#tbh I had a lot of fun adding the night time effects like the color overlay and the streaks of moonlight

[askponyinuyasha]

Terra: *sleepwalking around the trees in a heavy sleep only able to wake up on her own* zzzzzzz~

Looks like they're both pretty sleepy...

(High-res PNG blow the cut)

[comicteaparty]

July 12th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on July 12th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on The Guide to a Healthy Relationship by Dani .

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing The Guide to a Healthy Relationship by Dani~! (https://tapas.io/series/TGtaHR) For those new or in need of a reminder, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer, and you can pay them no mind if you wish. If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! As a bonus, each chat a top comment will be picked and featured in the archives and on an ad for CTP! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

snuffysam

i don't know why, but the scene where apollo is asking around and trying to find julian really stuck with me. it's not the most artistically vivid scene (there are quite a few of those), but that one stood out.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

anything particular that made it stand out to you? just asking out of curiosity cause honestly i barely remember that scene just because its not the most artisticially vivid(edited)

snuffysam

i'm not sure. i think apollo realizing he wasn't crazy in seeing julian the other night made me feel, like, emotions.

turnish

Really any scene with Julian that exhibits his psychosis are ones that I particularly like Like, I find it very relatable and the art just perfectly displays what that Actually Feels Like imo

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hello!

snuffysam

the way the art reflects mental states in general is incredibly well done

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Just wanted to pop in and say hi.

turnish

I agree

snuffysam

hi justin

turnish

Hi!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hi justin

yeah i have to agree with turnish that my fave scenes are probably the ones showing julian's mental problems. although i think the one that sticks with me the most is the one where julian is talking to a younger version of himself and his younger version is calling him lazy. i feel like its a great blend of mental illness but kind of normal self esteem issues perhaps. in that he does seem kind of sick yet here his younger self is berating him. @snuffysam thats a fair point. i did feel emotions when it turned out apollo was indeed not crazy. XD

turnish

HH YEAH that was like a punch to the gut

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

If I had to say anything about this comic, it's got a really nice traditional artstyle and all the detail in the characters populating the pages

And some great BG work too

DanitheCarutor

Hello everyone! I'm the creator of 'The Guide to a Healthy Relationship', I'll be helping my ma out with dinner so I won't be on much, but just wanted to pop in to say hi and answer any questions and such whenever possible.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hi Dani!

snuffysam

hi dani!

turnish

Hi!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thanks for coming dani~!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Great to have ya here~

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes. i really like the day of time reflections. particularly i think the way night is portrayed is really spectacular. https://tapas.io/episode/804141 like that page. youve got the light glow effects going on, you have some excellent reflections on the door that really make it look like night. its just all really well done.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes

it's all very well done

especially the glow from the sity

snuffysam

the colors and lighting are just incredible

in general

turnish

i reread it today entirely bc my brain is Crap and i don’t remember stuff well but man i agree

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

snuffysam

yeah i probably should have done that lol

turnish

The night is still young

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

indeed

I wonder how you do sunsets cause I have a soft spot for epic sunsets

turnish

tbh big same

snuffysam

I like how the colors are shaded with completely different colors most of the time (e.g. a blue shirt has orange shading). that's super cool to me. something that very few artists do.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Same

Colored shading alone is awesome when done right

turnish

color theory is so important

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

and it also brings out the colors themselves

snuffysam

it also helps capture that feel of night time. which is when most of this story takes place.

turnish

yeah! agreed

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

This is a cool looking comic all around

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah there are really just great color choices all around. i especially like the contrasts. cause one of my biggest issues with traditionally colored comics is theres not usually enough contrasts. so everything kind of winds up looking muted and its hard to tell things apart from one another. but i feel this comic doesnt have that problem at all

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

and all in traditional too!

and I second that

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I made it. ^^ I'm inclined towards the Julian scenes too, though I actually liked the scene where he was doing his janitor stuff and tidying up, making things sparkling. In retrospect, it was nice to see him (seemingly) taking pride in something.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hey Math!

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Also, I'm very impressed by going the traditional route with such a blend of colours.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 2. Given he was supposed to be dead, Julian’s appearance in Apollo’s life opens up many questions. First off, do you believe this is indeed Julian, or do you have reason to doubt this claim? What do you think Julian meant by telling Apollo that, “his friend is dead?” Was it just a way to get Apollo to leave, or is there a deeper meaning? Where do you think Julian has been all this time? Throughout, we also see that Julian has both physical and implied mental health problems. Do you believe this has something to do with his appearance? Do you think Julian dealt with these problems all his life or are they a new development? Lastly, where do you think Julian came from considering Apollo relays they pretty much found him in a bag?

DanitheCarutor

Ah! Thank you all! Seeing the positive reactions to Julian's mentally ill scenes is really encouraging. I've been doing a lot of research on the subject since I've never experienced it myself, and it's tough to know when it's being done well. Also I feel so bad for having Julian ruin that emotional scene with Apollo, slamming the door in his face was kind of a mood killer. Lol. @Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨ A sunset scene is going to be coming up in a couple pages, so we'll all see how that turns out. xD I've never drawn a sunset before.

DanitheCarutor

Sorry! I type a lot, and I type slow.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

SUNSET SCENE CONFORMED

and that's alright!

snuffysam

I think Julian metaphorically died when... something happened to him. Don't know what.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I think there's a deeper meaning in that the person he was doesn't exist any more. Though honestly, I'm not sure they were as good of friends as Apollo thinks; Julian seemed to keep to himself even then.

snuffysam

Julian was a nice person to Apollo, but I'm not sure if he ever really liked him.

turnish

when reading “your friend is dead” I chose to interpret that as the Julian Apollo once knew no longer exists, and Julian considers himself a different person now. or he’s running away from his past

i think i made the same point as math whoops

snuffysam

in terms of where he came from, i'd imagine russia, because he only spoke russian

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It may be worth saying that, as a 40 year old teacher, I don't think I'm the demographic for this comic. Every time I see Apollo I kind of want to get in his face and shout "shape up man!". If he was as oblivious now as he was in the past, I kind of get why Julian would want to move on from his old life.

snuffysam

yeah honestly i get why julian wouldn't be too psyched about seeing apollo again. he's kind of a difficult person to have in your life.

especially if you have your own mental health problems to deal with

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel apollo is a bit self involved and just wouldnt notice julian's suffering. so while julian was there to care for apollo, apollo wouldnt notice when someone needed to care for julian persay

snuffysam

i second that

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I think Julian saying something to the effect of "I don't have what you need" kind of emphasizes that.

