#But there were a couple that either used rare kanji or kanji with a lot of readings and ALSO had zero online presence

[solradguy]

Someone added all the mangaka names for the GGCA on Mangadex??!? Whoever did it has saved me a HELL of a lot of work trying to find the correct readings for some of name kanji I wasn't sure about. Thank you, whoever it was

[sylviareviar]

A habit? This Sakura person sounded awfully kind. He would definitely worry about Kurusu when he got home. Maybe she should make him some soup... She could always leave him at home, with his guardian, and come back to her dorm. Although bulyon made from powder wasn't nearly as good as the real thing... Still, it was the best she could do with her only a portable stove, since there wasn't a common kitchen to use.

"I-if it really wouldn't be any trouble, then... I'd greatly appreciate it," she answered in regards to the offer of curry. "He sounds very nice... I bet you feel really safe with him. You sound happy to know him."

She hadn't meant to sound pathetic when she said that, or when she mentioned rarely having plans. It was just the reality of it. Most of the people she knew at school, usually either asked her uncomfortable or invasive questions about the United States, or asked for a translation in English. They were easily impressed by her knowledge, but she didn't have a real connection with them. At the very least, it was better than the kids at home, though. She failed to make any friends in kindergarten, since she couldn't speak English at the time, and that irreparably damaged her social status in elementary school. By the time everyone had their cliques, she was all alone, so she'd learned how to entertain herself out of necessity, after realizing no one would approach her to play anymore. That status as a loner eventually followed her into middle school and high school.

Transfering from being a sophomore into a first-year in a new country was disorienting, but at least she managed to get other people to talk to her. It was the happiest she'd been in ages, even if it was mostly superficial stuff. So she often wondered why she felt empty still, even with so many new people talking to her.

Being on her lonesome for the most part also often meant she tuned out of current news or rumors. By muffling her ears with her own thoughts, she stayed out of the loop of mostly anything. Even delinquent transfer students didn't make it into her line of sight.

Maybe that was for the best. She was rather gullible, after all.

Kurusu's offer to hang out was also unexpected, but Sylvia went through the motions anyway. Often when people invited her to things, she learned they didn't really want her there, but were just being polite. It took a couple of tries at first, but after overhearing some of the things her classmates had said about her-- "weirdo," "too loud," "too childish," "impolite,"-- she figured it would be better not to go.

"Ah, that's kind of you to offer, but I wouldn't want to impose. You must be rather busy, anyway. When you get better, you should invite your friends out, so they don't worry about you anymore. B-besides, I struggle to read in Japanese... Kanji is always difficult, so even though I live in a district with book stores, I usually only ever gravitate towards the children's section. I'm pretty boring when you get to know me."

After they transferred to the Shibuya line, Kurusu asked her something else. "Will you be alright with going back all by yourself later on? If you want, I can ask a friend of mine to accompany you."

"O-oh, no, please don't trouble them for my sake! I'll get by alright by myself. I have a GPS!" Now that she thought about it though, train stations looked different everywhere she went. The first time she boarded the train station in Kichijoji, Jinbocho, and Shibuya respectively, she'd gotten confused and lost with all the yellow lines and people. A lot of the signs didn't have furigana, either, and were filled with symbols she didn't recognize. Knowing how the trains worked helped a little, since she could rely on her GPS from then, but...

She looked away, idly gnawing at her lower lip. Going back wouldn't be as easy as going there. She'd have to remember the path she took while helping Kurusu.

...wait! She was supposed to be the one helping Kurusu! Not the other way around. He was turning her head all kinds of fuzzy and confused!

"H-hold on just a moment! I'm supposed to be helping you!" she protested. "Please don't worry about me. More importantly, how are you feeling? Do you need some more water? I can grab you some from the next vending machine if you're thirsty."

Akira was surprised how perplexed she seemed when he thanked her and he didn’t quite understand why; thanking her for kindness was the least he could do. He took away a lot of her free time right now, and he wasn’t one to take that for granted. Though, with the way she was reacting, other probably didn’t share his opinion.

"He'll be able to help, right? I hope he doesn't mind me intruding on your home..."

He smiled at her words, she was clearly overthinking this – or she hadn’t been shown a lot of kindness in her life and he did not like that thought at all. She was sweet and kind, she barely knew him and yet she went out of her way to help him. But then again, he knew the world wasn’t a particularly fair place and it often punished the good people out there.

“You’re not intruding, he’ll be grateful you brought me home. I’m sure he will be trying to feed you his curry though, he has a habit of doing that.”

Every time he brought a friend of his home, Sojiro at least gave them free drinks. More often than not he insisted on feeding them too. Akira was lucky in that regard; the man was kind and any of friend of his was welcome at Leblanc.

When Sylvia said she rarely had any plans, he felt his heart sink. Maybe she didn’t have many friends? He knew how that felt like – they were both transfer students. He was the one with the criminal record, she was a foreigner and he already knew from Ann foreigners weren’t accepted easily. Well, maybe they could bond about their place in the school.

“Maybe we should hang out after school some time” he said with a shrug. “Maybe get some food or go to the bookstore or something.”

The offer was genuine; while he had a pretty busy schedule and some friends, he absolutely wouldn’t mind spending time with her more often. Her company was more relaxing than Ryuji’s or Ann’s and while he loved his friends dearly, sometimes after a busy day he just wanted to relax and he felt like he could do that with her easily.

When she put on the headphones, he didn’t comment on it; she was probably sensitive to noises or something and he wasn’t one to judge people. If it helped her, it didn’t matter.  Akira himself used his glasses in a similar fashion; they weren’t prescription they were something he used to protect himself with. A mask, so to speak. They made him seem more harmless and after his conviction a counselor was advising him to wear them. He hadn’t taken them off ever since.

Luckily the train ride wasn’t long and Yongen-Jaya was a quieter area anyways; sometimes it even reminded him of his hometown.

“Will you be alright with going back all by yourself later on? If you want, I can ask a friend of mine to accompany you.”

[demonslayedher]

Rambling about Kimetsu no Yaiba surnames.

So here I am, trying to study, starting with legit topics, digging deeper, I stumble upon this part of an article about the geomancy origins of the very influential "Kimon" (demon gate) when taken into consideration in architecture and ancient city planning, mentioning how disease and disaster was thought to enter the home via the hearth, gate, water well, and toilet and such, so these parts of the home required some deification to counter-act the evil, but it's written LIKE THIS:

And my brain shouts "竈門、竈門炭治郎"

Kamado. KAMADO TANJIRO.

And next thing you I'm back down a fandom theory rabbit hole. Nothing new, I already know the distinct rarity (but real world use) of this surname, as well as the fact that there are a couple Shinto shrines with this relatively rare writing of "hearth" in the name. But still, it makes me appreciate all over again all the very subtle use of lore throughout this manga, a huge reason I'm so obsessed with it.

So while I'm here, I learned this fun tidbit from an article that asked old people with rare surnames how they feel about them being suddenly very prominent (one old Ms. Kamado tried to start watching it but fell asleep), and I learned about the name 栗花落, notoriously difficult to read as "Tsuyuri". Basically, back in the Nara period (well before Muzan would had turned into a demon in Heian times), a dude was romancing a princess with poetry and made a reference to falling chestnut flowers at the start of the rainy season ("tsuyu") and the emperor was like "That's a cool idea, I'm going to grant that as a surname." (Actually, a lot of surnames get their start from emperors granting them.)

Now, we know Kanao chose this name for herself based on choices the girls set before her, including "Kochou" and "Kanzaki", already used by her new housemates. Poor Kanao probably couldn't read and didn't have any knowledge base to properly appreciate such a poetic name, which I'm guessing was a choice Kanae contributed (Shinobu didn't seem to have put as much thought into the choices for first names and probably didn't think much about surnames either, and Aoi was really pushing for her own last name to be chosen). Kanao might have heard explanations, or she might had just thought the kanji looked pretty.

But, what's interesting to me (and reading way too deeply into it) is that Kanao joined them on May 19. While we typically picture "tsuyu", the rainy season, as spanning June/early July-ish, the start of the season is tied to late May, so even in modern-day formal seasonal references in Japanese written correspondence (yes, formal Japanese is a fussy like this), appropriate references in May include a lot of ways of saying "we're heading into the rainy season, so please take care." Furthermore, the scenes we get of the Butterfly Mansion garden (in both the snime and the manga) include prominent hydrangea, a plant that screams "rainy season."

This isn't important whatsoever, but heeeey, it's fun coincidences.

A few other little tidbits and lots of conjecture:

--Tomioka and Agatsuma may also be names with ancient origins handed down from an emperor or two. Tomioka, written in a couple different ways and pretty uncommon (but not super rare) today, miiiiiight imply Giyuu was of relatively comfortable origins, perhaps with ties to the (defunct) warrior class based on his parents' choice of name for him (even toward the end of the samurai era only a couple generations or so before Giyuu was born, there were volunteer samurai squads named "Giyuu-tai" (righteousness/bravery corp). Further evidence of this is that even after their parents died of illness, it doesn't seem the children Tsutako and Giyuu were left particularly hurting for funds. In the "my wife" Agatsuma case, this is also pretty uncommon and I've only come across it pronounced Adzuma/Azuma. Since Zenitsu was abandoned without a name, we can't assume he picked up a rather higher-class sounding name from them. Either some caretaker he had later on chose it for him (possibly even as late a Kuwajima-shihan), or Zenitsu chose it himself (and this totally seems like a name in line with his tastes).

--Kanroji is the name of a temple; there is a pattern of higher class and noble families having surnames shared with temples (often due to ancient financial ties with said temples). There are, in fact, many existing Kanroji temples, and one of them in Wakayama even installed a temporary decorative "Love Pillar" and some subtle cat references and specisl promotions of the temple's preexisting good luck in match-making. Even the train stop nearby changed the sign to a pink and green fade. And yes, I am super disappointed that I had not heard of all this until the temporary promotion was over.

--Murata and all the Demon Slayer Corp extras (swordsmen and Kakushi, not swordsmiths who have metalworking pun-filled names) have extremely commonplace names.

[montosmadman]

I was tagged by @soy-celeste ages ago. This was hard but also super rewarding because I really got to take a deep dive in the murky depths of my own music library. Thanks for thinking of me, Cata💕

Task: choose TEN SONGS that describe your personal aesthetic / how you see yourself. Bonus points if you write a little explanation for each song, that‘s not a must though.

List under a read more because it turned out really long and includes some very personal and possibly triggering mental health stuff.

I'm tagging @capitanogiorgio @hendos @furiousflamewolf @checoswin and @diegoalvesisgod

1. Nakashima Mika - 僕が死のうと思ったのは

The title loosely translates to "The reason I thought I'd die" or "The time I thought I'd die". Yes, I went there right off the bat.

Let's get something straight: I'm not suicidal. I have never been actively suicidal, despite struggling with depression and anxiety most of my teenage/adult life. However, what this song captures for me is the feeling when you're not actively thinking about killing yourself, but you do have this empty feeling when you think there's no point for you being alive. And that's something I'm very familiar with.

