#I was enrolled in a Japanese language class in middle school

[oobbbear]

Me standing here watching Americans praising China like it’s heaven on earth like you do realize the system is beyond fucked there right it’s important to me that you know that 🧍‍♂️

[kerto-p]

How did you learn Japanese? Did you first learn verbal or written?

written! i was enrolled in online classes when i was in middle school, and instead of spanish, there were a lot more choices for languages so i chose japanese. i ended up really liking it, so even after that course was over , i kept studying on my own time!

[enterpris]

An Education in Attraction, Chapter 7

Pairing: Reader x Gojo

Summary: It's spring when you start your Master's degree. As the flowers and leaves unfold, so too do your feeling for Gojo

Warnings: Mild swearing

Previous Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Ao3: PlaidSparrow

"Teacher! What are we doing in class today? Can we skip the lesson and just have conversation time?" Kaba Ryo is one of your more enthusiastic students. 

You wave the stack of assignments in front of you. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we've got some worksheets today. There will be plenty of time to talk after, though."

He sighs and walks to the front of the classroom. You hand the sheets to Ryo, who lays them out on each desk as the rest of your students trickle in. 

Many of the students greet you as they enter, and your heart swells. Teaching while completing your graduate program is taxing, but there’s nowhere else you feel the same joy as when you’re leading the classroom. In the couple months you’ve been working with this group, the students have really warmed up to you. Not only are they more eager to participate in conversations with each other, they have plenty of questions about your life before coming to Japan and outside of the Eikaiwa school too. 

Today they’re flooding you with questions about how hard the classes in your Graduate program are. 

"Not as hard as learning a new language," you assure them. "What you're doing now will prepare you well for university."

You’ve settled into a rhythm of letting the students ask some questions at the beginning of class, it’s a good opportunity for them to practice new words and speaking. You answer since it’s a good application of listening skills too. Then you have them complete the worksheets. The sheets will introduce the new vocab in the next unit you planned. Since you're thinking so much about your future, you want to incorporate future tense and more professional words into your lessons. 

The second half of your sessions is where you have the most fun. Language learning is best done through practice, and giving the students some freedom to converse or preparing a game for them to apply grammar concepts is probably more fun than doing worksheets too. Today you’ll have them talk about their future dreams- jobs, goals, whatever the students hope for really. 

Most of these students have been enrolled in Eikaiwa schools since lower Middle School, and came into your class with high levels of proficiency. You just want to nurture their natural curiosity and talents. 

But you’re also determined to make sure your pupils are challenged. You want your students to pick up new phrases and ask questions about why English is the way that it is. Being able to communicate in English is a valuable skill in the current world, even though you have mixed feelings about your native tongue being a Lingua Franca.  

“Future tense in English is super easy, I bet you all can master it by the time you leave class today.” You explain the basics of using ‘will’ or ‘going to’ as auxiliary verbs. Then you turn the class loose to get some hands-on experience with the new structures. 

You walk around the circle of desks and listen to the overlap of your students’ conversations. You smile to yourself. The high schoolers are immediately integrating the vocabulary from the practice sheet, and they’re successfully beginning to use present tense too. You only have to make corrections to two conversation groups before the class is over.

It’s incredible to think about just how far these students have come so far. The first couple of classes were so reserved and quiet, you’ve had to really work on encouraging the students to speak up. But that’s the exciting part of teaching- engaging each pupil and finding what they’re passionate about and how they learn. When it’s time to end the class, your students are still chatting amongst each other, switching between Japanese and English.  

“Thank you!”

“See you next week!”

The chorus of support from your students is more intense than usual as they head out. You think it’s probably because you assign less homework than some of their previous teachers, but nonetheless, you can’t shake the satisfaction of a fruitful class as you pack up your bag and hop on the metro home. 

Browsing on your phone as you wait for your stop, you see that Gojo texted you again- it must have come through just as you were starting class. He had reached out asking if you were available to work on things today. 

That’s…interesting. After the relative success of your last meeting, perhaps he’s gotten over the awkwardness from the beginning of the term. One civil meeting hasn’t mended the insult of his brash outburst though, and even though he’s reaching out of his own volition, you’re hesitant to meet again.    

You debate your response for a moment and then send a quick apology, explaining that you work part time teaching and you hadn’t seen his message earlier. Since it’s already approaching evening, and it’s unlikely he wants to spend his Saturday night writing an academic paper with you, you don't offer to meet him now. 

You’ve fallen into the habit of spending your Sundays at the cafe just off campus though. The beige interior and quiet morning crowd are quite conducive to more lengthy reading, and you’ve got plans to catch up on the next chapters. You don’t want to completely brush off your partner, so on a whim you invite Gojo to join you tomorrow, it’s likely he’ll be too busy anyway.

By the time the metro stops and you walk back to your dorm, he hasn’t responded. 

The next morning, sun leaks through your window and paints your room with warmth. You’ve barely blinked but the mild sunshine of May is quickly melting into the sweltering summer of June, bringing later evenings and beautiful early mornings. 

As you dress for the day you check your phone and see that Gojo had sent you an affirmative message in the early hours of the morning. You hesitate, it had been an impulsive invite and you hadn’t thought he’d actually take you up on your offer. 

Apparently he is serious about working on things, though.

You pack up your bag and head to the cafeteria to grab breakfast, sending Gojo a quick message that he can expect you at the cafe in around an hour. A very normal breakfast should settle your nerves and set you up to be your cleverest when working on the project. 

After a quick stop for breakfast, you’re surprised to see Gojo’s beat you to the cafe. He’s already lounging in the small chair and sipping something. The table he’s chosen is tucked in the back, close to where you had sat the second time you’d met. You might have missed him if not for his very distinctive hair. 

When you sit down, Gojo offers you a smile. There’s no notes or drinks waiting this time, but he seems to be in good spirits.  

“Hey,” he greets. 

You respond in kind and start to set up. It feels strange to not engage in some kind of small talk, but you haven’t forgotten how unresponsive he originally was when you tried to ask about his weekend. Perhaps this new sunnier mood will make him more chatty too. Before you can break the silence, Gojo interrupts your thoughts. 

“So this is where you were working on your example problems alone?”

You blanch. Maybe Gojo hasn’t forgiven you for working alone just yet. 

The shock must be evident on your face because he laughs and leans farther back in his chair. It’s warm and deep- a genuine laugh. 

“Damn, you thought I was mad still, huh?”

Now this is a side of Gojo you haven’t seen before. He’s been quiet and standoffish and rude, but never- teasing? 

You’re feeling unmoored and strange. You shake off the similarities and answer. 

“Uh, yeah. But this is where I do a lot of my work, it’s usually pretty slow here on Sundays.”

“I looked over them by the way. Not bad. Have you started on the actual curriculum?”

“I’ve just got some initial notes. Have you begun yours?”

Gojo nods and pulls a notebook out of his bag. There are pages and notes sticking out the sides, densely packed with his messy handwriting and drawings. He carelessly flips it open and flicks quickly through the pages before turning it towards you.

“There’s some patches I haven’t fully detailed yet, still thinking about what depth to go into.”

You scan the page quickly and see that he’s seemingly outlined different streams of depth for physics- he’s listed particular concepts and already linked some with experiment setups. 

“Which principle is driving your decisions so far? We’ll have to explain each of the objectives and why we’ve chosen the material for the curricula.”

Gojo explains his outline and points out the most critical pieces he wanted included. You listen, intrigued. Although your outline for this project isn’t as developed as Gojo’s yet, your years at the Eikaiwa school have given you experience, including mistakes trying to move too fast or pack too much into your lesson plans. You’ve found it’s best to be somewhat agile and allow for more or less time depending on the particular needs of the class you’re working with.  

Your computer sits forgotten as the two of you converse about best pacing and how to choose the key objectives, and you leave the cafe in the afternoon ready to continue building your own curricula. 

The rest of the week goes smoothly: class and reviewing with Saito and Kuzume, another lesson at the Eikaiwa school, until you find yourself settling down at the cafe on Sunday once more. 

When Gojo doesn’t reach out first, it’s nearly impossible to schedule time to work together. You’re never more thankful for your iron timetable than when you have to plan another working session. Trying to find free time in his schedule is like clinging onto a mechanical bull- it seems every other week he’s out of town busy. You wonder if he is speaking at a conference or presenting work that he’s done in the past like Saito and Kuzume had suggested. 

The chapter you’re reading is lengthy and technical. Your brows scrunch and you try to decipher exactly what the author is trying to say about teaching philosophy. This particular text is a bit flowery for your tastes, but you suppose it’s good to absorb an array of perspectives while you’re trying to figure out exactly how you’re going to run your classroom.

You’re re-reading the previous sentence when your phone buzzes aggressively from the table. It goes off again. You have an idea of who might be texting before you even look at the messages. Gojo is available to work on the project today, and he'll head to the cafe shortly. 

It’s a pleasant surprise. You shut the curriculum textbook and open the document the two of you have slowly built. Even though Gojo prefers pen and paper over typing, he’s dutifully added his examples and the curricula he’d shown you last time. The rough draft has really grown too, the example problems are artfully woven together between the subjects and you’re feeling optimistic about adding your curricula .

Gojo blows through the doors of the cafe nearly 20 minutes later, giving you a quick wave and heading straight for the register. You nod back to him and return your focus to the computer.

He swoops into the chair across from you and throws his bag down. The last few times you’ve met his mood seems to be impenetrably sunny, and his appearance is nearly as consistent. You’ve never seen him without dark sunglasses, and his clothes are always flattering and tailored. It seems he may be thawing with the warm weather though- he’s in a crisp blue button down instead of his normal shadowy color palette. 

“How’re things going?”

“Going well so far, I’ve just been going over what we’ve written so far.” You pause for a moment. “I honestly wasn’t expecting you’d be able to work today.”

Two meetings in as many weeks without prior planning seems incredibly lucky. Or Gojo’s finally warmed up to you and isn’t trying to avoid meeting with excuses. 

