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oliver-writes-all-about-that · 1 year ago

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“Cosplayer Moment” - Written by Oliver O. Mintz / DinoDotCosplay – June 11th, 2024

What is cosplay? Most people tend to think it is people with a hobby, adults that enjoy sewing and dressing up as characters from cartoons and movies, most people think it is something that theater started, or it is for an art project. But cosplay is so much more than just a costume and the conventions that you go to see your favorite voice actor or attend a panel, it is someone’s reality escape. To meet people who like the same things you do or certain cartoon shows or that one superhero that you have loved since you were young.

All around the world, even people young and old near you are probably into cosplay. Each person can use this community to start change, to help people to escape their own 9-5 work reality, their own stress and relate with others, even in worldwide issues that are happening right now.

The first person we shall start with will be talking about disability within the cosplay community. PB is better yet known as @Scarypeanutbutter on Instagram and other socials. She cosplays from My Hero Academia, Owl House, and Demon Slayer, just a few examples that she cosplays from. She is a Florida based Cosplayer in Tampa Bay, she makes most of her cosplays or buys cosplays, she is very talented in what she does. She has guest recently at FL Poly con that just happened in March.

The questions we went over with her interview were the same questions we asked the rest of the interviewees throughout the project. Why I did this is not only because I wanted everyone to have the equal chance to explain themselves, but I wanted to see how different everyone was in their own way of presenting themselves. This is a point to show that everyone can do something different but in their own way of doing it. She said that she has been cosplaying for three years in the community.

The first question we asked PB was: what has gotten you into cosplay? Such as how she found it about it, possibly on her own or if there was someone who has gotten her into the idea of cosplay and if she wanted to share that memory of the first time she was introduced to cosplay.

PB replied with “I started watching anime back in year of 2019, I was introduced by a cosplayer by the name of Cookie their username is @Qrowluvr, they helped me where to buy wigs, costumes and everything related to cosplaying because it is something I really wanted to do. Plus, they were the first people I had seen in person, wearing cosplay. Then in the year 2021, we went to our first big cosplay convention together, well at least for me. It was called Metrocon located in Tampa Bay Florida ever since then me and Cookie have been going to the same con since together.”

Another question we asked PB, we wanted to ask what her own point of view was related to cosplay community. And she replied with “it can be amazing and terrifying thing at the same time, I’ve had wonderful experiences and some very questionable experiences as well. Overall, I have made a lot of friends and have helped a lot with building confidence. More open and sociable overall as well, I have been able to make a lot of friends from the cosplay community throughout my time cosplaying.”

Another question we asked PB related to her cosplay journey as a cosplayer, what she would like to see the cosplay community grow into or possibly improve as she keeps cosplaying. Her answer was this “I think the cosplay community can get better at, I guess, “gatekeeping”, such as how people cosplay their characters such as example, possibly by their race or their size. Whatever it is. It shouldn’t stop that person from cosplaying their favorite character, because you wouldn’t say you don’t have the right hair color, that can easily be changed! You can just buy a wig, but you should not put someone down or discourage someone because of their skin color or their size of their body or anything else for that matter, when it comes to how you look like as a person.”

Then we asked PB some deeper questions, regarding who she was as a cosplayer and what she cares most about to share awareness, making every cosplayer have their own reason of sharing their passion on a large audience scale. Is what really the community mostly about. Yes, it does include some fun, but it also does holds some important parts of a person’s purpose to use the social media, resources and connections to create change through something that people can have fun and grow in confidence of, as we move forward we will see each cosplayer and who they want to be and be there for others, what they are doing for their awareness and change of the future in the best way possible, sharing their life with others.

The first question is, why is disability awareness so important to know about within the cosplay community and out of it? And PB replied with this answer “there is a lot of disabled people anywhere, but in the cosplay community and I think a lot of conventions can do a lot better with accessibility and especially people as well, to have open minded and be aware of situations and be kind to those people who may have disabilities or may not aware of someone that does, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a disability”

Another question we asked for PB to share her answer, is what she is doing to share her own way of awareness regarding to those who have disabilities, she advised that “I am counted someone myself as disabled and someone having chronic illness. I am spreading awareness by sharing my own and sharing my friends and spreading awareness of anything really related to it. Especially for the cosplayer community but really anything outside of it, it is just a good thing to be informed about and be up-to the times about!”

The last question we asked PB, what is one thing you could say to people that may struggle with this in their own lives as a person looking for some advice? She stated “Know your own limits, listen to your body. As a cosplayer, you need to understand how much you can handle, pushing yourself will not have a good outcome. I remember how many times after conversations and events, I have felt so run down because I did not listen to what my body needed. Even as a person. Don’t be scared of making others aware of your own disabilities and sharing it with others and speaking up for not only yourself but others and be aware of those around you. Just be kind all the time. “

You can watch the full interview with PB in her “Toga” Cosplay from the anime My hero Academia: https://youtu.be/Wbq7mP0sMaw

Moving on to our next interviewee, @dark.nerd.cosplay on Instagram, goes by Levi, who is twenty one years old and who is also a Florida Cosplayer, they go by They/Them pronouns, but if they are cosplaying a certain character they will use their character preferred pronouns they mentioned within the interview. They will be speaking about their awareness in cosplay regarding LGBTQA+.They have been cosplaying for nine years. Examples of who they cosplay from are Spy Family, Chain Sawman and Sailor Moon. This is just to name a few. As I mentioned before, each interviewee was asked similar or the same questions in their interviews.

The first question we asked Levi was: what has gotten you into cosplay? Such as how she found it about it, possibly on their own or if there was someone who has gotten them into the idea of cosplay and if they wanted to share that memory of the first time she was introduced to cosplay.

Levi’s answer was “I think what got me into cosplay was, I think there were stages to it. As I said, I've been doing it a long time. So, when I was in middle school, I wanted to dress up as characters from anime that I had just been starting to get into. And that wasn't something you could just go to Spirit Halloween or whatever store and get a costume for. So, I really had to do some research and that's where I was introduced to the idea that these people were, you know, making their own costumes, styling wigs, whatever. And so that's where it first started. And then I really got into specifically Stephen Universe of like a year or two later. And that was where I really got into the craftsmanship and other aspects of it because I saw these, you know, college players who couldn't just buy the costume. They had to really make everything and do the body painting and make the weapons and style the crazy wigs. And so, yeah, I think that's where I really fell in love with like the craftsmanship aspect of it. I think cosplay is something that is very well rounded. You can be into different aspects of it, like the craftsmanship or the theater aspect, or the social aspect, or like, there's just so many different parts of it. And so that's why I said stages. Like I think I just was introduced to different parts of it one by one and until I just fully fell in love with the whole idea of cosplay.”

The second question I asked Levi was, what do you think about the cosplay community from your own point of view? And Levi replied with this answer “So how I feel about the cosplay community, I think without being too much of a pessimist or an optimist, I think it's gotten a lot better, and I think it's gotten a lot worse. What I mean by that, like I said, I, I'm going to keep saying I've been in this community for a long time. When I was younger, there was a lot of not great things going on, A lot of like unsafe things going on. And we've grown as a community in that sense. But I've also seen the community because it's grown, it's grown in popularity due to social media and just due to more awareness of the hobby itself, because it's grown, it's gotten a lot more negative as well. And specifically social media having a lot to do with that negativity. So yeah, I think that just like anything cosplay, something that's going to grow and we're going to learn and then there's going to be hardships, but we're going to learn. But overall, I'd like to think that it's, it's gotten a lot better, and it's grown a lot and become more accessible to people over the years.”

The last question before we got into anything deeper was what would they like to see the cosplay community grow into or possibly improve on?

Levi replied with this during our interview. “I think what I would like to see the cosplay community grow into or just improve upon, accessibility is a huge thing. It's gotten to a good point, but there's still, you know, parts of the community that need to be more accessible. And not just physically, but like mentally, we need to be more accommodating towards all types of people in the community because I feel like nerd ship is a safe space for people and that's, you're going to get a lot of different types of people in this community because of that. So, we should just learn to be more accommodating to that. And with that comes safety as well. I think that because cosplay's getting a lot bigger, a lot more popular, there's a lot of safety issues with that, especially at bigger conventions and on the internet. And a lot of younger people are being exposed to cosplay, so that just puts them at risk. So, I would just like to see more safety, more awareness to make this hobby accessible and enjoyable for everybody.”

Then going into the deeper questions, Levi wanted to speak about their thoughts and what they are doing to use to their platform and voice for those who are apart of the cosplay community who identify themselves as a part of the LGBTQA+ community, as a cosplayer and non-cosplayer.

So, the first question I asked Levi, why is this important for the cosplay community to be informed about?

“I think the LGBTQA+ community is very important for cosplay to be informed about because they're, they're sort of one in the same and not, not quite literally, but like I said earlier, there are a lot of minority groups and just people in general that don't fit in that are that like to flock to co hobbies like cosplay because it is a safer space for them to express themselves. The LGBTQA+ community, I think cosplay was one of the ways for a lot of people to learn about their gender expression because of cross play and everything else. And as well as being represented in media, both in trans and sexuality.

That is why it's important for people in the LGBTQA+ community to be able to, I guess, migrate into the cosplay community in a safe and respectful way. I mean, they've always been, there's always been LGBTQA+ people in the cosplay community, but I like, I think that people that aren't LGBQTA+ need to be able to respect that. And so, because there's such a big population of LGBQTA+ within the cosplay community, that's where the awareness comes that we must make sure that everyone's being respectful about these things. Especially because being in cosplay can be hard to identify people and respect them. So, I think that's just where that awareness comes from.”

We also asked how Levi is using their social media platforms and other resources to spread their awareness with others who are not apart of the cosplay community and who are, they replied with this answer “So for me to spread awareness of the LGBTQA+ community and the respect that comes with it in the college planning community, I think that awareness comes both outside and inside the community. I think just in general, people should be activists for their, their fellow LGBTQA+ community, whether it be sexuality or trans rights, because obviously those rights translate into the college play community. And then especially within the cosplay community, I feel like to be an activist, just being more respectful of pronouns, being more respectful of just people in general. And I think that the community has done a really good job with that, of not being too pushy with ships, not being too pushy with genders of characters, of people gender bent if people express them differently. But it's just being respectful of all of that because there, there is an issue with sexualization within the community and misgendering and just, it's, it's just respect at the end of the day. So, the community's done a really good job with it, but there's still a lot more to come, a lot more work to be done. And so just those little steps of respecting people, of asking them what they prefer, what, what their boundaries are, et cetera, I think is a little, goes a long way in that, in that aspect.”

Then, the last question we asked Levi was, what is one thing you could say to people that may struggle with this in their own lives? So, this could be like a piece of advice that you may want to share or something that has helped you on your way. Levi replied with this “Being, being a young cosplayer and a young queer, I think that cosplay really helped me to find myself, find how I wanted to present myself, find how I, I felt that I needed to be respected. So, I think cosplay is a great outlet for people to find themselves. And the people within the cosplay community can be helpful with that. They can be really an understanding of that, especially because they, whether there, you know, cis or trans or gay or straight or whatever, they all want to be someone different for a day. That's why we cosplay. So, I think that a lot of people in the community can be very understanding. So, joining that community and meeting more cosplay and talking to them can really help you outside of cosplay to just learn your identity. And it gives you a very space, safe space to just practice and try out stuff before you bring it to the, the public.

