Author: Kerri Bland

As you guys are fully aware, i’ve been way too stressed and emotionally upset.

but it’s okay

because i have

.

.

.

fictional characters and other stuff

I would just like to give some high quality appreciation to the following things that make the struggle of life more bearable.

1. memes

Memes are a part of internet culture. Memes depict funny images with a relatable caption. Memes have evoloved over time, and now have different kinds, FOr example, Surreal memes use 3d images and clip art, with vapor wave like backgrounds to convey humor. Another example is Metamemes. Metamemes are self aware. they can star out with a funny caption, but suddenly stop it by saying ” Insert Text”

2. Anime

Anime.

3. obscure documentaries and “top 10” videos in my recommended on youtube.

I’m not realy sure how all these obscure videos got on my youtube feed, but I’ve been enjoying them nonetheless. ive always for sure needed to know the top ten things to do in Rome. Or the 110 facts about Animal Crossing that i may have missed. janice is on her way to recovering from an addiction to acting like a lizard? go for it, Janice.

4.various video game characters.

I mean, hey, they aren’t real but they sure do appreciate me playing as the main character. protagonists for the win. personal shoutouts to all my waifus. Every character from Fire Emblem. Now, Nah, Robin, Panne, all my lovely homegirls.  I appreciate all of your support conversations.

5. clearance purses from the thrift stores. 

If a purse is so bad, that its on clearance in a thrift store, then it is the purse for me. I have acquired many monstrosities across the years from my rigorous work ethic of digging through piles of dusty purses from years past.

6. stuffed animals I get attached to before leaving a store.

do you ever see a stuffed animal and just know you can’t leave without it? that happens rather often with me. Some call it an obsession. I call it compassion. I see, I like, I buy. If I don’t, I just feel guilty about it.

I guess the things I like can be weird, but aren’t we all a little weird? what are some things that make you guys happy?

I have bad habits.

Some days, I will not do anything. It’s not because I’m lazy, but rather that I know I’ll start working TOO hard. Working on something for just one hour? Never heard of that. It doesn’t matter if it is 3 in the morning, I will work for hours on end.

Not on school work, of course. Cosplay.

At this point, just putting fabric next to me is a dangerous decision. I cannot be trusted with it. That curtain over there? boom. Now it’s a dress. That pillow? It’s now being used to stuff my sailor moon sleeves. Those black boots? Now they’re red. I can even turn plastic into armor if i need to.

To be honest, I don’t know how I got to this point. When I started back in 2014, it took me months to even sew a simple dress. Yet, this past weekend, I managed to do nearly an entire outfit within a day. Sure, now I know how to sew. Therefore, it’s easier to get stuff done. However, I don’t really remember anything from it. At one point I was cutting fabric, and then sewing, and suddenly is was 2AM. And I swear it was just 3PM a few minutes ago.

Maybe its the stress? I do put the ‘stress’ in seamstress.

This particular project is one that I’m very stressed about. In November, this lovely sailor scout will be presented alongside a group of 23 Sailor Moon characters. There’s no repeat of characters, so that means I got really lucky in having being picked to be one of the scouts. Especially this one. Of course the mains were the first to get chosen- Sailor Moon, Sailor V, Chibi Moon, ect… But still, they were going pretty fast. I had always wanted to cosplay Neptune, and thankfully I was able to grab that spot while it was still open.

The villains and background characters aren’t bad- don’t get me wrong. I just,,, I really wanted to be Neptune.

Excuse my face.

Anyways, once I got started on her, I just didn’t really stop. Some call that hard work. Others call it an addiction. I’ll let you decide.

In other news, when I went to go get fabric for this, I saw my friend! There’s an older lady named Jan that works at the Jo-Anns where I get my fabric. We always enjoy talking to each other. She’ll ask about my projects, We’ll talk about cats. Shes just my cool older friend that works across the counter.

And that was pretty much my whole weekend summed up!

Name: Legal

Age: Still alive

Status: Upper lower class in Colonial America

Occupation: Former Miss America applicant.

Hair: Wack

Clothes: Wack

Way I don’t even smile: wack

They always tell you to find the McDonald’s in the woods, but where are the woods? and is McDonald’s truly real? Our lives are filled with metaphors, McDonalds being perhaps conceived as being possibly of the status of state of mind which can also be, but never truly be, and with each can not just, but also with excessive force be thought of as that which is of the way of life and which we live in it. The Burger of Peace being one such example.

