#anyways wanted to do something for cny

[domokunrainbowkinz]

龍年快樂WAHOO 🐉

[nonsensical-pixels]

taps microphone tumblr editor... "is this thing working?"

hi everyone! it's been, wow... a really long time. i really wanted to get back to making cc during my chinese new year break, but a lot of stuff happened and this set kept getting delayed. well, at least it's here now, right? tysm for all of you guys' patience, i really appreciate it 🥰

have gp11 (my wedding stories') chinese groom shirt and groom pants, paired with the same packs' dress shoes! i realise that cny is over, but it's never too late for some cultural pride... right? right?? both are fairly medium-poly and i tried testing them to the best of my ability, but probably missed something, so do let me know if i screwed up 🥺

DOWNLOAD: SFS | MF 🐲

credits go to ea/maxis for the original meshes & textures. and to you guys, for all the wonderful and sweet comments you left while i was gone! i've read every single one, tysm again for your patience and support for my family.

SWATCHES & OTHER INFO

4T2 GP11 CHINESE GROOM SHIRT - 3951 polys, all morphs - for ym-am only - categorised as everyday/formalwear - 15 swatches

4T2 GP11 GROOM PANTS - 4355 polys, all morphs - for ym-am only, paired with 4t2 gp11 dress shoes by me - categorised as everyday/formalwear - 12 swatches - technically not intended to be paired with the groom shirt - but there's no nice pants in this pack other than this anyway

if there are any issues that you find with this set, please don't be afraid to let me know! the second part will come out... whenever the drive to make it hits. lol. happy simming, and when you download this, do keep in mind,

Love,

~ Ky 💗

[levynite]

Went to temple the day before CNY Eve because oh boy do we not want to ford the press of a sea of humans while fighting a granny for a folding table to lay out the food offerings while slow choking to death in the thick haze of incense. (there's still more cleaning to do at home help)

Things of note this year:

*The confusion over the pre-ordered paper offerings because only two out of the 6 attendees can actually read fucking Chinese characters and the one who did the pre-ordering did not communicate to us directly about the new conditions, and only sent her brother who speaks in the briefest ways possible so he pointed at the items in question and said "Man, woman" and we're like ???? Yeah? we get 3 sets men and 3 sets women every year? (it comes with gender coded paper clothes) and then dad saw that we were short so he bought two more. Turns out, they were selling selling couple sets now and that's what my cousin pre-ordered, AND NOT TELL THE ONES WHO ASSEMBLES THEM EVERY YEAR.

Me: Eh, the ladies get spare clothes then! Besides the extra hell money.

*As I was washing up the temple provided dishes and teacups at the sinks just next to the doors that are between the memorial tablet hall and the fireplaces? where we burn the paper offerings, chaos briefly broke out behind me and I turn to see a small pile of flaming paper offerings in the middle of the open air covered tiled floor area that leads to said fireplace? and I'm like, wtf, you are about 15 feet short of where you should be; then I realised a temple staff was loudly chiding a temple patron for moronically lighting his paper offerings on fire on the many candles inside before walking through the increasing crowd to go outside and promptly dropped the whole fucking flaming mess onto the floor short of the fireplace? oven? kiln? that is already merrily blazing and people have been peacefully queuing up with armfuls of offerings to toss in. And he dropped it because it was already on merry fucking fire? It's all paper and cardboard? There's a breeze outside that fanned he flames? Like outside has wind and airflow? And he was a good distance away from where it's supposed to be burnt proper to float off to where ever the ancestors are??

F O O L

*So here's the thing about asking spiritual beings questions: kinda hard to do. So the Chinese developed simple "fortune telling" tools to glean any indication of an answer or a general direction. In this case, after laying out the food offerings, and offering up the joss sticks, and the paper offerings are assembled beautifully in a vaguely lotus shape, we have to wait while the ancestors "eat" and "drink" the food offerings (a can of Carlsberg for my Second Uncle in this case as well) and this can take a while; meanwhile we're slowly getting smoked by fragrant incense by all the joss sticks being lit. And it's not even the insane crowd on CNY Eve!

Anyways, my Second Uncle's wife is the most senior in the temple group so she's usually the one asking if the ancestors (and her late husband) are done eating yet. We use something called a jiaobei or poe (with the accent) or loosely translated as moon blocks. These are a pair of crescent shaped pieces of wood carved with matching flat and curved sides. You toss them onto the floor after silently asking a question directed to the gods or the ancestors or whatever spiritual being, and then depending on how they land you get a yes, no, or the rarest, a confused answer where the blocks stand on their edges???? (wtf seriously never seen).

So I keep hearing the wooden clacks of the blocks getting tossed after a minute or so pause in between, with each pause getting shorter. I was guarding the paper offerings but I got curious and went over to have a look after hearing 5 clacks in a row; it was my aunt. And she really wants to go home now because it's been 2 hours of slowly becoming smoked jerky, but she keeps getting two same sides up (no) again and again. She hands it over to her daughter (said cousin who caused the pre-ordering confusion earlier) and she gives it a go; it's a NO. I was like, uh maybe I can give it a go? Aunt tries one more time, gets another NO from the ancestors. Tries in front of her husband's memorial tablet; gets a YES. Fed up, she hands me the blocks because what else has she got to lose.

Me, shuffling over to in front of the ancestors' tablets: *silent asking* Cousin who has known me since I was a baby: WAIT WAIT WAIT.....don't throw so hard. Me, about to fling the blocks down onto the tiled floor where they are sure to bounce off into the underside of the insanely heavy ornamental tables and more folding tables holding food offerings and the many feet of other devotees: .......OK.....*flings down gently* Me, staring: IT'S A YES, LET'S GOOOOOO

You have never seen an octogenarian pack up a whole ass boiled chicken, steamed cupcakes, fruits, etc etc so fast. Meanwhile I've booked it to go get the paper offerings to burn to reach the spiritual realm of whatever; I dunno, I'm not well schooled in Buddhism.

Later on during lunch at home, I told dad what had happened and he wondered if the ancestors were annoyed at Second Sister-in-law for the paper offering screw up because it's the first time we've deviated like that, and that was why they kept telling her NO but she essentially kept going (and I'm paraphrasing a friend here) 'Are we done eating yet? Are you full? Are we done yet? How about now? How about now? How about now?'

Edit: Well that didn't save properly but anyways this thing has been sitting in my drafts for almost 2 weeks. Fortunately CNY has been pretty quiet despite how busy and exhausted I was (caught hives for some damn reason on the third day). And now I can finally post this up on the final day of celebrations lol.

[rongzhi]

do you cook Chinese food often? I’m trying to cook more in general but it’s hard when there’s no good Asian supermarket in my area

I mean yes technically but also no? I use a lot of Chinese ingredients or popular vegetables in my cooking but I don't go all out necessarily unless there's an occasion, usually a federal holiday like Thanksgiving (we had hotpot last month) or something like CNY.

Luckily we have an Hmart (Korean chain store) near where we live, and they sell some Chinese brands/popular goods too (as well with popular Asian veggies) but there's some stuff I really haven't been able to find at Korean or Vietnamese stores in the area that we go to in lieu of a Chinese market so I just ask my mom to mail me preserved/dry goods. If you have a Costco membership or someone gives you a gift card, they also started selling a lot more Chinese(mostly)/Asian dry-packaged and refrigerated goods (mostly pre-made dumplings or whatever, but also their tofu is decently priced) at some locations because they want in on that sweet sweet Asian cash lol.

Walmart sells a lot of Asian sauces now which is like half of cooking anyway (they have laoganma for example). Sometimes/some locations sell ground pork too, which honestly seems surprisingly rare for non-Asian grocery stores to do in some towns I feel like. My location also sometimes sells vermicelli and nappa cabbage when it's in season so if you have a Walmart (might have to be a superstore tho) near you, you should check it out. As for spices, check the Hispanic aisles in grocery stores. You're more likely to find stuff lke star anise and whatever there, and then sauces in the Asian aisle (it'll probably be mostly hot sauce/chili sauce).

[rain-fluff]

Journal Four

The CNY holidays felt like it flew by quick. Did I have the most eventful holiday? No, not really but it doesn't deter from the fact that I appreciate long breaks. Something about where I just don't have to think about going through the motions of life and just be; the break from it all is well cherished. It doesn't mean that the holidays were 100% uneventful though.

What was initially planned to be an Art Jam session ended up being a small gathering for dinner with close friends. While I do love the idea where you can relax and do art together, the company shared over a warm meal was still a welcoming experience (albeit a not so welcoming experience for my wallet but sue me they had unagi and I haven't had it in years).

The unagi was really good but I can't say I feel the same for the pasta it was paired with. The pasta itself was also pretty spicy so it was a good thing I ordered some honey milk to ease the heat for my palate. Would I go there again? Sure! They had tons of other food items I haven't really explored yet. Would I get the pasta again? Probably not. There was an unagi burger and I couldn't help but feel that maybe I should've ordered that in the first place. A note to myself for next time I guess should the opportunity arises.

It wasn't a full blown hangout but we had fun conversing and enjoying our meals, snuck some bites in of eachothers' dinners. Walking around just to take photos of each was also fun. I told myself I would update my Instagram more but are we surprised that I want feed to look in a particular order before I upload the set from this outing? Definitely not me. (Probably not some of my close friends if they're reading this blog though har har.)

I also went to my mom's hometown Ipoh just a few days after said outing. We had dinner with my aunt and cousin and the tom yum and lamb we're really good. We went mostly because my mom wanted to check in with her sister to see how well the progress for my cousin's wedding was doing. They didn't look like they were under too much stress so that was relief to see.

I didn't stay for the wedding itself but from what I saw on my cousin's Instagram account, it fit her retro aesthetic really nicely and her photos looked radiant. I wonder if I'll look like that if I ever get married.

Overall it was a pleasant break, though I do wish I took advantage of the time to do my own personal creative projects like oh I don't know, start scrapbooking even though I have been telling myself for years to start but never actually getting around to doing so. I also invited a friend to see the new Spy x Family movie but I'm pretty tight on money at the moment (thank you capitalism and your crippling chokehold on attracting me with your cute and aesthetic merchandising ways).

I hope the screening is still available early next month. Should I just watch it this coming week anyway? I feel like this blog is slowly becoming a food blog to be honest. Not that it's inherently a bad thing; it's just not quite me. Well you're definitely not finding out about the movie in this entry. 'Till next time my dear reader.

-rain

[whattheabcxyz]

2023-01-17

Singapore

HDB dweller dumps sofa at common corridor, blocking it

More energy, manufacturing & logistics firms among fastest growing here

Government says steps will be taken against workplace discrimination & to support seniors

JB-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link on track to be operational by end-2026 - I’d rather it not... who wants to be connected to our $hitty neighbour?!

Non-oil exports tumbled 20.6% in December - worse than expected

STB says this year’s visitor arrivals to double to over 12m - full tourism recovery expected by next year

Female mastermind of Kirkland murder ended up here & is now awaiting extradition to US to face charges

Environment

A major oil exporter is hosting this year’s COP28 climate summit - how can he be expected to be objective & fair when there’s such a big conflict of interest?!

China building world’s biggest offshore wind farm as renewable energy growth gains momentum - the biggest way China can save energy yet, is to just stop producing massive piles of low-quality garbage products that spoil upon 1st use!!!

Recycling factory in Thailand’s Rayong city causing massive pollution & devastation to villagers’ lives - something we don’t often think about is whether those recycling factories are also themselves destroying our environment!

Food

Customer says he was shortchanged for Bee Cheng Hiang 肉干 purchase

Again another example of why I do not support Singapore hawkers - cook your own food so you don’t have to rely on these bastards!

So apparently now pasta is supposed to be not as bad for health as we once thought - I don’t really care since I hate most pasta anyway & hardly ever eat it... it’s been many years since I last had any pasta at all!

Health

How to counteract the bad effects of sitting all day - it’s a no-brainer: take 5-minute light walks every 30 minutes!

