#thank u for putting up with my shenanigans the whole time XD

[tetchy-frog]

Interludes From Kinging:

It’s finally time! This is my piece for the Thorin’s Spring Forge 2023 event! I got to work with the lovely, magnanimous, amazing @isclanel and create a short mini comic for their work, “Interludes from Kinging”, which you can find here!

Thank you so much for being a lovely working partner, Isclanel!

[12redsky34]

wip roundup

I have been tag-teamed by @autisticmidoriyas and @yamadadzawa so I guess it’s my turn! Thanks for inviting me to share my many ideas, both of u xD

Just gonna preface this by saying that I have only three actual in-progress and posted wips at the moment, so I’ll split this into written and currently unwritten. In addition, while most of my ideas are for BNHA, I have a few for Haikyuu as well that I’ll include.

 BNHA

1. The Soul Behind The Quirk: Currently the fic I’ve written the most content for, and it’s been tonnes of fun to write!. It basically started with the thought “what if Izuku could see like... souls?” and it spiralled from there. It starts with Hisashi, an S-class villain (not AfO though), coming to Izuku and Inko’s home. He and a currently unnamed accomplice murder Inko and heavily injure Izuku, leaving Aizawa to rescue him from the burning apartment. Izuku force-manifests a quirk from the stress of the experience.

2. Dancing through Embers: This one is still in the baby stages, but it features quirkless, trans Izuku and Hitoshi, graffiti artist Hitoshi, vigilante Izuku, vigilante and brotherly Dabi (eventually, it’s a bit far down the line at the moment), and eventual parental Aizawa. Also featuring the characters in Karasuno from Haikyuu!! You don’t need to know anything about Haikyuu to enjoy them, but they’re a nice addition for those who do. This one’s more serious than most of my other fics so far, and I’ve outlined a lot more than the rest. I’m actually quite proud of what I’ve planned, and you may take that as you will ;)

3. A Study of Soulmates: You want a soulmate AU? You want good dad Hisashi? Want a quirkless Izuku who doesn’t ever step foot into UA? Want an Izuku that will eventually work in a coffee shop as an informant on the side? Well this is the place for you! This one is in it’s early early stages; like I just started posting last month, early. It’s mostly going to be fairly light-hearted, with both platonic and romantic soulmates, but Tododeku is planned as a main pairing and there will be plenty of shenanigans surrounding them.

3. I’m falling to pieces (falling to pieces): A oneshot that is still being written. I’ve seen a lot of fics where Aizawa and/or his classmates find out about Izuku’s previous quirklessness somehow, and this was actually inspired from this post by @zippodippo! Features all the dadzawa content!

4. Dragon!Quirked Izuku AU: This hasn’t had too much thought beyond “I want to make Izuku a dragon” and “Ooooh what if he was taken in by the Hero Commission just like Hawks?” Basically in this fic, his quirk manifested a little late and quite violently; he effectively goes feral for a short while until heroes are called in to subdue him. He would have been pardoned for his quirk use considering it happened while he was afraid and under significant stress, but the power his quirk had even then caught the Commission’s attention and they basically forced Inko and Hisashi to hand him over. There isn’t a lot they can do about it.

5. Shady Dealings: Doesn’t really have an end goal at the moment, but this basically started from “I want to write a villain/informant AU that I feel would be true to Izuku’s character,” and it resulted in this. Inko works as a nurse/doctor of sorts in the underground for villains, vigilantes, or just people who can’t afford an actual hospital for whatever reason. Hisashi works as a support mechanic of sorts for the underground, mostly for vigilantes and for the poor division of the population who can’t afford traditional prosthetics. Both of them take payment in the form of money, favours, or both. They’re also very careful to keep anyone from targeting Izuku, and make active attempts to get him into a more lawful line of work, but that backfires of course. I plan for it to be pretty lighthearted despite the serious subject.

6. Everyone is Brainwashed: I see a lot of fix-it fics where those involved are often like “why didn’t I see/notice this before?” and I thought “well... what if it’s because everyone literally can’t?” The basic premise is this: when UA was first being planned and built, AfO placed a very subtle but very wide-ranged brainwashing on anyone involved in major decisions regarding the school. He can’t change how anyone under influence acts in a major way, but he can, for instance, make someone decide not to put in place one safety measure or another. This is a chink he eventually takes advantage of through the USJ arc. Things are going quite well for him until one Izuku Midoriya walks in completely unaffected by the brainwashing zone he’s put in place.

7. Anomaly!AU: Basically if Izuku is an SCP from SCP: Containment Breach. I’ve taken a fair amount of creative liberties with this one, partially because I have never actually played the game and partially because fitting things like that into a world of quirks can be a little tricky. He’ll be an SCP of my own design, I’ve actually drawn him quite a bit at this point, but he wasn’t originally one. AfO took him as a child and felt like experimenting so he sort of crammed a lot of weird, random quirks into him, but it kind of backfired, and Izuku became something not quite human anymore. There’s not a whole lot planned yet but I have some ideas!

Haikyuu!!

1. Lightning Strikes Twice: Basically a HTTYD AU with some creative liberties. Hinata is a rare lightning Dragon, known in the racing world for his speed. The only problem is, his paired rider is abusive and keeps pushing and demanding, always telling him he isn’t good enough even though he keeps trying. Kageyama is a renowned dragon rider, known for his excellent control on the saddle and for being able to navigate racing courses even veterans find hard to clear. However, he never manages to find a dragon he truly connects with, and to make it far in the racing industry, that kind of connection is basically a requirement. Tragic accidents drive them from their old teams and bring them to Karasuno, where they both get a fresh start.

2. Giant Crow Hinata: Almost everything is the same except Hinata isn’t human, and lives in the mountains with his family, who are also not human. I haven’t decided what exactly they are past giant creatures of some sort. Hinata belongs to a clan of giant bird creatures, and he specifically is a crow. One night in a storm, he gets injured and ends up in Kageyama’s back yard. Kageyama’s mother patches him up and sends him home, but he comes back, and eventually he and Tobio end up in a routine of sorts where Hinata will sit there and listen to Tobio talking about volleyball. One day, Hinata arrives but he’s in a more human-like form and demands that he let Tobio try and play with him. That’s about all I got for that so far.