There are a couple lines I wanna highlight, even though the whole song hits me very hard whenever I listen to it:

その木漏れ日でうたた寝したら、虫の死骸と土になれるかな

If I lie down beneath the sunlight streaming through the trees, will I become like the dirt and insect remains?

あなたのような人が生きてる世界に少し期待するよ

If people like you are living in this world, then maybe it’s alright to hope a little too.

The first line does what I talked about to above: it's the feeling when you just lie down and wonder if anything would change if you just disappeared. The second line -- last one of the song -- has more hope. It's when you find a reason to believe in the future and realize there is still a reason to live. Personally, I'm trying to hang very hard on that last thought even when the world seems to be against me.

(Full translation in a pinned comment under the Youtube video)

2. The Ark - Little Dysfunk You

No essay here. I just needed to have The Ark on the list because they're the official soundtrack of my life, the first band whose album I bought myself, and who taught me it was okay not to fit in. I even have a tattoo that says "a little dysfunk" because my best friend and I have been relating to this song long before either one of us realized we weren't neurotypical. It's the very dysfunctional ode to our friendship, and I love it.

3. Elton John - Rocket Man

I feel like this might be a universal experience growing up neurodiverse and/or an outsider. You spend years feeling like you're alone in space, on another planet, and you want to connect with people but at the same time know that once you come back, you still won't be the person others want or expect you to be. The challenge is to accept that and realize it's okay and you don't need to change yourself for others. And it really is hard when you're raised in a society where the odds are stacked against you.

4. Sanni - Jos mä oon oikee

Look, I'm giving you something in Finnish too!

Sanni is one of the Finnish artists whose breakthrough I originally missed because I was living abroad. I only properly discovered her a couple years after moving back, when I was driving a lot for my work and hence listening to the radio much more than I used to. Her songs just kept standing out from the rest: her lyrics had this amazing depth even when she was singing about mundane stuff -- like, she was finding these painful truths I hadn't ever spoken but felt very clearly.

That said, I had to choose the one song that's actually very upfront with this idea of being an outsider and not feeling like a part of this world. The title translates to "If I am real" and that pretty much sums it up. It's a song about feeling lonely in the middle of a crowded room, feeling like no one sees you or cares what you do. I personally have this habit of taking a step back and observing people rather than getting involved -- and even when I do, it rarely feels like it's really me out there, because I'm so used to masking and acting like everyone else just to fit in, you know?

I'll finish this off with my favourite verse, translated by yours truly. The last line especially hits home super hard no matter how many times I hear it.

Rautatieasema maanantaina ruuhkaisa Kaikilla tuntuu olevan kiire ja suunta Mä oon ulkopuolella vaik seison sisällä Jos oon jo kotona miten voi olla koti-ikävä

The railway station on Monday is crowded Everyone seems to be in a rush and have a direction I'm outside even though I'm standing inside How can I feel homesick when I'm already home

5. Shobha - Last Exit To Freedom

Full disclosure: Degrassi has been one of my comfort series for many, many years. When this song was first introduced in Next Class, it hit me really hard because it was woven into this whole storyline about depression and suicide, which at the time spoke to me a lot. I repeat, I have never been suicidal, but I do get the headspace that could drive people into it.

However, listening to it again now, it's mostly the message of hope that shines through to me. It's a song that can take two very different readings depending on what your own baggage is. And the series actually acknowledges that later on, which I think is not only beautiful but also extremely important.

There's empty places in my life and I need to breathe There's empty spaces on the map waiting there for me

I've never felt more free than when I actually drop my responsibilities and just go where I want to go. I need that space to breathe, and that's why it has always been such a relief when I could just pack up and start over in a new place. Some might call it running away from my troubles -- and they wouldn't be completely wrong -- but that doesn't change the fact that I've always valued my own freedom above any arbitrary societal norms.

6. Scandinavian Music Group - Näin minä vihellän matkallani

SMG is another one of those bands I grew up on and have seen live several times, so they needed to be here. This song is more on the "aesthetic" end of scale than how I see myself. In fact, I've many times hoped I could be like the narrator of this song. I'll give you a couple of verses to explain:

Kun minulta viedään kaikki Autan kantamaan Ja kun lopulta kaadun Teen sen näyttävästi

When everything's taken from me I'll help them carry it And when I finally fall I'll do it with a flair

Minä vihellän matkallani Näin minä vihellän matkallani Jos sen on oltava niin Olkoon sitten niin

I'm whistling on my journey See how I'm whistling on my journey If this is how things have to be Then so be it

It's this carefree attitude. Laughing in the face of hardship and controversy. There's another amazing line about getting back to the saddle after you fall and swearing you'd do it all over again. I've never been able to do that, because I carry all my old failures and pains so close to the surface, and could never just shake them off with a shrug, no matter how minor.

But on another level, I keep hearing from people who I thought knew me that I don't seem depressed. And who can blame them: on the outside, it probably looks like I bounce back from hardships really fast, because I'm so used to masking my issues that the moment I'm physically capable of doing it, I will. So you might say this song is a picture of my outer self, though it hardly mirrors what's really going on.

7. Queen - Don't Stop Me Now

I'm a firm believer that if my life was a teen movie, this is the song I'd have playing in the final scene where I'd just go "fuck that" and started dancing with @mirkwoodstock in the middle of the parking lot of something. It's my ultimate party anthem, the one that always has me dancing and singing along no matter where I am.

Back when we were at the university, Nanna and I used to go to this rock'n'roll club in town and they'd always play Don't Stop Me Now close to the end of the night, and it really became our song. Like, no matter how shitty I felt, when it came on, I'd be there, and so would she. And that's why it also deserves to be on the list.

8. Blind Channel - Died Enough For You

Throwing a rare newer song into the mix. The moment I heard this song, I knew I'd be listening to it a lot. There's also an acoustic version if you're not a fan of the genre or if you just wanna have a different perspective. Blind Channel is also representing Finland in Eurovision next week, and I'm living for it.

Advertising aside, Died Enough For You takes me to some really dark times in my life. I've been in relationships, both romantic and not, where I've been carrying the other person and giving so much of myself, risking my own mental health (which was not that good to begin with) and not getting much in return. There comes a point where you have to prioritize yourself and admit that dragging yourself into the same abyss is not going help anyone. Unfortunately, usually it takes more strength to admit that and leave than to stay in the relationship that's hurting you.

I'm still talking to some of these people, but I've learned to give myself a permission to sign off when I notice that by helping them I'm only hurting myself more. Someone else's wellbeing cannot be my responsibility when I'm struggling to keep myself afloat. And I truly hope everyone who is supporting me also knows that.

9. Aqua Timez - 真夜中のオーケストラ

Title translates to "Midnight Orchestra". Yes, it's from Naruto. I discovered it back when I was still more involved in anime fandom stuff, and fell for it again year ago when I binged the anime when to lockdowns started, because I needed an escape.

And what an escape it was. Have you ever heard a song and immediately went "I need a tattoo of this", or is that just me? I'm probably not going to get a tattoo because I don't trust non-Japanese artists to get the kanjis right, but the song still captures something very real about loneliness that's not really visible but still very much there. Like, the moment when you meet a person you can truly relate to and for the first time realize you'd been feeling lonely all that time. That's what this song describes to me.

Below are a few verses towards the end of the song. I've bolded the one that first caught my attention (and which I still have as the title of my Japan sideblog).

真夜中の詩が叫んだ「僕ほんとうは独りが　嫌いだ　大嫌いだ」 独りぼっちで　生きてゆけてしまうなんてこと

The song of midnight cried out "I truly hate being alone more than anything" I hate to go on living completely alone…

幸せなんて　小さなスプーンで掬えるくらいで充分なんだ 分け合える人がいるか　いないかだけ

All I need is being able to scoop happiness with a tiny spoon so long as I have someone to share it with

(Full translation)

真夜中の詩は叫ぶよ「僕ほんとうは　僕ほんとうは　淋しかった」 太陽の眩しさに　かき消されても

The song of midnight cried out "I was truly, truly… lonely" Even if I were to be erased by the sun's radiance

10. Jenni Vartiainen (Apulanta) - Mato

This song, named "Worm", was originally released by Finnish rock band Apulanta in 1997. The lyrics, while they might make sense as individual statements, are basically gibberish when you combine them into one piece and try to understand the meaning. There is none. Anyways, the version I chose is a remake by another artist, first performed on the Finnish version of The Best Singers format. It doesn't make any more sense, I just like it better because Jenni is hot and she made it so much fun.

And the reason it's on this list? Welcome to my brain, folks! Sometimes, especially when I'm overwhelmed by lots of external stimuli, my mind tends to just wander wherever the hell it pleases and make connections even I don't get. It also likes to forget the stuff I said just a second a go, so I can switch subjects on the go without even noticing. It's very soothing to have music that doesn't require me to make those connections when that happens.

And now, I shall close this massive post with the first verse of this masterpiece:

Minä tahdon ulos, tahdon ulos kattilasta Minä tahdon pelastaa vielä sinutkin kiehumasta Minä tahdon lentää ulos vessan ikkunasta Minä tahdon tietää kaiken teidän karkkimaasta

I want out, I want out of this kettle I also want to save you from boiling I want to fly out of the toilet window I want to know everything about your candy land

Stay safe and take care of yourselves my dears💕

[rigelmejo]

fyi if anyone besides me IS trying out the Listening Reading Method - I have some tips you can read if you want (or feel free to ignore):

you should see significant progress within 30 hours. If you started as an absolute beginner, did what the guide suggests beforehand (learned some common words like a few hundred, looked at a pronunciation guide, looked at a basic grammar summary), then you should see SOME progress. If after 30 hours you don’t see any - you might be doing it wrong (or its not a method that works for you in which case don’t feel u need to waste ur time on it when other stuff might help you more). (http://users.bestweb.net/~siom/martian_mountain/!%20L-R%20the%20most%20important%20passages.htm)

Someone did L R Method as an absolute beginner in Italian (they already knew french, english). They took tests - were A1 when they started L R Method. They did about 30 hours of L R Method. They took a test again and scored B1. So 30 hours should see SIGNIFICANT progress for a language reasonably close to yours, and SOME clear progress I’d imagine even if it’s a less common language (even some gains from absolute beginner to A1-A2 would be solid and noticeable). (https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1721&p=99415#p99415)

Someone tried to L R Method mandarin as a proof of concept. So they only did several hours, and used The Little Prince (which is much simpler writing/language than the L R Method article recommends using). This is their results: “I tried Mandarin LR as a proof of concept a while ago. I used "The Little Prince", and did a few hours. The first couple of hours were exhausting and I was usually lost; by the end, I was associating quite a few characters with their sounds, occasionally understanding sentences in real time as I read along (knowing what parts corresponded) of up to 7 characters or so, etc. Again, this was a small handful of hours, as an effectively zero-beginner; I know some Kanji, but my active Mandarin vocabulary was probably in the single digits... I think this was after I'd studied tones/Mandarin phonology relatively intensively, but I don't recall for certain.” So - within a handful of hours, someone saw language improvement in Mandarin as a total beginner (http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38593)

I personally have been trying L R Method as a beginner-intermediate ish learner. What I noticed: without a parallel text (so just using english text for step 3) I improved listening comprehension of words I already partly knew (through reading) FIRST. I also picked up some new words, but listening comprehension of words I knew improved most noticeably the first 10ish hours I did L R Method. Using Pleco’s dictation tool for step 3 (so instead of english text, I use chinese text where the english definition auto-pops up as the audio reads each word), or using a parallel text (so chinese and english visible at same time), both VASTLY improved how many new words I pick up per session. For me at least, seeing the chinese text to keep my place in the audio, and seeing easier what audio matches to what english definition, lets me learn new words faster. Since I waste much less effort trying to just keep the text/audio matched up. 

