#this one was such a pain but it got me back in translation mode

[gailyinthedark]

3. Brutus, an exile after the death of his parents, seeks Greece

After the Trojan War Aeneas, fleeing the fall of the city with Ascanius, came by sea to Italy. There he was received with much honour by King Latinus; but Turnus, king of the Rutuli, envied him and went to war against him. Aeneas prevailed in the fight and, with Turnus dead, inherited both the kingdom of Italy and Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus.

At length Aeneas’s last day arrived, and Ascanius, now highest in royal power, established Alba beyond the Tiber and begat a son, whose name was Silvius. This Silvius, indulging a secret desire, took to wife a certain niece of Lavinia and made her pregnant. When his father Ascanius learned of this he ordered his wise men to discover with which sex the girl had conceived. Having discovered the certainty of the matter, the wise men told him that she was pregnant with a boy who would kill his father and mother, and after wandering many lands in exile, should come at last to the highest peak of honour.

Nor did this prophecy fail them. For when the day of her delivery arrived, the woman bore a boy-child, but died in the birth. He was given over to his nurse and was called Brutus. When thrice five years had gone by, the youth Brutus went hunting with his father and killed him with an unwitting bowshot. For as the servants were leading the deer onto their path, Brutus attempted to aim his arrow at the deer but instead struck his father below the chest. His relatives were incensed that he had done such a deed, and so he was exiled from Italy by the death of his father. Thus wandering, he came to Greece, and discovered the descendants of Helenus, Priam’s son, who were being kept in servitude beneath the rule of Pandrasus, king of the Greeks. Indeed Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, had taken this Helenus and many others with him in chains, and kept them subdued in order to avenge his father’s death.

Having learned the lineage of these former fellow-citizens, Brutus lingered among them. He came to thrive greatly in military arts and in strength of character, so much so that he was beloved by kings and commanders before all the youth of the country. For he was wise among the wise, warlike among the warlike; and whatever he acquired in gold or silver ornaments, he bestowed the same on his fellow-soldiers. So his reputation became known throughout all nations, and the Trojans began to come to him, begging that he might lead them from their servitude to the Greeks. This they believed might be easily done, since they were now so multiplied in the land that they were reckoned at seven thousand (not counting women and children). Furthermore, there was a certain young man of high nobility in Greece, by name Assaracus, who also favoured their cause. He was born of a Trojan mother, so he had great confidence in them and that, with their help, he might be able to solve the troubles he was having with the Greeks. For Assaracus's brother was suing him over three fortresses which their father, upon dying, had given to him, and to which the brother was now trying to lay claim, since Assaracus had (supposedly) been born of a concubine. This brother was Greek by father and mother, and had allied with Greeks and their king for support in his suit.

And Brutus, looking over the number of Trojan men, as well as the fortresses of Assaracus which were at his disposal, agreed readily to their request.

[electraslight]

the loss of the addiction angle in Kevin's character in the transition from ogs to uaf really shows to me the flaws in uaf's writing compared to ogs's, at least in terms of Kevin's redemption.

Kevin's energy addiction is a key part of his character in ogs. it's implied to be why he swings so drastically from being good to Ben out of the kindness of his heart to trying to kill hundreds of people in mere hours, and it seems like this has been going on a while, shifts in mood correlating to his energy consumption. the addiction is why Ben and Kevin break apart, because Kevin's behavior because of the effects of the drug and his pursuit of it stop them from being healthy friends. Ben never stops believing Kevin might have the capacity to change, though, trying to see through the person the drug created to the person inside, like him sparing Kevin in framed and helping him out in grudge match. Kevin is, at this point in his life, dangerous, but he's still a kid, and Ben's failure to protect him weighs heavy on him for the rest of his life. you see this narrative and think well, if he's redeemed later, this should be important. recovery should be hard, especially when he seems to have been in survival mode for years. it must be hard for Ben to trust him afterwards, especially with the sheer amount of pain they've put each other through, Kevin especially, because of his addiction.

in uaf, Kevin is already good. he can still absorb things, but they don't hurt him now, they aren't a compromise he makes, sanity for safety. he's a con man, he makes measured plans and scams, not drugged out bids of random violence. he's calm, mostly, and he's a good guy now, and he'll help Ben because he has "honor", and he no longer thinks of life totally selfishly. this, I feel, is a cop out.

main characters aren't really allowed to have rough edges in uaf, and when they do, it seems jarring and out of place, or a result of weird writing. Ben's transition from being a little too kind for Ben to being unreasonably cruel in a way he never was as a child is strange, unfitting of how perfect the show wants him to seem. gwen's random bouts of insulting Kevin or pettily harping on him for things he apologized for seem strange when paired with how kind she usually is to him. and Kevin, Kevin is a "bad boy", but not in a dangerous way. all of his crimes are amorphous "things he's done" that they never elaborate on, his scams not cruel but only conniving. even when mutated, he still seems lucid, way less vengeful and violent than he was as a child. he's not an addict. why would he be? he's a good guy. he's changed. even at times where it seems obvious to show that he's "fallen off the wagon", they don't mention it.

I feel like this leads into a larger discussion about uaf, mainly about character flaws and the white sheet covering specifically the alien trio. character traits that got lost in translation, Ben's hobbies, Gwen's love of technology, Kevin's addiction metaphor. especially in terms of flaws. in uaf Ben's "flaws" fluctuate, sometimes being perfect, sometimes randomly getting an ego, losing it, then gaining it back. Gwen in uaf has no stated flaws, or at least ones that are intentional, but because of that, the ones she accidentally has are more toxic and weird than she ever did as a child. and Kevin? he's an amorphous concept. vaguely criminal. vaguely angry. a doormat. what's the issue with writing Kevin in a way where he really does feel like a homeless kid with addiction problems and enough trauma to have that dead look in his eyes forever? I don't know. I don't know where I'm going with this. give Kevin a little violence back.

[notfreetoday]

MPW Ep 3 Subtitle Corrections

EP 1 || EP 2 Cultural/Language Tidbits: EP 2

Same translation disclaimer applies. Thanks again for indulging my crazy long t/n, please keep geeking out with me in the notes!

We've got a change of director this episode - to Funabiki Shinju (twitter linked here) who was the scriptwriter for Jack Frost. This date is also a drama-only episode and does not appear in the manga. So, we have quite a few ad-libs here! I'll point out these out, as well as any interesting comments by the director and the producer from the Ep 3 twitter space as we go on. (Due to tumblr's image space limitations, some of these scenes will have no pics, just a description)

Ep 3, let's go! (If you read nothing in this post, please just read Yoh's monologue)

Since this is the theme of this episode, and Yoh's favourite word, let's talk a little more about it. I've mentioned it previously, but both "嫌い (kirai)" and "大嫌い (dai kirai)" are often translated as "hate/really hate", when they really function more as the opposite of "(suki)", ie "to like". That said, the amount of emotional weight this word carries depends on the context. It can accurately convey the pain/anger of hating someone, but it can also be used very mildly. For eg, it's often used by kids in the "I hate homework/vegetables/the rain/etc" form, or by teens/young adults in the "I don't want everyone to hate me" form, as opposed to other synonyms. When introducing yourself/getting to know someone, it's not uncommon to be asked "what are your suki/kirai?"

In other words, overuse of this word can actually come off as slightly childish, because kids/young people are usually the ones using this word to reject small things/express themselves. Yoh's constant insistence that he hates Segasaki pretty much sounds like this - which is why Man-san expresses doubt about it, and why when Segasaki repeats this line back to Yoh, Yoh understands that Segasaki is teasing him. (The word "love" is considered too heavy and precious of a concept to be thrown around easily, so "suki" is the default go to even in committed relationships.)

Y: 相変わらずすごいよ、この人の外面モード。 Y: As always, this person's "public mode" is amazing.

"外面 (soto zura)" literally refers to the "outside face", and when used to describe a person means someone who puts up a certain personality/attitude depending on who they're speaking to/the situation.

The reason Yoh's saying this is because Segasaki is speaking to him in a much nicer way than he usually does at home 🤣He's using plain forms yes, but he's also praising him and smiling at him and actually saying a whole, proper sentence as opposed to the one-word sickness he has at home🤣 This is most obvious right before Segasaki leaves, when he warns Yoh to be careful when drawing other people - he says "気をつけてね~ (ki o tsukete ne~)", ending with a ne~ which is sweet and cute and which he almost never does with Yoh at home 🤣🤣

Twitter Space Note (TSN): They decided that since they finally got to shoot an "outdoor scene" for Yoh, they'd try to make him look a little more fashionable with a shirt instead of a hoodie 🤣

Y: いってらっしゃい Y: Itterasshai - this is a standard greeting that you say when someone is leaving the house (or the office, if they're going out on a business errand). Basically, the one leaving says "ittekimasu" and the one staying behind says "itterasshai". They mean "(I'll) go and come back/Go safely and return well" When returning, you say "tadaima" and the one welcoming you back says "okaerinasai" meaning: "(I have) just now (returned)/ (you have) returned safely". Unlike Yoh, Segasaki does none of these standard greetings (which Yoh complained about in Ep 1 whilst chopping onions).

