Updates

This month, we had one of our most exciting D&D campaigns to date! The 2024 Sports Festival Campaign hit the ground running and kept us on the edge of our seats through the end! With some of our hardest hitters, most impressive saves, and an active audience cheering on the OCs, the battles were more intense than ever! Here is how the bracket stacked up:

Next month's edition will have a section dedicated to the Sports Festival and our winner, QuaccSmaccSnacc's Kenshin Kutsuki! Stay tuned!

Books in our community updated this month:

What Makes a Hero - JunieWeathers

The Class That Cried Werewolf - B3r1itz

The Story of Us - riceygirl101

Muted Voices - FoxyPuff

Izuku Midoriya: The golem hero - Sudomayham

Art Showcase

The wonderful artists in our community never fail to impress. Whether it's canon characters, their own OCs, or fan art for others, they always put their all into their work, and it's nothing short of amazing!

Our first piece this month is an adorable drawing from B3r1itz of his OC, Tatsuya Akiba, with Hagakure for her birthday! This is incredibly topical, as her appearance has been revealed officially, and a super sweet way to show the characters' relationship! They are so adorable together! Here is what Berlitz had to say about his piece:

"In celebration of Hagakure's birthday, I created this digital art piece for a special chapter in "The Class That Cried Werewolf". For this piece, I chose to depict her fully visible, as a tribute to the recent reveal of her appearance in the anime. This artwork captures the joy and charm of Hagakure, bringing to life the vibrant spirit that makes her such a beloved character. I hope you enjoy this celebration of our favorite invisible girl now visible!"

And this next piece is a drawing by a1readygone of a trend of his comfort character wearing his clothes, so this is Aizawa wearing his favorite comfort clothes, right down to the fuzzy socks! The relaxed pose is awesome, and really captures the comforting vibe!

Character Spotlight

The Storytellers have spoken, and in an incredible turn of events, a set of twins has tied with a considerable lead for OC of the Month! So, the OCs of the Month are...Juni_Penguin_'s Akihiko and Tanami Mochizuki!

Name: Tanami Mochizuki (Nicknames: Nami and Mochi; Hero Name/Alias: Prismatic and Caeli)

Pronouns: she/her

Birthday: June 5

Quirk: Sugar Crystallization: Tanami can convert the sugar in her body into gemstones. She can shatter and rebuild them with a single thought as well as create different kinds of constructs. Depending on how much material she has, she can convert them into different crystals that vary on the Mohs scale. If this Quirk is used for a long period or forced beyond its limit, cracks will begin to form on her skin as if the glass was shattering. Even if they heal, lavender scars will be left behind.

Name: Akihiko Mochizuki (Nicknames: Aki and Sheepy; Hero Name: Chrysalis)

Pronouns: he/him

Birthday: June 5

Quirk: Reflective Crystallization: Akihiko can convert mirrors and glass into gemstones. He can shatter and rebuild them with a single thought as well as create different kinds of constructs. Depending on how much material he has, he can convert them into different crystals that vary on the Mohs scale. During a Quirk awakening, he gains the ability to use the mystical properties of the gemstones he creates but it can tire him out quickly if used without caution. If this Quirk is used for a long period or forced beyond its limit, cracks will begin to form on his skin as if the glass was shattering. Even if they heal, lavender scars will be left behind.

Class/Occupation: Hero Course Students, Class Alpha at Mizu Academī

Featured Books: Plus Minus One, Vivid Decadence, Eye of the Beholder

Life Goals: Akihiko and Tanami both want to become Heroes and help others who are in the same situation they were.

Here is what the author had to say about her characters:

"At the time I was creating the twins, I was super into a manga called Land of the Lustrous/Houseki no Kuni. The majority of the characters in that manga have bodies made purely of crystal and their designs were really pretty. Because of that, I wanted to design their Quirks around that which is how I came up with Sugar Crystallization and Reflective Crystallization. Their main color is purple because that's my favorite color.

My favorite thing about writing the twins is how their personalities differ yet complement each other. Tanami is the one who is outgoing, impulsive, and a bit bratty whereas Akihiko is quiet, analytic, and respectful. But despite their differences, they both care and want to protect each other."

Questions for Jun from the community:

QuaccSmaccSnacc asks: Do you see yourself in them at all?

Jun: I relate a lot to Akihiko more than I do Tanami. The reason is that I'm more of a shy and quiet person who doesn't like speaking much unless necessary. I am an introvert which is what Akihiko is too.

