#like. I found my cosplay niche and that’s such a good feeling

[oneknightlight]

I cannot verbally express how good it feels to get into series that little me really wanted to but couldn’t.

#it’s been a fucking. religious experience finally getting into utdr after yeaaars of not having the mental energy to pick up another game #/ being shamed by my crappy mom for my interests #and not only loving the series but finding an IMMENSE sense of belonging #like. I found my cosplay niche and that’s such a good feeling #Walt talks #idk sappy hour

[ace-sher-bi-john]

Me, feeling lonely: I should try to make more friends

My brain: Here's a list of all the reasons why we don't do that,

I experience hyperfixations which take up all of my mental energy to the point where I barely have enough energy to take care of myself. I can't handle having more than two obsessions at a time, and even that is draining. When my friends talk about their obsessions, I try really hard to listen, but lose interest quickly if it's not my current hyperfixation. In turn, I love to infodump and obsess over small details in my hyperfixations. I try really hard not to do this when talking to people because it feels very self-centered. Like they would care about hearing every single detail about my obsession, with no room for them to talk about their interests...

I'm an introvert and find human interaction exhausting unless that person is my mom (who I could literally talk to all day and never be tired, and she in turn would never tire of talking to me). Even talking to friends online is super exhausting and I overthink everything I say, which is even more exhausting

I have zero ability to gage how close I am to someone. I don't want to make things awkward by being super clingy, because several friendships failed throughout my life due to me being clingy and only wanting to play with one specific person even if they didn't feel like playing with me. So I've overcorrected and now I don't make any attempts to progress in our friendship out of fear of appearing clingy. I'm either the most clingy friend or the most distant friend. Friendships require a healthy balance of both and I am incapable of that, so I go for the option that will be seen as the least annoying/selfish and we remain at best really good acquaintances

My interests are very specific and change every couple of months. Even if I found someone who was obsessed with the same thing at the same time, as well as my more niche hobbies, the friendship would last as long as my hyperfixation. Once we no longer share common interests, I would inevitably talk to them less and less until one day, we're no longer friends. My brain would no longer find that person interesting and I would forget about them

I believe that I have it in me to be a really good friend. To get it right. But it would be at the cost of myself. I would try to make enough room in my brain for everyone else's lives and I wouldn't have any interests of my own. I would constantly be exhausted.

So instead I choose the option that sometimes makes me happiest, but other times leaves me sad and lonely wondering why I can't just be better at being a good friend?

I do have friends IRL. I have four people who I would consider to be close friends, possibly even best friends? Two of them have given me the label of being their best friend. But I don't talk to them as often as I probably should. I talk to one of them almost daily for hours at a time, because they just so happen to be obsessed with BBC Sherlock, the MCU and cosplay. But I fear that the second my BBC Sherlock obsession ends, I will stop talking to them.

Outside of those people, I don't know where I stand with anyone who's not family. I have my old classmates from high school. Some of them I talked to every day and had friendly interactions with, but I don't make any effort to stay in contact with them now and didn't feel much of a connection with when we were in school. I have my co-workers who I don't feel much of a connection to, but they're always happy to see me and sometimes interact with me in a way that makes me feel like we're friends. One of my co-workers hugged me before she went home on the day before she started her holiday break because she was going to miss seeing me everyday while she was off. That caught me off guard. I guess we're friends if she felt close enough to me to hug me?

Apologies for the rant. I just really needed to put that somewhere. I won't make a habit of this.

#basically i know im not a good friend #i also know what i need to do to fix that #but it would hurt my mental health to stop doing what makes me happy #infodumping about my obsessions makes me happy #infodumping with people who share my obsessions makes me happier #but listening to other people talk about their obsessions which i don't share is boring #that's selfish of me i know #but i can't just fix that about me #rant

[varrics-best-friend-hawke]

10 people you want to know more about!

Thanks  @hawkeshep for tagging me! Sorry it took so long to get to.

I’m tagging without pressure (if you're wondering who I am it’s cause we’re mutuals on my other blog friendly-neiborhood-dm)!: @plaguemasc  @losthalla  @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul  @juliansfavoritemc   @femmeshep  @trash-eating-demon  @thiefbird @jortsman @georgiekat   @tired-dungeon-master

Favourite colour: Pink Pink Pink

Favourite food: Either mac‘n’cheese or popcorn

Song stuck in your head: Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez

Last thing you googled: Dear Even Hansen movie reviews. I had mixed feelings about it myself...

Time: 11:52am

Dream Trip: There’s so many places I would like to go someday, but if I had to pick one it would probably be either Paris or Venice

Last book you read: I’m reading through all the Dragon Age books before Dreadwolf comes out. I finished Stolen Throne and just started The Calling. I’m also reading the Witcher series

Last book you enjoyed reading: Last book I enjoyed that’s not on the list above was The Hobbit

Last book you hated reading: Please don’t come for me Lovecraft fans, but The Call of Cathulu... I thought is was super boring and extremely racist.

Favourite thing to cook/bake: I hate cooking, but I am good at it. The one thing I actually like making is soup. I also like baking cookies though my baking skills aren’t the best

Favourite craft to do in your spare time: I sew and cosplay. I’m currently working on my pirate outfit for Ren Fest!

Most niche dislike: This may sound weird. Centaurs...I find them disturbing...

Opinion on circuses now and in history: I live the aesthetic in fiction, but horrible and disturbing in real life

Do you have a sense of direction and if not what is the worst way you ever got lost: Absolutely not! The worst was probably when I went to pet sit at my sisters new house and was on a completely different road. That doesn’t sound to bad until you factor in the fact that it as a creepy woodsy back road at 11 at night and the only place to pull over was by a cemetery.

[crystalelemental]

With the turn of the new year soon upon us, now is as good a time as any to present another rendition of my favorite sync pairs.  There are a lot now, but we’re keeping it to 25 to make sure it’s interesting.

25) Nanu.  Nanu’s such a fun unit.  Prior to his grid, the discovery of Screech/Bite utility kept him in a great position for F2P clears, supporting all sorts of threats like Kahili and Bugsy, or Dark-type pals like Masked Royal or Sidney.  I find myself constantly going to Nanu as a third partner.  But.  I’d be lying if I said I found him particularly consistent.  Screech is good, but often Leer feels just as valuable.  Bite only getting Aggravation 1 means 40% which isn’t great, and worse is tied to getting crits so he demands crit support even if his partner doesn’t.

24) Champion Iris.  I feel bad about it.  But C!Iris has dropped a lot.  So bad they took away her Champion designation.  Now she’s just Alt Iris.   It’s a tough life.  I think what happened here is, when you have a favorite for like over a year, eventually you reach the point where you want to try out other units.  That’s kinda what happened here, I think. She’s still good and fun, but nothing new has developed for her so I’m kinda like yeah, time to try other stuff.  Also there are a ton of Dragons, and I find myself really wanting to try those out instead, so she just doesn’t see much play.  Add in that she can be frustrating to work in Gauntlet sometimes, requiring higher-end tools than I’d like to utilize, and it’s...tough.

23) New Year Sabrina.  I still really like Sabrina as a character, but I will admit that unlike a Jasmine, Caitlin, or even Roxanne, Masters hasn’t really done anything all that interesting with Sabrina, who often feels very uninteresting.  Perhaps that’s why I’ve kinda meandered away from her a bit.  I still love the New Years alt, and find her traits fantastic...but I also have to admit she’s not doing much anymore.  I don’t get excited busting her out like I once did.  I blame competition.  Special Attack/Crit is a nice niche, but she’s decisively the worst option given how inconsistent crit rate is.  Her other buff skills are nice, but similarly inconsistent.  The one thing she does have is Endure, but now so does Winter Jasmine, who is way more consistent and useful and also I like her better.  So I feel bad.  Because I do love this alt.  But she’s definitely dropped in the rankings.

22) SC Lillie.  If you can believe it.  I do love Lillie, and I think this outfit’s adorable.  But also it’s...it’s just her original Nihilego cosplay in a different color.  I really think part of it is just that the outfit’s kinda boring.  Because otherwise, she’s a fantastically efficient special attack/crit buffer.  Who sees less use than SS Kris and SC Jasmine.  And often goes unused.  I feel weird about it.  Because she’s great utility, great design, great character.  But I’m rarely like...extremely hyped about bringing her in.  Not like the others.

21) Candice.  Candice is so much fun.  Like, as the original Common Grid leader, Candice was a shining beacon of hope for others to get similarly blessed grids, and also like someone who’d probably fall to like mid-tier performance.  She...did not do that.  In fact she’s still one of the best.  What’s more interesting is that she’s gone from just really good, to kinda absurd?  Like, her sync nuke can handle a lot of Gauntlet stages with minimal support.  Despite Fire-type weakness, she’s handled Entei and Moltres.  It’s just fun to see what kind of nonsense Candice can pull off.

20) Roxanne.  My girl.  Roxanne’s one of my favorite gym leaders, and despite being a common, Roxanne gets a ton of use.  The Endure effect was a beautiful thing to get in tandem with how much she buffs.  I feel like Roxanne isn’t particularly flashy as a unit, but what she does have is tremendous consistency.  She’s useful in almost every game mode, and performs well every time I bring her out.

19) Anniversary Lillie.  “Woah, what happened?”  Same thing with C!Iris.   But also worse, because her gimmick is kinda bad.  Piercing Blows has landed on “Not that useful” in my eyes, due to how hard it hurts DPS.   And her sync is such a joke that she’s the worst sync damage among Ghost-types if she misses Super Preparation 4.  It’s just...sad.  And at this point I find myself more excited to see what Shauntal’s grid looks like than running Lillie again.  I know a lot of people feared it, and wanted it not to happen...but I did want 5/5 Master Fair grids.  I wanted Lillie to get what she deserved.  Because this alt is really pretty, it’s a top tier pairing, and conceptually I love how it operates.  It’s just not what it used to be anymore.

18) Palentine’s Dawn.  Palentine’s Dawn has fallen on hard times.  I still love her.  The design is great, I love me a good debuffer, but she’s...okay, she’s entirely outclassed now.  Lucian is significantly more consistent, and even alleviates all gauge issues for free.   Palentine’s Dawn cannot compete with Lucian’s abilities.  It’s kind of funny just how hard he took over with just one move.  Dawn still has her utility, it’s just a lot rarer to see her used over Lucian.

17) Kahili.  Among flying types, I never really expected to gravitate toward Kahili. I always liked her design, but like most of Gen 7, she didn’t get much time.  Also Toucannon is anathema; my darling Pikipek evolved into this and I’m still sour. But here we are, with one of my favorite Flying-type damage dealers to run.  I think it’s the set.  Massive sync damage with Super Preparation on the side, or Defense Crush on Peck to really mess up Gauntlets.  She’s far from a world-beater, but I love getting Kahili to work.

