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t0wnspersonb · 4 years ago

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Better Off As Lovers (Tsukishima Kei x Reader)

Word Count: 5,076

Warnings: SMUT, oral (female receiving), bad language, my shit writing

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salty4tsukki

said:

hello! i luv ur blog sm!! can i pls req a scenario (or hc if that’s easier) of tsukki and reader going from enemies to lovers? perhaps reader ended up doing tsukki a solid that saved his ass and that marked the turning point of their relationship? sfw+nsfw if that’s oki!! tysm in advanced :-)

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Here is some spice for you guys. I hope you like it, I had a lot of fun writing it lol. Tsukishima is such a fucking prick, I absolutely love it. @salty4tsukki I hope this was what you had wanted, also thank you so much for your support! Requests are closing tomorrow! I’m slowly but surely making my way through all of the requests and writing stuff up. I should probably be focusing on school but ya girl is avoiding responsibilities right now lmao. I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!😚😚😚

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“You’re literally the fucking worst.” you hissed; eyes narrowed into slits. “I bet hell gave you back to earth because you’re worse than Satan himself.”

All you got in response was a raise of a blonde eyebrow and an ignorant smirk.

“You want to get hit? Is that what you’re asking for?” You threatened, holding your fist up for emphasis.

You had never been more upset; in all honesty you probably wouldn’t have been this annoyed about the situation if it was someone else.

But because it was him, you knew that it was intentional, it wasn’t an accident as everyone else was making it seem.

“Now, now…” Koganegawa said, stepping between the two of you. “Tsukki didn’t know that was your dessert. It was an honest mistake.”

“That’s not an honest mistake Kanji!” You screeched. “I literally told everyone how excited I was to finally get my hands on that famous strawberry shortcake from that bakery! I got the last slice and he went and ate it!” you pointed at the tall blonde accusingly; who’s smirk was growing wider and wider as you wailed about the unfairness of it all.

“Can’t you just go get another one?” Kyoutani huffed, rolling his eyes from his spot on the floor.

“They’re famous for a reason Kentarou! I had to get up super early to stand in line! And even then, the line was super long! I waited for hours! You think I’m going to do that again!?” You were all but hysterical now.

You might have already been having a rough day though, and your missing cake was the cherry on top to it all.

The soft huff of a laugh caused you to whirl around, your tiny fists coming up to hit Tsukishima on his chest repeatedly.

“You’re the fucking worst!” you huffed out, frustrated tears springing to your eyes. The tall blonde was full on laughing at you now, much to your embarrassment and anger.

You couldn’t lie, it was a tad bit irrational to get so upset over a missing slice of cake. But it was a long sucky day, you were looking forward to that delicious morsel of strawberry goodness after practice, and it wasn’t fucking there.

“You’re so weak,” Tsukishima mused, easily grasping your hands in his large ones, preventing you from hitting him further.

Despite his rude words, his grip was surprisingly gentle.

You still ripped your hands away from his in anger.

“Don’t touch me, you thief.” You growled, cradling your hands against your chest, eyes glaring into the tall male.

“You’re so annoying. I already apologized.” Tsukishima said, stretching his arms above his head.

“An apology won’t bring back my cake!” You snapped, grabbing your stuff from the floor. “You’re the worst Tsukishima. Let’s go already, Kentarou.” You huffed.

The said male rolled his eyes before saying goodbye to his teammates, following you out of the gym.

You were still fuming quietly as you two walked home together.

Funnily enough, you had developed a close friendship with the small male, which resulted in him walking you home since he lived close by.

“I hate him.” You whined, tugging at the bottom of Kyoutani’s team jacket.

He swatted your hand away, causing you to whine again, reaching for him once more, he sighed in irritation but let you hold onto his jacket this time.

“You guys just need to fuck already.” He said.

You stopped walking; causing Kyoutani to be yanked back since you were holding onto his jacket.

“What the fuck Y/n?” He growled.

“I would never in a million years have sex with someone like him.” You said, face twisting in disgust.

Kyoutani had definitely lost his mind with that comment. Tsukishima was your enemy, your opposite half, the worst person that you have ever met, there was just no way.

“Are you serious?” He asked deadpanned. “It’s so disgustingly obvious you two like each other.”

You rolled your eyes at him, releasing his jacket from your grasp as you guys continued walking. “You’re blind Kentarou, we hate each other.”

“I think you’re the one who’s blind Y/n. I’ll see you tomorrow for morning practice.” he said waving goodbye to you as you entered your home.

The rest of your night was plagued with thoughts of Tsukishima, leaving you with a bitter taste in your mouth despite the fact that you had brushed your teeth.

There was no way that Tsukishima liked you, nor you him. You did find him incredibly attractive, but who wouldn’t? He was tall and muscular, incredibly intelligent, and he was a good volleyball player.

Of course, people would find him attractive, but his personality was anything but, to you at least.

Your first ever interaction with him was entirely unpleasant, his mocking attitude and sarcastic comments left you with the worst impression of him, and it resulted in how you felt about him now.

But then… What did Kyoutani mean about you being blind?

You screamed loudly into your pillow.

****

“You look terrible.” Tsukishima raised his eyebrow at you, taking in your disheveled form.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night.” You muttered, rubbing at your eyes tiredly.

Tsukishima was actually quiet for once, somehow you had missed the flash of concern that shot through his eyes.

That didn’t go unnoticed by Kyoutani, who rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath how dense both of you were.

Practice ran smoothly, there surprisingly wasn’t any sarcastic comments directed at you from Tsukishima. For the most part, he left you alone today, much to your relief.

Now you were currently in one of the history classes you were a TA in. Between managing a volleyball team, and being a teaching assistant, it was no wonder you were always stressed out.

Funnily enough, Tsukishima was one of the students in that class.

“We’re going to hand back your midterm essays now.” The professor announced. You grabbed the papers from your folder and started walking around the class handing them back to the nervous students.

Your brows furrowed as you had realized that you only held three more papers in your hand, you hadn’t even given Tsukishima’s - oh. Your eyes widened slightly as you looked over at the tall male, he looked irritated, his eyes finding yours, there was a slight shake to his head.

He had never turned in the essay.

That’s right, the essay was due around the same time that volleyball practices were incredibly strenuous in preparation for some important matches.

But the midterm essay counted as a large portion of the grade, which meant that if Tsukishima received a zero, then he would fail the class, which meant that he wouldn’t be allowed to play volleyball any -

“I seemed to have made a mistake Professor.” You said. “I think I lost Tsukishima’s paper…”

What were you doing?

Shit, you could get in big trouble for this so why were you doing this?

“It’s not like you to be scatterbrained like this Y/n.” the Professor shook his head. “I swear you take on too many tasks, between this and being a team manager… Tsukishima, do you mind turning in the paper again to Y/n? Let us say… by the end of the day?”

“It’s no problem sir.” Tsukishima said quietly, eyes glancing over to you as you finished handing out the last of the essays.

“I’m sorry Tsukishima, I hope you can forgive me.” You said sweetly, bowing at him slightly.

What the fuck?

What the actual fuck were you doing?

Tsukishima was taken back by your tone and your show of respect towards him, that was new.

That was… shit was he blushing? He ignored the creeping heat in his face and the slightly quicker thump of his heart. He pushed his glasses up slightly. “It’s not a problem.” he said quietly.

You nodded at him once more as you made your way back towards the front of the room, ignoring the rising blush in your own face and the racing of your own heart. You got lucky that the professor really took a liking to you as his TA, you could get away with murder when it came to this class.

Tsukishima was incredibly lucky as well, he was the top student in this class, never missed any assignments, always participated in class, so of course the professor was going to be more lenient with him.

No one would have ever guessed that he had never turned in his midterm, except you.

That was something that you didn’t understand, why would you help him out?

It was because he was just part of your team, right? You were doing this because you wanted your team to succeed right? He was one of the best players you had, so if you lost him that would hurt the team… that was why, right?

Or maybe… maybe Kyoutani was right.

Maybe, just maybe, by chance you actually did harbor a small attraction to the tall blonde.

****

The rest of the day was seemingly uneventful, and you found yourself wrapping up the evening volleyball practice.

“Hey.” an all too familiar voice called out, a sudden shadow being cast over your small form as you began picking up the volleyballs on the floor.

You glanced up to see Tsukishima looking down at you, curiosity clear in his gold eyes.

“What is it?” You asked, ignoring the quickening of your heart. What was wrong with you?

“Why did you do that?” he asked, beginning to pick up the balls.

“What do you mean?” You sighed tiredly, you just wanted to go home. You had no energy left in your body to argue with the snarky male before you.

“You knew that I didn’t turn in the paper… why did you lie to the professor like that?” He asked quietly.

“Well…” your eyes slid over to him before looking down at the ball in your hands. “I knew that the professor would cut you some slack since you are one of his favorite students… plus… it would be bad if you got a zero, right? You would’ve failed the class…” You trailed off, your eyes glancing back up at him, taking notice to the small smirk that began to cover his lips.

“- and we can’t afford to lose one of our players! You’re tall and stupid but you’re a decent player so that’s why I did it! I didn’t want to hurt the team just because you were being stupid and forgetful!” You said, voice annoyed as you all but slammed the volleyball into his arms. “Hurry up and put those away, I want to go home.” you huffed, stalking away.

You hadn’t noticed the small smile that overtook his face as he watched you walk away.

“Are you ready to go?” You asked once you guys had finished cleaning up, Kyoutani nodded, grabbing his bag from the floor.

“Hold on.” a hand grabbed the back of your jacket, yanking you back into a warm and broad chest.

You blinked up to see Tsukishima peering down at you, eyebrows raised.

You could feel your face burn at his proximity and as you stumbled away from him.

“W-What is it now?” You stuttered out.

“Here. Professor said to give it to you by the end of the day. I just had to reprint it out.” he said, handing you his midterm.

Your eyebrows shot up. “Wait, you actually did the assignment?”

“It was already done, I just forgot to submit it.” he said, shrugging.

“And I thought you were just lazy and didn’t do it at all.” You said in awe, eyes skimming through the papers.

“Don’t put me in with the likes of you.” he snorted, eyes rolling, although there was an unseen fondness swimming within those golden orbs, unseen to you at least. It was entirely apparent to Kyoutani who seemed to have a larger scowl on his face.

“Shut up stupid! I’m going to grade your paper harshly now!” you hissed, glaring at him.

“You can try,” he drawled out. “But I did the assignment perfectly. I shouldn’t get anything less than an A.”

“We’ll see.” you snapped.

****

“Stupid Tsukishima. Does he have to be perfect at everything?” You grumbled to yourself as you finished grading his paper.

He was right.

He did the assignment perfectly.

You shouldn’t have said anything to the professor, especially if he was going to be so smug about it.

Why was he so infuriating?

You could see the flash of his smirk behind your lids when you blinked, it caused your heart to race, your fist to clench tightly together. You just wanted to slap that stupid smirk off of his stupid gorgeous face and -

Damn it.

It seemed like recently your thoughts were completely consumed by him.

“Speak of the devil.” You muttered to yourself when you noticed who was calling you.

“What do you want?” You hissed.

“Oh, good you are awake.” His rang smoothly through the speaker.

“Yeah because I stayed up late to grade your midterm, so I didn’t have to worry about it over the weekend.” You huffed, sitting back in your chair.

“Well what’s the verdict?” he asked smugly.

You could feel your nostrils flaring in anger at his tone. “You got an A. Which is surprising to me since you’re the biggest moron that I know.”

“I already told you not to lump into the same category as you.”

“I’m hanging up now.” you announced, your blood boiling at his comment.

“Wait. Go open your door.” he demanded.

You frowned. “Why would I do that?”

“Just do it and hurry up.” you could all but see his eyes rolling.

You huffed angrily, stalking over to your front door, and yanking it open to reveal the blonde male smirking at you.

You could feel your brows furrow as you tried to register what was happening.

Tsukishima, your enemy, was standing at the front of your home, cladded in his team jacket and joggers, and he was holding a bag.

“Took you long enough.” he said, removing the phone from his ear and stepping past you into your home.

He was already removing his shoes and placing them on the shoe rack near your front door, heading towards your kitchen.

“Are you just going to stand there all night?” he called out, never looking back.

That comment snapped you out of your confusion, you quietly closed the door, following after the blonde that was beginning to make tea like he was in his own home and not someone else's.

“What are you doing?” You asked quietly, eyes following his every movement.

“Just be quiet and sit down.” he said simply, and for some reason… you actually listened.

You wracked your brain for all the reasons as to why Tsukishima was in your home this late at night, using your kitchen.

You snapped back to reality when he placed a plate and a mug in front of you.

Your eyebrows raised slowly, but you couldn’t help the twinkle in your eyes as you gazed at the treat before you.

A slice of cake, but the strawberry shortcake from that bakery to be exact. The sweetness of the strawberries and cream, along with the earthy scent of the tea, caused a delicious warmth to swell up in your body.

“How did you -”

“It’s a thank you.” he cut you off, pulling up a chair across from you, tea and cake sitting in front of him. “For helping me out with the paper.”

You couldn’t help the smile that began to stretch across your lips, Tsukishima seemed shy almost, embarrassed maybe? Whatever it was, it was a pleasant change from his usual scowl and smirk.

“Did you wait long?” you asked quietly, carefully cutting into the cake. “They aren’t even open at this hour…”

“No, the line wasn’t too bad, I went after practice finished.” he said, glancing over at you. It was a partial lie, Tsukishima did wait a long time, but he did go after practice had finished.

“Why did you wait this long to come over then?” you asked, sighing in pleasure as you took a bite.

There was a reason why this bakery was so famous for their strawberry shortcake, it was the best cake you had ever had.

“I thought you might’ve been too busy in the evening, since you promised coach you would hand in those data forms tomorrow… and the in class activity we did today… you said you would grade tonight and get it back to us Monday…” he trailed off quietly, cutting into his slice.

You blinked at him, the thumping in your heart increasing.

Since when was he so observant with you?

“Since always. You’ve just never noticed.” he said, gold eyes boring into your own.

You could feel your face heating up, shit, did you really ponder that aloud?

What was this feeling bubbling up in your gut? It burned and turned pleasantly the longer you stared at him.

A sudden shyness washed over you as you broke eye contact, eyes casting back down to the cup of tea that was now resting between your hands.

“O-Oh.”

It was silent again, it wasn’t awkward, but there was definitely something lingering heavily in the air.

You just couldn’t place your finger on it.

“You have something…” Tsukishima began to say, suddenly reaching over, his strong fingers gently grasped your chin, tilting it up, thumb beginning to brush at the corner of your lips.

Without even thinking about it, your tongue darted out, swiping across his thumb, tasting the saltiness of his skin and the sweetness of the cream that had lingered at the corner of your mouth.

Tsukishima’s eyes darkened considerably; air rushing out of his nose as he exhaled deeply. His thumb rubbing against your lower lip.

Your eyes glazed over, lips parting slightly, inviting him entrance to your mouth. Tsukishima’s thumb pushed past your lips, resting on your tongue. Your eyes fluttered shut, your tongue gently running along the pad of his thumb.

You could feel the blood roaring in your ears, your stomach twisting in arousal.

“Fuck.” he whispered, the sound of a chair being pushed back, his thumb leaving the wetness of your mouth.

It all happened so fast, by the time you had opened your eyes Tsukishima was hauling you out of your chair and up on the counter. His large hand grasped your face firmly before slamming his lips against yours.

You gasped, allowing his tongue to snake his way in, exploring every inch of your wet cavern.

You couldn’t help the moan that tore through your throat, your arms coming up to wrap around his shoulders, fingers sliding into the blonde locks at the back of his head, your legs wrapping around his hips.

Fuck, you couldn’t get enough of this. He was everywhere, warm and solid against your body; all you could smell was him, all you could taste was him and fuck did he taste good. You could still taste the sweetness of cream on his tongue, the tartness of the strawberries, and him.

It was intoxicating.

You were drowning in everything that was Tsukishima and fuck did you like it. The way his big hands gripped at your face, your waist, pulling you closer, kissing you deeper, it was too much.

But it also wasn’t enough.

“What are you - ahh - what are you doing?” you whimpered out, eyes rolling into the back of your head as he trailed his hot lips against your throat, sucking and biting at every inch of it.

“What do you think I’m doing you idiot?” he breathed against the shell of your ear. He grinded his hips against yours causing the loud moan to escape your lips, he was hard against you.

“I don’t…” you whined softly as he grabbed your hips, pressing you tightly against his crotch, grinding against you sinfully. “I don’t understand… Tsukki… Kei.” you whined again, hips bucking up on their own, aching for more friction.

Fuck you were so wet, so hot and bothered, you needed him to touch you more.

“Fuck.” he hissed out, eyes squeezing tightly together as you whined out his name. “Fuck… you’re so infuriating. You still don’t get it do you?” he growled out, nipping at your lobe as his ragged breathing increased.

You couldn’t muster up any words, all that escaped your lips was a drawn-out moan as one of his hands reached up and massaged one of your breasts harshly.

“I like you, Y/n. I’ve liked you since the very beginning. But you never… fuck…” he hissed as you slipped a hand under his shirt, nails dragging against his smooth skin. You could feel the muscles of his stomach flexing beneath your touch, the pace of his hips increasing against yours.

“You never noticed.” he finally growled out, reaching up and yanking your shirt off your body. “The only time you ever paid attention to me was when I made you mad, you simple minded woman. It’s so easy to get you riled up…” he kissed you harshly now, teeth knocking together before he bit into your lip harshly, causing your nails to dig further into his chest.

“But then in class when you lied straight-faced to the professor… and then when you looked at me with that sweet expression, and those wide eyes… I couldn’t help but wonder what other kinds of faces you can make for me.” he finished quietly. His breathing was labored, and his lips were swollen but the intensity of his gaze caused your body to squirm.

“What do you say?” he asked, his voice deep and rough, his grip on you was still tight, but his hips had stilled, he was pulled back slightly from you, allowing you space to breathe.

“Please.” You whimpered out, tears springing up in your eyes, you were too riled up now, body too hot and aching for release.

You needed him. You needed Tsukishima to touch you more, you needed him to whisper filth into your ear, you needed to feel his skin sliding against yours, and most of all, you needed him be buried deep inside of you.

“I need to hear you say it Y/n.” He grasped your jaw, angling your face up to his as he stared down at you. “Say it.”

You could feel your lower lip quivering, you were aching for it, aching for him. “Kei please! Just - just fuck me already!” you wailed. “What are you waiting for!? Just fuck m-” he yanked you off of the counter, your legs wrapping tightly around his waist as he carried you to your couch, dropping you down haphazardly before his hands were everywhere, ripping the clothes off your body until you were completely bare.

He stared shamelessly at your nakedness, eyes running over every curve of your body. His hands rested on your bent needs, pulling them open and staring openly at your glistening cunt.

“Don’t look.” you whimpered, moving one of your hands to cover yourself up. He easily knocked your hand away.

“Don’t hide yourself from me.” he said as he moved to remove the rest of his clothing.

Tsukishima was beautiful, long, and lean, his muscular frame exposed to your greedy eyes as you scanned his body.

Your lips trembled at the sight of his stiff member, leaking precum and standing painfully tall.

He grasped his cock lazily, his hand easily sliding up and down his shaft as he gazed down at you. His other hand reached down to gather the obscene amount of wetness that was gathering between your legs.

“You’re soaked,” he moaned, eyes flashing dangerously. “You want me to fuck you? Or do you want me to taste you?”

You could feel your mouth run dry at his questions.

Tsukishima’s eyes narrowed slightly, his large hand coming down to swat at your thigh. You gasped the stinging sensation, your arousal spiking dramatically.

“Answer me.” he demanded.

Your lips trembled, eyes glazing over with unshed tears, you were so pent up, you needed something, anything that would provide you with some kind of release.

It was only for a moment, but there was a flash of gentleness, the hand that had swatted at your thigh rubbed at the skin tenderly.

“You’re so beautiful.” he said quietly, and then he was moving to situate himself between your legs, grasping at your thighs before his head ducked down and his hot tongue licked a strip up your soaked slit until it rested on your clit.

You moaned loudly; your head being thrown back as your body trembled with pleasure.

His tongue lapped lazily against you, flickering up and down against that swollen bundle of nerves, occasionally dipping further down, sliding into your entrance, tasting you completely before sliding back up.

It didn’t take long for you to get close to your orgasm. Your body was taut, aching for release. It was too much almost; your fingers tangled tightly in his hair, you couldn’t tell if you were pushing him away or pulling him closer.

All you knew was that he was giving you everything right now. Tsukishima pulled your clit into his mouth now, sucking hard, his front teeth gently brushing against it.

Your legs were tense, thighs quacking as you approached your release, the quiet room was filled with your drawn out moans and pants, wet slurping noises escaping your lower half as Tsukishima all but devoured your cunt completely.

You came with a cry, body convulsing against the cushions of the couch, thighs trying to close together, squeezing tightly against Tsukishima’s head. You whimpered brokenly as you tried to wiggle yourself away from the blonde that was still sucking at your clit, but his grip was tight, refusing to let you go, forcing your over sensitive cunt to produce another orgasm.

In the midst of it all, he yanked himself away, lining his stiff cock against your swollen entrance and then snapping his hips forward, sheathing himself inside of you completely.

A loud cry tore through your lips, you were still in the middle of your orgasm when he entered, your slick gushing out around him and spilling onto the cushions below.

“Are you gonna cum again?” he breathed watching you in awe as you struggled to adapt to his size.

“Fuck you are.” he moaned, your tight walls fluttering around him as your third one ripped through your body. “I can’t believe you came again just from me entering you.” he breathed out, hands resting on your hips.

Tsukishima gave you no time to adjust, his hips snapping forward harshly as he set a brutal pace.

You could feel your eyes rolling into the back of your head, your fingers gripping at the couch, needing something, anything to hold on to.

His cock rubbed against your walls perfectly, your body having no time to keep up with his movement, the stretch burned, the pleasure toe curling. Your legs were wrapped around his waist, pulling him in deeper, keeping him closer.

Suddenly your world shifted, Tsukishima hauled your body up, forcing you to sit on top of his thick member. You cried out loudly, this new position caused his cock to rub up inside of you at a new angle.

He never stopped, his large hands gripped at your hips now, forcing you up and down as you rode him, his hips snapping up to meet the downwards roll of your hips.

All you could do was grip at his broad shoulders weakly, struggling to keep up with his pace, struggling to adjust to the new depth that he reached within you.

But you couldn’t. You could hardly breathe, you couldn’t think of anything except for Tsukishima and the pleasure he was giving you.

“Look at you.” he groaned, eyes never leaving your face. “You make the sweetest faces when I’m inside of you.”

“Kei…” You sobbed. “Please.”

You weren’t sure what you were asking for at this point, the pleasure was mind numbing, the room was filled with sounds of your moans and his grunts, the wet squelching noises of your cunt as it was being stuffed over and over again was something that might’ve embarrassed you if you had the time to even think about it.

But you didn’t, all you could think about was unraveling again, all you could think about Tsukishima Kei. Your enemy, the most annoying man you had ever met, but he was also the most intelligent man you had ever met, the most beautiful man you had ever met, and now he was the only man that you ever wanted to receive pleasure from.

You came again with a loud sob, gushing around him, dripping onto his upper thighs, body trembling against his as you collapsed on top of his chest.

He groaned your name loudly, thrusting up sharply into your cunt once more before spilling himself into your hot center.

It felt like time had stopped around you as you struggled to catch your breath. You weren’t sure how long it was that you guys stayed like this.

But you have never been more tired, more comfortable in your entire life than right now.

You could feel your eyes drooping down, your face buried into the crook of his neck, his long fingers gently tracing delicate patterns into the skin of your back.

Tsukishima shifted, easily picking you up, your legs wrapped around his waist, his member still buried deep inside of you. You vaguely remember answering his question about where the bathroom was and soon you found yourself perched up on the bathroom counter.

You could feel his cum slowly leaking out of your swollen cunt, trickling down your leg as he gently cleaned you up. You didn’t even remember how you ended up in your bed, but now you were curled up against the tall blonde, wrapped up in the security of his arms as he rubbed your back gently.

“I still hate you Kei.” you mumbled against his chest, sighing softly before pressing your lips into his smooth skin.

“I know.” he smirked against your hair, pressing a gentle kiss on the crown of your head. “Go to sleep. We’ll go and get breakfast tomorrow.”

Okay maybe you didn’t hate him, but he was still infuriating to you.

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maddogofshimano · 4 years ago

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The Woman Who Dyed a Black Stain to White

Major Y0 Spoiler Warning

Lee got a sugoroku event! Look at his chibi sprite!!!

There’s several foreign names and groups mentioned in here that I don’t know the ideal romanization for, but I will try to at least be consistent on them.

This one is seriously heavy. I’m actually going to put a trigger warning on this: it’s about sex trafficked women, and Makoto’s backstory. There’s the start of an attempted sexual assault and a lot of dehumanizing language about the women who are being trafficked. Nothing is shown explicitly, but it’s rough. Additionally multiple people in the mafia commit suicide.

Summary: Lee is ordered to assassinate the boss of the Songyoung, a mysterious crime syndicate behind the disappearances of multiple women in Sotenbori. They operate in complete secrecy, and Lee finds himself facing a terrible choice between his orders and his morals.

<1986--two years before a man's corpse would be found in Kamurocho's empty lot--Iwao Bridge, Sotenbori> Makoto: Excuse me, I'm looking for my brother. Have you seen the man in this picture?

Man: No, don't know him at all. Sorry... Makoto: Excuse me, have you seen the person in this picture?

Woman: I don't know him, sorry... Oda: That woman... she's not bad... I think I'll have a little talk with her...

Oda: Pardon me miss. You're looking for your brother? I've got an idea of where he might be...

Makoto: Really!? Please, take me there right away! Oda: Of course. If you wouldn't mind coming with me then...

Voice on the TV: The case of the repeated disappearances of women in Sotenbori clearly seems to be--

Lee: Young women bein' targeted for abduction... Must be the Omi Alliance, or maybe some foreign group... Lee: The police are stayin' awful quiet on it though. Hard to feel good about all the movement that's happenin' around it... <phone rings> Lee: Ah, the phone... Lee: Hogushi Kaikan speaking. What treatment may I help you with? Voice on the phone: I have a job for you, Lee Wen Hai Lee: Well, sounds like ya aren't after a massage, are ya... Wong, who'd'ya need taken care of this time? Wong: That's cruel, Lee. Do you know the Korean mafia faction, the Songyoung? Lee: Aah, I've been hearin' some things about them. I was gettin' a real bad vibe off of that group... Wong: We haven't been able to pin them down effectively because they don't do anything themselves, they use hired thugs for all the dirty work... Wong: It sounds like they outsource their income streams. That's how they keep everything a secret. Lee: So you're tellin' me this for a reason... right? The Songyoung are my next target? Wong: Mhm, that's right. Wong: These days their thugs are rampaging all over our organization's territory... Wong: If they keep making waves like this, they're bound to bring the Omi down on our heads. Wong: The current pressure the Omi is putting on us is more than enough, and they'll only use this as an excuse to squeeze harder. Lee: Is the big bad mainland mafia's Kotou and the Omi that scared? (Tl note: this gets clarified way later, but Kotou (虎頭) is the Chinese mafia group Lee works for) Wong: Don't tease... Sotenbori is the Omi Alliance's most treasured territory... Wong: There's no advantage to putting the Omi in a bad mood or inflicting damage. But, how much do you even understand that? Wong: Anyways, the more the Songyoung keep rampaging, the more foreign organizations like our Kotou will suffer. Wong: Your assignment is to assassinate the boss of the Songyoung. I'm sure you know the usual payment from Kotou... Wong: For this one, it'll be double. Lee: Well ain't that generous... So what's the catch? Wong: Like I said, the Songyoung is a thoroughly secretive organization. Wong: Naturally, their bosses current whereabouts are unknown, as are the group's hideouts... Lee: So I gotta figure out where the guy even is... Wong: So? Will you take on the assignment? Lee: Well of course. I'll take it. You can transfer the payment to the usual account. Wong: Understood. When I get it, I'll fax you a picture of the boss of the Songyoung. Use it for verification. Wong: Well then, I'll leave you to it. Don't forget to keep in contact, okay? Lee: I'll remember... See ya later then? <Hangs up the phone> Lee: Well then, first things first is collectin' information on the Songyoung... <Prologue End> <A few days later--Shofuku Street, Sotenbori> Lee: After all this time pokin' around I still haven't gotten any info on the Songwong...

