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quicktimeeventfull · 2 years ago

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zooms in here. fic prompt: matsulight with light being pissed that hes attracted to matsuda because he's pretentious about being a self-identified sapiosexual

thank you!!! i was so excited to see this, i adore matsulight so much but can never think of anything to write about them haha. reading this over again i may have gotten slightly off-track fdfjlsd but i hope you enjoy this anyway!

Light had always prided himself on his excellent taste. Appearances had never mattered much to him — what he liked were people smart enough to keep up with him. People with minds like like complicated locks which only he would be clever enough to pick.

He’d never been interested in anyone, particularly. This was because he was — if he should be allowed to set down his considerable modesty, for a moment — smarter than nearly everyone he’d met in his life.

And so it was very deeply irritating that he found himself flustered every single time Matsuda was in the room.

Matsuda. Of all fucking people.

Matsuda had many good qualities. He really did. Light had never quite understood why everyone else on the task force batted him around as much as he did — he was pleasant, and he was humble, and he worked hard. He was the sort of person Light often pretended to be. But he wasn’t smart, not really, not the way Light was, and not the way the sort of person he was determined to want needed to be. He thought with his heart and not his mind. If it came right down to it, Matsuda would always flinch in the final moments and that was why Light could never lower himself to love him.

It was past dawn, but barely. Light had arrived at the hotel early, hoping to get as much as he could finished before the rest of the task force arrived, but Matsuda was the only one there. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, pages of documents spread out in a circle around him.

Matsuda, he noted, was always the one who wanted to stay latest, and apparently he was the one who came earliest, too.

“Oh!” he said, as Light walked in. “Up and at ‘em, right?”

Light stared at him. This was one of the stupidest things he’d ever heard in his life and so it was deeply aggravating that he could feel his face growing hot. He hoped it didn’t show. “Where’s L? Doesn’t he live here?”

Matsuda pointed to a closed door by the back of the hotel. “Asleep. I guess even he has to do that sometimes?” He sprung up. “Why don’t I make you a coffee?”

“No, I should — we should get to work.”

“No one else is here,” Matsuda said. “Come on.” He beamed at Light, then walked over to the hotel’s little kitchenette. Light, seeing no sensible path of resistance, followed.

Light didn’t like to think about how much this hotel must cost every night. Presumably, it was a lot. It had its own sitting area, and its own glass table, and a somewhat tacky chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Still, it was just a hotel, and the kitchenette was just a counter with a tiny sink, a kettle and four mugs on it, sitting face-down on a white hand-towel. The mugs were very clearly not provided by the hotel. Two of them said I <3 JAPAN on them, in English, and another said GANBATTE!! in huge pink katakana, with an off-brand Hatsune Miku cheering behind the words.

“We bought them from the gift shop,” Matsuda said apologetically, as he flicked on the kettle. “No one could figure out where L — sorry, Ryuuzaki — keeps all those teacups. But it’s, you know. Encouraging. The cups.”

“Right,” said Light. They were in L’s bedroom. Light felt this was fairly obvious — there weren’t actually any alternatives. The one time they’d picked a hotel that didn’t have a separate room in which L could sleep, they’d been sitting out on the table even when they weren’t being used. If Matsuda were a partner fit for Light, Light reminded himself, he would already have known this.

“Anyway,” Matsuda said. He pulled out one of the drawers and fished out a little plastic bag of stick coffee. “Do you want … hm. We have regular black, milk, melted milk … oh, there’s an ume in here. Do you like ume?”

“I —“ He did. “Not really.” It seemed childish, somehow. He didn’t want to draw too much attention to the fact that he was still, technically speaking, a university student.

Matsuda looked up at him, his expression strangely curious, then shrugged. “Why don’t you try it? Maybe you’ll be surprised.”

“I — fine. Okay.”

Matsuda smiled at him, then spun around as the kettle began to hiss. He took one of the I <3 JAPAN mugs and the copyright-friendly Miku one off the towel, then poured hot water onto them. He shook an ume stick into the Ganbatte mug and a melted milk stick into the other, then, bewilderingly, stuck the empty plastic into his pocket instead of literally anywhere else. Light guessed he didn’t know where the garbage was — Watari usually cleaned up for them. Light didn’t either, actually, but that didn’t mean he’d go around stashing trash in his pockets. He was very annoyed to find that he was endeared by this.

Matsuda took a stir stick from the ziploc bag, then stirred the coffee — Light’s first, and then his own — then handed Light the Ganbatte mug.

Light took a sip. It was very sweet, and very warm. He took another.

“You know,” Matsuda said. His voice was strangely contemplative. Light looked up. Matsuda was looking carefully away from him, staring towards the corner of the room. “You don’t, actually, have to pick the more difficult option all of the time. Or the coolest one. You could, also, pick the one you want.”

Light could feel his face flaring, suddenly, hot. He was really extremely sure that this showed. He took another long drink from his mug. He was sure that Matsuda was looking away on purpose, but he hoped this nonetheless meant that Matsuda couldn’t see. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

Matsuda turned, and smiled at him. “Okay. Well. Just something to think about.” He clapped Light on the shoulder. “Right. Well. Let’s get to work?”

Light nodded, mutely, and followed him out to the documents, the mug warm in his hands.

#i think this might be the first matsulight fic i’ve ever written dfgjldgf #im not at all experienced with their dynamic but this was very fun #i hope you like it !!#.pages

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shadowbanki · 4 years ago

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More Shiro-Sora things

I haven’t uploaded these tidbits to tumblr yet.

—————

—Catchphrases— Iroha says “nyaa” at times SeeU has a habit of saying “meow” Dex says “woof” sometimes Nigaito’s verbal tic is “gyuu” Miki says “Chun chun!” A lot... to be cute. Haku tends to say “Uwaah!” A lot. Uta’s catchphrase is “Yare yare...” (“Good grief...”) Taya’s catchphrase is “Is that sou, desu ne?” (“Sou desu ne” is basically “Is that so?” in Japanese. I combined the two. —Quirky behavior— Lapis carries around a toy wand and pretends to cast spells. Anon is just... chaotic neutral, in the way Luana and Isadore (OCs) are. She does things like eating Lunchables in the bathtub at midnight in the dark to prove that Lunchables float. Why midnight, and why in the dark? Because she doesn’t want dust bunnies to see her boobs. She’s also a very skilled mime. Kanon is wacky, and chaotic good. Like Luana and Isadore (OCs) but in a different way than Anon. She’s the type of person to immediately press a random button she found that says “Do not press.” She likes to annoy people with sound effects from her slide-whistle. She also likes playing dramatic kazoo. She also has clown skills, like juggling, and the ability to ride a unicycle. Teto is like Fuuko (Clannad) Taya is smart and dignified but... very clumsy and naive as well. Uta is badass, but kind of “chaotic dumb” in certain ways. Sometimes she forgets to do her homework while doing her homework. Don’t ask. Taya loves sweets, and his favorite is strawberry shortcake. He is also a good pastry chef... Uta is horrible at cooking! She is so horrible, that she makes things mega-explode! She is so horrible, she needs Taya to cook for her just so she can get by! Gakupo has some pretty sick ninja skills, just saying. Miki sometimes slips into “animated mode,” where she begins to act like a cute shoujo anime protagonist. Miki also sometimes runs with bread in her mouth when she’s late for school. When Ruko was late for school, she ran to school with an entire plate of breakfast in her mouth! Taya gets completely drunk after just a few sips of alcohol... Haku sure can hold her alcohol. She can beat everyone in a drinking contest... Nigaito is endearingly moe. He likes drawing pictures. Miki sometimes lends him cute manga about hamsters, his favorite animal. Ruby likes starfish for some reason. She always assumes every star-shaped item is supposed to be a starfish... Taya’s recorded voice has a tendency to break headphones. Nobody knows exactly why. Ruko is a very big eater. Akari likes stars. Ruby likes starfish. Piko likes stargazing. Yukari likes star celebrities. Nigaito likes the Big Dango Family song. Ruby tries to convince him that starfish are cuter and proposes the Big Starfish Family. Taya and Momo get into a rather heated argument over whether strawberries or peaches are better. Uta asks herself why she’s surrounded by airheads. Uta buys Taya a strawberry Squishmallow for his birthday. In no time, Taya is able to think of a personality and an extensive backstory for his new plush friend... Uta is impressed. Yukari fakes being mysterious and sophisticated to impress IA. It doesn’t work. —Funny Moments brainstorm!— Group chemistry! Misunderstandings... One time Taya tried playing Uta’s violin instead of his usual cello. He played an earsplitting tune and ended up breaking the violin. Not only does it just break, it comically explodes into little pieces! 46 of them to be exact... Taya mistook one of Akaito’s spicy habanero peppers as a new type of strawberry. He ate it, and it was so spicy that he temporarily lost the ability to speak.

“He’s just standing there... menacingly!” -Len, talking to Rin, referring to Kaito “Why did you set me on fire, Uta? Why didn’t you just write your essay?” -Taya ”Qingxian, I used your clarinet to unclog the toilet...” -Taya ”I am the darkness, I am the edge! I got this bruise falling from the ledge! Oh yeah!” -Zatsune “My voice is just naturally bass-boosted, I guess.” -Akaito ”You make the bass drop in my heart! I want to be together, with you.” -Yuuma, to Mizuki, in front of... everyone ”People all look the same to me. They all have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, arms, and legs. But Taya... you’re different. I can tell your soul apart.” -Uta “Take my hand... I’ll take you to a place where miracles happen.” -Taya. He was practicing lines from a short play he wrote himself. This captures Uta’s heart... “Take my hand... I’ll take you to a place where miracles happen... Now, shall we go?” -Taya, this time for real. He is reaching his hand out to Uta. He is trying to comfort her after an emotional moment. Both of them are about to cry. This is right before he confesses his love to her at the top of a hill under the stars.

