#when i first entered this fandom 5 months ago and i followed a ton of people i would always see them talking about how cliquey and terrible

[eddiegettingshot]

look away im being so so mean

[ayamisc]

It's been so long!! :3

(c) James Cameron, Paramount Pictures, Disney

Live journal.. one of the websites I'd forgotten I have an account on. Sorry. :<

But to be fair, with the recent changes in my life and fandoms.. I really thought I'd never go back here. Until.. I remembered again that.. most jdorama subs can be accessed here, really. Even special ARASHI variety shows that I've been longing for, for so long.

Anyhow, I don't really know what to write so I'll just update whoever stumbles upon this journal.. what has been happening in my life since the last time I posted.. which I think was 3 years ago.

Hmmm..

Well.

1. I graduated college. Hurray. With a degree in Chemistry in my country's #1 university (University of the Philippines - Diliman). Yes, I'm somewhat proud I guess. And here is one of the few times I'll ever shout it out loud. Because.. I honestly think that.. yeah.. It's only right that I'm proud of my school.. as to whether my school will be proud of me.. well, I think it's too early to tell... My school's unofficial motto is "Serve the people." And well.. I'm still studying (again).. and not even a taxpayer yet.. so yeah.. definitely too early to tell. :P

2. I was able to return to the following fandoms that I've left behind: watching anime, reading manga, anime fanfiction, jdorama, kdrama, kpop. Well. So yeah. At the moment, it's just the last 4. I dunno when I'll start reading manga again. But eitherway, I always jump from these from time to time. With 1 or all at the same time. It's hard to believe I'm turning 24 this year. HAHA. :P

3. I entered med school. And because of that, I don't really have time for my fandoms once school season starts again (June - April) but anyway.. I still have a month left, so Imma enjoy it till the last minute. :P (Not to mention.. keep enduring until semestral break and Christmas break comes)

3.1 And because of medschool, not just my LJ.. but also my tumblr has been left behind.. -__- I really wanted to start blogging properly there, but alas.. I was only able to blog for a month into medschool until I had to stop for lack of time. Actually, I don't get to watch any jdorama or kdrama too whenever school starts. Of course I can, but I try not to. So really, my only outlet once school starts is kpop. LOL. Watching 3-5 kpop MVs is a lot less time-consuming than watching 1 drama. or anime for that matter. And sadly, I don't really have much time. I actually only sleep during my free time.. and.. well.. in medschool... sleep is a sin. :((

4. I still play on facebook. Just one game though, at the moment. As compared to when I used to play 5 or 6 games there. I play Cafeland at the moment. It's cool.. not time-demanding. Easy too. :P

5. LINE PLAY! Yeah, I play LINE PLAY everyday. It's been a year and a half I think, though my first account got reset because I changed my number. x.x But anyway, the 2nd account, the one i'm using now.. is less than a year old.. but it's all good. I like the way my room and avatar looks. And I also like playing Fruit Monsters. :D :D :D

6. I got an iPAD air! well, more accurately, my dad got me an ipad air. (how shameful for someone turning 24 this year. but. anyway) And.. most of my medicine books are stored there as e-books.. and i have a few games there too.. but mostly.. I have tons of kpop live videos there. :D So yeah, talk about learning and leisure at the same time! :)

And.. well.. I couldn't think of anything to say now. Anyway.

In the 8 years I've been on LJ.. lol... well obviously, I suck at blogging. As I only blog every once in a while. Not to mention.. I think I've commented to someone's post here.. maybe 5 times? In that whole 8 years? usually, when someone is an introvert in real life, they become extroverts in the internet.. but not me.. so sorry for that. :P

Till next time then?

I WILL try to at least post once a month. My goal is to post every week, but at the least, I should post once a month right? -___-

Ja! :3

PS. This blog was originally posted on LiveJournal—

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Prologue: History

Characters: OFC (Shane Benton), OMC (Elliott Thomas)

Summary: Shane Benton is a hard-working physical therapist and a loving girlfriend…but her boyfriend has a less than desirable way of showing it.

In case you’ve fallen behind or want to read more of my drabbles!

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings:  Language, mature themes, angst, infidelity, domestic violence (moderate). Yeah, this may be a tad rough for some readers, but I tried to be mild, and mostly implicit. It was hard still, to see my fictional offspring go through this, even if she gives as good as she gets!

Author’s Note: Oh, y’all. When I needed a break from the sweet tenderness of Chapter 8, I came here and put Shane through some hell. (You can blame one of my friends I was talking about for this angst as they’re the one who put me into angsty headspace by cheating on my other friend! It’s been weighing on me! But I guess at least I’ve been able to use it!) I really hope you enjoy a bit of backstory on our heroine! I really liked writing her ferocity.

Also, I meant to have this posted yesterday, but because of some tragedy in one of my other fandoms (and the world, in general! Rest In Power, Chadwick Boseman!) and a bit of craziness in my personal life (my HS bestie wanted to hang out this weekend, so I spent a lot of time with her…also…I’ve been talking to a real live fella! OMG! And it’s entirely too soon to say that I like him, but like…I very much do…but he’s far away and recently single and things are complicated in just, several ways, so it just can’t happen at this point. But…like, we have been talking a ton recently, and…sigh. I have found it difficult to focus on the matters at hand. But, rest assured, I’m working on Chapter Nine, and it will be up just as soon as I find my rhythm!

