#nihongo thoughts

[guujikaroko]

For those who were impressed with Uchida Yuuma's performance as Anaxagoras, here's a fun little treat:

As I explained in other posts, Anaxagoras speaks in keigo (敬語), the polite Japanese form that you normally use with strangers and at work and situations where you're not that close with others.

Thing is, he speaks exclusively in keigo. Not once he broke character during the entirety of his screentime, including that famous yell.

So yeah, he was essentially yelling something along the lines of "Please do not interrupt me" at the top of his lungs. Dude prizes his class.

[guujikaroko]

Hello, hellooooo. I saw you were interested in knowing the opinion of someone who actually knows Japanese and I'm more than glad in giving you my two cents on Aventurine!

Let's start with some basics on his speech pattern before we tackle the lines you presented. His first name pronoun is 僕 (boku), common among young men. His second person pronoun is 君 (kimi), which denotes familiarity with the other person but he uses it as his regular one. Combining it, you get the image of a very friendly lad.

Aventurine doesn't particularly use any overly polite forms, nor does he go out of his way to sound aggressive. All in all, he's pretty casual, but I'd like to bring attention to a little thing: his sentence enders like だ/-da (used in affirmations) and か/-ka (used in questions) are actually だい (-dai) and かい (-kai). This is commonly a masculine form of speech and it's used to sound more polite/pleasing to others. One character that shares this same quirk is Jing Yuan.

As you might have noticed, JP Aventurine goes a little ham with the English. That's because poker has a lot of English loanwords in Japanese... And also to make him sound more frivolous, lmao.

Now, onto the lines themselves! I'll offer a direct translation of each of them in order, while exploring any interesting tidbits I find.

First meeting: "The hotel's security is on high alert, and even a little miss won't be allowed. Even if you suddenly say this and that, it's not like this young lady has any say in it. Friends from the Astral Express, please do so as to not trouble her."

The first thing of note here is that he's being polite to the young lady (or お嬢さん/ojou-san, as he said) and seemingly shielding her. Which in turn puts the Express crew on the spot. He's making them feel guilty. Thing is, he's not being harsh in his admonishing—he's being worse: friendly.

In Japan, you're expected to keep a reasonable distance from people unless you reach a point of plausible familiarity, which definitely did not happen in this scene. Aventurine is being overly friendly from the start, which in turn makes him look condescending as fuck.

The "friends" in this line is 諸君 (shokun), an affable form of addressing a group of people comparable to "ladies and gentlemen" or similar expressions in English. Overly theatrical to people that don't even know him and who are in the middle of a dilemma at the moment. His choice of words, paired with his tone, makes him sound like he's scolding a child for making a scene.

And that last thing is exactly what makes JP Aventurine such a prick: treating someone like they're incapable, or like their insatisfaction is nothing more than a tantrum. In fact, Aventurine does go a little deeper into the "haha, you're childish" routine later, but that's for another day.

Introduction: "I'm a Non-Performing Asset Liquidation Specialist under Diamond. This time, I came accepting the Watchmaker's invitation. Ah, also [chuckle], I'm a guest who's been waiting my turn behind you guys, right."

Oh, they're demanding to know who he is, what do you think Aventurine will do? What about, hmm... Giving away his full title and the name of his boss (one of the most influential named characters in the story) like it's normal. Alright man, we get it.

Right after that, he essentially says they've been wasting his time, but here's the catch: he's not blaming them for it. He's making a statement that will lead to them feeling guilty on their own. Listening to the voice-over, there's no hint of agression at all.

The most aggravating thing is the "right" at the very end, ね (ne) in the voice-over. It generally means that or a "isn't it" or something along those lines and it's kinda a pain in the ass to translate it in English because there isn't a perfect equivalent, but! I digress! That ne is essentially the verbal version of poking someone's cheek.

Recapitulating: Aventurine says that he is a subordinate of one of the Galactic Megacorp's™ top dogs and insinuates they've been wasting said subordinate's time, all in that irritatingly affable voice of his.

Being a cocky lil bastard: "God, I've been waiting here for more than ten minutes. How many credits would a dozen or so minutes be worth to me... Do you know?"

The "God" is my choice of translation for もう (mou), an expression of exasperation. You don't really use God's name as an exclamation in Japanese.

The important thing here is the intonation, as he makes a little pause before that "do you know?". His voice sounds as though he's just mildly inconvenienced, like the day's too hot or something, but the "do you know?" is pretty pointed.

The meaning is clear: "This much doesn't really matter to me, but to you... To you it might be more than you could ever afford."

☝️🤓: "If I take action, that time saved won't be something you guys gave to me, but something I achieved for my own sake. Understand?"

Oh, this one is hilarious. He's explaining it to them like he's talking to either a child or an idiot. And I already explained just how damaging that is. Any self-respecting Japanese-speaking person would have put hands on this dude by now.

So, to make it clear: JP Aventurine's levels of annoyance are on Aeonic planes of existence. He micromanages his jabs like it's part of his economic stratagems. It's like he practices how to be a condescending prick every day in the mirror. He also likes to make people assume he's insulting them rather than telling it straight, like a little bastard.

TL;DR: Aventurine went to the Gojou Satoru Academy of Sleaziness and Micro-Agression-Management and graduated magna cum laude. Sing his praises.

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of the differences in perceptions and characterisation between the EN and JP versions of Aventurine ~ (voicelines included)

DISCLAIMERS~

this is not - in any way, shape, or form - hate on either voice actor, it's just my opinions, of course !! they are different interpretations and deliveries of the character. it shouldn't have to be said that you are right to prefer which ever one you prefer, because you're you <3

I cannot speak or understand japanese, but am exposed to it often through anime and playing some of my games in jp. So I appreciate my perceptions of cadence may be skewed by that :3 it would be cool if someone who does could discuss this too and whether they agree with my points !!

So...I'm doing this because it was stuck on my mind and I couldn't draw today since my arm hurts and i needed something else to do ~ I genuinely think your perception of Aventurine as a character could be very different based on your 'version' you experienced !!

so if you have some time to spare, any interest in this or Aven, or kinda hate Aven and are open to someone changing your mind... let us begin on this journe- lol. im not gonna do that. lets just get into it ~

this is gonna be an analysis of the differences in voiceline delivery in terms of feel and implications. at the end of each set of voicelines i also give a little summary in terms of the 'goal' of that version of Aventurine by giving the line that way.

So this is the first time we meet him, interrupting us in the line at the desk to check in. Listen to his EN version ~

Hotel security is on high alert with zero room for error. And with such a last minute change it really isnt something that this young lady's words can resolve on a whim. My esteemed guests from the astral express - please do not make it harder for her.

Now the instant feeling I get from this is...this guy deems himself a sort of authority, and his voice is heavily lilted with this kind of exaggerated-authority figure-admonishment while his words are still polite. The emphasis is very pointed, very very close to sarcastic. 'sUch a lAst mInute change' ~ he's being rude, essentially, through a very close-to-boundary passive aggression. The way he said esteemed guests, astral express, and the plea, its clear in his words he's almost exasperated by them already. Which is like ?? okay? why? or is this guy just a bit of a dick? - those are my thoughts upon meeting him like this, like...whats this guy's problem.

Now the jp version ~

The feel is rather instantly different. Here, he approaches in a sort of semi-polite intrusion, but still maintaining the sense of authority and knowing. It's matter of fact. He has a sort of ~ to his tone, right? Like he's being a bit passive aggressive but in a gentle almost melodic way, subtle, rather than the voice kinda dripping with 'you guys suck and are causing problems'. The feel I get from this is still like...uh who is this guy, but I don't feel instantly super like hey tf this guy is rude. He isn't outright rude, or admonishing, and he isn't sarcastic either. He doesn't act like 'esteemed guests' is a jab, he means it but has this lilt that makes you think he might not quiteee mean it inside, like you cant tell if he's quite genuine. This is the thing.

