#(the english cast is very good tho)

[gontagokuhara]

how i’ll sleep at night knowing all my blorbos (except chiaki 🫡) got an unequivocally happy ending even though theyre literally danganronpa characters and by definition it doesnt exactly lend itself easily to said happy endings

[icharchivist]

like i said. if you wanna suffer ill be happy to watch. but also the only thing i know about ff 15 is that one max0r video which while very funny is probably not 100% accurate to the story

now this is giving me too much power. I'll be happy (and sad) to oblige. And give you a quick overview.

and yeah i doubt that one video is a good description of it. so.

cracks fingers.

One of us is going to end up crying by the end of this. it's going to be me. but you're welcome to join me.

Final Fantasy 15 is the story of Noctis Lucis Caelum, crown prince of the kingdom of Lucis.

The Kingdom of Lucis is facing a crisis as the ever-growing Niflheim Empire is trying to expend and take the kingdom over, at the same time as a sickness called Starscrouge is slowly killing people. When the night falls, daemons come in the dark, and ever since those events have started happening, nights are growing longer in longer.

As the Empire of Niflheim is discussing peace treaty with the Kingdom, a clause is made on their contract to have Noctis marry Princess Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, who's been held captive by Niflheim for about a decade, and who has been Noctis's childhood friend and penpal. She is the Oracle, chosen by a prophecy to be the only person capable of healing the Starscrouge before the sickness takes hold.

King Regis decides to send his son to his marriage-to-be right before the peace treaty is officially signed, accompanied by his three most trusted friends - Ignis Scientia, who's been working as a royal advisor, cook, caretaker ever since they were children, Gladiolus Amicitia, who's been Noctis' bodyguard and royal trainer for a very long time, and Prompto Argentum, Noctis' school bestie who, despite having no relation to the royal family, is the only person outside of it Noctis managed to get close with.

But soon after their departure, the peace ceremony goes array- King Regis is murdered and the Kingdom of Lucis fall to the Empire, now leading a manhunt for Noctis to kill the royal lineage, and recover the Ring of Lucis, a powerful artefact carried through the family that, especially once coupled with the Magic Crystal that is the source of all magic in Lucis, can connect its wielder with the Kings of Old to access tremendous power left by the Gods.

See, there is a prophecy in the Lucis lineage that one day the One True King Of Light, chosen by the Gods, will be able to purge the world of the Starscrouge and Daemons, ending this curse at all cost. and, as you can imagine, this burden will fall on Noctis's shoulders as he goes through his new journey to awake the old gods and reunites the soul weapons of the previous Kings in order to unlock the full potential of his power.

The game mostly plays as an open world where you explore the valley with your besties. There is a lot that is very difficult to communicate that is just about how it feels like a camping simulator. You don't want to stay up at night for too long because Daemons are overleveled and bitch to kill, so you try to level up, do your missions, and enjoy your time connecting with your friends, learning more about them.

From Prompto's insecurities about his place in this journey, to Ignis's unwavering loyalty that would oversee Noctis's protection to the end, to Gladio devoting himself to being the shield even when everything starts to fall apart, you end up caring a lot for this group of misfits who are just trying to enjoy their journey knowing it might be their last.

You spend the game mostly having fun with them. Finding place to camp, new recipes for Ignis to cook, Prompto is constantly taking pictures and selfies to remember the journey by, you stop to every ponds to be sure Noctis can enjoy all of the fishing he can, you meet up with Gladio's little sister, it's really a really heartful game in ways that are very difficult to articulate.

... until shit hit the fan.

You're introduced to the real antagonist of the game, the Empire's chancelor, Ardyn Izunia, who's been pulling the strings all along, while also helping Noctis unlock the powers of the Gods.

And when finally it's time for you to go find Lunafreya for their wedding and hopefully linking the power of the Oracle to the King of Light in order to finally purge it all.....

Ardyn will brutally murder Lunafreya in front of Noctis, killing with her any possibility to stop the Starscrouge and the endless nights around the corner. The death itself is pretty heartbreaking, showcasing Noctis' very difficult time to deal with her loss, and Luna was defined by how she was willing to do everything to carry her duty to the end, so it was really sad.. but Luna was not very well written unfortunately (she appears maybe 15mins in the whole game up until this point) so i don't have as much to say about it :( it was super heartbreaking but yeah... yeah.

During this confrontation, Ignis will lose his eyes trying to protect Noctis, as Noctis was unconscious and Ignis grabbed the Ring of Lucis to ask for the powers of the Gods to protect him, and the Gods burn his eyes off. (it's so hard to properly explain but Ignis becoming blind ends up developping a lot of problems in the plot, of course, but especially in the gameplay. Like you spend the game having Ignis cook all sort of things and exitedly tell you about what he's going to cook today, and then your first campire after this incident you see the only food you can cook is some canned bean and it's just. so sudden in the way to tell you Ignis is changed for ever by it.)

Shortly afterward, Ardyn will create illusions that will push Noctis to push Prompto off from a moving train, resulting in Prompto getting kidnapped and experimented on by the Empire.

all while Gladio is losing his faith in Noctis because everyone is expecting so much from him, that they're their only hope, and yet Noctis is so lost in his grief that he doesn't focus on the bigger picture, while everyone he loves is losing everything around them.

When you finally decide to take down the Empire's HQ to get Prompto's back, is when a lot of truth starts to unravel.

You learn that Prompto is the clone of one of the highest funding members of the Empire, who was created to become one of the mindless drone enemies you fight the whole game, but has been smuggled out of the labs before he could be turned as such - only keeping a mark on his wrist reminding him of who he truly is. As much as Prompto always wanted to be Noctis' friend, he always feared that him being a clone, a failed weapon made by the enemies, would eventually disgust Noctis, and he feared all his life that Noctis would turn against him. so you can imagine the panic for Prompto when Noctis did attack him due to the illusions.

Most importantly though, you learn that Ardyn Izunia is actually Ardyn Lucis Caelum - one of the prince of Olds, the first person who was prophetized to be the King of Light. Bahamut himself, god of gods, gave him for missions to purge the Starscrouge, and Ardyn did just that, and took all of the Starscrouge in the world inside of his body, eradicating it from this world... and when he came to ask what he was supposed to do now, the Gods turned on him and left him to his fate, as he was not the one to actually serve to finish this prophecy. (if i recall correctly they legit say it wouldn't be narratively satisfying. Fuck the Gods, fuck Bahamut, all the homies hate Bahamut no matter the universe.)

Then, as the gods refused to clean him from the scrouge, his brothe, Somnus, tried to kill him before locking him into a magical prison and a magical slumber for the centuries that followed. Somnus became known as the Savior of Lucis, he took the credit for the actions of his brother, and build his kingdom on his ashes, continuing his royal line until Noctis' birth out of it.

When the Niflheim Empire started to come to power, they freed Ardyn, and figured out how to be able to use his power -- Ardyn could unlean the Starscrouge inside of him and have it spread into the world.... and we learn that people who "die" from the Starscrouge actually become Daemons, creature of the night, and the more people become Daemons, the longer the night will last.

And so Ardyn unleashed all of his power, all of his suffering, but himself has been turned into a Daemon at this point due to the sickness ravaging his body for centuries. He only feels pain, and he cannot die, for the sickness made him immortal. So while the Empire woke him up to use him, Ardyn decided instead to use the Empire to take revenge on the descendant of his brother, destroy the world he had sworn to save, and finally by the end, being killed by the True King of Light in the way the Gods will find narratively satisfying.

And finally, as our four companions are trying to escape the forteress, Noctis finds the Crystal, and with all the power he has gathered since then, and prompted by Ardyn telling him that the only way for him to know how to defeat him, Noctis approached it... and was taken in by the Crystal.

In there he met the Kings of Old who told him about the prophecy. The King of Light will pure the world of the Starscrouge and the Demons by taking out Ardyn for good.... but since Ardyn cannot die, his soul will always come back into his body, the King of Light must die as well in order to kill Ardyn's soul in the afterlife once its there.

Noctis therefore learns that by the end of his journey, the only thing that awaits is his own suicide in order to finally put Ardyn to rest.

The Crystal kept Noctis in it for about ten years. For ten years Noctis could do nothing but wait, as the Night fully took the lands over and destroyed everything. Only small camps here and there managed to survive and fight -- and his three friends have been trying to do their best for the people's survival, while being torn apart at the sudden loss of Noctis that day.

When Noctis finally returns, he can meet with his friends one last time. And tell them what awaits him.

For one last time you team up with your dearest friends, all of them having to be aware that they're walking you out so you can kill yourself to finally bring peace.

Before entering the final room to the final boss fight, Noctis turns to his friends, and ask Prompto to give him one of the pictures he took. You go through all the pictures you took as Prompto as you decide which picture Noctis will hold on in his last moments, holding on knowing they were the people who brought him on this journey to start with. In there Noctis will share his final words with them.

And finally you leave your friends behind. Finally it's time to fight Ardyn as he himself only awaits for death. Two dead men giving each other a last fight, two pawns by the prophecy made by the Gods, tool in a narrative that never saw them as humans, no matter how hard they clang to their humanity and to the people they loved.

One last final fight, finally killing Ardyn. And watching Noctis climbs on the throne of his father, and empale himself with all of the swords of the previous kings, in order to finish this fight in the afterlife.

