#the text on the 4th panel is I love you <3 All the rest is improvised so don't try to translate it literally XD | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sarahjtv · 4 years ago

Text

BNHA Chapter 310 Spoiler Thoughts: “The First and Second Holders”

Some fan translations are out and it’s time to flex some thoughts out again! I couldn’t do them last night because I didn’t have all the scan images with me and I didn’t want to jump the gun with only text descriptions. Anyway, this was mainly an exposition chapter that properly introduces us to the second and third OFA Holders, especially the 2nd and what his relationship to the 1st is. This might not be as long as others “Spoiler Thoughts” I’ve written, but let’s see:

First off, we have a colored cover page by Horikoshi-sensei himself! It’s a solo page featuring Vigilante Deku and he looks badass! Deku looks ready to kick ass and take names. And, his Mid-Gauntlet is colored red like a lot of us thought and it adds to the theory that Melissa Shield did create it like she did with Deku’s Full-Gauntlet back in Two Heroes.

The chapter starts in a dark and rainy night. A large woman (she’s like maybe 10ft tall; she’s taller than All Might who I think is 7ft) with a mutant-type quirk who’s getting attacked by some civilians because they think she’s a villain. Deku jumps in to stop the attacks and the woman explains that she was just trying to go to one of the evacuation centers at a hero school. Deku is kind enough to give her her umbrella back and reassure her that things will be ok.

I gotta say that this whole situation is scarily close to real life right now. I don’t like getting too political, but we live in a scary world where discrimination is, unfortunately, alive and well... If you are a POC, you can be attacked from anywhere with the only reason being that “you’re a danger because of the skin you were born with”. It’s horrific, it’s disgusting, and it’s been around for a long time. Even in the BNHA universe, there used to be cults solely dedicated to discriminating against mutant-type people (we learned this back in the My Villain Academia Arc). So, like in the real world, this problem has risen again. Thankfully, there are people like Deku and All Might who are more than willing to help someone in need regardless of who they are. BNHA hits too close to home sometimes.

Anyway, going back to the BNHA story. Before All Might leaves to help the woman in his Batmobile, he hands Deku some Pork Katsu in a cute bento box wrapped in a bunny cloth! Deku is visibly happy and thanks All Might for the meal. This is so cute! I’m so glad to see that All Might is making sure that Deku is being properly taken care of. Boy needs to eat if he’s going to save the world. I’m also glad that Deku can still show signs of happiness despite, well, everything. I swear, if All Might doesn’t legally adopt Deku as his son by the time this series is over, I’m going to jump into this manga and force him to sign those documents myself.

The next panel shows Deku standing on what looks like Tokyo’s famous Sky Tree (or Sky Egg if we’re going off what Vigilantes showed us). He’s back to talking to the OFA Holders like they’re angels on his shoulders. Banjo talks about how it’s like the world’s reverted back in time when things were worse and Deku responds that if he doesn’t use all of OFA’s power, he’ll never be able to defeat Shigaraki and AFO. I know we’re in the final act, so Deku’s gotta get to 100% fast if he wants to win this war. Last we checked, he was at 45%, but he might be at a higher percentage now since he’s unlocked En’s Smokescreen. Also, Deku’s looking more and more like Batman each chapter and I gotta say that it really suits him.

Back to the Vestige Dream back when Deku was still in a coma after the war. The 1st Holder begs the 2nd and 3rd to corporate with him so that they can provide their power to Deku. The 1st calls the 2nd and 3rd “My Heroes” which causes some awkward silence lol. Neither one is responding, so Banjo breaks the silence by suggesting that Deku learn everyone’s Quirks so that he’ll get used to them once he starts using them. We learn why the 2nd and 3rd are the 1st’s heroes soon, but it’s actually a good idea for Deku to learn about all these different Quirks while he’s sleeping so that he’ll get a good idea on how to execute them when he wakes up. It’s kind of a way of training for Deku just without actually using the Quirks themselves.

The 3rd Holder (the one with the spiky ponytail and headband) starts to talk. He says that the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd came from the “Harshest era of history”. It was a time where AFO ruled all and peaked in power and control. He was going to take over the whole world if the first 3 Holders didn’t step in to stop him. My guess is that after AFO was defeated for the first time, society started to calm down and become more or less the world we knew before the War Arc. So, things weren’t as bad during the 4th Holder’s era and so forth. This would explain why Shinomori was able to hide in the forest for so long without being detected.

And now the big part of the chapter: the 2nd Holder. Who does in fact look A LOT like Bakugo. Big difference is that he has a massive scar across his face. I am aware of the whole “time travel” theory that people have going on with Bakugo and this dude, but I’m not on that train. Instead, I think that the 2nd Holder is one of Bakugo’s ancestors. Like, a really, really-great-grandfather. Horikoshi doesn’t just design his characters for no reason. The fact that the 2nd user looks so much like Bakugo, has a costume similar to Bakugo’s, and that future panels in this chapter straight up parallel that iconic scene with young Bakugo and Deku in the river only add fuel to this fire. Unless Horikoshi says otherwise, this is the theory I’m sticking to: this “Ancestor” theory.

And we know of the 1st user’s real name now too, which is Yoichi! If Horikoshi is keeping up with the “numbers in names” theme, then I’m positive that Yochi has the kanji for “One” somewhere in it. And, if we’re going to believe AFO at all, then that means that the 1st user’s full name is Yoichi Shigaraki. We don’t know AFO’s full name yet. But, again, AFO could be lying with his last name, so I’m taking this one with a grain of salt.

Back to the 2nd Holder, he tells Yoichi that a lot of lives were sacrificed in order to stop AFO back then. He believes that there is only victory or defeat in battle; that there’s no hope of saving their archenemy. He has doubt about putting his faith in Deku because of this. Given how the 3rd Holder still has his back turned too, I’m lead to believe that he also thinks Deku is crazy for wanting to save Shigaraki. I don’t exactly blame them. Really, none of us know if Deku will be successful in saving Shigaraki. He might have to kill him in the end. I think they should offer Deku help, but I don’t blame them for being at least a little skeptical.

