#it's a shame that we rarely see this type of video in the fandom

[vingler-mirror]

A "Brief" Overanalysis of The Prisoner of the Cave - Reverse 1999

Babe wake up... Someone made a 1-HOUR-LONG video essay about the entirety of the Prisoner of the Cave

[ciaossu-imagines]

For the multi muse!

Multifandom time! Numbers 1,5,10,11,18 and 20!

Go wild! Let us know about your most current fandom, the one that is easier for you or even one you haven’t written for in a long time

Okay, so since I had gotten KHR sent in in another ask, I chose five other fandoms from my huge list of fandoms. I chose the second most popular fandom on here, then one from each of the three categories, and an additional two that I love and rarely get to write about and hope you will enjoy the thoughts on each of them! Thank you so much for sending in this :)

1. Which muse is the easiest to write?

So, I'm using Servamp for this particular question. Honestly, Tsurugi and Mikuni both come very easy for me to write, for very different reasons. Sakuya is also pretty easy for me to write, while I find Mahiru and Tetsu to be the hardest so far for me to write!

5. What would your muses be the deities of?

Okay, I chose The Outsiders for this one. It's a really tough question but honestly, I love the fandom and never get to write for it, so while I didn't do all the Greasers, I chose a couple that I automatically had ideas for.

Dally would be some sort of vengeance deity, mixed with a little bit of a justice deity. I'm thinking a mix between Nemesis and the Furies, if we go with Greek mythology. However, I also see him as a patron god of the downtrodden and broken, especially youths who are that way.

I can see Johnny being sort of like Janus, a deity of gateways, doors and thresholds. Of beginnings and endings, of choices.

10. Which muse would be the 'Mom Friend'? The 'Dad Friend'?

Okay, Saiyuki was on my list of fandoms I was going to do for these questions anyway and of course, I had to use it for this question! It just fits so perfectly because you cannot convince me that Hakkai isn't the mother, Sanzo the father, and Gojyo and Goku the unruly children. There's even some jokes here and there about it in canon if I remember correctly, haha! Going for Kougaiji's group, Yaone is the Mom friend and Dokugakuji gives strong 'Dad friend' vibes to me.

11. Which muses are cat people? Which are dog people?

Now, this one is the one where I chose my second-most popular fandom. That's, of course, K! I'm sticking with HOMRA, because I do love writing about them.

Mikoto, Bandou, and Dewa are all cat people to me. Dogs require too much attention and dedication to Mikoto, they're too high-maintenance for him to want one as a pet. Not that he really wants a pet but if he did, he'd prefer a cat, since they don't need constant attention. As long as you feed them, keep them supplied with water, and change their litter box every now and then, they're good. Bandou honestly thinks cats are pretty cool and he loves cat videos on the internet (it's his secret shame that nobody knows). Dewa prefers cats for much the same reason as Mikoto - less maintenance, less high-need, and he likes that they're largely independent and that they have attitudes.

Tatara, Yata, Shouhei, Chitose, and Eric are all dog people to me. The reasoning for all of them preferring dogs seems pretty obvious and self-explanatory to me so instead of explaining out why I think they are, I want to go into what type of dogs each would prefer. Tatara prefers mutts, honestly, and would go for rescue dogs. Eric would definitely go for rescues as well and would have a soft spot for mutts, but he greatly prefers longer haired dog breeds to short haired breeds, just because they're softer and more pleasant to pet and cuddle with. Chitose would want a Rottweiler. Yata likes to think he'd get a great big, tough looking dog but there's something about the attitude and fearlessness of a Jack Russell Terrier that speaks to him. Shouhei, meanwhile, would have either a Lab or possibly a Saint Bernard or Newfoundland.

Kamamoto has an equal amount of love for both dogs and cats. Fujishima loves all animals and would never be able to pick between dogs and cats.

Izumo wants neither, please. He's not really a big animal person overall.

18. Which two muses would immediately fight each other if they met?

Okay, but just because it amused me, I combined both Class of the Titans and Mystic Messenger for this one. One hundred percent it would be Neil and Zen. Both boys are quite narcissistic and both are somewhat famous. Neil is a model, and I do think he's had some successful shoots that were used on billboards and such, so he is known in his universe, whereas Zen has a successful career as a stage actor. Both also like to believe themselves the most handsome and I definitely see it being a huge clash of egos when it comes to the two of them.

20. Which muse would investigate the scary noises? Which one would hide?

For the last fandom I chose, I chose GetBackers! Ban is going to investigate the scary noises and though Ginji really doesn't want to, Ban isn't giving him the choice. Ginji is going to go investigate them too. Paul, Hevn and Natsumi? They're all staying put, thanks. Those two can go investigate, the rest will stay nice and safe.

[hilli98215]

I am confused. I am hurt. I don’t know what to think. This is a long post. A very long post that is personal but I’ve had it in my head for a while to write. You don’t have to read this. This post has no real meaning. It’s more of a rant of how I feel in the world of fandom, my experiences, and why this posts exists. 

Again, you do not have to read this. 

You have been warned.

DO NOT REBLOG THIS POST!!!! 

When I became an English major in college, I did so knowing several things. One of those is the fact I love literature and I love discovering why authors, creators, and artists wrote what became their most well known work.

Where am I going?

My first fandom was when I was in Junior High (about 13-14 years old) that I was a part of, meaning I read fan fiction and discovered fan art of, was either Naruto or Pokémon. To me these works were escapes of my real confusing life. Especially when I moved states and schools. I had no one. Through this, I discovered what I liked and didn’t like in the world of fiction and was introduced to fandom words/slang such as shipping, fan fiction, lemons (which I don’t think is used as often now), different types of writing, yaoi, yuri, and a few more I can’t remember. This also included the all important phrase Don’t like don’t read. This was when I was in my early teens. 

But I was in a phase where I could find what I found interesting and that was that. 

When I got to high school, I was still this awkward quiet kid with no friends. But I did have marching band so that was something. 

At this point was was interested in Ouran Highschool Host Club, Death Note, a series called Beauty Pop, Fullmetal Alchemist, and a few others. This was also around the time where I began writing fanfiction for OHSC and even began buying manga. Anyway, this was my introduction to fandom as a teenager. And this is before Tumblr.

All I had were my friends, videos on YouTube, and my own interests. No one really understood why I loved all these things. 

Then came the very first fandom I became fully obsessed in my sophomore year: a small series called Hetalia Axis Powers. I was completely invested in this fandom. So much so I wrote fan fiction, bought merch, and read a lot of fan fiction myself. I think it was because, at the time I thought it was because the art style was cute, the voice acting wasn’t half bad and it had to do with history. But this is where things got interesting for me and learning about fandom as a whole. 

As a teen, I hadn’t known about AUs and this series had a lot of them. From the usual school AUs to odd ones. I usually stayed in my bubble and kept up the mantra Don’t like Don’t read. 

But why talk about it?

Well, let’s just say a lot of the content later on became weird and new. I learned a lot about new terms like de-aging and ABO. But this leads to interest which once again let me know what genres of fan fiction I like. 

I continued on with this fandom for about 3 years. And what broke it was the drama and how people were finding a sudden moral compass for personified countries. I mean there are other problems with that show that I recognize now as an adult and didn't see as a kid but that’s for another time. But I quietly left because I was beginning to understand that the drama wasn’t worth a tv show.

I would say the next fandom I was invested in and loved and I think had the least amount of drama was Fairy Tail. Now I fell in love with this series because of the story, characters, and the welcoming fandom. Overall there was rarely any drama because I think we all knew that we had to be civil with each other and respect our ships. While I’m not part of that fandom anymore a lot of people on Tumblr and FFN were very welcoming. The main series kinda fizzled out but that was one of the few positive fandom experiences I had.

I was at that point in my life where I was in college, created my Tumblr and posted regularly to escape life. 

Coming off that fandom, I was part of the Yuri on Ice! fandom from beginning to the end. I mean it’s a sports anime that’s about men's figure skating and how it can affect athletes just to get a gist of it.

That’s when my experience with fandom became interesting because these characters were being paired in a way that made me feel like they can’t be paired with anyone else. Like, there was a pairing we were all cheering for to happen by the end. 

This is the first series I was highly interested in as an adult where the ages of the characters were defined. There were a few in their teens, some in their early to mid 20s, and a couple in their 30s. Now this was a historic anime for several reasons. The main being there being a gay relationship being shown in a positive light and mental illness being shown in a way that wasn’t patronizing and negative. I loved this show for those reasons. But I also quickly learned how people would take these characters (especially those with huge age differences) and pair them up. That was my first introduction to criticism of how ‘gross’ it would be for a 15 year old to be paired up with an 18 year old. But I saw a problem that made me second guess my thinking. When I was in high school, I knew someone who was a sophomore at 15 and dated someone who was 18. Why was there a problem? 

I knew if I voiced this that I would be shamed and told that I was disgusting. Eventually I had enough and left shortly after the series ended.

Then came the Voltron: Legendary Defender series. Oh boy.

Now that series came out while I was in college and I often viewed it in a critical perspective similar to one would a piece of literature because my major was in English and that was what I was taught. Like YOI I was part of this fandom day 1 because it was so different from the original Voltron series from the 80s. I loved how the fandom dissected everything in every episode. There were watch parties, analysis videos, and even skits at conventions. It was a fandom I knew I wanted to be a part of. But then there was fanfiction that I found odd and knew that I never wanted to read that. People were writing about topics that made me uncomfortable and I didn’t know how to deal with it. After a while, I questioned why I was forcing myself to read them in the first place. So, I stopped reading them. This was also around the time where I discovered AO3 and their amazing tagging system. Because if the tagging system was not there, I probably would have stopped reading fanfiction all together.

But then there was drama, shipping wars, morality wars, and I had enough. I was there until it ended and left quietly. Which is sad considering I loved the experience but it was ruined by what people thought was right for fictional characters. 

Now you may be asking “What was the point of this post?”

To answer your question, I don’t know.

I have loved reading since I was a kid. And when I got to high school, I had this AP teacher who told us something that has stayed with me to this day.

‘As a reader we are detectives. We want to know why the author wrote this book. We want to know what influenced them.’

I took that saying to heart and approach everything through a critical lens. Which is difficult in a fandom. It’s hard to have a critical approach to a series that everyone takes for a grain of salt.

I have been exposed to a lot of books and pieces of literature that have been considered controversial because of their content. When I left high school, I began to realize what genres of books I like in the YA genre and in literature. 

I experimented.

And when you think about it, that’s what you do with fan fiction and fandom. We are always experimenting. We are always finding what we like and don’t like. 

But recently I’ve noticed a new fandom term that makes me wonder where I fall in all of this craziness we call fandom. 

Pro-Fiction/Pro-Shipper

It wasn’t until last year I saw this word thrown around in a new fandom I am in. I tried to do some research but I couldn't find anything. Nothing. And then I learned it’s a new term in itself.

I won’t go into detail but it reminds of the ‘video games are violent so that makes so-and-so violent’ argument parents made when Mortal Kombat came out. 

Well you still didn’t answer the question.

And you’d be right. I saw a post from a follower that saddened me and honestly freaked me out. Why announce that you hate a specific group? It felt like a call out post without saying any names. A warning that states: Block me or out yourself. Or rather: Block me or else.

Do I identify as this? To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I think critically and see things differently. In fact everyone does. 

We are always going to be influenced by the media whether it be a movie, television, a book, or a video game. We will always love these storylines and characters. We will always take the messages to heart. We will always cheer for the hero and maybe the villain too. 

I do want you guys to remember this, make your own fandom experience. Block those who make you feel uncomfortable and make you feel like you don’t matter. You do.

You are your own person. No one can tell you otherwise. If you feel uncomfortable, then maybe you need to leave the fandom. Or find a space in the fandom that you can be yourself. Or don’t care what people think and do what you always do.

It’s all up to you.

[dgcatanisiri]

All this time on the whole thing about making Mass Effect inclusive is reminding me of the biggest frustration I’ve had with same-sex romances across BioWare’s games.

Which is that I usually DON’T walk away from these games happy with my options. When BioWare is one of the rare publishers who even offer the ability to play gay characters in RPGs, and like hell you’ll see a mainstream AAA game feature a gay protagonist. I think the closest we’ve had to that is the Deadpool game, since he’s canonically pan, but the most we get of that is his groping Cable’s chest, and otherwise, it’s all about how much he wants to spend time with “big breasted fans” and his relationship with the female-presenting Death (yeah, sure, anthropromorphized form of an abstract concept, Death looks, sounds, and is spoken of as female, so...).

But while BioWare gives the option... I’m rarely content with the options.

Jade Empire offered Sky, who I do love as an option, but I can’t help but feel like this is in many ways due to the fact that I first played Jade Empire when I was still coming to terms with my sexuality - any romance that affirmed “yes, you are deserving of love as a man who loves other men” would be embraced at that point, and because of my issues with the general archetype he is cast from the mould of, I don’t think I’d feel the same if I encountered him new today.

ME1 SHOULD have had Kaidan, but doesn’t. 

Dragon Age Origins has Zevran, who is from that same archetype as Sky, the loveable rogue. Repeating the same character type, and throwing in a character who is a shameless flirt is not the way to my heart. No, I latched on to Alistair, and get frustrated at only being able to fulfill that desire with a mod.

ME2 again has nothing. And, even if it HAD, the way that things turn out in ME3 would have left me pretty disappointed if I’d gotten the ability to romance Jacob or Thane. 

DA2 is the first aversion - while I went in expecting to love Anders, I was pushed away by finding the romance (and the friendship, tbh) toxic and abusive. Luckily, however, I could balance it out with Fenris, who was FINALLY a romance I could love to replay the game for.