Disclaimer: Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism. (Well, this isn’t a super fun chapter, I guess!)

Tags: 

@onlyhenrys

@cavillryarchive

@summersong69

@titty-teetee

@bloodyinspiredfuck

@agniavateira

@oddsnendsfanfics

@omgkatinka

@thisismysecretthirstblog

@misslaland

@speakerforthedead0

@tumblnewby

@suavechops

Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! (Also, if you’ve asked and aren’t on the list...well...that would be because I forgot to add you and reminding me will not offend or upset me. I think I might have ADD, or something, and being reminded about things is kind of how I survive!) Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X

5 years ago-

Shane got home from work, exhausted. The new electronic documentation system they'd just implemented was kicking her ass. And Anita's, whom she constantly had to help with it, all the while hearing Anita bellow "When can I retire?!" which lost its charm on about the third day.

"Elliott, I'm home." She didn't smell anything cooking, despite the fact that she knew he was off all day today. Whatever. She was used to him doing virtually nothing but whatever hipster bullshit he got up to on Instagram and YouTube, trying to get off the ground as an influencer with a brand…spare her. Since when did that become a job? She didn’t mind to get takeout though, if only she knew he wasn’t cooking. Maybe she should have asked. "Honey, I could have picked something up if--" she was startled by him in the doorway to the hall, in only his anime boxers, looking like he was trying to not be surprised she was home. "What?"

"Nothing, just…excited to see you! How was your day?" Elliott asked, scratching the back of his neck, displacing his mid-length, slightly moppy light brown hair, already disheveled. That was his tell. Something was up. She knew it.

"What's going on? Are you hiding something from me?"

"Why would you ask me that? Don't you trust me, baby?!" he guilted. Knowing just the buttons to push for empathy. It wasn't gonna work today. The machine was all out of that selection and full of his bullshit currency.

"Now that you mention it, no. I sure as hell don't." she walked around to enter the hall and investigate the rest of the house. "Let me through." he wouldn't budge. He had the advantage of physical size, but she was still wearing her work uniform including sneakers…he was more than half naked. She stomped hard on his instep and smacked him in the ear as he doubled over. She felt marginally bad for that in the moment…at best he'd get mild tinnitus for a while. At worst, he could have permanent hearing damage. She'd check later for blood coming out of his ear and see if she should feel worse about it then.

She rounded the corner to their bedroom. The quilt her grandma had made her was carelessly crumpled with the top sheet and blanket at the foot board. She noticed a swatch of an orangey red lipstick on her pillow. The same shade smudged onto the full mouth of the panicking strawberry blonde frantically donning clothes in front of her antique mirror, and the same shade, she was guessing, that was smeared across certain places on Elliott’s body that were now covered by those boxers that she had always hated. You know what, Elliott, she thought to herself. Fuck Bleach, and fuck you!

"I'm sure you're a lovely person who's just been lied to by a very charming and manipulative man, but…you still only have ten seconds to get to my front door before I call the cops." Shane threatened the girl, who couldn't have been more than twenty-one…and he was thirty-three.

"She's my guest." Elliott defended.

"You're not even on the lease. Your credit was too bad." she said over her shoulder while still squared off with the girl. She turned back to her. "I'm trying to be calm here, sweetie. But do not make me tell you even one more time to get out of my…fucking…house." the girl picked up her shoes and a small messenger bag from the floor near where Shane stood, keeping as wide a berth as she could, and skittered out of the room in terror.

"How many times, Elliott?"

"Don't do this, Shane."

"No, I think this is something we should do. Count the times you’ve broken my trust. Kissed another girl, fooled around with one, fucked one…I mean…I've never caught you in our bed before, so this LOOKS like a first…I sure hope it is…because I don't recall you doing any laundry since you've lived here. And if I thought you let me sleep in the same sheets that you…I can't even look at you, you son of a bitch."

"It's not what you think, Shane." he said, calmly, as if he'd simply picked up the wrong consistency of peanut butter from the store. The wrong brand of milk. Not that he ever did the shopping.

"Bullshit. Bull. Shit. Elliott. I come home and find you like this, and there's a girl in OUR bedroom, and her lipstick is all over MY pillow, and your balls, no doubt. Not gonna make you prove it, because at this point, I don't give a shit anymore. I've lost count of how many times I've forgiven you, even times you didn't care enough to ask me to. Times you probably don't even know that I know about. But it's done. You're gonna pack up all your things. And you're gonna be gone by the time I get home from work tomorrow. And don't expect me to be late…because I will not be."

"You're acting crazy. You can't do this. Where will I go, Shane?"

"That's not my concern anymore. Find an apartment that accepts Likes and subscriptions and followers as rent and cherish it. But your free ride here is done. I'm not your mom, your maid, your cook, or…anything to you anymore, Elliott."

He was getting angry now. His nostrils flared and his breaths came more quickly.

"Is this because you're fucking another guy? Hmm?" he got in her space, but she was out of the bedroom and back into the hallway. She shouted back.

"Oh, NOW you're gonna try to deflect this onto me? When in holy hell would I have time to get with anyone but you, when we don't even have sex anymore?! It's been, what, two, three months?"

"You work with guys."

"You have no idea who I am. To think that I would do something like that. No idea at all. If I don't have time at home, I certainly don't have time for sex at work, and you can ask any of my coworkers, male OR female. That place is an unsexy, unholy shit show 90% of the time. And the other ten, it's just above bearable."