Metaphorically, we all have tortilla chips. sometimes they are in our heart, sometimes they are in our hands. However, we truly struggle when they are stuck in our esophagus. The esophagus in this case being hard times. Many times before have i been spotted weeping in the Taco Bell, and its not just because there’s beans in my ketchup. There’s no need to sweat the beans in your ketchup. It’s always the sharp and salty metaphorical tortilla chips. their jagged edges cutting into your inner flesh, like a fish in an odd situation in which that would happen.

But there is more to life than our metaphorical tortilla chips. they make us strong, but they do not define us. we have to find our own McDonald’s in the woods. This will truly help us, not only to be, but also to not be in the situation of which can not only help, but truly discover the things which, in the right context, can help me find that which is of the both helpful and great ways of life.

Fryers are burns, but ice is cold. this can also be taken in many ways. for some, the fryers are people. the ice is crushed. Together, you can preserve a body. However, hopefully you’re not in that situation. The fire of the fryer can be hot, and can burn like a flame for a while. Yet, there is no balance without the ice.  We never want our fryers to take over us fully.

There is no correct way to interpret this, but there isn’t an incorrect way either. What is your fryer? What is your ice? What are your beans? What are your metaphorical tortilla chips? What is your social security number? Where is your McDonald’s in the woods? Why do you weep in the Taco Bell?

Halloween is probably the most stressful time for me. Not only because i’m scared of like, everything, but because i’m a cosplayer.

Every Halloween I hear the same thing

“oh, you can sew? can you make my kids Halloween costume”

“do you still do skirt commissions?”

“are you selling any of your cosplays?”

“are you in need of a cosplay supporting bf?”

to which i always reply, no, yes, no, Please stop messaging me.

Halloween is usually when I make the most money off of cosplay. Now, I can’t complain about that, but orders start stacking. especially with me being here at MSA. The only time I have to actually work on my commissions are every other weekend. When i’m spending the whole weekend working, it doesn’t feel like a weekend.

Other than making stuff, Halloween is the best time to buy stuff. Spirit Halloween stores are literal cosplay heaven. where else can I conveniently get 10 pounds of latex, and a variety of elf ears?

Though, if you plan on getting a costume and/or wig from there, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you want something that’ll hold up fairly well, but don’t wanna make it, i’d say MicCostumes and Arda Wigs. Of course, you may not want to spend a lot on a Halloween costume if you’ll only wear it once. However, if for some reason you want to wear this costume to multiple things throughout the year, go ahead and get it from a cosplay site.

As a person who lives and dies by cosplay, I am often asked how I choose which of my cosplays to wear for Halloween. The thing is, I never choose one I actually have. I just cant. I look in my closet with tons of costumes, and I feel like its yearbook day all over agian. like,

“Omg, I have nothing to wear.”

I

Have

Nothing

To

Wear

This phrase is how I end up being more broke at Halloween than at Christmas.

Halloween is pretty much the only time I can go into a restaurant in full costume and not be questioned. Its always very awkward when Subway is filled with an army of clowns, Harajuku girls, and Pokemon trainers. Especially if its in the middle of June. But this is different, for Halloween is

S o c i a l l y  a c c e p t a b l e  c o s p l a y  t i m e 

Animation has evolved a lot over time. Studios now have the chance to hand draw frame by frame, or digitally animate. Animation softwares are easily accessible to anyone who wants to give it a try.

A young animator created the series “Nyan Neko Sugar Girls,” which was released in 2010. It was posted to YouTube, and became known as an American anime, despite the fact that a studio never published it, and that it was animated in Microsoft paint.

The story follows the adventures of Raku, who is a teen cat girl, or neko. It is a slice of life show with a magical girl twist. There is nothing that stands out story-wise, as it follows the generic anime episode list. Beach episode, holiday special, ect… the characters are also quite simplistic.

The thing that really sets this anime apart from the rest, is its art style.

The style in which it is drawn is one of its most recognizable characteristics. while the animation can be genuinely good at times, the art style is, in my opinion, absolutely horrible.

While I will try to keep this as unbiased as possible, here’s a judging and review for Nyan Neko Sugar Girls.

Characters

Raku- fan service. Shes the main character, and there’s way too much fan service. her voice is high pitched, and there’s parts of the show where she screams for a minute straight. always getting hurt. not very well rounded.