And so the game ends. Ardyn is dead. The Starscrouge and Daemons are purged from this world. the Kingdom of Lucis can live on and see better days. And Noctis is dead as well, standing on the throne of his father.

In the last moments of the game you see him in the afterlife where he reunited with Lunafreya. He's holding the picture you picked in the previous scene. Looking over his friends one last time.

And then in case it's not enough you have the DLCs. Ardyn's DLC tell you more about how the Gods set them up for narrative satisfaction to start with. Then you have all three friends' DLC, set at points in game when you don't know what happened to them. But all of them ends with some final goodbye of some sort.

Gladio's DLC is the most underwhelming one in general so i don't really know what to say about it, and it doesn't really have a big payoff.

Prompto's show how he felt, abandonned in the snow when Noctis almost killed him. Having to wrestle with his existence as a clone, and figuring out if Noctis even wants him by his side. This DLC ends on a last conversation between Prompto and Noctis right before Noctis entered the crystal, in which Noctis tells Prompto he hopes he'll be by his side as he'll try to be a good king. Prompto promise he will be, always.

And then. Ignis' DLC. god that fucking DLC.

You really see the events in which Ignis stole the Ring to try to protect Noctis there, the event that rendered him blind. You see how much he fights out of devotion for Noctis. And you learn that when he put the ring on, the Kings of Old told him Noctis was going to die. Ignis spent his life protecting Noctis. In fact, you go through various flashback of their first meeting. Ignis has to learn that the kid he's protected his whole life, is going to die, and there's nothing he can do about it, because this is the fate that has been drawn on him.

On the first ending of the DLC, There is one last goodbye. Where Ignis wants to follow Noctis to the end and Noctis has to stop him, telling him that he wants him to live on.

(so that's the scene where i was crying so hard i ended up tripping in the stairs)

BUT THEN Ignis's DLC has an alternative ending. an ending where when Ignis hears the plans the Gods had planned for Noctis, he tells them, screw you. I'm never going to let it happen to him. I'll fight all of you if i have to and i'll save Noctis from this cruel fate you have planned.

And so in this ending, Ignis doesn't let Noctis walk into the Crystal and they work together, in an alternative way, until they can save him and put him on the throne.

and let me be clear: this ending is impossible by the game's lore. It's purely a fanservice fix-it ending, a what if, Ignis' ultimate proof of love that is enough to screw over the prophecy hundred of years in the making.

Where Ignis manages to save Noctis so Noctis can actually live on as the King he was raised to be. For ever at his side.

SO. WELL. WELL. I NEVER RECOVERED.

(and i am in fact crying as i'm writing all of this)

all of that while the main theme of the game is a Stand By Me cover by Florence + The Machine that will forever rip your heart and will leave you crying your eyes out as you finish this game, especially after the true ending, watching Noctis' die, and then hearing this fucking damn song.

Anyway i never fucking recovered from it. Like, never.

Like, even a summary doesn't do it justice. My first playthrough took me hundreds of hours. I spent hundred of hours with those kids. Enjoying their banters, seeing them protect each other, fight with one another. There's so much of their dynamic that is so deep into the gameplay, the way your companions will check on you during a fight, the moments they'll pause to have a high five, those moments of pure happiness where you know they're having fun by each other's side.

and Noctis being such a good character you really get to love and for what. And for what!!!!!!!! to get him killed by the end???? like for crying out loud. literally.

So yeah that's the speedrun of what FF15 is about. It's about tearing my heart out of my chest, that's what it is. (and others themes but you get my point)

Anyway. Yeah. Here you are. Here you know FF15's story.

and btw there was a little webseries set right before the event of the games, telling you how each of those friendships started. if you ever goot curious through reading all of this, i definitely recommend it. (the playlist is from newest to oldest though so be sure to watch on the right order)

was it worth it.

[revenantghost]

I’m gonna stop for the night at episode three because 1. It’s past my bedtime and 2. I’m so frustrated at the screenshot situation, BUT! I’ve gotta say the casting for the side characters in the dub is eerily accurate at times, whoever cast them deserves a reward.

[micamicster]

Ok here’s my criticism of the english: I think it needed to be either A Romance OR needed to have the romance entirely unspoken

[rivangel]

every—lesser known—canon fact about Levi Ackerman.

infamously over the years, there have been countless false rumors about Levi in particular out of the cast. many of them have become popular, even ubiquitous, and it's annoying!

and also disheartening when you find out it's not true....

and hurtful when you realize it was - sometimes - made up by trolls.

so i'm making this post<3

credit to @levisfavoriteacup for the idea!!

*disclaimer: i'm not perfect, so this may not be Everything™️ but I am confident that it's the majority of information available, and that it's trustworthy. :)

First the most populars. There is no evidence across interviews nor other content over the years that:

Levi is ugly, and is considered ugly in AOT.

Nope. See here: (tumblr link), or:

Isayama finished his first sketch of Levi mostly on a whim, but the moment he drew his face, he had a sense it would work well / he knew he had something good. Something told him: "the yaoi fangirls are going to like this one".

As time passed and his popularity grew, Isayama caught onto this and wanted to portray him more attractively (in multiple ways) to the viewer/reader.

But from the beginning, this was something of the goal. He is short because Isayama had in mind what young women/fangirls in Japan consider attractive: a man with a higher-pitch voice; has a small face; and who is "short but strong".

In the world of AOT, he (in a nutshell) is mostly considered plain or awkward, but combined with his reputation and style, he's very charming. "He cleans up nice." Overall, it is positive :) But more importantly, realistic I think.

He's also something of a celebrity. People who advertise their product as being used by him are more successful; when he's seen in a shop, this by itself is considered "advertising" and more people come in. Quote: ""the tea that the hero bought”".

He's definitely not a 2/10 at any rate😇.

—the 24th episode of Naoki Yoshida's Anime Plan, 2013 / Interview with Frau Magazine, 2013 | Hajime Isayama x Hikaru Suruga (2014) | AU Smartpass - Erwin & Levi Close Up Interview Part 1 | Taking shelter from the rain reprise: Levi and Peaure

Levi’s type would be someone who’s "tough, feminine and sensual".

Levi's type "might" be tall people. But context matters, because in multiple translations "don't you think?" and "might be" are thrown around a lot. Isayama isn't known for his clarity. When asked, he practically said the question right back. —fan Q&A from a festival in Betsumaga, Aug.2014

What this quote might have come from is a statement by the author of an article Isayama was likely involved in. I can't say this is 100% canon, but in my opinion it's a little less canon than the Smartpass AUs; if those are sub-canon, then this is sub-sub-canon:

Levi's romantic type is someone who walks three steps behind him, and likes cleaning.

In the past, in Japanese culture, for a wife to walk three steps behind her husband implied highly traditional gender roles. What this is much more likely to mean is that Levi's romantic type is someone who will let him protect them, or will run away and survive even if it costs his life. (And they have to like cleaning.)

—the article is from 2013, and no longer exists. but the link was used as recently as 2021 as a source in this post by a reliable translator. I've found this quote also in varying qualities of translation across Japanese and English forums, so to the best of my knowledge, it's reliable.

Levi's cravat is a piece of his mother's dress + he was wearing her dress when Kenny found him.

This is a popular rumor that Isayama has never confirmed (i think it is true, tho.)

December 25th was chosen by his comrades because he doesn't know his actual birthday.

The guidebook only states that it is his birthday. I can't find any more context on this. —AOT Guidebook; p.256

His character profile:

—AOT Guidebook; p.78–79

His name is Hebrew, and means "attached" or to be "joined".

Isayama came up with Levi's name after watching American documentary "Jesus Camp". (It's about a summer camp-type program where evangelical Christian children are taught extreme beliefs. One of the children was named Levi.) Isayama heard it and thought it sounded cool. —Hajime Isayama x Hikaru Suruga (2014) | 2010 blogpost by Isayama

Levi is in his early 30s (in s3/RtS/volume 19). –Interview, Universal Studios Japan’s SNK THE REAL exhibition, 2016 | confirmation

If Kuchel was still alive, Levi would want to make sure she had an easy life. This means specifically filial piety, a concept exclusive to the East: he would fulfill his duties as a son for her. (tldr he's a mama's boy :3) —Bessatsu Magazine, 2019

Levi would have thin facial hair, but he prefers not to, so he shaves frequently. —January 2020 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 124)

He doesn't like coffee milk or coffee jelly. They're out of the question even.🤐 —July 2018 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 106)

He just gets depressed when he drinks coffee. Maybe he loves tea that much? He stopped calling Hange names like 'shitty glasses' since they became commander because he "seems" to respect their position that much. However, a Smartpass story delves deeper into this (and states as I suspected): [After Hange makes a joke] "Since becoming the commander succeeding Erwin, they’d toned down on their past speech and behaviour that had a touch of tomfoolery; Levi understanding that they were nevertheless trying to maintain the self “that was the case then”, also loses the will to curse at them." + "In the past, Hange had a Hange-type dream, and should have been progressing to that purpose. That lately, was it the weight of the office of commander, or was it due to the reality that is “all the world was our enemy”, their manner had changed considerably." —May 2017 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 92) | Goodnight. Sweet dreams, dear. Act II: Levi

If he and Kenny had fought one-on-one, Levi would've won. —December 2016 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 87)

intermission: all about tea

His favorite "food" is black tea. No actual food.

