#Do American think “developed” is speak English?

[pastellbg]

watching one of those house hunting shows where this guy is moving to a new country.

Wanna know what his reasoning is?

To help developing country's.

Wanna know what country he picked?

Japan.

[gonetoforks]

Introducing; Yuichi Usagi-Cuddles!

There’s a slight typo in his basic character bio, (first, grey image) other than “yuich,” his family in America lives in the part of the hidden city under Jersey. He lives in Jersey. He’s a Jersian. So in terms of leosagi, it’s gonna be an enemies-to-lovers comedy-of-errors muahahahaha!!

More (a LOT more) info about him as his own guy under the cutoff :D ⬇️

Basically; He’s a silly guy! I feel like his kinda buffoonish, embarrassing personality in canon is simultaneously PERFECT for Rise’s writing style & grievously underrated in fanon depictions. So he’s this clownish type of character, haha.

Okay, time to go hyperfixation mode.

Adhd & his stubborn attitude;

He has ADHD! Executive function issues makes it hard for him to start tasks & manage himself, so he relies on his teams (the Mad Dogs when he’s training & the Rise equivalent to his canon friend group on his own time) to not only instruct him, but also hold him accountable & keep him on task. He’s body-doubling without even realizing it.

Although, he resents the things he does to accommodate his disability. He doesn’t notice that doing the things he does genuinely helps or why so he thinks he’s using them as a crutch because of incompetence. Every time he gets stubborn and ignores the things he needs to do, he crashes and burns. When he was new in town with no teacher & no friends who liked martial arts, he became a huge sad sack until the kraang invasion.

His character arc is about being able to rely on other people & accommodations. That relying on a bit more help than other people doesn’t make you incompetent, choosing to seek out the support you need so you can do your best is the true mature thing to do. I was inspired by canon Yuichi’s struggles with paying attention and Rise’s themes of cooperation. (& also my own experience with adhd and learning with executive function issues & junk)

Relationships w/ the turtles;

The Mad Dogs agree to let him like, intern with them? So he can see what it’s like to be a vigilante, they offer him advice and they occasionally go on low to mid-tier missions with his help. They take him on cause they think more heroes and allies out there, the less work they have to do haha. Also, one of the writers mentioned a season 3 would have them adjusting to being ~official heroes,~ I think this would be them trying to be “real.”

He’s closest friends with Mikey out of the whole group! (Adhd solidarity) Then it goes Donnie -> Raph -> and finally Leo (for now muahaha)

I tried to give Leosagi an interesting dynamic with constructing his character like this; They have similar insecurities from drawing self-worth from technical capabilities that they can develop past together, but Leo is clever and calculating about it vs Yuichi being rash and impulsive. So like smart x stupid but they’re the same actually.

His Family in Jersey;

He speaks english fluently because he’s visited his American family frequently his whole life, they’re very close. He has an accent though since he mainly speaks Japanese.

I haven’t fleshed out this concept enough, but I think members of his jersey/Cuddles half of the family would be spoofs of characters from the original yojimbo comics, implied to be reincarnations? Except Miyamoto ofc. (i’ll explain later..)

Reusing the ninja orphans plotline from the original show, his family utilizes their cute appearances to run an orphanage too. They wonder why this Chizu lady is constantly showing up with unhoused children, but they’re just grateful they’re safe now.

Everyone in his family HATES Mrs. Cuddles, they all think she’s in prison and are happy about it. She might’ve given him that scratch on his face.

Additional;

He is gay.

Thank you for your time.

[thesilmarillionblog]

𓏲 𓂃 L o s i n g Y o u

Part: 2

/ Click here to read the first part!

Summary: Everything was good as a member of Payback and Soldier Boy's secret girlfriend until the team and your relationship with him began to fall apart due to a new member and her developing relationship with Ben right in front of your eyes.

Pairing: Soldier Boy / Reader

Warnings: Heavy angst, hurt, heartless Soldier Boy, reader gets hurt, mention of drugs, mention of alcohol, mention of sex, betrayal, Soldier Boy being a dick, reader is a supe, Crimson Countess is a bitch

Word Count: 2031

A/N: English is not my first language.

* This story is inspired by the song "Losing You" by Dream Evil.

After your argument with Ben about Countess Noir and your relationship, which occurred a month ago, he hardly spoke to you at all. He never looked you in the eye, either. You were never even certain if his love existed in the first place, but it was clear that the thing between you and Ben had been extinguished forever, even though he hadn't formally ended your relationship with words.

You considered leaving Payback behind, but you found it difficult to distance yourself from Ben, which bothered and despised you about yourself. You were terrified that Ben would harm Earving, in addition to the possibility that he wouldn't mind you leaving the squad. After all, he was your sole friend, and Ben's attitude towards him was cruel and rough. He was merciless to everyone except for Countess.

You denied producing movies, TV shows, or signing days since it was too much to bear to watch Crimson and Ben together, participate in commercials, and be the star of movies in front of your eyes. You just stopped showing up with the squad day by day. Nonetheless, when the rumors surfaced that you would soon leave the group, you were forced to sit with Ben and listen to him while he talked absolute bullshit to the cameras.

When the reporter asked you a question, you were so deep in confusion that you couldn't even begin to count how many times you were asked the same question. You were deep in thought when the reporter asked the same question.

“I'm sorry,” You apologized, giving the TV reporter a feeble smile. “I couldn't catch you.” You were irritated by the number of times you were given the same questions over and over again.

You felt that all you wanted to do was shout and punch everybody who spoke to you and asked you pointless questions about Ben and Crimson, as if it were your responsibility to speak and you were their spokesperson regarding their romance or something. All they saw was a façade of lies; if only someone could see through you and realize that you were drowning in all of them.

He kept talking about the rumors, and you felt like you were about to go crazy in front of the camera and kill someone. At that point, the pressure you were under became too much for you to handle. You ignored all the sounds around you and repressed your tears as you inhaled deeply.

“Look, you know, I have things to do. I apologize if I sound impolite, but it would be preferable if you directed those questions to Crimson and Soldier Boy. After all, it's their life to tell, not mine.”

When you attempted to back away to ask another question, the unsettlingly inquisitive man grabbed your arm. God alone knew how much you wanted to break those arms at that very moment and make him eat his own flesh.

Disregarding your previous statement, he uttered, “Y/N, please inform us. Are they really getting married soon? Don't you think it would be fantastic if the strongest supe woman and strongest supe man got married? A formidable duo! Power Couple! The American public is curious about that.”

He was babbling nonsensically and was clearly trying to get you to kill him. Even though you weren't saying a damn thing, he continued talking about them, and you inhaled deeply and waited for him to finish. When he identified Countess as the strongest female supe, you gave him a little smile.

You replied coolly, “I really don't know about their next move. But allow me to ask you a question. Have you witnessed her battling me?”

You stared him in the eyes when you posed the question, as though it were the most important one ever. The way you changed your attitude startled him.

“Well, no,” he said with a confused look on his face.

“Then what makes you believe that she is the world's strongest supe woman?” You continued to smile at him and continued, “Let's just say I'm curious.”

Crimson wouldn't have a chance against you; you knew it. Ben also knew that. However, you felt unimportant and left her aside each passing day because of the way she was seen as the strongest female supe. You were aware that Ben was assisting her in completing the objectives assigned to her—unlike you, she was never able to complete any of them successfully. She just appeared to be powerful and tough because she was with Ben, not because she was really something.

You were aware that her sole concerns were money and reputation, and neither Ben nor the squad mattered to her. A woman could always see right through another woman.

You suddenly burst out laughing when he opened his mouth. Saying, “Hey, I'm just kidding; relax,” you interrupted him before he could say anything more foolish. “But I really have things to do, okay? Glad to meet you. Have a nice day.”

Fuck, you turned into the biggest liar in a single month because of Ben.

