#i'm not a native English speaker just to let ya know

[briemotherlorde]

The other day, I was doomscrolling on Reddit when I bumped into a post about CC and after reading and interacting in the comments I felt that people judge her too harshly and they don't really understand her character 😭

C'mon, guys, two wrongs don't make one right. No, CC didn't deserve to be bullied all the time. There were pranks that IRL would be interpreted as assault! Besides, she was often insulted just for being her. Yeah, she was the main antagonist and yeah, she had a rather unpleasant personality (especially in the first seasons). Like, it's a moot point to discuss that, but the "good people" also had their shortcomings lol Sometimes they also acted selfish or were kinda of aloof (quick examples here, Fran post-season 3 and her obsession with the "take it back"... and now I reference it, Max's emotional immaturity too. Fran sometimes wasn't a good "bestie" for Val...). Yet, their faults are overlooked while CC's ones are not.

She is what she is, but, to quote herself, "I'm not a well woman". Do you expect a person of her social class, who was basically raised by nannies (divorced and "busy" parents who compensated with throwing a lot of money, standoffish siblings), to become a nice woman and for that bullying is justified? CC's treatment by the audience is a little bit unfair, imo 🥺

Also a gif below from @sayingitwithgifs I find useful to illustrate my wall of text

[thevoidstaredback]

Part 5

The second picture Danny sent to Jazz was of him, Alejandro, and their family at the table full of foods that he'd helped Papá Antonio make. He'd captioned it, "My first friend on the road."

The first picture he send to Tucker and Sam had followed an essay length apology and explanation. It was of the first bus stop on his way from Monterrey to Linares, captioned, "Abuela Maya clocked me as ghost the second she saw me, and I think it's because of the town she's from. Or she's just like that."

The fourth picture he'd send Dani was when he'd finally arrived in Linares. On the steps of Ayuntamiento, eating a churro. He'd captioned it, "We should meet up soon."

The first picture he sent to Alejandro was of the birds inching closer to him.

None of them had responded right away, but he didn't expect them to. Instead, he put his phone away and opened the sketchbook Maria had given him before he left. The first few pages had been filled on the bus ride over, head shots of the people on the bus with him. Some got off before him, some long after, some with him. Now, he drew the birds sharing the steps with him.

Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico was a fairly small city, and Danny knew he wasn't going to be staying there for nearly as long as he'd stayed in Monterrey. Really, the only think that had brought him here in the first place was because Abuela Maya had told Alejandro to tell him to come here. Who was he to deny Abuela Maya?

There was nothing in the Wiki for the town that he could find that would explain why Abuela Maya was the way she was, so he planned to spend the next few hours exploring to see if he could find anything. If not, then he'd be on his way to San Luis Potosí.

But what Alejandro said kept him from leaving the steps. "You might find some of the answers you're looking for there." What could they have possibly meant by that?

"You're a sad li'tle thing, aren't ya."

It took Danny a moment to register the language change, going from Spanish to English. When he did realize what was said, he blinked up at the man standing in front of him.

A lot of things ran through Danny's head, though he only said one thing aloud, "Who wears a trench coat in this kind of weather?"

Nothing about the man's physical appearance changed, but Danny could tell he'd already gotten on his nerves. Oh, this was gonna be fun.

"I do," he sat beside him and lit up a cigarette, "An' don't get any ideas, you li'tle shite, I can hear the cogs in yer head turnin'."

Danny couldn't just let that slide. "Who, me? Why I'd never!"

"Layin' it on thick ain't gonna do you any favors, kid."

He pouted. "You're no fun." He blinked again and scooted away. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

He took a drag of his cigarette. "John Constantine, at your service."

"And why'd you approach me, Mr. Constantine?"

The man cringed. "Don' call me 'mister', I ain't tha' old."

Danny took a long look at him. Finally, he decided, "Old Man Connie." Old Man Connie spluttered as Danny stood up and stretched. "I don't know what you want, Old Man, but I ain't yer kid."

Constantine stood to chase after him, crushing his cigarette underfoot and catching up easily. Danny let him. "I'm not old!"

"You're grey hair says otherwise."

"It's blond!" he retaliated. Under his breath, he muttered, "If I have any grey hairs, I'm going to murder that fuckin' Bat, consequences be damned."

Danny didn't say anything, but he had to wonder about who "that fuckin' Bat" was, especially because he could hear the capitalization on 'Bat'.

Amity Park didn't get a lot of outside news, most preferring to stay in the tiny bubble they'd carved for themselves during the Witch Trials.

"You're not human." Old Man Connie said after following him for nearly ten minutes.

Danny ignored him because how does he know?

Despite what Jazz says, ignoring his problems until they go away has worked wonders in the past.

Old Man Connie didn't leave. "You're not from here, either. you're obviously a native English speaker, and I'd place your accent as midwestern USA."

Danny walked a bit faster. If he could just loose they guy...

Old Man Connie popped up in front of him just as he turned a corner. There was no one else around. "You ain't gettin' rid 'o me tha' easy, kid."

Danny scowled. "I can sure as hell try." He aimed a punch at the man's stomach before booking it. He didn't make it more than half a block before Old Man Connie grabbed the back of his hoodie and lifted him up like a dog in air prison.

"That wasn't very nice of you, now was it?"

There was an officer coming their way. Danny spotted her and waved before Old Man Connie could stop him.

"¿Hay algún problema?" she asked.

Old Man Connie waved his hand and shook his head, still speaking English, "None at all, officer. My nephew here's just being a pain."

Danny could find his voice. It was gone. He couldn't speak. He started panicking.

Somehow, the officer understood Old Man Connie. She nodded and, reluctantly, left them on the street corner.

Scrambling at the hand holding him up, Danny started thrashing, eventually forcing Old Man Connie to put him down.

"Alright! Jeez, kid! I'm not gonna hurt you."

Danny didn't care. Where was his voice? Where did it go?! He gestured wildly at his throat, pleading to have his voice back. Then, just as sudden as it had left him, it was back.

"You bitch!" Danny screamed. He felt he was well justified in his reaction. "You can't just-just take someone's voice after accusing them of not being human! What the hell?!"

Old man Connie backed up a few steps with his hands up in surrender, though that didn't do anything to make Danny feel any less cornered, "It maybe was a bi' harsh, bu' you star'ed it."

"I started it?!" Danny screeched, "You did! I was minding my own business, eatin' a churro, when you come out of literally nowhere and say I'm not human! Who the fuck does that?!"

"Will ya stop screamin' if I buy you another damn churro?"

A compelling argument. Danny had to consider it. "Fine. But I don't like you."

"You don' need to."

"Good," he huffed, "'Cause I don't trust you, either."

Old Man Connie's eyebrow twitched. Danny took it as a win.

Part 7

Translation 1 - Spanish: City Hall Translation 2 - Is there a problem here?

[katiascraft]

𐙚⋆°.MODALES | FC43

[MANNERS | FC43]

⤷ franco colapinto x singer!reader x lando norris.

summary: You had a brief yet beautifully intense romance with F1 driver Franco Colapinto a few years ago when he was driving for F3. When he decided to end your relationship, you didn’t expect he would move on that quickly.

Warnings: I think angst. Not a happy ending but another happy ending (?) and strong language I guess. Cheating. Dialogues in Spanish mostly. Not a native English speaker so there could be (so many) errors. Not proofread.

Author’s note: 200 FOLLOWERS CELEBRATION!! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!! this was inspired on the EP “modales” by Yami Safdie which I recommend you check it out!! Also I’ll be using her for the posts. First time mixing smau and written stuff so yeah. Hope you like it 💌 don’t forget to like, comment, reblog! And follow me so we can be friends :3 (and drink mate together!)

MASTERLIST

f1gossipofficial just made a post

liked by @/user1, @/user2, @/landonorris, and others.

f1gossipofficial: breaking news ‼️ a source close to franco colapinto confirmed that @/y/nusername singer from Argentina it’s her ex and she just dropped an EP full of tea! 👀 apparently according to the song’s Franco dumped her for her new girlfriend @Franconewgirl and stated that franco isn’t as good as he seems! Let the tea be spilled everyone!

view more comments

↳ user123: @y/nusername TE EXPUSIERON BB [they exposed you bb]

↳ user1: OMG

↳ landnorizz1: why is our boy here ????????

↳ franmylove: oh no not this girl again pls leave him alone already!!!

↳ user4: she cute tho

↳ usar89: WHAY DOES SHE LOOKS EXACYLY LIKE FRANCO’s ACTUAL GF

↳ user20: girl I was about to mention it

↳ marylovesy/n: no puedo creer que franco la dejó después de que estuvo para el cuando mas lo necesitaba!!! [can’t believe franco dumped her when she was there for him when he needed it the most]

↳ landonorris: I guess I gotta take this to the group chat

↳ landonorris: she is so pretty

↳ user1: LANDO WTF

↳ usar444: land no rizz BRO WHAT

──── ──── ──── ──── ──── ────

💋ྀིྀི Track 1 - buen provecho.mp3

back to march 2023.

“Amor, perdón, ya sé, esto es una mierda. Pero realmente necesito enfocarme.. No es por vos, es por mi. Obvio que te amo y siendote sincero te voy a amar toda la vida, pero necesito enfocarme 100% en esto y/n” (love, I'm sorry, i know, this is a shitty situation. But I really need to focus. It's not about you,it's about me. Obviously I love you and to be honest I'll love you forever, but I really need to focus 100% on this y/n) you were already sobbing on the kitchen chair of his small apartment in madrid. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't breaking up with you over his career like you didn't have yours. Like all the sacrifices and support were with absolute shit. Franco was crying too but less emotional than you. He was colder, controlled. You were all over the place. You had to stand up. 

“Franco, qué pasa con todo lo que construimos? Todo lo que sacrificamos por el otro. Te apoye todos estos años para que? Se que las relaciones a distancia son difíciles pero con vos nunca lo fue. Franco por dios, te amo, te amo con todo lo que soy. Por favor, no me dejes” (franco, what about what we built here? All of the sacrifices we made. I supported you all of these years for what? I know distance relationships are hard but with you it wasn't. Franco, for god's sake, I love you. I love you with everything I am. Please, don't leave me) when he heard you mouthing the last sentences something inside him broke in a million pieces. He felt like a monster. He brushed his hair with one hand, anxious. He couldn't look at you after what you said. He felt like the worst human alive but his decision was already made. There was no coming back from it. It`s he`s dream. “Por el amor de dios, franco, decime algo”(please, franco say something) you expressed desperate. It was real and now you were in another country, alone, with nobody to talk to, to go to. All of that was him but even if he was sitting across the table from you, he was gone. So far gone, the room turned cold.  “No lo puedo creer.”(i can't believe it) you were speechless, empty. You had to sit again and that's when he finally looked at you. 