3. Pokemon AU: This one is. So involved, mostly on the worldbuilding side of things. For those who know anything at all about the main series Pokemon games, this will be set in Galar (Sword/Shield). Hinata grows up wanting nothing more than to be a Pokemon Ranger (they have a slightly different role than “canon” here), whereas Kageyama was born from a Gym Leader and the CEO of an influential company and has had heavy expectations on him basically since birth. The stress and fear of failure make him cold and controlling at first, so when he does his first run of the Pokemon League, he fails. He gets advice to visit the Wild Area where a certain Ranger spends most of his time. Needless to say, when he meets this scrawny, wild-haired little Ranger, he is not expecting it to be while he himself is being chased around by an angry Dragon-type until Hinata arrives and calms it down by just being there. He has many questions.

Aaaaand that’s it I believe! If any of you want to ask me questions about these, feel free to leave an ask! I’d be happy to talk about them more :D As for tagging, uhhhh... I dunno, @plusultrachaos, @faelwenholdsthelight, and @psychicshr00m, if y’all haven’t done so and would like to do this!

[maskueradc-a-blog]

Hey everyone! It’s been a long ride but I finally made a huge milestone! 500 plus followers! I’ve never dreamed I would have have so many of you following me. It brings a tear to my eye that everyone loves the meme son so much! Especially with all of you so cool and awesome. And being such good friends. And to those who left, I wish you the best and hope you find some type of happiness wherever you are. First, here’s a little list of people who has made this experience on here such a blast.

-

@beyondarrest I don’t talk to you much but the conversations we did have, mostly us making jokes that Akira was Katsuya’s son and actually making it happen was one of the best moments I’ve had ever since I made this account. Plus, you really make a great Katsuya. You’re the reason why I got invested in playing Persona 2 Eternal Punishment. Still gotta finish it but I do thank you for recommended it to me.

@skullheist Jazz, you were my first friend on here and I thank you for sticking with me. We don’t talk like we used to but I still like you as friend I whole bunch! Hope to still be here with you for many more funny times on here.

@the-phantom-crow Minty, I know my meme son can be frustrating sometime but I am glad you like my version of Akira. I like how you can tell he’s unique and somewhat annoying but a good annoying as I recall you saying a little while back. Also, you are the first Goro I followed and I don’t regret it one bit. Here’s to many more shenanigans.

@dolgelo  I know we haven’t spoken or interacted that much. Maybe a meme or something like that. It’s been to long. Anyways, I love and admire your Mitsuru. So much that I actually like her a lot more than I used to.

@hekigankiseki  Oh gosh. You’re like the first Minato that I followed on here and I gotta say, I really love everything you do with your muse. Keep up the great work. I read all your your threads and headcanons, just amazed at your time and dedication to your muse. Happy vibes to you! 

@gooselullaby !! Your Nana-chan I just a little bundle of sunshine! She’s cute, she’s a little bit sassy but loves everyone. I can tell the love and joy you put into Nanako and ours muse’s interactions are just the cutest! I always love to see you on my dash everyday. Much happy vibes!

@desbearer hEEEy! Unicorn! Can’t forget about u. U are like my most favorite person to know. I mean seriously, I thought I was the only one who liked the RICK ROLL song but to have you like it as well is so awesome! And I love your human monokuma so much. So much that I cry at the perfection. Don’t stop being you, you great person!

@steelbanchou / @ultimatetalentless Sin! There’s so much I’d like to say here! One, thank for being at my side during my more darker patches in the community. You really stuck with me in the month of July. At that time, I felt awful and wanted to delete but you kept me from doing so. I’ll never forget that kindness. And two, I am really thankful for all of the things you tag me in and being cool when I sent you random asks, because we both know how random Akira can be when he’s in a mood. Good thing Yu/Hajime doesn’t fall for the silly things he does. Anyways, I am glad to know you by being here! Here’s to more days to come!

@praepcsitus Hey Yang! I can’t tell you how much I love your Edgeworth! I’ve always been a fan for the ace attorney games and found out about you following me, I literally screamed in excitement! And to my surprise, I found myself liking everything you write about one of my favorite characters too! Keep up the awesome job you do! You really are one of the best Edgeworth(s) I’ve seen in awhile. Much luck to you!

@corruptedpersona Hey! We don’t talk that much but I very much love your (dark) Akira very much! You really make him unique and sometimes down right crazy, but that’s cool too! Enjoy seeing you once in awhile on my dash.

@edgyearring You, yes you! Rach, I just love that we both know about SMT IV and SMT IVA and can talk about it for hours on end. I just like that I found someone who likes something I do. We also like dothack but I was really surprised when I saw you talking about the one game that isn’t liked by many fans. Plus, you’re funny and great to talk too. Always love reading your OOC posts too! Thanks for being my friend. Here’s to many more!

@positivepianist oh my god!! I love your Kaede so much! I know next to nothing about DR3 but reading your interactions with your followers makes me like the pianist so much! Can’t wait for the release of the game and hope she’s just as much as good as your version of her. Keep being positive! 

@whtcoats Libra! I can’t say how much I love your Akechi! From the way your write, to your headcanons, to your crack posts. I’m such a fan, you don’t know how excited I get when I see your posts or when you come online here. I just wanna say I wish all the happy things in the world happen to you because you deserve it! Hopefully, we can have a proper thread or something some day ( besides the one where Akechi kills Akira because the idiot called him ‘Light Yagami’).

@kitsunekatana !! I love your Yusuke so much! With him drawing memes like the crepe for Ann and that other thing that resembles Mara. Those really made me laugh and also that crack thread with him complaining that no one bought him dinner. Keep up the good work! Love seeing you on my dash everyday. Hopefully Yusuke will be fed properly. That boy needs to eat something and not his paint brush.

@pillcger0ftwilight Hey look! It’s Akira buddy, his persona Arsene! Wow, Akira is intense but your Arsene is even more since he likes to bug the cat dad at his home. Even Akira shakes his head at that. Also. them getting into trouble sometimes is hilarious and cute at the same time. But don’t call them cute. The two get really defensive about that issue, even when one of them calls the other that. But they are best friends, which I love. Always enjoy seeing you on my dash. Yay persona!

@lcvesicken Wiz! I miss you so badly but I know life gets in the way. Including, time zones, am I right? But I love all of your muses dearly. But the way my muse messed up and know have Ayano being interested in him is really funny. Not to my muse but he’s going into space to live so it’s all good. Hope to see you again someday.

