#yes i am having a lot of fun in KO in particular and i am making it everyone's problem.

[essektheylyss]

Debating if I should go harder on the classification snob shaming. I think I will let my rant sit in drafts overnight. Make better decisions in the morning lmao.

[pippin-katz]

The Fingers & Ring Touching

I have not seen anyone losing their minds like me over this shot:

Oh yes, people have been going feral, but not in the way that I am.

This shot is used in the film and in the credits. It’s adorable, we all know that. But I haven’t seen anyone pointing out the fact that the shot in the credits actually starts before the shot in the movie.

In the movie, they’re already touching hands when it cuts to them and shows them look at each other, then back up at the king.

In the credits, that doesn’t happen until after like 5 seconds of them playing with their fingers and smiling to themselves! We see Alex move his hand onto the couch and Henry reach out to start fiddling with the ring on his finger, and they both try not to laugh. It’s a longer shot!!

That means they have more footage of the two of them sitting together than what we saw. They set up the shot and started rolling, and probably had them play out the entire scene from that angle so they would have it all as one big piece of footage they could cut up rather than a bunch of little clips they'd have to tie together. Most of the scene is from this angle, so that makes even more sense.

Which ALSO means that this was extremely likely to be unscripted!

For one, this is such a small notion that I doubt they would've written it in as anything other than "Henry and Alex touch hands", which means they probably would have improvised what that entailed.

But the thing that makes me think it was unscripted is how Taylor tucks his lips in as if he's holding back a smile/laugh. Nicholas is smiling bigger when his head is down too. Taylor kind of cautiously does it, like he's trying not to be obvious, probably because they're filming, but it also works for Alex and the scene. He lowers his hand to the side of his leg and then onto the couch with his pinky stretched toward Nick.

So if they're running through the whole scene, this happens while the royal advisor person, Tommy, comes in to tell the king about the crowd forming outside. That means they have nothing to say or do while they have that exchange. All they have to do is sit there, probably in character in case Matthew ended up wanting to insert a shot of them, and stay quiet.

If you recall, or haven't seen the pre-recorded interviews with Nicholas and Taylor separately, they obviously both gush about how much fun it is to film with the other, but Taylor in particular mentions that they "get into a lot of trouble". Matthew has also mentioned that the most difficult part of working with them was how excited and hyper they got around each other and had to get them to "shut up and do the scene".

This all to say that it would not surprise me AT ALL if this was just them, either bored and fidgety, or trying to make the other laugh, especially given the fact that the both look like they're actively trying not to for a couple seconds before they control their expressions.

The fact that they're smiling at all in this situation can be used to remind the audience just how happy they make each other; that even during this godawful conversation, where the king was just blatantly rude and condescending to Alex, and has been dismissing Henry's feelings, they can make each other smile with nothing more than a single touch. The clip used in the film starts after they both look the most amused, once Nick's smile has turned back into more of "Henry" smile than his real one.

I hate them. Why are they so cute?

I wonder how much footage they have of the two of them just goofing off between takes or doing shit like this that didn't make the cut. I wish we could get a DVD with tons of behind the scenes content; I'm still watching the film every day, so I'm doing my part to keep its numbers boosted lmfao

Thanks for reading!! If you enjoyed this essay & would like to support me, you can give me a tip on my Ko-Fi! ☺️

[ryuichirou]

Replies

But also some news!

First of all, I wanted to remind you that my pricelist will be updated by the end of the week, so please feel free to message me if you want to take a slot to commission me with my current prices!

Second of all, we got our twitter account back! We ended up deleting that one post that twitter didn’t like (yes, the one that doesn’t have anything explicit or any nudity on it), which obviously sucks, but at least now we can jump back to posting more or less regularly.

And now that this situation is over, I can say about the thing that honestly tickled me: the last person who wrote a callout post on me right before our acc got locked (=the person who very likely caused the massreporting in the first place) got accused of grooming a 13 y.o. and had their account terminated the very next day. What a great illustration of how the fandom climate works, right? Hilarious.

Alright, replies replies. Some about Fellow and Gidel, some about Rook, Idia, a little bit of Lilia and some miscellaneous asks.

Anonymous asked:

wait, Fellow is it a good idea for Gidel to write?? Isn't he illiterate?? (I might be wrong on the writing part, but I'm pretty sure Gidel is said to be unable to speak because he didn't get an education :(, r.i.p to the poor boy)

But look at it, Anon! He clearly writes, and like a typical doctor as well! A highly educated man!

(Yeah, Gidel doesn’t know how to write lol I am not sure if Fellow is super literate either… just like the characters they are inspired by lol)

Anonymous asked:

I want to bite Idia’s thighs but I also want to nibble Lilia’s legs courtesy of your pic of him in those delicious Playful Land tights 😩

(this is about a sketch from ko-fi)

They really are nibbleable… nibbable… one would want to nib on them. And Lilia knows that :(

Thank you <3

irregardlessly-tish asked:

Since you started posting Fellow art I said to myself "I guess I'm watching that event now so I can look at the art and think yeah, he would totally get gang banged by them" lol

Tish! You’re great as always lol I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Fellow is so breedable it’s insane. I can’t help it.

unofficialwheatdog asked:

I'm gonna snatch Fellow away from everyone

Like that my husband, he fluffiness mine and mine alone

Mwah mwah to Fellow I wove him and the way you draw him

he's too good for them but ruined enough for me(lol me in my possessive era)

Omg real possessive era lol I get it, he really is fluffy to the point of leaving one speechless. But please understand, these boys can’t hold back at all… :( Be kinder them, they can’t help it!

I’m glad you love how I draw him <3

Anonymous asked:

Curious, u do non con/ rape art?

Pls tag if yes, I wanna see

I do, but I also don’t remember any recent noncon piece to tag anything lol I am definitely not opposed to it, and a lot of our nsfw pieces have at least dub-con vibes. I guess that one general!Lilia/Idia piece comes to mind first! And octopus!Azul/Idia that I drew for the same zine…

Maybe it would be easier to look through my pixiv logs; all the nsfw pieces are usually closer to the end of the log.

Anonymous asked:

You know I never had interest in drawing nsfw, I started a fanart blog with the intent of just making cute/cool sfw pieces maybe some ship stuff. However I am sick and tired of watching the twst fandom affect the mental health of my friends. And I know at least one of my ships will be threatened even if they just hold hands.

So here’s my plan: if I start receiving hate I will make an announcement: if I reach a particular milestone of hate I will learn to draw nsfw. I will make them kiss harder. Harass me and I will become worse.

Fr tho I want to be the brave idiot in the hope that others won’t feel alone.

Sorry for the late reply! Anon, you are already brave lol I like your plan. Become worse to spite them! And to support everyone who is harassed. And to have fun of course.

I wish you and your friends and anyone else didn’t have to worry about being harassed because of your ships. So please, take care of yourself, but also? Fuck them; draw and post whatever you want to make yourself and your friends happier and enjoy the fandom experience that you and your friends create.

Anonymous asked:

"something's missing..." might be your shirt rook, idk tho 🤔

(this is about this drawing)

Oh no, he forgot his shirt again. And no one at Savanaclaw is brave enough to tell him.

Anonymous asked:

 I remember that Savannaclaw Rook only cut his hair with a knife, soooo, yeah. How do you think first year Rook would respond to first year Idia and vice versa?

Honestly it looks like it lol He and Lilia have something in common…

We love first year Rook with first year Idia so much, Anon, you have no idea! And Rook/Idia in general, this is one of the things that I really want to draw properly at least once. For now we only have sketches…

But to answer your question! I like to think that Rook was very intrigued by Idia right away; of course Idia isn’t a beastman, but he is not only super bright and shiny-looking (unusual! Interesting!), but also is a very rare pokemon to see. It’s very easy to picture Rook getting excited and charmed by him, maybe he even had a period of a little obsession~ But of course none of this is in any way returned by Idia; to him being suddenly surrounded by so many loud and annoying people his age is already stressful enough, but Rook is somehow worse than all of them combined. He hates everyone from Savanaclaw, but they’re usually just rude jerks, but Rook? If only he was a rude jerk…

Anonymous asked:

Chen’ya, are you flashing people on purpose? What are you gonna do if someone likes it?

(related to this post)

Knowing Che’nya, he’ll probably disappear lol Never let them guess your next move. They liked it? Too bad. They didn’t like it? Oh too bad… >:3

Sometimes he is in a flirty mood though~

Anonymous asked:

I’m surprised Lilia doesn’t also spank Idia to punish him

He really should, and his spanks wouldn’t be as murderous as Azul’s! Idia is going to receive punishment AND survive!

I can picture Lilia stopping mid-spank with the realisation though: oh right, this isn’t his kid, this is Idia…

Anonymous asked:

(tw: self-harm)

this might be a bit dark but i’m curious: do you think idia self-harms? every now and then, i see ppl draw him with SH scars. i’ve never been able to decide if it feels like him or not. punishing himself, hating himself, wanting to control this one aspect of his life bc he can’t control anything else sound like idia, but also, being too resigned, lazy, or phobic of pain also sound like idia… little nutjob he is 😒 thoughts?

This is such a good question, Anon. It’s honestly still kind of easy to imagine him doing that. He punishes himself constantly, and while I don’t think this is necessarily about control, this absolutely could be about wanting to make himself feel even worse or to distract himself from the other kind of deep pain he’s feeling. Since we’re talking about a character here, as an artist I can also add that seeing him this way could be aesthetically pleasing, there are some very good artworks with this theme.

That being said, we usually tend to think that Idia wouldn’t do that. I agree that Idia being phobic of pain sounds very like him, but also? He is very detached from the physical side of things in general, I think. He would rather torment himself mentally.

Another reason for Idia and selfharm not really working in our heads is that I don’t think Ortho would let him. He is very sensitive to changes in his health condition after all.

[bogkeep]

hiya! hey! welcome to my bog! my name is

Theodore Haiz Heartsword-Thyme

but you can just call me Haiz, really! i'm the bogkeep around here, so let me know if you need anything!

🍄 twitter

🍄 toyhou.se (overview of my OCs)

🍄 Ao3

🍄 Ko-fi (tip jar)

🍄 linktree

🍄pronoun cards: EN | NO

🍄 reblog sideblog @longlostpath

About Me And This Blog Under The Cut:

🌿 BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING ELSE WHAT ARE YOUR PRONOUNS??????

in english i mainly use they/them and he/him, lately with a preference for They!

i'm also vibing with ey/em/eir, it/its, and No Pronouns

my preferred norwegian pronouns are dem, han, and nøkk/nøkken/nøkkens

when it comes to gendered terms i prefer gender neutral + gently masculine terms, or terms used in a gender neutral manner. i don't like to be strongly gendered in either direction, and i don't want to think about my own gender more than neccessary!

the best way to describe my gender identity is Taurus II by Mike Oldfield hope this helps

🌿 WHAT THE HECK IS A BOGKEEP

it's like a barkeep but for bogs! this particular bogkeep seems to be a mix of nøkken, huldra, vodník, and possibly a changeling. maybe a cat? i wouldn't worry about it

🌿 WHO'S THE BOGKEEP?

hi i'm haiz nice to meet you. you can also call me theo or teddy or dori if you'd like <3

i'm in my age 25+ era!

i'm norwegian and czech and currently live in, uhhhhh sweden?????

i've been many things, such as an art history student, a children's book illustrator, a volunteer for queer organizations, a hotel receptionist, And Many More. right now i am a watchmaker student. i hope to be even more things in the future!

i love to DRAW and sometimes WRITE and i have a lot of FEELINGS ABOUT THINGS

🌿 WHAT'S THIS BLOG FOR?

this is my personal blog where i post my art! i also post Thoughts and Feelings when the urge strikes me. you can't really get one without the other sorry

i post both Original Work and Fanart. the fandoms i dabble in tend to be a little obscure, but if you're reading this, chances are you've found me through one of them. thank you for enjoying my work <3

i also post photos sometimes

i've had this blog since 2011/2012! it's a bit of an archive. i don't mind if you root around in the old stuff, just keep in mind that it's old!

sometimes i reblog unicorns as they are a Personal Motif of mine, but pretty much all other reblogs go to my sideblog, @longlostpath

i have two other sideblogs - one for funky fashion and the intricacies of having a body @ishallwearcosmos

and a sky blog @whentheskydoesthething

🌿 WHAT ARE THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS?

this is my personal space and i decide what goes on here.

i block the following: people who engage in bad faith, people who disrespect my humanity or that of my peers, people acting awful on my posts.

i have no wish to publicly participate in the Discourses. do not mistake this for neutrality or a lack of principles - i feel very strongly about inclusion, compassion, boundaries, personal growth, the vast diversity of human experiences, and the inherent messiness of being a person. i enjoy good faith discussions, but i prefer to have them in private.

anonymous asks are turned off. if you send an ask you don't want me to publish, just let me know!

i do my best to tag common triggers but i cannot promise 100% consistency.

likewise, i do my best to write image descriptions for the art i post, but due to personal inacessibilities it's a little sporadic. i write them in the alt text when i do.

🌿 CAN I USE YOUR ART FOR -

headers/icons/digital decoration?

- yes! just please credit me somewhere. anything that's just fun personal use and not in any way profiting off of my work is a-ok! in fact i am flattered and honored

tattoos?

- please ask me first! a lot of my work is of OCs, commissioned, or otherwise very personal - so it's a case by case decision!

real life wall decoration?

- i do have a redbubble, but it's a little limited in scope - mostly because a lot of my work is fanart of other people's property. if there's something i've made you want to see on there, let me know and i'll see what i can do! as for fanart - i'm honestly okay with people printing their own prints for their personal blorbo shrines or whatever, as long as it's not for profit! if you contact me i can even share a hi-res version of the art with you ;3c

anything AI- or blockchain related?

- nope! any use of my work in this context is without my permission.

🌿 WILL YOU COMMISSION ME/PROMOTE MY THING ON YOUR BLOG?

nope! please don't ask me to.

