#I'm still proofreading the original so the translation will go first

[reverienne]

my contribution to @idrellegames's Wayfarer's 3rd Anniversary!

a translation of "caro diario," written by me / both the translation and the (clunky) Italian original available on ao3

a diary entry set during the Prologue, spoiler-free, gen

615 words / Corinne Varyn (then - Corina Briadis), a little bit of complaining about the hardships of being a recruit, simple language because my Italian is simple

___

dear diary,

My name is Corina Briadis. I am 13 years old. I am someone called a magianis. I do not have magical powers, but it does not mean that I am a boring person.

Existing in a world where everyone has magical powers when you do not have any is difficult. People believe that people like me are freaks of nature. Of course, it is not true, it is not fair, but what can we do?

The society loves magic.

Not having magical powers is rare.

It is easy for people not to meet anyone like me for their entire lives! Because of that, it is easy to "forget" that not all people can use magic... or that magic is necessary to do many things.

If you do not have magical powers, you have to be creative.

I have to be creative if I want to live in the society.

For example, I have to walk a lot because using any technology that requires the use of magic, like teleportation portals, is impossible for me.

I do not like that. I do not like doing sport, but I do not have any choice because I cannot become a mage.

My birth family abandoned me. They did not like the fact that I was born without magical powers.

They are horrible people.

I hate them.

I do not want to see my mother, my father, my brothers or my sisters, or any of my cousins and other relatives ever again.

I hope that they are all dead.

I know that they are all fine.

It is not fair, but there is still time.

My new family is the Wayfarer Order. My favourite teacher, Brissa Varyn, is my mentor and my guardian. She is more like a mother to me than my birth mother ever was.

She has a partner, another teacher, Rindan Cenric, and I like him as well.

There is also a boy around my age by the name of Aeran Kellis who is another student and mentee of Varyn. He is like a brother to me.

Aeran is very brave. He is not afraid to argue with our mentor, Varyn, or anyone else.

I, on the other hand, am afraid of everything.

My future seems very frightening. I have to become a warrior because my new family is full of warriors.

When you join the Wayfarer order, you have to become a warrior.

I do not have any choice here. Even Varyn - who has a true talent for diplomacy and works as the Order's diplomat - is also a great warrior.

And me? I am shy and nervous. When people look at me, I become even more nervous, and when people actually listen to me... no, it is just too weird for me. I have been invisible my whole life and suddenly becoming brave when you are 13 years old is not easy.

Moreover, the people that I have to talk to are often mean, yet I always have to be polite and diplomatic with them.

It is a hard, difficult job.

Unfortunately - or maybe fortunately? - I am better at diplomacy than Aeran. Aeran simply refuses to be polite and diplomatic.

Varyn says that I have a bit of her talent for negotiations.

It is incredible... it is my first time being better than someone at anything... but now if I want the talks to go well, I have to step up and do the talking myself, and I hate this.

I am not a good warrior.

I know that I have to improve.

I do not want to die young.

But it is very difficult and I am so tired...

Until the next time!

Corinne

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

You've Got Some Nerve Trying to Buy Me

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors and inaccuracies.

Not proofread.

Two nights before Silvio's birthday一

A bunch of nobles and merchants showed up at his villa for the party, and there I was, facing him, not as his fiancée, but just as another businesswoman.

Silvio: "........."

Emma: "........"

(The wig totally completes the disguise. Even he shouldn't recognize me like this.)

Silvio: "What are you doing here?"

(He totally recognized me!)

Emma: "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just here for some business negotiations."

Silvio: "Hey, throw this one out."

Emma: "Wait, please don’t, Prince Silvio—I mean, ahem!"

I cleared my throat exaggeratedly to cover my slip.

He looked at me with a mix of exasperation and annoyance, his expression hard to read.

(Calm down. He might have noticed, but the others probably haven't yet.)

(In any case, I haven't lied.)

(I'm here to negotiate business with him.)

Emma: "You're just brushing me off without even hearing me out? You seem pretty different from what I heard."

Emma: "I heard you were a man who took business negotiations seriously."

Silvio: "Oh?"

(The atmosphere changed.)

Silvio: "If you say it's all business, I won't hold back. Don't complain if every single hair of yours ends up being mine."

Emma: "I came here with that resolve from the start."

(I was right to guess that he'd take on anyone in a business meeting.)

(It's going to be fine. If I stick to my plan, everything should go well.)

------------Flashback-----------

Earlier this morning一

Emma: "What? No letter again today?"

Carlo: "Yes, I'm sorry."

Carlo, who had just returned from Silvio's villa, bowed his head apologetically.

Emma: "Sorry if I came off like I was accusing you. It's not your fault."

Carlo: "But I promised I'd bring a reply! And yet, here I am like this."

(Carlo looks really tired. He must be very busy.)

(A schedule that requires him to stay holed up at the villa must be quite demanding.)

Five days ago, Silvio suddenly declared that he would be staying at his villa for a week for a business meeting. Without giving any particular explanation, he retreated to the villa, as he had announced.

Carlo had been acting as the messenger, exchanging letters with Silvio, but since two days ago, the replies have completely stopped.

Emma: "There's nothing wrong, is there?"

Carlo: "Um, there are some issues, but I think the main thing is just that he's super busy."

(If that's the case, I can't really complain.)

(But it's still lonely not being able to see him for a week. The whole villa retreat thing was so sudden.)

Carlo: "Lady Emma."

(I shouldn't let Carlo see me like this. I don't want to make him feel awkward.)

Emma: "I'm fine! Could you please deliver today's letter to Prince Silvio?"

Carlo: "Yes, of course."

Carlo: "........."

(What is it?)

Carlo: "Lady Emma, how about going to see Prince Silvio yourself?"

(What?)

Emma: "But Prince Silvio said not to come to the villa."

Carlo: "Yes. I've been strictly told not to bring you, but that doesn't mean you can't go there yourself."

Emma: "What do you mean?"

---------Flashback Ends--------

(So, I ended up making a plan with a somewhat desperate Carlo.)

(And now here I am, barging into the villa.)

Silvio: "So, what is it that you want to sell? If it's something trivial, I'll throw you out immediately."

His gaze was sharper than usual.

It looked like other people at the party had noticed the conversation, and their attention started to focus on us.

(I'm getting nervous.)

(But there's no turning back now.)

Emma: "Before that, let me first discuss the payment."

Silvio: "Ha?"

Emma: "If you like my product, I'd like to request your birthday as the payment!"

Silvio: "Huh?"

Despite his incredulous tone, the room was buzzing with excitement.

A little farther away, Carlo nodded vigorously with his hands clasped in front of his chest.

(I can cook Silvio's favorite food and help him with his work.)

(As long as it's something that makes him happy, I can offer it as my product!)

Silvio: "Look, you..."

Merchant 1: "Please wait."

Merchant 1: "Shouldn't the opportunity for this business negotiation be offered to everyone present here?"

(What?)

Merchant 2: "You're right. We would also like to celebrate on the day if permitted."

(If permitted? What does that mean?)

(I thought every year, merchants and nobles would crowd in to celebrate his birthday.)

Despite my confusion, voices of agreement rise from the merchants.

Merchant 3: "If we can have Prince Silvio's birthday, I don't mind giving this up."

Merchant 4: "Same."

(Crap. What should I do? Everyone's getting into it!)

Merchant 1: "Prince Silvio, what do you think?"

With the words of one merchant, all eyes turned to Silvio.

Silvio: "Damn it, talking about buying someone's birthday and whatnot. You guys are saying whatever you want."

Silvio: "Since when did I become a product?"

(He's right. His birthday isn't a commodity.)

(Every year, he makes time to celebrate with me despite his busy schedule.)

(This year, I thought I'd go to him to ask for time, which is why I proposed this negotiation.)

(But if I can buy his time, it opens up a whole new situation.)

As I reflected on my own naivete and was about to back down,

Silvio: "Well, it’s not so bad to be on the receiving end once in a while."

(Huh?)

Silvio: "As you all said, the opportunity for business negotiations should be given equally. So, we’ll decide it by auction."

Silvio: "The one who bids the highest for me will get my entire birthday."

(WHAAAAT!?)

Part 1 ╎ Part 2 ╎ Part 3 ╎ Part 4

[coffee-seedy]

Hi uh can you do x reader(romantic) headcanons/scenarios? If you don't then you can ignore everything else in this ask

Zip x gender neut/fem, introverted, new student(like first or second week of being at paper school) reader, not dating just crushes. Specifically how she would react to you being made fun of/hurt by other students, or things she would potentially do after being mocked to cheer you up

Probably OOC ask but I don't care comfort characters are comfort characters

Zip x GN! Reader

a/n: I see romantic Zip… dw anon even though in rules zip is platonic only, but this one exception because I have idea for my daughter ofc (⁠´⁠∩⁠｡⁠•⁠ ⁠ᵕ⁠ ⁠•⁠｡⁠∩⁠`⁠). And I agree about comfort character are comfort character

Request? : Yes

warning: mentioning about bullying

Proofread? : No

Scenario

The first week you moved to this paper school, you found a small child wearing a fairly large fish hat running alone in the school hallway. for the first time, it was the most weird thing to happen to you.

You slowly approached the child so as not to startle him. whether it's a reflex or something, the little boy immediately hugged your leg and kept muttering "Zip” while snuggling against your legs.

You wanted to let him go, but seeing him like that made your heart break… because there was no other choice, you finally let him go while waiting for someone named Zip.

It wasn't long enough before you saw a girl with the dinosaur tail approaching the two of you, and that's how you started to get close to her...

Head Canon!

both you and zip weren't originally that close before Chip's incident yesterday.

she's starting to show up wherever you go.. with Chip following her from behind of course.

you still don't know about her being part of bully. when you found out about it, the relationship between the two of you started to break down and you started avoiding her… except for Chip, you don't dare to ignore that boy.

when you start avoiding her, that's where Zip starts to get frustrated and asks Oliver for advice because he is the wisest in the group (in her eyes).

He did all the advice oliver gave her! buy flowers for you? you don't like flowers… how about chocolate!? you give it to her brother.

When zip started to get frustrated and ran out of advice, chip instead sitting beside her while nomming the chocolate that was initially given to you but instead Chip got it.

but one day you started approaching her again and that made her happy!

just a happy dino girl with her pretty/handsome partner…

I'm still confused, because someone said she's a devil while others say she's a dino… WHICH ONE IS THE REAL ONE?! — Crysalsx 💎

©2024 Coffee do not repost, copy, translate, or even modify.

[adventuringblind]

Catch me because I'd hate to fall

Charles Leclerc x reader

Synopsis: Reader is afraid of heights and a game of truth or dare puts them in the last place they want to be.

Warnings: panic attack, flashback, not proofread (We die like the Ferrari strategists)

Notes: Google translated French, no use of Y/N, Charles is a simp

Genre: fluff, hurt/comfort

Truth or dare is a game for teenagers who are determined to learn eachothers secrets. Or that's what you originally thought.

Racing drivers are not normally the type to sit around on the floor playing games that are used for diabolical purposes. Or that's what you had assumed.

You had been wrong on both.

It's a calm weekend, no races or PR obligations. Max thought it would be nice to have a small get-together with some of the drivers who are currently in Monaco.

Charles thought it sounded like a wonderful idea and convinced you to join him at Max and Kelly's apartment for dinner.

"It this a casual thing? Or do I need to dress up?" You rummaged through drawers looking for something that felt right.

"I think it's casual, but if wanted to wear a ballgown I wouldn't stop you because I'm happy when you're comfortable." Charles days from across the room where he is currently getting dressed.

"What if I wore pajamas?"

"My prior statement still holds true. You are the most beautiful human regardless of what you're wearing." His smile makes a hint of red creep into your cheeks. You've been dating for two years, and he still manages to make you get flustered.

You ended up settling on a pair of jeans and one of your charles' t-shirts. A small dinner with friends didn't call for anything much.

You examine yourself in the mirror, making sure everything looks correct before charles appears behind you. An exaggerated look of amazement crosses his face.

"See! Gorgeous! Beautiful! Completely stole my breath away!"

You spin around and place a quick kiss on his cheek.

When you arrived there were already people there. Lando, Daniel, Pierre, Carlos, zand George (most with their respective significant other).

After a pleasant dinner and a few drinks, everyone found themselves laughing at the dumbest thing while sitting in a circle around the living room.

"I have the most amazing idea!" Daniel practically screamed at everyone. Everyone eyed him nervously as his idea's somtimes were not the most wise. Lando Max makes a gesture for him to continue since his outburst got everyone's attention.

"We should play truth or dare."

You looked at Charles nervously. This game never led to anything good back in your high-school years. But the air of the room made you relax and agree to it.

Before anything could start, shrles leaned into you and whispered "You don't have to play mon amour if you don't want to." His words only reassured you that you would be okay playing.

"You suggested the game you go first," Max pointed at Daniel. "Truth or dare, mate?"

"Dare obviously"

The game went perfectly. Everyone is laughing, doing weird and embarrassing things, and sharing stories.

Until it came back to you.

Lando, who had just finished attempting the alphabet backwards, made eye contact with you.

"Truth or dare?"

You feeling a bit risky decided on "dare."

Lando rubs his chin for a moment. "Okay, I dare you to go up to the roof and recreate that one scene from the titanic with charles."

"You mean the one where they are dangling over the edge of the boat?" Pierre asked.

"Yup! Exactly! All happy and lovey dovey, it'll be so cute!"

It seemed harmless. But the mete mention of the top of the building had your breath caught in your throat.

Charles having noticed this leaned in discreetly once again and whispered "don't feel pressured to do anything you don't want to."