Y: だからね、気持ちが通じ合った*っていう描写が必要だと思うんだよおれは Y: だからこそ、体が盛り上がる**、的な？ M: はーん。中高生処女みたいなこといってろ Original: Y: That's why I think it's necessary to depict the feeling of "mutual understanding" Y: That's how the physical aspect also gets exciting... or something like that? M: Hmm.. talking about it like a high school virgin, huh? Mine: Y: So that's why, I think it's important - showing that (the characters') have this unspoken understanding* of each other's feelings. Y: It's precisely because of that, that you get physically excited** - something like that? M: Mm.... you're saying things a high-school virgin would say **体が盛り上がる - literally, "the body gets excited/heated up/lively etc" - given that they are talking about erotica, he probably means physically aroused here, but this term also works to explain the feeling of excitement or emotion just swelling in your chest for eg *通じ合った - is not just "mutual understanding" - it specifically refers to a situation in which both parties understand each other without having to say a word - like when you look at someone and just get them, or like in sports, you just look at your team mate and you know.

This is an important distinction because in this line, Yoh again emphasizes "I" - at the end of the sentence he ends off with the pronoun "俺 (ore)" marked by the subject particle "は (wa)" - which means that in this sentence Yoh is emphasizing that this is his opinion - that he himself thinks it's important to show that 2 people simply get each other, because that's exactly what translates to that sensation you feel in your body. This is what Yoh wants - he wants to understand Segasaki, and he wants Segasaki to understand him, without them having to actually say anything. Which at the moment, only Segasaki is achieving, ironically.

[ Man-san's dialogue, where she says "a sex scene follows]

TSN: Man-san actually only says “se-“ here, and then mutes herself (because they’re in public). In the script, it was supposed to be the full “sex” word, but they weren't sure whether it would be ok (it's not clear whether they mean ok for the actress to say this or ok for the show in general) so in the end it became "se-". Yes it's an odd place to be concerned about given the whole Ep2 but #Japan

Again, the word here used is “kirai” but translated as “dislike” instead of hate 😉

TSN: Between this scene and the start of the next scene, they praised how Acchan uses his eyes to convey Yoh's dejection and how he expresses Yoh's emotions very sensitively through his gaze (and I agree!)

TSN: The director mentioned that she had thought it would look good if Segasaki to put his hand up like this on the ceiling partition, but the moment Kouhei walked in, he just did it naturally without her having to say anything, and so she was really amazed.

S: じゃ、出かけるぞ (Jya, dekakeru zo) S: Then, we’re going out.

“Let’s go out” would be more of "じゃ、でかけましょう (Jya, dekakemashou)" – by using the ending form “(-ma)shou”, the listener is included in the action of going out as an equal to the speaker, the same way “let’s” is used in English. It is by far the most common way Japanese people make a statement without trying to sound too overbearing. But here, Segasaki once again demonstrates his habit of simply stating what they’re going to do, and speaking for Yoh. The sentence-final particle “zo” at the end of his sentence is an assertive one that doesn’t leave much room for argument.

TSN: Again they talked about how they emphasised to Acchan to do the housework improperly, since Yoh isn't supposed to be good at it. Also, when Yoh thinks, "what's with this, all of a sudden?", the director asked that he move his hands "more" as he folded the clothes, like he was still happy to be asked out.

Y: デート自体ないんだよ Y: I’ve never even been on a date.

Y: 俺、いま一体何してんだろう Y: What am I even doing right now?

Yoh’s not wondering what they’re doing, he’s questioning his own actions, like "why am I even here, doing this, what am I supposed to do" etc, because you know, he's never even been on a date before and he has no clue whether this actually is one.

[The scene with the 2 of them on the bench, and Segasaki asks Yoh what he'd like to eat]

TSN: The script only went up to Yoh answering that he wanted to eat “Chinese food”, and this whole bit afterward just happened naturally when they let the camera run.

Yoh says “たっか(taka)!” which is short for “高い(takai)” aka “expensive!” but his voice is so cute here I’m dying. (It really is bloody expensive, these things are usually anywhere between 180 yen – 300 yen pre-pandemic. Even with the big one they have here, I don’t think anyone would sell this above 500 yen)

TSN: They said they searched for a 1200 yen steamed pork bun but couldn’t find one, and in actuality the store sells them at a really reasonable price, so to please go give it a try 🤣🤣

[The scene of them walking and sharing the chicken cutlet]

TSN: This scene, as well as them walking along they alley way looking at the shops, was mostly ad-libbed (which is probably why we see Acchan smiling so much here hahaha I’m guessing the question about which he liked better was probably an adlib, which surprised Acchan). For the alleyway, they were told that their conversation was not going to be used, so they were quite relaxed (and that explains the audio fade out lol)

[The scene of them drinking Boba/Bubble Tea]

About Gyaru - when Boba/Bubble Tea first came to Japan, it became pretty popular amongst Gyaru, and quickly became associated with Gyaru culture - hence why they both felt it was something only Gyaru drank. It's similar to the idea that only ladies eat sweets/desserts that was briefly mentioned in OFC (which makes Nozue feel awkward about 2 men eating cake in a dessert cafe) - here they mean they both felt too embarrassed to try Boba out before due to the idea that it's a "Gyaru" drink (and I love how Yoh looks at Segasaki then, like he only just realises that even Segasaki might get embarrassed/feel awkward sometimes).

S: 乗るぞ (noru zo)

Again, this is “we’re riding it” instead of “let’s”.

Y: 思ったよりすごく透明で Y: (The cabin) is more transparent than I thought

The floor of the cabin is actually clear, so you can see right down through to the bottom, which is why Yoh is a little freaked out here. Not because he thought glass wasn’t transparent.

TSN: Acchan is also afraid of heights, so the stiffness you see here is real, he really didn’t like it, but they went 4 rounds in total to finish this scene. (Kouhei apparently was fine and enjoyed looking right through the glass, though I can’t remember which interview this was mentioned in, sorry!)

S: ほら S: See?

ほら (hora) is commonly used to draw the listener’s attention to something, so here Segasaki really just means “look (I was right)”

TSN: They apparently redid the scene where Segasaki dismisses the store attendant many times so they could make sure it was done in a way that looked natural and wouldn’t be off-putting.

We’re back to one of Segasaki’s humming sounds – the “hmm…?” here again conveys the “oh, really/is that so?” sort of lazy drawl that can easily be mistaken as Segasaki being bored – which is why Yoh immediately suggests they go do their own thing.

Y: そっちも、好きなところいっていいから Y: You too, it’s okay (if you go) to the places you like so…

Yoh uses “そっち” here to refer to Segasaki - which literally means “your/that side” and is another way in which Yoh avoids addressing Segasaki directly (remember, in Japan we don’t like being direct, and “you” is sometimes too direct).

Fun fact: Depending on which part of Japan you’re in, this can either be seen as a totally normal way of speaking, or it might annoy you a little to be referred to as if you were an object/place, or you might feel like the speaker was treating you a little like an “outsider”. The divide in opinion seems to be somewhere between the northeast regions, and the western regions. Tokyo and the rest of the Kantou region (where the show is based, judging by the lack of an obvious accent) are sort of 50-50.

Y: もしあれ*だったら、あ、あの、こっちはこっちで、好きにやってるし Original: Y: Ah, if you want to. Well… we’re both doing our own things… Mine: Y: If (you feel) that way*, then, ah, umm, I can… do as I like, by myself too...

*that way - this refers to that sort of awkward, uncomfortable feeling you get that is hard to describe when you’ve been put on the spot. So, this makes it clear that Yoh is offering Segasaki an “out” from this uncomfortable, weird position he thinks Segasaki is in.

Similar to his earlier sentence, Yoh refers to himself as “こっち (this side)”, and the phrase he uses pretty much means “I can entertain myself”. This is an example of kizukai – or at least, what Yoh thinks is kizukai - which is a concept where you do your best to think of the other person’s needs and wants, so you can anticipate what help they might need and so you don’t inadvertently inconvenience them. Ok, now get ready for some mental gymnastics:

From Yoh's POV, Segasaki wants to buy clothes, and has brought Yoh along to carry the bags. Therefore, Segasaki’s offer to buy him a shirt, and asking him if he is having fun, is Segasaki’s kizukai – Segasaki is going out of his way to make sure Yoh is taken care of. But! Yoh doesn’t want Segasaki to feel inconvenienced (similar to how in EP 2, Yoh said he doesn’t want Segasaki to dislike him), so he instead almost reflexively rejects Segasaki’s offer, then encourages Segasaki to go enjoy himself, and in response to Segasaki’s “Ha!?”, doubles down and says he’s totally ok by himself - This is Yoh’s kizukai.

