#just wanna get thru these pages so i can get thru more story!!!! unfortunately i also want them to be as nice as i can currently make them

[cuartist]

really excited to touch up the pages at the end of this chapter, but have to get through the more annoying ones first.

also need to make sure i have enough fuel before getting too in the zone!! frustrating

[s-aint-elmo]

hello again! im really glad to hear u wanna check out the stageplays! :D

unfortunately the reason why you could only find subs for #1 and #2 is that EN fan subs have only managed to get to blue glitter atm. thats because the general rule of thumb is to wait for the Bluray Disc copies of the plays to release so that they can translate the """"official version""" (since, ykno, stageplays by nature are never the same as each other) and #3 BD only released july this year while edel delight was literally held (iirc) just this feb 2022 so its gonna take awhile :')

a relatively recent additional side concern reason of waiting for the BD releases is like... plausible deniability of sorts? because revstar only started allowing international streaming with Blue Glitter actually so, originally really, we Do have to wait for the BD to even see what went down in the plays.

now we got international streams so translators can Technically start working on the plays earlier BUT since japan takes its copyright piracy laws really Seriously, posting screenshots of a play that should have only been livestreamed would shout to the company that ppl are pirating the show rather than paying so they might remove the international streaming option again,,, so screenshots from a subbed BD would give the plausible deniability that ppl posting the photos also bought the BD ✌

(this tbh is rly more of a twitter issue bc the staff and actresses are literally on that platform so screaming piracy right in front of where theyre also looking is just a bad idea all around)

ANYWAYS. sorry for the mini history lesson it got long but i wanted to give context as to why there is much content not yet translated and why itll take a while :'D

here's subs to blue glitter though! made by frog, a friend: https:// nyaa. si/ view/ 1545682 (no spaces)

once youve finished blue glitter, there is also actually a fun extra spinoff short story (literally just 6 pages) called Saikai Eyes ~ 74th which is fun backstory of yakumo sensei (the teacher from #2) and souda sensei (stageplay seisho's principal) and how theyre also stuck in the narrative loop of Starlight, and if you also become interested with whats going on with the revstar milfs then i will also gladly deliver translations :D

ahhhh, that makes so much sense! not smth i immediately concluded coming from the western theatre bootlegging sphere, but i can see it. thank you revstar for continuing to train my self-control and sense of delayed gratification ig 😔

i have seen links to read saikai eyes but put it off bc i wasn't too invested in souda and yakumo from the manga alone, but i think i'll give em a shot after i watch the lives. tysm for the blue glitter subs! can't wait to learn more abt the seiran girls, esp since they're not around too much in starira. here's to hoping the rest of the lives' bd's can come thru!

[wickedpact]

You can't just drop that "I read Forces Multiplied" bomb on us and not give a ten page written reaction.

[cracks knuckles] if u insist

nicky cant drive hc: destroyed. rip. also i loved how andy and nile stole those sports cars and were being badass and driving off the bridge & meanwhile joe and nicky were just absolutely vibing in the van

'heres the thing about power: people who have it think they deserve it' [shot of police car] i see u greg

5 whole panels being dedicated to booker not being able to unlock his door. booker not even seeing noriko sitting RIGHT THERE in the window at first. incredible

noriko being 24/7 horny was surprising. like wow all of the stuff i saw she did out of context was 100% equally horny in context as it was out of context. love that for her

i didnt think the 'andy + slavery' thing was handled as badly as everyone made it out to be when telling me about it. tho from the way it was talked about i had kind of figured the conflict between andy and nile re: slavery would be really racially charged (esp considering nile is a black american and would obvs have Thoughts on the subject in that regard) but like,, done in a cringey 'a-white-guy-obviously-wrote-it' kind of way? but it wasnt that. i mean. it makes sense that andy would be implicit in slavery through the years

i mean, like she says, is that not what people just did to each other in the aftermath of battles for thousands of years? and i really like how its pointed out that it was what she was raised with (in the beginning when you see her put shackles on that guy after the battle) but she also accepts responsibility for it and acknowledges that it was wrong and not just 'what people did'.

i like how from her expressions you can kind of tell baby andy knew it was off but she sets those feelings aside bc she felt angry. it explains how she felt but didnt make her out to be blameless in it. plus i mean. i dont know, the fact that andy was involved in a lot of morally shady stuff for 7000 years is not that wild for me. if you live that long youre just Going to be involved in some shit, and she didnt even have other immortals with her as positive community influences, she literally just did whatever the fuck she wanted for thousands of years