You, however, were terrified of everyone discovering your deathly fear of heights. Charles knew because anytime you got on a plane, it was rough. You used to not be afraid, but after having to jump into the safety of firefighters from twenty stories up in a burning building, things hadn't been the same. Falling had become something that haunted your nightmares.

Regardless, you shook your head and went to get your shoes. Since Max lives close to the top anyways, you decided on the stairs. Only hoping to delay the inevitable for a while.

The top of the stairs came too fast. Having opened the door to soon.

The night air brings you back to the present and reminds you why you were here. You could blame the shaking on the crisp Monaco air, but that would be a lie.

You step onto the roof, everyone shuffling out behind you.

One foot in front of the other, closer to the ledge.

Charles never lets your hand go. "I promise that if you back out I will not laugh and I will not let them say a single thing about." He pauses and turns you to face him. "But if you get on the ledge, then I promise I will not let you fall." His eyes and voice are determined and concentrated. Every ounce of you wanted to just leap into his arms and run away. Yet the other emotion, the pride he has for you for making it this far, makes you push just a little more.

Soon your toes are one step up from the edge. An inch of cement guarding you from what could be a disaster.

Your body shakes, your mind going white at the thought of falling. The feeling of your stomach flipping as you fall to your demise.

Inhale. One foot up. Exhale. The other meets it.

Your eyes screw shut. Your body is practically giving out on you.

Charles stands behind you now. His arms encircle your torso and waist. Tying you down to reality as everything else slips away.

Your eyes open. Then they fall.

It's the same thing. The heat makes you want to take the leap. Into to safe embrace of first responders. When did it get so hot? Why are you sweating so much?

There was no time. The building was about to collapse. They are shouting. Comforting words of encouragement. Maybe you can jump.

Your arms go out to help you balance. Then you lean into the pull of gravity. But you don't budge.

"Amour!"

Charles, why was he in the building with you?

Realization came flooding back through your senses. Charles' arms straining to hold you in place.

"Shift your weight towards me, you can do it." His voice gently coaxing you made you realize the building is safe. There is no fire.

You shift your weight backward and fall in charles. The both of you gracefully find the ground.

Warm tears roll down your cheek as Charles refuses to let you go from his embrace.

"I'm so sorry," you sob.

"I'm so proud of you," he whispers.

The night ended quickly after that. Lando apologized for giving you such a dare, and you countered that he didn't know.

Later that night, fast asleep in Charles' arms, your dreams were not haunted by the smell of smoke and your body flipping through the air. Instead, you were meant with Charles holding you upwards to touch the clouds.

[jokeroutsubs]

📝ENG TRANSLATION: Križanke Anniversary Part 2/3

The band Joker Out revealed to us what can't be missing backstage. You'll be surprised...

To celebrate 2 years since Joker Out's concert at Križanke, we decided to translate some content from that time. This article was translated as part of our celebration.

Original article written by Alma Rahne for Metropolitan.si, published 08.09.2022. English translation by @chaosofsmarty, review by @kurooscoffee, proofread by @flowerlotus8.

Audio version available here.

Translation below the cut 👇

(Photo: Aleksandra Saša Prelesnik)

The boys had the doors of the secret spot where they spend the most of their time wide open for us. Among other things, they told us what was the most unusual gift they got from a fan and what they do during the drives to concerts.

Joker Out doesn't need a special introduction, but still... The Ljubljana group of five, consisting of Bojan Cvjetićanin (vocals and majority songwriter), Jure Maček (drums), Kris Guštin (guitar), Jan Peteh (guitar) and Martin Jurkovič (bass), did not rest during the summer. Instead of chasing the sun's rays, they shut themselves in the studio, where they worked tirelessly on the new, second album 'Demoni', which was released recently. There are 10 new songs on it, including two in Serbian. The band performed at the Exit festival in Novi Sad in July and made it clear that Slovenia has become too small for them and that there are no limits for good music.

This time, we visited the members of the popular band – drummer Jure Maček was absent due to unpostponable obligations – in the rehearsal room. A place that they have equipped in their own way with a little imagination and creativity.

Even though the space is small, that's exactly what makes it special, homely. At first glance, it gives the impression of a living room, in which many instruments, speakers and cables are displayed. You can immediately feel the special energy and at the same time the wish for a private acoustic concert. I admit, I wouldn't have said no to it. Read on to find out everything we spoke about...

(Photo: Matic Kremžar)

What are demons to you?

Bojan: What all people have in common is that we have our demons and that we're demons for someone. For me personally, demons were songs. The demons were the expectations, waiting, creating... Now I'm starting to face other demons. The five of us are each other's demons. Žare (producer) is a demon. Jan is the resident demon exorcist.

Jan: Žare is a big demon. Maybe demons are something that comes when you have too many dirty thoughts.

Bojan: I just wanted to say, demons are dirty thoughts that you can't get rid of.

Martin: The songs we've been making for so long are our demons.

On the new album there are two songs in Serbian. You don't hide your craving to conquer the Balkans as well...

Bojan: Our huge desire and inspiration is expanding our musical journey to the Balkans. In fact, in the Balkans, which used to be the mecca of rock 'n' roll, the scene has completely died out. I would dare to say that of the countries within the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia is by far the most favorable for musicians of all genres, except for turbofolk performers.

It seems to me that there's one big gap in terms of these 'live performances' and they also lack young bands and interesting performers. Let's just say that one of our missions would be to expand there and get the younger people to listen to guitars, drums again. Slovenia is an area that would be very suitable for them, because there are no more venues in the Balkans where unexperienced bands could perform, or there are very few such venues. Whereas here, there's a huge amount of them. It would be very nice if some mixing started to happen. They accept us and we accept them.

(Photo: Aleksandra Saša Prelesnik)

Kris: I'd like to see us establish a sort of "precedence" that Slovenians are also going to the Balkans, in addition to Senidah, who has already done so, and that young rock 'n' roll bands can also come to Slovenia. To somehow re-establish the Yugoslav spirit, especially in music. I want Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian young bands to start going to Slovenia more, because this direction, at least in terms of rock 'n' roll, is not utilised as much.

Listeners' expectations before the release of each subsequent song are high. Is there any fear present?

Bojan: You can't know, but we listened to the album so many times and really enjoyed listening to it so much that we completely lost that feeling of nervousness about what they were going to say out there, because we were really happy with what we did and we didn't care.

Kris: We're pretty confident about what we've made and created.

(Photo: Aleksandra Saša Prelesnik)

How many times do you record a certain song to be able to say it's the final version?

Bojan: For example, we recorded the song 'Katrina' only once.

Kris: You have pieces that come together right away, and you have some that you have to work on for months. We tried to make the song 'Padam' in a much more band-like format than it is on the album now, but in the end we found that it completely takes away the message of the lyrics and we just let it kind of float with the instrumental.

Where did you get the idea to put the song ‘Ne govoriva več o tem' (We Don't Talk About It Anymore) on the album with the abbreviations Ngvot?

Kris: When I brought this piece to rehearsals, I already had it written with the name Ngvot. I don't know why... It's already so ingrained in our collective subconscious that it's Ngvot that we've said let's leave it that way. And that something else interesting happens when you're looking at the tracklist. But I'm shocked at how many people just read the word and don't think that it could be an acronym (smiles).

Bojan: In the playlist for the concerts, we always wrote it as Ngvot, just like Vdg ('Vem da greš' - I know you're going).

If I'm not mistaken, the arrangement of the song on the album is different than what we've heard at concerts so far. Why?

Kris: We had a little bit of a problem with this piece because when I wrote it in 2018, it was still very high school, teenage and the lyrics stayed the same. The piece has a kind of naïve honesty that didn't match this rock banger base that we've had so far. There was always some kind of dissonance in the piece.

What our producer Žare did was to guide us to back up this naivety and sincerity in the piece with some nostalgic base. We chose a very 'Beatles sixties vibe' for it and it's very good.

On the first album, a lot of the headaches in its creation were caused by the song ‘Vem da greš’. Which one did you struggle with the most this time?

Bojan: 'Novi val'. From some demo, a song was created that we changed to a completely different form at least five times. We actually flew from genre to genre, from sound to sound. In the end, one day, Žare pulled the handbrake and told us not to move anywhere. I went to the recording room a little offended and 'Novi val' happened.

Many people think of the coronavirus first when they hear the word new wave. Are there any parallels?

Bojan: Actually, the trigger for the lyrics were the wildfires in the Karst region that were happening at the time we were in the studio. The line "Where do we go from here, if we're already setting the horizon on fire?" is from there, and from there onwards I built the lyrics.

We've seen you on several occasions in the company of Magnifico¹. Have you done anything together?

¹Magnifico, one of the best-known singers on the Slovenian scene. He recently celebrated his 30-year career with a spectacular concert just outside of Ljubljana, which Joker Out also attended. You can watch our translation of Bojan's intervew from this concert on our video titled: Bojan Cvjetićanin on Magnifico's concert for his 30-year career.

Bojan: No, we never created together with Magnifico. I didn't even dare to think of ever writing anything for him. If I liked the offer, I would accept it, but it seems to me that Magnifico sees us as very independent performers. Magnifico is Magnifico, but he's a very big fan of ours. Which he will confirm himself if someone asks him, so that no one will say that I am lying (smiles).

Kris: At the beginning of August, we had two concerts, one day after the other in Zagorje and then at the Castle Festival. In Zagorje, we played after Magnifico, and almost all the members of his band, including him, stayed for the whole concert and listened. In the end, they were thrilled.

How are the preparations for your first concert in Križanke² going?

²Joker Out held a concert at the Križanke venue on the 9th of September 2022. They presented their second album, Demoni, there.

Bojan: We honestly wanted to have a little rest the week before Križanke, in addition to rehearsals, of course. But there's so much work still to be done when it comes to promoting the new album.

Kris: Luckily, we have a really well-established team that handles a lot of the things for Križanke that we would have to be dealing with otherwise. Let's say for the whole stage scene, the sound system, the logistics... We're working with our chief creative director, Mark Pirc, who also shoots our music videos and who was also involved in the creation of the album cover for the second album. In fact, we already trust him so much and he understands well what we are, what we want, that he doesn't need to be corrected. He always comes up with good ideas, and then we just give him our blessings.

(Photo: Marko Alpner)

Damir Raković Ponorelii will design your outfits for Križanke. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to put on a piece of clothing that you didn't feel comfortable in?

Kris: We get along so well with Ponorelii, we have a friendly relationship. He puts something on you, and if it's not cool with you, you tell him. But it's also good that he also notices that you're not okay with it. He doesn't want to force you into something that doesn't sit well with you, either.

Jan: You just tell him, this skirt is a little too tight for me (laughs).

Speaking of skirts... How are you with them? Right now, the trend is for men to wear skirts (Brad Pitt, Harry Styles ...). Would you wear it?

Jan: I don't care about that. If I felt good in a skirt, I'd just wear it.

Kris: Same.

Bojan: But we're not at skirts yet (laughs).

Jan: We don't really plan on it.

Bojan: In general, because skirts have come into this hype, we definitely don't want to go into skirts just for that. Maybe we'll put them on in five years, when they're already out. Because we're kind of Joker Out (smiles). We're happy to have come to the point where the band is bigger than the name.

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

Are you ever afraid of everything that is happening around you? A lot of media attention, recognition on the streets, a lot of female fans...?

Bojan: It would be absolutely brilliant if we could have this "Daft punk" (French music duo with a helmet) moment when no one knows what you look like and you can live on stage to the maximum of what a musician can reap, and under the stage you can live a completely normal life. That would be a dream. But that's impossible for us, because we didn't introduce these masks from the beginning (smiles).

How do you pass the time while driving to concerts? What do you do in the van?

Everyone: Scratch! We support Slovenian Paralympians because we scratch scratchcards³.

³For the occasion of the Tokyo Paralympic Games, the Lottery of Slovenia, in cooperation with Slovenian Paralympic Committee, issued a new scratchable lottery ticket to support paralympic athletes on their way to Tokyo.

Martin: The van is the best thing.

Kris: Physically, it's moderately comfortable, but what's comfortable is that you're in the company of people you spend a lot of time with. Above all, you can sort out all those things that you otherwise don't because you never remember. All five of us are in a pile, and you can arrange/discuss/sort out everything then. And a lot of business decisions are made in the van as well.

(Photo: Aleksandra Saša Prelesnik)

Who has the main say in the group? Are the roles divided?

Bojan: It depends entirely on the sector we're talking about. If there's a question about the image on social networks, then Jan is the alpha and omega.

Kris: That means if the rest of us don't agree, then it won't happen. We respect each other.

Bojan: We operate in such a way that someone in their sector can take full responsibility for things that we know we will all agree on. Fortunately, so far we have never had any disagreement that someone should actually impose their veto.

Jan: But we do hold a vote if there is a more important issue.

(Photo: Aleksandra Saša Prelesnik)

The strangest thing that was thrown onto the stage?

Bojan: Last time, I got flowers from a guy over the barricades, still in a pot, with soil. I think they were cyclamen.

You recently surprised us with the announcement of a concert in Stožice on October 6, 2023. You also promise guests. Can you give us a hint as to who will join you on the biggest stage in Slovenia?

Bojan: You know them (smiles).

Kris: So we're going to say... There will probably be some guests we haven't anticipated at the moment. Our creative paths for Stožice are still very much open.

(Photo: Marko Alpner)

Are we going to have to wait a year for a new song?

Bojan: You certainly won't have to wait a year for a new single. But we probably won't be doing an album, at least for now, we don't plan to.