@entreve / @trickstre P! Like omg. I cry at the perfection that you portray with these two boys ( and also your Nocty, Jun, and others ). I mean, the headcanons are so detailed, the crack posts are pure genius and the OOC stuff is good too! You’re one of my favorite Akira(s), you just don’t know how much I like seeing you and the son on my dash everyday. I really hope everything in your life is always happy and safe. Thanks for sticking around with me and the meme son.

@flaracr I love your Loki! He’s so interesting. Nothing like I would imagine but that is why I like it so much! I’d thought he would be more like the media type but you put a unique spin on the legendary trickster. I like seeing you on my dash everyday and hope we can interact one day.

@queenxfjustice Kate! OMG, the hilarious things we both come up with. With Makoto getting called ‘beep boop’ and Akira naming their hypothetical child Makoto 2.0! But just him being a meme and her trying to deal with that everyday. But I guess someone has to keep him from messing with the masses. haha.

@mcsketeer hey! love to see you around. your haru makes my muse blush like crazy every time you appear on the dash. Hopefully, he won’t be as shy as he has been and might watch scary movies with her some day.

@wildsuit I’ve always been a fan of Tiger & Bunny ever since it came out in 2011. To see your Kotetsu is such a joy to behold. I don’t know how many times I’ve see you on my dash and it makes so happy to see the fandom represented. Maybe some day I’ll come back to the rp side. I used to rp as Yuri/Lunatic actually. haha. surprising right? keep up the great job!

@shushc When I first got followed by you, I was amazed. Even more amazed when I saw how much dedication you put into Shido. He’s a hard character to get right most of the time but with you, it feels like a breeze. I love how mean he is to everyone and that’s what I like about Shido. He’s supposed to be like that. Glad to see you on my dash!

@lunefated Gosh mya! I’ve known you ever since I made this blog and I do not regret ever following you because your are own of the best original characters from the persona 5 community to ever exist! I love your Natsuki so much! Even the times she’s been in the palace(s) ruining the thieves plan. xD

@bopnty Ya know? I’ve never liked CB that much. I watched an episode back when I was in high school but didn’t think too much about it. It was the one where everyone ate the bad food in the fridge or something. Anywho, never picked it up again until your version of Spike came up on my dash. Now I wanna watch the whole series just because of how good you are rping Spike. Keep doing what you are doing because you are rocking it.

@geimaa Your Chiaki is so adorable but also hilarious when she tries to take Hajime down when he calls her short. I can really tell the details you put into her character. Enjoy seeing you on my dash everyday. Love to see what else you make her do that’s hilarious.

@loptri Hey Thoria! Thanks for being a great friend and having my back. I suppose we should make a contest on how many blogs we both make since we do sure have a lot. But we both do a great job portraying all of ours muses. So here’s a shout out to you for being awesome and an awesome Goro ( Akira, Ann, Berkut , and your OC too) ! :D

@whipsmacked You’re new but omg, I love everything you do! I’m a big fan even though I am so slow on replies. it’s so fresh what you do with Ann and it shows how good you are at rping as her. here’s to many more shenanigans.

-

And to everyone else, thank you!

@consumedwithcontempt @ultimctepoet @theholylight @trashcanarcana @kunaiflourish @thecafeleblanc @chxntpleure @nonludum @gaywiththewind @calystegiaidol @mystxryious @shadowsboxer @ayatsurii @millenniumpharaoh @crossxskulled @orakl @artsgasm @preciousyellowidiot @kaitouyusuke @nee-chan-maya @chariodyne @inviai @locksfate @zentokugyaru @severepiratecrown @yuizakami @yamiisha @cardcaptis @ultimategreasemonkey @nagifool @desolisms @tricange @checkeredscarfs @j0kester @desclateblue @uila @aturxox & @divinesight

And to the rest of my followers! THANK YOU TOO!

[aureus-ignis]

When I was young, I fell in love with the Pokemon series. I loved the RBY and GSC games, I watched the anime on TV every weekend, bought the movies, played the TCG, and collected the PokeSpe manga zealously. But as the years went by, the newer Pokemon games failed to hold my interest, and I soon stopped following Pokemon entirely. Last year, the generation of Alola was announced, and after watching a few trailers, I found myself drawn to the music. The adorable Rowlet also caught my eye, and on top of that, it seemed like the story was going to be interesting. A conservation society full of nice people dressed in white that looked strangely sinister at times? Hell yesssss. So I decided to buy the game... and then I fell deeply in love. Once again I was in Pokemon heaven (or hell).

So when Mei asked me if there was any series we could cos together that'd be fun and simple to do, I suggested Gladion and Lillie, since their costumes are fairly simple (c o u g h). She agreed, and that was the beginning of it all.

I started working on stuff around mid-June this year. People who know me know that accuracy is pretty high on my list of priorities, and I was determined to get the not-very-logical hair of Lillie and Gladion as good as I possibly could. Lillie's problem, of course, was the thickness. She has two insanely fat braids that had to be made up of almost all the hair on a normal human head, yet somehow still has a thick wide mane of loose hair behind her. So I had to spend time wefting as many extra rows of fibre into the wig, and then crafting removable bases for the braids from batting and more wefts.

Testing!

Batting base WIP HAHAHA

And the final result was worth it <3 <3

Next was Gladion. When it comes to the subject of pulled back hair, I've gotten to the point where I can ONLY accept lacefront. Anything else is too fake for me. For me, cosplay has always been about portraying the characters as if they were real, no matter how zany and strange their designs may be. I wanted the hair to look almost as though it grew on me. I ripped out almost the whole front to get rid of the fringe, and sewed in longer wefts, adjusting the direction of the hair to the left so that they would comb back naturally. Then ventilating hell began

Darkness, my old friend, we meet again. ;___; My hooking skills have improved since I first started ventilating, but it's still a long, tedious process. School started before I could finish, and I had to work on everything else too...

The realization that his uncut wig looks like Mercy from Overwatch HAHAHA

But as with Lillie, the final result was worth it <3 <3 <3

With regards to his costume, I'd actually had the hoodie and pants tailored because I ran out of time. I'd wanted just the base made so I can do the rest of the details myself, but the tailor forgot and did everything for me... and ended up messing up the accuracy. It was a disappointment, so much so that after STGCC was over, and we planned to have a shoot at the end of the year... I decided to remake everything from scratch. I'm terrible at patterning, really, and Gladion's biggest problem was THE STUPID GRAVITY DEFYING HOOD. Ultimately I couldn't get it to look exactly like the original (because I didn't want extra seams and all, but it was close enough. And the second time round, all of the holes were in the correct areas HAHAHA.

