#i’ve wanted a miku figurine for a while but i didn’t want one that was overly sexualized and that’s all i kept seeing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starry-sky-1 · 5 years

Text

Jungkook's little adventure

Spinoff of this lovely series by @lil-meow-meow-goes-rawr who let me do this!!!! Lotso love to her and kookie who I couldn't resist writing uwu.

----------------------------------------------------------

“JK, JK wake up” Seokjin sighed as he shook the human bundle of blankets for the umpteenth time. The little Hatsune Miku figurine alarm clock on the bedside table chimed a dainty 8:30 am as the bundle in question groaned and shriveled into a tighter ball.

Seokjin stood, arms akimbo, and pursed his lips. “Yah! Jungkook-ah you have to wake up or did you forget its your turn to bring the groceries today? Its your free day so I understand you were up playing Overwatch till 3 am but breakfast is getting cold. I made hash browns with eggs benedict and that bread you’re fond of.We even have Banana Milk.”

Hearing about banana milk, the bundle rumbled and sat up, a head popping out of its recesses like a bunny, puffy doe eyes that were closed, revealed a mop of fluffy hair, sticking up in all directions as Jungkook let out a cute yawn before rolling on the other side and getting up, stubbing his toe in the process.

The shock of pain, made him wince and his eyes flew open, clutching the now sensitive toe in his hand.

“Ow, Ow, OW”

The elder had an amused smile on his face as he watched the entire scene unfold.

“Sometimes I wonder how you’re related to me Jungkook-ah, a graceful, beautiful human like me, sculpted by the finest, who ladies die over, and then there’s you.”

“Way to boost my confidence, hyung” He muttered and grasped his spectacles, promptly putting them on. “I’ll meet you down in 15 minutes.”

Seokjin nodded and moved to the door, kicking a one piece themed sweatpants pair that was lying on the floor for god knows how long and shut the door behind him.

Jungkook stretched, cracking his bones and made his way over to the ensuite bathroom, both brothers had their rooms connected , in a small apartment unit above the bar.

He made his way down to see Seokjin on a call, recently they had been getting quite a number of assignments. The aloof bartender was a former secret service agent and one of the finest in the nation. He knew and dealt with secrets, disillusioned by bureaucracy and corruption, leaving after finishing one of the most difficult assignments ever with him as the only survivor.

“Yes Yoongi I’ll be more than happy to babysit the squirt as you and Hoseok plummet yourself into another dangerous mission, I mean wasn’t Mist enough for you?”

Ahh Mist, that brought back some memories, quite the adventure.

Jungkook scarfed the meal on the table, marvelling at his hyung’s cooking, the meals he cooked could make him a celebrity chef and yet here he was, dealing with dangerous stuff.

“To each his own I guess” he muttered and rinsed his plate, putting it in the right place before moving to the coatstand, his trusty hooded jacket would be perfect for the crisp nip in the air. He shuffled his shoes on and went down, deciding to explore the city a bit before he would fetch groceries and then munch on snacks as he played Overwatch again, he had a score to settle with NoobMaster96.

Patting his pockets, he checked his phone, keys and wallet before making his way downtown. October would be here soon and the parks would be full of leaves in various shades of reds, oranges.He loved those.

The public park was near the older market with a lot of old shops who sold stuff the traditional way, he found the square market to be too boisterous, the stores too fancy with their automatic doors, self checkouts, the crowd too predictable. He would rather source his seaweed chips and ramyun packets from the old lady who would almost always mistake him for her grandson and give him a mangatteok whenever he dropped by.

Speaking of ramyun, he was running low on his nutrition source with cans of energy drink, that’s how he survived those gruesome matches and lived to tell the tale.

He was just rounding the corner near the store, when a police car caught his attention, the small group of people gathering near it obstructed his view from what was happening. He slipped his hood on and slipped into the gathering with practiced ease and noticed his old lady angrily ranting off to two policemen who he knew very well.

Jimin had on a strained smile as he tried to ease the temper of the lady while Taehyung stood flabbergasted, asking questions to an old man who answered them. He turned on his heel and looked at the crowd when his eyes landed at an all too familiar face. Jungkook ducked, having been caught by Tae who flashed him his signature boxy grin and walked towards him, swiftly pulling him out causing Jungkook to squawk.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t my favourite Dongsaeng” he said.

