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matsudaqko · 1 year

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Mini Review: The Unofficial Hatsune Mix

Blog by: MatsudaQko

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Volumes: 3 (English Version if this manga is an Omnibus)

Genre: Fanfare, Comedy, slice of life

Mangaka: KEI Garou

Rating: 7.5/10

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Song 1: The Mangaka and Art Mix

To start, I wanted to talk about the art and the person behind this series, because it's probably one of the more important aspects of this whole thing.

The person who draws Unofficial Hatsune Mix is none other than Kei Garou, who if you don't know, designed and is the artist for the popular digital singer Hatsune Miku.

This manga has of full color illustrations, of which you can find before you get into the reading part of it. (For the English Omnibus Version you find it before in-between transition from one volume to the next before reading.)

Looking at this and then his new art, you'll see just how far this artist has come, and just how much of a glow up he's had since making this back in 2008.

I think it's absolutely awesome that he drew for this, it makes it more special and personal to the character, with how passionate the people behind Hatsune Miku are.

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Song 2: Story and Layout Mix

There really isn't exactly a all out connecting narrative for this manga, in fact, it's more like 4komma manga, telling diffrent stories and narrative themes each chapter.

All the regular characters, Hatsune Miku and her friends (Kagamine Len and Rin, Megurine Luka, Meiko and Kaito), go on diffrent adventures and take on diffrent roles as you progress through each chapter.

One really cool thing about this is the way the chapters are set up, called songs, which matches up with the theme of using vocaloid characters as the focus of the story.

This story also has a lot of cameos from other recognized and popular characters within the Vocaloid community, such as Vocaloid Kamui Gakupo, Fanloids Akita Neru and Yowane Haku and the very popular Utau Miracle Diva, Kasane Teto. They all play into the story very well and in the same funny and charming way Miku and her other leads do.

It's a very fun read for sure, and definitely something to eat up if your a long time or new Vocaloid Fan!

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Song 3: Conclusion And personal thoughts Mix

To be honest, I really liked this. It's not particularly the best thing in the world, but it hits me with a special kind of nostalgia, in the same way Tokyo Mew Mew does for me. I enjoyed this a lot being a long vocaloid fan myself and it's a pretty digestible and quick read if you want something to keep you busy while you wait on deciding on a more focused narrative it might be next you wanna tackle.

I'd rate this a good 7.5/10 (as you've probably already seen), just because it's extremely easy going of a read, though most likely won't capture just anyone's attention overall. It's fanfare at its finest, and again, a fun read especially for Hatsune Miku fanatics and vocaloid lovers.

That concludes today's review! I hope you take some time, maybe consider if you wanna take a gander at the Unofficial Hatsune Mix. I hope you have a great day and keep on reading!!

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MatsudaQko 2023

#manga review #manga and stuff #manga blog #manga blogger #hatsune miku #kei garou #MatsudaQko #unofficial Hatsune mix #vocaloid #manga

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btnclmrttn · 7 months

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How they react if you send a spicy picture (OPM) (+18)

Under the assumption they have a phone imagine having to email a nude asdghdksvs

(bored and horny tbh I'll figure out the other three boys later 😭)

Saitama

💛"Wow, you have no idea what I'd do for some of that right now"💛

If he didn't turn so red in the face he could probably play it off in public if he were to open it. Has definitely cracked his screen on accident over the shock/initial embarrassment of hoping no one saw that.

Always a pleasant surprise when he's alone. He's probably bored anyway. One of the best cures he could have in those moments is "excitement". Exchanging texts and nudes gets him super jittery, and he loves the addictive anticipation.

Building up self confidence slowly, but is rather shy with returning the favor. He doesn't wanna be unfair and not send any at all, but they usually are just body shots, seldom face. Muscles like that though? It's hard to get a bad angle on a body like that

Like 2 saved in gallery max. Would just rather have the real deal, but the couple he keeps is because they're generally pleasant for him to look at. Huge sucker for panties/boxer shots. They don't have to be full nudes for him to get riled up. He can confidently return his own underwear shot as well! (fucking love me a dick print pic ughhh)

Genos

🩵"Oh you're perfect. I would love to see more of that angle"🩵

Around the public he doesn't show visible embarrassment, but he's very quick to pull up his phone. That could be the only obvious tell he's looking at something he doesn't want anyone else to see.

Full attention on you for sure if you managed to send at a time when he was alone. No matter where he is he's quick to respond, but much more detail and thought is put into responses when alone.

Always will return the favor. Has a couple of his own in his gallery if he was ever out and received one. It's only fair in his eyes! They're also never basic he makes an effort to look like the prettiest boy for you and he does a damn good job. Not only is the cyborg body cool, the way he takes pictures with angles and perspectives makes it much more sexy.

Yes he saves all of them it's taking up a huge space on his phone storage that's also photos of you in general. Doesn't really have an urge to get off to the photos or texts because it's never the same or as satisfactory, but he still likes to appreciate them because you're attractive. (Lemme throw in though that he would definitely love to get riled up to your voice/phone sex. He would end up hanging up and showing up shortly if he's over excited)

Garou

🖤"fuckkkkk just you wait till I get my hands on that"🖤

Around people he doesn't get super embarrassed, and couldn't care. Will try to keep his phone close and low key as he studies your body so no one else sees what's just for him. If it's around Bang he might have a fuss or a fumble.