16) Winona.  Another Flying girl, apparently I have a type?  Winona’s always been a top utility unit, and after grid, that’s been expanded to ludicrous extremes.  While the lack of MPR on Rain Dance hurts, Winona ultimately gets a lot to justify her use regardless.  Hurricane DPS is perfectly sufficient for most Flying-weak stages, and her sync nuke is pretty good when supported.  Granted, “supported” means SS Kris and Anni Skyla, but it’s super fun to watch her go.  Without that, the utility of Rain and Air Slash’s 60% flinch rate is divine.  Add in a trainer move that buffs speed for gauge control, and I legitimately find Winona more valuable than May.  I recognize May is far stronger and has MPR, but I find myself going to Winona every time.  She’s just great, and I love her.

15) SC Diantha.  Unlike a lot of others, there hasn’t really been strict competition for Diantha’s role as a favorite Fighting-type.  Diantha’s remained top pick for a good, long while, but I’m still enjoying breaking her out.  The ability to dominate any Gauntlet stage helps too.  She’s just so ridiculously good.

14)  SS Lyra.  I really, really love this unit.  Lyra’s outfit is adorable, and I love the added lore they give, setting it up as a dancer outfit from a prior era that was associated with Celebi.  And the battle performance.  I was supremely underestimating her.  Guaranteed flinch didn’t, and still doesn’t, feel like anything special.   Guaranteed Sleep is a thing with comparable effect, and it’s super janky thanks to consistently high resistance rates and single-target effects that mostly mess up timing.  Why would flinch be any different?  And the answer is...because Lyra’s flinch is a passive, that allows her to queue another move before it activates.  Resulting in guaranteed continuation of your gameplay flow.  Lyra...actually is the perfect utility tool.  Barring Gauntlet stages that are immune to flinch, Lyra’s a win condition on her own.  It’s great.

13) SS Dawn.  Nothing’s really changed here either, but I do want to reiterate, I love that it’s based off storybook princes she wanted to be like.  Something about that is adorable to me.  I will admit that as much as I adore the alt, I haven’t been using her as much.  I feel bad about it.  She’s great, but I’ve been taken with using worse offensive threats, and Dawn doesn’t help those out as much.

12) SC Hilda.  Similar to Diantha but more extreme.  Rock is hard to shop for.  Fighting at least has the occasional “I’m gonna try out Bruno” reaction, with the possibility of Wally if I ever wanted.  But Hilda is uncontested.  There is no other Rock-type.  Every common I’ve tried is terrible.  We really need BP or Lodge Roxanne to save that type for F2P.  But honestly, even if other options existed, Hilda’s supreme.  A cute dress for a fun character, and one of my favorite mythical Pokemon.  They’re fantastic.

11) Kris.  SHE’LL KICK YOU APART, OOO.  I adore Kris.  Masters does such a good job with her personality, and as a unit, I always kinda liked that she was a unit who had some kind of need.  But then it started to feel unfair.  She was literally the only unit in the game with unsalvageable accuracy issues.  Aaron was a glimmer of hope, but that just locked her into one option, which is never great.  But then, the expansion.  250% sync, 50% move, fixed accuracy, can buff crit to cap by herself.  Kris went from zero to hero real fast.  If I liked using her before, the acquisition of the best grid expansion just made her a delight.  Did you know she can easily truck Moltres with just Eggmon Blastoise?  Yeah.  Two uses of Rain is sufficient.  She can explode the second bar, and whatever’s left of the third.  She has to hold herself back from beating Moltres too hard in Bar 3 so Rain doesn’t leave.  Kris is ridiculous.  She’s become a go-to for all Water-weak content, and honestly content in general.

10) Lysandre.  Lysandre was always a fun option to use, especially in Gauntlet where he feels like someone who cannot die.  But truth be told, in the current era, Lysandre...feels ridiculous.  The full 5/5 grid, which I do have thanks to early player luck, absolutely rules.  Crit Strike 3 and Brainpower were perfect multiplier choices for him.  The inclusion of Downside Up is goofy, but it actually lets his trainer move buff his defenses, which plays into Healthy Buffer 5.  Lysandre got bulky again move damage now.  And being effectively immune to defensive drops means I’m willing to bet good money he’s one of the Latios solo options now.  It fixed his CS performance too.  Now his sync can actually threaten, thanks to 130% more damage behind it.  It’s so good.

9) SC Rosa.  You want to talk about what I love?  Debuffs.  Sure that won’t be relevant later.  Special Attack/evasion debuffs is such a neat combination, and the heavy debuffing of special defense off Seed Flare is just a delight.  SC Rosa has fantastic utility and the best Grass-type damage in the game, backed by great support tools.  Also, a super cute outfit, with Sky-Fome Shaymin.  Which I love.  This was such a good return.  Rosa was overdue for an alt, given her prominence in the game, and they did not disappoint.

8) Renegade Cynthia.  Still a favorite.  Nothing’s really changed.  Love the outfit, really love the role.  Do feel like she’s less exciting than she once was.  When the hype wore off, she feels more like a supporter to other Ghost-types I’m more excited about testing, but at least she maintains that relevance.

7) Winter Whitney.  This may be a touch of recency bias, but Winter Whitney rules.  Triple Terrain effects, spread debuffs/team buffs per attack, great flinch rate, legitimately absurd damage on sync despite Normal typing.  She can even tank.  She can even tank.  Whitney’s just ridiculous.  This feels so much more aligned to her as a character.  Miltank at least got good stuff with the grid, but the HGSS rematches always gave me the impression that Whitney is actually really interesting as a trainer, given some of the strategies she employs.  And Sawsbuck really feels like it fits her eclectic style.

6) Lucian.  I feel so weird leaving Lucian out of the top 5, but I stand by the favoritism that happens.  Truth is though, Lucian...might just be my most frequently used unit.  Lucian’s such a strange case of a 1/5 unit being ideal already.  Growl has that much utility.  Attack and special defense drops are great, AoE is fantastic, adding in a team speed boost each use is ridiculous. The fact that he then goes on to acquire this massive sync nuke at 3/5 is just icing. Lucian’s been useful in every mode.  He sets up fantastic clears in CS, explodes Gauntlet stages, and is integral to Day 1 no heal clears in Villa.  It often feels like there is nothing this man cannot do.

5) Winter Jasmine.  I feel like I owe Classic Red an apology for underestimating Supereffective Up Next as an applied feature.  Sure, it was because the rest of his kit doesn’t impress me while Jasmine’s does, but oooh man.  Jasmine is nuts.  SEUN on its own slams foes, but her bulk is absurd.  I have yet to see her drop.  To like...anything.  And she’s not even the one getting the immediate +3.  The fact she had double Potion MPR or the ability to block defense debuffs, or the ability to guaranteed paralyze foes that hit her, and can stack physical or special moves up next?  Jasmine’s been ridiculously fun to play.  I adore her.

4) SS Cyrus.  It is...hard to say this isn’t my favorite.  Look, I am Gen 4 fanatic, and a ton of that is Platinum and Explorers of Sky.  I loved Cyrus, I loved Darkrai, and the idea that we now live in a world where they partnered those two up?  I will never be over it.  It’s so perfect.  Add in that he’s the most consistent Dark-type damage dealer by a mile, while also providing Zone and sleep support?  Cyrus can do it all.  Not at once, but still.  He’s absurd, and I adore this one.

3) Halloween Caitlin.  Nothing’s changed, still the best.  I love Caitlin so much, and this alt is precious and devastating, and despite cries of her kit being niche, her stocks keep going up with plenty of units capping crit but not their needed offenses.

2) SC Jasmine.  While Winter Jasmine is gorgeous and I love it, SC Jasmine remains my preference.  This is partly just...Celesteela.  Jasmine and Ampharos felt so guaranteed that it could only work against them if they didn’t do it.  But putting Jasmine with my second favorite ultra beast?  That was unexpected and delightful, and she’s remained a favorite since.  Add in that she’s my favorite type of support, special attack/crit buffing, and can even drop special defense of the foe off a one-bar spam that guaranteed recharges the gauge it used?  Jasmine’s fantastic in so many ways.

1) SS Kris.  But I think Kris is still #1.  I adore this alt.  It’s gorgeous, it’s unbelievable role compression, it’s my favorite kind of buffing support.  Kris does everything I could want for a unit, and she’s kinda become my go-to for just about everything.  Even stuff that doesn’t strictly need Rain, I’ve started going to her even before Jasmine lately.  She’s just so good.  And the outfit’s fantastic, the pairing with Suicune is ideal.  Everything about SS Kris is still the best.  Top unit introduction for the year, absolutely.

#pokemon masters #favorite sync pairs

[gurleend287]

Genshiken Second Season (ep. 1,3,4,10)

RATING: ★★★

This second season piqued my interest a bit. In particular, the season focuses on the theme of generational differences and the evolution of otaku culture, as well as the personal struggles and relationships of the characters.

The changing landscape of the otaku subculture is explored, including the rise of online fandoms and the increasing mainstream acceptance of anime and manga. The series does a good job of highlighting personal struggles and overcoming them in a fairly realistic manner. However, the mainstream acceptance of anime and manga can have both positive and negative effects on otakus, with some feeling that the unique and niche aspects of the subculture are being lost.

What I appreciated about the show is the way it explores what it truly means to be an otaku. To be an otaku means to avidly partake in the media you consume. It’s not enough to simply watch an anime or read manga, but to avidly become one with it. This is possible through activities such as cosplay and writing fanfiction/doujinshi, which involve actively partaking in the fandom you love to attain the fictional desires most otakus have.

The characters in this season have come to terms with their personal interests and kinks. For example, Chika has embraced her inner otaku and began creating her own original works, while Sue, Oone, and Rika express themselves through cosplay to live out and become their fantasies. Moreover, Hato, a new member, is exploring his gender identity through crossdressing, and is able to show the others in the club both sides of himself and finally learns to feel comfortable saying how he enjoys the fujoshi community.

Overall, I found it interesting to see a time skip and the characters all grown up in the second season, showing where they are a few years from then. It was great to see the way different characters grew into their personalities, especially Oguie becoming the president of the club, embracing her doujinshi, and exploring possible careers in the industry. As a viewer, I always appreciate shows that show real character growth, and I feel like she specifically has grown a lot.

#jpt1311 #genshiken #post

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

A Miraculous TikTok Account

Part 14

First

Previous

Next

The next day was The Day.

It had been a full month since they had moved into the house.

Tensions had settled somewhat, people had more or less grown used to each other’s presence… but, on that one particular day, the five of them were on edge.

It was the day to begin posting.

Chat bit his lip, scrolling through all the different videos he had taken on patrols. Should he just go in the order that he had taken them in? That would certainly be easier than any arbitrary system he put out.

Then again, if he actually figured out a system it would make what he was doing feel like it had more effort. Out of all the account themes that he knew (Chloe was still refusing to answer any questions about hers), his definitely required the lowest amount of effort.

It fit him, but still.

He decided to schedule a little bit. It would go dogs, then cats, then more unusual animals, then repeat.

There. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Hopefully, Fu wouldn’t take issue with it --.

He tore through the skin of his lip and hissed in pain. He dropped his phone on the bed next to him and brought his hands up to stem the bleeding until he found a tissue.