Questions for Tanami and Akihiko from the community:

UAStorytellers (UAS): Welcome Tanami and Akihiko, and congratulations on being voted OCs of the month!

Akihiko: Thank you for having us.

UAS: Why don't we get straight into the interview?

Tanami: Sounds good!

UAS: We're starting out with some questions for each of you individually

JunieWeathers asks Tanami: What is your favorite sweet?

Tanami: Kintsuba

JunieWeathers asks Akihiko: What is your favorite book?

Akihiko: The Celestial Kingdom Trilogy. They're a fantasy series by an author called Sue Lynn Tan.

UAS: Those both sound great! We have some questions now for the both of you...

aBitGrim asks: Who's player one and who's player two?

Tanami: Akihiko would be player one and I'm player two.

QuaccSmaccSnacc asks: What is your favorite memory with each other?

Tanami: Baking a cake with Akihiko for Tomohiro's birthday

Akihiko: Myself, Tanami, and Tomohiro watching fireworks at a festival in Tokyo.

aBitGrim asks: Would you both rather team up or face against each other in dodgeball?

Tanami: I would want to go against Akihiko just because I want to beat him.

Akihiko: I could care less unless Tanami does something to anger me.

riceygirl101 asks: Who's the older twin?

Tanami: Akihiko is older by about 20 minutes.

aBitGrim asks: When's the longest you've spent apart?

Akihiko: The longest we have been apart is 2 years. No communication or seeing each other at all. Let's just say neither of us had a say in it.

QuaccSmaccSnacc asks: What's the weirdest or funniest comment you've gotten about your hair?

Akihiko: "How do you wash your hair?"

Tanami: We don't.

aBitGrim asks: Do you each have a favorite restaurant?

Tanami: I love any and all bakeries!

Akihiko: I don't really have a favorite restaurant but like to go to tea houses.

UAS: This has been very insightful! Thank you both for meeting with us today and answering our many questions! And thank you to our readers and members for sending in questions and voting on these two for OC of the Month! See you next time!

Member Interests

This month, an old friend returned to the server! We welcome back riceygirl101! She has graciously offered to write the first Member Interests column, so allow me to turn this over to them:

Hello there! Ricey here! I am happy to be the first to share the UA Storytellers members' interests section of the magazine. For this month I wanted to focus on summer media! So, I've decided to give some of my favorite summer songs, shows, movies, and readings. Without further ado, Please enjoy!

Songs of the Summer:

If you've been anywhere on social media recently I'm sure you've seen or heard about the amazing Chappell Roan!! And I must say her songs are definitely the vibes I want this summer. She's bringing back pop music and reinventing it! So allow me to give you my top songs from Chappell...

1. Pink Pony Club
2. HOT TO GO!
3. Feminomenon
4. Good Luck, Babe!
5. Red Wine Supernova
6. Naked In Manhattan

Speaking of recent pop girlies, Sabrina Carpenter has been really big recently. I must say I only really remember her from her time on Girl Meets World and haven't listened to much of her music but I'm really enjoying it and they definitely are giving summer vibes!! My current repeats are...

1. Espresso
2. Please Please Please
3. Feather

Please Please Please and Espresso are also a part of Sabrina's upcoming album Short n' Sweet!

Third on my list of songs of the summer, something new from Billie Eilish. Her newest album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, released just last month with some of my new favorite songs! They are slower songs but if you've liked some of her stuff before or want to try something new I highly suggest taking a listen to these...

1. BIRDS OF A FEATHER
2. LUNCH
3. THE DINER
4. THE GREATEST

Lastly, I've been listening to Lover (Taylor Swift) on repeat, even though it's a bit older, I am feeling like it's a Lover type of summer for me! Here are my favorites from this album...

1. Daylight
2. Death By A Thousand Cuts
3. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
4. Paper Rings
5. London Boy
6. The Archer
7. Lover
8. Cornelia Street
9. False God
10. Afterglow

Is music not your thing? Don't worry! Next up on my summer media recommendation is...

Shows and Movies of the Summer:

I've been watching a lot of older movies recently and one that I used to love watching all the time when I was younger was 13 Going on 30!!! This is just such an underrated movie and one of my favorites starring Jennifer Garner! The story of 13 Going on 30 is as follows: A girl who's sick of the social strictures of junior high is transformed into a grownup overnight. In this feel-good fairy tale, teenager Jenna (Christa B. Allen) wants a boyfriend, and when she's unable to find one, she fantasizes about being a well-adjusted adult. Suddenly, her secret desire becomes a reality, and she is transformed into a 30-year-old (Jennifer Garner). But adulthood, with its own set of male-female challenges, isn't as easy as it looks. You can find this movie on Hulu, Disney+, Paramount+, and Amazon Prime Video!