Transport

Singapore: High demand for car rentals during CNY despite price hikes

Travel

A look at Northern Bali resorts

Qantas plane manages to safely land in Sydney after 1 of 2 engines completely fails mid-air

Technology

^ Get a randomly generated AI-made human face - the above person is not real

Internet

Singapore firm offers social media platform for kids where parents retain control - kids won’t want to use it then, lol!

Society

China’s population shrinks for the 1st time in 60 years

Politics

Anwar to visit Singapore by end-January

[meintwentytwentythree]

10/1

welp I just missed 3 days - with GOOD REASON

I started feeling rly sick actually, on Sunday afternoon after mels and Christy came over for le warmhousing. the kind where I needed flu medicine and panadol.

it was rly quite bad that I wanted to see a doctor, but for sake of work I still went :(

then yesterday night I started feeling bad again, I think because I went to shop in the afternoon instead of GOING HOME TO REST. BUT i left my panadol in school!!! so how!!!! on aircon and slept 🥺

anyway, so yes the past two days (in this week) have been observations. I think there's no point in stressing (like ash/zhengyang, who are constantly bombarding the chat with questions for help), just go do your first lesson, learn from mistakes and improve. most impt!!! lesson objectives and class management 🥺 which are things I struggle withhhh

speaking of another thing I'm struggling with, intimacy with E hasn't been easy. I've been self-touching close to everyday, with books to stimulate my imagination. but when I do stuff with E, he just does it and I don't really feel stimulated except physically? and it gets ticklish so I will laugh, then we stop cause he also starts laughing :/ I mean I'm pretty sure something's not right, intimacy wise... sigh. we're both so tired and both have been unwell in consecutive weekends, then CNY is coming too so busy busy. my lesson obs are starting too so I need to start focusing on my lesson plans because I HAVE SO MANY TO DO, I CAN'T JUST NUA EVERY NIGHT. I think mainly is also because I'm tired of bringing home my laptop every night to not do work at home? but I also don't want to stay back in school because of Jonathan... he's really getting on my nerves with his act cool attitude and "friendly" demeanor - I DONT FIND IT FRIENDLY. I want us to be PROFESSIONAL with each other...

seriously so annoyed sigh and also haven't had dinner cuz I ate such a late lunch... I just want instant noodles tbh.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Tentative 2022 plans

well... happy late-ish new year. been mostly out of it since saturday because of my booster... and geez, i have not felt this shitty since my 2nd shot. anyway, here’s hoping that this year will not be as crazy as last year... though i won’t hold my breath. having no expectations makes it harder to get disappointed... though i am looking forward to the next hakumyu musicals.

So. stuff for this year.

While id like to say that id normally be trying to have something posted almost every week again this year (not counting jan [spend this month stocking up on translations], feb [CNY this year], march [bday month] and dec [always do less then]), horizon zero west will be released in march... and i know that the game will suck away all of my translating time, provided that it does not have a disastrous release like cyberpunk 2077 lol (what can i say? i love my video games. also horizon zero dawn was absolutely amazing).

For now though, aside from Deemo -Prelude-, and the last 2 short episodes from yuugiroku 3, here’s what im hoping to translate this year... though i have no idea if i’ll get to everything. still, i really do want to finish translating shinsengumi oni-tan and get to translating the shimabara disturbance drama... and I would like to translate more dramas this year (im getting more than a tad sick of yuugiroku hahhaha).

some other saito chapter from ginsei no shou

tsukikage no shou -  yamazaki final chapter (only cuz i really like it)?

hakuoki kyoka-roku conversation in the rain v2 - Okita/Toudou/Kazama story

shinsengumi oni-tan (1/9 tracks remain. aside from from t1 and 2, i also ended up translating everything aside from track 3... cuz it was +10min... ah. ha. ha... *sigh* I swear, i am going to fucking finish translating this drama this year!)

shimabara disturbance (4/6 tracks remain. only did tracks 5 and 6... if someone wants pretty much no context, i can post them whenever haha)

薄桜鬼 ドラマCD ～十五夜花 ～

薄桜鬼 真改 ~風華大全~ 特典「稽古の痛み」

薄桜鬼 遊戯録弐 祭囃子と隊士達 A店特典「あなた好みの想いの形」

2011 OTOPA drama “Samurai Selling Medicine”

Nightshade Kuroyuki Cd

Café Enchanté Stellaworth Vocal CD

2016 otopa code realize drama

SSL drama with Harada/Kazama/Ibuki 

Yuugiroku stuff?

Hijikata Biyori?

regardless of what i end up doing/not doing, i know i’ll be stuck with yuugiroku for a while because of the patch... still have to figure out what still hasnt been translated later... or maybe i’ll just do that for the 2nd half of this year?

of course, if life gets really busy, i’ll have to cut down on what i put out again... or i might end up not being able to have posts done in advance on patreon like last year (sorry!)... though i can only hope that doesnt happen again. 

still, i hope that people continue to enjoy the translations i put out because i do find it difficult to post stuff on a regular basis at times  (also im probably more than a tad crazy because i’ve actually managed to do that for 2 years now).  

yaisa!

removed new live drama links. found it on a non premium site.

also, i finally got around to cleaning up my master list... though im still not done with my video backlog...

[amenomiko]

Aaaaaa Thank You so much for the looooooooooooong wait! I was too occupied and writer's block makes me tired more than ever 😭. Thank you so much for the request @ashavazesa ❤❤❤❤❤

A/N: I don't really take ALL Southeast Asia countries in this as I'm not really familiar with it. If you have questions regarding the culture, you may PM me or comment here ❤. Or you may google it, especially Butod 😏.

Lords x Southeast Asia Culture

Nobunaga - Hungry Ghost Festival (Malaysia / Singapore)

-It is a festival to honor the dead and so the gate from hell is opened.

-Mitsuhide: Most probably when the gate from hell is open, there will be Hideyoshi, practically running here and there upon his arrival ( ͡^ ͜ʖ ͡^).

-Masamune: Exactly. With the red carpet and rose petals. Heh.

-Hideyoshi: ಠ_ಠ.... Still- Nobunaga-sama's presence itself is majestic, so I have to agree with both of you *cough*

-Mitsunari: But I don't understand.. Hideyoshi-sama is kind, why would he be in hell (´；д；`)?

-Hideyoshi: Now, now, Mitsunari. Not everyone will go to heaven easily.

-Mitsuhide: Indeed. One of the main reasons why he goes to hell is because he sister-zoned every maiden in the world.

-Hideyoshi: H E Y (　☉д⊙)!

-Back to Nobunaga: I demand my offering to be a pack of armies, thousands of konpeitos, and MC's candid pictures 😏😏😏😏.

-Shingen: How indecent. To hell with you 😒.

-Kennyo: Go somewhere else, don't take my place 😒.

-Nobunaga: Excuse me? Hell would not be yours as I am the Demon King

-Kennyo: Excuse you 😒. My sin is bigger than yours.

-MC: Is it me or is this a White Girls Sengoku Version ಠ_ಠ?

-Ieyasu: ...Why would anyone want to fight over hell in the first place =_=?

Hideyoshi - Everyone is Addressed as Boss / Uncle / Aunty (Malaysia)

-So he went to a restaurant..

-"Boss. What do you want to order?"

-He look left. And right.

-"Eh Boss. You want to order or not?"

-"Huh? M-me??"

-Then he went to a public place, and his wallet fell from his pocket,

-"Uncle. Excuse me."

-Uncle-- WHAT- He is not THAT OLD-- "Wh- Wha??"

-"Aiya Uncle. Your wallet. Later people take your money how?"

-"Uh--" What kind of language is that anyway??

-Sasuke: If you are wondering what kind of language they speak, it is called as 'Manglish', Hideyoshi-san.

-Hideyoshi: Ma- Ma what?

-Sasuke: Manglish. Malaysian + English casual ways of talking to someone.

-Random person: Eh Boss, excuse me. Do you want to enter or not? If not please move lah! You are blocking the door!

-Hideyoshi: ........*Stressed 101*

Masamune - Butod (Sago Grub) (Malaysia - Sabah)

-Le butod: *Wiggle wiggle wiggle* OwO

-And MC: *FAINTS*

-"So this is a.. Grub from sago tree, you say? And it is recommended to be eaten raw."

-"It looks like MC when she was struggling to get away from my grip when I try to kiss her."

-MC, who has fainted, woke up "Excuse me?? Are you saying that I am-"

-Butod: *Wiggle Wiggle on Masamune's Palm* OwO

-MC: *gasssppp* 😱😱😱😱 YOU..! DON'T TOUCH ME WITH THAT HAND TONIGHT ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥A˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚!

-Masamune: Eeeeh but why? *Pulls its head and eat it raw* Hmm.. Taste like chicken.

-MC: .....*Takes a bottle of sake and shove it into his mouth* Wash it down with this! WASH IT WITH T H I S!

-Masamune: MMMMF 😵😵😵😵!!

Mitsuhide - Chinese New Year Celebrations (Malaysia / Singapore)

-He was offered with lots of CNY treats and of course, he ate it without refusing it.

-Only to get the bewildered reactions from the people around him when he mixed the rice + fish + dumplings + sweet rice balls + spring rolls + glutinous rice cake in one bowl and eat it like nobody's business.

-Hideyoshi: Even if you can't taste it, don't eat it in that way (　☉д⊙)!!

-"Why Hideyoshi? This foods represents luck, you see. I need this luck so I can always escape from your endless 'love' ( ͡^ ͜ʖ ͡^)."

-Learned about Ang Pow.

-"So you will give away money if you are married, and will receive it if you are not married. I see..."

-MC: What's wrong, Mitsuhide?

-"Hmm? Oh, I was just concerned about Hideyoshi. Because he will give away Ang Pows throughout his life." *Shakes his head* "That's what he gets when he sister-zoned everyone."

-Hideyoshi: ʕʘ̅͜ʘ̅ʔ.....

Ieyasu - Sambal (Hot Relish made with veggies / fruits and spices) (Indonesia)

-At first he was skeptical.

-Until he put some in his dish.

-Cues Ieyasu hugging the Sambal Jar.

-Growls when Masamune said "Can I have a look what they put inside-- Hey, hey, I said I want to have a look, not that I will eat it, lad. Calm down."

-Nobunaga, the usual demon on your shoulder: It's that precious, hmm? So you'd rather choose that than MC?

-MC: Please don't make me an option between food, Nobunaga ಠ_ಠ.

-Mitsuhide: Or maybe.. You can eat her by pouring all over her ( ͡^ ͜ʖ ͡^)?

-MC: I will become a living swollen red bell pepper, no thanks (눈‸눈).

Mitsunari - Vietnam and the amount of motorcyclists on the road (Vietnam)

-The gangs be all flustered with their surroundings, especially Hideyoshi.

-"Stay close, all of you! It's dangerous!"

-Masamune & Mitsuhide: Yes mom ( ͡^ ͜ʖ ͡^)~

-Hideyoshi: Who is your MOM (　☉д⊙)??

-Sasuke: It's alright, they say you can cross it casually as they will automatically avoid you.

-Hideyoshi: Impossible, isn't it dangerous? Besides, it's too close one after another!

-Sasuke: Here, let me give you an example. *Gives Mitsunari a book and whispered "You may cross now."*

-Our pure angel be like "O3O ooooh~~" And there he goes, walking straight ahead, with head buried in a book.

-Meanwhile, Hideyoshi: *Were pulled by both Masa and Mitsuhide* GAHH LET GO OF ME! MITSUNARIIIII \(Q A Q)/!!!! *GASP* NOOO NOBUNAGA-SAMA DON'T CROSS THE ROAD WHILE EATING YOUR KONPEITOOO!!!

-And Ieyasu, who has been watching Mitsunari who crossed the road safely to the other side: TCH. There's no one that hit him (•ˋ _ ˊ•).