Might take his time to respond, but he's definitely not ignoring you. He's taking that shit in every fine detail he can see like you're a work of art. The pauses between all his messages is just him drooling over you

He'll send back, but not the full deal. Garou can make more of a game out of the tease. Loves sending pics back of his dick print through his pants (usually sweatpants yessirrrr) to show you what you just did for him. Will progress to more skin, like his abs and hem of his boxers, until you get some real nice pictures~

He's got a couple few favorites that never fail to get him off. Any shot from an angle above you will be saved definitely. Although, he ends up not getting completely satisfied taking care of it himself with pictures/texts alone. It's a last resort kind of thing if he knows he can't see you. If he knows your wear abouts, he will just show up.

#opm #one punch man #opm x reader #saitama #saitama x reader #saitama hcs #genos #genos x reader #genos hcs #garou #garou x reader #garou hcs #saitama/reader #genos/reader #garou/reader #garou n/sfw #genos n/sfw #saitama n/sfw

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aimzicr · 26 days

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Hunter The Parenting plot thoughts (because I love mysteries and roleplaying and I keep waking up at 2am Thinking About This Plot).

Things that seem important (in various nonspecific order, though somewhat from timeline of video):

Giles is a better fighter than his mates, actually showing some skill (compared to Simon's existence as a wet towel and Brok's brute force)

Harry's focus on Highland Legend seems a bit at odds with his muscles being 'just for lifting things', given the link in pop culture with Highlanders being warriors who fight to be the only one. Still, there's more to study beyond the Hollywood thoughts, and I'm very curious to see what Scottish myths get brought up (if any). He also has access to Storage and Security.

Followup thought: if all the characters are in the World of Darkness (specifically The Reckoning/Vigil), then perhaps each staff and student's respective areas of study reference specifically to one of the games. Fatigue with The Apocalypse/Forsaken, Elise with The Dreaming/Lost (Lost seeming more appropriate because 'I haven't found a single fairy'), and so on. Horse's prophecy referenced 'kine, kindred, garou, milklings, elohim', so that's Hunter, Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling and Demons specifically mentioned. Would Harry's 'highlander studies' be on Mages or Prometheans? Will we see Wraiths/Geists, now or in the future?

Elise does not have access to Storage and Security. Also, I will respect her pronouns at all costs.

The Doctor - Scholar of Psychotronic Studies - the has taken at least two bumps over the course of the night (visible residue on her face at Occam's collapse and just before Brok kicks the door down). You can't show any withdrawal symptoms if you're high on something else (though as Chapman mentioned, even high-level drugs 'don't even compare', but it might take the edge off for a while). Considering her academic focus, she might have been able to make herself a Very Powerful Cocaine. (Actually no 'psychotronic' refers to low-budget movies so WHAT??)

Lord Fatigue - of Lycantropy (not Lycanthropy? A typo, or something else?) - I saw someone posting about him being quickest to recognise the symptoms of someone going through a change, and I highly agree. He's also a lovely old man ('toffee pud', wreathed in golden light from the Archives, etc) so maybe he just doesn't want to see anyone suffer? Kindness often gets punished in WoD games.

Brok is sitting on a different chair. His mother's chair follows him everywhere he goes, does it?

I'm calling it, Chekov's M60s Mounted On A Bus. BUT. Not for this particular arc.

If there are keys to steal, in order to get into the Archives, they would be taken from Occam, Blacklaw, Dr Waters, or Lord Fatigue.

There are no other entryways to the Archives but there may be passages around, beneath, or above the Archives. Walls thin enough to use Vampire Magic through?

Giles knows that Spit is out of Ritalin, which serves as an explanation for Spit's symptoms and proof that the guys keep an eye out for each other.

Spit seems to be the biggest red herring. Something is very wrong with him but it isn't being Ghouled (and it isn't just something that can be managed with Ritalin). Still, when he gives his blood sample, he doesn't give two drops: he hides out of sight and only delivers a blood-smeared chalice. We don't see him giving blood, and the sample is darker than the rest. Older blood? Stored and poured?

It's Elise that pickpockets Giles of all his worldly possessions (while Spit is being consoled by Fatigue). She even takes one of the smokes for herself, having it in her mouth at the top of the stairs and then as she descends. So, then, she handed the smokes over to Olivia at some point. Maybe when Elise was 'looking for Grimal at the time'. A gift? A trade?

At some point after the 'I said FOLLOW MY LEAD' fight, Blacklaw and Brok work to get the Cold Tessellation out of the wall. Where the hell did D go (and why is it under the stairs, digging through old newpapers). How did he get out of that fight?

Grimal is in the Security Room, crying, when Occam is attacked. Could she have seen who attacked Occam, or did she miss it because of her tears? ('Noises of insecurity' in the Security room is pretty funny, I'm sorry.) HOWEVER. Grimal does NOT have access to Security, according to her chapter card... but Elise did steal Giles' keys, so perhaps Elise let Grimal into the Security room? Now the question is, was the door locked behind her? Did Elise leave other doors unlocked as well?

Spit says he knows where Giles' things are. How? A good nose for it? Or just an excuse to get out of the room (where a lot of dead animals are)? He then goes... downstairs, to the Music room. Lord Fatigue says he will go look for Spit, but goes upstairs to the Staff Break Room instead, diagonally above Occam. The minimap shows Spit stressed, Occam tense/in pain, and Fatigue with... the same facial expression. Is Giles doing something to the blood? Is Fatigue doing something to the blood? Is there some direct line of connection between the three? Is there really only one way into the Archives, or is there a way up from below, or down from above? The placement of Spit and Fatigue on the minimap feels incredibly important to figuring out who attacked Occam (even if that doesn't have anything to do with the ghoul).

