#remembering the reason i got into honkai in the first place was to see what similarities genshin might have inherited

[aromanticasterisms]

read through alien space for star rail context and every frame himeko's in you can faintly hear me in the bg trying hard not to think about how much she looks like diluc

[mayaree-darling]

Kissing Bleeding Mouths// Blade

Pairing: Blade x StellaronHunter!Reader Synopsis: He’d call you his associate, but you’re way past the formalities. That’s not the right word for the both of you, anyway, he doesn’t want that to be you and him. You really don’t know what you do to him, do you? Warnings: OOC Blade because I know almost nothing about him and his lore except that I want him to come home (he’s gonna come home I know it it’s a canon event); Can’t do full spicy because I don’t do that stuff so I did a “different” kinda spicy. Not exactly fluffy (I’d say borderline obsessive, if anything, this relationship is toxic y’all) Fic Length:  2.1k~ (Unedited (because I’m tired)) From Aree: Hey, everyone, it’s been a while! Happy to be back. Always wanted to write for gaming fandoms, too, so we’re starting with Honkai Star Rail (I have a Genshin SAGAU fic that’s been in the works for so long now and it’s still a work in progress). I got inspired by a POV playlist I came across on YouTube by greatdain, and this is just a POV under that song that I ended up extending lmao. Anyways, enjoy!

A part of him wishes you knew what you did to him.

Soft smiles and softer laughter only he witnessed in peaceful moments spared during a mission. A joke here and there he thought annoying at first, but found himself thinking about the longer he’s in your absence (he plans on taking it to his grave that he found them all well crafted. Hell would have to freeze over before he let you know it helped him sleep to think of how you made each joke at the spur of the moment). Even gone, you’d still annoy him. So stupid. Stupid and naive you. How did you end up in their group, anyway, so sweet and innocent as you were? How did he end up wrapped around your little finger? A part of him wishes you knew what you did to him. But the logical side of him - the one that only knew the taste of blood and the draw of a sword - it forced him into silence.

Because he didn’t know what you would do with that kind of information.

What would you do had you seen him battle with himself for hours after returning to HQ if he should go and see you? How he all but paced around his room, thinking of a reason to enter yours? And now, here he was, his best effort of holding himself back was trying to walk slower (he wasn’t one for holding himself back in the first place, but the effort is there all the same). But surely you knew, right? Surely you felt his eyes on you as you made your way around a party or sat across him at a meeting, almost desperately trying to catch your eyes and… and what? What was he hoping for? What was he hoping for you to do?

“What do you think you’re doing, Blade?” the question is a whisper, almost a breath you don’t want others to hear, but there was no one to listen but the man himself, and Blade would cut down anything that dared interrupt now.

“Figure it out yourself.” If he had any ounce of honesty and softness in him, he’d admit he wasn’t quite sure himself, but that was just what effect you had on him. Blade remembered looking for you after you left the ballroom to get some air, finding you in a deserted hallway. He doesn’t quite remember how he ended up pinning your wrists to the nearest wall, lips ghosting over the spot where your shoulder meets your neck, waiting. For what specifically, he’s not sure either. You keep making him second-guess himself. He knows he can take you in a fight - your wrists feel so fragile under his fingers - he knows he can take you - you haven’t exactly been trying to fight him off all this time - but still, he hesitates. If he lets himself press his mouth to exposed skin, have a taste of what he’d been denied of for so long in your presence, well, it felt like crossing a line he could never come back from.

“Hmm, if I was going to take a guess, it almost feels like you’re about to eat me.” You’re trying to make light of the situation, as you’ve always done. Yet he does not scoff, or ignore you, or move on from the conversation. Instead, he feels your laughter come to a stop when he sighs into your skin. He agreed, it certainly did feel like he was going to eat you. What would happen if he sunk his teeth into you, nipped at your skin - what else would he break between the two of you besides your flesh?

“What would you do if I did?” He closes his eyes, trying to reel himself in. Maybe he can still control himself. Breathe in, breathe out. He curses silently through gritted teeth. Blade should have known better than to do that. Now he’s enveloped in your scent, the only thing he can feel under his touch is your warmth, it was all you, you, you.

Blades feel you shift in position and instinctively tightens his hold on your wrists. It must’ve hurt - he’s barely aware of how much strength he’s using - but you don’t make a peep. He can’t risk letting you walk out now, even if he still doesn’t know what he’s doing - what happens after you leave him in this hallway? Will he enter HQ tomorrow to find out you’d requested another partner without so much as another word to him? Not that he’d just let things end there - he’d probably make sure you end up his partner again. But he would still prefer to see this conversation through.

He’s pulled back when he feels your breath on his ear. You let out a puff of air - a small laugh - that has him more aware of the situation you’re in. You’re so, so close - and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It wouldn’t be fun if I just answered that, now, won’t it? So let me ask, since you’re the one in control right now, yeah?” Blade’s not sure if you meant to brush your lips to the shell of his ear, but you’re speaking again before he can think of a proper reaction. “What do you want me to do?”

Why would he know what you’d do? All he’s been able to think about is what he’d do to you. A part of him wants to strangle you until you hated him. What have you done to him? Wants to crush you in an embrace so tight he’d permanently feel you in his arms long after you’re gone. Kiss you until he could drown in your bleeding mouth. What did you do? Why is he like this, all because of you?

And all too soon the answer comes to him clearly.Blade’s hands leave your wrists in an instant, instead coming to grab your face, forcing you to meet his eyes. He doesn’t have to see his own expression to know he looks beyond deranged - he can feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, a smile twitching the corners of his mouth upward into a lopsided grin, eyes blown wide. His thumbs try to gently caress your cheeks, and yet you can both feel him tremble with barely restrained excitement.

“I want you to break,” he ghosts his lips over yours. Where should he bite first? “But I want to be the one to break you.”

 It would be so easy to do, too. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. To make you submit to his every beck and call, have you running to do his very bidding, his words more than gospel the moment they reached you. By the end of this little game of sorts, he’d have you kneeling.

And yet, and yet, and yet.

The automatic doors slide open to let him in and Blade locks it behind him without much thought, like it was second nature, as he has already done time and time before.

You sit on the edge of your bed with your back facing him, one leg spread to the floor and your other knee pulled to your chest, phone in hand, softly humming a tune as you scroll through your messages (was it those damned crew members of the train again?) He can’t help but be aware of every little thing you do, every little thing related to you. He knows that song you’re singing.

He’s heard it played on the streets of Belobog the first time you sang along and he hears it again as you lay next to him the first night you spent together. You may have thought him asleep with his eyes closed and even breathing, but that was your mistake. He listened to you sing that song in the dark, so very aware of your proximity, each small breath you took, an intake of air longer than the rest as you hummed, and every time you made the slightest alteration to your position under the sheets, trying not to “wake” him.

To him, to Blade, it felt like he never truly left that moment in time. Each time he lays down for the night, if he can fool himself enough, he can hear you humming. You’re in bed with him, surely. Just an inch away from touching the tips of your fingers or the edge of your face. He’d kill to even graze at your skin, but he’s not dumb enough to try - he knows the moment he does, the illusion would end, the spell would break, and you and your voice with it.

Blade relishes the sound of your singing now, in the flesh, unhindered by his own imagination. He’s so close now. A few steps and you’re in arms reach. He can just hold his hands out and then… and then…

You raise your head the longer he doesn’t say anything, most likely wondering why he hadn’t made his presence known. Normally he’d stand in your line of sight and stare at you until you finally decide to give him your full attention, be it to go over the mission plans or just to provide him entertainment. The Blade in front of you right now, however… He doesn’t know what face he’s making. Is it carefully blank, or do you see the desperation he’s trying so hard to keep in check?

“Blade? What can I do for you?” you maneuver your body so you’re facing him, but you don’t stand and come closer. You don’t try to close the distance in any way. You stay where you are, on the bed, with him by the door.

And that was the problem.

In few quick and agitated strides, he reaches for your wrist.

“That’s something I don’t hear very often, especially when it’s directed at me,” you laugh like there was nothing wrong with your predicament. Like he didn’t just say he’d rather have you broken than hopelessly in love like he really wanted, like he really craved. “However, you don’t expect me to just accept that without a fight, yes?”

“Of course not,” his thumb grazes at your lip, imagining a cut right straight in the middle. Imagining swiping the blood across your face. Imagining the clean-up afterward. “The process is more than half the fun. I look forward to it already. Do you?”

“I suppose, to an extent, but that’s not what I meant,” you smile tenderly, eyes soft, gently caressing his cheeks. Blade can’t help the feeling that you’re treating him like he’s the only one who’s not in on the joke, the one who just can’t seem to get it. “What makes you think you won’t break first?”

“Blade?”

He looks at your wrist in his hand. So easy to break. Just a quick twist of his own wrist and he’d hear it snap under his fingers, have you crying in his arms. Would he try to soften your crying with murmurs of assurance, or would he tell you to scream louder? He doesn’t get to know the answer.

He holds your wrist like a feather, you must have noticed how lenient he’s being. Tight enough to know its unmistakable presence, but not enough to crush. When was the last time he was aware of how fragile something was?

“Blade? What’s wrong?”

He raises his eyes to meet yours. You don’t flinch, or try to move away. You stare at him, watching his face for anything that might give way to what was going on. Instead of letting you find out anything for yourself, he slowly kneels down until he’s eye level with you.

He all but barks out a laugh. He puts pressure on the tips of his fingers, almost trying to crack into your skull. “Do you really think I’d let myself break first? You’re out of your mind, darling.”

His throat burns at the very idea, bile rising up from his stomach, but he either said it now or lived in secret for the rest of your time together. He thought of marking you in other ways, but this would have to suffice for now.

“I yield.”

He watches as your eyes widen ever so slightly before you smile, ever so slightly, eyes ever so soft. You cup his cheek with your free hand and he all but melts into the attention you’re so willingly giving him. When you lean in, he’s already meeting you halfway, but just before your lips touch, you hold him in place with your hand on his face, mouths just barely grazing the other. He finds himself staring at your eyes which seem to gleam something dark.

He feels your hand slowly creep from his cheek to his hair, softly brushing at strands before tugging - once, twice - at the ends. “Oh, I don’t just think so, Blade.”

You smile like you know a secret he doesn’t, a joke he can’t quite get.

“I know.”

✨ Masterlist ✨ 

Taglist: 💛@anime-allover  💛@faeriessky  💛 @prksolon 💛 @dai-tsukki-desu

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and belong to their respective creators. Their portrayal is merely my own interpretation of them and may not be accurate to their intended characterization. I stake no claim to the original works, only to the ideas and plot of the fictitious stories I’ve written them into.

[wolfhednn]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: rai

Pronouns: it's complicated so she/he take ur pick

Birthday (no year): may 17

Where are you from? What is your time zone? the states, east coast beast coast. (not rly its swampy here)

How long is your roleplay experience? i regularly lose count. 17 years now i think?