Kenshin: 5 People on one Motorcycle (Indonesia)

-The first thing that he ask Sasuke was...

-"What is that?"

-Sasuke: Oh, as you can see, Kenshin-sama. Some people from a poor family will ride their motorcycle altogether as one. And so,.. Kenshin-sama?

-"Bringing the motorcycle back to the past would cause unnecessary scene, but an idea of 5 people in one ride is not bad. Hm."

-"Imagine, when you go to the battlefield, with 5 people in one horse, you can kill 5 people at one time."

-"Also, if they bring sake supplies, and 1 person hold one sake each, and there's 10 horses, I would've get 500 bottles in an hour."

-Them: ........

-Sasuke: Can't do, Kenshin-sama. Please pity our horse and if you work here, in this era, please don't be a math teacher. You will give a bad example in your class.

-Kenshin: Don't stop what I want to do, Sasuke (눈‸눈). Fine. Let's change that 5 person into me, and the killed people to Shingen instead. So it will be 5 of me, killing Shingen in one strike.

-Shingen: Psssh. If I were you, there will be 5 of me on one horse, so all of us can kiss MC in one go 😏✨✨✨.

-Yukimura: PLEASE STOP GAH MY BRAIN @A@

Shingen - Thailands... and their Kathoey (Thailand)

-Welp. His eyebrows wouldn't stop wiggling here and there to every pretty woman that he spotted.

-'Woman'. Heh.

-Sasuke about to warn him but Kenshin hold him back.

-"Let's teach him a lesson." He said. "It will be interesting." He said.

-And so they go to one place for dinner, when they were surrounded by a bunch of pretty women.

-"Hey handsome~~ wanna have fun with us?"

-Yukimura: Eh- uh- eh- I- I- o//////o

-"Oh come on~~~ *grope*"

-Yukimura: *Genuine Girlish Voice* KYAAAAAAAAA!!! *Fainted with foams*

-Shingen: Now, now, you girls are pretty attempting, but we need to fill our empty stomachs first, you see?

-He was occupied in talking to the girls when Sasuke whispered something to one of them without him realizing it. Then the girl went to Shingen's side, hugging his arm, "Please~ have fun with us~~ I will give you a reward if you say 'Yes'~"

-Shingen, playing along: Oooh? What would that be?

-Le girl, changing her voice into a manly one, "A lick of my lollipop, bro."

-And he fainted next to Yukimura. With foams in his mouth too.

Yukimura - Bali and their.... 'Souvenirs' (Indonesia)

-The first thing that came out from his mouth when he arrived at Bali is "Wh- wh- wh- r-romantic island?? Wh- who would show their intimacy in public--"

-*Shriek to a statue with a peculiar s*x position*

-*Shriek to almost everything*

-*Got stuck in one place until Sasuke had to pulled him out from the shop*

-Sasuke: Forgive me, bro. It's Shingen-sama's idea to enter this shop. It's normal for you to be culture shocked as one of their famous souvenirs is wee wee keychains (´・д・｀).

-"Don't say that casually OAO!"

-MC, takes one wee wee display and called out for him, "Yukimura~ come here for a sec. Look! Your wee wee (✿❛◡❛)!"

-"MMMMMCCCCCC ୧( ಠ////Д////ಠ )୨!!!!"

-Also Yukimura: *Gasp* This shop sells your kind! *Points at the restaurant that displays Rolling Pig*

-Scene of Yukimura got slapped by MC unfolds.

Sasuke - Sarawak's Blowpipe (Malaysia - Sarawak)

-Tour guide: One of the ethnicities in Sarawak is Iban people. They are known to hunt their prey with a blowpipe, which contained with a poison-coated needle.

-Sasuke: Oooh. *looks at the blowpipe* It's like detective conan but a poisoned needle ones (´・д・｀)✨✨✨

-Tour guide:

-Others:

-Tour guide: Would you like to give a try?

-Sasuke: Yes please (´・д・｀)✨✨✨ which target should I shoot it with?

-Tour guide: The balloon, next to the pole in front of you ☺.

-Sasuke: Okay. *Takes a deep breath*

-Kenshin:.......*monotonous voice* Ah, a mosquito. *Kicks Shingen to make him land in front of Sasuke*

-Shingen: H-Hey-- OAO

-Sasuke: Mmf- *Instantly pushed the pipe to shoot something else*

-*Stab*

-Mitsunari who happens to pass by: Hmm? Oh my, I don't remember this book has a needle attached to it (ㆁᴗㆁ✿).

-Other tour members: EEEEEKKKK 😱😱😱

-Ieyasu who also happens to be not to far from the group: Tch. Books from the future must not to be underestimated ಠ_ಠ. It's too thick.

[adhd-wifi]

MDZS Modern AU Fic Tips (Festivals)

So I asked a while back if anyone was interested in some fic tips for writing Chinese modern AUs, and y’all seemed enthusiastic. But…when I tried putting it all in a single post it got…really…really long…

So I split them into a bunch of posts (Yes I copy-pasted this intro on all of them because I’m lazy)! Here are the links:

Names & Stuff

Modern Chinese Cultural Stuff

Superstitions & Beliefs 

Festivals (You are here)

Living in China

Anyways, these are based on my experiences living in Singapore and China, and I hope these posts are helpful. On to it.

Content Warning: Magpie Bashing

Festivals (Warning: LONG. Good Luck.)

Note: I do not have personal experience with all of these. For those I have celebrated, I’ll indicate with a (*). Also I’ll only be talking about how we celebrate them (typically), because diving into the history and meanings of it all would take like 8 years (not literally but you know). Fee free to look them up, and ask your nearest Chinese human for any extra details. If they know it. You might want to look up what the lunar calendar is too. It’s basically the moon cycle calendar, but I am too bad at memorizing how it works so I just google the dates every single year. 

Also, I’m restricting this post to ONLY Chinese & Singaporean versions of celebrations. Many other regional ethnic groups celebrate the same or similar festivals, but I don’t know enough about their versions of the festivities. Another thing is that my family is from Dalian & Harbin in the NorthEast, so there is more Northern bias in my post so I might have some info that is inaccurate to festivities in the South. I did try to search for some South-specific traditions, since Yunmeng/Hubei is in South China, but I’m not entirely sure how accurate those details are.

Chinese New Year (*) - Late Jan to Early Feb (15 days after CNY day)

Before CNY, often on the eve of the actual date, we decorate our homes with red (don’t you dare skip out on decking your home with RED) decorations such as lanterns, red and orange flowers, those vertical paper banners with auspicious calligraphy on them (what are they called in English???) and whatever these things are

As kids, my sister and I would make those loop paper chains out of red and yellow paper a lot. We never knew what to do with them when the festivities were over

Spring cleaning is extremely important, we usually do it (extensively) from about a month before the festivities (and get yelled at a lot by our Chinese mothers & grandmothers especially) up to CNY Eve

Please don’t do any cleaning, particularly sweeping or throwing the trash out, on the day itself. You’re throwing the new year luck away. 

Other preparations include: buying new clothes, often with at least one red thing, visiting friends during the month prior so you don’t have to do so on the day itself and giving them little gifts and red packets, & burning new year offerings for ancestors

You will probably see lion dances on the streets and during new year parades a lot, sometimes accompanied by dragon dances, though the former is much more common. They also tend to give private performances at a discount during the CNY period, though lion dances aren’t restricted to only perform on CNY and in fact perform for special events in general, not just cultural festivities

On the night of CNY Eve, we have reunion dinners, in which we gather our entire extended family (when possible) and have a really loud, really energetic dinner party while watching the CNY Spring Gala on TV together. Or just eating if we don’t have access to a TV.

Include fish on the menu. At least one major fish main dish, not a side dish. It’s from a lucky saying: 年年有余 - nián nián yǒu yú, meaning something along the lines of “To have more prosperity this year”. The Chinese word for fish (鱼 - yú) sounds the same as 余, therefore we have fish every year. Yes it’s a pun, as many Chinese superstitions and beliefs are

Other menu items you could include: homemade dumplings (a FUCKton of them), uncut noodles, chicken or duck, pork, Chinese radish/carrot cake (side note: why the FUCK do Western articles ALWAYS translate this to “turnip cake” it’s made out of fucking RADISH or CARROT I swear to HELL), Chinese yam cakes, good alcohol and traditional sweets like tang yuan (this is basically the original version of mochi, filled with black or normal sesame filling and served in a clear, sweet soup)

There’s also one Cantonese dish known as (撈起 - Lo Hei) which is basically a salad of shredded carrot, radish, cucumber with strips of sashimi-style fish strips like salmon. You serve it to the table, pour crushed peanuts, fried dough crisps, and sweet sauce all over it, and your entire table reaches in with chopsticks and mixes everything together. It’s more common in Singapore and Malaysia than it actually is in Hong Kong and China, but I’ve had it in China before in the springtime. I fucking hate it. 

By the way, a fun game to play is the coin dumpling game. Basically, when you make the dumplings, put clean coins into some of them, and whoever eats the dumpling with the coins inside are considered super lucky for the year. I wasn’t ever allowed to make them though, my 20 years of dumpling-folding have failed me I still suck at it so everyone knows which ones are mine.

Usually, relatives living overseas would go to China for the New Year if they can, and they would take turns hosting the dinner each year. You would traditionally only have a reunion dinner in a family home, mostly because everything outside is closed

During the celebrations, lighting firecrackers and sparklers is part of the fun. Keep a close eye on the kids. 

Wearing traditional clothing isn’t necessary, but encouraged

At midnight, the younger, unmarried family members will present their married elders with gifts (usually two oranges per person or a small handmade craft) while wishing them well for the year, and in turn the elders will return the wishes and gift the youngsters red packets with money. 

The celebration period lasts for 15 days, but people typically go back to work a day or two after the actual CNY date

Personal note: I have only actually celebrated CNY once in China, back when I was tiny, so most of this is based on Singaporean experiences, what I know my in-China relatives, who live in Dalian, do, and what I’ve double checked online. But CNY is huge in China and many places celebrate it differently, so don’t get too worried about following this to the dot.

The Lantern Festival - Early to Mid Feb

In Singapore it’s actually illegal to celebrate the Lantern Festival traditionally on a large scale because of the potential fire hazards & pollution, so it’s somewhat merged with the Mid-Autumn festival here and thus I don’t know as much about this one in a “proper” Chinese context (I had to go to school in Singapore this time of year)

But anyways

The Lantern Festival comes immediately after CNY, on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It’s seen as a day of freedom for all, so everyone takes to the streets, lighting up the night with candles and lanterns

Lantern-walks are common, in which everyone holds a lantern - there are many kinds to choose from - and just walk up and down the streets together

These lantern-walks often take place alongside the official festival parades 

The dragon dances mentioned earlier are more likely to appear during the lantern festival than CNY, and the lion dances of course come as well

It gets crowded a lot. Hold onto your kids. 

Lantern riddles are fun games, in which they string up lanterns with papers hanging from them. Upon these papers are the riddles, and if you got them right you could win prizes. Or at least bragging rights amongst your family and friend groups

If you’re in a river town, you’ll likely have a chance to see water lanterns, which are also common during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They’re paper lanterns, sometimes made in lotus form, carrying wishes of prosperity. This can come in two forms, an official river lantern parade where they make HUGE lanterns for show, or smaller lanterns that just flow along. Sounds perfect for a Yunmeng Jiang family celebration, don’t you think?

Another one is the sky lanterns, which CQL watchers will recognize. People will gather together, usually on a hill, and release lanterns into the skies. Some will make them themselves, but most people will just buy pre-made ones. Like in CQL, you make a wish upon these lanterns, then sit down and eat tang yuan together.

