#it's all context because you have to know what koji did and why he matters to this universe

[polariod240]

Koji Kabuto might be an hero to most, but he hates it and tries his best to be a menace to society instead.

It was fun when he was 14 and suddently people started caring about him, after being tossed aside by family members all his life. However, as time passed, he noticed that media only cared to show an idealized version of himself.

Reporters, politicians, rich enterpreneurs and influencial people alike acted like he was an expendable caricature to use for their own goals.

He was described as an hero, a selfless strong young man who would have sacrificed himself to save Japan from Doctor Hell's mechanical beasts. His grandfather, who was Hell's second in command and ran away with Mazinger Z one night, now was regarded as a tragic hero, too.

He remembers how his estranged grandfather crashed at his and Shiro's apartment one night, begging his older nephew to help him out with something. Shiro was watching cartoons on tv, while Koji was cleaning the dishes. Koji didn't even know how to feed Shiro the next day, so he couldn't give a fuck about this pathetic (maybe drunk?) old man. The teen tried to push Juzo away towards the door, but he couldn't ignore the explosion that came after: the apartment crumbled down in a matter of seconds. Koji heard Shiro's muffled scream somewhere, he didn't know what happened or what to do, but he had to save him. Nothing else mattered, so that's why he cared to listen what the old fuck had to say now. He remembers how his grandfather looked at him once he got inside Mazinger Z's head for the first time.

He was smiling. Koji had never been great at identifying facial clues in others, but he felt like his grandfather was waiting for something amazing to happen. But Koji didn't care, he dashed to save Shiro who was stuck under a wooden desk. When he came back to the Juzo, the man had stopped smiling. They stood in silence for a couple of seconds, then Juzo broke the silence with a disappointed look on his face.

JUZO: "How"

KOJI: "HOW WHAT? IS THIS YOUR FAULT, FUCKHEAD?! YOU'RE LUCKY SHIRO IS-"

But then, the older man looked at him with disgust. Koji knew that stare very well, so he closed his eyes and gently hid Shiro inside Mazinger's metallic palm.

JUZO:"I failed"

That's all he said. Then Koji heard a gunshot that made his body shiver in terror, but he stayed still. He couldn't move nor look at what happened at the robot's feet, but he knew Shiro was crying inside Mazinger's hand and he had to protect him at all costs. So he never looked back at his grandfather, because he knew he couldn't say anything else anymore now.

So yeah, Koji hates when people call Juzo Kabuto an hero on national television.

So, what was I saying? Oh, right!

Why would anyone have done anything about Doctor Hell when they got this very veeery special kid that was able to pilot a doomsday machine all by himself, afterall?

Whoopsie, did I say that Mazinger Z was built to be a doomsday machine? I mean, that's what Hell and Kabuto original plan was, anyway. They based Mazinger Z on an ancient lost Mycenian robot-golem weapon that was said to have destroyed the Mu Empire overnight. Legends said that this war golem acted like an emotional enhancer to its pilot, so no matter what the pilot felt, they would have been overwealmed by their deepest, most hidden desire and go berserk on anything that standed on their way. That's why the pilots were said to be people who had nothing to loose, like orphans, slaves and old veterans. It sounded like a great idea for a weapon intended to threat the entire world with!

That's why Koji's grandfather asked the kid for help that night. Juzo Kabuto would have become Dr. Hell's number one enemy thanks to the destructive nature of Mazinger Z, in order to conquer Earth all by himself. He had no noble intentions when he departed from Hell, he was as bad as the other guy.

Unfortunately, nor him or Hell took in consideration that neurodivergent individuals could fight against their neural link internal system. Was Juzo mad at himself for not taking this possibility into consideration? Did he even believe neurodivergent people were a real thing? Was he disgusted at Koji alone, because it meant there was something deeply "wrong" with the kid?

Or did he see himself in Koji in that moment? Did he hate himself to the point he couldn't bear accepting the fact he could be "wrong" too? We will never know and Koji never came to a conclusion either.