Lee: I thought Wong was just cuttin' corners, but even that pro I listened to didn't know shit... Lee: Information fees have gotten jacked up with the current economic boom, and it's hard to rely on anything they say... Lee: This place then. Today I'll pay it a visit... <Lee enters the mahjong parlor> Lee: Let's see, where is that guy... Oh, there he is....

Lee: Hey, been a while... how's things treatin' ya?

Information Broker: Well, if it isn't God Hand-sama himself... Broker: It'd been so long since I heard from ya that lately I'd been thinkin' about closin' up shop and pickin' up massage instead. Lee: Shut it, smartass! All you've been doin' lately is sittin' on your ass playin' mahjong... Lee: ...But, I'll let it slide. I'm here to get some info from ya. Lee: Tell me everythin' ya know about the Songyoung... Broker: ....And if that information isn't cheap? Lee: How much? Broker: Give me... 100k upfront, and we'll see how much it'll cost. Lee: Tch... Ya better watch yourself after this... Here, take your cash! <a wad of bills thumps onto the table> Broker: Of course. So, what do you want to know about the Songyoung? Lee: Their main hideout, and where their boss is at right now. For that information I'll pay as much as ya need. Broker: That's some real problematic info, ya know. These guys are hardcore on their secrecy... Lee: Seriously, I paid out the ass upfront already... So what, ya don't have that info? Broker: I do have a list of their lower rungs... Broker: If ya wanna find the main group, you'll have to squeeze it out of the branches... Lee: Sure, hand over that info then. Broker: You sure? It's gonna be another 100k. Lee: Jeez... Here. We good now? <another wad of bills hits the table> Broker: Thank you for your patronage... Alright, here's the list. Lee: ....This, you're sure there's not some sort of mistake? Broker: I absolutely guarantee it. Welllllll some of them might have cut ties with the main group already I suppose... Broker: The lower rungs are nothin' but nasty, muscle-headed imbeciles, though with your strength it won't be a problem... Lee: Heh.... I can't understand why this information is goin' for only 100k.

Broker: Ha... Findin’ a buyer for that kind of thing ain't easy. Broker: If you're makin' a move on these guys... Well, there's not gonna be a point to holdin' on to that information afterwards, right? Lee: ...That's pretty smart of ya. I'm off then, I'll be back later. Lee: Well, time to get goin' through this list with a fine toothed comb. <Lee goes to the park> Lee: Every one of these organizations is tied to the Songyoung somehow, but I just don't know what's connectin' them...

Lee: Do I really gotta go trompin' through this whole list and hope I stumble onto where the boss is at? Goon A: Hehe... Hey, let's go do some damage today!!

Goon B: It's great havin' the backin' of a big, influential group like that... Looks like our luck is finally turnin' around!! Lee: Well there's some assholes... I wonder what kinda info they might have... <Lee kicks the shit out of them. Like I don't even do the fight it just fades to black and Lee takes care of it himself> Goon A: Hhhh... Please forgive us.... The Songyoung already cut us off! So please don't kill us!!

Lee: Ya better not tell me you've cut ties again, okay? Just tell me all the info ya got on the Songyoung. Goon A: I-I really don't know anythin'! The contact we had, we never even saw their face. Lee: Seriously you guys... This is the tenth time. These Songyoung are damn serious about this secrecy crap, huh... Lee: These bastards don't have any information neither... Goon B: Th-That's true, but it is possible... Lee: What? Ya got an idea or somethin'? Goon B: There’s some guys that have turf near Iwao Bridge, they do way worse dealings than we do, I think... Lee: Worse dealings? Goon B: Yeah, they abduct young women that've just come to Sotenbori, and the Songyoung takes em for a shit ton of cash. Lee: Wait, wait, you mean... That's what's causin' the "vanishing women case" right now!?

Goon B: Yeah... That's right... It's all just rumors, but they go after runaway girls to kidnap... Lee: Then that means, this "disappearance case", it's all the Songyoung's doing... Lee: Now that's the kind of details I want to hear!! Goon B: Y-Yes sir!! Though, there is one other thing you should know... Goon B: In the past there was a real famous gang that was doin' this kind of job, but that gang left Sotenbori just when they were about to take over... Goon B: The organization that's currently makin' bank off of abducting women is called... Well, it's gotta be "Ganryujima". (Tl note: Ganryujima is the island famous for the duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro. Also of note the first kanji in ganryujima is the same as the first kanji in Iwao Bridge) Goon B: That's the full extent of what I know... Lee: So near Iwao Bridge there's turf belonging to "Ganryujima"? That group's also on the list.... Seems like I got plenty to go on. Lee: In light of this info ya gave me, I'll let ya go. Hopefully this'll've been a learnin' experience for ya, and ya won't got gettin' involved with any more groups like that. Goons: Y-Yes sir!! Thank you very much!! Lee: Iwao Bridge is right up there.... I was gonna ask the Garyujima about the Songwong but... this feelin'...

Lee: This ain't just another punk, is it... someone else in the same profession? Lee: Hey, I know you're there. Come on out. If you're gonna tail someone, put a lil more effort in on stayin' hidden... Menacing Man: Are you the one who's been crushing all of our lower rungs? No hard feelings, but I'm going to kill you here...

Lee: As if I'd fall so far as to get killed by some third rate hitman who can't even hide himself properly... Lee: Though, ya did save me the trouble by showin' up. It was gonna be a pain in the ass to get the info I was after on your kinda organization. Lee: I'm just gonna beat every last drop of info about your group out of ya!! Menacing Man: Heh.... Come at me then!! You're going to regret messing with the Songyoung!! <the fight happens for real this time, fittingly Misery Comes On Beat plays and Lee clobbers them> Menacing Man: G-Guh........ Lee: Alright, you know what I want, ready to spill it on the Songyoung? Menacing Man: Heh.... You think I'm going to talk? Lee: Oh, so you've decided I gotta make you talk then... Menacing Man: The organization's secrets are absolute... Letting that kind of things slip, it's just not something I can do... <stabbing sounds> Lee: You! What the hell did you do!! Menacing Man: Guhh..... fool!? Lee: What idiots... All of them went and slit their own throats... Lee: All that to protect their organization's secrets... Finding their boss's location is gonna be a real pain in the ass.

<end part 1> Lee: You bastards are Ganryujima boys, ain't ya?

Goon: Who the hell are you? You got a problem if we're Ganryujima? Lee: Nope, my problem is with all the women you've been ordered to kidnap for the Songyoung. Goon: You... where the hell did ya hear that? Lee: Ya think I'm gonna say? Goon: Heh..... 's all good. If ya knew any better, ya would have gone home to keep on livin'... Goon: Oi, everyone!! Let's end this geezer!! Lee: Sure are a lotta hotblooded assholes... Ah well. I'll just have to convince ya to talk. <once again, Lee crushes them without me even doing the fight> Goon: Haa... Haa... Wh-What the hell's with this old man...

Lee: From now on, be selective when you pick fights. If you pick the wrong opponent on this street, are you ready to lose your life? <metallic noise of something being drawn, presumably a knife or the acupuncture needle, it's unclear> Goon: A-Aahh!? P-Please don't kill me!! Lee: Are ya ready to tell me about the Songyoung then? What's the guy look like that you're handin' these girls over to? Goon: Sorry... we just leave the women we kidnapped in a pre-designated abandoned house on a regular basis, I never seen anyone... Goon: The money just gets wired into our account... I really don't know the guy's face at all... Lee: ....Tch, you fuckers are another dead end. Goon: I-I'm sorry I'm so worthless!! But please, my life... Lee: Fine, whatever.... Actually, one thing! Goon: Wh-What!? Lee: In exchange for me lookin' the other way on this, I'm givin' ya a job to do. Goon: A-A job... What'd'ya want us to do? Lee: It's easy. I'm gonna bring ya a girl, and you're gonna sell her to those guys... can ya do that? (Tl note: misread this at first as "I'm gonna be the next girl ya sell to those guys" and was pogging) Goon: Y-Yeah. I think we should be able to do that... Lee: Good, then I'll be back when I've finished some preparations. <Lee goes to a bar to speak with an anime girl because there is exactly one base sprite for all women> Lee: Yo, it's been a while. You haven't changed a day...

Lee: Makes sense, given nobody knows the number of guys you've swindled out of their cash then bumped off... Woman: .....You know, Lee. Isn't it a bit cruel to call someone out to meet you and then speak about them like that? Lee: Sorry, sorry, I thought I was payin' a compliment to your heinous modus operandi, it's very skillful.

Woman: Sigh~... so what is it? Why'd you call me over so suddenly? I came because I owe you one, but I'm not here on a leisure trip. Lee: I was hopin' to get us squared away. Think ya can handle one bothersome task for me? Woman: Bothersome? Lee: Yeah, I'm trying to get a hold of information on this organization... Stuff like where there hideout is, but since no one's talkin' I'd like to borrow your power. Woman: ....And what do you want me to do? Lee: I want ya to pose as a runaway and sneak into this place as one of the girls gettin' traffic'd. Lee: I've gotten a hold of the sales route they're usin'... Lee: You'll get bought wearin' a tracking device and a hidden mic, and that'll let us infiltrate the hideout. Woman: This is going to be dangerous, isn't it? I know I owe you, but is that enough to risk my life over? Lee: When you're a professional killer, isn't there always a risk of death, that someone will turn the tables on ya? Well, as soon as I know where the place is I'll go and help ya. I'll protect this body you've altered... What d'ya think, will ya help? Woman: ....Ha, I guess so. After this, we're even, right? Lee: Yeah, of course. Honestly I'll feel indebted to ya! <Lee goes back outside> Lee: Right now, you're in the abandoned building in West Shokufukucho. Great, the transmitter just moved into the kitchen...

<radio static> Lee: I can hear her voice through the bug. Sensitivity is good... Lee: Now then... After that woman gets taken to the main hideout, everything will go flawlessly. <footsteps> Voice over the mic: "This is the collection team. The cargo of women has been confirmed. We'll be returning to HQ shortly, via our transport." Lee: They're speakin' korean... "Recover the woman and take her to headquarters".... huh.... Lee: Seems like it's going well. I hope it keeps up.... Voice: "Be careful not to be seen on the way back! Hurry up and return to HQ!!" Lee: They're not aware of the bug or the tracking device... <Lee gets into a car> Lee: And now I just follow em right to their hideout. <He gets out after a drive> Lee: Looks like the transmitter stopped in this building...

<radio static> Voice: "The shipment of women has arrived. Where's the boss at?" Voice: "Right now the boss is inspecting the warehouse..." Voice: "Aah, that place is crammed full of women isn't it... So, will you deliver this woman there too?" Voice: "Nah, no need to do extra work. We'll just put her in the usual room until the boss gets back..." Voice: "Roger on that!" <radio static> Lee: So this is the main hideout then. However, the boss ain't here... Lee: Ah well, I'm bound to hear where he is sooner or later. ...Ah, afterwards though, I did promise to help that woman out. <Lee kicks in the door> Songyoung goon: "Wh-What are you doing!?"

Lee: "My bad, but I was hoping to retrieve a woman I left here?"

Goon: "W-Woman!? Who do you think you are!? Do you have a death wish!?" Lee: "How about you tell me the location of the warehouse you've got the other women in?" Goon: "Wh-What!? Did you plant a bug on that woman!? Shit!! Everyone! Don't let this man leave here alive!!" Goon: "For the sake of protecting our organization, this man must die!! Kill him and sink his body in the harbor!! Let's go!!" <Lee crushes them and two of the three hit the floor> Goon: "That man... so strong..." Lee: "Well, the place where you've got all those women locked up, ya better tell me where it is.." Goon: "Heh... you really think it's going to be that simple?" <gunshots> Lee: Shit... Shot himself right in the head... Lee: The other two drank poison to kill themselves too. What a commitment to secrecy... It's sickening.... Lee: And even still, I just gotta investigate this place and I'll figure out where that warehouse is. Whoops, gotta help that woman first... <back outside> Woman: Seriously... I'm sorry for this again, alright? (Tl note: extremely in the weeds here, I don't really know what she's talking about)

Lee: Heh.... Searching the house would have been rotten without your help. Woman: I'll send a bill for that information later! Lee: And I'll send ya a whole mountain of gold as payment! Woman: Haa~... That's what I like to hear.... Well then, don't you go and die until you pay me, okay? <She leaves> Lee: Hmm, I need to keep in contact with Wong.... Was there a payphone around here? <He goes to a payphone and dials Wong>

Wong: ...Lee? Lee: Yep, just keepin' in touch. I found the group's hideout. Wong: Oh, good work... Several of their members are dead there. They won't be able to use it. Wong: So? Have you brought down their boss? Lee: No. He wasn't at the hideout... Lee: But, I do know where he is. The warehouse with all the imprisoned women. Wong: Heh... Going to sample the wares? Always was a nympho... Wong: Regardless you've done well. You should head over to the warehouse right away.... Lee: ....? Got it. Once I deal with the boss, is it okay if I release the women? Wong: No, all the captive women should be erased. It would be problematic if this income stream got leaked to the police. Lee: What....!? <end of part 2>

Lee: I'm not gonna kill kidnapped women who have done nothin' wrong! Don't be ridiculous!! Lee: Is that the kind of orders the top mafia Kotou is handin' out!? Wong: Calm down, Lee. This was a decision by the organization. Lee: These women were kidnapped by punks with more lust for gold than humanity and are getting preyed upon by the main branch with their wicked intentions. Lee: And after all that shit, I ain't gonna just go in and kill them!! Wong: If the police find out about this source of income from the Songyoung, the crackdown in Sotenbori is going to be very strict... Wong: If that happens, it will be harder for us to operate in a lot of ways... So these women continuing to exist is problematic. Wong: You do understand what will happen if you go against direct orders from the group, don't you? Lee: (Have they really made up their mind on killing these women? Even though these women, they haven't done anything wrong, they're the victims?) Lee: (But if I go against orders, I'll be the one killed... Either the lives of those women, or my own, I have to choose.) Wong: There's high expectations on you for completing this job. Are you going to betray everyone? Lee: (If I try to run, I won't be able to catch the boss. If I want to bring him down... There's no time to hesitate...) Lee: (That's how I have to think. I'm a pro. An assassin. And... up till now, I've devoted myself fully to this path, just as expected.) Lee: ...I understand. I'll take the lives of those women. That is part of my job... Wong: Is that so... Well then, I'll be waiting to hear good news. <hangs up phone and goes back to the Songyoung hideout> Lee: Shit.... That asshole, handin' out such a sickening order. Lee: Fine!! I'll sink the corpse of that boss, all those women, and anyone else into the damn harbor!! Lee: I'm already black hearted, and this time I'll be stained as black as can be... Lee: With this blood on my hands, I'll just get em even dirtier with more and more. <Lee goes to the warehouse> Lee: This is where the main branch's hideout said the warehouse should be, so the boss and the kidnapped women should be inside...

Lee: (Looks like they got two guys keepin' watch... The entrance to this place is well defended... It's gonna be tough takin' out the boss and those women by myself...)

Goon A: Gah!? Goon B: Guhh!? <they hit the floor> Lee: ...There's probably more guys keepin' watch. I'll have to be careful killin' the boss and women... <Lee moves into the warehouse> Lee: Since there's a guard over there, there's no mistake that this is the main group's warehouse...

Lee: The real question is, where is the boss... Hm? That's... <A man walks by with a woman> Lee: Just now, that guy that brought a woman into that room... There's no doubt about it, that's the guy from the photo Wong sent... Lee: When I go into that room... Lee: I'll lose my chance to run. I'll commit myself to seein' this job through and stainin' myself pitch black. <Lee heads in> Young Woman: Stop it... d-don't come any closer... someone!!

Songyoung Boss: Heh, no matter how much you scream, no one is coming to help you... Lee: Mind if I step in and have some fun?

Boss: Who the fuck are you!? ...Are you an assassin sent by Wong?

Boss: He never gets his own hands dirty with jobs like this... Lee: You figured it out quick. No hard feelings, but I'm going to kill you now. (Tl note: same line that the Songyoung assassin used against Lee) Boss: You're a moron. I'm not going to be killed by some wannabe assassin. I'll kill you first!! Boss: Let's go, assassin!! I'm going to send your stinking corpse to Wong!! <fight, Lee wrecks shop> Lee: Say your prayers... <Stabbing noise> Boss: Guah!? <he hits the floor> Lee: That handles my primary goal... Now I have to... Lee: (Now I have to deal with the women... First I should have her guide me to where they're all being imprisoned...) Lee: Were you bein’ held captive in here?

Woman: Yes!! Please, please help!! There's a lot of others that are being held captive here besides me!! Lee: ...Got it. Could ya bring me to the room they're all in? Woman: Yes! This way!! <they go> Woman: Just ahead is the room we were all held in! We had given up all hope on being rescued, everyone will be so happy!!

Lee: Sorry for the trouble, Miss Guide... Lee: (She looks delighted... Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be killin' someone lookin' like that...) Lee: (... If my daughter were still alive, she'd be just about the same age as this woman.....) Lee: (This blameless woman that I'm going to sink into the sea... This really is the most depraved job...) Lee: (It would be troublesome if she started screamin' here... Guess I'll take care of her after I handle all the other women...) Lee: ...Ah, that's right! I got a request for ya, miss... Woman: Yes! What do you need? Lee: There's still a lot of thugs around outside... Could ya make sure no one leaves till I confirm it's safe? Lee: Would ya go and close off the entrance and the exit to the warehouse? Woman: Y-Yeah! On it!! <she leaves> Lee: Miss, forgive me... I ain't really here to save ya... <Lee goes into the inner room> Woman A: A-Again... Who's coming in here now?

Woman B: That's not it! The door is still open!! Woman B: R-Run for it! We're finally free from this nightmare!! <the women flee> Lee: (With the door open like that... It's natural that they'd all run off in a panic...) Lee: (All these run away girls, now about to get killed, they really are the unluckiest women in the world.......) Lee: (But if I don't kill them, the organization's gonna kill me... This really is the most abysmal job...) Lee: (I can't save even a single one of them... It's a weight I'll have to bear for the rest of my life, no matter what excuses I try to make.) <knife drawing sound> Lee: Hm? That woman, what is she... Lee: ...Why didn't she run? That's weird... Is she hurt?

Lee: Hey, are you alright....?

Lee: (She's feelin' her way around... This girl, is she blind?) Makoto: A-Are you the one who's helping everyone? Lee: N-No... I'm... <music cuts out> Makoto: Thank you so much... Thank you..... Thank you so very much... thank you....

Lee's daughter: "Hey, dad... are you there...?"

Lee: "Yes, I'm right here!! I'm here!! You're gonna be okay, the doctor's on his way!! Just stay with me!!" Lee's daughter: "....Dad, even with this frail life of mine... thank you so much for raising me..." Lee: "Nonsense! Sayin' stuff like that, raisin' you was only natural!!" Lee's daughter: "Thank you for everything, dad... I love you..." Lee: (Ah... She also, said the same thing......)

Lee: (......) Lee: (No way.... There's no way... I could kill her......)

Lee: (For the time bein' that girl's gone to sleep in that room. Everythin' is still chaotic though...) (Tl note: the word Lee is using for girl here is 娘 which is the same one used for daughter) Lee: (Helpin' that girl means disobeyin' Wong's--no, Kotou's orders...) Lee: (If I'm already goin' against my orders... I might as well save every woman in this damn place!!) Lee: (But what am I gonna do? If I don't kill the women, then Wong's just gonna send another hitman after 'em.) Lee: (If I want these women to live, my only options are gettin' Wong to let them go, or if Kotou was totally annihilated.) Lee: Damn it... There's no way Wong would look the other way on this, so my only option is to wipe out Kotou myself... Lee: Of course, I gotta figure out how to even do that... Lee: I'm gamblin' on a long shot. At least I'm gonna save as many women as I possibly can!! Lee: Alright, then I need to get the women out of here before Wong catches onto what I'm up to... Woman: Kyaaaaaa!! Lee: What!? That voice, did someone get into the warehouse!? <two women are facing a menacing man> Man: ...So you women didn't get killed? I see, I see...

Woman: W-Who are you!? Oh no, are you one of the people that locked us all up in here!? Man: No, I'm not a part of the group that did that. (Tl note: He's speaking very politely, it's kind of unsettling) Man: That being said, I do have a job to do here, so... No hard feelings, but I'm going to kill you now. (Tl note: the third instance of this line, I guess hitmen are very fond of it) Woman 2: You're going to... Why would you kill us!! Man: It's nothing you've done personally... however there are people who would be very inconvenienced if your confinement was ever known about... Man: Well then, let's start off with you... If you're going to hold a grudge, please hold it against your own bad luck... Woman 2: W-Wait... don't kill me.... Lee: Hold it, jack ass!! Lee: Ladies... stay back...

Women: S-Sure... Man: Hmmm... you're the one Wong sent to kill the Songwong boss, aren't you? Lee: What about it? I already took care of that boss a while ago now... Man: Is that so... Thank you for a job well done. ....Though, I have to ask, why are these women still alive? Man: Surely you were ordered to eliminate the women as well? Woman 2: Eh!? Lee: All these women did nothin' wrong... killin' them is completely unnecessary. Man: So you intend to turn against Wong? Lee: .....Yeah, I do. Man: Ah ha ha! I see, I see... You know, Wong-san seemed worried this was the path you'd take. Lee: ...Who are you? Man: I'm the contingency plan Wong-san prepared to handle this if you couldn't bring yourself to kill these women. Man: My orders from Wong-san were to come here and kill any woman left alive. Lee: Hah... Awful conniving of Wong to pull somethin' like this... Too bad that I decided that all these women are gonna live!!

Man: So that's how it is... what a shame. Well, you've made your decision to die here with these women. Man: But that's good! A killer like you will die alongside all these young ladies!! <they fight, Lee tears him up> Man: I'm finished... You're a skilled hitman... Lee: Your arm can probably be saved... Man: But... Wong-san will never forgive you for going against the organization like this... You'll be killed, won't you? Lee: Seems that way... But I'm gonna fight it all the way to the end... Man: I see... In that case, I wish you good luck... <man collapses to the floor> Lee: Hoooo~.... I need to make sure all the ladies are still alright... Lee: I'm gonna wipe all traces of you being enslaved from the records here and in the Songwong hideout... Lee: That should throw em off all your trails... Woman 2: Eh? D-Does that mean... you're helping all of us? Lee: Yeah, that's right... Lee: It'll be best if all of you forget about everythin' that happened here and go back to your old lives... Lee: After that leave everythin' else to this geezer!! Woman 2: Th-Thank you so much!! Woman 1: But, are you going to be alright? That person said that you would be killed too... Lee: The fate of a killer who goes against his organization is set in stone. But, I don't intend to be easy to kill... Lee: If it means savin' all of you, payin' with the life of a killer like me is a hell of a bargain, right? Woman 1: But that's... isn't there something you can do? You could run away with us... Lee: I've got to go smash up my employer... I got a lotta obligations in front of me... Lee: If I run away, other people are gonna end up payin' for it. Woman 1: But... Lee: It's fine... Don't you go worryin' about me none. Lee: Though, sorry to keep askin' things of ya miss, but could I ask one more favor of ya? Woman 1: What is it? I'll do whatever I can!! Lee: In the room ya were locked up in, there's a lady that can't see waitin' there... Lee: As much as ya can, could ya take care of that kid and keep her out of trouble? Woman 1: I-I should be okay... I'll do as much as I'm able-- Lee: Yeah!! Seriously, I'm grateful! Lee: I know it's a lot to ask of ya miss, sorry. Woman 1: No, this doesn't even begin to pay back how much you've helped us... Lee: Alright, you stay healthy miss... <Lee leaves> Woman 1: Ah!? That's right, there's a mafia called "Kotou", please stay safe from them!! Lee: W-Wait a minute!! Miss, what did you say just now!? Woman 1: Umm... To please watch out for a mafia called "Kotou"... Lee: You said "Kotou"... miss, where did you hear that name!? (Tl note: I had been reading it wildly wrong as “Toragashira” until now and had to go back and correct every instance of it. When she says it it’s in katakana, but Lee had been saying it in kanji, so I was just guessing on pronunciation) Woman 1: Earlier, while we were still imprisoned, I heard it from one of the people here... Woman 1: "My group "Kotou" is a Chinese mafia. You can rely on us for backup if you encounter any trouble" is what they said... Lee: H-Hold on... But wouldn't that mean... Kotou and the Songyoung are workin' together...!? Lee: What the hell, what the hell is goin' on....!?

Lee: You're sure they said "Kotou"?

Woman 1: Y-Yeah... That's definitely what they said. Lee: Seriously.... hm? Wait... Thinkin' back on it... Wong did say somethin' strange... Lee: (Back when I first found out the boss was in the warehouse....) Lee: ("Heh... Planning on sampling the wares? ...Always was a nympo...") (Tl note: I had to go back and edit the earlier instance of this to be more vague like this, I confused on who it was directed at but I was looking at it as between Lee or Wong and couldn't see how it would make sense to be self directed since Wong wasn't going to the warehouse. Lee seemed confused by it too, so the vagueness seems intentional, but I’m very glad it wasn’t actually directed at Lee like I initially thought) Lee: (It's like he knew the Songyoung Boss before this...) Lee: If that's true, then that means the same goes for the Songyoung boss! Lee: (In that room where I took him out, he said to me "He never gets his own hands dirty with jobs like this") Lee: (So that means he also knew Wong before all of this...) Lee: It's possible... but what does it all mean? Woman 1: ...Um, is there something I can help with? Lee: Aah! Thank to you miss, I might have figured out a way to avoid dyin'. Woman 1: Really!? Lee: I do have one job to take care of first though. Lee: When ya get out of here and forget all this to get back to your life... I want ya to forget me too... okay? Lee: Oh, and avoid dealin with strange men, okay? Woman 1: Yes sir! Thank you again!! <she leaves> Lee: If I believe her story, then the Songyoung and Wong are connected... Lee: If that's the case, there might be evidence of that here and in the Songyoung hideout... Lee: If I can find it, I might be able to use that to keep Wong silent on this whole thing. Lee: First things first, better start searchin' the warehouse... Lee: Haa~...... I can't find anythin'.... Well, findin' somethin' like that was never going to be easy. Lee: Next is the room where all the women were confined...

<rustling noise> Lee: Hm? Hold on... this is it!! <screen fades to black> Wong: Lee... You just keep betraying my faith in you...

Lee: Ha, you're soundin' awful full of yourself... Wong. Lee: You'd probably tell me I was wipin' my own ass wrong... Lee: Aren't you betrayin' our organization too? I don't think you're in any position to talk about my betrayal. Wong: Lee, you piece of shit...... Lee: Heh... Of course, since you and the Songyoung are in bed together... Lee: Didn’t you let them make money trafficking these women so you could have a little slush fund? Lee: It's all written in this set of orders ya fax'd em anyways... Wong: Are you an idiot!? Get rid of that like you were ordered to!!

