#I just added dialogue as a translation of sorts

[jovial-thunder]

Lancer Tactics devlog

I'm gonna try out posting my ~monthly devlog roundup here as well. These suckers are glorified changelogs with anecdotes and gifs galore. Let me know if this is something you like seeing show up on your dash?

Map Editor

Got units able to be placed/deleted/moved in the mission editor

Can paint/remove command zones in the editor

Can paint minecraft-like terrain blocks in the editor

Can paint/rotate multi-tile props in the editor

Can edit unit character sheets and portrait via the editor

3D maps

Did a bunch of art tests with 3D mech models, provided by GeneralChaos, which we ended up deciding not to go with to keep things simple.

To avoid the can of worms that is animation, we'd have to lean into a static "tabletop minatures" aesthetic which we decided is not a style we want to be stuck with. By sticking with 2D sprites, we avoid falling into a sort of uncanny valley; it's easier to get away with not animating a 2D sprite than it is for a 3D model.

 We also experimented with 3D terrain. We decided to make a rule that the visual style for a piece of terrain should match its mechanical effect: obstructing terrain that you can't move through, such as rocks or buildings, will be in 3D, while non-obstructing terrain like trees will stick with 2D sprites.

Hooking up the 3D camera to follow events like movement and attacks did a LOT for making it starting to feel like it's cohering into an Actual Game™

Implemented cover! And an attack preview! Cover works by aiming a ray from the target to the originator (technically to and from each voxel of each, respectively, to handle size 2s shooting above size 1 cover) and tracking all the terrain blocks it hits (how we'll handle non-terrain hard cover TBD). I think I have it working according to Perijove's cover rules manual, but I'm sure there'll be edge cases to work out. This is a case where things are significantly simplified by working in squares instead of hexes; hexes have a lot more possible weird angles you have to deal with.

Re-added what I'm stubbornly calling Combat Popcorn; little bits of text that pop out when you use abilities and attacks.

UI & game screens

Added ability for the engine to show UI that's anchored to the game world via a little word bubble line but also stay on screen as the camera moves around.

Got word bubbles working; you can now write dialogue in the mission editor, hit playtest, and see it work in a mission! (it does actually translate correctly now; this gif is just from a bug I thought was funny)

Got ability effects mostly behaving appropriately again, including muzzle flashes. The easiest way to handle them ended up being NOT billboarding them so they always face the camera (like all other 2D sprites in the game); instead, I put them on a plane parallel with the ground and just spin them around the unit to point at wherever their target is.

Did some work ironing out our tooltip system. The standard in CRPGs these days is this kind of nested labyrinth of tooltops that you see in Baldur's Gate 3:

I Did Not Want to try and figure out how to wrangle that much UI, so we're instead opting to cap the nested tooltips at the second layer. You can lock a general tooltip for e.g. an action and then mouseover various items within that tooltip to get glossary definitions...

...and then instead of having those glossary tips be lockable/mouse-overable themselves, I collect all related terms to that glossary definition and let you tab through them.

Added skin overlay functionality to the portrait maker, enabling textures like scars, tattoos, stubble, and vitiligo to be applied to just the skin and not extend off into space.

Midway through writing this update, Carpenter sent me this gif of the randomization button working! There's a still a bunch of skintones/assets missing and a few are a bit janky, but it was exciting to start seeing the range of these lil freaks (affectionate) that this editor can create.

Mourning cloak license!

This is the one I'm probably most excited about: I did a bit of a content dive and implemented a basic character sheet + all Mourning Cloak traits and equipment. They don't have fancy graphics yet, but the weapons and systems can be added via the character sheet and used in-game.

It took a little under a day, including adding soon-to-be common mechanisms like bonus damage. This is great news in that it means the engine we've been building for so long in the abstract seems to do a great job in handling comprehensive actual game content, and that it looks like we've set ourselves up for success when it comes time to buckle down on churning that out.

I'm sure other licenses will come with unique difficulties (I fear the day it comes time to do the Mule Harness // Goblin CP) but I'm feeling good about it!

Vertical slice?

Taking a step back, the pressing question on my mind has been "when will we have a playable early access build?"

I was originally hoping for Feb/March, but what we've internally been referring to as the "3D cataclysm" has pushed everything back by at least three months, so the target for the first alpha build is now in May. So, ah, thanks for your patience! Seeing things come together, I've become more and more convinced that moving to 3D was the right call.

[deadcrowcalling]

serious-er topic than normal dudes, dudettes, and everybody else (there needs to be a gender neutral dude. dudenby?

•subtitles, closed captions, and open captions aren't the same thing.

subtitles exist for the purpose of conveying the dialogue of a movie/show/video. you can change the language (usually) and turn them on and off at will. these are typically boxes at the bottom of the screen with words. they can be used for translation, to better understand speech, etc. subtitles aren't always reliable at conveying the dialogue accurately, and can be delayed or too fast in accordance to the video. you can use subtitles to know what is being said.

closed captions identify the speaker, dialogue, and any noise. they follow along all the audio and if it's something spoken, who says it (usually). these are also typically boxes at the bottoms of the screen with words. these can be used to understand all the audio, translate, etc. closed captions aren't always reliable in conveying the audio correctly, and can be delayed or too fast in accordance to the video. you can use closed captions to know everything that is going on involving sound.

open captions are like closed captions. they were established for the same purpose. you cannot turn open captions on and off. they are a part of the video, the creator purposefully put them there, most likely for accessibility purposes. these, most of the time, convey all audio and are pretty accurate, and are synchronized with the video. these often are just words on the screen, usually in a contrasting color than the background.

all can be used for accessibility reasons or not, but open captions are the better of the three.

i am not hard of hearing or d/Deaf. i do struggle understanding sound clearly due to ADHD. i always have on closed captions because i can't understand speech clearly often, and struggle with focusing on one sound when there are many going on (for example, if i'm in a loud room, i can't just turn the volume up. that does nothing for me but make the confusion louder.)

people with any sort of hearing impairment (hearing loss, APD, neurodivergent related hearing issues, etc) prefer and/or need written audio like these things provide. open captions are the most optimal, and should be in more movies, shows, videos, etc. i understand not all people need or want them, but countless people do. if you make videos or things like that of any kind, please consider adding open captions for the sake of people with hearing impairments.

even if you don't, and you read all this, thanks :) this took a long time to type and it's just good info to know.

[kwanisms]

Library of Illusion — the Lobby

masterlist | next »»

➥ no pairing

wc: 2.5k

summary: With the death of her parents, Y/N inherits the house and finds a box of old research her father left behind that talks about a legendary place. After months of research and searching, Y/N has finally found it.

The Library of Illusion beckons.

genre/themes/au: fantasy, slight horror elements; non idol au

warnings: adult dialogue, female reader, mention of death

permanent taglist: @yoonguurt @wonderfulshinee @candidupped @dejavernon @violagoth @tigermoonbiss @katsukis1wife @luvsooby @thesolarplanetarysystem

ateez taglist: @2hodefender @cixrosie @pyeonghongrie-main @flowerboykun @sanjoongie @anyamaris @stardragongalaxy @kpop-stories-21 @wooyoungmybelovedhusband

special tags: @thelargefrye @hwasdollie

Join my taglists: permanent | group

a/n: here it is finally! I have been so FREAKING excited about this event since we first started planning it. I hope you all love it as much as I loved writing each part and before I go off on a tangent, I'll let you all read! As always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only. banner made by me. I do not allow reposts or translations of my works. All my works are ©️ kwanisms.

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You’d always been told stories all throughout your youth about a mystical place known only as the Library. Your mother used to tell you grand stories about the place when she was putting you to sleep so she and your father could head out for an evening, leaving you in the care of a babysitter.

Your father always added onto these fantastical tales, painting vivid images with his words as he explained the Library in full detail, almost as if he had been there. The stories weren’t special to your family though. Lots of your peers heard similar tales, told to them by their parents at bed time.

And so it became sort of like a ritual. Until one day, it wasn’t.

You weren’t sure when you stopped caring about the wondrous and whimsical tales of the Library but it had to have been around the time you started showing an interest in things other than fairy tales.

Your parents still tried to instill the element of wonder into your life up until you left home, hoping to find something other than elaborate tales of a made up library.

Your parents were gone. Passed in an accident only a month ago today.

You hadn’t seen or spoken to them in years, preferring your circle of friends and work life you’d grown accustomed to.

After the funeral, you gained possession of everything they owned and while going through a box in the attic with only a bottle of wine to keep you company, you stumbled on something you probably never should have seen.

It was what you could only assume was a case file about a place called the Library of Illusion. As you flipped through the pages, sipping from your glass of red, your eyes widened reading the words you’d only heard from your parents' mouths as they tried to lull you to sleep at night.

Your father had been a professor of archaeology all throughout your life while your mother was an appraiser of rare antiques. They both loved old things.

As you scanned the documents you learned three things.

1. Your parents were obsessed with this Library, believing it to contain treasure.

2. Your parents, mainly your father had set about finding the location

3. Your father actually found the location just before his untimely death

As soon as you looked over the maps and checked it with known maps, the decision was made before you.

Wine in hand, you booked a flight, made accommodations, and hired a local guide.

Getting to the dense jungle where the Library was rumored to be was easy but traversing the jungle was another story. Your guide halfway through called it off but you were determined, taking the map and satellite phone and continuing alone on your journey which brought you to where you were now standing.

The Library was an very old stone structure, made of some kind of smooth sandstone. Most of it was covered in thick vines, the dense trees growing around the structure and making it seem very much a part of the jungle.

Two stone slab doors stood between you and the contents of the building as you checked your father’s notes, comparing them with the notebook he’d stashed with the other items.

Entering the library was no easy task but it wasn’t impossible.

A complex series of dials must be turned according to a riddle which was already solved by your parents. As you turned the last dial and it clicked into place, a mechanism behind the stone started to move and before your very eyes, the doors opened inward to reveal the inner corridor was nothing but a dark and empty void.

Taking the flashlight from your pack, you turned it on and headed inside, reminding yourself to put one foot in front of the other as you started into the blackness.

Your footsteps echoed around the walls as you walked down what seemed to be an impossibly long corridor, turning your flashlight around to keep a sharp eye on anything you might encounter from jungle animals to deadly insects or even plants. Your guide had warned you of the many dangers that awaited in not only the Library but the jungle as well.