I'd made his first waistpouch myself, but for some reason, despite my careful measurements, the size turned out far too large the first time. So I had to remake the whole thing a second time. The hardest part is sewing the damn thing together, because I'd had to put two layers of hard inferfacing for each piece and sometimes the needle just wouldn't. Go. Through. OTL In version 2, I had more time, so I paid more attention to getting the shape accurate. The stupid thing tapers towards the bottom and has a curved side. Even more stupid, the strap goes from FAT TO THIN TO FAT for some reason. But I succeeded!

New VS Old

Next was the Z-ring. Gladion's official art doesn't have one, but he obviously wears one in-game. I felt that it was important, because Nanu gave it to him. So I had to dig out references from the game screenshots 8D;;

This is how a lot of my prop drafts look like. ALGEBRA IS MY FRIEND.

Also crafted the Z-crystal thanks to Pythagoras' theorem 8D; I used liquid quartz to glue the clear acrylic sheet together without leaving traces.

Final result! I'm pretty happy with it =>

Before STGCC, there was one more segment that I worked really hard on. After we'd decided to do SuMo together, I thought of making a Nebby plushie for Mei to carry. Yes, Pokemon Center had already released their Nebby plush by then, but... For one, it's smaller than life-size. For another, the shape looks more like a sunflower than a starry cloud. I didn't want it to look like Lillie was just carrying a toy; I wanted to give the impression that Mei had an adorable, soft, beautiful real-life Cosmog. But how on earth would someone with very terrible patterning skills make a 3D cloud plushie that could be dyed for Nebby's distinctive gradient colouring, and still be nice and soft to hug?

The answer is, I struggled.

Set up a spraying booth to airbrush the gradient on. Due to a problem with shipping, I couldn't get my compressor in time, so I ended up having to splurge on compressed air cans, which were horrendously expensive oTL.

BUT LOOK AT THE FINAL RESULT. LOOK AT HIM. <3 <3 <3

Let it also be known that I tested to make sure he could fit inside Mei's bag the moment I finished the base HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-----

So that was part 1 of Project Alola! We went to STGCC together and met lots of Pokemon fans (quite a lot of people were very happy to see Nebby, in particular XD), and Laki offered to come shoot with us as Moon since she already had the costume. We then planned to have our shoot at the end of the year during my holidays.

As mentioned, I'd already planned to remake my entire costume and waistpouch, but aside from that... I had the mad idea that I wanted to make a Silvally prop. It's something I'd considered for STGCC too, but I was really short on time then, and Mei told me to FINISH EVERYTHING ELSE FIRST THEN DO IT IF YOU HAVE TIME.

The problem is... Silvally's official size in the Pokedex is 2.4m. That's 80cm taller than myself. )o) Sure, I could scale him down, make a tiny lap plushie like all the other cosplayers, but what would be the point? Although I'd never cosplayed from the Pokemon series before, I'd always thought that if I were to do so, I'd want to make life-size Pokemon so that it'd look like I actually have a Pokemon partner, and not just a Pokemon toy. But I'd thought then that my projects would be starters like Pikachu or Charmander or Cyndaquil, or maybe one of the Eeveelutions. Not a giant horse-dog like Silvally ^^;;;

I had to consider the fact that my house isn't very big and I'd have barely any space to keep him. I had to consider how I'd be able to transport him, and how to construct him so that I could take him apart. I also had to consider the amount of money I'd be spending on him, because honestly, cosplay is not a cheap hobby. Materials in Singapore are especially expensive. As an unemployed student, I'd be splurging a lot if I decided to go ahead with this crazy project. When I told this to Mei during one of our dinners out, she suggested just making his head and taking halfbody shots so no one can tell that he has nobody. Like a hobby horse, except it's a hobby Silvally.

Good idea.

So when school finished, I started drafting him out, and the basic paper draft itself took like three giant sheets of patterning paper taped together HAHAHA.

The base

Honestly, even though I had an idea of how I'd make him, I wasn't completely sure if it would work. As I've said repeatedly I really, really suck at patterning. I can never seem to envision where to cut darts in a piece of EVA foam to get the shape I want, so half the time I was just taping drafting paper on and folding and taping excess parts off, then that that up for a trial-and-error pattern.

With paper mache and paper draft pattern for the mouth.

That's how large the whole thing is 8D'

Apart from the making of Silvally, I'd also spent time searching for reference pictures and sketching storyboard ideas for our shoot. I went to check out the our shoot location (Sentosa Island) a few weekends back, so that we could decide where exactly we wanted to shoot. In hindsight, there were a lot more shots I could have planned to bring out the personality of our characters more, but oh well ;w;

The shoot itself went pretty well, for the sun was quite kind to us, and hid under clouds for most of the day. Sei's working style is quite different from mine, but she was very gracious and did everything I asked of her. Sakami and Greg were wonderful helpers, and some of my best memories from the day include our hilarious videos, and the shenanigans with the Pokemon.

I've already thanked my wonderful team mates, helpers and photographer in another post, so I won't go into details here. But everyone was very kind and obliging, and listened to all my ambitious plans, allowing me to be a bossy director. I'm very, very grateful to all of them.  

So now, a bit of reflection on Silvally, and the whole project.

The patterns for Silvally weren't perfect, and I messed up a lot. The final result was definitely far from what I had hoped for. Most noticeably, the top of the head is bumpy holey because I ran out of gesso to fill and sand. But the proportions also came out a bit off, and the neck piece patterning failed on the right side. But when I finished painting... I felt very, very happy. I'd gotten some small bouts of joy when I finished each stage of the crafting process, when I looked at what I'd done, but looking at the final product was just.... incredible. It wasn't as beautiful as it could have been, and I still regret all the imperfections that are so obvious to my eyes, but....I was so excited. I couldn't wait for the shoot.

Perhaps it was partly because I hadn't really been sure if I'd be able to make things work, so the success tastes that much sweeter. Some of my friends had told me I was crazy. I kept asking myself if I were crazy. All that money and time and pain sunk into a project that I'm not even getting paid for, with a success rate that seemed really low. My mom telling me straight out that I was 'too ambitious'. Was it worth it? Would it have been better to make a smaller, much more perfect prop, than an actual sized, flawed one, with half the effort and money? Cosplay is already an indulgence, but had I crossed the line into foolish waste zone?