That time Apollo jumped out of the bushes.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol, Prince

I lost it when you brought up "shape up man!"

snuffysam

i wouldn't want to go back to that kind of one-sided relationship either tbh

DanitheCarutor

Aw man, those are really good questions, with some really good answers! I won't confirm much because I like things being left open for interpretation, but Apollo is 100% a moron. Also I don't mind throwing it out that he's a homeschool kid, so no social skills.

turnish

I love a moronic boy

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbf i could also see the hes dead mean something deeper. like maybe julian was in an accident and lost part of his memories. like all the good memories of apollo and just remembers the shitty times.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Also "Get off my lawn". (Your drunk ass is scaring the squirrels.)

snuffysam

that's awfully convenient re: losing all positive memories of someone

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Interesting, so I guess Julian was homeschooled too? Since they grew up together?

(Also, for a moment I read that as "Apollo is 100% a mormon" and I did a double take.)

snuffysam

yeah that doesn't exactly fit with most of the stuff he's done lol

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: Maybe? I kind of feel like Julian might have faked his death to get away from creditors and people who just generally were treating him lousy though. But maybe things didn't go as planned.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Perhaps

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

What's kind of interesting is how Apollo has problems too, with his eyesight, so you'd think he'd be able to empathize a bit with Julian having his own issues. But it does seem like he doesn't have much experience with that.

snuffysam

empathy and sympathy both seem to be problems for apollo

DanitheCarutor

Math: Lmao! Oh no, not a mormon! But for the homeschool question, nah. Julian is a public school kid, they hung out almost 24/7 but they grew up in different environments with Julian staying in an orphanage and Apollo living in a fancy house.

snuffysam

especially when it comes to julian

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ahhh, interesting. I think I misunderstood and thought he'd been adopted like a brother. That adds an interesting element of class to things too.

Apollo is very much "live in the moment". I would not want him doing my tax returns.

snuffysam

the fancy homeschool tutors may have neglected to teach him, like, responsibility

going back to what rebel said - were there any positive memories of apollo julian had to begin with?

like, even apollo's recap at the beginning paints himself in a bad light

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

probably. homeschool can be pretty lax from what i hear. so apollo's education in general might have sucked.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe they went sledding together.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and yeah its possible that julian doesnt have positive memories

albeit there must of been a reason julian chose to ahng out with apollo

snuffysam

though that may have something to do with apollo's mental state making himself out to be worse than he was

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and why julian didnt make an effort to move farther away

cause if i didnt want someone to find me i would not be living in driving distance of them

snuffysam

maybe he couldn't move further. relocating is hard

especially if you don't have financial means

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

true but he has had something like 5 years to make arrangements. i think 5 years. its years at least. but it really all depends where he was. it could be that hes been in the hospital or something

or a mental hospital

DanitheCarutor

Misunderstandings is totally understandable, a lot of stuff in the comic is very vague right now, and some of it will only be shown in snippets. I can't say much, but Julian does have some positive memories, there's just not many and it's harder to focus on the good over the bad.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

DanitheCarutor

Also as a homeschool student myself, the education does suck. I pretty much cheated my way through middle school because my teacher was a Christian booklet.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh really?

That's... interesting

DanitheCarutor

Oo! Since this isn't super important, Julian and Apollo actually grew up in Ohio in a town based of Newark. When Apollo "grew up" he moved to a city in California based of a mix of San Diego and LA.

snuffysam

is it possible julian faked his own death specifically to get rid of apollo for a while? like, he didn't have the capacity to take care of him anymore, so he just cut him out of his life.

lol "grew up" in quotes

so yeah, julian may not have known where apollo was, and didn't intend to be in the same city as him

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

man now thats got to be the shittiest coincidence

julian is like "im free from apollo oh shit wait theres apollo"

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

No kidding

snuffysam

yeah, but looking at julian's reaction - he clearly did not intend to run into apollo any time soon

DanitheCarutor

"and Julian's evening was ruined" -ugly cry-

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i wonder if apollo just didnt even know how julian "died." like one day whoever took care of julian was just like "nah man he dead" and apollo just made a goofy face and accepted it

QUESTION 3. Despite most definitely being adult, protagonist Apollo is a little bit immature. Why do you believe Apollo is so irresponsible? Is it just his personality, or are his habits a way to avoid certain aspects of his life? Do you think his ocular albinism plays a role in why he acts the way he does? Do you think it will be good for Apollo to reconnect with Julian, or will the events of the past send Apollo into a downward spiral? What do you think Daniel’s role will be in Apollo’s life? Lastly, what do you think it will take for Apollo to get his life together a bit more?

snuffysam

if his ocular albinism plays into his irresponsibility, it's only as an excuse. "well, i can't see normally. better get sloshed!"

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(Sorry, sometimes I have to dash off if the little one is crying.) Oh, being away in a mental hospital would be an interesting development.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

^

snuffysam

i think apollo just has serious issues with self control. he started out with alcohol and drugs to get away from some aspects of his life, and then it just got worse from there.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Snuffy: I don't know about that. If he's sensitive to daylight, it makes sense that he'd be out and about at night, which is when the parties happen.

snuffysam

true, that may be a source of some temptation. but if he was healthier, that wouldn't be a problem.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

But yeah, agree about the self control thing. Guy doesn't know when to say "no". Also doesn't seem to know a good thing when he has it.

Fair. I don't think he eats from the proper food groups.

snuffysam

i meant mentally but yes

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Can't help you feel active.

Like, if you're always eating junk food I mean.

Ahh, gotcha.

snuffysam

he doesn't have much of a support channel to help him with his issues, and a lot of the people who do try and help him out don't like him very much because of the whole personality thing

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i think the ocular albinism does play a role. cause as someone who is awake all night, there is nothing to do outside. like the options are go to dennys, go to waffle house, go to walmart, or go to a bar. so i think it more than increases the temptation for apollo. it hampers a lot of paths to recovery.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Is it cool to bring up Daniel? Because he's such an interesting counterpoint.

I cannot see Apollo as a greeter at Wal-Mart.

snuffysam

his boss puts up with so much from apollo, it's a wonder she hasn't fired him

DanitheCarutor

Math: Sure! He's going to be in the comic a lot more from this chapter on.

Apollo really does have control issues, it'll come up why later but he's never had an issue with getting whatever he wanted as a kid.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh cool~

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

they dont have greeters at night. in fact i think the greeters all leave before 8pm at the latest

yeah apollo's boss deserves a boss of the year award

cause man

i wouldve fired apollo 10 billion years ago

turnish

Ahhh Apollo’s boss deserves the most

snuffysam

and his other coworkers too. who was the woman he asked for help and then called a slur? galia?

DanitheCarutor

Rebel: Yeah, being awake at night sucks. I used to be a night owl, waking up at noon and staying up till 4am. There isn't anything to do, at least anything that's a good idea.

