#one of these years i will not derp up posting for an event

[clarktooncrossing]

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT IS I, SANTA CLARK! Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost is nipping at your nose. Mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again. All the dogs in the neighborhood somehow learned to bark Jingle Bells in sync. Yet retail workers are still more annoyed with Mariah Carey. Snow is getting shoveled, tossed, and formed into sentient beings leading parades without permits. It makes for an excellent distraction as the Krampus abducts children for bad behavior. Fruitcake is exchanged only to find its permanent home in the garbage. Terrorists have hijacked the Holiday office party right before your boss can give you a Jelly of the Month Club membership as your bonus. And of course, the Turducken has returned to wreak its fiery vengeance upon an unsuspecting world! If all this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, perhaps this festive slice of cheer from the Clarktoons will!

Let's make like The Ghost of Christmas Past and rewind back to 2014. Folks were suffering from Frozen Fever, both as a result of the movie and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. That year also saw Jimmy Fallon take over The Tonight Show after Leno stepped away for real this time, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swung low while the Guardians of the Galaxy aimed high, people still cared about Kanye and Kim's relationship as if either people are worth your attention, Bill Cosby was outed as the horrible monster that he is, and most importantly of all, I initiated the 12 Days of Christmas event. Yes, clearly that's as major a moment as those other things I mentioned. Starting December 14th I would post a new pic or comic everyday leading up 'til Christmas. Our first year saw the Pizza Bites writing their oddball letters to Santa (with help from Mr-Herp-Derp), Crocie visualizing his perfect yuletide, and even a full length action comic starring me as a seasonal superhero. And in case anybody asks: no, the Holiday Knight isn't coming back. Sadly, neither will the 12 Days at this rate. Despite my continued best efforts, this festive event hasn't been able to return ever since 2020. Blame that on the last four months of every year becoming an increasingly busy time for. Should the choice arise, I will always pick spending the season with my family over drawing. Weird to hear, I know. Still, that's not to say I haven't been hard at work. You can tell I have considering this giant page of sketches I found lingering in Clarktoon Christmas limbo. Thus we have Dumpster DUDELZ: Regifted Edition! Let's take a peak to what's waiting under the tree?

[1] KARL THE KRAMPUS People credit that crummy 2015 horror movie for introducing Krampus into the popular culture. To that I say; you're all wrong! Clearly I did that a year earlier with my own character, Karl. Being a Clarktoon take on a German folk monster, naturally he became a big, bumbling goofball envisioned to have the voice of Richard Kind. It also meant he encountered Croc's Swamp Gang the most, Xena and Bumper especially. After years of the two (or at least Xena) tormenting the fluffy demon, it was time for a facelift. Honestly this design is a drastic upgrade over the original, making Karl more monstrous while not losing his approachability. Cuz only in the Clarktooniverse will you meet a cuddly monster who drags naughty children of to hell. XD

[2] NUTCRACKER: REB00TED CAST Nutcracker freak'n sucks! I have made my opinions regarding this boring ballet no secret over the years. For crying out loud, I compared going to see it to the Five Stages of Death. Nothing against anybody who does enjoy it, just don't count me among your masses. Getting me to like adaptations lacking Mickey and Minnie is a challenge. Then again, I enjoy a good challenge. While contemplating what I would do with the story one year, an ad for Matrix: Resurrections dropped onto YouTube. After seeing it I thought: what if the world of Nutcracker was set within the Matrix? Hence we have Nutracker: REB00TED! I plan to diverge more plot details later, but for now you can at least meet our cast. Starting from left to right we have Prince Leon, the Nutcracker Prince who's grasp on reality is slipping. Helping to guide him is the Count Drosselmyer, turned into Love-A-Lot Larry Beary. Don't let his cuddly facade fool you, he will whoop yo' @$$! Alongside his niece Clara, the badass ballerina determined to rescue her beloved and free the kingdom from the evil Rat King! What does the king look like? Good things come to those who wait...

[3] ROSIE MEETS THE HOGFATHER Any excuse to draw Rosie Stardust is an awesome one! Even if the sketch is last minute like this one. During the Holiday season last year this random little idea sprung into mind of Rosie exploring Christmas contemporaries across the multiverse. This would include Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Hearth's Warming Eve, Life Day, and of course Hogswatch. Anyone familiar to the works of Terry Pratchett will recognize the name. Just like those esteemed few will also recognize the mini-Claus counterpart the Cosmic Cutie's encountered. It's not the Hogfather she was expecting, but she will gladly take it!

[4] WILBUR'S PLASTIC TREE You'd think a collection of coupons would be the easiest to complete. Just like you'd think the monkeys would stop flying out of my butt at some point. Nope, that ain't happening. Blame it on my nitpicky attention to details, otherwise Wilbur's White Elephants coupons are already a third of the way done. In fact, the sketch here is already fully colored just waiting to be posted. Being the cheap sonuv'a bush he is, Wilbur naturally won't go for a natural Christmas tree, instead opting for plastic. No, the other kind of plastic. The kind that'll guarantee some poor tree manufacturer in Hoboken will get an angry phone call from an irate store manager. And in case you're wondering what he sounds like, my ideal voice actor is Daran Norris doing his Jameson voice from Spectacular Spider-Man!

[5-7] REDESIGNS FOR RANDOLF, CUPID, AND ZED My, here's a jolly trio that haven't been seen in a good while. Probably because I keep wanting to give them better designs! This is an itch I can't ever seem to scratch! Since I've listed all three of them together, let's go over each character:

RANDOLF: The cocky but caring step-brother of a certain red-nosed reindeer, Randolf hosts the famous North Pole 1 radio show alongside his bear buddy Zed whenever not hosting the even more famous Reindeer Games. Out of all the characters, Randolf is the one who's design if the toughest to crack. I want him to look young, but not super young. Think early to mid 30s if you will. It'd probably help if I could pin down a potential voice for him. Sam Rockwell is the top contender in my mind.

CUPID: Following some messy drama between princessofDisney27 of Disney and I, the original version of Cupid was thrown out and reworked from the top down. With an extreme hairstyle I 'borrowed' from MLP and an athlete's need for speed, Cupid lives up to her namesake who first pulled Santa's sleigh years ago. No idea on who would voice her if I could afford it.

ZED: Raised by gay penguins on a diet of Polar Cola and smooth jazz, Zed is a laid back bear with a beach comber's attitude.  So long as wherever he is has a heater and is populated by his buddies, Zed will go with wherever the flow will take him. His design is the easiest, being a polar bear in a Hawaiian shirt. One of these days I wanna draw him with his two penguin papas too, but for now we at least have the bear. Again, not sure who I'd have voice him.

[8] BUMPER'S A STAR! A sad truth about my Christmas tree is that I can never put a star on top of it. Everything we've tried is too top heavy. For the longest time I meant to make one featuring everybody's favorite floating marshmallow, finally following through on this desire this year. I made a shape template in Illustrator, drew the front and back of Bumper around it, colored it all in Illustrator, printed both sides out and glued them together. I would've just printed both sides on one sheet of paper, but printers are evil devices meant to torture mankind as a whole. I hate them! But I love this tree topper! ^^

[9] PANICKED TURKEY It's a shame Panicked Turkey didn't get to come out of hibernation this year. Especially when I had some good ideas for tips involving Canon Events, certain cartoon rodents, time traveling, dragons, and Rosie. Chances are I'll be able to use these ideas again in the future, but for now I just wanted to post something with the cowardly bird. So here's the sketch detailing his redesign from last year. Like Karl, this is another change I really like, PT feeling more expressive than he previously was. Hopefully we'll get to see this design in action again next year!

[10] I'll Have a BOO Christmas Without You ...I'm not even sorry! XD

[11] ALIENS OF THE ROCKAPOCALYPSE! Hey look, more characters you haven't seen in forever! This is Phil, the Clarktooniverse's resident one-eyed rockstar from outer space. Back in the day I used to do mock album covers for Christmas, Phil's girlfriend Yezzi standing in for Mariah Carey on one particularly great one that still holds up. Sadly there's only so many iconic Holiday CD covers you can do that aren't just the same generic 'things coming out of a box' design. Heck, it's why the last one of these I did was based on a Manowar album. That following year would've seen an all-new, totally original creation depicting Phil and Yezzi rocking around a dried out Christmas tree in a Nuclear Winter Wonderland. Sadly the full sketch was never realized, save for Phil's rocker gear here. Worse still, these characters have been retired until I can iron out the finer details of their story. Once I do, expect the ultimate comeback tour from the Aliens of the Rock! Just in time for the yuletide / end of the world!

[12] PANICKED WHO? What turkey? I don't see any turkey. All I see is this friendly induvial with a mustache! One who was just drawn randomly with no other intent behind it. Totally. XD

[13] KREEPY KRAMPUS Once upon a time I was able to complete entire comic storylines before Christmas. That couldn't be said for this one comic where Bumper and Xena both try to buy each other Christmas gifts, each of them going after different notable Christmas creatures to pay for them. Bumper would've gone after the wild Nog while Xena would've picked a more frightful foe: the Krampus! This image of the German monster is what she'd find while searching for information online, my intent to be truer to the original folklore than my usual interpretation. It would've made Karl's inevitable appearance that much funnier. Part of me still wants to see this comic fully realized someday. Until then; let this haunt your nightmares!

[14] ANGELICIA, THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON Remember earlier when I mentioned a comic centered around me as a Holiday hero? The one I will never bring back? Part of that idea involved a literal spirit of the season named Angelicia, an adopted sister of sorts to Finjix's own character Aklamos. Both of us have tweaked and upgraded her overall appearance over the years, this being her last for an intended Sketch BOOM that was scrapped. I really should use this character again, the question is for what?

[15] A TURKEY DINNER TO GO! Like I said, there was once a Holiday Sketch BOOM that was never completed. This Panicked Turkey sketch is one of the few things to survive from it. Ignoring how this design was pre-2022 makeover, I still think this silly little pic is hilarious! Next Thanksgiving I'll make sure to remake this in full color!

[16] THE NOG Along with Karl, the Nog has become a seasonal staple of the Clarktooniverse. For years mankind has wondered where the eggs for Eggnog have come from. Some silly saps think they come out of chickens, but we all know that's a lie! Obviously the eggs come courtesy of the wild, North American Nog! These rambunctious creatures hail in the colder climates, sticking primarily to the North States where they graze on wild berries, tree bark, and rare flowers. Whenever it's not foraging for food it's fending off wild predators, displaying its tusks for potential mates, running for Congress, or raising their young. That is, the young that actually get to hatch. Good luck drinking that next ice-cold cup knowing the Nog is 100% real and you're feasting on what could've been one of its young you sick monster!

[17-18] TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE DOVES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Doves! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Doves! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Doves! Heroes for the Holidays! BIRDY POWER! Back in 2019 I made a silly little parody of the Ninja Turtles based on the beloved Christmas carol "The 12 Days of Christmas". Was it an extremally obvious joke to make? Yes. Does my earlier pun prove I will stoop to such lows? Heck yes! Thus these two goofy characters were born and eventually given the names Currier and Ives by AnimatedTigerGirl. Currier is the one with the bo staff on the left. At home he's a easy-going party animal, but in the field he's a dedicated leader fighting to keep his family safe. Next to him is the nunchuck-wielding Ives, a hot-tempered brainiac with a big heart. Together the two must save their mother, face the 10 Evils of Christmas, and help out their new human friend Ash.

Standing in for their April O'Neal is Ash, one of their few human friends who helps her fine-feathered friends move about New York. Since this story is set during the 90s, she's naturally a skate-boarding tomboy ready to prove to her dad that she's more capable than given credit for. That chance comes suddenly when her father is abducted by the Partridge Crime Family and their ten specifically themed assassins. Now Ash must rescue her dad alongside these two magically enhanced bird-themed ninjas. Y'know, that old chestnut!

