#my hand simply forgor how to do this thing

[maiaczy]

Thank you guys sm for all the sketch requests! I'll try to do them all, so if you've made a request you can look forward to it in the upcoming days!

Starting off with our local dino boy 🦖

[b4kuch1n]

frog documentation. frogcumentation

I think I mentioned a while back I'd post nibling frog momence after the gift's done given. which happened on the 2nd this month I just forgot lmao. anyways we can do it now. I used the boigameista pattern scaled up to four pieces of A4 print paper and decided to double deck it to a two layer thing, not unlike a pillow, for ease of washin. because it was gonna be gifted to a one year old child

took a long time and made a number of mistakes bc hand sewing makes me worse as a person but this guy was done in time for the birthday occasion and that's what matters. chose non-fuzzy fabrics for it because we live in a dense city in the tropics and from personal experience if I hug something made of fur I would explode. the original plan included felt patterns on its back for bonus textures for baby but that wouldn't stretch well along with the rest of the thing so had to hold that back. eventually we got this

zipper across its ass, the coat type of zipper bc I miscalculated when ordering. but it did have a shape and that's all that matters to me. will be a fun game for the baby to grow up and be severely misinformed about what a frog looks like

happy extremely late birthday to this thing also

[lehguru]

BE MINE + ONE PIECE MEN

request: them asking the reader to be their partner + luffy, zoro, sanji & law

info: gn!reader, i forgor how i characterize them so bear with me, also this is me trying to crawl back to one piece so im sorry if its rlly bad; not proofread!!! (i should start asking ppl to beta read those istg)

monkey d.luffy didn't really straight up asked you to be his partner. luffy being luffy, he walked up to you one day and said that you were his partner. you, having feelings for the captain for a really long time now, chuckled nervously, asking "what do you mean?". as he explained that nami told him that if he liked you, then he should ask you out, you could hear the red head sighing from somewhere—you knew at least half of the crew was watching you two right now. you laughed softly at the proud smile he wore and nodded, agreeing to be his.

roronoa zoro was almost the same as luffy, but at least he had the decency to actually ask you about it. during a beautiful day, you were on one side of the little garden that was built in the thousand sunny's deck, helping robin to water the plants. out of nowhere, a shadow was cast upon your crouching form; looking up, you noticed the green haired swordsman and smiled at him, getting up. "yes, zor—"

cutting you off, he asked in the same stoic tone he almost always had: "do you want to be my partner?". your eyes went wide and you let out a small exclamation of surprise. taking that as a denial, he turned back and started to walk away, but you managed to yell out his name. "yes! i will be your partner." the man huffed and nodded, but you could see a slight blush dusting his cheekbones.

when the subject is romance and love, you always expect sanji to be a master at it. out of everyone, he should be the one knowing how to ask someone to be his significant other, but he has never felt this... strongly about someone like he feels about you. when he approaches you to ask that, he's holding a little box with your favorite dessert, his long slender fingers shaking a little as words seemed to catch on his throat for the first time in front of someone he loves. he took a deep breath, a bead of sweat dripping down the back of his neck, you touching his arm and asking 'is everything okay, sanji?' with your sweet voice sent him over the edge. "do you want to date me?", his words were clear for him, but for you, he simply spat all of them out at the same time. you told him to breathe and say it again, and he did, his eyes looking at the floor with the shame of the rejection that would surely come his way. your head almost bumped on his as you jumped on his arms, screaming a yes and giggling loudly. he hugged you and spun you around, giggles of his own leaving his pink lips.

trafalgar d.water law didn't want to acknowledge his feelings for you. you were one of his closest friends, one of the few people he trusted the most—you knew things about him that he never told another soul; so he was afraid of losing you. terrified even. he had lost enough people that he loved during his life and he couldn't bear to lose another one. but... his other friends knew a little too much about his "silly" feelings.

"c'mon man, go ask them out." law saw himself being cornered by penguin, sachi and bepo one day, all of them with playful expressions. "the worst you can get is a punch."

he tried to ignore them, ignore how his cheeks seemed to be heating up, but they were being so obnoxious and annoying, he couldn't handle them anymore. with a burst of rage, he yelled at them, "can you shut up? i don't like them and they don't like me, either!"

"like who?" your voice made his heart leave his body and he felt like stabbing the three men—and bear—that were running away now. "no one." law replied, scoffing to himself for the slip up. "torao! tell me! come on!" now you were the one bugging him and he rubbed his face with his hand. you poked his cheek, giving him a little pout. "law, please!"

"it's you." he snapped, making you freeze. "it's you, dumbass." surprising the man, you started to giggle, making him go from annoyed to even more embarassed. "what?" you kissed his lips softly and started to walk away, saying that you accepted to be his partner.

2024 © content belongs to lehguru, but the characters used in them belong to their respective creators!!

[eris090]

Title - "You got fucked over by America? Nice!"

No archive warnings

Relationships - RED Soldier / Zhanna (Team Fortress 2)

Tags - Collars, Leashes, Master/Pet, Praise Kink, Rough oral sex, Sex toys, Anal fingering, Femdom

Words - 2,699

Description - Soldier forgor 💀

The sight of Zhanna looming over him was one that Soldier had already become very accustomed to. Whether it was wrestling, sleeping or other explicit activities, Zhanna would usually find her way on top of Soldier, no matter the context. She was powerful, and she liked showing it.

That said, the position Soldier found himself in at the moment still made him slightly nervous. When Zhanna had been very handsy with him the entire day, Soldier just assumed in all his great wisdom that she was simply showing him affection. Which wasn't entirely false, but that wasn't the main goal, as Soldier quickly found out, when hours after they were done battling for the day Zhanna came barreling into his room, a bag in her tight grip as she tackled him.

Of course, this was normal. Sporadic wrestling was Soldiers bread and butter, so he raised his fist in preparation to fight back, that was before he saw Zhanna's expression. 

She looked angry. 

It chilled the patriot to the bone to see his fiance angry with him, not to mention the fact he didn't know what he had even done to provoke her. As far as he knew, she had been very happy all day! Smiling at him, hugging him, slapping his ass. All regular friendly things, however it only occurred to the patriot as Zhanna gazed down at him that those actions may have had something to do with it.