“I’m the only dongsaeng you know from school, hyung” Jungkook pouted as Tae ruffled his hair, causing his cowlick to stand once again which he had spent a lot of time setting.

Jimin noticed Jungkook and pinched his cheek, smiling his infamous eye smile “Still as grumpy as ever.”

“And you’re still as short as ever.”

Jimin’s smile dropped while Tae guffawed and slapped him on the back. Jimin kicked Tae’s shin and then smacked Jungkook’s neck causing the younger to cry out in indignance.

“Yah! Is this how you talk to your hyung after everything we’ve done for you, brat?”

Jungkook gave him a mischievous smirk and rolled his shoulders.

The crowd had begun to disperse and it was then he turned to look at his allies slash friends and asked them what was with the crowd?

Tae looked at him and sighed, “Recently there have been a lot of petty theft incidents here by individuals dressed in all black with helmets or masks and riding gloves. They snatch handbags, briefcases, anything that they can land their hands on. Moreover we can’t ID them as they have blurred their motorcycle number plates and move on a very common design, the physical build is also more or less the same so we can’t say if it’s a single person or a group.”

Suddenly his eyes shone and his grin came back, Jungkook knew that look all too well.

“No Hyung, I am not helping you in this case again, I have to defeat NoobMaster96” He whined.

“Consider it payment for helping your eccentric psychopath friend and his cute ward. Oho she’s too adorable for her own good.”

Jimin added “The coverup alone took us so much time, we hardly slept for a month and it almost cost us our current titles. I NEVER want to work on the desk again” He said with a shudder.

Jungkook nibbled on his lower lip, On one hand he knew he was obligated to help Hoseok hyung and Yana, who he considered his own little sister, on the other hand he still had to game…….

“Fineeeeee” he replied, huffing.

“I knew if there was anyone who could help us, it would be our dear little Kookie” Tae chimed and Jimin smiled as well, highfiving his partner.

“But I need the details you have, the police files and access to the traffic security cameras”

“Consider it done”

“And I want 5 packets of chili ramyeon and nori chips as thanks”

“Whaaaa”

“Don’t question him, Jimin, and done.”

Jungkook moved to their car and Tae fetched a brown paper bag with the words confidential written on it.

“Now lets move to someplace less public and discuss with fewer ears” Jimin suggested and both nodded and followed him to a cafe owned by an ex policeman.

The little bell chimed as they entered and the owner flashed the 2 detectives a toothy smile as he continued to wipe a mug in his hand. They moved to the little private cabin which he held for “special” customers and took a seat. Jimin and Tae knew it was soundproof on the inside meaning no noise from the cabin would go out but they could hear everything on the outside clearly.

Jungkook spread the files on the table and quickly went over them, clicking a few pictures of evidence on his phone, whose camera he had upgraded to give better resolutions. Taking pictures of the suspects from the traffic cameras, he placed them back into the folder.

“I’ve sent you a link that would help you get into the mainframe. I hope you know the drill. Do NOT leave any evidence of your presence, you know SPD’s IT team is getting better at tracking illegal hacking or data hostage attempts.”

The younger only rolled his eyes when there was a knock on the door. Jimin tapped in confirmation and the owner came in, placing two cups of cappucinos for the boys and a hot chocolate for him, closing the door on his way out.

They discussed more details as they took their respective drinks and Tae told him he’d told the owner to bring hot chocolate for him since he knew that Jungkook couldn’t stand the strong taste at all.

Jungkook remembered he had to get groceries and once finished, Tae and Jimin helped him fetch stuff from the aisles at the next door mart and told him they’d drop him off before going back to the station to “work”. He whined when they did not get his snacks telling him that would be his reward if he could give them the missing link to the case and close it.

Clutching the full bags, Jungkook managed to balance them as he slid his key in and went inside. The lights were off which meant Seokjin was out and should be back soon to prepare for opening the bar.

He deposited them on the kitchen counter, placing the perishables in the fridge and moved to his room, opening his laptop as he decided to copy the data from his phone. Maybe Namjoon hyung could give him an insight on this? Ahh no he’s busy so he mustn’t be bothered.

Jin returned and noticed that Jungkook was home a little earlier than usual. The boy would never drop in before 8 pm, just in time for dinner on his days off. So it was surprising to see him back so soon.

He knocked on his door “JK, did you have lunch?” the boy didn’t respond. Jin knocked louder this time. Jungkook fumbled with his headphones and peeped from the door.

“Yes?”