It's not like Mazinger Z didn't have an effect on Koji, by the way. It did, it was the main reason why Koji got very tense and bloodthirsty on the battlefield every single time! He was able to control himself enough to not go berserk, but when he was inside Mazinger Z, he needed to fight anything and anyone, at all times. When he didn't feel stimulated enough by a physical fight, he shouted on mic the most controversial punk opinions he had, because he knew he was being broadcasted on international television. News channels started censoring his live battles for this very reason. Koji keeps using this gimmick as a way to keep the press away from him to this day, so it's not so bad! Still, you couldn't touch or talk to him for a couple of hours after a fight, or even days. It was a real unpredictable mess.

Fortunately, the Mazinger Squad defeated Hell and his mechanical beasts years ago and so, Koji hasn't been able to use Mazinger Z for a while now. Sure, there was an aftermath secret cold war fought by spies and secret agents for some time, but nor Koji, Sayaka or Boss' gang were ever involved with it.

That was Tetsuya Tsurugi and Jun Hono war! Don't you worry, they never had to use a real Mazinger, since the two of them were raised as spies by Kenzo Kabuto more than anything. So they got mobile mazinger-inspired suits that totally didn't give them weirder mental side effects. :)

But ehy, when the story starts Koji (23) is back from the USA after working at NASA as an intern, Shiro(18) just won a scholarship to a prestigious french academy and both Tetsuya (28) and Jun (29) are healing and bonding with Koji like a family. Everything is going great! I surely hope Koji won't see an ufo crash landing any time soon. And I really, really hope he won't find any humanoid alien named Duke Fleed inside of said ufo, that would be a whole new type of mess to deal with.

:D

[mythiccheroacademia]

Beach Waves and Happiness

a little self-indulgent something i was hoarding in my documents and decided to share. maybe or maybe not bc i felt bad bc of all the angst i was posting. i hope you all enjoy it :)

A/N: In my mind, I imagine that Bakugo and his spouse would certainly have a bumpy marriage. I headcanon that his spouse is as headstrong as he is, if not stronger. They need to be in order to handle all that is Bakugo Katsuki lmao. But they grow with each day and are their strongest together. He’s also matured by then, so it’ll always work out in the end.

A little context. You and Katsuki have been married for a couple of years and have kids. Koji and Eva. Twins. Not much else to say but enjoy this sweet, sugary, domestic fic. 

Warnings: Mentions of intimacy, cursing

Beach Waves and Happiness (Bakugo X Reader)

When the twins were old enough to walk and (mostly) potty-trained, that’s when you started taking trips. You were so excited to spend time as a family apart from dinner and bath time. Katsuki was excited to see you in a swimsuit again.

And family time as well!

Their first international trip was to Hawaii. Your husband had been a couple times and thought it would be a good and family-friendly vacation spot. You grew up on the beach so being on the island was perfect for you. Katsuki saw how you flourished under the sun, with the salty wind tousling your braids and the white sand on your feet. As you took your children to the waves, smiling like the sun as they squealed from the water, he felt heart swell with pride.

He never wanted to take for granted what he had been given.

“It tickles!” Eva, the eldest twin, giggled.

Koji was a bit hesitant to touch the water but gained confidence when he felt his sister grab his hand. When the waves began to roll in, they screamed with excitement and ran the other way. They continued their game of chase whiles their mother watched them with a smile.

Feeling eyes on yourself, you caught your husband’s adoring gaze and goofily posed. “Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” you joked.

And moment ruined. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he walked by your side. Katsuki placed his hand on your waist, inviting you to lean on his shoulder. You two stood there for a moment, letting the sound of your children’s laughter and waves settle between them.

“Don’t you wish we could just stay here forever?” you suddenly said.

“All the time, but money doesn’t grow on trees. You actually have to work for stuff.”

“Imagine that.” You raised your head catching Katsuki’s eyes. He hummed for your thoughts. “Nothing. Just kind of taking in everything. I feel at peace. More than I have in a long time.”