They apparently eat a lot of tang yuan on this festival

A lot of romantic meet-ups happen on this festival (and the Mid-Autumn Festival) (y’all know what to do with this information)

This is considered the last chance of family time following on from CNY before you all return to your normal lives

The QingMing Festival (*) - Early Apr

AKA the Tomb-Sweeping Festival

To put it very basically, this is when we go to our deceased loved one’s graves and clean said graves 

We go to the cemetery in the early morning, wipe down the gravestones, clear them of debris like leaves and such, then we make offerings of food. A lot of the times, we would basically lay out a feast before the grave(s), lighting incense and also decorating the graves with flowers and such

Please do not ever eat anything in those offerings. It’s not for the living. Therefore, please feel free to stab your chopsticks upright into that bowl of rice.

You can burn offerings like paper too, usually in a burning urn (??? is it an urn?), but in my experience we weren’t allowed to do that at my grandma’s grave since it was a crowded cemetery so I don’t know how it works exactly

In my personal experiences, we usually stayed in the cemetery for about an hour, praying to the deceased and sort of chatting with them, hoping they’re doing well in the afterlife and updating them on our lives

After that’s done, we go have a picnic somewhere down the mountain and fly kites while getting bullied by asshole magpies

They keep stealing my food because apparently even they know you shouldn’t eat the food left out for the dead

One stole my necklace once ;-;

Anyways the food offerings left out are typically cleared the next morning (latest) by us or you pay the cemetery caretakers to dispose of it, but the latter is looked down upon for good reason

It’s really just best to clean it up yourselves when you can. For everyone’s sake.

The Dragon Boat Festival (*) - Late Jun to Early Jul

You could probably make a sports anime about this festival, because the main even at the Dragon Boat Festival is the dragon boat racing (shocking)

Okay all joking aside, during this festival, which is a summer event, dragon boat racers compete with one another in long, narrow wooden canoes with a Chinese dragon head carved out in the front and painted scales on the side, often really brightly coloured

They row to the beat of loud drums, with a drummer sitting at the head of each boat, facing their boat’s rowers, beating the drum as their team rows

People watching the races can do so from the shore, where they’ll be eating glutinous rice with meat/nuts/beans wrapped in large, woven bamboo leaves into a triangle shape, called 粽子 - zòng zi.  (The Malaysians & Indonesians have this too, but they use banana leaves instead)

In some places, you have viewers in viewing boats too, with the race course marked off with buoys. I fell into the water once from one of these. Luckily they make you all wear life-vests. 

Also a limited occurrence but rarer, some places will have sort of official “cheerleading” boats, in which a bunch of colourfully dressed people will shout and cheer for the racers as a whole, often waving flags the same colours as their clothes. They’re often standing, but in the same kind of dragon boats. You have to be affiliated with the local dragon boat community / heritage board to be allowed to be one of these “cheerleaders” though

When the official races aren’t happening though, visitors are often taken around the river. You can technically do this at any time, but the Chinese believe that the time of the Dragon Boat Festival is the best time for traversing the great rivers

Other things people do during this festival include drinking realgar wine, making perfume packets for children, and hanging mosquito-repellent herbs on doors and windows, but I’ve never seen this in practice and couldn’t find much else on these

To be honest, this particular festival is seen as a thing of lingering cultural heritage or just something of a traditional ceremonial practice, but is overall kinda dying as a full-fledged festival, with only the racing surviving the passage of time (In fact, this has become more of a leisure event than a festival in Singapore in recent years)

The QiXi Festival - Mid to Late Aug???

Not gonna lie I didn’t know this one existed until I looked it up

I knew the legend surrounding it (The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl - Please look it up it’s a beautiful story even though it’s not realistic because the magpies aren’t assholes) but didn’t know it was an actual holiday at all

Basically it’s kind of the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day, but it takes place in like August

Traditionally, girls took this time to show off their skills in the “feminine arts” such as weaving, sewing, fruit carving (???), tea-making (?????) and poetry (?????????). I’m confused.

They also ate special pastries and children gave flower garlands to the sacred ox statues

Apparently it’s mostly only celebrated in more traditional/rural areas now because most modern Chinese people just celebrate the Western Valentine’s Day

The legend gets to stay though

The Hungry Ghost Festival (*) - Late Jul to Early Aug (Start) / Late Aug to Early Sept (End)

This one is not a festive festival at all. You shouldn’t be enjoying this festival as a living person. But this is probably the best festival for any fics set in the modern world revolving around dead spirits being active out of everything on this list

This festival lasts the entire 7th month of the lunar calendar, so the Chinese will literally just call it the “Seventh Month (七月 - qī yuè)” or the “Ghost Month (鬼月 - guǐ yuè)” 

I’ve never even heard anyone refer to it by its full name in Chinese, which is apparently 中元节 - zhōng yuán jié or 盂兰盆节 - yú lán pén jié according to Wikipedia

Basically, the Gates of Hell the Afterlife have opened for the month to get the spirits of the deceased ease their suffering for a bit. So, the festival is actually NOT celebrated by the living, instead, it’s “celebrated” by the ghosts of the deceased

Living human practices during this festival include making various food offerings (the main point of the festival) for the spirits, usually much more seriously and/or extravagantly than typical offerings, burning offerings such as paper money, paper houses, paper cars, etc in large quantities because this is the best time for the spirits to receive them, putting on special “performances for the dead” in which performers will dance and sing to a room of empty chairs, and having special family prayer sessions in which we “speak” to the deceased directly (Luckily, they don’t usually answer us)

Nowadays, only the first two of those practices are really still practiced as seriously as they used to be, for individual families at least

Again, if you see food being left out on the side of the street, especially if there’s incense or something next to it, please don’t eat it or even touch it. Don’t be the ignorant guy in a horror movie

People who can see/hear/sense spirits and environmentalists hate this festival, because ghosts can be terrifying even when harmless, and all the burning contributes to climate change

I happen to be both of those. I am also sensitive to smoke. So...

Ironically I don’t actually hate this festival THAT much but...

Personal note: I’ve never been to China during the seventh month, and because they make it a point to not really talk about it, I only know the Singaporean experiences. Telling ghost stories is both encouraged and shunned during this month here. Malaysian-Chinese ghost stories are fucking horrifying. Give me more.

Mid-Autumn Festival (*) - Late Sept to Early Oct

My personal favourite festival on this list. I don’t like crowded places, but I make exceptions for this one when I can. I would call this the most fun and enjoyable festival out of all of them. 

When speaking Chinese, most of the time we’d just shorten it to 秋节 - qiū jié from the full name of 中秋节 - zhōng qiū jié 

When speaking English (in Singapore, but you can use these in English fics and people tend to understand it fine), we also call it the Mooncake Festival, the Autumn Moon Festival, or the Harvest Moon Festival (this one is quite an old name though)

In modern times, this is celebrated very similarly to the famous Natsu Matsuri (Summer Festival) in Japan, in which a huge festival site is fully decorated in colourful lanterns and filled with countless stalls of food, games, and festival products such as more lanterns, traditional dress rentals if you’re lucky, wooden toys, cloth products, “festival” tea & wine, and many more

You are encouraged to wear cheongsam/qipao to the festivities, but honestly most people don’t anymore, but they dress their kids in cultural clothing a lot (in Singapore you’ll also see kiddies running around in other traditional dress, such as yukata, summer hanbok, festive baju kurung, etc.)

In some places, special dragon or lion dances will be performing

Expect to find a FUCKTON of fresh fruit stalls, including pumpkins, melons, pomelos, persimmons, pomegranates, maybe starfruits, dragonfruits & guavas, and probably a heck lot of longans if you’re somewhere in South China. Also expect every individual large fruit to be decorated with red ribbons and colourful wrapping paper

Also out of every five stalls, at least one will be a mooncake stall

Mooncakes come in multiple varieties! The most common are the white lotus bean paste ones, the ones with salted egg yolks (single yolk and double yolk), snowskin ones which as much softer and sweeter, red bean paste cakes, etc.

They make some super cute shapes too!

There are even more savoury options with minced pork filling or prawn/fish filling (not a fan of the fish ones), but they’re made with a flakier pastry than the sweet ones (Note: sometimes we don’t call these mooncakes, but it depends)

Basically the sweet ones use a pastry that’s more like a typical sweet tart shell while the savoury ones use something that’s more like a non-sweetened croissant 

Traditionally, people would make the mooncakes together at home, and offer them to the moon goddess during moon worship, but nowadays most people just buy them and eat them

This festival also shares a lot of the same customs as CNY & the Lantern Festival, such as: 

Having another reunion dinner. Duck is a very common dish, along with seasonal crops. Lotus dishes are also popular around this time, depending on where you are. 

Lanterns everywhere. Water and sky lanterns are also common. You’ll also see people playing with firecrackers and sparklers.

In much more rural areas, you might get to experience the Burning Pagoda tradition, in which they set up a seven-tier tower made up of wood and straw and burn it while dancing around it. This practice is similar to the Bon Odori even in Japan. 

Fun fact: This is also basically the Lantern Festival of Singapore, because the actual Lantern Festival isn’t celebrated here

Bonus: I made a post about the most famous myth of this festival that relates to MDZS.

The ChongYang Festival - Mid to Late Oct

Also known as the Double Ninth Festival (in English) and the Senior Festival (slang)

This is basically the festival of paying respects to our elders, both living and dead

There are...going to be a fuckton of chrysanthemums everywhere. Chrysanthemum flowers decorating the place, chrysanthemum cakes (I don’t recommend googling it if you have severe trypophobia, some of the more traditional cakes have a lot of seeds and stuff on top which may be upsetting, but I would say it’s at least better than a hollow lotus pod), chrysanthemum wine, all of that

Common activities include going on easy hikes or mountain walks with the living elders, and maybe visiting the graves of those who have passed and paying respects

It’s dying in modern times, but still seen as at least a day of relaxing with your elderly family and friends

The DongZhi Festival - Late Dec (just before Christmas mostly)

The Winter Solstice Festival

Nothing much is done, we really mostly just have a special dinner together, eating dumplings, noodle soup, mutton, and hotpot. Alcohol is often present at such dinners, and you would toast to the solstice 

You’d also pray and stuff like most of these festivals, but I think that’s a given by now lol

Modern Chinese people will often get together during this time and merge it with their Christmas dinners

Aside from that, we really just celebrate Christmas, though now you can add a line of cultural significance to those modern AU Christmas fics :3

Bonus Info: There is also a Summer Solstice festival called the Xia Zhi Festival that’s essentially the same as this, except you eat a lot of noodles and go swimming, but it’s not really significant anymore in modern times, the DongZhi festival only really surviving because of Christmas, so I didn’t include it in the list

Alright, that one took like 84 years. I’m tired LMAO. 

[sundaynightnovels]

chinese mythology AU: chinese new year

so i had been thinking of making an AU series for my wip like all things out of season for a while, and... well, here it is! the first in the AU series! this AU story will be about chinese mythology (as you can probably read from the title). The stories in the AU won’t be connected to one another, nor are they connected to the plot (what plot?) of my wip itself. it’s basically... yea, an AU. featuring my OCs. in different settings, as different roles, with different... uhh. stories. so this one is very very loosely based on some chinese new year mythology about the nian, a mythical monster that attacks villages at midnight before chinese new year (CNY), and is afraid of the colour red and loud sounds. it is honestly wildly divergent from that myth, so, you know, don’t expect too much horror. but do expect a lot of noise.  this particular drabble for the AU is long. and really stupid (as usual). and it’s about chinese new year. and there’s really no story to this. i haven’t written anything fun and light in a while, so just let me have this!! it doesn’t feature all of my OCs, just... some (kudos if you can guess who they are before i reveal their identities! i think some are pretty obvious!) and, well. okay. it’s about 3.3k words (can you believe how many words i can write when it’s this sort of nonsense) so if you’re up for something really light-hearted and lame and full of back-and-forth bantering, here you go. read more under the cut!