Finally, just as you were about to give up, a dim light could be seen in the distance. Speeding up, you continued on your way, the first real sign of promise within your grasp.

As you neared what you assumed to be the end of the tunnel, the shape of the light grew in size until you emerged from the passage into a round room with a domed ceiling.

Around the walls were various bookshelves that had clearly seen better days. Old ruined books and stacks of yellowed paper lined the shelves and a thick layer of dust coated everything. Between breaks in the shelves were arched doorways.

You counted seven in total.

In the center of the room was what you could only describe as a stage, octagonal in shape and made of the same pale sandstone. Stone pillars stood in the eight corners, reaching from floor to domed ceiling and matched the same color of stone that everything else was made of.

Standing atop the stone stage, was a dark redwood desk. You carefully glanced around before ascending the few steps up to get a better look at the desk. It was a curved semi circular shape with a few stacks of aged paper as well as an old writing set.

As you inspected the desk, a voice rang out, echoing off the domed stone ceiling.

“Who are you?”

You nearly screamed as you jumped, spinning around to find you were not alone in the room as you had previously assumed.

Standing before you was a man. He had black hair, golden skin and was tall with a slim figure. He wore an entirely black ensemble, complete with a black brocade vest, black dress coat, and black trousers. His shoes were made of a shiny black leather with golden metal tips at the toe.

Your eyes snapped back up to meet his curious gaze.

When you didn't answer him, he spoke again.

“Who are you?”

Taking a quick breath, you answered him in a rush.

“I'm so sorry, I had no idea anyone was here!” The words burst from your mouth before you had a chance to stop them. You apologized profusely as the man looked at you, amused.

“Why are you apologizing?” he asked and you froze, uncertain of how you should respond before finally settling on an answer.

“I guess I just got nervous,” you answered sheepishly. The man tilted his head, like a puppy would upon having its name called.

“Why?”

You shrugged in response to his question. “I suppose I just wasn't expecting to meet anyone here.”

The man smiled again as he closed the distance between the two of you slowly, his footsteps echoing around the room with each step.

“And what are you doing here?” He asked. You hesitated to respond.

How exactly would you explain your reasoning for being here?

'My parents died and my father had a box of stuff relating to this place?'

No, he’d think you were absolutely mad.

Sensing your hesitation, the man took another step forward, climbing the steps one at a time. “You’d be surprised by the answers I get,” he started as he ascended the steps, stopping just before you.

You looked at him as he studied you. This close, you could see his dark brown, almost black eyes, darting around your face, seemingly taking in every feature.

“I’ve heard it all,” he continued, starting to circle you slowly as he looked over you.

“Fame, fortune, glory,” he rattled off as he continued to circle you like a predator.

“But what’s your excuse?”

You cleared your throat, turning to look at him behind you where he had stopped, meeting your gaze with an unreadable expression.

“Legacy I suppose,” you finally answered. The man’s eyes narrowed.

“Legacy?” His tone was curious and he waited for you to continue.

You decided there was no reason for you to lie and so you told him everything.

When you were done explaining the bedtime stories, the death of your parents, the inheritance, and finally the box in the attic, he continued to look at you curiously. “That’s a new one,” he admitted. “I’ve never heard of someone continuing in their parents’ steps before. So you aren’t here for the treasure?”

You shrugged again. “If there’s one to find, I’m not opposed to that, but that’s not entirely what brought me here. I’m fueled more by curiosity.”

The man smirked at you. “Curiosity is a dangerous thing,” he replied, continuing his circling from before. “They say curiosity killed the cat.”

His eyes met yours and you could have sworn you saw a flash of color in them.

Pushing it from your mind, you spoke up in retaliation.

“They also say satisfaction brought it back.”

The man’s smirk widened until he was chuckling.

"And so it did,” he said softly, moving to stand in front of you, his face mere inches from yours. “And is that what you hope to find, kitten? Satisfaction?”

Your stomach knotted at the use of the nickname, heat rushing to your core as you stared back at the man. “Perhaps,” you answered, trying to remain as unaffected as possible. The man chuckled again as he stepped around you and over to the desk.

“If it is satisfaction you seek,” he continued as he took a seat at the desk and glanced up at you. “Then perhaps you will find what you seek.” You watched him as he stared back at you.

"Satisfaction takes many forms," he continued, eyes studying you carefully. "I myself am also looking for it, in a way," he added before opening a drawer and reaching inside.

You watched as he pulled out a wooden box and set it on the desk.

You stared at it for a moment and then looked up at him. “What is it?”

The man gestured to the box. “Open it,” he said simply.

Sensing your reluctance, he sighed and reached over to undo the clasp holding the box shut and opened the lid, turning the box to show you the contents.

Or lack thereof.

You stepped forward, closing the distance between you and the desk to peer into the box.

A velvet lining covered the inside with indents in the material where something or rather a few somethings had been housed. Six of them to be precise.

“What’s this?” You asked, looking up from the interior of the box to meet his eyes.

“If you seek satisfaction, you’ll find it here in the Library,” he started, looking at you with his sharp eyes. “But to seek anything in this library, you need my permission first.” You narrowed your eyes at him.

“What, are you the librarian?” you snorted. The man smiled, clearly amused as well.

“Of sorts,” he answered. “Come,” he stated as he got up and beckoned you to follow him.

Descending the steps, you followed him around the room until he stopped near one of the doors. “Each door is locked,” he started to explain, taking the knob in his hand and trying to turn it and showing how it didn’t budge.

You glanced up at him as he looked down to meet your gaze.

“So how do I get in?” The man shook his head.

“You humans are always so eager. Just go in blindly without knowing what you’re looking for or who you’ll meet,” he said, sounding mildly annoyed.

It was your turn to sound annoyed.

“Okay, then explain it to me.”

The man crossed his arms over his chest and studied you for a moment before answering.

“I assume you don’t need an introduction to the Library. You clearly know what this place is.”

You nodded in response. “This place is home to a legendary treasure,” the man continued. You nodded again. “Yes, everyone knows that,” you interrupted.

The man’s smile was replaced with a frown. “Don’t interrupt,” he said sternly. You shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. “Sorry,” you whispered.

“As I was saying,” he continued. “A legendary treasure is hidden here. As you stated, everyone who knows about this place, knows this. What they don’t know is where that treasure is hidden,” he added, his smirk back as your eyes widened.

“And you do?”

The man nodded slowly. “That I do.”

“Well, that gives you a distinct advantage,” you replied. “Why not take the treasure for yourself?” The man laughed loudly at this.

“What need would I have for the treasure?” He asked, shoulders still shaking from his laughter as it started to subside. You shrugged your shoulders. “What need does anyone have for treasure?” You asked in response.

The man chuckled again. “You humans are always so predictable. Greedy, selfish, self destructive,” he said, stepping forward, forcing you to back up until you were caged between him and the end of a shelf. “Us humans?” You asked, realizing you hadn’t picked up on it before, but he’d referenced a difference between himself and your species.

“Are you saying you aren’t human?”

His smile widened as he looked down at you. “You’ve finally caught on,” he said, sounding both pleased and disappointed. “I figured you would have noticed by now.” You glanced over him quickly. “You look human,” you noted.

He shook his head. “You aren’t looking. Truly looking,” he replied.

Before you had a chance to ask what he meant, he pulled away.

“But we’re getting off topic,” he said, taking a few steps away and turning to look at you. Staring at him, trying to see what he meant earlier, you noticed something different. At first glance, he looked completely human but then his eyes did that same thing, a flash of color before they returned to the same dark brown.

He seemed to have an aura about him. Something you couldn’t quite see but you could catch glimpses of it. Almost like a flicker. As you stared at him, witnessing these phenomena, he smiled.

“There,” he said finally. “You see it.”

You stared in awe. “What are you?” You asked, not even realizing how rude it might sound. The man didn’t seem to mind however.

“I’m something your kind cannot comprehend,” he answered. “Not fully anyway.”

“Who are you?” You asked in response to his answer. He smiled wider.

“See, I asked you that same simple question earlier,” he said, in the same amused tone from before, the same smile present on his face as he studied you.

“A question you still haven't answered,” he noted, one of his eyebrows raising up.

You realized he was right. He’d asked you much earlier who you were and you hadn’t answered him. “I’m Y/N,” you replied. “Y/F/N Y/L/N.” The man crossed the short distance between you in moments, startling you.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N,” he replied, face inches from yours again.

“I’m Seonghwa and I’m the Keeper of Keys," he replied.

"Welcome to the Library of Illusion.”

[a-forbidden-detective]

Curious add-ons: additions and deletions, Episode 11 (Part 7)

A bit of a warning: photo-heavy post

Eleven episodes in, and it is safe to say that I love these versions of Ron and Toto. Don’t get me wrong Akira Amano hasn’t done anything wrong, it is just these RonToto are kinder and more codependent from each other that I am 110 per cent sure they’d compete with that kind of codependency from the manga RonToto, and anime RonToto would win.

They diminished Toto’s comedic childlike expressions on this episode removing the giggle on Toto’s part, for example, when he asked Ron if the latter had a friend. Junya Enoki, for his part, admitted that because Toto is a grown man and a police officer, he doesn’t need to act cute all the time. The reason this scene is much more tender than in the manga. The “what’s so funny?” question from Ron was omitted and instead the anime writers made Toto stammer with his “N-not even… one?” After hearing Ron’s answer that he considers Toto to be his friend, he replies with a much more humbled “I am glad to hear it” and not “Gee, thanks.” And then the blush on Toto’s face as if he is darn proud and happy because after all they have been through, Ron treats him more special than the others, that is being allowed to be closer to him by becoming his friend.

Truth be told, these instances of blushing from the main characters would turn me into mush.

Another passage omitted from the manga and the new dialogue has become a Sherlock BBC reference in the anime.

Kawasemi san: “If you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest.” (Episode 11)

SH from Sherlock BBC: “If you wanted to hide a tree then the best place to do it is a forest, wouldn’t you say? People would just walk past it, not knowing - not able to decipher the message.” (Episode 2, Season 1, The Blind Banker)

Surely, one of these days I’d write a list of all these Sherlock BBC references: from the manga to anime, because they are so many. Of course, it could have been the translator’s choice in the end.

