#when you put your years of studying japanese to good use

[anewdaywilldawn]

Y’ALL THE GIVEN SEQUEL MOVIE DROPPED

And, I’ve translated it 😃 👇👇👇

Take it with a grain of salt since I don’t have that much experience translating from jap

But it should at least allow you to get the gist of what’s happening :’)

Rb if you can, I want this to reach as many Given fan as it can!

[mechaknight-98]

No Return (NSFW) FT: Sakura Miyawaki

Authors note: Sakura is hot and likes the nerdy stuff I like, but she is also an exceptionally talented idol who deserves all of the best and one of my top biasses. I just didn't know what to write for her until this popped in my head

Part II

I sat down to play Warframe with my friend “FearlessKura98” She was waiting for me despite the time difference. I was a bit early so the typical hour we usually played together was extended.

“Yo kkura what's up.” I greet her in Japanese when I see her name pop up on the voice chat.

“Oh Daigo you're Japanese sounds so good now,” she replies in English. I smiled and replied “So does your English Kkura.” there was silence but I assumed it was just due to Kkura smiling. As you set up you hear a massive crash.

“What was that?” Kkura asked

“I don't know but I'll be right back,” I say to Kkura.

“Daigo be careful,” Kkura responded.

“Will do Kkura,” I say. I get up and walk outside to a very different world than before

3 years later.

I sat on the plane to Tokyo anxiety stricken. A kaiju could attack at any time and the defense force had consistently proven itself to be “unreliable.”

I was going under the code name Juzo to help a recently established Kaiju strike team; that was having trouble with the new batch of EVO kaiju that had been popping up lately. I was unsure of my effectiveness but the chance to visit Japan with no other strings attached was too much of an opportunity to miss so Otrimi and I made the flight. It was a long flight and upon landing both Otrimi and I were certainly restless but hey we got there safely. At the airport, Otrimi and I were picked up by a pretty brunette.

“Hi Juzo San.” the young lady said

“Hello Mrs…”

“Oh call me Sakura.” the young lady said. I nod and we follow her into a nearby car. Otrimi walks over to Sakura who immediately falls for his charms. “Oh, who's a good boy? Sit.” she says as she pets him “his fur is so soft.” she adds as she turns to me

“Hey Juzo-san what's his name?”Sakura asks.

“Otrimi,” I answer

“O-Tri-Mi?” she asked she nods

“You're English is Good,” I say to her.

“Thanks!” she said elated, “my friend I used to play games with helped me,” she added.

“Oh, that's how I learned Japanese,” I reply with a bemused tone as we get into the car. Otrimi took the back. His tail wagging happily. Sakura raised an eyebrow and then switched to her maternal tongue.

“Oh really?” Sakura asks

“Yeah my skills are lackluster but I can somewhat read and write it,” I respond

“Well, you sound good. You have a bit of a Kagoshima dialect like me but whoever taught you did a good job” Sakura says with a smile.

“Thanks” I reply.

As we drove I remembered she said she played Games

“You Sakura. You mentioned you play games what games do you play?”

“Mostly smash bros on my switch and Zelda.”

“Oh, nice. We should play together.” I say. Sakura smiled and replied

“Wow whoever taught had a thick Kagoshima dialect.” sakura affirmed I laughed with her as she began to crack up. We arrived at the facility where the dorms, training center, and rejuvenating springs were. Sakura leads Otrimi and me through the facility. There seemed to be a lot of faces and people working to put an end to the invaders and kaiju threat we faced. Otrimi and I were on edge as we walked through the facility. The intense glare of several faces kinda puts me on edge. Unfortunately, Sakura had to say the following,

“So everyone is excited to meet you,” Sakura said reassuringly as if sending my tension.

“Oh, the dirty side glares made me feel welcome,” I replied sarcastically

“Wait really?” she asked surprised. I nodded and as if on cue a young woman with red hair came up and said

“Sakura who is this?” the girl said in high-defense mode

“Oh this is Juzo he's from the La Brea Institute of Kaiju Studies.” sakura explained

“But why does he look like an invader?” she asked coldly

“Well, being abducted and placed into their evolution vats, then being forced to fight in their flesh pits for 6 months kinda changes you a bit,” I reply. The red hair girl looked down embarrassed when she noticed Otrimi.

“Oh he's so cute.” the redhead said as she bent down to pet my Aragami. Otrimi eased under her touch and then she looked back at me

“My name is Yunjin and Sorry about my rudeness earlier. It's just no one has ever seen the mysterious Juzo before, but hears tales of this mighty Kaiju slayer. I expected you to be older.”

“I'm 26 which feels pretty old,” I reply

Yunjin’s eyes go wide “Oh Sakura chan he's the same age as Dahyun, Jisun, Jiwon, and you.” sakura nods in surprise. Ad Sakura’s tour continues

“So Sakura how did you get into all of this?” I ask curiously

“Well, I was an idol before this.”

“Oh, what kind?”

“K-pop,” Sakura said with a smile

I raised an eyebrow “Oh that's super interesting.” I replied

“Thanks and you?” Sakura

“Oh um well I was an urban photographer,” I answer. Sakura nods intrigued as we continue to make small talk. As we move through the facility a wave of familiar comfort crashes into me as I talk to Sakura. It felt as if I had known her forever.

Eventually, the little tour comes to an end. We arrived at a dorm and Sakura opened it.

“Welcome to your new home for the time being,” she said. I look around

“Get comfortable tomorrow is going to be busy for you tomorrow.” she teased. I nod and Sakura leaves before she can get too far I walk out to her

“Wait Sakura,” I yell.

She turns back to me with eyes full of surprise, she asks “Oh, Juzo what's up?”

“Thanks for helping me out today and picking me up today,” I said.

Sakura smiles bright and says as she waves goodbye “Have a good one, but just one.”

I furrow my eyebrows in recognition because I only know one person who uses that phrase. To confirm my suspicion I follow up with, “ya know that's quite presumptuous of you. What if I want to have a good two or 3?” Sakura turns around with eyes even wider and more surprised.

“Daigo?” was all she questioned. I tilt my head to the left and smile, “You are fearless.” I responded. Kura ran to me and gave me a tight hug.

“It's been so long.” she sighed as she melted into my arms. I wrapped my arms around her

“Yeah, it has,” I respond, and for a moment time stops I am not the Kaiju slayer Juzo but I'm the young man Daigo who loves to play video games with his friends and take funny pictures. I try not to cry but a few tears streak down my face.

I looked down to see Kura was in a similar situation. We smile at each other and I'm just overcome by emotions I tilt her face up and I kiss her. She pushes me back into my room before she breaks the kiss and locks the door.

“I want no distractions,” she said hungrily. Then pushes me onto the bed where she kisses me again. She caresses my face. My arms slide up and down her waste unsure of where to move or how to go.

“Wow you're green,” she teased as she came up for air between kisses.

“In sorry I haven't dated while being in an almost one-man war for the past year and a half.” Sakura chuckled and shook her head

“No like your lines are green. They were dark brown before,” she said laughing to prove her point she moved my hand to her chest and I could see the teal lines over my arms.

“Oh yeah they change colors,” I said embarrassed.

“I like it,” Sakura said as she smiled before bringing me into another kiss. I felt her tongue give an exploratory poke into my mouth she broke this kiss and looked at me. “Tell me everything,” she said as pupils grew to the size of dinner plates as she lifted her shirt. I quickly get the memo and undress. sakura smiles

“So after I last talked to you I walked outside to see the invaders (they refer to themselves as Carnothians) abducting people. I tried to run but was grabbed by one and then everything got muddy until after the evolution pits.” I say as Sakura and I reconnect. My hands caress her perky breasts and she moans. She grinds her sex on mine as our bodies connect for the first time.

“You're bigger than I thought.” Sakura cokes. I groan and reply

“You're so tight.” Sakura giggles as she begins to grind a bit harder. I groan again overwhelmed by all the sensations and emotional build-up. Sakura looks at my eyes with a somber but happy look.

As I thrust in and out of her she said, “I thought you died. I felt so alone. We'd been playing together for 3 years and then you went and disappeared. I never touched Warframe again. I couldn't. the pain was too much to bear.” she said as she went for a particularly deep rut.

“Oh god yes!” she yelled as she ruffled her hair. She threw her head back as she pushed me flat onto the bed. “Squeeze my tits and tell me about the Flesh pits.” she groaned sensually.

I began to remember and my body lurched and not in a good way. Sakura noticed and asked “What's wrong ?” she looked down to see my lines change from a tranquil teal to a chaotic crimson, as my mind flashed back. Before anything else could escalate I lifted Sakura off of me. She tried to stop me but couldn't. Most likely due to the gap in strength. Sakura looks at me confused and a little hurt until she sees the torment in my features.

“I'm sorry I didn't mean to push too hard” Kura exclaimed

I shrug and respond, “It's fine kura. I just…am not ready to talk about it right now.”

“No, I get it. I mean your lines changed. I felt and saw the change.” Sakura reassured me. I smiled and kissed her forehead.

Sakura rolled her eyes, “I didn't take you for the sappy type.”

“Oh, I'm very much the sentimental type.” I fired back and Kura smiled.

“Gosh I missed you, you big dummy,” Kura said with a smile. She nestled to my side to cuddle. I pulled the blanket over us as we lay in the bed together.

“We are going to finish what we started” Sakura muttered

“Deal,” I said Kura turned to face me and kissed my nose. She then moved my hands to her breasts again as she turned around.

“I know you like them” Kura teased

“I mean what straight guy doesn't.” I defend, “You also have a nice butt too” I add. Kura smiles

“Thanks, pervert.” Kura teased

“Nah you started this.” I retaliate as I nestle closer to her. I rest my chin on her right shoulder and she keeps me close. I kiss her cheek as we sit tight together. “This is so weird”

“Why?” Kura asked

“I would've never imagined my gaming pal would be such a beauty,” I answered. Kira smiled then turned to me and we started kissing again.

After an hour of cuddling and kissing my stomach growled. Kura had her tongue down my throat as winning our tug-of-war match. I had been rock hard and waiting for the green light to go to the next step

as she said, “Okay let's try this again.” Kura’s stomach growled. I chuckled

“Okay well let's get food before we defile each other. I joke sakura gives me a toothy grin as she gets up, and for some reason, the way her perfect ass gently sways triggers something in me. Something old something ancient something primal. I got up. Smacked Kura’s perfect ass and slid my cock into her tight snatch.

“Oh yes,” Kura moaned. As rested her hands on my desk. I grabbed Kura’s soft waist and thrust hard and deep. Kura yelped with Joy. “Yes claim this slutty pussy.” she said as I thrust again. By the thrust, she was a moaning mess and she came, but before I could finish there was a knock on the door. Kura and I looked at each other before she raced to my bathroom and handed me my sweatpants and t-shirt. I open the door to see Yunjin waiting patiently.

“Hey, have you seen Sakura? She was supposed to meet me for lunch and never showed,”

I didn't know Sakura’s reputation or the rules of interpersonal relationships here so I employed tactical omissions of details or TOOD for short (patent pending) “I don't know where Kura Chan is right at this moment.” Yunjin eyes me suspicious

“Kura chan?” she asked

“Yeah, Kura Chan.” I affirmed

“You know only one person calls well called her that,” Yunjin said

“Really who?” I asked

“Well, apparently you Daigo.” Yunjin teased

My eyes widened and I told Yunjin to keep it on the hush.

“Don't worry Don't worry your secret is safe with me. (she leans into my room) hey Sakura are we still on for JJK tonight?” Yunjin asked My bathroom opened and Kura gave Yunjin an annoyed look.

“You couldn't let me have this?” she asked annoyed

“Not a chance. For all the times you caught me linking with Tobi it seemed fair to give a little of that back.” Yunjin said

“They were accidents” Kura stated. Yunjin rolled her eyes.