(round of applause) you have made it! you have made it to the end of this disastrous mess! you deserve some cookies! go treat yourselves if you have it! ANYWAY some clarifications. so, okay, in CNY it is customary for a married couple to give out red packets (filled with money!) to people who are unmarried, and tang yuans are this round glutinous rice balls that are eaten on CNY. people also usually customarily wear red on CNY (though i don’t, heh, rebel) .  i’ll be tagging this as AU: chinese mythology from now on (it will also be added to the general snippet tag), and will be adding my usual tag list (let me know if you want to be in / out!, or if you specifically, yknow, want to be kept out of this mess): @cabaretofwords @inked-waves @latechickadee @kidsarentallwrite @insearchof-solace @kaigods @inkpot-dreamer

[yuzhousky]

[VID] WEIZHOU - Interview for BeijingTV New Year Gala 2019

Q: The artists you wanna work with the most at BJTV CNY GALA?

zz: I've already worked with them. The 4 of us, Yang Zi, Guan Xiaotong, Han Dongjun and me.

Q: Ripped pants or Forgetting the lyrics, which is worse?

zz: Those are horrifying. I don't think they would happen to me? If they really do, I guess it'd be ok, I'll react accordingly then.

Q: Most impressive performance of the Gala?

zz: Our song, Childhood, performed by the 4 of us. It brought back some memories of my childhood.

Q: What do you want to say to those fans who giffed your runny nose?

zz: Great job. It was tooo cold that day, performing at an outdoor venue. And I just got captured when I was wiping my nose.

Q: How did you feel when you saw that gif for the first time?

zz: HeHe (fake laugh). Couldn't you capture some nicer moments than me wiping my nose?

Q: What would you do if your pants are not zipped during your performance?

zz: ...zip them up...

Q: The most ticklish sensitive area on your body?

zz: Here, my waist.

Q: At what speed do you watch videos usually?

zz: Just at the normal speed, no fast forward.

Q: 3 words to describe your dancing.

zz: Masculine, softness mixed with toughness, really nice.

Q: What would be your first reaction if fans throw themselves on you at the airport?

zz: No one does that, well, I'd throw myself on them if they do it.

Q: Games or Cats?

zz: Cats, I'd at least have someone with me. Playing games alone would be lonely.

Q: Weirdest thing you've done at home when you're alone?

zz: Nothing weird. Well, walking around naked, no one's there to see it anyway. Just on the hot days tho.

Q: Do celebs give out red envelopes when they ask around to have people help promote their works?

zz: No, they just send out wechat messages, like they might have a new song or a new show coming out, please post something for them, I'd say yes without a problem.

Q: Peng Yuchang and Zhu Yuanbing got stuck on a deserted island, which one would you save?

zz: Just leave them both there, they can stay together with each other.

Q: Which one of you have more hidden abs, you or Bai Jingting?

zz: He does.

Q: So you've seen them?

zz: We have scenes in the locker room. He might look slim with his shirt on, but he's got good muscles when he's shirtless. Me too.

Q: When will you show us?

zz: Remember to watch Ping Pong then.

Q: How many days can you go without working out before your abs disappear?

zz: I'm an aged man now, I get fat from eating. This was not the case when I was young. But it's really happening to me now. So eat less. And I work out everyday.

Q: How many packs are still there, one, or?

zz: What? No, look at the shape, just look at them. Hahaha.

Q: How much would you score your PingPong skill?

zz: 6 out of 10, compared to the pro players.

Q: Any impressive memory at the airport?

zz: Just interactions with my fans. They come to see me off or welcome me back. It's all good now, but I was a bit overwhelmed when I just entered the show biz. My fans have been there with me for many years, we are like friends now.

Q: Are there any impressive slogans?Like "xwz, look at mama please!"

zz: Yeah yeah yeah. How do you know that? This one is new. I wonder why they all become mamafans.

Q: What was your first reaction when you heard it?

zz: Nice, yeah (not really). So long as you guys are happy. Say whatever you want, just be happy.

Q: Can we have a look at your screensaver?

zz: I don't have my phone with me. where is my phone? I don't know what my screensaver is, you guys can have a look. Ugh. It says "even though I've done nothing, it's already 02:22 (the time)". This is exactly the look on my face right now. I'm so sleepy.

Q: Help us think of some sharp questions for our coming interview with Peng Yuchang.

zz: Um...you...I have nothing to ask about him. I know all about him.

Q: Think of a hot search tag for this interview.

zz: XWZ Sleepy. I'm so sleepy that I can barely think right now. That's why I couldn't come up with a question for Peng Yuchang.

Q: Do you have a side account on weibo?

zz: No.

Q: Have you ever appreciated your own body in the mirror after shower?

zz: /making heart-shape/.

Q: Do you think your fans are unruly?

zz: No, they are ok.

Q: Have you talked to your cats?

zz: I don't have a cat right now.

Q: Have you ever used shoe lifts(to look taller)?

zz: No.

Q: Recently, have you heard any fandom words that you don't understand?

zz: I don't know.

Q: What does NSDD mean?

zz: You're Lil Bro?

Q: It means "You're right".

zz: Oh, you're right.

Q: Did yoh lie about any of these questions?

Zz: No

Zz: Burp. I'm sleepy. My brain is likely to stop working now.

(cr.doeeyedbb)

[orderuponthe99prettygrimmdiaries]

CNY 15th 🐷

After days weeks of procrastination, I’m finally writing again! Wanted to write last month but got a little too overwhelmed with everything, and then wanted to do it for the start of Chinese New Year, and now it's already the last day of CNY 😅  

So much happened over the past few weeks, considering it's almost 2 months now since my last post.

From a temporary position, now I'm officially a full timer. Last time I wrote about this, I was nervous as heck about it. Honestly I've only finally started easing into the fact that now I'm a full time staff there. And technically back then, I wasn't really sure if I was converted to full time or just that my probation was over (all thanks to my mom adding to the confusion).

But, the road leading up to me easing into this wasn't so simple. Since I was first offered the new job scope, it took about a couple weeks before my colleague actually gave me anything, and during that entire period, I had so much contemplation of leaving, but I felt like that would make me seem impatient.

Anyhoo. I held on. I waited. Finally came the day where my colleague started showing me the ropes, well the 2nd part of it at least, which was to supervise and tally our orders (we're also supposed to do the ordering based on sales and all). I definitely wasn't into it, and I openly admitted it to her, that I doubt I would be staying long there as this isn't really a job I'd like to do.

And then it got a little more dramatic cos she told the boss, thinking that I WAS going to resign. This also made me doubt my other colleague who I had also confided into, and I'm just glad I found out the truth. (Man you can't trust people sometimes) Well basically I found out through my colleague in charge of Human Resources, cos the boss got her to talk to me, wondering if the reason I'm planning to leave is due to the relationships there. I assured her that it was just the job scope. 

The more I thought about it, the more nervous I was that after I left the company without doing anything related to what I wanted to do, I would become more out of touch and then no one was going to hire me. I know people always talk about going for your dreams and all that, and that’s something I truly believe in, but I also didn’t want to have to make my parents worry about me. But despite everything, I still wanted a job that I loved and won’t make me dread waking up every morning. 

Fast forward a week later, she came to talk to me again. Funny thing too, it was right after I took a day off for CNY spring cleaning, which I took the chance to call my counsellor since she checked in with me the day before. Perfect timing too, one of those overwhelming days, and it really helped to talk to her. Definitely missed our sessions. Spoke for almost 30 mins while I was home and my dad was outside my room, so he might have heard some stuff (definitely sounded different speaking to her vs at home) and he did mouth "who is it" but I definitely still didn't feel very comfortable telling them about this side of me. Not yet. 

Back to my convo with my colleague, she explained that apparently there was some sort of miscommunication during our previous meeting with the bosses. Apparently my new job scope wasn't just gonna be logistics and paperwork, they wanted to give me some offline marketing stuff to do too, especially since they know that's what I've studied and that's where my passion lies. We talked for a bit, this time a little more in depth so there won't be any more misunderstanding. She clarified that I won't just be doing ads and I'd still have to do the logistics part, since that's the part they'd mostly need, and those ads definitely won't be done all year round either. She/they also want to let me try out designing, but the thing was there's no one else there that can do designing, so I gotta figure it out myself.

And, so, they gave me the weekend to consider if I was okay with this plan. It was hard, especially when she mentioned that she wishes I would promise to stay for a year or two, as I learn and gain experience doing this. It definitely freaked me out. 6 months already sounds pretty long, let alone a year or two.

I discussed it with so many people - my parents, my trusted inner circle, and again, my counsellor. I finally made my decision and agreed, but on my terms, which of course, I wouldn’t promise to stay a year. I told her I’d do this as long as I felt I was still doing something fulfilling, something that I love, or well, like. She said that was alright and she wouldn’t mention that to the bosses, since what they mainly wanted to know was if I was staying or leaving. 

Well, so I guess that’s that for the work part of my life. It’s the last day of Chinese New Year already, which I already said at the start. Dang, this post is long. But man, time flies. 

CNY had been pretty great. Got to drive both mornings to my uncle’s and aunt’s, and it wasn’t too bad. Of course, I still can’t park hah. Still a lil awks with my cousins, but we did take quite a bit of pics this year too. Speaking of, I finally made my first insta post. It’s been.. maybe a year or two since I created Insta, but I’d been waiting for a perfect moment for my first post. Was meant to be like with my future boyfriend relationship, but God knows how long that’s gonna take. 

BUT, for the first time this Valentine’s, I’VE GOT A DATE. Withhhh... THE CAST AND DIRECTORS OF CAPTAIN MARVEL! Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Gemma Chan, and directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck came to Singapore for V day! 

Honestly when they announced the event, I was super excited, but then after hearing that you had to register for the tickets, I thought it’s likely I wouldn’t get them since Marvel fans can be so hardcore. But turns out, on the afternoon of registration day, there were still tickets, and I decided to go for it. Is this considered a spontaneous decision? It kinda sucked that I went alone, but at the same time, it felt good to go out alone for once. Didn’t get to get pics or autographs on the red carpet, but UFFF, breathing the same air as them and getting a great spot to see the event. Gotta say, I really love (AND MISSED) fangirling. And hey, I guess all that standing at work helped built my stamina to stand for hours. Definitely couldn’t feel my legs (or arms) after the event, but surprisingly, it was much better the next day. 

Really hope I’ll get to attend the one for Endgame and Far From Home, at least I’m expecting we’ll get to have similar events for these 2. It’s definitely gonna be wild for Endgame. UFFFFF, I AM SO EXCITED FOR IT. Pretty sure I text my friend about it at least once a week 😅

And speaking of friends, though some people or one can still be an asshat, I’m really glad with how things are working with the rest of them. The few I speak to daily without fail, and others, weekly. Uffff, I really appreciate each and every one of them SO. DAMN. MUCH. 

And surprisingly, I am, well, was, keeping up with my goals and working on my languages. Much inspired by those friends. Managed to keep up a one-month streak there, but then failed eventually because of being busy for CNY. Still very proud of myself though. Hopefully i’ll get back the momentum to it and then be able to attend one of those Duolingo meetup seshs! 

I guess that’s the update for now. Oof, this was real long. So much for procrastinating. Looks like I might still be able to keep up my monthly post goal. FINGERS CROSSED. Anyway, much love to everyone, especially anyone who actually bothered to read through the entire post. 