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? neopets, p sure. at least i can't remember rping before that. warrior cats and gifteds rps on neopets were the one-night stands of my heart

How were you introduced to TOA? according to legend, ree was reported famously to have said "we could do it tho" and then i answered "yeah ig we could huh"

Do you have any pets? nah i've come to realize that im not very good at taking care of living things (including myself) and no lifeform should be subjected to that

What is your favorite time of year and why? i'm an autumn girlie, complete with the pumpkin spice. november specifically is my favorite time of year

What is your IRL occupation? i work at a community college writing center ob it's really rewarding to make a direct impact on other people's experiences

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? gacha games, reading, poetry, hearing the dank beat drop in a song and imagining some dramatic rp scene to go along with it

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? honkai: star rail, granblue fantasy, pokemon, jrpgs, otomes, vn's in general, whatever games my friends want to stream for me while i grind granblue fantasy

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: raichu, and flying types

Tell us some fun facts and trivia about yourself! 3 stuffed animals have pride of place on my bed and they are a fennec fox named luhan, a red panda named shizi (persimmon in mandarin), and whale tartaglia

How did you get into Fire Emblem? was browsing the nearby gamestop in college shortly after fates came out, decided to pick it up on a whim because it looked up my alley. got hooked and blasted through the rest of the series in short order afterward

What Fire Emblem games have you played? everything except jugdral, but i've studied jugdral like i did ff7 back in the day in order to rp it

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: fates as mentioned above. favorite depends on the metric jsdjgsk but, simplified, binding blade remains near and dear to my heart

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! i cannot do this i do not hold enough characters in my working memory at a time

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! i think tsubaki. he was pretty and a pegasus knight, and i only liked him more as i actually saw more of his character HAHA

Any Fire Emblem crushes? huh. surprisingly, not really? was definitely expecting to have some for this one

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? 　　Awakening: lucina. and yes. always always 　　Fates: tsubaki, nishiki, and leo. and yes. 　　Three Houses: felix bc i liked his character and i always tend to s-support my faves just to see their lines. ambivalent now tbh im kinda roulette w 3h s-supports 　　Engage: gregory, mostly bc i'm also roulette w engage s-supports rather than any overt favoritism for gregory. maybe fogado?

Favorite Fire Emblem class? nomad ranger / bow knight

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? i've been told i'd be mage into mage knight but wielding dark magic. magic nuke but kind of whatever everything else. lysithea but mounted i guess. if i'm somehow playable the circumstances must be EXTRAORDINARY because good luck peeling me away from my nice quiet life for your continental justice war no thanks

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? black eagles probably and i'd cringe abt it

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? reason and authority boon. gauntlet, heavy armor, flying bane. i don't rly think i'd have a budding talent in any of the rest

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? tbh i'd probably be from elusia

How do you pronounce TOA? individual letters

Current TOA muses: felix, caeldori, rosado

Past TOA muses? too fucking many yall. ugh lemme see. volug, sety, idunn, leif, yuri, kurthnaga, ephraim, lucius, etzel, nel, citrinne, nishiki

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? will smith gestures at the grumpycat

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? reckless boys with hearts of gold (felix, leif, zeiss, ephraim); perfectionistic dreamers (caeldori), charismatic cunning extroverts concealing a boatload of issues, somber cerebral sages (sety, etzel, kurthnaga arguably)

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? there's plenty of archetypes i don't gravitate toward, but i don't really wish i did either. so not really

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? i like dramatic, fast-paced action scenes. i also like anything that explores complex topics and reveals how subjective the world really is, situations that challenge a character's views and beliefs and force them to reflect on what makes right or wrong

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? not really right now. i don't usually have rp wishlists like this because my enjoyment of a scene depends more on how effectively i feel it's being executed rather than just getting to do the specific scene by itself

Favorite TOA-related memories? probably running team mercy in lock&key? that was a really fulfilling experience

Present or past tense? present tense

Normal size text, small text, no preference? small text but idc what my partner uses

Got any potential muse delusions to share? i have muses falling out my pockets. lately i've been fistfighting the ilios in my head constantly. sometimes you just want to play a loser

[yezielmoore]

2. Horizon

Soo... this prompt is 90% Honkai Impact 3rd but in Etherys. Not that Himeko, the character isekai'd from HI3, knows that. She's kinda rambling in her head about what happened before she got dumped in FFXIV. So this will probably be confusing for the FFXIV folks and for that i apologize. I doubt future prompts will be as focused on HI3 as this one. Probably. I can't plan an outline if my life depended on it, and we are hostages to the prompts anyway.

I'll summarize some terms and concepts and maybe link a video in the end.

~*~*~

To say that Himeko expected to wake up again was like saying the honkai was only a little bit deadly. An understatement at best and a boldfaced lie at worst. 

Even as she suited up for the battle against Sirin, Himeko had known it was likely to be her last stand; the same way a terminally ill patient knows that throwing their meds down the drain and running away from the hospital would be their last act. Confronting Sirin in her current state, despite her new suit, or maybe even because of the suit, was just as irrational and unsurvivable. Definitely not what a good role model would do.

Heh.

Despite what Theresa would say, Himeko never claimed to be a good role model. In fact, she was sure she claimed exactly the opposite in her job interview. 

Whatever.

The point was, she didn’t expect to wake up again. She certainly didn’t expect to wake up on an old-fashioned wooden boat surrounded by water as far as the eye could see. And she absolutely didn’t expect the race change. And no, she didn’t mean skin color or eye shape or anything remotely like that. She meant the tail and the ears, the fur and claws and excellent night vision and so on. No matter how you looked at it, she definitely wasn’t human anymore, at least not by any definition on Earth.

Well, not unless one got philosophical about it and Himeko would be the first to agree that the soft sciences weren’t her forte. Give her a good engineering book any day over a debate on the definition of humanity.

At least none of the changes were the sickly white of honkai beast caparace or the glowing pink of honkai corruption. She would have already made use of the hunting knife strapped to her waist if that had been the case. 

Ah, but she got distracted again. To be fair, there was much to be distracted about, although maybe her freak out could wait until she was safely on dry land. 

Not that Himeko had any clue as to where she was or in which direction dry land was supposed to be. And the stars… 

Gold eyes looked up at the unpolluted night sky. It was a breathtaking sight, no doubt about that, and one that was completely alien to her. No matter in which direction she looked, Himeko couldn’t recognize a single constellation. She passed astronomy with flying colors, it was simply impossible that she wouldn’t recognize the night sky. 

Unless it was a different night sky than that of Earth.

So… had she, somehow, fallen through imaginary space into a bubble universe? She was aware of the existence of those and it would explain the change in location, but it didn’t explain why she was alive. Or a different race altogether. 

Because if Himeko knew something with 100% certainty, it was that she should be dead… Had, perhaps, been dead. Even if it didn’t stick. For some reason. So what had happened? 

Her memories prior to that climatic moment were hazy with adrenaline, bone-deep exhaustion and excruciating pain, but she remembered injecting the God-Slaying Spear into Kiana and imparting her final lesson. Then nothing. Or… not nothing exactly. There were bursts of feelings, pride and conviction and love. A few times Himeko thought she saw flashes of Kiana. Had some part of her latched onto Kiana and followed her on her journey? Strange, perhaps, but not stranger than apocalyptic messiahs hellbent on the total annihilation of the human race chosen by a corrosive, eldritch and possibly sentient energy from the place where life itself sprung forth. 

What else? Relief, a feeling of drifting and then… safety? Light. A… query and… an answer? Her answer?

Himeko clutched her head as pain lanced through her brain like one of Sirin’s void lances, but even less nice, if such a thing was possible with the homicidal brat. 

So not thinking about that. Gotcha.

What to do now then? Regardless of how she got here or where here was in relation to Earth, trying to go back was pointless. She died there and if her hallucinations or dreams had any truth in them, then Kiana was doing okay. Himeko Murata was dead on Earth and it should stay that way.

However, it seemed like there was a place for Himeko in this world; otherwise why would he find herself alive, placed inconveniently in the middle of the ocean, but otherwise unharmed and with a pack full of necessities tied down on the covered part of her little boat?

Her situation and lack of memory spoke of deals made in the dark and powers beyond her comprehension. Therefore the question was: should she play along? She wanted to rebel on principle, but without knowing what the deal was, without even knowing what she agreed to do (if indeed she agreed to do anything) it was foolish and plain ridiculous to insist on being a contrarian. That way laid madness and Himeko was many things, but actively suicidal wasn’t one of them.

Himeko sighed wearily and leaned back, the horizon lightening up with the upcoming sunrise. She wondered if that way lay the East in this world or if even that was different. For all she knew the sun rose on Beta and set on Gamma. 

In any case, regardless from which angle she looked at the situation she was in, it was a second chance at life. A wholly unexpected and unlooked-for second chance. Before… Himeko hadn’t been ready to die, (who is?), but she had been prepared. She had put all her affairs in order long before the Herrscher of the Void had possessed Kiana. She had known that her life was only getting shorter, fast at first and then faster, years of her life sheared off by the artificial stigmata that allowed her to fight. Had she hanged her sword, she could have, maybe, lived another 10 years and died at the ripe old age of 39. Instead she lived a few extra months and bit it before reaching her thirties. 

“I’m getting maudlin,” Himeko mused to herself, forcibly wrenching her thoughts away from that downward spiral. Being alone with her thoughts never did her any good. She sighed. “A beer would be so welcome right now.”

This new life of hers probably wasn’t going to be anything like the life she once dreamed of, but Himeko had already buried those dreams when she signed up with Schicksal. Maybe this new start had strings attached, then again, maybe it didn’t. Himeko wasn’t sure she had it in her to be optimistic about her unknown benefactor, but she could adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude. After all, it wasn’t like said benefactor had given her a forwarding address for her questions. 

Himeko straightened suddenly when she finally realized that the blurry dot backlit by the predawn light she had been following with her eyes was, in fact, a ship slowly cresting over the horizon and if she was correct… yep, it was sailing directly in her direction. 

Luck? 

Or fate? 

Himeko couldn’t tell and she refused to guess the motives of such forces. Assuming said forces even had motives, a big assumption by itself and definitely beyond her paygrade. (Not that she had a job anymore. Goddamnit. She hated job hunting).

All she could do now was make sure her boat was outside of direct collision range and make sure she was visible.

…and maybe take stock of all her available weapons, just in case pirates were a thing in this world. 

TBC

----

If you want to see the fight that Himeko mentions there is this cinematic. It's part of the game so Spoilers! But you're here, so go ahead. Final Lesson

Q&A time!

WTF is the Honkai? In layman's terms, it's like a super agressive energy from outer space that has it out for humanity. It grows apace with human civilization and wrecks havoc creating things like diseases (the black plague), natural disasters and Herrchers. Most people don't have resistance to honkai and either flat out die or become zombies upon exposure (yes, you read that right) and animals/critters can become honkai beasts.

Herrschers? They are humans (in most cases) that, at the lowest point of their lives or in circumstances where there's a fuck ton of honkai around, accept or get co-opted by the honkai and become mobile and genocidal natural disasters with a burning hatred for humanity. They have Authority over a concept.

Sirin/Herrcher of the Void? She had Authority over the Void, aka: Time/Space. She appeared before game canon and did things like making Siberia unlivable and dropping meteors on Earth, destroying cities and killing millions. During the game she possessed Kiana, our dorky MC, who went on a rampage until Himeko stopped her by injecting her with a serum that supressed Sirin and allowed Kiana to surface.