He shrugs. “No other plans. And I do want to get this done.”

“I wanted to talk more about the curricula. I finished my objectives and thought we could compare pacing.” You say. 

“Sure.”

“I’ve taught in Eikaiwa schools for years now and classes usually go the same speed, but sometimes certain units take longer. Or we focus more on what the students want to learn. I wish there was more flexibility.”

“I agree. Honestly it should depend more on how the class is doing. You can’t teach every student the same.”

This is the first time Gojo’s outright agreed with something you’ve said. While you’ve seen some parallels in the way you both want to teach, there are usually more differences than similarities. 

The pieces come together in your brain. The simple example problems he’d provided. Saying that community makes the classroom. It’s not the material that he cares so much for, it’s the people that he’s teaching. It’s about the students.

You look up at Gojo in realization. He’s taken out his stack of notes and is absorbed in looking through the sheets. You take him in and re-evaluate. He runs a hand through his hair again then taps the end of the pen on the table. The sun catches in his silver hair and plays off the sunglasses he’s wearing again.

It feels oddly intimate to realize. 

His apparent teaching philosophy also seems directly opposed to the way he acts in class. If he's passionate about building an educational community, why doesn't he bother talking to any of your peers? Or participating in classroom discussions?

"Yeah," you say slowly. "I think approaching each learning style is the most valuable." 

You don’t want to disturb the working relationship the two of you are just building, and you’re hesitant to voice your realization since he’s been cagey about his personal life. You could either drop the subject or push a little harder and see if he’ll be more open this time. 

“You seem very passionate about the students’ experience,” you say neutrally. 

Gojo’s attention snaps from his notes onto you. You were right.

He doesn’t say anything for a moment. Once again, you’re left wondering what’s going on inside his head. Aside from the speed he looked at you, there’s no hint on his face. His jaw is soft and relaxed, and you can’t see his eyes.

“I think we need to start working on bringing our curricula together. It’s a big part of the project.” Gojo leans forward and looks at your screen and completely bypasses your observation. 

When you’re both looking at the content, the two of you do work well together. You fall into a rhythm analyzing the content of the paper, deciding how to really organize the sections you’ve written so far. Gojo is inquisitive and always has you justify your decisions, but you push back on some of his assertions on how to meld the subjects together. 

Soon you and Gojo are trading questions, hardly answering each other as you both edit the document.  

“What’s the purpose of this example?”

“I see why you put this objective here, but I think it would fit better in the next section.”

“Do you remember if this study was subject specific? Or were the data points generalized?”

“This objective doesn’t fit with your others. How can you adjust it to work better with the full curriculum?”

“What was your thought process for this problem?” 

The paper looks ten times more organized, and you’re much happier with the flow of information by the time you’re finished. You lean back in your chair, rub the cramps from your fingers, and smile at Gojo. 

By the time you leave the cafe, it’s late afternoon and it feels like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. The rainy season has only brought light showers, and today the sun is bright on your face as you walk back to your dorm. In fact, it seems a shame to waste the lovely weather of the day.

As a treat to yourself, you detour through the botanic gardens on your way home. The gardens are lush and heavy with growth at this time of year. Light twinkles on the surface of the central lake and the hydrangeas and orchids have come into full bloom- their light scent floats above the grounds and adds another layer of richness to the experience. By the time you make it back to your room and think about dinner, you’re practically glowing with happiness. 

[vartouhix]

jjk verse profile

Name: Moon Jangmi Pronouns: She/her Age: 26 Ethnicity: Korean* Nationality: Japanese*

*Please see this headcanon post about it.

Occupation: Law school student, semi-grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer, teaching assistant at Jujutsu High Cursed Technique: Unrelenting Force. It's similar to telekinesis in that she can move objects through the air by exerting a pushing or pulling force. However, she can only push or pull in one direction at a time. In order to move objects in curved or diagonal paths, she must continuously perform her technique over and over, stopping and starting within a nanosecond, rather than a continuous stream of cursed energy. History: From elementary school to middle school, she was bullied heavily for being Zainichi Korean. As a result, she was quite timid when she first began as a student at Jujutsu High, in the same class as Nanami Kento and Haibara Yu. Upon graduating Jujutsu High, she enrolled at University of Tokyo, studying pre-law, as she wasn't sure whether she wanted to work in the sorcerer or non-sorcerer world. She still went on missions during this time, of course. After undergraduate studies, she went on to be accepted into Todai Law School, where she currently juggles her studies and work as a jujutsu sorcerer. She worked out a deal with Principal Yaga that would allow her to work as a teaching assistant at Jujutsu High in order to fulfill her law degree's volunteer hour requisite, the paperwork handled to make it look like she was volunteering with a private religious school. Appearance: Her faceclaim is Lee Sunmi, specifically when she had pink hair. You can check this artwork I commissioned to see an accurate representation of Jangmi dressed as she usually would be, and fighting with a cursed tool dagger. Clothing Style: Dark and light academia, as well as some cottagecore. You can check this post for more information. Voice: Hard to describe. Please check this post for more information and references. Languages: Japanese (native), Korean (near-native), English (fluent)

[anonymous890]

Blog Post 9

In Japan, students go to school year-round which means they start their school year in April and ends in March the next year. They have three semesters with three breaks spread out. They have a summer break from the end of July to the end of August, a winter break from the end of December to the beginning of January, and a spring break from the end of March to the beginning of April. Their schools are broken up similar to America. They have an elementary school that consists of six years, a junior high that consists of three years, and a high school that also consists of three years. After that, students can decide whether they want to attend a three-year junior college or a four-year college. (Japan Schools link) Public school in Japan is free for primary and lower secondary schools. (Free public school)

A typical school day in Japan starts at 8:15 with a morning assembly followed by 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th periods. After 4th period is lunch and the day wraps up with 5th and 6th period and then wraps up school with after-school club activities. These activities can be sports or cultural activities. They stick to this schedule five days a week in their year-round school system. (Japan school schedule)

According to statista.com, there is a 60% enrollment rate at universities and junior colleges in Japan in 2023. There was only a 1% difference in male and female enrollment rates. According to insidermonkey.com, Japan has a college graduation rate of 50% making it the third-highest country in terms of college graduation rates. I didn’t find much on other factors such as race and other demographic factors besides the 1% difference in their university enrollment rates.

In elementary school, students are taught Japanese, social studies, math, science, music, arts, homemaking, and physical education. During this level of education, students focus on music, fine arts, and physical education. In middle school, they are taught Japanese, math, social studies, science, English, music, art, physical education, field trips, and clubs. At this level, the students use more textbooks and the pace is quicker. Students also are given instructions from specialist subject teachers at this level. Students in Japan spend about six years learning English while in their middle and high school years although it’s more focused on reading and writing rather than speaking and listening. (Topics Japanese students study link)

I think most of these subjects are similar to what students are taught in America but there is a different way that the students learn them. One of the biggest differences I see is foreign language. Where I went to school, you just had to have one year of a foreign language class in high school to graduate. The students in Japan spend way more than one year learning English which I think would help to actually be able to communicate in that language.

Learning a second language in school for more than one year shows that Japan wants their citizens to be able to function and communicate outside of their country. I think it gives them more opportunities and helps them develop more of a worldview. I also think that teaching homemaking is a great thing for students to learn because it helps them beyond school even if they decide not to go to higher education. In America, or at least my school, we didn’t get to have classes like that and I think it would have better helped us as people prepare for life beyond school. From what they are teaching their children in school, I think Japan values education in a basic way like math, language, and science, but it also shows they value the arts and teaching their students subjects that will help them outside of school. Having a lot of activities outside of the classroom and making sure kids are still getting to experience those activities shows they are about the health and well-being of their students and want them to be involved in clubs and activities that are not technically school-related. I think Japan does have high standards when it comes to what they teach their kids and I think it shows they are a caring and well-thought-out system when it comes to education.

[yuurei20]

Deuce Spade Character Sheet

(Voted 19th-most-popular-character on the jpn server in a combination of seven different character-ranking surveys held throughout 2021)

Deuce had an unstable childhood and believes that enrollment at Night Raven College is an opportunity to reinvent himself, put aside his past mistakes and prove himself to his struggling single mother.

He attempts to do this by adopting the facade of an “honor” student, going so far as to say phrases like “This is what an honor student does” completely unprompted, and much to the confusion of his classmates.

He is not gifted academically, but is well-accomplished at sports, winning prizes (along with Jack) at the National High School Track and Field Championships.

Deuce has many issues with math, once taking two hours to complete two math problems that were, according to Riddle, as basic as basic gets. When asking Cater about a formula Cater replies with, “Didn’t you learn that in middle school?” To which Deuce responds “I…guess I learned it.” In his school uniform vignette he decides to devote himself to his studies and become “an honor student, just like Riddle!”

Despite his best intentions he was nearly expelled from Night Raven College during his first day of school alongside Ace, Grim and the player character. Once provoked—a very easy task—Deuce becomes instantly violent with whomever is in the immediate area, be it classmate or upperclassmen, only to sober up just as abruptly and become filled with regret.

He is aware of his problem of acting before he thinks, bemoaning to Idia in his birthday vignette that it is an issue upon which he longs to improve.

It is insinuated that Deuce was a type of delinquent known in Japan as “yankee” (as Yana states outright in the illustration notes above), although this term obviously does not exist in the twst universe. The comparison is even more obvious in the manga adaptation, where the illustration below is from.

The Japanese-language-term “yankee” comes from a shopping area in Osaka that, in the 1970s, came to be called “America Village” after local shops saw a large influx of “American” style surfer wear and casual clothes. The area was a popular place for kids to hang out when skipping school, and since the location had “America” in the name, locals started referring to the delinquent kids there as “yankees”—it is nothing to do with Americans themselves.

Kids form groups and cliques, as one does, and they came to embrace the term and adopt a certain aesthetic that has evolved over the past 50 years. In a PE uniform vignette Deuce and Epel talk about how they’d love to have clothes embroidered with dragons and tigers on them; dragons and tigers being both motifs that are often associated with more vintage yankee fashion.

