#very excited. very hoping someone else translates the drama <3

[brie-draws]

♥  ガチ恋粘着獣 ～ ♥ [Hina and Subaru / Kotono and Cosmo / Mitsukuri and Ginga]

[miwa-soumen]

Koisenu Futari Production Journal ⑩ (translation pt. 1)

part 1 of 3 | part 2 | part 3 |original article here

this is kind of long (and it's only part one!) so I'm putting it under the cut. if you catch any errors, let me know!

Hello, I am Sayaka Takahashi, the costume director of Koisenu Futari.

In a drama, the costuming of a character plays the fundamental role of adding realism to a characterization. In addition to that, however, I think costuming expresses a “background” that can’t be conveyed by the dialogue or storyline alone, and gives viewers the chance to dig deeper into the characters.

I especially tried to keep this in mind while styling the characters for this show.

Like many, I first heard of the existence of aromantic and asexual people while working on this show. Although there were many new surprises in this regard, reading through the script and understanding the characters better helped me to understand that they were all very fascinating. I soon began working on expanding upon the impressions I got through the costumes.

Approachable and somewhat delicate, despite their strong sense of individuality—in order to convey this impression, I used a variety of colors in the composition of each character’s outfits. The costumes needed to be heavily emphasized in order to come across as colorful in a show with lots of location shooting, but I tried to add color freely without getting boxed in by that.

I will specifically explain the costuming processes of Sakuko, Takahashi, and Kazu.

⚫Sakuko’s Costumes

When styling Sakuko, I tried to ensure that she immediately came off as a bright and likeable character.

At first, I developed a soft, fluffy look using pastels and muted colors, and incorporated recognizable trends such as frills, see-through fabrics, and puffed sleeves in order to create the image of a girl who has fun with both her work and her fashion.

I also expressed her sociable nature using the colors of her jackets and the balance of her backpack. However, after her encounter with Takahashi, she begins to realize that she had been subconsciously changing herself to suit the needs of the people around her.

When Sakuko goes from realization to acceptance, we see her world become more vivid and colorful. This is when her clothes and accessories begin to gradually change. We decided that she had liked rather large earrings even before her realization, and used those alongside her backpack to emphasize her individuality.

While the outfit she wears to visit Takahashi’s home for the first time is a normal commuting outfit, the balance of color used to express her joy and excitement at finally being able to relate to someone, as well as the vigor with which she innocently barges into the house, makes it one of her main looks.

And in episode 3, the coat Sakuko comes across during the shopping scenes in episode 3 becomes a vital part of her awakening to a newfound sense. For this scene, we looked for something very impactful and something that, above all else, suited Sakuko the best. Ms. Kishii looks very good in vivid colors, especially red, so we unanimously decided on this bright red coat during the costume fittings. This coat becomes the start of Sakuko’s discovery of a new part of herself as she begins to try out clothes and accessories she had never chosen to wear previously.

Starting from episode 6, there is a clear change in Sakuko’s appearance, where Takahashi’s grandmother’s influence can be seen. Her style begins to broaden as she begins to embrace vintage clothing and accessories, such as brooches, and begins incorporating more masculine elements. Specifically, we introduced elements that we had been avoiding up through episode 5, such as second-hand clothing, denim, primary colors, black, and large earrings.

I hope we were able to convey the relief and freedom Sakuko feels as she chooses to wear the things that she likes without having to care about what others think of her.

thanks to @dollopheadsandclotpoles and many others for their kind words of encouragement - I hope you enjoy!

part 2 | part 3 | original article here

[headfullofdolls]

At this point, I'm reeally hoping the narrator in Sparks and Spells is Kiyomi Haunterly. Saw someone else point out the narrator mentioning their "nonexistent eyes", but in the last episode, I also realized the narrator makes ghost puns. Since they say they're planning to enroll in Monster High next semester, that at least confirms the narrator is in-world watching the musical, and the puns imply they're a ghost. There's no telling if it's something that'll translate into the actual show, buuut I wanted to go back through the episodes and look for key bits of characterization in some of the quotes.

Observations are long, so putting that under the read more. You've been warned 😅

Episode 1:

"Maybe this magical music spark is just the thing this talent show needs! I'm entertained! ...Don't tell Draculaura I said that by the way." – narrator cares about Draculaura's opinion; Drac is also the first character the narrator focuses on and mentions by name, which would make sense for Kiyomi

Episode 2:

"First up is Cleooo~ Because she demanded it..." [audible nonexistent eyes rolling] "Ooh, haha, sorry boo~" – narrator unimpressed and even disdainful of Cleo demanding to go first, reacts smugly about her getting interrupted; first use of calling people "boo"

"This isn't exactly a witchcraft-friendly environment... Especially not with Dracula in the audience." – seems to be in favor of witchcraft, sympathetic to Draculaura's plight

"Thankfully our ghoul Iris is on it!" – seems to have a soft spot for Iris, in contrast to Cleo

"That magical music spark might be an agent of chaos, but it sure knows how to put on a showw~! 10/10" – all about a good show despite the chaos, aka narrator is a theater kid

Episode 3:

[Heath accidentally lights his picture of earth on fire] "Ooh, symbolism! Dark! Listen, if this takes a magical musical turn? I will not be upset about it." – narrator is a theater kid +1

"Poor Iris. She's poured her eternal soul into the show and has no idea what in the Hades is going on." – very sympathetic to Iris; the specific mention of Iris having an eternal soul and using "what in the Hades" makes me think of River Styxx, which would also line-up better personality-wise...

"Iris, watch out! ...Oh. She can't hear me." – narrator is watching the musical in-world, but not in-person; maybe scrying, or looking through a portal like Kiyomi's powers?

Episode 4:

"Our stinky little spark is just getting started!" – fun fact: the narrator's VA calls herself a "stinky voice actor" on her instagram bio, so if she had input on that line that'd be super cute lol

"Our boos are relieved, and now they can focus on getting the show back up and running. Personally, I prefer the drama. ...And it looks like the drama loves me too! I see you~" – Boo counter +1, narrator is a theater kid count +1000

Episode 5:

"You know what this moment needs? A heartfelt song!" – narrator loves the tropes, more for the theater kid pile

[clapping enthusiastically after Draculaura's song specifically] "What a performance!!" – sus

Episode 6:

"Calling all boos! Calling all boos!" – Boo counter +1

"Iris clearly wants to join the fun, but right now she's putting the sigh in 'cyclops'. Thankfully, this night is full of surp-eye-ses!" [squeals in delight and self-satisfaction] "That was a good one." – focus on Iris again, and even by MH standards, this is some unabashed pun tomfoolery

Episode 7:

"It's happening! It's happening!!" – narrator is very excited by Iris finally getting a chance at the spotlight

"I'm not crying, there's just something in my nonexistent eyes." – aforementioned "nonexistent eyes"; seems especially moved by Iris's song, maybe finds it relatable?

Episode 8:

"This is my favorite part of the night! The grand finale! Draculaura, where are you going?? We need your vocal range!" – narrator is a theater kid +∞

"I know it seems like capturing the spark will fix your mistake, but, boo, sometimes, you just gotta go with it." – Boo counter +1

"One thing is for certain: I'm enrolling at Monster High next semester! See you scaaare! Booo~!" – two uses of boo this ep, and iirc, this use of ''see you scare'' is new, maybe a nod towards ghosts haunting?

So from this we can gather the narrator is an enthusiastic, bubbly ghost who loves a good show (but not people trying to hog the spotlight), is here for the chaos, and really likes Draculaura and Iris.

Despite her being a literal kid-of-the-theater, I don't get Operetta vibes from this narrator. And though she's bubbly like Sirena Von Boo, there isn't any sea-related wordplay that hints to being a mermaid. River Styxx is also pretty upbeat and cheery though, loves to entertain, and is connected to Greek mythology through her uncle Charon. But that mention of nonexistent eyes, the way some of the narrator's dialogue hints at a special interest in Draculaura, and the possibility they were watching the show through a portal, are all reminiscent of Kiyomi.

The narrator doesn't seem shy and soft-spoken like Kiyomi in g1, but g3's already established its characters aren't meant to be the same as those in g1. And in Kiyomi's case that'd probably be a good thing. The wiki mentions she's self-consciously lawful, cares a lot about honor, and can't stand when people complain, which, as the only explicitly Japanese character (and one of the only two explicitly east Asian characters) in g1, is...a little too much of a stereotype, for my taste. So change is good.

Kinda feel like the narrator could be a mix of Kiyomi Haunterly and River Styxx, both in personality and background. Maybe shy around other people, but more playful and spirited when she's by herself, hence she feels more comfortable watching from a distance and relates to Iris's insecurities. G1 Kiyomi was also brave and curious though, so it'd be interesting if g3 leaned into that a bit more, especially from an angle of her being passionate about performance—maybe stemming from Japanese theater. But then also having River's relation to Charon and connections to Greek myth.

I always thought their characters had very similar color palettes and aesthetics for being introduced in the same line, more so than the rest of the characters, though the line had a lot of pastels and flowy, sheer fabrics overall. And as much as I love River Styxx's design, we didn't see much of her character at all, because she wasn't a main player in Haunted and there were so many other characters that needed more focus as part of the story, like Kiyomi. Personally, I'd like to see g3 introduce new characters as well as bring back old ones, but that's a lot of characters. So combining the most interesting ideas from certain characters that were one-note or didn't get much chance to shine in g1 seems like a smart way to go. Better than leaving some really cool concepts behind entirely, I think.

As a final note, earlier I briefly mentioned the narrator's voice actor, who I found through IMDB. Her name is Merk Nguyen, an openly queer, Vietnamese American who seems very sweet! Not exactly sure what that'd say for the narrator's cultural background, since Kiyomi was specifically a noppera-bō from Japanese folklore, and g3 has been pretty good about their casting in regards to cultures so far. But if the narrator is meant to be Kiyomi and they go for another character with mixed backgrounds, I'd be very happy to see it!

[myherowritings]

PART 4. HOW THE RICH SUCK THEIR OWN DICKS

SUMMARY. Todoroki Shouto was a wealthy, young CEO who inherited his father’s enterprise. You were a barista at a local cafe who wouldn’t mind some extra cash. One day, Shouto came in during an early morning shift and tipped you such a large sum of money, you were certain it had to have been an accident. To your surprise and complete pleasure: It was not.

PAIRING. ceo!todoroki shouto x barista!reader

WORD COUNT. 2.9k

GENRE. ceo/barista au, fluff, eventual smut

WARNINGS. enji makes an appearance bleh, enji being classist, enji...ew, okay i swear most of the chapter is shouto and y/n being cute though 

A/N. ngl i have genshin brainrot real bad at the moment but i still have motivation for ceo!shouto and ceo!shouto only u.u there are only 7 parts to this series so we’re at the halfway mark already AHHH i hope u enjoy reading and lmk what u think!! :3 xx sof

SERIES MASTERLIST

© myherowritings — all rights reserved. reposting, modifying, copying, or translating of any kind is not allowed. do not read my writing as asmr. do not plagiarize.

Shouto’s day went from good to bad faster than it took to pull an espresso. 

It started off with a good morning text from you and having a brief, but pleasant, interaction at your work. Actually, the past few weeks have been going along a similar routine that he found himself settling into all too comfortably. You even upheld your promise of stealing him away one weekend to walk around the park, get food, and just have time to relax and be happy for once. 

Getting to be in your presence almost daily became so normalized in his life that even some of his employees heard about the cute barista with the best pastries. Yet, although he saw you often, he found himself wanting to talk to you more and more.

But for now, Shouto told himself to settle with starting the mornings off with you. They were the best mornings he’s had in a while and he didn’t want to sound ungrateful. 

Today, however, went sour fast after he heard his father was coming up to the top floor for a meeting with him. He didn’t find the idea of Enji visiting to be the most abhorrent thing, but the moment his father opened his mouth, Shouto quickly took that back. 

As expected, his father reminded him about the annual charity gala Todoroki Enterprises was expected to attend. Handfuls of galas ran through the year, but the once hosted by Naruhata Industries under the guise of raising money and awareness for the charities of choice.

In theory, a charity gala ball sounded humanitarian and a way for the upper class to give back, but in reality, most of the funds collected didn’t go to the actual charities, instead they went to paying for the venue, live bands, entertainment, the most expensive catering, decorations, and more. What presented itself as a charitable event in the eyes of the public was really a way rich people could flaunt their wealth and feel good about themselves for doing absolutely nothing to benefit society. A way for the rich to suck their own dicks, if you would. 

Shouto absolutely hated it. 

It was also a press opportunity and, in his father’s eyes, a way to gain public favor for the Todoroki business. Today, Enji attempted to tell him that bringing a date that fit the mold of high society was the best way for him to establish rapport through media coverage. Apparently, the image news outlets have placed on Shouto were either a heartbreaker and playboy with no care for other’s emotions, or a monotonous stoic who seemed like a robot with no care for other’s emotions.

In either cases, there seemed to be a theme of Shouto not caring for others. 

He sighed. 

“You can’t keep that image, Shouto,” said Enji with his arms folded across his chest. “If the media sees you with someone—a nice girl with a good upbringing—then your likeability will increase tenfold. If there’s no one you like, I’ll have to set up a date for you.”

For a while, he was torn between telling his dad to fuck off and trying to do as he said to keep peace within the family. But then, an image of you popped into his head.

“Actually, there is someone I like.” 

Enji narrowed his eyes. “Oh? An educated girl with wealthy parents?”

“There’s someone I like,” he simply repeated, the tone in his voice growing cold. 

He didn’t know anything about your upbringing or family nor did he exactly care. Shouto didn’t want to bring a date to the dumb gala, but if he had to, he would want it to be you. Only if you agreed, of course. But if you weren’t willing, then he had to face the facts that his father would most likely force a date of his own choosing upon Shouto. 

“That’s good you like someone, son,” Enji said through his teeth, “but we have to make sure it’s not some sort of...loose woman. That’d be even worse publicity—”

“I like someone and if you really cared about my happiness like you said you did, that’d be enough.”

There was a tense silence in the air. Shouto didn’t have enough fingers to count the number of times Enji had told him and his siblings that he would try to be a better dad. A caring dad who only wanted what was best for his children. A better husband for Rei. A better example for the public. The first few times, Shouto believed it. But Enji said the same things over and over again with no lasting change and Shouto was just fed up. 

After hearing the same lie told to him over and over again, it seemed to lose its weight. He seemed to lose his hope in his father ever changing.

Still, Shouto had to deal with him for as long as he lived. That much he knew as a son living in this society. 

But he hoped Enji at least had enough guilt to let him have this.

“Fine.”

Shouto blinked in surprise. 

Enji stated, “If you think your date can help your public image and not be a complete embarrassment to the business, you can bring them.”

That was the closest thing to approval Shouto would get today. He nodded and listened along to whatever else his father had to say, the only thing actually on his mind was thinking about how he would ask you out on a date to some stuffy gala. And hope that you’d say yes.

— ✩ —

“Wait, so, let me get this straight— You’re the CEO of Todoroki Enterprises and even after almost two months of knowing you, I had no clue?”

He inclined his head, looking solemn. “Yes, I’m sorry. Are you upset with me for not telling you sooner?” 

Initial shock aside, you couldn’t say that you were too surprised at the revelation. You knew Shouto was wealthy and probably in some high-up position in the business industry, but you never knew to what extent. A CEO? That had to be the highest rank in a company! And a company as well known as Todoroki Enterprises? 

The thought made you a little nervous. The guy you slowly befriended over the course of short cafe visits and silly texts was Mr. Todoroki? Or worse— The guy you stole away from doing work for a whole weekend was someone as busy as a CEO? You internally groaned. That had to be against laws of the universe or something. 

“I’m not upset, no,” you said with a shake of your head. “I just...can’t believe it I guess.” Eyes widening, you were quick to amend your words. “Well, I can believe it. You seem very intelligent and well-put together and, uh, rich! But I guess I just didn’t think a CEO would be so funny and kind.” You winced. “Oh no, is that mean to say?”

“I don’t think it’s mean.” He shrugged. “You’re right to say most people in this field aren’t known for their delightful temperaments.” 

You absentmindedly drummed your finger against your thigh, trying to process this new information. “So you’re Todoroki Shouto...and you want me to be your date to the Naruhata Charity Ball?” 

“Yeah. I know it’s a huge favor to ask, and I promise you can say no if you choose,” said Shouto in earnest. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to agree.” 

With a hum, you stretched your legs out under the table before crossing one over the other again. It was a Saturday afternoon where you had no work and Shouto managed to escape from his for a few hours of the day. You took him to your favorite ice cream place nearby and the two of you ate at a dining area outside the establishment. 

Just a mundane day as two friends hanging out with each other where you found out one of those friends was the chief executive officer of a billion dollar business headquartered in Japan. 

Totally normal, everyday occurrences, obviously. 

“And you need a date for this event?” you asked. In all honesty, you would be more than happy if Shouto asked you out on a date. He was fun and you enjoyed getting to know him. But these particular circumstances made you a tad bit more nervous.

“I normally wouldn’t need to bring one, but my father insists it’d help my public image and in turn the image of the company.” With a pinched look on his face, he took a bite of his ice cream. “In other words I bring a date or he picks one for me.” 

You weren’t the most caught up on super rich people drama, but it was almost infamous how estranged the Todoroki family was. Again, you didn’t know much but you did know enough to say that Todoroki Enji seemed like a Class A asshole. If you could help Shouto out with his weird dilemma, you saw no reason not to. 

“So this charita gala is like where they have those live auctions and silent auctions and get tipsy on fancy wine and champagne for hours right?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah. Have you attended one?” 

“Not quite,” you said with a sheepish smile. “I’ve volunteered at one in school though. As one of those runners? It was fun. I got a bunch of those tiny complimentary candies!” Your mouth watered at the memory. “What kind of drug were in those candies? I’ve never had candy so good before!”

“The tiny, circular candies with the excessively big wrapper? The fruity ones?”

You shot up in your seat, excited he knew what you were talking about. “Yes! That’s the one!” 

The corners of his mouth quirked upwards. “I always see those at these types of events.”

“So… The candy will be there at the gala you want me to accompany you to?” 

“Most likely.”

“Can I take a bunch of those from candies there…?” you asked with an optimistic grin.

“I’ll be your accomplice in sneaking them out.”

“It’s a date!” you said before Shouto could get another word out. 

You’d be reunited with those yummy, fancy candies you’ve been separated from for far too long. What other reason did you need to agree? 

With a determined look on your face, you held your hand out for Shouto to shake to seal the deal. 

He blinked. “Wait. Did you want to discuss it some more? Maybe have a few days to think it through? I’m grateful, of course, but I don’t want you regretting anything.”

“No. I won’t regret it. I’d do anything to taste those candies again.”

Shouto looked unsure what to say. “Isn’t there some parable warning people not to be bribed by candy?”

“Not to take candy from a baby?”

“No. Not that one.”

“That’s the only one I know.”

“Never mind then.” 