—————

Random details- Taya is very polite, and selfless. He's always willing to do favors for people. He speaks in polite language. He bows at many occasions (Even in this universe that takes place in the USA, and not Japan.) He is humble as well. These may seem like quirks or obsessions as first, but it stems from his feeling of obligation to do things for people and "not be a burden," because he had friends and teachers who treated him like a burden before. When his anemia caused him to faint or miss classes, everyone treated him as a burden. When he starts hanging out with Uta, she comments on how he feels like a butler and tells him to loosen up, it's okay to be a bit more relaxed, and selfish even. Uta is pretty sarcastic, blunt, and sort of kuudere, so it'll be interesting to see her with the pure Taya Uta just lost her passion to depression, but that's touched on eventually/later She's all like "I hate life" but that's because of depression Taya tries to help out Uta and make her smile but... he ends up upsetting her... When Taya finds out how depressed Uta really is he starts crying for her and saying "I'm sorry..." and Uta is like "Why are you crying? Nothing is your fault..." And Taya apologizes again and says it's a habit that he feels responsible for his friend's sadness. Uta hugs him. "I haven't been able to cry for years, so I'm a bit jealous..." She says. "But... I still don't want you to cry though... I like to see your smile, ok?" Well I think the day Uta finally cries is when something bad happens to her but Taya comes and saves her and then confesses his love for her And then come the waterworks, from both of them! ——— There are magical moments where all 46 characters come together and do or create something. Such as a musical play. Do all 46 characters eventually become a gigantic group of friends? Imagine the 46 of them renting out an entire restaurant... and all taking turns performing karaoke! ——— List the backstories, secrets, sad hidden depth, tragedies, stories... and quirks! The quirks are how we grow to fall in love with these characters before we reveal the sadness. In the novel, it all ends happily... If it ever becomes a game, well... there would be a possible “good end” and possible “bad end”... ... Haku Yowane- Haku’s story is that she’s been lonely and insecure for most her entire life. Neru Akita- Neru’s story is that she has found herself alone and misunderstood for most of her days due to her temper. Miku Hatsune- Miku’s sincere, earnest dreams are crushed and she falls into a deep depression when she is diagnosed with an illness that will progressively damage her vocal chords. Miku never sang for selfish reasons. She sang out of love. She sang to connect others. She now compares herself to a caged bird, or one with broken wings. She wants to write a song about it... but she would rather have her final song be a happy tribute to all those who have helped her. Luka Megurine- Is Luka slowly fading away from this world somehow? Teto Kasane- Is Teto a spirit or something or other? Gumi- Gumi was bullied a lot since she was young, which traumatized her. Now people show her the tiniest bit of dislike, she panics or cries. Meiko Sakine- Meiko’s parents were neglectful, leaving her to have to mature on her own. Lapis Aoki- Is Lapis simply a wish fragment? Merli Aoki- Merli is still traumatized by the tragic death of her parents. Lily- Lily wants to change her image to someone more tame. She originally became a delinquent in middle school due to her parents’ constant fighting. IA- IA’s parents are divorced. It started after her mother had a miscarriage. She would’ve had a little sister named IO. Yukari Yuzuki- Yukari feels very insecure a lot... Uta Utane- Depressed, and doesn’t see much in life. Usually bored and glum. Once a bright girl with lots of dreams. Deep inside, she is passionate and caring, really… Can it be restored? Miku Zatsune- Insecure and hates Miku Hatsune for being more popular than her... Rin Kagamine- Rin has a mysterious connection to Len. Whenever Len is sick, Rin gets sick too. If Len were to die, Rin will suddenly die as well. Len Kagamine- Len has a mysterious connection to Rin. Whenever Rin is sick, Len gets sick too. If Rin were to die, Len will suddenly die as well. Kaito Shion- Kaito is actually an adopted child... not from this world... and doesn’t belong... Akaito Shion- Dell Honne- Dell is usually in a bad mood. He currently lives with a father who barely acknowledges him. He tends to keep it all inside, and he’s really just lonely and needs to find someone to vent to. Gakupo Kamui- Yuuma- Piko Utatane- Piko is a shy and compassionate person, but whenever he opens his mouth, he sounds very strict. He is bad at socializing and making friends, which leaves him quite lonely. On top of that, he is sickly and absent from school often. Piko wishes to make a friend. Mizuki- Nigaito Shion- He is sickly and is usually under the weather... Dex- Daina- Ruby- Taya Soune- Thinks of himself as a burden... Longya Yuezheng- His younger sister Ling nearly got into a tragic accident when they were younger, traumatizing Longya. Ling Yuezheng- She feels lonely that she doesn’t have many friends and is devoting her life to studying. Momo Momone- Is always passing out randomly... SeeU- Has a mysterious illness. Ruko Yokune- Ruko was always insecure about their height, six feet and two inches tall. They always wanted to be petite and feminine, but their body wouldn’t stop growing. Ritsu Namine- Ritsu used to be a bully. He remains to have a tsundere attitude... Deep inside, he has an earnest wish to apologize to everyone he ever hurt. Ruko is one of the few people who understands and knows this about Ritsu. In his childhood, he bullied Gumi for being a “coward.” Now he wants to apologize, but... Miki- Miki is too idealistic. She sees the world through rose-tinted lenses... but what happens when those lenses shatter? Aku Yamine- She wishes to have magic... she hates the state of the world. She hates evil, which is ironic... considering her name is pronounced like the Japanese word for evil. She wishes to cast out the darkness... which is ironic because her last name has the kanji for dark. Because of this, and because she tends to be a nuisance, Aku feels as if she is just a curse. Bruno- Bruno’s mother died when he was young. Clara- Clara was bullied a lot as a child. Iroha Nekomura- Yuu- Wil- Kyo- Akari Kizuna- Cheerful and sweet, and wants to make others smile… even though many heavy thoughts are hiding behind her own smile. Qingxian Mo- Being self-absorbed, Qingxian eventually begins to take advantage of Taya’s generosity and inclination to do favors. She may seem a somewhat spoiled brat, but she is lonely... Anon- Kanon- ——— College dorm antics... ——— Supernatural elements? Does the world have magical properties? How about the characters?

List them here...

All 46 characters mysteriously acquires a crystalline “star fragment” sometime during their journey. There are 46 pieces in total. Each character mysteriously acquires one when they are fulfilled. The fragment is from their heart. At a climax scene where all 46 are present, all the pieces are put together to form a beautiful kaleidoscopic star in 46 colors. This crystalline rainbow star can grant a grand wish, any wish... What will everyone agree will be their wish?

#Shiro-sora #my writing #vocaloid #utau #fanfic #life of pastell #brainstorm

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yukin0umi · 5 years ago

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Polaris: Kakome, Kakome

Inspired by “Kakome, Kakome” sung by Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka

(Psst. Hey @ask-linkuei-grandmaster, this is also inspired and based off of the RPing I have been doing with you and Hanzo. Just though to let you know.)

____________________^_^___________________

“I’m starting to think this mission wasn’t such a good idea…” Yuki muttered, her voice muffled by her bandanna over her mouth. She walked through the moldy hallway of an abandoned building, being careful with every step. Every five minutes, Yuki heard children laughing, crying, or screaming. Something wasn’t right.

After losing a bet, Yuki agreed to ask Kuai Liang to give her the scariest mission he could find. When he asked why, all she said was that she lost a bet with Frost. Kuai Liang looked wary but before he gave he the mission, he asked if she was absolutely sure about taking it. The female cryomancer said yes.

It was a recon mission that took place in an abandoned building in Shimane Prefecture in Hiroshima, Japan, only to observe and report back to the Lin Kuei with probably all her limbs still together. Reading the report, it said that there was abandoned children that were being experimented on by strange scientists. That alone made it creepy. Nobody said that the building would look like it hadn’t been inhabited in about half a century or so.

Yuki was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw one of the children pulling her long braided hair. The child look like she was ten years old with dirty black hair, and a dark kimono on, along with no shoes on and dark blue eyes. She looked like she was dead.

“What are you doing?” The child asked, making Yuki hesitate. “All the kids should be in the playroom right now.”

“Uh…” Yuki didn’t know what to say or do. Knock her out or actually follow her to see where she goes. “I’m not a kid…” ‘Smart, Yuki. Real smart.’ The child didn’t answer back but did pull Yuki’s braid as if the Lin Kuei was on a leash towards the end hallway to the last door. “Ow! Yamete! Stop pulling my hair!”

The little girl stopped when she reached a door with the light on, opening it to reveal children, all covered up in bandages, one was missing an arm, and all of them looked at Yuki. “We have a new friend. She wants to play with us.”

Yuki’s eyes shrunk at that. “Wait a second, what?” Her eyes wandered around, and then she saw the reason why Grandmaster Liang was worried and hesitant to give her the mission. She saw two people, both male and covered in bandages, with the Lin Kuei symbol. They both looked at her as if she was a tasty piece of meat, and just kept on staring as they both stood up and walked towards her. “Uh, min’na?” Yuki’s whispered words didn’t reach them as they grabbed her arms and threw the female cryomancer to the floor. One of the children brought one of the scientists and he studied her, taking her chin in his hand. He smiled and Yuki could sense the malicious intent behind it.

“I want you to come with me. We’re going to play a little game called ‘Kagome, Kagome.’ I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” His name tag said Akihiko and he stuck a syringe in Yuki’s arm, knocking her out. Before she closed her eyes, the last thing Yuki heard was, “Another Lin Kuei? We’re getting quite popular with them. She’s probably an asset who’s too emotional. The girl will die.”

_______________________^_^________________

The next time Yuki woke up, she was in the middle of a circle of scientists who were hiding something behind their backs. All of her weapons and Lin Kuei clothing were gone and replaced with simple hospital clothes. Even her white and blue tipped hair was taken out of its braid and was flowing down her back. “What the hell? What’s going on?” As she voiced her concerns, one of the scientists came to her and tied a blindfold around her head, covering her eyes. ‘Are they trying to make me feel like Kenshi? ‘Cause it’s not working.’

“We’re playing Kagome, Kagome, Yuki Hanabi, one of the female cryomancers of the Lin Kuei.”

That got Yuki’s attention. “How do you know my name?”

“We have two of your comrades. They know your name, where you’re from, your alias, and your relationship with Sub-Zero.”

“Grandmaster Liang has nothing to do with this!”

“Sub-Zero has to do with everything. Including you, the Lin Kuei, and his fire breathing fiancé. Once you’re out of the way, I’ll go for Scorpion, then your teacher. Not like he’ll ever notice you’re gone.”

That last sentence sunk in. What? “...This is not Kagome, Kagome...isn’t it? You’re going to kill me for your personal gain, then Master Hasashi is next on your hit list.” Yuki summarizes.

The scientist who sounded like Akihiko chuckled. “Smart girl. Too bad that beautiful brain of yours will be ours soon. And in the literal sense.”

“I’ll kill you myself before I’ll let that happen.”

“How can you do that with all your weapons gone and your powers temporarily neutralized? By the time it wears off, your pretty little head will be ours.” Akihiko turned to his coworkers and held his machete tightly. “Now then, let’s begin. Let’s play Kagome, Kagome.”

____________________^_^___________________

Back at the Lin Kuei temple, Kuai Liang was pacing back and forth in his study. Yuki has been gone for more than about two days and was debating on whether to contact the Special Forces that three of his students went missing on a mission. He already contacted Hanzo Hasashi about the situation and was already on his way to the Lin Kuei temple. He looked at Yuki’s sketchbook and the drawing she did of the temple on her first days at the temple. What if she never comes back? What if she’s dead already?

Kuai’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard knocking at the door. When he opened the door, he saw Hanzo and the pyromancer hugged Kuai Liang and pressed his lips to the cryomancer’s. When he let go, he cleared his throat. “Kuai, I heard what happened. How long has Hanabi been away from the compound?”

The Lin Kuei sighed as he looked at the map once more. “She’s been gone for nearly 48 hours minus the time difference. The other two have been gone for about a week. I’m worried. This mission should’ve taken about five hours at most, including the trip back. Yuki’s quiet and precise, but even she should be back by now.”

Hanzo frowned at his fiancé’s worry. Yuki and her comrades should be back, but they’re not. Yuki’s radio was still on, but it wasn’t her voice that was permeating through it. The voices were singing…”Kagome, Kagome?” Hanzo whispered in confusion.

“What?” Kuai Liang asked.

“Kagome, Kagome is an old children’s playground game. Basically a group of children form a circle and chant a song around the player playing the oni in the middle. By the end, the oni blindfolded has to name off the person behind them. I’m guessing in this version, Yuki’s the oni blindfolded in the middle.” Hanzo explained, making Kuai’s eyebrow raised in wonder. “Since this mission is in a very historical building with a very horrifying background. Not even I dare to go in.”

“Really?”

“Yes, there are children there, younger than all three of the Lin Kuei warriors. However, they were all born around seventy years ago.”

The Lin Kuei’s eyes shrunk. “They shouldn’t still be children. They should be full grown adults.”

“Exactly. This is why everyone in all of Japan has a brain and avoid that place. Speaking of brains… Yuki’s a dead woman unless we can stop this. And get the Special Forces involved.”

Kuai Liang nodded in agreement. “Right, I’ll let General Blade know of our situation.” Once Hanzo looked at the map, trying to pin out where the abandoned building was, the cryomancer sighed. “Please be okay, Yuki. I’m coming.”