But, Yoichi reminds the 2nd and 3rd users that they saved Yoichi back when AFO locked him up to die. They found Yoichi with the intention to kill him it seems, but the 2nd Holder showed sympathy for Yoichi and lent him a helping hand despite Yoichi being AFO’s little brother. This is the parallel panel I was talking about. Yoichi is kneeling down on the floor and the 2nd user is standing up extending his hand to help Yoichi. I don’t even need to look back in the manga to know what inspired this. Hell, I don’t even need to tell you! We all know what Horikoshi was doing when he drew and wrote this.

Yoichi convinces him that he should believe in Deku as Yoichi does think Deku will save the day. If the 2nd user didn’t extend his hand to help Yoichi, OFA wouldn’t have begun. I think that the trust between these two is ultimately the reason why the 2nd user finally agreed to help Deku; the same with the 3rd user too. And, kind of a tangent, but I really like how Horikoshi draws Yoichi and the 2nd user’s hands as they’re reaching for each other. Horikoshi has always been really good with drawing hands like they’re facial expressions (something my ass could never do 😭) and this one shows kindness and empathy. It’s almost like what would’ve happened if Bakugo accepted Deku’s hand for help when they were young instead of letting his pride and ego get in the way. Oh, the parallels!

Finally, the 2nd user speaks in present day telling Deku that they’re going full speed ahead now. My guess is that Deku’s going to have to improve on OFA and the rest of his Quirks quickly in order to find and beat the LoV. We are in the Final Act after all. The chapter ends at a good place if we want to switch to the UA kids, which is honestly what I’m hoping for. Again, I love Deku and his Vigilante adventures, but I miss the rest of the kids. The new BNHA Exhibition in Japan apparently has a giant drawing of the main class, All Might, Aizawa, and Shinso in his new hero costume! Which tells me that 1. Shinso probably took Deku’s place in the class for the time being, and 2. We’re definitely going to see the other kids again. I’m hoping soon. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if Horikoshi decided to continue focusing on Deku’s Vigilanteism and have him practice with he 2nd and 3rd Holder’s Quirks now that they’re working with him. We’ll just have to see.

So, that’s it! Solid chapter overall. I’m glad we finally got to see the 3rd and 2nd Holder’s faces. I think the “Kirishima is the 3rd Holder” theroy has been debunked at this point, but I’m still on the “2nd Holder is Bakugo’s ancestor” train. The similarities and parallels are too strong for me to deny it. Horikoshi-sensei, please confirm or deny soon 🙏. We are getting break next week for Golden Week BTW! All of Shonen Jump is actually, so no One Piece or JJK either (I’m not sure about Jump+, so we might still be getting some Spy X Family for example). So, basically all our favorite mangakas are getting a well-deserved break as they should! I hope they enjoy their vacation! Waiting’s going to suck tho, I’m ngl about that... Oh well, I’m willing to take the sacrifice if it means having healthy mangka. Thankfully, we still have the anime and the new exhibition to tide us over until then.

Edit: OR NOT SINCE THE EXHIBITION IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED BECAUSE OF A CERTAIN PANDEMIC GOING NUTS IN JAPAN AFTER ONLY BEING OPEN FOR 2 DAYS 😭

Edit: I went back to re-read the chapter and I completely missed the date for the next chapter (chapter 311) which is set to release on May 9th! So, we’re actually getting a 2 week break instead. Damn... Sucks for us, but it’s good for mangaka to get breaks when they can especially considering their absolutely insane schedule.

Me reading this chapter:

41 notes · View notes

princessjungeun · 4 years ago

Text

Sunshine on A Cloudy Day: Sana x Reader

tw// chronic illness, hospitals, needles, mention of cancer

it’s a high school au btw

this is based on my personal experience. pls be respectful as it wasn’t easy for me to write this :)

Your alarm played through your room, waking you up immediately. You pressed snooze at least seven times before actually getting up and dressing yourself for the long day that was to come.

You pulled on your favorite t shirt and pajama pants before tugging on a sweatshirt. You checked the time before packing your bag, making sure to add your laptop and phone along with their chargers, snacks, socks, favorite stuffed animal, and a few extra school assignments.

By the time you made it downstairs your mom was already waiting for you. Quickly she handed you an apple and muffin to eat on the car ride.

“Okay sweetie I have a meeting this morning from 8 until 11. I’ll bring you lunch, just text or call and tell me what you want.” Your mother spoke not taking her eyes off the road as she drove.

Your mom pulled out her wallet and handed you two familiar cards, telling you to tuck them away until someone inside asked for them.

“Alright sweet girl I’ll be back soon, if they have any issues call me and I can sort it out.” Your mom kissed your forehead before letting you out the car, watching you walk inside before driving away.

Your feet felt heavy as the familiar smell of saline and disinfectant filled your nose. You grabbed a disposable mask off the lobby desk and put it on.

As you started to walk towards the elevator a woman called after you “maam!”

You turned around and pulled down the mask “don’t worry I’m still a minor. I’m going to the 4th floor.”

The woman nodded and gave you a thumbs up with a smile before turning back to check in adults.

It was still early so not many people were in the hallways, except the emergency wing. It is always packed no matter what.

You made your way to the fourth floor hoping if you wakes slower you just wouldn’t have to go. But that wasn’t how it worked and you knew it.

When you entered the waiting room you found a seat by the window. The dull grey sky offered no source of light, leaving you to rely on the fluorescent ceiling panels for brightness.

“Miss Y/LN?” The woman at the desk called your name, waving you over.

“Good morning sweetie haven’t seen you for a few weeks now.” She smiled as she spoke her tone was calming but also happy.

She asked “you got the insurance card for me?” You nodded and handed her one of the cards waiting for her to tell you how much you owed for today’s visit.

“And you have a $30 copay today, would you like to take care of that now?” You nodded and handed her the second card your mom gave you earlier. She finished checking you in “alright they’ll call you back in a bit.”

You sat down and pulled out your phone knowing that your girlfriend was actually awake now.

Y/N: hey

Sana 💞: good morning jagi

Sana 💞: you have an appointment today right?