“y/n perdon. Pero es lo que necesito. espero que lo puedas entender”(y/n im sorry. But I really need to focus. I Hope you can understand) he expresado. You shook your head ironically dry laughing.he had the guts to act like this despite it all.  

“¿Sabes qué es lo más triste franco? Pensé que ibas a tener los huevos para decirme que me cagaste en la cara”(you know what 's the saddest part of this franco? I thought you would have the balls to tell me you cheated to my face) you dropped what you knew leaving him in shock. Exposed. Your anger intensified. “Obviamente lo sé hace 2 semanas. Quería que me lo digas porque vos te mandaste la cagada. Y aun así me pones una excusa de mierda y tenes la cara para decirme te amo.te cagaste en mi, en mi amor, en mi tiempo,en mi autoestima. Te cagaste en todo franco. No te voy a decir quien me dijo porque no importa. Ojala que te vaya bien y seas feliz con ella o con quien eras que no sea yo obviamente. Pero también espero que te enamores de alguien de verdad y te haga lo mismo solo para que sientas lo que siento y te des cuenta tarde o temprano lo que rompiste y nunca más vas a volver a recuperar” (i know it since 2 weeks ago. I wanted you to tell me you fucked up. But you decided to lie about it with an absurd excuse and you actually have the guts to say that you love me. You fucked me up and my selfsteam. You didn't care at all. I'm not gonna tell you who told me. It doesn't matter. But i hope you have a good life and be happy with her whatever bitch that isn't me clearly. But I also hope that you fall in love with someone and they do the same to you just to know how this feels and realize what you broke because there's not coming back from this) you  just had to take it off your chest. You were destroyed inside. Of course you still wanted to be oblivious and stay with him like nothing happened. But that was impossible to do. It was your second day here. He didn't even mention he wanted to talk. He was playing fool.   

💋ྀིྀི Track 2 - por favor.mp3

back to june 2023.

You and your bff were having a sleepover at your house. You were lying in bed just chatting about anything and everything. 

“Amiga viste esto? Pendejo del orto como le da la cara?” (girl, did you see this? That motherfucker. The audacity he has.) she handed you her phone to look at it by yourself. You see an instagram post. She looked so similar to you you got really confused for a moment. Then you realized it was franc and his new girlfriend. I think your jaw dropped to the floor. How could they? How could HE? You rolled your eyes. It still hurts. But you wanted to play it cool. its been only 3 months like did he even love you for real? You felt gross. You felt stupid. How could you believe him? That fucking smile. His fucking humor. His fucking fingers inside you that made you feel things noone did before. Ugh you hated him. You really hated him.

💋ྀིྀི Track 3 - gracias.mp3

Back to september 2023

franconewgirl made a post

liked by @/francolapinto, @/user2, @/alexalbon and others.

franconewgirl: sigan mirando y hablando que el novio más perfecto lo tengo yo 🩵 te amo fran [keep watching and talking. The most perfect boyfriend it’s still mine. I love you fran]

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↳ francolapinto: te amo princesa 🩵 [I love you princess]

↳ user23: PARENTS

↳ y/nandfran: 🙄

↳ user56: TELL HER TELL HER SCREAM IT GIRL

↳ user1: can’t believe he left y/n still

↳ yourbff: tiraba palo 🤣 [oh she’s throwing indirects]

↳ francolapinto: ?????

↳ yourbff: 🙄

↳ y/nusername: 💀

comments have been disabled

💋ྀིྀི Track 4 - permiso.mp3

Move forward to september 2024 → Monza GP

The Italian breeze of summer made you feel so happy to be here. Not so much the fact you were in the same place with Franco and his girlfriend. But red bull invited you and you loved racing so much that you couldnt say no. plus, your friend kimi and ollie that you knew because they used to race along franco back when the two of you were together. 

You were so thrilled you met Max Verstappen and that he was so kind and actually had a genuine conversation with you. He was nothing like how the media wanted to portray him. He also introduced you to Lando Norris, another driver. He looked really handsome and was really welcoming as well. You found yourself flirting with him for a bit. He said he had a friend from Argentina and that if you were free you could go and drink mate together after the race. You couldn't deny you felt attracted to him. He was handsome. Of course you gave him your instagram and started following each other. 

A few hours later Charles Leclerc won the race and it was fenomenal to witness. He won the Ferrari home race. The tifosis went wild. Really emotional. It was his first home win. You watched the podium in a smile from the red bull hospitality building drinking a red bull. 

After a few minutes, you got ready to go to your hotel to rest for the rest of the day but Max stopped you. 

“Hey, y/n, there's a party tonight. You are invited if you want to come. Lando will send you the address” he said walking towards you. You smiled pleased and flustered. He was so beautiful in person. 

“That sounds fun, sure” you said with your foreign accent pretty obvious just like franco’s and he smiled widely. 

“Perfect. See you tonight!” he said after giving you a quick hug and walking away. 

(...)

You were laughing a little tipsy. Lando was by your side almost the whole night so far. He was really fun to be around and Carlos came to the rescue so you could talk to someone in your native language. Sometimes it's tiring to think and translate what you will say 24/7. 

After a while you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. Little did you know, Franco was gonna stop you before getting into it anyway. You looked at him surprised. His perfume all over you again leaving you kind of confused. 

“Podes dejar de hablar tanto con él por favor?” (can you stop talking to him please?) he said clearly drunk but grabbing your arm gently tight. You frowen and shook you heard before setting free from his grip.

“Hola fran, todo bien? Si todo bien. Que bueno che. No soy mas tu novia asi que no vengas a hablarme y decirme que hacer. Gracias, chau” (hi fran, wassup? Yeah, all good. Great. I'm not your girlfriend anymore so don't come around to talk and tell me what to do. Thanks. Goodbye) you said sarcastically and went straight into the bathroom already annoyed by his attitude. It was being a great night but he has to come around and fuck it up. 

(...) 

Your moans were all over the place. His hands are right on your waist and his movement consistently gets in and out of you. 

“Sos tan linda, y/n” (you're so beautiful, y/n) he said under his breath.

How did you end up here? Again in his arms making you see the stars. Getting you drunk on his perfume. Grabbing his hair and pulling his head back. Him grabbing your waist and twisting you however he likes. Just like he always did. 

A part of you was crying behind your face, smiling in pleasure, getting loud in moans. You wanted him forever. Whether You like it or not, he was the love of your life. No other guy could ever make you feel the way he does by just looking at you. You were angry at yourself. He has a girlfriend and here you are. You are not supposed to be anyone’s slut. The pleasure was intense, reaching your high, hiding your face in his neck, squeezing his shoulders. 

where was his girlfriend?

What have you done? Fucking alcohol and feelings and shit.

💋ྀིྀི Track 5 - perdón.mp3

Fast forward to the next morning

“No franco, esto es un horror. Es horrible lo que hicimos. Me voy” (franco this is horrible. It's horrible what we did. I'm leaving right away) you said feeling terrible. Awful. A knot in your stomach. You got dressed so quickly. 

“Nono por favor y/en espera. Estoy dispuesto a dejarla. Por favor, te extraño muchísimo. Nadie me hizo sentir como vos y nadie lo hará. Lo sé. Por favor, no me dejes” (please y/n wait. I will leave her. Please, I miss you like crazy. On one made me feel the way you did and no one will. I'm sure. Please, don't leave me) he said. How fast the nights change, right? One day you are begging him to stay, and the next he is begging you to stay. You turned around to look at him. 

“Bueno es lo que te mereces después de lo que hiciste. No podemos estar juntos franco. Te acordaste tarde de que me amabas. Yo ya no te amo. Y esta noche fue un error. No me busques mas.no quiero saber mas nada de vos” (well that's what you deserve for doing what you did to me. We can't be Franco together franco. You remembered you love me too late. I don't love you anymore. This was a mistake. Don't look for me. I don't wanna know about you anymore.) your words would have cut his skin if they could. Torn him into millions of pieces. His heart sank. 

You grabbed all of your stuff. You were scared the girl was coming any minute. You just didn't want to deal with it. This shouldn't have happened.

💋ྀིྀི Track 6 - de nada.mp3

move forward to present day

f1gossipoffcial made a post

Liked by @user567, @user1, @user34, @user890 and others.

f1gossipofficial: the secret it’s out! @/y/nusername Argentinian singer and @/landonorris mclaren driver been spotted together getting cozy in Monaco!

view more comments

↳ user1: OMG OMG OMG OMG I LOVE THEM

↳ yourbff: 🤭🤭🤭

↳ y/nusername: 😳

↳ user45: la princesa de argentinaaa 🩵

↳ user123: I don’t like herrrrr 🤢

↳ landonorizz: Lando has a terrible taste on women tbh

↳ y/nstan: feliz si ella está feliz 💌 [happy if she’s happy]

↳ user12: omg she confirmed it !!!!!

↳ user90: WHAT I CHOKED

——————————————————————————————

y/nusername made a post

liked by @/landonorris, @/charlesleclerc, @/francolapinto and others.

y/nusername: oops! Nos descubrieron! Seguí hablando de mi. Gracias a mi tenes lo que tenes, mejor disfrútalo 🩵 yo estoy disfrutando la mía y nunca fui más feliz. Te amo @/landonorris gracias por amarme como soy 💌 [keep talking about me. You should thank me for what you have now. You should better enjoy it. I’m enjoying mine and I’ve never been more happy in my life. I love you lando, thank you for loving me just the way I am]

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↳ landonorris: te amo mi bonita 🩵 you make me the happiest. Thank you for being so wonderful and be so you.

↳ y/nusername: omg te amo te amo te amo infinito 🩵

↳ landonorris: te amo infinito 🩵

↳ charlesleclerc: congratulations lovebirds! A pleasure meeting you @/y/nusername

↳ y/nusername: omg thank you prince 💌

↳ user778: ME ACABO DE MORIR SON HERMOSOS [omg I’m dead you are both so beautiful]

↳ yourbff: al fin alguien que te ama casi tanto como yo te amo 🩵😭 [finally someone that loves you almost as much as I do]

↳ y/nusername: 😭😭😭😭 te amo hermana

↳ user09: if he’s happy we’re all happy

↳ user123: I know franco choked when he saw this

——————————————————————————————

Thank you so much guys for 200 followers!! You are the best mwak mwak mwak 💌 first time I tried this format of story so I hope it’s good!! I dont know if it makes sense tho but i tried!!