ME3 continued that, with Kaidan finally an option. And, while I don’t like to shake that OTP up by leaving Kaidan behind, I find Steve Cortez a good character, just hampered by finding the romance uncomfortably framed in a “get over your grieving so I can get in your pants.”

But then Inquisition takes a step back - I find Dorian as a character obnoxious, not to mention coming across as a prop for the development of his father at his expense (plus fandom’s treatment of him souring me further). Meanwhile, the game drops as I’m getting to accepting being asexual, which puts Iron Bull’s whole romance way out of my comfort zone, on top of feeling like the writing is more focused on making the whole thing a punchline.

And then Andromeda and THAT mess... Gil’s a decent character hampered by THE WORST combination of lack of concern for him and a plot written by someone who has NO idea what they’re talking about when it comes to gay people trying to have kids. Reyes goes back to the old archetype well, on top of me both finding him sketchy as hell AND vehemently objecting to a romance lock in that has you making out with him not five feet away from the still-warm body of the woman he ordered killed (and that’s the summary version...). Then there’s Jaal who, just to get his bisexuality, BioWare had to be shamed in to offering it.

So the rough version of this is that of the eight games above, almost all of them come with caveats. Only six games HAVE options, and of those options, two are “options” in the sense that they exist, rather than being options I would take, dropping it to only four games. Of those four, I’m still very, VERY hard on the options within the Mass Effect games. Because, while I do take Gil or Jaal as romances when I play Andromeda, it’s more in spite of than because of the romances proper. Like, they involve active mental patching for me to roll with them. And Kaidan as a romance is one that is a barely there THING, happening in the last game only.

And this is the best I GET. What are my alternatives? Cyberpunk? There’s... issues there, particularly around bodily autonomy and how V has to give up theirs just to get the ability to meet the one gay option. Skyrim/Fallout? Where the “romance” is just a persuasion check and no special content, on top of the romances being bisexual more due to developer laziness, rather than inclusivity. Assassin’s Creed? Where the romances have mostly been pointless flings? That forced a het relationship in the name of forced reproduction in Odyssey’s DLC? Where the most important relationship of the games that offered it is still with a female NPC? Where the “canon” version that carries forward in both Odyssey and Valhalla says that the PC was actually a woman, not a man, so the pairings I viewed as M/M were “actually” M/F? Games like Pillars of Eternity, where the romance exists more through blocks of text than gameplay? 

At best, there’s games like Technomancer and Greedfall (the latter having its own issues, and sort of retroactively tainting the former as a result of those issues.), by a smaller studio. But... I mean, that is one publisher. Out of how many?

I love video games as a medium. I love playing an interactive story, one that advances because of your choices and how you want the story to unfold. But... The medium is in the iron grip of people who don’t love me, and don’t care about me.

[pocket-luv101]

Ransom || Part 2

Fandom: Servamp Ship: KuroMahi Characters: Kuro, Mahiru

Summary: Mahiru is kidnapped by the mafia. He learns that Kuro is being forced to work with the mafia. He hoped he could convince him to help him escape. {KuroMahi, Mafia AU}

Part 1 || (Part 2) || Part 3

Kuro watched Cerberus dash across the room and chase a ball that Mahiru threw. The dog had been infamous for its temper and aggression yet it was nothing but docile now. It carried the ball back to Mahiru and nestled against his leg. Mahiru scratched its head and said, “Your leg has healed nicely. It’s a shame you can’t go outside and stretch your legs properly.”

While the guest room the mafia gave him was spacious and well furnished, it was still a prison for Mahiru. A week had passed since he was kidnapped and he was still trying to make sense of their motivation for taking him. One of the leaders claimed that his uncle was from a rival crime group. Mahiru refused to believe the man until he spoke with Toru.

He was given books to pass his time and they would help distract him for a moment. However, they could only keep him busy for a while. Mahiru thought of climbing down the balcony to try to escape but he knew he wouldn’t be able to run far. From the little he had seen of the headquarters, he knew there were men guarding the major exits. He could see the ocean from his balcony so they were no longer in his hometown, Tokyo. He wouldn’t know where to run if he managed to escape.

Mahiru gently tossed the ball in Kuro’s direction, hoping that he could start a conversation with him. Cerberus leapt after the ball and the dog almost crashed into Kuro in its eagerness. He managed to catch the large dog before either of them could be hurt and he handed the ball to it. “You still have a lot of energy. At least you’re not snapping at us anymore.”

“He only needed to be taught how to direct that energy. I’m a vet but I’ve trained a lot of dogs. Cerberus, fetch the ball.” Mahiru clapped his hands twice and Cerberus obediently returned to his side with the toy. He watched Kuro from the corner of his eyes and thought of how quiet he was. He tried to speak with him several times so they could know each other more and build trust between them.

The day he was kidnapped, he had overheard Kuro’s conversation with his little brother. Will they leave us alone, Kuro?

His question made Mahiru think that Kuro was being forced to work with the mafia group. Whether the mafia was threatening his family or blackmailing him, Kuro was being held in the mafia against his will. They were in similar situations. Mahiru hoped he could convince Kuro to escape with him. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that Kuro was a private person. He understood why Kuro would be distant from him since he was a hostage. He didn’t want to give up though.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Mahiru knew that it was likely Tsurugi. He and Kuro had been assigned to guard him and they would take turns watching over him. Mahiru glanced at the clock and said, “You’re an hour early, Tsurugi. Are you trying to get more money with overtime? It’s not good to overwork yourself.”

Each member of the crime family had a name based on a Greek god to hide their identity. He befriended Apollo and learned that his name was actually Tsurugi. Mahiru considered asking him for help until he learned that he had been saved by the mafia. It was clear that Tsurugi saw the leader as a father and Mahiru couldn’t ask him to betray the man.

“Kuro is the one who has overtime today. Zeus and I are going out to… It’s a well paying job.” Tsurugi let out a hollow laugh and he looked away from him. The mafia family had a rule against involving normal civilians in their crimes. “Ares will be in charge until Zeus and I return tomorrow. You can ask Kuro for anything you need. I should get going since Zeus is waiting for me in the hall.”

“He’s here? I would like to speak with him.” Mahiru’s declaration shocked Kuro and Tsurugi. Most would be too afraid to face the leader of a mafia group yet he didn’t seem to be. He jumped off his chair and walked out of the room with Cerberus following close behind him. He spotted Touma smoking a few feet from his door and called to him.

Kuro quickly ran after Mahiru. He expected Touma to be angry that he would leave his room and he wanted to protect Mahiru from him. While Touma had given him a comfortable room and anything else he asked for, Kuro knew the man’s kindness had an ulterior motive. Mahiru’s uncle was a powerful man and Touma likely wanted to gain Toru’s trust through his nephew.

“Excuse me.” Mahiru stopped in front of the tall man. “I’ve wanted to talk with you about something.”

“If you want another book to read or a video game, you could’ve asked Hades or Apollo to purchase it for you. I told them to provide you anything that you need— within reason of course.” He added to warn him to think of his request carefully. Mahiru stood a little straighter and bit his lower lip. Touma towered over people and his height alone would intimidate most people.

“I want to take Cerberus on daily walks.” He did his best to keep his voice even to hide any fear he had. “The room is large and comfortable but it’s not good for him to stay inside all the time. He’ll become anxious. I only want to take him out to exercise. Of course, Kuro can walk Cerberus with me if you’re worried about me running away.”

Touma was silent and Mahiru was worried he would say no. Thinking simply, it would be too dangerous to allow him to walk through the building. He still wanted to try though. Mahiru didn’t know how long they would hold him hostage but he would go crazy if he was confined to the room the entire time.

“I don’t mind watching Mahiru while he walks Cerberus.” Kuro surprised Mahiru since he didn’t expect him to offer his help. He thought of the first day he woke in the prison. He secretly disobeyed a man’s order and didn’t handcuff him. “You said that we need to keep Mahiru happy so Toru doesn’t raid us in retaliation for taking him. We’ll stay within walls.”

“An hour. You can leave your room for an hour each day to walk the mutt.” Touma said after a moment. He took a long drag of his cigarette and then put it out. He addressed Kuro when he added: “Keep Mahiru away from the guard dogs though. He did threaten to use an army of animals against us. I expect a report when I get back too, Hades.”

“More work? Troublesome.” Kuro groaned and rubbed his neck.

“Thank you, Zeus. We’ll need a leash for Cerberus to make sure he doesn’t run off or attack anyone. He’s well behaved but I haven’t been able to fully train him. Can I borrow one?” Mahiru asked and Touma nodded. “May I also have my phone back so I can call my uncle? He must be worried about me. One of your men said that you sent him a message about my kidnapping. I want to talk to him.”

“You’re smart enough to know that I can’t say ‘yes’ to that.” He shook his head. Touma’s words were correct but Mahiru had hoped he could speak with his uncle again. He pushed away his disappointment and he focused on the small freedom he was given.

“Fresh air.” Mahiru took a deep breath once he was outside. The sun’s heat on his face was refreshing after staying inside for the past week. After Touma left, Kuro found a leash for Cerberus and they took him outside for a walk. “I was so excited about going out that I forgot to bring a ball for Cerberus to play with. Then again, he must be sick of playing catch all day.”

“You must be sick of playing catch too. You rarely ask for things. The only stuff you’ve asked for are for Cerberus.” Kuro couldn’t help but feel pity for Mahiru and his situation. He showed a brave face to others but he heard him cry during the night. “Even the books you have weren’t something you asked for. I brought them from home.”

“The books belonged to you? I really like the fantasy adventure series you gave me with the angel and the demon. They had a really cute romance. What do you think about the novel?” He asked. He bought books for Mahiru but he knew that they were only a temporary escape for him. Mahiru was a little surprised that he had something in common. He was happy that he found something they could discuss though.

“I prefer video games over books but my family could never afford to buy expense game consoles. My baby brother would ask me to read to him at night.” Kuro’s casual smile made Mahiru relax and they continued to walk down the path together.

Mahiru tilted his head back and watched the clouds above them. “Honestly, I was a little selfish when I asked Zeus if I could take Cerberus on walks. I didn’t know how much longer I could sit in that room. Thank you for what you said to Touma. You seem like the sloth type who doesn’t like to go on walks. Wait, that was rude to say. I’m sorry, Kuro.”

“I don’t mind. It’s true. My siblings always complain about how lazy I am.” Kuro said and he made a small chuckle. Then, he bit his tongue when he realized that he told him about his family. It was dangerous to tell Mahiru about his personal life but he accidentally slipped. “I’m sorry that I’m not much of a talker. This situation would be easier on you if you had someone normal to talk to.”

“I’m glad that you were the one assigned to guard me.” Mahiru stopped and looked up at him. “You were kind to me even before Zeus told everyone that they couldn’t hurt me.”

“I’m the least bad among a group of criminals. That’s not saying a lot.” Kuro chuckled at himself and there was a shadow of pain in his red eyes. Mahiru wondered why he joined the mafia family since it was clear he didn’t enjoy working with them. He could hear the regret in his voice but he didn’t know if he could ask him about it.

Ahead of them, Cerberus was barking at something in the bushes and Kuro placed a hand on the gun tucked into his belt. The dog had been calmer lately and it would only bark when a person approached Mahiru. He didn’t see anyone though. Kuro was worried that someone had broken into the mafia’s base and lightly grabbed Mahiru’s arm. “I’ll see what he’s barking at. Stay behind me.”

“Do you think it’s someone from a rival mafia group?” Mahiru asked in a worried voice.

Kuro didn’t answer him as he walked behind Cerberus with his gun. He didn’t see anyone hiding in the small bush and knelt next to the dog. He wanted to be cautious so he slowly pushed aside the branches. After a moment, Kuro’s shoulders relaxed and he holstered his gun. “We have the best security in the country but this little guy managed to slip in.”

“What is it?” Mahiru leaned over his shoulder to see a brown cat huddled among the leaves. He carefully slipped his hand under the cat and lifted it out of the bushes. Gently, he stroked his hand over its fur. Cerberus pushed its head against Mahiru’s chest and he wondered if it wanted attention. He patted its head. “You’re big and strong, Cerberus, so you should protect smaller animals like this cat.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you can truly talk to animals.” Kuro said when he saw the way Cerberus whined and laid its head on Mahiru’s lap. He had to admit that it looked comfortable. He turned his attention to Mahiru who was playing with the cat. Reaching forward, he petted the cat. “I can guess that you’ll want to take this little guy back to your room but Zeus won’t let us.”

“He said I can’t raise an army of dogs. He didn’t say anything about cats or other animals.” The corner of his lips lifted into a small grin. His brown eyes held a glimmer of mischief. “I can ask Zeus to buy me some video games to pass the time. Do you want to play them with me?”

“I didn’t think you were the type to use bribery. Can’t deal.” Despite the sarcastic tone Kuro used, Mahiru could hear a subtle warmth in his voice. “Touma lets you get away with a lot so I don’t think he’ll mind that you adopted another pet. I’ve overheard a little of Touma and Toru’s history but I don’t know much. Is your uncle that scary?”

“The only scary thing about my uncle is how bad his puns are. He raised me after my mother died and I’m so grateful for him…” Mahiru’s smile became sad as he went on. “Then again, I might not know him as well as I thought. He’s the leader of a crime family. I would’ve never guessed. He told me he was a pilot and that was the reason he was gone all the time.”

The past week had been stressful. Beyond being kidnapped, the image of his family was being shattered. The loneliness in his brown eyes tugged at Kuro’s heart and he wanted to reassure him. Without thinking, he placed his hand over Mahiru’s and squeezed it lightly. “He didn’t want you to know about that part of his life because he wanted to keep you safe. Your uncle cared about you— even if he kept secrets.”