The two of you exchanged confused looks before letting out fits of laughter. You weren’t sure if either of you knew exactly what the other was laughing at, but the moment was an enjoyable one nonetheless. 

“Yet another reason to bring me to that fancy event— I’ll make sure you’re entertained all the way through,” you playfully bragged, smoothing down the front of your shirt. 

“The event will definitely be more bearable with you there.” He licked a small bit of his ice cream from his pink spoon, making a sound of approval. “But you can change your mind about coming at any time, Y/N.”

“I won’t,” you said, holding a pinky out. “Pinky promise.”

With what seemed like a bashful expression on his face, Shouto extended his own pinky to interlock yours. You sealed it with a kiss and a heart, like you were a kid again. 

“Now, am I supposed to be in love with you at the gala?” you asked nonchalantly, finishing off your last bite of ice cream. He offered you a spoonful of his and you tried not to grow too flustered at Shouto feeding you his dessert. You murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”

He gave you a small smile. “You’re welcome. As for being in love… I don’t think that’s necessary. Just pretend you like being around me, I think.”

Under the table, you nudged his shoe with yours, pulling a face. “I don’t have to pretend about that, silly.” 

“Ah, well,” he paused, offering you another spoonful of ice cream, “I don’t either.”

“I’m glad.” Then, “Is this strawberry? I was never a big strawberry ice cream fan but for some reason this tastes so good.” 

You ignored the nagging voice in your head that said maybe it wasn’t so much the ice cream flavor but who you were enjoying it with. 

The two of you finished his dessert in peace and after cleaning up the area with a napkin, Shouto turned to you with an intent look on his face.

“Before the gala, would you mind if I talk you shopping so you could pick out what to wear?” he asked. “I would pay of course— It’s the least I could do to say thank you.”

You shook your head. “You don’t have to thank me! You’re my friend and I want to help.” You thought about it for a moment. “And get the candy.”

“Anything for the candy.”

“Exactly,” you said in complete seriousness. “But I wouldn’t mind going shopping with you. You could help me decide what to wear! I’m not exactly sure how to dress for an event as fancy as this.”

“You could wear anything to the event and still look amazing.” His words were ones of flattery but his tone sounded completely genuine. 

Heat rose to your cheeks at the compliment. “Look who’s talking— You’re practically runway ready no matter what time of day.”

“I’ve never walked a runway before.”

You stifled a laugh at his literal interpretation of your words. Cute. “Me neither.”

He looked confused at why you were grinning, but it still brought a smile to his own lips.

By now the sun had begun to set and Shouto was walking you to the train to see you off before you went home.

“Can I pick you up next weekend in the morning?” he said. “So we can get your outfit for the gala?”

“Sure! I’ll text you my address.” 

He nodded in contentment. “And again, you don’t have to worry about any costs.”

“Is this why my friends have called you a sugar daddy?” you teased, bumping your shoulder against his as you walked down the street, side-by-side. “But thank you. Shopping will be fun— We can even match colors!” 

“Mn.” He looked between the both of you, as if trying to picture what colors would complement each other. 

You crossed the sidewalk in a comfortable silence, enjoying the scenery by Shouto’s side. A few times, you even felt his knuckles brush against yours and you had the undeniable urge to hold his hand. Would that be weird? you asked yourself before deciding against it. 

Just because he asked you to be his date for the Naruhata Charity Ball didn’t mean he actually liked you, right? It was just a favor from a friend to a friend.

Something about that though made your stomach unsettled. Maybe part of you wanted it to be a real date— Wanted this to be a real date. 

“So I won’t be seeing you tomorrow,” you said after a moment’s silence, trying not to look too dejected. 

You knew he’d still text good morning and good night and ask you random things throughout the day (all of which you found really endearing, by the way), but it was still different from seeing him in person. Even though your time together in the morning was small, they still were enough to make your day. The thought of your waking hours being so entwined made you nervous, but for some reason it didn’t bother you as much as you thought it would. In fact, it was sort of...nice. 

“I’ll see you Monday morning, right?” you asked hopefully, though you were already fairly certain of the answer.

Shouto nodded. “Of course. It’s already marked on my calendar.”

“Ever the flatterer, hmm?” 

“Not flattery, just the truth.” He pulled his phone out and showed you his (rather packed) calendar app. To your surprise, a little reminder that said ‘See Y/N :)’ was marked on his Monday schedule. 

Unable to stop the beam from spreading across your lips, you hid your face in your hands. Gosh— Did he have to be so cute? He was making it harder and harder to only like him as a friend. And even now, you weren’t sure if you liked him only as a friend.

But you pushed those thoughts away.

That was something to deal with at a later time.

When you reached the train station you normally took home, you turned to Shouto, giving him a big hug. He was tall and warm. You could feel his lean muscles through his button-down shirt as you rested your head against his chest and arms around his waist. 

“Thanks for today,” you mumbled. “I’ll see you again soon.”

After a pause, he gave you a hug back, hands rubbing hesitant circles on your back in a way that made you smile. “Text me when you get home safe,” he said as you both reluctantly released each other from an embrace.

“I will,” you promised. “You do the same! Later, Shouto!” 

And with that, you waved goodbye and boarded the train, unable to shake the unwavering grin on your face all the way home.

a/n: when shouto started feeding y/n spoonfuls of his ice cream i cried (Ｔ▽Ｔ) that’s so cUTE OF HIM LIKE PLS SIR STOP BEFORE I FALL MORE IN LOVE WITH U !! >:O he’s such a sweetheart ahhhh,, i hope all the fluff made up for the brief appearance of endeavor ಠ╭╮ಠ  FHDJKF 

what to expect in the next part:

shopping for the gala time !! 

y/n struggles with their fEeLiNGs~ part 2

oh my, y/n has to try on dresses? oh my, it’d be a shame if they needed help putting it on :o *fake gasp* 

yeah things get just a lil steamy but shh

[nutty1005]

Exclusive Visit of 72 Hours! Full Record of “A Dream Like A Dream” Behind the Scenes

Original Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/yI4arm9P9nJwE3RMSUW-5Q Original Author: 杨晋亚 Translator’s note: The original author is part of Yuli Studio, this article is published in Yuli Studio’s Weixin Official Account on 23 Apr 2021 as a part of “Behind the Screens” Volume 640.

On 22 Apr, “A Dream Like A Dream” Wuhan Charity show was still in the midst, countless related topics were already on Weibo Hot Search.

This is probably the hottest play on the internet till date.

A big intellectual property that lasted for 21 years, and now with the addition of the hottest celebrity, debuted for the first time as a Charity Show in honor of the heroes of the pandemic last year, “A Dream Like A Dream” contained stories on stage and backstage.

Before the official start of the play, Yuli Studio walked into the backstage of “A Dream Like A Dream”, and entered the dream in advance.

“A Dream Like A Dream”

Celebrity Cast

On 19 Apr noon, 15 minutes before the first full dress rehearsal for “A Dream Like A Dream”, there were not much audiences, they were all in the lotus pond seats.

Overall producer Wang Keran was suddenly notified that there was someone recording secretly, he immediately called the executive producer Da Shan to check, who had already expressed multiple times that audiences were not the take pictures. Wang Keran face turned gloomy, loudly accused Da Shan of incompetency, stood up, “Trusted friends who are currently seated, I hope that everyone would protect the actors, stop filming.”

Afterwards Wang Keran told us, his anger then was actually “for show”, that situation needed him to make a stand, scold Da Shan so as to alert everyone else, “I needed to kill two birds with one stone, control the scene, protect the actors.”

Xu Qing, Xiao Zhan, Zhang Liang, Huang Lu… the addition of many celebrity actors, caused the interest in “A Dream Like A Dream” to increase.

Protecting his actors, was something that Wang Keran always did ever since he built this group.

Yanghua Theatre and Baoli Theatrical Center collaborated and did some massive and intricate work, in order to ensure that protection project was as per usual, “The theaters put in a lot, the meager profits that this project is giving them, can’t completely cover their massive investment.”

Wang Keran also helped to block countless signature and photograph requests for Xiao Zhan, his good friend had came from afar to Wuhan just for a photograph with Xiao Zhan, but Wang Keran did not agree, “I promised a clean creative environment for my actors.”

The “A Dream Like A Dream” group tried their best to give all the actors an equal, harmonious creative environment, and in here, there is no celebrity actor Xiao Zhan, only Patient No. 5 B.

In the backstage of the Wuhan Qintai Theatre, the plaque on the door of Xiao Zhan’s resting room was not labelled “Xiao Zhan”, but “No. 5”.

Director Chen Limei and Zhang Rui said that the group did not treat Xiao Zhan specially as a celebrity; Actress Huang Lu, who portrayed the role Jiang Hong, had the most scenes with Xiao Zhan, she said that everyone was just actors.

Privately, Xiao Zhan would treat Huang Lu fruits, as well as recommend good motives to her, Huang Lu said, working with Xiao Zhan was not much different from working with other partners, the only difference was that there were suddenly a lot of Xiao Zhan fans leaving messages on her Weibo, most of them were messages of encouragement and support.

“A Dream Like A Dream” , Xiao Zhan, Huang Lu

During the very initial rehearsals, the director closed Huang Lu and Xiao Zhan into a small practice room, in order to cultivate tacit understanding.

“When we were rehearsing the French portion of the play, I knew he was from Chongqing, I would suddenly use French translated to Wuhan dialect to talk to him, what d’ya wanna eat what d’ya wanna eat, and then he would suddenly reply me in Chongqing dialect.”

Huang Lu remembered, when Xiao Zhan entered the group, he had already memorized all of his lines, the tacit understanding between them were built up within 3 or 4 days, and on the details of the performance, they would also inspire each other.

For example, the biggest reaction from the audience in the Wuhan show was the scene in the Parisian apartment, actually contained Xiao Zhan’s designs, when they spoke the lines “Monday Wednesday Friday Tuesday Thursday Saturday and Sunday”, Xiao Zhan suggested that the two of them would lean their heads on each other, so as to give a better effect.

When the two of them were conversing in comedic Japanese scene, there were traces of the old version of the play, but there were new creativity as well, “Pikachu” was from the old version, whereas “sleeping” was an idea that Xiao Zhan came up with.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xiao Zhan, Huang Lu

The duration for “A Dream Like A Dream” was long, the lines voluminous, there was once during rehearsal, one of the actors had a sudden breakage and his lines became more and more scattered, voice lower and lower, that day Director Chen Limei gave him a stern talking to, but in the director’s memory, this problem never occurred to Xiao Zhan.

“Xiao Zhan was very serious, we could all feel that, every night after he went back, he definitely thought through his scenes once more, so that he would not make this kind of mistake.”

Xiao Zhan expressed that his familiarity with the lines had gone to the state that he could say it “whenever”, he was more focused on the “current feeling and the chemistry with his partners.”

Xiao Zhan was very strict with his own expectations, on the 19th after the first full dress rehearsal, there were many audiences who gave his performance good reviews, but he said, “I’m not quite satisfied with today, it wasn’t as good as yesterday.” Although the audiences did not spot any problems with the lines from the scene ”Monday Wednesday Friday Tuesday Thursday Saturday and Sunday”, but after the performance ended, Xiao Zhan himself felt that there were some slight flaws.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xiao Zhan

The lotus pond seats in “A Dream Like A Dream” to Xiao Zhan was a challenge, it made it easy for him to lose concentration, and once you had lost it, it would be easy for the scene to scatter, he described, “the feeling in concerts is that you need to interact simultaneously, plays to me meant that I need to make myself lonely”, so he needed to make sure he could ignore the audiences.

Wang Keran invited theater critics to view the play for the 19th’s full dress rehearsal, after the upper half ended, they were exclaiming in praise of Xiao Zhan’s acting, Wang Keran also proudly recommended this newly found actor to people around him: “He had a different layer of creativity process, the first day we’ve finished the script, he surprised me onstage the second day, it was green but came with a lot of accurate instincts. He constructed the character to be intricate and abundant, but yet layered, not just emotional scenes, everyone could burst into emotions, but he was intricate, lively and entertaining, he conveyed the soul of the character, his sense of pace was this good.”

“A Dream Like A Dream” Performance Stage

The story of “A Dream Like A Dream” and Xiao Zhan had to begin with the Cao Yu 110 Anniversary Special Event last year.

In 2019, Wang Keran heard of Xiao Zhan’s name, but he quickly forgot about it. “Then I was in Wuxi, there was a large excited crowd of people, said that the hottest actor, Xiao Zhan, was in there.”

Until 2020, a psychiatrist friend told Wang Keran, to take note of this actor Xiao Zhan.

“Before then I was an older person, I’ve always picked actors above 35, but after the psychiatrist finished talking, I started subconsciously noticing this person, and then I found out that this person was really interesting.

How interesting? There were a lot of people attacking him, I thought I’d understand what these attacks were, I found out that these people were a contradiction of the most realistic things and most hypocritical things, this era’s idols were different from 5 years ago, they are now placed on a pedestal as a symbol, as something to be fought over or stepped upon. Via Xiao Zhan I noticed the new pulse in the development of society, understood this movement, art should be something that is most compatible with the times, my personal view on plays is just like this, plays should be the current drama action of this moment, and the emotional relationship of the people here and now.”

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xiao Zhan

The commemoration event for Cao Yu, Wang Keran needed to find a young guest who could have a conversation with Wan Fang, a colleague suggested Xiao Zhan, Wang Keran suddenly realized, this was perfect, “The complexity on Xiao Zhan would fully represent the complexity of plays.”

The first time he met Xiao Zhan, Wang Keran captured the mysterious sense of fate behind his back, but yet he also gave a sense of youthful obtrusiveness, gentle and warm. Wang Keran gave Xiao Zhan a list of books and asked him to go back and read, after which Xiao Zhan finished the books in a few days, even wrote some 10 over questions to Wan Fang, the questions were simple but deep, and moved Wang Keran.

On the Cao Yu Commemoration Event, Wang Keran studied Xiao Zhan, and found that his sense of stage was fantastic, and immediately invited him to join “A Dream Like A Dream”.

To Wang Keran, the similarity between Xiao Zhan and Patient No. 5 was that they were both trapped in the uncertainties of fate.

Xiao Zhan’s portrayal of Patient No. 5 gave Wang Keran a pleasant surprise, as to whether he would continue as Patient No. 5 after this year’s shows, they had not spoken about it, but Wang Keran felt that “A Dream Like A Dream” already gave Xiao Zhan some rewards, “I feel that via this play, he can prove that he is a good actor, I feel that ‘A Dream Like A Dream’ gave him a power.”

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xiao Zhan

Entering the Dream Again

Not only Xiao Zhan was a new addition, the Yanghua version of “A Dream Like A Dream” had almost a brand new cast.

Zhang Liang and Yanghua had collaborated for 2 plays, they were old friends; Huang Lu was recommended by Xu Qing, she was also the only actress that was confirmed without meeting Wang Keran.

Director Zhang Rui was in-charged of arranging actors, but because of the pandemic, the Taiwanese actress who was supposed to play the role of the wife could not arrive, another actress had to take on this role. “A Dream Like A Dream” had a total of 31 actors and actresses, many times one would take on multiple roles, any adjustment of actors would have big ramifications.

Zhang Rui created many versions of the casting chart, “This casting chart was an intricate process, move an actor, we might need to reallocate every scene, whether they could make the scene in time, whether they were suitable, reasonable, I’m so frustrated my hair’s dropping.”

Starting from 2013 when “A Dream Like A Dream” premiered in Mainland China, Director Chen Limei and Zhang Rui grew with this play for 9 years. Chen Lipai previously also handled the role of Stage Executive, Zhang Rui was with the crew everyday, there were the two who were most familiar with “A Dream Like A Dream”.

In their memory, the first rehearsal for 2013 lasted 3+ months, after which if there were not much changes with the actors, repeat rehearsals would last 1 week. Some years they had to change an actor, but yet they did not give sufficient rehearsal time and almost drove the actor insane, “Because the crowd actor had to act as multiple roles, the management of every role was complex, he needed to remember his position, his clothes, and he had to depend on himself, there would be no one backstage to inform him, he had to take care of himself.”

“A Dream Like A Dream”

This year, more than half of the cast was changed, theoretically they needed one and a half months, but to gather 31 actors to rehearse at the same time was not easy, the group merely squeezed out 17 days for practice time.

Practice time started officially from 9 Mar, the group settled in Hebei Tangshan, the time was tight, the mission was heavy.

Lai Shengchuan, who was faraway in Taiwan, gave instructions via video conferencing to the actors, to help answer their questions. Wang Keran, Chen Limei and Zhang Rui handled the task of direction.

Wang Keran mainly handled the mini classes to the new actors to the group, every actor had different classes to attend.

Huang Lu was a movie actress, her method for lines was to say to herself, but “A Dream Like A Dream” was to say them to 1200 audiences, Wang Keran gave her a training method, “He made me rehearse only with Xiao Zhan, each of us would stand at the furthest corner, but we must be able to hear each other’s lines, that is we needed to get used to speaking loudly, I felt that this method was actually quite crucial.”

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xiao Zhan and Huang Lu during practice

When he first entered the group, Zhang Liang was tortured by the role of the Baron for 3 days, he totally could not find the sensation, Wang Keran gave him 3 days of progressive classes. The first class was to control the micro expressions and movements, “For example, the first day I reached Tianxian Court, he requested that when I did gestures, my hands could not be higher than my chest, when we normally spoke my palm would face up, but he said that the Baron could not have a moment where his palm was facing up, his palm would forever be facing down.”

The second class was culture class, discussing European culture, politics and artistic background, so as to understand the motives behind Baron’s actions. “Baron would not let Xianglan draw abstract art, made her start from still life, it actually had political connotations. Classical realism represented calm and control, whereas abstraction and symbolism, etc, developed from the lowest of the masses, represented the destruction to order, Baron hoped from the bottom of his heart that Xianglan would live with him, if you liked something he didn’t like, that represented betrayal to Baron, that’s where the cracks in their relationship started.”

Chen Limei and Zhang Rui understood every detail of “A Dream Like A Dream”, when the actors gave any small questions, they would immediately solve them.

For example, how to swiftly get into positions, what to wear after changing out, both directors could immediately give the correct answer, “We found that this time round that one of the new actors was slow in moving, he would say he could not make it, I would say you definitely could make it, you tell me why you couldn’t make it, I would know where you did wrong. He said it was very dark and he couldn’t find his bag, and he needed to take the gun from 2nd floor to the 1st floor, I said there’s another prop gun downstairs, you don’t have to carry it down, he said he didn’t know. We actually spoke to him after observing him for a few days, because we knew that the 2nd floor was very dark, we definitely had to ensure the safety of our actors first.”

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xu Qing, Xiao Zhan, Zhang Liang, Huang Lu, Lan Nan, etc.

The time left for the directors was not much, rehearsal, costume, positions, etc, all had to be done simultaneously, the volume of “A Dream Like A Dream” was supposed to be large, there were pressures on progress, the experience for the whole group was basically demonic scheduling.