The point of Aventurine, his whole thing, is that you cant quite tell if he's being genuine or not. That's what makes you think, makes you squirm, makes you lose your mind over whether you can trust him or he's playing you. That's how he plays his game, his world. The jp one does this effectively instantly from the first line. The en one doesn't give me that impression. I don't feel like he's intelligent and shrewd and wonder if he's playing me, wonder what his deal is, I think he's being a dick. This obviously doesn't have to be clear in every damn line delivery, but in his introduction, and at a time where he IS making a play~ the mood should be set.

EN Aven Goal - pick a bit of a fight, impose status, put them down

JP Aven Goal - suggest status, input presence, subtly jibe

This only increases with the next line I'm focusing on, which is after they ask him who he is. EN version ~

-subordinate to supervisor Diamond. I was cordially invited by the Watchmaker. I also happen to be a traveller that's had to stand behind you for quite a while.

Now, heh, listen. This line honestly makes me laugh so much like... im gonna give you how it sounds to me through the eloquent use of emojis okay:

'sUperVisOr dIaMOnD' 😏😎 i was CORDIALLY invited by - the w a t c h m a k e r~~~~ 💅🏼😌☝🏼🤓 i also happen to be a traveller that's had to stAND behind you for qUiTe a wHiLe 😏😏😏

like...let me take a guy seriously lsdjkdkjsdsdk and listen listen. I KNOW he's supposed to be over the top here. Just the line itself without the voice over is snarky and 😏☝🏼🤓 okay? That's how he is sometimes. But the delivery is DRIPPING in sarcasm and derision. There is NO SUBTLETY even a bit. lol sigh, just listen to the jp~

instantly different. matter of fact, but still cocky and self important, subtle jabs without being rude or sarcastic. He doesn't use the fact he was invited as like...a show of coolness, he just says it like - yes, i was invited by him 😌☝🏼 because why would he? of course he could be invited, hes fucking ipc bro? thats not a flex. and especially when he says the last part about standing behind you - its more like a 'heheh, alas ~' not like ewwwyy peasants im standing behind you, dont you know. He is shrewd, careful, and incredibly eloquent with his speech. He doesn't use it to jab he uses it to play a melodic song of making someone a bit bewildered but impressed by him. His delivery is playful. That little stilted words part, its like a playful passive aggressive jab. He's not actually bothered.

Why would he be interested in picking beef with and looking down upon, which is what he is doing in the EN version, the astral express? There is no reason. This guy is literally interested in the opposite of that, even if he doesn't like people he uses them to his gain, the literal dialogue written here and as the story continues continuously perpetuates that he is trying to get in good/okay graces with them (and others, that's literally his mo) and he can use them and manipulate if needed. It makes no logical sense for him to be so rude here. he is rude with his words and suggestions, but its passive aggression like its supposed to be, not outright rudeness like EN.

EN Aven Goal - shove status down their throats, be a rude boy

JP Aven Goal - feigned nonchalance stating status, gentle prodding and testing with a sort of hehe not quite rudeness

The next one -

just...listen - EN ~

*sigh* I've been waiting here for more than 10 minutes. Do you know how many credits 10 minutes is worth to me?

This is just pure derision. Contempt. The line itself is, too, regardless of delivery. He is being a pp here. In the second half of the line, you can hear him almost grit his teeth. credits, minutes, worth. he's alllmost spitting the words. hissing. He is pissed off, getting actually angry about it, it seems. So self superior.

But listen - JP ~

Exasperated, a bit frustrated, but weary. He's like 'oh goodness, sigh, im wasting so much time here~'. You can almost tell he's playing it up, it still feels almost playful to me, like he's testing, being a cock but stifling a bit of a smirk and feigning a slightly overdramatic sigh. Its melodic, you can imagine him tilting his head and lifting an eyebrow, right?

And this makes so much more sense. The guy isn't in a rush. It's revealed later he literally had that room, and just strolled there and met them before the trailblazer got there. He's playing. He's being his stupid shrewd annoying playful self. Why would he get angry just to get angry? It doesn't fit with his character, or his motives. Why would the Aventurine get actively pissed off with some randos for no reason?

It would also make sense for him to play with this aspect of himself and his role. We know from later events Aventurine really doesn't deeply identify or hold much 'love' for his status or role, other than for specific reasons. It's like a double entendre, he's playing with you, and he's making a subtle joke with himself by playing up this act that he's just some money hungry asshole like his superiors are. Because he's smart. He's not just...an asshole.

EN Aven Goal - make sure his status is shoved so far into their large intestine that they have a baby bump - just coz

JP Aven Goal - sighing and being rather overdramatic in a jibing playful manner, being annoying, still toying with his status

One more set for this scene (and post) (i would apologise but im not sorry im sorry dshjsdjsd YOU CHOSE TO BE HERE ilu.) Here he is after Himeko suggests a solution. EN ~

If I do something about it now, the time saved is from my own effort. Not a favour from you all.

Heh he's such a prick honestly /aff. lil shit. so, again, the line itself is rather turn-nose-up cheeky asshole type stuff that makes you wanna smack him and roll your eyes simultaneously. The delivery, again, is very: ☝🏼😌 and then 😒🙄. The way he's like 'nOT from YOU' all is sooooooooo childish, sarcastic, icky. like meh, eh, i throw my juicebox on the floor after ive pestered you to open it for me for three hours. the emphasis on the 'you' gives the clear implication he is derisive of 'you', not fond of 'you', and see's 'you' as beneath him in a sardonic and mean manner.

JP~

Matter of fact, playful, still a little shit. He's being purposefully irritating, he's not irritated. That's the clear difference here. Aventurine through this whole exchange has been, in the JP version, unflappable. He gives this effortless air of authority while making subtle clever half-jabs that make you both slightly flustered, confused, irritated, and intrigued the whole time. He is a charmer, a weaver of well placed webs.

This, to me, is how I prefer it. His theme, his thing, is playing. Cards, poker, life, anything. He plays, he gambles, and he never shows his emotions much behind that ever present smile - as said in his wiki page even. He is a man of subtlety, one that you can never quite work out and he wants it that way. And I think the jp version of him does that for me ~

Overall, for me, a summary of what I'm taking away from this exchange with him in both versions is:

EN Aven Goal - ??? wanted to be a dick, flaunt status

JP Aven Goal - flaunting, being difficult and annoying, but finding it a bit amusing? what's this guy's deal, anyway?

I think that's the thing. I would totally understand and be quite with you if you didn't like Aventurine from this scene alone if you played the EN. He is a character that is being a dick just...because? Thinks you're below him, puts himself into your business for no reason, etc. etc. I don't like him, like this.

But coming away from the JP one, I'm intrigued. I'm slightly ruffled, a bit irritated and confused, but intrigued. I want to know what his deal is. It draws me to him, almost begrudgingly. That's what's so beautiful about a character like this.

Both VA's are awesome and did a great job in different ways ~ Its cool to me how such a different feel for a character can be gleaned from the same lines but different deliveries. I'll probably make more parts of this through the game <3

None of these voice-overs belong to me. © All rights reserved by miHoYo. Other properties and any right, title, and interest thereof and therein (intellectual property rights included) not derived from Honkai: Star Rail belong to their respective owners. JP VO © Mouse Production Co., Ltd. EN VO © GG Talent Group. All rights reserved.

I obtained these clips from playthroughs on youtube in their respective languages. jp - Gudaoko. en - Rubhen925.

[corvid-language-library]

Not my supervisor trying to convince us to consider taking the JLPT. No fucking thank you, I have learned my lesson now.

[kazumiwrites-fanfiction]

The urge I have to write a fanfic in either Spanish or Japanese…

I technically speak Japanese fluently but I still kind of (really) suck at it. (Basically I know what I want to write but it probably seems a little… off to fluent people.)

I am learning Spanish at school (going into my fourth year) (my Duolingo streak is over two years and my friends are honestly like “…why.”)

What should I do?? Is there even a demand for fanfics in Japanese or Spanish? (Would anyone read over them and point out mistakes-?)

