#i know maybe. maybe. 5 kanji. that’s it

[adachimoe]

A long and meandering post about Adachi and the Investigation Team

I have no idea what to title or describe this as. This is a long ass rambling 2.5k+ word post that consists of like 5 drafts I had sitting around that all felt somewhat related. It starts with the part where the Investigation Team tells Adachi to get over himself, then devolves into talking about Adachi punching himself in the face repeatedly (metaphorically), before ending by exploring the idea of Adachi as the Investigation Team's collective Shadow. it rly is tl;dr.

Adachi will remember that

At one point in Magatsu Inaba, the Investigation Team takes turns responding to Adachi in verbal turn-based combat. They all have varying responses and levels of understanding of him.

Chie doesn't understand why Adachi even became a cop, Rise thinks he's full of shit, Kanji tells him a 2008 version of "go kys" (tbf, he's never been eloquent with words), Yukiko tells Adachi that he sounds like a kid, Naoto calls him out for finding life annoying while being a damn annoyance, and Yosuke tells him he's just a criminal.

What Yukiko says to him in particular appears to sting Adachi, evident by how he "!" emotes in reaction to her. Or idk maybe he's secretly into getting bullied by women. I think Yukiko has Adachi's number here, and he knows that. After all, part of his schtick is that, "Oh, you stupid fuckin' kids, you don't know what I've been through or how I feel! Get off my dungeon lawn!!!" And yet, one of those stupid kids is able to tl;dr his life. He later even repeats what she said back at Sho during P4U2.

What Yukiko says here, I think, stands out in particular not just because of Adachi's reaction but also because it resembles a sentiment found in other media: The contradiction of being alive while not "truly" being alive. This often goes like so: A character can be alive in that they are most certainly physically living and breathing, but they are largely closed off from the rest of the world and going through the motions. Thus they are said to not truly be alive.

In the context of Persona 4, I believe Adachi fits in with this trope. As Yukiko has assessed, life sucks, but it's not like he's in any hurry to die. From what we see of Adachi in the plot, he's going through the motions. He wakes up, goes to his job, goes to Junes to bum free air conditioning, and sometimes gets dragged over to Dojima's house.

I don't think it's bad that people fall into these routines by default. Some find them comforting, some appreciate the simplicity, and some make up for the monotony of adult life with the more fascinating things they do outside of work.

But this doesn't apply to Adachi, who openly groans about his life and job. He seems to want to live and fit in with society, but he wants to do with more than what he has right now, yet he also seems unwilling or unable to put in the effort to get what he wants. He tells us he's lonely and wants a girlfriend, but when the old woman from his Social Link tries to hook him up with a girl, he finds it all annoying. He thinks of himself as an elite detective who is above Inaba, but he is regularly made out to be incompetent, sloppy, and careless.

It's like he's stuck but not doing anything to become unstuck. Following the tropes, Adachi would move from being a character who is "alive without really being alive" to "Truly Living" once he figures out how to get himself un-stuck. If he truly wants to be a hotshot detective in the big city with a smokin' hot wife, then something needs to change because he won't get those things as he is now. But how does Adachi approach the subject of "change"?

Maybe the world really is just a shitshow?

Adachi being exposed as the murderer is a major turning point for the murder investigation. And after the Investigation Team chases him into the TV, one of the many things he talks about is "change", or rather a lack of change.

As far as Adachi is concerned, the world can't / won't / doesn't change. He criticizes the world and its inability to change, how society works, and how people will latch to whatever you tell them as the truth.

Some things he says might resonate with us, especially nowadays with the spread of social media and misinformation. However, despite these criticisms, it sounds like he still desires to be part of society. He has been trying to blend in as a normal guy since April despite being a murderer. I think it's worth reiterating that his complaints about his life weren't anarchist but more like, "I don't have a cute girlfriend who cooks for me." Furthermore, he was trying to take advantage of misinformation to get away with murder by pinning it on Namatame.

Adachi doesn't like the current world and doesn't think it will change. Thus, he is forcing it to change in a completely catastrophic way. He really is throwing a tantrum: Like, what, you can't get away with murder? All right, throw the whole world away. With this approach, it is not Adachi who must change to fit in with the world, but rather the world that must change to fit Adachi.

Change isn't a good subject with him, which, honestly, is relatable. Change is easier said than done. Even within Persona 4 itself, after getting Magical TV Powers, an event that feasibly might add spice to one's life!!, the same old routine still runs Adachi's life. What has changed is that he's now waiting for Namatame to kill someone. Showing up looking for a dead body in the shopping district is simply a new part of his routine.

This topic of Adachi and change gets wrapped up after the fight against Amenosagiri. Adachi challenges the Investigation Team: >>>If<<< they think they have the power to change the future, then do it.

After entering the TV World, Amenosagiri responds to Adachi's wish and makes his wish come true as the dungeon deadline bad ending shows. That was Adachi's own so-called power to change the future. So what is the Investigation Team's?

Yosuke then replies that everyone has the power to change their future. As in, you don't need special powers from a gigantic disco eyeball inside of a TV to do that. In context, Yosuke is telling Adachi, "This is a 'you' problem," or "Skill issue." And tbh, I think Yosuke is more or less correct here.

In which we revisit the topic of "dumbass" and effort

In some ways, this topic might seem odd to approach. Everyone on the Investigation Team - besides Chie - seems to have a better life situation than Adachi had when he was their age. Are they punching down? Perhaps it feels like a hollow reflection of the collectivist culture that the solution to these antagonists who go "BUT SOCIETY IS WHAT IS WRONG" is always to beat them up and force them to conform--

…..but hold on. That line of thought would be giving in to what Adachi says before his boss battle. And, based on how he quits talking about how "waaah society is unfair" afterward, I find it difficult to think that is what he genuinely believes about his situation.

When I suggest that Yosuke is correct, I don't mean this in a "You aren't special, Adachi, everyone else's life sucks too, just deal with it" kind of way. What I have in mind is how the game seems to support that this is an Adachi problem, not an everyone else problem. Throughout Adachi's Social Link, his other interactions, and what Atlus has said as meta / Word of God answers, you get the idea that people were trying with Adachi, but he wasn't meeting them halfway.

For example:

This entire post is about the effort the MC puts in just to get called a dumbass (though I'd bet that the protag considers Adachi calling him a dumbass to be like a Badge of Honor). Even their gay ass Fever Time in P4D tells the story of Yu trying to reach out and Adachi going, "No!!!"

The old woman in his Social Link is trying to wingwoman for him and hook him up with women in Inaba, but Adachi seems unwilling. Instead, he tells Nanako and the protagonist that he's never getting married. Despite his loneliness, he justifies himself by saying, "Marriage is the graveyard of a man's life."

The Dojima family and Adachi interact briefly throughout the game, both in the story scenes and in his Social Link. As his letter at the end of the game shows, Adachi felt lukewarm about their interactions because he wasn't quite aware of what he had with them until he no longer has their company.

The way I see it, when Adachi rants about the world not changing, he is not actually bitching about the world. Rather, this feels more like a form of projection. He says the world doesn't change, but perhaps he is talking about himself and his own inability to change. Which would reframe it as more like… He knows he's the issue that holds himself back - his own worst enemy, perhaps - but he says the world is wrong to justify himself.

You learn a bit about Adachi through his Social Link. During rank 6, in dialogue that can tragically be missed, Adachi will admit that he is lonely, but he also thinks it's easier that way. And really, easier is just another way of saying "less effort".

On one hand, this might show Adachi's annoyance with other people. But at the same time, for him to call the protagonist a dumbass for investing so much in him and their relationship, I think the unspoken bit here is that Adachi does not think he is worth the time or effort, to begin with. His lack of effort isn't just him being annoyed with people or not giving a shit about things. I'm no expert, but I think the majority of us would wager that this is depression.

As the game's timeline unfolds, we really only know Adachi as the pathetic, silly murder guy. Did he start distancing himself from people because of the "oops, I murdered someone" part? Or was he like this even before then? When he talks more about his past, he doesn't go into a great amount of detail.

Going with my gut here, but I get the feeling that Adachi's obsession with Mayumi - something from before he became a murderer - suggests his distance from people is not a new thing for him. Consider: Meeting people? Forming relationships? Even before we talk about romance, how the hell do you even make friends as an adult? (The answer is BL btw. Go find some girlies who ship the same pairing.) I think Adachi said fuck it to all that bullshit. It'd be easier - less effort - for him to just be alone.

But… What if the magical TV just tells you exactly who your soulmate is? Well, shit, that's easy. For the lonely guy who just got transferred to Inaba and generally keeps his distance from people, I imagine it would be quite convenient to just be told, "This is who your soulmate is".

And that wouldn't be the last time Adachi gets a freebie from the TV. It happens again in December, as Adachi finds an again "easy" solution that does not involve changing himself or doing something annoying that requires effort from him. Having been enabled by the magical TV, Adachi is something of a static character.

Adachi is the Investigation Team's Shadow

In the P4G Premium Fan/Fun/Fsomething book, Atlus defines the Shadow by the Jungian definition, then talks about how the Shadows in-game represent "alternate possibilities" for the characters. The specific example it gives is how Chie's Shadow holds a great deal of animosity towards Yukiko. The real Chie doesn't feel this way towards Yukiko; in fact, she treasures her. Thus, Chie's Shadow is an alternate possibility.

When you look at Chie and what she says about accepting her Shadow, her Shadow seems to be born from a real insecurity (her jealousy of Yukiko) and part of it really does resemble Chie. But part of her Shadow is also this… caricature-esque thing. Hence why Atlus calls it the "alternate possibility". In turn, Chie accepts that she is jealous of Yukiko, but she does not accept the Banana Hat Dominatrix trying to exert control over Yukiko. She even realizes that rather than Yukiko needing her, it was actually her who needed Yukiko.

(I refuse to carry on with this train of thought further than talking about Atlus's own example with Chie because it would inevitably mean having to talk about how Atlus sees Kanji and Naoto's issues/Shadows/dungeons, and I'd need like bottles of wine to get in the mood to even type a paragraph of that.)

During her P4G winter Social Link scene, where her Persona evolves, Chie brings up Adachi and how she could have become him. She continues that anyone could have turned out like him.

