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himehikoshrine · 1 year ago

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izayoi 誘宵 reference

Just for reference, this is a very shaky probably bad machine assisted translation of the section of the pre-release short story that explains izayoi and it's superstitions. I am not a translator by any means nor good enough at Japanese to even attempt such a thing unassisted, so if anyone else tackles this, please, please defer to that over my attempts. I'm only sharing it for reference in regards to my post about Izayoi [x] in Jack Jeanne. This picks up in the middle of the fourth section of Kisa's story, which can be found [here]

Sou: This word, I wonder if it’s a word from back then

While listening to Yonaga’s words, Kisa tilts her head and looks at the word 『誘宵』 when a shadow appears over it.

“It’s “Izayoi”

“…!?!?” Kisa jumps at a voice suddenly sounding right next to her ear. From behind Kisa and Yonaga, the Class Leader of Quartz, Neji Kokuto leans forward, looking at the script.

“Hey Neji-senpai..! Thank you for your hard work” Kisa hurriedly greets him. Sou also says “Thank you for your heart work” But his voice is dull and his hand is clutching his chest. (because Neji jump scared them)

“Yes, thank you for your hard work. Even though it’s a day off, you two are enthusiastically studying in the library.” Neji lifts his glasses up and smiles.

“This is an assignment for Tagane-sensei. He wants us to look into the script”

“Make’s sense that it’s difficult. It’s an old Tamasaka Play.” Neji picks up Kisa’s script without permission and flips through it. His eyes behind his glasses are busy happily following the characters. “Tagane-sensei still has great taste. I can’t believe he gave you a script that includes the word 『誘宵』”

Kisa: “I searched but I couldn’t find it. Is it an old word?”

Neji: “It’s an old word, and it’s unique to Tamasaka.”

Kisa: “Is it unique to Tamasakaza?”

At Kisa’s word, Neji shook his head, saying ‘no’. “The term Tamasaka” here refers to Tamasaka City.”

Neji reopened the script to the page labeled 『誘宵』 and placed it on the desk. “The word is an old expression unique to Tamasaka City. But have you ever heard of “Izayoi?”

At that, Yonaga let out an “Ah!” Sound. “Maybe… Izayoi 『十六夜』is it it? The name of the moon… The moon of the 16th day counting from the new moon.” As Yonaga explains it to Kisa, he writes 『十六夜』 on the paper ”

“As expected, Yonaga-kun! It’s the name of a moon phase!” Apparently it was the correct answer, and Neji clapped for Yonaga. A loud applause echoed throughout the quiet library. Kisa and Yonaga panicked “Hey, Neji-senpai!”

“Calm down and be quiet,” Neji says to the two of them, and then clears his throat again.

“There are various Japanese-specific names for the phases of the moon. Izayoi is one of them. As Yonaga-kun said earlier, it is the moon on the 16th day counting from the new moon. Generally speaking, the full moon is on the 15th day, so Izayoi often refers to the slightly waning moon the following day.

Neji spoke clearly as if he were a lecturer. It looked like a scene where a person playing the role of a lecturer was talking about a specialized field on the stage.

“This “Izayoi” people of Tamasaka call “Inviting (誘う) Evening (宵)” And it’s written as 『誘宵』 Do you know why?”

Neji took a pen out of his inner pocket and pointed it firmly at Yonaga.

Sou: “Eh?”

Neji: “That’s right! In Tamasaka, there have always been many people who just disappear on the night of the 16th moon!… As if they are being invited to something.”

Sou: “I-I didn’t answer…?!”

Neji: “That’s right, the more worried people are, the more likely they are to be invited.”

Ignoring Yonaga’s confusion, the story continued on. “So, look at this line with the word 『誘宵』 in it.”

Neji pointed with a pen to the place where 『誘宵』 is written. “Let’s Tachibana-kun!” (he says “Let’s” in English pfft)

Kisa: “What!… The man said, “What’s wrong with you, walking around outside on『誘宵』”

Kisa mind changed as she read the lines outloud, and Yonaga let out an “ah!” sound

Sou: So, this is perhaps a line where the man is worried the the woman will lose her mind and disappear somewhere?”

Neji: “Yes, Tachibana, return here” (back to the script) Kisa: “The woman says “It’s nothing””

“What do you think, Yonaga-kun?” Neji asked Yonaga again.

“Is the woman responding that she doesn’t have any worries? But… Maybe she’s just trying to mislead someone about her true intentions…” However, Yonaga twisted his head and said “please wait a moment.” then continued. “It’s possible that the man is just making fun of her. He’s like, jokingly, ‘What, are you trying to disappear?’ The woman seems to be dismissive of that… oh but...”

It seemed that various possibilities were overflowing in Yonaga’s head.

“Neji-senpai, what’s the correct answer?” As if raising a white flag, Yonaga demanded an answer.

“Yonaga-kun, the truth is….” Neji’s expression suddenly became serious. Seeing his serious gaze, Kisa and Yonaga’s back’s straightened. “…I don’t know!”

However, the answer was unexpected. Neji laughs out loud at the two confused people.

“Isn’t it interesting to search for answers in a world where there are not correct answers?”

The words were strangely clear. That’s why Kisa and Yonaga can’t say anything.

“Well then! Time for me to go back to my work room for now that I’ve done my job. If this keeps up I might also disappear on 『誘宵』ahahah!” Neji put his pen in his pocket, waved, and dashed away. Quiet returned to the library. It felt strangely sad.

“I think I should read the script again.” Yonaga picked up the script and muttered to himself. “If we do that, we might be able to get closer to the true meaning of this line. There’s a possibility things will become even more unclear, too though,” Yonaga said with a wry smile. “Nevertheless, Neji-senpai is amazing. He’s a free-spirited and elusive person, but I can say his passion for the stage is straightforward… straight… straightforward…maybe?”

It seemed like the expression just didn’t feel quite right. Yonaga thought for a while then looked up, as if he’d found a good answer.

“He seems like a seeker, right?”

Kisa: “A seeker?”

“Because he’s always looking for the stage. Why does it do this, why does it do that, i mean. It’s a lot, isn’t it?” Yonaga looked back at where Neji was no longer standing. “I wonder what lies ahead on Neji-senpai’s path.”

Notes: What Yonaga seems to be struggling with with 'straightforward' I think, may be the pun on Neji's last name being read like "screw"? it's used as a pun for how twisted him, his actions, and works are at times in the game. But it's fun and true other ways too.

Also, the next section of this story that I'm not even going to attempt to butcher here, Kisa tells Kai what happened in the library and Kai remarks that Neji is getting distracted from his own homework again. Apparently Neji is regularly the very last of the 3rd years to turn things in, because he goes off and works on his scripts (and one assumes 3234 other hobbies instead, including jumpscare lecturing first years on superstitions) but Kai says he'll get it done eventually, because it's Neji. Just like me fr fr.

Sort of wild that this is just in the totally missable pre-release short stories isn't it? Not just for the supernatural stuff, but for how strange and unwell (tm) this guy is. I adore that Kisa clocks immediately that Neji's 'lecture voice' is in fact a character on a stage. He's not acting like a lecturer, he's acting like someone acting the part of one.

#lore hunting #very bad translations do not trust #my posts #pre-release short stories #izayoi #translations #neji #i swear this boy is something else

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starmaniamania · 2 years ago

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Casting variations

One of the things that I'm really fascinated with is the casting solutions that happen sort of quietly to keep the production running when there's a vacancy for whatever reason (like, say, one of the main cast members CUTTING OFF A BIT OF THEIR FINGER IN A DOOR 😱😱😱)

So while Adrien Fruit is off (for how long? poor bb) I assume his understudy Nic Dorian will be playing Ziggy, and it looks like William Cloutier has been recruited to fill Nic Dorian's part as one of Janvier's assistants (as per Ambriel's rehearsal video from this afternoon.)

(I have actually never asked myself if Adrien is the one who fills this role when Nic Dorian is playing Ziggy -- is it usually William? If anyone happens to know plz fill me in lol)

Obviously this then raises the question of what happens if Adrien is still off by Saturday afternoon, when William will be busy doing Johnny!

But it's not the first time there has been a need to fill someone's shoes.

Stella's maid, for example, has been played by at least 3 people that I know of. Usually it's Jeanne Jerosme, but when Jeanne is having her turn as Stella, I don't think Maag does the maid. I've seen Jeanne as Stella twice; the second time it was Alice Nguyen as the maid, and the first time, I was surprised to find out from my pictures that it was actually Gabrielle Lapointe!

Zéro Janvier's bodyguard (who doesn't sing but has a significant comical miming part during "Ego Trip") has also been played by an understudy's understudy. It's usually Aurel Fabrègues (David Latulippe's understudy) and David when Aurel is playing the main role, but when David Latulippe was fully out of commission for a bit the role was filled by the assistant directior, Samy Zerrouki-Recroix (who they'd apparently dubbed "Un Février" lol)

The camera person from "Interview de Johnny Rockfort" has also been done by various people, usually dancers I believe - it was Hajiba Fahmy for a bit, then someone else. Last time we were there Gabrielle Lapointe (jack of all trades!) was the one doing it, which is a pretty big job because the footage shown on the big screen is live so the camera movements have to be super precise (although deliberately shaky, which probably helps lol.)

There are also funny things happening during the orgy "Procession du Gourou" bit, where the people dancing aren't always who you'd expect...

Anyway! This is the kind of niche dumb details I love to collect!!

(Get well soon Adrien 💀💀💀)

#starmania 2022 #behind the scenes #adrien fruit #william cloutier #jeanne jerosme #gabrielle lapointe #Casting news #adventures in casting #the maid #alice nguyen

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castielle-deanna · 4 years ago

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Destiel fanfic masterlist

My Destiel fanfics in decreasing word count order:

Hold me tight or don't (Explicit, words: 37,677)

Tags: Canon Compliant up to 15x13 // First Kiss // Domesticity in the Men of Letters Bunker // Conversations in the Impala // falling!Castiel // New Relationship // First Time // Castiel is Jack Kline's Parent // Castiel and Dean Winchester in Love //Art Embedded //soundtrack

Summary: With Jack’s soul now back, the four inhabitants of the Bunker are working on establishing a new routine. Between hunts, God’s wrath hanging over their heads and Castiel’s dwindling grace, the angel is not particularly eager to mention his deal to the Winchesters. With everything that’s going on, allowing himself to be happy sounds impossible anyway, right? Wrong…

With art by the fantastic @lizleeships

“Why now?” The angel asked quietly, taking a small step back.

Dean's fingers tightened on the tie he'd been holding onto as if it was a lifeline. “You said we were real. I want to believe it.”

“Even if it ends in pain?”

“Cas, everything I do ends there, eventually. There is always a bigger, heavier, smellier shoe waiting to drop. Holding back in fear of it doesn't make it any smaller, lighter or... or... “

“Less odoriferous?” Cas offered.

“Is that even a real word?”

“It is, indeed.”

“Sometimes you sound like you eat dictionaries and Victorian novels for breakfast,” Dean shook his head, grinning.

My unintended (Explicit, words:10,202)

Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending // Post-Episode: s15e20 Carry On // FUCK CANON! // Saving Dean Winchester - Retconning the finale - The fangirl business // Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss // Castiel/Dean Winchester First Time Having Sex // Slow and Romantic Sex // Bottom Castiel/Top Dean Winchester

Summary: At first, Castiel is ready to honour his part of the deal with the Empty, but then Jack shows up with distressing news...

With art by the fantastic @jeanne-de-valois

Cas heaves Dean into a bridal carry, struggling under his weight, but still he shifts slightly when Sam moves closer to help. He knows he needs to stop keeping Sam away, because it’s not fair, and it’s not what Dean wants anyway, but Sam accepts it and simply hangs back with a nod before he speaks again.

“I also know it’s not my business, but… do you think you could talk to Dean once he’s up for it? I’m not blind, or stupid. You two have to stop only holding each other like that when one of you is hurt or dead.”

Love me right (Explicit, words: 2,436)

Tags: Established Castiel/Dean Winchester // Porn with Feelings // Dean Winchester Wears Panties // Light Bondage // Panty Kink // Wing Kink // Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester // Light Dom/sub // Dom Castiel/Sub Dean Winchester // Light BDSM // Dean and Castiel watch porn then recreate it

Summary: Dean asks to be tied up - who's Cas to say no to that? Written for a prompt by @winchester-reload on Patreon: "Thee Pink Panties"

“I want you to tie me up,” Dean blurts out one morning, closer to being asleep than awake still. He has no idea if Cas is even in the bedroom with him - for once, the angel is not curled around Dean with his whole body, their limbs entwined to the point where they can’t tell where one of them ends and the other begins, cliché as it is.