'i was worshipped as a god once' i mean, yeah no shit she wouldve been involved in some seriously fucked up stuff, gods were fucking scary back in the day

tldr it could use some polish but it wasnt that bad

tho everything people said about moose being boring was unfortunately a little true. sorry king i tried to be interested in you

joe and nicky writing verbal fanfiction about nile and moose was iconic. 'you seeing that?' 'i am definitely seeing that'

it was also extremely funny bc that was like 60% of their contribution to the whole comic, besides kidnapping copley. they came, they wrote some fanfic, they left. kings. at least in tog1 they had an excuse to be useless bc they got kidnapped

joe just found out his old friend who he thought was dead is alive (and also probably wants to murder them) and instead of investigating with andy he stopped to help nile up. champ.

nicky shooting noriko through andy was cool. rip to the concept since it wont happen in tog2

wanna see mr ejiofor deliver this line

on that note imo copley was. weirdly enough, more interesting in fm than in tog1. to me at least. the fact that andy let him live and he was so haunted by what had happened that he came back and sought them out despite knowing they would likely kill him for it bc he wanted to not only make up for what hed done but also to tell them what theyd done for the world was admittedly more interesting than andy just kind of drafting him to the cause and him going 'okie'

i like how nicky was drawn in this one. in opening fire he looks like a blob man but in fm he looks more like a very nice grampa with a very good dye job

'theres no pain like a broken heart' andy 🥺

noriko implying andy's never drowned. .. .idk about that one, she musta drowned sometime

joe and nicky came, they waxed poetic about nile's love life, they waxed poetic about grog, and then they left.

sports bras being a reason humanity is good. i mean..... okay, yeah.

i mean. wild but you cant exactly tell her shes wrong

i liked how noriko telling andy that their purpose is to make people suffer coincides with joe and nicky finding out that they actually did good all those years

joenicky in opening fire: jail for booker jail for booker for 100 years

joenicky when copley tells them he knows where booker is: WE'LL KILL YOU WHERE IS HE

joenicky when copley comes back: if your vibes come off as even remotely rancid we Will destroy you

joenicky 2 minutes later when copley helped them find booker: he made up some ground :)))) <3 lov you j cops

theyre forgiving af

moose: how old are you?? a hundred??? a thousand???

nile [vine voice]: I M 2 7 ?

alright andy you got me there

joe texts like my aunt

i dont know why noriko drowning andy in that car tickled me. Bad And Naughty Andromaches Get Put In The Pear Wiggler To Atone For Their Crimes.

the drowning sequence was cool

copley trying to talk to andy while she was like o_o at him was great

ive hit the picture limit but id seen that panel where nicky goes 'forgive me' as he kills a guy out of context and it was HILARIOUSLY anticlimactic for me to discover that there was literally no context to it. nicky just apologizes to random people he kills. i thought that guy was someone he knew or something. nope its just Some Guy that nicky didnt know from adam

nile's complaint that andy was especially brutal to the guys on the boat... i mean. . , how exactly does one kill a man with an axe and not be brutal about it?

it was funny how noriko kissed andy and the only people who seemed surprised by that were nile and also andy

nicky and joe's complete non-reaction to finding out noriko is alive And Evil Now is endlesly funny. they just left her on that boat and neither cared. i get book and nile not caring but joe and nicky knew her, and they just have 0 input on the subject of what to do with her

pinstripe suit guy!

joe and nicky and booker packing up and leaving with nile

andy blowing up at nile was A Moment tho

i dont know, i get why people didnt like the ending but its. .. . it makes more sense in the comicverse. bc the squad doesnt really. .. interact outside of jobs? i mean, think of the moon landing story in ttt. that was booker and joe and nicky doing a job and andy only showed up a for a couple minutes after it was done. or the brunch in the first issue of opening fire. the squad arent as tight in the comic, and andy often seems to do her own thing outside of work, so andy saying 'i dont want to do work anymore' and the squad being like 'alright bye then' makes more sense in this universe than the movie one

also i feel like greg was Trying to set up a thing where nile becomes the Leader of The Squad after andy dies but like. its not very well done since. . . i mean, nile hasnt spoken to booker since opening fire, (and she only knew him A Day). and shes known joe and nicky all that time, but there isnt really anything that indicates that they have any relationship at all, much less one that's grown. in all the comicverse the only time nile and nicky speak is in FM, and in that scene nicky tells nile about noriko. nile goes from someone who needs to be set aside to have background knowledge explained to her to being the Leader of the group with nothing in between. it kind of... comes out of nowhere.