[iceclew]

Part 2 is out as well, have a look! c:

Well GUESS who's got some days off of work, and is about to waste them solemly with drawing fandom -> THIS GURL HERE IS, WOOH!! (๑♡⌓♡๑)

Haaah...yes, me and the words again.. This is way to much dialogue for a comic isn't it? I hope it helps that I put down the whole text in the description as well (see below)..

Ah, yess the old "we ran into each other sometime somewhere before, but we cannot remember of course" (honestly, I just wanted to draw the two of them to interact as kids so badly, I just had to make something up for it)

Since Soshiro would have sort of a dialect, I tried to "englishify" that with slang..? (Slang I am not familiar with, because I am not a native english speaker, and just know about it because of the internet. Sorry if this is causing confusion somewhere) And when Kafka is speaking rather different than he does, I imagine it would sound funny to a 8 y/o... in case you've been wondering his comment..

Also I don't know if ppl would go on vacation, I literally just made everything up, analyzing a universe's law is so not my speciality... (*ﾟｰﾟ)ゞ

*transcript below*

*getting out of a shelter right after a Kaiju attack*

Soshiro: 'Scuse me, have ya seen ma brotha? He's like this tall! Kafka: Uh... sorry dude, I haven't S: Can you like ... look for him? (since you'r taller and stuff...) K: Sure. So what does he look like? S: Like my brotha... K: Uh.... ok.. S: Hehe, ya sound funny! K: You think? Yeah, I'm not from around here. I'm on vacation right now. S: REALLY?! People come on vacation? HERE? Like for real?? WHY? XD K (thinking): what an annoying brat, better find his bro soon...

---

K: So, are we just looking for your brother? Your mom and dad are not around? *looking for anybody slightly resembling* S: NAH, they kill'd the Kaiju, they won't be home anytime before ev'ning. K: So they're Defence Force officers then? S: Tkch, as if! My dad's a platoon leader! K: Really? That's cool! I want to get into the Defence Force too in a few years! :) S: HAH! YOU? You look like a whimp! There's more to a D.F. Officer, than being tall, you gotta have what it TAKES!!

---

K: Oh, let me guess. And you think YOU have that? S: YEAH? Well.. MOST OF IT!! I'm not allowed holding a gun yet... But just you wait! I'mma BEAT those Kaiju's BUTTS for sure!!

---

K: Relax, I believe you, don't worry! Look at ya, a feisty one like you can become Captain in no time! S: Ah! D: K: Keep going, so we get to spare in Tokyo one day! Let's see who's the better fighter when we're grown-ups, okay? S: ... YEAH! I'mma beat ya ass, tall guy!!

[prin-does-art]

Hi again, so the second chapter! I hope y'all like this fluff. I gave my best on this chapter, however this is my first fic and english is not my first language, so apologies if anything sounds confusing, and please let me know in the comments. Again, any spanish spoken will be translated in the end, so don't worry ;)

Title: One And The Opposite

Rating: Teens and Up (swearing, mentions of sex)

Summary: After filling the shoes of his alternate self in a parallel universe, Miguel O'Hara swiftly discovers that embodying a different version of himself is far more challenging than he initially anticipated. As he juggles with the complexities of family dynamics, with a wife and daughter who both expect him to be the man they remember, he tries to stay afloat, grappling with the pros and cons of navigating two lives simultaneously.

OR

A domestic Miguel trying his best.

Chapter 2: Sweet reunion

"Gordo, eres tú? Ya llegué!" he hears a voice shout from down the hallway, as the door slams shut, followed by the loud noise of keys rattling and plastic bags crinkling.

Miguel turns around to look at her for the first time, and it's nothing like he thought it would be, to say the least. He imagines it’s like if he were living life immersed in tiger illustrations, and then got to see the real thing for the very first time. It feels like he’s standing in the presence of a real tiger, with its raw power, the rhythmic pulse of its fur, and the untamed wilderness echoing in its eyes. His breath catches as he steps back to really look at her in awe.

Moving through the kitchen in a busy sway, she goes about putting the groceries away, all the while speaking almost too fast to understand like every Spanish speaker ever. It’s as if she hasn't even spotted him there yet — so comfortable with his presence. 

"... Tu hermano no deja de llamarme, deberías ver qué quiere. Ah, y el 'forecast' del tiempo dice que el aire será irrespirable por unas horas, así que recuerda cuando te dirijas a... estas bien?" She asks, getting on the tips of her toes to give him a kiss.

As much as he tries not to, Miguel is startled by the sudden contact, and it must show on his face because she notices too.

"Que te pasa, mi amor?" She asks, a look of confusion in her face that makes her look even more beautiful.

"I uh... I... Just got robbed." He blurts out. 

Even after a day of practicing his Spanish accent, English still instinctively surfaces as his immediate response — it's become much more natural than his native language at this point. The perplexity in her eyes immediately turns into worry as she puts a hand on his face and examines him up and down.

"Are you ok? Did they hurt you!?" She thankfully also speaks English, although with a slight accent that Miguel can’t quite figure out where it’s from. 

"No, no, yo estoy bien. I'm fine just... A little shaken. He had a gun." He answers, gently holding her hand back.

She stares at him, a twinge of shock coloring her features, then looks down at his hand. He gets worried for a second that even though his talons are concealed, something else might be giving him away. Something he doesn’t know about. He can't help the way his heart must be beating a mile a minute, threatening to jump out of his chest.

"Well, you're safe now, okay? Don't worry about it too much." The way she casually utters it confirms for him that this sort of thing happens frequently here. She only smiles sympathetically at him, not even asking what they took — if anything.

He sighs in relief as she says that, and smiles back, taking the chance to get a good look at her face. 

Brown eyes like his, a few moles here and there. Worry lines between her brows that paint a picture of a woman who hasn't had everything handed to her, or the easiest life. He can't help but think he chose well. 

"Listen, I can go pick up Briella, you stay here and I'll-" she says, swiftly turning around to grab her keys.

"No, no, it's okay, I can do it. It's fine." He quickly insists, knowing he has to use every opportunity to get to know his family, and his alternate version better. 

"Okay. Pero ten cuidado mi amor." She warns, placing another kiss on his lips.

*

He gets there early, watching from his car as some parents start making their way towards the entrance. While he contemplates waiting inside the front office — an idea that might be a bit excessive, though it would allow him to catch an earlier glimpse of Gabriella — staying in the car seems neglectful at best. So he settles on waiting near the front of the school until the bell rings.

When it finally does, a crowd of kids emerges from the building, and with them a cacophony of screams and voices as he nervously shifts his weight around, willing himself to stay calm while trying to spot his daughter in the crowd.

“¿Apá?” She asks, right next to him . Miguel looks down at her, startled. 

He must have been so distracted looking through hundreds of faces, that he didn’t even notice her coming up to him. It doesn’t help that she’s tiny, barely reaching past his hips, and the school uniform makes her blend right in with the navy blue crowd.

“Oh hi there! You scared me!” He tells her with a laugh, trying to play it off.

Gabriella blinks at him. “You didn’t wait in the car this time.” 

Uh oh. Is that bad? Maybe she was embarrassed of leaving with her father, maybe the kids would make fun of her for it now. He quickly scans the surroundings, seeing not that many kids leaving with their parents.

“Uh… Right. Well, I wanted to walk with you, if that’s ok…” He explains, fighting the urge to lean down so she doesn’t feel as small to him.

Thankfully she just shrugs, and turns to leave after he offers to carry her backpack for her. They start walking in silence, with Miguel more afraid of being found out than he was earlier, with her mother.

It’s silly, really: She’s a child, barely nine years old. However, his mind keeps racing trying to figure out what to say, what to ask that’s not going to give him away immediately, while at the same time reassuring himself that it’s okay, that she doesn’t know yet.

“So… How was school?” He asks, putting his hands in the pockets of his pants.

“It was alright.” She answers dryly, staring at the floor as she walks.

“Soo was it alright as in boring, or…?” He risks the question, wanting to know more about her day.

She seems pensive for a moment, considering him. “It’s just that the boys keep making fun of me and Isa again. Even Sam joined in, and he doesn't even play soccer!” She frowns, continuing. “They keep saying we’re never gonna play like Messi Jr because we’re girls.” 

He can feel his fists closing into tight balls when she says that. He knows first hand just how insufferable boys her age could get, especially dealing with Kron and all the hell he’d put him through at school, but he also knows that when it comes to girls they act ten times worse. 

So even though he has no idea who ‘Messi Jr’ is, he figures instead of speaking out of anger and cursing the hell out of these boys, he should at least try and help her with her insecurities instead. 

“Why are you worried about being exactly like Messi Jr when you can be so much better than him?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

She keeps silent for a moment, seeming hesitant. “Really? You think so?” 

“Of course I do! You’re great!” He answers honestly. 

Miguel remembers watching her play a little fútbol prior to coming here. He had been surprised to find out how good she played for her age before…  

Suddenly, he’s almost overwhelmed by the thought of what would have happened to her had he not been here. He has a vision of this lovely little girl he just met being thrusted into a childhood filled with grief. 

No paternal figure there for her. A perpetual sadness that got particularly worse on every father’s day, an endless list of things he would never get to teach her. A constant wondering of what it could have been, what would have been like to have him there. 

He can’t help but feel glad that he could take his place. That he could be there for her in this way and fill this void. It’s an impossible responsibility, yet one he’s happy to take nonetheless. 

Shaking his thoughts away, he continues. “And besides, it’s like you said, right? What does Sam know about soccer, he doesn’t even play! Also, there are some great women players around the world too.” He smiles with a sudden enjoyment, excited to play this role the best way he knew how to.

Gabriella looks like she notices his thrilled state, eyeing him sideways with a curious look. “I know, I know. It’s just that it annoys me, you know?” she says, back to looking pensive. 

“Yeah, that’s… True. And the more it annoys you, the more they do it…” He admits, more to himself than her.

