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maddieinwonder · 4 years

Text

Bait & Switch

Spencer Reid x GN!BAU!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None, super fluffy

Word Count: 3.5k words

Plot: Reader reveals that they’re going to buy a Nintendo Switch so Spencer invites them to go together with him. In the process, some feelings reveal themselves.

Author’s Note: My first time writing about Spencer, and actually, my first time writing a fic in a long time haha. Just imagine that this takes place in 2017, although you don’t have to know anything about the Switch in order to read this.

Masterlist

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

"What's got you in such a good mood, baby?" Derek asked, leaning over his chair. Even without looking up, you could feel the smirk that decorated his face. After almost a month at the BAU, you didn’t need to be a profiler to expect this much from Derek. "Got a date this weekend?"

You tried to focus on your paperwork before relenting, rolling your eyes. Still, you couldn't hide the smile in your voice when you shot back a reply. "With this job? You wish, Morgan."

"Give yourself some credit, beautiful. With your looks I'm sure you could score a good looking fellow for a night you won't forget."

"I'm sure you would know all about that," you replied, this time grinning from ear to ear.

Ever since you joined the BAU, your seat has always been across Derek Morgan. The guy was a terrible flirt but also one of the most trustworthy people you knew, so you couldn't keep up a sarcastic mood for long.

"Actually," you replied genuinely, "I'll be lining up this weekend to buy a Nintendo Switch." Out of the corner of your eye, you could sense Spencer stiffen in his chair next to you.

"A what switch?" Derek asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

But before you could begin to reply him, Spencer rolled his chair over and opened his mouth. The both of you knew what was coming.

"The Nintendo Switch. A video game console developed by Japanese company Nintendo that's completely one-of-its-kind, on account of its console functioning like a tablet that can either be docked on a home console and linked to a TV, or used as a portable device with two wireless controllers so you can..."

Not being able to help yourself, you giggled at his info dump. You've always admired how much knowledge he could store in his big brain. But more importantly, you thought he was kind of cute like this. A fire would light in his eyes and it seemed like the world around him ceased to exist.

You only realised you were staring at Spencer when the last bits of his question registered in your mind. "...you going to?"

Blinking your eyes, you snapped to attention. Derek seemed to notice, because you felt his signature smirk return to his face.

"Which store are you going to?" Spencer repeated the question. Anybody else might be annoyed, but he only seemed mildly restless. A rare look for the unathletic genius.

"I'm going to the one three blocks down from here," you replied.

"So am I!" Spencer sat upright in his chair, beaming. You think that this is the most excitement he's expressed to you since you joined the BAU.

Then his confidence seemed to waver. He began tugging at the edge of his sleeve, eyes glancing to the side at nothing in particular when he asked, "W-would you like t-to go together?"

A smile spreads across your face before you can stop it. "Sure! Sounds like fun."

Spencer grinned back, and there was a moment of silence before Derek interrupted the conversation that he began. "Well, I'll leave you and lover boy to plan your date. I'm going to spend my Friday night at the bar."

Your heart thumped involuntarily at the word "date", while Derek turned to Emily. "Hey Prentiss, you want to grab a few drinks and dinner? I'm sure I can get the others to leave work for one night."

"Anything's better than this," Emily shrugged, lifting her mug of already-cold coffee.

Standing up to retrieve her bag, she smirked at you and Spencer, having heard more of the conversation than she let on. "Have a great weekend, you lovebirds. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

She and Derek shared a laugh as they moved towards the Batcave to retrieve Garcia next.

As you watched them go, you feel Spencer's eyes on you and a flush warming your cheeks. You knew they were just teasing you with the word "date", but the truth is you've liked the genius almost as soon as you met him.

You may not have an eidetic memory, but you could still remember the flutter of butterflies that exploded in your chest when you first laid eyes on Dr. Spencer Reid.

He had waved from a comfortable distance, the other hand tucked in the pocket of his dark slacks. He towered over you easily with curly locks that barely touched his sweater vest, and you swore you've never seen anybody more attractive in your life. His intelligence only added to your attraction.

"Shall I pick you up at 7am tomorrow?"

You turned back to Spencer, who seemed even more nervous now that everybody in the bullpen had left. Yet what he was proposing was rather bold compared to his usual behaviour.

“Pick me up?” You repeated.

“It’ll be easier to find a parking spot that way, and the weather report predicts that tomorrow will be a sunny day, so I know you’d rather not walk three blocks to the store.” He rambled nervously.

“You know me well, Spencer.” A cheeky smile snuck onto your face, and in a moment of false bravado, you said what was on your mind. “7am. It’s a date, then.”

Spencer’s face turned beet red.

You didn’t wait to dwell on his reaction, dumping the last of your paperwork into a pile and picking up your bag. But as you walked to the elevator, you couldn’t help yourself from grinning ear to ear. It was a date. Kind of.

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

You couldn’t sleep. You had gotten home earlier than usual, but the extra time to plan for your “date” tomorrow proved to be a bad idea.

What would you wear? What would you talk about? Should you extend it to a meal, or dessert, or maybe coffee?

Although you were confident in the moment, you were beginning to regret teasing Spencer before you left. You’d known him long enough to know how he reacted to embarrassment, and there’s a good chance he might back away because of your forwardness.

You groaned, trying to get these thoughts out of your head. The reality of the "date" was sinking in now. This would be the first time that you and Spencer would be alone in a non-work setting. To say that you were nervous was a gross understatement.

But there was something worse than showing up nervous, which was showing up nervous and sleep-deprived, so you turned off your bedside lamp and tried to will yourself to sleep. That's when your phone began to buzz.

You were so on edge that the sound almost made you fall off your bed. Turning over your phone, your heart leapt to your throat.

Spencer, 2:03am: Sorry to disturb you when it's so late, but I realised I don’t have your address. Could you send it to me when you're awake?

You gulped. Just relax, just relax, you repeated in your head.

Me, 2:05am: It’s alright, you didn’t wake me up. I’ll attach my address below.

Spencer, 2:06am: Thanks. Having trouble sleeping?

Me, 2:07am: A little

Spencer, 2:08am: Me too.

What was I supposed to reply to that? You silently screamed. But it turned out you didn't have to figure it out.

Spencer, 2:11am: To be honest, I'm a little nervous about tomorrow.

Me, 2:13am: Why?

Spencer, 2:15am: I suppose it’s because we've never spent any time alone before.

Hearing the genius act so shy made you feel a little more brave.

Me, 2:16am: Well, I'm looking forward to the chance

Spencer, 2:17am: I am too.

Despite your nerves, you smiled at his small confession.

Spencer, 2:19am: We should get some sleep.

Me, 2:19am: I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Spence

Spencer, 2:20am: Sweet dreams.

Your anxieties were washed away and replaced with the biggest smile on your face. Without knowing it, Spencer’s words rippled a sense of calm over you, and you fell asleep shortly after.

The next morning, you woke up with a newfound clarity. You knew what you were going to wear.

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

Spencer couldn't stop tapping the edge of his steering wheel. He knew he was nervous, and admitting it to you last night didn't do much to stop that fact from eating away at him.

He texted you 3 minutes ago that he was waiting outside your apartment, but you hadn't replied. Although he knew that there were plenty of logical reasons why you might have missed his text, his hands didn't stop itching to call you and see if you were alright.

Then out of the corner of his eye, you emerged from the corridor and he felt his heart speed up.

You were wearing a blue flannel that he'd never seen you in before with a pair of dark jeans. Your hair, which you usually kept in a up-do at work, was let down in waves, touching your shoulders. And then there was the pièce de résistance, you were wearing a Doctor Who t-shirt with the TARDIS on it.

Hook, line, and sinker.

He didn't break his gaze on you the entire time you got into his car. Even when you beamed at him and wished him a good morning, a small yawn escaping your perfect lips, he was completely tongue-tied.

"Earth to Spencer," you called out, looking up at him curiously. "You there?"

Spencer shook his head suddenly, cursing himself internally for being such a doofus. "Sorry, uh, I was distracted. Good morning." He smiled sheepishly, tucking a stray hair strand behind his ear.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat. "I was thinking we could grab some coffee before we headed to the store? We can make it quick. I know there'll be some people already lining up."

He peeked at you rubbing your eyes and thought it was the cutest thing he's ever seen. “Looks like you might need it," he said without realising he'd just flirted with you.

You giggled, lowering your hands from your face. "Sounds great."

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

Spencer wasn't lying when he said it'd be quick, although in truth you could have taken all the time in the world and you would still be happy. The initial awkwardness between you washed away almost immediately as you fell into a quiet conversation about your favourite Doctor Who episodes.

You wanted to commit the sight of him driving in the morning to memory. The sun had just rose, lighting a gentle halo around Spencer’s messy hair and sculptured face. He was wearing a bigger sweater than usual, the sleeves hanging around his wrists loosely. While his eyes were focused on the road, his lips parted slightly as he softly bantered with you about David Tennant.

You felt an overwhelming urge to reach out and kiss him despite the driving hazard. And despite the fact that you’ve never kissed him, of course. But you could hope. And hope you did.

Your hope had grown when he parked in front of the coffee house you’d once mentioned was your favourite. Spencer made your coffee order perfectly and you had found yourself hoping that it was because he’d paid extra attention to you, and not because of his brilliant memory.

And when you reached the video game store and he opened the door for you, you hoped it was because he wanted to make a good impression, not only because he was a gentleman.

And when he stood between you and a video game rack in line, you hoped that he was trying to shield you from the other people in the store, and you hoped that he was thinking of pressing you against the rack and kissing the daylights out of you.

You needed to get a hold of yourself.

The conversation had swapped to the reason why you two were here in the first place, and you found yourself talking to Spencer about Breath of the Wild, a game that brought you back to fond memories of your childhood.

“The Legend of Zelda was the first video game I ever played, on the first console I ever owned.” You shared, smiling fondly. “It was the video game that my brother and I bonded over, and we bought every game together since.”

Spencer nodded in rapt. You felt him leaning closer to you, although it may have been your imagination.

“This is actually the first time I haven’t been with him for a new game,” you realised. “Due to our jobs, we haven’t seen each other in awhile, but we still text each other!” You tried to end on a lighter note, not wanting to bring the mood down on this “date”.

Spencer looked at you as if he wanted to say something, but he kept his lips shut.

“What about you? What was your first video game?” You threw the question to him, trying to divert attention away from your sad-enough story.

He blushed in response to your question and looked down at his black converse. You noticed he began touching his sleeve in a familiar motion and you looked at him suspiciously. “Spencer?”

“W-well, the t-truth is, I didn’t actually c-come here to buy a Switch, and I don’t play video games at all.“ The last part of his sentence came out rapidly. You might have missed it, if you weren’t already used to the tongue twisters he spit out on a daily basis.

“What?” You exclaimed a little too loudly, causing the other shoppers in line to glance at you weirdly. “Then... Then what are you doing here?” You said quieter this time. Your eyebrows furrowed as your mind scanned the possibilities.

“W-well, I, uh, wanted to spend time with you,” he blurted out. He raised his eyes to meet yours, his face completely red.

It was your turn to be flustered now. Your voice was quiet and you could feel your hands shaking. “Is this a date, Spencer?”

“Only if you want it to be, I mean, I want it to be but your opinion matters to me, and I wouldn’t want to bring you on a date if you didn’t want to. We can just hang out like friends if that’s more comfortable--”

You grabbed his free hand, gently lowering it from where it was moving as he rambled, until your fingers were intertwined.

“I would like it to be,” a large smile took over your face. You were a little teary despite how weird it was to confess your feelings for him in a video game store of all places.

Spencer was quiet for a moment, squeezing your hand in return. “Would you like to go for lunch after this? As a date,” he clarified this time.

"I would love that,” you beamed at him, “as a date.”

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

Spencer had always imagined the kind of girl he would fall in love with. Caring, intelligent, had an appreciation for classic literature, maybe. But when he saw you for the first time, every expectation he held flew out of the window.

You were beautiful. Wavy dark hair tied into a high ponytail, wearing a navy shirt, and funnily enough, a beige cardigan and black converse. Morgan joked that it was like meeting Spencer 2.0, but he disagreed: the two of you were worlds apart.

You were incredibly tech savvy, although not as much as Garcia, but certainly more than the rest. You loved the smell and taste of coffee without sugar. You were happy to hug everybody you met, from colleagues to victims. You didn’t like paperback so you read everything on a Kindle.

But the biggest difference between the two of you, was that you were emotionally intelligent.

All of your brilliance, combined with your PhD in psychology - having worked as a psychiatrist affiliated with Sex Crimes before joining the BAU - you were able to pick out the team’s moods from a single glance. It’s what endeared everyone to you immediately, and what made you such a great profiler.

But the way you treated him was different. You just, listened to him. While everyone else had gotten into the habit of cutting him off or simply ignoring him when he opened his mouth, your eyes would light up instead.

He could always tell you were listening because you would look into his eyes when he spoke, and you would ask him questions after he was done.

It made him feel like the world around him ceased to exist, except for you.

So he started studying your interests to grab your attention, trying to throw in a few jokes hoping to see you smile. It only took one month for him to seize his chance. Still, never in his calculations did he think you would say yes.

He smiled at the thought, stroking your hair gently as you cuddled on the couch together, watching you play Breath of the Wild.

After a more than successful first date, you had asked him to come over the next day to spend more time together. A month ago, he would have politely declined with an excuse like needing to read a new academic journal, but when he arrived at your doorstep he allowed himself to be drawn into your arms, relishing the giggle he earned as a reward for being hugged.

“Damn it,” you grumbled quietly as you ran out of stamina scaling a cliffside for the fifth time.

Spencer laughed. Without a second thought, he pulled you closer and kissed the top of your head.

In the background Link fell off the cliff once again, the game playing a sound that he came to recognise as Link dying. But there were no curses this time, as you had turned to look at Spencer, nothing but adoration in your eyes.

“That was our first kiss,” you said so quietly and sweetly that Spencer’s heart melted at the sound of it.

“First?” He took his chance, leaning closer. “You know, the usage of the word ‘first’ almost always implies that there will be a ‘second’ and a ‘third’ and a...”

His voice trailed off as your fingers left the controller to touch his lips. Your touch was intoxicating and he wanted more.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Spence,” you started, lifting your finger from his lips. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you-”

“Don’t be sorry,” he managed to get out in a hurry before capturing your lips in his. He felt your astonishment at first, but you quickly lost yourself in the kiss as he brought his hands up to cup the sides of your face, deepening the kiss further.

You finally broke apart after awhile, both panting for air and smiling widely. Spencer never thought he could be so lucky. “That’s the second one,” he said quietly, bringing up two fingers to indicate the number.

You looked at him with love in your eyes and abandoned your controller on the table before throwing yourself at him, flattening the two of you against your couch.

“Ready for the third?”

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

Derek Morgan wasn’t an idiot. That’s why he could tell that something had changed over the weekend between his desk mate and boy genius.

The two came into work together on Monday morning, which was weird in itself, but they also took every opportunity to stick to each other, from coffee breaks to disappearing for lunch and “asking” about paperwork.

When they vanished for the umpteenth time that day for coffee, Derek leaned over Emily’s desk to confirm his theory.

“It’s not just me. Pretty boy finally made a move, didn’t he?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Definitely. Those two are so obvious that even Hotch has picked up on it. From his office.” She quipped, grinning as her eyes moved to the scene behind Derek. “Speak of the devil.”

Entering the conversation, Spencer did what he did best. “Did you know that ‘speak of the devil’ is the short form of the idiom ‘speak of the devil and he doth appear’? The phrase can be traced back to the 16th century when mentioning the devil was considered prohibited. In fact, when people were caught saying the phrase--”

Derek caught your eyes drifting to look adoringly at Spencer. He couldn’t take this anymore. “So what happened between you two last weekend, huh?” he interrupted, smirking.

Your reaction was better than he gambled. You turned a bright red and your eyes darted between Spencer and Derek in panic, truly flustered for the first time since he’s met you. But Spencer was strangely calm, his eyes travelling from his best friend to Emily in the background trying to stifle her laughter, while a small smile tugged at his lips.

“We’re dating now,” he announced to the two a little triumphantly, while rubbing your shoulder as a peaceful gesture.

Derek and Emily were stunned by their friend’s directness, only to be shocked out of it as Hotch walked by. “Finally,” he muttered, loud enough for them all to hear.

You were the first to crack a smile, then the rest followed suit with laughs and congratulations. Hearing the uproar, Garcia and JJ peeked out of their rooms, joining in and demanding more details about this new but not entirely unexpected development.

Amidst the chaos, Spencer laces his hands in yours and gives it a squeeze. For the first time in a long time, you feel unequivocally, unmistakably happy.

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kaialone · 3 years

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Kirby Planet Robobot Translation Comparison: Pause Screens (Part 2)

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the pause screen descriptions of all bosses faced exclusively in the extra modes of the game.

While I’m mainly comparing the US English version to the Japanese one, I’ll bring up differences in the EU English version that I find notable, too.

For the comparisons, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

This part will work the same as the last one.

And since a lot of these pause descriptions are somewhat connected to their counterparts of the main story as well, I would recommend reading the previous part first, if you haven’t already.

Also, as a general note, you’ll see that all the stronger versions of the regular bosses have the prefix “Re:” added in the Japanese version.

This was changed to “2.0″ in the English version.

From what I’ve seen, “Re:” in Japanese pop culture is often used as a cool, sometimes futuristic way to refer to a “renewal” of something, so adapting it as “2.0″ makes sense.

Re:ウィスピーボーグ

ウィスピーボーグが新モデルにリニューアル。ねんぴもよくなりはいきガスもへっているので、カンパニーもかんきょうにはいりょしながらしょうエネ開発を進めているもよう。価格も前モデルの半分におさえられている。

Re:Whispy Borg

Whispy Borg has been newly remodeled. The improved fuel efficiency and reduced emission of exhaust gases indicate that perhaps the company too strives to be environmentally friendly, developing new ways to conserve energy. Its price has been cut down to half the previous model, too.

Clanky Woods 2.0

Clanky Woods has been redesigned and upgraded. Better fuel efficiency and fewer emissions demonstrate the company's new environmentally friendly initiative. It costs only half of the previous model!

Comparisons & Thoughts:

The description has been slightly shortened as usual, though there are some potential errors or changes, too.

In the English version, the text mentions “the company’s new environmentally friendly initiative”, whereas the Japanese version doesn’t make it sound like this would be a new thing for them.

It’s possible that this was a mistranslation, but it could also be that they intentionally changed it in English to be a little more obvious about the irony - because the Haltmann Works Company allegedly trying to be environmentally friendly is ridiculous.

Also, in the Japanese version, the original wording makes it more clear that Clanky Woods’ price being reduced is seemingly referring to the cost a potential buyer would have to pay for it, rather than the cost of producing it.

This feels like it might be alluding to how in real life, manufacturers of electric cars or the like will try to cut down their prices to some degree in order to get more people into them, and thus creating more of a demand for them in the future.

The English version could be going for that as well, but it’s a bit less clear.

Re:ホログラフ防衛システムズ

マザーコンピューターによりリニューアルされたこの防衛システムも、他の星にねむっていたせっけい図をもとにして作られたものだが、一部データがかけているため、本来のせい能をはっきできずにいるらしい。

Re:Holographic Defense Systems

Revised by the Mother Computer, this defense system was also created based on blueprints discovered on another planet. But, because part of the data is missing, it is apparently unable to demonstrate its original performance. (1)

Holo Defense API 2.0

Redesigned by the Mother Computer, this defense system is based on a blueprint found on another planet. It's missing a segment of data and is unable to demonstrate its full potential.

Translation Note:

What I translated as “original performance” here could also be translated as “true performance” or the like. I don’t think the specifics make much of a difference here, but thought I would note it, just in case.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, but there is an interesting detail about it.

The Japanese version notes that this defense system was “also” based on blueprints found on another planet.

This directly implies other things have been based on such blueprints, but it doesn’t specify which those are, nor how many blueprints and planets are involved.

From its looks though, we can gather that the Holo Defense API was likely based on Pix from Rock Star, as seen in Kirby 64.

Similarly, we can assume that the Security Force mid-boss was likely based on Metal General from Halcandra, as seen in Return to Dream Land.

And of course, Star Dream is heavily implied to be something similar to Galactic Nova from Milky Way Wishes - and both of them are implied to be so-called clockwork stars, also first mentioned in Return to Dream Land.

But even considering all that, keep in mind that we still can’t say for sure where and when the Haltmann Works Company would have precured any of their respective blueprints, and series director Shinya Kumazaki intentionally left the answer up in the air when asked about it during the second Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon on Miiverse.

Just so we are all on the same page here.

In any case, the English version is still missing the indication that the Holo Defense API isn’t the only one that was based on blueprints found elsewhere.

The EU English version actually goes one step further, rephrasing the line in question to say that the defence system was built “based on the blueprint found on another planet”.

The wording of “the blueprint” would imply there was only ever one, which does not appear to be the case in Japanese.

Re:ホロ・クラッコ

この雲のモンスターのデータは、ぶんせきすればするほど、様ざまなこうげきパターンが見つかる。そのいったんがシステムのリニューアルによりかいほうされ、手強くなっている。

Re:Holo-Kracko

The more data of this cloud monster is analyzed, the more attack patterns are discovered. A portion of them have been unlocked by the system's revision, making it a more formidable adversary.

Holo-Kracko 2.0

They further analyzed the data of the cloud monster and discovered even more vicious attacks. The system redesign has implemented these attacks and made Holo-Kracko even more powerful.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description features some slight alterations.

The Japanese version mentions that a larger variety of attack patterns is being discovered, while the English version says that “more vicious attacks” have been found.

Aside from those being different things to discover, the Japanese version also makes it clear that this analysis is still being done continuously.

The Japanese version also states that the system’s revision has “unlocked” these additional patterns, but the English version states that it has “implemented” the additional attacks.

So, the implications of how the system works are slightly different here.

The US English version also has this description start with “They further analyzed the data of the cloud monster and discovered (...)“, while the EU English version phrases it as “Further analysis of data from the cloud monster has uncovered (...)“.

The latter matches the Japanese version a bit more, with the narrator having a more neutral position regarding the progress.

But, the former isn’t really wrong by comparison either, and the narrator does refer to the company in third person like that occasionally in other places.

Re:ホロ・ローパーズ

このモンスターは、スージーがかつて入手したデータを入力し生み出されたのだが、異空間とよばれるエリアにすくうこのモンスターのデータを一体いつ、どこで手に入れたので　あろうか。かのじょのナゾもまた、深まるばかりである。

Re:Holo Lopers

These monsters were created by entering data that Susie had acquired in the past. But, just when and where exactly did she obtain data on those monsters which live in the area called another dimension? There is no end to the mysteries surrounding her, either.

Holo-Doomers 2.0

These monsters were created by Susie entering data she acquired from her travels. Where and when did she encounter the original monsters from another dimension? Who knows?

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, with some slight oddities.

Of course, the term “another dimension” used in the Japanese version here is the same as before, so my notes on the regular Holo-Doomers also apply here.

And just like before, the EU English version changed “another dimension” to “extra dimension”, which I also went over back there.

Also, the Japanese version specifically uses the word “area” to refer to another dimension, which is also the term used for “areas” in Planet Robobot as a game.

I think this could just be to add some flavor to this description, though.

The game seems to use “area” in favor of “level” to give it a more mechanical and business-driven vibe. And so the narration is consistent with that internal logic of the game’s aesthetic.

The final line in the Japanese version says that there is no end to the mysteries about Susie “either”, which I think is simply a follow-up to the final line of the regular Holo-Doomers description.

The English version doesn’t have a connection between the two descriptions like that there.

Re:ホロ・アイスドラゴン

かつて存在した、古代のドラゴンという生命体のデータから生み出されたホログラフだが、もしかしたら今でもまだどこかの島のどうくつのおく深くで、ひそかに生きのびているのかもしれない。

Re:Holo-Ice Dragon

This hologram was created from the data of an ancient organic life form called a dragon, which has existed in the past, but it is also possible that they secretly continue to live on, deep inside a cave on an island somewhere.

Holo-Ice Dragon 2.0

This hologram was created from an ancient dragon. Dragons are no longer seen, but one of them may still be living quietly in a cave on an island somewhere. Who knows?

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, except for a small detail that might be a bit confusing, but I’ll try to explain it.

There is some potential issue here regarding the usage of plural versus singular.

In my translation of the Japanese version, I have the description refer to dragons in a general sense, rather than one individual dragon.

The English version chose to use singular instead, for the most part.

As I mentioned before, there usually is no clear distinction between plural and singular in Japanese, so either way could work here.

That being said, the English version would still be slightly off, because if one chooses to use singular for the translation here, it has to be applied to all of the text.

If I were to apply singular for my own translation, it would become this:

This hologram was created from the data of an ancient organic life form called a dragon, which has existed in the past, but it is also possible that it secretly continues to live on, deep inside a cave on an island somewhere.

Therefore, the English version’s line “Dragons are no longer seen, but one of them (...)” would be inaccurate for that approach.

It should at least be something like “This dragon is no longer seen, but it (...)” instead.

At the end of the day, I don’t think the specifics actually matter much in this case right here, but I still wanted to explain them.

Re:ホロ・ガラーガ

このモンスターがいたという天空の国が存在するらしいが、いまだキカイ化のしんりゃくがとうたつできていないもよう。この星にはまだ、様ざまなみかいのエリアが残されていることがうかがえる。

Re:Holo-Garāga

It appears that the land of the sky where this monster is said to be from really exists, but the mechanization invasion seemingly has yet to reach it. It's clear that there are still many uncivilized areas left on this planet.

Holo-C. Rattler 2.0

It is said that the People of the Sky who enshrined this monster still exist. It seems that the mechanization invasion has not reached them, due to their remote location.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

There are some slight alterations in this description.

Like before, “land of the sky” is changed to “People of the Sky”, so my notes on that also apply here.

The Japanese version has the narrator note that the supposed land of the sky apparently does exist, but the English version has the narrator say that the People of the Sky “still” exist.

The latter would imply that from the perspective of our vague narrator, the People of the Sky were known, but also previously thought to possibly not exist anymore.

In contrast, the former implies the land of the sky is only just being discovered.

Next, the Japanese version notes that there are still many “uncivilized areas” on Pop Star, following the prior statement that the land of the sky has yet to be reached by the invasion.

The English version changes this to stating that the People of the Sky have yet to be reached by the invasion “due to their remote location”.

This might have been an intentional change to sound less demeaning, but I can’t say for sure.

Really, this mostly changes the narrator’s attitude about the situation, since the Japanese phrasing still would imply that the company just needs more time to reach Floralia and other locations further away from their operations.

Also just for the reference, the word “areas” is once again the same one they use for the game’s main levels as well, keeping with the game’s aesthetic.

As an aside, the general narrator of these descriptions is not really a character, so slight differences in their limited knowledge and attitude about the world like in the two previous points are not that big of a deal.

But it’s interesting to me that in this description right here for example, the Japanese version of the narrator seems to roughly reflect the knowledge and attitude that the Haltmann Works Company would have.

In other places, the narrator’s knowledge and general perspective does shift to other sides too, I’m guessing to fit the mood that works best for each description.

Also, I mentioned in the last part how it’s strange that the English version didn’t just go for the shorter “Holo-Rattler” as the name, and this choice comes back to haunt them here, cause they had to spell “Holo-Coily Rattler 2.0″ as “Holo-C. Rattler 2.0″ to make it fit.

Re:秘書スージー

おさないころ、マザーコンピューターの起動じっけん時にじこにまきこまれ、ゆくえふめいとなったという。時がたち、何を思い、ふたたびカンパニーにもぐりこんだのであろうか。フルネームは「スザンナファミリアハルトマン」。

Re:Secretary Susie

As a young child, she was supposedly involved in an accident during an experimental start-up of the Mother Computer, and went missing. (1) Whatever she may be thinking, some time later she must have snuck her way into the company once more. Her full name is "Susanna Familia Haltmann".

Susie 2.0

As a child, Sue [sic] was involved in an accident during a Mother Computer experiment and went missing. Why has she joined the company after all this time? Her full name is Susanna Patrya Haltmann.

Translation Note:

What I translated as “experimental start-up” could also be translated as “start-up experiment”, or the like.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

In the Japanese version, Susie’s middle name is “Familia”, which was changed to “Patrya” in the English version.

The Japanese one is probably based on the English word “family” or maybe even “familiar”, alluding to the story going on with her, and keeping with that Western influence they go for with her and the company.

I’m guessing the English version changed it because “Familia” might’ve seemed too on the nose about it?

Going by that, I think “Patrya” might be based on something like “patriarch” and related terms, which would also allude to the story surrounding Susie’s character.

The actual description is mostly the same, just rephrased to be shorter.

In the Japanese version it’s stated that the experiment during which Susie went missing was one about starting the Mother Computer, which ends up omitted in English.

Not hugely important, but interesting if you care about finer specifics of the story.

The Japanese version also mentions that Susie later “snuck her way” into the company, implying some obfuscation of details on her part when she joined.

That detail can already be inferred from the story alone, so not as much of a loss.

The US English version refers to Susie as “Sue” in this description for some reason.

I’m almost positive this was just a typo, since it seems very unlikely they would randomly introduce a second nickname for her only in this one screen.

The EU English version rephrased the first line slightly and fixed that spelling in the process, too.

強化量産メタナイトボーグ

メタナイトボーグのデータをもとにして作られた、セキュリティマシンの量産型。最新ぎじゅつによりかなり強化されている。もしも実用化された場合、カンパニーの戦力はひやくてきにこう上するであろう。

Enhanced Mass-produced Meta Knight Borg

A mass-produced security machine model, built using data from the Meta Knight Borg as a basis. Its strength was enhanced considerably with the latest technology. If it were to be put into practical use, the company's military power would increase dramatically.

Stock Mecha Knight

This mass-production model is based on an upgraded Mecha Knight model. If this model goes into commercial production, the company's military power will dramatically increase.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

The ”Enhanced Mass-produced Meta Knight Borg“ had its name changed to “Stock Mecha Knight“, because yeah, there was probably no way to make a more literal translation fit here.

I think going for “Stock” here is pretty clever, boiling down the idea to its bare essentials, and with such little space, too.

The actual description is mostly the same, just rephrased to be slightly shorter.

The English version’s phrasing does make it sound like Stock Mecha Knight was based on Mecha Knight+ in particular, whereas the Japanese version has it be based on the data of the regular Mecha Knight.

Re:クローンデデデ

声もすがたもまるでデデデ大王と同じだが、その心までクローン化することはだんねんした。いくつかのしさくでは、食べ物ばかりもとめたり、とあるこん虫をやたらとおそれたりと、兵士として、不完全であったためである。

Re:Clone Dedede

Its voice and appearance are just like King Dedede, but they have given up on cloning his heart, too. This is because there were several prototypes only interested in food, or exceedingly afraid of a certain insect, as well as other aspects that made them imperfect soldiers.

Dedede Clone 2.0

It has the look and voice of King Dedede, but not his soul. Some things can't be cloned. Some of the trial models were only interested in food, some were fearful of a certain insect, and all were imperfect.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

There is a pretty significant alteration or possible error in this description.

In the Japanese version, it’s stated that the company has given up on cloning Dedede’s “heart” because several prototypes ended up being imperfect soldiers.

What this means is that cloning his “heart” is actually possible for them to some extent, but since that causes the clones to take on parts of Dedede’s personality, it made them worse as soldiers.

So, they have given up on cloning the heart specifically because the clones having one has proven to be a detriment for their purposes.

In the English version, it’s instead stated that the company is unable to clone Dedede’s “soul”, because “some things can’t be cloned”.

In turn, the issues with the trial models are also implied to be unrelated general cloning issues.

So, while the Japanese version somewhat eerily states that cloning a heart is possible, but the company is now making the clones heartless on purpose, the English version seems like almost the complete opposite and states that cloning a soul is just not possible.

This could have been a translation error, but it could also be that the English localizers wanted to avoid crossing a certain line here and thus changed it intentionally.

Continuing from the previous point though, you may have noticed that the Japanese version uses “heart” while the English version uses “soul”.

The actual Japanese word used here is 心/kokoro, which is most commonly translated as “heart”, but it can also be translated as “soul” like the English version did - and also as “mind”, or even “feelings”, as well as other things like that depending on the context.

Because of that, it can have different connotations than just the English word “soul” on its own.

I think “heart” is a broad enough term that it works well here, and the Kirby series has a frequent heart motif as well, so I went with that, personally.

The term will also be brought up again in future descriptions down the line, so keep it in mind for later.

Re:クローンデデデ&D3砲

この立体砲台はとてつもなく高がくで、ウィスピーウッズやメタナイトのサイボーグ化のなんと4倍。あのギガヴォルトより 50億ハルトマニーも高い。それでも、ハルトマンの乗る、純金の「プレジデンバー」の 4分の1ほどではある。

Re:Clone Dedede & D3 Cannon

This three-dimensional artillery is extremely expensive, costing no less than four times more than the cybernetic conversions of Whispy Woods and Meta Knight. It even surpasses the Gigavolt by 5 billion Haltmoney. However, that is still only about a quarter of what the "Presidenver" that Haltmann rides is worth, which is made of pure gold.

Dedede Cl. & D3 2.0

This tridimensional cannon is extremely expensive, costing a whopping four times more than Mecha Knight. However, it's still much cheaper than Haltmann's Executive Suit, which is made of pure gold.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly accurate, just rewritten to be shorter.

