That definitely fits what I'm going through in my current state of a revived writing muse. XD

Oh God, that picture reminds me... being given the cold shoulder sucks, but then there are those people who go to the opposite extreme. Surely we've known one or two of such people who seem to be continually super interested (more like obsessed) in your current whereabouts and/or activities.

Like, you can't get by without them poking you in an IM to know what you're currently doing or where you are at least once a day, or even once every few hours. That pic also demonstrates a good way to deal with such people though. XD

I wonder if anyone else here has been playing Counter Side, and have been thinking of whether or not its premise makes for a good RP site...

Yeah, I'm on a Counter Side roll right now. XD

In less than an hour's time in my time zone, the clock ticks over to Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Or more commonly referred to as Hari Raya Aidilfitri where I live. 

Tried my hand at making an Ambrosia Salad. Followed the most common recipe, but with some deviations of my own due to the unavailability of certain ingredients and the desire for a less sinful treat. Such as using fresh oranges and pineapple that I cut by hand, and replacing the maraschino cherries with pitted black cherries. Couldn't find mini-marshmallows, so instead of getting standard-sized ones I used gummy bears instead. Parents and in-laws said it wasn't bad for a first attempt. 

Anyone else here also recently finding themselves bombarded with advertisements for this mobile game called Counter: Side while on YouTube or Facebook?

I've always wondered why hasn't anyone thought of trying to reclaim the word "fanservice"? Now, I know that for anime fandoms the term is often synonymous with "ecchi" - which refers to creative decisions that are made with pandering to the lewd fantasies of a presumed straight cis-male audience in mind. Often at the expense of characterisation and/or plot.

But I understand that the "service" in fanservice exists because content creators thinks adding it would somehow please (aka. service) the fans, even if they don't add anything to either character or plot developments.

Why I think the term ought to be reclaimed is because of the fact that fanservice isn't restricted to just ecchi. Plenty of examples of non-sexual fanservice exists in fiction; such as paying homages or making references to another work (I.e. Lucky Star is practically built on Japanese pop culture references and homages), gushing over technical details (I.e. Such as all the 'technical porn' about cars in Initial D) about hardware and technology, breathtaking visuals (such as the detailed, vibrant scenery in Studio Ghibli anime), etc.

Plus, who can deny that there's ultimately no better way to service the fans than good storycrafting? Strong (as in, having distinct and memorable personalities and believable motivations - rather than physically-formidable) characters, compelling plotlines and story arcs, consistent narratives, and immersive story settings are hallmarks of solid storytelling. And that, should be where the real fanservice's at.

Tokyo is the Centre of the Universe. Or at least, Japan is Only Tokyo. I know creator provincialism is a thing but I'd think that Japanese creators of all people should know better that Tokyo isn't all of Japan or the only place in the archipelago where interesting stuff happens. That's why I liked Katana Maidens/Toji no Miko - because the game and the series seems to go out of the way to avoid setting its plots in Tokyo or within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area for that matter.

Any characters I play that happen to be amoral tend not to refer themselves as such, but rather prefer to label themselves as "morally flexible".

At first I didn't know what's the big deal about Hololive, in particular a certain shark girl by the name of Gawr Gura. But after listening to the videos where she sings, I can't deny that I'm now officially a fan as well. XD

Gotta say, this resonates with me. When I was staffing sites, I knew better to leave personal feelings out of equation when reviewing apps, but sometimes I feel like members who have a history of being consistently active and showing good OOC conduct and a strong RPing etiquette gets more leeway from me.

I.e. I'd generally get down to reviewing their apps first, and tend to more readily trust them with characters that are more powerful.

On the other hand, if the player is someone who has a history of flaking/ghosting, is rude and disrespectful OOC to other members, has a history of trying to game the RP rules or any combination thereof, then their apps tend to be subject to far greater scrutiny.