____________________^_^___________________

What was one hour felt like it was going slow at a snail’s pace as Yuki felt the scientists walk in a circle around her, chanting the song until she flinched. Akihiko was smiling maliciously as he saw the small cryomancer on the door blindfolded and helpless.

“How does it feel? To know that you’re going to die very soon?” The head scientist asked

“How’s it feel that my friends will be coming soon? When Sensei Liang gets angry, even I wouldn’t be in the same room as him.” Yuki asked back, using the same threatening tone.

Akihiko took her chin and pulled her towards him, trying to intimidate the female cryomancer. “You’re so pretty and cute. I can’t wait to chop that cute head with pretty hair off.”

Yuki felt her ears twitch, hearing something...or someone. It sounds like footsteps towards the lab. Akihiko kept sweet-talking her, attempting to make her shake, but it was all for naught. The air, due to lack of ice powers, actually felt colder than before. The chill felt…familiar. ‘Sensei, hurry up. Please.’ As Yuki was still bound, she was unable to move since not one of the scientists wanted their subject to fight them off.

————————————-^_^—————————

Kuai Liang walked around the halls of the old building with Hanzo next to him, trying to be quiet and cautious. They knew Yuki was around somewhere, along with the two other Lin Kuei. “She’s here. I can feel it, Hanzo.” Kuai whispered, walking up the creaking staircase carefully.

The pyromancer waved his hand around, his flames being a source of light. Until he stopped in front of an old door, hearing chanting and someone talking. “Kagome, Kagome…” He whispered. Hanzo turned to Kuai, feeling confident. “Hanabi’s in here. I know it.”

“Is there another way to get in?”

“No. This is the only one.”

“Alright.” The Lin Kuei placed his hand on the door and focused on freezing the door to get in. Once the whole door froze, Kuai Liang kicked it open to reveal scientists circling someone, all of them having machetes behind their backs.

“Who goes-” The head scientist stopped once he saw the two grandmasters of fire and ice. He held onto Yuki’s neck and held the machete there. “Ah, Sub-Zero and Scorpion. I figured you would come for your precious students. Especially her.”

Kuai Liang’s hands covered themselves in frost with rage. How dare he? Threaten and capture three of his students? Especially one who’s close to being a daughter of some sort to him? “Yuki? Are you alright?” He asked, trying to keep whatever patience he had left.

Yuki choked on her words a bit, due to the grip on her neck. “I’m alright, Sensei. They disabled my cryomancy, took away my weapons and tied me up.” She took a sharp breath, trying to relieve the pressure on her neck. “Also, I’m starting to see how Kagome, Kagome is part of this and I officially hate it now.”

Akihiko presses the sharp weapon to Yuki’s neck, drawing blood out. “Well? Any last words, Hanabi?”

She looked at the scientist with a straight face, looking fearless once more. “I won’t be the one dying tonight. The same can’t be said for you and your associates.”

When Akihiko was about to swing the machete, Hanzo, with his kunai, struck and pulled him. “GET OVER HERE!” Kuai froze the other two scientists and went to Yuki and began to untie her.

“Where are Wang and Luo?” Kuai Liang asked, freezing the rope after failing to untie it.

“In a room full of children. Sensei, they aren’t the same.” Yuki answered, breaking the bonds, then giving Kuai Liang a hug. After being surprised for a few seconds, he returned the hug. “Thank you, Sensei.”

“You’re welcome, Yuki. How long is your cryomancy disabled till?”

“For a few more hours. I still need my stuff.”

Hanzo, who just cut someone’s head off, turned to them. “I will gather Hanabi’s things. You get your students.”

Leading her teacher to the end of the hall, Yuki opened the door and showed him the room full of children, including the two Lin Kuei warriors, Luo and Wang. All the children looked at them and walked towards them. “Wanna play with us?”

“No, I’m good. I’m here for only my two students.” Kuai grabbed Wang and Luo, froze the children unconscious, and walked out. “That was easier than I thought.” He and Yuki walked off with her two comrades in hand, but the female cryomancer began to falter behind. “Yuki, are you alright?”

“I’m okay. I think they gave me something else though and everything is really hot and kind of spinning.”

“Your body isn’t used to being without cryomancy for so long. You could be getting sick.” He felt Yuki’s forehead, her feeling very warm. “More than likely, they gave you something that will slow you down with symptoms of a cold. I promise you can rest once we get back to the helicopter. The Special Forces are here and will help you, Luo and Wang.”

Hanzo came running to them, holding a bag with Yuki’s clothes and weapons inside. “I have her things. We should start going.” Everyone nodded and began to get to the exit.

‘Yuki…’

Yuki perked up at the sound of her name and looked around, everyone was quiet on the way back. She sighed. Maybe the fever was going through her head.

‘Yuki, you should be able to recognize me…

There it was again. Yuki officially deemed herself crazy and hallucinating.

‘It’s me. Yuki-onna.’

Yuki found herself in a dark room with a yokai all in white standing behind bars. It was Yuki-onna, the yokai Yuki claimed to have killed her parents. “What the hell? Why are you here?”

Yuki-Onna chuckled. ‘Why am I here? Stupid Quan Chi after what happened about twelve years ago. He put me in you.’

Yuki’s eyes shrunk. Quan Chi…? It wasn’t Yuki-onna? “I don’t understand. I saw you freeze my parents to their death.”

The yokai scoffed, flipping her jet black hair. ‘Quan Chi disguised himself as me then put me in you, making your already genetic cryomancy even stronger. Then he killed your parents, hoping to get an angry reaction from you. I was too much for such a little girl, causing you to faint. That was what really happened twelve years ago.’

Yuki began to shake. All this time, the yokai she had been blaming, was innocent this whole time. Yuki got on her knees and bowed to Yuki-onna. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I had been blaming the wrong person this whole time!’ The little cryomancer began to cry, not noticing that the Snow Woman’s hand was petting her hair.

‘My vessel, it’s alright. You were a little girl and never heard of that sorcerer. Now that you and I are one, we will have to find a way to coexist with one another. Like Scorpion with Master Hasashi.’ Yuki-onna soothes, petting Yuki’s snow white hair. Yuki wiped away her tears and stood up. ‘Now then, since Polaris is your alias, I would suggest you call me that.’

“Just like with Scorpion.”

Yuki-onna held Yuki’s hands, feeling the cold through her. ‘Get some rest, my dear. I will take over for now.’

“Please let them know. I don’t want to scare them.”

‘You have my word, Hanabi.’

“...Yuki!” Kuai Liang’s voice snapped Polaris out of her thoughts, making her jump a little. “We’ve been calling your name and you didn’t answer. Please be more attentive next time.”

“So sorry, Sensei. I was in my own thoughts.” Polaris’ voice sounded a bit deeper into an alto range, and although Kuai Liang didn’t notice it, Hanzo did.

Hanzo walked to her and took a look at her face, Yuki’s left eye was in a total pale blue color, as if she was dead, but clearly alive. “Who are you and what have you done with Yuki Hanabi?” He asked with some pieces of a threat in his voice.

“Yuki Hanabi is currently resting up. I have permission to take over her physical body until we arrive at the helicopter.” Polaris answers, making the two grandmasters confused.

“What? Who are you?” Kuai Liang asked.

“My name is Yuki-onna, I am very sure that Yuki has told you about me.” Kuai Liang eyes shrunk. ...How?! “How I came to be inside her is a very long story, but right now, we must avoid the children and remaining scientists until we reach the Special Forces.” Polaris walked forward, past the confused assassins. “I will also be her reservation for Hanabi’s cryomancy, in case if anything like this happens again.”

“Like a back-up power.”

“Exactly, Hasashi.”

Reaching a turn, the group saw the injured Akihiko and his remaining coworkers, all with machetes in their hands. “You tried my hand, Hanabi. Now you will die without playing a fun game.”

“Kagome, Kagome was never fun anyway.” Polaris responds apathetically. Once the scientists ran towards her, Polaris blew on them and froze all of them instantly, leaving Akihiko alone and shaking in his boots. “How does it feel? Knowing that you will die soon?” She took his machete and cut off his arms cleanly. “This is for the innocent children you turned into science experiments.” Polaris then cut both his legs with her spiked ice, making him fall to the ground, staining his lab coat in a puddle of his own blood. “This is for my Lin Kuei comrades.” She then aims her iced paint brush and ice kunai at his neck. “And my sensei.” She stuck the weapons in his head then cut his head off with her blade, pinning it to the wall with a paintbrush before the head hit the ground.

Luo, Wang, Kuai Liang, and Hanzo just stood there in awe, not knowing that Yuki, or Yuki-onna, was even able to do that. They all thought the same thing…

FATALITY

Polaris then fainted, Kuai being quick enough to catch before she hit the ground. He picked her up to rest in his arms and looked at her bloodstained hospital clothing, and hair, wondering even how or why Yuki-onna was now part of his student. Hanzo placing a hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts.

“Kuai, we need to go before the children arrive.”

“Right.”

They went through the rest of the orphanage without any other encounters.

__________________^_^_____________________

When Yuki woke up, she was back in her room at the Lin Kuei temple, covered in bandages, in her pajamas, and with an ice pack over her head. She sat up from the covers and held her head, trying to remember what happened before, but coming up blank.

“I see you’re awake.”

Yuki turned to see Kuai Liang, holding an ice pack and a cup of tea. “Yeah, I suppose I am. I don’t remember what happened after I put my head in the clouds.” She accepted the cup of chamomile tea, as he changed the ice pack on her head.

He looked at her, surprised. “You don’t remember? Not one bit?” His knowledge with worldly beings came from Hanzo and his experience with Scorpion, but he remembered everything. Yuki didn’t.

Yuki shook her head, being mindful of her headache blooming. “No. Not one part.” She held her now pounding head, making it harder to think. The Lin Kuei Grandmaster noticed it and helped her lie back down and relax. “What about Wang and Luo? Are they alright?”

“Wang and Luo are fine and are recovering. Right now, you need some rest.” He tucked her in, hoping to have her head back to sleep.

“What about training? I-”

“You will take some days off from training to recover. Right now, head back to sleep. Your fever is being quite pesky.”

“My cryomancy didn’t come back yet?”

“I’m afraid not. The doctor said that it will be a bit longer till your powers come back.” Kuai Liang even per her hair, hoping to calm her anxiety. “Right now, rest.”

Before Yuki fell asleep, she muttered loud enough for Kuai Liang to hear, “Arigato, chichi…” She didn’t say anything after that.

When the Lin Kuei Grandmaster closed the door, he saw Hanzo behind him, smiling. “What?” He asked.

“Do you what she just said to you?” Hanzo asked, the smile not leaving his face. Kuai shook his head, knowing that Yuki speaks only Japanese sometimes. “She said, ‘Thank you, father.’ She called you her father.”

(So sorry for the crappy ending. I didn’t know what to end the story. Happy Halloween, I guess...?)

youtube

#hanabi yuki #polaris #halloween #vocaloid #kuai liang #hanzo hasashi #subscorp #sub zero #scorpion mortal kombat #mortal kombat #fanfic #kinda scary idk

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dandelionfunky · 5 years ago

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Name: Amy!

Nickname(s): On the internet, Dande or Funky! I love either. :)

Gender: Cis female.

Star Sign: I don’t do horoscopes.

Current Time: 5:20

Favorite Artists: Imogen Heap! Aw man, she’s a genius. She composes, mixes, writes the lyrics, ugh, she’s amazing. I adore her wordplay. She paints such vivid pictures with her lyrics and she’s such an inspiration to my work.