Earving saw you had at last escaped the incessant inquiries and the obnoxious reporter, so he followed you to the van. He was also taking a vacation from marketing his latest film. After taking off his mask long enough to sip his, he handed you a soda.

“Hey, what's the deal? You know, you seem anxious these days.” He ate his hamburger quickly and remarked, “I heard the conversation between you and this idiot man. Fuck him; they are so fucking irritating sometimes, it’s hard to stop myself from breaking their necks.”

You took a big sip of your soda and gave him a nod. It was nice to have small talk with Earving, considering he was the only kind and smart person left in the squad after all.

“Yeah,” you said while Ben and Countess got out of their special trailer, and you watched them with a heavy heart when Ben gave her quick and playful kisses.

It was Ben's blindness and his intense care for her that pained you, and it was his seeming blitheness and comfort around her that made you hurt. It was obvious to you that she was lying and tricking him. Witnessing Ben give her everything he didn’t bother to give you wounded you. They had a really open connection, even if there was still some space between you when you were dating.

You were concealed by him like a rat in the shadows, unlike her.

The countess never once left his side, not even for a moment. You were frantically trying to find a moment to speak with Ben once again. If you had been alone with him, you would have succeeded in discovering the cause of his sudden and dramatic change.

“Earving,” you said like a whisper. “Can you distract Countess for tonight?” You turned to him with pleading eyes.

“Why?” he asked as he ate his third hamburger.

“Can you just do it?” You huffed as you kept watching Ben from afar.

“Fine,” he said with his full mouth, spitting the tomatoes. “You fucking stress me out since you’ve started to act like Soldier Boy.”

“Don’t insult me,” you said as you chuckled, punching him softly and stealing his last hamburger.

When Earving managed to divert Countess, it was midnight, and you saw them vanish out of sight. When you saw Ben pull into his own trailer, your heart began to race, and you quickly followed him. You made a self-promise to try it one final time. After all, you were doing this for one another, and when it came to love, pride had no place.

When you entered the trailer, you locked the door immediately, leaned your back against the door, and your hands stilled on the handle as if he would escape any moment. It was dim inside.

You heard him inhaling deeply before he turned his back to you and gave you a look like you were an insect that simply refused to leave the house in the summertime. Though you were close to him physically, the distance between you and his coldness toward you was visible.

He gave you a stern look and maintained his distance from you, asking in a harsh voice, “Why the fuck are you here again? Are you going to start spreading gossip about us?”

You just answered, “No,” disregarding his sour tone and remarks. “Ben, all I want to do is talk.”

“I fucking have things to do; cut it short.”

He was leaning back against the drug- and alcohol-filled table. Though it was obvious that he was getting worse every day, he was unable to recognize his condition. 

“Why did you change so suddenly? Did I do something wrong?” Not wanting to come across as hostile and cause him to harm you verbally once more, you asked in a quiet voice. “I just need a simple explanation.”

You continued to stare at him with wet eyes, and he sighed and gave you his signature grin.

“Just admit your pussy missed me; that’s why you are so desperate, so I can give you a good and quick fuck,” he said, giving you a playful look.

Aware that he was only attempting to divert the conversation or embarrass you, you remained silent and paid no attention to the garbage that was pouring out of his mouth.

“Why, Ben?”

“Why do you act like a fucking obsessive woman? Do you need an explanation? Fine, listen to me carefully, then: I can do whatever I want. Is that good enough for you? ”

With a heavy heart, your hands on the door handle tightened. Ignoring his harsh words, your jaw clenched, and you shook your head in denial.

“Why did you act like you loved me and cared about me then?”

“What love? Fuck, I don’t even like you,” he snapped out of nowhere, irritated by the choice of your words. “We just passed some time and fucked, that’s all. Don’t be a bitch about it; you’ll get over it,” he said, giving you a wink.

He sounded so different and cold that it was hard to believe he was the same man with whom you fell in love so deeply months ago. It was like someone else possessed his body and turned him against you in a day.

“Why do you even look at me with such hatred?” you asked, ignoring how much his words pained your heart. Your voice cracked, not knowing how to handle the situation or his unbalanced behavior anymore.

“Fuck!” he screamed at you, finally losing his temper and making a move to approach while you still leaned your back against the door. “You know what? I’m going to marry her.”

You loosened your hand around the doorknob and cupped his face without hesitation, knowing he would do it just to make sure you suffered.

“I swear I’ll walk away the day you marry her, Ben,” you said with a desperate voice, hoping it would mean something to him. “I’ll leave Payback.”

“Fuck you will,” he clenched his jaw, pushing your back against the door. “I fucking swear, the day you leave will be the day of Noir‘s death. No, I’ll make sure to make him even worse.”

“What kind of monster have you turned into?” You whispered and pushed him off of you.

“Yet you told me you loved me,” he said, giving you an unsincere smile.

“I do love you, Ben, and that’s the last time you hear this from me.”

Next Chapter

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A/N: I was very surprised to see that you wanted another part for this so-called one shot story. Your comments made me very happy.

Taglist: @mostlymarvelgirl

Let me know if you want to be tagged for this series!

[doberbutts]

I know you've said writing is a pretty fraught thing for you so I hope I'm not prodding against something tender without realizing, but I wanted to say that I think you have an absolutely lovely authorial voice, and I find your writing an absolute joy to read. I only discovered your blog a couple of days ago, but I've been reading through some of your post backlog and I've found myself consistently impressed by how you're able to make nuanced, complex ideas understandable for lay-readers while still maintaining a very fluid and compelling style.

Speaking as someone coming from academia, that blend of clarity, readability and depth of thought is both rare and takes a lot of work to develop, and I really admire it.

Oh, I appreciate the kind words actually!

It's not that my relationship with writing is fraught, it's that black people being called eloquent is a, umm, well often it is a microaggression when being said by a nonblack person.

Let me put it this way. Black people have our own dialect- AAVE- which is constantly both appropriated and also derided as unintelligent. This is despite the fact that most people who use AAVE also can speak and understand standard american english- proficiency in two (tbh even more than two bc AAVE is largely regional as well but w/e I guess) dialects is somehow unintelligent if you choose to use the one most common to your demographic for whatever reason. (I know the reason the reason is racism actually).

Black people learned a long time ago that in order to be taken seriously by nonblack and white supremist society, we needed to not only not use AAVE, but also be the most eloquent and well-spoken person in the room at all times or else some white asshole would find a reason to discredit us by saying we were too unintelligent to have a place at the table.

We aren't allowed to not be eloquent. And eloquent is only allowed to mean "speaks in purely academic words and phrases with no slang, using only standard american with no strong accent besides the news broadcaster 'no accent' accent" with absolutely no wiggle room.

Racist white society does not consider it possible to be well-spoken while using AAVE. It doesn't matter how educated or articulate the speaker is if they're using AAVE. They're just not considered intelligent enough to have a firm grasp on the subject. Even if they're the most experienced person there.

So when I say that black people and eloquence is a fraught discussion, I don't mean that I don't like speaking or writing. What I mean is, black people being told we are well spoken when we choose to remove our own dialect from our mouths because that's the only way we can get people to listen to us, often times with people saying this in surprise as though they did not expect us to be well spoken...

That entire mess is a whole tangled web of racism. It's a microaggression.

And it's also actually one of the major reasons why I talk the way I do. I find it to be a nice blend between pure academic lingo and casual street talk- understandable for the layperson but with an obvious enough grasp of the concept that I don't drown when discussing with people more used to using the more theoretical terms. It is intentional, and it's nice to see someone notice that.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

On the language debate, I personally headcanon that the main language spoken at NRC is a common one. (?) (Like how English is the business language, or like how generally Native Americans had a common language that they spoke when trading with other tribes.) And Crowley or the Mirror used magic so that You was temporary fluent in that language.