“I asked if you had eaten lunch yet?”

“I had a cup of hot chocolate”

“Yah! That doesn’t count as lunch! I’m making fried rice, come down in 10, irrespective of what you’re working on” Jin said, motioning to the laptop and the wires attached to his phone.

Jungkook swiftly nodded and closed the door, resuming the transfer of data as he waited. He checked his phone for messages, finding none. Of course who would message him, he smiled ruefully before checking progress of the tapes downloading in his system.

As soon as there was a single minute left to 3:10 pm, he went down in the kitchen, just in time to see Jin plating 2 servings, his being smaller than what he had poured for the younger one.

The smell was heavenly and before he knew it, the plate was wiped clean. Jungkook rose to put them in the washer but Jin shook his head.

“You have homework, right kiddo? Don’t worry hyung will handle it”

Jungkook smiled at him brightly before running upstairs, almost tripping on his feet before he plopped himself on his table again, working on a short code that would narrow his search to the bikes of the model, the perpetrators used. It would limit his view time to 5 hours. Something he was sure he could manage. He carefully scanned the now shortened footage and noticed that the perpetrators would always, exclusively be downtown. It was as if they knew their chances of escaping were better there. He also noticed how they seemed to know where to go, irrespective of whether they were on foot or bike. The alleys where the cameras could not record their further movement. Also not a sliver of skin was exposed so nothing could be said about their build, complexion or looks, even gender. All the footage looked the same.

He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing his glasses up, there was no clue, how could he help Jimin and Tae, when suddenly one of the bikes went too close to the pole. Jungkook narrowed his eyes and played the footage again. On the back of the bike was an imperceptible symbol, which he enlarged and screenshot.

One thing that he understood was that the perpetrator(s) had a good idea of the alleys, secondly they knew how to conceal their identity well so it would be physically impossible to identify them, thirdly they chose their victims randomly and finally another bike had yellow paint on its tires, from the footage of a day ago, the one with the old woman whose bag was stolen.

Jungkook knew that there was renovation going on in the eastern part which meant that atleast one of them had entered via Incheon.

He zoomed the footage as he spotted a man push the woman and snatched her bag in broad daylight as he sped off, the old woman screaming at him, which caused the few shopkeepers around to come out. Jungkook noticed that this bike was devoid of the same symbol but had another one in the same design.

He searched them and discovered 2 numbers, in a snake font, 13 and 55.

Weird!

He quickly overlooked the dates of the events and discovered that the dates were in fact a sequence! Running them through the algorithm detector he found that they were Fibonacci numbers and the

snake fonts actually represented their positioning on the cartesian plane.

He had heard Hoseok talk about a gang in town, slowly acquiring power through meticulous attacks, they hadn’t done anything severe, but their attacks were random enough to confuse the police. To make matters worse nobody knew of their arrival or departure, they chose less populated areas to target and left no evidence behind.

Putting the dates in sequence, Jungkook knew when the next attack would take place, coincidentally it was a free day for him as well. It wouldn’t hurt to give a little tip off to the detectives.

The only problem was how to confirm his suspicions, what if he was wrong? He couldn’t afford to let down another of the residents at downtown or undermine what was at stake for Tae and Jimin. He knew the pattern of such gangs all too well, it would slowly evolve to bigger crimes including shootouts and murders once they’d amassed enough power and terrorised the locals. It was an ugly spiral in the Criminal Underworld.

It was almost 11 pm by the time he had finished. Shoot! Just on time his stomach rumbled as well. He hadn’t had anything since lunch. He padded downstairs, knowing Jin would be at the bar but he’d chew his head off the next day for ignoring dinner. There was a plate of samgyeopsal with rice and clear soup, left for him. Jungkook felt a rush of affection for his step brother rise in his heart, who took care of him more like a parent than a sibling, never once questioning when he was dumped at his door out of nowhere and readily gave him a roof to live in and made sure all his needs were fulfilled.

He sat and ate dinner in silence and cleaned the kitchen up before wiping the table. Jin rarely let him in the bar, being fiercely protective of the younger one, wanting him to live as normally as possible.

He shut the lights and formulated a plan in his head. Oh he couldn’t wait to see it all unfold.

The D day had Jungkook nervous as hell, Tae had bombarded him with questions all week about his progress but Jungkook said it was difficult with lack of data but nonetheless sent him the designs on the 2 bikes just to not rouse his suspicions too much. They had thankfully bought the little lie and were busy running for matches through their databases.