There’s no reply, so Dean lifts his head and blinks the grogginess away to look around. Cas is in the room, sitting cross-legged on the green couch by the wall with an open book in his lap but he’s staring at Dean with eyes so comically wide Dean would think it humanly impossible if he wasn’t seeing it with his own eyes.

“For fun,” Dean adds in hopes that Cas catches his meaning. The angel looks slightly less taken aback at that, but he still appears confused and tilts his head as if a slightly different angle would help with unraveling the mystery of Dean's words. “During sex, Cas.”

Rewind the exit (Teen And Up Audiences, words: 2,408)

Tags: Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair // Fix-It // Grief/Mourning // Angst with a Happy Ending // Castiel and Dean Winchester in Love // Grieving Dean Winchester // Grieving Sam Winchester

Summary: "Rewinding the exit wound, I'm holding on to you 'Cause I need words like anyone, and I need love like everyone With those words I'm strong enough, and I need love like everyone." (Rewind the exit by Volbeat) Obligatory 15x18 fix-it.

The Bunker is haunted. It's haunted by two faint apparitions of humanity who mostly pass each other by in the corridors like ships in the night, silent and distant.

Dean prays. Every morning, every evening, and most waking hours between the two, he prays. He doesn't know if Cas can hear him, but the faith that he can is all Dean has, so it has to be enough.

It's not enough. Yet Dean clings to it, because if he doesn't have that, he doesn't have anything.

Bite me (Mature, words: 1,407)

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence // Vampire Dean Winchester // Mild Blood!Kink (comes with the territory) // Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss

Summary: After Dean gets turned into a vampire during S06E05 - Live Free or Twi-hard, instead of going to Lisa's, he prays to Cas. Written for a prompt by winchester-reload on Patreon: "Vampire!Dean having a Cas snack"

“I can get you through this, and then we’ll burn any other bridges as we get to them,” Cas says earnestly.

“That’s not how the saying… you know what, never mind. I don’t want to get through this! I told you to kill me!” Dean pushes Cas away, but the angel holds onto both of his shoulders to stabilise him until Dean shakes him off in defiance. “Fucking stubborn angel, why can’t you just do as you’re told?”

“Because I’ve decided to disregard stupid orders!” Cas shoots back, and his previous stoicism is gone entirely. His eyes flare faintly with the light of his grace as he shrugs off his trenchcoat and goes to work on loosening his tie.

I wanna get you back again (Mature, words: 1,176)

Tags: Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair // Canon Divergence // Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss

Summary: Dean breaks into the Empty to save Cas. Written for a prompt by winchester-reload on Patreon: "Come on and lay it down/I've always been with you/Here and now/Give all that's within you/Be my Savior"

“Am I wrong in assuming that our friend who has the fashion sense of a flasher wasn’t the only one in love?” Balthazar smirked.

“Huh?”

Balthazar rolled his eyes. “Bit slow on the uptake, aren’t we? You know what, don’t answer that,” he shrugged, rolling right over Dean’s indignant splutter. “I’m talking about Castiel.”

“I know!”

“So which part of my question was confusing then?”

“Fuck you, Feather Boa, the Empty is trying to push me out and you want to chat?” Dean scoffed, trying to stomp his way past him.

“Your trenchcoated boyfriend is that way,” Balthazar said dryly, pointing to his left.

Forward is just the way ahead (General Audiences, words: 1,091)

Tags: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor // Baby Jack Kline // Castiel is Jack Kline's Parent // Tattoo Artist Dean Winchester // Single Parent Castiel

Summary: Tattoo artist Dean falls for client. Written for a prompt by winchester-reload on Patreon: "Cas getting tattooed by Dean (or the other way around)"

“So,” Dean began, “It’s a simple black design, correct? Four rows of symbols?”

“Yes. It’s actually a warding-slash-protection spell in Enochian, the language of Biblical angels. There’s… well, there’s a story to it,” Cas chuckled.

“Is part of that story that you were named after an angel?”

Cas’ chuckle changed into full-blown laughter. “Yes. I have to say I wasn’t expecting you to know that. In fact, all my siblings have angel names, except for Luke, but only because they wouldn’t allow my parents to officially name him Lucifer…”

Waffles or kisses (Mature, words:1,026)

Tags: Domestic Fluff // Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester // Established Castiel/Dean Winchester // Domesticity in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural)

Summary: Cas tries to make breakfast for Dean - it doesn't quite work out... Written for a prompt by winchester-reload on Patreon: "Great British Bake Off contestants with fewer clothes and lots of flour!" I have nefariously tweaked the prompt to allow me to play in the canon!verse.

“You look like one of the Great British Bake Off contestants, but with fewer clothes... and lots of flour, what the hell are you even doing?” Dean guffaws.

“Is that Dean?” A slightly tinny female voice comes from somewhere underneath the bowls, and it takes a moment for Dean to recognise it.

“Hi Jody!”

“Am I on speaker?”

“Yes,” Cas says, rolling his eyes. Dean finds that his behaviour is not unlike Miracle’s after the dog got caught chewing Sam’s 3rd pair of slippers to shreds, and the comparison draws another laugh out of him.

“Hi, Dean,” Jody says warmly. “Nice to hear your voice, though it would be even nicer if you were the one calling, rather than hijacking a conversation between Cas and I…”

Dean ducks his head as Jody’s “mom voice” tries to work its magic on him. “I’m not hijacking anything! Can someone explain why my kitchen and my… Cas are head-to-toe covered in flour?”

“I was trying to make waffles for breakfast,” Cas replies barely audibly, looking down, shoulders drooping.

With those words I'm strong enough (Mature, words: 703)

Tags: Dean Winchester Deserves to be Happy // Dean Winchester's Birthday // Established Castiel/Dean Winchester // Non-Explicit Sex // Castiel and Dean Winchester in Love // Dean Winchester Says "I Love You" // Pillow Talk // Dean Winchester Lives // fuck 15x20

Summary: It's Dean's birthday and Castiel doesn't waste a single second to wish him a happy one (Utter finale denial and slight sap below.)

“Where did you go, my love?” Cas asks, ruffling Dean’s hair, curling a longer-than-usual strand of it around his index finger.

“Thinking.”

“Uh-oh, that’s never a good thing,” Cas deadpans and Dean whacks his upper arm with very little force. “Ow.”

“Sarcastic asshole in one moment, drama queen the next,” Dean grumbles, and he fully intends to kiss it better, but before he could get around to it, he’s pushed onto his back and there’s a former angel of the Lord straddling him with a grin on his face.

Domestic (General Audiences, words: 462)

Tags: Domestic Fluff // Established Castiel/Dean Winchester // Fallen Angel Castiel // Suptober 2020

Summary: Middle-of-the-night Destiel chat. Just a lightning-quick ficlet as my first and possibly only entry to Suptober 2020. The prompt was 'domestic'

“Of all the human things, the constant need to urinate is the worst,” Castiel complained as he slid under the covers with a yawn.

“The worst?” Dean huffed in sleepy amusement. “Being shot is worse. Broken bones. A toothache…”

“They are worse, but they are temporary. Urinating is permanent. I will have to put up with it for the rest of my life.”

#Destiel #Destiel fanfic #DeanCas fanfic #creativecaviar #fanfic masterlist #destiel masterlist #Destiel fic #DeanCas fic

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back-and-totheleft · 3 years ago

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‘There’s still a presence out there reminding people not to speak about JFK’s killing’

Oliver Stone is not a fan of “cancel culture”. “Of course I despise it,” the Oscar winning filmmaker says, as if utterly amazed that anyone needs to ask him such a dumb question. “I am sure I’ve been cancelled by some people for all the comments I’ve made…. it’s like a witch hunt. It’s terrible. American censorship in general, because it is a declining, defensive, empire, it (America) has become very sensitive to any criticism. What is going on in the world with YouTube and social media,” he rants. “Twitter is the worst. They’ve banned the ex-President of the United States. It’s shocking!” he says, referring to Donald Trump’s removal from the micro-blogging platform.

It’s a Saturday lunchtime in the restaurant of the Marriott Hotel on the Croisette in Cannes. The American director is in town for the festival premiere this week of his new feature documentary JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, in which he yet again pores over President John F Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963.

“I am a pin cushion for American-Russian peace relations… I had four f***ing vaccines: two Sputniks and two Pfizers,” Stone gestures at his arm. The rival super-powers may remain deeply suspicious of one another, but Stone is loading himself up with potions from both sides of the old Iron Curtain.

He has recently been travelling in Russia (hence the Sputnik jabs) where he has been making a new documentary about how nuclear power can save humanity. He also recently completed a film about Kazakhstan’s former president Nursultan Nazarbayev which – like his interviews with Vladimir Putin – has been roundly ridiculed for its deferential, softly-softly approach toward a figure widely regarded as a ruthless despot.

Dressed in a blue polo shirt, riffing away about the English football team one moment and his favourite movies the next, laughing constantly, the 74-year-old Oscar-winning director of Platoon, Wall Street, Natural Born Killers et al is a far cheerier presence than his reputation as a purveyor of dark conspiracy thrillers might suggest. He is also very outspoken. For all his belligerence, though, Stone isn’t as thick-skinned as you might imagine. I wonder if he was hurt by the scorn that came his way when his feature film JFK was released in 1991.

“I was more of a younger man. It was painful to me,” the director sighs as he remembers being attacked by such admired figures as newscaster Walter Cronkite and Hollywood power broker Jack Valenti for listening to the “hallucinatory bleatings” of former New Orleans DA Jim Garrison when JFK came out. “It was quite shocking actually because I thought the murder was behind us. I did think there was a feeling that 30 years later, we can look at this thing again without getting excited. But I was way wrong.”

Garrison, of course, was the real-life figure portrayed by Kevin Costner in the film; he was the original proponent of the theory that the CIA were involved in the killing of the US president, after his 1966 investigation. Garrison wrote the book On the Trail of the Assassins, on which the movie was partly based.

Even the director’s fiercest detractors will find it hard to dismiss the evidence he has assembled about the JFK assassination in the new documentary. Once I’d seen it and heard him hold forth, I came away thinking that only flat-earthers can possibly still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy all on his own. It’s that convincing.

Stone blitzes you with facts and figures about the Kennedy killing and its aftermath. At times, he himself seems to be suffering from information overload. “I am sorry. There are so many people,” he apologises for not immediately remembering the name of Kennedy’s personal physician, George Burkley, who was present both at Parkland Hospital, where Kennedy was first taken, and then at Bethesda, where the autopsy took place. Burkley was strangely reticent when giving evidence to the Warren Commission.

“I think there’s still a presence out there which reminds people not to speak. I’ve heard that in, of all places, Russia,” Stone says. He was startled to discover that the Russians knew all about his new documentary long before it was discussed in the mainstream press. “They said, ‘We heard about it.’ I said, ‘How?’ They said, ‘We have our contacts in the American intelligence business. They are not very happy about it.’”

Stone believes that no US president since Kennedy died has been “able to go up against this militarised sector of our economy”. Even Trump “backed down at the last second” and declined to release all the relevant documents relating to the assassination. “He announced, ‘I’m going to free it up, blah blah blah, big talk, and then a few hours before, he caved to CIA National Security again.”

The veteran filmmaker expresses his frustrations at historians like Robert Caro, author of a huge (and hugely respected) multi-volume biography of President Lyndon Johnson, for ignoring the evidence that has been turned up about the assassination.

“I can’t say [LBJ] was involved in the assassination,” explains Stone, “but it certainly suited him that Kennedy was not there anymore and he covered up by appointing the Warren Commission and doing all the things he did.”

Stone tried to cast Marlon Brando in JFK in the role as the deep throat source Mr X, eventually played by Donald Sutherland.

“I realise now I am grateful that he turned it down because he knew better than I that he would make 20 minutes out of that 14-minute monologue and it wouldn’t have worked.”

Nevertheless, he filled the film with famous faces. He thought that having familiar actors would make it easier for audiences to engage with what was an immensely complicated story.

Getting Stone to stop talking about JFK is like trying to pull a bone from a mastiff’s jaws. To change the subject slightly, I ask if he is still in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He is and is utterly horrified at how Assange is being treated, especially given that Siggi the Hacker, a key witness in the extradition case against Assange, admitted recently that he lied. Stone praises Assange’s partner Stella Morris as “the best wife you could ever have. She really is smart, she’s a lawyer … he has two children. He can’t even touch them or see them. It’s barbaric. It indicates America is declining faster than we know. It is just cutting off dissent.”

The mood lightens when I invite Stone to discuss some of his favourite films. He recently tweeted a list of these, which included Darling starring Julie Christie, Joseph Losey’s Eva starring Stanley Baker and Jeanne Moreau, and Houseboat, a frothy comedy starring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. “I love films, always have. People don’t know that side of me. I could go on forever.”