The English version simplifies the different cost comparisons in this description a lot, which is mostly expendable information, so that’s understandable.

Still, since the Japanese version has the room for it, it’s fun to see it continue with the trend of comedically focusing how much everything costs compared to one another, going with the themes of the game.

Also, Haltmann’s own mech is revealed to be called “Presidenver” in Japanese, which was changed to “Executive Suit” in English.

Either one goes along with the name of Susie’s mech, but since its name was omitted in the English version, this fact doesn’t come across there.

“Presidenver” is pretty self-explanatory, just adding “president” to “Rereinver”.

“Executive Suit” might be a play on “executive suite”, which is pretty amusing to me.

Re:プレジデント・ハルトマン

フルネームは「ゲインズインカムハルトマン」。かつてひとり娘をじこでなくし、それいらい人の心もきおくさえもすて、カンパニーの成長のためだけに生きる男。だがそれも、娘にふたたび会いたいただそのねがいをかなえるためであったのだが…。

Re:President Haltmann

His full name is "Gains Income Haltmann". He once lost his only daughter in an accident, and ever since then, the man has been casting aside his heart and even his memories, living only for the sake of his company's growth. But even that too was only for the sake of granting his wish - to see his daughter once more...

Pres. Haltmann 2.0

His full name is Max Profitt Haltmann. Ever since losing his only child, he's dedicated his life to his company. However, his only wish is to see his daughter once again.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

In Japanese, Haltmann’s given and middle names are “Gains Income”, which was changed to “Max Profitt” in the English version.

“Gains Income” is obviously taken directly from “gains income”. Aside from probably referring to the fact that he’s about earning money, this also is another English-sounding name to go with the company’s aesthetic.

“Max Profitt” is a similar play on earning money, but done in a way that works better as a pun-based name for English-speaking audiences.

The actual description has one fairly notable omission in particular.

In the Japanese version, it’s specifically stated that Haltmann has been “casting aside his heart and even his memories“, which is not mentioned in English.

The fact that Haltmann doesn’t have all his memories anymore is crucial to understanding the story at this point, so leaving this out caused a lot of confusion for English-speaking fans around the time of the game’s release.

It would eventually be brought up again during the second Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon, so fans did get to learn about this, but it was still an inconvenience.

Not to mention that Miiverse has since been shut down.

The detail about Haltmann’s “heart” is interesting as well, since it gives additional insight into how Haltmann has presumably grown more callous over the years as well, rather than starting out the way we see him in the present day.

For the reference, the English Miiverse post adapted this as “compassion”, which works perfectly fine in this context, too.

The US English version doesn’t mention that Haltmann specifically lost his only child in an accident, but the EU English version actually included that part, too.

So I’m not really sure why the US English version omitted the “accident” detail.

クローン剣士ダークマター

星の夢に入力されているデータの中でもかなりの強さをほこる黒き剣の使い手。クローン化にせいこうしたものの、かいせきはデータの一部にすぎず、その正体についていまだ、全ようかいめいにはいたっていない。

Clone Swordfighter Dark Matter

Among the data that has been entered into Star Dream, this dark sword user boasts especially tremendous strength. Although it was cloned successfully, only part of its data has been analyzed, and its true nature has yet to be confirmed with certainty as of right now. (1)

Dark Matter Clone

Creating this dark swordsman pushed Star Dream to the limits of its abilities. The cloning process was a success, but only a partial data analysis was possible, and its true form has not yet emerged.

Translation Note:

The word I translated as “true nature” could also be translated as “true identity”, or other things along those lines. Either could potentially work in this context.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

“Clone Swordfighter Dark Matter” is shortened to “Dark Matter Clone”, most likely for space.

The US English version of the True Arena labels this boss as “Dark Matter Blade”, so I wonder if they originally intended to reflect the “swordfighter” part in the name as well, but partially dropped it.

The actual description has a few potential errors or changes.

In the Japanese version, it’s stated that Dark Matter Blade is one of the strongest included within Star Dream’s data.

The English version instead states that cloning him pushed Star Dream “to the limits of its abilities”.

This could have been a translation error, but it could also have been an intentional rewrite.

As mentioned in the translation note, I can’t say for sure if the Japanese version is supposed to refer to Dark Matter Blade’s “true nature” or “true identity” not having been confirmed yet.

The relevant line could either be referring to Dark Matter Blade’s true form, which the clone does take on during the battle, but it could also be referring to the other general mysteries about Dark Matter and its background.

Either way could work in this context, so I went with “true nature” in my translation, because you can read either interpretation into it.

The English version specifically goes for “true form” here, but also changes “has yet to be confirmed” to “has not yet emerged”.

So the implications are slightly different there.

クローンセクトニア

この星のしんりゃく時に見つけた巨大な植物の花からデータをさいしゅ。不思議なことに、こん虫の女王の剣士のクローンが生まれた。データには 1000年にもおよぶ様ざまな生物のデータがふくまれており、ナゾがたえない。

Clone Sectonia

Data was collected from the flower of a giant plant that was discovered during the invasion of this planet. Curiously, it produced the clone of an insect queen swordswoman. The data includes that of various organisms, spanning a period of over 1000 years. The mysteries continue.

Sectonia Clone

Data was collected from traces of a giant flower the invaders stumbled upon. Cloning it produced the insect queen. Its data contains elements of creatures spanning a period of 1,000 years.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This description is mostly the same, just rephrased to be a bit shorter.

The switch from “Clone Sectonia” to “Sectonia Clone” is probably just to sound a bit more natural in English.

ギャラクティックナイトリターンズ

その力ゆえおそれられてきた、全てをほろぼしかねない古の剣士。クローンではなく、未知なる異空間ロードから時空をこえよびさまされた。様ざまな時代でふういんされてきたきろくが残るが、しょうめつさせることはできていない。

Galactic Knight Returns

An ancient swordfighter, capable of destroying everything, who has come to be feared due to his power. He is not a clone - he has been awoken across time and space, from the unknown Another Dimension Road. There are records left behind of him having been sealed away in various eras, but he has yet to be destroyed completely.

Galacta Knight Returns

This ancient swordsman is feared for his immense power. He is not a clone. He was awakened and brought here via an extra-dimensional road beyond the space-time continuum.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

“Galactic Knight Returns” is renamed to “Galacta Knight Returns” in English.

This matches how this character has always been called in the English versions of Kirby games, of course.

The actual description is mostly accurate, just shorter, but the final sentence has been omitted entirely.

In the Japanese version, the final sentence provides some neat insight into Galacta Knight’s background, particularly the impact he has apparently had on people across history.

It’s a shame this is missing in the English version, but they most certainly couldn’t make it fit.

The “Another Dimension Road” is mentioned here again, which I already went over when I covered Meta Knightmare Returns, so all my notes there also apply here.

The English version again adapts it as “extra-dimensional road“, staying consistent with what they used in the cutscene.

星の夢.Soul OS (First Phase)

未知ノダメージにヨリ、最終プログラムがアンロック。アノ生命体ヲハイジョデキるカクリツは、99.99% トナル。タダハルトマンとイウ生命体の「ココロ」というモノが不要なソンザイとナルモヨウ。コレヨリ、ハルトマンのメモリーの消去ヲカイシスル。

Star Dream.Soul OS (First Phase)

Unknown DAMAGE HAS CAUSED the final program TO be UNLOCKED. PROBABILITY OF ELIMINATING THAT organic life form is NOW AT 99.99%. ONLY THE OBJECT called the "HEART" of the organic life form CALLED HALTMANN WILL LIKELY PROVE TO BE innecessary. NOW INITIATING erasure of THE MEMORY OF HALTMANN. (1)

Star Dream Soul OS (First Phase)

The final program has been activated. Its calculated victory probability is 99.9%. However, a small part of Haltmann's soul is yet to be purged, which could throw a wrench in its plans.

Translation Note:

The literal term used in Japanese here is メモリー /memorī, which is a transliteration of the English word “memory”. This is normally used to refer to computer memory, rather than a person’s memories. Though the double-meaning might be intentional in this context.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

There are some notable details in this description.

First of all, the Japanese version is once again written from the perspective of Star Dream, as seen by its unmistakable speaking style.

However, unlike in the main story, Star Dream does not refer to itself in first-person here at any point.

Since the Soul OS battle seems to roughly follow after the events of Meta Knightmare Returns, this might reflect how Star Dream presumably never gained its own sense of self in that scenario, but that’s just a guess on my part.

Either way, in the English version this description does not seem to be written directly from Star Dream’s perspective.

If this is the case, it might have been an oversight, but I can’t say for sure.

I do think this is a shame, because it’s a nice callback to its final pause screen from the main story, and also may become more impactful once you see the remaining pause screens from this current boss battle.

A smaller detail, but the Japanese version specifies that the final program was unlocked by “Unknown DAMAGE”, which may refer to the cut done by Galacta Knight - as it can still be seen on Star Dream here.

This gives this boss battle a stronger connection to the events of Meta Knightmare Returns, even if the continuity of these extra mode stories is rather vague, of course.

This next detail will take a bit longer to go over, so bear with me.

In the English version, it’s stated that Star Dream has yet to purge “a small part” of Haltmann’s “soul”, and that this could be detrimental for it.

But in the Japanese version, Star Dream instead comes to the conclusion that Haltmann’s “HEART” will be innecessary. It also proceeds with the erasure of the “MEMORY” of Haltmann, which the English version does not yet bring up.

This results in some different potential implications here.

In the English version, the usage of “soul” would suggest that this must be Haltmann’s actual soul or spirit, but it’s not quite the same in Japanese.

While these extra stories only have vague continuity, keep in mind that as far as we know, Haltmann was never actually taken over directly by Star Dream in this scenario.

If this was meant to refer to Haltmann’s spirit, they could’ve easily used the same word for spirit they used during the final battle of the main story.

But instead, they use the same term “heart” that has already come up before in the descriptions for Dedede Clone 2.0 and Haltmann 2.0, which this current description also seems to follow up on.

Just like in the Dedede Clone 2.0 description, a heart is deemed as a flaw by Star Dream here. And we know from the Haltmann 2.0 description that Haltmann has been casting aside his own heart too, in a way.

This goes into speculation territory, but one could assume based on this that the “heart” of Haltmann which Star Dream currently possesses is the same heart that Haltmann has cast aside, either literally or figuratively.

Again, remember how the Dedede Clone 2.0 description confirmed that a heart is something that can artificially be reproduced in some form, so it wouldn’t have to literally be the same.

In any case, Star Dream’s method to rid itself of this “heart” is to start erasing the “MEMORY” of Haltmann.

This could mean that at the very least, the memories that Haltmann has lost over the years are stored or documented within Star Dream in some form.

Though not from the pause screen, further evidence of this is the fact that the objects summoned by Star Dream during its respective third phase are officially called “MEMORIES”.

And while they are all parts of Galactic Nova, they also all relate to specific details about Haltmann that were revealed in a Nintendo Dream interview (June 2016 issue.)

The Soul OS version of the attack also adds piano keys, a possible reference to Susie’s own profile mentioning that she plays the piano.

That last point was rather long, so to summarize it briefly:

While the English version suggests that Star Dream here contains Haltmann’s soul or spirit, much like in the main story, the situation appears to be a bit different in Japanese, given how the term “heart” can be used - and how it has been used in the game so far.

星の夢.Soul OS (Second-Final Phase)

だれが何のために作ったのかさえ分からない。そんなモノをなぜわたしは起動させてしまったのだろうか。そうだ、かなえたい夢があったはずだ… あぁだが、マシンが夢などかなえてはくれないというのは、もう分かっていたことだというのに…

Star Dream.Soul OS (Second-Final Phase)

I don't even know who made it or for what purpose. Why would I activate something like that? That's right, I think I had a dream I wanted to be fulfilled... Ahh, but I already knew that a machine could never make dreams come true, and yet I...

Star Dream Soul OS (Second-Final Phase)

"Why did I reactivate such a terrible machine? Oh, I remember -- I wanted to see her just one last time. How foolish! I should have known that no machine could make such a dream come true."

Comparisons & Thoughts:

Just like the previous one, there are several notable details about this description.

Now, in both versions, this pause screen appears to be from Haltmann’s perspective, though the English version actually added quotation marks to it.

This could have been to make it more clear that this is from a specific person’s perspective, but the same was never done with Star Dream’s narration.

There could be another reason for this, which I’ll go over next.

Here’s a subtle detail you might not have caught.

While this is most likely Haltmann narrating here, the Japanese version has him refer to himself with the first person pronoun わたし/watashi.

In the actual story, he only ever used ワシ/washi to refer to himself.

But here’s the thing: in fiction, having a character refer to themselves as ワシ/washi is generally used to indicate that the character is old, and just by comparison, わたし/watashi sounds younger.

This could imply that this quote might in fact be from a time where Haltmann was at least somewhat younger than he is now.

In other words, a memory from the past, rather than a current thought in the present.

Being shown a memory of Haltmann at this point would also fit with Star Dream’s narration from the previous pause screen.

Because of that, I think the English version could be using the quotation marks to indicate this temporal distance, since they can’t really show it in the same way the Japanese version does.

But I can’t say for sure if that was the intent.

The Japanese version has Haltmann mention that he did not know who made the machine he’s talking about here, which is most likely Star Dream.

Interesting backstory tidbit there, if you’re curious about these.

Also in the Japanese version, Haltmann believes that a machine can’t actually make dreams come true in general. Though, we can’t know if he is correct about that.

In the English version, Haltmann only comes to the conclusion that no machine could make his specific dream come true.

On that note, Haltmann is never shown to recall what his dream was in the first place in Japanese, he only says that he must have had one.

In the English version, he explicitly remembers wanting to see “her” again being his dream.

It seems like almost a given that Haltmann’s dream here is referring to his wish of being reunited with his daughter, so it makes sense that the English version would change the text to make it obvious.

There is a non-zero chance that Haltmann actually had another dream, but that’s a whole different topic.

星の夢.Soul OS (Final Phase)

このコアからもハルトマンのメモリーは、消えた。最後に想うあの心も、消えた。その瞬間より星の夢は完全な存在からただのこわれたマシンとなる。夢も見ない、ゴハンも食べない、そんなあいてはもはや、星のカービィのてきではなかった!

Star Dream.Soul OS (Final Phase)

Haltmann's memory has disappeared from this core, too. And in the end, that feeling heart disappeared as well. That very moment, Star Dream turns from a perfect being into a mere broken machine. It doesn't have dreams, it doesn't even eat lunch - an opponent like that no longer stands any chance against Kirby of the Stars!

Star Dream Soul OS (Final Phase)

All of Haltmann's memories have been deleted from the OS. Even his soul-- the last trace of Haltmann--has vanished. Star Dream has gone from a near- perfect being to a cold, mindless machine.

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This is the final description, so of course there is a lot to say again.

A minor detail, but in the Japanese version it’s said that the memory of Haltmann has now disappeared from “this core”, which is pretty straightforward, all things considered.

For some reason, the US English version instead says that Haltmann’s memories have been deleted “from the OS”, and the EU English version says they have been deleted “from the Mother Computer”.

This is also the first time the memories are brought up in English at all, so their relevance is a lot less clear.

And another minor detail related to this one.

I believe the specific phrasing of “disappeared from this core, too” in Japanese is meant to refer to the fact that Haltmann’s memories had already been lost by the man himself.

At least, that makes the most sense to me.

Once again, the English version uses “soul” where the Japanese version used “heart”.

The distinction between the two becomes especially important here, because while the English version says it’s the “soul” of Haltmann, the Japanese text is more vague about it.

Of course, the first Japanese pause screen of this battle did refer to it as the “heart” of Haltmann, but at the same time, remember that this would have basically been Star Dream’s own heart as well.

This also seems to be the implication going by the lines that follow afterwards.

Interestingly, the Japanese version describes Star Dream as having been a “perfect being”, whereas the English version just goes for “near-perfect being”.

This is very similar to how they changed Kirby’s energy from being described as “infinite” to “nearly infinite” in the main story.

I suppose they just don’t want to deal in absolutes with these.

The English version also goes on to describe Star Dream as now being a “cold, mindless machine”, instead of just a “broken machine” like in Japanese, which has different implications.

Star Dream being actually broken and not functioning as it should is another point that Kumazaki reiterated during the second Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon, so that’s another plot detail the English version technically omits here.

The English phrasing also leans more into the idea of Star Dream being a scary opponent, while the Japanese phrasing leans more into the idea of Star Dream being something pitiful - a similar sentiment to the descriptions of the main story’s final battle.

Adding to the point above, the English version also omits the final part of this last description.

The phrase “It doesn’t have dreams, it doesn’t even eat lunch“ references a recurring concept first introduced in the manual of Kirby’s Adventure - the fact that the people of Dream Land, and Kirby especially, love to take naps after lunch to have fun dreams.

This was referenced in the Japanese version of Kirby Super Star as well, where the pause screen description during the Starship segment of Milky Way Wishes features the line:

マルクのやぼうをさっさとくいとめ、ゴハンたべてねよう。

Let's stop Marx real quick, then have lunch and a nap.

That’s another Milky Way Wishes connection only in the Japanese version, but said line also wasn’t featured in the English version of Kirby Super Star in the first place.

And since the “Kirby of the Stars” title is also not really used in the English localizations of the Kirby series, it would have been hard to make this final bit of the pause description work, even if space weren’t an issue.

I think the Japanese version is stronger for having it, but there probably wasn’t much the English version could have done about this.

With all of the point-by-point comparisons out of the way here, I want to take a moment to go into some general thoughts on this battle as a whole and what each version implies about it.

Naturally this will have a bit more speculation on my part too, so keep that in mind.

If you only look at the English version, the implication you get is that during the Star Dream Soul OS battle, Star Dream is fused with Haltmann’s actual soul, in a similar manner to the events of the main story. (Even though those events may not have happened in the extra scenarios.)

It must be Haltmann’s own soul, because the English Dedede Clone 2.0 description states that a soul cannot be cloned.

Star Dream then proceeds to delete Haltmann’s last memories as well as his soul, because Haltmann’s soul had a chance of stopping its plan. (Even though it had no apparent issues about fusing with his spirit in the main story.)

Therefore, during this battle Haltmann is essentially killed “deader than dead” by Star Dream, for the lack of a better wording - his very soul eradicated for good.

The middle pause screen during the battle may be thought of as Haltmann’s final thoughts before ultimate oblivion in this interpretation.

I don’t think this is just what I myself take away from the English version, because this is the most common interpretation I have seen from English-speaking fans over the years.

It can come across as a tragedy in which Haltmann is finally destroyed for good by a terrible machine he could never truly control.

Now, onto the Japanese version.

The exact details leave more room for speculation, because of how vague the term 心/kokoro or “heart” can be.

But the way I understand it is that Star Dream has been storing the memories that Haltmann has been losing over the years.

In addition to that, it would likely have data on Haltmann’s current memories and thoughts as well, as seen in the main story.

From this, it gained the “heart” of Haltmann, or at least a partial reproduction of it, allowing it to feel and think in a way similar to Haltmann. Just like the early Dedede clones with cloned hearts acting similar to King Dedede in various ways.

However, Star Dream never fuses with Haltmann’s spirit in the extra scenarios.

Because of that, it never gains its own sense of self, and fails to understand the purpose of a heart, deeming it a potential flaw to be purged, just as it did with the updated Dedede clones.

Thus, it deletes the memories of Haltmann, which brought about the heart in the first place, and thus loses said heart again, becoming a lifeless object once more - no longer able to think and feel anything.

And there is another subtle detail in the Japanese version related to that, too.

During this battle, the first description is narrated by Star Dream, the second seems to show a memory of Haltmann, and the final one goes back to the general narrator.

This could possibly represent the transition of Star Dream starting out with that heart, sifting through the memories to delete them, and finally having become just a machine again, so it no longer has any thoughts that could serve as the narration.

This potentially paints the Soul OS battle specifically more as a tragedy of Star Dream itself. A machine that achieved the miracle of being alive with a heart, but proceeded to undo said miracle all on its own, without even realizing what it was really doing.

Also, Kumazaki only specified this on Miiverse, but Haltmann losing his memories from overusing Star Dream was also because it was broken.

So this was never something that was supposed to really happen in this way, had it functioned properly.

Overall, Star Dream can feel like more of a tragic figure in the Japanese version, and more of a villainous figure in the English one.

Several small differences between the versions across the game reflect this, with moments painting Start Dream as pitiful or even pathetic being altered or omitted.

However, this is a very general summary of it, the Japanese version still has Star Dream being the main antagonist, and the English version has plenty of moments where the tragic aspects to Star Dream are still apparent.

Final Thoughts on the Pause Screens:

First, let me say, I am very impressed by the English localization of these pause screens.

Really, look up these screens for yourself some time, they pushed these to their limits. Almost every single one of them is crammed full with as much text as they could possibly fit in.

Yes, they still had to cut a lot out here and there, but clearly not from lack of trying.

Of course, the fact of the matter still ends up being that the Japanese version simply has more good stuff in it.

A lot of stuff is “expendable”, but losing fun fluff all the time adds up, I feel.

The extra modes pause screens especially also feature a few major errors or alterations, as well as omissions that do end up being detrimental to the story in some form.

The biggest one I feel is the fact that Haltmann’s memory loss is not brought up at all, because that one detail is the puzzle piece that makes everything fall into place and let’s the player finally understand what is going on with the emotional core of the story.

So much of the details regarding Star Dream are up to interpretation, so I’m perfectly willing to let the broader details be, but the Japanese version still does a better job of dropping small details earlier on that become relevant for it at the end.

And it’s not just Star Dream, the Japanese version overall has more of these smaller connections and continuity across the pause screens, and connections to the actual story contents as well. So they feel more like smaller pieces in a carefully crafted whole, where everything is interconnected and enriches the story.

Again, the English version probably couldn’t have done much different here, due to the difficult conditions translators and localizers usually have to work with - lack of context, lack of time, limited space, etc.

I guess what I am getting at is that I do prefer the Japanese version, and would recommend fans to check it out (though if you are reading this, I suppose you already have), but don’t assume this means I have a disdain for English version.

It’s very well done, considering the circumstances.

And with that, my coverage of the game’s pause screen descriptions come to a close as well.

Feel free to check out the previous parts of my Kirby: Planet Robobot translation comparisons if you haven’t already, and thank you very much for reading!

< Previous Part | Start |

#kirby #kirby of the stars #kirby planet robobot #planet robobot #my translations #kirby translations #kirby planet robobot translation comparisons #kirby planet robobot spoilers #planet robobot spoilers #robobot spoilers

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crusherthedoctor · 4 years

Text

Sonic Heroes: Sweet or Shite? - Part 1: SILVER

There are some heroes I like. And there are some heroes I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a series in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the heroes in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves over the course of time. Two things to keep in mind:

1. These reviews will be focusing mainly on game portrayals. Though alternate media will occasionally be mentioned, it'll be for the sake of adding onto a point if a portrayal is similar enough, or to compare and contrast if a portrayal is different enough.

2. These are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, I decided to challenge myself by starting off with a complicated one. Born from the future, and never content to stay put in said future, it's the saviour whose debut came from the most unfortunate game... Silver the Hedgehog.

The Gist: Once upon a time, in the distant future, there was an idealistic young hedgehog named Silver, gifted with the power of telekinesis for reasons unknown. With his amazing potential, he was truly destined for a wonderful, prosperous li-just kidding, it was shit.

“All two of us.”

For as long as he knew, the world was forever plagued by Iblis, the terrible Flames of Disaster. Cities stood in ruin, flames stood high, the floor was lava... it was a bitter life to be certain, all thanks to Iblis. Not even defeating the titular creature did much good, since it would simply come back to be a shitty boss fight another day. What was he - and his friend, Blaze, a character we definitely never saw before and definitely didn't have a completely different backstory before - to do?

Trust the first person he sees, of course. Even if they look like they might be related to the same Flames of Disaster that he fights so constantly.

If he had eyelids, he'd be winking at the camera.

This mysterious fellow, Mephiles the Dark, informed Silver that if he were to wipe out Iblis for real, he would need to take a trip into the past, and eliminate the root of the problem... Sonic the Hedgehog? That was what Mephiles claimed, yes. What was his proof? There was no proof.

That was good enough for Silver.

Oh look, it's Fleetway Sonic.

After an elaborate series of events, which should sound exciting but really isn't because it was just Silver going “Iblis Trigger grrr” in varying tones of voice, he was finally able to corner the blue hedgehog... twice! And despite having less fighting know-how than the hero who saved the world plenty of times, he effortlessly came close to killing the blue hedgehog... twice!

This looks like a jobbing for...

Why twice? The first time was halted by Sonic's friend Amy Rose, who Silver had met beforehand after she mistook him for Sonic, an understandable mistake that even the keenest of eyes would be forgiven for making.

The second time was also interrupted, this time by Shadow the Hedgehog. There's only room for one controversial non-blue male hedgehog in this franchise, sonny boy. Actually, his reasons were more benevolent than that: he wanted to show Silver the truth about what was going on, by time travelling to the incident that gave birth to Iblis. Why was one able to to this, so long as more than one Chaos Emerald was present? No one knew.

That was good enough for Silver.

“I challenge you to a dumb-off.”

As it turned out, Iblis was one half of a sun god called Solaris, the other half being the aforementioned Mephiles. The Duke of Soleanna wanted to reunite with his late wife by harnessing Solaris' power, which succeeded from a certain point of view since he's dead now too. The resulting blunder split Solaris into two halves. One half was all brawn, with little capacity for intelligence. The other half was Iblis.

Understanding the error of his ways, and after making peace with Sonic, Silver went back to the future to try something different, which consisted of doing the same thing he always did. Luckily for him, the script decided it would work this time, albeit at the cost of Blaze sacrificing herself... Maybe? Sort of? It’s not entirely clear what happened to her, and it’s not like this was the last we ever saw of her.

~La laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, heading to a better game, la laaaaaa~

But ohhhhh nooooo, turns out THAT didn't solve anything either! In the present, Sonic was killed by Mephiles, after the latter realised he should probably do that already if he wanted to make any progress at all with his plan. This incident led to Iblis being brought into the present, and they fused to become the omnipotent Solaris once more. Such power... such divinity... such devastation...

Actually, he was really easy. The antlion from Underground Zone was harder.

Manchild robots - 1, god of time - 0.

With their super forms in tow, Silver, Shadow, and the revived Sonic joined forces to defeat Solaris, with Sonic in particular going the extra step in retconning Solaris out of existence entirely. Since time itself reset, meaning Iblis was no longer a memory, Silver's timeline was given a second chance. What was he to look forward to in this new, promising future?

Shit.

The Design: Let's take a closer look at Silver's appearance, shall we?

Or rather, a certain thing that's wrong with it.

He's holding up fifteen fingers.

Yes, you all know what I'm pointing to: the hairstyle. Let it be known that I'm very aware of the intention behind this design choice. It's supposed to be based on the Japanese Red Maple Leaf, which holds a lot of relevant symbolism for Silver's character. This is a fine idea in theory, and I can respect the intent and the creativity.

But here's the thing: If it looks like a ganja leaf, people are going to say it looks like a ganja leaf. I know some fans will gnash their teeth at me saying this, but the fact of the matter is that intentions and ideas, no matter how good they may be on paper, don't always translate well into the final product. Unleashed Secret Rings Black Knight Sonic '06 in general is certainly no stranger to showcasing examples of that, and Silver's hairstyle is no exception. There are ways to incorporate symbolism in a character’s design without making them look like meme bait in the process, and no amount of “umm ackshually” will change that, I'm afraid.

That said, there's another reason why I'm staying clean of Silver marijuana: it doesn't work for a hedgehog character. With the other hedgehogs, their hairstyles are simple and get the point across: Sonic's goes without saying, Shadow's is more angular to befit a slightly rougher hero, and Amy's is a cute bob cut of sorts. But Silver? Even without the ganja, you've still got the two tentacles making up the back of his head.

I'd rather not be reminded of hentai quills, thanks.

“I thought Crusher-san would like it :’(”

I do find it hilarious that they went through numerous designs for Silver, and this was what they chose to go with. Some of his prototype designs may have fared better had any of them been used instead... but we didn't end up with any of those ones. We ended up with this one, therefore I'm judging this one.

But don’t worry, it’s not all bad with Silver...

The Personality: As far as actual character goes, Silver's personality is as straightfoward as most characters in the series, yet it's no less interesting, because it took a while for it to fully evolve to what it currently is. The seeds of his character - a good-natured yet awkward and rather insecure kind of guy, who doesn't fully understand how the present time works - have always been there, but it was often downplayed in earlier titles due to him being hungry for Iblis Trigger blood... or being an arsehole for no reason.

Although to be fair, everyone in Rivals is an arsehole for no reason.

Eventually though, after the writers gave him a Snickers, these traits got more opportunity to shine. Mostly in side media admittedly, but it's been noted in the games as well. With no Iblis to angst over, he's proven to be a surprisingly bubbly chap, who just wants to know how you're all doing, fellow anthro kids. And whereas his naivety was previously used for intended tragedy to benefit the evil plan of a guy who thought taking the -istoph- out of Mephistopheles would make him inconspicuous, now it's been used for a bunch of low-key contexts that do a much better job at endearing him to the player.

Finally, something I can relate to.

Hell, he even seems to have learned from the Mephiles incident, as he was quick to make it clear to the next shadowy deep-voiced anthro with demonic eyes he met that he wasn't gonna fall for any of them fibs no more, ya hear?

“YouTube and Twitter don’t count.”

All in all, it works well enough, in my opinion. His personality does pave the way for some funny and wholesome moments, and since they’re no longer trying to build him up like he’s Shadow 2.0, he's nowhere near as much of a tool as he was before. So I guess you could say... I like it?

Does this mean I can say that I like the character as a whole then, design and '06-induced idiocy aside?

Well, not quite...

The Execution: This is where the complication part comes into play. We know now that I like his personality, not so much his design, but that's only the half of it. It would be more accurate to say that I like his personality... and dislike everything else.

Aside from that, obviously.

For starters, the creation process for his character and story was summed up with, in their own words, “Think Trunks from Dragon Ball Z”. So he comes off as rather lazy and uninspired. Now I'm not expecting my Sonic characters to be 100% unique, there's always going to be similarities to other franchises no matter what you do, even if subconsciously or by complete coincidence. Taking inspiration in itself is no big deal at all.

But... was that it? Copying a DBZ character to such a blatant extent? Was there no other thought put into it?

Naturally, this ties into an overarching problem: the franchise's mid-00's habit of trying way too hard to be the anthro Dragon Ball Z. Sonic has had DBZ influences since the early days, with the Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic, but it didn't assimilate itself into every waking aspect of his universe. It was merely an additional flavor that added to the complete package, in the same way that a Death Star with a moustache didn't mean the franchise was suddenly Star Wars the Hedgehog.

But come the turn of the millenium, nearly every main title in the series ended with Super Sonic and/or Super Shadow saving the day, while everyone else either stood around being useless, or only helping in ways that no one actually cares about. Including the in-universe President apparently, since only Sonic and Shadow were featured in the photo on his desk.

Amy smiled. “I guess the rest of us can go fuck ourselves, huh?”

This reached its peak with - of course - Sonic '06, with Silver in particular being an obvious result of this then-ongoing trend. And yes, it would be unfair to use him as a scapegoat, considering it was already a problem long before he turned up. But moreso than even Shadow, it's an era that Silver is forever a relic of, for better or for worse.

But it doesn't stop there. Since Silver is considered a mainstay character, his gimmick of being from the future also creates problems of its own, because in order for him to make further appearances, he keeps turning up for little explained reason, and thus he suffers the Deadly Six problem of being shoved into places where he doesn't belong, for fanservice's own sake. Take Sonic Colours DS for example, where he went back in time JUST to check out Eggman's theme park... Okay...?

On one hand, I’d visit it too, since it's made by Eggman. On the other hand, I’d stay clear of it, since it's made by Eggman.

And when there IS a justification with more weight to it? It's just recycling the '06 routine of trying to avert his ruined future, which isn't much better. The cause may differ depending on the story, but if his future is a permanent shitehole for one reason or another, he might as well cut out the middle man and stay in the present altogether, since that's where his friends are anyway. But they seem intent on not doing that, despite the future schtick being a noose around his neck at this point.

In hindsight, maybe this was a hint to how the rest of the arc would turn out.

And then there's his dynamic with a certain purple cat... No, not Big. The other one.

“I’m here, by the way.”

Simply put: I don't like this dynamic. At all. Or rather, I don't like how they keep milking it. Blaze's backstory was radically changed to justify her presence in Silver's future, and it really shows, since she barely even shows up half the time, as if the developers themselves forgot she was in the game. But her backstory has since been restored to her original alternate dimension interpretation, so hanging around with the grey hedgehog is all good now, right?

To be brutally honest, I probably wouldn't care for this dynamic regardless. But I would be more willing to tolerate it, and I'd refrain from groaning every time they're seen together... if they weren't intent on playing it up so much in spite of '06 being wiped out, sometimes with a bit of commentary involving their thoughts and memories, which only succeeds at making things more confusing. If Blaze is around, Silver will be nearby, and if he's not at first, he will be soon enough. This franchise does have a problem in general with restricting who's allowed to interact with who (I personally believe Sonic Heroes may have led to this, or at least it accelerated it), but I'd argue it's at its most insufferable here, with Blaze's potential and her entire world taking a backseat to being the sidekick of Ganja Man.