For example, for 22 Apr Charity Show, the schedule for the actors that day was like this —

10:30 to 11:30 Actors and actresses would set of from their hotels to the theater for make up and costume; 12:30 Lunch; 12:30 Microphone testing; 13:10 Warm up; 13:30 Audience entry; 14:00 Start of Charity Show.

After nearly 8 hours of performance, when the actors were having their media session it was already 30 minutes past midnight.

Everyday they worked for around 12 hours, that would be the normal hours for the group for the month, during practice they did not wear their make up and costume, but they still had to set out by 12:00, practice starts 13:00, 17:00 was dinner, 18:00 was practice again, and they end at 22:00.

“This time round we really went for it, we didn’t work this hard previously, because we changed very few people then, we could probably get to the practice at 2pm,” Chen Limei said.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, actors practicing

The tight rehearsal schedule was a challenge physically to the actors, as they practiced day and night everyday, even Huang Lu felt lost once.

“Because we would be acting the same thing everyday, everyday when you went in, it was day, but when you left, it was night, that period of time I really craved a normal life. There was once we were video conferencing with Teacher Lai, I just said that after this play, I suddenly feel that plays, movies weren’t that important, what’s important was our real life, I especially wanted to experience communicating with people, the feeling of being with family, friends and loved ones.

When you filmed dramas, you would still be outside, after you knock off you could be in touch with a more realistic life. When I was in the same play group as Zhang Ruoyun, we practiced in Beijing, everyday we practiced for around 3 hours, we could still meet friends in the afternoon and night, but this play was concentrated practice, when we left it would already be midnight.”

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xu Qing and Huang Lu during practice

Wang Keran could foresee, that actors would experience this type of lethargy, so the arrangement from the very beginning was that after the 17 days of practice, the group would briefly rest for a period of time, until a week before the Wuhan Show, where he would recall them.

This method of working was not easily seen in plays, but to actors, this was a good time to rest and digest.

“The first day we returned, Keran said that was the best time I’ve acted with Xiao Zhan,” Huang Lu said. “Perhaps in-between I had time to digest, get in touch with real life, and had a new understanding.”

In comparison with “A Dream Like A Dream” from 8 years ago, besides the changes in actors, this year’s Yanghua version also shortened the script by around 15 minutes or so, without affecting the foundation of the script.

The adjustment was mainly on the pace of the actors. For example, at the end of the upper half, the housekeeper of the castle would talk about the past of Baron and Gu Xianglan, it used to use a slow and narrative tone, Wang Keran felt that it was not right, “This type of expression seemed to cause Grandpa, who just arrived at Shanghai, to seem unfamiliar with his surroundings, but in fact, Grandpa was very familiar with the castle, he could have returned frequently, like the feeling of a tour guide,” so he adjusted the tone and pace, and made the play richer and more layered.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xu Qing, Zhang Liang, Lan Nan

Every improvement in detail, came from written notes from everyday.

When rehearsing, both directors would sit in the middle of the lotus pond, with a small table, and a faint table lamp, the actors would be acting while the directors discover problems and mark it in the script, or write furiously on white paper, after the end of a day’s rehearsal, the paper would be littered with over 200 to 300 notes.

After the rehearsal ends, actors would sit together in the lotus pond and listen to the directors reading the notes one by one, every actor would record down their respective portions.

Xiao Zhan’s phone memo was full of everyday’s notes, for example there were around 10 notes for 19 Apr, Xiao Zhan’s note taking method was simple and concise, note down the scene, or a point, with the remarks of watch out for emotion or pace.

In Zhang Liang’s memory, with regards to his notes, there were up to 20 notes a day, but later on as the problems lessened, the notes also reduced.

Director Chen Limei said, some actors would be confused, why were there always 200 to 300 new notes everyday during the note session, did that mean that they had not improved, but actually everyone was getting better on the basis that they were already getting better.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, the directors at the rehearsal

There was a process in practicing, at the start you might not have memorized all the lines, that note would be about lines, when the lines passed, it could have been about wrong position or movement, at the last part when the acting was getting better, I might notice intricate details such as costume, hairstyle, which you needed to notice carefully. Every stage had its own set of problems discovered, only when you walked from Step 1 to Step 2 that I can see the problems of the current step, otherwise my focus would not be that.”

For example, on the last day before the official show, the note for Xiao Zhan became “the singing before the curtain call, stand slightly westwards” this type of small details.

After experiencing the full dress rehearsal of 18, 19 and 20 Apr, the last day of rehearsal became “note rehearsal”, that is to repeatedly rehearse based on the problems in the notes so as to affirm the scenes that could easily cause issues, including the group scene at Tianxian Court, the scenes between Baron and Young Xianglan, etc. For Xiao Zhan and Huang Lu, the scene they rehearsed was the propless scene around the staircase, which needed to take note of the eye contact as they two of them went up and down the stairs, entering by pushing the door.

After the premiere on 22nd ended, the notes continued, so as to have new improvements for the consecutive shows.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xu Qing, Zhang Liang, etc.

Idealism

After the full dress rehearsal ended on 19 Apr, all of the actors gathered backstage, surrounding the directors, quietly standing, it seemed like a special ceremony.

For the new actors who joined this year, this was their first time witnessing this ceremony, but to the actors who had been with “A Dream Like A Dream” before, this had already became a habit.

Director Chen Limei introduced that this ending ceremony was called “Echo”, it was a habit from Lai Shengchuan — a habit that existed since the first premiere in 2013, “When we finish a show, and gain the applause from our audiences, as well as new empathy for our roles, we must return this feelings out, give them to more people, you can imagine that there was a large crowd of people, we would send out these blessings and share them.”

After “A Dream Like A Dream” came to Mainland China, it had always been well acclaimed, it used to show in Beijing and another specific city. Starting the 9 Cities Tour, especially adding the Wuhan Charity Show, was also a form of “Echo”, to share this play with even more audiences.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Wuhan Charity Show inside view

2 years ago, in Chongqing Theatre, Wang Keran came up with the idea to get more people to understand theater, experience theater. He started conceptualizing the 9th Anniversary 9 Cities Tour for “A Dream Like A Dream”.

When they heard of this plan, Chen Limei and Zhang Rui thought it was an impossible wish.

“Because ‘A Dream Like A Dream’ was such a large play, we would actually lose money by doing a tour. Such a big group, there’s about 130 people in the group, so many people’s living expenditures, including putting up the set for each location, it takes a week to put it up, only for a few shows.

Until the start of last year, Keran told us that we would still do it, I said we really had to do it? How could we do this in the pandemic? Last year he said that we could definitely do it the next year. This might had to do with his view of life, he would do what he set out to do, just like then when he did his first play, he sold 4 houses.”

In comparison with previous “A Dream Like A Dream”, the investment of this tour was obviously bigger. More touring cities meant that there was more costs with transfer of set, when they rehearsed in Tangshan it was not as good as Beijing, all the actors had to be in Tangshan with their living expenditures.

On the other hand, the seats in the theaters were fixed, there’s a ceiling to the ticket prices, in the face that it was not profitable, Wang Keran included a not-for-sale charity show, “The cost is too high, after completing the charity show, we basically have no profits for this stop,” Wang Keran said.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xu Qing and Xiao Zhan during rehearsal

Early last year during the pandemic period, Wang Keran already thought of doing a charity show in Wuhan.

Then, he spoke on the phone with the person in-charge of the theater, and asked about the situation in Wuhan, “He had always stuck to Wuhan, and told me that if you really cared about us, then you should bring your best show over, I asked which one did you mean? He said ‘A Dream Like A Dream’. I just felt that if ‘A Dream Like A Dream’ did not come, it would not fully express our special respect for Wuhan, and we would do a charity show, free.”

The actors had the same idealism.

Wang Keran said, theater would definitely be tough, the rehearsal time was long, and while they would perform for 3 days in every stop, they had to allocate 1 week for practice, a popular artist’s time would be calculated in days, but they were willing to allocate their schedule for the play.

Sun Zhongyi, who played roles such as the old housekeeper and professor, was one of the core actors for Yanghua Theatre, he was given the rare opportunity for a lead role in a movie, it was very important to him, but the schedule collided with one of the shows for “A Dream Like A Dream”, and for the play, he gave up this rare opportunity.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, actors rehearsing.

Plays do not earn as much as dramas and movies, no matter how popular the celebrity is, the profits from plays will never match up with the value of the drama, an actor’s rehearsal fee for “A Dream Like A Dream” is 100RMB a day, but all of the actors cooperated seriously.

Huang Lu said, sometimes we would joke that we “missed money making opportunities”, but everyone felt that this was especially fine, it was rare that we had a whole year to focus on doing one thing, the period where we practiced in Tangshan was very much like return to school.

“Everyone basically didn’t come here for money,” Huang Lu said, she viewed “A Dream Like A Dream” as a rare opportunity, it was a training for acting, also like a chance for self improvement.

After the “A Dream Like A Dream” Wuhan Charity Show ended, Huang Lu came to the front lobby for a photo.

Every actor gave their best performance.

Newly added actress for Young Gu Xianglan, Ge Xinyi, worked hard to match her senior; seasoned actress Feng Xianzhen controlled her character with grace and power, all 3 Gu Xianglan had an overall soul; Zhang Liang performed a Baron who was different from Jin Shijie’s version, but it was still accurate and layered; Fu Xing as the representative of the original group, became the foundation, their steady and down-to-earth performance assisted every new actor in building up their steady and accurate system of performance.

After performing for 9 years, Xu Qing had already embodied the blood and soul of Gu Xianglan, she also followed the progress of the group, and participated in all of the practices. Wang Keran expressed his thanks to Xu Qing once in Tangshan, “I say I really thank you for appearing in the practice, because your every practice would always accurately complete every detail, even if it was the most basic practice, you always put your heart to it, never held back, completely constructing the character.”

Xu Qing constantly improved her performance, frequently discussing how to handle every word with Wang Keran, for example after Baron had his car accident, Gu Xianglan would run up hurriedly to the police to say “I saw your incompetence” that kind of transition scenes, she would repeatedly try different expressions, after 9 years of “A Dream Like A Dream”, she is still pondering over it repeatedly, searching for the best method to handle every detail.

“A Dream Like A Dream”, Xu Qing and Zhang Liang during rehearsal.

During the rehearsal in Wuhan, Yuli Studio also witnessed how Xu Qing gave all of her emotions in every rehearsal, especially the important scene where Gu Xianglan took off her Cheongsam and walked through the lotus pond in sleeping garments, everytime Xu Qing finished that performance, her eyes would be filled with tears.

Xu Qing told Wang Keran one sentence later, and hoped that he would share that with the new actors, “Just tell them this point, 1 minute onstage, 9 years of effort offstage.”

Theater people always had this persistence in idealism and passion for the stage, with so much interest in “A Dream Like A Dream” this time round, Wang Keran hoped that with this play, more audiences would understand plays and love plays.

He especially prepared a live broadcast after the charity show ended, so that people beyond that 1200 audiences could see “A Dream Like A Dream”, hear the words from the actors’ hearts, he hoped that the other actors besides Xu Qing and Xiao Zhan would also be noticed.

“I know that the rules of news broadcast, if it wasn’t live broadcast, you would definitely cut away the people who weren’t important, right, but I hoped that everybody could see everyone’s effort. Xu Qing, Xiao Zhan, they were also very happy to have this method, I think that this is also a faith in collaboration equality built upon plays for them.”

“A Dream Like A Dream” would continue to tour 9 cities, Wang Keran hoped that through this play, it would encourage more youths to enter theaters, “I had this thought a long time ago, I just needed to find the right opportunity. For all of our lives we had hoped that plays would have more influence, could have more people entering theaters, if this worked out, then actors and actresses such as Xu Qing, Xiao Zhan, Zhang Liang etc, would have great contribution.”

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x01 Review

New Year’s Eve was a great way to return to HSMTMTS especially after such a long gap. Let’s dig in!

Vladimir Lenin once said that, ‘’ there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". It’s been almost a year and half since S1 ended but this past week has seen revelation after revelation as the fandom has resurrected itself and promotion for S2 kicked into high gear: Joshua Bassett came out, Frankie and Joe confirmed that they are a real life couple, Larry seemingly confirmed that S2 will only have 11 eps rather than the 12 initially ordered, and perhaps most importantly Olivia revealed that she and the main cast are under contract for 4 seasons and made clear that she’s leaving the show as soon as her contract is up.

I really enjoyed this premiere, it felt like picking up right back where we left off. I’m guessing that S2 was originally supposed to premiere around Christmas or New Year’s but the holiday decorations and real Utah snow add a charming aesthetic to the ep. Tim Federle deserves credit for giving HSMTMTS more of an ensemble feel which is no easy feat with a cast as large as this show has. It likely won’t last due to covid restrictions  but at least for tonight we got to see all the characters hanging out together acting like a real group of friends.

The dialogue tonight really reminded me of Glee and I think I mean that as a compliment. Miss Jenn in particular seems to be doing her best April Rhodes impression minus the alcoholism. 

The rini scenes tonight were lovely. Perfect gift was a great song and I loved the rini duet during the music in me as the world faded around them leaving just the two of them. The Harry Styles reference is funny in light of Josh’s coming out interview. Of course, it’s hard now to separate Nini and Ricky and Olivia and Josh. Their chemistry shines through as 2x01, 2x02, and possibly parts of 2x03 were filmed pre Jolivia breakup which seems to have happened around summer 2020. Whether they can keep that same chemistry later on in S2, not to mention future seasons, remains to be seen.

A major theme tonight was communication and clearly Rini need to work on theirs. Poor Ricky had to learn that Nini’s moving to Denver the night before she leaves town which has to remind of him of his mom effectively abandoning him. Ricky saying that he’s never gonna breakup with Nini ever again sure sounds like foreshadowing for a disaster though the odds that this time Nini initiates the breakup are pretty good. 

I’m glad that the show is continuing to delve in the Bowen’s divorce story with their house being sold and Ricky and his dad having to move into an apartment. Divorce is expensive and the division of assets typically leave people less well off. Mike Bowen needs to work on his communication skills but he’s rocking that beard; it takes him from depressed divorced dad to depressed divorced daddy.

Seblos was cute and in a nice change of pace Disney doesn’t seem to be cynically teasing them then cutting their scenes. It was refreshing to see them just being a couple and to hear Carlos casually refer to himself as gay. In that regard tonight’s ep didn’t seem like it was a Disney show at all and it’s major progress that there are now two main gay characters on HSMTMTS. We learn that Carlos is rich which seems likely to be a source of conflict with Seb who comes from a large farming family.

Bet on It was really fun and I liked that Ricky apparently couldn’t stop singing it. The medley of HSM 2 songs was fun but I’ll be real with you wildcats, I never thought HSM 2 or 3 were nearly as good as the first movie so I’m not sad that they’re doing something else this year.

Wild that Big Red’s mom also calls him Big Red. Salt Lake Slices seems poised to be a big part of S2 both as hangout spot and work location for some of the characters. Redlyn are sweet together but sometimes Big Red comes off as a closeted gay guy which isn’t ideal for a het pairing that is supposedly a big part of S2.

Nice to see Gina so excited to have sleepovers with Ashlyn. We know from 2x03 that Gina contends with being single on Valentine’s day and from her glances at Ricky tonight she’s clearly not over him. Tim’s playing with fire and I can only hope he knows what he’s doing. I liked the little detail of Kourtney having AOC on her vision board, it feels true to the character (hopefully AOC gets elected president one day if the USA doesn’t collapse into a fascist dictatorship or civil war before then). EJ’s beard has got to go but I like that he seems committed to being a better version of himself; very doubtful his plan to go straight to Duke like his forefathers doesn’t change by the end of the season. 

Derek Hough did a good job of playing Zach as a subtly condescending man who managed to swiftly undermine Miss Jenn’s confidence, we’ll see what he and North High bring to the table.

Looking Ahead:

Next week are auditions for Beauty and the Beast, we know Ashlyn gets the role of Belle and EJ has conveniently removed himself from the running for Beast which presumably clears the path for Ricky to take the lead. There’s been some controversy over the casting choices and I’ll save my comments about it for the 2x02 review.

We get to see Lily who looks like a meaner version of season 1 Gina, we’ll see how much depth she actually ends up getting. Howie is introduced in 2x03 and Antoine likely shows up later on. Jack likely shows up towards the end of the season.

Howie seems to have a connection with Kourtney though the character synopsis does say he gets close to a wildcat or two which certainly leaves room to slide him into Gina’s plot. We know Antoine is into Ashlyn so that’s another love triangle to look forward to. Jack was described as having wanderlust and most of the cast seems not to have filmed with him so I think it’s likely that he plays a role in convincing EJ to take a gap year rather than head straight to Duke. 

A translation leak on TikTok reveals that in 2x03 Gina is sad that she’s only gotten a Valentine’s Day gift from her mom. A brief clip from the promo shows up her on her porch at night holding a heart shaped box of chocolates. If that’s supposed to be from a secret or semi-secret admirer than it has to be from either EJ, Ricky, or Howie. If it’s a platonic gift then it could be from anyone, we’ll see what Tim has up his sleeves.

Nini moving back to SLC is a question of when not if. It’s going to be very difficult to bring her back in a way that’s justified and also doesn’t leave the time she spends in Denver looking like a total waste. Frankly, I’d rather the show just bite the bullet and bring her back with as little fuss as possible.

We’re possibly around a quarter way through HSMTMTS given that the mains have 4 season contracts and presuming that the show is not cancelled earlier. At the very least the show will be radically different after S4 if they try to continue it as Olivia has made very clear that she’s going to leave asap to pursue her burgeoning music career full time (notably she’s only done the bare minimum of promo for S2). 

Looming over the remaining seasons of HSMTMTS is what the professional relationship between Olivia and Josh looks like especially since in many ways the show is built around Ricky and Nini. Off screen relationships have often caused on screen problems and dating a co-worker is rarely a good idea since even clean breakups leave lingering resentments. Obviously the Jolivia breakup was not clean, Driver’s License, Deja Vu, and Good 4 U (which is a certified bop) were clearly written from a place of hurt and in some ways were written to hurt. It’s no surprise that Joshua has dropped his duet with Sabrina Carpenter from his EP; someone on his team at least is trying to stop the damage to his reputation. There’s a decent chance that Olivia’s songs becoming such hits has irreparably damaged Joshua Bassett’s reputation among the same pool of largely young women that he’s targeting his music towards thereby cutting off his music career at the knees. If nothing else this behind the scenes drama should keep things entertaining for a while.