Yankees turn up a lot in pop culture as a phenomenon with which everyone is familiar, with ‘Tokyo Revengers’ possibly being the most obvious example at the moment.

What shows up in a google search for “yankee fashion”.

Deuce’s delinquent days are not far behind him―he will occasionally slip and refer to Riddle as “boss” rather than housewarden (characteristic of yankees).

He is also protective of his friends and superiors, threatening a pair of Octanivelle students with violence when they mock the Stargazer robes during the Wish Upon a Star event, as Trey was there wearing them as well (hiding behind a pillar and actively “trying to blend into the background”, so the students did not notice him).

This is also possibly why he is not intimidated by Leona, offering to confront Leona for his failure to water the plants in the botanical gardens (a punishment Leona was assigned for skipping classes). In the novel Deuce actively tries to pick a fight with Leona and has to be called off by Ruggie, who had called Leona over in the first place to aid Deuce in a fight where he was outnumbered by Savanaclaw students, three-to-one. When Malleus calls him out of class to help him with a problem, Deuce assumes he has violent intentions and stands his ground, telling Malleus outright that he is ready for a fight.

We learn that, when younger, Deuce felt so inept and useless that he decided to stop trying at anything at all. He got involved with neighborhood gangs, fought with teachers and drove recklessly on his magical wheel as the simpler alternative to school.

It is possible that this lack of a general education early in life is what has resulted in his present-day naïveté, leading to situations like the famous scene where he presumes that store-bought eggs have the potential to hatch into chicks (and keeps trying to fight people over not apologizing to the unborn chickens).

He says in a homescreen line that he enjoys how everything he learns at NRC is “fresh and new”, since, in middle school, he “was absent a lot for…various reasons”.

The catalyst for his change of heart was one day seeing his mother cry while discussing him on the phone with his grandmother. We later learn in an in-game event that his mother wished upon a star for her son’s health, and that he would stop getting into fights. Deuce is very fond of his mother, and we learn that he often helped with household chores such as laundry, cooking, fixing broken household appliances and shopping, in contrast to his more unsavory activities. His mother makes him an omelette over ketchup-rice (a dish in Japan known as omu-rice) for his birthday every year.

Deuce is extremely fond of egg-based cuisine, referencing the various was that eggs can be cooked in multiple homescreen lines and encouraging Idia to try putting eggs in instant noodles in his birthday vignette. In poker, a “deuce” can also be referred to as a “duck”, a “quack” or a “swan”, due to the shape of the number two.

In the Dance and Wishes event it is explained that he “never listened to anyone” when he was younger and, “Eventually, people stopped trusting me.” He would be accused of things he had nothing to do with, with teachers and neighbors saying, “We just know you did it”.

The only people who would believe him despite the trouble he legitimately got into were his mother and a neighborhood police officer, who was always willing to hear his side of a story. The officer would follow up on claims of his poor behavior and prove he had an alibi, even when everyone else was against him.

The actions of that officer—combined with a desire to have a career of which his mother will be proud—lead Deuce to decide to go into law enforcement after his graduation from Night Raven College. He uses movies and TV shows featuring police officers as study materials to learn how he should run and even key phrases to use when making an arrest.

Deuce has a good relationship with his mother, though he says his friends in his hometown would make fun of him for it. In a homescreen line he asks the player to take a picture with him, as “my mom will be relieved to learn that I have a friend”.

In Malleus’ lab wear vignette we learn that Deuce is known throughout his class for having a talent for fixing appliances and machines, in thanks to his history of helping his mother at home and his love for magical wheels. He attempted to create a magical wheel appreciation club upon his enrollment to the school, but was denied.

On weekends he engages in physical training, sometimes with Jack and sometimes with Epel. Deuce prefers doing track and field with others rather than alone, saying that is helps him feel “twice the sense of accomplishment”. 

Deuce says he did not play games a lot with people before NRC, so he really enjoys playing card games with his dorm mates (with the exception of Ace, who, according to Deuce, always cheats). Deuce tells us about a time when a smartphone puzzle game (strongly insinuated to be Tetris) was so popular at Heartslabyul that students kept staying up all night playing and Riddle would collar everyone who didn’t get up on time in the morning―including Deuce, who once played through the night with Ace. Ever since, he’s been limiting himself to only one hour of gaming a day.

Floyd refers to him as “Saba-chan” (Mackerel), while Rook calls him, simply, Monsieur Spade. He looks up to Trey as someone who is both knowledgeable and dependable, saying he wants to become like Trey in the future. During the New Year’s holidays, he worked part-time at Sam’s shop.

Through Deuce we learn that “there is a rumor that the limit’s of one’s magic power” in the twst universe are “determined at birth”, but he then says, “but there is no limit on how much effort you can put in”. We also learn that the buttons worn by Heartslabyul students are meant to signify the allegiance that they have pledged to the dorm; he says “it would be a disaster if you lost it”.

Deuce has a habit of summoning cauldrons in battle. When raising his magic level in-game, he says “Maybe one day I will be able to summon something besides cauldrons”, implying that they may be the only thing he can summon at all.

In the novel, when asked by Ace why he always goes to cauldrons, Deuce explains, “It’s all I can ever think of in the heat of the moment—when I think of mages, I think of cauldrons.”

Deuce's unique magic is "Double Down" (or “Bet the Limit”. In Japanese: “Retaliation / Tit for Tat / Payback”), and specifics are still vague as he has only used it twice as of this writing (22/8/24), and both times he immediately forgot how he did it.

The spell enables him to "pay back" the damage that he has incurred during a fight back onto his opponent. It is still unclear if he merely magically strikes them with equal force to the amount of damage he has taken from them, or if the force of the damage is multiplied.

According to this article about the game Blackjack , "Double Down" is “When you double your bet in the middle of a hand (equal to your ante) in return for only one extra card. Yep, it's risky. But, it can also increase your payout. In order for the risk to pay off, you need to double down at a time when you have the advantage against the dealer.”

Deuce’s original audio line is “Bet the limit”, which is also playing-card-themed, and means to place the maximum bet allowed during a game of poker. A risky and dangerous move, but one that can pay off in spades (ww) if you do it right.

Some great artists for Deuce fan-art and more (SFW, no story spoilers)

Deuce and Ace

Deuce and many others

More Deuce and Ace

Pre-NRC-Deuce

Voice Deuce is voiced by Kobayashi Chiaki (小林千晃), whose other work includes Fu Yao from Heaven Official's Blessing, Parrot from ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.'s OVA movie - Regards, Langa Hasegawa from SK8 the Infinity, Edamura Makoto from GREAT PRETENDER, Hiroto from Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise and Tony Freed from Wise Man's Grandchild.

More information available here

Additional Fact Sheets ・Riddle Rosehearts ・Trey Clover・Cater Diamond ・Ace Trappola・Deuce Spade ・Leona Kingscholar ・Ruggie Bucchi ・Jack Howl ・Azul Ashengrotto・Floyd Leech・Jade Leech ・Kalim Al-Asim・Jamil Viper ・Vil Schoenheit・Rook Hunt ・Epel Felmier ・Idia Shroud・Ortho Shroud ・Malleus Draconia ・Silver・Sebek Zigvolt・Lilia Vanrouge ・Sam・Crewel・Trein・Vargas・Crowley

[kats-fic-recs]

Best Bnha fics I read in 2022

per my last email

In America, Izuku is assigned a pen pal from Japan. Bakugou-san threatens him daily and curses all too often, but he answers Izuku’s questions and shows interest in his dreams. Oceans away in Musutafu, Katsuki enrolls in the mandatory English language course. His pen pal is a pain in his ass and asks way too many fucking questions.

They're supposed to be learning a new language. Instead, they discover why crushing on someone across the globe is not the best idea.

sunshine

“I see,” Ashido claps her hands together, “aww, you ran into a danger zone with no hesitation to save your childhood friend from the clutches of a villain! That’s so sweet!”

If only it was that simple . “I guess,” Izuku shrugs, “it’s complicated.”

“Tell me,” Ashido says, “sometimes talking to a neutral party about your problems is helpful! I can give you advice for whatever your situation is with this Kacchan .”

----------

or, izuku meets mina ashido when they're in middle school. and with a little push from a new friend, he gets kacchan back, too.

my heart's already been sold

“'At aw you ding?”

“That’s not Japanese,” Kacchan says, pushing his hands in further. “You sound like a fish.”

Bakugou keeps squishing Izuku's cheeks and walking away with zero explanation. Izuku is so, so gone for him.

The Distance Between Suns

What happens when a war tears you apart and then brings you back together?

Bakugo Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku spent years wondering if they would ever see each other again. Izuku, a prisoner in the walls of Court learning to navigate the trials of political warfare, and Katsuki, a forgotten child soldier whose enemies are not what they seem.

Years on opposite sides of the world changed them into what they needed to be to survive, but if there was one thing they never let themselves forget, it was the other. When the collapse of the ruling monarchy brings them colliding back together, will they be able to survive in the rapidly changing world around them and do what they need to save it?

Will they be able to survive each other?

Forget-Me-Not

"Do you remember what he we do every morning?” Hizashi placed his hand on top of his husband’s.

“I’m Aizawa Shouta. I’m a pro hero and teacher. I’m married and have two children. Hitoshi is in my class, training to become a hero, and we rescued Eri from Overhaul. She is still learning to control her quirk. I am working on a case about the League of Villains.”

Today wasn’t a good day, then.

“That’s really good, Shouta. But that was almost 30 years ago.”

Or, taking care of a husband with a slowly worsening memory loss, you’d have good days and bad days. For Hizashi, anniversaries were one of the hardest.

(may the bridges i have burned) light my way back home

Since Bakugou Katsuki discovered the secret of One for All, he and Midoriya Izuku have been slowly repairing the friendship they once had. They still haven’t talked about it—but Izuku’s certain that it’s only a matter of time before they manage to lay the past to rest.