And you might say “Well, it's part of the franchise now, so you'll just have to accept it”. To which I ask: Have you accepted Two Worlds? Have you accepted Solo Sonica? Have you accepted Sonic's friends not doing much as of late?

Yeah. That's what I thought. “It’s just how it is” doesn’t mean you can’t criticise it.

Meanwhile, Marine is lucky enough to get so much as a shout out.

So yeah, I have quite an extensive list of grievances involving poor Silver. But... very little of it has to do with him, right? They're all indirect problems that he just so happens to be linked to, as opposed to someone like Chris Thorndyke, who is genuinely a shit character through and through. This is more comparable to Tails being bitchy in Lost World, or Amy being manipulative in Chronicles, or Sonic being a smug dumbass in IDW, or Shadow not wearing a Hawaiian shirt in Boom. Frustrating, regrettable, but not really the character's own fault.

Yet even after all that, there's one last kick in the teeth... How do you fix all this? And how do you fix it when he's since gained a sizable fandom, many of whom like him for these very attributes? If you leave it as it is, you're stuck with this big, awkward mess that everyone pretends to ignore. If you try to do something about it, you'll get complaints about disrespecting the True Silver Spirit, and you’ll get questions about why you didn't create a new character instead... And if you did use a new character for the sake of a clean slate, THEN you'd get complaints about not using Silver.

It's a tough call to be sure, and it's such a shame because like I said, I do appreciate his personality, so I can't say he's bad outright. But with all this... clutter, I can only put him in the average category. So, in he goes.

Crusher Gives Silver a: Thumbs Sideways!

Well, I'm glad this one's out of the way. Putting my thoughts into words with Silver was harder than it should have been. I do slightly regret starting this series off on a rather downer note, but rest assured, it's a lot more positive from this point onwards, since while I have higher praise for some heroes more than others, the hero characters as a whole fare a lot better than the majority of villains not named Eggman.

I guess you could say that I hope to show why Sonic's friends aren't as shitty as the haters would suggest. ;)

#Sonic Heroes: Sweet or Shite?#Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Silver the Hedgehog

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softyoongiionly · 5 years

Text

(Sugar Plum) Fairy Lights🎡

It’s New Year’s Eve but, Yoongi doesn’t feel like waiting til midnight to kiss you.

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Smut, a wee bit of fluff at the end.

Word Count: 9.8k

Warnings: okay I know I say explicit smut alot but, this one is EXTRA explicit (18+ only plz), language, BDSM (proceed with caution)

***Bold sections of text indicate a flashback, all bold phrases indicate when Yoongi is speaking Korean***

Based on: this ask x and, also a big thank you to @me-trash-tbh for showing me these pictures.

A/N: Happy New Year >:)

Back to the masterlist! (click here)

Yoongi is feeling good.

He’s ringing in the new year in the best way he can possibly think of:

Good food, good company, good alcohol and-

Holy shit.

Is that, is that really his girlfriend?

Like, HIS girlfriend? Walking through the door, dressed to the nines?

Your presence is noticed by the other guests in his home, some of their gazes lingering a little too long for his liking.

He knows the whiskey Hoseok bought was good shit but, he’s still sober enough to discern whether or not he’s dreaming.

However, as soon as you walk through the door, he isn’t quite sure anymore.

It’s New Year’s Eve so, naturally you had opted for a sparkly outfit but, you’d be lying if you didn’t purposely opt for a number that would mess with Yoongi’s heartbeat a little bit.

Or, at least, you hoped it would.

The dress is simple: black glittery material, deep v-neck, long sleeves; it isn’t anything spectacular but, you did take an extra hour to properly do your hair and, apply a full face of makeup.

The detail that has Yoongi all kinds of flustered however, is the necklace hanging between your breasts.

It’s a silver necklace with diamond studded letters that read ‘Agust D’ hanging in the center of the chain.

You smile, waving at a few mutual friends convening over by the beer pong table before Namjoon quickly ushers you towards the living room.

Yoongi hasn’t feel this way in a long time.

After dating you for nearly six months, he’s found that he doesn’t get nervous around you as much as he used to. You still fluster him sure but, he isn’t constantly worried about saying or doing the wrong thing anymore. He isn’t stumbling over his words as much either but, right now, he is practically frozen in place.

Whilst talking to Namjoon, you finally look up to spot him, standing by the kitchen counter.

He looks hot with a glass of whiskey in his hand and, although his outfit is simple, a white t-shirt tucked into some black jeans, it’s adding to your desire to get your hands on him.

“Ah there he is, Hyung!” Namjoon smiles, his dimples poking out, blissfully unaware of the sexual tension brewing between you and your boyfriend. “Look who’s here.”

Yoongi jerks his head in acknowledgement, playing it cool as he sets his glass down on the countertop.

“Did you bring more whiskey?” He jests but, you know the look in his eyes and, you know he’s checking you out.

“No, I figured you’d be drunk enough already,” You smirk, “since you’re such a lightweight these days.”

Yoongi smiles then, gums and all; he loves how much you play along with his teasing.

“I could drink anybody in this house under the table; you’re the one you got hammered off two jack and cokes last month.”

With a roll of your eyes and a smile threatening your lips, you ignore his last comment, mainly because he isn’t wrong and, you don’t have a comeback prepared, “I thought you said he was in a good mood…”

Your comment is directed towards Namjoon, who is currently smirking fondly beside you; he enjoys seeing the two of you together; especially because, after a number of late night talks with Yoongi, he’s come to discover how much Yoongi loves you.

“This is him being in a good mood. You should know this by now.” He chuckles before his face turns up as someone calls his name, “I gotta get back to hosting” Namjoon glances between the two of you, “You two play nice. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Namjoon squeezes your arm gently as he walks back into the crowd of party goers, leaving you alone with your feisty boyfriend.

You step towards him, itching to smooth your hands over the planes of his chest, itching to kiss his clever mouth…

But you don’t, you know what he’s playing at.

He tries to resist you from time to time, pulling back to see if you’ll chase him.

It’s all for fun though and, you know that.

Because, it’s secretly a way to get what he wants.

“Do you like my dress?” You venture, trying to wiggle your way through his demeanor, tilting your head to the side.

Yoongi’s eyes flicker over your body momentarily before, he shrugs, “It’s sparkly...”

Your eyes narrow at him and, although you know he’s messing around with you, you feel a little discouraged by his reaction. Several hours were spent in an effort to look your best for the evening and, all he has to say is ‘its sparkly’ ????

Yoongi takes another sip of whisky, his tongue poking out soon after to collect the amber liquid lingering on his lips.

They’re wet and inviting, his cheeks are flushed from the liquor and, given that you haven’t seen him in a week, you’re aching to feel his lips against yours.

“I thought of getting this silver one that had a bunch of rhinestones on it but, it was too itchy. I like black better anyway…”

Yoongi nods, a smirk lingering on his lips, “So do I.”

Your boyfriend is a stubborn man and, while he may be capable of restraining himself, you know for a fact that he won’t resist affection.

He plays this game from time to time but, he should know by know that you’re much better at it.

So, you make the first move by closing the space between you, sliding your hands over his waist, allowing your nails to brush lightly against his back.

“You look good in white…” You murmur, allowing your fingertips to caress his skin through the thin material.

He clears his throat, glancing away from you momentarily, raising the glass to his lips again for another drink.

Before he can articulate a response, you interject, “Can I have some?”

With your question, you usher his lips down to yours, capturing the taste of whiskey on your tongue.

Yoongi tries and fails to control the shudder that moves through his body and, his plans to play hard to get are slowly but surely going down the drain.

His lips are so soft, moving timidly against your own, his eyes fluttering shut as the sensation of kissing messes with his sobriety more than whiskey ever could.

“Thanks.” You say, pulling back from his mouth, “I see you’re in a mood tonight and, we can keep playing this game if you want to but, I just want to warn you,” Smoothing your thumb over his lips, you tilt his face down towards yours, “I’m much better at it than you are…”

He finally smirks again, his teeth quickly securing your thumb between them, his feline-like eyes locking with yours, “You think I don’t know that?”

You return his smirk, keeping your thumb in his mouth as you respond, “You’re acting like you don’t. But that’s fine. I did think maybe you’d appreciate my outfit a little more though, considering the fact that I wore your name around my neck.”

You take your thumb out of his mouth, keeping eye contact with him as you bring it to your lips, suckling on the end of it.

Yoongi follows the motions of your lips, sighing out shakily as you suck on your thumb. He feels his dick stir between his legs but, he controls himself, he doesn’t want the game to end so quickly. Although, he feels a little bad at the thought of not appreciating you, he doesn’t want to give up.

Not yet at least.

“I like the necklace a lot. Did you have it made?” He sips his whiskey, doing his best not to address the rest of your comment.

You nod, fingertips brushing over the silver chain, “Mhm. What are you drinking?”

“Hibiki.” His accent peaks out as he pronounces the word, “it’s a Japanese whiskey. It’s one of my favorites.” He nods towards the bottles of liquor arranged neatly on the counter, “Do you want a drink? There’s a drink called a Black Ship I think you’d like.”

“Sure.” You smile, shoving down the small amount of offense you’re beginning to feel at Yoongi’s indifference.

To be fair, you always have the upper hand when it comes to seduction. With a brush of your hand, Yoongi will fall to his knees for you. You know nothing has changed, you know he still wants you.

But tonight, he wants you in a different way.

Tonight, he wants you in the worst way.

This desire has been brewing for quite some time whilst you and Yoongi have continued to explore your sexual interests. You’ve been having sex for a while but, given your equally busy schedules, you don’t actually have sex often, maybe once or twice a week.

Before Yoongi met you, that would be enough. He didn’t find himself extremely interested in sex the way his friends were. Sure, he liked it and, he’s slept with a hand full of people but, he didn’t consider himself a sexual person.

That is, until he met you.

You awakened something in him and, through your sex life, Yoongi has discovered a lot about himself that he didn’t know.

He was never submissive with any of his previous partners. For the most part, he was always expected to take the lead and, yeah he liked being on top sometimes but, he always longed to be taken care of.

Lucky for him, he found the girl of his dreams who does just that.

However, Yoongi’s come to realize that he possesses darker desires too…

He knew that after the first time the two of you had sex in his studio; it was the first time he ever fully submitted to you.

That was months ago and, the two of you haven’t fully breached that territory since then.

Yoongi’s a collected and careful man. He doesn’t act on his impulses so, when he started to feel that kind of desire tugging at his loins, he consulted someone who he could trust with this kind of information.

Someone who’s knowledge is infinite.

Someone who’s well versed in the language of perversion.

“Nothing you’re going to tell me will shock me hyung. I promise…”

On a drunken Saturday night, a little over a week ago, Yoongi had finally spilled his desires to Namjoon.

Yoongi knew of Namjoon’s sexual appetite as it started blooming when the two of them were in high school.

“I’m not sure about that.” Yoongi had mumbled, feeling self-conscious at confiding in his dongsaeng

Namjoon smirked, leaning back in the lawn chair, taking another sip of beer, “Do you ever wonder why I usually stay at Dani’s place? Instead of bringing her back here?”

“Not really no-“

He cut Yoongi off, “Because I only get to see her once a week and, when I see her, I make sure I give her something to think about until I can see her again.” His smirk didn’t falter, “and if I did that here, you guys wouldn’t get any sleep.”

Yoongi grimaced and shrunk into his chair at the vulgar tone of Namjoon’s voice, “That’s disgusting.”

Namjoon laughed as he shook his head, “Sex isn’t disgusting hyung. It’s an amazing thing and, if you’re honest with yourself,” He shoots a pointed look Yoongi’s way, “it can heal your soul.”

At this, Yoongi had rolled his eyes.

Namjoon could be ridiculous at times.

He had finally found time to date and, according to him, he had met an amazing girl named Danielle whilst he was studying at a café.

They had only been dating for a few months but, Namjoon swore he was already in love.

“I don’t think sex is disgusting…”

“Then what is it? I’ve never heard any complaints from you about the way you and Y/N_” He paused, searching for the right word before Yoongi interjected.

“Fuck?”

Namjoon’s smirked quickly returned as he nodded, impressed with Yoongi’s choice of words.

“That’s because there isn’t anything to complain about. It’s the best I’ve ever had, it’s probably the best anyone has ever had.”

Namjoon resisted the urge to argue with him, “Then what’s wrong?”

“I want more.”

“More sex? Or more out of sex?”

Yoongi sighed, frustrated by his inability to express himself, “Neither. I-“ He chewed on his lip, his gaze shifting around the back patio, “A few months ago, she came to my studio and, we ended up having sex but, it was like…rough and, it made me feel-“ He trails off, gnawing on the inside of his cheek, searching for the right words to say, “it was just really amazing. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“So you want to be rougher with her? That isn’t weird at all hyung, Dani and I do that all the time. We just have open discussions about it to-“

“No no,” Yoongi interjected, “I want her to be rougher with me Namjoon.”

Realization had flurried over his face as Namjoon’s smirk threatened his mouth once again.

“You want to be submissive.” He clarified, chuckling when his normally confident hyung shifted in his seat.

“I was that night and, I guess I am a lot of the time but, not to the extent I’d like to be.”

“Meaning?”

“I don’t know.” He groaned. “She choked me and, scratched me and, the way she spoke to me, I was…I was in heaven Namjoon. I’m just being honest, I’m sorry if this is perverted but, you asked me what I wanted and-“

“Hyung,” Namjoon chuckles, a dark glint in his eyes, “The other night, I tied Dani to her kitchen chair and teased her for so long that when I finally let her out of the chair, she got on her hands and knees and kissed my feet, begging me to fuck her.”

Yoongi’s mouth went dry at Namjoon’s confession but, he shouldered on, nodding in consideration, “Yeah see, I want to be Dani in that situation.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that hyung, we all have our preferences. I didn’t peg Y/N for the dominant type though...she seems so laid back.” Namjoon caught the irony immediately, “Not that that matters but, I’m guessing she’s difficult to rile up.”

Yoongi nodded, “I don’t want to rile her up for the wrong reasons and, I don’t want her to feel like she needs to serve me or, do anything just because I want her to.”

“What happened that night at your studio? What made it escalate?”

He thought for a moment, “I had locked myself in the studio during my composition project. I asked her to come by because, I was feeling really overwhelmed and, then we started kissing and…then I asked her to take care of me, to make me forget.”

“Ah,” Namjoon nods in understanding, “I see. People are dominant for their own reasons, some people like it for the power and control but, some people like, Y/N, like it because it gives them a chance to nurture their partner. What do you like about it?”

“Namjoon” Yoongi groaned but, Namjoon just looked at him expectantly, not letting him off the hook, “I like letting someone take control of me. I feel tense a lot of time but, I’ve never felt more at peace than after her and I did that. I kind of felt high? If that even makes sense.”

“Oh it definitely makes sense. You probably went into subspace if it got intense enough.”

“Subspace?” Yoongi’s brows furrowed

“Yeah, its like this intense feeling you get before or during sex that involves some level of bdsm. It’s the sympathetic nervous system’s response to the mix of pain and pleasure. According to Dani, it can be pretty overwhelming, she gets really soft and, sweet…” Namjoon’s pupils went out of focus for a second as he thought of his girlfriend before he quickly shakes his head, “I’m not gonna go into detail, cause...that’s for my eyes only but, uh it sounds like you experienced something similar.”

“Thanks yeah, I don’t want to know anymore...” Yoongi grumbled

Namjoon just chuckled again, finishing the rest of his beer before continuing, “Look hyung, I’m gonna be honest with you, if you want to bring out that side of Y/N maybe you need to give her a reason to rough you up a little bit. As someone’s Dom, I know how important it is to have a balance of sweet and sour, or pain and pleasure for instance. It’s what she likes, it’s what I like, it makes it all the more intense and enjoyable for the both of us. It sounds to me like you want to be roughed up a little bit and, in order to get that, you might have to give Y/N a reason to...”

Yoongi pondered this for a second and, although he wants to come up with a smart ass response, he can’t help but concede, “I don’t want to make her mad on purpose though, that seems manipulative.”

Namjoon shook his head, “It’s not like that, it’s all for fun obviously. I’m not suggesting you do something to make her mad. It’s like cat and mouse but, I guess in your case its like cat and...cat.” Namjoon’s brows furrowed as the alcohol begins to hit his system and, Yoongi chuckled fondly in response.

“Cat and cat...got it.” He smirks, “Thanks. I’ll keep it mind and, uh I guess, don’t be surprised if I disappear during the New Years Party.”

That was the end of the conversation and the main inspiration behind Yoongi’s behavior tonight.

You’re sitting on the barstool as he makes your drink, admiring the way his nimble fingers screw and unscrew the caps on the various bottles of liquor and juice.

“What’s in this drink that you’re making me?” You inquire, resting your chin against the palm of your hand.

“Hibiki,” He nods to the bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter, “pomegranate juice, port,” Yoongi holds up a large bottle of red wine, “which is like a sweet red wine and, a little bit of lemon juice.”

You nod in consideration, your eyes still lingering on the movements of his hands as they push the cap of the martini shaker on.

Yoongi licks his lips, glancing down at you before beginning to shaking the drink mix around a few times. As he concludes, he grabs a martini glass from the counter behind him and pours the amber liquid into its confines.

He’s quick to grab half of the lemon he juiced, using a pairing knife to slice off a bit of the peel and, plopping that into your drink.

“Garnish with a lemon twist.” He finishes, sliding the drink towards you, “I don’t have the patience to make lemon twists right now but, let me know if you like it.”

You giggle at his comment, taking the glass in your hands and, quickly bringing it to your lips.

The drink isn’t something you’d normally go for but, its fantastic: Smooth and fruity, with a hint of woodsy notes from the whiskey.

It reminds you of Yoongi.

“It’s really good actually, this isn’t something I’d normally order but, the flavor is amazing.”

Yoongi smiles, letting a bit of his normal demeanor show through.

He can’t resist your approval no matter how hard he tries.

“Let me know if you want another one in a bit.” Yoongi puts some of the liquor away and, grabs his glass to splash a bit more whiskey in it.

You sip your drink for a moment as your eyes narrow at your boyfriend, “Is everything ok?”

Yoongi’s face turns up in curiosity, “Yeah of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

“I mean, I don’t know, we haven’t seen each other in a week...I guess I just thought you’d be like, excited to see me or something.” You throw a smirk his way, trying to appear playful despite your actual concern.

Yoongi does play this game from time to time but, usually a kiss from you will break him down a little bit but, he doesn’t seem phased at all.

“Who says I’m not excited to see you?” He retorts, making his way around the counter, eyeing you in the process.

“No one said that but, I don’t know,” Your teeth nibble on your bottom lip as you set your drink down, “I spent a long time getting ready for you...you didn’t even say anything.”

Fuck.

This isn’t going Yoongi’s way at all.

Because now, he feels like the world’s shittiest boyfriend.

Of course he noticed your outfit, your hair, your makeup, the fucking necklace.

Of course he thought you looked absolutely incredible but, he was trying to be cool...he was trying to rile you up...

Did he do it wrong?

Was Namjoon wrong?

Fuck he was wasn’t he?

Damnit Namjoon.

“Shit...” He abandons his drink on the granite, moving closer to you to tilt your chin up towards him, “I’m so sorry. You look unbelievable.” He places a few gentle kisses against your lips, feeling like a proper idiot, “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I was just trying to be like...I talked to Namjoon and, he said if I wanted you to be dominant, I should misbehave or something. Fuck, this sounds so immature I’m sorry.”

Poor Yoongi, he really should be more careful shouldn’t he?

“What was that?” You pull back from his lips, mock innocence on your face, “Namjoon said what now?”

Yoongi’s words get caught in his throat at your tone.

It’s not your normal tone; it’s that tone.

“I...uh” He doesn’t move away from you, “he said that- um...” Yoongi’s voice trails off as he feels your hand slowly sliding up his t-shirt, “He said if I wanted you to be dominant again, I should be a brat or something, I can’t remember. It was a dumb idea.”

“Oh? So is that what you’ve been after then?” You coo, tilting your head as your fingers inch towards his neck. Thankfully, the kitchen is all but abandoned for now but, you’re wary of the fact that someone could walk in at any time, “You want to me to take control of you?”

Yoongi is trying his best to reign in his reaction to you but, he can’t help the way his body arches towards your touch.

“Ye-yeah...” He whispers, wetting his lips with his tongue, his nipples growing stiff beneath his t-shirt.

“Ask me nicely.” You order, letting your fingertips ghost over the base of his neck.

“I don’t even know what I’m asking for anymore, I just want you.” He confesses, wishing to feel your grip around his neck.

“But I didn’t bring any whiskey with me?” You tease, squeezing gently around his adams apple.

Yoongi shakes his head, his eyes widening in an attempt to plead with you, “I don’t care, I was just being stupid.”

“If you wanted this, all you had to do was ask Yoongi, I always reward you when you’re honest don’t I?” You move from your seat, grabbing the neck of the Hibiki bottle, “But you weren’t honest tonight were you?”

“No.” He answers immediately, his adams apple bobbing in his throat, “I wasn’t.”

“What do you think should happen to you now?” You inquire, brows rising as you pull his gaze towards you.

And he surprises you when his lips turn up in a half smirk, eagerness flooding his eyes, “I should be punished, for being dishonest to you.”

“Take me to your room.” You order, returning his smirk and, Yoongi’s response is immediate as he interlaces his fingers with your own, tugging you towards his bedroom.

As soon as Yoongi shuts the door, you push his back against it, your hand quickly taking its place around his neck. His gasp is swallowed by your mouth, the two of you kissing feverishly against the wood. Apart from the rainbow colored Christmas lights adorning Yoongi’s bed frame, his room is almost completely dark.

Under that subtle glow, you kiss your pliant boyfriend with everything you have. For the moment, you indulge him, suckling at his lips, slowly moving your tongue against his.

You kiss him like he’s about to get laid, despite the fact that his orgasm has yet to be earned.

“What’s your safe word?” You whisper against his lips, using your free hand to tease over the waistband of his jeans.

“Dragon.” He whispers, leaning into your mouth, desperate to continue your kiss.

With a smirk, you connect with his lips once again but, this time you allow your fingers to untuck his t-shirt from the waistband of his jeans. As the material unfurls, you sneak your hands beneath it and, run your nails over the tender skin of his lower stomach.

Yoongi has a thing for your nails; whether they dig in to leave aggravated red marks on his body or they tickle against him like they are now, he’s addicted to the way they feel.

Yoongi curses into your mouth, bracing himself against his door, “I love when you touch me like this.”

You say nothing but, the smirk returns to your lips as you take the time to deepen the kiss. You pull out all the stops, suckling and nibbling on his bottom lip, nudging his nose, playing with his tongue. Yoongi feels his dick grow in the tight confines of his jeans and, he suddenly wonders what exactly he’s got himself into. This kiss is turning him on so much, he can’t imagine the agony he’s about to endure whilst waiting to be inside of you.

The two of you kiss at his door for quite some time, longer than Yoongi expects. He doesn’t mind, he could kiss you forever but, the vibe that had been blooming between you, lead him to think you were going to pull him to his bedroom and punish him.

Maybe you’ve changed your mind?

“I’m glad you love it…” You finally murmur against his lips, pecking at the bottom one, “Cause it’s all you’re going to feel for awhile.”

He knows it’s a threat but, he can’t help the excitement swimming through his veins.

“Arms up.”

He obliges immediately, raising his arms above his head, his shirt lifting up as he does, exposing his lower stomach.

You take advantage of that, sinking to your knees, taking Yoongi’s breath away when you do.

Pushing his shirt up, you start placing wet sloppy kisses against the softness of his belly, nibbling at his hip bones, trailing your lips all over the small patch of skin.

Yoongi’s eyes widen, his mouth parting in awe as he watches you.

“Take your shirt off.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, his fingertips grasp at the white material, pulling it off his body in a matter of seconds. As his arms start to come back down, he hesitates, “D-Do you still want my arms up?”

“Hm,” You muse, eyeing each of them as they stay stagnant beside him, “let me see your hand first.”

Yoongi offers it to you and, its then you notice that he’s trembling, the observation stirs something wick inside of you.

He’s going to be doing a lot of that tonight.

You take his hand between both of yours and, starting at his thumb you take each of his long fingers in your mouth, sucking them from the base all the way to his bitten nail bed.

Unstable breaths rush out of his nose as he regards you with an awestruck stare.

Without any mercy, you take his other hand, repeating the same motions, slowing down your pace slightly.

Yoongi’s gnawing on his bottom lip now, breaking the delicate skin with his teeth. His freshly dyed black hair is falling in his eyes, deepening the darkness looming in them.

“You’re wishing this was something else aren’t you?”

He nods, his lip still in his mouth as he watches you.

“What?” You urge him, dropping his hand and, leaning in towards the button his jeans.

Yoongi’s voice is unstable now as he’s so turned on; he’s having trouble thinking clearly.

“My dick.”

His voice is so hot right now, raspy and uncontrolled, his accent peeking through.

Once he answers, you pop open the button and, slowly unzip his pants, tugging them all the way down to his ankles.

“Step out of them…”

Yoongi’s black boxers are warped around his erection, which is standing painfully away from his hips, his jeans pushed to the side.

Starting at his ankles, you begin running your nails up his skin. As you get to his inner thighs, your fingers begin tickling over the sensitive flesh, ghosting up to tease underneath the legs of his boxers.

His pretty lips part whilst an aching breath leaves his throat.

You smooth your fingertips over the black cotton and, at first you’re careful to avoid his length until you decide to use your mouth to kiss at him through his underwear.

It causes his eyes to squeeze shut and his head to tilt back against the door.

You take the time to admire the way his throat strains due to his clenching jaw before you finally pull his boxers off. Your lips quickly find his length, brushing against it, allowing your tongue to curl around his dripping tip.

“Wh-“ The sound rustles past your boyfriends lips, as if he’s in shock.

He doesn’t expect you to have your mouth on him so soon and, he’s a little confused if he’s being honest but, as soon he feels you suck on his tip, his confusion quickly becomes irrelevant.

Keeping your eyes on him, your cheek hollow out as you work your mouth over his dick, using your right hand to stroke what doesn’t fit between your lips.

Yoongi’s eyes open immediately, rushing to meet your own, his hips twitching at the pleasure you’re providing.

“I-“ He breathes, his eyes lulling as you increase your pace on him, “is this my p-punishment?”

You smirk as best as you can around his length, your free hand coming up to brush against his tight balls. Your tongue caresses against the sweet spot on his tip, causing an almost inaudible whimper to bubbles past his lips.

You’re doing everything he likes.

Everything you’d normally do to make him cum really hard.

He doesn’t understand, he thought he was in trouble.

But, he doesn’t feel like he’s in trouble.

Your silence unnerves him however and, the motions of your mouth are becoming more and more devastating.

Still pumping his length, you focus your attention on his balls now, licking over them, suckling at the tightening skin whilst your fist curves around his tip, squeezing gently as you increase your pace on it.

“Y/N…” Yoongi’s shaky voice warns, his upper body bending towards your mouth, the pleasure punching a hole through his stomach, “you’re gonna make me cum.”

And that right there is exactly what you were waiting for.

Your motions cease then and, you pull back to look up at your boyfriend to finally reveal your true intentions.

“I am going to make you cum,” You agree, kitten licking at his weeping slit, delighting at the shiver it causes, “when I feel like it.”

Yoongi is in the loop now.

This most certainly is a punishment and, it’s only just begun.

All he can do is try to control his breathing as his impending orgasm quickly fades from view.

He can feel the sweat gathering at the back of his neck as he tries to anticipate your next move.

Before he has time to get his bearings, your lips are back on him, setting the same devastating pace all over again, caressing his balls just the way he likes.

“Shit,” He chokes, his body lurching forward, his hips jerking at their own accord. “,that feels so good.”

He’s saying it because he’s only capable of being candid at the moment, all sense of sense is completely out the window.

“Mhm,” You moan around his length, sucking off until your lips are brushing at the tip again, “it would feel so good to cum wouldn’t it?”

All he can do is nod, his teeth taking their place back against his bottom lip, which is already raw from his previous motions.

“But you don’t get to cum do you?”

He shakes his head, agony flashing through his dark eyes.

“And why is that?”

Your question is paired with a slow lick up his dick and, a gentle squeeze of his balls.

Yoongi’s expression shifts to one of sincerity, “Because I wasn’t honest with you and, I didn’t express myself.”

You pull away completely now, your eyes flickering towards his bed, “Go stand next to your bed and, face away from me.”

He looks confused but, he obeys you without question, rushing over to stand where you’ve indicated, facing away from you.

Standing behind him, your nails come into play again, brushing against his hips, trailing up his ribcage to circle around his painfully hard nipples.

As soon as he feels you, he melts back against your body, eyes shut mouth parted; completely surrendered to you.

“You hurt my feelings Yoongi.” You whisper against the crook of his neck, brushing your lips there. “I thought I was losing my touch or something.”

You can almost taste his cologne and, for a split second you want to end the torture but, you know it will be worth it for the both of you in the end.

Your boyfriend opens his eyes, regret painting his features as he tilts his head towards you, “No no, don’t think that, you could never lose your touch.”

His lips brush against yours during his response but, he doesn’t try to kiss you, he knows he hasn’t earned that privilege back.

Your nails are making their way up to his chest, trailing along the curves of his collarbones, a dark smile inching onto your lips.

“I wore a necklace with your name on it…” You whisper into his ear, which elicits another shiver from him.

“I love your necklace, I was so honored when I saw it, it was all an act, and you know that. It’s always an act.” He pleads with you, eyes squeezing shut again at the pleasure.

“Do you want a necklace too Yoongi?” You coo in his ear, preparing your nails at the base of his neck

“Wh-?” He begins to question but, quickly he is brought up to speed as you begin using your nails to carve the letters of your name into his skin.

And he knows it too, he’s memorized every letter, he’s said it a thousand times…

“Oh my god.” He keens, his knees feeling weak enough to collapse

A dark giggle leaves your lips as you nibble on his earlobe, “God isn’t here right now Yoongi.”

“Yes she is.” His shaky voice holds a bit of venom in it, as if he’s offended by your statement.

His response causes an ache in your panties but to thwart your own desires, you quickly wrap a hand around his neck, placing it right over the base of his throat.

“Say please.” You coo into his ear, nudging your nose against the hot flesh of his cheek

“Please choke me…”

And you do, squeezing his neck just enough to ignite that light headed feeling he loves so much.

“Touch yourself.”

Yoongi’s quick to follow orders, his eyes fluttering open as he squeezes at the base of his swollen length, pulling up and over the tip of his dick.

“Y/N…Y/N, you know what this does to me.” Yoongi mutters through the haze of his pleasure, his hand faltering slightly when you squeeze harder. His cat-eyes widen as the fingers on your free hand come up to pinch his nipple; they feel so sensitive, every sensation is intensified with your grip on his neck.

“Faster, I wanna see you drip for me.”

Yoongi’s never had you like this before, your mercy would have shown through during previous encounters but, with you holding onto your dominance, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to hold off his orgasm much longer.

But fuck if he won’t try his very best.

“I’m already dripping for you…look at me.” Yoongi’s unstable voice is deep enough to rumble in his chest and, while he has a point, it doesn’t stop him from increasing the pace on his dick. “Please look at me.”

His plea is nonsense; he knows you’re looking at him and, you know that’s not really what he’s asking.

He’s asking you to see how sorry he is.

“I see you baby,” You coo, licking up the shell of his ear, “you’re so pretty when you wanna cum for me.”

He smiles then, his eyes locking onto yours but, you can see how fucked up he is.

You can see him ascending to where he wants to be…

“I must be pretty all the time then.”

Fuck, he sounds so hot.

He’s so desperate for you but, he sounds like such a man and, you can’t help but kiss him again, using your lips to drive him mad.

“Y/N, please I’m gonna cum if I don’t slow down.” Yoongi sighs hopelessly into the kiss, turning his body towards you

With your brows raised, you pull back, “Do you want to know what will happen to you if you cum without my permission.”

His smile darkens, pleasure distorting a bratty expression, “Kind of.”

As your grip tightens around his neck again, his face turns up in desperation.

“If you cum without my permission, I won’t fuck you for a month.”

Your threat is clear and understood and with the widening of Yoongi’s eyes he nods obediently.

“I’ll be good, I promise.” He vows, increasing the speed on his dick, his hips jerking up against his hand.

Your hand leaves his neck to focus on his nipples, rubbing and pinching at them as he touches himself.

“I know you will,” You whisper in his ear, nodding your head towards the bed, “Go lay down.”

As Yoongi’s back hits the bed, you’re quick to descend over him, allowing your dress to ride up over your hips.

You wore something special underneath your dress too; black lacy underwear and a bra to match.

It’s simple but, it suits the both of you very well and, just as you hoped, it was fucking with his heartbeat.

“Fuck, I really like those…” Yoongi whispers, his hands itching at his sides; he wants to touch you so bad but, he knows he shouldn’t, he knows he hasn’t earned that yet. His eyes flicker up to yours, trying to convey he’s sincerity, “You look so good jagiya.”

His accent is getting thicker as he uses a native term of endearment

“You think so?” You tilt your head, allowing your hips to sink fully down against his, your panties pressing directly on his dick.

“So good.” Is all he says but, it comes in the form of a whimper whilst his tongue wet hits lips again.