Between his darker and more contentious efforts, Stone has made a few genre films himself, for example the underrated thriller U-Turn starring Sean Penn and Jennifer Lopez. He notes, though, that even when he tried a sports movie, he ended up right back in the firing line. The NFL was furious about his 1999 American Football film, Any Given Sunday. “They (the NFL) are arrogant, very rich people who close down any dissent, so I had to change uniforms and names… but they got the point.”

Last year, Stone published the first volume of his autobiography, Chasing the Light, which took him from childhood up to his Oscar triumph with Platoon. It was well received but it didn’t make nearly a big enough splash for his liking. “There was a curtain of silence about that. Maybe it is Covid… it was not reviewed by many people,” he says. “I wish the timing had been better. The publisher was terrible. They didn’t really promote anything. So now I have to start over again if I am going to do a second book, which I would love to do. But I have to find the right publisher.”

The book contains a barbed account of Stone’s experiences as a young screenwriter working in London for British director Alan Parker and producer David Puttnam on Midnight Express. “I wrote about it in the book, so you got my point of view. They were not very friendly people. I gave my criticism of Parker that he had a chip on his shoulder. He was from a poor side of the English. There is this phenomenon you see in England of hating the upper classes until they approve of you.”

No, they didn’t stay in touch. “And Puttnam is a Lord, right? He reminds me of Tony Blair. He is such a weasel.” For once, Stone feels he has overstepped the mark. He doesn’t want to call Puttnam a weasel after all. “Put it this way, Tony Blair is a weasel. I wouldn’t trust Tony Blair. Puttnam is a supporter of Blair. Let’s leave it at that.”

On matters English, he isn’t that keen on soccer either. He watched the semi-final between England and Denmark but had no intention of tuning into the final.

“Soccer is a different kind of game. It’s a different aesthetic. It is constant movement. The United States game allows you to re-group after every play and go into a huddle and so it becomes about strategy. I still enjoy it although people think I am brutal.”

Ask him why he so relishes American Football and he replies that he “grew up with violence in America … we were banging – cowboys and Indians, a lot of killing and that stuff. How do you get away from that? We weren’t playing with dolls.”

Stone’s feelings about the US are deeply ambivalent. He is old enough to remember a time in the late 1940s and early 1950s when “everything in America was golden” and part of him still seems to love the country but his mother was French and he talks about the US as a nation now in near terminal decline.

Perhaps surprisingly, his real political hero isn’t JFK. It’s the former President of France, Charles de Gaulle. “He said no to NATO and he said no to America. He understood the dangers of being a satellite country to America. You have no power in Europe. Don’t kid yourself. The EU is just an artificial body that was amazingly stupid in cutting off Russia and cutting off China too now.”

He doesn’t much like Boris Johnson either. “Boris, listen. He’d simply throw you in jail in a second.” He rails against the English for holding Assange in Belmarsh prison.

When he is not on a crusade or unravelling a conspiracy, Stone relaxes through Buddhist meditation. “Moderation in all things,” the man who came up with the phrase “greed is right, greed works�� says with no evident sense of irony. He enjoys hanging out with his friends. “I have a nice life. I’m lucky,” he says before quickly adding, “I wish I had been more honoured and respected in my lifetime, but it seems that I took a course that is in conflict with the American Empire.”

Stone’s films have had relatively few strong female characters. Ask if he welcomes the #MeToo movement and the challenging of old gender norms and he gives a typically contrary answer. “It cuts both ways, though. There are reasons for patriarchy through the centuries,” he says. “Tribes tend to have a strong leader. You need strong leaders, but I do see the feminine impulse as being important, especially when situations become too militant. The feminine impulse, I’m talking about the maternal impulse not the Hillary Clinton/Margaret Thatcher version of feminism. They’re men. They’re not women,” he says. “I don’t want women in politics who want to be men. If a woman is a woman, she should be a woman and bring her maternalism. It’s a leavening influence.”

The director deplores the rush to judge historical figures about past misdeeds from a contemporary point of view. “I am conservative in that way… don’t expect to rejudge the entire society based on your new values.”

He met with Harvey Weinstein in Cannes a few years ago to discuss a potential Guantanamo Bay TV series. “At that point, maybe he knew he was on the ropes; he was delightfully charming and humble.” The project was scuppered by the scandal that that engulfed the former Miramax boss, who is now behind bars as a convicted sex offender. Stone’s gripes with Weinstein are less to do with his sexual offences than with the way that he attacked films like Born on the Fourth of July and Saving Private Ryan to boost his own movies.

“The press loved him [Weinstein]. Don’t forget, they loved him in the 1990s,” he says, remembering the disingenuous way in which Weinstein portrayed himself as the underdog taking on the big, bad Hollywood system.

“I think he robbed Cruise of the Oscar, frankly,” Stone huffs at the intensive Weinstein lobbying which saw Daniel Day-Lewis win the Academy Award for Best for My Left Foot, denying Tom Cruise for Born on the Fourth of July in the process.

Stone acknowledges his status in Hollywood has diminished. “All that’s gone. The people have changed,” he says of the days when the studios doted on him and his films were regularly awards contenders. Now, he’ll often finance his work out of Europe. He is developing a new feature film (he won’t say what it is). “Never say die, never say it’s over,” he says of his career.

Stone is based in Los Angeles and also has “a place in New York”. During the pandemic, he still managed to travel to Russia to make his nuclear power/clean energy documentary. “I got my shots over there because the EU is so f***ing stupid,” he says of the of the Europeans’ refusal to recognise the Sputnik vaccine. “It’s ridiculous, part of the political madness of this time.”

Now, he is putting all his energy into his new documentary about nuclear power. He waves away the idea that the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters show what can go wrong – they were accidents.

“Accidents you learn from. If there were not a few crashes, how would you fly?” he says. It’s a line that somehow seems to express his entire philosophy of life.

-Geoffrey Macnab interviews Oliver Stone, The Independent, Jul 15 2021 [x]

#oliver stone #jfk #jfk: through the looking glass #the independent #julian assange #boris johnson #david puttnam #harvey weinstein #born on the fourth of july #covid19 #vaccine #chasing the light #cannes film festival

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kenkamishiro · 5 years ago

Text

Ishida Sui’s Review of 2019

I didn’t think I’d ever finish this with my onslaught of classes including pharmacology, but I somehow managed! 6k word count, the longest TL I’ve done to date besides Parvati’s interlude for FGO. Lots of insight into Jack Jeanne’s production and what Ishida’s been up to for the past year. It was tough to translate because it was so long, but I had a lot of fun.

Let me know if there are any mistakes, I’m sure there’s a whole bunch. Have fun reading!

Original can be found here.

＊＊＊

2019. I’m reflecting on this past year while flipping through my agenda. Since I’m writing this for my sake, there’s going to be a lot of sections without much explanation.

January

○ This was when Jack Jeanne had yet to be announced, so I was mostly doing preliminary work at the time. Stuff like “BU” and “character facial expressions” will be finished some time this month, is written in my schedule book.

○ New Year’s party in Tokyo from the 16th - 19th. The New Year’s party is a joint party that’s comprised of the 4th editorial department (Shueisha’s seinen magazine branch) that’s held every year in January. I attended the party with the staff every year during serialization, minus my first year.

2019 will be the first New Year’s party since the series ended, but I thought I should stop inviting the staff to attend since we’re not working together anymore (plus it’d be a hassle), so I didn’t really invite anyone. But the day before the event, Editor M brought up the topic inside the taxi and asked, “Are none of the staff coming this year?” (Even if they’re invited now, it’s going to be impossible, asking them to fly the next day and causing a ruckus…) When I replied, “Hey, I’m sure it’d be fun if you invited them and they all came~”, the editor contacted Goubaru-kun, and after said, “He said he’s going.” Guess he wasn’t busy. In the end, the staff during serialization and several people from OB and OG came, almost identical to the lineup from previous years, and it occurred to me that maybe I should have just invited them from the start.

Anyway, at this year’s New Year’s party, I don’t really remember much of what happened. I talked with my senpais from back when I was an assistant for Kingdom, and outside the venue I sobered up from the agoraphobic dizziness I was feeling inside. At the second party I remember people talking to me haphazardly and being photographed. I wish I’d refused. Also, I was sexually harassed by Rikudou Matsubara, my senpai from the same region as me. This New Year’s party will be my last.

February

Briefing session for the game held in Tokyo. Key visual created. It says here [on the agenda] that I want to go to Kagoshima. Every week there’s a checklist for 10 km of jogging and weight training 2-3 times a week. I spent about a week doing some composition work. It ended up being helpful for me, but it made me decide not to work anymore with people with different levels of interest from me.

○ TRPG is written for the 28th. Usually we use the DX (Double Cross) system, but this time one of our participating players, M’s schedule was under mysterious attack. As game master, taking consideration of everyone who’d made time in their schedules for tonight, I thought we could switch to Cthulhu and asked them to wait an hour. 2 hours later I finished coming up with a scenario and began the session. It was fairly fun.

March

Finish BU this month, is clearly noted down. BU stands for bust-up, which are drawings of characters in standing poses [sprites] that are common in ADV games. Normally, since it takes a huge amount of work, the BU work is always divided up. The original drawings are done by the illustrator, in this case I do the base illustrations (line drawing & colouring), and using them as the base, the department sharing the work cleans up the line drawings and recolours it...that’s how the process goes. But since I’m a mangaka and don’t have the technology needed to make gaming assets, I thought it’d be best to leave it to the pros in that field, so that was how that stage proceeded. At that point in time at least.

I also had plans written down to go to Kagoshima. Looks like I didn’t go.

○ TRPG on the 25th. Player M’s schedule lined up with ours, so we played DX with 6 PL plus me as GM. We went to the aquarium, were attacked by witches, and so on.

April

Finish BU, is faintly written down. It seems like the work was more or less completed earlier this month.

○ High school friend K’s wedding on the 6th. Up until then I’d only been to two other wedding receptions. The weddings were for a different friend from high school, and Tajika-san, one of my senpais from Kingdom. This suddenly reminds me of that time at Tajika-san’s reception, when I took a super early flight because I absolutely didn’t want to be late whatsoever, but I ended up not being able to fly for about an hour and a half because of engine trouble or whatever, so I entered at almost the same time as the bride and groom during the reception…

K’s wedding was the first time in my life where I was present all the way from the wedding to the reception, but how should I put it, I was struck by a beam of light. I don’t know who he’s getting married to, I have no clue what their relationship is like. But I was somehow bombarded...by all these thoughts that became jumbled in my head, like the energy in this place, the power of their oaths, questioning what it was, how light isn’t always justice.

I got the feeling that this was what proper, respectable humans take part in, but since I'm fine with not being a proper, respectable human, I decided to not do anything other than what my heart desires.

I'm definitely not good with places where I’m in the spotlight. But congratulations.

○ “Play Sekiro” is strongly noted down. Thank you for supporting me in the first half of 2019.

○ TRPG for the 29th - 30th. DX. Player M’s character dies.

May - June

My schedule book is starting to look more scattered now. On the other hand, since I’ve got a good memory of this time, I can write while recalling the events.

○ I did the covers for the Touken stage play book.

I drew the cover illustrations for the Touken [Ranbu] stage play that Mikasano-san, who I’m grateful to for his work on the anime and movie scripts for TG, worked on. In my mind, it feels like I'm watching the back of who I'd consider my older brother in the creative world, or a fellow comrade on another battlefield fighting to the death. I think it came out quite charmingly, so I’ll include the links for now. Link 1 | Link 2 | Link 3

During this time of work for Jack Jeanne, I was working on “model sheets”. Blueprints for the characters’ attire, not just from the front but also the internal structure.

Unlike most other games, Jack Jeanne has “performance costumes” in addition to normal attire. Because of its “revue” theme, costumes that will be worn onstage needed to be prepared. I was shocked when I suddenly admitted that I needed model sheets for 5 different performances (spring, summer, fall, winter, final) for the 6 main characters, making 30 designs in total.

Back in the TG era, these kind of drawings that I just explained, or drawings that needed a lot of layers, were a pain in the ass. Plus I wasn’t good at them, so I thought that I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life if possible. But it seems like I have to do this myself. With a sense of determination, I decided to work solely on this for all of May. At the same time, I made nothing but curry for all my meals. There’s no deep reason behind it, but my aim was to kinda boost my ability to concentrate daily by choosing to be decisive in that action.

○ Working on model sheets It came with an unintended effect. Because I spent a month on work that required balance and consistency, my right-left checking skills got better, and completely unrelated, I improved in drawing perfect copies. The design work for the model sheets itself became really fun to do, starting around when I became obsessed with the scarf design (sumo wrestler drawing) I definitely couldn’t use for Neji’s summer costume. I discovered that it’s precisely because I’m not good at this that my labour bore fruit. I feel like this was my experience for the latter half of the year.