Kris: Now we still have to convince people of this new 'Demoni' album.

Martin: I was just thinking that you don't have to say twice how motivated we're going to be when we're all together, that something might even happen.

Kris: By the time of Stožice, the new material will be available for sure, but I don't know in what form yet.

Martin: Maybe it'll be a cassette tape (laughs).

What should not be missing backstage at your concert?

Everyone: Table tennis is definitely required.

Bojan: We really like it when there's a big enough table backstage because we bought a portable table tennis set so we can play it.

Kris: A full fridge of goodies.

Martin: A safe, warm place where the band can relax, rest and retreat.

Jan: Once we added a mirror and five towels on the list as a joke.

Kris: A shower in the backstage is a very welcome thing, but unfortunately you can't always ask for it (smiles).

We will not waste words on the fact that a group of talented young musicians has already left a strong mark on the domestic music scene. The fact is that they have found their circle of fans in both younger and older generations. And they turn their creations into a hit in an instant. Although their growing popularity would make many people - especially those envious - attribute superiority, haughtiness to them, the boys remain grounded, confident and true to themselves and their work.

[agtteam]

AGT Team May - June Progress Report

We're back! And as promised, this time around we're introducing two exciting new projects! But first...

[NDS] Mushishi: Amefuru Sato

Ithyrial here with a special announcement!

The translation phase is complete! Once again I'd like to extend a HUGE thank-you to Phantom for helping get this done!

The playtesting phase won't be opened just yet due to some issues with the game crashing, but once we get that sorted out it'll be good to go. Until then, anybody interested in playtesting/proofreading/copyediting is welcome to go ahead and reach out so we can get you on board when the time comes!

[PS2] Fullmetal Alchemist 3: Kami o Tsugu Shoujo

Iredc from the AGT discord talking here! I'm proud to introduce a new project: "Fullmetal Alchemist 3: Kami o tsugu shoujo".

Released in 2005, it's the third FMA game for the Playstation 2, and like the previous entries, a blend of action and RPG. However, unlike the other titles, it was never released in English, something that we're working to fix now.

It's a pretty fun game, with some innovations like the possibility to control both Ed and Al to take advantage of their different abilities, a Tag Team battle mode, lots of unlockable secrets, and even a stealth gameplay level.

Illidan is working on the hacking part; extraction and repacking of files is done, while some work with the fonts is still needed. Phantom is editing the graphics. And I'm translating the text (around a third of it is done).

If you're a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, be sure to check on our progress!

[NDS] Death Note: Successors to L

That leaves me, Phantom, to introduce the other of our two new projects, the long-awaited second Death Note DS game! Many of you may be aware that we've released English patches for the first and third Death Note games, so it was high time the second got the same treatment.

Successors to L features gameplay based on the board game "Scotland Yard". Avoid traps and the FBI on Kira's side, or hunt down and arrest Kira on the Investigator's side as you complete plot-relevant missions. Fans of less-major characters should be pleased by the game's impressive roster, with a story that spans the entire original series timeline.

Thanks to the efforts of creeper and blueraspberrysundae, two new translators who've joined us for this project, the translation has already reached an impressive 38%!

[NDS] Naruto RPG 2: Chidori Vs Rasengan

And last but not least, proofreading work continues on Naruto! As we mentioned in a previous ask, the final proofreading round has now passed the halfway point of the story, having reached the famous fight between Itachi and Kakashi. We hope to have the patch released as soon as life permits!

[tackyink]

This was supposed to be for @asususasa but in the middle of writing I thought this could be useful for someone else, so here's Tacky's general list of otome recs. It took me over an hour to write so I'm not proofreading it.

DS

Not much to say here because back in those days otome games didn't get localized. The stand outs are Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love Plus and Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Season, who have English fan translations. Slice of life games where you play as the protagonist through her three years of high school. And if you feel like a student-teacher romance that would make Sakura Kinomoto's mom proud, these are your games.

PSP

Still well into the no localizations era with one exception: Hakuouki Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. Not recommending it on PSP because there are better versions. Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story Premium also has a fan translation and should be played over its DS counterpart because it has added functionalities. Sadly this time around the teacher is a secret character and a shota.

3DS

There's Hakuoki Memories of the Shinsengumi. Still not recommended because we can do better.

PS3

Hakuouki Stories of the Shinsengumi includes the original game and the fandisk with some neat animations added. This is the version to play if you want the original experience. If you want even more routes, go for another version.

Vita

Hakuoki Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, Collar x Malice and Amnesia are the best games you can get for the Vita imo. Some people dig a lot the Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk and Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (I've only played BB, it was good but wasn't the best; wouldn't rate it as high as the others). There's Code Realize and its two fandisks (Future Blessings and Wintertide Miracles) and many people swear by them, but while I liked the common route in the first game, the rest didn't do it for me. You can find all of these except CxM and the CRs on Steam, and the Hakuoki games get dirst cheap on sale. Best bang for your buck of the saga. The CR games have PS4 ports and CxM has a Switch one, which you already know.

Switch

*rolls up sleeves* LET'S GO.

To get it out of the way: Hakuouki KW and EB are getting a Switch rerelease and a new translation and will be released as a single game, Hakuoki Chonicles of Wind and Blossom, on August 1st.

Collar x Malice fucking nails the mystery and lowkey horror vibes with and excellent plot that's interconnected in every route. CxM Unlimited is its fandisk and only recommended if you really have the CxM itch, because it's mostly fluff and the little plot there is is at most functional. It has a route where Ichika joins Adonis and you get to see its inner workings though. That was very interesting.

Bustafellows is 100% found family vibes with a very assertive protagonist. It's a mystery/action story and the team dynamics are sort of Ocean's 11-ish. Hilarious, heartbreaking at times, I've never felt more dread in a game than heading towards the basement in a certain's guy's route. There are two unlockable stories after you finish the routes of the guys, one of which I thought was glorious, another which sets up a sequel and is a big downer but I also really liked. It gets heavy at times with murder, suicide, sexual assault, human trafficking, among other kinds of violence, but despite it, it's generally a very funny and upbeat game. We're getting the sequel next year. Also available on PC.

Café Enchanté baits you with the premise of being a girl who manages a coffee shop patronized by handsome supernatural beings, so it's a real surprise when the cannibalism shows up. Anyway. Great game, but I'm afraid saying more would kind of defeat the point. Reminds me of Megami Tensei games, so if coffee shop AUs with supernatural world-ending threats are your thing, go for it. Just be warned that the fandom has kind of collectively agreed that poster boy's route never happened.

Birushana is a hidden gem that goes on sale super cheap and is also probably a hit or miss thing. You play as the legendary Yoshitsune, who in this game is a girl disguising her gender, but she's an amazing warrior as in history. It has the best otome couple I've ever seen, bar none, with Yoshitsune and Noritsune. The game is worth the price just to see them fall in love on the battlefield and watch Noritsune chug down Respect Women Juice all the way through it. The thing is... the rest of routes aren't great. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed how utterly unhinged they got at times, but the plot got worse as it deepened. Still. Noritsune. And I loved that most of the guys respected her as a warrior and were aware she was as capable or a better warrior than them and she didn't need a man to protect her. Very refreshing. One of my faves got done dirty by the translation because they started pulling lines out of thin air to make him creepier. Just him. Why. It's not like he needed the help.

Virche Evermore Error Salvation is also a good one if you can handle continuous drama and see egregiously bad science and say, "You know what? It's magic. Humans in this world are just built different." The worldbuilding is really interesting and the characters very enjoyable, though they don't feature a lot in each other's routes or aren't that friendly with each other. The continuous tragedy may tire you out, or maybe it'll work and emotionally destroy you. It didn't get any emotional reaction out of me until a certain point near the end, but I enjoyed the game a lot, nevertheless. We're getting the sequel this November and I'm really looking forward to it.

Variable Barricade: a fun romp where a young heiress has to chose a fiancé among the four disaster bachelors her grandpa has selected. It's not really similar to Ouran, but it reminded me a little of it at times. It's a pretty light game. The BFF is a gothic lolita otaku who has the time of her life shipping you with the guys, and the butler... oh boy the butler.

Amnesia, as I mentioned earlier, has a PC port as well as the Vita version, as well as two localized fandisks for the Switch (Amnesia x Crowd) that I can't speak of because I haven't played them yet. The protagonist has supernatural amnesia and must piece together her life while avoiding that other people realize she's lost her memory. It's a super intriguing game the first time you play, really nailed the being completely and utterly lost in the protagonist's shoes. A required play to get in on the cage jokes. It's sort of a rite of passage for otome gamers.

Jack Jeanne has probably the best group dynamics of any otome I've seen. I think some people have issues with the protagonist because they find her passive, but to me she felt the complete opposite. Everybody is adorable. A sentimental story of hard work, being young and and fighting for your dreams, 10/10, no notes. I lied, there's a note: Tanakamigi deserved a route! Where is our Tanakamigi route! щ(゜ロ゜щ)

Last but not least at all, the two Piofiores. Mafia games where all trigger warnings you can think of apply. Well, maybe not the cannibalism, that's still Café Enchanté's crowning glory. Fated Memories, the first one, has its ups and downs, but has very enjoyable characters, rock-solid worldbuilding, an amazing atmosphere set in 1920s Italy with a jazzy soundtrack that ends up living rent free in your brain. The last routes of the first game, Gil's and Finale, are worth the full price of the game alone. Piofiore Episodio 1926 is a masterpiece of the otome genre. It doesn't have a single boring route, and the final stretch (Advent Calendar-Alternativa-Secret Character route) has the best writing I've seen in an otome. Lots of points of view and situations interconnecting, an excellent final couple, top notch interactions between the main characters. Just the best.

[tideswept]

I was tagged by @yourfavoritefridge and am taking a page from @sendpseuds ('s) book and answering this while deeply compromised. Sober, I am not.

You have been warned!

1.) How many works do you have on ao3?

62!

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

800,347! (Ooh, big round number!)

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

Currently: Kingsman & Star Wars. (I really never thought I'd be in either of them but I'm glad I am.)

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

gold and pink and glittering: 498, Hartwin, E. I'm still surprised to this day how much people liked it. First smut in several years.

the lean and hungry type: 453, Obikin, E. First time getting to do alpha/beta, and written from around 11pm to 4 am and then another hour proofreading. I was mildly delirious, ngl.

offer a little salt for that wound: 463, Hartwin, E. OOH man I had this one in my head and wouldn't leave me tf alone. My plot bunnies aren't USUALLY visual, but this one was!

cold water on your tongue: 429, Obikin, E. Still surprised this one took off tbh! I had a lot of moments where the fic felt awkward to me and not worth salvaging. But I think it makes people happy, and god, I can't really ask for more than that!

somebody to lie in the dark with: 302, Obikin, E. That's the second time today I've typed something instead of someone in that title. HMM. (Sith-Wan, my darling!)

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do when I can! Have a pretty decent streak going, I think? I think I owe a really lovely commenter from like 5 days ago and nnnghh the guilt is heavy.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Potentially empty spaces, empty phrases (Obikin) depending on how you decide the ending goes! But objectively: let me stay (TimJon).

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

oh fuck, who are you, the cops? (me, looking at my fics in despair)

I think the honor goes to cold water on your tongue. Everything else tends to end in a bittersweet or incomplete ("to be continued") kind of way.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

Not outside of TMA. It's been absolutely lovely being in Kingsman / Obikin fandoms. I genuinely showed up here low-key scared for my life, and I've been shown nothing but kindness and support.

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes, and welcome to the first of the "UH IDK? [awkward shrug/hand wave]" questions because... I have no idea how to answer that. Like, what are the quantifiers here? Level of depth (NO PUN INTENDED) in how explicit it is, or what bits are rubbing against what bits, or like, if I specialize in any particular kind of smut (if there aren't pins for "I WRITE BDSM SMUT", I demand we print them) or— tldr: IDK. Vibe. The vibe kind. oh my god not vibrator vibe brain why are you doing this

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Nope. I've thought about fusions, though! Like, I feel a fic where Obi-Wan is a Kingsman and picks Anakin as his candidate--maybe it was Qui-Gon's dying request still, and when Obi-Wan became a knight and a seat next opened up, he reluctantly said, FINE.

(Now I'm wondering what knight Obi-Wan would be. Gawain? The original version of him, not the vulgarized mythos of later romances. Which leaves Anakin to be Agravaian, which is pretty perfect tbh. I mean he could also be Mordred since they're all brothers)

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yup! Multiple times. It never stops feeling Not Okay.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of?

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Nope.

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

oh fuck you are the cops.

Uh. tbh this is a really hard question until I asked myself: a 100k fic written by an amazing author: what pairing would you be more excited about? And my heart... my heart said Hartwin.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ahh, sadly the post-Vday canon divergence Hartwin fic. I'm told it stands on its own as is, though. So maybe that counts for something?

16.) What are your writing strengths?

I have no idea. You saw what happened during the smut question, I fell apart like a jenga tower! And that was a simple question!

Honestly though, I don't know. That I manage to carry enough vibes to be entertaining? That's pretty good.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I will not clutch the camera and shove my face into it and whisper everything in a voice ragged with despair I will not clutch th—

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Google Translate, my dearest friend. (Unless it's Spanish, I can handle that on my own.)

Granted, if I have a friend who speaks the language, you can bet I'm knocking down their door like a SWAT squad.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

UH SO FUNNY STORY. I watched IT (the TV series) when I was like, 7. Was very confused for many reasons (partly because I missed the first hour) but also i was a Weird Child, and also Not American.