Y/N 💘: yeah...kinda just wanna go back home

Sana 💞: it’s okay i’ll come over after school and make it better

Y/N 💘: you don’t have to i’ll be fine, this isn’t new

Sana💞: no girlfriend obligations

Sana 💞: i’m coming and you can’t stop me

Y/N 💘: okay fine

Y/N 💘: i’ll text you later, they’re calling me back now

•

It didn’t take long for your nurse to call you back and get you situated in a treatment room. There was only one other patient along with you. It was a little girl no more than 3 years old. You didn’t know exactly what she was getting but your heart broke at the thought considering what department you were in, Cancer and Blood Disorders.

It took 3 hours for your IV bag to get delivered to your floor so you turned on the tv hoping something good was on. You settled on Moana, the only thing that wasn’t the news.

“Alright love we just got your bag, you know the drill, vitals every ten minutes for the first 30 then i’ll come every hour. We should have you out in 5 hours if everything goes well okay?” Your favorite nurse Haseul explained to you quickly what was going to happen.

You found yourself in this same spot with her every couple weeks so she knew how you liked things to go.

“So how’ve you been missy? How’s Sana?” She poked your side getting you to smile for the first time today.

You told her “she’s really good...I haven’t seen her in three weeks though. She got sick for two and she had finals this week, but today is her last one.”

Haseul checked “so you didn’t see her when she was sick right? You know you can’t be around that with your anemia.”

You nodded softly remembering why you were even in the hospital in the first place. What was once a slight iron deficiency quickly turned into a chronic anemia that couldn’t be healed with oral supplements. Doctors had no other option than to put you on infusion treatments which sucked.

Although people were definitely going through worse, especially in this department, that didn’t take away from what you dealt with. The constant fatigue, dizziness, falling asleep in class, hair loss, being malnourished, all of it a constant reminder that you weren’t like most.

“Y/N!” Haseul snapped her fingers in front of your face.

You blinked rapidly “sorry what?”

Haseul responded “it’s okay I just needed to make sure you didn’t pass out on me. I need to put on your heart monitor.” She placed the stickers on your chest before grabbing the IV kit she placed on your lap earlier.

“Alright in your hand or arm today?” Haseul knows you prefer the arm but she always asks in case you change your mind.

You simply pointed to your arm before extending it so she could access your vein. Finding your vein was no problem, as you still had a raised bump from the last time you got treatment.

“Okay...and one two- there you go.” Haseul secured the IV with a Tergaderm, which was weirdly enough your favorite part of this whole process.

She left you and cane back every ten minutes to check your vitals before disappearing to help another patient for a bit.

You ended up spending the first two hours dozing in and out of sleep, waiting for your mother to call you. Eventually you did in fact wake up, and to the smell of your favorite food.

Your mother sat in a chair next to you on her phone talking to who you assume is a coworker. Quickly she hung up the phone so she could talk to you instead.

“Hey hows it going so far?” She asked with slight concern.

You told her “ fine just sleeping to pass time that’s all.”

She smiled before handing you a bag of food hoping it’d bring some form of joy to your day.

•

You both ended up enjoying an early lunch together but unfortunately she had to leave the hospital for an emergency meeting. It wasn’t unusual for this to happen so you were used to it, she’d simply be back at the end of your appointment.

Your phone buzzed next to you, pulling your attention away from your mother’s absence.

Sana💞: how are you doing so far?

Y/N💘: it’s good. I’m watching Aladdin now :)

Sana💞: i wanna be there with you rn instead of in math class

Y/N💘: your day is almost over then you can see me

Y/N💘: think of it that way

Sana💞: yeah but i still wish i was with you

Y/N💘: soon

Sana💞: ok fine. i have to go i love you

Y/N💘: i love you too babe

Around the third hour you became irritable and ended up walking the hallways with Haseul. She was honestly the only thing that made you feel normal in this place.

When the two of you got back you were tired and worn out from the walk. It didn’t seem like a long distance to most but you definitely were feeling it.

You found your spot back in the treatment room, sitting in your chair and reclining it back. Just as you were going to close your eyes Haseul called your name.

“Y/N. You’ve got a visitor would you like her to come back?” Haseul didn’t bother to open the curtain to tell you who it was so being the curious girl you were, you allowed it.

Sana walked in with a smile on her face, it was like your sunshine on a cloudy day. It was clear she had just finished school as she was still in her uniform, and she was wearing her backpack.

“Ho- Sana? Why? How did you even get in here?” You asked her through a laugh.

Sana responded “nobody stopped me downstairs and I know you’re on this floor. The lady at the desk outside was very nice too!”

You immediately sat up, not realizing that was a bad idea given your position. Closing your eyes tight you tapped your finger on the arm rest of your chair, waiting for the dizziness to stop.

When you opened your eyes you saw Sana in front of you, a frown on her face. It broke her heart to see you, her girlfriend, in this state. You always tried to make it seem like you weren’t sick but it was very obvious that you still were no matter how much you pretended otherwise.

She placed a blanket over you before running her thumb along your face and softly saying “my baby girl...”

You smiled at her knowing it might possibly make her less sad but it didn’t do much.

She could tell you were tired so she told you “it’s fine just sleep.”

By the time you woke up it was time for you to leave. Haseul had flushed your IV and took your vitals for the last time while you were asleep.

Your mother was downstairs in the parking garage waiting for you and Sana so you could go home.

It was clear by the look on your face that you felt nauseous, a common side effect of your treatment, from the second you stood up.

Sana gathered your things and help you put on your sweatshirt and bag before you two headed downstairs.

You interlocked you’re hand with hers as you felt dizzier with every step you took. She could tell you were having a hard time but she knows how much you try to hide it. When you both made it to the car you fell asleep almost instantly.

Sana helped you to your room, quickly helping you to bed before stealing some of your clothes to wear for herself.

You sleepily held out your arms for her, a soft whimper leaving your lips. She crawled under the covers and you immediately clung to her. You were shivering as if you were standing in snow with only a bathing suit on. Your hands and fingers started turning blue, indicating you body temperature was dropping, a side effect of treatments.

Sana pulled you closer and kissed the top of your head as your fingers curled around her shirt, holding her close.

