#Japanese text just says “japan” and “rainy”

[pokemanteau]

[ID: four images of a multi-panel comic about Phoenix Wright going on vacation to Japan and buying a Steel Samurai lucky cat. End ID]

He had a good time in the end :)

Finally got around to finishing this!!!! It took like WEEKS but was worth it!! Bc im actually really proud of the finished product! The Phoenix/Maya relationship is truly unmatched, love putting those lil guys in Scenarios! I’m really proud of the coloring I did on this, I was trying to go for something very saturated, since my recent work has been looking kinda gray. This is also the first comic where I’ve really put effort into like panel composition and readability, I think it turned out alright! My only complaint is that I think I could’ve pushed the speech bubbles more, they look kind of boring :/ what can I say, lettering is my least favorite part of any comic（ーー；）

[bokutosworld]

setsunai | oikawa tooru

setsunai. [noun, japanese]. a complicated sadness that painfully creeps through the heart. 

pairing: oikawa tooru x f!reader

wc: 2.5k words, established relationship, falling out, purely angst. (lil bit of fluff in the flashbacks which are italicized!)

summary: oikawa knows all good things come to an end, but the both of you are not yet ready, still holding on to that string that is keeping you together. 

--

no one really gets a warning when their relationship is on the edge of falling apart. like the first time you saw oikawa in the hallways of aoba johsai and got your breath taken away, you just woke up one day and knew.

it was the morning of his departure for the team's one-week training camp. still on the bed wrapped under the cozy covers, you heard rustling inside the room as he was opening drawers, taking clean clothes and packing them in his luggage. a scowl was on his face and he was scoffing as he rushed all over the place. you think his bad mood was possibly due to the fact that he woke up earlier than usual to go to the airport.

'what time will you be leaving on wednesday,' you ask him, voice devoid of any emotion, over dinner last week. now that he was a professional volleyball player, moments like this - seated together at the table and enjoying homecooked meals were rare - and though you were mostly used to spending not much time together, you couldn't help but get disheartened every time he told you he was leaving.

oikawa sighs, running a hand to smooth the creases on his forehead as he answers, 'fuck, i forgot about that.' he fishes his phone from his pockets and checks his schedule. 'our flight's at six-thirty in the morning.'

you nod in understanding and offer, 'want me to help pack your things in advance? how long will you be gone this time?' he seems to ease at your suggestion and reaches to bring your hands over his lips, 'i'd appreciate that a lot, babe. i'd also need you to wake me up too, wouldn't want miss it. it's only for a week, i'll be back before you know it.' he winks and you break out in comfortable laughter, something that you haven't done in a long while.

it was as if your adrenaline levels shot up as you scrambled to get up and assist oikawa. the clock read 4:25 am and you can feel his panic. seeing that he was still in his sleepwear, you moved to place your hand over his shoulder, 'go wash up and change your clothes. i'll finish here.' but he swatted you away, albeit rather harshly that your sleepiness left. he exhales and lowers his head before muttering an apology for his action and leaves you to take care of his things.

it only took 20 minutes for you to organize and gather all that he needs in the bag. you waited for him in the living room, sipping a cup of hot cocoa to calm your nerves before apologizing. mentally, you were kicking yourself for forgetting to arrange his belongings and you already knew that he was disappointed. heck he had every right to be mad at you now, but you know he was restraining himself.

when he emerges all prepped and ready to go, you stand and give his bag. his passport was in your hands, together with the tickets, just to make sure he won't lose them. oikawa grabs and places them on the pocket inside his coat and as you were about to say you were sorry, he turns and makes a beeline to the door. he walks out of the room, no goodbyes, no kisses, no see you laters. and you were struck with the scary thought if he would still return to your home.

'i miss you, tooru,' you cry out to him over the phone. oikawa laughs and mimics your voice, 'i miss you too, y/n.' he thinks that he has never been this in love before. sure, he had his fair share of flings but, as cliche as it would sound, he knows you were different. though you were a year his junior, you were the only one who gets him and was willing to standby his side - through sunshine and rainy days, through wins and losses, through sickness and health.

he remembers your nearing college graduation. 'i wish you could be here next week. i want you next to me when i receive my diploma,' he swears his heart drops at your confession. 'me too, y/n. i know how hard you've worked for that,' he smiles even though you cannot see it. the past four years of long distance relationship - oikawa being in argentina and you in japan - was definitely not easy. but somehow, it worked, thanks to the constant calls and messages sent. despite the time difference, oikawa made sure to be there for you when your thesis mates were giving you hell, to stay up with you when you were writing your papers or reviewing for exams.

'i mean it when i say that i couldn't have done it with you, tooru. you're my anchor and you've been keeping me steady in this rocky life,' you sweetly declared. 'just wait patiently, sweetheart. i'll be there before you know it.' you thought it was one of his jokes, words that he would say to put your worried mind at ease. so you were certainly not expecting to see him standing at the door of the auditorium, holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers, as you received your diploma on stage. as soon as the program ended, you ran up to him and oikawa braced himself for a hug. when you pulled away, oikawa immediately brought his hands to wipe your tears and said the one thing you've been waiting to hear, 'i'm home.'

you hear the door open, followed by heavy footsteps dragging its way to the living room. usually, his arrival would be accompanied by his declaration, 'y/n, i am home!', and you would drop whatever you were doing to welcome him with open arms. but today, the both of you were greeted by silence. oikawa knows you were probably working in the bedroom and as much as he missed you, he settles down on the couch and drifts off to sleep.

oikawa didn't like fights, he learned from his parents that one should never sleep on an argument which was how he found himself on your front gate and pressing the doorbell to your house. he was anxious, remembering the pained look on your face when he lashed out at you. he was well-aware that you were only looking out for him, so as soon as he said those hurtful words and saw you running away, he wanted nothing more than to fix what he has done.

'what are you doing here,' you said as soon as you opened the gate. 'go home, tooru, it's late and you shouldn't-.' oikawa pulls you to his chest, a tight hold keeping you from moving away. 'i'm sorry, babe. i don't know what took over me, but i wouldn't say those again, forgive me.' wrapping your hands around him, you release a breath you didn't know you were holding and say, 'okay.' you pull away and bring your hands to his face, squishing him and he pouts. 'i don't want you overworking yourself. you're already working hard enough, i just want to remind you to take it easy sometimes.' and as he looks deep into your eyes that night, he thinks about what he could have done in his past life to deserve someone like you.  

oikawa comes to his senses when he feels a warm blanket being put over him. opening his eyes, he catches glimpse of your shadow moving in the dark and reaches out to grab your hand. feeling his touch on yours, you crouch down beside the sofa and push away the hair that has fallen over his face. 'do you need anything,' you ask. he knows he should say something, an apology, an assurance that everything was okay. but if he was being honest, the past few months has been different. the shared home which has been his safe haven has been feeling less and less of an oasis to him. the relationship, he feels, to be something he was doing out of an obligation, of a years-long promise he couldn't dare break. so he keeps quiet and you return to work.

for weeks following that night, things have never been the same. breakfasts are shared in complete utter silence, car rides when he would drop you at the office have been filled with ambient music. no more cheeky texts and random funny images popping in your inbox at random times of the day. like a plane making its descent at its destination, it seems as if your relationship has reached its breaking point and the story that you thought would have a happily-ever-after has made a turn for the worse.

after work, you make a trip to the supermarket and grab ingredients for oikawa's favorite dish. you still held hope and want to try mending things before they become truly irreparable. but that evening, he went home late. he sees you sitting on the dining room drinking the half-empty bottle of wine, the table neatly arranged with plates with his favorite food at the center. 'have you eaten? i made this for you.'

his heart aches at the sight of you, sadness glossing over your eyes and the forced smile you were wearing. he's always felt grateful whenever you would cook, knowing that it wasn't your strong suit. he always treasured moments when he could enjoy your food, however right now, he feels anything but that. 'why are you still up? i texted you i'd be home late,' he mutters, immediately making his way to clear the table. 'you shouldn't have bothered to do this.' he takes the drink you were holding, 'and stop drinking too much.'

as soon as he finishes cleaning, he walks to the bedroom but what you say makes him stop in his tracks. 'can we talk?' his mind and heart races, already knowing what you wanted to discuss. but he wasn't ready and in your intoxicated state, he thought you couldn't handle the results of the conversation. 'tomorrow morning. you're drunk tonight, nothing good would come out of it.'

however, you follow him, wrapping your hands around his wrists to make him stop. 'you're not the person i know anymore,' he hears. slowly, oikawa turns around and he sees wet tears threatening to spill from your eyes. 'why haven't you been speaking to me, tooru. these days, i see you, i think about you, but you're not my person anymore.'

there was no going out of this now, oikawa thought. like waves breaking the shore, the ending was fast approaching and he wonders if there was any way to soften the blow. so he pulls you close to him. the both of you lost in the embrace as if you were savoring the last few moments of warmth together. no one speaks and oikawa is scared that if he does, he would just break you.