July

The cast members were chosen. Unlike TG, there are 6 people + 1 person who can be referred to as the main character, so it was interesting to have a cast with some breadth.

Seems like lyrical work was the main thing I worked on.

Lyrical work. In Jack Jeanne, each performance contains several songs to sing and dance to, so each one is supposed to be sung. ...hence the lyrics.

The topic of what to do with the lyrics was brought up in November 2018. What happens typically is that, let’s say there’s singing in an idol game, then a company that specializes in it is asked to produce the songs. Even for Jack Jeanne, there were several candidates I could pick and choose from. But after a quick look-through, frankly speaking, they all looked the same to me. There’s one person that’s good, it’d be great if we could get them...is what I thought, but, “Even though I don’t have the skills, I’m the one who understands this world the best,” crossed my mind. ...should I try? I tried it. To be honest, I was super embarrassed since it’d be seen by a lot of people, but it evolved into, “Who cares if you’re doing it?” And so Jack Jeanne’s lyrics were tasked to me.

I mentioned this earlier, but there are multiple songs for each performance. So if you combine those plus the opening and ending songs, that makes 17 songs in total. Lyrics for 17 songs that I’m fully responsible for. What the hell...am I doing? Maybe it was from that moment that I started losing it.

Including the lyrics that I’d been working on bit by bit every month, the remaining ones were finished in one go this July. By the time I finished everything, my current state was, “Give me more songs...let me write more lyrics!” But it wasn’t over just yet.

August

Every time I meet someone I tell this story. I’m thinking of keeping it up. Here I am, relieved to have finished the lyrics, when a message pops up on the Skype group chat. It’s from Yamashita Daisuke of Broccoli.

To briefly touch upon Yamashita Daisuke, he is a young man who’s been involved with this project since October of 2018, and a poor soul who was tasked with conducting very important meetings on his third day of working at the company.

The producer from Broccoli was going on maternity leave, so he was scouted as her replacement. As an aside, if I have to be honest, the exchanges between me and Towada-san, and Broccoli’s Jack Jeanne team up until then were quite frustrating. “How about doing it like this?” they would counter. And we’d respond with something like, “This part is going to be developed later on, and since this will become foreshadowing for the entirety of the story, it can’t be modified that easily.” This kind of situation, having to explain everything in detail one by one, going 3 steps forward and being held 2 steps back, had been going on for about 3 years, so the two of us would often whine about it over drinks, going, “When should we quit, this is ridiculous,” etc.

Finally when things began going more smoothly, the producer who was leading the project took her leave, so I wondered if we’d be able to get along with Yamashita Daisuke, but he was, how should I put it, very diligent. For the last year I've been working with people who don’t put in their best effort, so I was very hopeful and thankful to him.

But I digress. This was the gist of the message that Daisuke sent.

“Kosemura-san’s who’s in charge of musical composition wants ‘scratch vocal tracks’ for when the singers are recording.” “Does Ishida-sensei happen to know anyone he could ask for this favour?” “I’m sure it won’t be a problem for you!” “Frankly speaking, it’s okay even if they’re bad.”

Huh. Well, as you might have already guessed, even with the lyrics, it’s impossible to really understand the song at first sight without knowing what kind of rhythm, what kind of emotions are being expressed in the bar measure. Of course we’d need ‘scratch vocal tracks’ to explain the general feeling of the song.

Now, what Daisuke said was, “Do you have anyone you can ask? It’s okay even if they’re bad. Or even you can do it.” But if I found a “it’s okay even if they’re bad” kind of person, we’d still have to show them how to sing it and explain how the rhythm goes. Daisuke already knew which was probably why he asked for the favour. “The person writing the lyrics would be able to make the scratch vocal tracks the fastest.” ...come to think of it, the demo songs that Kunimitsu sent me every time that were sung using Vocaloid, weren’t they also scratch vocal tracks?

Daisuke must have been in a pinch trying to figure out how he should ask me candidly. Ishida-sensei, I couldn’t just ask you to sing it, so I had to ask in a roundabout manner.

I’d already given my answer, but I was still hesitant. It’s true that after I finished writing the lyrics for the 17 songs I’d already lost sight of myself, but if I sang, my singing would reach Broccoli and Kosemura-san’s team’s ears. But I couldn’t just leave poor Daisuke hanging.

So I consult Towada-shi, whom I’d been collaborating with in creating the scripts for Jack Jeanne, for advice. (He had been in charge of TG’s novels, and I’ve known him for a long time.) “Did you check Skype?” “I did.” “What do you think?” “Start by looking up scratch vocal tracks,” so we paid a visit to YouTube. The first search result that came up for ‘scratch vocal track’ was a video of a vocalist who was used to sing a scratch track for AKB or something. I see, so that’s what it looks like. Innocuous, but I could see it was very professionally done.

And the second result that came up was Tsunku♂-shi. The figure of Tsunku♂-shi himself recording a scratch track for his idols. The producer himself became an idol, and was singing really cutely, in his emotions and how he sang it. “This is it?” I said. “Yeah, it is,” Towada-shi agreed. If Kosemura-san and his team, and the people who will be performing the songs have to listen to it, it’d be a disservice to them to half-ass it. I don’t like people who don’t try their best. That means I have to show that attitude myself. Let’s come out of my shell for poor Daisuke as well.

“You’re gonna become Tsunku♂.” “Yeah...I’m gonna be Tsunku♂!” And that was how I became Tsunku♂.

I replied to Daisuke on the Skype group chat. “Understood, I’ll do what I can.”

So this guy, who doesn’t even know what the ‘D’ in DTM stands for, first downloads the software, and begins setting up a recording environment. Other work is pushed aside. I set 3 days to work on this.

I timidly begin working on the scratch tracks. From the perspective of someone who doesn’t have to listen to their singing for a living, it starts out as a living hell, but you get used to it as you listen to it over and over.

And so I kept learning new things. I noticed I was harmonizing with myself.

Just like Tsunku♂-shi, I’d change the voice for each character. If it was Jack (male in a male role) I’d sing like a man, and if it was Jeanne (male in a female role), then like a woman, while the main character Kisa (female) should sound cute... No, Kisa needs to be cuter! I re-recorded her part many times. Depending on the song, I’d sing for 7 people. I was Jack Jeanne now.

Tsunku♂ (I) recorded 17 songs in 3 days, and sent the data first to Towada-shi. Since I was now Tsunku♂, I no longer felt any sense of embarrassment.

“I listened to it,” the reply came, and I called him. Towada-shi was roaring with laughter. I regained the embarrassment I’d forgotten.

“Oh no, I was laughing ‘cause I was impressed,” he said, but my heart was already as fragile as that of an abandoned dog.

“Even this is a big help to Kosemura-san, and Daisuke should be grateful, right?” Yeah. Although Towada-shi guffawed at me, Daisuke will surely thank me. And then he’ll definitely tell me what a good job I did!

I dumped the music into the Skype group chat. “I did what I could,” I added.

How will Daisuke react to my Tsunku♂? I waited restlessly. Three days later on August 5th, a formal message arrived after it was received.

“Thank you very much. We will schedule a meeting with Kosemura-san…”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. My hard work got dismissed with, “Thank you very much.”

Daisuke, why? I thought you were in a pinch, so I...were...were you fooling with me from the start? Answer me! Daisuke! Just tell me I did a good job, or follow up with something, I’m fine with anything! So much for my heart being like an abandoned dog, it’s more like a grown-ass man left naked on a snowy mountain. I did what I could! This feeling was welling up inside me, but was it myself that managed to do it?

○ Later, at a meeting with Kosemura-san “It’s great that you could do this much for us. You didn’t have to do all that.” With the gist of those words, a warm blanket was finally placed over my heart, which had almost frozen to death.

“I didn’t know how to respond. I wasn’t sure if Sensei was the most who did it in the first place,” Daisuke said, so I decided to satisfy myself by threatening, “I’m gonna tell this story until the day I die.”

September

○ Responses to the Questions to Ishida Sui contest We did a “Ask anything to Ishida Sui” contest as a project for the art book “zakki:re”, where purchasers could apply with a postcard. I was writing the replies for them.

I thought there’d be a lot more questions about TG or its contents, but surprisingly there were a lot of questions asking for life advice. There were quite a few questions that I had to seriously think about to answer.

It was kinda tough since there were over a hundred of them, but I thought it’d be nice to get in touch like this every once in a while.

○ BU work for Jack Jeanne Once the music-related tasks like lyrical composition and scratch vocal tracks were completed, I worked on BU. ...BU work? Wasn’t it finished back in April?

Well, a similar situation arose just like what happened with the lyrics. Regarding sprite quality I might not be able to beat the pros, but since I’m the one who best understands how the characters look best and their body balance, I had decided to do all the line drawing colouring myself in June. I had no clue whether I’d make the deadline or maintain the quality, but thanks to Broccoli’s understanding, I was allowed to make it myself.

I realized once again that I’m terrible at splitting up work. If I can do it by myself, I will.

Plus, it’s, how should I put it, starting from my TG days, even though it wasn’t a lot I got to see various types of workplaces. I’d see places where there was no sense of responsibility whatsoever, or the work may have been divvied up appropriately, but it felt like they were making something without a sense of purpose, like a main plot line that isn’t going anywhere.

It’s impossible to accomplish big things with that kind of stance, and I understand that the more people that intervene, the more uncertain the core becomes, so I didn’t like that kind of approach. It makes me wonder whether there’s any meaning in creating a work that’s conservative and unchallenged, and if it’s nothing more than a money grab.

Since I don’t have any desire for material things, getting fed up about it is useless, but I just can’t help thinking about it.

Of course, it may be difficult to get what I want 100% of the time, but I want to create things in an environment that I think is beautiful, even in places that I’m slightly involved in.

...in other words, BU work is tough, but I began remaking the sprites once again by myself. This was the toughest work I’ve ever done out of everything, including the serialization...

○ Scratch vocals training camp at the end of September I went to the recording for the scratch vocal tracks. Based on the scratch tracks that I made, we got professional vocalists to sing it again properly. This is what the actual cast would use as a reference to sing. (So my version was like the pre-scratch vocal track.)

I was stuck in Tokyo for almost a week. Wake up, get ready, go to the recording studio. Come back at 8 or 9 pm, rest and sleep, repeat.

It was like I was back in school, and since I don’t have a steady lifestyle, I enjoyed it.

Kosemura-san’s team is really great, and I know I mentioned this before, but I felt like their workplace was a very healthy production site. When I was drawing manga, I never had much time to talk with fellow manga artists, and I’ve never had the chance to experience what other professionals’ workplaces were like, so it was very exciting for me to see people as professionals tackle one thing seriously. The vocalists were as amazing as I expected, and although my scratch tracks were played at a loud volume to annoy me, I had a great time.

The game might have a high level of entry, but it’s worth listening to just for the songs, is what I truly thought.

○ Parting words to Editor M-shi This might have been back in August, but from 2018 to 2019 I had a lot of things on my mind, so I began talking to the editor.

In between the 11 years of serialization starting from my rookie days, I’d received guidance from him so it wasn’t easy, but I expressed to him that we should keep our distance for any future works.

“I want to become absorbed in myself, not to Ishida Sui or Tokyo Ghoul,” I told him. The other part said he also felt the same way, and accepted it. The next time we meet, I hope we can talk about what we’re into, what we’re going crazy over, he said.

And so, 2 months after that conversation was the scratch vocals training camp in Tokyo, and I had the chance for the two of us to talk again. That day I was completely tuckered out from recording the scratch track, but it was a day filled with accomplishments.

He took me to a restaurant with delicious food in Ebisu or somewhere, and after concluding our brief business meeting, I tried throwing out the cliched, “So, what are you up to lately?” As the lead writer, there was a part of me that was curious about how he was doing after that talk we had.

The editor began talking about homemade curry.

...that’s what he’s into? I decide everything from selecting and picking the ingredients myself, and next time I want Ishida-kun to also see how delicious the curry is...he told me passionately, but how should I put it, the conversation wasn’t very spicy.

The food was delicious.

October

○ BU work

What’s hard about BU work is that it’s difficult to separate the layers according to the face, hair and clothes, and they all have to have the same style and touch to it. If it was manga, then maybe...no, even in manga, there’s still some need to match the outfits, but it doesn’t really matter to that extent.

It’s because I don’t like game sprites. “This character has so much energy from their sideways pose! Amazing!” This never happens…

Around this time of the year, my older sister called this elaborate task, “the task you’re probably the worst at.”

○ The bean life I’m not really fat in particular, but I made up my mind to try dieting. At the time, my body fat percentage was at 18%, and I’ve never been below 10% ever in my entire life, so I’m thinking of aiming for that. Instead of eating rice with unseasoned chickpeas and black soybeans, I began my lifestyle of consuming vegetables and cuts of meat with less fat. Hopefully I can achieve my goal in about six months’ time.