I would probably write for twisted wonderland, but if it’s in Japanese idk… I might make OCs or something. Not sure yet.

[vaccumduster]

— Osamu Dazai (The Setting Sun)

[hikaritomizuu]

Me when talking to ppl and they ask me about studying Japanese.

MIKE MILLER SUPREMACY!!!!!!!

[naokoalwayssad]

ALIVE AND DOING.. Pretty good actually!

Tree years ago approximately I started this small journal about fighting my loneliness and depression due my lack of self esteem.

Now I’m 37 years old and doing pretty good! I decided to try one last time and guess what! It actually worked! I met Brenda and she’s been my partner in life since then.

I’m glad to first of all have been working on my self since then (took therapy, and improvisation classes to get my confidence at top)

We traveled to Belgium on holidays last year and a look of very good things have been happening since then! So don’t loose faith in yourself, just try to admit your not at your best and work on it, cause… if you don’t save yourself who’s gonna make it.

I’m going to continue posting anime and Japan culture as much as work let me do it.

See you soon!

NB

[jungwnies]

f1 grid | learning a language

୨ৎ : featuring : all drivers on the grid ୨ৎ : synopsis (requested by anon) : learning a language for your f1 boyfriend

୨ৎ : word count : 938

୨ৎ masterlist ୨ৎ 10k event | masterlist ୨ৎ

ᡣ𐭩 a/n : im like a day behind in stories... dw chat im LOCKING IN i think... sideye? this infact mondays post but tuesdays post will be out a little later today T-T

ʚ・red bull

max verstappen

nearly chokes on his water when you say "ik hou van jou" without warning.

pretends he's unimpressed, but secretly changes his phone's language to dutch to test you.

teaches you all the ridiculous dutch racing slang. you repeat it wrong and he laughs like a schoolboy.

corrects your accent with exaggerated seriousness: "it’s not how, it’s hauw — you’re making me sound german."

yuki tsunoda

shocked, then immediately makes you repeat everything so he can rate your pronunciation out of 10.

only teaches you curse words and food names. absolutely no grammar help.

laughs his head off when you accidentally call ramen "grandmother."

says you're his "nihongo no sensei" (japanese teacher) just to mess with you.

ʚ・mercedes

george russell

you thought learning british slang was simple. george decides to mess with you: "say 'peng ting' in front of lewis."

corrects you with a raised eyebrow when you misuse "fit" or "innit."

secretly impressed when you call him "my gee." tries not to smile.

forces you to watch love island as cultural immersion.

kimi antonelli

beams when you greet him with a "ciao amore."

teaches you romantic phrases then turns red when you use them casually.

you mispronounce "macchina" (car) and he goes, "nooo, now you're calling me pasta."

gets competitive: "you learn italian. i learn your language. we race."

ʚ・ferrari

charles leclerc

his face goes bright red when you say something soft in french.

corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the gentlest voice.

you call him "mon coeur" and he nearly drops his espresso.

sends you voice notes saying the same phrase over and over just to "help you practice."

lewis hamilton

loves that you picked it up to bond with the fans, not just him.

talks to you in half-italian, half-english during post-race dinners.

teaches you "grazie mille" and "sei bellissima," then says them to you in front of the team.

buys matching italian textbooks for fun, calls it "date night studying."

ʚ・mclaren

lando norris

immediately regrets you learning british slang when you say "bruv" unironically.

teaches you nonsense like "that's peak," "allow it," and "bare mad."

pretends to cringe every time you say something right. secretly adores it.

forces you to play cod with him and his friends to practice "real london lingo."

oscar piastri

you try to say "arvo" and "no worries," and he just dies.

laughs when you accidentally say something offensive without knowing.

makes you use aussie slang in every conversation: "that sentence didn't have 'mate' in it, try again."

very proud when you use "reckon" correctly. posts it to his story.

ʚ・aston martin

fernando alonso

nods very seriously as you practice, corrects your conjugations with professor energy.

when you say "te quiero," he goes completely silent and blushes.

teaches you how to shout at other drivers in spanish, just in case.

introduces you to his family and makes you speak only spanish all dinner.

lance stroll

you both struggle through duolingo together and compare scores.

gets competitive about streaks. "i’m on day 12, what about you?"

says phrases like "hola papi" and then loses it laughing.

brags about you to fernando: "she speaks better than i do now."

ʚ・williams

alex albon

surprised but deeply touched.

helps you practice but keeps distracting you with kisses.

teaches you sweet pet names in thai and says them back every time.

when you pronounce something wrong, he just hugs you and goes "close enough."

carlos sainz

absolutely melts when you roll your r's right.

you say something simple like "hola mi amor" and he lights up like a christmas tree.

spends whole evenings just having slow convos with you in spanish.

teases you for being "muy guapa y muy lista" (very pretty and very smart).

ʚ・haas

ollie bearman

you call him "my bloke" and he turns the color of a tomato.

laughs hysterically every time you say "oi bruv" like you mean it.

tries to teach you more but ends up wheezing: "that's not even how we use it!"

buys you a tracksuit and says it's "for authenticity."

esteban ocon

thinks it's the most romantic thing ever.

you struggle to say "rendezvous" and he gently corrects you with a kiss.

whispers french phrases in your ear just to fluster you.

leaves sticky notes around the house with words of the day.

ʚ・racing bulls

liam lawson

you try to say "sweet as" and he stops what he's doing to laugh.

pretends to be offended when you mix aussie and kiwi slang: "excuse me, i'm not piastri."

calls you his "missus" in return and grins.

buys you a nz flag for your language streak celebration.

isack hadjar

absolutely charmed the second he hears you try.

says something flirty in french and dares you to figure it out.

makes you speak only french to him for a day. smirks every time you mess up.

shows you off to his friends like, "she speaks french for me. just for me."

ʚ・alpine

pierre gasly

pretends he’s too cool to care but absolutely melts when you call him "mon chéri."

leaves flirty messages in your duolingo inbox.

sends you obscure french memes and makes you decode them.

you say something romantic and he just whispers, "say it again."

franco colapinto

you pronounce his name the spanish way once and he's gone.

corrects your slang like a patient tutor, but teases you mercilessly too.

buys you alfajores as "study fuel."

gets emotional when you say something sweet in his dialect.

ʚ・kick sauber

nico hulkenberg

amused at first, but turns into your grammar coach real fast.

"nein, nein—this is the wrong case. we do not say it like that."

gives you german tongue-twisters and giggles when you fumble.

very proud when you say "ich liebe dich" the right way.

gabriel bortoleto

excitedly helps you with pronunciation, even if he gets distracted.

calls his mom so you can practice together.

when you say "meu amor," he completely melts.

writes you little love notes in portuguese and hides them in your books.

2021-2025 © jungwnies | All rights reserved. Do not repost, plagiarize, or translate

[fouadfares92]

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[snowball-doie]

✮⋆˙ 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒 ˙⋆✮

| pairing: johnny x manager!oc

| warnings: 18+ MDNI. Tooth-aching fluff.

Aurora wondered if it was too late to jump ship.

After waking up hungover in Yuta's bed with no recollection of how she got there, she wondered how she could’ve possibly said yes to going on a date with Johnny Suh. And how was that the only thing she could remember? Granted, she wasn’t drunk at the time, though she wished she was so she had an excuse to not go… But everyone and their grandmother was talking about how Johnny finally asked out Aurora and she actually said yes to it! Her headache was killing her, but that was not the problem. The problem was Johnny already texting her, asking if she wanted to go out not that night but the following night… for dinner…

“Ah, fuck me,” Aurora groaned, throwing herself back down against the mattress.

Yuta walked into the room, shirtless, a smoothie in one hand while the other was tucked into the waistband of his pajama shorts to keep it warm. Men. Aurora rolled her eyes— She was surrounded by men. Disgusting, run-of-the-mill men.

“Ohaiyo,” he said.

She glared at him. “I blame you.”

“What did I do?”