“Bring Daigo and snacks,” she said before leaving. I closed the door and Sakura huffed

“It was 2 times.” she huffed

“Kura it's okay” I reassure her

[taylorswiftbutsimp]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ My Woman

➡ Summary: Your partner sae is displeased that you caught the attention of a Japanese U-20 ace

➡ Genre: Fluff, Crack-humor, Slight angst

➡ Format: OneShot

➡Character: Sae Itoshi ft Shuto Sendo

➡ Warning: ooc, grammar error, a lot of timeslips and flashbacks, sendo slander (ilovehimplsdonthate)

➡wordcount: 1,613k

You watch the scene in front of you go into chaos with someone starting a fight while the others stay back in shock, asking their captain if he needed help with a guy who he put down.

Shidou Ryusei—you know him. He was the person that your boyfriend, for more than a year, chose to play against to defeat Blue Lock. At first, you two went back to Japan to renew your passports.

given that you've been given a scholarship and a fantastic workspace, it would be ideal for you to pursue your studies in Spain. Sae was young when you first met him. Due to his unfamiliarity with the area, he hardly spoke any Spanish, but you could hear him speak the basics.

Your meeting was unintentional; it just so happened that you two ran into each other on the same floor of the building as you passed your cousin's soccer teammate's interview room in the hallway. Since it has been a while since you last saw each other, he contacted you to meet him there so you could spend some time together and catch up.

You scan the room, standing at the entryway. Everyone was too busy to notice you as they threw insults at your boyfriend, who called them ''stupid lukewarm that's lucky to play beside him." A certain male also caught your eye; he was slammed into the table hard by Blue Lock Shidou.

You assumed he was Sendo Shuto, and the one who stopped Shidou from going crazy was Oliver Aiku, the captain. You remember them because you scanned their files while applying for a temporary manager for them, which Sae was against.

He didn't see the point of why you wanted to apply as manager when you could just relax for a moment, but of course, you were stubborn and reasoned out, ''Why not? Besides, we both know you like it''

''yeah I do but I don't like how every male there can talk to you and be close to you''

''saeee~' don't be a killjoy~''

''Fine, But no funny business between us, we keep professional'' he said, rolling his eyes a little because he knew he too wanted you by his side. He then turned to face you.

''Yeah, we both know that~'' you tease as you bite into your tiramisu. Sae loves everything about you, but he was a little upset that you two were still hiding in plain sight. He wanted to announce his taken for good to the world, but you denied it because you don't have the courage to go public—at least not yet.

''woah I thought I was gonna see a book signing club'' you exclaimed, having finally had enough of the racket in the room. As you stood there, everyone was staring at you, and the room was beginning to go quiet.

you swore you locked eyes with sae but quickly shrugged it off as the coach approached you ''ah ms L/n I am so sorry for this how long have you been here?'' the coach asked giving you a gesture to enter

You tilted your head ''long enough to see the action trailer here actually'' You spoke with a hint of sarcasm in your voice. The man beside you cleared his throat and introduced you as U-20's temporary manager.

Everyone is still at their place, like how you interrupted their fight, except for the rose-red male that got slammed at the table, of course fixing himself and looking at you.

the room is quite different from earlier ''what!? never seen a girl before'' you said raising your brow and replying with a sass

''are you single?'' a blonde asked you assumed he was Teppei Neru

Your fake laugh was followed by the phrase "I like this, next question please" as you made a poker face.

What you didn't know was that the red-haired man who had been pressed into the table before had been staring at you with his mouth wide open.

sae peered at the man who was only a few inches away and scowled.

''Have you seen the way he looks at you?'' Sae let out a sigh as he put his clothes in the laundry basket while you prepared a meal for the both of you. ''No, not really; I was busy answering the team's questions'' you said as you sliced the carrot in front of you.

'' I don't trust any of them were going back to Spain after all this'' he bluntly stated ''Well that was supposed to be the plan but somebody wanted to bully his little brother-''

''oh shut up'' sae said his voice echoing from the laundry room you let out a chuckle you he definitely was pissed from today at everyone ''okay cold prince''

''so you're copying him now? what's next him taking you away from me?'' sae said closing the laundry room door and making his way towards you in the kitchen

''Don't be sassy boss im all yours'' you teased continued slicing you felt a warm pair of hands hugging your waist ''Good, tell me if he annoys you I will be the one who will slam his face at a table'' sae let out as he buried his head at the nape of your neck

''Now that's just mean''

''he deserves it''

It's been weeks since you started as the team's temporary manager; everything was going smoothly, and they were preparing for the arriving match.

Although Oliver did invite you over for some meal time together with the team, covering up excuses that they'd pay for it and you just had to join them, of course, you turned them down politely, telling the team you were busy due to the overcrowding schedule you have.

While the team was practicing on the field, you noticed Sendo sweating and gasping for air. You went over to him and said, "Hey, here," handing him a towel as he stiffened and muttered, "Thanks."

It has been like this for a few days; you see him become quiet whenever you enter the room, and he freezes like a statue whenever you ask him something.

''Is there anything troubling you?'' ''No, not really'' he murmured as he stood up and joined the others. You saw him join the others and briefly glanced over at your boyfriend, who was sipping water. You smiled a little and then continued with your tasks.

When everyone had eventually done training, you were putting the soccer ball away as the rest of the team had showers and some rested in the locker room. As you were walking down the corridor, you spotted Sendo and Oliver leaning against the wall outside the locker room.

Ironically, they were likely waiting for someone, and that someone is you

Oliver Snikered you frowned a little, ''There she is our favorite manager'' There was a duffle bag on the side, and you assumed that he was surely up to no good.

He elbowed Sendo and gave him a look indicating, Something you don't seem to understand  before saying, "Oh come on now, I won't do anything besides my friend here has something to say."

You exhaled, stifling your drowsiness and avoiding unintentionally snapping at the two of them, "What is it?" you questioned, waiting for a response.

"Well l/n I was…wondering after this blue lock happening I would like to keep in touch with you and take you on a date," Sendo said as he stepped closer to you and his cheek turned red. If you ask him, he was feeling a little nervous.

'' i hope she says yes im really interested on her!!'' he thought while his mind echoing "your gonna mess this up''

You stood there, eye-widening, trying to process everything he said, your jaw-dropping, finally getting why he was always stiff as a statue, and went quiet. Sae was right; he was eyeing you every time he got the chance. Before you could answer, you heard a familiar voice you know all too well.

''how lukewarm'' You turned your gaze away from the man in front of you and towards the one who interrupted the conversation, assuming that he heard it and was displeased. "Sae" you softly called out.

oliver who read the room immediately laughed clearly enjoying what his witnessing ''out of all the females you could ask out you choose my woman'' Sae scowled, pushing aside Sendo and grabbing your wrist, dragging you away, leaving everyone speechless

Bonus: unedited

''I DIDNT KNOW SHE WAS WITH THAT EYELASH PRODIGY!!'' sendo whined at Oliver apparently he was in the locker room with an ice pack at his cheek

yesterday when he confessed his interest on you he didn't expect you to get drag away and he cleary did not expect you were with the prodigy you two kept it casual how would he know

his now winching in pain while sitting in the locker room with an ice pack on his cheek he was apparently hit by a soccer ball in the face by sae which sae reasoned out ''what an accident'' then walked away like nothing happened

''better luck next time buddy'' oliver said patting sendos back giving him reassurance

''what you did today sae was mean he clearly got it I'm taken'' you said as you sat beside sae at the coach ''he needed to learn i couldn't let it go what he said to you yesterday''

''beside it was lukewarm how he tried to ask you out not even making an effort'' sae said looking at you patting his lap giving you a gesture to sit on his lap

©taylorswiftbutsimp

[jullbnt]

Bonjour! I'm a big fan and your art inspires me so much. I'm currently learning French to communicate with my friends, do you happen to have any tips on learning another language? I'd love some advice. ^_^

Bonjour bonjour ! Thank you for gracing my inbox with such a cute little Time, I adore him 🤩

And I'm glad I can inspire you!!

About your question I don't really have unique advice on learning another language, I guess you're asking me because I happen to be French? ^^

I'd say find lessons to learn the basics first, and maybe use an app or something to learn vocabulary (I did that for Japanese a few years ago and quiz apps make things a lot easier and fun! I'm still a beginner though, I don't have enough time but I'd love to start again). There's an app called Anki that lets you create your own quiz cards to test yourself with, or you can download pre-made decks (search for "Anki French decks" and you'll find what you need). I've used Anki a lot for studying, I love it!

Once you're comfortable enough start having basic conversations with your friends, and you can also try watching the French version of a movie you know well (or I don't know... try playing a LoZ game in French for example haha). If you already know the dialogues it can help! Maybe you can also listen to French youtubers that share your interests? I'm sure you'll find lessons from native speakers on Youtube too :)

And then of course consume French media, read in French, listen to French music... That's how I learnt English for the most part, I didn't really try (and the language classes we get in French school are really unhelpful). But I guess it's much easier with English cause it's everywhere and very much needed to get involved in fandom stuff online.

(Also be careful about comments from French users on social networks, sadly a lot of us make a lot of spelling or grammar mistakes so don't trust everything you read... I don't see the same thing happening in the same proportions with English speakers, I guess French is hard for natives too).

And lastly, we're always pleased and impressed when a foreigner bothers to learn our language, even if it's just a few sentences, and you don't need to speak flawlessly to be understood! French can be hard but don't put too much pressure on yourself ^^

I'm not sure this was very helpful, but I tried haha. Good luck with your learning and I hope you'll enjoy speaking French!

Passe une belle journée :))

[joestvr]

༺✮ atashi no kimyona jinsei // あたしの奇妙な人生 ✮༻

༺✮ summary: five years after the fall of diavolo, you, y/n romano, who was sent away to japan at 11 to further your studies—find the courage to come back to naples after living out your schoolgirl & gaijin university student facade in morio-chou to see how your clan’s worsened—as well as become the “donna” of your father’s gang, il terrore, while your older brother is the real leader behind the scenes, just using you as a front. with plans to murder your clan, you seek the particularly handsome young don of passione for friendship. with your tyrant father’s intervention, your friendship with the don turns to something you never saw coming.

★ 1 // il terrore // ★ 2 // bella //★ 3 // viva romano

"Welcome home, Y/n." Your father said. You could see the cigar burning and sitting on the ashtray beside him. 

"I'm not happy to be here. What do you need?" You responded.

"God, you're still the same condescending bitch you were 5 years ago." He stood up to face you. 

"I said, what do you need?" 

"You need to become the leader of Il Terrore. I've already announced it to everyone. " 

Your heart dropped and you slowly backed away.

"N-No... What about Alexander?"

He grabbed your arm and yanked you towards him. 

"Your brother is nothing but an arrogant fool! He is unfit to run our organization!" 

"You're joking, right?! He's your firstborn son!" 

"You ungrateful bitch!" He yanked you toward him and slapped you across the face, then pushed you to the ground, scowling. 

"You're just like your fucking mother. Leave my sight." He waved you off and you got on your feet, dizzy.

You got out a pack of cigarettes and lit one with a sigh, blowing smoke out of your mouth.

"Y/n." 

You turned around and your face lit up. "Vince?" 

Vincenzo Sayyid. 23 years old. Your childhood best friend and one of the most prominent caporegime of Il Terrore. He is the first person in your father's personal guard and was brought up in Naples. 

His mother, Francesca Marino-Sayyid, was your mother's good friend and a Sicilian. His father, Azam Sayyid, is from Kandahar, Afghanistan who stays in Kabul and manages the branches of gangs there.

He has tan skin, green eyes, thick brown hair that's usually slicked back with a strand sticking out, and stands at 193cm (6'4). 

"Oh, Y/n, is that you?" He smiled, hugging you tightly, and kissing your cheek. 

"It's me." You said into his neck. 

"Have you seen Trish yet, tesora?" He asked, wrapping his arms around your waist and going behind you. 

"No, I might see her soon, though." 

"Why not now?" 

"I'm to arrange a meeting with the Don of Passione, I'll see her then, because she's apart of his personal circle.”

"Shall I get the guys together, Donna?" He took the cigarette from your mouth and put it in his. 

"I heard a rumaru— ru— rumor—" You struggled to pronounce the word correctly. 

"You have a Japanese accent now. Ha!" He teased. 