Stigma? Natural stigmattas are a thing that very very few people have. They grant honkai resistance and powers. Schicksal (an organization fighting against the honkai) reverse engineered them and made artificial stigmattas. They grant resistance and power at the cost of years if not decades of your life.

Why the heck did you mention a Tree? The imaginary tree is kinda complicated, but all Hoyoverse games exist in the same Universe (same Tree). Imagine each game is a World/Leaf in the Tree. Usually they are separated and it would require a monumental effort to cross to a different leaf, never mind branch in the Tree. FFXIV is now a leaf in the Tree because i say so.

Bubble universes? The word universe complicates things ugh. It's my understanding that bubble universes are kind of like incomplete worlds attached to the main world/leaf. Sorta like alternative universes i guess. So yeah, all your fan fic is real kinda deal, lol. They usually can't maintain themselves and erode/are destoyed.

And finally, Imaginary Space? It's a space outside of the "regular" world structure, like an in-between space. Himeko died in that imaginary space and fell there as it collapsed. In my lingo that's the perfect chance to fuck around and write fix-it fics.

There's a LOT more, but ask and i'll answer in the next prompt.

[littlehelpless]

✧✦ First Scenario: Honkai Star Rail ✦✧

「 Dreams of the Unknown Past 」

Elio doesn't dream.

But he always forgot that dreams can be from memories of people and events he couldn't forget no matter how much he wished to erase them from his mind but his heart says differently for he couldn't bear to ignore that it never happened even though it did until they were torn apart by his own hands for the sake of the vision he saw.

“Uncle Elio, are you alright?”

The man blinks and turn his head on the left to see a young girl with long light pink hair trailing down past her waist and a pair of ocean blue eyes with a hint of purple on it. She was looking at him with a concerned smile and he realized he must have space out, the book he was holding fell down from his lap down to the floor.

“Ah, sorry to startle you, Elistia.” Elio said with a natural smile, bending down to pick up the book.

“It's okay. You must be thinking something a lot in your mind.” the girl who he called Elistia shakes her head and he noticed something on her.

“What are those you're holding, Elistia?” he asks curiously.

“These are milkshakes! The Conductor was very thoughtful and kind to make everyone milkshakes. We noticed you weren't there on the Dining Car so I volunteered to deliver one for you.” Elistia answers cheerfully, giving out a glass of milkshake with a red straw on it.

He can see the flavor of the milkshake was his favorite one: a chocolate mint milkshake. The Conductor really knows their preferences and favourites by heart and it makes him feel warm she remembered such a detail he mentioned on a casual passing.

“Thank you, Elistia. Send my thanks to the Conductor once you go back.” he replies, taking the glass while he put away his book beside him.

“I'll stay here with you, Uncle Elio. It would be lonely to leave you here and you wouldn't reject my company, no? We're family here so there's nothing to be ashamed of.” the girl takes her seat beside him without waiting for his reply.

Family. That's the one word to describe the relationships of everyone in the crew, where their bonds as friends goes way beyond as each expedition and world they go solidified their love for one another that it would be unbearable if one of them leaves all of a sudden without a reason to tell. Elio smiles, feeling the warm touch of the young girl on his side, leaning her head on his arm as she happily sips her milkshake, a strawberry flavored one that's her favorite.

He sips on his own milkshake. As expected of the Conductor, the chocolate mint was perfect just the way he wanted to. It was their usual snack time and the Conductor would always deliver snacks and drinks for them while on their way to their next destination. She said it was a tradition she made with the first members of the crew and continued to be passed down till this day.

Elio place down his milkshake on the nearby table and open his book again, careful not to disturb the girl leaning on him as she look up to look at the book he was holding with curiosity in her face.

“What book are you reading this time, Uncle?”

“It's another book I got from Lady Histoire's library.” he answered.

“About the Founding Era or the First Aeons?”

“It's a history book about the world we're going to trailblaze later. I want to learn more about it so we could be well prepared for the expedition.”

Elistia hums, pulling herself away to give him some space as she also put her milkshake on the nearby table, beside his glass and lean back on the couch, stretching her arms. It was just the two of them alone on the Parlor Car. The sound of the engine faintly heard in the background and the warmth of this place radiating off out of nowhere to keep the people inside safe under its care. The two of them didn't say anything next but the silence was comforting to say the least and Elio wasn't much of a speaker himself but is slightly surprised that Elistia didn't say more even though she is quite a talker and likes to fill in the quietness with whatever she finds interesting or wants to share regardless they are listening or not as long as there was a sound in the atmosphere.

He continue to read in silence, feeling the girl's presence next to him. Minutes started to pass by and he suddenly feels uncomfortable somehow, like something isn't right but he can't tell what it is. Elio glance at the corner of his eyes and sees Elistia leaning comfortably at the couch, her eyes closed implying she must have fallen asleep.

I should find a blanket to cover her from the cold. Elio thought, a small smile tugging at his lips.

He place down the book and stands up from his seat, looking around the area where the blankets are. There are usually blankets on the ends of the couches in case anyone on the train fall asleep here in the Parlor Car but strangely, there are no blankets in sight. This is odd because the Conductor always make sure there are blankets here. Elio takes one last look at the girl before deciding to leave her temporarily to find a blanket. The others could be scattered around the parts of the train after having snacks in the Dining Car so he should look for the Conductor to ask for one.

He steps outside the Parlor Car to get to the next car and he notices something is not right again. The hallways look darker and eerie where one cannot help but feel a shiver down their spine of how it looks almost dead as if the train isn't alive anymore. He blinks and rubs his eyes. The train is sentient and is always glowing brightly in both outside and inside of it. But come to think of it, the train hasn't been acting or moving the walls or floors to get his attention earlier. It could have gotten him the blanket without the need of finding the Conductor himself.

“Starshine?” Elio calls out.

Starshine is the name of this sentient train. As he calls out its name hoping it would respond through the walls or floors, nothing happened. Seeing the train not reacting to his call, he felt dread on his stomach slowly creeping in. This isn't normal. The train would always respond to its name calling out and would never ignore the passengers nor the Conductor, always wanting to serve them however it can.

“Conductor?”

Elio walks fast, his eyes searching through the hallways for any sign of anyone be knows roaming around. But no matter how much he search through while walking, be couldn't feel anyone's presence in the train except for himself.

“Xiao? Saitama?”

He calls out the names of the members in a panic, already feeling afraid of any no one is responding to him.

“2B! Vivy! Osamu! Anyone, please respond!"

His voice yells, echoing through the hallways that almost seems endless on his sight. Was the hallway always this long or was it just his imagination? He continue to run through the dark hallways, with only the windows providing him faint light from the space outside.

No one is here. They are not here anymore.

Visions. Strange visions are appearing out of his mind that makes hin gasp and widen his eyes in shock and horror.

He can see the faces of his dear crew. Their expressions held nothing but boiling anger and hatred towards him with a hint of betrayal mixed on it.

The adults were badly injured with numerous scars and wounds on their skin mixed with ash and debris, the ground turning red with their blood as they struggle to get up.

Elio can't breathe. He stands still and clench his chest, trying to inhale the air.

He can feel himself smiling cruelly at their suffering and pain.

He can feel the unbelievable and immense power coming towards his way with many others behind him.

Elio gasp again, unable to properly breathe normally as these strange visions kept appearing on his sight and couldn't believe what he saw on those images.

The train has fallen down. It has been crushed and destroyed with nothing to salvage, no chances to repair it back to its former beauty.

The conductor and the Keeper are also laid down, the latter turning into a book to seal herself away while the former was unconscious.

Screams and shouts were heard everywhere in the sky and land, all meant for him to hear them cursing him out with vulgarity.

“Uncle Elio... Why did you do this?”

▇▇▇▇▇▇ look at him with eyes filled with pain and betrayal on his eyes, holding the bat of his adoptive father on his hand tightly.

“We trusted you... We loved you and give you our everything as our family... Why did you do this?”

Elio didn't answer.

“For the sake of the future, I need to redo everything and everyone back to the way it was supposed to be.” he says, eyes blank.

“Was this your goal all this time?”

▇▇▇▇▇▇ appeared beside ▇▇▇▇▇▇ with his draconic features released but the symbol of Permanennce on his forehead was glowing meaning he was about to transform soon.

“This is not beautiful, Uncle Elio.”

▇▇▇▇▇▇ and the others also appeared, about to transform into their true forms. It was their first time using their powers against someone who was a family figure to them and someone they trusted wholeheartedly no matter what happened.

“To think you were Destiny's Slave... How much are you willing to sacrifice to make whatever future you have saw to come true?”

▇▇▇▇▇▇ asks being the Heiress of Finality herself, even she didn't knew his true identity so she was baffled and disbelief at his powers revealed to her.

“Whatever it takes.” was his answer.

The skies were red. Ashes and smoke everywhere as far as the eye can see. The planet they were in was dying and couldn't bear to endure their presence at this battle.

“We hate to do this but you leave us with no choice, Elio.”

Flashes of brilliant lights blinded his sight but he knew better.

▇▇▇▇▇▇ looks at him with sadness and pain.

“We really loved you, Uncle. We really did. I wished you could have told us.”

He wanted to so badly but this was the path he chosen for himself and the moment he did, there was no turning back.

Elio gasped, waking up from his bed. Beads of sweat were formed on his skin and his body was trembling.

It was a dream he could never forget and will never be free from.

[remimibanana]

AVCon 2024 Convention Report!

I went to AVCon for both Day 1 and Day 2 in Adelaide!! This was the first ever convention I went to, so this would be my second time attending!!

I cosplayed as March 7th from Honkai: Star Rail alongside my good friend Pie (@piedivide) as Dan Heng! We did so many things and met so many cosplayers both new and familiar that I have to write about before I forget!!

Everything under the cut!

Day 1

I woke up at the ripe old time of 6am to become the wonderful March 7th you see right here.

Why, you may ask? I had to catch a train at 9:58am in order for us to get to the convention around 11am and I need time to get ready!

My mum helped me get ready (thank youuu), I quite literally cannot put on the top without help. It’s so hard to get on and off, but it fits fine once it’s on me for some strange reason. Many safety pins were also used to pin things in place (four actually but who’s counting?).

The things we do for cosplay.

I once again didn’t have time to actually try on the whole cosplay before the convention, it’s becoming a running trend for me which isn't good. Next time, it won’t be the case since I’ll have loads of time to acquire and try on my next cosplay!

For context, OZ Comic Con and AVCon were about three weeks from each other and I had Uni to finish up and the actual cosplay to order…was definitely cutting it close. It all worked out at the end thanks to me paying for express shipping.

The weather was horrible this day, it was raining for the whole morning and it was really cold. I remember not wanting to get up when my alarm started blasting. My trusty umbrella that doesn't like to stay up came in handy!

I got to the train station and immediately someone kindly pointed out that the camera March had fallen off me. It never stays on thanks to the weak clip so I didn't bother clipping it back for the rest of the con and subsequently forgot about it.

The train ride was fine at the beginning, until these really loud and annoying teenagers came and were right next to where I was seated since they had scooters. They kept going on about vapes and talking about me…and one even touched my shoulder aha

I was so glad when I finally got into the city and was rid of them forever. I absolutely abhorrer people like that, I just ignored them by staring at my phone pretending to scroll through stuff. It was hard when they literally tried talking to me at one point too…

Anyway!