So if the effort of matching up text is draining to you (like it is to me), I recommend: getting an audiobook and chinese text that match as closely as possible. And getting either a parallel text, or using Pleco’s dictation tool in the Reader, or something similar (Pleco’s dictation tool is a lot like using a word by word chinese/english translated text). 

Step 2 seems very useful for: giving you context prior to step 3, practicing reading comprehension and reading speed, listening practice with the chinese(target language) spelling visible, and reinforcing what’s learned in prior step 3′s. 

Step 3 does seem useful the more you repeat it (I’m just lazy).

Test yourself by trying to LISTEN ONLY every once in a while. You should be noticing some improvements in your listening comprehension - the audiobook chapters you should follow more parts, a show without subtitles you might recognize more dialogue, etc. If your listening comprehension itself is not improving to some noticeable degree after 10+ hours of L R Method you may either be doing L R Method wrong, or its just not useful for you.

To see considerable progress in language abilities, it may take 50-100 hours. Or even 100-300. The article linked above, the person who does L R Method (aYa) would usually do at least 30 hours, then 50-100 for a language - eventually also doing step 4 shadowing, step 5 translating back and forth. For less-closely related languages, people mention having done it for a few hundred hours. So do NOT expect total beginner to Fluent in 30 hours. I simply mean, you should expect noticeable progress after some X milestones. After a dozen or so hours you should be able to start recognizing word boundaries with ease, some short phrases. If you’re not a total-beginner, but beginner-intermediate like me, then you should start notice much BETTER listening comprehension of words you already half-knew from reading within a few dozen hours. Then after 30-50, maybe some dialogue understanding, some common words regularly understood, etc. Again - test yourself with Listening-Only every once in a while to see if you’re actually making any progress. Also to see if you wanna ‘alter’ the L R Method to suit your needs better. Maybe you’ll find a way to do it that works better for you.

For ABSOLUTE beginners, especially in languages very different from their own, at the beginning stages simply using sentences with audio may be easier. To perhaps learn a few hundred to thousand common words first - and/or using translations that are word BY word translation right under the target language word. To help with getting used to the grammar, all the new common words, the sounds etc. So materials like Assimil probably do this - Spoonfed Chinese anki deck with its audio/text does this, Nukemarine’s LLJ audio/text deck does this, Japanese Core 2k with its audio/text does this, etc. Clozemaster app might even be a nice beginner transition tool...

For the L R Method steps - really READ them and understand what they mean. Step 3 is NOT watching a target language audio movie with english subs. It is trying to comprehend all of the audio, glancing at the translation JUST to fill in the gaps for parts you can’t manage to comprehend (so for looking up words here and there). While you’re supposed to ‘follow along’ with the translation text, you do NOT tune out the audio. The audio should be your main focus, keeping in line with the translation text is so you can REFERENCE it when you hear a word/phrase/sentence you don’t fully comprehend. And I am guessing step 3 is suggested to be done multiple times so that each time you need the translation less.

 L R Method works best with very vocabulary rich, long texts. If you use a simple text, or a short one (3 hours of audio for example), there’s only so much you’ll be able to learn from it. For example The Little Prince only has a vocabulary of 2000-3000 unique words, 1200ish hanzi in it - so even if you learned it entirely, repeating it over and over, that’s not a lot of info. Particularly if you don’t plan to repeat things, it’s probably going to serve your time better to pick rich vocabulary long texts (so you can pick up tons of words just through one pass through the book, and if you choose to repeat the book, pick up tons more words, before you start running into the rarely used words which will be harder to pick up). 

I am mentioning all this, because I saw someone who did L R method for mandarin for hundreds of hours, and does not have natural listening yet - so cannot follow a new audiobook listening-only, cannot follow a show listening-only. Considering that people have demonstrated they made some progress in 5-10 hours for Mandarin, and 30 hours for Italian, then 300 hours in Mandarin might be able to make more progress. I’ve done maybe 20-30 hours of L R Method so far, and already find I can now listen to at Least the audiobook of the book I’m L R Method-ing now without the text, and follow the main scenes fine. With simpler audio, if I have a visual cue (like acting scenes, or pictures) I find I can follow the main idea much easier than I could before. So I just think... if you are seeing very little noticeable progress after 30-50 hours, the method may not be giving you benefits as quickly as you might want a study method to show improvements. I think if something isn’t giving you some improvement after X effort, you don’t need to stick with it if something else helps you more.

Other factors that may affect this: 

I had some reading basis before I started L R Method. This might have helped me as far as how fast a rate L R Method is helping my progress. For an example: when I simply do step 2 ON ITS OWN I see improvements - because it helps me read through a chapter as fast as the audio, matches audio to the spelling I might already know, and I already can understand enough when reading at that speed to follow the general plot (so step 2 gives me context and increased plot understanding). Therefore, when I do step 3, I can really primarily put my attention on learning to recognize the SOUND of what I already understood - and on learning a few new keywords I already JUST saw and realized I didn’t know. Basically I can use L R Method to quickly pinpoint areas I’m weaker in, while practicing what I can already do. A total beginner won’t have the ‘practice what they already know’ benefit. (Genuinely though step 2 is helping my reading SO much and I know that’s in part due to my current reading comprehension level).

Also I have seen an example of someone who did L R Method while already B2 in Italian - he was aiming for C1. He noticed less drastic improvement after 40 hours - he did still notice some, like easier listening comprehension for shows and conversations. But he did not reach C1 listening/reading skills. So from this we see: L R Method might help you improve faster if you start off with more you still need to learn (which makes sense, since as the words you need to learn get rarer you will run into them less frequently in L R Method). Also, the gap from B2-C1 may be bigger than the gap from A1-B1? Also what I took from his example, is repeating step 3 multiple times becomes MORE important as you’re more intermediate-advanced. I would guess because you probably have less frequently occurring words/grammar to learn, so repeating content WITH those things in it is a way to get more exposure (whereas just going over it once then moving on is Not going to expose you to it much). Also step 3, if you really look away from the transcript for most of it, allows you to really practice listening comprehension. Also shadowing/translating, steps 4 and 5, may be of more benefit to an intermediate-advanced learner. Since shadowing may be doable for them now, and translation may be doable (and hone in on skills more). So... I would guess either the gap you have to bridge as an intermediate-advanced learner is bigger, and/or you just need to do more challenging aspects of L R Method to get similar frequency of benefits you would’ve saw at the beginning stages. 

[ruffboijuliaburnsides]

have you ever dressed up for halloween or for like a costume party? what's your favorite thing you've worn? do you like wearing jewelry? do you listen to podcasts?what's an interesting historical event you know a little about? when do you feel the most comfortable? do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any you'd like to get? what's one thing you're proud of?

Wow, All in huh??? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

1) Have I ever dressed up for halloween or for a costume party? NNNNNNNNOT REALLY. I wasn’t allowed to do Halloween after the age of like. Five? Because my parents got MORE religious than they’d already been and they decided halloween was evil. And then as an adult I didn’t have a lot of local friends or money so... not really most of the time. BUT! There was ONE YEAR when I was in my mid-20s, that my wife and I went to a Halloween party with some local friends. She was Death of the Endless, we dyed her hair black, I did her eye makeup, there was a cardboard-covered-in-tinfoil ankh necklace and everything. I that year dressed up as Delirium to go with her. I bought fishnets that I tore a couple holes in, had some clompy boots, bought a skirt and shirt at the thrift store, and dyed my hair... like Half of it was red, half of it was just random spots of bleached, blue, and green. (I actually went to a job interview the next day and frantically reassured the interviewer that I was bleaching my hair and dying it a more natural color later that week) It was very fun as a costume tho. OH tho last year for halloween I loaned my wife a purple dress I sewed for myself and we got her some white tights and a white scarf, and I dug out my purple henley and and jeans some bandaids for my face and fingers, and we went as Hawkeye for Halloween. She was Kate Bishop and I was Clint Barton. That was probably my favorite even tho it was so low-effort. 1.5) On its own line, I think this “what’s the fave you’ve worn” was meant to be about the costumes, which I answered above, but IN GENERAL the thing I’ve worn that’s my favorite has been

Do I like wearing jewelry? I do like wearing jewelry! I need to get new earrings bc the ones I had got lost, but I used to always wear like, small gauge horseshoe earrings with the balls that screw onto the ends? I just lost the balls on the ends. I also wear a necklace every day. And I used to have a wedding band but I don’t have one that fits currently and it drives me NUTS bc even years without it I feel  like I should have a ring on that finger.

Do I listen to podcasts? I listen to podcasts off and on! Mostly MBMBAM, The Magnus Archives, The Penumbra Podcast, and Faculty of Horror. We relisten to early WtNV to sleep sometimes, and I keep meaning to catch up on TAZ, but that’s not active yet.

