelled home to Amegakure.  

Syn - Being in the same chuunin exams is fine, but the battling your own teammate thing is kind of cliche. Why not go further and mix up canon by shifting fights around? Also, why did the other members of the teams not fight? Why just Sasuke and Kai? And wasn’t there already a rift between Michiyō and Natsuko? I thought that you said their relationship pretty much started and ended in the academy.

C: Dosu was meant to fight Shikamaru in the finals as far as I’m aware. I’d personally be inclined to use more OC teams for Michiyo and co to fight against rather than fiddling around with the canon fights, but as long as you leave the ones with the most plot in canon intact you can fiddle with them as Syn said.

Part II: Despite failing to make chūnin, the superiors in Amegakure had taken notice of her exceptional genjutsu skills and she was recruited into the Anbu sub-division Namida (seen as Amegakure’s equivalent of Root) which takes in orphan children and trains them as weapons to protect the village. Michiyō underwent 3 years of gruelling training, becoming a skilled and ruthless assassin and at some point passing the chūnin exams at age 14. At age 16 Michiyō was promoted to Anbu captain and was assigned to lead her own three-man team, which specialized in ambush/protection, serving as bodyguards to the village head.

Syn - Wait, wait. They (Konoha’s Rookie 9) were 12-13 in part one. Probably around 13 by the time they took the chuunin exams, which means Michiyō would be late 13s, early 14s at the time of the chuunin exams. So she’d be 16/17 by the time she finished those three years of Anbu training. Though becoming an Anbu Captain at sixteen is some sort of Kakashi level thing; I probably wouldn’t advise it. Not with her point allocation. And probably late into her 14th year or early in her 15th for becoming chuunin if she didn’t pass the Konoha exams.

But if the initial thought was to train her as a weapon, why wasn’t she dumped in this division from the beginning?

C: I really do think that she should have been put in this sub division when Hanzo found her originally, as waiting ages to create a weapon for a current war through the academy doesn’t make sense.

After Pain’s death during his invasion of Konoha, Michiyō was shell-shocked that he could ever be defeated and wishing to meet Naruto who had defeated him, she volunteered her team for the mission Protect Naruto, which Konan had started as a way to ensure that Pain’s faith in Naruto would not be wasted as well as an attempt to reach out to Konoha to make an alliance – which however failed as the new Hokage Danzō was distrustful of Ame’s alliance with Naruto. In Konoha Naruto told Michiyō Pain’s story and also what Hanzō had done to him, while she was shocked she shook it off and declared that she had let him go many years ago and that her hatred for Pain was no longer necessary as he was dead.

Syn - There was never any sort of official “Protect Naruto” mission, and I very highly doubt Tsunade would let them anywhere near Naruto for an extended period like that. Plus, I don’t think Konan lived long enough to give any sort of official declaration or mission regarding Naruto. There’s also the fact that Ame was left without any leader at this point in time, so no one would be sent out on mission for a while I would think.

C: Ame also tends to get run over by the larger nations on a regular basis so don’t really have ninja to spare, especially when they don’t have a village leader.

Following Naruto with her team to the Land of Iron and later watching the battle between Team 7, Michiyō was reminded of the old Team 4. At last watching Naruto’s resolve to never give up, also seeing her early self in him, made her realize how different she could have become if she had not given up, Michiyō decided to change her ways and began to believe in peace for the first time since Hanzō’s death.

C: As a mentioned earlier, lots of characters have changed because of Naruto in canon. I also feel that changing simply because of watching him is a little weak, for lack of a better word. I could understand it better if it was something that she had been considering for a while, but this was the last straw, though that’s not the impression that I get.

Syn - If anything, watching him might bright to light a seed of doubt, but beyond that it would take something more significant and impactful.

Deciding, like Konan, to put her faith in Naruto, she became determined to make a difference and persuaded her team to travel back and try to rally Amegakure to fight with Konoha in the upcoming war against the Akatsuki. However, when they arrived Konan had been killed and the village was scrambling to mobilize their defences. But due to Michiyō’s words and refusal to take no for an answer, feeling that her village is responsible for the Akatsuki, she eventually succeeded in convincing her superiors and they decided to dispatch the Namida forces of the Anbu to join the Allied Shinobi Forces, keeping the rest of the shinobi in to defend the village.

