#live on st@ge! event

[foreigndistance]

I love S.E.M an insane amount. (a reflection)

“If it weren’t for S.E.M, would I even be here right now?”

Okay, correction: “If I didn’t meet S.E.M again through a random Google search a few years ago, would I even be here right now?”

Let’s turn back the clock for a moment. I got into 2D fictional idols through Love Live! back in mid-2017 with me first watching the School Idol Project anime on a whim. Timeskip to months later in October and I went through Sunshine!! Season 2 when it was airing, and I remembered vaguely hearing things about THE IDOLM@STER back then. I had a loose idea about SideM’s existence through clips from the anime (which was airing on that same season) along with IDOLiSH7 and Tsukipro – both fellow male idol series that I also encountered. Neither did I pay closer attention to these nor was I into male idols though.

Here’s this bit from a previous lovemail from a few years ago: I wasn’t fully open about my interests towards others. I feared that nobody would understand what I enjoy, especially if it isn't as well-known as what a typical person would know. Before becoming an idol fan, I was more into magical girl anime, tokusatsu, and Western animation in general – all of which are niche interests in their own right.

Skip to 2019. By that point, I was already into IM@S by that point, albeit focusing more on 765Pro and Million Live’s activities via Theater Days. In January, I started Shiny Colors and LIVE ON ST@GE! for the first time, and both had uh – let’s just say, “unique” ways of handling non-rhythm game-like mechanics. (I haven't touched the older console games yet.) I was more of a casual fan of the two branches (compared to 765) and I was more focused on my high school life, which hadn’t started crumbling down just yet. I didn’t stay with the two games as much as Mirishita.

My first starter idol in MStage was Ryo, mainly because of his connection with the console games. Touma and Ryo’s connections to 765Pro immediately made them my initial favorite idols in SideM, but three men clad in pink and silver spandex caught my attention: S.E.M. The unit’s concept of a trio of ex-teachers becoming idols to motivate and inspire students to study and follow their dreams struck me. I regretted not starting off with any of the members, so I left my original MStage account, opting to return with a S.E.M starter idol when I gave it a second chance.

I chose Rui as my new starter idol in April 2019, but I didn’t really have a no. 1 favorite idol by then. I read a few of whatever was translated and listened to some of the songs; but I was more focused on Mirishita and acted more casually towards the other branches.

But on a more personal note, I was starting to go through some… mixed feelings in my personal life.

My boyfriend and I broke up after 11 months, had to give up taking part in a club I’ve been involved in for the past 2 years by then, and constantly got annoyed at some teachers’ way of doing things which affected my enjoyment of the subjects I studied for… And on top of that, it was starting to feel more lonely as I saw friend groups I knew split apart for a moment and I would feel unwanted at times when my close friends aren’t around.

It was getting lonely. Being with the school newspaper team felt most like home when our meetings happened, but it wasn’t enough.

(Don’t worry, I’m okay now and my friends – including my ex – are currently on good terms.)

December 4, 2019. The router at home was having internet problems and I couldn’t properly play the Mirishita event at the time, “Hitomi no Naka no Sirius”. I was at home since we didn’t have to go to school because of a holiday. I don’t fully remember what led to me messing around on my two phones – but for some reason, I typed “S.E.M” onto Google search on a whim and found their work again. It was clear that I was bored by that point, so I started reading their magazines and event stories again to pass the time.

Seeing S.E.M and the relationship within the trio… reminded me of home. What appealed to me about them wasn’t just their “silly” reason for becoming idols in the first place or their entire concept (which is already something you don’t see in other mixed media idol/music franchises often), it was the relationship between three grown men (who were colleagues from the same workplace they left) getting into the entertainment industry just to inspire and motivate others to follow their dreams and, of course, study. School had a strong importance for most of my life where I could show my true self without feeling restricted by my family’s presence. Seeing them… made me smile.

I started rambling about them – especially Jiro, who initially became my favorite among the trio back then – to my best friend. The brainrot slowly took over. I was already sure that all three of them were here to stay this time. The brainrot made me reinstall MStage and return to my account, and I started playing the original Mobage with my beginner-level Japanese knowledge.

As I started talking more about that trio of ex-teachers with her, I realized how insecure I really was about my interests; too shy to talk to random strangers online as well. At that time, it felt like that had to change. I created my present-day Twitter account in early 2020. That was originally dedicated to my interests (and eventually became my main account) and I started talking in English-speaking IM@S servers more often. I’ve made friends with people from around the world and from my own home country. I even started posting some of my own art on there and would try to start posting on other social media platforms over the years. It was nerve-wracking, but perhaps it made me feel a little less lonely compared to before, looking back.

When I left another fandom (which was related to IRL idols) in early 2020, I made a pledge to myself that no matter how bad the branch’s situation gets, I would stay with the boys until the end. Of all the media I have ever touched, none would come close as to what THE IDOLM@STER SideM would ever bring me into on a very personal level. Its message and theme of starting over again at any age resonated with me, and it hits hard especially as I grew older. I’ve met many Producers of varying branches over the last 3-4 years, have taken part in several fan community projects – including running entire Twitter accounts and fan wikis and Discord servers – and helped me learn some skills along the way.

As for my tantous in IM@S itself? Michio Hazama (and by extension, S.E.M as whole) would overtake everyone, of course.  Entering 2020, I had to rank the New Year’s Michio event in LIVE ON ST@GE! right after I just returned to it, then my first S.E.M-focused event since I started the Mobage was a Michio rank. The first artwork I posted on Twitter publicly was his New Year event SR for his birthday.

Of all the tantous I’ve met, none could reach the same personal level of love, care, and interest I have for them as much as him. (Even if a certain Cinderella Girl came to challenge that notion.) I remembered one of my types being a quiet, serious guy with glasses. His silent passion and strict (yet caring) demeanor towards his pupils, the way he wants to see them succeed from an educator’s point of view, and his moments with the cast – especially with his unitmates and Producer – brought me immense warmth.

I knew he would become my favorite idol within the branch as time went on, but he eventually won me over the most within the entire franchise. A serious man in glasses is an archetype you would often see, but seeing a teacher figure want the best for his students and his unit, as well as being passionate about his work and not being overly loud about it drives me insane.

——————————————————————————————

Fast forward to 2022. When GROWING STARS had its 1st anniversary campaign, the vibes I got from the online surroundings at the time didn’t settle well with me. Honestly, I was very disappointed with the execution of the anniversary campaign itself, although I tried to keep myself in tact. There was a lingering feeling that what is now a core aspect of myself about to break down once again, especially seeing how some Producers I met through SideM had (understandably) either left or took a break for better, greener pastures. I found myself turning towards a certain pair of adult ladies from another production to help me go through my short break from SideM at the time, but still kept in touch with IM@S by that point. As I thought about the other idols (who are over 20 y/o) I would eventually produce – especially when it comes to that pair of ladies – I thought to myself that what if SideM helped rewire my taste.

And now, with the advent of the last remaining SideM game’s impending, terribly received, and horribly executed shutdown and with Bandai Namco having revealed its future plans through a roadmap... I’m lost and unsure where to go. It’s like I KNOW where to go, but don’t know how to go further despite the circumstances. I even gave a large “sigh” towards the announcement before I’d write the GROWING STARS shutdown notice itself onto the SideM ENG Twitter.

It took me a few days to write up my full response towards the shutdown announcement up to the point where I was writing it in the middle of my trip days after the stream. Before that, I had left several disappointed tweets which eventually became hit tweet after hit tweet.

I’ve been into IM@S as a Producer for 5 years by this point. I didn’t want to celebrate it like this.

Despite everything though, I told myself that I wouldn’t leave. I did say that I would still keep in touch with IM@S, and I can’t deny the impact that it has left towards me and how I saw my IM@S tantou roster (which has grown since I became S.E.M’s Producer.) I’ve had moments where I questioned my worth as a P over the past few years. I've seen others’ achievements when I’m still trying to get my foot into learning Japanese up to this day. I've seen other Producers, same tantou or otherwise, rank high in the games when points ranking was still a thing while I’ve never been able to get past the Top 1000 event points ranking for a S.E.M/Michio-focused event. And I may probably never will.

However...

If it weren’t for the people I’ve met, the characters I’ve met, and the Producers I’ve met and would encounter... I often have my lonely days and would feel gloomy over things for no particular reason (and I still do), but I wouldn’t trade my own experiences with different friend groups I’ve made for the world.