🌿 I DON'T LIKE YOU BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU BECAUSE ANON IS TURNED OFF :(

you can blacklist my handle in your settings. be free. live your best life. you'll never have to read my annoying ramblings again...!

[szanne7000]

Amazing how you're so active in this community but stay silent on all your fav creators being total scumbags doxing and tracking people.

Hi Nonny,

I’m going to respond to your anonymous statement because I want to…

I want to state with full clarity that I fully support creators whether they are free, early access, or exclusive. This is their time, effort, artistry, and money. It isn’t mine nor yours. I choose to support multiple creators in a variety of ways – comments, random cups of coffee, Ko-fi, donations, and, yes, Patreon.

I am a cc fan. I love cc. In fact, I love it so much that I have more than I’ll ever be able to use (especially when you add in all the swatches!) in my lifetime! I spend my money on this, not yours. I choose to do this because I value what creators do for this community – even if some have chosen to keep their content exclusive.

Guess what? I don’t get to make choices for other people. You don’t, either. I get to make choices for myself. You get to make choices for yourself. Creators get to make their own choices for themselves.

When I build, I use a huge variety of content. What I don’t do when I upload a build for others to use is to include content they must pay for. Why, you ask? Because not everyone can afford to do that. I have a whole host of builds sitting in my files that I haven’t uploaded because the content used is not available for free. Other builders do include content requiring payment and that is their choice.

I download content almost every day and I store it in multiple locations. They all cost me money that I, again, choose to pay. A lot of people ask me to help them find content that is no longer available. My archive allows me to do that. I also know how to use the Wayback Machine to find viable links and do that, as well. Often, I message a creator and ask them if they still have the item and/or if I may give it to someone who has asked me about it. I choose to do this. I like hunting down content because it is fun and sometimes it can be a days’ long challenge.

The Sims is something I indulge my time and money on because I can. There are a lot of things I cannot do. I cannot walk more than 10 feet without needing to stop. I cannot wear high heels. I cannot dance. I can no longer ride roller coasters. I cannot turn my neck more than an inch to either side. I cannot shower or bathe or swim by myself. I cannot ride a horse or climb mountains or play softball or volleyball. Everything I do with my hands is an enormous effort due to permanent nerve damage. I’ve been medically retired as a disabled veteran for the past 16 years and have lived with my physical issues for far longer. So, yes. I choose to indulge myself and I can do so.

I say all of this to you because you wrote me a nasty statement and included spurious, unfounded allegations against people I care about. I have known many of the creators whose content I use for years. I have friends literally all around the world because of this game.

Most of the time, I keep my opinions to myself. This particular issue has been going around for years and this latest has been like wildfire. A bad one where people panic instead of using rational thought. Panic gets people hurt. Try thinking logically. I have read everything I could find on this issue (because time really is something else I have).

Do you really think a creator has time to put together content, open a file and make changes into it (and every swatch) for each item created for every, single person supporting them? Do you know how expensive actual tracking software is? How time consuming? As so many creators have stated, they don’t have time nor the inclination to do all this extra work, which will not prevent links and/or content from being shared or pirated in any case.

As for doxing, tracking, and bad behavior, please show the receipts. Are you aware of how easy it is to fabricate messaging, texts, emails? If someone has been doxed, did they report it to the authorities? That is illegal, not to mention wrong. File tracking? Again, expensive in both time and money. Bad behavior? I see it every day. It saddens me.

I prefer to bring joy to people, not hate.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Nonny. Truly.

Hugs & Love, Suzanne  

[belltrigger]

Does Ingo or Emmet have a breeding kink towards the other?

Well, gosh, Anon! So forward ο(=•ω＜=)ρ⌒☆

The thing I will say about this question is that I do wonder which version of Ingo and Emmet do you mean? (•ω•`) After all, I have several AUs that are both mine as well as ones I share with other people, such as @glassesblu! (side note, please be considerate when sending nsfw asks to him! If I mention an AU that is his or shared by us, please first consider sending the NSFW asks to me, specifying that you might like his input as well, and he can always reblog! )

For the sake of ease, I will only cover ones that are "mine," even if I've discussed or brainstormed them with others. Also, bear in mind that I may always change my mind, since a lot of my portrayal of the Twins is pretty fluid.

Hisui AU: Not likely. This AU is closest to what I consider the 'default' Ingo and Emmet, with a combination of all their media representations. This AU also connects to the Separation AU, though they were originally separate. They have particular dynamics that they really enjoy, but breeding isn't one of them. Emmet is so very much into training and breeding pokémon that he might just crack up if Ingo tries to do any kind of breeding talk. He might ask if they both have the same IVs since they're twins and get into an entire discussion about it. Actually, thinking about it, maybe they would be into it. (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

Bot AU: A strong maybe. Bot Maker Ingo has spent most of his life by himself with others not really understanding him, and feeling like he was missing a part of himself. He didn't start building Emmet until he was at least 20 years old. So, he didn't explore that side of his feelings until after he made his twin. Even after that, they are still exploring things together. Since Emmet is equipped with interchangeable parts for every possible configuration, and does not feel any dysphoria for it, he and Ingo may eventually stumble on this particular kink and may find it to be pretty fun. Emmet will try anything that Ingo wants to try, and will look up the appropriate methods for excitement. He will go for a one hit KO of Ingo (╹ڡ╹ )

Bride AU: I am sure no one is surprised that this is a yes. While I haven't released much of this yet, I will say a little bit. Emmet doesn't realize he likes this, yet. Living a pretty average life without any romantic interests, he doesn't do much in terms of experimentation. He might, at first, think his body's responses to Ingo are because of the ritual, but he also finds him attractive. The size difference they will have only enhance the feelings. I won't say too much for Ingo yet, but rest assured, he is also very much into it.

[catgrump]

mondo confessing to chihiro w taka supporting him maybe? 🥺🥺 love wins

Anon really said Gay Rights 😍

Welcome back, Non Despair AU! It’s like you never left!

(My Chihiro uses They/Them pronouns primarily but is ok with She/Her and He/Him. I will be using They/Them as a default!)

🌻🌻🌻

Chihiro got a text in their group chat with Mondo & Taka to meet them in Taka’s room so they could all hang out

Chihiro happily saved their progress on their latest project, packed a small bag, put on some shoes, and headed out their door

It was Taka who opened the door for them when they arrived.

“Chihiro! Thank you for coming by on such short notice!”

“Yeah, it’s no problem!”

As Taka invited them inside, Chihiro suddenly tensed. The air was... dense. Taka’s desk chair was set up directly across from his bed, where Mondo was sitting with his head buried in his hands

Taka joined his boyfriend, sitting next to him and placing a hand on his back

Nervously, Chihiro stepped inside and asked “Do you... want me to sit there?” Was this an intervention? What for?

“Yes, sit with us!” Taka confirmed

Chihiro set their bag down next to them as they timidly sat down

“Am... am I in trouble?”

“No!” Mondo and Taka replied in unision: Taka with affirmation, Mondo with fear

“Mondo just wanted to talk with you about something! Right, Mondo?”

“Yeah... yeah.” Mondo was breathing heavily. Chihiro, already on edge, was doing their best to keep calm, not wanting their friends to worry about them

Mondo was having difficulty keeping his eyes on Chihiro. Chihiro’s anxiety was about to shoot through the roof.

“Chihiro, we’re friends, right?” Mondo asked, as if he needed confirmation

“Yeah, of course,” Chihiro answered, anxious and confused

“So if I ask you something,” he continued, “You won’t get upset or laugh or judge me, right?”

“I won’t get upset unless you poke fun at me—“ Chihiro began

“— and Mondo would never do that!” Taka gave his partner a pat on the back

That made Chihiro giggle. “That’s right. I know you’re not that kind of person, Mondo.”

Seeing Chihiro smile helped calm Mondo down a bit. “Good, good,” he took a deep breath and started to finally say what was eating him up inside, “Chihiro... you mean a lot to me, and I uh...”

He paused, then turned to Taka, “Fuck, man, I didn’t actually think about how I’d actually put this into words.”

“Look, Chihiro, it’s simple,” Taka sounded so carefree, “Mondo is my boyfriend, and he also wants to be your boyfriend.”

“Huh?” Chihiro was genuinely caught off-guard. Mondo and Taka have been together for a long time now... what is this?

“Dammit Taka, I was hoping to put it a bit more delicately?”

“I don’t know what you mean; it’s pretty straightforward to me,” Taka elaborated

“This is not very straightforward??” Chihiro added, shakily

“Mondo talked it over with me, and this just seems like a logical conclusion,” Taka replied

“Taka, I love you so much, but could you please be quiet for a bit?” Mondo insisted

Taka nodded and pantomimed zipping his mouth shut

“Alright, I guess I’ll just let my thoughts come out; fuck it,” Mondo sighed and finally looked Chihiro in the eyes. They could feel their heart beating through their chest. “Like I said, I love Taka. A lot. And Chihiro... you’ve become so important— to both of us. And I’ve caught myself thinking about you differently. So I talked about it with Taka, and that’s kind of how we got here. I wanna be close to you, but I can’t let go of what Taka and I have. So, uh, the ball’s in your court, I guess. Chihiro... do you wanna go out sometime?”

Chihiro was at a loss for words. They’ve never been asked on a date before, and to be asked by one of your friends who’s already in a relationship? Especially when that particular friend is really handsome and kind... this is a kind of pressure they’ve never felt.

The first thing they said in response was directed at Taka. “You don’t mind, Taka?”

“Not at all! I just want everyone to be happy and get along. Plus, all three of us can spend more time together!”

“Well,” Chihiro could feel their face heat up, “I guess there’s no harm in giving it a try.”

“Really?” Mondo finally smiled, “You’re not fucking with me, right?”

“Wh-why would I do that?” Chihiro stuttered, their cheeks hurting from smiling

“God, what a relief,” Mondo’s shoulders relaxed and he rested his head on Taka’s

“See? I told you everything would work out!” Taka laughed, squeezed Mondo’s arm with one hand, and gave Chihiro a small Thumbs Up with the other

Still taking requests!

Tip jar available on Ko-fi 💛

[x0401x]

Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #3

Feel free to message me about possible corrections, and please consider supporting the creators by purchasing digital copies of the official releases: Novel || Manga || Fanbook. In case anyone is feeling generous: Ko-fi | PayPal. ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*

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T/N: Okay, so, this is one of those chapters where the author makes mistakes in linguistics (but she’s trying, guys, she’s trying!). She writes “prasinon” as “prase” for some reason, and I took the liberty to fix it myself when translating.

Connecting Chrysoprase

Jewelry Etranger sat inconspicuously at Ginza 7-choume. The store owner, Richard, was the possessor of a beauty that you couldn’t think was from this world, but no matter how beautiful he was, once half a year had passed, you would get used to it. And as I got used to him, the questions also surfaced.

“Hey, Richard, don’t you have any favorite foods other than sweets? Do you eat ramen or anything like that?”

Mr. Richard Ranashinha de Vulpian looked at me with scrutinizing blue eyes. Sitting on the red sofa, he had been observing the contents of a large jewel box, holding them up over his head against the morning light shining in from the window.

“I find difficult to figure the aim of the question. Why ramen? I have had meals with you numerous times. I eat anything without likes or dislikes.”

“I know. It’s not like it’s limited to just ramen, but you don’t eat that kind of stuff much, do you?”

Like chives. Or garlic. Or grilled meat dripping with juices.

I knew that this didn’t suit his image. He was a man whose features seemed to have accidentally come out of a dream world. If he told me that he could live off eating department store sweets and pink roses, he could probably have me seriously convinced up to about 70%. That was exactly why I would feel like searching for a gap.

As I was about to ask if he understood this logic, Richard replied curtly with a clay doll-like face, “What ill intentions.”

That was true. I wasn’t some obsessive follower of an idol’s personal life or anything. Richard hit bull’s-eye with the deduction that I “probably ate ramen yesterday”. For some reason, things got awkward. I was in a position where it was better to retreat for a while. Time to change the subject.

“What stone is that? Looks like candy and it’s pretty cute.”

“A type of chalcedony. They are in the same category as crystals. In particular, this one with a milky apple-green color is called chrysoprase.

“Ah~...”

What Richard was pinching with his bare hands - because it was safer to touch it with bare skin rather than wearing gloves, he said, as it wouldn’t cause any damage - was a pale green, round stone. It had low transparency, was cut en cabochon and looked like an old-style candy.

“W-What was it again? The name. Chry...?”

“‘Chrysoprase’,” Richard repeated for me.

How many times had something like this happened? The stone’s name was in a Western language. Basically, all of them were in katakana. My ears did register it, but I couldn’t memorize it in one go at all. Richard was a helpful person, so there were times when he wrote down the names in romaji and explained them to me, but I honestly couldn’t keep up with him. There were countless stones in this world.

“Chryso... aah, no good. It’s hard to memorize.”

“‘Chrysoprase’. It is said to be a stone that helps to harmonize and integrate personalities. Medieval European literature also mentions it as a stone that Alexander the Great loved.”

Alexander the Great. A person I had learned about in high school. Even I knew that name. The fact that a stone adored by a warlord who had long passed away was still loved by people of the current times was thought-provoking. The range of the gemstone world was broad. But, well, leaving that as that.

“How d’you memorize stones’ names? It’s not like you’ve got some test to do like in a history class...”

“Do you think anyone would buy goods from a trader who cannot even say their names?”

“I don’t, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hard. There’s lots of types and they sound like magic spells. Like ‘Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte’. It wouldn’t be weird if you felt like cheating without a care in the world. You got any trick for memorizing them?”

“My compliments to you for being able to pronounce the official name of Sri Lanka’s capital. But I cannot praise the part about carelessly deceiving people. Once your reputation falls to earth, it does not recover so easily. To begin with, your perception of business in general is too lax for someone enrolled in the Faculty of Economics. I know you have the aspiration, but if you do not pair it to practical abilities and skills, you will be running idle. Shouldn’t you try to improve these skills once again so that you can avoid unnecessary hardships in the future? Instead of obsessing over finding out something unexpected about the shopkeeper from your part-time job.”