Setting the bag she had been carrying on the floor beside her, Zhanna spoke. “You are dumbest man in world.” She stated, hands resting on her hips as she glared down at the patriot, who only chuckled in response once he recovered from the initial shock. Soldier grinned up at his fiance, fully assuming she was teasing him, however that assumption was dropped when Zhanna's harsh expression did not disappear when he laughed.

“I am serious Jane. Did you forget what day it is?” She raised an eyebrow condescendingly, the question going one ear and out the other for Soldier as the answer was obviously yes. Lead poisoning had that effect on people, and he was not immune, even after he had taken all the pills in Merasmus’ medicine cabinet.

The Russian woman peered down at him, seemingly expecting an answer that Soldier was in no way prepared to give. Luckily, it was only a few moments before Zhanna answered the question for him. “It is our anniversary.”

Oh.

Soldier’s stomach dropped as he heard that, his eyes becoming wide enough that they were visible from beneath his helmet. The patriot's shocked expression would quickly fade however, getting replaced with one of abject despair. Soldier didn't often feel bad for things, mostly because he usually didn't seem to think he did anything wrong, however it was here that the man's heart sank, guilt overwhelming his senses as he looked up at his beautiful fiance.

There was no way in hell she had planned something ‘nice’ for their anniversary, and that's just how Soldier liked it. This being their first anniversary, Zhanna had likely planned for them to either wrestle or peg him into the sheets, maybe even both, but it was the sentiment that came with Soldier forgetting that made him feel bad. 

Zhanna however, seemed to notice the guilt filling her fiance's expression as her face softened and she reached down to cup his cheek in her hand. “It is ok, my maggot bear.” she assured him, gesturing for him to sit up. “I know just way you can make it up to me.”

She'd add with a grin, though Soldier only seemed confused by her vague suggestion, that was until she reached towards the bag she had set down earlier and pulled something out of it. A collar.

Soldier's heart fluttered back to its proper place, a wobbly smile spreading on his face while Zhanna shook it slightly, allowing Soldier to get a good eye full of it before she reached down to wordlessly clip it around Jane's neck. Obediently, Soldier lifted his head to allow his fiance to slide it underneath his neck and clip it at the front. The dark green leather pressed on his throat like a weighted blanket, lulling him into a sense of security that he only allowed himself to enter around Zhanna and Demo.

Laying his head back down, Soldier simply gazed up at the ceiling as his fiance pulled another item from the bag and attached it to his collar, revealing it to be a leash, which only made Soldier's excitement grow. He'd groan as he felt his cock begin stirring inside his uniform, pressing against the front of his pants where Zhanna sat atop him, though she seemed to pay it no mind. 

Zhanna rose to her feet, holding the leash she had attached to Soldier’s collar and picked the bag off the floor before walking over towards the Patriots bed. The sudden tug around his neck made Soldier perk up, looking over at Zhanna who was gazing down at him expectantly, a smirk decorating her features. Soldier would obediently rise to his knees and crawl over to her, following her to his bed where she would sit down. “Sit, mutt.” Zhanna commanded, at which Soldier would obey, not even considering not following her instructions.

Her pleased grin made Soldier melt, unbelievably happy to see his fiance displaying some amount of delight at his obedience. Beckoning the patriot closer, Zhanna would spread her thighs, and Soldier would hastily heel to her silent command. “Get undressed.” She gave another command, which as usual, Soldier delightedly obeyed, pulling his red shirt over his head and unbuttoning his pants, too focused on his eagerness to follow Zhanna's orders to notice that she had stripped as well.

It seemed however that Zhanna quickly grew tired of her fiance's obliviousness, immediately placing her hand under his chin once he finished undressing and lifting his head to look at her, playfully knocking his helmet off using her free hand as she did so. Soldier had seen Zhanna naked countless times, inside and outside the bedroom, however he had still not grown accustomed to her physique. The way her abs just barely peeked through the slight fat on her belly, her broad shoulders, her strong collarbone, all of it. She was a goddess in Soldiers eyes, and she might as well have been considering her physical strength.

Zhanna chuckled as she watched her fiances cock harden as his gaze trailed over her body, a slight blush coming to her cheeks at the patriots adoration of her. She didn't hesitate long however, retrieving one last item from the bag she had brought in with her, and…

It was beautiful.

Eight inches of silicon in the mold of a thick cock, stars adorning the navy blue head while the shaft was striped red and white. It was slightly bigger than even Soldier’s sizable length, which would have made most normal people at least a little bit nervous, however Soldier was simply elated. The people who complained about getting fucked over by America were cowards.

Zhanna examined her fiance's delighted expression with a grin, reaching over to the bedside table and pulling out a bottle of lube and handing it to Soldier, snapping him out of his trance. “Stretch yourself for me, dog.” She commanded, her voice low and seductive in a way Soldier treasured, placing the toy on the bed next to her. Opening the bottle, Soldier would liberally spread the substance across his fingers, even accidentally spilling some on the carpet, at which Zhanna would chuckle.

Lowering his hand to his backside, Soldier would slowly slide a single finger into his hole, nibbling at his bottom lip as the discomfort of having a small object inside him strung him up. Upon Zhanna noticing her fiance's discomfort she'd attempt to soothe him, tilting his chin upwards to look at her. “Such a good boy, my maggot bear.” She cooed, using her other hand to scratch behind Soldier’s ear. The patriot once again found himself melting, a short grunt escaping his throat in response.

A second finger would quickly be pushed inside the patriot, his thick fingers scissoring him open while Zhanna gazed down at him lovingly. Unfortunately, patience wasn't Soldier’s strong suit, so it wouldn't be long before Soldier removed his fingers and looked up at Zhanna hopefully, eager to use the toy she had got for him, just the idea made his cock twitch. In an act of mercy, Zhanna would hand the toy over to Soldier, his grin widening impossibly larger as he examined it closer.

There weren't many more details about the object to scrutinize, so he'd simply set it on the floor and fumble with the bottle of lube for a moment, eagerly spreading the substance across the silicon until he was satisfied, which didn't take much. The patriot hurriedly lifted his hips and aligned the toy with his entrance before sitting down on it, at which point Zhanna would give a harsh tug of the leash, pulling his head towards her dripping cunt. Soldier glanced up at her, the sensation filling his gut going ignored in favor of figuring out what Zhanna wanted him to do, which Zhanna would help with. 