I want to reach as high as I can to beat my past Top 100 success in Mirishita, even if it’s through my actions in a game I’ve yet to reach that same level. For as long as I’m allowed to produce my tantou units through whatever games they have left.

I want to continue supporting the idols I’ve met, and the two units I’ll continue to produce. Taking care of a pair of drinking buddies who are over 20 and a trio of ex-teachers doesn’t sound too bad.

I love S.E.M an insane amount. I love Michio an even more insane amount.

Because I wouldn’t be here without them. And maybe I wouldn't have gotten that first push to do all of what I’ve done without them.

[imasallstars]

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

The next event for Growing Stars has been announced! The next 315 Carnival will feature the cards from LIVE ON ST@GE’s 2020 “Captivating Valentine Night” gacha and “Chocolate Night ~Thanks For The Love~” event

The event will start on the 11th of February 15:00 JST

[market-news-24]

Tech mogul Elon Musk recently expressed his discomfort with OpenAI's latest demo during a virtual event, stating that it made him cringe. The artificial intelligence software showcased impressive capabilities, but Musk's reaction hints at potential concerns over the rapid advancement of AI technology. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story. Click to Claim Latest Airdrop for FREE Claim in 15 seconds Scroll Down to End of This Post const downloadBtn = document.getElementById('download-btn'); const timerBtn = document.getElementById('timer-btn'); const downloadLinkBtn = document.getElementById('download-link-btn'); downloadBtn.addEventListener('click', () => downloadBtn.style.display = 'none'; timerBtn.style.display = 'block'; let timeLeft = 15; const timerInterval = setInterval(() => if (timeLeft === 0) clearInterval(timerInterval); timerBtn.style.display = 'none'; downloadLinkBtn.style.display = 'inline-block'; // Add your download functionality here console.log('Download started!'); else timerBtn.textContent = `Claim in $timeLeft seconds`; timeLeft--; , 1000); ); Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators [ad_1] Elon Musk criticized OpenAI for their latest event announcing new AI models, calling it cringeworthy. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been a vocal critic of the AI research company, even suing them and their CEO Sam Altman in March for breaching contractual agreements. OpenAI fired back, claiming Musk wanted them to merge with Tesla or have full control. During the live-streamed event on Monday, OpenAI unveiled their new flagship model, GPT-4o, which promises GPT-4-level intelligence but is faster and more capable across text, voice, and vision. The ChatGPT developer also announced support for over 50 languages. Musk's comments came after author Ashley St Clair warned that AI could now perceive reality in real-time, potentially creating a new era more concerning than the post-truth era. Despite Musk's criticisms, the tech community is eager to see what OpenAI will do next. Overall, the tension between Musk and OpenAI highlights the ongoing debate surrounding AI ethics and control. The future of AI development remains uncertain as companies like OpenAI continue to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence technology. Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators [ad_2] 1. What is OpenAI's new demo that Elon Musk mentioned? - OpenAI's new demo involves a language model that can generate text based on a given prompt. 2. Why did Elon Musk say the demo made him cringe? - Elon Musk said the demo made him cringe because he was concerned about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. 3. What are some of the concerns Elon Musk has about AI? - Elon Musk has expressed concerns about AI becoming too powerful and potentially posing a threat to humanity. 4. Is OpenAI working on addressing these concerns? - OpenAI is working on developing safe AI systems and has implemented measures to ensure responsible use of their technology. 5. How does OpenAI's new demo showcase advancements in AI technology? - OpenAI's new demo demonstrates the capabilities of language models to generate coherent and contextually relevant text, showcasing advancements in natural language processing. Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators [ad_1] Win Up To 93% Of Your Trades With The World's #1 Most Profitable Trading Indicators Claim Airdrop now Searching FREE Airdrops 20 seconds Sorry There is No FREE Airdrops Available now. Please visit Later function claimAirdrop() document.getElementById('claim-button').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('timer-container').style.display = 'block';

let countdownTimer = 20; const countdownInterval = setInterval(function() document.getElementById('countdown').textContent = countdownTimer; countdownTimer--; if (countdownTimer < 0) clearInterval(countdownInterval); document.getElementById('timer-container').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('sorry-button').style.display = 'block'; , 1000);

[sandiegoca-complex]

Practical Living Spaces

Sola at Pacific Highlands Ranch introduces a luxurious living experience, providing one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes in two captivating color palettes. The gourmet kitchens, equipped with quartz countertops and soft-closing European-style cabinetry, blend elegance and functionality. GE stainless steel appliances, including 5-burner gas ranges, cater to culinary enthusiasts. Residents benefit from the convenience of a full-size washer and dryer, enhancing their daily living experience. Tiled backsplashes and under-cabinet lighting add a touch of sophistication to these modern kitchens, creating an ambiance of style and comfort. Sola's attention to detail and high-quality features make it an ideal choice for those seeking modern apartments in Carmel Valley, where luxury meets practicality in every corner of the home.

The Religious Landscape of San Diego, California

San Diego, California, embraces a diverse religious landscape that reflects the city's multicultural fabric. The religious affiliations of its residents span various faiths, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and more. A multitude of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other places of worship are scattered throughout the city, providing a spiritual home for adherents. The atmosphere is one of tolerance and acceptance, promoting interfaith dialogue and cooperation. San Diego's religious communities contribute to the city's cultural richness, organizing events and celebrations that showcase the diversity of beliefs. This inclusive religious environment underscores the city's commitment to pluralism and fosters a harmonious coexistence among its residents, regardless of their faith traditions.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a captivating enclave that transports visitors back to the mid-19th century, capturing the essence of San Diego's early days. Preserving and showcasing the city's rich history, the park features historic adobe buildings, museums, and lively streets reminiscent of the past. With its rustic charm, visitors can explore original structures like the Casa de Estudillo and experience California's Mexican and early American heritage. The park hosts vibrant events, including living history demonstrations, cultural celebrations, and artisan markets, creating an immersive journey into the region's cultural tapestry. Old Town is a hub of historical significance and a testament to San Diego's colonial roots. It is a beloved destination for those seeking a taste of the city's bygone era.

San Diego Biotech That Makes Non-hormonal Birth Control Acquired for $100m

Non-hormonal birth control methods prevent pregnancy without using hormones. Barrier methods, like condoms and diaphragms, physically stop sperm from reaching the egg. Intrauterine devices (IUDs) like the copper IUD build an environment that is hostile to sperm, discouraging fertilization. Natural family planning methods involve tracking the menstrual cycle to identify fertile days, and fertility awareness methods include monitoring body signs like basal body temperature. Additionally, sterilization procedures, like tubal ligation or vasectomy, offer a permanent, non-hormonal contraceptive option. Non-hormonal methods provide choices for individuals seeking alternatives to hormonal contraceptives, addressing various preferences and medical considerations while still effectively preventing pregnancy.

Link to maps

Old Town San Diego State Pk 4002 Wallace St, San Diego, CA 92110, United States Get on I-5 N from Congress St 2 min (0.5 mi) Continue on I-5 N to Carmel Valley Rd. Take exit 3 from CA-56 E 15 min (16.6 mi) Continue on Carmel Valley Rd. Drive to Highlands Pl 3 min (0.9 mi) Sola at Pacific Highlands Ranch 13385 Highlands Pl, San Diego, CA 92130, United States

[cool-in-oaklandca]

Assembly in Oakland, CA

The Assembly has notable Oakland two bedroom apts for young professionals and those who are just starting to build a family. If that is the case, it’s advantageous to the people who wanted to start a new life in the city. Basically, the Assembly is a well-known luxurious apartment for rent service provider. For those who like cooking, staying in the said apartment is inspiring. After all, they have a notable kitchen design. Moreover, each thoughtfully-designed kitchen features beautiful quartz counter tops, a sleek ceramic tile backsplash, high-gloss white cabinetry and a full-suite of GE stainless steel appliances. Isn’t it amazing? Read more, here.

Oakland, CA

There are many online portals that share future events in popular travel destinations. As a suggestion, you can check out Eventbrite. Through their famous event website, you can see that there will be TrapSoul Saturday - Outdoor Summer Block Party this coming Saturday, August 26, 2023, at around 3:00 PM at For the Culture. In addition, the Toasted Life Labor Day Weekend Block Party is scheduled on Saturday, September 2, 2023, at around 3:00 PM at 701 Clay Street. Lastly, the Baby Smoove Live in Oakland will take place this coming Friday, September 8, 2023, at around 7:00 PM at Complex Oakland.