Koneko- Koneko is the basic supporting character. she keeps a soft voice, and doesn’t really get much character development. While she is kind and helpful by taking care of her friends, i cant help but question her actions. if my friend were dying, i would not bring them on a roller coaster. but hey, you do you, Konek0.

Hitoshi-  This character had a genuine plot twist. maybe the only plot twist in the show. though he was shown as Raku’s love interest, he ends up getting with the kidnapper. that’s not very sugoi, nya.

Kidnapper- I don’t even know what to say about this one. nearly every time he’s shown, backstreet boys music is playing.

Nurse- While the nurse is not shown for long, she is a consistent and reoccurring character. She is initially shown as fan service, but eventually becomes a real, interesting character. Her later shown outfits are the most well designed and complex in the series. However, her overwhelming voice can become difficult to listen to at times. it is extremely bass boosted, but with intention. when she talks without being bass-boosted, a fellow character would say “sorry, what did you say?” making her go back to talking in her original bass boosted voice.

Story:

The story is generic, yet somehow original. It’s one of those things that is so bad that it’s good. There’s somewhat of a plot, a subplot, and all kinds of things. However, it can get hard to keep up with by the last few episodes. every possible archetype that a show can have, this show has.

I have a vague idea of what the intentional plot was, though I cannot say I am 100% accurate. A super cute cat girl goes through a series of events trying to get the guy she likes to notice her. He doesn’t like her back and things go downhill.

Animation:

Little to no effort was put into the animation. The frames are wonky, and the art style can exaggerate things. The only animation where true effort was put in can be found in the very last episode when Raku has another dramatic death.

Voice Acting:

The voice actors themselves are, all things considered, decent. The voices are noticeably fake, as they struggle to keep a consistent voice for their character. The quality of the microphones is less than average. Koneko’s microphone is extremely quiet, but the Nurse’s microphone could be heard from your neighbors house even with the lowest volume setting on your watching device. This can cause issues when the two are in a scene together. However, I still think all the characters have the right voice, and I can’t see anyone else voicing them.

Overall:

While I would rate this a 3 out of 10, I think its something everyone should watch at some point. Personally, I would watch it again. Not because its good, but rather because i’m in pure shock that it even exists.  Every meme loving teen would enjoy it. 

Imagine this, you’re on a train, moving to a new town. Sitting across you is a cat, just as big as you, asking you about your personality traits and blood type.

You answer what you can, and the train pulls to a stop. upon getting out of your cart, you can see a swarm of various animals. They all run up to you and declare you mayor of the town. you now have power you didnt ask for.

you may think this sounds crazy, and youd be right. However, this is the opening scene to Animal Crossing: New leaf

so why do i believe animal crossing is better than real life?

In the game, you can make money off of nearly anything. You can dig up a whole dinosaur and sell it at the thrift store. you can hit a rock with a shovel and money bags will appear. Heck, you can shake a tree and get chased by bees. sometimes you get good luck and get money instead of bees, though.

The game also has a variety of shopping places for your character to visit. While real life has that as well, it is much better organized in animal crossing. In real life, you can expect to walk down main street, and pass 5 law offices before you get to a shop. In animal crossing, main street looks like this.

As you can see, these people are much more organized. all clothing and shops are grouped together, activities are grouped together, and home/mail are grouped together. the museum is separated from all of them. this is beneficial, as it gives more space for the museum. in my old town, Pontotoc, the museum is IN the post office.

Animal crossing is also helpful for those that struggle with different issues. it is a calming environment. take this post by Catnippackets on Tumblr

“Animal Crossing will always be the most wholesome game to me. Once I was up super late at night unable to sleep because i felt really sick and I was playing pocket camp while I tried to feel better and fall asleep. I went down to the beach and found Apollo by the water, and he said ‘can’t sleep? You wanna sit and listen to the waves with me?’ and I almost cried.”

Now, that’s a stress relieving activity. In real life, going down to the beach late at night would mean getting pinched by crabs, and possibly running into dangerous situations. Animal crossing provides you tranquility from the comfort of your own home.

Finally, Animal crossing gives you more information on learning to pay for your house than an economics class. They use a currency called bells. In the game, just like in real life, you have to pay for upgrades on your house. By saving bells and paying your loan, you are able to get experience for when you actually have to do that for real.

For a kids game, i’d say you can get a lot out of it.

People ask me why I chose literary. I got accepted into Literary, Visual, and Theater, so why did I go with Lit?

I hate to say the real reason. People would most definitly question my life choices for it. So I always make something up.

“Ah, I just felt literary was my calling.”