“Eat.” Her command was simple but harsh, sounding as though Soldier truly didn't have a choice in the matter, which made the patriot shudder. Leaning forward, Soldier licked a stripe up Zhanna's slit, drawing a low moan from the strong Russian as she placed her hand on the back of his head, pulling him further in until he was kissing the sensitive nub residing at the top of her slit, making her gasp. “That is it, mutt. Taste me now, and savor it.” She commanded, though Soldier already intended to do so.

Raising his hips, Soldier pushed his tongue into Zhanna's hole, slobbering all over her cunt before dropping his hips back down, the toy hitting deep inside of him, causing him to moan against Zhanna, the vibration causing the Russian to Shudder before chuckling as her fiance's subservience. “What a good mutt. You will not touch, understand? You keep your hands on floor and take what I give to you.” She asked, pushing Soldiers head against herself harder, not allowing him to verbally respond, however she seemed satisfied by the patriots eager nod as he continued to eat her out.

Beginning a steady rhythm of riding the toy Zhanna had given to him, Soldier would release wanton moans into her snatch, being gifted with light tugs of his leash in reward. “There is my mutt. You are such good boy, you know this?” She praised, clenching around the patriots tongue as he whimpered, evidently desiring more stimulation, however he'd restrain himself, wanting to remain a good boy for his fiance. 

As Zhanna's wetness filled his mouth the only thing Soldier could find himself thinking about was how happy he was to have such a beautiful woman as his fiance. However that thought too would soon fade away as his brain became fogged with pleasure. Using her hand that wasn't holding Soldier’s head in place, Zhanna scratched behind his ears, her hands shaking due to Soldier’s immaculate way of eating her out. Screw whatever Spy said, this was real fine dining. 

It wasn't long before Zhanna's grip on his head started to become unbearably painful, a sure sign of the Russian woman's orgasm was fast approaching. With a grunt, Zhanna wrapped her legs around her fiance's head, pulling him against her even harder. It restricted Soldier's ability to breathe, however, he didn't seem to care all too much, his only desire being to please the love of his life. 

“Oh, Jane, you are so good at this! God, I am going to cum. Make me cum, maggot bear!” Zhanna moaned, her voice becoming uncharacteristically high pitched as she clenched around the patriots tongue, her walls spasming as she reached her climax. A long, rumbling moan would run through Zhanna's body and down into Soldier, making him whimper as she allowed her legs to fall from his shoulders and onto the floor at his sides, the release of his head allowing Soldier to fall backwards. Though, as he went to do so, Zhanna tugged on his leash, pulling him back in. “Oh no you don't.”

Her playful tone in combination with her rough voice made Soldier's cock twitch, reminding him of the intense need that was building in his groin. “Messy eater. Clean up your mess, dog.” Zhanna's voice cut through Soldier's exhaustion as he gasped for air, turning his eyes up at Zhanna and taking a moment before he began licking up her thighs. She tasted magnificent, pardon his French, the texture of the slick liquid on his tongue caused a burning in the Patriots chest that he simply couldn't disregard.

With shaking legs, Soldier once again lifted himself off the toy filling his ass, only waiting for a second before dropping back down. An animalistic growl escaped his throat as he continued bouncing on the toy, Zhanna looking down at him proudly. Her joy nearly made Soldier's heart give out, eagerly continuing to clean the sickness between his fiance's thighs in return for the silent praise, though he would have done so either way. The opportunity to cum was a reward enough as far as Soldier was concerned, however Zhanna, the goddess she was, decided to give him more. 

“Look at you my honey maggot bear, riding dick so well. Only you could take something like that, yes? Only my mutt could ride America's cock so well.” She praised, dragging a desperate whine from the patriot below her, the noise quickly turning into a growl as he bit down on Zhanna's thigh to hide his sounds of ecstasy. “Oh no, Jane. Let go.” She scolded, leading Jane to shakily remove his mouth from her thigh, moving his head to look up at Zhanna as he repeatedly drove the toy into his ass, wincing whenever it hit his prostate. 

“Sweet Joseph-!” Soldier grunted as his climax began to build, his cock having not been touched once this whole time, Zhanna's presence alone being enough to bring him to orgasm, that is when she allowed him to. Turning his head towards the floor, Soldier squeezed his eyes shut, immersing himself in the pleasure his fiance was granting him. “Very good, Jane. So manly, so strong, you are such good boy for me.” She crooned, watching with eager eyes as Soldiers hips began to buck forward. 

“Cuh…! Cumming-! Please, Zh-...Zhanna-!” He groaned, heat enveloping his body as his hips thrusted forward of their own volition. Zhanna responded mercifully, petting the patriots head. “Go ahead and cum, Jane. Show how big of man you are.” her words simmered in Soldier’s fogged mind for only a second, upon processing them, immediately allowing Soldier to cum. “Sweet-...Shit, shit shit!” He dug his fingers into Zhanna's thighs as cum shot from his needy cock, twitching as it expelled its built up pleasure, spilling onto the carpeted floor of his room as well as spattering against his fiance's calves. 

Zhanna smiled, the sight of the twitching and writhing patriot nearly making her horny again as Soldier slowly released his death grip on her thighs, quietly gasping for air while his cock fell flaccid on the carpet, dirtying the floor even moreso. 

A few moments passed before Soldier lifted his head to look up at his fiance, a wobbly grin on his face, and his eyes tired as he rested the side of his head on Zhanna's inner thigh. His fiance grinned down at him with nearly the same expression, her eyes beautiful as always. After catching his breath, Soldier lifted himself off the toy, a short grunt escaping his throat as it popped out of his ass.

Soldier would gasp for breath a few more times before finally speaking. “Thank you, maggot…sorry for forgetting our anniversary.” Soldier sulked, leading Zhanna to lift his head back up. “Is ok Jane. You are forgiven.” She replied, her voice playful, making Soldier grin once again. “God, you're beautiful…”

[aso-bi]

DIY LoZ Sheikah Slate

Thought it's about time I shared the birthday gift I made for my bestie @tsukinoshinjiu! It's a custom Sheikah Slate! So I'm gonna share how I made it... (finished images at the bottom!)

First I started by looking at in-game references for it and getting a general feel of what it looks like, what pieces I'd need, and what the general shape would be like. I wanted it to be a special box of sorts, so they could hide little treasures or letters...