C: How big are the Namida forces anyway? As horrible as it sounds, I’m not sure that they’d be a big enough power to really sway the outcome of the war, while on the other hand they’d be a big enough power to make a difference to any issues at home. It doesn’t make sense to me from a logical perspective for them to be sent off, and not stay around Ame keeping the peace and protecting her superiors.

Syn - Konan would have been killed long before this, unless this is an AU. And it’s really doubtful “superiors” or “elders” would heed to the pleas of one girl; they’d probably be too busy fighting amongst themselves for the position of leader.

The Ame forces arrived in Kumogakure at the nick of time and though initially met with hostility, with the support of Naruto, Kakashi and the newly awoken Tsunade they were permitted to join the Surprise Attack Division. When they were attacked by the Surprise Attack and Diversion Platoon, Michiyō came face to face with the reincarnated Hanzō and due to her knowledge of him she was quick enough to escape Ibuse’s paralysing poison but the others were caught, leaving her all alone. Forced to confront Hanzō, she was out of chakra and also too emotional unstable to be able to do much and broke down in tears for the first time since Hanzō’s death. Recognizing her Hanzō taunted her for showing her weakness and still holding on to useless ideas of peace, he charged at her and beat her severely. As she was seriously injured by having been infected by the poison on his kusarigama and on the ground nearly unconscious, in spite of his taunting words, to Hanzō’s shock Michiyō was able to get up and cure herself of his poison with the antidote inside her teardrop necklace she still carried, a gift from him when she was 10. She told him that she was done running and also that he had been wrong to give up on his dreams, what he could have accomplished if he had not given up so easily and that she pitied him for what he had become. As he charged at her again this time she met him head on and after beating her nearly to death, but before delivering the final Mifune arrived just in time to intervene.

C: I’m really struggling to understand the last sentence here.

Syn - Still don’t think Tsunade would trust them, or Kakashi. Regardless of if Naruto did or not. And I’m guessing Mifune saved her life?

After Hanzō was defeated by him, he repeated Michiyō’s words that he had been wrong to give up on his conviction and remembering his past and also his memories of Michiyō; Hanzō placed his faith in her and pleaded with Mifune to save her life before he committed seppuku. Afterwards Michiyō was taken to the medical unit for treatment and was unconscious for the rest of the war. While trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Michiyō dreamed that she sat by the lake in Amegakure with all her dead family and friends enjoying the sunshine. After the war, Michiyō travelled home to Amegakure to help rebuilt the village and the efforts of the Ame-nin were one of the key factors in repairing the diplomatic relationship between Ame and Konoha, resulting in the village standing stronger in the following years of peace than it had ever done before, eventually joining the newly formed Shinobi Union. Michiyō also carved a grave for Hanzō by the lake, which she visited in the years after. She also often came to visit her new friends in Konoha often, her life forever changed because of them.

Syn - This is, quite frankly, out of character for Hanzo.

First of all the emotional suppression needs to be addressed a bit - though it’s not anything against it, just expanding on it as something you may want to tweak a little bit:

Effects of consistent emotion suppression include increased physical stress on your body, including high blood pressure, increased incidence of diabetes and heart disease. In addition, people who engage in emotion suppression regularly are more likely to experience stiff joints, bone weakness and more illnesses due to lowered immunity.

Other than that little tidbit of information, you’re doing just fine when it comes to her personality!

Now regarding the genjutsu - we mentioned the Kurama clan above, and you did too. We believe the best course of action here is to just make her related to the Kuramas - Mystery Dad and/or through her paternal grandparents. They are all about strong genjutsu, so it’ll be far easier on you to just have her be part Kurama than try to make a workaround to make it something different.

Now, the part regarding her history revolving around Hanzo. If this was canon-verse Michiyō would be dead - slipping through the sewers wouldn’t be enough to save her. It’d have to go AU somehow for it to work, otherwise we’d advise him recruiting her for the academy, or rather those Namida you mention. She could still admire him for giving her a new life, or a new purpose, but this way she has a better chance of not getting killed by Akatsuki.