It only took ten seconds before you started sobbing into her chest. As much as you wanted to pretend you were fine and not in pain, you couldn’t hide it anymore. Breaking down in her arms you sobbed until you fell asleep. She felt terrible knowing there was nothing she could do to fix it, but she knew that you appreciated her being there for you.

You only slept for an hour before you woke up in a cold sweat. Your t shirt clung to your back as you kicked off your blankets seeking some sort of way to cool yourself down. That did little to nothing so you scrambled to the bathroom hoping cold water would do the trick.

Sana knew this was yet another side effect of your treatment, a high fever. Your cheeks burned red as you splashed your face with water in the sink. Much to your relief it worked and you were finally able to get back in bed with her.

Your girlfriend held you in her arms tight as if she never wanted to let go.

“Thank you...” You softly spoke as she drew small circles along the small of your back.

“For what?” She asked curiously.

You mumbled “everything...just everything you do for me.”

She giggled softly “you know i’d do anything for you baby.”

Mumbling softly you told her “i love you.”

She responded quickly “i love you too.”

Letting your eyes close you further melted into her embrace as she tightened her arms around you. In the back of your mind you were reminded why you always said i love you before you fell asleep. Besides the fact that you did in fact love her, but if you happened not to wake up tomorrow, the last thing she heard from you was those three words.

Nevertheless you hoped and prayed you’d wake up in the morning to see her smiling face.

#kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #twice fluff #twice scenarios #twice imagine #minatozaki sana #twice sana

83 notes · View notes

shalliedragon · 7 years ago

Text

Midwest Furfest 2017 - Convention Report

(First, yes, I haven’t posted anything on here in months. I apologize. I figured it would be better to put my convention reports on Tumblr, as it can better handle large text posts. Second, this’ll be a big one. Third, I will probably end up re-posting older con journals on here, because it’ll probably get more face time than FurAffinity.)

It always seems like a lot of crap happens at MFF. Like, most cons are fairly busy and eventful, but MFF in particular always seems to be jam-packed. Not all of it is good, but most is. MFF is now very close to being my favorite con (though it's hard to upset Anthrocon and Fur Squared). Let's talk about why.

Thursday

I left a little early from work that day. I got everything squared away, my car was packed, my tank was full, and my tires were new. I put the pedal down and drove east. It was probably one of the smoothest drives to a fur con I've had in a while. There was only one small hiccup: apparently my roommates weren't able to get the credit card situation figured out initially. Apparently it's not a good idea to put down a debit card when the hotel asks for a credit card hold. But we got it sorted and it was fine.

Got to the hotel at around 9:30PM (after the usual 5 hour drive), unpacked, and made my way over to registration. Along the way, I ran into a gentleman with... wheels on his shoes. They weren't heelies or rollerskates, but they had wheels strapped to the heels. I saw him trip and fall, so when he got back up and we got to the crosswalk, I asked him if he was okay. We got to talking, and apparently he is from Pennsylvania (my home state), knew of my home town when I mentioned it, and recognized the name of the college I went to. Friggin small world, am I right?

Anyway, we talked for a little bit as we walked into the Rosemont Convention Center (which is where MFF apparently had the dealer's room and art show) and then parted ways. I followed the crowd of people through the sky bridge over to the Hyatt. It was... a longer walk than I expected (I later clocked it: 6 minutes from dealer's room to Hyatt). I thought I would probably have gotten to the Hyatt faster if I had walked outside. And it was oddly warm at points. But I did eventually get to the Hyatt, and went down to Registration.

The line was wrapping around the con space. Or at least, the onsite reg line was. Thankfully, I had preregistered (pro tip: ALWAYS preregister), so I went to the much shorter (though still somewhat long) line for prereg. It took about 15-20 minutes for me to get through it. They had a full 10 stations processing attendees. It was actually rather impressive. All while I waited, I just reveled in the fact that "I'm home. I'm with my people."

That's what's special about the furry fandom. It is a climate of radical acceptance and love, beyond pretty much anything I have experienced. Every time I come to a convention, it feels like I belong there, like I can be myself without anyone batting an eye at me. It has become all the more meaningful now that I've started to develop a network of friends in the fandom. So, it was nice to be back.

After I got my badge (which read "Shallie"; I've started feeling more comfortable referring to myself that way, rather than the more masculine-sounding "Shal"), I walked around the conspace a little, taking in the sites and sounds. It was nice to see fursuiters again. I hadn't been to a large convention since Anthrocon, so I was really excited to be there. I then met up with one of my roommates, Jake (whom the attentive reader will recognize as a roommate from my past 2 Anthrocon's). This was his first MFF, so he was pretty stoked to be there. We exchanged pleasantries, took a brief look around, and sought out our third roommate, Arylena (I had to give her a room key). We found her and chatted briefly with her and her friend, and then me and Jake started making our way back to the Crowne Plaza to rest (both of us had had long travel days, as he had flown in from Atlanta).

Upon arrival, I discovered that I misplaced my room key, so I went up to the front desk to get a new one. Which was very lucky, as I ended up getting one of the special MFF room keys (there were 4 different ones), which had an awesome picture of a nine-tailed fox on it. We went up to the room, where we met up with our 4th roommate, DarknessWolf89 (hereafter referred to as Dark). Again, pleasantries, chatted for a bit, started making plans for the con. I briefly looked over my schedule, and was delighted to see that my first event (opening ceremonies) was not until 11AM the next morning, which gave me some time to sleep in.

Also, we had a TON of food. I brought Clif bars, crackers, jerky, and chips. Dark had also brought jerky, as well as oreos and Chex mix. We were going to be set for the weekend. =)

Friday

My sleep was less than ideal. Adjusting to a new bed is never easy, especially when your pillow is an unusual consistency. Also Dark liked to move around a lot in his sleep, and he ended up waking up early to pick up his fursuit from his maker (who was loaning the suit out to him for the weekend while he paid it off). So I started the day off a bit groggy and stiff. But we had time, so we took it easy and made our way down to opening ceremonies.

Two things of note here. First, I ran into my friend Hemlock Fox! It was great to see him again, and we got to chat for a bit, along with his friend Sorcererdale. Second, the reg line. It was MASSIVE. It stretched all the way from the Rosemont Ballroom to the Grand Hall (for reference, that is like a quarter mile or something). We were FLOORED by the number of people lining up. They had to shift over the line for opening ceremonies just to make room for the reg line.

