#the best thing about the Japanese keyboard in my case is that I have full use of the PROPER ™︎ symbol instead of just the emoji (™️)

[amikufanlol]

In this case if I had ideas I would’ve made a post for this specific month.

Too bad I had zero and I have to skip on pride month. I would’ve made art if I didn’t have the above issue AND the accursed Art Block™︎.

[peppermint2d]

F#$%ing uh, Calm after the Storm cuz the Storm Thing

Chapter 1:

When you took the job at the Essex Enquirer, you had hoped to work in your speciality, investigative war journalism. Since every taxi you tried refused to take you to Kong Studios, right now, the only war you're dealing with is the fight you're having with your GPS. The winding road, plus the rain, and the fact that your company car was ten years old caused your GPS to think you were driving in circles. Luckily, you could see your destination already. In fact, most of Essex could see Kong Studios, the haunted building on top of a great hill.

As a sort of hazing, all new employees get assigned to local entertainment news. You cringe when you heard about the guy who had to write about the mysterious appearance and subsequent disappearance of the shit statue in the city centre. Thankfully, your assignment was much tamer: you only had to interview a local band. You bought their EP "Tomorrow Comes Today" and have been blasting it on the way over. They sounded amazing, and with each repeat of the record, you became more and more excited to talk to them.

But with each kilometre you drive closer to Kong, you become more and more nervous about the surroundings. The heavy rain that was coming in was not helping anything either. There were thunderstorm warnings for that weekend, but it wasn't supposed to be for another day, so you hope the rain will let up soon for some outdoor shots of the band. You stop your car in front of the gothic gates that spelt "Kong" out in the metal bars. You push on them and they do not budge. You see a little intercom box and press the button, a loud buzz signalling that the thing still worked.

"Huh? Who's there?" A gruff voice answered your call.

"Hi. Mr Niccals? I'm here for the interview."

He grumbled. "Right, yeah. Forgot about that." Another buzz punctuated his sentence and signalled the opening of the doors.

You were soaked to the bones as you finished the drive up to Kong. You couldn't tell if your shivers were because of the fact that you were cold or because of the fact that you were driving through a cemetery.

You park your car and rush under the cover of the doorway with your camera and notepad. You knock on the double doors, and although you let your host know you were there earlier, it was a couple minutes before he even opened the door, shirtless, which you filed away to be included in your article.

His eyes looked you up and down "So you're the reporter, eh? I figured they'd over some crazy bat for local news, but I guess I'm special, right?" He smirked at you, his eyes hungry.

"I suppose so. May I?" You gesture to the doorway that he was blocking.

He stepped out of the way, closing the door after you. "I could give you a tour and find the rest of the band?"

"Was I unexpected? I'm so sorry." You flush. Your first assignment and your boss forgot to tell your subjects. How professional.

"It's alright, pet. We get so many journalists that we are always prepared." He slung his arm around your shoulders, leading you around the ground floor.

"So, Mr Niccals, how did you come to own Kong?"

He frowned. "Call me Murdoc, babes. Mr Niccals is my father."

"Right, sorry, Murdoc?"

He hummed, "Just like that." He cleared his throat. "I found it online about two years ago. It was supposed to be a short-term thing, but the owners, they just threw me the keys and left. So I figured I was the owner then. The bowling alley is right in here, by the way." You hurriedly scribbled what he said down.

Your interview continued like that, you asking questions ( "Have you been in any other bands?") and Murdoc answering them ( "Loads. None quite matched my skill though.") while you walked from room to room ( "Here's the recording studio. Found that pelt myself, I really think it brings the room together.") and took notes (Murdoc does not wear deodorant and should).

"Here's the best room of the house. Our very own carpark."

"An eighteenth-century mansion has a carpark?" you asked in disbelief.

He led you inside the space. "I think the biker gang put it in. Crazy bastards. At least now I have a spot for my Winnebago! Want to see it?"

"I'm fine, Murdoc. I don't need to see your private quarters for the article."

"Who said anything about it being for the article? I have real Egyptian silk, mmmm." He started to lead you to his Winnebago.

You stopped walking with him, causing him to stop as well. "Interview first, yeah?" You didn't know any other way of turning him down without running the risk of him cancelling the interview altogether. You start to head over to a doorway that you thought led back upstairs.

"Those go to dents-for-eyes' room. This way takes us upstairs, pet." You climbed the stairs with him. "Up here's really only the kitchen, lounge, and Noodle and Russel's rooms."

He was right, the stairs led directly into the kitchen. All of the rest of the band was gathered there, huddled around a stack of pizza boxes. "Oi! Where did the pizza come from?"

"We ordered it when you were playing dress-up." One of the band members said, and judging by his accent, he was from America.

Murdoc stomped. "I was not playing dress-up! I was trying on costumes for the show!"

You got out your notebook and wrote that down. You could feel the attention of the band on you now. "Oh sorry, I'm here to interview you!"

"Oh, cool. I'm Russel," The American said, "that's Noodle," he pointed at a child who was claiming an entire pizza pie for herself, "and the blue one's 2D."

"Konichiwa!"

"Nice to meet yew!"

You smiled back and greeted them both. The blue one, 2D, was certainly blue, or at least his spikey hair was. His eyes, on the other hand, were pitch black, none of the whites of his eyes was visible. It gave him a unique look and you wonder if it was done intentionally.

Noodle picked up a slice and was about to eat it when you said "I hate to interrupt dinner, but if you could pose for some pictures before you eat, I would really appreciate it. None of that pizza sauce on your faces."

Noodle grumbled but complied, putting the pizza down.

"Where'd yew want the photos?" 2D asked.

You look at Murdoc. "Would it be alright if we take them in the studio?" He shrugged his shoulders and led the way downstairs.

The band posed like they were in the middle of performing. The only issue was that 2D was so tall, that, from your angle, he covered Russel. You spent a little bit of time repositioning them until it was perfect. Just as you were about to take the photo, the lights in the studio went out. The lights everywhere went out.

"A bleeding outage? Right now?" Murdoc fumed.

"I'm sure it will turn on again soon, in the meantime, I guess you can get back to dinner." From somewhere in the darkness, Noodle cheered. "But someone is going to have to help me out of here, I can't see anything."

"You and 2D" Russel chuckled.

Only Murdoc had a phone on him, so he used it to light the way. It especially came in handy when everyone grabbed their food and sat at the table. Murdoc sat at the head, of course, with Noodle and Russel on one side, and you and 2D on the other. Everyone started to eat and you watched them all, mentally taking notes on their habits. You were not surprised that Murdoc chewed with his mouth open. What did surprise you was that the other men actually used their napkins properly.

"'ave yew 'ad dinner? Would yew like some?" 2D offered some of his pizza to you, but you declined. You were bound to get home soon anyway and it would just be unprofessional to eat your guest's food.

"She doesn't need your pizza, Face Ache, she will be getting plenty of my sausage tonight." Murdoc snickered, but no one else at the table joined him.

You awkwardly cleared your throat. "Would you guys be okay with answering some questions while you eat?" They all hummed in agreement while they ate. "So how did you all meet?"

The table became a little tense and all of the members looked at Murdoc. He set his pizza down. "I met 2D first, hit him with a car. Then he joined my band."

"Tell the 'ole story." 2D grumpily persisted.

"Fine. My buddies and I were looking for some keyboards. We crashed into where 2D worked and I hit his eye, proper breaking the thing and sent him into a coma. I had to oversee the poor little mutt as my punishment. I took him to a Tesco and was pulling some wicked tricks that the girls loved. Apparently one of my doughnuts was too fast because 2D went flying through the windshield and hit his face on the curb, breaking the other eye. When he stood up, he was so powerful, I knew I had to have him in my band."

"I 'ad no choice in the matter."

"As if you would say no."

As they start arguing over 2D's involvement, you were still processing the story you heard. Murdoc doesn't seem to be the best person. Murdoc doesn't seem to even be a good person. He seems actively dangerous, and you don't want to be around him longer than you need to. You make note of the whole story and add in a personal note to look up his criminal record.

"So, Russel, how did you join Gorillaz?"

"Murdoc kidnapped me."

That's really not helping his case. "Please tell me that Murdoc had nothing to do with Noodle's joining?"

"Nah, she just randomly showed up one day in a FedEx crate. Played the best guitar I've ever heard and only said her name. Everything else is just Japanese." Russel looked over to Noodle, who nodded, understanding exactly what you guys were talking about.

This was certainly some band. You ask a couple more questions, as required by your boss. "Which song on the EP is your favourite?" "Tomorrow Comes Today." "When can we expect a full album?" "Soon." "Are you surprised by the attention you're receiving?" Murdoc, of course, thought he deserved more, but the other members were much more humble.

After you finish that up, you tell them to pretend like you're not there to get a grasp of their dynamics. They eventually went back into their normal rhythm of banter, but that doesn't stop 2D from trying to include you in their conversation.

They finish their food and 2D gets his portable DVD player and puts on some zombie movie. You're surprised that they let Noodle watch it considering how young she is, but she seems the most enthusiastic. You don't join them on the couch, opting for the floor where the light from the player illuminated their faces. Since you didn't get a picture, you may need to have a drawing instead. You're nearly done when Murdoc announces a piss break and gets up, Noodle and Russel, grabbing snacks.

2D stayed behind on the couch. "Yew know, yew make funny faces when yew draw."

"You were watching me? Oh god, that's embarrassing."

"Seen dis movie loads before, so I got bored and 'ave been watchin you the 'ole time. Sorry, I forget about the 'ole no pupils fing. Freaks people out. Nofing up 'ere to remember that wif though." He gestures to his head.

"No, no, no you're good! I was just too busy drawing to pay attention." you laugh and try to play it off. In reality, it did startle you a bit initially to learn he was staring at you, but honestly, you don't mind and just got to get better at guessing where his focus is.

He smiles wide, showing off his missing teeth, and it lits up the room as if the generators were back on. "Soda?" You nod.

2D and the rest of the band return to the couch, having to wait for Murdoc who apparently has a bladder the size of a horse. He hands you your soda, peeps a glance at your drawing, and gives you a thumbs-up of approval.

You drink the soda and start penning what you think your article may look like. However, the sugar high fades quickly and you're exhausted.

Sharp pain in your side wakes you up and you yelp. You hear the band laugh at what's happened, everyone, except for Murdoc who is groaning on the floor beside you. "Bloody 'ell! What the fuck are you doing on the floor?"

You gulp. "Sleeping?"

"You can do that in my Winnebago with me instead of on the ground, love," Murdoc suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I'll settle for the couch over the ground, if you don't mind me staying over that is. So, where are your duvets?" The band members look around and collectively shrug. "No blankets... I'll just suffer the cold."

"My offer still stands." It did sound slightly better now, but the prospect of him also being there upset you.

"I can survive the cold for one night." Famous last words.

It was freezing in Kong Studios. Your teeth were chattering and you couldn't feel your toes. It's been like this since you woke up after only sleeping an hour.

How are you supposed to warm up? You tried exercising, which was good until you sweated a little and that cooled to ice. Now you're even colder than before. Perfect.

You start to walk around, trying to warm up and think. You couldn't start a fire, not only do you not know how to start a fire, but you also do not want to burn the studio down. And they didn't have blankets... but maybe they have big coats?

You retrace your steps from the tour of the place, heading to where you hope was their rooms. You really only remember trying to get Murdoc to stop leading you back to his Winnebago. You inadvertently walked to the carpark since it was really the only place you could remember to navigate in the dark. Kong Studios certainly didn't feel homey before the lights went out and now the hairs on the back of your neck are standing on edge.

It was pitch black in the hallway, so you ran your hand along one of the walls, yelping every time it touched the edge of a picture frame. You feel the wall take a right and you follow it down, seeing a sliver of light emitting from under a door. Light? Such an unfamiliar sight now. You pray that it was not the bathroom with Murdoc and scented candles inside as you gently knock on the door. You would even prefer Noodle, who would be the worst suited to help you, than Murdoc. The light is certainly coming from a scented candle. A heady scent of vanilla has slipped under the door and is extending into the hallway. Your knock received no answer so you tried again, this time louder.

Louder.

Louder.

At this point, any louder and you would have woken up the other members. So, you open the door a creak to peek inside.

What a sight to behold. The light from the candle made 2D's hair shine a bright azure and cast huge shadows on his far wall as he danced to his cassette tape. His dancing was awful but endearing; he looked like a baby dear that was still getting used to using its limbs. Abruptly, he stopped and you thought he finally noticed you, but then he rushed over to the papers by the candle and wrote something down, which you could only assume was a lyric.

Without any warning, he looked up and made eye contact with you. You stared at his black eyes, waiting for him to say something. He hummed and crossed out a part of the writing.

You had watched him for long enough, so you knocked again, which gained his attention. "Noodle? Is that yew?"

You opened the door further, "No, uh sorry to bother you so late..."

He began to tidy up the papers he was working on, tucking them behind him. "Hiya! What can I do for yew? Got more questions?"

You're so glad that he didn't mind your intrusion. His light smile put you at ease. "Yeah, I suppose I have one. You don't have anything to keep warm with? Like a jacket maybe?" You were surprised that he wasn't bothered by the cold, only wearing a T-shirt over a thin long-sleeved shirt.

"Oh. Yew cold? I might 'ave somefin! May swallow you 'ole though." His voice cracked as he spoke as he started digging through the piles of clothes on the floor, looking for something. He pulled out a blue jacket, not unlike the colour of his hair, and held it out. "This is one of me favourites! I fink it looks punk, don't yew?" You nod. It did indeed look wicked. "Go on, put it on! I would like it back when yew're done, if that's alright." He looked so nervous asking for his own property to be returned.