Lee: You stopped trustin' the Songyoung boss, right? Lee: Nothin' will poison a relationship faster than cash, it's a common story in this line of work. Lee: Seems like for the most part the Songyoung hated the tight leash you had them on and decided to betray you and be more bold about things, yeah? Lee: Then, when the disappearance of women started to become public knowledge, it lit a fire under your ass to hurry up and stamp out this whole operation... Wong: ........... Lee: That's why ya sent me to find the Songyoung hideout that had moved and you had lost contact with... Lee: With myself on the job, it'd be easy for ya to nonchalantly show up and snag the evidence of your betrayal... Lee: And if I failed you had prepared a contingency to get the job done... then ya'd be able to muzzle the aforementioned organization. Have I got that right? Wong: ........... Lee: Hah... Seems like that's a bulls-eye... Lee: If ya don't want this fax bein' sent off to Kotou, I got a condition for ya to accept... Well, Wong? Wong: ....Heh, pffhahaha... you really are a dumb fuck... Lee: What!? The hell's so funny!! Wong: If you had turned over that evidence right away, you might have been fine... Wong: But you're hopelessly stupid if you think you can negotiate with me face to face and I won't just kill you here and now. Wong: If I erase you and the evidence right here, I won't get caught for my betrayal!! Lee: Hmm... So you... are turnin' down my condition? Wong: Of course I am!! I'm going to kill you!! That's why I brought my best men with me!! Wong: Lee, my blood ran cold when you told me you had found evidence of my betrayal... Wong: So I must thank you for being such a dumbass!! Wong: Rest assured, Lee! After I'm done killing you, all those women you saved will be killed too!! Wong: Go to hell alongside the women you risked your life to protect!! Let's do it!! Your certain death!! <they fight, Lee crushes them> Wong: Stupid... even my best men...?

Lee: Heh, bad luck for you Wong. I've been survived more lethal battles than you can count... Lee: Well, that's all been with your help...

Lee: So, are ya ready? This is the endin' you asked for..... Lee: .........You know, it didn't have to end like this if you had just put up with my one demand. Wong: W-Wait!! I'll do it!! Your life, those women's lives, I'll look past it all!! So please... Lee: ....What you're sayin', you really mean it? Wong: Yes! Of course!! I'll talk to the organization myself about the women...

Lee: ......I've owed ya a lot. So if ya say that--

Wong: You truly are the stupidest mother fucker on earth!! <gun cocks>

Lee: Guh! Wong, you bastard!? <Stabbing sound> Wong: Guah--... Leeee.... you.... fucker!!

Lee: Idiot... Why'd ya make me do that, Wong.... <Some days later, Kotou confirmed that Wong has gone rogue.> <Lee's killing of Wong was considered a "purge" and his actions were left unquestioned.>

<A few weeks later> <Sotenbori's Hogushi Kaikan> Customer: Ah, just what I'd expect from the chief! Everything feels great!!

Lee: Hey, Makoto! Could ya grab my needles for me? Makoto: Eh? N-Needles...? Those are, ummm.... S-Sorry, I don't know... Lee: Ah, that's my bad, don't worry. Here, I'll show ya... Makoto: S-Sorry, chief.....

Lee: ....Wanna grab my hand? Makoto: Y-Yeah.... Lee: The needles we use for acupuncture are... right here. For you that'll be about 5 steps past the entrance to the treatment room. Makoto: Got it... S-Sorry... Lee: Hey, I already said it was my bad, don't worry... Lee: Some day you're gonna be able to see again. Until then, it's perfectly fine to get used to things slowly. Lee: We'll start at a slow pace for you... Then when you can do that, we can step it up. Makoto: Yes sir. Customer: The chief sure has changed since Makoto-chan showed up, huh? It seems like he's really happy now... Lee: Sh-Shut it, smart ass!! You say more dumb shit like that and I'll run your tongue through with my needle!! Customer: A-Ahhh!? Please forgive me!!

Customer: Nonetheless... Makoto-chan's been here for a few weeks now. Customer: I was really surprised at first! How'd a cute girl like Makoto end up as your apprentice... Customer: I thought the chief had gone and kidnapped you. Lee: Hey! Don't go startin' nasty rumors like that!! Lee: Geez... You know, I think I won't do the acupuncture! You're not stiff enough to need any hot oil neither... Lee: But it's fiiine, you can scram!! Ain't like you'd appreciate the pain of this needle anyhow... Customer: Ahaha... well then, I better get out of here before the chief starts stabbing. Customer: See ya, Makoto-chan. Be safe... and I hope your vision comes back quickly. Makoto: ...Y-Yeah....... Customer: See ya chief, till next time! <he leaves> Makoto: Lee-san, I'm sorry.... I don't know how to do anything... even though you've allowed me to be your live-in apprentice...... Lee: It's all good, Makoto. Don't fret. As long as ya don't panic and take things slowly you'll have no trouble doin' all sorts of stuff... Makoto: .........Yeah. Lee: Makoto, I'm gonna smoke for a minute out back..... Makoto: Ah, sure... Have a good day, Lee-san. <he leaves> Lee: "Have a good day" huh....

Lee: That look she gave me... I'm going to protect that to the bitter end.... Lee: To protect that girl... I'd do anything... Anything at all....

<epilogue end> Bonus time: first of all OOFA DOOFA this was huge! and intense! and very difficult to translate god damn all this politicking and kansai-ben. In good(?) news, I learned a bunch of fun new vocab like abduction, kidnapping, human trafficking, betrayal, etc. You know, the essential stuff. Also it’s extremely unclear if the femme fatale that Lee leveraged here is the same one he plans to kill to fake Makoto’s death in Y0, or if he just knows multiple women that swindle money out of men and kill them. Here’s an actual bonus: Lee’s thoughts on things from the board game! Let’s see if tumblr explodes from all these images or not.

Sotenbori Our city. It's got good and bad and everythin' else all mixed together. Of course, that's why they call it the city that can't be satisfied.

Acupuncture Needle The acupuncture needle I use. Custom made, but ordinary needles. By using this, it'll start feeling good instantly.

Smokes An item vital to any acupuncturist. If you gently take a drag, the customer's meridians will appear on their back. Don't believe me?

Iwao Bridge A lot of young guys here trying to be pick up artists. A little while ago, one of my customers was an idiot who had jumped into the river after the local baseball team won the championship

Cabaret Grand This place has become the topic of conversation lately. I don't really go to those kinds of places, but, well, I kind of want to head over and take a peek

The Man with the Bat Tattoo I don't have any connection to him, I don't even know his face or his name, but if I ever meet him... I'm really going to enjoy it

Hogushi Kaikan My massage shop in Sotenbori. All ages of men and women, mafia and civilians, come here to get their muscles relaxed. (Tl note: Hogushi means to relax/loosen)

Rumor of Shakedown A shakedown? That ain't gonna happen. Still, some idiot wanting to try to shake me down is just the kind of thing that happens in Sotenbori

Mahjong Parlor I go to the mahjong parlor often. There's a lot of chinese people there. Though, japanese people go there too sometimes. Either way, by the time I go home I'm flat broke.

One Eyed Fella I've started seein' this guy around Sotenbori recently. I got no clue as to why he's here, but he's got the eye of a beaten stray dog.

I didn’t intentionally leave the Majima one for last, his was just the last one I found! I didn’t think there’d even be one, since this takes place a year before they even met, but I’m really glad there is. Now he’s just a fun bonus for anyone who made it all the way to the end. I kind of hoped the assassin that Lee sensed right in front of the Grand was just going to be Majima walking by or something.

Lee’s also got a character story that I’ll translate once I get his bond up, so look forward to even more Lee content!

#rggo #Lee Wen Hai #yakuza #yakuza 0 #Ryu ga Gotoku #ryu ga gotoku online #makoto makimura

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arsnovacadenza · 4 years ago

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Jean d’Arc Route Summary and Translation Chp.4

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial translation based on my somewhat serviceable Japanese skills with the aid of various kanji dictionaries (and some Google Translate). As I’m doing this mostly for practice, progress will be relatively slow and there might be changes to formatting in the future. Thank you for your patience and understanding

The italicized words in brackets are the comments I made throughout my playthrough.

As promised, here’s my summary and translation of Jean D’Arc’s route in Ikemen Vampire. Obviously, there will be SPOILERS.

Before we jump right into Chp. 4, let me give little bit of context from chapter 3 since I didn't think to translate Jean's route from the very beginning:

Comte called a meeting with other vampires in the mansion to explain their entire situation to MC. So far, they've told her about their vampiric nature and their diet. Aside from Arthur, nobody else drank blood directly from humans. Even so, Napoleon told her to at least have some caution (although he can promise that nobody was going to bite her in the future).

MC asked where Jean was since he wasn't present in the dining room where they held the meeting. Mozart asked her to come along with him to Jean's quarters on the second floor (surprise, surprise, he didn't live in some ominous tower detached from the building).

Mozart point-blank confronted MC about her bite mark, which he guessed was Jean's doing. In case you haven't read up on Chp. 1 spoilers, Jean bit MC on the first night she arrived as a mansion, afterward telling her that she should've been more alert because she WAS living among stronger creatures that COULD potentially prey on her..

(Our boy sure loves to emphasize the monstrous side of vampirism and how it changed him into a predatory creature far detached from his previous human self. There's just so much to talk about here).

MC, of course, is overwhelmed by the whole situation, including Jean's reasoning for biting her. So, she asked Mozart about Jean's possible logic for doing it since they seemed to be close friends.

And that brings us to the beginning of Chapter 4.

MC, of course, was overwhelmed by the whole situation, including Jean's reasoning for biting her. So, she asked Mozart about Jean's possible logic for doing it since they seemed to be close friends.

And that brings us to the beginning of Chapter 4.

Mozart retorted, "To think that I can talk about his feelings on his behalf just because we're friends is a ridiculous assumption."

MC is taken aback by his sharp words, but admitted that he's right anyway.

He continued "In other words, go talk to him yourself and use your head."

And just like that, he opened a door and pushed MC into a room, sending her barreling on the floor. He then closed the door and called out to her from outside, basically saying. "Your misunderstanding of our relationship is wack. Come back after you talk to the guy himself."

She thought about the absurdity of the situation as the sound of Mozart's footsteps grew distant. Suddenly, a shadow fell upon her, and she followed to where it led.

In front of her was a figure gazing at her with empty eyes.

It's Jeanne. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

She stood up and apologized for suddenly barging into his room while averting her eyes from Jean's. Then she continued.

"As I'm going to burden myself upon everyone in this mansion for a month, I thought about paying my respects again." To which Jean only answered. "Is that so."

MC tried to give him an excuse as to why she wanted to go to such lengths just to greet him, which Jean didn't seem to care about. (Boy, he's rude let me tell you.) All the while, she kept thinking about how she'd soon be saying goodbye to everyone in the mansion without coming to terms with this one guy.

As MC fidgeted under his unwavering stare, she suddenly remembered her earlier talk with Mozart. She needed to confront Jean about the biting incident and understand his side of the story.

Piecing together the information she obtained from the morning meeting with everyone else, especially about their mealtimes and regarding Blanc and Rouge, she concluded that he didn't bite her out of starvation.

And she also looked back to Jean's words on that fateful night.

"If you want to return to the safety of your world, you better have a sense of danger."

"Think about how you should act to protect yourself."

(So basically Jean's telling her "If you ain't strong enough you ain't gonna last long, bitch")

But MC decided to press him more, anyway. "Why, on that night, did you bite me? Can you tell me?"

Jean answered, "If I told you the reason why what are you going to do with it?"

(Jean, that is not how you talk to ppl)

An awkward atmosphere hung between them, but Jean continued. "You weren't aware that we're vampires."

"Your wandering aimlessly around the mansion is an eyesore—"

"If you think I'm an eyesore, won't it be better if you're free of my presence?"

"Even if you said I was just an eyesore," she fired at Jean. "You didn't exactly see me as prey, do you?"

And Jean basically just answered, “Quite the carefree woman, aren’t you?”

My arms were pulled, and fingers encased in a white glove tilted up my chin.*

"Regarding that night, it doesn't matter to me however you interpret it," he murmured. "If you think of it as me being kind to you [for giving you a warning about the true nature of this mansion's residents], so be it."

"Don't approach me anymore outside of this, and get out of here this instant."

After Jean gave her the boot, MC broke down and thought about the entire confrontation, her heart racing. However, she managed to collect herself and left Jean’s door. Unbeknownst to her, Mozart had been watching the entire scene from afar. "Alas, it's no use, is it?" he sighed.

“Indeed. It is an impossible feat to unlock Monsieur Jean’s heart, especially for a newcomer like MC”

That surprised Mozart pushed MC into Monsieur Jeanne’s room.

The butler asked Mozart if he was worried about Jean. From the time they first met, Jean had been “rejecting various things, and at the same time absolutely gives up on everything.”

"The reason for that, I don’t know….. That's Jean's way of life. He can do as he pleases."

"But as his friend....it does concern me a little."

“A friendship between beautiful people, how precious!”

(That’s not what you should be focusing on, you idiot).

“Herr Mozart, if you give up, then that’s when everything is truly over.” Sebastian beamed. “Please leave it to me as this mansion’s butler, for I have something in mind.”

Mozart shrugged his shoulders as he gazed at the eccentric butler’s smile.

(This part is more dialogue and screenshot-heavy as I want to avoid misinterpretation as much as possible)

A quiet night descends upon a moonlit church at the foot of a forest, far away from the mansion. Inside, a lone man walks under the moonlight, reflected on the stained glass patterns. He narrowed his orbs*, whose left and right colors are different.

“Master, do forgive me for not paying my respects as of late.” He greeted another man.

“Ah, Will. Have there been any changes lately?”

Will proceeded to tell ??? about a young woman stumbling through the door from another world and into the mansion. He also notified Vlad that the Comte has allowed her to impose on them for a month.

The white-haired man smiled amusedly. “Ah, the most intriguing things do occur, don’t they?”

“But what I can’t comprehend,” Shakespeare frowned. “This woman is seemingly an ordinary human of no virtue.”

“As if an impurity has mixed in with the brilliance of the great men.”

Shakespeare hoped that she wouldn’t be a hindrance to his plans, and I quote: “A creature that only invites tragedies instead of comedies. And I have no use of such mediocre tragedies.”

After some exchange, ??? said, “A creature that only invites tragedies instead of comedies. And I have no use of such mediocre tragedies.”

"Indeed," Shakespeare concurred. "I strive for the finest tragedy with the most exquisite cast."

"The great men who are set to dance on the stage you've set up," His master smirked. "They make the finest marionettes, don't they?"

"That is why, Master, I've decided to join hands with you."

"With you, who carries the same power as the Count....."

"What is it you desire, Will?"

"Can you lend me your power and arrange for a livelier cast?"

"The greater the obstacle they face, the more exceptional the tragedy that ensues."

"I'll think about it," his master replied.

Smiling elegantly, the red-eyed man looked up at the moon. Behind his eyes shone a glint of a power that can move the entire world.

(In KennieJD’s words: “You both deserve each other cause y’all crazy as hell”).

*1: I nearly fell off my chair translating this part

*2: The original kanji says “双降”, which doesn’t come up if you search on any kanji dictionary. I asked Asha about this, and she said it’s a typo on Cybird’s part. It’s supposed to be 双眸, which means ‘a pair of eyes’

I didn't intend this to be this lengthy and dialogue-focused, but I realized that I really enjoy writing lines for bitchy characters. Jean and Vlad's were especially a delight to work with! I couldn’t do much for Shakespeare’s lines tho. I haven't been an English Literature student for two years.

Tagging @hokkaido-fox for now. Let me know if you want to be tagged in upcoming summaries and mini-translations!

Credits to @ashavazesa for her tremendous help with some of the kanji.

#ikemen vampire #ikevam jean #ikevam jeanne d'arc #ikevam jean route #rikevam spoilers #riri tries translating

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behindheremeraldeyes · 4 years ago

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sasusaku month 2020 day 1 - stuck with you . title: Behind Your Curtains . summary: Feudal AU- She's the daughter of the Daimyou and he was design to be her personal guard. They had already accepted the obligations that came with their titles, but life had other plans for them. . a/n: HAPPY SASUSAKU MONTH!! Ahh the best month of the year is finally here and not even the quarantine will ruin our party! I have a lot of nice things planned and I can't wait to see our tag flourishing! Well, enough of my rambling! I hope you enjoy this one (even though it's a little too long). I started this fic a couple of years ago and only now it felt right to continue! Let's see how it goes!! . Rated: K+ sudare: are screens or blinds. They protect the inhabitants of the building not only from the elements, but also from the eyes of outsiders. In old tales, a court lady would conceal herself behind a screen when speaking with a man outside her immediate family. She could peep through it and see her interlocutor, but because he had to remain at a distance from it, he could not see her.

They were all gathered at the main room of the Haruno palace when he first laid his dark eyes on her delicate silhouette.

Times were difficult in Konohagakure. Due to the new political scenario unwrapping around the village, both he and his older brother had been called that morning by the Daimyou so they could be designated to their new positions within royal guard. Itachi, the smartest, had been promoted as chief of the royal family’s personal guard and Sasuke, the fastest, was now only responsible for the princess’ safety. Those were very honourable positions and only the best warriors could be selected to be so close to the most important family of the Fire country, and if anything, both the Uchiha brothers knew their parents would be proud of them if were they still alive.

The three men in the room were now discussing new strategies regarding the newly acquired positions, and every now and then, Sasuke caught himself sparing quick glances at the princess who sat obediently next to her father. For she was the newest object of his protection, his objective mind couldn’t help but try his best to find out whatever detail he could in order to succeed in his newest mission. Even if she was hidden behind her sudare, it was possible to tell that the rumours that travelled around the village regarding her secret and royal beauty were, somehow, true. Her figure was small and delicate; and if anything, he carefully observed how her body remained still and collected during the entire meeting.

She is a princess, he thought. In the same way he was trained to fight and kill, she was trained to obey and endure long hours without doing as much as take a deep, noisy breath. She could wear the most precious jewels of the entire country, and her ceremonial clothes could’ve been made with the most expensive silks her father could afford, but still, he knew better than to believe her life was only filled with luxuries and royal pleasures.

No, life wasn’t easy for her, he knew. However, the hardships that came with her social status meant nothing to him. Even if he was now bound to stay by her side during long periods of the day, right now, Sasuke had no desire in offering her his condolences or expressing any of his feelings in front of her. He would carry no pity in his eyes whenever he looked at her, for she is still graced with many things normal people can’t even dream of.

In his eyes, the only feeling prevailing was his sense of responsibility. He is a proud warrior, and his mission within those walls was solely to keep her safe given the new rebellious rumours that had been growing around the village.

His sword is loyal to the Daimyou, and he certainly had no time to waste on the princess’ emotions.

Whenever he looked at her through those bamboo curtains, he wondered if she also understood her part in that whole scenario. Sasuke couldn’t tell whether or not she could see what he was doing— what he was thinking— every time his dark pearls drifted to her, but there was an odd feeling growing inside his chest whenever he looked at her. He could sense her own stare on him, and for some reason he couldn’t quite name, he could feel a mutual agreement talked through hidden glances.

She is the princess and he is the warrior that is supposed to protect her.

There was no logical reason to cross that line given their positions, and certainly, there was no desire to disrupt the balance created by the rules of their respective duties within the Fire country.

“I’m counting on you to keep my daughter safe.” The Daimyou said, his dull, green eyes set on his dark ones as he spoke with all the authority given by his title and all the concern of a father.

Sasuke nodded, bowing his head down in respect. He looked at the princess one more time, and was surprised to see her own silhouette bowing down to him, too. “Thank you for serving my father. From now on, I’ll be at your care.”

Her voice was soft and delicate, catching him completely by surprise. There were people who said the princess’ voice was as serene as the prettiest of the melodies, but if anything, Sasuke believed her voice to be ordinarily enjoyable. The sound felt comfortable in his ear, and judging by her father’s expression, her words meant more than a simple courtesy.

There wasn’t much he could tell about the princess yet, but he had a feeling that, soon, he would eventually learn more about the secrets she hides behind her curtains.

His eyes didn’t leave her, and cordially, he bowed down in respect.

xxxx

It didn’t take long for him to get used to the softness of her voice.

–––

By the end of their second week together, Sasuke had already memorized her— and consequently, his— schedule. They would meet every day after her breakfast, and right after that, the maids would take her to first of many lessons of the day. At first, he believed he would eventually end up seeing the princess’ mysterious face while she was lectured, but soon, he learned that his eyes would be denied of such privilege, for he would always stay outside of whatever room she was in. Even if he had tried to enter a couple of times, saying he was only following orders, there was this old, crinkled lady that would always stop him in his tracks, telling him that his eyes were not worthy of seeing the princess during the practice of her feminine arts, whatever that could possibly mean.

He tried to argue a couple of times, but in the end, his will didn’t prevail against that woman’s strictness. Eventually, the Uchiha settled for sitting outside the door with his guard up, blocking the passage of anyone who tried to interrupt the princess or cause her any harm. His so observant eyes were denied the secret image of the Daimyou’s daughter, however, due to the thin paper that sealed the walls, his ears captured every word that left her lips.

It was not like he had planned on listening to their conversation or anything like that, but that was the only thing left for him to make sure the princess was, indeed, safe. After a while, he realized that he was able to tell a lot about her simply based on the tone of her voice whenever she answered a question. The changes were barely perceptible, but for a skilful warrior such as himself, her real emotions were hidden within every word she pronounced. He knew when she was sad or when she was angry, but he couldn’t really tell when she was happy or excited. Such feelings were harder to detect, he realized, mostly because they seemed to be rare in her life.

The princess wasn’t happy. He had never seen her face, but he could bet his own sword that tears were more common on her face than a sincere smile. He had never heard her laughing, let alone giggling, and if he were to be honest, the only time he had actually heard her voice holding some positiveness was when she ended up correcting her instructor after the older woman had mistaken the kanjis. On that day, not even he could suppress the smirk that grew on his lips, for that woman certainly deserved to be countered after the many times she yelled at both of them for stupid things.

For a reason he couldn’t quite understand, though, the Uchiha was tired of listening to her mean words towards the princess. No matter how hard she seemed to try to follow the lessons, it was never enough.

That’s not how a princess must behave. You’ll never find yourself a husband if you keep up with such childish act. Your father would be ashamed of you.

Harsh words left those old, chapped lips every day, and if anything, the princess would always answer politely with a Forgive me, sensei or I’ll try harder next time. She didn’t deserve such things, but Sasuke figured he was not the one to judge. As a warrior, he had no idea of how she should actually behave or what abilities she was supposed to master. Her world was incredibly strange to him, who saw and heard things from a completely different point of view.

He couldn’t care less about things such as etiquette or the proper way of serving tea. Even if those were traits that probably impressed the royalty and the rich people, common men such as himself knew better than to believe women should be evaluated by the way they held a fan. Were the princess able to wield an axe or even heal the wounded, then he would certainly be impressed.

However, he knew he would never have any say in what the Daimyou’s daughter should do or know in order to be worthy of her title. He was nothing but a mere warrior whose more valuable possession was his sword.

His opinion didn’t belong to her world.

Still, he couldn’t help but take the side of the stranger he was destined to protect.

“We should stop here, ohime-sama. The lesson is over.” Her instructor said, no sign of empathy detected in her words.

“Hai.”

The sadness in her voice was the last thing he noticed before standing up and straightening his clothes. Her next lesson was about to begin, and unconsciously, he just hoped for her day to end already.

xxxx

The first time she actually called him by the name caught him off guard.

––

After the many complaints received by the Daimyou regarding his daughter’s lack of compromise during the lessons in the past few months, the concerned father allowed the princess to take some time to decide on what should be done about that. Her father, for what Sasuke could tell, has always been a decent man, whose number one priority was her well-being. Of course, he also understood the implications of her position and the importance behind every skill taught to her by the old women of the palace; and he knew how that would affect her future in a couple of years. More than anyone, perhaps, that poor man knew how important those lessons were, especially because those women would be able to teach her certain things that, as a man, he could never truly understand.

Sakura needed those women in her life, even if she couldn’t really see the reason why, for she needed that kind of guidance in order to blossom into the perfect princess they all want her to be.

She needed to be more feminine. Even a stoic warrior such as himself could understand that. So, imagine his surprise when, on a summer morning, the servants brought her small, bamboo prison to watch the morning practice of the royal guard.

“The princess is watching you, little brother.” Itachi started, a smirk on his face as they spared together. “You better not lose in front of her.”

“Tch. You say that as if knowing that would make any difference.”

“Oh, come on…” He dodged an attack, his long, tied hair dancing in the air. "You have to be at least excited with your job. You are protecting the princess of the Fire Country. All the others are jealous of you.”

“If you all care so much about the princess, maybe you should spend more time training in order to take my position.”

“Oh, so are you saying it wouldn’t matter if someone else took your position away from you?"

At his older brother’s words, his glance quickly shifted to the princess. Just like before, he couldn’t see her face, but he knew her eyes were on him, and for a reason he could not quite name, knowing those hidden orbs of hers were watching his moves ignited a certain confidence inside him. It was not like it gave him more strength or a new reason to beat his brother, but it certainly made him want to show more of his own world to the imprisoned princess.

Call it possessiveness or even an exaggerated sense of care, but deep inside, Sasuke didn’t want someone else doing his job. It wasn’t because he had grown fond of the princess or anything like that, but the delicacy of their situation had created an unspoken bond between the two of them. In the same way she understood his position, he also understood hers, and in silence, both of them created an intimacy neither of them ever believed to be possible. He was there for her when everyone else judged her, and she was there for him when the world seemed to be comparing him to his older brother.

It was hard to explain for it made no sense, but it was real, nonetheless.

So real that it made him unconsciously want to show her how strong he actually was. And even if he wasn’t truly aware of such will, that was exactly what he did.

In a matter of seconds, his attacks grew more precise and aggressive, catching his older brother by surprise. The impact created by their wooden swords created an echo that spread throughout the training grounds, making everyone stop to look at the them. Even with all those amazed eyes on them, Sasuke could only care about hers at that moment. His heart was beating faster, his muscles were perfectly responding to his commands, and for the first time, it became easy to detect Itachi’s own openings during his counter attacks.

He was going to beat his brother. He was going to win and show everyone he was the only one fit for his position by her side.

One, final and precise blow was the last thing that took him to defeat his brother. He didn’t really know how or when it happened, but soon, Itachi’s eyes were looking at him from the ground. There was a surprised look on his face, and dust stuck to his cheeks due to sweat. His wooden sword laid far from his grip, and when a smile crossed his brother’s face, Sasuke realized he had, indeed, won.

“You sure didn’t let the princes down, little brother.”

“Tch, stop with this nonsense. I didn’t know the sword had hit your head.”

A small wave of happiness took over the younger Uchiha. As he panted, a smirk crossed his lips before he used his free hand to brush away the strands of hair from his face. For the first time in what felt like years, he was the winner of their sparing session, and that felt oddly right considering the unexpected guest that had her royal eyes on him. The princess was there, still hidden behind her curtains, but her presence alone was strong enough to shift the entire atmosphere around them. Sparing in front of her made things more exciting, and even if he would never admit his selfish feelings out loud, having her there made him want to win like never before. She gave him a new sense of duty— a new sense of power— that was, at the same time, fierce and pure.

So, this is how it feels to fight for someone, he thought. So, this is how it feels to fight for the princess.

From that moment on, Sasuke understood the real meaning behind their silent bond. He would fight for her and she would watch over him. He would protect her and she would offer him a reason to win.

All of his victories now belonged to her in the same way her eyes and her attention now belonged to him.

With a new fulfilling sensation taking over his proud heart, Sasuke spared her a respectful glance before turning his attention back to his brother. He helped Itachi get back on his feet, ignoring whatever he was saying regarding his connection with the princess, as he took a deep, relaxing breath. There was a soft breeze brushing his face, and even if he was expecting more sneering words from his older sibling, Sasuke was surprised at the supportive squeeze of Itachi’s hand on his shoulder.

“You did really well, Sasuke. You’ve grown a lot.” He smiled, dropping his hand to his side and resting it on his hip. “Maybe I should take our training more seriously from now on.”

“Hn, maybe you should or else I’ll steal your spot, captain.”

The way that last word rolled out of his younger brother’s tongue made Itachi turn his attention back to the others around them. The warriors seemed to be dividing their attention between the siblings and the princess, clearly forgetting about their own sparing partners. For the moment, the training session seemed to have reached its end, as the warriors were only waiting for their captain’s words to make it official. And at last, that was exactly what he did.

“That’s it for today. Good job, everyone.” Itachi said, clapping his hands and looking around at his men. “Take a break now and start your own patrolling shifts. A-squad, you’ll take the front gate tonight and the others will surround the palace.”

“Hai" The dirty men said in unison, politely saluting their captain.