Yup, that's her name! Poor Galia, she's only been in the comic a couple times so far and it sucked for her.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm hoping Daniel can get through to Apollo. Challenge him without going so far as putting him off.

turnish

Same here Math

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel at the very least daniel will openly pull up his flaws in a way others dont. cause the others say it with anger and derision and lots of ppl just flat out tune out criticism at that point. where as i feel daniel would be the one whod be like "hey apollo maybe you should clean up your place some?"

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Or maybe Apollo will just want to, so that his date doesn't get a bad impression.

Cuz the Apollo/Daniel ship is sailing.

turnish

heh

snuffysam

yeah, i think that's going to be one of the major themes coming up. trying to reconnect with julian isn't healthy - julian doesn't want anything to do with apollo, and he has his own physical and mental issues to deal with without taking care of apollo. meanwhile daniel will push apollo (either wittingly through calling him out, unwittingly through apollo wanting to get better for him, or both) to get healthier and turn his life around

whether apollo goes into a downward spiral or begins recovery depends on which path he chooses

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It's a good point though, Rebel, about how to get across criticism.

I wonder if maybe Daniel starting to spiral down would help shock Apollo to his senses?

snuffysam

in that, apollo drags down everyone around him with his toxicity?

could happen, but i hope not. i like daniel.

DanitheCarutor

Oh man, I'm loving the Daniel discussion! He'll definitely be challenging Apollo in one way or another.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe Daniel starting to date Julian will shock Apollo to his senses.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i believe in daniel to be self confident enough to fall down apollo's hole. but on the opposite turn i do think julian will be important for apollo cause i think only julian can point out some of apollo's flaws from the past and give apollo pause. tho im not quite sure how outside of giving apollo more clarity of the things julian is dealing with

snuffysam

daniel can even use the perfect pickup line that he's been saving for such an occasion

"i like my men like i like my alcohol - russian, and found in a bag"

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

11/10

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Okay, you win with that one.

snuffysam

julian can point out problems that apollo has had since childhood, but question is, will he want to?

or will he just want to keep apollo out of his life?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Back on the question of why Apollo is so irresponsible, I think it comes from his position of privilege. His parents probably made sure that he never suffered real consequences from his actions.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel julian wont succeed in keeping apollo out of his life because 1) apollo is apollo and 2) julian's young ghost self is telling him to not be lazy and i think julian will give in to that for a while

snuffysam

yeah it absolutely stems from that

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

A restraining order might be needed to keep Apollo out of his life. ^^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and yeah i agree with math, i think apollo has no real concept of consequences

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Napples agrees too.

snuffysam

where are apollo's parents anyway? do they know what's happened to their son's life?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Do they care?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

they might not care? or they might not know. cause apollo does not seem the type to call home frequently and i doubt their once in a blue moon phone calls consist of apollo saying "yeah i got wasted every night this week"

cause consequence conscious or not thats just not a thing i think any kid would talk to his parents about XD

QUESTION 4. The comic’s title, “The Guide to a Healthy Relationship,” seems rather revealing of the story at hand. What does the title mean to you exactly? How do you think the story will live up to that title? Furthermore, the three chapter titles (“Hypomania,” “Monophobia,” and “Psychosis”) all share a theme of mental issues. Does this change how you interpret the title at all or how you interpret the story itself (whether the entire story or a specific chapter’s content)? What role do you think these titles play in regards to the mental illnesses we’ve seen in the story so far? Finally, do you feel the story is about relationships with others, relationships with ourselves, both, or something else entirely?

snuffysam

yeah there's a reason i've been referring to things as healthy and unhealthy all night lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

for me personally i feel the title is both about relationships with others and with ourselves. tho i lean more towards the latter if i had to pick one. because of how apollo treats his own self.

snuffysam

yeah, having a healthy relationship with yourself seems like a big theme

i also think the unhealthy relationship apollo had with julian growing up will keep coming back

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Wow, I hadn't even picked up on the chapter titles. Hmm, I guess at first my mind went to romantic relationships, but yeah it makes sense to be more friends and such.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"Guide to a Healthy Relationship - Don't act like Apollo."

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thats the real lesson we should take away from this

dont be an apollo

be the best daniel you can be

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I gotta wonder a bit about Apollo's circle of friends too. They seem like real enablers, I wonder if they have day jobs.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

probably. despite their party habits more of them seem to have their crap together perhaps.

tbf tho i think apollo is equally an enabler. so i think its just a circle of friends who see nothing wrong, enable each other, and spiral down and down

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

There is that, yeah.

snuffysam

do they know how bad apollo's life is? or do they just think he's that wild guy who likes to drink on the weekends?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Speaking of spiralling down, that one panel with the pill on the tongue was cleverly done. Just wanted to get that out there.

I think they believe Apollo's got an amazing life. Bartender with access to free drinks, his own place without a roommate to bug him, the ability to afford random merchandise for thousands of dollars... what's not to like?

snuffysam

true

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

thirded

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

If anything, the search for Julian might be helping to pull Apollo away from the bad influences.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

math has a point

cant be out drinking when youre haunting a school at night

looking for ghost friends

maybe apollo will be like "wow so this is what being sober is like"

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"I can walk without running into trees. My friends, however..."

snuffysam

though nothing stopping you from drinking before starting the search

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe julian will say something

like "please dont come here reeking of alcohol"

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Julian just needs to keep throwing water into Apollo's face. Like that first time.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah

Try it like eight more times

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Though the fact that he did reach out there implies that at least part of him doesn't like seeing Apollo down on his luck, perhaps?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i dont think julian hates apollo persay. i think hes just tired of dealing with apollo

cause ive dealt with ppl like that

where you dont hate them

but man do you have your own shit going on and theres only so many hours in the day

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Truth.

"And now I have to mop the floor AGAIN, geeeez."

snuffysam

yeah, that's the thing, i think julian does care about apollo, but their relationship is so one-sided that it isn't worth it

DanitheCarutor

The answers about the tirle, and this discussion is soooo gooood! I didn't think anyone would pay that any mind. -sobs- I wish I could spill the beans, some of you guys had some really spot on theories.

turnish

Sorry I’m hella cleaning so I couldn’t participate as much as I wanted to,,rip

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Apollo knows not of this "cleaning".

snuffysam

yeah didn't you learn from the story, turnish? you have to live your life like apollo! that's the moral!

turnish

Dang ur right I should become a slob

shixjdj

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

kek

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Don't lose your glasses though. That's a bad plan.

DanitheCarutor

Yeah, man. Just throw it all on the floor, the nanny will take care of it. Everyone's got one of those, right?

turnish

Man I Wish

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i store my nanny in my closet when not in use

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Hm, this sequel to Mary Poppins took a NSFW turn...

