#it's not in any of my fashion dictionaries

[clove-pinks]

Pelisse Russe by Paul Gavarni in La Mode, 1830.

[bitegore]

When i say i want to hang out with weirdos I do not mean "I want to hang with gay people and that's my marker for whether or not someone is weird." I'm not saying "weird" and meaning "vaguely aro" or "polyam" or "nonbinary" or whatever. Those are not personality traits. They tell you nothing about what that person is like. If i say I need more weird people in my social circle I'm talking about people who are weird. People who aren't like, going with the grain of any community based on literally anything. I have standards for this. I'm looking for like. People who won't blink if I say i only ever enter my house through the window or when I talk about drinking gasoline and then do it and they see I'm not joking, or people who won't think anything huge of me cracking the top of an eggshell and drinking the whole thing from the top in one mouthful. Or if they do, they do enough same-vein shit that it doesn't faze them. These are not really the same as being part of a very broad group of people who happen to have an exogender or whatever. I have met some incredibly normal (derogatory) trans people and gay people and aro people and nonbinary people. When i say weird I mean weird.

[mayon3sa]

🗯️700 Days of you

SYNOPSIS: Part 2 for the infamous Bakugou texts

DISCLAIMER: Guys English isn't really my first language, though i understand it well i had my friend read over and give me feedback on what i should've changed and added I'm sorry if this is a let down but i tried really hard, i hope you guys enjoy any feedback is greatly appreciated, also I'm so sorry it took almost a week i kept scraping so many ideas sorry , ending was kinda rushed as well sorryyyy :((( <3

You've known Bakugou Katsuki for roughly 700 days, which is since you were 14. It's not like you knew him well, you just always saw him around your middle school, neighborhood, and at your parents' jobs. The first time you caught a glimpse of Bakugo was on the first day of middle school, the same year you would be leaving for high school. There wasn't anything special about that day, but what made you cherish that day was that he looked back at you as well.

The very first time you got to catch a glimpse of who Bakugou was as a person was through a school project. There aren't enough words in any dictionary to express your gratitude towards Aizawa for pairing you guys together. That day, you managed to get his number and meet up with him at a cafe. Looking back at that memory, you start to cry, not from sadness but embarrassment.

"Hey Bakugou, over here, I got some food for us," were the first words you had spoken to him directly. It seemed foolish to think about his response; would it be "Thank you so much, I love you, let's get married"? Not really. Maybe you had started reading too many romance mangas with Sero. "I don’t like anything that’s not spicy," he said bluntly, getting straight to the point. You would be lying if you said you weren't feeling as if he would explode any second.

"Oh, well, I can always ask for something else."

"There’s no need for that, let's just get started with the project."

"Oh, right. So, I was thinking..." As the afternoon soon turned into nighttime, you both had a pretty decent outline. Bakugou wasn’t bad, at least you didn’t think so. He was the type of person to get straight to the point of whatever he needed to communicate. Although he had trouble wrapping his head around the idea of teamwork, he was still there with you, giving you his views on your research and fixing the paper you had made.

When the night approached, you had both parted ways. That day, you could proudly say that Bakugou wasn’t as entitled as everyone made him out to be; he was smart. It came as a shock to you - getting used to his yelling was hard, but seeing him care for a school project and be somewhat smarter than you was even more surprising.

The second time you caught a glimpse of Bakugou was when you were at work. Not that you wished to be a stalker, but that's what it seemed like at the moment. As he walked through the door, both of you were stunned to see each other. Although you wished you could crawl into a hole and die in that moment, you still had to stay professional.

"Hello, welcome to Mitsumu’s Fashion headquarters. What can I help you with today?" This was the most embarrassing moment in your life. He just stood there staring at you before he spoke up, "Yeah, I’m just gonna go to my mom’s office. She told me to stop by to help her with a photoshoot." "Oh yeah. I’m supposed to be there. We can start the shoot in a few minutes. Just waiting for the next receptionist to clock in."