The arguments were so spot-on that I was at a loss for words. Even so, still with a slightly exasperated face, Richard continued to speak. Most likely, it was his gentle side’s turn from here on out.

“Still, you are right, I do have a trick. If I were to use the capital as an example, ‘Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte’ had its original name ‘Kotte’ being embellished with the title of ‘President Jayawardene’s Sacred City’. When you know the origin of it, doesn’t this line-up of katakana letters that only appears in magic spells turn into meaningful words?”

“So it had that kind of meaning? I see...”

“Is this time to be impressed? Do the same and discover the relatedness of all kinds of matters in your daily life. If you direct your eyes to the depths of your history without sticking to the surface, I guarantee that your world will broaden much more richly.”

“Then what about the chrysoprase of just now?”

As I took a stab at arousing his enthusiasm, the volubly beautiful shop owner smiled gorgeously. I felt that this guy would stay in a good mood forever just as long as I gave him sweets and let him talk about gems. And I liked Richard’s face the most when he was in his best mood.

“This word is taken from the Greek language. It consists of two separate words, ‘chrysos’ and ‘prasinon’. The meaning of chrysos is ‘gold’. The bright golden that can be seen showing through within the green was associated with gold. Prasinon means...”

What happened? His enunciation suddenly got bad.

When I urged him to continue, Richard looked down at the stone in his hand with a dull look and sighed a little. “The meaning of prasinon... comes close to plants such as chives or green onions.”

“Ooh—!”

As I clapped my hands together with an “all paths lead to ramen”, Richard made a face like he had just woken up from a nightmare. What is it? Please laugh.

“In any case, the mental attitude of trying to master something is commendable. I pray that your efforts will bear fruit.”

“Thanks, thanks. Well, will you eat ramen after all?”

Mr. Richard, the jeweler, looked at me with an awfully sharp gaze. What was that face? His facial expression looked like the usual nuance that he was growing fond of my foolishness had increased to about 30%. Did he intend to poke fun on me?

“Yes, yes, I will.”

“What do you prefer? Like miso or soy sauce?”

“A large helping of green onions and garlic. And even then, it is good to grate raw garlic and put in it.”

“That’s a pretty hardcore taste for someone who works with close-contact service business.”

“Which is why this is not something I can eat whenever. I eat it carefully by myself when I do not have to meet anyone the next day.”

As my eyes widened, the beautiful storekeeper raised his chin arrogantly. Did he want to say that this didn’t suit his image or had it just unfolded anew?

“How was it, did you enjoy the so-called ‘gap’?”

“No, it’s not like that’s the main goal.”

“Hah?”

“I can’t invite anyone for a French cuisine restaurant or a high-class sweets store, but if it’s a ramen shop, there’s lots of them near my university. If you like, why don’t we go eat together next time? They’re mostly shops that seem better to drop by wearing a t-shirt rather than a suit, but I wanna try chatting with you while eating this kind of junky stuff every now and then.”

“For you to discover a new unexpected thing about me, you mean?”

“I just wanna get along with you better.”

For an instant, Richard’s facial expression strained hard. What was up? His face looked like he hadn’t known better and bit a sour pickled plum or something. As I furrowed my brows, his blue eyes narrowed, looking glum, while he closed the jewel box with a click and stood up.

“Ah, show me more. It wasn’t nearly enough—”

“The chrysoprase is said to have the power to put the balance of mind and body in order, as well as make it spring up comfortably. Perhaps because its fresh grass color is a reminder of spring. Isn’t this stone unnecessary for you, since you are always in a festive mood?”

“Why’re you angry?”

“I am not.”

“Shouldn’t you take a better look at the chrysoprase?”

“Thank you for the unnecessary meddling.”

Leaving me with things to say, Richard disappeared into the back room. Was it that bad to invite him to a ramen shop? It wasn’t a good idea to let him stay angry, so I voluntarily prepared two cups of royal milk tea in the kitchenette. Having come out into the reception room, Richard said nothing more than the expected as he drank a tea that had a little more sugar in it than usual.

After the customer of that morning had gone home, Richard showed me the chrysoprase once again. Upon a better look, I understood the meaning of that naming, which I couldn’t think of as anything more than a mystery at first. Didn’t the people of ancient times think that this was a plant born from gold? The uneven surface was smooth and wavy like an organic body. Chrysoprase. Gold and green onions. Even though there were several gems in this world, I would probably never forget the name of this one. If I ever got to eat ramen with Richard someday, I would definitely bring up this stone.

“Do you remember that talk?” I would ask.

[theassthatquits]

Blupjeans Week Day 3 - Crush

The banners seemed to appear overnight, crowding the hallways and bathrooms and doors: “The dance is this Saturday! Ask your crush! It is the Valentine’s Day Dance after all.” Well, maybe they didn’t say all of that, but that was certainly the implication.

Barry was paralyzed with fear.

He had a crush on Lup since they were kids, pretty much starting the day on the playground when she and Taako approached him and declared that they were now Best Friends Forever and he had no choice in the matter. It was the best day of his life.

Lup and Taako had seamlessly folded into his life since then. His mother had taken an immediate liking to them and would make sure they were cared for and had everything they needed as they were moved around from place to place. The twins became a staple at the Bluejeans household, frequently staying days at a time. Barry, Lup, and Taako had become inseparable.

If he told her how he felt it could ruin everything.

--

“What the fuck is this?” Lup asked, picking up the flyer for the dance that just happened to be on her textbook sitting on the desk.

“What are you talking about now, Lulu?” Taako lazily asked, lounging on his bed filing his nails.

“This flyer for the dance. You put this here, didn’t you?”

Taako sounded bored. “I assure you, I had nothing to do with it.”

Lup groaned in exasperation. “I don’t want to think about Valentine’s Day and romantic dances. I just want to get through this year, graduate, and get the fuck out.”

“You sure you don’t want to ask a particular jeansed man out to the dance?”

Her glare would have struck fear into the heart of any other person but Taako. “I’m not asking Barry. There’s no way he would say yes and then our friendship would be ruined and I’d have to find a new best friend.”

Taako rolled his eyes. The two of them had been doing this for years and it might actually kill him. “So when are you planning on telling him, then?”

“When the time is right, I don’t know. Probably never.”

“Lulu, I love you to death and I mean this with all the kindness in my heart. I am so bored of this conversation. We’ve been having it for years. We’re graduating soon, there’s no guarantee we’re all going to the same spot, your time is running out.”

Lup crushed the flyer against her face, screaming into the void. “I know! Ugh. I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Now be a dear and pass me that polish. My nails have to look perfect for when I ask Kravitz to the dance.”

---

“You should ask her, Lucrecia. She’s a pretty cool girl and anyone would be lucky to take you to the dance.” Magnus, Lucrecia, and Barry were standing in front of Barry’s locker while Magnus was trying to convince her to ask out her crush.

“Ughhh, I don’t know, Magnus. We’ve, like barely talked.”

“That’s not true! I saw you two talking the other day.”

“Yeah, but I asked her for notes. That’s different, that’s school stuff.”

“I think I agree with Magnus, Creesh.” Barry shut his locker door and started shoving his textbook in his backpack. “She laughs at all your jokes in class, which is a great sign. I mean, we’re seniors. This is our last chance.”

Lucrecia gave him the biggest side eye. “Oh, yeah, Bluejeans? Are we talking about final chances and asking out crushes now? If you say it’s so easy, why don’t you go ask Lup?”

Barry’s face went pale. “Uhh, uhh. That’s different! Lup’s my best friend.”

“Mhmmm, okay. I’ll make you a deal, you ask Lup, I’ll ask Melora.”

“Ask Lup what?” Out of seemingly nowhere, Lup appeared in between Lucrecia and Barry. His eyes went wide and he began stammering.

“Uhh, nothing! Just one of the questions from last night’s reading.”

“Ahh, yes. Last night’s reading...which I totally did...because I definitely remembered to do it…”

Lucrecia laughed and passed Lup her notes. “Here, read through these before our class discussion.”

“Thank you thank you thank you!! You’re a life-saver.” Lup leaned in and planted a nice big kiss on Lucrecia’s cheek. Lucrecia winked at Lup as the bell rang and took off after Magnus, leaving Lup and Barry alone.

The two of them walked in uncomfortable silence, both of them wanting to say what they swore they never would. They passed by one of the many posters about the dance and Barry cleared his throat. “So the dance next week...are you going?”

“Oh, that thing? I hadn’t given it much thought at all,” Lup lied through her teeth. “I mean, it sounds like it could be fun, especially since we haven’t really gone to a dance at all.”

“Yeah! Do you...uh, do you want, um…” Barry kept stammering, his face fully red. Lup’s face lit up, hoping he was attempting to ask her to the dance.

“Do I what?”

Barry let out a deep breath to steady himself and began again. “Do you want to go -“

The bell rang loudly, cutting off the rest of his sentence. Barry swore under his breath.

“Shit, it’s like a four minute walk to calculus, I’ll catch you later?”

Lup swallowed a lump in her throat she hadn’t realized was there. “Yeah, sounds good.”

Once Barry was out of sight, she turned and rammed her body against the lockers with a little too much force.

“Lulu, that was...incredibly painful to watch.” Taako’s voice appeared behind her.

“Imagine how it felt to live it.”

“I don’t think I can, considering I walked right up to Kravitz, looked him in the eyes and said ‘you, me, dance?’”

“What did he say?”

“Yes, natch.”

“Congratulations, I’m so happy for you,” she said, not sounding happy for him at all.

He chuckled at that and grabbed her hand. “C’mon, we’re going to be late.”

—

Lup stood outside the school under the tree she always did waiting for Barry so they could walk back to his place together to do homework like they did every day. He was taking a little more time than usual but he occasionally got stopped after class to talk about nerd stuff with Lucas Miller.

“Hey, Lup.” A smarmy voice came from behind her and she turned around to see gorgeous jock Greg Grimaldis leaning against the tree, a smirk on his face.

“What’s up, my dude?”

“I don’t know if you heard, but I’m getting inducted into the school hall of fame for football this weekend.”

“Congrats?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me to the ceremony this Saturday. As my date.”

She was taken aback. Sure, Greg Grimaldis had flirted with her a lot the last four years but she was incredibly attractive, a lot of people hit on her. “Uh, Saturday is the dance.”

“Oh, that lame soirée? Yeah, I’ve been to a thousand like it, no thank you. Trust me, this is going to be a lot cooler.”

“Uhh..” Lup hesitated and then was interrupted by Barry appearing next to her.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Greg Grimaldis ignored him, like he always did, and turned to Lup. “You know, I’ll give you until tomorrow to think about it. See you then.” He winked and then ran his tongue over his teeth, sending shivers of disgust over her.

“Woah, what was that about?” Barry asked, watching Greg walk away, stereotypically throwing a football up into the air.

“He asked me to go to this stupid ceremony with him on Saturday as his date.”

“...oh.” His voice was scratchy and squeaky and he turned away from her. “Are you going to go?”

“I don’t know...Is there a reason I shouldn’t?” Please give me a reason, please tell me I shouldn’t go.

Barry’s mouth was dry as he replied: “I mean, if you want to go you should go.”

Her heart dropped. “Uh, maybe I will go. It could be kind of fun, maybe ruin Greg’s big night.”

That got a slight, but fake, chuckle. “Sounds fun.”

They stood there in tense silence, not looking at one another before she finally broke it. “Guess we should get going, we have all that homework to work on.”

“Actually, Lup I’m not feeling too great. I kind of have a headache and my mom wants me to help out with some stuff at home, so if it’s okay with you I’ll just walk you to your place.”

Okay, that hurt. She faked a smile. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Usually their walks home are full of laughter, Lup reenacting some wild shit that had happened that day, Barry stopping to inspect weird flowers or trees, the two of them going out of their way to step on leaves and dance through the streets pretending that when they bump into one another it’s an accident.

Today, they didn’t say a word to one another.

—-

“Woah, what the fuck happened to you?”

Lup didn’t even register what Taako had said when she burst into their room, sobbing. He stood up quickly. “Okay, who the hell do I have to beat up?”

She didn’t say a word, just tackled him to his bed and buried her face in his chest. Normally, he would have complained about her ruining his shirt but he thought it best to not mention it. Until later, at least.

They sat there, Taako rubbing soothing circles on her back like he had done a thousand times until she had calmed down enough to talk. “He doesn’t like me, Ko.”

“What? This is about Barold? Oh my god.” He rolled his eyes and pushed her off of him. “How many times do we have to go through this? The two of you are ridiculous.”

“No, Ko, he really doesn’t like me. Greg Grimaldis asked me to go to this stupid ceremony with him on Saturday instead of the dance -“

“And you said no, right Lulu? Please tell me you said no.”

“- well, not exactly.”

“Oh my god.” Taako removed his arms from around her and covered his face. “I’m going to have to do so much fucking damage control.”

“I asked Barry! I asked him if he thinks I should say yes and Barry said, and I quote: ‘If you want to go, you should go.’ End quote.”

“Yeah, because he respects your autonomy as a human being. He’s not going to tell you to not go on a date because he is hopelessly in love with you. Gods, Lulu I thought you were smarter than this.”

“If he didn’t want me to go with Greg he should have said something!”

“Have you met the kid? He’s got the worst self-esteem of any of us. Lulu, please, I’m begging you as your brother: do not go out with Greg Grimaldis. Go call Barry, talk this out, please. I’m not doing this for either of you anymore, this is purely selfish. I am so tired of hearing about this.”

“I don’t want to call him! He’s made his choice, he doesn’t like me and I am going to die alone.” She flopped dramatically on the bed, covering her face with a pillow.

“You’re not going to die alone. Greg Grimaldis is going to be there.”

A pillow came flying at him. “Get out!”

“This is my room too, Lu.”

“I don’t care. I need some time. Go make googly eyes at Kravitz or something.”