Continuity problems in the manga are explained in the anime.

a) the reason Ron eats dangos 🍡 on the train;

b) Constable Kimyou, whose surname doesn’t mean “strange”

c) Ron accompanying Toto was not a chance where he got an email from the neurology institute, but it was a planned or let’s just say a convenient way to ride with Toto on the train at the same time going to Aichi with a purpose.

The anime crew adding this scene. Toto’s joyful reaction upon seeing his friend again after witnessing Kawasemi’s slump in person. Probably Toto was relieved and had missed his friend so much after their abrupt and odd parting at the Nagoya train station, in which he had so many questions that were partly answered at the end of the episode.

Can you see the puppets and the No. 96 (Ron’s scar which has become part of him) from the shop? Not only they increased the price from ¥900 (in 2021) to ¥960 (2023) but Ron’s puppets Kamo-kyun (platypus) and Eli Pyon (frill-necked lizard) are on sale.

This ending that fuels a few questions. Ron was sort of refusing to look at Toto as he explained his meeting with Dr. Mofu and her subsequent referrals to the other medical professionals concerning his pathological condition to pressure the criminals to suicide. Instead he looked at his reflection on the glass train window, Toto’s delightful enthusiastic voice had become white noise. This Ron is more pessimistic and not so much looking forward to the therapy and its possible outcome. I wonder if the anime writers (Jackson Ou wrote the episode with a storyboard from Shingo Tamaki who were also responsible to previous Kawasemi episode) would deviate a bit from the manga.

Two more episodes and I don’t want it to end. There are so many materials available and it seems we haven’t scratched the surface yet. The tension is getting bigger. It would be nicer if they are given the second cour and end the first season with the Plateau Aubege arc. A perfect ending to establish a canon RonToto.

[rggz]

majima's fake kansai dialect explained

got this video in my youtube recommended earlier and a lot of people in the comments seemed confused as to how exactly it is that majima's speaking differently in this scene and i love to ramble so. here we are. bit of linguistic meta under the cut :)

quick disclaimer though: i'm not a native japanese speaker nor am i an expert on kansai dialect so there'll likely be some oversights and nuances that i didn't pick up on here. so just remember that this is all for fun. ok?

1. だ (da) vs や (ya)

i'm going to try not to use too much linguistic jargon here so please bear with. in standard japanese the copula (essentially a verb that means "to be" when describing a quality possessed by the subject of the sentence, eg. the sky is blue) "だ" is used in casual speech, whereas in kansai dialect "や” is used instead. listen to the sentence translated as "if you want out, now is the time", and you'll hear the difference - instead of ending his sentence with や as he would when he speaks in kansai dialect, majima uses だ.

2. いる (iru) vs おる (oru)

listen to the sentence translated as "but you've got yasuko". he uses the verb いる (to be (in a location, doing an action, etc.) or to have, for animate objects) to say that saejima has yasuko, whereas in kansai dialect the verb おる is used instead.

3. いい (ii) vs ��え (ee)

see: "saejima, are you really sure you want to leave her behind?". literally, this would translate to "saejima, is it really okay to leave her behind?" (with the word いい translating to okay). in kansai dialect ええ is used in place of いい.

4. 本当 (hontou) vs ほんま (honma)

see the same sentence as no. 3, where instead of using the kansai "ほんま" to mean really (lit. truth), majima uses the standard "本当".

5. いる (iru) vs おる (oru): the squeakuel

adding an extra note on this one because interestingly, even after saejima calls him out on him slipping up, majima doesn't switch straight back to kansai dialect. see the line "i'm fucking serious here" - the actual dialogue translates literally to "[hey] you, when people are talking seriously-".

the japanese present continuous is formed by putting the verb into て (te) form and adding the verb いる to express continuity - to be doing something. "are talking" is translated from "喋ってる" (shabetteru - note that the い sound of いる is omitted in casual speech). however if you've noticed a pattern here, you might think that in kansai dialect the verb おる would be used instead, and you'd be correct.

this construction is used by saejima in the previous line, where he says "you're forgetting your kansai dialect" (though this is translated as "your kansai accent's slipping"). 忘れて (te form of wasureru, to forget) is added to おる (to be). note however that て＋おる becomes とる (toru).

-

it's worth mentioning, though, that none of these are absolute rules (especially not nowadays among younger people). rather these observations were largely based on what majima tends towards using himself in general throughout the series. even in the first half of the same cutscene, i think the difference is pretty stark.

that being said though i do think it's also easy to miss - it's not so much a difference in accent or the way the words themselves sound as it is a case of differences in grammar, words used, expressions, etc.

however, there are definitely differences in intonation between kansai and kanto dialects - in fact, because majima's va is from tokyo he had trouble getting the intonation right, and as such it's a liiiitle off in places, but everyone was sort of just like meh. it's majima so it's fine. therefore, i reckon it tracks that majima doesn't sound too different between dialects and is actually a cool bit of characterisation, albeit unintentional.

as for where he's actually from, it could really be anywhere, but given that regional dialects were a lot more prevalent and stronger even just in the 80s, i'd wager that he is indeed from somewhere in kanto.

this would all suggest too that majima fully mastered his use of kansai dialect in sotenbori, which would make sense. excluding his sequence as the lord of the night in which he uses keigo (specifically a combination of kenjougo - humble language which lowers the speaker - and sonkeigo - respectful language which puts the listener at a higher position), majima has no other instances of his dialect slipping that i've noticed despite how serious much of yakuza 0 is. note that this is not to say kansai dialect doesn't have honorific speech, just that majima is using standard honorific speech, and even this contains interjections of kansai dialect.

as a little related tidbit, something else i noticed is that the only other person majima uses keigo with is shimano (1) (2) (3). not nearly to the business level that he uses as the lord of the night, but it's there (as is his kansai dialect, as he still uses おる and other kansai language that i won't go into here for brevity's sake). instead of using や as an ending particle he uses です (desu, the keigo - specifically teinego or polite language - equivalent of だ), and uses verbs in their teineigo ます (masu) form. he doesn't use it with sagawa, and not even with terada as the 5th chairman in the majima saga.

anyway, that's all :) i was rambling about this to myself in my notes app anyway so i thought why not share it in case anyone else is interested too. ty for reading!

[k2ntwo]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

A bunch of writers that I follow have already been tagged and responded @helloliriels @khorazir @7-percent @discordantwords @totallysilvergirl to name just a few. Now I have a few new things to read that I somehow missed the first time around as well as a bunch of old favorites to go and re-read. So much good fic is out there by so many talented writers!

In the spirit of adding to folk’s ever growing MFL list I’ll just pile onto the bandwagon with my answers as well.

 1.  How many works to you have on AO3?

56 although there are several collections of snippets that technically could be counted separately. On AO3 I'm KtwoNtwo.

2.  What’s your total AO3 word count?

496,860

3.  What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily Sherlock Holmes (most all iterations from ACD to Sherlock) and James Bond.  However, I dabble in a good number of other fandoms upon occasion.

4.  What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Metamorphosis

Conversations from Q-Branch

50 Reasons (The Q-Branch Edition)

A Rare Breed

Brothers Three

5.  Do you respond to comments?

Yes, even if its just a “I’m glad you liked it.”  The only ones I don’t respond to are the generic solicitations to join some random contest or fic publishing website.  Those get blocked and reported.

6.  What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Well, I don’t really write major angst but The Four Riders has got a bit as does the poem Gun in the Drawer though they both end on a hopeful note.

7.  What’s the Fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics have happy endings but probably A Toast to the Science of Deduction resolves the happiest of the lot.

8.  Do you get hate on fics.

Nope.  Only got one anonymous troll alleging trademark infringement due to a title.  I fired back a factual rebuttal: basically "there is no book by that name by that author, there is no lawyer by that name, you didn’t provide contact information and btw trademark doesn’t work the way you allege" then added a set of quotation marks to the title.  Never heard anything more about it.

9.  Do you write smut?

I have but I’m not terribly good at it.  Most of the time the characters look at me then politely, or not so politely, shut the bedroom door in my face.

10.  Do you write crossovers?

Oh God Yes!  Technically I think I write fusions, where both fandoms end up in the same universe, as opposed to crossovers but I’m rather unclear on the difference between same so I tend to just call 'em crossovers and leave it at that. 

11.  Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I could find or prove.  I did have a couple of strange search results pop up with my use name and some fic titles attached but the websites all seem to be defunct now.

12.  Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge.

13.  Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14.  What’s your favorite ship?

Sherlock Holmes/John Watson

15.  What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

There’s a fic based on a song by Abney Park that I’ve got an outline for but it never seems to go anywhere.

16.  What are your writing strengths?

I can merge and/or crossover all sorts of different fandoms. 

17.  What are your writing weaknesses?

Typos and punctuation.  Being slightly dyslexic I can’t spot the former and I never know if I’m using commas correctly or not.

18.  Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I actively avoid doing so because I’d butcher it badly.

19.  First fandom you wrote for?

Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker.  I will admit that I wrote in my head, but never got around to put on paper, a number of Star Trek stories when I was significantly younger.

20.  Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

I like all of them for different reasons.  The one I’m most proud of however is The Emerald Falls my Study in Emerald inspired ACD Fic.

I'd love to have some of the artists/podcasters respond to this with whatever modifications are necessary to fit the medium involved. Hours of podcast or number of artworks as opposed to number of words for example. @podfixx @bluebellofbakerstreet if you haven't responded to this thing already and I just missed it.

[insurrection-if]

Stat Changes

For anyone interested in some behind-the-scenes mechanics and stat variables, here's an overly wordy peek into that below the cut.

Please don't consider this a substantial status update or anything like that ゞ ◎Д◎ ヾ; I don't want anyone to be disappointed by what I talk about below if they read ahead with that expectation. This is just talk about two variable mechanics I wished to disclose since one is an update to a personality stat on the Mechanics page and the other is something I am a little worried certain readers might not like.

With that said . . .

(；´∀｀) I will need to update the "Mechanics" page soon, but I have decided to change one of the personality stats for Mockingbird.