“Oh, and Sasuke…” He started, his voice now slower in somewhat of a mockery tone. “I believe the princess is waiting for you.”

All the men with swords, including his brother, started to walk away, heading out to their own dorms. In theory, Sasuke was supposed to follow them, but since the princess herself was mere feet away, the younger Uchiha decided to let her know he was only going to retrieve his sword before starting his real job.

Quickly, he crossed the training grounds and soon found himself bowing down in front of the princess’ sudare. Once again, he could feel her eyes on him, feeling proud of the first victory he had dedicated to her. Unlike her handmaidens that looked at him with shallow interest, he could feel that the princess herself was ecstatic to be there.

At least, that was what his heart was telling him.

“Good morning, Ohime-sama. I shall retrieve my sword before I can escort you to your next appointment.”

“The princess will be waiting for you.” One of the handmaidens spoke, catching him by surprise for he could swear the princess was about to answer him herself. He closed his eyes, then, and started to collect himself in order to walk away. Sasuke turned around, and when he was about to take his first step away from her, his ears captured the ordinary and comfortable sound of her voice.

“You were incredible today, Sasuke-san.”

The sound of his name rolling out of her tongue caught him by surprise, making him stop in his tracks. He knew he should just turn around and bow respectfully, but somewhere in the middle of his bewildered thoughts, the Uchiha forgot his manners. Once again, he turned to face her curtains, and apart from the surprised expression he wore, Sasuke couldn’t control his own mouth.

“Sasuke…san?” His lips were parted and there was a tender look on his eyes. He was confused, for sure, since he had no idea that she had memorized his name, but somehow, he also felt honoured.

“I-I… Forgive me for my manners.” She started rambling, clearly caught off guard by his words. “I took the liberty of calling you by your first name since both you and your brother are Uchiha and… Please, forgive me.”

Through the bamboo curtains, he could only see as she messily shook her hands as she spoke, and the clumsy way her words came out brought a soft smile to his lips. For the first time since he started working with the princess, Sasuke could tell she was feeling comfortable around him. She seemed to be happy and excited, and it was not like being called by his first name would be enough of a reason to demand a royal apology from her. If anything, being called like that by her felt quite nice.

“You don’t need my forgiveness, ohime-sama.”

“O-Of course I do. I—“

“Just Sasuke is fine.” He said, softly, making her stop in her tracks at the same time. He offered her a comforting expression, and waited for her to settle for their decision regarding his name.

“Hai. As you wish, Sasuke.”

A sudden, easeful sensation took over him, making his heart skip a beat at the sound of her soft voice. He bowed down his head once more, and with that light feeling surrounding them, the Uchiha finally made his way back towards his companions.

xxxxxxx

The first time he sees the colour of her hair, he understood the reason behind her name

––

It was still early in the morning when his ears captured a ruckus that suddenly shook the great walls of the palace and scared the birds that were still comfortably asleep in their nests.

He had just finished his daily rounds and was on his way to meeting the princess when the pristine silence was broken by an exasperated and loud voice coming from the chamber where the princess was supposed to be meeting her tutors. By the time he reached the sealed doors, he could hear a certain commotion going on inside, and even if he was quick to identify that it was only that old woman’s cranky voice lecturing her again, the Uchiha couldn’t help but notice there was something odd going on in there.

“What did you do, ohime-sama!? This is not unacceptable! A disgrace! How could you!?”

His eyes widened in surprise at such harsh words, and he wondered what on earth could have happened. Though he sensed no imminent threat in her voice, he couldn’t help but feel his overprotective instincts taking over his body. His hands clenched, he bit his lower lip, his eyes held a glare and even if he had no idea of what the princess might have done, it only felt natural for him to take her side.

He wasn’t going to let that woman speak to her like that, no. No matter what might have driven such words towards the young girl, people shouldn’t be treated like that.

He took a deep breath, then, and quickly, he opened the door, his skilful eyes surveying the place. The princess was behind her curtains, scrolls were spread across the floor and the filthy woman stood right above them, an irritated demeanour taking over her features. She was mad— really mad— as her glaring eyes were still set on the princess.

“What is happening here?” He asked, the tone in his voice as stoic as ever. “Is the princess in trouble?”

Her head turned so she could face him, and the Uchiha couldn’t help but feel goose bumps running down his spine. “The princess is fine.” She stated, lifting her chin as if trying to recompose herself. “Or, perhaps, she has lost her mind completely."

“And what makes you think like that?”

“See for yourself! Or, even better, ask her since she seems to be having a string of arguments lately!” She said, and at that moment, Sasuke could tell she had lost it. Never before had he seen that woman losing her balance, but apparently, the princess had driven her to the limit. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to neither judge nor blame her just yet.

“Whatever might have happened, there’s no excuse for the way you’ve spoken to the princess.”

“You're but a simple warrior, raised to fight. Who do you think you are to speak to me about manners?”

“I am a subordinate of the royal family, just like you. I am making sure no one speaks ill of the ohime-same, therefore, be sure I’ll inform the king about your words.”

“You little—” Her face grew madder at his words, and if she didn’t hate him before, she certainly did now. “Don't waste your precious time. I will go inform the king myself and I will tell him to find his precious daughter a new tutor. I hope the next one can make a real woman out of this child before she embarrasses the whole country. Before she—”

“I will not tolerate another word against the princess.” His voice came out strong and without hesitance, cutting the older woman before she had the chance to conclude her speech. His eyes were intensely glaring at her as he held eye contact, but she didn’t seem intimidated by his imposing presence.

“You should know your place. Just a lowlife who’ll never—“

“That’s enough!” Her voice— usually so soft and polite— sounded mature and powerful as it echoed across the big chamber. Two hearts were caught by surprise and eyes widened as all the attentions were now set on the girl behind the curtains. “Not another word about my protector. Leave, at once.”

A deafening silence took over the room after her words, and his heart skipped a beat. The princess made herself heard, and for the first time, she had decided not to stay silent and simply accept such harsh words. Sakura was not going to just listen as she said those words about him, and even if he was more than capable of defending himself against a woman, it felt good to see her fighting for both of them.

She was standing her ground, like a princess should. She should be proud of herself.

A scoff left the older woman's lips before she looked away from the Uchiha, finally deciding to leave the room. Her heels clicked across the floor as she made her way out, and even if he didn’t turn to see her leaving, the door loudly shutting behind them indicated she was gone. They were both left alone in a large chamber, and even if it was normally considered to be an inappropriate situation for a princess, neither of them could deny that the atmosphere felt lighter than ever before.

There was no telling what kind of consequences her actions would have, and chances were her father would scold her for driving that woman away, but the warrior figured that was not the right time to worry about that. His brother has always told him to be proud of his choices, and even if he couldn’t see her face, something told him she was aware of that.

The raven-haired warrior, then, took a deep breath and took a few steps until he was standing closer to her, just next to the scattered scrolls. He still didn’t know what had started that whole thing, but he figured it was none of his business and decided that gathering those things would, at least, help them move forward with their day.

He kneeled down on the ground, his hands carefully took the scrolls. For what he could see, they were all about medicine and medicinal herbs, and he thought that, maybe, that was one of the reasons why that old lady was so mad. Based on all the times he had heard her scolding during their classes, the Uchiha could imagine she didn’t like seeing the princess reading about such things. Women don’t need to know about those things, she probably said, and it was as if he could hear her voice saying such things while taking them away from the young girl. She should be allowed to read whatever she wanted to without being scolded, and if anything, he believed everyone should know a thing or two about herbs and medicine.

Life is really unpredictable, he knew, and he believed she knew it, too.

There was nothing wrong about learning new things and—

His eyes widened once he reached out for the last scroll and saw all that hair on the floor. The colour tinging that long, pink ponytail resembled the Daimyou, but it was prettier and more filled with life—probably due to years of brushing and soaking it in bath oils. It reminded him of the cherry blossoms that flourish on the spring, and perhaps, that was the reason behind her name. Apparently, it had been cut by a clean blade, and now, well, he thought he really understood what went on between those two.

A princess with short hair and peculiar interests. Such an unusual girl, he thought, a soft expression taking over his face.

“Sasuke-san…” She started, making him shift his attention. His eyes were now on her silhouette, and even if it was hard to see, he couldn’t help but imagine those pastel-pink strands now falling just above her shoulders. “Thank you for those words. I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

“Hn, it was not your fault, Ohime-sama.” He finally took all the scrolls, standing up so he could assume his position next to her sudare. “I should be thanking you, as well, for defending me.”

“Oh, save your modesty. We both know she wouldn’t stand a chance against your sword.”

“Your majesty is probably right.” His lips lifted upwards at her words. Judging by the tone of her voice, her heart didn’t seem troubled anymore, and such thing also brought him some unexpected peace. He placed the scrolls in front of her, so she could retrieve her belongings. “Also, if I may intrude, I think short hair is more practical for a princess.”

A warming silence spread around the room, as she slowly took the scrolls with her tiny, delicate hands. Since she was clearly not having any more classes any moment soon, he figured she could resume her reading while they continued sharing that comfortable moment. “Thank you, Sasuke-san.”

xxxxx

The first time he heard her laugh made him realize she was no longer that princess he had met 5 months before.

–––

After spending so much time following her routine, it was inevitable for the Uchiha to feel bothered by certain obligations forced on her by of her position. At first, he had decided that nothing could be worse than the hours spent on marital lessons, but now, he realized that enduring actual marriage proposals were a lot worse than that.

Whenever the Daimyou received an offer from one of his allied landlords to marry their children, the promised finance ended up traveling all the way to the palace so the princess could somehow interview the candidate. They would spend hours listening to the first-born-sons of whatever land they came from, as they would talk unstoppably about how much of a great candidate they were. They would brag about their lineage, their conquers; and more importantly, they would brag about how much money and gold they could offer her if she accepted the proposal.

Not once had the Uchiha heard any of them actually asking things about the princess. They didn’t seem to care about her interest or her qualities, focusing only on trying to buy her with their fathers’ fortune. It disgusted him to listen to all futility, especially when it came from a person who had the power and position to make her happy. Those men had the chance and the status to actually offer her some company worthy of a princess, and they could show her a life different from the one she has at the palace.

They could give her a reason to smile and be free— or as free as a princess could be.

But they were no good. None of them could actually understand the woman she is, and because of that, Sasuke knew she would probably grow even sadder were she to marry any of them.

Those men were all useless.

And he saw no good reason to believe the newest candidate that had arrived from the Wind country would be any different.

His hair was dark brown, his eyes were blue and he had spent the last hour or so bragging about his ability to hunt desert frogs. The Uchiha believed he had explained anything interesting about the animals at the beginning of their conversation, but in the end, he had just resumed to talking about himself.

What a waste of time, Sasuke thought. Just another noble and egocentric man. The Uchiha would love to see his reaction when he eventually realized the princess was probably more interested on the frog than in him.

Perhaps they should’ve just sent her the rare creature instead.

“Oh, but enough talking about me!” He said, though neither Sasuke nor the princess believed he was, indeed, tired of talking about himself. “I’ve also brought you a gift, Ohime-sama!” The man stated, looking at his servant that was holding a small chest. The other man approached them, offering the said chest so his master could take it.

The Uchiha’s dark eyes followed the chest, his instincts now telling him to keep his guard up in case that gift could offer the princess any harm. He took a step forward, then, making sure that his presence served as a warning to their visitants.

“Worry not, my dearest guard. I mean no harm to your princess, believe me. My gift is but a mere plant that grows in my country.” The man said, opening the chest to revel, indeed, a small, green plant. Her leaves were incredibly thin and pointy, her veins drawing a peculiar pattern the Uchiha just happened to know quite well. During his missions, many times has he seen those leaves, and many times has he seen some fools touching them and suffering the consequences.

That plant was an urtiga. And though it seemed harmless, there was no way he was going to let the princess anywhere near that thing.

“This is a very rare medicinal plant from my country, Ohime-sama. I’ve brought it to you as a proof of my feelings. This plant is said to cure the wounded and it does wonders to the skin! I myself can’t spend a day without them in my bath!”

That fool had absolutely no idea of what he was talking about. He was obviously lying as if to try to impress her, and at that moment, he just feared the princess was actually believing that nonsense. The urtiga wasn’t an uncommon plant outdoors, but for someone who’s spent her entire life surrounded by walls, maybe it was quite easy to believe such lie.

Maybe she would actually be fooled by that man and be charmed by the idea of a plant with such miraculous properties. Maybe she would even accept—

"What a delightful plant you’ve brought me, Ōji-sama.” She started, and for the first time, her voice actually seemed thrilled about something. “I've heard stories about this plant a couple of times by my tutors, but I had never really seen them with my own eyes. I thank you for that.”

“There is no need to thank me, Ohime-sama. This is just one of the many wonders of my land that I would love to show you, were you to accept my proposal.”

“How extremely kind of you. I’m certain your land has many wonders like this, but for now, let’s focus on this plant. What’s the name of it?”

“The name?” He repeated, caught off guard by her sudden interest. At that moment, the Uchiha couldn’t quite understand her intentions anymore, and he could feel his curiosity growing on him.

“Oh, yes. Such a wonderful plant must have a name, I presume.”

“Yes! A name! It’s called… Uhm… Divine Branch, right?!” He looked at his servant, and the other man barely managed to nod in agreement. "Yes, this is the name. Divine Branch”

“… Such a wonderful name for such a wonderful plant.” She said, her voice soft as silk. There was a mix of bewilderment and joy, and if he didn’t know any better, Sasuke would have believed that voice to be mirroring her feelings. After spending months by her side, he unconsciously knew how read her emotions through her voice, and at that moment, he knew she wasn’t been honest with that foolish prince.

Those emotions were untrue, he was sure. She was faking them elegantly, and he almost fell for her lie. Almost.

The princess knew about the plant. She knew he was lying, but instead of exposing him, she had decided to mock that man who believed her to be yet another naive girl.

That poor man, he thought, suppressing a smirk that tried to make its way to his lips. He really had no idea of what that girl was capable of.

“Yes, it is, indeed! And now I’m giving it to—“

“Oh, but please, before you give it to me, would you mind showing me how to use it?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don't be so modest, Ōji-sama! It’s just us, here. Please, show me how to apply it on the skin.”

“D-Do you… Do you want me to rub it on my skin?”

“Yes, of course. You’ve ignited my curiosity now. I want to see the effects of such miraculous plant with my own eyes. Unless there’s a problem with that, of course.”

“Ōji-sama, I don’t think—“ His servant started, but the prince didn’t listen, determinedly reaching out for the plant with his bare hand. Then, he lifted his sleeve, rubbing the plant up and down his arm. His servant’s face showed a mix of horror and concern, and the prince, being fully aware of what he had just done, did his best to maintain a straight face.

“T-This is how the plant must be used, Ohime-sama.” He started, then, his arm growing redder. “Just rub it and wait for its miraculous effects.”

“O-Oh… I see.” She started, and Sasuke could swear she had just suppressed a laughter. “And this redness is normal, I presume?”

“Well, indeed.” He said, his voice crackling as he began scratching the red area. “Y-You may also feel a bit itchy, but it’s also normal.”

“How wonderful, indeed.” She started. “Thank you for showing me such wonderful plant. I shall try it myself one day.”

“Y-You really should, O-Ohime-sama.”

The young prince tried to be short with words as he scratched his arm more vigorously. His expression seemed very troubled and his now red arm seemed to be growing as red as a tomato. The Uchiha has never seen that plant causing anything other than an immense discomfort, so they figured there was no real danger to the foolish prince.

He was certainly going to learn his lesson. In the worst possible way.

“You seem troubled, Ōji-sama.” She asked, knowing very well what was happening to him. “Is there anything wrong?"

“Ohime-sama, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I need to be going now.” He said, quickly standing up, trembling as he held himself not to scratch himself like a stray dog with fleas. "I’m afraid we’re going to settle our matters in another occasion."

“Certainly. I wish you a safe trip back home, then. And thank you for showing me how to use the… Divine Branch.”

“I-It was my pleasure. Excuse me.”

After clumsily bowing down his head, the man rushed out of the room, his servant running after him so they could try to help him somehow. The large doors were closed once they were out, and as soon as they were out of their sights, the Uchiha allowed himself to relax. There was a sly smile on his face, now, and were he not by her side, he would be laughing out loud at that moment.

He couldn’t lose his composure in front of her, no. However, as the princess, she couldn’t seem to care about that at that moment.

The silence of the room was ruined by a wave of laughter that escaped her lips. It was silly and pure laughter— much similar to a child— and it was undeniable that she was having a great time. The was probably the best reaction he had ever seen from her, and at that moment, he just wished to hear her laughing more often. She had been a great actress during the whole thing, and right now, she just couldn’t hold back the satisfaction of a well-done job.

“I can’t believe he actually rubbed the urtiga all over his arm!” She said, still laughing to her heart’s content. “Divine Branch!? What did he take me for? That fool!”

“Your majesty!” Her handmaiden said, surprised to actually see such reaction coming from her.

“Oh, please, every person in the room knew what that plant was.”

“Still, this is no way for a princess to behave. I shall inform your father immediately.”

The maid spoke, firmly, quickly leaving the room so she could go inform the Daimyou of what had happened. That woman was supposed to have stayed by the princess’ side, and yet, she was just another one who didn’t really care about the young girl.

How sad, the Uchiha thought. Such a woman with no sense of loyalty to her princess. He just hoped the princess wouldn’t let those words discourage her laughter.

“Tch.” The princess sighed, taking a deep breath and recomposing herself. Silence took over the room for a couple of seconds, until she decided to speak once more. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone rubbing an urtiga so vigorously against their skin. He’s going to keep scratching for at least two days, don’t you think, Sasuke-san?”

“At least three, your Majesty.”

“Yeah… I believe he won’t forget me anytime soon.”

“Certainly not, your Majesty.”

“And my father will also be quite mad, too.” She said, but her voice was still filled with joy.

“I'm afraid he will.”

“Did you think it was too much? Be honest with me.”

“If I may, Ohime-sama… I don’t think you should worry about of anything that has happened in this room. You were simply curious about the Divine Branch. We all were, so I believe your majesty was great today.”

Another silence took over the room, and though he couldn’t see, he knew she was smiling. She shouldn’t blame herself for making a fool of that man, especially when he was the one trying to impress her with that lie.

She really was great that day.

She had played the prince’s own game and won in all the best ways possible. He didn’t even know what hit him, but the princess—oh— she knew exactly what she was doing. Her father would be furious once he heard about what she had done in order to get rid of yet another suitor, but it had certainly been a pretty fantastic trick.

Fantastic enough to make her laugh.

xxxxx

The first time he saw her tears, he knew he could never let her go.

––

And though the rumours had stopped and peace seemed to have prevailed, the castle was soon attacked.

It happened at night, when most people were asleep and no one was expecting an attack. Over 300 men carrying swords and spears invaded through the gates, killing everyone that stood between them and the Daimyou. Royal guards were down, maids were slaughtered, and in the middle of that bloody mess, the rebels set the palace on fire. Screams composed a symphony of despair, and at that moment, both of the Uchiha brothers knew what they had to do.

They had to save the royal family. While the rest of the guards took care of the masses, they had to take the king and his daughter out before it was too late. They were asleep in their rooms when they heard the commotion, and they had barely any time to say goodbye before heading out and mixing themselves amongst those warriors. Itachi went after the Daimyou and Sasuke went after the princess, and even if they had been together for a long time, eventually, the two brothers were separated.

Each of them had their own orders to follow. Each of them was bound to their own person. And though they didn’t want to part, the Uchiha brothers knew what they had to do.

In order to reach the princess’ chambers, Sasuke had to fight his way through a lot of men that were trying to kill him. He swung his sword, landing precise hits and dirtying himself with the blood of his enemies. Eventually, he got cut on the arm by a spear that came from behind, but thankfully, it was really just a scratch. He kicked that man backwards before stabbing his stomach, trying his best not to take too long to reach her.

He had to be fast. At that moment, when the moon seemed to be tinged by the blood of innocent people, he could just hope for her to be alive. She still had her whole life ahead of hers, and the gods would be unfair if they allowed her to die before even living. There were still scrolls she had to read, stories she had to tell and places she had to meet.

No, the princess could not die that night. He wasn’t going to allow that.

His tired feet had finally arrived at the corridor that lead to her room, and much to his apprehensive heart, there was an assassin trying to force his way inside. Though the door seemed to be holding up for now, Sasuke knew it would be just a matter of time before that man could get to the princess. His bloodshot eyes were seeking to spill her blood with his blade, and he knew there would be no stopping that man without taking away his life.

A man who’s driven by hatred will stop for nothing, his brother would say, and at that moment, Sasuke really understood the meaning behind those words.

“Open the door, princess! It useless to run away! Come outside and take responsibility for all the things your father has done to us!”

“Stand back from this door!” The Uchiha screamed, right before storming towards the bandit. It didn't take long before they engaged in a sword fight, and though he was not as fast as his brother, it was undeniable that his opponent knew what he was doing.

Their blades clashed multiple times, and even if the enemy was trying to distract him by badmouthing the royal family, Sasuke gave him no ears. Both the Daimyou and the princess were good people, and whatever it was that those bandits were trying to obtain, murdering a father and his daughter was not going to get them anywhere.

They weren’t going to get what they wanted. He was not going to let them.

In a swift move, then, the Uchiha purposefully offered his enemy an opening, and when that dirty man decided to take advantage of that and pierce his left arm, Sasuke took the opportunity and stabbed him in the heart. His left arm was bleeding now and it certainly hurt, but at that moment, as his enemy fell onto the ground, he knew there was no time to worry about himself.

He had to save the princess. He had to get her out of there.

“Ohim-sama, open the door! I need to get you somewhere safe!” He said, banging against the door, his teeth gritted in pain.

“Sasuke-san!?” Her voice sounded exasperated, and at that moment, he was glad to know she recognized his voice.

“It's me. Hurry, you’re not safe here!”

In a blink of an eye, the door was opened, and even if he had expected things not to be as calm and serene as they usually are, he couldn’t help. but be taken aback by the sight of her.

The princess was right there, standing in front of him, and for the first time, there were no curtains hiding her features. His dark eyes widened at the scene, and though he had many times wondered how she looked like, not even in his sweetest dreams would he have pictured such a beautiful woman.

At last, he saw her face.

Her skin was pale and delicate like porcelain, her short hair covered her ears, and her eyes— her emerald-green eyes that have observed him so many times— though clouded by tears, were probably the prettiest things he had ever seen in his life. They shone brighter than her father’s and it was as if they were incapable of holding any secret behind them. They clashed against his dark orbs, looking relieved and scared at the same time.

They were begging him for help. And he would gladly risk his life for those eyes.

“Sasuke-san! Y-You’re bleeding!” She said, immediately reaching out to inspect his arm. Her touch was warm and soft, and even if his arm was sensitive, her touch didn’t hurt him.

“Don't worry about me, Ohime-sama. We need to get you out of here.”

“What about my father? What about your brother and the others?”

“My brother went after the Daimyou. You are my priority now.”

“But if you come with me, they will go after you, too! Sasuke-san, get out of here!”

“What are you talking about, Ohime-sam—“

“Stop calling me that!” She screamed, leaving him speechless. “If my father’s lucky, his title as the Daimyou will be the only thing he’ll lose! I’m not a princess anymore and you are no longer a royal guard! You’re free!”

As she spoke those words, his eyes could see the way her hands were trembling. The young girl was scared— of course she was— and yet, she was doing her best to protect him. She knew he would have better chances if he didn’t have to protect her, and if that meant he could live or just focus on helping his brother, then she wouldn’t mind staying behind. Sakura was looking after him, like a princess looks after her people. If not for that rebellion, perhaps, she would’ve become a terrific leader.

“Sakura.” He said, firmly, his eyes looking directly into hers. She was certainly caught by surprise by the way her name had rolled out of his tongue, and her green eyes widened at that. “I'm not leaving you behind.”

“B-But why? I’ve told you that I’m not—“

“It doesn’t matter. Even if you’re no longer a princess, I want to save you. So, please, come with me, Sakura.”

His eyes were still on her as he spoke those words, and he reached out with his right hand so she could take it. At that moment, the world she knew was turning into ashes and the people she knew were losing their lives. The former princess was about to begin a new life and he was the only one who would be by her side. They have gone a long way together already, and as she took his hand, they both realized that they still had a long way to go.

Together. The former princess and her former guard.

As they escaped through the narrow corridors of the burning palace, they were leaving behind everything they knew. A new life was about to begin and they didn’t know if her father and his brother would be able to join them one day.

From that moment on, they only had each other.

And that would have to be enough.

#sasusaku #sasusaku month 2020 #ssm20 #ssm20d1 #sasusaku fanfiction #myssfics

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nanigma · 4 years ago

Text

Blue Lions Translation Chapter 3

Okay, these things take a long time for me to put out, because I mostly get my translation vibe on in the evening. And I work most evenings these days.

If you really enjoy my work and can afford to throw some spare change my way, here is a link to my ko-fi account.

My comments in italics

Starting out with the Exploration Dialogue, cause the mission briefing scene is the exact same for all houses.

Exploration

Dimitri

Dimitri: Even when there's no chance to win, there are situations where you simply have to draw your sword and fight.

Dimitri: However, this case seems far too excessive... Lord Lonato is not that much of a fool.

Dimitri: … If he had enough allies to make his rebellion a decisive one, it would be a different matter of course.

[Choose: Allies?] and [Choose: What do you mean?]

Dimitri: … Ah, no.... it was an idle thought. It's just, there's definitely something suspicious about this.

Dimitri: Even if we are only dealing with the aftermath, something unexpected can always happen. Please make sure to be thorough in your preparations, Professor.

English has Dimitri refer to some vague preparations already being in place in his first sentence, whereas the Japanese more clearly refers to them only being supposed to be there for the aftermath.

Dedue

Dedue: His Highness is strong. However, no matter how skilled, if he takes to the front lines, anything may happen to him.

Dedue: … He is a great man that Faerghus absolutely cannot afford to lose.

Dedue: I wonder if the church understands this.

Two things to point out here about how Dedue refers to Dimitri here. First he uses あの方 (ano kata) for him, which is very polite and respectful way to talk about someone in the third person. 方 (person, in this case) is the more polite form of 人 (hito), which can also mean person, but usually in a more human/man/woman kind of way. Now Dedue uses 方 twice in this sentence and that is to refer to Dimitri also as an お方 (okata), which again is a highly respectful term. Suggested translations are often gentlemen/lady, though the connotations obviously don’t fit in this case. Too bad the English translation didn’t incorporate this moment of fanboyism. :(

Felix

Felix: … Catherine, huh? Her excellent technique, the sword she wields....

Felix: Hm... Apparently, she hides her past so thoroughly, it seems not even fragments of it are known.

Felix: I suggest you also make her your sparring partner. She is strong... likely stronger than even you.

Ashe

Ashe: …...

Ashe: Professor, there has to be some mistake. The thought that Lord Lonato would be raising an army is simply...

Ashe: … He didn’t say anything even to me.

Sylvain

Sylvain: Professor, did you see Felix around? He's always had a habit of vanishing the second I take my eyes off him.

[Choose: I saw him at the training grounds] +Support with Sylvain

Sylvain: Well, just as I thought. Sorry, Professor. Thanks for helping me out!

[Choose: I saw him at the dining hall]

Sylvain: Oh, is that so? Sorry, Professor. … At any rate, he must be eating there by himself, I am sure.

English is simple (which just has him go “Right, it’s meal time”), but I feel the Japanese line implies that he was planning on inviting Felix to eat with him and is disappointed to be told he already went ahead.

Mercedes

Mercedes: I heard rumours regarding Lord Lonato. They say he is a very kind and gentle lord.

Mercedes: I really wonder why such a kind man would suddenly raise an army...?

Mercedes: Ah, by the way, Professor. Didn't you work late again yesterday? Pushing yourself isn't good for you.

Mercedes: People who stay up late will have a ghost rise up from the bottom of their well and... Just kidding.

I am sure everyone is familiar with Japanese ghosts and their association with wells. Most famous of the older stories is probably Okiku.

Annette

Annette: This time we have to help out the knights, correct? Could that mean...