He doesn't add sugar or milk to his tea because he considers it too expensive—which it is canonically. Despite this, he will share his tea with his comrades (his original squad as far as is seen).

Even though he's Captain, he'd rather drink it straight (the implications of which are he's a hardworking man, like that of a farmer. aka, this makes him seem humble).

If a time of peace ever came, Levi wants to open a black tea shop (he said in a dreamlike way, not so much based in reality).

He also knows a good amount of facts and history about it. He's a tea enthusiast!!

Levi receives pilfered tea in shipments monthly, thanks to Erwin.

—AU Smartpass - Erwin & Levi Close Up Interview Part 2 | Part 1 | Taking shelter from the rain reprise: Levi and Peaure | Bessatsu Magazine, Jan.2014 | September 2016 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 84) | AU Smartpass My First Time Around: Levi Ackerman | The Case of the Corps Tea Party - File No. 09 Levi's Side (3/3) | sugar and milk in tea from the Japanese perspective

Levi, out of his original squad, found Petra cute/sweet in the general sense of the word "kawaii". Like Levi's romantic type however, this was sort of a non-answer to the question (of whether Levi thought she was cute). —2014 interview

After RtS, Levi seems to consider Hange and the 104th his family. —AU Smartpass My First Time Around: Levi Ackerman

He wears a cravat because Isayama based part of his design off Rorschach from the movie 'Watchmen'. He looks "delicate" because of his size and weight, but he's so powerful because [in issues before the reveal of the Ackerman bloodline] of "invisible power" at work. —January 2016 issue of Bessatsu Magazine (chapter 76)

The best way to describe the way he thinks is to compare him to the main character from the movie The Hurt Locker (2008). His character was born from Hiei from the manga 'Yuyu Hakusho', and Rorschach from the movie 'Watchmen'. The former was the basis for his appearance (especially his eyes), and the latter was the basis for his personality. Firstly though, Isayama had an image of a small man being the strongest.

—Hajime Isayama x Hikaru Suruga (2014) / Brutus Magazine (2014)

He is something of a protagonist (especially in s3p1). — Animedia, June 2018

His favorite tool (in general...?) is microfiber cloths (for dust I guess. Levi has no need for weapons :3) —July 2015 issue of Bessatsu Magazine

He will usually laugh/smile when he sees convenient cleaning goods (i.e., vacuum cleaners? feather dusters? ((cuz he's a shorty?❤️)) —Bessatsu Magazine, Dec. 2013

He does want to be taller sometimes. He gets eager to clean up after meals rather than cook at all. He can cook, though. —Bessatsu Magazine, Aug.2014 | fan Q&A in Oyama, Oita, Mar.2018

Levi mostly couldn't adapt to the changes that came about after the truth was discovered. Only he wears mostly the same uniform, cape, and blades.

After RtS, Levi personally retrieved Erwin's remains himself, for whom there was a special memorial service. After Eren (inadvertently) called him a "tiny old man" in season 3, Levi didn't care, but when he thought of it by himself later, he was hurt (unclear exactly why). Levi's father, most likely one of Kuchel's customers, is an insignificant man who's short. That's where Levi's height comes from. His face comes from his mother. At the start of season 4, Levi didn't change much compared to the 104th because he's turning into an "old man" who'd rather stick with his flip phone so to speak. He "doesn't break out into cold sweats". AKA he's always calm under pressure. He considers prostitution to be an ordinary job because of his childhood. Levi's vision is very sharp, way above average. He thought Eren's new look beginning season 4 was unclean/dirty (in more ways than one perhaps). —fan Q&A in Oyama, Oita, Mar.2018

He has slight bouts of insomnia. He never snaps/explodes when he's angry. But he does get angry or grumpy a lot, in general. He doesn't sing. It's more likely he would dance. If he was a fan of Momoiro Clover Z (jpop girl group), his favorite would be Momoka. When/if he drinks, he has a high tolerance, but he can get a little drunk :) One thing he highly hates and fears is mold. He is the one who ordered Armin to dress as Historia during the uprising. His blood type is A. Blood types are much like horoscopes in Japanese culture, and Levi's is as such: kichōmen, or well-organized; he likes keeping things neat, but can be stubborn and stressed out easily.

Whether he eats enough or has a good diet? He is "a bit lax". Maybe he forgets to eat sometimes, or has a low appetite. When Levi bathes, he goes for a quick shower then soak in hot water, which takes about ten minutes. Like a bird :')) He on any given night gets about 2-3 hours of sleep. He thought Eren was the best at cleaning (in season 3 / uprising arc). Because of his childhood in the Underground, Levi has a preoccupation/obsession with cleaning (specifically to ward off disease). He also doesn't have any pajamas, mostly keeping day clothes on when he goes to sleep - which is in "his" chair. Levi cuts his own hair using clippers. (Something like:)

He's aware Oluo imitated him, and found it annoying. Levi's horoscope (in general) as a Capricorn: Humanity’s Strongest Soldier - Levi. He possesses warmth in the midst of a dispassionate nature, and he is capable of leadership without verbal expression – both of which are special qualities of a Capricorn. Capricorns tend to hold certain levels of authority, even if they must carry out somewhat unreasonable tactics while in such positions. But when such authority is backed up with actual abilities, a Capricorn can gain Levi’s type of confidence and also be put on a pedestal by those around them. However, Capricorns won’t be dependent on others, much less trust them easily. They don’t hold high expectations and thus never feel a sense of failure. Levi’s faults include the inability to express himself clearly.  Even though he wants to encourage his companions, he always speaks in a roundabout way, and without Hanji’s translation it’s nearly impossible to understand Levi’s intended meaning. Even though he is dependable in most situations, when it comes to love/romance, he expresses himself clumsily/awkwardly. —FRaU Magazine, Aug.2014. | fan Q&A in Oyama, Oita, Mar.2018 | Levi: Close-up Report (Part One) | Translator *the horoscope wasn't written by Isayama, but was published alongside canon information, and it's also not factually wrong, so I'm including it.

The dark circles under Levi’s eyes are to convey the “self-destruction” he takes on to reach the “standard” of Humanity’s Strongest. —Interview on the topic of Levi, May 2015

His 'liege'—as Eren is to Mikasa, and Uri is to Kenny—is Erwin. He is afraid of making deep relationships because of the cruel world he lives in; he can't know when someone he cares for will die or how soon. That 'gap' left in Levi's heart by Kenny's death was filled by his squad (the 104th). If Levi hadn't joined the Survey Corps, he would've been a "very irresponsible person". Risky with his life perhaps? As a kid, Levi used to make himself stronger in order to receive praise from Kenny. When he abandoned him, he wondered what his strength was even for. He was able to find peace with Kenny after his death. In CH72, the reason Levi kicked the shit out of Eren and Jean is because of his argument with Erwin earlier.

He knows he's a slave to his own strength, aka the idea of being a hero. He realizes it when Kenny asked what he's a slave to in s3/ch69. —Answers Guidebook, Aug.2016

If he ever changed his appearance, the one thing Levi couldn't be able to give up is his undercut :') He would grow out the top and tie it up :3 —Oyama homecoming event Q&A in 2014 | 2 | 3

Levi knows how to use a gun, but he "places more trust" in knives. —Bessatsu Magazine, 2019

Levi tolerates saunas. But instead of enjoying himself he seems to see it as a test of endurance. (LOL) —Bessatsu Magazine, 2020

Levi has newspaper-level handwriting that he practices often. He's very conscious of it and being connected back to the Underground. —AU Smartpass TEXT: Levi’s Signature

Isayama had considered killing Levi around the time of the thunderspear explosion. (As always) Isayama deliberated with his editors whether or not it'd be meaningful if he died, and they decided it wouldn't be. —Kawakubo interview, 2021

Specially, Levi holds his swords in a reverse grip "his own way" since he wasn't officially trained. —Illustrate Note Magazine, 2017

Levi forcefully bathes Hange by knocking them unconscious. —AU Smartpass - Erwin & Levi Close Up Interview Part 1

Levi is 4 at the time that Kuchel dies. —What the director informed Kamiya Hiroshi of on set

His character song is called "Dark Side of the Moon", found on YouTube here. Translated lyrics here.

how to draw Levi:

—AOT Guidebook; p.229 | +Illustrate Note Magazine, 2017

[auyuyu006]

Johnshi HCs

I'm sorry most of these aren't explicitly romantic I just have so many HCs about the two of them it's driving me crazy.

Johnny holds Kenshi by the waist, Kenshi holds Johnny by the shoulder or the bicep. After some time Kenshi starts to go for his hand instead.

Johnny is on his phone all of the time. Kenshi will either avoid the internet for a week or plays chess on the computer at the kitchen table for a day straight without talking to anyone (secretly uses Sento for this).

Kenshi has good spirits (literally) when it comes to his blindness, but can get very defensive when others pity him for it. Johnny is the only other person he will let touch his blindfold, take it off, or wash it.

Kenshi doesn't love the name "Johnny Cage" and thinks that "John Carlton" suits him. Johnny thinks that it sounds like an "old man's name"

Kenshi would visit Johnny on set sometimes but not say or do anything but sit in the background and watch him in silence until he was done.