Until next week Wildcats 

[lettersformiah]

9:12am, 20 june

hi bubba! in english atm. ive had a morning and a half. late to school hehe. had to sign in at the office bc i saw maia with the little attendance slip that relievers have. signed in and rocked up. the reliever is nice, he is chill. nice enough yk? youre at your first placement rn! so shit you had to wake up so early for it. n you have to do it the next two days as well. like eek. but youre amazing so i trust youll be fine. or even better than fine. i believe in you. just shit that i cant text you hehe. but its okay cause i have the letters and music and fifty internals to focus on. did i tell you french was also spoken? im terrible at french pronunciation. what can you do i guess. my kiwi mouth cant get around the fact that french is just gurgling. hopefully ill be fine.

wearing your hoodie at school ^-^ its nice and big and warm. i love it so much. im wearing so many layers bc its so cold. or not even that cold. so windy. and wind makes everything cold. got my stockings on, your hoodie, the big fleece jacket, and socks >:) which i dont think you are meant to wear with stockings, but fuck it, im cold and my shoes are thin. the wind is fucking up my hair too. so dog of mother nature fr.

what else? oh! friday is matariki. or maybe its not? i dont know. friday is the public holiday for matariki, so thats good enough for me. thursday is a half day bc they are doing the celebration at school from 1-5. (however it means p3 on thursday is like a full school assembly) i think im meant to go to the celebration? i think i will from like 3-5 maybe. if you dont miss me too much. but youd probably be asleep knowing you. will see i guess heh. i just know my friends were interested in going. i still have dance though, so maybe i go and then leave at like 4:40? thats when the bus is and itll take me straight to dance. just gotta be sneakily wearing my dance clothes or take a bag. we will see! sounds like a good plan though, if i do say so myself.

i really can keep writing forever hehe! apparently always having something to say translates well into letters too! id be so good with a diary. but i think one entry would be like 40 pages long. so maybe its for the best this is online. saves me some hand cramps.

i love you! and im excited for drama! having our war piece kinda finished is good. but getting the guys to work its kinda very hard when they arent feeling it. but we definitely need to perform soon. the original plan was to have it be done at the end of term 1. its almost been like 3 months since that? thats some shit timing. but tbf im glad we have the time to work on it, i want it to look good. but i dont mind not getting an excellence, but i know leo wants it. which is fair. hoping all goes well and the boys focus up. ill let you know.

it was nice waking up to you this morning :*] wish it could be like that irl and every day yk? i dont think i was very good at conversation, i barely remember it but i remember definitely slurring my words a teeny bit. sleepy maddi things.

ive been writing this letter for like thirty minutes. crazy how the time flies when i just talk. tbf whenever i talk just about my day it takes about 3 hours to get through! and i didnt even get to tell you about yesterday and the full on day i had! and havent even mentioned watching the end of the summer i turned pretty with rem and hos and jazz or playing dnd! gosh theres so much to talk about i could go on forever. im happy you love that about me. im very lucky. youre a great listener which is perfect because im a great talker. love you bubba.

i should go i think. got other posts to make and some english to pretend i did. i love you, hope the placement is going okay and you havent fallen asleep injecting someone yet.

talk soon,

-mads<3

[piduai]

Why do u think Ogata has a one-sided crush on Sugimoto? No hate genuinely curious.

- saved his life once for no reason without taking any credit and without gloating about it later

(translation doesn't convey it, but the way he says it literally parodies tsundere talk: "it's not like i like you or anything!", i think it was intentional)

it's ogata. he loves feeding his superiority complex and he loves praise. i'm sure if it were anyone else he'd be like "i saved your life back there, show me your gratitude by getting on your knees" or something. also ogata, being selfless? whoa

- lowkey flirty on several occasions

- hesitated before landing a second shot on sugimoto

he admitted to the fact that his bullets were weak enough to not be lethal in some conditions (sugimoto being super sturdy and refusing to die counts as one of them). i think part of him wanted him to survive, which is why even though he considered shooting him again just to make sure he's dead, he hesitated long enough for tanigaki to be able to retrieve sugimoto in time.

- definitely hoped that sugimoto survived

- visibly excited when his hopes are confirmed

- fantasizing about physical touch

this is off the top of my head, there's other small details i don't recall. pretty sure he's expressed his admiration towards sugimoto on more than one occasion, whether it be about his fighting skills or his survivability or other stuff, though i don't remember which chapters specifically and don't care to check. i think he likes sugimoto, as much as ogata is capable of liking someone, or rather is attracted to him. this feeling is new to him, alien and scary, as ogata is not equipped to deal with difficult emotions, much less when they're more or less positive, much less when they're towards other people, which is why he's conflicted about him, resents him and asirpa, but also is happy about being hunted by him (when your crush seeks you out <3). besides there's the manga trope of everyone being a bit in love with the main character. horrible people melting at the sight of sugimoto and being like 'he's so nice!' is very much a running joke in gk.

i do not ship them and never will so it's not me having shipper goggles on or being delusional, but it's in your full right to think it's far-fetched if you want. ogata's character can't be centered 100% around his family drama after all, i'm just allowing him another facet here.

[badapricot]

im hoping they solve the family drama stuff rather quickly and tie the aey stuff completely into the pressure from the bl industry to fake a relationship between leads because it sells better. it’s where it’s going to get its most interesting conflict and with the build up they have done already (pretty solid build up to be fair) i hope it gets it’s fair share of attention and doesn’t just get shoved in the back-end of episode 11 or something. the changes they have made so far from the novel have been pretty great so i have hope!

Oh, they’re definitly dealing with it quickly because I saw that Nubsib and Gene telling their families is mentioned in the Episode 9 summary. If you’ve been reading all of my chapter summaries, that means they’re shoving 6 chapters into 1 episode which they’ve never done before. They usually just put 2-3 chapters in an episode. 

That means the shipping drama is going to get Episodes 10-12 (There’s also a special Episode 13 which was confirmed by Kenji who posted a picture of the cue card from filming, but it will likely be SibGene fluff and not plotty).

I haven’t posted all of my translations yet, but the main differences I’m seeing based on the promo material.

Nubsib never beats a man in a parking lot but we can see that he’s doing that in the BTS. Who is he beating and why?

Gene never tells Nubsib to explicitly break up, but he does in the trailer. In the book, Gene and Nubsib argue because Gene wants to comply with the company and stay away from Nubsib in public, because he doesn’t want Nubsib to pay the penalty fee to break his contract. Nubsib ends up relenting and says, “I was being immature. If you really want me to, I’ll do as they say. You should move out then since the fans know you’ve been living here.” Gene misunderstands what Nubsib said and thinks he broke up with him, and then he becomes very sick.

Nubsib is the one who has to make a statement to the press about him and Gene’s relationship and it isn’t even shown “on screen” in the book, it’s just mentioned as something he has to do. Aey is not there and he’s certainly not front and center. Aey being at the center with all the microphones makes me think it’s his scandal and not Nubsib’s which is surprising. But Nubsib and Gene are still sitting on both sides of Aey so what could he have done?

Those are all big changes so I think they’re going to totally diverge from the novel plotwise after Nubsib and Gene are spotted and “outed” with pictures from Nubsib’s private beach. Not knowing what’s going to happen is really exciting because I can’t even think of what Tee is going to come up with.

My theories in order:

In the book, Nubsib and Gene find out they’ve been caught because they get called to the boss’s office. In the show, maybe they changed it to them getting accosted by paparazzi in the condo parking lot and Nubsib snapping because they did or said something to Gene. This scene could also be after their “breakup” because there’s a scene in the book where Nubsib tells Gene they shouldn’t talk in public and Gene is very hurt by this. Nubsib tells Gene to go back to the condo and he’ll talk to him there, and he goes home to find Gene crying with his head pressed to Nubsib’s door. Maybe it was changed to “wait for me in the parking lot” and Nubsib wrongly assumes someone else is responsible.

Gene telling Nubsib to break up (even though he didn’t in the novel) isn’t too hard to believe. He’s worried about Nubsib’s career, doesn’t want him to pay a fine, and he doesn’t want fans to hate him. That’s an easy change.

The hardest theory to pin down is Aey, because I don’t know what could be so bad that he needs to be the center of a press conference. All I can think of is, maybe he’s the one that leaked the pictures of Nubsib and Gene and unlike the book, they’re racy and invasive.

[translations-by-aiimee]

Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 26

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 26 - Photograph

From the South Third Ring Road overpass, turn right and cross a small road covered by empress trees to reach Shenjiayuan.

The fragments of low-rise buildings and the chaotic street stalls on both sides of the street were standoffish in such a modern city. However, this was one of the country's famous antique marketplaces, and tens of thousands of people came here every day with lots of money to spend, risking being baked by the sun and getting heatstroke by lingering around each of the stalls, hoping to find one or two hidden treasures stashed away in a corner somewhere. It was an industry gaining some traction. There were many speculators, collectors, tourists, calligraphers, painters, and even gamblers among them. They firmly believe that a city thousands of years old hid unknown wealth somewhere. It was this mentality that gave them a similar look; intoxicated and wild-eyed with a long outstretched tongue, drooling over the crude high antique imitations on the stalls.

This was the place where Lin Yan made countless memories when he was a teenager. The middle school he went to was nearby. After school, he often came here alone with his schoolbag on his back. Back then, there weren't as many people. There was a very polluted river nearby that hadn't been turned into a landfill yet. The air was always filled with the smell of stinky salted fish. The vendors who set up stalls hadn't yet learned to casually laze about while sneaking glances at the faces of customers to judge how much money they could cheat out of them.

The old days were like rolls of yellowed newspapers. A young man in a light blue school uniform walked through it, exchanging his pocket money for a piece of colored glaze from the late Qing Dynasty. He squatted in front of a stall to sift through the options. The old man at the stall was smoking a cigarette while telling the story of Liulichang in the late Qing Dynasty. Lin Yan didn't know why he was only interested in street stalls when kids his age were saving up to buy posters of celebrities. Just like when they were gushing over the Belgian chocolates their relatives brought home, he was still obsessed for years with the pot full of honey hard candy the old lady in front of the school had.

The wood, rice paper, and the dusty rusticity of the old objects held a taste of time, and teenage Lin Yan couldn't help but be immersed in it. Like a lone fish in the stream.

The sun was shining on the ground at 3 o'clock that afternoon. Lin Yan carried a bulging bag in his left hand and a cup of roasted sencha milk tea in his right. He paced slowly in the crowd, the grass green V-neck T-shirt and cotton calf-length pants standing out. He didn't know why antique hunters liked to wear black, the dust on their clothes making them look like they had just crawled out of the ground.

"Here, it's weirdly hot. Do you want a sip?" Lin Yan shook the milk tea, the ice cube hitting the wall of the cup with a soft thud. Onlookers thought he was talking to the air when actually there was an invisible person next to him helping take off some of the weight of the bag. That mean, even though Lin Yan was carrying a lot of things, it didn't take much effort.

Xiao Yu lowered his head and took a sip where Lin Yan had touched. He bit on the straw a few times and turned his head.

Lin Yan wanted to laugh a little, and brought the cup back to the corner of his mouth.

A-Yan said that Xiao Yu might remember more following him around, so Lin Yan took him to the antique market after breakfast, hoping that something from his own time period might bring something back. Who would've guessed that, after going through all these stalls, lots of purchases were made but there was no progress with the ghost's memory. Lin Yan glanced at the bag in his hand. It was stuffed with clothes bought from a well-known Hanfu store in Shenjiayuan. They were well-made and expensive. Most people only bought them to complete a Hanfu set for their collection. For Lin Yan to buy these kinds of clothes on a daily errand, that was really a rare sight. Even the clerk couldn't help but do a double take.

Xiao Yu didn't understand the time they were currently living in, so he stood his ground and refused to adapt his style to the times. Lin Yan rolled his eyes and glared at him bitterly. He thought, you're the boss here making me throw away my money while I'm just your servant who follows behind you and pays.

Right after they left one store, before he could recover from the purchase, Xiao Yu suddenly stopped when he passed a woodworking shop. Lin Yan looked at the store’s gorgeous decorations and pieces of pearwood and red sandalwood furniture, whining that he really couldn't afford this stuff. Xiao Yu ignored him and dragged him inside. Thirty minutes later, Lin Yan swiped his card to check out under the watchful eye of the clerk and bought a beautiful Tongzhi wood guqin.

"Oh great ancestor, what more do you want?" Lin Yan tucked the order slip from the woodworking shop into his pocket and glared daggers at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu shook his head nonchalantly.

There were more people on the street. Some of them didn't know the treasures that they had found, and they couldn't hide their excitement, sneaking a peek at what they have just bought. Some of them had grim faces, looking like they had been ripped off. There were also groups of foreign tourists wearing Lei Feng hats gathered at the roadside to buy shadow puppets. Occasionally, they turned around and curiously look at the antique city, which was built in the traditional Chinese-style.

In the market area to the south, there were large ancient buildings imitating Ming and Qing style architecture. The bustling narrow street seemed like scene straight out of the Water Margin. The wooden window on the second floor were pushed up, supported by a short stick. Looking up, he could see customers sipping tea. The shopkeeper was a short man, busily carrying a large teapot back and forth.

The narrow street lead to a large emerald-green stall covered with plastic tarps to offer shade from the sun. Lin Yan and Xiao Yu walked under the shadow of the tarps when they heard a familiar voice yelling loudly.

"Look at how green the colour is and how good the water head* is! You won't be able to find another one at this price anywhere in Shenjiayuan!" The peddler selling jade pieces had a round belly, one foot on the stool, holding up a transparent fortune bracelet, spittle flying everywhere. The plainly dressed middle-aged woman in front of the stall looked hesitant. She took the bracelet and took another look at it.

*(T/N: Water head [水头] refers to how light shines through jade. Kind of like how the light would look if it were shining through water. There's a list of transparencies if you want to look at how jade is graded, but basically the best jade has a vivid colour with even transparency across the whole piece.)

"It's too expensive, lower the price a bit." The woman said sincerely.

"It's so green, so transparent, I can't go any lower. Miss, if you want a lower price, it'll affect my livelihood. Don't waste my time." The peddler grabbed the bracelet, his eyes bulging.

"I wanted to buy it for my daughter as a birthday gift. It's too expensive. It'd be a pity if she dropped it. Give me the lowest you can go."

"Here." The peddler rolled his eyes. He took out his calculator, punched in a few numbers, and showed it to the woman in front of him, "Is this all right? I can't go any lower!"

Lin Yan couldn't help but lean over and glance at the numbers on the screen. He let out a laugh.

The peddler squinted at him.

Lin Yan shook his head. He took the bracelet and said to the woman: "Don't buy this, he's fooling you."

"Hey, hey, what are you trying to say? I'm running an honest business here. If you don't believe me, go around and ask. . ."

Lin Yan smirked. He put the roasted sencha tea cup on the stall and held the bracelet at a different angle. The curved surface reflected the light from the plastic roof. He said to the woman buying the bracelet: "Look at the blurred edges of the reflection. If you look closely, you can see that there are very fine meshes on the surface." Lin Yan raised the bracelet to let the light through. "There is purple fluorescence inside, indicating that the reason this bracelet is so transparent because of acid washing and a glue filling."

"Also, notice how the green is only sitting on the surface and doesn't reach the middle. That means it was dyed after the fact. This thing is worth one or two hundred yuan. Don't buy it."

The peddler's nose and eyes scrunched up. At first glance, they looked like a dried walnut.

"Oh." The middle-aged woman hurriedly stuffed an envelope containing the money back into her bag, repeatedly thanking Lin Yan.

When she left, the peddler huffed. Pissed, he turned his head away, not looking at Lin Yan. Even his swollen belly seemed to be flatter than before.

"What else should I do when I notice that someone with money on the street?"

Lin Yan roughly flicked the peddler's forehead: "Everyone here has money. It's embarrassing to lie like this, there's no skill in it."

Several surrounding stalls burst out laughing. The peddler rolled his eyes back to normal. He grabbed Lin Yan’s milk tea and poured a few mouthfuls out of the plastic lid. He muttered while he crunched on the ice cubes: “I don't fool people in this business. It's not my fault their eyesight is poor. No refunds is the standard."

This much was true. Antique jade sales rely on good eyesight. Figuring out which store has more genuine products than fake depends on the customer. They can't return them either so the shop doesn't have to admit they were fakes. Lin Yan clicked his tongue: "These people don't know what to look for. You're just trying to make your father think you're good at this job."

The peddler rolled his eyes, knowing that he was in a bad position and couldn't say anything.

Lin Yan had been a frequent visitor to this antique market since he was a child. Since choosing his major in university, he preferred to come to the small stalls to practice his appraisal skills when he had nothing else to do. See what was selling for a high price but was bought for a low price. He was also kind and helped others pick out the best items, so many peddlers knew him. For example, Lin Yan first met this guy's father, a very honest old man. He even took out the receipt with the price he paid for it when he bargained with customers. Unfortunately, when Lin Yan graduated from high school, the old man fell ill and his son took over the business. and this was the leeching peddler in from of him.

Lin Yan wasn't polite with him. When he walked around the stall, he took out a copper box from under the table. Inside were piles of Ming and Qing paperweights. These objects were all family heirlooms that the original stall owner received from nearby residents’ homes when he was young. Lin Yan had just remembered this box of objects then dragged Xiao Yu over to look at them. Brass mirrors, jade bracelets, thumb rings, snuff boxes, tobacco pipes; Xiao Yu looked over them all and just shook his head. Lin Yan threw the last piece back into the box and patted the dust on his clothes, a little frustrated.

"That box has been there for ages and no one's ever touched it. What are you looking at it for?" The peddler kept squinting at him and was too curious not to ask about it.

"Looking for Ming Dynasty artifacts for my classes." Lin Yan actually didn't know what he was looking for. He moved on and put the box back.

"Ming Dynasty?" The peddler didn't care about the bracelet anymore. "Old man Liu has lots stashed away."

"No, no, no. . ." Lin Yan hurriedly refused, but he thought about it and sighed, "Forget it. I've been shopping all day and haven't gone there. I'll give it a try."

"Don't say the wrong thing. Good luck." The peddler made a face.

The shop run by old man Liu was quite famous in Shenjiayuan. Not just because he was the only antique peddler to sell only sell antique pictures, but also because he was notoriously grumpy. Every day, he'd leave the shop and hang up his old camera in the park to make money. Whenever he went to the shop to buy something, the owner was never there. Walking down the street, he ran into him wearing an old Mao suit, cursing and waving around. His thin mantis-like face was slanted and a pair of glasses rested on his nose at an angle. Sometimes the lens' were shattered like cobwebs, and sometimes the lens' weren't there at all.

His shop sells old photographs of the old city, hung densely from the floor to the ceiling. Because old photographs were difficult to reprint, they were also very expensive. The sub districts of Qianmen, Dashilan, old gardens in the setting sun in 1872, passers-by in long gowns with thin faces and numb eyes. The TV station came to interview him, but only half the program was filmed. From photographers to reporters, old man Liu chewed them all out without exception. The interview never went anywhere, and the shop still didn't have any business. The old man still walked around outside with his camera everyday.

The shop was in the northwest corner of Shenjiayuan and its location was considered unlucky. There was a symbol meant to ward off evil spirits designed by a famous Feng Shui master hung on the door. Xiao Yu couldn't enter and stood at the door waiting for Lin Yan.