I also am really into Vocaloid. Again, I love the things that people can create using the software. It’s such a beautiful storytelling medium and I love that robotic sound. It has such a creative fanbase. My favorite Vocaloids are Zola Project (I love all three of them, especially their harmonies together), Meiko, Mayu (I like her voice, not a fan of Yandere. I love the rare non-yandere songs using her.) and Nekomura Iroha.

My favorite producers are Oddeo, Ryuuru, Shu-t, Seiko-P, TKN, Kyaami and Strovi. I’ve been really jiving to Hachioji-P and 23.exe lately, too.

Besides vocaloid, I really enjoy Hamasaki Ayumi, Josh Groban, Attack All Around, Studio Killers, Indila, Sigrid, and Mizca.

Song Stuck in My Head: To be honest, when I’m on the computer I’m always listening to music. It’s pretty hard to have something stuck in your head when you’re listening to something else, so I’ll tell you what songs have been popping in my head over the last couple days!

Rainych’s japanese cover of Doja Cat’s Say so.

YY feat. Hatsune Miku by 23.exe

Last Movie I Saw: I’ve been rewatching my favorite film “Castle In the Sky” lately. It’s been a great comfort as of late.

Unless you include documentaries as a “movie”. Then it was a documentary about Gutenburg and the invention of the first printing press called “The Birth of Printing.”

Last Thing I Googled: Covid mask sewing patterns.

Other Blogs: I have several derelict rp blogs.

Do I Get Asks: Not really anymore. I used to get more when I myself was more social on here.

Reason for URL: Dandelions are a very important symbol for me. Where I live, there is a little children’s myth, that, like a birthday candle, when you blow the seeds and make a wish it will come true. Well, if you think about it each seed grows another dandelion, which makes even more seeds, which means more wishes.

Such as it is when people create. People become inspired, and they create art. That art inspires others, and they create, inspiring even more people.

For me, Dandelions are a symbol of inspiration, creation, and art. And I love that. I hope that someday my work will be something that inspires others in a positive way.

“Funky” refers to myself. I’ve always walked to the beat of my own drum, whether I mean to or not.

Following: 409

Average Sleep: I have been cursed with needing 12 hours of sleep a night. My life is flushed away in a reclining position.

Lucky Number: I don’t really believe in lucky numbers, but I am quite fond of the number 17.

Currently Wearing: A navy blue cold shoulder sharkbite tunic top, with a bedazzled upper half, and deep navy bootcut jeans. What are you wearing? ;D

Dream Job: Professional Author.

Dream Trip: Everywhere! But starting with Japan.

Favorite Food: I used to answer this with Velveeta mac and cheese, but over the last year or two I’ve been doing a complete diet overhaul to try to eat more healthy, so it’s been quite awhile since I’ve eaten it.

I really enjoy all the foods that I eat now, so it’s hard to choose, but I guess my recipe for Sauteed carrots! Either that or Strawberry Peach Smoothies.

No-bake cookies are my favorite dessert! But that’s a sometimes food lol.

Instruments: The Hammered Dulcimer, closely followed by the Taiko drum.

Favorite Song: “Run Time” by Imogen Heap. It’s such a fun beat with interesting wordplay that paints such a vivid picture of a relationship and the reasons she’s breaking up with that person.

I tag @screamingvikings, @flyingsculptures, @dasseinhundin, @trixystix, and @blueberryhope !

#long post #dande speaks

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calwingjapan · 5 years ago

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9月2日ーマジカルミライ

Back in May I booked bus tickets and passes for Hatsune Miku: Magical Mirai 2019. I suppose it will serve as a good distraction. Oddly enough, a part of me didn’t really WANT to go. I meant to get just one ticket, but the lottery system had messed up English and as a result I had to pay for a two day pass. The only reason I decided to go was to indulge in my 19/20 year old self in going to a Vocaloid concert. In the past 5 years, I’ve not been a huge fan, but knew that at the very least I could still have a little fun, right?

Now...I have plans of going every year. It was beyond entertaining from start to finish and the exhibit floor was a lot like anime cons back home...only it was all Vocaloid. What’s more, the event actually had English support (and Chinese). Industry guests were there, including a few big name vocaloid music producers doing autographs. Any clothing, accessory, music tech, or figurine company that had partnership with Crypton and Hatsune Miku was there with their merchandise. Starting out producers had a fan-works marketplace selling their own CDs and fanart. Early demo play of the new Project DIVA and Miku VR was available! There were also changing rooms for cosplayers, and a storage space for those traveling will luggage to put away. So I’ll be sure to cosplay next year, for sure, too! I’ve been wanting to be KAITO for years, so this seems like the perfect place to do it.

Tho, I think the nicest aspect of it was just how friendly all the attendees were. There were people from all over the world. Japan. China. Korea. Philippines. America. Europe. Yet, no matter the language barrier, everyone was having fun singing their favorite songs in impulsive karaoke, dancing, taking photos together, and so on. Even the most hardcore fans were good people. They didn’t try to one-up anyone or assert authority of any kind. If anyone was seen alone, they were just collected into groups with other fans. If someone didn’t have a glow wand during the concerts then fans would share (the most excited fans had anywhere from 3-5 wands of their own. They had plenty to loan to friends). I ended up meeting a few people from America and other foreigners in the country who go every year but sadly they all lived in different corners. We’ll keep in touch on LINE, I’m sure.

I just cried during the first song. I didn’t even know what song it was (or half of the songs of the whole show), but I didn’t care. I think it was mainly just the energy of the moment and how entertaining it was. Even a few old favorites were played in memory of the late wowaka, who passed away this April. A different song of his was played at every show, the two I got to see was World’s End Dancehall (my favorite) and Rolling Girl (his first big hit). Those were really emotional numbers even if they were very high energy. Megurine Luka was also celebrating her 10th anniversary so she got an extended set, and her own corner at the exhibit hall. One guy I ended up sitting next to during the final concert (someone from America), he and I both ugly cried when Romeo and Cinderella happened.

On the last day I did one last sweep of the exhibit hall and while walking past the industry booths, I saw a staff member holding up a sign with 「八王子Ｐ」written on it. Next thing I knew...he was right there, signing autographs. I didn’t know who’d be there, nor did I expect it to be possible to meet anyone. Yet...one of my favorite producers was not but 10 feet away from me and all I had to do was...buy his newest EP, and I could get his autograph. Not only did I get his autograph, I got lucky when I drew my lottery ticket and was allowed to shake his hand. I was so starstruck that I forgot my Japanese and had to use Google translate to tell him how happy his music has always made me, and partly why I now live in Japan. He...just laughed and kept saying thank you as he shook my hand. I cried in the bathroom right after.

I really met Hachioji-P. It’s not called Magical Mirai for nothing, I guess.

Part of me thinks it was such an emotional weekend because of the news with my grandfather, and me having trouble expressing any sorrow over it. When the stage teased that one wowaka’s songs was next with the video screen, the crowd didn’t chant for Miku or Rin or Luka, or anyone else. Everyone in unison just kept screaming “WO! WA! KA! WO! WA! KA! WO! WA! KA!” He’s gone...but his music has been so impactful to thousands, if not millions of people all over the world. I only hope that he was able to hear us, from all 5 shows, screaming his name. It couldn’t be helped, me thinking of my grandfather in that moment. I want to remember Buddy the same way all those fans remember wowaka.

I called Luis after the first day and talked my feelings out about my grandfather with him. There...wasn’t much to be said, but it was nice (and surprising) when he told me how he went through the same emotions a few years ago when his own grandfather died a few years ago...while we were all at MomoCon together. I can’t imagine how he felt during that weekend after he got the message from his family. Still, knowing that someone at least understands why I’m feeling (or rather, not feeling) does provide some reassurance.

There is no solution to this, I know, but...Luis offered me a bit of comforting words in knowing that he’s about to be going somewhere where he won’t be hurting anymore- no more cancer, aching bones, or fluid bags, or anything at all. He’ll be somewhere where he has his voice again! He’ll be able to go swimming without the worry of water getting caught in his throat hole. He’ll have all his hair, again! I know I can’t follow him there, not right now, anyway. But for the moment...that’s how I’m trying to cope with this situation.

Justin/Logy and his girlfriend, Jasper, are planning to be in Japan for Christmas next year. Thanks to the Olympics, the Tokyo dates for Magical Mirari 2020 had to be moved from summer time to right before Christmas. When I passed the news along to them, they immediately agreed that we’d all go together at least for one day, in cosplay. The magic continues….

#Year 2 #Diary #Magical Mirai 2019 #wowaka

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peemil · 6 years ago

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“21 questions game: Answer 21 questions and tag 21 people you want to know better. anyone who wants to do this because having to choose people makes me anxious

Tagged by: @delightful-dragon thank you Kiri!!!!!

Nickname(s): Email, Peemil, Worm Boy, Dragon, Mikuzma, Piss, Shinjemil

Zodiac Sign: Libra sun, Leo moon, genuinely have no idea what my rising sign is bc idk what time I was born 😝

Height: How Tall Is Hatsune Miku

Hogwarts House: I usually get Gryffindor or Hufflepuff but idk what the fuck that means

Last thing I Googled: “how tall is hatsune miku,” for the sake of making that joke

Favorite Musicians: pinocchioP, Car Seat Headrest, wowaka (may he rest in peace), Alabama Shakes, Anamanaguchi, LOONA, 1 Trait Danger, My Chemical Romance, Sea Wolf, Solange

Song stuck in my head: “FANCY” - TWICE

Following: a LOT of people, too lazy to check, too embarrassed to admit

Followers: not enough i need attention

Do you get asks?: Not really, I wish I got more!

Amount of sleep: Last night I got about 4, but that’s just because I was being feral and stupid.

Lucky number(s): 12, 25.

What are you wearing: a blue t-shirt and white shorts

Dream job: Genuinely unsure! For awhile I thought I wanted to be a writer but that ended pretty rapidly. In an ideal world, I’d be able to do acting full-time and for pay, so I guess that.

Dream trip: I’d like to see all of the real-world locations that the Pokémon regions are based on. But I’ve also wanted to go to Japan just for the sake of going to Japan for a very long time.

Random fact (about me): I memorize transit routes in random cities sometimes when I don’t feel like doing work.

Instruments: None I do not have any musical talent. I theoretically can sing but so can everyone, really.

Languages: English, French, and very little Korean.

Favorite songs: “Crappy Fantasy Days,” “Hanauta,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “World’s End Dancehall,” “What’s Inside,” “Hey Space Cadet,” “Beast Monster Thing,” “Sober to Death (2018),” “Girl Front,” “Stay Flo,” “House of Wolves”

Aesthetic: Conifer forests, big cities, and deserts at sunset. It reminds me of my home.

Tagging: uhhh no one in particular because of my (Hee Hee Hee) Social Anxiety BUT if you want to do this just go ahead and say I tagged you we don’t even have to be mutuals!!! These are fun and everyone should get to do them.

#he scream at own follower #tag thing #thank you kiri!!!!

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browniesnivy · 6 years ago

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Random Asks!