Xx 

[sugarspice-jl]

How did you do it? How did you start to really like another person? How come I keep trying to like someone also cannot. No matter how much I did or how hard I tried, I still cannot. How did you moved on? I keep wondering how are you doing now. What’s happening in your life. If you had more off days for CNY. If you have new cute little girl you’re making on blender. If your bad bad has holidays too. If your shoulder is getting any better. Has your bad bad skills improved. If you remembered to put heat pack. If you had any gatherings with friends. Or if you went back to Sepang for CNY. I don’t know anything about you anymore. I don’t know what’s happening in your life. Just like total strangers aren’t we? Even that, I also can’t begin to like someone even if the person likes me. I can’t have conversations like I used to have with you. I stopped stalking your profiles weeks ago. Never went to see any of your stuffs. I couldn’t go and delete our pictures and other stuffs. I didn’t want to see back. I cried more often when you sent me the Pokemon cards. Before I received it, I was thinking to send it back over to you if it’s something expensive. But you this sei zai bao. Of all things, you sent pikachu. I guess the detective pikachu was something we both shared as a memory. That’s why it meant a lot to me. But no matter how much it’s hurting any of us, we can never go back to how it used to be. How we used to share things with each other. How we used to joke and tease each other. We lost it Gib. We lost our bonds. We both always said we’d still be very close to each other even if one day we stopped talking. Do you still feel I’m close to you? I had ear problems, you never bothered to ask. Even a friend would ask. What makes us close? Our promises? They are burnt the moment you walked out. But then why do I feel so much burn and pain if we are far away. I expected you to fast forward in a relationship right after we stopped talking. That was the reason we stopped talking anyways. Guess I only fell in love with the person you used to be. Means, I fell in love with how you treated me. Right now, I can only wonder what you’re up to, what’s happening in your life. I can only guess. I also wonder when can I start to let down my guard again for another person, just like how you did right now. I lied to people when they asked me about my ex. I’m not able to tell them our story cause before I start telling, I’m already crying. So I told them we broke up cause we kept arguing. But when we were together, we never really argued right. We were so tolerative of each other. Other than me getting jealous sometimes. But we never really did argue. I hope you found a kind of love like ours again, but this time you’d be able to really settle down happily.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Hajime Chapter #1 English Translation

well... it’s going to be a long while before I finish translating another chapter from this game, though I will definitely finish at least one more before the end of the year. 

please note that i will not be posting any translations next week on account of me taking a break for CNY and studying... so, to whom it may concern, Happy Chinese New Year~! Alternatively, Happy Lunar New Year~! also happy early family day (Canadians only xD)!

anyway, enjoy! as always, tl is CN->ENG so it may not be 100% accurate while the final edits will be done later though I’m not sure how long that will take with my current schedule. 

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Hajime Chapter #1

Translation by KumoriYami

12 month of the 3rd year of Bunkyū

In order to find my missing father, I left Edo and came to Kyoto……

The night I arrived in Kyoto, I was attacked in an alley by a group of men.

They had ominously blood red eyes, were armed with vicious blades, making one feel one's blood run cold [reword later].

They smiled/laughed eerily at me as they drew/came closer, at that moment/then in a split second, the silver light of the moon flashed, and someone had cut them in half.[reword later]

Those swords that helped me—— [they were from] Shinsengumi First Division Captain Okita Souji and Third Division Captain Saito Hajime. [reword later]

I had accidently caught a glimpse of their secrets, which was why I was taken back to their headquarters and questioned by their executives......

I didn't expect for them to also be looking for my father, which was why I agreed to stay, on the condition that I helped find him.

As a result of that entire incident, I was to be treated as a page by the Shinsengumi.

Even among the executives, Saito-san was especially taciturn.

He doesn't say anything more than necessary, if he is given a mission, he will fulfill it better than anyone else [reword later].

Although I accepted how he was basically a cold person——

I however thought that this was because he always prioritizes devoting everything to accomplish his missions.

That's why he never ridiculed my swordsmanship as a woman [check jp mtl] and calmly evaluated my capabilities, and supported me accompanying the patrols [reword later].

During this time, I already knew how extraordinary his strength was, and in the following days, I witnessed that strength and his seriousness countless times.

For example, during the Ikedaya Incident, when the Shinsengumi arrested a large number of the Choshu [? check jp mtl and game. this wasn’t translated well] who had been flying the Emperor's flag and expelling foreigners.

There was also during the 7th month of Genji, a month after the Ikedaya Incident, at the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion......

While the Aizu and Satsuma were fighting against the Choshu who attacked the Imperial Palace.

Saito-san was facing Amagiri Kyuuju from the Satsuma/who was associated with the Satsuma Domain, who had seriously injured Heisuke-kun during the Ikedaya Incident, and stood his ground, not allowing for the situation to develop further.

Because of these events, at the end of the first year of Genji, I had come to a gradual understanding of who he was.

This is the story of what happened in the winter, one year after I came to the Shinsengumi [check jp mtl if this is more 'in the first year i came to the Shinsengumi'].

11 month of Genji

Approximately half a year after the Ikedaya Incident, and about three or four months after the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion......

I had more or less become accustomed to my life with the Shinsengumi.

Today, in order to look for my father, I was accompanying the Third Division's patrol.

I heard that after the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion, almost half of Kyoto had been destroyed by fire......

Yukimura: Quite a few homes have been rebuilt.

Saito:......Ultimately, it was a very large fire.

Yukimura: …………

The Shinsengumi has been patrolling the streets everyday, doing to their best to protect the people and streets of Kyoto, [though] many people still lost their homes and property in the fires caused by the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion.

Although the division members didn't say anything, they probably felt incredibly remorseful at being able to prevent this disaster from reaching the streets.

Child 2: What are you looking at? If you want to say something, say it/talk!

Yukimura: ?

Hearing a child's/children's voice/s from the other end of the ally, I glanced at Saito-san.  

Yukimura: Saito-san, just now that was......

Saito: That sound was probably from a child playing around with their friends.

Yukimura: But that voice right now, rather than playing, it sounded more like......

It sounded like a fight.

Yukimura:…………

Since we were still on patrol, regardless of what I think, this matter is highly unlikely to concern my father or the Shinsengumi, but I......

Yukimura:......Saito-san, can I take a quick look?

Saito: Right now we're on patrol, I can't waste time on matters that have nothing to [my] division's [our]work [check jp for taishi].

Although I thought he would say that.

Yukimura: Please...... I'll come right back.

I asked him again and again, and he seemed to be in a bit of a dilemma, but......

Saito: Okay, in that case, I'll go with you. You aren't allowed to move on your own/be alone.

Yukimura:......Thank you.

Soon after he gave orders to the other soldiers, we went together in the direction where I heard that child's voice came from just now.

Yukimura: The voice just now, it really did come from around here......

Following that voice, there was a tea house in front of us.

Yukimura Huh [check jp mtl]? Shouldn't it be here——

Sure enough. There were some older kids surrounding a smaller child [/boy. check jp].

Child 2: Aren't you learning kenjutsu? Come on, take your revenge!

One of the children spoke sarcastically, hitting the small child's head with a shinai.

Child 1:…………

But, the child being beaten who was beaten just bit his lip tightly, and resigned himself.

Child 3: Why is the child of an ordinary family learning kenjutsu?

Child 2: Are you wanting to rob my family's store?

Child 1: I don't, I'm not……！

Child 2: Lies/You're lying! Isn't your family's business not doing well?  Furthermore, my parents said that your family's store burned down a while ago.

Child 1: Wu......

Yukimura: What are you doing!

I couldn't continue watching this, and moved without thinking.

The children backed away for a moment, but recovered immediately——

Child 3: What? What's wrong with you? Go away!

Yukimura: You're bullying this child, right? Why do you need to do that?

Child 2: What I say has nothing to do with you. My father is popular around here. If you're going to go against me, I'll make it so that you can't stay in the capital.

Apparently these children are not going to listen to me talk.

Yukimura: Hey, you kids/children——

I was about to start speaking when Saito-san stepped forward.

Saito: Yukimura, as I said earlier, we're still on patrol, time cannot be wasted......

The children froze as soon as they saw his uniform.

Child 2: H-Hey, that haori......! Isn't that what the Mibu Wolves wear [check game if it's Wolves of Mibu or Mibu Wolves]?

Child 3: That's right! My parents said that! We absolutely cannot get involved with them!

Child 2: We might get killed! Run for it!

Yukimura: Ah, wait a moment......!

Before I could stop them, they abandoned [dropped] the shinai as they ran away.

Child 1: Wa-Wait for me......!

Although this child was left behind, he also wanted to escape......

But it seemed that he had no strength, and wasn't even able to stand up.

Yukimura: Are you okay?

Child 1: Ah......! This, I......! I haven't said bad about the Wolves of Mibu.

This child apparently believed in the negative rumours about the Shinsengumi that were going around and was terrified.

Yukimura: Uh......

I don't know what to do......

Without any better idea, I picked up the fallen shinai, and handed it to the child.

Yukimura: This..... does this belong to the children who were here just now? If that is the case, can you please return this to them?

He visibly trembled, as if he were using the entirety of his strength to answer.

Child 1: That...... it's mine......

Yukimura: This is your shinai? Then I'll return it to you.

The child hesitated for a moment, fearfully taking the shinai.

I've heard it from the other warriors before......

Kyoto's populace does not have a good impression of the Shinsengumi, apparently this was true.

Yukimura:......You don't need to be so scared. The Shinsengumi only goes after people who do bad things.

Child 1: But, everyone says that the Wolves of Mibu are extremely scary/terrible......

It was different from me who was in contact with these warriors every day/I was different since I was in contact with these warriors every day...... [check jp]

This child had little chance to be in direct contact with the Shinsengumi, so it was difficult to imagine that prejudice would be eliminated any time soon.

But......

Yukimura: Although those children spoke poorly of the Shinsengumi just now, however [check jp. either reword or remove], do you think that I'm scary?

The child desperately shook his head.

Child 1: N-No no, don't...... I don't think that......

Saito-san had been silently watching our exchange.......

Saito: This matter appears to have been settled. Let's go, Yukimura.

Yukimura: Ah, okay, I know/understood.

I turned to the child again.

Yukimura: You should go home, be careful on your way back.

Child 1: Nn......

I said good-bye to the child, and left there with Saito-san.

After/Afterwards/Later, on our way back to headquarters, Saito-san quietly spoke/spoke softly.

Saito: You're very caring about children.

Hearing him say something so suddenly, I felt puzzled./I felt puzzled to hear him abruptly say this.

Yukimura: Eh? You're talking [referring] to just now/what just happened?

Saito: Nn. I didn't expect you to have a side like that.

Yukimura:......While I lived in Edo, my family's clinic also provided medical care to children. Certainly, I might get along well/be good at dealing with children.

My answer was apparently unexpected to him, and his eyes widened slightly.  

There was silence for a moment......

Saito: No, not only that.

Yukimura: What do you mean?

Saito: Nn, it should be said that I feel like you would be a good elder sister...... No, you'd be a good mother. If you have children, you should be able to guide[tl word can also mean teach or instruct] them well [check jp mtl].

Yukimura: Eh……！

I didn't expect him to say that [I'd be a] "good older sister" or "a good mother"......

It was surprising/I was surprised.

Yukimura: A mother....... me/Me...... as a mother? I've never thought about that until now. Furthermore, rather than saying that I care about children......

In fact, I was bullied by other children when I was a child.

As a result of that, I wasn't able to ignore what happened to that child just now.

Saito:......What's wrong? You've suddenly stopped talking.

Yukimura: No...... it's nothing. However, as far as I'm concerned, even if I can be a good mother in the future, I would need to find the[/a] father of[/for] the [/my] child first. Meaning, I would first have to find a lover.

He held his breath, apparently somewhat nervous.

I was used to seeing him always look calm, so it was hard to imagine how his words were so awkward [now]......

Saito: Th-That's right...... Indeed, that is true. Still, that's probably too early for you.

After he spoke, Saito-san seemed somewhat embarrassed and averted his eyes.

Saito-san had actually brought this subject up first.......

He was so embarrassed as he spoke that I started to feel embarrassed [reword later].

Yukimura: Yes......

Thinking about it, until now, I've never had the opportunity to talk about this subject with anyone.

I didn't expect to actually talk about this with Saito-san..... it was quite astonishing.

Afterwards, we chatted about some other topics on our way back to headquarters.

A few days later.

I was in the middle of sweeping the entrance of the Yagi residence [check game for capitalization].

Yukimura: Mm......!

The winds of the eleventh month were cold and bone-chilling.

I was planning to finish sweeping a bit earlier then go back to my  room.