I suppose I would do a lot of cross playing when I was younger and that's where I kind of found that I preferred being more masculine. So yeah, I think it just gives that safe space and the internet's an easier way to do that. Now. We're obviously safe. You can, you know, cause play on there and just express yourself however you wish. And so, yeah, I think, I think that's just my advice is that cosplay is a great way to experiment and you, at the end of the day, if you don't like it, you could just take it all off and restart.”

You can watch the full interview of me and Levi here: https://youtu.be/ESdOQcDnNME

The next and last but not least interviewee, I was able to interview Payton as irresponsible.cosplays on Instagram and other social media. She goes by She/Her pronouns, who is twenty-two years old and cosplays from Vocaloid, JoJo bizarre adventure and sonic, just to name a few. She stated she has been cosplaying for a whole decade now. She will be talking about her awareness of change in within the cosplay community and her own experience as an Asian American Cosplayer.

The first question we asked Payton, what has gotten her into cosplay? This can be sharing a memory of who's gotten you into it and maybe possibly how you found it on your own. Just like the other questions we asked the other interviewees.

This was Payton’s response: “When I was a kid, I had a lot of geeky interests. I mean, here I am and here we are. And I didn't have a lot of friends because back in the mid two thousands, anime and manga wasn't really as accepted as it is now. And when I first heard about conventions, I was super excited. I went when I was 14 the first time and it was one of the only ways that I was able to connect with people that also shared this niche interest. So that's kind of how I got into the cosplay convention scene.”

Another question we asked Payton, what do you think about the cosplay community from your own point of view?

She replied with this answer “The cosplay community is extremely hit or miss. When I first started off in the cosplay community, I was a child and met a lot of folks that did like to take advantage of that. And there are still some people that circulate around in at least the Florida cosplay community that still exhibit those behaviors. But on the flip side of that, being a cosplay for so long, I've found a very tight knit group of friends that we go to every convention together. I never have to worry about who I'm going to book a hotel room with because what's already like predestined that we're going to stay together. And that community that I've kind of forged ha is so tight-knit and so pleasant and wonderful to be around. So as of right now, I'm very on the fence of how I feel about the Cosplay community at large. And I think we talked more about some more of that later.”

Then we asked what Payton what would she like to see the cosplay community grow into or possibly improve on? And her answer to this question was “I think the cosplay community needs to improve on their acceptance of cosplay from every walk of life. I, one of my friends has a disability and going to a convention with them is ex is wonderful because I love them. But other con goers are so very out of pocket talking about those subjects, unprompted walking up to folks, or even when I first started going to conventions, people would walk up to me and my friend group point to us and go, oh look, Asian character name or something like that. So, I think like the Cosplay community really needs to work on accepting folks that are non-white are not able bodied other, other terms, but just a general acceptance of others that don't, that may not look or act like you.”

Then going into the serious topic that she was speaking upon during this interview which was her experience as an Asian American cosplayer and what she deals with when she goes to conventions or deals with online, how important culture and inclusivity is.

The first question I asked Payton, why is this important for the cosplay community to be informed about?

She replied with this answer “Kind of like what I like piggybacking off what I just said earlier, it is so important for the cosplay community to be a place for inclusivity. Sometimes anime and manga in video games are still looked down upon in regular society. And so, conventions and cosplay can be a safe haven for a lot of folks, including me and my peers who happen to be Asian or Asian American. And entering that space where we're supposed to feel safe and getting outed because of the way we look, the way we talk accents and things like that, it's just unacceptable. It should be a space for everybody to be comfortable and to share these interests because this cosplay is a beautiful thing, and everybody should be able to enjoy it regardless of racial identity or any other status like that.”

Then I asked what she is doing to spread this awareness? As example resources and platforms and speaking up towards this for people who are non-cosplayers and who are cosplayers.

She answered “I always advocate for me and my friends who are Asian American and cosplay. I think that I always like to bring up the conversation as well if it's appropriate. I'll bring up the conversation about discrimination in the cosplay community. And I have done a lot of awareness and like shout outs for other Asian American cosplay. And generally creating a space for that kind of dialogue is something that is very important to me.”

And then the last question is, what is one thing you could say to people that may struggle with this in their own lives as a person and a cosplay? So, some piece of advice that maybe you can give to them.

Her response to this question was “You're beautiful. It does not matter what anybody at a convention may walk up, didn't say to you or anybody online or on the internet will say to you, you rock that cosplay. No, I may not know what character you are or who you're cosplaying from, but you slay it. You look awesome. All my other Asian American, Asian beauties out there, I love you all. You look like a bomb in that cosplay. You rock it and you wear it because only you can cosplay that character in that way.”

Watch the full interview with Payton / irresponsible.cosplays here: https://youtu.be/6b7Dj2mcb_s

Now as we come to a close, I hope you understand that not only this is a “fun hobby” but it can become an act of change, every voice and every action matters, if one person has so many followers on a social media page or a panel at a convention can change how someone views something negatively and turn it into a positive, just imagine what cosplayers can do next. Just because it is not normal for someone else, doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t depend on the cosplay community to make friends, to meet others who are so alike like them. or possibly be going through the same bad spot just like them currently. At least that person knows they are not alone, they have people they can connect with and feel welcomed in a space where they can truly express themselves and their love and passion through cosplay or art or whatever they truly love that is nerdy.

Let’s go make a change, speak the truth, and speak loudly! Let someone be someone. All you have is a chance.

©️Dinodotcosplay / Oliver O. Mintz

#lgbtq #cosplayer #anime cosplay #cosplaycommunity #reporter #photo jouralism #writers #news #makeup #author #student #education #happy pride 🌈

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grogs-den · 5 months ago

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Ok i said i wouldn’t elaborate but ppl want me to so here we are. As I said I am an extremely casual fan. I’ve seen a few seasons but not religiously and I’m not very caught up. The last doctor I watched was 12 & I didn’t finish his seasons. I just decided to get back into it with 15- partially bc of the easy access in the US. I do not know much about the distribution contract! I realize I’m throwing a grenade into a crowded theater by walking into this without a lot of context but I also feel like people should be able to express their opinions on fictional media without doing extensive research— as media should be enjoyable both to casual viewers as well as devoted fans. This is not meant to be a vicious indictment of the series or even really a relevant or correct addition to any discourse at all, it’s just a personal opinion I have that could be 100% incorrect. I’m just a person on the internet.

I probably went a little too extreme in my initial post- it’s not INSANE or incredibly awful- it’s mostly just small things that seem pretty strange to me, especially since I’ve been rewatching 9-10 alongside 15.

In no particular order, here are some things I’ve found jarring:

The musical number. I’m SO pro musical number I eat that shit up but it seemed very odd to me— especially the way it was thrown in at the end. I LOVED maestro- but if you’re having a musical number would it not be the final battle of the big bad? Rather than a half assed over referential number at the end— a thing I have come to associate with Disney’s declining quality in recent years.

A lot of CGI and green screening—another thing incredibly prevalent in Disney media. Maybe this has been happening more in recent seasons that I’m not caught up on. IDK! I’m a casual fan!

The stakes generally seem to escalate quickly without real payoff?— in the bridgerton episode for example the aliens went from cosplaying bridgerton to wanting to take over the world in like three sentences. This meant that Obviously it couldn’t happen and Obviously they would be stopped imminently. Similarly, the bomb episode had all this buildup of a blast that could destroy half the world — only for a Hail Mary savior which had basically nothing to do with the doctor or ruby— more than that, a Hail Mary which didn’t feel truly emotionally developed beyond the “kiss kiss” tearjerker. In past seasons, I’ve noticed time and care put into the writing of one episode characters which I feel is lacking in this season.

The overall look of the show feels very…bright? For lack of a better word. It’s very saturated in a way that is reminiscent of other various live action Disney media— although to be fair that may be related to the CGI elements and literally just studio lighting.

you don’t have to listen to my opinion at all it’s just what I think. I don’t have to be right. You don’t have to prove me wrong. These are some things I’ve noticed off the top of my head and some of them are probably things that aren’t actually that different from the most recent seasons I haven’t seen. I wasn’t trying to start discourse with my og post— just express some mildly fleshed out off the cuff thoughts. I realize it was strongly worded which naturally invites discourse.

TLDR: I’ve noticed some differences in the show that align with other media Disney is involved in. Maybe I’m wrong.

as a very casual dr who fan i recognize that i am not the most qualified person to talk about this. However.

The Disney-fication of dr who this season is INSANE and I don’t see a lot of people talking about it— from the episode concepts to the overarching themes, the show has been watered down and Americanized in a strange and jarring way that honestly? Shamefully wastes the stellar talents of ncuti gatwa

#I poked the bear

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daggersandarrows · 2 years ago

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i’m having a lot of feelings about seeing more people of color on critical role. i have spent so long both consciously and subconsciously working to appear white. i was raised “white”, i was taught to conform in the exact same breath that i was taught to speak. (quite literally--spanish was not spoken around the house except as a secret; trini slang only comes out when my mother gets very emotionally heightened. i speak like a white person, because for me to learn spanish was for me to “reject the gifts of america”, and people can’t understand my mom unless she adopts her deliberate american accent).

i’ve spent so long learning that this was the only way to acceptance; you pretend to be the same, you take every single microagrression, every single “of course it was two black girls ‘working’ when i got there, standing around and talking no doubt”, every stranger putting a hand in your hair, every “jesus, speak english”, and you pretend you don’t see it, you don’t hear it, you don’t feel it.

you pretend you approve. and that’s the only way to stay safe. that’s the only way to move up in the world. “sticks and stones” was repeated so often in my household that we only needed to hear the first three words to know what mom meant. “sticks and stones”. you’re getting too worked up about racism again, remember, just pretend you’re fine and you will be.

you are invisible, you are fine.

i consume content made only by white people because why would i consume anything else? if my goal is to blend in perfectly why would i look for stories that speak to me about the part of me that i’m doing my damndest to hide?

i made the mistake of stumbling into creators who love themselves enough not to hide. i felt almost betrayed, watching aabria dm for exu. no one ever told me it was possible to sink your teeth into that kind of gentrification-critical worldbuilding, to say it with your whole chest, and not...immediately get ostracized by all your white friends?

(to be clear: i know matt’s doing something very similar in c3, and that’s great. but it is inherently different to say that kind of thing without fear when you’re a poc.)

it’s nothing huge or obvious, but the unapologetic claim that the cast holds on their identity is simply indescribably touching to me. when i was a kid i badly wanted to be “a punk”, and in my mind this was obviously just a white person thing--how could it have been anything else? it was all i saw. super pale skin and stick straight hair was a requirement. so i tried to make myself whiter. staying inside in the summer and spending hours straightening and damaging my hair. i squashed myself into this ill fitting box because it never occurred to me that i could be both black and punk.

and that sort of continued as i got older. cosplays were all model-esque white people. how could i be both hispanic and a cosplayer? how could i be (someone who rode horses, liked video games, was a nerd, a theater kid, hell, someone who fucking enjoyed themself in any way outside of the very specific stereotypes i was given to act out)?

to see aabria dming, playing a high powered and highly emotional woman, mica’s cosplays and her riding adventures--mica playing a literal angel (black angels, guys! how many black angels have you seen outside of the past five years?), aimee playing a character with questionable morals and cool hair, khary playing a disabled character who also somehow just gives off raw sex appeal?, robbie playing a socially awkward, soft, affectionate guy with an appreciation for fancier stuff, erika’s gender fluidity and sheer enthusiasm for everything (getting too excited wasn’t cool, it was too “white”, an actual thing my mother said to me--i know, double standard), anjali’s mixed affection and exasperation as a sibling figure, and more recently lou and luis...i didn’t have this stuff as a kid. i wasn’t allowed to see myself as anything but one dimensional, so i had to alter myself to either fit that one dimension, or pretend to be who i wasn’t so people would accept that i had more than 2-3 emotions and character traits.

i wasn’t aware that it was possible, to be any of this without flattening myself. i wasn’t aware that there were white people out there who wouldn’t immediately hate you for unapologetically existing in their space without squashing yourself into their box.