[19] SHORT-E AND SHER-I Dang, it's been a while since these two were seen either. I'm sensing a pattern here. At leas these designs have held up the best. Heck, they look especially good in their winter ensemble. SHORT-E wears basic gloves and a jamaica while SHER-I went shopping with EMIL-E to get fancier gloves and a beret! SLAY, QUEEN!

[20] SNOW CONIE MEETS THE NOG Yes, another refuge from the scrapped Sketch BOOM. This one featuring the unofficial mascot of the Sketch BOOMs, the Snow Conies! Or at least one, facing down the angry snout of a mother Nog. I envision these creatures having the temperament of wild hogs, much to the misfortune of this innocent sentient dessert!

[21] SIR PANICKED TURKEY, THE CANADIAN! Along with redesigning this cowardly bird, I also made a special bonus Panicked Turkey tip for Canadian Thanksgiving. It was very last second, going through a few iterations before settling on the final idea. Before then the plan was to either have PT surrounded by angry canucks with guns in a style similar to the John Wick posters or the giant chicken disguising himself as a Mounty, not yet realizing he'll find no peace in the Great White North. Ultimately both were dropped in favor or one menacing Mounty looming over the frightened fowl, which I thought wouldn't work until I saw the final product. Funny how that works, innit? Still, what about the entre in shining armor? That has to do with an idea I mentioned earlier, but I dare not spoil the surprise further than that. Like I mentioned, said idea can be reused for next year. So when Turkey Day rears its ugly head, Sir Turkey turned tail and fled!

[22] UGLY SWEATERS, TROPICAL WEATHER Yet again another idea I hope to bring back, though slightly modified. Originally the plan was to make Ugly Sweater pin-ups for the couples (or friends) of 3K with my friends Finjix and @burningthrucelluloid. This one was the only one sketched before Alec lost his Adobe art programs that would've allowed him to help in this project. Even then, my nitpicky attention to details got the better of me again and too much time was wasted attempting to draw the other pics. All we got out of this failed collaboration were Nerva and her buddy Weed Eater in their Hawaiian-style sweaters, the latter not happy about his situation. He was even depicted eating the sweater and partridge at one point. Who would've guessed the living Christmas tree would be a humbug?

[23-24] CROCZILLA VS TURDUCKEN When I released by Terror of the Turducken posters back in 2020, peeps said they would totally pay to see that movie. Hopefully the same can be said for its sequel, an epic clash between the titular Turducken and the colossal Croczilla! Why are they fighting? Who cares, it's two giant monsters beating the stuffing out'a each other! No doubt the posted to go with this creature feature would've been a legendary one! At least had it not been for my nitpicky attention to details. Plenty of poster designs were drawn up, including this one that was inspired by the then-current Godzillva vs Kong posters. Perhaps I can recycle this idea next year when the sequel comes out and the two fight another giant monkey. Until then, feel free to place your bets on which of these festive Kaijus come out on top!

And if you're rooting for the Turducken, enjoy this redesign of the character where each of its heads feel more distinct. Hey, if nothing else it's cooler to look at than another freak'n ape.

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

[sunsetkite]

the thing I can't get over about those Minecraft Squid Games Sirenhead Minions etc. crossover baby sensory videos is that they're made with so much care. I won't call the jumpcuts and flying cameras "cinematography", nor will I even try to defend Hungry Frog, but (long post incoming)

the animation / rigging of regular player models to do distinctly non-Minecraft actions while still looking like things that could happen in Minecraft, the scenes where you realise they've coordinated upwards of 20 actors, any time they do a callback to a previous episode -- heck, any time "continuity" can be spotted within an episode is more than enough to ask for, considering their supposed audience is algorithm-fried children who can't remember what happened more than 30 seconds ago

scrapy's most recent video (at the time of posting) is a really great example of this. the full title is, and i quote, "WHO to SAVE the SHEEP or HEROBRINE or HAMOOD? Cursed MINECRAFT BUT IT'S UNLUCKY LUCKY FUNNY MOMENTS". sounds like clickbait garbage meant to prey upon victims of the youtube algorithm. upon watching it, you would.. still be justified in saying it is. HOWEVER do not overlook moments like the rigging in the first minute and final scene (10:05), the fact that they swapped herobrine's skin to a more ragged and torn one after he was dropped into the pond full of Guardians (0:17, 0:36), using a frog as a grappling hook (5:50), however on earth they did the wall/ceiling-walking (6:15), etc

and the diversity of voicelines has improved drastically over time. the videos are narrated entirely by clips sourced from the internet. about a year ago, voicelines were mainly used to react to events (ie "I'm really rich." when diamonds or dollars show up, or "Oh no!" when something bad happens), but more recently (especially in the Talking Ben videos) they're used to have primitive, telegraphic conversations.

also they sampled "out of my way, son!" from Door Stuck. that deserves its own bullet point.

if you ask me i will tell you there is as much lore connecting these videos as there is in some SMPs. (..that being said, i will be overabundant in my use of red string). i will detail the relationship between scrapy and his frenemy, the derp face character (when they meet in life-or-death scenarios such as the Squid Games, their first instincts are to antagonise each other, but scrapy still reacts negatively to the frenemy getting hurt/killed). i will tell you that talking ben is akin in purpose to a shinigami. i will dissertate upon the significance of the lamb.

however. however! i will not be beating the "these are baby sensory videos, kite" allegations today sorry

(alts in ids)

[d0nutzgg]

Special thanks for the warm welcome on Tumblr!

Thank you so much for the kindness and all the likes on my posts so far. I just want to tell you that you are beautiful spectacular rays of Sunshine and that you can achieve anything that you set your mind on. Do not let your fear of the unknown or fear of failure stop you from achieving your dreams. A little about myself to introduce myself to Tumblr: I am a trans ftm self-taught machine learning engineer who has 10 years (11 in May) of Python experience behind my belt. I do not have a formal educational background in machine learning and everything I talk about I research myself (typically using APA citation that I also taught myself). I am in school for Electronics Engineering but that is a different story. As far as programming goes, I learned to code through cybersecurity tutorials, Youtube videos, Moocs, and Codecademy. I also have learned from Datacamp which sparked a huge interest in the capabilities of AI and Machine Learning for me. I have a bit of a troubled background due to having a former issue with opiates (specifically narcotic pain meds and heroin, as well as meth - stimulant and cocaine - stimulant) I guess you could call me an everything addict at the time. I spent 13 years of my life in a really bad place and have struggled with mental health a lot due to being SA when I was growing up by my father and his friends (my siblings got the same treatment..) I also am diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) ADHD, OCD, Depression, Panic Disorder / C-PTSD and social anxiety related, BPD, and Schizo-affective disorder. One of the most life-changing events for me was when I was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease which is an autosomal dominate neurodegenerative genetic disease which my mother passed down to me. I have a CAG of 43. I am married to a woman named Taylor who is a Youtuber and a gamer, she is my partner in crime and my best friend. We have been married 2 months as of writing this post and together for nearly a year now.

We live together with our cats Loki, Bandit, and Thor (Loki is the youngest he is 5 months, Bandit is an old grumpy goober, and Thor is a derp who is Loki's best pal) in Texas. I just wanted to explain all of this that way it will give context to some of my future posts! Thank you so much for your kindness. I am looking forward to growing and learning with all of you!

[soundofez]

We Fill the Skies

Oscar Ford grew up traveling between his father's lowland town and his mother's desert tribe, but his favorite stories were the ones from the mountains. He loved most the idea of vigilantes, of people doing good even when it was illegal.

Jack Lantern had been born in the mountains, where tales of heroes chased children around the schoolyards. Jack didn't care so much for the heroics, though, just for the helping.

Harvey Clair hadn't expected any herowork in his career. Sages often didn't.

J. Kim wanted nothing to do with heroes at all.

Rating: G | Characters/Pairings: Ox & Harvar & Kim & Jackie Warnings: kidnapping, slavery mention, self-loathing, minor character death, minor gore (sometimes nightmares suck)

read it on ao3

guess what i love @azroazizah‘s art and i love @azroazizah, you pinnacle of perfection you. [ art ]

go worship at @arialis‘s feet bc without her this fic would be 90% less comprehensible. ( @happyisahabit, @goonlalagoon, @mystery-shrouded, and @victoriapyrrhi account for the remaining 10%. betas, folks. they save lives and also fics.)

additionally!! this is a crossover fic with Leagues and Legends (the book series, not the video games) by @ink-splotch. it’s also free, fancy that, maybe give it a shot.

prologue under the cut.

:

A boy walked into golden fire and emerged unscathed. His mother guided him safely through; his father waited on the other side. He dreamed of heroes and stars.

A boy burned with questions but did not trust the world with them. His parents did not have all the answers, but they taught him how to find them. He dreamed of love and feathers.

A girl walked out of a war and vowed to return. Her father was already lost; her mother looked for him anyway. She dreamed of justice and swords.

A girl was stolen from the place she called home. Her parents had been desperate and unkind to each other, but they had both loved their daughter. She dreamed of nothing at all.

:

In a parched city built upon a coastline, a boy with no siblings and no promise ran away from home. In a wealthy retreat miles up the same coastline, a boy with an older brother and too much promise attended a funeral. Farther still and up a river, in a city half-drowned yet still lively, two sisters with no home promised to carve out their futures together.

:

A woman from the mountains descended upon her desert family like a sandstorm, like a misplaced gale. She enchanted the children there with stories of her home and its heroes, stories filled with courage and dragons and men, good and bad. She climbed the smooth desert trees and dared anyone to join her, and when the children tried and fell she soothed their hurts and called them brave.

A woman from the mountains, estranged from her family, traveled the world in a truck that stained her long fingers with motor oil and grease. She kept her son at her side with books to distract him from his questions, so that he might never have to learn what his family had done. (It didn't work.) The day he left, overflowing with curiosity she hadn't the heart to contain, she finally gave him a name to guide him home.

:

continue on ao3

[the-fox-populi-says]

I don't often write long personal stuff on this blog. But the past month I've been confronted with a very odd privilege I wasn't really aware of. Apparantly, I am a natural hermit. I was alone a LOT as a child. I always found ways to entertain myself. People have told me before they found it sort of odd and/or remarkable that I manage to get out of bed and do stuff every day, on my own, from home, despite not making much money of the stuff I do. I always sort of shrugged it off. I like making things. Occassionally I sell things. Not a very steady income, though. My partner's income makes sure I don't starve. Which I sometimes feel guilty about, but that's not the point here. I was aware of my privilege in that department already. No, this new one... is about self-motivation. About boredom. Whatever I may have expected this pandemic to reveal... this wasn't it. I fundamentally do not understand boredom.