You smiled warmly at him. "Of course 2D, you have my word." You slip it on, and he was right, it was way too big on you! Most noticeably in the arm length, where the edges of the sleeves hung off your arms. It was heavy and warm and smelled like cigarettes and something else, something you could only imagine as 2D. It felt like a safe hug. Maybe 2D should be nervous about you keeping it. "I see why it's your favourite."

He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. I 'ope to wear it in a music video! If Murdoc lets me, that is." At this point, he sits back down again. "Wanna stay? I've gots more zombie mofies! Like Dawn of the Dead... or Evil Dead... or Zombie Flesh Ea'ers!"

"Sure, but I'm winded." You yawn and snuggle deeper into the jacket.

"Don worry! I'll pause it if yew fall asleep." He grins and pats the ground next to him, where you join him. "Which ones 'ave you seen before?"

"None of them. Which is your favourite?"

"NONE OF 'EM? Well then, we gotta watch Dawn of the Dead, it's the first Zombi mofie!" He loads the film and puts the tiny player in front of both of you, turning off the candle to make the lighting better. "I'm so excited for yew to watch dis! It's been a couple monfs since I saw it meself."

He lets the movie play, occasionally pausing to explain why a certain scene was so impressive in horror movie history. You barely watch the film, rather you pay attention to 2D, mentally tracing the look of excitement on his face and committing his hand gestures to memory. You never know what may be important for your article.

[lacquerware]

2020 Recap - My Year in Gaming

2020. What a year for video games. I had big plans for last year, but in the end I did very little besides play video games, and I don’t think I’m alone there since we were all stuck at home looking for a way out of reality. I wanted to do a year-end recap as I’ve done sporadically in past years, but this one will be different than the typical “Games of the Year” format because despite all the games I played in 2020, almost none of them came out in 2020, and some of the things that defined my year in gaming weren't even games. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake (PS4)

RE3 was one of the only games I played in 2020 that didn’t coincide with the deadly pandemic's spread across the US. RE3 is, of course, a game about the spread of a deadly virus in Anytown, USA. It was an appetizer, I guess. 

When the Resident Evil 2 remake dropped in 2019, there were some things I loved about it, and a few things that felt like steps back from the original. I feel much the same about RE3. I had also theorized that a Resident Evil 3 remake would be better off as RE2 DLC than as a separate full-length game, and considering how short RE3 turned out, with some of the best sections of hte original cut entirely (namely, the clock tower), I stand by my theory. 

Oh well, at least Jill gets this rad gun, which for the time being is the closest thing to a new Lost Planet we can hope for anytime soon.

Sekiro (PS4)

Sekiro is the first video game I ever Platinumed. This is partly because conquering the base game was such a spartan exercise that going the extra mile to get the Platinum didn’t seem so bad, but it’s also surely a result of the pandemic. I needed a project and a big win. Who didn't? 

I wrote at length about why I like Sekiro more than every other modern FromSoft game, and also about the game’s cherry-on-top moment that reminded me of blowing up Hitler’s face in Bionic Commando. Please read them!

Death Stranding (PS4)

Release date notwithstanding, this was obviously the Game of 2020. I wrote about it here, here, and here. This game bears the distinction of being the second one I ever Platinumed. It took 150 hours. Only then did I learn I had a hoverboard.

Streets of Rage 4 (PS4)

This is the only 2020 game I played for more than a few hours. In fact, I cleared the entire game at least five times. I still don’t think it captures the gritty aesthetic of the prior Streets of Rages (nor even tries to), but this is probably the best-feeling bup I've played. Huge bonus points for finally bringing back Adam, but in the end I found it hard not to pick Blaze every time.

Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)

What impressed me about this sequel from Inti Creates was that it wasn’t just more of the same, even though that would've been fine. BMZ2 builds on its already excellent predecessor with a catchy new format where players can freely cruise the cosmos and stages take the varied form of planets—some big and sprawling, others short and sweet. Hopping at will from planet to planet without ever knowing what experiences and treasure each one held felt like system jumping in No Man’s Sky and island hopping in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, both of which felt like opening presents.

Dragon Force (Saturn)

Charming, satisfying, and addictive as a bag of chips. Unlike a bag of chips, when it’s over, you can do it all again. And again. And it’ll be different each time! This might be the first strategy game I've truly loved. Better late than never.

The PC Engine Mini

The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 Mini seems a particularly justifiable mini-console for people outside Japan because so many missed these consoles entirely, the games are hard to obtain, and the lineup includes titles spanning the entire convoluted Turbo/PC Engine ecosystem—the TurboGrafx-CD/CD-ROM², Super CD-ROM², Arcade CD-ROM² and SuperGrafx, in addition to plain, old standard HuCard games. I myself didn’t know the first thing about these systems before. It’s like reliving the nineties again for the first time. 

Most of the titles included are simple action games that don't require a command of Japanese, but make no mistake: being able to understand Snatcher and TokiMemo does make me feel like an elite special person worth more than many of you. 

(Side note: From a gender representation perspective, the difference between Snatcher and Death Stranding is stark. Virtually every interaction with every woman or girl in Snatcher is decorated with ways to sexually harass her. Guess someone finally had a conversation with our favorite auteur.)

A Gaming PC

I’d threatened to transition to PC gaming for years after beholding the framerate difference between the console and PC versions of DmC in 2012, and last July I finally took the leap, buying an ASUS “Republic of Gamers” (ugh) laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU. It seems like consoles are getting more PC-like all the time, especially with all these half-step iterations that splinter performance and sometimes even the feature set (à la the New 3DS and Switch Lite), so with the impending new generation seemed like a fine time to change course.

In the half-year since, I’ve barely played a single PC game more recent than 2013, but just replaying PS3-era games at high settings has been like rediscovering them for the first time. 

I also finally experienced keyboard-and-mouse shooting and understand now why PC gamers think they're better than everyone else. Max Payne is a completely different game with a mouse. Are all shooters like this??

The USPS

Early in the year, I rediscovered my childhood game shop, Starland, which is now  an online hub known as eStarland.com with a brick-and-mortar showroom. To my delight, it has become one of the best and most modestly priced sources for import Saturn games in the country, and I scored Shining Force III’s second and third episodes, long missing from my collection, for a mere ten bucks each!  

In June, I treated myself to a trio of Saturn imports from eStarland: the tactics-meets-dating-sim mashup Sakura Taisen 2, the nicely presented RTS space opera Quo Vadis 2, and beloved gothic dungeon crawler Baroque. Miraculously, this haul amounted to just around thirty dollars total. Less miraculously, they never arrived. This was the second time I’d had something lost in the mail in my entire life, and also the second time that month. Something was wrong with the USPS, and it wasn’t just COVID pains. We would soon learn Trump had been actively working to sabotage one of the nation’s oldest and most reliable institutions in a plot to compromise the upcoming presidential election.

Frankly it’s a miracle there’s still such a thing as “delivery” at all, and a few missing video games is the last of my worries considering what caused it, but nevertheless this was an experience in my gaming life that could not have happened any other year. I won’t forget it.

*By the way, USPS reimbursed me for the insured value of the missing order, which was fifty bucks. So I actually profited a little off the experience.

Mega Everdrive Pro

I love collecting for the Genesis and Mega Drive, but I will not pay hundreds of dollars for a video game that retailed for about sixty.  The publishers never asked for that, and the developers won’t see a (ragna)cent of the money. I'm also far less inclined to start collecting for Sega CD, since the hardware is notoriously breakable, the cases are huge and also breakable, and the library just isn't that good. 

Still, I'd been increasingly curious about the add-on as an interesting piece of Sega history, so when I learned Ukranian mad scientist KRIKzz had released a new Mega Everdrive that doubled as a Sega CD FPGA, I finally took the plunge into the world of flash carts. This has proven a great way to play some of the Mega Drive’s big-ticket rarities I will never buy—namely shmups like Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer and Eliminate Down—as well as try out prospective additions to the collection. I never would have discovered the phenomenal marvel of engineering and synth composition that is Star Cruiser without this thing, but now that I have, it’s high on the shopping list.

The Mega Everdrive Pro is functionally nearly identical to TerraOnion’s “Mega SD” cartridge, but slightly less expensive, comes in a “normal” cartridge shell instead of the larger Virtua Racing-style one, and supports a single hardworking dude in Ukraine rather than a company with reportedly iffy customer service.

Twitch

Getting a PC also resolved issues that had long prevented me from achieving a real streaming setup, and much of my gaming life in 2020 was about ramping up my streaming efforts. I even made Affiliate in about a month. Streaming has been a great creative outlet and distraction, as well as a way to connect with other people during the COVID depression and structure my gaming time. Find me every Monday through Thursday 8-11pm Eastern at twitch.tv/lacquerware.  

Metroid: Other M (Dolphin)

PC ownership also gave me access to the versatile Dolphin emulator, liberating a handful of great Wii exclusives from their disposable battery-powered prison. 

One of the Wii games I fired up on Dolphin was Metroid: Other M, a game I’d always wanted to try but had been dissuaded by years of bad publicity and the fact that I never had any goddamn batteries. I know I should temper what I’m about to say by acknowledging that I was playing at 1080p/60fps on a PS4 controller so my experience was automatically a vast improvement over that of all Wii players, but I’m increasingly confident Metroid: Other M was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a Metroid game. I haven’t decided yet if I’m willing to die on this hill, but I will just say that if you like the Metroidvania genre in general and aren’t particularly attached to the Metroid series’ story or its habit of making you wander aimlessly for hours, there’s a very high chance you will enjoy Other M—especially if you play it on Dolphin.

Don't Starve Together (PC)

Don't Starve is the only game my friend Jason plays, so last year I tried to get into it with him. I respect this game's singular devotion to the concept of survival, but make no mistake: every session of Don't Starve ends with you starving to death. Or freezing. Or getting stomped by a giant deity of the forest. The entire game is staving off death until it inevitably comes. Even when death comes, you can revive infinitely (in whatever mode we were playing), which means even death is not an end goal. There is no end goal. You don't even have the leeway to "play" and create your own meaning as you do in similarly zen  games like Dead Rising. 

Don't Starve is a game for people for whom hard work is the ultimate reward in and of itself. Don't Starve told me something about Jason. 

G-Darius (PS1)

In the early fall, Sony announced they were dropping PS3, PSP, and Vita support from the browser and mobile versions of their PSN Store, and since the PS3 version of the store app runs like a solar-powered parking meter in Seattle, I decided this was my last chance to stock up on Japanese PSN gems. 

Among my final haul, the PS1 port of G-Darius proved an instant favorite. Take down the usual cast of mechanized fish in a vibrant, chunky, low-poly style that perfectly inhabits the constraints of the original PlayStation hardware. I believe this is the first Darius game that lets you get into giant beam duels with the bosses, which is quite definitely one of the coolest things a video game has ever let you do. The PS1 port is also surprisingly feature-rich, including some easier difficulty levels that present an actually surmountable challenge for non-savants.

This one’s coming to the upcoming Darius Cozmic Revelation collection on Switch alongside DARIUSBURST, a good-ass romp in its own right.

Red Entertainment

In my effort to shine a tiny spotlight on some of the unsung Interesting Games of gaming, I found myself drawn again and again to the work of Red Entertainment. First there were cavechild headbutt simulator Bonk’s Adventure and twin shmups Gates of Thunder and Lords of Thunder on the PC Engine Mini. Then I streamed full playthroughs of the PS2’s best samurai-era, off-brand 3D Castlevania, Blood Will Tell and the Trigun-adjacent stand-‘n-gun, Gungrave: Overdose. Then I was dazzled by Bonk’s Adventure’s futuristic spin-off cute-‘em-up, Air Zonk, which was also sneakily tucked away on my PC Engine Mini in the “TurboGrafx-16” section. It turned out all these games were made by the same miracle developer responsible for Bujingai, the stylish PS2 wushu game starring Gackt and a household name here at the Lacquerware estate. How prolific can one team be???

Month of Cyberpunk

In November, I started toying with the idea of themed months on my Twitch channel with “Cyberpunk month.” It was supposed to be a build-up to Cyberpunk 2077’s highly anticipated November release, but holy shit that didn’t happen, did it? Still, I always find myself gravitating toward this genre in November, I guess because I associate November with gloom (even though this year it was sunny almost every day). A month is a long time to adhere to a single theme, but cyberpunk is such a well-served niche in gaming that I could easily start an all-cyberpunk Twitch channel. The fact that we’re so spoiled with choice makes Cyberpunk 2077’s terrible launch all the more embarrassing. Here are just some of the games I played (and streamed!) in November:

Ghostrunner Shadowrun (Genesis) RUINER Remember Me Transistor Rise of the Dragon (Sega CD) Shadowrun (Mega CD) Cyber Doll (Saturn) Binary Domain Shadowrun Returns Blade Runner (PC) Deus Ex: Human Revolution Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Observer

Shadowrun on the Genesis gets my top pick, but the two most recent Deus Ex games are great alternatives for those looking for something in the vein of 2077 that isn’t infested with termites.

Lost Planet 2

Every year. I played through it twice in 2020.

Dead Rising 4

I slept on this one too long. While it's a far cry from the original game, it's easily the most fun I've had with a Christmas game since Christmas NiGHTS. This is the game a lot of people thought they were getting when they bought the original Dead Rising with their new Xbox 360--goofy, indulgent, and pressure-free.

Devil May Cry 5: Vergil (PS4)

Vergil dropped for last-gen consoles in December and breathed a whole lot of life into a game that was already at the head of its class.

Nioh 2

I’ve only played a few hours of Nioh 2 because I promised my friend I’d co-op it with him and wouldn’t play ahead. But he’s a grad student with two small children. Nevertheless, Nioh 2 is my Game of 2020.