#this is long and rambly and probably incomprehensible #and maybe i should delete it #i just had to say this somewhere #critical role #thane.txt

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cosplayinamerica · 2 years ago

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I had the opportunity to send some questions to Andrew Liptak about his new book Cosplay: A History so I asked him about his cosplaying days first.

1) What was your first cosplay and what are you working on currently?

My first “real” costume after Halloween costumes was an Imperial Stormtrooper. It was a costume that I’d coveted ever since seeing A New Hope in theaters in 1997, and I’d spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make one. In my final year of high school, my high school band played music from Star Wars (I played trumpet), and we were able to get a member of the 501st Legion to come and join us.

His costume blew me away, and that summer, he sold me an FX kit (the then-standard Stormtrooper costume that was out there), which I then assembled and wore for a little over a decade before I replaced it with a more accurate version. I still have it: it’s on a mannequin in my basement.

I’ve got a couple of random projects in the works now that are in pretty early stages. I have a Shoretrooper kit from 850 Armor Works that I’ve been piecing together. I’d originally bought it for my wife, but she sort of lost interest, so I’m planning on doing it up as a Captain variant of that particular costume. I also have a First Order stormtrooper kit that I want to put together to replace my existing FOTK (this new kit is plastic, so it’s much, much lighter than my current fiberglass costume.) And finally, I have a 212th Airborne Clone from Revenge of the Sith that is done: I just need to get it to fit me.

2) Has cosplay impacted your life personally?

Cosplay has impacted my life considerably: it provided a community at a time when I most needed it in the years after college. After graduating, I had disposable money and a car, so I was frequently out and about throughout New England trooping with my local 501st garrison. I’ve made some of my best friends in the world through the group, and it’s still a big part of my life.

But it’s also imparted an element of what I call “practical creativity”. I grew up in a household that had a workshop and I learned from my dad how to do things like cut wood, construct things out of it, change my own oil in my car, and generally do things on my own: working with my hands. Cosplay reinforced that: it’s helped me realize that with time, patience, and a little research, you can do a lot of things on your own: I’ve painted houses, redid my bathroom, fixed leaks/cracks/carpet/siding, etc at my house, and found creative solutions that I might not have arrived at if I hadn’t spent time building costumes. I know more about glue, paint, cutting materials, and whatnot, because of that experience.

3) What trends have you seen in cosplay from when you first started till today?

There are so many things that have changed! I think the first is just how popular science fiction and fantasy franchises have come since I started back in 2003: Star Wars has always been a mainstream thing, but the act of cosplaying has come a long way along with that growing popularity. Those films and genres have always been popular for good reasons: they’re exciting and interesting, and it’s good to see people reacting to it more and more, and with less shame than they might have before.

There are two other big trends that come to mind: the advances in how we use materials to build costumes has changed quite a bit. Materials like EVA foam and Worbla weren’t nearly as popular when I started, so the adoption of those materials makes it easier for cosplayers to start in on this hobby. Things like 3D printing and YouTube tutorials also really help.

The other is logistics, helped along by big online platforms like Amazon or Etsy: it’s easier than ever to buy a costume or the components. When I bought my first set of armor back in 2003, I had to know a guy who know a guy. Now, you can just click a couple of buttons.

4) What's the process like in writing this book?

Long. The pitch for me to write it first came in 2016: the earlier version would have been entirely about the 501st Legion. But as I researched, I realized that I couldn’t just tell the story of the group: I had to expand it out beyond its borders to talk about the context of where it came from, which is what this ultimately became.

From there, it was a matter of coming up with an outline, which guided what I had to research: there was a lot of work in finding early examples of cosplay, looking through documents and records from older conventions and fan groups to try and get a clear story for how this hobby evolved over the decades.

The other component of that was interviews: I attended a whole bunch of cons in 2019 before the pandemic, and interviewed a whole bunch of folks about their experiences and history as cosplayers, and photographing them at cons. It was a lot of fun. It was also the tip of the iceberg: there are so many people in the cosplay field, with so many stories, and while I got a good cross-section of folks, there were so many rocks that I’d tip over to find a whole new thread of stories and people to talk to. But, the reality of the book is that there are deadlines and a finite number of pages, so you take what you can get and work with it.

5) Has the book changed from the original conception to how it is today?

Very much so. As I noted a moment ago, I had originally set out to put together a book about the history of the 501st Legion. That didn’t end up happening for a variety of reasons, but I repackaged and repitched it as a history of cosplay as a whole. (The original title was Knights in Plastic Armor). I’m happy that I did that, because the larger story of cosplay is rich and fascinating.

But even while writing the book, we made some significant changes. I had originally outlined the book in three parts: When We Cosplay, Why We Cosplay, and House We Cosplay, which has been reorganized a bit for this final version (it’s much stronger now). There were also some interesting topics that I came across while researching: a picture of a reenactment in the 1800s led me down the path of living history and military reenactments, which I included. A chance encounter with a book about Jules Verne led me to track down details about a costume party he threw, and things like that: every new revelation brought with it new details to uncover, and every new interviewee brought me new fidelity to the history.

A good example here is a woman named Astrid Bear, who was heavily involved in the science fiction fan community. She was party to a lot of those early developments from an early age, and she outlined something really interesting to me in my interview with her: Star Trek had a huge impact on the cosplay community, because the costumes were relatively comfortable. When the show arrived, costuming at cons was largely restricted to designated times for specific events. When Star Trek arrived, it brought in new fans, but also new attitudes: fans started wearing the costumes in the halls (there was some friction from long-term con goers about this!) and that change in culture helped to bring about the con environment that we see these days.

6) Were there topics cut from the book that you hope to revisit one day?

Not so much things that were cut: we made some cuts for length and clarity where I got a little too into the weeds, but there were some things that I’d hoped to have gotten to that I didn’t end up covering that much: I wanted to do a chapter about Furries, but just didn’t get to that. I also wanted to put together a chapter about the KKK and how they used masks to convey their horrible views, and the repercussions that came with that: masking laws and whatnot that still are on the books today. Author Arthur Conan Doyle liked to dress up as his character Professor Challenger, which I learned too late to include as another early example.

I’m hoping though, to actually write those chapters (and some others — I have a short list) up, and release them to my newsletter, Transfer Orbit as a series that I’m thinking I’ll call the “Lost Chapters”, which should be fun to do in the coming months.

7) Advice for first time cosplayers?

I think the best advice that I have is to make characters that you love: don’t pay attention to the cycle that we’ve found ourselves in where everyone rushes to make the most popular character of the moment (and by extension, don’t get sucked into the world of social media likes and churn). Make that obscure character that you’ve always wanted to do, take the time to make the costumes that you want to make, rather than rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline or to stay relevant.

Also, make sure you use proper ventilation when you’re using chemicals / sanding / painting, etc., wear safety equipment, and so forth. Safety first!

#cosplay #interview #author

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theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 4 years ago

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ohh i saw your answer about the sequels of star wars. id love to read you tear through the whole trilogy

Well, I’ve avoided this ask long enough. Part of the reason is this is really a huge topic, far too much for one ask, so I’m going to have to do this at a very high level.

In short, the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy is what one gets when you slap together the goal of selling merchandise and making tons of money, being as risk averse as humanly possible, adding a handful of warring directors with incredibly different visions, and having virtually no imagination when it comes to the imagining and writing of characters.

And we get this beautiful, awful, franchise that for reasons beyond me people seem to actually like (though interestingly, no one seems to like all of it, they may actually like one or two of the films, but no one says all three are actually in any realm of good).

With that, let’s begin.

The Force Awakens

For me this is easily the most tolerable of the sequel trilogy: it’s not great, it’s not terrible. It’s thoroughly watchable, you can be taken along for the movie’s journey and not raise your eyebrows too much at the action and leave the theater feeling this maybe wasn’t a complete waste of your time.

There’s a good reason for that. That reason is called the most blatant form of plagiarism I have ever seen in cinema in my life.

“The Force Awakens” is just “A New Hope” wearing a mustache. Only, it’s one of those cheap mustaches you get from a party store that, if you stare at it too long, just looks like the most false and awful thing you’ve ever seen. The mustache actively makes it worse. “The Force Awakens” is “A New Hope”, but worse.

Seriously, every major character, every major plot point, every major scene I can go directly back to “A New Hope”.

Our story begins when the Resistance, at great cost to our valiant heroes including torture at the hands of the Emperor’s second in command, sends a file out into the wilderness to be received by his people. This file contains plans for the Death Star.

The film then focuses on Luke, er Rey, getting involved in the Resistance, boarding the Death Star, and successfully destroying at the same time even at the lost of a beloved mentor that she just met (trading in Obi-Wan for Han Solo).

Our evil empire is run by an evil emperor who is so evil he sits in a chair, is served by very Moth Tarkin-esque human storm troopers, and has a second in command who revels in the Darth Vader get up (for no other reason that it makes him feel cool but we’ll get into this).

It’s “A New Hope”. Rey is Luke, Han Solo is Obi-Wan, Poe is a kind of Han Solo, Kylo Ren is Vader, Snoke is Palpatine, Hux is Tarkin, BB-8 is R2-D2, etc.

“But that’s not terrible,” you say, “I liked A New Hope?”

First, it is terrible, it gives a very bad sign of where the sequel trilogy is headed and is just lazy writing. It means that those who produced this franchise were so terrified of taking risks, of possibly ending up mocked as the prequels were, that they will deliver exactly what the original trilogy was. And what’s that? Uh, evil empires, scrappy desert kids, AND MORE DEATH STARS!

That brings us to point number two, the world of Star Wars after the events of the original trilogy shouldn’t support such things. And, if it does, my god what a bleak existence this place has turned into.

The First Order being able to rise easily from the Empire’s remains means that Luke accomplished nothing. Anakin sacrificed himself and had his moment of redemption for nothing. There was no happy ending to the Original Trilogy, our heroes failed miserably, and there is no indication that our new band of heroes can possibly succeed in their place. (More on this as the movies progress).

We now are in a galaxy where this new Republic is so pathetic that Leia doesn’t even give it the time of day and builds her own private army to battle the Empire. The First Order is able to not only rebuild a massive army by raiding villages on many different worlds and stealing children and do so successfully for at least ten years but is able to build a Death Star bigger than any we’ve ever seen before.

And the movie tries to convince us these are completely new problems, that Luke Skywalker is a hero (remember this is TFA, not TLJ yet), and that somehow these things just sprung up out of nowhere. BUT YEAH, RESISTANCE, WOO!

As for Rey, she’s like... a worse version of Luke. Her only motivation through the entire series is her trauma at being abandoned by her parents. That’s it, there’s nothing else to her, nothing else she ever wants or feels conflicted by. She struggles with the dark side because... the dark side? Genetics? Unclear? She’s absurdly, ridiculously, powerful in a way that’s acknowledged but never that acknowledged (we’ll get into this) and the movies just fail to sell me on her in any way.