Pie was waiting for me at the station, and he looked amazing! I really liked their wig, I don’t know how they do it. I feel like I’m doing something spiritually wrong because mine doesn’t look anything like the ones I see on the internet aha

I had to keep cutting off these small strands that kept going into my eyes. I think I'm not using enough hairspray to keep the hair sections together, which I shall work on!

I’ll work on my wig styling skills these next few months in between conventions. I shall learn the secrets of the trade eventually, and become a master!

We headed to the Adelaide Showgrounds, excited for what was to come for Day 1!

The line was HUGE. It went on and on, we literally couldn’t believe our eyes. We went to the very back of the line, which was right where the building across from the convention was (they have the Farmer's Market there on Sundays).

There were two lines actually as we could see, we didn’t know where to line up so we just went to the one on the left and hoped we were in the right one since we had pre-bought physical tickets from Shin Tokyo earlier in the week!

I had my umbrella out since there was a bit of rain PIE as we waited. I kept insisting that there was rain, while he kept insisting that there wasn’t despite the fact there WAS PIE!

I won when it started to rain harder and you could clearly see the droplets on his head as I so pointed out very smugly (I won okay don’t tell me otherwise or I swear—)

It took about 15 minutes or so to get inside of the convention. The theme of this year’s AVCon is a Sports Festival where there are four teams duking it out for the first place, so there were many unique passes you could get!

I didn’t really have a preference, but I would have liked the Pink team since pink supremacy, while Pie wanted the Green team since green supremacy. We thought we could choose, but they were randomly given out by the staff (I assumed it was because of the sheer number of people)…we did get the ones we wanted though!

Pie kept saying there was a Calli cosplayer in the distance, but I said I couldn’t see them multiple times (all I saw was pink hair in the distance) because I thought he was talking about Callie Splatoon, not Calli Hololive as I realised after.

You need to specify with me or I will make silly mistakes like this.

Our first order of the day was to find somewhere to sit and reorganize ourselves. I had to take off my jacket and Pie had to put away things as well before we could enjoy our time! We went to the main stage since there were many seats there and it was in front of us upon entering.

Once we got ready, we decided to go get something to eat since we both skipped breakfast to get ready. All the food at the convention was outside interestingly, so we headed outside after realizing this fact.

We both got some large fries that were decently priced! They were really good, not too soggy as they often can be with just the right amount of warmth! I put normal salt on mine for this day, although there were more to choose from!

During this time, Pie was contacting his brother who was also attending the convention but apparently he got lost in the meantime trying to find it and the line. It was kind of funny to be there viewing all the chaos unfolding.

I did get to meet Pie’s brother which was very nice! I kinda just stood there smiling the whole time because I’m no good with people haha

PAiDA!!!

When we headed back to the main stage, PAiDA was about to start her performance! She was a part of Babybeard's Adorable Assault Tour who opened for them here!

It was so amazing watching her perform, I've been a fan for quite some time now of her! I wish I could have met her, but I'm happy enough to have seen her in person!!!

Her final song was Future☆★Town, the song that made me discover her! I jammed out to that happily while eating fries!

Babybeard!!!!

THEIR PERFORMANCE WAS AMAZING. HANDS DOWN THE BEST PART OF DAY 1.

This was the first time I ever heard any of their songs properly, and I wasn't disappointed in any way! The mix of cute singing and metal screaming is incredible, Adelaide finally won because we never get anything here!

In the middle of the performance, a whole fight broke out between Ladybeard and his former coach who appeared stating that he was a disgrace and that his pigtails had to go. I had no idea that this would happen, they jumped off the stage and went all around fighting each other while interacting with the crowd!

They even fought in front of Pie and I! I whipped out my phone and started recording it because it was a chance I couldn't miss. As they headed back to the front of the stage, we rushed there too and managed to be right in front for the rest of the performance!!!

I swear to everything that Ladybeard, Mahri and Suzu were staring at me at times as they performed. I was copying their movements to an extent since I'm pretty good at that after all the Just Dance I've done in my life for fun but I thought I was being delulu about the staring like usual.

Pie after told me that they were definitely staring at me and waaaaaa I can't believe it!!!

Someone actually asked if we could take a photo with them during the performance once it was all over, although it was really hard to hear them so I had to ask for them to repeat their question twice just to make sure aha.

I will never forget this performance!!!! You can actually see me in the group photos that were posted by Babybeard alongside Pie on the right!!! We're famous now.

We even were shown on national television on The Project who had Ladybeard as a guest!! I was watching the show live on TV and I remember the whole time I was mad because they showed Ladybeard last so I had to watch the entire thing!

I just wanted to see him man and they kept saying “soon” over and over! It was worth the wait, but couldn’t they just have said that he was going to be the last guest in the first place?!

Point is, it was all amazing.

Dokibird!!

After Babybeard, Doki had a karaoke for us all! She was so straightforward about her going after them and how she said yes to a karaoke for some reason. She also couldn't actually hear us so we had to give thumbs up instead, this is why I love Doki man.

I’m proud to be a fan. Did you know she actually visited Adelaide before?! I couldn't believe it when she told us, I didn't expect such a renowned figure ever coming here since no one ever comes here and forgets about us mostly.

She sang three Disney songs for us with such cool effects and animations to go with them! All this effort for us Aussie Dragoons, it was a lot of fun to be there! I actually recorded the entire karaoke so I can look back on it!

My favourite Wii game of all time. I finally have it again.

We were walking past stalls and there was one filled with retro games and consoles. I remember we were walking closer, and a particular game's top caught my eye inside a container. I rushed to grab it, and it really was Mario and Sonic at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games!!!

It was an immediate purchase.

...

I got many photos with many cosplayers on this day!!! Please allow me to blab and gush about them all!

Firefly!!!

We were walking past the retro consoles that were set up and we saw a Wii that we immediately beelined to and used as our chance to put on the Dan Heng headbands Pie got us graciously and turn on my 2DS because I forgot to.

As we were sitting there, across from us was the Firefly cosplayer and we awkwardly waved to one another haha, it was great. Pie then went to ask for a photo as soon as we were done getting ready!

They look amazing!!!

Dan Heng IL!!!!

You know we had to get a picture with another Dan Heng since Pie was also Dan Heng! They looked really cool!!!

Is this like...March's dream lol

Jolyne!!!

They look so cool!!!! People always do such amazing JoJo cosplays, I'm always so impressed!

I'm up to Stone Ocean so I finally get a taste of who Jolyne really is and man I like her even more than I did before!

Bridget!!!!

I saw them while walking through the Artist Alley and blurted out it was Bridget. I really like Guilty Gear so I went to ask them for a photo very confidently!

They were so nice, I could tell they were so happy that I asked for a photo!

We even high fived at the end hehe

Joker!!!

We saw them when we came into the convention, actually! I pointed them out to Pie, who immediately was happy because he's a huge Persona fan!

I think Pie mostly wanted the picture but still invited me to join in, that made me very happy hehe.

A.B.A (and Paracelsus)!!!!!!

Before the convention, I was seriously brainrotting over A.B.A after seeing someone talk about her and show her sprites from Isuka.

I was watching videos and ingesting her lore like some crazy person. I think I manifested them because I freaked out when I saw Paracelsus from afar when we got to the convention! I know how that giant axe looks like from afar!

I needed a photo.

Alas, it was like a whole wild goose chase to actually find them. No matter where we looked, they literally didn't exist. Pie kept saying "Giant Yellow Key" to refer to them, which is not completely wrong as we searched high and low. I thought I missed my chance, which I was slowly accepting.

We found them eventually though near the doors, and I went straight to ask for a photo before they could leave! They looked so cool and their Paracelsus prop is everything!!!!

Elphelt!!!!!!

I also was brainrotting so hard over Elphelt as well, so to see an Elphelt cosplayer was also insane to me. I loved her Strive design from the beginning, but I was also learning about her previous designs in Xrd and Xrd Rev 2 and her lore!

I manifested this too, I was winning so damn hard!

It was such a struggle to get a photo with them as well, Pie and I kept losing sight of them in between all the people in the Artist Alley. They kept going up and we tried to follow to no avail. We finally managed to catch them at the end around a corner!

I asked for a photo and they pulled out Elphelt’s mic, a must have! I was really happy!!!!

Neuvillette!! (@edenzcosplay on Instagram!)

It was nice seeing her again alongside Cypher (@cypher_cosplay on Instagram)!!! We first met them back at OZ Comic-Con earlier in June and we always have such nice chats!!!

Thank you for the photo!!

Himeko!!!!! (@gumiho_cosplay on Instagram!!!)

All we're missing is Welt and the Trailblazer and we'd have the whole Astral Express here.

We saw her while walking around, finding it very awesome to see Himeko here as well! Eventually, we went up and asked for a photo with them!

They’re so pretty!!!!

Calli!!!!!! (@cheshrae on Instagram)!

This was the Calli cosplayer Pie was talking about earlier!! We saw her walking by and Pie went to ask for a photo! She was so kind, and even put a hand behind me which made me very happy!!

Very pretty!!

We spent the last of our time at the arcade, playing the various games available!

This time around, we were able to use our Nimo cards on the various rhythm games set up! Pie and I have one from Timezone, they literally gave us them for free since it wasn’t in the system yet!

Sound Voltex was a game we played at AnimeGO last year, so it was nice to play it again! I kept spinning the knobs too much so I always messed up that part of the gameplay.

I was waiting in line for another rhythm game that was next to Sound Voltex after, but unfortunately the wait was quite long (there was another in front of us that we didn’t know about) and I didn’t want to make Pie wait since he wasn’t going to try it out.

We headed back to the city at that point, deciding on getting some food!

It was after 5, which made things harder since most places were closed, again. At the end, we went for Hungry Jacks. It's becoming our tradition for every con, which I don’t mind!

I tried the Big Jack this time around, and it was so damn messy! Pie did tell me so but I wanted to have it so I could say I tried it once in my life. Note to self, don’t ever order this again.

We then went to take photos at the photo booth! It was a self serve one where you simply walk in and use the machine to take photos. We had to take eight photos and we had no idea what poses to do. It was really fun though! I put the picture strip away in my photo album, hehe.

Then we went to Karaoke! It’s our tradition to do this to end the day off! I managed to sing all of the English songs off my list this time around, leaving me with only a few left that were mostly Japanese ones that I didn’t get to.

I think the highlight for me was when I did Zombies on the Lawn from PvZ, Pie did the Zombie voices while I sang the Sunflower parts! We totally slayed that song I feel.

I was running out of songs to sing for Day 2 as I soon learned, which wasn’t good. On the train ride home, I thought up of some more songs based off my Spotify playlists!

I then headed home, taking off my cosplay immediately without a second thought.

I didn’t sleep until after midnight.

Day 2

I woke up at 6am once again to get ready! I only slept for like five or so hours, so I was pretty addled the whole time. For example, I tried to wash my face again when I already washed it.

Getting ready went much quicker this time around though! I was dissatisfied with my makeup while applying it actually and then liked my makeup again after....don't ask.

I had to use more safety pins for the ribbons on March's sleeves because they were about to fall off. It was worth buying them for sure!

The weather was so much better this time around to my surprise too when I stepped out! There was no rain this time, and we had a bit of sunshine! It was perfect since this day was special, very special!