And that's it! Guess I'll spend 2021 playing games that came out last year, and maybe eventually getting vaccinated? Please? 

[psycho-slytherin]

Strangers ch. 38

Surprising the boys for dinner doesn’t quite go as planned.

Pairing: Yoongi x Actress!Reader

Word count: 2k

Genre: fluff, angst

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Yoongi clears his throat, leaning against the doorframe. His hair is messy, his pale cheeks tinged red. “I mean… What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“Th-the door was unlocked,” you breathe, feeling as though you walked in on him doing something a lot more intimate than recording. His appearance does not help. If you hadn’t just heard him rapping, you’d think he was, well… “I- you said we could do dinner.”

“And you said probably not, so we figured you were busy. We have the night off, the guys are all out…” Yoongi looks around as though hoping one of the members will pop out of the woodwork. 

“Oh.” You get the hint– clearly he wants you to leave. “Sorry. I’ll be going, then–”

“Ah, shit. Sorry, no, you don’t have to.” Yoongi scratches his head. “I just wasn’t expecting- I mean, I look like a mess-”

You laugh, reaching up to ruffle his hair further. “You look like you’ve spent hours in this studio. It’s a cute aesthetic, though. Your fans would go crazy over it.”

“Does that include you?” Yoongi replies, now back to his teasing self.

You feel your heartbeat quicken. “Nah. Anyways, I should be going–” 

“Hey, wait.” Yoongi tugs at your arm as you turn to leave. “Stay. I don’t mind. Maybe you’ll inspire-” he shuts up, pressing his lips together.

“Maybe I’ll what?”

“Nothing. Are you hungry? I’m starved, let’s order pizza.”

“Sounds good,” You reply, following him to the living room. “Hey, are you sure it’s okay that I’m here?” Yoongi raises a brow. “Of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

“I mean, we’re alone…” 

Yoongi laughs. “Are you worried about the paparazzi? They can’t get up here, it’s okay. Besides, we are supposed to be dating.”

You relax a bit. In truth, you were nervous that he’d think it improper to hang out alone, especially now that you’re single again. You should have known– of course it wouldn’t be an issue, he only sees you as one of the guys. Almost to underline your insecurities, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the living room mirror: bundled up in all your layers, you look like a potato with legs. Of course. Surrounded by beautiful idols every day, it makes sense that Yoongi would barely consider you a girl. 

You blink hard, forcing yourself back into Friend Mode. 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” You race to snag the comfiest armchair, Yoongi’s favorite, for yourself. “A girl needs her pizza!”

Yoongi orders and returns to the living room, sticking his tongue out at you when he realizes where you’ve sat. “So how have you been?” he asks, stretching out on the couch.

You yawn. “Since I last saw you? Just did some Moon Over the Sea filming and the cologne shoot.”

“Oh yeah, how’d those go?”

You think of being brought to tears during filming at the thought of Yoongi being gone from your life. Of Jeongyeon commenting on how you and Yoongi would never stay together, how you’re hardly a couple at all. Of sitting on Wonho’s lap, half-clothed, your lips brushing his skin. “Fine. How about you?”

“Pretty good. Promotions went well, our Japanese fans really liked the new song. We won three awards, which is nice.”

“Wow, we stan global superstars,�� you laugh, and Yoongi draws himself up. 

“No need to sound so sarcastic.”

“I’m your friend, darling. I’m literally the only one allowed to sound sarcastic. Y’all are killing it, everyone knows that.” You flop upside down, letting your legs dangle off one arm of the chair while your head rests on the other. “Hey, what were you recording just now?”

Yoongi freezes. “What? You heard it?”

“Not the whole thing, just a bit of your sixteenth or seventeenth or whateverteenth take,” you snicker. “And it was good, really good.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Can I listen to the rest of it?”

Yoongi coughs. “Nah, I don’t think you’d like it. I don’t know if I’ll include it in the mixtape anyways; I think I was just venting into the mic.”

“Isn’t that how all the best diss tracks are made? I remember listening to Cypher 2 and just about dying during your verse.”

“It’s not really a diss track…”

You sit up. “Really? It sounded so angry.”

“Yeah, well, I was feeling angry.”

“Why?”

A knock at the door interrupts your conversation. “Oh, pizza’s here,” Yoongi says, rising. He returns a few minutes later with a large veggie pizza. The smell makes your mouth water– you didn’t realize how hungry you were. 

“Fucking yes. Ugh. Food. Yes. Give.” You reach out and take Yoongi’s offered slice, almost moaning when you take your first bite. You’ve been on edge all day– and if anxiety burned calories, you’d be on par with the Flash this week.

“No need to sound so turned on,” Yoongi laughs. “You’re worse than Seokjin hyung.”

“You’re just jealous that the pizza’s getting more action from your girlfriend than you are,” 

Yoongi coughs. “Keep talking like that and we’ll forget that this whole relationship is fake, y/n.”

“Heh, my bad.” You were just joking, but the discomfort in Yoongi’s voice… did you take it too far? Your friendship has always been dumb, and a little flirtatious, but now that you’re actually supposed to be together, it makes sense that Yoongi wants to draw a few hard lines in the sand. He’s right, things can’t get too blurry. He’s right, you’re not really dating. He’s right. 

It’s not real.

And hey, why would you even want it to be real? If you fell for Yoongi, it would be like admitting that all along, you really were just a fangirl, just another ARMY obsessed with BTS’ Suga. 

Besides, even if I did like him, you think ruefully, he probably wouldn’t believe me. It’s not like you have any trust left in the bank. Man, you’ve gotta work on being a better friend.

Speaking of… 

You look around and click your tongue. “Dammit. I was hoping to see Jimin tonight, Lisa wanted another video of him.”

“He can just send you something later.” Yoongi turns on the TV and tosses you a blanket. “Here, I know you’re cold. And hey, are you sure Lisa’s not posting those videos anywhere?”

You shake your head. “I follow her on all her socials. I definitely would’ve seen it if she had. Besides, I trust her.” Sure, she’s been a little absent these last few days, but she’s still Lisa, your best friend. Now that you think of it, her birthday is coming up– maybe you’ll arrange a video call with Jimin for her?

“Aight.” Yoongi flicks off the lights and grabs for the remote. “What do you want to watch?”

You chew on your pizza crust thoughtfully. “La La Land?”

The rapper snorts. “Really?”

“What can I say, I’m a sucker for well-spoken pianists. And fast rises to fame.”

“And here I thought you would’ve wanted a happy ending. I mean, the musician doesn’t even end up with the actress.”

“Happy endings are for suckers.” You press a hand to your forehead, dragging out your words dramatically. “You don’t understand me, Mom. Emotions aren’t real. Nothing matters, life is meaningless.”

“Oh god, you usually don’t bring out Emo Y/n until you’re at least two drinks in,” Yoongi groans good-naturedly.

You laugh, sitting back up. “Just play the damn movie, dumbass.”

The opening to Another Day of Sun starts playing, and… is it your imagination, or is Yoongi tapping along, as though it’s his hands at the keyboard?

Dork. You allow yourself a small smile in the dark room. If someone had told you, just a year ago, that you would be having movie nights with BTS’s Suga, acting alongside your ultimate idol, and– even just in character– kissing said idol, you would’ve thought they were batshit insane. 

But now… Yoongi’s so pretty, in a thousand ways you never noticed through your screen. The timber of his voice when he wakes up with a hangover, the surprised delight of a particularly good pun, the sleepy whispers during your late-night phone calls. You would never have known that when he’s stressed, he clenches his fists so tightly his nails leave crescent moons on his palms. You could only have guessed at how much he swears in real life, how when he’s recording in his studio he leaves his phone in his room to avoid distractions. 

The members are good at meshing their onstage and offstage personalities, sure. But Yoongi and Suga are like day and night to you now.

“I’m so lucky,” you murmur, as Emma Stone twirls happily in her yellow dress. 

“Where did that come from?” Yoongi asks, tossing a pillow at you. You bat at it lazily, only half watching the movie.

“It’s just pretty crazy, huh? How far we’ve come?”

“Psh, that it is. Thank goodness your shoe broke that night.”

You lift your hand to your throat, rubbing the Starry Night charm on its new chain. “Thank goodness I told you the truth eventually.” And in that moment, with the movie on and the lights low, with your belly full and nighttime settling on the city, you feel equal parts strong and vulnerable. It’s always the dark with us, isn’t it?

“Fame, flashlight– gi-give it to me!”

“Gah!” You jump and fumble for your phone. Shit. Shit. Why wasn’t it on vibrate?

Yoongi, of course, bursts out laughing. “You’re kidding me. Y/n, that’s your ringtone?”

“Shut up,” you hiss, answering the call. You don’t like picking up unknown numbers, but it could be a job offer. “Hello?”

A deep voice you don’t recognize responds. “Hello, may I speak to l/n y/n?”

“This is she.”

“My name is Detective Kang, with the Seoul Police Department. I need to interview you here at the station at your earliest convenience. Would you be able to come in tonight, or perhaps tomorrow?”

Your heart seems to pause. “Police?” You immediately think back to all of your recent actions– you definitely paid for your groceries, and the rent, and the medicine for your injured leg. Hell, you haven’t so much as jaywalked in the last week. Did you accidentally break the law somehow?

On hearing your voice, Yoongi sits up. “Y/n? Is everything okay?”

“You’re not under any suspicion, ma’am,” Detective Kang continues. “We believe you may be able to contribute to a case. This will just be an interview– you’re not legally required to come in.”

“A case? But, um, how can I help?”

“Well, I’m with the Missing Persons division, and–”

A sense of dread fills your stomach and clouds your mind at the detective’s words. Missing Persons? What?

“-We hope you may be able to provide us with some insight as to the recent disappearance of Lalisa Manoban.”

Your heart, which was pounding hard in your chest, now seems to have left your body entirely.

“Lisa’s… missing?”

[jaycewillem-blog]

To this end the private take to the streets

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[hi-i-love-u-bitch]

Excuse me! But where is my Sanders Sides Gamer AU???

Voices in my head: Gee Bunny, it seems you have no problem writing a lot of other fics and stuff yet you still haven’t even finished the next chapter of your Spiderverse fic???

Me: SHUT THE FUCK UP DISEMBODIED VOICES IN MY HEAD!!! IF YOU WANT THAT FIC DONE SO BADLY TELL MY LOGIC AND CREATIVITY TO GET THEIR ASSES IN GEAR AND GIVE ME SOME GOD DAMN INSPIRATION!!!!

Voices in my head:.....

Me: Yeah, that’s what I thought! Anyways, idk if I just missed a memo or something but I haven’t seen any Gamer AU of my boys and that is a crime in and of itself! Like, how dare! But fret not, I am here to provide content (Read: headcannons) that you did not ask for! Let us begin! Or should I say start!

(please note that I am not a gaming expert so feel free to add or correct stuff)

NOW WITH A PART 2!!!!

MAIN SQUAD

Roman Rosewood

Obviously loves RPGs! Anything with a good story line really! Or has medieval fantasy aesthetic!

Skyrim, Diablo, Undertale, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Fallout, Red Dead Redemption, Undertales, Dragon Age, God of War Dark Souls, Assassins Creed, Earthbound, etc.

Played West of Loathing just so he could rip on it but actually ended up loving it and spending way to many hours playing. Then he found out there was a game called Kingdom of Loathing by the same creators and went down that rabbit hole as well.

He was iffy about getting into JRPGs but then Virgil convinced him to play Persona 5 and he absolutely fell in love with the music!

All the music in his phone is either from musicals or Video games!

Also really likes choose your own adventure games like Detroit: Become Human, Life is Strange, and Telltale Games

So much video game merch! Usually figurines because he likes to make little shelves and display cases for them.

He also really likes multiplayer games because he’s a social butterfly and likes to play with his squad.

Sucks at first person shooter games but still willingly plays Fortnight or Call of Duty or Left for Dead with his friends because he doesn’t want to be a drag and complain. But also they sometimes die in game in the most hilarious ways and it just leaves everybody wheezing.

Virgil Dante

Horror games, obvs!

All about that dark aesthetic!

Devil May Cry, Silent Hill, Fran Bow, Sally Face, Resident Evil, The Witch’s House, Amnesia, Little Nightmares, Bendy and The Ink Machine, Alice: Madness Returns, SCP-Containment, Pony Island, etc.

Yes, he’s played all the Five Nights At Freddy’s games. It’s a good series and it isn’t his fault the fandom is bat shit crazy and full of ten year olds! Fuck you Roman!

Every time the Walking Dead comes out he knows he’ll end up crying by the end of it. He and the squad make and event out of it.

Japanese horror games are usually his favorite because they deal more with the psychological aspects of horror instead of the jump scares

So, yes, he’s also a fan of Corps Party and Fatal Frame

Also really good at first person shooters because he has a really steady hand (you usually have to when playing horror games least you want to restart the level) and it pisses Roman off to no end every time Virgil randomly headshots him.

Usually likes to by merch in the form of posters, t-shirts, or beanies. He only buys figurines if it’s a game he really, really likes.

At first didn’t know why people kept bugging him to play Doki Doki Literature Club but then he finally caved and...oh...that’s why.

Logan Mill

My boy loves puzzle and strategy games yo!

Legend of Zelda, Portal, Tetris, Unravel, World of Goo, Inside, Limbo, Pokemon, Shadow of the Colossus, StarCraft, Command and Conquer, Age of Empire, Heart of Iron, World of Warcraft, etc.

He likes Overwatch but doesn’t like playing with people online so he usual solos or asks the others to play. But that too usually ends in chaos.

Hates rage games because he gets frustrated easily and has broken at least four keyboards and two controllers

He still plays them anyways because he can beat it damn it! Just give him a minute!