Anyway, the doors opened, we went in, and opening ceremonies kicked off the con. The charity of the year was CRISP (a local non-profit that took in animals that people couldn't afford to keep). The Chairman, Kodi, kept the discussion lively and interesting as he explained some of the new stuff happening this year. Lots more places to eat in the vicinity (more than last year, which was good because MFF has historically had very few places to eat within walking distance), and a lot more reason to go over to the Convention Center. I foresee that as the convention continues to grow, actual panels will start to be held there. Finally, the guests of honor were Latinvixen (the lady behind MixedCandy fursuits), Remy Wolf (a very talented artist, who produced a lot of the art for the con), and Russ Adams (who produced costumes and special effects for movies, especially those featuring "creatures" as he liked to put it).

After the opening, Jake and I stuck around for the Meet The Guests Of Honor panel. It was fairly simple, just "how did you get into furry", work-specific questions, and things like that. It was actually pretty cool to hear the various stories from our guests. Latinvixen is apparently called such because she is from Latin America (I want to say Ecuador, but I am probably very wrong). Remy is also a fursuiter. And Russ brought along a werewolf head that he created for a movie, which he was going to use for a later panel. It was nice, and it gave me an appreciation for our guests a bit more. I generally recommend "meet the GOH" panels at cons, because the people are different every year, and there's always something cool to learn.

After that, Jake and I went over to the... eat-a-teria? Expositeria? The food place across the street from the Hyatt, attached to the Convention Center. They had some pretty good options: various tacos, chili, soup, burgers, hotdogs, chicken tenders, etc. We ate our fill, and were pleased (though I gotta say, the food was rather expensive). We had a good discussion about fursuit making (Jake is actually looking to get into making suits himself, which is fantastic and I hope he does it). Then it was time for my next event, so Jake and I parted ways.

The Furrhythmics Live! For those who don't know, they are a barbershop quartet composed of Nbowa, Stargel, Arcturus, and Piroshki. They did a mini concert, taking about an hour. And OH MY GOD they were good! Like, phenomenal. I was really, really impressed. They later explained that they had only had a chance to practice a few times over the past 3 or so months. They weren't perfect, but considering how little time they practiced as a group, they did an amazing job. I am pretty confident their performance was recorded, so I highly encourage you to look it up, cuz goddamn. I also ran into my Iowa Fur friend Alex (who was in his Asriel Dreemur outfit).

After their performance, I went over to Fursuit Price Is Right for a little bit (I usually like to check it out, because it's pretty fun), but it was in the process of wrapping up, so I went over to the Dealer's Room instead, to take a look around. Unlike in previous years, where the dealers were crammed into the lower level of the Hyatt, they now had a massive room to spread out in, and apparently the number of dealer tables tripled from last year. There was SO MUCH STUFF. Art, merchandise, fursuits, fursuit parts, you name it. Not a whole lot I wanted to purchase, but still impressive.

While I was there, I ran into Xander The Blue. I introduced myself, and we got a chance to talk briefly. It was the first time I had met him out of suit, which was a nice surprise. Apparently his graduation ceremony was held in the Rosemont Convention Center. After our brief chat, he departed to meet up with a friend of his. I assumed he was busy, so I went on my way. After the con, I spoke with him on Telegram, and apparently he was feeling a particularly pronounced case of social anxiety, which was what kept our interaction short. Considering I was feeling social anxiety just approaching the guy, I completely understand. =)

After my encounter with Xander, I went back over to the con to attend the panel "So You Want To Perform at the Furry Variety Show". It was billed as a panel for giving tips about making a great performance for the variety show (or other similar things at other cons). What I got was... a bit of a let down. There were a total of 4 of us in the room: the panelist, a friend of his, me, and one other audience member. Remembering what happened to me at Fur Squared this year, I decided to stick around through the whole thing, as a sign of solidarity. And I'll be honest, it was awkward. The pacing was kind of slow, the people running it kind of got "too into it" with their demonstrations of past performances, there were problems with the bluetooth speaker, and they were rather focused on a specific class of performance (comedic skits).

All in all, I was disappointed with it. But I did get a few things out of it: practice your idea before auditioning, make it polished, do your best to keep it interesting in more ways than one, and don't be discouraged if you don't get picked your first time.

After that, I went back to the hotel room, ate some quick food, and got into suit. Lemmie tell you, I missed being in suit SOOO much. I've been busy a lot lately, so I haven't had time to practice fursuit performance at my apartment. As a result, the last time I was in suit was at StormCon in September. So, it was a big deal for me. Suiting is so freeing and fun! You can be a goofball and a complete idiot, and people will just laugh and take pictures. It's great!

This time was no exception. I posed for pictures, I ran into 1coin my Ant friend and stole his sugarcube (before giving it back), I ran into some of my Iowa furs friends, I found a guy who was playing violin and I sat and listened while swaying to the music, I went down to the board game room and sat in on people's games briefly, I played around with a cute alligator banana plush creature, and I sat in on a giant game of Dread in one of the panel rooms (they lost but in a hilarious way). Overall, I was pretty pleased with the amount of interaction I got. I also got complements on the Sprout I was wearing (thank you Sven!).

I wanted to keep suiting, but I had events I wanted to attend, so I ended up going back and getting cleaned up around 9ish. It made me start thinking about how I could improve my fursuit performance, or fursuiting in general. I'm going to make an effort to improve my suit endurance (looking at you, Serathin #goals), and really practice my performance. I've learned a few new tricks (sitting with people playing music, stealing things, etc), but I'd like to take it further. I also want to get some kind of a prop, as while I am cute, my suit is kind of plain, and I'd like to have something that catches people's eye a little better (as I continue to improve my performance).

I took too long in the shower (I was daydreaming about my next fursuit), so I ended up being a little late to my next event, "I Comedy Better After I've Had A Few" featuring Alkali and Boozy Badger (later joined by Renegade, captain of the Dorsai). The basic premise: put Alkali and Boozy on a stage and have them BS for an hour and a half. It's a fairly standard formula (swap out various performers) but it usually results in hilarity and awesomeness. This time was no exception. It was filmed.