“I heard that class is the most fun.”

“They get lots of fun opportunities.”

In reality, I went with literary, because I thought it would turn me into my favorite anime character. Toko Fukawa.

It all began when I started playing Danganronpa: trigger happy havoc back in 2016. It led to an obsession. I could tell you all the characters from all the games, their talents, and how long they stay a character in the series.

So, naturally, as Kerri Bland, I cosplayed her. This is when I began to notice the similarities between us. She had long brown hair like mine, which she always wore tied back or in braids. she had a beauty mark next to her mouth. she wore tall white socks. Our birthday was only a day apart.  she thinks everyone hates her, even if they don’t. she hates blood and ghosts. At first, I thought it was so weird I had found a character so similar to me.

Then, there were the parts of her that would soon be relatable. Toko was a student at a school for Teens who were the best at what they do. Thus, she was known as the Ultimate Writing Prodigy.

So, then I began applying to MSA. I was ready to get away from my unaccepting school. that was the main thing. however, in the back of my mind, I had the thought of becoming the living version of Toko Fukawa.

So, in 2017, I sent in my cosplay to the publishers of the manga series, along with a note that told of why toko was so special to me.

They responded.

It was something I didn’t expect to happen. receiving something back from them was like receiving an autograph from a celebrity. attached was a note that read:

Dear Kerri,

Thank you so much for your letter and cosplay photos! I just got news today that the Danganronpa manga is being reprinted, which is great because it means that even more new people are getting into it ^_^

We haven’t officially announced it yet, but in 2018 we (that is, Dark Horse Manga), will be releasing a new manga in the series, this time based on the second game, Super Danganronpa 2. So we’ll look forward to printing your contribution inside one of the volumes of the new series.

Have a happy new year,
Carl Horn
Editor

Not only did they send me that, but they also sent the book cover before it was even available to the public.

I thought that was a sign to become a literary like Toko.

And then more signs came.

While at a convention in my toko cosplay (her scissors are v important to her crazier self), I heard a voice that sounded oddly familiar. Like, ODDLY familiar. Josh Grelle. Big deal Josh Grelle. Yuri from Y.O.I., Armin frrom A.O.T., Tokoyami in M.H.A. Most importantly, the voice actor for Toko’s in-game love interest (who doesnt quite return her feelings) Byakuya Togami . He recited a few of his lines, and I DIED.

I

D I E D

literally, after that, I screeched for the rest of the day.

He ended up taking a picture of me and sending it to Tokos voice actress. Who, Incidentally, I met the very next weekend.

Yes, the legendary Amanda Miller. you may recognize her as Sailor Jupiter, Junko Enoshima, Boruto, and, of course, Toko Fukawa.

The first thing she did when she saw me was run up to me, grab my hair, and exclaim, “Oh My God is this real!?”

She was very funny. We had a full on conversation about our favorite characters from literally everything. I told her I had been trying out for this school, and was supposed to get a letter soon to see if I’d gotten in. Then, I got her autograph.

In this, she congratulated me for something I wasn’t even sure I had gotten into. Though, I guess she saw my determination. So, thanks Amanda Miller. She also references Byakuya Togami, who she knew I had met just the week before.

Overall, this big situation inspired me to be the most anime I could be.

Yep, that’s why I picked Literary.

Anime.

Recently I’ve been listening to the same song over and over again. its called “Courtship of the Mermaid.” In the song, the narrator is trying to win over a mermaid by throwing multiple pizza’s at her.

This song, for some reason, reminds me of myself. I would definitely throw an entire pizza at a mermaid if i got the chance. Also, I would love to have pizza thrown at me. Any free pizza is good pizza. Like, if you’re trying to win me over, get me an entire pizza. Pepperoni more specifically.

What kind of pizza do you think mermaids like? I can only think of seaweed pizza, but I’m not sure if that’s a thing. Mermaids probably would have never had pizza. or, not one like ours. they cant have tomatoes and cheese and bread underwater. what if they’re all lactose intolerant? we wouldn’t know. then their stomachs would hurt from all that cheese on the pizza.

Plus, youre not suppesed to swim after eating, so wouldnt we technically be paralyzing them for rougly 15 minutes? this would increase the number of mermaids captured and killed. we cant allow this to happen.

Are there other creatures we can throw pizzas at? Yes! Throwing a pizza at a werewolf that’s chasing you will temporarily stun them, giving you more time to run away. I’m sure you can make some gremlins day by throwing a pizza under a bridge. Fairies would never be hungry again if you gave them an entire pizza. you’d essentially have fed and saved a variety of woodland mythical creatures, making you a hero.