After getting the general feel of the colors and shapes I'd need as well as what would be sunken and what would pop out, I looked for some measurements I could base myself off of. Luckily I found a Reddit post of someone who'd already done the hard work for me.

I tweaked the sizes slightly (namely putting them in a measurement system I could actually understand) then opened up SketchUp to model it out and simulate my rough idea.

I really wanted to stay true to the rounded corners, so I went for a layered technique, using 3 mm wooden slates.

So I created a "base" piece, a "body" piece, and a "lid" piece. In the end, it ended up being 5 body pieces, 1 base, and 1 lid. (And no, I didn't have access to 6 mm wood, otherwise, I'd simply done 2 6mm pieces for the body instead) In total, the depth was roughly 2.2 cm

Once that was ready, I laid out a simple graphic for my cutter. In it you can see the measurements:

Height: 25,33 cm (~10 in.)

Width: 15,33 cm (6 in.)

Depth: 2.2 cm (0.8 in.)

(yes I named it 6mm, I mistyped dw about it) Once that was done, I looked at the front again and opened up Illustrator to make the vector path for the cutter. I had barely used Illustrator before so I had to learn while I was doing it *sweats* but I got it done, and here's what it looks like. I saved it as .eps (vector) so the cutter could read it.

Once that was done, all that was left was to wait for the cutter to be done with my pieces....

Then I immediately started painting and organizing! Decided to start with something small, so I chose the little triangles, I took them apart and painted each piece individually, then with some scotch tape I held them together and put them aside. Next I painted the main piece as well as the lid, body, and base. I glued the layers first then painted them, same with the rest. The handle was especially fun to do and I think it turned out especially pretty. Always working my way up to the smaller colors. Once all those pieces were painted I glued them in place.

The little lines really tested my pulse *sweats again* I don't think they're perfect, but I tried my best (the circle around the eye is especially scuffed)

Not pictured (because I forgor) I made little stops on the bottom of the lid so it could stay in place and be used as a box. I used some thick 2mm hard grey board to make 4 little rounded stops and glued them to the bottom of the lid. When I was done, I sprayed the entire thing in a shiny finisher!

The inside had a special engraving since I'd originally wanted to throw in the Korok Bookmark I'd made for them in there as a surprise, but since this gift had lagged behind for a while, the bookmark was sent ahead of time along with the other goodies I'd prepared for their bday.

Once it was all ready I threw in some other goodies inside and packaged it for the mail! They got it last week and the reaction was...

In the end, the slate arrived a little later than I had wanted, but it got there in one place and the unboxing video I got from them was priceless hehehe.

So yea, that was my adventure making a custom Sheikah Slate as a bday gift! If I eventually remake it, I'll try to make it look even closer to the original.

And if anyone would like to try their hand at making it, go ahead! If there's interest for the files I'll find a way to make them available as well.

Bye bye!

[appalachianapologies]

okay so I was tagged by @lailuhhh and @rosieblogstuff and I think one other person (i am so sorry i forgor) many days ago and i am finally doing the first sentence of ten works thing. I guess the general consensus is no one knows whether or not this is for WIPs or posted things so like many others I'll just do a combo of both :D

From a wip that is uhhhh 22k and counting long, titled in my google docs as simply "fuck it desi lore," starting off strong with a sentence that I don't think is actually grammatically correct but you know what sometimes the vibes matter more than grammar and you can quote me on that: Later, Desi will feel guilty for it.

From chapter one of Remittent Distress, we have a line that sounds like it's going to be macriley WHICH IT IS NOT- (PS she's just out on a little mini mission she's not dead or anything) During the three days that Riley has been gone, Mac's been coping poorly.

Another chapter one first sentence, we have the first line of what's shaping up to be my next book! Cue the school intercom noise... "Good morning Ravens, happy Tuesday, and happy first day of school!"

Next we have chapter one (not the prologue) of False Dawn, which is a WIP that keeps me up at night and makes me feel far too many emotions at once: Bozer has a strange affinity for sending physical letters.

We have a bit of a secret fic that's up next- set in Tender Mercies universe, except this is set approximately 10 years in the future from Aground, the most recent fic in the series. Mac makes it a single step into the visitation cell before freezing on the spot.

Next up we have the first line of one of my favorite fics of mine, where we get some Sam Cage! (sam my beloved). Get ready for the first sentence of Episteme! Samantha Cage, despite her evergrowing want to be out of the life she threw herself into, isn’t exactly sure how to stay out of it.

Okay so this is the first line at the moment, but might not be if/when I finally get around to writing the vast majority of this fic. After drafting out an entire fic on a plane ride about a year ago, I only actually fully wrote out a few paragraphs. Here's the beginning of it as of right now: “Arriving in forty-five minutes,” comes the eventual answer through Mac’s earpiece. 

Now we have the first line from Past + Fire + Present, purely because I think it's a fabulous addition to the whole point of this post (and also this does happen to be a fic that i am quite happy about how it came out). The first sentence is a little bit lack-luster though... Hands.

Changing things up a bit, this next sentence is from my 95% finished The Martian fic that has been 95% finished for over a year at this point. I really just need to write two more paragraphs and post it at this point, but here's the start! Sneaking out of Beck's quarters as soon as he stepped out to talk to the rest of the crew was probably not the brightest of plans, but I can’t take it back now.

And to end things off, we're going to hop back to Remittent Distress, but this time in the form of the first sentence for chapter three! (Currently working on it, fear not) It’s to be expected.

I'm fairly certain that at this point everyone that I know has been tagged in this (and I'm also like a week or two late at this point), so if you see this, assume you're being tagged! (and also if you write your own please tag me somewhere in it so I can read your sentences :D)

[eyfey]

Hello! I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering how long you studied Japanese for until you became good enough to do manga translations? (Or fluently read manga at all, really 😔) I want to help contribute to projects like that, but I feel I still have a long way to go until then 🤧

so first off: sorry this took so long to reply to! when I first got the message I had exactly Zero free time, and then i simply forgor (whoops lol)

I actually already have a few posts sort of about this in my #translation tips tag, but it's been a hot minute so I might as well provide some updated info~

(under the readmore 'cause it's longggggggg)

How long have I studied Japanese?