on the other hand tho... i felt really bad for andy thru the whole thing. well, i always felt bad for andy, but in this one she seemed so miserable, especially since it really felt like none of the others actually.... cared about her. when noriko came back no one asked andy how she was doing (big question ik, but it wouldve showed they cared at least), nobody ever expressed any concern for her, no one even really seemed to want to be around her. in opening fire everyone was more distant than in the movie of course, but there were little moments where she would joke with joe, or nicky would try and comfort her, or stuff like that, but in FM it really felt like they just didnt really care about her. & in opening fire it felt a lot like andy's relationship with nile breathed some new life into her, but in FM it felt like all they did was argue. i get theyre not *as* close in the comics but it really felt like the only person who cared about andy at all was noriko (which was probably also how andy felt) but it just seemed to come out of nowhere. honestly i was reading and i was honestly agreeing with andy that she might just be better off if she did just die. opening fire, on the other hand, never make me feel that way

tho everyone made it sound like when the squad split up it was one of those cursed 'the found family leaves each other at the end of the journey' tropes. but guys i mean,,, this is the second installment out of three. that isnt the End. theyll come back in the third one and Dramatically Reunite to fight some baddies (probably those 'others' noriko mentioned). im guessing yitzhak fits into that too somehow.

anyways it wasnt That Bad but it made me kind of sad and the only Sweet Found Family vibes in it were when they saved booker. also they shouldve beefed up that nilemoose romance, it underwhelmed me. 6.5/10

i also ABSOLUTELY understand all of greg's comments about how you couldnt make FM directly into a movie, he always said that it had no plot and. i get it now. it really didnt have a plot sdfghjkl

[beauzoleils]

ABIGAIL  COWEN ,  CISFEMALE ,  SHE / HER    →   according  to  the  school  records ,  NATALIE  LUCILLE  BEAUSOLEIL  has  been  attending  sacred  heart  for  the  past  three  years .  i  last  saw  them   hanging  around  the  john  bracken  library  ;  i  think  they  were ��working  on  writing  her  novel .  at  twenty - one  years  old ,  natalie  has  been  studying  english  literature  and  get  this ,  i   heard  that  she’ll  zone  out  while  writing  papers  for  class  and  come  to  surrounded  by  pages  and  pages  full  of  archaic  languages  she  doesn’t  speak   —   figure  it’s  true ?  everyone  around  here  always  associates  them  with  a  moonlight  sonata  echoing  through  empty  halls ,  seats  in  the  back  row  at  the  opera ,  and  dead  flowers  pressed  between  the  pages  of  an  old  book .  in  the  time  since  these  strange  happenings ,  they  have  encountered  unexplained  occurrences .     

HI ,  hello .  i’m  hannah  n  this  is  like .  the  only  thing  i’ve  been  thinking  about  recently ,  aka  i’m  so  excited .  ok  anyway !  i’m  20 ,  kickin  it  in  the  est !  i’m  a  full  time  student  ( majoring  in  being  a  dumb  bitch  n  gay  rights  and  i’m  at  the  top  of  my  class  baby . . )  and  i’m  ALSO  a  preschool  teacher  so  if  i’m  ever  Not  here ,  i’m  with  my  babies  ! !  but  that  isn’t  the  reason  why  ur  all  here . .   ur  here  for  an  intro  post !  so !  

let’s  talk  abt  my  girl . . .  𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐄  𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐋 !

okay .  so .  first  thing’s  first .  i  have  some  Real  Things  prepared  for  my  girl ,  including  but  not  limited  to :

a  pinterest  board !

a  stats  page !

and  what  i  call  NATALIE :  A  TRAGEDY  IN  THREE  ACTS .  it’s  kind  of  a  bio ,  mixed  in  with  some  stage  directions  here  and  there .  it’s  a  quick  read  n  rly  gives  you  that  Natalie  Flavor  if  you  know  what  i  mean . .  so  if  you  feel  so  inclined  n  wanna  take  a  look . .  but  full  disclosure  it  rly  does  hit  different  than  just  reading  this  intro 

anyway !  i’ll  give  a  more  condensed  version  of  her  bio  here  n  some  info  abt  her  personality  n  some  random  headcanons . .  etc !