Annette: … Ah, no, I am sorry! It's just, someone I am looking for might be among the knights.

[Choose: Is he a knight?]

Annette: Yes. If he is here, most likely... it's just a possibility, he might also be among the monks.

Now I am imagining Gilbert with a tonsure.

[Choose: It would be nice if you could meet him] +Support with Annette

Annette: Thank you so much, Professor! I'll definitely catch him someday...!

Ingrid

Ingrid: I simply cannot understand why His Highness would allow someone from Duscur at his side.

Ingrid: 4 years ago, they committed treason by killing the king and slaughtered all of the innocent soldiers and knights accompanying him.

Ingrid: Even if His Highness forgives them, I cannot do so... ever.

Ingrid interestingly uses the term 弑逆し (shiigyakushi) here, which refers to killing your own lord or father. This would imply Duscur was already some kind of vassal state to Faerghus, but from what we know Duscur was independant before the Tragedy. (I checked the books in the library on this in Japanese) Feels like a weird inconsistency.

Scene: Into the Fog

Dimitri: Being able to accompany “Thunder Catherine”, famed for her bravery... haha, it is quite an honour.

[Choose: Thunder?] and [Choose: Thunderbird?]

Okay, this is a bit of a word joke that the English decided to skip out on entirely rather than come up with an alternative. So Catherine's relic is simply named “Thunder” (雷霆 raitei) in Japanese, netting her the nickname “Thunder Catherine”. The first response would simply be Byleth wanting to clarify this. The second response implies they also didn't even listen too closely to Dimitri and heard something different: Thunderbird ( 雷鳥 raichou)... or better known to us as the real life bird species “ptarmigan”, whose Japanese name uses the kanji for thunder and bird. Sadly, this slip up doesn't change any dialogue and the localization didn’t have a joke here..

Catherine: Hm, you don't know? This is “Thunder”... It is one of the Heroes' Relics.

Catherine: A very long time ago, the goddess granted her power to ten heroes... It took the form of these Relics that were passed down to their descendants.

Catherine: Although tempting, there won't be a chance to swing Thunder this time. After all, our duty is to deal with the aftermath.

Sidenote, but Catherine uses the pronoun “atashi” for herself, which is typically considered extremely girly or even childish. It is also written in katakana, which makes it stand out more and implies a “rougher” pronounciation.

[If Ashe is alive]

Ashe: … Why would Lord Lonato start such a reckless uprising?

Catherine: Shouldn't you be the one with more details on this, Ashe?

Ashe: I don't understand. He didn't tell me anything about this...

Dimitri: … I am sure Lord Lonato didn't want you to get involved in his revenge.

[Choose: How are Ashe and Lord Lonato related?]

Ashe: Lord Lonato adopted me and raised me like he would a true son.

Another interesting side note: Japan didn't do what we consider adoption for a big part of it's history. Rather, it was mostly common to do for those without a male heir. One way had them finding a suitable husband for their daughter (usually one without an inheritance of his own), then adopted their new son-in-law into the family, so their name could be passed on. The other way involved adopting a distant relative.

What this means is that Japanese media often handles adoption plots a bit weird from what we know. So Ashe is super formal when talking about and to his ostensible father figure, as well as his role as a commoner being far more emphasized than his adoption by nobility. Japan really isn't as gung ho about “Blood doesn't matter” when it comes to family as the western world is. The relationship between adoptive kids and parents often feels more like a benefactor with his beneficiary.

Ashe: He was also a kind, great man. And yet still... This must have something do with my adoptive brother...

In relation to the above, the term Ashe uses to refer to Christophe here is more commonly seen when adressing one's brother-in-law.

[Choose: Revenge?] or [Continuing]

Catherine: Hey, Byleth. Do you know about the Tragedy of Duscur?

[Choose: I've heard about it] and [Choose: I have no idea]

Catherine: Well, it's the name of an incident from 4 years ago, where the King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was killed by the people of Duscur, but...

Dimitri: ...I do not mind. Catherine, please continue.

Catherine: Lord Lonato's son, Christoph, was executed by the church on charges of being involved in the incident.

[Choose: The church executes criminals..?]

Catherine: From the church's perspective, in place of the still chaotic kingdom, we passed judgement that did not exceed the doctrine.

[Choose: Why was the king targeted?]

Dimitri: …......

Catherine: It was known that King Lambert planned to implement large scale reforms and he had a lot of political enemies.

[Continuing]

Catherine: … Whatever the truth, since then, Lord Lonato has held a grudge against the church.

Catherine: No... it would be more accurate to say that he has a grudge against the church and the one who handed him over to the church...

Church Soldier: Report! The enemy is drawing closer! There is no way to avoid them!

Church Soldier: The enemy forces were much greater than expected and because of the mist, they managed to slip through the knights' siege on them!

Catherine: Oh... Byleth, our mission has changed. Everyone, prepare for battle!

During Battle

Skipping most of Catherine's dialogue

Dimitri: There's shouting coming from within the fog... it appears the knights have already started the battle.

[Reacting to killing militia]

Ashe: Even the townspeople were sent to battle...!? Lord Lonato... why would you...!

Dimitri: Ugh... I am sorry... This is not something that can be forgiven... !

In English Dimitri seems to target this last bit at the civilians, but to me this here sounds more like he is directing it at Lonato for sending them into battle.

Ashe vs. Lonato

Lonato: Ashe... stand aside. I have to defeat the wicked ones! Without fail!

Ashe: Lord Lonato... please stop this now! Why would you do something so reckless?

Lonato: Rhea is an infidel that deceives the people and blasphemes against the goddess. With a cause this great, we surely possess the divine protection of the goddess.

Ashe: Even if you say that, all of this is wrong. How could you mobilize even the townsfolk!

Lonato: … In that case, turn your blade against me without hesitation! I cannot turn back at this point!

Dimitri vs. Lonato

Lonato: I deeply apologize, Your Highness... To think I would come to cross swords with you...

Dimitri: … Lord Lonato. I sympathize with your resentment to an extent.

Dimitri is being extremely formal here, using the pronoun “貴公" (kikou) to address Lonato. It's a very archaic term (aka. Samurai old), normally used by men to refer to other men that are equal or below them in rank. He is already pretty formal usually, but this shows he turns it up a notch when dealing with kingdom affairs.

Dimitri: I have no wish to take you down, but... I apologize.

Lonato: Your Highness... For my son, for the sake of the people, I simply cannot stop here.

Lonato: If it is your wish to stand in my way, then I can only force you aside...

Scene: A Harsh Reality

[If Ashe is alive]

Ashe: ... Why did something like this happen. Even though Lord Lonato used to be such a kind man.

Ashe: The townsfolk were all such good people too... And yet, these people... I killed them.

Ashe: There was nothing... There was nothing else we could do. I know that, but I... !

Dimitri: ... Please, don't push yourself, Ashe.

Ashe: ... I apologize for making you worry.

Ashe: ... I will take a moment to assess the situation in town. I just hope my younger siblings are okay...

[He leaves]

Dimitri: … For me this was also the first time I fought against citizens. I did it, even though protecting them is my duty.

[If Ashe is dead]

Dimitri: There were militiamen among the enemies. … For me this was the first time I fought against citizens.

[Continuing]

[Choose: It was an unavoidable sacrifice] and [Choose: That's just reality]

Dimitri: … These people were neither knights nor soldiers! They were not just people to be... killed.

Dimitri: No... I am sorry. It is not right to blame you.

Dimitri: Indeed, if we had not killed them, many more citizens may have lost their lives in the future.

Dimitri: I can understand this logically. But still... Hey, Professor.

Dimitri: In any era, the people in power always fight and howl at each other for the sake of some greater cause or to avenge the lives that were trampled upon.

Dimitri: Still... can any loss of life be forgiven, so long as you hold up the two words saying “Greater Cause”?

In Japanese, it's 'the two characters' that make up the word 'taigi' (greater cause).

Dimitri: Lord Lonato did not raise his blade out of self-interest, but for the sake of the justice he dedicated himself to.

Dimitri: Maybe if we didn't cut them down like that, we might have found some other way together...

Dimitri: I ... have to think that. Though maybe you’ll just tell me I am downplaying it and laugh at me.

[Switch back to Catherine with some dialogue common to all routes]

#3H #blue lions #nanigma translates

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shanethvarosa · 4 years ago

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Music Review: 2020

My blog has been a lot of things over the years, but it did originate as something I used to publicly review music; especially in the Visual Kei scene. Since I began the blog so many years ago, I had actually been hired to review Visual Kei and J-Rock music for an actual website: VKH-Press.com, work I am very, very proud of to this day. However, with not much news to comment on or work to critique, I haven’t been as active. Plus, personal issues always seem to stand in my way. However, I always take the time to discuss my passions at the end of the year. There were so many incredible releases, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and so I wanted to take the time time to discuss my favorite releases and, maybe, the not-so-favorites as well. Quick shout out to Bastille’s Goosebumps EP and Megan Thee Stallion’s Good News LP as I did not get to listen to them before I wrote up my lists, but were still excellent releases. See my thoughts below!

Overall, there were about 75 albums or groupings of albums I listened to this year and split them between various tiers. Starting with the bad tier, there were actually only ten albums listed here and mostly just because they were seemingly unnecessary collection albums. For example, another Satsuki collection? Rides in ReVellion releasing two greatest hits LPs after only five years of work? Beyonce releasing The Lion King: The Gift again? None of those felt like necessary releases. There weren’t many albums that really screamed bad to me this year, but I really could not stand Vanessa Carlton’s “Love is an Art” or Justin Bieber’s “Changes.” The only other albums on this tier were just underwhelming compared to what I know the artist is capable of, but the “best bad tier album,” in my view, was The 1975′s “Notes on a Conditional Form.”

The mid-tier albums had all sorts of reasons for being only mid-tier. They weren’t quite bad or outright unnecessary, but are mostly by artists who put out work that was nowhere near the caliber of their usual work or were re-releases or other collection albums. For example, Tove Lo’s “Sunshine Kitty: Pawprint Edition” or Man With A Mission’s remixes/b-sides/covers albums. Nice to have with good quality music, but I wish we’d just have had brand new EPs or LPs.

The good-tier albums were all really excellent releases, but didn’t hit home the way anything on the “God-Tier” list did. Here, I’d like to share a quick top ten:

10. Taeyeon’s “Purpose: Repackage” & Japanese EP, “#GirlsSpkOut” 9. Charli XCX’s “How I’m Feeling Now” 8. Miyavi’s “Holy Nights” & “Holy Nights: 2020 Lockdown” 7. TK’s “Sainou” 6. PVRIS’s “Use Me” 5. Buck-Tick’s “Abracadabra” 4. Katy Perry’s “Smile” 3. Alicia Keys’ “Alicia” 2. Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” & “Club Future Nostalgia” 1. Ava Max’s “Heaven & Hell

Without furhter ado, though, the God Tier Top 25:

25. Acme’s We Are Visual Kei: Essentially a collection album of several songs that were b-sides that never made a full-blown album. This LP was loaded with some of Acme’s best work and shows that they are going to be here for a long time, despite Div not quite working out. Recommended tracks: Mononoke Requiem, Gekiyama Celluloid, Houkago no Shiiku

24. Alanis Morisette’s Such Pretty Forks in the Road: Admittedly, a huge fan in the 90′s and loved her cover of Seal’s Crazy. However, before this album I didn’t really listen to much of her body of work and I can see why today’s youth might not listen to this album. It is very “adult” insofar as it deals with her struggles in marriage, parenting, religion, etc. Her vocal performance is exceptional and her song writing remains some of the best in the business. Recommended tracks: Smiling, Nemesis, Reasons I Drink.

23. Niall Horan’s Heartbreak Weather: Not my usual cup of tea, but for some reason Niall’s music makes me feel softer than normal. He’s very cute and charming and his words are always so romantic. It feels more genuine than the music made by other members of One Direction and kind-of reminds me of earlier Taylor Swift writing, but from a male perspective. Recommended Tracks: Put A Little Love On Me, Arms of a Stranger, Still.

22. K/DA’s All Out: I don’t even really understand what this is, but I love it. There’s something to do with League of Legends? Cartoons? International pop stars? Whatever it is, I’m totally obsessed. These songs just completely slap. Recommended Tracks: The Baddest, More, Drum Go Dum.

21. Darrell’s Brilliant Death: This might even “officially” be a single, but there’s enough content to market it as an album. Darrell is a band formed from the ashes of Deathgaze and Ai’s solo project. Who knows why Ai didn’t just continue after his solo album, Confusion, but he decided to go back to the band-format with confusingly-named Darrell. This album is then, incidentally, mostly Deathgaze covers. It brings the production into the new era and gives you a lot of nostalgic love for old hits. Recommended Tracks: Brilliant Death, Evoke the World, Abyss.

20. Alice Nine’s Fuyajou Eden & Kuro to Wonderland: Neither album was particularly long, in fact these were glorified EPs that could’ve been merged to one two-sided LP, but in either case... Both albums had something really special to offer and felt like a true comeback after years of name changes and finally going back to their original, kanji-styled name. Recommended Tracks: Kakumei Kaika -Revolutionary Blooming-, Testament, Replica, Glow.

19. Mucc’s Aku: This album felt very long in the making after a series of weird singles that didn’t feel like they were going anywhere. Ultimately, a lot of those singles did not make the album including my favorite one: Taboo. The resulting album, though, did feel very cohesive and thematic and even featured one of this year’s heavy hitters: Hazuki. Recommended Tracks: Aku -Justice-, Memai, Ameria.

18. Miley Cyrus’s Plastic Hearts: This person is absolutely one of my favorite people in music. I’m pretty sure they have comeout as genderfluid/non-binary, so I want to stick with safe pronouns, just in case. However, they’ve always been a favorite and as they’ve come out as such a champion for the LGBT, I love them even more. The album though gave me a lot of hype for something very 80′s rock, but didn’t quite give me what I expected. All in all, the music was fantastic, just a little off-beat from expectations. Recommended Tracks: Gimme What I Want, Angels Like You, WTF Do I Know.

17. Rina Sawayama’s Sawayama: I didn’t expect to fall in love with this girl the way I did. My boyfriend recommended “STFU” to me as kind of a joke because the song discusses a lot of Asian racism that I’m always criticizing people in my life for falling into, but then the song was so bad ass I checked out the album. There were so many different types of music on it and she really did a good job with all of them. Then, with the deluxe edition coming out and the hardcore club banger “Lucid” being involved... Just really brought it all home. Recommended Tracks: Tokyo Love Hotel, Lucid, Fuck This World.

16. Amber Liu’s X: This was just an EP, but every song on it was great. Amber Liu was from f(x), a K-Pop Icon Group, but she always seemed like the odd one out. She was such a tomboy, so silly and funny all the time, and didn’t really behave like other Korean idols. I mean, really, she isn’t actually even Korean. I believe she’s Chinese American. In either case, the EP really noted some of her own personal strugles in the business and also remaining pretty fun at parts too. I saw her live in Philly before COVID-19 and she was truly excellent. Recommended Tracks: Numb, Stay Calm, Other People.

15. Blackpink’s The Album: Not much of an album at only 8 tracks, but that’s K-Pop for you. I bet next year I’ll be putting “Blackpink’s The Album: Repackage” on my top 25 list. The quality of the music was pretty dope though, all things considered. It was a very solid debut effort with all of their previous songs being somewhere in the same lane as this one. I still kind of believe they are a reminder of what 2NE1 could have been, but they’re doing well enough on their own. Recommended Tracks: Ice Cream, Lovesick Girls, Pretty Savage.

14. Hazuki’s Year Over All: Kind of a weird way to word it, but Hazuki basically released two albums this year in different formats. His work with his band, Lynch., was pretty magnificent. I’m not one to usually dwell on a Lynch. album. Their singles or featured tracks are what I usually get into, but the actual album (Ultima) really did a good job of showing how versatile Hazuki can be. His solo album, Souen -Funeral-, was an entirely stripped down, gothic orchestral album of Lynch. covers and other J-Hard Rock artists. Hearing it done like this was almost transcendental. Recommended Tracks: Xero, Idol, Ray, D.A.R.K.

13. Sam Smith’s Love Goes: They had me scared that their album wasn’t coming this year once they pushed it back, back in May. Then again, at the time, an album called “To Die For” was probably super tone deaf. In any case, literally every single released for this album had me in love. So, when they all got included in the final version, I was thrilled. Sam gave us a bonus song after the album as well, but I can see why that one didn’t get on. In any case, this is a huge step up from “The Thrill of it All,” which I didn’t really care for. Recommended Tracks: Another One, Dance (’Til You Love Someone Else), Forgive Myself.

12. Troye Sivan’s In A Dream: I love this kid. He’s so gay and so not shy about it and it really makes me smile. The EP comes after his last LP, Bloom, where the title track basically talks about bottoming for the first time and this new EP deals with a few other queer issues over weirdly produced beats that just... make sense. Recommended tracks: Stud, In A Dream, Easy.

11. Matenrou Opera’s Chronos: Unfortunately, this band just lost their guitarist again. Their original, Anzi, was basically the most consummate guitarist in the visual kei scene that wasn’t Hizaki and he left them. Their sound wasn’t quite right since and they seemed to just get it back with Chronos when Jay left them. I guess we’ll see what they do next, but I think Chronos could be their last great release. Recommended Tracks: Chronos, Silence, Reminiscence.

10. BoA’s Better: A very recent release that hasn’t had much time for me to digest. This is strange for me to put it so high on my list for that reason, but BoA is one of my all time favorites. She never disappoints me. This album was no different. It wasn’t exactly up to par with “Woman” or “Watashi Kono Mama de Ii no Kana,” but it definitely gave us some new and very iconic Queen BoA bangers. Recommended Tracks: Cut Me Off, Start Over, Temptations.

9. Kesha’s High Road: A semi-step down from Rainbow, only because a lot of the same melodic elements and, sometimes, even beats were used on this album too. However, her vocal performance was outstanding and she even gave us a new dirty-pop song with some interesting indie-pop tracks to go with it. Plus, who doesn’t love a Big Freedia feature? Recommended Tracks: Resentment, Raising Hell, Tonight.

8. Lady Gaga’s Chromatica: Anyone who knows me knows I don’t really love Gaga anymore. After all the drama with Madonna and her experimentation with “Joanne” I didn’t think I’d ever like her music again. However, she definitely won back big points for me on Chromatica. It was finally fun, weird, dancey, and then simultaneously emotional and I was really able to get back into it. She’s always had the voice, but on this one it also showed us that she still has what made us love her. Recommended Tracks: Rain On Me, Plastic Doll, Enigma.

7. Koda Kumi’s My Name Is... Angel + Monster: She is, very likely, my Japanese Pop Queen. She always makes these absolutely outlandish bangers of dance tracks that have such a great attitude and beat and when she released re(CORD)... last year? 2018? Who can remember... I thought she could never outdo herself. Then she released “Lucky Star” and I was floored. I was a bit disappointed when they were only to promote a “My Name Is...” collection album, but then, to my surprise, a full set of new tracks came out just after that just blew me entirely away. Guess the last 6 albums must be pretty great, huh? Recommended tracks: Killer Monster, Work It!, Alarm.

6. Grimes’ Miss Anthropocene: I’ve never been a big fan of Grimes, but when Violence came out I was really looking forward to whatever album this was going to end up promoting. The song is actual fire, but then the LP ended up being some kind of experimental Gothic Pop with Asian Pop influences I never expected. I doubt I’ll ever find something she does this good ever again, but it was really a musical light in the darkness of this year. Recommended tracks: Darkseid, Delete Forever, Violence.

5. Kylie Minogue’s Disco: Admittedly, my draw to Kylie has always been that she is like some kind of Australian Madonna. Madonna being one of my all time favorite artists... In fact, number 2 for all women I listen to, Kylie has some big shoes to fill with her sometimes generic pop that she puts out. However, I haven’t really truly loved a Kylie song since “Get Outta My Way” and then this album comes out filled with tracks to love for the rest of time. Recommended Tracks: Miss A Thing, Till You Love Somebody, Magic.

4. Chanmina’s Notebook/Angel: I don’t have really any way of knowing how popular Chanmina is in Japan or if she is as popular in the Japanese Queer Scene as she should be, but god damn does she know what she’s doing. Her music is raunchy, bitchy, and condescending at it’s highest and deeply personal at it’s most mellow. There is no “lowest.” “Notebook” was a two-sided album and “Angel” a strong follow up EP, but all the recommended tracks are from “Notebook.” If you have not listened to “Picky”.... go do it now, I’ll wait. Recommended tracks: Picky, Baby, Lucy.

3. The Weeknd’s After Hours: Incidentally, I got into The Weeknd after someone said something shitty about him here on Tumblr! I took their likely-valid criticism and went to check him out for myself and I gotta say, I love his work. The beats are literally always on point and his voice is like silk. This album provided more than a few iconic songs and I always can’t wait to see what he does next. Recommended Tracks: Alone Again, Heartless, Blinding Lights.

2. Halsey’s Manic: The singles and features she did between Hopeless Fountain Kingdom and Manic gave me such insanely high hopes and I was not disappointed. HFK was a strong album of course, but this was near perfection for me. I think the production of this alt-pop album was the star of the show because it wasn’t all one way, there were heavy-bass songs, interesting piano riffs, striaght up punk rock, all of it. She really made an album quite like it’s namesake. Recommended Tracks: Ashley, Killing Boys, Still Learning.

1. Dexcore’s Metempsychosis: A newcomer to the visual kei and death metal scene, they’ve been putting out single after single for years in preparation for their extemeley long and multidaceted debut album. With a total of about 33 songs, the entire second disc was rerecorded singles from their early days and some even got new lyrical treatment. The main series of songs were, of course, also totally flooring and all of the recommended tracks are the new ones. If you haven’t checked them out by now, you have to! Recommended tracks: Cibus, Scribble, Period.

#personal #music #2020 #visual kei #k-pop #dexcore #halsey #the weeknd #chanmina #kylie minogue #grimes #koda kumi #lady gaga #kesha #BoA

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raguna-blade · 4 years ago

Text

So carrying on the shared symbol thing with persona games, here’s a fun one that probably needs more time in the oven but hey, can come back later with later revelations

So, here’s one that technically shows up in the first game but doesn’t really become a thing until (I am assuming, i still need to actually play the first few and finish most of them but whatever) Persona 3

Evokers! Also known as guns. Specifically hand guns, but I think that’s the least important detail when one of the big symbols of your game is shooting yourself in the head to summon mythic figures.

So Evokers. In game, and as per the wiki, they are supposed to function by more or less...making you face mortality and the fact that you’re going to die for real.

By simulating shooting yourself in the face. It’s a good thing that the Kirijo group already got their mad science comeuppance because man, that’s kinda...

But hey, the logic and rules at play here do seem to be consistent across the games. To Summon a persona requires, apparently, a huge amount of stress and or trauma to activate properly, and the Evokers are a fast way to do that that isn’t, comparatively anyway, super duper traumatic. It’s free artificial trauma for everyone that is comparatively less permanent.

Which...Well I don’t believe that for a second considering SEES is one big trauma center. I don’t think there is a single person in that group who is trauma free really. Nobody is free of it, even the dog.

I mean maybe the protag, but they come off as super depressed to me.

But for the moment let’s accept that as true. If i’m wrong i’m wrong, but I think i’m right and i want to get to the juicy stuff.

So given evokers function by applying trauma directly to the soul to summon yon persona, I think it’s obvious then what guns are SUPPOSED to represent right?

Trauma. But not just any kind of trauma no. Remember, Evokers are supposed to basically be going Hey Trauma But For A REASON. To Summon a Persona. A persona which is used to protect yourself from something (Shadows technically, but A persona is a mask used to face life’s struggles as the games are so fond of reminding us.)

So, Guns are Trauma Turned Towards Protecting Yourself from...something. My understanding of psych stuff is you know, layman, but basically it’s an active self defense mechanism. Or at least turning that pain on outside hurty things.

So if this holds true as a consistent and shared symbol going forward, we should expect that everyone who uses a gun is both

A: Traumatized in some manner.

2: Actively Defending themselves possibly by literally using that trauma against things.

Which i’m sure is totally a healthy thing to be doing. Has to be. Can’t not be right?

I can see no possible way in which using your trauma like a club against the world can possibly backfire on you.

SO!

Who uses guns in the series going forward.

In Persona 4, We have two for sure, maybe a third. That is Naoto, Adachi, and Maybe Dojima (I assume he HAS a gun, but I don’t think he’s ever shown using it. I’m going to assume for the moment this is true as fits the analysis, cause it fits well enough, but if he actually pulls it out ehh)

Persona 5 has uh...literally all of the phantom thieves. Technically not morganna, but if you think a slingshot isn’t basically a fire arm, well sure technically but also you can absolutely kill someone with a slingshot don’t get it twisted. But yeah, all of the phantom thieves and ESPECIALLY Akechi, since he uses a real one. Well, sans Futaba, but we’ll get there.

And do these individuals demonstrate being both traumatized AND using that as some kind of defense mechanism...?

yeh.

So start with P4. Now compare the other persona users in 3-5, the group in 4 is actually really well adjusted. Like yeah, you have some elements of stress and being an outcast and elements of weird harrowing stuff happening to them sure. I mean if nothing else they’re in the middle of a murder mystery with a serial killer in town, that’s stressful for anyone, let alone the weird supernatural shit on top of it, and then there’s the more mundane stressors.

But...Uh...Largely, they’re handling it pretty well actually. Protag was pretty alright moving to town and seems to get along with people well. Yosuke had the dislike of being in town but he had friends, he wasn’t really hated or anything. Chie is pretty alright, Yukiko is stressed but not exactly freaking out, Kanji has some shame going on however you want to frame that i’m told it reads different for japanese audiences though it’s not mutually exclusive, Teddie DID in fact have an existential crisis but that’s not really the same thing i think, Rise is hella stressed, and then there’s naoto who uh.

Kid’s got some problems. They’re also the only one who uses a gun So Hey First stop.

So depending on how you want to read it, Naoto is either dealing with some trans issues or just aggressive and unending misogyny given their profession. Personally while i can see the naoto is trans reading, the game doesn’t explicitly come out with that as the issue, while it DOES with the misogyny so I’m going with that. If you do think it’s more that than what i’m going with, you can easily sub it in I think since from what i’ve heard on the subject suggests it very much CAN be traumatizing dealing with that in society....And also because it’d still feed back into the misogyny thing so it comes back to that anyway.

Regardless. This is a thorny enough issue really, so i’ll strive to not fuck up but please forgive me if I do cause it’s not intentional.

What do we see with Naoto? They’re a genuinely skilled, talented and experienced detective, and at a really young age. Their skills are undeniable really, and they’ve got acclaim and real accomplishments under their belt.

They are also, apparently, belittled constantly because they’re read as female and that is apparently far far more important than their skill. Because of that they’re belittled, talked down to and dismissed purely because of that.

And Naoto is fucking tired of it. So much so that they do everything in their power to present as male and believe they should straight up just...cut out whatever lady aspects are there and just go full dude.

Which here you get two really radically(?) different readings depending on if you fall on the Naoto is Trans and so fucking tired of the misogyny vs Naoto Is fucking Tired of the misogyny and so damn desperate.

In case A, Naoto genuinely believes they’re a dude, and genuinely believes duding it up will solve their problem....But they’re rejecting that part of themselves actively, and refusing to acknowledge it at all. That’s a problem for him, if only because actively rejecting a part of yourself is by no means a healthy thing, especially when it keeps getting brought up constantly in your line of work (I can only imagine how much this would suck to be dismissed because people think you’re a girl when you’re a guy but also you’re denying that you’re a guy and recognize that even if you were outwardly a guy they would STILL dismiss you as a girl even though you’re not. Just typing that out is...yech.)

In Case B, you have a still tired of the dismissal, but also they think they radically need to change their body and gender just to get anywhere in the world which is egregiously fucked up because you know. She’s good at her job! Why should she HAVE to be a dude to get anything done? It’s fucked up.

But they’re a gunman! So...i mean i guess it’s obvious what the trauma at play here is, it’s gender related regardless of how you slice it and how is it used...? Naoto disguises (or “disguises”) themselves as a guy, actively using the thing that they’re being traumatized by to fight back against the world in some way.