After the ceremony, Yuu has to learn the common language and picks it up really fast (as one would in such a situation). Therefore, Yuu can still speak it when away from NRC.

(I also headcanon English as an ancient language akin to Latin, because I heard that Arabic was canonically an ancient language.)

[Referencing this post!]

I’d buy that everyone at NRC speaks the common language to some level of proficiency; it’s like how international students typically need to speak the language of whichever country they hope to study in and need to prove their fluency in an exam beforehand. As I said in the original post, the light novel does mention a translation spell over the school, so maybe that’s part of the “magic” that helps Yuu to understand what the others are saying.

Now, it’s theoretically possible for Yuu to learn the common language of Twisted Wonderland in a year, but I don’t think immersion alone would cut it (especially since the main story is only up to like 2/4 to 3/4 of a year so far) . They’d probably have to put in significant effort outside of everyday conversations to pick up its rules (because remember that language isn’t just vocabulary but also grammar, syntax, and social conventions). Yuu would also need consistent feedback from people since that’s how one usually “fixes” their incorrect language use. It’s similar to how adults would correct a child learning their first language; ie a kid says “wadur” instead of “water”.)

One site I looked at suggested that, depending on the language categorization (I, II, III, of IV), it can take 24-92 weeks’ worth of time to become an “advanced” speaker. Realistically, just getting to the basic conversational level could be hundreds or thousands (700-2500+) of hours on its own—and Yuu has to do this on their own time between homework, going to classes, and managing all the issues that Crowley doesn’t 💀 To me, that doesn’t sound like a lot of free time. Counterpoint to my own point though, we also have to consider that Yuu is... well, technically Yuu can be any age you want, but most Yuus are implied or portrayed to be 16-18. The critical window for language acquisition is theorized to be anywhere from the first three years of life up to as late as 17-18 years. After this critical window, the ability for language development tapers off. So, thinking about that, Yuu's brain could still be very pliable and able to absorb new language (though they'd have to work quite intensely to pack in as much as they can before this ability starts to decline).

Something that I feel would be difficult for Yuu is that the characters often use slang (Cater, Floyd, Idia, etc.) and/or uncommon words (like Vil’s “pulchritude”). The former may not follow the standardized rules of a language or may be idioms (other non-literal meanings for common words), which could make it hard for a non-native speaker to understand. The latter would not be used that often, so Yuu would be forced to guesstimate what the word means. I’d imagine this would make fluency challenging, because as immersed as Yuu is in Twisted Wonderland, less frequently used words are harder to grasp.

Maybe Crowley cast a translation spell ON Yuu so that they can still converse with people in the common tongue whenever they leave NRC? Or, since the events basically occur in an AU, more than a year has passed so it has allowed Yuu more time to absorb the language. Language in TWST and how it works… It’s really interesting to think about!

[yuurei20]

This is a little bit of a weird long question lol

I'm more asking your opinion about it haha

I'm trying to think on it - is Idia an Otaku because that's the setting the game is for (Japanese audience) and those are the signifiers that a Japanese audience would recognize as "nerd", or is he just an Otaku in general and would still be a "Weeb/Anime nerd" if the original audience was American/otherwise western.

Like - what I mean is in American pop culture, the "Weeb/Anime fan" is kind of a subset of nerd. Like none of the characters from "the big bang theory" (to my knowledge) are "weebs", they aren't our most generic image of a nerd. If a character/person is a "Weeb" it usually means they have a specific interest in Japanese media, and this doesn't necessarily correlate to other "nerdy" things.

Because in America/Western settings, Japanese fandom culture is foreign (thus me using Weeb instead of Otaku though plenty of people call themselves Otaku rather than weeb), so the implications of Idia being a Weeb is somewhat different - he's no longer a "generic nerdy character", but something a tad more specific.

So like - how there's beansfest or the use of honorifics or how the unique magic works with pronunciation - that usage of Japanese culture and language to express what Yana is trying to do, but it isn't necessarily meant to be Japanese in universe, because NRC is distinctly not set in Japan or even the Twst equivalent of Japan

Basically to sum up my rambly question - do you think Idia is supposed to be a "Nerd" in general or is he supposed to be an "Otaku"?

Tldr, would Idia be buying "comic books" in the EN localization or would it still be "Manga"

How exactly is our dear Idia the Nerdy foil to Hercules's Jock lmao

Hello hello!! Thank you for this question! ^^

Is there a word that can encompass both, in English? 👀

I think this connects to how the word "otaku" in Japanese seems to be different from the word "otaku" as it has been adopted by English, so this might be confusing 💦 But I will do my best!

I found an excerpt from a book called "Otaku Marketing" that provides an explanation of "otaku"'s original meaning, summarized here:

The basic definition of an 'otaku' is someone with a particular obsession who devotes an extreme amount of time and money to that interest and possesses deep knowledge and imagination regarding it. The term can be viewed negatively, describing a person who is immersed in subcultures that are difficult for the general public to understand, and who lacks communication skills. These days it has become more generally accepted with a meaning similar to "enthusiast" or "fan", and its usage has diversified, including terms like "health otaku" that contrast with the negative connotation, but the original image of otaku as being obsessively dedicated, introverted, and intense remains. Examples of otaku include military enthusiasts, railway enthusiasts, Johnny's Entertainment enthusiasts, Gundam enthusiasts, Hanshin Tiger enthusiasts, etc.

This is very much Idia ^^ There are many traits associated with otaku that we see in him, from his stutter to how quickly he speaks when excited, self depreciation combined with contradictory pride, net slang--even the manner in which he laughs and the personal pronoun that he uses.

In English it seems that, as you say, the Japanese-language concept of "otaku" has been separated into "nerd" and "weeb."

Idia is interested in things like puzzles, board games, horror movies with practical effects and Halloween, which might not be the first thing that comes to mind when an English-speaker hears the word "otaku" and may push him more into the "nerd" category.

Idia mentions reading manga and watching anime, but is this just because the game is being developed in the same country that produces those things?

Is this a case of Idia not being fully localized, and an American-developed Twst would have made him interested in American comic books and cartoons to suit its home audience, as you say?

I agree that NRC does not seem to be set in Japan or even a Twst-Japan-equivalent, but that might be exactly the point: Idia is interested in media from another country, and that is where things get interesting!

It seems that a Twst-Japan equivalent exists, and Idia is a big fan of their pop culture 👀

Sam mentions branches of his Mystery shop that exist in the "East," introducing things from real-world-Japan culture in the New Years events.

How canonical the New Year's events are meant to be is a little vague, especially because everyone (except Azul, Jade, Floyd and Scarabia) go home for New Year's in the main story--a point that is integral to the plot of Book 4.

But even if New Years is meant to be a fun little spin-off with no real connection to the culture of the actual universe, we also have a vignette where Idia explains what ninja are to Silver, saying that "they live in a far eastern country," and mentioning things like "shuriken," "fireball jutsu" and "samurai."

If there is another word in English that encompasses both "weeb" and "nerd" together, then I think that might be it! If it must be one or the other...I am not sure!

I have seen EN players who missed the Harveston event insisting that Idia doesn't actually like anime, just movies and video games, so it seems to be a divisive subject on EN.

Idia's interest in the pop culture from this unnamed country in the East is definitely not his defining personality trait, being only one of the many facets of who he is ^^

How to express this in English seems more complex than one may think!

Is it inaccurate to describe Idia as a "weeb" because of the depth of his interest in locally-produced board games and movies that have nothing to do with Twst-Japan-equivalent-media? If he is referred to as a "nerd," will there be friction because of lines like, "an anime can be so good it's literally life-changing"? Are the two groups mutually exclusive in English?

I am not sure I have an answer :> Would be most grateful for any opinions and ideas!