Miguel didn’t want to be a walking cliché. He didn’t have much advice to give her, besides things he really wanted to say but couldn’t. Like: She’s a lovely little girl, that he’s glad to be here for her and she’s actually so much more than he ever imagined, that she could be anything she put her mind to, and already he couldn't think of a single thing he wouldn’t do if she asked him to. No, that would be too much in too little time. Instead, he had to go with what was appropriate.

“You know, you’re gonna find people like that everywhere you go. I have people I don’t like at work, too. The thing is how you deal with them. But don't worry, you’ll learn that with time. it’s not like there’s a recipe for it, you know?” He tells her.

She keeps quiet for a moment, listening to him. Was that also too much?

But then she just nods in understanding as he opens the door of the car for her to get in.

*

“Not again, Gabriella. Again!?”

“¿Qué?” Gabriella asks, rubbing her feet on a rug by the entrance of the apartment when the both of them come in.

“¿Cuántas veces te he dicho para no jugar fútbol con el uniforme? ¡Mírate! ¡Estás cubierta de pasto!” María raises her voice, pointing to her daughter's legs.

“But mooom! It was just a quick cascarita! And I’m not even that dirty!” Gabriella insists, gesturing towards her white socks, which funny enough are covered in green and brown spots, especially by the knees.

“¿A quién estás llamando 'mooom'? Anda, take it off and give it here.” She orders after letting out a breath. 

“Sí mamá.” Says Briella, pouting and dragging her feet to her room, looking annoyed.

Miguel also drags his feet by the threshold, setting his keys on a hook next to the door. He takes off his boots, eyeing the three pairs of slippers nearby. Hesitantly, he puts one of them on, the irony in the mundane gesture settling heavy in his chest, the weight of deception tugging annoyingly at his conscience.

Since he’s already taken a quick look around the place before she arrived from work, he gets to inspect things a little closer this time around.

The entryway is adorned with sleek porcelain tiles that extend seamlessly into the living space. A smart home system panel mounted on the wall offers control over lighting, temperature, and security, right next to the hook where he hung his keys. To the side, there’s a wall-mounted shelf holding a curated display of art and what looks to be some personal mementos. 

A water bill sits on top of it, the sight striking an odd chord — in a time where holographic displays and digital transactions were the norm, a paper bill practically seems like a relic from another time — but also allowing him to find out her full name, which he immediately commits to memory.

“I think she thinks the socks make her look more like a professional player.” María tells him a while later, while slicing some meat by the sink. “We should buy her a pair of those so she stops ruining her uniform.” 

He nods in agreement, putting a plate down as he lets the reality sink in, that this is really happening. This is his life now. 

He’s married, he has a beautiful wife, and he’s also father to a beautiful little girl. And he couldn't be happier. Couldn’t have asked for anything else in life. 

It’s like he just woke up from a bad dream, straight into the life he’s always wanted to live.

Like he’s exactly where he belongs. 

So he helps María with the food. Luckily, he must be incompetent at the kitchen in every universe, because her instructions are extremely detailed, as they prepare carne a la tampiqueña for three.

María yells for Gabriella to come, and they all eat in silence after joining hands around the table for a quick, silent prayer. 

*

Later, María is washing the socks while he cleans the table, and Maná plays in the background. She grooves with the rhythm, singing and humming now and then, completely oblivious to it all.

Objectively, he knows that he’s hiding a lot from her, but his heart can’t help but ache a little at how she’s not intimidated at all by his presence, in fact, she’s used to it. For once, he doesn’t feel like a freak or a monster the way he inadvertently does among the other spiders. 

She spots him there, lost in thought as he finishes up, and says “I heard they’re reconstructing his larynx.” 

“What?” He’s pulled from his thoughts by the weird phrase.

“Maná. The vocalist, I heard they’re reconstructing his larynx to help the A.I replicate his voice better. Can you believe that!?” She explains “That’s why I’m listening to their original songs, I heard it on the news today.”

He blinks slowly, trying to figure out if he’s supposed to be used to things like these. “That’s… Crazy, honestly.”

“Right? I mean, the fact that we aren’t able to tell the difference for most artists nowadays is already pretty insane to me, and now they’re reconstructing the larynx of a dead guy to make a robot replicate his voice better? Come on now!” She remarks, turning back to look at him.

“I know, it’s so wild to think about.” He says, taking the chance to look around the room. 

Sleek countertops adorned in marble, bearing the scars of a few culinary adventures that her and his alternate self probably didn’t have the time to clean yet; Rectangular windows above the kitchen sink, lined with cheap plastic containers labeled “basil”, “rosemary” and a few other herbs, bringing a nice green contrast to the brushed metal accents; A smart fridge on the corner, adorned with Gabriella’s drawings held by magnets all throughout it. Some things never change.

He approaches the fridge, taking one of the drawings to inspect it closer. It’s a crudely drawn version of him… His alternate self, with exaggerated triangular shoulders and, most tellingly, what looks like a phone buzzing in his hand.

María seems to notice his curiosity, approaching to look at the drawing too.

“Listen I know, you must be still a little shaken from… Before,” She tells him carefully “Just… Try not to think too much about it, okay? You’re here, you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

He puts the drawing back as she places a cold hand on his face again, gently willing him to meet her eyes. 

“I know, I know. It’s just… I was afraid for a second, that’s all.” He says, sincere in his words but not the real meaning behind them.

“And that’s okay. I’m here.” She assures him, pulling him by the arm gently.

The low hum of the city outside is a distant lullaby as they settle into the living room.

She takes a bottle from on top of a cabinet, wordlessly pouring two cups. He takes a sip, letting the burning soothe his nerves.

"I didn’t think I'd make it back." He lies, gaze lingering on the symmetrical floor panels.

Her hand finds his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You did, and you're here now."

“Yeah… I am.” An inward glow softing his expression, the sensation of a smile blooming from deep within as he stares into her eyes.

As the night unfolds, the room is filled with shared glances and unspoken understanding. María lays her head on his shoulder, caressing him. 

And he can’t help but think that this could work. 

This could really work.

*

When they go to bed, after making sure Briella did her homework and wishing her goodnight of course, María takes off her bra in front of him, and slips on a loose nightgown.

He hates that for so many things that he had considered before coming here, this hadn’t even crossed his mind at all. Hesitantly, he pulls off his own clothes, not able to help how flushed red his face must be. 

Thankfully, María doesn’t seem to notice this, as she’s busy settling into bed and pulling the sheets towards herself. He sits besides her underneath them, awkwardly stiff, and she pulls him into a sideways hug, humming quietly. 

"You seem so different today." She observes, fingers lightly tracing circles on the sheets next to him.

He freezes, eyes widening but trying not to look at her.

"Yeah… It's been a long day.” He says, clearing his throat. “I'm just tired, that’s all. Besides, I gotta wake up early tomorrow. You know how it is, work.” He explains, thinking it’s a good enough excuse.

She turns to fully look at him, blinking in amusement. “It’s friday. Did you forget?” 

He closes his eyes. Fuck.

“Yeah, yeah, right. I meant workout, you know? Gym? I just need some rest.” He corrects, pulling away from her a little and cursing himself inwardly for talking so much.

She seems to get the message, recoiling as well.

“You and your Gym. Should at least try eating those packed proteins just like everyone else.” She tells him, turning her back to him, reaching for the light switch on her side of the bed and then finally lying back down.

"Well, you know how I am," He says, turning off his side of the bed lamp as well but still remaining upright. She hums in agreement.

“Goodnight?” He asks, reluctantly.

“Goodnight.” She replies, sounding already half asleep.

*

"Gordo, eres tú? Ya llegué!” = Fatty is that you? I’ve arrived! 

(Keep in mind that ‘gordo’ is a wholesome way to call someone in spanish, and doesn’t mean she actually thinks he’s fat nor that she is body shaming Miguel).

"... Tu hermano no deja de llamarme, deberías ver qué quiere. Ah, y el 'forecast' del tiempo dice que el aire será irrespirable por unas horas, así que recuerda cuando te dirijas a… estas bien?”

=

“... Your brother won’t stop calling me, you should see what he wants. Ah, and the weather forecast says the air will be unbreathable for a few hours, so remember that when you’re heading to… Are you ok?”

"Que te pasa, mi amor?” = “What’s up with you, my love?”

“Estoy bien” = “I’m fine”

"Okay. Pero ten cuidado mi amor.” = “Okay, but be careful my love.”

“¿Apá?” = “Dad?”

“¿Qué?” = “What?”

“¿Cuántas veces te he dicho para no jugar fútbol con el uniforme? ¡Mírate! ¡Estás cubierta de pasto!” = “How many times have I told you to not play soccer with your uniform? Look at you! You’re covered in grass!”

Cascarita = an informal, purely friendly soccer match in Mexico. The equivalent for a ‘pelada’ in Brazilian Portuguese, although if you search for the term, make sure to include the word ‘futebol’ after it, as ‘pelada’ on its own simply means ‘naked’ haha

“¿A quién estás llamando 'mooom'? Anda [...]” = “Who are you calling ‘mooom’? Come on [...]”

“Sí mamá.” = “yes mom.” 

Carne a la tampiqueña = a traditional mexican meat dish

Lyla, play Mi religión by Maná :) Also you can read it on ao3

[german-enthusiast]

Hey Felix so I’ve been trying to self study German but it’s been very hard. My brain can’t let go of Spanish of when I took it in Highschool and college. I was taking Spanish because I wanted to use it in order to translate but I never had any interest in it. So I decided to try and learn German since I’ve had somethings I like about it. It also has connection to English. I know it’s not easy but I’m really struggling to retain anything I’ve gone over. I remember more of Spanish than I do of anything in German. It’s sad and frustrating. I guess what I’m trying to ask is, is there a way I can rid my knowledge of Spanish? Because trying to learn the genders in German as well as the cases is hard,and all my mind thinks on is Spanish 🙄 I know studying is the way but my focus is so off.

Hiii!

Oof, I hear ya! Previous languages getting in the way is not uncommon, i especially always thinking of the Dutch "dus" when actually meaning "donc" when trying to produce French sentences!

It sounds like English is your native language and besides that you've only learned Spanish?

I think there are probably two main things I can say:

1) Every language you learn, no matter how far, is strengthening your knowledge of linguistics and languages and WILL help you with the next language!

2) Having studied Spanish in high school and college, it's not surprising that it wins over your brain in language learning contexts! My brain often goes via French when working on Spanish.

A little more of an "issue" in your brain going English -> Spanish ?->? German (compared to mine: German -> French -> Spanish) is that English and German are Germanic languages, whereas France and Spanish are Romance languages. But that's rather an inconvenience than truly detrimental!