20 minutes went by, along with 20 minutes of your anxiety catching up to you, fearing what was to come. The shoot went by pretty smoothly in your opinion. Well, at least Bakugou posing in different outfits went well. The only thing that went south was when the other crew members whispered about you. It was as if you weren’t there.

‘She’s such a screw-up, why can’t they just fire her already i’m getting kind of annoyed having her around’ was a sentence that caught you in a trance, amongst the ‘ugh not her’ and the ‘she’s so weird’ hearing that sentence was enough to make you stop dead in your tracks. 

Words hurt. They seemed to cut deeper with every passing day at work. But then you realized that perhaps not all words hurt equally. It was Bakugou who made you believe in that last sentence.

“You two over there near the lights, you’re not discreet at hiding your gossip, instead of focusing on a teenager at your grown age you should maybe focus on doing your job, see that light over there go fix it. It’s your job. She’s doing hers quite fine, Such shame the person you seem to talk about put you both in shame”

He looked at you, and you looked at him. In that moment you knew that deep down the angry Katsuki Bakugou everyone was so afraid of was a mask to hide how he felt. You realized at that moment that Bakugou wasn’t a bad person at all, he just had issues, just like everyone else, And part of you understood that it was okay that he did that. Because by the end of that day, you could say, Katsuki Bakugou was a kind person.

In your eyes, Katuski was the kindest person you could think of if you get to know him that is, and although kind isn’t a word people use when describing him, It was what you thought of him, and you certainly loved viewing him as such.

Katsuki Bakugou, who stayed sleepless nights with you in a cafe reading romance novels and hearing you rant about your favorite character

Katsuki Bakugou, who always glanced at you when sparring because you would cough more normally than what your drawbacks usually are

Katsuki Bakugou, who when you have no money pays for your food and orders more to disguise it as an eating competition saying he would win and ends up giving you his food because he claimed he didn’t like it, even though it’s his favorite

Katsuki Bakugou, Who hated physical touch but would let you cling to him whenever you got excited, scared, or sometimes needed a shoulder to cry on

Katsuki Bakugou, Who isn’t good at comforting people but tries to show support in different ways and when he’s cornered for being soft will always reply with ‘I’m just telling the truth’

That was the Bakugou you knew, or at least you thought you did. But you couldn’t recognize who stood in front of you.

Bakugo Katsuki, who now stood in front of you saying words you wish you could cancel out “We were never friends, I only let you stick around out of pity”. Maybe this was the kind of person you tried seeing in someone. But not everything goes how we want it to go, do we? In the end, it was you seeking comfort in someone else when they probably didn’t want you around.

Maybe 700 days of thinking you knew Bakugou were probably reduced to 1, the one being today. You had concluded the person you once thought was kind was just a character you decided to make in your head.

“What’s up with you, you looked like you got run over” How you wish you could smack your best friend right now, “Shindo you think you’re so funny, could you at least pretend to care, you assface” Yo Shindo, the only person you could say has seen through you, not just physically but emotionally as well.

Shindo just never seemed to leave you alone, having met you at recess one random day in kindergarten. He had spotted you and just followed you around wherever you went. You hit him multiple times with rocks hoping he would leave you alone “You can’t keep hitting me with rocks that’s mean, and I’m older than you” were the first words he had told you.

“I don’t care if you’re older just leave me alone” “No” “ Why not” “Because” “Because?” “Just Because” From that day on Yo Shindo followed you everywhere and you listened to whatever he had to say. At this moment, you wish you had thrown a tree trunk at him when you were younger.

“Get up let’s go get ice cream, you’re even making ME depressed, I don’t know what happened at UA, you don’t have to talk about it just come with me to get ice cream”

“How did you get in my house in the first place”

“I broke in”

“You’re lying, no you didn’t Yo”

“I’m kidding your mom let me in”

Hanging out with Shindo was always a way to decompress however you felt in situations. Being separated from Shindo at the start of High School was always hard to get used to. Not having him come visit you during lunch always felt so strange to you, half of your life seeing him come to your door with two bento boxes just disappear into thin air, leaving you lonely almost every day.