"Well, I'm still not going anywhere."

"You are. Like I said. You're not on the lease. And all I have to do is call the landlord and tell him you're here without my permission and he'll have the cops here." she had gotten a glass of water…although she needed something stronger, and was standing by the sink with it. Her mouth was getting dry. She couldn't take much more of this without breaking.

"You wouldn't really do that to me though. I'm the only man who can give you what you want." he grabbed her by the arm, hard.

"Let go of me, Elliott."

"Or what." he asked for it. She got the other instep, his groin, and threw water in his face. She grabbed her purse and bolted out the door.

She got quickly on the phone with Heather her closest friend who had recently been hired on as a secretary for her clinic.

"Yello." she said, cheerful.

"Two things: can I crash at your place tonight and what kind of phone do you have?" she asked.

"Yes and a Galaxy something, I dunno, but what the fresh hell are you talking about?"

"I'll explain when I get there. I’m on my way to CVS for some essentials. Do you need anything?"

"Sounds like we need wine and ice cream!"

"Already on the list." She thanked Heather and hung up, calling her landlord.

“This’s Sam.” She heard over the receiver.

“Sam, I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a situation at the house.”

“What’s goin’ on?” He asked concerned. She’d never rented from anyone so kind. He’d become almost family. Like an uncle.

“Long story short, pest control. I’m kicking Elliott out and he has until the time I get home from work tomorrow. I told him you’d be there with the cops if he didn’t comply because he’s not on the lease. Is there any way you can help me and make that good?”

“He hurt ya, Shane?”

“Not, umm…not physically.” Although she had been rubbing the place on her arm where he’d grabbed her, certain there would be a bruise.

“That’s all I need to know. I’ve got a buddy or two on the squad here in town. I’m sure they won’t mind to help me out. You need anything?”

She held back the tears until she could hang up. “I’m staying over at a friend’s tonight and headed into CVS now for a few things I didn’t take time to grab after I kneed him in the groin and ran out.” She had just pulled into the parking lot.

“Well I’m nearby if you need anything when you’re back home.”

“Thanks. I guess just watch for smoke from the place for now. I don’t know what he might do, honestly.”

Up Next: Prologue: Onset of Injury (Sy)

[occasionallyfreshfanarts]

5/24 FUCK YESSSSSSS

LET’S CELEBRATE THESE 6 SHOWA NEET DEMONS AND THEIR BIRTHDAY LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW 

(under the cut, a really long, really cheesy dedication to these characters and their show)

Okay. Whew. 5/24/2018. Lemme just start with this, Osomatsu-san is my absolute, lifelong favorite anime. Of all times. I really don’t know how my life would be if this sorry excuse for a gag anime hadn’t entered it. 

Back in 2015, my life was absolute hell. I had just started high school, was taken off the comfort zone that middle school represented to me, my parents were always fighting and on the edge of divorcing, my mother’s family and my father’s relationship was worse than ever. My self-esteem problems were off the charts. This may be a bit too much to share, but my recurring self-harm practices were getting worse. I didn’t even want to draw anymore, something that had always managed to cheer me up. All I wanted back then was to die, literally die. And I tried it once. Needless to say, I failed. Was taken to therapy once again, something I absolutely didn’t want to happen. Therapists are too damn expensive. My mother was struggling with money, something that my father was always trying to take off her. I just wanted to disappear.

This lasted over a year. I had lost my joy in living, I didn’t want to continue it anymore.

But I remember it well. 5/24/2016. I was browsing around tumblr. I used to spend hours on my dashboard. And some of the people I followed seemed to be really enthusiastic of some show, with 5 or 6 muppet-like guys who all looked the same. That day was no different, and their fan arts were literally everywhere. I had seen it before, but not as much as in that particular day. And I didn’t know the name of the series, either. But one of them caught my attention. There were two of them, one in blue clothes and the other one in pink. And right under it, a name: Osomatsu-san.

It was floating around in my dashboard for some time, so I thought, why not give it a try? Then I went looking for the episodes, and started watching it.

It was the best goddamn decision I have ever made in my entire goddamn life.

I went through the first 12 episodes in one sitting. It felt like a light had been lit inside of me. Their nonsensical, reality-detached sense of humor was like a shelter to the stuff I had been going through. It was so damn refreshing. So fun. And I kept going, and with every passing episode, my love for the series kept growing, unconditionally. I listened to the OSTs, opening and endings passionately. Their second opening, Zenryoku Batankyu, is without a doubt my most-heared music ever. I listened it on repeat, every day, for 3 whole months. Every note is like liquid euphoria being pumped from my heart to every single bit of my body. And I kept watching and watching it. I was devastated by the end of episode 24. Their conclusion on 25 left me completely speechless. And with that, the first season had wrapped up. And conquered my entire being.

After its end, I went looking for every single Ososan-related thing I could manage to find. I started reading the manga when it came out, I started reading -kun, I caught up with their games and strategies for the HesoWars sets (eventually getting to play it), I looked for tons of fics and amvs and spent hours reading and watching them, my life had been completely changed. 

I found the joy to live again, thanks to this anime. It may sound a bit dumb, but that’s the truth. And I started drawing again too, happier than ever before. My Matsu passion invaded everything I did. 

I was so happy when they announced a second cour. So happy I thought I’d die.