Tired yet? This is a normal consideration in daily interactions! You can see why the phrase “yokei na kizukai (excessive/unwanted kizukai)” also exists in Japanese lolol 🤣

S: ああ。せっかくの休日に、大嫌いな俺*と一緒にいてのはたのしくない？ Original: S: Ah. So spending a day with someone you hate on your precious day off isn’t enjoyable? Mine: S: Ah. On your precious day off, being together with me – who you hate* – isn’t fun?

*“大嫌いな俺 (dai kirai na ore)” is literally “the ‘me’ that you hate”, or “me who is hated by you” - emphasis on "me", the person standing right in front of you.

Y: いや、それは…違。。。あ、その。。。 Y: No, that’s…not-…- ah.. um…

“A, so” again.

S: 五時にここ集合*な (goji ni koko shuugou *na) S: We’ll meet here at 5, *yea?

*Ending with “na” is softer than “zo” – this statement is still pretty much an order, as with his other statements that ended with “zo”, but it’s gentler, and softens the fact that he’s walking away from Yoh here.

TSN: Pretty much everyone was just going on and on about “oh, poor thing!” in response to Segasaki getting rejected and chased away, and how even though he’s sad here he’s still sweet and gentle with Yoh. Yes, that’s right, everyone loves Segasaki.

[The scene of Yoh spilling water on his shirt]

TSN: This was apparently pretty difficult to shoot in a way the camera could see the water spilling, but the wardrobe team came to the rescue with hairdryers so they could keep reshooting 🤣🤣

S: じゃ、帰んぞ  (Jya, kaen zo) S: Then, we’re going back

“zo” is back! Sorry for being so pedantic about tiny things like this, but I do think it gives us insight into Segasaki's character and how he may be feeling.

This line is the most important correction in this post.

Y: 本当はさ、ずっと、ささいな表情とか、しぐさとか、 俺が言うこと聞くとちょっと嬉しそうにするのとか、 晴れの予報を告げる優しい声とか、 全部バカみたいに俺ばっかり。 毎日俺ばっかり心臓大暴れさせてるみたいで　 嫌だった Y: むかつくとこ拾い集めて　大嫌いだって思ってないと　 その気持ちの不釣り合いに　息ができなくなってしまいそうで 嫌だった Y: 嫌いじゃない　嫌いじゃないよ Original: Y: Actually, all these times, your expressions, gestures, the way you look kind of happy when you listen to me, and your gentle voice forecasting good weather. All of them, make my heart beat as if it’s coming out. I don’t like it. Y: I gathered everything that annoyed me, thinking that if I didn’t, the imbalance of my feelings would suffocate me. I don’t like it. Y: I don’t hate you. I really don’t. Mine: Y: In truth, all this while, the little expressions you make, the gestures you do, the way you seem just that little bit happier when I listen to you, and the gentle voice with which you announce the sunny weather… All of that - like an idiot, it's just me who… It feels like it's just me whose heart has been made to pound and race wildly and - I didn't like that. Y: If I didn't gather up all the things that frustrated me and told myself "I hate this" then, the disparity (between us) in those feelings would suffocate me, making me feel like I could hardly breathe and - I didn't like that. Y: I don't hate you. I really don't hate you.

TSN: This was ad-libbed too. It just happened that the metal post was coming up in between them as they walked, and Acchan saw it and planned to go around it, because he felt that emotionally there was a gap forming between Yoh and Segasaki at this point. But right as he was about to do that, Kouhei grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him over, which Acchan was really surprised by, because they both had the same thought to ad-lib something about that post, and they both did it as their characters would do it, but it was the exact opposite action. The director said that when the 2 were walking back towards the start point they were both smiling a little, and then asked the director “how was that?” to which she replied “It’s really great!”, and then Acchan looked a little frustrated (in a sorta arrgh I got it wrong sort of way) whereas Kouhei was all “I was definitely right” (Acchan mentioned he was abit worried about the ad-lib, so I’m guessing they both were discussing as they walked back and finally decided to settle it by asking the director hahaha)

Y: すいません S: なにが Y: その。。。いろいろ S: だからなにが Original: Y: I’m sorry S: For what? Y: Well, for everything S: What do you mean? Mine: Y: I’m sorry S: About what? Y: That… for many things S: And (I said,), about what?

Yoh uses the formal "すいません (suimasen)" here, as opposed to his usual and more casual "gomen" or "gomen nasai", because this line is important to him, and he means it. "Sorry" in Japanese does not always carry the meaning of regret/remorse - it can be used to express gratitude as well. You''ll often here people say "Sorry that you had to (go through the trouble)" after they've accepted a gift, or "Sorry, I've caused you much trouble" as a way of thanking someone for their care. So, Yoh says "sorry" here after accepting Segasaki's gift, which could be seen as a thank you, but he also means he's sorry that he's like this, that he can't be honest/straightforward about his feelings (a theme that is brought up in Ep 4), that Segasaki has to care for him like this etc. "For many things" is a common way to encompass all of these mixed feelings, and yet not say them out directly.

Y: どうせ口じゃ、うまく言えないから Original: No matter what, I don’t dare say it Mine: Since I can't get the words out of my mouth properly anyway

S: よくできました (yoku dekimashita)

This is a formal way of saying “well done”, and if you did well in your work/test in elementary school you’d get a stamp that says just this, or your teacher would draw you a flower. The more elaborate the flower, the better you did. This is the only time thus far that Segasaki has said anything formal to Yoh at all. The sudden shift, and the imagery this phrase evokes – a literal stamp of approval – emphasises not just Segasaki’s approval, but also his role in Yoh’s life (ie, his role as Yoh’s provider, or well, maybe keeper is more accurate. Honestly Dom makes the most sense, but I’m not qualified to talk about that so see @lutawolf posts for more!). We’ll talk more about how both Segasaki and Yoh acknowledge the power dynamic between them in the way the speak in the language analysis post (that will come after this, before Ep 4's).

Y: この人、もしかして本当はめっちゃ俺のこと。。。？ Y: This person… could it be that he actually…really is… …me?

Y: 信じていい？ Y: Is it ok if I believe? sue me, I think believe and trust carry different nuances.

S: よかったな* (yokatta *na) S: シーツ買ったからいっぱいできんじゃん、大好きなセックス S: まあ　残念ながら　相手は大嫌いな俺**ですけど Original: S: Great, S: with more sheets, we can do it more often. Your beloved sex S: Well, unfortunately the other person is someone you hate Mine: S: Isn't this nice* S: Since you bought more sheets, we can do it a lot - the sex that you love so much S: Well, unfortunately, your partner is me - who you hate **so much

*The use of "na" here is slightly different from the one earlier - here it is used more for emphasis, and the downward tone carries a hint of mockery.

Again, Segasaki uses the same "the me who you hate" phrasing as he did earlier, emphasizing to Yoh once again that Segasaki is the one Yoh hates. Except here, he also ends off the sentence with "ですけど (desukedo)", and the whole phrasing of this line too, from the word "unfortunately" onwards, just feels business-like. As before, the shift in style gives the statement more weight- Segasaki is really not letting Yoh get away with this line here, and Yoh feels this acutely. The sharpness of the line makes him turn away abruptly in shock and even some anger.

S: お前が好きにしていいって言うんだから S: 好きにさせてもらうけど　*な (na)？ S: お前　本当バーカ Original: S: You told me to do as I like, S: then I’ll do what I want. Okay? S: You really are… an idiot Mine: S: You said I could do as I wish so, S: I'll gratefully do as I please... *yea? S: You're...really an idiot

*The "na" used here is similar to the one Segasaki used when telling Yoh to meet back at 5, in that it assumes the listener will agree with the speaker. This time it's not so much used to soften an imperative, but rather, to soften the teasing of the preceeding line - "I'll gratefully do as I please".

The phrase used here is "~させてもらう (~sasete morau)". "Sasete" means "to do" something, with the permission of the other person, and "morau" means "to receive (with thanks/gratefulness)" so together this phrase means that you're going to "do something (with the permission of the other person)", and you are thankful to have received that permission. It's usually used for things like asking your boss "May I please go home early with your kind permission" sorta thing, or telling someone that you "ate a meal someone provided for you that you are grateful for".

So here, Segasaki is pretty much saying "I'll do as I please since you so kindly told me I could, didn't you?" which is why he smirks as he says it.

/////

And we're finally done with EP 3!! Finally! Now I can finally talk about their general speech styles and what it means when they choose to switch between them. Thanks for joining me! Also, shout out to @eralkfang for tagging me in their meta post - I'm really glad these posts are helpful that way!!

[thehomophobe]

When they get hurt 🤕 (Part 6 of 6)

🌑 Moon 🌑: Nightfall. Your second job begins. Security wasn’t something you thought you do since you were always more technologically inclined, hence why you’re one of the mechanics. But hey, your manager offered you another job because one security guard already quit and you wouldn’t mind a second job.  Which leads you to here, walking around a dimly lit mall with nothing but a flashlight and a taser. 

Well, at least you can stay with your favorite animatronics longer. 

Freddy, Chica, Monty, Roxy, Sun, Moon.