Honestly, an easy fix for me would have just been making Rey a much younger character. I could believe a fourteen-year-old having stayed in the desert, scrounging for scraps, believing her parents are coming back every day now. As a twenty-something year old... It starts getting hard to believe she never left. (Also, this gets the benefit of getting rid of Reylo, which is always a plus for me).

As for Kylo Ren, I legitimately walked out of TFA thinking he was supposed to be comic relief. He’s what happens when someone desperately wants a likable, redeemable, villain and we get... Well, as a reminder his opening scene is one of genocide: he pillages and destroys a town with no regret and brutally tortures a man for information. We’re told he’s like this “because evil evil Snoke” and that may well be but throughout the film (and the series) it becomes clear that Kylo Ren’s main motivation is he deseprately wants to be cool. He wants to be a badass like Vader, he dresses in Vader cosplay (either ignoring or not knowing that Vader only dressed like that because his body was completely destroyed), he has these huge temper tantrums and nobody respects him because he’s a toddler in a Vader suit.

He murders his own father, his parents who (at least in the films themselves) show every willingness to take him back and forgive him what he’s done, so that he can fully embrace his own “evilness”. In other words, he commits patricide to feel cool about himself, then it doesn’t work.

And the movie series really banks on me feeling conflicted about Kylo Ren or at least wanting him to be redeemed. Granted, the wider internet seems to love him, I just can’t.

Oh, before I forget, the other thing I love about Kylo Ren is that the movies insist he’s a) strong in the Force b) is equal to Rey. Rey consistently beats the shit out of him with 0 training. Kylo Ren has been training in the Force for years. Guys, they are not a Dyad, Rey is far far far stronger than he is and for whatever reason the films never want to admit it. Because I guess we like things coming in pairs now.

But yes, “The Force Awakens”, at a distance not great nor terrible, but a rip off of a movie we’ve already seen that left me going “Welp, the next one’s probably The Empire Strikes Back then I guess we’re getting Ewoks”. I was sort of right on that and sort of wrong.

The Last Jedi

So, JJ Abrams clearly had a vision of where he wanted this sequel trilogy to go. He set up these big questions such as what’s up with Finn, who are Rey’s parents and why was she left on this nowhere planet, will Kylo Ren be redeemed and how, who is Snoke, etc.

Now, I’m not saying these aren’t stupid questions. To be frank, they kind of are. Finn being Force Sensitive was the most inconsequential thing I’ve ever heard of, Rey’s parents should not have been used to drive the plot the way it was, as spoken above I’m clearly team gut Kylo Ren, and that Snoke was actually just Palpatine being the world’s largest cockroach is a beautiful but hilarious answer.

That said, what Johnson did was he decided, “You know what, I’m going to take every trope of Star Wars and completely flip it on its head and absolutely doom the sequel to this movie.”

And by god, he did.

We get a weirdly pointless movie in which Poe, SINGLEHANDEDLY, completely obliterates the Resistance. He first obliterates their bombers by failing to follow command, then goes and bitches about how he’s not put in command when he clearly shows no ability to understand how a military works, actively subverts orders which in turn obliterates the entire Resistance fleet until the only survivors can fit on the Millenium Falcon. They have no ships, no weapons, barely any people, and are ultimately doomed doomed doomed.

We have Finn’s weird subplot with a suddenly introduced character Rose in which the pair aid in Poe’s blowing up the resistance (they send sensitive information using the communication equipment of a guy they do not know, who fully admits to being shady and out for his own skin, and are flabergasted when he betrays them).

Rose herself is this weirdly sweet person who seems forced into the plot to a) provide a love triangle for Finn and Rey b) provide this forced sunny outlook that I didn’t really need in the film.

We get Rey never really being trained, going into the Cave of Wonders for a few seconds, falling in love with Kylo Ren over weird Force Skype calls (where I did not need to see him shirtless, thank you film) and being horrifically betrayed when Kylo Ren turns out not to be a great guy. Never saw that coming, Rey.

As for Kylo Ren, well... God, we get Emperor Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren, the Emperor. I’m not even that upset about the anticlimactic murder of Snoke (that was kind of funny, especially in the context of Palpatine going, “Bitch, please, you’re in my chair” immediately in the next film) but just Kylo Ren being emperor. And also that the Resistance only escapes at all because he’s so dumb he made their dumb plans seem smart (i.e. concentrates all his firepower on an illusion for ten minutes while Hux goes, “Emperor, sir, we could actually destroy the Resistance right now.”

Now, you’ll notice I didn’t complain about Luke. A lot of people are upset he became a grumpy, miserable, old hermit who sits around waiting for death. Frankly though, in this universe, that’s exactly where he is. He left “Return of the Jedi” thinking he’d saved the world, he’s resurrected the Jedi Order, and all is well. Only a decade later, his students are all murdered by his nephew, the Empire’s back, and he accomplished nothing. He’s an utter failure as a Jedi (though Luke never realizes he knew jack shit about the Jedi Order and was in way over his head but I guess that’s beyond him). Why shouldn’t he go sit on a rock and wait to die?

Now, did he have to drink that blue dinosaur milk? Well, I guess it was funny, gross but funny so... Sure, I guess he did. But I do like that he gave Rey 0 training, they had one meditation session and then he whined about how Obi-Wan was such a stupid asshole. And then Rey ran off to be with her boyfriend, who then told her that her parents were gutter trash (which again, was funny, but I don’t think that was supposed to be funny).

Of the characters introduced in the movie, the only one I really liked was the hacker, and it was for the actor/the beautiful way in which he gracefully exited stage left with zero shame going, “You all knew I was going to betray you!” You beautiful man, you.

Rise of the Skywalker

First, when something is called “Rise of the Skywalker” you know you’re in for a rough time.

But anyways, TLJ was filled with a controversy Disney didn’t want (half their audience hated it, half loved it, but at least they sold those penguin dolls) so they desperately get Abrams back. Only, what he clearly wanted from his series has been shot to hell, and now he’s left with Emperor Kylo Ren, a completely obliterated Resistance, a dead Luke, a love interest he never planned to introduce for Finn, Rey’s parental crisis being solved with trash people, Snoke just suddenly dead, Hux planning revenge, and then some.

And so, Abrams goes the brave and hilarious route of shouting “PRETEND THAT LAST MOVIE NEVER HAPPENED”

We open to a fully functioning Resistance (their bomber fleet is back, their fleet period is back, they have all their fully trained personnel). We have Rey getting the Jedi training she needed this time from Leia, who is now a Jedi, because yay feminism rammed down my throat to make the audience feel better. Rose says “It’s cool guys, I don’t want to join the adventure this film, I’m going to stay here and work on robots” so that she can gracefully exit the entire plot. Kylo Ren is demoted from Emperor in two seconds when we discover that a) Snoke was apparently Palpatine b) for unexplained reasons Palpatine’s alive (and I am now convinced that man will never die). Kylo Ren tells Rey at the first opportunity that he lied about her trash parents AND REALLY SHE’S A PALPATINE! THIS WHOLE TIME, REY! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. I’M SUPER SERIAL THIS TIME, REY.

Basically, in the course of an overly long movie, Abrams desperately shoves in everything he was trying to get out of the series, while sobbing, and sobbing even harder when things like Finn being Force Sensitive or Lando having a secret daughter get caught. I actually agree with the Producers on this, by the way, the Finn trying to tell Rey something scenes were weird and indicative of a love triangle but him being Force Sensitive instead... It says a lot that the movies did not change when it was removed, at all. And Lando was just this strange cameo who was in the film to make us feel nostalgic.

And this isn’t even getting to the ridiculous 24 hour time limit (which made me think there should have been some video game style clock in the corner letting us know when Dawn of the Third Day is coming), Palpatine’s other secret army on a secret Sith planet that can be easily taken down by taking out one navigation tower, Rey’s hilarious struggle with the dark side in which she has a vision of herself in a cape hissing, Kylo Ren’s hilarious redemption in which the movie in the form of Leia and Han Solo says, “Alright, Ben, it’s time to stop being evil” and he says “okay”, the fight with Palpatine in which I’m supposed to believe he dies for reals because... I have no idea why I’m supposed to believe he’s dead. The Reylo, god the Reylo, and Kylo Ren’s tragic, hilarious, death.

And then, of course, the ending where Rey decides she’s a Skywalker now.

I actually did laugh all the way through “Rise of the Skywalker”, you can’t not, I mean it’s a hilariously awful movie. The only thing that might have made it more hilarious was if we actually did get those Ewoks.

TL;DR

They’re all bad movies, if you want more specifics than this, you’re just going to have to ask me questions.

#ask #anon #anti star wars sequels #anti rey #anti kylo ren #anti reylo #ah what beautiful awful movies #i look foward to the characters being shocked and appalled when yet another evil empire arises in five years #i look forward to them being even more shocked when palpatine's still not dead #that man will never die

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lunawings · 3 years ago

Text

Joji’s Birthday PriZoom (9/15/21)

Translation of the bonus content is in a seperate post again.

So yeah I never actually fell asleep after the showing haha. Was just lying in bed playing Love Live when I thought well... I got a good 4-5 hours of sleep in before the showing (better than literally nothing like last time)... If I’m gonna be awake I might as well start this while my emotions are raw so I rolled out of bed and wrote most of the below rambly mess.

And then I went to work. Which was kind of surreal. Because for a few hours my brain really was back in Japan again. There was something just a little magic about this showing I think. A lot of things came together (starting with how talkative people actually were during Pride the Hero! Ahh!) etc.

B... ut.....

I guess I’ll get this out of the way first. I was super heartbroken at the low turnout for this one. Only 65-85 people in the cheering room... But it was a weekday, sooo... I’m just going to hope that a lot of people bought the archive tickets to check it out later.... Yes... I have decided that is the case.............

The people who did, however, missed out on the cheering room and thus missed out the latest incident to enter my personal list of all-time favorite moments in this fandom. After Joji’s episode in SSS Part 2 we had some “technical difficulties”... (I put that in quotes because I somewhat doubt it was technical difficulties. I mean, the stream cut out cleanly RIGHT at the end of Joji’s episode. So I wonder if maybe someone just forgot about Minato’s episode and shut it off early hahaha...) and while we were waiting for them to restart the movie there was a long period of silence and a black screen. But us in the cheering room could all still hear each other. .....And someone started singing Brilliant Oath.

It was PERFECT. These are the moments I live for! This is why I’ve been to like over 100 cheering shows and I still KEEP GOING! I love this fandom! It may not have made the archive since the cheering wasn’t recorded for that but it will live on in our hearts.

Anyway...

I guess one bonus to having less people this time was that I actually managed to keep on the soundboard hell... the ENTIRE... TIME!! Although at a low volume. And honestly... I more or less completely stopped hearing it at one point I think haha. So... that kinda defeats the purpose I suppose. Actually no, even if it was just static background noise it was still nice to have on in SSS, which would have been pretty quiet without it. And it was worth it just for the one person who was like SHISHOOOO during one scene in Pride the Hero when Jin was going crazy hahaha (AH! When was it? I don’t remember now...). I also tuned in for a bit in episode 6 and loved when Minato’s sister says her age incorrectly everyone was like EIIIGHT (...that’s not correct either hahah....)