Enjoys the God of War series despite all the mythological inaccuracies

He plays a lot of Minecraft to relax or destress and has build beautiful works of architecture and sometimes entire cities.

He thought it was stupid and childish and was embarrassed about it for a long time until the squad came over to his house one day uninvited and caught him playing. He was getting ready for them to make fun of him but they instead gushed about how AMAZING everything looked and how TALENTED he was for building all himself.

Logan ends up showing them how to play afterwards and they work together to make weird sculptures and complex tunnels underground.

He likes practical merch like backpacks, coffee mugs, pencil holders, notebooks, ect. as well as a few t-shirts and novelty ties.

Yes, he does collect Pokemon cards!

Patton Adley

Silly dating sims, farming games, and any cute game really! Plus a few side scroller games!

Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, Slime Rancher, The Sims, Dream Daddy, Animal Crossing, Kirby, Monster Prom, Hatoful Boyfriend, Scribblenauts, Night In The Woods, Ni Nu Kuni, etc.

Big Nintendo fan!

He made the mistake of playing Doki Doki Literature Club without reading the warning tags and regrets it immensely...still a good game though.

He did the same thing with Huni Pop but that one made him laugh more then anything and he kind of got addicted to it. Then he found out there was a sequel called HuniCam so he went down that rabbit hole too.

He likes a lot of phone app games too like Cut the Rope, Neko Atsume, and Candy Crush.

Loves trashy dating app games, he thinks they’re so funny and cheesy

He was addicted to Mystic Messenger for a long while

Just because he has his preference doesn’t mean he won’t try other games too, Logan got him hooked on World of Warcraft (though really he did that to everyone), Virgil showed him Hollow Knight, and Roman suggested he play Undertales.

Prefers merch in the form of plushies and key chains!

He likes to bake and decorate cookies, cakes and pastries in the form of his favorite video game characters.

RED SQUAD

Duncan [Deceit] Adley (Patton’s twin)

A lot of first person shooter and combat games!

Doom Series, Super Smash Bros, Mortal Combat, Halo, Fortnight, Grand Theft Auto, Street Fighter, Tekken, Soul Calibur, Half-Life, Team Fortress, Destiny, Wolfenstein, Bio Shock, Splatoon, PUBg etc.

Patton was the one that introduced him to Splatoon and he won’t admit that it’s actually super fun.

Doesn’t mind story driven games and RPGs but he really just wants something he can zone out to and relax

He likes to troll people online, mainly assholes picking on little kids who just want to play.

He once teamed up with a group of kids on Call of Duty solely for the purpose of collectively kicking the asses of this groups of so called “real gamers” that were being jerks.

Has memorized all the combos! He doesn’t have time to sit and look up a cool finishing move, he needs it now!

Always mains the weakest/most useless character in fighting games and still manages to kick everyone’s ass.

Doesn’t have a preference in merch and usually grabs whatever he likes be it figurines, t-shirts, posters, plushies, or whatever, so long as he likes the game it comes from.

Has several tattoos from his favorite games

Emile Picani

Classic retro games, cartoonish games, and Nintendo are his jam broham!

Mario, Classic Sonic, Paper Boy, Transylvania, Spyro, Pac Man, All the Saga Disney games, Duck Hunt, Mario Kart, Galaga, Mega Man, Donkey Kong, Secret of Mana, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, etc.

Absolutely fell in love with Shovel Knight when it came out!

Remy got him into all the indie pixel games: Towerfall, Terraria, Owlboy, Hotline Miami, Papers Please, Celeste, One Shot, etc.

Duncan was the one that introduced him to Cuphead and the usually play it together and see how far each of them can go without dying.

The game is difficult but the art is still so breathtaking!

Likes the occasional psychological thriller game

Bet Virgil showed him Alice: Madness Returns and Doki Doki Literature Club (after he’s played it of course)

Likes plushies and figurine merch with the occasional poster and coffee mug.

Likes to doodle a lot of his fav video game characters and cartoons and is actually really good at it. He helped design most of Duncan’s tattoos.

Remy Knightly

Likes a lot of indie games and old online flash games!

The Stanley Parables, Oxenfree, Inside, Firewatch, Super MeatBoy, The Binding of Issac, Donut County, Henry Stickman series, Impossible Quiz, Crush the Castle series, Hyper Light Drifter, etc.

He always gets everybody hooked on one game or another

He convinced everyone to play Undertales so for like a month they all went through a HUGE Undertales faze.

Was the actual, ACTUAL one that showed Duncan Cuphead because he knew the dork would be reminded of Emile because of the animation and would want to show it to him and play multiplayer (*cough* subtle matchmaker *cough*)

(Do not be fooled, he is a pinning boy himself)

Is up to date in all the gossip of the latest games and consuls, indie or mainstream! He’s in the know, know and if you need to know something chances are Remy probably knows it.

Weeds out through all the indie horror games for Virgil and recommends what he thinks are the best ones.

Same thing with Logan and his puzzle games, he’s usually is able to find very strange ones and Logan seems to likes those best.

Obviously has a lot of merch in coffee mug and thermal form as well as a few key chains.

Occasionally streams on Twitch with Duncan and Emile (sometimes inviting the main squad too), they’re commentary is usual hilarious.

[thestartline]

DAY6 Interview with Billboard Japan

JYP Entertainment has released groups such as 2PM, GOT7, and TWICE into the public. From the company, the first band artist group DAY6 has released their second Japanese best album “THE BEST DAY2″. Because of their unique differences, the 5 member band has the mindset of “Try it first”, and has tackled various genres, gaining fans from all over the world. For the band, this album is an achievement and also includes original Japanese singles. Now we’ll like to see how this band called DAY6 works, and through the interview we’d like to get to know the 5 members better.

When there are a lot of choices, we first try all of them.

As it is your first time on Billboard Japan, will you please introduce yourselves?

Sungjin - I’m Sungjin. I’m in charge of the guitar. I like songs that overflow with emotions, regardless of the genre. For example, Bruno Mars. I also like artists with a nice voice.

Jae - I play the guitar, I’m Jae. I think this is the same with many people, but I’m the type that their music taste changes depending on the time. These days I’m listening to a lot of artists under the “88rising” label. Like Joji and Lexie Liu.

Young K - I’m Young K. I’m in charge of the bass. I like punk rock, hip hop, and pop music. 

For example?

Young K - Hmm, if its punk rock, I like SUM 41 or My Chemical Romance. If its pop, I like Maroon 5 or Coldplay. I like music that has a pretty melody.

Wonpil - I’m Wonpil. I play the keyboard. I also don’t listen to only one genre but lots of genres, but out of them, I really like Coldplay. I think their sound is very unique. 

Dowoon - I’m in charge of the drums, I’m Dowoon. I like songs which the vocals and the track matches well. I like the Korean artists Narae Lee. 

Everyone has different music tastes, but how has that variety influenced your work as a group?

Jae - We both write our songs and lyrics, but we also work with various songwriters. So not just within our members, but we have many occasions where we are able to come to contact with many different sounds, which gives us the ability to master it, I believe. Even when we are writing our own songs, we are able to think of many different ways. When we are writing one song, we all like something on our own, and we put the spotlight on different areas, which allows us to broaden our music. 

Sungjin - I think because each member has their own preferences, DAY6 can challenge many genres. And, when we are listening to a particular type of song, what one personally cannot feel can be felt by another member, and as we share this feeling, we learn a lot. 

When DAY6 was first established, what sort of ideal image did you have in mind?

Young K - Since we were first established, we did not have one fixed genre, and that it still continuing today, but as for where we were headed, we wanted to be a band which can engage with the audience. When we saw a band communicating with the audience and singing songs with them, we though “we want to be a band like that”. 

When there are so many genres, it also means there are as many choices, and it might make you feel lost at times. At times like that, how do you find the best solution?

Young K - When there are a lot of choices, we first try all of them. Once we create a lot of things, we talk to the members of the team we work with, and in the end, we are left with the good things. 

In October, you released your 3rd Korean Album “The Book of Us; Entropy”. Please tell us your response.

Sungjin - When I listened to the album before it was released, I though “Did we try to many genres?” but there were a lot more people who found that appealing. I once again felt that it was important for not only us to judge, but to first create something we think that is good, and then have a lot of people judge for us. 

Wonpil - In July, we released our mini album “The Book of Us: Gravity”, but the difference in happiness after we completed a full album is difference. This full album really incorporates songs from many genres, and I’m happy to have been able to show the fans a new side of us. 

Was there a specific theme or concept?

Dowoon - Our last mini album “The Book of Us: Gravity” was the first in the series, and “The Book of Us: Entropy” is the second. The “Gravity” in “The Book of Us: Gravity”, means that we are pulling each other to one another, and represents the start of a relationship between two people. The “Entropy” in “The Book of Us: Entropy” represents disorder, and this album depicts the change in the relationship.

Does this “The Book of Us” series still continue?

Dowoon - I believe so. I think it will continue. 

We want to be a band that can connect with many people.

This time, your Japanese 2nd album “The Best Day2″ has been released. Please tell us how you have improved or changed from your last album, “The Best Day”

Sungjin - We have released many albums in Korea, and every time we have challenged various genres, which birthed a lot of songs. We were able to collect much of those songs in “The Best Day2″, and we were also able to add in our original Japanese Songs “Finale” and “Kiminara”, which I believe shows a different colour of us. 

What was the process for creating “Finale” like?

Young K - We talked about our most recent album “The Book of Us: Entropy” earlier, and the songs in this album was created in a short amount of time. “Finale” was one of the songs created in this period. The image was the curtain of a concert falling down, and I created it with the intent of overflowing energy. 

Sungjin - If we are talking about the message portion, the word “Finale” on its own means “the end” or “curtain fall”, but we imagined the curtain call after a concert, and the message of hoping for human relationships to have a happy ending is in the song.

How about the second song “Kiminara”?

Young K - This song is very bright, and full of energy. I think the lyrics of this song has something similar to the lyrics of “Finale”. “You can make me happy”, “I’ll can trust my future with you” are lyrics that are full of hope. 

Both songs mention “Kimi” (You), and seems to be a song sent to someone very close, but to all of you, who is the “Kimi”?

Jae - First of all, the members of DAY6. And of course, to the fans who enjoy our music, and make their hearts one with us during our concerts. 

Sungjin - Perhaps “Kimi” is not the right term, but on a larger scale, I think it is the people who leave a good influence on DAY6. This might be family, friends, and the staffs. 

What made both songs have similar or the same themes?

Sungjin - In most cases when we write songs, we first and foremost think of wanting to help someone, to be someone’s strength, so I think the songs came out of a natural process.

Young K - And, the songs we’ve released in Japan so far has been quite dark or had some sadness in it, so we wanted to put in a hopeful message this time.

We believe that is a very happy message for the Japanese fans. Is there anything in particular that you remember from your Japanese activities?

Young K - When we performed at Summer Sonic 2017. That was before we debuted in Japan, and we performed on a outdoor stage. The people who were walking behind us stopped and listened to our music, and there were people who had fun with us, which was very memorable. 

Wonpil - The Japan tour was very memorable. Back then, it had been a while since we had performed at a live house, and the fans were very close to us and sang with us. It made me very emotional. 

Now for the end, please tell us what you would like to challenge even more, your goals and ambitions if you have any. 

Jae - We want to continuously create music we want to do, and become a band which can connect with more people. I want the band DAY6 to grow even bigger, and to have more chances to perform.  

Sungjin - In terms of challenge, I believe the songs we have created till now has all been a challenge, so as we have been doing now, I hope to challenge ourselves in the future as well. 

Original interview

Jap to Eng trans @dalomls (twit)

[witchreflection]

Hello friends, I not only translated from Spanish my MP100/GO crossover, I expanded it a bit 

The one where Mob is the Antichrist (WIP)

As it happens with all important projects, when the moment to set the apocalypse into motion arrived, the infernal powers appointed (or may be, sentenced) a committee to oversee all details, and as it happens with all committees, no one ever agreed on anything and only one person (or in this case, being) did all the work[1].

In another world, the unfortunate sap in charge of the allocation of a human family for the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness, chose the family of the American Cultural Attaché in the United Kingdom as the best suited for the task, and then devised an ingenious plan (for a demon) where all the actual planning for the interchange of babies was delegated to other even more unfortunate infernal agents.

In this world, however, the outcome of the committee representative’s game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe was different, so the chosen family was that of the daughter of a Japanese home appliances tycoon, and then the committee’s representative forgot to actually delegate the planning until the last moment. This is why the demon Crowley received the following orders alongside a basket with a perfectly average looking, dark haired male baby:

“Corrupt a human so they can be persuaded to steal a child from his mother’s arms, to be unknowingly replaced by our Lord’s son.”

And,

“DO NOT MESS IT UP, CROWLEY.”

Crowley offered ₤100[2] to a nurse he found smoking in the parking lot to do the deed.

And well, many years later Crowley will wash his hands over the whole affair, arguing that his plan would have worked if that same day, at that same hospital, at the other end of the same hall where Hoshino Nadeshiko-san (full-time heiress) was in labor, Kageyama Akane-san (programmer, alongside her husband at the UK for work) was not in the same situation. Or maybe it would have worked if this nurse were not terribly racist, on top of unscrupulous, and didn’t think that “all Chinese people look the same”[3].

***

Eventually, the Kageyama family (now including their much-loved Shigeo) had to return to Japan once their contracts and visas expire. In the meanwhile, the young Hoshino Asahi-kun grew a bit neglected by his parents, but with the constant attention and counsel of his kendo instructor[4] and the housekeeper.

***

Asahi-kun’s 15th birthday comes but no hellhound does.