Protective vs. Independent has been changed to Cooperative vs. Independent. This stat will now measure Mockingbird's willingness and comfort towards working alongside others and accepting their help: where they stand between the edges of a lone wolf or team player. ＼（★´−｀）人（´▽｀★）／

A shy Mockingbird can have a high cooperative stat, which would translate into them being someone who isn't overly fond of social environments but generally wishes to be proactive in assisting and accepting the assistance of those around them. A social Mockingbird with a high independence would be someone who is comfortable meeting and socializing with a vast array of people but is resistant towards having to rely on another person in situations dire or mundane.

The Protective stat has become an independent variable. It is now a trait called protective_general which will note whether Mockingbird is indiscriminately protective of anyone placed in their care. A Mockingbird with this stat set as true will generally care for the defense and protection of everyone, placing no less value on the life of a random civilian than they would their own teammate. Cruel Mockingbirds with this stat will angle this protectiveness as them not crossing the line into mindless / needless violence or death (while still accepting brutal or aggressive tactics against whatever they oppose), and merciful Mockingbirds will have this treated as an extension of their compassionate nature.

This comes with a sub-stat (which is the term I am using for now since I am not sure if there is a more official one for this sort of stat out there). Here's a vague look at it below:

This stat has only been extended to potential love interests thus far since they will be available for the closest relationships - in either a romantic or platonic sense - in the first book. If Mockingbird is not generally protective of everyone (or is already generally protective of everyone), it would make little(?) sense for them to be specifically and distinctly protective towards the likes of Bacara, Boar, Kalyna, Gabriel, or Uriel who are far less available emotionally, objectively, or physically to Mockingbird. (Adding Mishka at this time might be a little much to add at this point too, but there are justifications to be found from a pragmatic, cautionary, or ideological standpoint.) Maybe Yadon and Nasrin should be added to this sub_stat mechanic as well, but that can be amended at a later time. This is, at present, more so for my own record and disclosure to anyone interested.

Essentially, this sub_stat marks whether Mockingbird is particularly protective over (a) specific individual(s). This can occur in purely platonic, or even conflicted, relationships as well for the sake of roleplay. If Mockingbird is generally protective, then activating a protective sub-stat for a specific character just means that their instinct to keep them safe has a more personal and heavy weight on their shoulders compared to when they feel this way for others. There might be some flavor dialogue if Mockingbird is only distinctly protective of their romantic interest(s), is protective of everyone but their romantic interest(s), is not generally protective at all yet is specifically protective towards all of the individual HAWKS, etc. and so forth. This would be much farther down the road, however, since those around them will need time to take notice of whatever trend Mockingbird might have that's worth a comment - it's all nebulous right now, but at least it's there for me to pull out and implement whenever I find a nice chance to call attention to it.

The trigger points for this stat towards individuals might vary character to character and will be available for activation at multiple stages of the narrative (shortly after a first encounter, at end of the first book, after a time skip, etc.).

In other words, I do not want players to feel pressured into being protective of someone as soon as possible if it makes more sense for their character to develop this sentiment at a later point in the story. If Mockingbird is not protective of a character shortly after first meeting them then there will still be multiple opportunities in the future to activate this stat / sentiment at a later time.

I figured I should mention all this now in case anyone had a notable issue with this change. There is another mechanic I have tenuously added and hoped to gather some feedback on, but I am concerned that such feedback would be a little hard to give when readers have yet to greatly familiarize themselves with their guardians.

For now, while I am referencing Mockingbird's parental figures, I will more so explicitly state that their relationship with Mockingbird will not be measured by a point or percentage system (as I had initially planned so long ago). Since their physical presence is largely scarce after the first chapter (for a long span of, uh, "temporarily unavailable") I hope to avoid players being overly careful with appeasing, agreeing, and never challenging or being upset with their guardians in order to keep a good relationship with them beyond the first chapter (and the vice versa of that for a poor relationship) in a way that causes heavy, immersion-breaking relationship management.

Instead, the reader / player (whichever term one prefers, haha!) will be given a choice for the type of relationship they would like to have with each of their guardians. Those options are (with placeholder + general descriptions):

Hostile - The relationship is in tatters, hanging by a worn and fraying thread that should have been severed long ago.

Distant - The relationship had become cold, a wedge keeping them afar. You retreat from their care, and do not associate with them any more than is necessary.

Neutral - You are indifferent to them, not revering or condemning their guardianship in any particular manner. The relationship is fine, and rarely does it fluctuate into anything much better or worse than this.

Content - The relationship is satisfactory, one that remains largely civil and warm. You love your guardian, but do not cherish your bond to the point of immense attachment.

Close - The relationship is one full of love and care, a close-knit bond that will forever keep your Guardian secured in your heart.

Grateful, but Tense - You appreciate your Guardian and all they have sacrificed for your sake, but it is difficult to force a sense of closeness with them. You wish you could love them more, accept them more, and yet . . . you cannot shake the discomfort you have towards their memory, actions, and affection.

Please me know if these options seem subpar or limiting!

These are all Mockingbird's sentiments towards their guardian. Each parental figure in their life loves them unconditionally, and always will, but that doesn't mean Mockingbird can treat them with animosity or coldness without consequence. Uncle Fletcher will gripe and raise his voice towards a hostile Mockingbird, their stepmother will cry at the (in her eyes) harsh coldness of a distant Mockingbird, and their father will hide his pain behind stiff smiles around a Mockingbird who is grateful towards but tense around him.

Mockingbird can later re-evaluate their feelings towards their guardians before reuniting with them at some point post-induction into the HAWKS. Shift from Close to Distant, from Hostile to Grateful and Tense, and so on. That reunion, however, is a far distant future for them.

( ᐛ )و That concludes my horribly composed ramble on two statistics.

My plan for a demo is to, perhaps, finish key early childhood scenes for Mockingbird and post a short "demo sample" with little fanfare or announcement so a small pool of players can assist me with some feedback on the opening of the game (which I continuously toil over as being considerably decent or terribly sloppy). Feedback on elements such as the depiction and their perception of the guardians, readability, choice amount and variance, stat descriptions and implementation, and so forth. Then, once I have concluded Chapter 0 (Mockingbird Pre-Hawks), I'll have that be a more advertised demo on the main post of this blog but, since the ROs will have a sparse presence up to that point, I'll hold off on anything in the forums until Chapter 1 has been substantially written.

In other news, I feel like I'm finally reaching the other side of a hill. I have managed to settle things at work to a more tolerable level of stress. For now, at least, since one of my co-workers keeps ominously warning that the worst has yet to come. (´͈ ⌓ `͈ )

My eldest dog (old man Charlie) has also been undergoing a serious health crisis since last Thursday. Thankfully, he's finally back home and has shown notable recovery! ✧⁺⸜(●′▾‵●)⸝⁺✧ The next two or so weeks are critical for him, but (according to the vet) the roughest patch is over. I've been crying my eyes out over him so much, and to see his health returning slowly but surely has been such a relief! It's been a stressful, and expensive, struggle but seeing some of his pep come back to his step has been a such a curative to the bruise this whole ordeal has left on my heart . . . and wallet, haha! (；´∀｀)

There's other stuff happening around me that are a cause for distress, but it's all beyond my control. So, I'm trying to stay positive while hoping to convert my anxious energy into more productivity!

Sorry for the pointlessness of this post overall. (´ﾟ 艸ﾟ)∴ I just felt like I needed to clarify these stat changes and ramble into the void of the internet about everything above.

For anyone who has made it this far, thank you for your time and patience throughout this long spiel! (●・ω・) I wish you all the best, and hope nothing shared above was too upsetting or disappointing!

Thank you! ヾ(＾-＾) ノ

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Cordelia Concept Art

Cordelia concept/reference art. Translation notes and image id below the cut.

Translation Notes

The word for "sash" on this page was literally "obi," the type of sash a woman would tie around a kimono. "Obi" is a valid English word, so I went back and forth between what to use, but since her dress isn't technically a kimono + the sash isn't tied in the style an obi usually would be, I decided to go with the more catch-all term.

"White as snow" was a word that literally just meant "white," but the first character and the word in general had some connotations with innocence/purity, so I added "as snow" to try and give that same connotation.

"Simple" as it refers to the fastener might have also meant "casual."

"Once upon a time" wasn't exactly the Japanese phrase for "Once upon a time," but it was fairly close. A more literal translation would be, "In the olden days, it just so happened that..."

"Girl of innocence" appears to literally be the word "witch". However, if you take the first character as a separate prefix to the second, it would mean something along the lines of "pure/genuine/true girl." I'm not really sure if that's how it works, but it seemed to make more sense than "witch," so that's what I ended up going with.

Image IDs

[id: Five images. The first two are the full pages of Cordelia's concept art in Japanese, the other three are translated versions of the text. On the first page, there is a colored and uncolored version of Cordelia's portrait. Underneath, there is an illustrator's note that reads, "Cordelia's overall tone is pale, so I thought it ended up being pretty difficult to choose a shading color. And actually, her initial facial features were much younger, but Mr. Ikushima redesigned her several times to give her the elegant look she has today. (Rina Yoshiura)". The second page is titled, "Morality's Sister (Healing Hands to Protect) Rough Draft". It has a small illustration/comic of a childhood Cordelia and Roland. It has the notes "Country A," "13 year old," and "girl of innocence." It then has a note that says, "I have to protect," with a large bracket beside it that contains the list, "small, dainty, gentle". There is also the word "pure" nearby. Underneath that is the illustration, titled, "Sister and Morality" with the subtitle "about 8 years ago". In the illustration Roland seems to be throwing a caterpillar-like bug aside. It's labeled, "Weird Bug Arm Bar Throw." Roland has some dialogue that reads, "I've for real gotta catch it!" Cordelia has some dialogue that reads, "huh?" Underneath them both, there's a note that reads, "Once upon a time, a warm fuzzy feeling made him think, 'I have to protect her!'" To the side there are several portraits of Cordelia, some full-body (one of which has a note about her braid being brought in front of her shoulder), and two that are labeled as "Bust portraits". One of the portraits shows Cordelia in a simple cloak with the fastener being labeled, "simple metal fastener." There's a top-down diagram of the metal she wears at her dress's neckline, labeled, "Decoration rough draft." On the second half of the page there is a portion labeled, "Working out the sister's hair ornament….." One version has a large flower on it. Next to it is a small portrait of Groma. A note reads, "Big flower, three strand braid. Doesn't she look like Grandma?" Another section is labeled, "Morality Facial Features and Morality's Sister WIP". There are several drawings of Cordelia's face, along with a full body rendition of an alternate design. She still wears the same sash as she does in canon, and nearby is the note, "For women. If they are wearing a dress, the sash should be wrapped like this." At the bottom of the page, there is another illustrator's note that reads, "She had this more child-like sort of look to her character during the drafting phase. But she ended up taking on a more serious role than I had originally expected, and the design was tweaked to fit. I recall she was a difficult character for us. (Yasuaki Arai)" /end id.]