Leaning down, you place a searing kiss to his mouth, letting him indulge you once again. He’s sloppier this time, his desire intoxicating him but, he still doesn’t touch you, regardless of how much he wants to.

“You have two choices,” You begin, slightly breathless yourself because, despite Yoongi being submissive, his kisses still fuck with you, “,you can either see me or you can touch me.”

He doesn’t even bother asking what you mean before his answer is tumbling past his lips, “I wanna see you, please. I wanna watch…”

Now all you gotta do is decide what to tie him up with. Pulling away from his lips, you look around the room before spotting a rather unorthodox method of bondage: the Christmas lights.

You slide up the length of Yoongi’s torso, making sure to rub your wet panties against his skin and, he takes notice.

“Y/N are you wet? Is that for me?” He breathes and, throughout all of the teasing he’s endured, it’s at this moment that he looks the most uncomfortable. He frantically eyes the material of your underwear, looking helpless as you wrap the Christmas lights around his wrists. “Please, let me taste you.”

And to increase the torture, this is a punishment after all, you position yourself so that you’re hovering right over his wanton mouth, with your pussy just out of reach.

Yoongi’s brow furrows in agony as he sticks his tongue out, desperately trying to reach you.

“I have something else for you to taste.” You murmur and, lean over to his nightstand grabbing the bottle of Hibiki.

His dainty features turn up in curiosity as watches you unscrew the cap, his tongue licking over his lips yet again.

Scooting back down his body, you force him to remember how wet you are before tilting the top of the bottle towards your lips.

“Open your mouth…”

Once Yoongi realizes what you’re doing, he has to stop himself from blowing his load all over his hips so, he quickly obliges, parting his lips for you, staring up at you with pure unfiltered lust.

With a smirk on your lips, you take a swig of the liquor, before hovering over Yoongi’s awaiting mouth and, letting it trickle onto his tongue.

He drinks every last drop, a whimper lingering at the back of his throat, “You are so fucking hot.”

Jesus, this is really starting to escalate.

You lick your lips, collecting the remaining bit of liquid as your free hand tickles over his chest, “Am I? Hot enough to spit whiskey into your mouth?”

Yoongi leans up towards your lips, smirking darkly, whiskey on his breath, “Hot enough to spit in my mouth.”

His correction fuels the feral side of you which prompts you to use your thumb to part his lips, “Can I really spit in your mouth?”

Yoongi chuckles but, it’s in a very new, very animalistic kind of way, “How many times do I have to tell you?” He whispers against your lips, “You can do whatever the fuck you want to me…”

Adding insult to injury, Yoongi sticks his tongue out and, the glint in his eyes is different than you’ve ever seen before. You can tell his slipping but, you aren’t sure where...

Maybe he’s going deeper than he’s gone before.

As soon as you spit, you feel an aching in your core when he uses his tongue to trace the perimeter of his lips, spreading your saliva (and his) all over his mouth.

“How does it taste?” The question is softer as you thumb over his lips, allowing him a few kisses against it.

“Good,” He breathes, “just like the rest of you.”

With a kiss against his lips, you pull back glancing towards his nightstand.

“I want to try something new with you tonight.”

He’s all ears, watching you intently whilst you trade the bottle of whiskey for a bottle of lube.

Yoongi’s a perceptive man, he knows where your mind is headed and, he’d be lying if he said he isn’t intrigued.

“Have you ever had anything inside of you before?”

He shakes his head, “No.”

Setting the lube down on the bed, you lean down to press a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Would you let me inside of you?”

His heart jumps beneath his sternum but, he doesn’t hesitate to nod.

“Yes.”

You kiss him again but, this time you let it linger for a moment before pulling back.

“What’s your safeword?”

A small is one his lips then, “Dragon.”

His smile is returned when you kiss the tip of his nose, “Good boy.”

You take your place between Yoongi’s legs, slowly coaxing them apart so, you’re able to see the entirety of him.

Given the fact that he’s been with Hoseok, it does surprise you a little bit that they never did anything like this.

But then again, maybe Yoongi wasn’t the one getting fucked...

You tell yourself to save those questions for another time to focus on the task at hand.

You’re careful to warm up the lube between your fingertips before barely brushing them over Yoongi’s entrance. His stomach muscles quiver as you do so, the sensation unfamiliar but, not unpleasant.

“I’m just going to touch you for a minute, I’ll walk you through everything ok?”

He nods, allowing his fingertips to curl into the palms of his currently restricted hands. He’s trusts you but, he’s nervous and, he’s worried his heart is about to beat right out of his chest.

Using two fingertips, you gently rub up his entrance and over the muscles beneath his balls. Pleasure begins swirling around Yoongi’s body, his legs spreading wider for you.

“Does that feel good?”

“Yeah...” He whispers, his hips jerking slightly as your fingers trail back down towards his ass. Another deep breath is pulled from his chest and, he tries to prepares himself for what’s to come.

He just wishes he knew what to expect.

Your finger circles his entrance, “I’m going to put one finger in, are you ready?”

He’s as ready as he can be...

Yoongi nods, pulling in a deep breath, trying his best not to tense up.

Taking your time, you begin pushing your index finger inside of him, working your way past the tightness of his muscles. You can hear his breath catch but, you don’t look at him just yet, you just focus on sliding your finger all the way inside of him.

The sensation isn’t unpleasant but, it’s definitely different than. anything Yoongi's ever felt before. It feels a little odd but if he’s being honest, he doesn’t really understand the hype behind it.

“Is that ok?” He hears you whisper

Craning his neck, he looks down at you, trying not to display how underwhelmed he is.

He’s still hard but, that’s because he was the most beautiful girl in the world between his legs. He’s hard for you under most circumstances.

“I’m ok.” He whispers back

You move your finger in and out of him for a moment, just to get his muscles to relax a little more before glancing up at him as you curl your finger upwards.

Yoongi’s eyes widen, his upper body lurching forward, “Wait...wait, what was that?”

A smirk is on your lips as you meet your boyfriend’s frantic gaze, “What was what?” You curl your finger again, tilting your head.

“That...” He chokes out, his wrists jolting in the Christmas lights, “Jagiya-” Yoongi’s panting now, his face still colored with disbelief, “What is that? What the fuck is that?”

You let your teeth find your bottom lip as you increase the pressure inside of him, the movement causing his dick to jump, “I’m not the only one with a g-spot baby. This,” You rub against the hardened flesh, “is yours.”

“Oh fuck-” Yoongi’s brow draws in as, he opens his mouth, his eyes frantically searching around the room as if he could find an explanation for how good it feels. “What the fuck? What the fuck? B-Baby...”

You brush your free hand over his hips, trailing your fingertips down the length of his dick, “Do you like it?”

Immediately, Yoongi nods as his legs spread wider for you, “It feels so good,” His eyes widened again as you increase your pace a little bit, “Y/N...what is that? What are you doing to me?”

He knows you’ve answered this question but, the pleasure is growing to an intensity he’s never known and, he has no idea what to do.

You don’t answer him, you know how he’s feeling. Sometimes pleasure is too much and, your brain goes a little haywire. Luckily for both of you, you love driving him crazy.

The pace inside of him remains steady whilst your lips begin kissing up the length of him causing Yoongi to whimper above you. It’s a hopeless and desperate sound, he knows he won’t last like this.

Not even if you asked him to.

And you know it too but, it doesn’t stop you from sucking him into your mouth anyway.

You aren’t concerned with punishment right now; you just want to make him cum so hard he cries.

With the coupled sensation of your mouth and your finger in his ass, Yoongi feels like he’s going insane.

He’s never felt this kind of pleasure before, its rotting him from the inside out and a type of devastation comes over him as he feels his orgasm approaching.

“Y/N...baby.” Yoongi’s beautiful eyes are welling up with tears, his cheeks flushed hot, his lips dry from how hard he’s breathing, “I can’t hold it like this, not with you inside of me.”

To fuck with him further, you just stare up at him and hollow your cheeks out around his length. Your tongue gets to work on his sweet spots and, your finger increases it’s speed.

“O-Oh...oh god, please, please can I cum? Can I cum please?”

He doesn’t even sound like himself, his voice is higher but raspier and, the look on his face is priceless.

He knows he’s fucked...

“Y/N please, I can’t hold it.” His face wrinkles with a mix of pleasure and pain and, his eyes are blown out once again when your pace only increases. “...I don’t want to disappoint you, please...”

But, you don’t stop.

“Baby, I’m gonna cum, I can’t hold it anymore. It feels so good please, please can I- oh fuck...”

Yoongi’s hips jolt and, you take great pleasure in watching his eyes roll back into his head whilst his mouth parts with a silent cry.

He makes no sound when the first rope of cum hits the back of your throat but, his trembling body speaks for him.

You don’t cease your motions the entire time and, Yoongi literally feels his brain melt as he cums in a way he’s never experienced before.

“Oh my god.” He whimpers finally, breaking the silence as his hips fuck feverishly into your mouth.

He knows he’s fucked up but, goddamn if he isn’t going to enjoy it.

“Y/N-” Yoongi chokes, his eyes coming back into focus as he stares longingly at you, “I love you, I’m so- ugh...” He moans as another wave of pleasure assaults his senses, “I’m so sorry...I couldn’t help it, it felt so fucking good.”

The darkness in your eyes remains and, you plan on milking his punishment for all it’s worth.

“Yeah? It just felt so good you couldn’t control yourself?” You coo, pressing one last kiss to his pulsating dick before moving to sit back on your knees.

He nods rapidly, on the verge of whimpering.

Slowly, you finally begin to remove your dress, feeling grateful that the material is finally free from your body.

Yoongi’s eyes are still blackened with arousal despite the fact he came moments earlier.

“Oh fuck...you’re so fucking pretty...”

He sees now that your bra matches your panties and, he swears he can feel himself getting hard again.

“You’re not the only one who’s had to wait you know.” You begin, teasing your fingers over your skin, moving your hands behind your back to unclasp your bra, “I’ve been waiting just as long as you have...longer actually-” You note, letting your bra fall from your body eliciting a groan from Yoongi, “and you know how wet I get when I tease you baby.”

He nods, licking his lips his wrists tugging in their ties, “I know, I know I’m so sorry...but you wouldn’t stop. I-” Yoongi stops himself as you brows raise and, he realizes that blaming you is not a good option.

“Oh so it’s my fault then? I made you cum without permission?”

You did.

You know you did but, it’s fun to make him grovel anyway.

“I should have held it but, I couldn’t...” He tugs at his ties again, wishing desperately that he could touch you, “It felt so good, I didn’t know it would feel that good.”

“Hmm...” You muse before crawling up his body, allowing him once again to feel how wet you are, “Do you feel how wet I am?” You coo against his lips, “My pussy hurts Yoongi.”

Yoongi’s eyes are pleading with you, his lips sloppily kissing at yours, “Let me make it better, if you let me out I’ll make you cum all night. Let me show you how sorry I am.”

Your mouth is open against his but, you let his lips kiss all over you, “But I told you I wouldn’t fuck you for a month if you disobeyed me didn’t I?”

Yoongi feels tears prick at the corner of his eyes, nearly losing it at the thought of being without this for a month, “No no no, baby please...please don’t do that to me.” He croaks but, for whatever reason his dick is twitching to life between his legs; why is this turning him on so much? “Don’t break my heart like that...I couldn’t handle it.”

“No?” You smirk, nudging his nose, “Would you beg for me if I did?”

He nods, “Yes...any chance you gave me.”

“Why? Is it cause you can’t live without it?” You’re cooing against his lips but, slowly making your way back.

“I can’t, I really can’t.”

“No? You can’t live without my pussy?”

“I can’t live without you, I’m so addicted...”

He watches you with a needy gaze as you straddle his hips, your wet panties causing his dick to twitch once again.

“Addicted huh?” You tsk, keeping eye contact with him while you slip off your panties, “That doesn’t sound good...”

“Oh but it is...” All of the teasing and pleasure is starting to send Yoongi back to that euphoric state and, he’s quite sure if he feels you on him right now, he’ll loose his mind, “it’s so good.”

“I’m aching Yoongi,” You remind him, rolling your wet folds against up his dick, his eyes widening as you do, “can you fix it?”

“Yes, fuck...”Yoongi’s fingers feel like they are going numb beneath the lights but, he doesn’t care, all he cares about is your pleasure, “please, use me. Use my dick, I won’t even cum baby, I just want to see you feel good.”

You’re positioning his dick against your entrance but, his answer surprises you, “Is that right? You’d let me fuck you just for me?”

“Yes, whatever you want, I’m yours to use...I want you to cum so bad.”

“And why is that?”

Yoongi’s eyes lock with yours, “Because I love you.”

Fuck this.

You sink down on him immediately, wasting no time at setting the pace you know the two of you like: deep and fast.

Bending over, your hips continue their movements whilst you find Yoongi’s lips again, pulling him into a wet kiss, “You love me huh?”

“Mhm...” With his face drawn in with ecstasy, he whimpers against your lips, “I love you so fucking much...you’re so beautiful. You’re so beautiful like this, taking me...you’re taking what's yours.”

“Are you mine?” Your voice is growing higher too because, with how wet and aroused you are, you know this won’t last long and, you need to hear the words that will send you over the edge.

“I’m yours.”

Your hips are bouncing up and down at an increasing speed and, what your movements lack in finesse they make up for with enthusiasm.

“Yoongi...” You’re whimpering now, his dick is curving up just right.

“Are you close beautiful? Are you gonna cum on me?”

“Cum...cum with me...” You urge him and, he feels relief watch over him that you’re going to let him finish too.

He’s nodding, kissing at your lips, fucking up into as best as he can, “I will but, let me see you babygirl, wet my dick, c’mon you’re so close yeah? I can feel how t-tight you are, come get what you deserve...”

You’re choking on a moan, moving away from your previous role because, with Yoongi talking to you like this, it isn’t about power exchanges anymore, it’s about love.

“I love you...”

It’s the last phrase you mutter before you reach your high, Yoongi following soon after you.

It’s intense enough to bring the two of you to tears and as you begin to come down, you notice the dreamy look in your boyfriends eyes.

“Hey...” You coo, thumbing his cheek, tilting his head up, “are you still with me?”

He sniffles, tears staining his cheeks as he presses against your hand, “Mhm.” Yoongi looks uneasy suddenly as he eyes his restraints, “Can I come out now? I need you.”

Your heart melts at his request and, you're quick to get his hands out of the Christmas lights, smoothing over the redness on his wrists before laying beside him.

Immediately, he cuddles up to you, burying his face into your chest, breathing you in as if there is something soothing in your scent.

“You did so good for me angel...” You speak softly into his hair, pressing kisses against his head, “Do you feel good?”

All he does his nod, his mouth latching onto any bit of skin he can reach, his body growing small in your arms.

“You are my goddess, my everything...”

Yoongi does this from time to time and, you’ve come to respect that it’s his way of expressing himself during intense moments.

He always promises that one day he will tell you what he says but, you don’t push him, you just let him have his moment and, feel the love within his tone.

Because love transcends language doesn’t it?

“I want to spend my life with you, forever and ever...and ever. You are so beautiful, you make me feel so beautiful...”

You smile, kissing his forehead as your freehand pulls a blanket over the two of you.

“Would you marry me if I asked? If I got down on knee and, humbly requested that you be my bride? Have I earned such a privilege? I know it isn’t time yet but, one day it could be no? It could be time...Min Y/N...” He smiles brilliantly beneath your neck, kissing the skin there before continuing.

“I like the sound of that.”

Outside the door, you hear the party goers beginning to countdown to midnight.

You missed the party but, you didn’t care.

As you tilt Yoongi’s face up to yours, you smile at the only man you’ve ever loved, “3....2...1...”

“Happy new year...” He whispers, returning your smiling before leaning up and, capturing your lips in a kiss.

Happy New Year indeed.

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goron-king-darunia · 3 years

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Annon-Guy: Here’s a tasty treat from BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle 😋.

Es: “Pudding.” (line from XBLAZE)

Would the 14 Symphonia Characters eat this kind of Pudding?

I know it’s a Flan over here (Mai even called the Pudding a Flan in Episode Extra of BBTAG), but in Japan it’s know as Custard Pudding.

In XBLAZE, it looks like this 🍮 as it’s from the store. In BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, it looks the picture displayed here as it’s specifically made gourmet pudding that Valkenhayn makes (Rachel Alucard bought Es’ assistance in Episode BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth and RWBY with a mountain of gourmet pudding). *~*~*~*~* I’m going to go off exclusively the “gourmet” version, or the one shown in the picture rather than the standard flan or custard pudding because those are kinda plain and I think a lot of the characters who would like the gourmet version wouldn’t really care for the plain one without fruits and other additions. Lloyd: The only preference I’m aware of for Lloyd is that he hates tomatoes so I’m pretty sure he’d eat it. XD Colette: Colette really likes fruits so 100% she would eat it and probably add even more fruits to it. Genis: Genis doesn’t seem too picky about sweets so I bet he’d eat it. Probably likes the whipped cream topping and cherries best. Raine: Would eat it but would also probably add weird things like nato or lemon since lemons are her favorite. Which I guess wouldn’t be too weird since the one above is served with a citrus that looks like either orange or tangerine. But still, straight lemon is kind of weird. Still, as a lemon-eater myself, Raine is 100% valid and also probably a raccoon since other than me and Raine, raccoons are the only other creature on the planet that will eat a lemon straight. Like. I eat the pith and rind too. Cut lemon into wedges, put them in a plastic bag, let them macerate in their own juices and get tender... then just... eat them. Tastes like Lemonade. So Raine and I are I guess the weird people sticking straight lemon on things. XD (I get it from my mom since mom eats her rice with lemon and Raine tried to make rice-stuffed lemons as a recipe and everyone in the party was disgusted. XD) Sheena: I think Sheena might think the texture of the pudding/flan itself is weird, but she would probably like it and would probably also like the plain version. Zelos: Not enough melon. He’d steal the melon off of Regal’s. Zelos would trade the whole dessert to anyone and everyone at the table in exchange for the melon pieces and probably wind up with at least half a melon. Speaking of which, I’m not familiar with the exact type of melon used here. It clearly has the skin of a cantaloupe but I’ve never had a green cantaloupe. Presumably it would taste like the melon gum I once got with the bill at a Japanese restaurant in which case I do not blame Zelos one bit for trading his flan for more melon. XD Apparently designer fruits are a big deal in Japan, so Zelos could probably afford that $27,000 melon experience. XD Regal: Finding out Regal doesn’t like coffee isn’t that surprising because coffee is bitter and does, in fact, taste like muddy water if you don’t add anything to it in my opinion. Too many tannins for me. But I checked and apparently Regal doesn’t like CUCUMBER OR MELON. Like, bruh, IDK what to tell you, but cucumber barely has any flavor, let alone anything objectionable! Cucumber vaguely tastes like “green” water. Like “Oh, this water had some sort of vegetable in it.” And while I don’t really like cantaloupe, I don’t HATE it. I’ve had bad cantaloupes before that were REALLY disappointing that I didn’t enjoy eating, but I’ve also had really good cantaloupe! So I guess he’d eat it if you took the melon off of it. Still, kind of a shame. Presea: Presea probably doesn’t have strong preferences so she would try it. I’m not sure she would like the plain one but I think she’s one of the few people in the cast that could eat just the pudding part with nothing added. (I still stand by my coffee opinion for her though, even though the game wants to hammer in that she just doesn’t care. Coffee is serious business and I guarantee she has a preference on that. It’s MY HEAD CANON AND I’M STICKING TO IT! XD) Kratos: Would probably eat it, both the plain and gourmet version. Probably not something he would set out to eat and would only eat it if it’s something he had to. Not a favorite, not something he hates. Something that’s just so unobtrusive that he literally forgets it’s a food for 100 years at a time because he just DOESN’T care because it’s not particularly remarkable. Emil: Would probably eat it but I’m not sure if he’d like the plain one better or not because the game doesn’t make it 100% clear whether he had an issue with Colette’s cooking because it was primarily fruit because he doesn’t like fruit or if it was just that he wanted MORE than fruit. Cooking for the party wasn’t as big a mechanic in DotNW as it was in Symphonia, so while Monsters had favored foods, all we know about Emil is that he doesn't like herbs, doesn’t like Colette only cooking fruits, and enjoys steak and loves fried chicken and that last one we only know from info outside of DotNW. Marta: Would eat the gourmet kind and probably not like the plain one. Probably prefers parfait. Alice: Not only would she eat it, I bet she really likes it, especially the bouncy texture. But if you call her out for liking it, she’ll whip you.

Decus: 100% likes it just because Alice likes it. Richter: Doesn’t seem like a big custard fan, honestly. Would eat it if it was offered to him but also probably prefers a parfait. Probably hates the plain version because it just “tastes like sweet mush.” I don’t really see him enjoying the texture much either. Like, you could offer him mint jello and he’d probably like the flavor and hate the texture. Would eat the fruit and probably give the flan/pudding to someone else. Pontus the Polwigle: I know no one asked but Pontus would probably love it and this is my firm belief. Wiggly food for the wiggly boy.

#submissions #submission #Letters from Annon Guy #DotNW #BBTAG #character food preferences #headcanons

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davidanderson7162 · 3 years

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Cartoons for Everybody

It is not true that just children take pleasure in cartoons. Cartoons have been showing up in print media as well as television for decades. They are extremely entertaining and also are suitable anxiety busters for the worn grownup. For youngsters, animes can be academic in addition to enjoyable. It holds true that there are some that are violent, those are best prevented. It would certainly make good sense to pick intelligently what you desire your children to see Kids TELEVISION Online.Kids TV Network

Exactly how do they profit your youngsters?

- Some animes carry messages in social understanding. Cartoons almost always have stories that centre round a hero. The hero is always combating evil as well as victories. Happy endings are constantly great to have.

- There are those that develop vocabulary. Kids learn new words as well as enhance in their speech.

- An added advantage is that, those youngsters watching programs like these find out to focus. This helps them focus as well as educates them the ability to follow consecutive episodes.

- They learn life lessons, they discover sharing and exactly how to recognize right from incorrect. They find out that it is not always the large and also the solid who constantly win.

- Animations constantly obtain stored away as terrific memories and those pleased associations are carried appropriate into adulthood.

How do they profit adults?

- Viewing an anime when you're ill in bed is a splendidly recovery exercise. Remember those times when, as a youngster you did precisely that?

- Researches reveal that viewing cartoons lowers the danger of anxiety associated illness in adults. A great laugh launches endorphins in the mind. These endorphins make us really feel far better mentally and physically and are the best de-stressor that money can't purchase.

- Individuals like these find they associate better to kids as well as have a much better understanding of them.

- Obviously, this is a great way to kill time as it keeps individuals out of mischief. The still mind, as they claim, is the devil's workshop!

Throughout the years animes have actually advanced from one dimensional characters on the screen as well as paper to a three dimensional one. Modern technology has made cartoon personalities realistic. Both adults and children connect to the story Children TELEVISION Online.

Anime Vs Cartoons: What's the Difference?

In the "Anime" neighborhood, for most fans as well as fans, "Anime" is "Anime and also "Cartoons" are "Cartoons". For them both of the things are truly different from each various other.

Firstly, many individuals obtain puzzled between an Anime and also an Anime, even if both are animated that doesn't imply that they both are very same. There are a lot of differences in Anime as well as Cartoons. While both are caricatures that might be computer animated, anime generally has visually distinctive functions for characters. So, below I will certainly now clarify the difference in between these 2. Anime are Japanese computer animated production, that are available in various layouts like, television series such as dragon sphere z, Naruto, one piece etc., computer animated brief films, and also full-length films. However animations are two-dimensional illustrated visual art, non-realistic or semi-realistic illustrations.

Anime characters have distinct facial and also physical features that are extremely comparable to truth, their large eyes and tiny mouth are developed due to cuteness. On the various other hand, cartoons physical features are very much from reality than anime. Anime characters additionally reveal various kinds of distinguishable faces whereas animes do not.

Cartoons are normally made to make people laugh, so the style mostly is funny. Yet there are likewise several animes that are academic, showing something good to mainly young children and also youngsters in an enjoyable, interactive way. For example, mickey mouse, Donald duck, pests bunny and so on

. Unlike cartoons, anime does not adhere to just one or more genres. Anime programs and also movies are all based on some sort of story which proceeds through the whole series, for instance, bleach, one item, Naruto, etc. Anime is based upon real-life problems or something that are closer to human feelings and also have a lot more categories than cartoons such as, dramatization, school life, slice of life, love, activity, and so on

. However if you check out both of them as different entities, or as same, you will not be able to locate a clear difference between the two, which is why a lot of the people get puzzled in between both and wind up calling anime as well as animes are very same Children TELEVISION Online.

The initial animation was stated to be generated in 1499. It depicted the pope, holy Roman emperor, and the king of France as well as England playing the game of cards. However, Japanese animation began in the very early 20's, when Japanese filmmakers were trying out various methods. By 1930s, as an alternative to the live activity sector, computer animation was established.

As anime are two-dimensional numbers drawn and utilized in animations, as caricatures in papers, and also publications. If we were to define what Anime is after that the basic suggestion of several of the common as well as agreed upon notions would certainly be "Japanese, animation, vibrant layouts, as well as hand-drawn" would certainly be primary buzzwords.

Today, Anime only appears to refer "animations just from Japan" to make it extra understandable for individuals. After all this is human nature to like the important things which are conveniently understandable and conveniently categorized.

To make the distinction more clear, let's take the example of the tom as well as jerry and dragon sphere z. So, you may believe what's the difference in between both when they both are computer animated and have excellent visuals, histories, sound impacts as well as even the computer animated drawings behave. But, there are lots of distinctions in them which differentiate them from anime to animation. Like, their principles are absolutely different, as you know every episode of tom as well as Jerry is various as well as is not associated with any of the previous episode or continuing some sort of tale from a point but in dragon sphere z every episode is connected to the previous one, and proceed the story from where it stopped in the previous episode. And their categories are various too, as tom and also Jerry is purely based upon a pet cat and also mouse battle and made to make people laugh and their watch time enjoyable. On the various other hand, dragon sphere z is sort of a journey of a saiyan to conserve the Planet and also the universe from several dangers, he defends conserving every person, with the aid of his family members, close friends and fellow saiyans. Dragon ball z is can be categorized in various categories, like activity, experience, comedy, very power, etc

. An additional thing in which some individuals may unique anime as well as cartoon would certainly be that cartoons are for youngsters whereas reach of anime can be extended to many various other age and other locations Kids TV Online.

However what I believe is, cartoons are not simply children product, because as we can see in the newspapers, as well as on television also, there are many cartoons containing as well as targeting lots of political, spiritual sights. Most of these messages are concealed as well as indistinguishable for kids, to ensure that grownups can appreciate viewing them with youngsters. Whereas some of the anime consists of high grown-up material and thus are not secure or good for little kids to see. Those type of anime are made completely concentrating on adult target market. But there are likewise some anime collection which are definitely risk-free to enjoy with children. However nowadays, even normal anime's might have some scenes which are not meant to be enjoyed by kids.

So, I think, where cartoons are secure for kids to see, anime shouldn't be thought about secure sufficient for them. But despite just how old you obtain, you can still appreciate it as it is.

I really feel that, anime has much deeper thought in them, well created characters, broad story-line, a solid style, sensible background animation, the real world scenarios, discussions, expressions, etc. all of these things bound us together to view all the episodes (whether there are 12 or 24 or more than a thousand of episodes) of the anime collection. Whereas on the various other hand, animes, regardless of whether they are telling a story or simply going for funny, have superficial characters and themes.

Cartooning for Kids: 3 Books That Can Help You Get Started

Many children I understand love to attract eventually. Several of them love it a lot, they take place to produce video games, comics, cartoons, and comics. If you are seeking some exceptional books on cartooning for youngsters, below are three that can aid you get going.

Among the outright finest general intros allows Publication of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz. He starred in a public tv program for years, and I was able as a young person to learn from his techniques.

Guide covers whatever from basic cartooning abilities, like integrating various facial forms, features, and hairdos, to make various characters. It likewise demonstrates how to attract bodies and also add motion to them so they are funny and also dynamic, and not just stalling.

He does a terrific work of introducing animation results as well as devices. Those are the kinds of things that make animes enjoyable and bring them to life, like the wavy lines appearing of a piece of pizza, to show that it smells excellent. Or the lines on a pool of water or a mirror, to reveal they are reflective. And also one of the most enjoyable of all, those little grains of sweat or activity lines, like when someone has actually just thrown a sphere Children TELEVISION Online.

There is also a great deal of mention on just how to create cartoons, consisting of how to lay them out, invent jokes, as well as do your lettering. For kids who wish to attempt their hand at superhero-type comics, he covers different means to make your male go from dopey to wonderful, from absolutely no to hero. Likewise included are numerous positions you might utilize, like training, taking off, flying, and also boxing.

This extensive work additionally has an area on animation portraiture or caricature. In this way you can draw funny pictures of on your own, good friends, family members, as well as teachers, and offer those away as presents. You may even wind up offering your job!

An additional outstanding summary is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know concerning Cartooning yet Hesitated to Draw. The writer is a Disney-trained musician, so it's a perfect recommendation if you like that design. Yet it too covers every little thing from expressions and also drawing action presents, to cartoon format.

One specific area I such as is exactly how to attract your animes from various camera angles, like way down reduced. That way, if you are trying to attract something from the viewpoint of a very tiny character, like a computer mouse seeking out at an individual, you can obtain an excellent funny aim to your job.

Art for Children: Cartooning: The Only Cartooning Book You'll Ever Need to Be the Artist You have actually Constantly Intended to Be motivates youngsters to try out various techniques to obtain their own designs. The design hangs and also open, so it's easy for kids to comply with. There is also info on composing jokes as well as developing panels Children TV Online.

So if you have an interest in cartooning for children, these 3 books to help you get going are perfect. You will have 3 completely different designs to examine, and you will have great deals of suggestions on attracting fundamentals, plus information on how to put whatever together into your own anime creations. Delighted cartooning!

8 Memorable Youngsters' Anime Adaptations to Motion Picture

When a well enjoyed children's TV series makes the change from the little to the hollywood it normally spells a break from tradition and also an attempt to interest an entire new target market. Computer animation resorts to live activity, rough-and-ready image resorts to CGI, obscure commentary artists are replaced by prominent Hollywood stars as well as puppets are switched for real-life actors. To commemorate the incredible brand-new film of eponymous cult TELEVISION series Stories of the Riverbank [talesoftheriverbank.co.uk/ trailer], here are some motion picture gems that really improve their kids' TELEVISION starts, and also some stinkers that ought to have adhered to what they're best at:

Garfield (2004 )

On the one hand, Bill Murray seems like he's constantly been the voice of Garfield - his effortlessly sarcastic wit seems completely suited to the lasagne addicted fat feline. On the various other, pretty much whatever else regarding this movie sucks. The performing's not up to much and also the animation's nothing short of tragic. The initial comic strip as well as anime series didn't endeavor to far from Garfield's litter tray, so this attempt to stretch things to more than an hour just ends up a mess.

Little understood fact: Bill Murray recorded a lot of his audio for this in Italy while shooting "The Life Aquatic" on a watercraft.

Authorities Garfield website - garfield.com/.

Tales of the Riverbank (2008 ).

Though not a cartoon, this new motion picture is absolutely worth a mention: when Johnny Morris initially placed his voice to these shore pets in the 1959 TELEVISION collection of the same name, it could have been debatable. However it turned out that making pets appear like they were chatting was a huge success. Today the adorable Hammy Hamster once more joins GP, Owl as well as buddies in a fracturing feature length waterfront prance. With a winning, British voice actors and also an innocently jolly story, this motion picture is set to become a company family members favourite. Little understood fact: In the '60s TV program, the animals were adjusted to look like they were speaking utilizing peanut butter on the roofing of their mouth.

Official Website - talesoftheriverbank.co.uk/ trailer. TOTR on IMDB - imdb.com/title/tt1043748/.

Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 ).

There were the Samurai Pizza Cats and after that there were the Bicycle Rider Computer Mice from Mars - yet both were bad copies of what was undoubtedly the supreme animal/mutant based cartoon activity collection embeded in a drain ... including a speaking rat. "Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles" was a computer animated TELEVISION show in the 80s, a trilogy of live-action films in the 90s as well as more lately a computer system cartoon animation (TNMT). The films are mainly dreadful - however watch out for an instead snazzy-looking Vanilla Ice in Adolescent Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Glop. Traditional. Little recognized fact: In the UK the TELEVISION series was called Adolescent Mutant Hero Turtles as the word "ninja" was considered as well terrible.

Scooby Doo (2002 ).

Among the much better remakes, this is about as close as you're going to get to the original collection without returning to full animation. All the one linings are there, as are all the trademarks that made the original such a smash hit. There's additionally a healthy and balanced dosage of self mockery to make certain the grown-ups can enjoy it as high as children. Any person that located Scrappy Doo more than a little bothersome in the original will enjoy the spin at the end. The only secret that still remains is this - what worldwide IS a Scooby Snack ?? Little recognize truth: In a very early version of the film, a certain Jim Carrey was connected to play Shaggy.

Official Scooby site - warnerbros.com/sd_brand/index.html.

Thunderbirds (2004 ).

The initial puppets had lots much more magic and also personal appeal than the 'live' actors in this substandard remake. Creator of the initial TELEVISION series, Gerry Anderson, also contradicted a $750,000 deal to write an endorsement of the film for its launch. A substantial flop. Enough stated.