Coming in with another early 2000s iconic movie, 10 Things I Hate About You! I recently watched 10 Things for the first time with a friend and absolutely loved it! It's such a good movie and the dynamics are some of my favorite, plus really good music. 10 Things is also an adaptation of William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" which I am a sucker for good modernized adaptations of old plays. I have not read this play personally but I would definitely love to when I have the time! Now for the story of 10 Things I Hate About You: Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) is beautiful, smart and quite abrasive to most of her fellow teens, meaning that she doesn't attract many boys. Unfortunately for her younger sister, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), house rules say that she can't date until Kat has a boyfriend, so strings are pulled to set the dour damsel up for a romance. Soon Kat crosses paths with handsome new arrival Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger). Kat may let her guard down enough to fall for the effortlessly charming Patrick.

Now for some shows! My parents and I recently finished up watching the second season of The Bear and (I at least) and eagerly waiting for season three's release this Thursday, June 27. I will give a warning though for a lot of strong language as this show does have it very often. I was honestly thinking I wasn't going to like this show as much as I did when it was getting some traction a while back but the story and writing is some of the best I've seen!! That coupled with the amazing dynamic of Jermey Allen White and Ayo Edebiri's characters Carmy and Sydney, respectively, have made this one of my favorite shows this summer! The story is: A young chef from the fine dining world comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop after a heartbreaking death in his family. A world away from what he's used to, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) must balance the soul-crushing realities of small business ownership, his strong-willed and recalcitrant kitchen staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother's suicide. As Carmy fights to transform both the shop and himself, he works alongside a rough-around-the-edges kitchen crew that ultimately reveals itself as his chosen family. The Bear can be watched on Hulu or Disney+.

To add, the cinematography of the food in this show is actually breathtaking and I want to eat everything they make on this show!!!

Last on my list of this summer's must watches is X-Men '97! Again, this was another show that I didn't think I'd like all that much, especially when I hadn't watched the original X-Men animated series from the 90s but boy was I wrong yet again. Not only does this show have amazing writing but the animation is top tier in my opinion. When I started '97 I thought I wouldn't be able to follow along that well since I haven't seen the original series but I found it very easy to follow the story and still enjoy it! Another thing I thought I'd see going into this series was it being a little childish considering the original series was a kid's show but I was wrong yet again. To put it in summary, I saw someone say that '97 was a show meant for kids that grew up with the original X-Men animated series. This can definitely be seen in the writing as it has so many complexities that I don't think a younger audience could understand as well. Now for the story, X-Men '97 continues the story of (1992–1997). In both series, are people born with superhuman abilities that generally manifest during puberty. The are a team of mutant superheroes founded by to protect mutants and humans alike. At the end of The Animated Series, Xavier nearly dies in an assassination attempt and is taken to space to be healed by the alien Empire. X-Men '97 begins a year later and sees the X-Men facing new challenges without Xavier, under the leadership of their former adversary . As with the original series, X-Men '97 combines action, -style drama, and exploration of serious topics.

Reads of the Summer:

To end this month's members' interests I want to give some of my current summer reads! This list will include some normal books as well as some manga/comic books.

The Hunger Game: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Suzanne Collins) - With the announcement of Suzanne Collins' fifth Hunger Games book (Sunrise on the Reaping) I wanted to reread Ballad because the movie was amazing and I really love its story (perhaps more than the original trilogy).

Story: Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow remains the last hope for his fading lineage. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he's assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who's a songbird and who's a snake.