“Thank you, Kuro.” Mahiru whispered to him and his smile returned. “What kind of video games should I request? I would like to buy a video game that we could play together.”

A new voice interrupted their conversation and sent a cold chill down Mahiru’s back. “Aren’t you getting too comfortable? What are you two doing outside?”

Mahiru hesitantly turned around to see Makabe behind them. The man was responsible for his kidnapping and it was apparent that he was ruthless. Cerberus must’ve sensed his fear since it started to growl at Makabe. Unconsciously, Mahiru shifted closer to Kuro since he made him feel safe. Kuro said, “Zeus gave us permission to go for a walk. You can call him for confirmation.”

“First Tsurugi and now you. I don’t know why Touma is choosing street rats over me. I’m his son, not you.” Makabe glared at Mahiru with resentment. “My plan would’ve worked if you stayed in that damn cell. Who do you think you are? I did my research on you and I know that you’re a bastard. You don’t have a father because your mother was a whore—”

“Cerberus, bad man.” Mahiru said the command in a low whisper and the dog vaulted forward to bite Makabe’s arm. Kuro placed his hand on his shoulder and he could feel him shake beneath his anger. He had seen different sides to him throughout their time together but this was the first time he became angry. He told him that his mother had died when he was young but it was clear that Mahiru cherished her.

“Get this thing off me!” He screamed.

“Enough, Cerberus, come back.” He relented but the tension in Mahiru’s body hadn’t left. The dog returned to his side and he hugged it. Mahiru closed his eyes and buried his face into its fur but he could feel a strong hand on his head. He knew that it was Kuro.

“Makabe, you should return to your work or Zeus will be angry with you. He’s already annoyed at your plan to kidnap Mahiru.” Kuro wrapped his arm around Mahiru’s waist and lightly urged him to stand. He wanted to take him away from the situation before Makabe could hurt him again. “Let’s go, Mahiru.”

“You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here, Mahiru.” Kuro stepped onto the balcony where Mahiru was gazing at the stars. He didn’t respond to him immediately but he did turn to face him when he stopped next to his chair. Looking into his eyes, he could see that he was tired yet he didn’t move out of his chair to return to the room. “Is what Makabe said still bothering you?”

“He already hated me and I just made it worse, didn’t I? He brought up my mom and I got so angry that I did something as stupid as attack him. I wanted to yell at him that my mother has nothing to do with this mess.” Mahiru started to rant. He curled into a ball and hugged his knees to his chest. “Then again, I can’t say that for certain. I was wrong about my uncle being a part of the mafia.”

Kuro knelt next to him and whispered, “You can ask him if I gave you my phone to call him.”

“You can’t do that without getting in trouble with Touma or Makabe.” Mahiru desperately wanted to speak with his uncle to answer his questions. At the same time, he didn’t want Kuro to risk his job after he had been so kind to him already. Kuro glanced around them and Mahiru didn’t know what he could be searching for. Then, he took his phone out of his pocket.

“Touma isn’t here and he won’t find out. This call can’t be long though. I can’t let your uncle track the number and risk the mafia’s safety. I already have a program on my phone to block a tracker but I want to be safe. I’m sorry that this is all I can give you, Mahiru.” He was taken by surprise when Mahiru leapt out of the chair and into his arms. He wrapped his arms around him and pressed his face into his neck.

“This is already so much. Thank you, Kuro.” He hugged him briefly and then leaned away from him. Kuro passed his phone to him and Mahru pressed his uncle’s number. As he waited for his answer, he leaned closer to Kuro and rested his forehead against his chest. He was able to smell the scent of roses in his hair. “If we sit close like this, people won’t see that I’m using your phone.”

[nedflames]

Danny and Criticism: An Essay/Rant?

Since I’m on desktop I can finally put this under a read more thank god and also jesus

it’s very long…and I didn’t edit it so some of it might not make any sense because I type too fast for my thoughts sometimes

I’ve been thinking about Danny, big surprise, and the way he executes criticism. Since I started watching Eddy, I’ve noticed that Danny rarely has an overt/expose criticism when he is talking about other creators, unlike Eddy and Drew.

Eddy and Drew usually criticize creators that are actively doing something ethically wrong. Their content is more essay-like and research-based than Danny’s; So, Eddy and Drew’s commentary is more satirical while Danny’s is more purely comedic. 

The thing is, Danny has been overtly critical in past videos and, for a while, it bothered me that he has backed away from it. It still does kind of bother me, to be honest, because he’s an intelligent dude who has some hot takes on important topics. I think now more than ever he could execute harsher criticism and keep it entertaining; “Bag Tho” is an excellent example of that and so was his criticism on the pedophile theory for Yummy on his second channel.

But it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to because I realized something the last time I was focusing on this issue; I’ve learned more from Danny about criticism and comedy than I have from Eddy and Drew. He has influenced the way I approach a text in more ways than any other comedian has (except maybe Bo Burnham…they’re tied). This doesn’t mean that Eddy and Drew don’t have influence over my critical thinking skills, but, for me, their content is the result of practiced critique; I don’t learn how to approach a text, but I learn about the text; it’s like discussing a subject with my peers instead of learning it from a professor; in college, both of those practices helped me learn and exercise my critical thinking so, in no way do I think this makes any of them superior to the others.

Danny’s main goal is to make people laugh; he’s said it in his main videos; he’s said it on podcasts; and he’s said it on his second channel, too. In his interview with Anthony Padilla he said that he treats his videos like stand-up. (I’d fucking love to see his live stand up. I’d give every cent in my savings account to see that.) Danny is a comedian, first and foremost, and YouTube is his platform. You could tell from his vine career just how hard he was trying to pursue comedy as a career, to be noticed as a comedian. He comes by it honestly and has said some of his vines weren’t funny and were just attempts at going viral. The dude is worried about his brand to a fault, imo, but he’s got talent and confidence to back it up. So, of course his content is going to reflect that more than Eddy’s or Drew’s. 

Eddy and Drew are also comedians who want to make people laugh but Eddy has said recently on the Gus & Eddy podcast that he wants his commentary to be about people who are actually doing something wrong instead of clowning on cringe content like Danny does. (Yes, he specifically listed Danny as an example. At first I was on the defense and felt like Eddy was kinda shaming Danny for not pursuing a more “noble” style of commentary. But, after calming down and listening to the episode again, I realized he was just saying that their content does different things which I totally agree with…still don’t agree that Danny “just clowns” on people but more on that later.) Eddy still wants his content to be funny, and still has commentary videos that don’t have an overt critical agenda, but you can tell that satirical comedy is a main motivator for him.

I feel like Drew is right in between Danny and Eddy on the criticism scale. He has his more comedic videos and he has his more serious ones. But, in my opinion, his serious videos are just a little bit better. It’s honestly hard to tell what the driving motivation behind his commentary is because he hasn’t fully spoken up about it, as far as I know, but I would say he leans more toward satirical comedy. 

Since I started studying comedy in college I’ve had a sort of thesis building in my head: humor is a comfortable way to approach uncomfortable things; it’s a way to battle cognitive dissonance. Laughing at something wrong is an effective way to sneakily change someone’s mind; ridicule and shame are powerful tools; that’s why I love satire. (I will also add since humor is amoral it can also be used negatively, but that does not mean we should jump to the conclusion that all ridicule/satire is naturally wrong.)

So what does that have to do with Danny’s style of commentary? Sure, he’s a comedian trying to make people laugh and sure he avoids addressing more serious topics, but he does provide important criticism even if it’s not in the same area as Drew or Eddy. In that interview with Anthony Padilla, Danny said he wants to prove that content on YouTube can be as good as traditional media. His goal isn’t to expose people for doing bad things, though he is still doing that but not as critically as the other two, but to show his audience how to be critical of popular media; a main criticism in his videos overall is about low-effort and formulaic content because that’s something he very clearly cares about. His goal isn’t to call out people for being toxic; it’s to call out their content for not being as good or well-though-out as it could be. The problem with low-effort content, especially from bigger creators, is that it’s there to make money and nothing else; it’s content that has no substance; it’s manipulative. Even content that has a high-production value needs to have substance, creativity, and originality. 

Danny pointed out in his “how i make a video” video that he doesn’t want to make fun people who are just inexperienced; he wants to make fun of people who know exactly what they’re doing and still don’t put in the effort to make their content good. 

Another one of his critiques, usually with Badads, is about dishonesty; his badads videos are mostly goofy but they all have the same criticism about their manipulative nature. In fact, his whole experiment with badads was about pointing out the manipulative tactics and valuing honesty (even if his honest ad didn’t get a higher CTR.)

I think his critiques are capable of teaching people to be more critical of the media they consume without making them feel like they’re wrong for enjoying it. 

Another thing I think Danny approaches well is misogyny. (Again, his badads videos are prime examples because so many ads sexualize women.) But the way he does it IS IMPORTANT and, in my opinion, a better method than other commentary channels. Returning to my theory about ridicule being an effective tool to sneakily change someone’s perspective, Danny isn’t overt about his criticisms toward misogyny. He doesn’t say shit like “sexism is bad and women are great and I worship women and blah blah blah” but he does ridicule misogyny often. His methods aren’t preachy or forceful but he does normalize the ridicule and shaming of misogynistic behavior. By laughing at the behavior and treating it like it’s outlandish and ridiculous he normalizes respect for women. This is why you will never see me saying some shit like “Danny drinks his respect women juice ohmygod he’s my heeerrrooo” because it’s not heroic behavior and he doesn’t fucking treat it that way. If we over-worship this stuff we set the bar hella low. It should not be seen as the highest possible standard for men; it should be seen as the normal standard for men. I definitely praise him for this approach, but not for just…acting like a dude should act. 

All that being said

Do I think his general audience walks away from his content with these criticisms in mind? From my experience in the fandom, and from just scrolling through the comments in his videos, I don’t think it effects everyone like it effects me. This is mostly fine because I don’t think his full intent is to get people to learn how to think critically about the content they consume; I firmly believe him when he says he mostly wants to make people laugh. But I’m hopeful that they are more critical of things even if they aren’t conscious of it.

The biggest I problem I have with Danny is that he avoids confrontation with his fans. As I said before, he’s a little too worried about his brand. I don’t think he’s as bad about it as some of his contemporaries, who have co-dependent relationships with their fans (which I distrust because I find that manipulative and dishonest); I hate when he feels like he has to do damage control with his stans on twitter (the Reddit AMA thing) but I don’t think he panders either. 

BUT what bothers me The Most is that he doesn’t make the point to call out fans who harass the creators he covers. He’s done it once or twice but I feel like all commentary YouTubers should make an effort to specify the difference between comedy/commentary/criticism and bullying/harassment. Most people swarm to commentary content because they want the drama, because they love to hate and, sadly, they think that harassment is justified even if a creator isn’t doing something horribly wrong. Hell, even if they’re doing something horribly wrong, they’re still getting undeserved attention and harassment. doesn’t. communicate. criticism. 

This is a reason why I’d wish he’d be more overt with this criticism because it doesn’t always translate…especially for his younger fans. 

What’s the point of all this? I guess I just wanted to get my inner-monologue about this out in the fresh air but I also wanted to point out that Danny’s content is still critical and it’s been effectively critical for me. He makes me appreciate comedy and criticism more but I still wish he’d be more overt about some things.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Otomate Party 2017 Collar x Malice Drama Translations

My first content post of the month... at 5:22 am for some ungodly reason i guess.... but I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/V7V2W0HO) or through paypal (paypal.me/KumoriYami )…. also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i don’t have the audio for those…..

Anyway I finally managed to finish this. Seriously wish i had translations for this as text instead of off a video since snipping everything than converting the pics of the subtitles into text is a serious pain in the ass.... As this is the first and only thing that I have translated for the cxm fandom, I will state:

I do not speak Japanese so this was translated from Chinese based on my bad Chinese and various mtl help (my limit on Japanese is the tiny bits picked up from anime... which I haven’t watched since 2009)

“[” and “]” are what I normally use for translator/personal notes/ways I think the text sounds better 

normal brackets and italics are usually used for alternate text suggestions based on the translated words themselves without extra words added or scene transition notes

My Chinese, in my opinion, is not particularly good when it comes to reading so there will probably be mistakes or things lost in translation (especially since this relied on finding someone else’s work of them translating this from Japanese into Chinese)

I will edit this later so expect grammar mistakes (I left quite a lot of those since I didn’t get punctuation for +75% of this) or things being left weirdly phrased.

I have taken images from the drama itself and put them into this post so that this makes more sense. 

Enjoy?

Collar x Malice Otomate Party 2017 Drama Translation [”ブレイクタイにプロフアイリング” Don’t have a Chinese translation for the name]

Translation by KumoriYami based on this video: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av25769645?from=search&seid=9170920068184056875

Yanagi (monologue): December. The serial murder incidents known to he world as X-Day.

During our investigation of the serial murders known to the world as the X-Day incidents, we believe the mastermind of the terrorist organization is targeting a woman named Hoshino Ichika, who is investigating them together with us.

Ending up in a situation/stalemate with no progress(/large breakthroughs) [is/will certainly?]-----

(stage lights up)

Enomoto: It's awful! Something's wrong!

Sasazuka: Shut up

Yanagi: Enomoto, open the door quietly.

Enamoto: Ah, sorry..... No, this is a big deal Yanagi-senpai!

Sasazuka: Yanagai-san.  Yanagi: Nn?

Sasazuka: Today's cookies aren't bad.