Taako stood up and started walking towards the door.

“Fine, I’ll leave you to your moping. But when I get back you had better at least texted poor Barold.”

“Poor Barold???” Taako heard her voice loud and clear through the door even though he was halfway down the hall.

---

Lup spent an hour with her head under the pillow, an unrequited love playlist from fantasy Spotify playing on her phone, trying to fill the hole in her heart when all of a sudden her door burst open and Barry flew in, panting heavily like he had just run all the way here from his house.

“Lup!! Are you okay? Taako said you had a science emergency and you needed help right away or you were going to fail all your classes and die and now that I’m saying this out loud it sounds completely and totally fake.”

Lup took the pillow off of her head and turned to face him. “Barry, what the fuck is going on?”

“I could ask you two the same thing.” Taako’s voice boomed ominously from behind Barry who moved into the room to let him in. “I am done, finished, with the two of you. Neither of you are allowed to leave this room until I am satisfied with the results. Here’s some granola bars.” He purposefully aimed for Lup’s head and a couple of them bounced off. “Ciao.”

Taako left and shut the door behind him before either of them could say another word. Barry’s face was flushed red and he was still sweating from his run. “What is he talking about, Lup?”

She sighed and her voice got quiet. “Barry, I don’t want to go to the awards ceremony with Greg Grimaldis.”

If Lup had been paying any less attention she wouldn’t have noticed the light in his eyes return and the smile dance across his lips. “Yeah?” He cleared his throat, trying to cover up his happiness at that statement, then he sighed deeply. “I don’t want you to go to the awards ceremony with Greg Grimaldis.”

She smiled. “Yeah?”

“Of course not, Lup.” He moved to the bed, sitting down next to her. “I want you to come to the dance with us. We’ve gone through our whole lives together, I don’t want the first dance I go to to be without you. Who else am I going to make fun of people with?”

“Taako.”

“You know he’s going to be hanging on Kravitz all night.”

“True.” There was a brief silence. “Barry, is the only reason you want me to come is so you have someone to make fun of people with?”

Several knocks came from the closed door, making both Barry and Lup jump. “Barry I swear if you fuck this up I will cut up all of your jeans.”

Lup threw a pillow against the door. “Go away, you prick!” She turned back to Barry, his face bright red. “What does he mean by that?”

Sighing again, Barry takes out his phone and opens it. “Lup, I don’t know how to say it. But I have something that hopefully will get the meaning across. I was going to show this to you but then I saw you with Greg Grimaldis and I -” Lup put a finger up to his lips silencing him.

“What is it?”

“It’s, uh, a song. I wrote it. It’s called ‘Endless Lup’.”

He pressed play on the song and Lup was immediately transfixed. Barry could only play the piano and definitely couldn’t sing so there weren't any lyrics to follow but she could feel his affection for her nonetheless. She sat there, mouth slightly agape with tears in her eyes until the song ended. Neither of them spoke for several moments.

“Barry, that’s -”

“It’s too much, I’m sorry.” He turned away from her, running his hand through his hair.

Wordlessly, she touched his shoulder and turned him back towards her. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”

He flushed. “Good, because I wrote it for you.”

“Lup if you don’t fucking kiss this poor man, I will!!”

“Is that a promise?” Barry yelled back before Lup tackled him, bridging the distance between them.

@blupjeansweek2021

[florencecastlewritings]

Writing Dialogue

Below the read more is a lesson on writing effective dialogue in fiction. As with everything in art, rules are there to be broken, so please do treat the below lesson as a guideline rather than a legal document, and remember that it is based on what works for me as well as advice I have received from other writers. It might not match your style, and that’s all right. It’s also a very lengthy blog post, but I have used headings to try and break it up and there’s a little contents of sorts at the start, so feel free to skim/skip where needed. 

If you do find it useful, however, please consider helping me through a tricky time by sending a few pennies my way via ko-fi. 

Dialogue is the written speech of your characters in your story. For some people, writing effective dialogue comes naturally, for others it feels almost impossible to master. It is worth considering, as well, the differences in dialogue for different kinds of media - in screenwriting, for example, a writer will be able to rely more heavily on actors’ expression, comic timing, body language and other effects such as music. However they will also be constrained by shorter time, more need for unnatural exposition, and lack of internal thoughts. The following lesson will focus on dialogue in fiction - for short stories or novels - although some rules will be applicable to dialogue in other mediums too, so they’re worth keeping in mind. 

The Purpose of Dialogue

Dialogue should:

Progress the story

Deepen character and relationship

Have realism

Be embellished/supported with suitable dialogue tags and appropriate narration. 

Easier said than done. Let’s take them one at a time. 

Progress the story

As with most writing, the writer needs to be constantly asking herself ‘what is the point?’ Why am I having my characters say/do/notice this? It may be to deepen character and relationship (and we’ll get onto that), but for longer stories we must acknowledge that the dialogue needs to move the plot along as well, as much as we might want to indulge in a bit of pointless fluff now and then. 

Dialogue can drive the plot in a more engaging and exciting way than plain narration. Narration on its own can be effective at building tension, but usually only in small doses, and having many pages of narration without dialogue or internal thought will feel more like a summary of events or a witness statement than the author would perhaps like. Consider the below: 

Breakfast was tense that morning. They ate silently as they pondered what to do. Michael buttering his toast so aggressively that it was surprising that the knife didn’t go through it. Susan asked him to stop, but that only started the arguing again. He accused her of expecting him to get over the affair so quickly. She threw back that there was nothing left to say if he refused to get therapy, and she had warned him for years that things had to change, and that it had been one foolish night in twenty years of unhappy marriage. She, Susan insisted, had excused plenty of foolish mistakes on his part. 

Compared to: 

‘Will you stop that?’ she said sharply. Michael did not pause in the furious buttering of his toast. ‘I said I was sorry.’ 

‘What, you say the magic word and I’m meant to shrug it off?’ he replied. ‘Pretend it never happened? Pretend you didn’t-’

‘You’ve made your anger perfectly clear, and I understand, but you don’t need to be so aggressive with everything, I get it.’ 

‘Oh, here we go. Buttering toast is aggressive now.’ 

‘Well, yes, like that - I’ve tried to talk to you like a grown up, but-’

‘It really bloody winds me up when you just say insane stuff patiently and without emotion and think that makes it acceptable, d’you know that? I’m allowed to be angry, you cheated.’

I could continue. The first example can pack a lot more information in, but using dialogue to drive the plot makes for more interesting and deeper meaning. It turns it into a story, rather than an account of events that occurred. It allows the writer to layer the plot with character work and unlock the story a little at a time.

In this regard, it is good to have your characters talking. To each other, to themselves, to the reader - whatever your particular style demands. Having that personable voice is engaging. 

There are a few “rules” to keep in mind in order to ensure you remain plot-focused with your dialogue:

Avoid small talk. Enter late, leave early. Naturally there are exceptions (if you want to emphasise the awkwardness of a relationship between two characters you might want to include some failed attempts at small talk), but the usual chit-chat and extended greetings that we are used to saying in every day life can normally be skipped or avoided. You don’t need to have lots of ‘hi, how are you?’  ‘I’m fine thanks, you?’ ‘Fine, cheers. Have you seen the rain?’ Your characters are allowed to just get to the point and your reader will thank you for it. 

Have characters on their own thought trajectories. This is a great way of driving the plot, and though it can be tricky to master it can really help in making your characters believable individuals as well as creating some conflict. If characters know each other, or both know the topic, they will likely jump ahead, make assumptions, fail to answer each other directly - this can be a great way of showing that they’re on the same wavelength, but can also be a vehicle for miscommunications and misunderstandings, or deliberately misleading one another. In that vein, don’t have the characters telling each other things they already know, unless made to sound believable. 

Similarly, don’t have characters say things solely for the benefit of the reader. This is called exposition, and while exposition is necessary, it can be clumsily handled in dialogue. It’s made fun of frequently in films where they have such limited time to get background information across. You definitely don’t want dialogue like ‘So, Michael, it’s been three years since your divorce, have you thought about dating again?’ Michael knows this, his insensitive friend knows this, the reader is not stupid and knows that it’s not natural sounding. If it must be said in dialogue, weave it into a more natural conversation - ‘I haven’t been to Ibiza in three years, and I don’t plan on going back any time soon. Don’t want to run the risk of bumping into Susan and Jorge.’ 

We’ll get onto weaving it in with narration and dialogue tags later, which makes that a lot easier, but, in short, use dialogue to drive your story. 

Deepen character and relationship

This is my favourite thing to do, and why I often prefer to write shorter stories than longer ones. A writer can find great joy in bringing a character to life through dialogue, dragging them away from plot vehicles and making them people of their own.

Firstly, it’s important to remember that your character’s background and personality will affect the way that they speak. If all your characters sound the same, they probably sound like you! A well educated character will obviously have a different way of talking than a common street urchin, but everyone has quirks and patterns to their speech that you can use to say a lot. You might use long meandering sentences with lots of rhetorical questions for a character known to be boring, for example. You might use short, sharp sentences for a character that’s grumpy or distracted with some deeper internal struggle. You can use the way two characters talk to each other to say a lot about their relationship and power dynamic, especially if you remember that good dialogue should have subtext (what isn’t being said being important).

A good example of this is from the short story Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemmingway (CW; indirect discussion of abortion). Consider the short passage below. 

‘It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all. 

The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on. 

‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s not really anything. It’s just to let the air in.’ 

The girl did not say anything. 

‘I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.’ 

‘Then what will we do afterward?’ 

‘We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before.’ 

‘What makes you think so?’ 

‘That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.’ 

The girl looked at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of beads. ‘And you think then we’ll be all right and be happy.’

It’s a really interesting story that is almost entirely dialogue, so it’s well worth reading to get a good sense of using subtext. I wasn’t aware of the abortion connotations when I first read it because I hadn’t heard of the very dated term ‘letting the air in’, but really the story is great at demonstrating the uneven power dynamic between the two even without knowledge of what the operation is. Without much description (though ‘man’ and ‘girl’ says it all really, doesn’t it?), you get a sense that a much older man is persuading this reluctant girl into this act by leveraging how hopelessly in love she is with him, though he does not seem to feel the same way. He speaks most when he is trying to persuade her - the rest of the time he is snappish and short with her childish and ignorant questions about the world around them. The above passage is the only time in the story where he refers to her by a name, and we can gather that it’s a pet one. The girl’s silence says as much as her dialogue, and when she does speak it is questioning - looking to him for authority. 

Understanding character motivations and background is what makes this masterful use of dialogue. It would be tempting, for a novice writer, to have the girl argue. For her to say something like ‘what if we could be happy without it?’ But where that should be, there is silence, or repeating his thoughts back to him - because Hemmingway is not only driving the story but emphasising the imbalance of their relationship and her own naive nature. She would not argue with him, she can only wish that he will change his mind. This is all through dialogue and a tiny bit of narration, barely any dialogue tags, and really says so much without saying it at all. Show vs tell is about more than description after all. 

That kind of depth when it comes to writing dialogue is... really hard. I haven’t picked Hemmingway to suggest that this is the quality all writing should be at, and I certainly don’t mean to intimidate anyone. But it really is a golden example of thinking about your dialogue within the context of the character, and how their background, situation, and goals will affect how they respond and react to those around them. Your character may not always be able to say what is convenient for you, the author, to tell the reader, because it may not be in their nature or sound authentic. But there are clever ways around that and it can make for more powerful writing, between the lines of what is said. 

Have realism

If you skipped down to this bit, I understand. It’s the area that people most often struggle with. I find that people tend to fall into two traps here - either their characters sound like robots because they are over formal and have too much emphasis on being grammatically correct or over eloquent at the expense of natural dialogue, OR they swing in the other direction and try to replicate perfectly how people speak in day to day life. 

If you do have a problem with stilted dialogue, it is a good idea to listen to how people naturally speak and try typing it out to get yourself out of the habit. But on the whole, the way people normally speak actually doesn’t sound that great in written format. In real life, we use lots of filler words, we get muddled, we go off on tangents, we trail off, we stutter and stammer and phrase things badly, we um and ah and say far more with our body language and expression than we realise. If you ever read transcripts, from interviews or courts, you’ll see how much of it actually doesn’t make a lot of sense. Our brains make sense of it when we listen to others, based on other parts of communication. Yes, sometimes adding in a ‘er...’ is beneficial and good, and you might have a really nice character moment of someone anxious trailing off when they realise no one is listening to them. Sprinkling those moments in can absolutely make your dialogue sound more authentic, especially when carefully used with character knowledge, but be careful not to over use it. In written dialogue, our characters can and should be more articulate and quicker to formulate their thoughts than in real life for the sake of the story. Striking that balance between overly structured and too real and easy can be really hard, but it only comes with practice - reading dialogue out loud can be a big help, as can writing the dialogue first with no narration or speech tags (more on that later). 

Some common mistakes when it comes to dialogue: 

Having one character speak too long without a break. Monologues are tough to get through as a reader and don’t come up often in real life in any meaningful way. They can end up cheesy or exposition heavy. Occasionally you can get away with it with very particular characters, but in general, avoid. 

Over use of names. It’s really distracting as a reader if dialogue is constantly like, ‘what do you think, Harry?’ ‘Charlie, I just don’t know.’ ‘Really, Harry, you need to decide if you’re going to marry her or not.’ ‘I know, you’re right, Charlie.’ Use names to get someone’s attention and then don’t use them again unless you need to make it clear to the reader who the character is talking to. 

Not using contractions. Even very formal people use contractions such as don’t and won’t, it is part of natural rapid speech. Save the ‘do not’ and ‘will not’s for when the emphasis is really needed. 

Having characters speak in unison. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes this can be used to hilarious effect and can always be used for a bit of comedy. But on the whole people don’t do this, including twins. 

Misuse of slang or dialects. If you’re going to use it, make sure you do your research. It’s also worth bearing in mind that if you over use it, it will be hard for the reader to understand and may break immersion. 