I will try to phrase this in a way that doesn't upset people (I know this is tumblr, so it's probably futile, but still). This is not an accusation to anybody. This is a personal observation, a reality I've been living in, but never really noticed. Not to this extent, at least. People... need structure. I know that. I do too. People are social. I know that. I am too. But still I was not prepared to see this many people react this badly to isolation. If you're stuck with people you don't like, of course. If you have a teensy little living space with no balcony or garden, of course. If you're worried about your health or those of close friends/relatives, of course. If you are touch-starved, of course. If your job/business is at risk, of course. If you are already struggling with depression, an eating disorder, a disability or are otherwise dependant on people taking care of you, of course. If you're very extraverted and can't stand being alone, of course. If you're a huge workaholic/completely exploited so you have no idea what to even do with free time, of course. If you suddenly get like 5 times the responsibility/ work load/ risk exposure because of your job, of course. If you have no money to get materials to fill your time with, of course. If you have little means of connecting with others such as a working internet device, of course. But then I see people, close friends even, with no friends or family at risk, no personal (mental) health issues, a secure job, living with a loving partner, in a spacious home, who have hobbies, and a safe place to go outside, an online continuation of their job so structure is still pretty much there, often even have a work room/study so they can still sort of separate work & private, some of them are even used to working from home already... And they are still climbing the walls. These same people who always want to have holidays. Who always have lists of stuff they want to do and complain about a lack of time. Which they now have. They say they can't get motivated. They say they are bored. And, like... I get it. To a certain degree. This is a worldwide traumatic event. It's tiring, even if you aren't at the front lines. I'm also bummed that I can't derp through the city centre for fun like I'm used to. I hate being forced to use a desinfected shopping cart. I miss my gym, my favourite bar, and seeing my friends. I've had some bad days. But that's it- I'm just bummed. And they're just days, sometimes just hours, not weeks. It's an "ugh" not an "aaargh". And it doesn't get worse- It gets easier. As long as none of the other factors change, like someone I care about getting very sick (some were, or even still are, but none of them seem in immediate danger), or money suddenly falling away completely... I can easily last another 2 months before going mad. In fact, I've just comfortably settled in for the long haul. I got my hugs, my yard, my job, I can still get groceries- I'm good. A bit annoyed, but good. Not much actually changed... Except everyone around me seems to suffer from some real cabin fever, including my partner. Even my dad, Einzelgänger McNeed-no-one, seems grumpy.

And I'm just... baffled. Is it really that hard to stay motivated all by yourself, even if your basic needs are all met? Am I some kind of alien?? Do y'all not have projects? Hobbies? Books and games and movies you want to catch up on? Do you not feel like you're always months behind on everything? Do you normally not want to cram as much hours as possible in a day? Is it really that difficult to just do things? Even instant reward things? I'm no stranger to procrastination, or executive dysfunction, not at all, but... genuine boredom? I don't even understand how that WORKS. I can recall the last 3 times I've been legit bored in the last five years. They were all situations where I had to wait for something, yet keep alert the entire time. In any other situation, I can just set an alarm and retreat in my head. Or do a thing. Again- if your basic needs AREN't met (I'm not talking about a haircut, I mean like physical starvation) or if you're in some other stressful situation, including mental or physical illness/disability- yes. Absolutely. You're burnt-out, completely understandable. But if you HAVE a structure (a bit altered maybe, but still), HAVE somebody nice with you, HAVE non-risky job security, CAN communicate with loved ones- HOW. What is it that normally keeps you motivated, then? Do you need that specific an environment & rhythm to thrive, even if you often complain about it?? Explain it to me, please! I know we're dealing with global environmental catastrophe and this pandemic will likely cause a global recession on top of it, but- to me, at a certain point the amount of shit just becomes insurmountable and it doesn't matter much anymore if anything gets added. Who knows how I'll afford retirement. At this rate might very well not be able to afford clean water before that. We'll cross that bridge when (if) we get to it. Do whatever you can while you can, and that's enough. And making stuff is a great way to combat existential dread. I know that at the start of this, most people with anxiety functioned way better than the so-called normal people. Because a) they were used to navigating panic-mode, b) the social distancing took a load off and c) their brains went HAH SEE WE WERE RIGHT THERE WAS A THREAT! which I imagine must be sort of satisfying and relaxing. I figured this was the evolutionary benefit of anxiety. So now that cabin fever is rising, why do I not see more natural hermits being weirded out by everyone around them? Should there not be a decent group of humanity that keeps a level head during isolation? Has it become some social faux-pas to say you're personally not all that bad right now? Are you supposed to complain, even if you're fine?? Am I going to make myself some kind of outcast by posting this???

[arihi]

NaNoWriMo #4

Here we go again! I honestly don’t see myself not being able to write every day because as long as it’s writing about something and not limited to a particular subject, I’m pretty able to ramble on and on. The spirit of the month is to write period, so I think I’m achieving that. This is my second rewrite of this post because I’m a derp who writes her post directly into the Tumblr interface instead of on a word document, and that means I lose my posts! Often. I’ve lost stories like that and I apparently don’t learn from my mistakes. I had about four different topics, but I wrote a personal post yesterday so without further ado...

HYPNOCONS! I’ve written about them in the past before. They’ve featured prominently in my personal posts, other posts I can’t immediately find, and asks. As Mindquake has just ended, and a friend has been telling me about her experiences, it’s been on my mind! This was her first con, and she was telling me about how she was having a great time and all the things she didn’t realize she LOVED - being around other like-minded people, the nervous excited energy that’s abuzz in air. (She doesn’t have a Tumblr, but on the off-chance she’s reading this - I’m so proud for you and happy for you!!) We don’t share absolutely everything about our experiences - it’s completely possible she had a lot of worries and doubts and down points, and in fact I’m fairly certain she did. But, as what feels natural, when we recount our memories we talk about the new experiences, the positive bits, more than we talk about our anxieties leading up to and during the conference.

In that post linked above, I’m very careful to mention that hypnosis conferences will not automatically and immediately change your life. Which sounds hypocritical coming from me, who will also in the same breath talk about how attending these events was life-changing for me. The issue, or worry rather, is the difference in expectations. Often I get the impression from some people that they think hypnocons are a hypnotic orgy where everyone gets to be hypnotized, or hypnotize someone, or that they’ll find their perfect match, or are in some other way seeking specific connections or benefits. That’s not what they are! For some people yes - they might have a great time. Some will find lasting partners. Some will make wonderful connections! But hypnocons, to me are a series of opportunities. Chances to attend classes, learn things, maybe buy books or pick up shiny things! Chances to meet people, chances to get to know them. But things are what you make of them, and they won’t fall into your lap. Something I’m fond of repeating is that hypnocons are, in my experience, generally welcoming - there are friendly people-types, there are a lot of pre-con conversations that happen across Fetlife or con Discords (which could be streamlined a bit more, but they do their best to advertise all the ways to stay in contact). The cons I have attended all have had beginner and newbie-friendly classes, most of them have had specifically introductory-geared events with icebreakers and conversation, and have ways to mark yourself as a new attendee or happy to talk/start conversations as you wish. The point is, the door is open - it’s inviting, there’s people inside who will help you with questions, but the community can only stop just short of physically grabbing your arm and pulling you in.

So, conferences are the experience that you make for yourself. Which sounds intimidating, and it sounds rough, but no one else can make or change your conference for you without YOU reaching out for that, you know? And these words are more for the people who are upset when they don’t get to have all the scenes they want - there’s no guarantee of anything. You could go a whole con without a scene. You could go a whole con without meeting someone who fits your power dynamic fantasy. I generally recommend not to hinge your mood and expectations on specific single things. Be flexible. Take it as it comes, and be open to the possibilities instead of fixating on what NEEDS to happen. (This sounds familiar to my advice for going into trance - can you tell what my general philosophies are?)

Cons aren’t perfect. I’ve had good cons, and I’ve had bad cons. I’ve had bad times at cons where I knew personally I wasn’t in a good space for it, and I’ve had bad times at cons where I was specifically overwhelmed by the confusion and chaos in it. There’s always room to improve, and room to do better - and largely, cons have been open to feedback (fill out those surveys they send out!) and have conversations about what would be best for the community. But you know? I was terrified of my first con. I wrote some DUMB terrified posts on my blog years ago, leading up to my first con, and people reached out and said they’d be happy to say hi. I went to my first con. I found people to say hi to. I attended classes I wanted to attend. I was anxious and awkward and god, I cringe when I think about my first con and how I must have acted towards others - but it was eye-opening to me specifically to see people around me, happy - people who could just be happy in that space. Maybe not happy overall with where they were in life, but in that moment, I saw people shine. And as I connected with people after the con, I realized I wanted more for myself, and maybe to shine myself. And even then, it wasn’t until earlier this year that I realized it was okay to love others and be loved - and it led to deep talks. Meaningful relationships. It led to actively changing my life, and being a better version of me. But it wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t up and move myself.

So, all that said, this is me, in a very roundabout way, reaching out in this general post and saying: I would be happy to say hi, reader, if you are ever at a hypnocon that I’m also at. I cannot promise I will spend the entire con with you, or that I can do specific things for you - but I promise that I will be on the other side of that door, and welcome you.

--

If you like, feel free to support me, or follow me, or read more of my writing at the links below!

My Ko-fi | | My Twitter | | My Stories!

[flightlogmcu]

Flight Log Blog #8

Hey Everyone!

So...I may have fell asleep on Monday and forgot to post, but I'm glad I waited til today cause BOI did things kick off this week!

1. BLACK WIDOW TRAILER

https://youtu.be/RxAtuMu_ph4

NATASHA IS BACK! The Black Widow trailer dropped on Tuesday, and every second of it was amazing. I really missed Natasha as she's such an integral character in terms of Marvel, and to get one good glimpse (albeit 10 years late) of her life pre SHIELD is amazing. The movie comes out May 2020!

2. GOT7 MAMA 2019

https://youtu.be/BE2FsGqILvw

Now... we're all aware that GOT7 isn't respected like they should be, especially by the MAMA. It wasn't any different this year either, but I'd like to focus on the positive.

GOT7 received 2 awards at MAMA; Best Dance Performance, and World Fan's Choice. The boys did a stellar performance which is no surprise there, and looked handsome to the point of trying to kill me.

And of course you can't have GOT7 at an award show without them being absolute crackheads. Bambam was his shy self when the camera pointed at him, and his derp face when JB was giving his speech was priceless. And the boys had their table confiscated due to water bottle flipping, playing with the lamps, and just general 5 year old behavior.

But of course THE moment that everyone is talking about is this:

JYP for some reason decided to perform and his outfit was...yeah. Jackson's face explained what we all was thinking and it ended up going viral. Leave it to Jackson Wang to be the most talked about person just for being himself.

Despite some people (Mnet, JYP, Korea) tried to put GOT7 down, the boys were the highlight of the event. And I'm proud that the boys will still shine no matter what.

3. FLIGHT LOG ASKS & UPDATES

So a couple of cool asks that I received this week hone in on Jackson and Yugyeom's abilities

I read at some point that you gave Jackson the power of invisibility. Considering what he has said in the past about that particular topic, how would others who know both of these facts about him react? -Anon

Jackson's abilities of invisiblility are fairly new, so he's got plenty of chances to mess around with them or use them in a fight. Since Jackson's abilities are either unpredictable and plentiful, the only people who know what his powers are are Dr. Strange, Tony, Daisy, and Mark to a certain extent. With the Avengers, they understand that Jackson's invisibility is a good tool to use, but for Mark and Daisy its used as a prank in which the general reponse is "Jackson I swear to God if you pull that again I will deck you in your face".

Just how far do Yugy's powers extend? -Anon

So this runs into spoiler territory so I can't say much, but Yugyeom is similar to Elsa in which its powerful and hard to control. However, you all will get the basis of Yugyeom's powers in the last chapter of Departure III. I know that sucks because the last time I updated was in August but I will try to make sure you all get a good amount of this story done before the year is done.

That wraps up this very eventful week. I'm currently on the road, so sorry if this post looks a bit weird.

See you Monday! (For real this time)

[cromulentbookreview]

Orange Whip!

Who wants an Orange Whip?

Orange Whip? 

Orange Whip? 

Three Orange Whips!

The world misses you, John Candy.

And by that, I mean: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon!

A world divided. 

A queendom without an heir. 

An ancient enemy awakens.

An orange with an impossibly soft rind.