“I don’t know, but I blame you.”

“Okay, well, while you do that, do you want breakfast?”

“No. I have to figure out what I’m gonna do about this.” She turned her phone to show him her screen, but without his glasses on he couldn’t see anything from such a distance, so while squinting and leaning forward, he approached the bed then took her phone to read Johnny's texts. “I’m going back to sleep and never waking up.”

Yuta scoffed. “I love that you can tell Ten helped him write these.” He handed her phone back. She raised a confused brow. “They went home together last night.” She shrugged. “He was way too drunk to text you a coherent sentence like that.”

“Yuta-kun, please convince me this is all a bad idea.”

“He’s a good guy, and he’s down bad for you, I don’t see the harm in giving him a chance, oneesan.”

She groaned and kicked her feet around like a kid throwing a tantrum. “You’re not helpful!”

Sipping his smoothie, Yuta started walking out of the bedroom again with a final comment about how he was going to cook something for her to eat because they needed to go shopping. Shopping? Why shopping? “Because you’re not going on your first-ever date looking like that,” he replied all the way from the kitchen. What was that supposed to mean!

Yet there they were, at Hyundai mall, Yuta hiding under a million layers of clothes to keep himself warm but also to protect himself from anyone that would recognize him as he chauffeured Aurora around the place. He was a man on a mission, searching for the best stores with the cutest clothes that he thought Johnny would like to see on her. She couldn’t imagine that. She knew Johnny, but not well enough to assume what he’d like on her… But Yuta had known Johnny for nearly a decade, he’d seen various girls come and go out of Johnny's life, and he heard all the praises and complaints Johnny had to give about each of them. He liked neutral tones, apparently. While Aurora was more inclined to wear pink, she wasn’t opposed to the thought of wearing the cream colored sweater and brown sweatpants Yuta made her try on.

“No,” he immediately said once she stepped out of the dressing room.

“Why!”

“It doesn’t fit you right.”

“It fits me just fine.”

“Sure, it fits you, but it doesn’t fit you right.”

Aurora stared at him. “Nihongo.” She crossed her arms and stared at him flatly, almost glaring at him if it weren’t for the fact that he immediately grabbed her wrists to push her hands back down to her sides.

In Japanese, he explained perfectly that Aurora looked best while wearing things that fit her slimly on the top with high waisted pants that were tight around her waist yet bell-bottomed. “You’ve got tits for a reason, show them off. And you’ve got big hips and ass, you don’t want all of that to hide you like a tent in the shirts you wear.”

“It’s too cold outside to wear a crop top,” Aurora argued after she put on the next outfit for him to see. A black crop top with the same brown sweatpants. “I’ll freeze to death before I even make it to his place.”

“Yeah, but you look sexy.”

Aurora rolled her eyes.

Yuta bought the outfit for her as an apology for secretly betting against her and Johnny. After seeing the total at the cash register, Aurora really had no complaints when it came to Yuta tapping his black card against the scanner, because she couldn’t wrap her brain around how a black crop top sweater and brown sweatpants could cost nearly $300 USD. That was why she didn’t shop at Hyundai mall or Lotte World mall, though. Her income didn’t give her many opportunities to even go window shopping at the various luxury stores around Seoul which all of the boys at work always raved over. If she were back in America, she knew that she would have found the same outfit at Walmart or Target for approximately $50 USD— And even then she would’ve considered putting it all back on the racks.

Yuta wanted to spend the day at the mall even after settling on an outfit. Aurora was too worried about being seen, so she convinced him to at least leave the touristy area surrounding the mall so they could instead get lunch somewhere together where they weren’t as likely to run into fans. She was right, of course. No one said a thing as they entered the dak-galbi restaurant and were seated at a table against the wall. No one bothered them as they ordered and ate. The only time anything happened was when the owner came over to deliver their receipt, she asked if Yuta would sign something for her daughter who was a big fan of NCT. With a smile, Yuta nodded before taking a clean paper napkin where he wrote a note and signed his name on it before handing it over to the owner— along with his credit card for the meal. She bowed deeply at the hip while thanking him profusely. “My daughter loves you. Thank you so much.” Yuta shrugged it off with a laugh, “It’s really no problem.”

At a nearby cafe, no one bothered them at all, not even for a signature or to snap a photo from across the room. For a couple of hours, Aurora and Yuta sat across from each other, drinking matcha, talking about work, missing Japan, the new album, when and where they would go on their next vacation, and Aurora’s date with Johnny.

“Do you think you’ll kiss him?” Yuta asked with a smirk.

Aurora rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Not even if he’s a perfect gentleman who walks you all the way to your door after dinner?”

“Nope.”

“You sure?”

“Why? You have another bet on that or something?”

Yuta rolled his eyes too. “Fair enough… Are you at least nervous?”

Of course she was fucking nervous! How could he ask such a stupid question when he’d caught her regretting her entire life after waking up hungover in his bed, asking if she could find any way to get out of the whole thing. Aurora had never been out on a proper, official date with anyone, and it was Johnny Suh whom had asked her out, so those two factors mixed together made Aurora’s stomach queasy, and the matcha wasn’t helping, so she got up to order a croissant to help settle herself.

“It’s cute to see the two of you like this,” Yuta admitted after she sat back down.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know… Not ‘in love’, but something like that.”

“Yeah, maybe let’s hold off on the L word ‘til after the first date.”

Yuta reached over to pick a bite off of Aurora’s croissant until she smacked his hand away and muttered something about his diet and not wanting to get yelled at by his trainer. Aurora picked the bite off for him then, out of pity, fed it to him.

“So when are you going to ‘not in love, but something like that’ with someone, Yuta-kun? You can’t just always bully me. I need an excuse to tease you too.”

“Maybe if our schedules weren’t so busy I’d be able to go out and meet someone.”

“Ha ha. I’m being serious.”

Yuta shrugged and stretched his arms over his head with a slight groan. Once he settled again, he slumped in his chair. “I promise, oneesan, when I find someone, you’ll be the first to know, then you can get back at me for all of this.”

“Deal.”

Aurora didn’t sleep that night because of her upset stomach. She really had half a mind about texting Johnny to tell him that she didn’t feel well and would have to cancel their date, yet every time she picked up her phone and saw Johnny's excited message that read: “I can’t wait” in response to her confirming their date, she couldn’t bear the thought of flaking on him after all the effort he’d put into catching her attention just to ask her out after getting a little bit of that liquid courage in him. So she remained restless in her bed while counting down the hours until the sun would come up and she’d at least have an excuse to sit at her desk and play video games with Haechan or something until she would have to leave to see Johnny.

In the early hours of the morning, around the time Aurora elected to get ready for a long day of gaming, Johnny texted her while she was showering to ask if she was alright with having the date at his house. Her stomach did another uncomfortable somersault while reading that. Who did he think she was? There was no way he thought that it would be that freaking easy to coax her into his bed! After all that time of Ten and Yuta reassuring her that Johnny wasn’t the playboy guy anymore and was indeed really down bad for Aurora, he was just proving to be a little bit of a fuck boy.

Aurora immediately made it clear that she wasn’t looking to fuck, so if he was inviting her over with that in mind, then he could just forget about it and pretend that the whole thing never happened. However, Johnny insisted that he was only doing it because he had a fun at-home-activity they could do together since it would be hard to go out and be comfortable. If they went somewhere, he would have had to cover up completely, they would’ve had to stay separated from each other so as to not stir rumors if the media saw them, and they would’ve always had to be on their guard about who was around and who was looking at them. It wouldn’t have been fun. He wanted it to be perfect, and by being at home, they could actually hang out and talk honestly. So she decided to give it a shot and go over. Typically she wouldn't have taken someone up on an at-home first date because of all the horror stories she heard— But Aurora had known Johnny long enough, and they had far too many mutual friends for anything bad to happen. She trusted that it would be okay.