A While. I had maybe a not so typical journey with Japanese... If you break it down it looks kinda like this:

4 years of watching a TON of anime to pick up basic vocab just by ear (this was in high school- I did not take any actual classes or even make any effort to learn the language at this point, but apparently I'm pretty good at just picking up things from hearing them)

4 1/2 years of actual Japanese classes in college (actual learning with like teachers and textbooks and homework)

1/2 year of study abroad that I managed to cram in before I graduated (additional classes and also constant speaking the language)

8 1/2 years since then (god has it really been that long???) (no actual like... studying during this time, but a LOT of translating... mostly Saiki)

So.... 13-ish years? if you don't count the first 4 that were just watching anime. And technically only 5 of them were actual "studying".

-

How long did I study before doing manga translating?

I, uh….. I actually started translating manga about a month BEFORE I ever took a single Japanese language class.

(not recommended but like… here I am lol)

I had found some volumes of Pyu to Fuku Jaguar(a gag manga I really liked but only had 3 volumes translated at the time) at a used bookstore, but they were in Japanese so I just kind of bought them, downloaded an english to japanese dictionary app, printed out a hiragana/katakana chart, and then just went through the book: looking up one letter at a time, sounding out words, looking them up in the dictionary. I already knew a lot of vocab and had a vague feel for grammar exclusively from watching anime, but like also there was a loooooooot of looking stuff up. I don't remember exactly how long it took to read that first volume (at least a month lol- maybe 2 or more)

I noticed the scan group for Pyu to Fuku Jaguar was updating really slow (and/or had notices that they needed more translators? I forget it's been over a decade lol) So I figured: I can understand this well enough just reading it on my own.... maybe I can help???? it's probably better than nothing right?? So I tried my hand at doing some translations and uploaded them to the newbie board of a manga translation side to have people proofread, and then I emailed the group to ask if I could join. If I remember correctly they only ended up posting one (or none) of my translations?? before disappearing so I just kind of kept doing the translations on my own without uploading them anywhere

and then later when a new group took over they had gotten my translations from the previous group (or was it the translation site where I uploaded some?) and credited me in the release, so I sent them a message like "hey neato! I actually have like 5 more translations done, u want em?" and ended up joining THAT group to continue working on the series!

I started taking classes p soon after starting the translations, and doing translation while taking classes was actually really nice 'cause I had a place to pretty much immediately apply the things I learned in class, and the translating outside of class gave me a lot of practice for reading & a good head start for learning new vocab.

Honestly I think for translating, being good at the language you're translating into is more important than being good at the language you're translating from. Like: you should still at least SORT of know the language you're translating from (that is an important part of it too don't get me wrong) But like even if someone is perfectly fluent in Japanese, if they're translating into English but don't know how to make words sound good in English, then it kind of defeats the purpose haha.

(reading a lot and paying close attention to wording and stuff, and also reviewing and revising your translations will help with that part of the translation process- it's also a skill you pick up as you go)

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Tips for getting better at reading Japanese?

Honestly I think translating is one of the best ways to get better at Japanese (understanding and reading at least- it won't necessarily do much to help you remember how to write or speak haha) Reading is helpful to some extent, but you will probably get to a point where you understand enough of it to get the gist of whats happening, but then your brain will just sort of skim over a lot of the parts you don't know in the interest of enjoying the story without stopping. When you translate though, you're FORCED to stop and look up every word or phrase you don't know and double check things and sort of sit on them and think what it means and how you would say it in your own language.

If you're self motivated enough you can probably get some good learning out of language apps like duolinguo or babel or whatever, or even just buying Japanese textbooks/workbooks and going through them by yourself. Otherwise, taking Japanese classes is the standard approach (even if you don't go to a school where they offer Japanese classes, there are private options- just google Japanese classes or Japanese tutors online or in your area if you prefer in person)

This old post of mine has some more detailed tips for how to look things up, and some just general translating tips that I think are still p useful, but it pretty much boils down to "google everything you don't know until you know it"

also the 10ten extension is good for highlighting/translating individual japanese words in your browser (when they're written in kanji or kana) and the google translate app is good for taking pictures of text and reading it so you know what the dang kanji says (or you can hand write the kanji in there too- though I need to find a better kanji dictionary app 'cause google's doesn't really give you enough space to write)

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Sorry this ended up WAY longer than I thought it would but I hope it helped!

Good luck!!

[multitrackdrifting]

In my mind G-Witch ends at Episode 15 and they just forgor to release the rest, there's certain things that are super hard to ignore when you re-watch it (which I have):

Why is Nika a focal point of the 1st season finale but she is in a prison room for the entire 2nd season?

Why do we only see Earth like three times in the story

Why is Guel Jeturk given two potential mentors from Dominicus but doesn't remain on Earth despite everything in the narrative pointing toward it (Kenanji, who was the ace pilot that helped kill everyone in the prologue, and Olcott who is a defector that is part of the Fold's militant arm).

Why do characters that seemingly need to have a conversation simply not do that? None of the children talk to their parents at the end of the story even for the ones that are alive. The easy response is that overcoming trauma and conflicts may not require the other party who had a role in creating it, but I don't think that's an apt way to actually answer this question. I think they just had to hand in their homework and top brass refused more seasons.

Why do the Dawn of Fold mostly get shown in a negative light (yes, I realize that they're a front for something else) and the story does nothing to convince the viewer that the Earthian plight is a sympathetic or human one besides the children dying? There's a genuine lack of time spent on Earth as a subject and it leaves this obscure veil over the entire subject

The lack of observed "conflict" throughout the story is a fine concession compared to the average Gundam series, but it also carries the caveat that it doesn't really work if 3/4 of the show is non-lethal combat scenarios because for that narrative choice to be more effective, they need to show how violent the conflicts on Earth are besides showing it briefly a couple of times.

Why is Earth House not even a thing in the 2nd season, like they are there and they talk, but they have no material role in the story besides Martin and Nika making amends. I think this part wouldn't annoy me half as much if every Earthian besides them wasn't literally a terrorist within the narrative and not even in like a Zeta Gundam kind of way.

Overall Earth got completely shafted which is the central gripe most people will have with the political side of the story, everything got hand-waved, and the plight of those struggling with the proxy wars on Earth is barely shown. Everyone waxes on about the state of Earth and how things are going but nothing substantive is explored with it in a way that matters in the grand scheme of things.

Why does Prospera not even give a shit that Kenanji is there like, I know you can spin this a certain way but it's genuinely hilarious...?