And the second season just reaffirmed my undying love for this god-forsaken anime and its god-forsaken sextuplets. 5 months ago I started this drawing, to pay a tribute to their new batch of  nonsense, inspired by the visuals of Maboroshi Wink. All their musics, all their episodes, everything this show has to offer. It literally pulled me out of a severely depressed state. And today, I finished it to celebrate their birthday, and also my 2-year anniversary on this hellish, exciting hype train that is the Matsu fandom. I don’t plan to ever leave it.

With this long-ass text, I salute the entire Matsu crew, and especially, the man that made all of this possible back in 1962, Akatsuka Fujio. I wonder if -san would please him. I like to think it would. 

And that’s all, I think. 

I’ll cherish this anime until the day I die. And I’ll do so cheerfully. It changed my entire approach and view of life. And for that I’ll be eternally grateful.

LONG LIVE THE MATSU LEGACY! LET’S ENJOY LIFE! <3

BORA FESTEJAR AE CARAIOOOOOO <3 <3 <3

[homestuckhiveswap]

END OF YEAR 5 - Since the Hiveswap kickstarter was funded: A hopefully final development chronicle

via /r/homestuck

Some of you might be too young to remember the heady days of mid-2012. A time where Homestuck still updated pretty much every day. The fandom had rode strong and true through the EOA5 hiatus and crashed through to the unexplored pastures of Act 6 with nary a whinny of hesitation. And after the coolness that was [S] Caliborn: Enter, Hussie returned from a hiatus with a troll ancestor walkaround to open A6I3... and an extra project: the 'Homestuck Adventure Game', and its corresponding Kickstarter.

The plan is this. I'll finish Homestuck some time in 2013 . . . When Homestuck is done, that's when our full attention will be on actual development. The game will be scheduled for release in 2014.

-Homestuck Adventure Game Kickstarter campaign (Sep. 4 2012)

As we now know, the Kickstarter was a big hit, and reached its funding goal 32 hours after its launch, on September 5, 2012, at roughly 10:30 pm. Five years ago, to this day. The campaign went on to end with $2.5 mil on October 4, however no one expected to see much more on the game until Homestuck ended. Eventually, Hussie paused for two months before A6A6 started (on 4/13/13) to work on the game, and intended to finish Homestuck in the upcoming months after the pause.

This is Homestuck's final push . . . To alleviate some of the suspense and wild speculation, I will give you a very loose estimate of my schedule, from now until the end of HS. Please observe these facts, as organized by this really awesome "html table" I have designed for this purpose.

-MSPA news update (Apr. 13 2013)

Then a bunch of A6A6 happened. The dreaded, terrible, Gigapause began. Hussie planned to continue making Homestuck, but handling the final section of the story in one big chunk, instead of regularly updating. And also work on the game. He didn't even give a time estimate on the Gigapause's length, probably to avoid tying himself to any expectations.

I also have to allocate some time to work on the Kickstarter game . . . I'll probably have a more substantive update on that before the end of the year. There hasn't been much to report yet since it's mostly been in a high level planning and writing phase. And firming up tons of legal minutiae.

-MSPA news update (Oct. 17 2013)

It took until New Year's Eve for us to get our first news on the game itself. It wasn't much to see, but one fact that is important to us is that it seems that Hussie had already agreed to create the game with The Odd Gentlemen, as he said that he didn't want to announce the developers of the game at that time. It took another six months of Gigapause to get another update on the game, which was when the partnership with The Odd Gentlemen was formally announced. The game seemed already to clearly be on schedule for late 2014 at the very earliest.

Note there was no target month given, because I really didn't know what the timeframe was down to that level of specificity . . . When the Kickstarter ended, that is not really when development began in earnest. That's when we began getting a lot of boring legal stuff in order, which took a while. Probably around six months I'd say . . . So if we are behind schedule (which may not even be technically true), I guess it could be by that amount of time. But I'm anticipating a major surge in development in the latter half of 2014.

-Kickstarter backer update (Jun. 20 2014)

The Gigapause finally ended a year after it began. And soon after it ended, Hussie outlined an entirely new plan for the Homestuck Adventure Game, now finally revealed to be titled Hiveswap. There's a lot that was said in that update (available here). But to condense it to one point: Hussie decided to pull development of the game in-house and over the last 'couple months' set up a What Pumpkin game studio for that purpose. Remember that it had been only four months since The Odd Gentlemen were revealed as the developers, which means that the decision to take back developing duties happened very promptly after the developer was announced!

The original plan had us testing the game by this point. Looks like testing within first half of next year is more likely. One major change to the plan I've settled on is to release the game episodically, to shorten the gap between now and when something is ready to be released.

-Kickstarter non-backer update (Oct. 30, 2014)

It took until after A6A6I4 had concluded for our next update, which was promising: Hiveswap had a website (since redesigned) and actual screenshots. Hussie stressed how development had amped up, especially considering that "Back in October of last year we hadn't even bought, like... computers.", and was overall very optimistic about the development progress, both in terms of speed and quality.

This point and click adventure has 3D graphics, puzzle solving gameplay, and an original story spanning four content packed Acts that will release throughout 2015.