It was the first time she had ever been over to his place. When they became close, it was during lockdown, so they never visited each other, and after the pandemic’s peak passed and they returned to work, there just wasn’t any time for Aurora to invite him over to her place or think about stopping by his. Besides, she thought they were friends, but not like that. So when she arrived at his apartment building after taking a train and then a bus, she stopped. There was a gate surrounding the entire property of luxury apartment buildings which prevented just anyone from coming and going, so she had to buzz in using Johnny's apartment number and a code that he gave her via text an hour before she left her own apartment; and once she was inside the building, she felt sick. Did he really make that much money? She knew how much the boys made off of NCT work, but it was never enough to sustain having a place that nice, so it must have been all those side hustles of his, modeling and whatnot.

Aurora checked the apartment’s floor number when she got in the elevator. That couldn’t be right… Right? She pressed the button, but she doubted herself as the doors closed and she began ascending floor by floor, higher up into the air until it stopped and the doors opened. The hallway was nice. Not gross, moldy, decrepit. White and clean, almost like it had been freshly painted even though it hadn’t— But that just went to show the difference between the type of lifestyle Johnny could afford versus Aurora who warily walked down the hallway until she reached Johnny's door.

Was it really, really too late to jump ship?

Before she knew it, Aurora had rang the doorbell and moments later the door opened to reveal Johnny who seemed a bit flustered and out of breath when he saw her. He relaxed and smiled, like his body was telling her, “Oh, it’s just you.” In fact, he practically said it himself when he welcomed her in and said, “I thought you were the caterers. You’re a bit early.”

Aurora blushed as she stood awkwardly in his entryway, unsure of what to do with herself, meanwhile Johnny walked further into his apartment to set up some stuff. “Sorry, I just… I like to be early rather than late. People being late’s a pet peeve of mine.”

He peeked his head around the corner. “I know.”

He flashed a cheeky smile before disappearing again, prompting Aurora to take off her shoes so that she could follow him, but after taking a step forward, she remembered that she should find a place for her jacket and purse to be polite, so she awkwardly settled back in the entryway and stared at the wall of hooks next to her. Johnny had a lot of jackets. Various colors, weights, lengths, and purposes for occasions like going somewhere fancy versus just walking to the office. There was one empty hook in the middle of it all, so Aurora dared herself to just go for it. She peeled off her jacket then hung it up before securing it with her purse hung over top.

“You fine with waiting a few more minutes ‘til the caterers show?” he asked.

Aurora turned the corner to find Johnny in his kitchen, cleaning up the counter space so that there would be room for whatever food he was having brought directly to them. She nodded and shrugged. “Sure.”

After seeing him in his element, which was his home, Aurora found herself relaxing a bit upon realizing that she wasn’t underdressed at all. She worried that Yuta might have accidentally set her up to fail with such a casual outfit for a first date, however Johnny was just as comfortable as she was. He was wearing just a black t-shirt and grey pants— Nothing fancy at all. Yuta made the right call, Aurora would have to remember to thank him later.

But then of course, timing was seemingly on their side as the doorbell rang again, prompting Johnny to jog around Aurora in order to answer it. She continued to linger awkwardly. Wasn’t he supposed to be the lingerer? What was she doing? She felt stupid.

As the caterers entered, Johnny directed them towards the kitchen using Korean before quickly telling Aurora in English that she should make herself comfortable— Which really meant that she was in the way and needed to sit down so that they could work in peace. So she listened, shyly making her way to his couch which she sat on just barely… Lounging entirely felt weird. She would've been even more uncomfortable if she ended up reclining, so she called it good by sitting with just her butt and a bit of her thighs on the cushions, and that was it. Johnny made sure the staff of three people knew what they were doing before he stilled in the middle of the kitchen and glanced in Aurora’s direction with a bright smile that said: “Okay, we’re good.” When he was ready, he joined her on the couch.

“Do I want to ask, or…” Aurora gestured with her eyes in the direction of the kitchen.

Johnny peeked over his shoulder to watch the staff who were platting some finger foods and pouring wine in glasses Johnny had on hand. “You know those, like, mug painting places in the States?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not as popular here, but this company provides private catering and mug painting dates, if that makes sense.”

Well, she was witnessing the set up first hand, so it did indeed make sense. While they sat and ate some snacks that were catered for them, the company set up Johnny's dining room table with all of the paints, brushes, and mugs so that they didn’t have to lift a finger outside of just sitting and painting together. Watching the whole thing, Aurora knew it was an expensive date. Far more than if it had just been the two of them at a restaurant or at a movie theater— Even if he had rented it out completely. But she also understood that he wanted something at home to maintain their privacy, and that doing something like watching a Netflix movie while eating a delivered pizza wasn’t exactly special. Hell, Johnny never really gave her the vibe of “casual dates”. He always came off as the type of guy that would go all in to impress his partner, which she undeniably found appealing…

“Did you find my apartment alright?”

Aurora nodded. “I figured I was in the right place when I was shell shocked by how expensive the building looks.”

Johnny chuckled at her. “Yuta lives in a nice place, too. Same with Taeyong.”

“Yeah, but not like this…” She glanced around his living room one more time to catch a glimpse of the book titles he had on his shelf. “Do you read a lot? Besides manga, I mean.”

“Depends… I’m usually too busy to get invested, and when I do have time to read something, I’d rather spend it on manga you recommend.”

Aurora blushed while still looking away from him, so she spent another minute collecting herself before she settled back in her seat to look at him. “You should get hobbies besides what I think.”

“That’s no fun.”

“Sillyehamnida” one of the employees shyly called from the empty walkway between the kitchen and the living room. Johnny turned to face them. “Everything’s ready.”

Johnny stood and bowed gratefully. “Gamsahabnida.”

They bowed in return, not saying a word, until they scurried to the exit with the other staff members, at which point they all bowed again and told Johnny and Aurora to enjoy themselves. They left as quickly as they had initially appeared. Once the door was shut and locked, Johnny inspected the state of his dining table and kitchen. The dining table had plates for dinner, silverware, and wine glasses set at place settings across from each other, meanwhile the mugs, paintbrushes, and paints with caps screwed on were set to the side for whenever they wanted to paint. As for the kitchen, they’d set up a catering pan across two of the stovetops which were set to low to keep the food warm, and there was a pot of sauce beside it.

“I requested pesto tortellini since I know you like it,” he told her as he sniffed the pesto sauce. Smiling contently, he asked, “Are you hungry?”

She could eat, yeah. She was more concerned with the idea of how he knew he liked pesto tortellini when it was such a niche meal she didn’t have too often because it wasn’t a popular thing in Korea. Actually, she couldn’t remember the last time she had it. Maybe when they were in France a couple of years ago and she wandered into a touristy place with Yuta and Taeyong in search of Italian food… in France…

So while Aurora sat at the dining table, Johnny grabbed their plates to spoon the pasta onto. From her spot at the table, she could see that there was fresh garlic bread and a salad too on the other countertop, so Johnny made sure to get plenty of that for her as well.

“Wine?” she offered.

“Please.”

She opened the bottle of red wine on the table in front of her before pouring half a glass for Johnny first then a little less than half for herself. Curious, she lifted her glass up to her nose to swirl and smell the wine. Expensive. That was her first thought, that it smelled expensive because of the hints of chocolate and cherry aromas which countered the fact that the wine had been aged a long time. Between the smell of pesto, garlic, and wine, Aurora couldn’t help but feel oddly flattered— Or perhaps wooed, if people even used that word anymore.

Johnny served Aurora first to make sure that he’d done everything to her liking before he sat down across from her, at which point he fidgeted with his own plate, wine glass, and all of the paints on the table in order to make sure everything was perfect, just the way he wanted in order to impress her properly. Aurora tried to hide her grin. It really was funny seeing the usually confident and nonchalant Johnny Suh struggle with trying to go above and beyond for silly old Aurora.