[cutiedwaekki]

I'm sorry but are we seriously going to "collab" with ai now to write kink fics??? Ai that literally steals from hard working authors who post their original work? I was supportive of this blog until now- that kind of behavior seriously harms the fanfic community as a whole

Hi !

I assume you are referring to the last fic of @nana-kom

In any case, thank you sincerely for your point of view, which is very interesting. I admit I haven't really thought about it.

It's true that nowadays AIs are starting to take on more and more importance, especially for artists, who are sidelined when faced with a robot doing the same work with less effort than a human.

It initially started from a discussion with @nana-kom where we wondered if it was possible with chatgpt to really write a kink fic since there are limits precisely with these AI and explicit content. that mainly came from me who curiously tested and encouraged my friend to try it on her side to see how far this was possible because in reality we often have good ideas for fics that we share but studies and our personal lives mean we lack time for that and we saw this as a way more effective although this will never replace the fics that we can write ourselves and (at least on my side) in no case will this thing people reproduce unless it is mentioned

As for her fic, although she was helped by chatgpt, it's also her work, although she was helped by an ia , she rearranged everything, added dialogue scenes etc... can we ultimately just see this as a sort of help like a translator or a spell checker perhaps? But with this vision where would we find the limit between an original work and a work created by an AI?

In any case it should not be something bad, in the sense that as indicated all of it started from a discussion but also that she recognizes having used an ia and not self-proclaimed to have written everything alone. I don't want to speak against or in the name of @nana-kom but I hope I've shed some light on the situation.

I love the fanfic community, I've been immersed in it since I was a teenager, whether it's wattpad, ao3, tumblr, and more, nothing can replace fanfiction made by human writers

I sincerely appreciated your comments, don't hesitate, you or another anon to share your point of view with me as long let it be constructive and not a message of unfounded criticism :)

I hope that my answer will be quite explicit and comprehensive, I wish you and everyone a good day/evening, take good care of yourself

[silvercap]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

Thank you @thebrandywine for the tag!! :))

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

43!

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

113,038

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly just Resident Evil, haha, but I've dabbled in a couple other things over the years... nothing else currently, though!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I. My lone Genshin fic 😭😭 at 935 kudos (holy shit!!)

II. Ripping at the Seams with 670

III. *metal pipe sound effect* with 301

IV. Fracture with 290

V. Day 18: Ache with 253!

5. Do you respond to comments?

As much as possible!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

:3

You tell me: is there more angst when older Leon dies, or when re2 rookie Leon does? Personally, I'm leaning on the rookie, but 'do you believe' has the added Hunnigan and Chris angst haha

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

you're my lover is just straight up Nivannedy fluff and sweetness :)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Haven't yet, thankfully!

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

Sometimes 😭 usually it's more of a plot relevant thing than anything else, because smut isn't always my jam--but there are exceptions!! I'm writing a crack ship re5 thing asjdjds and sometimes I do like writing scenes that involve a little sexy time, but I don't think I'd ever write it as a standalone pwp sort of thing haha

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

No...? I mean, I have a Blade Runner au on the backburner of my infinite stove, but I've never put different characters together in a true crossover. Wrote the beginning of an Eragon + Percy Jackson + something I can't remember, when I was in like. 7th grade? But that's long gone and nothing ever came of it asdjdjs

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Hopefully not... 👁️👁️

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Thought about it! It hasn't happened haha, but I'm open to the idea

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I'll be honest... ships are kind of cute adorable plot devices to me. I don't really have a favorite per se, but I do tend to prefer Chreon, Metaltango, and Nivannedy! I like Clairejill and I'm pretty invested in Ada/Hunnigan right now hehe but none of them really stands out as the OTP, y'know?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Not sure! I tend to jump around and abandon and revive things a lot, so it's honestly just up in the air. I'm loath to put one on the chopping block, but I have my doubts about this one (OG!) re4 fic where Leon passes out during the cabin fight

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told that I have a very visceral writing style by several people, and I do often get compliments on how well I've made something feel real/captured a specific feeling! Which is a huge compliment you guys are so nice 🥺 and I do like to think that I'm good at descriptive writing!! I see things very clearly in my head and it's gratifying to know I'm getting it across fully :)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I tend to go at it without figuring out where I'm going, first. Plots are held together with a dab of white glue and some fraying string, and I often worry that I'm not putting scenes together coherently. I can do all the technical stuff just fine, but I really struggle with pacing and character motivations and foreshadowing and background etc, which I think is why I tend to write shorter fics!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It's rarely worth it, unless there's some sort of narrative significance or I get to use my Latin knowledge for some silly villain 😭

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Bungou Stray Dogs!

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I've always been partial to Fracture

Tagging- @fonulyn, @colesabi, @lightenupcowboy, @sunhatllama, @resident-rats, and anyone else who I forgot or wants to participate! <3

[dear-mrs-otome]

Silvio Ricci - Main Story - Chp 12

Standard Disclaimer: I do this for fun. I don’t, and never would, claim to be proficient at JP. There will be mistakes herein. There will be dialogue I choose to smooth out or change, because it feels choppy just straight translating. There will be the occasional snarky aside and irreverence and just plain summarizing. If you’re looking for 100% pure accuracy, without commentary or localizing, this is not for you. If you don’t mind that…then proceed, and I hope you enjoy! And please, support your local localizer (they make this stuff look easy) and Cybird by playing the games and routes when they come to English.

~~~~~~~~

Keith’s given Emma a surprise apology gift - but it’s one she never would have expected to create such a disaster...

In a modiste’s shop Rio is flabbergasted by Silvio’s gaudy taste, a dismay that Silvio fails to understand, claiming that every woman likes this kinda stuff. 

“Please, do not lump Emma in with ‘every’ woman!” Rio protests, adding that the women Silvio’s referring to probably aren’t even that ‘normal’ either. 

“You tryin’ to pick a fight, asshole?” Silvio growls, and Rio’s more than ready to rumble before Emma herself has to step in and defuse the situation, pleading with them both for calm.

She's despairing to herself how the two of them together just can’t seem to not be at each other’s throats. They’re practically ready to come to blows right here in the middle of this shop Silvio’s suggested.

The poor clerk on duty even is bewildered, and the whole scene has Emma chagrined. But she gets, kinda of, what Rio is trying to say. The dress that Silvio’s trying to push her towards sparkles and glitters so brightly she could be mistake for a star in it. It looks like the sort of dress some sort of high-stepping noblewoman would love…but it doesn’t feel like something she herself could wear.

It’s a gorgeous dress, one she’s sure must cost another fortune.

“Woman, hurry and change,” Silvio orders her. 

She waffles, before speaking up. “I’d like it if you let me choose for myself…”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Why not?!” she exclaims, and Silvio replies that if he lets her pick the dress, she’ll be concerned first and foremost with the price, and choosing something plain will defeat the entire purpose of this.

He never planned on letting her choose, it seems, and she’s dismayed to realize he’s so easily predicted her.

Rio, however, quickly jumps to her defense and points out that Emma has her own tastes and preferences, as he picks up a much more modest dress trimmed with delicate lace that Emma finds the most appealing of what’s in the shop. 

“Seems plain,” Silvio scoffs. 

Rio counters that it’s not always about what something costs - you have to keep the person it’s for in mind when you’re choosing clothes…an assertion that Silvio greets with a silent scowl. 

Emma hastily jumps in and tells Silvio that it’s not that the dress bothers her, it’s just that she doesn’t feel like showy clothes suit her well. 

Silvio mocks her for being a shabby sort of woman, which she takes affront to, but he shrugs the whole thing off and instructs her to go get changed - surprising Emma with his apparent willingness to concede to the dress Rio’s picked out. Silvio says it doesn’t matter all that much in the end, it’ll be find just as long as she doesn’t look like some commoner since the auction they’re attending has a dress code at the venue. 

She’s appalled, because she hadn’t even considered that, and as Rio has the clerk prepare the fitting room he mentions how it was a bit unexpected that Keith’s ‘apology’ gift was an invitation to an auction. 

She thinks back to how Keith had asked if she was interested in such a thing, and she had admitted she didn’t really have a lot of experience with such things…but Rhodolite is a country with a lot of appreciation for art so they go hand in hand. And she’d been very curious to go just to spectate at least. 

Rhodolite has countless artisans, from painters to sculptors, writers, craftsmen, instrument makers, metalworkers, and many more who all make unique items. Because of this it’s easier to hold auctions to put artists and buyers in contact and they’ve become quite common in the country…or so it says in the guidebook to Rhodolite she’d read in her efforts to be a good hostess to Silvio.

But despite having been born and raised in Rhodolite herself, she’d never been to an auction or any of these places where the wealthy rub elbows. It was the sort of thing she’d like to experience for herself at least once in her life. 

A satisfied Keith had said that if she was even remotely curious about auctions he thought she’d have a good time, and since this one is invitation-only it’s even more exclusive than usual. There are supposed to be many rare things, a veritable treasure trove of jewels there, and since she seems to like gems and jewelry, he imagined she’d enjoy just having the chance to see them all. 

Confused, Emma asked if she’d ever said that she liked that sort of thing, and Keith had told her no - but he’d heard from Silvio the other day that he had given Emma jewelry. “And since you seem to be wearing it even now, I thought you liked that…”

It made sense then, and she had realized that Prince Keith had had no idea that Silvio had been forcing her to wear the collar. 

“Am I perhaps wrong?” Keith had asked her, hesitantly, and she hastily assured him that she found jewelry beautiful and interesting. Conjuring up a white lie about her interest in the subject to mollify his anxious expression. But they were rather fun to look at, she admitted to herself, and she had asked him if she could indeed have an invitation after all.

Back in the moment, she’s looking forward to getting to experience an auction for the first time. She looks over at Silvio, he of the crossed arms and sour face right now, and he catches her look.

“...What?” he asks.

“Nothing,” she hastily answers. In truth, she’s still in disbelief that Silvio’s attending the auction with them at all. 

He had seemed surprised when she’d told him of the invitation she’d received from Keith and how she had planned to attend tomorrow with Rio, and asked if he knew of it - surely he would, given how it’s been billed as a ‘treasure trove of gems’.

It had been a casual mention, brought up in their chatting, but for some reason Silvio had paused his drinking and frowned in silence.

 

“..Why that auction, of all things?” he’d asked, seemingly to himself. 

When she had tried to ask what he meant by that, Silvio had waved it off - before abruptly declaring that he would go with her. 

Both she and Rio had been taken aback (Rio especially displeased) but Silvio had chided them not to look so disgruntled by the idea. “Neither you nor the dog have ever gone to an auction. I’ll go along and you’ll be thanking me for it.”

“Are you maybe...worried about me?” Emma had ventured.

But Silvio had scoffed at the very idea of worrying over her. “I’ve just been meaning to make an appearance at the auction house for awhile now. I’ll take advantage of this opportunity and join you guys.”

Which is how Emma made plans to attend the auction with both Rio and Silvio, and how they had ended up on a detour here at the clothiers, with Silvio declaring they first had to do something about Emma’s blah appearance.

If she’s being honest with herself, it’s actually reassuring to have Silvio along…but she can’t help wondering - what was the reason for his frown when she first mentioned the auction?