This template was made by biaesthetic, just so you know. I cut out some of the questions I didn’t I saw feel like answering, but otherwise her template worked really well for my needs! I saw cyberenergyshock do something similar and felt the need to do one myself, so here we go! Y’all really don’t know anything about me (which is mostly because i’m super paranoid about privacy) and I don’t intend to give out super precious info or anything here, I just thought it’d be nice.

what was the last thing you read? The last book I read was issue three of the Bunny Drop manga. So far it’s a very cute story that I recommend to people who like family stories. It’s very touching and cute, but can be fairly thought-provoking at times. I haven’t finished it yet so I can’t give a full review or anything... but those are my thoughts so far!

favorite movie? Captain America: Winter Soldier! I know it’s a pretty basic choice as far as favorite Marvel movies go, but it really is just soooooo good. The action, the intrigue, the emotion, the relationships... all so good! Ten out of ten would watch again... and I believe me, I have. Three times in fact. And I’ve cried at least once every time because I’m weak sauce.

favorite book? That’s really hard... I really loved Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets but I haven’ t read that in years and am really fuzzy on the details... so I guess I’ll have to say the Warrior Cats Super Edition Crookedstar’s Promise. What can I say, I love Warrior Cats! And this edition is just so emotional. Without giving away any spoilers, this book is an absolute emotional rollercoaster at parts and contains one of the most manipulative, petty, dangerous, terrifying and broken villains the series has to offer and she is just fantastic. If your down with some of the special Warrior Cats-brand of stupidity this book is a total treat!

dream date? We’d be alone somewhere quiet and serene, nature surrounding us as we were covered in a blanket of stars. Cool, refreshing water babbles nearby, giving poetry to our escape. The most calming and tranquil environment imaginable. However, we wouldn’t just enjoy the soothing scenery, but we would talk in a low whisper, joking about things only we would understand and geeking out over fandom, all in between mouthfuls of take-out pasta from Olive Garden. It would be a mixture of a fun hangout with a friend and a romantic tender scene. (I guess all of that was really corny, huh? Haha, sorry!)

do you have a crush? Not on anyone real... but if Hatsune Miku asks tell her I’m free!

what are your hobbies? I love creative pursuits like writing and drawing and have loved them since I was extremely young. One of my favorite pass times is playing video games like Pokémon, Fire Emblem, Harvest Moon, The Sims,, Civilization, Stardew Valley, Super Smash Brothers, and many many others... too many to reasonably name! I love reading novels, but manga and anime alike are what I seem to do more of nowadays. My parents are pretty strict on which anime I watch though, so I spend more time reading manga because they aren’ t nearly as finicky about my reading material since my younger siblings won’t have to be subjected to it. Also, I really love philosophy. Ethics and morals have always fascinated me and the idea of mapping out the human spirit like a genome is endlessly fascinating to me... I love to read books on morality and watch philosophical YouTube videos in my down time, and I hope that someday I can come to some kind of understanding of the truth. I guess that means I’m kind of lame!

what’s your favorite time of day? Evening. I love the darkness. The chilling winds and the stars illuminating the dark skyscape is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen, and it’s all right their in your backyard if you only care to look! Well, I guess if you live in the city or something you can’t do that... in which case I’m very sorry! Anyway, the serenity of the night is something the daytime can’t match for me. Peace and quiet are seldom found around where I live, so the silence is very appreciated!

if you could look like anything, what would you look like? Anything you say? In that case I guess I’d look like a calico cat. That away, I could climb along fences and gates or go exploring into the wilderness without anyone looking at me funny! Plus, maybe someone would pet me!

are you a romantic? If you just read my ideal date, the I you’ll probably know the answer. Yeah, I guess I am! I’m not super ditzy or anything, in fact I rarely every feel romantic attraction to people, but I do long to find a soulmate.

what’s your favorite type of weather? The rain, definitely. If you couldn’t tell, quiet tranquility is pretty much my aesthetic. I love water. It nourishes the plant life and makes everything sparkle with dew, the greenery becomes so much greener and everything becomes so much more vibrant... it’s like the spirit of the world has been born again. And yet almost nobody is out their enjoying it. Fine by me, I’d rather be alone on my walks down the rainy neighborhood streets. Bonus if it’s raining at night, because not only are the walks multiplied tenfold in their beauty, but when you decide to hit the hay the soft pitter-patter of the raindrops can gently lull you to sleep...

what do you like talking about? Well obviously I love to talk about Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I’m pretty much open to talk to anyone about it... but I also love to talk about other fandom! I also love mythology and philosophy (that though provoking shit) and just random trivia in general and it’s nice to talk to people who are also interested in it. Other then all that nerdy cooties, I just generally like listening to other people talk. As long as what you say isn’t completely repulsive to me I’ll probably listen, but I’ll probably crack jokes the entire time unless you’re being really serious. I love funny stuff.

if you got a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? Oh, I’d never even think about a tattoo! I’m far too much of a scaredy-cat, besides the initial pain the idea an image could be burned onto me forever kind of freaks me out. I have no problem with other people getting them at all, just not something I could ever do. I don’t really think I can answer this question adequately... but I guess if I had to choose I’d say something small like an eye or a teardrop. I’d put it on the lower part of my neck to the left side: it would be discrete and not very noticeable, but kind of pretty and thoughtful. Nothing to obtrusive or, dare I say, obnoxious for me.

do you want any pets? I wish! We used to have a dog when I was very little, and then we had a cat when I was about eight or so, but nothing since then. Such a shame, because I am filled with love and affection for cats and dogs especially and would like to have at least one of each someday. If I had to pick which breeds I’d like, I’d say a border collie (they’re so expensive, but hey a girl can dream, right?) and a calico.

dream job? “When I grow up I want to write books!” I’ve been saying that since I was old enough to write my own stories. Above all else, I want to be an author, but even most of those have other jobs as well. Of course I’ve gone through phases of wanting to be different things... when I was really small I wanted to be a waiter, then in second grade I wanted to be a marine biologist (I saw sea turtles at an aquarium and fell in love. Don’t want to do marine biology anymore but sea turtles are still the some of the most precious beasts on this planet!), but now I’m thinking either an animator, a journalist, or a moral philosophy professor. Who knows what I’ll end up doing, I'm only a freshman right now, after all.

dream place to live? Take me home, country road, to the place, I beloooooooong…! No, I don’t want to live in West Virginia specifically (though that would probably be pretty swell), but the American South is where I grew up and it’s where I want to live. The flourishing flora, sparkling water forms, and the waves of fertile farmland are just some pf my favorite set pieces of the Southern United States. I don’t live there anymore, and there are a lot of social problems down there that might target me specifically, but just for the scenery alone I wish to go back.

dream vacation? Japan! in this dream scenario, I can speak Japanese and navigate the land without many hitches, ordering of the menu and understanding all the signs. I’d go to a maid café and one of those resteraunts where there are stuffed animals everywhere, I’d buy a crap-ton of weeb shit, if I was lucky I’d see a vocaloid concert... and the sightseeing! I’d go hiking on the mountains and see cascading waterfalls and flourishing sakura and really neat beetles... I hope that happens to me someday!

do you want any piercings? I don’t even want my ears pierced at all, so not at all! I’m not a very flashy person, in fact I’m quite quaint, and I never wear jewelry unless my family somehow bamboozles me into it. I’d never wear any of it, so it wouldn’t be worth some weirdo assaulting my earlobes (or any other body part) for it.

if you had kids, what would you name them? I think me having kids might be kind of a long shot all things considered (but who really knows, right?) but I do have several names I’m really attached to that I would gladly give to someone. The first is Eve, which I just absolutely adore the aesthetic of. If you couldn’t all ready tell, I love the nighttime, and this name just screams a sort of lovely starlight elegance. Plus, it was the name of my first crush in Harvest moon Magical Melody so... backstory! The other name I’d go with would have to be Jamie. It just sounds so peppy and interesting, it’s a very unique name that I can’t help but love. Not coincidently, Jamie was the name of another Magical Melody character I was particularly fond of, because they were my first experience with gender nonconformity and non-binary gender identity!

what are your best traits? Am I really the best person to judge that? Well, I guess I can try. I try to be as patient as possible and to keep an open-mind because I hate hurting people’s feelings, believe there is always a kind and peaceful solution, and think every single person deserves personal respect and to be treated with integrity when possible. I’d say of all my traits, those are the ones I try the hardest to foster and exercise.

worst traits? I’m so anxious, literally anything going wrong cans end me into a panic. My family has kind of a history with predisposed anxiety, so I should probably get that checked out... but then the idea of being diagnosed as “wrong” freaks me out a lot. Vicious cycle. This underlying anxiety manifests in some other nasty traits of mine: specifically that I’m a wuss, a doormat, and a pessimist. Long story short, I’m way to worried for my own good.

what’s your worst fear? Well, I’m pretty much afraid of everything! Alligators, heights, amnesia, blood and guts, rejection, underwater tunnels, birds coming near me, loud noises, illness... there’s a lot more, but I’d say my biggest fears are failure and weakness. The two kind of go hand in hand in my mind, and the thought that I could fail and become irredeemable and worthless is petrifying.

what do you want to eat right now? Something to know about me: I’m always hungry. I snack incessantly, so it’s a wonder I’m still such a skinny little bastard! Right now, I could really go for some sushi. Put some seafood and some avocado on that shit and I’m sold.

favorite social media platform? Tumblr! I mean, it’s really the only social media I have, but still! Even though looking at all the fighting and toxicity on this website that can really make me feel awful, there is an undertone of community that outweighs that for me. Seeing so many fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! and ShrimpShipping in particular makes me feel like I really belong somewhere, and when I see the entire community harmonize to create a positive environment I remember what this life is all about. When I get a heart on a post, I think about how someone liked that post, how something I made or that I said might have put a smile on their face or roused a chuckle from them, and that makes it all worth it to me. Plus, all my mutual are really cool!

favorite article of clothing? Jackets, blazers, hoodies, coats, sweaters, suits... I love that cozy shit! I unfortunately live somewhere really hot, so a lot of times flaunting my style makes me uncomfortable, but it’s worth it too look fly as hell! When it comes to dressing, I’m very butch to androgynous, which makes since because I’m pretty gender nonconforming, I always have been. When I was younger and at a different school I was definitely the tomboy, but now I tend to try and blend in more just because people at my new school seem so much more judgmental.

do you play any sports? I’ve been playing tennis since I was in third grade! I really only ever play it during the school’s season because there is just so much homework and I’m always busy, and thus my growth has been greatly stunted... but it’s still a really awesome sport. There’s a precision and an elegance to it that just fascinates me, plus it’s not a team sport so I don’t have to worry about screwing my partners over! Unless it’s doubles, which I try to avoid whenever possible. Other factors that make me like it appealing to me is that I have the body for it (tall with freaky long-ass arms) and my dad plays it too, so we can go out and help each other improve our skills.

favorite meal of the day? Well they’re all great, I mean food is food, but I’m biased to dinner. The biggest most complete meal of the day that packs the most flavor and is the most filling, dinner is great! In my opinion, going to bed on a full stomach is one of the best feelings in the world, so we can thank dinner for that. Plus, my mom lets me eat snacks after dinner so I don’t have to sneak around to eat potato chips... heh.

what are you excited for? ShrimpShipping Week definitely has me excited, because I have so many shrimpy ideas to let loose upon this world... and I’m really looking forward to looking at everyone else’s contributions too! ShrimpShipping Week is the time I can see the most unity within the community, and it truly is a wonderful experience! Also I’m hyped as hell for Smash Ultimate and that currently unnamed Animal Crossing 2019 game... I’m a huge Nintendo fan my dudes.

when was the last time you cried? Like a few days ago? I can’t remember which of these instances came first, but I figured out I got on probation in NJHS because I got (gasp) a C+ in Geometry?! That seriously fucked-up my self-esteem, so I cried about that. But I can’t really remember if that was before or after I rewatched Madoka Magicia (which I personally consider a brilliant work of art and an anime must-see)… well either way I cried really recently.