What’s an interesting historical event I know something about? ...Gosh that’s hard. Like, I know some stuff about historical eras or cultures but EVENTS??? Hmmm... I. Fuck. I abruptly cannot think of ANY HISTORICAL EVENT AT ALL. I’m a fucking History Major this is embarrassing. Uh okay so... I can’t think of anything. I’m so sorry. XD

When do I feel most comfortable? When I’m curled up in bed and have Birdie pressed against my back with her arm around my waist. Bonus points for literally any of our other partners in bed as well, but that happens so rarely. :(

Do I have any piercings or tattoos? I DO! Piercings are easiest. I have my left lobe pierced 3 times (though all but the first might be closed) and my right 2 times (tho ditto), and the upper shell of my left ear once (but again, closed). TATTOOS gosh, ok I have, in chronological order: a) a sort of cross between a cross and a peace sign on the inside of my left ankle. I got it when I was 18 and still a Good Christian Girl, my church bff designed it, it stood for peace in Christ, and the only thing stopping me from trying to get a coverup is the fact that it’s REALLY heavy/thick black work, and the location which was really painful. b) the kanji 天使 (which translates to “angel”) on my right inner forearm, over self harm scars specifically. I got this when I was 19 and back living with my bigoted conservative family and suicidal and trying to remind myself that I was loved. I also picked it out of a book and was lucky that book had the right kanji tbh, but I picked it bc my parents wouldn’t be able to read it, and it meant “angel” which was Birdie’s pet name for me at the time, and she was living across the country from me. If I could go back, I would get a different angel-themed tattoo in the same place, but at least I have the proper kanji for it if I’m going to have an ill-advised Japanese tattoo. c) a little curled ivy tramp stamp I picked out of a book in a little tattoo shop on St. Mark’s Place in NYC at like 2am, do NOT ask, it was dumb. Thankfully easier to work into a larger piece if I ever have the money for a back piece. d) text that is now near-illegible (due to the delicate nature of the script and the time since I got it) on the back of my left shoulder. It says “the universe has been waiting for me” in Birdie’s handwriting. It’s a line from Donna Noble’s last episode of Doctor Who, and I had FEELINGS. e) text on the inside of my left wrist that says “alive or dead, the truth won’t rest.” specifically in courier new. It’s a quote from @seananmcguire​‘s book FEED, and Birdie has a matching tattoo on her wrist as well. f) A tattoo of Coyote and the Sun, with color, on the outer side of my right calf. It’s the only colored Tattoo I have. I plan to get a semi-matching tattoo on my left calf that is El-Ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inle doing sort of a yin-yang esque circle chasing each other. it’s a Trickster thing, tying animals commonly considered  to be Tricksters with stuff that is meaningful to me. Coyotes have always been important to me, I grew up in Arizona there were always coyotes about and I always loved them, and then Watership Down was a surprise true love of a book when I was a teen.

Are there any piercings/tattoos I’d like to get? Piercings not so much. Maybe an eyebrow one day idk. Tattoos tho, goddamn, I’ve got SO MANY PLANS. I want to get text tattoos - either part of a larger text-heavy design or separately - of “It’s chaos, be kind”, “You are not obligated to complete the work, neither are you free to abandon it”, and “Do good recklessly”. Other quotes I’m sure but those three specifically. Obviously the Watership Down/Rabbit the Trickster tattoo I mentioned. Also a design from one of the tattoos on one of the guards of the Pazyriyk ice maiden. Also ngl I kinda want to get the sigils for witcher signs on the backs of my fingers. Some people get “THUG LYFE” or “FUCK YOU”, I get “I WILL FUCK YOU UP (in symbolic form)” XD

What’s one thing I’m proud of? The fact that I’m alive. ...Seriously, I’m quite proud of that, I’ve had some shit years in my life, and I’ve nearly not made it more than once. I’m proud as HELL that I’m here. I’m proud that I’m in college. I’m proud that I’m writing again.

Thank you for all these questions! So many, lmao, but I loved it, thank you. ^_^

[acefrogmonarch]

Headcanons pt.4

Middle school and early high school

I know American class but also Japanese class schedules. I don’t know if I want either or a hybrid.

Based off this post (If i can find it)

Naruto-band

Shikamaru has a knack for playing the drums, but he's never serious about it. He plays the drums because the systematic rhythm helps him think of strategies for shoji.

Has been asked multiple times to join the jazz band in Spring. He refuses everytime because it cuts his time in shoji, but once he gets his own cubie in the band hall he sets up his shoji board and plays it when he has free time.

Hinata has played the violin but hates the way her fingers hurt after being forced to play for long hours.

So she seeks asylum in the band hall, and has secretly taken lessons how to play the saxophone. It's her favorite of all the wind instruments.

She has been asked to join the spring jazz band, despite not being an actual member. She easily took the first chair when they were evaluating their skills.

Choji has been following a senior that's been teaching him the guitar, he's in the brass section playing the tuba. Has been asked to replace the senior when he gets older and wants to.

Naruto is in the brass section with Kiba but only Kiba is the trumpet player. Naruto is a trombone player and tells dad jokes. He didn’t fit the mold of a trumpet player but he still loves it regardless.

But his energy is definitely on par, if not greater than the rest. He will always cheer up everyone around him and is a part of the cheerleading squad.

Hates that there aren't anyone other guys. He just wants to flip off someone's shoulders. Damnit! 

He's flipped off Sasuke's and Shikamaru's shoulders before. In Sasuke's case, it was during elementary/primary. They were on the playground and this was Naruto’s second ever attempt to land a backflip. They couldn’t do it because the teacher caught them when a group started forming and they started betting their snacks from lunch to see if Naruto failed or not.

They continued their promise after school and Naruto broke his arm, but he did do it right after. He ate like a King the next day. It was great for him.

The first time Naruto did it was completely by accident and because he was so excited that he got a trampoline.

He’s never taken gymnasium classes before and has not seen a backflip before. But he somehow did it. It still shocks his parent’s to this day. Sasuke and him are neighbors and he came over to see what Naruto was so happy about.

Sasuke came just in time to see him do it. It was the greatest moment of his life because then Naruto tried to do it again and fell flat on his face. 

In shikamaru’s case it was during middle school and they were next to the pool. They were at Sasuke’s house for the day because he had a cool deck and pool.

Naruto wanted to jump off his shoulders into the pool. Shikamaru agreed because he didn’t think Naruto could actually do it. He realized his mistake when Naruto beamed in total confidence and Sasuke moved away from the pair.

Naruto didn’t do his back flip because Shikamaru moved the second Naruto decided to jump, without warning.

Needless to say, Shikamaru didn’t support his legs enough and Naruto accidently kicked him in the chin. Naruto ended up on the pool, back first, and Shikamaru fell on his ass.

Naruto swims up to the edge of the pool and looks at Sasuke, trying so hard not to laugh.

Naruto: Did I do it?!

Sasuke, trying to reclaim his composer: No, not at all.

Shikamaru, on the ground rubbing his chin: How did you even hit me!?

Naruto: Again!

Shikamaru: No!

Sasuke, running inside to get a camera or phone to record it: Yes!

Naruto is sometimes very confused as to why he is going to a house, when he has an apartment and his milk is about to expire! Also, his stash of untouched ramen!

Kushina: Naruto, sweetie. Where are you going?

Naruto: My apartment!

Minato: Naruto, we have a house.

Naruto: What’s that? Is it edible?

Kushina: Sometimes. During winter.

Naruto: Why winter?

Kushina: There are houses made of cookies.

Naruto: Really?!

Kushina, nodding along: Yup!

Anyway after High school they sometimes played together. Naruto had to buy a new entire trumpet because he rented from the school. Hinata bought her saxophone and has kept it under maintenance.

Shikamaru’s parents bought him his drum set and he learned how to play on his own. Choji does keep up with his guitar lessons but he did save up alot to get his electric guitar and a bass.

Card games

Hinata, Sasuke, and Shikamaru cannot play competitive and strategic card/board games. Scrabble, poker, 21, War, Bullshit is off the list. A Lot of decks, mostly up to 3 at a time and they are very distinguished between all of them.

Sakura refuses to play but does rude commentary to any group she is overseeing. Usually magic, because of Sasuke.

Choji doesn’t play anything but he does place bets on who would win with his snacks.

Magic the gathering.

Sasuke, Itachi played. Black Commander Deck

Sai, again his older brother. Green and Black Commander Deck.

Tenten; She found it and didn’t want something that Lee and Neji enjoy. Standard White and Blue Deck.

Yu-gi-oh.

Hinata; only because Neji played. Silent Magician Deck

Neji; because Lee played. He didn’t want to seem stupid. Hero elemental deck

Lee, he just likes the anime. But does have Yusei’s deck

Ino, she likes the pictures on Toon town and they let her do whatever but to some extent.

Both. 

Kiba; Rarely, Magic first. Green and Red Commander. Gear deck

Naruto; Rarely, yugioh first Odd-eyes deck and Black and White Standard Deck.

Kiba, dissing on Yugioh.

Naruto: Shut up, your mother buys you mega blocks instead of legos.

Hinata and Sasuke are both petty about each other’s card games. They each have respective sleeves and taunt each other, constantly.

Neji and Lee look at Tenten on the magic side and hate that she betrayed them. She’s just glad that they don't harp on her in her card game.

Pokemon.

Shikamaru, because no one knows how to fucking play.

Shino only collects the cards.

Shino showing Shikamaru his deck.

Hinata: Oh, are you playing?

Shino: You can play it?

Shikamaru has tried to teach Shino. Shino doesn’t sleeve his cards and when they take damage, he puts some non wet, non greasy food on his card.

Once the pokemon dies, Shino eats the snack. There are crumbs everywhere and Shikamaru’s pet peeve is being messy. Shikamaru appreciates Hinata’s and Sasuke’s sleeves.

Shows

Ino loves Reality TV and other things. But hates the Kardasians. Loves Rupaul drag race.

Sai is often encouraged by Ino to watch anime around her and he also finds anime that she thinks he hasn’t seen.

Sai has brought up Keeping up with the Kardasians and it was a mistake, he thought she would like it.

Ino: The Kardaisians are garbage and Kyle Jenner is a fake as hoe!

Sakura, from another room, hearing Ino rant: Did someone bring up the Kardasians?

Sai: Yeah.

Ino: Never do that again dear.

Sai: Got it sweetheart.

Ino has never actually called any other of her partners by a pet name but she does with Sai and they act like a married couple sometimes. They never talked about it. I mean they have shared stuff about each other that no one else knows. Coming out to each other, learning together because they both feel safe and comfortable with each other. Trust each other a lot.

Elementary bus crew.

Morning

Konoha 12 except Hinata

Naruto was so used to being independent that he has left his house on his own for school. It has freaked his parents more than once but they just watch over him as he goes to school.

Naruto always spots a red haired kid on the opposite of his bus stop with two older people that he holds their hands. Naruto always waves at him and waits until the day he waves back.

Gaara is very affected by his past life, like he was carving the kanji for love when his mom walked in because Temari tried to stop it but couldn’t take the blade away from him. She got slashed on her arm as a result.

Karura walks in and gasps softly.

Karura: Gaara sweetie.

Gaara: Mama, you're alive?

Karura: Of course. Please put the knife down.

Gaara: Knife?

Gaara completes carving in perfect kanji and stops once he completes it. Then the pain registrator for him

Choji is allergic to mustard, he found out in elementary and by accident. Shikamaru went to the teacher and Hinata stayed with Choji because he was rubbing his face and making his hives worse.

Afternoon

Rest of the Konoha 12 except (Hinata Neji and Shikamaru) No Sai yet.

Middle school. Bus Crew

Morning

Konoha 12 except Hinata, Ino, and Sakura

Afternoon

Konoha 12 Except Hinata, Tenten, Neji and Sasuke

High school bus crew.

Morning

Hinata was too scared to do it on her own in elementary, she tried in middle school and failed, but she succeeded in high school. She has to wake up an extra hour and walk to her stop but she doesn’t after freshman year. She got used to it

Afternoon

Everyone unless they have clubs, even then there is an after after school bus.