He waited at the eastern end on his bike which he had borrowed from Yoongi, the sleek model was very flexible for driving in narrower lanes or taking sharp turns. The only condition was that he had to hack into some company’s financial statements, an easy job.

Hiding in the alleyway, he waited until it was just a few people out on the streets. If his calculations were correct, there would be an incident any time now. His notice turned to one of the shops in his direct line of vision, A girl with curly hair, sunkissed skin exit the cafe where had been the last week.

She had long, pretty legs clad in a pair of skinfit jeans and a white blouse tied in a knot above the highwaist as she put her slingbag around her and moved. He spotted movement on the peripheral of his vision.

Bingo! There were 2 people on the bike this time, heading straight for the woman who now had her headphones on, moving to whatever beat it played. Jungkook revved his own and gave chase right as one of them broke the bag from its sling and ran, clutching it tightly.

She screamed and gave chase, but wasn’t as fast enough as the person. Jungkook knew he’d take the alley with limited access to the traffic camera and his friend would be there, taking a quick shortcut he locked the bike and hid in the thick shadows knowing the person would be there anytime soon, as his friend waited at the other end.

The person came in, huffing as the outfit proved too much for the weather. Jungkook pounced on them, taking them down in a tangle of limbs as he subdued them. Their partner long gone when they realised that the ally had been subdued. He took the helmet off to reveal a young man with a nasty scar across his eye.This wasn’t an injury, no it was a deliberate slash. Quickly he found some spare plastic ties near the dumpbox and tied the man down. He dragged him over to the main footpath and saw the girl jogging up to him.She was even prettier up close and he blushed a bit. He dialed Tae and said

“Hyung, I have a certain present for you, come down quick” as he gave him his coordinates.

Taehyung cursed and kicked the table as his partner raised an eyebrow in question.

“That damn brat” was all he said before nudging Jimin into the car, speeding off.

Jungkook dusted the bag and gave it to the girl who muttered a “thank you��. Heck even her accent was cute and her voice had a lilt to it.

Before he could say something, the siren indicated that they were here. He looked down at the bound man who was glaring daggers at him.

Jimin stepped out first looking at Jungkook and then the man. “why am I not surprised? Of course you would throw yourself in harm’s way with 0 afterthought, Seokjin would have our skins as doormats if anything happened to you,brat.”

Taehyung looked at the man, amused.

“Can’t believe a kid took you down and those are some good knots, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re into some hardcore Shibari shit, Jungkook-ah”

Jungkook only reddened in response as the girl smirked at him.

Taehyung then looked at her and asked if they could ask her a few questions, she was free to go then. She nodded in assent and answered them, truthfully as Jungkook watched in rapt attention.

Jimin noticed and winked at him, wiggling his eyebrows, making Jungkook squeak and turn his head.

The detectives, satisfied thanked Jungkook after taking his statement as well.

“We’ll get all from him, but kiddo, next time you pull a stunt like this, do give us a call before jumping blindly, what if the other man was armed? and do mail us all the evidence you found, your ramyun and chips will be at your door by evening”

He smiled and waved them off before realising the girl was still there.

“So how does coffee sound?”

“Truthfully, Yakult is better than coffee, coffee is too strong for my nose” he replied, tapping his nose and shrugging. He looked at his watch.

“Oh dang I’m late for lunch again, hyung’s going to break my legs but I don’t need to buy snacks now so yess” he mumbled to himself.

The girl shook her head in amusement.

“I-I gotta run, have a nice day.Be safe” he bowed to her before taking off, picking his bike up and speeding his way over to home. Oh he was so dead today!

OMAKE

“You mean she asked me out on a date and I messed it up?” Jungkook groaned as Seokjin burst into laughter at his obliviousness.

Maybe he could spot her next time he was in downtown? It wouldn’t hurt to have her number. He flopped on the bed groaning and cursing. Atleast his Miku chan was still by his bedside to cheer him.

The End!