When I looked at my completed Silvally, the answer didn't hit me like Mjolnir. I still don't know if it was the right thing to do, or if I was an irresponsible child wasting the money that could have gone into feeding me better food.

But it made me happy. So happy. I nearly cried as I stood there for a few minutes staring at him. He was truly a labour of love. I spent hours spraying gesso and paint because I love Silvally. I spent days sanding until my arms want to fall off and my eyes are dying from dust because I love Gladion. I spent hours cortorted in weird positions with a paintbrush trying desperately to stay within the pencil lines, sweat dripping into my eyes, because I love this art. Sure, the process itself was often painful; I suffered multiple burns from hot glue and a hot iron and cut my fingers open way too many times. I still hate hand-sanding with a burning passion because it's tiring as hell and I get blisters on my oversensitive skin. But the thought that all of the suffering helps to build the final piece of art that I envision makes me grit my teeth and soldier on.

Cosplay is my art, something that I would put 500% of me into. Whether the crafting of insanely large props, or the preparations for the shoot, or the styling of my entire team's wigs, or the endless sewing adventures on plushies.

Because I love it.

[hakureiryuu]

[1/31/2017 9:36:28 PM] Ryuu: OKAY SO ON A SCALE FROM ZERO TO ALL OF THEM HOW MANY SPOILERS DO Y'ALL WANT [1/31/2017 9:36:42 PM] Ben: For? [1/31/2017 9:36:44 PM] Rhia: ALL THE SPOILERS [1/31/2017 9:37:22 PM] Ben: Oh YGO movie [1/31/2017 9:37:23 PM] Ben: ok shoot [1/31/2017 9:48:01 PM] Ryuu: so it opens up with the fact that kaiba has built a goddamn space elevator