[deirdra-hearts-nadia]

I've been thinking about the fandom for The Arcana, and I have come to the conclusion that it's weird as hell. In my 20+ years participating in online fandom spaces, I've never seen a fandom quite like this one. I've seen drama, sure, but the core of most fandoms is a large community of people who love the same media and come together to celebrate it.

The Arcana fandom is not like that. From the very beginning we're more fractured, more factional, more fragile than most. You just have to look around at all the posts lamenting the death of the fandom every 2 weeks to see that something is really wrong here.

And I think a lot of it has to do with the nature of the canon. I am not saying this to criticize The Arcana, the devs, Dorian, or my fellow fans. I have just noticed that, as a piece of media, this game occupies a very unique space that is reflected in the way its fans interact with canon and with each other.

Welcome to the TED talk ain't none of y'all asked for.

Part of what makes this fandom unique is the evolution of fandom as a whole in the face of new types of media. As gaming becomes more mainstream and games themselves become more complex, the way we engage has necessarily changed in response.

Books/ movies/ shows are slightly more static in terms of canon than video games; canon is what it is and how you interact with what is there is largely to do with who you are. Everyone has the same base material to engage with, and that results in a certain amount of constancy. You can't interact with The Princess Bride in a way that changes the movie, only in ways that change your own perception. There isn't a whole lot of room for OCs without rewriting canon, so fans tend to consume OC-based fiction and art with the assumption that it's likely to be self-insert wish fulfillment fantasy time. That isn't always true, but there is a reason the term Mary Sue was coined.

Otome games and other choice-based video games make a very different fan environment, because the way you interact with canon is completely different. You have to build a character in order to interact with the story, and your choices directly impact your experience of canon.

But most western choice-based games are in the context of a larger RPG universe, e.g. Fallout or Dragon Age. There is a lot more to the story than the romance plot and so there's a lot more world to experience, contextualize, and build upon. There's certainly plenty of unhinged ShepxGarrus erotica, but there's also an abundance of fanworks that engage with the plot, the worldbuilding, and the canon characters with relatively little of the player's character needing to be on the page at all.

By contrast, most otome games that make it to English-speaking fandom spaces are Japanese. The romance is the point, but we also start from a place of wariness of our fellow fans. Because there's a huge difference between "harmless weeb" and "orientalist fetishizing creepo," and you know going in that both ends of the spectrum are possible, there is an amount of caution. We curate our space, looking for the creators who align with our expectations and values before we ever begin to interact.

The Arcana falls in a very unique and odd space because it is an otome, but made by Americans, with an attempt at a diverse fantasy cast. It's intended to be for American/ English-speaking audiences and is marketed as such. But making a romance game in America is challenging. Our way of approaching online media, especially smartphone-accessible media, is super fucked up, right? We are constantly trapped between the dichotomies of moral duty (Must Protect The Children) versus appealing to the customer base (Boom Anime Babes with Tig Ol Bitties). Because this is a mobile game, the developers can't make money if the game is removed from the app store, so they want it to be rated teen at the most. But the enticing bit, the thing that captures a potential fan's attention, is the flirtation and sexy implications. So from the jump they're in a weird space purely because they chose to make a mobile game instead of an indie video game released on Steam or similar.

So now you have an inherently split audience: mature adults who know they're getting into a potentially explicit romance game, and young adults/teens who have grown up in a more insulated internet culture where normal words are replaced with Orwellian doublespeak, like "unalive" and "spicy time".

THEN you add in the fact that the developers tried to build a diverse fantasy world, which is a fantastic idea both from an inclusionary standpoint and a broader audience standpoint. But because they didn't employ any actual sensitivity readers (did they think they didn't need them because fantasy can't have racism? Did they justify it as not being in the budget? Would love to know what's going on there) they fell right into a lot of the classic traps. We've been over these time and again, so I won't get into them here. Suffice to say, there has been Discourse. The presence of those issues means that more experienced fans will see those things and call them out, and that criticism causes even more of a split: the zealous apologists versus the critics. And critics can fall into two further categories: those who love the canon and want to see it do better, and the bitches who just love having something to bitch about.

Unfortunately, this combination means that there are inherently factions to this fandom, with staunchly opposed approaches to the media. So even before you enter a fandom space, it's already wildly fractured simply because of the nature of base canon.

THEN add to that the fact that this game is a dating sim. And to engage with a dating sim, you have to build a character and make choices based on that character. Some people will approach this work as storytelling, and some will approach it as an escapist expression of self. Neither of these ways of engaging with canon is wrong. Enjoying a dating sim as Me But Better is fun and completely valid! Engaging with a dating sim as a storyteller collaborating with the developers is fun and completely valid! But the two approaches are opposed in purpose, and that can make it difficult for the two types of fans to engage with one another's work.

Storytellers will well and truly invest in building a character. They may even build out communities, countries, cultures, and languages to make their world all the richer. They are investing hours of blood, sweat, and tears into Their Craft, pouring themselves into an opus of quality fanwork. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to big feelings. Fan artists and writers may feel underappreciated if all they get out of their hard work is 2 likes and a gif of a wolf making AWOOGA eyes. They may feel that critique of their work is unwarranted, or that there's no point creating if no one will engage.

The romantics will engage with canon and fanwork from the perspective that "this is my fantasy romance time". Their OC isn't so much Original Character as Optimized Characteristics--that is, their perfect self. They are here for wish fulfillment fun times in the relative privacy and anonymity of the internet, and good for them! But that may mean that criticism of canon or their fan work feels excessively personal--it is very hard to detach the ego from the OC when that OC is a projection of your best self. They may view any critique as a personal attack as opposed to a good-faith attempt at engagement or conversation. This can lead to defensiveness, or to leaving the fandom outright if it feels too hostile.

Unfortunately all of these factions cause rifts in the community. This sometimes turns into fandom vigilantism, where people begin to see any fan who doesn't wholeheartedly agree with them as an enemy. I've seen friends experience bullying and cruelty over their OCs and their art. I've seen predators use the isolated nature of the fandom to further isolate and prey upon already vulnerable individuals. I've seen some really shitty stuff.

But I have also seen beautiful community flourish. I've made friends who feel more like family than my actual relatives. I've seen people work through struggles and overcome deliberate attempts to tear us apart, finding forgiveness and friendship along the way. I've seen myself and others grow because of the community and inspiration we found here. And I saw all of that because I found my people. And I hope, Arcana fandom, that the rest of you can find your people too.

[verdemoun]

Kieran learning spanish for Javier

MY FAV

javier has a habit of talking to himself aloud, which he developed during the gap between 1899-1911 because he was so lonely sometimes he would go weeks without actual human contact.

also, being around the 1899 gang again, he fell straight back into the habit of using spanish as a way to express himself and make snarky comments under his breath without fear of starting a fight because still, none of them know spanish

as a result, the day he realized wait a second why does kieran look hot rn while kieran basically walking him around a few blocks near bessie's house to get an understanding of the layout, and kieran being very quiet company, he started muttering to himself. because there's no way he actually wants to kiss the o'driscoll stupid o'driscoll looking pretty and making him hold his hand crossing the road god is going to smite him down how is this the second greasy dark haired white boy he's had a crush on his ancestors really lived fought and died for him to have a thing for malewives

kieran doesn't say anything, despite a very faint smile growing on his face, until they reach his absolute favorite food van like they know him he is a regular customer every monday and thursday is kieran's mexican food van lunch day and they know his order by heart

but damn straight does javier's heart stop when semi-verbal ten years into timewarp kieran duffy orders in absolutely perfect spanish, then leans over and says in spanish 'also you should probably know 12.5% of americans speak spanish nowdays'

kieran already speaks very basic conversational spanish but as the situation very quickly spirals into a very passionate affair kieran does secretly start practicing and trying to be more fluent in spanish. and for some reason his brain decides oh wait language is fun and he's a lot more comfortable talking in spanish

when javier catches him he laughs and tells him that he's silly and there's no need to learn spanish but then he gets a lil quiet and emotional because christ he never actually considered how much it bothered him that there was so much pressure to learn english with the vdls and part of him never trying to teach the gang any spanish is just how obviously disinterested they were

definitely not hiding his face cuddling his bf because he's actually struggling not to cry because someone caring enough to try to learn a whole ass language for you is not a level of love he has ever experienced before

not only that but when kieran makes mistakes in spanish and javier realizes it's okay to correct him kieran is always grateful first and gives him a little kiss thank you before returning to complaining why is language in general so hard what do you mean the table has a gender

naturally javier also makes an effort to learn asl because kieran still relies pretty heavily on asl. they will communicate in anything other than english

it is not an uncommon sight to see them at gang catch ups completely entangled in each other but also muttering to one another in spanish because they're both snarky little sass gremlins like 'do you think for every year bill spends in the closet his hairline recedes another inch'

[tumbling-rocks-no-danger]

I’ve noticed a tendency among Jalim writers to treat Salim as having already surpassed all expectations of character development, and as a result, he reads VERY flat.