I mean as thorny as the issue is in the reading it, the outcome is at least simple enough under the shared symbols thing.

Ok, but what about Adachi...? Welllllllllllllllllll

Adachi is definitely traumatized I think but it's not in the kind of way that's sharp and specific. I'm cribbing a bit off of [https://youtu.be/8qG8Mqe_1v8] with their description of how Adachi reacts to the Scoobies calling him out.

To summarize and or paraphrase, it's not that there's a specific thing that broke Adachi down. It's that he's trapped in a job he hates, or at least without the possibility of improvement. He's shoved in a backwater town when he's a city boy. He feels ignored, he doesn't like the people around him very much, he's got basically no money, he has no significant other, he has to just keep going and existing day in and day out and it's...

God it's so fucking soul killing.

It's not like his childhood was better apparently, in that it basically was a prelude to adult hood but also unlike then, he didn't have the supposed promise of do well in school and get cool shit that was summarily broken.

So what's a guy who's made to feel worthless, made to feel like a nobody, made to feel utterly disenfranchised, and has actual evidence to support some of this (keep in mind the reason he got reassigned did involve him screwing up somehow, though I don't think it's explained what or how) going to react when given the ability to act out with no consequences, or seemingly?

Well, I imagine that you would see them do some fucked up shit really. We've seen people in real life do things just as bad if not worse, and the exact way he wields his trauma is well...sadly understandable to anyone.

Though another interesting shared thing, which I neglected earlier and MAY share into the Gun Imagery is a sense of isolation. Which...Actually. Actually may track. Evokers are used by well...ritualistically killing yourself, which is for all the harm it throws out to everyone connected to you, is also a very solitary act. And in both cases here, the characters are in a very real way killing their true selves in order to deal with the world (In adachis case by presenting a fake version of himself and in Naoto's case by actively rejecting a part of themselves however you want to spin that one)

This does raise a question of the SEES gang having elements of isolation which off hand I want to say yes that's the case across the board, and only by coming together do they win but I also legitimately cannot recall how it plays out beyond the minimal We're The Only Ones Capable of Dealing With This thing which isn't quite the same thing. The ritualized killing yourself still stands so that's still in play really, and i'll keep an eye on it going forward.

I should probably ALSO keep an eye on the uh...Suicide aspects. Even looking back at Naoto and Adachi they have elements of it, although more figurative than literal. Both very much have a life is over thing related to their careers and where they end up when first introduced, so it's not an unreasonable call though the strict actual read of suicide suicide is...Hmmm...

Well I suppose Adachi's chunk of the world is accessed through the noose room if I recall, so that might not be quite as empty a connection, while Naoto's secret lab thing may not be quite as on the nose it does focus on a destruction of self in some way given the way a lot of those secret labs go about doing things in those shows.

That is, there's generally one of two outcomes. Either the Evil Org creates a mindless/corrupted pawn to use whatever their powers/abilities are for the organization (see every monster of the week) OR they create a hero/renegade warrior that uses those very same powers they were imbued with against them....Which suddenly makes me wonder if the the ambiguity of if Naoto's transness vs woman in male spaces thing is intentional in regards to how to read that section. If so that's actually clever as hell because then either way you want to read it the literal what's going on with their shadow (body modification either to become their true self and the rejection of that or to be able to actually be respected for their work and the implied destruction of self that's going on there) it reads as this is bad so...Kudos.

Anyway, off topic, maybe another day.

All this said, this leads to Dojima who SHOULD have a gun and probably does, but...never uses it that I can recall, not once. Doesn't even show up with a gun if memory serves.

It's not that he's not traumatized. He most definitely does have some shit kicking around what with the dead wife, disconnect from his daughter and all that, but he never really...weaponizes it does he? He never turns it on others, never uses it to isolate, none of that. Which is interesting because as a Cop I think we can safely say he SHOULD have a gun of some flavor right? That does seem to be the vibe, and yet he doesn't freak out. The reason why is heartfully straightforward though.

Nanako. He can't exactly revel in his hurt and lash out at folks with it. Like yes, he's not winning parent of the year at the start of the game by a long shot, but frankly emotionally distant and neglectful after your wife died but still trying (failing but trying, critically, the trying) is not the worst spot to be in, no way. And he takes to reorienting things quite well once he get's the additional stability in his life Yu and (at least in part) Adachi.

Which, really, is what also ended up saving the SEES members. Not Yu, but the fact that they managed to form genuine connections with each other that let them get past the hurt and not be taken up and swallowed by it. It's why Adachi ended up going the way he did because he really DIDN'T forge those connections, and because of the whole everything he couldn't really get out of that loop and fix himself up.

I mean Izanami's game basically threw two whole ass people into the deep end of their problems but this ain't about her right now.

So ok, that's the group from 4 and right now this is feeling pretty consistent.

So let's get to the group that has literally every party member carrying with The Phantom Thieves.

So...again, to bring it back, Guns symbolically here are weaponized trauma right? They're using that to strike back against what's threatening you, often by using it against them.

Now, there are variances with the phantom thieves for sure, and the most relevant and DIRECT one is that all of them, every last one, is an outcast of some flavor from the social norms, and this has screwed with them something fierce. Now it's not as apparent or visible in all cases, but I'll get into specifics as we go down the list, but I want to say this at the top because it fundamentally comes down to Because Of this outcast status, this particular form of trauma, they became the Phantom Thieves, and in doing so struck back against the society that hurt them, with the intent to inspire those like them.

Well not Akechi, but his specific issues at least nominally align I guess.

Anyway. I won't go into as much detail here, but I feel it's worth pointing out that their Phantom Thieves Personas are probably the cleanest way to point out how they go about weaponizing their various more personalized traumas to protect themselves and fight back.

Joker: Accused of a crime he didn't commit, sent to a city away from his family and friends, said to be a violent felon...Like it's not exactly brought up in the game in part because he's a silent protag but Joker absolutely had his life ruined. Like full stop, his world fell apart over night, not because he did something wrong but because he tried to do the right thing. And then Kamoshida happened which basically took boyo from being merely fucked over to losing what little he had left (where what he had left was a friend of a friend of his folks taking him in and shoving him in a drafty attic)

And then from said trauma he created the well...Joker Persona. Someone who emphatically is a criminal, the kind of guy who is actually pretty ominous when you consider the knife,gun and dark outfit combo making him look like some kind of assassin. That he helps people is probably a small miracle really.

But by the same token, it's blatantly clear the persona that he pretends at school is not his true self either. He has to hide himself, make himself look small and innocent and as unthreatening as humanly possible. He's not, by any means but...

Morgana: Imagine you wake up one day and you remember maybe your name, a few random bits of information, and nothing else except that you were (probably) a human and now decidedly are not. That's...Rough man. It's just rough to deal with and it's awful, and then you just keep getting hit with that fact over and over and over again. Mona's pretty straightforward, but it tracks that they would make themselves out to be the cool collected sort that they do (even though they botch it nigh constantly). If you can't remember anything about yourself, make yourself out to be the coolest smartest most talented type right?

Ryuji: He literally had an authority figure not only mock his family situation, he straight up broke his leg, killed his dream of running track, ostracized him from his friends and peers, put more pressure on his mom. He was reduced to a thug and his response to that was, apparently, let me be a (diet) delinquent then. It's not like he did anything bad really but he certainly stopped giving any kind of a shit to the world. His attitude got turned up for sure. This got more emphasized with the Actual Skull persona as a phantom thief, where he's far more intimidating, outright hostile and violent (A bat and a shotgun? yee)

Ann: I mean there's the obvious sexual assault, her friend attempting suicide, etc, but i've seen it pointed out that a good chunk of Ann's problems are also based in the fact that she's white in japan, so basically she straight up has to deal with racism too. It's why she's considered the sexy one for example (girls like her are easy you understand) so it's...well. How the game handles (or doesn't) that aside, the persona she ends up developing first off a very blithe sort of vibe to how the world views her (seen in her confidant arc) before ultimately gravitating to having more active control over her image and consciously choosing how the world will view her instead of them making the choice themselves.

Yusuke: Abusive parents (which is damn near a theme with the phantom thieves. Families being broken or Abusive which is hm) who actively stole his work, and he knew about it. It very clearly messes with his art and his relationship to this thing that he loves, and even after knowing how his adoptive dad was abusing him and other students and making a mockery of art...To which he actively throws himself into Art EVEN HARDER than before, as a dedicated fuck you on the subject. Actually straightforward, which is perhaps weird for Yusuke, but hey they can't all require deeper reading.

Makoto: Makoto's deal is a bit more complicated but boils down to She's tired of having all these expectations pushed onto her and dictating the exact kind of person she should be. Always the good girl, always kind and elegant, soft spoken, I mean she knows aikido and is supposed to be good with it. Which is why she turns that around is basically Lord Humongous, albeit less jacked dude in bondage gear and more Badass Violence Biker. Just let it all out and take no shit from anyone ever. Again straightforward enough.

Futaba: Now...Here's a weird one to say because it's...She doesn't have a gun. I mean we could probably make a fair enough statement, if an absolutely buckwild one, that she does not at this point have a trauma. Or at least, not one that is weaponized. Because well...Her issues were very self focused. She thought her mom killed herself because of her, and that almost made her (futaba) kill herself. That's not a great place to be, but it's not like she ever takes her dead mom issues out on the world. She doesn't even really take her extreme social issues out on the world. If anything she pretty much...Has them and kind of deals with them quietly.

I suppose you could say that her weapon of choice is the computer. It's no gun, obviously, but unlike everyone else up til this point she also doesn't really...hide herself. There's no fake persona (in the not summoned beings of myth and story) that she presents to the world. She's decisively genuine about everything, and pretty much the only difference between her and her Oracle persona is neat goggles yeah? Which makes her an interesting pair with Maruki who we'll get to later as another gun not haver.

Haru: Kind of a complicated one, though also kinda straightforward. She's ostracized from her father and finds the abuse that he's laying down on the people who work for them abhorent, which is bad enough, that kind of realization that your life is built on the suffering of others. There's also the uh...It's not strictly this because arranged marriages are very much business affairs more than romance, but the way it's portrayed definitely reads as her dad selling her which is you know. Not...ideal, though her specific reservations there seemed less the arranged marriage (it's business she get's it) but more the dude was an creep and also again the abuse. The family motto being betray anyone to get ahead (paraphrased to hell and back) also suggests some not so great things really, though her bond with her dad did seem to be genuinely strong, which is why her reaction is tada heroine of justice.

Which, I just realized this and I gotta point it out, actually lines up MARVELOUSLY with Morgana and Zorro. Wealthy Individual who see's the crimes and evil deeds of the world and decides to mask up and fight the crime they cannot contest with their unmasked face, warring against the system that enriched them at presumable cost to themselves because it's the right thing to do? Beautiful. Probably should look into that more. But yeah.

Sumire: I mean...I mean she basically straight up says I think I was second best to my sister in everyway and then I got her killed and her reaction to that was Let Me Be My Sister and well...yeah that's exactly how she dealt with her trauma, albeit with a little bit of magic help. And Perhaps most notably, this is almost the most explicit demonstration of Evoker Gun Antics because She Creates a Persona (“Kasumi”) To Protect Herself (alldattrauma.exe) by using that trauma (dead sister) against the world (Literally everyone else) it's...Actually a really clean example I think?

Akechi: Last but not least of the gun havers, Akechi who uh...Outcast because of family reasons (single mom, Dad's a creep) in a way that just...We don't actually ever get the details I don't think, but the way he reacts to it I think makes it clear that his whole life was basically a string of kick this kid while he's down, keep him outside the system, and of course the persona he ends up creating, both of them, end up being one the charming charismatic prince who seeks justice and a bloodthirsty lunatic, neither of which accurately reflect his true self I don't think. Aspects of it sure, but not completely. If pressed, I would say that the Akechi we see in the Third Semester is probably the closest even though he's probably a dream Akechi, being someone who does have a distinct judgement for what is right and wrong but also, critically, can and will shoot you in the face cackling as his plans come together. Rather like Joker actually, which is appropriate given their mirrored trickster roles, and the general shape of their outcomes (both get their smuggery on when things go to plan)

Anyway, the way he reacts to being forced to live an outcast is as mentioned, let me get back into that system, let me be part of it and all that.

And last but not least

Maruki: Now...He doesn't have a gun. It doesn't quite match up with the symbol thing which I think at this point is established enough that it's probably some kind of thing, but what I find interesting is that...he fits MOST of the criteria right? Definitely has a trauma that shaped how he reacted to the world and yet, it's not weaponized right? It doesn't well...evoke a different persona from him. It's not weaponized to protect him and that seems odd right? He ends up with a Palace right?

Sure. But I want to go back to what i'm proposing the Evokers Represent.

Trauma, A Destruction of the Self (Suicide literal or figurative), Isolation, and weaponizing your trauma to protect against the world...And he only actually tracks to the Trauma part of that. He IS hurt for sure, no question. He is fighting back against the world in his own way for sure, what with Azathoth and his mind whammy, and I would say that the nature of it is directing how he's doing things (no more pain for anyone yeah sure)

But where it falls apart, and actually DOES line up with the guns as metaphor for those things mentioned, is that he doesn't really Isolate. He doesn't present a fake self to protect himself. He doesn't destroy an aspect of himself to protect himself. No, he's extremely upfront that “No this is bullshit, it should change, fuck this noise, I'll do what I can with what I can and oh hey godlike power now I can help everyone”

Which cool, except that apparently in the Stay in Maruki's world ending he kinda fades into the background, which suggests the self destruction but no, not even then really. Like I know I made a bit of meta about him obscuring himself and kinda fading away as a person, but I don't think it's strictly meant to be get rid of yourself so much focus on the message and not the messenger. You can throw your mask away. No more pretending. You don't have to hurt anymore. As the song goes.

And it's worth pointing out that, in comparison to literally everyone else on this list, Maruki is unambiguously a healthier person mentally by a long shot. Shady antics with Sumire aside, He genuinely wants to help people, he want's them to be better the right way ideally but if he had the means to do it of course he'd just hot delete those deeply traumatic and life shattering pains that they couldn't overcome. Then he does get that ability. And Then he does do that.

Anyway, the ramblings on long enough, and I kinda feel i'm drifting, but yeah. Think this is another symbol that tracks (I probably wanna check out Persona Q and Q2, but what I know on those does have it break down a bit but they're also not mainline games so I'm not sure how to square that so....)

#Persona 3 #Persona 4 #Persona 5 #Spoilers #Evokers #Shared Symbols

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forkanna · 4 years ago

Link

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

WARNING: Continued transphobia.

So I did try to put this up sooner, due to cilffhanger feelings, but didn't quite manage it. Hopefully you all forgive me!

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

Rise couldn't believe the level of disaster her life had reached. And all because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Because by the time she had finished crying, scraping herself together and sending the shambles that had once been a lovesick fool back into the school, she knew exactly where the leak had occurred. Plugging that would have to be the first step. And then…

Then what would she do? Beg Ai to take her back? She took out the note, stared at it, and almost threw it in the nearest receptacle. But that wouldn't do. No… she had to hang onto hope that there was still time.

"I got this," she whispered to herself as she used the note to wipe her eyes, smearing her makeup. "I'll do my best." Fine but empty sentiment. She had to take things one step at a time.

And step one was…

~ o ~

"CHIE!"

The bowl-cut-hair had barely stopped whirling around Chie's head from turning to face Rise when she was hit in the face, full force, with a bookbag. The blow knocked her from her chair in the Junes food court and she went sprawling to the ground.

"WHOA!" Yosuke burst out in sheer alarm. "Hey, wait a minute there, Rise-chan! Where's the fire?!"

"You wanna know who's fired? SHE'S fired, that's who!"

Still struggling to sit up, Chie looked a little silly with a bag-print reddening half of her face. "Wha… whahidme?"

"Rise, what is the meaning of this?" Yukiko gasped in exasperation as she crouched over her girlfriend, trying to help her up. "Are you upset about something?"

It took real, concentrated effort not to snap at Yukiko, as well — especially given the Captain Obvious question she had just asked. But she knew she was only trying to be kind, to look after all of her friends equally. So she bit back the scathing retort and focused on the situation at hand instead.

"I'm upset about a lot of things, every day. But this time it's because somebody doesn't understand what a secret is!"

"Me?!" Chie intuited. "Are you- hey, I'm no snitch! Wait, what secret are we… talking…"

The food court went silent. Which was partly because it was too early for dinner, so they were the only ones there, not talking to each other. Rise idly noticed it seemed like Teddie and Kanji were absent, but she was on a mission; she didn't have time to worry about their whereabouts.

Finally… "Oh."

"So you got it? Huh? You figured out how you just screwed everything up?!"

"Now just wait a whole second, okay?" Chie said in a slightly nervous tone as she began to struggle to her feet. "I didn't say- I mean, like, I just figured it came out! Right? Because it's a secret, and this is a small town, and like, c'mon!"

"Who did you tell?"

"I didn't tell anyb-"

"NO! No, don't give me any of that crap, because we both know you had to have told someone — you already told at least one other person! I didn't tell anybody else! So who was it?"

"It… it doesn't matter!" Chie was trying to hedge with a hopeful smile. "Really, like I said, it was gonna come out sometime! Do you really think Ebihara could hide that forever? Like, he's kinda snowing the whole school…"

"Shut up!" Rise snapped, as Yukiko covered her mouth with her hand in alarm at the sharp tone. "That wasn't your choice, okay? And like I said, if I didn't tell, and Ai-chan for fucking sure didn't tell, then there's only one person it could be! Because I-"

"Oh dear," Yukiko whispered.

"Hey! I didn't commit any crime!" Chie shot back, starting to get heated herself now as she clenched her fists. "Tell that to the drag queen you've been hanging around with — he's the one that's gonna catch hell if they figure out he's been using girls' bathrooms and stuff! He should at least tell us if he wants to-"

"It's my fault."

Rise was still shouting when she turned to Yukiko. "What?! I mean…" She cleared her throat, tried to take the volume down a notch. "What?"

"Chie told me. When we were… well, when we were alone, because we're best friends. As you know, because we have already discussed things… so I was the beginning of the problem. I'm sorry."

"Yuka…" Chie sighed, grimacing. Clearly, at some point she had realised what had happened, and shifted her tactic to protecting her significant other. Rise would have respected it… if they weren't both going to be on her list now. At least that cleared up the true reason Yukiko had gasped; it was a sound of recognition.

"Really? You?" Rise said, completely betrayed. And disappointed; that much must have been readily apparent, because the innkeeper hung her head in shame.

"Yes. And Chie was so conversational about it, I… didn't realise… you seem very upset about all the rumours that have started going around now. Did we… have we done something wrong?"

Rise let out an exasperated noise. "Are you kidding? Of COURSE you did!" In the back of her mind, she knew she was basically just coming down on them to sidestep the blame Ai had thrown her way, but she couldn't stop; they had to pay for ruining everything. Someone had to, and she couldn't face herself. Not at the moment. "Do you have any idea what life would be like for her if they figured out for sure?!"

"Dude, who cares?" Chie tried to tell her reasonably. "Remember when we found out about Naoto? We're all cool! So what if she's a chick instead of a dude, or Ai's a dude instead of a chick?"

"U-um, I prefer you leave me out of this discussion," Naoto said in a quiet undertone. "If that's alright."

Throwing up her hands in surrender, Rise began to pace back and forth as she said, "This is unbelievable. I really didn't think confiding in one friend… well, I guess I should ask who you told, Yukiko."

Rise was too observant to miss the glance between her and none other than Yosuke. The boy gulped when she turned her glare on him, holding up both hands in front of his chest.

"N-now, let's be reasonable here. Just a second while I explain-"

"UGH! Did everybody here play a part in this?!" No answers. Rise groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, well… I guess I'm going to be eating a whole big plate of crow later. If she even talks to me."

"Don't be so dramatic," Chie sighed as she rolled her eyes, hands on her hips now. "You're friends, you'll bounce back before you know it!"

But the idol was already shaking her head before she even finished. "You didn't see how mad she was. I'm… I'll see you later."

"But you just got here," Yukiko protested in a pleading voice, taking a step toward her. "I'm sorry we didn't understand the situation, but do you really have to go?"

"Yes. Got a lot of thinking to do."

As Rise headed toward the elevator, she passed Kanji coming from it. He smiled and waved and asked, "What's up?"

"Ask our Judas friends."

"Huh?!" He got no answer to his question. As the doors slid shut, she thought she could just barely hear him say, "Man, chicks sure are crazy," but it was too late for her to attack him since she was already heading downstairs. Oh well; there was always next time for him to pay for his crime against her gender.

~ o ~

That was on her mind a lot as she lay in bed that night, staring up at her ceiling. Gender. Sexuality. The differences between men and women. How those lines could be blurred right in front of her eyes and she had no idea. And when she wasn't thinking about that, she was thinking about…

Why didn't she realize she shouldn't have told Chie? Theoretically, she should have been able to confide in her and everything be fine — and she also knew none of her friends really intended to hurt anyone. They were just careless. But now she could see with sobering clarity that carelessness still had consequences. Would Ai really have to transfer again, just because the secret got out?

Something that made her blood run cold whenever she thought of it: that comment about guys beating her up. Just because she used the women's bathroom? When she thought of it as a man sneaking in there, she supposed that made sense. Most guys would do that to protect any women from being harmed. But she had gone to the bathroom alongside Ai plenty of times — enough to know that she never did anything in there except her business, and preen in front of the mirror. At least she had found a way to prove to those nosy girls that she was all woman.

Even if it was a lie, technically speaking. Which confused Rise so much she just wound up stuffing her head underneath her pillow.

All her texts went unanswered, of course. She had expected that. Somehow, she still couldn't help herself and sent a grand total of seven before she manually turned off her phone to reduce the temptation.

The worst part of all? Now she couldn't talk to any of her friends about it, either. That was what got her into this fix in the first place! So all she could do was panic, wallow, and panic again.

~ o ~

If Rise had thought the previous day was unpleasant, Tuesday definitely counted as a catastrophe.

"Oh my God," she overheard a girl muttering as she walked in through the front gates. "Can you believe she would ever look like that?"

Unfortunately, she only had a few minutes of blissful peace to have no idea what they were talking about. The minute she reached into her locker to get her indoor shoes, she felt the glossy paper on top of them. Withdrawing it, she felt her heart sink when she saw her own face.

A goofy face indeed. There was nothing particularly wrong with the picture; she had been trying on dresses in Croco Fur and was sticking her tongue out with her finger up her nose, obviously making the stupid face for the camera. Nothing incriminating, just vaguely embarrassing. However…

Everyone seemed to have a copy. No matter which way she looked, every single student of Yasogami seemed to have a glossy paper in their hands. Rise felt her face begin to heat up. She had done nothing wrong, and the picture wasn't that bad, but seeing the entire student body laughing at her brought on the reaction regardless.

"Wow, this is hilarious," some guy was saying as she headed to class. "Thought Risette was so cool but she's actually dumb. Look at this! Her finger's in her nose, gross!"

"I think it's cute," his friend said. "She's having fun."

But another guy in glasses standing nearby just sighed and rolled his eyes. "You plebs. Obviously this is just another publicity stunt orchestrated by her management. She probably distributed them herself."

The idol stormed into the room before she had to hear any more. Did they really think she had nothing better to do than print off a bunch of pictures of herself and throw them all over the place?!

"Uh, hey."

She looked up, ready to ream the speaker, when she saw a chagrined looking Kanji standing there, scratching the back of his head. "May I help you? Or am I too crazy?"

His weak chuckle spoke volumes. "Heard that, huh? Sorry… I just didn't know what to say when you snapped at me. Guys filled me in after you left."

"What? You mean the way you all stabbed me in the back by gossiping about my girlf- my new friend?" Damn. She would have to be more careful about that.

"Hey, I didn't do that shit," the tall, dangerous looking boy grunted with his arms folded over his barrel chest. Sometimes Rise forgot just how intimidating Kanji was to most people, because they knew him better than that now. He was a big teddy bear under that yakuza-esque exterior. "Yosuke was the real problem, I guess. He was talking about it to Naoto, and wasn't paying attention to who was around them. Bunch of people overheard. And Naoto didn't say shit to anybody, so don't blame her!"

Rise sighed. Unsurprising that he was so defensive of her, since his crush ran so deep. "Fine. So it's Chie and Yukiko's fault a little bit, and as usual, Yosuke's fault a lot. At least they're the same old idiots they've always been."

Kanji nodded with another grunt. "So… what's with the photo?"

"Ughhhhhhhh."

~ o ~

The way Ai was standing at the edge of the school roof, gazing over Inaba, almost made it look like she was lying in wait for Rise when she got there. Probably because she was — and had been since the start of lunch. The popstar shoved the glossy page in front of her face.

"Well? What exactly is this supposed to mean?"

"Mean? Why, I don't know. Isn't that your picture? Aren't you supposed to be the one who knows?"

"You took this. I literally remember you taking it, with your phone, not mine. So why would you go to all this trouble to print up a dumb picture?"

Ai's smirk was practically demonic as she looked sideways at her without fully turning. The worst part was that she still was as beautiful as ever, even when being an asshole. "A beginning. By the time I'm through with you, you will be begging me to stop, and I won't. I won't stop until you feel the way I did yesterday."

"Right. So this is a really pathetic beginning to a revenge plot?"

"Hah! Good try. Have you forgotten how much abuse I've weathered over my entire lifetime? You're going to have to do better than that to undercut me."

"Ai, you don't have to do this," she pleaded in a quieter voice. "This is nowhere near what I wanted, I still don't want it. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry, but attacking me like this isn't going to-"

She fell silent when Ebihara actually yawned. Her anger flared, and her eyes narrowed to slits as her fists curled tight. "That's your pitch? 'Whoops, I outed you and almost ruined your life, hugs'? Lame."

"Fine," Rise hissed. "I guess this didn't mean anything to you at all. Throw it all away because you're butthurt. Whatever."

"That's why I'm doing it, you idiot." Now her aloof tone had dropped to absolute zero. "Because it did — it meant everything in a way you will never understand. And now I feel stupid for trusting you, because you broke it. Don't go acting all high and mighty and trying to play the sympathy card."

Rise's eyes were watering as she tried to come up with something to say. The bratty side of her personality wanted to swear her own revenge, that she would make things even worse for Ai… but she knew she wouldn't be able to live with that. Besides, it was the wrong move, regardless of what her friend…

Regardless of what her ex-friend had done. It was really over. And figuring that out took all the wind out of her sails.

"Okay. Bye."

"That's it?" Ai chuckled harshly as the idol turned away, walking toward the stairwell. "Wow, you're usually so much chattier. You had better thicken up that skin, Kujikawa, or the next few days are going to be pretty unbearable!"

They really would. Just not for the reason Ai thought. Mourning the end of something beautiful tended to put a damper on one's week.

To Be Continued…

#we'll face ourselves #saphir de lune #forkanna writes #rise x ai #persona 4 fanfiction #jess the writer

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carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich · 5 years ago

Note

These Fanfics of Shin and Carla of nice and all...but we want the story on how Carla Tsukinami stoke your ham sandwich! The greedy bast*rd he is...

Anon, this is one of my favourite asks ever and I love you. Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to shamelessly insert myself into the world of DL I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it :)

I wrote myself as a nameless herione (because I don’t think most of you know my name) which also means you can treat it as a reader insert if you want to, but bare in mind this is based on how I would react in this situation and there are some details that are a bit specific to me.

“Hm, I wonder if I’m allowed up here?” The girl glanced back at the door to the rooftop of Ryoutei Academy, trying to spot any sort of kanji that could translate to “Keep Out” but found none. Shrugging to herself she concluded that if anyone caught her up here when she wasn’t supposed to be, then she would have to play the confused foreign student card and hope for the best.

A mild scolding seemed better than going back to the cafeteria anyway.

She looked down at the slightly sorry looking lunchbox in her hands and loosed a sigh. It was only her second day at her new school and already she felt herself desperately missing her friends and the familiarity of her old school.