Crowley and Aziraphale scramble to find out what happened to the Antichrist, and they first search for the nurse who is now in prison[5] and doesn’t know anything of use, then the hospital, where they pick up a paper trail[6] that leads them to Japan.

“Well,” says the demon to the angel. “On the bright side, you do like sushi.”

***

Kageyama Shigeo is a very normal baby. Average size, average weight, reaches the developmental milestones at the expected ages. His parents love him very much and if Shige-chan has an habit of always managing get things he shouldn’t into his hands, they don’t think too much about it and gently correct him, just as they do when he tries to lick the neighbour’s cat or pulls from mommy’s hair.

When things start to float a bit, they take it on stride, because, well, it is not really problem, it is only small things and not very high, and Akane is pregnant again.

It does take them by surprise when Ritsu-chan keeps dropping his pacifier or a preferred toy and they have to keep picking it up for him, which immediately raises a concern about how many things that touched the floor ended up on Shige-chan’s mouth, and relief that they don’t have to worry about that with Ritsu-chan[7].

As Shige grows, so do his powers, and his family also grows accustomed to them. Soon, every time he cries –which is not often– the furniture will rattle, the rain will not touch him and he would make little and not so little animals swim through the air, or the bath water would float in shapes, but is always to entertain Ritsu or their friend Tsubomi. Sometimes the cutlery will bend, or Shige would accidentally make everything in the house hover 2cm over the floor in his sleep, but he is a good kid and it’s not like he does it intentionally.

Then, after an incident where Ritsu returns unharmed but covered in blood and Shige in in tears, and they don’t tell no matter how much Akane and Hisao ask their children what happened, Shige stops using his powers deliberately while the accidents increase, but they can’t do anything about it, because who do you ask about your child ESP problems? 

***

Later, people will debate if the well-timed appearance of Reigen Arataka into Shigeo’s life was in fact as “godsend” as the Kageyamas thought the day their child returned home from school happier and more at ease that they had seen him in months.

The fact that the man would also act as a quick response free babysitter and chaperon also helped to improve their opinion of him[8].

***

Kageyama Shigeo is a very unremarkable boy, but he tends to have a tangible effect in the people who cross his path, and he achieves this despite his powers and no thanks to them, mostly.

Had this been a different world, his powers would have not been obvious, but would have arranged the world around him to his liking. In this one, they never get him what he wants and he has to figure that one all on his own[9].

***

A list of times the world could have ended ahead of schedule:

After the incident when Shigeo lost control of his powers for the first time and believed, for a second, before he heard him cry, that Ritsu was dead.

All the times Dimple tried and failed to convince Shigeo to help him become a god[10].

The time a technician’s shoelace got caught in his desk chair’s wheel, making him trip and smash his keyboard, almost starting up a chain of events that would have resulted in a Chinese Navy ship colliding with an American one, had he not also accidentally disconnected the ethernet connection of his terminal in the process.

The time Mogami almost managed to make Shigeo lose his faith in humanity.

The time Dimple did achieve godhood thanks to Shigeo’s powers, before Shigeo’s powers decided they could do give it a try on their own and Dimple realised his mistake.

That one incident by the end of Shigeo’s second year at middle school, which is not discussed in public by people in the known, for plausible deniability, you understand. Even thought it was not his fault, he is very sorry and very sure it won’t happen again and he helped put everything together again, and he has been reassured that no one died, miraculously[10].

But the important bit is that it didn’t happen.

*** For a being that some of the time is a snake, Crowley has way too much leg to fit into a tourist class plane seat, and he has time to complain about it at length during the 12 hours flight.

You see, due to the intrinsic nature of airlines, miracling two last-minute first-class plane tickets, does not mean that those two first-class seats actually exist in that flight.

The fact that Crowley was responsible for making flying a terribly uncomfortable ordeal for the masses, was an irony lost on him.

So was the fact that he was directly contributing to the flight attendant’s path to sainthood, attained by her infinite patience.

________________________

[1]Except that, in fact, none of them did anything.

[2] The money was fake, but the nurse deserved it.

[3] Yeah, neither I know what Crowley was expecting to happen.

[4] If he’d had the time to pay attention to these things, Hoshino Katashi-san (CEO of his father-in-law’s company and absent but demanding parent) would had made an issue out of the kendo instructor being British. Fortunately, not only he never asked who was teaching his son, but the instructor wasn’t even really British in the first place, nor Japanese as Hoshino-san would preferred, nor anything, simply because the instructor wasn’t born in any country, or region, or geographic zone, as he had been brought into existence by Divine Will before the Creation, and he has been issued the physical form he inhabited after a long and tedious bureaucratic process, and he very much prefers to never have to go through it again, thank you.

[5]After noticing the money she had been paid with was fake, the nurse took a very pragmatic decision by taking the extra baby she found herself with to an adoption agency for rich people, where she received a quite large “fee”. This inspired her to a change in careers and became a full time “recruiter” for the agency, until it was closed under investigations for human trafficking.

[6]Not literally. The paper archive was burnt in a freak accident which was in no way caused by infernal agents with no knowledge about electronic databases.

[7]What they don’t know is that, soon enough, Shige-chan starts picking up things for his brother too when they are not looking. Maybe this is the reason why the brothers built extraordinarily strong immune systems and rarely get sick, maybe it is the other way around. I’m betting in the later.

[8]So did the discreet background check they did(a) on Reigen to make sure nothing untoward would happen. It also revealed that the man had his driving licence and an updated certification in first aid, making him qualified enough to take up child-care professionally.

[8.a] A leftover form their youth, before they decided to use their skills in a more legitimate manner as “cybersecurity”.

[9]With the support of loving family and friends, not that it lessens his effort in any way, but it is nice to mention it and Shigeo likes be reminded of it, too.

[10]But not a god as in God, more like a god as in the inaccurate translation of kami in Shintoism. Unbeknownst, back then, to Dimple, had he succeeded in making a god out of Shigeo, the results could had been less like the Emperor (like he envisioned) and closer (but not quite) to the actual Almighty.

[11]This is still being debated by the people in the known.

[svnmae]

lalisa manoban, demi girl, she/her & they/them. — you know khun mae win, don’t you? they’re the twenty year old sophomore who’s studying elementary education & art and living in thayer hall. they used to be addie’s bullying target, but now they are feeling relieved that addie wont be around to hurt them anymore, though they feel guilty as well about that. 

trigger warning for a car accident and teenage drinking.

khun mae is the youngest of three kids. they has an elder sister ( mayuree ) and a twin brother ( sakda ). while her and sakda are twins they can. it’s always playful and they try not to come off as a whiny brat. khun man and their sister are extremely close, as she is only two years older than the twins.

home life was fine as a kid, nothing to report about or worry about. both parents were present and loving, extremely supportive of their children and the varied interests they had. mayuree really loved music and started her talents early in life. sukda became the sports fan of the three and was on nearly every sports team that would have him in middle school and high school. he currently attends the university of michigan as a second string quarter back with a full ride.

khun mae found her passion in art and dance. painting really became her thing, soon spending as much money as was allowed on new supplies. they started winning awards for art and it really made her want to continue this as much as they could into adulthood. while they knew they might not be able to make a living off art all the time, she agreed to go to school for something to fall back on. so she started earning a teaching degree as well as her art degree in order to teach art to others, wanting to perhaps bring the same passion to kids.

her second love had always been dance and they were great at it. able to pick up steps almost instantly and follow through with a new idea until completion, kun mae was a force to recon with on the dance floor. 

her life was always easy, her friends said. her siblings and her got on famously, her parents were amazing and not the least bit over bearing- until the accident. the accident was honestly her own doing, she was out late and making horrible decisions. “but what else are teenagers meant to do?” she asks herself, thinking there was no way she’d actually suffer for this.

until she was. her friend had lost control of the car, who shouldn’t have been driving in the first place. while they’d all had some to drink, the group figured he would be the best to drive them home safely from the party. sudka had stayed to close down the party and take his girlfriend of the time home later so khun mae got into the car.

she doesn’t remember much of the accident. the doctors said that wasn’t surprising with the amount of trauma she’d sustained. they were shocked she was conscious at all. days in the hospital turned to weeks turned to months when they learned the extent of what the car had done to her. unable to walk for months, khun mae still struggles on worse days. while most of the time they can walk without aid, they do have crutches as well in case.

they refused to walk the stage at her high school graduation, instead staying in the crowd to cheer on her brother. never once did her smile fade through her struggles, instead she internalized the struggles she faces so that no one else would have to suffer with her.

it took a lot of convincing for khun mae to think about college again, her admitting to mayuree  and sakda one day she might not go now because she doesn’t want to be that person who struggles to get around campus now. while they couldn’t help her, they did convince her to try and she enrolled as a full time student.

Q U I C K   F A C T S.

loves animals.

it’s really easy to tell their mood based on what they’re drawing at the time.

allergic to bananas.

enjoys kpop too much.

speaks both fluent english (first language) and thai (second language). learning japanese, would be considered conversationalist.

her mother is thai-candadian while her father immegrated from thailand. the two met in they want to revisit seoul one day.

attends physical therapy three times a week.

has partial paralysis of her left hand, causing a weak grip and inability to hold things for long.

loves makeup and considers it another form of art but personally wears very little.

once jumped out of plane on a dare.

favorite colors are purple, pink, and white.

hearing people talk about others making her embarrassed and gives her panic attacks.

wants to meet ariana grande in person.

vanilla coca-colas are their favorite.

has a guilty pleasure playlist of late 90s and early 2000s rap and hip hop.

hasn’t drank since the accident.

spyro is the only video game she’s ever owned.

favorite fruit is strawberries.

threatens to hit people with her crutches a lot.

she’s nice to a fault and tries to make friends with everyone.

oil and acrylic paints are her favorites.

bob ross videos are what started her passion for painting.

loves to eat limes like they’re oranges.

only 5′3″

can quote every line of mean girls.

has stayed up all night to finish a book a few times.

misses being able to sleep on a top bunk.

loves stars.

won a watermelon spitting contest in the 3rd grade.

thought about making a manga but hates any stories she makes.

owns too many stuffed animals.

terrified of clowns, to the point of crying at the sight of one.

loves the sounds of mechanical keyboards.

dislikes pie, prefers cheesecake or cobbler.

christmas is her favorite holiday.

hates using q-tips.

gets regular manicures.

blessed with synesthesia (seeing sound as colors), mostly related to music.

since the accident, suffers from really bad headaches as well.

loves to hand write letters.

yo !! message me to plot or like this thing here and i’ll slide in your messages. fair warning: i have no wcs in mind and im trash at plotting but i love doing it once we have a starting point. 

also add my discord, i’m always mobile there and respond 10x faster. 

[eldritchsurveys]

235.

Have you ever suspected someone of cheating on you? >> Nope.

When you get married, will you convert your last name? >> The plan is that I’ll do my full-name change over the spring/summer, and then I guess Sparrow can take the surname after the wedding. Although eventually she’s going to have to do her first-name change too, so... I don’t know. Whatever, I just know I’m doing mine.

Are your parents divorced, married or seperated? >> They were never together in any formal sense.

When was the last time you met someone with an addiction? >> I don’t know. Might have been at any point, for all I know. Not every addict is an obvious one.

Has someone ever left a relationship with you for someone else? >> I don’t think that’s ever been the case, no.

What's the most painful thing you've ever experianced? >> I don’t know.

When was the last time you went shoe shopping? >> I don’t remember. I rarely go.

Has anyone ever invited you to a lamaze class? >> No.

Are you a part of any clubs at your school, if you still go to school? >> ---

Do you know someone who wears a wig? >> I mean, maybe? I don’t know everyone’s hair situation.

What is your best friend's last name? >> ---

When was the last time you cried? For what reason? >> Probably about Grey’s Anatomy.

What is your favorite shop to go to at the mall? >> Hot Topic. Although that’s not much of a distinction, since I only go to like three stores in the mall period. 

What time do you usually go to bed on the weekends? >> 10p EST, same as usual.

Have you ever considered suicide? >> Yes.

Have you ever been raped before? >> Yes. Not that I think this is an appropriate survey question, but hey.

Would you ever consider becoming a marine biologist? >> No.

Do you know someone who is obsessively paranoid? >> I did.

What is your favorite department store to go to? >> ---

Did you carry a lunchbox as a child? >> I did.

What is your favorite 'sweet' to eat? >> Various Japanese sweets.

Are you someone who usually eats when you're bored? >> No.

Have you ever eaten your way through a breakup? >> No.

Who was the last person you texted? >> Sparrow.

Do you usually buy popcorn when you eat at the movie theater? >> No.

Have you ever kissed someone under fireworks? >> Maybe? I don’t remember.

Did you sleep alone or with someone last night? >> Physically alone.

What kind of dressing do you eat on your salad, if any? >> Italian or some kind of vinaigrette.

Are you someone who constantly likes to wear hats? >> No.

Have you ever seen a Lifetime movie that relates to your life? >> No.

What is your Myspace URL? >> ---

What genre of music do you listen to the most? >> I’m not sure, now. Might be metal, might be rock in general, might be synthwave.

Are you someone who likes to wear dresses more than pants? >> No.

Have you ever dated someone who was way overprotective of you? >> No.

What was the last thing you touched besides your keyboard? >> My phone, probably.

Do you personally know any cops? >> No.

When was the last time you witnessed a fist fight? >> I don’t remember.

What do you notice first about the opposite sex? >> ---

When was the last time you lost someone who was close to you? >> Like, to death? 2006.

Have you ever hired a psychic before? >> No.

What is you absolute favorite television show? >> I don’t have an absolute favourite.

Is there someone who constantly insults you on a daily basis? >> No.

Do you know anyone who lives in the state of California? >> Yeah.