"As I was saying, I heard a rumor he stabbed himself with the reku- Requiem arrow. And his personal guard has some insane sutando— Stand Users."

"Hahaha! Your pronunciation is so funny now!" He laughed. 

You sighed and lit another cigarette, taking out your flip phone, dialing Trish's number. 

★★★★★★★★★

Trish was sitting at a table in a restaurant with the gang. She was eating her spaghetti talking with Bucciarati when her phone began to ring. 

"Sorry, Bucciarati, hold on." She said, taking the phone out and answering. 

"Hello?" 

"Trish, it's me." She slightly gasped upon hearing you, hunching down and lowering her voice. 

"Wh-What's up?" She replied. 

"Where are you? What are you up to?" 

She covered her mouth and continued to speak into the phone so Fugo couldn't use his powerful mind to lip read. 

"I'm at a restaurant with the guys." 

"What guys?" 

"You know." 

"Oh, you're with the gang? Without me? Rudeee." 

"Very funny," she started to get concerned at Narancia poking at her arm with curiosity, "Honey, I need to get going." 

"Alright. I'll see you soon." 

"Bye, babe. Love you." 

"Love you too, Trish." 

She kissed into the phone and hung up, smiling to herself, chuckling. 

The men's eyes widened upon the words that came out of her mouth and the gestures made. 

"So, Trish..." Giorno started, smirking. "Care to share the contents of your phone call that caused you to be so secretive?"

"Yes, Trish, I'm quite eager to know." Bucciarati continued. 

"Yeah, Trish. Tell us about your secret boyfriend." Mista laughed. Narancia seemed oddly jealous.

"Have you all lost your minds?" She said. 

"Trish, there's no need to keep information from us. We are your family." Bucciarati smiled. 

"I promise you guys it's not what you think." She began to eat again. 

"So what is it then? You're a lesbian?" Narancia blurted out.

She nearly spit out her wine with surprise. "Wh—What?" 

"It's okay if you are a homosexual, Trish." said Fugo reassuringly. 

"I am not a lesbian, nor do I have a boyfriend, everyone, please." She cleared her throat. 

"Well, who are you calling 'Babe' and 'Honey' and telling 'Love you' to?" Bucciarati crossed his arms in an oddly fatherly way. 

"Giorno, can you please tell him to stop?" She looked at the blonde haired boy, furrowing her eyebrows. 

"No, I'd like to hear as well. Who is so important to you that you have to kiss into the phone when telling them goodbye?" 

"Let's change the subject. Do you know the gang Il Terrore?" 

"Yes, I heard the new leader is a clueless prick. We don't even know if he is a stand user. How absurd.." Fugo answered.

"He probably is. I heard the Romano family has quite the collection of Stand and Requiem Arrows. The guy probably has an insane team of guards." Mista responded.

"Is he a threat to us?"

"No." Trish interrupted. 

"Alright then."

★★★★★★★★★

"I do wish you'd stop smoking." Alima sighed.

Alima Sayyid-Romano. Your sister in law — Also Vince’s cousin. 30 years old. Born in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Her father is Vince’s father’s older brother. She came to Italy 18 years ago with her parents to make a deal with your father and set up a marriage with your brother.

You scoffed and lit another cigarette. "Who do you think I got it from?" 

"I remember how your dad and Alexander used to chain smoke all day." She chuckled. 

Alexander Romano. Your older brother. 34 years old. He married Alima when he was 18, and had their son, Leo, at 20, and their daughter, Elena, at 25. Though their marriage was arranged, they've had a deep romance ever since they met. 

Your relationship with your brother has always been complicated, and it was estranged for many years due to your father driving you apart and also, well, the 14 year age gap.

Now, you'd like to think you're on good terms with each other but he doesn't always approve of the way you live. 

"Where is he, anyway?" You turned on your hair straightener, waiting for it to heat up. 

"Who, Alexander? He's with the kids at the plaza." She answered, unpacking your clothes, folding and putting them in drawers. 

"They're always at the plaza. There's so many thugs and tweakers there, God knows all the drugs they're on." You started to straighten your hair, scowling. 

"Take that cigarette out of your mouth, Y/n. It's a fire hazard." 

You sighed and put your cigarette out in an ashtray.

"Here, I bought this for you in India." You took a gold ring off your finger and put it on her.  

"Thank you. 22 karats?" She grinned and examined the intricacy of the design. 

"Yup. 24 is too soft."

She hugged you and kissed your cheek. "Love you." 

"Love you too, Sis." You returned the kiss onto her cheek. 

You heard the front door open and a familiar voice yell, "We're home!"

You gasped and ran downstairs, jumping into your brother's arms with delight. "Mio bel fratello!"

"Mia bella sorellina!" He embraced you in a hug, kissing your cheeks and laughing, spinning you around. 

"Oh, how I missed you, Alexander!" You smiled. He put you down. 

"I missed you more than anything, Y/n." 

You looked at Leo and gasped, smiling wide, pulling him into a hug and kissing his cheek. "Kyaaaaah, my Leo is so grown up now!" 

"Relax, Y/n, come on..." He groaned, hugging you back and kissing your cheek back. He was already taller than you. 

"Kyaaah!" You squealed again in delight, then looked at Elena. 

"Long time no see, principessa!" You hugged her tight, and she giggled. 

Alima came down, laughing. Alexander pulled her close to him and kissed her hard. 

"Ew! Stop that!" You exclaimed dramatically. 

"Go upstairs then!" Alexander shouted. 

You stuck your tongue out at him then went upstairs, opening your laptop and sending a message to the Don of Passione. 

Ciao, Don Giovanna, you wrote, I'd like to make a deal. You pressed send and sighed. 

★★★★★★★★★

The gang was back at their home, relaxing and talking. 

"Hey, Giorno, you got a message." Narancia said, handing the computer to him. 

"Someone wants to make a deal." Giorno said, his eyes fixated on the screen. 

"Well, who is it?" Mista butted in, shoving Narancia off the couch and sitting next to him. 

Who's this? Giorno typed, then eagerly waited for a response. 

Forgive my lack of manners. I'm the leader of Il Terrore. 

Giorno slightly gasped. "Il Terrore? That's strange." 

Trish's head shot up from her constant texting and she smiled silently to herself.

Okay. What kind of deal would you like to make? Giorno responded. 

I want to be allies. I have heard of your immense power and your drive to keep drugs out of Italy deeply impresses me. 

Giorno gasped louder and Bucciarati looked at him. "What's wrong?" 

"He wants to be allies." 

"Ask what he'll do in return if you grant him friendship." 

What will you give me in return?

I'm sure you've heard of my family's collection of the Arrows. I'll give half of those into your possession, 10 million lira, and whatever else you wish for. 

Giorno's eyes widened. Mista leaned over and smirked seeing the offer. 

Alright.

Can we meet in person? 

"He wants to meet in person." 

"He's going to murder you in cold blood." Abbachio decided to join the conversation. 

"Don't be ridiculous, Abbachio, he's not going to do that. The Romano family is a very respected one." Fugo said.

"Whatever. Go if you wanna get killed." Abbachio rolled his eyes. 

Giorno sighed and typed his response, Sure. 

Meet me at the restaurant Libeccio tomorrow at 1600, and we can talk then. 

Sounds good. 

Grazie, Don Giovanna. See you there.

[mistresslrigtar]

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

💖 What made you start writing?

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

Ty for the ask! I'm procrastinating from doing any actual writing so my answers below are long-winded....

🤗I'm not sure I'm the best one to give advice to new fanfic writers, since I feel like I'm just getting started myself! However, the biggest thing I've learned over the past year and have to keep reminding myself is to NOT compare my writing to anyone else. Instead, I try to focus on what I know I'm good at, use those strengths as the building blocks for my stories and write around them. What does that mean? For me, I start with the dialogue and characterization (sometimes the page only has a conversation written out, then I go back and fill in the setting, internal thoughts, actions, etc.) I also focus on just one or sometimes two things (world-building, internal conflict, showing vs telling, etc) I would like to improve upon. I find one-shots are a great way to experiment and focus on an area I would like to work on.

💖I've always loved to read, especially sci-fi/fantasy novels, and imagine what it would be like to live in those worlds. As a former stage performer, I started writing as a creative outlet (it seemed like the next best thing to performing a musical or play) and as a way to immerse myself into those worlds and characters. I'm sure I'm not the only author who puts themselves in their characters shoes.

🧐Do I research my stories? That depends on the stories. So far, I've had to do some research for two of my stories. The first is my completed work that I've talked about ad nauseum (😅🤣) I Belong to You. I had to do a bit of research on drug addiction and some other stuff... I'm talking about alt rock bands and songs, guitars, and motorcycles, I swear. Seriously, I spent HOURS listening to music until I found the right band for that story. (Good thing I like alt rock. I mean, I'm a huge Radiohead fan, so Muse was like listening to classic rock in comparison😂)

The most in-depth to date is for my current WIP Captain Link Araki.

For starters, I can't tell you the number of hours I spent researching Japanese surnames to find the right one for him. Following that, I read a lot about pirates, their habits, the crewman, jargon, what they do when their ships need repairs, what types of ships they preferred, etc. Then, after I picked a ship, I had to look up the parts of the ship, if it would have a main cabin, how many sails, etc, etc. As it was, I still got some of it wrong, but thankfully my wonderful beta (Zelmo 😉) knew enough to tell me what I needed to fix. I like to incorporate some reality into my stories, so I spent the better part of an afternoon looking up rowing terms and mechanics, and that was only for a two page scene! So, yes, I guess I do research when needed, and tend to get so sucked into studying and taking notes that little to no actual novel writing gets done that day.

So, all that being said - if you happen to read that story and notice something I got wrong or have a suggestion, feel free to tell me. 😅

And thanks if you read this rambling answer!

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 4 - Old Friend (Part 1)

this chapter broke into my house and robbed me. this chapter punched me in my stomach and proceeded to kick me as i was down

anyways we meet Seiya's brother Gaku. Gaku seems to be a gnc person but is still referred to as Seiya's brother so i will be using he/him pronouns for him

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1-18. The explanations of the puns were so long that i decided to make a separate post for them. tbh you can just skip the puns and go all the way to the end of this section

Previous | Next

It was a certain day off.

The five boys of the Kazemai High School kyudo club gathered at Minato’s house. It was a study session to prepare for a regular exam, and since Minato’s father wasn’t at home because of work, they occupied the living room.

Seiya smiled.

“Ryouhei, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. I can help you with most of the liberal arts subjects.”

“Woo! I’m so glad that I have you, who’s at the top of our class, as my childhood friend.”

“I’m happy to be helpful to everyone.”

Nanao, hearing that, waved his mechanical pencil with a frog on it. There was also a pencil case with frogs in traditional Japanese design on the table.

“As expected of President Mustache. You really give off the composure of someone worthy of a mustache. Maybe I should have chosen science classes too, though it’s a bit late for that now.”

“Apparently, nowadays there are some universities where they don’t divide the courses into the sciences and liberal arts, but allow students to take both.”

“This is what they call the age of diversity. Our future is shining brightly. Exciting, sparkling!” Ryouhei also chimed in.

“Sparkling! This humble one is also excited!”

Next to them, Kaito put down his pen.

“You two! Those Yotubers’ ways of talking are rubbing off on you. Nanao, stop playing with frogs and focus on your problem set.”

“Yeah, yeah, Kacchan. Follow your own path.”

After checking on everyone, Minato went to the kitchen. He returned to the living room with a drink in hand.

Minato’s cup was purchased on the return trip from last year’s regional tournament, and it had the illustration of a dormouse on it. In his left hand, he held the dormouse mascot that Masa-san gave him. The dormouse was a small mouse that was a natural monument and also called the spirit of the forest and the guardian deity of the mountains. Masa-san gave him, who was suffering from target panic, the dormouse mascot in place of a talisman, but Minato had no way of knowing the prayer it contained.

When the five’s cups were emptied, the intercom sounded. When Minato looked through the camera, he saw a young woman standing there. “Hello?” he answered.

“Mii-chan, it’s me. It’s been a while.”

“Oh! I’m opening the door now.”

When Minato opened the door, the woman suddenly hugged him.