Yanagi: Okay/Yeah, having Sasazuka's approval sets me a ease. Can also give these to Hoshino---- [These can also be given to Hoshino---]

Enomoto: Please don't ignore me!

Enomoto: Anyway, Shiraishi-san he....!

Shiraishi: Miao~

Enomoto: (He's) become/turned into a cat! 

From a while ago/A moment ago, (he's) only been making cat sounds (and) not speaking----- [recently, he hasn't been saying anything aside from cat sounds]

Yanagi: Ha... Shiraishi, stop messing around with Enomoto.

Shiraishi: Really how cold.

Shiraishi: I think you should learn how to cooperate, Enoki-kun 

Enomoto: My name is Enomoto!

[I don't know Japanese but the subtitles left those bits in Japanese... so I just copied them over into the TL here. Also, according to Hermy The Wormy or nancy cheerleader #6 on the Otogetranslations' japanese-qa discord, the first kanji of Enomoto's name can be read as enoki, and enoki dake are a type of mushroom. ]

Enomoto: Hey, are you messing around with me again!?

Sasazuka: Today this brainless idiot is the same as usual.

Shiraishi: But/However, this type of person is unable to act [like a/n] food/idiot. /these type of people are not//cannot be fools by accident. [be stupid by accident]

Shiraishi: Also you two.... the [your] investigation(s) have stalled right?

Yanagi: What happened/What's going on for you to unexpectedly say/ask this? [literally: What happened, suddenly/unexpectedly, you do you want to say?]

Shiraishi: It's necessary to take a break from time to time. Shiraishi: When faced with a puzzle, fixed concepts/ideas/views/impressions can be the greatest enemy.

Yanagi: You only want us to vent our stress/release pressure, right? [take a break]

Shiraishi: haha, [you've] guessed correctly.

Shirashi: Even so, I'm also suffering from a lot of work/very distressed from work/worried about how busy I am. And because of this today, I was given advanced notice from a gentleman thief lupin [?????]

Shirashi:Oh, just like the one who is collared/so the one who is collared [rephrase later]

Shirashi: She seems to have gone out with Okazaki-kun to change her mood/mind [change of pace?]

Sasazuka: That stupid cat? Truly that's rare. /Truly how rare./That's rare.

Sasazuka: She's the type who seldom relaxes right?

Shiraishi: Yeah/that's right. As a result, she's become unwell.

Okazaki-kun found out and then handled it by going out.

Yanagi: Indeed, it's better for Hoshino to relax from time to time

Yanagi: Although he's an SP, being accompanied by Okazaki. That's....

Shiraishi: After all he is a police officer, I don't think he'll leave any evidence behind.

Enomoto: Nooo, that's not a way to rest?!

Shiraishi: let's go back to the earlier topic/let's go back to the previous conversation shall we?  I want to experiment you using criminal deduction/reasoning [Audio sounds more like profiling in ENG]

Yanagi: If you want to relax [have fun, go find someone else [go bother someone else]. Don't involve us.

Shiraishi: You need my ability as a criminal profiler don't you? Wouldn't it be a shame if I couldn't use it at a critical moment?

Sasazuka: Yanagi-san. I think constantly fighting this is a waste of time.

Yanagi: Ha.....Indeed. [do?] whatever you want.

Shiraishi: Nnn. First of all, [let's] use a drawing to analyze your underlying psychology.

Shiraishi: Draw two cats under a tree. Here, pen and paper.

Sasazuka: unexpectedly it's a psychology test, how boring.

Shiraishi: I'll give you donuts so draw.

Enomoto: [????? no text for 1 sec. sounds like eh, show-toh]

Enomoto: Okay, okay/all right, all right! Finished/done drawing!

Shiraishi: .….[How] unexpected/Unexpectedly. Enomoto-kun is pretty/very good at drawing.

Sasazuka: I've finished drawing [here?] too.

Enomoto: What the hell is this, you're unmotivated aren't you?

Shiraishi: eheh! [seeing] someone's personality being expressed is fun/It's fun to see/show your personality/individual personalities/traits

[Then] Yanagi-kun? Just a moment ago/from the start , you were wearing a really complicated expression. [for a while, you have had a really complicated expression]

Yanagi: No...... don't. let me think about it for a night.

Sasazuka: It doesn't take that long./It shouldn't need to take that long.

Yanagi: Ah, wait, Sasazuka....!

<dramatic scary music starts>

shiraishi and enomoto: .....ah....

Sasazuka:.....A cursed drawing? [Is this a cursed drawing?]

Shiraishi: Ah hahahahaha, so it turns out that Yanagi-kun had such a talent for drawing. This is a new discovery ahhahahaha!

Enomoto: No, no it's okay, Yanagi-senpai! How to say this, it's like a Picasso, an ultra-realistic style of painting......[rephrase later]

Yanagi: Stop, I don't need you to say anything.

Shiraishi: Commenting now on these results [rephrase later],

Shiraishi: It's an ideal family that can show how people describe themselves/It's how someone can show off their ideal family [probably 2nd].

Enomoto-kun hopes for warm family/household that lives with your significant other/hopes to live together with your important person in a warm family/household.

Sasazuka-kun is probably living a life not bound by anyone,

Yanagi-kun is.......how to say this, the family/household would probably collapse.

Yanagi: you, just say what you want.

Shiraishi: I have a good understanding/insight based on these references. Alright, let's move on to the next one one. What appearance /type of person would be the person who brought you your wallet /You've lost your wallet. What kind of person is the one who brings it back to you [??????]?

Shiraishi: A. A very dynamic noisy person 

B. A friendly older brother

C. A nervous elder sister

D. A high school student in their rebellious phase.

Sasazuka: D is obviously in a rebellious phase yet returning a wallet would [make them] feel very good.

Enomoto: I’ll say, B.....feel it's an average response.

Yanag: Then.... I'll go an choose A

Shiraishi: Actually, this is a psychological test to determine your romantic tendencies.

Sasazuka: There's no need/intention to/of pretend/ing to do this for criminal deduction anymore [??says profiling in audio]

Shiraishi: Who chose A----

Enomoto: Hasn't that guy seen this countless times/Hasn't this guy done countless [of these] interviews?!  

Shiraishi: Yanagi-kun, who has chosen A, is cautious about/when it comes to [his] romance/love.

Shiraishi: But once invested [says something to the effect of 'gone deep'], rationality will not be followed/obeyed/maintained.

Shiraishi: So it says.

Shiraishi: Eeeeeh , Yanagi-kun forgetting his reason/rationality, I really want to see this/that.

Yanagi: You say some random things/whatever you want... but, you also haven't said anything wrong.

Shiraishi: Here are the recommended type of things to say for confessing/confessions [says TYPE in ENG].   It's rare for me to make impression images [<---- not sure about that but the audio says IMAGE].

Yanagi: Ha? Impression image...?

(lights darken, spotlight on Yanagi VA)

Yanagi: ........If I get serious, you'll be troubled. I don't want to scare you, [and] I don't want to hurt you even if I think that..... I am unable/incapable to/of stop/ping my desire of monopolizing your heart .....Have you truly chosen me? I already can't do this anymore/hold myself back/stop these feelings [probably 3rd - also i have no tl for what it says on the image]

(cg off)

Sasazuka:...What just happened Yanagai-san, are you back to normal?

Yanagi: N-no, it/that wasn't me. Impression image he voluntarily [did]/automatically----- [??? guessing: That impression he voluntarily did----]

Shiraishi: Next is the person who chose B

Enomoto: Unexpectedly I've seen that guy before.

Shiraishi: B which was chosen by Enomoto-kun, who is a serious romantic, and although he is committed to his love/ Enomoto-kun who chose B, is/will be a serious romantic who follows his heart, but if he ends up with an unrequited love, his twilight years will end miserably/he will be awfully miserable in his old age, so it says.

Enomoto: I don't need you worrying about me being at an old age!? Wait, based on this evaluation, don't tell me that I also...

(light darkens, spotlight on Enomoto)

Enomoto: Seriously loving someone, surely pain can become happiness/it's possible for pain to be changed into happiness/it's like pain has become happiness.

After meeting you, for the first time I know.... no matter how many times I say it you're the best in the world, [and] I love you the most.

(light focus +cg off) Eeeehaha [weird scream that doesn't really work with text], 

how/indeed/truly bogus/phony/fake! [??? that's so/really fake?] how can you say such lines [these types of things]?! Ah, but isn't this/that line too handsome/elegant!? [cool]

Yanagi: Indeed/truly optimistic/hopeful [how positive?]......Oh? Sazazuka, where are you going?

Sasazuka: Heading back. I don't want to accompany you guys anymore/disturb you guys anymore.

Shiraishi: Sasazuka-kun after all [is someone] who came back from abroad, are you not accustomed to sweet [more on the romantic side] lines?

Sasazuka: This thing, can't just be shown casually to others.

Enomoto: Love can only be spoken of when two people are alone.... kuh. keh, you damn American returnee!

Shiraishi: Regarding Sasazuka-kun's romantic tendencies, they are----

Sasazuka: Don't continue without permission [ ?????  says what sounds like stop in audio... so im assuming 'just stop right now'] he's actually the sis-con type.

Shiraishi: D, which was chosen by Sazuka-kun, is the awkward self-centred type. Unable to verbally express [one’s feelings], [though] contrary to the inner-most/profound feelings/thoughts. This is popular with tsunderes right?

Enomoto: These, these types of confession/declaration of love lines are!?

(cg up + spotlight on Sasazuka)

Sasazuka: You, don't you think you're stupid for thinking that we're unsuited for each other? It's not anyone else, I've chosen you, so be confident in this, just like this/that's all. ......You, have long been my woman/since before you've been my woman Just be good and stay at my side Idi~ot~

(back to normal)

Enamooto: Uwohoho....... This American custom.... aren't/wouldn't you feeling/feel embarrassed/shy?

Sazazuka: Not really, even if this is just an impression image, this sort of thing is common.

Yanagi: Shiraishi.... You've really [even] made an image impression specifically for this sort of thing.

Shiraishi: It's funny [audio sounds like *interesting*]isn't it? The pictures were made by someone I know [These] question and answers were something that I had good reference for since it nicely matched a document/literature's contents.

Sasazuka: To begin with, what literature/study was this from? Was there ever a study/book written/published on this?

Shiraishi: It was the book "Romantic ☆ Psychology Evaluations" [Emotional affecting/heartbeat/heart rate/heart throbbing? ☆  psychology tests..... probably leave it at the first interpretation unless i come up with a better sounding title name here]

Enomoto: Ah! The new book I bought yesterday! I haven't read it yet!

Yanagi: mah.... I think it's the same [one]./I think the same way.

Sasazuka: [I'm] Tired, I really have to go.

Shiraishi: Yeah, I should also be heading back to the station.

Yanagi: : Seriously/give me a break. [i/we] don't know when another incident will occur.

(screen changes to outside the detective agency with Shiraishi)

*footsteps*

Shiraishi: Nn? You, the collar's/collared.... Ah right, right,/yes, yes, hoshino-san

Yanagi-kun and the others seemed to be heading back. 

How's the state of your mind doing? [How are you doing?]

Eh.... or did you go to a crime scene/still going to see a crime scene?

It's really serious.

How is the investigation going?

Like before, the criminals still have the upper hand. 

Pushing aside the police, really. [Going around the police...?]

......You display such strength/You're very strong.

But, isn't it scary?

Eh? having us [around makes you] feel relieved?

Mm, that's weird. 

The enemy might be lurking around in an unexpected place somewhere.... like me, for example.

Haha, do your best not to die.

What kind of outcome will come after this.... let me look forward to it. 

The End....?

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

Well, after doing this..... I can say that I don’t have any intention to translate anything else in the fandom that relies on a video cuz as it is truly excruciating to snip all the subtitles off the vid, photoshop said clips and either whiten or blacken the background so that an image to text converter can read it, have the image converted to text, add in all the words and correct whatever wasn’t converted into text properly, and then get to actually translating whatever it is (i’ve also hand-written more than +4000 Chinese characters from coping subtitles from a different video so i’m not going to be doing that ever again either).....Which means I will probably not be looking at whatever the 2018 cxm secret mission thing is as I have only found Chinese tl for that on a video from bilibili.... plus I’m not certain if there’s an actual drama in it (I have no interest in translating non-drama/story stuff).

Anyway, as I’m not particularly confident in my translation for this - at least when compared to the other stuff that I’ve done, I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to do a subbed video for this since I don’t want to post anything without a personal confidence level of at least 85% in any translation I do for a video (my level for this is probably somewhere between 60-70%).... and on another note, I realllllly need a better way to phrase “impression image,” since that looks and sounds really weird..... also if anyone wants to help me with my lack of language skills for this drama, send me a message plzzz!  >_<

if i ever do get to making a video, final edits will be done then since i know i left this drama tl not exactly worded well... 

[eileniessa]

Hello! For Yennefer and Geralt (I'm predictable), could you do #19 please? Recently I was just rereading the last chapters of the Realm and I thought I could do with some fluff. So if you feel like it... =)

To Be Here - Eileniessa - Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

Summary:  Sitting amongst the vines, surrounded by the family she’s made, Yennefer gains a new perspective on her life’s journey.

Chapters: 1/1Fandom: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej SapkowskiRating: Teen And Up AudiencesWarnings: No Archive Warnings ApplyRelationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of VengerbergCharacters: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of VengerbergAdditional Tags: Fluff, Family, Confessions, Tumblr Prompt, Prompt Fic

Read it here, on AO3 or FF.Net

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the books by Andrzej Sapkowski and the game series by CD Projekt Red. I do not claim ownership to any of these characters and have written this fan fiction for entertainment, not financial gain.