The other students had all been pleasant enough- aside from the boy with glasses in her class, who she’d caught eyeing the hemline of her skirt with obvious disapproval, as though it was somehow her fault that whoever made the school uniform had not done so with five foot nine female transfer students in mind- but the thought of trying to navigate getting food when almost all of the signs were in kanji she didn’t recognize made her gut roll with anxiety.

Besides at least the rooftop was pretty, with troughs of well kept roses lining the space and a perfect view of Kaminashi town, just beyond the iron railing, the lights from the small shopping district a warm glow against the midnight blue sky.

The girl walked over to the edge of the rooftop, intent on giving herself a moment to admire the townscape when a nearby rose caught her eye. It’s petals were such a dark red, they looked almost black in the modest illumination provided by the few lights lining the roof. She crouched down on the balls of her feet and set her lunchbox carefully to the side. Something about the scene, the dark flower with the night sky behind it, made her fingers itch with the urge to sketch it.

“I don’t think I could do the dark colors justice with my watercolors and I can’t do realism with markers so maybe colored pencils would be best?” She muttered to herself she tried to find the perfect angle for some reference photos she could use later, while reaching into her pocket for her phone. “Acrylics could work I guess but I don’t have any canvas here and I-”

“What are you doing?” A low voice came from right beside her ear. The girl let out a high-pitched shriek and jolted in surprise, barely catching her balance in time.

She loosed a breath before turning her head in the direction of whoever had spoken, but before she could, they spoke again.

“Hahh, that’s no good… Hmph!” A rough shove sent her sprawling into the roses. Thorns scratched at her skin and she cursed as her hands plunged in the damp mulch, just barely stopping her from face-planting into the dirt. The rest of her however, was not so lucky, and she knew from the way her torso had landed in the soil that her skirt’s hemline had just become the least of her worries as far as her uniform was concerned.

A cruel laugh came from behind her and she turned to look up, filled with some mixture of anger and embarrassment.

But whatever had been brewing petered out the moment she laid eyes on the culprit. He was quite possibly the most beautiful boy she’d ever seen; short choppy, strawberry blonde hair framed pale face with an eye the most incredible shade of gold.

He was utterly stunning.

The effect was promptly ruined however, when he opened his mouth, face twisting into a sneer.

“Haha, how pathetic, crawling around in the dirt.” He continued to chuckle as she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, wincing slightly at the way they stung where they’d scraped against the ground.

“Heehhh, aren’t you going to say something?” The boy asked, the humor in his expression dying down as he regarded her as one might a spot of mould on a piece of bread. “Or is it that you’re so stupid, you can’t understand what I’m saying?”

The girl froze slightly, unsure how to navigate whatever was going on. Was this guy a bully? Her strategy for dealing with bullies until now had generally been to avoid them or ignore them, neither of which seemed like a good idea here.

“Oiii Miss idiot, are you going to keep ignoring me until I do something like this?” Before she could react the boy placed a heavy black boot on her hand and started to put his weight onto it.

Shit.

“What do you want from me?” She blurted out, praying silently that she hadn’t messed up the Japanese grammar, which really shouldn’t have been a concern given this encounter could feasibly end with a broken hand.

The pressure stopped briefly and she took the chance to tug her hand out from her under his shoe and get to her feet. The girl was a little surprised to find that the boy was no taller than she was, although his general aura of menace certainly made him intimidating enough without needing any extra height.

“Ah, so you can talk. As for what I want… why don’t we start with an apology for shrieking in my ear earlier? It hurt you know?” He made a show of obnoxiously cleaning out his ear with his finger and the girl found herself completely lost for words. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, there were a lot of words swirling in her brain, all of them English and not to be used amongst polite company.

Biting back the urge to tell him to fuck off, she reminded herself that she was currently alone with this guy on a rooftop and angering him further probably would not end well. “I apologize for shouting in your ear, you surprised me. I’ll be going now.” Lunch forgotten, she went to make a hasty retreat to the rooftop door but was stopped short when the male put himself directly into her path.

“Not so fast, you haven’t answered my question yet. What were you doing up here, sticking your head into the roses like some kind of animal?” The girl tried to keep her breathing even, as she felt panic rise in her veins.

“I wanted to take pictures as drawing references, I didn’t realize that-” an arsehole like you would show up “-someone else was already here, forgive me, I’ll be on my way.” She went to take a step around him, when the boy took a step towards her, forcing her to take one back. Soon her back was pressed up against the railing and she internally cursed.

“You just wanted to draw some pictures of the flowers? Isn’t that a bit childish? Well, I guess you still wear kid’s underwear so I shouldn’t be surprised.” The girl spluttered and instinctively went to yank down her skirt, a slightly ridiculous action, considering he must have seen everything when he pushed her earlier.

“That-that doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she said, eyes on the ground as her face burned with shame. “Please, just let me leave.”

“You know, you still sound pretty demanding for someone who’s shaking and is covered in mud. Also,” he paused, sniffing the air briefly before glancing down at her knees, “ah I wondered where that awful scent was coming from, geez human blood really isn’t appealing at all.” The girl looked at her legs and caught sight of red liquid staining her knees, but that wasn’t what made her pause.

“Human blood? What are you-” A cold dread spread through her as she looked back up at the boy and the inhuman color of his iris. This had to be some sort of awful prank right?

“Oh, maybe I spoke too much, but that reaction isn’t bad, haha. Hey, what do you think I am?” He asked her, opening his mouth just wide enough to reveal a pair of gleaming white fangs.

“That’s… There’s no way… You can’t…” The girl struggled to process the image in front of her, trying to find some sensible sounding explanation. He had to be a nutjob with fake fangs right? A nutjob who liked to terrorize girls on rooftops and happened to go to a night school.

“Ah how boring. Shouldn’t most girls be crying with fear by now? I don’t want to but, would you react a bit more if I pierced you with these fangs?” He lowered his face and panic surged through her. Lunatic or something else, she had no intention of being bitten by him. The girl went to shove him away from her, but before she could blink he had her arms pinned above her head.

“It seems you still haven’t learned that I’m not the sort of person you should fight back against. Hey, how much would it take to make you cry?” His grip on her wrists tightened and she winced at the strength in his grip. “Your wrists are pretty thin, I’d barely have to use any of my strength to snap your bones.”

“Please stop!” She begged, as she silently prayed for someone, anyone to intervene.

“Oi Shin, what are you doing?” An incredibly deep voice came from the entrance to the rooftop and the girl said a silent word of thanks.

“Huh,” Shin looked over his shoulder, allowing the girl a glance at her savior. He was tall, with long white hair, that appeared dyed pink at the tips. A dark scarf covered the lower half of his face, while above it were a pair of piercing golden eyes.

A shudder ran down her spine as her gaze locked with his for a moment, suddenly feeling a lot less safe than she had just a moment ago.

“Ah brother, I was just having a bit of fun.” The girl wasn’t sure which part of this statement horrified her more. That her so called savoir was actually related to the demonic pile of steaming garbage in front of her or that this was Shin’s version of fun.

“That’s enough, we have matters to discuss.” The man walked over from the door to the roof, his footsteps stopping just behind Shin.

“Tch,” Shin let go of her arms, only to grip hold of her chin, moving his face uncomfortably close to hers. “Hey, if you tell anyone about what happened here, I’ll rip your tongue out, got it?” His fangs caught the light as he spoke, and the girl felt very close to tears as she muttered a soft yes.

Shin flashed her that nasty smile of his before letting go. “Well then, get out of here!”

Needing no further prompting, she hastily got away from him, pausing only to grab her school bag. As she did so, she caught sight of her lunchbox in the older boys hands and faltered.

“Go!” Shin yelled and the girl concluded that the ham sandwich and peanut butter flavored chocolate bar contained in the hundred yen tupperware were not worth her life as she borderline ran to the rooftop door, slamming it shut behind her.

***

Carla watched the girl flee from the rooftop with a dispassionate expression.

“What exactly did you do?” He asked, more concerned with trying to keep their low profile as they furthered their objective than anything else.

“Nothing much, I just toyed with her a bit. She’s only a human so it doesn’t really matter does it? More importantly, why did you keep hold of that?” Shin nodded towards the plastic container in Carla’s hands.

Carla said nothing as he opened up the box and pulled out a modest sandwich wrapped neatly in clingfilm. Removing some of the wrap, he sniffed it briefly before muttering.

“I thought so.”

Shin took a deep breath through his nose. “Ah, I see, a dry cured ham sandwich huh?”

“Normally I would never eat something prepared by human hands but to take away the taste of that polluted blood, it can’t be helped.” Carla lowered his scarf and took a bite of the sandwich, chewing a few times as he deemed it to be palatable before swallowing. “Oi Shin, take this.” He threw a plastic wrapped bar at his brother and Shin caught it without effort.

He turned it over in his hands before spotting the reason why his brother had given it to him. “Peanut butter huh? Well at least it seems that girl’s good for something.”

#own post #my writing #self-insert #I realise that the heroine/me is a bit lackster but that's because while I get embarrassed chronically easily #I don't get angry very easily at all and my normal strategy when faced with anything unpleasant is to try and leave by all means necessary #Also I genuinely do stop to take photos of flowers because I want to draw them #I love that upon being given a chance to insert myself into DL I just used it to have Shin bully me #I could have gone on longer with this but i think 2000 words of me is enough for anoyone #This is based on the idea of me being 18 (which I was when I started this blog although I was in Uni already)#and spending my final year of highschool at Ryoutei Academy

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makeste · 5 years ago

Text

BnHA Chapter 250: Why Is This Family Not in Therapy

Previously on BnHA: Fuyumi invited everyone over to Camp Todovid for a wholesome family meal because what could possibly go wrong. Kacchan and Deku proceeded to spend the evening blinking distress signals at each other in Morse code while Natsu shoved breadsticks into his purse and skedaddled after getting mad at Endeavor in a completely unexpected turn of events which absolutely no one could have foreseen. After dinner, Shouto had a heart to heart with Fuyu (and then Deku) about whether or not he was ready to forgive his dad, and meanwhile Endeavor said a prayer for his very dead son Touya. Poor Touya. He was such a nice boy. You know what he really used to like? Messenger bags. He’d put the oddest things in them, too. I wonder if Touya would still enjoy collecting strange and disturbing things in bags if he was still alive today. Alas. We’ll never know.

Today on BnHA: Some guy named Takami who just got out of prison decides to show up out of the blue and fucking kidnap Natsuo because WHY NOT. But before that happens, we get a nice scene of Kacchan and Deku sitting down with Shouto and Fuyu, who finally decide it’s high time they talked about THEIR SECRET DEAD BROTHER seeing as LET’S BE REAL, THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS DINNER TO BEGIN WITH. So basically, (1) he’s definitely dead! For sure! 100% deceased!, and (2) Natsuo apparently blames Endeavor for his death, lol no big. Deku and Kacchan are for some reason super fucking chill about hearing this, and then Endeavor comes over and is all “TIME TO HEAD BACK” and omg I’ve never hated him more. And then as they’re driving away from Todofield Hall, Takami shows up and is all “HEY ENDEAVOR LOOK I KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD AND I’M GONNA KILL HIM!” and holy shit but Horikoshi is just fucking with us now, though.

(As always, all comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added some ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

all right manga, do your worst. I’m completely spoiler-free on this one. watch it not even be a flashback, after all of that lmao

(ETA: lol I read these two asks after I read the chapter and they’re pretty great:

honestly this week wasn’t that bad, though! the worst part of it was the whole “only 13 pages again” thing honestly. next week, though, it looks like we’ll be in for some fun times. oh goodness.)

so it appears night has fallen on Todofield Hall, and hoooooooooly shit you guys, are they. are they all gonna have a sleepover at Shouto’s house, because fdszllk I. I’m gonna. ldskfjla

(ETA: [kicks Endeavor in the shins] why do you hate fun!?)

who is talking?? are these prison stripes??

so is this the Takami guy narrating, then? just like we all predicted last week. ???

(ETA: so I saw all these people going “wtf is this Hawks’s dad??” and I was like “lol what” and it took me longer than I’d like to admit to put two and two together, but anyways, long story short, “Takami” just so happens to be Hawks’s recently revealed surname (with the same kanji and everything -- 鹰見). so while every instinct in my body is screaming at me “gtfo no way they’re related”, it is an extremely bizarre coincidence, so uh. ?? I got nothin’, basically.)

WHAT THE FUCK

IS THIS GUY STALKING THE TODOROKI HOUSE. ABOUT TO BREAK INTO TODOFELL IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT WHILE MY CHILDREN ARE ASLEEP!? CAN THEY JUST NOT CATCH A BREAK

also I will never understand villains who get all smug about being captured alive. “your one mistake was not killing me when you should have!” like okay, so you’re admitting you’re a piece of shit who should have died, and that the hero totally could have done it, but they were nice enough not to so SHAME ON THEM, apparently

anyways I really don’t understand what’s going on at all lol. some guy looked up to Endeavor and then got himself captured by him for some reason. let’s continue I guess

oh lord it keeps getting creepier

-- oohhhhhhhh shiiiiiiit, is this fucker about to air Endeavor’s dirty laundry?? is that what this is about?

AHHHHH

NATSU SWEETIE WHERE ARE YOUR SELF-PRESERVATION INSTINCTS?? IT IS NOT SAFE! and also what the fuck, does Endeavor just not have any security in his home at all? surely he must, if for no other reason than the fact that HE HAS KIDS and he’s not always at home! I have to imagine that any pro hero with a family understands that they’re a potential target for villains and would take precautions. I wonder if we’re about to see this sneaky guy get wrecked

(ETA: nope, Endeavor really has no security whatsoever and Natsu got snatched while waiting outside for his Uber. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he was too busy missing his brother and being sad to remember that he actually has a quirk himself. c’mon Natsu.

-- actually, come to think, props to Horikoshi for once again bucking the trend and having a guy be the one who gets kidnapped and becomes the damsel in distress. I’m just going to assume that had Fuyu been the one to get captured, Endeavor wouldn’t have even heard about it until he received a text from her with a picture of the guy encased in ice and a caption asking “so dad, uh, what should I do with this?”)

BUT FIRST, WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO THE TODOROKI KITCHEN, WHERE TODOBAKUDEKU ARE CURRENTLY HAVING TEA WITH FUYU BECAUSE SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME YESSSSS

hhhglkohhhhh myyyyy godddddd

I KNOW!!! WHAT’S WITH THAT! WE’VE WAITED 250 FUCKING CHAPTERS PUTTING UP WITH YOUR SLY-ASS HINTS ALL “ALL RIGHT THEN, KEEP YOUR SECRETS” but is it finally time now? IS IT??!

Shouto says it’s not exactly an easy topic to bring up, and okay, fair. buuuut also, this is the same child who ambushed Deku in a corridor back when they barely knew each other and was all “let me tell you all about my dad’s quirk marriage and how he abused me and my mom and how I got this scar” so like. what exactly do you consider “easy to bring up” though

OH MY GOD IT’S HAPPENINGGGGGGG

we’re getting DETAILS. ABOUT. TOUYA’S PAST fkdslfh holy motherfucking shitballs someone pinch me

she says it happened right after Rei got hospitalized, which yeah, we all figured based on the middle school uniform in the photo. so that definitely pins down his age then, doesn’t it? Shouto was six when that happened, so if Touya was in middle school he’d have been between 12 and 15. so it’s very likely then that he was 14, the exact same age as Fuyu, so therefore THE TWIN THEORY IS CONFIRMED! WE DID IT TUMBLR

anyways back to being sad though, because

can someone please hug this child?? what are you all even doing?! do you not see his face?? jesus christ

oh no oh my god are you serious are you

okay, before I go on to the next panel and commence FREAKING THE FUCK OUT, I need to stop here though, because the thought that the Todos actually were in the process of healing nine years ago and could have potentially been spared years of additional pain had it not been for this tragedy is. just. I fucking can’t. I need a minute here. god

anyway. so now on to the freaking out though, because

:) :))) :))))))) huh. you don’t say

(ETA: hmm in hindsight I promised freakouts and then all I did was go “:)” but please understand that the “:)” conveys so much more inner freaking out than words could possibly communicate. just picture me screaming and waving my arms around like a Kermit the frog gif okay.)

look at this you guys. this revelation is so stone cold fucking sober that it even got Katsuki to make an actual normal face for the first time in god knows how many chapters, wow

by the way, words can hardly express how much I appreciate that Katsuki is sitting here chilling out drinking tea with the rest of them and listening to this tale of woe and empathizing like a normal, well-adjusted person, though. I will never take that for granted. thank you character development gods. y’all are bros

anyways the face in question that Natsu was making is so fucking sad, and just. THEY ALL NEED HUGS. why is this family not in therapy

NO!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU SON OF A BITCH!! JUST LIKE THAT YOU’RE RIGHT BACK ON MY SHIT LIST, ENDEAVOR!! CHRIST ALMIGHTY ARE YOU SERIOUS, SO WE’RE REALLY JUST GONNA LEAVE OFF THERE? “LOL SO YEAH, NATSU STILL THINKS DAD KILLED OUR BROTHER AND THAT’S WHY ALL THE TENSION” and Deku and Kacchan just nod like that is in any way a satisfying explanation rather than an INCREDIBLY OMINOUS STATEMENT which only goes and raises about A BILLION MORE QUESTIONS OMG. “oh okay, so he hates your dad because he thinks that he murdered your mysterious other brother we’re only just now hearing about. say no more. no further context necessary” fucking --

listen, you two. where the fuck are your investigative skills?? SOME SCOOBY SQUAD YOU ARE!!

oh my goodness gracious

listen guys, things I was not expecting to check off my character development bucket list today: Katsuki joining the Fuyumi fanclub and bonding with her over recipes. I wasn’t even aware that was on my list. BUT IT SURE WAS, AND IT’S CHECKED NOW AND I LOVE IT

also love that Shouto tells Fuyu to just text the recipe to him, and then he will share it with Katsuki. because they are best friends

also Deku is the only one here with any manners at all but oh well. we all been knew

(ETA: though to be fair, Katsuki asking for the recipe is about as big a compliment as one can give to a chef, and it kind of serves as a combination “thanks for the meal” and “everything was really good” tbh. shit, now I want her recipe.)

fdlkjfg

... [reaches out to gently touch the panels] so soft

-- BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT’S EVEN SOFTER?

[faint sound of my heart imploding] ah

oh my god his face

and Katsuki’s face too. boy are you jealous. to think you were all “WHY THOUGH!?” coming here, only to walk away from it all with a kickass new mapo tofu recipe as well as a new person to add to your secret list of people you would literally die for. awwwwwww

and Shouto. omg. this is the most bashful panel I’ve ever seen. what a blessed chapter

anyway so now they’re all driving away (back to school?? I think he said?) and Endeavor’s talking to them about their upcoming schedule. so I guess they are heading back to school, then

anyway so he wants them to work the weekend as well as two weekdays? damn that’s a lot of class to be missing, he’s asking them to skip literally half the school week (since they have Saturday class too)

wow you guys look at this panel

takeaways from this: 1.) I honestly would have thought Deku would be the one tutoring other people in English, if anything. as of the midterms, he was above Shouto in academic rankings, but more importantly he’s also the biggest All Might fan on the planet, and All Might spent a lot of time in America in his youth and presumably speaks decent English himself, so you’d think Deku’s English would be passable just from his obsession alone. but I guess you just can’t beat that fancy private school education

and the other takeaway: Katsuki doesn’t like being squished in the backseat of a cramped Japanese car with Deku and Shouto. this one is absolutely shocking. I’m gonna need a moment to process this for sure. anyways poor Deku, he’s probably getting so many elbows to the ribs right now. I hope he elbows back

(ETA: actually the fact that Katsuki is apparently sticking his head out the window here in addition to complaining about the cramped conditions makes me wonder if he’s actually getting carsick. my poor baby do you need some dramamine.)

guys, meet Endeavor’s chauffeur

so anyway this is a bit sudden but I have a new favorite character now. life is funny like that. does he remind anyone else of Major Armstrong

wow Endeavor is answering the question seriously

okay but shit, I really fucking love this answer, though. he’s so matter-of-fact about it. because the thing is, the question isn’t really “when did you start baby-sitting a bunch of kids”; it’s “when did you actually start caring about something other than yourself?” and the answer is that it happened when he finally reached the top and realized the responsibility that went hand in hand with that role. it forced him to finally look past just himself, and to think about what it really means to be a hero. shit, I feel another essay coming on, but it’ll have to wait for some other time lol. we still have to see if Natsu’s going to make it out of this alive

anyway so now Armstrong is chuckling and saying that status really does change people huh, and they’re driving on into the night

OH SHIT

THAT’S A NICE SON YOU’VE GOT THERE, ENDEAVOR. IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF SOMEONE... okay you know what, I’m not sure where I was headed with that joke, but in any case I can’t finish it because this isn’t funny at all actually, this is actually SO FUCKING BAD oh shit oh shit

NATSUUUUU

oh no he’s so scared oh fuck. fuck. he’s only 19, he’s just a kid still. god. why do I always get so worked up over these parts. what am I doing reading a shounen manga if I can’t handle seeing kids in peril. HORIKOSHI PLEASE BE KIND TO MY BABIES

holy shit

okay, is this implying that Katsuki was sticking his head out of the window in that previous panel?? I realize more important things are happening and this is hardly the time to dwell on this, but jesus christ my kid is out here trying to get himself decapitated. boy what is wrong with you

anyway so now something is going "pop” and I have no idea. ??

(ETA: lol I guess it was Endeavor? you know, how Endeavor sometimes just goes “pop” for no reason. that’s just the sound someone makes when spontaneously bursting into flames.)

far be it from me to start whipping out analogies about a mama bear and her cubs, but. damned if that ain’t what’s happening though. motherfucker, you mess with his kids? so would you like to die fast, or slow

so now some weird fucking shit is happening to the car, and I guess it’s this guy’s quirk again?

wow my man, so you’re really attacking the car with the three protagonists with SOMETHING TO PROVE in the backseat. you really do have a death wish

(ETA: on top of that, attacking the car mere minutes before the winter break ends, and with it, the deadline for “defeating a villain quicker than Endeavor.” HMMM anybody got some popcorn?)

now Endeavor is shouting “LET HIM GO!” because that’s what superheros shout when someone is being kidnapped

lol poor Natsu looks kind of awkward now

like, don’t get him wrong, he’s still scared for his life. but also he’s starting to get a bit of that same feeling that Katsuki and Deku were getting in the last chapter, like he’s suddenly found himself right in the midst of some grade A melodrama from which there is no escape. anyways don’t mind him, he’s just going to chill here in this big pile of bandages and see where this goes

so Endeavor is all “........... YOU’RE FROM SEVEN YEARS AGO!” and honestly that’s impressive. I guess the quirk is a pretty memorable one, though

wow now they’re suddenly being all coy with this guy’s name? what the hell

?? Natsu bud, I feel ya, this really is some awkward shit right here

ohhhh!

that’s the name of the chapter! well all right then, so at least that much makes sense now

so now Ending is apologizing to Endeavor, and wow, tons of essay fuel in these next two panels here

“you had so many things that I could never get” doesn’t this sound remarkably similar to Deku’s speech to Kacchan during their second fight at Ground Beta? huh

and also, I think we are slowly dancing closer and closer to the Thing Katsuki Lacks That He Needs To Learn From His Internship From Endeavor. what do you guys think? I have a lot of thoughts about this, but again, I’ll save it for another post seeing as shit is hitting the fan right now and all

OH SHIT

ARE YOU SERIOUS, OF ALL THE TIMES TO HAVE ANOTHER THIRTEEN PAGE CHAPTER! HORIKOSHI YOU ARE FUCKING KILLING ME HERE

well shit. okay so when he says “don’t make the same mistake twice”, he’s clearly talking about Endeavor letting him live the last time they met, but also I can’t help but feel like there might be some kind of double meaning here as well. the fact that he went from theft to kidnapping and attempted murder, on top of him mentioning earlier about how he went digging into Endeavor’s past, makes me wonder if he could possibly be trying to recreate a specific set of events. or is that crazy??

but just, hear me out. what if something similar to this went down before, with Touya perhaps being taken hostage by a villain (though it couldn’t have been the same guy because the timing is off, and also Endeavor didn’t recognize him right off the bat), and Endeavor making some critical mistake which resulted in him failing to save him, and Natsu then blaming him for that and holding him responsible for the death. honestly that makes the most sense to me, since I would think that “literally murdered his own kid” would be kind of a deal-breaker as far as the rest of the family ever reconciling with him. so yeah, this could get very interesting here

(ETA: hoo boy, so I’ve been browsing the bnha tags a bit, and it seems that a lot of people are interpreting the hints in this chapter very differently from me lol. I admit I could certainly be wrong about the “don’t make the same mistakes” bit having a double meaning. but like, do we really believe that Endeavor just straight up murdered his son and got away with it, or that it was covered up or something? or that he drove Touya to suicide? I think it’s much more likely that Touya pushed himself too hard, or that he accidentally got caught up in one of Endeavor’s attacks, or something along those lines.

what really struck me, though, was that a lot of people actually seem to be hoping for it to come out that Endeavor really is responsible, though. like, to the point where they’re prepared to be outraged if it turns out he’s not, and this part of the story doesn’t end up conforming to the narrative of Endeavor just being a sinister cartoon villain. and like, I don’t really know what to say about that. except that I really hate this idea that if an abuser is ever portrayed as something other than a heartless monster then it’s super-problematic and/or just bad writing. that Endeavor not murdering his son = Horikoshi endorses child abuse. or something. anyways I don’t have the spoons to really throw my hat into the ring here, but basically my opinion is that life is rarely just black and white in that way, and this story reflects that, and I think it’s absolutely the right call to make and is actually very good writing and I respect it.

and also like, it’s not some all-or-nothing thing here where he’s either a perfect saint, or the worst person to ever exist! what he is is a man who made some terrible choices in the past and abused and hurt the very people he should have loved and protected the most. and what he is, also, is a man who has realized the awfulness of the things he’s done, and is trying his best now to be a good person. what he is is a human being. and acknowledging that doesn’t mean that you condone the abuse; it simply means that you acknowledge that people are made up of more than just the worst things they’ve done in their lives. that’s it.

anyways, for all of my “not gonna through my hat into the ring” nonsense, I’m doing a pretty good impression of exactly that, so I’ll shut up now. damn you Endeavor and your controversy-sparking ways. what kind of psychopath looks at the fucking BnHA fandom and says “not bad, but you know what this place could use? more discourse.” you knew exactly what you were doing, you fiend.)

anyways I’m going to hope and assume that Natsu isn’t actually about to meet his end here at the hands of this bestriped man and his peculiarly thematic villain name and sinister bandage arrows (are they bandages?? maybe not since they seem pretty solid and he’s threatening to stab Natsu in the eye with one. idk). and for all of my joking earlier, this guy actually does appear to have a real, genuine death wish since he keeps talking about how Endeavor should have killed him before. so in addition to all this other drama, toss in an attempted suicide by cop as well! this fucking arc, man. goddamn

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darkestangel1326 · 5 years ago

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Fuyu no Hanashi - both versions

So ever since Fuyu no Hanashi has been released in the anime, the fandom has collectively lost their shit over the song, replaying it over and over and doing post after post analysis over the scene. In some instances scrolling through the tags, you see people prefer one version over the other.

I don’t really have a preference for either version but I love both versions. I really do think that each version represents a differing view of Mafuyu’s grieving process and how he moves forward, after Yuki. When you look at the nuances of the songs, I think that especially emphasizes it.

So this is a meta nobody wanted about the two versions of Fuyu no Hanashi (Mafuyu’s song) and how they are BOTH nuanced and interesting to me.

First up, the anime version:

God just re-watching this scene gives me chills. It was so beautifully done. I don’t wanna focus too much on the colors since a good meta has already been done but I do wanna talk about the lyrics and how they relate to this portrayal of the story.

[Given Anime] Fuyu no Hanashi (LYRICS)

[Verse 1] Just like Snow that hasn't completely melted In the shade I continue on with these feelings inside me Hey, with what words Should I close the door on this love? The instruments start full force from the beginning, everyone in the group playing intensely and then there’s a brief fade of the intensity, likely where Mafuyu’s song would be. When Mafuyu starts singing, all the instruments support his lyrics as they fade more into the background, with the exception of guitar. This represents the support his band has been giving him behind the scenes to get him to the stage even if they didn’t know his tragic backstory.