'tooru,' you were now weeping. 'say something, please.'

he doesn't know where to begin. he can't bring himself to say that time wasn't on your side, that his volleyball career was taking off and it was getting hard to see you anymore. after all, he thought that being busy was just a lame excuse since the two of you made it through high school and university. how can he phrase that he thought love was enough but lately, he had nothing left to give you anymore.

'is there another person?' you ask, but oikawa was quick to say no. he cups your face, thumbs grazing over your cheeks to erase the tears. 'there is no one else.' he presses his forehead to yours, eyes closing as he takes a deep breath, it's just... it's not the same anymore.'

he continues, 'you are the best thing to happen in my life, y/n. i could never betray you like that.' you look at him, eyes asking the question why. 'i got selfish. in the process of improving myself and focusing in my career, i lost sight of you. i haven't been able to take care of you, to give what you deserve, to give you the world.'

'and the worst part was that i saw this coming.' he moves to sit on the couch, face hidden in his hands. 'i knew one day i'd hurt you but i still kept you around. and i am sorry.' this time, you sit beside him, turning his body to face you, 'all those years, it was my decision to stay. so please, don't give up on us now.'

'are we really doing this? are we moving in together,' you were excited, standing in the middle of the empty condo and already imagining the many memories that you and oikawa would create and cherish. he sneaks in from behind, snuggling his face to your neck. 'hmm, we are doing this. but only for a while, when we become married, i'll buy us a house.' you hum in approval, 'with backyard and pool?' oikawa chuckles and pecks your cheek, 'yes, with backyard and pool.' he twirls you around and brings your faces closer, 'your wish is my command.' you smile and close the gap, putting your lips on his to mark the important day.

was this really the finish line? in the very apartment where you made promises and envisioned a future together, is this where seven years of happiness will end? that was the agonizing thought plaguing yours and oikawa's mind right now.

'we'll only end up hating each other if we continue this,' he speaks up after minutes of eerie silence and you couldn't help but laugh dryly. he always had a strong resolve and it was ripping you apart how there was nothing to be done to make him change his mind. so you stand up, knees almost giving way at the thought of leaving him, 'alright. i'll sleep over at my cousin's then.'

he looks up at you, gaze burning deep to your soul, 'no, i'll leave.' but you push him down and snap, 'oikawa tooru, stay. i'll go, i can't bear to spend the night here. it will only break me more.' oikawa sees you to the door, though you argued that there was no need for such gesture. 'i'll go here in the morning when you're at practice to get my stuff.'

'i'm really sorry, y/n.' you shush him, smiling a bit to hide the fact that your heart was currently shredding to pieces.

you try to lighten the mood, 'i really want to get away from you right now.' oikawa chuckles along with you. 'it hurts, tooru. but i'm glad we had the chance to be together. thank you for the memories you have given me. i will continue to wish for your success. make me proud.' and with one last kiss goodbye, you walk away, leaving a piece of you with him and you wonder if things can ever get better from here.

[bsd-bibliophile]

I can't remember which one, but I read in the foreword of an anthology that "Yamazaki Tomie's attempts to lure Dazai into double suicide" are well documented, and that Dazai was actually trying to rid himself of his mistress. Is there any truth to that?

The evidence from their suicide seems to be documented well enough and there are multiple theories on what exactly happened between Dazai and his mistress, Yamazaki Tomie, the night they both died. Although there is probably less information about it available in English than Japanese, so we always have to consider that the English texts might not be giving us all the information (though I would assume the translators try to give us as complete a picture as possible). I’ll gather up a few relevant quotes first so the facts are all in one place and then add my own commentary at the bottom:

Dazai also began seeing Yamazaki Tomie, a war widow who worked in a beauty salon. While with her, he wrote another novel, ‘No Longer Human,’ began his last unfinished work, ‘Good-bye,’ and entertained thoughts of double suicide, which led to both of them dying on June 16, 1948 [three days before Dazai’s thirty-ninth birthday].

- Source: Alan Stephen Wolfe, Suicidal Narrative in Modern Japan: The Case of Dazai Osamu

The rest of the quotes go into a little more detail about the suicide, so I’m going to put them under the cut just in case.

Osamu Dazai had tried to take his own life on a number of occasions, two of these attempts assuming the form of shinjuu, the traditional Japanese suicide pact entered into by a pair of lovers. But when he disappeared with his mistress on a rainy night in mid-June of 1948, the signs that he was thoroughly prepared to die were unmistakable. Dazai and his companion, Tomie Yamazaki, left behind a series of farewell notes to friends and kin, the author conscientiously composing his last will and testament for his wife, Michiko. Photographs of Dazai and Tomie stood next to one another in Tomie’s lodging in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka, along with the traditional water offering to the deceased. Also, nearby was a small pile of ashes, all that remained of the incense that the lovers had lit before departing. After the police began an intensive search for the couple’s whereabouts, they eventually found a suspicious-looking place along the Tamagawa Canal, midway between Dazai’s own home and Tomie’s residence. A strip of wet grass lay flattened from the top to the bottom of the bank, as if something heavy had slid down into the water. The ground nearby was strewn with several objects - a small bottle or two, a glass plate, a pair of scissors, and a compact. A little ways downstream, two pairs of wooden clogs were found against the lock of a dam. Despite these ominous signs, an intensive search along the canal failed to turn up anything more. It was almost a week later - on June 19, the author’s thirty-ninth birthday - that a passer-by happened to notice two waterlogged corpses in the canal tied together with a red cord. This discovery occurred less than a mile from where the couple had evidently entered the water.

- James O’Brien, Crackling Mountain and Other Stories Introduction

Appropriately enough, given Dazai’s history of suicide attempts, [his] final act is subject to some doubt. There were rumors that Dazai was the victim of a homicide carried out by his lover Tomie. The basis for this theory consisted of unconfirmed reports, denied by the police, that signs of the corpse indicated possible strangulation. There were also said to be traces of geta (wooden clogs) in the sand, indicating that Dazai might have been dragged into the water. The homicide theory is reinforced by the realization that Dazai’s unfinished work, ominously titled in English ‘Good-bye,’ was not a farewell to life, as might lend credence to the suicide theory, but rather a farewell to ‘women.’ Accordingly, it is proposed that Tomie, sensing a separation, might have lured Dazai to his death. He may have gone along unsuspectingly, or he may have let himself be led, and then resisted, only to be subdued by her determination. Presumably, though, he was in a state of health and mind that would not have discouraged compliance. He may also have been drinking. A writer of similar tendencies, Sakaguchi Ango, invoking Dazia’s tendency toward alcoholic depression, called it a ‘hangover suicide.’ 

- Alan Stephen Wolfe, Suicidal Narrative in Modern Japan: The Case of Dazai Osamu

The impact of Dazai’s death was immediate and profound (the body was discovered on June 19, his thirty-ninth birthday), the news of it precipitating a flood of public eulogies of a most intimate variety. There were few who failed to attach significance to the fact of Dazai’s death coming at this juncture of the postwar period. There were many, especially among the young, whose identification with Dazai was intensified with his death, some to the point of considering or actually committing suicide themselves. For them there was little doubt that Dazai’s death being a deliberate suicide. It seemed reasonable enough, and it was esthetically irresistible, that Dazai should have completed his lifework with his own death. Coming as it did at the peak of his life and career, and at the time of national trauma, Dazai’s apparent suicide provided Japan with a human symbol of despair that set into bold relief the shadow lurking behind the optimism of postwar reconstruction. 