[1/31/2017 9:48:16 PM] Ryuu: because why wouldn't he [1/31/2017 9:49:20 PM] Ben: Right [1/31/2017 9:49:53 PM] Ryuu: I mean I guess the real thing to start with is, my circleverse fics no longer fit in canon, and I have a sad [1/31/2017 9:50:06 PM] Rhia: Aw [1/31/2017 9:50:09 PM] Ryuu: because this was an after-the-end kind of thing [1/31/2017 9:50:15 PM] Rhia: -nod- [1/31/2017 9:51:13 PM] Ryuu: and it did surprisingly well for itself!! several characters got completions to otherwise ignored story arcs. bakura for example. huge shit there. and a few nods to tea and joey. [1/31/2017 9:51:42 PM] Ryuu: mostly though, this movie was about kaiba's unquenchable hateboner for atem. [1/31/2017 9:51:50 PM] Rhia: WHEEEEE [1/31/2017 9:51:51 PM] Ryuu: like, jesus fucking Christ dude calm the fuck down [1/31/2017 9:52:47 PM] Ryuu: just. thank GOD for homestuck because without quadrants firmly in my head I would spend 3/4 of the movie clutching my skull and screaming internally MAKE THE FOE YAY STOOOOOOP hahahhaa [1/31/2017 9:53:08 PM] Rhia: -snigger- [1/31/2017 9:53:22 PM] Ryuu: the Japanese don't mess around with their spades okay? [1/31/2017 9:53:31 PM] Rhia: Nope [1/31/2017 9:54:40 PM] Ryuu: leading to weirdly poignant conversations between the pharaoh's moirail and kismesis that boil down to "dude he's dead let it go" "NO HE'S NOT FITE ME" [1/31/2017 9:55:12 PM] Rhia: oh my gaaaaaaaaaawd [1/31/2017 9:55:41 PM] Ryuu: seto kaiba. this fucker. [1/31/2017 9:55:58 PM] Ryuu: THIS FUCKER SCIENCES HIMSELF INTO THE AFTERLIFE FOR ONE LAST GO ROUND OKAY????! [1/31/2017 9:56:23 PM] Ben: flashbacks to YuYuHakishu and Kuwabara at Yuuske's funeral [1/31/2017 9:56:33 PM] Rhia: Yuuuuup [1/31/2017 10:00:34 PM] Ben: Seto Kaiba is the real protagonist. [1/31/2017 10:00:49 PM] Rhia: OMG KAIBA GIVE IT UP [1/31/2017 10:01:52 PM] Ryuu: SO ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT KAIBA'S EGO WAS LITERALLY TOO BIG FOR THIS STORY [1/31/2017 10:02:50 PM] Ryuu: and aside from parts of the ending there I felt like he was really pretty flandarized into exactly two character traits: his kismessitude with atem and his UNPARALELLED ABILITY TO MAKE A PUBLICITY STUNT [1/31/2017 10:03:51 PM] Ryuu: i had a rly good time with this movie! like i said, there were nods to incomplete character arcs. i appreciate bakura's trauma being FINALLY FUCKING ADDRESSED. [1/31/2017 10:04:35 PM] Rhia: YAY IT CHEERED YOU UP [1/31/2017 10:04:45 PM] Ryuu: even though his backstory was one among several rather noticeable retcons... another being shadi's entire. existence. :? [1/31/2017 10:06:04 PM] Rhia: Shadi is the schrodginer's cat of the YGO fandom [1/31/2017 10:06:29 PM] Ben: ... [1/31/2017 10:06:36 PM] Ben: Wait that's flanderizing Kaiba? [1/31/2017 10:06:45 PM] Ryuu: like. i get that he's some kind of force ghost in canon but there's no way he died THAT RECENTLY. and there's also no way he would not have talked to the villain of the movie in all the years since, given that shadi's death is the villain's motive. [1/31/2017 10:06:57 PM] Ryuu: KAIBA HAS AT LEAST A FEW MORE TRAITS TO HIM OKAY? XD [1/31/2017 10:07:31 PM] Ryuu: i mean i like to think of him as a stage hog, but not desperate. that's beneath him, y'know? [1/31/2017 10:08:21 PM] Ben: XD [1/31/2017 10:11:52 PM] Ryuu: but yeah this movie was nostalgic in other ways. it had that good ol' 4kids overdub, with bad puns and inserting extra dialogue where there was clearly silence in the original. but there were no visual edits except for making any actual visible text into English, which was nice. the voice acting was a return to its season 1 quality as well, not the lazy crap they devolved to by the end. [1/31/2017 10:12:14 PM] Rhia: ogood [1/31/2017 10:13:51 PM] Ryuu: okay u said ALL of the spoilers so [1/31/2017 10:17:55 PM] Ryuu: supposedly with atem's death a residual power would be awakened. this power at full force can completely reshape reality in the most vague and yet literal sense, and shadi, before his death, had spent his time giving this power to worthy children he came across. when the pharaoh finally died, they would reshape the world as they wished. shadi gave this power to kids because they would supposedly create a good, pure world, free of fear and hatred. and there was a lot of really good talk on that subject, if necessarily kind of clipped by the dub (it's a complex subject that you can't fit into x mouth movements too precisely, so i understand). it's basically yoda's fear -> anger -> hate -> suffering, paraphrased. [1/31/2017 10:20:17 PM] Ryuu: but shadi's lessons are cut short by bakura's retconned backstory, in which he received the ring as a damn 10 year old or something and murdered shadi with more power than he EVER displays in canon so shruuug haha. but this breeds fear/hate/all the rest in the antagonist's heart, and he begins to misuse the power once it comes into play. [1/31/2017 10:23:42 PM] Rhia: Which would explain all the stuff from the later series. [1/31/2017 10:27:53 PM] Rhia: ....That line was supposed to be earlier. Thanks Skype [1/31/2017 10:28:31 PM] Ryuu: well, no. because, for no reason, if the pharaoh ever returns, the power would be negated. which brings us back to kaiba. [1/31/2017 10:31:38 PM] Ryuu: and. y'know. his hateboner's quest to bring the pharaoh back. kinda throw's a wrench in whatever plans this kid might have for his powers. [1/31/2017 10:32:31 PM] Ryuu: so he's like, okay 2 possibilities here. i could stop kaiba from digging up the items and putting the puzzle back together, or i could kill yugi and make the whole thing moot anyway. [1/31/2017 10:32:40 PM] Ryuu: he chooses the latter ^^U [1/31/2017 10:33:35 PM] Ben: Naturally [1/31/2017 10:34:54 PM | Edited 10:34:58 PM] Ryuu: many shenanigans ensue, including some handwavey bullshit involving how magic and technology interact. literally handwaved. like, "oh, that happened, i don't care why." [1/31/2017 10:36:19 PM] Ben: Any magic sufficiently analyzed? :P [1/31/2017 10:36:51 PM] Ryuu: apparently, since i repeat, KAIBA SCIENCES HIMSELF INTO THE AFTERLIFE [1/31/2017 10:37:09 PM] Ben: I really want that YGO/DBZ crossover now. [1/31/2017 10:37:17 PM] Ben: Kaiba and Vegeta would get along like a house on fire. [1/31/2017 10:37:18 PM] Ben: EGO [1/31/2017 10:37:22 PM] Ben: EGO EVERYWHERE [1/31/2017 10:38:09 PM] Ryuu: one of my earliest fics was like that, only