But when the League of Villains attack the Sports Festival and Bakugou takes a devastating blow meant for Izuku, the whole nation is suddenly paying attention to a relationship the two people involved barely understand. Izuku needs more than ever to figure out who he and Kacchan are to each other—preferably before the internet does.

or,

“Fuck you,” Bakugou said. “I don’t need a whole face to kick your ass.”

the chaser and the chase

“This is a love story, Midoriya,”

“No, it's not. It’s crime/mystery,”

Or the one wherein Izuku writes the best selling book of the year and confesses to Katsuki at the same time.

you left a sour aftertaste

Izuku and Katsuki aren't together anymore. To take up his time, Izuku joins his school's band club, becomes the lead singer, makes some impulsive decisions, and accidentally gets a little famous. All because he's downright heartbroken, and Katsuki isn't (or at least, he doesn't look it).

Maybe some people were just meant to find their way back to each other. It might take a few stumbles, though.

don't be a stranger

“Not even a thank you for your friendly neighborhood Spiderman?” Izuku called out teasingly. “Where are you going?”

“Why the fuck do you wanna know, creep?”

“You sure you can make it back home safe?”

Katsuki glanced back angrily and flipped him the bird. “Eat shit, bugboy.”

Bugboy. That was new.

In which Izuku is Spiderman, Katsuki is nosy, and juggling high school and vigilante work has never been so difficult when your best friend is convinced that something’s up.

Or, five times Katsuki almost finds out that Izuku is Spiderman. One time he actually does.

Editor Denki & the No Good Mary Sue

Bakugou has a VERY original character that he's been writing about for a while. Just a hot-tempered prohero who's absolutely unstoppable, extremely cool, and a badass quirk that bears a striking resemblance to his own.

Unfortunately, according to poor Kaminari Denki, the guy's romance seems pretty half-baked. Which is crazy, because Bakugou didn't write a romance! He just included his stupid childhood friend in a few- okay, a lot- of the scenes, and Denki somehow got the wrong idea. Of course, Bakugou refuses to take an insult lying down, and sets about figuring out how to make Deku a compelling character for a beautiful romance- and accidentally learns some things about himself in the process.

with excerpts from Bakugou Katsuki's self-insert fan novel in all their glory.

Bare Your Soul In Ink

Writing isn't something you need a quirk for either. For all of human history, people have been telling stories. Weaving words together to form new things is built into our DNA on a level so much deeper than quirks are.

Writing could even help me escape from my life. I could hide behind a pen name, and then no one would have to know that the book in their hands was written by someone quirkless.

Yet here I am, writing about… the fact that I am quirkless.

When Izuku suddenly finds himself famous for writing a book about his life as a quirkless person, it leads to a reunion he never would have expected.

Me Myself and My Wingman

Katsuki’s wings were as magnificent as his quirk, and when they worked in tandem, it was nothing short of breath-taking. Katsuki cut through the air like a lash of fire, his blasts propelling him as his wings fanned out with the same ferocity of an avenging angel.

Izuku is in love with him, and doesn’t plan on doing anything about it.

(Unfortunately, his wings are quite determined to woo Katsuki by themselves.)

A Love Song from the Deep

His pod has always feared the Dragons, the alien clan that dwelled among volcanic vents of the deep, and with good reason. No one has seen one in generations, but Izuku heard stories of blind, listless things that drifted along the sea floor like ghosts.

Wherein Izuku is a curious merman, and his new friend is very fascinating.

How to Train Your Useless Dragon

Bakugou Katsuki needs to kill a dragon to take its teeth and become a warrior of his tribe.

But, what? Why the fuck doesn't this dragon have teeth?

Written from the promp "What if Izuku was the dragon?"

Shamelessly How to Train Your Dragon inspired.

if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

There's very few people that a daemon will seek touch from outside of their holder or other daemons. Best friends, even if Izuku wanted to believe that he'd ever sincerely been that for Kacchan, are rarely one of the exceptions.

By when Izuku's life has come crashing down —by when he's left with the option of staying still until he turns to dust or walk walk walk on the shards until he bleeds—, he already knows his relationship with Kacchan has always been an anomaly.

It's only later that he discovers that what's really extraordinary is Adara.

Bright Stars

There had been rumors of a Human who wasn’t performing well in fighting rings, constantly ignoring their lesser opponents and trying to go after the very loud, very violent crowd instead.

or

Not only did Hizashi allow himself to be caught by the alien trafficking ring he and Shouta were trying to bring down, he's also stuck in a cell with a Deathworlder.

It goes better than expected.

[arctic-hands]

So for the first three years I had at my knock off Montessori elementary/middle school–where classes were divided into first and second grades; third, fourth, and fifth grades; and sixth, seventh, and eighth grades and yes this was an educational clusterfuck my high school teachers took glee in pointing out in front of all the other students–we had a Japanese language program, and because of my town's main university having rich history of enrolling both Japanese-American students and Japanese from abroad students (ask me about that history, it's a nice story) we had no shortage of Japanese-speaking college students looking to make some extra cash. So for a few years I was speaking Japanese fairly decently, but the school system slashed our funding and I didn't/couldn't keep up with it independently so now I can barely count to ten.

Anyway this is not about that, it's about how after a year of successfully learning basic Japanese, I'm in the first day of second grade sitting on the floor with the rest of the first and second graders in my class because we were still young and flexible enough to sit crisscross applesauce, when our Japanese teacher from last year surprised us, after we had been told she was going back to Japan and we'd have a new teacher this year. So us second graders immediately stand, bow, and happily chorused "Konnichiwa, Emi-sensai!" and the first graders looked so fucking freaked out lol. I don't know if they even knew Japan was a place yet, let alone had their own language. Or maybe they were panicking because they thought they were supposed to stand, bow, and say something seemingly strange too idk. I had a new friend I had just made tugging on my pantleg looking at me nervously because I and half the class seemingly turned into robots with a signal in our brains only we second graders could detect. That memory popped into my head and made me laugh just now

[bleachbleachbleach]

Really enjoyed your takes on various bleach characters, got anything for Shinji? Be it an analysis, headcanons, or a breakdown of his dialect, I'm interested in seeing what your big brains have in store. Gimmee aaalllll the word vomit.

I really like Shinji! One of the first things I did as I was getting back into Bleach was spent some quality time with him, because I got it into my head that I wanted to try to read Bleach in Japanese.

Important note here: I don’t speak Japanese. I went to Japanese School on Saturdays during middle and high school, but I was a very bad student—second from the bottom of my class, actually! I often missed class to go play soccer and sometimes when I was in class I was more occupied with like, math homework or video games or making a shogi set out of foamcore. But I did take Translation Theory in undergrad, and that class has remained a formative part of my education, including my enrollment at Tumblr University, with a Major in Bleach Studies.

Anyway, back to Shinji. I chose to start this "read Bleach in Japanese" journey with Turn Back the Pendulum, because it was an arc I didn’t know that well with a bunch of characters I didn’t know that well, and it was fairly self-contained and together and wasn’t going to be intercut with some bullshit fight I didn’t care about (looking at you, Oomaeda vs. Elephant Guy). As far as being a fun language experience, THIS WAS A MISTAAAAAAAAAAKE LOLLL because when Shinji and Hiyori really get at it, Kansai dialect is really hard to make any heads or tails of when you already have poor language ability in standard Tokyo Japanese. I am now intimately acquainted with so many Kansai dialect websites and resources. It made me appreciate Aizen intensely, because he’d roll up speaking the most textbook-perfect polite Japanese and I’d be like, "Oh god, finally, someone speaking sanity!" There are a number of times where my notes (I stopped taking notes after the first half of TBTP because it was way too much work; we die like note-less kings at B3) just say, "idk some Kansai shit."

But thinking/reading so slowly with Shinji and his panels was really pleasurable, and led to some of my now-favorite random nuggets:

Using the nuances of language to get an immediate feel for Shinji and Aizen’s characters, and their relationship to each other in TBTP

An origin story for Shinji’s TBTP-era speakers

Shinji being able to pull back illusory hunting blinds

Also, this is one of my favorite Bleach panels ever lol, because WHAT A MOOD:

This is the part in TBTP where Shinji makes a comment about the amount of captain turnover happening and uses the onomatopoeia "korokorokorokoro," which is like, the sound something small (and potentially hapless) makes when it tumbles down a hill. LEGEND.

--

I haven’t done a lot of writing for Shinji yet, because I’m not really a big Vizard persont, but I’ve written a bit around him because I love Shinji with Hinamori, and Shinji alongside Kyouraku and Ukitake (RIP). And I am really interested in their reasons for (half) of the Vizard to return to Soul Society, and what that negotiation was like, what that year and a half prior to TYBW was like. I mean, obviously they didn’t come back because they love Soul Society oh so much; and Soul Society isn’t a place that welcomes "prodigals" back easily, either. I don’t think they came back to wage a coup from the inside or anything, but there's no way they came back to join the status quo. The Vizard need more than what the Living World is able to offer them, and Soul Society is vulnerable and understaffed, particularly in the Experienced Captains department. Ergo, an arrangement comes about.

Hiyori probably refused this plan on the basis of it feeling like returning to Soul Society like a kicked dog, tail between its legs. (She probably says something akin to this canonically but I did not look it up.) Shinji doesn’t see it that way, though he doesn’t particularly care if others do. It'd probably make things easier if everyone did, frankly.

"It makes you look weak," Hiyori says, stating the obvious. She states the obvious when she wants a rise out of him. The obvious is his eternal weakness.

"But we’re not," he says this time.

"It makes you seem forgiving," Hiyori needles.

Shinji smiles, all wide teeth. "What’s there to forgive. You don’t can’t hold grudges with children. It’s silly. They’re silly."

Hiyori frowns. "...Yamamoto?"

(Yes, Yamamoto. And then Kyouraku, actually--after only seventeen months on the other side of the senkaimon, Kyouraku and Ukitake. And then Kyouraku, alone.)