- Alan Stephen Wolfe, Suicidal Narrative in Modern Japan: The Case of Dazai Osamu

Ibuse Masuji, Dazai’s writing mentor and friend, was a recipient of one of the suicide notes left by Dazai (you can find an excerpt of the note along with possible meanings behind it here). Ibuse-sensei wrote this as a response to Dazai’s suicide:

The police officer told his story. A writer by the name of Dazai had thrown himself into the water. When the corpse was found he went to the scene as the investigating detective. The results of his examination revealed bruises on Mr. Dazai’s neck and throat caused by a cord or rope. It was called an involuntary double suicide. In deference to the position of the deceased, however, this was not announced to the public.

- Ibuse Masuji, “The Ways of the Women”

◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇

I’ll let you make any judgments about whether Dazai’s death was a willing suicide or a murder suicide based on the evidence. But it is obvious that Tomie was a willing participant and likely the driving force that made their lovers suicide a reality. I remember reading somewhere (though I’ve since forgotten where) that Tomie and Dazai had agreed a year before their deaths that they would commit suicide together within the year, so there is a possibility that she was holding Dazai to his end of the bargain. 

In regard to the idea that Dazai was trying to rid himself of his mistress that idea may come from the unfinished novel he was working on before he died. The novel description on Amazon (which you can buy for $0.99, though it’s only available on ebook) says, “The war is over and life is returning to normal. A man must say goodbye to his ten or so lovers. However, he can’t do this alone, he needs the help of a special but difficult woman.“ The novel is entirely about a man who is trying to get rid of all the women he’s relationships with, so that could be why people think he wanted to rid himself of his mistress in his own life. 

There is more information about Dazai and his relationship to his wife and mistresses under my #dazai and women tag in case you’re interested. I hope that this information was informative and helpful. 

UPDATE: A few quotes from The Saga of Dazai Osamu were sent a short while after this was posted that explain a little more about the agreement that Dazai and Tomie made a year before they died. You can find those quotes here.

[pleasespellchimerical]

the opening of that Good Omens/Evangelion crossover that I’ll never finish

Sometimes it’s a relief to admit I’ll never finish a fic and that’s ok

anyway, things that will never be:

Angels! Demons! the end of the world!

Heaven is responsible for this mess. Hell can’t figure it out, so all the demons get sent to infiltrate Nerv

Ryoji Kaji is a low level demon who hero-worships Crowley (and also falls in love with a human. Demons can, in fact, love)

Crowley and Katsuragi are besties. He hangs out at her apartment a lot, and they drink absurd amounts of booze together

Crowley feels really horrible for these kids, so he does his utmost to protect them from the psychological consequences of this war. His efforts are not enough, but they do make things a little better than canon NGE

Crowley steals an Eva

Everyone’s out of town to deal with the crisis with Sandalphon, Crowley’s alone at HQ, and oh shit another angel

So he up and steals one of the production units

Guess who this angel is! (no angels have been seen on Earth since the Second Impact. Until now)

Crowley doesn’t want to fight his old friend, but Aziraphale isn’t acting like himself

When defeated, Aziraphale’s soul jumps into the Eva and he possesses the unit. Humans can no longer pilot it, and Crowley’s in deep shit for stealing it in the first place, so Crowley is forced to pilot it as punishment (it’s not a punishment bc he’s got his old friend back)

Crowley and Kaworu are old frenemies. Crowley’s jealous of the whole “free-will” thing

The ending is very different, but humanity and love wins. Humanity and love always win <3

The piece of fic itself is under the cut. Enjoy!

London, AD 2000, September

It was raining that night.

In a worn-down bookshop in the Soho neighborhood of London, an angel and a demon had holed up with several glasses of wine while the rain poured down.

Until there was a knock on the bookshop door.

They both started, and glanced at each other.

The angel got up to answer the door. "We're closed—" he started, but stopped when the girl huddling under an umbrella held out a book to him.

He took it gingerly, as though expecting it to explode, and whitened when he saw the worn cover.

"What—?" was all he could muster.

The girl looked at him like he was holding her first-born child. "She said to. I don't know who you are or why this is so important, but Agnes said that you need to have it."

The angel took a small breath.

The girl hesitated. "It's a family heirloom, all right? I'm her last descendant. So please—" her voice cracked. "Take care of it."

"I—yes, of course." The angel cradled the book to his chest. "Do you want to come in? Out of the rain? I can get you a cuppa—"

She shook her head. "I need to go. And—" one last plaintive look. "—be careful."

And the girl vanished into the rainy night.

The angel slowly shut the door and made his way to the back room, where he'd left the demon and the bottle of wine.

"Wozzat?" said the demon as he sat back down.

The angel held the book out in front of him reverentially, fingers gently stroking the cover. He carefully opened to a random page, observing the centuries of notes scribbled in the margins.

"There's something sticking out," the demon pointed out helpfully.

The angel paged to where the bookmark was. One section of the text was circled in pencil.

He read it.

And then he read it again.

And stood up.  "I think we need to call it a night."

The demon shrugged. "Sure. I take it this is one of your special books?"

"I've been coveting a copy for centuries…" the angel murmured. "And a girl just appears in the rain and hands one over. Here, take a look." The demon stood and peered over his shoulder at the circled section.

A pause. "Well," the demon said, "That can't be good."

Another pause. "I," the angel said, "need to do some research."

"Right, right. I'll leave you to it then." The demon shuddered, shaking the alcohol out of his system. "See you tomorrow? Don't lose yourself in this book completely."

"Of course." The angel waved a hand, pulling out some scrap paper and pens.

"Right. Night then."

"Good night." The angel was already distracted. The demon mentally shrugged, and headed out into the darkness and the rain.

Several hours later found the demon sprawled out on his couch with a half empty bottle of gin while the telly played late-night reruns. He was dozing, not really paying attention, while the light flickered in front of his face.

There was a click, and the power cut out.

The demon started, surprised by the absence of light and sound. He set the bottle down on a table, stood up, wandered over to the window, looked out.

Whatever had happened, all of London was affected. There was no light as far as the eye could see.

He played with the blinds for a moment, wondering. Thinking back to the bit in the book earlier that night…

And the world exploded.

That's what it felt like, anyway. More specifically, the floor heaved, the demon fell, there was a massive roaring sound, car alarms blared in the streets, and there was screaming.

When the shaking stopped, he got up and pulled open the blinds completely.

A few emergency lights had clicked on in windows and in the street. Where the water was rising.

His eyes widened.

He scrambled for an end table, where he kept an emergency radio. Had done, ever since the Blitz. He cranked the handle until static erupted from the speakers, then twiddled the dial, listening for something, anything…

CROWLEY.

"Fuck! What? I mean, what, my lord?"

SOMETHING IS WRONG.

Yeah, no shit, the demon thought to himself, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

THIS HAS HEAVEN'S STENCH ALL OVER IT. BUT THIS IS NOT THE PROPHESIED END TIMES. THEY HAVE ACTED WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE.

"Wait," the demon croaked, "you mean to say that Upstairs did this?"

THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT WE MEAN. WE NEED INFORMATION, CROWLEY. WE NEED YOU TO INVESTIGATE.

"What do you need from me?" the demon asked, mentally wincing. His plans, all his plants—he'd lived in a state of not-being-disturbed-by-work for a few years now, and had started to get rather comfy with the whole thing.

Complacent, more like.

WE NEED YOU IN JAPAN, CROWLEY. THERE ARE HUMANS INVOLVED. WE NEED YOU TO INFILTRATE THEIR ORGANIZATION, DISCOVER WHAT THEY KNOW.

"はい," the demon said.

A pause. WHAT?

"It's Japanese," the demon muttered, then shook himself. "Right. Of course. I just need to check one thing, then I'll be off."

WE'LL BE IN TOUCH.

And the radio clicked off.

The demon stared at it for another second, then sighed and tucked it into his pocket.

A few minutes later, he was wading through knee-deep water, the stench from the Thames hanging in the air. Some poor fools had tried to start their cars, which promptly sputtered out.

He hadn't even bothered with his car. Mourning its loss, he soldiered through the flood.

Back to Soho.

The rain hadn't stopped. His hair plastered itself to his face. He'd pulled off his sunglasses (omnipresent, even at night) and stashed them in a pocket as well, not being able to see through the water that beaded up on the lenses.

He finally stood in front of the store, mentally bracing himself for an angel very upset about the water damage.

But as he opened the door, the water swirling, all he could feel was a cold emptiness from inside.

"Angel?" he called.

No answer. He pushed further into the shop.

A few loose pages were floating in the water. He winced. Centuries of books the angel had accumulated, his precious treasures, now waterlogged, no doubt the ink running. "Aziraphale?" he called again.