The panel ended up running a bit long, so it butted up against Whose Line (which Alkali also ran, so it's no biggie). Definitely one of the better audience-participation Whose Lines, though there were plenty of "lol I'm being edgy" jokes. Remember, kids: clever is better than crude. Of note, this was also Alkali's 10 year anniversary of running Whose Line panels, so his long-time co-host Sema (who hosted the panel in her adorable wild dog fursuit) got a bunch of people to sign a card for him. There were tears, it was sweet.

Seriously, Akali is one of my favorite people in the fandom, because while he is hilarious and vulgar, he is incredibly sensitive and passionate about furry. A giant loudmouth with a heart of gold. Not to mention he and Xander are a friggin adorable couple.

After Whose Line, I was beat, so I went back to the room and promptly passed out.

Saturday

Once again, a somewhat restless night's sleep. Ended up sleeping in until 9 or something. Got up, got some breakfast, and made my way down to the con for a little bit. Briefly sat in on the "Fursuiting In Public" panel. I don't remember the names of the other two people at the panel, but I did recognize Epitome (probably should have said hi). It was funny, though like many of these panels, there was a lot of "audience participation." I'm sorry, but it kind of cheeses me off when people go to panels and start giving long explanations and commentary, instead of letting the panelists talk. They're the experts, so please don't upstage them at their own panel.

Anyway, I left partway through to go find some lunch. Got a cheap hotdog and pretzel over by the dealer's room. I went back to my room to get in suit in preparation for the fursuit Menagerie. I ended up getting there a little bit late, and scrambled over to one of the photo stations to be there for a 1:15 photo shoot. However, apparently they had restructured the Menagerie. Instead of having one picture, they had many pictures during the 15 minute window for a given fursuit type.

Let me back up. At 15 minute intervals, each of the 10 photo stations took photos of certain "demographics" of fursuits. Color, species, fursuit maker, style of suit, special features, etc. During each of those 15 minute intervals, they took several different pictures of the people in those demographics. This was different from the previous year, where they just took one big group picture at the given time. This made it much easier for suiters to show up and be photographed, because they didn't have to rush over to the stations by a given time.

Anyway, I participated in the photoshoots for dragons, for orange fursuiters, and for fem suits. The dragon one was pretty unremarkable. The orange one was fun, though. Between photos, we danced to the music, played with a toy orange wheel (which I subsequently stole, before giving back), and rolled around on the floor. I also ran into Hemlock while I was there, which was a nice surprise (he says he's orange, but I still think he's brown). At the fem suit shoot, I ran into the two cat ladies I met at StormCon (Mieze and his fiancee). We got a few photos, and then I went on my way. I took a brief break outside, and I ran into Spidy, one of my roommates from Furry Migration 2016. We hugged, hung out for a bit, and then I left.

In the headless area, I met up with Hemlock again, as well as his hyena friend, Akila. She seemed like a pretty chill person. Also her suit was SUPER PLUSHY. Like, dropped crotch, big belly, large thighs, the works. It was really cute, but she explained that it was REALLY hard to move around in it (not to mention extremely warm). We hung out for a bit, and then we parted ways, and I went back to my room to cool off and clean up. I had to motor it, in order to make it back in time for...

Celebrity Whose Line Is It Anyway? Easily one of my favorite panels of any con, it was an absolute riot. While the audience-participation Whose Line is funny at times, these guys are well-practiced, skilled improv comedians. They even had a few new faces (Isaac and Tiller, who apparently were professional improv comics). So, the caliber of humor was much higher, and I loved it. I am very confident it was filmed, so you should check it out.

After the panel, I met up with Jake, and we got tacos from the food vendor in the lobby (they were tasty but messy). We had a long discussion about furry in general, about what makes the fandom so special and welcoming and friendly. We concluded that a couple things contributed to this.

First, because furry has been the butt of jokes for decades, it has brought the people within it closer together. After all, hardship often strengthens bonds. Second, furry is much more tolerant of the "adult" side of the fandom. Unlike other fandoms (like bronies, for example), furries do not have a media franchise breathing down their neck about not having "adult" things at the conventions. There is an adult side to most fandoms, but if they are tied to a franchise, those fandoms have to keep the adult side buried underground, and pretend it doesn't exist. Furries, on the other hand, know that it exists, acknowledge it, but keep it private. They know that some people are into that sort of stuff, but they don't judge people for it, as long as they keep it to themselves. Sort of a large-scale example of "your kink is not my kink and that's okay." And because furries are comfortable knowing these things about their friends, it fosters an atmosphere of non-judgment, which makes friendships even stronger. Furries don't care what you're into; as long as you're a cool person and aren't hurting anybody, we can be friends. And I think that's pretty darn special.

Anyway, Jake and I talked for a bit about that stuff, and then he went to Floor Wars, while I went to the 3 Headed Monster show. For the unfamiliar: Xander The Blue, Pandez, and Alkali each do back-to-back 20 minute comedy sets. Hilarity ensues. This time was no different. It was filmed, go check it out. As was the following panel: the Dragget Show Live. As usual, good times had by all, lots of fun. Though shameless plug: at the end of the Dragget Show's live shows, they always turn off the recording devices and tell a "charity story", which is usually something they're too embarrassed to share on camera. So if you want to hear stories that no one else gets to hear, be sure to attend the panels live.

After that, I considered sitting in on the Jackbox After Dark panel, but since I could probably play that anytime I want, I instead elected to do some people watching. Wait around long enough, and you are bound to find something interesting. There were tons of fursuiters, as usual. Silly antics, cool designs, the works. It's fun to just revel in it for a while. OH! I did see a gentleman dressed as Skull Kid from Majora's Mask; he was playing music on his little boombox. It was pretty fun. I also saw a Lambchop fursuiter. Never thought I'd see one of my childhood heroes brought to life in giant form.

Finally, it was time for the event I was waiting for: Fox and Pepper's After Dark concert. I sat with Jake and Hemlock for the show. It was hilarious and amazing as usual. But, this time was a bit different in a few ways. First, the band was joined up on stage by a bassist named Flop (who was apparently a bunny, but he was wearing a lady wolf fursuit head and paws). His antics throughout the show were pretty adorable, and he is a fantastic bass player. They also had a fiddle player (who was also in suit), didn't catch their name though.