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓  𝐈 :  𝑨 𝑯𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀

alright  SO .  our  girl  natalie  was  born  on  april  13 ,  1952  to  michel  and  colette  beausoleil .  it  was  a  thursday ,  and  it  was  ALSO  eleven  weeks  before  colette’s  due  date ,  so  we  all  know  that  can’t  be  good 

( spoiler  alert :  it  wasn’t )

natalie  was  supposed  to  be  a  twin ,  but  the  other  baby  ( a  boy  named  pierre )  didn’t  survive .  they  didn’t  think  that  natalie  would ,  but  she did !  unfortunately ,  her  parents  were  too  wounded  by  the  loss  of  their  other  baby  and  it  was  all grieving  and  no  celebrating .  

also .  there’s  more  info  abt  her  parents  n  how  they  met  in  the  bio  but ,  a  sparknotes  version  is  that  michel  was  a  playwright  in  paris  and  colette  was  a  ballerina / his  muse  and  they  rushed  into  a  marriage 

michel  made  it  rly  big  a  couple  yrs  after  natalie  was  born  and  so  they  decided  to  use  that  $ $ $  to  send  natalie  away  to  an  expensive  boarding  school  in  london  called  our  lady  of  sacred  suffering .  it  was ,  of  course ,  a  catholic  girls  boarding  school  and  natalie  hated  it  there

but  they  hated  natalie  there  bc  she  was  just  the  WORST  catholic  school  girl  of  all  time ,  so  it  was  mutual

meanwhile ,  her  relationship  w  her  parents  is . .  very  complicated .  her  dad  is  just  kind  of  The  Worst  across  the  board ,  very  reliant  on  drinking ,  definitely  got  into  drug  use  at  some  point ,  had  lots  of  affairs  with  the  young  actresses  in  his  plays .  and  colette  was  just . .  very  sad  and  very  absent  so  the  support  was  Minimal

natalie  has  a  lot  of  issues  that  are  all  rooted  in  her  childhood  tbh .

somewhere  along  the  way ,  she  found  a  deep  passion  for  Writing  and  developed  this  sense  of  purpose  and  for  a  minute  things  were  going  very  well 

which  we  all  know  means  things  are  about  to  get  WORSE . 

on  her  eighteenth  birthday ,  natalie  receieves  a  card  in  the  mail  from  her  mother  for  the  First  Time  Ever .  and  she  immediately  is  like .  huh .  well .  something  is  Wrong .

she’s  right .

( tw :  nondescript  mentions  of  car  crashes  &  death )

a  week  later ,  she  receives  word  that  her  parents  were  involved  in  a  serious  car  accident  at  the  pont  de  l’alma  tunnel  in  paris  and  her  did  not  survive  the  accident .

( end  tw )

her  mother’s  family  is  not  convinced  that  michel  should  walk  away  from  this  without  blame  and  decides  to  take  legal  action  against  him  and  get  him  convicted  with  a  more  serious  charge  than  just  manslaughter . 

they  promise  to  keep  natalie  out  of  it  as  much  as  possible  but  when  it  comes  time  to  testify  as  to  whether  or  not  michel  had  a  history  of  not  caring  about  colette’s  life  and  well - being ,  the  only  one  who  can  speak  to  it  is  natalie .

so  she  testifies  and  it’s  her  testimony  that  is  the  metaphorical  nail  in  the  coffin .  

( tw :  suicide  mention )

michel  knows  it ,  too .  that’s  what  natalie  thinks .  he  turns  up  dead  in  his  jail  cell  the  day  before  he’s  supposed  to  be  sentenced .  she  never  knows  if  he  deserved  the  life  sentence  he  was  going  to  be  given .

( end  tw ) 

so  then !  she’s  an  orphan !  but  she  does  gain  control  over  everything  that  her  parents  left  behind ,  which  turns  out  to  be  a  lot .  

she  sells  their  house  in  paris ,  goes  to  wales  to  begin  university ,  and  hasn’t  gone  back  since  then .  but  like ,  she  grew  up  in  london  for  the  most  part  so  she’s  not  exactly  sad  about  being  away  from  paris  and  all  the  ghosts  there .

and  now  she’s  at  sacred  heart ,  working  on  writing  her  debut  novel ,  which  is  the  ( albeit ,  dramatized  and  fictionalized )  story  of  her  parents !

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓  𝐈𝐈 :  𝑨  𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀 .

so  basically ,  she’s  got  issues .

fictional  character  inspo  includes :  jo  march ,  alaska  young ,  cheryl  blossom

if  you  know  anything  abt  astrology . .  she’s  an  aries  sun ,  mercury ,  and  venus . .  and  a  scorpio  moon  and  mars . .  and  a  gemini  rising . .  i’m  so  sorry JKDSFM

she’s  very  emotional  but  does  a  super  good  job  of  hiding  it  and  keeping  all  those  emotions  ( esp  the  intense  n  darker  ones )  buried  away . .  deep  down  where  no  one  could  see  it

the  minute  that  ppl  kind  of  ? ?  but  two  and  two  together  n  realize  who  she  is  ( bc . .  in  my  head . .  her  dad’s  whole  trial  was  kind  of .  A  Thing  that  the  public  knew  abt . )  they’re  probably  rly  concerned  w  Little  she  shows  any  real  emotion  to  the  whole  thing . 