~~~~~~

Some time later, with Silvio having bought her the dress Rio had suggested, she’s put together like a proper noblewoman and they head directly to the auction venue. She’s blown away by the upper-crust atmosphere, which isn’t quite up to the levels of luxury seen at the court but is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Emma’s taking it all in, wide-eyed, as the auctioneer talks up a stunning piece of jewelry, and she thinks that Keith was right about this being something worht seeing. 

The items on display for auction are gathered up on the stage, all jewelry and adornments of the sort Silvio would wear, beautiful works of art in and of themselves. Aloud, she says how she’s not exactly some expert on jewelry and gems but even from here she can tell how gorgeous these pieces are. 

Silvio agrees that everything is top notch here, only for Rio to point out that he hasn’t bought a thing despite that. 

“I don’t feel like it,” Silvio says dismissively. 

“That’s a surprise. I thought you liked jewelry…” Emma says.

“I don’t particularly. It’s just that my position doesn’t allow for me to dress poorly,” he replies. “Wear something of value, and you’re seen as a person of value. And conversely, wear poor things and you’re seen as a person of no consequence. That’s just how it goes.”

She supposes that makes some sense - that for Silvio, jewelry is merely a tool to better himself. It might not be something he actually loves.

Silvio says that even if the stuff here is superb, he doesn’t feel like buying it. He praises the settings the gems are placed in, the precious metalwork that frames them, and Emma is confused. Asking if that isn’t a good thing that they’re exquisite? Silvio agrees that it is, and normally he’d probably buy all of this up…if not for the whole thing with that eyepatch bastard.

Eyepatch bastard? She’s wondering if he’s talking about Gilbert, and why his name has suddenly entered the conversation.

Rio, however, seems to understand something she doesn’t, and he looks pensive. “I see. The fact that everything is of such high quality makes no sense.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asks.

“Because this is Rhodolite, right? We don’t have as many mines as other countries,” Rio explains, going on to add how Rhodolite basically can’t be picky as to what gems it cuts and shapes and sets into pieces. “Didn’t Silvio just say how all the gems are of the highest quality? That’d be impossible here in Rhodolite.”

The implications of what they’re saying starts to sink in for her, as Silvio tells her how even in Benitoite, where they have access to all the trade and passage of goods, wouldn’t allow for an auction like this made up of only the best of the best. 

“There’s only one country on the continent capable of it…” Rio says.

Ores…mines. A country of ore and military might. 

Silvio covers her mouth with his hand, before she can say the name of the country that comes to mind. “Absolutely not another word on this. Just have fun for the moment and enjoy the rare gems.”

After that, she sees countless jewels that are enchantingly beautiful…but she can’t quell the unrest in her heart. When the auction comes to a close, servants at the venue escort Silvio and them to the lounge, since the head of the auction house seemed to want to greet him.

“Here.” Silvio surprises her by tossing her the ‘featured item’ of the auction, which he’d been idly toying with. 

“Don’t do that!” she exclaims. “That little doggie is worth a fortune!”

“The stone’s sturdy. It’s not gonna break if you drop it,” he grins.

 

That’s not exactly the issue here, she thinks, as she look over what he’s given her. It’s a statue of a little dog, carved from an enormous, palm-sized gemstone. The jewel pup’s little head wears a crown of pure gold, and it’s so glittering and beautiful she can’t help being fascinated. Even to her untrained eye, it’s clearly wonderfully made, and she’s enchanted by the color, quality, and how stinking cute it is.

Silvio explains that he bought it just to sort of check things out, and it's definitely top tier stuff - much to Emma's internal dismay that he just bought the premiere item on a whim.

But that's not the real issue here. "Trading with the countries that produce this ore is supposed to be forbidden," Emma notes.

"Right? Rhodolite banned all Obsidian goods from entering this country ten years ago," Silvio agrees. "The same goes for us in Benitoite, as allies."

She thinks on the Bloodstained Rose Day ten years ago, the Obsidian invasion that led to so many Rhodolite deaths, and how relations between the two countries had been severed that day. “So if everything at this auction is from Obsidian…”

“It’s certainly illegal,” Rio agrees, noting that profits from the auction are probably going straight to Obsidian too.

Emma wasn’t personally affected by the Bloodstained Rose Day, but that doesn’t make it any easier for her to stomach the origin of these jewels - there’s no forgiving Obsidian’s tyranny. 

Rio points out that there’s something even more serious than the fact that this is Obsidian material being sold here - the organizer of the auction is a wealthy Benitoite merchant. Silvio doesn’t seem surprised to find out that Rio had checked things out before coming, and Rio agrees that he couldn’t let his mistress go somewhere without knowing more about it…although Emma was totally clueless that he’d been poking into it.

“Benitoite citizens distributing Obsidian gems…just like how Silvio had suggested the possibility of alliance with Obsidian, there’s a chance some people already are working together without our knowledge,” Rio surmises.

“What, seriously?” Emma’s aghast, and turns to look at Silvio reflexively. 

He leans back in his chair and snorts. “What of it?”

“You’re not going to do anything about this auction, are you?” Rio accuses.

“Obviously. What’s the upside for me if I do?” Silvio retorts on a smirk. “All that matters is that the Benitoite folks are coming out ahead in their business dealings.”

Silvio’s an ally that judges things by worth, she knows. If he’s aware the auction is illegal, and makes no move to stop it, that’s because he sees more benefit in the Obsidian ore. Which means that although she and Rio are both doing their best to impress Silvio with Rhodolite’s worth, it’s still not enough.

She hugs the little statue tightly, and Rio puts a hand on her shoulder. Aloud he draws the line between money that flows into Obsidian supporting its war efforts against Rhodolite…and how much he can’t stand the idea of that.

He turns a direct gaze on Silvio. “Now that I know about the auction, I’ll work with the other princes. I’m not about to let Emma’s smile fade.”

She’s heartened to have his unwavering support, Rio helping her work through difficult times together as he always has.

Silvio challenges Rio to go ahead and try, if he thinks he can - but he knows there’s only so much a coward can accomplish. But an undaunted Rio just tells him that he’s unbeatable when he’s with Emma…much to Silvio’s displeased silence. 

Just as Silvio’s clicked his tongue with disgust, a knock comes at the door. “Pardon the interruption,” the head of the auction house calls as he enters, making further apologies.

Silvio waves them off, and bluntly asks the man what he wants from him. The manager tells Silvio he has something he’d like to show him…and he suggests that Silvio bring the young lady along with him as well.

Emma realizes he means her, and she wonders if the man has some special items that’s difficult to put a price tag on.

“Show me,” Silvio orders him, standing from his chair to follow the man. 

Rio and Emma move to follow as well, but the manager shakes his head at Rio. “Apologies, butler, but would you mind waiting here for them? What I’m about to show them is too special for any servant’s eyes.”

Now Emma’s really wondering what the heck he’s planning to show them, as she exchanges looks with Rio. At her assurance she’ll be fine, he bids her go, and she follows Silvio and the manager from the room. 

Once gone, Rio surveys the room, and aloud he observes that he understands - the real focus here isn’t Silvio or Emma. It’s him.

As if in reply, the door opens on a laughing Gilbert. “Right on the mark.”