It was meant to be happy words, but it made the blonde hero deflate just a bit. A thought had been gnawing at his heart for a while and he found he could no longer hold in his question.

“[Y/N], are you happy?”

That got you to pause. You turned to hold his waist with your arms. “The short answer is yes, but what do you mean?” you said, eyeing how contemplative he looked.

Katsuki felt himself absent-mindedly play with your hair as he stared where the sand met the waves. He was never good with his words but damn it. He needed to know. Even if it could hurt him.

“It’s just…I know being with me isn’t the easiest.”

“Katsuki, if this is about our fight, I told you—”

“No. I mean yes, but not entirely. Let me just get this out.” You sighed but nodded. “When I asked you to move in with me, I half expected you to say no. But you did. And I know being thousands of miles away from your friends and family is shitty. Especially in Japan where you might feel alone. I mean, I know you made friends with Deku, Cheeks, Pinky, and all those idiots but it’s different. It’s not your home. But you never complain. You always adjust. Even after we got married and had children, and you felt like you were suffocating under all the responsibility when I was being a shit ass husband and father, you never said anything until you were at your breaking point.”

It pained him to remember how he didn’t know you were going through postpartum depression until it got so bad, he’d wake up to find you sobbing in the living room by yourself. Or when your mother called him five months into the marriage and nearly cussed him dead for her daughter feeling like she couldn’t even tell him she was going through a hard time. Sternly reminding him that you dropped everything to move to Japan for his career. That’s when she accidentally slipped that you were pregnant.

He was still young at the time and in the midst of a stressful time in his career. When he confronted you about it, he admitted he did more yelling than he should have. You took your ring off and he felt his heartbreak for the first time. You said you’d stay at a hotel, but he begged you to stay in the house and he left for his parent’s house. It was a tough week. One of the toughest weeks in your relationship. However, you preserved. As always.

Although, Katsuki still saw how exhausted you were. Even when he gave more than 100%, you were still tired, and he had a feeling it wasn’t physical exhaustion.

Your husband tucked a braid behind your ear and the look he gave you made your chest pinch. “I just don’t want you to get to your breaking point with me and before I can help it, lose you and the twins,” he said, voice barely above the sound of the sea.

There was only a small amount of times you’d see him so open about his feelings. Sometimes you’d admit you didn’t handle it well. Thus, the fights. You and your husband weren’t good at expressing your emotions properly and learning to do so was a journey. However, you always appreciated his willingness to grow—whether it was before or after the matter.

“Baby,” you cooed, softly kissing the corner of his lips. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’d have to be the coldest, most heartless, bitch on the planet to keep you away from Eva and Koji. No matter what happens to us, you’re still their father. A good one at that, and I would never separate you three. Besides, my mom and yours would hang me before I could.”

He chuckled. He knew you were only half-joking. Your parents were alike in more ways than one. It was kind of scary, but good for family gatherings.

“And, if I’m going to be honest, it was really hard at first. Sometimes, I thought I made the wrong decision, but then you’d come home, and we’d spend hours talking and every day I was reminded why I did it. The way your eyes would light up every time you’d talk about work made my heart flutter. Then you’d turn around, look at me, and tell me how being at your side made everything better. When I couldn’t tell you how useless I felt, you’d just know and make me feel on top of the world. When I’m hard on myself, you’re there to bully the insecurities out. I see the little things you do like buy more tampons and pads, without me having to ask, when I run low, wash the dishes as soon as you come home because you know I hate doing them, or turn the fan off in the middle of the night when I shiver, even when you’re hot.

We butt heads. We fight for sure. And we kind of suck ass at dealing with our feelings. But not for one moment did I stop loving you any less. Maybe I didn’t like you all the time,” she snickered and Katsuki snorted. “But I loved you. I love you. And I know you love me all the same.”

Katsuki didn’t know why he had been blessed, especially since he wasn’t the best person in his past. However, he never questioned it. He just cherished.