Children's Fairyland in Oakland, CA

We think that the Children's Fairyland in Oakland, CA is an ideal place for family activities. Many people go there for sightseeing and relaxation with their family. Besides, it is also one of the best spots that you can visit if you like adventure. Interestingly, Children's Fairyland, U.S.A. is an amusement park, located in Oakland, California, on the shores of Lake Merritt. Besides, it was one of the earliest "themed" amusement parks in the United States. In addition, it includes 10 acres of play sets, small rides, and animals. Lastly, the park is also home to the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, the oldest continuously operating puppet theater in the United States.

Oakland airport expansion proposal faces criticism

There are many thought-provoking news reports in Oakland, CA. In a recent news article, the topic was about Oakland airport expansion. Reportedly, a proposal to add a third terminal to Oakland International Airport sparked a protest by environmentalists on Tuesday. They predict it would contribute to climate change and increase pollution. Aside from that, the new terminal would add as many 16 more gates to the airport. Based on a detailed news, it would be the first major expansion in 40 years at OAK. Lastly, travel forecasts say that an additional 24 million passengers will be in the region by 2038 so it’s essential for them to prepare for it.

Link to maps

Children's Fairyland

699 Bellevue Ave, Oakland, CA 94610, United States

Head east on Grand Ave toward Bay Pl

157 ft

Turn left onto Bay Pl

0.2 mi

At 7-Eleven, continue onto 27th St

0.2 mi

Turn right onto Broadway

 Destination will be on the right

0.3 mi

Assembly

260 30th St, Oakland, CA 94611, United States

[otoroll]

I finally awakened choco Soichiro!

It’s been months (this post has also been sitting in queue for months tho. at this point if this hits you know I’m hitting end of queue. oops) so I kind of forgot what the awakened card looked like and yeah, if I’m honest, I prefer the unawakened card more.

But luckily LoS! is one of those games that lets you go back to pre-awakened art.

[denyansu]

3rd Live Makuhari 2/3-2/4 news

theater315

A new feature to view past drama-based events will be implemented.

The following events have been selected for its launch:

The Desert kings Live (THE KOGADOU & Cafe Parade)

GHOST SNIPERS! (W & S.E.M)

最恐怪奇譚～戦慄のﾒﾛﾃﾞｨ～ (Altessimo & Jupiter)

劇星☆戦隊ﾄﾞﾗｽﾀｰｽﾞ -激闘!ﾀﾞﾌﾞﾙﾃﾞﾋﾞﾙ- (DRAMATIC STARS & W)

すまいる頂戴!ｽ��ｰﾑﾊﾟﾝｸﾗｲﾌﾞ (Sai & Shinsoku Ikkon)

WILD BOYS ～激情の拳～ (Jupiter & F-LAGS)

対極!功夫武闘 (FRAME & Altessimo)

Passion Explosion! Event Sequel Battle!

PASSION voting is back for another round!

This time the following events can be voted on for future sequels:

Best Game ～女神はどちらに微笑むか～ (S.E.M & Cafe Parade)

Pirate's treasure ～不滅の海賊船～ (Legenders & Shinsoku Ikkon)

ﾋﾞｰｽﾄｸﾛﾆｸﾙ ～炎をまといし獣～ (Mofumofuen & FRAME)

超常学園～覚醒ｽﾙ切札～ (HighxJoker)

No news on whether it’ll be similar to the previous ‘Passion explosion’ campaign, where prequel and sequel events will be voiced and there’ll be a CD.

Cybernetics Wars continuation!

The popular event series Cybernetics Wars is expanding even further! This will feature Group B from the original Passion Explosion! 315CD Battle!! campaign; Amehiko, Rui, Teru, Hideo, Suzaku, & Kamiya!

An original in-game manga will be released, as well as an event.

Fully voiced popular events

Popular past events from the Mobage will be voiced! No information yet as to how they’re determined or how many events they plan to voice so far.

New “WORLD TRE@SURE” series

A new CD and event series is here! The first stop for the world tour features Teru, Amehiko, Hideo, & Suzaku in France. The event is currently underway in Mstage.

The CD will be out May 9 with a new song titled “永遠（とわ）なる四銃士.”

Other Mstage updates

The follow songs will be implemented in the near future:

With…STORY - F-LAGS

もっふ・いんざぼっくす♪ - Mofumofuen

情熱…FIGHTER - THE KOGADOU

A free 10 scout gacha ticket to celebrate 3,150,000 downloads is available until February 9, 4.59AM JST. Just login to get it.

GREETING TOUR 2017 ~BEYOND THE DREAM~ Blu-ray to be released! 

A 3 disc set featuring the GREETING TOUR lives is finally going to be released on April 25! Disc one and two will contain tour footage, disc three will contain backstage footage and a compilation of Beyond the Dream that was performed at every leg of the tour. A photobook will also be included.

More announcements to come as the 3rd Live tour continues!

[starbuckie]

𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝

pairing: carter baizen x reader

words: 2.8k words

warnings: SMUT 18+ (d/s tones, sub!carter, both of these bitches are switches who am i kidding, masturbation, panty wearing/jerking off, cumplay, praise kink, degradation kink, mistress kink, oral m, edging, pet names; baby boy), lots of bantering, fwb dynamics, fluff

summary: carter baizen taking orders instead of giving them? manhattan never thought they’d see the day.

a/n: this was 100 percent self-indulgent and i am proud to admit it. please enjoy me and my switch ass :)

main masterlist || sebastian stan characters masterlist || series masterlist || next chapter

The penthouse was way too fucking empty when Y/N walked in. Despite the fact that it was her residence that she had bought with her money, some family members or a random Constance student always managed to find their way onto her couch when she opened the door, lounging upon the finest burgundies and champagnes at the service of her housemaid. Either that or there was a blue-eyed menace sitting ass-naked at her dining room table, ready to take her apart right there.

Carter Baizen was nothing if not horny. Their… relationship had begun way back in their high school days, with a first date in sophomore year that ended with him eating out her pussy under the clothed table at Butter. They managed to stand each other for a few more dates, all of them turning out just like the first until they realized they were much better as fuck buddies than in a relationship. The golden boy of St. Judes couldn’t sully his reputation with a long-term thing and Y/N wouldn’t waste her time on a boy if he wasn’t serious, and from then on they became friends… in a certain way.

He’d accompany her to their families’ charity galas and red carpet events, holding hands and flashing smiles to the paparazzi before shoving her against the nearest marble bathroom counter and fucking her stupid. Finals weeks were dedicated to Y/N sucking Carter off as “stress relief” and they’d split a bottle of his mom’s favorite Pinot Noir as they studied. They weren’t exclusive, both of them notoriously had affair after affair with other students, teachers, she was sure Carter had fucked some moms here and there senior year, but the one thing that was stable throughout their high school years was each other. They could always rely on one another for a place to crash, to scare away a hookup that didn’t understand what the word no meant, and the Upper East Side cowered in fear of their Bonnie and Clyde-like dynamic. 

Hell, he’d gone “off the grid” for a whole year, and even then he was still finding time to come back to New York and fuck Y/N like a madman. How Gossip Girl never caught him and his insatiable need to get his dick wet was beyond their knowledge. And when he came back to high society, well, that didn’t phase her in the slightest, and she’d even welcomed him to crash at hers after he sulked about Serena kicking him to the streets. It was nice to have a friend living in her lonely penthouse, but that only lasted for so long until he’d been invited back to the Baizen residence by Lydia to “rebuild himself as a new man”. 

Like that had gone so well that last time.

Though their relationship had been ongoing for at least four or five years, it was only after one when she noticed that Carter was making all the calls. He was always the one texting her to see if she was up or blatantly crashing her shopping trips so he could fuck her against the dressing room door, but it didn’t bother her at all. It always managed to fit into her schedule, and even she couldn’t deny that his visits to Bendel's weren’t unwelcome. Plus, she loved when he got all dominant like that. 