Her skills also need a bit of tweaking, like we mentioned above. General numbers and sprucing up her abilities all around will do Michiyō some good - maybe expand a bit on her tanto/genjutsu combination.

Syn & C

[disangel]

my participation in the ship meme that’s going around on the dash right now, considering that there’s only one ship on this blog. as a result all the tropes are lengthened out and such..

Who asks the other on dates: because of the lack of activity on seiji’s blog, and the sort of pre-launch state it’s in, not a lot of you guys have been exposed to seiji’s personality. a majority of it is still on seiji’s old blog. however, in the gist of things, seiji is the romantic one out of him and chrys if that was not given through the way he interacts with him via askbox. therefore, seiji is the one that jumps on the opportunity to ask chrysanthos to spend time with one another. not only this, but he uses his own innitiaive to ask considering i’ve made a meta about chrys’s “packed schedule.” don’t worry, chrysanthos does ask seiji on dates... but it’s more of the latter asking the former.

Who is the bigger cuddler: again following up on the previous explanation, seiji’s the one that pats his lap, the chair next to him, or gestures under his arm to indicate he wants physical affection. he is always craving for chrys’s physical affection. however, chrysanthos is more of a cuddler than people would expect : if you’ve paid close attention to my ask responses to yume, more often than not does chrys step forward to hug seiji, or make the effort to kiss him even though he dislikes to waste his energy. he does not see seiji as a waste of his energy and thus puts a lot of his time into just showing him how much he loves him.

Who initiates holding hands more often: surprise, it’s chrysanthos. as much as seiji loves to shower chrys with physical affection, he does it in very showy, extreme bouts : lifting him up like a princess, hugging him tight and twirling him around, etc. chrysanthos, on the other hand, displays much more innocent and watered down displays of affection, especially in the eyes of the public. one of these ways is constant hand-holding. he will stay close to seiji purposefully and will lock his fingers with his just to reassure his conscious that he’s always right there beside him.

Who remembers anniversaries: they both remember anniversaries. it may seem as if chrysanthos forgets the broader moments, like their first kiss or first date, but he does not in actuality. those things are more important to him than one would think, and he cares much more about that compared to other things. seiji should not even be explained : he wishes to cherish every day he is with chrys and writes down everyday a “first” happens, even if he doesn’t go all out to celebrate said anniversary.

Who is more possessive: look down below.

Who gets more jealous: i’m going to group possessiveness and jealousy because the two are so equally tied to each other in both parties that it’d be hard to write differences without sounding the same. anyways. chrysanthos and seiji are both jealous and possessive, but they take care of this on different levels. if you want the straight up answer, it’s chrysanthos for both of them. but keep in mind that seiji is also equally jealous and possessive, but he expresses this in a different fashion. chrysanthos’s type of possession and jealousy is obvious. you can tell instantly when he’s jealous simply by the look of his face or the way he words things, and he generally just acts petty. very petty. he does not think seiji is his property and absolutely nobody can touch him, but he gets anxiety when he observes seiji looking to be in a blissful state with others, especially multiple people. it triggers him into believing that seiji will find better people and realize that chrysanthos is just an asshole. seiji, on the other hand, has a more watered down jealousy/possessive persona. his is actually quite sad : he pretends to be fine with chrysanthos “moving on” from him, but i would imagine how broken he’d feel, assuming his “true love” was not really so. he keeps it more to himself and would probably not show it to chrys, who’ll eventually slap it out of him.

Who is more protective: i don’t know too much about seiji’s protectiveness towards chrys in serious terms, unfortunately (but you can bet your ass ive nutted to the thought of seiji going berserk over someone hurting chrys, emotionally or physically. kind characters being mad or threatening for their loved ones is my fetish.) so for now, i’ll just say chrysanthos, because it’s very true. as some of you know, chrysanthos is an all-or-nothing man when it comes to his allies : he does not go out of his way to protect an ally of his even if he’s standing right next to them. it is not his battle. however, he will not even think about jumping in front of anyone who tries to hurt seiji, even if he seems to have the situation handled. this not only applies in battle, but in camp, too. you can guarantee he will be hurting, if not killing anyone that hurts seiji in any form.