No answer.

The demon started to panic then, looking around frantically, his dilated pupils having no trouble with the thick darkness inside the shop. No angel.

Not even a hint of him, no angel-y sense of old books and fresh ink and light.

The bookshop was cold, dark, and empty.

"AZIRAPHALE!"

Silence.

The angel was gone.

Like he'd never been.

Like the two hadn't spent hours in there, bickering and drinking and being friends—

The demon looked around one last time, and his eyes lit upon a book.

A worn-out old book, sitting on a table next to some notes and a lamp.

The book that the girl had brought, just hours (was it only hours?) ago.

The demon hesitated, then picked it up.

The gold-embossed title leapt out at him. The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.

And the words he'd read earlier echoed in his mind.

Heart sinking, he opened his suit jacket and slid the book into an inside pocket.

And then, not looking back, he strode back out to the street. Shook out his wings, and took off into the dark and rainy night.

He had a long journey ahead of him.

 Tokyo-3, AD 2015, March

"Honey, I'm home!" Crowley yelled, shutting the door behind him and bending over to take off his shoes.

"And what sort of time do you call this?" a woman answered.

"There was a long line at the store!" Crowley grabbed his bag and sauntered into the kitchen, plopping it down on the table. "I wasn't gonna come over without your shitty beer now, was I?"

The woman poked her head out from a bedroom, and her face lit up. "You brought me beer? Everything's forgiven." She skipped over to him and stretched up to kiss his nose, then turned her attention to unpacking the bag.

"The things I do to enable your bad habits," he grumbled, secretly not minding.

They plopped down at the table together. Captain Misato Katsurgi passed over a more expensive bottle of wine to him, slid over a corkscrew, then popped the tab open on a shitty can of beer and proceeded to drink almost the entire thing.

Crowley watched in amusement, the corkscrew forgotten for the moment, then shook his head and stabbed the pointy end into the cork.

Although their tastes in alcohol were very different, Crowley and Misato had quickly become friends. He'd been cooling his heels in Japan for almost fifteen years now, grappling with the formality of the culture and the lack of good food available after the Second Impact. She was a breath of fresh air—extremely casual, quick to tease, and subsisting almost entirely off of cheap instant meals. They had a routine now. Whoever got off their shift first would pick up wine and beer, plus a few cartons for dinner, and they'd crash at her apartment. Either on the balcony or in the kitchen, depending on the weather. And they'd eat their cheap food, get extremely drunk, and blather on like schoolgirls.

It was a sort of friendship that the demon had very much missed.

Then at midnight, he'd say his goodnights, head back to his apartment, and crash until sunrise.

And then report to work, and repeat the whole thing again.

They never talked about anything personal. Neither of them ever asked or volunteered. Much to Crowley's disappointment, their discussions never got metaphysical either. He'd tried once, tried to emulate a million conversations he'd had a lifetime ago, but Misato had no patience for anything that she couldn't confirm with her own two eyes.

Tonight, they lounged out on the balcony, listening to the cicadas scream, and talked about the future.

When he'd first come to Japan, the cicadas had scared him almost to death. You never heard them in London. Dr Akagi had laughed herself almost senseless when he'd asked why the trees were screaming, and proceeded to tell him about the very large bug that would emerge from the earth after years of dormancy, climb a tree, and tell the world that it wanted a shag.

Crowley thought that it might be very nice to do a similar thing himself: climb a tree, and scream to the world what he was thinking. After that discussion, he'd become very fond of the buzzing that pervaded the listless summer days.

"It took ages to track him down," Misato said, dangling her arm over the balcony rail, catching the currents of wind with her hand.

"Where was he?" Cowley asked.

"Living out in rural Yamagata with his uncle. Took even more ages before his uncle would even let us speak to him. But we finally did, and he agreed. He'll be here in three days, so get ready for some excitement."

Crowley groaned. "I don't want any more excitement."

Misato shrugged. "Me neither. But we gotta do what we gotta do, I guess. It's 2015. The angels won't wait for us."

"Yeah, and that's the other thing," Crowley said. "How the fuck is the Committee so sure that fifteen years is the magic number? How do they know all this shit? They just give us cryptic deadlines and vague warnings, and we're expected to jump when they say so."

Misato's eyes grew hard. "I trust them."

Crowley's mind flickered back to the book sitting on his kitchen counter. The only obvious answer in his mind was that someone at the top of Nerv had a copy as well.

An idea that made him twitchy.

Aloud, he said, "All right," and raised his hands in mock surrender. And then to deflect: "I'm curious what this kid'll be like. Hope he fell far from the tree where his father is concerned."

Misato grinned. "I don't think you have to worry. He sounds like the complete opposite of Gendo."

"Good." Crowley did not like Gendo Ikari. As far as he was concerned, Hell had a lock on that particular soul.

Still it was one thing to look forward to in this hellhole. Which seemed kind of mild epithet. In Hell, at least you knew who you could trust, which was to say, nobody. In Nerv—well, fifteen years and Crowley still felt like he was swimming in a hole of scorpions, only he wasn't sure which were deadly and which weren't.

When midnight rolled around, they said their goodbyes, and Crowley sobered up and headed down to the streets, pausing to pat Misato's sports car on the way and spend a moment mourning for his Bentley.

Which was much easier than mourning the other things he'd lost fifteen years ago.

[maousami]

73 Questions Challenge Inspired by Vogue

So I just finished reading Vogue’s 73 Questions with Kim K and my delusional ass wants to do this shit too.

I got this from   Nataliia Totka ’s blog and said sure why tf not lols

here we go

1. What are you most excited about these days?

I guess spending time together with my favorite human in the world 

2. What’s your favorite holiday?

CHRISTMAS <3

3. Favorite season?

The Philippines doesn’t really have that many seasons (rainy and summer only lols) so maybe the Rainy Season?

4. Where does one go on a perfect road trip?

ANYWHERE WITH A BEACH <3 I fucking love beaches

5. What is the best activity when home on a rainy day?

Sleeping or Cuddling <3 sharing a movie with my S.O. <3

6. If you could switch lives with someone for a day who would it be?

maybe my teacher Sir Steve. finally get him the girl he’s been crushing on since he was still studying architecture.

 7. What is the best thing that happened this year?

THIS FUCKING GUY 

8. What’s your New Year’s resolution?

Finish my thesis. lols <3 I am fucking done ahahhaha

9. What’s your favorite exercise?

ANYTHING LEG DAY RELATED <3

10. Best way to decompress?

Painting and just spending the day with my big doofus of a boyfriend.

11. What’s your favorite country to visit?

KOREA. 10/10. might change when I finally get to visit Japan though!

12. Last country you visited?

Korea hahahaha

13. Country you wish to visit?

JAPAN OFC. Also Israel ^^

14. What’s your favorite ice-cream?

DOUBLE DUTCH.

15. What makes you smile the most?

Being praised for something I don’t notice in myself

16. What’s the coolest thing in the world?

hmm... Vivid cosmic dreams.

 17. What is the cutest thing in the world?

FOXES def foxes.

18. How do you know if you’re in love?

I guess it differs by person to person. Me personally, I know when I constantly have this need to spoil that person and help them in anyway I can through heart to heart talks or maybe a school project. I don’t usually go out of my way for happy crushes but you know shit’s serious when I’ve tried to replace them with another one, only to fail and drag my ass back to them. I am such a hoe hahahha

19. If you could go to any concert past or present, what would it be?

I have been dreaming of attending a Hatsune Miku concert ever since I was a first year in highschool. I need to go to one before I die.

20. What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

I’m not the kind of person who’s the type to recieve. I’m more of a gift-giver so maybe the gift of people I guess?

21. Favorite fashion trend of all time?

The lazy Japanese unisex type. or maybe the tumblr girl who wears yellow dresses trend?

22. What’s your favorite movie of all time?

This is fucking hard. Clueless

23. What was the movie that made you cry?

OMFG CHEESY THING TO SAY BUT HACHIKO MY GOD

24. If you could make a documentary, what would it be about?

The mysterious life of Mao Usami

25. If you could have one superpower what would it be?

Being able to manipulate people under my will

26. What is the skill still unmastered?

Architectural manual drawing

27. What is the best thing that happened to you today?

Being able to wake up to this

28. Do you like surprises?

Yes uwu it makes me feel special hehe

29. If you could do a flash mob where would it be?

At SM department store hahahahhah might be funny

30. Do you like cupcakes?

sometimes ^^ muffins tho? mmmmm

31. Do you usually bake cupcakes?

I used to bake ALOT back in highschool. I was the kween of baked goods.