Elise is in the middle of taking her ponytail out when Kitten returns from his pacing and fuming and brief stop in the kitchen. As a ponytail haver, the decision to NOT undo the hair after starting to do so is significant. But then again, maybe giving her a different animation model wasn't in the cards for the episode. (She's hot enough already idk).

There are large claw marks on a lot of walls and doors in the Chapter House…

There are 15 people in the Chapter House, but 16 cups are strewn about when Occam is found. All 16 cups are bloody. Someone else is present? Someone left an extra cup, some extra blood?

Kitten is focusing on 'who could have attacked Occam as we were leaving' but is that really the timing of the attack?

'Your papa could never take a punch like that' says the man who has been fighting Blacklaw all evening. Playfighting? They've been playfighting this whole time? Yet the man can handle a bottle being thrown at him by Marckus, so he at least has some grit.

"Look. It's the same. Indisputable." So if Blacklaw cannot tell the difference between 'a bleak British man and a middle-eastern meat-slab', either his eyesight is shitty and thus he cannot be trusted to give any trustworthy visual evidence, OR, he hasn't looked at D in actual decades because D is the Devil and must not be observed directly. Which is kinda countered by how often they face off and glare at each other, so.

Other things that might be of note and/or are things I noticed:

Amanda's blue gloves - does she have a latex allergy? Or does the Arcanum not provide boxes of disposable gloves for the staff and they have to just make do with one set each? As someone who worked back of house in hospitality, this seems... bad.

Both Blacklaw and D have yellow and black as a major colour to their outfits, but inverse to each other (jacket and tank top vs jacket and vest). IDK maybe that's something worth noting, or it shows how more alike than they like to admit.

Hardcore Kitten steadying inhale in front of the portrait of the dead knight made me think to how TTS ended... Then again, the man out here killed a vampire with a shove and an iron fence while being badly hurt so like. Man's badass enough on his own.

Git works with the Lady Regent's favourite daughter. Could Poly have slipped him something, made him a ghoul without his knowledge? Man can reverse-drink a beer but his favourite food being available at his place of work could lend itself to some Manager-induced tampering of the safety seals.

Kevin was invited to the 'funny phrenology library' but decided to stay in the basement. He might have recognised the ghoul right away. He also might have gotten D's family Blood Hunted AND targetted by the Coalition, if that were the case. For reasons of safety first, comedy second and plot third, Kevin stays at home.

Hey uh what's the Penis Explosion Room on the mini map and why is it Elite Access and also why is it there and why is there no doorway to it and also what

Harry being able to get dressed very quickly between listening in at the door and then D showing up with the keys. I know he doesn't really do Anime but I feel like that must have been a magical girl transformation somehow (/j)

Guy Chapman might be the most dangerous ghoul at the moment: 'sharpened senses, inhuman strength, even the power to bend minds' He did drink the blood of Kevin, a Vampire Wizard. I'm thinking about Marckus' night pubbing, and how Chapman heard the beginning of the vampire talk, as well as the fact that Brok's first and second knife broke dramatically. The cop did it, with his new vampire magic.

The portrait on the wall (when Elise is doing D's hair) - baby Occam is adorable, I'm sorry his mother is a Blacklaw but she seems far more hinged than Remold, is baby Brok okay, is Brok's mother the blonde woman from the interrogation room - if so who is the woman standing with Blacklaw? And the slacker behind her? A Blacklaw Family Drama photo, I'm very pleased.

'Amanda never sweats, she's lower class' I've never seen a Rich Bastard in media who thinks this, this is fascinating. Normally it's 'sweating is for the lower classes' but here we are in the reverse. Does Blacklaw think the 'lower class' are literal automatons or

Fatigue dies in the room where his younger Hunter self is immortalised in a portrait on the wall. Taller, younger, still with the same glasses, nose, and ears. Just how old is he?

Side note: 'did anyone find out if Mummies are real yet' - yes, Marckus, they did, in The Resurrection/Curse. You were right.

#hunter the parenting #hunter: the parenting #htp #h:tp #theorycrafting #theories #analysis #i miss roleplaying games so much I want to play in all of them

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thatwasntverycashmoneyofme · 1 year

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Garou who’s so pissed off at you cuz you’re not answering the phone, having his calls go to voicemail and maybe texts not going through. He thinks you blocked him again but your phone was just dead and before that you put it on dnd cause you was out hanging with your ppls and Garou be pissin you off no cap.

You unlocked your door jumping finding Garou sitting on your couch legs in a manspread as he watched you enter, his yellow eyes following your every move. “Boy what tf are you doing in my h-”He interrupts you. “So where you been?” You scoff at the audacity of this man. “Out.” He rolls his eyes.

“So you don’t know how to pick up the phone?” You put your keys and stuff down heading towards the kitchen. “My phone died sassy ass nigga. But that don’t explain why you in my crib.” He followed behind you watch your ass as you lean over getting a water bottle from the fridge.

“I picked the lock but that doesn’t explain why you ain’t answer my texts for two days.” You turn around closing the refrigerator door leaning on your counter taking a few gulps from the bottle.

“Umm didn’t know that my dad walked his baldheaded ass back in my life… Wait, bitch, nigga did you just say you picked my locks?” Your eyebrows scrunched as your lip curled. “Y/n yo that’s not the point.” You muttered under your breath. ‘Could’ve fooled me.’