Speaking of that- Kenshi had a good time filming in Outworld for Johnny's movie (made him feel like an action hero), but absolutely refused to watch the parts he was in.

Kenshi thought Johnny's movies were mostly cheesy before and after meeting him. However, he ended up rewatching all of them and got excited when there was news he got cast for a new one (before they started to officially date).

Johnny was a pretty good student growing up who made A's and B's as per expectations of his parents but hated school because he got picked on. He got into a decent university where he ended up falling in love with physics. He accidentally became famous around the time he was 20 (maybe he got street casted and went viral?) and had to balance acting with school to get his pHD. He is that school's most famous alumni.

Kenshi was mostly homeschooled by his parents and did not show much attention in academics in his youth due to his intense upbringing in the yakuza. This is something that he regrets but accepts that it wasn't really his choice to begin with. However he is quite knowledgable, knows broadly about history and literature, and can speak multiple languages (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English, Spanish). He also learns braille relatively fast after losing eyesight.

Kenshi thinks it's so hot that Johnny has a pHD but also thinks its so strange he doesn't do anything with it. (It's a backup plan so he can write textbooks if his career tanks)

Johnny is great at drawing due to it being a hobby growing up stemming from him being a major comic book fan. Kenshi isn't very artistic however used to be able to do mediocre calligraphy (a skill he learned from his parents) before he became blind.

Kenshi breaking into Cage Mansion the second Cris left was admittedly pretty awkward for him (but he was too distracted by Sento to rly care).

Kenshi tries to not let it get to him, but he is saddened by the fact he cannot read properly anymore. Johnny tries to support him by buying him every audiobook in every language he understands. Kenshi will sometimes ask Johnny to read to him mostly because he loves the sound of his voice.

At first, Kenshi tried to get Sento to help him with daily tasks (cooking, cleaning, etc.), but after talking to Kuai Liang he tries not to rely on Sento on anything non-kombat related.

Kenshi has a slight lisp (I'm sorryyyy this isn't rly a hc but you can hear it in his intro dialogues he still sounds like a badass tho i think it's super cute thank god for Vic Chao)

Johnny makes their home a "smart home" a.k.a 30 Alexas in every room of their place, and a Samsung fridge he can live tweet from while making green juice.

Kenshi sometimes used to drive with Sento in the back seat and got arrested for it one time. Now he gets told off by Johnny for it every time he tries it again.

Kenshi will only drink milky coffee (lattes, cappuccinos, etc.) and prefers tea. Johnny hates coffee and tea and pounds red bull in the morning.

Kenshi used to care a lot about his personal style and mostly only wore suits and dress attire. After losing his eyesight, he didn't care as much anymore and just focused on wearing things that were comfortable (sweatpants, sweaters)

Johnny buys Kenshi soft fluffy things to wear all the time. Kenshi always says it's unnecessary but ends up wearing it anyway.

In MK1 Johnny is 32, and Kenshi is 39 (I like the idea of Kenshi being old it just makes sense to me). It both amuses and horrifies Kenshi that he's dating a white man 7 yrs his junior.

Johnny calls him "old man Takahashi" and Kenshi just goes along with it and says "get off my lawn you punk" or something LOL

I think Kenshi was more of the brawny "tough guy" of the yakuza than the suave, seductive type. He has more of an awkward and stony personality. And the fact that he was desperate to get out makes me think he wouldn't entertain the "flirty" role of the job. (a.k.a Kenshi is BAD at flirting unlike a certain someone)

Johnny sometimes helps Kenshis clunky azz samurai gear on before he engages in kombat. Johnny is also the reason Kenshi sometimes gives up and just wears a suit.

Kenshi shops like an old Asian dad. LOVES Costco, will eat all of the samples. Will buy everything on sale even if he doesn't need it. Will not take Johnny with him because his megastardom ruins the peace of being unrecognized. Has taken Raiden with him though. Will use Johnny's credit card. Johnny is dismayed that he hasn't taken a liking to Erewhon and Whole Foods

When Johnny isn't there with him at night Kenshi will play his movies and fall asleep to the sound of his voice

Kenshi will have sex with the blindfold on. He will fall asleep next to Johnny with it off.

Kenshi doesn't like sleeping with the blindfold on, but was worried it would scare or disgust Johnny in some way. It doesn't and it never did. In fact, Johnny appreciates the intimacy that it creates.

[absolutebl]

10 Best BL Shows with the Hottest Sexitimes

Because this is English and word order matters, this title means the show itself has to be good AS WELL AS the scenes high heat, as opposed to the best sex scenes in BL. The two are not necessarily the same list. Anyway I tried to pick both high heat and a fun show. This was hard (pun intended).

FYI expect triggers with your high heat.

(Oh right. For me to get a 3/3 heat rating the BL has simulated sex in it or very close to it. And usually one or more other sexual acts like bjs, a-ply, etc...)

So, I went to the spreadsheet, and sorted it by high heat and then ranking, and here is what I got. I think #1 will surprise you. What will not surprise you is it's mostly Thai and Taiwanese.

10. TharnType (and follow ups)

Thai 2019 Viki

Should it still rank, all these years later? I am sorry to say, yes it should. University setting, great acting and complex characters, interesting friendship groups, enemies to lovers, seriously angsty coming out, high production values, AMAZING chemistry, multiple BL side couples with all the issues, damaging queer rep, strong seme/uke and husband/wife language, classic tropes and lots of them bad. But it's famous for a reason.

This was KinnPorsche before KinnPorsche.

9. Addicted: Heroin

China 2016 Viki

When Chinese BL was good it was very dirty good and when it was bad it was censored. This is the model for that statement: rich kid falls madly for the genius poor kid in his class, starts an aggressive pursuit, includes kidnapping for love, obsession, stepbrother trope, plus some cheating. I love this BL because of what I could have been. Just stop watching it after The Sex Scene. Okay?

8. Love Stage!!

Thai 2022 YouTube

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy. Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc and heat levels.

7. HIStory 4: Close to You

Taiwan 2021 Viki

Nancy Chen directs, the side dish plot is basically a pastiche of problematic BL tropes inherited from the above. Great chemistry, high heat, stepbrothers, dubcon, obsession, stalker etc… They sexy tho.

6. My Day

Pinoy 2020 YouTube

The set up on this one is enemies (also boss/employee) and they don’t like each other to start. But that gets resolved pretty quickly. And then they are some of the cutest, hottest, and best boyfriends ever. This is an under-appreciated BL, IMHO.

5. Cutie Pie

Thai 2022 YouTube

Very high production (and heat) and a lot of visual references to live action yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and driven by miscommunication. Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. (It has depth, it just depth of tongue kisses.)

Also the follow up: Naughty Babe

4. Bed Friend

Thai 2023 YouTube but for high heat you'll net to watch on iQIYI

Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS). NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, unfortunately the story ultimately failed them. Had the show had the strength of its convictions and kept to a tighter, darker, harsher 8 eps it would have been the first high heat to earn a 10/10 from me, but once they fussed with it, it dropped to a solid 8/10. Could have been great but was overworked. Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down.

3. HIStory 3: Trapped

Taiwan 2019 Viki

Basically the definition of enemies to lovers from Lin Pei Yu. This is a cop + the mafia man he is chasing but WAIT, they fall in love. Added bonus side couple: assassin and nerd cop ALSO falling in love. It’s great. All the leads are stellar. Its high heat, fun action, and a bit of a mystery drama but pretty about all of it. My only warning is that the main couple doesn’t entirely end up together, it’s implied, but… amorphous ending.

2. Why R U?

Thai 2020 Viki

No one knows what’s going on, not even the characters, but absolutely no one cares 'cause it's so thirsty. The plot seems to be "great chemistry and make sure Zee's shirts are NEVER BUTTONED PROPERLY." We, the collective, have a pro Hawaiian shirt anti-button stance, so rah rah rah! Still the most confusing thing about this show is: why they didn't just title it YRU? The FighterTuror sex scenes still stand as some of the best every fielded in a Thai BL.

1. Be Loved In House: I Do

Taiwan 2021 Viki

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns. ALL THE TROPES plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan, who usually prefer to go hard, but all their signature domesticity. There is one high heat sex scene and it's great. But it's the whole package of classic sappy Taiwanese BL that puts this at the very top for me.

Generally just v high heat?

Hottest sex scenes in BL is frankly gonna be largely a matter of your personal taste.

But if the ones mentioned above don't work try:

KinnPorsche

Love in the Air

Big Dragon

HIStory 3; MODC (the BL that shall not be named)

Be Mine Super Star

Manner of Death (and anything else with MaxTul)

Oh My Sunshine Night (sides)

Secret Crush on You

Wedding Plan

Most dark JBL has very good high heat, but... ya know.

For @samara44 by request.

(source)

[bbgliker-teehee]

Warning: long rant

OK, so before the series premiered, I had a sudden thought. How will the humans-turned-angels feel about the sinners going to Heaven? The more I thought about it, the more I realised that Charlie's plan may not be as good as we believed. Yes, she has good intentions, but it may have consequences. Let me explain!

So, let's take Angel Dust as an example. When he was alive his was Anthony. He had a twin sister, Molly, an older brother, Araknis (I think, we don't know his actual name), and his parents. Anthony was (and still is) a drug addict AND he was part of the mafia, alongside his brother and father. What does that mean? He killed people. Both bad and good. And we've seen that Angel takes pleasure in killing. He thinks it's fun.