Ok, so I added that last one. Only, the oranges in the world of The Priory of the Orange Tree seem to have these easy-to-chew-through rinds. Like, characters just take a bite right out of them, no problem. I mean, I can imagine doing that with a clementine, but with an orange? Like, an actual, gigantic and delicious navel orange? Not sure if I could do it. I mean, orange rind is not only tough, it’s really not that tasty. It’s all bitter and weird. You’ve got to candy orange peel before you eat it. Or, you know, just peel your orange and use the rind for zest like a regular person. Don’t get flavedo stuck in your teeth.

None of that really had anything to do with Samantha Shannon’s book. Sorry. I just really like oranges. And citrus fruit in general.

So,  The Priory of the Orange Tree!

At well over 800 pages, the book is a figurative doorstop.  And, if you’re in a pinch, a literal one, too.

I kid, I have an actual doorstop. Don’t use a book for a doorstop.

Anyway, if you’re not big into long reads, and you’re perfect novel is roughly 250-300 pages long, uh...you might have a hard time here. But if you’re willing to give it a go, there’s something oh-so-satisfying about a self-contained, one-volume fantasy epic. There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. There’s no Game of Thrones-esque situation where you’re endlessly waiting for the next book which may or may not be over 1000 pages. The whole story is there, in one big volume, no waiting for sequels. I didn’t realize just how sequel-fatigued I’ve been until I sat down and made my way through this book. No mentally steeling myself for a cliffhanger followed by a two-year-wait. I haven’t felt this way about an epic fantasy novel since Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Who knew you can have an entire world confined to one volume! Hurray!

As a slow reader, it took me forever to make it through Priory (uh...like three weeks...) but holy crap was it worth it. It’s difficult to describe the plot, because, well, 800+ pages, four main POV characters spread throughout the world...the plot goes tons of different directions before coming together in the end. But the novel takes place in a world inspired by medieval Europe, Asia and Africa. Shannon’s East, like Japan until the 1850s when Commodore Perry waltzed in, guns blazing, is closed off to the nations of the West, mainly out of fear of the draconic plague, aka the “red sickness.” Foreigners are not welcome in the East and that’s the way it’s been for a good long while, to the point where there’s a huge gap in the understanding of Western dragons (similar to Western European portrayals of dragons, i.e. winged firebreathing murderous hellbeasts) and the dragons of the East (wingless, more serpent-like, think Haku from Spirited Away). 

In the East, dragons are revered and considered gods. In the West, well, winged murderous firebreathing hellbeasts. The worst of these firebreathing hellbeasts is a massive dragon known as the Nameless One, who wreaked havoc a thousand years ago, before being wounded and left dormant under the sea. The way in which the Nameless One was bound up in the Abyss is the basis for an entire religion in the Western nation of Inys, and the backbone of the monarchy - Queen Sabran IX of Inys is said to be the direct descendant of the knight who defeated and bound the Nameless One, and so long as Sabran produces a daughter, Inys will be protected from the Nameless One. So Sabran needs to get married and have a kid, like, immediately.

Sounds great, but what do you do when it starts looking like that might not be true? What if Sabran’s existence has nothing to do with the return of the Nameless One? How do you keep the Nameless One at bay then?

That’s the main plot of Priory of the Orange Tree put very, very briefly. The story is told from four different perspectives, so...let’s meet our POV characters!

Tané: a young orphan from Seiiki who has spent her life training in hopes of becoming a dragon rider in the High Sea Guard. It is her actions that spark the events of the rest of the book.

Niclays Roos: an alchemist in exile in the East. He was banished from the West by Queen Sabran IX after failing to produce an elixir of life. He now lives in the teeny tiny Western trading post of Orisima in Seiiki.

Eadaz du Zala uq-Nara aka Ead Duryan: A Southern mage and initiate of the Priory of the Orange Tree currently embedded in the court of Queen Sabran IX, posing as a lady-in-waiting. Her mission is to protect Sabran, but she must keep her true identity hidden, as magic is super-duper forbidden in Inys.

Arteloth “Loth” Beck: A close friend of Queen Sabran IX and a member of Inys’s (Inys’?) nobility. He and his best friend Kit are forcibly exiled from court after Loth’s closeness to Sabran is viewed as an impediment to her marriage prospects. 

The novel itself begins with Tané, hanging out on a beach in the East when, gasp! A foreigner shows up. By all rights, Tané should just kill him and be done with it, but, fearing that a dead foreigner might put a damper on her chances at being a dragon rider, what with all the questions and plague checks she’d have to go through, she decides to hide the foreigner instead. She recruits a friend to smuggle the foreigner over to Orisima, the only Western trading post in the East, to the home of one Niclays Roos, an embittered doctor/alchemist who once worked for Sabran. The foreigner, a kid from Inys called Triam Sulyard, has some crazy notions: East and West should unite because the Nameless One is coming back, whether or not Queen Sabran has a kid. Niclays, of course, is far more concerned with being caught with an unauthorized foreigner in his house.

Meanwhile, over in Inys, Ead Duryan witnesses first hand the pressure Queen Sabran is under from all sides to get married and pump out a daughter ASAP because she’s, gasp, 28 and still hasn’t had that kid yet. Ead is in a precarious position at Court as she’s a foreigner and a (supposed) convert to Inys’s religion, which worships the knight who bound the Nameless One. And she’s secretly a mage and Inys is super backward about that sort of thing. Ead just wants to stick to her mission - protect Sabran - and then hightail it back to the Priory of the Orange Tree. Only some chance encounters with Sabran herself lead to Ead being promoted into the Queen’s household, and next thing she knows, she and Sabran are forming a connection that’s causing Ead to question her loyalty to the Priory.

Meanwhile, Sabran’s childhood friend, Loth, has been banished because men and women can’t be friends without people starting to imply things. Loth and Sabran’s relationship is 100% platonic, but no one cares, least of all the Queen’s spymaster, who rounds Loth up in the middle of the night and ships him off to the nation of Yscalin, which has, very recently, turned to the dark side and began worshiping the Nameless One. It’s one of those “diplomatic missions” that is almost guaranteed to end in death.

And while all this is happening, both Tané and Niclays experience the blow back of letting a foreigner into the closed East.

Also, I should mention: yeah, the Nameless One is totally starting to wake up again. In fact, his buddies are starting to go around and wreak havoc. Better have that kid quick, Sabran!

So that is the basic plot of The Priory of the Orange Tree, in a nutshell. I really, really, really do not do it justice, but to do the plot some actual justice takes an 800 page novel. Priory is nothing less than epic. In one book, Shannon manages to create an entire world, complete with over a thousand years of history, various conflicting religions, generations upon generations of royalty, dozens of nations, and a sea full of pirates. Pirates! There is pirate action in this book! Are you not convinced? I mean, there’s dragons - and not just one sort of dragon, either. Also, did I mention the whole book has a very, very strong feminist bent to it? How much more convincing do you need? If you like dragons, if you like epics, if you can make it through 800 pages, then you need to read Priory of the Orange Tree.

Funny thing is, I was over 700 pages into the book when I realized that I’d mixed up East and West. See, right-left confusion is something that legit happens to people and definitely doesn’t mean that they’re dumb or anything - it happens more often in the left-handed and women, both of which I happen to be. I’m really good at reading maps, but when it comes to actually being in place and telling one direction from the other...uh...it doesn’t often end well. I’ve had people tell me to turn left and, without thinking, I turned right, thinking that I was definitely turning left. Yeah, it’s a thing. So, throughout Priory, which is divided into chapters characterized by East, West and South, South I was able to get pretty easily. South is easy. But I was roughly 80% into this book when I realized that I’d inverted the whole map of the book’s world - I’d pegged Inys in the East, and Seikii in the West. The whole time I was envisioning people heading East, I actually had them heading West. Derp. Derp. Derp. 

It also doesn’t help that advanced copies don’t come with finished artwork, so I’ll have to wait til the book is actually out to see if there’s an actual map of the world of Priory. Having a map makes things much easier. I can refer back to a map to confirm which direction is which. 

Fun fact: most of the time I can really only tell East from West based on whether or not I can see Mt. Hood. For me, it’s always been Mt. Hood = East, the Coast = West. One of the perks to living on the West Coast. I’ve had a hell of a time establishing East from West (and North from South) when I’ve traveled to places that don’t have a Mt. Hood to keep myself anchored, direction-wise. Sometimes I just had to pick a place and determine the directions. 

How is it that Samantha Shannon is a year younger than me and has already written a series and an 800+ page fantasy epic? Meanwhile, I’m a year older than her, have finished no story I’ve actually started and have generally failed at everything I’ve ever attempted. Well, I did make some pretty good overnight oats. But it’s really hard to fail at making anything that contains both Nutella and peanut butter. 

Bah, I says. Bah. 

I need an Orange Whip.

Mmm...I should go get myself an orange.

Anyhoo! Priory of the Orange Tree. It’s good. You should read it.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of one-volume feminist epic fantasies featuring more than one type of dragon. Also, there’s pirates!

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone with no time or attention span. Or who dislike feminist fantasy for some reason.

RATING: 4.5/5 (half a point off for being 800 pages, also for some George R.R. Martin-esque descriptions of food which were not the best thing to read while recovering from a severe bout of food poisoning).

RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2019

DRAGON RATING:

[cpxhogwartsmystery]

The rumour quickly spreads through the school: The History of Magic professor has been murdered in his office last night. A one of a kind scandal!

The Ministry has sent over some Aurors to go over the sitation and try to piece all clues together to find who did it and why, as soon as possible, lest the school year be interrupted by something so seemingly easy to solve. 

Some of them go around inquiring everyone inside the school grounds and alas reach a baffling conclusion: The 30th of September has been wiped clean of everyone’s memory.

Adding to that, the aurors in charge of going through the murder scene found crumpled in the deceased professor’s hand a page of a book, which upon further investigation was found to be ripped of a 1st Upper Year Potions book.

Shock immediately takes over the school as this leads onto the possibility of the culprit being either a member of the docent team or worse ... a student. Needless to add, however, is the assumption that in case of the latter, only one student couldn’t have raised so much havoc, perhaps more than one is a more solid guess.

Aurors now go around the school, occasionally approaching students and professors trying to reach the true and only answer as to who murdered the history of magic professor - now replaced by one of the sentient paintings in order to keep classes going as normally as possible.

Greetings loved ones, let’s take a journey...

ahem.. so.. now you’ve read the plot log, here’s what it means: THE EVENT HAS FINALLY STARTED! wow, stating the obvious is so silly in a post. Anyway...

The information written here is all your characters know, it’s all the information disclosed mere hours after the crime happened now feel free to let your imagination run wild. You can start gossip, make a self para of your character thinking about all that happened, a short conversation about how it’s super weird nobody remembers anything from the day before. Anything, really.

Bear in mind it’s only the first day, as obvious, as time goes one, the plot shall thicken... the castle will reveal things, pick victims, play everyone against each other and even themselves. It’s a world of wonder and mistrust.

With this said, have you any question the askbox is open, the admins are up for any assistance needed, we should all try and plot or just derp around cuz HALLOWEEN MONTH IS UPON US, PEOPLE, MAKE SOME NOISE!

I’m clearly too excited about all of this... but i do believe is the best spirit for something like this.

With this said, i’ve been Admin Salt and I will see you in a tad!

[derpemblemarchives]

DE Mid-Summer Update

It’s once again that time of year again where we tell you everything we have planned for the next 6 months or so! The focus of this is to answer questions that you may have concerning recent events.

Where have you all been? When will updates have a regular schedule?

The simplest answer is that we’ve all been busy with life matters. Between college graduations, jobs, and family stuff, we just don’t always have the time to do things around here. While we’re trying to make a semi-regular schedule where we update about once every three to five days, sometimes outside forces will get in the way (For Example: My dog being attacked by a coyote last week).