Who is more likely to cheat: i’ll make a long headcanon post exception. nope. nah. nuh-uh. they are extremely devoted to one another’s being that neither would think of turning the other way to someone else. 

Who initiates sexy times the most: oh, now, let’s see here. many of you know that seiji is the horny one out of the two, making sex jokes and telling chrysanthos he wants to... yiff. at this point chrysanthos simply takes those “advances” as jokes and thus it isn’t really something he considers “initiating sexy time.” it’s when chrysanthos plays serious with these advances that it’s “initiating”, as sometimes when he goes along with it it can lead to the sexy time. so in a way, i suppose it is both... they don’t really purposefully initiate it. someone just makes a joke and it goes from there.

Who dislikes PDA the most: chrysanthos. but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like pda : it just means he likes it less than seiji does, who isn’t afraid to slap his ass in front of his own mother. the two are actually very comfortable with pda, if it’s not taken to a sexual measure, with seiji sometimes does. this often ends with chrys slapping him in the face. regardless, they share pda via holding hands and chrys leaning against seiji a lot. they kiss in public too, but they don’t make out... mostly. otherwise, their pda remains generally sfw and there isn’t a lot of sexual touching save for seiji slapping or squeezing chrys’s butt sometimes, and again, that leads to him getting a slap in the face. so they’re not the type to do the do in public.

Who kills the spider: hahahahahaha. it’s chrys. but more often than not does seiji stop him to capture it and put it in his garden, so he’s luring him out of the habit of preserving insects rather kill them. on the contrary, if their tent is infested with bugs... seiji will leave it to his twinkie to take care of the problem, which chrys probably does by lighting the tent on fire.

Who asks the the other to marry them: oh my god. it’s seiji. words cannot explain how pure his proposal is : you’d expect someone as romantic as him would probably phone people to help him with the proposal... and he does. in fact, i really like the idea of chrysanthos receiving a day of pure joy before being greeted with the greatest joy of all. it’d probably on their anniversary, so he wouldn’t expect something to be “off”... maybe starting out with raeger waking him up to dart him around krakenburg’s halls in a stroller to have fun. chrysanthos probably yells at him and he stops at forrest’s room, where he gets dressed in really nice clothes. he has a hoshidan breakfast and at that point he realizes it’s seiji and his’s anniversary. eventually he goes to hoshido that day, lots of cute scavenger hunt things until seiji leads him to his garden. proposal time...

Who buys the other flowers or gifts: they both buy/make each other gifts, but seiji constantly gives chrysanthos flowers he grows. it’s nearly daily. that’s how ridiculous it is, but chrysanthos loves it so, so much. he keeps all the flower petals in a jar, or if they’re still attached to the stem, in a scrap book. evetually he’ll collect all of them and make a journal to give to him on his birthday, which will probably not be too far away. chrysanthos makes his own gifts for seiji, which is usually just his own cooking.

Who would bring up possibly having kids: it’s chrysanthos.

Who is more nervous to meet the parents: chrysanthos. hinoka’s probably a very intimidating woman, not to mention she probably knows that he’s the guy that caused her son to enter a two day coma. she’d probably tell seiji that he deserves better than a man who literally knocked him out upon first meeting, and would likely be on edge when meeting him, but with chrys’s apologetic nature and how genuine he is around seiji, i’m sure hinoka can eventually start to like chrysanthos.

Who sleeps on the couch when the other is angry: hahahahahahahahah. seiji.

Who tries to make up first after arguments: seiji. neither of them can stand being in negative air with one another, but seiji especially. he’s very easy to admit that he’s wrong even when he isn’t, and it’s usually his strong devotion to chrysanthos and willingness to admit his errors, even when he has made none, that allow chrysanthos to apologize himself. that’s the beauty of seiji to chrysanthos : they can be angry with each other, but chrysanthos knows seiji’s always going to come back. it’s the same vice versa, too.