“Shindo is there any way I could transfer to Shiketsu” 

“Not that I know of, why?”

“At school, there was this guy I started getting close with, I liked him a lot. Maybe as friends, as more, I can't tell my feelings apart but I know one thing. We started getting closer and getting to know each other, I thought he was a great guy, he would do things that just made me feel loved, not necessarily romantically loved but I felt seen with him”

“It was that comfortable feeling I get when I'm with you. If that makes sense, I thought he felt the same way since he also opened up to me. He texted me yesterday saying he didn’t want to be friends with me anymore, I thought it was a joke Shindo, i even went to the company to look for answers, I found him in the middle of a shoot and I was hoping he would tell me  it was a joke but in the end, he told me‘ We were never friends, I only let you stick around out of pity’.” That sentence alone was enough to let Shindo know how you were feeling and as if on instinct he was quick to hold you against his chest as you explained how you felt

“It’s stupid to think he would feel something about me, I feel stupid Shindo I loved him a lot. Whenever I was with him I felt seen, those moments with him made me feel that someone other than you loved me, I feel so stupid, I’m so stupid to think that the boy I fell in love with never existed, it was all just what I wanted to believe Shindo”

“He never cared for me”

It had been weeks since you told Shindo about what happened. Things weren't going great, but they had taken a turn for the better. After school, Shindo would pick you up and bring snacks. Sometimes, he would take you to the library after school.

Your occasional hangouts became more frequent, and Shindo started dropping you off at school in the mornings in addition to picking you up. You began to notice a positive change in yourself, and you were proud to say that you were feeling a lot better. You weren't the only one who noticed this shift; your classmates noticed it too.

"Y/N, you seem happier, especially since that guy started dropping you off and picking you up. Are you guys dating?" Mina was quick to ask you as you showed up to class one day.

"You mean Shindo? Oh, we’re just childhood friends. He started helping me train and with my school work," you replied.

"You guys are always together. It’s almost impossible to hang out without you having plans with him," Midoriya added.

"Sorry, guys. We’ve just been catching up," you tried to clear up any rumors that might have caused any miscommunication.

Everyone had their eyes on you, watching as you spoke so highly about your 'best friend'. Especially Katsuki; he watched as you smiled, recalling all of your memories with him.

It left a sour taste in his mouth watching as you talked highly about someone else. He was never one to express his emotions well, but with you, it felt easy to try and express how he felt. He knew from the moment he stayed up with you in a library reading ‘A Silent Voice’ that he was developing feelings for you.

He was never one to indulge in emotions, but having those deep talks with you every night made him feel dumb for trying to deny his feelings.

He never confronted his emotions straight away, no matter how much Katsuki tried to adjust; he just couldn’t accept the fact that he was growing in love with you. 'Falling in love' seemed like a terrible way to describe their way of loving someone else. But again, who is he to construe about love?

Not that he purposely wished for it to be that way. Katsuki wanted nothing more than to have done things differently back then.

As time passed, he couldn't get the image of you crying out of his mind. It pained him to see you that way. It wasn't just because he liked you, but also because he knew he was the cause of your sadness. The guilt consumed him, and the thought of you moving on only added to his pain. He couldn't help but feel like a fool for what he had done to you.

Katsuki was familiar with you. He knew about your favorite romance manga, your parents' connection to his, your love for fashion, your passion for romantic comedies, your favorite subject, and your usual order at the café where you both spent countless nights. He knew you well.

Katsuki knew all your fears - spiders, carnivals, clowns, open spaces, failure, and his mom when she yelled at your co-workers. He noticed all your symptoms and sometimes felt like both of your hearts were connected. He felt crazy saying it out loud, but those moments when you both trained together, you suddenly felt everything he could think of - dizziness, nausea, chest pain, shaking, and trembling. One thing that always stuck with him was whenever you felt anxious, you would bite your fingernails. Once, he took your hands and tried to stop you from doing that, and he noticed how quickly your heartbeat calmed down and started matching his instead.