With no other way to properly express his gratitude, he pulled you closer and he pressed a heart-stopping kiss to your lips. You moaned, gripping his bicep, as he tilted your head, one hand under your chin and the other on the small of your back. Katsuki pulled back, your bottom lip between his teeth, to gaze at you in a way that warmed your body.

“Till death do us part, huh?” he smiled.

“You’re kinda stuck with me even after that.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Who knew you could be so corny?” you chuckled.

A hand came down on your ass and you gasped, laughing at his antics. “Don’t ruin the moment, dumbass.”

You continued your kissing, smirking between them. “You’re lucky you have a big dic—”

A tug at your skirt brought you two out of your…conversation.

It was Koji.

“Momma! We build castle!” he cheerfully smiled. Then he dropped his smile in 0.3 seconds and frowned at his father. “N’ you! Daddy no eat momma. We talk about dis.”

You snickered behind your hands as Katsuki’s eye twitched. Your son was at the age where he was forming an Oedipus complex. He and Katsuki had a thirty-minute conversation about him trying to “eat you” and “killing you” at night. It was endearing for you and annoying for him.

“Fine, you little brat. We’re watching your dumb castle,” he grumbled.

“You dumb!” Eva retaliated for her brother. Koji hmphed in agreement before running back to his sister.

You were openly cracking up and Katsuki was steaming.

“I’m glad you find this funny, jerk,” he mumbled.

“Hilarious actually.”

There was a moment of comforting silence.

“What was that about my big—”

“Koji! Your daddy’s tryna kill me again!”

“What the—? No I’m not!”

“DADDY!”

[kilieit]

Also here’s my Hot Take... which is actually really a pretty Cold Take by now because I have been saying exactly what I’m about to say since the very first thread on the RPC, from shortly after the lore book came out, that tried to claim Doman and Eorzean were two dialects of the same language.

This post focusses solely on the lore viability of the concepts involved, and should be taken in conjunction with a note from lore mom that was made back in June.

The bit I’ve been saying since the lore book came out:

The quote from the lore book that people took to mean “all Raen were raised speaking Eorzean, therefore Eorzean must be the native language in Doma” was taken out of context, to an illogical conclusion. All the quote said was words to the effect that “most Raen speak [Eorzean], though their usage is a bit odd, leaving most people to believe it’s a dialect”.

The lore book quote in question did not state that Eorzean is the Raen people’s first language, or their only language. It merely stated that most Raen know Eorzean. All along, I stated that I had interpreted this passage to mean that since the advent of magitek, Eorzean had been adopted by native peoples in the East as a trade language, and that they likely also had their own local/native language that they spoke when not in the presence of the scholars of Eorzean origin who “wrote” the lore book.

In fact, in the very same lore book, there was another passage that already contradicted the “dialect interpretation” of the one above. In the section on geography, there is a passage which describes Othard as having been cut off completely by impassable mountains from the more western continents for literal thousands of years on end, developing its own cultures independently in the mean time, before being reunited with its western counterparts only at the advent of magitek, ~60 years ago (i.e. within living memory).

Separate culture development for 2000+ years, + same language with minor differences... = does not compute. It’d be like expecting people from modern-day countries to be able to read documents from their country dating back to 17, CE without any help from historians, and there we’re only talking about time as a barrier. Not distance as well.

So then some people tried to say, “well, maybe Hydaelyn has a universal language constant! Maybe language develops differently on Hydaelyn and it is possible to keep languages constant for 2000+ years across two sides of an impenetrable barrier! You don’t know it isn’t!”

Except we don’t even need Occam’s Razor for this one. (Yes, that’s me asking Sounsyy that question, specifically because of this debate.) Not to mention the countless references to the Echo’s power to transcend language barriers as a useful, important thing, even in the lore book itself. So that theory was a non-starter. Why would the language comprehension component of the Echo matter at all if there were no different languages to be comprehended?