He walked to the mirror and snickered to himself when he saw his reflection.

Thank the kwamis he wasn’t home anymore. His dad would have thrown a fit about him ‘ruining’ his perfect face.

The door opened and he looked over to see Chloe. “Bonjour --.”

He groaned a little. “Bonjour. You’re not taking tonight’s patrols from me, but you can come along if you want.”

“What? No. I need more time to edit a video for my account so I’m going to be announcing the start of our accounts.”

“You had a month and you’re still not done?” He teased, tossing the bloodied tissue in the trash.

She scoffed. “Not like I owe you an explanation, but I have an hour of footage to go through and edit down to a few minutes at most.”

Ah. Yeah. That would be hard.

He followed her to where everyone had congregated on the couch.

Well, actually, Ladybug and Carapace were the only ones on the couch, Rena was standing behind it, peering over the other miraculous holder’s shoulders as they scrolled through their phones.

Rena looked up when she heard their footsteps and gasped. “What happened to your lip?”

“I lost a fight...” … with his own mouth, but that was beside the point.

Carapace raised his eyebrows. “You lost a fight without leaving your room?”

Rena’s lips twitched into a mischievous grin. “Who knows, with all the stuff in his room something could be living in there and no one would know.”

He fought the urge to sink into the fabric of his turtleneck (which he now felt weird wearing considering the actual turtle in the group never wore turtlenecks). “Shut up.”

“Nice comeback,” commented Carapace.

“Thanks,” he muttered, dropping down onto the couch beside him and resting his head on his shoulder.

Chloe hummed as she set up her phone to take a video of them all and then she paused, looking at everyone. “Costumes? Since this is the announcement video?”

Ladybug set her phone in her pocket. “Sure.”

“Oh, what if we start in costume and then we detransform?” Said Carapace.

“Why?” Questioned Rena.

“For the drama. Obviously.”

No one bothered to reply to that, instead they all called their kwamis to transform.

Chloe pressed to start recording and then waltzed over to take a seat on Ladybug’s lap. To Ladybug’s credit, her face remained neutral. They all knew she blinked behind her mask even if they couldn’t see it.

Rena snickered a little behind her hand.

Ladybug’s skin flared bright red. There it was. She’d finally finished processing.

“Was… was the spot beside me not good enough?”

“Nope!” Chloe said brightly before turning her attention to the camera. “Hello, Paris… and others, though I don’t know why you’d bother with our accounts if you aren’t Parisian. We’re the miraculous team!”

They went in a line from left to right introducing themselves and then detransforming to show off their civilian clothes.

“Now, you might be wondering: what’s going on?”

“A good question. Not even we really know,” Chat muttered.

(Carapace, the only one close enough to really hear, was now smiling more sincerely.)

“We’ve started TikTok accounts that we’re going to be maintaining until we defeat Hawkmoth. Why’d we decide to do this?”

Everyone’s gazes briefly pulled away from the camera to send Chloe looks that varied from slight exasperation (Carapace) to amusement (Rena).

“No reason! Just convenience!”

Chat rolled his eyes a little.

Chloe went on to explain what each of their accounts would be about, except...

“You forgot your own niche, Queenie,” said Ladybug gently.

“I didn’t forget.”

They waited for her to go on and say what she was going to be doing, but she didn’t.

The other miraculous holders exchanged wary looks.

“All their accounts are going to be in the caption. Follow them!”

The video cut.

~

A day passed, but no one was really getting picked up by the algorithm, it seemed.

They had all convened in the living room again to discuss what to do.

Chat had the most followers, which wasn’t a surprise considering he was just posting cute animals.

Ladybug actually had quite a few as well. A few of them were actual Parisians, but most just seemed to be random French speakers who wanted to get their lives together. Good for them.

Everyone else was having trouble getting their videos seen.

Chloe was taking this especially hard. She had flung herself over the sofa and buried her face in the cushions.

Ladybug didn’t seem all that concerned about the possible impending akuma as she sat down on the arm of the couch. “It would probably help if you had actual content,” she commented.

The other barely lifted her head to send her a glare.

Carapace sat down in the armchair with some chips and salsa. “Maybe we should just use all the trending tags to get people to see us.”

“We could tag our videos as cosplay and then see how long it takes them to figure it out,” said Rena, grinning as she stole some chips.

(Carapace sent her a tired, halfhearted glare but apparently decided it wasn’t worth the effort to keep his food away from her.)

Chat wasn’t really concerned about all of this. He sat in the window, smiling as the sun beamed down on his back. “I don’t know. If we want we can get some blogger to report on it.”

“If we do that one, how about the Ladyblogger? I’m pretty sure she’s the most popular one,” offered Ladybug absently. “And her blog has the option to send in stuff anonymously, too.”

Chloe pushed herself up to a sitting position, apparently done sulking. “Nope, she’s been inactive for a few months. Said something about her schedule getting too hectic, I think.”

“Oh! Is that why I haven’t seen her around?” Said Chat, trying to hide his relief. “I thought I’d done something to offend her or something.”

He noticed, vaguely, that Rena was now bright red. His brain struggled to figure out why and then it clicked. The Ladyblogger stopped showing up a little while before Rena had appeared… she must be feeling left out!

He gave her a tiny smile. “There’s still other blogs, though, so we could try that.”

“You know, I always thought it was weird that the Ladyblogger had always chosen Ladybug for her name when Chat was there first,” mused Carapace.

“Do you know any good puns for Chat Noir that has to do with blogging?” Said Ladybug, a little defensive.

“Fair.”

“She also had a different name originally, she just changed it when Ladybug came on because of the pun,” muttered Rena.

Ah, so Chat had been wrong about Rena’s feelings about the Ladyblogger. Clearly she was just a fan of her work. That made sense, that seemed like the kind of content she would enjoy --.

Chloe was the one to pull everyone on track: “Who cares? If she’s been inactive no one’s checking her page, so we need a new plan.”

The five of them lapsed into silence as they considered the options.

“I could get Nadia Chamack to report on it?” Offered Ladybug.

“No one under thirty really watches the news. Wrong demographic,” Rena pointed out.

Chat hesitated slightly before raising his hand to get everyone’s attention. “Can’t we just use Chloe’s dad? I mean… everyone follows him to find out what insane thing he did for his daughter this week.”

Chloe sent him a glare.

“No offense,” he added quickly. “That’s definitely on the people of Paris for their… judgementalness and tendency to --.”

“Chat, do yourself a favor and shut up,” advised Rena.

“Okay.”

There was a moment as they all thought about it.

Chloe pulled her phone out. She dialled a number and there was hardly a beat before she smiled and said: “Daddy! Hi!”

There was a collective wince that the mayor’s daughter opted to ignore.