He already isn’t the best written character, and I’ve yet to read a fic that seeks to rectify this.

The other protags have their roles in the story alongside individual emotional arcs. Jason, Eric, Nick, Rachel all have their own motivations, challenges, prejudices, resentments, regrets, hopes. But Salim? All he has is a bitchin’ personality and badassery to end all badassery. His feelings never change or develop. His worldview is never challenged.

That isn’t to say he’s unlikeable, not in the slightest, in fact he is one of my fave characters in supermassive’s history. I simply say this to point out that the fandom takes what they’re given with Salim and…go nowhere with it.

Yes, Salim is already perfect.

Yes, he is the perfect partner.

Yes, he has the right opinions.

No, he doesn’t have ANY flaws.

Is it against the law to write him as a complex person???

What is it we know about him?

He’s not very political.

He’s a single father whose wife left him and Zain many years before canon, and is therefore very protective and devoted to his family.

He speaks at least two languages.

Easy to get along with.

He’s resourceful.

He’s religious.

That is just a few things off the top of my head, but so much can be done with this.

Iraq has a VERY long and complicated history with the west, and has suffered and continues to suffer because of it. Basically any anti-western sentiment in Iraq is met with harsh crackdowns by the west: direct invasion and occupation, regime change, assassination plots, etc. It’s only understandable that many Iraqis would become disillusioned with politics and, as a result, merely focus on keeping their families and communities safe. Maybe this is what happened with Salim. Maybe he was more politically engaged when he was younger, but has since pulled back. Maybe even, on some level, he has fallen for western propaganda and views the American invasion of Iraq as understandable even if he still believes it is ridiculous and unjustifiable.

Why did Salim’s wife leave him? Was there infidelity on either of their parts? Was he a bad husband? Was he a good husband, but his wife simply didn’t love him? Did she want to leave the country while Salim wanted to stay? Was it amicable? How does Salim feel about his ex-wife? How does Zain feel about the divorce? Does he blame his father? What is the dynamic between Salim and Zain in the day to day? How often do they argue? Do they even argue? What are their traditions?

English is an incredibly difficult language to learn, particularly as a second language. Did he learn it at university? Did he go to university? What might he have studied? Does he speak other languages? Does he want to? Does he speak english with Zain?

Who are his friends? How often do they hang out? What do they do when they hang out?

What kind of family was he born into? Were they progressive or more conservative? Does he speak to them? Are they alive? Was he born into wealth? Or poverty? Or somewhere in between? What is his profession outside of the military? Does he like his job? What are his qualifications?

What sect of Islam does Salim follow? How strongly does he identify with it? What holidays does he celebrate? Did he raise Zain to believe the same things as him? Or did he raise him to decide for himself? Does Salim have any sort of religious or spiritual trauma? How does it affect his belief system? Is he ashamed of his attraction to men? Does he even know he’s attracted to men? How does he navigate these discussions with Zain?

These are all very interesting ideas, I think.

[licncourt]

hi!! do you think lestat and louis primarily speak french or english together? did this change over the years for them?

also, i wonder how armand would relate to languages, since he’s had to move between at least four throughout his life (ukrainian, italian, french, english). i know he’s doing his telepathy thing whenever possible, but when he has to speak what does he use and with whom?

i guess this raises a larger question of how language works for vampires with pReTeRnATuRaL AbiLiTy who can read people’s minds, (sometimes) communicate telepathically, and also learn stuff really fast. it’s been a second since i’ve revisited the books, so maybe i’m forgetting something, but in my memory this wasn’t often explicitly described.

thanks <3

Hello!!! I'm sorry this took so long, I'm catching up!

I think Louis and Lestat started off speaking French, but as New Orleans started becoming more American after the Louisiana Purchase, they probably ended up speaking some kind of French-English hybrid. I'm sure by the modern day it's kind of incomprehensible, especially as Lestat picks up new slang that neither of them knows how to use and Louis refuses to stop talking like the cryptkeeper. And neither of them likely spoke standard Old World French to begin with so their shared French dialect is probably a weird love child of 18th century Auvergnat/Occitan and Creole French.

Armand is a little freak so who knows what he has going on, especially since Anne gave him like three canonical accents before she decided where he was from. I think he (along with other vampires of his age and broad experiences) probably speak a very unique form of weird. Because they live so long, my hypothesis is that by a certain age most vampires develop a "vampire accent" that varies by general region and I imagine Armand has this to a pretty extreme degree. I'm sure he's perfectly able to switch between languages based on who he's speaking to, but I think the accent probably carries over.

This is just a headcanon, but I think he would prefer speaking English since he most likely has very negative associations with Ukrainian, Italian, and French (same reason I hc that he doesn't like any of his names). The people he speaks to most in the books are Louis, Daniel, Sybelle, and Benji so English is an easy default anyway. He probably speaks French with Lestat and Italian with Marius and Bianca though.

In general it seems like vampires would have a pretty easy time with languages, like it's not instant but they only have to hear a word or phrase once to know it permanently. I'm not sure if telepathy has to take place in a specific language, but I always assumed that it kind of transcends human speech, like a vampire rosetta stone. Anyone who receives a telepathic message from a vampire will intuitively understand and, if it's another vampire, respond. IF that makes sense. Kind of like how pop culture Thor has Allspeak?

[ari-burr]

❝ ɪ ᴄʜᴏᴏꜱᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ, ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ɪ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ɴᴏ ʀᴇᴊᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. ❞ 

featuring: state of japan // kiku + kuro x country!reader

genre: routine, romance, angst, fluff, history - with some spice ;>

⁀➷ Mornings with Kiku and Kuro are peaceful. By the time you wake up, your senses would be filled with the calming aroma of boiling tea. And with your mind drowsy and yawning, you would smile and fall back down onto the shared cushions at the knowledge that the two actually brewed your favorite drink as a result of your mindless rambles.

⁀➷ Every time you were to speak to Kiku, he always looked you in the eyes. Expressing in his own subtle way, that you always had his attention. Kuro on the other hand, had a habit of avoiding your longing gazes and charming tones but would seem to have no trouble in recalling the meaning behind your words. Seamlessly memorizing all the smallest details, and keeping it in thought for the next conversation. 

⁀➷ When you finally work up the motivation to wriggle out of the comfort of the futon, you would head down stairs while rubbing away the sleepiness from your eyes. In the kitchen, you could hear Kuro and Kiku’s soothing whispers in their native language. [Kuro isn’t a morning person at all, but at least he compensates for the silent brooding by making breakfast.]  And while you couldn’t decipher what exactly they were saying, you enjoyed the sound of their voices nonetheless. 