32. What’s your favorite desert?

Any Icecream cake. <3 would kill for a slice rn

33. Is there a desert you don’t like?

Anything with Peanut butter and Caramel. ew

34. What’s your favorite bakery?

Sofia’s atm

35. What’s your favorite food?

Anything pasta and OFC CHORIZO AAAAA <3

36. It’s brunch, what do you eat?

Pancakes, maybe a banana or maybe Tapa with warm white rice. mmmmm~

37. You are stuck on an island, you can pick one food to eat forever without getting tired of it, what would you eat?

CHOfuckingRIZO cant stress this enough

38. Favorite color?

YELLOW and baby pink<3

39. Favorite superhero?

not really a superhero but, Deadpool hahahhaha

40. What do you usually order in Starbucks? (or in your favorite café)

A Venti Iced Mocha without the whipped cream. also an Expresso Frappuchino is nice on a fucking hot day too. Iced Hazelnut Vanilla from Little Farmers is my go-to everyday coffee shot

41. Who is the last person you texted?

42. What’s your favorite activity to do in your hometown?

Having a great run around the neighborhood. Funruns are fun

43. What’s the next book you plan on reading?

I don’t have a new book in mind. maybe another YA novel?

44. What do you love in your pizza?

CARAMELIZED ONIONS AAAAAA and chorizo bits

45. Favorite drink?

Iced Hazelnut Vanilla by Little Farmers Coffee Brim

46. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Milk Chocolate ^^

47. What’s your favorite band?

kind of Mainstream but IV of Spades <3

48. Favorite solo artist?

DANIEL CAESAR 

49. Favorite lyrics?

Talk to me - Cavetown

50. If your life was a song what would the title be?

51. If you could master one instrument what would it be?

The Piano. real basic but I get really emotional with a few piano pieces. I’d like to play one of them someday

52. If you had a tattoo where would it be?

On my left forearm ^^

53. To be or not to be?

To be. hahahaahah

54. Dolphins or koalas?

Dolphins. definitely

55. How do you like your coffee?

White and Creamy  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

56. What’s your favorite curse word?

HOLY SHIT and PUTA

57. What color of dress did you wear to prom?

My school didn’t have a prom, but I did get to attend one with my cousin’s friend. It was pink ^^

58. Diamonds or pearls?

Pearls. they look classy and very Filipino

59. Cheap shampoo or expensive?

Expensive. I have frizzy thick hair. I don’t get too cheap with shampoo.

60. Blow dry or air dry?

Blow dry. hahahha blow

61. Heels or flats?

Heels. I look sexier ;)

62. Pilates or yoga?

Pilates every time baby

63. Jogging or swimming?

Swimming

64. One thing you can’t live without?

My sunglasses. 

65. What’s one cause that’s dear to your heart?

helping street animals

66. Who would you want to shoot a love scene with?

ADAM DRIVER AAAAA 

67. What’s your favorite sport?

I don’t do any sports but I usually love watching Figure Skating competitions and will def force my child into the sport. im sorry future kid!

68. Do you have a morning beauty ritual?

NOPE HAHAHA I AM SUCH A SLOB

69. What’s your favorite thing to wear?

I have this short mini dress I love to wear in bed <3 so comfyyy

70. What’s the priciest thing you’ve ever splurged on?

JFC MY WINDSOR AND NEWTON WATERCOLOR PANS

71. Do you play any musical instruments?

lol nope

72. What is your favorite book of all time?

Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah. Reread it a million times.

73. What is something you always travel with?

My Year Planner. ^^

[allacortedikamijo]

∼Eternal Twilight∼ Saturday September 15th 2018

Tickets sales for Eternal Twilight started at 3:00 pm on April 8th. Long before 3:01, VIP tickets were sold out. I could only manage to buy a Regular ticket. Luckily, in July Mana decided to offer upgrade tickets and I was able to also buy the Meet & Greet. Back in April, I had not yet decided to go to Helsinki. I knew DSVI would be very expensive, but once I learned Mana and KAMIJO would be in Helsinki on the same day, I had no choice. I expected surprises, and I was right.

On September 15th at 9:00 am I walked to Gloria with my friends, who patiently remained in line all day for KAMIJO’s concert. Around noon, I left for Paasitorni Congress Center and the magic started. The location was beautiful: huge, elegant, with big stairs and tall ceilings. VIP were already there and I waited for my turn with my new friend Nami.

Once Regular tickets holders were let in, I noticed the stage, the blue catwalk and the several exhibitors desks. Surprisingly VIP tickets holders had decided to sit in front of the catwalk and not under the stage. I could not believe it. So Nami suggested to immediately take those empty seats. We ended up just in front of the four chairs for the guests.

The room was getting crowded, everybody was wearing incredible outfits. It felt like a movie set or a star wars summit (some Lolitas were rather exotic). The Lolita Tea Party in Milan (2013) and Eternal Twilight in Helsinki (2018) will always remain my best Lolita memories.

Once all the participants had arrived, the presenter walked the stage and the event begun. Mana was invited onstage. He wasn’t backstage, he entered from the back of the room like a God or a Goddess, you choose. He was wearing the new green blouse and very high platform shoes. I could not believe how often I had seen him this year. He walked past us and sat onstage. He was joined by a lady from Hellocon and a lady from Moi Meme Moitié. One chair had remained empty, but even “I” had no idea about what was going to happen. DSVI had let me hopeless about any public interaction between Mana and KAMIJO. The presenter announced the Q&A and she said that, for the occasion, a special Guests would join the stage to be Mana’s voice for the day. She then said KAMIJO’s name. Even then I wasn’t sure I had heard it right. It was only when I noticed his blond hair approaching behind the Lolitas that my brain processed what was really happening. I started screaming, just as the rest of the audience. KAMIJO was warmly welcomed by everyone. I turned towards Mana and bowed to thank him. He was looking my way and he noticed I was on top of the world. I certainly didn’t expect it. I texted my friends at Gloria “He’s here!”.

KAMIJO set next to Mana and they both seemed perfectly at ease. Occasionally speaking in each others ears. The Hellocon lady started making questions to Mana in English, the Moi Meme Moitié lady whisper them to Mana, to which he responded by whispering in KAMIJO’s ear, then KAMIJO would tell the answer in Japanese and the Moi Meme Moitié lady translated it into English. Mana was asked more or less 30 questions and more came in the second Q&A that took place after the Moi Meme Moitié’s fashion show. I only remember 23 of them though. Too much excitement affected my memory. If you are interested, you can find them below. All participants had been asked to submit questions for the Q&A. I was very happy to find out Hellocon had selected 4 of my questions (14, 16, 21!!, 22)

What inspired you to start Moi Meme Moitie? He basically said he had noticed that the Lolita scene in Japan had many different styles except a darker and gothic version, so he came up with the idea of creating Gothic Lolita style. He found great inspiration in Gothic architecture.

Why is blue your favorite color? He said that when he was a child he has a blue snoopy blanked and, as he liked that blanked a lot, blu became his favorite color.

What is your favorite flower? Cherry blossom.

What is your favorite country? He luckily (and wisely) replied Japan. It could be absolutely true though.

Do you prefer rainy weather or sunny weather? Sunny weather because on sunny days it is possible to walk and enjoy nature, take walks in the park…

What is your favorite season? Summer.

Is there a country you would like to visit? He said Greece, because of the beautiful sea landscapes, even though he does not swim.

Do you prefer coffee or tea? Coffee, from expresso machines, as the one he has at home.

What is your favorite type of bird? Planes, though I am scared to fly.

What is your favorite animal? Hattiwatters from Moomins.

If you could have a super power what would it to be? See spirits. I have never seen one and I wish I could.

What is your favorite food? Okonomiyaki (I am not sure of this answer. Can anyone confirm this?)

What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple.

What is your favorite book or what do you like to read? Scientific readings, especially about planes, and cookbooks.

Have you ever had a pet? I am not good in taking care of animals, but I once had fishes and enjoyed watching them.

What is your favorite pastime when you have free time? Go to shrines and wash my hands in the (dragon?) fountains. It makes me feel great.