Indeed, Adachi very much feels like a, "this could happen to anyone" character. He is an everyday normal guy who accidentally gets involved in something beyond him: a Like a Dragon side story NPC stuck in a game about high schoolers and friendship. Based on how you see these characters, you can correlate many of their issues to Adachi's own issues.

Really, in some ways, he feels like he was written to be the sum of the Investigation Team's insecurities, all bundled into one guy. As Chie's Shadow twisted her jealousy of Yukiko into a desire to control Yukiko and showed an alternate possibility for who Chie could have become if she had let jealousy consume her, perhaps Adachi shows an alternate possibility for who all of them could become.

As Amenosagiri later reveals, the truth torments the Shadows. Your party identifies that is what causes the Shadows to attack people.

When we consider how the game has gone until now, then those moments where the Investigation Team told their Shadows, "You're not me!" must be the moment that Amenosagiri was describing. The members of the Investigation Team come face to face with a being who claims to be them and seems aware of the same issues that gnaw at them. But these beings pervert their issues issues in a direction that doesn't reflect who the Investigation Team really are. And so they challenge that this being is truly them. They, sigh, "reach out to the truth", and it causes their Shadows to go nutso and attack.

And, of course, these repeated scenes where they tell their Shadows all lead up to the last time we see this kind of sequence...

Just as the Investigation Team had to face themselves and pick apart the truths from the caricature, they, too, come to face Adachi and can cut through the bullshit, rejecting his attempts to justify why it's okay for him to merge the TV World into reality and screw everyone over.

That said, though, if we are to compare him to their Shadows, then we must acknowledge that, much like how the Investigation Team's Shadows come from their own real insecurities, Adachi's frustrations with the Investigation Team and with the world at large must also come from something real.

On this screenshotted line in particular, he even uses the more masculine "ore" as his pronoun in Japanese. He usually uses the more boyish "boku", but he seems to swap to "ore" to indicate that he is speaking quite genuinely--or perhaps speaking from the heart.

While he is a whiny murderer throwing an apocalyptic tantrum, I'm sure there are circumstances that made him the person that he is as an adult. Tbh, I've already made a lot of posts talking about the factors that might have contributed to *why* he feels like this, so I won't drag this out further.

By Arena Ultimax, Adachi has come to accept the murder case as the inciting incident that causes him to change as he finds himself finally owning up to his actions from the previous year. He's no role model lol, but life now has more meaning to him than just something you go through every day. Perhaps it's at this moment that he can be said to have gone from merely being alive to living.

(Let's be real tho, jail gives you 3 non-cup noodle meals per day? Damn. It's like he's living his best life. Speaking of which, food feels like such a fitting metaphor for his emotional nourishment.)

In the aftermath of the dungeon and the almost-end-of-the-world, Adachi agreed to start playing by the rules, and became more of a dynamic character. At the beginning of Ultimax, Adachi's commitment to this gets questioned as Yu, Yosuke, and Chie find him allied with Sho (like 5 cutscenes after Yu is so confidant he's behaving himself too, tsk tsk). But Yu reaches the roof, hears Adachi's cringe ass dialogue (I'm pretty sure that Adachi would not have said half that shit if he had known Yu was standing around the corner), and reaffirms his belief that Adachi was genuine about his promise to play by the rules.

The Investigation Team are not on the best of terms with Adachi. Regardless, they went into his dungeon, called him out on his bullshit that had been mixed in with his own real shortcomings and insecurities, punched him, and as we can tell by Ultimax, came to accept him in their own ways as they did their individual Shadows. As Yu says, perhaps they have strangely enough decided to trust in Adachi.

[fukikoichinomiya]

i need to practice my japanese sooo bad but it’s sooo hard when i’m not in a class for it yet

[tenkohibari]

A crazy theory about the traitor of Tokyo Debunker

°°°

I have a theory about who the traitor ghoul could be.

[This is all translated with the translator, I'm sorry for any possible lexical or spelling mistakes, I hope you enjoy my theory]

[Spoilers for everything up to chapter 7]

Okay, I think that they really told us the truth from the beginning.

No, don't go, listen to me--

I think that, in the preface, before the story itself, where they give you to choose a ghoul to supposedly save, that's where the truth lies. Who is the traitor. And that's why I've been studying each of the statements of the 19 ghouls (except for Ed and Lyca) and GUYS I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING.

Before I tell you who I think the traitor is, I'll give you a little introduction: I've studied each of the ways ghouls throw themselves off the terrace and I've found 5 different base drawings, because they are bases that are repeated within the ghouls when they throw themselves off.

For example, base 1 (that's how I called it) is used by Jiro, Alan, Jin, Luca, Leo and Ritsu. I've been looking for ways to relate them to each other, but I haven't found any. Neither between their statements, nor their names, nor their ways of acting in front of MC. I mean, these guys seem to apologize to MC (each in their own way) except for Leo... That said, Leo's statement seemed hopelessly interesting to me, but I'll talk about it in a few paragraphs later. I thought that maybe the Kanji of their initials in Japanese, or maybe the pronunciation of their names in another language give rise to a secret message of why they chose these characters for this pose, or maybe I'm just thinking too much.

Well, the next position, position 2 (according to me, again) is occupied by Yuri, Rui, Taiga and Towa. Here I think the position fits with the boys and their statements, because none of them seem to really want to let you go. That's why they are trying to reach out their hand towards the MC, although perhaps timidly, because they are really accepting their fate.

Position 3, occupied by Tohma, Haku, Haru and Zenji, in their posture they don't try to get close to you in the least. They know they are going to die and they have accepted it. Again, I don't know how to fit it or link them together, but I know that they haven't been chosen at random. In this game nothing is a coincidence.

Position 4, the last one shared between ghouls, is occupied by Kaito, Sho, Romeo and Subaru. Again I don't know how to link them together. Oh well Subaru's statement made me very intrigued, I'll also discuss it later.

Well, and there is ONE LAST POSITION THAT ONLY HAS ONE CHARACTER

That character is Ren. And I think he is the traitor.

WAIT DON'T GO, LET ME EXPLAIN

Now is when you will say "why do you think Ren is the traitor just because of his falling position?" well, WELL. To start with I don't think there are "coincidences" in this game, that is, if they have made an effort to make only one drawing for Ren, there must be a reason, right?

Well, let's analyze his line now step by step:

~~ "This is exactly the reason I didn't want to do this! I knew this was how it would end! What am I doing here? This is all your fault..."

'This is the reason I didn't want to do this'? What does he mean by 'this'? It could be anything, but what if he's talking about betraying MC? Because Taiga never said who the traitor works for. What if he works for Darkwick...?

We can't trust Darkwick, that's become clear throughout the chapters. Also, the ghouls are aware that they're trapped inside the academy, and that's not counting what he did to Lyca. So I don't rule out the possibility that Darkwick was the one who 'hired' our spy, so to speak. Also, from the beginning it's clear that Ren doesn't fit in at Jabberwock, where he was assigned... What is he doing there? What if the academy put him there by rigging the entrance ceremony? Because we all know that Jabberwock is home to a hundred anomalies... And if a student in charge of taking care of them deals with them, it won't look weird. That's why Darkwick brought Ren into Jabberwock and somehow bought him to work there. Because, do you remember the mermaid named by Hyde in chapter 7? The one that's not in Morktranken? The one under Haru's custody? Ren is from Jabberwock, he might know something about it... And have gotten hold of it to give to the patient... Although this deduction leads me to another question: why would the academy do this? Or is Ren working for someone inside the academy, like an independent body...? Like that janitor who appears four times throughout the story, that very suspicious one about whom we know nothing.

Guys, I repeat that in this game COINCIDENCES DO NOT EXIST

'I knew this was how it was going to end!' Ren knew there was something wrong from the beginning? Not even Taiga knew, in his statement he asked us what we had done wrong... And now Ren comes and tells us that he had a bad feeling from the beginning... This causes a lot of doubts. Because what is Ren doing telling us that if he lives always locked in his phone? That only means that he knows more than he says.

'What am I doing here? This is all your fault' To begin with, why does he blame us? Not even Leo (u, damnit bitch) talks to us like Ren does. Also, speaking of Leo, his statement tells us that "I will make those assholes pay for this" IN PLURAL which indicates that the traitor works for someone else and does not do it for his own ideals... With Leo's statement I completely rule out that he is the spy, to tell the truth. But I could be wrong.

Returning to the subject of Ren blaming us, I can only wonder what leads him to that. Why does he blame us? What leads us to the hell in which the game begins...? And why is Ren the only one who blames us while the rest of the ghouls either blame themselves or don't name it. I mean, not even Leo does! This just makes me think more and more that Ren isn't hiding anything good... And I also wonder why Subaru is the only one who blames himself directly. I know his personality is like that... But I can only think of Subaru and his misleading statement... Maybe the company wants us to think badly of him? After all, Professor Moby told us that the Hotarubi ghouls are hiding something. And we don't know if we've really discovered what they're hiding or if we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. And Haku seems pretty suspicious to me too, after telling the principal "have I ever hidden something from you?" BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT HAKU RIGHT NOW. I know he's hiding something, but I don't think he's the traitor.

Now let's talk about Ren's position.

He's the only one who, when he jumps off the balcony, really seems like he doesn't want to do it. He's the one who stretches his hand out more emphatically towards MC, as if he were regretting what he's doing, or as if he's doing this because he has no other choice or... I don't know. His very stiff posture towards you just seems suspicious to me.

But that's because I think he's the traitor, right? Maybe I'm thinking too much, right?

Remember guys that this here is JUST A THEORY because there are still many chapters and many tests left to be able to refute what we've seen so far. I'm also a follower of several theories that I will be publishing and outlining in the future.

And I'm not an expert in making theories so if you see holes in this one, DON'T HESITATE TO DEBATE WITH ME IN A RESPECTFUL WAY. I'll be reading you ^^

[hello-vampire-kitty]

Servamp chapter 139 translation "Daylight"

Read the chapter on Mangadex!

Translation notes

The title of the chapter 真昼の光 can also be interpreted as "Mahiru's light", so it wasn't easy to decide because we can't tell if the title is meant to have Mahiru's name or the translation of the word 真昼 "mahiru". Regarding the 2ndpage, Mahiru used the word もの (mono) and because it wasn't written in kanji, it can be interpreted either as "things" or "people.