⁀➷ Already, there would be a cup filled with steaming tea, waiting for you on the table. As you sat down and took a sip, your ears would perk up at the sound of the two men approaching, still enraptured on the topic they were talking about. Eventually though, curiosity would’ve had gotten the better of you and you would’ve asked, “What are you two talking about?” with listless amusement. 

⁀➷ Kiku, who was slightly better at English, would be the first to answer. He would explain that their meeting was cancelled due to a certain American’s realization that he accidently booked himself back to back. “That moron. . .” you would say in between fits of laughter. “I’ve only met him in passing, but it’s hard to think that he’s a world-superpower when he acts so silly all the time.” 

⁀➷ A long time ago, you would have never guessed that you would end up with these two and apparently, they were on the same boat. Back then, the most you were to each other were acquaintances but Kiku was the first to take notice of you. You were an isolated country and was forced out into the world by bigger nations like him. However, the difference between him and you was that you more fearless towards the unknown. Of course, he could still see the hesitance in your eyes whenever you interacted with nations like Britain or America. You were just as nervous as he was and yet you still smiled on.

⁀➷ For Kuro, he didn’t care enough to pay attention to you at the start. You were probably the most unlucky personification he’s ever met because you didn’t have a 2p. Which resulted in you being forced to attend both 1p and 2p national summits. But as these meetings tracked on with your presence, he would find his eyes drawn to yours more and more. Ultimately taking notice of how you would quiver beneath those narrowed eyes from the other 2ps. You were a nation just like them, but that didn’t mean you belonged. [A small part of him almost sympathized].

⁀➷ As time went on, you and Kiku would’ve gotten closer with him slowly developing feelings for you, and you staying oblivious until the very last moment. Underneath Kiku’s distant expression and formal words would be a turmoil of frustration and longing for you. You were known to be a naturally affectionate person, but you always strayed from laying a hand on him due to taking notice of Kiku’s discomfort whenever America and Italy would embrace him. 

⁀➷ He knew for a fact that it was his own fault from putting himself in this dilemma, but at the same time, he was too afraid to do anything about it. But everyone, even the ones who had the most self-control, had their limits and he had to speak to someone other than you to express his dismay. 

And that’s how Kuro finally came into the picture. 

⁀➷ Unlike most 1p and 2p nations, Kiku and Kuro would of had closer relations as they held similar interests and personalities which complimented the other. But regardless of how much respect Kuro had for his counterpart, irritation would still linger on. Your name was like a profanity. He was fine at first with his counterpart venting out his frustrations, but soon enough, every conversation became about you. About the way you smiled, the way you blushed and stuttered; he knew it all.

⁀➷ It didn’t help that Kuro had to see you on a daily basis. Seeing your face and your oh so awkward yet charming grin; it made his blood boil. However, for some odd reason, whenever you approached to greet him, all his malice laced thoughts would wash away like salted waters on sand. His resting scowl would immediately soften as you spoke to him about mundane matters and politics alike. Were you trying to be friends with him. . .? 

⁀➷ Truth was, no, not really. Back then, your goal was to be well-liked by the majority while also standing in the side lines. You weren’t one for the spotlight as it always blinded you from reality. So, you stuck to befriending the calmer nations, finding solace in the lack of complexities that came with befriending superpowers. Japan was by far your favorite nation. 

His 2p being hot interesting was just a bonus. 

⁀➷ “[Y/n]-chan, do you remember what you said to me before?” Kiku asked. 

You tilted your head. “Uhm, that you should grow out your hair?”

“Uh, no-”

“That your 2p’s kinda hot?”

Kiku’s face warmed with embarrassment. 

“N...No. It was-”

“What’s cooking good lookin’?”

“[Y/n]-chan, please, let me speak.”

⁀➷ It took a while for the latter to get the words out, but eventually. . .

“. . .I have feelings for you,” he said, his lips trembling at the notion. 

You were left speechless, your eyes instinctively moving to his lips. Slowly yet surely, you leaned in to kiss them still. 

“I love you too.”

⁀➷ From then on, Kiku and you became a couple, which was a relief for Kuro. He wouldn’t have to listen to Kiku’s mind-numbing rambles now that he was all focused on you. But as things slowly began to settle with the dust, the universe had to insult him with a sudden rush of emotions, and not the bad kind [which was oddly even worse]. Whenever he saw you with Kiku, in the budding garden, or deflowered beneath the sheets, jealousy would arise. But he would always refuse to acknowledge it. Kuro valued his honor and held high regard for his counterpart. And besides, what point is there to crushes when they’re already swept away by someone else?

⁀➷ Having Kuro as an extra addition to your and Kiku’s relationship took a long time, especially when both personifications of Japan are known for their lack of skill in communication. Things eventually escalated though, when you began to notice Kuro’s desired glances or the softened notes in his voice whenever you two came into contact. You brought this up to Kiku, and soon enough, he took notice as well (despite initially brushing it off in the long-held belief that Kuro had no interest in anything “love and romance.”)

⁀➷  “Kuro?”

“Hm?” He looked up from his painting, his ruby orbs meeting yours. 

“Do you like me?” You asked, your head tilted with curiosity. 

He scowled.  

“If you can’t figure it out by now, then I have nothing to say.”

“So. . .no?” 

“No.” 

“No as in yes? Or “no” as in no?”

“Yes.”

“What.”

⁀➷ You got kicked out of his room. 

And Kiku had to comfort you while you were busy sulking in the corner. 

“He treats me like I’m the bane of his sad existence!” You cried out. “What the hell did I do to him. . .?”

He sighed softly, “[Y/n], I assure you that you did nothing wrong. It’s simply that Kuro isn’t one to be vulnerable with his truer emotions.”

You pouted, your brows furrowing in frustration.

“. . .He’s a kuudere, isnt he?”

“I’ll go speak with him.”

⁀➷ After some gentle coaxing from Kiku, sooner or later, Kuro does end up confessing his thoughts and desires. Everything else fell into place after that ♡

— ꜱᴘɪᴄʏ (💘) ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ

➸ When things become heavy and heated between you and Kiku, Kuro would shamelessly walk in and keep his presence hidden, biting his lip with desire as Kiku pins you down onto the cushions (...his gentle hands roaming over your smooth skin.) But that’s when you two would hear a quiet sip from across the living room and see Kuro, the perverted bastard sitting on a chair with a smug look on his lips. And as his hand swirled his steaming cup of tea, he would ask: “Why did you two stop? Continue :]”

This sets Kiku off, so he decides to give Kuro a taste of his own medicine. 

➸ With your pretty face burning with pinks and reds, you feel Kiku slip off your clothes one by one, exposing your skin to the icy atmosphere in contrast to the heated moment. Kissing down your neck and shoulders and leaving love bites along the way, you feel his lips travel further south. In the corner of eye, you would witness Kuro struggling against his restraints as Kiku makes him watch as you get violated by him. 

➸ Kuro is infamous for making your knees weak whenever he pulls you close to capture your lips, his fingers tantalizingly unzipping your pretty, perfectly stylized dress after a soirée. What makes you almost pass out though is the when he slips his tongue between your lips and takes you from there. 

➸ Kiku however, enjoys teasing you through sensory deprivation. He’s trained enough to go for months without intimacy regardless of his high libido. So, he’ll being smiling secretly watching as you whine and pine for his touch. It’s a little cruel but he’ll say things like “darling, you must learn to restrain yourself” and “i’ll satisfy you when i’m ready..” in an almost teasing manner. 

But the moment you begin whimpering at pawing at his clothes, he’ll pounce at the opportunity. 

➸ Kiku and Kuro may be all “polite” and “honorable” for the most part, but behind close doors? 

They’re handcuffs, bondage, toys, and blindfolds.