But! I didn't know it was based off a book written by a dude, so one day I just... started writing the story down in a notebook when I was 8. Because I figured I liked the movie (I assumed it was a movie at the time) so much, why NOT turn it into something to read?

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

Beholding's Own. Lightning-in-a-bottle kind of situation, 10+ year break from writing, and also re-entering fandom after said 10+ year long break. It's really hard to live up to that kind of fondness.

From new fics? the devil is a gentleman. I can't help it, this Obi-Wan and Anakin are hilarious. They are so dumb and yet so smart.

I'm supposed to tag people now for this, so imagine me throwing Your Candy of Choice at @irrationalsense, @veloursdor, @kingdomvel and @howlbrooklyn like a fastball. (And anyone else who'd like to do it!)

[hyenahunt]

Saga: Rivals - 19

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: Hokuto, Jun

Proofreading: 310mc (JP) & hyenahunt (ENG)

Translation: kotofucius

Hokuto: It felt like my identity as Hidaka Hokuto was getting erased, and I was slowly being reduced to nothing more than the Hidakas’ son… It scared me.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: Sleeping Room

Time: The next day. The first day of Reverse Live has passed, and it is now the morning of the second day.

Hokuto: ………

Zzz, zzz… ♪

Jun: Hidaka-saaan?

Sorry to disturb you while you're resting! Couldja please wake up~? Your phone’s pinging like crazy, y'know~?

Hokuto: Nn… Snz… ♪

Jun: …He’s not waking up. Mmgh~ What should I do?

It's not like he's Ohii-san, so I can’t just smack his head, can I?

Jun: Hidaka-san? Hidaka-saaan, I'm seriously sorry to disturb you but couldja please wake up already? Between the two of us, I’m not the one cut out for the whole “waking a sleeping beauty thing”, y'know?

Hokuto: Nghhh… Don’t call me Hidaka.

Jun: Huh? Wait, but we’re not close enough to be on a first name basis, are we? If that's what you prefer, though, then I guess I'll do just that~?

To be fair… with Hidaka-sensei in my unit, it might get confusing who I'm talking to whenever I say “Hidaka-san”~ ♪

Umm, in that case… Hokuto-san! Wake up, Hokuto-san!

Hokuto: Mm…? Ahh… *yawn* ♪

What’s the big deal…? It’s still early…

Jun: Oh, you finally woke up! Apologies for disturbing you, Hokuto-san!

Seems like some early birds already started rehearsing, so we should probably grab some breakfast and get ready, too~

Hokuto: …Did you say “Hokuto-san”? What are you being all buddy-buddy with me for? We’re enemies.

Jun: Wha? You're the one who told me not to call you Hidaka, y'know?

Hokuto: Mnn? My bad, I think… I might’ve been half-asleep…

Sorry for confusing you. I was getting called Hidaka, Hidaka, Hidaka in both my dreams and in reality…

It felt like my identity as Hidaka Hokuto was getting erased, and I was slowly being reduced to nothing more than the Hidakas’ son… It scared me.

…Wait, woah!? What are you doing next to my bed, Sazanami? Planning to attack me in my sleep? That’s low of you, Lilith!

Jun: Haha. You really are half-asleep~ …But I totally get it. My heart's been pounding so hard I could hardly get any sleep, too.

After all, this is the very stage I’ve always dreamed of.

Hokuto: Mm? Where are we? Ah… That’s right, I felt like I hadn't practiced enough, so I stayed the night.

The nap room was only just set up, so I couldn't remember where I was for a moment.

Sazanami, did you stay the night here too?

Jun: Yeah, sorta… Ibara booked a hotel room for us, but it’s such a pain to go from there to the school and back.

Plus, it looks like your school's got both a cafeteria and showers, so it’s easier for me to stay here since it's just for a few nights.

On top of that, it feels like I've been getting kinda cocky, with how smooth a ride I’ve had since becoming an SS finalist — so I wanted to recall my origins, y’see…

And unlike Ohii-san, I’ve got no hobby of indulging myself. I feel more at home sleeping all crowded together in a small room like this~

Back when I wasn’t a Special Student, I took naps in Reimei’s common room pretty often.

Jun: I was being worked to the bone as staff, y'know. It seriously felt like I'd been tossed into a slave ship.

I don't think how I felt back then is something I should forget so easily.

Getting too used to an easy life will just dull your body and mind, y’know? …And if that happened, I feel like I’d never win against Sagami Jin.

I’m nowhere accomplished enough to be getting full of myself; not yet… But it sucks that it’s so easy to get the wrong idea of myself, y’know~? Like, I’ve somehow become Lilith’s center.

Hokuto: Ahh… I saw your fight against Ba-barrier last night. They did have you in the center.

The pressure must've been overwhelming, performing with my father and Tomoe-senpai behind you like that… I feel sorry for you.

Jun: Haha… It sure was~ See, I’m not the center of either Eve or Eden.

In fact, my role's moreso to make the others look good in those units.

So yeah, it was pretty nerve-wracking. It'd be no laughing matter if all my anxieties wore me down and I just passed out before even fighting Sagami Jin…

Well, at least I had proper practice and all, so in the end I somehow pulled through.

How did it look to you, Hokuto-san? Did my performance rise to the occasion~?

Hokuto: Yeah. To tell you the truth, you’ve improved a lot since I last saw you in SS. I also get excited when I see that my opponents are strong.

…Though your teamwork seemed a bit flawed, since it’s your debut stage and all.

Jun: Ahaha, I guess you’d notice something like that, Hokuto-san~

Actually, we didn't really manage to practice getting in-sync with Hidaka-sensei all that much, since he's been so busy with work.

And there's a huge change in the overall atmosphere depending on whether he's there or not —

He completely stole away the gaze of the entire audience; and it’s probably thanks to the bigwigs’ intervention stepping in, but our production ended up grander than we'd originally planned…

Our demographic is totally different from Eve’s, too, plus I’m not used to this whole DreamFest thing.

I got kinda disoriented and ended up making a bunch of mistakes. Just me, and nobody else, y'know? It’s so frustrating…

Ohii-san and Sensei both performed perfectly, but I was the one dragging Lilith down.

Hokuto: I see. My father is to blame. I’m sorry about him, Sazanami.

Jun: Nah, it's nothing… Honestly, I wondered at first if Sensei wouldn't be used to singing in a unit since he mostly performs solo —

But he carried himself perfectly. You'd never guess he had less practice than the rest of us~

Even though we're a team, I found myself overwhelmed by his presence throughout the whole performance.

It's not that I think he was taking it easy, but even that seemed more like a trial run than anything for him, so it’s scary to imagine what he’ll come out with next.

Hokuto: Hmph. Or maybe that was his limit. My father's getting on in his years; you shouldn’t overestimate him.

Jun: Haha. Hokuto-san, it seems more like you're underestimating him, y'know? I'm not too sure what’s going on here, though — Are you two on bad terms?

Back during SS, you said you kinda understood me, right?

But unlike my old man, your dad's a super idol. One look and even a little kid would stop crying just to watch him.

So it’s been nagging at me all this time. I just don’t get why you’d sympathize with me.

Oh, but I guess getting into the same line of work as our parents means that people just can’t seem to stop the comparisons… Annoying as it is.

The agency promoted me that way too, at first.

'Course, not that my old man’s fame as a loser was any good plug~

Hokuto: Hmm. I don’t think it’s right to belittle yourself like that.

And just from his achievements alone, wasn’t your father worthy of the Super Idol title too?

Jun: I wonder… Well, maybe that’s why he was a good match as Sagami Jin’s rival.

But in the end, he’s still a nobody who couldn’t make a mark on history, yeah?

Project Saga's the revival stage of legendary idols, yet he's so insignificant that he didn't even get invited to it.

Hokuto: …? I don’t think that's the case, though?

I’m pretty sure his name was on the list of legendary idols — At least, in the proposal I received before Project-Saga became official —

Jun: Nah, there's no need to try and comfort me. My old man’s obsessed with his past, y'know — He would’ve said yes in a heartbeat if he'd gotten an invitation.

So if he's never shown up as a Mentor, then the offer never came…

Must be nice being you, Hokuto-san~ You’ve got an impressive dad you can brag about.

Hokuto: ……

[ ☆ ]

✦✦✦✦✦

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[inkblot-inc]

Sisters

Summary: [JAWS AU] Simply a little addendum I have around Jaws meeting Yelena (timeline wise, also known as the Black Widow Alternate). The brain's whirring right now aight- (first arc)

Pairing(s): Natasha Romanoff x Mutant!TigerShark!Reader, Mutant!TigerShark!Reader x Yelena Belova (platonic)

[JAWS AU Masterlist]

Warning(s): none that I can think of, maybe a language warning? Yeah we'll put that just in case

Note(s): There isn't any real dialogue here since this is more of my stream of consciousness to fill in some timeline details. Not really proofread cuz I'm really just talkin through text to speech and skimming for spelling errors💀. Hopefully it makes sense/is coherent at least, but since I was thinkin about this stuff, I’ll just add it to my list of dissertations o7

Word Count: more than 700, I know that much

*squints* I give NO ONE permission to repost or translate my work. Make your own shit

Alright lets' go Black Widow Alternate!

(That really just means I'm talkin about how the events of Black Widow go down in the JAWS AU....at least the pertinent details. i.e What happens when we deviate from canon blah blah blah)

Because Civil War doesn't happen in the JAWS AU, The Avengers are still together as a team and are able to take down the Red Room in the original way Yelena intended (“I kept checking the news, expecting to see Captain America bringing down the Red Room” but that actually happens here). This still serves as Natasha and Yelena's reunion as they get in contact with each other via the pictures Yelena sent.

Because Natasha isn't on the run (again, no CW = no accords...atm, and no Ross), she's not really stressed in that way. Natasha more so has to grapple with her own guilt at leaving her sister behind to go through life in the Red Room without her to look after her and even not trying hard enough to look for Yelena after getting out.

Natasha tried not to look back after Budapest, remember now.

Natasha tries to deflect and justify this in her own mind by trying to detach herself and saying that she and Yelena were never really sisters, just like how they were never really a part of a family with Melina and Alexei.

It was just a mission.

Natasha continues trying to push the narrative that her years in Ohio are in her past and that she couldn't wait to put them behind her to forget them when she got out. Natasha doesn't actually believe any of this. Those years spent with Yelena, Melina, and Alexei were very real to Natasha and she looks back on those times with fondness and regret they couldn't have lasted longer. However, Natasha is of the school of thought that if you say something enough times, maybe you'll start to believe it. Maybe.

Yelena immediately calls bullshit on Natasha's "I'm allergic to you" attitude, but it doesn't make Natasha's attempts hurt any less. To be so close again but treated like something other. Natasha's continued trying to push her out of her life is what gets to Yelena, that paired with seeing the people in Natasha's "present" makes Yelena self-conscious in ways that make her uncomfortable and that she usually deflects with humor and sarcasm.

It's Jaws that continues to reach out to Yelena. Not in the traditional sense, but they've taken to including Yelena and going out of their comfort zone to get to know Yelena during the red room mission (very similar scene to the Yelena and Nat beer scene talking about their lives). Yelena was protective and just a bit teasing when she found out that Jaws was Natasha's partner for sure. The ice breaker between Jaws and Yelena boiled down to Yelena doing a trick shot off of Jaws' teeth into a vodka bottle....with a bullet.

Whether or not Yelena thought she would kill Jaws by shooting them in the mouth is up for discussion...

Part of Jaws' interest in Yelena is because she is in some way part of Natasha's life, and even they can tell that Yelena is important to her without a doubt. The other part of Jaws cultivates this relationship with Yelena because she passes the vibe check, and not once has she referred to Jaws as a freak or a monster, which is what usually happens when people meet Jaws for the first time. Yelena couldn't care less about it. Wildly intrigued for both the right and the wrong reasons, but still-

Natasha seeing her "past" and "present" coexisting together pushes her to face her own feelings of guilt and even inadequacy head on (thinking of the " It was real to me too" scene) to repair and rebuild her bond with her little sister. Natasha also apologizes for not looking for her after she escaped the Red Room and trying to reduce her time with Yelena to a bad memory she kept trying to forget.

Yelena's focus afterward is freeing the remaining widows, of which she knows she can ask for her sisters and the avengers help. She is undecided whether or not she wants to officially become an avenger, but it is not off the table. Yelena and Jaws have become close over the course of the red room mission and even after, which makes Natasha very happy.

[ginjithewanderer]

Scout! Polka Dots — Summer-Colored Youths — Chapter 8

Writer: Umeda Chitose || Season: Summer Character appearances: Tetora, Hinata, Hokuto

Tetora helps Hinata take care of the fields at school. As thanks, Hinata invites him to go to a summer festival together, and along the way, they meet lots of people…

Proofread by @mankaissengen

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8

"This is the sign that I've grown enough to make my own summer festival memories...♪"

Translation under the cut

[A while later. At the original summer festival venue]

Tetora, Hinata: —And, goal!

Hinata: Huff...I was a little faster, wasn't I?

Tetora: The tips of both of our shoes got through the torii gate at the same time, I saw it happen. Phew...

Tetora: ...That said. I meant to get back sooner, but it's gotten pretty late, huh.

Tetora: Even after guiding that old lady, we ended up helping that lost child and finding and returning people's lost items to them. I feel like...today really was a day full of helping others.

Hinata: It was. You really helped me out, too.

Hinata: ...I wonder if everyone went home after all. I did send them messages every now and then, but I couldn't really give them the details of the situation, could I?

Tetora: So you said things like "You guys can look around without us" and "It looks like we're gonna be late, so it's okay if you go home."

Tetora: You were the only one sending any messages, so the others must have been worried. They couldn't even get any replies in.