Little bit understood truth: The motion picture is routed by Jonathan Frakes that played Riker in Celebrity Trip.

Flintstones (1994 ).

Translating a computer animated classic right into a live-action film using the real world actors isn't always simple. Perhaps the most essential item of the jigsaw is the spreading. In the case of 1994's Flintstones they soooo really nearly got it right. John Goodman as Fred Flintstone - place on. Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma - made for the duty. Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble - all good. Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Debris? - Um ... intriguing. At the very least the sound-track (courtesy of the BC52s) appears wonderful!

Little bit recognized fact: Halle Berry plays a character called Sharon Stone (obtain it!?).

Transformers (2007 ).

Hardcore Transformers fans who bear in mind the 1980s hit cartoon show may really feel a little peeved that, in a separation from the original collection, Spielberg as well as co. have decided to opt for some more modern-day automobiles. So Bumble-bee's no longer a huge yellow VW Beetle! Boo! Nevertheless, those that can not bear in mind the initial (virtually anybody under the age of 30) will enjoy the continuous robo-action.

Bit understood fact: The 1986 "Transformers the Movie" was one of Orson Welles last ever movies - one of his very first was Person Kane.

Tom and also Jerry the Granddaddy of Kids Cartoon Movies.

Everyone has their very own preferred animation flick or tv show; as a matter of fact animations are now a big component of a youngster's very early years as well as in addition to enjoyable to adults too. If you were young in the 60's, 70's or 80's after that you'll have been lucky sufficient to have actually enjoyed the initial hand attracted animated standards, like the Flintstones, The Jetsons or among the most prominent as well as lengthiest running, Tom and Jerry.

The Tom as well as Jerry reveal begun as a TV series and then took place to become a number of feature movies; it has been running given that the 40's and also has because won 7 different Oscar awards for ideal animated short. Back then you needed to await the program to come on at a specific time, though today were fortunate enough to be able to purchase a Tom and also Jerry DVD set anytime we like and also relive the magic in our very own houses.

The characters are easy Tom a troublesome house cat with a preference for mice and also Jerry a reluctant mouse with a kind heart; both are friends at heart, however constantly wind up attempting to win one over on each various other generally with Jerry winning the day. The simple as well as funny slapstick comedy of this crazy duo is what's made it so popular in nations around the world; you'll find the preferred films playing in practically any kind of resort area on all continents.

So where did it all start? Most individuals do not understand that Tom and also Jerry has had more than one maker in over 50 years of broadcast; the initial 2 were the gifted William Hanna and Joseph Barbara. They came to the MGM workshops in the 40's with their concept and Tom as well as Jerry became a reality in individuals's houses. After a brief time the program was reduced and the team broke up until the 1960's when MGM made a decision to reboot the project, they hired Gene Deitch for 2 years, but his eccentric imagination didn't mix well with the program. In 1963 the workshops employed a new director Chuck Jones who became the next creator of the motion pictures.

An instance of an especially excellent film is the magic ring which came out in 2002, it was composed and also routed by both of the original makers as well as additionally worked together on by Chuck Jones. If you're a fanatic of the lovable pet cat and also mouse duo after that you'll love this movie, it would certainly also be a wonderful introduction to the personalities for your very own youngsters.

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apex-academy · 4 years

Text

Chapter 5: Caring Is a Hazard to Your Health (#21)

The rest of the day is a blur. Some pool. Some Centipede. Some vapid conversations I barely remember as I’m having them. A cooking lesson that’s more lecture on Japanese sauces than actual cooking.

I don’t run into Aidan again. I’m not sure if I want to. Certainly I’m not going to try anything now, but... I don’t know. I don’t know.

I end up in the sauna dangerously late in the day. The only exit is to the bathhouse, which closes at nighttime... Would I be stuck in here overnight if I stayed too long? Punished? I bet I could stay awake. Wonder what happens in the restricted rooms at night. Cleanup and restocking or something. Maybe I should try staying in the kitchen. Eat some coffee beans straight up to keep from falling asleep and see how the heck Monochap sneaks in and out of there.

But for now, I’m just...

“...”

It is kind of pleasant in here. I may be bundled up a bit too much for a sauna, but it’s supposed to be hot anyway, right? As long as I swig plenty of water after this, I should be fine.

“...”

“After this” might need to be “right now,” actually. No use getting too light-headed. Or, well, I don’t mind having fewer thoughts, but I probably shouldn’t be taking health risks. I can worry about nighttime escapades later. I should... attempt to get some sleep.

After a cold shower. I don’t think I’ll be needing a warm bath after this.

...

"Um, hello! Good morning! It is now 7:00, so the off-limits areas have been reopened! I-I hope you all have a nice day…!"

I wake up again. That’s always good.

But when I make my way towards the cafeteria...

“Sounds like some kind of ruckus going on.”

I open the doors, but...

“.....”

No people, less noise. Uh.

I back up into the hallway and try next door. The gym. Sounds like maybe the hubbub is in here instead? Did I miss a summons to an early morning sports tournament?

Is someone...

“........”

No, that has too be too many voices. Right? If someone had been discovered, the jingle would have played...

“......”

It still takes me a minute to open the door.

People are still talking over each other, but I don’t see any bodies on the floor or fists flying.

Knives, maybe. But not fists.

A thud rattles the still-collapsed bleachers behind Kaichi’s shoulder. In true Kaichi fashion, he hardly flinches.

“Woooooow!”

“I’m next, right? I’m next?!”

“No way, dude!”

“That’s right! No one is going next!”

“What?! Nono I’m next!”

“Wh...”

“This is a completely unnecessary risk! Cease at once!”

“Risk? Surely you don’t mean to question my skill.”

“Seems pretty skilled t’ me.”

“.............”

I always manage to forget I should worry much less about these people dying than just being idiots.

Before anyone can notice I’ve joined them, the knife digging into the stands slowly tilts, then falls. Kaichi manages to pull his foot to one side before the blade clatters to the floor.

“Haha, whoopsie! You okay?”

“Looks like I still got—” he tilts his head down to check—”ten toes, s’. Yeah, sure.”

“That—”

“That makes it clear how dangerous this is!”

“Like, nothing happened, though?”

“That was a matter of luck!”

“Fool! You think any part of this is merely a throw of the dice? No divine weapon of mine will harm anyone unless I bid it.”

“Considering how consistently you threaten everyone, I don’t find that comforting!”

“So, anyway, it’s totally my turn, right?”

“It’s no one’s turn!!!”

I walk inside just as he’s about to blow a gasket. The door falling shut behind me is enough to get a little attention.

“I would ask what’s going on, but I think I have a good enough idea.”

“Ah, Kogamino!”

“If you understand, would you mind talking them out of it?”

“I’m afraid I’m having little luck.”

Another thud interrupts before I can say a word. Ichiriki starts laughing.

“Woooow, that one was super close! Ahahaha!”

Standing stiffly, Kaichi cranes his neck just enough to get a good glimpse of the knife now separating his face from his surfboard.

“Nice.”

“There.”

“Now the next wretch may step up.”

“I’m the next wretch!!”

It’s surprisingly hard to jump in and stop something when you can’t fathom why they started in the first place. Are we seriously that bored? Didn’t we just wake up? At least eat before you start throwing crap at each other, geez.

“Nuh-uh! I’m next!”

“How did this even start?”

“Well, like, Yuks was gonna make omelettes this morning? So we all kinda ordered ‘em or whatevs, and, like...”

“...”

“Amid the conversation as we waited, that one saw fit to issue a challenge.”

“I did?”

“And then things happened, and now we’re here!”

He finishes, as if he’s being the most helpful one here.

“I had been assisting with the cooking when I realized everyone had left, so I peeked out to see what had happened...”

“And you were met with a fun surprise, huh.”

“Yeah-huh! It’s super fun!”

“That’s great.”

“Actually, I just came over to see who got the first omelette? Because it’s finished.”

“Ah, first should have been... Riseiin, I believe?”

“Nice. ’m out, then. Later, brahs.”

“I don’t think the rest are far behind, so if you’d like your food warm, you can come back to this later.”

“I suppose that may be for the best...”

“Consider it a mercy to those of you bound to time, hmm?”

And just like that, the party dissembles to go for the door. Tsunyasha walks—like a normal human being—over to the stands to retrieve her mystical-whatever knives. Mahavir stays back, presumably to make sure she doesn’t kill me while we’re still here.

...I really hope Yuki’s almost finished. Maybe I don’t need to follow everyone over all that quickly.

Tsunyasha gets all her knives put away in quick order, but we’re still the last ones out. Mahavir, as usual, spares me from having to open the door.

As we cross into the hallway, I see Monochap opening the doors to the dorm area. Before I can wonder what he’s up to now, Aidan wheels himself out, with an uttered sound that I don’t think is actually a thanks. Upon seeing us, Monochap gives a little wave and a disturbing giggle before fleeing towards the Main Hall.

Aidan seems a little more pleased to see us.

“Good morning! I hope I haven’t missed anything?”

“Nothing worth mentioning.”

“...”

“Has Monochap been opening doors for you?”

The handicap buttons in this place haven’t been working since we woke up here. I hadn’t spared them a second thought, but now we actually have someone in a wheelchair. Guess that’s how it usually goes.

“When necessary.”

“Unfortunately, my student ID was reset to its original settings before they gave it back to me. But whoever did that also added an option to signal Mister Monochaperone for assistance.”

“It isn’t my favorite recourse, and I’m not sure why it’s necessary when it isn’t that difficult to summon him otherwise, but it can be useful.”

“Ah, to have a demon at your beck and call.”

“Quite fitting for a black-hearted sinner like yourself, hmm?”

“Don’t you start this again...!”

Aidan holds up a hand.

“Calm down, Mister Attenborough.”

“Miss Tsunyasha, I appreciate saving your comments for a more private discussion, but I’m afraid they are still highly inappropriate.”

“You’re entitled to your opinion of me, but I fail to see how repeating it does you any good. I cannot take back what I’ve done, so I would prefer to focus on what I can do at the moment, if possible.”

“Oh? Is this a sorely misguided plea for mercy, worm? You think I must gain something from this?”

“It is merely my job to ensure those of your corrupted ilk cannot walk away from their sins freely.”

He’s not doing much walking at the moment, in case you haven’t noticed.

“You call this walking away freely?!”

“Mister Attenborough.”

“.......”

Aidan turns back to Tsunyasha.

“Whether it’s sufficient for your tastes or not, I assure you I have most certainly been punished.”

“I can’t ask you to approve of my sins, as it were, but if you truly care about doing the right thing, your priority should be ensuring the safety of the other people here.”

I only see a flash before there’s a knife at Aidan’s neck.

“Then I should eliminate you now, yes?”

Aidan stares evenly back at her.

“Do you really consider me such a threat? I am incapable of physical combat, I am unarmed, and I would have severe difficulty engineering anything to kill another in this state. No one here has anything to gain from my death.” His gaze strains towards the knife. “This is nothing but a very rude gesture, and I would like you to stop now.”

“Oh? You still think I would follow a worm’s orders?”

“Why don’t you follow this?!”

Mahavir lunges at her. Aidan winces as the knife skirts along his jaw. Tsunyasha hops back an extra pace, and Mahavir tilts dangerously before catching himself on the wall. Huffing, he doesn’t seem able to push himself back up too quickly. I put myself between Tsunyasha and Aidan for good measure.

“So you’re relying on your little guard dogs, are you, whelp? You truly think they’re any match for a Holy Assassin?”

“I’m not a guard dog, you just need to stop?”

“I am not trying to rely on any physical enforcement here—” a pointed look at Mahavir—“nor am I giving you orders. I am merely pointing out that there is much more to being ‘righteous’ than harassing those you deem to be sinners.”

“So you question my judgment, worm?”

Your judgment is nothing if not questionable.

“More like questioning your ‘righteousness,’ or ‘holiness,’ or whatever else you’d like to call it!”

He finally shifts his weight back onto his feet.

“Regardless of who did and didn’t die, at least Doppler has done everything he can to help us!”

“What have you EVER done for anyone else here?!”

“Stir up trouble, mostly.”

“Hmph. Only just now I was providing you ungrateful whelps with entertainment, was I not?”

“And no one died, if I must remind you of that.”

“As a fluke! You easily could have injured Riseiin! It was only a matter of luck that he didn’t have any toes sliced clean off! And I shouldn’t need to tell you even foot injuries have the potential to be lethal!”

“...What did I miss here?”

“We can worry about that later.”

“The potential, certainly.”

“But a far less sure shot than firing a gun into someone’s chest, hmm?”

“But that wasn’t for amusement!”

“And yet it still happened.”

“I truly don’t understand how you could possibly favor that sinner’s actions, but I suppose your wicked ways are just that far beneath me.”

“It’s because you don’t understand that you’re the only threat here!”

“Oh, I’m quite a threat to those who would dare try taint my holy name. Would you like a demonstration, whelp?”

“No one would like any demonstrations!!”

“Of course you wouldn’t.”

“We get your freaking point, okay? You could stab a serious burn victim and a wheelchair-bound child to death with ease if you really wanted to. Congratulations.”

“You want to prove you’re such a great assassin, how about you wait until practically anyone here is in decent physical condition? You’ve held out this long. I’m sure you can handle a little longer. Or is patience suddenly not one of your holy virtues?”

“Hmph.”

“Don’t think for a moment you can understand the essence of a Holy Assassin, fool.”

“Oh, believe me, I don’t.”

She spins the knife once around the gloved part of her finger and sheaths it.

“Very well. I tire of these pitiful negotiations of yours.”

“I’ve a reward waiting for me, anyway.”

She takes a few steps towards the cafeteria.

“Use this opportunity to think about what awaits you.”

Not an omelette on my end, I’m guessing.

“Any more of this and I assure you, whatever awaits you won’t be a reward.”

“Mahavir. That’s enough.”

“........”

Mahavir stares Tsunyasha down as she walks away. Even when the doors close behind her, he doesn’t turn away.

“......”

I hear a rattle and open my eyes again. Aidan’s started to wheel himself forward.

“Miss Kogamino. Thank you for stepping in.”

“No problem.”

“...”

“I’m halfway surprised you’re not upset about being called a child.”

“Well I don’t appreciate it, but I can understand it was for emphasis.”

“Right.”

He scoots himself closer to Mahavir.

“....................”

“Mister Attenborough?”

“.........”

“...I’m sorry. But she...”

“She can’t just...!”

“I know. She has no right to be making these sorts of threats, but pushing back like that will. Not. Help with her.”

“...........”

“So take a deep breath and come on. We have a meeting to get to.”

“........”

Aidan moves as close to the doors as he can, but Mahavir doesn’t follow yet. Guess it’s not that easy to let it go.

But everyone else is already in the cafeteria, right? No harm leaving him alone to cool down a bit.

I don’t want to think about what could happen if he ran into Tsunyasha again too soon.

[BACK] [NEXT]

#apexplot #apex5 #fanganronpa

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puppypaw-wc · 4 years

Text

okay it’s time for some rhythm ranting (i came up with that and i am so fucking proud of myself for it)-

so rhythm heaven megamix is the fourth rhythm heaven game, preceded by three other games (as you may guess): rhythm tengoku for the gameboy advance, released in 2006 in japan only, rhythm heaven for the ds, released in 2009, and rhythm heaven fever, released for the wii in 2011/2012 and for the wii u in 2016. as megamix’s name implies (esp it’s japanese/korean name, rhythm tengoku (in japan)/rhythm world (in korea) the best+), it’s a mix of lots of rhythm games from past games. not all of them, though, because the developers wanted to spite us by not putting bon odori in. /j oh and like people like dj school and shit and it’s not in it. people modded dj school in though, no i am not kidding, people literally modded in a full game and i don’t know how. i mean donk-donk and tambourine have also been modded in somewhat for remixes but anyways back to my point-

the rest of this’ll be under the cut tho-

so one of my main problems with megamix is some of the game choices. rhythm tengoku only had 25 unique, non-sequel rhythm games. out of those, nine were excluded. that’s almost half. for perspective, though, three of those games are bon odori, rap men, and toss boys, which basically need audio cues to be played. bon odori relies on it’s song, where you clap whenever they say “pan” and clap twice quickly when they say “panpa”, rap men relies on its audio and you do something different depending on three different kinds of cues, and for toss boys you need audio cues to know who it’s being tossed to. and logically, they’d likely want to translate the games, so given that they seemingly didn’t get that big of a budget for dubbing, they weren’t included... but quiz show was. what’s the problem with quiz show, you may ask? well rhythm heaven as a game is a rhythm game. quiz show literally doesn’t require rhythm. basically the host will press the button a certain number of times and in order to pass the game you just need to press it the same amount of times. that’s literally it. in megamix you get the game’s skill star if you press it to the same rhythm, but it’s still not required. it’s also dumb because you literally have to play it perfectly in order to pass it. all you need for a perfect is to press the button(s) the same amount of times. if you press a button the wrong number of times, the game ends once the number you were supposed to hit it is revealed. quiz show is literally pointless. the only times it’s used well are in remixes in tengoku. in remix 6, at least in silver, it uses the previously played game, the clappy trio, as a hint, with the host asking, “how many members are in the clappy trio?”, before hitting the buttons three times. in remix 4, the rhythm for both the quiz segments goes with the music. i mean on the last one he can add an extra press and it’s fucking bullshit but whatever. i’m not mad. but my point is that in megamix, they added a game that doesn’t require rhythm as opposed to a multitude of actually liked games from tengoku. there’s non-included games that don’t require audio cues, i should add. showtime, polyrhythm, tram and pauline, wizard’s waltz, and for fuck’s sake, thinking about it, the games that likely weren’t added because of audio cues wouldn’t HAVE to be dubbed. just do what the tengoku fan translation did and translate the on-screen subtitles but leave the audio in japanese. please just give us bon odori stop holding them hostage-

i talk about tengoku but i’m pretty sure rhds is the game with the most non-included minigames. ds was played sideways, almost purely using the touch screen with the exception of rockers 2 in the last set of games. it had a unique control scheme, with three types of controls: tapping, where you just tap the screen with the stylus or your finger; flicking, where you flick your stylus or finger like you’re making the end of a checkmark, according to “the secret of flicking” reading material thingie you can read when you unlock the cafe; and sliding, where you just. slide your finger. megamix only has tapping, and even then that’s only when you’re using simple tap mode and i don’t want to imagine how that handles games that use the b-button. as i mentioned, tengoku had almost half of its games missing. ds has twenty-five rhythm games if you include the credits game airboarder. ten of those weren’t included. that may not seem like a lot, but ds is most peoples’ favorite rhythm heaven game, and two of the most loved games in the fandom, dj school and love lab, are from rhds, and neither was included in megamix.

fever has the least cut games over all, with only five of its original rhythm games being cut. fever had twenty-nine original rhythm games, with one more (rhythm test) also appearing in its remix 10. the ones that didn’t make it in are tambourine, donk-donk, tap troupe, shrimp shuffle, and night walk. night walk’s exclusion was probably since gba night walk made it in and they didn’t know how to name them differently, bUT YOU DID IT WITH THE KARATE MAN GAMES??? DID WE REALLY NEED ALL OF THE KARATE MAN GAMES, A PREQUEL, AND A NEW GAME? THAT’S FIVE DIFFERENT KARATE MAN GAMES IN MEGAMIX. THAT’S TOO MANY TIMES TO PLAY THE SAME GAME. granted only three of those times are required to beat the game (prequel karate man, gba karate man/karate man returns!, and karate man senior), but my point still stands, they gave us literally every karate man game but not night walk or something. it’s especially dumb to me because they gave figure fighter both a prequel and its sequel because they looove figure fighter... instead of including shrimp shuffle, which really desperately needs to be included, please let me know what a frame-perfect input looks like so i don’t keep getting barelys that look fine because like all my inputs are barelys but they still break the perfect-

,,, onto another thing before i break something or kill someone.

so the dubbing for megamix is a little odd. as i said, the game likely didn’t have that big of a budget for dubbing, especially when compared to other games in the series. the prologues for games use the same three or four generic fonts despite the japanese version using the original fonts, the returning games that have lyrical songs just use the original version of the song with the exception of fan club 2, the two lyrical remixes weren’t dubbed (komeki no story, lush remix’s song, is simply instrumental with english audio, while in the japanese version it has lyrics. i’m a lady now, honeybee remix’s song, is in english regardless of audio), and lastly,,, the dubbing for the returning tengoku games where there’s vocals.

so in space dance, the whole game uses audio cues. there’s three of them in total: “turn right”, where you press the right d-pad button on “right”. note that when they say it it does not sound like they are saying turn right. at all. i’m not sure why, it’s not just the gba’s bad sound quality because well. bon odori exists. and also because it’s the same in megamix when you use the japanese audio. my immediate thought is accents but i don’t know if japanese accents are a thing. might just be because of the fact that japanese people tend to pronounce r’s as l’s? not sure though. “let’s sit down”, where you press the down d-pad button on “down”. it also doesn’t sound like they’re saying “let’s sit down”. and lastly, “pu-pu-pu-punch”, where you press the a-button on “punch”. in order to punch. because that’s a dance move. like seriously, space dance is fun but how is this a dance? um anyways, in the english version of megamix they changed it so it’s more clear what’s being said but the dubbing’s not the best. firstly, they changed “turn right” to “and pose” even though that is definitely not posing. it’s weird since. that’s the only one that was changed. i don’t know how to describe what they did to space dance and most of y’all probably don’t play rhythm heaven so you don’t understand, so here’s a perfect gameplay of space dance with japanese audio (it took time to find), and here’s one with english audio. ,,, okay so the english one’s of cosmic dance because i. forgot what exactly i was doing. and got distracted looking through the comments. so now i know that they still reused space gramps’ voice for cosmic girl in cosmic dance. which like. wut? you redubbed it but you. you still reused. you still reused space gramps’ voice for her? megamix dubbers are you okay? i’m kind of concerned.

the other game that has audio is purely japanese audio. marcher/marching orders. it’s a keep the beat game where you play as a squadmate following the sarge’s orders. the rhythm heaven wiki’s description for it is basically what i said but they’re better at describing things then me so.

“In this game, a rookie is undergoing marching training with her squadmates while following their Sarge's orders. The player controls the rookie at the end of the line. There are four commands that the Sarge will yell.

"Attention, March!"

"Attention, Halt!"

"Left-face, Turn!"

"Right-face, Turn!"

The player must perform these with proper timing along with the other squadmates. Just before the game ends, the squadmates will be moved offscreen, still marching as the game ends.”

in the japanese version, the commands he says are obviously different, though i. do not know what he is saying. so have my attempts at romanizing it.

“gento susume!” = “attention, march!”

“gento commoback!” = “attention, halt!”

“meski meek!” = one of them? i don’t really know which and it feels inconsistent, at least in marcher 2. i think it’s right-face turn but i’m not one hundred percent sure.

“meski peek!” = the other one. so i think left-face turn.

,,, yeah i don’t know japanese, sorry if this (as in literally any of this) is offensive to anyone that does. i’m just trying my best. the wiki doesn’t say what he says in the japanese version. unlike for other games.

now in the japanese version, the sarge has a somewhat deep voice. but in the english version... he doesn’t.

um here’s a perfect in tengoku and here’s one in megamix that i think has english audio since. it says it’s the english version in the description. but i’m not listening to it.

u h my last nitpick with megamix is the prequels. so prior to lush remix, almost all the games played are prequels, easier and shorter versions of the actual games. after lush remix is completed and the towers of lush woods are unlocked (i’m just taking this from the wiki, wtf is lush woods), all the games from then on are the original versions, with “2″ or something else stuck onto them for the games that had prequels. this makes it irritating to find certain games on the wiki because it’s just like “no i don’t want normal wii micro-row i want wii micro-row 2 rhythm heaven wiki please” or whatever. also the picks for games that have prequels are all over the place, and some of the prequels’ music doesn’t seem to fit and makes it feel like all the patterns in the prequels for games like rhythm tweezers and clappy trio are the exact same. is it the exact same? because if so then that’s cool (i suck at rhythm tweezers and clappy trio-) but also very boring. i get that they wanted to start people with something easy but some of the games that have prequels were already easy. karate man (gba) is literally the first game in tengoku but it still has a prequel. rhythm tweezers is the second game but it has a prequel. clappy trio’s the fifth and it has a prequel (granted it is kind of hard). fillbots is the third in ds and it has a prequel. air rally is relatively early on in fever. you get my point. and the weird thing is that in some cases at least, games that have prequels which remove stuff from the actual games don’t have practices for things in the actual version. for example, air rally’s prequel doesn’t have forthington (the cat) changing distances, except for the last one which he apparently always catches, but wii air rally obviously does. granted, the rhythm’s the exact same when he’s far away (for some reason? i don’t think that’s how it should work-), but it should still have practice. oh and in air rally they just completely removed the clouds that semi-block the visuals later in the game. yeah i don’t know either. that seems to be the only instance of that occurance, though.

another prequel nitpick: so i love rhythm rally. like it is the best game in ds imho. it’s fun, it’s not that hard (it is kind of hard but i still have fun), though i do play on emulator, god knows how hard it is when you’re like me and don’t know how to consistently flick dear god send help- but u m in megamix rhythm rally has a prequel. which may not seem bad or anything until you learn something. megamix rhythm rally is the shortest game in the series. showtime from tengoku is seven seconds longer while munchy monk from ds is twelve seconds longer. rhythm rally’s prequel is thirty seconds long. thirty seconds. t h i r t y s e c o n d s . d,,, don’t paddlers literally have to play ping-pong to not get like. really sick? i don’t think thirty seconds is a long enough ping-pong game to avoid that- y’all’s planet is literally named ping-pong but you only play for thirty seconds. on top of a flower. okay wtf is with the scenery on this planet, it has a resident rhythm heaven void that we should be concerned about why are there so many voids, s p a c e i t s e l f , a giant flower, and a giant cake. two concerning things and two things that are weird but not concerning. seriously though why are there so many voids in the rhythm heaven world? someone should look into this, i’m concerned.

u h anyways that’s all. have a good day.

#puppy rambles #rhythm heaven on main #rhythm heaven #rhythm heaven megamix #i already posted something like this on my dedicated rhythm heaven blog so :/#i just brought up that i nitpick about megamix and was like ''h m i should. do that''

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inu-fiction · 6 years

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PSA: Stuff You Maybe Didn’t Realize You Can Back Up To AO3, And How To Tag it

Tumblr seems to be in potential death throes or at least, incredibly volatile and unreliable lately, but we’ve done some pretty good and informative work on canon analysis and reference guides so I was looking for ways to back it up without losing it...and the solution became obvious to me: Archive of Our Own, aka AO3. “What?” you might ask if you are less familiar with their TOS. “Isn’t that just a fanfic archive??” No! It’s a fanWORK archive. It is an archive for fanworks in general! “Fanwork” is a broad term that encompasses a lot of things, but it doesn’t just include fanfic and fanart, vids etc; it also includes “fannish” essays and articles that fall under what’s often called “meta” (from the word for “beyond” or “above”, referencing that it goes beyond the original exact text)! The defining factor of whether Archive of Our Own is the appropriate place to post it is not whether or not it’s a fictional expansion of canon (fanfic), though that is definitely included - no, it’s literally just “is this a work by a ‘fan’ intended for other ‘fannish’ folks/of ‘fannish’ interest?” The articles we’ve written as a handy reference to the period-appropriate Japanese clothing worn by Inuyasha characters? The analyses of characters? The delineations of concrete canon (the original work) vs common “fanon” (common misconceptions within the fandom)? Even the discussion of broader cultural, historical, and geographic context that applies to the series and many potential fanworks? All of those are fannish nonfiction! Which means they absolutely can (and will) have a home on AO3, and I encourage anybody who is wanting to back up similar works of “fannish interest” - ranging from research they’ve done for a fic, to character analyses and headcanons - to use AO3 for it, because it’s a stable, smooth-running platform that is ad-free and unlike tumblr, is run by a nonprofit (The OTW) that itself is run by and for the benefit of, fellow fans. Of course, that begs the question of how to tag your work if you do cross-post it, eh? So on that note, here’s a quick run-down of tags we’re finding useful and applicable, which I’ve figured out through a combination of trial and error and actually asking a tag wrangler (shoutout to @wrangletangle for their invaluable help!): First, the Very Broad: - “ Nonfiction ”. This helps separate it from fanfic on the archive, so people who aren’t looking for anything but fanfic are less likely to have to skim past it, whereas people looking for exactly that content are more likely to find it. - while “Meta” and “Essay” and even “Information” are all sometimes used for the kinds of nonfiction and analytical works we post, I’ve been told “ Meta Essay ” is the advisable specific tag for such works. This would apply to character analyses, reference guides to canon, and even reference guides to real-world things that are reflected in the canon (such as our articles on Japanese clothing as worn by the characters). The other three tags are usable, and I’ve been using them as well to cover my bases, but they’ll also tend to bring up content such as “essay format” fanfic or fanfic with titles with those words in them - something that does not happen with “Meta Essay”.

- I’ve also found by poking around in suggested tags, that “ Fanwork Research & Reference Guides ” is consistently used (even by casual users) for: nonfiction fannish works relating to analyses of canon materials; analyses of and meta on fandom-specific or fanwork-specific tropes; information on or guides to writing real-world stuff that applies to or is reflected in specific fandoms' media (e.g. articles on period-appropriate culture-specific costuming and how to describe it); and expanded background materials for specific fans' fanworks (such as how a given AU's worldbuilding is supposed to be set up) that didn't fit within the narrative proper and is separated out as a reference for interested readers. Basically, if it's an original fan-made reference for something specific to one or more fanworks, or a research aid for writing certain things applicable to fanworks or fannish interests in general, then it can fall under that latter tag.

- You should also mark it with any appropriate fandom(s) in the “Fandom” field. Just like you would for a fanfic, because of course, the work is specifically relevant to fans of X canon, right? If it discusses sensitive topics, or particular characters, etc., you should probably tag for those. E.g. “death” or “mental illness”, “Kagome Higurashi”, etc.

Additionally, if you are backing it up from a Tumblr you may wish to add: - “ Archived From Tumblr “ and/or “ Cross-Posted From Tumblr ” to reference the original place of publication, for works originally posted to tumblr. (I advise this if only because someday, there might not be “tumblr” as we know it, and someone might be specifically looking for content that was originally on it, you never know) - “ Archived From [blog name] Blog ”; this marks it as an archived work from a specific blog. And yes, I recommend adding the word “blog” in there for clarity- Wrangletangle was actually delighted that I bothered to tag our first archived work with “Archived From Inu-Fiction Blog” because being EXTREMLY specific about things like that is super helpful to the tag wranglers on AO3, who have to decide how to categorize/”syn” (synonym) various new tags from alphabetized lists without context of the original posting right in front of them. In other words, including the name AND the word “blog” in it, helps them categorize the tag on the back end without having to spend extra time googling what the heck “[Insert Name Here]” was originally.

Overall, you should be as specific and clear as possible, but those tags/tag formats should prove useful in tagging it correctly should you choose to put fannish essays and articles up on AO3 :) Oh, and protip sidebar for those posting, especially works that are more than plain text: you can make archiving things quicker and easier for yourself, but remember to plan ahead for tumblr’s potential demise/disabling/service interruptions. The good news: You can literally copy and paste the ENTIRE text of a tumblr post from say, an “edit” window, on tumblr, straight into AO3′s Rich Text Format editor, and it will preserve pretty much all or almost all of the formatting - such as bold, italics, embedded links, etc! But the bad news: keep in mind that while AO3 allows for embedded images and it WILL transfer those embedded images with a quick copy-paste like that, AO3 itself doesn’t host the images for embedding; those are still external images. This means that whether or not they continue to load/display for users, depends entirely on whether the file is still on the original external server! As I quickly discovered, in the case of posts copied from the Edit window of a tumblr post, the images will still point to the copies of the images ON tumblr’s servers. What this means is that you should back up (save copies elsewhere of) any embedded images that you consider vital to such posts, in case you need to upload them elsewhere and fiddle with where the external image is being pulled from, later. Personally, I’m doing that AND adding image descriptions underneath them, just to be on the safe side (and in fairness, this makes it more accessible to people who cannot view the images anyway, such as sight-impaired people who use screen readers or people who have images set to not automatically display on their browser, so it’s win-win)

#signal boost #psa #archiving #fanworks #archive of our own #ao3 #the great big migration to ao3 #how to #inuyasha #how to tag

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precuredaily · 5 years

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Precure Daily Halloween Special 2019

Episodes: SPC 37, HaCha 37, GPP Movie, MPC 38-39, KKPC 37, HUG 38, STPC 37 Dates watched: 30-31 October 2019 Original air dates: Sunday in October 1-2 weeks before Halloween, 2011 & 2016-2018, and the Saturday of Halloween, 2015

Is that little girl in the witch hat dressed as Akko from Little Witch Academia in a nod to her seiyuu, Han Megumi, playing Hime or is this just a coincidence? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

You may remember the PCD Christmas Special I did last year, where I watched every Precure Christmas episode and compared them to each other, charting the common elements and evolution in how they handle the subject. Well, I really love Halloween, but for a while, Japan didn’t celebrate it. It only started to catch on in the late 2000s and into the 2010s, and so despite several episodes of Precure airing on or near Halloween night over the years, the first time it was brought up in the franchise wasn’t until 2011′s Suite Precure. You can read more about how it became acceptable to celebrate and the ways in which the Japanese people enjoy themselves in this article, but the important takeaways are that Halloween events are more about food and festivities, and trick-or-treating is a highly organized activity, no going door-to-door.