If you could go back in time in which era would you like to go? My late childhood/early adolescence. He mentioned games, ruffles and candies. He said it was a very happy and peaceful moment in his life and largely misses it.

What is your favorite Lolita item? Crosses necklaces.

Is there any chance for a new picture book such as (I’m sorry I don’t remember that name, could have been Bara No Rondo, Livre Ros’e Blanche, Bara No Higeki, Merveilles or Philosophy)? Maybe.

And now, the spicy moments…

20. You have accomplished a lot with your fashion brand. What could be the next step for Moi Meme Moitié? Mana whispered to KAMIJO’s ear and KAMIJO said “Really?!”, sounding shocked and surprised. It turned out the answer was: “Lingerie”. I applauded enthusiastically and made sure Mana noticed. How could I not want to wear Lingerie designed or approved by Mana?!

21. What’s your favorite place in Japan? Again, Mana whispered to KAMIJO’s ear and he replied in English with a super sexy voice “My bed!”. I thought I would faint. Of course he meant his own bed, but the double meaning implied was powerful (as they had skipped the regular process of waiting for the translator to answer). Some girls in the back giggled. I though it was really nice. A bit of humor and naughty jokes felt good. An informal moment out of the cages of cautious schemes.

22. What is your biggest dream? Moi Dix Mois World Tour (how can this be if he hates flying?)

23. What is your favorite drink? (And here we go with the most shocking reply of the day). I thought he would say Jack Daniels. Instead he replied “Pineapple juice”. Another innocent answer? I wanted to disappear from the face of the Earth.

After the Q&A KAMIJO kneeled in front of Mana and left the venue to reach Gloria. I could not stop but wondering whether Mana would make a surprise appearance during KAMIJO’s concert that night. Unfortunately he didn’t.

However, the two of them looked very close and amused, exactly the opposite of what they looked like at DSVI. I wish I knew why. Is it really so mind bothering to them the idea of playing together? Why? Is this really the last frontier now?

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Moi Meme Moitié fashion show followed. I loved it. I counted at least 30 girls. They walked the stage in couples. The couples were selected in such a way that each girl would have the same height. Some held hands. They all looked like goth sisters, very powerful. The soundtrack included a different Moi Dix Mois song for each couple. I lost contact with reality.

After MmM fashion show, there was a second Q&A to Mana. This time he would not need a voice, because he would draw the answers on a piece of paper. The audience was asked to guess his replies and after that he would show his drawings. I enjoyed a lot this part of the event. It felt informal and funny. Very useful to learn something more about Mana. Concerts are great but they leave short room for surprises nowadays. The double Q&A was pure fun. I am so glad the organizers came up with this idea.

After the second Q&A we could enjoy the second fashion show with many different Lolita brands (I do declare, AliceHolic, Puvithel and probably others I can’t recall now), and I must say I deeply enjoyed this one as well. The outfits were stunning and the soundtrack very inspiring (Cosmic Storm by A. Himitsu).

In between all these incredible moments, we had time to visit the exhibitors desks and buy lolita items. I wish the day would never come to an end, but in a while we would be in line for Mana’s Meet & Greet, just before rushing to Gloria for Kamijo’s Meet & Greet, Concert and Checki. Doesn’t this sound too much for a human being to endure in a single day?

When it was my turn, I entered the room where Mana was waiting. My 3rd Meet & Greet with God. I handed him my present and thanked him for DSVI. I was so grateful: he had invited KAMIJO as vocalist, he had cross-dressed and let his beautiful black hair down, all things I had hoped for. I was relaxed until he shook my hands twice and so firmly, with both hands that I started to panic. He was staring and I could tell he realized I took part to almost each event he had organized this year, even thought they were so far away from home. Or at least, this is the impression I got. But as I said before, these kind of days make you lose contact with reality. So I happily walked away with the red rose he gave me.

The best thing about DSVI and Eternal Twilight is that now (new) KAMIJO’s fans know something very important about him: who his Master is.

Report: bellemoitie for Alla Corte di KAMIJO

Photos in the slideshow: Bellemoitie, all rights reserved

Photos in the article: KAMIJO Official Instagram, M_d_M Official Twitter,

  [Report] ∼Eternal Twilight∼ ∼Eternal Twilight∼ Saturday September 15th 2018

[ironfist-clown-factory]

Clown Server! Come join it if ya want!

Name: Murphy ‘Murma’ Mack Age (at the start of Nonkina Ace): 27 DOB: Feb. 27, 1987 Gender: Female Height: 6′8″ Nationality: American Hometown: Koburi, Florida, UPA (United Prefectures of America) Likes: Neon, Vaporwave Art and Music, Japanese katakana, Collecting old PCs and other outdated technology, rainy nights Dislikes: People who say Vaporwave is dead, art snobs, bland design, modern architecture and gentrification, vanilla ice cream Personality: Spunky, a bit crude, Bubbly

So, about Murphy.

You know how in Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama would base major villains off of whoever was the editor at the time subconsciously? Like how King Piccolo was partially inspired by his first editor?

Well the same happened to me. I ended up basing a few characters off my friends (in fairness they are a rad group), and Murphy was the first.

She’s based off my best bro’s girlfriend Mackenzie, she’s a neat Vaporwave artist and over-all rad gal.

SO, how did I end up basing Murphy after Mackensize? Well I had the idea of a Vaporwave inspired character who could copy abilities with a Minidisc player and the rest sort of happened.

I didn’t realize it until my bro told me ‘Hey, t-that kinda looks like Mac...”.

Then I showed Murphy to Mac and she dug it, totally cool with the character! Weird how these things turn out.

- C-Kun

From The Nonkinaverse Bible and Character Guide

New character time, new character release page format. I think I’ll do this from here on in.

Anyways, this is Murphy Mack, a sorta brand new Clown with an affinity for Vaporwave and other such A E S T H E T I C things!

She’s a small name Vaporwave artist that moonlights as an amateur Kickboxer, as she is daughter to a former Champion. She enjoys a good fight, but likes making music and art more.

And of course with her being a Clown that fights, she has Clown-Po! However, it didn’t manifest inside her spirit, instead, it manifested inside her favorite MiniDisc player.

Now with her spiritually charged Player, by pressing the big red button on the front and sticking a Spirit Cable into someone, she can use it to copy her opponents abilities and create Aesth-Discs (GET IT?), MiniDiscs that contain the abilities of whoever she copies (as well as 4 or 5 songs that sum up that person’s personality, it is still a music player after all)!

For example, let’s say she copies Ace, as shown above. She’ll get a MiniDisc with his colors on it, as well as all his abilities and Clown-Po which in his case is his Boxing and old circus skills, his Clown-Po control, and she’ll even get a cute li’l version of his outfit! And to activate this abilitiy, she has to press the button with Japanese text next to the Rec button.

However, this ability isn’t without it’s kinks. An Aesth-Disc can only be used 5 times for the Copy ability. After those five uses, it becomes a regular ol’ MiniDisc. Not to mention the Copy ability only can only work 5 minutes per-use with a 10 minute cool-down period afterwards.

What Murphy tends to do is weaken down her opponent, copy their Aesthetic and use it to finish the fight.

Then she’ll catalog the new Aesth-Disc for later use. She always carries around a booklet with Discs in her Sukajan jacket (and no, it’s not just a Letterman jacket, THERE’S A DIFFERENCE).

Now then, let’s discuss that ‘sorta’ part that I mentioned earlier.

If you knew me before this blog and before I made Nonkina Ace my main thing, I worked on another OC story of mine. That story was New York Densetsu, a story about a Japanese Delinquent moving from Japan to the States, hoping he can ditch that old lifestyle of his, only to be swept back into more Shounen bullshit.

Another one of my great ideas that I ultimately axed because I can’t work on THREE DIFFERENT STORIES at the same time. Not to mention I neglected it for the longest time because I became all about my FIGHTIN’ CLOWNS.

But I still had some characters from that that I still like, so I figured, fuck it, might as well re-tool them for Ace. And that’s what I did.

I mean this isn’t the first time I did this. Remember, Bancho and Goto where repurposed from an older story of mine that also dealt about Clowns that fought and also happened to be Delinquents.

Between Murphy and her original incarnation, there’s not a whole lot different. Both are still Vaporwave artists, both love collecting outdated tech and their outfits are nearly 1:1. The big difference is that I gave Murphy and actual fighting ability whereas with her original, I kept saying that I was gonna give her something but I just kept neglecting to do so.