Which was why it was such a surprise to Y/N when she entered her bedroom suite to find Carter Baizen jerking off into a pair of her panties, legs spread out on the mint green duvet and forehead covered in a sheen layer of sweat. Her Louboutins nearly dropped out of her loosened grip. His normally gelled chestnut hair was an unkempt mess on his thrown-back head, looking as though he’d run his free hand through it relentlessly. With his eyes shut in ecstasy, she soon saw that his free hand was not free at all, instead massaging his sac with fumbling movements, just trying to search for his release. And his cock, well his cock was fisted in the lacy red material of the lingerie she’d bought a week back, soaked with glistening precome. High-pitched whimpers left his mouth, short puffs of air, and his voice was just audible and scratchy enough for her to hear him moan her name.

It was a sight to see the powerful businessman make such a mess of her panties, and it filled Y/N with nothing but lust. 

She could see his dick throb in his hand, his head twitching so slightly that she wouldn’t even be able to tell that he was close to coming if it weren’t for his quickening breaths and moans. “Shit, shit, shit, oh fuck, Y/N- look so fucking pretty,” he groaned. She genuinely wondered what image of her he had worked up in his mind, and prayed that it wasn’t as weird as his pirate fantasy the last time she caught him jerking off in her shower. His hand worked in corkscrew movements around his cock, and with his hand speeding up he began to spill pearly ropes of cum over his fist, stomach, and the red lacy panties. 

“Carter, if I had known you liked my panties so much, I would’ve gotten you your own set.” Y/N didn’t even let him finish coming before she spoke, dropping her heels off daintily by the door and giving it a gentle shove so they could have some privacy. His eyes, previously shut in bliss, snapped open immediately, the blue rim of his irises already coming back into view. The ropes of creamy liquid continued to cover his skin, his cock throbbing as he finished up his orgasm.

If she wasn’t so turned on by his come covering the lingerie she would have laughed at his beet-red face, but the smirk that kissed her lips managed to do the same damage to his ego. His jaw dropped and he was frozen in absolute shock, and she took immense pleasure in the little whimper that left his throat when she climbed over his body, Tory Burch minidress and all. Two of her manicured fingers lifted his chin up to look at her and- ah, there was that guilty pout she was looking for.

Carter felt powerless under her. Totally and utterly at her will and her disposal, and thought it was an unnatural feeling it most certainly was not an unwelcome one though his face was still flaming red. He tried to brush off her gentle ribbing, rolling his eyes and leaning his face up to hers with what he hoped was a smirk. “You weren’t supposed to be home this early,” he grumbled against her lips.

Y/N chuckled at his attempt to stay cool, slipping her tongue into his mouth while running her nails up his bare abdomen, feeling her fingers drag through his come and his muscles jump under her touch. “This is my home, I think I can come here whenever I want. Though I do have to say this was a welcome surprise, Baizen.” She groaned when one of his hands slipped under the skirt of her dress, dragging up thighs to her core, but she had to pull away from his mouth. Her legs straddled his hips just above his softening cock and she sucked his come off her fingers, watching how his eyes transfixed on her lips. “What made you wanna dig through my panty drawer?”

He snapped out of his reverie, groaning at her question with a push to her stomach. She fell to the other side of the bed with a bounce and dodged the pair of come-soaked panties he flung at her as he got up with a squeal. “I was bored,” he pulled his dark green button-up over his shoulders, “you weren’t back yet, and I was curious. Nothing out of the blue, really, I think you’re just making this a big deal.” Oh, he was embarrassed. “Now I need to get ready and you do too, ‘cause I have to attend my father’s business thing and you promised you’d come with.”

“Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that. The good old Baizen family company is adopting little Bass’ other start-up, right?” He hummed in agreement, “How cute.”

Carter began to put his boxers back on, but Y/N jumped up and stopped him before he could. Her fingers grasped onto his clothed bicep harshly, her fingertips digging into the muscle he’d built up since returning to the Upper East Side. In her other hand dangled the pair of red panties, the white come smeared across the lacy fabric. She would’ve found his confused look almost adorable, endearing even for the businessman, but at that moment it was annoying and wasting her time.

“Oh, don’t give me that look, Carter, you know what I want you to do.” She taunted with a sinister smirk.

The satisfaction that coursed through her when she saw his Adam’s apple bob in his throat was absolutely delightful. Energy sizzled throughout every inch of the room; she could feel how tense he was in the air they breathed. His opal blue eyes stared wearily at the offending lingerie, and she laughed at his sudden shyness. It was so rare that she held this power over him- he’d never even dare to show subordination anywhere outside the bedroom- but she knew only she wielded that strength to do so. 

“C’mon, baby boy, put them on, won’t you? I bet you’ll look so pretty.” Her fingers wedged under his chin, leaving his throat exposed, bare, all for her to mark up. His breath hitched as she traced her lips from his jawline down his throat, her tongue darting out to taste his sweat-tanged skin. Instinctually his hands darted to grip her waist when she bit down on the dip of his collarbone, biting back a moan so she wouldn’t hear the effect on her. He hated giving her a bigger ego than she already did in moments such as these- but she knew what she held over his body. Tremendous, seductive, glorious power. 

“But- but they’re dirty,” he argued faintly. He felt her smirk against him, her lips pressing one last kiss to his skin before pulling away and admiring how her lipstick stained him.

Her hand smoothed down his shirt and flattened the collar like a mother primping over her son. “Oh, baby boy, you shouldn’t be complaining, you’re very dirty too. Good boys don’t go digging through their mistress’ panties, do they?” She was mocking him and he knew. The name though, oh, he wanted to slap her for ever bringing that up again, but he couldn’t deny the pleasure that coursed through him. 

If anyone else were to enter the room, they would’ve seen Carter with his head thrown back in ecstasy, wanton moans filling the acrid air of his office. Y/N kneeled under the table, her checkered Burberry heels just sticking out from under the desk. 

His cock hit the back of her throat repeatedly and she knew how to make him come with just a few teases of her nails against his taut skin. Hands rubbed up and down his bare thighs slowly, contrasting against the needy, quickening movements of Y/N’s mouth on Carter’s dick. They both knew he was going to come in a few mere seconds- the telltale signs of his blubbering, his mushroom head leaking and twitching against the back of her throat, he was going to blow his load, and soon. 

For just a second, Y/N pulled off of him, leaving him with sweaty, pulled hair and lust-driven eyes that became desperate as soon as he lost contact. “You gonna come soon, baby?” She teased with a smirk. “I think you can last a bit longer, can’t you? Don’t want you looking like a needy little thing, coming in less than a minute.”

Carter was close to crying as tears filled his eyes at her threats. He never knew if they were empty or not. “Please, mistress, please let me come, it hurts so bad.”

Y/N knew he was thinking of that late night with just the dazed look in his eyes. “Yeah, you’re thinking about that again, aren’t you?”

“S’all I can think about,” he mumbled. His embarrassment became more amusing by the second.

She mocked his sentiment, nodding along with sorrowful eyes. “Is that all you can get off to now? I bet it is. I think that night was very fulfilling for both of us after you started sticking to your instincts, baby.”

His eyes flutter shut, making him look like a damn angel in complete bliss.

Got him. 

“Fine, I’ll wear the goddamn panties,” Carter growled. He snatched the material out of her hands abruptly, pulling it up his thighs with quiet anger. “You don’t gotta gloat, Y/N, pride isn’t your look.”

“No, I think this is something worth bragging about. Somehow I got the infamous bastard of the Upper East Side in my drawers.” Her hands covered his as he adjusted the panties up his legs. The band stretched across his v-line, not tight enough to hurt his breathing, but enough to leave dark red indents of lace into his skin later on. His cock fit snugly against the material, pushing its limits and threatening to break. The color really suited him nicely, she had to admit. “It’s okay to give up power sometimes, Baizen. We both know you like it, it’s about time you accepted it.”

Carter watched as she parted his chest affectionately, tracing her path to the large walk-in closet behind him. The large, carved-out doors closed behind her, and he was left standing half-naked like a fool in the middle of her room. It sounded like boxes being shoved and dropped around inside, metal scratching against metal as she sifted through her endless designer pieces to find something suitable. He started to pull his pants back on, clumsily, fumbling around at the odd feeling of the dirty fabric rubbing against his most sensitive parts. Y/N could also hear him get ready to leave, with all his jumping and groaning, and more crashes were heard as she seemed to search for something before he walked away. 

“Hold on!” Her voice came through muffled, but the brunette man left his unbuttoned pants around the middle of his thighs, anticipating what she held in store next for him. Not that he was excited to feel his power slip away from him or anything like that.