Written with the kanji 者 is mainly used to specify someone's role/characteristic rather than just as a generic term for "person."

I personally think it's weird that 人 (hito) "person" wasn't used. Mahiru's first line could be interpreted as "things" he believes in, but the 2nd one can only refer to people belevng in him.

Because of the panels with Kuro and Tooru, I think in both lines もの is reffering to people.

Tooru likes to make puns which in Japanese are called "dajare" ダジャレ. Tooru makes puns using the structure だけに which translates something like "because…you know?"

The first time he makes a joke was in volume 2, so I'm gonna try explain how it works to understand how I adapted Jun's line, so we have to go back to the early chapters of the manga.

In Japanese he says 強盗めどこに隠れた！？　怖じ気づいたか！？ 叔父だけに！！

The first word 怖じ気 (ojike) means "fear" and the second one means "uncle." The first one has consists of the word "oji", like the word "uncle"

怖じ気づいたか can be translates as "Did you get scared?" but it can also be interpreted like "You took notice of (the) fear? And the last sentence would translate like "Because I'm the uncle, you know?" The wordplay is based on the word "oji" and in those sentences, they translate as "uncle" and "fear". Hopefully I made sense ;;

So, I interpret that he's saying something like "Get it? I'm the uncle (the fear).

"Are you scared of me? Because I'm the uncle! (you know)"

I'm praising the localization, which is rare because most of the manga, especially the early volumes were translated badly, however, I checked to see how his joke was handled.

In my opinion, it was a good call to use the expression "cry uncle". So yeah, I tried my best to explain how those kinds of puns work so that you can understand the one that Jun proposed, who apparently knows about Tooru's puns. Jun says 「雷神だけに」 The first two kanji mean "god of lightning" and the furigana reading is Thor which is Jun's codename and previously it was Tooru's. Even his name was based on Thor.

So, my interpretation is that when Jun is asking Tooru "You're not going to make a joke like "Because I'm Thor", will you?" to which Tooru replies that he won't, I think he's saying that although Mahiru borrowed his power (lightning), making a joke about Thor (himself) wouldn't have been appropriate since Mahiru created light. I'm sorry if I didn't explain very well ;;

Regarding Kuro's line in the last panel, instead of translating the word only in furigana, I used both readings because it was less ambiguous in my opinion. The furigana reads "our", so it would have been "It's not our time" and thus, in order to not give the impression that Kuro wasn't referring only to himself and Tsubaki, I used the other reading too.

So, apparently Sakuya can make clones/illusions of himself but I don't understand how they work in regard to the 5 second part. The name of his ability comes from "The Five Minute Hypothesis" but it was changed to "second". The intended reading in furigana sounds weird because it has the word "yesterday" and "to die" is in the future tense. I haven't found a reference for it, like I expected that it could have been from a novel.

Lastly, in the middle panel, the woman says the word 他人 (tanin) which means "other people" or "strangers", however the furigana reads 人 (hito) "people". Could be a typo or maybe there is a meaning behind it... So yeah, I hope these notes were helpful!

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 11

PREVIOUS

FF could admit that he may not be working with a full tank at the moment.

He had not slept very well the night before.

He had watched a lot of horror movies (a genre that he generally does not consume because his mind is already a scary enough place).

He was not able to go see his Grandma and he was going to miss the traditional(tm) Black Friday extravaganza that he and his Grandma did every Black Friday since he was little and encountered the horrible truth about Santa and she’d let him in on when / where most of his Christmas gifts were obtained. (The answer was not the North Pole under the watchful eye of elves. He had cried himself to sleep at the revelation but Gran always had a way of making the worst moments of his life tolerable.)

He may have eaten just…a bit too much pie?

He definitely ate too much turkey.

His stomach is killing him because he had forgotten to take his pepto when he had slammed that five hour energy.

His heart may actually break out of his rib cage with how hard it’s beating in his chest.

He’s been listening to Andrew and Captain Neil go back and forth for the last hour and a half between discussing Aaron’s recent mess ups, to what they’ll do to one another with a locked door between them and the world, to Andrew complaining that Neil’s hand is sweaty, to Neil saying Yes and Andrew’s hand is no longer in Neil’s and-

He clenches his eyes close.

And Andrew has swerved back into the lane for the third time in the last five minutes while saying something unrepeatable about his plans for Captain Neil and the whipped cream.

FF does not handle swerving cars very well.

He hears Andrew say something that sounds like it could lead to a very uncomfortable yeast infection for Captain Neil didn’t properly rinse off afterwards.

The car swerves over the rumble strip.

A fear far stronger than his fear of what Andrew could do to him overtakes him.

“I don’t like swerving cars. So, I’m going to ask that you focus on the road and keep your hands on the steering wheel.” FF says so panicked that he sounds calm and he watches as both Neil and Andrew stiffen at the sound of his voice. “If you can’t, then I’m going to ask that you pull over and let me out.” He offers a second option and a part of him is just amazed that his voice doesn’t crack even once. “I’m fine with either option.” He says.

He says both are fine but…

Honestly he hopes Andrew chooses the first option as he looks at the dark and lonely highway.

He looks back up at the front seat and both Neil and Andrew are looking straight forward. Andrew’s hands are on the steering wheel.

“Thanks.” He says and returns his attention to back over Aaron’s head.

The rest of the ride to Columbia is blessedly quiet. Aaron and Nicky wake up when they get off of the interstate and Nicky has the good grace to try and wipe the drool out of FF’s hair while Aaron seems unbothered by the wet spot he left of FF’s shoulder.

They get out of the car and they each grab their own bag in exhausted silence. Nicky is barely managing to put one foot in front of the other and before FF can do or say anything Nicky is in his room and has locked his door.

The room that FF had been planning on sleeping on the floor of because Nicky had told him he could so that FF would not drink 20 5-hour energies over the course of the weekend.

But Nicky had looked really tired.

So he is given a general tour by a very quiet Captain Neil and FF forces himself not to think about the cooler that Andrew had brought to, what he assumes is, Andrew’s bedroom before it was brought to the kitchen. He gets shown where the blankets and pillows that Kevin uses are and FF nods in quiet acceptance even knowing that he is going to spend the night going over Katakana flashcards and maybe up his literacy on Kanji to a second grader’s level.

Captain Neil wishes him a good night while Andrew gives him a nod and it is the last time he sees Captain Neil that night.

It is not the last time he sees Andrew.

***

Andrew comes out of his room to go get two glasses of water nearly 2 and a half hours later. The house is silent and dark. He is pretty sure him and Neil are the only two up.

He is wrong.

He comes out into the living room on his way to the kitchen and finds FF going through flashcards at a rapid pace. He walks a little closer to see what it is but the flashcards aren’t even right side up half of the time.

He thinks about the car ride.

‘I don’t like swerving cars.’

FF had said it so matter of factly. He was uncomfortable with the swerving.

Andrew had told FF recently about the words he didn’t like.

It felt like FF was offering at least something of himself back to Andrew for the first time.

Andrew thinks about how once his hands had gone back to the steering wheel FF had leaned back into his seat and stared out the window.

Andrew has at various points tried to look up what FF’s circumstances were but searching news sites for someone named ‘Smith’ with no first name to work off of was an exercise in futility.

Neil has lamented many times to Andrew about his bizarre jealousy over how unknowable Smith is. “He’s learning new languages, keeping a low profile, and playing Exy. It’s everything that I wanted in my freshman year and couldn’t manage because Riko pissed me off so much! It’s just kind of hard to see someone living my dream.” He says.

Andrew had punched him in the arm for that one.

“My old dream!” Neil had said and Andrew almost punched him again for the smile he flashed but had ended up kissing his stupid pretty face instead.

Where was he?

Right.

FF didn’t like swerving cars.

It didn’t necessarily have to be the trauma that lead to that aversion. Andrew certainly hadn’t had anything scare him on a plane but he still hated flying.

Still.

“The flash card is upside down.” He says and watches as FF pauses in his shuffling before righting that card and flipping to the next one which was turned to the side as far as Andrew could tell.

FF should be asleep.

FF is not asleep.

It might be Andrew’s fault that his friend can’t sleep.

“It won’t happen again.” He says and FF turns and stares at him blankly for a few seconds before he nods his acceptance.

It’s nice having a friend who understands what he means without needing to explain every little thing.

***

FF thinks he might have double-dosed on the 5-hour energy.

He also thinks he might currently be able to see through time.

His flashcards are making so much sense right now.

Then Andrew had come up and it truly was a miracle that he did not shit himself considering the sheer amount of apple pie still making its way through his system. That’s a lot of fiber for one body and he’s sure the 2-3 Five Hour energies he has taken are not helping his plight in that regard.

“It won’t happen again.” Is what Andrew says and in an instant FF feels his stomach drop to his feet. He nods blankly and watches as Andrew nods back before the man went to the kitchen and left with two tall glasses of water.

‘It won’t happen again’

FF has asked Andrew for TWO favors today.

TWO WHOLE FAVORS.

WHAT WAS HE THINKING?

The answer was that he WASN’T.

Even if FF had paid back one of those favors with the sheer power of his granny’s pie there was the case of the secondary favor he’d asked for in the car.

‘It won’t happen again’

There won’t be anymore favors for FF. He’d used up any mercy his grandma’s pie had bought him.

He considers the time pulls out his phone and goes through some saved text files on his phone.

It’s time for guns even bigger than his grandma’s apple pie.

He takes another five hour energy and knows that he won’t be sleeping a wink. He looks up groceries stores that are open this early on Black Friday, he grabs his wallet and with immense fear in his heart grabs the keys Aaron had dropped into a bowl by the front entrance.

He needs the ingredients for his great-grandma’s brownies.