They spent the next two hours talking. Honestly, it didn’t even feel like two hours to Aurora, but it had indeed been that long from the moment she entered the apartment. The meal passed quickly because it tasted good and also because the company was enjoyable. Johnny was funny as per usual. He made Aurora laugh with the stupidest jokes imaginable, and he always smiled when he managed to get a laugh out of her even when she tried so hard to keep a straight face in order to not let him think that he was actually funny otherwise it would get to his head. Too late. It was like every other time they had chatted on Discord while playing video games or at work when he was trying to linger, the only difference was that there was a hint of flirting in the way they spoke to each other while under the pretense of being there for a date. Aurora wasn’t quite sure how first dates were supposed to go, but she decided to treat it like she was testing the waters. Did she actually like Johnny like… that? Yes. Did they have chemistry? Absolutely. Could she bear the thought of going on a second date with someone who had the same humor as the ahjussis? If that was part of the package deal that came with Johnny Suh, then alright.

In the two hours that they talked, Johnny moved their dinner plates to the counter top to make space for them to paint their mugs. Aurora was honestly the worst when it came to things like that. All of her creativity flew out the window any time she had a paintbrush in front of her, so she spent the first few minutes sipping her wine while waiting to see what Johnny would do. Much to her surprise, he went for the pink first. Knowing him and reflecting on what Yuta said about Johnny's favorite colors, pink was the last thing she expected him to do to paint his mug. He didn’t say anything to tease the look on her face as he painted. He just continued on with the conversation like nothing was amiss… So she took a paintbrush and dipped into the green to draw some drop vines from the lip of the mug.

“One of these days I want to take my mom to South America or something. She doesn’t get many opportunities to travel the world like we do, but I really think she would enjoy it, you know? She likes food, and she likes to sight see. It’s not really my thing… But I like doing those things with her because it makes me appreciate the little things in life.”

“Like what?” Aurora asked as she washed her brush.

“Going to random restaurants in the middle of a new city and sitting there, people-watching. No matter where you are in the world, people are always going to be people. Adults running to meetings that they’re late for. Families playing with their kids who are discovering things for the first time. Couples falling in love. Old people feeding birds.” Johnny laughed to himself. “I get to see all of that while getting to appreciate the fact that I’m privileged enough to take my mom to see those things in different corners of the world.”

“Is this your way of telling me to put Brazil on the next tour?”

“Chile, too.”

“Oh, yes, can’t forget Chile.” Aurora also chuckled quietly before putting all of her focus into painting a black cat beside the handle of the mug.

Johnny looked up briefly to ask her, “Is there anywhere in the world you’re dying to go to?”

Aurora took a moment to consider while still silently painting. She’d been to plenty of places ever since she started working with NCT 127. They’d been all over the United States— As if she hadn’t already done that while growing up— They went to Central America, a city or two in Argentina, and they bounced around Europe so much that Aurora could never remember which city they were in every morning when she woke up during press tours.

“The Maldives… If I win the lottery some day…”

Johnny cleaned his brush then set it to the side to indicate that he was finished. “I don’t know if you could convince the execs to put on a show there.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

They both laughed.

“If you win the lottery, would you take Yuta with you?” he questioned.

Aurora put her paintbrush down too and spun her mug slowly to make sure there wasn’t anything she needed to fix or add. “Depends.”

“On?”

“If there’s someone who also likes to people watch who’d want to go with me.”

To that, Johnny didn’t say anything, but he bit his lip to stop himself from grinning as Aurora peeked up at him through her lashes.

“Alright, let’s see the Mona Lisa’s competition,” Aurora said. Johnny immediately scooped his mug up and hid it under the table. “What—” She leaned down to look, but Johnny lifted it back up over the table. She sat up again. “John—” He hid it under the table a second time. Aurora squinted at him, “Why?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s for you.”

“That’s not fair!” she protested.

He whined back at her, “Why not?”

“‘Cause I made mine for you too, but I was gonna show you.”

Johnny laughed. “It’s cute,” he said, gesturing to her mug. “I like it.”

She’d painted a mug which she figured fit his minimalist aesthetic yet had details of how she viewed him. The green vines were pretty on brand for Johnny, but the small sunflowers that hung from them were just her way of reminding him how nice his tattoo was, and the black cat trying to climb onto the handle was playful and cute like he was. She liked the idea of him being the black cat because he really wasn’t anything like that— Sure, he could be quiet and mischievous. Sure, he could get grumpy like that. However, Aurora thought he was just cute like those cats that tried to act tough until they inevitably gave in and cuddled up with their owner. The hope was to design something cute enough that Johnny wouldn’t want to hide it in the back of his cabinet, which was why she wanted to show it off to him with the intent to get a live-reaction so that she could change something last second if he didn’t like it, yet he was being that mischievous black cat again by refusing to let her see the mug he’d secretly made for her. No wonder he went for the pink first!

“So then show me the one you made for me—” She tried to sneak a peek under the table again, but Johnny continued to elude her. She huffed. “If it’s for me, I’ll see it eventually.”

“Yeah, when it’s glazed and everything.”

“You’re difficult.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”

When they were done painting their mugs and drinking their wine, the caterers returned to take them so that they could be put into the kiln at their office; and once they were glazed and fired, they would be delivered back to Johnny directly so that he didn’t have to be inconvenienced by picking them up from their office. It was a good business plan. Aurora could tell why they charged so much and why the celebrities were jumping at every chance they could get to hire them.

Against expectations, Johnny invited Aurora to stay a little longer by joining him on the couch to talk some more while drinking the little bit of wine he had left in his fridge. Just talking! That was what he insisted. So she decided to stay until she at least felt tipsy enough that maybe the thought of kissing him was overwhelming.

“You did not!” he exclaimed through a loud laugh.

“Shut up! It’s embarrassing as it is without you making fun of me!”

Johnny held his stomach as he laughed so hard it hurt. “After all… After all this time… I thought you’d never done anything embarrassing in your entire life—” He nearly toppled off the couch.

“Says the one who does some stupid shit on live TV every week.”

“Yeah, but I never threw a tantrum at five years old and hit my head against the floor on purpose to make a point!”

Aurora rolled her eyes and leaned back against the arm of the couch. “I never should’ve told you that story.”

“I’ll make it up to you by telling you something embarrassing about me, you just gotta prompt me.”

“Prompt you?”

“Yeah, like what do you want to know about me?”

Without an ounce of hesitancy, she finally decided to bite the bullet by asking him what had been on her mind for months.

“So how come you’ve been so adamant about keeping your hair long and blonde these days? I thought you liked it short so you fit in more.”

Johnny picked up his glass of wine. “‘Cause you like it.”

So there it was, the answer Aurora and her friends had anticipated for months yet were too scared to poke at. Honestly, she was surprised that Johnny would even admit to it in the first place. Didn’t he have any shame? Surely it was somewhat embarrassing to tell her that he spent months and months growing his hair out and dying it just so that he could get her attention because he was really just waiting for the perfect moment to ask her out… But no. Johnny wore it like a badge of pride, which was also understandable considering his plan worked.

“But do you like it?”

He smiled. “I do. It’s not what I’m used to, but the compliments are nice, and it’s something for me to take care of rather than just waking up and mindlessly running a comb through it before racing to work.” He drank. “I think this has been my favorite era so far, just between the group I’m with, the song, the dance, and actually getting to participate more— Thank you for that, by the way—”

Aurora blushed.

“The hair just makes it perfect, in my opinion.” He finished his glass then set it down without bothering to refill it. “That’s not embarrassing, though.”

She didn’t find humor in embarrassing him, however, regardless of the fact that he was being a good sport about it in order to ease her mind about oversharing stories from her childhood. When she didn’t give into his lead-on, Johnny decided to just go for it himself.

“I got one. When I was ten, and I was still in America, I was sleeping over at my friend’s house for a weekend so we could go to this Star Wars marathon at the local movie theater, and in the middle of the night, I woke up because I felt, like, oddly wet, you know? So when I sat up, I saw that my friend’s cat had been on my chest, peeing all over me—”

Aurora stifled a laugh.