DanitheCarutor

Ah, I'd suggest storing them in a jar. It's more cost effective.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Anyway, last remark from me, again impressed by the use of colours and drive to experiment with some different perspectives and the like at times.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Dani, as well, for making The Guide to a Healthy Relationship and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Dani’s efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on Wednesday7 by Viki Kuli. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on July 19th from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/Wednesday7%20

[fantroll-purgatory]

So this sad sod was my 11 year old self’s “attempt” at a fantroll, and oh boy oh boy is he ever edgy-mcedge-lord. I kinda liked what his theme was and deiced it was revamp time…and so here he is.

I love this child with my entire heart and would risk jail time for him.

Let’s get this freakshow on the road.

FIRST: Alternia.

Name: The only semi-redeemable thing I did for this poor lad was his name. It was Hecate which was from the Goddess Hecate who was associated with magic, ghosts, and necromancy. More or less what he was based off.

I think let’s run with the fact that you made this dude when you were 11! In addition to being about dark magic and ghosts and stuff, let’s actually include the childish element of it and a desire to be seen as dangerous. This actually tracks with the later backstory you provide that he’s sheltered and has little experience interacting with others.

For the last name, how about Bafmet like Baphomet, especially given that the Goat of Mendes is often depicted with the two crescent moons of Hecate. It also dovetails nicely with the symbol you already gave him!

Age: 7.4 Alternian Solar Sweeps

Strife Specibus: Bookind???

Jkdfkjslf does this mean boo-kind like ghostkind or book-kind like tomekind. Because either technically works.

Since I’ve added Baphomet and have also decided to be a little bit bullshit about this, maybe glaivekind based on Heartcleaver, Baphomet’s glaive in D&D.

With that said, I later agreed with your assessment of him as a Void player, which means you can do fistkind/hornkind, which is to say, a specibus that just requires using the weapons you have on hand. Hornkind will be especially effective once I give him the goat horns he deserves.

Fetch Modus: ???.

I kinda like a Gravestone Modus, if we’re going for necromancy! Captcha cards can be “dug up,” but inevitably in increasingly degraded conditions depending on how long they’ve been left to “rot.” Means you need to think twice before taking something.

Blood color: Rust, since it would allow him to have physical abilities and there usually best known with powers relating to the dead(?)

(I was kinda of thinking to changing him to a Jade blood since for all the dying-dark-undead theme I was kinda going for???)

I agree, actually! Male jadebloods are considered rare, and I especially like a troll whose caste is known for raising new life being associated with necromancy.

Symbol and meaning: Pentagram, dude was meant to be based around black magic, sorcery and necromancy(?) Or some kind of edgy and dark magic based theme.

Trolltag: ghastlyGhoul??? Don’t know man.

Yeah let’s punch that up a little. How about astraNomicon, using the inverted star in his symbol (astronomy) and common endings for pop culture occult-y books (i.e. Necronomicon).

Quirk: Still clueless, sorry.

I have one that might be funny: how about he swears a lot but “censors” it using his symbol. He may not see it as censoring (and may rather see it as posturing by aggressively reminding others of his symbol), but it’s certainly how it comes off. Example: I don’t have f⛧cking time for this sh⛧t. Burn in h⛧ll you weak ⛧ss m⛧th⛧rf⛧ck⛧r.

Special Abilities (if any): All I got from the vaguely written and horrid fanfic my 11 year old self wrote and never finished was he had some kind of uncontrollable marysueish black magic that made “insane” and messed his eyes up. (Also it had something to with the horrorterrors?)

Hm. If we let his jadeblooded status ride, maybe his eyes never adjusted to the light due to living in a cave for most of his life? So contrary to what we know about undead jadebloods in Alternia, Hecate would be unable to see well in the Alternian sun (though he’d still be able to survive it where other trolls couldn’t), but would be able to see devastatingly well at night. It lets him be “weird” without being Mary Sue-ish.

Lusus: It was some kind of mix between a cat, a owl and a snake. I think it’s based off a a mix of common familiars witches had?

Tbh that all sounds really solid!

Personality: Here's what I tried to come with based on his older and messier one;

Hecate is a shy, soft spoken troll who would rather very much keep to himself. Being raised basically in the middle of nowhere, he’s useless at speaking to people and awkward leading him to distance himself from other people. He also has a very fragile ego which can be broken, being on the bottom of the hemospectrum only adds to this.

If we make him a jadeblood, we can still make this work since practically all of his company would be grubs. Necromancy may also be something to which he’s drawn because of the loneliness and steadily growing pile of grub corpses as the cave trials continue. This also gives you a very interesting story hook: what gets him out of the cave?

Interests: Shitty Horror Movies, magic tricks, reading, astronomy, magic, necromancy

Title: Some kind of void player???

Given that he’s grown up away from others, yeah I think Void stands. And as a character whose actions claw him out of obscurity, you may want to go with Witch of Void (think: grimdark Rose)? Works thematically, and his inverse is Seer of Light, which works with all that book learnin’ he must be doing.

Land: ???

How about Land of Snow and Circles? I like the idea of this half-blind f⛧ck⛧r stumbling around a bright tundra. He encounters glyphs set into massive stone slabs of increasing size which he must arrange to create a planetwide circle to summon his denizen.

Dream Planet: Derse?

Ehhh tbh I can see a convincing argument for either. I always like putting edgy characters on Prospit since its bright aesthetic contrasts theirs AND the whole talk of destiny can make them get a big head.

I’m really sorry for giving you such pisspoor info to work with but I hope you can get something out of it.

Nah, I like it! If I’m being honest I would’ve probably been harsher if I’d gotten this troll like 4 years ago, but I’ve softened over the years and in my old, ancient age of 25 I think I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that fantrolls are just about having fun at the end of the day.

I’d say we’re doing a redesign but tbh except for the sign we’re building this guy from the ground UP.

Sorry about the picture quality for the first guy; tumblr kinda deep-fries images if they go beyond a certain width and I can’t click through to a clearer picture until it’s published so…here you go.

So I think your character forced me to look at what people are trying to do when they build an Edgy Character. From reading your bio, it looks lie you want a character who is immediately readable as a threat, but also comes off as cool and gothy? Which is how we get the dude on the right. Let me go through the details top to bottom.

Horns – Like I said, Hecate deserves some goat horns! They’re great for goring, they make him look taller, *and* Baphomet is sort of a goat.

Hair – The length comes from a chirp-trolls template, while the bangs are from one of fan-troll’s hairstyles. If we wanted to keep going with the sheltered aspect, I feel that long and unkempt hair is a quick and easy way to convey that as a creepy fact without sacrificing the cool factor.