She was in her twenties. She was gorgeous and bewitching, but also cute—she was a superb beauty who made one feel that gap. She was dressed in a stylish outfit, and her straggling hairs fell gently.

The beautiful woman exclaimed in joy.

“Mii-chan, you smell as good as ever! Is it rosemary? It’s different from a vegetarian’s scent. The fact that you smell like this and don’t use antiperspirants or perfume is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Can’t you do something about that quirk of yours?”

“I feel so refreshed when I smell your scent, Mii-chan. ‘Mina-huffing’ is way better than cat huffing!”

Minato grimaced, looking fed up. Since he knew that the other person only looked slender in clothing and was actually a Jeet Kune Do master, Minato didn’t disobey her and stayed still. It was a martial art where the opponent was defeated within six seconds. He wouldn’t be able to stand a chance if he was hit in a vital spot.

“I’m studying right now.”

“Oh, that’s right. I came here for something else. Let me just come in for a minute.”

The woman left Minato and went into the living room without hesitation. She opened the door with a bang.

“Who’s that?” Just when Kaito muttered in his mind, Seiya shouted, “Onii-chan!”

Kaito let out a splutter.

Rather than the fact that the person who he thought was a woman was actually Seiya’s brother, he was more shocked by the fact that Seiya calling him “Onii-chan.” Seiya’s brother completely ignored the dumbfounded Kazemai High School kyudo club members and made a beeline for Seiya.

“Seiya, you completely ignored your phone even when I called you. I came back home after all this time, so keep me company for a little bit at least.”

“Why are you coming in all the way here, Onii-chan? You’re as restless as ever.”

“Can’t you be a little more affectionate towards your beloved brother? Something like, it’s been so long, I missed you, Nii-san!”

Seiya made no comment. His eyes were glassy.

“Ugh, you’re such a prickly kid. Everyone, sorry for interrupting your studying. Nice to meet you, I’m Seiya’s older brother, Takehaya Gaku. I do the branding for ‘Hanayoi,’ which promotes Japanese style merchandise. You over there, that frog pencil was also one of the things I had a hand in.”

“Whoa!” Nanao said. “I know Hanayoi. You did a collab with Yumihiki Douji recently.”

“You watched it? I’m so happy to hear that.”

Gaku sat down in front of the table.

“I’d feel bad about staying here for too long, so I’ll just tell you why I’m here. Everyone here should also listen. I chose the path I liked, so Dad wants Seiya to inherit the hospital. He says he wants Seiya to start preparing for that soon.”

“You’re talking about that again? And this isn’t something you talk about in front of everyone, you know? Onii-chan, you do what you want, and yet you expect to me to obey you.”

“Mom and Dad always respect our wishes. But in their hearts, they think that you’re suited to becoming a doctor. This is the countryside, so doctors are absolutely needed. They want you to contribute your service to the community. They won’t back down until you say yes.”

“There’s no point in using martial arts on me. I know your weak spots. It’ll be no trouble for me to defeat you.”

“Ugh, Seiya, how invincible are you? Well, it doesn’t matter. I plan on staying here for two or three days longer anyway.”

Gaku stood up, then stared at Nanao, who had been listening with his chin in his hands.

“…Magnificent. You’ve caught my eye since the moment I entered this room, but you’re so beautiful. How would you like to become our new brand image character?”

Gaku’s eyes roamed over Nanao’s figure, then he raised his hand and inhaled the scent deeply. Gaku’s sense of smell was unusually developed, and he was an eccentric who judged people based on their body odor. It was said that only one in five people could sniff out asparagus smell, which was the smell of urine after eating asparagus. He was one of them, and he was also a perfumer.

“Mm, mm, what a pleasant scent. It’s sweet, heartrending, and strong—. You fit the image perfectly. You’re the very picture of the crowned Frog Prince.”

“Hold on a minute, I can’t see what you’re talking about.”

“There is no one better suited for this role than you. This is a big project that will be expanded overseas. Don’t you think it’s a great opportunity?”

“No, no, no, the more skillfully someone speaks, the more I’m on guard.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. Please give me a reply in three days.”

After only saying what he wanted to say, Gaku left. In the calm after the storm, the five boys remained silent.

Ryouhei moved to break the silence.

“I was so surprised to see Seiya’s brother. He got even prettier than I remember. What will happen if Nanao takes on that job?”

“I’ll be okay, but it might be tough for Nanao to balance his thing with kyudo,” Seiya said.

“Huh!? Can’t you wait for a moment? Then I’m against it. You agree with me, right, Minato?”

“…I will respect the two’s wishes.”

“Huuuh!? Kaito-kun, you of course are also against it, right?”

“I dunno. It’s up to Seiya and Nanao.”

“What? Why aren’t you stopping them? Don’t you all want to stand on the same stage together again? We can only be high school second-years once! Well, you can be held back a year, though!”

Seiya opened the reference book on the table.

“Sorry, guys. My brother’s always like that. He throws everyone around him into confusion and immediately leaves. Nanao, you should think about it carefully before responding to him.”

With complicated feelings, the five boys faced the table again.

After the study session finished and everyone left, Nanao went to Kaito’s house.

He took two teacups in the kitchen and poured black tea, milk, and sugar into them. His brain needed sugar to work. He put the cups on a tray and went to Kaito’s room on the second floor.

“Hi, Kacchan. Today, I’m specially making this tea for you. Be thankful.”

“Yeah, yeah, Frog Prince.”

Nanao put the teacup on his desk and sat down on the bed. He flicked the frog-shaped clock by his side with his finger. The second hand was moving as usual.

“Kacchan, what do you really think about what Gaku-san talked about earlier?”

“I already said that I don’t know.”

“You didn’t put a stop to it this time.”

“Hah? Did something like that happen? If I say anything, your judgment might be affected, so I kept quiet.”

“You could have at least given your cousin some advice. What a useless man.”

“Shut up. Neither you or Seiya are little kids anymore. It’s the truth that by the summer vacation of your second year in high school, you have to decide on your career path to some extent.”

“That’s so early. I feel I only just entered high school.”

Seiya was also faced with the dilemma of choosing his career. Kaito was probably feeling nervous on the inside. Even Minato should be wondering whether he should encourage or discourage him.

Kaito got his phone out and started playing a game. Lately, he had been absorbed in a city building game. He had built a kyudojo, a library, and a concert venue just for Japanese rock. Once, he had cried tears of gratitude when the avatars of the bands he liked in the real world performed there.

Lucy the cat rubbed against Kaito’s back and showed her belly. Kaito petted Lucy without looking away from his game, and Lucy kicked him as though to tell him to look at her.

Nanao remembered when he and Kaito visited Tokyo together in middle school.

Kaito had let out a big yawn.

“Ah, this is such a pain. I only care about kyudojos and kyudo stores. Are there any nearby?”

“Don’t say that, Kacchan. Let’s take the classic course first.”

He stuffed his mouth with crepes and peered into a store where everyone was lined up. At the storefront where accessories were arranged next to each other, he could see a man giving out rings as a gift.

It was fun to walk around the city. The place where they lived was surrounded by mountains, but this place was full of man-made object and people. It was a stimulating and lively space.

A little further away, there was a man running through the crowd.

“Why is that guy running?”

“Who knows, maybe he forgot something.”

As they were talking, the man quickly approached them and handed him his business card. The name of an agency was printed on the front, and the names of the talents affiliated with the agency were printed on the back.

Talent scouts really did exist. He thought it was an urban legend.

Kaito’s eyes flashed in their usual way. From his point of view, the person approaching Nanao was nothing but a suspicious person who deserved to be guarded against.

“Sorry, we’re in a hurry,” they declined and started walking away.

As they continued on their way, eating snacks, someone called out to them again. Nanao didn’t know if it was a scout or someone trying to pick him up, but he completely ignored them. However, some people were persistent and would stubbornly keep talking to him. Thanks to that, they walked faster and faster.

“Hey, hey, you over there. You’re a shining diamond in the rough. Could please just listen to what I have to say?”

“If you put it like that, I might be a little interested.”

“Tell the kid next to you to consider it too. I really think he’s got what it takes. Getting famous with videos is fine and all, but I recommend that you join an agency that can manage you properly.”

“No, thank you,” Kaito answered.

“Why don’t you join with him, then? I think a combination of two different types is also a good idea.”

“…”

“You might have to pay for the lessons, but we also have plans that are better than other agencies.”

“Shut up! This guy won’t leave our hometown!” Kaito shouted and grabbed Nanao’s hand, then started running.

Masquerade.

This was a city where you could meet a different version of yourself.

A doll-like girl spinning on a music box and a man holding a fake sword studded with sequins. Were the woodwind instruments being played foreign? Many boats floated on the meandering river, and the two went against the current. Was this really reality? His feet felt unsteady.

“Let’s leave this place quickly. There’s too many people and we’ll keep getting bothered.”

“You’re right.”

The sounds of people bustling about was comfortable.

Kacchan said that there were too many people here, but everyone was nose-deep in their phones and no one’s looking around. No one’s paying attention to us. No one knows who we are.

I will protect Kacchan. In this city, he’s the only who knows me, and I’m the only one who knows him.

I will never forget Kacchan gripping my hand.

It seems like he forgot about it, though.

That’s fine. This is a memory that only I remember.

“Kacchan, I wanna eat chips. Go and buy some.”

“What, go buy it yourself. I think we have some downstairs.”

“Can I eat them?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

When Nanao got up, Lucy let out a small meow.

After the study session, Seiya and Minato watched Ryouhei leave until they could no longer see him.

“Minato, I’m going to go shampoo Kuma. Wanna come?” Seiya said.

“Of course!”

Minato went to Seiya’s house. He rolled up his sleeves, took off his socks, and Kuma, who realized what was going to happen, ran around excitedly. When Kuma was still a puppy, just getting him to soak his paws in the bathtub full of hot water was a difficult task, but now it was one of his favorite times. They wetted his fur in the shower and lathered up the dog shampoo.

“Kuma, doesn’t that feel good? Do you feel itchy anywhere?”

Kuma tilted his head left as though to say, “Here,” so they focused on that area. As they were rinsing off the later with the shower, Kuma shook his whole body.

“Kuma, don’t shake!”

“Kuma seems to be in high spirits,” Seiya said.

While they were shampooing Kuma, they saw a gecko on the windowpane of the bath. It had a light pink belly and the base of its tail was heart-shaped. The edges of its five tiny fingers were transparent and beautiful. It didn’t so much as twitch even when Minato touched it through the glass. He once saw one in his own house, and he had captured it and let it go outside. The gecko was still clinging to the window even after they finished shampooing Kuma.

Seiya’s brows lowered when he saw Kuma leaning against Minato as he wiped his wet body.

 “Kuma, you sure are making a nice face. Even though I’m your master.”

“Kuma likes people.”

The two and Kuma went out for a walk. As they walked toward the red sun, the indigo sunset approached from behind. The first star of the evening shined in the evening sky, and it matched the speed of the two boys and dog. When they stopped, the star also stopped. The large yellow moon shined on the horizon.

On the roadside, bees gathered by the fleabanes, and butterflies gathered by the milk thistles. A loud chorus of frogs could be heard from the rice fields that had just been filled with water. There were also baby praying mantises in the purple thistles, shortawn foxtails, and ixeris flowers. Though their bodies were only one centimeter long, they were vibrating them like adults. They seemed to be imitating the appearance of swaying leaves, but it was said that only two percent of two hundred eggs could grow into adults. Minato sent thoughts of encouragement for everyone to survive safely.

Minato patted Kuma on the head.

“It seems that there is a family of wild rabbits living in Shuu’s garden. At first, when we saw each other, they would run away like rabbits do, but lately, they are the ones who have been approaching me.”

“With that house, I’m not surprised about anything that lives there.”

“To tell you the truth, I once asked your dad a question. I asked him, aren’t you worried about Seiya quitting Kirisaki? Is there anything I can do?”

“…No way, really?”

“He told me, ‘There’s nothing to worry about. Worrying would mean that I don’t believe in Seiya’s strength. Both Seiya and his brother are people who don’t see hardships as hardships and can blaze a trail forward.’”