rly  she’s  just  the  queen  of  compartmentalizing  n  repressing !

she’s  very . .  Assertive .  like ,  when  she  wants  something  she’s  going  to  do  whatever  it  takes  to  get  her  way  

very  Very  reckless .  she’s  like . .  so  fucking  impulsive  that  it  physically  Pains  me  sometimes .

she’s  very  smart  but  like .  More  So ,  she’s  very  clever  and  very  sharp  with  her  words .  a  very  fast  thinker  and  a  very  loud  talker 

someone  please . .  tell  her  to  stop  yelling .  she  needs  to  Relax . 

she’s  very  charming  i’ll  say  it .  n  like ?  seems  cool ?  the  kind  of  person  that  you  meet  and  immediately  want  to  hang  out  w  them .  

very  flirty ,  has  always  used  that  charming  smile  of  hers  to  get  ppl  in  her  corner  and  she’s  not  gonna  stop  now !  she’s  very  good  at  making  ppl  feel  special  

but  like .  she  means  well  most  of  the  time  sdkfj  her  heart  is  in  the  right  place  okay

big  time  trust  issues .  big  time  commitment  issues .  painfully  independent  and  refuses  to  let  anyone  know  how  much  she  cares  about  them  until  she’s  like . .  Really  sure  that  they  aren’t  going  to  hurt  her

also  very  afraid  of  hurting  people ,  which  is  another  reason  why  she  struggles  to  get  attached  to  people .  she  definitely  has  this  deep - rooted  fear  that  Bad  Things  follower  her  and  she  doesn’t  want  to  drag  ppl  into  that

it’s  literally  a  toss - up  as  to  whether  she’s  going  to  seem  like  she’s  demanding  ur  attention  or  entirely  disinterested  in  it .  bc  she’s  all  over  the  place . 

but  like .  i’m  an  emotional  BITCH  so  she’s  probably  going  to  end  up  being  100000%  softer  than  i  intend  bc  i  project  too  much  soft  bitch  energy  onto  my  characters  Always .

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓  𝐈𝐈𝐈 :  𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑵𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 .

so  many  things .  literally ,  anything .  just  a  disclaimer ,  if  u  read  thru  this  and  had  An  Idea  then  like .  yes  Pls  tell  me ,  i  want  it  xoxo 

but  here  are  some  i  have  up  in  the  old . .  noggin .

EXES .  please ,  please . .  for  the  love  of  GOD  give  me  some  angsty  exes  nonsense .  do  you  need  someone  who  broke  ur  characters  heart ?  consider  natalie  UR  GIRL .  she’s  Emotionally  Damaged  and  has  the  capacity  to  be  the  angstiest  ex  of  all  time ,  okay ?

give  her  a  weakness .  she  needs  someone  who  she’s  Actually  vulnerable  around  and  actually  sees  her  have  emotions  and  knows  she’s  not  just  this  huge  Mess  all  the  time

i  rly  want  someone  that  is  like .  from  the  same  ( ish )  bg  as  her  in  the  sense  that  like . .  they  also  were  surrounded  by  nice  clothes  n   expensive  private  schools  n  Luxury  but  like .  they  Thrive  in  it  the  way  natalie  used  to  wish  that  she  could .  n  just .  i  think  it  would  b  a  super  interesting  dynamic  bc  they  would  just !  clash !  so  intensely ! !  n  tbh  nat  would  probably  b  lowkey  jealous  Still  n .  spicy !

@ all  those  ppl  who  are  into  theatre :  i’m  Dying  for  some  connections  of  ppl  who  knew / knew  of  her  father  n  would  know  what  happened  w  him  perhaps  on  a  deeper  level  than  ppl  who  read  it  in  the  newspaper  a  few  yrs  ago . .  ( bonus  points  if  they  lowkey  idolized / looked  up  to  her  dad  bc  thats  a  Big  Mess  and  could  b  spicy  as  fuck  to  explore ,  u know ? ) 

idk  if  any  of  y’all  have  characters  who  grew  up  in / around  paris ?  but  if  there  are . .  then  Perhaps  someone  who  knew  her  in  her  youth ?