I can think of more, but I like G-Witch but the political side of the story is genuinely less interesting than IBO and folks that know me know I don't even like IBO. When it comes to character writing and emotional storytelling it's some peak, but it's very bad as military sci-fi specifically because its commentary on Warfare isn't bad b/c of space magic, it's bad because nothing actually happens, and the central political tension is literally handwaved in the finale. Having the warfare sit in abstraction for the entire duration of the story with the exception of the final arc of the first season and jumping in and out of our periphery in the 2nd ultimately makes the commentary it has on the warfare of the story feel like an ivory tower take on conflict because the characters for the most part can put aside the fact that war on earth exists despite the dialogue. I still think it's good, but it carries the weight of expectations it can't reasonably meet due to its duration, honestly Earth would have to just be cut out for this story not to disappoint half as much wrt it.

I think the thing that frustratse me the most, is that they give Prospera Full Frontal's scene from Gundam Unicorn but it's actually different because of how it unfolds in the ending. The thing is like ,it's actually good to give her that, but it still lacks the substance required for it to be an effective and cathartic resolution for her character since they do it during a period of time where the viewer that actually cares about the backdrop of the world w/ a lot of unanswered questions.

I'd still give the experience of watching it like a 9 in all fairness, but once you reealise the space politics are actually undercooked severely, it's more like a 7.5 at best for me, I think the emotional character writing and happy endings for the characters were enjoyable to see I just think the space-politics side of the story was very undercooked. While it's tempting to theorize as to why they weren't given more episodes during its run, according to the production announcement around October '22 they knew that it was 25 episodes about the entire time the show had begun airing, so the gaps in our knowledge aren't the product of sabotage, but necessary sacrifices to even get a legible story out the door. It's more accurate to say that the decision to continue the AU was not given despite the immense success during its airing - I believed it would get more episodes as IBO did, but one of those shows 1st halves ended on a cliffhanger and the other did not :/

The easiest way to phrase this is that it's a good show if you can put aside that it should have a stronger political side (within the context of its own world) and it's not even unreasonable to expect given the moving parts of the show starting from the prologue - but yeah, too little to say everything it needs to, so it just remains a good romance story but a pretty undercooked Gundam, which is nothing new for the series.

I'd liken it to FFXV is good if it's your first FF game it's good as hell if this is where you start, but a holistic look at it would make it feel bad if you've watched other Gundam series. And trust me, there are a LOT of undercooked and bad Gundam endings, it's not unique to this series. GSD and IBO are some ones I will never even bother defending, but I appreciate the genuine effort into the construction of this show it's just a shame it's not 50 episodes.

tl;dr - the first mainline gundam besides g-reco having less than 50 episodes results in a good story and world that has borderline nothing to say about some of its more glaring conflicts, the social side of things is interesting, the political side is completely uncooked.

[danceswithdarkspawn]

You've got me interested in Dragon Age with all the content you post or reblog, but I've been a bit curious about the actual gameplay itself. Can you tell me about some of your favorite portions from the game series?

First of all I'm flattered you decided to come to me, the backwater dumbass that lives in a ramshackle hut and yells at the sky about this godforsaken franchise. There are probably far better people to ask this question. I hope you are okay. Second, I meant to get around to answering this a few days ago, I Forgor. Third, buckle up, it's Dinosaur Post all over again but extremely long.

I'm going to split this up into the actual, technical gameplay bits and the other stuff because both of these play a role in why I like or dislike certain aspects of all three games. Also, I will be including some things I don't like or didn't work for me, but that's a small portion. I'll label each part so you can skip to whichever section.

To preface: Dragon Age: Origins was THE game (along with Skyrim) that got me away from MMOs and into single-player RPG games. DAO will always be special to me because of that and thus I have some bias towards it. Because I can't do anything in short-form, this is long as hell, and contains my thoughts on each game.

Before we begin: GIANT DISCLAIMER that these are my opinions, not fact. I love these games despite their many flaws, and if I didn't want them to be better, I would not be critical of them.

I will not be going over any of the DLCs because frankly there are a lot of them, but in my opinion, all the DLCs for all the games are excellent additions to the base games they belong to.

The Technical Gameplay Stuff

General:

All of the combat in Dragon Age plays out something like this: You have your party of up to 4 consisting of your Player Character (PC) and three other companions who you recruit at different points in the story. You can choose to fill out your party (meaning you have the max of 4) or you can go solo, bring only one companion, etc. You control one character at a time while the game controls the rest, but you can freely swap between characters, pause mid-combat, move your camera around the battle, and give direct commands to individual party members that will execute when unpaused. Combat is persistent, not turn-based, and will only end if all enemies are killed or the player gets far enough away to disengage battle.

Each game also has their own 'tactics' system that dictates what other members of your party do in certain situations when not controlled by you

Dragon Age has a condensed classical RPG class setup consisting of Warriors, Mages and Rogues. There are subclasses of these (known as Specializations, which unlock stat bonuses, new skills and passives). Each class has unique advantages that encourage you to have at least one of each in your party. This is especially true of Inquisition with obstacles which can only be cleared by certain classes.

Furthermore, Origins was a little more flexible in its class choices because a: weapons and armor were not restricted by class, but by stat investments and b: warriors have access to all weapon talents (two-handed, sword and shield, dual wield and bow) while rogues only have talents for dual wield and bow.

Following Origins, weapons and armor types are restricted by class.

Dragon Age: Origins/Awakening:

DAO's combat is fairly slow and a bit clunky and perhaps dated, but I think that's the charm of it. As far as how interactive the combat is, DAO is the least interactive of the three games. That does not mean you can let the battles play out on their own, especially if you're playing harder difficulties. You will still need to do some tactical positioning, switching characters, using items, etc. But DAO does not require you to hold down a button to perform basic attacks on your controlled character. You simply select your target and start attacking it, and activate skills as you see fit. What i mean by 'least interactive' is that, compared to the other two games, you'll be doing less actions per minute most of the time.