-What Pumpkin Studios press release (Feb. 17 2015)

The future seemed bright. There was an asset reel, a playable demo at conventions, and a trailer ("Have you noticed that we're posting more updates lately? That's because things are really moving on the game right now, and there's a lot of exciting progress to report."). A second press release mentioned a mid-2015 release date (the press release was later still available - with the date edited out!). However, time came and went... and nothing happened. Just as A6A6I5 was ramping down with the Omegapause about to begin, we received more news on the progress of the game. It said that the WP Studios operation at NYC was expanding, and necessitated a bump in the development of the game.

So we'll be taking the little adjustment period this month to revise the schedule and come up with a new date to reflect the amount of polishing and testing we think the game could still use. We'll announce a new release date once we're sure the estimate will be final.

-Kickstarter non-backer update (Jul. 20 2015)

We kept waiting for EOA6 and A7, waiting for Hiveswap, and then suddenly finding ourselves in utter radio silence again. But something extremely worrying started to happen: in late October, a large amount of WP Studios NYC employees were laid off at the same time - surely a sign that the game was being abandoned. With no official word on the matter, people started trying to glean the truth by following said former employee's social media presences. The hysteria rose to such a point that on this very subreddit, someone took it upon themselves to dig up everything they could on these employees in a dangerously insensitive way. (And then Makin fucking stickied it without even fully reading the post. He says "I'm sorry".) The resulting backlash ended with Hussie saying that news on the game was coming before 2015 ended just to calm everyone down. And news did come:

We've been taking the last several months to pause production on Hiveswap and revise the overall approach to the game, as well as the visual direction, to make things a little more cost-efficient, and more rapidly producible over the full span of the series.

-Kickstarter non-backer update (Dec. 25 2015)

Hiveswap had transitioned to 2D, and in the process WP Studios NYC had been shut down (the expansion earlier that year seemingly for naught) and development was moved to a decentralized operation with less physical presence. Even though the previous update claimed to have a release date coming soon, no hint of any such thing was made now. Fans were relatively pacified after months of thinking that the project had been cancelled, and turned their attention to the upcoming end of Homestuck. It was generally assumed that Hussie was working on getting Homestuck done by 4/13, and that after that he would be free to turn his full attentions on the game. Our last crumb of official news came six months after the last, in the newspost for the release of Volume 10.

Since 4/13 I have been preoccupied with a wide variety of projects. Some are related to Homestuck, some are not . . . I have kept busy, and do not feel there is much to report yet. But there probably will be over the next couple of months.

-MSPA news update (Jun. 12 2016)

Four months came and went in deadly silence. Hiveswap was still under active development, but from the outside, nothing appeared to be happening. All official forms of communication were silent. The official website hadn't been updated in a year and a half, and still contained screenshots of the 3D version of the game. It seemed like the project had died (yet another) silent death behind the curtains. But suddenly, unexpectedly, one little update showed up on the game's website:

Hiveswap: Act 1 will be released January 2017.

-Hiveswap.com news update (Oct. 1 2016)

(quickly deleted, then undeleted on Oct. 6 2016)

A launch date??!? A new trailer! The 2D style makes it pretty now! THE GAME IS COMING OUT! After such a long time with a seemingly dead project, things were suddenly moving at breakneck speeds. Hiveswap was submitted to Steam Greenlight (in December) and overwhelming support got it approved almost instantly! Plus, we got the Homestuck credits flash and the snapchat stuff that's happening! Could this be a revival? Wait... isn't January almost done already, how come we haven't heard anything el-

Status of Hiveswap: the game is just about done. It could still use some more testing to be absolutely certain we are not releasing a buggy piece of shit! To that end it will be worth waiting another several weeks or so.

-MSPA news update (Jan. 26 2017)

Oh. Well, alright. It did seem a little odd though, since we never got an exact release date, and the game is getting delayed for 'bug-fixing'. But that means it's essentially finished anyways, so we just have to hang on a little longer. Say, 4/13 is coming up - and three months' time should be enough to quash any pesky problems. Of course, we'd gone back to not hearing anything about Hiveswap, but it seemed like a reasonable expectation given the timeline of things...

So, the game is nearly done . . . Some things take longer to implement or polish than we anticipate, but our intent is not to mislead you. I promise. We want to keep you in the loop as much as we can . . . The next time you hear a release date from us, it’ll be because the game is about to launch. In the meantime, we thank you, one last time, for your continued patience and understanding.

-What Pumpkin tumblr post (Apr. 13 2017)

Well, we'd gotten another trailer. And an apology. And by the time those two started to wear off, we got what we should have had all along: semi-regular communication from WP in the form of a series of developer interviews, art, and track releases. It was, at least, something to look forward to while waiting. But the lack of real MSPA content of any kind combined with the passing months meant dissatisfaction continued to mount. It was supposed to be just bug fixing, after all! Until finally:

We’re excited to let you guys know that HIVESWAP: ACT 1 has a release date, and it is September 14th!

-What Pumpkin tumblr post (Aug. 29 2017)

Here we are, everyone. Act 1 might actually be released. It's been a long and hard wait as the years went by, but the light at the end of the tunnel draws near. I hope you're all as happy and excited as I am about it! And I fervently, desperately hope not to have to repost this next year. But at the same time, there's one vital, inscrutable, heart-tightening question that we will have to find an answer for soon...

When's Act 2 coming out?