[xseedgames]

Zwei: The Arges Adventure - Localization Blog #1

AAAAAAHHHHH IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING.

I’ve been working on this game for the better part of a year now, but have been unable to say anything about it for PR reasons – namely, that it wasn’t in a showable state, and we didn’t want to confuse prospective players by having two Zwei games announced but unreleased at the same time. Which is totally reasonable, but AAAAAAAHHHH I’VE BEEN WANTING TO TALK ABOUT THIS GAME SO BADLY YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

…Ahem. First off, I guess I should bring you all up to speed, in case you missed the announcement. Falcom’s 2001 PC classic Zwei!! is coming to the Western world via Steam, GOG, and The Humble Store in early 2018, under the name Zwei: The Arges Adventure. Why the name change? Well, because we already released its 2008 sequel, Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection (which was originally called Zwei II: Sky-High Great Adventure in Japan).

That’s right. Localization work wrapped on the sequel first, and now we’re finishing things up with the original.

What are we thinking?!, you must be asking yourselves. Why would we release the sequel first, then go back and release the original? Why wouldn’t we release the original game first? And since we’ve already released the more modern second entry in the series from seven years later, can this earlier effort really hold its own by comparison? 

Well, that’s why I’m so excited. Because Zwei: The Arges Adventure is good. REALLY good. In fact, I dare say it’s my favorite translation I’ve ever worked on to date – yes, even topping Return to PopoloCrois and Corpse Party. And if you’re at all familiar with me (this is Tom, BTW), that statement alone should tell you that Zwei: AA is something special, since PopoloCrois and Corpse Party are… shall we say, perennial favorites of mine. To put it very lightly.

So, yeah. Let’s address those hypothetical questions, shall we?

Why would we release the sequel before the original? Well, two reasons. One, because we can – these games each tell standalone stories, set on different floating continents with different casts of characters. Zwei: AA’s two protagonists, Pipiro and Pokkle, do make a few cameo appearances in Zwei: II, but this is done almost purely for the sake of fanservice (the literal kind, not the naughty kind). When all is said and done, these two games are completely standalone, taking place in the same world but telling very different stories with very different characters and a very different feel. Think of it kind of like the Ys series, but even more episodic (since, Ys Origin aside, Ys has the Adol-as-protagonist connection from one game to the next, whereas Zwei doesn’t even have that!).

The other reason is because of the nature of Zwei: AA’s code. The Japanese version of this game utilized DirectX 5, was formatted strictly for 4:3 resolution with no widescreen options whatsoever, offered a lovely FPS selection of 30 or 15 (seriously!), counted on players to play it with mouse and keyboard over gamepad (it supported gamepads, but… barely), and contained no fewer than six unlockable Windows desktop apps that were loosely tied to yet completely separate from the main game.

This is one of them. And that first screenshot at the beginning of this blog entry is another.

In other words… this is the kind of adaptive coding project that’s been known to give lesser programmers heart attacks. Getting a game like this to even run on a modern Windows machine at all – much less run WELL – was decidedly not a task for the meek. In fact, it’s because of the way this game is coded that we ultimately decided to translate the game in-house rather than working with any fan-translators as we did for Zwei: II, as no two programmers would handle this text the same way – and trying to convert a fan-translated script to a format that would work for us would’ve taken almost as long as translating the game from scratch.

So, yeah. Getting Zwei: II out first was pretty much just done because… erm… it was ready first. And it was always GOING to be ready first. Even with a lengthy QA process and a couple minor delays, it still inevitably got finished long before its predecessor was ready to make its debut.

Fortunately, we hired a veteran programmer to work with us on Zwei: AA… but you’ll never guess who! It wasn’t Sara, since she was busy getting Zwei: II ready at the time (and a fine job she did of it, with one of our smoothest PC launches ever!). But this wasn’t our first time working with the guy we worked with on this project, either. It was, however, our first time working with him to modernize someone else’s game – and he really did perform some miracles for us (and put up with my many, many demands for quality-of-life improvements and feature additions, to boot!).

The man in question? Matt Fielding, of Magnetic Realms. A.k.a. the guy who brought you the game Exile’s End. 

Pictured: Exile’s End. Which is also an awesome game you should play!

And thanks to his technical wizardry, you guys are going to have an astoundingly up-to-date version of Zwei!! on your hands at launch. We’re talking more than just widescreen support here – there’s full in-game integration of the Pet Monitor and other desktop apps, new control functionality for more natural gamepad support across the board, inclusion of the arranged soundtrack from the Japan-only PSP version of the game, additional art and text content not present in any previous version of the game, and much, much more (to be detailed in future blog entries!).

Moving on to the second question I asked, with Zwei: II already out, can Zwei: AA hold its own by comparison?

I think you know what my answer’s going to be, on that one. Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a freaking awesome game with a lot to offer, and differs from its own successor in enough key areas that it can very easily hold its own any day of the week. Hell, you might even like it better than Zwei: II – it’s certainly a very close call for me, but I’d say Zwei: AA gets the slight edge! 

Sure, they’re both dungeon-crawling action RPGs at their core, and they both use food to level-up, even sharing the same food exchange system to discourage grinding. And the two-character party (plus one pet), with one character taking the role of physical attacker while the other slings spells, takes center stage in both titles as well. Plus, both games are set on floating continents in the same world.

That’s a lot of similarities, but they’re all relatively superficial. You could say Zwei: AA is like the 2D answer to Zwei: II’s 3D world, but that would be discounting its snarkier and more tongue-in-cheek storyline (yes, even more than Zwei: II’s!), or the gorgeous and ludicrously colorful hand-drawn backgrounds, or the two games’ very different approaches to pets (you only get one pet in Zwei: AA as opposed to the veritable army of pets featured in Zwei: II, but that one dog or cat [or other?] has significantly more personality and gameplay involvement than its many Zwei: II counterparts), or the huge variety of minigames on offer (all of which have been adapted to play from within the game itself, despite formerly existing only as desktop apps)… and that’s just scratching the surface. In short, although the two games use the same basic template, they represent two very different approaches to game design within the confines of that template.

For me as Zwei: AA’s translator, though, I can’t help but laser-focus right on the game’s dialogue. Protagonist duo Pipiro and Pokkle are without a doubt the best pair to write that somebody like me could ever ask for. Pokkle constantly cracks bad puns (and I do mean constantly!), wears a tail for funsies, and is always hitting on women twice his age.

And Pipiro just has absolutely no filter whatsoever, and is full of so much snark that she’s fit to burst.

Practically every line out of these two is an absolute gem – and that’s to say nothing of the many quirky NPCs surrounding them over the course of their rather lengthy quest (such as the endlessly self-delusional “libertine fatass” that’s funding your adventure, and his extremely no-nonsense maid who gave him that nickname).

I… really can’t stress enough how much fun it was to write for these characters, and how inspired I was to come up with the perfect phrasing for every line. I’m extremely appreciative that we chose to translate the game in-house, as it gave me an opportunity to work much more deeply with this script than I ever could’ve if we’d only been tasked with editing it. As time went on, I found myself revising my work on a daily basis, making small tweaks here and there as new bits of wordplay or better puns popped into my head (much to Matt’s chagrin, I’m sure!). The end result is something that I can stand behind as a faithful interpretation of the game’s mood and intent – an attempt to convey the same degree of lighthearted fun and irreverence present in every line of the Japanese script, but formatted to sound more natural in English, accounting for context, tone, atmosphere, and individual character quirks rather than just hammering out a word-for-word translation.

I’ve never laughed so hard while playing a JRPG before, and I truly hope that when you guys play this one in English, you’ll find its English interpretation just as hilarious as I found its original Japanese to be. That would mean I succeeded at what I set out to do, and would bring me great joy and pride as a localizer!

And please do keep an eye on this Tumblr, as I fully intend to give lots more info about Zwei: The Arges Adventure (and more screenshots showing off lines I’m particularly proud of) in the weeks to come!

Until then, I hope you’re all continuing to enjoy Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, and… well, I’mma go back to testin’ Zwei: The Arges Adventure now, ‘cause I want this game to be downright perfect when it’s released! And with translation and editing 100% complete, and coding probably somewhere in the 70-80% done range, that release date will be here before you know it…

[that-girl-at-the-corner]

definitely not the last

A birthday drabble for our favorite chef, Yukihira Soma!

“So what are you giving him for his birthday?”

“Whose birthday?”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

Erina stopped typing on her laptop and looked up to find Alice’s perplexed look. She rolled her eyes at her cousin’s dramatics and returned her gaze to the paper she was writing for Chapelle-sensei’s class.

“I don’t have time for any of your games, Alice.” She said as she continued where she left off, typing away sentences about the French Influence on Japanese Cuisine.

“But it’s Yukihira’s birthday,” Alice whined, not knowing the effects of her words on her cousin.

Erina’s fingers hesitated above the keyboard, but only for a moment that one would probably miss it if they weren’t paying attention.

“And?” She asked nonchalantly without lifting her head from her work.

“Mou! They’re going to have a Barbeque at the Polar Star and I told them that we’ll be there.”

Oh. So that’s what it was for.

“I really don’t have time for that, Alice. I told Megumi as much when she invited me this morning.”

And before Alice can say anything else, she added, “You can bring Ryo instead.”

She knew that Ryo would be there nonetheless. He and Soma have been a lot closer since the Autumn election so she had no doubt that he’d already been invited. The same goes for Akira. And Takumi. Maybe Ikumi, too.

And as much as she wanted to hang out with them, her schedule just wouldn’t allow it. Besides, it’s not like they would miss her, or anything. They probably wouldn’t notice her absence. She wasn’t that close with them, anyway. Sure, they’ve fought side by side against her father but that doesn’t mean that she’ll already be welcomed in their circle. Megumi was probably just being polite when she invited her.

“Okay, okay!” She almost jumped when her cousin spoke in a defeated voice. She had her hand held up in the air and then sighed when she looked over Erina.

“I wouldn’t force you to come. No need to destroy that keyboard. Just… come over when you’re done. We’ll be there ‘till afternoon.”

She nodded and with that Alice left, leaving Erina alone in her room.

She hadn’t noticed that she was typing furiously. She checked her work and sure enough, some words were misspelled with extra letters. While she was editing her mistakes, her phone pinged, signaling a message.

Soma: Hey… ~3:04PM

Soma: You’re on tomorrow, right? ~3:05PM

Her thumb hovered over the keypads, contemplating what to reply. Or how to reply.

She had composed and deleted three different sentences before she finally berated herself. It shouldn’t matter how the text was phrased. She still couldn’t come.

She quickly typed a message and sent it without a second thought.

Soma: Hey. ~3:04PM

Soma: You’re on tomorrow, right? ~3:05PM

           Me: I have an appointment tomorrow. Sorry. ~3:13 PM

She then threw her phone on her bag and went back to adding the conclusion for her essay then proofreading her work.

;

The Barbecue at the Polar Star’s backyard was on full swing. Ikumi has brought bags of different meats that were grilled in the five barbecue stands that were set up.

Soma was having an intense debate with Akira, Ryo and Takumi when his phone vibrated inside his pocket. When he finally tore his self away from their discussion about the best mix of barbecue sauce to read the message.

Erina: Meet me in the Main Kitchen No. 3 in by 12:30. ~12:03PM

And his phone said that it was currently 12:13.

“Oh shit!” he cursed as he quickly passed the tongs he was holding to Akira (or maybe it was Takumi?) and darted towards the back of the dorm where his moped was parked, throwing a hasty Sorry guys, need to run at his back.

He mounted the bike and took off, adjusting his helmet while he drove.

Her message didn’t said anything in particular but that didn’t stop him from speeding a little bit so that he can get there in time. Besides, it wasn’t like her to send a prank text so it must be important.

;

He arrived a couple of minutes after 12:30 but she didn’t look mad. Well, that’s good start.

When he fully entered the room, she stood up and walked towards the station at the left side.

“Okay, this is my station. That’s yours.” She stated, pointing at the cooking station at the right.

He had no idea what she was talking about so he just did what he was told and went to his place.

“Let’s have eggs as the base, for old time’s sake.” She said. “What course meal do you suggest?”

“Oh, um. Ah. Dessert?”Confused, he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. He was also wondering why she’s here—not that he’s complaining. It’s just that Alice said that she would be out of town. And based on the chef’s outfit that she was wearing, he would bet that she came straight from meeting her client.

“Hmm. Ok. I think it fits to our time frame. We only have 1 and a half hour so this is not a full on battle.” Hearing that, he finally understood her intentions.

A grin spread on his mouth as he uncoiled the white cloth from his wrist and fastened the thing on his forehead.

“If you wanted to have a cooking battle then you should’ve said it from the start.”

“Well, I didn’t know that I had to spell it out for you.” She countered with a raised eyebrow. “Anyways, Hisako will be our judge. Do you want to change into a chef’s outfit?”

“Nah. This’ll do.”

;

Erina came out victorious and although he was frustrated, he couldn’t get himself to be fully upset. Not while she was smiling so smugly with her purple eyes dancing with mirth.

“Tsk. You got lucky.” He said jokingly as he untied his headband.

She harrumphed and flipped her hair, her smile still intact. “Get used to this. This is the first of many.”

He visibly brightened. That means that this wouldn’t be the last!

He smirked at her, his eyes burning with challenge.

“Don’t be so confident.”

;

He led them to her car when Hisako said that it was really time for them to go ‘because we couldn’t afford to let Mr. Gomez wait for long’. He opened the car’s door for her and returned the grateful smile that she sent his way.

When he was about to head towards his moped, the side windows of the car opened and her face peaked from inside.

Her face was flushed and Hisako was smirking at her back. 