Over explain for the reader. I mentioned this before but it’s worth repeating. If you went outside right now and saw a UFO, you would probably shout something along the lines of ‘wtf is that?’, and you would perhaps point or scramble for your potato to take a shaky video. You would probably not shout, ‘look at flying saucer! I’ve never seen anything like it!’ Think carefully about realistic reactions, even if they are not particularly convenient to you as a writer. 

Over use of exclamation marks/caps lock. People aren’t that vibrant and it’s tiring to read. The less you use it, the more punch it packs. 

Using narration and dialogue tags

First, a quick grammar lesson. Sorry. 

‘This is some speech.’ 

‘This is also some speech,’ said the character. 

‘Is this also speech?’ asked another. 

‘Well,’ said the first, ‘yes.’ 

‘Brilliant,’ said the other. ‘Thanks for letting me know.’ 

I use single quotation marks because I’m British and annoying, the conventional double quote marks the Americans use (”like this!”) is also correct. The only important thing is that you pick one and stick to it. Quotation marks always surround the words that are being spoken aloud, and must be opened and closed. Where the sentence ends, you must use a full stop (period), or another piece of punctuation like a question or exclamation mark before closing the speech with the marks. 

Where there is a dialogue tag (he said/said/replied, etc), the sentence is continuing, so a comma is more appropriate (but you can also use a question/exclamation mark and the sentence still continues), and again this must go before the speech marks close the dialogue. If you want to continue the sentence with the dialogue tag in the middle, you can continue by using another comma, or you can end the sentence with a full stop and continue the dialogue as a new sentence. 

Use a new line for a new character speaking.

Phew, that’s over so you can pay attention again. But unfortunately I still have more to say. 

Here is a fun little exercise. Take the below dialogue between two characters, A and B. 

‘Do you love me?’ 

‘You’re drunk.’ 

‘Why won’t you answer the question?’ 

‘Sit down. I’ll make you a tea.’ 

‘I don’t want tea, I want an answer! Tell me!’  

The dialogue alone already tells us a bit of a story - a picture is probably already forming in your head, perhaps of the characters, perhaps of the setting. As it stands it’s ok, and if you struggle with dialogue it can be effective to write only the dialogue out in this way (this tip from my writing teacher also helped me cut down on purple prose!). But now look at the scene: 

It was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that Alex was woken at 3am by repeated bangs on the floor and shouts through the letterbox. Nothing else would have made her rise from bed. If she had suspected even for a moment that it was anyone else, she would have called the police. 

But as usual, it was Sam. Blonde, tousled hair a mess, eye make up smudged, pouting lips trembling as she swayed. 

‘Do you love me?’ 

‘You’re drunk,’ said Alex, wincing as Sam’s grey eyes shone with tears. ‘You’d better come in.’ 

‘Why won’t you answer the question?’ 

Alex ignored her, pulled her in by her slender arm. ‘Sit down. I’ll make you a tea.’ 

‘I don’t want tea. I want an answer. Tell me!’ Sam’s voice was loud and high, and it pierced her. 

So, we haven’t actually added that much narration or dialogue tags (t’s best, if you can, to avoid using them too much), but we’re able to give a clearer picture of these two characters. You may even now be reading the dialogue in a different tone to the one you originally did - picturing the scene with a different feel. Not convinced? How about now? 

Yet again, as had happened dozens of bloody times before, Alex was woken at 3am by incoherent, slurred shouting through the letterbox. 

‘Do you love me?’ was Sam’s immediate demand as Alex wearily opened the door. 

Alex rubbed her hand over her bleary eyes and sighed. ‘You’re drunk. You’d better come in.’ 

Sam turned on the tears at once, mascara running in thick, spidery lines down her blotchy cheeks. ‘Why won’t you answer the question?’

‘Sit down,’ Alex muttered. ‘I’ll make you a tea.’ She stood aside and jerked her head towards the living room.

‘I don’t want tea, I want an answer! Tell me!’ 

Wincing once more at her piercing shriek, Alex closed her eyes. 

The very same dialogue can be shaped by carefully worded narration and dialogue tags. It’s a fun exercise to do with writing buddies - all use the same dialogue and see how different the stories come out. It can also be a pretty nifty way to challenge writers block or shake up a scene you’re struggling with. 

Some extra tips from my writing teacher - I fully confess that I am not always the best at following these ones, because my writing has been heavily influenced by JK Rowling who also doesn’t seem to set much store by them. But they are good, and since I’ve kept them in mind my writing has improved. 

Avoid overuse of adverbs (’she said nervously’). Use action or dialogue alone to convey this information instead. 

Avoid overuse of verbs besides ‘said’. The reader will skim over said and barely notice it, if every character is whispering and muttering and shouting all the time it stilts the flow of the scene - use sparingly.

Use tags when necessary to ensure clarity as to who is speaking, otherwise let the dialogue stand for itself. 

Use internal thoughts in place of speech tags sometimes. 

Use action beats (’he turned to stare coldly out of the window’) in place of speech tags sometimes to help set the pace of the scene. 

I hope this very lengthy post has helped! Please do get in touch if you have any further questions or would like any elaborations on anything I’ve mentioned here, or if you have suggestions for future lessons!

Lastly, I hate to do this but times must - if you have even just a couple of quid to send my way it would be a massive help to me. If you did find this useful, please consider donating to my kofi. 

[crystalelemental]

I have 20 minutes before I have to feed the cat and get started on these courses that finally allowed me access, so let’s take a moment to talk about my good friend Thracia 776.

I made it through Chapter 5, and got both sidequest chapters along the way.  So that’s fun.  I decided to play on Paragon mode, because I don’t give a shit about challenge, I’m here to try and enjoy the experience for a game whose story I actually really like.

Currently, Leif is doing pretty well, mostly seems to do great with strength and speed, but his skill is bad and I don’t think he’s gained any build so that’s fun.  I think Macha’s been the most unprecedented hero so far.  She’s had two 6 point levels.  That’s really good.  Brighton’s had mostly 1 point levels so he’s not doing so hot.  Asbel seems super magic screwed, he still only has like 4 magic at level 7.  Not looking forward to that long-term.  Tanya actually got some fantastic levels too, including a lot of extra strength, so I’ll be doing my damnedest to get her back.

Chapters 1-3 remain pretty enjoyable.  Moreso now that I understand capturing as a mechanic and how to do that effectively.  A big issue before was not knowing how to set up a good capture, but now that I’m in the swing of it...I kinda like this feature?  Like it’s kinda cool.  Only kinda, though.  And the “only kinda” part kicks in as soon as you hit Chapter 4, where everything starts breaking down, but I’ll get to that.

I’m currently playing with the Lil Munster patch, which also allows me to see the hidden skills for units.  Such as Miracle+ on Eyvel, which just literally prevents her from ever dying.  I did not know that was a thing, and let me tell you, everything going on with Chapter 5′s pitfighters is suddenly a lot less bullshit.  Yes, you can argue all you want that it increases the tension when you don’t know it’s there, but also fuck that.

Chapter 4 is really where I think I’m going to start complaining.  Which is funny because on a second playthrough?  This is actually a pretty fun chapter.  You know, mostly.  Facilitating the escape of the civilians was pretty simple and fun, and it honestly helped out Karin the most, since she wasn’t particularly threatened by a guard holding a captive.  I was also pleasantly surprised at how engaging that map managed to be in terms of just...gathering Vulneraries.  Like, looking at it, I expected a disaster, but judicious use of the thieves and maybe a capture here and there actually nets you enough to equip everyone with a full vulnerary.

Until the trouble.  Let me be frank: I am always one for soft resetting when a character dies, and I’m trying to break myself of that particular habit a bit.  It’s not that I want to not care about characters, so much as recognizing that some characters I don’t give a shit about so why reset everyone else for them?  I play a quick run of Shadow Dragon before this, and just let people die, and honestly it was a lot more engaging when you’re not resetting for stupid things.  But there was one unit who causes two of the three resets, because I couldn’t afford to lose him.  Julian.  I couldn’t just lose the thief and that utility.  Resets occur not because of character love, but because you cannot give up the utility presented.

I feel like that’s part of early Thracia’s problem.  Chapters 1-3, it’s pretty easy to keep everyone alive, especially with Eyvel being actually invincible, and having three super units in Eyvel, Dagdar, and Finn.  If you got the Vouge and the Brave Axe, Osian and Halvan are actually ridiculous too.  But once you hit Chapter 4, things feel like they change to a level that’s a bit absurd?  If you didn’t successfully set up recruitment of Dalsin, I kinda feel like Chapter 4 and 4x are just impossible.  The only way to damage these armor knights are Leif’s Light Brand at range, and Dalsin’s axe.  Pretty much everyone else is dealing about 2 damage, and hoping for a crit, with none of them having the B-rank swords to make use of Armorslayer.  So the chokepoint strategy to the north feels decisively impossible because of how much damage you take, how little you deal in response, and how hard it is to actually break through and take out the mages when their numbers dwindle.  Not to mention one less unit means you have less defense against the soldier reinforcements, and it’s that much harder to protect your thieves.  Which, actually, speaking of: Thieves plural.  Which requires you actually got Lithis.  You probably did, his condition is super easy to achieve.  But.  My recollection is that the original version of this game didn’t give you little icons to tell you when people could talk to one another.  So unless you just figured out that Leif can talk to Eyvel (but not the other way around, that’s too much), you’d miss the hint about “Just catch him and hold onto him.”  At which point I feel it is fair to say people might release him after taking his stuff.  And then you only have one thief.  Which is.  Not great.  And slows down that prison escape significantly.

Then there’s 4x, where you really need 4 strong frontliners to block off attacks, and if you don’t have Dalsin I honestly feel like you’re just hosed, both in terms of taking too much damage, and having too few units to deal with the mages.  I’m not going to say it’s impossible to deal with, but for a putz like me it feels pretty impossible without the big tank man on deck.

Then there’s the issue of capturing.  Capturing only works if your build is higher than the opponent.  If you have a lower build, you can’t capture anyone.  Which is all well and good when you have four chunky axe bros and a cav on your side.  Then you can capture just about anything, especially with Tanya and Ronan giving you some nice chip damage to set up those easy captures.  But Chapter 4-5, you really don’t have many options.  Brighton is consistently able to capture, but Fergus isn’t.  8 build isn’t bad, but it’s not enough to capture one of the soldiers and take their vulneraries.  So if you didn’t get Dalsin, you have one guy who can consistently capture people.  One.  The thieves can steal, but Lara’s build is so low she basically can’t steal anything heavier than a vulnerary or door key, and she’s got 14HP so good luck leaving her in range of anything.  So like.  That’s fun.

Point being, some of these challenges feel distinctly impossible without save states as a result.  I think the biggest offender was admittedly an optional one: the two Loptyr mages in front of the chests in Chapter 5.  Man, those guys are fucked.  Tremendous damage output, poison, and had an absurdly high crit rate that would one-shot anyone if it hit.  I think Leif was able to deny the crits with Light Brand but I’m honestly not sure.  The fact you had to deal with two of them, or risk Leif having to chip them 3 damage at a time at range, was kind of a problem.  That’s the kind of thing where I don’t really know how you’re supposed to manage that, and save states feel incredibly necessary if you’re going to stand a chance.  Granted, this is optional, you can escape and just leave those chests.  But this isn’t the only situation I can think of where the game just plays stupid, and usually the stupid is with mages, because magic is resistance and no one has any.  Except Karin, who is delightfully too weak to actually KO a mage in response.  So that helps.  Situations across Chapters 4-5 have been difficult, because of the presence of magical hits that can 2-shot people if they connect, and a lot of situations feel like you’re desperately hoping for a particular attack to connect so you don’t start losing people left and right.  And then the attack misses anyway because 100% accuracy doesn’t exist, and whoops now you’re gone.

Despite that, I’m still enjoying this more than my first time through.  Maybe it’s familiarity with the game and its mechanics, but I do feel like being able to clear Chapter 4 without screaming is a good indicator that maybe it’s not as bad as I remembered.  We’ll see though, there’s much worse to come.

[entamesubs]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens Episode 15 Sub Release

Thank you everyone for bearing with me with this minor delay! It was a mad dash this morning to find the raw as it came out later than usual.

Sub file only: click here! Video torrent with soft subs (720p): https://nyaa.si/view/1280004 DDL GDrive*: click here!

(* please read all associated warnings in the “Other SEVENS videos” folder before downloading anything there)

I now have a ko-fi, if you wish to leave a tip. Thank you very much for the support so far!!

If there are any corrections you wish to make, please put them through the submit box! For questions, use the ask box, but please make sure to read the FAQ first.

Below are extended translation notes for this episode, so spoilers ahead.

--------------

ソリッドビジョンですからね “After all, it’s just Solid Vision.”

Yes, your eyes (and ears) do not deceive you. Gakuto is directly referring to Solid Vision, the duel system introduced in ARC-V and hasn’t been heard of since then.

This episode in particular has a bunch of ARC-V easter eggs, and it was very fun to translate as someone who really loves that series!

edit: someone has pointed out it’s been referred to as “Solid Vision” even back in DM, but the phrase gained more usage in ARC-V thanks to Real Solid Vision. My bubble... it is popped.

キラー・バイトボール “Kill-Lure Bait Ball“

As said in the TL notes on the episode itself, this actually translates (literally) to “Killer Bite Ball”, but it isn’t something that makes sense in English. To localize a little bit, and in the spirit of SEVENS’ constant puns, I decided to translate this as “Kill-Lure”.

七つの海を股にかけた小学生漁師ヂュエリスト！ “The elementary schooler duelist that rises with the power of the seven seas!“

This one threw me for a loop, but only not because I didn’t understand it. It was because I did.

股 (mata) means thigh, crotch, or groin. In this instance, the phrase is 海を股にかけた, or “gripping the thigh of the sea” which is a weird sentence to parse. However, this is also a phrase that exists in Chinese! It usually means to acquire something by relying on someone else. In layman’s terms, it’d be like “carrying” someone in a game. 