It was Pie's birthday!!!

They are so lucky to have their birthday during a con! I knew that this year, I had to get something for them more tangible than what I did last year! I usually draw something digitally for them, but my drawing tablet is out of order ;;

The cable broke and I haven’t gotten a replacement yet, I want to buy a new tablet since mine is over 5 years old and I think it's time for a new one!

I was thinking long and hard about what to get him, and only one thing really came into my mind: Welt Yang acrylic stand. Pie is Welt Yang's biggest fan and what better to give to such a fan than the character himself?

Mihoyo officially released an acrylic stand with Welt's splash art and I knew it would be such a perfect gift for him! Honestly speaking, I was so busy that I only had time to order something in less than two weeks, so I was fearing I wouldn't be able to get it.

I looked on Ebay, hoping that they a) had the acrylic stand and b) that it would come in time. To my absolute joy, AmiAmi were selling the stand for a decent price AND it would come in time thanks to free express shipping!

I bought it immediately. I actually missed the package the first time since no one was home to pick it up and DHL don't leave packages at the post office. I got it at the end, don’t worry.

I still wanted to draw something for Pie, so I made a card!

I love making cards, I always do for one of my friends, so it was time to do so for them! I drew them doing a JoJo pose because yes for the front and drew myself inside alongside a small message wishing them a very happy birthday!

I used my markers and various traditional supplies, although I wish I had more colours to play with. I’ll get more colours eventually!

For the final present, I got some dark chocolate because he really likes it. It’s not because I already had some lying around or anything in my drawer full of sweets. I'm a bit of a sweet tooth, I can't resist the sugary temptation...

I put all this into a gift bag and brought it with me, making sure not to forget anything!

There were no annoying teenagers on the train this time around, although I did drop my MetroCard and a kinder older lady pointed it out to me. I also forgot to put on my gloves ehe

When Pie and I met at the station, I immediately said happy birthday and gave them the gift bag without letting them say a single word aside from hello.

They asked me if they were meant to open it now, and I answered nonchalantly “if they want” but of course I meant “YES OPEN IT NOW MY FRIEND YOU MUST SEE IT”

We went to sit down at a bench and I watched with excitement as he opened the bag! Pie first pulled out the card, reading the little message I wrote inside for him!

I'm glad he liked the card at the end and the drawings at the end! I worked hard on it, although the inside drawing didn’t want to stick down in place so it kinda just flaps around haha

Then, Pie pulled out the main present.

I could see in their eyes how happy they were seeing the acrylic stand of Welt Yang himself staring back. He excitingly ripped open the plastic wrapping and kept thanking me over and over.

I knew he’d like it.

The chocolate was lastly taken out and he was happy with it of course, but Welt Yang was stealing the show obviously. Pie hugged me while still thanking me for everything profusely.

I'm so happy that he was so happy with it all! I really wanted to surprise him for his birthday!

We then headed on the train back to the Adelaide Showgrounds for Day 2! Our plans this time around were to do our shopping and meet all the famous guests today!

There wasn’t a real line this time around as we noted, so we took this chance to buy some food since we skipped breakfast again.

We ordered the same large fries again! I put Himalayan Pink Salt this time around, but I underestimated how much salt would fly out of the container. We actually got way more fries than last time, which was a win in our books!

Heading in was easy since we already had our Weekend passes, so we just showed them to the security guard and off we went! We sat down at the main stage again, noting how there were many cosplayers lining up on the right side of it.

The Cosplay Parade was about to start, as I quickly worked out. We decided to watch a bit of it and leave once we finished eating our fries. In fact, we stayed for the whole time.

Upon trying to leave, someone asked for our photo and used their 3DS to take it! It was very cool.

The first guest we met was Bryce Papenbrook, the guy who was my literal childhood. He was Kirito, Adrian, Makoto and Nagito….it was a real honor to meet the voice actor of them all! I didn't know what to say to him, but I tried my best!

I spiritually embarrassed myself I feel because I kept blabbering about how he was many characters for me…I’m no good when talking with people I’ve noticed sometimes.

Bryce literally ended the conversation and I’m very thankful he did because man I would have continued on if he didn’t aha.

We actually came at the earliest time, but we had to come back later since he had his panel. We received these little tickets with a number so we wouldn't lose our spots!

I’m happy to have met him though!

ELYSIA (@_lumistar.cos on Instagram) AND EDEN (@shell._cos on Instagram) (dies)

I was so excited to meet them, since I knew beforehand that they would be here as the Elysia and the Eden!!!!

If you didn’t know, I’m a HUGE Honkai Impact 3rd fan who’s been playing through the game! I’m on Chapter 32 right now of Part 1, and I’m playing through Chapter 3 of Part 2!

I was talking with Lumi, the Elysia cosplayer way before the convention who told me that she would be cosplaying as Herrscher of Human: Ego Elysia alongside her friend as Eden and I freaked the heck out, of course.

Elysia is one of my favourite characters and I really liked Eden when I was playing through the Elysian Realm!

HONKAI IMPACT 3RD COSPLAYERS ONCE AGAIN AT MY ANIME CONVENTION I KEEP WINNING

They actually saw us first while we were waiting in line for Bryce and they waved at us before continuing on their trek! It was too bad weren’t able to take photos then but I knew we would get our opportunity, eventually!

If I wasn’t in line, I would have rushed right over to them without a single thought.

Once we finished with Bryce, we headed off to find them! We needed that photo! I needed to see them again before they disappeared somehow haha like some of the other cosplayers from Day 1.

We headed towards the larger area filled with tables and we saw them sitting down at one from afar. Our plan was to leave and come back when they’re done, but they started standing up and eventually came over to us!!!!

You two looked amazing!! I’m so happy I could get a photo with the both of you!!!!

Caelus!!! (The main trio is HERE)

Pie saw them first when we got to the convention, and he was hoping we could get a photo! We didn’t see them for a while, until they appeared in front of us and Pie went right after them.

They looked great!!!

Jing Yuan (@starkiller.cos on Instagram)!!!!!

Pie and I were talking near the main stage, and suddenly we see a bird in between us cutting through our conversation haha

I was so surprised, seeing a Jing Yuan cosplayer right next to us who wanted a photo! Of course we obliged, can’t have too many photos!!

They were really cool!!!

We got to catch a bit of Dokibird and Babybeard's QnA panels!!! We couldn't stick around too long for the both of them, since we had to line up for meeting people and what not.

It was so cool seeing them again! Someone from the audience mentioned by accident something in relation to Doki's past when asking a question and someone literally overreacted by saying it was forbidden and stuff really loudly which was a bit much.

Otherwise, it was very awesome!!

We did buy prints for ourselves and one another, but Tumblr image limit sucks so I can't show them. I can describe them though!

I got Acheron and Robin from HSR prints for myself, while I received Pikamee and Sunday from HSR prints from Pie! I absolutely love them, thank you once again!!!

For Pie, I got them a Silver the Hedgehog square print since they really like Silver and it caught my eye while walking around and a Bruno Bucciarati from JoJo Part 5 print since he's Pie's favourite and immediately knew I had to get it upon sight!!!

I also got three A5 prints of Aventurine and Dr Ratio as gifts for my friend whose birthday is coming up really soon! She REALLY likes the two of them, I can't wait to see her face.

I GOT TO MEET DOKI HERSELF AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I will never forget this.

Pie and I rushed over to the guest area where Doki was going to have her meet and greet, noting how there already was a decent line forming.

We inserted ourselves into the end of the line, hoping we would have the chance to meet her! We were pretty sure we would, especially since we each only had about two minutes with her and they did time each person.

It was quite the wait, since all of us had to wait for everything to be set up and for each person in front of us to have their turn. My legs were hurting the whole time, but it was all worth it!

In the middle of it all actually, there were some technical difficulties. The PC that they were using to stream Doki to the large tv screen decided to stop working properly with the headphones and the staff couldn’t work out why or how to fix it.

At the end, they used a laptop and apologized to us all that it had to be like this. I didn’t mind at all, we still could meet her despite how long it took to resolve all the issues which was the important part at the end!

Pie and I actually wrote letters for Doki, since we were allowed to bring gifts for her! I bought this really pretty letter set from Daiso that I used first, and then gave a set to Pie since they wanted to write a letter as well after seeing mine!

There was also a collectible card we could buy with Doki on it, but we had to go to the merch stall as we learnt. On the table, there was a QR code that I decided to scan, finding out that there was a whole scavenger hunt at the con?!

No one told us! We probably would have done it if we knew, a bit of a missed opportunity. It seemed you could have gotten a prize of sorts if you completed it all.

I was nervous the whole wait because a) it’s Doki hello she’s super famous and b) I didn’t really know what to talk to her about.

There was one thing I knew I would definitely say, mention that it was Pie’s birthday before I say goodbye and if she could say happy birthday to him!

I wanted to make his day even better, and I know how awkward it is mentioning that it’s your birthday to someone yourself without it sounding like…entitled? I don’t know how to exactly explain it, but I’d do this for him any time!

Anything for a great friend like Pie! I got you!

My turn finally came around, with me holding my phone out so a staff member could take a photo of me and Doki! They asked if I wanted a selfie or a photo, and there was no way in hell I'd do a selfie without messing it up miserably and looking ugly so I told them I wanted a photo.

Once they did, I sat down and put on the headphones. I said hello, and Doki said hello back! She was talking to meeeee!!! I couldn't believe it!!!!

At that point, there was this very short silence between us that I knew I couldn't let it go further so I started blabbing about how she was here in Adelaide. It was the only thing I could think of at the moment.

I first told her that it was such an honor to meet her, and how I saw the announcement on Twitter. I then said how I watched her karaoke and how she said she visited Adelaide! I literally gushed to her and she didn't seem to mind at all!

I latched onto that topic and it worked out well I feel! I didn't stutter too much or anything, although I feel I did accidently interrupt Doki when she was about to say something at times, I was just that excited and nervous aha.

I only had ten seconds left to talk to her after all this as the staff pointed out, so I went straight to mentioning that it was Pie's birthday and that if she could say happy birthday, it would be amazing.

Doki said that she got me and asked for Pie's name! I told her his real name since I assumed it would be more personal that way! I was so glad that she would do this for me!

I thanked her again before saying goodbye multiple times! I was over the moon after that, standing nearby watching Pie talk to her! I had a stupid grin on my face as I could tell that Doki said something regarding his birthday.

I saw that look towards me Pie, hehe. I said I got you, didn’t I?

Once Pie was done, they ran to me and demanded to hear what I talked to Doki about, noting how I did well and didn't seem too nervous at all! I'm glad I looked that way because I surely didn't feel that way haha.

We spent some time gushing over Doki together, with me finding out that Doki said that I doxxed Pie during their talk (and she wasn't wrong lmao). I was so happy to hear that I made Pie happy with this small little gesture!

I still can't believe I met Doki.

After that, we went to buy the collectible card! We couldn't find the merch stand so we had to ask a staff member, only to find out we were quite literally near it the whole time of course. We had to wait a short while since the staff was busy, but Pie eventually asked about us getting some!

We got SUPER lucky since there were only two left that we paid for immediately!