[midorichan10]

Moments I have witnessed intense KnB fans in Japan

Upon request here’s my post of personal experiences I’ve seen or been in that show how Japanese KnB (mainly Akashi) fans are that you probably won’t see too often back in your home country.  *If you are one of these fans, I’m not saying stop doing it or you shouldn’t do it, but just be responsible and don’t neglect other priorities and don’t inconvenience others...and be reasonable. Also these are things I’m not used to seeing so for me it’s quite eyebrow-raising. Thanks. 

Fans with multiple and intense ita-bags (bags with character merch usually dedicated to 1-2 characters)

Many people cover every inch of their bags with badges/straps of a character and I’ve seen some intense Akashi ones. Also they many have duplicates of the same badges and I’ve seen people who have like THREE bags they take to J-world or an event.  *(I also have my own itabag and I know other Tumblr users have their own as well. And I can say, those are normal and I wouldn’t classify them as the ‘crazy’ bags I’ve seen)

Fangirl logic in Japan as said by someone in an interview: The more you spend on rare merch of a character you like the more you love them, or something. Hence why girls collect 50 duplicates or more

Girl spending over $600 on Akashi Newstyle badges

Last year they had NewStyle badges which were from a lottery/kuji at certain arcades. You could choose who you wanted so buy the time I got up to try all the Akashi ones were gone. The Akashi badges in particular were VERY expensive on auction. A two-badge set went on average at the time like $60. It would’ve been cheaper but there was this ONE girl (same girl because the username was the same) who kept BUYING THEM ALL OR WINNING ALL THE AUCTIONS. I had the auction pages saved (since I was keeping an eye on them while I was bidding) and I calculated the total of the ones she won and it went over $600....

I eventually got my own set for $90........

Also pretty sure I’ve seen the acutal girl because she had like 40 New Style badges on her bag and these weren’t common badges compared to the usual KnB ones from J-World......she also had 3 intense Akashi bags and I see her frequently..

Fans spending TONS of money to get a high rank in Cross Colors.

There is no hack or cheat people literally do spend hundreds of dollars to get a high rank for a 5 star Avatar in Cross Colors. I’ve seen the same people try one event after another so it’s not like they save up for months and then go all out. Fans do this for other game apps too like Ensemble Stars. 

Girl hyperventilating at the site of an Akashi lifesize cardboard cutout (I’m not exaggerating, she was holding up the line to take pictures)

Girl hugging a Kuroko cutout as if she was embracing him romantically and looking into each other’s eyes. (not the typical let me take a picture with him because I can sort of thing)

Fans being over the top seeing a guy in an Akashi mask/costume at J-World.

I just wanna say first of all, even his hands are gloved and since it’s a mask, he can’t talk. Think of it like Mickey at Disneyland or any other mascot

I’ve seen a girl actually trying to strike a conversation with him and all he could do was stare back and nod and gesture her to move on because she was holding up the line.

I’ve seen another girl jumping up and down in front of him showing off how she got the Akashi movie clearfile. Again not much of a reaction from him. 

When I got a picture with him, there were girls peeping at him from behind the backdrop like some stalkers.....it was really unsettling....

When he walks around J-World, he ALWAYS WITHOUT FAIL has a herd of fangirls following him trying to take pictures of him, and I know some of those girls are J-World regulars and already have a pic with him. One time the guy was going back to the staff area but they had to do one last round of pictures because the girls would’t leave him alone. 

This is probably a thing in multiple fandoms and even back at home but KnB stageplay tickets selling out within 10 min. And a lot of those tickets were bought merely to just be resold at a much higher price. And that was just for the first play.

People going to Jump Festa and sleeping overnight in line when you’re not supposed to but guess the staff allowed it anyway....I went at 3:30am so I could get a shot at the limited KnB Merch and I barely got them...

I’ll also add people buying KnB merch not even for themselves but for the sake of selling. How do I know? For example the Oreshi Puni Puni doll is limited to only two per customer and then I see on auction the same day one seller selling two of them. Unless they asked their friend to pick it up too so they could sell for money but I feel that’s still pretty bad and unfair to those who actually wanted it.Also seen people sell like 40 KnB Jump Festa keychains...which by the way sold out.  

GIrls (specifically girls) shove you and knock you over to get in line for the goods even when staff members are there demanding you line up calmly and no running. I had one girl fully jab me in my arm with her shoulder to get ahead of me. 

Last year’s Jump Festa had an exclusive Akashi wall scroll that sold out in less than 30 min despite the limit they set per person. The original price was about $32. I found one on auction for $100 and bought it right away. Sad thing is, that was the cheapest. Later when everyone else decided to put their own scrolls up for auction they went super high like $300-500 if I remember. I remember one auction it was a fight between three buyers and then it got down to two buyers and they kept outbidding each other and the auction got extended for 2 extra hours because they wouldn’t stop bidding. (Yahoo auctions only end if there are no bids in the last 5 min otherwise they automatically get extended for another 10 min). Ending price was at almost $700, or if not it WAS $700 depending on the currency exchagne rate. 

Girls trying to compete with you on how much goods you have

My friends and I were at J-World just chilling at a table resting and these two Japanese girls walk by and one of them points at my Akashi bag and shows her friend. They weren’t in my line of sight but my friends who could see them from our table said that the other girl sat down and started pulling out ALL of her Easter Akashi merch ranging from badges, straps, putting on her decked out Easter Akashi lanyard, and displaying them on their table. I was just sitting there talking and my bag was just casually on a chair because we had space for it....I wasn’t trying to start anything. And it was very clear that she had more merch than me anyway so I don’t get why it was necessary to show that she is clearly the “winner.” 