Mafuyu begins singing softly and there’s a slight delay between his first word he sings and the next lyrics, almost as if it hits him [and us tbh] that he’s singing aloud. This pause could also be seen as Mafuyu trying to put his feelings into words and taking a second to pick the best ones; but if you think about it metaphorically, Mafuyu - quiet, sleepy Mafuyu - has found his voice and he wants to say something that will reach people, though who he desperately wants to reach most is Yuki.

There is a kanji that means snow and although that is not part of Yuki’s actual name, I still think Mafuyu’s first metaphor talking about snow works as a hidden reference to Yuki. Snow that hasn’t melted in the shade ie feelings that haven’t left, even at Mafuyu’s darkest times. So his next line of lyrics rise in volume gradually and he continues in that same volume. He confirms his feelings here as well. Then he takes an [audible] breath after the first word of his question and continues it by singing the rest of the lines with a rising volume. Personally, I like the sound of artist’s taking a breath and in this case, it was done well and believably. For one, Mafuyu probably hasn’t learned breath control much so he’s belting out this beautiful sound and has to take a breather but also might still be unaware of how close he is to the mic resulting in the audible breath. Or, another reason may be because this breath, intended or not, slows the song enough to build for something impactful (the chorus). And this slowing pace also makes his question of how am I supposed to stop loving you when I still do? sound more desperate and pleading. Additionally, this line shifts Mafuyu’s sad thoughts to his more bitter ones, which is fully expressed in the first chorus. [1st Chorus] Your everything has lost its tomorrow And now is wandering around eternally Along with me Who unable to say goodbye or move on

The instruments all come back in full force with the drums taking the lead. Except this time, neither the instruments or Mafuyu’s voice yield to the other. It gives the impression that the band has become a constant support in Mafuyu’s grieving process. And here we see the change from Mafuyu’s melancholy to his bitterness towards Yuki, and even preludes how Yuki’s ghost haunts him. Mafuyu is in essence saying that Yuki’s physical form is gone but his ghost is always in Mafuyu’s life and will be forever, hanging around the guy who was unable to properly say goodbye. And this is when we begin to understand that Mafuyu has some guilt surrounding Yuki’s death; he wishes he could’ve said a proper goodbye. And yes, I know that sounds like every mourner but this is especially poignant because Mafuyu’s constant inner dialogue to this point was always presented as “I’m not lonely. I have friends who I play basketball with etc”. So hearing him say and getting the sense that he feels guilt about Yuki’s death (though at this point we didn’t know how much), it makes you see him in a different way. It’s also a big stepping stone for Mafuyu since he’s finally said he was unable to say goodbye or move on which means that he’s facing his feelings with the unyielding support of his bandmates during an impromptu song performed live.

[Verse 2] Just like A spell that still won't break Or some kind of curse I'm still holding on to some heavy baggage Hey, what kind of tomorrow Am I supposed to look for in this town?

Ah...

This is where the feels got real for me. That echo. It was the first echo I heard in the song and I think the reason was just impact. By this point in the song we see that Mafuyu is starting to really pour his heart out in an effort to confront his past and then that echo after his first word. It’s not just that there’s an echo, but a lingering, fading one that really emphasizes how haunted Mafuyu’s been by his past. And we further delve into the feels/grief in the rest of the verse. Most instruments fade into the background, giving Mafuyu space to sing his next verse. And this verse continues to have the echo effect throughout as well. We see Mafuyu’s rose-colored worldview of Yuki crumble as he compares his love with Yuki as a magic spell at first, then becoming unbreakable after his death, with a suffocating grip akin to a curse. If he tries to move forward, he carries the weight of Yuki’s passing like heavy baggage and wants to know how he’s supposed to move forward when this baggage, once magic spell, makes it hard to not see Yuki everywhere.

If we relate this to the flashbacks, we see Mafuyu’s highlights with Yuki - their first meeting which was like magic, all the way to Mafuyu’s last words to Yuki (aka what he is most likely guilty about). However, it’s Mafuyu’s last words to Yuki, and the guilt associated with those words from Yuki’s sudden passing - that’s the real heavy baggage Mafuyu carries around.

So how can he move forward in life, in the place where his guilt and Yuki’s ghost live? He doesn’t know how and the one person he wants to reach out to and ask can’t answer him. Hence the most heartbreaking scream I’ve heard in a long time. He screams out of pain. Out of despair. Out of anguish. It’s like he’s free falling and was trying to reach out to the one person who could ease his guilt but realizes (or should I say finally accepts) that the person he wants to talk to most about this pain won’t ever be able to respond back. And so he keeps falling.

[Bridge]

The cold tears that fall Freeze under the sky They pretend to be kind And around the time, they fall down my face Two people who were always together are torn apart That's all there is to this story

The Bridge is also so well done here. There’s a stillness of the instruments like a moment of delayed falling, as if time itself has stopped.

This likely references immediately post-Yuki when Mafuyu had the most trouble knowing or expressing his grief and his inability to move forward. The cold tears that fall/ Freeze under the sky - almost like saying his guilt is preventing him from expressing his sadness. Or that he’s having trouble showing his emotions at all compared to those around him. Deep down Mafuyu wanted to feel something openly but maybe it’s the guilt or the memory of his abusive father or a trigger that prevents him from feeling at all. But when he does start facing his past, every emotion rushes back - the good and the bad: They pretend to be kind/ and around the time, they fall down my face. I think this represents his feelings abstractly - they pretend to be kind because his first thoughts about Yuki are his happy memories but as soon as the memories hit him, so does the regret, the sorrow and the anger.

Notice here how the other instruments start coming back full force, almost one by one almost as if representing each member stepping up and letting Mafuyu know he can be vulnerable - a nice little reference to the story since Mafuyu does sort of have a moment with each of them during his grieving process.

Two people who were always together are torn apart and showing THAT scene...that is the most raw this song reached. It hurt seeing Mafuyu say even though he couldn’t forgive himself or Yuki that he wanted to and still missed him [and in that broken voice too]. And he brought that emotion into the last line of the bridge. In the simplest of terms, two people who were always together were torn apart, but this is perhaps the first time Mafuyu can come to realize that Yuki wasn’t just taken from him but Mafuyu was also taken from Yuki. They both lost the other and that shows that Mafuyu is starting to see that Yuki’s death wasn’t his fault.

Something I’ve been learning about grief is that you can feel frozen and unsure what to think about someone, but can also feel anger towards someone who died. It can weirdly be more intimate because you have a solidly established relationship and aren’t blinded by the good times. Now I’m not saying be angry with them forever, or even be bitter; I’m saying that being able to be angry while grieving isn’t strange because ultimately, the resolution of anger by expressing it can be freeing. And we see this in the final chorus of this song.

[Final Chorus] Even if your everything loses its shape one day You'll always be here within me As I try to move forward again Even though I couldn't say goodbye You'll always be here with me

Instrument wise, this is pretty similar to the first chorus, though here there is a notable explosive moment (Uenoyama) that transitions the rest of the band from subdued to full on sound in the first line. You could depict this as how Uenoyama is catalyst for Mafuyu to grieve and feel safe doing it at his own pace. Additionally, this chorus has similar lyrics to the first chorus though the diction is important: “Even if”. This changes the chorus greatly, along with the other changes such as “move forward again” and “you’ll always be here within me”. All these changes soften up the chorus so Mafuyu sounds less bitter towards Yuki and he actually sounds more fond of their memories together but now knowing he has to move forward with only those memories in his heart.

He accepts that he won’t get to say goodbye and that one day he may even forget some things about Yuki, but even so, as he moves forward again Yuki will be there with him.

There’s just something so beautiful about this chorus when it comes to these lyrics and how they work with the rest of the song. Yes verse 2 and the bridge were interesting because of the echos and the instrumental arrangement and the scream but something about a character realizing that this guilt they carried for so long is the very thing that kept them from moving forward and finally being able to come to terms with the pain, accept that it’s there and give themself permission to try moving forward again.. Something about that just makes me really emotional because it’s such a simple yet powerful concept that is so difficult to do in real life.

Next up, the BLCD version

I’m in the middle of listening to the drama cd so I don’t know how or when this song comes up (or if the posted drama cd will include the performance) and the voice acting is something that I’m getting used to considering I watched the anime before hearing the BLCD though I did hear the BLCD Fuyu no Hanashi before hearing the anime’s version. Then I heard the live BLCD Fuyu no Hanashi which reminds me of the anime scene though it doesn’t sync up perfectly.

[Given BLCD] Fuyu no Hanashi (LYRICS*)

I can’t meet you, but I don't feel alone. This is a certain winter's story that's disappeared so suddenly.

Here we’re hit with a sole guitar sound characterized with short, quick and consistent strums with a sound akin to church bells, as if alluding to a funeral or death. The drums appear, though mostly in the background to make the beat more present and then another guitar comes in, its own sound distorted yet patterned between lower and higher pitches that sound like wailing screams. After setting this angsty scene, the instruments pause briefly and Mafuyu sings with the wailing guitar sound transforming into one with a consistent pitch and strumming pattern joining him (which I believe is his guitar in this version). It being his guitar makes sense since no other instruments are heard at this point; Mafuyu is telling his story and it’s his thoughts we’re hearing. in the manga, Mafuyu constantly repeats he doesn’t feel alone citing by this point the various things going on in his life. But saying I can’t meet you beforehand adds a good tension to the song and an interesting contradiction in the hook. I can’t meet you/ but don’t feel alone - it makes it sounds robotic and forced, like he’s telling the truth but with his barriers up to avoid the underlying emotions.

This is a certain winter's story/ that's disappeared so suddenly - the rest of the instruments begin coming back, though faintly, as if supporting Mafuyu’s grief. The faint return of the instruments along with Mafuyu’s faint almost hushed whispered type singing builds an interesting tension to the song, making it feel like the calm before the storm.

Differing from my heart, I put my words to use. Don't forgive me now.

Here the song’s tension heightens with both Mafuyu and the band’s instruments increase in volume. This also reflects the lyrics since we begin to understand Mafuyu believes he is to blame for this winter tragedy. And right after he sings Don't forgive me now the tension is realeased.

Where did you go? My fingers are cold and I can't move; it's as if I didn't know anything.

The wailing guitar returns when Mafuyu belts Where did you go? leaving the impression that this wailing sound represents his screams. But more than that, this whole verse (chorus?) is accusatory but in a more reserved, melancholy way - as if representing hesitancy to feel anything while being buried in emotions. All this amounts to Mafuyu being frozen by contradictory emotions and therefore being unable to fully process much less express himself.

This verse is immediately followed up by the instruments coming back full force with the wailing guitar the most prominent sound, again representing Mafuyu’s internal screams of frustration, bitterness and sadness.

I remember the smell of the sea. Even more, the thoughts I wish I'd told you, floating midair.

Next, the instruments fade except for the beating drums and a new delicately intricate guitar sound whose loop-like pattern represent Mafuyu’s grief and how all his emotions are constantly looping. Mafuyu’s voice returns to a softer and more hushed sound as he remembers the smell of the sea. This is a direct reference to his beach trip with Yuki (which was presented earlier in the manga) and how Mafuyu never thought he would forget the trip though Yuki thought he would eventually. Here, Mafuyu's contesting that not only does he remember the sea but also the floating thoughts are that he’ll always remember Yuki, whether he wants to or not which he didn’t quite say during that trip.

The cymbals from the drums echo as two predominant guitar sounds compete to be heard: one a less severe church bell sound and the other a calming and consistently short strum patterned one. In this case, the sounds likely represent Mafuyu’s biggest competing emotions: his guilt and his fondness towards Yuki.

Additionally, remember how Akihiko talked with Mafuyu and told Mafuyu that he has to face his past in order to move forward [and he hinted moving forward with Ue at the time]? Well consider that it was the cymbal echo (from the drums) that gave rise to the two competing guitars sounds, bringing them to the forefront while Mafuyu was singing.

The seasons will always pass by ever so quickly, yet why am I just standing here?

The drums become more present as the less severe church bell guitar fades and is almost entirely consumed by the simple strum patterned guitar. The arrangement settles into a melancholic sound backdrop to Mafuyu’s firm singing.

Lyrically, the seasons will always pass by ever so quickly could refer to time but they could also refer to people (Yuki referring to winter and Ue referring to summer - two distinct seasons). This is continued by Mafuyu asking yet why am I just standing here? Again, this works on the time passing level and Mafuyu’s shift of romantic emotions to Ue but let’s not undercut the importance of this verse. This is the first time Mafuyu openly expresses a desire to move forward in the song. Up to this point, he talks about being unable to move forward or even being lost in his memories, but he doesn’t express a desire to move forward until Ue becomes a bigger part of his life.

The simple strum pattern guitar sound evolves into a more aggressive sound, briefly disrupting the previous melancholic tone of the song and adding an interesting overall feel, briefly taking the focus by its continued intricate chords ending with a tone of finality as well. Assuming this guitar is Ue (it probably is), this is almost like he’s reminding Mafuyu that he’s a part of his life now, at least temporarily shifting focus from Yuki but enough to make Mafuyu feel ready to move forward which supports the verse being about them.

It's stopped, but I still want you to forgive me.

After [Ue’s] guitar solo, the guitar transforms back into simple repetitive short strums while drums re-enter to prominently provide the beat. Mafuyu begins softly singing It’s stopped. It’s stopped may not necessarily mean his guilt here as much as it likely means his frozen grief. He’s done being paralyzed by grief. This is confirmed when Mafuyu’s voice shifts to a louder, more pleading sound as he still wants Yuki’s forgiveness regardless of his decision to try to move forward again.

I'm desolated, even if I scream it out you're not here anymore. No matter where I stand, you're always in the scenery.

Here Mafuyu’s resigned to the fact that even if he screams out to Yuki, Yuki won’t ever respond. This also tends to be why people prefer the anime version; that heartbreaking scream where Mafuyu literally let out all his emotions at one time. But if we think about this version, Mafuyu has been screaming the entire time. The wailing guitar sound present on and off throughout the song? - that represents Mafuyu’s screams of agony and how he appears indifferent on the outside but is actually deeply in pain within (which corresponds to the repeated lower and higher sounds of the wailing guitar sound). At this point, we only hear the higher pitch of the wailing guitar in the background, his pain laid bare for the audience to feel.

He continues by saying no matter where he is, Yuki will always be there. Unlike before, however, when those precious memories immobilized him, Mafuyu sings these lyrics firmly, accepting them as he decides to move forward.

A certain winter's story, the sea and the white breaths, soon start to disappear. I wonder if someday I'm going to change.

So this penultimate verse kills me every time. It’s raw, its emotionally charged and it’s just the right amount of hopeful for someone who is trying to move forward. He summarizes his strongest memories with Yuki - when he died, their beach trip and their *ahem* intimate embraces - and how he’s starting to forget parts of those memories. When he ponders I wonder if someday I'm going to change he likely means if he’ll become someone different as the memories fade into the past. That in it of itself is powerful - as much as he knows Yuki will be there in spirit, his presence will be less pronounced in Mafuyu’s life as time passes. They’ve known each other their whole lives and now Mafuyu’s set to live the rest of his life without Yuki physically beside him and I’m sure that although the prospect might scare him, he wonders if he will change.

As mentioned above the main focus is higher pitch of the wailing guitar in the background however, as Mafuyu wonders if he’ll change the higher/lower wailing guitar sounds return, showing how the notion makes Mafuyu uneasy. This sound continues into the last line as well. Additionally, the drums beating incessantly as if to build tension and then become a rhythmic pattern for the last line - the resolution of the tension.

If I could [talk to you again]

Mafuyu ends his song as softly as he began, almost like he’s unintentionally broadcasting his last thoughts through the microphone. He wishes to have understood Yuki’s feelings which doesn’t necessarily point to guilt at this point. He’s not guilty or upset - on the contrary, he misses Yuki and wants to talk to him again, which is how this Mafuyu exists the stage, with the realization that he doesn’t want to say he’s lonely in an effort to convince himself that he’s fine, he wants to tell Yuki about his new life and that feeling is what overwhelms him.

The rhythmic lower and higher pitched wailing guitar is present in the background with the now beating drums but all instruments pause and quickly fade as Mafuyu says he wants to talk to [Yuki] again, providing him the space to arrive at this conclusion unperturbed.

Like the anime, this song represents Mafuyu’s grieving process but in a different way. Here, Mafuyu feels lots of mixed emotions towards Yuki which effectively makes his grieving feel frozen. He works through it by reliving his fondest(?) memories but realizing that time has passed and that he’s ready to be honest with himself. He wants Yuki’s forgiveness but knows he won’t get that - instead, he’ll get Yuki’s lingering spirit. But that, too, shall fade as he develops new memories with his band and Ue. He’s going to change as this happens but even so will still want to be able to talk to Yuki about it because despite everything, Mafuyu misses him.

This song is raw because it reflects how grief isn’t necessarily linear - sometimes, you feel everything at once and that keeps you frozen or you only feel one thing and that’s ok. It’s ok to miss your first love, despite falling in love again. Because moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting your first love or using that relationship as a stepping stone - it means loving that person, regardless of their physical state and being able to love anew without trying to replace the person that was lost. Mafuyu will always love Yuki but it doesn’t mean he can’t love Ue just as much either.

#given #given blcd #given anime #given meta #Fuyu no hanashi #Fuyu no hanashi meta #mafuyu satou #first meta peeps so y'know be nice #Tumblr deleted my all the text from my first version when I tried to post via mobile #this was supposed to be posted last week #after having worked on it for a week #so here we are #a week after the anime ended #god I hope someone reads this

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kanasmusings · 5 years ago

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[Translation] StarMyu Season 3 Kao Kai - Character Q & A - Part 2

Here’s part 2~! It covers Kasuga-chan, Irinatsu, and Chiaki! I had so much fun reading all of these because it just gives us a glimpse about how the new Kao Council are outside of their usual activities in school~ After this, the new songs will be posted~!

Now, I’m wondering-- Who’s everyone’s favorite new member for now??? XD

※ Please don’t re-post and re-translate this interview under any circumstances. If you want to translate it to your native language, the kanji is readily available in the anime official website.

Anyways, full interviews under the cut, enjoy~!

[Kasugano Shion Q & A]

1.) Please introduce yourself.

- Musical Department 3rd year. I’m the Kao Council’s Kasugano Shion.

2.) What first impression do people usually have of you?

- “Behaved”. And then when we get to know each other a bit more, it becomes, “You’re kinda weird.”

3.) But really, it’s?

- I don’t think that I’m a noisy person. I don’t know whether I am weird or not, too.

4.) What are you confident in?

- I don’t get surprised no matter what happens. My fortune-telling hobby sometimes warns me greatly about certain happenings.

5.) What are your weaknesses?

- … Shiki and Irinatsu said that I sometimes get easily offended…

6.) What was your nickname in middle school?

- “Shion,” and “Haru.” When I got to high school, Irinatsu started calling me, “Kasuga-chan.”

7.) What’s your favourite way to travel?

- If the weather is good, I like to walk.

8.) What was usually written on your report cards?

- … “One flaw he has is he’s quick to be offended.”…

9.) What’s one thing you absolutely can’t forgive?

- When Shiki’s keeping things to himself-- If he experiences a painful memory then… I won’t forgive myself.

10.) What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

- Fix my bedhair. Since I have soft hair, it takes quite a while to fix it in the mornings.

11.) What’s your favourite food?

- Shiki and Irinatsu have said that I like things that have a lot of calcium in it.

12.) How do you spend your days off?

- Lately, I’ve been researching ways on how to make fortune cookies. I can eat as many as needed until I get the “great luck” fortune.

13.) What is one bad point about yourself?

- … That maybe I really am… a bit quick to be offended.

14.) What’s your favourite place?

- I love the school’s rooftop. I feel so calm when I do fortunes there. I feel like I’ll make a really accurate fortune reading and stuff like that.

15.) How do you relieve your stress?

- I’ll try to predict what my luck is for that day. Fortune-telling is not “magical” at all but is based on data so, it is connected to self-analysis, too. Above all else, it makes me feel at ease. If that doesn’t work then… I’ll make a voodoo doll of the person giving me stress.

16.) What’s the thing you want to do the most right now?

- I want to oversee my students properly while they prepare for the upcoming Ayanagi Festival. I also want to be of help to the other first years even if they’re not my pupils. That’s because it’s what Shiki would want, too.

17.) What subjects are you good at?

- Math and science. I like subjects that have a definite answer.

18.) What subjects are you bad at?

- Japanese language. There are a lot of questions that have multiple answers depending on the person answering them so, I just can’t feel convinced about it.

19.) Sleep or eat, which one can you not live without?

- Shiki… I wonder if he’s eating and sleeping properly. Lately, I’ve been a bit worried about him…

20.) Any parting words?

- The Wheel of Fortune… I feel like something is about to happen…

OMAKE:

21.) What’s your favourite drink?

- Green tea and o-shiruko.

22.) Are you skilful with your hands?

- I might be dexterous. The other day, I had Irinatsu play with me and I did some tarot card table magic. It went better than I thought it did.

23.) Favourite weather?

- A sunny day with a slight breeze.

»»————-　★　————-««

[Irinatsu Masashi Q & A]

1.) Please introduce yourself.

- I’m the Kao Council’s Irinatsu Masashi~!

2.) What first impression do people usually have of you?

- “Are you half [foreign]?” Ain’t that funny? (laughs)

3.) But really, it’s?

- I’m Japanese! (laughs)

4.) What are you confident in?

- ‘Course I’m confident in my ability to make music. It’s a talent I inherited from my mom and dad after all~ That’s enough to make me feel confident in it, right?

5.) What are your weaknesses?

- I get hungry quickly. I munch on stuff even during meetings sometimes and Ryo-chin glares at me (laughs). Sorry, Ryo-chin!

6.) What was your nickname in middle school?

- “Masashi” “Irinacchan” “Nacchan” “Massan” “Masa” That too much? (laughs)

7.) What’s your favourite way to travel?

- Running! Sweating it out’s the best!

8.) What was usually written on your report cards?

- “Too lax,” or something? I was living in my grandma’s house when I was in elementary school, y’know? That’s why my body clock was like an old man’s, too.

9.) What’s one thing you absolutely can’t forgive?

- I tend to forgive anything! In exchange, it’d get pretty scary when I become super angry, ‘kay?

10.) What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

- I let out a loooooooooooooouuuuuuuuud voice! It relaxes me and ain’t it gonna help you wake up if you get surprised by your own voice?

11.) What’s your favourite food?

- Shaved ice. Unlimited sea grapes. I also loved the chanpuru* my grandma used to make me. Grandma, are you doin’ well~?

12.) How do you spend your days off?

- There’re times when I just laze around at home, there’re times I go to cafés to look for inspiration, too. I found a really good shop lately! It’s got a good atmosphere and at night there’s a piano being played there, too!

13.) What is one bad point about yourself?

- Only one is boring (laughs). Go ask everyone!

14.) What’s your favourite place?

- The work-room is my castle. It’s got everything there in order for me to express the music I make. Oh, and then after that, ya just gotta wait for your imagination to overflow!

15.) How do you relieve your stress?

- I play the piano fervently in a sound-proof room. I get drunk on hitting the keys as loudly as I can (laughs).

16.) What’s the thing you want to do the most right now?

- Camping! “Chiaki-chan, wanna go with me?” I realized I asked him that back when we were second years. That guy’s definitely the outdoorsy type and he’s got good physique. He looks like he’s good at putting up a tent!

17.) What subjects are you good at?

- Music’s gotta be number one, y’know? And then, social sciences? Like Japanese and English. I write lyrics, too, after all.

18.) What subjects are you bad at?

- Hm, I don’t think there’s much. I love everything.

19.) Sleep or eat, which one can you not live without?

- If I were to choose, it’d be food, probably~ Ah, but sleeping gives me good ideas, too~ Both are very important, y’know?

20.) Any parting words?

- The Kao Council will do their best to fire up the Ayanagi Festival, ‘kay?! Expect a very hot atmosphere, got it!?

OMAKE:

21.) What’s your favourite drink?

- Hot coffee. Doesn’t it feel refreshing?

22.) Are you skilful with your hands?

- I play instruments so the dexterity between my right hand and left hand is pretty different. If it’s attacking someone with tickles then, I’m an expert (laughs).

23.) Favourite weather?

- Definitely sunny!

Translator’s Notes:

* “Chanpuru” is an Okinawan stir-fried dish and is kind of a stable food in Okinawa. It’s also called a representative of Okinawan cuisine.

»»————-　★　————-««

[Chiaki Takafumi Q & A]

1.) Please introduce yourself.

- I’m Chiaki Takafumi. Nice to meet you.

2.) What first impression do people usually have of you?

- I get called flashy a lot. I think it’s ‘cause I grow my hair out.

3.) But really, it’s?

- I’m pretty serious and don’t have a lot of free time.

4.) What are you confident in?

- I’m pretty good at embroidery. Every year during April, I make a huge amount of stuff for my younger brother and sister.

5.) What are your weaknesses?

- You might not understand but, it’s “mochi”. When I was a kid and we went to a mochi-making event, I kept seeing Ryo eat it while looking so disgusted. I saw that and I ended up disliking it, too. Eating something with such a sour face is nonsense, you know!?

6.) What was your nickname in middle school?

- “Takafumi” and “Fumi”

7.) What’s your favourite way to travel?

- There’s really not any but, I do want to have a driving license soon.

8.) What was usually written on your report cards?

- When I was a kid, “Very mature,” was always written. I’m the eldest child so when I was still the only child, I was pretty behaved. There were a lot of people at home that it was hard to go out.

9.) What’s one thing you absolutely can’t forgive?

- Fuyusawa Ryo.

10.) What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

- Make breakfast. Lunch and dinner are what my younger sister’s in charge of so, I have to at least help with breakfast.

11.) What’s your favourite food?

- Likes and dislikes aside, I make sure to finish anything my sister makes for me. She makes me a character boxed lunch everyday so, it’d be scary if I got teased for that.

12.) How do you spend your days off?

- Taking care of my family. Though, Irinatsu keeps inviting me to go camping. What nonsense.

13.) What is one bad point about yourself?

- I think it’s me spoiling my students too much. I’m probably weak to those younger than I am.

14.) What’s your favourite place?

- We moved to a newer building since 2nd term started but, I was pretty fond of the old school building we used during the 1st term. The facilities are old but it’s calming.

15.) How do you relieve your stress?

- Going back home and playing with the kids.

16.) What’s the thing you want to do the most right now?

- I feel like I won’t be able to relax until the Ayanagi Festival’s test stage is over. Making sure my students get into the Musical Department is what I wanna do the most for now.

17.) What subjects are you good at?

- I’m pretty fine with any subject but my specialty is probably kanji, geography, and calculation.

18.) What subjects are you bad at?

- Those shapes in math and time, too.

19.) Sleep or eat, which one can you not live without?

- I’m an early sleeper… Staying up late is nonsense.

20.) Any parting words?

- This term’s Kao Council members are independent. We don’t interfere with each other’s guidance policies and we respect each other’s opinions, too. But—Not having disagreements would make things too smooth, right? I wonder who’s being such a goody-two-shoes here…

OMAKE:

21.) What’s your favourite drink?

- Floats. I don’t care about basic drinks.

22.) Are you skilful with your hands?

- Ah, I’m dexterous.

23.) Favourite weather?

- Sunny, probably.

»»————-　★　————-««

※ Please don’t re-post and re-translate this interview under any circumstances. If you want to translate it to your native language, the kanji is readily available in the anime official website.

If you enjoyed this, please consider buying me a ko-fi here to support my work! It’ll be a really big help. (o^▽^o)Thank you!!

#starmyu #high school star musical #kasugano shion #irinatsu masashi #chiaki takafumi #kao council #starmyu translations #interview translations #my translations #YOOOOOOO #kasugano and shiki are a ship XD #either way #these are too adorable~!#irinatsu's defintiely a contender for my fave~

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