Hinata: I hope Yuuta-kun isn't mad at me~. Your big brother was helping people out; it's true, y'know~?

Tetora: I'll explain everything with you, so don't worry. Besides, everyone is kind, so I don't think they'll be angry?

Tetora: ...Mm~♪ That said, something smells great! I've been moving around so much, I'm starving!

Tetora: I could've accepted the kind offer from the old lady and her family and had something to eat at the other shrine, but...

Tetora: In the end, I wanted to enjoy the summer festival I had originally decided to come to~. Hinata-kun, what do you wanna eat first?

Hinata: ...Heeey. Tetsu-kun, it's like you're not even bothered that you got here late, too.

Hinata: If anything, you kinda look refreshed.

Tetora: Hmm~? If I look refreshed, it's because I'm feeling a sense of accomplishment, I guess?

Tetora: If we hadn't decided to come to this summer festival, I wouldn't have been able to help the people who needed it or make those people smile.

Tetora: I want this summer festival to be nothing but fun memories. I was just thinking about how until we finally got here, I fulfilled all my duties ♪

Tetora: ...But, I gotta admit...

Hinata: ?

Tetora: I really can't help but feel bad that you ended up being so late because of me...

Hinata: HUH~? You're still on that?

Tetora: You wanted to enjoy the summer festival with Yuuta-kun, didn't you? But in the end, you couldn't spend a single second together, right?

Hinata: It was my own decision to join you, and I told you I couldn't have fun unless you were with me, right?

Hinata: It's not your fault we got back late, either. If anything, don't you think it's because we were together that we were able to get back here now?

Tetora: Even if you say that, I can't just shake the feeling~...At least let me do something for you.

Hinata: You're a stubborn one, huh. Well, you're the guy who wouldn't even let me treat him to shaved ice...

Tetora: Ugh. Hinata-kun, you're not holding a grudge against me for that, are you?

Hinata: I'm used to doing things "for" people~. But with you, you're usually the one doing things "for me".

Hinata: Hmm~, what's something I want you to do for me...

Hinata: I know. I had trouble thinking of something, but how about "that"?

Tetora: By "that," do you mean the yo-yo fishing stall? Do you want a water balloon?

Hinata: Yup. Catching yo-yo balloons with a "koyori" string made of twisted paper is surprisingly hard. Do your best until you catch one, and show me how cool you are ♪

Tetora: Ossu, that's no problem!

Tetora: ...Speaking of which, yo-yo fishing is so nostalgic~. The multicolored water balloons floating in the pool look just as pretty now as they did back then.

Hinata: Back then?

Tetora: Back when I was a kid. My parents both work, so back in those days, they were always super busy, but...

Tetora: They took me to a summer festival once.

Tetora: We walked through the crowd, holding hands...They got me yakisoba from a stall, and bought me a mask, too.

Tetora: As we walked through the light from the other stalls, I saw a yo-yo fishing pool. I begged my parents for one of those balloons.

Tetora: ...But back then, I couldn't catch one for myself. I kept recklessly plunging the koyori into the pool, and it ripped pretty fast.

Tetora: I don't remember clearly whether the man running the stall gave me one for free or my parents caught it for me, but...

Tetora: The only thing that's still clear in my heart is the memory of walking home bouncing that water balloon. I just remembered how much fun it was to spend the summer festival with my family.

Hinata: I see. So that's why you—

Tetora: Ahaha. I don't know if that's why or not myself, either.

Tetora: I just want everyone to have fun and smile, too...

Tetora: I wonder if that feeling was born from my childhood self, with more happy memories of that summer festival than he could carry.

Hinata: ...

Tetora: Okay, what color should I aim for~? Red, blue, green, yellow...The black ones look elegant and cool, too!

Tetora: (...I'm clumsy, so unlike someone who's more skilled at things, it's hard for me to get everything I want.)

Tetora: (But still. I'm not the kid who charged into things with brute force alone and failed anymore.)

Tetora: —I can think hard about things one at a time.

Tetora: This way, I can start to take hold of things!

Tetora: Look, Hinata-kun. It's the prettiest water balloon of them all.

Tetora: This is the sign that I've grown enough to make my own summer festival memories...♪

Tetora: Just listening to the splish-splash of the water makes me feel refreshed~. Nom, nom.

Hinata: The man running the stall was so kind, too~. He said you looked so cool fishing out the water balloon, he decided to give me one for free. Nom, nom.

Tetora: We've had cotton candy, crepes, and candy apples. Hinata-kun, how's the choco-banana?

Hinata: It's super delicious. Bananas and chocolate go together extremely well...♪

Hinata: I should've bought a strawberry one, too. Maybe I'll get another one later...

Tetora: That'd be fine, wouldn't it? You should enjoy the food from the stalls as much as your pocket money will allow you to today ☆

Hokuto: —You two, you came?

Hinata: Hidaka-senpai? Good work todaaay ♪

Tetora: We just met earlier, but hey again. I took that old lady safely to where she needed to go with Hinata-kun ♪

Hokuto: With Hinata-kun...I see, so you really did meet up outside the shrine.

Hokuto: By the way, did you meet up with Yuuta-kun and the others?

Tetora: Yuuta-kun and the others? You mean Midori-kun and Shinobu-kun are still at the shrine, too?

Hokuto: Yeah. All three of them are in the grounds. You were originally going to meet up with them, weren't you?

Hinata: Dammit! Then we gotta go right away!

Tetora: Yeah! Hidaka-senpai, thank you for telling us!

Hokuto: You too, Nagumo-kun and Hinata-kun. I see you're safely enjoying the summer festival.

Hinata: Hehe, the fun has just begun, though!

Tetora: We plan to enjoy this as much as we can until the last second! From now on, we're gonna make more of the best memories with everyone...♪

[END]

---

Finally finished! Thank you so much for being with me as I've translated this (my first full gacha story!) and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have. See you next time!

[anatee]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@thegreatwicked thank you so much for the tag! ♥

1. How many works do you have on AO3? Seven, I have all of them here as well.

2. What's your total A03 word count? 114,650

3. What fandoms do you write for? Star Wars & Harry Potter (across all media). I guess Moon Knight counts, too, but I only have one so far. Honestly, I prefer writing for Star Wars (or anything else) here (smut), since all my Wattpad is Harry Potter-themed.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

You can read all of these from my masterlist here!

These are all smuts.

Fantasy | Kylo Ren

Bloody Skywalker | Anakin Skywalker

A sweet way to go | Anakin Skywalker

Insufferable | Armitage Hux

The Cockpit | Poe Dameron 

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes, but only when I have anything to add. But I absolutely love reading comments.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I hate angst, I don't like reading nor writing it, but ig Bloody Skywalker has kind of an angsty ending for some because - spoiler - Anakin still turns to the dark side. To me, it's a win, but I saw some people being sad about it 😅 I have a Harry Potter fic about an OC x Death Eater that ends pretty angsty though.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Almost all of my fics have happy endings, like I said, I hate angst. But let's say my Cedric Diggory fanfic in which he does not die and then has 5 children, a cottage and a wife with a tea shop.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really, but now that I had my first book published - which started as a fic originally - I'm sure I will 🥴

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes, that's why I'm here on Tumblr. I'm a good girl on Wattpad and a smut freak here. All kinds of smut. I kinda want to try writing a threesome since I never wrote it before and that will take some courage 😆

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? No, I'm not a big fan of them, but a Moon Knight crossover in which Marc's next personality is Poe Dameron sounds very tempting.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yep, multiple times on Wattpad.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? By myself, yeah 😆

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, and that would be a nightmare for me. I don't agree with myself, let alone someone else...

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? I usually hate canon x canon ships, because I always hate one of the characters, that's why I write x OC/x readers only.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Oh, for the love of Khonshu, the list is longer than the Nile.

16. What are your writing strengths? Based on thr compliments I usually get, I'd say it's describing emotions (which I hate doing) and sticking to the canon in fics (and not making OOCs).

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I forget about things I know I should apply - like show, don't tell rule - and I hate proofreading.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Depends. Sometimes it works if the reader isn't supposed to understand either, but you gotta make sure it's correct and not too much.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Monster High, when I was like what, 11, 12?

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? Insufferable for Hux aaaand Pact With The Devil for Tom Riddle.

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Galileo Galilei Main Story

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors and inaccuracies.

Spoilers ahead. Not proofread. Rush translation.

Mitsuki: "I have so many things I want to ask you and talk about."

Through my blurring tears, his profile looked pale, and the hand I brushed against my cheek felt cold.

At that moment, as I fervently wished for his awakening, his fingertips moved slightly.

Mitsuki: "Galileo!!"

His eyelids slowly opened, revealing his amethyst eyes.

His gaze wandered for a while, then he tilted his head and looked at me.

Galileo: "You..."

Mitsuki: "You've regained consciousness! Thank goodness, I'm so glad."

Feelings that cannot be put into words well up from the depths of my chest, overflowing as tears.

His cold fingers brushed against my cheek, awkwardly wiping away my tears.

Later, after some time had passed,

Sailor: "Hey, Drake! You should be doing the new guy's job."

Drake: "Aye, aye, sir!"

Drake: "But first, let me finish this drink."

Sailor: "Hey, that's my wine!"

Drake laughed as he deftly avoided the sailor who tried to take back the bottle.

Drake: "Haha! Never let your guard down. There's nothing Captain Drake can't steal!"

Sailor: "Who said you're a captain? You're just named after some big shot in the English Navy."

Sailor: "By the way, are you from England?"

Drake: "No, I'm from France now."

The sailor tilted his head in confusion as Drake laughed softly and turned his gaze to the open sea.

The horizon stretched out endlessly, with no land in sight, but he thought of the place where his comrade and Mitsuki were.

Drake: "For someone like me who never had a place to call home, it's strange to think I now have a land to return to."

Drake: "Maybe after I sail around the world, I'll show my face there again."

With those words, Drake raised the wine bottle towards the sea.

One day, sometime after Galileo awoke, I visited the mansion.

Mitsuki: "Wow, this bread smells delicious! Thank you."

Sebastian: "I'm glad you like it."

The warmth of the freshly baked bread brought an involuntary smile to my face.

Though I still resided in the hideout, I would occasionally visit everyone.

Napoleon: "How's Galileo doing?"

Mitsuki: "His health seems to be improving a lot. He can even get up and go for walks now."

Even after narrowly escaping death, his body was still being ravaged by the founder's miasma.

But ever since he woke up, he's shown signs of a steady recovery.

Napoleon: "I see. I was worried, but I guess this is a miracle."

Mitsuki: "Yeah."

(It's a miracle Galileo himself created.)

(His strong will, even at the cost of his own life, must have led to this fate.)

I was just letting Napoleon and Sebastian know I'd drop by again when I heard some quick footsteps approaching.

Isaac: "Mitsuki, wait."

Mitsuki: "Isaac?"

Isaac came up to me, fiddling with his hair as he spoke.

Isaac: "I don't know what that guy plans to do next, and this is just my wish, but..."

Isaac: "Please tell Professor Maury we're waiting for his return."

Mitsuki: "----!"

Napoleon: "A school where Newton and Galileo teach? That would be a competition of wisdom."

Sebastian: "I feel like attending university myself."

Isaac: "Don't tease me. That's all I wanted to say. See you."

Mitsuki: "Thanks, Isaac! I'll be sure to let him know."

(I hope Galileo and everyone can build a new relationship.)

With such hopes, I couldn't help but feel excited.

I found myself lost in thought after leaving the mansion and walking down the main street.

(As Isaac said, what will we do now?)

What came to mind was the moment Galileo woke up.

------------Flashback-----------

Galileo: "Did I survive?"

Galileo: "Even though I was ravaged by the miasma and stabbed by Drake's knife?"

He gazed at his palm in wonder, as if he couldn't believe he was still alive.

Mitsuki: "Everyone at the mansion and the old castle did everything they could to help you."

Mitsuki: "And Comte said that perhaps it was because you were a dhampir that you were saved."

Both the miasma and the knife are dangerous for vampires, but Comte suggested that perhaps Galileo's human side helped save his life.

(Although the truth is unknown, as long as Galileo is alive, that's what matters.)

But...

Galileo: "After trying to destroy the world and being rejected by it, did I survive again?"

I took his hand in mine as he muttered self-deprecatingly.

Mitsuki: "Galileo, let me tell you again."

Mitsuki: "I love you."

Galileo: "........."

Mitsuki: "Even if the world rejects you, I will continue to seek you."

(I want to accept every part of you.)

Mitsuki: "I'm not asking you to respond to my feelings. I just want you to stay alive."

Galileo: ".........."

---------Flashback Ends--------

(He didn't say anything back then.)

I wanted to stay by his side and support him to make him happy.

(But what are Galileo's thoughts on the future?)

When I returned to the hideout, Galileo was by the window, gazing outside. He turned to face me as I entered.

Mitsuki: "I'm back. Look, Sebastian gave me some bread."

Galileo: "Mitsuki."

His rich, low voice called my name, and his eyes captured me.

Galileo: "I want to talk with you for a bit."

He led me to the garden.

The sunlight streaming down made the pure white flowers shine.

He knelt and gently caressed the petals of the red flowers.

Galileo: "Looking at this red flower brings back the sorrow of the dhampirs I've seen. Their pain still lingers in my mind."

Mitsuki: "Yeah."

Though I haven't dreamed of dhampirs recently, seeing the white flowers stained with the color of blood still hurts my heart.

Galileo: "I wanted to save them. I wanted to do something for the friends and family I lost."

Galileo: "In the end, that wish didn't come true."