Jealous fans who won’t stop staring at you

Example of this was when my friend and I were at a KnB Cafe. There was a mini game the staff did halfway through where you try to match the same picture as them and if you’re in the top 5 (I think) you get a special sparkly holograph coaster of a random character. My friend managed to be one of the lucky ones but the coaster you get is random. My friend luckily drew the capsule that had the Akashi coaster so she gave it to me. Once someone picks that capsule the staff doesn’t put it back in the box so in other words no other winner can get an Akashi coaster. One Akashi fan across the room kept creepily staring at me after that because her friend also won a coaster but because the staff came to us first, her friend had zero chance of getting Akashi. That girl kept staring at me for awhile and it was quite unsettling....

Fans declaring they love Akashi more than anyone else

I actually saw someone’s profile on Cross Colors that said that....

Last year for Valentine’s, the Jump Store had a lottery campaign where if you tweeted a picture of a Valentine’s Card you got from them and tagged it with whatever hashtag it was, then you can be entered for a KnB poster lottery of your choice. One girl literally made an account just for this on twitter and spammed every hour a post so she could try to get the Akashi poster. Now that’s not the worst part. Each post had some sort of sentence of her declaring her love for Akashi and how she loved him more than anyone else in the world (she actually said ‘world’). How she only thought of him ever since she “met” him 3 years ago. She even jokingly said as a reference to Akashi’s phrase, “If I don’t get that Akashi poster I won’t forgive you Jump Store lol” at least I hope it was a joke. 

If you just google image search 赤司部屋 (Akashi room) you can see how dedicated some fans can be into decorating every inch of their room with Akashi merch....literally every inch....though I’ve seen rooms like that for other characters too and other series. 

You’d think fans would be happy that you like the same character as you right? Or everybody in Japan is nice? Well, sadly for Akashi fans that’s not the case a lot of the time. When it comes to showing off merch on twitter fans seem pretty chill but when it comes to actually getting the goods and in person, well.....good luck....

So that’s my report of personal experiences of crazy KnB fans within my 3 years of Japan. I really wished I was making these up but I don’t think I ever could. Here’s to hoping none of you guys have to experience these XD;

[auburnfamilynews]

Auburn broke a 2 month dry spell with Shedrick Jackson’s commitment and are hoping to land a few more studs over the next 2 months

Fanbases tend to get a bit antsy after a month of no commitments. That concern only doubles in intensity when it goes to two. Thankfully, we didn’t reach three months when people start questioning their existence and whether or not Auburn will ever field a football team again. That could just be me... Either way, 3* WR Shedrick Jackson’s commitment Monday was a welcomed boost to Auburn’s 2018 recruiting class.

Who is next? That’s usually the very next question after a commitment. Well, there are plenty of names to choose from especially with so many targets planning to announce in July and especially in August. Many of these recruits are hoping to have their decision made before their senior year so they can just focus on their final season of high school football. Add in the new early signing period and it makes sense for August to be a busy commit time.

Some of these expected announcements should go Auburn’s way while others not so much. Here’s a break down of whom Auburn has a good chance, 50/50 and not good chance of landing in the next 2 months.

Good

As of today, it’s hard to see 4* WR Matthew Hill, 4* Buck/LB Richard Jibunor and 3* CB Juanyeh Thomas not landing at Auburn. Hill is an admitted Auburn fan who has said the Tigers lead, a big reason being his childhood fandom along with his relationship with Kodi Burns. Justyn Ross tends to get most of the attention from Auburn fans and understandably so as a top 25 player. However, do not sleep on Hill. This kid is an elite WR in his own right who can do a lot of different things from the WR position. He has big time speed on a long frame with great hands and elite playmaking ability. There’s no question he would be Burns’s biggest commit to date.

I have talked a bunch about Jibunor before and like I keep saying this kid has a chance to be special. It’s not easy to win MVP awards at these camps with big time talent on hand. Jibunor has done it twice at two different positions. I honestly can’t remember another player doing that. He’s a guy that like his good friend Prince Tega Wanogho is probably going to need some time to develop but there aren’t many players in this class with higher upsides.

Finally, there’s Juanyeh Thomas who at this point just might be a must sign for Greg Brown. My opinion is Auburn had a top 3 at the CB spot of Jalyn Armour-Davis, Kyler McMichael and Juanyeh Thomas. With the first two off the board, Brown REALLY needs to get his guy in Thomas. And Thomas is definitely his guy. He sports a much lower rating than those other two but was one of, if not the first offer Greg Brown sent out upon arriving at Auburn. Since then, he’s become a top priority and a frequent visitor to the Plains. He’s even mentioned that committing has crossed his mind but has held off. There’s a very good chance that changes in July though his recruitment could last until August. Either way, the Tigers need to reel in Thomas otherwise they risk going 0 for 3 on their top CB targets.

50/50

This group right here is what will make or break this class. If Auburn wins more of these battles than they lose then Auburn fans will be feeling really good about this class as we enter the season. Strikeout and there might be panic. There’re a ton of guys who want to commit in August that I am just not sure where they end up, starting with the biggest fish of all in 5* QB Justin Fields. There’s a chance his recruitment could get pushed into the season which would probably be beneficial to Auburn as it would hopefully give them a chance to demonstrate a resurgent passing offense. As of right now, I honestly do not know where Fields goes as all four sides (Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Florida State) seem to think they are in great position. If I had to make a pick, my guess is he ends up a Tiger due to the fact that Auburn is both close to home and he has really good relationships with the staff and some players. But I don’t have a ton of confidence in that pick.