Hinata and Neji are on the richer side of town and everyone in middle school often joked about how they are on the west side while everyone else is on the east side.

They all meet on sports day. The other schools were pitted against each other east versus west.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were in a group together and were mocking Neji from a distance.

Naruto: Ew, is that a West sider?!

Sakura: Is that a boy or girl?

Naruto: It doesn’t matter! It’s a west sider!

Hinata from behind them, joins in.

Hinata: Ew a west sider.

Naruto, turning around: You got that r-

Hinata a carbon copy of the guy they were mocking.

Naruto: AH!!! They got us from behind!

Hinata blushes: Naruto-kun 

Naruto: Oh, it’s just you Hinata.

They don’t know each other at this point, Sasuke and Sakura look bamboozled at their interaction.

Hinata is going to therapy for this because her parents are worried and she just wants a break from the whole past life stuff.

Hinata sighs to herself: Not again

Hinata walks off towards where Neji is and leaves Naruto in her wake.

Naruto’s motto: We are here to cause some ruckus, then DIP!!!

[khiphop-discussions]

No:el - Elleonoel (review)

생존신고 (Survival Report) - Something about this guy reminds me of Vernon from Seventeen. Not quite sure what it is. Maybe it’s the tone in his voice and his delivery. This is more like an intro song in my opinion. It’s really just him rapping. Not really an attempt to make it into a catchy song with a hook or anything. Plus, it’s short. Not that that’s bad or anything but yeah.

Don (Money) - The instrumental on this one is pretty lowkey. Not bad, not good, nothing special. This one shorter than the first one at only 1 minutes and 50 seconds. I actually played this one back since that’s how short it is. His lyrics always tend to be kind of aggressive, headstrong, and...focused? If that’s the word I’m looking for? Anyway, this one make an effort to have somewhat of a hook and be kinda catchy. But I still feel like it’s an intro. Again, not a bad thing. Not a bad song either, it’s actually pretty nice even if it’s short as hell.

굽 (Heel) ft Loco - I like this song. It’s cute. It’s basically a love song. I guess not a “love” song but a “like” song? A high school crush song? LOL anyways, I like it. It’s a softer side of him tbh. Not that he’s not already soft but I feel like he doesn’t always show that side. People know him more as a blunt, straight up, sometimes slightly egotistical type of guy. This song kinda diverts that image. As usual, Loco was a great addition. He doesn’t outdo the main artist nor does he sound out of place or drag the song down. 

Hate Being A Rapper - This song kinda goes back to the image/tone that we are used to getting from him. It’s a cool song. Don’t have much else to say. This is one of the songs on the album I’ve heard multiple times so yeah.

제목미정 (untitled) - I feel like this song is EXACTLY what most people think of when they think of No:el. The “I Don’t Give A Fuck”, kinda cocky (in a good way!), cool kid aura. Because of that I like this song hahaha

RedMGZN.CUM (skit) - I’m not quite sure what this is. Apparently it’s a skit but ti still sounds like a song. It has an unnamed featuring artist on the song. I’m just gonna say it’s a skit. Either way I don’t have much to say about it lol

제목미정 Pt.2 (untitled pt.2) - More of exactly what you’d expect from him. I don’t know if I like pt.1 or pt.2 better. IDK if they are even supposed to fit together or if they are just named that just because he could think of a name and he had already used “untitled” so he had to change this one a bit by adding “pt.2″ lol. Probably the second one. 

그 나물에 그 밥 (Feat. Swings) - This young man just does not give any types of fucks. I just wonder if it’s authentic or not cause he seems to say it a lot for someone who doesn’t lol. Either way, I believe No:el. If he says it I guess it’s true hahaha. Anyway, nice song. Catchy. Swings was a good addition. Like many of his songs, it’s short ass hell.

Killing Track ft Quaimo, Jay Moon - I’m not that big on this song. For one I’m not big on Jay or Quaimo. Not shade. They just aren’t for everybody. No:el actually comes in last on this track which is pretty rare. Usually the “owner” of he song goes on before the featuring artists but whatever, not a big deal just something interesting. Save the best for last anyway. 

화제인물 (Hot Issue) Feat. iHwak, Lee Bada - This ones really down tempo. I’m not really a fan of this one. Like the rapping is on point but the singing and the chorus in general are just a no for me tbh.

부모 (Parents) - One thing I like is the title. the actual title of this song is actually in Kanji. The Kanji characters for “Parents”. Just thought that was cool since I could actually read it (Thanks two semesters of Japanese! lol)。Anyway, because no one cares, this song is REALLY sweet. As you probably guessed, it’s a song about his parents, or rather TO his parents. The instrumental fit so perfect. I love this song! Really cute. Still has classic “No:el” markers which is awesome but this is a whole other part of him. Really cool that he decided to share it.

금수저 (Gold Spoon) - Now on to the two bonus tracks. Both are songs that were already released before which is ok. He really goes in on this song. Anyway, I’ve heard this song multiple times before so I’ll move on.

IDFWU (I Don’t Fuck With You) Remix - This is the remix to HIS song not the super popular song from another artist. I’ve heard the original a couple times but I’ve never heard this version until now. I definitely like this one better.

Overall, I think this album is solid. I feel like it kinda has a baseline. It never goes too high above a certain point but it doesn’t dip too much lower either so that’s good. My favorite song has to be either “Heel” or “Parents”. I can’t pick either, so I’ll just pick both. I love that both deviate from what we’re used to getting (or at least what expect to get) out of No:el. I love when artists do something different and still manage to do it well. One thing I think is that he isn’t very good at picking beats that will fit him well to be honest. None of these beats are really impressive or interesting, at least not with this specific artist (No:el). I feel like they are very minimalist but sometimes maybe a little extra power or complexity behind his voice will really make him sound better and give a better song overall. Also, back to the thing I mentioned about Vernon earlier, They kinda remind me of direct opposites? Like Vernon is usually like very soft, sweet, humble, and not that aggressive but then No:el is like aggressive, focused, sometimes cocky (but again, in a good way), and blunt. Not to draw TOO much of a comparison there but yeah, I thought that was interesting. I love both though, don’t get me wrong.

[gocchisama]

Rollercoaster of Emotion : A Keyakizaka Story

The “Republic of Keyakizaka” concert took place the week end of 22-23 July, in FujiQ conifer forest. With a schedule matching mine, i had the privilege to attend the two days full of keyakizaness, from unique scenery inside the park to the sharp performance of the girls. I will attempt to bring as much anecdote from the inside as i can, and yes there’s a lot of things to say!

The concert took place near the popular attraction park FujiQ Highland.

Getting tickets as a foreigner might be an hassle. I had to create a Rakuten account, an EMTG account, have a credit card that works, a japanese phone number and address. You can get the last two by submitting to tenso, a japanese service specialized in shipping Japanese goods. After that, it was first come first served so web servers were saturated from fans multiple connections, disabling the service for those who have poor internet. Fortunately the venue capacity was big (12 000 seats) and some gave up because the venue was too far from tokyo (2 hours from bus/3 from train). 6 hours after the start of the selling, i managed to buy 2 tickets (i didn’t choose seats). Something hard, was also to book a bus ( most japanese fans rushed to this service as well) and all hotel were book. I got lucky to find a very affordable airbnb (guesthouse online service) and managed to secure a super early Bus from tokyo to the venue. Vacations were finally starting!

A sneak peek of the queuing line for Keyakizaka goods. There’s three of them.

There’s a reason i wanted to come early: exclusive goods! I wasn’t satisfied with the towel available on the official online store, but the one sold at the venue was a real “coup de coeur”. Hirate Yurina being a very popular member, i didn’t wanted to face a sold-out situation. I arrived at 10AM and the show started at 5PM(afternoon). But there was already a massive line worth 1.5 hours! Easy to tell that Goods are really popular items of collection. I thought i was going to wait in hellfire, but weather was cloudy and the forest around were kind of absorbing the heat. Also we were waiting below the fujiyama rollercoaster so it was fun to see people getting scared 60m above our line. What surprised me was how disciplined fans were : patiently waiting their turn, and quickly purchasing their goods. What looked really long actually moved quite fast. Aki-p was also prepared : there was a huge amount of package behind the selling staff to fulfill everyone’s otaku needs. Thumbs up for japanese neat organization!

Exclusive goods were affordable and high quality.

i was positively surprised at the goods prices. 3000Y 100% cotton T shirts, 3000Y lighsticks and 2000Y the god of items, the oshi towel. Aside from the oshi towel, the biggest value for me was the exclusive fanclub keyakizaka bandana (the one on my bag) with the unbeatable price of 300Y. There was also this 4500Y exclusive T shirt with handmade blazer “humility, kindness, bond” but i skipped due to budget reasons. The highlight was also keyakizaka photoset : for 1000Y, they give you a set of 5 random pictures, either from special silent majority (kohaku version) to futari season (gold uniform). I had a good pull with yuipon, moriya, shida manaka. When i got out, there were hundreds of fans trading like crazy to complete their sets! Some had 30 000 Y worth of photos, just to get a chance to have their oshimen sets complete. As you can expect, a lot of fans keep popular members set for their own collection, and to trade them is very rare. The trading was a raging battle and with my poor 5 pictures, i didn’t tried to join the fray. Even though i could probably catch  Yurina... let’s hope for another chance in the summer tour!

There was so many keyakizaka fans that the park could have been renamed Keyakizaka land.

Keyakizaka performing in Conifere forest was undoubtly a big collaboration with FujiQ Highland. Sony management get a big venue and promotion from FujiQ, while FujiQ ultra boost its attendance rate with all the wota coming to have a good time in the park. I won’t be surprised if they do it again. The scenery was unreal : almost 70% of the park customers were wearing their oshi towel and keyaki T-shirts. After all, the 1500Y admission pass was free for those who had concert tickets (but you have to pay the biggest rollercoasters). It was a great opportunity for group of friends to attend both fujiQ and keyakizaka GIG, but also couples and families. There was members panel scattered over the whole park and fans had to search for their oshi (see above). You could see who were popular according to the lane of fans waiting to get the perfect shot. Zuumin, Monarisa, Neru always had a lane. Techi was very well hidden (at the near edge between 2 rollercoaster) and had like 100 members queuing for her! It took me 1h to find the panel and take a picture, but the hide and seek game was fun.

About the sociology : after a lot of observation, i would say the ratio is 75-25 boys/girls, and most of them were very young 15-20 years old. They probably didn’t lived the Acchan era, and that explain why AKB is declining : AKB didn’t managed to appeal to this new fandom; Nogizaka and Keyaki did. I haven’t seen goods related to other idol group, even from Nogizaka. It was really all about Keyaki. I’ll be honest, it was hard to connect with fans. Langage barrier, also they were already hanging in groups of friend/Focus on trading. I chatted a bit with fans when i was queueing in Fujiyama rollercoaster, and they were surprised i came from France, but that’s about it. On a side note, Fujiyama has nice attractions like Eee janai ka (see videos on youtube) so please check it out for one day (you don’t need more, and go on weekdays) if you have the opportunity to do so!