For me, the typical combat gameplay loop for Origins is something like this:

combat starts, pause game, move party as necessary, unpause

mage controller AOE paralyze largest cluster and/or stunlock the most dangerous enemy

warriors to largest cluster > tank AOE taunt, melee DPS AOE/Stun

ranged DPS target ranged enemies; intercept with warriors/melee characters as necessary; dual wield rogues with max stealth can also be sent to kill enemies in the back, or flank at largest cluster and AOE/stun spam

pause to adjust as necessary (heal, use items, reapply crowd control)

Your options early in the game will be limited, as AOE taunt and mass paralyze require a few levelups and stat investments to unlock. In the early game, you'll be using single-target stuns, knockbacks, etc to keep the battle under control. Luckily, each class has access to a stun early on. The Mabari hound is also great to bring along for an early-game AOE stun if you're struggling.

You'll need to carefully choose which skill trees you want to invest in, particularly for your primary tank and a controller-oriented mage (highly recommend for the utility), because there isn't an easy way to reset skills.

Also, many mage skills have Friendly Fire, particularly with AOE damaging abilities. Be cautious with these.

The tactics system in Origins/Awakening is, in my opinion, the best in the series. It's very in-depth, you can have multiple loadouts and change them as needed, iirc you can switch them on the fly through the menu, and generally make your life easier, especially if you just want to stick to controlling one or two characters.

These settings operate largely on a 'if X condition, then Y' set of logic. For example, when setting tactics for a two-handed warrior, you can have, "If surrounded by X number of enemies, use AOE ability,' or 'If Controlled Character is targeted by EnemyClass/DamageType, do X Action.' On harder difficulties, I wouldn't solely rely on tactics but it is very, very useful.

Origins also had craftable and placable traps, flasks and poisons that largely got baked into skills or potion crafting in the other two games, which is neat and fun because you could do stupid shit like this to oneshot a fucking dragon. Also Muh Roleplay.

TLDR: I like Origin's combat loop because of how simple, but effective it is. It's influenced by DnD-type strategy and is complex enough that I have to think about what I'm doing, I can't just bumrush through, but not so difficult that it feels impossible or unfun.

Dragon Age 2:

DA2's combat departs from Origins somewhat; you still don't have to hold down an attack button for basic attacks, but the combat, in my opinion, feels much faster paced, more akin to an ARPG. In comparison to DAO, I am constantly pausing the fight to move targets or use my next ability. There are also far more enemies per fight than Origins, as they come in waves instead of all at once. They typically have lower health, but their numbers combined with the amount of waves can make some fights challenging and a slog. There are, however, a plethora of AOE abilities to assist with this.

I'm not sure about the complexity of DA2's tactics as I don't use it that much and just opt for intense micromanagement during combat, but from memory it does also have some depth. DA2's difficulty scaling is, in my opinion, pretty steep compared to Origins and I prefer for play it at the normal setting. Personally I have the most fun playing as a rogue and flipping around stabbing people and kicking them in the face. Overall, fun, flashy.

Typical loop for combat is something like:

Miasmic Flask largest group > AOE the shit out of that group > Warrior Taunt > heal > repeat

Mostly though, it's a loooot of pausing and unpausing for me personally.

Dragon Age: Inquisition:

Somewhere in the middle of DAO and DA2 with a few extra bells. You can jump now! On keyboard the jump button is spacebar, which happens to be the button that pauses the game in the previous two games. I'll let you imagine how that goes mid-fight. Anyway, the combat for DAI is fairly interactive and now requires you to hold down a button to perform your basic attacks. The game is much more open-world ala Skyrim with different contained regions you can travel to. I hate to say it, but combat outside of boss battles in Inquisition is somewhat boring. It's very pretty thanks to the Frostbite engine, but that's about it.

Additionally, you no longer heal out of combat. Your healing options are also limited. You start the game with a fixed amount of health potions that are shared across your entire party. The potion-sharing is similar to DA2, but there was no max potion cap on DA2. You are limited, always, periodt. You can expand this number through crafting upgrades, as well as healing effectiveness. There are also potions that heal over time with an upgrade that heals in an area around the user, and a grenade that heals in the target area. (idk man don't ask)

There are some skills/ultimates/weapon abilities that give some healing or shielding, but combat is made artificially harder because of this change. In longer missions, there are typically one or more supply caches where you can resupply, however (unless you turn that off in Trials). I'm not saying this is a bad thing, just trying to be thorough. This only becomes a pain in the ass for long fights like bosses or high dragons.

There is a learning curve to Inquisition's combat, which the prologue tests you on (Pride Demon my beloathed). While initially challenging, there is a point at which combat outside of boss battles/high dragons feels trivialized, even on Nightmare. The DLCs, however, bring some punch back to combat and are actually difficult, which is nice. If playing on Nightmare, it is much harder to brute-force your way through, especially if doing it for the first time without the special schematics you obtain from them. I was literally shooketh when I took my endgame Nightmare build through Trespasser the first time and got clapped. (Just to be clear, this is a good thing. I like a little difficulty in my combat, so I play on Nightmare to suffer, but you don't have to.)

Hands down the absolute worst thing about Inquisition's combat, especially if running on Nightmare like I do, is the tactics system. It is hot fucking garbage for Nightmare. It is so far condensed from Origin's tactics that it's laughable. I had to google optimal tactics settings for Nightmare because some DPS character would inevitably stand where the tank was standing and eat an entire dragon's breath and die regularly, no matter how much I micromanaged.

I do, however, very much like most of the skills/specializations in Inquisition, especially for Warriors. Compared to the previous two titles, it is FAR easier to keep everything's attention on the tank and not your squishes (even more so if you have Trespasser DLC). Also, performing cross-class combos feels much more satisfying (and is far easier right out the gate) on Inquisition comparatively. There's nothing like freezing an enemy and having your 2-hander warrior cleave into them for a chunky combo. Big number make brain go unga bunga.

Additionally, it also doesn't take much skillpoint investment to get a decent handle on fights. This is especially true if you have the Trespasser DLC, which adds new upgrades to active abilities. Two taunts can be acquired pretty early (three with Trespasser) and all are relatively low cooldown. Also! If you fucked up your build (or want to respec for something specific/try something new) you can easily reset your points to reinvest them! Keep in mind you can't change your specialization once you've unlocked it though.

The Story Gameplay Stuff

In my opinion, the thing that makes the Dragon Age franchise great is the characters and the relationships experienced with them. The games are as much about their stories as they are about the conflict that brings the characters together. This is the type of thing that makes me stick with this franchise; the characters really make it for me. The characters are well-written, feel unique, and have their own strengths and flaws that make them grounded. There are characters I don't enjoy, but I appreciate them because, again, they are well-written.