Do your civic duty and: CAST YOUR VOTE TODAY ABOUT MEMES

NEXT

Per y’all’s requests:

@i-have-three-feelings​ @blep-23​ @dreamerking27​ @andreilsmyreligion​ @belodensetdust​ @rainbowpineapplebottle @yarn-ace​ @iwouldlikesometea @lily-s-world​ @obscureshipsandchips​ @booklover242​ @whataboutmyfries​ @sahturnos​ @pluto-pepsi​ @dreamerthinker​ @passinhosdetartaruga​ @leftunknownheart​ @aro-manita-muscaria @hologramsaredead​ @Chaoticgremlinswishtheycouldbeme @tntwme​ @tayspots @nick-scar​ @crazy-fangirl2524​ @blue-jos10​ @stabbyfoxandrew​ @splishsplashyouropinionistrash​ @sammichly​ @the-broken-pen​ @bitchesdoweknowu​ @very-small-flower​ @ghostlyboiii​ @its-a-paxycab​ @bisexual-genderfluid-fan​ @cheesecookie @theoneandonlylostsock​ @foxsoulcourt​ @blueleys @adverbialstarlight​ @elia-nna​ @can-i-just-stay-in-the-corner​ @nikodiangel​ @foxandcrow-inatrenchcoat​ @hallucinatedjosten​

As stated before if you’re up here and I spelled it right but you didn’t get a notification there might be something switched around in your settings that won’t let me tag you properly?

[doumadono]

⚠️ EMERGENCY REQUEST ⚠️

Hello! I have a small request with an Aizetsu (demon slayer) with a reader who self harms? Maybe he finds out when we are having a breakdown? I've been dealing with this for about 5 years now and need some form of comfort from him. If this makes you uncomfortable, feel free to not do it. Thank you.

Empathy - Aizetsu x Reader

EMERGENCY REQS MASTERLIST - PART 2

One night, unable to bear the weight of your dark thoughts, you wandered into the forest, hoping the cool night air might soothe your troubled mind. As you moved deeper into the woods, a strange, unsettling noise reached your ears. Curiosity and fear battled within you, but you pressed on, drawn towards the source.

You stumbled into a clearing and froze. There, under the pale moonlight, was a figure, hunched over another. Blood gleamed darkly on the ground, and its metallic scent filled your nostrils. You realized with a jolt of horror that the figure was feeding. Your breath caught in your throat, and a terrified gasp escaped your lips.

The demon's head snapped up, and you locked eyes with him. His sorrowful, blue eyes widened in surprise, then softened with an almost human sadness. He slowly stood, the lifeless body of his victim slipping from his grasp. For a moment, you were certain he would come after you, but he remained still, his gaze locked on yours.

"Run," he said softly, and the corners of his mouth curled upward in a wry grin as the blood dripped down his chin.

You didn't need to be told twice. Heart pounding, you turned and fled, your mind a whirlwind of fear and confusion. You ran until your legs gave out, collapsing at the edge of the village, gasping for breath. The image of those sorrowful eyes haunted you, mixing with the ever-present pain in your heart.

Despite your terror, something compelled you to return to the forest. Maybe it was the shared sorrow in those eyes... Days passed, and you found yourself wandering the same path, hoping and dreading to see him again.

This time, he was sitting on a fallen log, his back to you, staring at the ground as he played with a spear he held in his hand. He didn't seem to notice you until you were only a few steps away. When he looked up, his expression was filled with the same sorrow and regret you had seen before.

Your fear hadn't entirely vanished when you asked openly, "Why didn't you chase me?"

"I felt your pain," he replied simply. "I sensed a great darkness within you, a sadness so heavy that it would have made your flesh taste awful."

You looked down at your hands, tracing the scars that marred your skin. "I hurt myself because it feels like the only way to make the pain inside stop, even for just a moment."

"Hurting yourself won't make the pain go away. It only deepens the sorrow. I understand the need to escape, but there are other ways."

"But how? How do I find another way?"

He sighed deeply, looking directly at you with his blue eyes with kanji written in his pupils. "By finding something, someone, to hold onto. You mortals cherish life more than anything else, so hold onto it."

You collapsed at his feet, sobbing uncontrollably. "I can't escape the pain," you cried, your voice breaking. "It consumes me, and I don't know what to do. I want to disappear. End my life, demon for there is nothing good in it for me," you begged.

He gently lifted your chin, his touch colder than you expected. "I won't do that, little mortal."

"Why?" you pleaded, tears streaming down your face. "Why won't you end my suffering?! You're a demon! You hunt people down to devour them! So act just like your nature tells you to!"

"Your life, no matter how burdened with sorrow, is precious. Your existence holds meaning, even if you can't see it right now. And you have a choice. And you're about to choose wrong."

You stared at him, shocked by his compassion and the depth of his understanding. "But you're a demon," you said, your voice barely audible. "Why do you care about a mortal like me?"

Aizetsu's sorrowful eyes softened even more, a hint of a sad smile playing on his lips. "Because I, too, know what it means to suffer. My existence is bound to sorrow, but that also means I understand the depths of your pain. I care because, in our shared sorrow, we can find a way to endure."

A sob escaped your lips as his words cut through your despair. His touch, still cold, now seemed almost comforting. "But how?" you whispered, your voice trembling. "How can I find a way to endure when every moment is agony?"

Aizetsu's fingers gently brushed away your tears and brought his digits upon his lips to taste them, his expression a mixture of empathy and melancholy. "You endure by finding even the smallest glimmer of hope," he said softly. "You endure because your suffering is not the end, but a chapter in your story."

You felt a strange warmth emanating from him, not in temperature, but in the sheer weight of his empathy. "But what if I can't?" you asked, the hopelessness threatening to drown you again.

His eyes, pools of infinite sorrow, held yours firmly. "Then you lean on those who care for you, even if that creature is a demon like me."

[onigiriforears]

After approx. 2-3 months of studying Japanese I started to read free graded readers online and then graduated to a collection of short stories that I purchased off of Amazon. I thought that the reason I was starting to have trouble understanding sentences was because I didn't know enough vocabulary but it was because I neglected grammar completely. It was sorta drilled into my head off of Youtube creators to just study kanji, vocab and simple sentences as much as possible before even touching grammar. I feel absolutely lost, dude. I am at the 5 month mark now. I can "breeze through" kanji for the most part. (as in, I can actually retain it in a decent amount of time) I decided to study grammar about a week ago. It is SO FREAKING HARD. I don't know if there's something wrong with me or what. I don't know if it's supposed to feel like what I thought I knew is being ripped apart at the seams, stapled together, and then torn apart again....but it does.

Do you have any tips for learning grammar? Is this feeling normal? Can you tell me when the pressure in my skull will subside? I am using Bunpro's free trial but I'm unsure if this tool will actually help me. I write tons of notes to flip through but I still fail to give them the nuanced answer they're looking for. I really enjoy the setup of Bunpro and I want to like it since it's similar to WK but I'm not sure if I'm going too fast or there's a better way to learn. I stopped learning 5 new grammar points a day and started doing only 2. (I also have Genki I and watch GameGengo. He explains things in a way that's easy for my brain to understand.) Sorry for the long post but any insight would be appreciated. I'm a bit nervous asking people in the language learning community for help or insight because a lot of them treat it as a way to show how fast they learned/1-up others. Tumblr's langlearn community is a lot different with what I've seen (or maybe I'm just following the right ppl lol)

Hi! Thank you so much for waiting for this response--I'm sorry it took so long. Your message was one of the ones that popped up when they locked my ask box (they actually still haven't answered me on why it was locked so 🤷‍♀️). To make up for that, I'm gonna be longwinded because I think that this is a super valid and important question that others may also want to know the answer to!!

Pls pls PLEASE DM me if none of this is helpful or if you'd like to talk more about what you think you need help with!!

I think that sometimes when we're learning a new language that we know is so overwhelmingly different from our own language, we focus on the things that we think will be the main hinderance and sometimes we forget the key points. You might be thinking "how did I forget grammar?" but I would say don't beat yourself up about it! Many of us focus on the things that we think are our problems(--the last time I studied for the JLPT, I focused on my weak point too much and then was frustrated with myself during the exam bc I neglected the other areas.)

I don't want to lie to you and say that learning grammar will is going to get easier because that's not the case for everyone. Think of learning grammar vs everything else as learning different types of math or science--have you ever had a friend that was absolutely phenomenal at algebra or calculus but couldn't do geometry? Or a friend that was wonderful lab partner in chemistry but struggled in biology? They're struggling in biology because it requires a ton of rote memorization in comparison to practical application and math that's present in chemistry and rote memorization may not necessarily be their strong point. Personally, I think that's also why a lot of us struggle with certain grammar points. There are some that just click with us immediately and then there are others that we have to see over and over and over and over and over--you get the point--just for us to find a single sentence with it that we understand. If you're math oriented, we need to figure out a way to no longer make grammar points rote memorization for you, but to turn it into a formula of some sort. I actually write my notes out in ways that are like that--I use plus signs (+) in my notes not because the textbooks use them but because my brain genuinely reads it as "noun + particle + grammar point = a sentence that makes sense" because, for me, formulas don't fail. Your weak point doesn't have to be your weakness--you can turn the weakness into a strength that works just for you.

I've been going at this for years and every single professor or Japanese friend (or even people from the discord server) I have can tell you that I've struggled with pretty much any grammar point that included ~ように--and it wasn't because I wasn't trying, but because I couldn't find myself using any sentences that with those grammar points because I found the alternatives/similar ones to make more sense. Surprisingly, it wasn't until I was reading 夜カフェ for our book club that I was actually able to start grasping the meaning (ngl, I still haven't used it myself--I'm notorious for using alternatives); I was finally witnessing it being used in a way that made sense in my brain.

The frustration you're feeling when you encounter a new grammar point or overload yourself with too many things in one go is completely normal and I promise that a ton of us in the Japanese langblr community have definitely experienced it too! It probably feels like everything you know is being ripped apart because your native language may have a SVO (subject-verb-object) format while Japanese has a SOV (subject-object-verb) format--your 1-to-1 translations for your notes may not be helpful in the beginning because you're still trying to wrap your brain around the fact that your words still need to go in another order than you're used to. And then you add the new grammar points and concepts on top of that (like particles and other things) and it can become overwhelming and frustrating. Sometimes, you're going to find some grammar points just downright annoying--especially when you find that there's no equivalency to it in your own language. But don't give up!