You’re not surprised by his behavior Garou was a fuck buddy that got obsessed with that gorilla grip super-soaker and it was fine cuz you were feeling him too, his dick game go bananas, but he still wanted to fuck around but you wasn’t with that so when you left him for a new dude he went to the guy’s job and threatened him to break up with you and he keyed his car and busted his windows.

Yea that nigga crazy but now he says he cut off all his hoes and he just want you (massive mafuckin eye roll) He held out his phone handing it to you you looked at it sizing him up before looking back at the phone. “Just take it.”

You grumble snatching the device from him going through it. You seen the conversation between him and his three other sneaky links that he put in a group chat this guy🙄 cursing all of them out and them finding out about each other started another argument.

You could do nothing but laugh as you hand him back his phone, slowly walking towards where he stood at the island leaning over it. “So you believe me? I’m tryna make us possible.” You suck your teeth looking into his eyes teeny to find fault. “I’ll give us a chance but if you fuck up me and my goons running in yo shit baby.”

He smiles kissing your lips his hand sat on your waist. “That’s a bet and I already have our first date planned.” You look at him questionably. “What we doing?” He barks a laugh patting your hip. “We gon watch my exes fight they said Saturday at the park.” You back up from him looking dead in his eyes.

“Boy don’t play with me, better take me out to dinner and a movie or something.” He rolled his eyes pulling you back to him. “Girl chill their fight’s just gonna be the preview.”

You walk towards your room a tired smile playing at your lips from the exhausting interaction you hear Garou’s footsteps behind you. “Play too much crazy ass boy.”

𝗌𝗉𝖺𝗆 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾𝗌, 𝗋𝖾𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌. 𝖣𝖮𝖭𝖳 𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗅, 𝖼𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗈𝗋 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝗒𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖾𝗅𝗌𝖾. ©𝖼𝗂𝗍𝗒𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝖺𝗅

#city.writes #black writers #black reader #x black reader #black fem reader #x black fem reader #black yn #opm garou #garou x black!reader #opm garou x black!reader #opm fanfiction #city’s smol fics💞

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gremlinsbooty · 11 months

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Kei Garou (a.k.a. KEI):

Drew emotionless (brick-face-esque) Luka V2 on her boxart.

Also Kei Garou:

Love when KEI drew Megurine like that, she looks so sweet & tender (but still keeps her maturity)

#vocaloid #luka megurine #megurine luka #hatsune miku #kagamine rin #cryptonloid #KEI #hatsune mix #manga

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crownedinmarigolds · 3 months

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Question about khanni and the cool lore implications:

Would her creation make her something of a revnant or dhampir? Do yall have a name for it in your homebrew games?

Further cool question? If im following the timeline correctly, shes created between 1990s-2000s- do u think any work got out that thinbloods were a key to make hybrids?

As you know, fan of your blurbos and in the process of making my own wod timeline with friends!

Ahhh what interesting questions....! So while we're still fully werkin' it all out ourselves, here's what @thesixthplaneteer and I say about the situation: From what we've been reading up, Kahanni is probably very close to a dhampir but without restrictions, according to book. Though because of V5 no longer having dhampir (yet?) she's probably closest to a Thinblood? But also not. She essentially is a living vampire who can bond, Embrace, make new disciplines if she desires... From what sixthplaneteer has conceptualized: Kahn is a Ushebti (SETITE MAGICCC) construct made of flesh, given life through necromancy and Thinblood alchemy. She was grown in her mother's womb from start to finish and was born... obviously a TON of magic and blood had to happen. She was born in 2000! (In the older lore a Garou was also born in 2000 kind of like this as well, so we call them Apocalypse Twins haha!) And no - unless there was a SIGNIFICANT breach in trust - this news was kept extremely on the downlow within Harrakhty's inner circle. Many see Kahn as the second coming of Set and they would not allow any rumors to discredit her. Setites are incredibly secretive as is with their goings-ons, so this hopefully wouldn't be an issue they dealt with. Nyth and Noa when doing this for them are probably the only outsiders who know what went down. After Kahn was born, Harri and Pari went on a very long "away from the temple" sabbatical, not unlike them, and twenty years later returned with a full grown woman. So many followers would not have watched Kahanni grow up. Kahn DOES have a soul as well, so as a Ushebti construct, even if you were to fully explain how she was born, she more than likely would not crumble like a normal construct. She's a person, they just used similar magics in the process! Also: Kahn is basically Harri's twin, pre-Embrace. She grows tall like him, she's muscular and confident. She has some of her mother's striking features but she is all Harri. Setite Magic was used to change his appearance back in the late 1800s, so the two do not seem as similar as they would be if he looked as he was first Embraced. Thank you for asking!! :0 I'm so curious as to what you have in mind. :3c Bonus sketch of the family together!

#long post #wilted roses #vampire the masquerade #vtm #kahn #kahanni #followers of set #droppin' that hot kahn lore!!!#setites #thesixthplaneteer #insatiablewit #answered asks #vtm oc #my art

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garoumylove · 5 months

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I know there will be several talented people doing write ups on this but I just want to add my own two cents as well because this got me emotional.

The reason I write Garou fanfics so much is because I find his psyche absolutely fascinating and close to my heart. He presents with such anger and sassy cockiness while dealing with so much inner turmoil. And most of the time we don't get to see that inner turmoil but every once in a while ONE/Murata will lift that veil through one panel or a piece of dialogue and we get a glimpse of the troubled young man and all those painful feelings inside. And it's that pain, inner conflict, the vulnerability he guards so closely that I love to explore and that makes me fall for him over and over again.

