#and very sad to me even if i can't fully translate why

[lonely-ghost-girl]

just watched Nomadland again Thoroughly depressed now 😀

[beanzwrites]

since you write for spn, what about something where the reader is Sam and Dean's little sister and yk when in season 2 they go to the Roadhouse- well, maybe She meets Ash and she gets a crush on him and when they go to the Roadhouse She always stay with him? And maybe they also notice that she has Ash's ring (yeah in my mind he wears a ring with the scrabble's A) and they're like, teasing her, expecially Dean, saying things like 'oh, why don't you come ti the Roadhouse with us? We're pretty sure there's someone waiting for you' and it's just fluff with Ash? Thank you so much, even if you don't write it :3

"Your Frog Prince is Waiting~"

A/n: Thank you so much for the request; it's my very first one! I hope you enjoy! I'm not used to writing Ash, so I apologize if he seems a bit out of character; I tried my best.

Dean x Sister! reader x Sam, Ash x reader

Warnings: Cursing, potential cringe pet names, teenage crush

Description: As the Winchesters spend more time at the Roadhouse, the youngest gains a little crush on one of the residents. 😊

Latin Translation: mnemosynum (Keepsake)

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

The inside of the saloon was quiet as Dean shuts the creaking front door. All of the lights were off besides a sparking LED light hanging behind the bar. The place was grim, the sun casting through the ragged curtains seeming to be the only bright thing in the place.

(Y/n) stays close to her brothers as they venture deeper inside, only to bump into Sam as he stops suddenly. Her older brother barely spares her a glance, his attention caught on the boy laying across a pool table a few feet away.

"Oh god... is he dead?" She murmurs, eying him with slight trepidation. Sam shrugs in response.

"Hey, Buddy?" Sam calls out, taking a step forward. No response. "I'm guessing that isn't Ellen."

"You think?" (Y/n) snaps, observing the backside of the stranger. Sam snorts in response, before heading towards the back. "Sammy? Sammy, where are you going?"

"Stick beside me, squirt." Dean's voice says lowly, "We don't really know what's going on here."

(Y/n) turns to him to make a sarcastic response, but pales as she sees a woman press a gun to his back. "Dean..."

"Oh god, please let that be a rifle..."

"No, I'm just real happy to see you," the woman responds, cocking the gun.

(Y/n) took a step forward, only for the woman to dig the head of the gun deeper into Dean's back. "Don't move, or I'll shoot his spine out."

"Don't move -- copy that," (Y/n) repeats, making eye contact with her brother with a dry swallow.

"You should know something, miss. When you put a rifle on someone, you don't want to put it right against their back, 'cause it makes it real easy to do..." Dean rambles before turning around swiftly and stealing the rifle away from the woman's grip.

Before Dean can stand his ground fully, the woman throws a full punch at his face, causing him to stagger as she pulls the gun back to her.

"Sammy-" (Y/n) calls in alarm.

"Sorry..." Sam states as he comes back out with his hands over his head, "Can't help right now, I'm a little tied up."

The older woman who has Sam hostage eyes the two men for a moment before glancing at the young girl standing with a distressed look on her face. "Winchesters?"

"Yeah," both (Y/n)'s brothers say in unison.

"Son of a bitch," she laughs, putting her revolver in her back pocket. "Hey, I'm Ellen. That's my daughter, Jo."

---

"He didn't send you..." Ellen pauses, a look of sadness washing over her expression. Neither (Y/n) or her brothers responded as each of them look away from her. The pain of losing their father is still fresh in their heart. "He's alright, isn't he?"

No," Sam finally states with a sigh, "he isn't. It was the demon, we think. It, um... it just got him before he got it, I guess."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. We're all right," Dean says.

"Really, I know how close you and your Dad-"

"Really, Lady, I'm fine," Dean interjects with a stern look. (Y/n) gently places her hand on his thigh before looking at Ellen with the shake of her head.

"So, look, if you can help..." Sam announces, trying to change the subject, "We could use all the help we can get."

"Well, We can't," Ellen replies, "but Ash will."

"Who's Ash?" (Y/n) questions.

Ellen snorts before yelling out the name. As a response, the guy from before swiftly gets up with a groan. Balls fly from the table as he looks around to where his name was being called, his long hair flipping back and forth erratically.

"What?" Ash's voice booms, looking over at the group huddled by the bar, "closing time?"

---

"You got to be kidding me. This guy's no genius," Dean grumbles, "He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd Roadie!"

"Dean, give him a chance." (Y/n) grumbles out, kicking him slightly in the leg. Ash cheekily smiles and Dean rolls his eyes.

"Alright. Well, this stuff's about a year's worth of out dad's work," Dean shares as he sits down, "Let's see what you make of it."

Ash looks over the papers that Dean slid over, and scowls. "Come on, this crap ain't real. Ain't nobody can track a demon like this."

"How do you know?" (Y/n) questions, "Our dad was really good at it."

"Well, sweet cheeks. These are nonparametric statistical overviews, cross-spectrum correlations. I mean... damn. They're signs, omens. If you can track them, you can track this demon- You know, like crop failures, electrical storms. You ever been struck by lightning?" (Y/n) shakes her head in response as he looks at her, "It ain't fun."

"Can you track it or not?" Sam asks, giving Ash the stink eye.

"Yeah, with this, I think so."

"Really? How long?" (Y/n) questions with the quirk of her brow.

"It's gonna take time. Give me, 51 hours."

"You can really track down a demon in the span of over two days? I gotta say, that's impressive."

"Oh, you'll be impressed." Ash says with a smirk, "It'll be just like fine wine."

(Y/n) didn't say anything as her face flushes.

---

"That kid's hair was something else," Dean chuckles out as they go back to Bobby's car. "Looked more like a rat's nest to me."

"I don't know, I kinda liked it," (Y/n) responds with a small smile.

"Liked it?" Dean speaks, whipping his head around, "You mean to tell me you'd get your hair cut that way too?"

"No! What I meant is, it suited him. Not everyone could pull it off," (Y/n) speaks, climbing into the back of the van.

"Yeah, if you call that a suited haircut..."

"Do you really think he'll be able to track Dad's demon in 51 hours?" Sam asks, looking out the passenger side window.

"Psh, my bet is no. Dad spent his entire hunting career looking for that thing. There is no way a kid who sleeps on a pool table can top that!"

"I say he will," (Y/n) replies matter-of-factly.

"What makes you say that?"

"I just got a good feeling about him, is all."

---

"Did you find the demon?" Sam's breath tickles the back of (Y/n)'s head as he leans over her. Ash sets his computer down, casually placing his arm beside hers as he types away.

"It's nowhere around, at least nowhere I can find. If this fugly bastard raises its head, I'll know. I mean, I'm on it like divine on dog dookie."

"You can really be alerted right away?" (Y/n) asks with awe.

"Any of those signs or omens appear anywhere in the world, my rig will go off like a fire alarm."

"That's amazing..."

"Where did you learn to do all this?" Sam gasps in amazement.

"M.I.T., before I got bounced for fighting." Ash explains with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face.

"What was the fighting about?" (Y/n) responds, amusement crossing over her face.

Ash looks over at her with amusement of his own, "Wouldn't you like to know, sugar cube."

"Okay!" Dean says as he gets up from the table, "Give us a call as soon as you know something?"

"Si, si, compadre."

(Y/n) gets up from her seat, going to head after her brothers who already made their way back to the front, before being stopped by Ash.

"Hey, sugar cube. I wanna give ya somethin' before you hit the road," Ash says, as he leans against one of the chairs.

"Oh? And what's that?" (Y/n) replies with a flirtatious simper.

"Give me your hand," Ash says simply, "and you'll get your big surprise."

"Okay..." (Y/n) chuckles, reaching her arm out. Ash grabs at her wrist softly, eyeing each one of her fingers before placing something cool to the touch over her middle finger.

"mnemosynum," Ash announces with a bow, granting her access to what he put on her. A bulk piece of metal clung to her slim finger; the initial A engraved in it. "Until we meet again."

"Why?" (Y/n) asks. It's not that she didn't like it; it was quite charming. She was just slightly confused on why she got the gift in the first place.

"I have a good feeling about you, sweet cheeks. I think we are going to be tight these next couple months," Ash announces, "You can keep that, by the way."

"Thanks... You know, I can say the same thing for you."

"Is that so?"

"It's so."

---

"Come on, kiddo. We gotta get going," Dean says as he grabs his keys from the top of the motel's mini fridge.

"Why's that?" (Y/n) responds, not looking up from her book. "I thought you and Sammy were just going to the town over."

"We need some info," Dean pauses as he checks out the ring on his sister's finger, "and I'm sure your roadkill boyfriend would love to see you."

"He's not roadkill, Dean!" (Y/n) shouts, slamming her book shut. "And he's not my boyfriend!"

"Sure, and you aren't red as a tomato right now," Dean smirks. "Seriously though, we gotta go, so... get to moving, princess. Your frog prince is waiting~"

[fireflylitsky]

@latart I DID and it will not be nearly as cool or edgy as anyone thinks or wants to be honest 😂 It's a very barebones wip, Hidan from Jashin's POV.

Hidan is not immortal, Jashin just has a fixation with him and goes out of her way to bring him back every freaking time. She is up to her eyeballs in frustration with this guy and cannot understand why he keeps killing himself. She later finds out that her scriptures have become twisted after so many years of inaccurate translations and translations of those translations.

Now people seem to think she's some sort of death god??? It's very stressful for her, but she can't help but feel something for her stupid little human follower.

Snippet:

Jashin keeps a journal. It’s an important thing to do as a God. With a projected lifespan of eternity, it’s easy to forget the little details. 

Ever since the great culling of Gods by her paleness, Kaguya, Jashin has been in hiding, relying on the worship of the few to keep her godship instated. 

The rules are simple: No worshipers, no Godhood. 

Most of her journals over the last few centuries are filled with mundane drivel that she doubts she’ll ever revisit—then Hidan shows up.

Things get interesting, but interesting doesn’t necessarily mean good as he is quick to display.

Dear diary,

Yesterday I had 23 followers. Today I have one. I should hate him since he’s responsible for killing the rest of them. Smite him, maybe. But he’s all I have left. Besides, I can’t fully blame him for the massacre, humans can be rather irritating.

Dear diary,

His name is Hidan. Sorry, I should offer context. That follower I was talking about yesterday? His name is Hidan. I’ll learn more soon I’m sure.

Dear diary,

Hidan died today. As you know, he was my only follower. I know I’m not supposed to resurrect the humans, but what else was I to do? It was kind of sad how it happened. Fell right into a trap, poor guy. One of those pits with spikes in the bottom. I figured he could have a second chance. Besides, who is going to tell me no? Hah.

Dear diary,

Well, he thinks he’s immortal now. I suppose I should have seen this coming.  He bragged about it to quite a few people, even used my name. Maybe this is good advertising? 

Deary diary,

He did it again. It was on purpose this time. A pointed rod through his heart. Injuries like that are easy to fix at least. Sometimes I appreciate how simple he is.

Dear diary,

This human is more work than all the previous ones combined. I can hardly look away without fear of him dying. I’m getting the impression he thinks he’s doing this for me.

Dear diary,

I found the scriptures Hidan had gotten his hands on. I think the previous members wrote it themselves. I have never once demanded a human sacrifice; this feels like they’re projecting. Is it a mistranslation issue? Anyway, I think I understand Hidan a little bit more now.

Dear diary,

I am a God, not a personal shopper. I do not need to be wasting my time masquerading as a mortal and commissioning a custom weapon. This is a stupid idea.

Dear diary,

I did it. I got the scythe. It was a moment of weakness, but he was having a bad day and I… I just felt bad. I hope he likes it. I made sure to get it in his favorite color.

Dear diary,

Hidan made a friend. He’s tall and upon further inspection, appears to be made of black spaghetti. I’m afraid I have fallen out of touch with what constitutes a human these days.

Deary diary,

Oh. They are not friends.

Dear diary,

I’m not sure what they are anymore. But if Hidan likes him, then I like him.

Dear diary,

Hidan is upset about something. He cried today when no one else was around. He always talks to me about everything, but he hasn’t mentioned this. Should I be worried?

[vividstardustrevolution]

Haruka Sakurai - Eyes Analysis in MILGRAM

Alright, so let's start with Haruka and his two MVs - Weakness and All Knowing and All Agony.

Starting with Weakness, we see that the victim's face and the mom's face (and therefore their eyes) are blocked out. We can see the victim's expression, but not the mom's. This could be for a few reasons, but I don't think it's dehumanization here, because Haruka, as we all know, adores his mom, and he looks happy with the victim in the left picture.

A lot of people theorize that Haruka is autistic, and these scenes with the eyes plus the faces getting blocked out plus Haruka struggling with eye contact in Trial 1 is one of the many reasons why - autistic people can have a hard time making eye contact and reading people's facial expressions and such. As an autistic person myself, I can speak to my own experience that I personally find eye contact very uncomfortable, and I don't always look at other people's faces when I'm talking to them.

These eyes that keep showing up are symbolism for something. This is just my take on things, but I think these eyes represent both what Haruka wants (for someone to see him, for someone to notice him) and the negative looks and responses he's been getting from being himself and acting in a certain way.

Part of the reason why the faces are blocked out in those scenes with the mom and the girl might be because Haruka can't look these people in the eyes, can't look at their faces, can't read their expressions, but let's dig a little deeper, shall we? Because they're not the only ones who are eyeless in this MV.

Take a look at this scene near the end of Weakness. Haruka doesn't have eyes here, but he's the focus of this MV! What's going on?

Well, as I'll bring up in later posts, like Kotoko's and Mikoto's, there are some MVs where the prisoner involved doesn't have eyes in some scenes. In this scene, neither Haruka has eyes, and my take on why the eyes are gone is that Haruka's kinda unconsciously dehumanizing himself and his victim here. The little Haruka represents not only his younger self that his mom loved, but also the "right version" of him that he's implied exists in both in the lyrics of Weakness ("the right future unfairly chose the wrong me") and in one of his interrogation questions (he said "Everything. Every single thing is wrong." as an answer to one of the trial 2 interrogation questions - "What's the difference between you and someone else?" - according to this translation). We also know now that AKAA has come out that younger Haruka in this scene also represents Haruka's victim - the braid girl. He believes that he's worthless and not worth paying attention to until Muu comes along, and he tries to dehumanize and push down his victim in the same way, but in the end, he can't fully do that. He still sees himself as less than her. Why do I say that? Well, considering that even when he's been told he's in the right, he still thinks "[every] single thing is wrong" about him, some bits from the second trial VD that I only vaguely remember, and considering the lyrics of Weakness and AKAA go deep into self hatred and believing he's "a disappointment," "why was I born like this," "hopeless," and so on, I really don't think he thinks he's any better than his victim.

We sure do see a lot of eye close ups for Haruka, huh? He seems sad or distressed or depressed in a lot of them. There's not much light there, either, but there's enough to where he doesn't look like he's in despair. He's holding onto a little bit of hope that maybe things will be alright again.

Before we move on to AKAA, I just want to analyze one last frame.

Haruka looks angry in this one, and it's the only one where you can see his eyes when he looks angry. In fact, it's right before the scene where Haruka's eyes are missing. It's interesting because he's upside down here, his full expression is angry, not just his eyes, and he's looking at his younger self (who is his younger self, his idealized self, and his victim). He said in this interrogation question that he was envious of his victim, so what do we get from that plus this? Haruka seems to have lashed out at his victim for being what he wanted to be so desperately - the golden child who was loved.

Now, onto All Knowing and All Agony!

Haruka shows a lot of emotions with just his eyes (although his expressions help). For example, here he's looking up at us, curious, and then...

In these shots, we see Haruka being determined to do something. Eye close ups are gonna be a bit of a thing in this MV too.

There seems to be more light in Haruka's eyes in this MV. He has a purpose; he's not loosely sinking into water anymore. This comes through in the lyrics too - "Don't leave me" "I will make you love me again" "I will keep on killing to be a good boy" "I want to be your favorite next." I think this is partly because of the innocent verdict, and he's speaking to Es/us in some of these lines.

This is one of the only shots in AKAA where Haruka's eyes are blocked out, actually. He's dehumanizing himself less (even though he's not portrayed as just a normal person in AKAA; he's portrayed as animalistic, which bothers me, but that's a personal gripe), and it's possibly because of the innocent verdict. After all, we told him he was innocent and forgivable, so he probably took that to mean that he's not totally worthless and less than human, because...yeah, Haruka seems to struggle with that a bit.

One interesting thing that shifts from Weakness to All Knowing and All Agony (that also shifts between half and Cat, but that's for another post) is that someone who didn't have eyes in the first MV now has eyes - Haruka's mom.

She is clearly horrified and afraid in these shots, but Haruka doesn't seem to take her actions and reactions that way, judging by his expressions after she slaps him.

"She slapped me" turns into "she finally noticed me and acknowledged my existence" turns into "she loves/cares about me." Someone should really sit Haruka down and explain to him how affection is actually supposed to work, because it's not like that. But it is interesting how Haruka's eyes shift from having no light in them to being filled with tearful joy. I just want to give him a hug.

I really, *really* want to analyze this shot. They're trying to make little Haruka look like a monster here with the viewpoint and the way his mom looks scared, but if you look closely, little Haruka is (1) happy to be noticed and (2) just wants a hug. He is a child who wants love, but he's being portrayed as wild and scary here. So why would the animators go for this point of view, rather than a different, more balanced point of view? I'll leave that to y'all to determine.

I...think that's about it for my Haruka eye analysis? (Although some of it was more just me pointing things out, but whatever.) I hope y'all liked it! Next up will be either Kotoko's or Kazui's, whichever one I feel like doing first.

Thank you for reading!

[meraki-yao]

RWRB Bullet Comments Part 2: NY First Kiss

Hi I'm back with another bullet comments post! This time the new year's kiss as requested by @tal-vez-o-quizas!!!

⬇️ Is what the screen looks like lmao

How the hell did Alex find him

Puppy is looking for footsteps

ohhhh the little prince is jealous lol

My entire screen is filled with laughter

Confession under the Moonlight

It's not about culture shock, mostly Henry's jealous, oh I feel so bad for the prince

This scene is shot so beautifully!

The scenery here is so pretty!

God, this is such an artistic shot

this part 5:20, thank you uploader (the movie was uploaded in parts, 520 sounds similar to "I love you" in Chinese)

Henry: May the gale that rushes into the blossom Caress her and never let her be broken (A Chinese poem about being understood)

His socks and shoes are soaked

Oh Henry is so sad...

Henry's nose is red ahhhhh it's adorable

look at the prince's teary eyes

Puppy doesn't know what he did wrong, but puppy knows to ask

At midnight he really wanted to kiss Alex, but he is a prince, he can't, and now he's depressed

a great virtue of Alex's: apologizing even with he's not sure what he did wrong

This movie is so cute

Get ready get ready!!!!

The little prince is so pretty

Henry baby you're so pretty

Henry kind of looks like a grown-up Prince George

An English Rose (describing Henry)

The prince really looks like a blue-blood

Wow they even included steamy breaths

This is such as fantasy

Look, a snowflake fell onto Henry's shoulder and melted

This is a beautiful fairytale

"Be a writer live in Paris" is a (Oscar) Wilde meme

Breaking News: The prince of England wants to live in Paris hahahaha

The prince of England has too much hair this is sci-fi lmao

Why does everyone in English-dominant areas have some sort of longing fantasy towards Paris? What's so good about Paris anyway?

English people: Wait, live in Paris? No no no no no you can't

Ohhhh and then they went on a date in Paris

Everybody look carefully! Henry's lips are already swollen… they shot a lot of takes for this scene, and he can't even cover the swelling lmao

Those who desired me I have no interest in, yet those I desire I cannot have (my English translation of a very poetic fan translation of the "people I date don't interest me" line)

Here to watch the British way of hair-grabbing

*a lot of exclamations and feral screaming

The kettle is boiling (aka intense screeching sounds)

Brave Kitty!!!!

Wow Wow Wow WOW WOW WOW

The first son is actually responding to the kiss!

So soon? I'm screaming!!!!

That's a passionate kissing-back, Alex

I straight up turned into a rubber chicken

I'm just gonna quietly pull back the progress bar a couple million times...

FUCK!!!

Henry kissed Alex just because he wanted to pour his feelings out, he didn't imagine Alex would kiss him back

I fucking love how straightforward this is

Ahhhhhh I'm blushing I'm blushing I'm fully pink now

Puppy wanted to keep kissing, Kitty stepped back first

I'm crawling on the floor

HE DIDN'T REJECT THE KISS

Oh damn Alex wants more

OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS

DON'T BE SHY KISS HIM BACK

...Okay, so to briefly summarize: The shot is pretty, Alex is a good boi, Henry is pretty, Fuck France (no offence French Folks sorry lmao especially my friend @alittlefrenchtree😂) , screaming at the kiss

Yup there's you go!!! Lemme know what scene to do next!!!：Ｄ

Previous Parts

[monochromaticbutter]

(CW: Mentions of rape)

Source: @welovelookism on twitter | Original post

Image transcriptions:

"My favourite character was Jiho tbh. I drew Jiho as the 'dark side of PTJ', so I expressed my inferiority, sadness, shame and all the thoughts that I couldn't speak up to others through Jiho. Basically my inner self. I originally had Jiho's own story ahead and his backstory, but the main story had so many big turns. Which is why Jiho's role kinda disappeared. He was the antithesis of Daniel Park. I can't really write them out because he is dead. Anyways, he had a definite role and clear situations in the story, but as I was writing the story I started to have another storyline and ending in my mind, making Jiho a little uncertain. I might be the saddest one to feel about Jiho's death. To conclude, he wasn't the type of guy to die in that way, he shouldn't have died like that. Readers were asking if Jiho is going to resurrect… but no, he is not going to. But 'this' guy is going to resurrect. He is going to resurrect in the most bs way possible. There is a character that is going to resurrect in Lookism. Jiho got a lot of hate when he made an appearence. I always felt sad about it but at the same time I liked it because I knew I wrote this character well. Jiho is like an inner self of everybody at least to a certain extent."

"Juvenile prison arc was the arc where I was so greedy about it. Tbh, there were a lot of things that weren't available for the Lookism age limit. Readers only saw 60% of what I wrote. It is actually very dark and full of speechless stuff, I knew Naver would ask me to edit it. But I just drew. I even drew the panels that I knew that would not be available to readers with all I got… because I was hoping if Naver would allow them. But they rejected them as I expected. Jiho actually got raped by Darius. I drew it to show that it is a very terrifying thing, but there were a lot of changes in the end. From removed dialogues to panels… a lot of edited panels. The Darius dialogue 'I will come back later' before Jiho's one when he fought got edited too. When Jiho said 'I made sure I washed motherfucker'. Darius's lone was originally 'I will come back after I wish'. That is why Jiho went for a revenge match against him, where Jiho's mindset of actually killing someone was fully completed. Jiho says 'I made sure I washed motherfucker' after seeing his lowest point of himself and his misery. It didn't really manage to connect with Darius's previous dialogue. The dialogue 'I made sure I washed motherfucker' is for Jiho to say to Darius, but I put a meaning of where Jiho washed his old self away. But I think not a lot of reader noticed it."

Although the translation seems a bit messy, there's a lot to unpack here. This is a very interesting piece from PTJ's writing.

The parallel between Jiho and Daniel has always been there. It's more obvious some times than others. Both of them suffered a lot at the hands of others and both of them were offered "a light" (a positive situation to make things better), but the main difference is: Daniel managed to hold onto it, Jiho didn't.

Daniel's insecurities are, most of the time, internalized. The one time he lashed out at his mother, it stuck with him and made him value her more than anything in the world. It's easy to like and relate to him, because he's the palatable side of trauma-related issues.

Jiho isn't. He always takes the worst decisions possible, he lashes out at his parents and friends, he acts selfishly many times. Even after attempting to murder one of his closest friends, he's desperately thinking of a way out for himself, not the guy in a coma. His arcs are frustrating to read through at first, because his worldview is so distorted and his actions are hard to digest.

And at the same time, it's clear Jiho really hates himself. From start to finish. But he spirals and never stops; even at his last appearance, he can't acknowledge that Daniel took better decisions (and ultimately is "a better person" in the world's eyes) and boils it down to him "being luckier".

So, he's easy to hate. Even if you relate to some of his attitudes, you might end up disliking Jiho, because deep inside you know those are wrong.

However, there's a deeper reason for that.

(Other than us being conditioned into empathizing with people who match Daniel's profile of mental illness and trauma and casting those like Jiho aside.)

And the reason is: people don't like seeing the ugly side of themselves on the screen. They don't like the senseless aggression, lashing out or other behavioural problems that are common in humans. Being unnatractive, being physically weak, being paranoid, taking bad decisions at every corner, misreading kindness, fucking up even the purest of relationships, those are all very human "flaws" that might not be easy to fix. Jiho checks all of those items.

That's the same reason so many people hate on Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Both of these characters are traumatized and abused, but the audience frequently turns to the "pathetic" or "insufferable" aspects of their personalities.

Anyways, this was a short analysis I needed to do after seeing this post. Good night 💜

[lisaas2418]

My thoughts on Chapter 7

I fucking finally managed to fully watch the current chapter 7 translations and oh boy I have many thoughts about it.

(First off I deleted asks related to Chapter 7 but don't worry I will answer their questions here)

-Its an emotional wreck. I thought Chapter 6 regarding Idia and Ortho was already heartwrecking but dammit Silver's breakdown broke **me** down. Especially the part in one of the flashbacks where ChildSilver gifts Lilia an acorn-braclet while saying that it will give him a long life and that they always be together (That sentence broke my heart so much). It made me so sad and so mad that Silver kept saying that Lilia can't love him since he is the son of the enemy, like no my boy ofcourse he loves you like a son you idiot (I felt like Sebek and that means something)

-The Shroud family dynamic is so fucking sweet I can't. The father being more rational and the mother being more emotional, yet both love their sons deeply is so heartwarming (calling humanoid Ortho their son aswell and loving him like they do with the other two made me cry)

-All in all Ortho and later Idia definitly carry the segments in Reality and in Dreamland. Ortho's new gear looks so fucking cool, him outsmarting OverblotMalleus twice was so funny, Idia noticing the signs that everything in his dream is fake at the beginning just shows how really smart he is, the brother drama, fucking PhantomOrtho showing up (didn't expected that), IDIA FUCKING OVERBLOTTING AGAIN (my jaw dropped) and last but not least Idias decleration of war against Malleus for causing all this was soo epic (even though the reason was his mother searching through his files, like what did you there to react that way Idia?)

-Lilia's dream segment was sooo cool. Maybe a bit long but cool nontheless. It made me like Sebek more then I did before, I could definitly understand why people would simp for General Lilia and Baul Zigvolt, Melenaor is very pretty and being a great mother to Egg Malleus while also sometiimes acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum (like mother like son let me tell you), Lilia's backstory is full of injustice, prejeduce and classisim towards him it made me really mad (overall the conflict between humans and fairys), also the Senate can go to Hell and stay there I fucking despise them, the reason why Malleus hatched in the first place was so sad and wholesome at the same time (speaking of Malleus...)

-Look I may will get hate for this, but I have a right to voice my opinion. I understand his story is tragic, I really do. But as the overblot boys before it doesn't excuse shit. Him putting everyone (forcibly) to sleep and make them have happy dreams that aren't even real is just....no, also I'm not sure if that's true but it seems like he has no idea that his magic is expanding to whole Twisted Wonderland (also the moment Ortho said that the bodies may die of not getting their nutrieses by being asleep for so long, I just began to fear Malleus), overall the fact that he doesn't see anything wrong with this action and behaviour is really terrfying more then what the others did (atleast for me). All I'm saying it that at the end of the Chapter I am not sure if I can forgive him for this because all my sympathy that I have him is overshadowed by how reckless his actions and behaviour is (also he tried to kill Ortho, like wtf dude?!)

Now since the chapter isn't complete yet I won't say anything regarding GameYuu yet and I have decided to wait till it's over before I say anything about my Yuusona. I know that I kinda already did this but for that I would like you to forget the information I said about my Yuusona regarding Chapter 7, that would be nice.

Now regarding as to does Maleficent knows about what happend to Malleus mother. Yes she kinda knew what happened. Her opinion is a mix of "she died protecting her kingdom and her son, which is digniful" and "she was a close person to Lilia so I understand why he felt that way". Also if the Senate weren't dead already she would have burned them or stroke them with lightning alive. Yes she is evil but not disgustingly classist like some fairys are (or human in that regard).

Well this was long overdue but I'm finished for now with Chapter 7. Hope you liked reading and see you till my next post ^^

[kirkirk]

Charade Maniacs 5th Anniversary Translation | Takumi Haiji [Night Letter]

BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Read once you've fully completed the game!

"~

You're very warm... When I hug you, it feels reaaally good.

I wonder if this is what people would describe as "feeling safe"?

I enjoy walking in the park holding hands, but I like holding each other tightly like this the most after all.

Because, don't you think this act is the closest way of feeling your presence?

...hehe, you get it, right?

This body temperature is made of data, but still, it makes me happy.

Now, in this moment, I know without a doubt that you are right by my side, that I'm the only one reflected in those eyes.

That is an undeniable truth, and I'm incredibly happy that you're taking the time to do this for me.

I want to think that this joy... is my own feeling.

...huh? What happened?

Aah, you still aren't used to me not addressing you by "big sis"?

Well then, I'll call you "big sis" just for you.

When I called you like this..., there were a lot of things I didn't really comprehend.

I could understand the words and their meanings only in a superficial way.

That's why I ended up doing so many awful, cruel, and sad things to you, big sis.

I can't be forgiven just by apologizing but... even so, for as much pain as I've caused you, no... for even more than that, I want to give you my everything, big sis.

I really love you.

The most important person... of my own world.

~"

Translator Note: I CRIED AGAIN TRANSLATING THIS, CHARAMANI LET ME CATCH A BREAK PLEASE. I thought these were letters so I wasn't expecting Hiyori to actually be there reacting in real-time, because of that, it reads a bit like a Short Story. Haiji and Hiyori are my favorite pairing ever so seeing more of them was an absolute treat. I had a hard time figuring out what ending are they supposed to be in since Haiji talks as if he had a humanoid body but he's talking to Hiyori openly about being the original Producer so that means it has to be Truth End...? The same happens in his Lacus Felicitatis audios so I might be missing something??? Did I skip a SS where he gets an android? Or does Hiyori still interact with him in VR after everything went down in the Truth end? I need to cope with there still not being a sequel someone buy me a robot dog please please please please I promise he won't take over the world I swear

[goodthingscomeinthrees]

20 questions for fic writers:

ty for the tag, @somewhereapart 🥰

this is very long, so answers go under the cut!!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

62 as epigraphs

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

i do not actually know! i wrote single chapters in a fic collection years ago, so that messes with my stats and i don't know how long what i wrote was anymore, so i can't do the math. but 2023 was 54,372 words, and 2022 was 113,431!

3. what fandoms do you write for?

currently: the gilded age, technically still svu but uh, let's not talk about that one fic i fully abandoned (at least until that question comes up lolol).

past lives: madam secretary, the west wing, the newsroom, scrubs, sound of music (i'm as confused as you are, don't worry), the good wife, grey's, stranger things, bones, fleabag.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

as epigraphs:

the stillness of remembering, svu the legend of how you disappeared, svu come and untangle me (one of these days), svu let it all unfurl, into broken remnants, svu rather be sad with you (than anywhere away from you), svu

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i do! i like the concept of having a conversation with readers (though i rarely get into an actual multi-comment convo). also i'm very type-a and pro-inbox zero, so i clear it out in batches to do replies.

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

for you i'd bleed myself dry, for the good wife. it's a post-5.16 fix-it fakeout, and every comment on it is just yelling at me hahaha

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

i think most of mine have a happy ending, even if it's not a true hea. my friend and i coined the term "milk and cookies ending," because even if we throw angst at you, we will give you your milk and cookies as a treat lol

8. do you get hate on fics?

thankfully, no.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

incredibly rarely, and if so, very vaguely and (if you ask anyone who knows me), fairly "limb-free."

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

i've written exactly one (1), imagining what a friendship between cam saroyan from bones and olivia benson from svu would look like!

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

sort of. i never called them out on it, so i shan't be doing that here.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

yep! for two fandoms. for one, we split up the povs and alternated, which was very fun. for the other one, i (see the answer to 9. lol) handed off the smut.

14. what's your all-time favourite ship?

elizabeth/henry from madam secretary was my first real ship and the first fandom i ever participated in and wrote fic for, so they're the ride-or-dies forever.

15. what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

looking at you, eo talks about god fic.

16. what are your writing strengths?

clarity and economy of words? i think? if you know me irl, this makes sense considering my day job. also, keeping things in-character, when it comes to dialogue and internal monologue.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

getting away from vignette structure, writing plot. i hate plot. i suck at plot.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for fic?

hoo boy, as a bilingual person (german and english) i have very strong feelings about this, but generally: okay if done incredibly sparingly, and in a way that sounds natural. harder to pull off than you'd think!

19. first fandom you wrote for?

madam secretary.

20. favourite fic you've ever written?

tell you my sins, and you can sharpen your knife, svu.

tagging: @sinkingsidewalks, @idontneedtobeforgiven, @idoltina, @msharmonycobel, @soshedances18, @sam-loves-seb, @rahleeyah, @morethanwords229 and whoever else wants to do this!

[kirchefuchs]

(I have successfully overanalyzed the Infinite Hole Ending :D ALSO THIS IS THE EDITED VERSION BTW– the one that's like this below this is the unedited :D just delete that one shshs, not this one :]) sooooo upon the first 2 and a half minutes, I noticed a lil thingy that may have been a plothole.

You know how The Narrator constantly says/mentions that he himself made the game? That he was the only one who created everything — Stanley included (this is also directly said in the TSPUD trailer/release video)? Not sure if this is just me overthinking again (probably is) but there's this line in the Infinite Hole ending that immediately caught my attention;

"Oh. Did the hole seem even shorter to you, this time? I couldn't help but feel like you spent a little less time in there than you did before."

Now, me, being your local overthinker, decides that this implies one of the three things listed below;

1) The Narrator is very forgetful.

2) He's just a really good actor.

3) That was Timekeeper's doing.

(I'm not leaning to the 3rd option more wdym hahaha–)

Think about it, Ceres — think about the New Content Door, the Confusion Ending, the– the myriad of random occurrences that even The Narrator isn't fully aware about. If you were to take everything to a more serious approach, wouldn't you agree that a person who has spent a long long time in perfecting their game should at least remember every little detail and thought that went into it? Think about it! There's beta testing, alpha testing– heck, because he seems to claim to have created everything, wouldn't that mean that technically he would have had to look through every little thing (plus the texturing!! THE TEXTURES!!) and end up accidentally remembering every little detail? Isn't that why he has a script? (headcanon >) It's because he's already memorized the entire map, he just can't memorize a bunch of endings that revolve around the map. But do you know who does(according to the fandom)?

Timekeeper!

All the little changes to the map, Ceres! The New Content Door, the infinite hole slowly getting less and less infinite, the progress board at the quote-on-quote "end" of the Confusion Ending! If you were to take every little detail and glitch and something-something (you get what I mean) in a more serious approach, wouldn't you say that they were rather odd and inexplicable unless if you add Timekeeper into the mix?

Translation: I just really wanna give them some content </3

BUT ANYWHO BACK TO THE INFINITE HOLE ENDING

not me adding the "every ending can be perceived as a way of divorce" concept in here but aha– this piece of dialogue got me fired up ok

"I'm out! Goodbye, Stanley! You couldn't bear to be away from the hole and now you get more time with it than you could have ever have asked for. It's a win for everyone! You get to be with the hole, I get to do literally anything else. Take care, Stanley. I hope you and the hole have a wonderful rest of eternity together."

Do I need to explain this? Does this piece of dialogue need to be explained? Really, does it require such a lengthy explanation for it to be fully understood by you lot? I don't think so! The Narrator is just very jealous over a hole. How sad. ..and gay.

SO! By the time The Narrator is gone, Stanley is like "weLp time to hallucinate."

But then lemme just mention what I said beforehand

"The Narrator claims to have made everything, which also includes Stanley"

...bro??

this implies that The Narrator made the whole scene

This includes the dramatic music, the backgrounds, the random buttons that do lots of funny but mildly useless stuff, and guess what? Also the alternative drawings/appearances of ✨Stanley✨

I dunno abt u guys, but I like to genuinely think that The Narrator created everything (not in an irl sense, i meant it as in "He made The Stanley Parable canonically, not in reality" kind of way :D) simply because it gives a lot of Stannarrator opportunities.. huehuehue

but uhhh that's all for my rant!! :D (I deeply enjoyed this lmao)

ANYWHOO I HOPE THIS WAS,,, idk,, mildly coherent at least ☠

TOODLESSS!! UNTIL NEXT TIMEE

— 🅰️non || 05/12/2023

Oooo gotta love some good ol made up Timekeeper lore. I love the idea of TK messing with various things in the Parable without Narry knowing. But yeah, the whole contradictions thing where you can't really tell if the Narrator made the game or not is partly why I think he didn't and was just imbued with memories to make him think the did, even though he really doesn't have all that much control over what happens in the Parable. But that's just me, lol.

[heckofabecca]

Fic Author Interview (meme)

I was tagged by the wonderful @anghraine, whom I adore. Thank you so much!

For the purposes of this interview, I will be including my MCU stuff.

1- How many works do you have on AO3?

53 total, but at least one of those is a collection of ficlets that should really be a collection rather than a single fic.

2- What's your total AO3 word count?

A respectable 343,495.

3- What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All of these are (unsurprisingly) Bucky Barnes/f!Reader, which you can find via my sideblog @beckzorz as well as on AO3.

Dressed To Kill (18+ nsfw): the first part of a porn-with-plot assassin!reader series, which involves a lot of banter and a LOT of sex.

Old Habits (18+ nsfw): Angsty; set after a mission with civilian casualties.

Patched Up (18+ nsfw): Porn without plot.

Sugarplum (cute): Based on a prompt re: leaving little gifts for your crush.

PREMONITIONS, or, Adventures Adjacent to a Six-Year-Old Seer (adorable): On Halloween, your clairvoyant niece leads you straight into Bucky Barnes. It could not have gone worse.

4- Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I love comments! It's really wonderful to know my work is engaging enough to prompt someone to leave their thoughts, and I want to honor that by being excited back at them!

5- What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

There's one ficlet where the POV character just had their chest exploded and is bleeding out, but I can't find it T.T

6- What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I like my stories that end with the happy couple! So... a lot haha! But let's share a few beyond Marvel:

Second Time Lucky: When Lothíriel makes a hasty promise to a lady in distress, she must use all her wits to keep her footing. But there's more than one type of falling...

Mistrust: Stuck under her uncle Denethor's care in Minas Tirith two years before the Enemy's final defeat, Lothíriel of Dol Amroth spies on a marshal from Rohan on her father's behalf. But nothing ever goes quite according to plan when you're eighteen and foolhardy.

7- Do you write crossovers?

I have not! I have seen some I thoroughly enjoy, even if just the idea of them delights me. There's been a bunch of Danny Phantom x Batman across my dash lately that brings me joy (though I don't know either canon very well).

8- Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not that I can recall!

9- Do you write smut?

Yes, I've written quite a bit.

10- Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, someone was going through a bunch of Bucky x Reader stuff and posting them on one of those story sites... It was a number of years ago, so I forget the details.

11- Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of!

12- Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sort of—a friend wrote a part of my series Across The Fords, about a Dunlending who visits Rohan.

13- What's your all-time favorite ship?

I do not have a favorite ship! I think some relationships are really wonderful but I don't have a favorite-favorite. If I had to pick, I'd pick Elizabeth/Darcy, to honor my friend Elizabeth :P

14- What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Far From The Swan-road* (which I lovingly refer to as my longfic) is complete on its own, I have future parts planned out that I doubt will ever fully see the light of day. It makes me sad, because I'm inordinately fond of it.

* Lothíriel wants her funeral to as grand as her father's will be. Is that so much to ask? A story about female ambition, companionate love, and the difficulty of knitting a world back together.

15- What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, smut, imagery.

16- What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually getting it done.

17- What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

In small amounts, sure. In large amounts, no.

18- What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter.

19- What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

The Silmarillion... But not the Fëanoreans lol

20- What's your favorite fic you've written?

There are two tied in my heart:

Far From The Swan-road, Lothíriel-focused

Out of Nowhere, Bucky Barnes x OFC

These both feel so SO tailored to my interests that I truly love rereading them—and then wanting to write future installments, which never goes quite how I'd like them to. Alas, but yay for having what I do.

Tagging: @jobean12-blog @kareenvorbarra @alliluyevas @marvelgirl7 @theemightypen @themoonlily

[samuelroukin]

btw i was fully planning to come here and call em gringos but then the game went and made a whole thing out of that

the whole "green go home" story that alejandro tells gaz is pretty much pure bullshit (that sounded harsh. it's just yk one of those fun facts that aren't very factual at all)

the origin of the word gringo is mostly uncertain but a much better explanation is that it came from "griego" (Greek, in Spanish) bc the Spanish used it to refer to foreign people who spoke weird ass difficult languages (like greek, to them)

and it does make perfect sense to me bc as a latino myself i can tell you that we do say "am i speaking in greek, by any chance?" to be a little condescending when someone ignores us or can't understand what we're talking about, so that seems much more reasonable?? that use precedes the 1847 thing alejandro mentions btw

and now that ive already digged this linguistic hole for myself I also have to add that the translation in the subtitles is pretty fucking wild at times. i don't know any russian or arabic so i can't really speak on those fronts but in spanish????? oh boy

they literally translated "mueve el culo, cabrón" as "this way" ?????? which not only is NOT what that means but also fails so horribly at conveying tone. very sad. also none of the gringo characters ever pronounced Si Nombre right. not even soap. I have no words for my disappointment (still proud of him for the rest of his Spanish pronunciation, it's so good 🥺🥺)

anyway im sorry for this tangent i just had to. i tried not to say anything but if im not annoying 24/7 i'll explode. you don't want me to explode, do you?? then you'll have to forgive me for this 😔

oh that makes sense, i never heard that before 🤔 interesting!

i only know like three words of spanish but i did catch that one lmao. sucks that it might be that bad for other parts too, like obviously someone wrote that, why not include the right translation.. different teams, ig, but the script is Right There so

and no i get it, if they did that with dutch i'd be a little annoyed too!!

[llycaons]

ep46 (1/3): *feverishly* lwj wwx and jc emotional fallout time

coming hot off the donghua, sect leader yao's speech seems far more engaging and dynamic to me. he's walking around gesturing, emoting. shots are spent to give other charcters' reactions

a lot of lwj's dialogue seems to be like this - translated as the passive voice, precisem objective, and seemingly arising out of thin air. ik in the original mandarin he sounds very elegant and concise, and this translation gives similar but not quite the same energy

wwx and jc's faces at this...the main and grief is still so fresh

these shouts EXACTLY like the ones they were just calling for wwx's blood with. of course he's bitter and disaffected with the cultivation world! of course he turns away

wait hold on I just googled disaffected to make sure I was using it right and I was way more spot-on than I thought

adjective: disaffected dissatisfied with the people in authority and no longer willing to support them.

and NOW they want his help? now they'll suddenly start groveling to him when it's clear there's a new threat and he's needed? no wonder he doesn't respect any of them. only lwj actually stuck to his guns. but wwx shakes his head and walks away

and then his face seeing the shrine...ough. lwj gently asking him if he wanted to see it was nice bc I think he may have denied himself that, had he been alone

I can't do this man it's so fucking sad. like I'm so glad he gets this with them after everything especially jyl but god. it's so sad. that's his family and he feels like he ha to apologize for paying his respects

also the fact that myu's temper and dislike of wwx was so legendary that even up in gusu they'd heard of it...yeah he's clearly still working through that too

this was kind of funny I shan't lie. in front of her plaque he says this

I've struggled in the past to understand why wwx is so respectful to her here even though it was clear she hurt him so much in the past. I think it's like, he doesn't resent or hate her. she's dead, that was in the past. he pays respects, he apologizes. but he's not going to pretend like it didn't hurt or that it was easy.

and I think that's a healthy place to land. certainly he doesn't need more guilt over hating one of the people who raised him long after her death. but he's not shrugging off the hurt entirely, or plastering on a smile for lwj. admitting to lwj that it was a lot is a big step for him. I'm proud

the line I point to whenever fics are like 'lwj tries to sapotage jc and wwx's reconciliation and openly hates jc and makes things really difficult for him' NO!! he loves wwx far more than he hates jc! he wants wwx to be happy above everything, including his own dislike of his family! and he KNOWS how much wwx has lost, unless jc is outright hurting and attacking him lwj will leave it. even later in the temple lwj moves to protect wwx, who simply puts up a hand to stop him. wwx is fully in control of his interactions with jc when it comes to lwj

might be due to the translation choice but note he's not just saying 'he resents me'; this grudge is deep for him as well.

ohh this is really painful. obviously I'm on wwx's side here, this is his family, over whose deaths he feels tremendously (wrongfully, for myu and jfm) guilty. he killed himself because he lost his sister and he never saw her again, never got to pay his respects or apologize. and jc DID invite him in

but on the other hand, jc sees this as a breach - how dare wwx? this isn't HIS family, it's jc's. and his house, and his shrine, and his lakes and ponds. jc is extremely possessive over his family no matter their actual living wishes - and not just possessive, but exclusively so - this is MY family, you can;t have it. you don't belong here. yu have no family. your only companions are a dog I wish was dead and a man whose loyalty to you is unfathomable to me. he is staining his reputation by his association with you. and so on. all jc has is his title and position, but it's his. he earned it, after all. born to the jiangs. the heir. fighting and winning the war against the wens, with his own bright golden core...

this is one of the most hurtful things jc can say, and he knows it. he also knows that wwx literally killed himself but I guess in his mind that's not enough suffering for him. I can't fathon why people want wwx and jc to be best buddies postcanon with zero change in behavior bc literally all jc does is hurt wwx and make everything about him

also this is remarkably polite for lwj

HE LOOKS LIKE HIS MOM SO MUCH IN THIS SHOT. the bitter, cruel sarcasm. did wzc study myu's actor's performance or what....

I've always loved this shot. so intimate...he could have used his arm but instead he puts his hand on lwj's lower belly. like, remarkably low

also unfair and patently untrue but jc is a 36 year old minor so he can say whatever he wants and it's fine because he's a sad little baby brother boy or something

first time I saw this I saw someone describe it as a gay person bringing their partner to a family event and now I can't really see it any other way

saw another post like 'oh this is so sad for jc he just wants proof that wwx CARES and fighting is his only way communication uwu' but I have zero sympathy for that because it's a juvenile ass mode of expressing himself and I think it's far more just pathetic and maladjusted of him. especially when wwx is just doing the mature thing and trying not to fight because he's a fucking adult. and even when jc deliberately provokes him he looks up and sees her tablet there

and remembers what she would have wanted and how she loved them both and he walks away!!! I'm so proud of him. in so many ways wwx was a better and truer brother to jyl than jc ever was

see what I said above, jc is so angry but he can't seen to fathom that wwx doesn't want to interact like they're teenagers anymore. he's stuck in his traumatized adolescence to the extent that he sees wwx looking as exhausted and miserable as this and still tries to fight him.

and of course this rich concoction of miscommunication and misery couldn't be complete without lwj, who functions to be wwx's caretaker and protecter. jc looks almost disgusted when lwj intervenes - this isn't your business! butt out! but of course wwx is lwj's business. he physically pushes himself in between them. you're hurting him. step away. don't touch him. you no longer have the right to attack him

didn't get a great shot but this really sums up the trio relationship so nicely in a lot of senses. lwj supporting wwx, completely focused on him and his needs, except to briefly shove past jc and then to defend them from zidian. primary mode support, and secondary defend. wwx trusting and leaning on lwj, quietly speaking to him, defending him, being intimate and together with him in their little bubble . and jc, seething, jealous, heartbroken and bitter on the outside, not ready to let wwx walk away and trying to get him to stay through violence, trying to punish him. but wwx isn't alone anymore.

[asoulofatlantis]

XD I am laughing my ass off here. What a great reaction *lol* Tita was so in awe by the technologies used for Lapis that she was like "I need to take her apart to look at the tech" she surely didn't mean it in a bad way, but she scared the heck out of Lapis, so apparently Agate has to put a leash on her XD

Look, I want my class 7 to be back together as much as they want to reunite with Rean but this was just an ridiculously stupid move. First of all all 3 teams would have reunited at the tower eventually anyway. It would have been much more useful for all teams to remain the way they were until then and reunite at the tower, which was their meeting point anyway. Second, Reans team is by default the biggest and thus didn't need the extra support of Alisa, Towa, Machias and Sharon so damn badly. And third, breaking of into small team to reunite with whoever will put them at a disadvantage compared to staying in this big and thus stronger groupe. But... whatever.

OKAY I admit it does feel good to have all my class 7 ducks in a row again. But I still stand by that this was a stupid move...

Obviously... when would he ever not?

FOUR FULL CHAPTERS my boy! I waited for chapters for this reunion and NIS just fucked up the translation to make it even less impactful than it already was for your standards. Seriously.

Are you now? Well... I guess you have to with this man by your side XD

I am not sure why everyone is so tense about this fight. Look at what we have at our disposal. Thors united Class7 in all its glory, including the super maid as well as the complete SSS AND Liberls greatest bracers and their ZFC Maskot. Among our team are two freaking Gralsritter. We have 3 former Jeagers among us too. What the hell could go wrong with such a team?

I am lucky that I am playing on very easy, because I am pretty sure otherwise I would need to put my team together with their strengths, weaknesses and Crafts in mind, instead of making a full out shipping-team XD

You know what is really frustrating? With almost all the other character, their redemption never felt like they really did anything change for the better or change their mind about things... in fact, I believe even at the end Crow still thought he had the right to kill Osborne. Most of them were hiding behind sad pasts, the influence of the curse and some brainwashing here and there. Few actually truly admitted that they have been wrong. Yes, some of them admitted that they did horrible things, but often not with it looking like they truly and fully regret them. And most of the time their way back into the world of the nice guys was just because the nice guys wanted them there, or accepted them there for one good deed. Rufus is one of the characters you just want to see dead after everything he did, after all his betrayals and the backstabbing and even after he decided to take all the blame on himself and with that managed to keep Lechter and Claire free. So starting this game, you wish him the worst. But you can just not keep that up, because he does actually has the most realistic change of all and he actually truly works for his redemption and deals with his faults and weaknesses along the way. It sucks so much that you don't want to like him, but the game made it plainly impossible to still hate him as much as before. And it makes you feel bad for hating on him, while people like Crow simply get away with what is basically nothing in comparison and yet you still can't help but somehow like them.

Yeah and here is a big "FINALLY!" from me. It was about time.

Then maybe it is time to become a lover... but there is no sense in even thinking about going down this road even tho it is cleary right ahead of us, given how Rixia still seems to after Lloyd in Kuro. It sucks but... nothing can be done about it. This moment will have to be enough.

You know its bad when this happens...

He hasn't done anything particularly bad in Kuro so far, aside from a few jabs at the empire and stuff like that... but seeing his damned face makes me so angry!

I guess I make my way into the reverie corridor and that it will be it for me for today.

Now that I am done for today I have a few quick choice words on the translation of this game that I have mostly been holding back, but can not hold back any longer.

First of all: The Ebon-Defense-Force originates in the Ebon-Knight and thus, they should have pronounced it in the same way. Dieter Croise is not called DieEter and its weird that Elie says it wrong and Lloyd says it right.

ALSO I do not claim to be able to read Japanese (I wish I could) but there are immense differences in translation between the Spreadsheet and the NIS-Translation and while I was at first assuming that since the spreadsheet was done only by a fan and very fast at that, that that meant it was a very rough translation there are certain parts, multiple that is, were I did somewhat understand what was said and I can definitely confirm they made some unnecessary changes multiple times.

Just to name the ones that obviously are the strongest to me is that they immensely towned down Reans favoring Alisa thingy when mentioning the guys stuck in Crossbell or even when greeting them when Reunited. There have been multiple occasions throughout the game were I know for a fact that Rean has either only mentioned Alisa (like when he was meant to reach Crow and then said he can not reach Alisa - I checked the translation back then because it seemed weird to me he would only mention Alisa instead of Towa who is his colleague - he actually really just mention Alisa and not Towa and Machias) or kept saying stuff "Alisa and the others" when talking about them as well as the Reunion-scene were he said "Alisa. Everyone", where I didn't need to even read Japanese because it was voiced and he did indeed only say Alisas name, but in the Translation of NIS he said: "Hey, over here!" or something like that without mentioning any name at all.

There have been multiple other occasions where I know for a fact that the lines were altered sometimes extremly. Even in "The fallen Prince" we have multiple moments that were changed that pissed me off. The red constellation mentioning that Cedric was worth being under Shirleys watch was an important point in that Story, because it was necessary to see between the lines what exactly Shirley had to lose, if Cedric would fuck it up. Instead they only said that théy now understand why Shirley sees potential in him, but the meaning is simple not the same. This is not just me nitpicking. Just seeing the potential in Cedric isn't enough here, the red constellation has to accept the work and time and effort Shirley puts into that boy. Speaking of which... as endearingly cute that "our boy" was, that is definitely NOT what Shirley said. Who does this "our" even refer too? Her and Garrath? Are they raising him together or what? It would have been a different story if she would have said "Our princeyboy" instead but I know for a fact that she never used his nickname in that story either.

And all the changes are even worse than some of the changes made in CS4. Titas and Agates scenes have been altered a lot in CS4, going to the point were they didn't allow Agate to actually hint at Tita being the most important person to him. Or changing the conversation were Rean is asked if he things the feelings Agate has for Tita are just the feelings of a Guardian and he says he doesn't believe its just a guardian thing.

I do partly get why they felt the need to tone down Tita and Agate as a ship but I don't get the sudden need for toning down Rean and Alisa or anything that could hint to much at Shirley and Cedric. Nor do I understand how it comes that Lloyd voice actor pronounces Dieter right and Elies doesn't.

Its frustrating and I feel like next time I play with the Japanese voices again just to here all the times they fuckt up the translation so obviously.

[kitramune]

Hi, sorry for the late-ish response! You brought up some stuff I hadn't thought about so I wanted to make sure I was in the right mindset to discuss them well! I never really thought about how Kagome would be stuck fighting Naraku herself when the future inevitably changed if Inuyasha and the others died there. Good catch! That's a really interesting scenario to think of. It's especially sad since Kagome gets a lot of her strength from her bond with Inuyasha, and she just... wouldn't have that. As for translation issues with VIZ, well... it wouldn't be the first time they've watered something down or omitted it. Unfortunately I can't say why. I'd hope it's just an innocent oopsie but considering this is a reprint and I noticed they changed/fixed some other stuff, it's a bit more sus. The fan translations have their fair share of issues too but I'm inclined to believe them here since the line was also in the anime and it just... makes sense, contextually, for her to want him to live and mention it. Another good catch! I've literally never understood the take that Kagome somehow forced Inuyasha to live and be with her instead of Kikyou. She can't stop him, and she has no leverage over him similar to Kikyou's guilt and grief. To say so is really taking Inuyasha's agency out of the equation which is a very questionable shipping choice for either side to take. If Inuyasha wanted to be with Kikyou romantically... well, he would. But he never says anything of the sort, it's always helping her rest in peace. And on the contrary, INUYASHA asked KAGOME to stay by his side, earlier in the series, because he implied he was ready to move on and this arc was a regression. (Admittedly removed from the anime, tho, and another watered down translation by VIZ that's been fixed here.)

Kagome haters are a strange breed, sometimes. Kagome (in the manga) does nothing Inuyasha himself hasn't asked for. I'm not going to rant about my problems with Kikyou's treatment of Inuyasha because I do that enough outside of friendly debates LOL, but I believe Kikyou herself refers to it as "killing" Inuyasha more than once. I could be misremembering, but I don't blame anyone for sanitizing it because Inuyasha tends to refer to it as more of a Romeo and Juliet selfless sacrifice scenario. I think he has some delusions about that, but honestly who can blame him with the trauma backing it? I think that's also where the InuKik shippers get their romanticized take on it, even if you look at it objectively it's anything but. YES, Kikyou's touch is very noteworthy to me, too. Inuyasha will sometimes break down and hug her but until the fit of emotion takes him, he tends to act very on edge and uncomfortable when she's close to him. This could partially be because it's such a 180 from the Kikyou who sat well away from him to make distant conversation when she was alive, but it's extremely notable when compared with how he and Kagome have 0 personal space and she always seems to be casually holding his arm or touching shoulders. He even pulled away when Kikyou kissed him in the manga. I think part of it was surprise but part of it I also interpreted as a kind of uncomfortable flinch. (She DID kiss him without consent too, so doubly so.)

She does get more "distant" again when she turns her attentions to killing Naraku fully. They're usually back to standing 10ft away making distant conversation about Naraku and any romantic interest seems pretty sapped away until arguably their goodbye. (I don't think it was romantic but it was still way more intimate than their previous interactions at least.) That might be the first time she'd touched him in a long time, and it was mostly Inuyasha initiating it that time in his need to (FINALLY) grieve.

Popping by seeking your thoughts about Chapter 176: Kagome’s Heart, this specifically:

As we know, it’s a major turning point in the story. Kagome asks to stay by Inuyasha’s side, rather than leave him, the feudal era, and the jewel shard mission behind.

Now this is pure speculation, but I like to speculate. What if Kagome had left? Certainly, that’s an entirely different story, but I’m curious what you think may have happened in this scenario.

Some particular questions I have are:

Would Inuyasha have teamed up with Kikyo to try to collect shards and defeat Naraku?

Kagome was the glue that brought the Inugang together. In her absence at /this/ point of the story (the 3 year separation is different), would they have parted? As in, would Miroku, Sango, and Shippo parted ways with Inuyasha if he teamed up with Kikyo (I don’t see her being a fan of traveling with the inugang)? If so, do they fight Naraku in their smaller group, do they survive, etc.

Would Naraku/ the jewel still have been defeated?

Even *if* InuKik defeated Naraku/ the jewel (I don’t think they would have), how does the story end? Kikyo isn’t alive so she.. dies? Achieves nirvana and Inuyasha just.. grieves the rest of his life or joins her in death? I don’t see a happy ending ☹️

Just seeking civil discussion as always not trying to light any fires xD

Oh man, this is a sad one, let me strap in with a depressing yearning/pining playlist. First off, I think this arc shows a LOT of things about both Inuyasha and Kagome's character, good and bad. Mostly good, but perhaps in bad context. Or at least very sad context. I mean we got Inuyasha going from this:

... to this:

(I know this isn't the same arc but bear with me, the character development is there and he has a similar change of heart here, for her emotional wellbeing, not just physical.) The important thing to note is Kikyou wanted to die at this point, and still to take Inuyasha with her.

And Inuyasha's response was this:

So even if it's born out of extreme guilt and trauma, I find it unlikely they would have fought Naraku at all. Kikyou talks a big game, but first chance she gets she is always trying to call Inuyasha to her side strictly to die, never for his help. (At this point.) Inuyasha more than likely would have been coerced to Hell even against his better judgement. Shippou was willing to leave the group once already without Kagome (after the Sess fight, he only came back cuz of the wolves chasing him) and Miroku is used to being a loner vagabond. Who knows what would happen to Shippou but Miroku and Sango would have likely drifted apart, encountered Naraku, and perished, even if they were together tbh. (Let's face it, Sango's pretty helpless against the Kohaku card.) Even Kagome would have been miserable having her tie to Inuyasha go unfulfilled and always regretting not knowing if everyone was still alive and safe or if she left them to their doom. So with that being said, as much as I love this scene as a pure example of her devotion to Inuyasha, there realistically WAS some pressure on her decision. I think she fully knew Kikyou intended to kill Inuyasha and that he couldn't say no because of his vulnerabilities and perceived superior love for her. (That hurts me to say but it's Kagome's POV.) That's why she had the lines about wanting him to feel like he's allowed to be happy and she wants that for him. She feels that normally, yes, but even moreso in the wake of knowing he'll likely forfeit his life. (I think the anime even emphasized this by adding her saying "You have to know that I want you to live." SOMEONE had to show him they care enough or he'd be too far gone.) The beautiful part is that Kagome DID full-on save Inuyasha's life by making her choice. Because she's unsure if she'll be able to help him enough to keep him around forever, but he's shown an uncanny desire to LIVE for her. Which obviously he continues to show again and again, and is my favorite part of their relationship. An outcast so abused and conditioned to it that the first person to care about him tells him to die and he absolutely will. But that outcast learns he wants to live way more, through interacting with unconditional love. I've said it before but Kikyou to me was always a metaphor for Inuyasha's grief and succumbing to the pain, whereas Kagome was always symbolic for a desire to live and be happy again.

[licncourt]

I agree with the post you reblogged about how they bungled Lestat's death scene! They couldn't have filmed a more different version – both in action and meaning – even if they tried.

But, in the context of the show, the story they insisted to tell, I can't ever imagine Lestat's death scene playing out like it did in the books. It doesn't fit. (And I'm upset they deviated so much from the core relationships that it doesn't fit anymore).

They have destroyed Lestat's relationship with Claudia from the very beginning. In the show they tolerate each other at best, and they hate each other the other time. All the things Lestat taught Claudia with love and enthusiasm in the books, he does it out of desire to manipulate/placate Louis in the show. Not to mention that he threatens to kill Claudia 🤢 and hurts her even in the last episode where he waits for Antoinette to kill Claudia 🤢. There is no way he could fall for a genuine attempt at reconciliation in this context, so they have to paint Lestat as on to her plan.

Regarding Loustat, since they have escalated the violence in their relationship to such a degree that never existed in the books, they had to give Louis a more active role in the death scene, otherwise he'd pass for a sad wife-beaten victim with Stockholm syndrome. They had to give him some agency in this instance. His hesitancy/indecision translates here not in passivity, but in reversing the course and ultimately saving Lestat (or at least hoping that his actions saved him cause according to Claudia's diaries, he is still convinced they killed him). Otherwise there would be no catharsis for the public.

Though, the choice to have Louis cut Lestat's throat perplexes me when I think about what is supposed to happen in Paris. THE TRIAL! How is that going to work since Claudia isn't the one who ultimately killed Lestat. She didn't even touch him!! She planned it but she isn't the one who killed him. Like, why is Louis still standing and not Claudia? Or will they have Louis throw Claudia to the wolves to save his skin?

That's why I'm thinking that the entire Lestat death scene didn't happen at all as Louis described it, not just the aftermath. I'm thinking Claudia did kill Lestat/cut his throat etc like in the books and Louis did stand by and watch helplessly paralyzed. Then Louis cried over Lestat's body etc and put Lestat in his coffin, ultimately saving him. So when Lestat pops up in Paris and Claudia is executed, Louis has to face the reality that by saving Lestat he condemned his daughter to die...and he can't take it. It's trauma on top of trauma and he starts to tell himself a kinder story : one where Lestat told him one last time he loved him before dying, one where Claudia didn't stab Lestat with glee but he's the one who did it tenderly, one where Claudia was unfairly murdered and his actions didn't doom her. And I'm sure Armand was only glad to help with this version of the story and reinforce it. Honestly, I think Louis doesn't know yet that Armand orchestrated Claudia's execution.

That's how I think they could save the mess they made in this episode (and how they could use tvl to give a more rounded picture). Though they could end up with the same problems regarding Louis' agency.

Okay I fully agree with the first part, and I love that idea for the story if that's where they choose to go with it. The specific storyline of the AMC show, whatever my personal feelings on it, would come together very nicely if things played out that way and it's really a brilliant theory. I don't have a lot to add because you connected the dots for us, but I think this would be great TV and a very effective use of the memory theme that they haven't utilized much yet. It makes the most sense to present it in this sort of context, combined with trauma and abuse (as long as it's done with sensitivity).