Our plan was to meet Babybeard as well today, but they were nowhere to be seen interestingly after their QnA panel earlier. We did see PAiDA near where Doki was, but we assumed that meant they were relocated elsewhere. I can only guess their meet and greet was cancelled for some reason, since we couldn't find them at all after walking all around the convention.

We met Doki, so it was fine! I’m sure we will get another chance again someday to meet them!!!

After one final walk around, we decided to leave and head back into the city for some food once again! We decided on the Izakaya we went to last year sometime since we wanted something warm and we had a bit of extra time!

I was practically nearly broke by the end of it all as I could see from my bank account, so I only got myself some Takoyaki while Pie got a ramen bowl. I spent way more than I expected, which isn’t a bad thing!

I just uh...have to not spend crazy amounts of money for a while until I recuperate.

We went to Karaoke once again! I was set since I knew what songs I wanted to sing, while Pie was the one struggling this time. Usually, our roles are reversed and I take forever to choose anything so it was kind of funny.

I think the highlight was when we started singing meme songs out of nowhere. Pie did the HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA song (very impressively I might add) while I did Witch Doctor! It was a lot of fun jamming out to them!

I did sing a whole bunch of Japanese songs this time! I did mess up many times but it was still a lot of fun! I sang Gift and Sevendays Love, Sevendays Friend, two songs from Pretty Rhythm Rainbow Live I really like!

I then headed home after that, taking off my cosplay immediately and relaxing near the warm heater. I was going to record some TikToks like I usually do, but I really didn't feel like doing them. Next time, I will!

It was an amazing weekend! I did so many things and met so many people that I will never forget any of the experiences I had alongside Pie!!!

Thank you AVCon!!!! Thank you Pie for the fun time, and thank you to everyone who came up to us for a photo!!!

I love cons so much!!!

-Miku

[lostacelonnie]

what drew you to durandal originally and is it the reason shes still a favorite now?

OK OK OK FIRST OF ALL. thank you SO much for this ask i love talking about her and also sorry it took so long to respond, i had a lot going on. hope you don't mind ehe,, ANYWAYS! to be honest, the reason i started liking her very early in the game is. purely a coincidence! and by that i mean, i got valkyrie gloria ~ch2 and she's been on my team for an unreasonably long time since then, so even before i even knew who she was i. kinda grew attached to her [same for seele, btw. swallowtail phantasm carried me through half this game. moving on.] then came the first mention of her in chapter i don't remember which one [2? 3? 4? something around there] and tbh i just heard teri's description and was like "oh she sounds neat :] i'm probably gonna like her!" [foreshadowing?] just bc she sounded like a genuinely. nice person?

so, that's how i originally got drawn to her! now, onto why she's still my favorite :D

ok so. starting off. sth you often see in the fandom is ppl saying that dudu doesn't really have much of a personality, and while she definitely doesn't get her character really shown in a lot of the game, that's very untrue! it's just a lot of ppl tend to kinda... not bother to look into her character too much??? and, while im not gonna go full character analysis, its just. its about the genuine sweetness. the fact that despite being schicksals strongest valkyrie, she doesnt even get the thought of placing herself above other valkyries, or hell, even kiana, the literal [from her perspective] herrscher of the void. its about the Himbo Energy. shes so so smart but so so silly!!!!! its about the little traces of the personality she was forced to repress for the sake of a bubble universe, seen for example when she was fighting su! think that was ooc? think again, thats exactly what she was like a few years ago!!!! dudu is excitable, she likes having fun and playing football with kids and she adopted a half honkai beast only bc it looked like a cat, because she had half her childhood stolen by having to protect an entire universe. and like, shes a really good person who worked with schicksal bc guess what? she was raised there! and human attachments exist! and despite resorting to questionable means of achieving what she needed to, shes capable of changing and fighting alongside new allies. you get me?

oh and also another thing very dear to me about her character is biankas approach to identity. as in, names dont play a big role until you give them one- flowers may smell and look and beautiful under any other name, but she has given her own name meaning and made it hers, just as kiana has done- and bianka being born under the name kiana doesnt change or refute either of their identities

anyway thank you!! this might be a bit incomprehensible cos i did it at 1am but i feel like i still got my point through. although, i really barely said anything and didnt address a lot of the ✨points of nuance✨ because if i started, we'd be here all day. so. there it is theres the mini dudu rant

[luckysliceofbread]

Genshin Characters Reactions to you having the powers of someone from another world

(Aka: yet another excuse to talk a bit about Honkai imapct)

Tw: talks about fighting but I think that was a given, swearing

Oh also just know that I’m barley ever serious, it’s not enough to be a whole crack fic buuuuuut...

Quick explanation/ the best explanation I can make about Honkai imapct and how the fighting stuff works:

People called Valkyries are trained to fight these things called Honkai beasts and use these things called “battle suits” to fight them, but there are the gods called Herrschers, they don’t count as Valkyrie’s but some fight Honkai beasts.

One person can have multiple battle suits and depending on the battle suits, they can control elements, there are no elemental reactions, but the elements are still in the battle suits.

I’ll assign you a random battle suit, with pictures of said battle suit and the stats, of course (Although the weapon stats are the stats of the weapons when you first get it).

Oh, and I should also add:

SP is like the energy that’s used for ultimates.

Some cost less than others some cost more. You get SP from hitting monsters and stuff.

Now onto the headcanons!

Prolog:

You loved Genshin Impact, playing the game when you felt like it, trying your hardest to get a good team and then build them up, you hated the constant grind, but you put up with it because you were having so much fun playing the game.

Recently you’ve heard about another game MiHoYo released a few years back, Honkai Impact 3rd, you saw a video of one cutscene from inside the game and immediately went to download the game.

Now you’ve been playing for a while and you’re also having a pretty great time there too, you’ve pulled for quite a few characters and found it fairly easy to build a team.

One night, you stay up to late playing Genshin and you wake up literally inside Teyvat. You soon discover that you have the powers and abilities of the Valkyrie you were building up.

Cool part is, you look exactly like the Battle suit, the only things you kept were your skin, eyes, hair colour and body shape, pretty cool that you somehow magically also took their fighting reflexes, fighting style, weapon and powers/abilities.

(No seriously, fighting like the Valkyrie does in the game feels like second nature to you.)

You spend a few weeks in Teyvat, and make quick friends with a few people, however you only tell one about- uh- this mess.

Albedo:

Battle suit: Stygian Nymph

Let me clarify that the more SP Stygian Nymph has during her ultimate increases her damage output. That’s why she’s op.

Oh wait that makes a lot of sense.

He knew you came from another world, you told him that

But to also imitate that person’s abilities?

How interesting

He studies you a lot, asking questions about the Valkyrie herself

You tell him that Seele (the Valkyrie that uses this battle suit), also uses her ‘other self’ to fight in battle, but you haven’t tried to summon her because you literally have no idea what would happen

Which is pretty reasonable

Albedo asks you if you’re okay with trying it out for the reasearch

You go “fuck it” and call upon your ‘other self to lend you their strength’ just like Seele does

It works, but you still have full control, no ‘other you’ sadly

You test out the fact that your sythe had turned into these giant floating claws and tenticals

You have SO MUCH fun bulling the hilihurls

Poor them

Then after clearing through many, many, many camps (listen this battle suit can solo anything), you remember Stygian Nymph’s Ultimate

You figure that you’ve definitely maxed out your SP and that the damage is going to be humongous

So you go to bully that poor cryo flower (I forgot what it’s called)

Albedo is unsure, but after you tell him that this battle suit has solo fought a god, a killing machine, a giant dog and more stronger things in Honkai impact, he agrees, completely ready to step in, only just in case though

You just run in, and Albedo goes to find a safe spot to sit down while he watches you fight for a while

He’s like ‘this’ll probably take a while’

So it took less than a minute

You used your ultimate when the boss slouched on the ground

That flower is very dead

You collect your rewards and leave

Albedo’s like wtf was that

You’re like idk man, I had a lot of SP

wtf is an SP?

Aether:

Battle suit: Herrscher of the Void

Side note: you also evade and float around like HotV I just couldn’t find a way to bring it up here without getting off-track.

This is the only acceptation to the ‘your eyes stay the same too’ bit

Your eye colour looks the exact same now

Aether looked you in the eyes and went ‘hey that looks like the person who kidnapped my sister’

He attacked you and you were like ‘Aether wtf’

You tried explaining the situation as calmly as you can while almost being stabbed

He calms down a bit and is like

“So, can you use her powers?”

“The Herrscher of the Void and that unknown goddess are probably not the same person.”

“Oh.”

“But I’m pretty sure they’re like, alternate universe counterparts?”

“Really? Cool.”

You joined his party after a few weeks of Paimon BEGGING Aether to just “Invite y/n, already!”

Paimon is getting tired of watching your semi-awkward interactions

So they hope bringing you on the team will stop making things so awkward

It kinda worked?

After gaining enough SP you used your ultimate, knowing that the missiles(?) couldn’t hurt anyone on your team

You scared the FUCK out of everyone

I mean you helped a lot but like

Give a warning please

Wait no he’s not mad at you don’t feel bad

Xiao:

Battle suit: Motolov Cherry: Augment Core

Let me tell you what an augment core is. I don’t know if they have a canon explanation because I skipped a lot of the HI3rd text, but it’s like a battle suit inside a battle suit.

They usually work similarly but in this case the battle suits aren’t very similar.

The way he met you was unique

He heard a ruckus around Wangshu inn and went to go see if it was trouble

It was but you were taking care of it

He was about to leave because you looked more than capable of handling this

But then he saw that you dual-wield greatswords (or claymores, as they’re called in Teyvat)

You were just flinging them around like it was nothing???

Curious, he stuck around to watch you fight from afar

Then you used your ultimate

Great, now there’s even more pink and blue paint every—

Wait what it all disappeared after the fight wtf

See, the thing is, you actually expected him to be there

That’s why you were clearing out any remaining hilichurl camps around the inn

But you didn’t tell him

So now your talking

You trust him a lot, considering you literally lured him out to talk to him

He sticks around, and of course he asks questions

“Are those horns?”

“Uh, I think?”

“You think?”

“How do you dual-wield strange looking claymores, and then fight with them like they’re regular blades?”

“They’re not actually that heavy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you can hold one to test it out.”

He then dropped it on the ground, and fell down with it

Obviously it was kinda funny, but this is Xiao, so you try to hold back your laughter in order to keep Xiao as your friend

He then disappears out of embarrassment

You make a mental note to visit him at the inn sometime

Oh, and don’t forget the Almond Tofu

Venti:

Battle suit: Starlit Astrologos

Yeah she’s a support-dps

She’s my child and I love her

So it all started when you went to the adventures guild to find a place to stay

That’s where he heard you say “I have an anemo vision, but it’s in my coat.”

He surely didn’t remember giving you a vision, he’d definitely remember someone who looked as pretty as you

You got away with it and you were allowed into the adventurers guild!

Suspicious, he goes all like

“Hey, I couldn’t help but over-hear that you have an anemo vision! Let’s be anemo buddies!”

After he says that your just like oh no he’s on to me

You feign obliviousness, pretending like this man isn’t the literal anemo archon, and you agree

So you’re doing a commission and he tags along

Mainly because he doesn’t believe you have anemo powers and he waits for an excuse to come from you

“I’ll stay a bit behind and shoot a bit.”