Can you imagine your gravestone saying “hero to all, bless our pizza savior,” because i totally can. for hundreds of years after that, people would leave pizza at your grave as a sign of respect. Towns would make statues of you holding a box of pizza. They would write books about you. The creatures would learn about you in school. Heck, you might even get an entire musical written about you. You would live on for decades just by ordering a couple of $5 hot and ready pizzas.

You just cant throw pizzas at mermaids

As a literary student at the Mississippi School of the Arts, we all have one thing in common: a love for writing. Writing is our passion. It is our rellief from daily stress, and an entry into a brand new world with a new state of mind.

But where do we start? For me, my love of writing came from my hunger for more episodes in a show, or more levels in a game. when youve seen all you can see, but still havent had enough, you turn to the depths of the internet for more content. You look for…

Fanfiction.

Fanfiction is essentially your take on something. You do not own the characters, and you so not say you do. when writing fanfiction, you’re just putting someone elses’ characters in a situation that the origional person did not.

While I’ve read some amazing fanfiction, I’ve also read some pretty atrocious ones as well. The horrible ones are the most inspiring for me. Just the fact that I live in a time where I can read a crossover between Lazytown and Shrek is… questionable, but cool.

The first time I wrote a fanfiction was in 6th grade. This was about the time that the new happy meal boxes were becoming a meme. I had this genius idea to write a Romeo and Juliet style tragedy. It would be a self insert for whoever read it, and they would be the Juliet to our Romeo…. Ronald Mcdonald.

And so, the story “Smile! Ronald Mcdonald x reader” came to be.

It was meant to be a joke, just something funny to share with my couple of friends. Little did I know that story would blow up on the internet. I left it alone on the fanfiction site Wattpad, practically abandoning it for years. I did not know of the monster I had created.

This past year, though, I decided to revisit it, just to read it for a laugh. I re-downloaded the app, and then my phone crashed. 6,000 notifications. If that wasn’t enough, there was a petition created for me to write a second one. The audience felt as though Ronald, and, I quote, “smile-zoned” them. I felt both honored and horrified at the fact that at least 6000 people looked this up, and then wanted even more.

Needless to say, I feel much pressure to write the sequel. Who would have known that my 6th grade shenanigans would have led to this? Will keep you guys updated on the fanfiction.

This past weekend, I was a guest at Golden Triangle Comic Con in Columbus, MS.

My day started at 6AM, When I got up to prepare my banner, prints, and cosplay. Of course, I was tired from the train ride home. Especially since it had been delayed due to severe weather. But that’s nothing a little convention adrenaline wouldn’t fix. Around 7, my cosplay partner Ciara picked me up, and we rode on over to Columbus for pre-con setup.

The doors opened shortly after we had finished setting up, and people were elated about our cosplays. The two of us dressed as Junko and Mukuro, the twins from the Danganronpa series.

Now, these two are known as the Despair Twins, meaning they cause chaos and darkness everywhere they go. This was especially true for us, as 20 minutes in, the power went out. For the whole street.

our first response was to laugh, because of the irony. However, we soon realized to major things. No power= No air conditioning, and no power= no game tournament.

It became burning hot in the entire convention center very quickly, and we feared the gamers’ convention experience would be ruined. However, we were quickly proven wrong as the original Smash Bros tournament contestants began playing rock paper scissors, and musical chairs in a near pitch-black room. Quite the surreal experience.

It took 2 hours for the power to come back on, and it was like a Christmas miracle. people began cheering, hugging one another, and celebrating as if we had just won a war. I had never seen anything like it.

The rest of the day went fairly smooth. I had 2 photo shoots with Cubster Cosplay Photography. The first one being in the courtyard of the convention center with a group of people. The second one was in an abandoned alleyway for my individual shots.

While I did not get to watch the cosplay contest, I know that my friend Jada won an award for her Te-Fiti inspired transforming dress. I believe DragonBlossom Cosplay won an award for their Toga and Dabi from My Hero Academia.

The staff was very courteous, and the security guards were incredibly kind and helpful. I love that they provided a room for the guests to relax. The room was well hidden, well lit, well cooled, and had many foods for us.

While this con is far from big, it is still fun. Just being there, i saw improvements from last year. I believe this con has a ton of potential to grow into more than just a local con.