○ Ano-chan, Honda Keisuke, and I After Ano-chan left “You’ll Melt More!”, her official Twitter account removed every single account she was following, but for some reason only two people remained. Those two people were Honda Keisuke and Ishida Sui. To Ano-chan, Honda Keisuke and Ishida Sui belonged in the same category. After some time passed, even we were removed, but I consider this one of my hottest mysteries of 2019. Ano-chan! I’ll always be waiting, so let’s have tea some time with Honda Keisuke!

November

○ BU Need I say more.

○ Main cast’s first recording session from the 26th - 27th.

I visited Tokyo with Towada-shi to supervise the main cast members’ recording session. Wow, everyone was so amazing~

Of course, not just the main characters. Terasaki Yuka-san who plays the main character, Tachibana Kisa, was wonderful as well.

In this kind of game genre, the position as the main character feels less important than the male characters, but I want her to stand firmly in this story’s script. I thought it’d be nice to have the main character not stand out too much and have her watch over the male characters, and I felt that Terasaki-san’s voice and acting fit that image perfectly.

About the cast members, it seems like there’ll be a chance to speak to them eventually, so I’ll come back again.

○ 1 month into the bean life I’m steadily losing weight. Basically I always work from home. I go to the gym and supermarket 2-3 times a week. I started cooking for myself. I got a brand new refrigerator to replace the one that suddenly broke. It actually cools things down now. Living standards have risen.

December

○ I break off ties with M who I played TRPG together with. He was a former classmate who was even chief assistant at some point during the series’ run, but eventually he ended up getting fired due to falling asleep at work. He said he’d attend the last session for the story that day (although his own character had already died), and I was working on a schedule to accommodate him, but once again he cancelled at the last minute.

It’s fine to cause trouble for me (although I’ll probably get pissed), but I can’t overlook treating others the same way. And it’s not the fact that his schedule didn’t match up, it’s because he was complete trash who didn’t know how to behave like an adult once he made plans with others, that I felt sorry for the other TRPG people who took time out of their schedules. Since I felt ashamed when I was together with him, I decided I’d had enough.

This was a year where I cut ties with a lot of people, but I think what they had in common was that I was ashamed to be with them. From now on, I don’t want to associate with such people.

What’s more, when I finally told him, he didn’t even try to deal with it and just gave up, responding, “So that’s how you felt about me. Okay. My bad.”

I won’t go anywhere with those kind of people again.

○ The bean life ⇒ the potato life. I changed it to potatoes.

○ BU is over...

On December 17th, I finally finished the BU work that I spent ageeeeeeeees on.

Although I said that serialization is tough, as long as I finished 18 pages a week that was it (although there were times where I was chasing myself with other work), so I could finish it as long as I didn’t sleep. I somehow managed to finish both the manuscripts and the colour illustrations this way, so expecting BU to be similar, I wasn’t really scared about it never ending, but BU truly was despair. When is this gonna end? I’m even working super hard… This is how it went on the entire time for over a month.

There were about 200 different sprites I had to make myself, including the different costumes and poses, and I had to do all of them.

For one thing, when, “This process is necessary,” came out, I had to go through the same process roughly 200 times, that it felt like I was facing the final boss who already transformed many times. Also, it’s like not equipping myself with a lot of equipment and recovery items in the previous town, but the dungeon I somehow managed to enter is extremely dangerous and even though there’s no safe points anywhere in sight, the boss suddenly comes up behind you, and you go I’m gonna die I’m gonna die

○ If you eat a lot while you’re losing weight, you’re going to have a bad time.

On December 15th I had trouble concentrating, so I tidied up the living room, created a space in the middle of the room, and darkened the lights. After an hour of meditating, only the sound of my breathing could be heard in the room, and so I went back to work with renewed concentration after confronting the issue (like a monk?).

On December 16th, I’ve been working the entire time since morning. I thought today was going to be the last day, but an entire day has passed and I don’t have any energy...

I’ll buy a midnight snack, replenish my energy, and end it once and for all. I’m trying to lose weight, but I went to the convenience store while thinking about how I’m gonna eat a katsu sandwich (I didn’t have the energy to cook).

While looking for something at a convenience store I can eat during weight loss, I think back over the last few months.

Like how it seems like BU is finally over, how a lot of things have happened, how I’m working hard, how lately I’ve been eating only potatoes, vegetables and meat.

And then I suddenly thought, “I wonder if the reason I don’t have any energy is because I haven’t had any rice lately.”

...I thought I should go on a diet in October, so I’ve been living a very modest life since then. Thanks to that, my weight has steadily decreased, and my body fat percentage has gone down 3% to 15%. What will happen if I continue with my relatively strict dietary restrictions during this difficult time?

...even if you’re losing weight, there’s a technique you can set up to binge eat during periods where weight loss stagnates, called cheat day (though results may vary), but what is it that makes no-cheating so inefficient even for weight loss?

...should I have a cheat day today?

“Huh, is it really okay?” I asked my mind. “Do it!” was the answer I got. From that moment, everything around me morphed into things I could eat.

No exaggeration, my knees trembled.

I crammed into my shopping basket carbohydrates, carbs, more carbs… It’s okay just for today, I say as I shove cream puffs, dorayaki, pudding, Family Mart chicken and ice cream. (Even if it's a cheat day, it’s probably not a good idea to take non-nutritional foods, but shh.)

With food in both hands and in high spirits, the first thing I ate was the delicious part of the Family Mart chicken.

I groaned loudly, all alone in the room.

Alright, let’s finish this work! I was energized, but my blood sugar levels spiked so much that I felt extremely sleepy and went to bed instead.

The next day on the 17th, I wake up at 4 am and immediately notice something unusual. My body is burning. I’m sweating.

I immediately wake up, and overflowing with energy, I head for my desk. I’m working actively, and I finish the BU work. It felt like I was pushing forward with only positive energy, feeling uplifted.

I break out a laugh at a slight joke I found funny from a foreign drama (The Mentalist) I’m playing while working. The greenery of the plants and the lighted sink glisten, and the scenery is vivid.

What is this?

I suddenly recall the story of a YouTuber I saw recently. He lives in a region where medical marijuana is legalized, and he explained in detail what changes would occur if you smoked cannabis.

To put it roughly, you feel calm and your senses sharpen. Trivial things can become funny, and funny videos can make you roar with laughter.

Then maybe...I thought, I'll watch Nagareboshi (a comedy duo) on YouTube. Usually I go, haha, that's funny! But that day I exploded with laughter...all of their videos were just too funny.

I learned that when you’re losing weight and suddenly eat a lot, it alters your mind and body as if you smoked cannabis. (※ Just to be clear, I don’t know what cannabis is like.)

Thus the BU work ended with me being high as a kite.

(※ I’m covering it with mosaics for now. I’ll remove it once I can announce it.)

○ I stopped playing TRPGs. I’ve been doing it for about two and a half years, but it also helped me in honing my creative skills. I’d sometimes perform, so it was useful when I was recording the scratch vocals… It was a good experience, managing to vicariously live the energy of ending a story. It was a story about a group of friends, so it was easy to appreciate.

Summing up 2019

After the weekly series finished in 2018, I was in a daze for a few months, but in 2019 I worked only on Jack Jeanne for the year.

This year I tried various things, and trite as it may seem, felt the possibilities within myself expanding. I had many opportunities to realize how important it is to keep a distance from bad things that don’t do anything for me.

During my work on Jack Jeanne, I vaguely thought about my future creations. The work I’m doing now in game production is fun so I wonder if I can keep working in this field, but I’d also like an environment where I can release things more constantly.

I can’t promise anything specific, but I’m going to work on things that I want to do.

I look forward to what 2020 has to offer. Have a happy New Year.

2019.12.31 Ishida Sui

#Jack Jeanne #Ishida Sui #Translations #my translations #time to hibernate

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nedcanquen · 5 years ago

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Chapter 10: Mr 7th Floor

When I posted Chapter 9 I mentioned that I applied to grad school. Well the good news is...I GOT IN! I had to once again move to a different country (in a different part of the world) and start my Masters. I’ve enjoyed it, but it was a huge adjustment for me, hence the long delay. Thank you so much to anyone still reading this and following this story. <3

---

Tags: Slow Burn (like…really slow burn) - endgame is NedCan but they don’t get there directly, Single POV, Yep, Canada will date other people before endgame because he’s very desirable even if he doesn’t always know it, Audit firm AU, Office AU, some angst…

Pairings: NedCan (endgame), NorCan, implied NedDen, DenNor, implied Spamano, France/Jeanne d’Arc, GerIta

Matthew is about ready to stop fucking crying already. But it’s therapy, so all he gets is a break until the next session, he supposes. Dr Laurinaithis is not fussed, he must have a closet full of tissue boxes in this job, and seen a few swimming pools worth of tears. Matthew doesn’t know how he feels about that, but he does feel like going through two boxes of tissue papers is too much, no matter how kind Dr. Laurinaithis is about it.

It's a relief to leave the building, though he wishes that the lightness he’s supposed to feel after a huge cry was actually there. It’s not. Because he’s forced to talk about things out loud that he usually tries to hide from himself, he’s feeling raw. It occurs to him that he may need emotional support to even get through therapy. His mind jumps to Lukas, just because it had been his idea in the first place, and immediately dismisses it.

Sometimes the hard thing about a breakup wasn’t the breakup itself, but breaking the habits that had been formed before it. Matthew and Lukas had moved slow, but he had always been aware of him in a strong sense, and knew that Lukas was a reliable man and a good listener. Maybe that was why Lukas was the first person he had called when he panicked about Arthur. He feels embarrassed about that now, Arthur is a grown man who doesn’t need anyone to be regulating his drinking, and when did Matthew care about drinking this much? It wasn’t the drinking he had responded to, he knows that now, it was the realization of the loneliness Arthur would have had to have been experiencing to over-rely on a bottle. If Arthur were still his direct Manager, Matthew would have found him and kept him company. As it was, not he never really knew where Arthur was in the world at any point of time, or if he would be welcome, or if Arthur the Partner would have any time for him, so he tried to get other people to make sure that Arthur was cared for. It’s a strange thing, Matthew doesn’t even do this for his own father, and his mother has never needed help. He’s always felt like the soft and vulnerable one in his family, but Arthur respected that, somehow teaching him how to succeed in this firm despite wanting to hide from the world sometimes.

Maybe it’s time to visit Mom. Except he feels bad for burdening her with his insecurities, and moving to the city and thriving here is supposed to be proof that he’s grown up now, all her hard work was worth it. She would see right through him the moment he walked through the door.

As he climbs into his car he looks at his now terrible reflection in the mirror. Not good, Arthur's farewell do is in a couple of hours. He really didn't plan this out very well, but Dr Laurinaithis‘ first available appointment had been today and sometimes Matthew was a little too efficient with getting through his to do list. He pulls out the wet wipes he keeps in the glove compartment and runs it over his face, hoping the cool and damp cloth will do something about the obvious swelling around his eyes and nose.

He can blame it on allergies. Yeah why not. They were going to a park after all.

But first, time to pick up Shell.

He knows the way to her place so he drives there almost on autopilot. She wouldn't be fooled by the “allergies”excuse, so he'll probably have to come clean to her about therapy. The idea makes his stomach clench, he knows objectively that Michelle wouldn;t judge him, but therapy is still something intensely personal. But still, shouldn’t he give her a chance? Friendship was also about vulnerability. Then again, she was also a colleague, and he doesn’t want their friendship to make her work more difficult. She just saved him from a terrible meeting earlier in the week, and now he wonders if she'll question his ability to work and lead, if his lack of promotion somehow pushed him off an edge.

Matthew takes a deep breath and decides to get on with it. She’ll notice or she won’t.

He drives up and sees her standing in front of her apartment, grinning at him in a light blue dress, and waving excitedly at his car. He cracks a smile at that. He's just thrown on an old red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, it's a barbecue after all and he'd rather not have his better clothes stained with fat and smoke.

The moment she gets in the car, her face drops. Yep, no fooling Shell. He opens his mouth to try to explain but finds he can't really.

Michelle squeezes his shoulder. “Matt… are you…” but maybe because he couldn't say anything, she opts not to either, and just leans in to hug him.

There's a moment of guilt where Matthew feels terrible for bringing her mood down, guilt that he can't admit something that is nothing to be ashamed of, but he appreciates the hug and leans into it all the same. Somehow it’s a little better.

“Sorry to worry you Shell, I just had a rough morning, I'll be fine.” Her hair smells like coconuts and there’s some part of him that thinks of warm island breezes and white sands, far away from his problems here.