I know this is a super cliché thing to say, but practicing them will help. If you can, I would make note of the grammar points that you're struggling with, try to make sentences with them, and ask somebody to check them and explain exactly why (or why not) they're working and then ask them for examples because they may have an even better way of explaining it to you than what you've come up with for yourself!

I can look back at old notes and see when I wrote a sentence as an example just because a textbook/professor used it but I didn't actually understand why it worked at the time and then I can also find notes where the sentences written as examples were added once I finally found something that clicked for me.

You've already done yourself a favor by learning a lot of vocab, kana, and kanji because now you'll be able to try out an array of ways to pick up grammar instead of just a textbook. (I will make a note that if you're looking to take the JLPT, I would recommend having a list of grammar points that you would need to know for the level that you're planning on sitting for because there's no guarantee of what will or won't pop up on the test.)

Another important thing while you're practicing: be comfortable with making mistakes. We all make them, but when you're learning a new language it's important to be ready to make mistakes and to welcome them with open arms because it gives you a chance to experience and learn in real time.

ALSO: for you specifically--because you're interested in reading, you might enjoy learning grammar through tracking the different grammar points through what you're reading and using the sentences as your examples because they're all going to be cohesive. And if reading books or other things totally turn you off right now, maybe games? Animal Crossing and Pokemon are very nice games to play in Japanese for people that are just starting out! You may also enjoy using Lingo Legend--it's an JRPG language learning app that I beta tested and I think that it's a nice way to review (it has some fun incentives). I'm not a big gamer, so I struggle with learning through games, but I've been picking up a lot of grammar through reading because I focus on finding things that I'm interested in, rather than things that are "at my level." When I start a manga, I will scour a ton of websites and forums and bug a ton of people when I come across a grammar point that I can't wrap my brain around because I want to be able to understand what's going on.

We have book clubs and gamers in my discord server, as well as places for people to post what they're practicing or to ask for help. We have people of all varying levels and different skillsets that love to share their wisdom with others.

I haven't used Bunpro, but I know that @sammilearns has, so she may be able to weigh in on that! And @tokidokitokyo @nihongoseito @chouhatsumimi @kanpeki-bekki @burgeoning-ambition probably also have even more tips that me--I'm trying to tag people that I know we all learn in different ways, so their tips and tricks might be just what you need!

Please weigh in, fellow langblr members! How have you been learning grammar? Are you game-ifying it? Have you turned it into math equations? Have you managed to tie it in with your special interest? I can't wait to see what people add to this post!

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 391 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

1 ヒーローは殲滅する‼︎ ヒーローはせんめつする‼︎ HIIROO wa senmetsu suru!! “Annihilate the heroes!!”

tagline 1 あふれるトゥワイス‼︎ あふれるトガ‼︎ afureru TOGA (kanji: TUWAISU)!! The overflowing Toga (read as: Twices)!!

tagline 2 No.391 拒んだ世界　　堀越耕平 ナンバー391 こばんだせかい　　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 391 kobanda sekai   Horikoshi Kouhei No. 391 A World That Rejected  Kouhei Horikoshi

2 際限がない…！ キリがない…！ KIRI (kanji: saigen) ga nai...! “There’s no end to them...!”

3 ピクシーボブ　"個性"「土流」 ピクシーボブ　"こせい"「どりゅう」 PIKUSHIIBOBU “kosei” 「doryuu」 Pixie-bob   Quirk: Earth Flow

4 止まれえ‼︎ とまれえ‼︎ tomaree!! “Stooop!!”

1 流子ォ‼︎ りゅうこォ‼︎ RyuukoO!! “Ryuuko!!”

2 いかん「土流」が止められたら決壊する‼︎ いかん「どりゅう」がとめられたらけっかいする‼︎ ikan 「doryuu」 ga tomeraretara kekkai suru!! “Oh no, if Earth Flow is stopped, it’ll collaspe!!”

3 柔っ…‼︎ ヤワラっ…‼︎ YAWARA...!! “Soften...!!”

4 哀れな行進 サッドマンズデスパレード SADDO MANZU DESU PAREEDO Sad Man’s Death Parade

5 ぐぅう guuu “Guugh!”

6 トガは"トゥワイスに変身したトガ"を増やしている トガは"トゥワイスにへんしんしたじぶん"をふやしている TOGA wa “TUWAISU ni henshin shita jibun (kanji: TOGA)” wo fuyashite iru Toga is increasing the number of Togas-transformed-into-Twice.

7 トガの"個性"「変身」には血液摂取量による時間制限があるが トガの"こせい"「へんしん」にはけつえきぜっしゅりょうによるじかんせいげんがあるが TOGA no “kosei” 「henshin」 ni wa ketsueki zesshuryou ni yoru jikan seigen ga aru ga Toga’s quirk Transform has a time limit based on blood intake, but

8 ヒーロー側に血液保有量を推測する判断材料は無いそして知ろうが知るまいが ヒーローがわにけつえきほゆうりょうをすいそくするはんだんざいりょうはないそしてしろうがしるまいが HIIROO gawa ni kestueki hoyuuryou wo suisoku suru handan zairyou wa nai soshite shirou ga shiru mai ga the hero side has no basis to judge her blood intake. Then, whether or not they know that,

1 一度決壊してしまえば いちどけっかいしてしまえば ichido kekkai shite shimaeba if they break down just once,

2-3 圧倒的物量に周辺一帯の侵蝕にさして時間は掛からない あっとうてきぶつりょうにしゅうへんいったいのしんしょくにさしてじかんはかからない attouteki butsuryou ni shouhen ittai no shinshoku ni sashite jikan wa kakaranai it doesn’t take much time for the surrounding area to be eroded by [Toga’s] overwhelming numbers.

1 消えろヒーロー!!! きえろヒーロー!!! kiero HIIROO!!! “Disappear, heroes!!!”

2 燈矢くん…どうなったの とうやくん…どうなったの Touya-kun...dou natta no Touya-kun...what happened?

3 死んでしまったの？ しんでしまったの？ shinde shimatta no? Did you go and die?

4-5 またいなくなってしまうの mata inakunatte shimau no Are you gone again?

1 待って…！ まって…！ matte...! “Wait...!”

2 ゼロ・グラビティスペースウォーク！ ZERO GURABITI SUPEESU WOOKU! Zero Gravity Space Walk!

1 去年の夏からの短い付き合いだけど きょねんのなつからのみじかいつきあいだけど kyonen no natsu kara no mijikai tsukiai dakedo “Our acquaintance from summer last year was short, but”

2 私けっこう考え変わったよ！ わたしけっこうかんがえかわったよ！ watashi kekkou kangae kawatta yo! “I’ve changed my mind considerably!”

3 遅いって言ったでしょ おそいっていったでしょ osoi tte itta desho “Didn’t I tell you it’s [too] late?”

4 遅くてごめん！ おそくてごめん！ osokute gomen! “Sorry for being late!”

5 でも…見つけられた！ でも…みつけられた！ demo...mitsukerareta! “But...I was able to find you!”

6 …うるさい ...urusai “...shut up.”

7 あなたは泣いてたきっとーーー あなたはないてたきっとーーー anata wa naiteta kitto--- “The reason you were crying was surely because---”

8 トゥワイスに出来る事が出来なくて トゥワイスにできることができなくて TUWAISU ni dekiru koto ga dekinakute “you can’t do what the things Twice can, and”

9 なり 切れなくて…‼︎ なり きれなくて…‼︎ nari kirenakute...!! “you can’t become him completely...!!”

1 ヒミコちゃんの"好き"が死柄木たちには当てはまらなくて使えないのかも ヒミコちゃんの"すき"がしがらきたちにはあてはまらなくてつかえないのかも HIMIKO-chan no “suki” ga Shigaraki-tachi ni wa atehamaranakute tsukaenai no kamo Maybe Himiko-chan’s ‘love’ cannot be applied to Shigaraki and the others, and so she can’t use [their quirks].

2 梅雨ちゃんはああ推測してたけど つゆちゃんはああすいそくしてたけど Tsuyu-chan wa aa suisoku shiteta kedo Tsuyu-chan guessed that, but

3 ヒーローは HIIROO ha Annihilate...

4 トガの涙を見て トガのなみだをみて TOGA no namida wo mite When I saw Toga’s tears,

5 わかった気がする わかったきがする wakatta ki ga suru I got the feeling that I understood.

6 殲滅する せんめつする senmetsu suru ...the heroes

7 殺意が混ざって さついがまざって satsui ga mazatte “You mixed in your murderous intent,”

8 今は純粋な"好き"だけじゃない いまはじゅんすいな"すき"だけじゃない ima wa junsui na “suki” dake ja nai “so now it’s not just your pure ‘love’.” (Note: This “love’ is still just the vague suki word that means an object of affection, like or love.)

1 うるさいんだよ麗日お茶子!!! うるさいんだようららかおちゃこ!!! urusanda yo Uraraka Ochako!!! “Shut up, Ochako Uraraka!!!”

2-3 あなたが私の何を知ってるの⁉︎ あなたがわたしのなにをしってるの⁉︎ anata ga watashi no nani wo shitteru no!? “What do you know about me!?”

tagline 少女のさけびーー… しょうじょのさけびーー… shoujo no sakebi--... The scream of a young woman--...

[russenoire]

the teruki hanazawa arc seized me by the brain almost two years ago and still refuses to let go. teru is just warped in a slow-burn-horror kind of way, despite his apparent good cheer, and i find him tragically fascinating.

i looked up a word he attempts to bludgeon intimidate shigeo with in episode 5: 上下関係。

it's read じょうげかんけい (jougekankei). for context, here's teru's dialogue where it appears:

｢聞きたいことは いくつかあるけどその前にハッキリさせとかないとね。上下関係ってやつを差！」 ききたい　こと　は　いくつ　か　ある　けど　その　まえ　に　はっきり　させ　と　かない　と　ね。じょうげかんけい　って　やつ　を　さ！ k'kitai koto wa ik'tsu ka aru kedo sono mae ni hakkiri sase to kanai to ne. jougekankei tte yatsu wo sa! 'i have some questions i want to ask you, but first i have to clarify something. between the two of us, who answers to whom?'

the english subs translate 上下関係 as 'hierarchy', though it's a little closer maybe to 'pecking order' or 'senpai/kouhai dynamics'. i couldn't even find it on a 15000-word japanese frequency list. fortunately, this 四字熟語 (よじじゅくご・yojijukugo・four-character idiom)'s individual components are common and easily assimilated; i was able to understand what it meant on sight:

上下 = among other meanings, high and low, top and bottom... the ruling and the ruled. kanji: 'up, above' + 'below, down, inferior'.