Prompt: Send me a ship and one of these and i’ll write a mini fic. (19) things you said when we were the happiest we ever were

L.M. Montgomery - ‘Anne of Avonlea’: “After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”

The bright grape-vines stood proudly above their heads, their stalks and leaves rustling in the gentle summer breeze like wind-chimes. Hidden amongst them only the sky was in view, clear and calming, no hint of rain or harsh winds written upon it. It would be hard to get used to the unforgiving weather of the north again, though she saw no reason why she’d ever have to. Other than the occasional trip, for pleasure or for business, Yennefer was content to stay well within the borders of Toussaint. She’d never have thought to find peace here, amongst the fairies and all this colour, and even now it was hard to accept that this was her lot in life. Perhaps she’d been a fool for laughing at the notion of a 'happily ever after’, but she’d learned her lesson now. After all, she was living it.

The fertile soil beneath the picnic blanket was dark and soft, having seen plenty of rain this growing season, most of it unnatural, of course. Retirement hadn’t made her any less competitive, nor would it. She reached just above ahead, pulling free a small bundle of grapes so fat that it seemed the slightest pressure threatened to burst them. The juice inside oozed over her tongue as she bit into the small berry, and she let the taste linger in her mouth before swallowing. Before Toussaint she’d never had much fondness for sweet fruit, preferring rather the slight bitterness of apples or oranges. But such things were not common in the south and her food-palate had to adapt.

On the other hand, Geralt had always had something of a sweet tooth and faced no problems tackling the mounds of sugar in many of Toussaint’s delicacies. Ciri was much the same in that regard, not that the young woman needed any more energy. Today was the first time in almost a week that Yennefer had managed to get her to sit still for more than a few, brief moments. Life in Vizima didn’t provide much of an opportunity for Ciri to stretch her legs, though Emhyr was willing to allow her to practice her sword skills, though she doubted he truly had any say in the matter.

Yennefer sat in silence savouring her wine, watching and listening to Geralt and Ciri as they talked freely within the forest of vines. She wanted to recall this day and hoped there would be many more like it to come. With Thanedd, Rivia and then the Hunt, they’d never had many moments like these. Time spent together free of outside worries and burdens, a chance to believe they were a normal family and that nothing was hiding behind the next corner.

She laughed softly with the others as Ciri concluded a story about her latest faux-pas in court; another trait she appeared to share with their clueless Witcher, though Yennefer hoped she’d be willing to change that, unlike him. They were both looking at her now, wide smiles painted on their faces. It was a shame that they looked so unfamiliar like this, too often had she seen weary faces in their place, as they likely saw in her case.

“Yen, is something wrong?” Geralt asked quietly, the edges of his grin drooping. Yennefer cursed herself for letting her mind wander as it had, too often did it stray backwards rather than staying close by her side. It had gotten better over time, but century-old habits didn’t just go away overnight.

“I’m fine, Geralt” replied the Sorceress, and she meant it. “You needn’t spoil your handsome looks with that frown.” The Witcher didn’t appear willing to obey at first, but kiss she left on his cheek quickly set things straight. He chided Ciri lightly as she rolled her eyes at them and it seemed as though the small tare she’d caused in the atmosphere had been easily mended. But something sat uneasily with her, and she felt an obligation to say more, a sensation Yennefer rarely experienced. “I was simply thinking, it happens to most of us every now and then, as you might be aware.”

“I’ve heard of it,” Geralt chimed in. He closed his mouth quickly when the Sorceress narrowed her eyes very slightly, but enough for the Witcher to plainly see.

She let the pause go on for a few seconds until continuing, hoping the moment was still there. “It’s been a long journey, one spanning a century…” at least for me, she thought, the words unspoken. Even if she were to stand at the edge of time, Yennefer couldn’t believe she’d find it any easier to admit how far she’d come. Such a statement called for a comparison and a view of things that she’d rather stayed buried. The mere thought of her skeletons made the Yennefer flinch when Geralt touched her hand. She felt an uncomfortable tingle run down her spine and over face, but it was quick to disappear and fade into memory.

The tips of Geralt’s fingers were pressed lightly against her wrist and she wondered if he could feel the invisible line marking them. If he had, he’d never mentioned and she was grateful for it. Unlike many others, he and Ciri respected her privacy. Though it had taken them some time to understand, they’d accepted the burden admirably, one she thought none would be willing to bare. A small gesture for some, perhaps, but to her… She never believed it possible.

Yennefer looked at them both sitting there, granting her patience that could span years if she needed it to. Today, however, she needn’t test it. “I’m grateful to still be here, and lucky to…more than you could imagine.”

Whether it was because they couldn’t find the words to say or knew that they weren’t needed here, she couldn’t tell, but she trusted more in the latter. Yennefer tried valiantly not to spill wine all over them as Geralt and Ciri sandwiched her between them, enveloping her in a sprawling hug. She couldn’t spare the time to be angry, as they stained the blanket and creased her dress, not even a second. It wasn’t worth it. Instead, she smiled and laughed along with them without a care in the world. It felt better than she’d thought possible.

There goes another prompt released into the wild from the confines of my inbox! Hurray! Hopefully, his friends will all be able to join by the end of the summer (maybe).

Thank you to Feelfreeimdone (Tumblr) for this prompt, felt good to write something fluffy, hope you enjoy :) Also, to anyone who doesn’t follow my on twitter/tumblr, I’ve posted some original stories (a short story and poem) on my Tumblr if you fancy taking a read Xx

[browniesnivy]

Random Asks!

This template was made by biaesthetic, just so you know. I cut out some of the questions I didn’t I saw feel like answering, but otherwise her template worked really well for my needs! I saw cyberenergyshock do something similar and felt the need to do one myself, so here we go! Y’all really don’t know anything about me (which is mostly because i’m super paranoid about privacy) and I don’t intend to give out super precious info or anything here, I just thought it’d be nice. 

what was the last thing you read? The last book I read was issue three of the Bunny Drop manga. So far it’s a very cute story that I recommend to people who like family stories. It’s very touching and cute, but can be fairly thought-provoking at times. I haven’t finished it yet so I can’t give a full review or anything... but those are my thoughts so far!

favorite movie? Captain America: Winter Soldier! I know it’s a pretty basic choice as far as favorite Marvel movies go, but it really is just soooooo good. The action, the intrigue, the emotion, the relationships... all so good! Ten out of ten would watch again... and I believe me, I have. Three times in fact. And I’ve cried at least once every time because I’m weak sauce.

favorite book? That’s really hard... I really loved Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets but I haven’ t read that in years and am really fuzzy on the details... so I guess I’ll have to say the Warrior Cats Super Edition Crookedstar’s Promise. What can I say, I love Warrior Cats! And this edition is just so emotional. Without giving away any spoilers, this book is an absolute emotional rollercoaster at parts and contains one of the most manipulative, petty, dangerous, terrifying and broken villains the series has to offer and she is just fantastic. If your down with some of the special Warrior Cats-brand of stupidity this book is a total treat!

dream date? We’d be alone somewhere quiet and serene, nature surrounding us as we were covered in a blanket of stars. Cool, refreshing water babbles nearby, giving poetry to our escape. The most calming and tranquil environment imaginable. However, we wouldn’t just enjoy the soothing scenery, but we would talk in a low whisper, joking about things only we would understand and geeking out over fandom, all in between mouthfuls of take-out pasta from Olive Garden. It would be a mixture of a fun hangout with a friend and a romantic tender scene. (I guess all of that was really corny, huh? Haha, sorry!)

do you have a crush? Not on anyone real... but if Hatsune Miku asks tell her I’m free!

what are your hobbies? I love creative pursuits like writing and drawing and have loved them since I was extremely young. One of my favorite pass times is playing video games like Pokémon, Fire Emblem, Harvest Moon, The Sims,, Civilization, Stardew Valley, Super Smash Brothers, and many many others... too many to reasonably name! I love reading novels, but manga and anime alike are what I seem to do more of nowadays. My parents are pretty strict on which anime I watch though, so I spend more time reading manga because they aren’ t nearly as finicky about my reading material since my younger siblings won’t have to be subjected to it. Also, I really love philosophy. Ethics and morals have always fascinated me and the idea of mapping out the human spirit like a genome is endlessly fascinating to me... I love to read books on morality and watch philosophical YouTube videos in my down time, and I hope that someday I can come to some kind of understanding of the truth. I guess that means I’m kind of lame! 

what’s your favorite time of day? Evening. I love the darkness. The chilling winds and the stars illuminating the dark skyscape is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen, and it’s all right their in your backyard if you only care to look! Well, I guess if you live in the city or something you can’t do that... in which case I’m very sorry! Anyway, the serenity of the night is something the daytime can’t match for me. Peace and quiet are seldom found around where I live, so the silence is very appreciated!

if you could look like anything, what would you look like? Anything you say? In that case I guess I’d look like a calico cat. That away, I could climb along fences and gates or go exploring into the wilderness without anyone looking at me funny! Plus, maybe someone would pet me!

are you a romantic? If you just read my ideal date, the I you’ll probably know the answer. Yeah, I guess I am! I’m not super ditzy or anything, in fact I rarely every feel romantic attraction to people, but I do long to find a soulmate. 

what’s your favorite type of weather? The rain, definitely. If you couldn’t tell, quiet tranquility is pretty much my aesthetic. I love water. It nourishes the plant life and makes everything sparkle with dew, the greenery becomes so much greener and everything becomes so much more vibrant... it’s like the spirit of the world has been born again. And yet almost nobody is out their enjoying it. Fine by me, I’d rather be alone on my walks down the rainy neighborhood streets. Bonus if it’s raining at night, because not only are the walks multiplied tenfold in their beauty, but when you decide to hit the hay the soft pitter-patter of the raindrops can gently lull you to sleep...

what do you like talking about? Well obviously I love to talk about Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I’m pretty much open to talk to anyone about it... but I also love to talk about other fandom! I also love mythology and philosophy (that though provoking shit) and just random trivia in general and it’s nice to talk to people who are also interested in it. Other then all that nerdy cooties, I just generally like listening to other people talk. As long as what you say isn’t completely repulsive to me I’ll probably listen, but I’ll probably crack jokes the entire time unless you’re being really serious. I love funny stuff.

if you got a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? Oh, I’d never even think about a tattoo! I’m far too much of a scaredy-cat, besides the initial pain the idea an image could be burned onto me forever kind of freaks me out. I have no problem with other people getting them at all, just not something I could ever do. I don’t really think I can answer this question adequately... but I guess if I had to choose I’d say something small like an eye or a teardrop. I’d put it on the lower part of my neck to the left side: it would be discrete and not very noticeable, but kind of pretty and thoughtful. Nothing to obtrusive or, dare I say, obnoxious for me.

do you want any pets? I wish! We used to have a dog when I was very little, and then we had a cat when I was about eight or so, but nothing since then. Such a shame, because I am filled with love and affection for cats and dogs especially and would like to have at least one of each someday. If I had to pick which breeds I’d like, I’d say a border collie (they’re so expensive, but hey a girl can dream, right?) and a calico. 

dream job? “When I grow up I want to write books!” I’ve been saying that since I was old enough to write my own stories. Above all else, I want to be an author, but even most of those have other jobs as well. Of course I’ve gone through phases of wanting to be different things... when I was really small I wanted to be a waiter, then in second grade I wanted to be a marine biologist (I saw sea turtles at an aquarium and fell in love. Don’t want to do marine biology anymore but sea turtles are still the some of the most precious beasts on this planet!), but now I’m thinking either an animator, a journalist, or a moral philosophy professor. Who knows what I’ll end up doing, I'm only a freshman right now, after all.

dream place to live? Take me home, country road, to the place, I beloooooooong…! No, I don’t want to live in West Virginia specifically (though that would probably be pretty swell), but the American South is where I grew up and it’s where I want to live. The flourishing flora, sparkling water forms, and the waves of fertile farmland are just some pf my favorite set pieces of the Southern United States. I don’t live there anymore, and there are a lot of social problems down there that might target me specifically, but just for the scenery alone I wish to go back.

dream vacation? Japan! in this dream scenario, I can speak Japanese and navigate the land without many hitches, ordering of the menu and understanding all the signs. I’d go to a maid café and one of those resteraunts where there are stuffed animals everywhere, I’d buy a crap-ton of weeb shit, if I was lucky I’d see a vocaloid concert... and the sightseeing! I’d go hiking on the mountains and see cascading waterfalls and flourishing sakura and  really neat beetles... I hope that happens to me someday!

do you want any piercings? I don’t even want my ears pierced at all, so not at all! I’m not a very flashy person, in fact I’m quite quaint, and I never wear jewelry unless my family somehow bamboozles me into it. I’d never wear any of it, so it wouldn’t be worth some weirdo assaulting my earlobes (or any other body part) for it. 

if you had kids, what would you name them? I think me having kids might be kind of a long shot all things considered (but who really knows, right?) but I do have several names I’m really attached to that I would gladly give to someone. The first is Eve, which I just absolutely adore the aesthetic of. If you couldn’t all ready tell, I love the nighttime, and this name just screams a sort of lovely starlight elegance. Plus, it was the name of my first crush in Harvest moon Magical Melody so... backstory! The other name I’d go with would have to be Jamie. It just sounds so peppy and interesting, it’s a very unique name that I can’t help but love. Not coincidently, Jamie was the name of another Magical Melody character I was particularly fond of, because they were my first experience with gender nonconformity and non-binary gender identity! 

what are your best traits? Am I really the best person to judge that? Well, I guess I can try. I try to be as patient as possible and to keep an open-mind because I hate hurting people’s feelings, believe there is always a kind and peaceful solution, and think every single person deserves personal respect and to be treated with integrity when possible. I’d say of all my traits, those are the ones I try the hardest to foster and exercise.