Which is why I got annoyed when Emily asked: "Yeah, why isn't he here in here (in Heaven)?

I was like: "Oh, I don't Em. Maybe because he was in the mafia and killed people!"

I can imagine that Angel and his family have a lot of enemies in Hell who constantly want to take revenge (it would have been very interesting to include that in the show). And the innocent people that Angel, in his previous life, killed are now in Heaven, away from all worries, all the pain and away from the people who hurt and killed them. Now, let's say that Angel gets redeemed and goes to Heaven. He and Molly will reunite happily (and maybe his mom is also there). But I don't think some people will be happy to see him. Heaven was supposed to be a place of eternal peace, and to see your killer, now living in the same paradise as you do, shatters this peace. The angels will be like: "Why is he here? Isn't he supposed to be Hell for his crimes? Why did you let him in Heaven? Are all our murderers and tormentors will be living alongside us now?" etc. That will cause panic, paranoia and anger among the residents of Haven. They will demand answers from they superiors (the ones who were supposed to protect them from all evil) and will want Angel to go back to Hell, where he belongs. They may even take matters into their own hands and kill Angel. And they will lose faith in God, his angels and their judgment. Imagine an uprising. God will cast the rebels out of Heaven and will become fallen angels and end up in Hell. It will be even more populated than before.

So, yeah. End of my long rant.😅 Sorry if I have some grammar errors, English is not my first language. What do you think about all that I have written? Does it make sense or is it a bunch of nonsense?

I think if Angel ever gets to heaven Viv would probably just make a "HA HA OMG THIS IS SOOOOOO AWKWARD😁😋😁😋😁😋😁" to all the innocent souls he's killed, even tho we both know that it'll be traumatic for them....BUT HEY TRAUMA IS ONLY IMPORTANT WHEN IT'S ANGEL'S TRAUMA!!!!!/s

[a-memory-a-distant-echo]

it's time for the long-threatened post about how to get subtitles (including translated ones) for videos that don't have subtitles.

in my experience, the methods in this post can probably get you solidly 75% or more of the content of many videos (caveats inside). i've tested this on videos that are originally in chinese, english, french, german, hindi, japanese, korean, spanish, and honestly probably some languages that i'm forgetting. my experience is that it works adequately in all of them. not great, necessarily, but well enough that you can probably follow along.

this is a very long post because this is the overexplaining things website, and because i talk about several different ways to get the captions. this isn't actually difficult, though, or even especially time consuming—the worst of it is pushing a button and ignoring things for a while. actual hands-on work is probably five minutes tops, no matter how long the video is.

i've attempted to format this post understandably, and i hope it's useful to someone.

first up, some disclaimers.

this is just my experience with things, and your experience might be different. the tools used for (and available for) this kind of thing change all the time, and if you're reading this six months after i wrote it, your options might be different. this post is probably still a decent starting place.

background about my biases in this: i work in the creative industries. mostly i'm a fiction editor. i've also been a writer, a technical editor and writer, a transcriptionist, a copyeditor, and something i've seen called a 'translation facilitator' or 'rewrite editor', where something is translated fairly literally (by a person or a machine) and then a native speaker of the target language goes through and rewrites/restructures as needed to make the piece read more naturally in the target language. i've needed to get information out of business meetings that were conducted in a language i didn't speak, and have done a lot of work on things that were written in (or translated into) the writer's second or sixth language, but needed to be presented in natural english.

so to start, most importantly: machine translation is never going to be as good as a translation done by an actual human. human translators can reflect cultural context and nuanced meanings and the artistry of the work in a way that machines will never be able to emulate. that said, if machine translation is your only option, it's better than nothing. i also find it really useful for videos in languages where i have enough knowledge that i'm like, 75% sure that i'm mostly following, and just want something that i can glance at to confirm that.

creating subs like this relies heavily on voice-to-text, which—unfortunately—works a lot better in some situations than it does in others. you'll get the best, cleanest results from videos that have slow, clear speech in a 'neutral' accent, and only one person speaking at a time. (most scripted programs fall into this category, as do many vlogs and single-person interviews.) the results will get worse as voices speed up, overlap more, and vary in volume. that said, i've used this to get captions for cast concerts, reality shows, and variety shows, and the results are imperfect but solidly readable, especially if you have an idea of what's happening in the plot and/or can follow along even a little in the broadcast language.

this also works best when most of the video is in a single language, and you select that language first. the auto detect option sometimes works totally fine, but in my experience there's a nonzero chance that it'll at least occasionally start 'detecting' random other languages in correctly, or someone will say a few words in spanish or whatever, but the automatic detection engine will keep trying to translate from spanish for another three minutes, even tho everything's actually in korean. if there's any way to do so, select the primary language, even if it means that you miss a couple sentences that are in a different language.

two places where these techniques don't work, or don't work without a lot of manual effort on your part: translating words that appear on the screen (introductions, captions, little textual asides, etc), and music. if you're incredibly dedicated, you can do this and add it manually yourself, but honestly, i'm not usually this dedicated. getting captions for the words on the screen will involve either actually editing the video or adding manually translated content to the subs, which is annoying, and lyrics are...complicated. it's possible, and i'm happy to talk about it in another post if anyone is interested, but for the sake of this post, let's call it out of scope, ok? ok. bring up the lyrics on your phone and call it good enough.

places where these techniques are not great: names. it's bad with names. names are going to be mangled. resign yourself to it now. also, in languages that don't have strongly gendered speech, you're going to learn some real fun stuff about the way that the algorithms gender things. (spoiler: not actually fun.) bengali, chinese, and turkish are at least moderately well supported for voice-to-text, but you will get weird pronouns about it.

obligatory caveat about ai and voice-to-text functionality. as far as i'm aware, basically every voice-to-text function is ~ai powered~. i, a person who has spent twenty years working in the creative industries, have a lot of hate for generative ai, and i'm sure that many of you do, too. however, if voice-to-text (or machine translation software) that doesn't rely on it exists anymore, i'm not aware of it.

what we're doing here is the same as what douyin/tiktok/your phone's voice-to-text does, using the same sorts of technology. i mention this because if you look at the tools mentioned in this post, at least some of them will be like 'our great ai stuff lets you transcribe things accurately', and i want you to know why. chat gpt (etc) are basically glorified predictive text, right? so for questions, they're fucking useless, but for things like machine transcription and machine translation, those predictions make it more likely that you get the correct words for things that could have multiple translations, or for words that the software can only partially make out. it's what enables 'he has muscles' vs 'he has mussels', even though muscles and mussels are generally pronounced the same way. i am old enough to have used voice to text back when it was called dictation software, and must grudgingly admit that this is, in fact, much better.

ok! disclaimers over.

let's talk about getting videos

for the most part, this post will assume that you have a video file and nothing else. cobalt.tools is the easiest way i'm aware of to download videos from most sources, though there are other (more robust) options if you're happy to do it from the command line. i assume most people are not, and if you are, you probably don't need this guide anyhow.

i'm going to use 'youtube' as the default 'get a video from' place, but generally speaking, most of this works with basically any source that you can figure out how to download from—your bilibili downloads and torrents and whatever else will work the same way. i'm shorthanding things because this post is already so so long.

if the video you're using has any official (not autogenerated) subtitles that aren't burned in, grab that file, too, regardless of the language. starting from something that a human eye has looked over at some point is always going to give you better results. cobalt.tools doesn't pull subtitles, but plugging the video url into downsub or getsubs and then downloading the srt option is an easy way to get them for most places. (if you use downsub, it'll suggest that you download the full video with subtitles. that's a link to some other software, and i've never used it, so i'm not recommending it one way or the other. the srts are legit, tho.)

the subtitle downloaders also have auto translation options, and they're often (not always) no worse than anything else that we're going to do here—try them and see if they're good enough for your purposes. unfortunately, this only works for things that already have subtitles, which is…not that many things, honestly. so let's move on.

force-translating, lowest stress mode.

this first option is kind of a cheat, but who cares. youtube will auto-caption things in some languages (not you, chinese) assuming that the uploader has enabled it. as ever, the quality is kinda variable, and the likelihood that it's enabled at all seems to vary widely, but if it is, you're in for a much easier time of things, because you turn it on, select whatever language you want it translated to, and youtube…does its best, anyhow.

if you're a weird media hoarder like me and you want to download the autogenerated captions, the best tool that i've found for this is hyprscribr. plug in the video url, select 'download captions via caption grabber', then go to the .srt data tab, copy it out, and paste it into a text file. save this as [name of downloaded video].[language code].srt, and now you have captions! …that you need to translate, which is actually easy. if it's a short video, just grab the text, throw it in google translate (timestamps and all), and then paste the output into a new text file. so if you downloaded cooking.mp4, which is in french, you'll have three files: cooking.mp4, cooking.fr.srt, and cooking.en.srt. this one's done! it's easy! you're free!

but yeah, ok, most stuff isn't quite that easy, and auto-captioning has to be enabled, and it has some very obvious gaps in the langauges it supports. which is sort of weird, because my phone actually has pretty great multilingual support, even for things that youtube does not. which brings us to low-stress force translation option two.

