[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]

Maybe.
I'm not great with tech, so I'm gonna try bringing it to a repair shop tomorrow.

[missingache]

If they can get rid of it, might be good to find a way to share that with the rest of us.

[whiteshroud]

Sure!

What's your name? Or handle. I can try to message you on other social media if it works.

[missingache]

Uh

That's not info I want really out there... I don't know who can see this app.

[whiteshroud]

[...]

Uh, okay?

But how am I supposed to contact you?

[missingache]

Right.

I guess I can share the one I use for some of my school work on Twitter
The un for that is rg_art

[whiteshroud]

rg_art, got it.

My handle is the same here as everywhere else: hikari_vi

[missingache]

Anime fan?

[NO HE'S NOT CALLING YOU OUT just genuinely curious.]

[whiteshroud]

Yep! Guilty as charged!

You too?

[missingache]

I watch a few while working on homework.

Dub of course, I'm not talented enough to read subs while doing that.

[whiteshroud]

Haha, fair enough. I find the whole dubs vs. subs argument a little silly anyway.

What kinds of animes do you like?

[missingache]

It is... I do like subs a lot, but again, dubs are easier for homework.

I've been watching dramas a lot lately.
They tend to have pretty good stories compared to ones like sports animes.

[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?