dream house? Perhaps by the side of a crystal clear lake, maybe by the banks of a babbling brook, possibly by the sparkling seashore... but somewhere near water there would sit a two story house. Crisp hardwood makes up the walls of the construction, and there are windows opening the entire house to gorgeous natural light. Inside, everything is painted soft colors that seem to glow in the light, and every piece of furniture looks like you could sink into it’s soft surface. The downstairs floor has a living room with cases for cards, game boards, and video game disks are displayed neatly and conveniently alongside posters and figurines. It is essentially a nerd rec room. Beside that, the dining room and kitchen are organized and clean, and you can still smell pasta from the night before. A large flight upstairs leads to an upstairs library and study, which then empties out into a cozy bedroom full of stuffed animals and an open closet full of suits and coats. The bedroom has a balcony attached to it overlooking the water source nearby, a quiet and comfortable escape out into the serenity of nature. I suppose that’s all very idealistic, but this is a dream house... so I can have as many plushy sofas and anime girl figurines as I want!

what’s something you hate about the world? How selfish a lot of people are. I don’t mean to sound mean or judgmental, but there are just so many people who refuse to even try to be kind. All they care about is themselves and they don’t understand how much their actions effect those around them, and they certainly never try to adjust their viewpoints. I think there are so any problems we could resolve if we just tried to understand the people around us. After all, they aren’t going anywhere. You might as well try to make life as pleasant as possible for others, right? But that’s just my two cents.

what’s something you love about the world? Even though the world is full of self-serving close-minded folk, there are also those who are driven and motivated to try to improve themselves and those around them. They want to try to make things more positive for those around them, they want to help those in need, and they believe in people’s capacity to improve. They believe int he ability to change and to improve. And when I see these people join hand in hand to change the world, I feel very inspired. I know it’s not possible to solve every problem, at least not in one go. But seeing people who wholeheartedly try to help out is what I love most in this world.

what scents do you like? I tend to like scents like chocolate or sizzling steak, the kinds of scents associated with foods. Like I said, I’m always hungry. I also love the smell of nature after a rainy day, it just draws out all the scents from the flora in the most fantastic way.

what kind of sleeper are you? If a bomb detonated outside my house, I would still stay asleep. In other words, I’m an incredibly heavy sleeper. Basically no amount of rambunctious noise can awaken me from deep slumber, but I am very responsive to someone disturbing my sleeping environment by touch. if the bed rocks or a finger brushes against my face, I’m awake instantly, probably in an anxious sweat. That’s why I can’t sleep in the car. But if you give me a warm bed and take care not to touch me in anyway, I’m dead asleep.

are you a cat or dog person? Don’t make me choose! I love them both so much, but for completely different reasons. Cats are good because they are cuddly and soft and relaxing, but they for the most part don’t give a fuck about anything. And dogs are nice because they are so fun and loving, and sometimes they seem just as complex as humans in their emotional capacity. I love them both so much, I don’t want to choose!

how long would you survive in a zombie apocalypse? I’d probably be one of the first to kick the bucket honestly. I mean, I’ve beaten my siblings and other kids in wrestling matches more times then I can count, but a zombie apocalypse? I’d be too scared to do anything! The only thing that might push me forward would be the desire to help my loved ones, but even then I think i’d be pretty useless. Suffice it to say I’ll be easy pickings when the zombies come for our brains.

when do you feel safe? I’m pretty much always nervous to be honest, so I guess I feel safest when I’m asleep!

are you trusting? I actually don’t know how to answer that? I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and when I make bonds I get seriously invested in them, but most people on the streets I’m always a bit on guard about. Got to play it safe, you know?

what fictional characters do you identify with? Alderheart and Hollyleaf from Warriors. Alderheart because he’s really anxious and just trying his best to be useful, and Hollyleaf because she wants to do the right thing and follow the rules but often gets confused and starts going a bit batty. For something that’s not Warriors, I’d have to go with Homura from Madoka Magica, because she puts on a lot of strong fronts to protect those she loves and to avoid failure at all costs. I’m not trying to say I’m as fucked-up as some of these characters or that any of my situations are as bad as theirs were, just that I see bits of myself in them and can feel a connection to them.

what labels do you commonly get? Well there is a lot... fangirl, nerd, overachiever, butch, standoffish, weird, tomboy... if I named all the boxes I’ve been put in I'd be here all day!

what issues are you dealing with right now? Anxiety! That’s all I'm going to say, because I honestly think I’ve said enough about my problems. It makes me kind of uncomfortable shouting my fears into the internet because... it makes me feel guilty? I don’t know. Just... anxious. That’s my problem.

how can someone win you over? If they display an extensive knowledge of one of my fandoms then I’m instantly sold. Do you know how hard it is to find fans outside of the internet sometimes, and even in the internet? I’m so down to get in any amount of fandom talk!

#well there you go #that's me I guess #hope that wasn't long and boring lol #q and a #about me

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baby-bepsi · 6 years ago

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answer these questions then tag people you’d like to get to know better

i was tagged by @riconyasty hi ed!

nickname: just tiff tbh

height: 5′9, 5′10 on a good day

time: 8:46 AM i got class soon uuuhghhhghhghh

favorite bands/artist: BEYONCE?! gorrilaz, rico nasty, brockhampton, blackpink, asian kung fu generation, the legendary hatsune miku

song stuck in my head: its still POP/STARS because

last film I saw: what we do in the shadows! its so good!

last thing I googled: which ffx character are you

why I chose this user: bepsi is my favorite word of all time and Im a big baby soooo ;3c

other blogs: @tiff-draws i post my shit doodles on there

do i get asks: nah we good tho

following: friends, people with hot but correct takes, people with the funniest reaction pics, ff blogs, a love live blog i dont go there but its gay and cute

what am I wearing: leggings and a levi’s hoodie

dream job: ideally I would just love to have a more popular art presence and have people financially support me and my art so I can just draw all day. but i also guess just working at a gallery or studio as an receptionist or secretary would be pretty dope too,, I just wanna be involved with art no matter what.

dream trip: I wanna visit my family in Puerto Rico at least once. And like, Italy, France, Japan..

favorite food: anything with chicken, i lub chicken. and coffee! and sushi!!

play any instruments: i took piano lessons as a child but ive been forgot how to play.

hair color: naturally my hair is deep brown, now its like a weird brick color. its cute tho!

languages spoken: english, i can listen, read, and understand spanish but when i go try to speak it i can actively feel my brain cells deteriorating its so embarrassing

describe yourself as aes things: imagine somewhere like new port city from ghost in the shell, its dusk so all the neon signs are lit. the soundtrack playing is like one of those low fi mixes on youtube that has like pikachu with a vhs filter over him and its titled “july blues” or some shit.

most iconic song: i am so sorry orange range but aqua timez really snapped with A L O N E S. everyone has been saying that asterisk is the best bleach opening for yeeeaarrrrsssss but yall are wrong!!!

i tag @quizilla2009 @drwily @densetsu-no-stahpenisu im totally drawing a blank asdfaskfjasdf and other mutuals :3

#personal #mutuals #friends

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kvetas · 6 years ago

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rules: answer 20 questions then tag 20 (give or take) followers you wanna get to know better! tagged by: stole from @zcck !!

name: jackie nickname: sloth mama height: 5′1 nationality: filipino-american favorite fruit: mango favorite season: autumn!! favorite smell: ones that either aren’t gross or don’t make me sneeze a godawful amount favorite color(s): either edgy colors like black and red or pastel colors, there’s no in-between. (i lied, i don’t really have any particular favorite colors) favorite animals: sloths. but also dogs. and also pretty much a lot of things to where it’d be easier listing out what i don’t like lol tea, coffee, hot cocoa: from most preferred to least: hot cocoa, coffee, then tea. but i’m fine with whatever, really. average hours of sleep: too anomalous to measure. let’s say my eyebags are p bad lol dogs or cats: dogs, though all pets are good pets, rly dream trip: visiting my s/o. :’D or japan, i have a couple places in mind i’d like to go to there. when my blog was created: for this particular blog, i technically made it on october 20th, 2016. didn’t really get started until december 1st and even then i had a bunch of time in between where i just wasn’t active at all lol. # of followers: 217 random fact: i draw and my art blog is @ steelforgedbond i am totally not advertising favorite food: pork sinigang!! favorite t.v. show: from what’s currently airing; Cells at Work! favorite movie: nothing in particular comes to mind. in general, i like animated movies. favorite vine: too many to say sexuality: demiromantic demisexual gender: female, i guess! favorite book series: does manga count. please say manga counts. as of right now, i rly like the promised neverland and the ancient magus bride. would visual novels also count or is that pushing it favorite video game(s): mostly rpgmaker ones, like alice mare, end roll, witch’s heart, angels of death... then there’s devil survivor, nier automata, final fantasy x, tales of berseria, deemo, professor layton, etc etc and i’d list more but i’m sleepy and it’s like, 5:40 am while i’m filling this out and i’d probably be too lazy to edit it when i wake up favorite subject: art favorite fandoms: i don’t really interact with fandom. i mostly hang around in the tiny rpgmaker game fandoms, but just know that i usually like rpgs like final fantasy, disgaea, drakenier, or persona 5 favorite superhero: don’t have a single favorite 0: guys or girls: or celebrity crush: our lord and savior, hatsune miku ♥♥ last time i cried: today, because i cried for a minute or two watching the ending of finding paradise. which is odd because i honestly think to the moon is more sadder and i only cried for maybe, 15-30 seconds. maybe bc my brother kinda hyped it up for me while i was too lazy to watch a let’s play of it hair color: black-brown eye color: dark brown what I should be doing: cleaning my room, drawing, working on a commissions post to help pay for tuition, do my goddamn 3D modeling homework tagging 20 people: I BARELY POST ON TUMBLR AS IT IS, much less actually talk to people!!! just steal from me, and please feel free to @ me

#*( ✿✿;; rp memes. )#*( ✿✿;; ooc. )

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lazywolff · 7 years ago

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Rules: Tag 10 followers who you wanna know better

Name: Charlène

Nickname: Cha

Gender:Female

Star Sign: Scorpio

Height: Uh... I don’t remember... Probably around 160cm lol.

Sexual Orientation: None. I guess that means I’m asexual ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hogwarts House: Idk ?! I’m not really an Harry potter hardcore fan, so never determined that. But someone made the Sorting Hat and I tried it, at a convention. It told me I was Slytherin, so I guess I’m that.

Favorite Animal: Cats and wolves. Like ok, I don’t encounter wolves as often as I encounter cats but still, idk I like them.

Average Hours of Sleep: HAHAHAHAHAHA I can’t tell. Sometimes it’s 10hours, sometimes it’s 3hours. It all depends on what I’m doing the night before, and what I have scheduled for the day after.

Cat or Dog: Cats. Lying on a bed pretty much all day, just doing their business around the house and not giving a damn about anything... They know what’s good lol.

Favorite Fictional Character: No. you can’t ask me to choose ! I’ll just list a few... Portgas D. Ace, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Toshinori Yagi, Aizawa shouta, Hatsune Miku (it counts right ?!) Sinbad form Magi... I’ll stop there I think... Oh wait did I talk about my beautiful nuclear birb Utsuho ? And Fujiwara no Mokou ? I can’t help but love touhou characters for some reason.

Number of blankets: Depends on wich I use, but 4-3 during winter, and 2-1 during summer.

Dream Trip: Meh I don’t like travelling... I want to go to Japan at least once tho. Oh and Scotland seems nice too, maybe...

Dream Job: None. I’m part of those people won’t don’t have a dream unfortunately. If I find a job with which I can afford my hobbies, then that’s enough for me. And oh please, a job where I can works alone oh please.

When was this blog was created: Uh around 2013?

Current number of followers: Uh... 124 apparently. Hi guys, don’t know why you here but as long as y’all are enjoying yourselves here why not !