use your phone

this seems a little obvious, but i've surprised several people with this information recently, so just in case. for this option, you don't even need to have downloaded the video—if it's a video you can play on your phone, the phone will almost definitely attempt real-time translation for you. i'm sure iphones have this ability, but i'm an android person, so can only provide directions for that: go into settings and search for (and enable) live translation. the phone will do its best to pick up what's being said and translate it on the fly for you, and if 'what's being said' is a random video on the internet, your phone isn't gonna ask questions. somewhat inexplicably, this works even if the video is muted. i do this a lot at like four a.m. when i'm too lazy to grab earbuds but don't want to wake up my wife.

this is the single least efficient way to force sub/translate things, in my opinion, but it's fast and easy, and really useful for those videos that are like a minute long and probably not that interesting, but like…what if it is, you know? sometimes i'll do this to decide if i'm going to bother more complicated ways of translating things.

similarly—and i feel silly even mentioning this, but that i didn't think of it for an embarrassingly long time—if you're watching something on a device with speakers, you can try just…opening the 'translate' app on your phone. they all accept voice input. like before, it'll translate whatever it picks up.

neither of these methods are especially useful for longer videos, and in my experience, the phone-translation option generally gives the least accurate translation, because in attempting to do things in real time, you lose some of the predicative ability that i was talking about earlier. (filling in the blank for 'he has [muscles/mussels]' is a lot harder if you don't know if the next sentence is about the gym or about dinner.)

one more lazy way

this is more work than the last few options, but often gives better results. with not much effort, you can feed a video playing on your computer directly into google translate. there's a youtube video by yosef k that explains it very quickly and clearly. this will probably give you better translation output than any of the on-the-fly phone things described above, but it won't give you something that you can use as actual subs—it just produces text output that you can read while you watch the video. again, though, really useful for things that you're not totally convinced you care about, or for things where there aren't a lot of visuals, or for stuff where you don't care about keeping your eyes glued to the screen.

but probably you want to watch stuff on the screen at the same time.

let's talk about capcut!

this is probably not a new one for most people, but using it like this is a little weird, so here we go. ahead of time: i'm doing this on an actual computer. i think you probably can do it on your phone, but i have no idea how, and honestly this is already a really long guide so i'm not going to figure it out right now. download capcut and put it on an actual computer. i'm sorry.

anyhow. open up capcut, click new project. import the file that you downloaded, and then drag it down to the editing area. go over to captions, auto captions, and select the spoken language. if you want bilingual captions, pick the language for that, as well, and the captions will be auto-translated into whatever the second language you choose is. (more notes on this later.)

if i remember right, this is the point at which you get told that you can't caption a video that's more than an hour long. however. you have video editing software, and it is open. split the video in two pieces and caption them separately. problem solved.

now the complicated part: saving these subs. (don't panic; it's not actually that complicated.) as everyone is probably aware, exporting captions is a premium feature, and i dunno about the rest of you, but i'm unemployed, so let's assume that's not gonna happen.

the good news is that since you've generated the captions, they're already saved to your computer, they're just kinda secret right now. there are a couple ways to dig them out, but the easiest i'm aware of is the biyaoyun srt generator. you'll have to select the draft file of your project, which is auto-saved once a minute or something. the website tells you where the file is saved by default on your computer. (i realised after writing this entire post that they also have a step-by-step tutorial on how to generate the subtitles, with pictures, so if you're feeling lost, you can check that out here.)

select the project file titled 'draft_content', then click generate. you want the file name to be the same as the video name, and again, i'd suggest srt format, because it seems to be more broadly compatible with media players. click 'save to local' and you now have a subtitle file!

translating your subtitles

you probably still need to translate the subtitles. there are plenty of auto-translation options out there. many of them are fee- or subscription-based, or allow a very limited number of characters, or are like 'we provide amazing free translations' and then in the fine print it says that they provide these translations through the magic of uhhhh google translate. so we're just going to skip to google translate, which has the bonus of being widely available and free.

for shorter video, or one that doesn't have a ton of spoken stuff, you can just copy/paste the contents of the .srt file into the translation software of your choice. the web version of google translate will do 5000 characters in one go, as will systran. that's the most generous allocation that i'm aware of, and will usually get you a couple minutes of video.

the timestamps eat up a ton of characters, though, so for anything longer than a couple minutes, it's easier to upload the whole thing, and google translate is the best for that, because it is, to my knowledge, the only service that allows you to do it. to upload the whole file, you need a .doc or .rtf file.

an .srt file is basically just a text file, so you can just open it in word (or gdocs or whatever), save it as a .doc, and then feed it through google translate. download the output, open it, and save it as an .srt.

you're done! you now have your video and a subtitle file in the language of your choice.

time for vibe, the last option in this post.

vibe is a transcription app (not a sex thing, even tho it sounds like one), and it will also auto-translate the transcribed words to english, if you want.

open vibe and select your file, then select the language. if you want it translated to english, hit advanced and toggle 'translate to english'. click translate and wait a while. after a few minutes (or longer, depending on how long the file is), you'll get the text. the save icon is a folder with a down arrow on it, and i understand why people are moving away from tiny floppy disks, but also: i hate it. anyhow, save the output, and now you have your subs file, which you can translate or edit or whatever, as desired.

vibe and capcom sometimes get very different results. vibe seems to be a little bit better at picking up overlapping speech, or speech when there are other noises happening; capcom seems to be better at getting all the worlds in a sentence. i feel like capcom maybe has a slightly better translation engine, of the two of them, but i usually end up just doing the translation separately. again, it can be worth trying both ways and seeing which gives better results.

special notes about dual/bilingual subs

first: i know that bilingual subs are controversial. if you think they're bad, you don't have to use them! just skip this section.

as with everything else, automatically generating gives mixed results. sometimes the translations are great, and sometimes they're not. i like having dual subs, but for stuff that Matters To Me, for whatever reason, i'll usually generate both just the original and a bilingual version, and then try some other translation methods on the original or parts thereof to see what works best.

not everything displays bilingual subs very well. plex and windows media player both work great, vlc and the default video handler on ubuntu only display whatever the first language is, etc. i'm guessing that if you want dual subbed stuff you already have a system for it.

i'll also point out that if you want dual subs and have gone a route other than capcom, you can create dual subs by pasting the translated version and the untranslated version into a single file. leave the timestamps as they are, delete the line numbers if there are any (sometimes they seem to cause problems when you have dual subs, and i haven't figured out why) and then literally just paste the whole sub file for the first language into a new file. then paste in the whole sub file for the second language. yes, as a single chunk, the whole thing, right under the first language's subs. save the file as [video name].[zh-en].srt (or whatever), and use it like any other sub file.

notes on translation, especially since we're talking about lengthy machine-translations of things.

i default to translation options that allow for translating in large chunks, mostly because i'm lazy. but since an .srt is, again, literally just a text file, they're easy to edit, and if you feel like some of the lines are weird or questionable or whatever, it's easy to change them if you can find a better translation.

so: some fast notes on machine translation options, because i don't know how much time most people spend thinking about this kind of stuff.

one sort of interesting thing to check out is the bing translator. it'll only do 1000 characters at once, but offers the rather interesting option of picking a level of formality. i can't always get it to work, mind, but it's useful especially for times when you're like 'this one line sounds weird'—sometimes the difference between what the translator feels is standard vs formal vs casual english will make a big difference.

very fast illustration of the difference in translations. the random video that i used to make sure i didn't miss any steps explaining things starts with '所以你第二季来'. here's how it got translated:

google: So you come to season 2

google's top alternative: So you come in the second season

bing's standard tone: So here you come for the second season

bing set to casual: So you're coming for the second season, huh?

reverso default guess: So you come in season two

reverso alternate guess: You'll be participating in season two

capcom: So you come in season two

yandex: So you come in the second season

systran: That's why you come in season two

deepl: That's why you're here in season two

vibe: So your second season is here

technically all conveying the same information, but the vibes are very different. sometimes one translator or another will give you a clearly superior translation, so if you feel like the results you're getting are kinda crap, try running a handful of lines through another option and see if it's better.

ok! this was an incredibly long post, and i've almost definitely explained something poorly. again, there are almost certainly better ways to do this, but these ways are free and mostly effective, and they work most of the time, and are better than nothing.

feel free to ask questions and i'll answer as best i can. (the answer to any questions about macs or iphones is 'i'm so sorry, i have no idea tho.' please do not ask those questions.)

[thesiltverses]

Hi Trawler crew!! I ofc had a question but want to start with saying that youre making such an amazing work!! Listened to silt verses right after finishing I am in Eskew and loved it immediatly and think your style really fits the work well. Really loving how the story develops and everyone is doing amazing from the sound to writing! As well as its a very good horror

Also was really entertaining considering i myself did find a river god and still am trying to find its ways to them(no humans sacrifices tho dw they dont like those) and appreciate their presence. Faulkner my boy.

But what i really came here for. English is not my first language and im truly learning it for four years tops(my lack of punctuation is like that in all languages i hardly get it) and i always enjoyed translating texts especually for friends who dont know english well. And i wondered if you could recommend some books/poems/whatevertexts that i could look into!! Besides i do trust your taste and would personally love to read them as well! Either way thanks for reading and hope everything goes well for everyone in the crew! Ur doing great

<3

Hi and thank you so much for listening! Work in English that you could translate - gosh, I don't know. I've been recommending Heaney a lot here recently and I'm happy to go back to that well for this, because the language is often simple and soft and yet every word falls heavy and careful with meaning and portent and so there'll be a lot to consider in how you choose to translate it.