Who tells the other they love them more often: seiji. it’s seiji who tells chrysanthos how much he means, how much he loves him, how much he thinks he’s worth life, because he’s simply that good with words. it mesmerizes chrysanthos so much, and seiji can tell by the look of his eyes, and how he restrains himself from resorting to physical violence. he knows when he’s tipped chrysanthos’s softest side, and all chrysanthos can tell him back is “i love you, too.” even the simplest of words can entrance chrysanthos, because everything seiji says about him is simply so surreal. regardless, chrysanthos does tell him he loves him, but it’s put in much simpler tems. i love you.

[laytonloztew]

DDJ After-thoughts

I was planning to write a post-mortem for my entry to Dream Diary Jam 2017, Manda no Yume, but I think the June blog posts are just about good enough. I don't have the best memory, so I can't give an accurate recount of making the game. I'm going to instead start typing about whatever I can think to talk about at the moment. These are my thoughts about the game 2 weeks after release. I'll try to find some pics from early June to spread through this post as well.

This post may contain light spoilers for Manda no Yume. 

THE JAM:

I thought the jam was run very well, and I would be interested in at least spectating on another in the future. I haven’t played too many of the entries (I didn’t play Yume Nikki fangames prior to this jam), but from what I’ve played and seen I’m impressed with the other entries. I wish MnY looked as great as the other entries do. While visuals aren’t my strong suit, I think they turned out okay. The game is definitely bland, partly probably due to my color preferences. I think there is also just a lot of empty space that I could place objects in that would help. 

Remember this classic? How nostalgic.

COMBINING EFFECTS:

I'm not sure what anyone else thinks, but I think this game does combining effects pretty well. I think the process of combining effects is simple and easy to do.

The question here is really if having the effect combinations is worth it? I felt limited on what effects I could add to the game. If I add the effect as a 'normal' single effect, then it would add (num_effects) more combinations. 58% of the current combinations (40% including combinations with secret effects) are in the game, the rest aren't implemented. I don't want to add more possible combinations if most of them won't do anything, I made a bunch of the cosmetic effects just so they would be there. So okay, lets try to add this new effect as a combination. The only two effects that make any remote sense to combine to make this are x and y. But x and y already combines to make c.

I ran into this a lot, I had to think of what x and y could make rather than adding n because it would make a neat effect. I have plenty ideas for combinations with the current effects, but sometimes I'm stuck with ideas for new ones. If I wanted to make a 'sick' effect that would make NPCs walk away from me, what would I combine to make this? Lamp + Bodypillow? That's a stretch, lets just add it as a single effect. Now what do I do about sick + spoon? Sick + jacket? Sick + Bodypillow? Sick + lamp? Or even if I want to add a cosmetic effect, 'Ponytail' or 'Blonde', I feel as if I need to make combinations for these. It would take forever to make these, whereas it would be so simple if there were no effect combinations. In other fangames with combo effects, I think you just combine one effect then another? But because it is so integrated into this game and the menu is built for it, everything needs to combine if the game is going to be 'finished'.

I remember Naztheros and I sitting here thinking 'What would x and y make?' throughout planning, then figuring out a use for it. 

While that was fine, I wonder if the game would've been better off without combination effects? There would be less overall effects, but maybe the effects would be better? Whether or not having combination effects was 'worth it' depends on what you all think. It was worth it to me to try it and experiment with it, and I certainly have no plans on removing them from the game.

Only 1 (2 now? I think?) combination(s) is/are required to collect all effects, but that is mostly down to not having time to add more.

THE CONTROLS:

I understand that the controls are not conventional, but there is not much I can do. I have 2 effect keys, so I can't have the effect on shift. I could have one of them on shift, but the other would be on what? These can be rebound in the F1 menu, but its pretty limited.

I'm going to see about adding these controls to the numpad, but other than that there isn't much I can think of to improve the controls. They are displayed in the menu, but I'm going to move them to their own screen on the menu so I can show the full controls. I'll try to improve the controls instructions so they are easier to remember. I'm also thinking of adding a 'Wake Up' command to the menu, maybe in place of the current 'Save' command.

NEXUS:

What a mess. Why is it so small with so many doors? Why are there blank doors (Because I didn't want to re-do the tip system, but still a good point)? Why does it loop? Where is the center?