Second, and more importantly, Alkali was there, and he was on a mission. He knew that last year, that panel raised $3000 for charity, which was the most money a non-convention-sponsored event had raised that year (or ever?). His goal was to beat that record. So he set up stretch goals for different tiers of money. If they reached $1000, fox and pepper had to put on their fursuit heads. At $2000, they had to get into partial suits. At $3000, Fox would put on his full fursuit. And at $5000, Alkali promised to make a Christmas album with Fox and Pepper (at some point).

Well, we hit 1k. And 2k. And 3k. And 5k.

But it kept going. And going. Alkali brought out an iPad with a card reader, so that people could donate with their credit cards. I ended up putting down $100 to help get the total up higher. More and more money kept pouring in, it was ridiculous!

All told that night, that panel raised $8,000. This ended up being more than any other event at MFF this year, con-sponsored or otherwise (other than closing ceremonies). People went insane. Alkali was in tears. And Pepper sang the Bad Dragon song. It was pretty spectacular. I'm pretty sure it was filmed. Hemlock left early, so he missed out on the final number.

After the concert was over, Jake and I went back to the room to get to bed. We ended up staying awake for a good 30 minutes chatting, because Jake didn't want the night to end. He unfortunately had to fly out on Sunday morning, so it was his last night at the con. But I think he had fun. Hopefully I'll see him at the next MFF (or possibly sooner; I did try to convince him to go to Fur Squared).

Sunday

Jake woke up early and left. I made sure to give him a hug before he departed. After getting a little more shuteye, I got some breakfast and went over to the Charity Auction.

Now, the MFF charity auction is enjoyable, and usually has a lot of good stuff at it. Indeed, this time, they ended up auctioning off not one, but two fursuits, as well as a ton of other swag. However, it suffers from one critical flaw: they have it in the morning on Sunday. Furries, being party animals (see what I did there?), like to stay up late, and then sleep in. Sunday is the last day of the con, which means that the furries have had two nights of partying prior. As a result, they are either not present, or very tired, at the charity auction. This makes it difficult to raise a large amount of money. More people, more excitement, higher bids. Fewer people, less excitement, lower bids. I think, if they rescheduled the charity auction to a different time, they may end up getting more money for charity.

At any rate, it was still a good time, and I ended up winning a "dragon oil warmer". It's basically a little candle holder with a tray up top that you can use to heat essential oil, to make the house smell nice. Kamber, the lady running the auction, kept making comments about "lubricating your dragons" and such, to encourage interest. I jokingly said "this is making me not want to buy it." But I still bought it, and it's pretty cool. But I didn't stick around to the very end of the charity auction, because I was hungry, and it was running long. I ducked out early to get a cheeseburger.

After lunch, I debated about going to the fursuit dance competition. I usually really enjoy it; it's frequently been one of my favorite events at the con. However, I figured "eh, you've seen one dance comp, you've seen them all" and decided to go over to the dealer's room. I was on a mission: to find a portable cooling fan for my fursuit. You know, the ones that fursuiters hang from their neck, and occasionally stick in their mouths to cool off? One of those. I learned from Dark that Dreamvision Creations was selling them. So I went over and sought out their booth; they thankfully had a few left. It was a bit more expensive than I expected, but I figured it was fine, as I was paying to support a furry company.

While I was there, I noticed a table off to the side. "Furries: A Documentary by Eric Risher." Seated at the table was (big surprise) Eric Risher. I knew I had to go up and say hi. See, I was one of the super-backers for the Kickstarter that made this documentary a reality. I put a lot of money toward this project, and I ended up getting a copy of the DVD, a giant poster, a pin, my name in the credits of the movie, and a badge of my fursona. I was wearing that badge at MFF. And he was there. It would have been foolish not to approach him.

So I did. I went up and thanked him for making such a great documentary. And then he thanked ME for supporting him. He's a really humble guy. We talked briefly about how his booth was doing, and then I bid him adieu (didn't want to take up too much of his time). But yeah, it was cool to meet someone in person that I had only ever seen in film. After looking around the dealers room some more, I moseyed back to the hotel. I did some people-watching for a while, got a few photos. Then I caught the tail-end of the dance comp, where they announced the winners. Apparently Gale Frostbane (AKA Nexus) was the MC, and it was her first time doing so. She apparently did a really good job. Not gonna reveal the winners, you need to see the videos to do that.

Afterwards, I ran into Hemlock and Akila, both in-suit. Akila was helping Hemlock be less shy in suit, and she did so by thrusting him at random other fursuiters in the crowds. Hemlock interacted for a little bit, and then Akila dragged him off to find more groups, shouting "Pay attention to Akila's adorable friend!" It was quite hilarious, and Hemlock ended up getting involved in some cute pictures. I decided to play handler for the two for a bit. After a while, we went over to the headless lounge to cool off. There I ran into Comet Scrap, my roommate from MFF last year (whom I hadn't seen all con). It was good to see her, albeit briefly, before she went to go join her bat friends again. While she was there, I received a #SaveTheBats ribbon from one of her friends.

After my furred friends cooled off, Akila left to go back to her hotel room, and me and Hemlock went to closing ceremonies. It was pretty standard. "Thank you for a great weekend, here's what we're planning for next time, here's so and so to talk about the good and the bad stuff."

8,700+ attendees. A world record. MFF beat Anthrocon's total by at least 1,200, and was the first fur con to break 8,000 attendees (and they're well on their way to 9,000). It was pretty mind-blowing. The crowd went nuts!

But it wasn't over yet.

Remember how I said the Fox And Pepper After Dark show was the biggest charity fundraiser at the con, except for closing ceremonies? Let's talk about that.

So they started rattling off numbers, from various events. 1k here, 2k there, 900 somewhere else, etc., plus a $40,000 check from MFF (the organization). That put the total to $63,000. I thought "oh, that's a big number, but it's smaller than last year."

Then Alkali showed up and said, "we're not done yet."

Apparently, throughout the weekend, a whole ton of people approached Alkali and flashed large wads of cash at him, saying "I'm saving this for closing ceremonies."