Idk how far along you are with German and how much Spanish you still practice simultaneously, but the main thing, as you said, will probably be more German input and practice — that doesn't have to be much, a German comic panel every day or listening to German songs will already make it more prominent in your brain :)

You ask about ridding yourself of Spanish but I think that is not necessary at all! Maybe you can embrace it? When you notice yourself slipping into Spanish, take the time to write down the Spanish you know and then (maybe later when you have the energy) figure out the German version for it. Or write vocab mind maps including both the Spanish and the German words for things!

I'm currently reading a book about Translanguaging in classroom settings (making use of ALL of one's language skills and knowledge instead of separating them by language) and it's making me see multilingual students in a new light, making their mulitlinguality a tool instead of a possible distraction!

I'm also wanting to look more into chunks (expressions and sets of commonly together-occurring words like "I don't know" or "I think that") and how to make good use of them in language learning!

Maybe lots of your Spanish is chunks you use as scaffolding for language production (for example, it feels like 90% of my French sentences start with "Je pense que...") — then perhaps it might help to internalize the German equivalent to make it easier to jump-start a German sentence instead!

Since you talk about Genders as well — learning multiple gendered languages is hard, don't underestimate the difficulty that everyone (not just you!) experiences there! If you haven't yet, check out the Gender-probability rules of German (i posted about them not too long ago)!

For cases, I suggest lots of input and practicing with verbs that take specific objects (I'll post about this soon i think but feel free to text me if you're interested!) — cases are HARD, especially for native speakers of languages that don't use them at all!

I hope I could give a little perspective and help at least a little bit!

Feel free to send more questions (via ask or via DM)!! I love talking about German and language learning 🥰

[demonfox38]

Completed: Breath of Fire II (GBA)

Whaddya mean I last played a "Breath of Fire" game ten years ago?!

I've been having another year where I try to beat one game a month to continue working through my backlog. (Considering I've got at least 20 years of games to beat without touching my Steam list…At some point, it is just collecting for the vibes.) A friend of mine from college recently got in contact with me, and we started going through our game lists. He mentioned wanting to go through "Breath of Fire II," and I was like, "Hey, I haven't done that! December's game, here we go!"

"Breath of Fire II" is the second title of the "Breath of Fire" series, naturally falling into place as the distant sequel to the first game. In it, a young man is cut off from his family, raised alongside a literal thieving dog. After said dog is accused of thievery that he didn't actually commit, the hero is thrust out into the world, righting not only his personal wrongs, but the grievances of the world around him. Naturally, with friends. Some, echoing that Zelda and Link same appearance/name/role but not the same person motif that "Legend of Zelda" games have going.

You know that Church Bad / Dragons Good / Church Bad Because They Won't Let You Fuck Dragons post? That's basically this game in a nutshell.

While similar in composition to its predecessor, there's something distinctly more anime about "Breath of Fire II." It feels a bit like a television series, giving time to each party member to build on their backstory and motivations. Granted, it's usually along the line of "sister needs help" or "princess needs help" or "princess sister needs help", but ya know. It is an effort, and that effort was noted and appreciated.

Because of the time devoted to each character, I feel like I've got a better chance of remembering these party members 10 years on than my current memory stands with "Breath of Fire." In particular, I found Katt to be hilarious from a game design point of view. Gal's all attack, speed, critical hits, and getting the most damaging magic spells, but seems to be paper-frail when it comes to HP, defense, or AP (used for magic.) She's also got a literal pussy out look going on. It's weird. I do not understand this sense of attire. But, I do appreciate the damage output.

Also, it's kind of weird to have the one long-haired Nina design actually have short hair in her sprites. And purple wings that everyone else calls black. I mean, I get the latter more in terms of palette balancing, but why doesn't the translation just call her wings dark instead?

I've got a lot of questions about this translation.

Anyone who has ever played this game should have questions about this translation.

In a way, I'm fascinated with just how this strange English translation came about. The pronoun issues and dropping words from sentences? I get that. Japanese to English is not an easy way to go, so some grammatical whoopsy-doos will happen. I don't get the lack of periods, though. Why? Was it an attempt to free up space in the cartridge by cutting out the most used punctuation? Why did the GBA port repair so little? Capcom couldn't have been that strapped for cash.

The ending credits of this game lists character casts, not game development staff. That only further confuses me. Like, I looked on both MobyGames and The Cutting Room Floor to see if there was any development staff for the SNES version on either site, and the best I got was just for the GBA port. (At least, I assume Masayuki Fukumoto is not responsible for the original translation, given their earliest work was credited in 1998.) The Breath of Fire II Production Staff entry on a fan wiki lists a Justin Berenbaum and Chris Kramer as responsible for the translation, but I don't know what that was sourced from, and it doesn't seem to match a pattern of jobs on MobyGames for either listing I found there. This translation just doesn't seem like something a native English speaker would end up making. Not unless cartridge space issues were really that bad.

Someone's going to have an interesting YouTube essay on this subject, one day. Also, we really ought to send flowers to Ted Woosley as an apology.

In terms of gameplay, "Breath of Fire II" is fairly straight forward. Walk across the map, use character-specific actions to engage with the world, talk to people, enter random battles, grind. You know the RPG drill.

A significant battle modification comes in the way of shaman fusing. By recruiting multiple shamans, a majority of the cast (minus Ryu and a special hidden character) can combine powers with elemental master, gaining stat boosts and potentially changes in character appearance. So, basically, almost everybody gets to be Karn this time. Granted, the greatest of these powers isn't really given to you until the last dungeon of the game, and you'll likely have to consult a guide to get half of the shamans, but when it hits, it really hits. Frankly, it's a shame that they locked the physical transformations until so late in the game. The artwork provided for all of them is pretty neat!

Additionally, a new town building subquest has been added. Depending on the player's actions, they can recruit six distinct residents to their town, most of which provide unique services (like armories, aesthetic changes, stat buffs, etc.) This location (TownShip) can be used for free healing, and under the right circumstances, can even be used as transportation. Granted, if you're expecting something as complex or flexible as "Animal Crossing" games, this is going to be an underwhelming feature. Once you get a resident, they are hard locked in, which can really suck if you don't like the services that the resident in question provides.

Look, this is me giving you permission to hit up a guide. Multiple guides. All of the guides. Maybe I'd feel guiltier about pushing that if the game was sensible, but we're dealing with a decently sized RPG that has multiple endings and hidden features. You should be able to know how to meet those objectives. Like, the ending thing is half obvious, but God help you should you not find a single character hidden in the back of an optional town.

If Capcom put in the effort that Enix did with its "Dragon Quest/Warrior" games, I think it would be much more reasonable to stick to just the maps and manuals provided with the original game. But, hell. Look at this map.

Almost completely useless. (Source: eBay Auction "Breath of Fire 2 II SNES Super Nintendo Complete In Box CIB Authentic Map Poster" by ashtons_shop)

In a related topic, I appreciate how the dungeons in game attempted to shake things up with different objectives. Like, it's one thing to march straight through a cave, and another to root around an obese woman, purging demons from within her. (Yeah, this game could be known as the Anime Furry Vore RPG. It could also stand to be nicer to said demon-possessed woman.) The bit inside SimaFort was madcap as well, even with the aggravating music. It's not every day a person has to punch giant insects into submission and use their remains as food ingredients. (Honestly, I'm sad that we didn't take the frog knight Jean's sister with us instead. She definitely seems like she would have been more useful than he was. Probably had a higher attack stat, at any rate.)

Even with online help, I'm not certain that I understood everything with this game. Like, there's a status called Zombie that never really did anything to me. Probably because I killed enemies reasonably fast, and it seems like a status that takes a couple of turns to kick in. Ditto the flashing dragon gemstone bit. Was there a prototypical affection rating going on with that? That's what the story seems to imply, anyway. Also, I didn't seem to have any luck casting the Angel spell on the few targets that I tried. Had luck with the Death spell, though! That was unexpected.

Also, I'm pretty sure the initial shaman fusing dialogue message is bugged. Feels like it should have its initial Yes/No option mapped opposite the way it actually is. No clue on why the menu takes a few seconds to load in, though.

Like a person who has had two spiritual entities stapled onto them, I feel a bit mixed up about this game. The artistic direction is fun, and there are a lot of plot beats that I found enjoyable. "I don't really care for Sten in combat, but this war drama with him is fascinating." "Man, Rand's mom was cool." "So that's what happened to Ryu's sister! That makes total sense!" Things like that. Some of the side systems have not aged as well as the core, though. Or, at least, I can see the potential beyond what's there, and that bums me out. There's also a fair amount of side content reading that a person would have to do to optimize their playthrough, which I'm finding to be more of a bummer as time goes on. Like, I'd like to pretend I'm smart enough to figure out some of these conditions for a better ending or greater rewards. It's just hard to manifest them when critical characters can literally be hidden behind invisible/background tiles.

I think another thing that bugs me is that this is the one "Breath of Fire" game that I had heard the most praise for over the years. Not to say it wasn't entertaining! But, maybe I'm mourning potential again. Like, I haven't heard anything really bad said about "Breath of Fire III", so I look forward to getting to that one at some point. "IV"'s got continuity arguments up the wazoo, "V" is treated like a mutant, and "VI"…did you even know there was a "Breath of Fire VI"? No? Probably didn't help that it was episodic (not in the fun TV way), Japanese-only, online-focused, and shit-canned in an incomplete state.

Maybe I've got to stop fantasying about what could be and appreciate what is. That, or buy more weird little RPGs on Steam. In an era of AAA graphics, time, and budget bloating, I can't expect Capcom to do more with this series. Especially, not if they need a guaranteed seller. But, I can always throw money at developers who enjoy experimenting with kooky things like this.

[teethburglar]

Tsékěr Translation 2

This one is a lot less serious but it lets me play around a bit more! Here is the base text:

"What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills."

Now you might be wondering how I translate this considering my fantasy world does not have a navy seals or Al-Quaeda for that matter. While I could just translate the names verbatim into roughly equivalent sounds I thought it would be more interesting to do a cultural translation.

Here is my final piece!