Eyes – I used a tarsier’s eyes to make the original base. You’ve definitely seen a picture of a tarsier before even if you didn’t know it was called that. Mainly I went hunting for an animal with spectacular low-light vision. This way you can have your cake and eat it too; at night Hecate has big, round eyes to allow him to see in the dark (which kinda verges on adorably creepy), and during the daytime he has pinpoint pupils that look incredibly threatening despite the fact that he can’t see a thing.

Mouth – now that we have all these delicious new trolls in Troll Call, we can really start to see trends among specific blood colors. For jadebloods, it looks like they all have emphasized lips and two fangs, so I added those in for him. It definitely made him look more unsettling than when I just gave him a normal mouth full of teeth.

Outfit – all of this is courtesy of fan-troll, as usual. Once again, I wanted to go back to both the concept of edginess and to the trends we see among jadebloods. Despite covering a wide array of aesthetics, we still see that jadebloods trend toward the fashionable. With that said, a suit on its own risks just looking dapper, but a suit with practical boots? That’s terrifying. Why does he need practical boots. What is he going to do?

Anyway, that concludes my review of your troll. Thanks for submitting this dude; I’m real fond of him!

-TR

[jaeminlore]

Consequence // Hansol Vernon Chwe

-

the prompt: you never liked the notion of having to kill sailors. instead, you decide to befriend one. unfortunately, one can’t always do what they would like without suffering consequences.

words: 3395

category: fluff + angst

author note: it’s me back from the dead with a lot of stress behind me. i’m hoping july is a lot nicer to my hort tbh. this is an au I will definitely return to like tell me which member you want next for sailor!seventeen bc i’m all for that. anyway pls enjoy this scenario that started out as fluff but then my brain went “hey destinee,,,,, what if you made it,,,, like rlly sad,,,, that would be fun” and i listened!!!! enjoy suckers!!!

- destinee

-

No matter how long he had been out at sea, Vernon could never figure out how a sextant worked. He understood that one was supposed to position it at the North Star, but after that he always forgot the next steps. Because of this, he never quite knew his latitude. He was a bit clueless as to where was all of the time. However, he always made his way home, even if he was a few days late. Luckily, he had learned to always pack enough resources to last him a few extra days.

It was just another sailing trip. Vernon had always been a loner who preferred to go off sailing by himself on his little wooden ship. The deck was his favorite place to sit, as there he could stare up at the stars as long as he wished. He knew all of the constellations by heart, and he liked to pick out his favorites every night. They always helped him find his way home.

Music often accompanied him. It wasn’t from any safe source of sound, but rather from the sirens that lived in the ocean. Their one objective was to seduce soldiers into drowning themselves. Vernon knew this, and luckily he wasn’t too bothered by their songs. He had been warned since he was young to resist the siren’s voices and he had gotten exceptionally good at it. He liked their voices though, as they were soulful and soft. They often lulled the young sailor to sleep. He wouldn’t succumb to their temptation so easily. To him, it seemed like it was dishonorable for a sailor to die in the hold of a siren. They were bred to sail the seven seas and fight others for their right to sail. They were bred to be rough and tough, and yet many of these men couldn’t fight the seductive lull of the siren’s songs.

Tonight, however, the song seemed different. Vernon sat back on his hands, his ears perked as he listened to what seemed to be only one voice. It didn’t sound seductive at all. Soulful, maybe. Soft and upset, definitely. He furrowed his eyebrows and sat up. He trained his eyes on the open sea that surrounded him, wondering who was singing such a sad song. Why were they so distraught?

Although Vernon had already tucked the sails for the night, he got up and hastily hoisted them up again. Then he walked to the stern of the boat and struggled to catch enough wind to push his boat towards the voice.

After a few hours of his boat slowly moving along, Vernon could finally see a siren in view. He desperately hoped this was the one singing, because he was totally screwed if it wasn’t. It didn’t matter how much he could resist a siren from miles away. When they were up close, he had no chance. They were vicious and could drag you in themselves if they wanted to. Whether it was the right siren or not, Vernon could tell very quickly that you was beautiful. Ethereally so, and Vernon felt himself wondering if you was the beautiful queen Cassiopeia, or just another siren. He had seen sirens before, but this time it felt different. Vernon felt himself pulled towards a siren for the first time, and it had nothing to do with your voice.

Vernon was a loner, sure. He had learned through past mistakes that it was best to get your work done without extra people breathing down your neck and stabbing you in the back. Can a loner be lonely? Technically, it was his fault that he had no one. He had shut everyone out very early in his life. This was to preserve his safety, of course, since sailing was a tricky business and there were always pirates wishing to screw a fellow sailor over. He wasn’t there for the gold or the treasure or the canons. He was there for the adventure and unpredictability of the sea.

Here was that chaotic nature now, for the ocean had surprised him with another soul in the sea. This one, a beautiful siren with sad tune.

Vernon dropped his anchor twenty feet from the siren, who was swimming in the water, your shoulders and head only visible when you swam under the moonlight. As soon as you swam under the shadow of Vernon’s sail and noticed the boy, you dove under the water. Vernon scrambled to the edge of his deck and peered down. Of course there was no way to see you in the murky water. Especially not at nighttime, that was for sure. Finally, you reappeared above the surface, seemingly in a hurry to get away from the ship. Vernon cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Where are you going?”

He heard a worried whisper as you struggled to answer: “Oh dear. Was my song too seductive?”

Vernon chuckled, for the song wasn’t seductive at all. It was actually depressing and made him a bit upset at whatever foe haunted your mind so late in the night. “Why is your song so sad?”

That got your attention. You spun around quickly enough for water to splash around you. “You could hear it? You thought I was sad?”

Vernon furrowed his eyebrows and gave you a dubious look. “Aren’t you?”

Hesitantly, you swam closer to the small sailboat. “I’m more frustrated than sad. I suppose I’m quite sad too, though.”

“Why?” Vernon sat cross-legged on the deck of his boat.

You allowed your arms to rest of the wooden deck that was partially soaked from the calm ocean waves. Your chin on your forearms, you pondered your answer along with the sailor’s eyes. You had never seen a color so beautiful under the sea. The closest comparison was perhaps a Harlequin Sweetlips, whose scales could be the darkest and most beautiful shade of brown. Whoever this boy was, his eyes were brighter and sharper than even the prettiest fish in the ocean.

Having never seen a sailor before, you genuinely wondered whether or not every sailor looked as innocent and harmless as this. If so, how could your fellow sirens pull them under without feeling immensely guilty? You sighed in a melancholic way and looked up at the sailor, cocking your head to the side, “Do you ever want to be something else?”

“What do you mean?” he asked. His lips pursed with wonder as he leaned in closer to you, as if the two of you were sharing a secret. You could feel his breath fan your face and your eyes grew wide as he licked his lips, chapped from the salty air. Did every sailor smell like a mix of morning air and cinnamon? Did every sailor have rough, calloused hands that completely opposed the soft look in their eyes?