Essentially, once taken in proper context with the rest of the lore book, my interpretation of the now-infamous raen quote - that a lot of raen learned Eorzean as a trade language, but also have their own local/native languages that aren’t Eorzean - becomes the most logical interpretation of the presented facts.

The new bit:

PAX West Panel Video + Transcript

Because people have been taking lore quotes out of context. Again. It’s bad scholarship and it’s not cute, especially when it’s used to try and tell other people they’re RPing wrong.

Like - lore policing is bad. Lore policing is hilariously bad when the lore you’re trying to use to police people with is incorrect. So let’s let Lore Mom’s note sort the first thing out, and my continuation of this post sort the second thing out (under note #3 of aforementioned Lore Mom post).

Here’s the thing that people have been using to “prove” that Doman “is” a dialect of Eorzean (emphasis mine):

Q: Does "Doman" or "Hingan" exist as completely separate languages?

A: First question, no, they [*] are not exactly separate languages. You can think of them kinda as American English and British English.

Except this goes on to say:

A: The first one being that origin language, the second one being of that land going to another land, using that language, but being separated long enough that words and pronunciations started changing a little bit. People from both lands [*] will pretty much understand what both are saying.

[*] both lands/languages that were mentioned, i.e., Doma and Hingashi

The mention of “[people] of that land going to another land”... because the Far East developed completely separately until very recently, historically speaking (within living memory!), that means there was no “Eorzean people going to the Far East” until, again, within living memory. The mention that words and pronunciations had started changing between the two dialects being discussed implies that the change took place relatively recently, but still long enough ago for those distortions to have taken place - and that until it did, the native people of the land which was travelled to must have been speaking something else... right?

For comparison, Christopher Columbus sailed to America in 1492, 525 years ago. British English and American English have taken ~500 years to get to the stage they’re at now, where they’re separate but comprehensible dialects used ubiquitously across two landmasses on either side of a traversible ocean. Since it’s the example Koji used, I’m going to use that rough timescale - ~500 years between first contact and modern day - as a stand-in until we can ascertain more concrete information about the history of the nations on Othard.

Now, which of these two scenarios seems most likely:

Eorzeans began travelling to the Far East ~60 years ago (for comparison: 60 years ago in the real world = 1957) thanks to advancement in both air- and sea-shipping technology. They began speaking their language over there, which was immediately adopted by everyone who lived in the Far East, to the exclusion of the other languages they used before. Everyone in the Far East now speaks a dialect of Eorzean, and has forgotten the languages they were speaking before then, rendering them non-existent. The names once used for those languages, Doman and Hingan, are now used to refer to dialects of Eorzean. OR:

~500+ years ago, Domans and Hingans began sailing across the small Ruby Sea separating them, making contact with one another and intermingling. Due to the close proximity of their countries and the likelihood of trade and/or war between them, a common language was developed, or arose naturally out of contact between the two peoples. Over time, this common language grew in use, although its usage differed on each side of the Ruby Sea; these dialects became known as modern-day Doman and modern-day Hingan.

So... it seems Koji (mis)interpreted this question as asking whether Doman and Hingan are separate languages from each other. NOT whether they’re separate languages from Eorzean. (The fact he interpreted it this way at all kind of speaks to how obvious it is to the developers that Eorzean is a separate language from Doman-Hingan - it didn’t even occur to him as a thing there could be a question over.)

Furthermore, the fact that Koji answered the question describing the mechanism - similar to real-life language development mechanisms - by which Doman and Hingan became separate languages, when separated by a comparatively small ocean, which is frequently crossed by traders... completely puts to bed the idea of “Eorzean and Doman-Hingan would remain the same across a barrier of thousands of miles and two thousand plus years” as a sensible or viable theory.

There is no precedence for Doman-Hingan to be the same language as Eorzean. There are now multiple pieces of evidence pointing very strongly towards the idea that they are separate languages.