Imagine my shock when I learned that this was also a phrase used in Japanese, haha. As a side note, I am indeed of Chinese ethnicity.

海の藻屑 (umi no mokuzu) “Watery grave” / “Davy Jones’ locker”

Maguro repeats this a lot throughout the episode. You may notice that while all of his instances of 海の藻屑 are translated as “watery grave”, Luke and Gakuto switch between that and “Davy Jones’ locker”. As he’s a fisherman and not a pirate, I couldn’t lean too heavily into the theme, but seeing as Luke and Gakuto probably don’t really see a difference, it was fun to play around with the translation.

For reference, they all use the same phrase (海の藻屑); I just translated it differently according to the character.

羽ばたく (habataku) “and fly!”

Yuuga’s summoning chant did indeed change this episode, in more ways than one. Specifically, the last verb he uses is 羽ばたく (habataku), meaning more specifically to “spread one’s wings” and/or “go out into the world”.

In the subs it was translated as “fly” for the sake of being able to read the sentence quickly enough in the short amount of time Yuuga allots to say it.

シビれたぜ (shibireta ze) “That gave me the shivers!”

Yet again your eyes and ears do not deceive you, Maguro does indeed use “shibi” as in “shibiberu” as in the shivers kid from ARC-V.

I highly appreciated the references this episode and this honestly became one of my more favorite ones as a result! Really, even when you think SEVENS has a little filler, it comes back with some other amazing stuff. I’m really enjoying my ride alongside all of you so far!

[chiaki-translation]

Luminous Circus: Event Translation Epilogue

Finally, the epilogue~

I have nothing to say, but I guess I’m going to rest for a while after this~

Ch3-4 / / Ch5-6 / / Ch7-8 / / Ch9-10 / / Epilogue

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber Entertainment

Translator’s Note: The guys are trying to compose a Haiku later on in this Epilogue. It’s impossible for it to not be lost in translation so I kept the actual Japanese sentence along with the general idea of what the Haiku means on the side. 575 refers to the syllables for each line which is the common formatting for Haiku. Seasonal word is a collection of words they used in the traditional Japanese poetry to represent the particular season, usually referring to the season they’re in now.

Epilogue: Day dream at night

Homare:

Thank you for coming!

Kazunari:

Thank you, everyone! See you again!

Sakuya:

Thank you so much!

Muku:

Thank you so much~!

<Shifts to Backstage>

Director:

(Even until the closing night, they were able to convey a fun and wonderful performance of a circus troupe to the audiences. I’m so glad!)

Tsumugi:

It’s a great closing night performance.

Guy:

Yeah. Mixed Play really has a different atmosphere compared to the usual Winter Troupe performance.

Azuma:

It’s such a refreshing feel to look at something new.

Hisoka:

…Arisu looks like his usual self.

Tasuku:

The role has a similar feel to Arisugawa, but don’t you think he’s able to pull off being a leader better now.

Tsumugi:

You’re right.

Director:

Thank you for your help!

Tsumugi:

After this, are we going to have an afterparty?

Tasuku:

If you’re going to do it, I’ll help with the preparation.

Director:

Ah, then--

Homare:

Thank you, but I don’t need any help.

Director:

Ah, Homare-san! Thank you for your hard work!

Guy:

You’re not going to hold an afterparty?

Homare:

Not that, the venue has already been arranged and prepared.

<Shifts to Mansion’s Garden>

Sakuya:

It’s really gorgeous.

Muku:

It’s like a noble garden party in the mansion, it’s so nice!

Tasuku:

The inner courtyard can accommodate everyone from the troupe, it’s really quite big.

Homare:

Then, please drink and eat as much as you like today!

Kazunari:

Let’s eat!

Director:

I’m sorry for bringing in so many people.

Homare’s Grandmother:

That immature grandson of mine always bothers me anyway, don’t mind it.

Homare:

I guess I’m still immersed in the lingering excitement from the closing night, the sake smells pretty fragrant…

A poetic inspiration swelled up inside me.

Food—The buzzing chronicle~, scramble bloo bloo blooming~

Ariel:

Woof!

Homare:

Wh, what is it, Ariel!

Homare’s Grandmother:

It actually sounds like her favourite call.

You too, why not read me a Haiku for once.

Homare:

I like poem with freedom and no format though…

Food…

Akari kie (Having lost its light)

Hana no kaori nokoru (the flower leaves behind its fragrance)

Ita no ue (on top of everything else)

...How’s that.

Director:

It’s actually proper…!

Sakuya:

That’s very wonderful!

Hisoka:

…It’s somehow weird when you actually understand what Alice means.

Homare:

What do you mean by that!

Tasuku:

So you can actually create a proper one after all.

Homare’s Grandmother:

Others who just finished their performance too, why not try making a phrase.

Sakuya:

Eh!? Umm, a Haiku should be 575 right…

Things like…

Kankyaku no (The audience’s)

egao hajiketa (smile bursting out)

senshuraku. (on the closing night)

I’m sorry, there’re extra syllables and the seasonal word is missing!

Director:

It’s alright as long as long as it sounds like Sakuya-kun!

Homare:

Yes. It’s such a bright phrase.

Kazunari:

Hey hey, I’m next!

Ame arare (The barrage of rain)

Ka-ten ko-ru (during curtain call)

Kimochi ii! (leaves behind a nice feeling!)

Director:

You managed to include the seasonal word properly.

Sakuya:

It’s rain, but it has such a bright feeling!

Tasuku:

It’s not rainy season now though.

Kazunari:

That’s the point!

Homare:

How about Muku-kun.

Muku:

Eh!? Me, me is it!?

Eh, umm…

Sa-kasu wa (In Circus)

Kyaku mo yakusha mo (the audience and the performers too)

Egao ni naru ne (will be full of smiles)

…?

Director:

So cute!

Kazunari:

Feels like Mukkun!

Muku:

Ehehe!

Tsuzuru:

It’s very interesting that you can see people’s character from their Haiku phrase.

Misumi:

I also want to make one~!

Sankaku no (Triangle)

Kado wa mittsu de (has 3 corners)

Sankaku da (that’s why it’s a triangle.)

~!

Kazunari:

So triangular~!

Tenma:

THE triangle huh.

Tsuzuru:

He’s so steady.

<Short Time Skip>

Director:

It’s going to be pretty late, we should call it a day soon.

Kazunari:

Right~ Eh? Where’s Aririn?

Muku:

Ah, I haven’t seen him for a while.

Takao:

Homare-sama said that he was feeling a bit drunk, so he left his seat earlier.

I thought he was in the inner courtyard, should we search for him for you.

Director:

If that’s the case, we’ll go and search for him.

Sakuya:

If we’re going to call it a day, it won’t be right if the leader’s not here!

<Shifts to Grandmother’s Study>

Homare:

…Fuh.

(I was feeling a bit drunk, but why did I come to such place.

I have to get back soon--)

Hmm?

The watch is moving!

I thought it’s already broken…  It’s a miracle!

???:

Grandfather.

Homare:

!?

That… But, no way…

Homare’s Grandfather:

Hmm? It’s you, Homare, what is it.

Homare:

Grandmother said the tea is ready.

Homare’s Grandfather:

Thank you. I’ll be there soon.

Homare:

That pocket watch, is it broken again?

Homare’s Grandfather:

Yeah. But it’s already repaired.

Recently, the number of parts has decreased, it’s getting harder and harder to maintain it.

My sight is getting worse too, this watch and me too, we’ve become old.

It’s been 30 years huh…

Homare:

…?

Homare’s Grandfather:

That painting was drawn around the same time that I bought this watch.

That painting, it’s an important memory of my time with grandmother.

Homare:

What kind of memory is it?

Homare’s Grandfather:

When you grow up, when you finally found your important things, give it a thought.

Ariel:

--Woof!

Homare:

!!

It disappeared…?

Just now it was—

(Do I start daydreaming too when I’m drunk.

The watch’s not moving...  When did the dream start I wonder?)

…As I thought, something that’s already broken cannot return to the past.

Kazunari:

Aririn!

Muku:

Arisu-san, so you’re here.

Director:

You’re spacing out, what happened?

Homare:

Nothing, something strange happened just now.

I could see my grandfather and myself during my childhood.

Director:

Eh!?

Kazunari:

That’s great isn’t it!

Muku:

Woah, that sounds like what happened to George!

Sakuya:

A real magic!

Homare:

I see… Then maybe, that’s the magic of this pocket watch.

Muku:

It still holds such a mysterious power even though you’ve had it for so long!

Sakuya:

Maybe it’s your grandfather’s ability!

Director:

Umm… I guess Homare-san yourself has some magic in you.

Kazunari:

Then, everything’s correct!

I’m sure, the feelings of the various people contained in this pocket watch are being manifested through magic, don’t you think so?

Homare:

Hmm… That will be such a powerful magic.

From now on, let’s make a lot more memories.

Together with this watch--

Director:

You’re right.

Kazunari:

I’m sure your grandfather will be happy too.

Homare:

Then, let’s immediately make some memories right now!

Director:

Eh!? Now!?

Sakuya:

It’s already late!?

Muku:

What do you want to do?

Homare:

Grandfather and grandmother will paint on days like this so they won’t forget!

Kazunari:

Then, it’s a drawing meet!

Homare:

Yes!

Sakuya:

D, drawing meet!?

Muku:

Fufu, it sounds fun, a drawing meet!

Director:

And I thought we’re going to end the day soon…

Homare:

Then, let’s get the art supplies ready.

Kazunari:

If we’re painting we have to prepare the tables too!

Director:

…I don’t think I can stop them at this point.

Homare’s Grandmother:

What kind of commotion is this?

Director:

I’m sorry.

Can you lend us the courtyard for a little bit longer?

Homare’s Grandmother:

Well, I’m sure it’s because of something that child say right.

There’s no other choice.

Director:

Really sorry to bother you…

Homare’s Grandmother:

…Sakae-san, I’m glad I gave that pocket watch to Homare.

Director:

Eh?

Homare’s Grandmother:

Nah, it’s nothing.

<End of Epilogue>

[engekihaikyuu]

Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu

W Vol. 24 - Interview Translation with Daigo Kotarou and Akana Ryuunosuke

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I’m sure you’ve both gone to see Engeki Haikyuu before your casting, what were your impressions of the play at that time? Daigo: When I got to go see it, I could really feel how passionate and lively it was.  I think it’s the kind of play where you can feel more positive and happy just by seeing it.

Akana: I could also directly feel the cast member’s passion and enthusiasm, and just how much they were going all out.  Something about it feels more like watching a concert instead of a play, and I felt like I just couldn’t tear my eyes away. 

======

Full interview translation and more photos under the Read More! Please do not repost my translations or scans.

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For your respective characters, Daigo-san as Hinata Shouyou, Akana-san as Kageyama Tobio, how will you each work to capture your characters? Daigo: Hinata Shouyou is generally speaking very positive and optimistic.  In the story for this next play, even as he hits wall after wall, he doesn’t get down about it, he doesn’t lose heart, he just keeps facing forward, so I think that’s going to be very important for playing him. Akana: Kageyama Tobio is just a man I respect.  He’s a first-year but he’s a regular on the team, as the team’s setter.  Even though that’s a position with a lot of weight and expectations, he repeatedly meets those expectations.  I am going to do my best to convey that aspect of Kageyama.  

What is something about the world of Haikyuu that you think is amazing, or that you find fascinating, or that just touches you emotionally? Akana: This is something I felt when I was reading the manga... but in the very first scene, Kageyama says to Hinata, “Only the winners remain on the court.”  “If you want to win and keep going, then get stronger.”  And I just thought that was so deep.  Just working hard doesn’t mean that you’ll be rewarded for it, but the ones who are being rewarded are definitely working hard.  I thought to myself, no I really do have to get stronger, and I was just very deeply struck by those words. Daigo: I’m always really moved by Hinata’s expressions.  Like he was just holding a ball at home and his little sister said to him, “You’re much better friends with that ball now.  That ball was basically a stranger before.  But now you get along.”  And Hinata’s expression in that moment was just incredible.  

By the way, are the two of you very sports-oriented to begin with? Daigo: When I was in school I was. Akana: Same for me.  I wasn’t on a school team, but I’d done karate ever since I was little.  But now I’m more of the indoor-type.  I definitely spend more time at home watching anime or playing games. (laughs) Daigo: I played soccer from kindergarten to my third-year in middle school.  So I completely understand what it feels like to be on a team and have that camaraderie.  

My questions from here on out will now be themed somewhat.  This theme is “Something you can’t stop.”  Meaning, if you start doing this, you won’t be able to stop.  What’s something like that for you? Daigo: If I start watching an anime that already has an ending, even if I’ve seen it before, I can’t stop until I’ve gone from episode 1 to the very end. (laughs) I just feel like I have to get to the end.

Oh that can take quite a bit of time. Daigo: It does.  Recently, an anime that I watched in one go from beginning to end was Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World.  And right now I’m really into The Quintessential Quintuplets.   Akana: For me, I can’t stop when I’m on a trip.  I really like traveling.  In particular, I really like the countryside, so I’ll go to a bicycle rental place, rent a bike, and then just cycle my way through the mountains.  And I just keep going, I don’t stop, so that even my friends who are with me will start whining, “Let’s head back already.”  (laughs) Daigo: Where do you go? Akana: Like I’ll go to see a dam because I want to. Daigo: A dam? Akana: I keep going even though my legs feel like they’re gonna explode, and because I’m struggling on my way, I end up wanting to see some impressive scenery at the end.  And wanting to see those sights is why I go traveling. Daigo: That’s amazing...

Although it seems like you don’t really sympathize. (laughs) Daigo: I don’t. (laughs) Because I’m the type that doesn’t go traveling. (laughs)  But if end up on a trip, it’s usually fun. Akana: It’s definitely fun.