#btsau #bts friendship #bts fluff #bts fic #bts jhope #bts jimin #bts jin #bts taehyung #bts jungkook #hackerkook #fluff #jungkook is a baby #uwu

7 notes · View notes

cutiecrates · 4 years

Text

Subscription Brand Updates & Gacha Collection

This is basically the “news” I mentioned wanting to tell you guys like a couple months back and failed to do. I was sick when I was planning to do it and then I just forgot about it. Basically, this topic will be able some updates regarding the brands I’m subscribed to, as well as my Gacha Collection, with pics : D

(This was my collection, with the except of my 3 newest boxes and 2 boxes dedicated to Gacha I don’t plan to keep)

TokyoCatch

If you guys have been reading my blog for a while you may remember my mentioning an Online Crane Game/UFO Catcher website by the people of TokyoTreat, nmnl, YumeTwins. As of now its officially OPENED and everyone is free to play-to-pay and win fabulous Japanese items :3 there is a wide variety of series and items, and it updates frequently, and there are occasional test cranes for those who may not want to spend real money just yet or hone their skills.

If you would like to check it out, here’s the link: https://ptr.tokyocatch.com/play

You know I won something the second I found out right? x3 I went back and won the Sakura Miku figurine I’ve been fawning over since the testing days:

I’m not sure when I’ll get it because right now the website is having a little bit of a problem processing this when I try to checkout, I sent them an email about it to figure out why its doing what it is.

Stationery Box?!

No pics, sorry guys. Around Christmas or the beginning of January, I got a survey email about an upcoming Stationery themed box that will be made by Japan Crate (the box itself and creators of Umai Crate, Doki Doki, and Kira Kira.). The survey basically asked what we would like to see in it, the number of items, quality of items, price, possible name ideas, etc.

While this sounds like a lot of fun and I would love to get it, I don’t think I will be because I'm subscribed to enough boxes right now >3< if I dropped a box, I’d rather pick up the Japan Crate subscription for its cute and fun foods.

Anyway, I'll be sure to let you guys know how this goes if there is further development.

Minor Kira Kira Crate Update

This is a minor update regarding Kira Kira crate, which actually began with the January box. Basically, everything is staying the same but the item count has been increased from 5-6 to 8-10.

Now, when I got January’s box it was actually a sort of... “celebratory repeat“ box, by that I mean its completely full of past items. Not gonna lie, it made me worry about future boxes and if we’ll get new content...

Closing Sale at Squishy Kiosk

This will be my last bit of information, regarding the shop Squishy Kiosk, one of the shop’s run by the creators of Blippo.com/Kawaii Box. It has been open for over 2 years as of now, but the shop is sadly closing (I don’t know why, they didn’t tell us). So for 1 more week (it was originally 2 weeks but I got the email a week ago from today), there are several squishy still available, and on sale!

https://www.squishykiosk.com/cheap-squishies?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sqk-nl-200107

Here’s the link for the squishy on sale. I’m kind of sad about the shop closing because I had intended on ordering from it... but I never did. I forgot or just didn’t think about it.

Gacha Collection

Here we go guys, thank you for taking the time to get to this point; or if you skipped down to here then I hope it was worth it :P

Okay, so I already showed you my collection thus far. Well here are the 3 boxes I’ve yet to add:

and here are the 2 boxes of Gacha I don’t want:

Out of everything I own its actually not very many. I feel bad for being picky, but if someone else could like it more than I would I’d rather get rid of it you know?

Here is my collection (minus those 5 boxes) entirely spilled out on the floor in a semi-contained pile.

And this is their new home!

I fell in love with these adorable containers, I ended up buying a few of them to put various items into.

That is a picture of my favorite capsules I mentioned in my most recent Gacha Gacha Crate review. I really like these ones because they look like cute colored bubbles and have a fun, easy to open clasp~

And this is my favorite collective item to get from Gachapon:

SQUISHY!

I only have a handful, but I really really love them! I hope we continue to get more x3 My most favorite would probably be the cucumber sushi one, I love the ones where the item squeezes out.

For our last pic, this is my entire Gachapon Collection moved into its new home:

Not counting the 2 boxes worth of Gacha I won’t be keeping, these filled about half of the container. I got plenty of room for more but I constantly go through it to see which ones I can get rid of or put elsewhere.

That will be it for now guys :3 thanks for stopping by~

1 note · View note

calwingjapan · 5 years

Text

9月2日ーマジカルミライ

Back in May I booked bus tickets and passes for Hatsune Miku: Magical Mirai 2019. I suppose it will serve as a good distraction. Oddly enough, a part of me didn’t really WANT to go. I meant to get just one ticket, but the lottery system had messed up English and as a result I had to pay for a two day pass. The only reason I decided to go was to indulge in my 19/20 year old self in going to a Vocaloid concert. In the past 5 years, I’ve not been a huge fan, but knew that at the very least I could still have a little fun, right?