Moon…You wonder where he is. Usually, this is the time where he would surveillance along with you. Perhaps he’s hidden in the darkness, waiting to scare you from above. The wire doesn’t attach to the main lobby but sometimes Moon climbs along the railings of the ceiling. You never get tired of his little pranks. Before, he would scare you away to make you quit. You can’t blame his wariness for humans, after everything he told you about how the staff disrespected both him and his brother. You would to if all your “coworkers” never gave you a damn with anything. 

Of course when you came along and helped the twins clean the daycare, things changed. One thing being Moon’s approach to you; a calmer, less hostile attitude whenever you visited. A later translation of how he enjoyed your company. Soon you find little handcrafted gifts at the work desk of the daycare. A note, drawing, a bracelet, a dreamcatcher. And after that, sneaking into the daycare to cuddle with Moon while the children, and Sun, are asleep. Maybe a little confession was made in between the cozy chasms of a pillow fort one day ago. What a lovely date it was.

*skitter skitter*

What was that?

*screee…*

The sound of metal startled you. You flashed your light, your hand shaking slightly. It has to be Moon. He’s just trying to scare you. All good fun right? Your breath quicken a little. Shining the light near a corner, you saw a shadow slink back. Could it be a raccoon? 

*tick tick tick*

The light shined further into the dark until…a single red eye bores down to you. 

That’s no raccoon. 

Slowly, you raised your flashlight towards it. A gnarled hand covered its one eye as it cowed. You couldn’t see anything else, but you exactly knew who it was. 

“Moon?” You question.

...

*tick tick tick*

The sound of metal clicking alerted you. You moved the light away from him, but just enough for you to see. Once your friend got closer, the details got clearer…and horrifying. 

Half of Moon’s face was torn off, the skin peeling away like dry paint. His right eye was completely gone as the skull underneath was exposed. An upper part of the torso was broken and exposed. The skin casing of both arms was removed with his right hand gone from his arm. Through the light, you realize that Moon was crawling towards you, but it was due to a missing left foot. The poor dear. 

But what horrified you the most was the fact that his lower jaw was ripped off. 

Hence why he wasn’t talking. 

You could see his voice box was attached, but the usual jaw functions of the endo weren’t working. You crouched down to your lunar-themed android and held his face. (Is it really a face?) “Moonbeam what happened?” You knew he could speak but you were too hurt. All he did was lean into your touch. Good god…

”Here let me help you up.” You try to stand Moon upright. He struggled, must’ve lost connection in his legs. Doesn’t matter, even if his 8ft body was crushing on you, you’re gonna drag him down to Parts & Services. With a flimsy arm around your shoulder, you both start your journey. You can hear a faint “thank you” coming from Moon, or maybe your mind was playing tricks on you.

Down in Parts & Services, you lie Moon down. His singular eye was unmoving, must be in rest mode. That won’t stop him from feeling the pain, so you completely shut him down. You grab an extra usb to upload Moon memories into the computer. Good thing the electricity was still on; you didn’t want to find the fuse box in the dark with a heavy animatronic in hand. You removed Moon’s tattered clothes and skin, exposing the inner wiring. You need to replace his endoskeleton since fixing the old one would cost you. Just grabbing the wiring is necessary for the body structure. And they’re not replaceable…

Unplugging all the wires, you dragged the old endoskeleton out and threw away the torn costumes. New endos hid in the nearby closet like skeletons as in the common metaphor. Since the twins had the same endo, you just found one tall, lanky skeleton and hobbled on back to the operating table. You imported the code to the new endo while you attach the wiring back to shape his body. Since every new endo already has the eyes and jaw, you won’t have to worry fixing it. Finally, you added the new layer of skin and new clothes for your darling Moonshine.

You powered him on.

Moon rubbed his eyes as if he fell asleep for 100 years.

”Good morning sleeping beauty.” You teased. 

“Shouldn’t you be home by now?” He asked.

”Well I couldn’t since a certain someone was completely broken. How that happened by the way?” Moon looked away. What’s there to be ashamed of? “Well?”

”Fell.”

“Off of what?” He pointed upward. “Oh…Makes sense.” You nodded.

“I think your shift’s over starlight.” He’s right. You got to get home. You kissed his temple and rushed out of Parts & Services.

[madelynhimegami]

To my knowledge, you like Puyo Puyo! But what do you enjoy most about it?

Honestly, it might be easier to explain my intoduction to the series. Ideally we'll get there in the end either way. You ever seen one of those "What I Played/What I Expected/What I Got" memes? My story is pretty much like one of those.

I don't remember when I started learning bits and pieces about it, or when Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine went from being itself to a Puyo game in a trenchcoat in my mind. But by mid 2017 I knew the aforementioned (I called the CPZ boss in Sonic Mania a Puyo boss on twitter when I played it), recognized Carbuncle, recognized Draco Centauros (thanks to a friend who is still a big fan of her), and had heard that there was some sort of story to it, but didn't know a lot of details.

Then in September of 2017, a friend of mine mentioned that he had been playing Puyo Puyo Tetris lately as his go-to "pick up and play" sort of game. I looked it up in the eshop, saw it was cheap, and thought a pick-up-and-play game was what I needed and bought it. Not that I knew shit about playing Puyo well, but I at least had some basic competency at Tetris to balance things out.

And hey, at least the story mode would be a good way to learn! So I dove in to the story and started playing.

I was expecting the story to be inconseqential to my enjoyment of the game. Something either generic or corny, with characters that ranged from "tolerable" to "painful anime cliche."

The thing that knocked me on my ass almost immediately was that the writing was actually funny, made better with the English cast's fantastic delivery.

Those are all from just the story's first chapter! The first one is from the prologue! The other two are from the third scene (couting dialogue before and after a round of gameplay together as one scene)! And it kept going!

For the record, even though I was picky with what to include, and stitching lines from the same scenes together, I still had almost fifty (50) funny moments I wanted to drop out of context, in a game with a rough total of two hours of story material collected to write this post. And then I had to narrow it down further just so I wouldn't hit the image limit too quickly.

Was it a little corny and awkward at points? Sure. Several voice actors had to grow into their roles. Plus, the impression I always had from the script-- an impression that's only gotten stronger the more I learn about this series and then come back to this game-- is that someone on the development team was not expecting this to be all that successful overseas. And not for no reason, since Puyo Puyo's tried to get its foot in the door in the west several times by this point. But the end result of this lack of faith was a localization team that tried very hard to make this game stand on its own merits with as little understanding of the games that had come before as possible. Which, honestly I think they did a pretty dang good job of! Especially since it didn't shy away from the hard-hitting stuff when it came. Which I'm going to intentionally leave even further out of context so as to not give away all of it.

There was also this line here, which was what first clued me in that the writing's quality wasn't an accident, that the writer is actually thinking all this stuff through:

Fun fact, the only people you will see in your dreams are people you have seen while you're awake. The parts of the brain responsible for dreams can't make up new faces, or throw together composites of preeviously-known ones. Hence, this question, which does in fact get answered in the next scene, in a way that made me go, "Ohhh, that's really smart, actually!"

But yeah. That was just this one game. It took me a few more years before I tried other games that had been translated, fan or otherwise, but the more I've played and the more I learn about these characters and their worlds, the more engrossed I get. It's a hyperfixation now. It seems like there's always something new I'm learning about it, but it's not overwhelming, it just feels like I'm knowing a good friend better and better. The modern artstyle is deceptively simple and very endearing, and so many of the characters are interesting and fun. And the current writer is just so galaxy-brained, I'm not even kidding.

The characters in the Puyo Puyo series are all morons. They're all crazy. But at the end of the day, they care about each other, no matter how little they want to admit it. And they all have their own theming to the magic they use. It's a lot of fun. From your standard-fair RPG spells, to cosmic forces, to math terms,

I can't recommend this series enough, no matter what your skill level with puzzle games is! There's something in it for everyone.

Unless you're looking for genuinely evil characters, I guess. Like, there are characters that are intimidating or sinister or threatening, but almost none of them are actually evil. Fraid the closest to that this series has is a(n as-of-now) gender-ambiguous Elon Musk with better hair in the Japan-excusive gacha game.

Further reading from the author (that isn't already on their tumblr):

[1]

[2]

[3]

[clatterbane]

My new gear, y'all! Ain't it lovely.

I am not going to model it even on here, because there are too many damn weirdos around. No free pics showing the stump at all from me. (Though, I might be able to get a pretty lucrative side business going--if the whole idea didn't creep me right the fuck out so bad. Even as the sorta dykey middle-aged nerd that I am.)

But, the appointment did turn out pretty well!

(Again, with the aid of sometimes wonky autotranslate.)

So yeah, they did seem to think that most of what I actually need at this point is to build up stamina up on my feet again. Which is pretty much my take on it too. With the rehab part to start once they get the initial custom leg fabricated.