Galileo: "I thought that if I ended this world entirely, all the sorrow would disappear."

Galileo: "Carrying everyone's regrets and achieving destruction had become my reason for living."

He spoke as if reflecting on his past, then turned his gaze towards me.

Galileo: "But some time after I woke up, I saw a certain scene."

(A certain scene?)

What Galileo mentioned was an interaction I had with Miguel a few days ago.

------------Flashback-----------

Miguel: "Big sis!"

On the day I was visiting Mireia's grave, I ran into Miguel.

He is currently living with a pureblood couple, thanks to Comte's arrangements.

Mitsuki: "Miguel, it's been a while. Huh?"

Puppy: "Woof, woof!"

I widened my eyes in surprise as I recognized the brown puppy he was with.

Mitsuki: "This puppy..."

Miguel: "I found him a little while ago. He was wandering alone in the city, and I couldn't just leave him."

Miguel: "I brought him today to meet Mireia. His fur is chestnut-colored, just like her hair."

This puppy was the same one Sidereus had protected and whose injuries I had treated.

When I told him this, his blue eyes also widened in surprise.

Miguel: "Really? That's amazing! Both this puppy and I were helped by everyone."

Mitsuki: "Yeah. It's like a miracle that such small events connect in this way. It feels like a fortunate coincidence."

(No, this might be what we call destiny.)

Even if what we can do at the moment seems trivial, it eventually leads to new happiness.

It would surely help heal suffering and sorrow little by little.

Mitsuki: "Miguel, if it's okay, could you take this?"

Miguel: "What is it? Wow, a bird made of paper."

Mitsuki: "It's an origami crane. I folded it, thinking of Mireia before coming to the grave. Normally, you would fold a thousand of them."

Mitsuki: "In my hometown, we fold them with wishes or to remember those who have passed. It can also be a symbol of peace."

I imbued it with a wish that no more sorrowful events would occur.

Miguel: "A symbol of peace."

He placed the origami crane with its wings spread on his palm and smiled gently.

Miguel: "Thank you, big sister. I'm sure Mireia will be happy, too."

Mitsuki: "I hope so."

---------Flashback Ends--------

(Galileo was there at that moment.)

Galileo: "Watching your interaction with the boy reminded me of my past conversations with my father."

Galileo: "As you said, the root of my desire was not destruction."

Galileo: "The hatred within me hasn't disappeared."

Galileo: "Humans and vampires alike are foolish, and the endless conflicts in this world will still fill me with indescribable anger. But..."

Galileo lifted his head and looked directly at me.

Galileo: "Will you stay by my side?"

(.......)

Galileo: "You're the reason I'm alive."

Galileo: "Even if anger and hatred drive me again, with you by my side, I will surely remember my dreams."

Galileo: "Only you can lead me to my true desires."

His touch was as cold as always, but his eyes were filled with warmth, like when he gazed at the stars.

(His eyes are seeking me.)

Galileo: "I know it's selfish of me to ask you this after hurting you, and I know that my hatred and regrets still remain in my heart. But still, you need to choose. Will you stay with me or let go of this hand?"

I could feel his sincerity and earnestness as he revealed his innermost feelings. I grasped his hand firmly.

Mitsuki: "The answer is clear."

Mitsuki: "I already said I would continue to seek you out."

Why are tears welling up in my eyes?

Receiving his feelings, I spoke with a voice trembling with joy.

Mitsuki: "Galileo, I love you."

Mitsuki: "Please let me stay by your side. No matter what happens, don't let go of this hand."

Galileo: "Mitsuki."

He stood up, his expression softening gently.

Galileo: "I love you, Mitsuki."

Galileo: "I won't let you go. My love for you is true."

As if to confirm our feelings, we gently kissed, surrounded by the beautifully sorrowful and ephemeral white flowers.

Mitsuki: "What are you going to do now?"

I asked while snuggling close to him on the bed.

He hesitated slightly before speaking.

Galileo: "I can only live by seeking the truth. I plan to return to being a university professor and pursue academic studies as I did before."

Galileo: "Also, Drake will return to this place."

Mitsuki: "You're right. Hehe, Isaac will be happy."

He softened his expression, but he let out a faint sigh.

Galileo: "But I might fall into despair again, and my heart could be trapped by distorted desires once more."

Mitsuki: "When that time comes, I will accept it. All your anger, hatred, and sorrow."

Galileo: "Mitsuki."

Galileo: "Thank you."

Galileo: "This time, I hope I can remember the true wish you made me realize."

Galileo: "I hope our journey from here can become a bridge between the human and vampire worlds."

Mitsuki: "I'm sure it will."

(You’re neither a heretic nor someone to be persecuted.)

(You’re simply a person who earnestly wishes for peace. That is who you really are.)

Suddenly, Galileo leaned his head on my shoulder.

His gesture felt like he was seeking comfort, and it made my heart race.

Galileo: "What about you? What will you do?"

Mitsuki: "What will I do?"

Galileo: "Yeah. I have no intention of letting you go, but..."

Galileo: "With the door, you can return to your original world—the country and time you were born and raised in."

(So there's a way for me to go back.)

Though I realized this when he mentioned it, my resolve didn't waver.

Mitsuki: "My place is already by your side."

Galileo: "........."

Mitsuki: "I can't imagine living in a world without you."

Mitsuki: "I'll be with you forever."

Galileo: "Forever, huh?"

Galileo: "It's like an eternal vow."

He placed his hand on my cheek and looked into my eyes.

As I was mesmerized by his happy smile, he gently stole a kiss.

Mitsuki: "Nn..."

He repeatedly showered me with kisses and touched the scar on my forehead. 

Mitsuki: "Ah, that's right. There's something I've been wanting to ask you."

Galileo: "What is it?"

Mitsuki: "When did you realize I was the child you saved from the accident long ago?"

Galileo: "That? I realized it the day you had a fever."

Galileo: "The story you told me about your lifesaver and the scar on your forehead matched my memory."

With a nostalgic, gentle smile, he began to speak as if unraveling memories from long ago.

Galileo: "Among the friends, family, and dhampirs I couldn't save, you were the one I could finally rescue."

Galileo: "That was a small light for the powerless me."

Galileo: "Even though I lived in despair and was consumed by destruction, somewhere in my heart, that light remained."

Galileo: "Until it led me to this moment."

(The past connects to the present.)

Whether this encounter was a destined fate or a series of coincidences and choices we've made, I don't know.

(But now, you're alive before me.)

(This joy and this truth are everything.)

Once again, we leaned toward each other, sharing yet another kiss.

As he undid the buttons on my blouse, Galileo also loosened his collar.

The cold touch of his fingers gradually warmed, making my heart race.

Galileo: "Haaa, Mitsuki."

Mitsuki: "Nnn. It's strange to think that I would meet the person who saved me back then again like this."

Mitsuki: "Actually, you were my first love."

Galileo: "Your first love? Even though you had forgotten my face?"

Mitsuki: "Don't mention that, please."

He let out a small laugh and lifted me onto his lap.

Galileo: "Then, make sure you never forget what happens from now on."

Galileo: "Just as you sought me out, I will seek you."

His beautiful, amethyst eyes looked up at me, drawing me in.

(Beautiful.)

I wanted to keep looking at him forever. I wanted him to look at me forever.

Mitsuki: "Please seek me, Galileo. Let me take in everything about you."

(And let me wrap you in my love.)

Galileo: "I love you, Mitsuki."

Galileo: "Even if the world rejects me, your love will keep me alive."

Galileo: "Like the stars that revolve, this love is eternal."

Like the moon and the sun, which revolve and transcend time, we have met again.

Embracing all the sorrows and the newfound affection, I will always see the true you.

Previous Part ╎ Masterlist ╎ Romantic End

[sexysapphicshopowner]

🤎 Context/AU (Alternate Universe): Asanté started off as Jalani’s prized pupil in 2006. Now, 2 decades later, they’re happily married and enjoying their honeymoon. Of course, Lani has a surprise to make the moment sweeter.

🤎 Jalani Ball-De Léon: 45, FGSS and Psychology Professor

🤎 Asanté Ball- De Léon: 39, Women's Studies Professor

🤎 CW/TW: mentions of female genital mutilation (briefly), mentions of pregnancy, mentions of forced hysterectomy, angst, fluff, smut, hurt comfort, porn with plot/porn with feelings (there's no actual smut in this one but I'm using the same warnings for both), pet names, lesbians, romance stuff, kissing, cunnilingus, swearing, vaginal fingering, body worship, some spanish, mentions of mental health issues, mentions of hallucinations, no google translate, the kissing of feet (she does not have a foot fetish don't play with me), crying, proofread (will be updating these warnings when I finish part 2)

🤎 A/N: I actually have a fic for this pairing up on ao3, that link can be found here. I've had this fic sitting in my drafts for the longest. Originally it was a two part with Asanté's pov being one chapter and Jalani's being the other because I wanted the more fluffy part to be seen from Asanté's eyes and the angstier, smuttier (it's very soft and meaningful smut tbh) part to be seen from Jalani's so yeah. I think with how long this first part has turned through editing, I'm going to keep them separated. Also tell your mom how you got Rick rolled by an angst fic on tumblr when you finish reading.

🤎 Notes:

Asanté comes from an abusive adoptive family, her mother having illegally gotten a hysterectomy done on her and the mutilation of her genitals (they cut off her clit) just to name a couple of the things that she suffered through just as a child, let alone as she got older

Asanté and Lani met when Asanté was 19 pushing 20 and Jalani was 25 pushing 26, they became friends while Asante was still her student, eventually starting a relationship 6 years after graduation when Asanté came back to her alma mater to teach there

Jalani is originally from Spain with Afro-Spanish parents

Asanté is from New Mexico, she does not know her heritage but grew up speaking Castilian Spanish because coincidentally enough her adoptive mother is a Spanish woman as well

They're honeymooning in Italy

Jalani is pronounced like yuh-lawn-ee

Asanté is pronounced like uh-sahn-tay

Jalani's full name is actually Jalani Alexya Martina Mireia Adelita Teofila Sanchia Basilia Romano Hendrix De Léon

🤎 Word count: 4.3k

🤎 Link to pt. 2

8th August 2026

"If I know what love is, it is because of you. You've awakened something in my soul that was asleep for a long time."

Asanté

She was my forever love. We didn't have to know each other since we were kids, we didn't have to spend the entire 2 decades that we knew each other together, but I never stopped loving her. From the moment we laid eyes, it was set in stone, Jalani Hendrix would be the love of my life.

I started to scroll down on my youtube to find a new video to watch when she called out, "Santé, look at me."

I turned to find her recording me and couldn't help but chuckle at the faces she was making behind the camera. I sat my mug down and slipped my feet back into my slides, getting up to walk towards her.

She put her phone in her pocket and I took her outstretched hand, shaking my head with another soft laugh as she pulled me in, "Good morning, Lani."

She kissed my forehead, "Good morning. You working on something?"

I shook my head as we rocked side to side idly, her arms situated around my waist, mine slung over her shoulders "Nope, just watching youtube videos."

"Cuddles and coffee?"

I hummed as she pressed her lips to mine in soft, repeated kisses, "Only if you're making the coffee."

"Kiss and you've got a deal," she offered. I giggled, mumbling against her lips, "Lani, you're kissing me right now."

"Mm, keywords. I'm kissing you. Kiss me back and I'll make the coffee," she corrected, continuing to kiss me throughout her speaking.

I rolled my eyes playfully as I brought a hand down to cup her cheek, pressing my lips into hers the next time she planted a little peck to mine, kissing her back tenderly. A little happy sigh escaped me as I pulled away, looking up at her through my lashes, "Now do we have a deal?"

She smiled down at me, her thumbs gently tracing along the curve of my waist as she pressed one last kiss to my lips, "Yes, I would believe we do, my love."

Her hands moved up to my arms, pulling them down slowly until she had taken a hold of my hands, kissing across the back of my knuckles before turning around, her arms extended behind her as she linked her fingers with mine.

I gave them a squeeze, calling out as she pulled me along into the kitchen, "Is this not uncomfortable?"

She shook her head, "Nope. It actually feels good on my rotator cuff at the moment."

I laughed, shaking my head, "If you say so."

She let go of my right hand as she made it to the counter, pulling my left arm around her waist, leading to me wrapping both of my arms around her from behind, hands planted against her chest as I rested my head against her back, "How long do you think we can hide out here before our families send a SWAT team to come get us?"

I shrugged as I turned my face to place a kiss between her shoulder blades, her tank top leaving just enough skin uncovered for me to do so, "I don't know. I read somewhere that most honeymoons last about 8 days, but we've been gone for almost a month now. What have you been telling Mamá?"

"That we're on a couple's vacation from work. You know she's gonna kill us for eloping, right," she asked as she held onto my hands, pulling me back outside with her as she grabbed my mug from next to my laptop.

I nodded, shuffling along with her easily as she sniffed my mug to find that I had been drinking tea and not coffee, "Oh for sure. She's been the main person pressuring us to go ahead and have the wedding. She's gonna shit a brick."

"Perhaps we should have a big ceremony for our first anniversary? Just to pacify the family. For us it'll be a vow renewal, to them it'll be our wedding," she suggested as she placed a kettle on the stove while her coffee brewed.

I moved to slip between her and the counter, hands now in the same position but on her back as I rested against her chest, her arms wrapping around me whilst she pressed soft kisses into my hair, simply humming in response, "Mmhh...mhm...sounds good to me..."

She let out a soft laugh, the vibration humming against the side of my face that was pressed against her chest as she brought a hand up to my nape, playing with the hair there, "You okay, baby?"