with kaiba and sesshomaru from inuyasha. only the punchline was that it was less explosive than expected xD [1/31/2017 10:38:20 PM] Ben: XD [1/31/2017 10:38:22 PM] Ben: Like [1/31/2017 10:38:34 PM] Ben: I like to think that Kaiba is Vegeta's ego with Bulma's brilliance [1/31/2017 10:38:53 PM] Ben: Mabye YGO takes place AFTER DBZ and Kaiba is Trunk's little brother? XD [1/31/2017 10:39:30 PM] Rhia: PFFFFFFFF [1/31/2017 10:40:00 PM] Ryuu: that's the other thing i think is a bit flandarized about kaiba, and yet even i have to admit it's pretty accurate - he keeps losing because he's so goddamn predictable. [1/31/2017 10:41:22 PM] Ryuu: THAT'S LITERALLY WHAT COST HIM THE WIN AT BATTLE CITY: HE SAID LET'S HAVE A SUDDEN DEATH ROUND, DRAW WHATEVER HAND OF CARDS YOU WANT TO USE. and he lost because he picked the cards that let him get the blue eyes ultimate dragon, and yami picked a hand that would negate exactly that. if he did something different just this ONCE... [1/31/2017 10:41:28 PM] Ryuu: i mean [1/31/2017 10:41:34 PM] Ryuu: it's for effect, y'know? it's for his ego. [1/31/2017 10:42:15 PM] Rhia: It's like when Bri is going for the super-dramatic effect. "Because she can, because it's Rule of Cool." Kaiba's BEWD is because Rule of Kaiba. [1/31/2017 10:42:21 PM] Ryuu: in his duel with ishizu the whole plot is that he ALMOST fell prey to that, because his plan for ego purposes was to use obelisk against her, but went against predictability FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE and chose blue eyes. [1/31/2017 10:42:28 PM] Ryuu: BUT FOR SOME REASON HE DID NOT LEARN FROM THIS [1/31/2017 10:43:02 PM] Rhia: It could be said that Kaiba is a tragic character and therefore will never learn to fix his flaws. [1/31/2017 10:44:03 PM] Ryuu: yeah let's go with that. i even kind of believe it. i'd like for it to be at least addressed in canon though, even if it can't be fixed. i just don't want it to be a plot device again. it's old. [1/31/2017 10:44:23 PM] Ryuu: god TOO MUCH KAIBA IN THIS MOVIE [1/31/2017 10:44:43 PM] Ryuu: HIS EGO WAS SO HUGE THEY HAD TO TRIM DOWN TO JUST ONE REFERENCE TO THE HEART OF THE CARDS SO IT WOULD EVEN FIT [1/31/2017 10:44:57 PM] Rhia: LOL [1/31/2017 10:45:06 PM] Ryuu: but yeah where was i [1/31/2017 10:45:54 PM] Ryuu: so through shenanigans the puzzle is almost completed but for a few stolen pieces. yugi, through more shenanigans, gets his hands on them, then puts the puzzle together to make a point. [1/31/2017 10:46:48 PM] Ryuu: literally everyone in the story is all like putting the puzzle back together would bring atem back but yugi basically waves it in their faces like Y'ALL. THIS IS A PIECE OF METAL. HE'S NOT IN THERE. HE IS DEAD. CALM DOWN. [1/31/2017 10:46:56 PM] Ryuu: and then everyone refuses to calm down XD [1/31/2017 10:47:06 PM] Rhia: -snrk- [1/31/2017 10:47:13 PM] Rhia: Yugi the only one with his act together. [1/31/2017 10:47:23 PM] Ryuu: HE SO HAS HIS ACT TOGETHER THO [1/31/2017 10:47:39 PM] Ryuu: LIKE HIS DESIGN IS ABOUT THE HALFWAY POINT BETWEEN HIS SHOW SELF AND YAMI [1/31/2017 10:47:49 PM] Ryuu: WHICH IS EXACTLY HOW I PICTURED HIM IN MY FIC IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE [1/31/2017 10:47:55 PM] Rhia: XDDD [1/31/2017 10:49:07 PM] Ryuu: like he's taller and has slightly pointer eyes and has his "do no harm" FULLY UPGRADED to "do no harm but take no shit" IT'S WONDERFUL [1/31/2017 10:49:19 PM] Rhia: 8D [1/31/2017 10:50:05 PM] Ryuu: and he wants to design board games when he grows up like YES I ACCEPT THIS HEADCANON [1/31/2017 10:50:28 PM] Ben: Because FUCK has he had his fill of the bullshit that comes with card games [1/31/2017 10:50:36 PM] Ryuu: i imagine XD [1/31/2017 10:50:42 PM] Ryuu: joey hasn't though. wants to go pro. [1/31/2017 10:50:47 PM] Rhia: YUGI BEING SO DONE WITH EVERYONE [1/31/2017 10:50:54 PM] Rhia: AND CHEERING JOEY ON THE SIDELINES [1/31/2017 10:50:59 PM] Ryuu: YAS [1/31/2017 10:51:44 PM] Ben: Reminds me of Vanguard. In the Vanguard G series the old protagonist shows up once. Sees the other new progtagonist...and keeps walking. [1/31/2017 10:52:04 PM] Ben: Like "OH HELL NO I'VE DONE MY TIME GOOD LUCK SUCKER YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN WITH THIS GENERATION OF BULLSHIT" [1/31/2017 10:52:16 PM] Rhia: LOOOOOL [1/31/2017 10:52:26 PM] Ryuu: OMGGGGGG [1/31/2017 10:55:08 PM] Ryuu: but ye i was very happy that dead is dead? because that's the sole problem i have with 99% of after the end ygo fics: they can't find a plot without bring atem back to life, which i find oddly disrespectful. [1/31/2017 10:55:26 PM] Rhia: LET THE MAN REST MOTHERFUCKER [1/31/2017 10:55:29 PM] Ben: I was actually going to do that in one of my own fics. [1/31/2017 10:55:47 PM] Rhia: Now if he's doing stuff from the afterlife, that's a different set up. [1/31/2017 10:56:38 PM] Ben: Basically.  Basically my fic had Necromancer bad guys trying to do True Ressurection. [1/31/2017 10:56:58 PM] Ben: Yami didn't like that so he sent a deck to a girl of Fallen Heroes, or dead characters from fiction. [1/31/2017 10:57:23 PM] Ben: He refused to come himself in card form though. Until the very end, which was the form of a card that banished all cards from the grave yard. [1/31/2017 10:57:30 PM] Ben: Then the deck vanished. [1/31/2017 10:57:38 PM] Ben: "OK, WE CLEANED THIS SHIT UP NOW GET BACK INTO THE AFTERLIFE" [1/31/2017 10:58:51 PM] Ryuu: that is.... KIIIINDA what happens actually. because due to yet more shenanigans, the ring possesses the villain, and ring corruption + infinite power = the end of the world as we know it. [1/31/2017 11:00:08 PM] Ryuu: so naturally dueling the weird monster that results happens (because this is ygo we're talking about here). and some more foe yay pining happens. and then it's just yugi about to pass out from shadowgame biz and GIANT COLUMN OF LIGHT hey look who it is. [1/31/2017 11:00:24 PM] Rhia: WOOOOOOOO [1/31/2017 11:00:37 PM] Ryuu: and as much as i would have loved that he not appear at all [1/31/2017 11:00:51 PM] Ryuu: they reached a middle ground by keeping him completely silent. [1/31/2017 11:01:01 PM] Rhia: Nice. [1/31/2017 11:01:43 PM] Ryuu: i'm not sure if he even actually dueled when he arrived so much as dispersed the shadowgame entirely. [1/31/2017 11:02:08 PM] Ryuu: also, mahaad. like i am a ridiculous mahaad fangirl and i don't know why. all