If you want a real challenge, try one of my favourites, Riddley Walker, which is written in devolved post-apocalyptic English and so has endless puns and inversions of language that you'd have to grapple with.

The Grauballe Man

As if he had been poured

in tar, he lies

on a pillow of turf

and seems to weep

the black river of himself.

The grain of his wrists

is like bog oak,

the ball of his heel

like a basalt egg.

His instep has shrunk

cold as a swan's foot

or a wet swamp root.

His hips are the ridge

and purse of a mussel,

his spine an eel arrested

under a glisten of mud.

The head lifts,

the chin is a visor

raised above the vent

of his slashed throat

that has tanned and toughened.

The cured wound

opens inwards to a dark

elderberry place.

Who will say 'corpse'

to his vivid cast?

Who will say 'body'

to his opaque repose?

And his rusted hair,

a mat unlikely

as a foetus's.

I first saw his twisted face

in a photograph,

a head and shoulder

out of the peat,

bruised like a forceps baby,

but now he lies

perfected in my memory,

down to the red horn

of his nails,

hung in the scales

with beauty and atrocity:

with the Dying Gaul

too strictly compassed

on his shield,

with the actual weight

of each hooded victim,

slashed and dumped.

[vampiric-succulent]

OUAW EP 20:

It’s not even past the bean footage yet and already I have a thing to comment about—

“Hey. Keep working. Keep your hands down.” Idk if it’s just Mace or if it’s me but this is an interesting thing to start the episode with

Also I lowkey already watched this but considering that I wasn’t really paying attention due to Sleep im rewatching

Oh this is the Silly Goofy episode. Got it.

Watching this is so different now that I know how tall each of these people actually are in real life

“Mr Kremyyyyy….. Torbek had a nightmaaaare………..” torb <3

Hot jones?

Why is Mikey using the King Shmebulon voice

Oh the energy here is so weird today

NEXT YOURE GONNA TELL TORBEK THAT A SHRIMP FRIED THAT RICE and they’re gone

The improv shenanigans here are SO GOOD— “the wee hours” watches and the blue J and the bottle of something

HOT JONES!!!

“There was that guy and he was like… woah.” Bi Gricko!!!! “Why you always watching these kingly types and looking at their woah?” Lmfao Gideon you are no better

Degenerate Jones

TABAXI TORBEK and eughhh Mammon Tiefling Gricko (applying for all Mammon Tiefling Gricko)

I love how Kremy is super paranoid thinks everyone is out to get him but still immediately tells Gideon everything (I need to see Gideon do some sort of something back bc coalecroux is feeling increasingly one sided and it is making me sad)

“Torbek was happy with the infinite abyss”

THE FEDS

Poor Twig she went from dealing with absolute loneliness to dealing with all this bullshit. She needs to have the space to Bogart out a little bit like get this woman a destruction room

Twig 🤝 Torbek

coping mechanisms

Gideon has such older brother who acts like a father figure to Twig vibes

THE FEDS THEYRE IN THE CLOTHES

Torbek is simply following suit… following the suit to the ground lmfao

PENIS NOSE?????? HOW IS THAT AN OPTION

Gideon is overwhelmed by Penis im sorry

This is just reminding me of when Frost got the proud nudist curse and Derek made that slapping turn joke 😭

Obligatory “im walkin here” please stop

Nvm we have the coalecroux and also poly party affirmations (long shots and headcanons)

OH!!! Woah there Kremy

“Think of the Federal government!” Quick Gid take your clothes off!! The government!!!

OH NO THE ORCIFICATION

NO THE FUCKING CABINET

DEREK. DEREK WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT DEREK WE COULD HAVE NEVER GONE DOWN THAT ROAD

Love Torbek’s Spring Aladrin voice. It’s like some sort of old English aristocratic friend of Oscar Wilde.

Oop! Theseus’s Ship mentioned (kind of)

“Did we do a bunch of drugs before bed again?” Funny you should have asked that Gideon given what is now happening

“Tentacles probe me” “yes Gideon join us the time is now get naked”

WHY IS IT ERECT NOW DEREK. PUT THAT DOWN. “Something about beekeeper helmets…” HUH

Oh god Twig is gonna bogart out

PUT IT DOWN. PUT THAT THING DOWN AND AWAY.

“STOP BEING ERECT. STOP EATING MY BONES”

Love how Nikkie says “your mind is back to Gricko” and Mikey just starts screaming

Whoops!

It is so impressive how Twig is so controlled. Like she has every justification to absolutely freak out right now and she’s keeping calm and trying to manage things.

Thank god Hootsie is out of this lol

NO TWIG LOOK AWAY

“Torbek was *very* thorough.”

Okay seriously how old is Twig?? This is a very important question. Like REALLY important.

I’m imagining Spring Aladrin Torbek lying on a couch like he’s gonna say “draw me like one of your French girls”

Guys. Please. We are nearly halfway through this video. Please.

YES CAST SILENCE. HUSH MICHAEL.

No Twig it’s not your fault!!!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!

Not the Pennsylvanian sperm trees

“After what I’ve watched today I don’t think you’ll accomplish anything of value.”

Not the milk joke PLEASE y’all not the cilk

Frost is so sweet tho

No more Hot Joneses :(

Yesss Twig establish those boundaries!!!!

Tom is such a deep cut

Okay so Twig is at least 200 years old. Good. That’s really good. Good to know.

Grinko is having a stronk. Please call the Gronkulance.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HOOTSIE.

Omg she’s their niece!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But also HOLY FUCK HE HIT HER??? WITH A CABINET????????

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.”

Menasith, and their older sibling Menapauthe.

The Glowing Anus 😭

Oh this is Nikkie’s fault. Fantastic.

MORNING FROTH CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE

“That’s very funny Gricko. Your daughter is possibly bleeding out.”

Ohhhh Hootsie’s okay thank god

Gricko however is really not

Okay so I know this is a fantasy campaign and we are in the literal Feywild so this like kind of doesn’t matter but how does Gideon get energy??? Does he need to absorb nutrients or is it just sort of as long as he keeps his internal furnace alive he’s okay?

Twig boundaries 100 with regards to Torbek but fully get the party’s concerns

Also Twigsy ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Not Gricko being hypnotized by Spring Aladrin Torbek’s hip sway

Torbek does not know but Torbek must dance!!!!

Oh Torbek’s ticket is so sad

“This is an Acorn Satchel!!!”

Mikey annoying Nikkie so much that she just takes things away

Frost getting jealous over the Gricko impression 😭❤️

What is a mud meffet?????

I love Andy so much. Oh he’s wonderful. So glad he’s here.

KLUTZY RETURNS for like two seconds

Love these guys. Oh my lord. Also what the fuck happened in the first like hour???? Still a fun little episode.

[bruciemilf]

sorry if you already answered this, but do you have any fancast for dick, jason and tim?

for some reason i see jason as tamino amir or jacob elordi or even damiano david. yesterday i imagine tim as finn wolfhard which i don't even know if it's better or worse than timothee chalamet. no idea about dick tho.

idk i just think that these castings would get me murdered by the fandom, and since im obsessed with your castings i wanted a professional opinion

(sorry if my english doesn't make any sense, it's not my mother language)

Bestie, I should sentence you to a full year of dating the lamest incel on earth for that Finn wolfhard take.

Also, to answer your question— very sadly, there’s very little to almost no Romani representation anywhere, so, I often stray from fan casting Dick.

I don’t want to pick the first good looking white guy with dark hair and be like, yep, that’s Dickie ^^ so for that, I don’t have a choice.

As for Jason, — I don’t think you’re entirely incorrect, necessarily. Some people like lanky Jason. I don’t, so, personally, I don’t agree with your picks, but that’s not saying they’re wrong. Just not right for me.

My personal pick for Jason is Matthew Daddario! And for Tim, this random guy I found on Pinterest, lmao

But these are just my personal preferences, rooted in what fits MY aesthetic and my view. Doesn’t mean they’re correct, just more fun for me.

[room-surprise]

Dungeon Meshi Anime Review, Season 2, Episode 14 review

This is technically the second cour of Dungeon Meshi, with a new opening and ending so we've made it to season 2, baby!

Happy Kabru day! I think Trigger did a great job with this so I don't have a lot to talk about.

Spoilers below!

The new OP is really nicely animated and very sweet, but I don't really like it. I think the song isn't as good as the first OP and the visuals just don't really excite or interest me the way the first OP did. It's cute though! I think it would have made a great ending...

The ending is wonderful like before, with more beautiful illustrations. Are these also by Kui? Will we get Kui illustrations for every ending? That would be so fantastic! I like this song better than the new OP song...

What the hell are Fleki and Lycion laughing at in the ending. Just pointing and laughing at a water fountain...

There my darling lad Kabru goes, killing again! Good for him.

Animated very nicely, conveys just how fast and lethal Kabru is against human opponents. I hope that anime onlies are now worrying about Laios and his party! That's what they should be worrying about!

Love that they managed to capture Kui's insanely wonderful fight choreography, Kabru switching targets last second after doing a fake-out, and then stealing one person's sword to use it to kill two other people... He's so slick, and Trigger captured it so well.