In the meantime, they did send me home with silicone liners in a couple of sizes to get used to wearing. At no point did I roll the things onto my arm; that was one of the funky translations. You do get them on by turning them inside out and then rolling them on like the thickest, most unwieldy compression sock or nylon stocking/tights you can imagine.

Besides the getting accustomed to wearing them part, evidently they just don't use the fabric "stump shrinker" compression socks at all locally. (Which are standard a lot of other places.) The two specialist staff I was dealing with today had no idea what that was when I asked about it, even after I pulled up pics in case it might be a communication thing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(Complete sidenote: Looks like I will have to measure myself and buy some out of pocket after all! The things are useful for helping keep a lid on nerve pain, besides "just" the compression overnight and when you're letting your leg breathe out of a liner.)

Nope, they're putting people straight into the sweaty silicone liner sleeves, generally within a few days after surgery. And entirely relying on that for compression. After this amount of time, my stump has indeed already atrophied a lot and there hasn't been any swelling for quite a long while. But, I never got fitted with any compression anything before we left the UK. And they wanted to give my leg at least a few weeks of regular compression before even starring to fit the first socket for the aftermarket leg.

Putting the smaller size liner on at first did almost have me throwing up in the floor. Not in small part because they had me try it RIGHT AFTER one of them had been hands-on examining the stump and purposely trying to trigger the nerve pain! 🤬 (For which I have been totally unmedicated since 2021, I might add. Which is unusual.) They did not seem to consider that this might not be ideal. (!)

Yeah, extremely tight kinda thick silicone did not feel great after that. The nerve pain was already VERY ANGRY when it went on. And I really couldn't keep a straight face.

The one size up was tolerable then, so they sent both with me. I figure the tighter one will probably be fine other than sensory badness when the damaged nerves are not in full Hulk Mode.

I am apparently supposed to work up to wearing the things for 3-4 hours straight, two periods a day.

I did not much like the apparent lack of understanding of how nerve pain works, or the perceived pressure to white knuckle through it. Or, you know, just not have any. Much less coming from people whose whole job is working with amputees. (Just try chopping somebody's limb off without doing significant nerve damage in the process...)

Again, there may have been some communication issues thrown in too. But the (pretty direct) message I was hearing was "How do you expect to use a prosthesis, if you're gonna be such a whiny baby about a liner sleeve?"

But, we'll see. I am really hoping that's not an indication of what to expect, moving forward through this whole process.

I may also end up needing to just ask who I need to talk to, in order to get back on some meds. AFAICT, that is the team that's supposed to handle all of this stuff.

I don't particularly want to live with Lyrica side effects again, but it did help some with the other neuropathy besides the directly sliced nerve bullshit. Even more in combination with the Tramadol, but good fucking luck with that here from experience to date. I am just about willing to deal with the dumb and tired, if it means the difference between excruciating nerve pain on the daily and not.

At any rate, next stop after they decide my stump is compressed enough is apparently a socket fitting. Where hopefully I will be able to discuss options more with a prosthetist.

Today they were also pushing pretty hard toward a suspension (attachment) system that I don't think I particularly want from listening to actual amputees with experience of different types. I want to know what models of ankle and foot they're proposing to give me.

And of course I also want to make damned sure that they don't just automatically default to the horrible uncanny "flesh" tone components that apparently some older people in particular do want.

Today they brought out an example leg very much like what this prosthetist is also using for demonstration purposes here--and I was seriously creeped out enough that I resisted looking at or touching the thing. (They ended up handing it to me, whether I wanted anything to do with it or not.)

It's not the fact that it is a prosthetic leg that gives me the willies, at all. It is totally the uncanny mannequin parts effect. And I would really prefer to be able to use whatever leg and foot that I do end up with.

[spockandawe]

Hello! I've been thinking about binding some danmei novels in my native language, but I don't know where to start. I found your blog recently and find it very inspiring! I was wondering if maybe you could share with me what tools and materials would be good to get started with?

Sure!!!! So, I'm on mobile and don't have links at hand, but if you go back through my bookbinding tag, there are other replies I've got about the materials for making a book specifically. The renegade publishing blog also has resource documents that walk through the bookbinding process and include links to educational materials, etc. So for here, I'll focus on the danmei side of things!

So, a fun feature about these books is that they tend to run LONG. I've seen a number of people try to take up bookbinding in google docs, and honestly, it's doing things on hard mode. For many danmei, it's basically impossible. I think my EARLIEST earliest attempt at svsss began in gdocs, and that's not a super long novel, but gdocs was choking on it. A word processor on your desktop is going to be your best bet. Personally, i invested in a microsoft office license, because it was familiar and i could afford it. But the free parallel to that will be libre office, which does basically everything word can do, with just minor differences.

On the fancy end of bookbinding software, affinity, indesign, and microsoft publisher are also names you may hear tossed around. These can do fancier, more artistic layouts, but also come with a heavier price tag. And because i had webnovels on my radar from the start, i wanted something ROBUST. I wanted to be able to dump all of the husky and his white cat shizun into a single file and work from it. And i did eventually do that! Being able to typeset a single file rather than repeat each step across several is great, especially since i tend to tweak design choices as i go.

For danmei, you're also going to want a robust printer. I have a color laser that's been an absolute beast of a machine, but a black and white laser can get you a long ways, and monochrome designs can be very elegant. You don't want an HP brand printer, their toner subscription practices are downright predatory, but Brother and Canon are names I've seen recommended highly. You probably don't want an inkjet printer, because long books take a LOT of ink. The one exception would be if you can find an affordable ink tank printer.

And the last major thing i can think of is that if your main computer is a laptop, consider typesetting with an external mouse and keyboard! Danmei novels are split into lots of short chapters, frequently split across just as many web pages, with lots of footnotes to format, and laptops are convenient but not ergonomic. Doing too much on there is just asking for a repetitive strain injury. I've done it, but often paid for my sins in pain! And your laptop keyboard may start complaining too, I'm almost certain my first typeset of mdzs was the nail in the coffin for my last laptop's keyboard, haha

I hope that helps! Best of luck to you! Ive found binding cnovels to be EXTREMELY rewarding, even though my original reason was because these things would NEVER be licensed in english 😂 I'm delighted to see people experimenting with it for other translations in other languages, I really hope it goes well for you!!!!

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

Radiant Dawn is such an unfinished mess.

The fact that some plot points got changed because they were just plain stupid in the jp release, the way that Dawn Brigade gets the absolute worst treatment, RD exclusive units in general. Which in my opinion would be better if they didn't cut supports. The forge points in jp version is just awful. And they don't give you the weapons for the DB trio in part 3. No battle saves for easy and normal mods. Skill activation is a pain. Units needing Master Crowns to advance to 3rd tier and Mist needing the other Crown. Authority being useless on non commander units, it does add on the character feeling, but gameplay wise it's worthless.

The USA version being a mess in it's own way, some translation issues and version exclusive bugs. And the fact that they translated only the normal mode script is the most annoying thing for me, we lost the Ranulf saying that Soren should ride on his back scene, truly a tragedy. If i remember correctly there was a revision that fixed some issues.

The EU version is the best one to play. It fixed the bugs and translation mistakes. It does have some mistakes too.

Music is great, some tracks are hard to come by, like the Daein Liberation theme because it isn't in the music library for some reason or the great unused remixes of PoR character themes.

Yes, Fe10 is one of my favourite fire emblem games. It kinda drives me nuts every time i remember how much potential this one had and how much i love it despite its many flaws. Stefan's convo in part 4 with you-know-who is pretty nice. And Ike having two kinda gay if you ask me endings with characters he has a lot of chemistry with is the best thing that actually could have happened, in my opinion. And i could list a lot of others things i like, but i should stop, at least for now.

I hope i didn't cause trouble because of how long this take is. Have a wonderful time of day.

.

[haro-hawayu]

CCS: Clear Card Ch. 79

Chapter 79!!! I usually try to avoid spoilers but got sorta-spoiled from an unexpected place prior to this chapter, but it wasn't TOO bad. The latest chapter can be found on CLAMP-net’s YouTube Channel. As always, please check out @meimi-haneoka's post on the latest chapter for EN-JPN translation differences!!

Links for previous chapter reactions can be found here.

Reading Reactions:

THE COVER PAGE! IS! BEAUTIFUL!!!

AHHHH!! I LOVE THE TWO TOGETHER!!!

Ruby Battery to the rescue!

I love that they're working together!! And they can kinda "joke" about things XD love their interactions!

Tomoyo from this side profile view is so lovely ♥

The way Kaito is holding onto Akiho, I'm--TuT

Sakura PROTECT MODE ON!

SAKURA BIG BRAIN!

BIGGEST BRAIN!

Sakura looks so kakkoi saying all this!!!

I love assertive and determined Sakura!

Kaito saying something along the lines of "you need lots of magical power to do this" and Sakura responds by showing off lots of magical power

LI MAMA!!! AHHHHHH!!! (this was where I kinda got accidentally spoiled prior to reading--but I'm still very happily surprised)

Wow, all this magic at work!

New card time!!