worst traits? I’m so anxious, literally anything going wrong cans end me into a panic. My family has kind of a history with predisposed anxiety, so I should probably get that checked out... but then the idea of being diagnosed as “wrong” freaks me out a lot. Vicious cycle. This underlying anxiety manifests in some other nasty traits of mine: specifically that I’m a wuss, a doormat, and a pessimist. Long story short, I’m way to worried for my own good.

what’s your worst fear? Well, I’m pretty much afraid of everything! Alligators, heights, amnesia, blood and guts, rejection, underwater tunnels, birds coming near me, loud noises, illness... there’s a lot more, but I’d say my biggest fears are failure and weakness. The two kind of go hand in hand in my mind, and the thought that I could fail and become irredeemable and worthless is petrifying.  

what do you want to eat right now? Something to know about me: I’m always hungry. I snack incessantly, so it’s a wonder I’m still such a skinny little bastard! Right now, I could really go for some sushi. Put some seafood and some avocado on that shit and I’m sold.

favorite social media platform? Tumblr! I mean, it’s really the only social media I have, but still! Even though looking at all the fighting and toxicity on this website that can really make me feel awful, there is an undertone of community that outweighs that for me. Seeing so many fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! and ShrimpShipping in particular makes me feel like I really belong somewhere, and when I see the entire community harmonize to create a positive environment I remember what this life is all about. When I get a heart on a post, I think about how someone liked that post, how something I made or that I said might have put a smile on their face or roused a chuckle from them, and that makes it all worth it to me. Plus, all my mutual are really cool!

favorite article of clothing? Jackets, blazers, hoodies, coats, sweaters, suits... I love that cozy shit! I unfortunately live somewhere really hot, so a lot of times flaunting my style makes me uncomfortable, but it’s worth it too look fly as hell! When it comes to dressing, I’m very butch to androgynous, which makes since because I’m pretty gender nonconforming, I always have been. When I was younger and at a different school I was definitely the tomboy, but now I tend to try and blend in more just because people at my new school seem so much more judgmental. 

do you play any sports? I’ve been playing tennis since I was in third grade! I really only ever play it during the school’s season because there is just so much homework and I’m always busy, and thus my growth has been greatly stunted... but it’s still a really awesome sport. There’s a precision and an elegance to it that just fascinates me, plus it’s not a team sport so I don’t have to worry about screwing my partners over! Unless it’s doubles, which I try to avoid whenever possible. Other factors that make me like it appealing to me is that I have the body for it (tall with freaky long-ass arms) and my dad plays it too, so we can go out and help each other improve our skills. 

favorite meal of the day? Well they’re all great, I mean food is food, but I’m biased to dinner. The biggest most complete meal of the day that packs the most flavor and is the most filling, dinner is great! In my opinion, going to bed on a full stomach is one of the best feelings in the world, so we can thank dinner for that. Plus, my mom lets me eat snacks after dinner so I don’t have to sneak around to eat potato chips... heh.

what are you excited for? ShrimpShipping Week definitely has me excited, because I have so many shrimpy ideas to let loose upon this world... and I’m really looking forward to looking at everyone else’s contributions too! ShrimpShipping Week is the time I can see the most unity within the community, and it truly is a wonderful experience! Also I’m hyped as hell for Smash Ultimate and that currently unnamed Animal Crossing 2019 game... I’m a huge Nintendo fan my dudes.

when was the last time you cried? Like a few days ago? I can’t remember which of these instances came first, but I figured out I got on probation in NJHS because I got (gasp) a C+ in Geometry?! That seriously fucked-up my self-esteem, so I cried about that. But I can’t really remember if that was before or after I rewatched Madoka Magicia (which I personally consider a brilliant work of art and an anime must-see)… well either way I cried really recently.

dream house? Perhaps by the side of a crystal clear lake, maybe by the banks of a babbling brook, possibly by the sparkling seashore... but somewhere near water there would sit a two story house. Crisp hardwood makes up the walls of the construction, and there are windows opening the entire house to gorgeous natural light. Inside, everything is painted soft colors that seem to glow in the light, and every piece of furniture looks like you could sink into it’s soft surface. The downstairs floor has a living room with cases for cards, game boards, and video game disks are displayed neatly and conveniently alongside posters and figurines. It is essentially a nerd rec room. Beside that, the dining room and kitchen are organized and clean, and you can still smell pasta from the night before. A large flight upstairs leads to an upstairs library and study, which then empties out into a cozy bedroom full of stuffed animals and an open closet full of suits and coats. The bedroom has a balcony attached to it overlooking the water source nearby, a quiet and comfortable escape out into the serenity of nature. I suppose that’s all very idealistic, but this is a dream house... so I can have as many plushy sofas and anime girl figurines as I want!

what’s something you hate about the world? How selfish a lot of people are. I don’t mean to sound mean or judgmental, but there are just so many people who refuse to even try to be kind. All they care about is themselves and they don’t understand how much their actions effect those around them, and they certainly never try to adjust their viewpoints. I think there are so any problems we could resolve if we just tried to understand the people around us. After all, they aren’t going anywhere. You might as well try to make life as pleasant as possible for others, right? But that’s just my two cents. 

what’s something you love about the world? Even though the world is full of self-serving close-minded folk, there are also those who are driven and motivated to try to improve themselves and those around them. They want to try to make things more positive for those around them, they want to help those in need, and they believe in people’s capacity to improve. They believe int he ability to change and to improve. And when I see these people join hand in hand to change the world, I feel very inspired. I know it’s not possible to solve every problem, at least not in one go. But seeing people who wholeheartedly try to help out is what I love most in this world. 

what scents do you like? I tend to like scents like chocolate or sizzling steak, the kinds of scents associated with foods. Like I said, I’m always hungry. I also love the smell of nature after a rainy day, it just draws out all the scents from the flora in the most fantastic way. 

what kind of sleeper are you? If a bomb detonated outside my house, I would still stay asleep. In other words, I’m an incredibly heavy sleeper. Basically no amount of rambunctious noise can awaken me from deep slumber, but I am very responsive to someone disturbing my sleeping environment by touch. if the bed rocks or a finger brushes against my face, I’m awake instantly, probably in an anxious sweat. That’s why I can’t sleep in the car. But if you give me a warm bed and take care not to touch me in anyway, I’m dead asleep. 

are you a cat or dog person? Don’t make me choose! I love them both so much, but for completely different reasons. Cats are good because they are cuddly and soft and relaxing, but they for the most part don’t give a fuck about anything. And dogs are nice because they are so fun and loving, and sometimes they seem just as complex as humans in their emotional capacity. I love them both so much, I don’t want to choose!

how long would you survive in a zombie apocalypse? I’d probably be one of the first to kick the bucket honestly. I mean, I’ve beaten my siblings and other kids in wrestling matches more times then I can count, but a zombie apocalypse? I’d be too scared to do anything! The only thing that might push me forward would be the desire to help my loved ones, but even then I think i’d be pretty useless. Suffice it to say I’ll be easy pickings when the zombies come for our brains.

when do you feel safe? I’m pretty much always nervous to be honest, so I guess I feel safest when I’m asleep! 

are you trusting? I actually don’t know how to answer that? I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and when I make bonds I get seriously invested in them, but most people on the streets I’m always a bit on guard about. Got to play it safe, you know?

what fictional characters do you identify with? Alderheart and Hollyleaf from Warriors. Alderheart because he’s really anxious and just trying his best to be useful, and Hollyleaf because she wants to do the right thing and follow the rules but often gets confused and starts going a bit batty. For something that’s not Warriors, I’d have to go with Homura from Madoka Magica, because she puts on a lot of strong fronts to protect those she loves and to avoid failure at all costs. I’m not trying to say I’m as fucked-up as some of these characters or that any of my situations are as bad as theirs were, just that I see bits of myself in them and can feel a connection to them.

what labels do you commonly get? Well there is a lot... fangirl, nerd, overachiever, butch, standoffish, weird, tomboy... if I named all the boxes I’ve been put in I'd be here all day!

what issues are you dealing with right now? Anxiety! That’s all I'm going to say, because I honestly think I’ve said enough about my problems. It makes me kind of uncomfortable shouting my fears into the internet because... it makes me feel guilty? I don’t know. Just... anxious. That’s my problem. 

how can someone win you over? If they display an extensive knowledge of one of my fandoms then I’m instantly sold. Do you know how hard it is to find fans outside of the internet sometimes, and even in the internet? I’m so down to get in any amount of fandom talk!

[atopfourthwall]

Settle in for a bit of a post, kids – time for Linkara to talk about some pokeymanz.

So as I’ve stated on numerous occasions, when I first started playing Pokémon, it was on an emulator. I was young, I didn’t have money, and it was rare for my parents to spend any money on video games or video game consoles (we had PCs, if we wanted to game, plenty of good games out for PC). I would eventually get a Gameboy Pocket and a proper copy of Pokémon Blue, but when I started? Emulation was the way in.

Now of course being young and stupid and not being able to foresee problems in the future, I did not think to KEEP the save files in those ROMs, never figuring that I’d still want to have those Pokémon or even know how to transfer them over to a proper cartridge like I do now. As such, they have many, many times been saved over, deleted, and lost. Still, my computer has been built on top of itself a few times over, to the point where I do still find files from 2001 or the like if I dig deep enough. So occasionally, on a whim, I will go through the old emulator files I have to see if I can find an old save file of one of my original playthroughs. It’s a hopeless endeavor and I’ve done it multiple times now and it never yields results.

So during one of these efforts, I stumble upon my Pokémon Sapphire ROM. As a reminder there, much like with the Gameboy games, I didn’t have a Gameboy Advance until muuuuch later (and an SP at that) and my fandom in Pokémon had fallen off the map by the early 2000s, so when Ruby and Sapphire came out, I didn’t even really pay attention to it. Then, on a whim, I decided to get the ROM for Sapphire and play it. For the record, I was not a fan. It wasn’t that it was terrible, just that the Pokémon for Gen 3 didn’t really do anything for me. I played through it as best as I could, eventually beating the Elite 4 MOSTLY because I didn’t know much about the game and assumed that, like Gold/Silver, I’d be able to travel back to Johto after I beat the Elite 4 and play through a second region like in those games. Hell, there even seemed to be two ports that served no other purpose in the game (whooo, you can sail between them… when you could also just Fly…), but of course to my disappointment that was not the case. I was grumbly about it, did some Gameshark codes in the emulator to get a team of legendaries, then a team of Pokémon from Gens 1 and 2 that I liked, but in the end just gave up on it and moved on.

So on a whim, I load up the Sapphire ROM and look through some of the save states. I find the legendary one, I find the one with Gen 1/2 Pokémon… aaaand then I find a playthrough of my original team. This was Pre-Elite 4, but after I had reached Evergrande City, so I was clearly just training for the Elite 4 at that point. So here they are – the six Pokémon that I had trained to be my team in a game I didn’t really like all that much. This was the earliest team of Pokémon that I had ever raised that were still available. The save file was from 2003. They were almost fifteen years old. They had just been sitting here, waiting. Their future had been erased. Their only fate was to sit and wait to finish the game when that was never going to happen, never going to continue, hoping that their trainer would finish the job that he had started.

That was unacceptable.

I may not have liked Gen 3 that much, but dang it, these were my first ones from it, and I’ll be damned if I was going to let them spend another day there instead of fulfilling their destiny. I fired up a bunch of the equipment that I had gotten for the Gen 1/2 trade-up video (some of it was in disrepair, like the GBA Flash cart, so I used the DS emulator trading option I described in the video to get them) and got these bad boys up to Alpha Sapphire.

Hell yeah. Not only are these six going to beat the Elite 4, they’re going to beat a TOUGHER Elite 4 – the one for the remake games, since obviously I had already beaten Alpha Sapphire (I liked Alpha Sapphire more, but that team was 5/6 made of Pokémon from other generations – my starter was a Zubat – just wanted a team of Pokémon I had always wanted to try). Let me introduce you to these dudes.

Back in the day, I didn’t nickname my Pokémon – thought it was dumb. I’m older now and I LOVE nicknaming them. Gives them more character and uniqueness. First up – Sceptimus. I’m not particularly fond of any of Gen 3’s starters, which is a shame since they’re all good, so at the time I went with the one I disliked least, which was Treecko. Nowadays while I hold no particular attachment to them, I do still appreciate Sceptile’s badass tail and leaf blade arms. And of course now in Alpha Sapphire, he’s a friggin’ DRAGON, too.

Next – Sniperbird. A lot of times the token bird of the generation ends up on the team, usually as a well-balanced Flying-type and this Swellow is no exception. The name comes from a bit in Birdemic where twice a random bird just straight up swoops on and kills people with one shot. I affectionately referred to it both times as Sniperbird. Now look at this Swellow – tell me you can’t see this thing flying in and killing you in one hit.

Third – MAKIT. This one, as you can tell by the original trainer name is an in-game trade for a Slakoth. Most would probably keep the Slakoth to get a Slaking, but at the time, knowing nothing about the game, I didn’t know what a Makuhita was and Slakoth didn’t impress me. While Hariyama has never really done much for me, Makuhita is an adorable little boxer with a permanent grin and I love it. While Hariyama’s design might not impress, it’s my first Fighting Type I ever had as a party member and he will beat your ass like a drum.

Fourth is Positra. Plusle and Minun are Gen 3’s Pikachu variant and of course at the time I didn’t realize it would never evolve, but look at this thing – it’s adorable and its cheeks are shaped like plus symbols. Positra might not be the strongest, but damn if it ain’t cute and it can still zap you if given the chance. Electrike and Manectric always looked weird to me, but Plusle is fast and it can hit hard if given the chance.