This panel is one of those. As I've mentioned a while ago, I'm not a fan of the way Garou has been characterised in the manga since he reappeared on the surface at the end of the MA arc and especially not a fan of his characterisation post MA arc. This, however, is the Garou that I love. The troubled young man who pushes his way through life with a heady mix of bravado and stoicism. And then we get this.

"I'd love to show you how 'easy' it would be...' accompanied by a somewhat gruesome inverted panel with blood splatter. To me, this is the first time Garou is letting out his pain and frustration at his loss with Saitama. His ideology, while simplistic, got him through a tough childhood and adolescence. He clung to that goal and shed an exorbitant amount of blood and sweat over it only to discover it was never going to be. The loss of that would be gut wrenching. And finally here we get him giving us a glimpse of that raging pain. Of that vulnerability.

But what gets me even more is the next line "You worthless hunk of junk that can't even bleed or feel pain". This is one of the most obvious and clear times that Garou is coming face to face with his own pain. To me, it's like he's finally admitting that he is in pain. Not physical pain, but just this existential pain that he finds himself sometimes drowning in and doesn't know what to do with.

And then next panel he just goes right back to work with the older guys looking after him which I find so fucking sweet and adorable, telling the lad to put everything down and stop working.

At this point I see Garou starting to deal with all that backlog of pain and trauma. He is not in it all the time but he allows it to come to the surface, holding it, feeling it and then he goes back to this new low-key life. This isn't something he is going to process in one go. This will be an ongoing process. Diving head first into that chaos, those demons in his head, into everything that hurts and unravelling it a little at a time before swimming back to shore and going on with his life.

It's a process that I think is a lot more poignant and powerful than the happy-go-lucky de-fanged puppy characterisation we currently (but didn't used to) get in the manga. The Garou we get in the webcomic still has those fangs, but he lets himself be more than that little by little. One day, he will be at peace with who he really is and every time I think about it, I kinda want to tear up.

#this is why i love him so #garou #garou one punch man #opm #one punch man #garou meta #opm meta #one punch man meta #opm webcomic #one punch man analysis #garo

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klaasje · 7 months

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plz share your miku essay 👀

DISCLAIMER. this was written in the throes of 2020 lockdown fever and it shows lol

THE GIRL WHO’LL LIVE FOREVER

until tonight, i didn’t know hatsune miku wasn’t real. my hazy assumption was that someone ‘played’ hatsune miku in the same way that mark ruffalo plays the hulk - i thought there was an actress out there who provided the basis for her body and voice. i was right about one of these things, but only accidentally, and remarkably wrong about the rest of it. i am writing this because a) i have literally nothing else to do and b) because i thought the rabbit hole i just fell down was really cool! cool, strange, fascinating, and also kind of sad. anyway. close your eyes and pretend it’s 2007:

yamaha’s vocaloid software is grounded in the concept of ‘voices’. there’s the VOCALOID program itself, the act of writing music that can be played by a machine, and then there are the voices you can use to synthesise it. in 2007, there were 3 voice banks available: a western voice bank named ‘sweet ann’, CV01, and CV02.

CV01 (character voice 1) was developed by crypton media as the first japanese voice bank. character voice 1, as names go, is not particularly appealing - so to increase interest in VOCALOID software and attract a userbase willing to learn it, the team behind CV01 decided to put a name and a face to the voice they’d created. it went, from what can be discerned via google, the wayback machine, and a scattering of translated interviews, something like this: hatsune miku’s voice was based on vocal samples given by saki fujita, a well-established voice actress and living human being. the voice bank itself was built by designer wataru sasuski. her physical appearance, including her iconic outfit and improbably huge aquamarine pigtails, were created by kei garou, a cartoonist and illustrator. everything else was left intentionally as a blank slate - and in the ensuing years, her cult following of fans have risen to the challenge of filling in the gaps. for better or worse.

one of the few canonical facts about hatsune miku is her age. she is, according to her creators, a sixteen year old girl from a distant future where music was forgotten. her outfit reflects this, styled in a fashion reminiscent of seifuku-style school uniforms: skirt, shirt, stockings, and a tie. i did not know there was a specific word for that until just now. anyway - hatsune miku was sixteen in 2007, and she has been sixteen ever since.

i have watched… more than a few vocaloid AMVs tonight! the oldest ones resembled a cross between second life and final fantasy 8 cutscenes - bizarre, rigid avatars performing bizarre, rigid choreography in a number of inexplicable locales, such as endless fields of wheat, a gothic cathedral, and (most memorably), a busted nuclear reactor - but eventually i reached the live recordings, which is where things graduated from funny-weird to weird-weird. the production value, compared to those early videos, was off the charts. the songs, as far as i could tell, were the same. this is often lauded as one of the most unique, inimitable facets of the ‘miku experience’ - her songs are written (and choreographed) by her fans. world is mine, one of her most popular live performances at 8 million hits, started life as one of those stilted, second life-esque animations.

so miku’s songs are written by her fans. hatsune miku, the character, the experience, the mythos - is collectively created by her fans. which begs the question: who are her fans? who created the youtube videos? who has the time, resources, and sheer dedication necessary to create AMVs for an ever-young, ever-pleasant, angel-voiced teenager, with a sylphlike body and a skin tight school uniform?