Y/N emerged from the dark closet with ruffled hair, a hanger with what he assumed was a Valentino custom, and an orange object in her hand. Actually, as he focused his eyes on it closer, it looked more and more like a… no.

Why would she have one of those?

She snorted at the shocked expression he wore, brushing past him to set the dress on the bed gently. “You look surprised to see a gal have sex toys, Carter, it’s like you don’t know us at all.”

“Is that a… cock ring?”

“Glad you know what that is.” She kneeled at his feet, the familiar sight of her mischievous eyes peering up at him threatening to make him hard again. Her nails scratched against his smooth skin as she pushed the material to the side, leaving his aroused cock bare in front of her eyes. With a soft kiss to his tip, she rolled the orange silicone up to the base of his cock. “It vibrates too,” she tucked him back into the sheer material, standing up to kiss the corner of his mouth, “and I’ve got the control.”

He shuddered at her lustful words, falling forwards to try and chase her lips when she pulled away. “Why do you even have that- actually, who have you used that on?”

Y/N laughed at his incredulous tone, walking away with a sway of her hips as she answered. “Branson McDonald at your Miami party in junior year. Said he never came harder in his life, so you can thank me later, baby.”

“That’s revolting, did you even fucking- oh shit.” Though she was already halfway down the stairs as she pressed on the remote, his moans reverberated through the penthouse, so much that she just knew the maid would hear him and know exactly what was going on. She simply just hummed, skipping down the stairs elegantly with her baby blue Valentino in hand, ready to shower off the remains of Carter’s sins on her body, and ready for him to make some new ones.

[dance-of-a-thousand-leaves-blog]

Next up - Aniplex. This year, Aniplex is coming out strong by bringing all their idols from the Idolm@ster label. While we have the original cast led by Haruka, we have the two newer units from Cinderella Girls and Million Live. Last but not least, we have the newest unit that has just made its anime debut - their male counterparts, Idolm@ster SideM.

As a fervent supporter of SideM, I have been following their progress from its first game to its first CD series to even flying to Japan for their first live. So yep, they do have a special place in my heart. With the latest rhythm/produce game, Live on St@ge and its anime series that is still running, I’m excited for the next live that will be held in 2018. Hopefully, I’ll have the chance to attend the live again!! (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ

For this year’s AFA, the Aniplex booth is divided into two areas. The first area is a mini exhibition of selected artifacts and merchandise from each of the Idolm@ster series. In the second area, you can purchase exclusive goods that are only available overseas as well as a small selection of standard goods. Is the Aniplex booth worth a visit? Definitely - especially if you’re a fan of any of the Idolm@ster series! 💕

[accio-victuuri]

Hi, do you have a post about a mysterious bjyx fansite? The one who seldom updates but once it does, the post is so vague. But it seems to be always true? I forget the name of it but the newest post is DD's performance and the caption is Green light lives in my life (? The one GG sang in our song)

Hello! Oh! Hui ge? He is this fansite. 👇🏼 I can talk a bit about what’s all the fuss but please don’t think too much about it. There were already reminders in the ST a while back to stop speculating about his identity. This is because people were seriously looking into him actually being GG.

• So this fansite posts photos of the boys ofcourse, but not as active as the other ones who are literally in every event they go to. and yes, you are right. He posts cryptic stuff that make people 👀. or places in events that’s pretty private and no fansites can go to. but you don’t see GG or Web in the photos. so some people think he is a staff of GG or a friend of his.

• About the whole him being GG. people were comparing photos they took and they have the same style. The argument was because it’s b&w and like the ones below which has that GG feel to it. Which is really not much to go on if you think about it. There are other people who have this same type of aesthetic.

• There was also an incident that he posted something, and then days after, GG posted a similar photo.

I’m more inclined to believe that he is a fansite that has some connection with GG. That’s all. If people wanna over analyze his post like it’s candy, then it’s fine. He does take excellent photos tho. ✌🏼

I hope this helps Anon!

[foreigndistance]

6 Years of Mirishita Anniversary Rankings. (event log/memorials & retrospective)

Ah yes, the yearly Million Live! Theater Days anniversary event. You pick a girl to grind event points for, try to reach the top 1000, and the rest is history. Or maybe you just want to gather all 52 event cards with that new sparkling outfit so you don’t have to dump a ton of rocks just to collect all of them.

Since 2019, I’ve chosen to partake in the yearly battleground of trying to gain as much points as possible. The more popular the idol (or if they are in the key visual), the more painful your ranking experience would be. Or you could just go for Ami, Mami, and/or Ayumu with mostly dumping auto live tickets.

I was only getting into IM@S when the game’s 1st Anniversary dropped, but only started Million Live! Theater Days (Mirishita) after the event happened, so there was no 1st Anniversary event memorial. Hearing stuff about several people that actually got admitted into the hospital and one EmilyP running on bonito stock was wild.

For the game’s 7th anniversary, I’ve decided to compile and release the memorial messages posted onto the Million Live! Discord server, written after getting the event results from the 2nd up to 7th Anniversaries.

2nd Anniversary: UNI-ON@IR!!!! (2019)

Rank: #4352 (Kotoha) & #1717 (Iku)

I knew the anniversary event was going to be crazy... and I was right. While my ranking wasn't as high as the others (due to real life circumstances, school, and Internet issues on the last few days), I did all I could... until I ran out of tokens on the last hour and had to get more of these. Oh, what a mistake I've made. I've done all I can for Kotoha and Iku (mostly the former)… I'll redeem myself next year~

Looking back at the 2nd Anniversary event feels weird. I was a noob at event ranking back there, my highest ranking was reaching around the Top 30,000 players during the “Datte Anata wa Princess” event. It was back during a time where I didn’t take intense event ranking very seriously back there (and also when I had a social life outside of mobile games).

I will say though, the free pulls gave me Kotoha and Iku’s most recent SSRs (at the time) at least. They’ve become my tantou idols within ML! by then… whatever the definition of a “tantou” was to me before I rediscovered and became S.E.M’s producer at the end of 2019.

3rd Anniversary: CHALLENGE FOR GLOW-RY D@YS!!! (2020)

Rank: #1189 (Kotoha) & #907 (Iku)

as a kotohaP and an ikuP and a s.e.mP who had to rank somewhere else right before anniv started, that was the worst 21 days of nonstop tiering i've ever done. it was the hardest [mirishita] event i've ever done after nearly 2 years of playing. this year, i dared to tier for two despite one of them having the highest t1 borders of the event until 18 hours of refresh kicked me in the butt and borders proved to be too high. i did manage to redeem myself from last year's failure though. i don't know if i'll ever tier again for kotoha next year… or if parade d'amour will be a mess like how this event was, but i've done my best for my tantous and i think that's enough. otsu, everyone.

Part of the original “14 days of non-stop event grinding” phase I had back in 2020. I was just trying to get top 1000 for Jiro’s wedding event SR in LIVE ON ST@GE! (RIP), and right as the event ended, there I went for trying to dual rank for both of my tantous—only for me to get top 1000 for Iku but failing to do the same with Kotoha. I wanted to do both but uh… I messed up with the refresh timing back there on the last day. (Let’s not get started with the bugs that occurred during that event.)

It was my first time trying to properly do duo idols for this event, so it was quite challenging. It was also through this event where I first started properly called myself an IkuP.

4th Anniversary: Reach 4 the Dre@m! (2021)

Rank: #95 (Iku)

[3rd anniversary] was the hardest [mirishita] event i've ever done after nearly 2 years of playing. - me, nearly a year ago why the hell does this game keep pushing me to my limits? this was the hardest event i've ever tiered in over 2 years of me sticking around the theater. here it is, the event that forced me to drain all my stamina drinks and memorial items, awaken all of my remaining cards, and use up more than half of my memory piece stash. 4th anniv can finally join in the ranks of my other mobage in the "events that drained (nearly) all of my resources" gang. lately i've been having mixed feelings over the game itself and its recent updates, but Harmony 4 You! ended up being my 2nd favorite anniv song (i'm still sentimental towards UNION!! tho) and i consider it to be the best part of this anniversary. that, along with the limited auto live passes and increased cap for normal ones, those were a life-saver. events like this are crazy every time but tiering this year was a blast, tbh. not gonna lie, being an ikuP is an interesting experience. i became quite emotional two hours after the event ended, seeing what is possibly the highest feat i can go for my tantou. i try to go hard with my main tantous as much as i can but running with iku was genuinely fun and enjoyable. i don't i wanna try this stunt ever again but that was fun. at this point i can say that i genuinely consider her as my top idol in the theater. so... now what? i'm not sure if i'll be sticking around the theater as much as i used to, given the current circumstances (and an upcoming game to look forward to). hopefully the anime and mts will bring in new amazing songs that keeps me staying for a little longer. maybe one day i'll reach t1 in more events with my tantous in them once more. congrats to those who tiered, regardless if they made it or not. see you soon, twinkle rhythm. お疲れ様でした、プロデューサー！！

I pressed too many buttons and there came my first top 100 in an event. I made a whole Twitter thread documenting my journey through this. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work—even when my tantou’s event ranking borders are in the lowest quarter of the cast’s.