I mean hey, better to reuse than let die, right? This won’t be the only time I retool an NYD character too. I might resurrect others too~

So yeah, that’s Murphy! Hope you like this A E S T H E T I C Gal~

[tl-notes]

Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon Episode 6 Notes

The first two cuts of the episode, and we're greeted with three different season words right off the bat. Kyoani is really making a lot of use of them in this show and I love it.

The first is the bird there, a swallow (tsubame 燕 in Japanese). Swallows are used as both spring and summer season words. In spring, they arrive back in Japan after their winter migration and start making nests and laying eggs.

In summer, the hatchlings have left the nest and are out finding their own mates.

The spring season word usage tends to allude to swallows' nests or chicks, and the summer spring word usage tends to refer to flying swallows.

Mmm, metaphors.

The second is the snail, which are especially associated with tsuyu 梅雨, the Japanese rainy season. The rainy season tends to mark the end of spring and beginning of summer—really you can think of it kind of like a fifth season, warmer than spring, cooler than summer, and rainy as heck. It usually lasts about a month and a half or so (and makes doing laundry hell).

The third is the hydrangea flower (ajisai 紫陽花 in Japanese), which like the snail is associated with tsuyu. If cherry blossoms are the spring flower, hydrangeas are the rainy season flower. Some people even go do flower viewings of them, though it's not as common a practice as it is with cherry blossoms.

They made an appearance in another fairly recent show, Amanchu:

Notice the pink and blue slippers off to the right? Those are to wear when using the bathroom—or rather, the toilet, since the toilet will be in a separate room from the bath/shower in most Japanese homes.

So there's probably something like this on the other side of that door there:

Darjeeling, as I'm sure you know, is a fancy kind of tea. The name comes from where it is grown: the Darjeeling area in India. Much like Champagne, there are legal branding restrictions in place such that only tea grown and processed in parts of Darjeeling can call itself "Darjeeling."

"Flush" refers to when the tea leaves were harvested. First flush means those leaves were part of the first harvest of that year's crop. It's a good thing.

The Japanese word for flea market used here is a literal translation, nomi no ichi 蚤の市. Nowadays it's more common to refer to them with the English loan word (furii maaketto), as nomi is a gross bug and English is cool.

So, that it was a nomi no ichi and not a flea market possibly implies it was more of an old school affair aimed at an older audience... and/or a pun, because nomi (飲み) can also refer to drinking/beverages.

Random fact regarding the loan word version of the name: flea and free are both furii フリー in Japanese. Some "flea" markets in Japanese are actually called "free" markets, as anybody is "free" to join and sell stuff.

...Making "free market" one of those "Japanese English" (wasei eigo 和製英語) phrases that Japanese people will use sometimes when speaking English that leads to confusion, since of course free market means something quite different from flea market in native English.

Vegetable Racer!

This is super minor, but I thought it was interesting (you might not; feel free to skip):

The way these are worded in the subs, to me, sounds like Kobayashi is either guessing at those facts (especially in the second one: "I guess [...]"), or just found out about them in the context of that conversation (especially in the first one: "So [...], huh?").

The Japanese nuance is slightly different:

ジョージさんって才川さんのお姉さんなんだって。Georgie-san tte Saikawa-san no onee-san nandatte.

ジョージはメイドに扮装してる時のニックネームだった。Georgie wa maid ni funsou shiteru toki no nickname datta.

The "nandatte" in the first line implies she was told that information by someone else (presumably Georgie) and is now explaining/telling it to Tohru and/or Kanna—more of a "turns out she was actually Saikawa-san's sister" sort of vibe.

The "datta" in the second line is a bit more of a solid statement than an "I guess"; following from the previous line it's a little more "...and the name 'Georgie' is what she uses when playing a maid."

So, again, suuper minor, but I thought that "seems to be inferring/guessing at those things" versus "heard them from (probably) Georgie and is telling them to Tohru/Kanna" distinction was interesting.

"Fanatic" here is "mania," a loan word often attached to things as a suffix in a similar way as otaku—in fact, a lot of people aren't really sure what the difference between the two is.

Basically, otaku is more "person who really likes X" and mania is more "person who is really devoted to X." You might think of it like "fan" versus "enthusiast."

Of course, otaku is also especially associated with anime/manga/games/etc., but both can be used for basically any hobby or interest.

Let's learn from this little frog and take a short break to enjoy the scenery a little.

-

She seems to have been mouthing "nameaiko 舐め合いこ," i.e. the licking each other thing she used to do with Tohru, if you recall from episode three.

So nothing lewd at all, get your minds out of the gutter. This is a family show.

This seems to be a translation error. Lucoa is asking dou? kore kara asobi ni konai? どう？これから遊びに来ない？, which is not asking whether she can keep coming to visit them, but an invitation for them to come visit her new place. Specifically kore kara basically means "now"—which makes sense, considering they go to visit immediately after that conversation.

You've probably noticed these riverside shots in a bunch of other shows; they really are that common in Japan. The Japanese government has long loved standardized infrastructure projects, and this is one example (another being: notice how all the anime high schools look really similar?). They're basically artificial mini-flood plains to contain the rivers in the event of heavy rain (esp. in typhoon season) or whatever, while also providing some public space for kids to play or people to jog or whatnot. They're quite nice.

Interesting how Lucoa and Tohru both do that thing with their hands as they walk here.

Why Venusian? In mythology, Quetzalcoatl is said to have become Venus (rather, the morning star) after the whole incident with the sister.

For reference, "Venusian" in Japanese is the kanji for Venus (gold + planet/star) and person—i.e., the standard set-up for "person from X" (American [person] is アメリカ人, Japanese [person] is 日本人, etc.). But, if you wanted to get really literal about it, could also mean "Venus person," which would be pretty accurate according to the myth!

Shouta is a perfectly normal name for men. A similar name happens to be Shoutarou, the young boy protagonist in classic anime Tetsujin 28-go* (which you may be familiar under the name of Gigantor) .

Coincidentally, Shoutarou got a lot of...adult... fan material made about him, to the point people into that stuff were said to have a Shoutarou Complex, which was abbreviated to shotacon.

That has absolutely nothing to do with this new character here, as this is a wholesome family show.

*The tetsujin in that title follows the same kanji scheme as above, iron (鉄) plus person (人). The -gou is something attached to numbers in a numbering scheme; for example, Apollo 13 in Japanese is Apollo 13-gou (アポロ13号).

Also, the phrase used for "fidget" here is the same one from Konosuba episode 5: sowa sowa.

Interesting that his color scheme has a lot in common with Lucoa's (hair).

The text in the bubble is kyun キュン, the sound effect word for your heart "squeezing" when you see something excessively cute and/or lovable.

That can be both platonic, like a hamster or other small animal, or romantic, like the person you have a crush on, but in either case the key is how adorable it is.

It differs from doki doki, the other similar heart-pounding sound effect, in that kyun tends to be an instantaneous thing, and doki doki is more a continuous thing. For example, kyun is commonly a reaction to a cute action, like a hamster falling asleep in your hand, and doki doki is instead more like a state you're in, a raised heart rate while in close proximity with your crush.

Though exceptions exist of course.

Another super minor thing you can probably skip. The Japanese line here is:

僕が帰る流れになってない? Boku ga kaeru nagare ni natte nai?

Nagare is like "flow" (it's actually a noun-ified version of the verb "to flow," nagareru), both literally (like the flow of a river) and figuratively. It's often used in situations like this, where you can tell the "flow" of the conversation is headed in a certain direction/to a certain conclusion. Like "I see where this is going." Or perhaps more commonly(?), used in retrospect when describing why something happened; "I just went with the flow" or "it just kind of ended up that way" kind of stuff.

It's a common opinion in Japan that Japanese people are bad at saying no* to things (there's a bunch of pop literature written about this in Japanese, it's not just a "wow Japan is so weird" foreigner opinion), so this concept comes up a little more frequently than you might expect.

*Random example that always seems to bug the hell out of foreigners, especially when dealing with people like bank, government, etc. employees: the employee will typically say "mm, that would be a little difficult (chotto muzukashii or something)" instead of "no, we can't do that."

It usually involves a drawn out argument, where the foreigner is thinking "well fuck if they won't do it just because it's hard, that's dumb, it's their job," and the Japanese employee is thinking "why isn't this person taking the fucking hint, if I could do it I would."