Well, it was closing ceremonies, so all of those people bum-rushed the stage, throwing money at the con staff. Alkali tossed his hat into the audience, and it brought in even more cash. The staffers had to bring out these large plastic tubs just to hold all the money that was pouring in. It was insane! There were just these mountains of money, and more kept coming. I even saw a little boy, no older than 4, tottering up to the stage with his dad, a $20 bill clutched in his hand.

And then someone named Shadowfox wrote a check for $8,700.

They took the money backstage and began counting it, after it was all collected. After a while, Alkali walked out, tears streaming down his face. He knew it would be a lot of money, but he never expected how much it was going to be.

Closing ceremonies raised $12,000.

All told, the final charity donation to CRISP for MFF 2017 was north of $85,000. The crowd went nuts. There wasn't a dry eye on the stage. The one lady said that this money would be enough to keep them out of debt for over 2 years.

And that's why I love this fandom. Yes, many fandoms raise money for charity. It's one of the ways conventions stay in business: by billing themselves as charity fundraisers, they're able to maintain goodwill with the public. This is normal. However, furries take this to a whole other level. I've been to brony conventions; they raise money for charity, and it's usually a hefty sum. But NOT ONE brony convention I've been to has people making a mad dash for the stage to throw money at the charity. None raise $8,000 at a random for-fun concert late at night. None of them have individual donors giving thousands of dollars in a single go. To be fair, the most expensive item sold at a charity auction (that I've seen) was at Bronycon 2015 (it went for $4,500). But from what I've seen, furries take generosity and charity to an unprecedented fanaticism.

As I said to Hemlock: "Furries have one goal when it comes to charity: make 'em cry."

In other news, apparently Kodi is stepping down as chairman of MFF, and Rama is taking his place. There were some tears, and people thanked Kodi for his service.

After closing, Hemlock headed out to go back to his room to clean up. I made my way up to the O'H restaurant for dinner. It was a decent wait, but they gave me bread to tide me over while my meal was prepared. And boy was a meal it was. I thought to myself "I'm on vacation, I'm going to have one nice meal while I'm here." So I ordered a fish dish. The waiter came out with a fantastic plate: pan-seared salmon stuffed with crabmeat and greens, mashed potatoes, and blackened asparagus. It was HEAVENLY! Probably one of the best restaurant meals I've had in a while. Highly recommended for those who go to MFF next year.

After my lovely meal, I briefly considered going fursuiting. However, after some consideration, I realized I was exhausted from the weekend, and didn't feel like going through all the trouble of getting into suit (which meant going back to my hotel). So I decided to spend my final evening at MFF people watching, and taking pictures.

The con was over, but the party wasn't done yet. A steady stream of fursuiters passed through the con space. Just as it was seeming to die down, more showed up. I saw Majira, Sunny Dingo, Crescent, Bluenose, and countless others. I even decided to film a few mini vlogs while I looked around. And that's what's cool about people-watching at a fur con: wait around long enough, and something cool is bound to happen. They even had another "asian photo booth" forming (I chose not to stick around, because it felt kind of like they were trying to re-do what happened last year).

While I was heading over to the bathroom, I ran into a few other furries (not in suit). One of them commented on the sprout pin in my hat. I had received it as a gift from my roommate Sven last year. She explained that it meant "sprout the love." So i held onto it, as a way to spread a little joy as I went. But yeah, one guy asked me about it, so I explained. There was another lady there, who seemed pretty cool. I complemented her on her makeup, and asked her about how she did it.

See, my girlfriend had challenged me to find one person to flirt with, and get their number/contact info, as a way of helping me break out of my shell a little. Now, as someone who knows very little about flirting, I decided to take a cue from my girlfriend: complement them on their makeup, and ask them about it.

So I did so, with this lady. She explained, and it was going well. We were having a nice conversation for a bit. But then she explained that she was waiting on HER girlfriend in the bathroom. And I started noticing her looking around anxiously a little. So, as not to make her uncomfortable, I decided to say "nice meeting you" and left. Yeah, I didn't get anyone's number, but at least I tried.

Anyway, after flitting around the con for a while and taking more pictures, I ran into Hemlock again. He was partial suiting this time. Apparently he felt more open and comfortable being in partial. Whatever works, I guess? Anyway, we hung out with his friends for a bit, and we goofed around, taking pictures and booping him on the nose. It was good times.

After a while, I decided it was time to go to bed, so I said goodbye to Hemlock (who I might see again soonish at MCFC next year?) and made my way back. I was starting to feel a little down, but my spirits were lifted as I ran into a cute rat femsuiter. Her suit was apparently brand new (and VERY adorable), so I made sure to get her picture. It's funny how just being around a fursuiter can help you feel better.

So I went back to my room and started getting ready for bed. As I did so, Arylena came back to the room, followed by Dark, and we chatted for a bit (mostly about art commissions and conventions and travel). It was nice to unwind a little before bed. But yeah, I was pretty tired, and I knew Ary had an early morning flight, so I hit the hay.

Monday

Both Ary and Dark left very early in the morning. I made sure to say goodbye to each as they left. Then I promptly went back to sleep.

After sleeping in a bit more, I woke up, ate, and packed up my stuff. I was able to get everything in two trips, but it was a struggle. Next time I'll get a luggage cart. Also, next time I'll try to find cheaper parking. I didn't get a room that validated parking, and it ended up being $20 a day for parking.

Somewhat disgruntled by the cost, I got in the car and drove for 5 hours back home, to be ready for work the next day.

Overall

This was a pretty fantastic convention. New friends, met pretty much all of my existing ones, managed to overcome my fear of talking to famous people not once, but twice, and gave more money to charity than I had budgeted for. I didn't suit as much as I would have liked, but that's something I can work on for next con. Like I said, I'm going to make an effort to improve my fursuit endurance, so that I can be in suit for longer. I'm also going to investigate ways to make partial suiting more feasible for me. Dresses? Robes? Something that covers my tail?

We'll see.

Anyway, yeah. MFF. If you haven't been, go. It's great. Seriously.

#mff2017 #midwest furfest #furry

2 notes · View notes