Chǎshwa, íghaf awck zevoto? Íghaf ong yackǔ! Awck íghaf shedẓěkka awck ckǎ askošhi awkkuj xakochyulali lǎchkǐngonaw, dzu awck dzuodz něpalí shǎkingi lalsabkali, duz awck koghbǔ dzafáchyúdû něpalí konkělil.

and IPA

/ʨɐʃwa ɨɣaf ɔɰ̃ zevoto/ /ɨɣaf oŋ jaˈɰ̃ʊ/ /ɔɰ̃ ɨɣaf ʃeꭦɛkka ɔɰ̃ ɰ̃ɐ askoɕːi̥ ɔkkuy xakoʨulali lɐʨkɪŋonɔ ʣʲu ɔɰ̃ ʣuoʣ nɛˈpalʲɨ ʃɐki̥ŋi̥ lalsabkali ʣʲu ɔɰ̃ koɣbʊ ʣafəʨʉdɯ̥ nɛˈpalʲɨ konkɛlil/

And here is a more literal english translation with notes!

Fuck [1] , what did you say about me? You bitchboy[2]! I'll inform your dumb ass [3] that I graduated amazingly in the askošhi[4] student group, and I have been involved in multiple secret raids on the něpalí[5], and I have killed more than 300[6] něpalí.

[1] The word chǎshwa doesn't have as many meanings as fuck does in english but in this case fuck is an adept replacement. Chǎshwa its self is just a proclamation to express contempt or annoyance.

[2] Again yackǔ doesn't have the exact same meaning as bitchboy but it is close, meaning a cowardly or submissive younger man.

[3] The word shedẓěkka literally does just mean to inform someone but it as a snide and almost vulgar tone to it. I would be like saying, "because you are so dumb let me inform you".

[4] Askošhi is a specialized warrior in setting that is proficient in subterfuge and killing or capture of particular high class targets, think a spy or assassin that can work in groups. The name is a portmanteau of death and to make, so in english it would be called something like the deathmakers.

[5] Ok this will need a lot of context. Chyakotṣ is set on an island that is split in two by a mountain range, on that island their is one state called the Jagǔšhaŕ that rules most of it. The Jagǔšhaŕ mainly concerns it's self with the eastern half of the island as that is where all the government is based and is the most arable land. Because of this the western side is basically left to defend for its self while still technically being under the Jagǔšhaŕ's rule. This all changed after the then current supreme military commander was fired by the current empire over a petty supply debacle and then replaced by a new supreme military commander from a competing house. The ex supreme military commander left for the west with some of his still loyal men and formed military coup called the Něpalí and claimed ownership of the entire west for him and his family. Because of this the Jagǔšhaŕ and Něpalí are at war.

[6] Tsékěr has a base 8 number system and no zero so the number 300 can be broken down as dza fá chyúdû 256 + 40 + 4 but to a native Tsékěr speaker this would seem a random number and would more likely use the number Luzaezaearv (256) or Dzachyúzaearv (296)

Thanks for reading! I'm planing on moving away from conlanging for a little bit and instead for the next update I plan on showing y'all the magic system! See ya then!

[broken-heart-raven-queen]

How would you convince me to read Caraval ?

I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU ASKED.

Okay, probably most people would start selling this books from a romantic perspective but we are not gonna do it here (yet).

Love is a central piece of the books, but the most important love of all is the sisterly love that Scarlet and Tella have for eachother. They both would do anything for the other one despite being very different.

They had to deal with an abusive father and a lost mother and sometimes Scarlet had to fill that role despite being a girl herself. Both of them took different paths to deal with this situation, but she tried to always protect Tella of everything and let her have the teen years she could not have. In return, Tella always believed in her sister and wanted to give her the happiness she deserved. Their bond develops beautifully throughout the story and has a heavy impact in their own self development.

Caraval is one of those trilogies that if someone told you what happens in the last book when you pick up the first you would not understand how it changed so much but I assure you that all makes sense while it's happening because the characters grow A LOT in between book.

That takes me to the romantic interests, yeah, they are HOT but that is an added feature if you like, and it's never and excuse for their actions or to fix the things that they have done. You have a selection of men to choose here (or not, I'm in love with everyone), all are grey characters in their own way, and most importantly they all have to DEAL WITH THE CONSECUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS not only in their relationships but with the world.

The power of love is strong but not always stronger than their stupidity, they have to earn forgiveness, to show that they are better.

The magic of this world is one other selling point that I love, mix a lot of tarot elements (but I have to warn ypu, it is it's own tarot) with deities and even magical places hidden at plain sight. It's not just a game, it's life itself. And it is SO WELL EXPLAINED!!

The books are short and easy to read even if you are not a native english speaker (I know they are in other lenguages but I strongly recommend that if you can, read them in english) and they have amazing art that the author is always sharing in her ig.

And I guess that's all I can say without spoilers, hahaha. I read the first one by "accident" when I was 15 and I feel it was fate (other very important concept) since then I have been following the books when they came out and I think they are a good read both for teens and YA because you would sure connect with a character to the point you would feel like it is your story.

Well, thanks for asking and being the first one to do so here. If you end up reading the books feel free to message me ❤️

[greenlikethesea]

cause i just asked sparkly (& u 2 r the fanfic dream team 2 me) i’m gonna ask u too greenie if there are any fics you’ve read recently or been recommended that you’re dying to talk about?

ahhhhh of course! let me recommend a few here right now!!

@anniebass has written a few of my favorite fics as of late. Her series A Certain Type & other stories chronicles Eddie and Steve over a period of twenty five years, falling in love and out of love and in love again, with a whole lot of growing pains and addiction in between. it's such an interesting portrayal of both of these characters, as well as one possibility of how the future could unfold! (and, as you know I love a good future fic). she also just started writing a slice of life fic that's a Season 4 canon divergence called Cutting Close, and she's only posted one chapter but it is Mean Girl Steve at his fucking finest, as well as his most [to the tune of the girl is on fire] this boy is a queermoooooo (but he doesn't know it yet). it fucking blew my mind when i found out that she is (in her words!) not a native English speaker.

@sparklyslug wrote a fic for the big halloween exchange called As You Wish that is both Princess Bride themed in nature, and ya boi is a fuckin sucker for that, as well as an exquisite portrayal of the bumps in the road when you first start a relationship with someone. the honeymoon phase isn't always peaches and cream! they're still learning each other, and there are going to be gaps in that knowledge, but it's the tenderness of taking someone at their weirdest too. such a delight.

i've recced this before but i'll rec it again: the Pins and Needles series by @grandmastattoo is such a gripping, cathartic portrayal of how punk!Steve would actually play out, imo -- a natural progression toward someone reclaiming his identity for himself rather than getting stuck of the aesthetics. shaved head and wire rim glasses and built like a tank, with the shitkickers to match and the dildo on his nightstand when he can't bring someone home that night. eddie's path in this is also such a great romp, and i'm so happy they find each other.

more @laundrybiscuits love, but who would i be if i didn't talk about the best "horny twenty-year-old men think with their libidos first and their brains second" fic in the fandom, come alive in the neon light. it is so much more to it than that, primarily a fascinating look at steve's rich interior life, from a perspective of knowing he's bisexual but somehow not picking up on the fact that eddie's gay.

[the7thcrow]

CORYNN HI

belated merry christmas if u celebrate!!! wow im so late but let's pretend im not 🙂

i hope that you're doing well and enjoying the rest of this year!

also a question that has been on my mind lately, what is the inspiration of your username? i'd guess it's because of that book, 6 of crows? maybe i got the title wrong woops hehe but yeah!! feel free to explain it or not :) and also, if you'd like to, recommend us some books!! i'm not a native english speaker so i'm looking for a few books to read in english :^)

take care of yourself! and have a good day <3

so I had just finished typing a giant response to this when my laptop died and deleted the whole thing💀 so here we are for round two.

if you were late for christmas wishes, then I am like, horribly horribly late. so instead.. happy new year! hope it treats you well ash <3

as for my username, yes it is inspired by six of crows hehe. I made this account way back in 2017 and didn't rlly use it, but when I came back to write fanfic I thought it was kinda cool and kept it even though the blog has nothing to do with the series lol.

but as for book recs, ofc I have some! admittedly I haven't read much in the last year or two, so some of these I read a while ago and am not sure if they still live up to how much I loved them years ago, but I figured i'd include them anyway:

all time favs:

the secret history by donna tartt: this is like, my all time favourite book, when people ask this is what i say. it's the only book i've bothered to read twice. admittedly I know it isn't for everyone, as it's highly satirical and slow-paced, but if you're alright with that I can't recommend it enough. i'm low-key an avid hater of first person narration 99% of the time, but richard's perspective in this book is so deliciously horrible I can't help but love it. honestly i could talk about it forever. highly recommend.

the way of kings by brandon sanderson. this book is literally everything I could ever hope to achieve with my writing. so complex. such amazing characters and development. insane world building. and so massive. it's like 1200 pages, and there's four more with the same amount that are already out, of what will become ten. it is a commitment, but I think it's so worth it (I'm currently almost done book 2, and will be immediately picking up book 3). if you like fantasy this is my number one rec.

the grishaverse by leigh bardugo. given my username i'm sure this isn't a surprise lolol. this series includes some of my favourite characters across any form of media. it includes the shadow and bone trilogy, the six of crows duology, and the king of scars duology. personally while I think the shadow and bone trilogy is the weakest instalment (mostly bc I don't like first person narrative) it's where I would start. fun story, great cast, and a good way to settle into the world. they're also YA so they read pretty easy.

some other books/series I recommend (with variety for your reading preferences):

an ember in the ashes quartet by sabaa tahir

the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater

1984 by george orwell

turtles all the way down by john green

they both die at the end by adam silvera

the troop by nick cutter

illuminae by jay kristoff and amie kaufman.

[fictiophillia]

OBEY ME BROTHERS + DIAVOLO AND BARBATOS REACTING TO YOU AS :

GENDER NEUTRAL! MC / GENDER NOT SPECIFIED

aside from the tits thing but- man titties is a thing and there's nb people with boobs as myself so-

ALSO FORGIVE FOR MAMMON'S ACCENT I TRIED I'M NOT EVEN A NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER BAJAKEHSKEHSKDH

I was going to do Simeon, Luke and Solomon too but I don't think they would fit this so- I mean they would just be proud and then disappointed and Solomon wouldn't even care.

Scenario

"Could you give me a minute of silence now please? I'm going to pray."

*mc gets on their knees, and brings their hands together*

"what a great day to not be pregnant

thank you god

our father who art in heaven hallow thee by name

my tits are big, and I am hot

amen"

Lucifer

"sure."

As soon as he realized what you just had said he was so confused.