Lin Yan looked at the ominous storefront. For the first time, he felt reluctant to part with Xiao Yu.

Unsurprisingly, Old Man Liu wasn't in the shop. A seven or eight-year-old girl in a red jacket was facing away from him. She was pointing at a photo on the wall and muttering something. When she heard someone enter the door, she turned back and grinned at Lin Yan.

Lin Yan was a little surprised. This little girl was his neighbor. Although he didn’t know where she lived, he often saw her running around in the yard downstairs in a dirty red dress. Sometimes when Lin Yan went out to buy dinner at night, he saw her playing with cats in the yard, no one coming to bring her home. He hadn't seen her often in the past month and he didn't expect to see her here.

Was it possible she was related to that strange old man? No wonder no one cared about her playing outside everyday, Lin Yan thought.

"Why are you here by yourself?" Lin Yan knelt down and asked her in a soft voice.

The little girl was lean, her eyes staring straight at Lin Yan, grinning silently. Lin Yan suddenly felt that the little girl’s smile probably made people feel uncomfortable. It didn’t seem right to call it a smile, but just a casual grin. The corners of her mouth were upturned but her eyes were dull. Wearing such an old jacket in summer, she seemed to be left behind by the times, like the rest of the photos in the room.

Lin Yan hesitated on whether he leave and wait outside for the strange old man.

"What the hell you XX, I XXXX. . ." Lin Yan was distracted, and suddenly there was a thud. Old man Liu hugging his broken camera fell through the front door. He fell on all fours in an extremely embarrassed posture, landing on the only part of the floor that had sunlight hitting it.

"A-Are you okay?" Lin Yan rushed over to help. Unexpectedly, the old man gave him a sour look. He rolled over and sat on the ground, patting the dirt on his knees, and continued his tirade of curses towards the door relentlessly. Lin Yan stood awkwardly off to the side, neither leaving nor staying.

The old man felt he had cursed enough. He grunted and got to his feet. When he turned his head and saw Lin Yan, his eyes widened like he had discovered a whole new world, and said with a quacking voice: "What are you doing here?"

"I came to buy something." Lin Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Shouldn't that be the first thing the shop owner thinks of when he sees a customer in the store?

"Leave. What is there to buy? Young people are clueless." The old man held his stern gaze and walked around behind the counter, irritated: "Why are you still standing there? You have no business being here!"

Lin Yan didn't want to talk nonsense with the old man, so he pat his back and turned to leave.

"Hey! Wait!" The old man yelled. Lin Yan had just reached the door and was so frightened by the voice that he came to a halt.

"You look good, I'll take a picture of you." The old man suddenly walked out from behind the counter with his camera in hand. He grabbed Lin Yan by the collar and pulled him into the room. After couple of pushes, he stood beside the little girl. He squatted down involuntarily, and the shutter sounded with a few clicks. The old man's furrowed face appeared from behind the camera and he smacked his lips with satisfaction.

After the shutter, several photos appeared from the top of the camera. The old man took one in his hand and glanced at it. He pulled one out and shoved it at Lin Yan: "You take it."

Lin Yan was shown the strength of this old man. He turned his face angrily, trying to walk out, rubbing his shoulder: "I don't want to."

"Take it!" The old man yelled in Lin Yan's ear, making his ears ring.

Lin Yan took it and glanced speechlessly. He saw that in the black-and-white picture he stood like a wooden pole, staring expressionlessly at the wall. The background was dimmed, and the entire thing looked like a horror picture people would share online.

What's wrong with. . .

Lin Yan eyes widened and a nerve in his head popped. He couldn't help taking a step back, looking at himself in the photo. When he looked at the spot where he was standing when the picture was taken, it felt like a bucket of ice water was poured over his head.

The little girl who took the picture with him just now wasn't in the photo. He was the only person in the black and white background straight out of a horror movie.

Lin Yan hesitantly looked up. The girl in red was standing where he stood, wearing an out-of-date ragged jacket, grinning at him biting her fingernail.

"Hehe, hehe." The old man held up the camera to his crooked eyes and a piece of the lens fell to the ground. "Perfect, great picture."

Lin Yan crawled out of the house.

The sun was bitterly hot and the bustling street was swarming with people. Xiao Yu was standing casually by the doorway. Lin Yan couldn't say a word, swallowing hard. He rushed over and wrapped him up in a fierce hug.

[cynergy-laughter]

Obey Me! One Master to Rule Them All! Fanfic #3

Garlic Tomato Bisque

(MC x Levi) (MC x Lucifer) (fluff, comedy) (mild language?) [inspired by one of the boys’ D.D.D. Chats where Lucifer was sick]

By: @cynergy-laughter

Word Count: 4,187

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You really liked Lucifer, besides all the drama that happened between you two, he was a very sweet, dependable, charming guy. A bit of a sadist yes, but adoring. But now, you hear that Lucifer was sick, in bed, so that’s why he wasn’t at breakfast right now.

“Pfftt Hahahaha! Lucifer is sick?! Oh my gosh, this is too rich!” Mammon chuckles over his food.

“But Lucifer never gets sick, I don’t even think he’s had a cough.” Asmo said, frowning. “I guess there’s a first time for everything…”

“Just knowing that our brother, our eldest brother, is so vulnerable right now… it… shakes me…” Satan said, balling up his fist.

“Yeah, with mirth. You and Mammon are probably the ones taking the most joy in seeing Lucifer suffer…” Belphegor pointed out, “Not that it isn’t interesting to see our brother in such a state… interesting and worrying.”

“And on top of that, Beel is standing guard over Lucifer, it’s both adorable, and sad… to have the second youngest brother protect you… it’s entertaining all on its own.” Mammon snickered as he kept on eating his breakfast.

“Mammon, let’s not forget, Beel works out because of how much he eats, he could twist you into a pretzel and eat you if he wanted to.” You pointed out, making Mammon gulp a bit while Asmo straight up laughed.

“Ahahaha! Chalk one up for [MC]!” He giggled. “But Lucifer’s lucky we’re having a weekend off, otherwise he’d have to miss student council meetings.”

“Well, I’m gonna be playing my game if anyone needs me, which I doubt.” Leviathan said, finishing his breakfast, and getting up.

“Uh-uh-uh, Levi, you are on dishwashing duty this morning.” Satan reiterated. “Dishes, then you can go up to your room.” Earning a groan from Levi.

Soon, everyone finished breakfast, while Asmo and Satan went to go and deliver the leftovers to Beel standing in front of Lucifer’s bedroom door.

But while you were heading back to your room, you couldn’t help but think about Lucifer sick in bed. You wanted to do something for him, and then an idea occurred to you. You headed for the kitchen where Levi was still washing dishes and you looked in the fridge.

“Beel, shouldn’t you be watching over Lucifer’s room? Oh, [MC], it’s you… you come to laugh at my failed attempt to get out from doing the dishes?” Levi said, turning around.

“No, I was just seeing what we have, I was gonna make something for Lucifer for lunch.” You say.

“What? You do know Lucifer is sick, right… like if it’s a cold strong enough for someone like him to catch, you might catch something stronger if you catch it…” Levi tried to warn you.

“Well, he’s not gonna be visited by anyone if everyone is so scared of catching it… I wanna help him feel better.” You say, “I’m thinking about making him soup… but I know it won’t be enough…”

“Well… I heard that Beel’s gonna be taste testing anything that is for Lucifer.” Levi said.

“Yeah, I figured I would make Beel some too…” you trailed off and then you got an idea… “My grandmother’s famous garlic tomato bisque, and a patty melt, with 3 cheeses…” you say with a smile.

Levi blinked. “Patty melt?”

“It’s like a hamburger, but make it grilled cheese style…” you explain.

“Oh… oh wow… that sounds pretty good actually…” Levi said, “something that sounds so normie… sounds delicious.”

“Do you know if Lucifer has any allergies, or does he not like beef?” You asked, excited.

“Umm, not that I know of… I’ve seen him eating steak before…” Levi thought about it. “I think…”

“Close enough! I’m gonna make him and Beel a get-well lunch they will never forget!” You say clenching your fists. You then turn to Levi who seemed to be sneaking away. “Levi! I need your help. Would you come shopping for the ingredients with me?”

“W-What?! Why me? I have streams to do today!” Levi leaned back a bit because you were so close to him.

“Please? I really need your help, I’ll owe you some game time, it’s been a while since we did a livestream together.” You say, you held your hands together pleadingly. “If you help me, I’ll make you your own patty melt too…” now you tried bargaining.

Levi blinked. “W-What? You think I would wanna try one of your weird meat grilled cheeses? Just how old do you think I am?” Levi grumbled, folding his arms and turning his head away from you.

You frowned and sighed. “Okay… I understand… I guess I can ask Belphie or Asmo if they want to go food shopping…” you said as you turned to go and find Belphie or Asmo, when you were suddenly stopped by an exasperation from behind you.

“W-Wait! Gosh, don’t you know a dramatic pause when you see it? U-Umm… Will I get to be the first one to try one of your patty melts?” Levi blushed a bit as he crossed his arms and looked down.

You gave a small smile and held his hands, looking into his eyes. “I promise you’ll have the first melt I make.”

Levi blushes more as he was sharing this tender… normie… moment with you. He pulled his hands away in a huff. “Well, I guess I can spare some time and get to gaming later tonight… but next time, you’re gonna be helping me with a video game release livestream.”

“Deal! Alright, let’s get ready to get shopping to get ready to cook!” You say triumphantly as you grabbed Levi’s hand and rushed out the door with him.

-One Grocery Shopping Montage Later-

You spent a good amount of time shopping for the ingredients, you were happy that Levi had agreed to help you, you weren’t sure how helpful Asmo would have been, but you also knew that Belphie would have slumped down and took a nap while you began cooking. But there was a reason why you wanted someone to really help, and why Levi would be perfect for this.

“I also need a witness, a documenter of sorts.” You said as you put the groceries down on the counter.

“A documenter?” Levi rose an eyebrow.

“Well, this morning, Mammon and Satan were talking pretty mercilessly about Lucifer… I don’t know about Satan, but I wouldn’t put it past Mammon to try and sabotage this and make Lucifer more sick…” You explained.

“Well, in the group chat, Satan was talking about a book about poisons for demons…” Levi said, “So, I wouldn’t put it past either of them…”

“Now that you put it that way, I definitely need you to be my witness. I’m counting on you, Lord of Shadows,” you said, smiling to Levi.

Levi blushes and smiles, “You can count on me, Henry!” He said, clenching his fist, “I’ll go get my camcorder!” He said, heading on upstairs.

You smile as you took out one of your notebooks, and you flipped to a page that had your grandmother’s garlic tomato bisque recipe in. You learned your cooking directly from your grandmother on your father’s side, and she had helped you to keep her recipes alive. She always used to say that her ancestor’s cooking was like a love letter, it had a beautiful presentation, and was full of emotion in every part from beginning to end. You just hoped you could translate the recipe well without her this time. Suddenly, you jumped a bit, feeling a hand around your waist, and someone was pulling you in close.

“What’cha reading? Grandma’s Garlic Tomato Bisque?” Mammon read over your shoulder to which you closed the book.

“Mammon! Don’t do that!” You held your notebook over your chest.

“Heh, sorry, so, what’s all this? You making lunch or something?” Mammon asked, picking up some of the ingredients.

“As a matter of fact… yes, I thought about it, and I wanna make everyone lunch.” You say, “I’m making Patty Melts and my Grandma’s Garlic Tomato Bisque.” He said.

“Patty Melt?” Mammon asked, leaning on the counter, “Excuse me for living but what is that?”

“Picture a hamburger cooked like grilled cheese.” Levi said from the doorway of the kitchen, holding his camcorder.

“Oh? Well then, can’t wait to try it. You will let me know when it’s ready? You know, cause I am your first guy.” Mammon said, trying to get a rise out of Levi.

“Actually, I promised Levi he would be the one to have my first patty melt.” You said, earning a smirk from Levi, and a stunned look from Mammon.

“Ha! Now I don’t regret doing the dishes.” Levi smirked.

“No! No! I asked you to switch dishwashing shifts with me, I demand we switch back!” Mammon growled. “It should be me in your position!”

“You don’t get to change the game when it’s convenient for you! And plus, I got [MC] owing me a hangout day~. So that’s what you get for pawning off your duties!” Levi smirked back.

“Levi… the camcorder?” You ask as Levi set the camcorder up and pressed record on it as he continued the insult match with Mammon.

You sigh and shake your head as you began to start your cooking, starting with the forming and seasoning of the burger patties, making sure they were shaped like ovals so they would fit on the wide bread slices you had. All while you were cooking, you felt someone watching you, and felt someone’s warmth behind you, which you figured out was one of the other brothers, but you were too busy focusing on the patties that you didn’t acknowledge whomst was behind you.

“... And that’s why your feet stink!” Levi fired at Mammon. “They stink so bad, you got a Venus fly trap hacking!”

“Oh those are fightin’ words, your feet stink so bad, when you take your shoes off, the flies die!” Mammon growled as he got into Levi’s face.

“Could you two take your stinky feet somewhere else? [MC]’s trying to cook.” Satan said calmly as he was standing right behind you as you worked on prepping the soup.

“O-Oh… right, sorry [MC]…” Mammon said as he began to leave the kitchen.

“Oh! I’m sorry, Satan…” Levi shied away, following Mammon out the kitchen.

It only took a few seconds before the footsteps came rushing back into the kitchen.

“SATAN?!?!” Both Mammon and Levi shouted in unison.

“You two really are idiots. Letting [MC] cook all by themself while you’re having a little insult fest.” Satan said, smirking, trying not to laugh as he had almost got them to leave.

“You’re the one just standing behind [MC] just watching them cook!” Mammon growled.

Levi realized that they were in the presence of the last two people they wanted in the kitchen right now, so he had to be diligent. “Y-yeah! If you’re gonna be in the kitchen, you’re gonna have to do something to help with lunch.”

“Like saying how badly both of your feet stink?” Satan turned to them crossing his arms.

“THEY DON’T STINK!!” Both Mammon and Levi shouted again. It was at this point of your cooking that you had enough, you hadn’t even started on the bisque yet, and the three of them were standing around having a quarrel.

“ALL OF YOU!” You shout, causing them to turn their attention to you. “I’m already done shaping and seasoning the patties, and I need to start making the soup, if none of you are going to help me, then I need you all to leave the kitchen.”

Mammon, Levi and Satan looked taken aback, they didn’t see this side of MC before.

“Well, I wanna help, what do you want me to do?” Levi asked, walking up to you.

“H-Hey, I wanna help too!” Mammon followed Levi.

“... You know, if you didn’t make a pact with anyone here, you probably would have been in danger of getting hurt…” Satan began, “But… I guess we aren’t earning your cooking if we didn’t help… So you’re making tomato bisque? That’s pretty ambitious, especially for a house of seven.”

“Well, this is my grandma’s recipe, and I wanted to give a lunch that warms the heart as well as your mouth.” You said, softening your smile as you recruited two more brothers to help cook. “I wanna keep my family’s recipes alive.”

“Ah… that is noble of you. Well, I can start chopping the vegetables.” Satan said, smiling.

“Yeah, I’ll start cutting the cheese for the patty melts.” Levi said.

“Umm, I can start buttering the bread, and cook the patties!” Mammon said as the boys started getting everything ready.

It warmed your heart to see that you all were working together. You felt like the head chef, supervising the next three eldest brothers after Lucifer, and you all came together to show how you made the garlic tomato bisque. Eventually, you cooked the patties and started to make them melts.

“Thank you all so much for this… I really do appreciate your help, by the way, Mammon, Satan? Could you go and tell Belphie and Asmo that lunch will be ready shortly?” You asked.

“Why can’t Levi do it?” Mammon asked.

“Because I’m trusting you with this task, Mammon. And you too, Satan.” You replied, smiling.

“Understood, come on.” Satan said, walking out of the kitchen, with Mammon.

You smile and look at Levi. “Thank you so much, I think they were pretty behaved, but check the footage, just to be safe.”

“Of course. Oh, and don’t forget that the first melt and soup bowl is mine.” Levi mentioned as he began to play it back.

You kept your eye on Levi’s patty melt, not wanting to flip it too late or too soon. And at the first flip over, it was a delightfully toasted brown. “Yes!”

Levi smiles as he saw the joy on your face, but then as he played back the video, he noticed you had only made 7 patties… it should have been 8… were you not gonna make one for yourself?

“Oh Levi, here you go, fresh and a perfect toasted brown and cut in half, I hope you like it.” You say, handing him his sandwich and the bowl of garlic tomato bisque.

“Oh wow, it looks so good… thank you, [MC]!” Levi said, closing the camcorder. “And you’re in luck, I didn’t see any sabotaging, but maybe taste the bisque before you try it…”

“Oh right…” you said as you went over to the bisque and tasted it, and you got transported back to when you were sick in bed, and your grandma made you this soup. It made you fall asleep easier, and helped you feel better the next day. You remembered going down to grandma’s kitchen and giving her the biggest hug, cause you felt the best you had felt in your life.

“Hey… [MC]? What’s wrong?” Levi asked, lowering his head to meet your eyes, which he grew misty.

“H-Huh? O-Oh nothing… It just… tastes just like how grandma made it…” you shook your head and wiped your eyes.

“Well, now I’m sold and I haven’t even eaten yet.” Levi smiles, “By the way, how are you going to get past Beel with those sandwiches? He’s eating anything that comes in for Lucifer…”

“Well, I’m gonna cook Lucifer’s and Beel’s at the same time, but then, I’ll cut them both in half, and swap out one of the halves for another. So Lucifer can have some of Beel’s, Beel can have some of Lucifer’s, and They’ll both still have a whole sandwich.” You explained. “And I can show the footage to Beel to back it up.”

Levi blinked, surprised that you thought it through. “It’s pretty scary that you are this thorough… I don’t think even Satan is that thorough…”

You blush and chuckle. “Well, go and eat, everyone will be down soon.” You say, nodding as you shoo Levi off. Eventually, one by one you cooked the patties and grilled cheese’d them, and served them with bisque to brothers who also came down. Soon, you made the last two at the same time, cooking them side by side while the camcorder recorded you. You finally made a beautiful presentation, two halves of each sandwich indicated by ornate toothpicks, two colored red, and two colored orange surrounding but not touching the bowl of garlic tomato bisque. You put it on a tray and made your way up toward Lucifer’s room, where Beel stood guard.

“Oh, [MC]. How are… what is that?” Beelzebub said, giving you a smile, but then it dropped into longing. You swear you could hear his stomach growling.

“Oh, I made everyone lunch, and I made one for you and Lucifer.” You explained. “Four cheese patty melt with garlic tomato bisque, and water with lemon slices because… hydration.” You listed, giving a smile

“... You do know I gotta eat both because of Mammon and Satan. Right?” Beel asked, frowning with an eyebrow raised.

“Well, not necessarily, I cut the sandwiches in half, and swapped the left halves, the soup was made in the same pot and I tasted it. I have recorded footage as well. And even though Mammon and Satan helped, Levi and I made sure that nothing wrong happened.” You say.