The click of his cane echoes through the room as he enters, and the air goes tense. He explains to a wary Rio how he’s gone to lengths to get Rio alone, where they can’t be spied on…and taps his cane once more. “I have a very special tale to tell you.”

~~~~~~~~

For reference - you don't receive this intimacy item until chp 17 but I'm sure it's the same pupper statue Silvio gives Emma here:

~~~~~~~~

<< Chp 11 | Chp 13 >> (TBC)

~~~~~~~~

Taglist (let me know if you want added or removed!) :

@violettduchess @brightvalkyrie @pkmnmstrchf @nikiotome @faeriesplaygames @curious-skybunny @strawberryxlove @rikumorimachisgirl @sallylovessweets @wordycheeseblob

[lutiaslayton]

It’s coming.

Hellooo, just giving you all a little update and teaser regarding the event I have mentioned for a while, and which is finally about to begin!

Yes, it is finally time. To reply to an earlier reblog I saw some time ago: yes, I guess we are going to Dracula Daily the Layton novels now. Or at least I will try to keep this up for as long as I can. I am very much hyped too 👀

The Eternal Diva novel will be cut into about twenty parts,

so this will be a twenty-week journey (unless one part happens to be extremely short, then maybe I’ll merge it with the previous or next one for example). And after that, hopefully by then the transcript of another novel will have progressed enough to start all over again with a different story! So far, a French friend (who doesn’t have a tumblr) is helping me make a transcript of the Illusory Forest novel; so fingers crossed, as this might be the next in line! Yep, for those interested in my theories, it is the very same novel that I’ve talked about for so long, and it is arguably the craziest of all. Just the way it starts is an absolute roller-coaster.

Also, I lied. Updates are going to be on Mondays now.

I was not ready to post yesterday, Sundays already have their Layton-related weekly event, and since I am too impatient to wait until next week, I thought I might as well make this a thing for Mondays instead. Gotta end the first, universally depressing work day of the week, with something uplifting, am I right? :3

I am going to give you a warning, though: as much as I’d like to keep the translations as close to the originals as possible, I am also, unfortunately, a fanfic writer, and the novels’ writing style is very different from what I usually write. Also there’s some weird stuff such as verb tense consistency in Japanese… Ohhhhhhh dear this part is such a nightmare. You can have verbs in the present tense and others in the past tense in the same sentence. You can have a sentence in the present tense and another in the past tense right after. I hate this. I hate everything about this.

So, I will try to restrain myself (because if you already took a peek at SLS, you already know what my writing style is really like), but I sometimes couldn’t help but add a sentence or two, cut a sentence into multiple ones, make the dialogue less robotic and more lively, that sort of thing. For example, if there’s a lot of dialogue going on and on without any narration in-between, I might sometimes add a sentence or two just to break it up a bit and make the scene sound less static. That sort of thing.

I will try my best to make it sound similar to what the official game translations did, in the end! The Japanese dialogue is usually rather bland and repetitive, but the official translations added a lot of details and quirks that are completely absent from the original text, but which also make the characters feel like, you know, themselves as we know and love them.

So here’s a reminder that if you want to know what the real Japanese text says, do NOT take this fan-translation series as a reliable source. I spent months writing a transcript of the real novel precisely so that people willing to know what the original Japanese text says (including me) would be able to check it out and compare, regardless of what anyone else translating it will say. Even without speaking Japanese, you can copy-paste the Japanese sentences into a translator such as DeepL, and so you’ll be able to see which parts exactly are in the novel, and which parts I pulled out of my magic hat. The “9/10 accuracy, WhatTheHeckIsThis/10 readability” translation is going to take a LONG time to make, but it will also come eventually (though don’t expect much before at least something like 2024).

So now, with all that being said:

See you all tomorrow at 6PM (France time) for the first chapter of our reading journey!

Though if you have preferences for how you would rather see things (e.g. better time that fits the majority), then I am open to suggestions! I can easily rename a tag or reschedule my queue.

[datomis]

alright so im pretty sure the overlap between ai fans and toki pona speakers is nonexistent but this is who i am and i cant help it

i was replaying neurotic inception for stuff for my au and i just played a little bit afterwards and for some reason when i did this particular interaction with shoma i began translating their dialogue to toki pona and repeating it back. so i decided to ss the log and edit my translation

og dialogue, direct translation and translator notes below the cut!

direct translation of tp version:

give sweet

i came to have (took) the sweet from my clothes. i gave it to shoma.

shoma: sweet...? mizuki: yes. shoma: because what? mizuki: because... mizuki: this day (sun-time) is love day, yes? shoma: ... shoma: that's strange... mizuki: hm? shoma: i think this: in a finished time (the past) you gave the same sweet mizuki: i gave...? shoma: yes. mizuki that's weird. i don't know.... shoma: in the context of (something) possible, it is the strange thing of deja vu? mizuki: ... shoma: in the context of (something) different, you're good...

ok, that was REALLY direct. moreso than i usually do. i wanted a more direct correlation between the way the tp sentences are structured and the english translation, which makes it sound very... awkward. and weird. lol. i tried to translate "la" technically except for in "tenpo pini la" because i didn't want to adapt them too far away from the toki pona

anyways lastly, translator notes:

i used a lot of question marks in this translation without question structures. this is because i don't deem these sentences to be proper questions, and more statements or sort of involuntary utterances that are said out of surprise or confusion. this is just a personal categorisation of when to use question structures :)

also adding onto that, i choose to say "lon?" sometimes. idk if other people do this but i like it to ask for affirmations

i chose not to tokiponise the word "valentines" and instead describe it as what it is, a day for love!

mizuki says "mi pana...?" as a sort of echo of what shoma said. i don't think I've encountered this kind of thing before in other people's toki pona, the "i did?". so i chose to do it this way. partly because i think it makes sense and partly inspired by the answer structure which.... i don't use. but when you repeat a certain word from someone's question to answer

deja vu stumped me for a moment but i decided to translate it in this way. deja vu is just a name for a phenomenon, i don't know what it means and i know most english natives probably don't either. so i ported it as a name for a "strange thing" and decided not to tokiponise it, just because.

"ante la" - idk if this is really a thing i just found it on wiktionary and it was the only thing i could find and i mean. it seems to make sense. so why not?

ok if you actually read all this i love you thank you sina pona a <3

[gren-arlio]

Well. Welcome to Episode 5 of (Waku) Puyo Extras.

...Lemme explain.

So. Thing is, I'm still translating Arle's route, don't worry. It's just with school going on and the sort, I...don't have enough to show for the route right now, so instead of sending the little bit I have, I'll use the filler episode to show off some OTHER findings I have...and my rambles about random Puyo things.

Yeah believe it or not there's always something to learn about Puyo/Madou, and since I'm someone who knows a good bit, I may as well tell some. With that, the usual shall begin.

Ahem.

Welcome to the Witch Specialized (Waku) Puyo Extras.

(The Puyo Manga is literally my best friend at this rate)

Heya everyone, happy super early Halloween because that's this lady's birthday, but since I feel like it, we're posting it now.

Welcome or welcome back to Waku Puyo Extras, the filler series where I translate much, much smaller videos than the things I usually do, while also talking about the wonderful world of Madou and Puyo, giving little facts and knowledge I have of these games.

This episode is about...well. Witch. You may be wondering "Why her?" And to that I say:

Girl has caused me now 4 sleepless nights. I'm sharing this knowledge with you all.

Oh, and I'm impatient for Halloween. That too. But that's besides the point, I felt like making an episode just about her because, well, she's my 3rd favorite character besides Lagnus and Lemres. Plus, while learning about the lore and the games, I've stumbled upon a lot of info about characters, some good and some...well, it's not awful but slightly questionable. This time, this stuff will be centered around all Madou games as a whole, as Puyo is another breed of things.

This'll cover these few things:

Very short video about a refight in Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon.

Her character portrayal in specific games (Saturn, Tower of the Magician, etc.) I won't be speaking about Puyo games this time around besides maybe for a joke or two. Won't be in chronological order.

...Let's just say crimes against Schezo and occasionally Arle. Consider this an add on to 2. Who knows? Maybe this'll change your opinion on her.

And err...consider this compensation for not bring done with episode 1 of Arle's route. I'm getting it done, don't worry. I just don't have enough to share RN.

HOWEVER. With the help of @kirstenonic05 (Good friend of mines who gave me this recommendation,) they were kind enough to give me a small video to translate.

Refight dialogue. Yes, there's that, and I'm gonna show it off.

What they're doing is saving me so much time and effort and I cannot thank them enough. It's only 46 seconds so no timestamps this time. (It's really like 25 seconds.)

Oh, and I'll mention it here, I edited some parts of Witch's wiki on the Puyo Nexus, adding stuff about Madou Saturn and obviously WWPPD.

With that out of the way, hope you enjoy this.

---

Witch Refight:

Witch:

I let you get away earlier...

This time, I'll for sure get your black clothes! (...YOU BEAT THE MAN AND DIDN'T TAKE THEM? That's on you)

Schezo:

You're still saying that...

I'm not going to let you take my clothes in a place like this! (Because that's public indecency.)

----

Ah. 4 lines. My beloved.

So with that outta the way, let's speak about her several incarnations throughout the series.

Where do I even BEGIN?

I guess we'll start with what I believe to be a good starting point: Madou Monogatari; Tower of the Magician.

(Image shown was made for an official calander in Disc Station 17. Here it shows Wish, Witch's Grandmother.)

In this game, you play as Schezo trying to go through a tower for power, which is basically the quickest way to describe the game. However, Witch's trial to get an actual name starts at the same time, but she runs into Schezo and Incubus, and they kinda fight.

Throughout the game, she's a roaming sidekick, usually there to help with puzzles and banter with Schezo. Here...Schezo kinda dotes on Witch like an older brother would, while providing banter and the sort. He'll he even gives answers to Witch's trials just to get further into the tower.

However, near the end, Witch begins to get concerned for her grandmother, and Schezo says she'll be alright.

She was not alright. She got possessed and Schezo fights the final boss. When Wish is brought back to her senses, Schezo says that it was Witch who saved the day, not him. (When it was him.)

Unfortunately, since Witch had outside help, she fails the trials. Sad day.

It's a nice dynamic they had. Plus they show that she cares a lot for her grandma, which I absolutely respect.

Keyword had.

Because besides this game, it kinda goes all over the place. Like Madou Saturn. However, I still like the dynamic later on, it's super funny.

In this game she plays a minor role, like everyone that's not the ARS/Satan/Lagnus. She's kidnapped along with Draco by Incubus, and if you choose to save Witch first, you go to a tourney to save Draco as well. After you beat Kikimora, who was infested with the smoke via the Yogs, Kiki tells you that she saw Schezo (didn't name him though, and he was possessed by Lagnus,) and Witch is IMMEDIATELY interested. Rulue says that he's a massive pervert and...yeah that don't work. She gets more interested.

They finally met Schezo and the first thing she says is that she wants to touch him.

AKA this. Translated it says "...So this is the mega-pervert! Lemme touch him!"

Which I mean, there's worse introductions. After you kick Schezo's ass, he leaves, and Witch is quite sad that he left.

