[GAME START] Welcome to Libra!

[kaisoumods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Network
WHEN: January 7th
WHAT: Welcome to Libra!
WARNINGS: None

[Wherever you are, your phone will start to ring and vibrate. It doesn’t matter if your phone was off or on mute - it will ring anyway. If you didn’t have a phone? You’ll have found one that has been delivered to your current location with a sticky note attached with your name on it.

The ringing will continue until you check your phone. The entire screen has been locked to a new app that downloaded: Libra. It looks like a social media app, even though you’ve never heard of it before. Worst yet, there seems to be no closing this app until you read and respond to the message displayed]

Welcome to Libra! Libra is an innovative app developed by the good folks at Zodiac™ to connect people with similarities that set them apart from the average crowd!

There’s a lot to talk about, but we don’t want to pile too much on you! Instead, let's start things off with a little icebreaker! It’s a little late, but we hope it's still relevant!


This post is sponsored by the 2021 Kaisou Winter Carnival! Get out and enjoy the cold!

[Users will have the option to choose their own display names and userpics. If nothing is chosen, the app will use their real name and a quick photo taken of them from their camera's phone.

Mod Note: The game has officially begun! The first event log will take place on January 9th, but players are free to make their own logs and posts! There will be no NPC response in this network post, so feel free to interact with each other!]

Comments

[whiteshroud]

Oh dramas are good! I watch a fair amount of those.

Sports animes are fun, but you're not wrong that the stories tend to be a little formulaic and basic. But they're good when you want something comforting.

[missingache]

I find watching magical girl animes kind of hard sometimes.

Too much forced heteronormativity in a lot of them. The ones that just let the girls be girls instead of pure potential waifu fodder are better, even if they are rare.

[whiteshroud]

I'm not sure I entirely agree with that. I mean, I do agree that there's a fair bit of fanservice in the shows. And there's some that are created for the male gaze, but...

I think magical girl as a premise really plays contrary with typical gender roles you see in media. The girl gets to be the hero rather than the damsel, and femininity is shown as a strength rather than a weakness. You don't see that much in shonen. And sure, there's a lot of m/f relationships, but I don't think they have more than what you see in other anime genres outside of BL/Yuri. That's more an issue with anime in general than magical girl.

But at the same time...well, there's a reason some magical girls shows are seen as queer icons. Watching those shows sure helped me consider my own identity.

[....]

Haha, sorry! I didn't mean to ramble there. If you can't guess, I'm pretty fond of magical girl.

[missingache]

I don't think I really explained what I meant...

I am sick of magical girl animes where girls, instead of fully committing to being a magical girl, are worried about how the boys they like will see them if they aren't super cute all the time.

She's a magical girl. She doesn't need the approval of some random generically drawn dude to be a magical girl. She's kicking butt even without it, so why can't they have more confidence in themselves outside of wanting to please dudes?

[whiteshroud]

Oh! I get what you mean now, sorry!

Mm, I agree. That's bad writing. Girls shouldn't have to feel like they need male approval. It's almost like some male writers don't understand that women have more in than life than just impressing guys...

[Stupid really]

[missingache]

Especially middle school girls! So many of those magical girls are literal children who shouldn't be so damn concerned about how attractive they are to men...

It makes me like American kids shows over some of the anime out there.

[whiteshroud]

Aha, sorry, I stay out of the "Western animation vs Japanese anime" debates. There's good things and issues with both of them, and both of them are drawing from their own cultures, so...

[Yeah, it's easier to stay out of it. He would like a job in animation after graduation after all]

I do hope that one day I'll be able to get into animation and put in my own influence.

[missingache]

I do have complaints about both for sure. I like drama animes over western cartoon drama for sure. Each has their own flaws where you prefer one over the other.

You're an animation major? I'm in the graphics arts department myself.

[whiteshroud]

Haha, I feel basically the same way.

Yeah! I'm in my freshman year, so I got awhile to go. But hey, that's pretty close- so maybe we'll end up with some classes together sometime.

[missingache]

Maybe. I'm in my second year, but I still need to finish some of my gen eds before I can fully concentrate on my program.

[whiteshroud]

Mm, I know that one. Good luck on getting through your gen eds!

[missingache]

Thanks. You too. Psychology is the worst, so better pick a good teacher for it.

[whiteshroud]

Was it really that bad?

[missingache]

The teacher I had was a huge misogynist... You would think that a psych teacher would be more open minded and not alienate all the students who identify as women and feminists.

Though if they were doing it for a experiment, then fuck that.

[whiteshroud]

Oh.

Yeah he sounds like an asshole. I'll try to avoid getting a class with him, thanks.

[missingache]

If you can't, take sociology instead. That one counts, too.

[whiteshroud]

Good idea. I'll look into it.

[missingache]

Also, even if it's recommended, I say avoid philosophy. Find a different humanities class... It's so boring.

[whiteshroud]

Oh, I didn't mind philosophy. It's interesting to learn about other people's perspectives about life and the world.

[missingache]

Yes, but have you ever listened to a philosophy major talk?

[whiteshroud]

Sometimes. I went through a phase where I listened to a lot of TED talks to help figure out things about myself.

Some were interesting! Though...there were some that felt like they were full of hot air, I'll admit.

[missingache]

TED talks are good to listen to.

I think as long as someone sounds confident about what they are talking about, they get a TED talk segment.

[whiteshroud]

Haha, I'd believe it. I went down some weird rabbit holes a few times.

[missingache]

My latest rabbit hole led me into soap cutting videos... if you need something to turn your brain off to and get a good perspective for lines, I recommend those.

[whiteshroud]

Soap cutting? What's that?