“Ok, be careful.”

“I will.”

You dig your weapon into the ground, it made a musical bum sound

Wait do you actually have anemo powers

You used your charged attack and deal MASSIVE amounts of damage

And you use your normal attack to heal yourself when you get hit

He’s already amazed

Then a hilichurl is about to attack you from behind, but he can’t shoot it in time

Luckily, you dodge it in time, activating your ultimate evasion

Now, ultimate evasions differentiate from different battle suits

But the most common one is literally stopping time

But an extra thing this battle suit does is release a large burst of wind at the enemy who cause the evasion in the first place

Venti is so confused because he can move, you can move, but the hilichurls are slowed down by a lot

You yell at him to come step in the formation on the ground after time stops

So you continue attacking the hilichurls, and Venti makes his way to the small formation on the ground

The entire time he’s like

‘What the fuck, is y/n actually a human? What’s happening??’

Time goes back to normal and he steps in the forma— AAAAA EVERYTHING IS FROZEN AGAIN

Then the cherry on top to the cake of confusion was your ultimate

Hoo boy

Your ultimate is a giant formation with a tornado inside it

“Ok what the fu—“

After that you tell him that your from another world and about the whole situation blah blah blah

“So, you come from a different world, and then you took the powers of someone else from a different world?”

“Yeah, she’s like, really strong.”

“Is she a god?”

“Nope.”

“Then what are the gods in that world like..?”

“You don’t wanna know.”

“I wha—“

[busghost]

What's with that blue serum that Himeko used in Final Lesson to cure Kiana? Did it ever get referenced or brought up ever again, or was it just a one-time solution?

sources/spoilers: Second Eruption Manga,  Moon Shadow Manga, and Story Chapter Nine

This one actually does require knowledge from the manga because they do rush through a lot, which makes sense in context, nobody has time to explain too much when you’re trying to stop a Herrscher.

After Rita and Fu Hua subdue Dr. Tesla and Himeko, Fu Hua uses Fenghuang Down, the 8th Divine Key, to stabilize Himeko because she is beginning to die from Honkai corruption from her artificial stigmata. She then leaves her with a test tube of honkai neutralizing serum HSN-b46 which she got from Dr. Magi in Singapore during the Moon Shadow arc. Then Fu Hua goes and fights the Herrscher of the Void and Otto kills her.

Himeko wakes up and Fu Hua (not actually her but 8th Divine Key copy of her because she used it to heal Himeko) tells her to find a safe place to hide and then inject the serum as it will neutralize the Honkai corruption in her body. Himeko refuses because she’s gotta save everyone, cause she’s Murata Himeko the baddest bitch to ever live. So instead Fu Hua directs her to Helhiem Laboratories so Himeko and Tesla can get what they need to fight the Herrscher.

In Helhiem Labs they come across records that Otto has recorded from just after the Second Honkai War to just after the 3rd Eruption. Otto noted that Cecilia’s Holy Blood of Schariac worked extremely well at neutralizing the Honkai energy from Sirin’s core overloading at the end of the Second Honkai War. He wants to use this again for his plan to bring K-423 under his control if some other plans don’t work. Why he didn’t go with this plan first and instead decided to see if Kiana could wrestle control back after the Herrscher killed somebody she loved, I’ll never know but Otto is just kinda *like that*.

Anyway the Problem™ is that the Holy Blood isn’t working well enough on its own and Otto is getting frustrated since it’s been 14 years and no progress has been made. But then Dr. Magi creates the anti-Honkai serum HSN-b46. Dr Magi wanted to cure Valkyries of their Honkai corruption, but he’s dead so Otto can do what he wants. He is more interested in the fact that when you combine the Holy Blood with HSN-b46 you get a very interesting serum. When tested on normal humans it had no effect, when test on Valkyries they could no longer harness the Honkai. The most interesting effect was whwn it was used on zombies the zombies were in extreme pain and fell unconsious, then their brains showed signs of working again. Not being back to human, but signs of life. Later a test on an Emperor-class Honkai beast made it no longer able to control the Honkai energy in its body and it turned to ash. This serum is called the Spear of Destiny, because nothing can have a normal name. The reason Schicksal isn’t making tons of this stuff is because it’s really difficult to make HSN-b46.

Himeko immediately takes out the HSN-b46 serum that Fu Hua gave her and asks Tesla if she can make the Spear of Destiny. Tesla notes there’s only enough for one dose but chooses not to say anything because she can tell Himeko already knows that. Tesla sends her off elsewhere in the lab and Himeko grabs the Vermilion Knight: Eclipse battlesuit with Fu Hua’s help. While Himeko is gone Tesla makes the serum and then injects herself with Honkai in the arm and corruption begins to spread. She then injects some serum to make sure it will actually work and the corruption goes away, followed by the wonderful line, “Tesla never thought her arm could look so beautiful.”

From here on out it’s pretty straightforward. Himeko fights the Herrscher, after getting called an insect too many times she tells her “I have a name you know? Try to remember it when I send you crying to your daddy in hell! I AM MURATA HIMEKO !”, Einstein uses the Selene prototype installed on the Hyperion to blast the Herrscher of the Void converting most of her Honkai reserves into heat so she retreats. Then Anti-Entropy and the Gang all have to retreat. Benares follows them. The last thing Himeko says before the Final Lesson CG begins is, “Godspeed girls...

I would kill for another can of beer”.

This may have devovled into Himeko praise at the end, but what can I say? I’m a sentimental bitch. And I’m still not over the Final Lesson. And I miss her.

[thenichibro]

Winter 2017 Anime First Impressions

The first season we’re really feeling the effects of more anime simulcast services. Yellow subs, torrents not being under the CR/Funi umbrella - dark times. Due to the fact I can only DDL at college, I am choosing not to watch LWA or Onihei because I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them. I’m definitely going back to LWA after the season’s over though. Regardless, this season has the usual ups and downs, but initially I’m seeing a lot of ups - Maidragon is fantastic, Demi-chan and Urara are cute as hell, and Scum’s Wish is almost emotionally draining to watch, it’s so enthralling. Here’s what I’m watching, with MAL links: Fuuka (MAL) Starting off, we have an ecchi almost-harem manga that I didn't like. Great. Fuuka has the original plot elements of a shut-in guy that popular on the internet, who also has a super-popular girl as his childhood friend and soon gets to know another cute girl. Also his three sisters never wear clothes. Cool. Fuuka wasn't really that shit until the truck-to-the-face level plot twist that occurred in the manga, which I hope they will reach in the anime just for the reactions to how bullshit it is. Other than that, Fuuka is a less-than-stellar sort of harem about a whiny, bland main character. Fuuka even falls on the MC twice in the first episode for good measure. Oh, I guess also the plot involves playing music, but that's basically just a way for more random good things to happen to an unlikable character. OP and ED are nothing special, either. If anything, Diomedia's art style is usually good. Otherwise, avoid. Masamune-kun no Revenge (MAL) A story of a fat kid who got ripped and now wants to get revenge on his former crush. It's something new, for sure. The completely worthless perfect-in-everything trope is now supplied by both the female AND male leads. What a show. At the very least, Masamune-kun tempers the trope by giving both mains embarrassing reasons to keep up airs. The girls we've met aren't half bad, and I for one support a peppy class rep rather than the standard strict, megane type. The princess-complex is so tiring every time it happens, so lets hope that the show moves more toward Makabe/Aki in their real selves rather than putting on airs. Masamune-kun's plot actually strikes me as similar to Last Game, if anyone's read that manga. While I doubt this show will carry far enough into the future to deal with marriage, the story of a guy trying to ruin/outdo a girl and falling for her is definitely there. I have no strong feelings one way or another about this show, at least not yet. That will probably depend on how much princess Aki vs. normal Aki we see. Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitensha-bu (MAL) I thought Long Riders was last season? Anyway, here we have a slice of life about a girl in a biking club. Relaxing enough premise, for sure. First impressions are that this show takes it pretty slow, judging from the fact that it takes 14 minutes before the main characters get to school at all. That is not a complaint, just an observation. Another is how different the landscape art is from the character art. The show opens with some amazing nature stills, while the character art is, for lack of a better term, "old." As in, it almost has the feel of an earlier 2000s show. I did wonder how much into biking the show would get, like Long Riders did, and the end of episode 1 answered that for me. The last two minutes or so are a live action segment where two of the seiyuu learn about getting into biking by talking to a guy running a bike shop. While the super serious stuff is what kind of made Long Riders fall flat for me, maybe it won't be as serious. We’ll see. Nyanko Days (MAL) I guess since I can't get my Teekyuu fix, I'll have to find a different two-minute show. Nyanko Days is about Tomoko, a girl who has three personified cats. For a two-minute show, that's about how far episode 1 got. She was depressed about being lonely, but cheers up upon arriving home to her three cats, Maa, Shii, and Rou. For a show this short the animation is surprisingly clean, and the 30sec ED was suitably full of "nya" and various words combined with it. It's cute, and it's two minutes long, so why not? Seiren (MAL) I came into this show knowing little more than it was a school romantic comedy, and overall I think it benefited my first impressions. The show focuses on three main girls and their relations with the male MC, and dedicates a few episodes to each of them out of the 12-episode cour. I'm immediately wary of this, only because it gives me flashbacks (read: PTSD) to Photokano, where they focused on a different girl each few episodes and then reset time the next section. I do enjoy the lack of the transfer student trope, at least for the MC. The first moments successfully give you the sense that there is already a school community, something I prefer over having to sort out relationships individually following a transfer. Overall, the MC is pretty standard and the current girl has a tiring personality. As long as this show stays far from resembling trash like Photokano, I think this show will be defined by the personality of the current girl, whether you like that or not. Chaos;Child (MAL) Because we needed more of the Chaos;Head storyline. I don't remember much about Chaos;Head, other than the incredibly shit voice of the main character and the incredibly shit everything else. I watched the first episode in a 1-hour combination with "Episode 0," which is a recap of Head. If you get the HorribleSubs release, that's what the file will be. Anyway, Child itself takes place six years after Head, in which the main character of that show causes some event or something. The recap doesn't help at all. Child follows a school's newspaper club investigating murders similar in strangeness to those during Head. Initially, Takuru seems like a person interested in the depravity and bizaare level of the murders, but that personality gets completely dropped when he tries investigating the newest murder - he completely loses all cool after seeing a body. While that otherwise may be a fairly normal reaction, it goes at odds with the Takuru that had looked at pictures of previous murders and called them "juicy" and interesting. He also regains the first personality after the event is over. Just seems way too abrupt. I will say Itou Kanako returns as she does for everything semi-colon related, and her voice is as good as ever in the OP/ED. I'm thankful for the lack of the otaku protag, but otherwise this seems just as nonsensical as Chaos;Head but with better art. Not looking forward to more. One Room (MAL) The second short show of the season, from famed artist Kantoku. That's the only reason I'm watching this, anyway. This show makes the initially strange choice of being shot in POV, with a voiceless male protagonist. The first episode sees him meet his new high-school girl neighbor, then grow close enough to her that she asks him to help her study. The show is billed as series of shorts focusing on three girls, so I would expect something like four episodes for each one. The most noticeable part of the show is the art, and damn does it look good. Closeups of the girl, fluttering cherry petals, everything is beautiful as a still and smooth when in motion. The POV part is less of a problem for me as I see it as similar to a visual novel, and with the girls being cute and the art being great, this will be an enjoyable watch each week. Kemono Friends (MAL) An all-CG mobile-game show, and a full 24 minutes at that. Why am I watching this? One of the things that stood out immediately was the grating sound of the first two characters's voices. Kemono Friends involves Japari Park, in which anthropomorphized animal girls live and have to deal with aliens called Ceruleans. While the show is clearly projecting a light-hearted tone, it was strange to hear heavy techno during a battle with a big Cerulean. This show looks like no more than a walk around the different areas to see different animal girls. I'd be satisfied with that if it wasn’t just so boring. The OP is suitably bouncy, but even if this show doesn’t get serious, 24 minutes of bad animation is a serious slog. Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon (MAL) Ah Kyoani, the true saviors of anime. Kyoto Animation's production budget meets the artstyle and writing of Danna ga Nani's creator. I'm on board. A working adult who drunkenly invites a dragon-girl to be her maid. A unique premise, to be sure. Right off the bat, the contrast between the Tohru's unfazed optimism and Kobayashi being done with her shit all the time made me laugh my ass off. The sequence with Tohru getting more scared of humans when Kobayashi and Takiya are drunk was also top-tier. Art-wise the show looks great, animation is smooth, and Tohru is cute as hell. Always a plus. In addition, I think Kobayashi is a grounded character with a few weird tastes, which is somewhat more relatable than a totally “normal” person, if I'm being honest. Regarding the OP/ED, I will do anything for more fhana, and Maidragon's OP does not disappoint. No ED in episode 1. Overall, I was surprised at how much I liked a show with such an ostensibly strange premise, but I am wholeheartedly excited for the next episode. Kuzu no Honkai (MAL) I was immediately drawn in by the brutally emotional premise of Kuzu no Honkai, or Scum's Wish. Two students dating, only using the other as a physical replacement for an impossible emotional love. Wow. I was almost shocked when the episode ended, because I had been enthralled the entire time. Even through the intimate scenes, there was a heavy air, one punctuated by wells of emotion that kept me breathless. Something has to be said for the sound design too - the crescendos of music match Hana's emotional ups and downs to a T. Flawless. Likewise, the art throughout, especially with the black watercolors clouding white paper, the choices of camera angles during the intimate scene - it brings out the regretful and simultaneously indulgent feelings that the scene evokes. The fact that sexual encounters in anime are almost always moments for comedy rather than real emotion just makes Kuzu no Honkai's scenes more unique. Just the very idea of feelings so strong that two lonely people would come together to physically try to stave them off is both depressing and greatly intriguing at the same time. Even the general atmosphere of episode 1 enriched the painful introspective Hana was going through, culminating in the titular wish. With the courage to take a darker look at high-school romance, I want to see more. Watch this show. Demi-chan wa Kataritai (MAL) I didn't think I had a thing for something as specific as "blonde vampires," but there you go. Man, does this show make me feel good. A world where racism towards demi-humans has calmed down to the point where it's a normal part of life. No serious, overbearing issues, just a fun, light-hearted look at the concept of a demi-human living a modern life. I think I find the epitome of that in Takahashi, who doesn't really want much more than to just know more about demi-humans - he has a genuine desire to get to know the subtleties of their lives. Soft-spoken and laid back, he is the perfect foil for the quirky, bubbly Hikari, the aforementioned blonde vampire. Funny exchanges with a few heartwarming moments combine to form one hell of a great first episode. The ED fits the relatively calm tone perfectly, but I'm partial to the OP by TrySail after they caught my eye doing Classroom Crisis' OP. Give it a listen. While there are some noticeably harem-esque undertones, if this show stays relatively away from Monster Musume ecchi and carves its own niche, I will enjoy it to the fullest. Urara Meirochou (MAL) [To get this out of the way first, FUCK Anime Network - who the hell thinks yellow subs, and hardsubs at that, still look fine? At least with the CR/Funi deal I would think we would have some consistency for once, damn.] I saved this for last because it looked like the most healing show this season. That, and midriffs. I'm a sucker for the traditional Japanese style (Mushishi, Katanagatari, Uchouten Kazoku), and Meirochou's art and architecture do not disappoint. Thus far, this is a heartwarming tale of four girls working to find themselves through their style of fortune-telling. The four girls are quite cute, even if Nono's voice is pitched just a bit too high. Also, midriffs. I hope that stays. I also like Chiya's wild-person-new-to-society personality, and I think it meshes interestingly with three other girls that, while adjusted to society outside of Meirochou, are otherwise just as new. Overall, this is a show that takes an interesting setting and premise and aims to tell a story through four cute girls. What's not to love?