okay .  not  to  be  Trash  but  like .  i  rly  want  her  to  have  a  dynamic  that’s  jo  x  laurie  adjacent ?  do  they  have  to  be  in  love  w  her ?  no !  i  just  want someone  that  has  that  genuine  bond  w  her  and  they  care  abt  each  other  n  goof  around  n  like . .  i’m  already  getting  soft  on  main ,  huh , ,

she’s  soo  fucking  messy  that  like . .  all  the  messy  fwb / frenemies  with  benefits / one  night  stand  type  of  plots . .  yes  pls 

i  always  want  there  to  b  a  badass  girl  squad  like .  a  group  of  ladies  n  theydies  that  take  no  shit  n  get  in  fights  for  each  other  n  rly  truly  ride  or  die  w  each  other . .  we  can  workshop  the  name  ok  but  for  now ?  my  girl  squad  is  open  for  applications 

okay .  let  me  cut  myself  off  right  there  but  i’ll  leave  you  with  my  WANTED  CONNECTIONS  TAG  n  also  again  i’m 10000%  okay  to  just  brainstorm  out  something  else  completely  if  its  what  ur  feeling !

if  u  read  all / any  of  this . .  i  love  u . <3  either hmu on discord ( let's go 𝓁𝑒𝓈𝒷𝒾𝒶𝓃𝓈 ! #6227 ) ksdjfskm  OR !  like  this  n  i  will  come  to  u !  okay ,  that’s  all ,  bye 

[tumblunni]

AWW WTF TOKYO MIRAGE SESSIONS MADE ME FEEL ACTUAL FEELINGS

Its kinds stupid how every single girl has a contrived 'go on a fake date' scene with protag, and all the dialogue choices are pointless cos even if you fuck up and act like an asshole forever all these girls will still wanna jump your dick just cos youre the protag. And also it sucks that like HALF OF THE PARTY only joins super close to the end of the main story, and you wont really get to know them very well unless you go nah to the apocolypse and waste 10 hours doing sidequests. And it also sucks that you have to unlock these sidequests via battling. Like it could have been cool that using people in your party raises their friendship stat, but in practise it just means grinding for hours after youve finished all the actual story content. Like sidequests are supposed to be generally a good way to grind up in between story!

ALSO theoretically the date with Eleonora SHOULD be just as bad as the rest. Like it sounds super shitty that she has to 'learn how to be a normal girl in love' in order to progress her career in showbiz, and apparantly she's never been interested in boys before protag shows her ~the real way~ Like man invoking unfortunate implications of LGBT conversion therapy isnt a good way to start a romance! And its rather repetitive when EVERYONE ELSE also has to go on fake dates with him, and Kiria also has the same 'i need to learn how to be Real Girl from your magical healing dick'. But its even more frustrating with her cos it actually literally is You Are Not Girl.Enough, and it came out of NOWHERE because she wasnt remotely tomboyish?? Like she's just..tough?? Tomboy = being stoic while also wearing super revealimg supermodel high heels and lingerie in battle, apparantly. And its so patronizing cos she's all uwuuuu protagoniiiist i need to be giiiirl~ Like super cutesy moe moe stereotype all of a sudden and of course it was her Real Personality and she was just keepinh it hidden because of all that societal pressure to be gender non conforming, of course! Help her embrace her true stereotypicality and cast away those absolutely minimal traits of non conformism! And then a creepily sexualized scene of her wearing a hello kitty mascot suit in a kids show. And speaking of which its so creepy they sexualize the actual kid too!! Theres a fucking ELEVEN YEAR OLD idol! And her manager 'uncle barry' keeps acting like a creepy pervy stalker fan and she's always all 'i love uncle barry he cares about me so much' and theres like multiple sidequests all about how uncle barry is great and she needs to appreciate him more. But serioisly are we just forgetting he was creeping over a keychain of her?? Like he was introduced so much before we ever saw her and from the pervy way he acted i thought she was meant to be some full grown woman in a gravure show rather than a goddamn 11 year old doing a microwave snacks cooking show with a muppet called microwave chan. And gahh when i saw her design i thought she was 15 at least! And everyone else looks in their 20s but apparantly theyre all underage too and the one who looks like an actual teenager is ELEVEN! they just casually drop in her profile that she's ELEVEN! a guy is perving on an eleven year old and we're meant to appreciate him more as a wholesome uncle???

...man..okay.. Anyway..

The game has a lot of creepy pervy moments BUT one bit in Eleonora's final date did make me feel a minor bit of genuine chemistry there. Or well, just a good romance dialogue from herand still zero personality or likeability from the actual protagonist. Alas!