Beel blinks, and took one of the plates offered to him and began to eat the sandwiches, he nodded impressed, and then dipped a half of the sandwich into the soup and his eyes widened in joy. “I need more of this soup… and this… patty melt… it’s like grilled cheeseburger… [MC]... I didn’t know you could cook this good…”

You blush as you saw Beel enjoying it so much. Suddenly, Beel opened the door. “Lucifer, [MC] made you lunch, you’ve gotta try it!” He said into the room.

“... Send him in.” Was all you heard.

“Go on in, I’m gonna see if there’s more.” Beel said, running off excitedly to the kitchen.

“There’s more soup, but there’s no more… beef…” you called out but stopped halfway because Beel was already gone. You went into Lucifer’s room, closing the door behind you.

“[MC]... what’s this I heard about you making food?” Lucifer asked from his bed in his dimly lit room, he sounded like he was suffering. He had never had a cold before, and it must have come as a shock.

“Oh, I wanted to help you feel better, so I made you a patty melt, which is basically a grilled cheese-burger, and some of my grandma’s garlic tomato bisque. She made me this when I was younger whenever I felt sick. And I always felt better after.” You said, sitting down on the bed next to Lucifer.

“Oh… I appreciate it, but I heard that Mammon and Satan helped you make it… I hope you understand…” Lucifer said, solemnly.

“Well, I served everyone else before serving you, and I don’t think Mammon and Satan would have eaten something they sabotaged.” You explained. “Please? I’ve been worried about you all day ever since I heard you were sick this morning…”

Lucifer looked at you and his face softened. “Well, if you insist that nothing’s wrong… it does smell good… although I’m not a fan of greasy food…”

“Don’t worry, the grease adds flavor to the bread, here…” you gave Lucifer a fork and knife, to which he started laughing.

“You know me so well.” Lucifer said, smiling, as he took the utensils and began to cut into it.

“You just strike me as the kind of person to eat everything with a fork and knife, you’re not exactly a hands-on eater… oh, and if you want, try dipping the bites you cut into the bisque.”

“... Well maybe I’ll try them separately first before marrying them.” Lucifer said as he was given a spoon as well and began to eat his soup. “Ooh… and you said this was your grandmother’s recipe? Your grandmother knows her flavors, this is delicious!”

“Oh good, I’m glad you like it…” you sighed in relief.

“I don’t like it, I love it…” Lucifer said, smiling at you, “Your grandmother would be very proud of you...”

You blush as you start to feel pretty warm yourself, it felt like Lucifer was holding your hand, or holding you close even though he continued to eat.

After Lucifer has finished his food and his water, he smiled at you, and slightly sniffles.

“Thank you for such a delicious lunch, [MC]. And thank you for such great company… didn’t you make some for yourself?” Lucifer asked, tilting his head.

“Oh you’re welcome! And no, I had a taste of the bisque, and I think that Beel might have eaten the rest of the soup… I’m just glad that you all had yours.” You say, shaking your head.

“I see… I suggest you eat as well, after all, you made us all lunch, you should enjoy your cooking as well.” Lucifer said, holding your hand. “You deserve yours.”

You blush and smile. “I will, don’t worry… now get some rest, and give me a message if you need anything else, okay?”

“Of course, I hope I feel better fast.” Lucifer said, but before you left, you went over and gave him a kiss on his forehead before leaving his room. Lucifer was blushing now, “Heh… I hope I feel better for your sake…” he said after you had already left.

You came out of the bathroom a few minutes after leaving Lucifer’s room to wash your hands, and your lips. Levi was right, you didn’t want to catch the Common Cold 2.0: The Sequel. You smile as you walk back down to the kitchen, and pull out your D.D.D. You were about to call for delivery when you went to the kitchen and you heard;

“Surprise!” The other brothers said as you gasp and almost drop your D.D.D. Mammon was holding up another patty melt while Levi held a bowl of what looked to be fresh garlic tomato bisque.

“W-Wha? What is this?” You ask, going up to them, not sure what to say.

“Well, Beel went Gaga for your soup, and he finished it off.” Belphie said as he pat Beel’s back as Beel blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, it was so good…” Beel said, biting his lip.

“And Levi noticed that you didn’t make a patty for yourself, so, he naturally told us, and we decided to go and get the ingredients to make YOU your lunch to us~.” Asmo winked.

“I-I just thought it wasn’t fair for you to make us lunch and not get your own lunch to enjoy…” Levi blushes a bit, looking down.

“You left your notebook in the kitchen so we kind of looked through it… sorry for snooping around your things… but we made you some fresh bisque as well.” Satan said, smiling.

“I hope this is up to your standards, and I hope we did your grandmother’s recipe proud…” Mammon said.

“Yeah, even though Mammon suggested we make this and make a market out of it.” Belphie smirked at Mammon.

You didn’t even hear what Mammon said to that because you were touched that the brothers had come together to make lunch for you. You smile sweetly and took the dishes from the brothers, set them down on the kitchen island and gave them all a hug.

“Thank you, all of you. You don’t know how much this means to me… thank you all so much! Especially you, for all of your help today, Levi…” you said, giving Levi a kiss on his cheek.

“Wha-WhoooOOOOAAA!! What was that for?!” Levi blushed madly.

“H-Hey! Why did Levi get a kiss?!” Mammon’s eyes widened and bared his teeth.

“Cause no one wants to kiss you, scummy Mammon~.” Asmo teased.

“No one asked you Fifty Shades of Pink!” Mammon growled. “And everyone wants a piece of The Great Mammon!”

“Yes, especially those three witches you still owe a debt to.” Satan smirks.

“You know what Satan, I’m getting sick and tired of your mouth, you always got something smart to say!” Mammon stepped up to Satan.

“Well someone has to cut through the idiocy that comes out of your mouth.” Satan crossed his arms.

Belphie snuck your food to you from behind their fussing. “You’d better eat while Beel doesn’t try to grab it.” He said, winking at you.

You smile and head to your seat in the dining hall, and you chuckle as heard them fighting as you are carefully.

“You know what?! I don’t need to take this from someone whose feet stink!” You heard Mammon throw out.

“What does that have to do with anything, Mammon?” Beel asked.

“My feet don’t stink!” Satan growls. “And that statement is irrelevant to the topic at hand, and is proving my point!”

You chuckle a bit louder as you try to calm yourself down to continue eating. “Oh I love it here… Never a dull moment with these brothers…

[onishifm]

━♡ guess the twenty-four year old november baby just arrived to dallyeog! it makes sense, because onishi cho is just as sentimental as the month of november. wait, why do they remind me of myoui mina? beyond that, they seemed candid & starry-eyed upon first glance. i heard someone say they’re sort of unyielding & internal though. i hope they get acquainted here in complex #004 / apartment #1104 / floor #3 ; she seems to have a lot going on with her as a translator. 

hi there! my name’s stella (23, she/her, est) and i’m super excited to bring my baby cho! i am deeply lazy so i don’t have any pages for her yet, but i’ll put a little blurb and some wanted connections below! feel free to give this a like and i’ll slide into your dm’s or you can find me at my discord at: (possibly) a vampire#2762

ABOUT

onishi cho (11/04/1996)

born in sapporo, japan as an only child - father worked in the tech industry and mother worked as head secretary of a tech company

both parents did a lot of business in south korea, so the family had houses in both countries

cho’s nanny was actually korean - her parents wanted cho to be fluent in japanese and korean so she’d have more business opportunities when she was older 

her nanny was hard of hearing, so along with korean she taught cho how to communicate with korean sign language as well. cho was always a shy child, and extremely attached to her nanny, so she always felt more comfortable with sign language growing up than spoken language. it was like a safe space for her and her nanny. they were the only two who knew how to speak it with each other, so cho didn’t have to worry about being misunderstood or embarrassing herself with her words

she stayed in japan through high school, and attended university in korea for japanese studies and linguistics, then got her certification in ksl interpreting 

now she lives in seoul fresh out of university working as a contract translator - often companies will hire her to translate contracts or act as an interpreter during business meetings. sometimes she’d even be hired on be publishing companies to translate manga into korean or manhwa into japanese 

personality-wise, cho is a very soft-spoken but driven person. she’s this dangerous combination of shy and affectionate, where she wants to surround herself with a million people but never being able to reach out first. she grew up on k-dramas and has let the romance seep deep into her very soul - she wants a love that is passionate and dramatic, to run through airports and kiss in the rain. for someone who spends her days bridging linguistic barriers, she has a hard time making the conversational leap herself

WANTED CONNECTIONS

japan buddies - someone who grew up in japan or spent a lot of time there that she can connect to 

language tutor - someone who saw her experience and asked for her help learning either japanese or ksl - she’s more than happy to offer her services for a cup of tea and some quality time

textbook panic gay - cho is a lesbian with a capital L, and your muse is a gorgeous woman who cho cannot put a single coherent sentence around. it makes being neighbors all the more difficult 

work buddies - someone with an office job who’s worked with cho on a translation project, and they would go out for dinner or drinks after a hard day’s work

biggest fan - someone in the entertainment or manhwa industry who cho meets during her work and she can’t help but gush towards

little sibling figure - the only way to overcome cho’s shyness is when there’s someone in the room who needs someone else to step up. this person is a little younger and equally shy, so cho finds herself stepping up to the big sister role for them

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 257: New Year’s Party and All Might Feels

Previously on BnHA: The kids ate some yummy cotton candy and got to demolish a bunch of robots in flashy and expensive ways, because U.A. is every child’s dream school and All Might is getting closer to finally achieving his goal of being The Cool, Fun Teacher. There was also some cute Kirimina and Izuocha stuff, and also some panels of All Might watching Deku with a wistful dad smile which was both heartwarming and also makes me slightly terrified for his chances of surviving to the end of this series, but what else is new. Anyway so after class we cut to Aizawa and Mic who were all “we’re still sad fyi” until the Big Three interrupted them to get Aizawa to come help with Eri’s quirk. Meanwhile, All Might sat down with Deku and Kacchan and gave Deku a notebook all about THE PAST SUCCESSORS AND THE SIXQUIRKS. And we’d better be covering that pronto in this chapter because holy shit I had to wait two weeks after that cliffhanger and that was not fucking fair.

Today on BnHA: Kacchan and Deku read about the one quirk user WE ALREADY FUCKING KNEW ABOUT before they get bored and decide that WE DON’T NEED TO HEAR ANY MORE ABOUT ANY OF THOSE OTHER LAME QUIRKS APPARENTLY. In an effort to console me, All Might reveals that Shimura Nana’s quirk was THE POWER OF FUCKING FLYING YEAH BITCHES, which does admittedly warm my heart. Also Deku and Kacchan have an entire page of going back and forth at each other like the squabbling siblings they are and that helps too. Also we then cut to all of the 1-A kids having a New Year’s party, and yeah, Horikoshi admittedly knows how to play me like a goddamn fiddle I guess. The chapter then takes a sudden swerve for the nostalgic, with Deku and pals reminiscing about how much they’ve grown and how lucky they are, before we cut to All Might who’s sitting on a bench having Winter Night Angst until he’s comforted by Aizawa of all people, because this chapter is actually fucking great. And then we cut to THREE FUCKING MONTHS LATER LMAOOOO [blows noisemaker] SHIGARACALYPSE 2020 COMING ATCHA KIDS. WOOP WOOP.

okay so I have been persuaded to try out the fan scanlation this week! for several reasons: (1) the new scanlators have had a few weeks now to improve their game and I’m curious to see what the quality is like, (2) there are already spoilers all over my dashboard lol and I’m tired of trying to dodge them, and finally (3) I have nothing else to do this afternoon and I wanna read it. SO IMMA READ IT. BRING ON THE SIXQUIRKS OF DEKU THE NINTH

-- GOD DAMMIT ALL MIGHT

I assume that those are the two shadowy ones, then? Bakushadow and PonytailShadow? goddammit. meanwhile even if we didn’t have that whole mystery, the second user would still be the one I’m most curious about, because (s)he was the first one to actually get OFA handed down to them, and to say that I’m curious about how exactly that went down would be putting it mildly. like how the hell did Lil Bro figure out that he could pass his fucking quirk down to people. and what exactly was the trial and error process involved, if any. was he just like. “dude, come here, I want to try something okay? this is gonna sound really fucking weird but hear me out... I want you to eat my hair” 

sob, honestly a time-traveling Bakugou who already knows how The Whole Deal Works might honestly be the least bizarre explanation. I have so many questions ughh

btw I do also want to call attention to the fact that this chapter is titled “make it your own”, a.k.a. the mantra that Kacchan has been trying to get Deku to adopt since the provisional license exam. so this I do like. that is very promising

hmmMMMMMMMM

motherfuckin time travel is starting to sound more and more likely you guys. oh my god. but how?? someone’s quirk?? or maybe they can just get Mei to build them a machine. fuck it, she’s already upgraded Deku’s costume ten thousand times with random crap, what’s one more. you read it here first, Deku’s next upgrade will be gloves that carry him back and forth in time

lmao Katsuki

on the one hand that is very rude, but on the other hand I too would like him to get to talking about the ones whose quirks he actually did learn about. so yeah. [taps watch] we gonna do this All Might, or

lmao Deku’s asking about Blackwhip and meanwhile Katsuki’s just PICKING UP THE NOTEBOOK, WITHOUT EVEN ASKING, YOINK

(ETA: Kacchan with a normal face is such a rare Charizard of a panel that I just have to stop for a moment to appreciate it. take a good look everyone, we probably won’t get this again for another 50 chapters.)

fucking thank you Kacchan. holy shit. I mean All Might worked hard on it, might as well make use of it. and never mind the explicit “FOR YOUNG MIDORIYA” plastered on the cover I guess lol

also!! BALDY FINALLY GOT HIMSELF A NAME OMGGGGG. “LARIAT.” we’ll see how Caleb translates that tomorrow, I guess. I have no idea what it means but I’m excited!!! yay naaaames

OH THAT’S JUST HIS ALIAS HE’S GOT A REAL NAME TOO OH SNAP

(ETA: also there’s the expected “go” since he’s #5. so that’s apparently still a thing, meaning the mystery behind nos. 2 and 3 is still as perplexing as ever. maybe a bit of a stretch, but does anyone suppose that the “己” at the end of Katsuki’s given name could be interpreted as kind of looking like the Arabic numeral for two? eh? eh??)

seems to be causing a whole lot of collateral damage, but hey, price you pay for being a badass

oh my god my sons are bickering

(ETA: but lmao though at Katsuki being all “YOU THINK EVERY FUCKING QUIRK IS AMAZING” because sob it’s true.)

Katsuki please. first of all WHY WOULD YOU ONLY GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT THE ONE FUCKING QUIRK WE ALREADY KNEW, and two, I kinda need at least one of those quirks to be at least a little bit badass, because fucking shit you guys, uhhhh. [gestures frantically to the last page of chapter 255]  nyghhnghh. and also!! [gestures to the last two pages of chapter 245] ...

hmm so All Might says that Kacchan is right, and that it makes sense that most of the quirks would be weak ones because AFO made it his business to stomp out any strong quirk users on account of the whole “he’s fucking evil” thing and all of that world domination biz

look how evil

oh wow

goddamn that’s one hell of an image. all these fallen heroes desperately trying to make sure that their power, the world’s only hope, doesn’t die out with them

so then from the way All Might makes it sound, it seems like some of the successors maybe weren’t carefully selected at all, but instead they were just the ones who happened to be in the right (wrong??) place at the right time. maybe some of them were fellow soldiers in the war against AFO, and when their comrades fell they were there to pick up the gauntlet. that actually makes a hell of a lot of sense

and also the way they seem to be passing on the quirk appears to be the blood-on-blood method rather than the hair-eating method, so that also potentially addresses my snarky rambling earlier in this very recap lol. Lil Bro may not have meant to pass it on at all; he might have just been gripping some spiky-haired passerby’s hand while mortally wounded, and knowing that his time was up, and hoping against hope that this MYSTERIOUS KACCHAN-LOOKING STRANGER would somehow be able to take up the fight and continue what he started. and then lo and behold

-- motherFUCKER HE REALLY JUST PUT IT BACK DOWN ON THE TABLE LIKE

SO, I GUESS WE JUST DON’T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THE OTHER QUIRKS THEN! WELL FINE. let’s just never talk about anything I’m dying to know about again ever!!

“seems they’ve all died young” WELL ISN’T THAT JUST FINE AND FUCKING DANDY. what a wonderful legacy All Might has bequeathed unto our sprightly green protagonist. what a barrel of laughs this has turned out to be

sob my son literally doesn’t know how to take his foot off the gas

but I guess it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have someone there who only relentlessly knows how to go forward, forward, forward

SDFLKSHDOGIHSOGISHLGKSDLFJ

EXCUSE ME, MCFUCKING WHAT DID YOU SAY?! SO YOU’RE TELLING ME MY BEST GIRL COULD FUCKING FLY, IS THAT IT?? AM I READING THIS RIGHT?? WAIT -- HOW DO YOU BREATHE, AGAIN?? OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD, I

LOL WHAT THE FUCK

(ETA: I left the edges of his speech bubble in while cropping this so everyone can appreciate just how spiky it is.)

me too kid!! you were playing quirk bingo, right? it was only a matter of time before someone came along with flying powers and we all knew it. I’ve been saying it and saying it, Deku was born to touch the sky

lulz he’s screaming at Deku that he can already fly with his explosions, so now while Deku works on mastering his own flying quirk, Katsuki will pull ahead of him SO THAT MAKES HIM THE WINNER I GUESS. lol honestly this speech is one of the nerdiest things he’s ever done and I almost wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d ended it with “OWNED!!!” watch him look around for a mic to drop

oh my god

this isn’t even rival energy, this is sibling energy. like, this one panel is some of the rawest fucking sibling energy I’ve ever seen. the relentless shittalking, the competition over absolutely nothing, the ridiculous faces... just, wow

anyway so I have a ton of thoughts about Katsuki’s current feelings toward Deku ever since the Endeavor and Natsuo “you don’t have to forgive me” thing, but the short version is that I think Katsuki lately has actually been really worried about upsetting the status quo with Deku, and, well... “losing” Deku, so to speak. I think during the internship he finally clued in to the fact that he actually had been a real certified jerkweiner to Deku, but more importantly he woke up to the realization that he doesn’t know for sure if Deku actually has forgiven him. like, he’s been going around thinking that it’s in the past, that it doesn’t matter, and then along come the Todorokis with all their drama, and he sees that and he realizes oh shit, sometimes people secretly have tons of resentment that’s just burning away at them underneath and shit!

and so the thought is kind of eating at him now that Deku might not have actually forgiven him, and he’s actually really scared of that, and so he’s reacting in two different ways: one, by being irrationally annoyed/angry with Deku for having that power over him (the power to either forgive him or not), even though that’s his own fault; and two, by trying in his own way to aggressively push things toward being the way they were back when they were little kids before their whole falling out. which, in his mind, means them being rivals. like, in the second character book, there’s a section that’s all about the characters’ relationships with each other, and in for Deku it says he views his and Kacchan’s relationship as “childhood friends”, but from Katsuki’s perspective, their relationship is listed as “childhood rivals.” so yeah

anyway so I guess I lied about this being “the short version” (I’m gonna have to essay about this more in a separate post I think), but basically I think that in Katsuki’s mind this kind of juvenile making-faces-and-egging-each-other-on thing is how he interprets their friendship, and he’s very awkwardly trying to get back to that

anyway! I got hella sidetracked there so let’s get back to the plot shall we. there’s a sweet panel of All Might smiling at the two of them because I think he also sees that this scene is somehow heartwarming in its own bizarre way lol

and then WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO THE DORMS YESSSSSS

(ETA: stray thought -- it’s an absolute fucking delight to see all of the male characters cooking for once while the girls, as far as I can see, are just sitting around chilling in the living area. like I’m sure they are helping as well, but you have no idea how fucking refreshing it is to not have the girl characters be all “WE’LL COOK FOR YOU BOYS SINCE YOU’RE SO HOPELESS AND/OR YOU’RE WORKING SO HARD TEEHEE.” holy shit. it’s great.)

to answer your question, Sero, they’ve been having secret powwows with All Might and discussing things like how Kacchan is objectively better than Deku it’s science, and how to make Deku fly. what have you all been doing

OH I SEE YOU ARE HAVING DINNER

is that Tokoyami running like a Hanna-Barbera character in the background. every time I think I have a handle on his character Horikoshi has a new twist ready to keep me on my toes. also lol at Kirishima remembering how Kacchan did jackall to help during the Christmas party, and making sure he does his part this time IF HE WANTS TO EAT

(ETA: lol so after rereading this that’s clearly Deku in the background. I still think it looks more like Tokoyami though! but obviously the two of them are the only ones still in their uniforms, so.)