I may have overslept a bit on the last day, with my rank almost dropping below T100. Glad I still managed to pull that one off despite several things.

5th Anniversary: Watashi-tachi no R@inbow! (2022)

Rank: #136 (Iku)

"What happened to you retiring?" Nothing shows how stubborn I am with this damn franchise and especially towards the branch that fully brought me into hell more than tiering in the yearly anniversary event. The past year has been somewhat of a mixed bag, with several highs and multiple lows throughout. If anything, I would’ve actually retired as I hinted/said in the past, but in truth I ended up coming back to this stupid game for one reason or another. Or maybe because I care for my daughter(s) too much to fully leave. I did get some of my highest accomplishments (most recently, t1 for Kotoha just a month before this). So, yeah. I realized how much I give too many shits between my 765 tantous, especially Iku. I hope your knives are ready, I guess. To Iku, to Kotoha, to TIntMe!, to Haruka and Chihaya, thanks for the bullshit you’ve brought me into for the past few years. Otsukare y’all. (P.S. I want to try doing a t100 Iku + t1000 Kotoha stunt next year, but who knows really.)

Months before that event, I said that I was about to retire from Mirishita for a while after Iku’s last ranking PST. I had started drifting away from Mirishita because I wasn’t satisfied with what happened in its 4th year. I’m personally glad things are (mostly) okay within the ML! sphere nowadays.

Clearly, I did not fully retire due to various events I’m still waiting for. The memorial for that year says it all.

Event ranking thread for this one goes here.

6th Anniversary: R@ise a Good Sign! (2023)

Rank: #621 (Chizuru & Iku)

"I want to try doing a t100 Iku + t1000 Kotoha stunt next year, but who knows really." (me, last year) big fucking sike. a more melancholic reflection this year, but honestly i don't know how to process things properly since that day... my anger towards a certain company (after shooting down my main branch) has made me throw out all my mirishita event plans for the rest of the year, made me fall off both mirishita (and shinymas) for a while, and went out a revenge arc somewhere in another production for the sake of my tantou units. semi-related, but i became a chizuruP back in january (months before everything fell apart). i didn't tier for any of her events before that so uh... yeah. between this and a night pool party coming up, dunno what is it with me and wanting to "prove" myself as a producer. me tiering this anniv was essentially me fucking around and finding out what to do with all these event auto-passes, event stamina drinks, and a slacc event happening in the other side. i currently deal with three grown ex-teachers and two drunk ladies with top tier seiyuu outside of the franchise. it only took me a couple weeks to accept that chizuru could actually end up as tantou since seeing her seiyuu's collier de perles performance during ml 9th... and i sincerely regret that i didn't become her producer sooner. before everything else started falling apart. i don't know how many more events i have left until i can call myself "retired" from the game instead of the "semi-retired" status i've had for a while now. there's at least two more events i want to rank in, and i don't think i can fully retire until i got closure on that part.

even if i were to visit the theater less than ever before, i'll still consider myself as iku, kotoha, and chizuru's producer. as always, congrats on the 6th anniversary.

on a less melancholic note, i find it funny how i got 315k and 283k pts (certain numbers for certain branches) and somehow got the same exact rank LOL my last-minute tiering got me trying to aim for 315k pts for chizuru, but not 283k for iku. enjoy the clown compilation (from yours truly) from before the event:

Last year’s resolution clearly didn’t go well. Easily the most melancholic among my memorial messages because a Certain Small Indie Company (TM) decided to shut down three IM@S games within the same year, leaving a branch where one of 765Pro’s rivals would start a new life elsewhere without a game.

Reopening old wounds aside, I didn’t initially plan on tiering the anniversary event again until I started casually dumping tickets and tokens onto Chizuru—a tantou I had spent less time with compared to my two legacy ML! girls. I didn’t realize that there were custom unit titles for Mirishita anniversary events now too, so I wasn’t even able to grab the second title due to insufficient event points. I still think it was funny how I snagged the title for both idols and got the exact same points rank for them.

With this event though, it gave me a bit of confidence that I can potentially do a successful dual T1000 run for two idols. Which leads me into...

7th Anniversary: 7D@ys Smile!! (2024)

Rank: #254 (Kotoha) & #478 (Iku)

If anyone ever asked who my top 5 overall IM@S idols were four years ago, you’d get a slightly different answer. Looking at my idol sorter results between the FIVE STAR branches at the start of this year though, guess who was 6th and 7th? Yeah.

Last year’s run (along with watching the ML! server Ps do their own multiple T1000 runs over the years) gave me the confidence to potentially pull off a dual T1000 myself. With a better mindset compared to last year, I tried to pull off my 5th Anniversary resolution again with Kotoha and Iku—while there was no T100 (due to lack of resources and college), I managed to pull it off my biggest revenge from previous Anniversary events.

Started grinding for Kotoha in the first half, then added Iku during the second. Grinded for tokens so hard to try getting Kotoha to 1,000,000 points and Iku to 315,000 points that I have accidentally overkilled my token count to ~284,000 tokens by Day 9. Ended up spending the last 4 days of the event burning my tokens until I reached the points park because clearly I didn’t want to grind anymore in the last several hours. The last 6 hours had me chilling (while procrastinating on my assignments again).

I couldn’t decide what funny numbers as a target at first, all I knew was who to rank for. Then I remembered that this event would end right before SideM’s 9th STAGE this weekend, leading into the branch’s 10th Anniversary a few days later. Going from Million Live’s 10th anniversary → SideM’s 10th anniversary will be fun to see.

So I put into work added an additional 31,500 points beyond Kotoha’s original target, ended things off with ~81k unburned tokens on hand and:

Kotoha: 1,031,500 pts (10th anniversary & obligatory 315)

Iku: 315,765 pts (315Pro & 765Pro)

Not much melancholy from me this time, and a lot of things happened over the years. Kotoha and Iku are still in my overall IM@S top 10, and I really just can’t trade my time with them for anything else.

I give these two thanks for everything, as my first “true” tantou idols. (Now where’s my HELLO, YOUR ANGEL♪ and Give Me Metaphor events?)

———

And that’s all the Mirishita anniversary event memorials! Each had its own silly little memory surrounding it, but at the end: I tried my best for my silly little idols.

(Also please make sure to take care of yourself while ranking I’m begging you—)

[imasallstars]

GLORY MONOCHROME SPECIAL GACHA

A special gacha is currently being held! This box features new LIMITED SR+ cards featuring past initial SSR+ card art from LIVE ON ST@GE. You will also be able to obtain special tickets in the upcoming 315 Carnival event that will let you pull these cards.

※ you are only able to do discounted 10-pulls with this special box ※ the contents of this box will only feature the new [Glory Monochrome] SR+ cards ※ due to the contents of the box, the members of C.FIRST are not available

The special box will run until January 21st 23:59 JST

[bestworstcase]

What are your opinions on the whole Rapunzel-Varian drama in S1 post Queen For A Day, especially with the whole "Rapunzel should've checked on Varian after the snowstorm" or whose fault it was for their conflict?

tbh… if i had to pick one single representative example of the tts fandom’s general inability to handle nuance in fictional conflict, it’d be the QFAD discourse™

because! while this isn’t to rag on anyone, if you pick a random person with an opinion on this question, chances are they will fall into one of two camps. either: 1) corona’s treatment of varian was horrifically unjust and everyone involved except him is a terrible person, or 2) rapunzel did what she had to do and varian’s anger is irrational, unfounded, and fundamentally unfair.

people in camp #1 tend to believe that rapunzel was simply being selfish and acting like a sulky child when she failed to check up on varian after the storm. people in camp #2 tend to point out that rapunzel was traumatized by the events of QFAD too, and believe that this justifies her failure to check up on varian.

but the thing is imo the conflict in QFAD + the rest of s1 is just as complex and messy as the argument cassandra and rapunzel have in RATGT, in that there is no One True Right Answer and no person who is one hundred percent “at fault.” the question of blame is… honestly sort of beside the point if you ask me. to break this down:

#1: rapunzel is a sheltered teenager with minimal social skills dealing with a national emergency halfway through her first unsupervised couple days on the job.

the girl has had like eight months tops of training for the monumental task of ruling a country. she grew up in a situation where the only choice available to her was how she would wile away her free time inside her tower; gothel exerted total control over every other facet of her life. and while she has a little more wiggle room now that she’s out of the tower, she is still basically living her life with all the big, consequential choices made for her.