Ok so it actually kinda sounds just as bad, tho. Out of context the idea of 'here's a quiz about everything we did in the previous dates' sounds kinda abusive. But in context its somehow adorable and wholesome?? Cos Ellie is the tsundere type, but she's one of the least assholish tsunderes ever. If the game wasnt constantly being all 'SHES SO RUDE AND UNGIRLY' and 'BLABLABLA RACISM' at her, i'd even say she's the most naturally written and likeable character! So in the context here its less "i will punish you for not being constantly the perfect boyfriend" and more "i genuinely cant believe you actually like me and im trying to run thru all the evidence in rapid fire while i have a conniption right here". Like man i wish protag had more personality cos its so annoying that he's super oblivious to her going into massive blush mode as she realizes he's ~so considerate and genuinely treasured all those dates~. Except he isnt, he's bland as fuck and gave no indication that he returned her feelings before now, or gave a shit about any of the stuff he apparantly remembered. And he only remembers because you the player did. And you can forget it all and get every question wrong and NOTHING CHANGES! i feel so sorry for her cos even if protag is a big douche she still decides he really does love her and it ends exactly the same.. GAHHHHH

POOR ELLIEEEEeee

So man even tho it was badly executed, i do still like the idea of a "w-wh-whaa, how can you love me?! Prove it with a 5 page thesis!" type moment with an adorkable grump! I might try and work in something similar with my oc Gremory! :3 (tho for him itd be a friendship/family version, not dating sim)

[theworldisheroyster]

Choosing and Applying to a Volunteering Organization

Right after Christmas, I started researching different volunteer organizations. At first I was shocked they expected people to paid to volunteer. I was like what?! I gotta pay to work for free?!  Then I read on and realized it was for airport pick up, housing, and two meals a day. Basically you are pay for your stay and meals but they set it all up for you. Great! Less work for me.

My online search lead me to goabroad.com . It is like the “kayak.com” of volunteering organizations and causes. I found 2 sites that had programs, in Mérida, Mexico, that seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. Ubelong (founded in 09) and International Volunteer HQ (founded in 07) 

Project Options

While trying to decide which volunteer organization to go with, I first needed to see if the two I was considering were both stationed in Merida, Mexico. I was happily surprised to see they both were! I knew I wanted to go to Mexico, but if your going in blind, I would say pick a few destinations that you would love to visit and then see if any of their projects speak to you.

Ubelong Destinations: Mexico, India, Laos, Morocco, Vietnam, Ghana, Peru, Costa Rica, and Cambodia

IVHQ Destinations: Peru, Brazil, Uganda, Bali,, Mexico, Argentina, China, Philippines, Nepal, Hawaii, Romania, Morocco Spain, Fiji, Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam, the list goes on…

They all mostly stay in the same price range, with a few exceptions. Some of the more pricey destinations include Hawaii, Italy, and Bali. 

Keep under consideration when choosing a destination what time of year you are planning on traveling. The weather conditions could be brutal if not planned properly. Merida in the month of March is suppose to be late 70s early 80s. If I had planned to go in May….. I would have melting like the witch of the wicked witch of the west.

Let’s talk projects! 

Teaching English (not certified? you can be a teachers assistant)

Child Care

Disabled Care

Food Bank

Construction

Medical Assistance 

Animal Care

Reforestation

Arts and Music

Elderly care

At first glance of what was available in Mexico, I was immediately drawn to child care and teaching English. I do love animals so I thought about animal care, unfortunately flash backs of working at a vet office ruled that out for me. I’m too soft when it comes to animals, it would be too distressing for me. I have a stronger stomach for human suffering. Hahaha haha.. ha… ha..… *awkward* Any who! As I read about teaching English I found out it was required you speak intermediate Spanish… OK THEN! Child Care it is!

Cost Comparison

 IVHQ $279 registration they offer 1 to 8 weeks is $270 - $1,100 program fee

Ubelong $200 registration, they offer 1 to 28 weeks $310 - $2,815 program fee

Other factors of price to consider are plane tickets, visas, exchange rates, and local cost of living. Most of the places volunteering is needed are obviously going to be less economically wealthy countries. Which is unfortunate but makes it quite affordable for volunteers coming from the US and Europe for example.

They ask, before you apply, to have an idea of where and when you would like to go, as well as which project you would like to participate in. The application form is just your basic information, what languages you speak, education/employment history, and a few questions to express your character.

The Big Decision

Everything was pretty well explained on the sites, but I was having a hard time choosing between organizations. To help decide I applied to both. I received an acceptance email with: directions of how to send the registration and program fees. You can send money thru Paypal, snail mail, or, bank transfer. Even tho there is a 6% charge, I payed with Paypal. This email also included a volunteer code of conduct and liability waiver forms to digitally sign. It also reminds you, that you must have travel medical insurance, including emergency evacuation services.