I wasn't listening but when my brain registered that she was talking to me, I cracked an eye open, looking up at her, "Hm?"

"Still sleepy," she asked, not even minding that I hadn't heard her original question.

"Maybe a little bit. Mostly just comfortable, you're super warm."

"Well, so long as you're alright, that's okay."

I looked up at her, my chin resting against her chest as I poked my bottom lip out, "Kiss?"

She pressed a soft kiss to my lips, smiling, "Mwah, I love you."

I pushed up onto the balls of my feet just slightly, pressing a kiss of my own to her lips, "Mmmmmwah, I love you too."

She made more kissy noises as she kissed my face and neck playfully, "Mmmwa-mmwa-mmwa-mmmwah-mwah! You tryna have kitchen sex?"

I wrinkled my nose, "Ew, no! But we can turn cuddles and coffee into cuddles and cuffing. It is cuffing season, you know."

"Well duh, I know that. I just fully cuffed you a month ago."

I rolled my eyes, "Mhm I'll be upstairs. You're not fucking me." I added, pecking her lips.

She shrugged, lowering her voice as she kissed my lips softly, "I mean, making love is on the table, you said it yourself."

"We'll see. Lots of creamer, yeah?"

"I heard creaming, that implies we're eventually fucking, yes?"

I shook my head as we let go, "Mhm, yeah, stay gay, baby."

"Always!"

I slid open the doors of our bedroom, smiling as I took in the feeling of it. I let myself fall into the bed with a content sigh.

I have married the love of my life...and I'm completely happy with it.

I twirled my hair between my fingers as I swung my feet off the edge, of the bed idly, thinking to myself.

If you had told me when I first met Lani as my professor that two decades later I'd be married to her, I probably wouldn't have believed you for a multitude of reasons.

It was practically no secret back then that I had a crush on her by junior year, my cordial relationship with her as my professor becoming not quite friends, not quite partners. It was...something alright.

Back then I always tried to tell myself that given the 6 year age gap, she likely just saw me as a friend at best, a little sister at worst. But then there was that particular conversation once I got my diploma.

Then the time after I left California to get my teaching degree and start my work down in Texas. Dating was...attempted, but knowing what I knew by that point, I had no choice but to jump on the opportunity when I got offered a job to work at Stanford.

My thoughts were interrupted by her grabbing my ankles, gently tugging me to the end of the bed as she pulled my legs in the air, my toes pointing habitually as she started massaging my right foot, "Whatcha' thinkin' about in here?"

"Nothing much....well, that's a lie. I was thinking about us."

"What about us," she questioned, pressing a kiss to the inside of my ankle as her thumbs ran up the center of my foot, pushing up toward the ball.

"Just how unbelievable it is that we're together. 20-year-old me wouldn't believe that 40-year-old me is here right now."

She gave a soft chuckle as she moved up to massage my toes, the circulation quickly improving, "Well how do you feel now that you are here?"

I let my eyes slip closed as I stretched with a small yawn, "Hmm, content...how about you? Happy I came back to Cali when I did?"

She pressed a kiss to the arch of my foot, "Oh, most definitely. While I was glad we kept in contact, I was much happier when we were in the same state again."

I only gave a little hum in response, earning me another kiss to my foot as she kept massaging it slowly, applying the perfect amount of pressure, "Are you going to sleep on me, cow?"

"No...." I mumbled, yawning again before cracking a small smile, looking at her through half-lidded eyes, "...maybe...."

She chuckled, "More than maybe, baby, I can see it in your eyes. Come on, tea's on the nightstand."

I yawned again, rubbing my eye as I stretched with my other arm, "Mm, you gonna stop massaging my foot so I can sit up and get it?"

"Momentarily," she answered as she let go of it, not before planting a kiss to the ball of it as she pressed her thumbs into the heel of my foot.

I moved to the head of the bed after she set my legs down slowly, situating myself against the pillows before turning to take my mug as she offered it, “Decided against your coffee,” I asked, noting that she went back to massaging my feet, having moved to my left one now, instead of taking up her own mug. 

“Do you want a massage, or do you want me to drink coffee with you, baby?” 

I thought for a few moments, sipping from my mug. I melted as the warm liquid hit my throat, my eyes slipping closed once more before I answered, “Both.” 

She giggled at my reaction to the tea as she picked my foot up to place a kiss to it, “I will drink my coffee once I finish rubbing down your feet. Then I’m giving you a massage.” 

“And what kind of massage would that be, my love?” 

She ran her hands rather loosely from my foot over my shin as she answered, “I’m talking about a terrace massage table, early morning breeze, full-body massage. Jalani style, of course.” 

I couldn’t help but match the small smirk she had on her lips as I took another sip of tea, “Well, when you put it that way....sign me up, baby.” 

She let out a little happy sigh as she massaged the ball of my foot, “I love calling you my wife.” 

“I’m blessed that you loved me enough to want to do so,” I mumbled softly, knowing she was talking more to herself than me. 

“It had nothing to do with how much I loved you. You’re literally the love of my life and everybody knows that, but it was nice being able to put a pretty ring on your finger. Just to be extra sure, you know?” 

I rolled my eyes playfully, “You’re not even possessive like that, Lani. You can just say you wanted to have a nice wedding, professor. Besides, you took me off the market years ago, baby.” 

She finally set my foot down, moving to grab her coffee as she sat next to me, “Oh hush it. You know what I’m trying to say.” 

I leaned onto her shoulder, holding my mug with both of my hands, “Mm, maybe I do...maybe I don’t...You’ll never know...” 

“I think I do, but whatever you say, my love. Hurry and finish your tea, I’m gonna go set up on the terrace.” 

I reached for her arm before she could pull away, “Kiss first?” 

She softened with a smile as she set her mug back down, reaching to take mine, “Of course, baby.” 

I was once again pulled by my ankles to lie on my back as she kissed down my ankle, trailing up the inside of my leg slowly. She took her time to kiss all the skin she could get to, eyes trailing up to meet mine as she got to the inner of my thigh, right at the edge of my silk pajama shorts. 

Her lips planted against the crotch of them before moving up to my stomach. She lingered there for a while, tracing my hysterectomy scar with soft kisses before she spoke, “You know, I’ve gotta tell you something, Santé." 

“What’s that,” I asked, a little breathless from the intensity of her stare combined with the intimacy of her kisses. 

“We’ve got one baking.” 

A puzzled look crossed my features as I tilted my head, “One what, Lani?” 

“A bun,” she answered almost nonchalantly as she planted a deliberate kiss to my scar again. 

My brow furrowed before I let out a soft gasp, sitting up, “Say swear. Don't play with me like that, Jalani.” 

She gestured behind me with a small smile, “Check under your pillow, my love.” 

I eyed her for a few moments, taking in the sincerity in her eyes along with the warmth in her small smile as she gestured softly to the pillow again. I turned around, lifting it to find a small cream-colored envelope tied with a small, emerald green ribbon. I looked between her and the envelope for a few seconds causing her to giggle behind her hand. 

“Santé, it's not a bomb, relax. Breathe, okay? Just open it." 

With shaking hands, I untied the ribbon, peeling it open carefully. I pulled out a small thank you card, the inside decorated with Jalani’s small, neat, looping handwriting: 

20 years ago, you walked into my classroom, an entire 2 hours before your 6 am class started. That was my introduction to the never-ending enigma that is Asanté Janara Anahi Ball. For 20 years, I have watched you grow and evolve into the woman I now know as my wife. I’m sure you noticed that this is a thank you card, and that’s because this is my thanks to you. 

Thank you for opening up to me. For putting up with me. For sticking by me even when we didn’t know what we were, let alone what we were doing with each other. 

Thank you for allowing me to teach you how to love whilst you simultaneously taught me what real love even felt like. 

Thank you for the smiles. For the laughs. For the cuddles. For the kisses. For the spontaneous dance parties. For every pie we burnt together because we were too busy dancing and singing around. For every pile of leaves raked that we then jumped into together. 

Thank you for all the quiet moments as well. The looks across the dinner table. Across the room. The slow dances in the living room. The late-night crying sessions. Thank you for it all. 

For 9 years now, you’ve been the love I never knew I needed. I’m over the moon to tell you that we’ll finally be adding a new love to our life. 

For the last 6 years of us being secretly engaged, our fertility journey hasn’t been any easier. Well... 

8 weeks down, about 32 weeks to go. 

32 weeks before we bring a creation of our own into this world. 

I can’t wait to explore, experience, and learn motherhood with you, and thank you for giving me the option and chance to do so. 

Here’s to our first peek at our baby, and to the chance to see it in person some day soon. 

I was already holding back tears as I shakily picked the envelope back up, finding a sonogram. There it was, in black and white, sitting in the middle of the picture was the tiniest outline of a little head and a body. 

I looked up at her, eyes still glossy as a few stray tears trekked down my cheeks, mumbling more to myself, “This...this is really happening....Y-you’re.....pregnant....” 

I mentally smacked myself for sounding so dumb at my big age. 

Of course she is, idiot, you’re looking at the baby right there! 

She didn’t hold the question against me as she nodded with a soft smile, “Sure am. This last round took. I’ve known since I was about 3 weeks. I got the ultrasound done a couple days ago when I went to get us some small groceries.” 

My brain didn’t register her words fully as I just looked at her, wide-eyed, “You’re pregnant...” I repeated, voice full of stupor.

She let out a soft chuckle, nodding again, “You’re absolutely correct. We’re having a baby. How do you feel?”

I shook myself out of my reverie, glancing back down to the sonogram in my hand, stroking my thumb over it, “I....it’s an almost indescribable amalgamation of feelings. More than anxiety, a little less than fear....joy...disbelief....I’m feeling....a lot....” 

She took my face gently in her hands, pressing quick, soft kisses down the bridge of my nose, “Hey, hey...that’s okay. I can only imagine. You have no idea how hard it was to keep it from you.” 

I let out a small giggle, tears still falling down my cheeks even as she tried to stroke them away with her thumbs, “Well, now you not drinking at our wedding makes a whole lot more sense. I mean...I know we had almost just gotten the insemination done practically, but...still...” 

She smiled, even as she kissed the tears from my eyes, still gently caressing my cheeks, “Yep. I already knew by then.” 

I relaxed into her touch, smiling back at her, “I can’t believe it’s really been a whole two decades. I mean...I know we’re always talking about it these days because that is a relatively long time but...still.” 

“How long does it feel like we’ve known each other?” 

I gave a small shrug as I pulled her hands from my face, linking my fingers with hers, “It somehow feels like it’s been both longer, yet like it hasn’t been long enough at the same time if that makes sense....” 

“It does, but could you elaborate as to why you feel that way? I know why I do, but it’d be nice to hear it from your point of view.” 

I gave a soft shrug, “Like...when we’re together, it’s hard to remember what life was like without you, but at the same time, I do remember because before I met you it was....horrible...and that’s just to put it lightly. 

Or the 6 years I spent in Texas before I came back to Cali to work with you. That entire time, even though we were still in contact with each other, even if sparingly at time, I couldn’t help but long to have known you for a much longer time. 

It’s like I was anticipating meeting you almost. Maybe not you in specific, but when I was little, you know I found my solace in fairytales and romance, I was waiting for that person to come through and appreciate me for who I truly was. To see me behind the façade. 

And now that I have met you? And we’re together? I can’t get enough of it. You’ve managed to make 20 years feel more like two, loving me in every kind of way, and I can’t be more thankful for it. 

You waxed poetic thanking me for all the little intricacies of our relationship, but I’m thankful to you for all of that and so much more. Your patience, kindness, and love knows no bounds and it amazes me to no end. 

I was just a few months shy of 20 when we met, now here I am, about to be 40 and we’re on a honeymoon with you telling me you’re officially pregnant with our first child. 

20 years is a long time. And yet....I still want more. I want to live as much of my life as possible with you in it, Lani. Like....ugh, I feel like I’m just rambling and repeating myself now.” 

She smiled warmly, pulling me into her arms as she set the sonogram, note and envelope aside, kissing my temple as she rubbed my back gently, “It’s okay, baby. I understand you fully and I hear you loud and clear, I promise. I actually had to sit there for a good while when I wrote your note because, like you said, it’s hard to remember a time before me and you. 

It was so hard for me to remember what life was like without you because there’s nothing like being around you. Your energy and your presence are off the charts, and while some people can’t handle it, I love it. 

Just seeing you in the morning during the four years that I taught you, getting to see that million-dollar smile and hear that laugh...all of it was just...it made my day every time. I can’t help but love everything about you because you reciprocate. Any energy I put into us you match it 10 times over. 

I’ve never had that with anybody before you. I know that I haven’t been perfect and shit for us hasn’t always been easy, but I meant what I said. I’m so grateful to you for how patient you are with me as I navigated becoming a better person and partner for you. Most people get tired of my shit, but not only did you not get tired of it, you called me on my bullshit and helped me see why those parts of me were toxic and uncalled for. 

You’ve stayed with me this long and....I’m really hoping you’ll stay longer.” 

I looked up at her, our eyes burning into one another. As we stared into the depths of the other’s soul, our bodies shifted, sitting to face one another as we both brought our hands up to hold the other’s face. We both had tears streaming down our cheeks and while she was busy wiping my tears, I was focused on tracing her features with my fingers gently, memorizing and mapping the lines of her skin. 

As her onyx-colored eyes pulled me in like the universe’s largest whirlpool, I sw the things that always brought me back to her. Love, acceptance, compassion....but above all these things: home. They always say that home is where the heart is and my home....my heart was with her. 