“I was wondering if you could -- oh. Thanks! I’ll text you the info to tell everyone, then...”

~~~

Taglist

@nathleigh @mialuvscats @sassakitty @th1s-1s-my-aesthet1c @blueslushgueen @woe-is-me0 @ladybug-182 @cas-and-their-refusal-to-write

#a miraculous tiktok account #chat noir #adrien agreste #chloe bourgeois #queen bee #rena rouge #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #carapace #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous team #miraculous fic #ml fic #chloenette #chlonette #adrino

[wri0thesley]

I found you through your JJk posts and I think you’re really cool and nice 🥺 can you tell us some fun facts about yourself for us new followers? 💖👉🏻👈🏻

i have gotten 500+ new followers in the past month since i started writing for jjk, so here are some FUN FACTS (except they’re not fun at all, i suck at this kind of game!)

- i’m a former musical theatre student and i used to want to perform for a living! i absolutely LOVE musicals and i see as many as i can. i especially love sondheim and am a bit of a snob about his works! - my favourite book series is anne rice’s the vampire chronicles. i’ve been in a vampire phase most of my life. lestat the musical is the reason i got into musicals! i also love terry pratchett, francesca lia block, laura purcell, donna tartt, oscar wilde and diana wynne jones. - i wear a lot of japanese fashion and am relatively well-known in that niche internet community to the point that sometimes people recognise me at cons and stuff and i am like :o!!!! - i met my fiancee through tumblr! we were both in the fandom for les miserables (the book and the musical). i love les mis and can and will still talk about it. i am accidentally partly responsible for a crack-ship with two characters that never interact with one another in canon becoming relatively popular. my old canon les mis url still makes me feel very soft. - i had a VERY BIG homestuck phase! i cosplayed and was on a homestuck q&a panel in one of the biggest uk conventions. sometimes i look at pictures of myself and think ‘huh, i miss cosplaying’ and then do nothing about it. - i have wanted to be a writer, an actor, a photographer, a tattooist and piercer, and a costume designer at various points in my life! i took out seven facial piercings when i went into Serious Musical Theatre training and i miss them.

uuuh i hope thats enough! i’m not good at thinking of things that might actually be Interesting About Me

#nat.txt #Anonymous #made text small bc post got long

[cosplayinamerica]

COSPLAY THEME PAGE : WE ARE BLACK COSPLAY

Last year I started doing interviews with Instagram cosplay theme page. I’m always curious about how theme pages get started so I decided to talk with WeAreBlackCosplay.

How did WeAreBlackCosplay start? What was the spark that lead to the creation?

We Are Black Cosplay started back in April of 2016 late one night when we were browsing some of the newly posted pictures after some of the conventions we attended.

We saw a lot of cosplayers being praised for their costumes with the exception of most of the poc cosplayers. Their comment sections were riddled with toxic and racist remarks on their appearance about how their costumes were “inaccurate because -insert character here- isn’t black/etc”.

So it was at that moment we decided to try to provide a safer space for pocs to share their hard work and get the recognition they deserve rather than be torn apart simply for wanting to dress up as their favorite characters.

What was your first experience at a convention like and along the same line how did you discover cosplay?

Jeremy: The first convention I attended was an eye opening experience, I never thought so many nerds could exist in one space. It was exciting sharing the same space with some of the same voice actors I love as well as checking out all the panels the convention had to offer. I discovered cosplay by scrolling through Facebook and coming across cosplay pages.

Wes:  I was amazed that there were so many like minded people that loved the same thing and support each other that also liked the same thing. It was like a giant community where people could escape reality for that weekend or however long the convention was and enjoying their fan base. Originally I discovered cosplay online but after attending my first convention it truly opened my eyes to cosplay being able to see the cosplays in person and understand how much work goes into creating the costumes.

Mookie: My first experience at conventions was definitely eye opening and fun experience. I had always looked at convention videos and cosplays online but being able to actually attend a convention was a different experience. Seeing all the amazing cosplays and props I immediately fell in love with it all. I discovered cosplay from seeing pictures online and just seeing cmvs and skits being shared around.

How has WeAreBlackCosplay  grown from the beginning to now?

Since starting back in 2016 we’ve grown consistently each year which has been amazing. We’ve been able to promote more cosplayers and get their work out to a much larger audience. Originally we had around 1-3k, but we started picking up traction once more people found out about the page and telling their friends about us.

What’s the best part/worst part of running a theme/share page?

The best part about running a page like our is seeing how excited people get when their costume gets posted and they’re flooded with love and positivity. We get quite a few messages from people who were on the fence about cosplaying and then they stumbled upon our page. They tell us about how it inspired them to cosplay and ignore the negative people in the community.

The hardest part about this all are the constant amount of people complaining that it's “adding to the racial divide” or the most common message we get is “what if I made a we are white cosplay page?”. 

The fact that so many pages such as ours exists shows that there are a lot of unresolved problems in the cosplay community but so many individuals would rather ignore it and lash out at anyone that brings up said issues.

We typically just remove any negative comments on the photos and as for the messages we receive, we explain our reasoning even though we don’t have to. We’ve come across some people that were genuinely unaware of how bad things were.

What do you hope people come away after viewing your page?

We hope that after people view the content of our pages they feel inspired to cosplay and understand what it means when people say cosplay is for everyone. Anyone can do it and people shouldn’t be bullied because of their gender,race,etc. This is a niche community filled with people that were bullied for being into anime and cosplay so the fact so many people do it despite having been on the receiving end of that in the past is hypocritical.

Do you really have guys DM y’all asking y’all out ?

You wouldn’t believe how many messages we get from dudes thinking that we are some of the girls that we share on the page. We’ve explained countless times and even made posts informing people that they aren’t us but thirst is indeed a thing lmao.

It is 2021 and how do you see cosplay and race relations between now and say 5 years or 10 years ago?

We think that things have definitely gotten worse compared to how they used to be back in the day. Back then no one really cared about your race when it came to cosplay just the accuracy of your costume and wanting to take a picture of someone dressing up as their favorite character. Now there’s so much focus on telling people who they can’t cosplay due to a number of factors that shouldn’t even matter. We’re here to have a good time and share our love for the characters with one another.

What’s in store for WeAreBlackCosplay in the future?

One of the main things we would like to do is get back to our roots which was interviewing cosplayers about their experiences,favorite cosplays,conventions, and things of that nature. We also plan on hosting events somewhere down the line to bring people together and make sure they have an amazing con weekend. We definitely have a few projects in the works! 

What anime series are y’all watching right now?

Dr. Stone, Attack Of Titan, Food Wars, Haikyuu!, and Alderamin on the Sky

https://linktr.ee/weareblackcosplay

#cosplay page interview #poc cosplay #poc cosplayer #black cosplay #black cosplayer #cosplay interview

[timeagainreviews]

The Great Con-Junction

For a place like the world-famous Elstree Studios in London, history is made on the regular. Movies like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Hot Fuzz," and even "Star Wars" have all been captured to celluloid moving at twenty-four frames per second. However, it was a lesser-known, though no less ambitious film that had eager fans lining up around the block on a mild February morning nearly forty years later. The film I speak of is none other than Jim Henson's 1982 cult-classic "The Dark Crystal." Myself and at least 200 other attendees were gathered for the first official Dark Crystal convention, celebrating both the film and the Netflix series. Taking place at the very studio where the movie was filmed, Thames Con's "The Great Con-Junction," was also the biggest reunion of the original cast and crew since the film's release. Once again, history was being made at Elstree Studios.

Upon learning of the convention I was filled with both desire and regret. Desire to go, and regret that I most likely wouldn’t be able. I live in Glasgow which is 6.5 hours away from London by car, and I don’t drive. On top of that, I hadn’t any money saved for such an occasion. But through the generosity of several friends, my mother, and my boyfriend willing to drive me there, the impossible was suddenly very tangible. With only twenty days until the convention, I was one of the lucky few able to attend this momentous affair.

It may seem odd that such a niche convention could draw someone from as far away as Glasgow, and in some cases the US and Australia. But if you’ve ever been to a Star Trek or My Little Pony convention, you may have some idea as to the sort of passion we’re dealing with. For many, Dark Crystal isn’t merely a great creative property, it’s life-changing. As a child, Jim Henson’s work left an indelible mark upon my soul. Projects like "Fraggle Rock," "Storyteller," and "The Flintstones," inspired creativity in me and filled me with the desire to one day work for the Jim Henson Company. Sadly, years of adulting did their best to dull that flame to a mere ember. However, after last year’s premiere of "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance," that ember grew into a roiling fire.

For the past month, I’ve been a ball of excited energy leading up to the convention. I’ve immersed myself in all things Jim Henson. Whether it be rewatching the Netflix series for the umpteenth time, revisiting Labyrinth, or reading JM Lee’s YA Dark Crystal novels, it’s been all I could do not to crack up. In the final week leading up to the event, I directed this nervous excitement into creating a cosplay as the Crystal of Truth, wrapped in black chains and metal claws. When the day finally arrived and I found myself waiting in line with other excited fans decked out in purple, or cosplaying as Deet or Rian, I knew I was with my people. The air was abuzz with excitement as we were slowly ushered into the building.

The event hall at Elstree was decorated with posters of scenes from the movie along with mood lighting. Part of the ticket cost afforded each attendee a beautiful signed print by Brian Froud. A bar at the entrance was selling official Dark Crystal merch including the ThinkGeek Fizzgig puppet only available in the states. Right away I had blown most of my budget, but my new furry friend would agree I made the right choice! I’d been there not two minutes, and already my arms were full of swag. I took this opportunity to get my Fizzgig and a book signed by both Brian and Wendy Froud, who were very generously autographing people’s items for free.

Usually, conventions leave a bad taste in my mouth as they seem like supremely capitalist ventures. And while there were plenty of things to buy, the Frouds’ generosity set the real tone of the event. Not only were they generous with their autographs, but they were also incredibly generous with their time. It seemed as though every person that talked to them was given an opportunity to gush and share their personal stories. As I told them both how much their work meant to me, they were treating it as though it were the first time they had heard it that day. Brian even took the time to doodle a little Fizzgig and Skeksis for me alongside his whimsical signature. The impression they left me with is that they were both very genuine and down to earth people, and meeting them is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

One of the things Mr Froud shared with me was that in his experience, people’s reaction to the Dark Crystal is usually always something creative. People go off and make fan art, cosplays, puppets, or even their own artistic endeavours. You could see proof of this all around the room that day. I met a brilliant artist from Seattle named Nori (@noriretherford​​), who in exchange for doodles from attendees was giving beautiful prints of her fan art. I drew my best skekTek from memory and have the cutest depiction of Seladon, Tavra, and Brea playing as children to show for it. There were cosplays with humbling levels of detail and even the occasional puppets of people’s original characters. All around you, creativity was swirling, and people were passionately sharing their enthusiasm with one another.

These initial couple of hours were dedicated to meet and greets with the cast, crew, and fellow attendees. Everyone seemed just as interested to listen as they were to share. One attendee remarked to me how she had never before felt more encouraged to speak to strangers than she had at the convention. Even my boyfriend, who is generally shy, was coming out of his shell and joining in the conversations. I was also pleased that the convention was managed well enough that I didn’t spend my entire day waiting in line to meet someone while he was relegated to watching my things. I was actually able to share this experience with him as opposed to relaying it through dreamfasting later. This made meeting the guests less of a thing to check off a list, and more of an experience.