The next section of the question was about localisation (emphasis is, again, mine):

Q: Would speaking Japanese in-game count as speaking "Hingan"? A: As for whether speaking Japanese in the game equates to Hingan, I mean, that one's kinda tough. I mean, Japanese users kinda already speak Japanese in the game, but that kinda equates to Eorzean, which is Japanese to the Japanese version, but then Hingan is almost indiscernible from Eorzean [in the Japanese client for the game]. And the Japanese version both being Japanese, so if a Japanese user in the English uses the Japanese, is he speaking Eorzean or is he speaking Hingan...? Whatever! Let's just say using Romajified Japanese on the English client is Hingan... or not, you decide. Hai.

Essentially, the question here is about whether Hingan is a 1:1 analogy to modern Japanese, and, therefore, could you use modern Japanese in-game to represent Hingan? And the answer is... “sort of”.

Essentially... let’s take an example character. His name is Frances and he’s a midlander hyur, born and raised in the Black Shroud. He’s never travelled abroad. And he’s roleplayed by Japanese player, playing on a Japanese server.

In-character, Frances is speaking Eorzean. But his player is speaking Japanese when they roleplay Frances. Does this mean that, because the player is speaking Japanese when they roleplay Frances, that Frances is actually speaking Hingan? No! Frances is speaking Eorzean, because Frances’ player says so.

Let’s take another example character. Her name is Sakura and she’s a raen au ra, born and raised in Hingashi. She’s never travelled abroad. And she’s roleplayed by an American player, playing on a North American server.

Sakura’s player wants to represent some of Sakura’s speech authentically. Setting aside the etiquette and/or ethics of doing so for a moment - Sakura’s player decides to learn a little Japanese, and try to portray Sakura as speaking Hingan via using/practicing their Japanese. Does this mean that, because the player is speaking Japanese when they roleplay Sakura, that Sakura is actually speaking Hingan? Yes! Because Sakura’s player says so.

Lastly, let’s take a third example character. His name is Tatane and he’s a dunesfolk lalafell, born and raised in Ul’dah. He’s never travelled abroad. And he’s roleplayed by a Japanese player, playing on a North American server.

Because the player is Japanese, they speak mostly Japanese when roleplaying Tatane. But they’re not doing it to try and make it so Tatane is speaking Hingan. They’re doing it to try and express themself in their OOC native language. So does this mean that, because the player is speaking Japanese when they roleplay Tatane, that Tatane is actually speaking Hingan? “Whatever! [...] You decide.” In other words, no; because Tatane’s player says so.

That’s the type of scenario that Koji was trying to clear up with his answer here. Essentially, not all players roleplaying in Japanese will always be roleplaying their characters as speaking Hingan, because some players are Japanese. So, no, Japanese isn’t a 1:1 to Hingan in that sense. Not every character who speaks Japanese in-game will always be doing it to represent Hingan. And since in the JPN localisation there’s no real way to differentiate between Hingan and Eorzean, you can’t look for other clues. Essentially, ask before assuming - and my personal recommendation: perhaps find clearer ways, less open to ambiguity, to represent your (presumably English-speaking self’s) character speaking Hingan.

--

TL;DR:

Doman and Hingan are two dialects of the same language. Eorzean is a separate language from both.

If you read quotes from the lore book and the recent PAX West lore panel closely and in context, then this fact about the game’s lore becomes clear.

So, please stop claiming official lore states Eorzean and Doman-Hingan are the same language. Perhaps that was an understandable interpretation in the past, but it’s not any more.

If you’re interested in being lore-accurate, then you need to at least make your content compatible with the idea of Doman-Hingan as a separate language from Eorzean. And regardless, you shouldn’t be pushing your interpretation of lore on people who didn’t ask for it. Like random roleplayers you meet in-game.

Lastly, although Romajified Japanese can be used to represent Hingan if you like, Japanese could also be being used by genuinely Japanese players to express themselves. So, you can’t necessarily assume that all characters speaking Japanese in-game are trying to roleplay as speaking Hingan. As with all roleplay: if you aren’t sure, ask the player for clarification. OOC communication is key!