"you're going to what now?"

but as soon as you got on your knees and started saying it he didn't know if he actually sighed because he was somehow relived of what was your "pray" (didn't want to be betrayed lmao poor demon really thought you had switched sides) or because he had one more idiot to deal with (besides mammon).

"Y/N I don't have time for this you know."

Mammon

Probably didn't even heard you at first, was too busy flirting with his credit card.

But then you got on your knees.

"Oi, human! What yer doin'!?"

"what do you mean I said I was going to pray."

Mammon.exe stopped working

As confused as Lucifer

Then you started talking and he actually laughed.

"Ya surely are hot."

Leviathan

Leviathan.exe stopped working

"Pray???!!! Have you gone nuts????! That's so not poggers!"

Then you said it.

He was relieved but confused????

"Ew, what's up with that normie stuff, say something understandable at least!"

Probably the one that will complain the most.

Like- he's all of a gamer and an internet person but his humor is still the same as millennials.

Satan

"Alright just try not to be loud."

Another one that wasn't paying attention.

But even distracted by his book the word "pray" had him looking up at you, getting on your knees.

"Wait care to repeat it??!"

"I'm going to pray, Satan."

"Uhm, no I don't think you will, Y/N"

You did it nonetheless.

And even though he tried hiding it with the same coldness as Lucifer you could actually see a faint smile on his face.

Asmodeus

Always pays attention to you and what you say do when you told him you were going to pray that actually caught him out of guard.

"Oh darling you mean pray in like hunting??!!"

"No, asmo, I mean pray as in praying."

Found it suspicious of you but didn't complain and actually let you.

Probably the one that wouldn't judge if you were Christian/Religious asides from Mammon and Beel.

"Also am I relieved of none of us being pregnant! Have you seen babies? They're so gross! Always drooling everywhere!"

".... I just told you I was gonna pray and that's all you have to say? SERIOUSLY??"

Beelzebub

"Warn me if I am too loud."

Would say that before realizing what you said but even when he did he didn't take it back or question you.

Like I said before, he, Asmo and Mammon wouldn't judge your religious choices (although they would prefer if you didn't pray to God).

"You do have a nice body :))"

Wanted to question why you didn't want to have children but decided to stay silent.

Belphegor

"If you wake me up by being too loud I'm gonna beat your ass."

He never woke up so fast.

"WAIT YOU ARE GONNA- I DON'T THINK I'VE HEARD THAT RIGHT."

Like Satan he'll pull out a "no you won't."

But you're a bad bitch so you do it anyways.

".... I can't believe you woke me up for this."

Will blame you for ruining his sleep.

Diavolo

"I don't think that's suitable for this place, are you sure about what you're about to do?"

You just tell him to listen and give him a reassuring smile.

Also laughed when you were done.

And unlike Beel he actually questioned why you didn't to have children.

"May I ask why you wouldn't like to have a child?"

I bet he would actually like to have one so if you really don't want one.... You got yourself a problem there.

Barbatos

"My apologies can you repeat?"

Was like a calmer version of Satan.

"Could I ask why that suddenly? I didn't know you were a religious person, as you never showed any interest on that part."

You ignored the question knowing it would be answered soon.

"oh... well that was in fact an amusing... pray... :)"

Was nervous at first but it's pretty chill about it, understands the GenZ humor easier than Leviathan surprisingly.

[nerajaana]

Jonsa metas be like: Extended Cut

The miniature rant version

Yeah. We’re getting tons of romantic content in that corner. Totes. What else is the purpose of Jon Snow’s resurrection? Or rather, what even is the other purpose for Jon Snow’s existence, if not a prop to make their innocent-compassionate-empathetic af precious birb a Princess/Queen/GodEmpress?

(if they could have their way she’d be ascended to Godhood at this rate)

69? That's your foreshadowing? You wanna convince people your ship's canon based on a mfing position number? What are we, middle schoolers?!

My remaining two braincells cannot handle this poetic parallel😔😩✊🏻

Ok real talk folks.....what’s in that kool aid kid?

Listen, after pulling crap like this, you all have no rights to defend yourselves when we rightfully call you out on this. Absolutely none. No amount of mental gymnastics can justify this.

Presenting to you 🥁🥁🥁 Quotes by Jon comparing his first love to his sister🥁🥁🥁:

“She reminded him a little of his sister Arya, though Arya was younger and probably skinnier. It was hard to tell how plump or thin Ygritte might be, with all the furs and skins she wore.”

“"If you kill a man, and never meant', he's just as dead," Ygritte said stubbornly. Jon had never met anyone so stubborn, except maybe for his little sister Arya. Is she still my sister? he wondered. Was she ever?”

...... soz there ain’t any about Sansa. I checked in the back and all I promise.

And, hate to break it to ya but, remember Catelyn of Houses Tully and Stark? Yeah, she kinda, y’know, carried the zygote that grew into a fetus over a period of nine months and pushed the said fetus out whom they named Arya. Half of her mother, half a Tully. Thus, half a fish. Pretty sure there’s even a fish reference that jon made towards Arya regarding her swimming.

............So?

Let's give this a serious consideration. Firstly, lemme get this lil point out in the open: foreshadowing is wildly different from coincidences. Coincidence is there being a Jon(nel) and a Sansa in the same time period in the family, just like the current generation. Parallel/foreshadowing would look something like this:- Jon, who's the half brother of Rickon, just like Jonnel was to Cregan's heir Rickon, would marry the older daughter of Rickon (my son my boyyyy <3<3<3) in a distant future. Capisce?

And finally, the icing on the cake. My personal favourite 🙂

Look, it's bad enough that the writer decided to pepper in cursed bits throughout the books that make an incestuous pairing highly likely. (by incest i mean the emotional aspect of it, it's not the cousincest or the aunt-nephew bit that peeves me off. It was a common occurrence in the medieval feudalistic society and is still prevalent in today's day and age). At the end of the day, they grew up as siblings. Fighting over which sister gets the “prize” that's Jon Snow is ridiculous beyond measure. We didn't start off reading these humongous books thinking "oh this would be a splendid time to ship an incest otp uwu" like no. the only reason I didn't break into tears every time Jon had a very non fraternal thought while reading is because i knew by then, for sure that they're cousins and not siblings (y'all either never had siblings or think fictional siblings work on a different wavelength). Take it up with the author, demand why he chose this sister and not the other for his fOrbiDdEn rOmancE trope. Grab him by shoulders and shake an answer out of him. None of us asked for this ffs. We reached to a conclusion based on what's there in print, not what isn't and simply assuming that there are hidden meanings or that the narrator is so fucking unreliable that he's naming one and thinking of the other or something equally delusional. Dude's literal last thought was Stick them with a pointy end. Which, by the way, is strictly between Jon and Arya, just like Needle. Just like the quote "Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle". And "What do you know of my heart, priestess? What do you know of my sister?" They're all exclusive to them both and them both only.

To all of these asoiaf experts, I'd like to say one thing: For all of his flaws and fallacies, G.R.R.Martin is a brilliant writer. He's not some stupid Oracle of Delphi, sitting in his little ancient greek cave and spewing nonsense and talking in circles. Writers leave out clues in the open, not hide them under the guise of different fucking names for gods sakes.

I'm all for shipping whoever you wanna ship, gods know i have a never ending list- most of them being rarepairs or crackships. But I don't go around twisting canon into something it isn't and subject to mental gymnastics to the point where nothing makes sense anymore. And, read the bloody books before you firmly place your faith in something. Quora/Reddit/Tumblr metas shouldn't be the basis for it. The language is pretty straightforward- if I, a non native english speaker can get it, then so can you.

Cheers.

[spanishboone]

Hey dude! Nice blog you got here.

1. Do you ever find yourself switching between accents when singing along to songs by groups from different Spanish speaking countries?

2. As a native English speaker, do you have any recommendations for short stories that are easy enough for someone with a Spanish minor to read quickly, yet difficult enough to expand my vocabulary without me resorting to using the dictionary every five minutes? I already got some great suggestions from @puroespanol about authors and setting reading goals - in fact, I already have some of their works on my shelf (read: most of them reading for college I never finished, lol) - yet other than knowing about the famous Latin American authors like Isabel Allende, Mario Vargas Llosa, Jorge Luis Borges, Roberto Bolaño, as well as lesser known ones like Horacio Quiroga and Julio Cortázar, I'm kinda lost lol.

3. What's your favorite Latin American or Spanish cuisine? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Yo dude bro dawg! Thank you so much!

Answer 1: Not as much as I used to. I remember probably about 9ish years ago I really switched accents depending on the songs I'd be singing along with. I am a David Bisbal fan and saw him live once. I used to switching accents A LOT to sing along with his songs to pronounce the ceceo used commonly in peninsular Spanish. You know, the th- sound. These days, I'm pretty consistent with keeping the same accent all the time. Mine is pretty neutral.

Answer 2: Hmm. You honestly named some of the people I was going to lolz. I was going to say Horacio Quiroga first but you beat me to it. I really liked his book Cuentos de Amor de Locura y de Muerte. This probably isn't a common recommendation but I'm going to say it anyway. I'd suggest reading the Bible in Spanish in the Nueva Versión Internacional (NVI). I have this one and it's a bilingual English and Spanish Bible. So the pages are split one side English and the other side is Spanish with the exact same pages. This makes for easy peaking whenever there is a word you don't know. All you have to do is look at the opposite side of the page. This helped me a lot. Plus, the bible has plenty of short stories that might only be a chapter. Most of the words aren't too complex but you'll definitely learn phrases you didn't know you need to learn in Spanish. So, yeah! Keep that in mind if you like!

Answer 3: Ohhh I like this question. Well, I'm a sucker for tacos (I know how generic of me, right? LOL) but I don't mean gringo tacos. I'm talking about REAL Mexican tacos. If you haven't had real Mexican tacos from some guy making them on the street where you're the only gringo, you haven't had real tacos LOL. One thing I've learned about being around the latino culture is that freshly squeezed lime juice belongs on tacos. If you haven't had this, OH MY. You have to. It is such a game changer. It adds such a delicious element to the tacos. I also love tostones, tajadas, mofongo (Shoutout to Puerto Rico and the DR if you're reading this. Go ahead and debate whose is better. Ya tú sabe'. I like tamales, nacatamales which are a Nicaraguan version of tamales. Gallo pinto (rice and little red beans mixed up). Fried Cheese. If you haven't had fried cheese it's amazing. Not like mozzarella sticks with breading but just fried cheese. A little oil and throw that sucker in the pan and you're living large. I've come to appreciate corn tortillas. I know flour tortillas are big here in the States and most people don't like corn tortillas that much but I believe this is due to people not knowing how to eat a corn tortilla. Most will pull them out of the pack and tried to make a taco with it right away. That is a big NO NO! You have to heat a skillet really hot and let the tortilla brown a little bit on both side. If the tortilla starts puffing up, you're doing it right. Flip it over and do the same to the other side. You gotta be careful not to overdo and then you have hard tortillas and that's no bueno.