i didn’t make the connection, at first. maybe this was naive of me. while absorbing the first few miku live videos, hearing her babytalk, watching her perform - my initial assumption was that miku audiences would primarily be teenagers (and their grim-faced parents), people who could relate to miku as an aspirational ‘peer’. her dance moves, especially, led me down this route - is fortnite still big with the youth? i’m 22, i have accepted that my days as someone who knows What’s Big With The Youth are behind me, but i still hear vague echoes from time to time. fortnite dances. tiktok. hatsune miku. etc. what was i saying. oh yeah. miku dances with a camera in mind, the way a tiktok influencer dances: effervescent, front-facing, with hand gestures that beg to be imitated. the more i watched her the more i recognised the unnerving, uncanny quality emanating from the stage. i realised where i’d seen it before. we live in a remarkable age of animation: where AAA studios are creating death scenes so realistic they can provoke a trauma response in the people animating them, where a horse’s bollocks will infamously shrink when exposed to pixel snow, and where hatsune miku dances with unerring, flawless fluidity, while the gleaming stage lights fall perfectly on her virtual body.

she looks so at home in 3-dimensional space, especially in the newest videos, it's easy to forget she isn't there. she looks real. like you could touch her. she will never, of course, be real. you will never, of course, touch her. but you can touch her in other ways. you can write songs with her voice and make her dance to them; you can manipulate the movements of her body, every minute bob of her pigtails, puppet her, propel her. is that the appeal? is that why her audiences look the way they do? i am thinking about tabula rasa and whether the miku slate was ever truly blank. it makes me sad. there’s something poignant about the intersection of humanity and technology that vocaloids represent. they were the first crossing of a border that will continue to be crossed for the rest of the 21st century. in a virtual age, with virtual bodies, what constitutes as ‘real’? where, and how, do we draw a line?

to my surprise, there is a miku song i genuinely like: ‘miku’ ft. hatsune miku, by anamanaguchi. the music video strips the avatar away and leaves the voice bare, nothing but the blood and guts of a vocaloid, synthesizers and computers in an empty recording studio - and this nakedness simultaneously dispels and intensifies my discomfort. it reminds me that the miku vocaloid is more than the sum of its parts. despite the controversy surrounding the fanbase who propeled hatsune miku to fame, there is still something undeniably compelling about this. about her. maybe it’s that animal hindbrain piping up, pricking up the hairs on the back of my neck: this is not a human voice. this is something other, something new. the lyrics do not shy from this. miku, miku, what’s it like to be you? followed by, play me, break me, make me feel like superman, you can do anything you want - and, most poignantly, you found me here inside a dream, walk through fire straight to me. fire walk with me. miku’s existence is a lynchian fever dream; and what’s more, in this song, she knows it. i’m not saying hatsune miku and laura palmer need to be compared and contrasted. but i’m also not NOT saying that. i am saying that this song, like every other miku song, is the catchiest song in the world. like it was developed in a lab to be an ear worm. i suppose, in some ways, that’s the point.

#as a reminder to anyone reading this I HAD NOT BEEN OUTSIDE FOR DAYS. i was not SLEEPING. i wass DEPRESSED. i was REWATCHING TWIN PEAKS #ask #anonymous

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theomnicode · 6 months

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Monsterization & the cure

Blast is thiiis close to figuring out the secret ingredient to monsterization on humans and how to reverse it, though ironically one more secret to reversing monsterization is standing right next to him.

Saitama has a curious ability to reverse monsterization, as seen when he punched Cosmic Garou in the nogging and he lost all power and reversed his monsterization.

Unfortunately, Blast won't be able to just ask Saitama how he does it, because Saitama has forgotten. Otherwise he would ask Saitama to give shock therapy by punching people.

It's pointless to ask Garou either, for he has completely forgotten the secrets of monsterization.

It would appear that great shock to the biological system is enough to destabilize the monster cells on humans turned monsters, though the real key is in the willpower of the individual wanting to transform. It would logically make sense that if the person desires and obsesses over something and becomes inhuman, the reverse would have to be true as well. Hamukichi regrets turning into a monster and he was a promising subject in terms of reversing the monsterization.

Clearly, the desire to turn back into a human would appear to play a large part in reversing monsterization. Those who willingly turn into monsters renounce their humanity, so those who want to become humans again would have to attain back their humanity.

Now if Blast was to apprehend Gale wind and Hellfire flame and ask them questions in how they are capable of turning back and forth in their human and monster forms, he would be that much closer to unveiling the cure to monsterization.

Truly a shame that Bang has also retired; nobody is there to ask him questions about how he managed to reach Garou. He would be able to answer that by genuinely caring about his student, he managed to reach his true heart beneath the monster form.

The pieces are scattered around all over the place, but the players in OPM world are this much closer to bringing together all the keys.

#opm #one punch man #opm meta #blast #saitama #garou #hamukichi #monsterization #willpower

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darklordazalin · 8 months

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Hi, love the darklord reviews!! I was wondering, in your time researching darklords are there any 5e versions you prefer to their 2e/3e versions, or vice versa?

Well, after letting this question sit with me for a few days, I will do my best to answer it as honestly as possible.

First, to understand where I am coming from, I have been a fan of Ravenloft ever since I purchased the first Ravenloft adventure ever written, which was released in 1983. The adventure featured an invitation to dinner at Castle Ravenloft. If you’ve played any version of Strahd’s story, you’ll find it hasn’t changed much since its first release – the vampire’s story has always revolved around a Tarokka reading, a beautiful redhead, and a curse. Not the same can be said about many of the other Darklords that have been featured in Ravenloft and most recently within Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.

Some definitely needed to be changed to appeal to a modern audience. For example, the sheer amount of female Darklords in the old material that were obsessed with being attractive has always been a bit eye rolling. That said, let’s move on to your question.