“Dad said something like that? I didn’t know.”

“You have a great dad. He’s really cool.”

“Yeah, he is, thanks. My brother’s a weirdo, though.”

“Kuma’s cute too.”

“My brother isn’t cute, and I don’t listen to what he says.”

“Brothers, huh. I’m a bit jealous.”

Minato looked up at the sky. The full moon was changing from yellow to silver.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

“…Yeah, it really is. Minato, do you know the anecdote about Soseki Natsume?”

“The one where he had a habit of pulling out his nose hairs when he got writer’s block and line them up on his manuscript paper?”

“That’s what came to your mind? It’s the one where he said that when Japanese people convey their love, they don’t say ‘I love you,’ but use another way to express it.”

“Sorry, I don’t know that one.”

“You and Kaito really don’t waver, huh.”

“What will Nanao do? Kaito was clearly shaken.”

“The two of them are probably discussing things right now. It might be something that’s hard to talk about in front of us.”

“You’re right. Oh, I saw two dormice in that tree hollow ahead. You wanna go see them?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The two boys and dog went to the woods. When they went into the woods, Kuma took the vanguard position, probably with the determination to protect his masters.

When the wind shook the leaves, white-tailed skimmers spread their wings.

The wind blew through the blue yamichi of Kazemai High School’s kyudojo.

After the prefectural tournament qualifiers, the club members headed toward the targets as they pleased. Not thinking about unnecessary things and simply releasing arrows with all your strength was also a pleasant feeling. They surrendered themselves and rode the updraft.

When they generally finished shooting their arrows, the signal to gather was given.

“Today, we’ll be having a special class today. Let’s warm up before inviting our speaker. First question, what day is September tenth?”

Ryouhei immediately raised his hand.

“It’s Kyudo Day!”

“Correct. Now, the second question. Does anyone what day is August tenth, a month before that?”

“Yep, yep, it’s Masa-san’s birthday!”

Kaito turned to Minato and grinned triumphantly. Masa-san smiled in embarrassment.

Tommy-sensei continued. “Third question. What day is September first?”

“The questions suddenly got harder. Seiya, do you know?” Minato said.

“Hmm, is it famous?”

“Oh? Takehaya-kun not knowing something is surprising. Let’s get into the main topic. Self-possession is necessary for kyudo. Learn the best techniques to stay calm in any situation. That’s right, it’s all about words, it’s about how you perceive events positively through words. Here comes the specialists. Come on, everybody!”

The ones who appeared at Tommy-sensei’s signal were two elderly men. Question marks popped up over everyone’s heads.

“These two are acquaintances of mine. They are alumni of the ‘Kazemai High School Bad Puns Association.’”

Seiya’s glasses flashed. Kaito had a bad feeling.

The class began.

“Bad puns are things that have ‘creativity and impact,’ and enriches communication between people. We take advantage of the infinite ‘attraction’ of puns, and our wish that bad puns will bring color and richness to life and delivers salvation to the world is embedded in September first.”*

“…I can already sense that this is going to be a disaster.”

Kaito was in agony, but Seiya straightened up even more and listened attentively.

“A barrage of dad jokes that follow up on each other. This is indeed ‘jab-jab’ humor, Kacchan.”*

“Na-na-o, not you too!”

As the cousins’ comedy routine unfolded, practical training began. First, they were asked to tell the bad puns they already knew.

Keyaki went first. “The principal’s in good form!”*

Kanbayashi went second. “The dog’s so nervous that it’s wetting itself.”*

Himuro went third. “Suki kuu mushi mo tadetade.”*

Everyone’s eyes widened at the fact that Himuro spoke, but only Seiya sighed by himself.

“It’s no good, first-years. You can’t just say such excellent bad puns.”

Keyaki shrank back.

“What exactly is an excellent bad pun…? It’s too difficult for amateurs. I feel like successfully pulling off a bad pun is more difficult than the path of the bow for me.”

“First, we must learn the classics. I’ll give you some examples. ‘6:30 is the best time on a clock, hands down.’ ‘Thanks for being so grape!’ ‘Camping: like many of the best things in life, it’s tree.’”*

The two teachers applauded.

“Wonderful! As expected of the club president, you have a very good understanding of this. Oh, you over there, you say a pun too.”

“Me too?” Masa-san said.

“Of course. To us, you’re also a Kazemai kid, Coach Takigawa.”

“Then if I may be so presumptuous, I will contribute one pun. ‘My back is kaino at kai.’”*

Seiya inadvertently laughed, but then made his face serious in an effort to hide that he laughed.

“Recreation is a form of communication and relaxation that’s also used in free schools, and it is also a way to train people to think in a way that softens their stiffened heads. Now, we pros will show you how it’s done.”

“What kind of sport is kyudo? The kind of sport that makes your chest squeeze tightly and impresses the people around.” “If you draw a bow in Yamagata, your arrows will bend.” “Ah, I hit the inside of the curtain.” “Hakama wa hakanma.” “What are yuu going to the kyudojo for?” “I get angry when I don’t do the uchiokoshi well.” “When I do uchiokoshi, you go to the front.” “Let’s have a third party look at our daisan.” “Ya o hanatsu to yugaeru kero.” “Zan, shin!!”*

Kaito quickly stood up.

“They’re cold, they’re too cold! Are we in Siberia or Alaska or something!?”

Unable to endure it any longer, he left.

Tommy-sensei chuckled. “…Good reaction, Onogi-kun.”

Before they went home, they received a large amount of broad beans from the teachers, who had grown them in their home gardens.

“Hey, hey, what are you going to do about Seiya’s brother, Gaku-san’s offer?” Ryouhei asked Nanao.

“Oh, I think I’m going to turn him down on that day.”

Kaito’s face relaxed.

“You’re giving your answer too early. You might regret it later that you should have accepted it.”

“I won’t regret it, and even if I do in the future, so be it. I’ll consider it again at that time. The current me has decided not to do it. My dream has already been fulfilled. I wanted to become a normal high school student.”

“A normal high school student?”

“Don’t you think it’s amazing? Frogs and birds risk their lives to get food every day, but we normally eat our lunches in our classrooms, normally make side trips on our way home from school, and normally groan about bad test scores.”

“Is Nanao really a high school boy? You have a pretty philosophical view of things,” Seiya murmured.*

The second-year girl, Hanazawa, writhed in agony. “Takehaya-kun, don’t just smoothly insert an old man joke here.”

“The only old man we need is Takigawa=san,” Shiragiku said.

“Putting aside the fact that our club has a high concentration of old men, I don’t know how a guy with a fan club could be called normal,” Seo continued.

“That isn’t something I wanted, but I’ll properly fulfill the role given to me. I don’t want to disappoint the girls who love me.”

“Wow, you’re like a real prince.”

When Ryouhei looked at him with eyes full of respect, Nanao gently lowered his eyes. If the fan club girls were here, they might have fainted on the spot.

When he opened his eyes, a strong gaze appeared there.

“I want to become a carpenter. I want to start with design. Kacchan, let me build your house.”

Kaito’s eyes widened.

“This is the first time I’m hearing of it.”

“Of course it is. Because it’s the first time I told someone. Before I came here, I asked the teacher to let me switch from the humanities to the sciences.”

“That was fast! I didn’t know you could change it.”

“First, I want to build a round wooden frog house in a green forest. The eyes will be the windows, where you can see the starry sky through them at night. The Summer Triangle of summer and Orion of winter. It’ll be amazing to gaze at them while lying down on the floor with everyone. Right now, I’m researching the costs.”

“You’re really moving too fast. Where are us students gonna get that money from?”

“It’s not about whether you can or can’t do it, it’s about envisioning it first. I don’t think it’s that difficult.”

The first-years applauded.

“As expected of Kisaragi-senpai’s super positive thinking. He has a dream!” Kanbayashi said.

“I will try thinking about what I really want to do,” Keyaki said.

“I want to continue doing kyudo even after I graduate. Have you decided on what you’re going to do, Narumiya-senpai? Are you going to go to a university with a strong kyudo club?”

Minato looked indifferent.

“All I thought was that I should probably go to university. On the career preference questionnaire, I thought about my family finances and wrote down the names of several universities I was interested in, including a local public university, a department where I could study Japanese culture, a university with a Shinto course, and an agriculture department.”

Seiya pinched the corner of his eyes. “Our teacher is probably very confused, thinking that Narumiya-kun is supposed to be in the sciences.”

“I’m interested in what Shinto priests do, but I don’t know if I want to do it as a job… To be honest, I’m at a loss.”

Tommy-sensei, who had been silently listening to them, laughed out loud. Masa-san was also next to him.

“Ah, the worries of vibrant youth. Try talking to yourself, not others. It might be a good idea to try drawing a mandala chart. By the way, the goals I set when I was fifty were to walk eight-thousand steps every day, learn the names of flowers and plants, and take pictures of clouds. Please look at my work.”

Tommy-sensei showed them pictures of clouds in the shape of soft-served ice cream, candy, and dried squid. He told them that they weren’t edited images, but actually floating in the sky.

Ryouhei’s eyes sparkled.

“What’s that, it looks tasty!”

“Ho ho, there’s Pucky here too. And even a Koala’s Dash.”*

“Whoa, I wanna try searching too! Nee-chan, Shuu-kun, and Sae-chan would definitely love it if I show this to them.”

It seemed that Tommy-sensei taught them a simple game once again. Minato thought that the people who could laugh at bad puns and were curious no matter how old they were might be the masters of life.

When Seiya returned home, he told his parents this.

“I’m going to be a doctor. But right now, kyudo is my top priority, so I might become a ronin.* Mom, Dad, will you still support me?”

“Yes, of course we will.”

“Do your best, Seiya-kun.”

Previous | Next

[absolutebl]

hi! i graduated from film school this year & i've been reading thru ur blog for weeks now. u've talked abt cinematography before & it's a subject i'd love to hear more of ur thoughts abt. which shows do u believe use cinematic storytelling (framing, staging, symbolic parallels, lighting, color coding) to their advantage the most? shows which benefit from a rewatch/slower watch in order to notice visual details & which can be analyzed in terms of visual language. which would be ur top picks? ty!!

OOO, what a good question.

10 Best Uses of Cinematic Storytelling in BL 

Okay, I should say up front that this is not BL's strength.

Second, I work tangential to ET but my degrees are not in film studies. So, much of what I know has been gleaned from coworkers and just floating constantly in and out of the industry, I may not always use the right terms. 

The post where I get the most weedy about filming technique is actually the one where I talk about different directors in BL (their styles, camera preferences and camera angle choices, that kind of thing). 

BL Directors - Overview

Finally, for each pick, I’m going to talk first about what I liked about the story, and then how the filming technique is used to serve that. 

1. Restart After Come Back Home AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth your patience. Full review here.

This was the first BL that came to mind when asked this question. This movie highlights Japan’s sweeping atmospheric style (learned at the feet of Kurosawa) applied to a very simple little BL story about coming home. Like with HIs the move, the Japanese countryside itself is a major player and character, but unlike His this movie really makes use of its beauty as a metaphor for possibilities and acceptance. Some of the establishing shots are truly breathtaking. The use of color and shadow is also tailored without being brazen. The film uses it to contrast the the two leads, one of whom is closed off from his family and his home and, to a certain extent, life but open to love, and the other who is open to all sensation and the outside world, but closed off to love. How these two men are filmed, framed, and lit is interwoven with these traits - dependent on their internal emotional states and whether they are together or alone. Cold lighting, sometimes too direct, when they are feeling exposed or challenged, darker cool hues when they are internally reflective, warmer even angry reds and golds when they are coping with emotions around connection and intimacy with each other. And finally the closing shot of bright full day, revolving sparkles and lens flairs that’s implying a forthright acceptance and unity, not just of each other, but of themselves. 

It is, simply put, a really beautiful movie to just watch as a visual piece of art, we are so lucky it also happens to be BL. 