After Fields, there are two big instate dominoes that are expected to fall in 4* RB Asa Martin and 4* DT Coynis Miller. A month or so ago my prediction would probably be Martin to AU and Miller to Bama. I think I would flip those now. With Zamir White’s commitment to Georgia earlier this week, Alabama has made it clear that Martin is their one and only guy this class at RB. It’s just darn hard to beat Bama out for instate guys when that happens.

On the other hand, there’s a strange sort of confidence coming out of the Auburn camp when it comes to Miller. I am a bit skeptical of it as the Tigers have never signed an instate 4* DT since Nick Saban arrived but the thought of early playing time and Miller’s close relationships with the staff and players, most notably Tadarian Moultry, seems to have Auburn feeling good. So as of this exact moment, my picks would be Alabama gets Martin and Auburn gets Miller but it’s not out of the question either team could get both or they flip the other way.

Auburn’s top two DE targets should also have decisions in the near future. First there’s 3* DE Andres Fox. Auburn was the first “big school” offer Fox landed after a dominating state title performance in Jordan Hare last fall. Since then, Auburn has made Fox a #1 priority and he’s even said the thought of committing has crossed his mind. But this is a battle for sure right now. Ed Orgeron has stepped in and taken the lead in Fox’s recruitment which has lead to Fox saying LSU is recruiting him the hardest. There seems to be some renewal of effort on the Alabama side as well to land the stud DE. I personally think the orange & blue Tigers end up snagging Fox but again it’s just really hard to say. Whomever gets him will be landing one of the highest upside athletes in this state.

The other DE is 4* Caleb Tannor. Tannor’s recruitment exploded this past March when he landed offers from seemingly everyone over a month’s time. This race appears to have turned into an Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee battle with the Dawgs and Tigers probably the top 2. UGA probably has the edge being the instate school and Tannor’s most traveled too destination but Auburn did receive 3 straight visits this spring and Tannor was back on campus recently. Auburn really needs one of Fox and Tannor but I would not be shocked if they pushed for and landed both. As of right now, I am sticking with Fox to Auburn and Tannor to UGA.

The final 50/50 is a different type of battle. There’s no confusion about where 4* LB Michael Harris would like to sign. It’s Ohio State and it’s always been Ohio State. The big question though is whether or not they will take him. Chances are very good that Ohio State knocks Alabama off the recruiting throne this year and it seems like if they want a kid they get him right now. They have a few other big fish they might be waiting on before taking Harris. If he decides to pull the trigger this summer and the Buckeyes won’t take him, he more than likely picks Auburn. It will really come down to what Urban Meyer decides to do more than anything Auburn tries.

Not Good

Now we get to the depressing section. It wasn’t all that long ago that 4* S Quindarious Monday would have been part of the “Good” section but those days are long gone. Now that Clemson has thrown their hat in the ring it’s not looking good for Auburn. Monday has always said that the wrong shade of orange Tigers have been his “dream school” but many thought with their smaller class they wouldn’t have room. Well, Clemson has apparently decided that it would not be wise to pass on a player of Monday’s calibre and offered a few weekends ago. Unless something radically changes, Monday probably lands at Clemson in the near future.

4* CB Jordan Miner was a name mentioned a bunch early in this cycle as a guy the Tigers might make a major push for this summer. That never seemed to materialize and now the talented DB out of Florida is expected to pick the Nittany Lions on July 6th.

The last two names to watch are 4* WR Kearis Jackson and 4* ATH Harold Joiner. Jackson just last night dropped the news he plans on committing in August. Auburn is probably a solid #2 but it’s a distance #2 to Georgia. The Dawgs have been all over Jackson and it would be a shocker if he didn’t pick them this August. The wildcard to watch though is Justin Fields. The consensus among not only insiders but recruits seems to be that where Fields goes, Jackson is likely to follow. So even if Jackson picks UGA in August, don’t be shocked if he becomes a flip candidate if the Tigers can land Fields.

As for Joiner, his recruitment has just been weird all around. It appears he has decided that he not only wants to only play running back but that he wants to be “the guy” for that recruiting class. In other words, if he isn’t your #1 RB prospect you are probably not getting him. Well it looked like LSU was that school. They were telling him all the things he wanted to hear and he reiterated over and over again they were his #1 school. Then this past weekend they took 3 running backs (including 3* Tae Provens) in 3 days. His #2 school in Georgia landed the #1 RB prospect in the country on Tuesday. All of a sudden things were different. Joiner now claims that he’s dropped those two schools and even though that might give Auburn a window of opportunity the Tigers are still recruiting him as an athlete. Meaning they would let him play some RB but want him also to flex out at WR and possibly work some at the H-back. Now it appears that Michigan State is the frontrunner. I am starting to doubt he will commit in August but if he does I just don’t see Auburn being the pick.

That was probably information overload but the next two months are going to get busy. August especially should be a wild month. When September rolls around, chances are really good we will have a much better picture of just how good or bad things are looking for the Tigers on the trail. A strong fall is a necessity for Auburn to close big but it would sure help if a few of these top guys were already on board before the first kickoff.

War Eagle!

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