That’s as much as I’m going to elaborate. 

note: @sparklingbluerose thank you so much for the request! sorry for the long wait  (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ ) ‧º

[ludi-ling]

The Tailor & The Seamstress - A Reading Aid

So here's some stuff I'm just putting up here as a kind of glossary/reading aid/moodboard collection for The Tailor & The Seamstress.

It's not an easy read in some ways, because it's set in 1910 and deals with some fashion terminology that can be opaque, so yeah. Just dropping this here.

Accents

Firstly, Remy and Anna do not speak in their accents, and that was deliberate. Working where and in what they do (i.e. haute couture in 1910's New York), having a Southern accent would have been very uncouth. For professional reasons they would have got rid of their accents, or polished them off, fairly quickly. But both of them actually filed off their Southern accents earlier in life, for entirely different reasons (which will become clear later on in the story).

The closest you'd probably get to what they sound like is probably the Transatlantic accent, which developed in the late 19th century in the acting industry and among the American upper class. (Thanks to @narwhallove for pointing this out!).

You can hear what this accent sounded like in 1930's and 40's Hollywood movies:

Dress Forms

There are a lot of dress forms floating around in this story. A dress form is very much like a mannequin, where a garment can be mounted on it to make working on it easier. The difference between a dress form and a mannequin is that a form can be adjusted to different sizes. Here's an example:

Nowadays, dress forms usually conform to modern standards of sizing, but back in the day, all dressmakers/fashion houses would have dress forms made according to the sizing of their target clientele, and adjustments would be made to individual customers when a dress was purchased.

The dress forms at the House of Burford, of course, are made to Anna's measurements. 😉

Maison Maillot

The idea of Remy working at a waning fashion house was inspired by the historical House of Worth, which was probably the world's first modern atelier. Established in 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth, it came to dress empresses, queens, actresses and singers. The business was later taken over by his sons, but the house's fortunes waned in the early 20th century. IMHO, you begin to see the decline in design quality by the 1920's. Worth was bought out by the House of Paquin in 1950, and closed in 1956. In 1999, it was revived.

Early Worth designs were so powerfully beautiful, and always innovative and at the cutting edge. In the story, the House of Maillot's heyday would have been the same - a tale of an exciting and forward-thinking atelier that dressed the best and brightest.

By the early 20th century, at the time of the story, they are still putting out beautifully breath-taking clothes - but decades of newer competition means that their work no longer stands out. By the 1910's, the House of Worth had been eclipsed by designers like Callot Soeurs, Paul Poiret, and Lucile (of Titanic fame), who were becoming the innovators in women's dress, and Worth tended to follow where others led. This is where Maison Maillot is at in the story; and their rival, the House of Burford, is one of those new and exciting innovators in fashion.

By the 1920's, fortunes have fallen, and the House of Worth was putting out stuff like this:

The Peacock and the Phoenix Dresses

The rival dresses don't have any analogue in real life, but here are the dresses that roughly inspired them.

A 1909 evening dress by Callot Soeurs:

And a 1913-14 evening dress by an unknown artist:

I like to think of Remy always being slightly (maybe a lot) more ahead of his time with his clothes than Anna is with hers. Remy is designing tubular dresses a few years before they started to become a fashionable silhouette. Ironically Maillot rejects them, but I find it kind of funny that by the end of the decade, he'll have been wishing his house had set the trend Remy had conceived of years before.

At SOME POINT I will draw how I envision the dresses to be. I HOPE.

If you want to see my moodboard for this story, you can catch it on Pinterest here.

[atthebell]

it's so baffling to me that people see spiderbit as boring for being married when that is part of why they're so special to me.

it's so rare to see married couples in media (LET ALONE queer couples) who get married and then Continue to be interesting and well explored and developing characters, all without their conflict stemming from them fighting with each other.

like?? they're healthy? and communicative? and they help each other grow as people? that's something So Special and it happens so rarely in media that it feels so disrespectful to overlook that.

SERIOUSLY that's the appeal!!!! watching two people who care so much about each other navigate a relationship under really difficult circumstances but do it with a lot of care and communication and passion and love like how is that not awesome. how do you think thats boring. like sorry its not toxic yaoi with two english speaking white americans or whatever the fuck you people want i would rather listen to roier swear he'll come after cellbit if anything happens to him. THE DEVOTION ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[stuffingprize]

Why ship Agon & Yoichi? It’s not just because they’re both devious geniuses who get each other somewhat—making them compatible enough that they don’t need explicit instruction from each other. It’s also that they have a long history filled with changing dynamics & drama. And because, by & large, Yoichi has a tremendous influence over Agon’s choices throughout the story. For a prideful & super talented villain like Agon, I think that’s highly meaningful!

~~Part 1~~

AGON KONGO’S EARLY DAYS - Aww man it sure is hard to be so talented

Agon is a boy with an ability that cannot be trained - his Godspeed reaction time. On top of that, he is quick to take up any physically & mentally arduous activity, has great looks, & is naturally strong as hell. And he achieves it all without much effort~ 

His early days were therefore filled with praise, admiration & envy from everyone around him, including with the one significant relationship during this moment: his twin brother, Unsui. 

Too smart for his own good, Unsui resigns himself quite early on, taking the loss as “an average athlete” and tries only to improve Agon’s prospects rather than his own.

Unsui: Then all my effort will have paid off.

Agon: Shut up. That's my plan anyway.

For Agon Kongo during this time, he probably felt there wasn’t anyone he could call an equal.. 

~

YOICHI HIRUMA’S EARLY DAYS - I’m going to that fun place now

Yoichi Hiruma as a child feels bored and understimulated. Bright but devious by nature, he one day decides to shake up his humdrum by sneaking into an American Army base at age 10, where he spends his days honing his skills in provocation and intimidation while playing poker with men much older than him. 

It is quite apparent that lying and coercion were natural skills to him.

This is also the place where he picks on the habit of carrying guns, speak in foul English, & learns all about American football. By the time Yoichi enters middle school, he’s gone through quite a transformation of looks:

Though at first, Yoichi does not consider himself suitable to playing the game himself, there is no denying he is immensely attracted to the strategic angle of it, spending hours drafting formations in his spare time.

For Yoichi Hiruma during this time, perhaps he only dreams of one day commanding a team with players of his own choosing..

~

AND THEN THEY MEET …wait, who, what, when, where, how??

So how did these two terrors meet? Unfortunately we’re not shown. It is unclear when or how they meet, but we know that it happens before Yoichi decides to play football in Middle School. 

Here’s a headcanon: The “book of threats” was likely an idea Yoichi developed long before, just never had a big enough reason to make one yet. Until he needed to. Until he found something he really wanted to pursue with a lot of obstacles in the way: American football (the man already had used cell phone collection boxes placed around..)

Thanks to a series of events in which Ryokan convinces him to play the game, Yoichi sets out to make his infamous book of threats. For that, he calls on an acquaintance for help! That acquaintance was none other than Agon.

↑This is seriously their earliest known on-screen interaction & we’re presented with this dynamic about them: Yoichi calls, Agon fetches. I know Yoichi isn’t one for pleasantries, but he doesn’t even introduce much context, he merely points to a place & Agon gets to work.

SO WHAT WE KNOW:

They meet somewhere during middle school.

They meet outside of school (no shared school)

Coincidentally Agon also goes through a transformation of looks.

Look, look.. I think it’s quite telling that out of ALL places Agon could’ve been during this very early interaction, he’s at a HAIR SALON. Like, he really really could’ve been doing anything else, or be literally anywhere else. But here we are:

The last one, he says… so they’ve already been at this!

Just IMAGINE! From the moment they meet, however or wherever that was, Agon & Yoichi clearly vibe well enough to exchange contact information & then… Agon forgoes his natural blond hair in exchange for dark dreads.

What could it be? He already wore sunglasses, is liked well & is superbly popular. But perhaps upon meeting this young man with pierced ears & bleached hair, Agon got the idea that he wanted a more intimidating look as well?