Spider-Man Psychology: Untangling Webs (Travis & Alex Langley) - I had the privilege to meet Travis Langley at a convention back in March and found his books very interesting. I hadn't heard of books like this before seeing his name on the convention guest list and looking his books up. As someone who would possibly think about going into psychology as a profession or learning about it in school this was a very nice read for me. I love stories that go deep into what the thought process of a character might be and this book did wonders with that.
Story: In Spider-Man Psychology: Untangling Webs, Travis Langley is back with his team of expert contributors to plumb the psychological depths of our favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Drawing examples from comic book stories, motion pictures (including the animated blockbuster Spider-Verse movie series), and a few well-known video games or TV cartoons, Dr. Langley and his team will untangle a variety of sticky psychological issues found throughout the famed web slinger's time-tested saga to help readers better understand psychology.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Brian Lee O'Malley) - After watching the movie and new animated series a while back, I wanted to start reading the original comics for Scott Pilgrim. I was able to get a copy of the first volume at my local comic store and it has me hooked for sure! The adaptations of Scott Pilgrim are also worth a watch because they adapt the story pretty accurately which I love because they get to capture the hilariousness of the story in a watchable format. The comic takes a lot of inspiration from manga and which is why the comic is printed in a way that is similar to manga (ie. black and white pages, thicker paper, and a smaller book) which I love! As well as manga, Scott Pilgrim seems to take inspiration from video games which is why Scott's life is almost played up to be a video game which is another thing I love about it! Overall the story is really funny and I think most people will get a laugh out of it no matter how you view the story (reading or watching)!

Story: The plot of the series follows the escapades of Scott Pilgrim, a 23-year-old Canadian guy from , who lives in a very modest apartment with a roommate and is a bass guitarist in the local band "Sex Bob-Omb" where he plays music along with his friends Stephen Stills and Kim Pine. Scott initially dates the 17-year-old high school student Knives Chau. However, soon thereafter he falls for the American enigmatic woman Ramona Flowers, who recently moved to Toronto and whom he had seen in his dreams. As Scott desperately tries to initiate a relationship with Ramona, he finds out that he now must defeat all her seven exes, who have become supervillains with supernatural abilities, and he needs to fight them all one by one. Amidst the battles, the story also includes several flashbacks that focus on Scott's adolescent experiences and tumultuous relationships, offering insights into his past and the origins of his fears and insecurities.

This would conclude this month's members' interests of the UA Storytellers magazine!! I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it and I hope you check out some of the summer media listed and enjoy watching, listening, or reading them! See ya next month!

Ask the Pro Hero

Our Pro Heroes of the server; aBitGrim, FoxyPuff, and tocoloco004; would like to open up the space to ask them questions. If you have a question for them, feel free to ask and they will provide their best answers!

Q: Do y'all have any books/TV shows that you're into at the moment?

Grim: I just finished binging Brooklyn 99! It was so fun to watch the whole thing start to finish, and I really enjoyed all the characters in it!

Foxy: I've been loving the Graceling series lately. The books have such interesting worldbuilding, and the characters are super unique!

Toco: I'm about to read Iron Flame, which is the sequel to Fourth Wing!! For shows, I'm waiting patiently every Sunday to watch the newest episode of House of the Dragon! And I have been watching The Acolyte, but mainly because I want to see why so many people are upset with it 😅😂

Q: Do y'all have any upcoming shows/movies you plan on watching/seeing?

Grim: I definitely plan on watching the new Deadpool movie and the new Inside Out! I'm very excited for Deadpool since I haven't seen a really good Marvel movie in a long time, so I'm hoping this one's good!

Foxy: I'm very excited for the second season of the Percy Jackson series! Especially since we're finally gonna see my boy Tyson!

Toco: I'm def gonna check out the new Deadpool movie when it comes out! I also found out they're making an animated Lord of the Rings movie in the fall or winter, and I'm super hyped !

Book Recommendations

Our community is full of creative perspectives, whether it be writing, art, or reading! Lots of our members are avid readers who would like to share their recommendations with you.

Wattpad books:

Wavelengths Apart by sd1229

"It's such a beautifully written and interesting story that has some of the best characters I've seen and utterly gorgeous writing. Shelby really pours her heart into this, and it shows through every word."

~aBitGrim

Mightless by TheMysteriousBanana

"classic villain deku fic, like 100 chapters of villain deku its great"

~ThePhroggPhather

Off-Site Books:

The Tiger of Hu (AO3) by Christian_Richtown

"It's from the fandom of Scum Villains Self Saving System. I recommend it because it has a good murder mystery and a good romance, plus the two main characters are adorable."

~_ranbootookmygender_

Future Events

The next UA Storytellers Crossover is in the works, and has a special summer theme! We are excited to share it with you all, so keep an eye out!

Review Book

If you are interested in having your book reviewed by the members of the server, check out our review book for sample reviews and submit a form for your own story!

Farewell

We hope you have a wonderful month! And remember to always go PLUS ULTRA!