My only real qualm with the structure of the convention was the Skeksis tea which was offered as part of the ticket price. Since I was unaware that the guests would be available all day, I was a bit late to lunch meaning the banquet was completely picked over by the time we had gotten there. No amount of cute creative table displays or impressively crafted Nebrie cake could obscure the fact that we were forced to find our lunch at the McDonalds across the road. Furthermore, I was unaware that the lunch was buffet style, which meant that if someone wanted to be as gluttonous as skekAyuk, it would leave the rest of us hungry. We were not alone in this, as several others were left to look upon the empty tables with dismay. That being said, for a first-time convention, it’s impressive that so little went awry.

For me, the biggest highlight of the day was getting to actually see the Gelfling puppets along with their respective puppeteers. Both Beccy Henderson and Neil Sterenberg had Deet and Rian with them. I’m not ashamed to admit that I hugged Deet. Being able to see the detail of the puppets and feel the various textures employed by the brilliant fabricators at the Jim Henson Creature Workshop was mindblowing. Not to mention that both Beccy and Neil were just as generous with their time as the Frouds. Though I would have to say the most exciting puppet I met that day has to go to Hup, as Victor Yerrid was actually puppeteering him and speaking directly to attendees in Podling. Hearing Hup say my name and talk to me was overwhelmingly exciting! That man is a brilliant puppeteer.

Throughout the day there were also several panels with guests from both the TV show and the movie. It was fascinating to listen to each of them tell their stories. Whether it be anecdotes about Jim Henson or tales about trying to navigate hot costumes under studio lights, it was a treasure trove of information. Listening to these stories was a constant reminder of the sheer amount of history present in the room. Each one of these guests had their own incredible careers, and here they all were, ready to share their fantastic stories. Yet despite this being an intimate gathering of a small group of creatives reuniting after 38+ years, it never once felt like it was all about them. You didn’t feel like an interloper or an evesdropper. We were all part of this wonderful experience together.

It was puppeteer Louise Gold’s remarks to the crowd about this that really put into words what we were all thinking. Through stifled tears, she remarked that she had initially come to see all of her old friends, but had found herself equally enriched by meeting the fans. Seeing all of us come together and sharing our stories was as inspiring to her as it was for us. Hearing her impassioned words moved quite a few of us to tears, myself included. She was easily one of my favourite people I met yesterday, and not just because she was so wonderfully extra. Her words spoke the same truth as Brian Froud's- what has resulted from this fandom is something creative. The Dark Crystal hasn’t simply entertained, it has changed lives.

Of course, like any good convention, it wasn’t just the guests in the spotlight. The cosplay contest allowed for an opportunity for the fans to strut their stuff. Much like the ticket giveaway the organisers had done, they couldn’t decide on just one winner. There was so much goodwill and positivity flowing that honourable mentions were given prizes as well, and with good reason. There were so many incredible costumes that I doubt I could have picked the best of the lot. There were Gelflings, Skeksis, a Hup, and even an urRu! My favourite of the lot was a mother-daughter duo who went as Brea and Kira respectively. But that may just have to do with the fact that I’m a big Brea fan and her costume was incredible!

Were I to think of any one word to explain how I feel about being able to attend this convention it would be grateful. I left feeling rejuvinated. My boyfriend even commented that I was “glowing.” I wish everyone in the fandom could have the same experience. I’ve seen so many passionate fans online in the last day wishing they could have gone, and I very easily could have been one of them. It’s proof to me that this fandom has more to it than just a few people toiling away in their basements. There is a real desire for these types of events. It’s not hard to imagine people declaring their Gelfling clan like Harry Potter fans might declare themselves Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws. (I’m totally a Vapran.) If you look online, you can see people’s OCs of both Gelfling and Skeksis. Even I’ve considered putting together my own Gelfling Gathering here in Glasgow. I’m hopeful that this is a sign of things to come, and that we won’t have to wait a thousand trine for the next Great Con-Junction.

#the great con-junction #the great conjunction #the dark crystal #thamescon #london #brian froud #wendy froud #louise gold #beccy henderson #neil sterenberg #victor yerrid #skeksis #gelfling #hup #poddling #the dark crytsal: age of resistance #fizzgig #elstree studios

[f00t-fic]

(Part 2)

11. You know, I have contemplated attempting to write some original erotica and throwing it up on the Kindle store (mostly so I could play the "published author" card at family gatherings) but I doubt that will ever amount to anything. I feel like all my hobbies (not just writing, but my cosplay stuff too) will only ever be hobbies because, even if I did have the drive to monetize them, there just isn't a market for my specific niche.

13. This is probably more applicable to being a writing major in college than writing fanfic for fun, but the sooner you grow out of your undergrad postmodernist phase, the better.

14. ...the same book that told me the aforementioned good writing advice also told me that Santa Claus isn't fuckable (when writing sex scenes) and I take that as a personal challenge.

15. Mox trying to get Yano to rattle his barnacles. One can only dream.

16.

Surprise surprise.

17. I write the fun shit first and then connect everything after the fact. If I forced myself to start at the beginning and write everything in order, I'd get too frustrated and quit after a page.

18. SO MANY BULLETED LISTS. I have an entire google doc that's just extremely rough outlines of concepts/pairings/kinks I want to tackle one day. These usually get expanded into more convoluted outlines once I actually start writing stuff in earnest.

19. Do Kenta's thighs count.

20. It's the middle of the goddamn night, I've found a good spotify playlist, and I've got a load of laundry going.

[naoamaya]

Then what about some recommendations please?

sure! here are some of my favourites across various genres! i’ve linked their pages on mal if you’d like to read more about them!

i’m going to put the recommendations under cut, since this turned out very long!

i’ve also noticed a lot of these are quite popular, so you may have heard of them already! drop me another ask if you’d like any from a specific genre and i can try to get into the more niche stuff!

ajin: demi-human (action, mystery, horror, supernatural, seinen)

this one i feel is a little underrated, it has probably my favourite villian in anime out of the ones i’ve seen so far, and i find the story a really interesting concept! if you can get past the fact that it’s cgi, it’s worth a shot!

boku dake ga inai machi (mystery, psychological, supernatural, seinen)

one of my favourites in the mystery genre! kept me on my toes, and has an ending i didn’t predict!

d.gray man (action, adventure, comedy, super power, demons, shounen)

highly recommend this one! it’s quite long, but has an excellent story, would also highly recommend the manga! i got very attached to the characters >

death parade (game, mystery, psychological, drama, thriller)

every episode gets more and more intense, and i kept wanting to know more about the characters! as someone who loves psychological shows this didn’t disappoint!

doukyuusei (slice of life, romance, school, shounen ai)

very sweet, love it a lot! this is one of the first romance anime movies that i watched, and i highly recommend it! also the animation is very pretty!

enen no shouboutai (action, supernatural, shounen)

one of most recent favourites! great concept, great plot, awesome characters, can’t wait for the next season!

ergo proxy (psychological, mystery, sci-fi)

this one is a little.. how should i put this..? fifty-fifty? i know people who hate it, i know people who love it. personally, i really enjoyed this show, but i did have to watch it a few times before i understood it. if you’re a fan of psychological shows, this is one i would definitively recommend checking out!

fruits basket (slice of life, comedy, supernatural, drama, romance, shoujo) 

so sweet! so pure! love it a lot! this show was actually recommended to me a friend who isn’t really into anime, so i thought i had to check it out! if you’re not a fan of the older animation style, it got a remake just last year!

gakuen babysitters (comedy, school, shoujo, slice of life)

this is hands-down the cutest show i’ve ever seen! highly recommend!

given (drama, music, romance, shounen ai, slice of life)

this show i feel has a really good balance of drama and romance, which i struggle to find in a lot of anime!

houseki no kuni (fantasy, sci-fi, seinen)

again, i feel that this is underrated! also cgi, but the plot is very interesting! if you watch this and find yourself enjoying it, i highly recommend the manga, since the anime doesn’t get very far in terms of the story :)

kaguya-sama: love is war (comedy, psychological, romance, school, seinen)

love the concept of this one! the majority of series in the romance genre have a very specific layout, so this was a nice change of pace! it’s definitively not your typical shoujo, and i highly recommend it! am very excited for season two!

kakegurui (game, mystery, psychological, drama, school, shounen)

a classic, if you haven’t heard of it, you’ve seen cosplay of it! i really like the main character in this one, even if she’s a little messed up in the head

kyoukai no kanata (slice of life, supernatural, fantasy)

a great combination of slice of life, comedy and a little thriller! has a lovely balance between sweet interactions between characters and action which makes it very worthwhile to watch!

mahoutsukai no yome (slice of life, magic, fantasy, shounen)

lovely plot, lovely characters! i love the character development here, as well as all the magic elements which i feel i don’t see as often as i’d like to

no game no life (game, adventure, comedy, supernatural, ecchi, fantasy)

i will never stop recommending this! i will never stop praying for its second season! by far the most colourful anime i’ve seen, with a story that i can’t get enough of!

ore monogatari!! (comedy, romance, shoujo)

this and kaguya-sama are my top for shoujo! very sweet! i can’t believe i only watched it recently!

psycho pass (action, sci-fi, police, psychological)

great in the sci-fi genre, i found the overall concept of the show very interesting!

maquia: when the promised flower blooms (drama, fantasy)

this!!! definitively on the sad side, has a very active plot, and one which i would watch over and over again!

sora yori mo tooi basho (adventure, comedy)

this is very sweet! many slice of life shows i’ve seen i’ve found fairly boring and repetitive, but this one i would highly recommend!

tate no yuusha no nariagari (action, adventure, drama, fantasy)

a personal fav for action/adventure/fantasy! great plot! great characters! great character development! an interesting story from the perspective of a hero who is initially seen as a villian!

wotaku ni koi wa muzukashii (comedy, romance, slice of life)

one of faves in the “i like anime and therefore i have no love life” genre! who thought i could relate to an anime character so much?

irozuku sekai no ashita kara (drama, magic, romance, school)

i’m struggling to find people who have watched this! it’s very good! would highly recommend!

#annnddd i think i reach the word limit lol #sorry that this is so long! #hope you find something to watch! #if you'd like any more specific recs drop me an ask! #i'll answer tomorrow hehe #asks #anon

[shinyalternatives]

Q&A with Catalyst Latex

Kyle&Selina: Can you provide a short bio of your background in fashion?

Catalyst Latex: My name is Gord and I may be seen as the frontman at Catalyst Latex.  However, I’m just part of the management team including my partner Hils and daughter Kit. My management background in engineering and materials provides functionality and rationale, but Hil’s degree from the London College of Fashion and Kit’s art college background together provided the creative aspects for Catalyst

K&S: How did you discover latex as a material to use in fashion?  Did you have a personal interest in wearing latex or was it just a material that you found interesting?

Catalyst: I have been a latex lover for many years, but a high-flying career kept me as a purchaser of latex designs, with no time or inclination to actually make any clothing.  However, my interest in latex and science led me to experiment with the chlorination of rubber – a process that gives latex clothing a totally smooth finish, ending the need for talcum powder as it was then, or lubes as used today.

K&S: Can you provide a bit more in depth explanation regarding chlorination?  We understand it makes it smooth, knocks down the natural latex smell and may dull it. 

Catalyst: Chlorination is a “wet” process that micro-smoothes the surface of the latex.  As an end result, you will not need talc or lube in most cases to get the garment on.  The outside of the garment will also be smooth.

Chlorination has added benefits as it reduces the noise and natural smell of the latex material.  It will not self-stick when dried after cleaning, thus allowing for better and easier storage.  The lower friction reduces external wear and enhances “layering.”  Finally, there seems to be a decrease in allergenic behavior.

K&S: Allergies to latex appear to have become an issue.  Whether or not a person has a latex allergy has become a standard question when visiting a doctor or dentist.

Catalyst: The allergy aspect is interesting, but as I am not a medic I cannot offer any explanation.  It appears that people with a latex allergy can handle chlorinated latex.  We offer free samples for people to try out for allergy.  After 11 years, we have not had A SINGLE REPORT  of allergic reaction to our latex samples.  Though, as we’ve not plied the Pharma industries with thousands of monetary units for Official Tests, we may not claim it to work.  But it sure as hell seems to.

K&S: To what degree does it still take shine and hold it?  Does polishing the latex have an effect on the chlorination effect? 