関係 = relationship, connection, concern. kanji: 'gateway, connection' + 'thread'

the katakanized english loanword for hierarchy, ハイアラーキー, is far more common in japanese. so why would teru use this word? why might he just drop it on shigeo without explanation as he does?

much of the vernacular co-opted by criminal organizations -- at least in anime -- tends towards the archaic and/or formal, in keeping with samurai ideals they profess to uphold. was this language he picked up from fending off claw mooks, alone, throughout his childhood?

knowing the exact word teru uses for 'hierarchy' lends even more hilarity in japanese to shigeo's bafflement when he hears it. it's unlikely that he would know teru's peculiar choice of expression, given his lack of interest in academics. the joke in the english translation falls a little flat IMHO, as the boy doesn't seem so poor a student as to be unfamiliar with the word 'hierarchy' or the concept.

i... i want to examine more of teru's language now in this arc, to see how much of it is as elevated as this word and his sense of self-importance here.

an edit (2023.03.31) for some minor errors in this post:

上下関係 actually isn't a yojijukugo... not all four-character expressions are four-character idioms, of course. i should have consulted the monolingual japanese dictionaries i use on this. ごめんなさい！

my transliteration of the line 「聞きたいことは いくつかあるけどその前にハッキリさせとかないとね。」 should have been: k'kitai koto wa ik'tsu ka aru kedo sono mae ni hakkiri sasetokanai to ne. i still get stumped semi-regularly by 〜て＋おくcontractions in the wild. thank you @listlessnss for this and the previous erratum! させとかない is just させる (to cause or make someone do. usually taught to JSL learners as an inflection of する) in its conjunctive affirmative form させて + 置く (as an auxiliary verb, here meaning to do a thing in preparation for something else).

'formal' would have been a better word choice than 'archaic' for describing 上下関係。上下関係 is not an archaic word, but it is uncommon-ish and more likely to be found in formal writings.

[outofcontextbokumono]

In your Allen post you mentioned Natsume is notorious for bad translations. That's super interesting, I had no idea! Is it more of spelling error stuff or just straight up mistranslations?

first of all great question anon!! it's kind of a mix of both, and it varies from game to game. most natsume dialogue just generally reads very clunky and robotic in the english versions, especially when compared to the newer games, where everyone has their own unique way of speaking, and you can usually tell who's talking just based on their mannerisms.

there's more general info on this topic + natsume's involvement with marvelous games in my masterpost here.

xseed's newer games obviously aren't immune to forgetting a few punctuation marks here and there, but natsume's was bad. like, "something about the games just feel Off and uncanny and there's no other way to explain it" bad.

i'm pretty sure it's just because the translators weren't native english speakers, so everything is translated super literally, but if you are one yourself it becomes blatantly obvious simply by looking at the dialogue for more than 5 minutes. this ranges anywhere from minor miswordings to lines that just don't make any sense at all no matter how many times you read them.

and then there's stuff that's so messed up we don't even KNOW how it got there. like some of this shit i would 100% believe you if you just said the game got corrupted because if it isn't that then i can only assume the employees did a large dose of crack cocaine before translating these games. i'm talking like... entire lines that didn't even get translated. text so butchered its straight up unreadable. that one time they misspelled their own NAME in the startup screen. TWICE.

and, last but not least, probably one of my all time favorite errors in a natsume game but one i'll never be able to post here because it's funny purely in context- and it is the singular line in harvest moon: friends of mineral town where the priest, carter, just speaks to you in fucking German

this. this is the error i don't have even the SLIGHTEST explanation for. and, correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm 99.9% sure nobody else does either.

this was....just one line. just the one line of dialogue. where he speaks german. in a japanese farming game that was being localized into english.

at least with the untranslated kanji you have some general sense of how that happened. like, yeah, okay, they just missed a line, whatever. but this isn't even remotely close to the same situation. there should be NO german in this equation whatsoever. it's like if you did 2 + 2 and somehow got 17. and nobody looked over your paper and went, "hey, that doesn't look quite right, man, maybe you should fix that", so you just turned it in and for some reason not even the TEACHER questioned it, they gave you a full grade and a gold star and put your paper on the whiteboard clear as day for all your classmates to see. that's what this feels like.

I. do not think the natsume employees are okay can someone check on them for me

[danieyells]

HAKU'S LAST NAME IS THE NAME OF FUCKING THE SWORD SUSANOO FOUND THAT'S ONE OF THE THREE IMPERIAL REGALIA OF JAPAN IT EVEN USES THE SAME KANJI

The sword represents valor though so maybe that means Haku's good??? Maybe it's a coincidence?????? I DON'T KNOW BUT I REMEMBERED ALL OF A SUDDEN.

The other regalia are a mirror and a magatama

Then again Haku is from a prominent shrine so maybe that's why his name has such an important meaning???

I HAVE TO WAKE UP IN LIKE 5 HOURS I'M GOING TO BED INSTEAD OF THINKING ABOUT THIS I HOPE it's probably mostly just to make his name more prominent thanks to his family being a big deal. But like it hit me while i was trying to go to sleep. . .i'm sleepy lol

[tuulikannel]

Thinking about the girl Big 5 of Assassination Classroom. It's canon that they exist, but we know basically nothing about them. One member is called Ookura Sachiko (大倉幸子), and she is "the Sakakibara Ren of the group", and... that's it.

So I had this idea that to get potential names for the girl B5, we could take a look at the top 50 final results. Great idea, sure... the only problem here is that the name Ookura Sachiko doesn't appear there at all. >_> Well, maybe Gakuhou's "teaching" methods made her collapse so badly she didn't even make it to top 50…..

Anyway, the top 4 female names, other than Sachiko or E class girls on that list are: 19. 毛利伊織 Mouri Iori 23. 長沢寿理亜 Nagasawa Juria (Julia, I think) 27. 伊藤姫希 Itouzaki Himeki 34. 山鹿皋月 Yamagata* Satsuki

*That name can be also read Yamaka, Yamaga, or Yamashika. This list from the manga (I guess, I just googled this) has it as Yamagata.

Based on this list #25 is Mizuno Ami which sounds like a girl, but I don't understand how they read the given name like that. As far as I can see it's 武丸 which is read Takemaru. (Whether or not this person is a girl I decided to leave them out. In that case she's just someone who happened to do well here.)

But yeah, anyway, the rest of this post will just be my new headcanons. XD So, the girl B5 members are Sachiko, Iori, Julia, Himeki and Satsuki. If Sachiko is the Ren of the group, I guess Julia might be the Seo (thinking about their skills, not personalities XD). Maybe her mom is a westerner and so she's learned English from an early age.

Himeki... is Gakushuu, no question about it. Not only has she "princess" in her name, the latter kanji means, among other things, "phenomenal". Kinda like the kanji for Shuu is "supremacy". (It's eating her alive she ended up 27th. Ouch.)

Then, we have Iori and Satsuki left to be Araki and Koyama. (I mean, of course they don't have to have clear matches, but... just for fun?) No strong feelings here, though. Satsuki's surname is literally "mountain deer" so she could get Koyama (and biology) based on that. XD Which leaves Araki for Iori, I guess. *shrug* Well, in all honesty, these two could have their own strengths that don't directly correspond to the boys.

But yeah, so. In summary, my Big 5 girls:

Itouzaki Himeki (Gakushuu) Ookura Sachiko (Ren) Nagasawa Julia (Seo) Mouri Iori Yamagata Satsuki

[ultimateotaku666]

Persona 3, 4, & 5 Protag sexuality headcanons

Disclaimer: I am not going to include the first three Persona games as I have no way to play and figure them out, but maybe I'll find a way.

Another disclaimer: I sadly won't include the FeMC, as I haven't played P3 Portable. But I got it recently, and I shall repost once I finish!

Makoto Yuki:

HeteroAce. I know it seems like a cop-out, but I think it fits him well. He probably never thought about romance and didn't think he would ever fall in love. Then he meets the girl of his dreams (me and my fiancé say Fuuka) and he finally understands.

Another idea is AroAce, it's more an idea.

Yu Narukami:

Polysexual and possibly Polyamorus. Persona protags are lady killers, but it doesn't mean that they can't also be different. Narukami is no exception. He gives off Polysexual vibes. You have many female options, so there's one. Yosuke was supposed to be a romance option (we were robbed!!), so already makes sense. And I headcanon Naoto being Non-binary or Genderfluid, so check on that! As for the Polyamory, depending on who you romance, you could be a throuple (We imagine Narukami, Naoto, and Kanji. It would be sweet).

Akira Kurusu:

Pansexual. I know we have many female options, but four of them are adults. And I know Japan is different, but its still strange. But that's a rant for later! And let me say we all know that if we had male options, people would have Ryuji and Yusuke as their partner. Plus, Akira seems like he doesn't discriminate (like I said, he dates adults), and he values their emotions and love.

These are just headcanons, so if you don't agree, that's perfectly fine! Everyone has an opinion, and they can be beautiful (not all and you know who you are 🫵😡)

Thank you for listening to my TED Talk!

[icespur]

Goro and Akiren's names meaning

So, I've been going through a website for Japanese baby names with their written Kanji meanings too, for a future Akeshu post. and this also required me to visit the Megami Tensei Wiki of our boys to look at what their names mean and---

Akiren and Goro's parents had very different thought processes of importance when naming their newborns and it shows.

(no offense to any Japanese born with the name Goro, spelt with the same Kanji as P5's Goro, I just find this funny. This is purely making fun of a fictional character)

If you're on team Ren Amamiya for P5 Protagonist's name. You already probably know "Amamiya" means "Rain Palace". But what about "Ren"?

The Amamiya's named their son "蓮/Ren", which means "Lotus".

A Lotus flower is a symbol of purity, or "Strength, Resilience, or Rebirth".