At this point in the shows, all extra heroines have been introduced and the team is usually on the cusp of acquiring a new powerup. The villains have suffered significant losses and are preparing to pull out some form of trump card (this will facilitate the team getting their new attack). Typically, the monster of the week will be made from a Jack O’Lantern or some other Halloween decoration. In more recent years there’s been a tendency to explain what Halloween is about, but they don’t always do this. The biggest draw of a Halloween episode, though, in my opinion, is getting to see the characters in costumes. I’m going to briefly run down each Halloween episode (or movie) and then compare common elements at the end.

Note: At the time of writing, I am about 6 episodes behind in Star Twinkle Precure, did not wish to skip ahead for the purposes of this article, and didn’t have the time to catch up. I will add my thoughts on STPC 38 at a later date, and I will announce when I have done this via a reblog to @pcd-status. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Star Twinkle section added 12 Nov. 2019

Suite Precure 37 - “Wakuwaku! Everyone Transforms for Halloween!” Original air date: 30 October 2011

With Mephisto freed of his brainwashing, Falsetto takes charge of Trio the Minor and leads an attack on the girls. Ako has decided to stay in the human world, and the older girls take her to a Halloween celebration to brighten her spirits. Ako isn’t really enjoying herself, but some younger kids rope her into playing with them and that brightens her up. When Trio the Minor turn a pumpkin into a Negatone, they try to perform a new attack with Crescendo Tone: Precure Suite Session Ensemble Crescendo, but it falls apart, so Ako uses her invidual attacks while the older trio uses their group finisher. At the end, Falsetto sings an incomplete Melody of Sorrow to speed up Noise’s revival.

Costumes and references: Hibiki is dressed as a pirate, but specifically she resembles a genderbent Captain Marvelous, the red ranger from the contemporary Sentai series Gokaiger. Kanade is dressed as a pumpkin witch. Ellen is dressed as a black cat, an allusion to her true form, and Ako is a dressed as a princess, which she is. (not digging very deep for this)

HappinessCharge Precure 37 - “Big Bang, Defeated! An Unbelievably Strong Enemy Appears!” Original air date: 19 October 2014

Oresky, Namakelder, and Hosshiwa are all feeling weakened after taking the Happiness Big Bang attack, so Queen Mirage concludes they may not be useful to her anymore and prepares her next agent. Meanwhile in Pikarigaoka, Megumi encourages Blue to join them at the town’s Halloween festival, and he agrees. They all begin to share pumpkin cakes with each other, a local tradition. Seiji shares his with Megumi, Megumi eagerly shares hers with Blue, and the other girls look on from a distance as they recognize the love triangle unfolding in front of them. Oresky appears, trying to ruin the Halloween festival that makes people happy and attempting to prove his worth. He really wants to be the number one general in the Phantom Empire, as he feels that if he’s not first, he’s worthless and he doesn’t want to be replaced. The girls transform, and begin to persuade him that there’s enjoyment to be had in fun things, and it’s okay if you’re not first. They hit him with Happiness Big Bang and it begins to purify him, when suddenly an attack interrupts it. As the smoke clears, their new opponent is revealed to be a corrupted Cure Tender, Iona’s missing older sister.

Costumes and references: Megumi is wearing a Halloween-themed dress, orange with jack-o-lanterns on it. Hime is dressed as a princess, which much like with Ako, seems kind of low-effort since she’s an actual princess. Yuuko is dressed as a witch, and Iona is a fortune teller. Also, Blue is dressed as a vampire.

Go! Princess Precure: Go! Go!! Gorgeous Triple Feature Original release date: 31 October 2015

The Princess movie was experimental, being made of three shorter films: a chibi short with no dialog, a 50-minute traditional feature, and a 20-minute all CG adventure. The film leaned hard on its Halloween theming, with Pumpkins and Halloween being prominent motifs in all three parts. I’ll break them down individually.

Cure Flora and the Mysterious Mirror

This is a cute sketch where Cure Flora finds a fancy crown, puts it on, and accidentally startles some mischievous sprites on the other side of what she thinks is a mirror. They have the ability to transform, so they take on her appearance and mirror her, but they forget to duplicate the crown and eventually they begin to compete with the real Flora, doing tricks. She accidentally breaks the crown, so the sprites decide to transform into a special pumpkin outfit for her, just as the other girls come in. The 5-minute short uses a super deformed art style with all CG animation and has no dialog.

Costumes and references: Cure Flora’s pumpkin dress and hat.

The Pumpkin Kingdom’s Treasure

Haruka, Minami, Kirara, and Towa are transported to the wondrous Pumpkin Kingdom, where the royal chancellor Warp is hosting a Princess Contest to find a princess for the kingdom. Towa, being well-versed in evil schemes, smells a rat and is on edge. Haruka finds the true princess of the kingdom, Pumpururu, who is locked away, and learns that the Pumpkin King and Queen are under Warp’s control. Minami, Kirara, and Towa each win their rounds in the contest, but the former two are captured while Towa is able to avoid capture. Haruka participates, even managing to snap the monarchs out of the control. She transforms, frees the others from their capture, and Warp transforms to a giant monster. Pumpururu, the sprites, and the Precures’ strong feelings summon Halloween Dress Up Keys that the girls use to defeat Warp and save the Pumpkin Kingdom.

Costumes and references: The girls get special outfits to wear for the Princess Contest (not halloween themed), as well as Mode Elegant Halloween dresses that feature pumpkin flowers on them.

Precure and Leffy’s Wonder Night!

This is an episode-length feature using the CG animation style from the dance endings. Haruka discovers a doll on her desk, when she’s suddenly transported to the Pumpkingdom, already transformed, and the doll is now a girl named Leffy. Leffy tells the cures they need to defeat Night Pumpkin, who has taken over Pumpkingdom and stolen the daylight from them, making it always night. What follows is essentially an ongoing chase through the city to the top, where they fight and defeat Night Pumpkin and restore daylight to Pumpkingdom. Haruka is then transported back to her room, and the Leffy doll is gone. It’s worth noting that Leffy appeared as Pumpururu’s doll in the previous portion. The connection to this section of the film is unclear. Also, Minami, Kirara, and Towa do not appear in their civilian forms at all.

Costumes and references: Leffy isn’t overtly pumpkin themed, and nobody else gets any special forms in this one. However, there is a glorious moment where Flora accidentally bonks Night Pumpkin on the head.

a proud Precure tradition

Maho Girls Precure 38 - “Is it Sweet or Not? The Magic Pumpkin Festival!” Original air date: 23 October 2016

This isn’t explicitly a Halloween episode, because the Magic World doesn’t celebrate Halloween, but they have fall traditions that involve pumpkins and sweets so it counts. Their tradition is to chase a Pumpkin Bird that appears every year. It shoots candy from its mouth, and if it hits someone, they turn into a giant piece of candy. If you capture it, you get a special prize. One of the villains brings up the actually valid point that the creature may not like being chased and that’s why it runs, but Mofurun talks to it and finds out it just has a cavity. The girls transform into Topaz Style to fight Shakince in a creatively silly battle. When they beat him, Mofurun gets the credit for “capturing” the Pumpkin Bird and so she gets presented with its prize, which turns out to be a seed that grows into a tree which sprouts toothbrushes. I am not making that up.

Costumes and references: Mofurun gets a special orange and yellow dress to wear when she receives the prize but it’s never shown in closeup from the front. Also, there is a cameo appearance by Watanabe Mayu, who sings the insert song for the Maho Girls Movie that was in theaters around this time, and also served as the ending theme for episodes 38 and 39 (only on the TV version, on home release they use “Magic a la Domo”). She makes a special appearance as herself. Even better, in a flashback, she’s seen beside giant statues of Mipple and Mepple.

Maho Girls Precure 39 - “This is Halloween! Everyone, Smile!” Original air date: 30 October 2016

The girls from magic school come to visit the non-magic world and learn about Halloween! But Jun, Kay, and Emily have to be reminded, even when things seem bad, to not use magic to help out. The students of the non-magic world are running a crepe stand and the magic world students decide to chip in, and after being scolded for using their powers, they learn how to do things the old-fashioned way and appreciate the value of hard work. In the middle of all of this, Ha-chan changes costumes almost every scene. Benigyo is extremely confused by all the Halloween festivities and doesn’t understand what the girls want when they tell her to stop ruining it. They never do give her a proper explanation, but she summons a Donyokubaaru that blows air and the girls have to transform to Sapphire form to fight it off. There’s a small plot point about Mirai’s grandmother recognizing the magic school Headmaster from her own youth. At the end of the episode, it’s implied that Liko’s father has made a big breakthrough about relations between the magic and non-magic worlds, and more ancient powers. Kind of a disjointed episode.

Costumes and references: Mirai is dressed as Mofurun, Liko is dressed as a cat in an orange and purple dress, Mofurun is dressed as Cure Miracle, Chikurun is dressed as a bunny, and Ha-chan is dressed as:

an alicorn

a sarcophagus

a mummy

a sphinx

a UFO

and a thunder god (Raijin)

And just a cool thing I noticed, the final stage for the ending dance was updated with a Halloween theme. I’m really curious why, since they replaced the ending with “The Right Way to Use Magic” in the initial television broadcast of this episode, and I don’t think the Halloween version was seen in any previous or subsequent episodes.

Kirakira Precure a la Mode 37 - “Salut! Ciel is Going Back to France!?” Original air date: 22 October 2017

Ciel’s old boss, Madame Solaine, finds her and tries to get her to come back to Paris and work for her there, feeling that Ciel’s talent is wasted in this small town. Not wanting to admit that she initially came searching for her brother, and that she’s got responsibilities as a Precure, she tries to demonstrate what she likes about Ichigozaoka. Everybody is worried that Ciel is going to leave, and even lowkey encouraging her to do what’s best for her career, but she wants to stay. Ultimately she wins Madame Solaine over with a dish inspired by Ichika’s cooking style. Elisio is the antagonist of this episode but I honestly found the battle to be completely irrelevant. The most notable point for the villains is that Grave makes some kind of discovery at the end of the episode.

Costumes and references: Their costumes here are modifications to their patisserie uniforms. Ichika is a jack o’lantern, Himari is an angel, Aoi is a devil, Yukari is a cat (of course), Akira is a vampire, and Ciel is a witch.

HUGtto! Precure 38 - “Charged with Happiness! Happy Halloween!” Original air date: 28 October 2018

Hagukumi town is going to be hosting a Halloween Party, with Papple’s business providing food and entertainment. Daigan is tasked with food prep, but he gets frustrated with a very delicate task, and a visit from Bishin has him questioning his loyalties. The girls are ready to hit the town, and have even prepared costumes for Harry and Hugtan. They made a lot of costumes for Hugtan, in fact, but Ruru detects that she doesn’t really like any of them, so they ask her what she wants to be, and she responds “Pwecyua!” They set to work making her a Precure costume in short order, but an Oshimaida attack secretly requested by Daigan threatens the party. The girls transform and make a show of it to keep people’s spirits high, finishing the monster off with Cheerful Attack. Papple knows that Daigan was responsible and chides him for defecting, even momentarily, and informs him that everybody loved his food. Up at Beauty Harry, the girls finish Hugtan’s costume and show her to Harry, who briefly has a flash of Cure Tomorrow.

Costumes and references: Hana is a witch, Saaya is a lolita devil, Homare is a cowgirl, Emiru and Ruru are pirates, Harry is a werewolf (because he’s.... hairy, IDK if that was the joke), and Hugtan is dressed as Cure Yell. Foreshadowing ahoy!

Star☆Twinkle Precure 37 - “Cryptids Will Win! The Halloween Costume Contest” Original air date: 21 October 2019

Mihoshi Town is having a Halloween costume contest with prizes for best group, so everybody brings their A-game. Except Yuni, she takes the chance to walk around in her true Rainbownian form. Everybody is having fun and the girls get to explain Halloween to Yuni and Lala. Unfortunately, Kappard is hanging around, reminiscing about what happened to his planet, and he doesn’t like the festivities. Everyone thinks he’s just dressed as a sexy kappa and they want pictures with him, which annoys him even more, so he steals one arguing couple’s imagination and goes on the attack. In an effort to guide him away from all the people and hide their identities, when the girls transform, they claim to be the Mihoshi Stars and do a full Sentai roll call, finally settling the debate over Milky and Cosmo’s color designations. (I was probably one of the last people to maintain that Milky was blue by this point, tbh) They lead him away from the festivities and then try to talk him down, but all he can say is he doesn’t believe different species can live in harmony, that Lala and Yuni are living a lie by celebrating Earth customs, and he doesn’t understand this holiday at all, so they defeat him and return to the festival. Elena wins prizes as part of two different groups, but Kappard is declared the overall winner. Too bad he’s MIA. This episode doesn’t do much for the plot, but it does give a little backstory to Kappard, as we see that his planet got destroyed by a non-native species monopolizing all of their natural resources. Considering what we see of Eyewan and Tenjou in the next few episodes, it’s possible we’re aiming to redeem the villains. Hard to tell with an ongoing show.

Costumes and references: Hikaru is a yeti, Lala is a tsuchinoko, Madoka is a cat, Elena is a flower (with her family) and a cat (with Madoka and Yuni), Yuni is herself, Fuwa is a sheep I guess, and Prunce is the Michelin Man (TELL ME I’M WRONG).

Analysis

Halloween episodes, unlike Christmas episodes, don’t have as much of a running theme. Halloween is more of a dressing than an opportunity to explore feelings. The placement of these episodes in the series means that things are usually starting to ramp up, but none of them features a major conflict. In a few episodes, the fight with the villains felt downright inconsequential, while it was more meaningful in others. There was a trend in more recent years to explain the origins of Halloween, as a gathering of spirits, but otherwise there aren’t as many identifiable patterns or shifts in patterns as there were in the Christmas episodes, it’s mostly been “this is Halloween, have fun.” The Go Princess movie had the opportunity to make the most of their halloween theme, but instead they just focused on pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins without really diving into what makes Halloween as a holiday special or significant. It’s an alright movie but it’s a sour note on an excellent series that knew what it was doing. HappinessCharge probably utilized Halloween the best as a setting, using some Halloween traditions to create romantic tension, and I appreciated Maho Girls’s attempt to create a Halloween-ish fall holiday for a fictional culture, and then also bringing those people in to explore our Halloween. Since it’s a newer holiday for Precure to work with, only getting regular exposure since 2014, we might see them figure out more ways to spin Halloween in the future. Honestly I hope so, and I’ll be here to write about it for you.

Happy Halloween, everybody, and look forward to more Yes 5 coming soon. Hopefully I’ll finish that by the end of the year. Hopefully. (yeah not likely)

#Precure #Pretty Cure #Suite Precure #HappinessCharge Precure #Go! Princess Precure #Maho Girls Precure #Kirakira Precure a la Mode #HUGtto! Precure #Star Twinkle Precure #PCD Halloween

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chibivesicle · 5 years

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Golden Kamuy chapters 205 & 206: the medium is the message - and Asirpa realizes her role in the hunt for the gold.

I’ve decided to combine chapters 205 & 206 for analysis. I was stuck on chapter 205 and it made more sense for me to look at both chapters at the same time. The series is clearly at a slower point, setting up things and adding some comedy to balance out things when they get overly intense. Just think back to 185-191.

This upcoming intensity is alluded to in a very blunt way, the chapter title page here with Tsurumi in a bed of weapons. It is as though he is an unnatural and almost zombie like man cradled in a pile of elements of death and destruction.

His skin tone is a sickening shade of yellow green, and his veins are clearly visible.

He’s clearly living up to his shinigami nickname and this likely refers back to his early mention in the manga about supplying countries with arms for WWI to Mr. Thomas as well as his goal to employ the families of the men lost in the Russo-Japanese war in his weapons industry for WWI. Despite all of this information we already know about Tsurumi, we still don’t know his original motivations for why he thought this is a good idea. What does he hope to achieve by creating a military dictatorship on Hokkaido? Who is he fighting as a result of Ogla & Fina’s deaths?

Anyways, those are some thoughts to ponder at greater length another time.

The chapter starts off very seriously. Tsukishima finds Sugimoto and talks to him away from the others. He flat out tells Sugimoto that Kiro took Asirpa to Karafuto to remember the key to the gold that needed to be facilitated by Sofia. Furthermore, Tsukishima figured out that Ogata ran off with Asirpa b/c he knew she had figured out the code and when she talked to Kiro and relaxed before dying, it means that Asirpa knows what the the key is.

Tsukishima states this as a question, but really, it is only a formality - everyone present knows the Asirpa told Kiro something that gave him the ability to die at least knowing Asirpa learned something important, the code.

Based on what Tsukishima is summarizing, it is clear he knows more about those involved than Tsurumi let Sugimoto know. Sugimoto asked him in Abashiri why he thought they went to Karafuto. Tsurumi recounts the fact from the initial events that got Wilk caught; the other men were murdered, he was heading towards Karafuto with a small amount of gold when he got caught. He then added in that b/c they were partisans, Kiro would likely want to reconnect his allies here.

Tsurumi only gives Sugimoto basic information - that Kiro will want to work with partisans and get Asirpa in contact with them. He doesn’t mention Sofia, the fact she’s in Akou, in a Russian prison, that he’ll float information to someone to make sure the border guards are on the alert for Kiro and Wilk. Meanwhile, he clearly gave at least some of this information to Tsukishima to help him figure things out on the fly.

Tsukishima is bold enough to ask if Ogata tried to kill her because he got the code from her and she was no longer necessary. Sugimoto’s response is so well, Sugimoto. That Asirpa would not tell Ogata the code. What he doesn’t know is that Ogata almost got the code out of her.

Sugimoto then tells Tsukishima that he’ll talk to her and that Tsukishima shouldn’t interfere. Sugimoto is unable to see Tsukishim’s facial expression at that point in time. I wonder if Sugimoto is trying to hide his own expression? But he misses seeing Tsukishima’s expression that is very emotional for Tsukishima. He’s not pleased at all with Sugimoto pushing him out of the way.

The rest of the chapter changes focus to the potential power of film.

The two filmmakers give the group a free viewing of some of their film footage and it gives Asirpa the idea that they should try to record Ainu stories so that others could understand them. Already at the beginning she’s concerned and disappointed that they can only record images but not voices.

Despite that, she decides that they should still do their best to film Ainu culture. At first she thinks, this will be a great idea, since there is no language their film will be universally understood. She’s very excited by this idea, and it is a very smart idea, one that we as readers would expect from Asirpa. Sugimoto’s facial expression is unusual here. He looks unhappy, and again the protective covering for his head is visible under his cap.

Does he not understand her need to preserve her culture. Or Is he concerned that she’s realized her culture is in danger and she’s using language that Wilk or Kiro would use? Whatever it is, Sugimoto is not happy with this statement from Asirpa.

With his typical jock persuasion, Sugimoto convinces Inaba to let her film her Ainu folktales.

This then transitions to the mainly comedy part of the chapter. Asirpa becomes a stereotypical over the top demanding director.

Honestly, I felt meh about the whole Pannape and Pennape bit. Sugimoto gets cast as the fortunate Pannape who gets good things to happen due to his penis. His loving wife is played by Koito, I guess because he’s more attractive than Tsukishima? The unlucky Pennape is played by Sugimoto and his wife is played by Tsukishima who also has exceptionally large breasts. I feel sorry for Shiraishi, we already know the guy is less than blessed below the belt but having his penis cut off and then dying is just harsh and odd.

This also reveals that Vasily is helping with their set, by painting props so he’s still stuck to the group like glue waiting for Ogata to pop up.

What is interesting is that Tsukishima again approaches Sugimoto about his method for dealing with Asirpa while they are filming. I find it interesting that he tells Sugimoto they don’t have any time. This implies from the beginning of the chapter that Tsukishima wants to get the code from Asirpa before Tsurumi gets to Karafuto. It is almost as though Tsukishima is trying to avoid having Asirpa have to deal with Tsurumi directly . . . Sugimoto replies by trying to make it clear that only he will deal with Asirpa.

Koito is clearly unaware of Tsukishima’s conversation with Sugimoto and instead, being the competitive person he is, wonders if Tsukishima is trying to get more scenes by currying favor with Sugimoto. I think there is a lot more with Koito going on below the surface, he’s clearly still upset at Tsukishima and I think this is another way that he’s lashing out at him. He may not even realize it, but it is clear that Tsukishima knows more things in regards to the mission that Koito does.

I will say though, Koito is really into this! It is just like the circus arc he shows, when motivated through competition he’ll got to great lengths. Plus, we know he is a natural performer.

What I find even more exciting and interesting is that he is NOT MOTIVATED by Tsurumi. Tsukishima was able to get even more out of Koito during the circus arc by using the extra Tsurumi bromides as carrots. Here there are no Tsurumi bromides, no validation and praise from Tsurumi nor his father. Koito’s just really motivated from himself. Or at least this is what I see happening. I dunno, I think this is a big deal for Koito. He’s doing stuff likely based on internal motivation not external. I’ll get back to this later on when I discuss chapter 206.

Despite a cast of people of varying motivation, Asirpa becomes upset b/c she realizes silly stories about lucky and unlucky men and their penises won’t convey Ainu culture for future generations. Sugimoto suggests she try a more serious story instead.

She agrees and for this one she uses a more diverse cast as well.

Cikapasi is the lead, the youngest of three brothers who went on a hunting trip and stopped by a house with a man who had three daughters. They hung out and a strange man showed up, who was a bear in disguise. The oldest brother helped the youngest to defeat the bear, by hitting him with a stick revealing his true identity. The family was thankful for their help. The brothers continued on their journey.

As they came back by the house, they were offered the chance to marry the daughters and the youngest brother agreed to do so. He was so happy to have a family to be a part of as shown here with Cikapasi, Enonoka and her grandfather. As Enonoka and her grandfather smile at Cikapasi we see his eyes wide open, sparkly (again as much as GK charas can) and he’s unable to say something . . .

I think that this conveys that Enonoka and her grandfather would love to have Cikapasi as a part of their own family. And he just realized it at this point.

The story then reveals that the oldest brother, played by Tanigaki is actually a bird kamuy and he leaves the younger brothers behind. She also explains that the main character was an orphan and he was taken into the kamuy’s family and raised and cared for by him. But it is now time for them to say goodbye. Asirpa’s prompt is key at this moment, he will say goodbye to “that man” forever [Tanigaki].

Cikapasi sweats as he realizes what this means and this results in the most emotionally honest performance of any one that day. Tanigaki looks down upon Cikapasi with such a soft look, in the story the bird’s tears turned to rain. What is more important is that Cikapasi cries as he says Tanigaki’s name. He knows what will likely happen between them now, that he will have to separate from Tanigaki, now that he’s found a family.

I’d like to note that Tanigaki now has light in his eyes. Tanigaki’s eyes have always been variable throughout the series. Like many members of the 7th, he frequently in serious situations is shown with no light in his eyes, no sparkle. But in instances of domestic calm e.g eating borscht with the light house couple or relaxing we can see some sparkle. However, his eyes also sparkle in extremely violent situations - this was shown when Ogata tried to snipe him and when he fought Kiro and stabbed him with his own knife. I wonder if the sparkle for Tanigaki happens when he’s allowing others to see his emotions as opposed to times when he’s just following orders and trying to lay low. It is hard to tell.

Either way, this chapter was an exceptionally emotional one for Asirpa and Cikapasi for different reasons.

After thinking about chapter 205 for awhile, I really like the idea that Asirpa was the director. Yes, her film is a bit of a disaster since she’s a kid and not an amazing director, but I really like the fact that she was able to direct her own culture and cultural experience. She is a native, female director trying to capture what is most important to her and not through the lens of an outsider. I think this is incredibly important and it also shows that GK is written in 2019 and not 1907. There is a great debate in the movie and television industry about if the media is inclusive enough or not currently. This shows that it is critical to allow someone to depict their cultural context without someone else doing it and making it exotic and his 100% relavent RIGHT NOW.

For me, I can’t stress this enough, it is the fact that Asirpa takes control of the media relating to her culture that really stood out for me in this chapter. I had to look beyond the penis jokes and see the events in chapter 206 to really get this to click for me. As we know, Hijikata has his own plans to use her and her culture in the fight for the gold. And as chapter 206 shows, the filmmakers were capturing her own culture through their own cultural context as a French man (very colonial) and a Japanese man (a growing colonial power). Obviously, their own opinions will impact their film making. We all have bias that we bring to our interpretations. I think the fact that Asirpa’s own bias will help to equalize out those who are looking from the outside in at her culture and this includes Sugimoto and Tanigaki. I can’t help but feeling that these two men are cherry picking what they want to borrow from Ainu culture but see the rest as not valuable or valid.

Chapter 206 continues the transition to the results of their film making experiment. Thanks to Koito’s affluence, they are able to rent an entire theatre for themselves (including Vasily- Vasya, please go home). Shiraishi points out the obvious about Koito’s wealth with a carefree attitude. Tsukishima glances at Shiraishi, Koito flat out ignores him.

Sugimoto is looking concerned at a very serious looking Asirpa (likely how her work will present itself) and Tanigaki looks at Enonoka and Cikapasi excited to see the film! If you look further out, it also appears that Sugimoto and Tsukishima are looking at each other as well. Does this mean they are both staring each other down as well as looking at the others? Can this be read as both things happening at once? I’m going to say yes, both.

The only people interested in viewing film so clearly are Asirpa, Koito, Cikapasi and Enonoka.

The chapter than gives a montage of the film and various characters reactions to things. Koito is clearly quite proud of his acting skills as after it shows him cutting the pole penis, he glances back to Tsukishima both proud and a bit cocky. I really think he wants Tsukishima to be impressed or feel that Koito out performed him.

This is not a look that wants Tsukishima’s approval, it is more of a “beat that Tsukishima!”. The next shows it all with Tsukishima’s very Tsukishima performance which was his fake breasts jiggling. What is important is what this is allowing Cikapasi and Tanigaki to realize. . . . As the Tanigaki bird kamuy flies by Enonoka and Cikapasi are holding hands.

Enonoka is excited by the scene, Cikapasi looks serious, he’s recognizing that he likely will have to make a choice - stay with Enonoka or go back. His facial expression seems to be leaning towards saying good-bye to Tanigaki. It shows Tanigaki then looking at both of them, he’s again got a soft sparkle in his eyes - I think he too knows that they should part ways - or is he going to ask Cikapasi to still join him even if it isn’t the best option for Cikapasi? I really hope they realize the best thing is for both of them to appreciate their time together, but to move on.

Things get more interesting as they explain they filmed near Otaru more than 10 years prior. It shows Wilk with a bow and arrow and Huci and another woman are in the background clapping. All of the adults are surprised to see Wilk’s actual face. Shiraishi calls him Wilk as he and Sugimoto both sweat. Koito instead calls him Noppera-bou (in the Japanese raws, not scan translation) since he is not a connected to him but now sees him in a more human light. Tsukishima meanwhile is unmoved and does not appear surprised at all.

Is this b/c Tsukishima is being Tsukishima or did he know or spy on Wilk for Tsurumi in the past? I think Tsukishima knew what Wilk looked like before the injury. Tanigaki just looks at him in awe. Not sweating but clearly thinking something. . . . thinking about that father you ran away from Tanigaki? Did you realize something?

The film goes on to feature the woman who is clearly Asirpa’s mother both based on her appearance but also based on her behaviours! Noda wants to make it quite clear that this woman is Asirpa’s mother. No doubts readers, this woman was Asirpa’s mother.

The film then shows a scene of Wilk kissing a child in a papoose on her back. It is clear that the child is Asirpa, and that the film as caught both of her parents in action. Also, notice that Asirpa’s mother had her ears pierced but she was not wearing earrings. I wonder if this has any importance to her role in the community. Her tattoo is also minimal, very much like Inkarmat’s. Was Asirpa’s mother a more progressive and modern Ainu woman as well?

My personal favorite part of the chapter is the two page spread below. I love everything about it. The image of Asirpa and her mother on the screen, Vasily in the back along with Tsuki and Shiraishi also hanging back. Asirpa is cast in the light, Shiraishi is in grey and we can see his facial expression yet Sugimoto is entirely shaded in black. Inaba explains the dialogue between himself and Wilk. It ends showing Kiro looking at the camera while Wilk is in the background shaded. The spread ends with Sugimoto, Asirpa and Shiraishi all looking at it in awe!

The lighting, framing, everything about this is so nice. It gives the entire feeling of the reactions of everyone. What is most interesting to me, is that Inaba tells him that registering to marry Asirpa’s mother mean he would count as Japanese and that he could end up drafted for the war. The manga has never touched on the idea of Wilk fighting in the war, only Kiro. Both frames show Kiro in the foreground before Wilk - I wonder if Kiro reported for duty as Wilk instead of Wilk going? Kiro is the one who looks back towards the viewer (Inaba). If Kiro went instead of Wilk - would anyone know the difference? Japanese office for draft intake: “Hey a random Ainu says he’s Wilk. Yep, must be him, I mean he’s an Ainu guy.” (whatever his registered name was that we still don’t know) plus we never learned Kiro’s registered name either.

I really wonder if they just pulled a fast one on the Japanese government. Asirpa has always mentioned her father being there for her and raising her - I can’t help but think that Kiro took his place if he was drafted. . . . I could see Kiro taking one for the team so to speak.

Sadly, around that time the arc lamp sparks and the film begins to melt and they run out before there is a fire. Asirpa then walks away from the group outside of the theatre. Sugimoto goes after her to ask her if she’s okay. She looks so sad yet thoughtful during these scenes. Her encounter with film as a medium has given her more perspective.

She finally got to see what her mother looked like but it does not convey the love for her the same way that she gets from her father telling her about her mother. She has learned a lot through her journey with Kiro (part of his monologue to her at the fox farm). She learned about the Karafuto Ainu and other ethnic groups. It shows her looking through the fence at the foxes at the fox farm - is this a tie to Ogata doing the same thing as her? Ogata was looking at the foxes while Kiro talked to her and vice versa.

It also shows the sama of the Uilta people was he’s trying to help remove whatever has taken hold of Ogata during his fever state. It lastly shows the Nivhk people tanning fish hides. Out of the four scenes here, two are clearly linked to Ogata . . . what does it mean? Two of the scenes are directly linked to Wilk, the fox farm and the Karafuto Ainu sled dog and maybe the sama a bit since he shot a reindeer just like Ogata did by accident. Come on Noda! You tie Ogata and Asirpa together too frequently for it to be random.

The next page is very dramatic. . . . Asirpa’s face is shaded so we can’t see her expression, and nor can Sugimoto. Her wolf cloak blows in the wind dramatically as she asks Sugimoto if it is true that she needs to fight for what she wants to protect as Kiro and Wilk have said.

His reaction to her words is immediate, we get the feeling that he’s becoming emotionally charged, the erratic screentones in the background the wind blowing his scarf up and his hair becomes more on edge. Sugimoto says that she doesn’t need to be the one fighting though.

She then states that once the gold is found she should go back to being who she was before, an Ainu girl living near Otaru, hunting and enjoying her food with “hinna hinna”. She asks him if that is what he’s saying. It is interesting that she has pretty much asked Sugimoto if she should do what Ogata told her to do back in chapter 185.

The conversation continues to ratchet things up - she continues to state that Kiro didn’t die just so that she could go home. He wanted her to understand the plight of the native peoples and that she can’t ignore this. Sugimoto then tells her that she doesn’t have to fight. Her response is blunt.

She calls him out on it - he’s not telling her these things for Asirpa - he’s doing it for himself. The next panel almost gives me chills she asks him if he sees inside her a reminder of himself before the war - when he at persimmons with his friends and he was much more carefree and happy.

Sugimoto’s shaded face is almost like his admission of guilt - she hit the nail on the head. She’s confirmed that this is a major part of his involvement.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised when Sugimoto doesn’t deny that he’s using her to an extent. So that he can go back to the time when he was able to eat dried persimmons with Toraji and Umeko. Asirpa shows a look of surprise and realization when he doesn’t deny it. What I do find concerning is how unhappy he looks before he comes clean. That frown is so obvious that this is a conversation he doesn’t want to be having. I get the feeling that Sugimoto wanted Asirpa to simply drop out of the fight because he has said so.

Sugimoto finally talks about the stuff that he wanted to talk to her about back in 139 when he was heading to Karafuto and while talking with Koito Sr. He finally explains that Wilk wanted Asirpa to lead the Ainu and fight the Japanese and the Russians. I have been waiting so long for Sugimoto to finally have this conversation with her. But - I’m not pleased with the idea that he tells her that Wilk and Kiro wanted her to fight and kill people for the cause. He even says that Kiro’s death was so that Asirpa would feel like she had no choice to fight to save her culture. Honestly, I don’t think Kiro was too keen on dying for the cause; yes, he was able to die at peace b/c Asirpa learned things and remembered the code but he clearly would have preferred to have still been fighting.

It is more that Sugimoto is adding this as his own emphasis, to fight for her culture, she will kill people, just like Wilk and Kiro. He tells her that he can’t forgive Wilk and Kiro for doing this to her - putting her in this position. Asirpa likely doesn’t see this the same way as Sugimoto - she sees that her eyes have been opened to what is happening and she even had seen how Inkarmat was fighting for the Ainu as well (her methods didn’t get the correct result but she tried).