Since I knew this was going to be archived I tried bring my cheering A game to Pride the Hero with moderate success. Kinda mad at myself for missing stupid small things probably no one would care/look for I mean my camera is shit anyway (BUT I--). I’m just lucky it wasn’t way worse because Pride the Hero I can mostly run on autopilot. Out of all King of Prism media, it’s probably the one I’ve cheered the most (I mean it was all we had in theaters for literally like two years), and it was fresh in my mind from Minato’s showing too. So even with how exhausted I was, I made it through! (Then proceeded to take micro power naps on the floor during episodes 4 and 6.......) I also kinda wish I’d changed my background earlier. The show started before I got around to changing it and I was like I’ll change it during a break (........Pride the Hero has no breaks........) haha but yeah. I had Okayama station up from the Prism King Cup onward and the Momotaro mailbox up during SSS. The real background MVP though is the person who appeared to have up the bench in rural Okayama where Joji made his promise to Miyo!? I mean it looked kinda different because it wasn’t on a bridge but that HAD to be it, right!? (!!!??)

Also cosplay at this showing was amazing! We had like 3-4 Miyos, 2 Aces, KOKORO!? (and Taiga. Because who are we kidding there’s always a Taiga)

Also shoutout to the girl who cosplayed as... the PIECE OF CLOTH Joji sewed for Miyo!? (I think she was at both showings but I didn’t fully realize what she was supposed to be until the Playback Allstars at the very end hahah...)

And shoutout to the Ace cosplayer “singing” during all of Joji’s performances haha!!

And the person spinning in an office chair whenever any character was twirling around...

But BIGGEST shoutout to our own @takadanobaba who was somehow THE ONLY Joji cosplayer in the cheering room!? (The only overall for the first show, but another joined in the text-only room for the second show.)

I was SO HAPPY when Tatsuyuki Kobayashi noticed you!! RIGHT!?!? He was like “Oh and there’s someone dressed as Joji!” and you were the only one!!! He didn’t even say anything about the people dressed as Ace!!?! Haha! I wasn’t trying to do anything to get his attention (I wouldn’t know what to do anyway, and besides he’s not the kind of person who works the crowd like Masashi Igarashi does so I wasn’t expecting much) so having him notice you was a huge surprise and honestly just about as good!! AHHH!!!

But the concept of this showing was a little awkward ‘cause it’s like, as a fan, do you appeal for Joji or Ace? Tatsuyuki Kobayashi was maybe a little conflicted about how to act too. First he said he was coming as himself, but then he backpedaled and slipped into Ace being tsun when pulling the birthday crackers for Joji heheh.

But yeah, we’ve got to give him a break, he’s just so happy to have his own character finally. I’m happy about how happy he is to be Ace! But like honestly... Not like I’m necessarily complaining but... This showing ended up being almost exactly the same as the Ace one pfffthahah!!! I mean he mostly just talked about being Ace and went over a lot of the same things. Like being the surprise guest at the MRS concert, etc. I think he may have said this before too, but when he originally recorded Love Mix, Ace didn’t exist yet so he didn’t really know who he was supposed to be singing as and just tried to sound like a sparkly idol. And I’ve always felt that! Like I think his voice changed or evolved between Love Mix and Joker Kiss into being less generic idol/Joji and a lot more Ace.

OH!! I don’t think he said this at the other one (but for some reason it sounds vaguely familiar?). He was talking about how he knew of King of Prism and actually went to shows before he was cast in Pride the Hero. And after he was going to a Pride the Hero show and Sugita (Joji’s actual voice actor) was on the escalator behind him. HAHAH.

I LOVE stories like this because... okay like, when you go to a theatrical cheering show there is always this introduction video where they talk about cheering manners. And they warn you not to say anything mean because “you never know, a star might be sitting next to you.” And to know THAT’S ACTUALLY TRUE SOMETIMES.... JFLSJDLJG. I mean, I’ve only seen King of Prism in Tokyo a handful of times so it’s probably never happened to me. Actually I guess... technically... this show and the last one DO count because Masashi Igarashi and Tatsuyuki Kobayashi were watching with us before and/or after their segments and probably listening in!!! (Still, I guess the point is it’s nice to know the voice actors actually do go in their private time, too.)

Oh, one more shoutout I forgot about to the person I think had a big red car with Joji and... a bunch of Jin mochikoros in the back!!? They rolled it by the screen so fast why hahah.

And it was great to see Joji’s 2019 birthday video again and confirm it wasn’t a fever dream. Hopefully I can grab that from @takadanobaba when the archive goes up in a couple days (it will be a quick and easy translation!).

Okay that’s it.....

DO THE PRIZOOMS

Or at least buy the archive tickets and watch later

(but they are expensive and it’s not the same)

#king of prism #joji takadanobaba #ace ikebukuro #tatsuyuki kobayashi

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everything-laito · 4 years ago

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I know you mostly do analyses, but do you have any particularly unique headcanons about Laito? It can be anything, strange, obscure, sad, funny... I'm just curious to know some of the ideas you have about him, regardless of if they are actually backed by canon or not. Sorry if this question is maybe a bit too general. But I figured since you spend a lot of time analyzing him, you probably have a ton of ideas people haven't asked about. So here's your chance! I wanna know!

OOOOO omg thanks so much for giving me this opportunity, anon!!! It means a lot that you wanna know my thoughts like this! I have some crack headcanons and some legitimate ones, and some in between!

When/if I have more that I make or remember, I’ll reblog this to add on probably too!

Corn’s headcanons under the cut! (One is NSFW so just a warning)

- I’ve always found this interesting, but there doesn’t seem to be modern technology in the Sakamaki mansion. The only thing modern I’ve seen in any DL scene was probably Kino’s phone in Lost Eden and in some Tokutens. Considering Laito is a dork and loves crossword puzzles and plays darts and billiards, I love to imagine that he doesn’t know how to work around modern technology. Sure he’s smart as hell but I just love thinking about him being a boomer when it comes to that stuff hgalsdkjf

- Idk if this is counts as a (crack) headcanon or not, but you’d have to be really careful to bring Laito on a picnic date or something. It would be really cute, but he doesn’t like bugs. But man I find his fear of bugs kinda cute not gonna lie hehe.

- I believe I have mentioned that I have a headcanon that he’d be a theater kid. Another anon also mentioned this a while back too, and I freaking LOVE that idea oh my god; here’s the original post developing on that too!

- Kinda another crack headcanon but we know Laito isn’t afraid of feminine things like he straight up has an entire closet of women’s clothing; I don’t think he clarified if it’s for himself or his partners _(:3 」∠)_ but he wore the Alice costume,,,, so I also think he has other ““feminine”” interests. Like I really wanna see him read Shoujo manga. I don’t think that would be ooc at all imo LOL

- Laito and Kou can do makeup; Kou more than Laito, but again. Laito has a cosplay/roleplay closet. Come on. We know he goes full into stuff.

- Which again all of this supports the Laito being a theater kid headcanon LOL! I also think he’d try to dress up Ayato (and maybe Kanato?) when they were kids aakdjsdjj

- I guess this is another crack headcanon cuz I love Laito’s dorky nature but I think he full on has a dictionary in his room somewhere for crossword puzzles when he can’t think of a word, just in case.

- I wanna think that he was already was afraid of spiders when he was a kid but it got worse when Ayato kept pranking him with bugs or telling Laito horror stories related to bugs lol

- As for the NSFW side of things that I haven’t seen mentioned before; I think he’s into some form of somnophilia akdkskjdsj but again he likes it when they resist. But kinda like a spider, his “prey” would wake up in the middle of whatever he was doing to them and he’d get his high off of them resisting then when it’s too late oops. However I don’t rly think of NSFW hcs too often

- I feel like some of the new girls (or maybe some boys heh) at school initially had a crush on him but then was deterred by other girls who were like “no don’t” (LOL now that I realize it, similar shit happened in college; I was one of the girls who was warning the freshmen)

- going off of that I think he (and probably every other diaboy going to that school) has a secret fan club. Kou’s is obviously the biggest but I definitely think there’s a group of girls (and maybe a boy or two) that don’t heed the Laito warnings. Maybe they put little letters in his locker or something. Regardless he’d know who they are after a short period of time. Would he do something? Probably not, he could get caught if he made any of them his actual vampire shenanigans victim. But subtlety tease them??? Maybe some more??? Oh you fuckin bet.

- After his first wave of feeling his true emotions (like in MB ecstasy) he didn’t know how to truly express them. So I think he’d definitely play the piano a lot afterwards. Is it a distraction or expressing himself? Or both? And did I get inspired by the DL fic, “The Days That’ll Never Come?” Yes. Yes I did. I also think that he writes his own songs. Some with lyrics, some without, but man, I think he could freeform like a mad lad. Since song lyrics are pretty much poetry, I think he has some poems lying around here and there. But poor thing doesn’t know how to properly take care of himself emotionally ;(

-This was confirmed in one of those 4 Koma manga for More,More Blood, but it came to no surprise that Laito went through stuff in the attic for blackmail on all his brothers lmaoooooo what a fucking troll I love this man. Going off of that he’d definitely pull pranks with Ayato. And some on Ayato lol.

- basically yeah I view Laito as a deep, artistic, internally depressed dork. Sure he’s into some sexual stuff obviously but I like talking about how he’s like/how he might be like when there’s not a sacrifice in the house :) I love talking about his dorky side too much tho omg

I think that’s all I could think of for now! Lol this took me a couple of weeks to compile haha, but thanks again for giving me the opportunity, anon! If I think of any more I’ll definitely add them :)

Have a lovely day!

~ Corn

#ask corn #corns headcanons #laito sakamaki #sakamaki laito #raito sakamaki #sakamaki raito #diabolik lovers #dialovers #dl #dialover

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marshmallowprotection · 4 years ago

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People always wonder how seven is fit even when all he eats is chips and soda on a chair all day, but here's my question: How does he go to dangerous missions where he has to run and fight and etc. with these terrible habits? My habits are not so terrible and I can't force myself to do simple exercises, even if my life depended on it. He would have already died lmao there's no way his body would bear it

Suspension of reality. It’s an Otome. Characters are always going to look “good” or fit their niche no matter what their habits are. Seven had to have spent his first years in the Agency actually doing fieldwork, they don’t let just anyone start to do that, no, you haven’t really proved anything to them and someone as young as he is would be beneficial to cover operations.

Nobody ever stops to wonder about why Seven is so good at makeup, cosplay, or dressing up in general, do they? Much like in the old theater, young boys oftentimes dressed as and played young feminine roles, just as young male roles if they occurred. So, Seven spent a lot of time being used as bait, or in a good role. So, that’s one thing that one should consider. So, alongside that, he likely spent a lot of time training and working out, too.

So, I think he was around 13-14 when he joined the agency, and we know him around 21, so that’s nearly ten years almost of him working out, doing missions, etc. I don’t think he really was allowed to do hacking full time until very-very-very recently. Within the past two or three years of when we meet him. Even though he’s been allowed to stick to strictly hacking, they have Vanderwood on him to ensure that he does what he needs to do. He’s young, and they don’t trust him after what he’s done.

He doesn’t sit at his desk “all” day. We know that he has a lot of hobbies, too. He does robotics, he does cosplay, he does a lot of things that keep him active and who is to say that he doesn’t work out when he gets the chance? I’m almost very certain that he’s eating more than his chips, and soda, but those are kind of like comfort items to him, and of course, you’re going to hear about what he enjoys most instead of what else he eats, especially with friends.

I sincerely hope that this isn’t in the mentality of that opinion that I’ve seen and heard in a few places that “Seven is gross.” So, like, let me remind y’all that he showers, he eats well, and he does what everyone else does. Don’t lump off on these ideas purely from thinking “he just eats poorly, he sits all day, he probably doesn’t shower, etc”. Just because you don’t hear about something doesn’t mean that it’s not going on.