When they pull back, she tilts her head, pondering. “Matt I didn’t want to bring it up earlier because I wasn’t sure if it would help and you didn’t seem to want to talk about it, and I’ve always looked up to you. But I feel like I have to say something. You’ve been through a lot lately, and you've been holding it together really well. Sometimes I don't know why you're still even in the team instead of running off to a well deserved island break. Francis would deserve it. And Lukas I mean… have you had a chance to talk about Lukas? And you invited him today so...Look Matt, no one will think less of you if you’re selfish for-.”

“I don't want to talk about it right now Shell.” He’s exhausted, he's talked all morning. “Thanks, really. It’s just that… trust me I'm talking a lot.”

She doesn’t press, and Matthew is glad, but she does pat his arm. “That’s great, but...I’m here too if you need me you know. Also, I would totally make up a good excuse for you if you decide you need to leave early today. You’re the one who told me that rest doesn’t mean weakness, it’s just strength in the long run.”

How did he come up with these things? “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” He repeats out loud, but in his head he hears Arthur say it, because that’s who he had learned it from. Sure, Arthur wasn’t great at living by the occasional wisdom he managed to say out loud (and read in a book somewhere), but that didn’t mean it wasn’t wisdom. It was Arthur who showed him that you trudged on, no matter the difficulty or tears. He’s seen Arthur fight through insecurity and frustration with little to no guidance to rise on his own.. It’s another reason why Matthew has to turn up, has to celebrate his day with everyone. Arthur was the first person whom he felt had really seen the value in him and invested time into him. He’s a big reason why Matthew is the professional he is today.

“Yeah.” Michelle replies with a worried smile.

First they stop off at the florist to collect the flowers that Michelle had ordered. Gardening was one of Arthur’s passions, though Matthew wasn’t sure how many people remembered that anymore. These flowers wouldn’t imitate a garden, but they would be the closest they could get to recreating a happy space for Arthur.

Under Michelle’s guidance they had outdone themselves. Somehow, Michelle had secured two barbecue pits in the park. Jack and Gerard from Daan and Arthur’s team were cooking up a storm, and as far as Matthew could figure out - took barbecues very very seriously. But it’s exactly what Matthew had previously envisioned - children ran around on the green, playing with each other. The open air and casual atmosphere made everyone relax, the flowers they were setting up made everything look that much more festive. Although, the lack of beer at a barbecue was perhaps a little obvious and noticeable.

“Juice?” Ha strolls up with a grin, holding two cartons of orange juice in hand.

Oh man...they’re never going to hear the end of this.

“Or…” Ha grins “Are we holding out for the sparkling juice?” The alcohol-free ‘champagne’ - still get the pop, but no kick. For the purposes of the day, Michelle branded it “child’s wine.”

Matthew grins, “No reason not to have both.”

All the Partners are late, which doesn’t surprise anyone. It seemed to be a regular code of conduct to allow the rest of the staff to enjoy each other’s company before the bosses came in. What was surprising however, was who arrived next.

“How come there’s no music at this party?” Mathias grins as he walks in with Emil, rolling in a cart of danishes and other delicious foods. Just how much were they going to eat today?

“Mathias? Hi.” Matthew waves. Why was he here? Was it weird to feel like he and Mathias were kinda friends? Even though they didn’t know each other very well and had met under very convoluted circumstances. “Oh wow these kids are going to be on a sugar high all day today.” He doesn’t know how Arthur will feel about rowdy children - he knows the man loves kids but generally in an unrealistic way.

“That’s the plan!” Michelle laughs.

Matthew nods and walks around, greeting everyone but ultimately he’s just looking for a bench to sit on while everyone else is occupied. He lets the sound of happy children trill behind him as he takes in the view of people simply enjoying their lives on the green. He breathes in deeply, and lets his breath out, calming his mind and thinking about nothing in particular. When he finds his empty bench, he sits and muses a little. He realizes that he’s not changed as much as he thinks - he’s generally known who he is. But at the same time, he feels born anew, like he’s stumbling to figure out the world all over again for the first time. He thought he had it figured out, he’s been doing what some invisible societal book out there tells him he has to do, that Arthur had mastered, and the book wasn’t wrong per se, but it was wrong to deny him himself. As Dr Laurinaithis (Toris, he had told him to call him Toris - Matthew can only imagine how he must have butchered the man’s name) gently told him this morning - it’s about learning to rephrase, to be present, to be conscious and aware. Matthew is focused on what he hasn’t achieved, and not so much on what he has.

Easier said than done really. It’s one thing to understand the logic of doing that, it’s another to be personally sold on it. So he’ll start with baby steps - if he doesn’t feel comfortable with something, he won’t just push down that feeling, he’ll process it. Maybe Shell is right, maybe he needs a trip…

“Didn’t think you’d be the one to judge a party without alcohol.”

Matthew is jarred out of his thoughts by a somewhat concerned looking Daan, who’s holding a cup of orange juice in his hand.

Daan looks like he’s about to say something with his trademark dryness but stops. His expression shifts from glib to concerned. “Hey…” He doesn’t finish his thought though, Daan casts a nervous look behind at the party for a moment, then looks down with a sigh. He silently comes over to sit next to Matthew on the bench.

Matthew tries to saw something to dismiss the concern, some greeting, to steel himself to stand and join the party. But he’s just too tired. Instead he asks “I look that bad huh?” It’s not much of a question.

Daan doesn’t bother to voice the obvious, and offers the orange juice instead. “I haven’t had any.”

“No thanks.”

They sit in silence for a moment, and Matthew is glad. He’s glad he doesn’t have to explain himself, but he’s not happy that Daan has seen him like this. There’s nowhere to escape in a park though, so he may as well just sit here. Anyway, Daan’s presence has its advantages, like giving him a further excuse not to go back to the party. And now that he’s free to just return to his silence, Matthew finds himself observing Daan when the other leans over, resting his arms on his knees, sipping from his cup. He remembers what Lukas said, about Daan having to give away a project, about Daan going through a weird transition right now.

He can’t see a shred of evidence of it anywhere.

Matthew takes a breath “How do you do it?”

“Hmm?”

“Arthur drinks, I...well I work out and occasionally go hiking, but I’m obviously not dealing with my troubles well because you took one look at my face and decided it’s better not to drag me back to the party. But you, you’ve never looked weak, no one would look at you and go ‘hey...maybe I shouldn’t promote him, I don’t want to be guilty of manslaughter.’”

Daan let’s out an annoyed huff. Matthew observes him as Daan sits up and straightens himself. “I’m pretty sure you saw me during a pretty rough patch at least once. Like that night you brought Emil to Mathias’ cafe. Man...that was a really shitty time. I was doing a pretty good job at denying just how shitty it was just two days before that, but there’s nothing quite like enforced quiet solitude on a 24-hour flight to make you realize how much you’re not going to be able to lie to yourself about this one.”

Daan’s voice is filled with so much...regret? Matthew doesn’t realize he’s reached out until he’s squeezing Daan’s arm in reassurance. They both tense with the contact, and Matthew quickly withdraws his hand. Stupid stupid stupid. “Sorry.” He mumbles, though he’s not sure what exactly he’s sorry for.

Daan doesn’t move, he just stares at the grass. “I trust my people.”

Matthew screws up his face in confusion. What did Daan’s team have to do with anything?

“Arthur drinks; you work out and hike; I have pets, a sister who can’t ever stop mocking me to remind me that I’m not that great, a baby brother who somehow looks up to me enough that it balances out her mocking, a friend who makes sure I’m fed and will drag me out of my door kicking and screaming if needs be to just...cycle somewhere, a…” Daan stops suddenly and frowns, squeezing the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath, which he lets out. “You get the idea. I have people that I trust, to see me like that, like this - the way you saw me when I forgot my keys. I didn’t always have them, I didn’t always appreciate them, but I get by because I have them. I’m not a particularly social man, but I have a community that’s mine. That’s how I do it.” Daan stands from the bench and Matthew’s eyes can’t help but follow him, looking up and Daan turns. “You do too. And so does Arthur to be honest, neither of you are the lone wolves you try to be.”

Matthew laughs. “Lone wolf? Me?”

Daan shrugs. “We never really knew each other until recently, but I remember seeing you around before. Always in a group with other associates, usually with either Michelle or Ha, or…well, leaving birthday cupcakes on Arthur’s desk in the early hours of morning...”

Matthew’s eyes widen, Daan had seen that?

“Made me jealous to be honest,” Daan continues. “No one’s ever left me cupcakes.”

Matthew laughs. “Your housemate makes damn good danishes.”

“Well yes, but let’s be honest here, he’s never really made them for me, I just happened to be around. Besides, is a danish a cupcake?”

Matthew shakes his head and rolls his eyes fondly. Honestly.

“My point is,” Daan adds pointedly. “You have a community. Let them help you. Not saying hiking isn’t a good coping mechanism though.”

Matthew finds himself feeling a little lighter, and able to stand to return to the party. He looks up at Daan’s concerned face and smiles. “Thanks for the pep talk.” Daan is really really good at his job - who knew that this guy could give good talks like this? No wonder his team did so well.

Daan nods and looks behind him. “You want to join the party? Or should I make up an excuse?”

Matthew turns and observes the party too. It’s happy, pleasant and perfect - Michelle’s magic in full displace. “I don’t want to ruin it by bringing down the mood, Shell worked so hard. But I haven’t quite reached the point where it’s polite to leave yet. I should at least speak to Arthur. It’s crazy, I haven’t really talked to him at all lately.”

Daan’s tapping his fingers on the back of the bench, and Matthew doesn’t look at him, expecting him to leave at any moment. But instead, Daan surprises him.

“Want company or to be alone? Lukas will text me when they’re about to arrive, no one’s going to hold it against you if you sit out here. You’ve already greeted everyone.”

“I…” Both? Matthew wants Daan right next to him, a solid presence on a day when Matthew feels cast out at sea, riding on tumultuous waves of his stamped down emotions. He also doesn’t want to be a burden.

“Right, don’t worry. Take your time.”

“Wait!”

Daan pauses in his stride surprised. He must have presumed that Matthew’s reluctance to speak was out of politeness, not indecision.

“I don’t mind company I’m just not great company myself right now so, it’s really up to you. I’m sure you have schmoozing to do.”

Daan casts a skeptical look at the party. “I see them practically everyday. I don’t mind some quiet. They’re all in love with Mathias anyway, I’ll give him a chance to keep charming his regulars, uninterrupted.”

Matthew can’t help but laugh. “So he knows everyone?”

Daan shrugs. “Well whenever we have a party we tend to buy food from him, so by now, yeah.”

“I distinctly remember him telling you that night at the cafe, that PKDE was your life, not his.”

Daan lets out a snort and a little laugh. Matthew likes that little laugh, a little too much. He churns inside because no.

No. No. No.

Nononononononono…

“Sometimes when I piss him off he says things yeah, but he’s such a softy now you have no idea.”

For lack of anything else to say (because he’s afraid to say anything), Matthew just replies, “Tell me.”

So Daan does, and Matthew looks down at the grass seeing nothing because he knows he’s gone and done something even more irrevocably stupid. It was inevitable really, just a matter of time, and he had been in so much denial because he hadn’t wanted to stop himself. But was there really any other way that this was going to go for him? He can’t even hide it from himself anymore.

He’s in love.

#nedcan #APH Canada #aph netherlands #fic: Mr 7th floor

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fgodestinyawakenings · 5 years ago

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Yuga Kshetra Lostbelt: Verse 18~END

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand FUCKING DONE!! One Command Seal gone with luck trying not to shit on me at the final battle.... Thankfully plot wise has made this Lostbelt easier than the rest. Though unfortunately, next one will spiked up the difficulty again because of plot wise...

I’ll head back to Agartha now that JP’s side is settled for event requirement. And part of me doesn’t want to.... *sighs* We’ll see... But first, time to end the cycle of Yuga!

Verse 18

First arrow, first wave giving you 9 Berserker Kali and its Boss in the second wave. For this fight’s gimmick, Pepe debuff 1 random enemy with Buster Resistance Down for 3 turns, and 1 of your Servants gets Buster Performance Up for 3 turns. Vitch’s occasional buff returns with a random chance at the start of the battle, she’ll deal 30k damage to all enemies.

However, you’ll received a debuff where one of your Servant receive 3037 damage at the end of each turn. The enemy will also receive the same debuff of this too.

Second arrow gives you break before the third arrow... You can say it’s the easiest fight through this whole Lostbelt. Plot reason, NPC Ashwatthama is your only Servant you can bring with no use of command seals or mystic code

Against Shadow Karna, his NP is his Extra Attack. Ashwatthama’s gimmick of this fight is Permanent, Unremovable AND Unlimited Guts that revives his HP to the Max. And also, he also gains Attack Damage buff up at the end of every turn

Karna has two HP break gimmick:

1st break: Buff with Permanent Attack Damage Up

2nd Break: Buff with Attack Damage Up & Seal Ashwatthama's NP for 1 turn.