Sadly no improvements (extra clarity) was added to any of the talking scenes in this ep that start to explain Kabru and his party's motivations. I didn't expect them to change anything though, so it's still as good as it was in the manga, which is still pretty damn good... But would have been nice to have someone tighten up the dialog and make it flow more like human conversation.

Characters sitting around and talking about stuff that isn't monster biology or cooking is probably Kui's greatest weak points as an author, and I don't blame her at all, but it's the one blind spot she could use a liiiiiiittle extra help with. At least in the first half of the manga. Towards the end she gets way better at it. Practice does that to you!

EDIT: Trigger made Holm eat meat!!! He's a religious vegetarian!!!! Oops.

SO.... english dub issues.

The cast is still generally great and the dub script is generally superior to the Japanese subtitles, though it seems like the Japanese subs might be getting better? Or this episode was unusually bad in English so the Japanese subs seemed better.

Kabru's voice in English...

The thing about Kabru's character is that he changes how he talks and acts depending on who he's talking to. The Japanese version does this relatively well.

It's mostly about the pitch of Kabru's voice and how sweet his tone is. He's trying to make himself sound non-threatening, polite, and friendly. And then when he's not doing that, he sounds more stern and mature, talking in a deeper pitch without being so self-effacing.

The English version... is struggling a bit with this.

In the other episodes it sounded alright, but in this episode Kabru's voice actor, for whatever reason, seemed to be mumbling/slurring his words, not enunciating, and cutting off and shortening his words, shoulda, woulda, kinda, and talking in a more "relaxed" and informal manner

This isn't inherently a problem, but since nobody else in the anime so far talks like this, what does this style of speaking signify? Why is Kabru talking like this for this entire episode?

Is it because Kabru's from the West? Do all the people in the West talk that way? Will the elves talk like that?

Since they didn't match Zon and Leed's way of speaking to each other I doubt they'll follow through with this...

If it's meant to make Kabru sound "tough", why does Kabru do it the entire episode and not just with the corpse retrievers? Why does he keep talking that way while talking to his friends?

Even if sounding "tough" is what he's trying to accomplish, Kabru wasn't really being tough in those scenes, he was being tricky and conniving... And then with his friends he was being curious and solving a mystery.

It's not the worst performance I've ever heard, but it's a change/addition with no basis in the original version, so as with Leed and Zon, I'm left wondering "why are you doing this? What are you trying to tell us about the characters?"

I'll have to go back and listen to Kabru's earlier appearances to see if he sounds the same in those, but I really don't remember him talking this way before...

Kabruuuuuu

[ngc7009]

one summer evening me and @how-very-salty made a Steven Universe au in Danganronpa setting. i guess we called it Danganverse? anyway, i finally drew some character sprites, so let me introduce the main cast.

[ Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3 ]

Lars Barriga. Ultimate baker.

local loser.

prickly, gloomy and unsociable.

the only two people he kinda trusts is Sadie and Ronaldo. still doesn't consider them friends.

well, he actually has some good friends online. but they live very far away.

trying to act like he has no hobbies or interests, but in fact obsessed with space.

starts speaking Tagalog when he's really upset, angry or excited.

he and Buck once were best friends, but something went wrong. Lars has no idea what, tho.

plays piano. it’s the only thing his parents insisted on learning.

Sadie Miller. Ultimate scriptwriter.

very insightful.

basically non-conflicting person, always trying to find compromise.

took hundreds of classes from drawing to boxing.

doesn’t like spicy food.

wants to be a singer, but too shy to sing in public.

likes to write scripts for horror films and thrillers.

Ronaldo Fryman. Ultimate conspiracy theorist.

is right more often than everyone thinks.

ridiculously smart actually, but his obsession with conspirology makes a bad impression on people.

truly considers Lars and Sadie his best friends.

has a girlfriend. very real girlfriend.

hates anime and manga?

adores rats, because they’re the smartest animals.

only eats junk food.

Buck Dewey. Ultimate popular guy.

the second person in class after Garnet. his talent also makes him sort of a leader.

always calm and collected. on the outside at least.

better not ask him about Lars.

half Japanese. fluent in both Japanese and English.

actually gay, but has to hide it for various reasons.

has a super secret crush on guess who.

his dream is to go to medical school. but his dad wants him to follow his steps.

cares a lot for Jenny and Sour Cream.

Jenny Pizza. Ultimate designer.

bitchy.

problem child.

she’s dating Buck, but actually likes him more as a friend.

in love with Sour Cream since high school.

her twin sister Kiki is her muse and favorite model. she says it's like making clothes for herself but even better.

hates the smell of pizza.

Sour Cream. Ultimate DJ.

kinda aloof, head in the clouds.

madly in love with Jenny, but stood aside when Buck asked her out, believing that he is better for her.

has a lot of daddy issues.

lactose intolerant and has other various food allergies.

knows sign language.

adores his little stepbrother Onion. at the same time believes he's a Satan himself.

[amatorysacrivn]

can we get three fun facts from everyone in the cast?

yeah!!

tiffany...

-wanted to be an astronaut and was pursuing her masters in astrophysics before... yk!

-likes snacking on turkish delights and adjacent candies!

-is really good at making necklaces!

rosaline...

-has a portion of her closet dedicated to track suits, they're green teal and blue!

-speaks arabic, english, and a little bit of french!

-fucking hates nuts!

vesperia...

-can play the violin!

-has titty piercings that she deeply regrets!

-is vegetarian!

elita...

-is fluent in japanese and can speak moderate spanish!

-'s favorite song is psychedelic lipstick by demi yo'ko!

-used to sing at nightclubs for extra money!

cy...

-lives in a decent sized house with a garden that costed more than her furniture!

-loves koi fish!

-loves going to raves in her free time and has four arms worth of kandi stocked up!

aziel...

-would have loved to be an anesthesiologist in another timeline!

-misses his little sibling!

-does not own any firearms despite his career!

leviathan...

-slurs his words!

-cackles when he laughs!

-is a talented artist and loves to doodle!

lazaria...

-has escaped death numerous times! like how? tf??? did she survive getting ran over by a forklift??

-loves dragons!

-smells like raspberry pie!

zack...

-decorated his house like a dark academia library!

-is VERY dedicated to his work; will stay up for days on end to connect some strings and get his client off scott free!

-hates thunderstorms but loves snowstorms!

konstantin...

-plays the electric guitar and was in a band back in high school!

-got into the industry when he was 16-17!

-cannot stand neon colors!

casanova...

-plays the saxophone really well!

-has a lovely singing voice!

-cannot stand the taste of energy drinks! prefers tea

kastiel...

-has photographic evidence of supernatural monsters existing! but nobody believes him

-loves manga and anime! he low-key dirty

-would have been a photographer in another timeline!

lorelei...

-used to be a cheerleader in high school! would turn down every chance to make friends w/ her fellow cheerleaders tho

-craves a lobotomy!

-will not wear clothes if they're not made of satin, silk, or velvet!

[krsnaradhika]

Okay so, here I am with my pointless ramblings.

Dr. Prerna Kamble.

department of english literature. her topic is ‘novellas’.

Ma'am is actually a kokil kanthi apsara cuz hear me- as you won't be able to hear her from the backbenches.

She's pretty nice tho, and sweet. Collectively better than all the school teachers I've seen in my life.

Personal fav so far ngl. Encourages us to provide our input openly and does not belittle us for wrong answers.

Maybe I'll try to be in her good books because I love validation from English professors.

Dr. Grishma Khobragade.

head of department of english literature. he's not teaching any topic so far.

Heavens know how sir has the energy to speak so much so early in the morning (it's 10:30 am but don't come at me).

I don't think he ever shuts up. The yapping game is strong.

Compulsive oversharer. Speaks about his family and achievements in every third sentence. He's like me. Actually not, I'm not that of a boastful person.

He prolly knows my name now because I answer stuff in the class. Looks at me whenever someone isn't able to answer something. I don't want to live upto anybody's expectations, I was born to be a menace to the society.

Gives male Geet vibes from Jab We Met but make it slightly annoying? I think I'm being a hater now.

Dr. Samaajdaar aka, Dr. Sam.

or as my friend and I like to call him, dr. spicy nice. department of english literature. he teaches us short stories.

Has the most brutal roasts. You'd be compelled to hide your face when he starts speaking.

God. The superiority complex is wild but kinda valid. He's an ex IAS officer. I'd flex that too.

Why he hasn't started with the short stories yet? He's busy mocking the grammar taught to us in schools. I don't blame him.

He's a staunch feminist. Frequently mentions that housework isn't recognised enough and the world's been torturous to generations of women. A gal's gal we'll call him.

Mr. (or Dr.?) (Fuck if I know if he has a PhD.) Viplov (idk his last name)

professor of philosophy. he's a deceiving guy.

Seems really chill at first.

He is the type who'd feed you slow, sweet poison. And you'll buy his bullshit because he's very persuasive.

He said the Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta emphasizes on the caste system and hence, limits potential. Screw him for that honestly.

He says he teaches the Vedas and other spiritual texts to people so he's the one correctly interpretating it all? God help me-

Pretty sure an anti-theist. I will just sit back and stare unnervingly at him in all the lectures hence. Respect others' opinions even if they don't align with yours, that's basic decency. I don't argue or counter him because he has 40 marks of internals in his hands.