Catalyst: We don’t use or recommend shine.  We’re not against it.  It’s just something we don’t do.

Most latex wearing is either party or private.  For party you want to show it off at its best and polish it to a perfect shine.  In private that may matter less, and the sensual feel of unpolished, chlorinated latex is truly something to behold.  So it’s just a bit of my own history really, not doing parties in my early days, that never brought me in touch with polish and techniques.

When you polish latex, the polish – whatever it may be – coats the surface if the latex, burying the soft, smooth caress it once held, beneath a veneer of sticky silicone stuff.  You can gauge my standpoint here.  The process of donning and doffing will lead to spreading that polish to the inside of the garment, concealing the smooth chlorinated surface and making it like any other ordinary latex.

Of course, if you are actually able to completely remove that silicone – and good luck to you – the original chlorinated surface will still be there for you.

K&S: How long does the chlorination effect last? Is it permanent or does it diminish in the long run? 

Catalyst: Chlorination, as a surface process, lasts as long as the surface. High wear areas, depending on your activity might be knees, bums etc, may lose the natural latex shine earlier than other areas. Chlorinated or not.  Makes no difference.  It is possible to rechlorinate the latex and restore the smooth feel, though not the natural shine.

K&S: How difficulty are repairs since latex does tear when you are not careful?

Catalyst: Chlorinated latex is so soft and smooth that regular latex glue has a hard time sticking to it.  A conventional repair might just fail in seconds for that very reason.  So you need to prep the latex first by physically breaking down the outer chlorinated skin with fine grit sandpaper, or like  Scotchbrite™ nylon scourer, or similar, to score the surface and provide a good key for the adhesive.  Apart from a bit of extra prep then, it’s a repairable as normal latex.

K&S: That was an interesting and informative digression on Chlorination. Back to the fashion questions. At what point did you decide to take your personal interest in latex?

Catalyst: Having discovered the chlorination process, in 2004 we offered it as a service to fellow latex lovers on the internet, which drew remarkable interest and provided a second, tiny income stream.  This was to prove invaluable in 2009 when redundancy from full-time management forced big decisions to be made.

K&S: A business has a number of things that one must deal with that sometimes dim one's passion.  You have rent, insurance, utilities, materials, employee salaries etc.  What end of the market absorbs more time - the celebrity couture or the consumer market? How do you balance your passion for creativity with the need to be profitable?

Catalyst: You don’t take up mountaineering tomorrow and tackle Everest next weekend.  We started slowly, in a small way, with our main income from fitting bathrooms and other small renovation works, where self-employment enabled the flexibility to maintain an income stream, while developing our latex offering.

We recognized there was a number of strong players already on the scene and felt we needed to have a clear identity to offer, so developed two clear tag-lines.

“Rubber without the Rub” summarized our promotion of chlorinated latex and at the time I believe we were the only latex clothing maker to offer full chlorination of all our products – a market leader if you like.

“Real clothes in Rubber” was put together to explain that we made latex versions of clothing you’d find in Marks & Spencer UK, Macy’s etc.  So we don’t do catsuits and gimp masks, but we do beautifully tailored proper clothing, outerwear and underwear – in rubber!

K&S: You're running a business.  You have competition.  Rubberists often feel alone - as if they're the only ones with this interest.  The cost of latex garments is not crazy when compared to well made traditional clothes.

How sizeable do you feel the latex market is?  It must be substantially larger than a small group of people to support so many companies.

Catalyst: Before the advent of World Wide Web, rubberists were indeed “Alone” Sure there were exclusive clubs, clandestine private gatherings and small adverts for “please rush me …” The internet did as much to change all that as the steam engine did for industry.

Catalyst started with the internet, recognizing many established players, and found its own niche with Real Clothes in Rubber, and Rubber without the Rub offering of chlorinated latex.  By this time, people were no longer alone and the interweb gave instant access and the ability to compare price, delivery and quality at the flick of a mouse.

Our market research shows the market place to be growing still, with a huge influx of young adventurous, sexy, nerdy types hungry for shiny, cosplay, streetable, sexy latex that’s easy to wear and care for, and those criteria are a big part of what we offer the market today.

But we still offer the old school mainstays and find a remarkable following in our Victorian latex line, sleepwear, and just real clothes in rubber.

In our short existence on the scene, we have already seen several brands come and go, some with adventurous styles, others with knock-down prices. We’re here for good, with the stuff that most people really want to wear.

K&S: Latex can be described as a "Fetish," a "kink," "Alternative fashion" or simply "fashion" Do you prefer one description over another?

Catalyst: With “Real clothes in Rubber” becoming accepted as a tagline, we found the sweet spot between fetish and fashion where folk of all ages and backgrounds could find latex they could be comfortable with, and comfortable in.

K&S: It seems many latex outfits are designed to be body hugging.  I've heard latex referred to as a "Second Skin."  Do you agree that latex should be used for tight outfits or does it lend itself to "loose" outfits?

Catalyst: Looking again at real clothing, we see some garments need to be close-fitting like undergarments, lingerie, stockings, swimwear etc., whereas flowy dresses, puffer jackets, lounge pants are better as a loose fit.  The extra benefit of chlorinated latex is the ‘swish factor’ as the latex will never self-stick, but moves and flows like silk!

K&S: If it's a "second skin" does it mean it needs to be worn without "undergarments"? Does that intimidate people from wearing it?

Catalyst: Someone asked if they should wear their bra under a latex dress. It was hard to find kind words to portray the mush of damp polyester wadding and wet flesh that would occur, so we only ever recommend wearing latex under latex, under latex – hell, as many layers as you like! Chlorinated latex layers just slide over one another.  Wear latex knickers under your latex dress – real clothes.

K&S: In your experience, how concerned are people about body image when considering fashion choices.  Does latex, as a material, help or hinder these decisions?

Catalyst: Latex can be as revealing or concealing, according to garment style and size; our client base runs from stick-thin to absolutely huge (can we say that??)  We can only guess that it depends on the context of how and where an outfit will be worn, and many other factors personal to the individual.

K&S: Do you feel latex tend to express one's body with honesty as if is was no different than a "second skin" or is it more of a fashionable type of shapewear that fixes a person's perceived "flaws."

Catalyst: Very similar to your previous point.  More a question for the catsuit manufacturers I reckon. Look at our flowing styles to see that latex clothing can be selected to enhance any body type or shape.  It’s a beautifully natural, draping fabric that can flatter anyone in the right garment.

K&S: How do you find the market for latex wear distributed between men, women, cross-dressers (men or women), celebrity couture?

Catalyst: Celebrity couture is quite subtle and usually it is the stylist making the inquiry/order.  It will be quite specific and exacting, and a surprisingly tight on budget at the outset.  Get the stylist onside with a basic appraisal, add in the extras and get famous!  Not quite, as you may never be fully sure who will wear it and to what event.

With regard to real folk like you and I, we need to define the word ‘customer’.  There’s the adventurous ‘vanilla’ girl buying a pencil dress for a party, there’s a man buying for his partner, there’s a Domme being bought-for by a client, there’s a pseudonym buying a dress for himself .. you should never doubt or question, but so often the sizing data will reveal another story so yes, regardless of the name on the PayPal, the end-wearer could be anyone. Who is the customer there?

Our only concern, particularly when a man buys a woman’s style for himself is that is should end up looking good, so that he will feel great.  When people try to conceal or blur the truth, it makes it harder for us to deliver the look they ultimately crave.  So please folk, be honest and upfront!

K&S: What is your favorite piece of latex that you've created in your career for a man and for a woman?

Catalyst: One of our earliest and most enduring Statement Pieces is still our Catalyst Kilt.  It remains to this day the most authentically styled kilt on the market.  Sure, its not cheap but takes a full 2-3 days to make and meticulously finish, gives years of service and excellent value.

Women’s wear is harder to pinpoint as we change many of our styles each season, but for sheer volume, our underwired pencil dress, fully chlorinated for easy-on, has been a runaway winner the past 18 months!

K&S: People can state that they don't like latex because of the smell, or because the material doesn't breathe and they sweat to much, or because it's too tight or it makes them look like they're selling sex.  How do you address those concerns?

Catalyst: I tell them to buy Spandex!  Seriously, people that drill down to us are already committed to latex.  We are not an entry-level designer, and happily rarely get entry-level questions (We do, but we’re not telling!)  Has to be said also that all our chlorinated pieces have reduced odor and increased wearability.

K&S: What is your design philosophy?  What drives your creativity?

Catalyst: Listen to your customers and watch TV!  Filter out the background of catsuit inquiries and see what interesting outfits people want.  Keep an eye to the Cosplay arena.  Listen to your photo models as they pick up on styles from places we don’t go.  Watch TV, read fashion mags.  Our best-selling dress ever evolved from a UK TV prog! See what’s trending, what the people are ‘liking’ and above all, be aware of Copyright.

K&S: Less or More?  Do you prefer designing a latex outfit which is more on the revealing side or leaning towards full coverage.

Catalyst: Not fussed.  We all have skin and integrate it with out clothing. I’m not a 100% coverage purist. Whatever works and makes a confident look is more important that some random ethos.

K&S: How do you feel is the best way to integrate latex into an everyday "public" outfit.  How would you mix it with other materials?

Catalyst: Oh wow.  I think this is our Soapbox.  

To begin, chlorinated latex needs no talc or lube and so can just be ‘worn’ like everyday clothing. It is soft and smooth and has no surface drag so integrates nicely with/over/under other fabrics. Chlorination does NOT make the latex more shiny (mythbuster there), rather if anything it dulls down the luster.  Many folk find our chlorinated blends in with everyday clothing, as opposed to the highly polished ‘obviously fetish’ latex we see elsewhere.  Again it’s that wearing just one piece of soft chlorinated latex, typically a tee or leggings, with your 90% regular streetwear that gives you the buzz without the attention.  When you get real confident – then get out the polish, if you need to make a statement.

K&S: What are your goals for your future in latex design?

Catalyst: Carry on making Real clothes in Rubber, and get our chlorination better than perfect!  Avoid the catsuit trap – everyone else makes them, mostly very well – no benefit for us.  Listen to customers and try to make their dreams come true (unless they want a catsuit)

K&S: What is your favorite part of being a latex fashion designer.

Catalyst: Not sure there is one.  It’s bloody hard work.  You have to deal with a whole range of customer inquiries from the most sensible to the most, well rude! It’s not just about cutting and gluing, but we do accounts and payroll, health and safety, purchasing and stock control, social media … but I think I personally get into the best headspace when I’m actually making up a garment.  It’s the craft, the feel, the aim for total perfection every time and the satisfaction of holding up a customer order when made, looking at it and thinking, that’s perfect!

K&S: What is your blue sky accomplishment to achieve in the world of latex clothing or fashion in general.

Catalyst: To build a business with a solid reputation, a go-to brand, a name people know they can trust, a place they can always find something new and exciting, an entity I can pass on to our next generation to carry on developing and delivering.

K&S: President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that "We have nothing to  fear but fear itself."  People tend to be fearful of things that are different.  They express that fear thru aggressive or demeaning behavior towards others to express that their position is superior.  Even without external pressure, a person can be fearful due to internal thoughts over how people will react.

This brings us to fashion.  You can say the more different something a style is from the norm, the more people will react negatively.

Do you agree with this.  Is latex "too different" from what is accepted fashion to be common place.  How much more extreme is it than wearing leather?  Women often wear leather to corporate jobs. Is latex that much more extreme?

Is men's latex wear more "extreme" than women's wear? What do you say to someone who deep down would want to wear latex in public settings?

Catalyst: Hmmm – not my president, but I take the sentiment.  Nah, latex will never be mainstream.  Too picky and care-needy.  Men will always be the big fetishistas and women the fashionistas. Generally.

K&S: Women's clothing seems to have such variety.  Can men's latex be as interesting?  What are your thoughts on men's latex fashion?