Also rest assured, despite Karna’s final gimmick of depleting Ashwatthama’s HP 0 when you completely defeated him, you’ve won the fight

Verse 19

1st arrow 1st wave... Your boss fight against Limbo aka Ashiya Douman in his true class: Alter Ego. His only gimmick is immediately draining your whole party front-line’s NP to 0 at the start of the fight

If you managed to have a friend support of Kama-Mara, do bring her with you for this fight as her third skill welcomes a lot against him.

At the start of battle too, Pepe will inflict Buster Resistance Down Debuff for 3 turns towards Limbo. Then, buffs 1 front-line Servant with Buster Performance Up for 3 turns

2nd wave, your first round fight against Arjuna Alter. Immediately upon entering 2nd wave, Arjuna Alter already has his NP bar full. Make sure you have an AOE Defense NP/Skill ready against it

Arjuna Alter’s gimmick has 3 permanent buff of Damage Resistance towards all types of attacks, Debuff Immunity and Attack Damage UP.

Arrow 4, your final battle against Arjuna Alter with NPC Super Karna. You’re NPC-locked heavily by the story plot between these two. For Arjuna Alter, he still has the same buff of Defense buff towards all types of attacks, debuff immunity & Attack Damage Up

For NPC Karna on choosing him, he gets permanent buff of Damage Up, 2K HP recovery at end of every turn & 1-time Guts reviving him at 7,467 HP

Gimmicks for this fight against Arjuna Alter:

1st HP break: Arjuna Alter buffs himself with Attack Damage Up & Critical Rate Up for 5 turns

2nd HP Break: Arjuna Alter buffs with NP Damage Up & Pierce Invincibility for 2 turns, and charge his NP gauge to max.

When Arjuna Alter’s HP reaches 60k or below, he will immediately buff himself with 1-time Guts for 3 turns reviving him at 2K HP and 2k HP recovery for 3 turns

5th and the final fight of this whole Lostbelt, you’re fighting against the Phanstmal Tree and Ashwatthama with his Master Pepe

Gimmicks:

Ashwatthama:

At the start of the fight, Pepe used his first command Seal to buff Ashwatthama with permanent Attack Damage Up and Buster Up

1st HP break: Pepe buffs him Taunt for 5 turns and additional permanent Attack Damage Up. Ashwatthama will receive another permanent buff 3-hit Damage Cut for 3 turns

2nd HP Break: Pepe buffs him with one more permanent Attack Damage Up

Phantasmal Tree:

Permanent buff of damage Resistance against Noble Phantasm & Defense Up

1st HP Break: Buff with permanent 1 additional tick of NP Charge per turn

2nd HP Break: Removes both defense buff to replace with another permanent 1 additional tick of NP Charge per turn

Last screenshot is to say... HERC-CHAN MY BABY ALLOWS ME TO WIN ONE TREE FIGHT FOR ONCE TT ^ TT)/

Verse 20

The final verse is two arrows of story mode... Which you have now completed Yuga Khestra Lostbelt

Observation & Thoughts:

Despite the strong debuff in the front few chapters.... This lostbelt is considered easier with Pepe and Vitch helping you through this

Which that said, if this is easy, Atlantis Lostbelt onwards is where difficulty spikes up again because plot really begs for it

Fondant au Chocolat is the most recommended CE along with Servant that dealts strong damage against Divine-trait Servants. Majority of the boss fights here contains Divine-trait

Ganesha aka Jinako:

There’s a reason why DW brings in Welfare Quetz-chan... Because you either need her or Ruler Martha for DPS against Jinako

Her fight can be easy if you do watch out for her unexpected NP charge from her skil and NP

Pierce invincibility may or not need often thanks to her NP effect that gives her defense for one turn

While Martha, Quetz and Astraea are viable to bring.... Other rulers are fine too whether you have your own or borrowed as support

ST NP berserker is an alternative with taunters and support to keep them alive

Pierce Invincibility CE and Fondant au Chocolat to deal more damage against her

Berserker Nezha:

The first crit fest Berserker you encounter before Arjuna Alter...

Against her, play safe with bringing Merlin, Jeanne or anyone with AOE invincibility to survive her NP and buff of ignore evasion

2nd round has issue which hopefully solve... Letting her use her NP quickly will bring an end before the final fight

Final round even with Attack down debuff on your team, you still can’t let your guard down with her own debuff of Defense down from both HP break and losing HP every turn

Or you could wait for her particular skill that demerit her HP to 1 to kill her on her last HP bar

Fondant au Chocolat equipped on female-trait damage Servants like Jack and Carmilla will be serve as strong DPS if you have either

Archer Gil to bring with his Enuma Elish against her...

Though taunter should definitely be brought against her buffs of crit fest on your team

Lakshmibai:

.... Yeah, her fight is the easiest thanks to having no NP in the first round and Pepe supporting your team too.

But her defense up buff for 5 turns can be a pain in the ass

ST NP Archer are more than enough to suffice her mini boss fight

Asclepius:

An Alter ego or Berserker is ideal against him as his fights are always a mixed class

AOE NPs are preferred thanks to him often summoning Berserker mobs if there’s only 1 or 0 left on the field

But beware of his berserker mob that may kill your support or DPS

As usual, Fondant au Chocolat or Kiyohime CE is best to equip on your DPS against him such as Male-trait, Divine-trait or Enuma Elish damage dealing Servants

William Tell:

Definitely bring support with AOE Invincibility thanks to his ignore evasion NP + dealing damage further for those who activated it

But his 2nd round fight in Verse 13 Arrow 4, bring or have your Lancer/Berserker DPS equipped with ignore evasion CE. His 30 hit evasion is completely randomized, which you wouldn’t know when it’ll hit him

His final round, do be careful for his HP break, he’ll then be able to use his NP against you

Brynhildr will be the best choice if you have or borrowed her thanks to his brynhildr’s trait and equip with Fondant au Chocolat... Which again if you have either

Other Lancer are still the best option to deal against William Tell

Taunters will definitely be required thanks to his ST NP

Caster Limbo aka Alterego Ashiya Douman

Unlike Shimosa, you’re now facing against him in his true class. But for now, his true name remains unrevealed and you’re still fighting against him in his ghost form

If you have your NP starting CE equipped... It’ll be uneffective since Douman will drain your front-line party’s NP to 0

If possible, do try to charge NP here before your second wave fight against Arjuna Alter

Kama-Mara is definitely most recommended against him thanks to her third skill

Or otherwise, ST NP berserker or so should one-shot him if needed before going to the 2nd wave

Arjuna Alter:

........... Good god, I wish his last fight isn’t NPC-locked, because I hate those fight the most

First round, wait till Arjuna Alter to release his NP to release his fight. You aren’t able to deal a single dent onto him

2nd round fight... Have Merlin or Jeanne or any support to cast AOE invincibility/evasion at the start of your turn. Arjuna Alter will immediately have NP bar fully charged and unleashed on his turn

His fight is basically crit fest... Taunters are compulsory to keep your DPS and Support alive against him

Servants like Herc and Nero with strong Guts effect are definitely need to bring against him as last standing DPS

Third round... Karna is your main DPS, which is particularly important to keep him alive. His guts buff is extremely needed to be timed with Arjuna Alter on his 2nd HP break where he charges his NP max and buff with 2 turn Pierce Invincibility

Otherwise... This is still a fight I hate the most among the fights in this lostbelt... WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT IT’S OKAY FOR A CRITFEST BERSERKER HERE?!

Aśvatthāman & Quixotic Tree Spiral:

Front few fight isn’t a problem... His first round especially doesn’t have any buff to make it difficult

2nd, 3rd and 4th round becomes more easier thanks to Pepe helping you buffing your team and debuffing him.

But on your final fight... He can be the worst enemy along with the Phanstamsal tree.

You’re forced to focus on Ashwatthama first before dealing against the tree. Pepe’s taunt on his first HP break amplifies further on this

ST NP Lancer is more recommended than AOE on this fight, but do be careful the tree will still do AOE normal attack damage on your team

Ashwatthama’s NP effect... While taunter is needed, to make sure your taunter has their taunt skill maxed out for short cooldown time. His NP or so somehow still removes that taunt buff

Stun, Charm and skill seal are completely useless as he’s immune to them

Foreigners ST NP Servants can be brought along if you want once Ashwatthama is defeated to deal against the tree

Infant of Atlas CE is recommended to equip on your DPS on going up against the Berserker Tree

Wow... I’m finally done with this.... OTL I’m sorry it took so long, I’ve already completed LB4 long time ago. And so much things happened in real life so OTL I’ll jump back to the summer event and now trying to finish Agartha for SQs!

#fgo spoilers #the shit I shit myself into #yuga kshetra JP #yuga kshetra lostbelt #this definitely took forever to be done...#but it's finally done!#And now back to summer 2019 event OTL

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tactidoll · 6 years ago

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so youre planning on running the na gssr but dont have anyone you really want so you dont know what class to roll, luckily your lesbian aunt eris has played a tonne of jp and now knows almost every 4 and 5 star servants

the best class is caster, its kinda no contest, waver is incredibly strong and tamamo is close albeit she only works for the rather small group of arts noble phantasms which quite a few more will be added over the coming year or two, the third possible pick is xuanzang who is the best damage caster whose out at least

assassin extra is really great, jack is stupid incredible, great crit gen and a strong np with an anti female boost, and jeanne is really really good, both picks are also gonna improve over the course of na catching up with skadis release of making quick insane good and jeannes np strengthen removing her self stun on np

all four riders are really good bustermeme candidates with medb being the weakest but at least she has a strong anti male niche

archer is also really nice tbh, orion is really strong and her anti male niche isnt tied to her noble phantasm which is rly nice, and tesla is really strong, some good skills and his np has a verson of weak to enuma elish but for earth or sky servants which sure isnt as many as gil but its still a huge amount of servants, the only weakish one is arjuna

saber, lancer and berserker are all fairly weak with only one good servant from each mordred, karna and cu alter respectively

at the end of the day try for who you want and if you believe hard enough youll get them but if youre impartial to the available servants hopefully this helped you figure out who you wanna go with

#eris chats #also feel free to ask me about anything rly #ive gotten realllllly into the game and know a fuck tonne more than i did half a year ago

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hetaliaweekinreview · 6 years ago

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Week of 9/9/2018 - 9/15/2018 PruCan!

Total fics: 14

FFN: 1

AO3: 12

fanfiction.net:

Our Obnoxiously Calm Chem Teacher by goctyudicbdkvhb175749674

He's loud. He's annoying. He's obnoxious. He's somewhat egotistical. He's got the worst case of ADHD anyone has ever seen. But, most of all, he's their awesome chem teacher who always rambles on and on about his French-Canadian boyfriend. Human AU where Prussia is a chemistry teacher who may be a bit loud for everyone's tastes but also has a heart that's bigger than a mountain.

Rated: T - English - Humor/Hurt/Comfort - Chapters: 3 - Words: 12,560 - [Prussia, Canada] OC

archiveofourown.org: 13

Dancin’ in The Ruins by Fave101

The Reaper has been growing closer to the Guardians over the last few years. They've become almost like a family, but something they learn about the Canadian scares them. Sequel to ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper.’

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Rise of the Guardians (2012), Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)

Characters: Matthew Williams, Canada (Hetalia), Gilbert Beilschmidt, Jack Frost, Prussia (Hetalia), Nicholas St. North, Toothiana (Guardians of Childhood), Sanderson Mansnoozie, E. Aster Bunnymund, Pitch Black (Guardians of Childhood)

Language: English

Blackout by Fave101

Canada is believed to have one of the lowest ghoul populations in the world, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The ghouls across the country know the truth and the nation behind it.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Tokyo Ghoul

Relationship: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)

Characters: Prussia (Hetalia), Gilbert Beilschmidt, Alfred F Jones, Matthew Williams, America (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia)

Language: English

Lovesick by Ludwiggle73

Fresh out of rehab, Arthur Kirkland is ready to get his life back to normal—or, at least, as normal as a rockstar’s life can be. He’s supposed to be sober now . . . but everyone knows love can be a drug. He might have a new lease on life, but the withdrawal of a lovesick heart could very well be the end of him.

[PortEng. Past FrUK. Frain. DenNor. PruCan.] (Nyo!France.)

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: England/Portugal (Hetalia), England/Female France (Hetalia), Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), Female France/Spain (Hetalia)

Characters:England (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Denmark (Hetalia), Norway (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), Portugal (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Female France (Hetalia), Japan (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), Seychelles (Hetalia)

Additional Tags:Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Punk England (Hetalia), Fame, Drug Abuse, Past Drug Addiction, Friendship, Swearing, Drama & Romance, POV First Person, Guitars, Gay Sex, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Self-Destruction, Singing, Song Lyrics, Post-Break Up, Angst

Language: English

Demonic Romeo by Pastaaddict

A demon and an angel meet in battle and a forbidden love blossoms but how long before the wrong people find out and both are put in danger?