“I mean… don’t you ever want to do something other than sail the seas?”

“No,” he replied, a half-smile quirking on his pink lips. Then as an afterthought he added, “Although I wouldn’t like to be sailing alone for the rest of my life. Why? Do you not like being a siren?”

You hummed. “Not particularly. Would you like to drown people for a living?”

The sailor chuckled softly and looked down, his cheeks rosy from how cold the night had become. “That does sound a bit depressing.”

“Doesn’t it? My mother wants me to sing songs of seduction and lust, but how can I sing a song that I know will bring men to their doom? It seems cruel to me.” You looked up in time to catch the sailor’s reaction. His dark eyebrows rose and his lips parted in surprise at you words. You flipped your tail anxiously under the water as you waited for him to speak.

“What’s your name?” he finally breathed. “I’m Vernon.”

The name mulled over in your brain before you finally reacted, “I’m Y/n.”

“Well, Y/n, what is it that you like to do? As opposed to killing sailors, I mean.”

His charming smile was enough to heat up your cheeks, which was a phenomenon you were sure only happened to humans. Then again, you had only seen a few humans in your lifetime, so you weren’t exactly an expert by any means. “I collect shells,” you said bashfully. “Is that lame?”

Vernon laughed and threw his head back innocently. “No, no,” he assured you, “it’s cute. What kind of shells are your favorites?”

Vernon wasn’t sure he had ever seen someone’s eyes light up so quickly. Suddenly, you were asking him to wait so that you could go get your favorite seashells. Left alone again, he was able to think of what had just happened. Had he just befriended a siren? Not just any siren, but one with the most mesmerizing eyes he had ever seen. One whose heart seemed kinder and purer than anybody else’s. While he waited, he walked around his boat and checked the sails and ropes. The stirring of the water could be heard behind him, and so, thinking it was you, he turned around and hurried back to the deck.

Instead of you, there was another siren. This one’s eyes were cold and sultry, with no hint of the innocent gleam that was held within your’s. She began singing. Her unfamiliar song of notes and tones sent Vernon’s imagination soaring. He had never been this close to a siren’s song before, so he had never experienced the truly harsh side effects of the music. Without warning, he could feel his body moving on it’s own accord. He could feel his hands hastily rolling up the legs of his pants. He could feel the waves lapping against his skin as he dropped his legs into the water.

“Stop! Vernon!” Your voice scared him out of his trance. In fact, it scared him so much that he fell into the cold, unforgiving water. He arms and legs thrashed around as he struggled to swim back to the surface. The harsh grip of the other siren was around his shoulders, pushing him down until he could barely hold his breath anymore. Vernon could feel the oxygen leaving his brain the further he went down. No matter how hard he struggled against the hands, he couldn’t shake them off. With all the warning he had been given from sailors older and more experienced than him, he hadn’t been prepared for the sheer strength that sirens possessed. In the end, his clumsiness and lack of strength would be the end of him. However fitting that seemed, it also seemed rather cruel that a loss of footing could be his doom.

-

You swam back just in time to see one of your fellow sirens, Cleo, singing to Vernon. You knew her song well, as it was one of the most powerful songs in the seven seas. No sailor could escape the grip that her voice left on them. Not even the most stubborn and persistent sailor could resist her temptation. You ducked back into the water, where you could swim faster. When you returned to the surface, Vernon already had his legs in the water, and was slowly easing down into the dark ocean. “Stop! Vernon!” you called in urgency, hoping to distract him just for a moment. Just a small moment out of her trance would give him enough time to place his thoughts in something else. It seemed to work quickly, since Vernon’s gaze searched around to look for the source of your voice.

You hadn’t anticipated his clumsiness. Vernon lost his grip on the edge of the boat and fell into the ocean. Cleo used this to her advantage and jumped onto his shoulders. She pushed him down quickly, propelling him deeper into the water using her tail. You moved quickly and swam after them. Vernon’s movements were getting more chaotic and less frequent the deeper the two of them went. You struggled to catch up to them. Once you did, you used your tail to slap Cleo out of the way. She angrily swam away, not up to fight for a human that might already be dead.

Vernon was sinking fast, his hands limp above him in a lifeless fight for freedom. His eyes were closed shut, but not forcefully so, so that he looked peaceful. It was as if he was simply sleeping, save for the bubbles that fled his nostrils and open lips. Without hesitation, you grabbed under his arms and swam up as quickly as you could, having no idea how quickly a human could die after losing so much oxygen. Once you reached the surface, you hoisted Vernon onto the deck and rolled him onto his back. Then, after hoisting yourself into a sitting position beside him, you began to try and resuscitate him.

After minutes that felt like hours, Vernon finally inhaled shakily before sitting up. As he coughed up the salty water of the ocean, you hit his back roughly. His chest heaved up and down, and you could see his muscles tense through his shirt, which was soaked all the way to the skin. His fists clenched unknowingly as he struggled to breathe again. “Stu… pid… siren… What… just happened..?”

“Don’t speak right now,” you told him. Your hands went up to rake through his bangs, hoping to push them off of his forehead and stop the water from dripping into his eyes. “You need to rest. You also need fresh water, if you can get some quickly.”

Vernon stayed still for a moment. Then, after catching his breath properly, he shakily stood up and make his way across his ship. He returned quickly with a leather canteen. As he drank (hazardously, by the way), you watched the dark horizon in search for any more of your siren sisters. There was no way any sailor was gonna die on your watch, especially not a nice one like Vernon. Still, you feared that they might come.

“Y/n?” Vernon’s meek voice called out.

You turned around and looked at him in anticipation.

“Did… Did you bring the shells?”

Laughter bubbled out of your mouth at his question, and a shy smile suddenly adorned his face. “You almost died and you want to look at shells?”

Vernon shrugged and looked at you cheekily, “You were there to save me, weren’t you? Now I don’t have to be afraid.”

You bowed your head in embarrassment and lifted the rest of your tail out of the water. As you untied the string that was wrapped around the base of your tail, Vernon leaned forward and gasped. “What is it?” you asked. You jerked up quickly, half-expecting Cleo to return for a second try.

“Your tail is really pretty,” Vernon said instead, causing you to turn back to him. “Purple looks really nice on you.”

“Thanks,” you beamed as Vernon inspected your tail with wonder. When he reached out to touch it, you noticed his hands shaking. “Hey, you’re cold.” You grabbed his hand and turned it over, palm facing you. “Why are you cold?”

“Oh,” Vernon’s teeth chattered lightly as he spoke. “Humans get very cold when they’re wet. Cold water isn’t good for us.”

“Are you okay? What will warm you up?”