If you want to stay up to date with what’s going on, you can normally find me screaming over on our twitter.

When will we get derps for FE: Three Houses?

We’re waiting to create derps for the new Fire Emblem game until we get full official art of characters, or something similar! We know that there are models that are going around, but there may still be details that are not present on the models that will be on official art!

What are your opinions on the new Fire Emblem game?

It’s definitely Fire Emblem, but we’re not going to really form a proper opinion until after we learn more. I’m just curious about the fact that UI looks similar to the one in Radiant Dawn, though it makes sense because they are both console games.

[Insert Mod Sugar singing the trailer song while I type this up here]

Are Twitch Streams going to be a regular thing?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is that over the past few months and many more months to come, I am going to try to make Derp Emblem my full time job. To do this I’ll be expanding the DE horizons, and part of this is by aiming to eventually become a Twitch Partner. I’m hoping that once I can make DE my full time job, we’ll be able to increase the amount of content we can give to all of you.

How can we support you to help you reach your goal?

There are different ways that you can help support us. The simplest way is by reblogging our comics/singles and spreading the word about us by linking us to others. If you want to support us in a more financial way, you can do so by joining our Patreon or subbing to us on Twitch. You can also buy items from our Redbubble store.

Mod Sugar will also apparently accept large Toblerone candy bars. She keeps mentioning this as I continue to type this post up.

I want to talk to you guys and get to know you, but I’m too nervous! What should I do?

Don’t be afraid to talk to us! Come to the Twitch streams and chat! We love talking to you guys! Sending asks is also an option, but we get so many that we can’t normally tell who it’s for or answer all of them in a timely manner! If you really want to talk outside of streams, Mod Sugar has a specific ask blog to talk with you guys! Don’t be nervous, we don’t bite!

We just cry about video games and stuff.

And I do believe that’s all we need to cover for now! Hopefully you all feel a little bit more enlightened now! 💚

[mikumanogi-blog]

2017-07-03 “I can become stronger.” Kubo Shiori blog #17

(´･_･`)

I use this emoji a lot, but recently I wonder if I’ve been using is too much. Sometimes when I hit the emoji button this one isn’t the one at the top. When this happens, out of all of the emojis this is the one I look for. If I had to say how I feel during those moments, I feel like I’m looking for a lost pet. I was just able to find it (´･_･`) Thank you (´･_･`) I’m sorry (´･_･`) this emoji is very versatile. The day I discovered this emoji, I used it so much it became tiring. I’m sorry, please continue to serve me well.

Hello everyone, thank you for your continuous hard work. I am Nogizaka46’s 3rd generation member, 1st year high school student, 15-year-old, Kubo Shiori. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Well then, today to start Kubo Shiori’s blog here are some words from Yoda. “hey, Hey! I bought a salad! It looks delicious! With ummm… zibal sauce!!!” I knew what she wanted to say without digging too deeply. The way she said it was soo adorable (´･_･`) It seems Yoda isn’t very good at Katakana. (TL Note: I’m not sure, but I think Yoda meant to say Basil sauce)

 On the 25th of June we concluded the final handshake event for the 17th single in Makuhari Messe. Thank you very much.

I’m sorry for making you wait for so long. During the handshake event there were many people that said “I’ve finally been able to meet you!” I was happy that they got to meet me, but I also felt apologetic.

I was paired with Dendenden chan. It was the badminton pair. For this event, it seemed like there were more women than usual, and that made me happy. Thank you. I hope they want to come see me again.

We talked about various thing, maybe because it was the last event, but I felt like a lot of the contents were like every day conversations, it was a lot of fun!!!

The album’s individual handshake event is coming up! After that will be the handshake event for the 18th single!!! I’m looking forward to it. Please continue to support me!

The other day, for the first time in a while I fell back to sleep after waking up.  Then, around noon, when I went to open ‘notes’ on my phone I noticed there had been a new memo added. I must have been half asleep before I fell back to sleep and I wrote myself a memo. “I wonder what it is,” I though as I opened it. The contents were simple. “There’s nothing scarier than falling back asleep.”

 Yes, well. The 1st and 2nd of July at Meiji Jingu was the first stop on the Nogizaka46 midsummer tour 2017. It was my first time on the stage at Jingu. How big was it going to be, what was the view going to be like, there were so many unknowns.

Within that, after standing on that stage there are no words that I have that can express how beautiful it was, the scenery spread out before me is one I’ll never forget. On top of that, we were able to perform with the senior members. I’m delighted. The feelings in my heart are of how lucky and how much fun it was. During the encore I did things like squeeze Himeka san! Did anyone notice?

Honestly, I wonder if there was anyone who watched me do that with that senior member…? The answer will be on the next blog.

I want to slowly look back on the 1st and 2nd days, but the concert has just finished therefore, I wonder if I can say “I haven’t organized my thoughts and feelings yet…” I do not yet have the confidence to tell you everything, and so I hope you will let me talk about it on my next blog.

Truthfully, everyone probably wants to let the aftermath of the concert soak in, and even I know that now is the best time to write about it. At the pace of once every dozen days my next blog might be too late, but even if that’s the case I can’t write about my feelings right now. I hope you’ll forgive me.

However, there is something I do want to say, Thank you to all of the staff, the senior members and all the fans for letting us 3rd generation members stand and perform on that stage. I had the best time. The first leg of the tour, Jingu, is now over but the tour is still continuing. In order to become more of a member of Nogizaka46 I’m going to continue to watch the performances of the senior members.

Last summer, while the senior members were performing at Jingu, I was back in my hometown of Miyagi streaming on SHOWROOM. Going from that to performing on the same stage a year later feels like it’s straight from a dream. I’ll continue to work hard.

Derp, I’m not good at taking selfies and so I took 10 shots, but half of them we’re me being derpy.

 Please let me make some announcements.

July 3rd Extra issue Kadokawa san,

Riria, Yoda, Momoppi and me are on the back cover. We talked about a lot.

 July 22nd Up To Boy san

It’s my solo gravure. I’m overjoyed. Once it’s been released, I’ll post some behind the scenes pictures.

 July 9th Nogieigo san

60-minute summer special!! All the 3rd generation members will be participating. I like English, so I’m excited!!! Everyone let’s study together.

 Oh, that’s right. Everyone, there’s something I need to tell you. At the handshake event a lot of people asked, “you at 5 meals, right?” I don’t do it now!!! It’s something that I haven’t done for a while! Lol. By the way, at that time I could really eat Hiyashi Chuka.

Well, let’s do todays Q&A!

·         Do you read a lot?

I read when I have to write a book report! Recently I’ve succumbed to my desire to read. I like books that when you finish them they make you think about your life or the ones that bring about a change in how you feel. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d be pleased to hear them!

·         What kind of shaved ice person are you?

When I was living at home my mother and me would eat strawberries sprinkled with condensed milk. When I came to Tokyo and found out there was specialty shaved ice stores, I fell in love with brown sugar syrup with my favorite flour. We probably had specialty shaved ice stores in Miyagi as well but for some reason I only found out about them after coming to Tokyo.

·         This summer, what’s a challenge you want to tackle.

There are a lot of things I want to challenge this summer! Of course there are summer challenges as well, but more than those, I have the feeling of wanting to challenge this and that! I have various things, but of course, the challenge I’m looking forward to the most is around each venue for the Midsummer tour, I think that’s the biggest challenge for me. I’m going to do my best to create a fun and heated atmosphere at each venue!!!

I’m going to stop the Q&A here! I want to make the Q&A a routine, it’s fun!

 On the previous blog I received a lot of comments once again, thank you. I feel like there were a lot of food comments, while reading it my stomach growled. On the previous blog I received comments like “Reading Kubo chan’s blog gives me energy”. Each and every comment like that that I read makes me happy.  Thank you so much.  

Anyways, this is abrupt but there are some feelings that I want to convey. I’m always abrupt aren’t I.

We who are born here have different each have a different way of living don’t we. That’s why we each hold different emotions. “I messed up at work today…” “Our club lost at the tournament…” “I fought with a friend…”

There are some days like that where we feel like nothing went well… I have those days too (´･_･`) When things like that start to accumulate I start thinking “why only me”… (´･_･`) If nothing good happens then the bad will just continue… I (Let’s put me aside…)

Yes, well within that, recently I’ve been thinking about trying to bring even the thinnest ray of sunshine to everyone having a bad day. If today there was someone here that was having a bad, and they’re reading this blog, Kubo Shiori’s blog, if doing that was the only ray of sunshine in that person’s day, what kind of happiness can I give them. That’s what I thought about when writing this blog.

I doesn’t even have to be a blog!!! A magazine, tv show, within whatever that thing is, if Kubo Shiori was the spark for you to think “something good happened today,” then that would make me feel happy.

That’s why, from here on, when you’re thinking “It just wasn’t my day,” I’m going to brighten up your day, even if it’s just a little. I want to do everything I can.

First I thought “is improving my blog something that I can do,” but then I wonder if it would be any different. That’s why I think that having people read my blog will make them genuinely happy. Thank you very much.

This talk has headed in a difficult direction, so here I’m going to slip away.

 This is the 15 year old Kubo Shiori’s last blog!! I’m happy that I’ll be able to meet everyone as my birthday approaches!!

 Tomorrow is Tamami’s blog!!! Taaaamami Tamami, Tamachan Tamami!!! Tamachan! Please read it !!!!

 [Preview of next time]

Kubo Shiori. From the fans, at the handshake event and in the comments have repeatedly said that my blogs are long. But, next time I feel like it’s going to be the longest blog in history. I’ve already started writing! Next time, at the right time, I’ll write a lot(´･_･`) look forward to it!!!

(I’m sorry for not having any pictures with the other members today)

 I’ll write again soon.

 Kubo Shiori.

 People have different temperatures, whether they are warm or cold is dependent on the person. Regardless of how much you know someone there’s still a chance that you won’t quite grasp theirs.

For example, let’s say if I had something bad happen and was feeling down but one person around me had something really good happen to them, then obviously at that time our difference in temperatures would be the exact opposite. At that time, you wouldn’t feel any need to work too hard to adjust your own temperature.

However, because that other person had something good happen to them you might feel wrong about lowering the temperature. I think this is called jealousy. I don’t think jealousy is bad but, when something good has happened to someone else, I want to be someone who can raise my own temperature. I don’t lower the temperature, but the way I raise my temperature is slow and it’s hard to convey that to the people around me.

I know it’s a complex issue, but even as a child I don’t think I was ever able to do this well.

I’ll be 16 by the next blog. As someone who has become another adult, I wonder if I’ll have the confidence to say and live my life like this. The 16-year-old me on the next blog, will be a different me than the me now.

I will be changed.  

https://blog.nogizaka46.com/third/2017/07/039606.php

[pressingtobinheath]

Nikki and Sam masterpost (Samton)

Well it all started when Sam Kerr joined her best buddy Caitlin Foord at Sky Blue FC after the 2015 WWC. Despite popular belief Sam and Caity never dated. It’s fake news and alternative facts... anyway

Summer 2015

Sammy joins Sky Blue! and they seem to be hanging out a lot 

A post shared by Sam Kerr (@samanthakerr20) on Aug 9, 2015 at 10:55am PDT

Sky Blue season ends and Sammy heads back to Australia 

Australia Season 1 (US Fall 2015- US Winter 2016)

but then.. a wild Nikki appears in Australia to play for Sam’s home team Perth Glory 

A post shared by Sam Kerr (@samanthakerr20) on Oct 12, 2015 at 11:35pm PDT

Posted on Billie (Sam’s dog) instagram: Nap time with @gutinikki7 ☺️

Sammy gets injured and Nikki post this insta wishing her luck on surgery 

They continue posting pics post surgery (First selfie Sam post of just them, pay attention to the caption)

samanthakerr20 🎯

Nikki is still in Australia and going on adventures with Sam

Nikki goes on family vacay with Sam’s family 

They come back from vacay and Sam continues to show her around, now featuring Dibernardo 

This is the last post of Australia Season 1

samanthakerr20 😋 😠 (her caption for the post below

nikkiguti7🙋🏼😊 (nikki comments) 

Sam nor Nikki bares each other goodbye on social media 

Sky Blue 2016 - NWSL Season 

Before Sam arrives in NJ she begins to do what she does best: Embarrassing and making fun of Nikki. 