QFAD was intended to be her first taste of true authority, while still being ultimately inconsequential. if all had gone according to plan, corona would have ticked along more or less on autopilot—just as frederic left it—while rapunzel got in a little practice making judgment calls about minor, unimportant things, like mediating small interpersonal disputes between her subjects.

nobody expected, and rapunzel was absolutely not prepared for, a legitimate national crisis to explode in her face out of nowhere. this was supposed to be pedaling by herself for the first time with training wheels and what she got instead is careening down the freeway on a motorbike at 95mph with zero warning. it is a miracle that she held things together as well as she did.

#2: varian is a child with an emotionally distant, unsupportive father who sets him up for failure.

he’s smart but he’s also fourteen. he has little if any formal training in alchemy, he’s figuring stuff out by trial and error, and he has zero adult supervision. his efforts have caused significant levels of destruction twice in only a few months—the exploding boilers in WTH, and his invention going haywire (with a little help from st. croix) in GE—and it’s implied that this is a fairly regular occurrence with him.

and yet quirin does nothing. he shouts at varian, shuts him down, and at several points orders him point blank to stop messing with alchemy… but he makes no effort to connect with his son or understand where he’s coming from; he doesn’t try to impose reasonable restrictions (like “don’t mess with volatile chemicals unless i’m there to help”) that would allow varian to pursue his passion while minimizing the danger; and he doesn’t create an environment where varian feels able to turn to his father for help. and then with the black rocks, he lets varian come along to see the king, but refuses to explain why he “lied” (/spoke in code) to the king, destroying any credibility he had in varian’s eyes and making varian panicky and desperate because it seemed like no one else cared.

so the end result is that varian feels like he has no choice but to sneak around behind quirin’s back. he can’t rely on his dad for help if anything goes wrong, but the situation is so dire that doing nothing also isn’t an option. he tries his best to be careful (before quirin barges in on him, varian is attempting to put just one drop of the amber serum on the rock) but even if quirin hadn’t startled him, a terrible accident was bound to happen sooner or later, and the responsibility for that lays just as much if not more on quirin’s shoulders—the adult in this situation—as on varian’s. the kid is FOURTEEN.

(i think a neat argument could be made for varian as a deconstruction of the teen/YA fantasy trope of the hyper-competent teenager with absentee parents whose absence allows the teen to get on with the important work of the high-stakes fantasy plot; but that’s a whole different post)

#3: rapunzel did the right thing, but lost control over the situation due to lack of experience.

it would have been wrong to abandon everybody in corona to run off into the blizzard with varian, and frankly it wouldn’t have helped quirin anyway. he was already encased in amber by the time varian got back to old corona, and rapunzel couldn’t have done anything in the moment had she been with varian then. the only benefit to her presence would have been to comfort varian—which is not a small thing, obviously, but it’s not in any way a reasonable exchange for the hundreds or thousands of lives that would have been lost if she left corona completely without a leader in the middle of a crisis. so broadly speaking, staying in corona was the right call.

however.

rapunzel was not in control during that scene in the palace. varian bursts in, panicking, explains his situation and begs for her help—and rapunzel just says, basically, “i can’t help you, there’s an emergency.” then nigel comes in and reinforces that, which makes varian freak out; he grabs rapunzel and shakes her, nigel signals for the guards in response, and varian gets dragged out of the palace while rapunzel pleads with the guards not to hurt him.

(sidebar: the hate nigel gets for describing varian as “attacking” rapunzel is unfounded. varian grabs her and shakes her roughly back and forth and that is, in fact, assault. nigel is not wrong to describe it as such.)

anyway, notice two the things that DON’T happen here:

1) rapunzel doesn’t offer up any alternative solutions. a more experienced or better prepared leader could have responded to varian’s plea with a plan of action, like: i need to stay in corona to oversee the evacuation, so we can’t leave right this minute, but cassandra will take you to ask xavier for advice right now and the minute it’s safe to leave we’ll go together to help your father. or whatever—the point is to engage proactively with varian’s problem, make him feel heard, and give him something productive to do so he isn’t just sitting around fretting in the palace or struggling back home by himself in the middle of a blizzard.

2) raps doesn’t challenge nigel’s decision when he summons the guards to throw varian out of the palace, which is something she absolutely could have done. she could have said no, i can’t go to old corona right this minute to help him, but we are not throwing him out into the storm again, he stays here with me. this is, again, a sign of her inexperience; she’s not used to being an authority, she’s never been in a situation like this before, and she’s under a ton of pressure—so when an older adult whom she sees as an authority (he’s her father’s advisor!) makes a judgment call, it probably doesn’t even occur to her that she can challenge it.

this is why i say that rapunzel lost control over the situation—because even though she made the Right Decision, she got a kind of awful outcome, ie varian being tossed out into the blizzard to struggle home by himself to deal with his problem without any support, and rapunzel inadvertently breaking her promise from earlier.

#4: rapunzel doesn’t immediately go to check on varian after the storm because she’s traumatized, busy, and trusts her father.

painter’s block is all about how the trauma rapunzel feels as a direct result of her decisions during the storm destroys her ability to choose anything. she feels so debilitated by the fear that she will make the wrong choice—because she worries that she chose wrong when she allowed varian to be sent away—that she can’t do anything at all, let alone find the emotional strength to go to old corona and confront her mistakes. and while she tries to process and move past this trauma, mrs sugarby exploits it in an attempt to force her to free zhan tiri.

the next episode, not in the mood, involves rapunzel being put under enormous pressure to entertain an irascible ally of corona’s while he and her father negotiate a trade deal with the threat of a war breaking out if they fail. NITM is a silly episode, but it has the highest non-magical stakes of any episode in the entire series. this isn’t an event rapunzel could have reasonably skipped out on for the sake of one person, no matter how much she cares. she’s slammed. she’s still being forced to prioritize just like she was in QFAD.

and in the third episode after QFAD, rapunzel is tormented by nightmares about varian and what happened to his father, so she presses frederic for information about the rocks and varian’s safety. and frederic assures her that everything is fine. he lies to her face about the rocks having been removed, and rapunzel has no reason to doubt him, so she relaxes… until varian contacts her directly, and she immediately jumps to help him.

#5: at the same time, varian has been forced into hiding because frederic is attempting to cover up the rock problem.

what happens to varian after QFAD is plainly unfair and unjust. his father is trapped in amber, the rocks have completely destroyed old corona, most of the villagers have presumably moved to the new land frederic set aside for them, and frederic’s secret police are crawling all over the village trying to suppress information about the rocks (and fred’s role in creating them). the blame for this lies squarely at frederic’s feet, and varian is right to be angry.

i believe that varian interprets rapunzel’s absence as a sign that she’s complicit in what frederic is doing, making his anger at her justified as well. he doesn’t have access to the information we do about why rapunzel doesn’t seek varian out immediately—he doesn’t see how distraught and shattered she is after the storm, or the high-stakes political nonsense she has to deal with, and he certainly doesn’t see her trying to pursue the matter of the rocks and varian’s safety with her father and being flatly lied to to convince her to stay put in corona. all he knows is that rapunzel kicked him out and now she’s ignoring him and her father’s agents keep chasing him away from his home, and he draws the conclusion that makes the most sense to him, ie rapunzel must be okay with all of this because otherwise she would be here.