The cold wind that carried through the night seemed to push Vernon to answer quickly. “I supposed I should get in some dry clothes and find a blanket. I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t,” you said. While waiting for him, you opened your bag and took out your seashells, each differently colored and patterned so that no two ever looked the same. You lined them in rows and admired the mere beauty of them all.

Vernon returned, warm cotton pulled around his shoulders, blocking the wind from his slender body. He noticed the shells you had set out. “Wow! Where’d you find those? Any shells I find are ugly and gray.”

You picked up a green conch shell and smiled, “You can’t find these on the shoreline. You have to go deep into the ocean or you’ll never be able to get beautiful shells.”

Vernon picked up a purple clam shell and turned it over. “This one looks like your tail.”

You held up a black murex. “This one reminds me of your eyes.”

Vernon narrowed his eyes at the shell. “It’s striped, though.”

“Yeah, but—” you were suddenly cut off by a loud cry a few miles away.

“What was that?” Vernon asked in alarm.

The water began to stir. You answered Vernon with fear evident in your voice. “That was the leader of the sirens. She must’ve found out about me helping you. You have to go.”

“What? No. What about you?” Vernon stubbornly inquired.

“Go,” you insisted, “If she starts singing I won’t be able to save you from her. She’s too powerful. You have to go before she finds you. If she sees you, she’ll hunt you down. I’m sorry, Vernon. This is all my fault.”

Tears began to flood your vision and soon you felt the rough pads of Vernon’s thumbs brushing against your cheekbones. “Hey, don’t cry. We had fun tonight, didn’t we? Maybe we’ll cross paths again.”

You shook your head in his hold. “You don’t understand. Sirens aren’t allowed to help sailors. I’ll be punished. I-I won’t return.”

Shock seemed to reverberate through Vernon’s body as he pulled you into his arms. “Please don’t mean what I think you mean.”

You buried your face in his shoulder, hoping you would forever remember his warm scent. Just for tonight, if it could stay in your head as a reminder of him. “She might kill me Vernon. I didn’t think Cleo would tell, but I guess I made her angry enough to tattle.”

“But I like you,” Vernon argued, as if that would stop you from being punished. “You were just being nice. This is all my fault.”

“Hey,” You pulled away from him in time to see a few tears trail down his own cheeks as well. “I chose to save you because I like you as well. It’s my fault, and I’m okay with that.”

“I’m not,” Vernon said, his voice deepening into somewhat of a growl. He held your bare waist and pulled you flush against him, capturing your smooth lips against his chapped ones. Your hands went to his hair immediately, running through the curling strands. His scent was enticing, and his lips were gentle as they coaxed yours into rhythmic movements.

Another scream made the two of you jump. “Vernon, you have to go.”

He bit his lip and pressed his forehead against yours. “I just found you. I don’t want to lose you, Y/n. It’s too lonely here. How can I go on knowing you won’t?”

“You have to,” you insisted. “You have to choose to forget.”

“What about you? Aren’t you afraid? How can I leave you alone?”

“A little,” you whispered, “but I’m more afraid of them catching you. You have to go. Goodbye, Vernon.” You pressed a kiss against his forehead and with one flick of your tail, you were back in the ocean, ignoring his pleas to return and instead swimming back to your community to answer your leader’s calls.

-

Through tears, Vernon pulled his anchor back onto the boat. He hoisted the sails and set his course towards home. Well, where he figured home was, since he still couldn’t figure out how to use a sextant. Allowing the wind to push him to safety, he curled up on the deck and watched the stars as they began to disappear.

He focused on Cassiopeia, and found himself sobbing again. The constellation looked brighter as the sunrise began. In fact, the stars stayed visible in the sky until midday, which was a rare sight in itself. Vernon couldn’t help but think it was you, returning to your rightful place in the sky. He couldn’t help but hope it was a sign that you were okay now, no longer forced to send men to their doom. Instead, you could watch over them and guide them to safety.

You were safe now. You were okay now. Vernon, however, wasn’t sure how long it would be until he was okay again.

~the end~

[saitou-shuka]

shukamod @ First Live LV [1 of 4]

This post covers what I did before the LV and the LV itself up to the first six songs in the setlist!

Hi everyone! This is a post that’s been long overdue and I truly apologize. Many things have happened over the past week, including tons of schoolwork, more than one all-nighter, more than one 14-hour-sleep day, and me snapping my chair in half cheering too hard for Shuka, among other things... not to mention general laziness and procrastinating on Discord :))))

Excuses aside, I know at least a few people were curious on my thoughts about the Live Viewing. I wasn’t actually sure how I wanted to write the post another reason it was delayed so much ... It kind of turned into a strange diary-style post about my entire experience. Hope you guys don’t mind hearing about my weekend too...

I’m also terrible at summarizing, so the whole thing got super super long. So long that I’m splitting it up into four parts. (This way you don’t need to wait for me to finish writing everything, too...) Each individual part is still extremely long, so under a cut it goes~

Sorry for the page stretcher, mobile-users ( ‾▿‾ ;;)

The Day Before Our LV was at 12pm on a Sunday. Turns out the earliest bus from where I live doesn’t actually reach NYC until 11:50am on Sunday (... lol), so I resigned myself to arriving in New York on Saturday and paying to stay the night. My friends and I ended up buying tickets for a five-hour bus ride leaving at 7am on Saturday (rip sleep) so we could have time to hang out with the /r/LoveLive Discord community later in the day. It was really lit! We went to karaoke, which was tons of fun, and then had KBBQ for dinner. Thanks to everyone who made sure I ate properly for dinner ;__; I made sure to eat a lot to honor the price tag on the buffet  (•̀ ∀ •́)ﻭ✧ I was actually super sleepy that day, so my bad if I seemed super quiet or dead ( ‾▿‾ ;;)

Also: It was cold it was cold it was cold it was so cold that day fml

The Day of: Pre-LV I think my friends and I left for the theater around 8am? On our way there we decided it would probably be wise to actually eat breakfast, so we stopped at an IHOP and met up with a bunch of people from the Discord community again. It was kind of difficult for IHOP to serve all of us quickly, so we didn’t get to the venue until like 10am instead of 9 or 9:30am like I was hoping for. There was already a sizable line forming by then. I handed out a bunch of call guides and UOs, as well as a couple of handwarmers (because it was still cold af) to people, and then we put the banner on the ground for people to sign. Thanks to everyone who signed the banner! I don’t really remember what else happened in line because I was trying to do so many things at once lol...