Then we have Geist. Sableye, until Fairy type came along, used to be a Pokémon without any weaknesses. I don’t even remember catching this guy back in the day or having him on my team, yet here he is. I likely just enjoyed him because of the weird ghost design and wanted a Ghost type for my team, but of course he has so much more to offer, especially nowadays since his only weakness is Fairy. His stats are not the best, but like Sceptimus his Mega Evolution can compensate for that.

And finally, Oceanus. I wasn’t fond of ANY of the water types for Gen 3 back in the day. These days I like a lot more, but for a place with so much water, I’m fairly certain I used some other Pokémon for surfing for the longest time simply because I didn’t have anything else I liked, but I was quite fond of this Legendary. Not my favorite, obviously, but it’s a big-ass whale and it can flood the entire damn planet, so you don’t mess with it.

So yeah, used the Blisseys Secret Bases to power-level them up and I’ve now beaten the Alpha Sapphire Elite Four. Hello, old friends – it’s been too long.

[shotce]

10 Questions

Omg you guys, I feel so loved lol thank you! Soooo, I hope I'm doing this right, now that I'm finally getting around to it! 10 QUESTIONS: Tagged by @ellebeedarling 1. What’s the best vacation you’ve ever had? Oh, this is hard. Um. When I went to Edinburgh I had an absolute blast, and I can't remember if we did the day trip to Paris that visit or the one before, but yeah. Gale force winds and torrential downpour by the Eiffel Tower and it was STILL super fun.
 2. Who was your first crush (or first close friend if you’ve never had a crush)? Huh, some kid in elementary school? 😅 3. What is your favorite tv series? Ooo, so many! I'm currently watching Due South, Game of Thrones and Teen Wolf(past seasons, no Stiles, no me), tho. 4. Are you into sports? Participating or watching? Which ones? I prefer being active in one, but going to baseball games is fun. 5. What is your guilty pleasure album/musician? The one you’re embarrassed to tell people you love? I have no shame! My Chemical Romance. But Irish Punk and the Fallout playlist on Spotify are my Go Tos. 6. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Finally getting cold weather and snuggling up with hot drinks, the poodle and appropriate movies. 7. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage? Irish coffee or cranberry vodka rn. 8. What is something you’ve always wanted to learn how to do? So many things, a second language would be nice. 9. Are you a singer or a dancer or both? I used to sing well enough, now I don't even try. I can do the Shepard shuffle! 10. Do you play any musical instruments? I've tried. Flute, organ, drums. I never stayed interested long enough. Tagged by @missannaraven 1. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Oh man, pizza?
 2. Do you have any nicknames? If not, is there one you’d like to have? Shotce, Iggy, Lainey, Zombie (every morning my roomies see me), Ti-Ti, Dory, Lainers etc. 3. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d buy? Tickets to Ireland with plans to go eastward until I'm back home. You know I'll have to bring all my buddies too. International road trip ftw!!
 4. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night.
 5. Do you consider yourself a good cook? I grew up with parents who are great at cooking (used to have their own restaurant and pizzeria) so I know my fair share, but there's a lot I've never learned that I should have😩 6. What kinds of things really make you laugh? I like being stupid with friends. I also get really excited very easily about nerdy things.
 7. What is your favourite way to spend a day off? Relaxing with the poodle. Reading fanfic. Hiking once upon a time.
 8. Do you have any pet peeves? Usually work related things, my sister, people WHO CAN'T DRIVE (though I've probably done the same thing at one point)
 9. Who is your best friend? Irl girl!Cody. On tumblr, @ellebeedarling .
 10. What should I know about you that I’d never think to ask? Idek I used to be very religious thanks to my sheltered Catholic upbringing. Love of fanfic and fandom removed a lot of that nonsense from my eyes, but I still struggle with what I used to believe and what I still do, if that makes sense? Tagged by @sweet-ree 1. What’s your sign? Birthday? Aries, April 1. 2. Favorite cocktail? (If you don’t drink, favorite concoction?) This week it's the Nutella latte from Sambalatte. 3. Do you have any special/unusual/secret talents? Err. Uhmmmm. Monkey toes? 4. What is a personal accomplishment you are proud of? Did anyone tell you that you couldn’t do it? I started drawing again. I've traveled places far away. 5. What is your favorite stuffed animal? Current please (and don’t tell me you don’t have any, I’m over 40 and I have lots incl a giant Appa, I wont believe you) LOL Let's see, I donated a lot but kept the large, fluffy Eeyore I got when I was sick on my first trip to Disneyland when I was 22. Then I got my Grunt plushie. And the Dogmeat one. 5.5 Favorite fic writers? Ouch. Which fandom? Lol 7. Phrase from a video game which became like a mantra to you? (one of my favorite questons!) Living lean~Kaidan Alenko , gotta cut out that clutter! 8. Who was your first fictional crush? (another favorite) Aladdin and Esmeralda. I think. 9. Any kinks you’d like to share? My kinks are of the non-sexual kind like cute messages, domesticity and fluffy things. 10. Post a gif/smiley face/pic/emoji of your current mood. 😋 Tagged by @estalfaed Dream Vacation location? If it has to be one place, Finland. Who did you save - Kaidan or Ashley? Kaidan. What is your favorite desert? Boston Cream or cherries. What is a MUST-HAVE in a prospective partner? Kindness, loves dogs, nerdiness, hygienic. Which was your favorite Doctor Who companion (if you watched the show)? Whelp. Only watched it with my Who-obsessed friends. I liked Rose, but Martha was kickass and River was was just...saucy. River counts! A salt circle is good for keeping out what? Demonic thingys and spirits. Sadly, not unwanted family. Favorite Movie? Star Wars/Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, The Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hocus Pocus, Aliens etc etc If you could have any super power, what would it be? Breathing under water maybe. You have three paths before you, one leads to a misty forest, one leads to a ruined castle, and the last leads to a quiet lagoon. Which do you choose? Oh dude, I see a castle overseas and I'm Gone, but I'll always pick the forest. If you could see your future, good, bad and in between. Would you want to? I'll always want to know, but hopefully will say no. My Questions: Which (video game) character do you most empathize with and why? In ME3 did you pick Control, Synthesis or Destroy? Or which one did you favor when playing multiple times? If you didn't play ME, which type of endings do you usually choose? What is an otp you don't post as much about? What about your notp? Would you be interested in a flat Kaidan/mshenko sent out through the community? What is your favorite type of xover to read/see? Don't like xovers? What's a show/movie/fandom you're into that's rarely on your blog? What trope is your favorite and which one do you despise? Do you have any gaming/writing rituals? (I.e. Cocktails, mood lighting) What way do you like to shake off a bad day? Or what motivates you? If you joined the Inquistion (or moved into a castle) where would you park your butt? Tavern? Library? The gardens? Stable? What is your weapon of choice in most video games? Powers/biotics? Shotguns or arrows? Wit or strength? YAY and that's 10. Man that was hard. Ok, I tag everyone below, feel free to join in if you want. @estalfaed @sweet-ree @ellebeedarling @missannaraven @estora @mehutchinsane @you-are-a-program @young-avenger @mandydarlings @thejollywriter @omegastation @threewhiskeylunch @introspecticskeptic @blueteaparty @rego-mem @humblydefiant @simon-and-garfunkbot @willowdeville @mshenkoaddiction @vorchagirl @renlyslittlerose @blueeyeschina

[cyanoscarlet]

this is how you introduce a new fandom

#yoiweek2017 Day 1 (Le Parfum Des Fleurs) - beginnings and firsts

Or, how Yuuri was convinced to watch an anime based on his life.

(stories on (and off) ice)

.

It was both flattering and mortifying, Yuuri thought, when a story based on your life and love suddenly skyrocketed in popularity like gossip spreading like a forest wildfire.

He sighed as he watched his sniffling husband from the kitchen. Viktor was crying over yet another episode of this "original fantasy action anime about a no-good mage who meets and falls for the number one ice wizard in the continent." It was really good, they said. The animation was beautiful, the story was riveting and the romance was done perfectly right.

Don't get him wrong; he appreciates a good story as much as the next person does. The love and care and attention to detail that went into the creation of this latest sensation was clearly evident in every frame drawn and every line spoken. It was, no doubt, a wonderful work in its own right. It was even considered by many as a revolutionary piece that broke barriers and made history.

What Yuuri did not appreciate -- and certainly did not expect (though he should have, given the circumstances) -- was the hordes of rabid fans and insatiable tabloid writers that practically crash the door and breathe down his neck every single morning since the first episode aired, and seemed to multiply exponentially by the week.

Chalk it up to very observant people to put two and two together, and your high-profile whirlwind love story is revived and retold again on almost every website and social media platform in existence. The side-by-side comparisons went up to eleven when the seventh episode featured the two leads kissing before the cheering stadium - just like how Viktor, his coach at that time, had kissed him at the Cup of China a mere three years earlier.

The fans became a lot more persistent that day, he recalled. Even the casual passers-by recognized them now. "Oh my god, it's so-and-so! From that show!" (Yuuri could not be bothered to recall the names of the characters.) Viktor eagerly responded to this by kissing him soundly on the lips in public - again.

As always, the Russian's attempts at getting him to watch the new episode together failed spectacularly that night.

.

  Yuuri and Viktor were not the only ones whose lives have changed because of the show. Yurio, for one, started receiving hate mail from all sorts of fans - mostly fujoshi, from what he had gathered. Messages ranging from "damn Mudblood" to "inferior Valentin-wannabe", or colorful variations and combinations thereof, began filling the reigning World Champion's inbox at such an alarming rate, he'd actually changed his phone number and locked all his social media accounts by the time the fourth episode had aired.

("I don't even watch that shit," Yurio had lamented in frustration through a private Skype session. "And even I know that Mudblood's from a totally different fandom! What's wrong with these fucking people?!"

That's what you're worried about? Yuuri had been tempted to say out loud, but he'd kept his mouth shut. Maybe it was just the stress of the upcoming Grand Prix Final talking. The men's short program event was the next day, after all. Other than that, he'd completely sympathized with the angry blond.)

Fortunately, the messages stopped when the current episode aired half an hour ago. Yuuri knew at once when his ringtone for Yurio began playing from his pocket and Viktor tearfully joined him in the kitchen at the same time as soon as the livestream finished. "Let's have katsudon pirozhki tomorrow!" he exclaimed, his eyes shining brighter than usual. "To celebrate Julian finally befriending Yoichi!"

"Okay, Viten'ka," Yuuri shrugged, knowing better than to correct his husband on the in-universe pastry the show's tritragonist had just offered the main character. How they even knew about that event between Yurio and himself at Moscow was purely anyone's guess. ("This show is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real-life persons, places and events is purely coincidental," indeed.)

The phone's vibration gradually increased in intensity as the ringtone segued into the annoying screechy guitar part. (Yuuri never learned how to switch it back after Mila had fiddled with it back when they were in St. Petersburg.) "One moment." He fished out his phone and answered the call, expecting another loud tirade on why the hell he didn't pick up sooner. Instead, he heard heavy breathing over the line, seemingly accentuated by the static.

"... Finally..." Yurio started, his voice unnaturally subdued for someone supposed to be angry. "... They finally stopped..."

Yuuri knew where this was going. "Congratulations for holding out for so long, Yurio," he answered with all compassion. "Are you celebrating tonight?"

"After all that trouble? Of course I am!" The blond loudly harrumphed. "Beka and I are having katsudon pirozhki tonight!"

Viktor immediately snatched the phone from Yuuri's grasp. "Yurio! I didn't know you watched Glassheart, too! Isn't it wonderful?! Who's your favorite character besides Julian? Mine's Yoichi, of course!"

"HELL NO!" Yurio snapped. "Get off my case, old man! Go talk to Chulanont or something!"

Viktor nodded back excitedly, still on an all-time high post-episode rush. "I will! I'm handing you back to Yuuri now." He gave Yuuri the phone back, planting a kiss on his cheek before returning to the couch to call Phichit.

Yuuri put the phone back to his ear. "It's me again... Actually I'm also making katsudon pirozhki for lunch tomorrow. It's been so long; I have to prepare."

"Figured as much."

.

  What Viktor usually meant by "call Phichit" was to open their Skype group for figure skaters who also liked Glassheart. (Yuuri made sure to remember the title now after much persuasion by his husband, lest he gets mobbed by his other friends online, too.) It was a video conference, as always. It didn't take long before the conversation went into full swing, so he played a selection of everyone's skating music from the last few seasons so he would not hear any spoilers.

The beginning lines of "Shall We Skate" was cut off momentarily as a chat bubble appeared on the home screen. It was from Phichit, Yuuri noted, as he pressed a button on his headset to resume the audio playback and lower the volume.

  phichit+chu: hi yuuri! long time no chat!! :))

Me: Hello, Phichit!

Me: It's only been a week, though?

phichit+chu: lol same thing

phichit+chu: so have u watched glassheart already??? :O

phichit+chu: its 3/4 done now, u got some serious catching up to do :)))

(Typing...)

Me: I haven't, sorry.

Me: Viktor's been asking me to watch it with him, too.

Me: I just can't seem to get into it as much as everyone else.

Me: I guess it hits a little too close to home for me.

  Yuuri stopped typing. It was evident Viktor immensely enjoyed the show, even more so because it was obviously based on their own real-life relationship. He'd been a fan since day one, tweeting his thoughts and reactions every week. Now a good nine episodes in, his follower count had shot up to the mid-hundred-thousands and counting. Fans of both the show and figure skating were very much excited to have the Living Legend (and real-life inspiration) on board, and soon he became known as the "Prince of the Fandom" - the King, of course, being the original author.