and once he has that idea in his head, the fact that rapunzel immediately jumps to help him when he contacts her isn’t enough to dislodge it. he’s a scared, lonely fourteen year old boy looking at this situation through a purely interpersonal lens while rapunzel is an overwhelmed eighteen year old doing the best she can while juggling about a million things at once and putting varian low on her priority list because she’s been told by a trusted source that varian is fine.

they both make mistakes, they’re both missing important contextual information, and neither of them handles this situation in the best possible way. but neither of them is “at fault” in the sense of being purely in the wrong, and—imo—frederic and quirin hold the lion’s share of the blame here, because they had all the information, and they refused and refused and refused to deal with the black rock problem until it overwhelmed them both. varian and rapunzel are both just kids scrambling to deal with something that should not be their problem to solve, and both of them fuck up! (and even then—the best fred and quirin could’ve done was just be honest and upfront about what the problem was. neither of them had the means to fix anything, and neither of them was responsible for the very unfortunate timing of the blizzard. so it’s not as clear cut as everything bad in s1 happens because fred and quirin stuck their heads in the sand. a lot of it honestly was just sheer bad luck.)

a n y w a y, i think by s3 and after a lot of introspection, varian has figured a lot of this out, and that’s why he’s so quick to let go of his lingering grudge against rapunzel. he’s realized that at the end of the day, rapunzel was just as unprepared and lost in that situation as he was, that she’s not responsible for (and wasn’t complicit in) her father’s decisions, etc, etc.

[whatdoesshedotothem]

1834 Aug[u]st Fri[day] 22

7 35/..

11 1/2

Vc

Vc

she above half hour with me in my bed last night but tried in vain could give her

a right kiss Fine morn[in]g F[ahrenheit] 66 1/2° at 7 3/4 a.m. Laq[uai]s de Place, Victor Becker, and

good landau, and took Geo[rge], and A- [Adney] and I out at 11 – w[e]nt to the bank – shopp[in]g – b[ou]ght 4 silk shawls au page

r[ue] Vivienne saw the Bourse (walk[e]d r[ou]nd the gallery w[i]th permiss[io]n fr[om] the wom[a]n d[o]wnst[ai]rs)

b[ou]ght camb[ri]c au Gagne petit, and rib[be]d in Pass[age] des Panoramas – call[e]d and sat 25 min[ute]s

w[i]th Mrs. Heneage fr[om] 2 50/.. to 3 1/4, walk[e]d r[ou]nd h[e]r nice gard[e]n w[i]th h[e]r and Mr. H- [Heneage] and one of

th[ei]r d[au]ght[e]rs, and all ver[y] civ[i]l – Mrs. H- [Heneage] alw[a]ys reminds me of poor Sibb[ell]a – I hope

th[i]s is a nice acquaint[an]ce faite – A- [Adney] sat wait[in]g in the carr[ia]ge – ho[me] at 3 1/2 to

débarasser ours[elves] of the mon[ey] 18   fr[om] exch[ange] at                    for the 3 n[umer]os

circul[a]rs = £75 – M. Edw[ar]d Ferrall call[e]d ab[ou]t 3 3/4 and sat talk[in]g till 5 40/.. –

no let[ter] for me ab[ou]t the carr[ia]ge th[a]t he kno[w]s off – will do the best he can ab[ou]t it –

ga[ve] him my addr[ess] at Shibd[e]n – he prom[ise]d to wr[ite] and gi[ve] me tid[in]gs of so[me] sort – wheth[e]r

he can get me a laisser pass[e]r for the carr[ia]ge or n[o]t – M[ada]me de Bourke find[in]g it dull aux

Eaux n[ea]r Marseilles – ga[ve] h[i]m, by the way, a lit[tle] good adv[i]ce – to do the best he c[oul]d to

please his a[un]t –he own[e]d he w[a]s in as good a way as man[y] of the first young men

in Fr[an]ce – will n[o]t go b[a]ck to Denmark to live – on[l]y for a vis[i]t – w[oul]d n[o]t live out of

Paris, if he c[oul]d help it – Pr[in]ce Fred[eri]ck beat his princess (Wilhelmina) and lift[e]d his h[a]nd

ag[ain]st the King and queen – to live event[uall]y in Jutland – s[ai]d he (M. Edw[ar]d F- [Ferrall]) sh[oul]d indirect[l]y

advise Sophie to be gentle in quizz[in]g peop[le] – s[ai]d I lik[e]d h[e]r ver[y] m[u]ch – h[a]d heard it obs[erve]d

she w[a]s too severe, and wish[e]d it oth[er]wise – w[oul]d wr[ite] a note for him to forw[ar]d thro’ the

Danish Emb[ass]y – M. de Bourke ret[urne]d to Eng[lan]d to live at S[ou]thampt[o]n, - the clim[a]te of

Fr[an]ce n[o]t suit[in]g h[i]m – A- [Adney] and I out ag[ai]n at 5 40/.. till 7 1/2 – w[e]nt chez

Giroux – b[ou]ght china flacon à odeur in red velv[e]t cush[io]n for me to gi[ve] Miss W- [Walker] of Cliff Hill –

b[ou]ght Poussa (grotesque fig[ure] of  a man à la chinoise) and pap[e]r hold[e]r in the pass[age] des

panoramas and left word for Perrelet to co[me] tomor[row] morn[in]g etc. – din[ner] at 8 –

from eleven and ten minutes for twenty she came to my bed  fine day F[ahrenheit] 68° at 11 1/2 p.m.

[crunchybite]

Gay Village!

As you may know, the gay village, located on the east side of downtown Montreal, is home to the majority of the LGBT+ population, making it one of Montreal's and the world's most welcoming neighbourhoods. Although Canada used to be a strongly religious society, views have changed throughout time. As a Colombian, I never imagined myself living in a place such, not because I believe it is wrong, but because this type of neighbourhood would not exist there. It is still a taboo subject in my country.

This neighbourhood has a lot more to offer than you might expect. There are multiple restaurants serving a wide range of cuisines, from local  to international. St Denis Street is known for its restaurants, and it is only a few blocks from my house, which is not ideal for someone who enjoys dining as much as I do. However, there are other places in the area where you can go out at night, including gorgeous terraces in the summer that boost the mood of the people. Nonetheless, lovely parks such as Parc La Fontaine where you can enjoy a delicious BBQ in the summer or go ice skating in the winter.

Restaurants you must try in the area:

La banquise: (Open 24hrs)                                                                         “ Ideal spot for a poutine”                                                                       994 Rue Rachel E, Montréal, QC H2J 2J3                                     http://labanquise.com/                

Ma poulle Mouillée :                                                                            “Great portuguese Chicken”                                                                   969 Rachel St E, Montreal, Quebec H2J 2J2                                   http://mapoulemouillee.ca/                                                                            

Baguette Brochette:                                                                              “Your traditional sandwich in a baguette”                                             3800 Saint Denis St, Montreal, Quebec H2W 2M2                                   https://baguettebrochette.com/                                                                                                                     

It's been two years since I arrived in Montreal, and so far everything has gone well. I adore the city's multiculturalism; it's something I'm not used to. It's incredible to witness so many diverse cultures converge in one location. It is true that sometimes is difficult to adapt to or accept since we were raised with a different mindset, but being in Montreal has opened my eyes in ways I could never have imagined. I've learned a lot throughout the years, and even more during the difficult months, we all experienced during the pandemic. Living here makes my life less complicated, the metro is closed by, convenience stores are everywhere.

Both tourists and I alike enjoy the area because it is vibrant and full of positive energy. Despite the fact that we are still in the city, the gay village gives the impression of being somewhere else, due to the natural beauty of the parks that surround us.

I consider myself to be a curious person who enjoys researching and discovering new things, which helps me to be less ignorant. Despite the fact that I've been here for two years, there are still many things I don't know about or places I haven't visited yet, but if I had to compare myself to a Montrealer, I'd say I know more about their city than they do. It is important to be aware of your surroundings and to make the most of what is available to us. I've had the opportunity to meet people from other cities around Canada, and they've all told me how wonderful this city is in comparison to their own, which makes me realise how fortunate I am to be able to live here.

What i also like about Montreal is that this city hosts a variety of events throughout the year to keep us entertained, which makes even more interesting.

Here's a video to help you get a better idea of what you'll discover in Montreal:

[otoroll]

SideM has their actual Christmas event up now - but first, the gacha, featuring Kyoji and Suzaku.

And of course, Nyako. Christmas Nyako.

The spirit of Christmas is real.