The actual venue, with a big stage looking like a castle with flags ornaments.

The actual venue was very convenient. There were a lot of staff guiding fans and you just had to cross the bridge to be at the concert. Lot of policemen, security was strict, checking bags and ID. Impossible to resell ticket thanks to this, even with accompany status (the concert didn’t sold out anyway). How it was organized : seats were spread through blocks. For example, if you get A block, you’re very close to the stage, and if you get the number 7-9, you are in the center of the venue. Kami seats were not A1(on the edge, but still good), but A7 (sooo close). Since i bought ticket late, i had F2, which is quite bad, but i was already glad to be there. I had the big left screen to follow the concert (picture above). You were given a balloon to use it during Sekai ni wa ai shikanai. Saturday i would say was filled at 95%, and Sunday was 90%. Mission accomplished.

The girls appeared in brand new horsemen-inspired costume, holding (*cough* confederate *cough*) flags.

The show was finally starting! Big new instrumental intro to lift the atmosphere, again with the army style. People wavering their greenlighstick, all standing up. Techi was standing in the middle with her badass stare like the leader of the army. After this intro, they played Overture and followed by the 3 first singles. First thing i wanted to confirm : No zuumin (imaizumi Yui) also Yonetani nanami chose to focus on her studies in the meantime. Anyway choregraphy went smoothly and the crowd was cheering and doing the mix (wota chant). It’s our way to tell the girls we’re enjoying our time and mutually motivating ourselves. It’s our way to communicate! Overall members had good expressions, like Moriya, Yuuka and Neru, but also Satoh shiori and uemura rina that were dancing on my side. Others like Berika and Techi were kind of warming up, trying to avoid making mistakes.

There were a lot of interactions between fans and the group. Shida Manaka particulary enjoyed shooting on fans but also members.

Aozora and Bokutachi no sensou were pretty original : they put the crowd into work sending big floating air balls that we were bumping around the venue, and girls had waterstream to shower the first lanes. Other members had waterguns. It was really festive and even though bokutachi no sensou is not my favourite song, people were having fun. Aozora to marry is a fan favourite, as the calls were very strong.

Techi entering the scene the coolest way possible

Techi was singing live, with a playback running behind. A double edged sword as if her pitch was off, it could be distinguishly heard, so she focused a lot on her singing. Her voice is more girly than the studio version, which was cute. However, because she wanted to do good, she was restraining herself and her moves lacked expressions. She didn’t interacted much with the crowd, making her cold. As if she was aware of her mistake, she did significantly better Sunday and she felt much more natural. Hearsaying on my way home, a lot were satisfied with her performance, as her aura is “yabai” (so impressive)

Yurina’s performance was followed by Hiragana keyaki 2 songs, “hiragana keyaki” and “boku wa tsukiatteru”. I was pleasantly surprised at how genki, smiling and fluffy the girls were, lifting up the crowd even more. They were so much more expressive than Kanji singles it kind of woke up everyone. The song in studio is standard orthodox idol, but it is a killer during live performance because the lyrics are easy to remember and moves easy to mimic. Very good surprise, i saw myself tagging along, leaving behind all regrets to look ridicule. At the end, Sasaki kumi took charge of the MC. I can see she is comfortable with talking, but topics to talk about could be improved. Other girls were short to comment.

Waterworks  were giving density to the rare performed “Otona wa shinjite kurenai”

Kanji are back with the great “otona wa shinjite kurenai” and the very anticipated “eccentric”. Very solid performance, very sharp and powerful. The girls are in their element and Techi is finally unleashing the darkness within her. We don’t have mix in this song, but people were amazed and couldn’t speak much. It gaves a stronger feeling than Silent majority. Less mainstream, much deeper. I really liked it. Great follow up with Eccentric, people argued the choregraphy was a hit or miss, but i would say definitevely a hit! If felt like the girls were having erratic spasm, but did synchronized move as well. Very technical. The song itself is good, and i saw myself doing the wakame dance (waving my arms), shuffling my towel (while they use their shoes) and shaking my chest. (that was weird).

Something i noticed too in Hohoemi Ga kanashii and Wareta Smartphone. Because Techi is a little bit cranky and mechanical, the chemistry with Neru is not perfect. Techi shines in dark songs, but on her path to become a great idol, she needs to express herself more in normal situation. It feels like Neru is assisting her rather than being a balanced pairing. On the other song, Berika is reminding me of Paruru, doing the barely minimum during performance. I know it’s funny to put someone awkward in a sexy song, but i don’t think it’s helping her to grow. The contrast with the sexyness of Moriya is making her look bad. She looks more comfortable in songs like Aozora ga chigau. In the meantime, Mona risa are fooling around while Yuuka try to focus on the choregraphy. I personally like Wareta smartphone.

Sometimes the wota culture can be misunderstood. 

We reached a climax with the 3 last songs, “Kataru nara mirai wo”, “Takaku tobe” and “Te wo tsunaide Kaerou ka”? Kataru Nara is an absolute jewel of choregraphy and the mix were really strong. Before that we had a Hiragana and Kanji dance medley very similar to what happened in Ariake. Some moves were recycled, but i don’t mind as the girl had little time to practice. Special shoutout to Suzumoto Miyu who is by far the best dancer of the groupe. Saito Kyoko dance battled with her and she was very decent too. As people were hyping, they send Takaku tobe which once again blowed me away at how popular of a song it was. Perhaps the instrumental got changed to sound more upbeat, but everyone was tagging along with the moves and quirky mimics. Hiragana songs are really popular! To answer to that, Kanji Keyaki used Te wo tsunaide, another popular song that worship the yuukanen pairing. People were warming up at Yuukanen chasing each other, in a very cute way. The cheering was pretty even with Takaku tobe.

The Encore escalated quickly, with loud screams and fireworks.

To me the big highlight was the encore, Fukyouwaon. People knew it was the last powerful song so we kind of put everything to it. The girls exploded and the pyrotechnics made it look like a warfield. It was so funny i shouted “boku wa yada” with Techi similar to if i was in hellfest, surprising people next to me (i thought it was part of the mix , sorry). Anyway, people did their best mix and you couldn’t hear the rollercoaster next to us. Fukyouwaon went from the “weakest” A-side to “best A-side on stage” haaands down. It was truly marvelous and you could see the girls were enjoying the crowd hype as their moves were growing in power (Techi was smiling from enjoyment).

Finally we finished with our anthem kanji/hiragana together, Keyakizaka no Uta. We kind of let loose after the final rush and enjoyed the last bit of time together. We had fireworks and it almost felt the girls weren’t aware. Since we were around 7PM, it was night and you could completely see the fireworks. People were having a blast. I heard “sugeee” “yabaaai” “majiiii de” from everywhere when it started to lighten up the sky.

Aki-p used credit card platinum. It was very effective.

In conclusion, it was a great experience to live as a fan. You could either skip Saturday or Sunday as it was the same setlist. Unfortunately, Yonetani and Zumiko absence were quite heavy, leaving their fans bittersweet. Also there was only eccentric as new song, making fans craving for more. That’s why it can’t beat Ariake coliseum yet. But fear not! Because Keyaki summer schedule is very busy; they still have to perform the summer tour, handshakes, summer sonic, fuji rock and Tokyo idol festival. I think Zuumin will come back avoiding the hectic schedule, just in time for their biggest stop, Makuhari Messe. Keyaki story is not over yet!

I was impressed once again by japanese crowd control. They brought special train for people to come back safely to tokyo. The guideline was perfect, and they regulate trains so people don’t overcrowd it. Also it was free, so i only paid 500 yen to come back from Fujisan to Chiba! They really do the maximum for the fans and i’m really grateful.

It’s not all the time you see a town full of wota, wearing their oshi towel like it’s pretty standard; to see fans helping each other to take turns of 2shots, praising their respective oshimen quality; a young daughter refusing his also-fan dad to accompany her in handshake to not be embarassed in front of her oshimen... Now i realized what the true meaning of “republic of keyakizaka” is : people bonding, having fun together, enjoying life around the positive energy that brings the group.

- Gocchisama

En route toward new keyaki adventures! Thanks for reading.

[randomrosie01]

+ Yamako Anko +

                                                                                                                                    やみこあんこ

| Background |

   Yamako Anko is the second daughter to Kaiya and Shoma Yamako. Her older brother Kenta is six years older than her. Anko's parents were petty criminals who worked in convenience stores and robbed to make money to sustain their children.  They did not want to be criminals, but that was the only way to give life to their children. Again and again, they would remind Kenta and Anko that they should be better than them and become heroes or do something better with their lives. The Yamako family was secure and happy. They were a tight-knit family, and they showed love to each other in every way that they could. They would have days where they would all watch movies together while eating their favorite foods. Tragically, one evening at the convenience store Shoma and Kaiya worked for was robbed by low-life villains. In the entanglement, they were both killed. Kenta (13) and Anko (7) were left alone. Immediately after, their aunt from their mother's side, Hitomi, adopted the children. It became apparent that Hitomi did not like Anko since she harbored her father's looks and quirk. One day while Kenta was at school, Hitomi grew extremely angry at Anko for defending her father that she beat Anko with her fists until she grabbed a piece of broken glass and dragged it across Anko's left eye. Anko's demon form came out and got out of control as it clawed away at Hitomi until she was dead. When the police were called to the crime scene, Haru's aunt, Hinata, and Kenta arrived. While the police knew that Anko killed Hitomi by accident, the police had nobody to leave both of the Yamako children with so Hinata offered to adopt both children.

| Family |

  Anko is very respectful of her parents, and every week, she will visit them and tell them about her week and what she is feeling at the moment. On her birthday, Anko tends to get some rice noodles and eat by her parents' grave. Every Christmas, Kenta and Anko cook rice ramen ( Anko and Shoma's favorite food) and soba ( Kaiya's favorite food) and eat with their parents.

  Anko first introduces Todoroki to her parent's grave after school, and she tells her parents how much Shouto means to her and how he is the first person to understand her truly. She told them about his quirks and how amazing and talented he is. After that first meeting, Anko has seen Shouto at her parent's grave, telling them how grateful he is to have Anko in his life and how he promises to respect and protect her. Every Christmas before visiting his mother, Todoroki eats with Kenta and Anko at the graves.

| Quirks |

   Anko has two quirks, a negativity manipulation, and a demon form. Her negativity manipulation allows her to manipulate any negative emotion into raw energy. This quirk comes from Anko's mom, and the negative is that she has chronic depression, and if she does not release her strength, her depression can become severe. Her demon form comes from her dad, and it is a demonic form of Anko that is capable of ripping apart anyone and anything with its teeth or claws. The demon form is also able to see the components and details of someone's blood through taste.