By the way, as the two of you have done this interview and photoshoot together, and you start spending more time together, is there anything you feel like you’ve noticed about the other’s personality? Daigo: I feel like he’s kind of spacey. (laughs) Akana: Ah ha ha (laughs). Daigo: As we’ve gotten used to each other, we’ll find things to tease each other about, find things to make the other one laugh, and now I think he’s just a really fun guy.  Even though at the beginning I thought he might be kind of stiff. (laughs)

And Akana-san, anything about Daigo-san? Akana: When I look at all the experience he has with all this prior work and productions, I think wow he’s really amazing.  And when it comes to work, he’s very serious and put-together, but in private he’s more... well I start to feel like we are actually the same age. (laughs)  At first I thought he might be older than me, but no he can definitely be 19 years old. Daigo: Yes I can. (laughs)  But once we start rehearsals, we’ll probably see more aspects of one another. Akana: I’m looking forward to that.

And lastly, to the people who are looking forward to seeing this play, I’d like to ask you how you’d like people to see it, what you’d like them to notice and enjoy and have fun with, etc... Daigo: Well to start, I’d like people to just come see it without thinking about it too much.  I’d like them to just feel the enthusiasm for volleyball, and to just enjoy this show on its own as it is.  Instead of, “Okay, let’s see this,” just enjoy it casually.  I’m sure that people will feel refreshed and invigorated after watching.   Akana: Since I’ve also watched Engeki Haikyuu before this, and because I have that concert-like impression, I’m really excited about it.  I want people to come see it and enjoy it like they’re coming to see a single concert. And if they do that, then I think we can in show everything we’ve got.  

This is something I’ve heard from several of your senpai (meaning: the previous cast), but physically, athletically, they say things like, “It’s really tough,” and “It’s really demanding.” Daigo: I think it’s gonna be hard.  When I was talking to Suga Kenta-san, he was talking about how physically demanding it was, even though Suga-san is someone who’s already so athletic.  For him to say that it’s as tough as it is, I can imagine that it’s going to be harder than anything I can think of.  So I really need to work on my stamina.   Akana: That’s true.  But I really like strenuous stuff.  (laughs)  I’m a person that loves being cornered; You improve because things are hard and tough, and when I think about that improvement, I start to enjoy it.  So I’m gonna make good use of this personality of mine and work really really hard. 

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Translated by @nimbus-cloud Please do not repost my translations

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If you’d like to buy the magazine that features the original interview, you can find it on Amazon JP: (x)

[raendown]

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 4121 Chapter: 21/? Summary: Not all wars are fought on the battlefield. Some are fought at the conference table, with whispers in the shadows, or even in the bedroom.

In a world where the Senju and Uchiha traditional lands were too far apart to have ever made them enemies, Butsuma and Tajima are the ones who come together and sign a treaty of peace. Madara isn’t happy to have his life signed away for him in a political marriage to strengthen the bond between their clans. He is even less happy to have Tobirama make assumptions of him from their very first night together. What follows from there is a journey of healing, of learning, and finding the places to belong in the places least expected.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Chapter 21

It would be an understatement to say that Tobirama was in a bad mood after he left home that evening. One moment it felt as though his entire life was finally falling in to place and the next there was Izuna with his stupid face and his stupid attitude getting in the stupid way. He was already steaming when he made it to Hashirama's house. Seeing his brother with both lips wrapped around the top of a bottle of nihinshu, pouring it straight back down his throat like an animal with not a single dish in sight, did nothing to improve that.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Tobirama demanded. “Where is your wife?”

“She’s gone over to enjoy some lady time with Touka.” Hashirama grinned sheepishly and hurried to put the bottle down, probably hoping he wouldn’t get yelled at for having such poor manners.

Tobirama considered it. On a normal day he would have immediately started in on a lecture about how to properly enjoy one’s nihinshu, possibly started another lecture on why they both knew Hashirama should not having been guzzling away at that bottle so quickly. This was not a normal day, however, and he was not in a very normal kind of mood.

“Pour me a glass.”

Hashirama paused to study his face. Then he was leaping off the couch and hustling through the kitchen to fetch a pair of dishes.

Very quickly they were both flopped on opposite ends of the same spacious couch they had grown up on with glasses of alcohol in their hands and two bottles balanced on a small tray between them. One might think that Hashirama's bouncy personality would make this a terrible idea but alcohol actually had quite a mellowing effect on him. It was the easiest way to tell he was backsliding in to the bottles again.

Really Tobirama shouldn’t be encouraging him by partaking in such a bad habit but with Mito around he trusted that his brother had few enough opportunities to indulge that it wasn’t likely to become a habit again in the way it once had. One evening of letting them both have a bit of leeway wouldn’t kill anyone. And if it came with the added benefit of getting his mind off things and helping him calm down enough that he no longer felt like marching back home to strangle Izuna with his own bare hands, well, that was exactly what he needed.

“I thought you seemed like you were having a really good day earlier,” Hashirama noted hesitantly after they were both a few cups in.

“Yes, I was. And then my brother-in-law happened.”

“Ah. Yeah. Both of Mito’s sisters make me feel the same way.” He nodded and raised a glass in solidarity and then tossed the whole thing back in one go.

Draining his own and immediately reaching for a refill, Tobirama grunted. “Well at least you don’t live in the same city as your extended family. I live down the street from Izuna. And for that matter close to Tajima as well. Do you know how glad I am that neither of them are more interested in coming over for family dinners?”

He was almost glad to see his brother shiver in solidarity.

What he was not glad to see was the bottom of his bottle only a half hour later. Tingles had already taken over most of his body but that wasn’t nearly as drunk as he would have preferred to be at the moment and the more he drank the more he found he wanted. For the first time in his life he was glad of Hashirama's habit for excess.

“I know!” his brother announced without moving from the corner he’d wedged himself in to. “We could go downtown! Mito always says it’s not a good idea for me to go look at any of the bars that have opened in the marketplace but it’s fine with you there, right? It’s fine!”

“Of course. Yeah. I’ll keep you in line.” Tobirama nodded very seriously to himself, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that noted he himself probably couldn’t walk a straight line at the moment.

“Fun! Let’s go!”

“You haven’t moved, Anija.”

“Oh I’m sure I’ll get there eventually.”

He had to pull Hashirama of the couch and find both of their shoes but eventually they did make it out the front door. Neither of them had ever visited any of the drinking establishments Konoha had to offer so it was a bit of a struggle trying to find them once they finally made it in to the market district but the first one they spotted had bright lights to draw them in and a pretty young girl at the counter to draw Hashirama's attention while Tobirama ordered a round of drinks.

Which was, of course, a challenge all on its own. His vision had never been the absolute best and so much alcohol had made it even fuzzier so he wasn’t entirely sure he was reading the prices right on the sign behind the bartender. A quick glance around the establishment showed most people drinking from what seemed to be beer bottles but he himself had only ever partaken in rice or plum wines.

In the end he just asked for whatever the person next to him was having and handed over enough coins to leave a tip as well.

“Should we try to find a table?” he murmured but Hashirama shook his head.

“Here is fine!” With that his sibling plonked down on one of the stools right up against the bar itself.

Tobirama supposed that did make it more efficient for when they needed a refill so he balanced himself on the next stool and took a tentative sip of whatever drink he’d been handed. It wasn’t as bad as he’d always imagined; still nowhere near as good as the nihinshu they’d drained before, though.

While the night hour deepened outside their establishment the two brothers made a point of testing different drinks with every new round they bought and Tobirama was introduced to the more social aspects of drinking in public places. After the few couple of rounds Hashirama looked like he was melting over the bar top but Tobirama found himself engaged in deep conversation with people he’d never met before in his life.

One in particular it turned out he did know, though it took a while to remember. He hadn’t seen his cousin in so long he’d almost forgotten her face but after she pointed out the connection he allowed one hug for the sake of reunited family. Her name brought up memories of braided hair and freckles disappearing for undercover work and he supposed that was probably why he hadn’t seen her for so long. Indeed, when he asked she told him she had been quite surprised to head for home after so many years only to find her home completely empty. Up until then she hadn’t given any credence to the rumors of a new village built between the Senju and the Uchiha. After all, the clans lived too far apart for any sort of bad blood to exist between them and she hadn’t thought Butsuma smart enough to see the advantage in securing such a powerful ally so far away.

The two of them were well and truly distracted by their catching up, Hashirama pitching in when he could be bothered to lift his head up from the bar, so wrapped up in their own little world that Tobirama paid little attention to the rest of the room when normally he would be keeping track of every chakra signature present. Which is how he missed Izuna until the slam of a glass bottle against wood rang out just loudly enough to pull his attention and he looked over to find the one he least wanted to see pushing himself up from an otherwise empty booth and storming away with tense body language.

Or at least Tobirama thought he looked tense. It was possible he could be seeing things. Even Izuna himself might have been a hallucination brought on by drink or it could just be a random Uchiha that his muddled brain had decided to project upon. Tobirama squinted at the man’s back as it disappeared out the door and told himself it was fine. No need to worry. It would have to be quite a coincidence for Izuna to crop up so many times in one day, especially after he’d said he would go away only to turn up in their home barely more than an hour later.

He turned back to the cousin he hadn’t seen in years and offered her a sloppy smile.

“I got married!” he said.

“So I hear.” She leaned forward with a smile of her own. “Tell me everything about him.”

Nothing could have made him happier. With alcohol loosening his tongue Tobirama opened his mouth and let the praises flow like a river, happy as a pig in mud to do nothing but wax poetic on his husband. Madara had a lot of good qualities that he knew most people never took the time to see. What sort of partner would he be if he missed such a golden opportunity to spread the good word?

Apparently Hashirama approved of him playing the good husband as well because it only took one more round of drinks for him to start sobbing over how happy he was for both of them and how good they were for each other. It was easy to ignore. Tobirama had grown up being attacked with random bursts of crying so he didn’t think much of the boorish display but he did notice several long glances from the bartender, reluctance clear on his face when he was asked to bring them another round. Clearly their fun had come to an end.

Tobirama’s coin purse was worryingly lighter when he paid up the last of their tab for the night but he was honestly more worried about how he was going to get Hashirama back home while he could barely keep himself upright. He was more grateful than he currently had the capacity to express when their cousin stepped in and volunteered to guide the drunken fool, laughing easily at her surprise that he intended to walk in the opposite direction. Apparently she assumed that even marriage would not separate him from his brother’s side. Little that she knew.

Cool night air and very few people on the streets to witness his drunken stumble helped keep up the good mood that had finally repaired itself as Tobirama made his way home alone. When he reached the top of their street he could feel Madara's chakra boiling away inside their home but in such a muddled state it didn’t occur to him as a bad thing. He was happy to feel Madara close and that was about as far ahead as he was thinking at the moment. There was even a dopey sort of smile on his face as he fumbled to open the door and spilled in to the front hallway, barely remembering to peel off his sandals before continuing in to the living room where he found his husband.

It looked like Madara had been pacing circles for quite some time when Tobirama came in to the room but he stopped as soon as he heard the door snap shut, whipping his head around to narrow both eyes while Tobirama waved at him inanely.

“And just where have you been?” he asked. It felt like a trick question somehow.

“With Hashirama.” Tobirama cocked his head to one side. “Like I said I’d be.”

“You said you would be spending the evening with him, yes. There was no mention of going out trolling for company in seedy bars!”

Madara huffed and stomped another circle but stopped when his path brought him right up in front of Tobirama, who stood blinking in confusion. He couldn’t remember sending word ahead when their plans had changed but perhaps it had slipped his mind somewhere between the drinks. It must have if Madara already knew about their adventures.

“I like your company,” he announced, proud of himself for stating how he felt so clearly and then sad to see the other man frown in response.

“Really, now? From what I hear you enjoy the company of strange women!”

“I – what?”

“He saw you! Izuna saw you in that bar! Flirting with random women with Hashirama right there at your side doing nothing to stop it!”

Tobirama squinted as he tried to determine how he felt. Apparently he had not been hallucinating Izuna’s presence and apparently the idiot had run straight home to carry tales of what he thought he’d seen. Even well past his own tolerance limits it wasn’t hard for Tobirama to figure out where the miscommunication had happened and why Izuna had come tattling stories of a wrong he hadn’t committed. What made him decide that he was angry was how easily Madara seemed to have believed such things.

And here he thought they had gotten to the point where they could trust each other, where they knew each other a little better than for Madara to believe him capable of that.

“I’m going to sleep,” he murmured, not wanting to deal with this.

“No, you’re going to stay here and explain what the hell you were thinking!”

“What I was thinking was that I hadn’t seen my cousin in nearly a decade and it was a pleasant surprise to see her again! I was thinking it was nice to come home to a husband who might have started believing I wasn’t a monster!” Tobirama scowled deeply to hide the hurt. “Evidently I was wrong about that last one. I really don’t know what I have to do to convince you I have no ill intentions.”

Madara blinked at him with wide eyes. “Your…cousin?”

“Yes. My cousin. For whom I could not possibly hold any attraction, what with my preference for men.” He tried to raise both eyebrows pointedly but couldn’t tell if the expression actually formed since his face had gone numb, an interesting effect he’d never experienced before.

“Well how was I supposed to know that?” Madara blustered.

“Call me crazy but you could try getting both sides of the story first before flying off the handle.”

“Hey! I didn’t believe him when he said he saw you flirting with a woman! But then he said you were hugging her – you never hug anyone! And certainly not in public!” Crossing his arms, he huffed and nodded once to make his point.

Which was a good point, Tobirama could admit that.  It was slightly mollifying that Madara had arrived at his conclusion using at least some kind of logic. But it was still the wrong conclusion.

“You still should have waited to hear my side first! He saw me in a bar. Obviously we were drinking. So it follows that my behavior will be slightly off!” The first clue for which should have been his unsteady gait and this new habit of emphasizing so many words in his speech.

“Fine!” Madara shouted. “Next time I’ll ask!” He somehow managed to sound both angry and glad to make his concession.

“Good then. Do that. I don’t see why you’re still angry.” Tobirama sniffed. He was the one who had been insulted here. What right did Madara have to keep huffing and puffing?