That's a bit of an oversimplification, but is fairly illustrative of the concept in broad terms.

Mini Japanese lesson part, skip if you want.

The word here is youzumi 用済み, which is less "useless," and more "already used [and thus no longer needed]" (though the difference is minor in this case). Basically the idea is that all he cared about was the summoning itself, and doesn't need anything else from her now that it's done.

This you 用 is an interesting word that you'll see pop up a lot in Japanese. It's similar to one definition of "business"; i.e. if you have something to talk about with someone, you have business(you) with them, or if you have something you need to do, you have some business(you) to take care of.

In that sense, you can pretty much always translate it as "business" and that will be accurate enough in terms of meaning—however, it's usage is far more common, and it sounds "natural" in a lot more situations, so it's another of those words you'll see translated in all sorts of ways depending on context. E.g. なんか用?→What do you want?, 用を足してくる→I'ma go see a man about a horse, ちょっと用があるんで→Sorry, I'm kind of busy right now.

Not to be confused with you 用 as a suffix, which means "for _____," like kodomo-you 子供用 meaning "for children" (e.g. medicine).

The word for "bad" here is taihen 大変, which is yet another word that can be translated in many ways depending on context; generally speaking it's an adjective/adverb that serves as an amplifier (like very or extremely) that often-but-not-always has a negative connotation. Here, I would say it's a little closer in nuance to "I noticed something crazy."

See, rainy season.

Anyway, a teruteru bouzu is a doll-like superstitious charm made and hung by the window to induce good weather. You'll often see it in slice of life anime on rainy day episodes, or sometimes in sports anime the day before a big match (in hopes the game doesn't get rained out).

Teruteru is a sound effect word for the sun shining (though it's not actually super common outside of "~ bouzu"), and teru 照る by itself is a verb for "to shine." Bouzu 坊主 is a word for a Buddhist monk, though through association it also refers to a bald/shaved head or a young boy (who traditionally often have shaved heads).

One theory on the origin comes from a Chinese myth about a girl who used a broom to brush away the rain clouds or something. Somewhere along the time it changed to a monk instead of a girl, and voilà? Iunno.

There are also some regional variations on the name as well, but you'll probably never hear any. I know I certainly haven't, at least not outside the context of wikipedia articles or a Japanese culture class I once took.

It's said you can hang them upside-down to make it rain instead—which makes them ame-ame bouzu.

Oh, Kanna is drawing something. Let's take a look.

Hmm, I wonder who that is?

...Oh.

This sequence is a reference to idol concerts. That jacket is a happi, traditionally worn by workers (like say carpenters or the people who runs the stalls at festivals), but also a stereotypical otaku thing to wear to an idol concert. Same with the headband.

The stick is a colored light stick, another (even more) standard piece of equipment for live idol events.

You'd know all that if you watched Gintama.

The color choice (pink here) is often based on which member of the idol group is your oshi 推し, the one you've chosen to dedicate yourself to in particular—most groups will have an assigned image color for each member.

It's also a thing for there to be predetermined "calls and responses", where the idol(s) will say something and the audience will reply back with whatever.

The little "dance" (spin/jump/posing) is reference to wota-gei ヲタ芸, intensely and purposefully cringe-y dance things people will do at these events. Some people take them a little further.

Wota is short for wotaku, an alternate spelling of otaku (ヲタク vs オタク). The difference between the two is up for debate, but at the moment the w- version is more favored by actual otaku I guess?

Personally I'd say wotaku is more like anime/game/manga/etc. nerds (kind of like what "otaku" in the English community means) while otaku can, as mentioned earlier, refer to a wider variety of hobbies.

Gei 芸 means like performance, art, or trick.

The word for "mild" is amakuchi 甘口, which in literal terms is more like "sweet." In practical terms "mild" is correct, but the fact that it has "sweet" (ama[i] 甘[い]) in the word gives it slightly more of a "lol that's for kids" nuance to it than "mild" has. I imagine the joke got across just fine anyway, but hey it's an excuse for me to write more words words words.

In case anyone missed it: lol even the rice was instant. These guys.

You are probably at least a little familiar with itadakimasu as the standard pre-meal "thanks for the food/amen" line, but there's also gochisou-sama deshita (the line here) that's the standard post-meal line. It basically means "it was a feast [that I was treated to]."

The word for "gaming addiction" here is netoge haijin ネトゲ廃人. Netoge is short for "internet game," basically MMOs (though technically any online game). Haijin is basically an invalid, someone too sick/injured/disabled to care for themselves—it's sometimes used to refer to people with severe drug addictions too.

Basically it's the equivalent of poopsocker.

The pronoun Takiya uses for "I" here is shousei 小生, a weird old one you typically don't see nowadays outside of some business emails—it goes well with his use of -dono instead of -san when in his weirdo nerd mode.

Who wouldn't be, it's got one section that's transparent! So convenient!

The word here is aiai-gasa 相合傘. Technically it just means "sharing an umbrella," and doesn't necessarily have any connection to "lover's." However....

Ai, with different kanji (愛), does mean love though. A combination of that pun and Japan's relative lack of public displays of affection ("a woman should walk three steps behind her husband" was a thing traditionally) led to the image of a couple sharing an umbrella being basically the gold standard for "couple" imagery.

You've probably seen this drawing before in another series at one point or another, with two names written underneath:

It's basically the equivalent of writing you and your crush's names (or initials) in a heart with an arrow through it—it's the thing you carve into a tree to be romantic or whatever.

They're in Akihabara here, because of course they are.

Going by the manga, Kobayashi's workplace is in Kita-senju, which is like ten minutes from Akihabara by train.

That's a lot of screenshots for two minor points, but here I go anyway.

First, the "on every person." Specifically he says ningen gotoki 人間如き. Ningen is human, and gotoki, when stuck onto the end of a noun like this, indicates basically condescension, in a "something of that [low] level" kind of way. For example it's often paired with "child," in a "they're just kids, don't let them get to you" or "I can't believe you lost to a kid" kind of way (from an adult's perspective).

Note that if you instead attach gotoki (or gotoku, same deal) using the no particle, it just means "like ____"—basically as a simile, no negative connotations.

For example, the series Hayate no Gotoku. Hayate means a strong gust of wind/gale, so the title basically means "like the wind." (Of course, the main character's name is also Hayate, so you've got that pun there too.)

Second: The last line there in the Japanese is "俺にとって人間は、住処に土足で踏み入り、宝を奪いに来るハズレでいい。Ore ni totte ningen wa, sumika ni dosoku de fumiiri, takara wo ubai ni kuru hazure de ii."

Basically the idea is not that it's better for humans to be trespassers who come to steal his treasure, but that, because it takes a lot of time to determine whether any one human is a "hit," and humans are beneath him anyway (see gotoki note), he's fine just saving the time and effort and assuming all of them are trespassing thieves.

The key point that distinguishes that from the sub line interpretation is the particle at the very end there is de instead of ga.

Basically, in these situations, de ii means "I'll settle for X" whereas ga ii means "X is actually what I want."

You'll hear those two lines paired together fairly often, actually. Especially with a character with self-esteem/confidence issues. Someone will ask them out, or ask them to join their team or something, and they'll reply by asking "Ore/boku/watashi de ii?" (You'll settle for me?/I'm good enough?). To which the other person will reply "Omae/kimi ga ii." (I'm not settling; you're exactly what I want.)

Oh there's those swallows again, the ones trying to find a mate.

By the way, swallows mate for life.

The word for fanservice here is teko-ire テコ入れ (for reference the usual word is "service/saabisu/サービス").  Teko means lever, as in the simple machine. Ire means to insert.

As a term, it originally refers to using leverage to overcome financial losses on the stock market. Your portfolio goes down, putting you in a bad spot, so you borrow money and buy more stock on leverage to try and make up for it.

From there, the term caught on in the rest of society with a broader usage: being in a bad situation and taking a gamble to try to fix it.

In TV (and thus anime), it refers to doing something new with a show (often some sort of gimmick, or changing directions) in an attempt to save it from bad ratings.

It's common in manga as well. Ever wondered why that slice of life romantic comedy series turned into a battle manga?

The "ratings" were bad, so they teko-iri’d it to try to save it before giving it the axe.

So if you assume this episode title isn't a joke (I'm pretty sure the ratings are doing fine, if not Kemono Friends level), it would be saying "honestly, our ratings suck, so we're switching gears and doing a fanservice episode to try to save them."