Nikki’s only strike back is correcting Sams terrible grammar. Grubka decides to do the same and Sam refers to Nikki as a peasant

April - Sammy finally comes back to SBFC (Still rehabbing from injury) 

and influences Nikki’s way of eating 

May comes and Rachel Breton begins to spill the tea via her insta go pro vids

They attend a baseball game (Confirms what we all expected) - May 30, 2016

WHAT’S THAT? That’s Sammy holding her girl as they walk into the stadium 

Heres the Rachel Breton videos of tea being spilled 🍵🍵🍵🍵

A post shared by Rachel Breton (@rachiebret) on Jun 5, 2016 at 6:01pm PDT

A post shared by Rachel Breton (@rachiebret) on May 27, 2016 at 12:59pm PDT

Then things begin to add up as the season goes on... 

Sam is wearing Nikki’s shirt from her high school* (Breton actually didn’t spill this tea, Nikki did it herself on insta)

They go and see the GOAT of Mens soccer aka Messi play even though Sam is a Real Madrid fan 🤢

June 25th, 2016 Sam can finally play again, gets subbed in and scores basically right away. She then full on SWERVES her teammate to run to Nikki who’s on the sidelines. Sam did an arrow podcast not that long ago where she talked about almost giving up due to her last injury, so her finally scoring and being healthy was a big deal. (gif credit to @uswntinmotion )

Resulting in the best SBFC picture that they use for everything. 

Back to normal posting as they both post the same selfie

Sammy leaves for the Olympics in mid July

Kimmy post this picture of the housemates as Sammy leaves ( I cropped them because Nikki looks all teary-eyed) 

Nikki post this shortly after wishing her the best of luck in Rio. 

nikkiguti7 Good luck in the Olympics @samanthakerr20 👋🏼👋🏼!!! #riobaby

Sam randomly posts this picture at the end of July after a game (obvi missing Nikki, we find out this becomes a theme: Sleeping nikki pics) 

samanthakerr20 Mood .

And then the Olympics begin and a wild Nikki appears in Brazil wearing Sam’s jersey and traveling with the Kerrs (the small fandom is shook) Unfortunately we never get a picture of them together at the Olympics. 

nikkiguti7 What a game. What a stadium. What a group!!! 🇦🇺⚽️💪🏾 #aussie #aussie#nicegoalsammy #kanga #andnicewinusa

nikkiguti7 Had the most amazing time in Brazil!! Didn't get mugged, or get Zika! Met some great people, watched some great soccer, and got to be part of 50 Aussie fans in a stadium of 60,000 Brazil fans. Thanks for all the Aussies for being so great 😊 Now back to New Jersey to get back to work! We got some unfinished business 🇧🇷⚽️💪🏾🔹🔸 #greatjobmatildas#didntgetmybraids

(comment on post) samanthakerr20 🐨

The Matildas are eliminated and Sam post this on instagram

samanthakerr20Leaving Rio tonight to head back to Jersey. Thank you to my amazing support crew for always being there for me on this roller coaster journey! Back to Jersey to rejoin @skybluefc & push for play offs! #grateful 🇦🇺

They return back to Sky Blue Fc and back to normal frat dad/flop activities

such as: Boat life 

Attending Red Bull games

and sleeping Nikki

Sam being a good gf

Sams birthday - Sep. 10th

nikkiguti7 Happy Birthday to my best friend @samanthakerr20! I hope that you have the best day and it's the best year yet!! Im so happy that you're in my life. You are one of a kind! 23 never looked so good🦄🤖🐶😍👌🏽👵🏽👵🏽👵🏽!! #idiothead

Sam posts a pic for national peanut day aka calling her girlfriend a peanut aka saying she’s cute. 

Sky Blue has a last Cloud 9 event to celebrate the season and this cropped part of a team photo emerges. THE FANDOM IS SHOOK. 

They don’t make it to the playoffs (I  don’t want to talk about it) and Sam heads back to Australia early but they interact on twitter briefly

Everyones like “stay in seattle?” 🤔😏

and Mid october Nikki is headed to Australia gain 

Australia - Perth Glory 2016-2017

(Screenshot credit to @stephcat )

Nikkis birthday in Australia. Sammy being cute. 

samanthakerr20 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Spending her birthday having coffee with cats 🐱☕️ So happy to have you in AUS for another birthday 🎉👌🏽 @nikkiguti7

Australia continues 

samanthakerr20 Uhh 😍

And so do the adventures 

(Screenshots of instastory credit to @pughnation )

They puppy sit for some friends

(screenshot credit to @pughnation ) It’s a video of Sam showing the puppys, cricket and then ending on Nikki. 

(following two screenshots from @agent-sarahwalker )

Christmas at the Kerrs feat. Nikki, Dibernardo and Mautz

Australia 2017

New Years Eve ( Vid of Nikki holding Sam from behind, it’s cute and worth the click) 

They attend the Aussie open with Dibernardo on Jan 5

Club time 

Twitter banter over own goal scoring

Dry waterfalls in Aus. 

They both get suspended for the same match. Couples that get suspended together stay together?

Sammy gettin jealous 

Back to Adventures

and the sleeping pics continue in australia 

Perth Glory makes it to the grand final of the W league

However they sadly lose to Melbourne City and Nikki along with Mautz and Dibernardo are headed home while Sam prepares for Matildas camp

samanthakerr20 Sad to see my 3 American buddies head back home! Been a blast, See you all soon 🇦🇺🛫🇺🇸🛬

🤔

Feb. 24 Sam is away with the Matildas in Portugal and post this

samanthakerr20 Dreaming 💭💦

            nikkiguti7 This is you: 😝

            samanthakerr20 @nikkiguti7 this is you 🐸

            nikkiguti7 No this is me: 👸🏼

And then she post this on her dogs instagram.

(Also note, Nikki wearing Sams shorts from AusWNT.)

Nikki’s fave part of Aus 2017 

March 26th Sam bids Aus fairwell on insta and includes these pics on her insta ( i cropped the one) 

NWSL 2017 - PRESENT 

Sam’s back to being an ass on instastory 

but she’s back and they’re living together again with Kelley, Taylor Lytle and Sarah Killion

being typical flops again

This tweet becomes important in a few posts. 

First game of the season in Seattle which is Nikki’s hometown and also on Easter weekend. 

Nikki takes over SBFC snapchat

Quality time with the parents

They stay in Seattle to celebrate Easter and hike 

nikkiguti7 Happy Easter from the top of this mountain #hikers

They come back from Seattle and Sam gives Nikki a fresh pair of Nike’s taking care of her girl for the season

April 20th, 2017 they begin a family... okay not really but they brought Brooklyn home from the shelter to foster her 

They go away for a game and rookie Kayla Mills blesses us with A++ content on her snapchat takeover. (Not sure since it’s early in the season if the rookie didn’t know, didn’t know that we all know or that nobody generally cared) 

Best house at SBFC aka the Frat House

Sam leaves for Australia and misses the next game but wins a major award from the W- League, 

When Sam gets back to Jersey, she post on her instastory a picture of a card and balloon waiting for her on her bed back at the frat house

Referencing this tweet becomes important 

Because Nikki posted this picture while Sam was away 

Anyway the inference is that they live in the same room at the frat house

Back to their family 

I wonder who she sleeps with?

Sam and her bike helmet being a derp 

Kelley is their constant third wheel 

Happy family

Sam’s instastory of her little family sleeping 

another one of Brooklyn on their bed 

Recent FIFA - June 

They go hiking in Utah

and take a helicopter tour of the grand canyon ( which im surpised sam did since she said she absolutely hates flying) 

Current - Mid June

Back with Brooklyn after FIFA Break

Sam wearing Nikki’s Perth Glory shorts 

Embarrassing Nikki asking her Curry or Lebron.. and Nikki chooses Curry while wearing a Lebron shirt that is clearly Sams 

June 17, 2017

Portland vs. Sky Blue

After Sam’s 2nd goal

At the end of the game (Sheridan ships it) heres the vid of this

http://pressingtobinheath.tumblr.com/post/161953058178/scnnett-look-how-happy-she-is-oh-you-got-it credit to @scnnett

After the Portland game they stay in Oregon to celebrate Fathers Day with Nikki’s dad 

Giving the people what they want at Volleyball Tuesdays 

End of June/Beg of July 2017

Goal celebration hugs 

Riding Bikes on 4th of July  - Click for link

July 9th game, Sam scored a hattrick to win the game 3-2 in 12 minutes right at the end. Post game hugs and tweets

After game day snuggles with Brooklyn

http://padfootnprongs21.tumblr.com/post/162799775646/nikkis-my-spirit-animal vid posted by Sammy of Nikki and Brookyln

http://padfootnprongs21.tumblr.com/post/162942060821/i-am-still-nikki-nikki-is-still-me - another one 

Game Day 7/15/17

After game Frat Dad activities

Boat days are back!

Featuring a not so impressed Nikki and Sam just living life

wait there’s the smile

and the abs

End of July 2017

Sleeping in Seattle 

Nikki irish step dancing and Sam recording her calling her a “flog”

Tournament of Nations

- coffee in Seattle 

Australia vs. USA - Nikki is there, we hear she’s in street clothes but her dad is wearing a Kerr jersey 

Be your girls biggest fan 

Sammy and the Matildas win the Tournament of Nations and Nikki can’t wait for Sam to get home

Sam’s flight gets delayed on the way back to Jersey and a Sky Blue Cloud 9 member tells me that Nikki rushed out of the Washington game saying she had to get Sam from the airport. 

They’re back and go on a mini golf date ((August 2017)

and to the beach 

https://scnnett.tumblr.com/post/164182577728/she-got-it-from-kelley - Sam scaring Nikki 

http://pressingtobinheath.tumblr.com/post/164226533858 - Nikki cuddling Brooklyn with her legs on Sam 

Sam gets nominated for Fifa Womens Play of the Year 

Sam scores 4 goals in the Sky Blue FC vs. Reign game. Reclaiming her 1st place spot in the golden boot race, extending her record for NWSL All Time Scorer, becoming the first person to score a hattrick 2 times in one season, becoming the first to. score 4 goals in one in league history. 

When the final whistle blows Nikki eats kisses Sam’s ear 

http://pressingtobinheath.tumblr.com/post/164424572937/anyway-heres-the-clip-of-nikki-eating-kissing - Here’s the link

Here’s pic by pic ( credit to @uswnt-tobin )

Days after the game they visit DC because Sam’s mom is visiting

Mini gold with Sam’s mum

http://pressingtobinheath.tumblr.com/post/164679192478 - Sam attacking Nikki with a stuffed snake 

Presents!