—

I’m just like, really fascinated by the idea of Shinji’s role in post-TYBW Soul Society. As far as people with institutional memory go, he’s probably next on the list after Kyouraku out of the Gotei members who are still alive. And I think one of the few with both the ability to influence Kyouraku’s leadership in addition to the energy/willingness to do so. Not that he’d want that formalized, or to actually have any particular job related to running this goddamn ship, but I think he keeps tabs, and Kyouraku is aware he keeps tabs, and that awareness does the work of keeping certain considerations from falling to the wayside, decisions made in certain ways, etc. Without Yamamoto, and then without Ukitake (for Kyouraku in particular), there’s this big ABSENCE that needs filled, that if left unattended would probably just fill with shadows and soft lies. I think Shinji exists as a level of mostly passive, nebulous scrutiny that, regardless, is critical to the version of Captain Commander that Kyouraku is in the process of creating. Which, even if shit hit the fan during TYBW and everything kind of sucks in trying to resurface from it, is a lot more than Shinji would have been able to get were Yamamoto still in charge. Happy accidents?

--

This post has already lasted an age, so I will attempt to keep this on the short side.

In case you missed some of these other random Shinji nuggets:

I muse about Shinji’s record collection and find some good music: https://bleachbleachbleach.tumblr.com/post/675451079488634880/me-i-dont-know-what-these-records-are-but-i-bet

One of our earliest posts where we investigate Shinji’s tongue piercing: https://bleachbleachbleach.tumblr.com/post/653382026937991168/i-am-a-little-disturbed-that-i-have-learned-this

Looking back, we have made a surprising amount of original posts about Shinji, even though I didn’t realize he was a favorite character. But I guess he is an interesting guy, so there’s a lot to muse about and have fun with.

This observation isn’t directly about Shinji, but have you ever noticed that Ichigo calls Shinji “Hirako”? It’s interesting, because for the most part, Ichigo is on a first name basis with everyone, everyone except his classmates. But just about all shinigami, regardless of class or position, he calls by their first name. I always thought this was just a sign of Ichigo being a punk. He has a somewhat rough way of speaking, and apparently doesn’t have much respect for those older than him. But his classmates? He’s always perfectly respectful when addressing Orihime and Ishida, by calling them their last name. The only exception appears to be Shinji.

Not even the other Visored call him Hirako. They all call him Shinji! So why does Ichigo call him Hirako? He’s on a first name basis with Byakuya, Kenpachi, Toushirou… and I’m sure others. So my only possible way of reasoning this out is that since Shinji was originally introduced to Ichigo as a classmate he just… continued to address him as one. Does this make any sense at all? No. But in whatever system Ichigo has going on, I guess it makes sense to him.

[atevanfool]

Community Guided Chapter 1

Aomine decides that in order to get even better at basketball that his best option would be to follow in Kagami's footsteps and head to the states. After graduating high school, and spending six months having English beaten in to his head by a tutor, he heads off to California. Enrolling in the same university, he and Kagami strike up friendship once again until one night, after a few too many drinks and a drunken game of one on one, the two kiss on the court. Now they're torn, unsure of how to proceed. They're not gay. There's no way. And it feels like everyone around them is homophobic except maybe their respective partners. Is there even any meaning behind the kiss in the first place? Can they traverse this new territory or will their relationship, even as friends, simply fall apart at the seams?

*** This story contains very harsh language including homophobic, transphobic, sexist and racist slurs ***

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

<Six months before high school graduation>

“Hello Daiki, my name is Annie. I’m glad to meet you.” An unfamiliar face, with an unfamiliar voice, and unfamiliar accent greeted him through the glowing computer monitor. She was friendly, and bright, and wore a gentle smile as she gazed at him. And he stared back frozen like a baby dear.

“H-hello A-A-“ He stuttered, cursing himself.

“Annie.” She finished for him, speaking slowly, enunciating carefully.

“Annie.” He parroted. She nodded. “N-nice to meet you.” His tongue felt so heavy as the words fell from his lips. He wished he could rewind time so that he could go back to middle school and take his classes more seriously. Ever since he had decided that he wanted to take basketball even more seriously, and follow in Kagami’s footsteps, he knew that he would have to start focusing on developing his English skills. He’d always thought it was a waste of time, it’s not like he needed it to play basketball, but if he was going to move stateside, his basic tourist levels of the language weren’t going to cut it. So, he’d done what anyone would do and searched far and wide on the web for a tutor, trying hard to find one that was a native speaker that was also from the US. He could’ve used anyone, even someone who spoke it fluently as a second language, but he wanted to sound as natural as possible. He didn’t want to pick up on any weird vocab from someone that lived in England or Australia. Their idiosyncrasies were just too different, and he was having a hard enough time.

“Nice to meet you, too.” She spoke clearly. “Can you tell me about your experience with English?” Aomine tried hard to keep a neutral face as he listened, but he really couldn’t keep up.

“I’m sorry? Please again.” He said hopelessly.

“Of course.” She repeated the question. When he still couldn’t reply and stared blankly at her, she effortlessly switched gears and asked in perfectly fluent Japanese, “Daiki, would it be easier for you if we maybe started off with me teaching you in Japanese? There’s no problem either way. What is the extent of your English skills?” There was absolutely no judgement in her voice. A little shocked at her fluency, and complete lack of accent he couldn’t respond right away, but eventually he found his voice.

Grumbling at his own incompetence he muttered, “Isn’t it better to teach with complete immersion?”

She laughed. “That is true, but it can also be really difficult for the person learning. When I was learning Japanese, I was tossed into a classroom with almost no knowledge of the language at all. I would return to my host family every night nearly in tears because I couldn’t understand! My classmates were kind, but I would still get made fun of a lot, and I’m old enough that I didn’t have as many resources as language learners do today. I spent so much time cursing my exchange program for not having more options for those of us that were still learning. I went to language classes three nights a week, but it took me my entire three years living there to really feel like I could call myself fluent.” Aomine made a face. She put her hands up, smiling. “Don’t worry! Like I said, my resources were extremely limited and because of that, total immersion was basically the only way I could learn. You have the advantage of having access to the language 24/7. There are so many apps on your phone, and so may websites you can use for grammar help, and you can even get a tutor, like me, to teach you one-on-one!”

“I think it would be better for you to teach me in English.” He muttered, face turning pink as he rubbed at the back of his head. “I’m pretty stupid so the more I’m exposed to it the better it will be, I think.” Annie chuckled; her expression soft.

Switching back to English she replied, “You’re not stupid, Daiki. English is hard. Language is hard. So <let’s try our best.>” She pumped her first and nodded her head once in encouragement. Aomine nodded back despite only catching about a fifth of what she had said. Damn this shit is going to suck.

<Three months before high school graduation>

“Annie, I got into the college.” Aomine beamed, holding up the acceptance letter to the camera. Dear Daiki Aomine, we happy to inform you that you have been accepted to XXXX University and look forward to the coming years- Her eyes scanned the first few lines as the smile spread across her face. “Thanks to you I was able to get through the application process. Now I’ve got to get my student VISA.”

She clapped her hands. “That’s amazing, Daiki! I’m so proud of you!”

“Thanks.” He grinned back, puffing out his chest with confidence.

“Now I wonder if you can show that same amount of determination on today’s quiz.” She grinned devilishly, a light glinting in her grey-blue eyes. Aomine swallowed hard, though he tried hard to hold onto the façade of confidence.

“Easy as pie.” He said, hoping she didn’t hear the quiver in his voice. A reply never came. Instead, his screen shifted and a quiz popped up. Unable to answer even the first question, the basketball star questioned what he had gotten himself into.

Needless to say, he never spoke about that quiz again.

<One month until graduation>

Aomine rarely got nervous, and even more so did he get visibly nervous. Today was an exception as he logged into the web browser for his lesson. Annie had sent him an online quiz that went over everything they had talked about in the last five months, but he hadn’t been graded on the spot. She had told him that she wanted him to really take his time and not rush things, and to think through questions that were giving him trouble. She speculated that, if the quiz had given him his grade right away at the end, he’d have gotten nervous and rushed. Well now he was nervous for a completely different reason.

Right on time, as usual, Annie’s face appeared in the right-hand corner of the screen and she could not hide her expression if she had tried. It was like she’d eaten the sun she was shining so bright, her eyes glittering like precious jewels in their sockets, a smile threatening to rip her face apart. “Daiki!” She exclaimed excitedly, slapping her hands against the desk and forgetting her composure. “Daiki, Daiki, Daiki!”

“W-what?” So startled he slipped and spoke in Japanese.

She thrust a stack of papers at the screen, so excited she could hardly hold them still enough for Aomine to see that it was his test answers. “Daiki, I think you might be some kind of genius!” She could hardly contain herself, her neutral teaching accent slipping so much that her far northern accent came out, making her difficult to understand.

“I know that, but excuse me?” He couldn’t help the jab.

She laughed, snorting. “You’re so confident in everything except your English.” She drew the papers back to reveal her face once more. “Do you know what you got on this quiz?”

“Of course not. You wouldn’t let me see it.” He huffed, scowling.

She jittered in her seat, shaking. “Guess.”

“No.”

“Guess.” She pressed.

“No.” He hated stupid games like guessing more than anything. They were a waste of time and energy.

“Ugh, you are such the spoil sport!” She grumped. “You got an eighty-seven percent. Eighty-seven. Do you even know how good that is?”

He gawked at her. Eighty-seven was a horrible score. Sure, it was passing, but that meant that he could barely hold a conversation in English. Where had he screwed up the most? He wracked his brain, trying to pull test questions from memory, but couldn’t come up with anything. There were sections that were extremely difficult but nothing that stuck out more than anything else. “Sensei, have you lost it?” He slipped in Japanese again in his disbelief.