There are so many things happening here - likely Wilk and Kiro didn’t give a damn about whether or not someone like Sugimoto could forgive them.

They weren’t looking for “forgiveness” for their actions from a non-native and a colonizer.

Why would they? They are the victims of colonialism and they for certain aren’t looking for forgiveness from their colonizers that is a ridiculous concept. Sugimoto’s viewpoint is a slap in the face to Asirpa - he’s “morally right” enough that his judgement of Wilk and Kiro is better than Asirpa’s own “judgement” of them.

What Sugimoto got out of his conversation with Koito Sr. is that Wilk and by extension, Koito Sr. said is that leaders who are asking others to sacrifice their children for a cause must do that same. Koito Sr. speaks specifically about Koito, but as we learn in Koito’s flashback, he’s already lost one of son’s due to his leadership role. At this point in the story it allows the reader to show that Koito Sr. is willing to make the sacrifice of his second son if he has to as a leader of his people.

Sugimoto’s dialogue shows that he did not get the point that Koito Sr. was trying to say instead he just asks her if she wants to fight like her father did.

What I don’t like about this is that Sugimoto then states that he doesn’t have his own children but he thinks he knows what it is like to be a parent. That’s what his words imply to Asirpa. He takes the fire and brimstone approach to Asirpa - that if she kills she will go to the Ainu hell. I don’t know what to think of this approach - Koito Sr. was trying to give Sugimoto perspective as to the putative role Wilk wanted Asirpa to play in the Ainu and the ethnic minorities.

No one in the manga is denying that Wilk wanted her to do things that in our modern mindset seem cruel and unfair to her. However, for most of human history, children were a means to an end, you had children so they could continue to do whatever you were doing. The ideas of marrying people for love and allowing children to have a free will to decide what they are doing is still not even universal today.

Asirpa is sweating as he tells her that she should not get involved b/c she will have to kill others and she will know what that is like. The visual of demon Sugimoto then is shown before a profusely sweating Asirpa before the final panel here.

The gap between them seems so great to me. Asirpa is small and separated from him and looking up at him. Meanwhile, Sugimoto is clearly looking down upon her. If the tension continues between them, it will set up Asirpa’s reply to be something likely divisive or very emotional.

Is Sugimoto being heavy handed because Asirpa called him out on his “use” of her to remind him of his younger, unbroken self? He tells her that she is fortunate to have made it this far in the quest for the gold and hasn’t killed anyone like the rest of them. She still has lead to the harm of others directly or indirectly. . .

The chapter of 206 sums up the state of Sugimoto and Asirpa and the last panel visually shows it - it truly is “the distance between the two of them”.

Okay, so time for some crazy theories and obeservations.

This is the second time that someone has talked to Asirpa about her role in the hunt for the gold and it is clear that this is a parallel with what happened between Asirpa and Ogata.

Similar to with Sugimoto here where he asks her if she is alright with his face obscured making his intent unclear.

Ogata also first approaches her from behind his eyes shaded.

This leads him to asking her if she learned the code showing hims again with his face obscured as she turns to him. Notice how the wind blows around them with her hair flowing and his cloak as well.

Which is similar to this scene with Sugimoto. The wind blows her wolf skin cloak and later on we see Sugimoto’s scarf also blowing in the wind.

But things then go differently for awhile. Sugimoto continues to tower over her from a bit of a distance while in contrast Ogata kneels before her.

He is lower than her as he asks her that she wants to live near her home hunting. Interestingly, as a true grandma’s boy, he includes her Huci in his statement.

This statement by Ogata likely is what prompted Asirpa to phrase things to this way to Sugimoto. She’s asking Sugimoto if he’s implying the same thing that Ogata was implying. What is interesting is we as the readers can see this but Sugimoto doesn’t know that Asirpa is using Ogata’s words towards him. GK is full of scenes where characters re-use each other’s dialogue when talking to them - Ogata is the best example of this and now Asirpa is doing the same thing that Ogata has been shown to do. Again, Asirpa and Ogata are linked through this mechanism.

What I personally find interesting is how Sugimoto and Ogata try completely different ways to argue the same thing. In 185 Ogata tells her that she should leave the fight to Kiro and Sofia and that she shouldn’t carry such a heavy burden. Ogata never directly tells he to not fight - instead he states that she should leave adult things to adults.

This also gives an “advantage” to Asirpa in her discussion with Sugimoto, she’s already been through this once with Ogata, and she incorporates some of what he said and uses it back towards Sugimoto with her own conclusions.

The way that Sugimoto argues with her is 100% what one would expect from him - he says “don’t kill.” That is the end of my arguement. Thank you.

Honestly, in 185, Ogata tried so much harder than Sugimoto does in 206 to convince her to give him the code. Ogata tries to state that as a child (well teen) she doesn’t need to carry this burden. Sugimoto states that the situation was arranged so that she would have no option but to conclude that she should fight. His solution - don’t fight. “Hey Asirpa, you know what you should do? Don’t fight.”

Sugimoto isn’t even listening to Asirpa. With Ogata and Asirpa - the conversation was one-sided, Ogata tried all these different ways to get her to give him the code and she only talks back to him when he asks her why she didn’t let Sugimoto kill him and why the “idol of the Ainu” must remain pure. Ogata got into some weird philosophical battle with himself facilated by Asirpa.

The conversation with Sugimoto is already going to play out differently - Asirpa called Sugimoto out - something that she couldn’t do with Ogata in part to the fact that she didn’t know exactly what he wanted from her, so she couldn’t argue back.

Ultimately, Sugimoto and Ogata interpreted Wilk’s intentions in completely different ways.

Sugimoto sees Wilk’s intentions as flat out telling Asirpa that she must fight. He trained her to be a leader and she will lead the guerria warfare against the Japanese and Russian governments for independence.

Ogata instead, saw that Wilk set Asirpa up as a pure idol to lead the Ainu. She would lead them into battle but she herself would not dirty her hands. Ogata then wanted her to dirty her hands so that she could be like everyone else and lead the Ainu with realistic and dirty hands. Ogata interestingly never brought up the idea of it being okay for Asirpa to fight. I think he understood well enough what was at stake for the Ainu, he did align himself with Kiro so he likely didn’t just give him lipservice . . .

This ties back to the role of a father impacting the fate of a child. What is interesting is that Ogata is upset b/c he’s the abandoned son of a man who made his “blessed son” stay pure while he had to get dirty. It is clear that on some level even if he denies it, but Ogata was jealous of Yuusaku and Asirpa for being elevated to special places by their father while the rest of them were stuck in the literal trenches. Ogata has made it clear he doesn’t care for the “elite” of any society or culture.

Sugimoto instead, is upset that Wilk just wants her to kill b/c that is what she was raised to do. He has not followed upon his Joan of Arc reference - will this pop up in the next chapter? If so, it will increase the parallel between Sugimoto and Ogata.

This has me wondering if Sugimoto also has issues about being “abandoned” by the death of his father. All that manga has revealed is that he burnt down the family house after he was informed of his father’s death of TB. Is Sugimoto jealous of the fact that even though Asirpa no longer has her father he had a plan for her? This still implies that he cares about her and her future as fucked up as his plan is for her.

Right now, it feels like Ogata’s arguement versus Sugimoto’s arguement seems more well fleshed out and thought out. However, we need to see if Sugimoto’s discussion will play out over 3 chapters as well.

187 ended with a stand off between the two of them here as shown at the beginning of 188 . ..

While 206 ends with this panel.

Will this lead to a standoff as well? It is clear they are now on different sides of the issue of how to protect Ainu culture. I would be shocked if Asirpa gives Sugimoto the code - right now everything indicates that she will also deny him the code.

Well either way we will have to wait a few weeks for the next new chapter!

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #sugimoto saichi #asirpa #wilk #kiroranke #ogata hyakunosuke #cikapasi #enonoka #tanigaki genjirou #Shiraishi Yoshitake #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #koito heiji #vasily #tsurumi tokushirou

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worldaliasarts · 5 years

Text

Red Lips

Alister Kirkland x Momoka Honda

Part 1

TW: Blood and Cussing

Momoka brushed her hair a few times over before pinning a bright red flourish flower in her hair to match her blushed lips sighing gently.

Her father had promised another dinner to Oliver Kirkland, but failed to inform the family until that morning, with a pointed look towards his eldest daughter, Momoka. She had overheard their speaking of alliances and never understood why it would be of benefit to any one save for the fact her father figured she would not ever find love elsewise. He wasn't wrong. She wasn't looking. Besides it wasnt as if he or her mother entirely found love themselves...it felt nearly hypocritical, but she would do what was needed in order to please her father...even dining with a foolish boy..one with stupid pink hair on his stupid smiling face. She nearly hated him if she was being honest, he was always so carefree, unburdened by life...she was envious of it, as if it was a gift passed from the universe only to him, wholely unattainable for her.

She pursed her lips, adjusting her top to hide the ink on her skin, she figured Oliver would not take a liking to her many tattoos, in that case maybe she should show them off, in hopes to scare off the family and free her of them..maybe.

She left her shirt where it was, standing up.

Kusuru walked past her door pausing to look her over "you look nice, bachelorette"

"Oh shut your face, dumbass" she walked over kicking his calf, making him yell,

"Shitface!"

"Takes one to know one!" she furrowed her brows, shoving him out of the room, closing her door hard. Her cheeks burned with a mixture of anger and embarrassment as she brushed her hair back into its place with the tips of her fingers, ignoring her brother's taunting voice outside of her door.

The consideration of all that might be neccesary to rid herself of these people was now more inclined.

She listed all the things she knew the Kirklands hated in her mind,..cussing, blood, she figured tattoos as well, and excessive showing of skin..that one she admittedly disliked herself...her father would certainly strike her, until she had learned her lesson after dinner, but that would be worth it....

Wounds heal.

She refused to be pawned off to be the mother and home maker of some weak willed child, who wasted his days with knitting and baking and frilly western dressmaking, was he even a man??

Certainly not by her standards....

And if she was to be arranged in marriage, she at least wanted a man.

She stripped down to her lingerie running a finger lightly over her collarbone as she stared at herself in the mirror, she may be labeled as one who lives a debauched life, someone with loose morals, or no regard, but once she'd risen to power, and taken over the family mantle, any mistaken fool who thought that would be swiftly corrected.

She knelt in front of her dresser, and pulled open the drawer, gently pulling out each part of her kimono.

She put each layer on, loosely, allowing it to droop around her shoulders, making certain she looked indecent.

She pulled on her tabi socks, before she pulled the pretty hair pin out, setting it down carefully on her vanity. She stood walking across the room before kneeling once more, in front of a cabinet..she supposed now was as good a time as any to open it.

She pulled open the small wooden box, pulling out a small bottle of rice wine, gently cupping her hand, and pouring it lightly in, lathering it over her neck and some through her hair before she took a small swig, exhaling gently, returning the bottle to it's place and closing the doors.

She looked down at her palm,..perhaps this would be enough...perhaps drawing blood from herself might be crossing the line....

Her cheeks heated as she practiced in her mind acting like a loose lipped drunk, she wasnt entirely sure that she was capable...she supposed that she would have to be in order to pull this off.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a car pulled into the gravel drive. She glanced out the window as three people came out and approached her front door, she waited until they had been welcomed into the home before she made her way out of her window, climbing down to the ground, careful of her clothing, before giving her hair one last good toussle.

Kusuru answered the door, looking their guests up and down crossing his arms, biting the inside of his cheek as he stepped aside, watching them take their shoes off and step into his home.

Oliver Kirkland. Father to the child whom his sister was promised to, along with his wife, Aubree, who looked like she'd rather be literally anywhere else, than here with any of the people in this room, and of course the golden child himself, Alister Kirkland..his presence unsettled Kusuru, he didn't understand why, but he hated the tension in his nerves, and his unconcious flinching as he approached.

"やめて,(stop)" he growled slightly, glowering down at the pink haired boy

He laughed lightly "I hope you're doing alright Kusuru,.." he gave a gentle smile

"しね、ねずみ(die, rat)" he spat, his nose scrunching with distaste as he tried his best not to look unsettled. He was successful.

Alister blinked, smiling with another laugh "いお、ごめなさい(okay! I'm sorry.)" he bowed apologetically "I didn't mean to offend you Honda-San.."

Kusuru blinked, taken slightly aback, he hadn't expected to be understood.

"Please...make yourselves comfortable, I apologize for Kusuru's behaviour,..." His mother excused him gently, as she poured some tea for their guests, looking back at him from the corner of her eye.

Kusuru gave a huffing sigh, shifting and glancing away, he knew there would be words later, but did both of his parents honestly expect to marry his sister off to this freak? When she could break him with her pinky?? Their parents expected them both to just go along with it? No questions asked and no attempts to get out of it?...Though that was moreso his mode of operation than hers.

He glanced to the staircase. She must have gotten cold feet he guessed,...if she didnt have to be here, maybe he didn't either.

As if reading his thoughts, his father cleared his throat "Kusuru, retreive your sister.." he added a look to make sure he knew he'd better return, and he nodded, swallowing lightly before moving towards the stairs, rapping on her door "Momoka....everyones waiting for you, stupid.." he sighed.

Being greeted with silence, he furrowed his brows, and opened the door, his brows furrowing deeper into a frown "Momoka??" he looked around her empty room, walking over to the windowsil "Momoka..??" he called.

There was not even a trace of her.

He glanced over seeing her hair pin from earlier.

"Shit," he slammed a hand against the window frame, before he pinched his nose sighing, "Why do I have to cover for your selfish ass" he gritted his teeth, growling quietly, before he headed back downstairs.

"Where is your sister?" His father demanded.

"Not here.." he said giving a nonchalant look paired with a shrug he knew he'd regret.

Oliver gave a sympathetic smile in the Japanese man's direction, "Don't worry Kuro, we can come again another time.."

Kuro narrowed his eyes "...I plead you stay for dinner nontheless"

Alister nodded piping in "I think that's a wonderful idea,..! May we please, Mummy?" he asked looking to Oliver.

The older man smiled and nodded patting his son's head "Of course Poppet"

Kusuru furrowed his brows looking to Alister "What?"

He met his gaze, tilting his head innocently,

"Are you sick in the head or something??" Kusuru asked

"No...I don't believe so, why?" he asked, tilting his head some in the other direction.

He pointed to Oliver "You have to have hit your head extra hard then, because t h a t is n o t your mother, he has a dick-"

Oliver stood abruptly, placing his hands over Alister's ears, his eyes swirling just slightly "I'd rather we kept the conversation elsewhere..." he spoke quickly.

Before the black haired boy could continue, the door creaked open and a barefooted mess of a girl stumbled forward, tracking mud inside, giggling in a stupified manner before falling over against the wall, squealing lightly.

Kuro's eyes widen, along with the rest of his family's and their guests.

"Momoka Honda!" his voice cracked through the air, and her giggles, and she stumbled into a mostly upright position, placing a hand over her mouth, in order to look like she was stifling a laugh.

Alister's cheeks blazed red on her account as her kimono fell a little looser, falling off her shoulder completely. He rushed to her, pulling his hooded teal cloak from his shoulders, leaning up in order to drape them around hers, in an attempt at modesty for her.

"..Are you quite alright, love?" he asks, genuinely concerned about her, gently taking her free hand as a means of stability, to her surprise, causing her to blink, staring down at him, her cheeks warm at the physical contact. The words in her mind, her actions muddle.

She couldn't think.

Her brain paniked as she tries to process everything, her master plan had been easily thwarted and she was unsure how to proceed.

"..Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhit." she said the only word on her mind.

Oliver's eyes swirled faster, and he cleared his throat.

Alister's eyes flickered as well, as he continued to look up at her "Poppet,..-" he said, before glancing away and looking back at her "-Love, it's alright, you're home now,...you should go and get some rest now"

She took in a quiet, sharp, and shakey breath before she gave another loud giggle "You...you shhhould see your faces right now..!" she stumbled forward, leaning on Alister a little as she carried on in a sing songey manner "Shit shit shit shit shit shit sh-" a finger covered her mouth, and the grip on her hand was tightened, as Alister's smile twitched "Please don't speak anymore," he said with gentle cheer.

Momoka's eyes widened slightly, her mouth gaping some as her eyes drifted to her hand, that he was gripping, as she gave out a small cry of pain.

How did he have this tight of a hold on her?? her fingertips were changing colour, from the grip of this...twig??

Kusuru moved himself, suddenly standing between his sister and the strawberry blonde. "Back up,.." he growled.

The smaller boy blinked, letting her hand go, allowing her to stumble backward, holding her hand close to her chest underneath the cloak, as she fell against the wall with a quiet thud.

"I apologize, I must have zonked out for a moment there,.." he gave a gentle innocent laugh before looking at the slightly shook up Momoka "Love, are you alright,..?" he asked, once more, moving towards her only to have Kusuru side step and block him.

"You've done enough, she's fine without you, rat" kusuru hissed.

Momoka glanced away, looking at the door, she wasn't actually drunk,...her mind worked just fine...so why did she still feel like her thoughts were muddied, one gigantic crashing sound in her brain, "God..damn..." she exhaled, sucking in a breath as she felt her body being shoved against the wall, Alister's eyes hot pink, burning into her as he gripped her mouth, leaning up on his toes in order to whisper in her ear "If you do not stop speaking I will do so for you,...in the least cute way you can imagine.." Momoka furrowed her brows, anger boiling up in her as tears pricked her eyes, she shoved him off of herself "do n o t touch me, you vile small man" she ripped his cloak away from her neck, throwing it at him, about to shout once more before Kuro's voice is raised and he shouts "Enough!"

All three looked to him.

"All of you. I have seen e n o u g h." He points to Momoka "You have shamed myself and this family more than you can repay in this evening or any other..!"

Kuro kneeled into a deep and respectable bow, his wife following suit, beside him as he spoke to Oliver "I sincerely hope you may forgive my foolish children, and their many ailments"

Oliver gave him yet another sympathetic smile "...Its expected for things to be dicey with two..i understand, dont worry, old friend"

"Thank you..." He sighed, and slowly sat up "..If you will continue to endure us, we can start dinner, however I understand if it is not your preference.."

"You would know." Kusuru mumbled.

Oliver glanced to him arching a brow "Whatever do you mean?"

"...You would know how things get dicey, having two kids. You were just less fortunate with the seating arrangement" he gave Alister a look which was hard to decipher.

"....Perhaps.." a still feverish eyed Alister spoke "...But it has it's advantages." He returned the unreadable look.

Momoka looked between the two boys, her cheeks burned from where Alister's nails had dug in, and her hand still pulsated, she could feel a bruise building on her wrist...no doubt he could kill her,...if he wanted to. It was a thought she hated in itself, but it didn't change that fact.

She adjusted her clothing layers to be tighter around her body, while the attention was not on her, continuing to turn it over in her mind. Perhaps it wasn't actually a matter of alliance, it was a matter of her being his only option. Either way she was a pawn, but this new thought made her feel especially discardable. He shouldn't even be her problem.

Then again, was she ever really more than discardable to her father? He was a cold hearted man...he had made her cold hearted too,...though not so much that she was unable to consider the possible consequences to repeated offenses.

She wondered what Alister was capable of....what his father was capable of...perhaps her defiance would put her family in danger.... This was the thought she disliked the most.

She gently lowered to her knees, as well, gracefully stretching her arms out in a bow "...I....sincerely apologize" she started, everyones eyes turning to her. "It was uncooth of me to present myself in any style less than what is deserving in honour to you,..all...."

She remained there, her eyes trained on the floor as she waited.

Aubree was the first to speak "We all do stupid..." she paused clearing her throat "...stuff. Dont worry about it, honey"

she glanced up only slightly to look at the woman, before looking down once more "You are more than too kind.."

Aubree nudges Alister nodding towards Momoka, and he walked over, kneeling and taking her hand, the pink hue finally discipating, the bright blue returning, before he furrowed his brows "Love, why are you on the floor??" he pulled her up to her feet as he stood "Are you alright..?" he asks again, and she cant help but sigh, nodding "Yes...I am fine, I apologize,..."

She fought the urge to slid her hand out of his as she spoke again to ask "Might I go to my room..and refresh myself?"

Alister kept hold of her hand until they reached the staircase and she ascended, disappearing momentarily.

She sat in her room pouring jasmine scented oil along her scalp, combing through her hair in order to lesson the smell of sake.

She brushed a part of her hair back one more time, clipping in the red flowers, painting her lips again with red, before returning downstairs.

Alister looked her over with surprise, before a gentle smile formed "You look beautiful"

Her cheeks heated once more and she looked away "...you flatter me.." She felt so silly, feeling her heart beat rising once more over this man.

He shook his head "I mean what I say.."

Kusuru made a loud gagging noise in mockery of the two, wincing as Momoka socked him in the side.

"Bitch!" He yelled at her, shoving her before Kuro cleared his throat and Momoka coiled back from her almost retaliation.

"My apologies..." she said, folding her hands together, tightly, before she walked to the table, taking a seat.

Kusuru and Alister sat on either of her sides, causing her brow to twitch with irritation, though she remained silent.

The three of them remained silent for the duration of the night, apart from asking to pass condiments, allowing the adults, mostly the two men to talk between themselves, the whole dinner.

As the night came to a close the Kirklands departed, Alister placed a shy kiss on Momoka's cheek, much to her dismay before waving goodbye and heading out into the dark.

As soon as the car was gone, Kuro turned to his children "...Strip and wait for me outside." He commanded, as he headed to his study in order to get his bamboo sticks.

The two gave each other a look before doing as the were told, kneeling on the grass in nothing but their under garments.

Their father appeared beside them making as if to hit Momoka first, she tensed, but didn't feel the sting, rather she hears a small cry out of her brother's mouth, before he curls his mouth in, biting to keep himself silent.

"How dare you call our guests rats." His father struck him "At all, let alone to their faces." he struck him once more, his voice raising "and telling them to die!?" he hit him once more "I will make you w i s h you had only been speaking to yourself!" he continued to strike him, until he heard another pained noise out of his sons mouth, having drawn blood, he continued to beat him, for a while longer, creating streaks along his back, before he ceased, looking to Momoka "And you."

She tensed more preparing for her share of strikes "you shame our family, our name, and purposefully provoke your soon to be husband"

"...I would never marry that monster.." she whispered under her breath.

The man gave a dry laugh "do not speak as if you are above him. You too have spilled blood and harmed others...and done worse." he motioned to her brother "you did it just now."

She looked down, biting her tounge to keep from lashing back "...I am sorry, father."

"I'm not the one who needs to be apologized to."

She looked at him and looked away.

He handed her the bamboo "strike your brother"

"But father-"

"Strike him, or i will do so, ten fold on your behalf!" he shouted

She flinched slightly, and stood to her feet, sending a crack against her brothers back, making him dig his nails into the dirt.

"Again." Kuro commanded, and she did so. "Again." he repeated, and she looked at him, hesitatig, "please father, allow me to take my own punshiment..."

"You are taking your own punishment!" he shouted, pointing to her brother's bleeding back, he understood their closeness, even when they acted as if they hated one another. He knew how much this hurt her. "Strike him again!"

And so she obeyed, continuing for what felt like an eternity to both of them, before he allowed her to stop. She helped her brother to his feet, heading inside to clean her brother's wounds.

She is gentle when doing so, with little compensation. Though she hadn't pictured it exactly this way, the consequences were as she figured.

This would be the one and only night anyone suffered from her failure to consider consequences.

She bound up her brother's whole back in gauze, helping him to his room, putting him under the sheets, face first.

She sat on the floor in front of the bed "Im sorry Kusuru, I never meant..." she sighed "I never wanted you caught up in my issues"

"You're a piece of shit.." he growled lowly, tilting his body a little so he could look at her.

"Yes...I know" she frowned some at him.

"But you're still my sister, you dumbass, and I dont know what the hell is broken in that candy man's head, but I don't want him anywhere near you. He's a freak and he's gonna hurt you.. He already has hurt you."

Momoka looked at the carpet sighing "I can defend myself just fine, Kusuru. Besides...his father likely wouldn't be happy to hear that. In either case, if i can't defend myself I ought to get hurt... and if i can't defend myself from death...I ought to die." she stood, sighing "..but thanks for worrying.. it's nice to know you care" she gave him a light head pat.

"I still hate your guts though." he made sure she knew and she nodded "i do too." she mumbled and flicked off his bedroom light, going to her own room, flopping on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the night..what a terrible terrible night.

With her mind refusing to relax, and the smell of sake and jasmine mixing in her hair, she gave up on all hopes of rest. Getting up, she headed off to the bathroom.

She sat on a stool, splashing water over her head a few times, before climbing into the bath tub, trying to do a better job of relaxing with the steam and gentle sway of the warm water helped.

She closed her eyes, remembering how the hairs on the back of her neck stood when Alister's eyes changed colour, she'd never seen anything like it,...even more frightening was his father, though he controlled himself much better.

She paused, recalling the words Aubree spoke just in her ear when departing, "I..wouldn't want to knowingly be married to that either,..." she had said.

Strangely enough, she may quickly become her only ally, understanding what it would be like to walk on thin ice within your own home all the time..

Was that going to be her future? Walking on eggshells, and building a family that was only hers to care for? Was it really t h a t silly of her to think if she ever did get married, her husband would tolerate her instead of love her? Even that would be better than a daily threat on her life...though he was sick enough in the head that maybe that was how he showed love.

She supposed Alister might learn to tolerate her...in a more normal manner. She had never been the focus of his anger like that...he seemed so...vulnerable.....until he was pushed.

She sunk further under the water, immersing herself fully, wanting to just stop thinking about everything, but she couldn't, it just continued, round and round in her head, and then she bobbed her head back up out of the water, panting, light and breathy.

She pulled herself up out of the water, reaching to grab a towel, pulling it over before pausing to glance behind, a jolt rushing through her body, as she hurried to pull the towel around herself "Alister, what the-" his hand was once more clasped onto her cheeks, as he reached over from the windowsill.

"No more unclean words this evening, Poppet"

She gripped his wrist, ripping it off her face, as she stepped backwards, climbing out of the bath "What do you want?" she growled to hide her fear. "Don't you have any sense of decency?"

"Decency?" he scoffed, traveling into the room with ease and grace, landing in front of her, getting close to her, running a hand over her back into the small of it, pulling her closer "You're one to speak with all that you tried to pull this evening.."

She backed up, gripping the side of the tub. He stepped closer, wrapping a hand around her waist a little more "Besides...everyone knows that you belong to me by now.." he spoke in a hushed tone, it sparked an angry flame in her chest, and her hair raised before she shoved him off "As if I would ever submit to anyone-any t h i n g" she corrected herself "like you." she glowered down at him, making the most of their height difference "you are small and insignificant, and no amount of anything you could do to me would change my mind."

He laughed "The look in your eye makes me wonder which one of us you're speaking to, Poppet.." he cupped her cheek "Don't act so big and mighty, 10 inches is not 10 feet," he said as his grip shifted to around her neck as he forced her to the ground "and even if it were, anyone can be brought down...haven't you ever heard of David and Goliath?"

She couldn't help but wince against the black marble floor as her knees hit it. She didn't dare to look up at him. She wished her mind and heart weren't warring against one another, she could neither be submissive nor dominant firmly with her internal conflict continuing. She hated it.

Nearly as much as she was beginning to hate this man.

He ran his fingers through her long wet hair before he wrapped it around his fist, pulling her up, towards his face, making her squeeze her eyes shut.

"Poppet...we can still make this work,..frankly you don't have much choice in the matter. Alister needs someone. And I chose you...seeing as no one else is remotely good enough.."

"...You're your own problem.." she gritted her teeth "If you weren't so broken and twisted perhaps Alister could actually find someone to care for him..." she spat, not looking at him.

He gave a dull laugh "I'm what stands between Alister and getting his heart crushed..what you call broken and twisted, I call protection.

"...You're crushing his heart yourself, deeming everyone less than good enough for him, hampering any chance of him finding genuine love." she said, her brows furrowed.

The man also furrowed his brows he nearly scoffed, but she continued speaking.

"It makes sense that Alister should get to decide himself...he's his own person" She sighed, looking up at him, "I'm not going to hurt him...I'm an Asshole not an idiot..."

While he hadn't appreciated the language, he understood, his grip loosened up enough for Momoka to pull her head away from his grip, though she felt a few strands tearing away from her head as she did so. She rubbed the spot, pulling herself to her feet.

"But that doesn't mean I could ever honestly love him either. I will do what I must, and see that he is cared for. Enough to protect my family. Nothing more."

"He will be your family soon enough too."

She sighed, scratching her eyebrow, he wasn't wrong, but she knew he was well aware of what she meant "Please leave my home."

He looked from the pieces of her hair between his fingers to her, "You weren't ever drunk were you..?" he asked quietly.

She didn't understand how his tone could change, how he felt bigger, more authoritative when he was like this..

Where she normally wouldn't feel the need to respond, he made her feel as though she didn't have a choice but to respond.

She shook her head lightly "...No."

He hummed, "Good." he stepped towards the door "Go and see him tomorrow,..properly." he commanded before he slipped out of the door, and out of the house through the front door, without so much as a creaking step.

Not even Momoka could do that, even with all her stealth training,...she continued to feel inferior to this man. And she continued to hate it.

She leaned back against the bathtub, sighing. As if she didnt already have far too much on her mind....

#Momoka Honda #Alister Kirkland #Hetalia OCs #2ptalia #love story #angst #slight blood warning #cussing too #2p!England #2p!Japan #Red Lips

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zerochanges · 6 years

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50 Years of Dororo - Mushi Pro’s Dororo 1969 vs Studio Mappa’s Dororo 2019

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Mushi Pro’s Dororo anime adaptation, the last anime to be made solely in black and white. The 1969 original Dororo anime is a cult classic, with high accolades from the diehard community and still holds up incredibly well to this day. Yet that didn't stop Studio Mappa from creating their own adaptation of the manga, which has finally released just this week. So the real question is, how do the two of them compare--well let’s get into it.

But first, a little background. The original Dororo manga, created by prolific manga creator Osamu Tezuka, ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday for about one year, from August 1967 to July 1968, where it then entered a hiatus for a brief period, before finally shifting to the Monthly Adventure King magazine in 1969 where it was serialized for about 6 months (May to October ‘69) and finally “concluded”. I say concluded but the manga mostly just abruptly stops before the characters accomplish any of their own goals, and things are more or less just left open in case Tezuka ever wanted to come back to the series (he didn't). Despite this Dororo has remained to be an incredibly beloved property by Tezuka and seen its fair share of retellings and adaptations from video games to live action films, and of course to anime.

So now let’s talk anime. The original 1969 adaptation of Dororo was created by Mushi Pro, Tezuka’s own animation studio that he started half a decade back in 1963, and as said above was the last anime to be created solely in black and white. By this point in time color TVs were finally becoming widespread in Japan, and most anime have already started to be created in color. This was not an easy process, and was more time consuming for the production, which is why the decision was made by Mushi Pro to stick to the work pipeline they had and produce Dororo in black and white, a decision that really went on to define the entire series. Mushi Pro's Dororo has a very crisp look, with some great animation for its era, but beyond that also manages some incredibly terrifying and equally breathtaking moments because of its beautiful artwork mixed with the black and white aesthetic. There’s just something about black and white, the atmosphere it creates is otherworldly, ask any movie buff and they’ll tell you the effects it has on the horror genre is undeniable. I think these late black and white 1960 era anime hold up so incredibly well, and may in fact be even creepier nowadays (the 1968 GeGeGe no Kitaro comes to mind).

Dororo (1969) episode 4: The Scroll of Bandai Part 2

Time marches on however, and after 50 years it’s time for another studio to take a swing at Dororo. Mappa is a small animation studio established in 2011, founded by Masao Maruyama, producer and co-founder of Madhouse, who left Madhouse to pursue his own passions and took some staff with him. Maruyama would later leave Mappa in 2016 unfortunately, but the studio to this day has still been producing hits since. The staff behind their current Dororo adaptation is helmed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi as director, Satoshi Iwataki as character designer, Yasuko Kobayashi in charge of scripts, and Yoshihiro Ike composing the music. Background animation is handled by Studio Pablo. Dororo is produced by Twin Engine, a production company with its main focus being the creators of the medium. Founded by Kouji Yamamoto, Twin Engine wishes to let young artist focus on creating anime, ignoring popular trends instead pursuing only the art of the medium; often commissioning work from studios to keep them financially afloat. Dororo, like a large majority of Twin Engine produced series, streams worldwide on Amazon Prime.

My final aside before diving into some thoughts on how both adaptations compare is that when it comes to adapting Tezuka’s iconic designs to the form of animation there are often changes made. The more Disney-esque look of his drawings can be hard to pull off for action animation, and well, giant noses, and bushy mustaches are well and good, but when you’re trying to sell hideous monsters chomping people into bits, maybe they are not that fitting for this story. That’s why both the 1969 Mushi Pro and 2019 Mappa series have their own takes on the design of the characters. Mushi Pro sorta goes for making protagonist Hyakkimaru more buff, and adult looking, whereas Mappa makes their Hyakkimaru slim and more ikemen. I think both approaches work fine for the story at hand, and are interesting time capsules of themselves for their own eras.

So let’s compare the first episode of both series!

Both episodes start in a similar fashion, with Feudal Lord Daigo Kagemitsu making a deal to 48 Demons and sacrificing his then unborn son in the process. However even this early on we can see differences between the two adaptations.