I mostly prefer the older material as there is far more information provided about almost every Darklord and their history. The older material allows for shades of grey and provides indepth personas and histories for these characters. The new material does a decent job given the limit to a single source book, but misses one of the key features in the Ravenloft setting – that there is beauty in the lands in the Mists and countless innocents worth saving. Instead, it treats everything as a constant source of doom and gloom and the majority of the citizens within as ‘soulless’. To me, that does not give the player characters much in the way of incentive to help these unfortunates.

The most obvious one I prefer in the older material is Azalin. In 5e, Azalin was chucked out of his Domain and gets a 3 sentence write up that is inaccurate at best. This surprised me given his cameo in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. There are some intriguing possibilities with Firan Zal’honan as a Mist Walker, but we are still given nothing about his history. I remember in 2e they chucked Azalin out of Darkon and the fans were more than a little upset about it, which resulted in his return in 3e. Strange that they did that again.

I also prefer the Three Hags from Tepest from the older material. 5e didn’t change their story at all but for some reason only made one of the three hags the Darklord. In my opinion, they are far more interesting as a group.

Then there’s Harkon Lukas. Harkon’s story in 5e is actually a little better – a failed musician always changing in attempts to win fame is a more suitable curse for him than a guy that really wants to rule but his Domain is more about Democracy (well, if you can call musical talent shows in place of elections as a Democracy). However, I dislike that they made him into a loup garou instead of a wolfwere and they took away his monocle. Loup garous are just another type of werewolf in 5e. In past editions they were men who magically imbued the skin of a wolf with dark magic and transformed into wolves or hybrid wolves by donning the skin. They could also transform others into werewolves with their bite. Wolfweres despise both werewolves and loup garous. They are wolves that can turn into men. Harkon’s whole theme was a monster pretending to be a person and thoroughly misunderstanding what makes one human. In past editions Harkon was gender fluid – they could take the form of any gender and did so quite regularly. I just think he's far more interesting as a gender fluid wolfwere that loves wearing monocles.

As for those I prefer more? Mostly this amounts to those Darklords they did complete overalls on and I actually wish they had just created entirely new Darklords and Domains for them instead of replaceing the old versions entirely. This include Hazlan (who is a lot more like 3e Azalin, actually), Saidra d’Honaire, Tsien Chiang, and Ramya Vasavadan.

Saidra d’Honaire took the place of Dominic d’Honaire, but her story is completely different. In 5e we have an evil Cinderella story and with Dominic you had a city of mind-controlled puppets. I would have preferred if they had just given Saidra an entirely new Domain.

Tsien Chiang is a bit more interesting in 5e, but I do miss her keep made entirely of bones of the men that had wronged her because honestly that was pretty badass.

Ramya Vasavadan is a new Darklord as is her Domain (though it appears to be a mash up of the Verdurous Lands). Ramya is interesting as her past isn’t overly horrendous, but she clearly has the potential for great evil. The land of Kalakeri is a great addition to Ravenloft and offers something entirely different from past editions for players to explore.

I also enjoy Viktra Mordenheim in Lamordia. I think she’s one of the new Darklords that you read and think “why yes, this individual is completely evil’. However, I do not think she’s ‘better’ than Lamordia’s previous Darklord – Adam. Adam was the creation of Victor Mordenheim. Essentially, Lamordia was Ravenloft’s take on Frankenstein, except in Ravenloft both the Doctor and his creation are the monster. So, running Lamordia depends on if you want to lean into the classic Frankenstein of the older material or the steam punk horror of the newer material. I think both work well.

Lastly and though she is not a Darklord, Lyssa von Zarovich was horribly done in 5e. As were any of the previous characters that had their own backstory and were reduced to ‘potential Tatyana reincarnation’. But Lyssa in particular. Lyssa is a relative of Strahd’s, so the whole her being a reincarnation of his lustful obsession is more than a little disturbing. Besides that, she is also known for her work with the Illithids of Bluetspur, the creation of vampiric mind flayers, her work on the Apparatus, and her constant plans to destroy her grand uncle. She would have made a great Mist Walker. She made a pact with the Dark Powers to become a vampire, then tricked the ghost of her dead fiancé into using his ‘frightening vintage’ on her so she would age and become more powerful as a vampire.

#this ended up being way longer than i intended #this is why you don't asked me questions about ravenloft #ravenloft

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songoftrillium · 9 months

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Ghost Council (J.F. Sambrano Edition)

The following is the fourth draft copy of Ghost Council as written by J.F. Sambrano was submitted to Paradox. This is reposted from J.F. Sambrano's patreon with their permission:

Ghost Council

By J.F. Sambrano

Who are the Ghost Council?

The first-born of the Dawning Tribes, the Ghost Council, or Elder Brother as they are known amongst themselves, always steps into the unknown first, braving its dangers for the protection of their siblings. The Ghost Council seeks to know, first and foremost, so that they can then teach those who come after what is prudent and what is treacherous. The Ghost Council seeks knowledge in dark places, and wisdom from the dark and alien. The Ghost Council knows that not all of their siblings are ready for this perilous method of education, but they are, and someone always has to walk into the darkness first. Let it be us, they say. Let us keep our cousins unblemished. (See the rest below the cut)

Despite this commonality in approach, there are many disparate perspectives within the Ghost Council. The most common philosophy is that which they are most famous for--the Ghost Council studies the enemy in order to best understand it, because in understanding lies the key to victory. No Tribe engages in the study of Grandmother Serpent with the conviction and determination that the Ghost Council does. Yet there are others who say that the answers lie within the Garou people themselves--and the Garou are children of the Wyld. These members of the Ghost Council instead throw themselves into the frenetic, chaotic, and even explosive techniques of the Wyld--seeking understanding through “crazy wisdom” and unpredictability. These Wyld Children are often seen as dangerous and incomprehensible to other members of the Tribe. Likewise, there are those who insist that the secrets to understanding the cosmos lie within the madness of Grandfather Spider, who has played his great trick on Grandmother Serpent. These Web Walkers cling to the Scars and embrace the power and knowledge of Grandfather Spider’s brood, and although their expertise and power is undeniable, even their own Tribal members consider them heretical Urrah.