She was grinning, wildly, at him. “Do you want to know a secret, Daiki?” He frowned, nodding. “The quiz I gave you was two levels higher than I would normally give students at what should be your level.” His eyes about fell out of his head. “We haven’t even been working together for half a year and you started off at essentially zero. You’ve grown so much in that amount of time. If I had given you the correct test, you’d have thought it was so easy that you would accuse me of looking down on you.” He flapped his mouth a few times. “Don’t try to deny it. Your attitude when you’re speaking in Japanese is like reading an open book. Your confidence is out of this world.”

He was flabbergasted. His eyes hurt from holding them open, but he was so shocked he couldn’t get them to close. His mouth gaped as he reached for words but found himself speechless. All of his struggle, all his time and effort, was coming to fruition. His hard work was paying off in big ways.

Annie spoke again, her gentle demeanor back in place. “Daiki, the test that I gave you would be something I’d give someone who had typically been studying with me for two years or more. There’s grammar on that test that I can guarantee you a majority of American students wouldn’t have gotten right. Granted, grammar was by and far your worst area, the best being vocabulary, but you still scored almost sixty-five percent on that alone. That’s why I think you might actually be a genius. Did you even realize that you can follow along in lessons perfectly fine now? I almost never have to explain things to you in Japanese anymore, even really difficult concepts.” He shook his head. “Ugh, I’m just so proud of you!” She gushed. “You’re going to be just fine over here, I know it. Until then, let’s keep studying hard, okay?” He simply nodded. Something, a sense of pride maybe, swelled in his chest. Suddenly his move stateside seemed just a little less scary.

<Graduation>

Unsurprisingly, there were no tears. Not from him at least. Girls flocked around him as they pestered him for his Line information and email address, claiming that they wanted to keep in touch. He staved them off with bullshit excuses for awhile until he finally exploded at them, yelling that he was moving to California to pursue basketball and that he didn’t want anything to do with any of them as soon as the ceremony was over. While a few of them backed off, a few of his hardcore fans clung on, claiming that his tsundere attitude wasn’t enough to dissuade them. Finally, after God knows how long, Satsuki came to his rescue, dragging him far away from the hoards of onlookers. “Ugh, so annoying.” He grumbled, raking a hand through his hair. “All of them thinking they’re hot shit. None of them are even that sexy.” His friend laughed, wrapping herself around his arm. “Oy, get your tits off of me.”

“Nuh-uh.” She pressed her chest harder against him. “I know that you’re a boob guy.”

He retched. “It’s like having my sister’s tits on me. I’m going to throw up.” He pretended like he was going to, covering his mouth with a hand. She squeezed herself extra close one last time before letting go, her expression all smiles. “I’m going to tell Tetsuya that you cheated on him.”

“As if he’ll believe you.” She stretched her arms out behind her back, leaning forward. “So. How long do I have you for?” He heard a few soft pops as her spine aligned itself.

“Until the end of July.”

“Well then. I’ll have to get my fill of you before then.” Satsuki slapped him heavily on the shoulder before turning on her heel and heading back into the throng of students filing out of the gym, diplomas in hand.

Later that evening Annie congratulated him. “Good job, Daiki. You’re officially an adult.”

“I’m still only seventeen.”

“Close enough. How as the ceremony?” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Did you cry?”

“Of course not.” He glared at her, nostrils flaring in annoyance. She laughed, throwing her head back. “It wasn’t that funny.” He huffed.

“You’re right. But seriously, congrats. It’s so strange that you guys graduate in March. I guess it just means that you’re going to have plenty of time to study. Are you going to work in the mean time?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“What are you planning to do?” He shrugged. He’d thought about getting a part time job for awhile but he’d never bothered to look. Now that he had the time, he didn’t have a clue what he wanted to do. “You should look for something where your English will be really helpful. Something in a tourist-y area would be great.”

“You think I have the composure to work with people?” He eyed her, dubiously. She laughed again.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Think about jobs where you can use it without having to talk to people, then. I’m sure there’s something. Maybe a basic translating job. I can give you a recommendation if you need it.”

“I’ll think about it.” All he knew for sure was that the next few months were going to be long, and difficult, but deep inside his gut he felt an overwhelming sense of excitement. A new chapter was about to begin.

“Well then. Let’s get started.” Annie’s chirper voice cut through the inner monologue and their lessons began.

[thelovelyghostwriter]

Non-anime Asian TV Shows that I liked

This is just a short list of some Asian TV shows I liked, list is not exhaustive. Thank you  @cautionworksstuff​ for encouraging me to do this since you wanted to know more about other foreign TV shows other than anime. 

When I say non-anime, it means shows that are not Japanese animated series. 

1. Kingdom [Netflix] (South Korea)

This series hits HARD. It’s an original Korean Netflix series. Now, there’s a lot of shows/movies that are named “Kingdom”, so let me clear about this one: this is the one that is set with a Zombie apocalypse during the Joseon period. 

It follows the story of the Crown Prince who is being framed for treachery by his evil stepmom (the Empress) and her clan, as soon as his father died. In the midst of that, a disease outbreak happens that turns everyone into zombies, and the Prince struggles to avoid being defeated by the corrupted government officials as well as to save his people from the zombie apocalypse. 

What makes this one stand out from series/movies like The Walking Dead are two things: 1) the political setting - while there is a zombie outbreak, it’s also the battle for power, 2) the historical setting - the guns used here are very limited, and the science/medicine explained behind this outbreak is not like “oh due to biotech experiment gone wrong”, 3) unlike Walking Dead, they actually explained the cause of the illness, the cures and the weaknesses. 

They are going to come up with a new one-episode spin-off(?) this month. 

2. Girl from Nowhere (Thailand) 

This is also available on Netflix. This series follow a character named Nanno, who goes to various schools as the new girl. In the second episode, she’s revealed to be some sort of immortal entity that goes on to expose the sins and wrongful acts of parents, teachers and students. She then punishes them as some form of karma. Beware, some episodes are downright disturbing and only for mature audience. 

I don’t have a confirmation of this, but according to Wikipedia and actress Chicha Amatayakul, the character Nanno draws inspiration from Junji Ito’s Tomie, and the similarities are very obvious. From the way the people react to her, the hairstyle and the even to the beauty mark near the eye, the similarities are very obvious. 

One difference though, I must say, is that Nanno is an extremely charming character as compared to Tomie. You will really root for her and can’t help but like her presence, even if she’s a little scary. When I read Tomie, I didn’t exactly felt the same magnetic pull as Nanno did for me. Season 1 was really good. Season 2 was more brutal but I think Season 1 was slightly better. 

3. Trese (Philippines)

This was actually based on a Filipino comic series, with the same name. I had actually waited for this series to be animated. This series features Filipino supernatural beings. I had always wondered how it’ll be like if there was a cool anime about Filipino mythological creatures, such as the manananngal, aswang, tikbalang etc. I think their designs and stories are interesting and not very talked about in the media. 

I had once complained about this. We have so many interesting Filipino mythological creatures, but why do we focus on mostly drama series on love and family, and not come up with a horror series featuring them? 

This one’s available on Netflix as well, and it’s in three audios: English, Filipino and Japanese. I do recommend the Filipino audio because the pronunciation of the creatures are better. But that might be just me listening to my native language. 

Although, just a tiny criticism - there are only six episodes so far. All in less than 30 minutes. This was an issue for me and also my family who had watched it because we felt the pacing was too fast. They didn’t explain what the creatures were, what they do, which can be confusing for people who are not familiar with the mythology. Yeah, I really think it’s because the pacing was fast due to the small number of episodes. If they slowed down, it would be great. Hopefully we get more episodes the next season. 

4. Meteor Garden (Taiwan) [2001] OR Boys over Flowers (South Korea) OR Hana Yori Dango (Japan) 

This was adapted from a manga called “Hana Yori Dango” (Boys over Flowers). It has been adapted in numerous shows, with Japan doing the first live action film in 1995. 

The one that I had watched is the Taiwanese drama version, Meteor Garden (2001 version). There was also a Korean drama adaptation called “Boys over Flowers”. I didn’t watch that one but quite a number of my friends did. There was also the Japanese adaptation, as well as Thai and Chinese adaptation of it. I can’t say for sure which one is the best because I only remember watching the Taiwanese (2001) version and it’s close to my heart. The Taiwanese (2001), South Korean and Japanese drama versions are often being compared. I’ll let you guys decide based on this information.  

I don’t remember much from the plot, although it was this drama was very hyped back then.

This was the summary on Wikipedia: 

It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl from a middle class family, whose mother enrolled her in an elite high school to compete with the families from her husband's company. While at Eitoku, she encounters the F4, a gang of four young men who are children of Japan's wealthiest families, and who bully anyone that gets in their way.

5. The Little Nyonya [2008] (Singapore)

Saving the last for the one that resides a special place in my heart, and perhaps for a lot of people in Singapore. 

Words cannot describe how much this was well-liked in Singapore. I remember everyone praising this. This was hands-down one of THE BEST drama ever produced in Singapore. I remember coming home, waiting at I think 8pm? Just to tune into local TV and then watch this show for a good 40minutes. I know they did a remake in China, which I didn’t watch, but I highly recommend the Singaporean version (since it’s the original and the setting is in Singapore/Malaysia anyway). 

This series really introduced the Peranakan culture to the Singaporean audience. I like to think this story has two parts where it follows the story of a Nyonya (Peranakan Chinese woman). 

The first part’s setting is during WW2. Huang Ju Xiang, a woman born into a Peranakan family and her mother was a 2nd wife. Because of her mother’s status, she’s been ostracised by her family and is tasked to do the household like a servant. She meets a Japanese man and yeah, since it’s in the midst of WW2, their love story was kinda “forbidden” too. The first part is actually my favourite. 

The second part follows the story of their daughter, Yue Niang Yamamoto. This story is longer and Yuening has to face the same type of ostracisation her mother had endured by the Huang family. 