I used to nerver understand that when Lani would tell me that home is never going to be a physical place all those yeas ago. But, now I do. It’s where all your love and life reside. I can healthily say that my life and love are Lani. 

She once told me that she wasn’t sure she had any knowledge left to teach me....and I asked her to teach me how to love. And teach me she did. With her came all 7 of the Greek words for love. 

Her soul brought passion, lust, desire, obsession, unconditional love, self-love, intimacy, friendship, infatuation, commitment, family, and empathy. I was blessed with an angel whose voice and body feel like heave. And her name is Jalani Hendrix De Lèon. 

She continued wiping my cheeks with her thumbs as she finally spoke, prompting me to still my hands at her face, moving them to curl up into her curls at the nape, “I love you, Asanté." 

“I love you, Jalani,” I responded breathlessly, eyes locked onto her unblinkingly. 

Her voice was soft, low enough to be carried aay with the morning breeze that blew through the bedroom from the terrace and open windows, “I promise that as long as I have life to live and function in my body, I will never love another soul as much as I love you. No sight, touch, scent, sound, or taste will ever compare to or exceed the experience that is you for me. In this life and the next, I wish to be yours.” 

Tears continued to spill out both of our eyes as we drew closer, her hands tilting my head up to hers just the slightest bit. I had so much I wanted to say in response but what felt like not enough time to say it all. 

As her breath fanned out against my face, her apple cinnamon scent invading my nostrils and engulfing me to the point where the only thing I saw was her eyes and the only thing I could feel was her hands cradling my face oh so gently. 

My brain finally was able to compute a response, our lips brushing together as I spoke each word from how close together our faces had drawn, “Call it selfish, but God....I’m never gonna give you up...I want this to be it for me. Me and you. I want this to be our endgame. We’ve tried that shit with other people and nobody else works for me. Not like you do. 

No one on this Earth can elicit the same feeling that comes from being with you. I promise you....I will always be yours...” 

I could feel her smile against my lips, her words pressed between us like dried flowers in a book, “Tu amor vale más que un millón de estrellas para mí.” 

I had no choice but to smile back, a breathless laugh escaping me, “Estoy feliz de compartir cada instante de mi vida a tu lado.” 

Somewhere, deep in the universe, a star was born as our lips connected. The combination of our tears, the emotions left from the conversation we’d just shared.....the accumulation of our feelings and thoughts for one another was explosive. 

Somewhere deep within the realm of my being, not only did our souls touch, but the purest parts of my being became one with hers. And right here in our little secluded corner of Italy..... 

My life became complete.

🤎©️ All work belongs to sexysapphicshopowner. Do not use or repost my content in any way without my consent or permission. Thank you! 🤎

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@certainlynotasimp @trafalgardvivi

[https-kirstenikita]

I'm not shit at this.

Writing is something that I’ve always enjoyed, but never felt good at. I remember getting a notepad and pens for Christmas one year as a child and deciding to write a story about fairies, and later on that year our school had a competition which involved “writing a book” so I translated it and submitted it. I never heard anything back.

I loved reading when I was younger, like many Jacqueline Wilson was my queen. I had nearly the entire collection and would read them over and over (and over) again. I had a lot of the original disney books as well, they were read a million times as well as a few others. I just loved reading, I would stay up all night reading and falling asleep with the book in my hand. As I entered secondary school it was the same, and sort of ended when I went into sixth form. I just loved reading, I still do, but after years of heavy academic work it was/is hard to enjoy. 

I wrote a LOT in my early teens. Fiction, non-fiction, blogs, mostly fan-fiction. I absolutely loved it, I’d have to stop myself from posting so much. Fan-fiction was my most successful, one of them has 1.6million reads on wattpad which just feels insane because that was just a little 14 year old me? I also have a plethora of diaries, journals etc that I continue to this day. Other than the physical diaries, this all stopped when school got more intense and sixth form started. I found myself either at school, working or doing schoolwork and lost the passion for writing, I also had a massive confidence knock during year 12. 

Even though I enjoyed writing, I didn’t feel like I was good at it. I never shared it with anyone apart from one friend, Emilie, who I bonded with a lot over music and writing and it was just something we always shared together even if it was shit. Other than that, my writing was mine, a secret to everyone but myself. When my GCSE exams were marked, it was a year where they had a massive shortage of examiners so they had teachers marking work in subjects they knew nothing about. This resulted on me barely scraping passing my English language GCSE despite having *almost* straight A’s in my coursework. At the beginning of year 12, one of my English teachers decided to bitterly tell me this information in front of the class, resulting in me storming out and screaming bloody murder in the sixth form block . I felt stupid, confused, cheated, like I’d been led on the whole of my GCSE’s. How on earth have I got A’s on nearly all of my coursework but a U (ungradable) on my exam when I did everything I was told to do? What? Honestly, it was one of the most confusing and heartbreaking moments of my educational career. I couldn’t believe it. 

I started doing English literature in sixth form, and after that incident it really knocked me. Year 12 was also a really difficult one for me because there was so much going on at home, this definitely added to things. I felt like nothing I did was right, whenever I’d ask for help I got hit with a snarky remark or to “google it” (yes, I will never get over this). I quit the course after 1 year because the drive and confidence was gone. I described myself as someone who’s “shit at English”. I would be that person constantly asking people to proofread, double check things, asking repeatedly if my work made sense and those people would make adjustments. 

It wasn’t until my second year of university that I really found my understanding for writing, and could see for myself that I’m good at it. I studied theatre and performance at university which was an accumulation of many things theatre-related but academically driven. We did acting, production and academic research but everything was heavily based on research and a big part of our coursework was how our research made a difference on our work. In my first year I passed with good grades, everyone says the first year of uni is a bit of a doss and it kind of was. Despite this, I wasn’t used to the amount of research and writing which was because I’d done a BTEC during sixth form which is more vocational (practical) so I spent more time on my feet than reading and researching. In the first year, we didn’t get to choose the subjects we did but it was divided up equally into acting, production and academic stuff, then from second year we got to choose what we wanted to focus on. I decided to take a leap and pick mostly academic modules for the entire year. In this, I decided to do 2 independent research modules - not a common choice.

I was hesitant at first but I loved independent research. That is the module that made me realise I’m good at research and writing. Finding something you love and pursuing it really shows your skills, and you don’t know until you’re in it. It absolutely helps that I had an amazing, open-minded tutor who I’d have fantastic 1-1 meetings with, she was brilliant. She was real and honest with me about my work. She taught me how to write, how to structure things but using my topic as the stimulus and when I say that put two and two together, it put two and two together. Suddenly my essay quality went up by miles, for every other subject I was doing I suddenly just knew how to write. This was because I had done it within a subject that was so familiar to me and it just clicked, I had a moment of realisation: I’m not shit at this. Everything came together and it was one of the most impactful moments of my life. My grades shot up as did my confidence. 

Since then, I’ve felt far better about my writing skills. I’m still slowly getting back into reading (despite graduating nearly 3 years ago…), but writing is definitely something I want to really make a habit of. I work as a receptionist and spend most of my day typing up emails, communicating and writing generally which secures that more. I even have people coming up to me now asking me to write stuff up for them and it makes me so happy because an 18-year-old would have never seen this coming.

Kirsten x

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG SUB] Bojan Cvjetićanin for the podcast To je moja muska ('This is my music')

To je moja muska ('This is my music') is a podcast of the Val202 radio programme in which each guest provides the song selection, explaining their choices during the interview. The original interview was published on 1.07.2022 and can be found at this link.

Transcript and translation by drumbeat, proofread by a member of JokerOutSubs and X klamstrakur, subtitles by drumbeat.

The audio version of this interview is also available with Italian, French and Serbian subtitles. Translated respectively by @varianestoroff, X Yoda_Bor and IG marija_rocen.

Transcript below the cut 👇

To je moja muska. ('This is my music'.)

Host: Bojan Cvjetićanin, welcome to 'This is my music'! The show where the guests choose the music that has defined a particular time in their lives, or that they just like, or that is linked to an event in their lives. Can I try to guess what you've chosen? Usually my guests tell me upfront, but you didn't.

Bojan: You can try.

Videosex? As locals?¹ I just gave you an idea, didn't I, you'll change it. Then Elvis Costello and ABBA.

Bojan: ABBA is spot on.

Okay.

Bojan: ABBA is spot on.

To je moja muska.

How much has your taste in music changed over the years? Were you, I don't know, rebellious, did you belong to a subculture?

Bojan: It hasn't really, honestly, it hasn't changed, I've just been adding new artists to the repertoire, so to speak. But my taste hasn't changed.

Did you have any posters in your room?

Bojan: I had posters, and in fact I still have them, in my old room, all over the room, from Green Day.

How often do you go back to the old music, let's say very old music, and how much do you stay up to date with the contemporary and which one inspires you more?

Bojan: Now I don't know what you mean by old, but let's say 60's, 70's, okay. Yeah, I really like listening to music from that era. I would say it inspires me quite a lot, and if it doesn't, it's an influence for sure. Otherwise, I also really like new music, especially Slovenian. So my Slovenian selection will be very contemporary.

Tell me, what is your local selection?

Bojan: My local selection is 'Angeli' by MRFY.

Why?

Bojan: Because it's a song that I really like to put on at times when I'm not thinking about it, and then it pops into my head, like, 'Ah!' Spur of the moment, let's go! A great song.

Is there any rivalry between you?

Bojan: Absolutely. There's major rivalry between MRFY and Joker Out, which makes sense, because we're peers. But this is one healthy rivalry. I don't think either of us hates the other, except Štras² hates me, and I hate him back. (laughs) But no, I think we have a very healthy relationship.

To je moja muska.

You're not just a singer, you've got a few acting roles and event hostings under your belt. I've heard in one of your interviews, you said that you compared yourself to Val Fürst³ and realised that maybe you are not as talented, but still. How interested are you still in other artistic areas?

Bojan: I am very excited by and interested in acting. I know and understand that I am not a world class actor, but I feel that for these roles I've been cast in, I'm suitable and that I am good at what I do. At this point I feel that I don't want to stand on a theatre stage or go to AGRFT⁴ first and study for it. That is what I meant by Val Fürst being superior. Somehow I felt that Val really had it, that certain X factor, as far as acting is concerned. But yes, I am interested in acting.

Okay. Hosting?

Bojan: I like hosting. I found EMA incredibly stressful, incredibly enlightening, but I wouldn't do it again.⁵

What makes a frontman of a band, in your opinion? What are those traits, qualities?

Bojan: Yeah, a frontman just has to be very willing to share all of himself with everybody, that on stage he leaves nothing behind.

For example, Damiano David, Måneskin, who you also portrayed with Maja Keuc in the song 'Zitti e buoni'⁶, said that he learned this interaction with the audience on the street, where people don't show up to your concert, but you have to win their attention. How did you master it?

Bojan: I worked on graduation trips, as MC, so that was my job, to get the 500 graduates who were all very different, motivated to hang out, to have fun, to dance, to do all those sports activities or whatever. So I actually met a lot of different types of people and interacted with them and those things have just come in very handy for me now.

Second track?

Bojan: Track two I would say, because it was the first one that came into my head when you said that to me, 'The Winner Takes It All' by ABBA.

Any particular story behind it? Since when, I mean, when did you hear ABBA for the first time? Why do you still like it? How come it doesn't get on your nerves?

Bojan: ABBA is one of those artists, where whenever I'm listening to them, I feel really good. Usually in the morning, if I'm making eggs for breakfast, I put ABBA on and the day is better. So there aren't many, there's really no specific reason, but ABBA is a really feel-good band for me plus 'Mamma Mia' the movie, right. I don't know, people can hate, but if you watch it, and you don't feel good, there I really don't know what's wrong with you.

To je moja muska.

Let's talk a little bit about success, being recognisable, fame, do you feel it? Of course you do. Can you go somewhere without being recognised?

Bojan: Yes, I can go places where I'm not recognised, like EXIT.⁷ And even today, they…

At home, I mean.

Bojan: No, it's not ultra extreme though, but it's extreme enough, that it actually happens very rarely, that I go out and I don't take pictures or sign autographs or something.

Yeah, I was surprised at the 50th anniversary of Val 202⁸, that especially older ladies wanted to take a picture with you.

Bojan: Thank you for busting that myth, right, that only young girls listen to us. Because slightly older girls like to listen to us too, and the male companions as well.

One last thing, the third track.

Bojan: 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor' by Arctic Monkeys. Because I hope can transfer this song, or rather the energy of this song onto the stage today.

To je moja muska.

Notes:

¹Videosex were a Yugoslav synth-pop band formed in Ljubljana in 1982. The band was one of the most important groups in the Yugoslav synth-pop scene.

²Gregor Strasbergar, aka Štras, is a Slovenian musician, singer, guitarist and author for the Slovenian band MRFY, formed in 2013.

³Val Fürst is a Slovenian actor and musician who went to high school together with Bojan. Bojan talks about him in his interview.

⁴The AGRFT is the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana.

⁵Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA) is the selection programme for Slovenia's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. Bojan hosted its 26th edition, held from 5 to 19 February 2022.

⁶During the EMA 2022 final, Bojan and special guest Maja Keuc paid tribute to the reigning ESC champions, Maneskin, by performing their winning song, 'Zitti e Buoni'. The video can be found here.

⁷This interview was recorded before Joker Out performed for the first time at EXIT, a festival held annually in Novi Sad, Serbia.

⁸On June 16, 2022, radio station Val 202 celebrated its 50th anniversary by broadcasting 'Dan 202', a concert of Slovenian folk music live from Križanke, in which Bojan Cvjetićanin also participated. The concert is available in full here.