[thejpfdude-blog]

The Week in Anime (Week of 2/6/17)

Hi, and welcome to another edition of TWiA! We got some more episodes of the shows I’m watching, and some more of my thoughts about them. So let’s get started with all that, starting with...

Rankings:

~1 (0). Demi-chan wa Kataritai (8.5/10) [5/?]

~2 (+2). Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon (8.5/10) [4/?]

~3 (0). Kuzu no Honkai (8.5/10) [4/?]

~4 (-2). Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2 (8/10) [4/10]

~5 (0). Gabriel DropOut (7/10) [4/12]

6 (0). Little Witch Academia (TV) (7/10) [-/25]

7 (0). Nobunaga no Shinobi (6/10) [18/?]

8 (0). Aggressive Retsuko (6/10) [-/?]

9 (0). Sengoku Choujuu Giga: Otsu (5/10) [4/13]

10 (0). Rewrite: Moon and Terra (4/10) [-/?]

~11 (0). Nyanbo (4/10) [18/26]

Awards:

The “I’m Busy With Stuff So I Forgot to Watch This” Award: Rewrite (Moon and Terra) and Little Witch Academia

Oops.

The “It Didn’t Get Subbed So I Couldn’t Watch It” Award: Aggressive Retsuko

See above.

The “Obligatory Beach Episode” Award: Gabriel DropOut

Hey, something I actually watched. This week’s edition of “Angels and Devils: Roles Reversed” took place mostly on the beach, a standard fare for most CGDCT shows (either that or a hot springs episode. Or both!). It was your standard episode, featuring the classics like watermelon smashing and all that. This show has been a fun watch: it’s not anything special, but it helps to keep me entertained on Mondays, and it’s something nice to counter the short known as Nyanbo.

The “Please Let This Be Over” Award: Nyanbo!

Speaking of Nyanbo, it’s not fun. I feel like I said this a lot the past few weeks, but it’s true. And the last few episodes haven’t helped with that: they’ve been either so boring that I distract myself with my Rubik’s Cube or so painful to watch that I subconsciously tune out. I don’t really remember what happened the last few episodes other than nothing significant happened, because really all that matters in the end, is that the finale is going to be something to the tune of “we’re not done with our UFO, but we’ll keep trying through the power of friendship!” Oy vey: I think my run with bad shorts is starting to a take a toll on me. I’m looking at shows next season and the ones that I normally probably might have given a shot a few seasons ago I just straight up am not going to watch. Speaking of the new season, probably not going to watch much. Maybe that new PA Works show, the new season of Saekano (I’ve been blazing through the first season and am loving it so far), and the obligatory CGDCT show. Next season looks great if you love action shows, but if you’re like me and you like those shows with slice-of-life or comedy or romance, it’s not looking as good as this season.

Wow, I went off topic. Conclusion: Nyanbo = bad, don’t watch.

The Best Reaction Faces Award: Demi-chan wa Kataritai

One of my favorite things about this show is the reaction faces, specifically from a certain blond-haired individual.

If I had the time, I would link images showing examples, but I’m typing this up at 11pm Sunday night and I need to go to sleep soon.

Actually, it didn’t take that long to find a GIF compilation.

I’m a huge sucker for reaction faces, which probably stems from my love for chibi faces. Or is that the other way around? Probably the latter honestly. They elicit all sorts of reactions from laughter to aww and so on. It’s a shame that I’m not finding the recent episodes as good as the first two episodes, but then again those episodes were really really fun to watch and were hard to top. Still a fun show, but not the 10/10 that it was for me after episode 1. Not that that’s a bad thing though.

The Lewd Award: KonoSuba 2

This week marks the return of Darkness, and with it marks the lewdest episode of the young second season. And I have to say, I’m not a fan. I never really was a fan of Darkness to begin with: sure she had her moments, but her masochistic nature was a bit too much sometimes even for someone who’s a self-proclaimed sadist (AKA me). And this episode sort of took that to the max. I’m not going to say it wasn’t funny, because this episode still made me laugh more in 24 minutes than a lot of comedies from last year did in 12 episodes. Yet it’s not the type of humor I like out of KonoSuba: the humor I liked was the meta stuff, the scenes where Kazuma subverted common tropes and proudly did so. Or the verbal berating, most of which came to the expense of Aqua, everyone’s favorite useless goddess. I hope the lewdness isn’t this bad in the future episodes, and that the animation continues the route of episodes 2 and 3 and not of episodes 1 and this one.

The Lewder Award: Kuzu no Honkai

Yay, more lewd. Except this is different from KonoSuba’s lewd: with KonoSuba, the lewd was mostly used to drive the humor. Yet for Kuzu no Honkai, the lewd was used as a symbol of all of the complicated emotions the characters are feeling as well as a tool to show just how messed up the situation is between Hanabi and Ecchan. As the scene develops on the bridge, it’s still somewhat normal: sure it’s a bit creepy that Ecchan pretty much stalked Hanabi, but eh it’s amore. Then the hug happens. Well, okay, Hanabi’s in a tough situation right now. That’s fine I guess. Then the setting changes to a room, and now it’s escalating a bit too fast. And then they start kissing, and now I’m making sure my door’s locked so nobody walks in on me watching this. And then the clothes start coming off, and I find myself wondering what I’m doing with my life.

But actually, it’s interesting. It’s uncomfortable to watch, but at the same time it’s something I couldn’t keep my eyes off. It’s a trainwreck in the best sense: a trainwreck of emotions and love all being tangled up into this scene. There are so many ways of looking at it, and I haven’t even mentioned the girl teacher’s whole way of life and how that’s fucked up as well. There’s a lot you can say about this show, but for me, as someone whose least favorite subject was English, I’ll just say that it’s a really interesting take on the genre of romance.  And by something different that’s being executed well, it’s one of my favorites of the season so far.

The “Red Flags” Dropped Show of the Week Award: Nothing this week

Hooray?

Best Episode of the Week Award: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

This award was really close between Maidragon and Kuzu no Honkai, but with the Lewd Award in play, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to one-up it with the Lewder Award. And so we get Maidragon with the best episode of the week. What can I say. This show is getting better by the week with more characters being introduced and their relationships being fun to watch. Kanna is becoming the poster child of /r/awwnime and for good reason (though it is annoying seeing like 10 posts of her on the subreddit’s front page). It’s the right amount of funny, heartwarming, and art style that really makes those Wednesdays worth living. That’s really exemplified with this week’s episode, especially with the end scene with Kobayashi giving Kanna the keychain. My goodness, that was cute. I love it.

And that’s all for this week! Thanks for reading for another week, and I’ll see you in the next post!