Catalyst: Most men are too scared to buy anything slightly unusual (exceptions always exist – I’m talking down the average).  A designer may invest a lot of time and resource designing a new rage for men, big launch etc., and never see the sales to recover the investment.  Sad but true.  So why should a designer bother, frankly?

Example - we put a photo of a new style on Social Media.  If it’s a girl’s style we get hundreds of likes, if it’s for men, maybe a handful.  What does that tell you?

K&S: Is there anything you would like to add?

Catalyst: No -I’d just add it’s taken me 8 weeks to get to this point and I’d not want to delay any further.  Thanks for the opportunity to express!

K&S: Thank You.

[99percentprocrastination]

I saw @bookcub​ do this tag and I liked the questions, so I’m tagging myself!

1. Have you ever fallen out of love with a book? Why?

Oh, definitely. I loved the Divergent books when they first came out, but now I don’t remember them quite so kindly. I know there are others, but they’re not coming to mind.

2. What’s the strangest book-related dream you’ve ever had?

I know I’ve had sooo many vivid book related dreams, but I can’t think of any specifically! Probably something Harry Potter related. I’ve had SO MANY Harry Potter related dreams.

3. Have you read a book that you didn’t really appreciate until later on?

I read Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut as a freshman in high school and didn’t like it much, but when I read it again as a freshman in college I understand and appreciated it so much more.

4. What book would you like to see a musical adaptation of? (Bonus: any ideas for song titles?)

Omg so many. Weirdly the first thing that comes to mind is Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which I think would be a fantastic musical. Also, weirdly, the Mistborn trilogy? When we were younger me and my friends also wanted to make a musical of The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (still one of my favorite books). 

5. Have you ever thrown a book across the room? What was it?

Of course I have! But, like, gently. I know I definitely did this with all three of the Chaos Walking books. 

6. What book cover do you absolutely hate? How would you redesign it?

I really hate the American covers of all of the Brandon Sanderson books, and I would redesign them to be exactly like the British covers :D

7. Have you ever cosplayed a character? Who?

Hmm, not for anything other than Halloween I think! And mostly Harry Potter stuff. I’ve definitely dressed up as Luna Lovegood and Hermione at some point.

8. What’s the last book that made you want to scream from the rooftop?

Rereading the Raven Cycle. Those books are so freaking good. Instead of screaming from the rooftop, I just talked nonstop about them to my mom, and I’m sure convinced her never to read them in the process.

9. What’s your favourite subgenre?

I really love urban fantasy (which is kind of big enough to be its own genre). Also, historical fantasy. And of course, the very niche genre of Jane Austen retellings.

10. If you could bring an author back to life to write one more book, who would it be?

Perhaps Brian Jacques? Even though there are a million Redwall books (actually, 22. I would know because I own them all), I never felt like that world was completely finished and I would always be happy to go back to it.

11. Mug full of tea on your bed - yay or nay?

God, yes! 

12. Who was the last character you related to and what were they from?

I related soooo strongly with Eliza from Eliza and Her Monsters. The portrayal of anxiety hit really close to home for me.

13. What’s your favorite genre of music?

I don’t know exactly how it’s categorized but I think like....indie pop? Or something? Idk I really like Bastille and Imagine Dragons.

14. Which tags on tumblr do you follow and why?

I actually don’t follow any tags? Idk, I have in the past, but I always get really annoyed when they keep showing up on my dash over and over.

15. Do you have any book related jewelry?

Yes, I have a necklace that has the British cover of The Book Thief on it! And a couple of Harry Potter related earrings and bracelets. 

16. Thoughts on booklr being dead?

Since I’m new(ish) to the booklr scene, I can’t really compare it to how it used to be but like....as long as there are still people, it’s not dead, right? Would we really be discussing whether it were dead if it really were?

17. What are some of your favorite picture books from when you were a kid?

I just found this on my shelf again recently, but I loved this book called Blueberries for Sal! It’s the reason my teddy bear is named Sal :D

18. What’s the first book you remember reading or being read to you?

I know there were books before this, but the first chapter book I read by myself was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. (Fun fact: I hated being read to, which I think is why I learned to read at such a young age, so I wouldn’t have to be!)

19. What’s you favorite dystopian novel and why?

Does the Chaos Walking trilogy count? Because, that. I also have a soft spot in my heart still for The Hunger Games.

20. Where do you get/buy most of your books?

Library. Also thriftbooks.com. Or bookbub.com for ebooks. I will rarely pay full price for a book (because I’m awful).

22. Favorite animal?

Tough question. Probably dogs. That’s the safe answer.

23. What book release are you anxious for (one you know the release date for) 

I’m super anxious for that Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera book because Becky writes happy gay books and Adam writes sad gay books so I don’t know what to expect???? (except that it’ll be gay!) Also I can’t wait for Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (which comes out in just a few days!) because it’s about a bi-ace girl who works in a library which!!!! Is exactly me!!!! Wow!!!

Feel free to consider yourself tagged if you want to do this as well!

#book tag #about me #bookcub #mp

[yukipri]

I never experienced art theft until one of my works became unexpectedly popular- since then, I've found my work reposted, redrawn, and used as reference for cosplays. It's been exhausting, both seeing it, and not knowing WHERE I should stand on the issue. I've let redraws slide (with credit), but I plan on not allowing future ones from occurring. How do you deal with art theft? How do you continue drawing without thinking about the disrespect thrown at you during bad/failed confrontations?

I am so, so incredibly sorry this happened to you, and empathize very strongly with you. Art theft SUCKS, few things can be quite as demotivating as a creator than having something you’ve worked your ass off on swiped by someone else. And unfortunately, given the current internet culture, if you continue as an online artist it’s inevitable that it’ll happen at one point or another.

Because sure, of course part of the reason why we create is because we want to, but a large part of the motivation for sharing it is to hopefully get some response that people like it, whether it be in the form of likes, reblogs, comments, asks, tags, or anything else. That is the tangible PROOF that our work touched someone, and for someone who put in zero effort and has no idea how we felt while creating to receive all of that instead of us…sucks.

I think where you stand on the issue is up to you, and it’s okay for it to change. YOU always have the right to decide how you’re comfortable with people sharing your art, and your feelings are valid regardless of how they change.

Ironically enough, I just had another art theft on Instagram (my Anniversary post) super recently, so I was like HAH when I got this orz

This rant got a bit long, so the rest beneath cut but here’s a rundown about how my feelings towards art theft have evolved over the years.

For example, over the years I’ve gotten much, MUCH stricter. My earliest online art, I just put it up, no url, oftentimes no signature, no warnings in the comments or my blog bio. Admittedly I was starting out and didn’t have much viewers anyway, but the point was I still had Trust at the time.

Then the art thefts began. I started adding my url to all my illustrations, even if it was just small in the corner, as this’d let people at least find my website. Most people are too lazy to type out a url though, and I’ve seen people asking “Who drew this??” on art theft comments EVEN WHEN THE URL IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE…

And then people started cropping my watermarks. I made my url bigger, and started adding an additional “DO NOT REPOST” to the image itself. I used to allow reposts with credits on platforms I’m not on, like fb, until I realized that people were then reposting from THOSE communities without credit and putting them into their videos and fics and I just…decided it wasn’t worth it.

I switched to no reposts PERIOD. I have lengthy disclaimers on all of my art that leads to an even lengthier FAQ post that, should people wish to look, leads to even an even more detailed post about WHY art theft sucks, as I’m explaining now.

(EDIT: ALSO, reduce the quality of the images you upload, and NEVER upload the full resolution, and try to keep you unmerged original files. This is for several reasons: no matter how much an art thief reposts your work, they’ll never have access to the higher resolution, and if they ever decide to try to print to sell for profit it’ll be shitty quality compared to anything you make with the original. ALSO, you having the maximum resolution with no watermarking with additional unmerged psd files will be proof that you are the true creator should you need to prove it, which I’ve heard is sometimes necessary to show when your art is stolen at say, an artist alley)

I also used to bother trying to talk to art reposters. I’d comment on the post, try to send messages, etc. It’s fucking exhausting, and while there are some exceptions, the VAST majority of art thiefs will feel attacked and immediately get rude and defensive. (the failed confrontations and disrespect you mentioned orz) If it’s a large community, they may even try to gang up on you. I’ve unfortunately experienced this most frequently in communities centered around other languages (mainly Spanish) because of different mainstream attitudes towards art reposting etiquette combined with a language barrier.

You will, and no doubt already have, encountered people who will argue with you, like the people I describe above. “You should be grateful for the bigger audience!” “We just want to appreciate your art, how can you be so horrible?” “We’re all fans together!” “This is fanart and doesn’t belong to you anyway!” Etc. etc. etc. It’s exhausting, it’s repetitive, it’s neverending, and you already felt awful before it even began and the stress just continues to build.

So I personally have just begun reporting people, if the service allows it. Use DMCA takedown request forms (and YES, even if it’s fanart it’s still yours if you drew it). This is stressful too because it sends your real name + info to the reposter (and wow I clearly can’t trust these people to begin with, why would I want them to have that???) but most sites (facebook, instagram, certainly tumblr, twitter) are very efficient and responsive, and in the end the relief of receiving that email that the art has been taken down is worth it. Especially with facebook, they also send a scary official warning email to the reposters which I sincerely hope will help educate them and discourage future art thefts.

I try to avoid posting public urls because yes I’m aware how mob mentality Tumblr can get, but sometimes it’s just too much. There’s no convenient form of getting my content removed (perhaps bc it’s in a compilation with a ton of other content), or for some reason my attempts to communicate have failed. In those times I have occasionally asked my followers to help, with a reminder to PLEASE always be polite and respectful, regardless of the offense. Y’all have been amazing, and this has saved me many nights of crying in the past.

I will sometimes also write lengthy posts (like this one!) to help educate. Because I do feel that art theft will continue so long as people don’t understand what it does to artists, and it’s up to the community as a whole to make that change, which also depends heavily on the consumers not just creators. A lot of art theft really isn’t intentionally meant to harm, but IS super ignorant.

But in the end, all I’ve ranted about so far is how I’ve dealt with actually removing/dealing with the shit. But the emotional pain, it builds. Sometimes, when it’s too frequent and the stolen art gets way more attention than my original that I worked my ass off on that basically flunked on my own platforms, I feel a bit of me break.

And in the end, it’s up to you what that threshold is, where posting art and feeling good about it is overwhelmed by the pain, fear, and anxiety of art theft. I’ve crossed my own threshold too many times, and once had to take an art hiatus because of it (fandom was BH6). This lead to a break in my productivity and motivation and my eventual complete departure form the fandom. I’ve seen many other artists just stop posting art entirely or moving everything to private. It’s terrible, but my feelings are with these artists, and I feel so, so sorry that they were hurt so much to the extent they had to do this.

With my current fandom and followers, I feel that regardless of how niche an audience my content tends to be geared for, I have a community that is really satisfying for me to create for, one that is responsive to me and gives me tons of feedback. This is the number one reason why i continue to feel motivated to post a ton of online content despite the risks.

The takeaway form this long meandering post: Posting online is a hobby, it’s for fun, and I don’t make any money off my public audience (unless they come to Patreon! LOL!), so I’m a firm believer that once the anxiety + misery starts outweighing anything positive you personally may get from sharing online, which for me heavily depends on my audience and their responsiveness, there’s no reason to subject yourself to that anymore and you are in no way obligated to stay. There are various methods to more efficiently get rid of art thefts without dealing with them in person which is stressful AF, and also ways of marking up your content in ways that may look less aesthetically pleasing, but will hopefully discourage art thefts, and at the very least give them very little leg to stand on should they do it anyway. How forgiving you are in art thefts also depends on you, but the more forgiving you are, the more it can get away from you. And in the end, YOU as a human are more important than any complaints about art looking less pleasing or the feelings of art thefts who don’t get to do what they want with YOUR hard work.