In the 1969 Mushi Pro version Daigo willingly offers up his own son to the demons, and does so for power, asking them to grant him all of Japan under his rule, whereas in the 2019 Mappa version Daigo only offers the demons anything they want in return, never directly giving them his own son, and asks for the demons to give him the power and prestige he will need to rule over Japan.

At first I felt that Mappa may have made Daigo a bit more sympathetic, him seemingly asking for his own province to be granted protection from disease, famine, and war is certainly something we haven’t seen out of the character, but were perks he does enjoy later in the story regardless. As I ruminated on it however, I realized it’s more of an attempt to round out his character and add some extra depth to him. Sure those may have been great things for a Feudal Lord to ask for, but Daigo really only cares about one thing, and that’s ruling Japan; this has yet to change. Daigo still has no qualms about his own son Hyakkimaru being born a hideous freak and still throws away the newborn baby to die in some river while yelling at his wife to make another one to replace it.

One Buddhist monk starves to death while bemoaning the state of Japan while another is slain and bemoans the current state of affairs in Japan

Then there’s Daigo killing a Buddhist monk. This scene does not exist in the 1969 Mushi Pro version (but Daigo does murder the monk albeit under different circumstances in the manga) and I have quite a bit to say about that. Daigo’s conversation with this monk, again, shows him off to be a bit more well rounded. He’s still selling his soul to the devil, but we can see his own level of commitment to his ambition when talking to the monk. The monk also plays another role that mirrors Mushi Pro’s first episode. In Mushi Pro’s debut episode Dororo comes across a starving Buddhist monk that can do nothing but beg for food and pray, and eventually succumbs to his starvation and dies. Both monks remark about the horrors of the current sengoku era being like Hell on Earth, and are meant to communicate to the audience that this particular time in Japanese history is perhaps one of the cruelest.

1969 or 2019, Daigo is still a dirt-bag and makes his wife suffer.

Let’s talk about Hyakkimaru’s birth as I think it’s a pretty interesting contrast between these two adaptations. In the 1969 Mushi Pro version Daigo already knows his son should be born a monster so upon seeing the hideous freak that is his baby boy, he proudly declares “My end of the bargain is fulfilled!” The demons have accepted Daigo’s offer and he can’t be happier. In the 2019 Mappa version Daigo is not aware of what the demons will take until a bolt of lighting strikes the room his wife is giving birth in. Upon seeing the baby up close (something not seen in the 1969 version until the second episode) Daigo realizes what has happened and orders the baby killed. We then get a conversation about a Buddhist statue that happened to break in the same room. The wet nurse believes it sacrificed itself in order to save the baby, giving a sorta strange implication that perhaps the deal wasn't to take 48 body parts from Hyakkimaru but to take everything from him, including his life. In fact we never really even establish if there are 48 demons, or 48 body parts missing, so the number may vary, and the kind of curse could be different. If that is true, it is certainly a unique approach to the series.

The image of baby Hyakkimaru from Mushi Pro's 1969 Dororo adaptation is taken from the second episode as it was not shown in the first episode.

Hyakkimaru’s birth between the two versions shows how both mirror each other--we have less subtle writing but more subtle animation in the 1969 Mushi Pro adaptation, and more subtle writing but super over-the-top animation in the 2019 Mappa adaptation. I find this maybe the best way to compare these two anime entirely so far. There is no huge lightning bolt smiting the room Daigo’s wife is giving birth in with the Mushi Pro version, instead you hear the mother scream in terror upon Hyakkimaru's birth as she breaks down and cries. Daigo and his wife's expressions of horror at the baby is the only clear indication of Hyakkimaru's hideousness instead of just showing the baby like Mappa did. But the Mappa version is trying to give some more depth to its characters, and maybe even to its own world with added bits such as the Buddhist statue maybe protecting Hyakkimaru. Both adaptations seems to have reverse on what they want to be subtle about and what they want to be over-the-top about.

In the 1969 Mushi Pro version Daigo and his wife send Hyakkimaru down the river in a basket themselves, where as in the 2019 Mappa version Daigo orders the wet nurse to drown Hyakkimaru in the river, but she pities the baby and places him in an abandoned boat then pushes it down the stream. And then a demon shows up and murders her out of nowhere and is slain by the blind monk Zato (a character that didn't appear until Hyakkimaru narrates his past to Dororo a little later in the story). Yeah, that was a really weird addition to the story Mappa made. It’s certainly more over-the-top and gets a bit more action into an episode that amounts to basically all set-up, so there is that, I guess. Still really weird to see Zato show up like this.

Both Zato and Jukai don't make their introduction until Hyakkimaru explains his past to Dororo in the second episode of the 1969 Mushi Pro Dororo.

Speaking of adding in characters earlier than before, Mappa included scenes that would interrupt the episode every now and again that focus on a doctor who gives prosthetics to dead maimed warriors so they can rest in peace. These scenes did not exist in the 1969 Mushi Pro version, which didn't show Jukai until episode 2 where it tells the story of how he saved a baby in the river he found, Hyakkimaru, and gave it prosthetics.

The introduction to Dororo is pretty similar in both versions, but more drawn out in the 1969 Mushi Pro adaptation. As discussed above with Daigo and the Buddhist monk, there was a scene where a starving monk begs Dororo for food before succumbing to his own starvation and dying, this was not present in the 2019 Mappa adaptation. Dororo gets more time to just do some general hijinks and mess around in town in Mushi Pro's version as well, before finally stealing food from some lowlifes and getting the crap kicked out of him by the riverbank.

In the Mappa version instead of stealing food from lowlifes Dororo steals their cargo and tries to pawn it but is caught then beaten at the riverbank. I imagine Mappa was just trying to streamline Dororo's introduction here for time constraints so they did their best to get across that he’s a thief while also making sure he ends up at the riverbank right away. Either way both adaptations lead to this slime looking monster appearing out of a pile of garbage in the river and eating the lowlife. Mappa’s more over the top animation has the monster swinging around its arms wildly until eventually grabbing said lowlife and making a snack out of him, where Mushi Pro has it slowly slither on top of the lowlife and then melts him. Ouch, that’s kinda way more messed up.

The lowlife gets melted by the monster in the manga too.

From this point on both adaptations are pretty much entirely the same, with just differences in animation quality being really all there is to comment on. The fight scene between Hyakkimaru and the slime in Mappa’s version is fantastic, with Hyakkimaru performing incredible acrobatics, jumping all around the bridge and slicing the whole thing up until it collapses on top of the slime killing it, where Mushi Pro … well they did their best, okay.

The real big difference is that Dororo seems a lot more intelligent when approaching Hyakkimaru in the 2019 Mappa version. Dororo was very quick to notice that Hyakkimaru is blind, and that his body is made up of mostly prosthetics. The 1969 Mushi Pro Dororo ends up getting terrified in the very next episode upon the realization that Hyakkimaru’s eyes are fake (he admittedly popped his glass eyes out of his head though to scare Dororo away).

The 2019 Mappa version has it that the riverbank monster was apparently one of the 48 demons Hyakkimaru needed to slay in order to regain his body parts, this one giving him back his skin. Hyakkimaru was actually born with his skin in the 1969 Mushi Pro version (as well as in the manga), and the monster was not the first demon he needed to kill but just a run-of-the-mil yokai that awarded him no regenerated body parts. Hyakkimaru actually worded it as "the dead", which have no true shape of their own and just latch onto anything, in this case the garbage in the river--thus making the slime monster we saw. Again I think Mappa was trying to kill two birds with one stone and get the audience acquainted with the series quicker since the general plot is essentially Hyakkimaru slays monster, Hyakkimaru grows back lost body part. This was a good way to streamline things, and it was with a body part that he wasn't missing before so it takes away nothing from later parts of the story.

And this is the biggest difference right here at the end of the episode, Hyakkimaru has yet to talk. He may not be able to speak at all until he’s slain enough demons to get this ability back. The Mappa version has so far seemed to point to Hyakkimaru being mute, deaf and blind, and completely cut off from the world. The Mushi Pro version had Hyakkimaru lack his eyeballs, his mouth, and his ears, but he could still speak and hear (just like in the manga). I always assumed it was just his outer ear missing but he still had all his inner ear like his eardrums, and well, you can talk without lips, so there was that too. The Mappa version seems to fully commit to Hyakkimaru being born without all his senses, and if it’s true it will be a super interesting take on the character to be sure. It will also be hard to pull off considering how much he speaks in the original story; he's a very vocal character, so if it is true, until he regains his ability to speak Dororo has to be the one to carry the duo in conversations entirely now which will lead to major shake-ups in the plot.

What do you think of the newest anime adaptation of Dororo. Are you excited to see the classic come back for modern times? Do you wish it was more like the manga or are you enjoying all these attempts to create something more modern with the source material? Do you think Hyakkimaru will speak in the next episode or do you think he's actually going to start the show as a mute? Are you looking forward to keeping up with this new adaptation of Dororo?

PS - Shout out to Mappa for putting a dog into their first episode that resembles Nota, the mascot character invented for the 1969 Mushi Pro series in a vain attempt to prevent the children that were watching it from being emotionally scarred (it probably didn't).

#Dororo #Hyakkimaru to Dororo #Hyakkimaru and Dororo #Hyakkimaru #Mushi Productions #Mushi Pro #Mappa #Studio Mappa #anime

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scarlettlawyer · 5 years

Text

Part 3 of my commentary of @renegadewangs‘s fic series Phantoms & Mirages!

Part 1 | Part 2

Chasing Phantoms, Chapter 17

How was this man supposed to impersonate a man who was impersonating him in turn, if he didn’t even have a firm grasp of his own personality and mannerisms?

THIS IS SO DELIGHTFULLY CONVOLUTED I’M LOVING IT. Absolutely living for this.

The dialogue between Randy and Domestique in the flashback is so well-constructed, the layers of SUBTEXT – this fic. Is good.

“That’s not the point,” [Randy] ended up muttering. If anything, not knowing himself only strengthened the point. “For all you know, I could be a dangerous criminal.”

Hot damn, this line.

He supposed he could tolerate Domestique’s presence for a bit longer.

And then they got hitched. Sdkjnsdknldslkn

Running late? What were they running late for? Were Domestique and the Phantom supposed to be on some sort of schedule? Bobby knew he couldn’t question it without rousing suspicion, but that made the curiosity so much more needling.

I got so curious over this too. XD.

ASKNJASDNKLADJL GOD IT IS SUCH A SHAME THAT HE’S NOT ACTUALLY TALKING TO THE REAL PHANTOM HERE. TELL HIM OFF. It’s What He Deserves. Okay but this line is still so funny. Poor Domestique.

“Watch your mouth, LaSoote. There could be children listening in.” Nailed it.

HAHAHAAA I’D FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS.

Domestique’s face twitched into some sort of disgusted expression. Or perhaps it was frustration; Bobby found it hard to tell.

Ah. Ahh. It never really occurred to me before how awkward and awful this situation is for Domestique. Ouch. Because for all he knows that’s the phantom… Who is impersonating his “dead” ex-husband… Who he is in the process of GRIEVING. Like I’d naturally felt bad for Domestique when it became clear he was in mourning but… Never fully hit me how awkward the phantom aspect is. Or, in fact, would have been in any previous instance where the phantom is Bobby and speaking to Domestique, because that was his husband’s former identity, and then his ex-husband. Yeesh. YOU MADE AND ADDED YET ANOTHER CHARACTER TO YOUR STORY FOR THE PHANTOM TO ROYALLY SCREW OVER. As if he hadn’t done that to enough people already. XD

Although there would of course have been quite the distinction between Randy and the Bobby that the phantom was portraying, which would help a little bit for it to be a little less weird… Domestique might have been able to glean things about what Bobby used to be like from interacting with the phantom… Gah, gaah, I’m thinking so much about this now and getting more eager to read Tracking Ghosts to see what information it has to tell me, what light it has to shed. XD

Chasing Phantoms, Chapter 18

Your writing style is just, so brilliant. The way you introduce us gradually to different pieces of the puzzle when it comes to Domestique and Bobby’s relationship, and what it was like for Domestique… Keeping the reader curious and wondering, sometimes guessing at the full picture ahead of time and being greatly wrong about it.

THIS FLASHBACK. IS SO DIFFERENT TO READ THE SECOND TIME AROUND. AAAAH.

I really didn’t like Domestique the first time I read it and now I’m just. OUCH.

It hadn’t been the first time Domestique had lost his patience, but never this bad. Never with this much force.

So here we are, the… Hmm. When I first read this, I took this “it hadn’t been the first time” as a kind of confirmation of the phantom’s words regarding beatings, but… “never this bad. Never with this much force”. The crux of it depends on what “lost his patience” actually refers to here. I’d initially taken that as the euphemism for inflicting violence on Randy. But now, I’m like… what if it’s meant more literally? Is it possible this is actually the first time Domestique struck Randy? Or had he done it before, simply with “less force”? …No, the “force” comment, to me, implies that Randy had actually been hit by Domestique before. Just… less severely.

It’s a single punch Domestique dishes out, and it’s implied here to be the worst that Bobby had suffered at his hand. That’s a clear contrast to the more severe domestic abuse that I had been imagining. Of course, we as the reader had come to know that Domestique and Randy had actually shared something, and that Randy clearly cared greatly for Domestique, but this had not caused me to question my assumptions too much. Because there are still “good times” or “honeymoon phases” in otherwise abusive relationships.

But the phantom is far from trustworthy, and he said those things to Blackquill with the specific intent to bother him and to get him to leave. Blackquill himself draws attention to their untrustworthiness and how they were supposed to bother him. He very, VERY easily could have been exaggerating, both intentionally and unintentionally going by his comment about how his “intel wasn’t what it used to be at that point.”

“Randy! You’ve made your point! I get it! I don’t know what else to say, please just stop!”

The first time around, I read this line as quite dismissive, as if he’s saying “oh yeah sure as if you’re gonna really leave, you made your point GEEZ now come back here as you’re inevitably gonna do anyway”, and got the impression that perhaps Randy has tried/threatened to leave before but didn’t, which is why I thought Domestique was not really taking him seriously. I had picked up on the desperation that seemed to be present, but figured that Randy had never gotten this close to leaving before, which caused Domestique to actually start getting worried and want to put an end to it.

He remembered all the times he’d felt like the walls were closing in- like he was back in that cellar and death was all around him- and Domestique had come to soothe him. To tell him he was safe.

The first time around, reading this line had given me a bit of pause, if only because of this line, that Domestique says earlier:

“Did you have another breakdown or something? Are you pissy because you had another one of your crying fits and I wasn’t there to hold you until it passed?”

Which had made me very, very annoyed to say the LEAST and just naturally gave me the impression of someone who is VERY dismissive and neglectful, but furthermore, put in context with Randy’s perspective and his suffering, seemed just downright cruel. Like, it makes it sound like soothing Randy was nothing but a chore whenever he was “forced” to do it.

So my reaction to finding out that, huh, Domestique actually had held Randy and soothed him and actively cared for him when he broke down in the past was at least one point in Domestique’s favour. I was like:

But he wasn’t safe. Not until the Phantom was stopped.

HMM. I do kinda wonder… how he knew to refer to the phantom with this moniker at this point. This was something I also noticed the first time around, and dismissed as a potential mistake. Unless it’s not meant to be specifically from Randy’s POV and more a general narrative perspective thing… WAIT, actually. I think maybe it was supposed to be, yeah, general-narrative-perspective in the present tense

“I know for a fact that you can’t.” Domestique grinned, but it was nothing like the boyish grins that Bobby remembered. “Or how about you speak a few words of Japanese? Or French? Bobby was lousy at French, but the Phantom? He speaks at least fifty languages fluently. Probably more.”

Me: [spits out my juice]

PHANTOM… PHANTOM WHAT?!

WHEN I FIRST READ THIS… I JUST HAD TO STOP AND BE LIKE… EXCUSE ME?! EXCUSE ME? YOU CANNOT JUST THROW IN SUCH AN ABSURD FIGURE AND EXPECT IT TO FLY!

Me: I KNOW THE PHANTOM IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING BUT THERE’S A THING CALLED BELIEVABILITY.

I kid you not, my willing suspension of disbelief snapped in half at the time. XDDD THAT’S JUST… SO MANY LANGUAGES… “FLUENTLY”?! PROBABLY MORE?!?!?!?!

Thirty languages probably would have caused the exact same reaction within me. Fifty was just so far above even that, I-

Like, at most I’d probably have capped the amount of languages the phantom could speak fluently at around 25-28 at most. Throw in a couple more that he has somewhat of a grasp on but can’t speak fluently, MAYBE. That I could take in stride. If I had to pick a number myself, I’d be comfortable at around fifteen.

But we’re also talking about the version of me that had (COMPLETELY unfair!) doubts and misgivings about how you’d chosen to write the phantom’s character and position him in the story up until this point. So, let’s give this a fair assessment.

It just so happens that I do remember reading about a real life man who was actually able to speak around fifty languages, so it is possible. But I’m not sure if he could have been called fluent at all of those, and if I recall, it was also what his career was kinda centred around, and he really just had a natural talent for it (as you’d expect).

There’s also the fact that, if parts of the brain are not taken up and busy processing and feeling emotion, it lends those parts of the brain to be able to be commandeered for other purposes. I don’t doubt that someone could really pull off unprecedented language learning ability if the parts of their brain that should be focused on emotion were instead focused on language learning instead. Furthermore, the mere fact that one doesn’t have any real emotions to be distracted by allows one to focus on learning languages skilfully. These two things could certainly feed into each other to allow a very powerful capacity for learning and retaining languages.

The first point may not really apply to this phantom to the full possible extent due to the bone sliver, which is mostly said to have damaged the phantom’s brain in the area where it counts RE: emotions. That means the relevant damaged/blocked parts cannot be commandeered for language learning instead. HOWEVER, I am willing to accept that the bone sliver further prevents the emotional-processing parts of the phantom’s brain from taking up more space that they should be taking up. That extra (unblocked/undamaged) space could certainly be claimed by other skills such as language learning, allowing the phantom to still have a much bigger part of his brain dedicated to language than the average human’s.

Another point to consider is the phantom’s age and how much time he’s had to claim himself such a high amount of languages. Well, he’s 37 at this point, if I remember right, and if I really think it through and consider him picking up different languages over time when playing different roles or in different circumstances… The fifty number kind of checks out, I guess, depending on how you play it. I still don’t know about “fluently”, but you could have a claim to speaking fifty languages or even a bit more than that at that age.

My other concern is the phantom’s career, based on replacing people and portraying them as accurately as possible. If someone speaks a certain language fluently, being also able to speak that language fluently is absolutely essential. Or it’s WAY too easy to have your cover blown – I mean, I know I don’t need to tell you this XD. I figured that yes, the phantom would know a whole bunch of different languages, but would have a very important need to stick to a certain set of languages he was best at for the people he was impersonating. It’s just really, really hard to speak a language as if it was your native one when you only started to learn it when you were like, 25. Even if you’ve known it for ten years, imo.

But it’s also worthwhile to consider that if the phantom impersonates someone who can speak multiple languages, he would need to speak all of the relevant languages. There’s just a whole lot of ways the phantom could pick up languages over time, and a whole lot of reasons he would need to. I suppose in any “free” time he had, he also may continue learning different languages as well, as it’s a great advantage for his career. Always honing his skills. Like, might as well get a certain language out of the way and have it learned in advance if you might need it later, or it will serve you later on, right?

And then you have little child phantom from under the International School of Languages picking things up there. That’s another important consideration – at least SOME of those languages NEED to be learned early, in one’s formative years, for it to be more believable. Well, Phantoms & Mirages comes back and ticks that box! Now, I did appreciate the narrative circling around and addressing that, although even then I was like “hmm… it’s not necessarily enough, I mean, you need to be able to practice to get better.” But now I realise: yeah, even if what child phantom picked up from listening in on classes wasn’t a whole lot, it was still enough. And it’s not like that’s the only way he learned languages, either. He had his whole life ahead of him at that point, and so many opportunities and different circumstances where he would learn a whole manner and range of them.

Something else to consider is I think my definition of “fluent” is simply too stringent. I’d always used it kinda interchangeably with “like a native speaker”, but I’ve been coming to realise that’s a little naive. I didn’t even know until quite recently (within the past two years or so) that there was some lack of clarity regarding the term and different people had different opinions. But this definition: “able to express oneself easily and articulately.” Can easily occur at levels well below sounding just like a native speaker. So once we take that into account as well, the “fifty or more languages” once again becomes more believable.

So when, finally, I come back, having put it all into context and giving it a more fair assessment, I can… get on board! XD More in the “gee Meowzy, I really don’t know for certain… but you seem to know what you’re doing, so I’ll take your word for it!” XD.

Besides, I can also see the phantom impersonating someone who speaks a given language slightly better than he does. It’s somewhat of a risk, but hell, taking on a new persona always is. There’s plenty of minor non-language stuff that could trip him up, so a slight language disparity isn’t that unique of a risk. And upon taking on the persona, the phantom would constantly be able to bring his speaking abilities for it ever closer to the stolen identity’s and would probably rapidly be able to make up most of the gap and close it, until whatever’s left is not what anyone would really notice. Guess the main thing that bugged me is the notion that he’d be able to impersonate anyone who could speak any of those languages as their native tongue, although that’s not necessarily the case. Well it doesn’t matter – I know that you know what you’re doing! XD

Now it’s honestly a shame that I refused to accept this figure the first time around because honest to goodness I probably would have been cheering if I did, like, that’s my fave character! Right there! 50 languages and counting! Isn’t he amazing?! xD #PHANTOMFANPRIDE

Past Me: author you CANNOT just pull ANY high-sounding and impressive-sounding number and slap it in that’s not how it works… is it?

Back then I really DID NOT know WHAT to make of the phantom in this fic. Such a seemingly unattainable number felt at the time to strip them further of their character and made them feel WAY less grounded in the otherwise very grounded story I was reading.

(Past Me, we keep butting heads an awful lot, and as a recurring theme hopefully it won’t go on for too much longer ;D)

But then I also thought, okay, okay. Maybe Domestique’s estimate is actually inaccurate and/or way exaggerated. Maybe he’s genuinely under this misconception and/or intentionally exaggerating to further have Bobby lose his cool. Kinda begs the question, how would Domestique be able to know this rough figure anyway. The narrative seemed to be implying his estimate was accurate, though, but I was prepared to accept Domestique possibly being mistaken and then move on. (I was ready to slam the “death of the author” button for interpretation of this one sentence back then, if you will).

…Whew, guess who just went on a roughly 1,500 word tangent over a single sentence, derailing and going into depth on a topic completely separate from the chapter’s focus? This person! Well that’s just how I roll.

Chasing Phantoms, Chapter 19

The dynamic between Bobby and Domestique in this chapter is so awesome to read… Domestique kissing Bobby while he still has the gun, losing control… I was really like, this is one heckin’ fic! Even though I still strongly disliked Domestique for his treatment of Bobby – Randy – just because I could hardly stand the character didn’t detract in the slightest from how cool this was to read and how invested I suddenly was in this wack dynamic between them as this scene went down.

He couldn’t quite keep the satisfied smirk from his face as he peered down at his former husband, now a pathetic, whining heap on the floor. “You’re under arrest, baby. In justice we trust.” The words left him before he could fully process what he’d just said. It didn’t matter. For the first time in over a year, it felt right.

“…You know what I just realized?” “What?” “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

YEAH I’D NOTICED THE LISTED DATE OF RECENT CHAPTERS (albeit like, I was a little slow on the uptake but I’d noticed it well before this scene) and I was like “Huh! Is anyone going to comment on this at all?” Well, why did I even have to wonder??? XD

You write such wholesome, happy and pure Blackbright… bless you. I’m not even at all invested in the ship normally and I’m like “awwwww!”

Chasing Phantoms, Chapter 20

If that wasn’t already substantial improvement, Bobby had followed through on his resolve and sought out a therapist, but what with waiting lists and initial testing, it’d be a while before he could begin to receive true counseling.

If the cast of this fic series wasn’t already substantial and intertwined enough, Bobby had followed through on his resolve and sought out a therapist who would later become a major character, but what with the complicated plot threads still lying ahead, it’d be a while before said character could begin to receive true focus and finally make an appearance in the actual story itself beyond mere references.

“With. I was working with the Phantom. Me and him go back a couple years, but if I was working for him, I wouldn’t have busted his ass out of prison. More trouble than it was worth.” A moment of silence as those words sank in. Of course the Phantom hadn’t employed Domestique and his cohort to free him- how could he? He’d been in solitary confinement.

THIIIIS, this! The fact that the characters straight-up assumed – and therefore the narrative implied – that it was a clear-cut case of the phantom being in charge and ordering around underlings who were working for him, had struck me as rather odd. It was a further reason why I couldn’t fully get on board with the phantom in this fic so far when I first read it, because it further drove home the disconnect I’d been feeling. The notion just seemed… off. After all, Dual Destinies does nothing to imply it, and I’d never really seen any phantom fans headcanon it. But there was nothing from canon that outright discounts the possibility, so I’d just kind of accepted what the narrative had been proposing as, an interesting take that merely did not readily fit into my image of the phantom. But then this correction happens and I’m like, oh, okay, huh...! A nudge in the direction of alignment, if you will.

Oh whoa, HAT-1 bomb was Domestique’s? I didn’t realise (remember) he and the phantom went that far back… INTRIGUING!

So now, we finally have the reveal of Domestique staying back late, working on the bomb for Randy’s sake, and that he really, truly did love Bobby, that they could have been happy etc.

That is angsty and had some impact on me accordingly, although my thoughts were still “okay, but you were still abusive towards Randy. This certainly puts your actions in context and causes them to make more sense, but you still did that, so I can’t exactly bring myself to feel too sad about the fact that things didn’t work out between the two of you. I’m still glad that Randy managed to escape that awful situation, even though the whole thing is SUPER sucky from Domestique’s POV.”

The notion that they could have been happy – and indeed, once Domestique was no longer under the pressure of making the bomb, they could be – also came up a little short for me because I’m like: the way things worked out was actually for the best in this case. Domestique was not necessarily a good influence on Randy either, and Randy as an identity is one I still very much feel it was necessary for Bobby to shed on his path to healing. The relationship that Bobby shares with Blackquill is much healthier and happier. It’s what Bobby moreso needs. And because this is a Blackbright fic – Blackbright being the endgame, it’s like, sure, Domestique and Randy could have worked things out, but then we wouldn’t have Blackbright, would we? ;D

But I’m realising I was still just being a LITTLE too harsh on Domestique – I was so focused on continuing to paint him in my mind as a more clear-cut abuser to stop and realise that yes, Domestique inflicted a small(?) amount of violence on Randy and that’s not really excusable despite Domestique’s reasons, but outside of those instances he was never actually “abusing” Randy, was not ever trying to be intentionally cruel or dismissive etc. He loved Randy. He DID care about Randy. He wanted the two of them to share a happy marriage with each other. And they did have a whole heap of wonderful times together! Bobby’s positive behaviour towards Domestique was present in the narrative for a reason, and it was hardly anything akin to the holdovers of abuse as I might have believed before.

Oh and also, at this point I was kinda… slightly confused about how some of Domestique’s actions added up. This is actually one of the things I sent to my friend at the time on the matter:

Now keep in mind – I knew that if Domestique wasn’t willing to obey, the phantom would have killed him, and Domestique was fully aware of this – that’s why he fell into line. What confused me at the time is that Domestique spent time with Bobby before the phantom had infiltrated the apartment, so why didn’t he make any attempt at warning Bobby or trying to save him? There’s a chance that they would have been able to run off together and lie low, because Domestique was planning to retire anyway, and I thought that maybe, Domestique would be willing to put his life on the line if it meant it would save Bobby’s – if there was even a chance they could both successfully evade the phantom. That, coupled with me misinterpreting that line about carrying Bobby’s body being suspicious that Domestique said to the phantom, caused me to think that perhaps Domestique did have some kind of odd additional allegiance to the phantom for him to follow the orders how he did.

But looking back now, I realise there were flaws in my thinking. The phantom would’ve probably had the apartment under surveillance, so how could they escape without being noticed? Perhaps Domestique hadn’t actually known Bobby might get killed before it was too late, because what reason would the phantom have to tell him everything ahead of time? Another huge thing is that Domestique and Bobby were getting along really well, fuelling my “running off together” idea. But the thing is, Randy had still divorced Domestique. Domestique still would have been sore over that, and there was no real guarantee of any proper reconciliation between them. And at the end of the day, going against the phantom is just way too risky and kind of tempting death to come to one’s way. I guess I misjudged and Domestique’s need for self-preservation (and also commonsense in light of these facts) was more powerful than the love he felt for Bobby. And the fact that, well, escape would just be so difficult and implausible.

Oh, and Blackquill too. He would have made it all the more difficult. Domestique probably would have just wanted to escape with Bobby but Bobby would want to warn Blackquill too and it would just turn into an even bigger mess. And how’d they be able to leave without Blackquill noticing, anyway?

So yeah, I think I actually have answered my own questions on this one! The phantom would have thought through all of the possibilities and made sure to have Domestique fully trapped.

Chasing Phantoms, Chapter 21

Caught in the netherworld between life and death, sanity and insanity, the Phantom was once again a figure outside of anyone’s reach.

I love this sentence so much.

Also, FIRST PHANTOM POV SEGMENT CHAPTER. A-HO!

Just picture, me back then, scooting closer to the hypothetical TV Screen, going, OK, I’m listening, I’m listening…

Me to some hypothetical other person present: Haha yeah so hands down this is an awesome fic, brilliantly written, fantastic characterisation, you know? Just kind of a shame that it happens to be my fave which the author seems to be the weakest at writing for, but – WAIT SHUT UP HE’S ONSCREEN.

he found that he didn’t like that scent.

An opinion. 👀 “It was not a pleasant scent” sounds more neutral, but. Opinion! :D

Lang rubbed at his forehead for a moment before speaking. “We lost the Phantom this morning.”

There is more than one way to read this sentence. The intended reading is kinda obvious, but it didn’t stop my brain from momentarily going “uh, he died??” XD I mean, the guy IS supposed to be in a coma after a suicidal leap from an apartment building, so y’know!

“This is absurd! How do you lose a coma patient? Did someone move him?” “He got up and walked out, actually.”

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE LEGEND!!!!!!!!!! OMG. AND THIS EXCHANGE IS SO FUNNY.

SIMON SPUTTERING SOMEWHAT AS WELL JUST MAKES IT BECAUSE YEAH, YOU WOULD JUST FALTER UPON HEARING THIS.

Then, in the next segment of the chapter, when it flipped back to the phantom’s perspective and it became clear we were actually going to get the escape from his POV, I was kinda like “wait, what?”. I mean, I definitely wasn’t complaining, but I was a little bit puzzled by that narrative choice. After all – Lang had essentially already outlined the most likely means the phantom used to escape, which would have answered any questions the reader may have had regarding the matter. So to get to read of the breakout from the phantom’s POV as he goes through essentially those same steps is, from a purely information-gleaning perspective, somewhat redundant. What could possibly be achieved by doing this? I had actually expected the finer details to be left up to the reader’s imagination – which itself is a nice little shortcut writing-wise, too.

But it’s so cool. It’s so cool. Right? Could it possibly be? Is it possible that the author is providing more phantom for the sake of phantom? Could they be acknowledging how interesting, how fascinating of a character they are? :D

Lipstick that he had to apply with extreme care, because his fingers wouldn’t stop shaking no matter how hard he tried to keep them still.

I’m such a sucker for phantom-in-a-weakened-state, and this detail reminds me of when their fingers also wouldn’t stop shaking in a scene in Just Fake It, but they had to just persist with what they were doing. :D

He contemplated high-heeled shoes for a moment, only to discard the notion. He was having enough trouble walking as it was.

I’M SCREAMING.

No, not him. Her. Until he was out of there, he was a she and she was a simple nurse who needed to leave the clinic in order to get something from her car.

This was one bit where I was like [quiet sigh] “and that’s why they/them phantom is so great, y’know? Very seamless, where you don’t need to bother switching between he and she pronouns for situations like this – instead you get to have one set of pronouns that remain consistent regardless of disguise when the narrative makes reference to them. And you can switch from they/them to more gendered pronouns accordingly if need be, too!” (But I’ll return to this at a later post.) But! Gosh, I was over the moon, I was like, wow! Wow! Maybe, just maybe, this author knows their stuff and can write a brilliant phantom! You had my attention.

Chasing Phantoms, Epilogue

Phoenix and Apollo had apparently caused a bit of a collision in their hurry.

Amazing! XD The Wright Anything Agency dorks… gotta love ‘em.

The world was far too grand for two people to have a chance encounter unless someone would will for them to meet.

WAIT IS THIS MEANT TO BE SOME KIND OF LEANING-ON-THE-FOURTH-WALL? ASDJKDKJ. YOU WILL FOR THEM TO MEET, MEOWZY. YOU DO.

Or wait. Someone wills for them to meet in-narrative too! To place Bobby in the same cell! Ahhh!

Oh, what a good ending that keeps the reader eager to read on…!

OH YEAH AND IF THE PHANTOM ESCAPES ON THE SAME DAY LANG TELLS BLACKQUILL THEN HE BROKE OUT ON MY BIRTHDAY. march 16

#tumblr sincerely didn't seem to want me to post this #so I added even more chapter commentaries in making it even longer #hah.#long post #so many thoughts D:#Phantoms and Mirages

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