“He dug his claws into my shirt when I tried to push him off! And he just kept going! Like, come on, man, take me to dinner first or something!”

Aurora couldn’t hold back any more. Through her laughter, she told him, “That’s way worse than my story.”

“Maybe,” he replied with a satisfied grin, “but it made you laugh.”

Without really thinking anything of it in the moment, Aurora reached out to push his shoulder to say, Shut up, but she quickly remembered in the moments following that she wasn’t with Yuta or Taeyong, and she wasn’t sitting on Johnny's couch as his friend but as his date. Suddenly she was embarrassed all over again. However, Johnny didn’t make note of it or even tease her further, he just navigated the topic easily onto the next question in order to see what else he could learn about Aurora. She said he hardly knew her, right? Well, what was a date if not the opportunity to learn everything about her?

Johnny was the first to say something when he noticed that Aurora was getting tired yet was too shy to interrupt the flow of their conversation. He checked the clock on his living room mantle, then double checked his watch, and once he’d concluded it was late enough, he asked Aurora how she was planning on getting home. She shrugged and said the same way she arrived: public transportation. When he laughed at that and pulled out his phone, Aurora was mildly confused all the way up until the point where he admitted he called a taxi for her and that it would be outside of his building in the next seven minutes, giving them plenty of time to wrap up their evening properly.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she insisted, feeling guilty.

“There’s no way I can let you go home on the bus in this weather and this late at night. I invited you over, I should be responsible for seeing you home safely, even if I can’t go with you.”

Aurora knew there was no argument she could make against that, so she simply smiled and thanked him with a slight bow of her head.

“I’ll see you out.”

They stood in unison, Aurora heading to the coat hangers to retrieve her winter coat and purse. Johnny didn’t grab anything to keep himself warm. However, he made sure to step around her to open the door wide enough for both of them to step out, his arm above her head while his grip didn’t waver. It was perhaps the first time she ever truly noticed how tall he was, at least in comparison to her and within the context of being on a date with him. On their walk to the elevator, Aurora realized why Johnny didn’t bundle up. She had to go down alone because they couldn’t be seen together, so he at least saw her to the elevator like a gentleman.

“Listen, I, uh…” He grinned to hide his shyness. “Thanks for coming over… For, uh, giving me a chance.”

“Well, all-rounder, it was impossible to not give you a chance after you spent so long drooling over me.”

“I wouldn’t call it drooling.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

They laughed together. He looked really happy that night, more so than she’d ever seen him, which made her smile never waver. That smile of his only wavered when the elevator dinged and Aurora stepped in, signaling the end of their night together.

“Next time, you should come visit my place,” she told him.

Johnny's face brightened up at the fact that she proposed there would be a next time. He nodded eagerly. “I’d like that.”

The elevator doors began closing. “See you tomorrow, all-arounder.” Before he could think to reply, Aurora was on her way down.

taglist: @tiredlittlevirgo , @henderysposts , @trash-number-one , @mystverse , @strawberryax0lotl , @hisunflower , @alili-milidoy , @junrenjun , @slayhaechan

[guujikaroko]

JP Paimon is like, so rude compared to EN Paimon it cracks me up.

For starters, her usual second person pronoun is オマエ (omae). This is standard for rude/direct characters in anime, so it might not sound that bad, but in real life, this could easily get you in a fistfight. And she never changes it for anyone, no matter how important they are.

Also, zero honorifics. She calls anyone by name. No さん (-san), no 殿 (-dono), no 様 (-sama), nothing. Just the name and name alone. The only one that gets the honor is Diluc... Or ディルックの旦那 (Master Diluc), as she calls him.

She's also kind of foul-mouthed, lmao. You know how Paimon calls Venti "Tone-Deaf Bard"? Well, in JP it's 吟遊野郎 (Bard Bastard). No hesitation whatsoever.

And you know what? I wouldn't have her any other way.

[alexanderwales]

Castle Solutions was the only time travel company in the world. They had a giant corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago, which was the only place in the entire world with a time machine, at least as far as anyone knew. They were worth hundreds of billions, and the only reason they weren't worth more seemed to be that they didn't care all that much about money. The time machines were used for everything: reporting, media, market corrections, the surveillance state, and industry. Castle Solutions was the lynchpin of the modern world.

Daniel had thought the waiting room would be nicer.

He sat in a blue-gray chair that would have been at home in any waiting room anywhere else in Chicago. Slightly tinny music played over speakers from the ceiling. A fake potted plant sat in one corner, failing to look lively. There were no windows, because the waiting room was deep in the heart of the building, close to the machine itself.

Daniel was the only one in the waiting room. He'd come half an hour early, lugging all his gear, and now the only thing left was for the clock to run down. A bored-looking woman had come in to tell him that it might be awhile, that they were running behind schedule — the time travel company, running behind schedule. So there had been more waiting than expected.

A man in a charcoal gray suit with a simple blue backpack came in. He slung the backpack down onto the ground with a sigh and rubbed his face. He had stubble there, but an artful amount of it, like he'd spent some time in the mirror making sure that it was the right amount of scruff to offset his expensive suit.

Daniel looked straight ahead, trying not to look, keeping his face blank, like he was passing by a homeless person who might ask him for money he didn't have.

"Wow, you've got a lot of stuff," said the man. "Is that a sword?"

"It's a katana," said Daniel. He didn't match the eye contact the man was giving him.

"Oh, cool," said the man. "You're going to ... katana times?"

"Edo Japan, yeah," said Daniel.

Daniel was trying his best not to engage, to get this conversation over as quickly as possible. He wasn't making eye contact.

The man picked up his backpack and moved across the waiting room to be closer to Daniel.

"You speak Japanese?" the man asked.

"Hai, watashi wa nihongo o hanashimasu," replied Daniel. He wished that he were more fluent, that the words had come out less rote.

"Cool," said the man. He had apparently also come closer to get a look at all of Daniel's stuff. His eyes moved over the duffel bags. There wasn't much to see, everything had been carefully packed away. "Wow, you sure are prepared, huh?"

"It's a different time and place," said Daniel with a shrug. It represented five years of planning, five years of training, learning, honing himself.

"Personally, I'm going to 1946," said the man, though Daniel hadn't asked. He held out his hand. "Archie Vedder."

Daniel reluctantly took the hand. "Daniel Strom." He had never really gotten the hang of shaking hands. He worried that his hands were too clammy, a worry that proved founded when Archie wiped his hand on that expensive charcoal suit.

"I went with the kit," said Archie, pointing to his backpack. "I've got papers, I've got a computer with a backup, I've got a projector, a media library, a science library, the whole works, plus some forged bonds and a stack of cash. I got a sweet deal on it, they're overstocked now."

Retreating into the past had seen its heyday. Now most of the people who had been most enthusiastic were gone, and there were only the dissenters left. Everyone agreed with using the machine for the mundane stuff, but simply leaving, never to return, rubbed people the wrong way.

"I guess they don't sell kits for Edo," Archie ventured.

"They do," said Daniel. "They're trash."

"Ah," said Archie.

"This is all custom," said Daniel. "Higher quality, field tested, everything I'll need to set myself up there." Only some of it was stock. He had two computers, three smartphones, chargers and plugs, solar panels, replacement batteries, and redundant media libraries and science libraries.

Archie raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean, field tested? Because people don't come back. You're there for good, right?"

What it actually meant was that Daniel had gone out into a field and tested it, made sure that it worked under various conditions, set himself up like he might be explaining all this to a carefully chosen daimyo. There was only so much that camping in the woods and taking dry run vacations could tell him though.

"Some of it is theory," said Daniel. "Research."

"Yeah, see, that's why I went with 1946," said Archie. "It's really well-trod. You know, I was reading an article the other day that maybe the Baby Boom was a little overstated? Like, we're obviously living in the wake of time travelers, but that's the prime time to come back, anywhere from 1946 to 1960. The economy is doing well, tech is advancing, it's familiar enough. The culture is so close you can sell some stuff from a media library, it's brilliant. You're five steps away from becoming a multimillionaire in a time when that meant something."