What made you decide to make a Tumblr: I got in for the One piece fandom, along with the Magi fandom. Then followed Mystic Messenger, and MHA... and just, artist and memes in general haha.

Tagged by: @motherfucking-sunshine

Tag you are it! (don’t feel obligated tho, do it just for fun if you want) @kj-is-my-name-and-im-girl @goldengriffinessartist @tookawaiitoolive @chocobokei @letoucanhasarrived @maybejustonemoreepisode @kojika-kun @demigodsandwichauthor @futuresurgeon @murasakihime and anyone who would want to do it because why not enjoy yourselves!

#i got tagged #tagged #this was fun #thanks!

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roc-thoughtblog · 4 years ago

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IDORU READTHROUGH CHAPTER 1-21 RECAP

Transhumanist rockstar Johnny Silverhand announces his engagement to virtual idol Hatsune Miku, and everyone is upset. A fired data analyst and a teenage Silverhand stan are both sent to Japan to find out why he's gone crazy. Or has he?

I'm joking but that kind of is the story. It's great.

I haven't picked this book up in at least half a year so I can barely remember where I was at (this is more a reflection of myself than of the book). I need this recap for myself, too.

For my previous post on thoughts on the genre, click here.

CONTENTS:

Personal Context

Story So Far

General Thoughts

Predictions

PERSONAL CONTEXT: When I visited Adelaide in 2019, I found a fairly large second-hand bookstore called O'Connell's Bookshop, which I believe is family-owned. It is super cool, one of those bookstores where the shelves are overflowing and you could probably find somebody's great-grandparents' childhood diary if you looked hard enough. Also, they have a dog! And the dog's name is my name! I'm a bookstore dog! Ahem. I will never not be excited about that. Please visit if you're in Adelaide and say hi to my canine counterpart.

Anyway, I was perusing and randomly spotted a book called Idoru, and my first thought was, "huh this seems like a romanisation of idol in japanese, is this just an old book about japanese idols?" And then I saw William Gibson's name attached to the book called Idoru, and my second thought was "wait, that William Gibson? What has that William Gibson got to do with japanese idols?"

Dumb question, really. The influence of east-asia in general on the development of the cyberpunk genre is huge, so the convergence shouldn't have been surprising. Also, the book's from 1996, so it's relatively recent; I had pigeonholed Gibson to the 80s because I didn't know better, and wondered whether virtual idols were even a thing then.

Either way, the novelty of an intersection between William Gibson and Hatsune Miku was more than compelling enough for me to buy the heck outta that book, and I've been enjoying it.

STORY SO FAR: Idoru separately follows two protagonists, former data analyst Colin Laney and teenage music fan Chia McKenzie. Both have been sent to Tokyo to figure out what's going on with an old-school rockstar named Lo/Rez, and why he's become engaged to virtual idol Rei Toei.

Colin has just been fired from his job at SlitScan, some kind of pop celebrity dirt-digging company. When his metadata analysis revealed that a teen celebrity was about to commit suicide (after it helped drive her to that point to begin with), he tried to intervene. He failed, a scandal ensued, and he was fired for trying to whistleblow to a media-company-dirt-digging-company. He was dropped when they found out he was once a test subject of a questionable experimental drug, compromising the legitimacy of his story.

Out of job, he's sent to Tokyo to get picked up by Lo/Rez's loyal bodyguard, Keith Blackwell. Blackwell wants to know if his boss has gone off the deep end, and suspects foul play, manipulation or tech-mediated brainwashing. He wants Laney to figure out who's behind it. All Laney can figure out so far, however, is that Lo/Rez leaves astonishingly little metadata to analyse, but has been lying about his activities to Blackwell. Also, Laney's old boss Kathy Torrance wants to blackmail him for dirt on Lo/Rez.

Meanwhile, Chia's VR Lo/Rez fanclub is upset that Lo/Rez has made a marriage announcement, to a virtual idol of all things. The rich one in their group uses her father's credit card to sponsor Chia to go to Tokyo and meet with the fanclub's Tokyo chapter to find out what's up.

On the flight over, Chia unknowingly falls in with some kind of smuggler, Maryalice, who uses her as a patsy to smuggle something into Japan. She takes Chia to her boyfriend's place, where Maryalice and her boyfriend start having a violent argument over Chia's involvement. Chia takes the chance to flee, but unknowingly still has the mysterious smuggled item in her bag.

She meets the Tokyo chapter's representative Mitsuko, who says that nothing is wrong, but Chia is unconvinced. Mitsuko's brother Masahiko takes Chia out to help her investigate, but both their friends warn them they are being stalked by a dangerous unknown group, and the credit card Chia is using is being tracked.

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

Each character in Idoru is described by Gibson with great vividness. They're also colourful to the extent that I feel like I'm experiencing the literary equivalent of the silhouette test for character identity. The descriptions are conveyed with great efficiency. At no point is the story stopping to exposit to you how a character appears, you figure out their appearance alongside their actions and personality as the scene progresses. In that sense, appearance, personality and actions are fused such that the character feels incredibly whole. It's very cool, I wanna emulate that. Also, they'd make great prompts for character design illustration exercises.

Having said that, I feel like this is another story where the supporting cast seem more interesting than the protagonists. Laney is alright; he seems to only be a creased suit-shirt, but at least he's a creased suit-shirt with a backstory. Chia suffers a little though; I can't even remember what she looks like and there wasn't terribly much going on in her life.

I really like Blackwell. Partly for Australian bias, but partly because I think he exemplifies this approach to character writing the best. His image is incredibly solid and unique among the case, he's dripping with personality, and it all works in harmony with every little action we see him take to bring his character to life. He makes a great study for close reading.

There's a very simple and predictable prose structure to the story so far; one chapter of Laney followed by one chapter of Chia, repeat. I'm not really sure how well it works; on the one hand it's nice to know exactly what's coming next, but on the other I feel like it's affecting the pacing a bit in some places. It's hard to end a chapter of Laney thinking, "I want to know what's next," and having to enter a chapter of Chia starting something entirely different.

Sometimes the writing is just unintentionally funny because I live 24 years into the future and japanese culture is now fairly mainstream. "Kelsey drew her nymph-self up with elvin dignity, batting manga-doe eyelashes in disbelief," while referring to a VR anime avatar, just makes me crack up. At the same time, props to Gibson for calling out VRchat anime avvies in 1996.

I'm not sure what's with cyberpunk and automatically taking place in an alternate world history - actually it suddenly made sense to me when I was typing; it's partly alternate to me because I live in the future, and it's partly that their setting is shaped by more extreme fictional, governments, corporations and man-made disasters. Having said, some changes still seem casually random and just thrown in to make the whole world feel different. Australia seems to have had a civil war that created a southern identity, Russia seems to be... fully controlled by the kombinat? Native American countries build laptops. Lots of strange details dotted through the setting.

PREDICTIONS: None, I'm halfway through the book but I still have no idea what's really going on or what's about to happen. Lo/Rez hasn't shown up yet outside of recordings, and people rarely even mention the idol.

If I had to guess, Chia and Laney's stories seeming to still have nothing to do with each other suggests that whatever connects them has already been revealed. I'd take that to be Chia's accidentally smuggled contraband then, or whatever group is stalking her, though I have no idea what that is yet.

#idoru #bridge trilogy #william gibson #cyberpunk #post cyberpunk #about 1300 words #took about 3 hours though #probably too long #novels

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pixelgrotto · 7 years ago

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Sega and franchise decay

Sonic Forces, the newest 3D game to star a certain blue hedgehog, is out now and receiving middling reviews. Rather than talk about it, I’d rather discuss the 2D Sonic Mania, which came out a few months ago. I never got the chance to blog about it until now, but you can read my Steam review for what it’s worth. I would’ve preferred that the game be composed of all new levels instead of a few new ones and remixed oldies, and in some ways I do believe that Sonic Generations did the “celebration of past and future” shtick a tad better, but overall, I had a good time with Mania. The most impressive thing about it, in my eyes, is how well it captures that 90s-2000s Sega “magic.” It’s hard to describe this in words, but during those years the company’s output, especially their in-house, exclusive stuff, just radiated coolness and creativity that was a little different from what Nintendo was doing. Whether it was the neon visual smorgasbord that encompassed all of the zones in Sonic’s games or the Moebius-inspired fantasy trappings of the Panzer Dragoon series, Sega’s games often seemed fresher and sexier, with dashes of unexpected punk and sophistication in them that the Big N could never really capture. I mean, the run ‘n jump levels and cheery tunes of the Mushroom Kingdom in the Mario games were wonderful, but hell, Sonic 3 featured snowboarding action and a soundtrack that Michael Jackson worked on.

Unfortunately, while the Nintendo of 2017 is kicking butt with the Switch and has upcoming releases scheduled for most of their classic franchises, the Sega of 2017 is in a much different position, and the changes began after the sad failure of the Dreamcast in 2001, when Sega killed off its hardware unit. In the years since, the company’s slowly morphed from a creative house that bankrolled a franchise of games starring an alien-fighting aquatic mammal (Ecco the Dolphin) into a conservative organization that does NOT want to repeat the monetary losses that were suffered during the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast eras, and is therefore highly selective with what it publishes and develops. And somewhere along the way, most of the older franchises that Sega was known for went by the wayside, because their most recent entries either underperformed or they were considered too risky for today’s gaming environment. If you look at the company’s website, you can see a list of what modern Sega considers to be their top tier franchises, and most of them are Western ones that were acquired fairly recently, like Company of Heroes. As far as notable in-house Japanese stuff is concerned, you’ve really only got the Yakuza and Hatsune Miku games (guaranteed moneymakers in Japan, which is why they keep getting made), and Sonic (a guaranteed moneymaker in the rest of the world). What happened to all those franchises of the past, then? Sega let them decay. Shinobi got its last release - a pretty good 3DS game - in 2011, and there’s been nary a word since. Anything is possible with ninjas, since Capcom brought Strider back from a 15 year retirement in 2013, but for now, Joe Musashi is AWOL. Ecco the Dolphin died in the Dreamcast era, Shining Force seems to have sputtered out after several PS2 and PSP releases that barely resembled the series’ strategy roots, and Panzer Dragoon vanished after Sega’s short-lived flirtation with the original Xbox in the early 2000s. The Oasis series (Beyond Oasis and Legend of Thor) never survived past the Sega Saturn, despite featuring excellent top-down action RPG gameplay that had the potential to go up against Zelda, if Sega had only invested the resources. While we’re on the topic of RPGs, Phantasy Star *sort of* still lives on as an MMO, but the single player entries in the series have long been dead, and even after five years, Sega has still refused to localize Phantasy Star Online 2 outside of Japan. And then we have two really depressing ones - Streets of Rage has been MIA even though Sega went out of its way to issue a takedown notice for a popular fan remake that was released in 2011, and Virtua Fighter, despite being pretty much the earliest 3D fighting franchise, hasn’t seen a real entry since 2006, and only exists as a cheap mobile game now. (I realize there are plenty of other franchises I’m leaving out here like Jet Set Radio, but I decided to limit my focus to games I’d played.)