[405blazeitt]

potatonaught:

love it. wish i learned conversational hebrew and not just bare minimum to have a bat mitzvah

everything i've heard about conversational hebrew makes it sound fun! are learning resources easy to come by?

classes to “weed out the weak” is so cringe. let people learn. allegedly 9th graders werent supposed to be able to take japanese 1 in high school but i got in cause they sent my middle school record to the wrong school and i needed an elective day 1

oh wow, your high school had japanese? mine was supposed to get mandarin classes when i started, but we didn't get them until my senior year and it was only available to freshmen ;_; congrats on hacking the system lol

yeah, i feel like japanese classes (or. y'know. any classes) don't need first-week scare tactics to thin out their enrollment. anyone who's "not up for it" will drop it eventually, but they should still get to learn a few things along the way, even if those things are just an awareness of how different languages can be

[richincolor]

Graphic Recommendations

This year has been an excellent one for readers of graphic novels. I've been reading quite a few during the pandemic when longer form books just seem like too much of a time investment or my attention span is limited. Falling into the visuals can be just the thing I need when the world seems a bit chaotic. Here are a few I highly recommend.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen Random House Graphic

Real life isn’t a fairytale.

But Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn’t even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through?

Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?

A beautifully illustrated story by Trung Le Nguyen that follows a young boy as he tries to navigate life through fairytales, an instant classic that shows us how we are all connected. The Magic Fish tackles tough subjects in a way that accessible with readers of all ages, and teaches us that no matter what—we can all have our own happy endings. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Displacement by Kiku Hughes First Second [Jessica's Review]

A teenager is pulled back in time to witness her grandmother’s experiences in World War II-era Japanese internment camps in Displacement, a historical graphic novel from Kiku Hughes.

Kiku is on vacation in San Francisco when suddenly she finds herself displaced to the 1940s Japanese-American internment camp that her late grandmother, Ernestina, was forcibly relocated to during World War II.

These displacements keep occurring until Kiku finds herself “stuck” back in time. Living alongside her young grandmother and other Japanese-American citizens in internment camps, Kiku gets the education she never received in history class. She witnesses the lives of Japanese-Americans who were denied their civil liberties and suffered greatly, but managed to cultivate community and commit acts of resistance in order to survive.

Kiku Hughes weaves a riveting, bittersweet tale that highlights the intergenerational impact and power of memory. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Flamer by Mike Curato Henry Holt and Co.

I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both.

I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe.

It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.  — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang First Second

In his latest graphic novel, New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang turns the spotlight on his life, his family, and the high school where he teaches.

Gene understands stories—comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins.

But Gene doesn’t get sports. As a kid, his friends called him “Stick” and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it’s all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships.

Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he’s seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn’t know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons’s lives, but his own life as well. — Copy image and summary via Goodreads

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, Ryan Estrada Iron Circus Comics [Crystal's review] [Q&A with Kim Hyun Sook & Ryan Estrada]

When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family’s restaurant. But literature class would prove to be just the start of a massive turning point, still focused on reading but with life-or-death stakes she never could have imagined.

This was during South Korea’s Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protestors. In this charged political climate, with Molotov cocktails flying and fellow students disappearing for hours and returning with bruises, Hyun Sook sought refuge in the comfort of books. When the handsome young editor of the school newspaper invited her to his reading group, she expected to pop into the cafeteria to talk about Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Scarlet Letter. Instead she found herself hiding in a basement as the youngest member of an underground banned book club. And as Hyun Sook soon discovered, in a totalitarian regime, the delights of discovering great works of illicit literature are quickly overshadowed by fear and violence as the walls close in.

In Banned Book Club, Hyun Sook shares a dramatic true story of political division, fear-mongering, anti-intellectualism, the death of democratic institutions, and the relentless rebellion of reading. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha Balzer + Bray

A powerful and timely teen graphic novel memoir—perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo—about a Korean-born, non-English-speaking girl who is abruptly transplanted from Seoul to Huntsville, Alabama, and struggles with extreme culture shock and isolation, until she discovers her passion for comic arts.

For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up in the 1990s as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.

So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends at home and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily. And worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.

Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

For a few older titles, you can check out the lists we've created in the past: LGBTQ POC Comics 3 Quick Comic Book Reads Women's History Month Getting Graphic

[honeytearays]

When you say your major is Japanese language and culture does that mean you’ve taken college courses on it? It’s something I’d really love to do myself but I’m not sure where to start so anything you can tell me about your studies would be a great help! 🥺💗

Hello love! Yes I'm currently a college student~

When studying any particular culture I'd say the first step is taking courses in that particular language or history! This depends on what classes your school offers and most programs differ by university as well so I'd look into seeing what is offered and what classes you are required to take. Half of my first year Japanese class actually dropped out because of the pace/difficulty of the language so make sure you know exactly what you're getting into 😅

I'm not sure if you are in uni right now but if you are enrolled, look through the course list and see what interests you! Similarly I'd lay out what a major would entail. On that note, what do you plan on doing with it? 🤔 Most if not all of my colleagues have a double major or are minoring in something like teaching, business or technology, international relations, etc or are planning to go into research.

Of course if you aren't looking that far ahead, I'd simply start with looking at basics of the language (ex. Alphabets since Japanese has 3 written ones, some basic vocab). Just know that it's ok not to have everything figured out! Heck, even I don't 🙃

I spent so long studying things I hated because of pressure from my family and I'm finally starting to find a sort of middle ground. It's cliche to say but study what you love and know that you don't need to rush.

Hopefully this helped you in some way but know my DMs are always open so feel free to message me for a more detailed response or specific help (although I'm no expert so I'm mostly speaking from personal experience).

Have a nice weekend loves and take care 💛

[echodrops]

Hshshsnansna seeing that ask got me in a HUGE HaaH mood. Like, I went through and read a bunch of asks, and I'd probably go reread the fic itself if I had time. So!! Is there anything about HaaH you've always wanted to share but never had the chance to? Headcanons, worldbuilding, backstory, hidden details- anything at all??

Oh friend… There is so much. I have a Word document that’s like 17k of JUST headcanons and world-building for this fic kghsdkjhdkfg I’m not crazy, I swear.

It took me a while to respond because I had to comb through and find stuff that wasn’t spoilery, but tada, have some Home and a Half Hunk and Shiro (and Matt) headcanons and backstory under the cut!

Also, as for hidden details… Same as the Garrison professors in the show were named for staff members, Neuhahn and Ania are named after IRL contributors to the Voltron animated series–Chris Neuhahn was a producer and Ania O’Hare was the casting director.

And here are some Hunk, Shiro, and sorta Matt headcanons/backstory that shapes their characters in HaaH. (Please note, these headcanons ignore absolutely everything from about season 6 of the actual show and on. I stopped watching Voltron after Season 6 because I just couldn’t handle the writing anymore. T_T)

Hunk:- He’s mixed ethnically, and although his parents are from Samoa, his family tree actually spans many different countries, mostly in Polynesia, including Tonga, but even places as far away as Malaysia.- His parents were converted to the LDS church by Mormon missionaries in Samoa. A few years before Hunk was born, his parents moved to Utah to be closer to the church, so Hunk has only ever been to Samoa once, on a vacation to visit family.- His first name is actually “Hyrum,” and until he met Lance at a Garrison-sponsored summer astro-camp when they were nine, everyone just called him by his real name.- Lance actually meant to call him “Incredible Hulk” at camp, butttt to nine-year-old Lance’s utter mortification, it came out “Incredible Hunk” instead. “Hunk” stuck.- He has a little sister who is even more sensitive than he is.

- Although Hunk’s parents originally agreed on the plan to move to America, after the family arrived, they experienced difficulty fitting in with the very selective Utah culture, and Hunk’s mother grew disenchanted with the church. Employment was difficult to find in their small, rural town, and Hunk’s parents both struggled with being isolated from their extended families. Tensions over whether or not to remain in America, as well as over money, led to some miserable fights that contributed to Hunk’s aversion to conflict when he was younger.

- Hunk sometimes had to play the role of family peacekeeper, working hard to make sure that his youngest sister wouldn’t notice the strain.

- Nevertheless, despite their share of troubles, the family is extremely close-knit. Hunk values his family and their opinions more than anything in any world.

- Which is how he ended up agreeing to go to Garrison, even when he really just wanted to help his parents kickstart the restaurant they were planning to open. His mother felt that working in a family restaurant, even if Hunk is a great cook, would squander his incredible academic and engineering talent (which Hunk thought of as just a hobby), so she begged him to go and continue his schooling instead. Hunk couldn’t say no to his mother, even if the thought of being shipped off into space terrified the living daylights out of him.

- Hunk doesn’t curse and is somewhat uncomfortable with people cursing, at least in front of him. Although Lance used to have a pretty colorful repertoire, when he learned that cursing made Hunk uncomfortable, he immediately adopted all of Hunk’s weird Utah replacements instead. “Holy crow” and “let’s kick some trash” are things they actually say seriously.

- Hunk is always down to cuddle and is never embarrassed by asking for or giving cuddles to anyone. He would 200% cuddle Shiro if he thought Shiro would let him. (Shiro would, in fact, let him.) Hunk’s favorite person on the team to cuddle is actually Keith, because Keith (who was taught to comply by Garrison scientists with all unexpected/unsolicited touch) will just sit obediently for hours letting Hunk hug out all his stress. Hunk knows that something is off about Keith’s behavior, but his leading theory—that Keith allows the hugs because he’s touch-starved—is unfortunately false.

- Hunk knows the lyrics to every Disney song EVER.

- And he’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to secrets. Once he discovers that someone’s keeping something under wraps, he goes a bit crazy with curiosity and cannot stop thinking about what they might be hiding. The rules of privacy go totally out the window when he gets like this, but time and again, Hunk’s adage that it’s always better to tell the truth bears itself out.

  Shiro (and Matt?):

- Shiro is the only member of his immediate family whose first language was not Japanese. His grandparents on both sides immigrated to the US from Japan due to work transfers relatively late in life, when their own children, Shiro’s parents, were already young adults. As the first family child to be born in America, Shiro’s parents strongly emphasized the need to learn English well, which unfortunately resulted in Shiro being pushed away from learning Japanese when he was young. Even though he’s a capable conversationalist now, he’s struggled his whole life with regret over not learning the language when he was young and could have picked it up easier.  