"Sure," said Daniel.

"Any reason you're doing hard mode?" asked Archie. "I mean, samurai and ninjas are cool, sure, but —"

"It's not about that," said Daniel.

"Alright, sure," shrugged Archie.

Daniel looked over at the waiting room's lone clock. You would think that a waiting room for a time travel company would have better clocks, but it was a cheap utilitarian design, thin plastic and wobbly hands.

"What's it about then?" asked Archie.

"I was going to go with a friend," said Daniel. "We had practiced together, trained together. Then he got cancer."

"Ah, shit," said Archie.

"He lived," said Daniel. "He's fine. But he's on medications now, and will be for the rest of his life, and he can't go anymore."

"Huh," said Archie. "So there's a friend who you're leaving behind?"

"No," said Daniel. "I mean ... this was what we did together. We talked about it a lot. We read history books and practiced crafts and skills. At the start, I didn't really take it that seriously, it was just a hobby, but I got invested, and I guess I kept seeing it as — I don't know."

"I mean for me, it's a way out," said Archie. "Most people feel that way, yeah? My wife filed for divorce, I got fired from my job, so hey, time to start over in 1946, pretend I'm part of the Greatest Generation, ride the waves I know are coming. Exploit it."

Daniel grimaced. The Vietnam War, segregation, the Red Scare? People had a rosy view of that time. He'd never felt particularly aligned with people like Archie who were just looking to make a quick buck.

"Oh come on," said Archie. "You think you're better than me? You're a, you know, what's the word. Colonizer."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "No."

"What, just 'no', it's not, you know, what we did to the Native Americans?" asked Archie. "The whole 'conquer the past' thing?"

"I'm a single person," said Daniel. "I'm bringing back things that will change their culture forever, but I'm not an agent of my country, and even if I were, I think those people who want to be a god king are morons. And sorry, I'm not spending my last minutes in the present on badly rehashing a debate I've had a thousand times already."

"Why not?" asked Archie. "See, I think having arguments right before you go is great. You can leave on a high note. I've spent the last few days saying whatever the hell I wanted to people. It's great. I went to my dad and said 'hey, you were a terrible father, I never liked you, and it's sad that you thought I needed your approval'. And then you know what's hilarious? I get to just walk away and never be seen again. How's that for a power move? How's that for a mic drop?"

"Seems immature," said Daniel.

"Well, see, I'm actually fine being immature," said Archie with a little laugh. "And when this conversation is done, one or both of us is going into the past, never to be seen nor heard from again, and isn't that great? You don't like me, I don't like you, and then we're strangers again."

Daniel had been looking straight ahead, but he turned to Archie after that. "You don't like me?" he asked. "You don't know me."

"I know your type," said Archie. He leaned back. "You spent what, three years cooking up a plan, making this trip back in time your entire personality, and now you think you're better than me, better than everyone, like you've got it all figured out. You talked yourself into throwing away everything you've got going on here. You got dreams of a future in the past. It's quitter talk, is what it is."

"Fuck off," said Daniel. In his normal life he'd have never said it, but he was on the precipice.

"You think going into the past is going to transform you?" asked Archie. "That another world, a second chance, you'll somehow become the man you think you were supposed to be? Well let me tell you, if you were a loser here, you'll be a loser there."

Daniel stood up and drew his sword. He'd practiced the draw a thousand times. The sword gleamed, even under the ugly fluorescent lighting of the waiting room. "Fuck off, or you'll be going back to the 50s missing a hand."

"Bah," said Archie. "Fine." He stood up and took a seat further away, the same one he'd taken when he first came in. He was bouncing his leg and reading something on his phone.

Daniel was putting his sword back in its sheath when the receptionist came into the room.

"Daniel?" she asked, glancing only briefly at the sword. "They're ready for you."

"Finally," Daniel thought but didn't say, because even though he wasn't going to be around anymore, he believed in basic politeness.

He gathered his things and left the waiting room, ready to leave.

~~~~

Archie sat outside Castle Solutions, in their little courtyard, vaping.

It wasn't long before the receptionist, Lydia, came to sit next to him.

"It didn't really seem like you wanted to convince that one," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry."

She shrugged and pulled out a vape pen of her own. "Sometimes you just want to yell at someone. I get that. But you're risking us getting caught. And if we get caught in the future, we probably get caught in the present."

"Yup," he said. "Won't happen again."

"Give it a few days before you come back," she said. "Three, let's say. He didn't file a complaint, so there's nothing in the system."

"Mmm," said Archie. He made a long, slow drag of the pen. They sat there vaping together for a while. It had often occurred to him that vaping was impossibly lame, but it felt less lame when done with someone else. He watched as the vapor left her mouth in a thin, concentrated stream. "You wanna go out sometime?"

"On a date?" she asked. She gave the tip of her vape pen a casual look. "No, not really."

"Alright," said Archie.

"I don't really know what your deal is," she said. "Why this is important to you. Why you want to talk people back from the brink, or yell at them."

"Mmm," said Archie. "You want to tragic backstory?"

"Meh," Lydia replied. "I'm not going on a date with someone who has a tragic backstory. That's all. Sorry. I've got my own tragic backstory, thanks very much."

"Fair," said Archie. "It was my kid brother, that's the short version. He up and left one day, left us a note that read like ... well, you know." He drew a finger across his neck.

"Where'd he go?" asked Lydia.

"England, 16th century," said Archie. "He thought he was going to take Shakespeare's place." He shook his head. "Only eighteen, you know? Unconscionable that they let kids that young through. He had his whole life ahead of him and he just ... disappeared."

Lydia sighed. "Yeah."

She turned off her vape pen, then mimed stubbing it out on the bench like a cigarette before slipping it into her purse. He felt a surge of attraction for her.

"Alright, I'll go on the date," said Lydia. "But if we're going to be dating, you've gotta stop this."

"Vaping?" asked Archie.

"You know what I mean," said Lydia. "You going in there trying to convince them to back out, that's one thing. It's noble, almost. But if it's going to be fighting, if it's you trying to work through some shit, then I'm not sticking my neck out for you. Doubly so if you want to get together. You process your trauma some other way, or repress it like the rest of us, alright?"

Archie thought about that for a moment. "Alright. Sure."

"I've got to get back to work," said Lydia as she rose from the bench. "You have my number."

Archie nodded, and after she had left, he stayed, looking out at the courtyard.

He wondered how Daniel was doing out there, in that other timeline, but he supposed that he would never know.

[corvid-language-library]

Interesting that they use 魔 for 'mako' and Shinra is 神羅

[robinduckie]

I was watching the new YJ series and now my brain can't stop thinking of what kind of Asian was Shiva and Cass??

("Cassandra WOO-SAN!")

What freaking surname is Woo-San???

I thought Woo-San was literally (五三）53, like maybe she was the 53rd ninja for the League of Assassins.

Or

Her surname was（吴）Wu and her name is （珊） San. It would make sense why her English name is Sandra. This one makes the most sense.

With two letters, even with a Chinese surname it's almost always ShangGuan, Ouyang, Sima, Situ.

Or

With two letters, it's... Japanese? After fiddling around Jisho.org I got nothing. Maybe someone else who is nihongo jozu can figure it out.

Or

Shiva is actually way older than she looks and her name reflected a low status from a bygone era.

I find it fascinating if it turns out that Shiva is actually from the Qing Dynasty and she was such a menace who battled everyone in pursuit of perfecting her style of martial arts that she gets noticed by Ra's who was at the imperial court at the time.

Then her name Woo-San is literally a number. Because people who were sold to slavery didn't have names beyond numbers. The numbers didn't reflect seniority. They usually get renamed after they're sold.

(Can you imagine them having a found family trope that gets corroded by the passage of time?)

[vaccumduster]

I absorb the world around me, and that's changing all the time.

— Sayaka Murata (Convenience Store Woman).

[gazapal]

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