    Because the demon form can be hazardous, Anko had grown to resent it. This form of her's is dangerous and incredibly creepy to the point that many people tend to stray from Anko in fear of what she can do to them.  Anko had a deep hatred of this quirk, and while she resented the quirk, she could not resent her father for it. She was consistently conflicted with the fact that she loves and respects her father, but she hates the quirk and the misery it has brought her. Anko would often express her sadness to her parents' grave.

夜魔   暗子

| Haru |

[tigressaofkanjis]

The Sparkling Almanac (Transformers)

This is an opinionated almanac of sparklings. If you disagree with some of the facts, I understand and I will not force these down your throat as being true. If afterwards you wish to add your own facts in the comment section, feel free too. Hell, even add your OC's sparkling facts too. I will read them no matter what. :)

What most didn’t know was that Transformers had the ability to lay eggs at will if the environment or time wasn’t right for having sparklings. That put the babies in a type of stasis that could only be awoken by their creators. No one else could awake them. Every other circumstance could simply let the creators have a live birth in which the child would automatically be alert and alive completely. It was a strange reproductive concept that shocked many other aliens.

How did the Transformers tell whose eggs were whose? Scent, always scent because the scent of the eggs is imprinted in their processors as soon as they deliver the sparklings and vice versa when the sparklings are out and about. In fact, sparklings are similar to animal babies for they have the ability to know that they should never stray far from their parents and also to go to said parents if they sense danger or something unknown. They have surprisingly excellent tracking senses which can allow them to return to their creators if they get lost. But that’s another story entirely.

A clutch of two or more were very common among the different species and subspecies of Transformers as well who decided to lay eggs instead of live birth. Live birth usually produced no more than five sparklings due to the fact that they required a much larger growth than that of sparklings being delivered in eggs, which grew within the eggs even after carriage. The bigger the carrier, the more eggs that could be created and housed with no problems.

Minicons were the only exception to the rule of bigger equals more as their litters ranged from five to ten offspring. Why this was so probably had to do with the size of the sparklings or “Teacup Minicons” as some humans referred to them as. The name itself implied they were born relatively small, about the size of a Pomeranian puppy and stayed this way a good period of time even longer than other species of Transformers.

Now the “common” sized Transformers whom ranged from a little smaller than Arcee to about as big as Tigressa (Megatron stands at her waistline) have the capability to produce as many as twelve per litter depending on the combination of mechs and femmes (remember, same frame-type “gender” relationships are most common). For instance if Arcee and Megatron had sparklings in egg form, there’s a good chance the maximum might be four since the sparklings would grow quite big even when in eggs. Her body would know the limit it could take before internal damage to her reproductive organs would be inevitable.

Predacons and Dinobots could have about six to ten eggs, including when they mate with others not from their subspecies. Though the egg size wouldn’t be as massive, their CNA would most likely be the dominant type. Their babies will always be born in their alt. modes first and stay in their forms for up to a couple months before their t-cog begins to work. In which case, the adults will stay in their own alt. modes with their babies until the latter are ready to learn how to transform.

Insecticons lay up to fifteen to twenty eight eggs per clutch and they only stay pregnant for two months whereas Minicons take eight months, vehicle-based Cybertronians take about six to eight months (depending on their size), and the beast mode-based Cybertronians take about three to five months. The Insecticons are notorious for getting pregnant a day after giving birth continuously. The more, the better as they would tell you.

Titan class Transformers, ranging from Ghost (slightly larger than Tigressa) to almost Omega Supreme’s chest, have been proven to be not very compatible with live births but may still be able to do so though eggs are the normal method. It’s enormously rare for types like combiners to give birth at all though. For combiners like Devastator, three of the component mechs have to be impregnated by a member (or members) of the same combiner and fuse very often for the said combiner to transfer its eggs into one chamber. After that, the combiner cannot defuse until the egg sack is complete, which takes about a month or two, and gives birth directly afterwards. Said egg sack will contain at least ten to thirty eggs estimated.

Sentinel class Transformers who range from Omega Supreme or higher height very rarely give birth at all. When Theta Supreme became pregnant by Beta Supreme, he apparently gave birth like any other common sized Transformer but he remained pregnant for a year and five months implying Sentinel sparklings take lots of time to develop. As it turns out, their sparklings are bigger than Lugnut who towers over both Optimus and Megatron by thirteen feet. That was a Supreme sized sparkling; you want to find out how big Metroplex’s sparklings will be?

Now live sparklings were interesting: it turns out the sparklings learn how to walk and run on all fours within the first weak as crawling irritates them. They learn to walk on two legs (if designed to do so) within a month or two. It was quite common actually for a sparkling to try and flee to their parents directly after being born if held by someone they don’t recognize the scent to.

Another little fact was their sight. Their optics can open within the first minute of being delivered but they won’t be able to see clearly until a few hours later. In this case, they rely on scent, touch, and sound to get them past obstacles if they’re even allowed to wander. Unlike human children, they can be left unattended because they would either respond by following their creators or navigating somewhere to play or rest. On instinct, they won’t have any real motivation to explore unless prompted to do so.

A curious as they can be, stupid they are not. At their young age, they can sense electrical currents and know immediately not to go near it or if possible go around it. If they stray from their creators and come across another Transformer or an unknown entity, they will stay still and wait for the figure to move so they’ll know whether to run away and use a noise they imprinted on their parents to let them know if they are frightened or to just keep a watchful eye on the entity and go about their business. If lost, the same noise can be used for creators to track their sparklings for long distances.

Temper tantrums were coincidently extremely rare. If they don’t get what they want, they’ll often look for something else to do or get and come back to their original desire later. If hurt, they do not cry out but rather grow stubborn and less responsive to whomever or whatever hurt them, often ditching that person or thing for another.

The only temper tantrum they truly have is agitation which can be brought forth through their creators. If their creators are angry at something or someone, the sparkling will sense this and become aggressive towards the same thing. Sometimes creators have to pull back their babies from trying to engage the problem head on. This is also a mimic in personality the sparkling can develop overtime, making it more likely for a sparkling to have similar personas to their creators’.

These apply to all Transformer sparklings, including the Pomeranian puppy-sized Teacup Minicons whom look a bit less intimidating than their larger fellow sparkling friends.

Now Sentinel based sparklings do something most others do not: they cling to the bodies (often the backside) of one of their creators. The only other sparkling types to do this are simian based (Kanjian) techno-organics and speedster based (Velocitronian). The latter must do so because their parents travel at high speeds, a power the sparklings don’t develop until they are five months of age.

There are aquatic mermaid based techno organic sparklings that will beach themselves for extensive periods of time when sensing danger or their creator (practically all Kanjian Leviathans are femmes and are believed to reproduce asexually or through their Queen) believes there is trouble between a subspecies below the water and doesn’t want the sparkling to be a part of it. Beaching doesn’t affect them as they don’t need water to breathe. They also have two to four arms depending on the type.

Some Kanjian dragon sparklings, specifically the Titan Class Ridgeback (Demon’s breed) and Razorback, are able to use fire breath directly after birth and yes, there are reports of valves being burned during a sparkling’s exit of the womb. Speaking of the Ridgeback, half of any litter born to at least one Ridgeback creator will be half Ridgeback…as in half of the total number of sparklings will always be full blooded Ridgeback and look extremely similar to the Ridgeback parent as well as the same “gender”. Unless the two creators are both Ridgebacks in which then the coloring and “gender” is random. Why this is this way is unknown.

All flight based sparklings can learn to fly within three to six months after birth depending on the size and type of creators. The only exception to this is the Sentinel class as they can only fly in vehicle mode until they are fully grown. But fair warning, this is one of the few abilities that must be taught by the creator as it does not come naturally to the sparkling for a very long period of time.

Like some human children and animals, sparklings can detect spiritual energy not seen by adults unless said adult is lucky, has a gift, or is one of the spiritual based entities found on Kanjis whose powers are spirit related. Ghost in most infamous for this, being the guardian of the Underworlds of many planets as well as their dead. Anyways, sparklings will notify that there is something there but will treat it like another unknown Transformer or creature in which case it will either flee or watch closely to see what it does. These spirits rarely scare sparklings even if some are demonic.

Now a note about sparkling diets: most sparklings, sans lava class and acid class, can devour practically anything which can be a shocking sight at times. Unlike other baby digestive systems, their stomachs are actually not sensitive. In fact the older they get, the more sensitive it becomes. This can prove deadly for others as some like Dinobot and Kanjian sparklings might get it in their head to attack and eat others after seeing how their parents hunt (other Transformers mainly). There have been cases of cannibalism among them too though mostly seen in Kanjian class and Cybertronian class monsters like the Cybertronian Predator (around the time of the Thirteen/in stasis/distinctive primal relative to the Kanjian Ridgeback/nigh invulnerable/high intellect but cannot speak) and the Kanjian Frilled Dinobot (all terrain hunter/lacks ability to transform/CNA relative to Grimlock).

Sparklings can sleep up to nine to eleven hours a day but not in one go until they get older. Like cats though, they can sleep ANYWHERE in any position no less! They also love to bathe in sunlight as well, so watch your feet please as they might be found on the floor with their favorite toy in the sunny shadow of a window. Waking a sparkling isn’t the best idea as they tend to become very moody to the point where they can try and bite you if you reach out to handle them. Let them wake themselves.

If the cat subject is still a go, might be worth mentioning that they are extremely flexible and can sneak through small openings quite easily. Of course, their endoskeleton isn’t fully developed yet so is much more malleable than an adult’s.

Lava based sparklings will act similar to the Leviathan based though vice versa methods. When sensing danger, the sparkling will submerge under lava flows and lakes until deemed safe to reemerge. They will stick their heads out of the lava to check. They don’t know this yet but nothing can strike them while they are in the high heated liquid but instincts are instincts after all. They also have a diet of rock, yellow Energon (a high heated or “spicy” Energon that is deadly to all but fire based as it burns internal organs), and sometimes vegetation nearby during the colder seasons.

Acid based (native to Junkion only) sparklings have only been seen once and their creator was an acid mutant who everyone believes asexually reproduced. From what was studied, this type is indestructible in terms of explosions, gun fire, and predatory assaults. Being part acid, the sparklings can get into anything and severely harm anyone if picked up in which they will cover their entire body in acid as a defense mechanism. This is a pity because they do seem very friendly. What they eat or can do other than their defense is unknown so far.

Plant based sparklings (native to Kanjis only) will curl into balls and disguise themselves among vegetation while also mimicking a plant’s smell if threatened or simply wishing to be left alone. They tend to only eat meat and metal mostly as they love plant life much more than others so there’s no reason for them to eat whom they consider their friends.

Last fact but certainly not least, it is not possible to convince a sparkling someone else is their creator once born to another. Even if blind for a few hours, they will detect the scent of their keeper as not their biological creators and will be a bit off put by the keeper’s presence from that point onward. Despite perhaps getting used to the keeper slash adoptive creator, they won’t feel truly like they belong with the adoptive parent. And since they lose the ability to sense their creators’ presence after converting into a youngling, the scent of their keeper will not stay in their mindset even as sparklings. At most, they will stay a good distance away from the adoptive parent.