I do personally think that Seven doesn’t work out as much as he did when he was out in the field, so yeah, it’s possible that he’s got a bit of tummy now but there is nothing wrong with that, either, and if you think that there is, then your fatphobia is showing, bye.

#saeyoung choi #choi saeyoung #anon #ask #mod kait #mysme #mysticmessenger #mystic messenger #seven mm #mm seven #seven mysme #seven mystic messenger

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revivivivify · 4 years ago

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Honestly if you get the chance to watch an anime movie in theaters, absolutely do it. It is such an experience and I highly highly recommend it, here’s why

You’re among fellow fans! It’s so cool to see everyone decked out with their t-shirts, jackets, keychains, whatever! I’ve even seen a couple cosplayers, they’re super cool (weeb nation unite)

You share the shocks and triumphs and every single emotion. The whole theater is on the edge of their seats and it’s amazing

On your way out of the theater you could probably just walk up to any given person and spit out an incoherent sentence about what happened and they’d completely get it, maybe reply with one of their own

Talking to the people around you before the show starts is tons of fun! I exchanged lots of “I love your shirt”s and questions of who people’s favorites were

As far as my experience goes, everyone is really chill and great to be around

Here are a couple specific experiences I’ve had

In My Hero Academia: Two Heroes when Todoroki and Bakugo suddenly saved Uraraka from the security robots, at that exact moment everyone in the theater cheered. The raw hype and wave of energy was incredible and I’ve never experienced anything like it before or since

In My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, there were gasps and assorted noises of displeasure whenever someone was injured and the occasional distressed muttered comment. This theater was a bit quieter than my two heroes theater but there were still intermittent audible reactions and YES I DID CRY, STOP ASKING

I talked to a Todoroki cosplayer while I had my Todoroki shirt on and they were like “I like your shirt” and I went “I like your cosplay”

#in summary! 10/10 would recommend #anime movie #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #bnha #my hero academia two heroes #mha heroes rising #mha two heroes #rainy speaks

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fairygal11 · 4 years ago

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Monkie Kid Rper Wanted: Here is My OC Intro and Ideas

Monkie Kid Episode: Fox Magic It was another day in The City, a modern technological city. The citizens were going about their usual business, cars passing down their respected streets, teenagers playing at the Anti-Gravity Arcade, children playing in the park. Holographic advertisements that displayed on different rooftops around the city, not to mention the different culinary shops that were scattered around different parts of the metropolis. In the very center of the city, a young lady stared in awe at the wondrous kingdom she found herself in. Her pink eyes sparkled with bewilderment as her jaw almost dropped to the ground. She wore a chique blue cheongsam top with white cherry blossoms scattered around that matched with her blue jeans, but her shoes were pink to match with her hair. The only thing unusual about her ensemble was the blue hat on her head with a pair of “ears” on them and a white tail that swayed behind her, but she tried to keep it still from her excitement. Jia: So this is the City......It’s way bigger then I’ve ever imagined it to be....So many people, so many buildings....:She walked down the street, hoisting up her bag a bit which appeared to be a tad heavy for her like she was going on a camping trip.: A city this big must also have a wide selection of book shops scattered about....gasppp~Or maybe a library-A city like this must have more then one library. As she stopped at a nearby traffic light, waiting for the light to change so to cross, she paused to stare down at a strange-looking bracelet that was on her left arm. It was a beaded Jade bracelet, yet each one was inscribed with ancient writing on each little bead. Her excited smile shrunk to a small one upon staring at the accessory, placing her hand over it as if it was a terrible scar she did not want anyone to see. When she heard the ding of the traffic light change to “Walk”, she started walking slowly to get to the other side while deep in her thoughts.

My OC Is Jia Li she is a teenager around MK and Mei's age. She is a fox spirit. She can turn into a human, but she can't hide her ears or tail (Though she has 9 nails, but one is only shown. 9 tails when in her true fox form.) so she wears a hat to cover her ears and her tail is the only thing that sticks out-although if discovered on tail and ears she will lie that it is cosplay. She's a teen and is quite powerful, but she keeps her powers to herself for she doesn't want to be the center of attention or cause any harm or mischief to those around her. She wants to carve her own path than the ones her family has forged with their history of tricks and wickedness. She is afraid that people will not like her or resent her for being a fox spirit, all she wants is to be treated normally and like any other person. Most of all she wants to find a place of belonging while learning to hone her skills and learning to control her "other self"-She wears a Sealing Bracelet to keep her other self under check-mostly because for a fox spirit like her she rejects her mischief side and doesn't want to do bad stuff. If the bracelet is ever removed or she realizes it is gone, it will alert her other self and her other self takes over in the name of Rei. When this happens her pink/white tail and ears turns red/black to indicate Rei's arrival and her eyes change from pink to red.

she is friends with MK and Mei along with the crew. :3 Course the first episode in the game introduces her coming to THE CITY to start a new life-she comically runs into MK when he is on a noodle delivery run and neearly crashes her but turns and crashes into some trash cans. :3

ANyway Jia apologizes for the incident, but MK would say its cool and he notices he hasn't seen her around the city before and Jia says she's new and so MK decides to show her around while finishing his deliveries :3 He takes her back to the noodle shop and introduces her to his friends. :3

The first episode is MK and Mei showing Jia the fun stuff of the city and then deciding to throw her a welcome party on Sandy's Boat :3

Although during a game of volleyball-MK is hit in the face by the ball and falls overboard, Jia jumps in, but accidentally turns into her full Fox Form to get him out-When she realizes the odd looks she sees her reflection in something and shapeshifts into a falcon and flies off, but not before MK notices a bracelet she left behind when she dashed off.

Fearing that her friends will resent her for being a fox spirit, she takes refugee in a nearby abandoned theater, only to run into Yin and Jin and upon explaining her troubles to them, and being the tricksters that they are, convince Jia that MK and his pals knew she was a Fox spirit and wanted to lower her guard so to destroy her. They tell her that spirits and demons should stick to being friends with their kind. :3

Of course Jia believes this, but the brothers extend their friendship to her to be their friend and show her how REAL FRIENDS have fun-which turns out to be tricks and pranks which Jia resents deeply, but begins to find it fun to her surprise yet later discovers she lost her bracelet that keeps Rei in check and upon realizing it she transforms into her dark half-Rei. (The clothes also transform too to fit the color scheme) Rei thanks the boys for making Jia realize her bracelet was gone upon having fun with "harmless pranks" and wants to repay them by showing them how a REAL TRICKSTER does it. This causes Rei to use her Fox Magic around town and causing some chaos which alerts MK and his pals.

Upon learning "Jia" is responsible, Mk would try to get her to calm down and come back to them, but discovers it isn't Jia at all as Rei tells him that Jia was her goody goody half and the bracelet kept her from taking control of the sweetie pie. Then she says that he and his friends lied to her about being friends and want to destroy or seal her away because she is a fox spirit. And of course MK would be like, "What? Jia-Rei....Uh....Fox Girl, why would you think we'd want to harm our new friend just because she's different"?

And this will confuse Rei/Jia when she listens to MK's speech about how its okay to be different and just because she is a fox spirit doesn't mean that they hate her, they find it pretty cool and even compliments on her ears and tail. Thsi will allow Jia to gain some control over Rei upon a blush and when telling him what the Demon Bros told her, he tells her that they lied to her and friends never lie to one another.

Realizing MK and even when Mei chims in about how they like her for her, MK holds out the bracelet he found that she left behind. Touched by his act of kindness, she places the bracelet back on and reverts back to normal and reconciles with her friends and uses soem of her fox magic to fix the damage and scare the Gold and Silver demons :3

Of course this would cause the two brothers to be smitten with Jia in the next episode after the events of the first. Course this causes some sibling/love rivalry between the brothers as to wanting to win Jia's affection and comical antics take place. :3

That's what I got for a good intro episode for her :3 Plus I figure if Jin and Yin's hideout is an abandoned theater-they are tricksters and probably performers.

Also imagine how they'd scare Jia when she takes refugee in there :3 I imagine she gets scared and loses composure of her human form and reverts to her fox form.

I mean some stuff is WIP but I kinda picture it like that-ya know introvert fox spirit first time in big city, meets new pals, accidentally reveals her true form when rescuing a friend, falls into bad crowd when running off, causes some havoc, friends talk her out and reconcile is involved :3

And yeah-Jin and Yin are tricksters as we know, but also performers and they do have creative ideas and their hideout is a rundown theater :3

Plus you saw the size of that scheme book-that is like 500 years worth or more in it.

Course they should work on their steps a bit more on schemes

This is just a sample of an incredible story that is yet to be written, yet to be told and a mysterious introvert bookworm with a secret to be revealed. This little intro to a episode in progress introduces a Fox spirit named Jia Li. Uh huh....that's right THIS IS JUST A sample of my work. Of course it is a challenge to write what I got in mind. That is why I am looking for a writer who would love to collab with me on bringing Jia and my ideas and also their ideas to life in a fun game For this girl is looking for fun, creativity, flexibility and the writing prowess to make this into something more. So who among you writers finds my intro to Jia intriguing and wants to collab? Also if you wanna hear more....well BUCKLE UP. I got a good sum on this little number Soooo~Now that I dished out some hot, steamy potstickers of deliciousness and awesomeness. What do you think? :3 Anyone wanna collab and role play? Message me here or contact me on deviantart under Fairygal11 or on discord under Truffula Ghost (#9884).

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justjessame · 4 years ago

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The Deal Chapter 47

The Kingdom was something that I wasn’t expecting. Well, I wouldn’t have known what to expect, but this- This wasn’t what I would have imagined. There was a corral for the horses. The brick buildings had white trim. There was a gazebo where people sat and chatted. A garden, a clothes line, and people glancing up as the men who found me rode with me through the community. Picnic tables dotted the area they took me through.

“What was this place before?” I whispered, feeling awed by the simplicity of the life here contrasting against the opulence of the buildings.

“School.” One of my companions grunted.

I nodded, thinking it must have been a boarding school for diplomats’ children or politicians and the rich. I felt a flash of curiosity about Deanna’s boys, and whether they attended school here. I was still taking in my surroundings when the horses halted. We were in front of a building with the words “Post Theater” engraved into the white wood trim. I was helped down and pushed forward, toward the steps of the building.

“Go on,” the man who’d rode behind me said, coming up behind me. “You have to be presented to King Ezekiel. He’ll decide what to do with you.”

King Ezekiel? What did you expect, my mind screamed, it’s called the fucking Kingdom after all? I walked up the steps, wondering if I looked as certain as Negan had said I had when I left the tree line that first night. And then inside, I was directed toward the actual theater, and seated on a throne with a tiger at his side was a man I had to assume was the king himself.

I bowed. What else could I do? Clearly this was some type of cosplay kingdom, yet they all seemed to be taking their roles pretty damn seriously. And if I wanted to find a place here, then I’d play along.

“Rise up, young maiden.” Dear Lord, are you serious? “I am King Ezekiel. Who are you?”

I truly hoped that this theatrical man, with his graying dreads and regal attempts didn’t expect me to go ‘Shakespeare in the park’. “Jessica Grimes, your majesty.” I answered, rising and looking him straight in the eye.

“Grimes?” Ugh, there it was again, recognition. “Are you related to Rick Grimes?” I closed my eyes and prayed for composure.

“Yes, I’m his oldest daughter, sir.” I answered, breathing through my nose, hoping that he wouldn’t send me away.