2. I Want to See Only You AKA Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai

This is a beautiful piece of cinema well acted, about two boys who are opposite personalities and grew up together. It is very pretty and this is the kind of atmospheric elegantly performed BL that only really comes from Japan (complete with dead fish kisses - what you thought Korea invented them? oh no). I felt like I was “supposed to like it” more than I did. Ultimately I was left feeling as if I had seen it all before. So for me this was lovely but slightly unmemorable. 

Another show that is VERY similar is His the series (I Didn't Think I Would Fall In Love AKA His - Koisuru Tsumori Nante Nakatta). Only it has a beach setting. 

I mention these two in this post and at this juncture, because they are very stylistically Japanese but lack intentionality to their filming. So they feel workmanlike in a way that I often accuse Thai BL of.. It’s almost as if in coming from Japan they can’t NOT be pretty about it. Like good filming technique is so expected, it’s part of the DNA. In actually, both these stories might have been served better if the filming were more gritty and raw, sticky, like BLs from Taiwan or the Philippines, but Japan (like Korea) doesn’t do that. 

3. Seven Days

Never doubt my ability to recommend this show. One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes (rare in Japanese BL). The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some cute mutual kisses.

Seven Days pretty much used the original manga as a storyboard with just a few exceptions. And yet because it takes itself and it’s characters seriously (this in not a slapstick JBL) it’s softer and less cartoony than most Japanese live action yaoi. The color pallet is muted, and staging and farming is almsot too simplistic but somehow smooth and organic, rather than choppy or stilted. It looks genuine, not fantastical (see Korea coming up). The cuts are gentle with us, it never feels hurried or rushed, even though this is not a very long piece. It’s classy without being in your face about it.

This is spot on cinematography entirely subsumed by a story. It’s point (if ti can be said to have one) is that it doesn’t have a point of view, and therefore the story just shines. Never once will you feel thrown out by a perfect shot, and yet, every shot is perfect. This is cinema FOR story. This director trusted the script and the actors implicitly and did not feel the need to do anything fancy, which is, in and of itself, remarkable. This is like a perfectly executed piece of sushi. It doesn’t need anything, no sauce, no seasoning. The filming itself relishes its own simplistically.   

I actually picked these first 3 BLs intentionally, and all from Japan. Because I feel like they kind of show the range of Japanese cinema has when it is being subtle. By which I mean less derivative of manga and owing much less slapstick. (See something like My Love Mix Up.) 

So now let’s move into the relm of manga filming styles. 

4. Minato’s Laundromat AKA Minato Shouji Koin Randorii 

As of writing this post this show hasn’t ended yet, so not review, you can read my watch along here. But I am still picking it on the basis of the way they use doorways and transitional spaces to represent where the characters are in their different life stages and emotional development (and how they flipped that at the end). 

Also this BL is cribbed directly from the manga, shot for shot in places.

This show is an exploration of how maturity is defined under the contest of an age gap romance, roles in society, and liminality - crossing the threshold form child to adult, from fear of love to acceptance, from immaturity to maturity. The series uses characters in doorway, reaching through them, crossing them, and notions of inside spaces versus outside spaces to represent this. I talk about it a lot in my watch along so I won’t rehash here but it is actually BRILLIANT. 

5. Old Fashion Cupcake

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (who is ten years older and going through a midlife crisis) who decides to save and seduce said boss with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful. Full review here.

The filming style is very much Japan’s close camera work, super tunneled into spaces, confined and almost, but not quite, claustrophobic. It’s using that to highlight how trapped by inertia Nozue feels, and how trapped by his feelings Togawa feels. Nozue in particular is filmed at home hidden, hiding, in the dark, shadowed, and withdrawn - as tidy as his place is, it (and how he occupies it) is an extension of his loneliness and self isolation. 

The cinematographer is using that in contrast to the moments of pull back and central framing when the couple is shown sitting and eating together, usually brightly lit, showing them both opening up to each other and, in Nozue’s case, to sensation. 

The very final shot of the series, with the big cheerful window, and Togawa feeding Nozue across the table is a representation of how freed they both are by their acceptance of each other. 

Not to mention the way the food is shot in this show, and how food and openness to new sensation are used (and filmed) as an allegory for sexual awakening (lust in terms of indulgence - I will never get over those hamster cheeks) and consequently (ultimately) fulfillment. 

More on Japan’s cinematic style here. 

6. Cherry Blossoms After Winter 

Korea took on early Japanese sweet yaoi but gave it their signature softness and precise production style with a STUNNING color palette (beautiful pastels and sun-saturated over-exposure), manga framing style, some traditional BL character archetypes, that tiny edge of bullying roughness and out-of-control seme, plus FINALLY a palatable take on the stepbrothers trope and it was, in a word, classic. Sophisticated and understated CBAW is not slow, it’s just subtle. 

This show is dream-like, as if the whole thing took place under cold water on a warm spring day, dappled sunlight slanting through trees above. Is there plot or peril? Not really. Do we care? Also, not really. Look, I can’t help it, I’m old school and so is this show. I grew up reading sweet yaoi, and this was THAT YAOI just on my screen. There’s no objectivity with me and CBAW. It’s a beautiful pastiche and I loved it for how it made me feel and what it reminded me of. It’s not flawless, but it is a wonderful experience. It’s like a Maxfield Parrish BL. Is the filming style serving story, I’m not sure, but it is serving nostalgia. 

7. Color Rush

A unique paranormal twist elevates this classic high school drama into a pitch-perfect allegory for the queer coming out experience and one of the best BLs of all time (I will fight you on this). 

It’s no accident that I chose so much Color Rush for my screen caps in the post on yaoi framing styles. It is SUCH a manga (yes I know, it’s Korean). The cuts from one shot to the next could actually just have stepped off the page. If  Wes Anderson did BL it’s be something like this. 

Of course the use of color is just phenomenal - the range of hoodies, and the different backgrounds. The marriage of simplistic wardrobe with simplistic setting is about precision not the mundane. How Yoo Han is using color to seduce AT ALL TIMES is intentional brutal as we are never to forget the threat this entails (our POV and this movie’s is entirely Yeon Woo). Color is the vehicle and the predator, the danger and the light, it is sexual awakening, it is being gay, it is embracing the monster within - right up to and including the color rush itself as something essentially orgasmic. I can tell you, purely on the basis of the fact that the manwha was in black and white, that this BL must be better that its source because it had color to use in its storytelling. Because it had color to play with. If that’s not the visual voice of cinematography telling me a tall tale, I don’t know what is. 

I will never get over this show. 

8. Semantic Error 

Korea hit it entirely out of the Parks with Semantic Error by doing a university set BL featuring everything we expect from BL just done exactly right. It has Korea's signature quality executed perfectly, and added bonus good story, great pacing, stunning visuals, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL. And the film team was part of this. 

Frankly I would have used screen caps from Semantic Error as much as Color Rush in that post on yaoi framing techniques, but I wrote that post too long ago. This BL owes more to its Japanese roots than any other Korean BL I’ve seen: story, characters, and filming style. That image above with the backlit windows and the empty classroom? Could have popped out of Takumi or Boys Love (would have been more blue toned though), not just classic BL but the beginning of BL. 

This is another KBL one where the use of color, particularly contrast, is incredibly strong. In this one cool vs warm tones are tools for characterization. (Usually they are used for mood, but not really in this show.) JaeYoung is usually wearing warm tones or shot in warm lighting and with warm backgrounds (reds, oranges, yellows), except when he enters SangWoo’s space. SangWoo is the opposite, almost always in cool tones and lighting (greens, blues, purples). So we get this fire and ice contrast between the two of them, with the lighting playing up who is “winning” the argument or the intimacy levels by being either warm or cool (or transitioning between them in the course of the shot). When JaeYoung manages to crumble SangWoo’s defensives, it gets warmer, when SangWoo is in charge of the narrative drive, it gets cooler. It’s very clever. 

I think Korea is particularly good that this tonal character association and mood enhancement because they use it in high concept Kpop MVs all the time. 

9. Cutie Pie

Very high production and a lot of visual references to yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and sappy and driven by miscommunication. Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. 

But if it has so little story for the cinematography to support, why did I pick it? 

I like the setting chosen (it’s no accent this is top of my list of best Architecture in BL) but I also love the clean filming style, it’s very very manga for Thailand. Cheewin does this well sometimes (see alos SCOY). Not really the best BL by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something candy bright about this one that really harkens to reading yaoi, and Thailand just doesn't do that very often. This is why I chose it. 

Wardrobe, setting, and color choices are all used to really highlight the differences between the characters in terms of age and life stage. Also Zee has really learned how to push his physicality since Why Ru U? so that his body positioning in particular just looks EXACTLY like the seme of some 2000s yaoi. 

10. Until We Meet Again 

UWMA is a work of narrative genius, and all the actors all turn in stellar performances, it is the best Thai BL from a storytelling perspective. It’s two interwoven narratives, present and past, of lovers who have been reincarnated in order to find each other again and forgive each other (and their families) for that past. 

But this is a strange one to chose for this list, since the cinematography is workmanlike at best. There’s repeat cuts and other annoying tics, and general hallmarks of New’s style as a director (which is, quite frankly not particularly stylish). BUT, one of the fun things to watch for in this BL is how New contrasts central framing with peekaboo (AKA dirty) framing with regards to the two lead couples. 

Korn & In, the past selves, are secretive, scared, and hiding everything. They are usually filmed with things dirtying the screen: walls, and other objects, so we get this voyeuristic feeling of always peeking around a corner at them, and seeing something we shouldn’t. The few times we see their intimacy fully framed it’s at night, staggered, and/or off center. This illustrates not just the secrecy but the instability of the relationship. 

Dean & Pharm, the present selves, the camera treats as a representation, in part, of Dean having learned from his past not to hide who he loves. They are often filmed full figure, and centrally framed, full lighting, bold and direct, standing upright, holding hands, or kissing. 

In other words, New is using framing techniques to highlight in a way the couples “outness,” the state of their relationship, is related to the outside world and also how they feel about it and themselves.

And there they are, my 10 picks. 

Honorable Mention: Light on Me 

The filming in this show was precision engineered. The frame was kept uncluttered, characters appeared exactly in the center, there was little visual noise, and the lighting was full on, even in night shots. To me this reflected the character of TaeKyung - honest and almost stilted in his mannerisms. I feel like the director filmed this series as if the show itself were TaeKyung: careful and clear and specific.

This may come off as one-note or simplistic to a casual viewer but it’s actually quite difficult to film something so precisely and still make it interesting to watch. It forced the viewer to focus almost entirely on the actor’s faces, their nuanced emotion, and their interpersonal relationships to the exclusion of all else. Lucky for us those actors served the lens beautifully.

There is literally NOTHING distracting about this directing style. It’s like the camera was a neutral white room, a well-lit gallery in which the narrative hung suspended for us all to stand and stare at in hushed silence.

I mention not so much because it serves up story, because it doesn’t, but because it is the opposite, it allows the story to serve itself. 

All my stuff on the BL filming side of things: 

Yaoi filming, staging & framing techniques 

Favorite Uses of Metonymy In BL 

BL Directors - Overview

Lighting

Diffuse point lighting

Backlighting & Silhouettes 

Unidirectional focused lighting 

Spotlight on romantic couple moments 

That lens flare moment 

Framing

Staggered couple framing

Linear cinematography + near perfect framing, in distance shots 

Central Aperture Framing 

Peekaboo Framing 

Acting

Favorite Subtle Character Attributes 

Ohm’s Acting 

Gun's Acting

We Best Love: Seme/Uke & Sam Lin’s Acting Screen Presence (Charisma + Experience)

Saint’s Physicality  

OffGun & The Evolution of Chemistry for a BL Pair 

Why Nanon Korapat's Acting is FANTASTIC 

Meta Post - All My Stuff on the BL Industry - Master Post talking about financing & production: This is a complication by request of all the posts and discussions this blog has hand on the BL industry as an industry, includes studios, production, country analysis, actor and fan behavior 

(source) 

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

It’s cool to see someone in the Japanese fandom on Tumblr talking to English speakers, and your English is really good! I’ve been studying Japanese for about eight years now and even made friends over there, and my reason for learning originated with Danganronpa, yet the western and JP fandoms are so disconnected so it’s cool you’ve made an effort to reach out!