So what are your facts on these sparklings? 

[wolfiefics]

WIP Wednesday-A Vampire Knight Tale

Tentatively titled “How to Get a Life, by Takuma Ichijo, Bookworm”, which I kind of like but I’m not sure I’ll keep. I have not kept up with the Vampire Knight series of late and have been relying heavily on the Wiki. So it’s a bit of an AU, more than likely, but takes place 400 years after the first series ends. Snippet under the cut. Would appreciate feedback as I’m not sure about it at the moment. I know where it’s leading and whatnot but I’ve so much on my plate at the moment, it’s unreal.

This is Takuma meeting with the ‘heroine/love interest’. I’m horrible at creating Japanese names, especially as the author of Vampire Knight uses kanji meanings for hers, so I’m just ballsing it. It’s fanfic. Treat it like Firefly did English and Cantonese/Mandarin.

Just to let you know, I do accept anon but flames and rudeness will just either get you mocked publicly or ignored, depending on my mood. It’s fanfic, make-believe, fiction. If you’re so offended by fictional stories that you have to treat someone like garbage on the street, I feel really, really sorry for you. You must have had no friends to play with as a child, real or pretend. I suggest therapy. Constructive, USEFUL criticism accepted gladly...as well as gushing praise. LOL! Goddess knows I need a cheering squad.

Abigail O’Malley was ready to tear her hair out. This freaking chapter just wasn’t working. It was the sixth time she’d written it and it still wasn’t right. Was it too early for the second victim? Did she need more social interaction between the killer and the investigator? More cat and mouse?

“Ugh!” she groused. She got up from her swivel desk chair, purgatorial thing that it was, and was heading for her kitchenette when she realized someone was knocking at her door. From the determination and strength behind the knocks, the person had been there awhile.

Grimacing at having to deal with people when she was late for her deadline and stuck in the middle of the damned book as well, Abigail stalked to the door, intending to give her visitor a tongue-lashing. She twisted the knob, jerked, found the door locked, undid the dead bolt, and tried again. The door creaked open like from some ancient tomb, and she gave a bit of a grunt as she exerted force to open it enough to peer out.

“What?” she snapped. “I’m busy.”

“Ms. Abigail O’Malley?” The voice was male, low, calm and friendly. No trace of irritation at having been knocking on her door for so long was evident.

“As I said, I’m busy. Can you come back another time?” She wasn’t paying any attention to the man, eyeballing the hinges of the door, wondering when they’d gotten so gunked up. What cleared up door hinge gunk? Oil? Rust cleaner?

“I am Takuma Ichijo. I am interested in purchasing the shop space you have for rent in this building,” the stranger was saying.

“Not for sale,” she said absently, still not looking at him and concentrating on the what definitely looked like rust on the hinges. She sighed. She hated all this home owner crap. She needed to use all this money she had to hire a maid but then that maid would want to straighten up the place and thus dislodge Abby’s chaotic filing system.

“I am very interested in that space, Ms. O’Malley,” the stranger persisted, his voice still friendly, not forceful or angry. “I want to open a bookshop and I plan on being there for quite some time.”

At the word ‘bookshop’ Abby’s gaze finally focused on the man standing in front of her. He was stunningly handsome and didn’t look at all like any bookworm she’d ever met. And as an author, she’d met a ton of them.

Abby hiked a skeptical eyebrow. “A bookshop?” she asked.

He smiled as if relieved to finally have her full attention. “Yes, mostly rare, out-of-print, or signed books but I do plan on catering to popular titles and new releases to augment sales. I’m quite fond of pulp thrillers, mangas, and murder mysteries, so I expect I’ll have a nice collection of those.”

Abby narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a more thorough once over. Late twenties, early thirties at the most, tousled light blond hair, absolutely gorgeous green eyes that brought to mind descriptors such as ‘grass’ or ‘verdant’, a tall build with an edge of masculine power, pale skin that looked like he refused to set foot in the sun, and clothing of fine make but worn for comfort not style. Again, not someone she would peg as a book nerd.

But then, she reasoned, everyone was always surprised that a half-dead, cancer-ridden twenty-something woman was the author of more than fifteen best-selling murder thrillers. Appearances were more than deceiving.

Abby opened the door wider, inviting him in. “You’ve intrigued me, Mr. – “ She hesitated, realizing she missed his name.

“Ichijo, but please, call me Takuma,” he said with a cheerful smile, stepping past her into the cramped apartment.

“Um, call me Abby. Abigail is reserved for my grandmother when she’s getting ready to yell at me for doing something stupid,” she replied, looking about with a stranger’s eye the state of her apartment. Hmm. Maybe she should rethink the maid idea.

She shuffled by him, gathered up some print outs she used for reference for one of the last books she’d published, looked around for somewhere to put them, and wound up stacking the papers on some notebooks in another chair. Ah well, at least he had somewhere to sit.

He sat down, oozing elegance, and gave her an amiable smile. “Mr. Yakata told me you are an author,” he said with a hint of eagerness. “Is all of this your research for your book?” He waved a hand at the mess.

She grimaced. “Books, actually. I think I used that stuff,” she gestured to the stack she just moved, “in either the last book or the book before. I don’t remember,” she confessed. “They kind of run together after awhile.”

He looked intrigued, staring at her as if she were a fascinating specimen. Having such narrow regard on her flustered Abby a bit and she cast about for something else to say. “I was getting ready to make tea. Want some? Then we can discuss your proposition regarding the rental space.”

“Tea would be lovely,” he said with a wide, blinding white smile. Good Lord. Was he a statue come to life of someone’s ideal human being? He was damned near perfect in every way. And he smiled a lot. Nothing looked awkward, out-of-place or, well, human about him. An angel?

She scowled at her fanciful thoughts. Angels were make believe. She should know. She’d been begging for one to save her, help her, since she’d been diagnosed three years ago. The supernatural was fairy tales. Pain, fear and misery was life.

She clanged about the kitchen, heating water in her electric kettle, setting up a tray with a tea pot, the delicate cups to match that belonged to her great-grandmother, and a little bit of cream and sugar in case this Ichijo guy took it in his tea. She put her favorite cherry jam on there for her own use and once everything was assembled, took a deep breath as she prayed she wouldn’t have a bout of weakness and drop the damned thing.

She managed to set the tray down on the coffee table and it perched precariously on some almanacs and forensic reports she’d gathered for research. Unsure of etiquette with a guy this gorgeous, Abby hesitated and was relieved when he took the lead.

He poured the steeped tea into the cups with great delicacy and practice. His nostrils flared when he caught scent of the flavor and then he put a healthy dab of the jam in both their cups before handing her one.

“You like jam in your tea?” she asked in surprise.

He smiled wistfully. “A friend taught me to drink it that way. I’ve found I prefer it more than anything else. You have good taste in teas and jam, I must say.”

‘Okay, points to this guy for liking jam in his tea,’ Abby thought as she sipped at her tea a couple of times. She watched him look around her apartment with great interest. Those beautiful eyes missed nothing, she noted. He was sharp as a tack and undoubtedly highly intelligent.

And extremely handsome. She was starting to get light-headed just looking at him. Or maybe that was the new cancer treatment catching up.

“So, Takuma,” she said, clasping her cup in both hands when they began to shake. “The shop. Why buy when you can lease?”

He turned his attention back to Abby. “I found your space perfect for my needs. Just what I pictured my little shop to be, in fact. The location is ideal as well. I do not want to lease, however. I plan on being in whatever spot I choose for a very long time. Purchasing is imminently more practical,” he explained.

She nodded. “I get that,” she said honestly, “but I can’t just sell that little corner. I’d have to sell the whole building.” She grimaced. “Some weird city ordinance,” she added. “I mean, it’s never been a problem before, but with you wanting to buy not lease…” She trailed off and gave a shrug.

“I would find it no hardship to purchase the building and give you a very generous price for it,” Takuma told her.

Abby frowned at that. “Well, first of all, I live here. I don’t really want to be a renter on property I used to own. Second of all, most of the other residents are elderly or disabled. I’m not exactly hurting for money so when they are a little late on the rent and such, I’ve got no problem giving leeway.”

Takuma nodded thoughtfully. “I see no reason why such an arrangement cannot remain with the current tenants,” he noted.

“And lastly my family has owned this building for a long, long time. I’m pretty sure if I sold it, my great-great-great grandfather would rise from his grave and do what my cancer hasn’t done yet and that’s kill me.” She tried to joke but knew it fell flat when his gaze sharpened and those keen eyes gave her a more thorough once over.

“You are ill?” His voice was sharp, almost disapproving.

She stiffened. “Not everyone gets lucky and has a long life,” she snapped. “Some of us have to deal with the shit poker hand life has given us.”

Takuma was taken aback by her tone and set his cup carefully down on the tray. “I meant no disrespect,” he assured her calmly. “It’s just – “ Here he faltered, frowning as if trying to find the right words.

But Abby had enough. She was beginning to feel worse by the second and having this healthy, beautiful man in her apartment made her feel like some sort of defect. When was the last time she ate?

“Lease or leave, Mr…” She blanked on his last name, “Takuma. Make your arrangement with the real estate agent or find somewhere else. Please leave.” She didn’t add ‘and don’t let the door hit you on the way out’ but she was positive he picked up on it, if the narrowed gaze he gave her was any indication.

He rose with a wounded dignity that raised Abby’s ire just a bit more. He walked with an even pace to the door and paused before opening it. “I offer $4 million for the entire building,” he told her. “I will change no agreements the tenants currently have for their residences. The other businesses are also allowed to keep their existing arrangements. Furthermore, I will charge you no rent at all, until either you move or…” His voice caught and she scowled. What did he have to be upset about? “Or until you pass.”

“Get out,” she snapped.

“Please consider my offer, Ms. O’Malley,” he said in a soft voice. “I make it in good faith. I am willing to let you look over my finances and credit to assure you I can uphold my end of the bargain.”

“I said get the fuck out.”

He stood there for a long moment but she refused to look at him. Hot tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks and she didn’t want to look weak and frail in front of that perfect human being standing at her front door.

“Very well. Again, please reconsider.” He opened the door and left, the door closing with a gentle click behind him.

Abby looked around her. This apartment was her refuge. It was a place to hide from the poking and prodding of doctors and the interminable tests that offered hope only to snatch it away over and over again. It was a safe place that well-meaning but morose family members wouldn’t go with their platitudes, remember-whens, and sad-eyed, mournful looks. Here she could defeat evil, overcome adversity, and create a happy ending with her stories. The happy ending that would be denied her.

Angrily, Abby dashed away the tears that finally fell, stood up and marched on unsteady feet to her desk.

She had a chapter to write. Many chapters. And the next victim was going to be a green-eyed, blond, too-good-to-be-true, insensitive jerk.

With relish, she began to type and soon immersed herself in murder and the investigation that would bring a bad guy to justice.