Okita: Areh, sweeping here?

Yukimura: Ah, Okita-san. Are you back from patrol? You've worked hard.

Okita: That's right..... There was a bit of trouble though.

Yukimura: What was that trouble [reword later].

Okita: While we were on patrol, a kid kept on following us. Since they were in the way, we tried to send them away, but they were really persistent and kept following us/ insisted on following us.

Yukimura: Was that child not one of Okita-san's friends?

Okita: I don't/didn't know them. They weren't a kid who lives nearby/It wasn't a kid living around here. I think/feel that they weren't so much as chasing me, and were rather looking at the [our] uniform[s] to keep up/follow [us?].

Maybe they wanted to join the Shinsengumi? Well, that/it'd be impossible for such a little kid.

Yukimura: That child, where did he go?/Where did that child go?

Okita: Who knows? They seemed to have followed me/us/made it to the Mibu Temple. Though they might have given up already?

Okita-san wasn't interested in saying anything else and went back inside.

A child who was interested in the Shinsengumi......

......I couldn't help but feel concerned.

According to Okita-san, that child had followed him all the way to the Mibu Temple.

……Mibu Temple was right behind headquarters, and many of the warriors went there to practise kenjutsu.

It should be okay/shouldn't matter if I go look there for a bit [take a quick look].

Having thought this, I decided to go check the Mibu Temple.

Yukimura: Huh......?

Okita-san clearly  said that a child followed him here/ had come to this place.

But there was no one around.

Was it possible that they gave up and went home?

Regardless of how close the Mibu Temple is, it's not possible for me to leave headquarters without permission, so I still needed to return.

I was just about to finish my sweeping.

Saito: Yukimura, where were you just now? [might swap this line with the 4th one after. tl is almost the same]

Yukimura: Ah, Saito-san!

Saito: You need to be accompanied by one of the executives when you leave, this should have been repeatedly explained to you/this should have been repeated several times.

Yukimura: Sorry, I thought I'd be able to just to quickly go there and back, that's why......

Saito: Where did you go?

Yukimura: Here's the thing—— [reword later. i don't like how it reads]

I told him everything Okita-san had just said about the child.

Saito:......A child was following the Shinsengumi around?

Yukimura: Yes, I feel that I can't just stop thinking about this. But it seems/appears that no one's no one around the Mibu Temple anymore/ like they're no longer around the Mibu Temple. It'd be worrying if they got lost and were unable to go home.

Saito: That's true/It's as you say. We should try looking around for a while then.

Yukimura:……Is that okay?

Saito: I don't have any particular arrangements now. Of course, if it's not necessary, then I will refrain/stop.

Yukimura: That isn't the case. Thank you.

Saito: okay, then let's go.

Thus, Saito-san and I went to go look around.

As we looked for the child, we walked down the main road.

Yukimura:......I can't find them anywhere. Maybe they're gone home.

Saito: Perhaps. If that was the case, it would be good if these were just groundless worries.

Yukimura: I'm sorry to have wasted your time. Let's go back to headquarters......

After I said that, just as we were planning to go back.

Yukimura:……！

Saito: What is it?

Yukimura: A familiar looking child ran down that alley just now...... I want to go chase after them/catch up and go look at them. Can I ask Saito-san to come with me?

Saito: Nn, there's no problem, let's go.

Saito-san and I started running.

Then, in the a narrow alley that lead to the Mibu Temple——

Yukimura: Hey, don't run [away].

I finally caught the child.

Child 1: Ah……！

The face of the child looking back was very familiar [reword later].

Yukimura: You should be the child from that time......

Child 1:…………

Saito: Is this the child who was following the First Division?

Yukimura: I think so.

Saito: Why have you been following the Shinsengumi around?

This child seemed to be scared of him.

He timidly opened his mouth.

Child 1: I want...... to learn kenjutsu.

Yukimura: You want the Shinsengumi to teach you kenjutsu?

Child 1:......Nn. Adults say that the Shinsengumi is frightening/terrible. But I hear that even if you aren't a samurai/warrior [check audio],  even if you're an ordinary person...... it's possible to join their ranks [literally: team/group. may reword later]. I want to become stronger....... please teach me kenjutsu.

Saito-san frowned and/as he glanced at me.

Although he appeared to be very calm......

I think he was probably worrying about how to respond.

After a while......

Saito: The Shinsengumi is not a place for children to learn kenjutsu, and a child like you will not be allowed to join. [/it is also not something a child can become a member of?]

Child 1: Eh...... But...... I've helped around the store several times already, and I'm not that different from an adult!

Saito: That's not the problem. With your height, do you think that you will be able to fight against ronin [check audio]?

Child 1: That......! That might be true now, but I'm still growing! So please, teach me kenjutsu!

Once the child finished speaking, he bowed deeply.

Saito:…………

He seemed very unaccustomed to this type of situation, and was apparently/seemed to be worrying about how to convince this child.

Seeing how troubled he looked, I——

Choices

[ Asked for his reason/Asked for a reason] <-

[remained silent]

Yukimura: You just said that you were learning kenjutsu to become strong/more powerful, so why do you want to become stronger?

Child 1: Because…………

Saito: If you want to get stronger than those kids who bullied you to then retaliate against them, I cannot approve of that as your/will not acknowledge that as a reason to join the team [thesaurus later]. Kenjutsu is not to be learned for that sort of purpose [reword later?].

Child 1: Ah......

Hearing such strict words, the young boy's eyes were filled with tears.

Looking at his demeanor, Saito-san bearing softened somewhat.

Yukimura: Wait, Saito-san, this child looks like he has something to say.

Having said that, I turned to the boy again.

Yukimura: If it's not for revenge, is there/do you have another reason? Can you tell me?

The boy took a moment to hold back/suppress his tears

Child 1:…………Nn.

He nodded slightly.

Saito:......I really am no good at dealing with children. Fortunately, you are here.

Yukimura: Such a thing......

It was great that I was able to help him.

Child 1: I…………want to learn kenjutsu so I can protect my family, and my little sister. That's why I started going to a dojo to learn kenjutsu. But the other kids told me that "it's strange for ordinary people/civilians to learn kenjutsu".

Saito:……Indeed, to protect your family, that responsibility/duty belongs to the town/it is the duty of the town to protect your family. You do not need to learn kenjutsu  for this. Everyone has their own responsibilities.

Child 1:Those other children's families are well-off, and as long they hire people, they'll be able to entrust someone with that responsibility, but....... my family only has a small store, and during the previous conflict, part of it burned down......

Yukimura: I see……

Saito:……You mean to say that you only want to protect your family, with your own hands, right?

Although I knew that many streets had suffered losses during the previous conflict.......

It was still very painful to hear about someone personally talk about it.

After Saito-san thought over it, he crouched down next to the boy.

Looking directly into the child's eyes......

Saito: I understand your circumstances. In order to protect your family and the weak, those are good reasons for wielding the sword.

Child: Re-Really!?

The child's face immediately lit up.

Saito-san however, still had a serious expression as he spoke.

Saito: But even if that is the case, I naturally cannot teach you kenjutsu. Of course, you can't become a member of the Shinsengumi.

Child: Ah......

The boy's face was full of disappointment. However, it wasn't a face that was on the verge of crying.

Saito-san was taking him seriously, and although he was a child, it seemed that he understood that.

Saito: In order to protect yourself, and one's family, practising in a dojo will suffice. Kyoto is protected by us. No matter what happens, we will certainly protect you all. Please pass that onto your family.

The boy's eyes widened, almost as if he was striving to engrave Saito-san's words into his memory.

Saito-san lightly nodded, then he placed his hand on the child's head as his expression relaxed.

Saito: The purpose of the Shinsengumi is to protect the helpless in Kyoto. For the sake of becoming strong to support those who are weak, we practise kenjutsu together here. In the event that one day, you truly need the assistance from the Shinsengumi...... Then, we will certainly be there to help you.

Child: Really?

As if to confirm this, the child asked this again.

Child: Really....... they'll help me?

Saito: Of course. We — as warriors, if a promise is made, we will never break it.

Hearing Saito-san's words, the boy's eyes seemed to glow with strength.

Finally, he firmly nodded......

Child: Mm, I understand. I..... will believe the Shinsengumi.

Hearing those words, Saito-san, his mouth formed a satisfied smile.

Saito: All you need is spirit. I also believe that you are determined to become stronger.

After saying that, Saito-san slowly stood up.

After we watched the boy return home, we started going back to headquarters.

Yukimura:……Saito-san is such a kind person. Even when speaking to a child, you will treat them so sincerely.

He narrowed his eyes in embarrassment.

Saito: I didn't treat him as a child. While addressing someone [who has chosen to] wield a sword to protect the weak, even if the other person was an adult, I would have said the same thing.

Yukimura: But, I think, to be treated as an adult…… for that child, it must have been a good experience.

Saito:……If that is the case, that's good.

As expected, he was still embarrassed and refused to meet my gaze. [depending on jp sentence, change to as 'really']

Saito: I really am unable to deal with children. It would be better for Souji to handle children/Children should be left for Souji to handle. [depending on jp audio, change to 'as expected']

Yukimura: Is that so? But, I think that if Saito-san had children, you would be a very good father.

Saito: Me, a father……？

He froze with a face full of embarrassment, almost as if he heard something completely foreign.

Saito:……For this sort of thing, I haven't even thought about it until now. After all, let alone a child, I still haven't married yet……

I'm afraid I said too much.

Yukimura: Th-That's right. Saito-san is busy doing work for the Shinsengumi, and can't be bothered about these things……

I quickly retracted my thoughtless words.

Saito: No…… it's not that I'm not a little interested……

Yukimura: Eh?

Saito:…………It's nothing.

He walked away with a shy/embarrassed look on his face.

Yukimura: Wa-wait for me, Saito-san!

Just now he said, it wasn't that he wasn't uninterested…… [reword later...? kinda gave up trying to tho]

Did that mean he had someone he liked?

Or was it……

After, I asked him several times, but he never answered back.

—The End—

after chapter 4 (still 40% done T_T)... i’m probably going to focus on chapter 2 then 5.... tho who knows when that will be since im translating at a severely reduced speed since school> all else, though i will definitely finish translating at least one more ginsei chapter this year (can’t say the same for videos given how painstaking it is to format everything lol). 

anyway, the reason why i say that i need my queued filled up to november before working on translating another ginsei chapter in earnest is cuz i don’t want to worry about meeting my self-imposed weekly translation goal and cuz i prefer having lots of time to work on full chapters given how long they take for me to get done... while also having pleeeenty of leeway for procrastinating lol.

also my laptop had a stupid error so everything shut down (though on the upside to that, i can see all my pc text again). thankfully robocopy makes it so that i don’t need to duplicate everything, but it’s seriously taking a long time for everything to move...

after everything finishes, i think im going to have a calendar that celebrates each month of no computer problems lol. 

[dong-hyucks]

Playing Pretend ; Jeno

Prompts: 14. “You don’t know what you’re doing, huh?“, 15. “Look, all I’m asking is for a favour.“, 22. “You... want me to act like your lover?“. 23. “[Name]? Is that you?“ Characters: Lee Jeno / Reader Genre: Fluff, Non-Idol!AU, Bestfriends to Lovers!AU Word Count: 2.6k Admin: Jade

Masterlists || Ten Days to Christmas Prompt List || TDC/CNY Masterlist

“[Y/N]? is that you?”

you spun around, the small shopping bag that hung from your fingertips bumping against your legs as you moved

to your surprise, you saw someone you haven’t seen since grade school

“jeno?” you gasped in shock, almost dropping your groceries

jeno grinned widely at you, bounding toward you in long strides

“i haven’t seen you in forever!” he laughed, wrapping his arms around you in a tight hug

you hugged him back, still processing the fact that lee jeno, your once best friend, was standing in front of you

you used to go to grade school with jeno, up until your seventh year when you moved

‘promise to keep in contact,’ twelve year old jeno had frowned, eyes glossed over as he watched numerous people bring box after box out of your house and into a moving truck

‘i will, je-no-jam,’ you smiled wistfully, the sound of his dorky nickname making you emotional

as the last box was shoved into the back of the moving truck, it really hit you

you were moving

and you probably weren’t going to see your best friend for a while

‘[Y/N], come on,’ your mom called, pulling herself into your family vehicle

jeno frowned, hugging you one last time. ‘don’t forget me’

‘you act like i’m moving to the other side of the world,’ you mumbled, hugging him back, ‘i’ll just be a few towns over.’