For team "Akira Kurusu"

Kurusu means "Chestnut Grove". "Su" = "Nest" or "Grove", "Kuru" = "to come"

"Akira" spelt like this 暁

Means: "Daybreak" or "Dawn", or any form of "bright"

hey, maybe the Kurusu"s named their son after the time he was born.

and then there's Akechi----

The Surname 明智/Akechi (apparently read as "Meichi"??), is an uncommon spelling and means "Wisdom and Sagacity"

That's nice, fitting. Nothing wrong with that.

Now what about Pancake-boi"s first name?

Goro

Depending on what text characters you use, "Go" can mean "five" or "I, my, me, myself".

"Ro" means "Son, or Young Man"

the Kanjis for Goro"s name is indeed 吾郎

吾/Go = I, My, Me, Myself

郎/Ro = Son, Young Man.

MamaKechi really just named her newborn "My Son".

Alternate spelling with a diffferent "Go" Kanji, isn't any better

五 and 伍 = Go (the characters can also be read as Itsu-tsu, or Kumi) translate as "Five", so alternatively he would be named "Fifth Son", which wouldn't make too much sense on Mother's part because Goro is an only child on her side.

On Shido's end though, given his interaction with Women, who knows how many One Night Stand or One Sided Encounters that ended in children being born he's had at this point. Goro could be "Unintentional Half Child" number 5 or higher for all we know. But MamaKechi wouldn't know that.

Point is, why is the P5 fandom only roasting this man for his infamous "Delicious Pancakes" screw up, but not taking advantage of the endless potential of his first name meaning "My Son"?

Because, me personally, I find that hilarious. Oh, if the Phantom Thieves learned that they could tease him mercilessly to the point he drops the Goro entirely when introducing himself to new people.

the possibilities are endless!

Extra: His name being a nod to Kogoro Akechi, a fictional Detective isn't any better. "Kogoro" uses the "Fifth Son" Kanjis, with "Ko" meaning "Small, Tiny, Little". Inspired by a Detective from a mystery novel or not, his namesake inspiration could be translated as meaning "Tiny fifth son"

[beansterpie]

ES21 japanese volumes part 2/??

< part 1 || part 3 >

Thanks for the warm reception on part 1! Honestly wasn't expecting anyone other than me and maybe a couple of friends to read, so it's nice to know that people enjoyed it! Also @blaka-smoko provided me with a link to scans of the VIS translation here-- it has up to volume 29 I believe for anyone interested (you'll have to make an account on the site to borrow the volumes though! but it's all free)

Now, to pick up where we left off--

Sena has just managed to escape the bullies, but they're in pursuit. He ends up running into a busy shopping street, where Hiruma, Sena's demonic upperclassman, happens to witness the following...

(First page -> Kuroki: "Alright! I caught...")

I love these pages sm, they're SO silly. This is the beginning of 'these kids might as well have superpowers', and I love that for them. And to be perfectly honest, I think the extra dramatic action scenes make for a really engaging sports manga, which is a genre where I tend get very bored of the whole, you know, Sports™ of it all. But ES21 always keeps me really engaged during the matches, and the super dynamic art is definitely one of the reasons.

Putting the rest under a cut!

I think I'm just gonna go ahead and post the next few pages because I love this bit lol

(Panel 3 -> Juumonji: "Shit-!" Kuroki: "I SAID MOVE!!!" Old Man: "That hurts you BRAT"

Panel 4 -> Hiruma: "That cut...." (note that the kanji here is 走り方 which is pronounced ha-shi-ri-ka-ta and means 'way of running' or 'running style', but the romaji says カット (ka-tto) which is just the English 'cut' as a loanword. I told you Hiruma does this a lot!))

Love how they somehow make Sena navigating a crowd really well into something so cool lol. But I love this entire segment.

(Panel 2 -> Togano: "Aaallright, now sto--"

Panel 4 -> Togano: "--p??"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "Whoa, a spin!"

Panel 6 -> The Bullies: *sounds of struggle and pain*)

(Panel 1 -> Sena: "Hiieeee-- (this is just a sound of anxiety he makes a lot) It's no good--!!"

Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "No, you can make it"

Panel 4 -> Hiruma: "With your legs, you can make it!"

Panel 6 -> Hiruma: "FLY!" (also means 'jump', but fly feels more apt))

TOUCHDOWN!!! (of getting on the train yayyy!)

I just love this whole segment-- how good the art is, how intense and dynamic and fun they managed to make a simple chase scene, how it works so well with the football visuals that Hiruma is laying over Sena's movements in his mind, Hiruma's weird omniscient presence cementing itself into the narrative lol. Properly introducing the One Thing™ that Sena is crazy good at to the audience, and that is running (usually away from something lmao).

(Panel 2 -> Juumonji: "GUHO!?" (sound of surprised pain)

Panel 3 -> Hiruma: "Toooouchdooooown! Ya-ha--!")

I love him your honor.

ANYWAY onto the next day!

(Panel 1 & 2 -> Kurita: "Oh that's right! Yesterday, a new member joined the club!" Hiruma: "Ooohhh, I actually found someone too."

Panel 3 -> Hiruma: "Truly a golden-legged Running Back. He was so full of spirit that he approached me directly, saying that he wanted to join."

Panel 4 -> Kurita: "Wow-- amazing! Good job finding him, Hiruma!"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "He should be here already"

Panel 6 -> Hiruma: "K, now fill out the application form~" Kurita: "S-SENA-KUN!!?")

The audacity of Hiruma casually and blatantly lying that Sena joined of his own volition lol. He just lies because it's fun, why not? 😂 Also, when Hiruma says 'running back', it just says "RB" with furigana that says ランニングバック, which is 'running back' as a loan word lol.

(2nd pic -> Kurita: "Whoa number 21! The eyeshield is so cool!" Hiruma: "If we don't hide his face like this during matches, it'll start an all-out-war among the other sports teams.")

Lol I love how shrimpy Sena is <3 In the fan-scans, the idea that the other sports clubs would try to get at Sena wasn't really mentioned until the Cupids match, so I figured I'd include it. Also Hiruma looks SO NORMAL in the first couple of chapters lol, he just increasingly gets more spiky and demonic as the story progresses, and I love that for him, but seeing little babyfaced Hiruma is fun too.

(Panel 1 -> Sena: "But I'm the manager~~!!" Hiruma: "Then, player-and-manager. do both"

Panel 2 -> the posters say: "Stay away from him -- Or the mosaic comes off")

Mosaic meaning the blurred out bits, obv. I feel like there's certain lines from Hiruma where the translation doens't quite capture the like... cavalier command with implicit threat he has in Japanese lol.

Also I get this slight vibe from his Japanese dialogue that Hiruma is like, funny lol. There's more of a deliberate sense of set up and pay off when he talks, which I get a kick out of.

Finally, end of chapter one 😂 the fuck is brevity?

Bit of an aside, but something I never noticed before about this pic of Sena's room is that he seems to collect figures of some kind? And he has a lot of games (or possibly anime) in the tv cabinet. I know in the pilot chapter (which I might post about separately sometime), Sena was characterized as A Gamer™, but that seems to have largely been abandoned in the actual series. It's fun to see the lingering remnants of that aspect of Past-Sena lol.

Moving on to chapter 2!

(Mamori: "The American Football Club!?")

(Panel 1 -> Mamori: "But American Football is... You shouldn't pick something so dangerous!")

Regarding panel 2, there isn't a mistranslation really, but I wanted to point out-- because it's fucking hilarious-- that Mamori uses four separate words that all essentially mean weak and feeble to describe Sena 😭 She's like "--because Sena is (physically) weak, insubstantial, fragile, and The Weakest™!"

Sena: "Y, you don't have to go that far...."

She really didn't 😔 how's a bitch supposed to come back from that...

Then of course Sena reassures her that he's just the shumu/manager (whatever), and won't actually be playing in matches, which she is very relieved to hear.

(Mamori: "Huh? But then why are you here so early in the morning?

Sena: "A meeting about club management!!")

Oh Sena :')

Cut to:

(Hiruma: "Come now, it's morning practice!!!"

Sena: "ALL LIES~~!!")

Soon, soon Sena, you will learn. But man look at the unbridled joy on our demon spawn captain's face <3 we love a chaotic gremlin.

Just wanted to gush a little about how much I love Murata's establishing shots, especially this one. Gives such an excellent vibe of early morning at a school before most students are present-- plus over the course of the series you end up getting such a good sense of the overall layout of the school!

(Panel 1 -> Kurita: "Well-- you know how we haven't had three people since the formation of the club? I was just so happy that I had to wake up early"

Panel 2 -> Kurita: "I was so amped up that I've been at it since 2am!" Hiruma: "An idiot, there's an idiot here.")

All told basically the same as the fan-scans, but I think the Japanese version slyly implies the existence of Musashi a little better. I always wonder with these things just how much of the back stories were hashed out-- like was Musashi's design already established? When we see him for the first time later (unbeknownst to us) did the creators already know That Guy was Musashi? Questions, questions...

(Panel 1 -> Sena: "That was close! I was about to join in on practice without realizing!" Hiruma: "Right, guess we should go through everything once, starting with the ladder."

Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "Since we've got newbies present and all." Sena: "Hiiieeeee!" (he's like a small dog, he whimpers when he's scared)

Panel 3 -> Kurita: "Ah wait. Actually my neck kind of hurts. I think I might call it quits after doing a 40 yard dash or something."

Panel 4 -> Hiruma: "40 yard dash, huh? It's been a while. Alright, let's measure our times.")

K-Kurita.... your head looks like it's gonna pop off.....

(Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "Time?"

Panel 3 -> "Kurita Ryokan: 40 yard run: 6.5 seconds"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "This fucking fatty!! What morning practice, you've gotten slower than before!!" Kurita: "I can't help it, I'm already tired--!!")

@blaka-smoko mentioned this in their reblog on the last post, but Hiruma preludes all his nicknames with 糞 (ku-so) which means like, shitty, but the furigana says ファッキン which is just "fucking" as a loan word lol. So all his nicknames canonically and literally start with the English word "fucking". Fucking chibi, Fucking monkey, Fucking manager, etc, etc. The official VIS version changed this to 'damn', which is nothing but a damn shame lol. Let Hiruma say fuck!! He's literally already saying it!!