A card that resembles Akiho! WITH KAITO'S DRAGON WINGS!!

Card upgrade?? Card fusion?? Remind?!!

I love that the cards Sakura are creating resemble her friends~

Sakuraaaa

I love the art so much omgsh

Syaorannnn <3

HAND TOUCH!

Finally a reality where Kero and Touya can talk to face to face lolll omgshhh is this… the end?? soon??

Ahhhhh!!

Thoughts: I wrote my "reactions" on a sticky note yesterday when I read the chapter and I only found out today that the next chapter will be the last one!! Wow... how far we've come already. We're reaching the end, finally.

I absolutely loved how this chapter goes back to Sakura, our protagonist, doing protagonist things, and saving her friends. I know it's very cliche, but it feels so good seeing how she's able to make things right in her own way? Like, how genius is her idea of just making the villains forget? If that happened from the very start, so much pain/hurt/trauma would have been averted. But of course, it HAD to be Sakura to be the one to think of this idea and carry it out. She is, after all, the one with the power to create cards (and fuse them too, like in Movie 2), and when she was lacking in power, had the means to receive powers from others. This isn't "new" because she's received help/powers from other people before, and it's so wonderful that this time, she's receiving that help from Syaoran's mom. I hope they can meet face to face (can we get a bunch of extra chapters or something after the final??) because I just crave "mother-daughter" interactions FOR Sakura, and "mother-in-law & daughter-in-law" comes quite close for me, esp when it's Sakura LOL.

Also, I'm kinda relieved that next chapter is the end, meaning they won't get into more on the villains/Association because idk, I feel like this is a very satisfactory "resolution" for CCS. If they trek anymore into this route, we might have a very different story. So I'm glad that things went the way they did this chapter. Our Sakura still got her shining moment, so all is well with me.

For Akiho and Kaito, I hope we get more of them in the final chapter. BUT!!! WHERE IS MOMO??!? I hope she shows up and gives Kaito an earful before smothering him with her own brand of love/care XD I want the three of them to be happily together, and they can go travel the world or something. I wanna see Momo, Kero, and Spinel interact too XD

Until the final chapter... (unless we get extras, hehe)

[thewaywardcasgirl]

ok after the initial shock of 'tf did i just read?!🙃' I'm ready to offer my two cents on Big Dragon the novel

SPOILERS AHEAD (I'm on phone and don't know how to add a cut)

[it's a short novel and the extras (if any) are not available in english so it feels pretty rushed in the middle, the translation is bad so please bare with me]

it's a wattpad novel alright, the sex is constant and overwhelming, like it's a live character, it makes as many appearances as the two leads, literally every encounter they have post the video taping scene ends up in Dragon (Mungkorn) (hate?)fucking Big(Yai) senseless for hours on end (ok i know og novels of bls are badddd to begin with so credit to production team for wringing something anything palatable out of this hot mess)

these two have a violent history going back to freshman year, this part is pretty much glossed over in the series so far, (but they talk about it at the end of the novel so let's see) they have beaten the crap out of each other on several occasions before the fateful night

later they have some revelations through jealousy and half assef communication, and start (?) dating, but it's too anticlimactic as they're practically living together even before they realise they actually love eachother and Big announces this to his father* and officially moves in with Dragon, Dragon is dragging Big to mostly his own occasionally Bigs apt to fuck him raw every time Big does something out of anger or jealousy, they don't talk and resolve their issues they just fuck and move on to the next issue, rinse and repeat for a looong time

*yes the Big's father is a good father, a lovable goof and loves his son to no end, at least that parts pretty good i like this version of fathers

the bodyguards are pretty much bg characters and their relationship with their masters isn't as fleshed out as in the series but it's hinted so ok

the sister is mentioned once and there's no sign of a previous or new mother in Big's life,

they both have a string of ex female lovers and neither go exclusive for each other from the get go, they still try to date other women but Dragon doesn't get jealous until a man is involved with Big, Big on the other hand is jealous of anyone within a 2meter radius of Dragon

phi Da ain't his dominatrix, i was disappointed but again hat's off to the production team!

now the big engagement or should I say the non engagement, we get so lil of the lesbian couple! urgh! the girls simply run away to England with Dragon's help and Big finds out as they're about to leave, so it's a pretty short lived heartbreak that leads to their mutual confessions, it's a pretty much non existent plot

dragon's parents are never mentioned again

And now for the faen fatale the episode 11 material the big shabang the short lived breakup is caused by *drumrolls please* an mpreg scare!

yes you read that right and ohhh boyyy if they keep this in the show!! we're IN for a ride mates, like it's not funny, they never once laugh about it, it's real, real pain real emotions flying everywhichway, real heartbreak over mutual misunderstanding and lot of confusion,

like i said, A+ episode 11 material!! totally cursed 👌

Big in his streak of jealousy and being cut off from Dragon's lil dragon for too long drinks a "scientific potion" he got at a rave that it's inventor claimed can make men pregnant (worth mentioning - everytime Dragon ignores him for work for days on end, he does some stupid shit, he's a total bitchass princess about it, and ends up getting fucked raw, everytime)

now several months later, after the post engagement reconciliation, Big starts throwing up left and right and can't stand stinky food like fish, he thinks he's pregnant (enter the entire video of I'm pregnant you're not pregnant here coz that's what happened) again through miscommunication Big thinks despite Dragon wanting kids he just doesn't want one with him and wants him to abort it,

so Daddy's lil princess runs back home full dumped preggers mode and his father's just like 🤷 ok I'll take care of my grandchild that bf of yours can go fuck himself! while Dragon is actually concerned for his bf's life coz how the hell he gon deliver the babee?? (their himbo brains just *chef's kiss*) there's some mention of uterus but the translation is so bad i can't make head or tale of that part,

they finally talk and understand each other(?), a night of ceaseless pounding ensues, next day Dragon makes a doctor's appointment and the doc tells them flat no preggers here, they come back home and bawl their eyes out in eachother's arms, well Big more than Dragon, Dragon's just happy his bfs (ass) gon be safe, Big is disappointed he won't get to use the baby names he picked out (yes he did that)

and just like that they move back togather and continue to fuck till the end of times

(there's some talk about future kids and more dumbassery from Big about him not being able to get pregnant but that's to be expected after Dragon having fucked his brains out for over a year now)

for the finale Big takes Dragon back to the renovated club so they can "make some new good memories in the old place" where it all started,

and it ends as it started, with a big bang fest at the same suit (now renovated) two perfectly fucked up bookends to a perfectly fucked up story (affectionate)

*bows in you're welcome*

[silver-tooth-the-panther]

//Yeah we need more Tanjiro!half demon pred! You can do a story with him and Zenitsu or Nezuko//

I see him that in a dangerous situation he noms immediately to protect anybody

(I’ll do you one better, hehe! I’m gonna do both! Honestly this gave me the excuse to introduce a bit of lore to my HDT! AU that I like to call, “Mom Mode”. I’ll explain more about at the end of the fic, but I hope you enjoy it!)

Mom Mode

(A Half-Demon! Tanjiro vore fic)

Warnings: Injuries and soft vore

“Hang on, Zenitsu, we’re almost there!” Nezuko cried out as she carried the blonde teen on her back. The two of them were severely injured, but the blonde had taken the worst of it. They had been sent on a mission to try and find where Jackyll and Gyokko were hiding, but instead of finding what they were looking for, they ended up getting ambushed by the pair.

The fight was brutal to say the least. Either one could have handled Gyokko on their own, but Jackyll was an entirely different story. He has the same level of strength and speed as Kokushibo, which made him a formidable foe. The pair had fought as best as they could, but in the end, they had to retreat.

Luckily for Nezuko, she was a half demon, like her brother, which meant that she could regenerate. So she was able to heal her wounds naturally. However, Zenitsu was still human, so the injuries he sustained would take longer to heal. That’s how the pair found themselves here, slowly heading back to the Infinity Castle.

“I’m sorry, Nezuko. I wasn’t strong enough..” Zenitsu grunted with pain as the female demon carried him. “It’s not your fault. We weren’t even supposed to fight Jackyll and Gyokko.” Nezuko snarled to herself. “I need to get you to Tanjiro and fast!”

Nezuko’s eyes scanned over the forest, which was lit by the twilight sky. She was looking for any sign of her brother or possibly any other half demon. Then, a familiar sound hit Zenitsu’s ears. “Wait, I hear him!” The blonde cried out. “To the left.”

Nezuko whipped herself around to see a smudge of green running through the trees. It was getting closer and closer with every second. “Good ears, Zenitsu!” Nezuko immediately rushed towards her brother, legs occasionally stumbling along the way.

Eventually, the image of her brother became clearer and clearer as he got closer. His scarlet eyes shone brightly in the twilight sky, which was unlike him. Tanjiro never usually had his demon eyes activated unless he was fighting or it was nighttime. However, there was one more explanation..