DAO and DA2 is very much the flavor of RPG where your choices matter, and this includes both what you choose in the story and with individual characters. You can befriend said characters or you can let your rapport with them get so low that their disposition toward you can change, and they might even leave your party. There are some companions whose dispositions you can change. Known as softening or hardening, this can sway a character's decisions and make them more likely to go along with certain player-made choices.

DA2's Friendship/Rivalry system, in my opinion, a nice middle-ground approval system. Your decisions/interactions will garner approval or rivalry, changing your companion's disposition toward you, but a high-rivalry companion won't abandon you simply for having high rivalry. Rather, the companion will still go along with what your decisions, but there will always be underlying tension. You're also not locked out of romance simply because of high rivalry levels. Honestly, I enjoy some rivalmances more than a high friendship romance, but either way, the system gives you more ways to freely play your character and interact with the cast of companions. Companions in DA2 may leave/become unavailable because of decisions made in the story, but not for approval, which I think is nice.

DAI is also a game about decisions, but doesn't do it as well as DAO or DA2. The first two games do a good job of "show, don't tell" with your impact on the game. Inquisition does a lot more Telling than Showing, which I think is a shame for an RPG with its premise. Regardless, DAI's approval system is back to an Origins-esque style, but your total approval with individual characters is hidden from you. Furthermore, companions will approve or disapprove of major decisions you make regardless if you bring them with you or not (which feels much more realistic to me).

While I feel that Inquisition squandered a lot of the potential it had with its main conflict, it handles its characters, their relationships with the player and other characters very well. In fact, a lot of the Show part of "show don't tell" in Inquisition is displayed through your companions, either literally by changing their tarot cards or their reactions/interactions to you and other characters. As I said before, the characters are what makes the franchise for me, and Inquisition, for all its faults, does its characters exceptionally well. Their backgrounds, motivations and personalities are diverse and complex, and is what makes Inquisition replayable for me.

Each game also features its own protagonist/player character, which is probably my favoritest thing about Origins, specifically. A lot of the replayability for Origins is playing through each origin and/or class combination. Aside from simply adding more ways to roleplay, which is always welcome in my book, each one gives different perceptions to the game's conflict with some interactions specific to your chosen origin. If playing DAO, I highly recommend working your way through each origin.

DA2 technically only has one origin, Hawke. While I personally see Hawke as a more defined character compared to the Warden and Inquisitor, Hawke is still a malleable character, and of course, headcanons are free and cool to have. Anyway, you can play Hawke as any class, and I'd recommend to play through the game at minimum as a rougue/warrior and mage. Given the subject matter of the game, this gives you a different look at the game's conflict.

Inquisition offers more race options once again, but forgoes an origin prologue like DAO. While there is some depth to Inquisition's origins, they're not as complex as DAO's. However, this does lend the player some flexibility to fill in the gaps, if they choose. Why use a canon backstory when you can make your own? That's the fun of RPGs, no? I'd still recommend playing through one or two of the origins, while not quite as impactful as the previous titles, some things change depending on which Inquisitor you choose.

But Dances, what about the other stuff you like?

Maps:

DAO and DA2 have a level/dungeon system (idk what else to call it) that are self-contained areas/sub-areas that you explore. Each area is initially concealed by Fog-of-War and some of these areas can be quite large and (especially in DAO) lead to secrets/loot/sidequests etc, which encourages thorough exploration. This is less so in DA2 because of how many assets and areas are reused, but still shows up from time to time. DAI uses open-world maps that allow you to explore huge areas in different locales across Ferelden and Orlais. Kind of like in the spirit of Skyrim, except the maps don't feel "lived in" if that makes sense. A lot of them are big and open with not enough in between for my tastes. DAI encourages the player to explore each of these maps through quests, completionist objectives, minigames and more. These areas are beautiful and I appreciate them for what they are, I just wish they were a little more robust. If doing exclusively the main story, there's a lot you can miss in DAI and that's honestly a shame.

Sound Design/OST:

Ok so this isn't technically gameplay but I didn't know where else to put it. But the music completes the atmosphere for me. I typically do not play anything with the music on; typically I'm listening to a podcast or something in the background when I play. I don't do that with Dragon Age. I want to be immersed in it and the background music etc. plays a good part in that. DAO and DA2 use what I'd describe as dark fantasy music that's more atmospheric in nature. It's very simple with few instruments/vocals, but effective for what it does. DAO's main menu music and I Am The One are good examples of this.

DAI's OST is done by Trevor Morris and is much more orchestral incorporating many different instruments. Morris' work for this game did some heavy fucking lifting because it's honestly incredible. Always a high-fantasty feel, but each track perfectly captures the tone of its setting and immerses me into it. Whether its the subtle background music drifting through Halamshiral, or eerie chords plaything through the Fade, or you just got to the end of Trespasser and time is running out for your Inquisitor, it is a crime to play without music. In my opinion. Don't come for me. Please listen to Morris' work I beg you. He gave Dragon Age the grandiose music it deserves.

Lore:

LORE! I love lore. Dragon Age's lore is somewhat nebulous and has unfortunately been subject to retcons and a few questionable decisions. However, the depth of the lore is something I really, really appreciate. While somewhat frustrating, said retcons and inconsistencies, along with some areas that are more ambiguous in nature, allows speculation and gives me PLENTY to think about if I really, really wanted to. Also, because the lore is so sprawling I learn new shit all the time. It's fucking unreal. I will rarely go a playthrough without learning (or relearning) something new.

The only downside is that a lot of the fine print of the lore is hidden in codex entries, which can get easily passed up if you're the type of person to not pay attention to things like item descriptions, for example. If you're familiar with how Dark Souls tucks a lot of lore into item descriptions, it's kind of like that. Some codecies will be displayed on-screen when you acquire them which you then have to close out of, but many just get relegated to a 'Codex Acquired/Updated' notification somewhere on the side of your screen.

Additionally, for Inquisition specifically, some deeper context and nuance is lost because of two books published before Inquisition's launch. While forgoing these books doesn't make Inquisition's story incomprehensible, knowing the events in these books might change your perception of major events and give further insight to some of the characters.

Final Thoughts:

absolutely none. I just delivered an essay upon thine lap. head empty. I like this franchise a lot if you'd like something really really specific please hit me up.

Bonus: