#his design changing 100000 times a second

[maestroofcringe]

BIRTHDAY BOY!!!

[tatorthots]

Hi hiiii! If its okay, could i request denki nd jirou (seperate) playing video games w their s/o? Specifically minecraft or stardew valley. Thank you if you can, and its fine if you cant!! Have a graet day :)

— bnha: gaming with you

Pairings: Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jiro, Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki x gn!reader

Warnings: fluff, cursing, light violent themes, suggestive content

a/n: thank you for requesting !! this was honestly a really fun request to write ,ik it took awhile but better late than never eheh also I couldn’t help but add Bakugo and Shoto so I hope you enjoy the lil surprise anon xx not proof read

DENKI

easy, Denki lives life on creative mode

I’m a firm believer that he loves and prefers light rpg games, he gets so into the storyline and if he gets the chance he’ll play hours or entire weekends on end speeding through quests just to find more game-lore cutscenes. this type of ‘passion’ is the main reason Aizawa has had to confiscate Denkis console on more than one occasion … which explains why he breaks into Bakugos room to play on his ps5 (Aizawa would take the ps5 too but dealing with an angry Bakugo would be more of a punishment for him than for Denki )

but if there’s any game he likes to play most with you it’s definitely Minecraft. there’s no expectation, game lore is kinda optional and the game itself really is more based off theories than actual in-game information, and he has the liberty of doing whatever he wants in a world he gets to build with you ! second best option to building one irl someday

to your surprise he’s actually really good with color coordinating and interior design, often making any of your creations the eye sore of the terrain which low key makes you jealous but you could never actually be mad at him

mostly because he always has the most patience with you when it comes to helping you build and no matter how much you mutter you don’t want his help , he’ll still login when you’re not around to add some flowerbeds or fix a couple awkward builds you make. for the most part tho he doesn’t change too much — he says “looking at your builds baby is like looking at a Picasso painting in 3d!! gives ya something to think about” whatever that means 😐

but Denkis spotlight really shines when he builds things for you !! he’ll spend daysss recreating scenery from your favorite ghibli movies or anime, he’ll build secret hideouts in caves that lead to waterfalls or sometimes he’ll just add white hearts in the sky to look like clouds . and if you had a particular bad day or just feel drained, he’ll leave random notes or boards for you to find as you explore new areas — from cheesy pick up lines to “I love you”s being written on them

golden retriever bf energy 🤝 Kaminari

honestly Denki loves the game because of how easy going it is, he feels mellowed out by the music and enjoys spawning different monsters to put as exhibits in his own “zoo” (he came up with the idea after watching Tiger King). but yk playing with him is always equal to a fun time. after all ,nothing beats laying up in bed with your lover as he bombards you with kisses each time you do even the simplest of things in a game

BUT there’s one thing your boyfriend refuses to do no matter how much you beg and that’s playing on survival mode

new achievement unlocked: househusband!Kaminari

IF you manage to convince him to play survival he’ll strictly stay around home base collecting materials and organizing inventory ,like he’ll farm the cows, feed the dogs, cook the food , walk the fish but DO NOT expect him to go cave mining

JIROU

Jirou is 100000% the type of gamer who has a really cute aesthetic pc setup with some merch and collectibles on her desk . yes, all her gaming furniture is white/neutral but her collectibles and decor can be kinda cutesy and no I’m not hearing anyone out

I get the feel that she’s actually a casual player but really invested in her setup because she likes the comfort it brings ++ you love messing with her plushies and figurines so tbh it’s a win win situation. she even bought a giant beanbag for the both of you to lay on when she connects her console to a mini projector to play games

10000/10 gamer

despite her rockish style, Jirou prefers to play easy, calming games than horror or apocalyptic games — I mean her life is already filled with enough danger and excitement so it’s honestly nice to sit down with a matche latte and farm or play a mix of adventurous and calming rpg games like Genshin or stardew valley , BE WARNED if she starts a new rpg game she’ll spend weeks on end telling you all sorts of theories and lore about it . you never really mind tho, seeing her out of her quiet bubble and eyes lit up , it’s almost impossible to tell her you’re too tired to listen so you just “🙄😮‍💨 …. yes love? 🥰”

on weekends when neither of you have work studies to go to , she likes to lay your head on her lap and comb through your hair as she watches you furrow your brows in cute concentration trying to defeat a gang of Fatui from genshin. she absently smiles at the way you bite your lip whenever you take hard blows — she’s too embarrassed to ever say it out loud but she notes each and every facial expression you make when you play and once you smile brightly in victory she’ll lean down and peck your forehead , muttering a sweet “good job baby”

but there isn’t any experience more rewarding to her than playing a game together !!

playing stardew valley is probably her go to game on days that felt too exhausting and you always offer to play it because she always wears the most content smile. the both of you living out your dream cottagecore life as you build shops, farm vegetables, raise and pet animals/cattle, venture into mines and interact with locals. the game felt like home ,even with its more chaotic features

from the perfect sync of teamwork you both have without saying anything to the bitterness you both feel towards an enemy who took the other out , it all felt so natural to her. all the constant teasing and banter, the way you’d offer each other snacks while hyper focused on a game without even having to say anything, poking and nudging when you’d play against one another just to sabotage each other. she could swear right there and then that you’d be the perfect duo in life and someday she planned on officiating it

but for now she was satisfied with her tamed pixelated wolves and cattle, with the home you both spent days building as you bounced off ideas from one another, with the welcomed peace that came with gaming with you. at the end of the day she was more than satisfied being with you

BAKUGO

Monsters hate him ,villagers fear him, violence loves him

to no one’s surprise, Bakugo is as aggressive in-game as he is irl (well tbh he’s even worse) I mean what did you expect? give the man an opportunity to murder his opponents and he will take it. it’s funny tho because he’ll literally swear he’s not having fun as his eyes light up while attacking merchants or bystanders

you SWEAR civilians/villagers scatter when they see him

Bakugo = 👹👹👹

ngl this blonde hot-head isn’t much of a gamer, he’s the stereotypical ‘games are for nerds and a waste of time’ but if you do your stupid lil sigh of disappointment and glance at him with those dumb kicked-puppy eyes he’ll eventually fold

“Tch. you’re such a pain in the ass ,just hand me the damn controller before I change my mind”

don’t think for a sec you’re getting your way for free tho ,oh ho ho no no no this man will place himself on the floor and scowl at you with expectant ruby eyes “what? you jus’ gonna stand there or are you gon’ c’mere?” he’ll pat his lap and motion you to come over. once you’re secured and snug on him he’ll cage your body in with his muscular arms and place his chin on your head, pressing himself closer to you he’ll wear a shit eating smirk “alright baby ,hope you can multitask”

I get the feel that he owns maybe like a ps5 but doesn’t really play often so Kiri, Mina and Denki end up holing up in his room the second he leaves (he always yells and complains that he hates it but he never actually kicks them out) sooo the gaming setup is probably in your dorm . IF he does play he prefers more intense combat games with the occasional rpg action when he’s up for it but like I said , he’s really not much of a gamer

Bakugo doesn’t bother himself too much with builds, not because he’s bad but because he finds it too tedious and don’t even mention crafting because “we can just steal materials from villagers??” so if you want to focus on making a home base it’s gonna fall on you to make it ,but he makes up for it by providing you with any material you need or want

playing on creative has been absolutely BANNED !! this menace of a man would literally not stop terrorizing innocent villagers and their homes by releasing hordes of monsters or pouring buckets of lava onto any village he finds (and you’re pretty sure you caught him digging holes and pushing random villagers inside just to cover it up .and yk for sure he did when you feel his chest rumble with a low chuckle)

back to my earlier point tho, Bakugo does put a bit of effort in helping you craft he watches yt videos about it on his free time when he’s alone just to help you just don’t mention it if he has a random spike of craft skills

all in all Bakugo really shines when he’s protecting you, even if it’s in some pixelated reality. he knows you’re good at the game but he can’t help but rush to you and defend you when you’re caught near zombie spawners or being attacked by witches , it’s just his love language aw

SHOTO TODOROKI

Farmer!Shoto has spawned

Playing with Todoroki is like playing with a very confused old man with the curiosity of a child “what’s this?” “is this a cult? … you said a portal?” “what does that do?? — oh I died” “I’m lost” sometimes you get frustrated with his cluelessness but once you glare in his direction and see his mismatched eyes glimmer as he holds a small smile for you you can’t help but huff and mutter a quiet “it’s alright sho, I’ll go find you”

Growing up, Todoroki didn’t have time to play games or really enjoy any aspect of being a kid, and as he grew older he focused more on being the best and growing his quirk than strengthening some character in a fictional reality. he used to view these things as childish and it didn’t make sense why someone would waste time training in a game than irl but after introducing him to a few of your fav games he started to enjoy playing (mostly loves stardew valley and Mario games but he’ll play pretty much anything with you by his side)

but this evolvement came with a double edged sword heh

playing with him, you spend more time watching over him as he gets stuck between trees, jumps in lava, walks into boss domains absolutely oblivious to the fact it’s a boss domain (which btw you spent DAYS trying to find and he just stumbles into 😐) accidentally drown himself trying to build a pool while he’s still in the hole, fall off mountains right before he gets to the very top or die staring at a creeper too long because “he looks like he knows something..” *cue suspicious squinty eyes*

even in creative this man fills his inventory with bones, mushrooms and jack o’ lanterns. he’ll spend the majority of his time looking for wolves instead of spawning them because he likes when they ‘choose’ to follow him back home, if you’re both out exploring he’ll plant lanterns or flowers behind the both of you so you don’t get lost

he’s such a gentle soul and it almost feels unreal to think back to when you first met him , all broody and cold just to uncover such a sweet side underneath

most say it’s character development but tbh you don’t think so ,he’s always been this way underneath — he’s just never had a chance to show it to anyone. and now that he’s surrounded by friends and people who care about him he feels safe enough to let his guard down. but sometimes it can get in the way of his gaming when he refuses to kill any animals for food ,like his character can be starving or low on health and he’ll just be like “and?? 🤨” so pls make sure you have extra food on you and just say you ‘found’ it or smth

you’ve learned that Shoto is pretty keen on farming, he builds a lot of fences and coops to raise chickens and mushroom cows in. he builds fancy looking fields to plant seeds in and each time he seems them sprout he’ll wear a proud smile. throughout the game you can’t help but lean your head on his shoulder as your arms are linked to one another, he rests his cheek on top of your head and occasionally he’ll lift your chin up with his index to place a chaste but passionate kiss on your lips — always seperating with an “I love you”

Reblogs and Interactions Are Appreciated!! ღ

[fruitchakra]

why you should read haikyuu!! (no spoilers)

as an sns-focused blog, i’m going to frame this through the lens of sns/naruto (the series) because the fact is that i finally, finally picked up haikyuu because i read something posted by someone on tumblr or twitter saying ‘hinata and kageyama are basically just naruto and sasuke in high school’.

which is true but mostly false BUT i am so glad i gave it a chance when even my best friend pestering me couldn’t get me to watch/read it (she doesn’t watch naruto so i didn’t trust her lmao). 

the reason i’m so hesitant to start on new manga is because i’m extremely picky with the type of shonen manga i read. 9/10 times i’m just disappointed with the art style, plot, storyline progression, etc. this is also the reason why i reread and rewatch naruto for the nth time because i just cannot get into anything else.

enter haikyuu. haikyuu is truly what a shonen manga is imo - one that revolves around friendship and rivalry with a single key person and overcoming adversities to become the best. compare this to naruto which is a love story because i still cannot believe that it is a shonen manga because it’s not (naruto’s focus on sasuke is not normal or platonic lol. it can’t be. i refuse).

1. character development and world building

the characterizations are really good and they don’t go obsessively deep about people or a single character - hinata’s rivalry with kageyama is clear but it is not the basis of the entire plot. there are no real ‘villains’ too, even if the other team is the opponent. the way things are written makes you root for everyone involved (unlike naruto because there are many characters that i absolutely cannot stand. in haikyu i either like them or can’t remember them because there’s so...many...players.)

furudate’s strength is making you connect with the characters. 

the most refreshing thing is that the world building is good (volleyball is super interesting) but not fraught with things that are uncomfortable, like naruto and its politics and how some people absolutely lose all critical thinking skills when it comes to examining things like fascism and genocide. haikyuu is so much more lighthearted and because of this, it’s a lot of fun.

2. hinata and kageyama’s bond

this is one of my favourite things and it’s so SO refreshing compared to naruto and sasuke’s relationship. hinata and kageyama are introduced as rivals and hinata doesn’t fixate over kageyama - his main goal is to the best volleyball player. in naruto, the narrative is set up as naruto’s desire to be acknowledged and become hokage, but there is a disconnect because the plot is driven by sasuke and his actions. 

i watch naruto for sasuke so i absolutely have no issue with it but when the second character becomes more important than your titular character, something has gone wrong in your plotting/writing.

but there is no escaping that there are similarities: hinata’s name means sun and kageyama’s name means shadow. their character designs and colors are in direct contrast as well (tall and short, bright and dark hair).

3. tsukishima

give me an aloof, quiet character with brother issues, who finds himself changing due to the influence of the protagonist and I AM SOLD. add in moon symbolisms and i am crying because you are now my favorite character. 

4. nostalgia 

the best thing is the nostalgia i think! pretty sure everyone reading this has gone to high school. most people have (or were forced to) participate in some sort of sport. everyone has had dreams and in high school, the world outside seems impossibly big and anything and everything is possible. haikyuu really plays into this and it is absolutely hopeful and inspiring it is. 

it also reminds me how naive and flawed this thinking is because life will not go the way you want to, just because you really truly want something and work hard for it. of course, as a children’s manga, it doesn’t linger on the negative aspects of growing up but seeing something so hopeful and happy really highlights the stark reality of adult lives. and i honestly love how introspective it makes me. 

5. furudate’s art style

the manga is 100000% better than the anime because we get furudate’s art style which is insanely good because you can really sense the speed and motion and excitement of the volleyball. 

more importantly are the little tiny details he adds into little frames. it builds so much more character and i’m slowly getting through the anime because the volleyball parts are much better animated and the OPs are hype but the pacing is really off and i don’t think the voice casting is as good as naruto’s. 

6. the importance of a strong opening 

the first chapter made me cry, with hinata’s enthusiasm and lack of support and him still finding his way around it to make things work as best as he can. it’s incredibly earnest and just so pure.

naruto didn’t do this for me tbh, and it was only sasuke’s introduction that hooked me. the closest feeling i’ve come across in the introduction of a story from another form of media is the kdrama vagabond. no other opening has hit me as hard with this sense of warmth and purity (12/10 would recommend. it’s on netflix!)

7. stand-out characters

hinata - my big hearted sunshine boy. best protagonist ever thank u for existing

kageyama - the way to my heart: a boy with dark hair and dark eyes. his growth is so so good

tsukishima - moon. background and character growth. i love his attitude

yamaguchi - i scream whenever he steps onto court. pure and sweet

basically everyone on the karasuno team

kenma - basically me irl

oikawa - “i hope they both lose” truly the single best sentence ever given to a character

miya twins - they’re drawn so beautifully?? and great chaotic energy

if you’ve read all the way here, you’re the best and take it as a sign you start haikyuu :)

[mykedrop]

Persona 5 Royal Thoughts

     Alright so there’s a lot I want to talk about here. Fair warning, this write up is actually like, really damn long. Also like HUGE spoiler warning below the cut! I played the original when it came out, bought a PS4 practically only to play Persona 5 not even knowing if I’d like it. But I did! I loved it, loved all of it. Beat the game in just over 100 hours I think. Easily became my second favorite game ever. So now here comes Persona 5 Royal, adds a bunch of new stuff, a lot of little stuff and some pretty huge additions and reworks, includes all the dlc from P5 which is nice. It’s a strictly better version of the game I already thought was amazing enough.

     I remember being a little wary of going for it and reading a non-spoiler list of all the changes, which are actually A LOT when you list them out. Then I thought about how much I loved playing the original, and figured I’m not doing much else right now, so I got it. And BOY that game just checks all the boxes for me. It’s the same game, but better now. There’s a little more depth to playing the game and more stuff!

   One of the biggest additions and probably my favorite addition is Maruki’s story and confidant. Everything involving him I thought was incredible. First of all the man is a dreamboat. Secondly great voice actor. Thirdly the story built around him was really awesome to play through. Every time some new story beats came through while playing through the first parts of the game I always thought how great it all fit in. It made sense, it kind of opened up the world of the game a little more narrative-wise and it all felt right. And the SONG (Ideal and the Real) that plays in Maruki’s office is so GOOD. That song plays in my head 24/7 and I love it. He’s got such a great personality and story and it was a great time getting to rank him up. The song ALONE made me want to hang out with him as much as possible. It’s an angle I wasn’t expecting, his story I mean, and while the “right” choice was pretty clear, it still made me think about what he was trying to accomplish. And they drove the point home real hard during the final stretch of the game before you figure out what’s going. It’s so hard to look at your friends having such a good life and go, “yeah no I don’t think so.” But that’s a whole different  discussion. It felt sort of morally ambiguous, which was really cool. And I also like that Maruki gives you a choice, not only once but twice. Which again, gives you pause, even if only a short one.

    So that brings me to another one of the biggest additions: the new palace. BOY I love this palace. From the way it’s first introduced so early on, to how you keep peeking in every once in a while making a little progress here and there. Until finally you’re able to just go wild at the end. This palace feels like the team designing this was told go all out. The aesthetic, the mechanics, the layout. Going through this I had a big ol smile on my face the entire time at how different it felt compared to those in the original game. Those are good too, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have any palaces I dislike. But I can easily imagine some ideas and how incredible some palaces would be with the level of detail and complexity of Maruki’s palace. It’d be kind of ridiculous and extremely difficult no doubt, maybe even a little too much to ask for I think. Anyway, seeing the garden section of the palace for the first time was INCREDIBLE. They went so crazy with making almost every part of that palace look amazing! And that last area was easily my favorite of the palaces in terms of looks and theme. They did a good job of conveying the scale of that giant tree where the treasure is at with those stairs. Plus it’s another great moment to show of the smaller details of the palace like some flowers, the lighting, some other really neat effects. It was great! And the whole boss fight at the end was so fantastic to watch! I’ll say that even at the hardest difficulty, my SO (who is a turn-based combat FIEND) didn’t have too much of a difficult time with the fight. But the mechanics of it were so interesting! I loved the ideas they went with. Again it felt like they really gave it their all with this palace. The story beats during the fight were incredible as well, and they gave me one of my favorite moments back that used to be in the Yaldabaoth fight: Press X to Fire! The fight with Maruki at the end was also pretty novel too, and so dramatic! The snow falling at the end, the glass platforms collapsing, it all looked so GOOD. One of my favorite things in any game like this (remake/remaster/GOTY version/etc.) is getting to listen to NEW MUSIC. And this palace KILLED IT with music, as did the rest of the game as usual. There’s no feeling that compares to being right at the edge of beating a Persona game. And this palace was a hell of an out of the park home run. After 170 hours, it was so bittersweet to beat the final boss and move on towards the rest of the story. I loved playing through that palace and it’s a shame I’ll never get to experience it for the first time again.

    On to one of the more advertised additions: Yoshizawa! My first thought when I saw her way back when when they first revealed her is I thought she’d be a female protagonist. Which I thought would be INCREDIBLE. Even if it’s not exactly my preference, I would’ve been so HYPE to romance one of the guys. I didn’t really think about it from a gameplay standpoint, as there are way more girl confidants than guys, but still I thought it’d be fun to potentially explore that! Obviously that wasn’t the case, but now on to what I think of the new confidant! I love her! Like absolutely 100% love her so much! Let me tell you just how those concept meetings went down when they were making Yoshizawa: Cute girl, in cute clothes, who has a cute personality. Done, the perfect character. Of course she’s much more than that, but on the surface level it’s easy to see where they were going with this character. Playing the game I had zero idea about her eventual involvement in the final section of the game, so seeing her only have 5 confidant levels I was a little disappointed! Maxed her out as fast as possible and waited... Seeing her story woven through the original narrative was also super fun. Like Maruki, I really liked seeing her in places where she wasn’t before, and adding new scenes and such around to flesh out her character throughout the first two semesters. Then came the new part of the game after the holy grail fight. I was absolutely not expecting that twist with Yoshizawa. I had no idea that they would go somewhere like THAT in this game! It totally caught me off guard and I LOVED IT. What an incredible story all around. And like super fucked! The whole reveal moment was FANTASTIC! Had my jaw on the floor and everything! Her entire confidant was fun, using her in combat was fun, and her romance path was extremely fun! There’s nothing I don’t like about her really. She had such a wild story and such an amazing arc that I can’t not love her! She’s not my favorite confidant, but still adding in a new character like her into such a tight-knit group like the phantom thieves that i already loved as is is such a risky move! It’s so hard to improve upon a dynamic like theirs I think, but they made it work when they needed to! Anyway I love her character a lot and her story and all that. Beautiful.

    Speaking of adding new characters to a dynamic, this might be my favorite addition/rework in the entire game: Akechi. Holy crap I can’t tell you how much I LOVED HEARING AKECHI JUST GO OFF EVERY BATTLE, or while we went riding through mementos, or just all his new dialogue and confidant level ups. Akechi very quickly and easily became one of my favorite parts about the new part of the game. His character was such a HUGE CLASH with every other character in the party, especially Yoshizawa! Which I have to imagine isn’t an accident. He is fuckin CRAZY. Unlocking his Showtime attack was BONKERS. That whole sequence with Yoshizawa and Akechi in Maruki’s palace was so GOOD. Having Akechi be part of the team was an amazing breath of fresh of air. Trust me when I say I have ZERO problem or complaint with the overly positive nature of the party. But MAN it is FUN to see Akechi just be an ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE. Every new interaction with Akechi was a TREASURE. Dropping the “detective prince” act was 100000% the right move. Even more fun was seeing Haru and Akechi’s interactions in mementos. The way every character acted towards him was pretty good, but something about Haru’s overbearing positivity towards him was really fun to watch. I can’t stress enough how much Akechi added to the experience of the final act of the game. His persona? Badass. His personality? Absolutely cutthroat and also badass. His hair? Still incredible. Also the only character in the game who will only play 701 in darts. That threw me for a fuckin LOOP the first time I invited him out for darts. Dude is a STUD in like every way. Love Akechi A LOT. He singlehandedly brought the experience up from an 11/10 to a 12/10. This game is so much better with Akechi being able to go batshit crazy. One of my favorite interactions is during battle: when you heal the whole party, with Akechi and Ryuji being two of the active members, depending on their order, you’ll have Akechi say “No time for thanks” right before you hear Ryuji say “Thanks!” Just thought that really exemplified how much of an ass he is, and how much I love him for it. He is THE badass asshole character this game didn’t know it needed but absolutely deserved. How much of a bad ass do you have to be to able to look at your inevitable death in the face and say “this is how it has to be.” One of the coolest parts of the whole game is him not only accepting his eventual fate, but actively driving you towards making that decision.

     Next up I suppose I’ll talk about Maruki as a character. Love the way he was included, and liked all his interactions with all the characters during the first part of the game. He’s just so likable and honestly very relatable for me. Helping people through counseling has always been a personal goal of mine, so it’s always interesting to see how characters doing the same are portrayed. And while his overarching plan is something I don’t agree with, wanting to help people drives you to do crazy things sometimes. I felt for the guy. I enjoyed all the hangouts with him, and felt like I really understood his goals. The way his entire story was crafted did an incredible job of divulging all the right information at the right time. Before Akechi 2.0 came around, he was my favorite part of the game! I love the confidants and the stories they tell and interacting with them and all that. I looked forward to ranking up Maruki and trying to see what he was all about. The more I learned the more I liked him. Before, during, and after the palace my feelings about him didn’t change much. The man went crazy sure, but I still couldn’t bring myself to hate him or even dislike him. I love the man! My SO had no mercy for the man during the boss fight, but I felt bad seeing her kick his ass! I thought they did a good job mixing up the motivations for Maruki as a villain. Making him a confidant made it so much more difficult to picture him as the big bad evil guy. Plus he has like one of the best songs tied to him in Ideal and the Real. I’ll mention that as much as I feel is necessary.

      So now I’ll go through all of the smaller details that I really liked in no particular order. Kichijoji was a great destination, gave me a lot to do over the course of the game. The phone calls after you hang out with a confidant are a very welcome addition! It’s a way to fit in more dialogue which I always love, and gives you a chance to rank up the confidant a lot quicker. There’s the fact that Morgana no longer forces you to sleep nearly as often, letting you at least mess around in LeBlanc, which helps rank up your social stats. I LOVE THE DARTS MINI GAME. And I’m so glad it also gave you an upgrade for your baton passes. I did not play enough darts. The jazz club was also MY JAM. Again more dialogue, great music, and a fun way to give your confidants new skills or stat boosts. One thing that I find really funny is the way they handled Valentine’s Day. They CHANGED IT. I know they added a lot of new stuff to them for new story reasons. but they CHANGED THE CONTEXT OF THE DATES. For example, in the original P5, Kawakami makes it VERY CLEAR what’s going down later. Ann too! But in P5R, that context is GONE LMAO they really went and changed the dialogue to be less sexual. It’s strange, but mostly I found it funny considering Takemi’s max rank conversation is untouched, among plenty of other ones. Anyway White Day was a GREAT addition! The final part of the date overlooking the city is AMAZING. That reveal made my jaw drop. Speaking of things that changed, the Christmas date also changed, and I like the change a lot! Watching the snow fall from the window on the bed was a great touch. The changes to boss battles and some parts of palaces because of the grappling hook were very welcome. The grappling hook itself was also extremely handy. The thieves den is an incredible addition that adds SO MUCH NEW DIALOGUE AND CONTEXT THAT IT’S A CRIME THAT IT’S HIDDEN IN THE DEN! Anyway. I’ll never say no to new personas. The showtime attacks are a GEM. The new music in this game is AWESOME. I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack. I really enjoyed getting to see a little bit of the dynamic between Sojiro, Futaba and Wakaba. I never knew just how much I wanted to see that until I saw the bit of it in the late part of the game. I don’t remember if it was in the original game, but I LOVE that one of Yusuke’s battle lines is “How do you want to do this?” LOVE IT. Oh Chihaya’s confidant boosting fortune reading was SUPER CLUTCH. Extremely good quality of life right there. I love the extra little bit they added to the warden’s confidant, getting to take them out of the velvet room and show them around. Super cute. Iwai’s gun customization was pretty sweet. Adding Jose to mementos was strange, but very welcome! It made going around much more interesting. Oh speaking of, buffing Ryuji’s instant kill was a GREAT idea. Haha Morgana go vroom vroom. The alarm in the velvet room was also awesome and made making the perfect persona a million times easier.

     It’s been a few weeks now since I’ve finished the game, and it’s unfortunate that I can’t remember more of the little things. This whole write up has been an on and off thing since I finished P5R. Still I love the game and don’t really have any complaints. Well maybe one: LET ME FEED YUSUKE. Someone please feed that man. I forgot how much I loved playing the original game, and going through it again with all the new stuff was a total pleasure! And obviously the 3rd semester was an incredible experience. If you like the original a lot, and it’s been a while since you played it, get P5R. If you never played the original but were interested in it, get P5R. Anyway that’s all I got to say about it.

[dopposhusband]

Hey, I know you always post your fics about you and Gentaro (very superb of you, you funky little writer!) so I wanted to ask if you have some headcanons of you and him! It can be either the two of you or a polycule with anyone, I don't mind either way! I'd just love to see more of your ships since they're always so wonderful!!!

@yokairu I’ve written a couple of headcanons before of just Gentaro and I, so I wanted to focus a bit more on my polyships since I rarely get to talk about them!

🥂 If you think its sweet the way I try to drag Gentaro to bed during his late night writing binges then prepare for it to take a change for the annoying! I’ll hold Hifumi back a little bit but once it hits a certain time then I let him go and help him hound poor Gentaro, we just want our bf to get his rest especially since Hifumi rarely gets nights off! We like to drape ourselves over him and beg him until he finally gives in. “C’mooooon Gen, you’re gonna get bags heavier than Doppos!!!” “Please Bookworm, we’re so cold without you with us...” “...I suppose”

🥂 Hifumi is a goofy sweetheart, he constantly gives us nicknames and his words are sloppy and full of so much love! However, that makes a complete 180 when Gigolo has to come out for work or times we had to leave the house. Unlike our Hifumin, Gigolo is a flirt that knows how to use his words well and we’ve known him long enough not to fall for his cheap host tricks anymore. Still, him and Gentaro will get into little word wars where they’ll fight each other over the most abstract of subjects. Im not a fast enough thinker to ever join in but it is a sight to see when it happens.

🥂 Speaking of Gigolo’s flirting, he also tries calling us by his clients petnames and it bothers us to no end. Being called ‘kitten’ is beyond annoying, we hate being equated to the simps that frequent his club. ‘Princess’ is another, one that I hate more than being called a kitten, but Gentaro is more okay with it though since he loves to dip into that storybook princess role. I’m not too sure if Gigolo calls us it on purpose to bother us or if it’s just a habit he’s picked up being a work persona.

🥂 Hifumi takes such good care of us, he takes care of Gentaro the way he does for Doppo. Days where Gentaro has to work he always makes sure he has healthier food to snack on and avoids eating too much instant ramen along with reminders to stay hydrated!!! He also does the same for whenever I get too involved with graphic design or when he thinks I need to give my eyes break from my laptop!

💼 Gentaro writes books about all of his bfs but the ones he writes for Doppo and I are especially special. Doppo’s self esteem gets a nice little boost whenever he get to read or hear whatever story Gentaro was able to spin for us. A lot of them have a lot more realistic takes on Doppo job in more fantasy settings and while its always a little dreary to begin a story hearing that even in fiction he’s still in a deadend job it always makes him so happy when it ends with him and the princes he worked under loved him and saved him from his servitude. It gives him hope that his story will also have a happy ending.

💼 My two sleepy boys, when I can get both of them to bed I like to hold them nice and close to my chest. When Doppo is having a hard to time sleeping Gentaro will improvise him a little story to help him relax and get his mind of the anxiety of tomorrows workday.

💼 We love to fluster Doppo and pile him with compliments whenever he feels down about himself. I’m always more direct about how handsome he is, but Gentaro hides it behind eloquent words that takes Doppo a second to understand before hiding his face in his hands. In this household we treasure Doppo no matter which boyfriends hes with!

🎲 Dice and Gentaro are complete opposites and depending on the moment I can lean more towards the other. Sometimes Gentaro brings the trickster out in me and we’ll spend an afternoon playing goofs on Dice... but theres also times when Dice brings out the dense in me and we’ll both get caught in Gentaros lies!

🎲 We use Dices debt against him all the time. Some nights we don’t want him wasting his money at the casino, so we’ll hit him with the ‘Dice, don’t you remember the 100000 yen you owe both of us?’. Its the best way to say we wanna cuddle without having him get all goofy about it.

🎲 When he does hit that 777 its a huge celebration, he clears his debts, takes us out to dinner, and just lets us do or buy anything we want until the funds dry up. Despite how well off Gentaro is being a renowned novelist Dice refuses to let him spend his own money.

[kagehinataboke]

idk if you're still taking prompts... (and is totally okay if you aren't!!! you must have a lot already...) but IF you have the time AND I F you want to do it, can i please (with a cherry on top) request tdbk 1+17?? like maybe something in wwii?? like maybe they're both jews ot something along the ´the boy in the striped pajamas´ storyline, with todo as bruno (or maybe baku as bruno...) or maybe they're japanese and in japan... (1/2)

… i mean, japan was a big part of the wwii too. anyway, whatever is fine! i’m just really invested in the idea huh. but if you can, obviously!!!! no pressure!!! your writing is perfect!!!! (2/2)

first of all: thank you ❤️ second of all: HELL YES. YES. anon, you don’t know this, but i’m obsessed with history and have been wanting to do a WWII au FOREVER ;-;

also i listener to this song while writing and it increases the sadness level by about 100000% if anyone is interested

tdbk, [1] Historical AU and [17] War AU

***

“Are you still having the nightmares?”

“I’ve been doing the breathing exercises before bed.” Bakugou avoids the question, as he always does when Aizawa asks. “I think things are a bit better.”

That’s a lie. He still has the nightmares, and things are the opposite of better. But how is Bakugou supposed to tell his doctor that, after a year away from the war, he still has the same nightmare day after day? That it never gets any better no matter what he does? He can’t, and he doesn’t.

Every night, he goes to sleep terrified of the images that live deep in his mind. The memories that only come out in dreams. The nameless boy he doesn’t know, yet somehow knows all too well. The screams of that boy, which echo in Bakugou’s head for hours after he wakes up. The heat of blood. The overwhelming smell of saltwater. The smoke-filled sky over the murky Pacific. Fragments of things he used to know.

The only thing he can think of that will get rid of this burden is finding the person stuck in his head. If only things were that simple. Bakugou has been checking the records of every soldier in navy battle, but he can’t connect a name to the face that flickers behind his closed eyelids. Why can’t he remember?

After waking up in the hospital thirteen months ago, he could only recall three things: his name, his age, and that he was a soldier for the Japanese navy. Nothing else. Now, he’s regained most of his childhood memories, but his time spent fighting in the war remains hazy. He’s blocked it out due to severe trauma, the doctors say, but Bakugou wants nothing more than to remember.

“Make sure you come back in a month,” Aizawa tells him, as always, when he dismisses him. “And don’t go poking around the recruitment office anymore. They’ll think you’re well enough to be re-drafted.”

Bakugou just nods, pulls his hat low over his eyes, and steps out into the rainy afternoon smog. He’s got dark circles from lack of sleep, and he seriously doubts the army would want him back given his severe memory issues. It’s not like he chose to have his ship blown up or to get amnesia. Whatever. He doesn’t need to go back to the recruitment office, anyway: they won’t tell him anything. If he’s going to find this mystery boy, he’s going to have to do it alone.

He’s starting to recover bits and pieces, at least. The dreams, although horrifying, are becoming clearer. He can remember sights, sounds, sensations. The smell of the ocean. The feeling of a hand on his wrist, and the sun on his face. The smile of the boy with no name—the boy Bakugou’s heart aches for. He knows him, if only he could remember how.

That’s why he can’t tell Aizawa about the nightmares. He’ll try to get rid of them, and then Bakugou will have nothing left to remember. The more he dreams, the closer he gets. That boy holds the key to what Bakugou knew in the past. He’s going to remember everything, even if it fucking kills him.

His friends, however, think he’s lost it.

“You come back alive with nothing more than some scrapes and amnesia, yet your head is still living in the war? I don’t get you,” intones Kirishima, one of Bakugou’s old high-school classmates. He stayed back in Japan to design planes—helping the war effort in a different, arguably smarter way. It certainly didn’t make him any less annoying, though.

“You don’t get it,” Bakugou replies irritably, digging through the papers piled in front of them. “I’m not living in the war. You’d be frustrated, too, if you had things you knew you remembered but could never fucking remember them.” He nudges Kirishima roughly. “Keep looking. I know I’ll find him eventually.”

“How can you expect to dig through thousands of records with nothing more than a face to go off?” Kirishima whines, opening a new box to dump out piles of photos. “I obviously won’t know if it’s him, so how can I even be of help?”

“Use this.” Bakugou pulls a sketch from his jacket pocket and presses it to the table. It‘s the only thing that survived his trip to the ocean. He can’t remember drawing it, but it’s definitely his handiwork: A profile of the mystery boy, leaning against a ship’s railing. There’s half a smile on his face, and his eyes are peaceful. Serene. So out of place in a war zone.

“When did you draw this?” Kirishima squints at the paper. “Wow… it’s really good. You got better while you were stuck on that ship, huh?”

“Shut up and look, Shitty Hair.”

Bakugou spreads the pictures apart, but no face jumps out at him. Why is it so hard to remember someone he clearly knew so well? He’s so frustrated that he wants to rip his hair out. Where is this damn guy, and why does Bakugou need to get back to him so badly?

***

“Shouto, it’s past noon. You need to get up.”

Todoroki doesn’t stir. He keeps looking out at the sea, ignoring Fuyumi’s impatient presence at his back. The scent of saltwater is always strongest in the early morning. The harbor is already full of fishermen’s ships, heading out for a day of hard work.

Unfortunately, like the ocean, Fuyumi is immovable. “You need to get out of the house today. It’s been three weeks since you came back, and you’re starting to reek of despair.”

“Despair doesn’t have a smell,” Todoroki sighs, finally rolling over to look at her.

She folds her arms over her chest. “False: it’s what little brothers smell like after locking themselves in their room for a month. Get up. Bathe. Go to the market for me.”

Todoroki knows she won’t give up, so he pushes himself up, accepting the crutches she passes to him. She already has a tub ready, and as much as he hates to admit it, the hot water feels soothing on his aching limbs. They’re stiff after being in the same position for so long. Most of them, anyway. Todoroki has to marvel at the way the feeling in his left leg just ends at the knee. He’ll have to get used to it eventually, he supposes.

When he’s changed, Fuyumi gives him some money and kicks him out into the dismal afternoon drizzle. After the end of the war, Japan is healing slowly from its wounded pride and broken cities. Todoroki was lucky to return to his family home in Matsue, untouched by the carnage. If only his body and mind shared the same fortune.

The market is scarce with rationing still in place, but Todoroki manages to find most of Fuyumi’s list before he runs into a long line at the fish market. He settles in for the wait and picks up snippets of a conversation ahead.

“He’s raiding records and stirring up trouble with the army left and right, so much so that he’s infamous, even way out here.”

“What? All that to find one person? Kyoto men are their own brand of crazy.”

Todoroki reaches the front of the line, collects a parcel of fish, and heads home. His mind replays the strangers’ words. Kyoto is one of the only big cities unscathed after the war. Once upon a time, Bakugou had said he was from there.

Bakugou… Todoroki has been trying not to think of him. His name only brings pain. When they were separated at sea and Bakugou’s ship went down, Todoroki had minutes to panic before his own ship suffered the same fate. A slaughter, they called it. So many men lost to the sea that it was impossible to keep track of them all. Many are still lost, and even the ones that returned haven’t truly been found. They all left parts of themselves out in those bloody waters, Todoroki included.

He searched the records of their platoon and could find nothing of Bakugou Katsuki. It was almost as if he never existed. Todoroki would believe it, if not for the memories. They come on nights when the sea is calm and the sky is clear. Only good memories, which are somehow all the more painful.

Bakugou used to draw him. He was trying to be an artist before the draft, he said. He would only let Todoroki see some of his work, and never what he drew of him. He did draw him, even though he never admitted it. In every spare moment, Bakugou’s head was buried in a notebook, gaze trailing Todoroki across the deck, hand moving as if it had its own eyes.

“Shouto?” Fuyumi opens the door, which Todoroki has been standing in front of for a while. “What are you doing?”

Todoroki looks up at her, feeling clear-headed for the first time since returning home. “I want to visit Kyoto.”

***

Bakugou fiddles with a charcoal pencil. He still has to stop himself from using it. His fingers itch to sketch out the shape of familiar cheekbones. Of eyes that used to watch him. That still watch him in his nightmares. He’s afraid of what his hands will unleash if he gives them access to paper.

“Still can’t draw?” Kirishima sits beside him, an engineering journal in hand.

“No.” Bakugou sets down his pencil with a sigh. “Everything just feels so damn bland. There’s nothing beautiful here.” He’s not here, his mind corrects. He was here and now he’s not. He’s missing from me.

“You’re in a spiral,” Kirishima says. He doesn’t mean it maliciously, but it still pisses Bakugou off, even before he adds, “If you waste your life chasing after ghosts, you’ll always be living amid war.”

“What the fuck do you know?” Bakugou snaps, hugging his knees to his chest. He considers jumping off the train railing they’re perching against, but he isn’t suicidal. Yet.

“You’re stuck. That’s all I’m trying to say. This mystery person you can’t forget is like a rope. He’s keeping you tethered in a past you can’t even remember.”

“But he’s the key to remembering!” Bakugou snaps. “I know he is! If I can find him, I… I know everything will come back to me.” Bakugou’s hands clench into fists. “I’m not living in the past. I’m chasing it, but it’s moving too damn fast for me to keep up.”

Kirishima doesn’t say anything to that. How can he? Bakugou is sure he’s being clear about how desperate he is. One more dream and he’ll remember his name. Just one second longer and it will come to him. He can’t stop searching, or he’ll lose this part of himself. The part his heart won’t let go even when his mind has forgotten.

“I’m going back home.” Bakugou gets up, pausing before sticking the pencil in his coat pocket. “I’ll see you later.”

He doesn’t wait for a response. Instead, he pulls a sketch from his back pocket. Its edges are worn from constant unfolding, but the subject is as clear as when his unclouded eyes gazed upon it. There are thousands of other images like it living in Bakugou’s head, and he wonders now if it might be better to draw them. To set them free will be to experience them in the light of day. The light may be exactly what he needs most.

His hands agree all too quickly. Bakugou can’t rip new sheets of paper off fast enough before they’re filled with him. His eyes, his smile, his hands, his face, his everything. The pages spill across the floor, just like water spilled over the decks of that sinking ship so long ago. How his memories flowed out of his head and into the sea.

The sea… He lived by the sea, didn’t he?

Bakugou can recall his voice in whispers softer than crashing waves. My home is called Matsue. There’s nothing very exciting about it, but… the ocean is so close. When I wake up, I can hear it and smell it. The scent of saltwater is always strongest in the early morning.

Bakugou pauses mid-sketch. A stoic face looking out to sea watches him.

Matsue… isn’t very far away. If he’s alive, he’ll be there. He must be there. And even if he isn’t there, Matsue still might hold the key to who he is. And, just maybe, who Bakugou is.

***

“Are you sure you can handle taking the train by yourself?”

“I’m not a child, Fuyumi. I’ll be fine.” Todoroki lets her adjust the bag across his shoulders before nudging her away. “I’ll be back soon, and I’ll call when I arrive.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll see you later.” She hugs him goodbye, and Todoroki finally boards the train to Kyoto.

The ride only takes two days, and in that time, Todoroki has things to keep him occupied. He’s supposed to be studying his medical books to get back into school, but instead, he gets distracted by the paper tucked in his coat pocket. It’s a sketch of the ocean that Bakugou gave him for birthday. Fuyumi must’ve put it there. When he first arrived back home, he wouldn’t let go of it for a week.

Todoroki wonders what Kyoto is like. Bakugou spoke little about his home and himself. He always wanted to hear about Todoroki, instead. Perhaps Kyoto will reveal a new part of Bakugou. Or, with any luck, all of him.

The city is, however, not as Todoroki expected. It’s dark and rainy, but in a different way than Matsue. Kyoto rain is overwhelming and hard and doesn’t smell of the sea. Rather than wet sand and gravel underfoot, the city streets are muddy and antagonistic.

Todoroki wanders aimlessly through the center of the town, which is ablaze with activity. There are people as far as the eye can see, but none of them are the one Todoroki searches for. He should’ve come here with more than memories and a name, but it’s too late to go home now. If there’s one lesson the war taught him, it’s to always keep looking ahead. Literally, in this case.

“Watch where you’re going!” A stranger pulls Todoroki out of the way of an approaching car, which splashes then both with mud.

“Thank you,” Todoroki mutters after collecting himself. “I… I got lost in thought.”

“You seem lost in general.” The stranger pauses, doing a double-take for reasons Todoroki doesn’t understand. “Whoa, wait a second— Hey, weird random question, but you weren’t… in the navy, were you?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Oh. Oh man. I can’t explain, but you really need to come with me.” The stranger takes him by the arm. “I’ll tell you on the way. Actually, before that—do you know someone by the name of Bakugou?”

“What?” Todoroki’s heart skips a beat. He pulls the stranger to a stop. “Bakugou? Bakugou Katsuki? He’s still alive? Do you know him? Is he here? Can I see him?”

“Slow down. That’s too many questions. He’s here and alive, I’m his best friend, Kirishima, and I’ll take you to his place right now.”

“He’s… he’s really alive?” Todoroki presses a hand to his chest, feeling his pulse hammer against his fingertips. “You’re not kidding?”

“I’m serious. And from the looks of it, you’ve been searching for him as hard as he’s been searching for you.”

“He’s been searching for me?” Todoroki follows Kirishima down the street, feeling his heart slam into his chest. It’s been so long since he let himself hope… To think that Bakugou has been alive, and looking for him, this whole time is unreal.

“He’s been obsessed with finding you since he got back.” Kirishima glances at Todoroki nervously. “You probably don’t know this, but… he has severe amnesia. He regained most of his memories, but he says the time he spent in the war is hazy. Your face was the one thing he couldn’t forget.”

Todoroki wipes away a few sudden tears before Kirishima sees them. “Thank you. Thank you for telling me.”

“I just can’t believe I ran into you. He’ll lose his mind.” Kirishima stops outside a small housing unit and knocks on the door. His excitement noticeably dissipates the longer the knock goes unanswered. “Er… let me get the spare key.”

Todoroki takes a moment to cool down. He shouldn’t get his hopes up, even now. He needs to be prepared for the worst. But when the front door opens, his heart blossoms with nothing but hope. Drawings flood the room, lying across the floor in crests as big as ocean waves.

Him. It’s all him. Todoroki stares at himself on every page, staring out to sea, tying ropes, playing cards, smiling.

“He’s not here,” Kirishima says, bending down to pick up one of the drawings. “I don’t know what happened, but… I guess this probably confirms everything I said.”

“Where did he go?” Todoroki has to stop himself from grabbing Kirishima’s shoulders. Irrational panic is clawing its way to the surface. Todoroki has to reassure himself that he isn’t losing Bakugou again when he hasn’t even gotten him back yet. “Do you know why he isn’t here?”

“I’m not sure, but—“

“Oh, you’re here, Kirishima?” Someone new appears in the open doorway, shaking rain from his blond hair. “Who’s this?”

“Kaminari!” Kirishima practically jumps on the startled newcomer. “Do you know where Bakugou went?”

“Huh? Yeah. He went to Matsue to chase after that guy that he…” Kaminari pauses to look at Todoroki, then at Kirishima, then back at Todoroki. “Oh. Well. Bakugou is in Matsue, but I guess… the person he’s looking for isn’t.”

***

Matsue is completely different than Kyoto. Rather than being simply untouched by the war, it’s as if it never existed here. The people seem almost carefree; happy, even. Bakugou wanders the streets in wonder at the change. The war has touched here—it’s easy to tell—but things are already on the mend.

Bakugou finds himself in a crowded market, where rationed goods are being bartered for and carried away. His eyes comb through the rain, searching for a familiar face. He doesn’t find it, but he does spot someone who sparks the faintest recognition. He’s seen a picture of her before.

“Excuse me.” He startles her by tapping her on the shoulder, so much so that she almost smacks him. “Sorry. You just look familiar.”

The girl is about to brush him off when she does a double-take. “You’re—“ She cuts herself off; shakes her head, as if in understanding. “You missed him,” she sighs slowly. “He left for Kyoto two days ago.”

Bakugou’s hands clench into fists. She knows. “He’s looking for me?”

“He thought you were dead.” She readjusts the basket on her arm. “He only just arrived home a few weeks ago. Nothing would console him when he couldn’t find any trace of you. He‘s... well, he wasn’t well enough to searxh for you.”

“He thinks I’m dead?” Bakugou swallows thickly. He could ask her for his name, or ask when he’ll be back, but his tongue can’t form the words. “I have to go,” he mutters instead, backing away. She doesn’t stop him, so he turns to run.

He sprints all the way to the train station, the street passing by in a blur of moving feet and mud. He’s so distracted that he runs head-first into someone on the platform. They collide, Bakugou grabbing an elbow at the last second to keep them both from falling. “Sorry. I’m in—“

The world fractures, and Bakugou is suddenly back in the war. Not the violent parts, but the calm ones. The days where he would sit and sketch the same person over and over, but would never let him see no matter how much he begged. The afternoons where they played cards and swapped stories from home. The nights where they snuck into empty places and got lost in each other.

Bakugou‘s fingers have suddenly settled against his cheeks, holding his face up into the dreary evening light. His skin is soft and his eyes are lost in memories, just as Bakugou’s must be.

His name… His name is…

Bakugou feels himself smile for the first time in months. “Todoroki.”

He doesn’t recognize his own voice. It’s never been so soft. So close to breaking. But then again, he’s never experienced this type of relief before. The final pieces of his memory settle back into place, and his heart becomes whole again. The war that’s been waging inside of him ever since he woke up has finally been won.

Todoroki hugs him, his arms solid and achingly real. He pulls back to look at him, tears trickling from the eyes that used to haunt Bakugou’s dreams. “I missed you,” he says, so softly it’s almost a whisper.

Bakugou kisses him to steal the sadness from his voice. Then he kisses him again. And again, until he thinks he might know he is. Who they both are.

The war is over. This time, for good.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Aniplex Fugou Keiji Livestream | Fugou Keiji 2 | Kitsutsuki 2 - 4 | Arte 3 - 12 (FINAL) | Fruits Basket 27 - 32

During the Millionaire Detective: Unmissable livestream (part of FunimationCon and Aniplex Online Fest), I watched and took notes, so you might find these handy upon retrospect. To be honest, this is how I do the posts for magicalgirlsandcerulean’s livestreams as well, but there hasn’t been one of those in a while...

Otherwise, these are all normal notes.

Aniplex Fugou Keiji Livestream

Look out for the dancer from the OP

Onuki was the model for the dancing for the anime – he was told to do it out of the blue

Episode 11 might have one of these^ be relevant

Daisuke’s cup ramen has shark fin in it and he made the packaging from scratch – that’s why it’s so expensive!

The director Tomohiko Ito omits important information, allowing people to decide for themselves what happened. (Miyano) – This might be why the series is stylish. (MC)

Attractiveness of character design is important! (for adapting Fugou Keiji to modern day)

I’ve never watched a livestream where the stars were so conscious of their English and Chinese audiences! This was interesting, especially because Onuki is not normally known as a VA!

“We still have a little bit of recording to do.”

Fugou Keiji 2

I keep misunderstanding my own instructions…this starts again in July after ep 2.

Todai = Tokyo Daigaku (Uni).

I believe this is the 2nd time I’ve seen a rich person like commoner’s instant noodles, although I forget where I saw the 1stinstance.

Kambe switched to the back seat now, huh?

Ah! Now I remember! The first time was seeing spoilers for this episode on Twitter! (LOL)

I see Suzue has a sensible naming scheme for her data.

Hmm…judging by the Google hits, the name visible in the background (Betbeto bin Abura) is the Arabic prince from last time.

SYN-ACK. I see these guys did their work – that’s the final stage of the 3 stage handshake required for things like internet sockets (used to send “packets” of data).

Way to crash a party, Kambe siblings…(LOL)

I really wanna see someone draw Kato slapping (Daisuke) Kambe in the face with a wad of cash…or a “shut up and take my money” meme with Kambe in it.

I like how “special cup ramen” is on the purchases list and it costs 100000 yen. I also like how the reporter Mita was bought out for 5000000 yen (bigger than all the other individual costs except for buying out the Tower)…that’s how he showed up.

Kitsutsuki 2

I gotta finish this show and then pause it…3 shows in my normal lineup are safe.

Did Kindaichi take the bones of the fish out for Ishikawa…? Like a child would have had done for them?

Why is Ishikawa being referred to as “Hajime”…?

Draw this prostitute like one of your French girls…(LOL?)

Ishikawa clearly dropped those coins into that book earlier.

Way to diss the potential asexuality/celibacy in the house. I mean, it’s the 1800s – early 1900s, so there was less LGBTIQ+ stuff then and certainly the further back you go, the more sexual prowess becomes a sign of masculinity, but still, if the guy doesn’t want to go through with it, don’t force him.

Notice how the borders were pink for Ishikawa’s version and blue for Kindaichi’s.

Notably, Otaki didn’t seem to have that hairpin…but maybe that’s because we saw things from Ishikawa’s perspective.

Ooh…who are these bois? Also, crab.

Kitsutsuki 3

…cat? Now there’s a new perspective. That’s like saying the butler did it.

Yay! Hagiwara is Ume!

Notice Hagiwara’s version has a purple frame, while Yoshii (?) has yellow and another person has dark blue.

I think “consumption” was tuberculosis, once upon a time.

I love how the crowd is fed up with Ishikawa’s bulls***.

Ooh, chuuni Akutagawa…

In a Grove is the Rashomon story.

Tarou Hirai = Rampo Edogawa.

You stalker, future Rampo!

I kinda suspected Otaki when I thought through the possibilities…Ishikawa, Kindaichi, an outsider, Otaki (and as of this ep, Rampo too).

Gaiheikan? Is that Ishikawa and co.’s lodging?

Did they have pencils back in that day?

Kitsutsuki 4

Humouresques.

Kabayaki.

I think it was in Detective Conan that I learnt (one of) the only way(s) a man can get his nails done is by his wife doing it for him, possibly as a prank or to indicate he’s “taken”. Note this was early Detective Conan, so it’s very much a 90s attitude…considering the widespread acceptance of drag queens and the LGBTIQ+ movement these days.

Kozukata.

Lace flower.

Maichou seems to be a hybrid of Asahi Shinbun and Mainichi Shinbun.

[Monkfish/dictionary/going home] - Is this how Ishikawa shows consideration…?

The purple letterrboxing is back but this time with Ishikawa…meaning that’s just an aesthetic thing for all flashbacks after all.

Just from vaguely hearing it (I’ve got the volume on low), the words are nodo tsuki/nodo zuki. “Throat moon/throat wound” works just as well, if not better.

Balsam flower.

Update: Since enough anime fulfilled the special COVID-19 criteria, Kitsutsuki was put on hold after this.

Fruits Basket 2 2 (27)

I’ve read Another, remember?…so I kind of know what happens.

Uo’s got purple nails…that’s surprisingly cute of her.

Aw, Kureno! Another Ume role!

Why is “shisho” (master) not translated…? A weird Tokyopop-era translation quirk?

Aw, Shisho cut his hair…? Bummer.

Who was that? Shigure…?(!) Update: We find out his name later in this ep.

“If you continue to change, I’ll continue to protect you.” – Another quote for the archive.

Great…I feel personally called out by this ep.

Fruits Basket 2 3 (28)

It seems all male designers wear their designs if they have no one else to wear them…at least, that’s what I’ve gathered from Hajime (Runway de Waratte) and Ayame.

I remember Ayame stood in for Yuki’s parents in the manga at one point. This must be it.

(Spoilers for later!) I also remember Mine and Ayame get married at the end…This is the prelude to that.

Dang, Ayame, you moment-ruiner!

Fruits Basket 2 4 (29)

Did anyone in the doorway hear about Hatsuharu turning into an ox?

To quote Sailor Mercury, “Douse yourself in water and repent!”

Ooh, window splitting Yuki and Haru. Nice cinematography going on here.

I bet all people think they only think about themselves, in one way or another.

Arashiyama tofu.

Yatsuhashi are great. They’re these sweet triangle things like samosas that come in various flavours. Mitarashi dango are sticky brown skewered balls of glutinous rice…which I’ve never had, but I’ve seen them in enough anime to know what they are.

I only just realised this, but Yuki’s hairstyle isn’t even on both sides, like Atsushi from BSD’s.

Huh…you can see a copy of Mogeta and Ari (as it turns out, “Ari” is the name of a character and not “ant” at all in this case) on Haru’s bed. There’s also an article in one of the magazines discussing how denim is the popular thing now and which types are in right now.

Fruits Basket 2 5 (30)

I realised Yuki isn’t calling Tohru by her first name – he’s going against Haru’s advice.

Hmm? Why should anyone ask a rabbit to hold their horses…? (LOL)

CGI cars…*sigh*

Tororo is grated yam, IIRC.

I learnt recently that nanban means “savage” or “uncivilised”…for a potato and chicken dish, the name and the contents don’t really match…Update: Nanban means “savage” (noun) or “barbarian”. Close enough.

17-26…age gap 9 years…yikes…

The words “(a happy, yet) caged bird” come to mind when Kureno describes himself. Also, Kureno is an Ume role! Yippee!

Ahh…young love…even if it has a bit of an awkward edge to it. Mind the (age) gap!

Me being the Ume stan, of course I want to hear those sweet nothings in his voice, even if it has to be via a proxy like Uotani…I wouldn’t be an Ume stan if I didn’t.

…Ah, I see. Uotani reminds me of Minare from Wave and vice versa.

Oh, I just remembered Akito is 20 or thereabouts. Kureno/Akito is only a bit more legal than Uotani and Kureno.

Arte 3

Notice Leo never once uses Arte’s name in the lady’s presence. Her name does have some infamy to it, after all.

“She’s got some guts.” – You say that at a live dissection…LOL.

Is this love~? What’s the age gap between Leo and Arte, anyway? Update: We know for sure Arte is older than 13…that’s it.

Make the things you want prominent with perspective and such. I thought that much was obvious, but for someone straightforward like Arte, I guess it ain’t so. (Maybe it’s because I’m self-taught to some degree when it comes to art.)

*sketching by candlelight* - You’re gonna ruin your eyes, Arte!

Arte, ma girl! You’re getting’ a raise! Good job!

Arte 4

Anime makes this courtesan stuff sound like a host club…(?)

I thought Leo was saying “Aria” for a second instead of Arte, LOL. I’m getting too used to that being my alias…

Arte 5

The speech bubble said “so annoying I could die”.

Arte 6

The video’s gone all pixelated…at least, the subs have…

I bet she’s going to fall over…Update: Nup, she didn’t.

Arte 7

I thought Yuri was a Russian name…or a Japanese one.

This is basically Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine all over again! (LOL)

I thought Yuri would be pushy…like, “Here’s an offer you can’t refuse.” That kind of thing. Likewise, I didn’t think Arte would refuse.

Leo? *dun-dun-DUN!*

Siena is apparently in Tuscany. Also, I did see the Silent Manga Audition page had a chapter on a pregnant woman, so this is ch. 17 or thereabouts.

Is Ruthanna not getting the money because she’s pregnant…?

Epidemic? The Black Death?...Speaking of which, Arte is very much of that ganbaru spirit. By being progressive for her time, she becomes ordinary in our time.

Ohhhhhhh! It’s a reverse harem in progress here!...This would be a good otome game, come to think of it. It’s framed the same way.

Leo can be surprisingly childish at times, don’t you think?

Arte 8

…Really? She fell overboard? *raises eyebrow*

Ooh, china (with and without capitalisation).

Is this another sarcastic child…? Oh, bother. Still, I can see why Hamefura crossed over with Arte now…Katarina vs. Catarina!

Arte 9

Bigoli is a type of pasta, as can be guessed from context.

The kanji for the episode title literally translate to “bad child”! Like the Tones and I song, LOL!

Mikata (ally).

Arte 10

This episode is giving off a Katarina x Gimo ship vibe…but with how young they are, I’m not sure I should ship it. They’re 6, aren’t they…?

Oh, you can see Katarina and Sofia’s hug in one of the ED frames.

Arte 11

Arte’s let her hair grow out…

An Italian man…bowed. In Renaissance Italy. Now I understand what all the ANN complaints are for.

What’s up with that kid’s face…? *grumbles*

Leo’s just being Leo, I see.

That’s right, Angelo and Leo never met.

Instead of a father or a brother overly cherishing his daughter, it’s the uncle…I never thought I’d see the day I saw something like that.

Arte 12 (FINAL)

Is this like Orientalism, but with gender…? (What would you call that?)

Lemme guess…Leo is working on the church mural and so he’s away?

Was that Leo, in the middle of the mural somewhere…?

Another Japanese bow in this anime, which is set in Italy.

But where is Arte herself in that mural?

Fine = end.

Fruits Basket 31

The word Momiji is using is “hisso” or something like that. Hissho is secretary, so the translator made it “secret getaway” to make it work.

That hat! *laser stare*

*one of the textbooks has “high school chemistry” on it* Tohru can do chemistry?! I suck at chemistry!

The episode title is translated as “Are you really this stupid?” It seems the real line for that was “Are you an idiot?”

Something about high school girls appeared in my head when Haru mentioned Shigure wanting to see Tohru in her tight swimsuit…*mumbles grumpily about pervs*

Kyo’s not wet, even though he got in the water! Amazing!

I think it’s sad that Tohru responds to “stupid girl” like it’s her own name.

“…that makes you suspect me?” seems better.

The Akito and Shigure age gap is somewhere between 6 and 8 years, IIRC.

Fruits Basket 32

Tohru switched from okaasan (mother) to okattekita (a formal past tense verb meaning either “bought”, “lent” or “won” based on the characters…which I don’t have a reference for). I assume because it was so off the mark, the subbers chose a similarly off the mark word.

“When I was a kid, I thought watermelons would sprout in my stomach if I ate the seeds.”

We only know about Kyo’s dad so far…hmm…what about the mother? Update: (TW: suicide) I think it was at this point we already knew that Kyo’s mother didn’t love him and committed suicide, but it’s not certain until later.

Why do doctors always use scalpels and syringes as weapons…? I mean, even Jakurai’s symbol in ARB is a syringe!

I’ve been wondering…how big is the Sohma family? Is it diluted enough that Haru and Rin can love each other without genetic problems for their child/ren? (From Another, I would say the answer is “yes”, but shoujo normally doesn’t care about this sort of thing, which is why I ask in the first place.)

Shigure seems like the type to say, “U mad, bro?”

The mansion looks like the one in Haruhi Suzumiya, if I remember the appearance of that one correctly.

[ronan-murphy]

[ & ; * - reece king / homosexual / they/he/him ] isn’t it weird how close { ronan murphy } resembles { reece king }? damn, i heard they are a { twenty-two } year old { undergraduate } and a member of { delta sigma chi } studying { fashion design }. outside of class { ronan } participates in { fashion & theater } and their party anthem is { single ladies } by { beyonce }.

(also that gif is 100000% ronan at graduation walking the stage with high af stiletto heels, tossing glitter and then his Dad just…facepalming.)

but yeah! hey it’s me again, madison ( i play rory the josefine fc) bringing you the actual loml ronan. like this if you’d like to plot and i’ll message you!

So Ronan was born and raised in town. To a cop of a father who fell in love with the mayor’s daughter while she was studying to become a lawyer. His mom’s side of the family is classic rich, snobs, socialite royalty. Grew up as an only child and had two parents who were loving but who were also married to their work as well? Like…his arrival was not planned nor ideal because his Mom was just in her last stage of her law education aka just starting law school. But they made it work and he was also raised by his grandparents who spoiled him freaking ROTTEN.

He’s always craved attention, which makes sense. But yeah, he came into the world a little earlier than everyone anticipated, born two months early as a lil preemie.

Has always been an extra lil ball of energy who just…again…loved to be the center of attention? Would always put on shows and was just…never really a shy kid? Though his grandparents sort of…wanted a break with raising him when they caught him wearing his grandmother’s heels and sporting her expensive Saks 5th avenue make up. And they’re pretty conservative...Basically this caused a riff between his grandparents and mom because they were like… ‘you should punish him so he stops this behavior.’ and instead she was like ‘naw i’m just gonna buy him his own.’ so she took him to buy his very first! item of make up! he chose GLITTER and a bright red lipstick. (tho his mom was like…you’re still too young for lipstick but you can wear it on special occasions)

When he was in elementary school, there was a hot second when ppl considered making fun of him for his fashion choices and the fact that he’d always wear glitter to school. But when Ryan Van Der Wall teased him about his ‘gay boy cooties’ Ronan leaned forward and gave him a big OL smooch and was like, ‘now you got dem gay boy cooties as well!’ so after that everyone left him alone?

Despite being extravagant, little baby Ronan was interested in learning boxing and still does it to this day. He’s real good and could probs go pro if he wanted to.

When he was in fourth grade, his mom died from a horrible drunken car crash and like…his entire world was uprooted. He sort of…shriveled up and closed off into a shell. No longer outgoing and extravagant, instead blended in, tried to lay low and sported hoodies. The blasphemy! Like…he felt like a part of him died with her and he also…for some reason blames himself for this? So it was just him and his Dad…and they were both…two lost boys who couldn’t function without Mom. They didn’t know what to do.

He honestly…stayed like this for all of middle school and was just…severely depressed, anxious and just so freaking lost. There was a point where he was inflicting a lot of self harm upon himself. (Not gonna get into the triggering details because it’s not necessary but it involves his wrists. You…get the idea.)

His Dad never knew how to handle him when he was being…extra and out there? But he definitely didn’t know how to handle him when he was this low and it broke his heart because…this was just…not his son?

In High School he met a new set of friends and one of the girl’s accidentally changed his life in the best possible way when she introduced him to The Rocky Horror Picture Show! Like…he could relate to it so much and like immediately was like…I NEED TO BE FRANK N. FURTER so he slowly found himself again after a few months of these Saturday night performances and with a group of friends who weren’t the rich bitch snobs he was always surrounded by. Ronan really started to blossom and by the second half of Freshman year, he was unintentionally one of the coolest kids at school. Became adopted into the HBIC clique as a freshman, which angered a lot of the guys because he literally hangs with all of the hot girls 24/7 at sleepovers. So he still gets bullied at school but he’s also a boxer so he can handle himself.

So yeah now he’s still doing a lot of reckless shit like losing himself in drugs and alcohol and is just always having a great fucking time. The life of the party who is honestly…almost always the center of attention whether it’s because of his extravagant outfits or just reckless antics….everyone’s always watching him to see what he’ll do next.

He’s also a cam boy/escort which his dad does NOT know about jfc. He works so hard to keep Ronan safe because he’s always drugged up and getting into sketchy situations with guys because he’ll do anything for guys who give him attention and daddy’s who shower him with things.

PLOTS

so like childhood friends that he’s probably a bitch to sometimes, ex boyfriends, hook ups, one night stands, secret relationship, fuck buddies aka fwb, best friends, reckless friends, drug friends, party friends

[thesunshinebunny]

HOMESICK

Request:  Can I have a Voltron request, where the S/O (female) feels lonely and nostalgic while being away from home, and to feel better she sings in her native tongue during the night, or at least while others sleep. I'm mexican, so can you put a song, only for this time, in latin spanish??? Extra points if you do it with Shiro

100000% sure that I will end up crying at the end of this request. So much fluff ahead, many tears and sooooo many cuddles.

Just for this time I’m going to use the Mexican / Spanish Latin language, any other request that wants something similar, I will write it in general. And for this big occasion, I’m going to use this song which I was waiting for time to use in a request https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfzmjgpx-VE

If you want to hear it in english, here is the original song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onc7BXwEBbQ

Your P.O.V

How much time had passed? When was the last time you had seen the Earth? When was the last time you spoke and saw your family? How much? You could say weeks, but that would be lying to yourself. Months? most likely, almost a year, that could become the most relevant case. Being part of the Voltron Coalition it’s not something that could be taken lightly, much less being the engineer of the whole Voltron team. Although you did not walked in combat very often, you were very useful when it came to repair the lions and the castle’s particle barrier, and another malfunction equipment.

Inside you, you felt that it was a great honor to be part of this struggle and you felt a great need to help the most in disgrace; but every time you saw a child return to their respective family you could not help but feel a knot in your throat. You missed your mother’s hugs, your grandmother’s homemade food, the hair pulling of your nephews, the nights when you stayed awake watching movies with your brothers, your father’s advice. ‘Fuck’ you missed them a lot.

One more day came to an end inside the castle and therefore, your work as an engineer too. The lions had not suffered much damage in their last attack by the Galra on a rebel planet, so you only did a maintenance check and decided to leave the minimum repairs for the next day. Coming back to your room, you met up with Hunk, who was holding a plate of goo food.

“Hey Y/N I brought you some food, I figured you’d be hungry after this long day” He was a very sweet cinnamon roll, always caring for others.

“Thanks Hunk, I really appreciate it” although your voice sounded sweet, your look didn’t express the same, today was those days where you were too melancholic to work or even put a smile on your face.

“Ehhh Y/N…are you ok? Do you feel well?” no matter how friendly Hunk was, bringing him up your problems and your sadness would not help at all, it would make him sad and the both of you would end up around a pool of tears and their cries would attract the other paladins and the alteans and all would end up crying … no, it was better to leave things to yourself for the moment.

“Y-yes, yes! am ok, just a little stressed, I’m going to eat this and then I’m going to throw myself in bed and sleep like the sleeping beauty. G’ night”  You closed the door of your room before Hunk could wish you good night.

“Good Night” there it was. You heard him behind the door and then walk away down the hallway.

What you said about the food it was a lie, you were not in the mood to eat even a spoon, so you left the food next to the door. You fell heavily on your bed and you had thought to sleep until the war ended when screams took you out of your thoughts.

“YOU WILL REGRET FOR THAT LANCE”

“In your dreams mullet!!” it seemed that Lance had gone back to make Keith’s rage fly through the sky.

“What just happended?”

“Lance wanted to bake his grandma cookies and dropped that ‘flour-ish’ thing on Keith’s hair”

His grandma. Shit, he must have missed his family too, he even wanted to try baking his grandmother’s cookies. Nothing could be more cute and sad than that. That kind of act…like, remember his warm famility by cooking….it was so sensitive.

Remember…Yeah you remberber your mother´s laught, you remember how you loved watching her dance in her long colorful skirts, you remember the orange lilies on your feet, the petals falling on your (h/c) hair when your nephews ran over them. You remember how you loved sitting by the fireplace on cold days, with your father and grandfather playing the guitars, you remember the first time you held a toy guitar and you thought you were a star just like your father. You remember how every night your family sang at the table after dinner and you used to sing at the top of your lungs to be heard. You remember the first time you sang when your voice changed, a sweet, warm and simple voice that your family always admired and that you wished they would continue admiring.

A tear ran down your cheek at these warm memories and, as if fate were pleased by you, you felt within your jacket the only artifact you could bring from Earth, in which there were photos of your family and a lot of songs from your hometown. You came up with that one specifical song wich always managed to lift your spirit back in the Garrison.

Deep inside you wanted to press the logo of the song asap, but with the thin walls of the castle, you knew that the moment you played the song at high volume someone would knock on your door asking you to turn down the volume, while wouldn´t let you enjoy it as much as possible.

So, you grabbed the artifac, call it cellphone, along with a blanket and left the room. You inspected the corridor trying to find someone in it, the same in the common rooms, but seeing that there was no sign of anyone around and that the castle was completely silent, you went to the Bridge. You got as comfortable as possible, wrapped in a blanket and sitting in front of the huge crystal window that overlooked the dark space.

Shiro’s P.O.V

It was one of those nights where I couldn’t fall asleep because of stress. We were in constant battles and little time to rest, even in that times I kept awake designing new battles tactics. Stress was playing a trick on me lately and as long as I continued like this, I wasn’t going to be able to lead the team. I rolled on the bed several times trying to find a good position for the sleep to arrive more quickly, but my thoughts told me that it would not be possible.

I decided to go train for a couple of minutes, try to tire the body until sleep finally arrived. On my way out, I heard the sound of trumpets, follow by guitars in the background. At first I thought it was just my imagination and that I was really tired, but the melody continued for a few seconds, and in a moment two voices rose over the music, one male and one female.

“Recuerdame, hoy me tengo que ir mi amor...”

‘that was...spanish? I know Lance is cuban, but the man singing isn’t him’ I thought. Although that voice was unknown to me, the female voice was much more intriguing; It was sweet and warm, like it was dedicating the song to someone special. Consumed by the beautiful voice, my feet moved alone towards the room where the music came out. In the Bridge, I could see in the distance a small seated figure, surrounded with a blanket, looking into space, so didn’t see me enter.

As I approached, I could see that the one who was sitting was Y/N, her (h/c) (h/l) hair falling like a little waterfall on the blue blanket.

“A solas yo te cantaré, soñando en regresar”

Although I couldn’t understand her language, I could sense that it was a song of love and sadness at the same time. I sat down, caring not to make a noise, prey to her beautiful voice and let her continue singing. It would never have occurred to me interrupting her.

“Si mi guitarra oyes llorar, ella con su triste canto te acompañará...”

I could not tell if I had seen well, but I could see her face for a brief moment reflected on the crystal. She seems like she was crying. The lyrics ended for a few seconds, leaving again only the melody.  

“For even if am far away, I hold you in my heart. I sing a secret song to you, each night we are apart”

‘She start singing in english’ Her words were like a faint whisper, almost inaudible, but those were the only words I could understand of the song, even not being in it. And were those that made me realize ... she was homesick. She missed her house, her family. The lyrics played again and with it the voice of Y/N rose again, this time with a little trembling. My old doubts were dispelled, she really was crying. I would have liked to hug her in that moment, hold her against my chest and stroke her hair, telling her that everything would be fine; although the last one could be a big lie.

But ... I wanted her to finish, I knew that the song was important to her, and even if she ended with a choked voice, it would be good for her.

“Hasta que en mis brazos estés”

That's when she broke down. From her lips came small sobs and her cry quieted the music that was still playing on her cell phone. I could not stand it anymore. I stretched my arms towards her and snuggled her onto my chest. Her face was wet with so many tears and her hands gripped my vest firmly. Her face turned to mine and I could see her teary red eyes.

“Sh-Shiro?”

“Shhhh...it’s ok, you can cry, let it all out Y/N”

She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me as she dropped a waterfall of tears. I felt how my vest got wet from her tears, I stroked her hair and wipe away her tears from her cheek. We stay like this for a long time, Y/N had stopped crying a few minutes ago and stood still in the same position, running her fingers over my chest.

“I miss my family Shiro, I miss them so much” I could feel a knot in her throat, preventing her from speaking clearly.

“I can tell, I miss mine too. I didn’t have the opportunity to communicate with them when I hit Earth” now it was me who had a knot in the throat, but I had to be strong, for Y/N.

“I’m sorry to hear that”

“It’s ok to feel homesick for time to time. Next time, you can come talk to me or just come to my room to cuddle, my door will always be open for you” I placed a strand of hair behind her ear and pinched her on the cheek.

“Thanks Takashi” I felt like my heart skipped a beat, it had been a long time since someone called me by my name and that it came from a warm voice like hers, it also made it melt.

“You’re welcome” I holded her more tight in my arms “By the way...you sing so beautiful, I didn’t know you could speak spanish”

“Oh...yeah” her cheeks were dyed in a soft blush “I’m from Mexican, spanish is my native language”

“Well, that song definitely melted my heart, could you sing me something else one day?” with that Y/N showed her most radiant smile towards me before putting her head back on my chest.

“Claro”

[ralfstrashcan]

Portal Confusion (& Valentine Musings)

I'm not even talking about how the portal style changes through the seasons, because honestly, I dig all those looks, from the purple one

to the translucent swirly one

and don't even get me started on the Portal Rune

because it's a freakin' work of art.

What I want to address here is the way portals work, because it doesn't really make sense to me.

What do we know about portals?

In 1x07 we learn that you can only open a portal to somewhere you've already been.

In 1x13 we learn that if you don't know where a portal leads to, you get stuck in limbo, whatever that is.

The way I understand that it doesn't matter if you have been at the end location of the portal already or not, as long as you don't know where it's going while passing through, you're done for.

So what exactly does 'know where you're going' mean? Well. There are two situations that allow the conclusion that there is a definite difference between absolute cluelessness and vague inkling regarding the destination of the portal, and that the latter is enough.

1) In 1x13 – before Alec saves Clary from running headfirst into the portal she knows nothing about, and sharing the aforementioned pearl of wisdom – Jace goes with Valentine.. through the portal he too knows nothing about. It is clear, though, that in the moment of passing through Valentine has a firm grip on his arm

and since Valentine knows where the portal leads to, Jace doesn't get lost in limbo but safely arrives at Valentine's ship of spaghetti cooking and questionable recruiting techniques horrors.

2) In contrast, remember in 1x11 when Magnus portals himself, Clary and Jace to Ragnor's? Neither of them was holding onto Magnus while stepping through the portal, even though Clary and Jace didn't know where exactly they were going – sorry, I can't imagine Magnus betraying the location of Ragnor's lair.. and how would he even do that? Coordinates? Satellite pictures? Still, they pass through the portal complication-free, implying that a vague idea where you're going (for example “Ragnor's cottage”) is enough, even if you don't know where exactly that is.

All of the examples above also lead to the theory that a portal has a fixed starting point and endpoint, and as soon as it's opened and the pathway is established you can pass through safely (as long as you know enough about where it leads to).

The pathway-theory is further cemented by 2x02. There we see Simon travel from wherever he is to Magnus's loft, and the endpoint of the portal stays open for several moments after Simon passed through, until Magnus closes it with a snap of his fingers, implying that the portal endpoint is independent from whether someone went through or not; as soon as it's established it exists until it's closed. Same in 2x01, where the portal from Valentine's ship to Reggie's pizza place stays open for several minutes while Jace goes inside, slays vampires, Jocelyn demonstrates her A+ parenting skillzZ, etc. until Valentine and Jace make their escape back through the same portal they came through.

This kinda contradicts what we see in 1x01 though, because there Dot opens a portal for Clary, then Jocelyn asks Clary where Luke is at the moment and when Clary answers with “police station” Jocelyn tells Clary to think of the police station (while going through the portal). One could argue that she said that so Clary wouldn't get lost in limbo but a) there's a difference between “coincidentally thinking of the place where you're going while having no idea that portal travel is a thing and you're about to portal” and “deliberately awarely using a portal” and b) since the portal had already been opened before that conversation it seems unlikely Dot had opened it to the police station, because how the hell would she have known that Luke was at the police station at 2 in the morning?? Also Luke freaked a little when he heard Jocelyn had sent Clary through a portal alone, so even if you know the destination it's not too safe to travel completely unprepared. Of course all this was in the pilot and we all know pilots can't really be trusted in the grand scheme of things because they are often shot and scripted and stuff before the rest of the series.

Still, there is another instance that absolutely contradicts the pathway-theory and that is 2x15. At the end of the episode Valentine is relocated to Idris and the whole procession of Shadowhunters walks through the portal Magnus – the freakin' inventor of the portal!!!! – opened, and Duncan escapes with Valentine into Jonathan's root cellar... by significantly touching Valentine's shoulder. If this portal had been a waterproof pathway there's no way any straying would have happened. Not when Magnus was the one who created the portal. No way. (Pun soooo intended.)

So portal travel seems to be controlled by intention of the traveler at least some of the time??

This..... kinda contradicts 2x04 and 2x08 though, because if that were true Magnus absolutely would never have sent Camille and Iris to the Clave via portal, alone, I mean he would never risk that they could worm their way out and end up in Hawaii instead, right?! He'd only do that if he was 100000% certain he could ensure they really end up where he wants them to.

So I doubly don't understand how that Valentine-debacle in 2x15 could ever happen.

Still, even if we say that there are two portal-travel-variants, namely a) pathway-travel, where the caster opens up a wormhole with fixed start- and endpoints and every person traveling through ends up in the same place and b) intention-travel, where the caster opens an unspecific portal and the person traveling through decides per intention where the endpoint lies..... then I still don't understand how 2x13 worked?!

Before Valentine and Magnus change bodies back, Valentine opens a portal with Magnus's magic, and honestly, I believe he would open a pathway portal. But anyway, he opens that portal, they switch back, there is fighting and stuff, and then Clary grabs Valentine and jumps through the portal with him and they end up in his prison cell. If it had been a pathway portal this never would have worked because Valentine would never be stupid enough to open a portal into his prison cell, right? So he didn't open a pathway portal, or if he did, Clary overpowered the pathway (like Duncan allegedly did in 2x15) and bent it to her will. This is further implied by the fact that the portal in the cell opens seconds before Valentine and Clary fall through while the portal at Magnus's loft had been opened for at least a full minute before anyone jumps in. But, what I really don't get then is how the intention works. I mean, Valentine sure as hell didn't want to end up in his cell?! Did Clary just intend harder than he did? How did the portal know that?? How does the portal measure intention?? And really, with all due respect to Clary and her stubbornness, but Valentine is a freakin' fanatic who knew he'd face certain death and probably lots of torture if he lost this battle of wits, so I find it kinda hard to belief that Clary so easily out-intended him. I mean come on, there wasn't even a second of suspense, the portal in the cell didn't flicker in and out of existence or anything.

Leaving all the mechanics aside, there is still the fact that before Clary invented the Portal Rune Shadowhunters couldn't open portals.... and yet Valentine easily opens portals with his stele in 1x11

and in 1x13

yet he unlearned that skill because in the Season 2B Finale he needed poor Rufus to open him a portal to Alicante. One could of course argue that he wanted to preserve his strength, but after Rufus failed he would have at least tried to do it himself, right?

I'd even let myself be persuaded that the reason why Valentine can open portals is because he injected himself with Downworlder blood and so picked up some of their skillzZ though a) why did he forget he can do that halfway through Season 2 when even I didn't forget that... especially when this could have literally saved his undead life in 3x09!! and b) if he really has some magic, why is portal travel the only thing he uses it for?! I mean, magic is super handy?! What the hell, Valentine?!?!?!?! And shouldn't controlling Magnus's magic have been way easier for him in 2x12 if he already has some practice using magic???

Then again, what if Valentine's portal-opening-power isn't the result of his demon-blood-self-experiments? Could it have angelic-blood-causes, since he uses his stele and everything? Well. There is of course the alternative explanation that the Portal Rune Clary created wasn't new, it was just unknown because the Clave likes to keep extremely fancy Runes to themselves. Valentine knew that Rune and used it. However I don't believe that theory because to me it doesn't really make sense. Why would the Clave do that, if the consequence is that Shadowhunters, who do need portals for missions and stuff, have to hire warlocks and pay them good money? I really think the prejudice against Downworlders and the naked greed would outweigh any other motivations the Clave might have for keeping a Portal Rune secret.

I also want to argue that what Valentine uses can't be Clary's Portal Rune because her Rune Portal and the Warlock Portal look vastly different while his Rune Portal looks exactly like the Warlock Portal... but then I'd have to acknowledge that the Warlock Portal also drastically changes style between Season 1 and Season 2 for absolutely no reason, and there's really no good explanation for that. Except maybe that Magnus, as creator of the portal, can dictate what portals look like and feels the need to redecorate every once in a while, which I'd immediately accept as canon.

Of course it could be that Valentine's Portal Rune is just a different Portal Rune than Clary's, but really, that's just ridiculous.

Bonus:

Just as ridiculous as the fact that the purple portal design somehow requires a rectangular shape to work and so in 1x11

this nonsensical doorway in the middle of a meadow happens. Hahaha.

[limitlessideas]

The Mysterious K

Kyle graduates high school and goes to a big school on the west coast (USC). Fucks out of south park as fast as he can, not really keeping in contact with anyone but his family. Him and Stan don't talk after the weird downward spiral of their friendship after Kyle came out as gay/queer in sophomore year and Stan had a hard time with his own sexuality and took it out on Kyle. Kyle cut Cartman out because he was so toxic in his life.

Kenny disappeared in junior year of highschool. They were written off as missing and the police did not look very hard or much for poor white trash kids like Kenny.

Kenny actually landed a once in a 100000 lifetime opportunity to be a gender neutral model for a very famous fashion designer. Kenny came out at gender fluid in middle school, surprising no one because at the age of 8 they were either a very masculine super hero or a very feminine princess. Kenny was considered very attractive to all kids in Southpark but because their family background they hardly were recognized.

So at the age of 17 Kenny under an alias and a complete new makeover, had their first modeling debut in New York fashion week. Suddenly the mysterious K was the new hot model. K was highly sought after for all gender clothing and shoots. K had a seductive Allure that any female would be jealous of, and the lean yet roguish looks most males wanted.

Kenny took most of the money they made into a savings account to get Karen out of south park as soon as possible. No one knew that “K” was Kenny, no one but Karen.

It wasn't until Kenny had officially moved to LA, that they ran into Kyle by accident at a local starbucks late at night when most people were sleeping. Kyle was studying for a huge chem test he had  and when he saw Kenny he thought he was hallucinating from all the stress, caffeine, and lack of sleep.

Kenny saw Kyle and instead of pretending they were not the Kenny he knew, actually went over and sat next to him. Kyle was like Kennys best friend, after the whole Stan fallout the two were inseparable, queers stuck together.  Kenny looking back should have at least let Kyle know about their new job and not just left him in the dark. Kyle was too stressed to deal with Kenny at that moment, so he stole Kenny’s phone put his number in it called his own phone so he now had Kenny’s number. Kyle told Kenny he would call them after the test and they were going to sit down at someone's place and fucking talk.

Two days later Kenny gets a call from Kyle, they decide to met at Kenny's place because well Kyle lives in the dorms and even if Kenny can disguise themselves, they are still a super fucking famous model.

Kyle is in awe of everything Kenny has, a very nice and well guarded apartment, expensive furniture, a well stocked kitchen, more than one set of clothes. It's obvious Kenny is making the big bucks, and Kyle couldn't be prouder. He tells Kenny exactly that, says he doesn't understand why Kenny left him in the dark, doesn't quite understand exactly what Kenny is doing, but he is nonetheless proud of Kenny for getting out of south park. He is proud that Kenny defied his fate to be poor white trash and fucking made it.

Kenny apologies for not telling Kyle, they were just so scared that it was not going to work out, that they would not make it. It was a huge shot in the dark, and it luckily hit.  By the time Kenny felt like they had some control back in their life from the whirlwind that was the fashion and modeling industry, it was already too late for Kenny to contact Kyle.

So Kenny confides in Kyle that they are in fact the very famous model K. Kyle laughs and loves it. Only Kenny could do something as ridiculous and risky as running away to be a gendernutral model and actually make it big.

They catch up. Kyle informs Kenny about getting into USC and how most people thought he would go to a back east school and how pleased he was to prove them wrong. Why would gay(or pan? Bi? Kyle still had no idea what to call himself, if he liked someone he liked them, more often than not it was male) Kyle go somewhere not too gay friendly, when he could go to very gay friendly California. Kenny retold crazy modeling stories, how they had to get makeup and clothing changed in 10 mins from very heavy female to very heavy masculine and how everyone around them were freaking out trying to get everything perfect in 10 mins.

It was good. It was like regaining back that friendship.

Over the next few months they kept in close touch, talking or txting deep into the nights or very early mornings. Kenny would rant about jet lag and crazy designers and bitchy co-models and Kyle would rant about professors and dumb students in the dorms.

Kyle never told a soul about Kenny being alive or that they were a famous model.

The semester was coming to a close and Kyle was starting the week before finals stress. His parents wanted him to come home for the summer, as such he didn't have a place to stay in LA for the summer as they didn't pay for summer dorms. Kyle wanted to take a summer class or well stay in LA he did not want to go home to south park. He didn't have friends and the town was full of people he really didn't want to see. Kenny offered Kyle to stay with him for summer, his apartment was not that far from campus if Kyle wanted to take a summer class. And he wouldn't have to go back to south park, plus the added bonus of watching over kenny's place for when they were gone on trips.  Kyle loved the idea, and informed his parents that he was staying in LA with a friend. They didn't take it well but Kyle was 20, he was about to be a junior in college, fuck his parents.

Kenny had a spare bedroom that became Kyle's, even tho the original purpose was for Karen, she was too busy at her school to visit much and Kenny more often than not saw her on busnesstrips anyway.

Kyle from a young age had always found Kenny extremely attractive, no matter what gender they presented, Kenny was attractive. Now all cleaned up in clothes their former self would only dream of owning, Kenny shined. Not only in physical physique but  their personality was no longer hidden behind layers of protective barriers. Kenny was meticulous and relaxed, they loved to joke and flirt, and could read situations well. They had become more bold in things they wanted and confident that they could get things. Kenny wasn't one to get angered easily, sure they would get annoyed with things but didn't let that bother them for long. They didn't hold grudges and only wanted the best for those closest to them.

They shined so bright and Kyle couldn't look away.

It wasn't until somewhere around the middle of summer, where Kyle realised he loved Kenny. Not liked or was crushing, full on loved. Somewhere his platonic love for Kenny had shifted to romantic. Kenny was cooking dinner,  full force rocking out to a pop song blasting on the radio  using the wooden spoon as a pretend mic 100% unaware of Kyle. Kyle was leaning against the door frame of the kitchen watching Kenny go at it and thought “ I love this person so much”.  It took a second for Kyle to realise what he was really thinking and another minute to process that he was in fact, in love with his best friend he had known since childhood.

Kenny noticed the subtle shift in Kyle right way. He would pull away from physical touch, he could barely hold eye contact, anytime Kenny said anything complementary Kyle would kinda stop working and need a few seconds to reboot.

To say Kenny had known Kyle had liked him for while was an understatement. Kenny knew exactly when Kyle had started finding them attractive, knew apparently way before Kyle had even figured it out himself.  To say that Kenny was waiting for Kyle to figure out he liked them, was also an understatement. Kyle the smartest person Kenny knew, was way too fucking oblivious to  anything romantic that involved him.

So Kenny knew exactly when Kyle realised he liked Kenny. They waited, they let him have time to process and see what Kyle would do. If Kyle didn't make a move soon, Kenny would.

A week after Kyle discovered his feelings, he confessed. It wasn't anything big or grand, it wasn't planned out, clearly. Kenny was in their room packing for a work trip out of the country when Kyle walked in, sat down next to kenny's suitcase in the bed. And info dumped his feelings. It was a jumbled mess of thoughts and Kenny couldn't help but think that Kyle was so fucking cute when he info dumped. Kenny shut him up with a kiss, that lead to another, then another, and Kenny last min packing in the morning before their flight because Kyle kept them preoccupied that night.

When the new semester started it was really hard for Kyle to move back into the dorms, and more often than not he found himself spending most nights at Kennys. There were rumors spreading that K had a mysterious hidden lover, they never confirmed nor denied the rumors.  By the time Hanukkah rolled around Kyle had informed his family that he was dating someone gendernutral, and even if it was little hard on his parents they still accepted their son.

So when junior year ended and Kyle had one more year left, it was no surprise that Kyle moved in with Kenny fulltime.  They didn't argue much, got along way to well Kyle would get worked up about something and Kenny would calm him down. Kenny would forget to take care of themselves and Kyle would remind them too. K and Kenny were the same person, everyone around them knew Kenny as K, the only one allowed to continue to call them Kenny was Kyle. Kyle brought it up a few times but Kenny loved when he called them Kenny or ken, it was a pet name of sorts only Kyle was privileged to say. Kyle asked if they wanted their relationship public, because the media was already finding hints that K was taken but no idea who it was, they were getting bolder trying to find out who the lover was.  Kenny said they wanted to keep their relationship out of media until Kyle was done with his degree, and if Kyle wanted a higher degree than a bachelors he would have to deal with the media then, but not  before then.  

Kyle's whole family showed up to watch Kyle walk to get his degree. It was USC, there was famous people there to watch their own children graduate, or watch a coworkers child, some graduates were famous themselves. So the media being there was not too surprising they were focused on the other famous people. Kyle walked, shook hands with all the official people congratulating him got a for show degree and waited for the many others after him to do the exact same. And after the hours passed and he was final free, Kyle somehow found his family in the sea of graduates and their family's. His mother was a wreck of emotions as her “little buby” was all grown up now pulling him in for a very tight and wet hug, his dad pat him on the shoulder and Ike just smirked (he got let out of class a week early for this) but was still congratulatory toward him.  As they stood there Kyle's mother taking pictures of Kyle with the family, the people around them started to turn, voices hushed and the media followed. Walking toward them beaming ear to ear was K in all their glory. Wearing something that looked like they had just walked off the runway in it, kyle suspected they might have done just that. K greeted Kyle with a kiss and a another one for graduating. The media was having a field day and Kyle's family was shocked. They knew Kyle was dating someone gendernutral, they didn't think Kyle was dating the most famous gendernutral person of their times, and they had no idea that it was just kenny.

It spread like wildfire, K was dating some genus guy who just graduated USC. When south park found out they thought it was a joke, Kyle their Kyle was dating someone so perfect and beautiful as K? K was 10000 miles out of Kyle's League.

But they were proved wrong when Kyle showed up as K’s +1 to every event they were invited to. Kyle was seen in the crowds watching K on the runways at fashion weeks, and Kyle was there on the red carpet with them.

K was interviewed one day, a sparkly new ring on their left hand. The interviewer asking K how they met Kyle and so on about their relationship. K just grinned and said “I have known Kyle most of my life and loved him for almost just as long, the guy was just too much of an idiot to realise his feelings for a long time. And I know you're itching to ask me who proposed to who, and it was me. Kyle was too slow in asking me, he had a ring and everything for me but I was a few days ahead.”

Neither Kyle or Kenny needed to return to south park to prove they had escaped and thrived. They didn't need too, their relationship and life together was enough of a middle finger to the fucked up town of south park. They were happy together, thriving together, in love together, that's all they needed.

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[ann6b1ack]

Do You Buy Electric Cars?

Buying electric cars can be exciting and confusing. Think about what kind of car you want and where you need to charge.

The appeal of electric cars has never been stronger than it is now. GM plans to sell only electric vehicles by 2035. Volkswagen's goal is to make it cheaper than gasoline-powered cars. The survey shows that at least two-thirds of American drivers are willing to buy electric vehicles. However, many people are still worried about the costs, choices, and charges of electric vehicles, but these obstacles are falling rapidly. The government hopes to speed up this process and provide tens of billions of dollars of incentives.

For those who want to buy electric cars, this can be overwhelming and exciting. Here's how you should consider whether electric vehicles are suitable for you.

What are you looking for? Electric cars are fast, fun to drive, require little maintenance and produce no exhaust emissions, which are the main cause of climate change. But even if you're sure you want one, there are many options. That's why it's important to understand what you're looking for.

"Is this a basic means of transportation?" Or an expression of yourself and your personality, Said Matt DeLorenzo, senior executive editor of Kelly's blue book“ The car is a statement to the buyer. If not, there would be no Mercedes Benz. "

Tesla. Of course, the company produces powerful, modern, and fast electric vehicles. But Tesla's appeal is also related to its evaluation of car owners. Buying one means buying an early collector community and, to some extent, the views and vision of Elon Musk, the company's charismatic and arrogant CEO. Therefore, many car lovers either like Tesla or hate it.

Some electric vehicles, such as Hyundai IONIQ, Nissan LEAF, or mini cooper se, start at about $30000 and are economic and ecological alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles. Other models, such as Porsche day can, GMC's upcoming giant electric Hummer, and the luxury Mercedes Benz EQs, are boutiques priced at about $100000.

What is your charging plan? The charging infrastructure in the United States may be developing rapidly, but anyone who wants to turn to electric vehicles should have a charging plan.

The first step is to determine where you usually charge. Most people do it at home, which is the easiest. But as new electric cars and trucks can travel 200 miles or more when fully charged, some drivers choose to replenish fuel when needed in the workplace or public charging stations. It is reported that some urban residents start long cables from apartments or families to provide power for vehicles parked on the street.

If you plan to charge a new electric car or truck at home, there are some pitfalls to pay attention to. Although electric vehicles can be charged through a typical household socket, the charging process is very slow and takes up to 24 hours or more to be fully charged. Many car owners choose to install faster 220 to 240-volt power outlets, as used in clothes dryers, which usually require hiring an electrician.

Alistair Weaver, editor in chief of edmunds.com, said: "you are basically installing something unique for electric vehicles - it costs."

He should know. After buying a new house, Weaver realized that his electric panel needed an expensive upgrade to power his wife's Tesla Model 3.

Anyone without a simple charging method should pay special attention to the driving distance of the car in the real world and its possible changes under different conditions. For example, cold weather can greatly reduce the vehicle's mileage.

But don't be too nervous. Experts say that although the fear of power failure, which is often called distance anxiety, is real, it is often exaggerated. In fact, many electric car owners don't charge every day because they don't need it at all.

Should I buy a Tesla? When it comes to electric vehicles, we can't help mentioning Tesla. Tesla is the leader in the U.S. electric vehicle market for a reason: Although Tesla's car is not without problems, it is still popular.

Tesla has attracted many people who are just looking for future technology or sports cars, and even something deeper. I think people like Elon Musk.

As a market leader, Tesla has some advantages. Tesla's cars and technology last longer than electric vehicles produced by other carmakers, and Tesla has an easy-to-use charging network for its own cars. But the situation is changing rapidly. The choice of electric vehicles is really proliferating. Everyone is pouring into the market. The turning point has come, and all the brands you are familiar with will provide really useful and multifunctional alternatives to electric vehicles in the next two or three years.

At the beginning of 2021, several new electric vehicles started on the road, including Ford's Mustang mache, Volkswagen's ID4, and Volvo's xc40 recharge. Carmakers are expected to launch more cars this year and next. The models eagerly awaited by car lovers include Audi Q4 e-Tron SUV, BMW I4 sedan, Hyundai IONIQ 5 SUV, and Nissan ariya SUV. Several other start-ups are also expected to start selling cars, including the lucid air sedan, Vivian's r1t pickup, and R1s SUV.

What can you afford? Tax credits may help. Yes, electric cars are more expensive than similar gasoline-powered cars, but the price tells you so much. Federal and state tax breaks, utility grants and other savings can help offset costs.

The federal government provides a $7500 tax credit for electric vehicles. Although Tesla or general motors have run out, they can still be used in many other electric vehicles. Take Nissan LEAF as an example. A new basic model costs nearly $32000, but after the federal tax credit, the price fell to less than $25000. States, cities, and even utility companies provide incentives to buy electric cars or install chargers at home.

Electric cars are also cheaper. A recent study by the consumer report found that, compared with the average owner of a gasoline-powered car, the average expenditure of electric vehicle drivers on providing power for a car, truck or SUV has decreased by 60%, while the expenditure on repair and maintenance has decreased by half - there is no need to change the oil.

Buying a used car may be a cheaper way to buy an electric car, but carefully evaluate the quality of the car you buy, especially the battery, because it will deteriorate over time. In other words, a used electric car may be the perfect choice for a second car on business, commuting, and other short trips.

Although owning an electric car may be exciting, it may not be suitable for everyone. Many families and individuals cannot afford electric cars that meet their needs - for example, there are few three-row electric cars, and they are often expensive. Others have difficulty charging at home or nearby. That's why Delorenzo and Fisher recommended plug-in hybrids.

If you're interested but not sure if you're willing to invest, these plug-in hybrids are away. For many people, plug-in vehicles such as Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan or RAV4 prime SUV can be effectively used as all-electric vehicles. Toyota said the RAV4 prime could drive 42 miles before switching to gasoline, while Chrysler said Pacifica could drive 32 miles on a full charge. If these cars are mainly used for short commutes and town travel, they rarely use gasoline. Both cars and other plug-in hybrids are also eligible for the federal tax credit. As long as you plug it into an ordinary socket on the wall and charge it all night, you can feel what it's like to have an electric car. Maybe your next car will be a pure electric car.

Of course, gasoline-powered cars have become more and more efficient. If you want to upgrade from an old car, choosing one wisely will help reduce emissions. However, many people buy cars based on what they think is attractive and attractive. 'if you admire the function and design of electric vehicles, you may find that nothing else can satisfy you,' Mr. de Lorenzo said. This is a different experience.

[youtiaoshutiao]

translation: a love so beautiful || 致我们单纯的小美好 (the novel) → chapter 2

Here you can see how the drama deviated quite a bit from the book narrative :) Hope you enjoy!

edit: realised that dolly at https://teaquilashot.wordpress.com is also translating, so now we will be collaborating to translate the novel together at her blog :)

original text by: 赵乾乾 (zhao gan gan)

translated by: yt st / youtiaoshutiao @ tumblr

disclaimer: translation here is purely for non-commercial purposes, and I don’t own the original work. please credit this tumblr if borrowing any translation from here. :)

notes: translator’s notes are bolded and bracketed, terms translated literally are italicised. sometimes i take liberties with punctuation and certain phrasing when translating too. :P

After summer, we stepped into the busy year of Junior 3. I have always prioritised important matters above everything else, hence things like immersing myself in romantic love were promptly kicked to a side. Plus, Meteor Garden was airing fervently back then, so I changed to being crazy about Dao Ming Si instead.

The event that caused me to confirm my resolution to have being infatuated/fangirling over Jiang Chen as my life goal happened half a year later. The night before the mock exams, amidst my mum’s beatings and scoldings of “How did I raise up such a forgetful pig-headed daughter like you?!”, I hurriedly rushed to the Xue You (NOTE: direct translation of Xue You – study friend) Bookshop to buy the 2B pencils I needed to shade the OAS for my mock exams the next day.

Even though Xue You Bookstore claims to be a bookstore, but it sells a variety of things – from books and stationery to stickers and toys, basically, whatever was trending among students, it would sell. Later on after muddling through life in the outside world, I discovered that the two words “Xue You” was a name that all non-franchise stationery shops and book shops in the country liked to use. I didn’t know if this was because this name would cause numerous students to feel a sense of familiarity akin to seeing a friend, or if it was because everyone was lazy to come up with names. But if there was a day where I decide to give back to society, I would also want to open a Xue You shop, on the surface it would sell books and stationery, but it would actually be a centre of students to pay a fee and make friends, especially female students, though if there were special requests, we could also sell male students at a high price.

I entered Xue You and grabbed a bunch of 2B pencils. At that point in time, using computers to mark papers had just come into vogue. I thought that the 2B pencil would appreciate in price in the near future, and I had to stock up. But the truth proved otherwise. While the price of pencils did rise by ten cents, there were many pencils specially made for shading the OAS that were produced. While everyone else was using mechanical pencils to shade their OAS, I still had to pitifully use a knife to shave my pencils. Prophets are all lonely people.

As I clutched a bunch of pencils, about to pay, Jiang Chen entered through the door. Perhaps out of a strange adolescent voyeuristic mentality, I subconsciously grabbed a book off the shelf, using it to block my face as I secretly watched him.

Jiang Chen upon entering made an immediate beeline for the counter. The lady boss saw him, and smilingly carried up a pile of books from under the counter. “The embroidered collector’s edition of the Four Classic Novels of Chinese Literature (NOTE: namely Romance of Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Water Margin and Dream of Red Mansions) you wanted, I specially went into the city to obtain its stock.”

Jiang Chen smiled and said, “Thank you Lady Boss, how much is it?”

“853 RMB, I’ll take 850 from you.” The lady boss took his money. “I’m not even counting in the transport fees.”

Jiang Chen smilingly nodded his head. “Thank you Lady Boss.”

At that point in time our school fees were 200 RMB per semester, Jiang Chen was using money worth two school years/four semesters to buy a few rotten books, if he had so much spare money, he might as well… Actually I also didn’t know what he might as well have done, I’ve never had so much money, so I was really didn’t understand. Previously, someone told me this joke – a news reporter asked an old woman who lived deep in the mountains, “What would you do if I gave you 100000 RMB?” She replied, “Eat vegetable steamed buns everyday.” He asked again, “What if I gave you 200000 RMB?” She replied, “Eat meat steamed buns everyday.” Lastly he asked, “What if I gave you 1000000 RMB?” She replied, “I would have a vegetable steamed bun in one hand and a meat steamed bun in the other everyday.” I actually really empathised with the old woman’s plight.

“Ge ge (NOTE: meaning older brother), ge ge.” A child who had come out of nowhere was calling as he tugged on Jiang Chen’s trousers.

Jiang Chen squatted down and caressed his head. Blinking, he asked him, “Little friend, are you a boy or a girl?”

The little child sucked on his tiny thumb, and very seriously replied, “Boy.”

Jiang Chen was dissatisfied. “I don’t like boys.”

He was preparing to get up as he said that, the little child hurriedly tugged on his clothes. “I’m a girl.”

Jiang Chen laughed. “So you’re actually a girl. Okay then, what did you call me for?”

The little child fished out a box of colour pencils and two crumpled ten-cent notes from the large pocket of his overalls, lifting them high up to demonstrate how he couldn’t reach the counter. “I’m buying this.”

Jiang Chen took the box and stood up to pass it to the lady boss. “Boss, how much is this?”

“Ten RMB.”

Jiang Chen fished out ten RMB. After paying the money, he then squatted back down to pass the box to the little child. He patted his head and said, “Here, your colour pencils.”

The little child chortled as he took the box. “Thank you Ge ge.”

After saying “you’re welcome”, Jiang Chen prepared to stand up straight. The little child once again pulled at his trouser bottoms, so he could only squat back down again. The little child clumsily opened the box of colour pencils, and picking out a pink coloured one, said, “Drawing is very pretty.”

“I don’t know how to draw.” Jiang Chen said as he smiled. “You keep it for yourself to draw.”

The little child shook his head, and pointing at the books in his hand, said, “No, I draw.”

Jiang Chen stared blankly for a moment, then his face broke into a smile. He took out “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and handed it over to the little child.

The little child held up the book and sat on the floor, lowering his head to draw something on it very seriously, while muttering something to himself. At last he clapped his hands and said, “Done.”

I tiptoed and stuck out my head to peep at it, that design looked like a rabbit at first glance, then looked like a dog when you looked more closely, yet its poise and charm also somewhat resembled a tiger.

Jiang Chen, taking back the book, looked at it very seriously, then said seriously, “The dog you drew is very beautiful, thank you.”

The little child, fluttering his round eyes, said, “It’s a cat.”

Jiang Chen did a double take, then laughed. “So it’s actually a cat.”

I stared at his dimple, it seemed to have deepened somewhat, I really wanted to go up to him and poke it.

What is known as “being stunned by beauty”, what is known as “being killed in a second”. Li Bi Hua (NOTE: a famous Chinese author/scriptwriter – she wrote Farewell My Concubine) once said – being stunned by beauty back at that time, was wholly because one had seen little of the world. But this wasn’t the case for me, in the times to come, I would repeatedly embellish these two scenes in my mind, just like the post-production editing for movies and television. I would adjust the angle of the scene, add light and shadow variation, layer on sound effects……

“How long are you going to squat at the hospital entrance for?”

“Ah?” With my great post-production editing project being interrupted, I was momentarily a little lost. Gazing into Jiang Chen’s somewhat impatient-looking face, I again sounded, “Ah?”

“Get up.” He stretched out his hand and with one grab pulled me up from the floor, dragging me towards the ambulance. In fact, I really wanted to ask him if he had forgotten to let go of my hand, and also if he was in poor health lately, his hand was so sweaty…

When we got onto the ambulance, the driver and my mum simultaneously showed facial expressions looking like they had just caught us in bed together. I helplessly rolled my eyes, and peeped at Jiang Chen a little apprehensively. He on the other hand seemed to be totally unaffected and sat by my side. “Small Li, start driving.”

After that, he turned his head around to tell my mum, “Auntie, I’ve already spoken to my colleague in orthopaedics, when we reach the hospital, we’ll take another X-ray, if there is no issue, we’ll do the operation this afternoon. Please do not worry, my colleague is one of the very best orthopaedic surgeons in the industry.”

My mum hurriedly nodded her head incessantly, and gave a really motherly smile. “We’re really troubling you.”

“It’s no trouble, it’s what I should do.” Jiang Chen was also really smiling like a filial son.

“So noisy!” My dad suddenly spoke up loudly.

Ever since my dad was informed that we were going to transfer hospitals with the help of Jiang Chen, he had been throwing a tantrum. Later on, the moment my mum walked away, he gave me a tongue-lashing, its contents being nothing else but one word – backbone! He felt that after how Jiang Chen’s mother treated me back in the day, I should stay far, far away from him. It was best that I spit him in the face with saliva when I saw him to express my disdain, but now I had gone as far as to accept his favour!

Three years ago, I graduated from X University’s art design faculty. Jiang Chen was studying both his bachelor’s and master’s degree consecutively in medical school and had to study for seven years, but due to his excellent performance, he had already begun to intern at the various major departments at X University’s subsidiary hospital by his fourth year.

Back then, Jiang Chen was really good to me, the moment he saw me receive my graduation certificate, he said that he wanted to marry me. Of course, this was mainly because I was always making baseless fabrications about a bunch of the so-called elite in society to scare him. For example, the manager who helped me open the door every day (whose original form was the security guard of our company, for I always forgot to bring my entrance card to tap in and out); the director who was always giving me flowers (whose original form was the person who sold flowers downstairs – when I was working overtime late into the night, I would always run into him throwing away the spoilt flowers that couldn’t be sold while on my way home, with my fervent hints, he would give the flowers to me); the client who treated me to watch a movie (whose original form was indeed a client, and I did indeed watch a movie, it was just that I had to write a publicity proposal report for them after watching it)…… An artistic creation requires an original form.

Once Jiang Chen heard that I was so popular, he became anxious, he said that the four years’ worth of breakfasts he delivered in university must not be delivered in vain, we had better get married.

I agreed with no sense of shame whatsoever. My thoughts were very simple, the faculty of medicine in X University was ranked no. 1 in the entire country, and Jiang Chen was getting the top-tier scholarship every year, there was basically no suspense that he was a stock with great potential. I had to capture him as soon as possible, such that when he became a blue chip stock (NOTE: aka stocks of financially stable and well-known companies that have good returns), I would be the grain-husk wife (NOTE: meaning a wife who has suffered hardship together with you) who had suffered trials and tribulations together with him, if he dared to divorce me, I would dare to ask for a half of his assets……

Of course, actually the simplest thought was that I loved him very much, and I was afraid he would be snatched away by someone else. One time, I went to the hospital he was interning at to look for him, and within one hour I saw three patients giving him their business cards, with one of even being a guy. This society was too terrifying, and Jiang Chen’s charisma seemed to slay both men and women.

It was just that back in the day, I was almost completely poisoned by television dramas and novels, and I thought that my love was invincible. But Jiang Chen’s mother made me realise, once my love experienced disturbances, it changed as it pleased.

One fine afternoon, Jiang Chen’s mother paid a visit to my mum. My mum’s status in my household, being a professional housewife, was akin to that of Wu Ze Tian (NOTE: the only female emperor in the history of China), but for the first time, I saw that plucky mother of mine being at such a complete loss of what to do, becoming meek without herself even noticing. To be fair, Jiang Chen’s mother didn’t say any undue remark, and she hadn’t fished out a cheque and said, “Leave my son, tell me how much money you want.” She was calmly discussing with my mum some wedding customs, but it was just the condescending attitude, like she was lowering herself to talk to my mum, that she exuded that caused my mum to be filled with trepidation. Watching my mum from the side as she rubbed her hands, saying, “We’ll cooperate, we’ll cooperate”, my heart was tart and painful, like it had been soaked in old vinegar.

Jiang Chen’s mother then sought me out one-to-one for a chat. She gave me a few pieces of paper and told me to take a good look, and if I agreed, to give my signature. It was a pre-marital contract, with its contents roughly being something along the lines of how I was not marrying Jiang Chen for his family’s money, and if we divorced, I wouldn’t be able to get any assets, etcetera.

At that point in time, I was really bewildered. His dad was just the mayor of a small town, how much money could he possibly have? Was there really a need to act like we were in a television drama?

I’ve already forgotten what I was thinking at that time, perhaps it was some noble matters like love and self-respect, but later I simply could not make up my mind, so I went to ask my dad. All I can say is that, that was a historic mistake.

Jiang Chen’s dad was my dad’s indirect supervisor. My dad felt that he was already such a wimp, being bullied and pushed around by these supervisors on a day-to-day basis, but for the family of his supervisor to bully his own family members, this was a matter that he simply couldn’t stand. Therefore he told me that if I dared sign, he would disown me as his daughter.

Thus, I again did yet another stupid thing, which was to give Jiang Chen the pre-marital contract for him to return it to his mother. Jiang Chen was really agitated and furious, and went home to quarrel with his mother. Later on, his mother gave me a phone call, with the main idea being, if I dared get married to Jiang Chen, she would dare to die at our wedding. Back then, I had little experience in society, so I was immediately psyched out by her. I totally didn’t think of any other ways to resolve the issue, for example to not hold a wedding ceremony, so that she wouldn’t have a place to die……

The matter of marriage was hence left unsettled just like that, after that, I didn’t know why, but perhaps work started to get busy, I was busy getting scolded by my manager, while Jiang Chen was busy attending classes and interning. Plus, most likely I started bearing grudges in my heart, I would incessantly nit-pick and needle him, and would provoke him over the most trivial and inconsequential matters. I tested our love by testing his tolerance.

When I said, “Jiangchen, let’s break up.”

He was silent for a long time before saying, “Don’t you regret it.” Then he slammed the door with a bang and left.

I thought that for two people who loved each other to break up, there should at least be some large-scale major event, for example, a third party; for example, suddenly discovering that I was his father’s illegitimate daughter; for example, either him or I contracting a terminal illness…… But in fact, there was no need for that. Uneasiness, busyness and weariness were enough.

We split up just like that. It was quite amazing, two people who had originally agreed to be together for a whole lifetime, now had absolutely nothing to do with each other in just a flash. For a long period of time, I even suspected that perhaps someone had pressed the fast-forward button for us, causing me to omit some plot circumstances that made the break-up an inevitability.

My dad was the happiest about my breakup with Jiang Chen. He most likely felt that this was one victory he had in his confrontation with those of a supervisor social class. But towards a later stage, my constant inability to find a boyfriend caused him to feel that the fruits of victory were sometimes bitter as well.

So I guess my dad’s feelings towards Jiang Chen were complicated. On one hand, he hoped that there would be someone who would take over the slow-moving product (NOTE: meaning a product that sells poorly) that I was, yet on the other hand, he also felt that he would much rather I be a slow-moving product than to sell me to Jiang Chen. He was probably experiencing internal turmoil akin to that of the capitalists existing during the Great Depression mentioned in our high school politics textbook who would rather pour milk into the river than give it to the poor.

What I didn’t tell my dad was that actually, that person wasn’t even intending to buy from you.

[investedin]

FAQs: EPF Withdrawal Due To Coronavirus

While the pandemic is on the rise, the government has made some changes in certain rules. These changes would help the citizens in facing this pandemic. One of the major changes that the government has made is in the EPF withdrawal rules.

We know that an employee can only withdraw from the EPF account after attaining the age of 54. But, while the EPFO was making these rules, they even added some exceptions to it. According to the exceptions, a person can withdraw money for medical needs and many more. These exceptions are clearly mentioned in the EPF Act.

The government has now added another rule to the EPF Act. According to the new rule, a person can withdraw the EPF amount during the time of the pandemic.

They can do so by selecting the “Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)” option. This rule applies to all employees. Moreover, the amount which the person will withdraw will be free from any kind of taxes.

But, people are in confusion and have tons of questions. To answer all these questions, the government decided to explain the whole rule in the form of FAQs. These FAQs were designed based on the most common questions related to the rule. It also consisted of the whole process. Here, the government has not only answered the questions but has even explained the rules.

But, before jumping into the FAQs, it is important to know the standard EPF withdrawal rules. It would help the person in knowing the exact process for EPF withdrawal. The new rule is like the previous rule but has some slight changes.

EPF FAQs For COVID-19

The recent changes in the EPF withdrawal rule have created confusion amongst the common people. To clear this confusion, EPFO issued a set of FAQs with answers. These FAQS will help you in understanding all the rules and regulations more simply.

1. The link ‘Know You UAN’ is not available on the unified portal. Is approaching the employer for this the only option?

If the ‘Know your UAN’ link is not available in the unified portal, you must follow the steps below. a. Visit the official website of the unified member portal. b. Enter your member ID, Aadhar card number or PAN. c. Now, enter your personal details like name and date of birth. Make sure that the details you are entering the match with your EPFO records. d. Now, select the “Get authorization pin” option. e. The website will send you a pin on your registered mobile number. f. Enter the pin in the dialogue box. After doing this, you would get your UAN on your registered mobile phone.

2. I have already applied advance for illness in March 2020, which is pending. I want to apply for an advance to fight the COVID pandemic now. What should I do?

Even if you have applied for an advance that is pending, you can apply for the COVI-19 advance. The government has allowed the employees to apply for the advance for the pandemic.

3. KYC updation needs approval by the employer by using his DSC. When the establishment is closed and there is no employer, who is to approve the same?

The EPFO has switched to the digital platform which has various benefits. Even if the establishment is closed and no employer is present, you can still update your KYC. The website will send a notification to the employer. The employer will approve it and then your KYC updating process will start.

4. For filing the claim, a copy of the cheque with the name of member or copy of the passbook is to be uploaded. Member does not have a name on his cheque leaf and it is now difficult to get it from the bank. Even going to the bank and getting an attested copy of the bank statement is not easy as banks are far away. What is the other option that can be made available?

As per the rules of EPFO, the employee must upload a cheque leaf which consists of his/her printed name. Another option is, the employee can upload the first page of the bank passbook or bank statement. Ensure that the passbook or bank statement should have name, account number and the IFSC code of the bank. This rule is important to check that the bank account details mentioned in the application matches the KYC details. It would avoid any kind of wrong payment.

5. I have left the service but have not yet availed the final PF withdrawal benefits. Can I still avail of the COVID advance?

Yes, you can still avail for the COVID advance as you have not yet withdrawn your PF funds. You are still a PF member, as you have not claimed the funds, and every PF member is eligible for the COVID advance.

6. My COVID claim has been rejected due to member details mismatch. How can I rectify this issue?

If your application is rejected due to details mismatch, you can update the details by visiting the e-sewa portal. Visit the website and then update the details after which you can file the claim again.

7. How can I file a COVID claim through the UMANG app?

For filing a COVID claim through the UMANG app, you need to follow the below steps.

a. Select the EPFO option in the UMANG app.

b. Now, select the “request for advance (COVID-19)” option.

c. After selecting the option, you have to enter your UAN details. Now you have to select the “Get OTP” option. You will receive the OTP on the phone number which is registered with UAN. Enter the OTP and login to your account.

d.After logging in, you have to provide the last 4 digits of your bank account. Now, from the drop-down menu, select the member ID. 

e. After doing this, click on the “proceed for claim” option.

f. In the form, enter your address and then click on “next”.

g. You have to upload an image of a cheque. Make sure that the cheque consists of your name and the bank account number. After filling all the details, the website will file your claim

8. I have a balance available in my account. How many times can I get an advance to fight COVID?

You can only apply for the COVID-19 advance once. Even if you have balance in your account, you cannot apply for the claim more than once.

9. What is the last date for applying for COVID advance?

You can apply for the COVID advance as long as the pandemic stays. This claim is available for all the employees and there is no last date for applying till now

10. I have two different UANs. The first UAN is linked with one PF member ID and the second is linked with 2 different member IDs. Can I avail COVID advance benefits? How to get maximum benefit in this case?

Yes, you can avail the COVID advance even in such conditions. But, if you need maximum benefits, you need to transfer all the previous member IDs to your latest member ID. It would help you in getting the most benefit during filing for a claim. For transferring all the member IDs to the latest ID, you need to file for a transfer claim. After the transfer is over, you would see your entire PF amount on the latest member ID. By using this member ID, you can file for an advance and get the most benefit out of it.

11. I have a balance of INR 100000 in my PF account and applied for INR 75000 advance for COVID. At the rate of 75%, I should get INR 75000. Why a much lesser amount has been credited to my account?

The reason why you got a lesser amount is that only 75% of the total amount is the limit. You would only get 75% of the total EPF amount for the COVID advance. Besides that, if your 75% of the amount is more than 3 months of basic salary, then you would only get the 3 months salary. Say, if your monthly salary is INR 20000, then you would only get INR 60,000 as an advance. But, if your monthly salary is INR 30,000 or more, then the advance you will get will only be INR 75,000.

12. How To File EPF COVID Claim? I am not able to file the COVID claim. Please help me.

Here is the simple way which would help you to file for the COVID advance.

a. First login to the member interface of the unified portal which is the official website of EPFO.

b. Now, select the “online services” option after which you need to click on “Claim” (Form-31,19,10C& 10D).

c. You would find a new page. Here you have to enter your bank account number. The website will verify the bank account number.

d. After verification, you would have to select the “Proceed for the claim” option.

e. From the drop-down menu, select the PF Advance (form 81) option.

f. Now, select the purpose of advance as Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19).

g. In the dialogue box, enter the amount that you need and then upload a scanned copy of your cheque. Make sure that the cheque consists of your name and bank account number. After doing that, fill your address.

h. Select the “Get Aadhar OTP” option. The website will send an OTP to your registered phone number.I. Enter the OTP on the screen. Your claim will get submitted.

13. Why your toll-free number is not accessible?

Due to the ongoing situation, the contact services are down. All these services will resume in a short time. But, you can contact us through Facebook or Twitter. Our social media handle is “socialepfo.” You can even state your questions at epfigms.gov.in.

14. I work in a company in Jammu which was covered under the J&K PF Act. Since last year this company is covered under the Employees Provident Fund Act, 1952. Can I claim for fighting COVID pandemic?

Yes, you can claim for COVID advance as the company has registered under EPF act 1952 and you are a PF member.

15. I have applied for COVID epidemic advance. How to check the status of my claim?

You can check the status of your claim by visiting this site- https://passbook.epfindia.gov.in/MemberPassBook/Login.

Here, you would see various options. Select the “Online Services” option. After that click on track claim status. Here you need to fill your UAN number or other details and then you can see the status of your claim.

16. I need to contact the EPF office through email or phone. Please provide me with the contact details of the EPF office.

For contacting the EPF office, you can visit the site- https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/Contact_us.php.

You would see a new page where you need to select the zonal office where your company is present. After doing that, click on the regional/district office. It would provide you with their contact details of the EPF office in which your company has registered.

17. I live in city A and work in city B. However, the head office of my company is in city C. Which EPF office has to be contacted for any matter?

In this case, you have to visit the EPF office where your company has registered itself. If you don’t know the EPF office where the company has registered, you can find it by visiting this site- https://unifiedportal-epfo.epfindia.gov.in/publicPortal/noauth/misReport/home/loadEstSearchHome?

a. Now follow the steps below to find the EPF office in which your company has registered.

b. After visiting the above website, you have to enter the PF code of the establishment. If you don’t know the PF code of the company, you can even enter the name of the company.

c. Enter the security code and then select the “search” option.

d. The details of the company will appear on the screen.

e. Now, you have to confirm the establishment ID of the company. After that, confirm the name and address as stated in the screen.

18. You claim to settle COVID advance claims within 72 hours? It is over 4 days when I applied. I have still not received the money in my bank account. Why?

As per the recent changes in the rules, the EPFO only takes 3 days to settle the claim. Within this time, the EPFO sends the cheque to the bank. Here, the bank takes around 2 to 3 days to credit the amount in the account. You would be able to get the advance in a day or two.

19. I have worked for two companies and working in the third one now. How to get PF accumulations of earlier companies transferred to present one so that I can file a claim for COVID advance?

You can transfer the amount from the previous PF account to your new account if all the details are same. You can apply for the transfer through online process. You have to visit the e-sewa portal and then apply for the transfer. Here, make sure that your UAN is linked with your Aadhar card.

20. Can You Apply For COVID-19 Advance If EPF Withdrawal Is Delayed?

As per the recent changes, a person can apply for a claim even if his/her previous claims are in pending conditions.

With the rise in the pandemic, the government is trying to help employees with financial support. due to this reason, it has made some changes in the EPF rules. Now, as per the new rules, anyone can apply for an advance from EPF due to the pandemic.

Even if your EPF withdrawal is pending, you can still apply for an advance. Select the “Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)” option for claiming an advance.

The approval for the COVID claim will take 3 days which is way faster than the normal withdrawal process. Moreover, the EPFO has conveyed all the PF holders to apply for a claim due to the pandemic. The EPFO has even clarified that even if an employee has a pending claim, he/she can apply for the COVID claim.

21. How EPFO Settles Tons Of Cases For COVID-19 Claims?

With the pandemic rising, people are in dire need of financial support. It is not easy for the people to bear the cost of the treatment and survive the lockdown without any job. To help the employees in some way, the government made changes in the EPF withdrawal rules.

It is well known that a person can only withdraw from the EPF account at the age of 55. An employee can withdraw some amount from the EPF account in case of emergencies. But, now the government has stated that any PF member can withdraw 75% of his/her PF amount as COVID advance. Even if an employee has not completed 5 years of service, he/she can withdraw money from the EPF account under the COVID emergency.

Till now, the government has settled around 140,000 EPF cases. Besides that, the COVID claim takes hardly 3 days to settle. It means that if you apply for COVID claim, the EPFO will complete the process in 3 days. It is possible due to the automation process that the EPFO is using.

After that, the bank will credit the amount in more 2-3 days. In simple language, you would get the amount within a week. Even if you are having any kind of pending claim, you can still apply for the COVID claim.

22. What are COVID-19 Tax Relaxations?

The government has even made some changes in the tax system of EPF withdrawal. If a person is withdrawing money from the EPF account before 5 years of service, then he/she has to pay tax on that amount. But, as per the new rules, there will be no taxes on the EPF withdrawal until the pandemic is over. Besides that, here are some changes that the government made on the tax system due to the pandemic.

TDS/TCS Rate Reduction

a. As per the new rules, there will be a reduction of 25% on the existing tax rates. This reduction is made for non-salary payments received by the residents.

b. The payment for certain transactions like commission and brokerage is eligible for a reduction in TDS rates. This reduction will be applicable until the end of the financial year of 2020

c. The rate for tax for any kind of receipts is also reduced to 25%With the reduction in TDS and TCS, there will be a relaxation on the liquidity. The TDS on mutual funds, dividend interest, and may more mentioned under Section 194A is reduced to 7.5%. Earlier this tax rate was 10%e. The TDS on e-commerce, payment for immovable property is reduced from 1% to 0.75%

23. What are Extension Of Due Dates?

a. The due date for all income tax returns for the financial year 2019-2020 is extended to November 30. Before, it was from July 31 % October 31.

b. The audit date for tax is now extended from September 30 to October 31.

c. The date for assessments which are getting barred on September 30, is now rescheduled to December 31. The ones getting barred on March 31, 2021, is not rescheduled to end of September 2021.

24. I have only worked for 3 years in a company. Can I apply for withdrawal for COVID advance?

Yes, you can apply for COVID advance even if you have worked for less than 5 years. The scheme is available for all PF members.

25. Do I have to pay taxes if I withdraw money from the EPF account?

No. The EPFO has stated that nobody has to pay taxes for withdrawing money from the EPF account during the pandemic.

26. I am working in a company which is stated as exempt. Will I be able to apply for withdrawal during the pandemic?

Yes, even if your company is exempted from EPFO, you can still apply for a withdrawal from the PF account of your company.

27. How much will I get if I claim for the COVID advance?

As per the rules of EPFO, if you are applying for a COVID advance, then you will either get 75% of the total amount in your EPF account or 3 months of equal salary. The EPFO will see the amount which is lesser and will credit it to your account.

28. I am a self-employed person but I do have a PPF account. Can I file for a claim for COVID advance? How much amount will I get?

If you are having a PPF account, then you can file for a COVID advance. As you are self-employed and do not have any fix salary, you would get 75% of the amount in your EPF account

29. How much time will it take for the EPFO to accept my claim?

Due to the pandemic, the EPFO is accepting claims within 3 days. Within 3 days, the EPFO will verify and accept your claim for advance and then send the cheque to the bank. The bank will take around 2 to 3 days to credit the amount in your account.

30. How To Withdraw Money From EPF Account?

A person can only withdraw money from the EPF account under emergencies. Else, the valid age for withdrawing money is 54. This particular rule was made to reduce premature withdrawals.

But, the main question here is how can a person withdraw money from the EPF account? But, before that, it is important to know the type of emergencies that EPF has in its rule book.

31. How to change the name of a married woman in UAN?

The process of changing the name in UAN is like that in Aadhar. The married woman has to apply online for the updating process.

The employer will approve the request digitally after which the process will start. You would have to submit the correction request either online or offline.

You also have to provide a copy of the marriage certificate and any document which states that the person had a different name before marriage. You can use the school records, birth certificate or even PAN for this process.

32. What are the Situations Under Which Employees Can Withdraw Money From EPF Account?

Below are the situations under which the EPFO allows the employee to withdraw money.

a. Construction of a house or for purchasing a house.

b. If the company is locked or closed for more than 15 days. Besides that, if the company is not providing any kind of compensation during this period.

c. If the employee has been removed from the company and the employee has filed a case against this.

d.If the establishment is closed for more than 6 months and the employee is unemployed.

e. If any calamity occurs.

f. For purchasing equipment for a physically disabled employee. Under all these cases, the employee can withdraw money from the EPF account.

These are the cases that the EPF Act recognises as “emergencies.” Along with these, there are also emergencies like wedding, medical needs and as such. The employee can also withdraw money under these circumstances.

33. What Are The Documents Required For Withdrawal?

There are certain documents that are important for the withdrawal process. These documents are mandatory and one cannot get the amount without these documents. Below are the essential documents which an employee needs to provide before the EPFO.

i. A scanned copy of passbook or a cheque. You need to upload the scanned copy in the e-sewa portal.

ii. The UAN should be active.

iii. Aadhar card should be linked with UAN.

iv. Make sure to provide correct bank details in the UAN.

v. Your EPF account should be JYC-compliant.

vi. The mobile number registered with Aadhar card should be active.

vii. If you are retiring, make sure that the DOB is present in the EPFO record. Along with that, the date of joining and leaving should also be there.

These are some of the essential documents which the employee needs to take care of. Once the verification of the documents is over, you can easily claim for the withdrawal.

34. What is the Guide To Claim For Withdrawal From EPF Account?

There is a certain process that an employee needs to follow for claiming a withdrawal. Below is the detailed process which would help you to withdraw money from your EPF account.The first step is to visit the e-sewa portal where all the EPF related work happens. The website is https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface

First you have to log in to the portal. You can do so by using your UAN. Enter the UAN, password and the security code.After successfully logging into the portal, click on the option, “Online Services.” After that, select the “Claim (Form 31,19,10C & 10D).”The “claim” option will take you to a new webpage.

In this webpage, you have to enter your bank account number which is present in the UAN account.

Click on “verify.” The portal will verify whether both the bank account details match or not.

After the verification is over, you have to agree to the terms and conditions of the EPFONow, click on the “Proceed for online claim” option on the new page.

You would be able to see a drop-down menu with certain situations. Select the emergency, for which you are withdrawing money from the EPF account. The drop-down menu will only consist of options for which you are eligible.

After selecting the option, you have to provide your complete address in the blank space. Moreover, you also have to state the amount required and upload a scanned copy of the cheque.

After uploading the required documents, select the “Get Aadhar OTP”.Now, you will get an OTP in the registered mobile number.

Enter the OTP and then select the claim option. After following the steps, the EPFO will receive your application. It will look into the application, verify the details, and then credit the amount to your account in a few days.

35. How To Track The Claim Status?

You can check the status of your application from the online portal of e-sewa. You have to visit the official website for checking the claim. After that, click on the “Track Claim Status” option, which you can find under the “Online Services” tab.

The tracker will show you the process of your application. It would notify you about the approval status of the claim. Furthermore, it would even help you know when you will receive the amount in your bank account.

36. What Is The Scenario Of EPF Withdrawal Before 5 Years Of Service?

The EPFO has made a rule that an employee cannot withdraw money before 5 years of service. If due to any cause, an employee wishes to withdraw money before the threshold period, it would be taxable. In simple language, a person has to pay tax for withdrawing the money from EPF account before 5 years of service.

a. But, there is also an exception to this case. If the EPF amount is less than INR 50,000, then the amount will be free from TDS. Here are the rules which you need to keep in mind while withdrawing money in this case.

b. The employee has to provide detailed reasoning of the amount in the PF account every year. This rule came into action recently in ITR forms 2 and 3. If you are withdrawing money before the threshold period, you have to provide details on it.

c. The EPFO will also check for any extra taxes that are liable on the withdrawal amount. If there any chances of extra taxes, then you have to pay the tax.

d. The employee has to remember that the amount in the EPF account is divided into 4 parts. The parts are the amount contributed by the employee, by the employer and the interest in each part.

e. If the employee has claimed for exemption on EPF as per the section 80C, then all 4 parts are taxable

f. If the employee has not made any claim for exemption, then only the employee’s part will be free from tax.

g. The tax on the withdrawal amount will solely depend on the current income slab of the employee’s. The tax on the withdrawal amount will be applied to the year of withdrawal. But, the consideration of the tax will be done every year. These are some of the most essential rules to remember while withdrawing money. These rules are applicable if the person is withdrawing money before 5 years. If the person is claiming withdrawal after 5 years of completion, the EPF amount will be free from taxes.

37. What Is The Withdrawal Procedure From EPF Account After Retirement?

An employee after his/her retirement has to claim the EPF money from the EPFO. But, there are some rules that the employee needs to keep in mind. These rules will help the employee in knowing when to withdraw the money after retirement. a. The employee has to claim fort the EPF amount when he/she reaches the age of 58. The EPFO made this rule while forming the EPF Act.

b. The EPF amount has both employees as well as the employer’s share of the amount. It also has the interest amount on both parts.

c. If the employee has worked for more than 10 years in an organisation, then he/she is eligible for the EPS amount. EPS is the pension scheme made by the EPFO, where the employee will get a monthly pension amount. The employee even gets the benefits of pension after retirement.

d. If the employee has worked for more than 10 years in an organisation, he/she can withdraw both EPF and EPS amount.

e. The withdrawal amount from the EPF account, after retirement, is free from taxes. It means that the person does not have to pay any taxes on the EPF amount after retirement.

f. But, the interest that is earned on the EPF amount is taxable. If the employee does not claim the EPF amount within 3 years of retirement then he/she has to pay tax on the interest amount.

g. An employee can claim for the EPF amount through the online process after retirement.These rules are for the safety of the employee. One can claim for the EPF amount after retirement, through the online withdrawal process. In the portal, the person would be able to see the “retirement withdrawal” option. By selecting the option, the employee will get the amount within a span of a few days.

38. What Are The PF Withdrawal Rules For The Year 2020?

With the ongoing pandemic, EPFO has made some changes in the EPF withdrawal rules. The government has added new rules in the EPF Act so that employees can withdraw money during the pandemic.

As per the new rules, the statutory rate of contribution has reduced to 10%. Earlier this rate was 12% for both employees and employer. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the government has taken these steps for the well-being of the employees.

But, the reduction does not apply to the state pubic or central public organizations. Moreover, the government is going to contribute to the EPF accounts too. But, only employees with less than INR 15,000 will get this benefit.As per the new rules, anyone can withdraw money from the EPF account during the time of the pandemic.

Even if a person has not worked for 5 years, he/she can withdraw the amount under COVID-19 relief scheme. The government has even stated that the EPF withdrawal during this time will be free from taxes.

Important Rules About EPF Withdrawal

Below are the 10 important rules that you need to follow while withdrawing from the EPF account.

a. An employee cannot withdraw money from the EPF account while he/she is working in the company. Only in case of retirement or dire emergencies, the person can withdraw money.

b. The EPFO has allowed partial withdrawal from the EPF account in case of an emergency. During this pandemic, an employee can partially withdraw money from EPF account.

c. A person can withdraw around 90% of the EPF amount after reaching the age of 54. He/she can withdraw the remaining amount at the time of retirement.

d. If a person remains unemployed for more than a month, then he/she can withdraw 75% of the money from EPF. But, the employee has to declare his/her unemployment to the EPFO.

e. It is well known that if an employee withdraws money before the age of 54, then TDS is applicable. But, if the amount that the employee is withdrawing is less than INR 50,000 then it will be free from taxes.

The government is trying its best to help the employees during this pandemic. As the rules are now different for EPF withdrawal, many people were confused. To avoid such confusion, the EPFO decided to release a set of FAQs with answers. In these FAQs, a person can understand the whole process easier. The pandemic has brought down the economy and to help people in surviving this pandemic, the EPFO decided to allow for EPF withdrawal.

We know that this is a high alert emergency and people would need money. If you are applying for a COVID claim now, you will get the amount in your account within a week. The EPFO is made to help people in dealing with financial needs and this is the time to help the people.

Moreover, the advance for COVID-19 is non-refundable. It means that a person does not have to repay the amount. Anyone can apply for an advance by selecting the “Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)” option and get an advance. It is highly suggested that an employee should only apply for an advance when it is of utmost necessity.

source http://invested.in/faqs-epf-withdrawal-due-to-coronavirus/

[radhikaschauhan]

FAQs: EPF Withdrawal Due To Coronavirus

While the pandemic is on the rise, the government has made some changes in certain rules. These changes would help the citizens in facing this pandemic. One of the major changes that the government has made is in the EPF withdrawal rules.

We know that an employee can only withdraw from the EPF account after attaining the age of 54. But, while the EPFO was making these rules, they even added some exceptions to it. According to the exceptions, a person can withdraw money for medical needs and many more. These exceptions are clearly mentioned in the EPF Act.

The government has now added another rule to the EPF Act. According to the new rule, a person can withdraw the EPF amount during the time of the pandemic.

They can do so by selecting the “Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)” option. This rule applies to all employees. Moreover, the amount which the person will withdraw will be free from any kind of taxes.

But, people are in confusion and have tons of questions. To answer all these questions, the government decided to explain the whole rule in the form of FAQs. These FAQs were designed based on the most common questions related to the rule. It also consisted of the whole process. Here, the government has not only answered the questions but has even explained the rules.

But, before jumping into the FAQs, it is important to know the standard EPF withdrawal rules. It would help the person in knowing the exact process for EPF withdrawal. The new rule is like the previous rule but has some slight changes.

EPF FAQs For COVID-19

The recent changes in the EPF withdrawal rule have created confusion amongst the common people. To clear this confusion, EPFO issued a set of FAQs with answers. These FAQS will help you in understanding all the rules and regulations more simply.

1. The link ‘Know You UAN’ is not available on the unified portal. Is approaching the employer for this the only option?

If the ‘Know your UAN’ link is not available in the unified portal, you must follow the steps below. a. Visit the official website of the unified member portal. b. Enter your member ID, Aadhar card number or PAN. c. Now, enter your personal details like name and date of birth. Make sure that the details you are entering the match with your EPFO records. d. Now, select the “Get authorization pin” option. e. The website will send you a pin on your registered mobile number. f. Enter the pin in the dialogue box. After doing this, you would get your UAN on your registered mobile phone.

2. I have already applied advance for illness in March 2020, which is pending. I want to apply for an advance to fight the COVID pandemic now. What should I do?

Even if you have applied for an advance that is pending, you can apply for the COVI-19 advance. The government has allowed the employees to apply for the advance for the pandemic.

3. KYC updation needs approval by the employer by using his DSC. When the establishment is closed and there is no employer, who is to approve the same?

The EPFO has switched to the digital platform which has various benefits. Even if the establishment is closed and no employer is present, you can still update your KYC. The website will send a notification to the employer. The employer will approve it and then your KYC updating process will start.

4. For filing the claim, a copy of the cheque with the name of member or copy of the passbook is to be uploaded. Member does not have a name on his cheque leaf and it is now difficult to get it from the bank. Even going to the bank and getting an attested copy of the bank statement is not easy as banks are far away. What is the other option that can be made available?

As per the rules of EPFO, the employee must upload a cheque leaf which consists of his/her printed name. Another option is, the employee can upload the first page of the bank passbook or bank statement. Ensure that the passbook or bank statement should have name, account number and the IFSC code of the bank. This rule is important to check that the bank account details mentioned in the application matches the KYC details. It would avoid any kind of wrong payment.

5. I have left the service but have not yet availed the final PF withdrawal benefits. Can I still avail of the COVID advance?

Yes, you can still avail for the COVID advance as you have not yet withdrawn your PF funds. You are still a PF member, as you have not claimed the funds, and every PF member is eligible for the COVID advance.

6. My COVID claim has been rejected due to member details mismatch. How can I rectify this issue?

If your application is rejected due to details mismatch, you can update the details by visiting the e-sewa portal. Visit the website and then update the details after which you can file the claim again.

7. How can I file a COVID claim through the UMANG app?

For filing a COVID claim through the UMANG app, you need to follow the below steps.

a. Select the EPFO option in the UMANG app.

b. Now, select the “request for advance (COVID-19)” option.

c. After selecting the option, you have to enter your UAN details. Now you have to select the “Get OTP” option. You will receive the OTP on the phone number which is registered with UAN. Enter the OTP and login to your account.

d.After logging in, you have to provide the last 4 digits of your bank account. Now, from the drop-down menu, select the member ID. 

e. After doing this, click on the “proceed for claim” option.

f. In the form, enter your address and then click on “next”.

g. You have to upload an image of a cheque. Make sure that the cheque consists of your name and the bank account number. After filling all the details, the website will file your claim

8. I have a balance available in my account. How many times can I get an advance to fight COVID?

You can only apply for the COVID-19 advance once. Even if you have balance in your account, you cannot apply for the claim more than once.

9. What is the last date for applying for COVID advance?

You can apply for the COVID advance as long as the pandemic stays. This claim is available for all the employees and there is no last date for applying till now

10. I have two different UANs. The first UAN is linked with one PF member ID and the second is linked with 2 different member IDs. Can I avail COVID advance benefits? How to get maximum benefit in this case?

Yes, you can avail the COVID advance even in such conditions. But, if you need maximum benefits, you need to transfer all the previous member IDs to your latest member ID. It would help you in getting the most benefit during filing for a claim. For transferring all the member IDs to the latest ID, you need to file for a transfer claim. After the transfer is over, you would see your entire PF amount on the latest member ID. By using this member ID, you can file for an advance and get the most benefit out of it.

11. I have a balance of INR 100000 in my PF account and applied for INR 75000 advance for COVID. At the rate of 75%, I should get INR 75000. Why a much lesser amount has been credited to my account?

The reason why you got a lesser amount is that only 75% of the total amount is the limit. You would only get 75% of the total EPF amount for the COVID advance. Besides that, if your 75% of the amount is more than 3 months of basic salary, then you would only get the 3 months salary. Say, if your monthly salary is INR 20000, then you would only get INR 60,000 as an advance. But, if your monthly salary is INR 30,000 or more, then the advance you will get will only be INR 75,000.

12. How To File EPF COVID Claim? I am not able to file the COVID claim. Please help me.

Here is the simple way which would help you to file for the COVID advance.

a. First login to the member interface of the unified portal which is the official website of EPFO.

b. Now, select the “online services” option after which you need to click on “Claim” (Form-31,19,10C& 10D).

c. You would find a new page. Here you have to enter your bank account number. The website will verify the bank account number.

d. After verification, you would have to select the “Proceed for the claim” option.

e. From the drop-down menu, select the PF Advance (form 81) option.

f. Now, select the purpose of advance as Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19).

g. In the dialogue box, enter the amount that you need and then upload a scanned copy of your cheque. Make sure that the cheque consists of your name and bank account number. After doing that, fill your address.

h. Select the “Get Aadhar OTP” option. The website will send an OTP to your registered phone number.I. Enter the OTP on the screen. Your claim will get submitted.

13. Why your toll-free number is not accessible?

Due to the ongoing situation, the contact services are down. All these services will resume in a short time. But, you can contact us through Facebook or Twitter. Our social media handle is “socialepfo.” You can even state your questions at epfigms.gov.in.

14. I work in a company in Jammu which was covered under the J&K PF Act. Since last year this company is covered under the Employees Provident Fund Act, 1952. Can I claim for fighting COVID pandemic?

Yes, you can claim for COVID advance as the company has registered under EPF act 1952 and you are a PF member.

15. I have applied for COVID epidemic advance. How to check the status of my claim?

You can check the status of your claim by visiting this site- https://passbook.epfindia.gov.in/MemberPassBook/Login.

Here, you would see various options. Select the “Online Services” option. After that click on track claim status. Here you need to fill your UAN number or other details and then you can see the status of your claim.

16. I need to contact the EPF office through email or phone. Please provide me with the contact details of the EPF office.

For contacting the EPF office, you can visit the site- https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/Contact_us.php.

You would see a new page where you need to select the zonal office where your company is present. After doing that, click on the regional/district office. It would provide you with their contact details of the EPF office in which your company has registered.

17. I live in city A and work in city B. However, the head office of my company is in city C. Which EPF office has to be contacted for any matter?

In this case, you have to visit the EPF office where your company has registered itself. If you don’t know the EPF office where the company has registered, you can find it by visiting this site- https://unifiedportal-epfo.epfindia.gov.in/publicPortal/noauth/misReport/home/loadEstSearchHome?

a. Now follow the steps below to find the EPF office in which your company has registered.

b. After visiting the above website, you have to enter the PF code of the establishment. If you don’t know the PF code of the company, you can even enter the name of the company.

c. Enter the security code and then select the “search” option.

d. The details of the company will appear on the screen.

e. Now, you have to confirm the establishment ID of the company. After that, confirm the name and address as stated in the screen.

18. You claim to settle COVID advance claims within 72 hours? It is over 4 days when I applied. I have still not received the money in my bank account. Why?

As per the recent changes in the rules, the EPFO only takes 3 days to settle the claim. Within this time, the EPFO sends the cheque to the bank. Here, the bank takes around 2 to 3 days to credit the amount in the account. You would be able to get the advance in a day or two.

19. I have worked for two companies and working in the third one now. How to get PF accumulations of earlier companies transferred to present one so that I can file a claim for COVID advance?

You can transfer the amount from the previous PF account to your new account if all the details are same. You can apply for the transfer through online process. You have to visit the e-sewa portal and then apply for the transfer. Here, make sure that your UAN is linked with your Aadhar card.

20. Can You Apply For COVID-19 Advance If EPF Withdrawal Is Delayed?

As per the recent changes, a person can apply for a claim even if his/her previous claims are in pending conditions.

With the rise in the pandemic, the government is trying to help employees with financial support. due to this reason, it has made some changes in the EPF rules. Now, as per the new rules, anyone can apply for an advance from EPF due to the pandemic.

Even if your EPF withdrawal is pending, you can still apply for an advance. Select the “Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)” option for claiming an advance.

The approval for the COVID claim will take 3 days which is way faster than the normal withdrawal process. Moreover, the EPFO has conveyed all the PF holders to apply for a claim due to the pandemic. The EPFO has even clarified that even if an employee has a pending claim, he/she can apply for the COVID claim.

21. How EPFO Settles Tons Of Cases For COVID-19 Claims?

With the pandemic rising, people are in dire need of financial support. It is not easy for the people to bear the cost of the treatment and survive the lockdown without any job. To help the employees in some way, the government made changes in the EPF withdrawal rules.

It is well known that a person can only withdraw from the EPF account at the age of 55. An employee can withdraw some amount from the EPF account in case of emergencies. But, now the government has stated that any PF member can withdraw 75% of his/her PF amount as COVID advance. Even if an employee has not completed 5 years of service, he/she can withdraw money from the EPF account under the COVID emergency.

Till now, the government has settled around 140,000 EPF cases. Besides that, the COVID claim takes hardly 3 days to settle. It means that if you apply for COVID claim, the EPFO will complete the process in 3 days. It is possible due to the automation process that the EPFO is using.

After that, the bank will credit the amount in more 2-3 days. In simple language, you would get the amount within a week. Even if you are having any kind of pending claim, you can still apply for the COVID claim.

22. What are COVID-19 Tax Relaxations?

The government has even made some changes in the tax system of EPF withdrawal. If a person is withdrawing money from the EPF account before 5 years of service, then he/she has to pay tax on that amount. But, as per the new rules, there will be no taxes on the EPF withdrawal until the pandemic is over. Besides that, here are some changes that the government made on the tax system due to the pandemic.

TDS/TCS Rate Reduction

a. As per the new rules, there will be a reduction of 25% on the existing tax rates. This reduction is made for non-salary payments received by the residents.

b. The payment for certain transactions like commission and brokerage is eligible for a reduction in TDS rates. This reduction will be applicable until the end of the financial year of 2020

c. The rate for tax for any kind of receipts is also reduced to 25%With the reduction in TDS and TCS, there will be a relaxation on the liquidity. The TDS on mutual funds, dividend interest, and may more mentioned under Section 194A is reduced to 7.5%. Earlier this tax rate was 10%e. The TDS on e-commerce, payment for immovable property is reduced from 1% to 0.75%

23. What are Extension Of Due Dates?

a. The due date for all income tax returns for the financial year 2019-2020 is extended to November 30. Before, it was from July 31 % October 31.

b. The audit date for tax is now extended from September 30 to October 31.

c. The date for assessments which are getting barred on September 30, is now rescheduled to December 31. The ones getting barred on March 31, 2021, is not rescheduled to end of September 2021.

24. I have only worked for 3 years in a company. Can I apply for withdrawal for COVID advance?

Yes, you can apply for COVID advance even if you have worked for less than 5 years. The scheme is available for all PF members.

25. Do I have to pay taxes if I withdraw money from the EPF account?

No. The EPFO has stated that nobody has to pay taxes for withdrawing money from the EPF account during the pandemic.

26. I am working in a company which is stated as exempt. Will I be able to apply for withdrawal during the pandemic?

Yes, even if your company is exempted from EPFO, you can still apply for a withdrawal from the PF account of your company.

27. How much will I get if I claim for the COVID advance?

As per the rules of EPFO, if you are applying for a COVID advance, then you will either get 75% of the total amount in your EPF account or 3 months of equal salary. The EPFO will see the amount which is lesser and will credit it to your account.

28. I am a self-employed person but I do have a PPF account. Can I file for a claim for COVID advance? How much amount will I get?

If you are having a PPF account, then you can file for a COVID advance. As you are self-employed and do not have any fix salary, you would get 75% of the amount in your EPF account

29. How much time will it take for the EPFO to accept my claim?

Due to the pandemic, the EPFO is accepting claims within 3 days. Within 3 days, the EPFO will verify and accept your claim for advance and then send the cheque to the bank. The bank will take around 2 to 3 days to credit the amount in your account.

30. How To Withdraw Money From EPF Account?

A person can only withdraw money from the EPF account under emergencies. Else, the valid age for withdrawing money is 54. This particular rule was made to reduce premature withdrawals.

But, the main question here is how can a person withdraw money from the EPF account? But, before that, it is important to know the type of emergencies that EPF has in its rule book.

31. How to change the name of a married woman in UAN?

The process of changing the name in UAN is like that in Aadhar. The married woman has to apply online for the updating process.

The employer will approve the request digitally after which the process will start. You would have to submit the correction request either online or offline.

You also have to provide a copy of the marriage certificate and any document which states that the person had a different name before marriage. You can use the school records, birth certificate or even PAN for this process.

32. What are the Situations Under Which Employees Can Withdraw Money From EPF Account?

Below are the situations under which the EPFO allows the employee to withdraw money.

a. Construction of a house or for purchasing a house.

b. If the company is locked or closed for more than 15 days. Besides that, if the company is not providing any kind of compensation during this period.

c. If the employee has been removed from the company and the employee has filed a case against this.

d.If the establishment is closed for more than 6 months and the employee is unemployed.

e. If any calamity occurs.

f. For purchasing equipment for a physically disabled employee. Under all these cases, the employee can withdraw money from the EPF account.

These are the cases that the EPF Act recognises as “emergencies.” Along with these, there are also emergencies like wedding, medical needs and as such. The employee can also withdraw money under these circumstances.

33. What Are The Documents Required For Withdrawal?

There are certain documents that are important for the withdrawal process. These documents are mandatory and one cannot get the amount without these documents. Below are the essential documents which an employee needs to provide before the EPFO.

i. A scanned copy of passbook or a cheque. You need to upload the scanned copy in the e-sewa portal.

ii. The UAN should be active.

iii. Aadhar card should be linked with UAN.

iv. Make sure to provide correct bank details in the UAN.

v. Your EPF account should be JYC-compliant.

vi. The mobile number registered with Aadhar card should be active.

vii. If you are retiring, make sure that the DOB is present in the EPFO record. Along with that, the date of joining and leaving should also be there.

These are some of the essential documents which the employee needs to take care of. Once the verification of the documents is over, you can easily claim for the withdrawal.

34. What is the Guide To Claim For Withdrawal From EPF Account?

There is a certain process that an employee needs to follow for claiming a withdrawal. Below is the detailed process which would help you to withdraw money from your EPF account.The first step is to visit the e-sewa portal where all the EPF related work happens. The website is https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface

First you have to log in to the portal. You can do so by using your UAN. Enter the UAN, password and the security code.After successfully logging into the portal, click on the option, “Online Services.” After that, select the “Claim (Form 31,19,10C & 10D).”The “claim” option will take you to a new webpage.

In this webpage, you have to enter your bank account number which is present in the UAN account.

Click on “verify.” The portal will verify whether both the bank account details match or not.

After the verification is over, you have to agree to the terms and conditions of the EPFONow, click on the “Proceed for online claim” option on the new page.

You would be able to see a drop-down menu with certain situations. Select the emergency, for which you are withdrawing money from the EPF account. The drop-down menu will only consist of options for which you are eligible.

After selecting the option, you have to provide your complete address in the blank space. Moreover, you also have to state the amount required and upload a scanned copy of the cheque.

After uploading the required documents, select the “Get Aadhar OTP”.Now, you will get an OTP in the registered mobile number.

Enter the OTP and then select the claim option. After following the steps, the EPFO will receive your application. It will look into the application, verify the details, and then credit the amount to your account in a few days.

35. How To Track The Claim Status?

You can check the status of your application from the online portal of e-sewa. You have to visit the official website for checking the claim. After that, click on the “Track Claim Status” option, which you can find under the “Online Services” tab.

The tracker will show you the process of your application. It would notify you about the approval status of the claim. Furthermore, it would even help you know when you will receive the amount in your bank account.

36. What Is The Scenario Of EPF Withdrawal Before 5 Years Of Service?

The EPFO has made a rule that an employee cannot withdraw money before 5 years of service. If due to any cause, an employee wishes to withdraw money before the threshold period, it would be taxable. In simple language, a person has to pay tax for withdrawing the money from EPF account before 5 years of service.

a. But, there is also an exception to this case. If the EPF amount is less than INR 50,000, then the amount will be free from TDS. Here are the rules which you need to keep in mind while withdrawing money in this case.

b. The employee has to provide detailed reasoning of the amount in the PF account every year. This rule came into action recently in ITR forms 2 and 3. If you are withdrawing money before the threshold period, you have to provide details on it.

c. The EPFO will also check for any extra taxes that are liable on the withdrawal amount. If there any chances of extra taxes, then you have to pay the tax.

d. The employee has to remember that the amount in the EPF account is divided into 4 parts. The parts are the amount contributed by the employee, by the employer and the interest in each part.

e. If the employee has claimed for exemption on EPF as per the section 80C, then all 4 parts are taxable

f. If the employee has not made any claim for exemption, then only the employee’s part will be free from tax.

g. The tax on the withdrawal amount will solely depend on the current income slab of the employee’s. The tax on the withdrawal amount will be applied to the year of withdrawal. But, the consideration of the tax will be done every year. These are some of the most essential rules to remember while withdrawing money. These rules are applicable if the person is withdrawing money before 5 years. If the person is claiming withdrawal after 5 years of completion, the EPF amount will be free from taxes.

37. What Is The Withdrawal Procedure From EPF Account After Retirement?

An employee after his/her retirement has to claim the EPF money from the EPFO. But, there are some rules that the employee needs to keep in mind. These rules will help the employee in knowing when to withdraw the money after retirement. a. The employee has to claim fort the EPF amount when he/she reaches the age of 58. The EPFO made this rule while forming the EPF Act.

b. The EPF amount has both employees as well as the employer’s share of the amount. It also has the interest amount on both parts.

c. If the employee has worked for more than 10 years in an organisation, then he/she is eligible for the EPS amount. EPS is the pension scheme made by the EPFO, where the employee will get a monthly pension amount. The employee even gets the benefits of pension after retirement.

d. If the employee has worked for more than 10 years in an organisation, he/she can withdraw both EPF and EPS amount.

e. The withdrawal amount from the EPF account, after retirement, is free from taxes. It means that the person does not have to pay any taxes on the EPF amount after retirement.

f. But, the interest that is earned on the EPF amount is taxable. If the employee does not claim the EPF amount within 3 years of retirement then he/she has to pay tax on the interest amount.

g. An employee can claim for the EPF amount through the online process after retirement.These rules are for the safety of the employee. One can claim for the EPF amount after retirement, through the online withdrawal process. In the portal, the person would be able to see the “retirement withdrawal” option. By selecting the option, the employee will get the amount within a span of a few days.

38. What Are The PF Withdrawal Rules For The Year 2020?

With the ongoing pandemic, EPFO has made some changes in the EPF withdrawal rules. The government has added new rules in the EPF Act so that employees can withdraw money during the pandemic.

As per the new rules, the statutory rate of contribution has reduced to 10%. Earlier this rate was 12% for both employees and employer. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the government has taken these steps for the well-being of the employees.

But, the reduction does not apply to the state pubic or central public organizations. Moreover, the government is going to contribute to the EPF accounts too. But, only employees with less than INR 15,000 will get this benefit.As per the new rules, anyone can withdraw money from the EPF account during the time of the pandemic.

Even if a person has not worked for 5 years, he/she can withdraw the amount under COVID-19 relief scheme. The government has even stated that the EPF withdrawal during this time will be free from taxes.

Important Rules About EPF Withdrawal

Below are the 10 important rules that you need to follow while withdrawing from the EPF account.

a. An employee cannot withdraw money from the EPF account while he/she is working in the company. Only in case of retirement or dire emergencies, the person can withdraw money.

b. The EPFO has allowed partial withdrawal from the EPF account in case of an emergency. During this pandemic, an employee can partially withdraw money from EPF account.

c. A person can withdraw around 90% of the EPF amount after reaching the age of 54. He/she can withdraw the remaining amount at the time of retirement.

d. If a person remains unemployed for more than a month, then he/she can withdraw 75% of the money from EPF. But, the employee has to declare his/her unemployment to the EPFO.

e. It is well known that if an employee withdraws money before the age of 54, then TDS is applicable. But, if the amount that the employee is withdrawing is less than INR 50,000 then it will be free from taxes.

The government is trying its best to help the employees during this pandemic. As the rules are now different for EPF withdrawal, many people were confused. To avoid such confusion, the EPFO decided to release a set of FAQs with answers. In these FAQs, a person can understand the whole process easier. The pandemic has brought down the economy and to help people in surviving this pandemic, the EPFO decided to allow for EPF withdrawal.

We know that this is a high alert emergency and people would need money. If you are applying for a COVID claim now, you will get the amount in your account within a week. The EPFO is made to help people in dealing with financial needs and this is the time to help the people.

Moreover, the advance for COVID-19 is non-refundable. It means that a person does not have to repay the amount. Anyone can apply for an advance by selecting the “Outbreak of pandemic (COVID-19)” option and get an advance. It is highly suggested that an employee should only apply for an advance when it is of utmost necessity.

Via http://invested.in/faqs-epf-withdrawal-due-to-coronavirus/

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