I'm working on a new nexus right now. I could just increase the map size, remove the looping, and clean up the doors, but I want to try something different. I'm experimenting with a map that is more like the first room in Super Mario 64's Peach's Castle, if that makes sense. I'm just trying things out, for all I know worlds will be entered through a terminal. It could be anything.

Another thing, the locks on the doors don't look like locks. I'm working on that:

THE TIP SYSTEM (◈):

I'm pretty satisfied with how this turned out. I was hesitant on adding a character with dialogue because it would be so out of place, but that ended up being the whole point of the character. The character's dialogue is supposed to be real silly and out-of-place, and that fits with the idea that they aren't a part of this game at all. In one of the post-jam updates I made it so this character appears somewhere else after you acquire every non-secret effect, and they give some more odd dialogue.

The place isn't difficult to find, but the password has to be discovered: 1. In the ponderme.txt file 2. On the title screen after waiting awhile 3. In a guide/walkthrough

I didn't want to lead the player straight to the effects without having to look for them, and I wanted receiving these tips to be optional. It ended up being sort of optional, as there are 3 extra effects that cannot be acquired without accessing this area.

I think the tips themselves are valuable enough. There isn't much more I can do without writing a guide and putting it into the game itself. The point of the tips is to point in the right direction so the player can focus on that area rather than wander clueless around every area. Early in the jam I thought of having an effect that would show you footsteps that could lead to the effect, but I think that is too much. Especially with how little areas there are in the game currently.

With the possible nexus redesign, I'm going to have to re-do this as well. The Dustonia Online CD might also be moved somewhere else, making this area a little less required to visit.

DUSTONIA ONLINE (MMO WORLD):

I wasn't sure how this would be received. It's pretty out of place and I wasn't planning to use RTP assets, but I haven't heard anything negative about it so I guess it's good. I was very curious if anyone would try leveling past 15, but no one has mentioned it so I guess not. People have definitely gotten the effect for level 15, though.

I was limited on what I could do here by not only time, but also the very noticeable frame-rate dips. This was caused by the names over NPC's heads, and I've fixed that on my in-dev build. Working on this area of the game isn't a priority, but I would like to add more to it in any future updates.

THE COIN EFFECT:

This effect is too difficult to find. It is definitely not clear that walking out of the train map after the train passes by will take the player somewhere else, and this is doubled by the fact that in previous versions of the game you could interact with the rail sign to summon the train (which wasn't intended, and didn't trigger the event for taking the player to the other map). The train is supposed to have a chance to appear upon walking towards the rails from the bottom, and is decided upon entering the map. If the train passes, entering the dark forest map will instead take you to a small forest map that has the entrance to the sewers where the coin is. The tip system doesn't help with this either, as it shows the rail sign as the hint making you think that you should interact with the rail sign in some way.

In v0.01c it is still like this, but in a future update I want to move the coin or move the entrance to the sewers (or both). While most of the game's shortcomings can be attributed to lack of time or experimenting, this and the nexus are the two main things that bother me when I think about the game. I'm tempted to make quick changes to these and release a v0.1d, but I'd rather take my time.

I think while some others can be tricky, they aren't too obscure. The secret effects are pretty easy once you discover the tip system, I was planning to have a secret effect that was very obscure just to see if anyone would find it.

RELEASE:

The game has gotten more attention than I honestly thought it would. I expected it to just get ignored, but its cool to see people playing it. Watching beta testers play the game was my favorite part of creating it. If one person likes it, then to me it was worth submitting. 

FUTURE:

I'm satisfied with how my first game jam game turned out. I would like to finish it, add an ending and improve where the game is lacking. Honestly though, I did what I set out to do. I submitted an entry to the jam, I experimented with combining effects, I have events that wake the MC up (alarm clock, air conditioner, etc). I made my take on a Yume Nikki fangame, which I had no plan of doing more than 3 months ago. Classes start up again soon, so I'm not sure if I'll keep working on it through that. Maybe if there is a Dream Diary Jam next year, I can work on the game during that time. I also want to try making a 3D yume nikki like game. We'll see, if I release an update then I'll post about it here. If I’m going to update the game, it would be better to make a big update than a small one, right? I don’t expect to attract a new audience to this game, I would be updating it mostly for you all who have maybe already played it. 