Sorry this was so disjointed and literally just me spewing at you, but I hope some of it was helpful ^ ^; Please let me know if I can give you any other advice, and I’m sorry again that you have to deal with this ;_;

(and to respond to your second ask, I do try to respond to most of my asks, but sometimes it takes a while (sometimes even months orz), especially if it’s one that requires a lengthy detailed answer like this one ^ ^; thank you for your patience!)

#YukiPri replies #Anonymous #art theft #I hope this was helpful ^ ^; #started getting really distressed myself writing this haha #in general i'm okay with my art getting little to no attention #i just asked that i don't get hurt for the trouble of posting which i feel should be fair #and sometime yeah it does get to be too much #hopefully won't happen in the near future for this fandom but #we'll see sigh #another reason i like drawing niche hyper specific content LOL #fewer people tend to want to reblog/share it #but fewer reposters are also interested in it haha #long post #longpost

[dangerous-ladies]

lately i've found myself actively disliking wearing cosplay. i still enjoy making costumes and talking shop with other cosplayers, but the joy i used to feel while wearing what i've made has died a lot. have you ladies ever gone through this? is there a way to get that feeling back?

Absolutely. This was me to a T for a solid two or so years, from Madoka all the way to Fire Emblem just last year, which was weird considering I used to jump at literally any excuse to get in costume. Getting out of it is really about getting to the bottom of why you started to feel that way, though, and what your priorities are. For me, it was three things –– being so tired of a project that by time I finished it I loathed the idea of putting it on, starting to feel my age in costumes designed for characters in their early teens, and feeling tired of conventions in general. Here’s how I got it back: 

I decided to stop taking on projects I wasn’t really passionate about. After Overwatch and Inuyasha (which we committed to last year) we have no plans for big groups where everyone picks a character regardless of interest level. Since I do the bulk of the planning and sewing for our groups, I felt I had to lessen the load on myself in order to enjoy making costumes for myself again, so going forward we’re going to be structuring groups a little differently. A big part of this is not investing hundreds of hours into costumes I don’t care for, as it takes time away from the things I actually do want to make AND wear. I feel like there’s a huge pressure in the community to constantly have new finished costumes and that’s way too stressful and takes away my enjoyment of the craft when everything is about rapid turnover.

I confronted the fact that I am not a teenager anymore. I’m not youthful person and I have never looked young for my age, so it stands to reason that I didn’t feel convincing dressed as a fourteen year old. I took the “anyone can cosplay anything” philosophy too far and pushed myself out of my comfort zone when I really didn’t need to, and it had the adverse effect of making me feel like Sakaki in the swamp instead of feeling cute. As a result, I don’t do schoolgirls and idols and magical girls so much anymore. Now, I’m working on embracing cosplaying older or more mature-looking characters that I used to really want to do when I was younger. The new motto, spiritually jacked from Ratatouille: anyone can cosplay anything, but it doesn’t mean everyone will feel great in anything.

As for conventions: this took some finagling. One, it took starting to go to conventions outside of our usual haunts. After 10+ years, Anime North and FanExpo feel tired. Absolutely EXHAUSTING. It’s the same thing every year, and the conventions have stagnated so much that I feel like just about everyone goes out of habit rather than any real excitement or joy for it. I mean, if we’re going exclusively for a reason to dress up, why not go shooting for a weekend with friends or something? So we branched out and started going to American cons. It’s been phenomenal, honestly, and going to cons outside our area has made me relish conventions like new again. Going to Katsucon was the most fun I’ve had at a convention since my very first one, honestly! And a part of that is part two: meeting new people. I’ve been a hermit for yeaaaaars in the cosplay community, seldom venturing outside this tumblr and whatnot, but this past year I’ve started making a lot of close friends through social media and it really hypes me up to wear costumes and go to conventions again, as I’m sharing it with new friends whose vibrancy, passion and excitement is infectious. (Shout out here to Krista, Christen, Max, Bono, Tori, Mia, Tracey and the many others too numerous to name but all equally loved who have given me reason to love this hobby again in the past year!)

Anyway: I care again. I haven’t felt so excited for my upcoming costumes (Mercy, Luna and InuYasha!) in a decade.

- Jenn

If it’s a costume I don’t feel very good enough, yeah, I’ll be meh about it, but I try to find costumes I’m super passionate about because it makes all the difference! Like, I felt OK in Sailor Mars, but she wasn’t my favourite scout, so it was natural to not feel as passionate about it. But I feel amazing in Sumia because I feel I can portray her very well, so I find something I’ll feel so good in, and I had a hand in. I like projects that are my niche and that I’ll look so good in!

For me it was also the reverse for a long time –– I didn’t like making them because I was scared of learning to sew but I liked to wear them. Now that I’m learning to sew I’m a lot more excited because I feel that much more connected to it.

- Emmy

If you enjoy making costumes but just don’t want to wear them, you can take a break. Make costumes for other people for a while, or work on real clothes or something different from what you’re burned out on. That’s what I did when I felt it; I said whatever, I’ll just sew other stuff. The best thing you can do is try something else for a while until you find a project that motivates you again.

- Christine

The ladies have pretty much said everything that could be said perfectly, but here are some of my experiences. I’ve had a very brief stint with cosplay compared to others, but the ups and downs have not eluded me. While I had always wanted to cosplay, I guess I never wanted to do it alone. I was always timid to go to cons by myself and never felt strong enough to venture into making costumes on my own. Meeting my friend Erin changed that completely because I met somebody who wanted to be a part of it with me. Suddenly it was this wave of going hard on making things I never thought I would make even though I can look back on it now and see how terribly I made things hahaha. I started with my Cass Cain Batgirl and Chell from Portal. Two crazy starts for me personally as I had never sewed, worked with acrylic, vinyl, fibreglass and bondo. Making them felt invigorating! However, over time, my living and financial situations didn’t really allow for me to have creative space (4-6 adults in an apartment, yikes!). I also went hard into my work so my passions kind of fell to the wayside. Erin moved away to a different continent for a couple of years, but she’s back now woo! I didn’t have many other friends I felt close enough to and as Jenn previously said, Fan Expo and Anime North don’t inspire much creativity or a fresh, exciting environment so even if I went with other friends, it was just going through the motions. I wasn’t inspired to attempt to learn more. I didn’t feel like any characters really connected with me and the ones that did, like Shepard from Mass Effect, I was too scared to attempt alone. Little by little, I fell out of it. I didn’t want solo projects, I wanted to be a part of something.

Joining the Dangerous Ladies has completely rejuvinated my love for it. The first group project I joined was for Sailor Moon, how could I not be excited to do one of my first loves? Lucina has given me life, I could do version after version of her and wear her for years, I absolutely adore her. The thought of being Ana from Overwatch and doing an Inuyasha cosplay (Sango) excites me to no end. I’m more brave and have more opportunities and motivation to learn more. I’ve already learned so much in the few years being with them and WANT to learn more! The passion is back. My love for gaming and anime feels alive again in a way I can visually express it. The new cons we’ve ventured to have been phenomenal and the people we have met have been such an inspiration and so much damn fun to be around. Finding the right people to be around, work, and travel with has been so important for me to find my love for cosplay again and I am so happy that I found it.

All this rambling comes to this: Find out what the source of your distaste for it is. What drove you to love cosplaying in the first place? Find that drive and source of inspiration and love. Search for new ventures that will motivate you to try out new things! All the best!

- Shazz

[cosplayinamerica]

Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night // Cosplayer : Stardust_Megu // Photo : dtjaaaam

Back in high school, I read the first few volumes of the manga at Barnes and Noble and stopped. I went back to the series in late 2016 or early 2017 and actually watched the anime adaptations! Rin is one of my favorite characters because she’s intelligent and has these different sides of her. At school, she’s the model and diligent student, but when school’s out, she loves to let loose and is flawed just like everyone else! She may be brash, but she truly cares about those close to her and is an amazing mage! I love Rin because I can easily relate and see myself in her (minus the magic use)! That’s when I decided for Rin to be my very first Fate cosplay! I made the whole cosplay myself including the embroidery on the top. I first debuted her at Anime NYC 2018. Then I wore her again this year Anime NYC 2019.

On Sunday of Anime NYC when I was Rin, I saw an amazing Archer cosplayer and fangirled. He saw me and was excited! I asked for a photo with him and he said yes. After that then he told me that there was going to be a Fate cosplay meetup in an hour. I literally had no clue about this and thanked him for informing me. Then later on at the meetup, I met so many wonderful Fate cosplayers. They all look amazing in their cosplays! This inspired me to plan out more Fate cosplays in the future! Right now I’m slowly working on Ishtar from Fate Grand Order!

The NYC cosplay scene is very interesting… NYC has a few cons here, but we have lots of cosplay meetups at parks and public places and so many cosplay night parties. A bunch of the cosplayers here strive to be cosfamous, but they along with some photographers and even companies are guilty of only favoring those with the “ideal” looks (thin, white, lighter skinned POC, racially ambiguous black cosplayers, plus sized cosplayers with a pear/hour glass shape) and would belittle those who don’t “fit the aesthetic” (plus sized cosplayers who don’t have the hour glass/pear shape, darker skinned black cosplayers and especially if they’re both).

There’s so much elitism and subtle discrimination so a lot of cosplayers tend to keep to themselves or with close friends. A bunch wants to be recognized for their cosplays, which isn’t wrong, but I feel that they completely forgot the true meaning of cosplay. However, when things do happen, there are plenty of times when we come together and help each other out. For an example, back in 2016, a former friend of mine made a meme of me and fat shamed me publicly on social media for no good reason. This all came out of the blue and I was shocked that he did this.

When the whole NYC cosplay community found out, they all defended me and told the guy that what he did was wrong. I’m very grateful for this! Because of the elitism and bullying, a bunch of friends created cosplay groups, events and free photoshoots/meetups for all cosplayers to come and connect with each other. We’re not completely united and there’s definitely needs to be some improvements, but there are times when it does feel like a community.

It’s not as niche as it was 10 years ago. There are now better materials to make your cosplays and it’s more accessible. We have physical stores that sell worbla and other cosplay materials. There are online shops that sell better quality wigs. The rise of social media has changed the cosplay scene drastically. It’s a double edged sword. Cosplayers can easily post their cosplays and connect with other cosplayers. There’s more cosplay tutorials on YouTube compared to back then. Some even make a living as cosplayers through Patreon!

Photo: @kronos2501

I like that cosplay is mainstream, but this also makes the bullying and elitism much more visible. It has always been there, even long before I became a cosplayer, but the rise of social media gave these trolls the platforms to tear down cosplayers and especially harass black (darker skinned) and plus sized cosplayers. Black cosplayers are still told that we’re the “n-word *insert character*” and plus sized cosplayers are still asked if we “ate the character”.

There are so many amazing black and plus sized cosplayers out there, but we still receive so much hate and are less likely to get opportunities, like cosplay guest spots at conventions or sponsorships. We’re more likely to get criticized and have to work 20x harder than everyone else for the fraction of opportunities. Recently, I received a bunch of hate on Twitter on my Rin cosplay post. I was constantly told that I looked like a man because of my size and dark skin. I was even misgendered a couple of times on purpose. Luckily my followers defended me and had my back.

Cosplayers (including myself) use social media to bring awareness and speak up about our experiences. We even speak up at panels and especially about the experiences that plus sized, black, disabled, LGBTQ, etc. cosplayers face. We use our platforms to educate the audience, help them be much more mindful of others and for changes to be done in order to make the spaces safer for all. Now all conventions have rules on cosplay etiquette and against harassment (physical, sexual, verbal, etc), racism, and bullying. It wasn’t like this when I started. We still have a long way to go, but things are slowly getting better!

https://linktr.ee/stardust_megu

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