Gaia’s Howl

When Great Mother cried out, the power of her pain dislodged many spirits--and many powerful Banes which the Banetenders of the Ghost Council held trapped for centuries. This is one of the greatest fears that the Ghost Council has, and in these last days, they have come to pass. No Tribe has the knowledge or wherewithal needed to hunt down and bind these spirits once more. The Ghost Council has made it their priority to do this work--no matter the cost.

The Ghost Council believes that the secret knowledge required to address Great Mother’s pain lies beyond the Gauntlet. Some say that it is the beginning of the Seventh Sign, but the Ghost Council has always questioned the validity of that prophecy. The severing of the Umbra and the Tellurian has only incited more and more of them to devote themselves to Umbral exploration in order to find the source of Great Mother’s pain.

The Ghost Council has never been satisfied only courting the power of the spirit world--even though they are unquestionably masters of it--but with the source of this power increasingly difficult to access, many of them are turning to cultural and traditional sources of power, enriching their acumen through their communities. Their embrace of belief systems and folk magic which stray from the animistic outlook of the Garou as a whole is yet another reason that the rest of the Tribes look at them askance, not just with concern, but with fear.

The Malady

Unlike their more temperamental brother, the Ghost Council learned long ago to seek outside of themselves for kinship and family. This is not to say that they are not concerned with their growing sterility, but they have no qualms with looking further and in darker places for Lost Cubs to bring within their fold. They are still quite discerning, however, and choose to limit their searches to the cultures and communities which they consider their own--oppressed and marginalized communities which have suffered from the erasures and genocides brought forth by global colonial attitudes.. They seek those who know how to walk between, to understand and respect both worlds, a knowledge necessary for the quest given to them by their Patron, the River Serpent.

The Ghost Council concerns themselves more with the afflictions being suffered by other living things. It was the Ghost Council who first recognized the sickness as one of the spirit--and who else? But that is only an answer that offers more questions.

Kinfolk

The Ghost Council has usually held their Kinfolk in high respect, but have also been known to leave them behind in pursuit of secrets and dangers where they cannot go. The Malady has forced them to respond to this oversight in one of two ways. There are many among the Ghost Council who have chosen to focus on building up their communities, made up of disempowered folk such as Native Americans, Black folk, and other Indigenous and impoverished communities across the world, who are always on the front lines when the impacts of the Urge Wyrm Kimoti and Great Mother’s pain are concerned. They act as guides and cultural leaders, even to the point of creating zealous, cult-like followings. Others members of the Ghost Council have decided that in these last days it is time to trust and empower their Kinfolk--always the most likely to show the ability to manipulate the world through medicine and sorcery alike--to walk with them on their dangerous path, and choose to take them along on their journeys into the dark, even if they were not built to survive the hidden horrors within.

River Serpent

At home in the darkest depths and hidden fathoms, River Serpent goads and guides its children along perilous paths and dangerous journeys. River Serpent does not act so much as a representative or a guardian as other Tribal Patrons do, but rather a negotiator of forbidden wisdom and unique mysteries. The Serpent-That-Swims-Beneath eschews warm supervision for the stark and cold protocol of spiritual transactions. The Serpent is a dealmaker, a soultaker, and counts every bead owed.

Harmony

Harmony is a matter of balancing the spirit. Members of the Ghost Council hunt down and annihilate spirits that are out of control, or they scour the dark places for secrets of the mystical that are as of yet unknown, or they influence the spirit courts in a way that will change the world for the better. They are always at council with the ghosts, be they the courts, their ancestors, or even the malevolent undead. Whatever method or technique an individual of the Ghost Council uses, it is always about the balancing of spirit. Even the Banetenders, warped with the corruption of Grandmother Serpent, know the importance of this.

Ghreena

The Ghreena of the Ghost Council is the The Lure of the Wyrm.

It is a common Ghost Council philosophy to study the secrets of the Wyrm, both to use it against Grandmother Serpent’s agents, and also to find what corrupted things might be brought back into balance--but sometimes those secrets are too tempting to use.

These Garou will willingly ally themselves with Banes whom (they believe) they can control. They will use Gifts taught to them by Wyrm spirits and use corrupted Fetishes, claiming that they give them the power necessary to fight for Great Mother.

The Ghost Council are not unknown to invoke the most powerful spirits to aid them in their duties, but when lost to Ghreena they will carelessly invoke spirits that could take control of them or others, essentially fraternizing with dangerous and malignant spirits, and giving themselves over as hosts. Even worse, when other Tribes encounter these horrifying, twisted versions of a Ghost Councilor, it only confirms their worst fears about them.

Archetypes: Sorcerers, spiritual envoys, spirit-hunters, keepers of stories and songs.

#world of darkness #werewolf: the apocalypse #world building #werewolves #ghost council

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