In the aftermath of Sonic Mania’s release, there were a number of threads on NeoGAF (before GAF, well, imploded), speculating on what franchises should receive a “Mania” type resurrection. And if you’ve read up to this point, you can guess what my answer will be - damn near all of Sega’s old series could use this treatment. New versions of Shining Force and Panzer Dragoon that respect their legacy by emulating the style of their forefathers while introducing just enough new stuff to appeal to younger fans would absolutely make me lose my mind. But I feel that we’re unlikely to ever get a “Shining Mania” or “Panzer Dragoon Mania,” because the circumstances that brought us Sonic Mania are unique. Sonic has always had a robust fangame and ROM hacking community, and it was Christian Whitehead, one of those fan engineers, whose mobile port of Sonic CD just happened to be good enough to get Sega to hire him to port other Sonic games to phones. One thing led to another, and eventually Christian got tasked to take the lead in making Sonic Mania. Sega’s other old franchises don’t inspire fans and homebrew projects in quite the same way, and even though Streets of Rage came close with that 2011 remake, Sega swooped in pretty fast to nuke that one from the net, and I don’t think they gave any of the former devs jobs. This is because Sega just doesn’t care about Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, or even Virtua Fighter as much as Sonic. The blue hedgehog is a long-term mascot who’s managed to survive oodles of so-so 3D games (like the new Sonic Forces) to still be popular 25+ years after his birth. He’s not seen as a risk to the conservative Sega of 2017. A new Oasis game, on the other hand, probably is, and why should Sega stretch their lessened in-house production studios on what might be criticized as a Zelda clone when they can instead make another proven thing - a new Sonic, or perhaps a Yakuza or Hatsune Mika spinoff? No, I think the only way some of these franchises could be resurrected is if the original devs manage to grab hold of the license and take to Kickstarter, as is the case with Shenmue 3, a rare success story in this day in age. (Emphasis on the word RARE…and I’d actually rather not call Shenmue 3 a total “success” until the game is out, to be honest.) Franchise decay isn’t unique to Sega. It’s an affliction present in many other production studios, from Square Enix (I miss you, Parasite Eve) to Capcom (the mobile Breath of Fire 6 does not count) to Konami (Contra, Suikoden, damn near everything). Even Nintendo, who have generally done a fine job at avoiding this by bringing Kid Icarus and 2D Metroid back from the dead, have seemingly gone out of their way to not make a new F-Zero game for an awfully long time. But Sega is definitely the king when it comes to the sheer number of oldies that could stand to be updated for a new generation, but won’t be. And Sega are also the only ones to tempt us with Sonic Mania, a game chock-full of easter eggs to old titles that also offers a template which would be PERFECT for something like Shinobi or Streets of Rage…but one that likely won’t be used. Because the magical Sega of yesteryear, the one that got Michael Jackson to fiddle with Sonic 3 and used to be oh so fresh and oh so cool, is not the Sega of today. RIP, Shinobi, Ecco, Shining Force, Panzer Dragoon, Oasis, single player Phantasy Star, Streets of Rage and Virtua Fighter. Somewhere, in the same alternate universe that Sonic Mania manifested from, the Dreamcast did super well and all of you are on your tenth respective entries right now.

It’s a blast processing fever dream, but isn’t it a nice one? (Header Sonic Mania screenshot taken by me. All the other pics I jacked from Mobygames.)

#pixel grotto #musings #video games #sega #sonic mania #sonic the hedgehog #shinobi #ecco the dolphin #shining force #panzer dragoon #beyond oasis #phantasy star #streets of rage #virtua fighter

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voidish-stars · 4 years ago

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@annabeth-the-spn-nerd Thank You So Much For The Tag!! 😁 💙

Relationship status:

Single and ready to mingle Haha! (Hope to change that soon)

Favorite color:

Hmm probably Magenta Purple and Blue (Its the Bi flag big surprise Ikr Haha!) Oh! But also black and green!!

3 favorite foods:

Oh boy this is a tricky one I L O V E food but i would have to say Pickles, Pasta, Takis (weird mix IK)

Song currently stuck in my head:

Ugh it seems like everyday I have a new song and some days it is multiple right now its a song called Ameno (Hatsune Miku Cover) I first heard it on Snapchat and fell in love, also Ламбада (Lambada) by T-Fest & Scriptonite (Remix version), and finally Useless by Updog, I am in absolute love with Updog ever sense I found his music, its just hits a certain way I don't know! I have every song he has released in just AHH But Useless is the first song I heard from him and it is just special to me (Oh my this got long sorry 😅)

Last song I listened too:

Goodbye by Updog (I have a p r o b l e m)

Last thing I Googled:

What does Ameno mean? (Was curious due to the song)

Time:

After midnight (I really need to work on my sleep schedule)

Dream trip:

Oh, I would love to go to Japan, Japan is my dream place to go, the culture, the food, the entertainment, the scenery, if I could go to Japan some day that will be the happiest day of my life!! 🇯🇵

Something I really want to be:

Sense 5th grade I have wanted to be a Forensic Scientist, I have always been a science nerd and Forensics just fascinates me, I don't know what it is about rhe science that just draws me in, any kind of Forensics course I can find and I'm offered I will accept without question, I hope I am able to achieve this, but i also want to be a loving significant other to someone, someone I can share my life with, that will love me for me and we can have a happy long lasting and loving relationship I guess i just havent found the one yet but hey someday that could change (Sorry this got long and sappy)

Alright time to tag, I don't know many people but ill tag who I can @gogurt-cannoli @cascadingashes @arisnowuwu @sandydeserts @i-am-the-biggest-gay Have a great night everyone!!!!

get to know ppl chain thing

oof i forgot i was tagged in a post chain by @nobodystentacle !! not gonna add mine to the chain bc thats a long-ass post, but i’ll do it separately <3

Relationship status:

happily dating @i-am-genuinely-trying-i-swear for a year and almost 7 months!!

Favorite color:

gray, light blue, and yellow! i also like red for certain things like clothes but not everything.

3 favorite foods:

potatoes (any kind! fried, mashed, french-fried, cubed, sliced, diced, ANY!), pot roast, and chocolate cherry ice cream

Song currently stuck in my head:

Electric Love by Børns and the cover of Such Great Heights by Streetlight Manifesto!!

Last song i listened to:

honestly, Caramelldansen as part of a joke, but that shit still slaps.

Last thing i googled:

a fancy text generator to torment my friend

Time:

currently almost 1 pm!

Dream trip:

i’ve always dreamed of going to Venice, but i would also love to visit a lot of the touristy stuff in Japan!

Something i really wanna be:

is it depressingly cliche to say happy? lmao i’d love to be comfortable in life, emotionally and monetarily. if you mean career, then i have literally no clue!

for this i’ll tag uhhhh @i-am-genuinely-trying-i-swear, @666-eyeless-maggots, @the-lightest-shadow, @unknownuser-15, @vanguard, and uh, anyone else who i forgot who would like to! no pressure to do this if you don’t wanna <3

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ellieofmidnight-blog · 7 years ago

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U THINK U CAN ONE-UP /ME/, NERD???? All nultiples of 4. All of them. Good luck, Ily 😎💗

4: 3 things I love.Pizza, Ian BMoose Mcleod, and anything sweet

8: Sexual orientation?Asexual!

12: What time was I born?Uhhh I wanna say it was like… 1am?

16: Favorite place?Either in bed or in a forest or by the river where I live when I’m at Uni or anywhere where I can climb rocks and shit and nearly fall off and crack my head open???

20: First thing I notice in new person?The way they conduct themselves; eye contact, body language, tone of voice etc.

24: Favorite style of clothing?I’ve been really into Boho stuff recently!

28: Favorite movie?Hot Fuzz!!!

32: Someone I love.Hagakure Yasuhiro I have too many actual people to name o k a y

36: Tattoos and piercing I have.I just have my ears done

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night” texts?I sometimes get “good night” messages from the boi™… He’s sent me like 2 good morning ones, I think… I wish I got more…

44: Have I shaved my legs in the past three days?No…? I last did them on…. Thursday evening

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?I live with my mum and step-dad when I’m not at school!

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?Probably Saturday but I usually go extended periods of time without hugs r i p, my family isn’t very outwardly affectionate so…. that’s probably where my hesitation comes from lmao

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?Uhhhhhhhh everyone on here???

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?B e h i n d. Well… if it’s a group selfie, I prefer to be both. I’m in control of which ones get kept and shared.

64: Do I believe in magic?Sadly not… The analytical scientist in me always tries to figure out how anything works

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?Yes!!!!

72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue?I actually can!!

76: What do I think Satan’s last name is?Trump

80: What is my favorite word?If I can pick from any language, I’d say 見つけた/Mitsuketa or “I found you/it”. It’s just such a satisfying word to hear and say!

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?Time control! It would be so fucking useful to be able to speed up and stop time whenever I needed to!

88: Bought condoms?Lmao no

92: Kissed a girl?Uhhh…. I don’t think so? Maybe without warning if a drunk friend was being particularly affectionate

96: Bullied someone on the Internet?No! Wtf??

100: Did drugs?Nah, bro. Only those prescription drugs to keep me mentally stable, amirite

104: Been overweight?Nope!

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?Omfg yes

112: Broken a bone?Somehow, no.

116: Fly by helicopter?I have actually! It was… terrifying…

120: Wore make up?Constantly

124: Voted in a presidential election?I’ve voted in our government elections

128: Stalked someone on a social network?….Okay but hasn’t everyone???

132: Been rejected by a crush?I’ve never had the courage so now

136: Was I named after anyone?A book character! I believe it was Elinor from Sense and Sensibility! Except my grandma didn’t let my mum spell it like that lmao

140: Where do I want to live when older?Well, preferably not in England, but I doubt that’s gonna happen… I’d love to live in America, just to be closer to like e v e r y o n e, but I’d like to live in Japan to really be able to learn the language and the culture!

144: Am I afraid of the dark?Nah

148: What I’m really bad at.Remembering important stuff

152: What do I like about myself?Hm.. I like my dark, kinda fucked up, sense of humour lmao

156: If your house was on fire and you had sixty seconds to leave, what would you take with you?LAPTOP, PHONE, DOG, TABLET, LBR I PROBABLY WOULDN’T LEAVE WITHOUT SOME MAKEUP TOO

160: Is it possible to love someone if you don’t love yourself?Yes. Absolutely.

164: Do you judge people for what they wear or how they express themselves?No. I only judge people if they’re a shitty person.

168: Would you rather live a hedonistic life full of good things that make you feel good even if they’re bad for you, or a healthy life centered around treating your body like a sacred temple and watching your health as closely as possible? Or do you not care either way?Okay, listen…………. My life consists of eating bags of cookies and sweets in one sitting and playing video games………… I’ll leave it at that

172: When do you feel truly at peace?At night, like 2am, at my uni house. It’s quiet, my room’s decorated way nicer… Or like early in the morning if I end up waking up.

176: Do you think the world existed before you did?Is…. Is that a serious question..?

180: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?Depends if I can be bothered/have remembered to shut them or not

184: What is your Song of the week?Apple Dot Com - Pinocchio-P feat. Hatsune Miku

188: Last person you kissed/kissed you?My grandpa on sunday

192: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?Oh wow uhhh… I think it was to my mum to tell her about all my issues haha so… about 4 years ago?

196: Are you lazy?Hell yes

200: Do you sing in the shower?No.. I’m always too worried someone will hear me. I do hum though!

204: Favorite type of fruit pie?Apple

208: What was the last concert you saw?I’ve only been to one and that was P!ATD for their Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die tour so.. it was a while back

212: What’s your favorite part about today so far?I guess watching anime? I’ve not really done much else. Oh! Or Ian’s new video! :3c So proud of my boi

216: How do you like your steak cooked?Medium-Well

220: Which friend would you go to in an emergency?Irl, my friend Megan, probably. She’s the most reliable.

224: Would you rather live in the countryside or in the city?City

228: Who is the most intelligent person you know?My old housemate, Josh! He was like an encyclopedia, it was insane

#lilneps #ask #thanks bb <3

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