He gestured for the men who were clearly still crowding me to move, or leave. “I thought you were-”

I wondered if I was supposed to be dead? Or a traitor? Or something truly offensive? “I offered myself as a trade for Glenn Rhee’s life, sir. I had no idea that I wouldn’t die for it. I-” I glanced down, collecting myself. “I left the Sanctuary. I feel I won’t be welcome in Alexandria, and even if I am, I’d rather not return.”

I could see the questions in his eyes when I raised my head. Questions that bubbled and churned. I was surprised he fought them off. “We have two of your people here, Jessica.” Shit. Who? He nodded at the men who hadn’t left, but had pulled back. “Have a seat, please. I’d like to see what they have to say.”

Great. More people who would assume I was a turncoat. Or that I was dead. Or who knew what else I’d have to face. More expectations. More crap that I was trying to avoid.

I was surprised when ‘my’ two people arrived. Carol? Morgan? What the hell? Carol took one look at me and rushed forward, pulling me from my seat and hugging me to her. I felt myself lean into the comfort she was giving me. And Morgan met my eyes over her shoulder. I didn’t see it. The judgement. The disappointment.

“Jessi,” Carol breathed, pulling back and brushing my hair from my face. “I thought you were-” She pulled me back into another hug. “I thought you gave up, sweetheart. I thought you gave up.”

I felt the burning in my eyes warning of tears and fought them. I shook my head and she released me. “I did too.” I lost the fight, tears brimmed over and were running down my cheeks. “I can’t go back, Carol.” It was a whisper, but she heard me and nodded. She moved away from me and I heard her approach the king.

“Jessi,” Morgan was staring at me, at whatever expression had taken over my face. He shook his head, his eyes tight. “I worried,” he started, moving closer, but not touching me. “I thought that you might have-”

I brushed the wetness from my face. “That I’d traded sides?” I asked, shaking my head at the horrified look he shot me. “No? That seems to be the popular opinion in Alexandria.” I fought to regain my control. “No one understood, I guess.” Feigning a lack of concern was harder when your face was challenging it. “I just can’t-” I shook my head again. Not able to continue my sentence as the feeling of pain took over.

“Jessica Grimes,” King Ezekiel’s voice sounded powerful, but gentle at the same time, a rare talent if I’d ever heard one. “Carol has vouched for you, and so, I welcome you to The Kingdom.”

Carol insisted I come to her house. That I stay with her. And Morgan followed us, letting the two of us walk side by side, letting us have some privacy. It was unnecessary since I was silent during the walk. And Carol, knowing far better than most what I was dealing with, let me have the quiet.

Her house was quaint, on the fringes of the Kingdom, surrounded by the same type of walker warning system I knew from my time at Daryl’s side. Seeing the ring of noise making paraphernalia made my heart clench painfully at the mere thought of him, and I thought I hid it, but Carol’s hand found mine and gave it a squeeze. I’d never escape them, any of them, I realized no matter where I went. Memories would torment me until the day I finally died.

Inside was just as cozy as the exterior, and I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room that was clearly meant to be a living room, unsure of what to do. “Sit, Jessi,” Carol offered, gesturing toward her couch.

I sat, hands clasped in my lap, waiting for it. The interrogation. The questions. The curiosity that was no doubt flowing through her and Morgan. Nothing came. I heard a bit of rattling in another room, and looked up to find that I was alone in the room. No Morgan. No Carol.

I sighed and let myself sink into the sofa. I hadn’t rested since leaving the Sanctuary. I didn’t trust that I wouldn’t be ambushed by walkers or worse humans. I let my eyes shut, for a moment, and when I opened them again, it was dark outside. It took a moment for me to remember where I was, but when I did, I wondered where Carol was.

“I’m right here, Jessi.” Her voice came from my right, and I saw that she was sitting on the other side of the couch. I’d fallen asleep sitting up. “You look exhausted.”

I couldn’t even find the energy to snort. I was exhausted. Completely and totally. “It’s been a long couple of-” I stopped. It seemed like it had been a long couple of years. My entire life was just a long series of pushing forward when I should have been sitting it out, it seemed. I sighed. “Thank you.” I offered.

“Hey,” I turned to look at her. “You don’t have to thank me, Jessi.” She smiled, and I could see the guilt in her eyes. “We really didn’t take care of you, did we?” She asked, studying me far too closely for my comfort.

“I don’t know what you mean, Carol.” I deflected. I ran my hand down my face and nearly laughed. Dear God, had I picked up Negan’s habit? “I’m tired, but I’m fine.”

She shook her head, I saw it from the corner of my eye. “You’re tired, but you’re not fine, Jessi.” I started to speak, but she stopped me. “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter.” I heard her give a bit of a chuckle, but didn’t know what she found funny.

“Everyone seems to think they know me, Carol. What do you see when you look at me?” I asked, wondering if she saw a martyr, a broken woman, or a suicidal mess?

She moved over, close enough to offer comfort if necessary, but still leaving me space. “I see a woman who shouldered every single thing that life and her people threw her way without a single complaint. I see a woman who loved so deeply that people took it for granted. I see a woman who would have taken on everyone else’s loss or sorrow or pain, just to keep them from feeling it. And I see a woman who offered her own damn life in the place of someone else’s because she gave up HOPE and wanted someone who still had it to live.” She took my hand in hers, and squeezed it. “Am I close?”

My tears were falling again, even as I shook my head, trying to deny how right she was. “You all did the best you could.” I was absolving her of any type of guilt she might have had, that they might have had.

“There it is.” She said, drawing my attention to her face. Her smile was sad. “You’re doing it again. You’re trying to make ME feel better about failing YOU.” She shook her head and she brushed my hair out of my face again. “Jessi, we were a family, we ALL should have seen it. We should have seen that you were breaking, but we didn’t. Not a single one of us.” Another shake of her head. “I can’t believe I made you come to defend Rick. I should have seen it.” She meant when all hell broke loose in Alexandria, the day Dad saw a glimpse of it. “So worried about those three questions, but never worried about the real cost.”

I pulled my hand from hers to swipe my tears away. “No one needed to fix me, Carol. Not when we’re constantly fighting everything this world keeps tossing at us.” I stared at a framed print on her wall. “Everyone had their own burdens. No one needed to take on mine.”

“You took on ours.” She reminded me, voice as quiet as mine. “Jesus, Daryl-” She stopped, seeing me flinch at the mention of his name. The thought that she would dare question his motives or his love for me, that the mention of his name would now be forever linked to Negan. To his insistence that I give up Daryl and his memory. “Jessi? Have you seen him?”

My eyes stayed on the painting. “I’ve been back to Alexandria twice since-” I didn’t have to say since when I knew she’d fill in the blanks. “He stared a hole in me the first time. I doubt he noticed me the second.” I was proud of how I sounded like I didn’t care.

“I’ve seen him. And your dad.” She offered, but my eyes were following the lines of the painting. “He misses you, Jessi. He, they love you so much, honey.”

I nodded. I didn’t doubt either assumption. I’m sure they did, or they told themselves they did. That they SHOULD miss me, that they SHOULD still love me. “You aren’t going to try to talk me into going back are you?” I had to know, because if that was something she wanted, then I would leave. I would venture into the unknown. I would become completely isolated before I was forced back.

“No.” She was firm. “I can understand you needing space.” And then it came, a question I should have anticipated, but didn’t. “Negan? Did he force you to-”

“NO.” My tone startled her, I felt her body tense. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-” I closed my eyes and turned to face her again. “He isn’t like that.” With me, I added in my head, since I wasn’t sure his wives would tell the same story. “He-” how do I explain it without giving anything too intimate away? “He helped me break free from-”

“You wanted to die.” She said it so matter-of-fact that I knew she understood. “He helped you through that?” I nodded, praying she wouldn’t pry further. “That’s one good thing he’s done.” She sniffed, and I could tell it pained her to even give him that much credit. “I made some stew, would you like some?” A change of topics was welcome, and I nodded again.

Days in the Kingdom were different. I offered to do any job that needed done, bar planning for what was to come between the Saviors and Ezekiel’s people. I had a feeling they wouldn’t have agreed to allow me to join even if I was amiable. There wasn’t the same distrust I’d seen in Alexandria here, but I knew that my last name, and my disinterest in returning to Dad’s side was enough to make some question my purpose in their community.

Laundry duty. I nearly laughed at the irony of being given laundry duty. Once upon a time, I’d become a hunter and tracker just to escape laundry duty.

I didn’t complain or talk much at all while working. Getting lost in the physical aspect of the job, letting muscle memory be retaught to do this rather menial task was a form of escape too. I spent my day washing clothes for the community. Bedding, linens, clothing I washed and hung. I folded the dried batches, and I helped sort with the other workers, who showed me their system.

When I was dismissed, I’d walk back to Carol’s. Usually she was waiting for me, but if she wasn’t, I’d sit on the top step of her porch and look out over the grass. I’d watch it bend in the slight wind. I’d let my mind pretend for a while that I wasn’t hiding and waiting.

Carol would make us dinner. We’d sit in her living room, and she’d try to get me to open up more. Not as antagonistic as Negan, she usually managed to get me to talk a bit before I’d feel she pushed too hard and I’d close down again. ANY criticism toward Dad, Daryl, or anyone I considered family or, in the case of Negan that I felt anything for, was off limits.

And then it happened. I had just come back, with our clean laundry in tow, when Carol told me to sit down. I knew, from her tone, from the way she could hardly look into my eyes, that it was time. That they were going to be heading to the first round of a war that I wanted no part in. And for once, the only time I truly remembered feeling this way, I didn’t want anyone to say goodbye to me before leaving. I didn’t want to see her go. I didn’t want to see Morgan walk away.

I also knew that I’d sit behind in the relative safety of The Kingdom, waiting, and feeling like I was hovering in limbo. And I wondered, whomever came back, what would they find in my place?

#negan x ofc #daryl dixon x ofc #rick grimes daughter #The Walking Dead #mental illness #alternate universe #dark #angst

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cardiaceyes · 4 years ago

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omg please do more pro gamer Lena, it's brilliant

sequel to Pro-Gamer!Lena AU here

Lena glanced up from the papers in front of her, towards the open area of the living room where Alex sat. The music was present but not enough to really bother her, she was more curious than anything.

Alex sat leaned back in her recliner, feet crossed, game playing in front of her. Lena didn’t recognize it, but she looked comfortable and much like she was having fun. She tilted her head and turned to watch as Alex took on a group of enemies. Lena didn’t have any criticism, she didn’t backseat game, but-

Why is Korn playing?

She thought about it.

Alex liking heavy metal? Wouldn’t really be a stretch. The most she knew was Alex loved action movies. Die Hard was her favorite. Alex didn’t really talk to her much.

Maybe I should change that.

“I’m curious,” Lena started, “what exactly is your taste in music?”

Alex was silent for a moment before replying, shifting a little so Lena could hear her but never looked from her T.V.

“Shouldn’t you be filling out paperwork, rather than judge my music taste?”

Lena grinned to herself, “I only have one more line to fill out. I’m not judging. Just curious.”

Alex huffed amusedly.

“Featuring Skrillex.” Was all Alex had to say.

How do you get her to talk more?

“So you like-”

“No.” Alex laughed. “It’s just an easy song to listen to, easy to learn, so when you play a game for the millionth time-” Alex gestured to her T.V. “-the boring parts aren’t as boring.”

Lena hummed in thought.

“What game are you playing?”

Alex paused the game, sitting up in her chair, turning enough to give Lena an incredulous expression. Like she couldn’t believe the audacity of the question. Lena blinked in return.

“What?”