OK great, more info but still nothing to help me pick. Maybe speaking to a live person about the programs would help. So I called Ubelong headquarters located in Washington D.C., United States and IVHQ located in New Zealand. I didn’t have many questions, just one in for IVHQ. I wanted to know where their dorm was located, as it was not listed on their website. I waited a couple days for a call back from both of them. First IVHQ called, the woman on the phone, she seemed a bit busy but I was happy she took time to call me back. She told me she could not give out that location of the volunteer housing until I signed up. Really? You want me to give you my money before you tell me where I’m staying??? Then I asked her to give me a general idea by land mark. She told me she wasn’t sure and ask me to give her a moment to look. She said the volunteer housing was located downtown, north of the center of the city. Now I can appreciate their discretion as safety measure for the volunteers. I totally get it but I’m new to this and I want to know the location and living conditions before I commit.  Ring Ring! Ubelong called the day after IVHQ. The woman on the phone was so sweet and fun to talk to, as well as very informed, and helpful. The Ubelong site displays the hostel you will be housed. I could easily search the web to check out the location, see rooms and common areas. May I add Nómadas Hostel looks dope!!! They have wonderful reviews and a badass pool to boot! Check in later posts for my review of the Nomadas Hostel.

In the end they are both similar to the untrained eye. Therefore I made my decision based on intuition rather than logic. Ubeong you have been chosen! 

Lets get this lock in and confirmed! I sent my money and info in. A few days later I received a confirmation email. This included:

A link to Volunteer Information Form (super important to fill out)

Digital Ubelong Introduction Booklet with tons of info

Safety video

Invite to Ubelong Facebook page to connect and talk to other ubelongers.

A reminder to book flight as soon as possible

A reminder to make sure your passport is up to date and check if you need a visa to travel to the country you are traveling to

Instructions on how to set up a video chat meeting with one of the Ubelong staff to get more detailed information or ask any questions (I skipped this step. I wanted to know as less as possible and just trust the experience

On the Volunteer Information Form it asks for the following information:

Your passport number

Travel Medical Insurance number

Background Check .pdf file from VerifiedVolunteers.com 

Your flight info and arrival time (so they know when to pick you up from the airport. They normally from the bus station)

Travel Medical Insurance

For my travel medical I went with Travel Guard, not only do they cover medical (including emergency evacuation required by Ubelong) they also cover all of this:  Travel Guard Standard Package ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS MEDICAL EXPENSES Deductible Applies - See DOC$10000.00Per Insured BAGGAGE AND PERSONAL EFFECTS Deductible Applies - See DOC$500.00Per Insured BAGGAGE DELAY $100.00 Per Insured EMERGENCY EVACUATION AND REPATRIATION OF REMAINS $100000.00 Per Insured LIVETRAVEL EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured PERSONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured TRAVEL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured TRIP CANCELLATION 100% Trip Cost Per Insured TRIP DELAY $500.00 Per Insured $100.00 Payout Limit Per Day TRIP INTERRUPTION 100% Trip Cost Per Insured TRIP INTERRUPTION - RETURN AIR $500.00 Per Insured WORLD WIDE TRAVEL ASSISTANCE Included Per Insured All this for $26! What!!! Amazing! I highly recommend for any travel even within the United States

Background Check As I said before they require a background check. They have you apply to VerifiedVolunteers.com Super easy and cheap 20 bucks! It takes a few days and they send you an email with a .pdf to share with organizations.

Digital Ubelong Introduction Booklet includes:

Our story  

About UBELONG 

UBELONG Merida and our local partners 

Our mission 

Our values Your responsibilities as a volunteer 

Travel planning 

Arriving in Merida and leaving 

Buying your airplane ticket

Immigration Packing list Health 

Money Frequently asked questions Volunteer projects

Project setting 

Project description 

Project conditions 

Life in the field Page

Orientation A typical day 

Food and housing 

Communication 

Weekly expenses 

Transport 

Free time 

Survival Spanish 

Safety Emergencies in the field 

Getting back home 

Opportunities 

Your feedback 

Emergency contacts

Pre-departure checklist 

Perfect right? Covers everything.

This entry was quite a feet! Don’t be fool by my explanation is not super complicated or time consuming. To simplify; just figure out where you wanna go/what you wanna do, fill out a few easy forms, pay for couple things,and buy a plane ticket. It all can be finished in a week. BooYah! Done. 

XOXO