Now...I have plans of going every year. It was beyond entertaining from start to finish and the exhibit floor was a lot like anime cons back home...only it was all Vocaloid. What’s more, the event actually had English support (and Chinese). Industry guests were there, including a few big name vocaloid music producers doing autographs. Any clothing, accessory, music tech, or figurine company that had partnership with Crypton and Hatsune Miku was there with their merchandise. Starting out producers had a fan-works marketplace selling their own CDs and fanart. Early demo play of the new Project DIVA and Miku VR was available! There were also changing rooms for cosplayers, and a storage space for those traveling will luggage to put away. So I’ll be sure to cosplay next year, for sure, too! I’ve been wanting to be KAITO for years, so this seems like the perfect place to do it.

Tho, I think the nicest aspect of it was just how friendly all the attendees were. There were people from all over the world. Japan. China. Korea. Philippines. America. Europe. Yet, no matter the language barrier, everyone was having fun singing their favorite songs in impulsive karaoke, dancing, taking photos together, and so on. Even the most hardcore fans were good people. They didn’t try to one-up anyone or assert authority of any kind. If anyone was seen alone, they were just collected into groups with other fans. If someone didn’t have a glow wand during the concerts then fans would share (the most excited fans had anywhere from 3-5 wands of their own. They had plenty to loan to friends). I ended up meeting a few people from America and other foreigners in the country who go every year but sadly they all lived in different corners. We’ll keep in touch on LINE, I’m sure.

I just cried during the first song. I didn’t even know what song it was (or half of the songs of the whole show), but I didn’t care. I think it was mainly just the energy of the moment and how entertaining it was. Even a few old favorites were played in memory of the late wowaka, who passed away this April. A different song of his was played at every show, the two I got to see was World’s End Dancehall (my favorite) and Rolling Girl (his first big hit). Those were really emotional numbers even if they were very high energy. Megurine Luka was also celebrating her 10th anniversary so she got an extended set, and her own corner at the exhibit hall. One guy I ended up sitting next to during the final concert (someone from America), he and I both ugly cried when Romeo and Cinderella happened.

On the last day I did one last sweep of the exhibit hall and while walking past the industry booths, I saw a staff member holding up a sign with 「八王子Ｐ」written on it. Next thing I knew...he was right there, signing autographs. I didn’t know who’d be there, nor did I expect it to be possible to meet anyone. Yet...one of my favorite producers was not but 10 feet away from me and all I had to do was...buy his newest EP, and I could get his autograph. Not only did I get his autograph, I got lucky when I drew my lottery ticket and was allowed to shake his hand. I was so starstruck that I forgot my Japanese and had to use Google translate to tell him how happy his music has always made me, and partly why I now live in Japan. He...just laughed and kept saying thank you as he shook my hand. I cried in the bathroom right after.

I really met Hachioji-P. It’s not called Magical Mirai for nothing, I guess.

Part of me thinks it was such an emotional weekend because of the news with my grandfather, and me having trouble expressing any sorrow over it. When the stage teased that one wowaka’s songs was next with the video screen, the crowd didn’t chant for Miku or Rin or Luka, or anyone else. Everyone in unison just kept screaming “WO! WA! KA! WO! WA! KA! WO! WA! KA!” He’s gone...but his music has been so impactful to thousands, if not millions of people all over the world. I only hope that he was able to hear us, from all 5 shows, screaming his name. It couldn’t be helped, me thinking of my grandfather in that moment. I want to remember Buddy the same way all those fans remember wowaka.

I called Luis after the first day and talked my feelings out about my grandfather with him. There...wasn’t much to be said, but it was nice (and surprising) when he told me how he went through the same emotions a few years ago when his own grandfather died a few years ago...while we were all at MomoCon together. I can’t imagine how he felt during that weekend after he got the message from his family. Still, knowing that someone at least understands why I’m feeling (or rather, not feeling) does provide some reassurance.

There is no solution to this, I know, but...Luis offered me a bit of comforting words in knowing that he’s about to be going somewhere where he won’t be hurting anymore- no more cancer, aching bones, or fluid bags, or anything at all. He’ll be somewhere where he has his voice again! He’ll be able to go swimming without the worry of water getting caught in his throat hole. He’ll have all his hair, again! I know I can’t follow him there, not right now, anyway. But for the moment...that’s how I’m trying to cope with this situation.