OH BOY OH BOY NOW THIS CHAPTER IS CRACKIN’

TODOROKI SHOUTO!! YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME UNTO YOUR FAMILY! lmao he’s so quick to answer “IT WAS ME I DID IT” with his two fucking exclamation points too lol. I don’t know why that’s so amusing to me but it is and I love it

meanwhile Horikoshi got a little too playful when drawing that Momochako page there huh. drew the back of her head but was then like “BUT THEN YOU CAN’T SEE HER ADORABLE SMILE” but he couldn’t be assed to redraw it so he improvised. IT’S CALLED ART

ahhhhhhh class B is joining them yesssss!! and Kodai’s bringing a couch oh my god such an excellent and practical application of her Ant-Man quirk to make sure everyone has someplace to sit these children are so cooperative and wise

YAY WHOLESOME NEW YEAR’S PARTY ANTICS

KATSUKI HAS UPGRADED FROM SANTA GRUMP TO SITTING NICELY WITH HIS SQUAD!! SHOUJI IS WEARING ANOTHER OF HIS LEGENDARY PONCHOS!! TSUYU JUST SAVED MINA’S LIFE!! KOUDA BROUGHT HIS BUNNY BECAUSE BUNNY DESERVES TO PARTY TOO!! AND AOYAMA IS PROBABLY WEARING A ROBE, BUT I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THAT IT’S A DRESS AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME!! NEW YEAR NEW HIM YES CHEERS

oh my god they’re starting to reminisce, no my emotions were not ready for this please chill out kids

look at them talking like they’re all grown up now

you do realize you all are still just babies right. “it was a crazy ride... back then we were so young...” is that Joe Cocker’s version of With a Little Help from My Friends I hear playing in the background. why has the film quality gone all grainy. what is this what’s happening

THANK YOU IIDA

as expected from the resident 40-year-old. please tell these children to get a grip. they’re out here talking about which Roth IRAs they’re going to get and how much their lower backs hurt

also, this scanlation hasn’t been too bad so far, but I feel like knowing it’s “Iida” and not “Lida” is like the bare minimum of translating a chapter of BnHA. like at least get the names right. but anyway I cropped that part of the panel out regardless because Mineta’s face was ruining the atmosphere so it’s all good

oh no. oh shit wait. what’s going on here

do not tell me this is one of those “calm before the storm/AND THAT WAS THE LAST TIME EVERYONE WAS ALL TOGETHER AND HAPPY EVER AGAIN” things. please no. please tell me I’m overreacting and grossly misinterpreting the general vibe here. fuck

also though, you see that bit in the Kacchan panel though lol. so yeah their relationship is just like that. it’s weird but they like it

jesus christ now Deku is sitting there saying “I’m very fortunate” with this face like he’s just DARING fate to come on over and punch him in the balls. DEKU!!

no!!!! [swipes at the air in an attempt to ward off the oncoming plot] go away! shoo!

and interestingly, Tokoyami is watching him!

do you want in on this plot too buddy. is that it. well your mentor has gotten himself all wound up in this spider’s web by this point, so why not. if we’re gonna have angst I guess the more the merrier

LMAO NEVER MIND, THE VERY NEXT PANEL HE’S ASKING DEKU TO PASS THE FUCKING PONZU AGAIN. DEKU COULD YOU FUCKING SNAP TO IT ALREADY HOW MANY GODDAMN TIMES DOES HE HAVE TO ASK

NOW ALL MIGHT IS SITTING ALONE ON A BENCH OUTSIDE THE TEACHER’S DORMS AND AIZAWA IS THERE SUDDENLY

is he going to talk to him about Eri. or the whole Noumu thing. ahhhhhhh

someone please tell All Might he needs to stop acting like he’s about to die. holy shit. this is reaching unacceptable levels. the fond smile while watching Deku’s progress. another fond smile while seeing him and Bakugou going back and forth, perhaps feeling reassured that someone else will be there to look out for Deku once he’s gone. giving Deku a notebook with everything he knows about OFA. and now SITTING ON A BENCH ALONE IN THE DARK IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER WITH HIS HANDS FOLDED IN HIS LAP JUST THINKING THOUGHTS!! AND AIZAWA’S ALL “WHAT ARE YOU DOING” AND HE’S ALL “NOTHING... JUST...” HOLY FUCKING SHIT ALL MIGHT COULD YOU PLEASE NOT

but anyways so what’s this you say about training Eri now

fffFFFFFS HE’S DOING IT AGAIN

he doesn’t know if he’ll be here come springtime, that’s what’s up. the clock is ticking on Nighteye’s prophecy, and even though he swore he’d live and punch fate in the mouth, you never know though and shit but this is depressing. anyway if my guess is right he may be about to share the secret of OFA with Aizawa though, because that’s what I’d do if I thought I was possibly gonna die and my student might need someone to continue mentoring him once I was gone. so, you know, still a bummer but also YES ALL MIGHT DO ITTTTT

oh nope nevermind he’s just rambling and Aizawa doesn’t have a clue wtf he’s on about

fffff this is some prime grade A All Might angst right here, the gods have blessed us after so long oh snap oh dang

so then maybe he doesn’t think he’s dying lol. well whatever. I think it’s probably a little of column A, a little of column B, that sort of thing but hey

yo you guys, Aizawa bonding with All Might is just. [chef’s kiss] it’s been so long. I don’t think we’ve had a long scene between them since the parent teacher meetings oh my god. Aizawa definitely respects him so much more now and it’s great

totally off subject btw, but the third light novel has a chapter where the teachers all meet up at a local bar and get trashed and talk about all kinds of crap, and Aizawa drunkenly tells All Might he respects the hell out of him, and it’s an absolute delight and everyone should read it. here’s the link to the Viz edition. it’s easily the best of the light novels (though I haven’t read the fourth one which is coming out in March), and an enjoyable read from start to finish. anyways thus ends my unsponsored plug, now back to our regularly scheduled programming

yep. safe to say the days when he thought All Might was an attention-loving media whore are long gone. fuck I love this

oh my god oh my fucking god

wow. just. ...shit. this is a message that I think everyone should hear, first of all, and this is easily one of the most gorgeous and profound panels this manga has ever had. like holy shit I almost cried

and second of all, tell me something, how is Aizawa the most comforting, gentle, supportive, encouraging man in the universe, and how did we get so lucky, and can you believe this man wasn’t even planning to become a teacher holy shit. we can’t afford to lose him, ever

OH FUCK ALL MIGHT, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU START CRYING HERE --

let me tell you I did not need that flashback panel of Nighteye TODAY OF ALL DAYS, HOLY SHIT. THE HELL KIND OF TIMING IS THAT. HE KNEW WHAT EPISODE WAS AIRING THIS WEEKEND, HE DOES SKETCHES FOR THEM EVERY WEEK, THIS WAS FULLY INTENTIONAL AND I FEEL AGGRIEVED

my god All Might is pinching the corners of his eyes and apologizing I can’t. STOP OFFLOADING ALL OF THESE ALL MIGHT FEELS ON ME. even now, after everything he’s given, he still feels like it’s not enough. it’s in his nature to feel restless, to want to do more. he’s earned the right to rest -- earned it more than anyone in the world -- but he can’t, and he feels guilty and helpless because the burden he shouldered for so long has been passed on to everyone else now, and he knows how heavy it is, and he was so willing to carry it even if it destroyed him, but he can’t anymore! and then to have someone come along and say “it’s okay, you’ve done enough, you’re doing enough, you are enough,” just. shit shit shit shit shit. I can hear Horikoshi’s truck beeping as it backs up to dump YET MORE FEELS all over my goddamn house. there are feels being tossed out of an airplane door overhead with little parachutes. fucking paperboys are riding by on their bicycles and whipping them at my face screaming “EXTRA! EXTRA!” fucking...

-- HOLY SHIT!?!?

well my jaw just dropped. um. [peeks at calendar] do you mean to tell me that we’re just CUTTING STRAIGHT TO THE PARTY NOW, JUST LIKE THAT

WELL FUCK, LMAO. BEEN NICE KNOWING Y’ALL

sDFLKSHGLKH

Horikoshi: [poking his head in the door] hey what’s up guys just thought I’d toss in this panel of Ujiko here to remind you all that Spring is when --

everyone: JESUS CHRIST WE KNOW

-- WHAT THE FUCK

WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK LOL, WHAT

well I guess it’s nice to know that those feelings of impending doom were apparently RIGHT ON THE MONEY sob. NOTHING TO SEE HERE, JUST THE END OF ALL HEROES!! JUST UJIKO ROAMING THE HALLS OF HIS LOCAL HOSPITAL BEING ALL “HO HO” BECAUSE HE’S FINISHED HIS WINTER PROJECT OF TURNING TOMURA INTO ONE OF THE FOUR HORSEMEN AND HE’S FEELING REALLY FUCKING GREAT ABOUT LIFE. JUST THE MANGA JUMPING AHEAD THREE FUCKING MONTHS JUST LIKE THAT, AND DROPPING US BACK IN BARELY A WEEK BEFORE THE START OF THE KIDS’ SECOND YEAR, A.K.A. “YEAR OF THE SHINSOU”, A.K.A. “YEAR THAT KACCHAN FINALLY REVEALS HIS HERO NAME BECAUSE HOLY SHIT SON YOU REALLY FUCKING SAT ON THAT FOR THREE MORE FUCKING MONTHS!?”, A.K.A. “THE YEAR ALL MIGHT BETTER NOT FUCKING DIE”, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, A.K.A. “[GESTURES FRANTICALLY TO CHAPTER 245 AGAIN]”

lol. here I was hoping we had at least a little more time before the whole “we’re fucked” thing kicked in, but I guess the apocalypse waits for no one. gentlemen it has been a privilege playing with you tonight

[jcmoneydick]

TharnType SS2 Season Finale and Final Thoughts

Thanya has done more work for TT’s relationship than Tharn ever could. I think Thanya has been learning how to deal with people from Type. Look at her face when Mr. Thiwat starts talking smack. It’s about time someone cracked that old man. Type must have never opened that chat in the first place; it’s been months since they kicked him out. And we love a self aware king. Type knows he’s a dick. It’s nice to see.

I could’ve done without Leo and Fiat. I figured their story was wrapped up enough. Pop off, I guess. 

Type seems to mention this grandkid thing a lot. Like more than his dad. It’s refreshing to see Tharn respect Type’s decisions like this. He catches himself, realizes he’s putting himself first, and changes direction for Type. I really wish there was more of this attitude throughout the show. This is a scene that demonstrates how a couple who have been together for 7 years can communicate with little words. They are coexisting in this moment, understanding the other’s needs. You can tell that even though Tharn doesn’t understand this tradition, he is fully supporting Type. I wish this was shown more during the entirety of the show. 

I also wish Type’s ordainment as a monk wasn’t just a part of an episode. There’s so many undertones in relationship changes during Type’s monkhood that should have been further elaborated. In my personal opinion. It seems that Tharn learned about himself during this month as well, and I really would’ve appreciated the acknowledgement of that. Imagine if episode 10 was episode 11 and episode 11 showed us Type’s dad learning about Tharn, and teaching Tharn. What if we were able to see Tharn and Mr. Thiwat’s relationship and respect for another grow. At the end of the day, Thanya only showed her face. Mr. Thiwat knows that Tharn is taking care of his son, no matter the racist or homophobic comments that he hides behind. I feel like this was a missed opportunity. (Lost in the film just for Leo and Fiat to have more screentime). This was also a missed opportunity to show international fans more of the beauty of this tradition. The architecture of the temple and the ceremony seem unique and fun and really family oriented, and it kinda felt glossed over. But THAT TIME SKIP/TRANSITION? OF THARN VISITING TYPE? CLEAN! That’s the best editing in the entire show. At me.

Doc and Champ also deserve a little more. Their ending seemed… slapped on. Question: Is Champ a himbo, an airhead, or blind? “Love clearly, makes you blind,” my ass. Their ending wouldn’t be like this if Khunpol took Type’s advice. *shrugs*

I hate the beanie. But I guess it works if Type’s insecure about being bald. When I saw the welcome home scene the first time, I noticed Type touched the butt and I thought it in the nemo voice; It was hilarious to me.

Tharn crying and saying his vows is so Tharn. His dreams are finally coming true and he can plan the cheesiest, most romantic, in your face, gushy, mushy wedding ever. I can’t wait. But I called it. I knew because of the pacing of ep 3, TT’s wedding wasn’t happening in the series. I’ll talk about that at the end. 

I love how tight knit the Kiriguns are. I wish this was my family. Tharn’s teasing P’Thorn until the end. (I’ve seen boomsticks in the behind the scenes pics, why is the mic work so shoddy in the entire season?) Tharn did cry though. GIL USED THARN! That’s the funniest thing in the entire season. Tharn’s face reeled them in, disappointment led them to Gil. 

P’Arm’s dress is prettier than Bella Swan’s was, and I’m jealous I didn’t do navy for my wedding!! (I guess crying runs in the Kiriguns blood, P’Thorn is up there looking like Tharn. That is a family of hopeless romantics.) 

Why did Thanya catch the bouquet? It don’t sit right with me. Isn’t she like 15?

I COMPLETELY FORGOT THAT THIS WAS BEING NARRATED BY TYPE THIS WHOLE TIME. That being said, why he know so much of LeoFiat’s business? Wild.

Do I like this season? Not really.

So, if you were to watch season 2 with zero expectations, I would assume you would have an alright experience. The show is almost typical, fairly easy to follow (although long winded) and the chemistry and acting is top notch. There’s so many variables in the show that would have easily made an excellent show had other variables shown their worth. I had all the expectations. The show was marketed with a TT wedding, a little jealousy and a lot of spice. We didn’t get that. There are some that are fine with this and some that aren’t. I’ll tell you why I’m not cool with this season, or the future special episode.

The TharnType wedding that was advertised, implied, and marketed to happen this season is instead being turned into a cash grab. I understand that the last one was pay to watch as well, but let’s talk about the content of that special episode. Season one’s special episode has nothing in it that is impertinent to the marketed plot. It was simply TT lost in a dream of the first time Tharn met Type’s parents. I’m sure it wasn’t implied that Tharn would meet them anytime soon in the first season. Essentially, you do not need the first special episode to realize that Type’s dad is biased against Tharn. That is made clear by the first two or three episodes of TTSS2. Opposingly, TT’s wedding was promised in the promotions of the second season. Blatantly. It would be different if the proposal was alluded or implied. If the promotion posters didn’t feature TT’s names intertwined with rings. (Take Thonhon Chonlatee for example. An heir wasn’t included in the promotions or alluded to in the series, but what happened happened.) Some people are like “well, the book stopped at blank” not every show follows the book, and some of us haven’t been able to read the book. It hasn’t been officially translated, and some of us wanted to avoid big spoilers and watch it fresh eyed. To me, a special episode is not a continuation of a promise, it is extra content beyond the main plot of the season.

The reason I’m not cool with the season can be inferred from my posts. I wanted a grown relationship. I wanted a grown, healthy, communicative relationship indicative of seven years of mutual maturity. I was excited to watch Tharn and Type deal with obstacles like loving, mature adults, but the show proved juvenile and problematic to me. The title TharnType 2: 7 Years of Love, to me, implies trust, understanding and openness. Maybe even their love being a positive influence for relationships around them. Or like the love bug striking the people around them. I understand not every relationship is not like that irl, but I wanted that representation on film. Some parts of the show delivered this, but in general it fell flat. 

The actors, in my opinion, are all very talented and outshine the script, editing, camera work… pretty much all the production. I really hope all the actors featured in season 2 are able to showcase their talents in another series soon. 

My rating for season 2: 5/10; the acting’s good, the chemistry’s there, but the story is too long winded for me. There are many other shows this year that have done better. I think Still 2gether being such a good addition to 2gether, skewed my opinion of what a Thai sequel could be. Rather, I should have referred to Together with Me: the Next Chapter for sequel expectations. (I honestly think the Next Chapter was better.) All in all, there isn’t much setting it apart from other Thai dramas; there are plenty that match this that you can just watch something else. Would I rewatch season 2 as a stand alone? Prolly not. I might let it run after watching season 1 while I do my nails and I need background noise. It’s not the worst show I’ve seen this year, but it is far from the best.

I’m gonna catch up with Manner of Death now (I had to put it on the backburner because I couldn’t concentrate on Thonhon, TT AND MoD). I think I’m too late for a “who did it” chart, so I may post a” scene that I laughed at, but shouldn’t have” instead. I have a stupid easy to rouse sense of humor. 

Maybe I’ll see you again for KinnPorche, or if you have any suggestions of shows I should watch let me know! (I just finished Cherry Magic, it was so sweet and fluffy.)

[lunawings]

King of Prism All Stars Prism Show Best 10! Initial thoughts/summary/review

So I’m going to be splitting this post into several sections with space in between to make it easier for people maybe to skip over spoilers they don’t want to read. 