‘too far.’

unfortunately, you had to let go, move away from his warm hug, and crawl into the backseat of your van

as your van drove away, following the moving truck, you rolled down your window, sticking your head out the car (much to your parent’s protests)

‘bye!’ you yelled, waving your arms wildly

jeno blinked in surprise before cupping his mouth, ‘bye, [Y/N]!’

soon, he was out of your sight.

for a few months, you kept in contact through e-mail, not having phones at the time

when you did get phones (around the same time, coincidentally), you talked throughout the night quite often

however, when school started again, you had begun your first year in high school

and with the new environment came a lot of homework

daily conversations turned into weekly and weekly into monthly before eventually, you lost touch with jeno

you always meant to reply to his ‘how r u?’ but you had been absolutely swamped with work, your new school harsh with homework

now, as you pulled away from his hug, you gave jeno a look over, an obvious look of shock on your face

“when did you grow up?” you asked, absolutely flabbergasted

lee jeno did in fact grow up in last six years to no one’s surprise

his features weren’t as babyish as they were before, growing and maturing as he aged

he also grew quite a bit -- growing much taller than you last remembered

jeno chuckled, cheeks flushing ever so slightly at the way you looked at him, his hand moving to scratch the back of his neck

“ah, i can’t call you je-no-jam anymore, huh?” you asked jokingly, patting his shoulder

jeno looked at you, surprised you even remembered the nickname

“my friends actually picked up on that name...”

you went quiet for only a moment before laughing, “really?”

“yeah.”

then, you realized

“what’re you doing here, by the way? i thought you still lived in incheon?”

jeno then chuckled, averting his eyes, “i moved here a few months ago, actually”

...

“yOu diDnT teLL Me??”

“i lost your number !! my friend, jisung, accidentally broke my phone and i lost all my contacts...”

you rolled your eyes before pulling jeno along

“come on! i want to show you some of my favourite places!”

after your chance meeting, you and jeno rekindled your friendship

it was shocking, just how quickly the two of you got together, acting as though you had been with one another for all those years

it was as if you had never moved

one time, he stayed over at your house for a sleepover

your parents didn’t mind, happy that you had made a /new/ friend

you guys tried to cook together

tried being the keyword

“you don’t know what you’re doing, huh?” he asked, watching you attempt to make some sort of soup

“not a clue”

yeah... that night you ordered pizza for dinner

as time went on, you noticed things

like how he still laughed like he did before, how his eyes turned into crescents and the way he would laugh with his entire body, moving forward or leaning back as he chuckled

and how he still made randomly ‘odd’ faces at you from across the room, never failing to make you laugh

not to mention his voice

you remembered it clearly, whenever jeno had sung it was like the world didn’t matter in the moment -- even at twelve years old he sung like the world was his stage

when you first heard him sing again, even rap, you were astounded as to how much he had improved

also, you almost died when he started dancing because wow? t a l e n t

but there were other things you noticed that you had never noticed before

small quirks and fine details he didn’t have when you were children

like how he would randomly break out into dance whenever he was really happy

and how he would hum quite often -- whether it be while he’s scrolling on his phone or just walking alongside you, it was rare now when he wasn’t humming

it made you smile every time he talked to people, comfortably and with ease

he wasn’t as shy as he once was

and when you met his friends, six other dorks, it was refreshing, in a sense

to see that he had been growing up with such great people

you felt like, while you knew him -- quite well actually, it was as though you had just met lee jeno.

and as time passed, as you spent more and more time with him, you felt some unknown feeling bubbling beneath the surface, threatening to reveal itself at anytime

at some point, you stopped seeing jeno as a friend

at some point, you began to search for him whenever you entered a room, and you always felt surprised at the feeling of disappointed that followed whenever he wasn’t there

at some point, you grew nervous whenever he’d hug you, whenever he’d pull you close by swinging an arm over your shoulder

and at some point, you found yourself thinking about him more and more each day

‘jeno would like this.’

‘i bet jeno would’ve found that funny.’

when you told your newfound friend, chenle, he joked and told you that you sounded like a creep

which, initially, freaked you out

it didn’t take long for the boy to roll his eyes and put his hands on top of your shoulders, shaking you slightly

“isn’t it obvious? you like him, [Y/N]!”

out of all the answer he could’ve given you, you hadn’t expected that one

but after, you realized chenle was right

you liked jeno

a lot

you tried to act normal around him, the thought that you really did like jeno only then cementing itself, only to fail horribly

whenever you’d see him at school (he moved? idk) you’d turn the other way and tell him that you forgot something if he asked

whenever he called you, you always answered at the last ring, too nervous to pick up right away

no matter how small the detail, jeno noticed whenever you changed

he definitely noticed you bolting down the hallway the moment you saw him

he did notice your late answers

at first, he was worried

did he do something wrong? why were you suddenly shying away from him?

at one point in time, the possibility that you liked him did come to mind

but he brushed it off, ‘they wouldn’t like me like that...’

‘wouldn’t they?’

then, his mind would go into overdrive

he would almost analyze every time you shied away from him, every time you got flustered around him

it drove him crazy

when you were still in grade school, jeno had harboured the biggest crush on you

so the thought that you might like him back?

wild

especially since he could tell his old feelings, feelings he thought had disappeared when you drove away in your family van, were starting to spark up again

the feeling of extreme pride whenever you’d compliment his singing skills

the feeling of nervousness whenever you’d stand too close

the feeling of happiness whenever he made you smile or laugh

being near you brought back those feelings

so, knowing that you were closest with chenle (of course, you were the closest with jeno) he literally just

“hey, chenle, do you know if [Y/N] likes me? as in... like-like?”

he did it out of no where

in front of everyone

as in

all of nct dream (even tho it’s non-idol,,)

jisung choked

jaemin nearly dropped his phone

hyuck started laughing

renjun just sighed, holding back his own laughter

and mark just... :o

chenle on the other hand

legit burst out into laughter with hyuck

“wow! jeno, why not just, you know, ask them?”

“yOu kNoW wHy I CaNt”

“if you pay me, i’ll tell you”

“i’ll buy you food”

“yeah, they like you. i expect at least two meals of kimchi friend rice :)”

yes, chenle ratted you out, just like that.

anyway, now with the knowledge of your feelings for him, jeno plotted a way to confess

but then it came to him

the boys were having a new years party soon

the boys, including the ‘dreamies’ and the older ‘members’

“[Y/N]! i need to talk to you,” jeno had told you moments before on the phone, “just meet me at your front door soon, okay?”

he didn’t even say good bye before hanging up, leaving you confused

but, you did as he asked and opened the door for him when you saw him walk up

“what’s up?” you asked as you opened the door wider for him to walk in

jeno, realizing that he really was about to go through with his plan, suddenly got really nervous

what if you said no?

you noticed his sudden nervousness and frowned in concern

“is everything okay?”

jeno nodded repeatedly, rubbing the back of his neck slowly

“uh... look, feel free to say no, but all i’m asking is for a favour.”

“... go ahead”

jeno laughed awkwardly, forcing a smile. “the boys and i are having this... new years party ... and i may or may not have accidentally said that i have a s/o?”

“.... and?”

“and when they asked who.... i accidentally said your name?”

...

“l e e j e nO”

“i’m sorry! but now the older ones kind of want to meet you too because the boys kept talking about you afterwards...”

“so you’re saying... you want me to act like your lover at this party?”

“... yeah”

there was a moment of silence -- in which jeno mentally freaked out because he genuinely thought you were going to say no and things would be awkward between the two (and he absolutely did not want that)

“okay.”

“it’s fine, i didn’t think you’d say yes -- wait ‘okay’?”

you laughed at his confused expression, finding it endearingly cute

“just tell me when it’s at and i’ll be there.”

so, two days later you found yourself standing at ‘’nct’’s doorway

you could already hear the loud bustling inside -- the sound of over ten boys messing about

you knocked, holding onto the jug of chocolate milk

.... okay, you didn’t want to show up empty handed and you most definitely were not getting alcohol so? chocolate milk it is

plus like 4/7 of the dreamies like chocolate milk/chocolate so

jeno was quick to open the door, laughing at the sight of the jug

he happily ushered you inside, telling you to drop the jug off in the kitchen

before you stepped into the busy living room, jeno stopped you, his happy expression turning somewhat serious

“are you sure you’re okay with... pretending?”

you chuckled, “jeno, do you think i’d be standing here if i wasn’t?”

truthfully, you were nervous as hell

but the thought of dating jeno was extremely tempting

even if you were just playing pretend for a few hours.

‘this’ll probably be the only time i get to experience being with him,’ you thought, putting on a smile as he guided you into the living room

one of the boys, one you didn’t recognize, noticed your presence right away and looked at you with slight confusion

jeno saw this and moved to grab your hand

your ears burned, but you didn’t take your hand away

jeno pulled you over to where ‘the dreamies’ were situated

“hey,” you greeted casually -- after all, you knew the six of them quite well

when your fingers stayed intertwined with jeno’s you couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly

mark looked down at your joined hands with a knowing grin

“ah, so you two got together?”

hearing it out loud made the both of you flush, but jeno nodded

across the room, the ‘unknown’ male, taeyong, looked at the both of you with a raised brow

“do you know who they are?” he asked another, one you did know -- sicheng

“that’s [Y/N],” sicheng mumbled, finally looking up from his phone

when he saw you and jeno, holding hands and grinning at each other after jaemin made a joke, he chuckled

“didn’t know they were together,” he said, before going back to his phone, “about time, honestly.”

as the night went on, jeno began to feel kind of bad

he had lied to you and made you pretend to be his s/o just so he could know what it was like to date you

he hadn’t even told you his feelings yet here you were

holding hands

winking at each other from across the room

telling his friends that you were an item

it felt

almost wrong? in a way

like he should have confessed instead of coming up with this weird scheme

after a while, he let out a quiet yet frustrated sigh

he felt like he was going backwards and he didn’t really like it

it was kind of like he was using you 

without a warning, he took your hand and took you out of the room and into his own

when he closed the door, he was met with your worried expression

“did i say something wrong earlier?” you asked cautiously

“no, you’re fine it’s just,” he bit his lip, furrowing his brow as he tried to piece together a proper sentence

“i never said i had a s/o,” he confessed, avoiding your eyes, “i never told them you were my s/o.”

your silence scared him, but when he looked at you he was shocked

you didn’t look dumbfounded or angry or anything

actually, you were smiling, you looked amused

“i know.”

“w hat?”

you rolled your eyes, “i didn’t at first. but whenever we’d confirm that we’re ‘dating’ everyone was too surprised for people who supposedly knew we were a thing.”

jeno was almost impressed, but was too busy freaking out over himself

“are you... mad?”

“i could never be mad at something like this, je-no-jam.”

your use of his old nickname made him crack a smile. “truthfully,” he started, moving to sit on his bed, “i like you. that’s why i did this whole ‘pretend’ thing.”

you nodded, holding your hands behind your back as you stood in front of jeno, bending over to meet his eyes

“i like you too, you dork.”

before he could even process anything, you leaned forward, kissing him right on the lips

it happened in the blink of an eye, and by the time he realized what you had done you had straightened your back and began to head out the door

“wait, what --”

you laughed, winking playfully at him, “see you downstairs, boyfriend.”

y’all i’m sorry this isn’t proofread and it’s 5am so this is probably bad lmao