i know is that i SQUEE whenever he's onscreen XD [1/31/2017 11:02:17 PM | Edited 11:02:16 PM] Rhia: SAAAAAAME [1/31/2017 11:02:29 PM] Rhia: It's because he's a giant fucking sweetheart. [1/31/2017 11:02:35 PM] Rhia: Have you read his story in the manga? [1/31/2017 11:02:40 PM] Ryuu: yeeeeee [1/31/2017 11:02:49 PM] Rhia: GIANT BAB [1/31/2017 11:03:13 PM] Ryuu: i headcanon that he had an on/off thing with isis and she was pregnant with his bab when he died, thereby starting the line of tombkeepers. [1/31/2017 11:03:25 PM] Rhia: Fuck. [1/31/2017 11:03:28 PM] Rhia: Sharing that now. [1/31/2017 11:03:44 PM] Ryuu: LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY BEFORE-THE-BEGINNING FANFIC [1/31/2017 11:03:46 PM] Ryuu: LATER [1/31/2017 11:03:58 PM] Ben: Weren't the tombkeepers a thing BEFORE mahaad? [1/31/2017 11:04:03 PM] Ben: Because Theif King Bakura? [1/31/2017 11:04:13 PM] Ryuu: nope, only after the pharaoh died (the first time) [1/31/2017 11:04:22 PM] Ben: I could've sworn in the manga [1/31/2017 11:04:29 PM] Rhia: The tombkeepers were specifically guarding Atem's tomb. [1/31/2017 11:04:31 PM] Ben: millennium world arc? [1/31/2017 11:04:31 PM] Ben: Oh wait shit envermind [1/31/2017 11:04:33 PM] Ben: I'm thinking Village of Kul Elna [1/31/2017 11:05:18 PM] Ryuu: so yeah atem does a total deus ex machina [1/31/2017 11:05:37 PM] Ryuu: because of that convenient rule that if he shows up in this world again, the megapower or whatever is gone. [1/31/2017 11:06:43 PM] Ryuu: and like yugi said in the beginning of the movie that he would have liked a chance to say what he needed to say, so i knew there was always a chance of him showing up. but all they do is stare meaningfully at each other for a bit, and then he's gone and everyone's happy. [1/31/2017 11:07:18 PM] Ryuu: which, i was also pleased with, because i would argue very strongly that they said everything that could be said through their duel at the end. the manga version had some fairly transparent subtext. [1/31/2017 11:07:27 PM] Ben: It always does [1/31/2017 11:07:31 PM] Ben: Manga>anime [1/31/2017 11:07:55 PM] Ryuu: well i love the anime too. but i like sort of mashing them together in my head when i put together what i'm considering canon for fanfic purposes. [1/31/2017 11:08:02 PM] Ryuu: SPEAKING OF MANGA THERE WERE SO MANY CAMEOS [1/31/2017 11:08:04 PM] Ben: Fair [1/31/2017 11:08:19 PM] Ryuu: DUKE'S FATHER WAS THERE OKAY. THE GUY WHO DIED IN A FIRE AFTER TRYING TO MURDER YUGI. [1/31/2017 11:11:48 PM] Ryuu: but yeah with the power gone the antagonist has nothing except the family which had been trying to get him off this path of darkness for years now so they all get to be kids again and grow up in the world we've got. [1/31/2017 11:12:01 PM] Ben: D'aw [1/31/2017 11:12:56 PM] Ryuu: appropriately, this movie was about moving on from loss and grief. if the world had real quadrants and no queerbaiting i'd call this an excellent addition. [1/31/2017 11:13:25 PM] Rhia: As it is, it just pulled you out of a shitty mood, so I call it worth it. [1/31/2017 11:13:46 PM] Ryuu: yeees, tis what i needed. <3 [1/31/2017 11:14:14 PM] Ryuu: also the main kids all graduate highschool and tea goes off to some kind of juliard analogue with a full ride. hooray! [1/31/2017 11:14:21 PM] Rhia: Wooo! [1/31/2017 11:14:35 PM] Ryuu: and kaiba sciences himself into THE FUCKING AFTERLIFE. [1/31/2017 11:14:37 PM] Ryuu: the end. [1/31/2017 11:14:42 PM] Rhia: Pfffffffff [1/31/2017 11:14:49 PM] Ryuu: i will never get over that [1/31/2017 11:14:50 PM] Ryuu: just [1/31/2017 11:14:53 PM] Ryuu: this fucker [1/31/2017 11:14:55 PM] Rhia: This movie, alt title: Kaiba plz. [1/31/2017 11:15:30 PM] Ben: Just when you got done saving the world, relaxing in the afterlife, your pokemon are almost unconscious [1/31/2017 11:15:33 PM] Ben: who should show up [1/31/2017 11:15:35 PM] Ben: but gary [1/31/2017 11:15:36 PM] Ben: fucking [1/31/2017 11:15:37 PM] Ben: kaiba [1/31/2017 11:15:46 PM] Rhia: -SNORT- [1/31/2017 11:16:19 PM] Ryuu: the entire theater was laughing their asses off when he pulled this i shit you not [1/31/2017 11:16:30 PM] Rhia: Man [1/31/2017 11:16:35 PM] Ryuu: HE'S WEARING THIS TRON OUTFIT OKAY [1/31/2017 11:16:43 PM] Ryuu: IN SOME KIND OF SPACE POD AT THE TOP OF HIS SPACE ELEVATOR [1/31/2017 11:17:00 PM] Ryuu: HE AIMS IT DOWN, PRESUMABLY TO HIT 88MPH OR SOMETHING [1/31/2017 11:17:11 PM] Rhia: PFFFFFFFFFFFF [1/31/2017 11:17:13 PM] Ryuu: SHOOTS FOR EARTH IN HIS FUCKING SPACE ROCKET INSIDE THE SPACE ELEVATOR [1/31/2017 11:17:18 PM] Rhia: Leave Doc Brown out of this [1/31/2017 11:17:35 PM] Ryuu: AND THEN SUDDENLY HE'S IN ANCIENT EGYPT, STILL IN HIS TRON OUTFIT [1/31/2017 11:17:54 PM] Ryuu: HE WALKS STRAIGHT INTO THE PALACE, STANDS BEFORE THE PHARAOH, WHO LOOKS AT HIM [1/31/2017 11:17:58 PM] Ryuu: AND SMIRKS [1/31/2017 11:18:04 PM] Ryuu: CUT TO BLACK, ROLL CREDITS [1/31/2017 11:18:17 PM] Ryuu: GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY [1/31/2017 11:18:29 PM] Rhia: 8D [1/31/2017 11:18:55 PM] Rhia: Ben can you illegally download this for me when it makes an appearance? I need to see what the hullabaloo is about [1/31/2017 11:19:06 PM] Ben: Will do [1/31/2017 11:19:10 PM] Rhia: Ta [1/31/2017 11:21:44 PM] Ryuu: oh, i'm gonna call mokuba genderfluid from now on. just cuz. ^^ [1/31/2017 11:21:52 PM] Rhia: Eeee [1/31/2017 11:22:25 PM] Ryuu: not that his growing bishiness is in any way out of the ordinary for Japanese masculinity [1/31/2017 11:22:31 PM] Ryuu: i just think it would be cool [1/31/2017 11:22:41 PM] Ben: I'm sorry [1/31/2017 11:22:46 PM] Ryuu: and i like to picture seto asking his sibling's pronouns every morning :D [1/31/2017 11:22:54 PM] Ben: but isn't the term Japanese masculinity self-contradictory? [1/31/2017 11:22:57 PM] Ben: badum-tish [1/31/2017 11:23:08 PM] Ryuu: -double pistols and a wink- [1/31/2017 11:23:27 PM] Rhia: Imagine Kaiba donating to SHITLOADS of charities for LGTBQA because Mokuba. [1/31/2017 11:23:40 PM] Rhia: And biting heads off anyone who dares give them stinkeye [1/31/2017 11:24:44 PM] Ryuu: yes. this is the kind of headcanon that makes my day. using kaiba's assholery and penchant for drama for the forces of good. [1/31/2017 11:26:13 PM] Ryuu: "did i just hear you misgender my sister?" [1/31/2017 11:26:35 PM] Rhia: -person recants or dies by BEWD- [1/31/2017 11:26:47 PM] Ryuu: -dies of happy-