Yay, thank you very much for your kind words! 😊

To tell the truth, I still can't let go of translation and grammar correction tools when writing English, and I often consult ChatGPT to find appropriate expressions. Still, I always worry if my English is okay, so I'm glad to hear that my English is really good from your point of view!

It's amazing that you have been studying Japanese for such a long time! :D After I started Tumblr, I realized that I can study harder if it's for something I love. (For example, to read Danganronpa fanfics written in English! 😄) Also, I think it is really important to have friends who speak the language you are studying. I tend to put off studying until later, but if I get a message from a friend, I want to respond to it immediately. So I can use English much more continuously than if I decide to study for that many minutes a day.

I first played Danganronpa in the summer of 2012 (about 2 weeks before SDR2 was released), and at that time I really had no idea that this game would be so popular among overseas people, because there are obviously many parodies of Japanese games, manga and anime, etc., and I thought it would be impossible to translate them properly, and even if they did, I thought it would not be fun for non-Japanese. I am sure that there are people like you who have been supporting the Danganronpa series for a long time, and that is why the fandom is so lively today.

Again, thank you for your message! Feel free to talk to me anytime whether via ask or comment. (Actually, I need to improve my English skills for my job, so it's nice to have someone who can talk to me in English 😉)

[kpchrs]

15 questions for 15 friends

Thanks @burntblueberrywaffles and @realmermaid333 for tagging me weeks ago.

Are you named after anyone?

Nope.

When was the last time you cried?

Uhhh... Whatever days ago, I think, over a fanfiction HAHAHA

Do you have kids?

Nope. I don't know if I want to or not. I definitely wanna nurture one tho, and they don't necessarily have to be my own, if that makes sense.

What sports do you play/have you played?

I don't like sports, but I like badminton because it's a childhood game.

Do you use sarcasm?

Less than I should. I don't know why.

What's the first thing you notice about people?

I'm very disinterested in strangers when I really don't wanna socialise, so I don't really look at people, but maybe the voice since I can never ignore that.

What's your eye colour?

Brown. I love the colour brown!

Scary movies or happy endings?

That's a weird 'this and that' cus it's pretty different, but happy endings of course. I like scary films but only for the thrill not the story, cus the story usually doesn't intrigue me that much.

Any talents?

Hate that word, "talent", because it's a confusing word. Do you mean talent as in the natural aptitude of a person? In that definition, I think I'm pretty talented. I was one of the high achievers because I have a natural aptitude for studying. I know how to study and I comprehend things better than other kids. I'm a fast learner. My intuition is great. I can retain information well. I analyse things well. I'm lazy and easy to get bored tho, and that's why I was one of the high achievers. Related to that I would put languages as my talents. I'm pretty natural with it; English, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean... I absorb them as I go naturally. I learn English by myself. I remember most of what I learned from random medias. But because I never apply them (except for English), I'm not fluent at all. My piano teacher said I had a musical talent, and I did win a few piano competitions, and I passed Grade 8 ABRSM, but that's SO mediocre in the classical music world, I don't really think it counts. I have not even practised for years. I actually think I'm more natural at singing, but I never received formal training. And I'm sure there are more. These are pretty "eh", ain't it, because it stops at that?

If you mean talent as in skills, then my biggest skill is literature and story-telling. It's also one of my few passions. I don't say "writing" because that's still hard to do (especially if it's in English, it's not my native language), but I do learn in my own time, I know lots about it, and I still wanna learn more. This also applies to English. What's more? I'm pretty good at cooking, I guess. I'm not a master chef, but I can cook you dishes, definitely. The only thing that prevents me from cooking more is my lack of money. This is a soft skill, but I would put "organising" too. I love organising and I'm natural at it.

For me, talents should pair with effort and practice. People should strive to have more skills if they have the means! Because of that, I much prefer asking people what are their passions and I kinda dislike complimenting people with "you are so talented!" because nah, they practise a lot behind the screen and you just never see it! ...Wait a minute, what am I doing, writing a self-development book? 💀 This is supposed to be a fun thing. Uhhh...sorry, I really dislike the word "talent" xD

Where were you born?

I don't like saying it on the internet lol

What are your hobbies?

Reading stories (currently it's fanfiction), listening to music, window shopping, watching films and shows, playing games, relaxing in cafes, and eating. This is just random, but the happiest moments I can remember were when I first watched TBOSAS in the cinema and when I infodump my friend LiS on Discord in a cafe. Those are like last year and I want to feel that again.

Do you have any pets?

Yes, I have a dog and she's a supermutt and she's a rascal and her name is Marie and she's the reason why my pain tolerance is great.

How tall are you?

158cm. I should have been a little bit taller, but I think because of scoliosis, nah lol

Favourite subject in school?

None. School subjects were pretty boring... Okay, maybe English. I also liked Modern History.

Dream job?

I'm not good with high-stress and high-paced jobs. I'd love to be a librarian, but libraries are not appreciated at all here. Or I'd love to be a game writer too, with teams and a writer room, as such. I don't really know how it works. Some kind of game developer, but not the programming. Or I'd love to help people, especially kids, in whatever way.

No pressure + random tagging: @mitsuki91, @weer02, @-- uhhhh you know what, I'm BEYOND lazy to tag 15 people. Tag whoever who wants to play this! Or these two people I already tagged can tag the people I could have tagged xD

[zabiume]

sorry if this is any way discouraging… not exactly the word im going … offending? jdjdjdjd I just wanted to say hearing when you say that a fic like the ichiishihime one it took a lot of time and how you wrote it slowly! like it was… very inspiring to see to me. because fjjfjf writing is v difficult and i always get frustrated when I write slow and i keep hitting blocks (honestly most of the time it’s not even blocks but more like it’s those fics that just a bit of marinating in between of working on it) but seeing how much your writing is so good and how much I really really love it. It making me more appreciate of writing slow, despite how much I want to get the end and get frustrated when there’s no progress for months or ahaha a year and more. it doesn’t feel like im alone in it and like — I love your writing so much and it makes me wonder, why can’t I love and take pride in my own too in all its slowness. as the craft of writing is like that sometimes

JDJDJJD I DO NOT IF I GOT THSI ACROSS WELL… but just! wanted to thank you! your writing inspires a lot in me with how you write bleach characters and everything. just! thank you 🥺💞

this was not offensive at ALL, don't worry! rather, i'm very touched you said this because if this is the message my writing process is sending then i am very, very happy about that!

i'm not sure if you can relate to this, specifically, but i think for a lot of working/studying people, we're very used to having deadlines and having to be "on" all the time that maybe some of it seeps into our attitude regarding our hobbies as well. i don't mean this in a kids-these-days way, but we are also in a culture of fast consumption lately with streaming and binging, where it seems unnatural to spend YEARS with a series — even though that was a pretty normal thing to do only a few years ago😅 the urgency of that kind of gives the impression that you have a limited window of time to stay "relevant" before people stop being interested in your work and move onto something else!

BUT. the thing about fandoms is that they are alive forever. even if everyone else has moved on, there's always going to be at least one rando on the internet writing fic and one japanese artist on twitter still dropping renaissance level masterpieces. which is all to say....the pressure to write fast is the devil talking and we must NEVER listen to it!!! there is no deadline and even if you feel like there is, there are going to be days where you have IRL commitments that keep you busy. and sometimes you might have an entire afternoon off but still be unable to come up with a single word. my creativity has always arrived in random streaks and if i'm free, i try my best to take advantage of it and put it all on a doc. if i'm not feeling creatively inspired, i don't write at all, i just do something else that i enjoy doing.

believe it or not, when i was writing A Combination of Factors, there were WEEKS where i only wrote 2-3 sentences a day. yeah, that's slow, but i still put it out eventually, right? the chadhime training scene in Therein Lies the Heart was actually something spinning in my head since 2019 (when i got back into the bleach fandom again) but i only managed to work it into a story earlier this year.

the reason i'm giving these examples is because sometimes it's good to sit on an idea for a while, even if the urge to share a good thing instantly is definitely understandable! more often than not, you'll get more good ideas you can add to the story and build it in a better, satisfying way. i know this from experience because there are a lot of stories that i was so excited to share that i jumped the gun and then later thought, "damn, i still had more left in me." not that i regret it because i go in, add it anyway and then update the author's notes in case any re-readers get confused by the extra content that definitely wasn't here last time :D my policy on that is: it's fanfic, who cares, i make the rules. it also helps to have more than one WIP so you can always have something else to work on if you feel like writing but this one particular story is giving you trouble.

anyway, i love the part where you mentioned taking pride in your own work because i think you definitely should! even if no one loves your fic but you, you still deserve to pat yourself on the back because ONE WHOLE PERSON enjoyed your story! the important thing, as i always say, is to be deeply involved and self-indulgent with it! 💖

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

Hi, How did you learn to draw/ paint? Have you been doing it for long? What sort of resources did you use? Apologies if this is too personal - Thank you for all of your work.

hey skaermf!

well: i:m turning 33 this year, so although i:m not super old i have a decent amount of "just ambiently trying to make art" experience from trying to do it off/on at various points in my life -- and i think that:s how most people are: from a young age (impersonal) you:re doodling and drawing; i don:t think i ever really made a conscious effort to improve or study till highschool, though, cause i really wanted to be better than my class,

--for that, i was in the /ic/ grindset for awhile and tried out their loomis stuff but couldn:t really make sense of measurements, or proportion, or "the idea of an object in space," (& i still struggle with all of this) so i gave up immediately and instead just took movie-stills and color-picked them in mspaint to recreate them as exactly as possible. miserable exercise, but it actually gave me a good crash-course in how to "see color" cause it taught me that skin often would be green or blue or purple or muddy whereas previous i:d just see it as "peachy tan skin color"; then i:d move on-to sketching out movie stills in oekaki bbs (over on /i/) and taking several hours (usually around 8) to recreate the scene as exact as i could manage by eye <- lots of really lifeless photorealistic color studies, basically; then i:d try to do charcoal studies of about the same stuff, copying old nudes and studies of other better artists;

and that was about it! i stopped really trying after highschool and worked on comix-esque projects imitating edgy pre-90s comix stuff usually from american and japanese artists (like copying nekojiru! monster man bureiko was a favorite though, mutant hanako too); but for the most part i stopped caring about improving or studying art, and really that attitude hasn:t much left me and why my art is (at best, i think) a very honed amateurish effort -- makes me think of the overgrown sperm;

but yeah, then just doing; early in twitter career i had my little oc (my avatar here) that i made daily drawings of; before that, i would try to draw the characters of all my DND friends back when i played; i did some youtube thumbnail commission work for a league player; and now: i mostly just try to do fanart of things i like and lots of drawings of my hands using my vertebrae method.

basically: i:m a horrible person to learn art from! i don:t put in the work to improve in the ways i:d like and really, art is like fighting-games in-that the best results come from doing a lot of rote practice-mode work that isn:t fun and often goes against your desire to do the more modes.

one thing, though, is i also think studying art history and classical painters and various movements is super useful for learning art, cause art is a language like any other, and it does you well to expand the breadth of your language, and to be able to quote poetry when needed.

take care, and remember: i still need advice on buying 40k kill team.

[enigma-absolute]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers :)

…This is gonna make a total of 15 but oh BOY

This was mentioned in a previous ask before but singing a whole cover of ‘Rainbow Connection’ I did with friends joining me on the last third of it. It makes it extra special and I want to post it on here, but I’d rather ask the friend who I’d made this for, with posting permissions first.

Honestly? My silly little neopixel lightsaber I’ve (unwisely, in my mother’s opinion) bought at a recent con. It lights up, it makes noises, I can change the blade colour bc of the light, it’s so far everything I’ve wanted in a cheeky laser sword prop.

On a related note, my silly little sword collection! A LARP foam sword, a wooden katana, and even a steel replica of Sting, also from that same con over a few years!

Fashion! Me from 10 years ago being on this hellsite for the first year would never believe it, but growing and defining my own sense of style and aesthetics over time has not only been fun, but I *feel* happier too. I know what I like and what I don’t, and I’m still learning!