Many a fan had once asked if Yuuri watched Glassheart, too, seeing as he was the other significant person involved in the story. Viktor handled these questions himself since he knew the Japanese man did not like being associated with the show, albeit not as vehemently vocal about it as Yurio was. (That had almost become a total PR disaster, if not for Yakov's timely intervention with a total media blackout for the young Russian skater.) Yuuri himself chose to stay quiet about it as he went about his daily activities, avoiding requests for interviews and comments pertaining to the show. However, the increasing guilt for putting his husband through this situation in his place, combined with a genuine, slowly-piqued curiosity brought about by many, many messages from various fans, made him reconsider his stance on the matter.

Above all, he missed spending time with Viktor. Sex was one thing, but quality time like this rarely presented itself throughout their respective busy schedules. So maybe...  

  phichit+chu: awww thats a shame :((

(Typing...)

phichit+chu: its actually why i watch the show. it does so many things right. i love how it showcases a mature, healthy romance done right, just like ur love story with victor :')

phichit+chu: at least u would like the action scenes??? they remind u alot of figure skating

phichit+chu: guanghong likes the fighting and magic scenes actually. leo loves the ost

phichit+chu: sara and mila have a crush on the mc yoichi ehehe ;))

phichit+chu: dont tell them i told u tho

Me: Haha, don't worry, I won't. :)

phichit+chu: just give it a chance okay? u might like it :')

Me: I'm still not sure. Maybe if Viktor can effectively convince me. ;)

phichit+chu: listen to ur hubby, man ;)) listen to ur heart :))

  Phichit stopped responding after that. He must be active on the Skype conference now. Yuuri walked out to the living room, and could hear Phichit's boisterous laughter from Viktor's phone as they discussed the ending scene at the kingdom's harbor. Mila was now attempting to pry details out of her former rinkmate about what went down when they reunited after the Rostelecom Cup three years ago.

"No comment," Viktor answered, a secretive smile playing on his lips. "That's between me and Yuuri only."

"No fair, Vitya!" Mila cried foul. "You know he's never gonna spill! How will we make comparison notes now?"

Viktor hummed back amusedly. "Well, I'm not helping. Good luck with that, Mila."

Phichit and Leo also whined at this, while Guanghong tried to placate them. Sara merely laughed in the background.

Yuuri, too, was laughing softly.

.

  It was several hours before the airing of the last episode when Yuuri surprised his husband over dinner. Viktor almost spit out his water when he asked if they could marathon the past eleven episodes while waiting for the finale.

"I guess I'm kind of interested now, with all the hype going on," he confessed, picking at a piece of meat with his chopsticks. "If you're not busy tonight, of course."

Viktor beamed at him, his eyes gleaming ecstatically. He would have hugged the bespectacled man right there and then, if it weren't for the table between them, so he settled for reaching out to clasp Yuuri's free hand, his wedding ring reflecting the white light hanging above them.

"I'll always have time, my Yuuri." Viktor smiled at him tenderly, the silver fringe over his left eye parting ever so slightly as he tilted his head. "I love spending time with you."

Yuuri closed his eyes, feeling somewhat absolved of whatever it was that had been weighing him down. He entwined his fingers between Viktor's, returning the smile with a fond one of his own before letting go. "We should hurry, Viten'ka. I don't want us to be late."

Viktor nodded and resumed eating. The couple finished their meal in silence, the excitement palpable between them, even as they put away the tableware and washed up for the night.

The laptop had already been set up when Yuuri came out to the living room, bringing with him a large blanket and two steaming cups of hot chocolate on a tray. (Not the bedroom, he'd insisted earlier. They might fall asleep.) Viktor clicked on a few icons before invitingly patting on the spot next to him. Yuuri places the tray on the low table next to the laptop, spreading the blanket to wrap around themselves with before joining his husband on the couch.

"I knew you'd come around eventually." Viktor nudged at his shoulder, winking playfully. "I've waited for so long, you know."

"Good things come to those who wait," Yuuri intoned, the old English adage rolling perfectly on his tongue. He leaned in and rested his head on his husband's shoulder. "Shall we?"

"Of course." Viktor tapped on the spacebar, and animated snowflakes began filling the screen.

The opening theme was captivating, the positive lyrics daring the listener to dream big and aim high. The instrumental parts and the repeating refrains were really catchy, and Yuuri caught himself humming along even after it ended. Viktor was humming along, too, albeit at a faster pace. Yuuri smiled; he loved hearing his husband sing.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration if Yuuri said the first episode blew him away. They did not hesitate to set the tone of the series with a healthy mix of fast-paced fight sequences, colorful spells and lightning-speed attacks (which, yes, did resemble figure skating spins and jumps a lot), all tied together by a dramatic narrative that tugged at the heartstrings and pooled tears in the eyes.

Yurio would have enjoyed this show, he thought. It's a shame all that stuff happened to the poor boy before he could even give the show a chance.

They were not kidding when they said Glassheart was totally (albeit loosely) based on his and Viktor's story. Watching the interactions between the leads Yoichi and Valentin, Yuuri could not help but wonder at how well the creators have captured their own dynamics as coach and skater back then, and adapted it perfectly to a medieval fantasy setting. He started daydreaming about icicles forming at his fingertips, easily manipulating their form into whatever he wished. He had been mentally sculpting a still image of Viktor and himself floating in the air when the fourth episode ended.

Viktor was now chuckling as his on-screen wizard incarnation drunkenly hit on the poor bespectacled mage a in the tavern, while said mage's friend gleefully cackled before a floating magic sphere. "And there goes Match Number 55," he explained. "I never really understood how notorious Phichit actually was about these things until this episode aired."

Yuuri responded with a curious hum. He knew better, having been the Thai's friend and rinkmate for longer. On another note, Viktor and the others have apparently been keeping track of the similarities between this show and real-life happenings. Yuuri declined the offer to read through Phichit's detailed masterpost on it later.

His heart soared when Yoichi managed to win his first match at the Wizards' Tournament, even attempting to cast Valentin's signature spell, the Glassheart. It was only for a short moment, a far cry from the powerful attack the legendary ice wizard had unleashed on the dragon in the first episode. Still, Valentin had been so happy and so proud, that he had kissed his protégé before the audience right there and then.

Beside him, Viktor was in tears again. He'd already stopped giving any form of commentary at this point, in favor of "feeling the feels," whatever that meant.

Yuuri sipped his drink slowly. He wished tonight would never end.

.

  The final episode closed with a shot of Yoichi and Valentin standing on the bridge where they had first met, the former now also sporting the uniform of the Royal Wizard Regiment, a silver badge pinned on his breast. Both characters shared a tender kiss, before the screen panned up and faded out to the words, "ab hinc in aeternum" -- from here to eternity.

No sooner had the livestream cut off than Yuuri turned his attention to his husband, who was currently a beautiful, inelegant mess. It reminded him a lot of the time he'd inadvertently shattered his then-coach's heart into pieces by declaring his intentions to retire after the GPF in Barcelona. Though Yuuri's own heart had ached as much, he was glad they'd had that conversation at all. They'd both learned so much from it, and had grown stronger, as a result.

He put an arm around the sniffling Russian, running his hands up and down the latter's shoulder in a slow, reassuring motion. After several quiet minutes, Viktor reached his own right hand up to clasp his, their wedding rings bumping against each ther in their entwined fingers.

"Duo corda," he whispered, referring to the new spell the two leads had created by fusing their Glassheart spells at the last moment in order to defeat the final enemy. It was a beautiful yet destructive spiraling of two columns of living ice, which culminated in a giant arrow that pierced through the monster's impenetrable barrier and stabbed it right through the heart.

More like, "the power of love," actually, if Yuuri dared to have any say in it, but the hot tears brimming on his own eyes said otherwise. He did not expect this anime to make him laugh and cry as much as it had over the past four hours, but it did its job nonetheless and went way beyond that. (Then again, though, the Japanese skating legend was very much known for having a more fragile heart than most other glass-hearted figure skaters everywhere. Or, at least, Viktor had said so.)

So he settled for repeating Viktor's words, reciting from memory the broken Latin phrases that constituted the love song that constantly played during tender moments between the wizards in love. Somewhere along the moment, they had switched from somewhat-butchered Latin to a more-practiced Italian as they softly sang segments of Stammi Vicino in unison.

Yuuri looked up at his husband, poking his head out of the blanket. "Not going to post anything tonight?"

Viktor stopped humming, pursing his lips in mock-deep thought. "I'll do that tomorrow," he finally decided. "I have a lot of feelings to process."

"So you do," Yuuri agreed, observing the already-dried tracks of tears down the other man's cheeks. "What about Phichit and the others?"

"I turned off my phone, actually." Viktor laughed, holding up the dark gadget for his husband to see. "Tonight is Yuuri-time," he added with a flourish, gesturing as flashily as he could from a cramped space, almost dropping the phone in the process. Yuuri caught it just in time, a bubbling feeling of euphoria welling up from deep within his chest.

"If that's the case," he began, "then I have an idea."

Yuuri fumbled for his own phone, opening his barely-used Instagram app. He angled the camera to include an aesthetic shot of the powered-down laptop, the two empty cups of chocolate, and both their legs entangled together. Viktor buried his head into the crook of his neck upon reading the caption, holding the other man to himself tighter than ever.

"You're one sappy romantic, Yuuri Nikiforov," he commented, his shuddering breath as he exhaled tickling Yuuri's neck. "You never cease to surprise me."

Yuuri smiled proudly, bringing his husband closer and kissing him gently. "I learn from the best."

.

     [Image.jpg]

yuuri-katsuki Ab hinc in aeternum. Loving you is an irreplaceable joy like no other.

Liked by v-nikiforov, phichit+chu and 5,277 others

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iheartkatsudon OMG GLASSHEART

lysssssnikiforova welcome to the fandom @yuuri-katsuki !!

phichit+chu about time yuuri!!! :))) @v-nikiforov @m_babicheva @sara-crispino @leo_dli @+guanghongji+

[mojitothot]

A Tag

Rules:

1. Always post the rules

2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you

3. Write 11 questions of your own

4. Tag 11 people

tagged by @saltyshiro 

1. Narwhal or walrus? Narwhal!!! I dont know why, maybe a left over from my scene phase lol yikes

2. Would you prefer carefully curated shitposts or new memes? This ones hard because I love both deeply... I’ll go with shitposts. Unlike new memes, shitposts never get old.

3. Opinion on the Fresco Nightwalkers? I had to look this up, but honestly? Same

4. What’s your favorite book? Author? I dont really read books a lot but I loved reading The Martian by Andy Weir. I originally read it because one of my favorite actors (Sebastian Stan) is in the movie but I gotta say, the books better than the movie. Finished it in 4 days lol

5.  Cats, dogs, or lizards? Cats! I want a cat so bad bruh

6. The cats are yelling, the dogs are crying, and the lizards are squeaking. What did you do? ????????? i leave and come back later

7. Why did you do it? Sometimes when theres too much noise you gotta take a walk and clear your head before dealing with the issue

8. “Don’t eat him he’s sleeping!” “Why not?” ??????? WHY ARE WE EATING PEOPLE

9. Nigel Thornberry: is he Coran? No but they are definitely distant cousins

10. How would you trick the fae, if you had the chance? Point at something random to make them look and then run in the opposite direction

11. When you think of dragons do you imagine them with a wolfish face or the nose of a camel? A wolfish face, but I also see them looking like birds??? Idk

12. favorite place? My bed lol

13. does your zodiac sign fit you? Kind of? Im a capricorn. I do love earning money and being confident in what I do, but Im also no where near being a badass 

14. are you more scared of fire or water? Fire. I live in arizona, it would be a damn shame to be afraid of water

15. is there something you would never, EVER eat? Raw meat that isnt sushi. Like rare steak. Ew im gagging just thinking about it. I would also never eat people but that kinda falls in the same category.

16. weird kink/guilty pleasure? Hmmmm. My guilty pleasure is probably fast food at the moment. Im trying to lose weight but In N Out sure isnt helping. 

17. mermaids, werewolves, centaurs, or vampires? Im stuck between mermaids and vampires

18. if you could choose to be a ghost, would you? Hell no. I feel like that would be scary and kinda sad. I would miss my friends and my bed and food.

19. favorite material? (i.e. leather, latex, satin, cotton, etc) I love lace and satin. Theyre both so sexy and comfortable

20. if you ever met mothman, what would you do? Introduce him to my buddo Mr. Keith Kogane

21. favorite weird or underrated movie? Theres this movie they used to have on Netflix called Spork. It was an independent movie but it was sooo good and unique

22. are you ticklish and if so where? My sides and my feet. Thank god I dont have a foot fetish.

My questions:

23. What 5 words would you use to describe your aesthetic?

24. What type of videos do you like to watch on Youtube?

25. If you could jump into any mythical world which would it be?

26. What fandoms are you a part of?

27. If you had to choose between exploring the depths of the ocean or the vastness of space which would you choose?

28. What is the last song you listened to?

29. If you were one of the paladins of Voltron, which lion do you think you would pilot?

30. Whats your guilty pleasure snack when stopping at the convenience store?

31. Whats the weirdest stereotype you’ve ever heard about your country/region?

32. If your icon told you to jump off a cliff, would you?

33. What was the first fandom you joined?

I tag: @cakeismyname @champagnepadre @starlouist @cubanlance @keithkoqane @keithkogaint @klance @gamorakeith @heroesofvoltron @lanception @lance-lance-revolution