I think that covers it. Thanks.

[kotorisaka]

170620 Hori Miona Real Sound Interview Part 2

Precautions: 1. Translation is NOT 100% accurate. Refer to my blog’s description before reading. 2. Sentences which context I’m not sure about is marked with (?). 3. Original article here.

Read the previous part here.

ーOne more thing, I think that 2nd generation made a breakthrough as a big change in the past year. For example, you, Kitano, Shinuchi are regular senbatsu members and Terada also joined you guys in “Influencer”. Miria, the center, together with Renachi and Ayane, 3 of the 2nd gen are also under’s frontmen. I’m happy for their success more than my own success. I’m unreliable, but I want to support everyone. Even so, if someone stay by your side, someday they will be reliable, won’t they? I wish I could be like that. With everyone in the 2nd gen actually moving vigorously now, I wanted to go as fast as I could to overtake my seniors, but that’s hard. Things just don’t go as I planned.

ー1st gen members are those who started from scratch and everyone has a strong personality. But we are no less than them; we have pure but serious kids here so we haven’t lost at all. Even if the 1st and 2nd gen members are in the opposite position, we are motivated enough to do our best to not lose. Everyone is interesting in their own way, but when they all combined into one, it’s what makes Nogizaka “Nogizaka”; that’s why everyone is truly amazing.

ーIt’s certainly true. So now that the 3rd gen have joined, how is your first junior? Of course there was a threatened feeling but since the 2nd gen have been working with our seniors for a long time, I think we understand how the 3rd gen feels and we can get along because of that. While it’s easy to be affectionate and to befriend each other from the same gen in public, it’s our seniors who properly support us behind the scene. I want to symphatize and take care of them as if we’re real sisters because I want Nogizaka’s bright future exist.

ーTo be strict is hard (?). Yes. I’d like to do it based on my experience so I won’t make mistakes.

ーOn May 24th, Nogizaka46’s 3rd album “Umarete kara hajimete miteta yume” is released. It has a good sales record until now. I think this is a piece that summarizes the major turning point(s) within the group history, from Saito Asuka 1st center song “Hadashi de Summer” until 3rd gen 1st original song “Sanbanme no kaze”. What kind of impression do you receive from this album? The album art is completely different from what we have ever had, like, we have so many members there (laughs). And, there are plenty of recorded songs and bonus footage, too.

ーThe bonus footage contains many flashback moments on the past year and we can feel something has changed from then. Unlike “Boku ga iru basho” and “Kikkake” which had a strong Nogizaka’s graceful feeling in the past, the title track this time “Skydiving” is instead a refreshing summer song. That’s right. “Skydiving” is my favorite song. Both the choreography and performance costume is unique and cute; very fresh.

ーYou like it so much, don’t you. You also participated in a new song “Watabokori” along with Kitano and Terada. It’s a 2nd gen exclusive unit song that you haven’t ever had, right? It’s the first. Perhaps it’s unusual to see only 3 person from the 2nd gen singing together, but I’m happy. It finally felt like I was belonged to the 2nd gen.

ーCompared to other Nogizaka46 songs, it’s also pretty simple and has a vibe of you guys singing while playing guitar on the street. The lyrics gently implied that dustballs represent of what’s inside our mind, but it isn’t too implicit (?). I’m singing while thinking so that “I’ve had enough of this” feel in the song should reach the listener. There are many new challenges too this time, so isn’t it interesting to have different sides of Nogizaka shown?

ーThis album is a great opportunity to show songs with the different aspects from what you usually had. You can experiment with new tunes as well as units combination more and more. Yep. Some songs would surely be performed during the zenkoku tour and if you miss that, there’s a chance that they won’t be performed at upcoming concerts for a while. It’s also very important to listen to album songs before coming to a show. Ah, this isn’t a promotion by the way, just an advice (laughs).

ーAlright (laughs). Because isn’t it frustrating when you watch a concert but don’t know the songs? I also like going to other artist’s concert and with knowing all their songs, the fun would last all along. If an exciting song came up, you would go “There it is!” just from hearing the intro. But even when there are unknown songs, I’d be happy if you’re willing to learn and start liking that song from that concert.

Read the next part here.