The very fact that I was blessed to go to the uni I did. Sure, the culture is different there compared to of course, my old high school and bible college, but I loved what I studied (more rather than less!) and I’m still in touch with people I’m honoured to call friends. To think some of those cool people live near or in the same city as me!

Not to be simple, but, music! I’ve been getting back into some of my favourite songs and remixes from The Living Tombstone as one point, (Long Time Friends you angy catharsis tune), but also listening to playlists I’ve curated for OCs and Stories and even shared songs with me and my friends over on Spotify has been fun!

Travel!!!! I didn’t know how much I’ve missed travel until my Singapore trip earlier this year - I missed boarding planes, taking off and landing, I missed going out to places like malls and cafes and food and friends outside of my own country. I missed the new sights to see and the good vibes to encounter when you look in the right places. And having my first taste of independent sightseeing at the botanical gardens felt like something new was set in stone.

As of recent, RP has been somewhat active between me and a couple buddies on discord. To the Chrumblr RP gang and Star Wars discord RP server: I love you and I'm grateful you allow me to bring plorbo from my brain into Situations with the characters you play!!!

Painting!!! I haven't touched it in a bit since I've been busy with other things, but I adore, ADORE watercolour and gouache painting. It brings me joy to mix colours and use my palettes to bring characters and situations to life, and I even have a whole sketchbook from 2022-2023 dedicated to just paintings. Sketchy paintings, refined ones - the only goal was to PAINT.

The crochet sunflowers I bought last year! I've got a tiny potted one on my study's windowsill with a broken Miles Morales Spidey keychain, and a longer simpler one in a glass bottle in my bedroom. I really wanna get more crochet flowers, but they were from this one random stall that set itself up like, twice overall at uni last year. That being said, I adore them.

From the same con I got my lightsaber on, I got lucky to buy a print poster of A New Hope from Lucasfilms artist Mark Raats direct. I'm not kidding, and we even had a chat and I did a little 'handy-dandy-notebook' portrait of him in line, even getting to airdrop that to him! Best bit, the poster was $30 on INCREDIBLY archival paper. I just need to get a frame for it...

Just recently, I'd gotten a haircut for the dry ends and long, thick fringe; and can I say??? I love my hairdresser? She's a really sweet Japanese lady who came from just outside Osaka and she's out here in my city doing the best and she once cut my fringe to my standards SO quickly than other hairdressers - I was stunned! I'm deeply grateful to have her work on my hair, and I could not thank her enough.

This is a bit silly somewhat to me, but I love the brown messenger bag I'd bought for myself end of last year as a treat to myself for finishing honours. Did the side strap holders snap twice? Yes. Do I care? no. I love this thing, it feels so *right* for adventure and it brings me so much joy.

Something that makes me smile if I glance at it in my study is my shelf of books. Not sketchbooks, not notebooks that have been filled (though I am proud of that too!), just proper books. From comics to 'Tales from the Loop' and cabin architecture and treehouses, and recently a couple Star Wars visual dictionaries from Pablo Hidalgo... I'm gonna need more space soon. (Shoutout to the copy of Farenheit 451 that legit made me scream and kick my feet because BRADBURY.)

Honestly? Just… friends. Online, real life - if I think about you too hard, I’ll cry. I’m blessed to have met friends online In Real Life (looking at you Swift and uni mates!), and blessed to have mailed and wrote and created silly little things to share my love with ‘em. Good are the ones that stick with you. 💙 Get loved, nerds.

[fighting-and-drawing]

15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

Thank you, @the12thnightproject, for tagging me in this post. Always great to get to know mutuals a bit more. 1. Were you named after anyone?

Nah, fam. But, there were apparently “talks” of naming me after Zinedine Zidane. Cool name, but thankfully they chose something else.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Maybe a month ago after watching a Disney Movie. I forgot which one though but sometimes they hit hard when you least suspect it.

3. Do you have kids?

No.

4. Do you use sarcasm?

Sarcasm? Pfft. Never...nah...yes.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Their overall build, physique, and face. I’m not too good with names, but I am a faces person.

6. What’s your eye color?

Boring Brown.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy Endings, but I do enjoy a good scary movie or story.

8. Any special talents?

Yep. The “fighting” part of my username isn’t too far off. I practiced and still train in various different martial arts, including Shito-Ryu Karate, WT Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Japanese Jujutsu, Filipino Eskrima and Dirty Boxing, Judo, and, most notably, Capoeira. While I don’t train to fight in a ring or cage, I feel like I could put up a fight should I need to. 

9. Where were you born?

Approximately somewhere in North America. I’ll give you a hint—it’s not Canada.

10. What are your hobbies?

Other than training martial arts, I both draw and write. Am I any good at them? That’s for you and the audience to decide.

11. Have any pets?

Just a stubborn pup who once stole an entire stick of butter, buried it, returned to it, and ate it.

12. What sports do you/have played?

I played soccer when I was in Elementary school and played Percussion in Marching Band for 6 years. And then I started training martial arts I referred to in Question 8.

13. How tall are you?

Approximately one Riddle Rosehearts tall.

14. Favorite subject at school?

Microbiology, which is also coincidentally my major. Often we overlook the omnipresent microbes that can affect our daily lives. And, even when we study them, a majority of people are only fascinated by the extremely deadly stuff (typhoid, cholera, botulism, etc.) whereas our normal human microbiome can affect our way of living just as significantly.

15. Dream job?

No idea.

Okay, 15 tags for 15 mutuals...

As always said in previous posts from others, don’t feel pressured to answer these. That being said, feel free to tag yourselves in. I don’t have a lot of mutuals (and a few of mine already were tagged). 

Okay, let’s see...

@ikemen-writer @lovely-bubb1es @silvioscape @0-n-1-c-h-4-n 

....and about 11 more who wanna play. Thanks for reading.

[chaotic-nick]

Note: Filipino diaspora gallore, self indulgent, Getou is sort of based on me [racially ambiguous + raised up in a multicultural country], unedited (I typed this on my phone)

Not even twenty-four hours since I watched jjk and I'm already feeling inspired wow. I've been enabled by the equally chaotic @stigandr-the-cat to write this and check out @wynncrites version of Filipino AU! Getou

I love that my last post for the year will be something from one of my cultures!

Filipino! Getou is born to a Filipina mother who went to Japan for work, eventuallymeeting his Japanese Father. Being one of the Filipinos at the time his mother volunteered to help at the embassy when she became a stay at home wife/mom.

Because there were less Filipino speakers at the time, young Getou was dragged along to volunteer day at the embassy where Filipino workers who waited to go home would babysit him.

That's how he informally learnt Tagalog, and and a dialect used in the northern Philippines called Ilocano! Multilingual Getou let's go!

Getou and his mother visits extended family in Philippines with gifts from Japan. When he was a kid he would beg his mom to take him yo shopping trips where they'd buy presents or in Tagalog 'pasalubong'

However with time, and seeing how his relatives treated his poor mother and only loved them because of lapad he slowly starts hating his family. Or starts seeing the bad in all of them, even if he wanted to ignore it or try to count how many good things they've done, he can't help but see them like that.

[Lapad: Filipinos with relatives working in Japan use this to call Japanese Yen because when stacked together they look a mini wood plank]

No one is ever convinced when Getou says he's half Filipino when in the Philippines.

Speaks the language well, but because he doesn't look *filipino enough* people or his relatives invite themselves to speak shit in front of him.

Them: *noticing getou just there in the room* fo you think he understands Tagalog?

I dunno, go ask him

Hey you, you there. You speak Tagalog?

Getou: 'di masyado' not much

[This happens to many times and he's used to it by now]

His guilty pleasure? Eating with his hands and one foot propped up on the chair. The southeast asian pose as tiktok calls it.

One time he invited Satoru to study at his place and Getou's mom being happy that her son started bringing his friends home made sure that Satoru ate well.

Hwr intentions were well, but now Satoru always hovers over him when he opens his bento hoping that it's rice and adobo (or caldereta, Toscino, Beefsteak, etc)

Or Gojo always asks when he can come over to eat with them. It's a compliment to Getou's mom, to him? It's a bother.

'Look,' he says to Gojo as he gives him his bowl of adobo with more extra peppercorns, 'You don't have to ask me. Its annoying. You ate here once, you're always welcome here now. Asking is too repetitive'

[Referring to kain culture, where anyone is welcome to eat at your house or when a person looking for you finds you eating at home you invite them. And I just had to add my mom always feeding everyone of my friends despite cultural differences!]

Additionally, Getou in the Philippines would include:

Being treated like an entertainment piece where his relatives would ask him to give them a sample of Japanese and/or the languages he knows. All them going wow when they hear said language despite not knowing it.

[Experiencing this was such a pain]

Following his mom to markets with the basket in hand because he's just so fascinated. One time he brought a camera with him to take pictures with to show Satoru back home.

Is always excited to ride a jeepney, pedicab and more. Definitely asked his mom once if he could hang at the back of the jeepney ... the jeepney was empty

[Commuters hang at the side of the jeepneys when the inside is full during rush hour to get home. Funfact: jeepneys were left by American soldiers in the Philippines]

Asks his mom for spare change or barya to buy soda. And then asks the shopkeeper to put the soda in the plastic bag!

[In the Philippines and other southeast asian nations they pour drinks in narrow plastic bags with a straw! An experience I recommend]

Because he's half Japanese and has all the looks, he's automatically made the godparent or ninong for every kid born in his extended family or around the area he lives.

Would ask his mom if he could pursue his uni studies in the Philippines to feel beyond the culture he already knows and experience life there.

It's getting long wow, might make a part 2! But thank you for reading all of this, I hope you enjoyed this ❤️

[purgemarchlockdown]

Hm...I've been thinking about the flyers in Purge March for a while ever since I asked for translation for them and Tsuwmya informed me of what they could figure out here.

I haven't really been able to figure out what they could mean but after writing about Magic's fiction so much I might actually have a thought on what it could mean.

Purge March also plays with the lines of fiction and reality A Lot, in both more obvious and subtle ways.

Like, at the end we see the Marching Band Amane but as archivalofsins pointed out here we know that only the day where Amane found the cat dead was actually rainy due to how it's lit and elements like Amane not having a umbrella on the first day.

You can see it here, the shot on the left is warmer than the one on the right. Purge March, like Magic before it, has very obvious showcases of fiction bleeding into reality while also hiding the other ways it plays with the boundaries between the two. This is the translation of the sentences that could be made out on the flyer in Purge March.

"◯◯ principle abide to the rules of ◯◯ make everyone happy!! together with your father and mother ◯◯ friends who break the promise"

But as Tsuwmya noted the kanjis/hiragana aren't consistent. (Copying and pasting cause I do not Know how to explain this)

母 (☒)、父 (☒)、原 (☑) kanjis are learnt on second grade 守 (☒)、幸 (☒)、決 (☒) are learnt on third grade 友 (☑) - second grade, 達 (☑) - fourth grade, 則 (☑) - fifth grade

It goes up to fifth grade and Amane is 12 so she should be sixth or going up to sixth by now, we don't really have Any dates for when she committed her murder so I can't really figure out if the school year started for her. Edit: She is literally in her school uniform- what I meant was if the New School year started or if she's still in Grade 5)

Tsuwmya also noted that a lot of the kanjis that they expect for Normal children to understand don't really make sense.

so why do they not use kanjis for "mother" and "father" if these are learnt at a very young age and are very common words for a child? why a child is supposed to read 原則 (general rule) but not お母さん (mother)?

Amane Momose however is noted to be Really Good at Japanese. Q1:

Q: Do you have any special skills? A: Nothing that I can call a talent. Perhaps studying. I do well in my Japanese class.

The text of the flyer has also been confusing me because of the Last Sentence.

-friends who break the promise"

This is so weird to me, why does it end at promise? What is the full sentence supposed to be about? I'd assume its about abandoning the friends who break these promises (Very We Know The Devil of it) but it's a really weird thing to put on a flyer. It's not something most people would look at and go "Wow I should go there!"

My point is, I'm pretty sure this flyer isn't the actual flyer but a the version of it in Amane's head. The inconsistency in the text being due to that.