Justin/Logy and his girlfriend, Jasper, are planning to be in Japan for Christmas next year. Thanks to the Olympics, the Tokyo dates for Magical Mirari 2020 had to be moved from summer time to right before Christmas. When I passed the news along to them, they immediately agreed that we’d all go together at least for one day, in cosplay. The magic continues….

#Year 2 #Diary #Magical Mirai 2019 #wowaka

2 notes · View notes

floridageekscene · 7 years

Text

Otaku culture values a lot of things–community, open-mindedness, art, pocky… But two valuables I find especially prevalent among anime aficionados are “breadth” and “depth.”

Breadth is the desire to enjoy variety—that spice of life that broadens our appreciation for culture, genre, and style. Breadth, for example, is the ability to watch anime genres as opposite as Attack on Titan and Bunny Drop side-by-side and acknowledge (if not enjoy) both of them.

If breadth is valued by otaku culture for its ability to expand horizons, however, depth is what internalizes those experiences and makes them meaningful. A desire for depth is a craving to dive as far into one particular series, genre, or author as possible and churn the soil for its richness. The deeper I plunge into a series, the more mastery I wield over it and the more of it I am able to apply it myself and the world around me. It’s when I internalize the anime I’ve watched that it’s able to shape my perspective, my beliefs, and even my comprehension of focus subjects like the Meiji Era (Rurouni Kenshin), volleyball (Haikyuu!!), and mythology (Fate/Zero).

Florida Anime Experience not only grasps the importance of depth, but also acts on it. Since its creation in 2011, FAE has been religiously dedicated to becoming, not the largest of Cons, but the most focused of them. Six years later, FAE is still a passionate love letter to otaku, bringing all forms of Japanese entertainment—video games, manga, maid cafes, J-Pop, cosplay, and, of course, anime—together under one all-but-pagoda-shaped roof.

The Scoop:

What – A three-day event centered on Japanese culture, with special focus on anime and manga’s influence on creativity and culture

When:

Friday, March 10th: 10:30AM – 10:00PM Saturday, March 11th: 10AM – 11PM Sunday, March 12th: 10:00AM – 4:30PM

Where – Radisson Resort & Conference Center

Who – Amanda Miller, Cherami Leigh, Cristina Vee, Kate Higgins, Stephanie Sheh, Al Aki, Noise Complaint, Nerdy Karaoke, and Maid Café Mikkusu

Price – $20-$25 (single-day), $45 (weekend)

Perks – An anime viewing room, costume contests, a vendors room (with over forty booths), an artist alley, a Japanese video game room, a maid cafe, and more

My first, and only other, trip to Florida Anime Experience was in 2013—a year when the closest thing I’d ever experienced to anime was Kingdom Hearts and Avatar: the Last Airbender. While I felt very welcomed at FAE 2013 by open-armed staff and conversational cosplayers, I wasn’t able to engage the event from an otaku’s point-of-view and felt very much like I was looking through a window into a wondrous, unfamiliar world. My previous convention experiences had only been with Con giants like Megacon and Metrocon—both events with worthy fame to their names but that focus on scooping up as many fandoms as possible into their weekends. In other words, Cons that, quite successfully, go for breadth.

Four years and 150 anime, manga, light novels, and OVAs later, I returned to Florida Anime Experience, eager to finally participate as a fully-fledged otaku. By the end of the day, I left feeling like I’d become Hokage.

To be more specific, Florida Anime Experience provided (and attracted) everything I’d ask for from a Con centered on Japanese culture. More importantly, I left the event with many experiences, ideas, and keepsakes that I didn’t have when I entered. I believe that’s a true mark of success for any convention.

For example…

I stepped into the Anime Viewing Room and caught a few minutes of My Hero Academia—more than enough time for me to scribble it down on my lengthy to-watch list. I tried two new flavors of taiyaki. I witnessed a round of Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA in action. I met three voice actresses for the first time and obtained six signatures. I put on my first kimono. Most significantly, I made a new friend while waiting in the autograph line.

It’s said that you get from something what you put into it. I think that’s true when attending most any Con. In the case of Florida Anime Experience, though, the process became almost subconscious. New experiences burst around every corner and from every vendor’s table, many of which I ran out of time (or money…) to try for myself—boba tea, the manga library, the maid cafe, henna… Fortunately, hundreds of other otaku were able to experience these novelties, with no table ever left unoccupied by a curious passerby.