“Umm.” She started, seemingly unable to get the words out of her mouth. While he always enjoyed seeing a blush on her face, this time he was getting concerned. He was worried her red face had something to do with the creme brulee that he insisted on her earlier. Was she allergic to something that he had put in there? His mind was swirling with possibilities and worst case scenarios when she finally spoke.

“Ha-happy birthday, Soma-kun!” she said and then disappeared inside.

After a moment, the car drove off.

If he thought that his day couldn’t be better, well it just did.

A/N: I don’t know if this made sense. lol. 

[eurolinguiste]

A short while ago, my good friend Kerstin Cable posted a question in her Facebook group. She asked, “if you could only study one language for the next five years, what would it be?”

I began to type, thinking it would be an easy answer. Chinese – duh! It’s not my native language and it’s the language I speak with Little Linguist, so I need to always stay ahead of him. In five years, he’ll be quite the conversationalist, so that would definitely need to be my one language.

But then my fingers grew still on the keyboard as I began to imagine an entire five years with just one language.

I hit delete.

It wasn’t a question I could answer because even if it’s just an imaginary scenario, it’s something that’s not easy for me to imagine.

Shortly after, I received a question from someone about what my thoughts were on learning more than one language at once.

Recently, I’ve discovered the value of focusing on one language.

But here’s where I’m going to be completely honest with you. Even when I have a focus language, I don’t completely set my other languages aside. Yup, I’m unfaithful to my focus languages.

There. I said it. It’s out there.

I’m just not a one language at a time kind of person.

Outside of the last three months or so of preparing for the HSK exam, I don’t think I’ve ever just studied one language.

And here’s why I don’t think I ever will.

1. I can take a break from language learning without really taking a break.

If I get frustrated, overwhelmed or bored with my main language, I can hit pause and look at a different language. That way I get a break from my focus language, but don’t have to take a break from language completely.

This allows me to come back to my main language refreshed without losing the habit of language study that I’ve established.

2. Sometimes working on a different language helps me understand a problem I’m having in my focus language.

When you learn a different language, sometimes certain aspects of that language are explained in a way that help you understand parts of another language.

For example, I didn’t understand how Russian cases even remotely until I began to study them intensely for Croatian. In doing this, I gained the ability to better use Croatian cases and an understanding of what I needed to do to learn them for Russian.

The same was true of particles. When I studied Korean, particles were completely new to me. I wasn’t really sure how to use them or which to use. When I began to study them for Japanese, I had already been introduced to their function and was able to more quickly learn them. When I go back to Korean, I’ll have a stronger foundation to look at them once again.

3. I don’t want to lose too much of my languages by taking an extended break.

The longer you step away from the language, the more you forget. That means the next time you pick it up, the more review you’ll have to do.

I prefer to learn new material and spend less time reviewing, so I try not to let too much time lapse when I take a break from a language.

4. I love languages too much to not dabble in more than one.

And even though I’ve settled on my forever languages, there are still a few others that I had to – very reluctantly – cut from the final list.

To maintain and improve the languages that I’ve committed to, I need to work on more than one at once.

5. At the moment, I don’t have a job or anything else that requires me to attain and maintain an extremely high level in one or two languages so I’m okay with being decent or even okay at several.

If this changes, how I study will change too. But, I’m happy with the way that my learning is going and I’m happy when I’m learning more than one language.

Learning Just One Language at a Time is a Good Thing for Some Language Learners

On the other end of the spectrum, here is why I think it’s good to study one language at a time:

1. You get a lot farther, a lot faster with a language when you focus on it.

When you study just one language at a time, all of your time and attention go to that one language. And that means you get better at it faster. If you want to learn a language quickly, learning just one at a time is the way to go.

2. You’re less likely to confuse your languages.

When you learn more than one language at the same time, the chances that you’ll confuse them is higher. Even when they’re unrelated.

If you decide to learn more than one language (even if it’s not at the same time), this mixing is something that happens. There’s really no avoiding it. Learning only one language at a time, however, does decrease the amount it happens.

So now that I’ve shared why I study more than one language at a time and the benefits of studying just one language at a time, I want to talk about my process for learning more than one language at once.

3. You aren’t yet an experienced language learner.

If you’re trying to learn how to learn languages at the same time you’re learning more than one language, it might be too much. In my experience, it’s best to have at least one language under your belt before you add in more languages. It’s good to have gone through the process of learning a language (even if it’s to an intermediate level) before you add something new to the mix.

How I Learn More Than One Language at a Time

My process for learning more than one language at once has gone through some significant changes over the past few years.

In the past, I was pretty unorganized. Today, I’m much more selective.

Here is what I do:

1. At any given time, I have a focus language.

This means that it gets the bulk of my study time. If my day is full, I make sure I get to this language and skip looking at the others until my schedule permits it.

2. I do short-term language projects.

Much like Benny Lewis of Fluent in 3 Months, I’ve grown fond of doing three-month long intensive projects. Doing this has given me the chance to revive my Croatian and take on Japanese. But I’ve also done much shorter projects like my three day Italian refresh.

This gives me focused time for my main language, but isn’t long enough that I can get distracted by other new and exciting languages or resources. I know that I can add them to my “want to try” list and that in a very short time, will get to do just that.

3. I only have two or three side languages at a time even though I work on eight total languages.

And sometimes just one. These are my break or “need to maintain” languages, so I sometimes hang on to them for more than three months. Other times, I only need to work on them briefly for a specific project. Once that project is over, I can swap them out with another side language.

4. I use language laddering.

Language laddering is when you use one of your stronger languages to learn a new language or improve a weaker language. I often use French to learn Croatian, Croatian to learn Russian, and sometimes use Chinese to learn Japanese.

Doing this also allows me to deliberately practice switching between similar languages so that I’m less likely to confuse them.

5. I don’t start learning more than one new language at a time.

With the exception of when I was at university and had to study both Italian and German at the same time, I don’t start learning more than one new language at a time. Instead, I start one, give it some attention, get somewhat comfortable with it, *and then* pick up a new one.

When you start a new language, *everything* is new and so it can be pretty overwhelming. When you try to do this with more than one language, you’re doubling or tripling that sense of overwhelm.

6. I find and commit to a tutor for my focus language asap.

Doing so makes me even more committed to the language because I don’t want to waste my tutor’s time. I make sure that I’m doing the work between sessions so that we have something new to work on each session.

And once I commit to a tutor, I usually keep up my lessons even when I have a new focus language. (i’ll write about my system for this in another post soon)

7. I accept that sometimes I’m going to feel guilty about not spending time with certain languages.

My time is limited and I don’t spend it all learning languages. This means that I won’t get to study every single language every single day. And sometimes I don’t spend time with them for months. And I also know there are languages that I want to learn that I won’t learn. Before I let this guilt take over and I spread myself to thin in an attempt to study all the languages all the time.

Now I accept that it’s part of the process and it’s a comprise I needed to make to achieve my long-term goals.

I won’t ever be able to erase the guilt I feel when I realize it’s been a year since I’ve studied Korean or that I’ve let my Italian slide yet again. And I don’t want to. It’s what brings me back to those languages when I finally do have time for them.

I don’t, however, let that guilt take over any more. I know that if I stick to the system I’ve worked so hard at, that I’ll get the results I’m aiming for.

In Conclusion

For me personally, learning more than one language at a time just works. I stay fascinated by languages, get to try out a lot of different and interesting methods and resources, and have the opportunity to learn about tons of different places and cultures.

Every learner is different, so there is no right or wrong. Learning more than one language at a time may be the right choice for you. But maybe learning one language at a time is more your style.

You won’t know until you try.

What about you?

Do you commit to one language when you study or do you like to work on more than one at once?

I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below.

The post How to Learn More Than One Language at a Time appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

[is-there-any-point-to-life]

Only One

Only One hack

Songwriters: NOAH D. GOLDSTEIN, MICHAEL DEAN, KIRBY LAUREN DOCKERY, PAUL JAMES MCCARTNEY, KANYE WEST.

This is Leehom's first full length album release in Japan under the Sony label. Not all the tunes on this 15 track album are in Japanese, actually only one of them is Japanese. There are Six English tracks and the remaining eight are in Mandarin. I don't have lots of Leehom Wang records but one thing this CD made me realize is that there's a particular character and sincerity to Leehom's voice that's able to reach you no matter what language he is singing in. In early 2014, Paul McCartney and Kanye West first started working together in a little bungalow in Los Angeles. The process that would result in Only One" began with a simple brainstorming session between the two: With McCartney improvising on the keyboards and Kanye vocally sketching and forming ideas at a stream-of-consciousness riff. And, I wasn't sure about mentioning this but I might as well. Track #3, Like a Gunshot, does not match my taste and I find the lyrics cringe worthy but I feel they could have at least placed it in a different position because as is, it gives quite a shock. When they played back the recording then, something remarkable occurred. Kanye sat there with his family, holding his daughter North on his lap, and listened to his vocals, singing, Hello, my only one " And at that instant, not only could he not remember having sung those words, but he realized that maybe the words had never really come from him. The packaging is in a normal CD Jewel case. It includes a lyrics page and a few pretty pictures and a Japanese translated lyrics book without pretty pictures on cheaper paper and more information on each track. The process of artistic creation is one that doesn't involve thinking, but often channeling. And he knew in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day.

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc..

Includes a duet with Lara Fabian. Aslo features the Japaneseversion of 'The Only One'. Prime members enjoy FREE Two-Day Shipping and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio collection, and Kindle books. This is Leehom's first full length album release in Japan under the Sony label. Not all the tunes on this 15 track album are in Japanese, actually only one of them is Japanese. There are Six English tracks and the remaining eight are in Mandarin. I don't have lots of Leehom Wang albums but one thing this CD made me realize is that there's a certain personality and sincerity to Leehom's voice that's able to reach you regardless what language he's singing in. In early 2014, Paul McCartney and Kanye West first began working together in a small bungalow in Los Angeles. The process that would result in Only One" began with a simple brainstorming session between the two: With McCartney improvising on the keyboards and Kanye vocally sketching and forming ideas at a stream-of-consciousness riff. And, I was not sure about mentioning this but I might as well. Track #3, Like a Gunshot, doesn't suit my taste and I find the lyrics seem worthy but I believe they could have at least placed it in a different position because as is, it provides quite a shock.

Only One hack Download:

[motifsinthecity]

Favorite Albums: 2019

30 | Speilbergs | This is Not the End (By The Time It Gets Dark) 29 | blink-182 | NINE (Viking Wizard Eyes) 28 | Blood Incantation | Hidden History of the Human Race (Dark Descent) 27 | Tyler, The Creator | IGOR (Columbia) 26 | Drab Majesty | Modern Mirror (Dais Records) 25 | Better Oblivion Community Center | Better Oblivion Community Center (Dead Oceans) 24 | Bat For Lashes | Lost Girls (AWAL Recordings) 23 | Bon Iver | i,i (Jagjaguwar) 22 | Gatecreeper | Deserted (Relapse) 21 | Chelsea Wolfe | Birth of Violence (Sargent House) 20 | James Blake | Assume Form (Polydor) 19 | American Football | American Football (LP3) (Polyvinyl/Big Scary Monsters) 18 | Hania Rani | Esja (Gondwana) 17 | Venom Prison | Samsara (Prosthetic) 16 | Angel Olsen | All Mirrors (Jagjaguwar) 15 | The National | I Am Easy To Find (4AD) 14 | Chillhop Music | Daydreams 2 (Chillhop Music) 13 | Orville Peck | Pony (Sub Pop) 12 | Sturgill Simpson | Sound & Fury (Elektra) 11 | Greet Death | New Hell (Deathwish) 10 | The Japanese House | Good at Falling (Dirty Hit/Interscope) 9 | Sharon Van Etten | Remind Me Tomorrow (Jagjaguwar) 8 | PUP | Morbid Stuff (Rise/BMG) 7 | Freddie Gibbs & Madlib | Bandana (Keep Cool/RCA Records) 6 | Prince Daddy & The Hyena | Cosmic Thrill Seekers (Counter Intuitive) 5 | (Sandy) Alex G | House of Sugar (Domino) 4 | La Dispute | Panorama (Epitaph) 3 | Origami Angel | Somewhere City (Chatterbot Records) 2 | Bad Books | III (Loma Vista) 1 | Oso Oso | basking in the glow (Triple Crown)

The decade is ending and we still have lots to do. Many of us entered our careers in this decade and a lot of us are trying to unlearn the internalized compliance that’s been programmed into us, in furtherance of the American Dream. People my age are industry now, so remember, the goal is to always be optimizing. 

This is easier said than done as modern life creates a friction between expectations and ourselves. Indeed, it’s getting harder to “be” in a world that demands more time from us—so Lyft home, Blue Apron that dinner, Wayfair that ottoman. It’s only time, money and attention. Do things. Move fast. Party harder. Relentless. 

The crash appears inevitable. It’s no wonder the buzz around mindfulness has reached fever pitch. We’re tired of feeling tired but the effort to stay afloat feels impossible.

Oso Oso’s basking in the glow comes at the right time then—a record exploring the small moments of pause that just might allow us to hang on to who we are. Riding the hype and wave from 2017’s excellent the yunahon mixtape, basking… finds solo artist Jade Lilitri taking on the possibility that self-care might just be a desperation cocktail of black humor, unwavering gratitude, and compassion for our past mistakes as we all reach for a sense of where we want to be. What results is a concise 10-track collection of hopeful meditations, oscillating between the left-field emo-pop of Saves the Day, the sincerity of The Hotelier, and the softer grace of pre-cancellation Brand New.