(Panel 1 -> Hiruma: "Alright, watch how it's done!" Sena: "!? So fast!!"

Panel 4 -> "Hiruma Yoichi: 40 yard run: 5.1 seconds"

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "Ya-ha-! That's my best time!!" Sena & Kurita: "Whoa--!!")

He's so fucking spiky!! And I love how expressive their physical movements are, like Hiruma's little twist in the last panel is so fun.

The first three panels are basically accurate, (though in panel two, Hiruma is like "What's that? You want to run so bad you can barely contain it?" which made me chuckle) but panels 4 & 5 are different.

(Panel 4 -> Kurita: "But, isn't it weird? If he's that fast (and he uses 爆速 (ba-ku-so-ku) which means like, explosive speed) I think he would have been famous in middle school."

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "Hmm... now that you mention it.... Well, we'll know for sure once we measure his time.")

I like that Kurita points out something to Hiruma that he didn't consider! These early chapters gives a bit more of a feel of Hiruma and Kurita's friendship imo, before there's more characters that the story needs to focus on, and the two of them solidly enter the Senpai™ realm among their teammates.

Of course, then Sena runs and gets 5.0 seconds, which is already fastest on their little team! But Hiruma isn't satisfied with that....

The fan-scans are aaaalmost right? But confused. It makes it sound like Hiruma is quoting something Sena said/wrote down in the past (that he somehow aquired as Hiruma is wont to do), and then the line in panel 3 just doesn't make sense. In Japanese, it comes across more as like, Hiruma looks up some records of Sena on his laptop, and the rest is him putting together an analysis based off of that.

(Panel 1 -> Hiruma: "In Kobayakawa Sena's middle school physical endurance records-- he came first only in Repetitive Sideways Hopping."

Panel 2 -> Hiruma: "Must be due to the explosive power that you built through your gopher-ing... which is how you have that rocket-start. But you immediately lose speed, which is why you never make any records in a footrace.

Panel 3 -> Hiruma: "So all we have to do is make sure you don't lose speed."

Panel 5 -> Hiruma: "CERBERUS!!!")

BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY!!!

This is basically correct, so I used the scans for visual clarity because taking good pics of a double page spread is hard :')

anyway RUN BOY RUN!! Also love Hiruma's little fist pump in the last panel. Murata being awesome with gestures as usual.

(Panel 1 -> Hiruma: "This is beyond high school records! It's the top speed in the NFL! Nobody can stop this!"

Panel 2 -> "The Golden Legs!!")

I don't know if it's true that 4.2 sec is the NFL record (at least at the time) or not, and frankly I don't care. Within the context of this series, 4.2 secs is the speed of light, and Sena's got it!

I've always liked that Sena's got this glass canon thing going on-- OP in terms of speed only, extremely weak in every other regard. It's funny and unexpected in a shounen protagonist, and it makes for a very satifying arc, even if there aren't any surprises. I actually in part got into B.N.H.A . waaay back in 2014 because Deku reminded me of Sena (well, I got into it because I'd read the artist's previous manga and was curious, but Deku reminding me of Sena is what made me stay (well, until I left again a couple years later lol)). Point is, I'm very fond of Sena, I think he's fun!

Oof I wanted to squeeze in one more pic but I'm at the limit already lol. But chapter 2 ends with excitement all around-- and Hiruma says that they'll be winning the Spring Tournament. (Sena imagines himself as the manager and boy, after all that you still think you're just gonna be the manager? 😭)

Of course this is when Hiruma informs them that the first match is tomorrow lol. A team with 3 players. Good luck!

That's all for part 2-- hope y'all enjoy my ramblings!

[crepes-suzette-373]

Germa and the Moon

More conspiracy. If you follow me and you don't like seeing my crazy posts please block the "conspiracy theory" tag.

I have very flimsy proof again, this is just a bunch of idle thoughts that occur to me while I was browsing the chapters to make my Moon theory post.

The Sixth Moon of Wano?

In my previous random word vomit I mentioned that adult Momonosuke's long fluffy hair and kimono cut gives him a similar silhouette to Judge. Well. Even better/worse, Younger Sukiyaki's FACE actually kind of looks like Judge:

Sukiyaki even has that ugly chin too, except it's less noticeable because he has a thick beard.

Are they related?

I would like to bring back to attention that 5 of the 6 ruling clans of Wano have "moon" in their surnames. Koudzuki 光月, Fuugetsu 風月, Shimotsuki 霜月, Udzuki 雨月, and Amatsuki 天月. They all share the kanji for moon 月.

The sixth one, Kurozumi 黒炭, mysteriously does not.

A trend breaker like this seems a bit strange. Sure, it might just be to single out Kurozumi as the "odd one out" traitor, but what if that's because the original sixth clan left Wano?

Maybe Kurozumi, or whoever was before them, was appointed to take over the empty spot? And then what if the Germa/Vinsmoke ancestor is the "sixth moon", so to speak?

An additional layer to the conspiracy is "What if there is no sixth surname?"

Even if there's a "sixth moon", what if this is just a branch clan of the shogun himself? The Koudzuki? As I pointed out above, Judge kind of looks like Sukiyaki.

So the "missing moon" might not have a unique surname, and the daimyou in question was just "Koudzuki-something". The then-shogun's brother, maybe (or emperor or king, if there was a time in Wano when the ruler is not a shogun).

This happens to be relevant to the conspiracy theory that I mentioned in the same word vomit post. Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a renowned samurai hero and brother of the first shogun of Japan, was theorised to have fled Japan when his own brother tried to kill him. He then went on to become Genghis Khan. (Japanese Wikipedia entry about this theory)

It's a crackpot theory, and historically speaking Yoshitsune just died, but anyone can pick that up and rework it as fiction. A story that goes "the brother (or other relative) of the [ruler] fled the nation and became a new king elsewhere" is generic enough to fit into any fantasy setting.

(@theviolettulip It's not that much, but here it is! The rest of this post is not Wano-related conspiracy)

Various aspects of Germa that appears to be connected to the moon

Related to my theory of how moon = science/tech. Germa is explicitly introduced as a kingdom of science, so maybe their "goal" is to "chase after" the moon technology? Or, if the Wano connection turns out to be true, there's some other link between Wano and the Moon that they're going after.

Germa and the moon automata

Very, very flimsy connection here, and I always say I recognise any artwork-based incidental similarity could just be "design coincidence" that don't mean anything.

Still, are the Germa soldiers' hats and helmets related to the helmets of the moon automata? They have similar shape.

... Correlation? I'm just saying, you know?

"Garuda" refers to Lunarians --> from the Moon?

An even flimsier connection because Lunarians have not been confirmed to be from or connected to the moon (beyond its name).

Still, the design of King, the only currently known Lunarian, seems to be based on the mythological Garuda. A combination of the Indian and the Japanese version.

Variations of the Indian Garuda statues depict him as looking like just a human man with wings, not bird faced.

The fire on King's back, though, resembled the Japanese Garuda (Karura), who has a fire mandala/halo on his back. Upper back, specifically. Karura also has "fire powers",

It's unclear how Judge got the Garuda epithet, but it seemed significant here.

The Vinsmoke children's modifications are meant to make them have the abilities of races connected to the moon?

1) Mink - Niji

The only one where I can most seriously point out proofs for.

Niji's electric ability seems very similar to the Mink tribe's Electro: generating electricity from their bodies, and channelling the electricity through weapons.

Since Niji says his sword is a sword with "the speed of light", not anything related to electricity, it suggests that the sword is not electric charged. The electricity comes from him. As shown with Inuarashi and Wanda above, the Mink are able to channel electricity through their weapons.

We know the Mink tribe's connection to the moon, which is their Sulong form. In which case, I do wonder if that's actually what Niji's permanent goggles are for. To, you know, block the moonlight so that he doesn't go on a Sulong rampage.

Carrot said that sunglasses can block the Sulong transformation, and we saw the proof of it with Pekoms having to take off his sunglasses for it.

2) Lunarian - Sanji

Again, a bit jumping the gun here because we have no proof that Lunarians are related to the moon.

Still, Sanij's fire ability is possibly part of his modification, which in turn might be meant to make him be like a Lunarian.

Oda-sensei hinted that his fire resistance, which allows him to be able to do Diable Jambe without hurting himself, is actually not normal. Perhaps that's what his modification was intended to do? Diable Jambe is similar to the flaming kick that King did as well.

Lunarians can make fire from various parts of their body, like we saw King light his hand and leg on fire. Sanji hasn't really done this yet, the full body combustion Hell Memories seems to imply that he might eventually be able to do that.

3) Shandian - Yonji

Also somewhat flimsy, because super strength is a bit more generic than the other two.

Yonji's "super strength" could be meant to be based on the Shandian warriors, who we know are descended from the moon. Kalgara has incredible physical strength, and his iron ball on a chain is somewhat comparable to Yonji's Winch Danton (Guillotine).

*) Other yet unknown races?

There's no obvious counterparts to Ichiji and Reiju yet, so I could be wrong. Still, there are yet unknown info out there, so I'll have to bookmark this for now and keep a lookout.

Currently the only known light ability and poison ability users are from Devil Fruits, but some of the fruit abilities overlap/match with the natural abilities of some races. For example King can make fire and magma like Ace and Akainu. The fruit just extends the ability into allowing the users to turn their very bodies into fire and magma (is this why "mother nature" hates fruit users? Because it "twists" what's natural?).

Maybe there's just other beings out there with natural light and poison abilities.

"Exoskeleton", a reference to the moon/sky lobster?

The Vinsmoke kids' tough bodies were specifically called "exoskeleton" by Germa internally. Among many other things, "exoskeleton" (gaikokkaku 外骨格) also refers to the shell of crustaceans.

It's a bit unusual terminology, especially because terms like "iron skin" seems more reasonable. For example, Superman was called Man of Steel because he's bulletproof.

Does it maybe reference the lobsters seen in Skypiea? In the ancient wall murals Enel saw in the moon, there appears to be a lobster and some unknown creature that could be the sky fish.

What with my latest theory about how Sea (Prism) Stones, which originated from Wano, might be organic and perhaps even a "carapace" specifically, this seemed somewhat relevant.