“Brother! Brother! There you are!” Nezuko cried out as she skidded to a stop in front of him. “Zenitsu’s been badly wounded! We need to take him back!” Instead of receiving an answer, Nezuko heard many anxious chirps, mews, and rumbles from Tanjiro.

“Tanjiro..? What’s..wrong?” Zenitsu asked weakly, raising his head. Tanjiro, with a worried and anxious expression, let out a soft roar as he came closer. “Oh I get it. I guess seeing us injured must’ve activated his “Mom Mode”.” Nezuko smiled at him, patiently.

Tanjiro let out a soft mew as he made a low rumbling noise, his scarlet eyes gleaming with concern. Whenever he was like this, he could only speak in the demon language. His mews translated to, “You’re hurt! I need to keep you safe!” Nezuko nodded and kneeled on the ground. Tanjiro did the same and even though they were sitting, his large body towered over Nezuko.

“Here.” Nezuko said softly as she carefully took Zenitsu off her back. “Pouch him first.” Zenitsu’s eyes widened. “But Nezuko!” Nezuko then placed a finger over her lips. “You’re human, so you need his healing powers more than I do.”

Zenitsu and Tanjiro nodded as Tanjiro carefully picked up the injured blonde. Tanjiro mewed again as he kissed the blonde gently. Zenitsu giggled a bit before patting his boyfriend’s head. “Thank you.” Zenitsu said softly before the demon king’s jaws were around his head.

Tanjiro was slow and careful with his swallows. He didn’t want to hurt his boyfriend any more than he already was. The dark maroon flesh of his throat was a comfort to Zenitsu. He let his body relax against the soft tissue as it carried him down to the half demon’s belly.

The maroon pouch welcomed the blonde warmly as he arrived. Tanjiro’s body rumbled with satisfaction as he felt Zenitsu enter his stomach. The blonde smiled to himself as he curled up within the half demon’s tummy.

Tanjiro purred and laid a hand on his stomach. He then looked up at Nezuko and chirped saying, “You need to be safe, too. Come here.” Nezuko giggled as she looked at Tanjiro warmly. “Okay. Okay. Let me just turn smaller so I don’t upset your belly.”

Nezuko then shrunk her body, like she used to do when she hid in Tanjiro’s box. She was now small enough so that now her and Zenitsu could fit into Tanjiro’s stomach. She approached her brother and hugged him tightly. Tanjiro purred happily before picking up Nezuko and placing her in his maw.

It only took a few swallows for Tanjiro to send her down. She was greatly soothed by the dark maroon walls that surrounded her. Then her small body entered the half demon’s stomach, next to Zenitsu. “Thank you, Tanjiro.” She said sweetly as she put a hand on the soft maroon walls.

Tanjiro purred in response, his heartbeat softening with relief. They then felt the half demon move and walk away, carrying them in his tummy. Zenitsu sighed as he felt his wounds being healed. He would’ve normally freaked out over Nezuko being next to him, but since he was dating Tanjiro, he was perfectly calm.

The walls around them created a slow rise and fall motion with every breath Tanjiro took. The duo felt at ease as they finally felt safe and secure. They knew that Tanjiro would keep them safe. Both Zenitsu and Nezuko felt comfortable within the dark, warm chamber that held them. They heard Tanjiro mewing softly as he made his way to the Infinity Castle.

(Now let me explain what “Mom Mode” is. Basically, whenever Tanjiro senses someone he cares about in danger, he goes into a mode that is fueled by his protective instincts. He can only talk in the demon language and the only way to soothe it is for him to nom someone. When he does, he goes into a private room and surrounds himself with pillows and blankets. The half demons call this “Nesting”. It lasts for about a half hour and he doesn’t remember anything that happened when he was in “Mom Mode”. He also is only aggressive to others when he deems that they’re a threat to the person inside of him. If you want to see more stories with “Mom Mode”, all you have to do is request!)

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Lock On The Lost Night - Chapter 15 (final)

Translation of chapter 15 of the event ‘Lock On The Lost Night’ from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Dino: Heeh~ So that’s what happened during our time off. I kinda wish I saw it. Like, how you were handcuffed to each other.

Keith: S’nothing to laugh ‘bout, y’know. To be stuck to Brad out of all damn people, him going all tyrant mode on me was such a pain in the ass….

Jay: Sorry I couldn’t be there for you two. Billy had reported it to me but I was out for a lecture in the area….

Keith: S’fine. We got out of them easily

Jay: The trust between you two from having each other’s backs, created a sense of security which unlocked them, right. 

Keith: As if…

Brad: You were here, Keith

Dino: Ah, Brad. Good job♪

Brad: Yeah, you’re back, huh.

Dino: I heard it from Keith, Brad. It must’ve been tough.

Brad: I suppose…

Brad: Though, Keith’s power was useful. It’s convenient to pick up things without using your hands.

Jay: Haha, I see. Even when you’ve been together for so long, there’s still parts you don’t know about each other. Finding out these sorts of things must’ve made for a pretty nice experience, no?

Keith: Depends on how ya put it…. Ya think this guy’s openly complimenting me or sumn’?

Jay: Eh?

Brad: I have a meeting after this, but due to a scheduling issue there’s a conflict with another meeting. I want you to attend it in my stead

Keith: Nu-uh

Brad: You were at the previous meeting. You should be familiar with the contents of it.

Keith: I said no, didn’t I!? No way I’m gonna work in yer place instead

Brad: But you did make a report in my stead, regarding the bar case.

Keith: I did that so you could rest up, y’know. Not to make me work more.

Brad: Make sure to summarize the topics by minutes

Keith: Listen to what people are saying!

Brad: Absence is not allowed from both meetings. I’m counting on you, Keith.

Keith: Gh……!

Jay: Haha, Brad’s the winner of this match.

Dino: Go, go, let’s go, Keith! I’m cheering you on☆

Keith: Why, don’t you got it easy there…

Brad: Ah, that’s right. There was one more proposal I wanted to make…

Brad: Once the Rookies League is done, work will be much calmer than it is now.

Brad: How about going out for drinks with everyone here once the time comes?

Keith: Eh……

Jay: Oooh, to think Brad would suggest this. I’m all in.

Dino: I’m totes okay with it! Keith too, right?

Keith: …….

Brad: If you want to, I wouldn’t mind going to that one sports bar. 

Keith: ~~~~Ngh, it’s what it is.

Keith: ….You better play billiards with me

Brad: Yes, it’s a promise.

[dvredevil-s-initivls]

i went full sob mode when i saw the realisation scene

no i can’t i fucking can’t i am still crying and the episode ended 10 mins ago. i’m still sobbing i swear to god this show-

the way that the ep starts with ellie doing her best trying to save joel and cuts to the flashback (essentially the entire episode??) in which she was so me for running with a walkman/headphones on. but also love the anger issues.

got carried away, anyways; the moment she realises the intruder is riley, the concern, sheer amazement, love and caring that’s translated on bella’s face is so real. imagine the person you have loved the most (ONLY PERSON YOU HAVE LOVED) comes back from 3 weeks vacation and YOU DIDN’T EVEN FUCKIN KNOW; also they’re your best friend but you are in love with them. THEN riley takes ellie on that “amazin’ fuckin’ night” and then drops the bomb on her??? like .. i can’t..

the feel of relief when you see a loved one after what you thought would be ‘it’ for them is such a complex emotion; and riley putting ellie through another complex emotion because she has to go away to a place she possibly could die and wouldn’t even tell or let ellie know?? it’s so painful and you can see it when riley gets up before the little dance scene, the fear and misunderstanding and concern in ellie just ~oozes~ out of her, but then; she gets knocked outta her thoughts and has her *i presume* first kiss.

(this is a little selfish for me to imply my own feelings but my first kiss *and lover* was my best friend. and the tension right after the kiss those two people share; one scared they’ll get absolutely harmed for being so vulnerable and the other person thinking that ‘i thought i would’ve done it first’; the concern laced withing ellie, ‘is she into me?? did i read our whole relationship/friendship wrong??? does she hate me??’ and riley just being like ‘what the fuck just happened.’ and ellie just going “what do we do now?” cuz she isn’t sure if riley is into her. and when she realises it, the smile on her face??? I STARTED CRYING THAT WAS ME THAT WAS ME THAT WAS ME 6 YEARS AGO NO I CANT I STARTED SOBBINGGGGG)

but also the fear in ellie when she realises both of them got bitten???????? THE TRAGEDYYYYYYY NO I CANNOTTTTT ????????

i swear these writers just wanted to make a couple thousand people cry their hearts out every fuckin monday i cannot.

[sapphireginger]

Be Mine at the Finish Line

Summary:

“You’re an idiot.” “I’m your idiot and you love me.”

Jackson signed up for a marathon and started preparing for it. He started going on short sprints in the evenings and long runs in the mornings, changed his diet, and increased his leg day workouts.

Unbeknownst to him, his boyfriend had also signed up for the marathon. When Jackson found out about it, he was of course slightly concerned because it wasn’t something Stiles enjoyed doing leisurely, but Stiles was determined to do it, though he refused to tell his boyfriend exactly why. 