8/26 Nikki assist Sam’s goal against Boston

http://pressingtobinheath.tumblr.com/post/164760751973/dashonkelley-these-two - Sam messing with Nikki during her post game interview 

Another sleeping pic 

Brooklyn taking over the bed

(Nikki’s story) 

Sams story 

Coffee Dates 

- http://pressingtobinheath.tumblr.com/post/164756403758/coffee-date 

THE PICTURE THAT SHOOK US ALL 8/28

http://pressingtobinheath.tumblr.com/post/164839490870/im-brooklyn-getting-yelled-at-in-the-background - Sammy doesn’t really care about the flowers Nikki is painting

US Open with the Frat dads 

Stud muffin!

Sam’s birthday!

http://dashonkelley.tumblr.com/post/165206770910/happy-birthday-sammy - Sammy’s surprise birthday party at McDonalds

Holding Nikki as they walk into Mcdonalds

Rachel Breton and Taylor Lytles live insta describing this as. “Their natural habitat” (playing cards)

Visiting Brooky girl at her new home

Picking up new foster dog (Nikki wearing #20 Australia shorts)

“Who’s gonna wash your pants? (Nikki to Sam) “You are cause you’re her girlfriend” - quote from Maddy Tiernan 

Season ends... time for Australia 2017/2018

Missing cuddles 

Counting down the days 

*Reached video limit so I have to just put links 

*Shoutout to @scnnett for offering help and trying to help me get the videos even though I failed

*Shoutout to. @voices-from-above for encouragement

*Shoutout to anyone whose post I used, I credited them and everything else I got myself 

*They don’t have a ship name.. - send me suggestions

*If I’m missing content submit it or put it in an ask and I’ll look for it

*I’m thinking they’ve been together almost 2 years

*Sammy is 23 and Nikki is 26, they’ll be 24 and 27 in the fall

*GUTI stands for get used to it and was Nikki’s nickname in college because she used to tackle hard and say “get used to it”

*If I made a grammatical mistake, forgive me I’ve been doing this. for 2 hours and I’m over it. I’ll fix it eventually.

*Thank you and enjoy this wonderful ship

*We’ve been exposed. Evacuate. Nikki liked a tweet about this post. 

[blueburds]

I found an old meme I filled out years ago, when I first started my cosplay journey.  I’m not linking the original post because it was...  interesting, to say the least, and I’d rather not embarrass myself all over again. xD

But I figured it’d be fun to re-do it.  

More under the cut.

1: Your first cosplay. L from Death Note.  I won’t be sharing any pictures sorry lol

2. How many costumes have you done? Shit mate too many to count.  I could list ‘em all back in the day tho.

3. Your most recent cosplay? Auriel from Diablo 3.  I have Urbosa and Just be Friends Luka in progress currently.

4. Your favourite cosplay (that you have done) The one I am most proud of is definitely Auriel.  My father and I worked really hard on it, and he helped me with a lot of the gluing and painting since we were pressed for time.  

The one I personally enjoy dressing as would probably be...  maybe Juvia?  She’s comfortable and easy to wear, and the costume itself is pretty well made.

5. The character you have cosplayed that is most similar to you (if none that you have cosplayed, then one that you will cosplay) I’m a bit like Urbosa, I guess.  I’m the oldest sister of two brothers, so I’ve got a small mom-friend complex like she does.  

6. Your cosplay plans for the rest of the year (if you have no more for this year, then do next year!) MetroCon (Sat), and Holiday Matsuri.  Might be more in between.

7. The dream cosplay that might just happen. Urbosa is my dream cosplay atm. xD

8. The dream cosplay that will never happen. I try to make all my dream cosplays happen.

9. Something cosplay-related that you will never do (eg. crossplay, cosplay from a certain series) I’ll never cosplay from Yuri on Ice. xD  Not my type of show, not my type of fanbase.

10. Your cosplay idol. Li Covacs, Kamui Cosplay, and ModeratelyOkayCosplay (hey John what’s up man) are all really awesome cosplayers and super sweet people!!

11. Your cosplay specialty (ie. something that seems to apply to a large amount of your cosplays, it could be a specific series, or a common feature in their appearance, such as glasses) I happen to notice I have a thing for blondies...  So, blonde hair I guess?

12. Your cosplay-making habits (eg. singing while working on cosplay) I have the angriest face when I’m really focused lol.  Other than that, I usually hum to whatever song is on my playlist.

13: Your least favourite thing about cosplay? The amount of space it takes up in my room lol,,,,

14. Do you belong to any cosplay groups? If so, what are they? No.

15. What events have you cosplayed to? Future event plans? Oh boy.  Ahhhhhhh well for starters, HolMat, Metro, Mega, and Anime Day to name a few.

16. What is your best cosplay memory? I have so many tho !!   A recent one would be my best friend and I cosplaying young McHanzo at MegaCon.  We got so much love and attention from people & it made our experience unforgettable. 

17. What is your worst cosplay memory? Working until 2am on Auriel the night before the contest.

18. Have you won any cosplay awards? One.

19. Your best cosplay derp photo!

Idk what’s defined as “derp” but...

20. Have you worn cosplay in a regular situation? (eg. at school, to work) Mhm.  Went out to eat after a con a few times in cosplay.  Nbd.

21. Your most expensive cosplay. Oh shit.  Lord of the Rings, fo sho. xD

22. Your most comfortable cosplay and most uncomfortable cosplay. Most comfy is Juvia or young!McCree.  Least comfortable is hands down without a doubt Auriel.

23. The cosplay you put the most effort into? Auriel... > u>;;;

24. Any unfinished costumes? Will you ever finish them? Just two; Urbosa and JBF Luka.  And yeah, I plan to.

25. How many wigs do you own? Which is your favourite? Too many. I’ve used Luka’s a lot, but I really like my McCree wig.  It’s so fluffy~

26. Where do you work on your cosplays and where do you store them when they’re done? My room mostly.  Unless it’s a big project like Auriel was.  I worked on her mostly out in the living room.  They go in my closet. 

27. What is your favourite cosplay item? My Mercy staff is pretty cool I guess lol

28. Cosplay peeves/things you are particular about? Cosplayers  !!  not !!  sealing !!!!  their !!!!  body paint !! !! !! ! !!!!! !!

29. Something you want to improve on for future cosplays. Wig styling mostly.  I’ve been sewing for 5 years & I think I pretty much have it down.  I can always improve tho, and I wanna start working harder on my wigs.

30. Cosplay-related work you are most naturally talented at (ie: sewing, prop-making, wigstyling, etc) Sewing lol.

Ayy thanks for taking the time to read & go down memory lane with me. c:  This won’t be a regular thing I promise.  I just kinda felt like doing it. <3

[freedivetothefuture-remade]

kekekekekekekekekekekek

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Meme

StatusConfirmedYear

2004

OriginWorld of WarcraftTags

world of warcraft

,

slang

,

gaming

,

abbreviation

,

acronym

,

orcish

About

“Kek” is a translation of the acronym “LOL” (laugh out loud) when reading text written by members of the Horde faction as an Alliance player in the online multiplayer game World of Warcraft (WoW). “Kek” is also associated with the unrelated Turkish snack food Topkek, which is often discussed on the /s4s/ (Shit 4chan Says) board on 4chan.

Origin

The term has its origins in the Korean language, as the onomatopoeia ㅋㅋㅋ, in which ㅋ stands for the “k” sounds, like in raspy, stifled laughter. In the real-time strategy game Starcraft, because the game originally did not support the Korean language, the onomatopoeia was written as “Kekeke” which can be translated to “Hahaha” in English.

In the online multiplayer role-playing game WoW, released on November 23rd, 2004, players can choose to play on either the Alliance or Horde factions, which are considered enemies within the game’s universe. Players of separate factions are unable to communicate with one-another, as their typed text is run through an in-game translator. For players of the Horde faction, typing the letters “LOL” results in members of the Alliance faction reading “KEK”.

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On March 22nd, 2005, Urban Dictionary[1] user drat submitted an entry for the word “kek,” defining it as “’lol’ in Orcish.” On June 19th, 2007, Yahoo Answers[6] member Mr. Questionair submitted a question about cross-faction communication, to which user ArcadianStormcrow replied that when Horde players speak the word “lol,” it shows up as “kek” for Alliance players. On April 4th, 2008, a thread was submitted to the Gamespot Forums[7] which included mentions of “kek” and “lol” among other faction translations. On June 24th, 2009, Wow Insider[8] published an article on communicating with enemies, noting that saying “kek” as an Alliance player will not translate as “lol” to a Horde player. On February 16th, 2010, Wowhead Forums[2] member sistereinstein submitted a thread asking if “kek” was a new slang term for “LOL.” On September 2nd, 2011, an entry for “kek” was submitted to the slang website Internet Slang,[3] defining it as “LOL in WOW.”

Topkek

Topkek is a brand of Turkish cake which is often combined with the neologism “Top Lel” associated with the Top Gun hat worn by the character Adam in the American sitcom Workaholics. According to Encyclopedia Dramatica,[4] Topkek became notable on the /s4s/ board on May 13th, 2013, when user prime minister face began posting photographs of the snack food.

On June 5th, a Facebook[5] page titled “Top kek” was launched. On June 23rd, YouTuber youyours555 uploaded the intro from the animated television show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic edited to include Topkek and other Internet meme references (shown below, left). On July 12th, 2013, Redditor glnskp submitted a screenshot of a Topkek 4chan thread to the /r/4chan subreddit, to which several Redditors replied with references to WoW. On the following day, YouTuber Top Kek uploaded a When I’m Bored remix video titled “When I’m kek” featuring a slideshow containing Topkek images (shown below, right).

Cult of Kek

The Cult of Kek, also known as the Church of Kek, is a satirical religion based around the worship of the ancient Egyptian deity Kek[4] (also spelled Kuk or Keku), an androgynous God of darkness and chaos who is often depicted as a frog or frog-headed man in male form or a snake-headed woman in female form. On 4chan, the character Pepe the Frog is often considered a modern avatar of the diety, who uses ancient Egyptian meme magic to influence the world, often by fulfilling the wishes of posts that end in repeating numbers.

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Myconix

3 years ago

Fun fact: For Horde players listening to Alliance characters, it says “bur”.

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Alex Mercer

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3 years ago

>mfw i am youyours555I never thought that my MLP vidya would be the first search result of “topkek”. I am kinda honored.

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[otakugeddon]

Bah!