Why not? Afterall, he becomes Hiruma’s on-demand thug.

Yoichi influences Agon: +10 points! (Agon gets dreads)

And so, for the next two to three years, Yoichi & Agon apparently spend HOURS running around doing this stuff:

Agon beats people for money, Yoichi gets the blackmail. 

Ahhh yes bonding through filming naked dudes, errr.. Blackmailing, I mean. Hah? Totally normal

Yoichi influences Agon: +10 points! (Agon spends his days as Yoichi’s thug)

If their acquaintanceship formed before Ryokan meddled into Yoichi’s life, then Yoichi has a longer history with Agon than with his friends from Maou. Outside of family relationships, theirs is one of the longest-standing relationships in the series. And with long histories come moments of drama. With Ryokan Kurita in the picture, things begin to go sour.

~

I was never your friend but I thought you were mine.. a.k.a. AGON’S JEALOUSY OF RYOKAN KURITA

One of the strongest proof for me that a proud man like Agon is in fact very desperately thirsty for Yoichi’s attention is the evidence showing that he views Ryokan as an obstacle. Ryokan.. whom he would openly say is miles beneath him in terms of talent, looks, brains.. You get the picture.

It’s not “I’m glad I kicked you & your loser friends.” Was perhaps Agon expecting or hoping Yoichi would choose to drop Ryokan & still apply for Shinryuji himself? Afterall, there wasn’t anything stopping Yoichi from doing so except friendship.

These are instances where Agon isn’t insulting Yoichi. His beef is with the people Yoichi chooses to associate himself with, most prominently Ryokan & later Sena (more on Sena in part 2!!)

But why the antagonism toward Ryokan specifically? Wasn’t Gen (Musashi) also around? If Agon Kongo were a genius of interpersonal relationships, he might've figured it out. Because the truth is no one in this story changed Yoichi more than Ryokan.

Ryokan is the reason Yoichi starts playing football & why we get to the Deimon Devil Bats & the story of underdog Eyeshield 21. And while we have evidence that Unsui also plays football in middle school, that doesn’t mean Agon had any interest in it. An interaction from Riko’s interview gives us a hint:

Which suggests that when Agon found Yoichi suddenly immersed in the sport, it was something that must’ve surprised him. Meanwhile Yoichi’s comment suggests Agon followed the same “stunt” afterwards.

In fact, for Agon, the decision happened here:

Was it a mere coincidence that Agon was at this particular scene? Maybe he & Yoichi had plans to meet up later but Agon happened to arrive earlier by chance. Or maybe Agon was here on purpose..

Genius Agon who is feared, admired, & envied by all.... who is good at any sport, who has the looks & talent to potentially get anyone he wants, being put aside by someone he kinda somewhat valued..

I mean, given the time they spent together, it’s reasonable to assume Agon enjoyed hanging out with Yoichi. So this scene where Yoichi is having fun with people who have nothing to do with him, Ryokan in a Shinryuji Uniform especially, must've affected his sense of security on a subconscious level. We aren’t shown any other source of antagonism for his messing up with Yoichi's plans. The thing is, deep down, Yoichi is the closest he could consider an equal. Not like he knew it at the time.

Also, while the panel above paints Agon in a clearly antagonistic light, the original magazine run of that panel was actually juicier:

Really, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to interpret this as anger, envy, maybe even betrayal.

Yoichi influences Agon: +20 points! (Agon enters Shinryuji High School. Agon joins a football team)

And so, Agon sets out to destroy what he saw that day so badly that he really decides to attend an all-boys buddhist high school despite being a giant womanizer. And when Yoichi confronts him to try to remedy his dick move, Agon decides to cut him off as well, effectively ruining whatever sort of friendship they had.

Alas, their version of a breakup... I've also talked about Yoichi's choice of outfit in this post, heheh!

ALL TO PLAY A SPORT HE DOESN'T EVEN LIKE!! Now that's some serious malevolent & jealous-driven commitment!

→Continue to Part 2→

Where I explore Agon's disinterest in Football when it doesn't involve Yoichi, his newfound beef with Sena, Deimon vs Shinryuji & beyond~

[janzoo]

Quick and Simple Vampire Therapist Demo Review

Hi folks! I played the demo for Vampire Therapist the other day. Here's the basics and my thoughts/a few screencaps - spoilers within!

The first thing the game shows you is a message saying that while the developers worked with therapists, the game is not a replacement for actual therapy.

TL;DR premise: you are a vampire cowboy (Sam Walls) who wants to help other vampires with their centuries of baggage and trauma via Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which he partially figured on his own, and learns the rest from an established vampire therapist (Andromachos).

The demo plays through the first appointments with your first two clients.

It's a visual novel which seems to have some simple mini-games here and there, mainly for (consensual) neck biting. You listen to the client speak, and when prompted, you guess at which cognitive distortions they're falling into (like "Should Statements" or "Disqualifying Positives"). Here's a video from the game studio re: cognitive distortions. You cannot get a wrong answer; if you guess incorrectly, Andromachos telepathically hints you towards the correct answer and you get to try again.

There is no gruesome content/visuals so far. There's a blood splatter visual/sound effect when you get a correct answer, but it's very brief. When you drink blood, you get the neck biting mini-game where you line up a little moving set of fangs over blood vessels in the neck; then it cuts to the humans you drank from saying how great that was but you don't see them, or any blood.

It's quite suggestive. Andromachos's speaks openly and casually of his sex life, there's references to pegging, the goths get real horny about being bitten...Yeah this is not for kids. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

From what I know of CBT (mainly as someone receiving it), the gameplay seems to use very simplified versions of the concepts. Again, not a replacement for actual therapy - but also not a bad place to start, either. I already feel myself thinking of the game system in combination with what my therapist and I have talked about. Sam is becoming my inner good vibes voice - "Hey now, you're disqualifyin' the positives. You did real well, embrace it. :)"

IMO Sam is a very sincere and relatable character in that he's made some big mistakes but he's just trying to do better and help others. That's true of all of us, but we keep thinking that our mistakes are somehow especially terrible, or that any good we do now will always be overshadowed by the bad we did. And so on and so forth. Also, he's a rootin'-tootin' American cowboy now operating out of a German goth nightclub and his struggles with languages other than English is portrayed amusingly lmao.

So yeah, I really enjoyed the experience so far, and I look forward to playing the game proper once it comes out. Fangs for reading, har har har.

Here have some random screenshots with descriptions in the alt text. (This is my first attempt at adding alt text.)

[natequarter]

there is a word for accent bigotry, and it's accentism. there is a word for linguistic discrimination more generally: discrimination, or humans being humans (derogatory). accents, dialects, and varieties of language more broadly have no inherent qualities except their literal linguistic properties; moral judgements develop from their associations with particular social groups. for example, rp, the accent of upper class twentienth-century english people, does not connote intelligence because it is a better way of speaking; it connotes intelligence because we associate wealth and higher class status with intelligence. likewise, the 'general american' accent is not so influential because americans just speak better; it is so influential becaue america is a dominant cultural force in the world we live in. on the other end of the spectrum, accents like cockney are seen as 'uneducated' and often put on in jokes where the only punchline is that poor people speak stupid: this is not because the cockney accent is inherently inferior but because most cockney londoners are working class. likewise, the dialect aave is not seen as 'stupid' or 'broken english' because it is broken english; it is well-attested that aave has internally consistent grammatical rules. this does not matter to racist people: they hear aave and they hear that black people are lesser and stupid. this has nothing to do with the dialect itself and everything to do with the fact that it is primarily spoken by black americans, and the association between this social group and this dialect leads to its negative social connotations.

no language is inherently bad; it is only what we make of it. thus, many accents have strongly negative or positive connotations that are wholly undeserved - not because of what they are, but because of who uses them and what we think of those people.