Squirming in place, his husband looked away for a moment. When he looked back he jerked his chin up in to the air with a familiar stubborn jut. “Well excuse me for feeling a little betrayed when I thought the man I married was cheating on me. Maybe I should have waited like you said but we both know I have a temper! Izuna told me what he saw and I reacted!”

Tobirama snorted but said nothing because there was nothing to say. He did know that Madara had a temper, they both did in their own ways, and once it was pointed out like that he could understand why he had found the man in such a state. And he supposed he could appreciate the fact that Madara hadn’t immediately stormed out of the house to come confront him. Neither of them would have come away from that encounter unscathed and only kami knew what sort of complication a drunken Hashirama could have added in to the mix.

“I guess I’ll just take the couch for tonight then,” Tobirama murmured, taking his turn to look away. If they laid down in the same bed he was certain Madara would tense up in the same way he used to and just imagining the sight of it was heartbreaking. Better to spend the night apart and let the man cool off.

“You don’t have to,” Madara grunted.

“It’s fine. Maybe it’s best.”

“Says who?”

Tobirama closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Stop being difficult and just – it’s late. Go to bed.”

“No. It’s your bed too, no one said you had to start sleeping on the couch again!”

“And no one said it was permanent either!” Bringing their gazes back together, Tobirama noted that they were mirroring each other’s stubborn expressions perfectly. “I’m trying to be respectful! Something you could learn from!”

That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say. Madara puffed up so large his hair seemed to physically bristle with offense.

“I can be respectful!”

“Sure. Of course. You never just think about what you want!”

“Oh you want me to just take what I want? Well fine!”

When Madara came towards him suddenly Tobirama had but a split second to note that alcohol really does impair one’s reaction time, stopping him from raising any sort of defense against the blow he thought was surely coming for his face.

Instead he found fingers in the collar of his shirt and lips pressed insistently against his own, messy and off-center. He registered the fact that they were kissing at around the same time he registered that Madara had probably never kissed anyone before in his life – barring the day they were married, of course. If he had he would have done something other than stand perfectly still with his lips pursed and his heart beating so heavily Tobirama could feel the pulse of it thundering when he wrapped a hand around one of the man’s wrists.

He could have pulled away and gotten angry for having his person assaulted like this right in the middle of an argument, something he knew he would have done if he were sober and clinging stubbornly to his own temper, but the drink in his veins did a perfect job of smoothing the transition between anger and a pleasant sort of triumph. This was exactly what he had been so upset about being denied earlier. Why shouldn’t he enjoy it?

The shift of Madara's stance away from him made him realize that he had been standing there for too long not reacting in any way other than to take hold of one wrist in what could be considered a forbidding grip, definitely not the impression he wanted to give. Before his partner could pull away entirely Tobirama took a step forward himself, taking control of Madara's lips and tilted his own head to show the man what a proper kiss should be like. His eyes rolled behind closed lids when he heard a helpless moan that had probably escaped by accident.

Loosening the fingers he’d brought up in defensive instinct, he reached down instead with both hands to frame Madara's hips, bringing their bodies together at the same time as he took another step forward to drive the man back in to whatever surface happened to be there. Probably a wall, possibly a bookcase. Whatever it was mattered little compared to the way his husband melted against him with another delicious sound and tightened the grip on his collar in what he could guess was approval.

When they separated several minutes later they were both flushed and short of breath, staring at each other with open wonder and neither making any move to pull away farther than the space needed for their gazes to meet. Tobirama licked his lips, tasting something new that he thought he might be instantly addicted to, and wondered what to say. He was grateful when Madara broke the silence first.

“You taste like beer. Wouldn’t have taken you for a beer drinker.”

“Will you do that again when I’m sober?” Tobirama blurted. His partner blinked at him and he shuffled his weight anxiously. “I am not convinced this isn’t some kind of alcohol-driven hallucination.”

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, we can do this again when you’re sober. I would hope we do this, er, many times. In the future. Going forward?” Madara scrunched his face up in the way that said he was irritated with the choppy sentences coming out of his mouth and if Tobirama had an ounce less self-control he would have kissed the man again just for that.

“Good, good. I think I should sleep now.”

Madara helped him up the stairs, both hands hovering near his person to push him back upright whenever he overbalanced in a random direction. He managed to change and brush his teeth by himself but the moment he spread himself out across the bed to wait for Madara to do those same tasks it was like all the alcohol he’d consumed pounced on him all at once. When his husband came back in to the room he was spread out on his back with both hands clutched in the sheets, glaring at the ceiling as best he could with drooping eyelids.

“Doing okay?”

“The room is spinning,” Tobirama informed him matter-of-factly. “I don’t like it.”

“Drinking does that to you.” Madara nodded sagely and Tobirama concluded that he must have experienced this a time or two before. How anyone could enjoy this sensation was beyond him. He felt as though he might fly off the edge of the earth any moment and all he wanted was for something to help him stay in place.

Which, he realized through the fog, he could have. Madara blinked when he unclenched one hand to reach out across the bed.

“Come here. Please. If you don’t hold me down I’m going to float away or something.”

“Of course you will.” Madara was laughing at him but Tobirama let it go just this once since he was getting what he wanted anyway and that was clearly more important at the moment.

Slipping under the covers, Madara scooted across the mattress until he was flush up against Tobirama the way they had come to enjoy sleeping back to front, only this time he paused for a brief second to consider the change in position before laying his head down on the chest before him and curling in to Tobirama with his entire body. One hand he curled between them and the other he gently rested on the ribs just below his head. For a few moments his body retained a great deal of tension as he supposedly debated with himself whether or not he liked this new arrangement but then he relaxed all at once, daring even to shift one leg forward to hook his ankle over the one closest to him.

“There,” he murmured. “Is that good?”

“Yeah. That’s good.” Tobirama curled the arm Madara had crawled in to and brought his other around so he could hold his husband close, forcing himself to close his eyes by pressing his face in to the thick mass of hair spilling across his shoulder. “You smell good.”

“Do I?”

Tobirama hummed pleasantly and took another deep breath.

“S’nice. I like this.”

“Me too,” Madara admitted, his voice almost quiet enough to go unheard.

“Sleep now?”

“Wow, you are fading fast. Go to sleep. You’re going to hate your brother in the morning for feeding you so much alcohol and I do not promise not to laugh.”

Tobirama smiled and mindlessly nuzzled the pleasant smelling mass of softness in front of him, already forgetting what it was or where he had ended up but not caring one whit. He knew that Madara was there with him and that both of them were happy and that was all he needed. Whatever hiccups had interrupted them near the end, overall the day had been a good one and with Madara in his arms it was certainly ending on a high note as well.

[nyrator]

ARE YOU ALL READY

for my first ten days in Animal Crossing New Horizons in picture form (aka the 20th-29th)

because I have close to 3,000 screenshots and it was hard go through them all but I did (mostly because I ran out of the 10,000 limit and had to upload them to my computer anyway)

letsa gooo

The start of the game.

Heck yeah, Tommytown. Also shoutouts to Rocket and Teddy, my first new friends in the town. Can’t say I relate to Rocket, but she’s pink and has a pink house eventually so that’s nice. Teddy’s okay, though not a fan of Jocks in general.

Thanks, random motivational dream K.K.

The start of Nyville

People say Timmy and Tommy are the same, and I admittedly was not a fan of them in ACNL, but I know thanks to this game that Tommy is a true friend and I would die for this tanuki

Also shoutouts to catching like two tarantulas in the first night, jesus

And in one night, managed to get Blathers to want to join our town.

And then the rest of the days came.

DAY 2

Met Gulliver (jerk thinks my head is big all the time)

Made some pro designs and changed my hair

Lots of good friend visits/visiting (though one random guy I added from Splatoon invaded and stole all my apples, rippp)

and that was my second day of playing

AND ALSO I’VE RECEIVED A LOT OF NICE LETTERS FROM PEOPLE... I am bad at writing letters and I’m not sure if people would want them public but aaaa thank you for the letters (shout outs to lala-ko in particular what a good AC frienddd)

DAY 3

Lots of things being built

Got some reactions~

MABLE... but, more importantly, that means...

SABLE... the best NPC in the game...

More friendshippp

Paid off my first loan~

Also shoutouts to local friend letting me get some apples to make some furniture for people to move in after some jerk stole all mine

Also met Harvey, what a dude. ALSO, MY OLD FRIENDS...

And that was only day three of my adventures.

DAY 4

Met Wendy, a Peppy Sheep. You’re okay, Wendy, you’re okay.

BY THE WAY THE MUSEUM IS GORGEOUS

they did not have to go that hard but they did

whoops I didn’t expect it to be that close oh well, I can move things around later so for now everything is next to each other for convenience

also met a ghost friend and he gave me expensive(?) flooring

DAY 5

Got a cute alligator friend, you’re okay too, Gayle. ALSO I SEE YOU MABLE...

Also, finally, new phone, who dis? Dis stylin’ Nyrator. May adjust it later on since I found there’s a template online on how it works.

Did some fishing as well, apparently caught some rare first that day.

Nook continues to ruin me financially, but at least I got more storage space.

DAY 6

Some frog joined, and I think I’d like him if it wasn’t for the burpy noises and the facial hair. Lazy villagers seem great in this game though.

hello Saharah

thanks for all the rugs/wallpaper I guess

Thanks, Wendy.

ALSO SHOUT OUTS TO KOMETA a good friend she got me a lovely heart apron and hair pin and pink hoodie and things and they’re so nice and aaaa thank youuu

Also made more pixel art designs because why not

even wendy agrees

DAY 7

it better, Nook

give me Tommy back to wander the island with his flag and leaf umbrella I miss socializing with Tommy

excuse you Nook told me you wanted this here

more friendship

this game a nice game to socialize in with people (even though I’m terrible at it I apologize especially for never imitating anything with anyoneee)

the letters and the casual tours and having fun are really nice, plus it’s nice to just share things like fossils and DIY recipes, good times

thanks, Wendy

ALSO LOOK AT THIS BAD BOY

It took over 50 bait until I failed a catch and failed getting that one achievement again (farthest was 81/100 fishing in a row and I keep getting into the 60s-80s before screwing up, close to 90 today though so we’ll see how it goes), after failing I was like, heck with it, just throw bait over the small fish until a big one appears, and sure enough, my second-to-last bait, and my third large fish, bam, this baby arrives.

ALSO SPEAKING OF BLATHERS

STAR WANDDDD...

thank you celeste now give me your bow...

Didn’t see a meteor shower at this point, but you better believe I just crafted one today and boy is it good (though stores clothing in the wand which is a bit weird but saves my storage space a bit, I just need to buy multiple hairpins)

DAY 8

there she is, the jingly girl herself

also I put a podium there but misplaced it, sorry Nook I’ll get it right tomorrow- oh wait you don’t do these outside anymore... ripppp

However, before any of that silly nonsense

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LALA

you don’t know how heartwarming it was to be invited to this and celebrate this that morning, had no idea it was happening until it happened, but aaaaaaaaaa so wholesome...

SERIOUSLY THIS WAS ONE OF MY MOST WHOLESOME ANIMAL CROSSING EXPERIENCES...

so anyway back to Nook and Isabelle

and getting this immediately because heck with all the inventory management in this game

So Project K, got it. Heck yeah, K.K.

Also made a town theme (forgot to screenshot it but it’s the Yume Nikki save theme, might change it to Mary Had a Little Lamb though), and also a flag design was already prepareddd

also hi Gulliver again

and a campsite...

heck yeah it’s all coming together

YEAH WHAT OF IT

WENDY YOU WERE JUST COMPLIMENTING ME

jerks all of you are jerks but you’re all still pretty okay/10 (not Merry/Kyle level though)

DAY 9

seriously though rip that podium idea

thank you mabel...

And a campsite~

EXCUSE ALL OF YOU WITH YOUR PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE SUGGESTIONS

Kometa gave me this apron and I will continue to cherish it

But yes, that’s about it for today~ Town’s unweeded, campsite’s built, things have been slowing down while at the same time picking up~

DAY 10

okay cool

okay AAAA YESSSSSS SABLE TIMEEEE FASHION TIMEEEEE...

also hello Daisy Mae, the internet loves you for some reason, can I have some turnips

that is expensive you little snot nosed brat but fine I’ll play your stalk market games, cover my whole town in four million bells worth of turnips again like ACNL...

Also thanks Lyle, I’m a B apparently.

Wow okay I don’t even have a choice, rippp

at least he’s smug, smug villagers are the best personality of villagers

heckk yeahhhh bad placements all arounddddd

I can’t wait to start fixing this island up to a better shape, rip my haphazard placement (I admit I kind of miss the randomness of earlier games, having this much control is weird)

AND THAT’S THE FIRST TEN DAYS OF ACNH...

I may have ran out of screenshot space early the next day and thus uploaded them all to my computer because I need that space (10,000 screenshots, man...)

Got a lot accomplished, I feel~ Still haven’t paid off my back room loan, but I got a bridge paid, got another bridge on the opposite side being built, and I saw some meteor showers the past two nights AND GOT A STAR WAND...

Got Gwen and Hamphrey also moving in and can’t get Merry in town just yet but she’s in the campsite, watching, waiting... debating if I should get ten randos first before moving cards in, though

Also met Gulliver/Celeste/Wisp again the past few days, and also today is the beginning of Easter stuff (so many eggs, also random esports fish guy, he’s weird, also NO BLANCA, rip my empty-faced April Fools cat dude thing (apparently a girl in the US? but I will continue to be a weeb and think of them as their Japanese selves mostly because the voices tend to be masculine)

but yeah made like over 100 wishes in two days and got a bunch of neat star things (not as many as I’d thought I’d get but I’ll take it)

Also, SABLE IS A FRIEND and I love the clothing store but am weirded out that I can’t seem to order things in bulk, just what I’m wearing in the dressing room, which is awkward. Oh wellll

(also may have realized I never got a recent passport screenshot so went and did thattt, should think up more titles maybe)