The theater let us inside earlier than expected (thank youuuu). Everyone was inside by about 11am. I was already super excited at this point. My group and I picked seats in the middle-back behind a railing. During the LV I leaned over this railing like Chika in Episode 2 more than a few times and people were afraid that I was going to fall off. After I got my stuff all settled, we set up a speaker to play Aqours music. Then at some point I got bullied into going up in front of everyone in the theater with a megaphone and introducing myself OTL

I got to talk to a few new faces too! I think it was @keipointo​ who greeted me first? I awkwardly offered to shake hands because I didn’t know what to say :’))) My bad. Also had a brief exchange with one of @takatsuking​‘s friends, which was nice! (waaaa I didn’t catch your name I’m sorry ;__;) I was probably also awkward then aaaaaaa I’m bad at one-on-ones Thanks for taking the time to greet me, all of you! :D

And now onto the Live itself, finally ꉂ(･∀･ゝ ≡ ･∀･)ゝ

Some background. We only saw Day 1 of the Live, since none of the American venues offered Day 2 viewings. I was already pretty much spoiled for the events for both days of the live due to Twitter, but being able to see it in person on a giant screen was still a whole different experience altogether. It’s a sensory overload, to say the least. Yokohama Arena is soooo pretty. It’s kind of hard to describe the structure in words, but there’s a main stage with steps and a screen in the back for displaying camera shots and special effects, like so:

... which is connected to a circular center stage by a runway, which you can see here:

The floor of this center stage was actually a giant screen which was used to display some amazing special effects in a lot of the songs; I was really impressed aaaaaaa

And, as some of you might remember from μ's concerts, sometimes the seiyuu will also hop onto carts and ride them around the arena, like so

hi ainya

Here we go! ( *˙0˙*)

Aozora Jumping Heart The seiyuu rise up from below the stage and you can practically feel the tension in the air. I think... a bunch of people screamed when the music started, but I don’t remember too well. I broke two UOs off the bat because I was so excited lol. People behind me, I’m so sorry if I blinded you... Not much to say about this one, actually. Familiar song, familiar outfits. What was different this time was that they finally did the full version of the song! Since the solo lines in the second verse are done by subunit, there was some cute subunit interaction :D

Koi ni Naritai Aquarium Uhhhhhh.... lol. I didn’t want to die this early in the concert, but here we are... This song was 👌👌👌, and I pretty much... reacted how you might expect me to react. (:D)|￣|＿

Since I was spoiled for the setlist, I knew this song was coming up right after Aozora. I still wasn’t prepared. It’s just...... the choreography looks so good live and Shuka was so cute I was dying the whole time ashfsdkjfhsdkjfs. THERE ARE SPINS IN THE CHOREOGRAPHY (covered up by cutscenes in the PV) THANK YOU..............

The blue → orange → blue penlight color transition in the theater was also better than I expected wew, but then again my expectations weren’t that high in the first place.

In my humble, definitely not biased opinion, the Yousolo was amazing. I broke 8 UBs (uhhhhhh... LOL) and attempted a balrog for the solo but it was pretty spaghetti, considering how much I was freaking out.

AT THE END OF THE SONG, THE CAMERA ZOOMED ONTO SHUKA AND SHE DID A LITTLE HEADSHAKE AND FLASHED THE BIGGEST GRINｓｊｋえｊｓｇｄｘｃｖはｊｄｈｖｋｇｈｗｌｇｈｓｄｇＤ？ＧＳ

I’m so proud of Shuka, especially because she talked about how nervous she was for this song in her blog post aaaaaaaaaaa. There must have been added pressure from having to perform it second in the setlist, too...

My voice was pretty much already dead after this song :)))))))) oops

After KoiAqua, intros happened! The usual calls and all. It was good seeing the seiyuu looking just as excited as we were! Hearing so many people in the theater do the Call & Responses was really refreshing as well :D

Aqours☆HEROES  I’m always hype for this song because I love the choreography (read: Shuka’s 128759 spins). The calls for this song are also tons of fun! They were displayed on the main stage screen for the fans. I think this was the first song where the seiyuu went out onto the center stage. A lot of different camera angles (they started singing on the runway part of the stage) and modified choreography to account for the circular stage shape. They ran in circles a lot and it looked pretty tiring tbh because they were running in circles I don’t think Shuka did her “muteki datte” spin (either way the camera wasn’t focused on her) T_T Still good though, I love Heroes :D

The seiyuu leave the stage, and a short intermission drama happens. I’m going to avoid summarizing what happens in the dramas just because my Japanese listening comprehension is really bad, but I’ll mention that the animation for the little talking heads has really improved since the μ's days. They’re much more dynamic, they have more expressions, they have necks... Man, I wish I could GIF this :’)))))

Kimeta yo Hand in Hand Second years take the stage in their Daisuki dattara Daijoubu! outfits! The outfits have pretty wide sleeves, so you can see hints of Yume de Yozora costumes underneath (it doesn’t help that Shuka and Rikyako are wearing blue and pink, whereas their Yume de Yozora outfits are red and blue, respectively...) if you look closely when they raise their arms up.

At the end of the first round of solos, Shuka does a really nice spin which has the unfortunate side effect of flashing the red skirt of her Yume de Yozora costume, as well as her safety shorts LOL.

I remember laughing super hard at the arm-flailing choreo in the chorus when I first heard the song in the anime, but it actually didn’t look that weird in real life. There’s one part where all three of them just grab each other’s hands to form a circle and then run around, which I thought was really cute... ;__;

Daisuki dattara Daijoubu! Err, let’s just say that when Shuka jumped for the “Jump da!” part I thought I was going to have a heart attack lmao :’D

Choreo was pretty much exactly like the anime. For the second half of the song, the three of them moved out to the center stage while holding hands. During the instrumental it looked like there was no choreography, so all of them just circled around the stage and waved at all the fans. Shuka bounced around like a little kid on a sugar high and it was adorable ;__;

Then we had a short second years MC, the highlight of which is seeing the three of them turn in a circle to show everyone their costumes! There’s a giant ribbon on the back :>

Yume de Yozora o Terashitai Okay I already posted the official picture for the Yume de Yozora performance but I have to post it again:

This performance was sooooo beautiful, definitely one of the prettiest songs in the setlist. The whole performance itself took place on the center stage, where they could take full advantage of the screen display on the floor. Lots of aerial camera shots so we could see the evening sky displayed right under the seiyuu... Sooooo pretty. They put a really nice animation of the lanterns spelling out “Aqours” on the floor for Anchan’s solo as well :))))

There was this one part (or maybe two parts? I forget) where Aiai and King reach out and touch each other’s hands in this song, and I gotta say... their height difference is really moe. Ashkfhdsfjdkfh

... I would also like to personally thank the choreographer for putting in a Shuka spin in the second half of this song :)

You can’t see it too well in the photo, but the skirts on the costumes are all glittery. So prettyyyyy aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

After that, the stage goes dark and the seiyuu leave the stage. Next up: Subunits! (and more) → [Coming Soon!]