Table of contents is as below: 1.) Day 1 Greeting Show Live Viewing brief event report 2.) Weekly theatrical video (week 1)  3.)1-10 Ranking and my personal thoughts 4.) New content (intro, ending, in-betweens, etc) 5.) Shin’s new show

1.) Day 1 Greeting Show Live Viewing brief event report

They had a live viewing for one of the greeting shows in Toyko. It was attended by Junta Terashima (Shin), Masashi Igarashi (Minato), and Takuma Nagatsuka (Leo). 

The day 1 greeting shows are always kinda awkward. Especially if it’s a live viewing and ESPECIALLY if it’s before the show because they aren’t allowed to give spoilers. 

Masashi Igarashi seemed even MORE pumped and emotional than usual. You could tell he really wanted to talk about Minato making it into the ranking, which should be a surprise for no one because he was really high in the preliminary ranking, but he still wasn’t allowed to talk about it. 

So he had to like dance all around it with wide hand gestures about how.... these ten shows.... and how amazing it was...... that these particular shows...... hahah ahhh man you could tell it was torture for him and torture to watch. 

Naganyan said that if by chance Leo made it in, he wanted us all to shout IIZE! for him. 

At one point the showed off kanji they wrote to symbolize the new year (a Japanese tradition). Junta said he wrote 変 I think (the first kanji in “change” but it also means strange) but he didn’t have the board with him for some reason so I wonder if he messed it up backstage and they didn’t have another one? Haha. Naganyan wrote 華 (flower). Masashi wrote 手 (hand) and he talked about how hands can symbolize a lot of things, like holding hands and “taking that first step” but then he was like “wait that’s feet....” And it was said in a way where it was difficult to tell if he only just realized that now or not. Judging from Junta and Naganyan’s reactions maybe it wasn’t on purpose hahaha. But then he doubled down on it, and as he was explaining why hands are significant he kept forcefully grabbing Junta’s hand and being like “See? Don’t you feel something??” while Junta was just kinda looking at him like “ummm”. 

I love these dorks so much they’re my favorite. EVERY SINGLE TIME I see them at an event together, Masashi Igarashi just goes on this HUGE rant about something and Junta Terashima is like “...........................................what?” (And Takuma Nagatsuka, if he is there, is like slowly inching away from them.)

I CAN’T WAIT to see them for real in Nagoya next weekend AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 

2.) Weekly theatrical video (week 1)

So King of Prism movies always have rotating intro or ending videos exclusive to the theater. (The first movie had the characters appealing to be in the Prism King Cup, Pride the Hero had the regional dramas, and SSS had shorts after the credits.) Best 10 has “Prism Star Interviews”. Basically, you hear audio of one character interviewing another which plays to a static image of the characters. 

Week 1 had Shin interviewing Hiro, Yu interviewing Kouji, and Taiga interviewing Kazuki. It was fairly low key. Hiro talked about getting his driver’s license, Kouji talked about sending weird food photos to Minato from abroad, and while Taiga was interviewing Kazuki someone (implied to be Kakeru) slipped him the question “Which do you prefer, tigers or dragons?” After going back and forth for a while, Kazuki ultimately says he likes them both because they are both strong. Taiga is not too happy about this. 

Something to note about the intro videos is this time is they have four weeks’ worth planned, but there are only three courses of the movie. This means the course and intro video are not necessarily connected and as time goes on it will get out of sync and you won’t be sure which intro video you’ll see. I feel like this was probably done on purpose. After a while we never knew what intro videos we would get for the first movie and it was kinda exciting. 

3.) 1-10 Ranking and my personal thoughts

10.) Yu / Shiny Stellar (SSS) 9.) Taiga / Fly in the sky  (SSS) 8.) Shin/Shine / Platonic Sword  (SSS) 7.) Yukinojo / Hyakkaryouran   (SSS) 6.) Leo / Twinkle Twinkle  (SSS) 5.) Kazuki / Freedom (Thunder Storm ver.) (Pride the Hero) 4.) Minato / Sailing  (SSS) 3.) Kakeru / Orange Flamingo  (SSS) 2.) Shiny 7 Stars [SePTENTRION] / Brilliant Oath  (SSS) 1.) Hiro / pride (Prism King ver.) (Pride the Hero)

So I think the voting for this was actually pretty fair. Basically, people who bought the SSS soundtrack CD got a code which could be used to vote only once. So although it would technically be possible to buy hundreds of CDs to try and sway the vote, I kiiiinda doubt that happened? It’s not like event tickets.

First of all, I was surprised at how low Taiga ranked considering he’s always been the most popular SePTENTRION member. But then again, although I really like him too, there are several SePTENTRION member shows I would have voted for before him. I guess that’s because I would assume everyone else would vote for Taiga so he doesn’t need my help? So maybe everyone else thought that way too that’s what happened. 

I’m also shocked at how high Leo is. He beat Yukinojo. HE BEAT TAIGA. After his ranking was announced the first time I actually started crying during his performance just because I hadn’t seen it in a while, and also I had literally JUST finished translating this.... so I was just like..... MY SONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN IM SO PROUD OF YOU (....dammit I forgot to yell IIZE. MY SONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN)

Platonic Sword is at 8 which is OK sure. But you know, to be honest, although I was so distressed by this show at first I’m actually kinda diggin’ it now that I’m used to it because it’s a whole lot easier to enjoy out of context (I don’t have to see Shin crying every time). But it’s just really weird to have THAT smacked right there it at number 8, right in the middle-ish. This supposedly 0 karat show. 

0 karats my ass. 

AND MINATO AT NUMBER 4 AHHHHHHHHHHHH 

I can’t believe it. After all this time. He finally FINALLY got the recognition he deserves. The only SePTENTION member who ranked higher than him is Kakeru and I have no complaints about that because I definitely agree Kakeru deserves that number 3 spot. (You know, I wonder if this means Kakeru actually surpassed Taiga at some point to be the most popular SePTENTION boy? I’m just so used to it being Taiga, but..)

Hiro at number 1 feels right. I’m happy with it. It would be the same in-universe too. (Actually in-universe it would be like ALL Over the Rainbow but y’know.)

It’s really crazy how all of SePTENTION made it in (if you count Platonic Sword for Shin, although they did credit it as Shin/Shine which was nice). I think that’s part of what Masashi Igarashi was trying to say at the theater greeting: To think that the new cast could have come this far. To think that exactly four years ago I left the theater after seeing the first movie for the first time, and I couldn’t even remember over half their names... and look where they are now!!

Although I am certainly not unhappy with the results, and I know the SSS shows are... objectively better, it did make me a little sad that nothing made it in from the first movie at all though. Because those shows had a bigger emotional impact on me overall. I don’t regret using my vote for Minato, because I feel better having contributed to him getting the recognition he deserved than I would have if I had voted for something that didn’t stand a chance. But at the same time, Shin’s Over the Sunshine at the end of the first movie is probably the most important prism show to me, in actuality. 

But they are doing different courses to show the prism shows that didn’t make it in. The first week they are showing a montage of all of Over the Rainbow’s shows. Watching them back-to-back with the SSS shows in this movie really highlighted how old they look in comparison, especially the Hiro/Kazuki Boy Meets Girl. Back when the only texture they used was for Hiro’s stomach...

But anyway, the credits revealed the other courses will show Alexander, Joji, The Shuffle, and Louis’ shows. It is also rather sad that none of the Schwarz Rose boys made it in. Especially since Alec is so popular! I wonder if Alec fangirls didn’t vote for Survival Dance in protest since Alexander has never gotten an original song. I felt the saddest about Louis though... because Shota Aoi and his voice and...... (C.... Can I just slip in the back room, cut out Platonic Sword, and edit in I know Shangri La?)

PS. I think the shows were pretty close to the same versions we saw originally. One notable change is that they added in some subtitles for cheering. Specifically “SHISHO!!!” in Yukinojo’s show and “YO! Daddy I did it!” in Kakeru’s. So I guess we were originally supposed to yell that. (Oops.) As I hoped it would be, Brilliant Oath was also stitched together without that long break in the middle, so in this version it just looks like SePTENTRION created the goddess on their own with their prism jump. But hey! It’s nice to have a complete version. Also Platonic Sword was missing the Prism Axel. (Maybe that’s another reason I could enjoy it this time around.)

As is tradition, the credits are set to a new SePTENTRION song. This one is called Love Gravity.

4.) New content (intro, ending, in-betweens, etc)

There are two new, very brief, traditionally animated segments. The first one is a cold open of SePTENTRION as power rangers fighting Alexander. What makes this even more hilarious is it basically starts right where the original Prism Show Best 10 left off. They even used the exact same background I think!? Some of the boys’ ranger costumes are... interesting... Kakeru’s (and I’m afraid this won’t translate that well to English so I might as well explain it now) is missing the entire backside. The joke is about the contrast between his two sides (business and party: lit his front vs back in Japanese). I think this segment also has the first ever anime/movie reference to Alexander being weak to Leo. (It’s referenced in Prism Rush all the time.)

The second new traditionally animated segment is at the end, and it involves SePTENTRON in the bath discussing different genres of dramas or movies they could do now that their careers have taken off. I’m pretty sure it’s a metaphor for “So much has happened in King of Prism, what now?” After all the discussion of different genres, Shin starts to get worried it means they won’t do prism shows together anymore. But they all agree that of course they will. 

Then there are the Dorachi and Torachi segments. They are simplified and look as though they were animated in flash. In addition to counting down the Best 10, Dorachi and Torachi also have two language teaching sessions. First Dorachi teaches us some “useful” English phrases, i.e. Alexander’s “Go to hell!” etc. Then Torachi teaches us Aomori dialect. What makes this sequence so hilarious is how seriously they take it. Like, as seriously as you could imagine a chibi tiger and chibi dragon teaching you something would be. The Aomori dialect was pretty challenging too, and Torachi actually broke down the sentences, pointing out where the intonation was different and like.... IT WAS ACTUALLY EDUCATIONAL. LIKE..... I ACTUALLY LEARNED SOMETHING. The first two sentences we practiced in Aomori dialect were Taiga’s dad asking him if he thinks his grades can get him into high school, and that random background character saying the nebuta floats won’t be ready in time. But then we got a completely new Taiga line of him confessing to someone which needless to say was NOT in the show BUT...... the background was clearly the scene from the end of episode 3 when Taiga was trying to tell Kazuki something. Pfff. 

There is also a longish short anime during the intermission done in the same style. Torachi finds Dorachi out of power, and the two get lost together trying to find a power source to charge him. Meanwhile Taiga and Alexander don’t come looking for them until after dark because they are too busy fighting. Moral of the story: Dorachi and Torachi are secret BFFs and Alexander and Taiga are terrible parents.  

5.) Shin’s new show

My...... heart............................... my heart felt so full............. nnnghghhgphhhh.........

The context is that Shin is finally performing the song Yu wrote him in the costume Leo made for him at the Rose Party. So it’s taking place chronologically after SSS. 

Daisuki Refrain is a very heavy audience participation song. Perhaps the most intended participation in a King of Prism song we have had so far? There is a beat to clap to, callouts, and even a dance in the middle and it’s pretty clear even during your first viewing what you’re supposed to be doing at all times. 

Also, as I guessed from seeing Junta Terashima perform at the CD release event, Shin’s hat is a huge part of his choreography. What I did not guess is that it’s also a magic hat that grows and you can ride on it if it fills up with prism sparkle hahahah.

Ahhh man.............

....Okay. If you have seen it, I know you’re probably expecting me to talk about that.... one part...... So. I will. Okay. Here goes. 

At one point in his performance, Shin partially obscures his right eye while his left eye shines red. W......Why is that in there WH--okay I kinda know why. I think Shin has been gaining a lot of popularity recently since the end of SSS specifically because of Platonic Sword, and because he has that edge now. So although they gave him a happy, fluffy, traditional Shin show, they still put in a little fanservice for the fans who like the edge. A little reminder that he’s still in there. While I’m like.... YOU... YOU STAY IN THERE. IM WATCHING YOU. Ahahaha. 

One thing though, I could have sworn in the preview showing that Shin’s right eye (the one which would be yellow if he was Shine) was completely obscured.  But when I saw it again on the premiere day, I could see it was only partially obscured and it was clearly the normal red. So. Surely I was just so surprised that they did that in the first place that I just didn’t fully register it. It’s not like they changed it in between the preview and the premiere, right..... RIGHT?

Right. 

Okay moving on sorry that was too long. Haha seriously that scene is like 2 seconds and Shin’s show is SO CUTE AND SO GOOD. I really REALLY did like it and I’ve been singing the song all day. 

And his new prism jump......................

I........

Nnngfdnnnphhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I really don’t want to spoil itttttttttt..... while I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you just wait and experience it for yourself firsthand like I did, at the same time.... not gonna lie... I also really want to talk about it. Because Shin. So I’m gonna end this post here but also write about it at the end anyway. So if you absolutely must know. It’s down there. 

But. 

Thanks for reading! READY SPARKING!

<3

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Okay so Shin’s new prism jump. It’s called Mugen Hug Together.

And it’s basically. 

A reverse Mugen Hug. 

So Shin Mugen Hugs the crowd, but then the crowd reflects it back to him and he’s like AAAAUUUGH and, of course, it takes all his clothes off. 

(And then there’s like an uncomfortably long black screen. Where it’s like.... did we kill Shin?)

(Did we kill him? With our love?)

(We did not.)

(I guess he needed time to get his clothes back on.)

Shin has one of his speeches where he says he’s embarrassed about how he wanted us to feel good but the opposite happened. Then the second part of the jump starts (or I guess it may technically be a second jump), part of which can be seen in the trailer. The part where you take Shin’s hand and he gets wings. Then he takes you around the world. 

The end. 

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki SSL Kazama Daily Story 1

First post of the month, so I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/V7V2W0HO) or through paypal (paypal.me/KumoriYami )…. also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i don’t have the audio for those….. I HAVE ADDED MORE CDS WHICH I HAVE TL FOR (though I still haven’t gotten around to cleaning up that list).

I’m going to start by saying mentioning some things.

I’ve been extremely exhausted lately cuz I’m working waaaay more hours that normal so I’m not going to TL anything longer than the ssl short stories done for this month.

I recently gained access to Hakuoki SSL release countdown audio files which are unfortunately no longer on the Otomate Hakuoki SSL website though I could only find 12 of a total 13 translations for said countdown....not sure when i’ll get to those.

I found a translation for the Sengoku Night Blood stuff x Hakuoki interaction event in Chinese that’s in actual text (it’s way too much effort to take text off videos to tl).... but iuno what to do with it since I already have an extremely long list of things I wanna do, though as I’ve never played the game, and only have a passing interest in it, i wouldn’t know what is what and would be relying on MTL for char names and wouldn’t recognize if something is relevant to the Night Blood lore, plus I don’t want to translate anything that someone else might plan on doing....

I’m going to be translating some of the Otomate Hakuoki blog posts for this month.... which I explicitly do not want reblogged as the content originates from Otomate’s websites... which are still active. If they do get reblogged, I will be refraining from posting future translations of them outside of what I have planned for this month and will be deleting them all next month (i’ll be putting this warning up on all of them). 

Anyway. Translation. 3 of 7 for Daily Story 1.

This is my second favourite of the daily story 1 stories (after saito’s obviously lol. i feel bad for amagiri... though it’s probably good that kazama was only like this in the yuugiroku games). Also, on a side note, I’ve updated the Daily story 1+3 for Saito with a bit more pics.... still haven’t gotten around to learning how to modify my vita.

Enjoy~!

Note:  “【” and “】” being used to indicate something being said in English.

Hakuoki SSL Daily Story 1 - Kazama

Translation by KumoriYami

Kazama: Ah......Remembering our meeting from a few days ago, my heart is still filled with excitement/I am still overwhelmed by emotion.

Kazama: I believe that her cheeks were blushing then[/that she was blushing then]. What a beautiful moment that was.

Amagiri: A meeting? I heard that you only had lunch together in the school cafeteria……

Kazama: When I looked at her, she was like a small animal [had the appearance of/resembled a small animal], indeed truly lovely.

Amagiri:……I do not think that was shyness[her being shy], but rather fear [showing fear].

Kazama: Amagiri. Sure enough/Indeed, Chizuru is suitable to become my wife/is the right person to become my wife......

Amagiri:…………

Kazama: She is [so] obviously in love, but is quiet about it/yet doesn't want to show it, as usual her behaviour is too cute.

Kazama: Moreover, when I was with her, she was holding herself back with tears in her eyes. She unexpectedly used these/such methods to appeal to me. [iuno????????????]

Amagiri:……No, I, how should I say this……

Kazama: All right, Amagiri. Now we are going to move to the next stage [We shall be moving to the next stage.]. Now that we've had lunch together, we're practically engaged now.

Kazama: It seems that preparing for a 【SURPRISE】 is necessary.She must be/has to be given a very big 【SURPRISE】.

Amagiri: The so called-surprise, meaning[/being?]?

Kazama:Ah......This 【SURPRISE】? As long as you know what a woman dreams of, you'd/you'll understand.

Amagiri:…………

Kazama: It's a wedding dress.

Kazama: Amagiri, get ready. Measurements must first be taken. Don't forget to get me a clothing designer [i got like a -110% interest in fashion design and stuff so if there’s a better term to say this idc and will not know of it lol].

Amagiri: This is/Isn't that...... a bit too much. I believe that doing this/doing these types of things so suddenly, may cause her to feel uncomfortable.

Kazama: What are you saying/talking about. It's a woman's dream to wear a wedding dress.

Kazama: Besides, if it's being given by the man you love, what woman wouldn't like it. [the punctuation in  Chinese had these as separate sentences... which didn't make sense so I changed it. Originally: "....man you love. What woman wouldn't like it." 

Alternatively this could be read as: Besides, being given this by your beloved man. What woman wouldn't like it.]

Kazama: Ah......That's true/That's true too/as well. We're already in love, so we can directly move to having a wedding/holding a wedding ceremony.

Amagiri:…………

Kazama: Amagiri, go and get a church/chapel ready/go and prepare a church/chapel. Also wedding invitations need to be prepared/a list of who will be invited to the wedding needs to be prepared.

Kazama: Ahahahahaha...... Things are going to get busy.

Amagiri:…………

(Kazama exits)

Amagiri: It's me. Hurry up and prepare now/Make preparations right away.

Amagiri: Yes/Right/correct. As usual/Like before, do everything you can to stop Kazama-sama. Then please/At once please.  

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I have started looking at the Hakuo Gakuen School Assembly drama.... though I still need help translating about 15(ish?) seconds worth of dialogue since I have no TL for where voices overlap...(going to plan a page for incomplete drama tls in the future since there’s one similar to the “One Inch Samurai” that i reallllly wanna translate but I only have 4/7 tracks of tl for it).

....also im feeling super irritated since one of my translations for a character perspective (something that I put in the post queue since it was almost done. i do that to remind myself of what day i want something posted, even if it’s not done) disappeared from tumblr. submitted a ticket.... but I really hope i can recover at least part of it cuz that particular one had almost 30 sentences translated and I didn’t make a back-up.... *sigh* usually i use nimble writer for my TL documents, but i have a tendency not to when translating short things....