After that, the Trio wins the tourney, which gets interrupted by Jann, and after some shenanigans, beat her and save Draco. After that, Witch leaves the party.

Alright, so a wacky impression in Madou, surely it can't get wackier...

Just like clockwork, Waku Puyo strikes y'all.

Ah, this game. My namesake, basically, the thing that got me to Tumblr and have me listening to the Apollo Justice OST for hours.

I'll say it here: Most of what I know of Witch comes from Schezo's Route. Just a heads up.

But what even goes on in there? Great question, I wished you never asked.

In Schezo's Route, you meet her at the Horror House and she's all vague with him, saying she wants "it" and begins to beg, leaving my poor man Schezo befuddled. Then she clarifies that she wants his clothes, and she'll rip it off if Schezo says no.

Then during the end of the game, Schezo can run into her again. And she's doing the usual, asking basically a cave dweller for his clothes, to which Schezo finally asks why.

Her answer? She wants them, and they're cool. She also throws the heart symbol a lot toward ONLY Schezo.

(Top one is her vaguely saying that Schezo's clothes are still cool, middle one is Schezo saying he's not going to strip, but she was gonna ask for the Meteor Spellbook he had, but the clothes would be nice also.)

Yes. This is how she acts to ONLY Schezo Wegey. I'm pulling out his full government name for that one.

So with that, that most that I know about her-

Nah I'm joking. We gotta talk about Rulue's Spring Break of Fists.

For those unaware, Rulue's Spring Break of Fists was a Disc System game released in 1997, which is more of a "Choose your adventure Visual Novel" sorta deal where Rulue is tasked with getting ingredients for...cooking, not fully sure myself.

What I AM sure of is that Witch is there. And oh boy, does shit get wacky. You enter her house, and Rulue asks for the ingredients she needs, and Witch isn't giving the responses Rulue wants, which she (understandably) gets annoyed at. However, Autism be damned, Witch can cook what Rulue is trying to make, and she'll give the ingredient to Rulue... if she answers her quiz. Yes. A quiz.

Alright, not too bad, right?

Wrong. First question she asks is "What is my bust size?

No. I'm not joking. And since I'm trying to save images, the answers you could've chosen are:

A. 79 • 60 • Unknown

B. 78 • 58 • 81

C. 90 • 61 • 87

(The answer...is B. Which is fucking hilarious because in Madou Saturn it's 81 • 58 • 81, and Saturn came out a year later.)

She then continues to tell us to remember it, and after the quiz... she does give the ingredient, thankfully.

Unfortunately I dunno what she does in Puyolympics or Serilly's Happy Birthday, but I'll learn someday.

With all of this, you may wonder "How is she getting away with asking all of this stuff?"

I'm glad you asked. This little lass has commented some crazy things.

Take, oh IDK, Drugging Arle in the Tottemo Puyo Puyo Manga to make her fall in love with her?

And that...didn't go well because Arle fell in love with almost everyone else but her. Which is IRONIC.

Then wanting to touch Schezo, cooking Incubus so bad with fire that he couldn't move for 3 days (both in Saturn), then...wanting to rob Schezo of his clothes and basically commit public indecency, and asks several times throughout Waku Puyo.

And then in more modern Puyo media, in 20th Anniversary she goes around basically harassing people to get ingredients but they're all subsituted for something else EXCEPT Schezo's hair, in the Puyo Puyo light novels she fake cries to Amitie and almost blows her up with nuisance puyos. And in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, when she gets possessed by Marle, asking Schezo to submit to her and that she know he wants to, and if he doesn't come to her, she'll come to him. And after she's cured, whatever she does with Marle and Draco, I'm ngl I forgot.

I joke about her being an actual pervert, but you know... maybe the joke isn't a joke anymore. And thus, I shall sentence her to...

30 minutes in time out. (Made by once again @kirstenonic05)

With my long talk, I think this marks the end of this episode. When all is said and done, Witch is still one of my favorite Puyo characters, and maybe with this new knowledge (even if some of, no, a lot of it was odd,) you'll like her more...or less. One of the two.

Hope you enjoyed the show.

[frankenjoly]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @cursedvibes thanks!!! i love these things

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

68 but for Reasons (a fanweek i'm very hyped for), it's gonna be 69 next week.

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

287,330 (and counting ofc)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mostly bsd, jjk & a bit of genshin, but i throw in ficlets and/or one-shots of other stuff to let Thoughts out.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Connecting the dots. silly pre-canon fluff and humor won people over after arcane's s1 finale.

Between the pages: part 2. mix of bsd ficlets/drabbles, bcs i love doing small thingies (i'm already finishing part 4 laksdjflk).

Misread. aka jealuc from barbara's pov, aka humor that stemmed from a teensy lil angst.

Remnants. more of me letting thoughts out after arcane's s1 ending, this time timebomb with pining Jinx.

Por el amor de estepresidente... the bsd crack fic (or my first one, at least), in which Mori and Fukuchi sort of ally to crash fukuzawa's date with any 3rd person but are also competing against each other.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i do, bcs i either have the need to thank ppl or ramble about the fic they're commenting on (or both).

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably Remnants, though i intended to go with the "it's not/won't be unrequited" vibe.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i'm a pussy and a slut for happy/hopeful endings, so i have those by the ton aldkjfl.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

not hate per se, but i've had complaints about tagging all ships from the start in my genshin ficlet compilation... when i was gonna throw them all into ao3 in one sitting.

also that one person who came to one of my Utahime Week fics, who was tagged as both gojohime and shokohime, to tell me "nooo shokohime are just friends yadda yadda" while praising gojohime as canon (i love it too, but it isn't). it was odd.

9. Do you write smut?

i have this thing when it comes to nsfw in general and smut in particular, aka up to certain point it makes me uncomfy but below that idgaf and even go like "nice, my ship having sex"... so.

most i can offer is barely-explicit stuff, and for fic specifically i see "depictions of character bein horny" and "pre- and post-sex" rather than actual smut.

10. Do you write crossovers?

not a lot, but the bsd+jjk thingie that came from rp and also birthed the dnd-ish au got me by the throat.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

as far as i know, nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

as far as i know, nope (x2). though i do translate some rp solos to turn them into one-shots adding up stuff as well (i could just post them in spanish, but).

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i guess rp is like schroedinger's yes here? but when it comes to literal fic... not yet, but i know what and with who.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

i can't choose, sorry laskdjf.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

not really a wip, but i had one Uraume-centric fic that i'm not sure if it'll see the light for... some reasons. long story short, it's based on another fic that's a roleswap and has modern socerers (and students) Uraume and Sukuna.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i apparently never run out of insp and will to write, so i can go fast as fuck. and my writing is one of the things i'm most confident about like fr.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i still feel like english nerf me, at least when it comes to narrating, bcs i cannot be as descriptive or poetic as i am in spanish.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

as someone who's first language isn't english but writes fic in english, you go ppl. and also, native english speakers can be kiiinda entitled lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

both for rp and my first fic ever, abc's once upon a time (that was also my first fandom being online).

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

another instance of me sucking at making choices alsdkf, sorry.

no pressure tag: @ildi-dragonheart @bungoustraypups @monday-headache @noirewaves @rhymbic @minluce @bunniezai @neonganymede @fyodorkitkat

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

2.268 million…. Words

👀

Staring at you in amazement. How do you keep the drive going when writing drabbles, and multichapters? Do you have an outlining process, storyboard, character web?

I’m seeking advice, because these fests wips that I have (ladies of hp, Romionetrope, Jily) are just so hectic. I have the beginning and end of set and ready to go. I have the dialogue/plot however I don’t know how to keep organized. When I edit my work I go back to the beginning and change some parts same goes to adding in the middle.

Do you have any tips for a fellow fanfic writer? Anything will help 😅

Ok, so I do have to preface that a lot of my fanfic writing has been a form of productive procrastination. I don't necessarily recommend stress-writing tons and tons of fanfic and putting off your actual work. However, I will say what I do for writing as much fanfic as I do:

Keeping the drive going: part of it is that I write a lot of longfics out in advance. Not all of them - certainly not all of them - but most of them, I start writing and try to get to a good percentage of the words before I start posting. With Supernova, I promised 100k words pre-written before I even began posting. So writing in advance is a huge benefit. It's also one of the ways to really write for yourself, be happy with only you seeing it (and a beta, if you're lucky!) and then getting feedback on it. A lot of the time, I keep the drive going by having multiple projects at once. If I get stuck with one, I go to the next one, and so on.

Planning: I start with an idea for a story and then think about what the 'theme' of it is (besides the obvious torturing of my characters). What is the story I want to tell? Fundamentally, most stories come down to one or two things: new person moves into town (think Pride and Prejudice or Brooklyn 99, with the arrival of Captain Holt), person goes on an adventure (think Harry Potter, or The Good Place, with Eleanor and the gang going on an afterlife adventure), or both (Lord of the Rings or Stranger Things, new kid is Eleven plus the adventure of the Upside Down). There are variations on this theme, but most stories come down to one of those things. Start by figuring out which one you're doing, or how you're doing a variation of them, and then figure out what the story is, what you're trying to tell, what you're trying to say about your characters in general.

Some examples from my own writing:

The Nymph of House Black (time traveling Tonks): Tonks goes on an adventure to the past; overarching ideas: facing the reality of what time travel would be and what-if thinking. Learning that you shouldn't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Cariad (postwar Remadora survives AU): Remus and Tonks go on an adventure, of being a couple in 'the real world' and facing stuff they haven't dealt with. Overarching idea: what does it mean to love when there's only normal life? turns out that love in the mundane is harder than you think, but it can be found.

Supernova (Tedromeda/Remadora AU): new guy in town is actually Ted, returning to Andromeda's life. Overarching idea: how do we find joy when it seems impossible to find? what are the lengths we're willing to go to for those we love?

Organizational ideas: this is probably my weakest area, but I'll give it a go. When you plan a story, use the basic five-act structure. 1) set the scene, where are we? 2) rising action - what's driving the story? 3) climax - what's the crisis point? 4) falling action - how are things getting resolved after the crisis? 5) resolution - how does it end?

The advantage of the five act structure is that it's very clear, but it doesn't translate to all stories and plots. For example, Supernova is currently in a very very long "rising action' stage. We are hurtling towards crisis and there will be an equally long falling action phase. But there will also be subplots that are sort of 'mini' five act plays within the larger narrative.

For longer stories, I prefer the snowflake method of plotting. Regardless, planning is your best bet for organization. Break it down into smaller sections and complete it section by section (not necessarily in order) and then weave it all together.

Other times it's better to just write, write, write, and don't stop until you can't keep writing anymore. I can't really say that there's a fully right way to plan or organize, it's whatever works best for you.

I hope some of this helps!