While the yunahon mixtape featured the charm of Lilitri’s one-man DIY grit, basking… now features the Midas touch of producer Mike Sapone, the George Martin of 3rd/4th Wave Emo. For that reason, basking… feels like it’s been fortified by sunlight, which you can feel firsthand on the rippling waves of “intro” to the driving power-pop and soaring harmonies of “the view.” These tracks gleam and shimmer, presenting a real warmth that matches the hope Lilitri is trying to channel. He transfigures this feeling on the album’s title track, aching for something outside himself and reaching for restorative absolution:

These days, it feels like all I know is this phase I hope I'm basking in the glow And these days, it feels like all I know is this phase I hope I'm basking in the glow Is there something bigger I don't know?

Elsewhere, on “dig,” Lilitri is torn between the fear of facts and the prison of fiction as the song dissolves into a sugar bath of angular distortion:

Hard to know what you've been shown When all you're shown are lies Black ink put on this page, above a dotted line Oh, oh Oh, oh

Yeah, there's this hole in my soul So how far do you wanna go? You know I'll give it away if it's what you say This hold, it grows, can you feel it too? I mean if that's what you want It's up to you

A sense of searching permeates throughout basking…, positing that the way out into the light is right through our obstacles. For its generally summer-obsessed aesthetic, basking… doesn’t shy away from the shadows that often fall along our journey of self-discovery. The underwater-mixtape acoustic strum of “one sick plan” finds Lilitri face to face with his undoing, gambling on self-reliance in the face of total annihilation. “priority change” finds Lilitri shedding the notion that being responsible for others’ well-being is the same as setting an example for positive change:

Not quite a saint nor a sinner So don't bother saving no souls And with each year these roads get thinner Don't fear walking them alone

Fearless optimism isn’t anything new for emo in 2019—especially in light of some of 2019s heaviest hitters (Origami Angel’s spasmodic guitar heroics on Somewhere City, the sc-fi doo-wop of Prince Daddy & the Hyena’s fuzzed out Cosmic Thrill Seekers come to mind). basking…, however, takes the approach that it’s not always full steam ahead, boundless energy, and relentless awe at the possibility of living one’s most excellent life. We’re not the Avengers, we’re people, and basking… reflects that struggle with gracious restraint. There are peaks and valleys in our paths and the albums’ back half maintains a sublime exploration of both. “impossible game” might be the album’s pièce de résistance, a jerky, flange-soaked track that finds Lillitri’s falsetto flip from slacker dreams to zen master under a Jimmy Eat World-sized chorus:

So slow down, feels like we're rushing away Tried my hold on to this impossible game And I know I'm wrong, what else can I say? I got a glimpse of this feeling, I'm trying to stay in that lane

It’s a refreshing take on “trust the process,” but a fervent reminder that we shouldn’t blindly follow some abstraction of bliss. Lilitri bets on a cultivating a meaningful life through self-reliance on our values, from what’s true for ourselves, to be the best version of ourselves. You can’t rush that sort of thing as time and experience are the greatest teachers, but Lilitri gives us the benefit of that hindsight—as well as a strong case for all sage advice to come with a side of twisting guitar lines and two-step drums.

basking… closes with the haunting “charlie” which chronicles the bittersweet end of a relationship, building from twinkling melodies and dusty shuffles towards stutter-stop explosions. Unlike most break-up songs that devolve into this notion that the departed can’t be replaced, Lilitri subverts that trend with the idea that there’s something inevitable about departure, and the thing we miss most is a memory of a feeling. The song provides the perfect capstone for basking…, that we acknowledge grief in the practice of letting go but that we eventually have to disconnect from its stasis if we’re to survive any meaningful change. Ending with a gossamer solo and gauzy keyboards, “charlie” presents Oso Oso at its most vital, displaying for its listeners that simply having the freedom to choose “meaning” versus “comfort” isn’t enough to guarantee happiness. You don’t always have to be brave but you do need conviction to keep going.

Ultimately, basking… leaves us all with the notion that our lives contain infinite possibilities if we’d slow down long enough to realize them. We often get caught up in the game of going further, being better, and living up to the expectations of others, which often means we are the instrument of our own suffering. With basking…, Oso Oso reminds us that maybe, if we quietly listen to ourselves and trust our values, the race we’re running isn’t worth running in the first place. Sometimes, it’s better to take a second and slow down to unlearn what we have learned about the world and about ourselves. 

Maybe we’ll come to find there’s less to do than we originally thought, leaving more time for the things that truly matter.

[missstormcaller]

WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU Part 15 Full Translation.

The Ceremony

1

pages 158-168

Human world.

Karakura Town - Sakurabashi park.

This park constructed on the hills overlooking the railway track was Inoue Orihime's favourite place. Even though it is only a small park with a few dozen or so trees and couple of benches, every bench is placed in front of a great view and there is no disappointment wherever you sit. Amongst those, Orihime particularly liked the bench facing opposite the railway track, she loved watching the trains and the town from there.

Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji were currently sitting side by side on that very bench. The time was around 10 p.m. and the small night view of Karakura Town was spread out below them. Because Renji was not as familiar with the Human World as much as Rukia was, every time a train would pass by he would curiously follow it with his eyes.

"Kuchiki saaan!"

Orihime dashed up the stairs leading up the hill whilst waving her arm. When the pair stood up and waved back, she raised her voice in surprise, "huh? You're here together with Abarai kun too!?"

"Yo! You're looking well, Inoue!"

"Yup, I'm well!"

Orihime replied whilst ascending the final few steps on the staircase, "fuu, I've arrived~" she said, recovering her breath when had reached the top.

"I'm sorry for taking up your time this late"

With Rukia in the middle, the three of them sat down beside each other on the bench.

"Not at all, don't worry about something like that! I'm so happy you came to see me!"

"How about the store? Is it still thriving as usual?"

"Uh huh! Business is already booming everyday!"

Orihime currently works as a regular employee of a bread and cake shop called 'ABCookies'. After her older brother Inoue Sora passed away, she was getting along by receiving assistance with living expenses from a distant relative; but because of the fact that the relative had originally declared that they would only provide assistance up till high school graduation, since the summer of three years prior, Orihime had been searching for a job placement for after graduation. During that time, she was working at the shop part-time, the shop manager who had learnt of her situation insisted that Orihime be fully employed by the company.

"Rangiku san and Soifon San have also often come to buy things"

"Lieutenant Matsumoto I can understand, but captain Soifon too……!?"

"……Yoruichi san gets her to buy it for her, am I right?"

"Ah that’s true" Rukia thought, understanding completely.

"So then, what’s happening today? You're even here together with Abarai kun……"

Orihime observed the couple. For some reason or another, she felt that the air that flowed between the pair had become even more intimate than before, Orihime stood up, "oohh!" she said in a loud voice.

"Ehh! Wait, could it be!? Ah, perhaps the two of you……the two of you……!"

With eyes wide open she stared at them in round eyed wonder, Orihime's cheeks were instantly coloured red. Smiling with her whole face, Rukia tried to convey the message without saying a word but-----

"S-s- sta- started dating!?"

------Orihime's intuition was off the mark twice as much.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!! Dating……no, but in a sense it’s somewhere along those lines!!"

Orihime looked blankly at Renji who had burst into laughter, Rukia then spoke.

"Inoue, me and Renji……today, we completed our nyuseki"

"Eh………eeeeeehh!? Nyuseki……that means, you're married……right!?"

Rukia nods, 'that's correct'. Orihime inhaled a deep breath, she began to sob even as a bright smile remained on her face.

"Inoue!?"

"Haaa……uuu……pardon meee……! This is such a pleasant surprise…… I've become an emotional mess……!"

Standing up, Rukia tenderly embraced Orihime's shoulders leading her to sit on the bench again.

"Con….gratulationsss……Kuchiki……sannn……"

Orihime was heaving with sobs as Rukia rubbed her back whilst nodding and uttering comforting words.

"……You fool, what are you grinning at……?"

Rukia said knitting her eyebrows together, noticing Renji smirking whilst looking their way.

"it’s kinda nice to think……You going over the top to take care of someone like that just now, since I’ve never seen you like that you knowww……”

Although he didn't say it, he actually thought that her face full of affection was beautiful.

"Haa…. I'm okay now……thank you, Kuchiki san! I truly congratulate the both of youuu!!"

Orihime smiled sweetly.

"……Thank you, Inoue"

With a finger, Rukia gently wiped away the single trickle of a teardrop that had just escaped.

After completely hearing and laughing about the troublesome story around the nyuseki from the other two, Orihime casually asked Rukia, "you've told Kurosaki kun about it already right?"

"No, not yet. We were thinking to go and announce it to Ichigo after this but……I wonder if it's too late now"

Saying that, she looked up at Renji. "He probably stays up late anyhow" Renji stated definitively without any sort of basis.

"It's really okay that I was told first……?"

Feeling a little shy and fidgety, Rukia hesitated a few times as she replied to Orihime.

"Th-that's because, Inoue I consider you……my……b-best girl-friend! So therefore……I thought…I should tell you first……"

She spoke as her last few words became a little mumbled.

"……your face is redder than the time I asked you to marry me ya know"

"Sh-shut up!!"

Watching as Rukia grew red to her ears, Orihime laughed and became teary eyed once again.

"Thank you, Kuchiki san! I admire you very much too!!"

After seeing the couple off, Orihime hurried back to her house. Saying "I'm home" to the portrait of her late older brother before catching her breath, Orihime put in a phone call to Dokugamine Riruka.

"……Hellooo?"

After four rings, Riruka's somewhat displeased sounding voice could be heard.

"Sorry for calling so late! It's me Orihime"

"When I went to your shop last week, I told you didn't I!? I said I'm busy with the launch of a new brand right now! Does this mean you didn't listen when I was talking!?"

Riruka is currently working as a designer in the apparel department of an enterprise managed by Yukio Hans Vorarlberna. Jackie Tristan also works at the same business but she is constantly flying all over the world because she is engaged in work concerning the aid of developing countries, therefore she is almost never seen.

"Of course, I was listening to you! But this is a bit of an emergency……"

"Emergency……? In that case, please tell me about the matter quickly!"

"Yes! Thank you, Riruka chan! Well……"

Whilst annoyed that she did not speak with haste, Riruka listened as Orihime talked about Rukia getting married, and the fact that the ceremony that was to be held two weeks later, is fast approaching.

"So then, I want to give her something, a gift, but what would be good……? Something handmade……that can be used at the wedding ceremony, I think something like that would be nice……"

"It has to be something suitable enough for a beginner to make……"

The sound of fingertips tapping on a table could be heard through the phone.

"What about a bouquet or a ring pillow……but that world has standard traditional style dress for a Shinto ceremony, doesn't it?"

"Oh, right!…… Eh, well then that means, Kuchiki san, in a Shiromuku*……!? Haaaa, that would be absolutely cuuute……!"

(*Traditional Japanese white Kimono for brides)

"Don't lose your cool……moreover that Rukia girl is a noblewoman isn't she? Since everything will probably be prepared to the highest of quality, if an amateur decides to makes things like traditional style dress accessories, it may pale in comparison……"

"Ohh!!"

In response to Orihime's loud voice, Riruka complained with even more volume, "be quite!! Don't suddenly burst out into a ridiculously loud voice!!"

"Sorry sorry……well, how about a dress? A wedding dress!"

"Huhhh!? There is no way a beginner would be able to properly make something like a dress in just two weeks you know!?"

"But, if I try my very best….!"

"Abso-lutely impossible!!"

"Uuu……! I wanted to see Kuchiki san in western style garments too……"

Orihime muttered with deep disappointment.

"……in that case, how about a veil?"

The sounds of rhythmical tapping on a keyboard could be heard clearly through the earpiece, "I looked it up just now, it seems there's a fair amount of people who like to combine western hairdressing with a Shiromuku nowadays" Riruka informed.

Orihime imagined Rukia's form.

A wataboshi* (*traditional bridal hood-like headdress) will surely suit well with that elegant small face of hers she thought. However, it seemed to her that the people who would be assembled there could more fully enjoy and appreciate Rukia's beauty if  she could be seen through a veil that was completely transparent rather than a wataboshi that would cover a great majority of her head.

"I think that's a very good idea……!"

"If it's a veil, then you basically just cut soft tulle, even an idiot can do it. And then, how about adding on some embroidery with fine thread around the hem? If you do small embroidery, even if it's somewhat poor, as long as it’s seen from a distance it will be unnoticeable"

"Yes yes, I want to add on embroidery!"

"I'll write down a set of instructions and send it together with the materials first thing in the morning. Your address hasn't changed has it?"

"Eeeh!? No that's fine, thank you very much for your help! I'm extremely grateful just because I was able to get advice from you! Afterwards, I myself will go and look for……"

"Huuuh!? You called me when I'm busy, don't hold back now!"

Riruka held her phone in one hand, with the hand that was vacant, she had found what she was looking for, "hm, this will also be of use……" one by one she had ticked off the materials.

"Thank you Riruka chan, but really it's okay……"

"shut up, I told you to be quiet!! ……I'm almost done! I've already disappeared twice with the intention of not having to deal with you lot anymore! And yet, since we met again three years ago, you’ve been using every possible pretext to call me about things like ……a new stock of tasty doughnuts, and whatever else! You understand me Orihimeee!?"

"Yes, sorry! ……but Riruka chan, you always come to buy……"

"I only pass by that shop because it's tasty there, things like whether or not you are working there does not concern me in the slightest!!"

"Pardon me~~~!!"

Phone calls with Riruka always eventually becomes a lecture. Orihime witlessly calls Riruka who likes scolding her like this. Listening to an angry Riruka's voice who was full of vitality as she spoke, 'ah, we're not so lonesome anymore', she’d think as her heart would become warm.

The following day, a package arrived from Riruka, it contained a great deal of materials and a document with a set of instructions, and------

[I spoke a bit too harshly yesterday

Sorry]

-----Written down on a note.

End.