Said man didn’t push and instead started training Stiles, making sure they were both going to be ready. To his surprise—though it shouldn’t have been such a surprise—Stiles was fully in shape and ready to go. Jackson knew his boyfriend was fit as fuck as he often spent hours pleasuring the amber eyed man’s body head to toe. He just didn’t translate to activities out of their bed. At least Stiles wasn’t offended and instead teased him about it every day leading up to the event.

The day of the marathon both men were raring to go, shared a kiss at the starting line and when it started, they each had a different approach. Stiles was ahead for most of it and Jackson was impressed. He started imagining all of the things he wanted to do to his boyfriend after the marathon. He would be more upset about not being faster, but from this angle he gets to see his boyfriend’s perfect little ass framed in his running shorts. 

At last they were nearing the final stretch and Jackson could see his boyfriend nearing the finish line. Less than a minute later, Jackson suddenly felt a sharp searing pain in his leg that had him almost collapsing. 

Stiles had been in the lead but at the sound of his mate’s cry he turned around and sprinted back. People were cheering with every runner that crossed the line but Stiles tuned it out as he, lifted Jackson up. He guided his boyfriend’s arm over his shoulder and together, they crossed the finish line. 

As Jackson let the EMT look over his leg, he watched Stiles in confusion. Stiles didn’t notice as he was talking with an EMT about the injury. Jackson wasn’t surprised as Stiles always seemed to be in doctor mode especially when it came to Jackson. 

After a few minutes, Stiles made his way back over, with a bottle of water in each hand. “Hey, handsome. How are you feeling?” he asked softly, handing Jackson one of the bottles. 

Jackson took it but didn’t open it, causing Stiles’s brow to furrow. “Jacks?”

“Why didn’t you finish? You were going to win, Stiles. Why did you come back for me?” 

Stiles smiled and shook his head. “Jacks, I never wanted to do this to win. I wanted to do it because I love you and I love spending time with you. I love being a part of something that you love. So here I am but you know—” He set his water bottle down on the side of the ambulance and got down on one knee. “—I’ll never leave you behind. I’ll be there to pick you up when you fall. I’ll protect you, love you and care for you always. So the only gold I care about—“ He brought his hands up and it was then that Jackson noticed the ring box. “—is this being on your finger. So Jackson George Whittemore…” 

Jackson’s eyes were wide and he started blinking, trying to hold back tears as Stiles continued. 

“Will you marry me?”

“Are you serious? Of fucking course I’ll marry you.”

Stiles beamed and stood to slip the ring on Jackson’s finger. Then he cupped said man’s jaw and kissed him, though it was nothing as soft or light as their kiss at the start of the race had been. Jackson didn’t care and gave back as good as he got. It was only after an EMT cleared his throat that the two parted and after another check, they were cleared to go home, with strict instructions that Jackson was to rest and not doing anything strenuous.

As they got in the car and headed home, Jackson’s brow furrowed, and his nose scrunched up. “Wait. Were you going to say, ‘Be mine at the finish line’ when you proposed?” 

The amber eyed man blushed but waggled his eyebrows and grinned. “Guilty as charged.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I’m your idiot and you love me.”

Jackson sighed happily and laced their fingers together, giving Stiles’s hand a squeeze. “Yeah. You sure are and I absolutely do.”

[hoesamo]

do you play any other gachas?

Yep, but housamo has been the one I’ve been most content with so far (granted, I don’t think I play that many gachas to begin with). I’ll make an unorganized list for this:

- I play FEH once in a blue moon nowadays (my first gacha, also I am still very much forever in love with my faves there). Whenever Ike, Lyn, or Tiki get a new alt I have to physically restrain myself.

- I loved GYEE’s art but got annoyed with the writing/translation, so I eventually stopped after getting Priapus (bc I am in love with Mentaiko’s art). I might come back to it at some point, but I’m still waffling on it.

- I tried Gaydorado but got fed up with the gameplay feeling like pulling teeth on ketamine.

- I once tried BSD and OPM’s gachas, since I enjoyed those animes. Again I quit shortly after getting my fave bc it just wasn’t holding up gameplay wise. Had nothing else going for it.

- Pokémon Masters I stopped playing bc the gameplay and story was boring (it was still young at the time) and my phone’s memory at the time couldn’t hold it anymore. Housamo beat it out and stayed on my phone bc it was just. Far more engaging in general. Deleting it was still painful bc I just got Cynthia shortly before I needed to free up space. ;w;

- I’m currently also playing Megaman X Dive, which has been sating my growing appetite for more megaman gameplay (since Capcom likes to blueball fans for any smidgen of new content for eons). I desperately wish it had better writing/translation, but at least the gameplay is doing something for me, though I WISH there was less grinding and a training mode for me to practice different set ups without wasting stamina.

- Love Nikki is an honorable mention because its gacha system is for clothes and not characters, but I still enjoy it when I do play it. I enjoy looking pretty in-game. :3

Anyway, those are the ones I can think of rn. Thanks for the ask!

[missspringthyme]

March 4th, 2024

I did genuinely attempt to be ready to get to Maastricht early in the day to spend more time with former Italian roommate (FIR) but that obviously didn't happen. I am kinda glad though, because it takes 30 minutes to get to my faculty from her apartment and that would have been a pain to do multiple times in one day.

I met with my supervisor where we decided to do a fresh install of MATLAB because he said he remembers there being a checkbox I might need to tick. My laptop was still working on uninstalling when it was time for the lab meeting to start. He had another meeting at the same time, but walked me to mine because the room was different. I'm very grateful for that because I have no sense of direction and I find the building very confusing. It still takes me about 10 minutes to find my supervisor's office.

There were some familiar faces in the meeting, which I was happy about. Having to fiddle with my laptop every few minutes also gave me an outlet during the presentation. The PhD student presenting is also doing something with rhythms but her focus seems to be more on the default mode network. She's also using fMRI and eeg. Afterwards some of the other masters students were talking about how they think she and one of the other PhD students are hardcore flirting. This is at odds with the fact that one of the guys thinks he heard her say she has a boyfriend. Faulty information, a misreading of the situation, or a blossoming forbidden romance? Who's to say? I was able to contribute that I heard them talking about getting drinks later today. Suspicious, no?

FIR tried to meet me at the bus stop near her house, but my bus arrived sooner than she thought so I ended up wandering around with offline google maps while she stood at the bus stop. Eventually she spotted me and we headed inside. The first thing I did was set up my laptop to start downloading MATLAB and chatted a little. She made dinner, a spinach dish that I had loved before. She complained about her roommates a lot which I thought was pretty bold considering they were all in the house. They're all Italian, so it was like I stepped into a little Italian outpost in the middle of the Netherlands. I haven't met that many Italians at uni, but as soon as you know one person of a specific nationality you generally find out that people with similar backgrounds tend to flock to eachother. FIR didn't start out intending for a 100% italian household, but these things happen.

There were (of course) several bottles of wine in the kitchen. One immediately caught my eye due to the label's incredible graphic design. It has, what I presume to be, a drawing of Zeus/Jupiter staring angrily ahead with the words "ROMAGNA DOP SANGIOVESE SUPERIORE RISERVA 2020" on it in what i can only describe as a microsoft word style font. I made FIR take a photo of me with the bottle.

After dinner, we went into town to get some dessert. She suggested an Irish pub nearby that had some sticky toffee she wanted to try. They didn't have any when we got there, but they did have some sort of creme brulee dish. I paid as a thank you for hosting me, and got myself a ginger beer. She decided to try ginger ale because she's not the biggest fan of ginger but was curious, and ended up not minding it.

The dessert was interesting. It came in a bowl with the sugar topping snapped and crumbled on top. There was also fruits mixed it, I think maybe oranges and something else? Not sure. Everytime I felt I had decided if I liked it or not I would take another bite that would change my opinion.

Afterward, we went to this jazz club to hear live music. The band was incredible, and it was packed. We leaned against the windows in the back in front of a table with chairs that had long since been squeezed around other tables. While we listened, we spotted cards that had been left on every table that were "never have I ever." Armed with Google translate, we played, and I very quickly lost. This was just in time for the band to start playing Freedom '90, and everyone started going insane. We danced and sang along, and I tried to get at least one video of FIR dancing because she always takes photos of other people.

As we were leaving, FIR spotted her roommate walking with a girl she very excitedly told me was also American. The girl was from New York, buti could've guessed that without being told. Truly she emobided every single negative stereotype about New Yorkers, but I tried my best to be nice. I think FIR was expecting us to be instant besties, and seemed a little taken aback when that did not happen. Ah well.

As we walked back, we talked about school systems and how the only reason I am a grade ahead of FIR is because I did the America system. She doesn't like it when I talk about being older because we were born in the same year. We are only the same age for 2 and a half months out of the year. I did tell her, though, that the reason my parents decided not to put me in Japanese school was because they would have sorted me in the year below. I guess being a spring baby just means that everybody wants you in their class.