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Major Character Death

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relation ships: America/England (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), South Italy/Spain (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia), Finland/Sweden (Hetalia), Germany/North Italy (Hetalia), implied France (Hetalia)/Jeanne d'Arc | Joan of Arc

Characters:America (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), Ancients (Hetalia), Poland (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Estonia (Hetalia), Lithuania (Hetalia), Latvia (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Norway (Hetalia), Denmark (Hetalia), Iceland (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Devil and Angel brothers, Starcrossed Lovers, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Character Death, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net under same name, more tags may be added

Language: English

How Much Wood Could Canada Chuck by RavenclawProngs

Canada has an axe to grind, but really, it's always sharp

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)

Characters: Prussia (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Kumajirou (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Human & Country Names Used (Hetalia)

Language: English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 7 of the Tumbling Through the World series Next Work →

Tripping Blind by RavenclawProngs

Road trip! But where are we going?

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)

Characters: Canada (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Human & Country Names Used (Hetalia)

Language: English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 9 of the Tumbling Through the World series

Isolation by Fave101

Stolen at a young age, Canada has been through it all, human trafficking, drugs and prostitution. When he finally gets away he has no idea how to find his family again. Homeless and with an approaching cold winter a kind man takes him in and shows him how to make it in the world, but it's not exactly legal either.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)

Characters: Matthew Williams, Canada (Hetalia), Gilbert Beilschmidt, Prussia (Hetalia), Francis Bonnefoy, France (Hetalia), Alfred F Jones, America (Hetalia), OC - Character

Additional Tags: Eventual PruCan, AU, Mercenaries

Language: English

Chasing the Moon by Anubis_2701

The efforts made by Matthias and his crew to rescue their friends have resulted in them being imprisoned. Trapped and unable to negotiate, some among them may have to strike hard bargains with their rebel captors in order to win their own freedom.

Lukas and Emilia have fought tooth and nail to get to the resistance, and fought even more to restore order within its ranks. But with their vital secret hanging in the hands of a group of criminals, their future looks more uncertain than ever.

Lovino and Feliciano have struggled to keep their identities concealed for years. With the secret of their birth out between the two, their bond is stronger than ever. But with the arrival of a talented mercenary on Rela seeking the great bounty on their heads, the two may be forced to abandon their place of sanctuary to evade capture.

As empires begin to fall and death spreads like a plague, only the brave bother to keep going.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), America/England (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia), Bulgaria/Romania (Hetalia)

Characters: Norway (Hetalia), Denmark (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Female Lithuania (Hetalia), Poland (Hetalia), Svalbard (Hetalia), Female Iceland (Hetalia), Switzerland (Hetalia), Kazakhstan (Hetalia), Hong Kong (Hetalia), Taiwan (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), Finland (Hetalia), Romania (Hetalia), Bulgaria (Hetalia), Austria (Hetalia), Sweden (Hetalia), Ancients (Hetalia), Egypt (Hetalia), Seborga (Hetalia), Female Germany (Hetalia), Turkey (Hetalia), Peru (Hetalia), Belarus (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), Estonia (Hetalia), Original Characters, Background & Cameo Characters

Additional Tags: Space Opera, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Pirates, Bounty Hunters, Rebels, Sequel, LGBTQ+ characters, Explicit Language, Telekinesis, Elemental Magic, Mind Manipulation, Healing, Rape/Non-con Elements, Aged-Up Character(s), De-Aged Character(s), Guerrilla Warfare, Rescue Missions, Slavery, Sexual Slavery, Assassins & Hitmen, POV Multiple, Snow, Past Child Abuse, Terminal Illnesses, Secret Identity, Military Training, Strong Female Characters, Original Universe, Lore - Freeform, Buckle up motherfuckers because this has the s l o w e s t o f b u r n s, who ever thought i would write enough of this shit for a sequel, Not me that's for sure

Language: English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 2 of the Hunting the Stars series

Pranks at the World Meeting - or, how everyone pissed off Ludwig by RunningDeer and zhejiang_loves_cacti

It all started with Alfred and Matthew playing a simple joke at the world meeting... but where will it end?

Rated for Lovino's mouth, just to be safe.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: England/France (Hetalia), Prussia/Canada

Characters: Prussia (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), Japan (Hetalia), Gilbird (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Pranks and Practical Jokes, america is immature, everyone is immature, romano swears a lot possible ameripan

Language: English

Little Bird by random_shit

Gilbert Beilschmidt is a psychiatrist, stressed and tired and struggling to help his anorexic best friend. Matthew Williams is a traumatized, schizophrenic man who's checked into the psychiatric facility his older brother Alfred works at. Matthew also happens to be Gilbert's newest client.Updates Mondays.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), Austria/Prussia (Hetalia) [in the past], South Italy/Spain (Hetalia), Germany/North Italy (Hetalia), England/France (Hetalia), America/Russia (Hetalia), very briefly - Relationship, Austria/Switzerland (Hetalia)

Characters: Canada (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Austria (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), Rome (Hetalia), Switzerland (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), Finland (Hetalia), America (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: this is a rewrite so bear with me, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Schizophrenia, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Mental Institution, Hurt/Comfort, Trauma, Self-Harm, Panic Attacks, mentions of anorexia, mentions of DID, Mental Disorders, Trigger Warnings, pls be careful my dudes

Language: English

Series: Part 1 of the What It Takes To Try Again series

Wallflower with Power by Moshianomo

Matthew is just a normal kid in high school. He doesn’t love it but getting kicked out? No way! He would do anything to stay! Anything! Even if that means... cross dressing... venturing out of comfort zones... and WAIT! He has to befriend the “delinquent” of the school?! Who knew high school was THIS stressful.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), Austria/Hungary (Hetalia), England/France (Hetalia), Germany/North Italy (Hetalia), America/Japan (Hetalia)

Characters: Canada (Hetalia), Female Canada (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Austria (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), a lot more lmao

Additional Tags: Super hero and villain shit, i want them to be happy, prussia and Canada ayyyyy?, prucan, this honestly feels shitty but whatever eyy, Fluff, yeah - Freeform, did I mention Canada, yeah Canada, Matthew likes Fall Out Boy yeet

Language: English

Plain Old Day by that_one_waffle

For Gilbert Bielschmidt, today is supposed to be a plain old day.

Or is it?

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: Other

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)

Characters: Canada (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Gilbird (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Fluff, references, just a thought i’ve Had for a while now, don’t mind me

Language: English

#hetalia #hetalia fanfiction #prucan #mod lesbian #please note that we exclude any and all fics that feature incesteous relationships especially if they are incest in-universe

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jaffaarchfiend · 7 years ago

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Father Instead Of Son: Fate/Apocrypha

So here I did a “What If” if Mordred had been summoned instead of Artoria http://jaffaarchfiend.tumblr.com/post/172734669645/son-instead-of-father-fatezero and now, for the Follow-Up to that discussion, with what if Artoria had been summoned to the Greater Holy Grail War, instead of Mordred. Let’s look at the dynamic between Master and Servant first. Whereas Mordred and Sisigou wound up in a surrogate child and father esque relationship, I could maybe see Artoria and Sisigou, eventually, bonding over their own failings as parents, and their desires to restore what was lost. Artoria in terms of Camelot, and Sisigou in terms of his daughter. It would be reminiscent of the relationship that Artoria and Kiritsugu have in Zero, but with perhaps some more respect thrown in... although Artoria would still find Sisigou’s necromantic arsenal a little on the sketchy side of things. At the final battle scene, after Semiramis gets taken down by Artoria, I think she’d make the same sacrifice as Mordred did, not trying to make a new pact to continue chasing the Grail. Reason for that being, just as Semiramis tried to tempt Mordred with the ability to become King, the Assassin would probably try to tempt Artoria with the restoration of Camelot in the world that Shirou was going to make, making her wonder if that truly was her wish after all? As Mordred had the vision of the Sword Of Choosing, I think Artoria would have the vision of the battle of Camlann Hill, as well as the Sword Of Choosing, her reasons for taking up the throne, with Merlin asking her if she regrets her decision, knowing what it led to. Camelot fell yes, but the legend of Camelot carried on through the ages, inspiring generations to reach for their goals and light that the Knights and their King represented. Everyone was smiling.

Red Faction: Mordred in Apocrypha never got to encounter much of the Red Faction, so going to basing these thoughts on the assumed same level of exposure. Ruler/Kotomine Shirou/Amakusa Shirou Tokisada: Given his abilities as Ruler to identify Servants, he’d know that Saber Of Red is the King Of Knights. The one entity who would desire the Holy Grail more than himself. Assassin/Semiramis: Definitely the same as Mordred. Not sure whether with the same level of venom, or more, or less, given the similarities Assassin has with Le Fay, and Artoria’s relationship with her sister, especially in regards to their role in the fall of Camelot. Berserker/Spartacus: About the same again, but with more disgust (based on how Artoria reacted to Gille’s tentacle demon things in Zero) and perhaps pity towards the noble warrior that Spartacus used to be. Although of course with Artoria being a king, Spartacus would probably try to go after her with perhaps a little more effort than they did Mordred. Caster/Shakespeare: Whilst Mordred and Shakespeare never actually met, since Artoria doesn’t have the Secret Pedigree ability to hide their identity, Shakespeare would be having the time of his life knowing that the King Of Knights themselves was involved in this Greater Holy Grail War! I mean, we all saw how giddy he was with just the cast of characters he had to work with, including the Holy Saint herself... could you imagine how he’d feel about King Arthur? Archer/Atalanta: Not applicable. Rider/Achilles: Not applicable. Lancer/Karna: Not applicable. Black Faction: Saber/Siegfried: Not applicable since they never truly met. Which is a shame. Caster/Avicebron: A magus who’s playing at being God, trying to reset the world, regardless of the cost who makes an army of golems? Given how Artoria fared with Gilles in Zero, and Medea in the Triple Path Fates, I don’t see Avicebron getting any better treatment, up to and including full blown Excalibur demolitions work :P Lancer/Vlad III: Even with them never meeting, Artoria would probably treat the news of Vlad The Impaler being the Lancer with some respect, given their shared nature of being a royal who would do anything to protect their kingdom. Rider/Astolfo: Ironically, would probably bond with Astolfo as if he were one of the Knights Of The Round Table, given the similar nature of the Twelve Paladins, as well as both Saber and Rider’s whole cross-dressing situations. Albeit Rider does it because he enjoys cute clothes, and Saber does it for the sake of necessity of being the King. Berserker/Frankenstein’s Monster: The fight would probably have gone the same way, Artoria maybe looking at Frankie with some measure of pity, not for her, but for what she was. Archer/Chiron: A confidant in the making here methinks. Even though Mordred and Chiron had limited shared screentime in Apocrypha, I could imagine that when not with Sisigou, Artoria would be speaking with Chiron when the alliance is going on. I could imagine that Chiron would enjoy taking the famed King Of Knights aside for some conversation time, and maybe even impart some ancient wisdom to them regarding their own desires for the Grail. Similar to the Kings Conversation in Zero, but handled with far greater grace and tact. Assassin/Jack The Ripper: At first conflicted upon realising that The Ripper is a child, but putting it aside as the fight continues and definitely not enjoying it as much as Mordred did. Non-Faction: Ruler/Jeanne d’Arc: The Holy Maiden of Orleans herself, who led the forces of France because of the visions God gave her. Definitely would be a relationship there, from both of their experiences of having to set aside their own desires to fulfil their respective duties, and to achieve what was expected of them. I could see Artoria treating Jeanne with respect and some reverance. Sieg: This one gets a little bit more complicated. Whilst Mordred had a vague connection with him over their shared nature of being Homunculii, Artoria might form a connection with him over his convictions. Sieg sought to live up to the sacrifices made by the people around him to allow him to live, and I think Artoria would be able to respect that. Definitely would be on Jeanne’s side on the whole Sieg staying out of the way, but would be a little understanding of the whole thing. When it comes to the cafe conversation after the Jack The Ripper climax, Artoria would be about as much use as Mordred was. Whilst Mordred was blunt about the whole nature of humanity to Sieg, Artoria would be a little vaguer, but allude to the same thing. ---------------------------------- And those were my thoughts on how Artoria would react and turn out in the Apocryphan setting if she were to be summoned instead of Mordred in the Greater Holy Grail War. Anyone got a different thought or opinion on how this would play out? How do you feel about these notions? Feel free to let me know in the reblogs etc :3

#jaffaarchfiend #fate apocrypha #fate/zero #fate #saber #saber of red #artoria pendragon #mordred pendragon #mordred #faction of red #faction of black #son instead of father #father instead of son

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