- There’s a running joke in his family that he’s actually an ogre in disguise, given that he is much taller than many of his other family members. Tradition demands that the first photo of every holiday gathering is a joke group shot in which Shiro’s posed so his entire head is outside the top frame of the picture.

- Shiro was mercilessly bullied as a child because of his height. The other children frequently suggested that he didn’t belong in their grade because he was too big and that the school must held him back multiple times for being dumb. (Shiro was never held back. In fact, he had excellent grades from kindergarten to the day he graduated from Garrison—and no, not because his parents forced him to study; in fact, throughout his schooling, they often ended up having to force Shiro to go to bed already instead.)

- On top of being teased for his looks, Shiro was naturally shy. He barely spoke, even to his teachers, and would stumble miserably if he was put on the spot in class, contributing further to the rumor that he was stupid.

- Shiro loved learning, but he hated everything that happened in school and didn’t have a single real friend outside of his cousins until he went off to middle school and met Matt Holt in sixth grade.

- Barely two weeks into their first middle school year, and it was already obvious that Matt was the school’s biggest nerd; he’d been bumped up two grades because of his obvious genius and was the textbook definition of an alien conspiracy theorist (It’s not a conspiracy if they’re REAL, guys!) But the strange thing was that no one bullied Matt—he was just so quick on the sarcastic (and biochemical) comebacks that teasing him wasn’t even worth it. Instead, the school’s resident assholes took it out on targets a little less likely to corrode their homework with miniature magnesium bombs—read as, they picked on polite, well-meaning Takashi Shirogane instead.

- Out of pity more than anything else, Matt finally stood up for Shiro one day and ran off the assholes. (It was not, as Mrs. Shirogane insists, with a home-made taser. It was not.) After something like that, well… You sort of feel obligated to befriend a guy, don’tcha?

- Becoming friends with Matt Holt transformed Shiro’s life. Even if Shiro wouldn’t originally speak up for himself, he was ferociously proud and supportive of his first real friend, and learning to be bold for Matt taught Shiro the value and meaning of standing up for not only others, but also himself. Being friends with someone as off-the-cuff and tricky as Matt helped Shiro grow more spontaneous, less self-conscious, and ultimately much more confident—even if, to this day, most of that confidence is still focused on helping others, rather than on being self-assured.

- It was Shiro admiration for Matt’s father, Sam Holt, that led Shiro to take his childhood obsession with military history a step further by actually joining the military. Shiro and Matt enrolled in Garrison together, although Matt was part of the research rather than the combat division.

- Matt was the one who convinced Shiro to get his hair styled in an undercut. It was originally just a dare, but Shiro ended up loving it afterward. The “Undercut Incident,” as it has come to be known in the Shirogane family, was the official straw that broke the camel’s back and resulted in Mrs. Shirogane declaring Matt Holt a “bad influence,” the only impact of which was that Matt had to sneak in through Shiro’s bedroom window instead of coming to the front door when he wanted to hang out.  

- Shiro has received two separate Medals of Honor for making dangerous supply deliveries to war-torn countries across the globe, delivering the vital food and medicine that helped save hundreds of lives. He has also been part of several missions to save stranded astronauts from failing international space stations.

- Shiro is actually a giant memelord, but his crushing sense of responsibility keeps him from indulging in quality shitposting in front of anyone he actually knows. He had a ridiculously active secret Vine account before leaving on the Kerberos mission. His snaps are legendary. Deep down, Shiro dreads the inevitable day someone connects him with his cringey social media accounts.

- Literally the worst at adulting. His mom still filled out his tax forms for him and booked his dentist appointments. He has no idea what the hell he’s doing leading Team Voltron when he can’t even remember which of his clothes are machine-washable and which aren’t.

- When they were in their third year at Garrison, Matt conned Shiro into volunteering as a camp counselor for Garrison’s summer astrocamp program, even though Shiro had minimal understanding of how to take care of children and mostly just BS’d his way through, hoping that none of his campers had anything close to a serious issue.

- He won “best camp counselor” the very first year he volunteered. Mostly because Lance cheated and voted for him 23 times, but still.

[purplesurveys]

805

First, a few randoms... Do you know anyone who can speak more than 5 languages fluently? Not that I know of, though I won’t be surprised if I find out some Filipinos I know fit into this category just because of how many languages we have. Is there a boiler or heater in the room that you're in? There is aaaaaabsolutely no need for a heater anywhere in this country, lmao. What we need are a gazillion aircon units everywhere.

Do you read magazines? Not anymore. The last time I encountered magazines, it was back when my lola would still collect celebrity and high society magazines and I would read them whenever I came over her place. Other than that, I haven’t bought a magazine for myself in like seven years. Did you ever get a detention for doing something by accident? We don’t get detention. But no, I’ve never been in trouble for something like this before. Would you rather write an essay on global warming or UFOs? Global warming. UFOs are more entertaining, but there’s been more research done on global warming so it’ll be easier to write something informative on it.

Have you ever worked with a mixing desk? No, I’ve only seen them in real life. Cheeseburger with fries or Toasty Sandwich and Garlic Sticks? Do you know me? Burger, duh. Do you like sailing? When was the last time you went, if at all? I don’t think I’ve ever been sailing before. Pokemon; do you like it? Favourite Pokemon? I liked it a lot more as a kid. Now whenever I see Pokemon references on the internet I kinda just give a slight smile to myself to acknowledge the nostalgia. My favorite Pokemons as a kid were Chikorita and Ho-oh. Do you or have you done martial arts? Which type? No. Enrolling your kids in taekwondo classes was super popular when I was younger, but I was more interested in ballet and swimming at the time. Can you tell the difference between Japanese and Chinese language? Yes, their manner of speaking is different and their words are also very different. I think Japanese and Korean are harder to distinguish, actually. Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackcurrant or no Jam/Jelly? No jam for me. Please give me Nutella instead, haha. Strawberry or Orange Jelly/Jell-O? Pass. Answer with your first response. Don't look below! Name a colour: Pink Town Name: A******* Girls’ name: Olivia Type of drink: Beer A word that begins with 'L': Ladder A film title: Breakfast at Tiffany’s A mood or emotion: Happy A type of sandwich: Clubhouse Name a Colour Is this your favourite colour? Yes. At first I used to say it ironically, but there was one time when I bought school supplies and I realized they were literally all pink, and I realized that it had actually turned out to be my favorite color for real, lol. Are your eyes this colour? Definitely not. I think for this to be possible you’d have to be wearing contacts. Is this colour one of the colours in your country’s flag? No. Close enough, red and white are in the Philippine flag haha. Does this colour make you feel the mood/emotion named above? Sure, it does. Are you wearing this colour now? No, I’m wearing all black at the moment. Town Do you live in or near this town? I live in it, hence me censoring it out lol.  Have you ever gone shopping in this town? No. The malls here are pretty ehhhh when it comes to clothes, so I prefer going to the city whenever I need to get new stuff for my closet. How many E's are in the name of this town? Zero. Describe this town in 5 or less words? Little boring, but still home. Girls Name Is this the name of a famous celebrity? I can give you a couple of celebrities named Olivia, so sure I guess. There’s Olivia de Havilland (kween shit), Olivia Newton-John, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Munn, etc. Is one of your close friends called this? No. If I did I’d tell them on a regular basis how much I like their name lolol. Would you like this name to be your middle name? Nope, I’m satisfied with my own name. Does this name begin with the same letter of your name? No, but it's the same as the second letter. What does this name mean- look it up on www.behindthename.com? Google says it’s just derived from the Latin oliva, which means olive/olive tree. Pretty straightforward. Name a word, place or another name that rhymes with this name? Bolivia. Type of Drink Is this the last thing you drank? Hell no, you will rarely catch me drinking this. The only time I’d be seen drinking beer is if I’m at a bar that serves only that. Do you drink this drink often? See above. Does this drink make you hyper? It makes me just a little bit drunk, which yeah, when that happens I do get hyper. What do you like about this drink? Nothing. Word Beginning with L Is this word the name of an emotion? No, it is an object. Does this word have a D in it? Yes, two of them. Can you hold whatever this thing beginning with L is? It’s tangible, if that’s what you mean. But I can also literally hold one right now if I wanted to since we have a ladder stored in the rooftop bodega. Does this L word make a noise? If it falls, it would definitely make a lot of noise. Another L word that describes your L word? Long. Film Title Is this one of your favourite films? It used to be, now it’ll probably settle in my top 20 or 30. Audrey Hepburn has better films. Who are the central characters? Who plays them? Holly Golightly is played by Audrey Hepburn while her love interest, Paul Varjak, is played by George Peppard. Do you love this film? Yes. There are some things I’d change from the film as a whole, but the ending is very beautiful and makes me cry every time I watch it. Is this film title either two or three words? It is, actually. Three words. Is there a noun in this film’s title? Yup. Mood or Emotion Do you feel this way now? Mmmm I guess kinda? I’m finally done with my antibiotics and I can finally drink coffee and the bottles of soju I have stored in the fridge!!!!!!!!!! I also don’t feel too hot at the moment and I feel quite relaxed taking this survey so yeah, there’s little to complain about right now. Does this describe your life so far? No. Life is a different story, lol. A similar mood or emotion to the one you named? Elated. Are you ashamed or annoyed about feeling this emotion or mood? Not at all. I barely feel it nowadays, so whenever it’s here I make sure it has a good stay.

Sandwich Does it contain lettuce? Yes it does.

Does it have a sauce in (mayo, salad cream, mustard)? Yes, it has some kind of mayo in it. I haven’t had a club sandwich in a while though so I can’t really remember the exact type of mayo it has. When was the last time you had this type of sandwich? Like I said, a while. It has probably been years. I only regularly ordered this sandwich as a kid because I thought it would make me part of some sort of club loooooool, but like it was never my favorite or anything. Does it contain anything the colour you named above? Eh sure? I guess ham counts as pink.