For my colombian homies out there, I really enjoy a nice bandeja paisa with the morcilla and the arepas. Mmm that's good too.

So yeah. That's basically it! Thanks for the Q!

[5ds-sub-vs-dub]

Sub vs Dub Notes

Prior to the actual reviews, I want to take a moment to talk about changes that apply to the series as a whole and don't need to be talked about every single episode because that would just be tedious. These things may still come up as a comment here and there, but won't be addressed in depth every. single. time. There are probably also more than just the these things below, but going into it, these are things I remember off the top of my head.

So let's get in to it!

What's up with the names?

Maybe it's just because I don't watch that many dubs and the ones that I have are slice-of-life explicitly set in Japan rather than the more ambiguous, futuristic city displayed in the Yugioh franchise, but most of the time names are left in tact. So what's up with the localization of Yugioh when it comes to names?

I'm sure it's mostly because of the younger target audience, but let's face it: Japanese names pronounced by English speakers are butchered a lot. (This is true for any name spoken by a non-native speaker for the most part and doesn't just apply here, but I will digress before I end up going on a long tangent about one of the reasons for this happening in particular here is because Japanese names stress the first vowel and English names stress the second more often than not.) I can absolutely understand why names like Mikage and Ushio were changed for that reason.

In a similar vain, I'm sure Aki with an English pronunciation would sound more like an adult telling their toddler not to put something in their mouth because its "ucky (yucky)" so, uh, yeah, I definitely also get adding that extra syllable, as well as changing her surname to something more easily pronounceable. Additionally, considering the fandom at large can't even decide if the twins' names should be spelled as "Rua and Ruka" or "Lua and Luka" (the official subs take the latter), that change also makes a ton of sense, and in both cases the names ended up honestly being very similar anyway (which isn't always the case, see the change from "Saiga" to "Blister", lol).

The thing is, they can get away with it without causing a huge problem since not all the names in the original are Japanese anyway, so these types of changes for localization don't stick out or really detract from the content in any way.

But then you have Godwin. Like, hey, 4kids, that's an honest-to-goodness real surname. Quick google search gave me a dude who plays football and a gymnast, both with that surname. It's not a weird name. It's not even a hard-to-pronounce-for-foreigners Japanese name. So why on God's green earth did they feel the need to add that extra 'o'? It baffles me. It was unnecessary.

Moving on.

Similarly, there are the names of cards. All card names are the official names from the game, which means some of them differ depending on the version. Which, in some cases with the sub, is actually annoying because monsters like Red Demon's Dragon are already in English but the subtitles still say "Red Dragon Archfiend" because, ya know, that's what the card name actually is here. That aside, I will not be pointing every card that's name is different between the version because there are A Lot.

....

Characters and Personalities

I'm just gonna say it: some of the dub characters are entirely different characters from their sub counterparts.

This, I feel, is most noticeable with Yusei. Please understand, I don't dislike either one. I saw the dub first so dub!Yusei is the one I originally fell in love with! I love snarky characters, and I am a very pun-y person myself, and it makes for good humor! But dub!Yusei's snark and puns are vastly different to sub!Yusei's quiet stoicism. Now that I'm an adult, I appreciate sub!Yusei in a different way than I loved dub!Yusei initially as a teenager, in part because as an autistic adult, I see more autistic-coding in sub!Yusei than in dub!Yusei. Neither one is worse or better than the other, but they are very different.

This is less noticeable in other characters, but other characters definitely fall into this still as well. Ushio, for example, has an entirely different start with Yusei depending on which one you watch and that affects their character interactions -- I have an entire post in the works on main and I'll talk a little about it in the review so I won't go into detail right now on that, though. Jack, as well, has more of a change than just his accent to the point that I can tell which character version is being referenced when I read fanfiction based on how the dialog plays out, even when all sub names are being used.

To a certain extent, I'd say that most -- if not all -- of them have at least a noticeable change between the two versions. Some of these changes are small enough to be negligible, but many of them are quite noticeable.

(This will definitely be brought up in reviews in terms of changes made to dialog but I wanted to throw this out as a general point first, anyway.)

....

Thought bubbles

This...may only be true of the first two arcs. I have not seen the dub, save for a handful of random episodes, since it aired in 2008 to 2011. But it seems to me that most of the dialog presented as thoughts in the dub is original to the dub. I watched the first episode not that long ago and I know it's true for that episode at the very least. I feel like there are more "thought bubbles" in the sub from the third arc on, but basically any thoughts from the first two arcs you can probably assume don't exist in the sub. (There are a few, but there are very few.)

These will get commented on in reviews but only if it's a relevant or drastic change and I will not be pointing out every single one that is not present in the sub. Because that would be tedious.

....

Music

The soundtracks are vastly different. Generally speaking, the music is much less noticeable in that the volume is much quieter. I do not know why this is, it just is. I am not going to comment on the differences in score because that would be every score and I honestly don't really notice the dub score overly much when I'm watching anyway. (The sub score, on the other hand, can actually be distracting at times. Not because of volume, though; just because it's so freaking good. And because of the volume it's more noticeable. But I digress.)

....

Thanks for reading, and please stay tuned for the review of episode one on Monday, August 8th!

[gracereally]

soo I'm moving to Korea

Let's kickstart this little blog off with the obvious: ya girl is crossing the big pond and moving to Korea. I wanted to create a place where I can both share my adventure with friends and family back home, and keep a record of my time living in Korea. So this little blog will do just that.

For my first post, let's answer some FAQ:

1. Where are you going?

I'll be living in Seoul, South Korea! If you didn't know, Seoul is the capital of SK and the largest city in the nation. It's even bigger than NYC! I'll be staying in a part of the city called Gangnam, which you may recognize from the song Gangnam Style that went viral years ago.

2. What will you be doing there?

I will be teaching English. I'm working at a private English academy helping strong English speakers with their reading, writing, and literacy skills. I'll teach a mix of elementary students, from first to eighth.

3. How did you find an apartment?

Actually, my school is setting it all up for me! One of my benefits is a ~rent free~ studio apartment, paid for by my employer. I'll be living on my own, but the other teachers will be in the same officetel building as me. I do have to pay my utilities, but I believe my employer coordinates that as well. Plus, they'll help me set up a bank account, get my ARC (like a green card), sponsor my VISA, hook me up with a phone SIM, and more. It's a pretty sweet deal.

4. So are you getting paid?

Yes? I've gotten this question a lot and I'm not sure what gave anyone the impression that I got a Master's degree so that I could provide free labor, even if it did include a trip abroad LOL

5. Is this some sort of program?

Not really, I just got hired at a private academy. It's pretty common for English academies in Korea to seek native English speakers to teach their kids, and they typically provide a lot of benefits to get teachers set up and situated in Korea. This draws in a lot of interest from those who want an easy way to travel to Korea, and teachers typically make a modest but livable wage. I'm very fortunate that I have a degree in this field, because I was able to get hired making more than the average foreign English teacher in SK. But yep, this is my job.

6. Is there a contract or something?

Yeah, but all teaching jobs are pretty much contracts. Even in the U.S., teachers are contracted to work per school year. Of course, teachers can stay at their schools if they want to re-sign the contract - and the same will be true for me.

7. So how long will you be staying?

This is the question I can't quite answer. As of right now, I am giving it a year (so until the end of my contract). But as I mentioned before, I have the option to re-sign and stay longer if I want. I don't want to discount the reality that I may want to stay in SK for a while, if I end up enjoying my life there. But I also know I will be missing friends and family terribly, so there's definitely a possibility homesickness will pull me back to Philly in a year. Who knows? If the pandemic taught me anything, it's not to count on the future, because literally anything could happen.

8. The Big Question: Why are you moving to Korea?

This is another tough question to answer, but mostly because I have to get vulnerable to do so. Truth is, I was quite dissatisfied with my life for a long time. After graduating undergrad, I struggled to find a job that I really connected with, and allowed me to live the life I'd imagined. The only job I'd ever enjoyed was my AmeriCorps teaching position, and I made poverty wages doing it. It wasn't a sustainable career for me.

BUT, it did convince me that I might want to be a teacher, something I'd been resistant to for a long time. I liked working with kids, but I honestly don't think I'm classroom teacher material. This is why I pursued my Master's as a Reading Specialist instead - I wanted to work in small, focused groups with students who struggle to read and write, to help bridge the gaps in literacy that will compound into major hurdles later in life. Without waxing poetic about the ~value of literacy~ I really came to care about literacy education and the impact it can have.

But then I hated grad school. And I hated my job that I needed to work in order to pay for an extremely expensive grad school. And I wasn't loving my student teaching and oh god - a pandemic??

I only worked from home for a short period, but during that time to myself I realized that maybe...I needed to pivot my goals once again. I had truly wanted to work in the Philly school district with kids who needed the supports I could provide, but then I watched how teachers were treated during a worldwide health crisis. As I approached graduation, something I had worked so hard for, I couldn't honestly say I still wanted to work for these schools. And it's not the kids at all - it's the administrators, the district, the politicians, and the lack of public/parental support that made me feel burned out on teaching before I even started.

But teachers are needed everywhere, and I specialized in working with English literacy skills and ESOL learners. So why not teach abroad?

The reason for my choosing Korea in particular is kind of lame. They had a great market for foreign English teachers and they weren't closed because of the pandemic, unlike many other countries. Plus, they tend to respect teachers a lot more there. Getting a job in Korea was honestly relatively easy. Which isn't to say I'm not excited to go to Korea.

I've been researching a ton about living in SK, and I am hype. I do think that the culture seems very much my speed, and there will be so much to learn and do. I am excited to use the teaching skills & degree I worked so hard for, while having an adventure in a whole new country!

My plane takes off on August 8th for my 14.5 hour flight to Seoul. Of course I will miss home, but I am so excited for my new life overseas. Stay tuned for updates on my travels!

peace✌️

Grace