“You’re a gamer for a living and you’ve never played Mass Effect 2?”

Lena scrunched her face, “I play First Person Shooters for a living, not- Role-Playing Games. I do it on a professional team.”

Alex rolled her eyes.

“Have you ever played a game to actually, play it? Or connect to the character you’re playing?”

“Not really. When I got into it, I focused on my career mostly. I’ve played MMO’s for streams, but not many single-player games.”

Alex cocked a brow, “so you’ve never played Tomb Raider? The games your girlfriend is obsessed with?”

Lena’s brows dipped, “she said she played it every once in a while.”

Alex laughed then. For a minute. Lena was not amused.

“Lena. She’s played old school Tomb Raider and-” Alex stood up then, to fully face her, “-up to current-gen. she was so obsessed we saw the movies like six times in theaters. Now she loves just about every Angelina Jolie movie.”

Lena blinked.

“Trust me,” Alex smiled, “she just doesn’t play as often with her career. I’ve tried to get her to buy her own set up instead of the tiny table she has in her room and PS4.”

Lena considered that.

“Anyways. Want to play something?” Alex asked, holding a controller out to her, “I bet I can beat your ass in at least one game we have.”

Lena grinned, standing up to accept the controller.

“You’re on. Loser has to buy dinner.”

“Deal.”

Lena rubbed her neck, sighing in discomfort as she did.

Blonde hair came into view, Lena smiled affectionately as she did. She took a step forward before pausing and watching with curiosity. Kara seemed to be talking to a woman. A woman in cosplay she’d only briefly seen before.

Was that Lara Croft?

Kara’s hands moved with excitement as she smiled. The other woman smiled back and answered her question before they seemed to dig themselves into a deeper conversation. Lena let her smile turn soft.

Kara really did like those games, didn’t she?

Lena decided then, to at least approach. So she did, Moving slowly through the convention crowd as she did, only a few people recognizing her face or maybe her jacket.

When she was close enough, she reached out, squeezing Kara’s elbow slightly. Kara’s head whipped up, eyes lighting up, and smiling at her before turning to squeeze her in a hug and kiss the side of her head. The cosplayer seemed confused at first but smiled all the same.

“You did so good!” Kara exclaimed. “Honestly? You carried your team.”

Lena laughed, keeping an arm around her waist when she pulled back to look at the cosplayer.

“Wait, are you Luthor?” The woman asked, Lena nodded. “A little bit of a fan.”

Lena smiled, “Thanks.”

“Oh!” Kara interjected. “I was telling her about your killstreak at the end-”

“-it was dope.” The woman finished.

Kara nodded, “it was. Then I might have gotten sidetracked.”

The woman laughed, Lena rose a brow.

“A little more than sidetracked. I thought I was a fan? Your girlfriend?” Lena nodded, the woman smiled, “-your girlfriend just schooled me. Half of that I didn’t even know.”

Kara coughed, cheeks pink, turning her head away for a moment. “It’s just wiki-”

“No it’s not! Like half of that was deep lore stuff! I’ve never read the books or comics.”

Lena grinned. “I’m dating a nerd.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “I’m not a gamer. I just only really play those and like two other games.”

The woman chuckled. “Well, I have to get back to work. You were great.”

Lena shook her hand, “Thanks.”

Kara turned then, to grab Lena’s attention, and smiled at her. Lena smiled back, reaching forward to grasp her hands.

“Ready?”

Lena rose a brow, “have you seen the Tomb Raider booth?”

Kara blushed again, shaking her head.

“Then let’s go.”

“Wait- why?”

Lena smiled, “I’ve just met a new side of you I haven’t seen before. I want to get to know it.”

Kara smiled back, “It’s really nerdy. You sure you can handle that?”

Lena snorted, “Of course. You might even be able to convince me to play a game or two.”

Kara’s eyes lit up again, turning to hurriedly drag her girlfriend in the direction of the booth. Lena laughed the entire time.

#it got nerdy #but hopefully this doesn't disappoint #if it does well LOL OOPS #prompts #gamer lena au #lyss fics #supercorp #supercorp fanfic #lena luthor #kara danvers #alex danvers #expensivemagiccc

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piratewithvigor · 4 years ago

Text

OKAY

So because of a post I made last month, 100,000+ people think I've never seen Shrek.

This is untrue.

Shrek was put on the list as a place filler when I realized I had put the same movie twice on my handwritten list, and I couldn't have that, so I scratched it out and put in Shrek.

The thing about Shrek is that I HAVE watched it. A lot.

My parents hated kids movies and I loved watching movies on repeat, so they found a compromise and showed me the raunchiest kids movie they could without seeming like bad parents.

I have Shrek 1 almost memorized. I could probably watch it in my head if I tried. I watched the back half of Shrek 2 almost as often. I saw Shrek 3 in theaters and likely several dozen times on DVD after. I've seen Shrek 4 a few times, but only because it depresses more than it amuses me.

My 3rd and 16th (I think 16th, but somewhere in my teen years) birthday cakes had Shrek on them. I watched the Shrek VHS so much, I memorized the ADS AND PREVIEWS on it. I had a karaoke disc of the songs at the end of Shrek 2. Shrek was my introduction to Smash Mouth, David Bowie, Disco, Ricky Martin, The Blues Brothers, The Proclaimers, Monty Python, Justin Timberlake, and Bonnie Tyler. I read John Lithgow's book about activities for children not for the activities but because he played Lord Farquaad.

I have dressed as Shrek for 2 different high school events (once for Meme day and once to sing Tequila in front of half the school). When my mom wanted me to dress up nicely when I was very young, she had me do a Fiona cosplay. I owned Madagascar Kartz for the Wii because you could play as Shrek.

This is to say, yes I HAVE seen Shrek. Thank you for asking.

#i had to set the record straight #Shrek #none of this is an exaggeration and there is proof of a lot of it

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zirkkun · 4 years ago

Note

1 - 20.

(sits down) alright this is gonna be one hell of a post

What was your first viewing experience of Promare like? Was it in theaters or at home?

In theaters! I saw a trailer for it as an ad just before it started rolling out in the US and I was like groaning to my friends I wanted to see it bc Lio was hot (yes this was my only motivation to see the film, one smol pretty boy). And then we just decided at 11 am on the Saturday after it came out that we were gonna go watch it. At a theater 3 hours away. For a showing at 3 pm. It was worth it.

How would you rate the film?

10/10 would HIGHLY recommend. It's so good from the animation to the soundtrack to the plot to the character design,

Did you make any new friends through Promare?

Kinda yeah! Not super close friends, but my friend (that I already had lol) and I decided to make a discord server, and it was really fun for a while! But eventually it died down and now there's just a couple people in there who send memes every once in a while.

What made you want to watch Promare? What drew you in?

Lio Fotia being pretty. The only motivation I had to see the film.

Did your opinion on a character change over time?

Galo! I typically hate the dumbass protagonist thing, esp when like he was introduced and kinda came off pretty vain by like, acting as the center of attention lol. But by the middle of the movie I had changed my opinion on him pretty much entirely.

What is one of your favorite moments in the film?

thhhhheeee whole film,

No but actually I feel like the intro scene from the beginning of the film to when the Mad Burnish trio show up is a phenomenal scene in the movie that no one really talks about. The timing of the music, the animation, the sound design, the short introduction to the world and characters that was created so fluidly, like, it had me on the edge of my seat. Of course, I do like the following scene with the Mad Burnish just as much, but I feel like no one talks about the intro scene as much.

What is the worst moment in the film? How’d you want it to change?

uhh. uhhhhh. Oh no this is really hard. I know it's not a perfect piece, nothing is, but at the same time I don't dislike any part...? I guess maybe when Deus shows up. The dump of plot is kinda meh, also I feel like the poor animators had to rush that part out based on a lot of the choppiness of the walking animations and stuff. I'd like that scene to be a bit more fleshed out, really. Give Trigger a chance to work with it without feeling the rush of a deadline.

Who is your favorite character !?

Gueira!!! I cosplayed him in February (we actually had a whole Promare cosplay group) and even dyed my hair red bc of this man. I secretly want him and Meis to have their own little spinoff thing, because Trigger did tell us Gueira's backstory, so I kinda want them to tell us more about their characters. Especially since??? Them not telling us their last names specifically is very suspicious?????

Who is your least favorite character/character you just don’t really care for?

Kray Foresight.

What character do you feel is under appreciated in the fandom?

Pretty much any character who isn't Galo or Lio. I feel like they're the only ones I see people talk about, with the occasional Aina or GueiMeis, but like that's it.

What character do you think deserved better in the film?

Ainaaaaaaaa oh my god. They built up such a weird character arc for her that got so tossed around? She really deserved so much better.

Any unpopular opinions on a character/moment/etc?

Because I see people very aggressive sometimes on Twitter about it, uh, people are allowed to like Kray even tho that's not the popular opinion. I wouldn't touch anything with him with a ten foot pole, but that doesn't mean I should tell people to hate him 😅

Your favorite pairings? Platonic or Romantic!

GaloLio (this is almost like a freebie) and GueiMeis for romantic. Aina and Galo platonic friendship and actually I wish more people would think about the absolute chaos Gueira and Lucia would cause together.

Least favorite pairings? Platonic or Romantic!

Kray and Galo probably. I just can't see Galo liking him. The only time I could see this like maybe working is if like, in a Foresight!Galo AU where Kray just kinda trains him to work for him. I'm also not a fan of the age gap.

A popular opinion in the fandom you just wish would go away?

uhhhhh that doing x thing they say is bad means you should be blocked by the entire fandom? 🙃 These are things I have seen, genuinely, on Twitter, and Promare is the only fandom I've seen do it and it's a yikes. It's not even like, actually bad things. I saw one like "this person is a Kray stan go block them" and I'm just;;; that seems a bit harsh.

Though the Twitter fandom has kind of died down recently, so I haven't seen much of that since like fall of last year.

A popular opinion in the fandom you can’t get enough of?

Gueira and Meis are Lio's dads now. They've adopted him.

But like I feel like it would be in like that friend way where it's like "yup we're your dads now" and then Lio lowkey hates it bc hes like "you're like 3 years older than me" and they're like "still your dads. You should respect your parents no matter our age."

Favorite AUs you’ve seen/heard of or your own?

I always love the ones that mess with Galo's role in the story. I love the Foresight!Galo AU idea, I love the swap AU where Lio is a firefighter and Galo is a Burnish, and I like this one AU I came up with but didn't do anything with where Galo's "burning firefighter soul" actually ended up being Promare and he turned into a Burnish mid fight with Lio.

Oh! And the fast food AUs. McDonald's Gueira, Hooter's Galo, and what I made up, Domino's Meis. McDonald's McGueira is an iconic visual novel for the ages and it will go down in history.

Would you want a sequel/prequel or any sort of extra story? And what about?

More GueiMeis official content please. It's all I ask for,

What are your self indulgent head canons?

Gueira and Meis are married and that's why they can't officially tell us their last name bc it's the same and they can't spoil their wedding day to us just yet.

Would you/have you recommended Promare to anyone?

Oh absolutely! I have both already recommended it and would recommend it to people! The DVD came out recently, so if you can I totally recommend checking it out in either the original Japanese or the English dub! I haven't seen the dub personally, but I've heard it's good and actually a lot of Japanese fans prefer it even which is wild.

Okay that's the list!!! Thank you anon this was a great way to start my morning 😊

#promare #zircon answers #Anonymous #slight spoilers but i think i missed like major things #but just a fair warning #long post

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