Howdy Otaku! So, I'm sure it seems like I slacked off all weekend derping & forgetting to post. Not so much. You see, couple things to keep in mind: One, my phone doesn't work without being plugged in almost at all. 10 minutes is a miracle. Two, I'm legally disabled because I have Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, an unnamed degenerative neurological disorder, and a bunch of other crap. Everything I do, no matter how small, takes a monumental amount of effort. There are days just laying in bed reading manga or sitting up watching anime is exhausting. I'm not joking. So keep this in mind. This weekend I still Otaku-ed a bit, but I admit, it wasn't much because I was actually doing something that takes an extraordinary amount of effort on my part: participating in an Amonkhet Magic the Gathering Pre-release weekend. Whenever Wizards of the Coast release a new MTG expansion, game / card shops hold events the entire weekend to celebrate and inundate people into the new block. I haven't done a prerelease in a long time, partially because my body gets wrecked afterwards and I usually get pretty weak, but particularly because there was someone there I couldn't stand to be around. Thankfully that person will never be coming back, so I could go, quite happily, with GIR (little brother) & have a blast! :) I know it isn't Otaku based, it's nerd/geek based but in case you're wondering how we did: GIR swept his 5 matched and took 1st place Saturday night & won 16 Booster packs!!! Sunday night we took 2nd place together in the 2-Headed-Giant tournament and won 18 packs. I'm pretty sure I was very close to the bottom Saturday night. I don't go to win. I go to see my friends and have fun and get some cards, that's all. But thankfully, my brother made me look good Sunday. I'm hoping to get back into MTG now that the aforementioned person isn't around to taint it for me, as I've been playing on-off since I was only 11 years old and it means a lot to me. The new series is based on ancient Egypt, which I've always adored, so that's a plus, too!! Plus they're doing quests for playing that look like they're going to be rewarding a full set of gorgeous, Amonkhet themed dice (I have an unholy love of dice)! Anyways! Back to Otaku-land! I did what I could to keep up with stuff on my phone which was impossible as our game shop is being remodeled and outlets come at a premium, and were nowhere near my spot. But I made sure to finish the 1st three event stories in Samurai Love Ballad Party in time to get the bonus reward and even struggling to keep my phone on, made sure to get an extra round with Lord Nobunaga in for the Closet & Energy prizes. I'm now working on Saizo's route. Which would go faster BUT, I'm trying to save my extra energy for Fevers (and other events), and I'm currently doing everything I can to slam the Fate Stay/Night event in Valkyrie Connect. Unfortunately, it's not going great. Plus I'm trying to work on the Unison League Hatsune Miku Hanami event, and finish off the new Union Cross Moogle boards in Kingdom Hearts Ux. Oh and the Circus event in Dream Boyfriend (laugh all you like, that game is adorable). Don't even get me started on Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Record Keeper, & Mobius. That's not even mentioning still trying to work on Soji's 2nd Season 2 ending in Era of Samurai Code of Love (I've never had so much trouble in a VN before O-O), OR Persona 4 since I finally got the PS Vita set up with my PSN (dying to play that one. I've never seen games quite like the Persona ones and I hate that it's taken me this long to start on them, especially since I LOVE Shin Megami Tensed) OR Ragnarok ONLINE OR Final Fantasy XIV OR the half dozen PS4 games I'd love to play in bed playing on the Vita or or or... Suffice to say, lots I'm trying to work on which is keeping me from some of the stuff I'd LIKE to work on. Especially since Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds comes out in just over three weeks and I was expecting to have until the end of May AND they're doing a collectors edition with a badass bamboo Bento box. T-T But, tonight was pretty productive to be honest. I've made progress in all of these events, and Taiki & I had a day out that was finished by buying 1/2 priced cream slushes and parking in our local park at a Poké Stop in Pokémon GO! We lured the stop & got some great Pokémon AND we found Dragonair tonight for the first time (playing PoGo in rural areas is an absolute bitch). After we got home, we finished One Punch Man, which was PHENOMENAL, by the way. I won't spoil anything but considering that anime are now being broken up to wait for anime to avoid the dreaded Bleach-effect or the FMA Series 1 / Black Butler Series 1 crapbaskety fake ending shit, it's pretty impressive how well they managed to wrap up the show without ruining it or tainting it. I so so so regret not putting that one at the top of the list when Taiki first came home talking about it from coworkers & Imgur. The premise sounded dumb... I. Was. So. Wrong. I don't usually mix English with Japanese, but in this case? I feel like a freaking baka. Straight up. But I do have to say, I'm glad we won't have to wait as long for Season 2 as other fans have had to. Although I'm going to go read the manga. Taiki isn't a manga person, sadly. I feel incredibly bad for him where that is concerned. He misses out on SO MUCH. That's why I haven't dove into Attack on Titan Season 2 face first yet. I went and read the Manga while Taiki & GIR impatiently waited for Season 2 of the anime. I already know what awaits me. T-T They don't. Although they know the show well enough that they've been putting off watching 'cause they know it's going to hurt. Smart boys. Well, back to work on events before I faceplant.

[panic-in-tarir]

One year in review

That’s it! The OH IT’S BEEN ONE YEAR post is here!

The closer my first anniversary was, the more excited I got, and the more thoughts I gathered for one “summary” post. Now that it’s time, suddenly, bam, all of them gone. :’> *wipes sweat*

Recently I had someone asking about my progression and how I managed to get there (???? where? derp). Well, I guess, I could just start telling about my first deeds in GW2, and then see if I can add something.

This might or might not be relevant, but I come from Wakfu, a colorful 2D game with turn-based combat. It’s cool visually, but also has terrible management issues, lack of developer care, one of the worst customer supports ever, list goes on.. I played it since 2012, and year by year, only grew angry, disappointed and hurt. That was like an abusive relationship I couldn’t get out of. I refused to try different genre and engine games. Finally, @aketan​ / @flame-squad​ / Rika got me lowkey interested in GW2 (she was commenting expressively while playing, and I peeked over her shoulder), I decided to try it. And stayed. Migrating to a real-time 3D game wasn’t easy! Yet, it was my lifesaver decision. GW2 has everything that I wish was there in Wakfu. It took me several months, if not a year, to get fully “healed”, to recover from the bad game and start believing that good games exist. When I had to contact GW2 support, I was touched to tears.. Everything and everyone is so nice here.

That wall of text was a foreword! Or explanation why I’m so excited and grateful about every aspect of GW2.

I started without putting too much thought into the char creation, as a result, now I have yet another main whose name is literally foreign language swearing or pun. GG me. After having been completely lost and confused by the controls (I LITERALLY ran backwards and yelled), after having a short but comprehensive lesson from bff, I started derping around on my own. I think I was only guided until lvl 5 or so, then my buddy let me do whatever I want. I come from a sandbox-wannabe game so it didn’t take me forever to get comfortable and set my first goals. Of course, I had a shit ton of questions, which I didn’t hesitate to spam Rika with. It’s cool to have someone ready to explain you the basics and patiently show you things. :D My several first days, or even weeks, were intense. I didn’t rush levels, but was eager to see the world. It was so amazing to me that I was spending 8-10 hours a day, running around, completing maps. I started in Metrica but quickly wandered away to Caledon (”oh! a portal?!”), where I spent a handful of time then.

With such a desire to discover and observe, and after having seen the title you’re awarded for 100% world map completion, I set it as my first ultimate goal. I approached it rather seriously, and had an incredibly fun time, at least until I had only Orr left undiscovered. x’D As a squishy (and slow, and dumb) ele, I was frightened and a bit discouraged by the amount of, well, deaths here. If I recall correctly, I still wore yellows at that time, although I was 80. Rika helped me and accompanied me for a bit. Orr was tough and I legit cried out of anger and frustration when I was alone, but that was the only unpleasant moment in entire year, and only because I wasn’t good at the game yet.

In the meantime, I was leveling my first alt, human engi. Do you actually remember that f2p accounts only allow 2 chars? Later, after buying HoT, I finally got loose.

They say, you always remember the place where you finished your first world map. For me, and oddly enough, for Rika, it was Field of Ruins. We reached the last POI at the same time, and, boy, did it feel great. My first big accomplishment. It dropped like.. Like a norn fart in a moot (c) Jory \o/ I still use the title btw, “been there, done that”. \o/

Then, there was a relatively dull period before buying HoT. I focused on doing my personal story, maxing out my alt and getting into crafting. The latter quickly became addictive to me. It’s so smooth, fun and exciting in GW2. Artificer was my first discipline, and after getting the hang of it, I breezed through 100-500 in a single day’s course.

That’s what the progression of my first 4-5 months looked like! I still was f2p, did only open world content and had one person to play with. I’m my own boss so it’s up to me to decide if I want to spend 30 minutes or 8 hours ingame.

HoT was a blessing in every aspect possible! I never regretted buying it, never regretted taking my time and not buying it earlier though - I needed that f2p scrub time to learn the basics, and to appreciate all the convenience and QoL improvements that come with HoT.

That’s where the real game starts, if I could say that. Core Tyria is by all means amazing, but you can go only this far if your account has those market and mail restrictions.. I used to enjoy playing market in Wakfu (while it was still alive) and I was excited to try it in GW2. When I bought the expansion and got my account fully functional, I got some skins and dyes ahead of all, then proceeded with crafting since I was really addicted to it and excited to max all the disciplines as my medium priority goal.

GW2 is encouraging altoholism! So I found myself leveling a third character (tried revenant and didn’t notice how I got her to level 20-ish and it was too late to delete), then fourth, fifth, then more char slots.. You see my weakness. I quickly realized the perks of having alts: storage, gathering, alternative personal stories, so on. When you’re an altoholic, plus you have yet to finish gearing up your main, plus you can barely hold yourself from leveling another crafting discipline.. RIP GOLD. I never had more than 30-100g at that time period.

Since market and wealth are one of my biggest passions ingame, I learned ways to earn me some coins, one by one. It’s not that hard if you’re a patient gatherer like me. Just run around, chop trees, collect ore and herbs.. I enjoy it so much, maybe it’s grind for someone, but I find it relaxing. Also it brings you gold. \o/ I found a few niche crafts that I could keep making and selling, then got familiar with market flipping, still not doing it like “big daddies” do, I might be too inefficient and lazy at it. But still, I found my own stable sources of income. Not gonna lie, the game just seems to like me and spoils occasionally. I don’t wanna brag, but there was like 4 precursor drops for me, 2 from mystic toilet, 2 practically dropped from the sky. I might be a little luckier than the average player. But that’s well deserved given how much suffering I had in Wakfu. :’D

When we talk about luck, we can’t avoid mentioning gambling. I learned about mystic toilet quite early, but never was a slave to it. Tarrktun has a bit more power over me, but I’ve never lost too much, only gained little by little. Black Lion Keys are the most evil gambling aspect if you ask me, I’ve spent quite a bit of money on those, though sometimes got nice things in exchange. Either gold to gems or gems for real money, I don’t mind spending it on Anet since they very, very well deserve it.

Given my passion, patience and luck, you must think I should be filthy rich by now.. Hah. :’DD Sadly, I’m just as good at spending as I’m at earning! I blew a lot of money on my own “needs” and “wants” and “why not”s, I keep investing into long term sales, I also often buy gifts for my buddies, mostly Rika. Money comes, money goes. GW2efficiency says my account is worth 14k gold currently. Not a bad progress for a year, I suppose.

So.. My biggest interests and playstyle are gold wars, fashion wars, altoholism.. I became quite a lore geek, completed PS, LS2, available LS3 episodes & most of current events, most of HoT? I should finish it but I procrastinate for some reason.

My current achievement number is 7610, mastery rank is 129 iirc. I’m not a casual derp anymore, but still too afraid to fail in front of strangers so I don’t really do dungeons or fractals. I mean I DO, when my bff literally holds my hand and goes there with me, then 3 strangers vs two of us is tad bit less scary. My combat skill, my reflexes and reactions are rather pathetic, even if I got significantly better after HoT and LS3 maps. I must train more, so recently I made a tanky character to practice, I hope to get good enough to clear story mode dungeons and low level fractals alone. Maybe I’m being too hard at myself, but combat skill has practically the biggest influence in this game, so I must git gud, at least acceptable, so I don’t feel ashamed to play with other people and don’t let them down. :’D

I’m a pve trash. Tried WvW and don’t mind coming here again, but not too much. PvP is a big no-no. Just.. Not my thing. Never. Not with my current skill and mindset (people = stress).

I’ve still got a mind-boggling amount of things to do. Personal goals, mere achievements, secrets and mysteries I’m yet to uncover, lore things to read. Maybe I’ll play GW1 one day, if there’s ever a discount sale. \;w;/ I’m super curious about every tiny bit of lore, also want some skins that are exclusive to GW1. That pleasant, sweet feeling that there’s so much interesting things ahead. I will take my time and never grind anything to frustration, for example, I’ve been working on my first leg, Sunrise, on and off and I’ll wait several months more, until I get all the clovers from the monthly chest. I don’t sweat it and just enjoy the game however I see it. Feelsgoodman.

I hope I managed to answer that person’s question, how did I get where I’m currently? Just took my time, learned my own pace and enjoyed every minute I spent online. Love the game, and it will love you back. \o/