Vendors reflected Florida Anime Experience’s distinct themes with katana-sharp pin-pointedness. Figurines, phone strap mascots, rare blind box collectibles, window-sized wall scrolls, dakimakura, and weapon replicas maintained a very strict emphasis on otaku interests. Video games, film, music, literature, and snacks originating in Japan also found their way into vendor’s wares, in-between all the Yuri on Ice, Haikyuu!!, and Naruto merchandise. Despite being of Western origin, RWBY unsurprisingly managed to carry a significant Con presence through both cosplay and fanart.

The Artist Ally wrapped around the centralized vendor’s hall like a picture frame. While there weren’t as many artists as there were merchants, I got the impression that FAE selected them very deliberately. No two were alike, and I don’t just mean that in the “all art is unique” sense. Each artist had a particular medium they specialized in—felt character magnets, clay chibi dolls, three-dimensional shadow boxes, traditional art, digital art… And, of course, most art was inspired by Japanese media. Not all of it, but most. It seemed FAE wanted to honor its artists’ liberties, as long as a certain portion of their wares were dedicated to the Con’s theme.

Due in large part to FAE’s selection of voice actresses, Sailor Moon was a frequent sight all around. I lost track of the number of blonde hair buns and magical staffs I passed, and that’s to say nothing of the themed panels, fanart, figurines, wall scrolls, and other memorabilia based on the Senshi.

Amanda Miller, Cherami Leigh, Cristina Vee, Kate Higgins, and Stephanie Sheh held two autograph signings each day, which idealistically allowed for everyone to participate in the meet-and-greet. I stood in line for an hour on two separate occasions and was the cut-off in front of a few dozen people the first time around. Fans patient enough to try their luck a second time found themselves rewarded, and the convention staff put a limitation on autographs and photography in order to ensure as many attendees as possible were able to meet the actresses.

Despite having never watched a single episode of Sailor Moon, I went home with six autographs from other series. Amanda Miller, Cherami Leigh, Cristina Vee, Kate Higgins, and Stephanie Sheh have impressive resumes and have starred in many of my favorite anime—Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, and Naruto. (As it was Higgins’ first time in Florida, I was especially excited to get a Saber autograph.) Essentially, whether I was a Sailor Moon fan or not was far from a deal-breaker in the autograph line, much to my delight. My encounters with the actresses were brief but pleasant, and I took away the impression that they enjoyed being among the fans and hearing their personal stories.

The actresses also shared some stories of their own. A Sailor Moon Q&A with all five special guests allowed both Senshi and fans to lay their hearts on the table. Amanda Miller related how the role of Sailor Jupiter helped her overcome a period of heavy depression. I could feel silence weighing the room as listeners took in her story.

That sense of transparency characterized Florida Anime Experience. The staff were very personable and the attendees responded in kind. I never felt as though I were being “babysat” by the convention staff. Instead, I was treated as though I were “part of the show,” spoken to as an equal and subconsciously asked to help keep things running smoothly by playing my part.

When I obtained my press pass, I was informed that I wouldn’t get any special access with it—because FAE wanted me to experience the Con from a regular attendee’s perspective. Florida Anime Experience is a “by fans, for fans” event, with the playing field courteously levelled. It’s one of the most laidback Con experiences I’ve had the pleasure of attending. Other Cons would be wise to take note.

At the beginning of my review, I made a big deal about Florida Anime Experience going for depth, rather than breadth. Naysayers may argue that FAE limits itself by restricting its theme, but it’s this singular focus that allows FAE to dive as deeply and precisely into its own Con culture as it does. If you are a fan of Japanese media—especially anime—and you live in Central Florida, then Florida Anime Experience should be on your list of annual pilgrimages.

And if you have no idea what kawaii means, who Tezuka is, or which way to read a manga, but you have a curious and open mind, then you’re guaranteed to get a hands-on, cultural crash course more fun than any other at Florida Anime Experience.

Florida Anime Experience is a three day pop culture convention celebrating anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture.

Visit the FAE Official Website

Follow FAE on Facebook

Photography by Amy Covel

#gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Florida Anime Experience 2017 Otaku culture values a lot of things--community, open-mindedness, art, pocky... But two valuables I find especially prevalent among anime aficionados are "breadth" and "depth."

0 notes