"If anyone asked him why he was so in tune with knowing you on a general level, he would say out of courtesy. But if he was asked on a deeper level, he would say his heart was calm whenever you were with him, and he yearned for that feeling and you."

He always heard from his mom that love is the most powerful thing someone can experience, in friendships, relationships, or just emotional connections with someone. He believed the majority of what his mom claimed with thoughts of his own. Love is strong, but is it strong enough to make a person?

Certainly not he thought to himself as he watched you and Shindo laugh and push each other at the carnival.

He was tired of pretending he didn’t love you, but he was also tired of not knowing how to talk to you after developing feelings for you. He messed things up, and he knows it. 

It hurts to be something he so desperately wish he wasn’t, a uncommunicative person, but it hurts more than anything being nothing without you

You were gone, no one knew where you had gone they just knew you weren’t at your dorm

The only things left behind were boxes of letters and a blanket he had got you when you were sick. Everyone was distressed, teachers all around the dorms most reassuring students others talking with Nezu on finding out where you were

And all katsuki could do was hope he wouldn’t rip the letter you had wrote to him through his tears and frustration from how tight he held the letter to his heart, hoping some way you could feel how his heart was beating and in hopes of you coming back

Katsuki

Tho the smartest yet dumbest person i know,

If you’re reading this it probably means i left, well kidnapped in other terms, i’ve known for a while i would be taken, i had a gut feeling about this a long time ago so just in case i die, or don’t make it back alive i wanted to write something for you.

There’s so many things i wish i would’ve told you before i left, but sometimes not everything goes the way we wish for them to go, I Know you Bakugou, you’re probably mad i left, or you’re probably pretending to not care, maybe even wondering where i am, if you still care that is, you’ve always been the type of person to think about things too often.

That’s not the real reason i’m writing this letter for you, there’s so much i want to say but i’m afraid there won’t be enough time to do so, so i’ll say it in this letter

Katsuki Bakugou, I am in love with you, i have been from the 700 days of knowing you, but words aren’t  enough to describe how i feel, i left a box under your bed, every reason why i fell in love with you is written in all of them. If i do end up being alive i want to say it to your face

But if i am dead, i want you to know you’re the first person i’ve ever truly loved in this life and hopefully i can love you the same way in my next one

And with that i ask one last thing from you, you’re a person who hates changes but please, if anything does end up going wrong i want you to pursue your dreams for bring number one, i’ll always be cheering you on

So for now this is my last goodbye Katsuki, Thank you for making me feel so at home, i still

think about what happened between us everyday but i hope the best for you in life, even if i’m not there

I love you, thank you for being my friend

Y/N

You were such a dumbass. How could he not love you, when you constantly ran through his mind, he tried to keep his emotions in touch but just as he opened the box you left him he was met with notes and items that reminded him of you. What hurt him even more was reading through all the notes you had wrote for him

One particular note had shifted his emotions complete

‘Hey katsuki, remember that time i kept freaking out over my school grades and you comforted me saying it would all be okay? I still think about that moment and how you held me close to your chest and we layed in bed, in that moment when i looked up at you i saw the reflection of my LED lights in your face and all i could think about was you, i wanted to kiss at that moment from how pretty your eyes looked’

In that moment Bakugo Katsuki knew that what he felt for you wasn’t some simple puppy crush, he craved you he knew that whatever he tried convincing himself wasn’t true at the moment

Not when he was clutching your hairpins and notes close to his chest wishing the burning sensation in his heart would stop

Weeks had gone by, You had been found by the pro heroes and all he could think about was how he wishes he was the one saving you instead. But atlas he was glad you were safe

When he had gotten word you were found but your condition was critical he wanted nothing more than to just run out of the dorms and find you, but he knew he would’ve been stopped by the teacher. So he waited, he visited the hospital you were staying at everyday, constantly asking when they would be taking visitors 

Everyday he was met with the same answer ‘no’ ‘not yet we’ll let you know when she’s ready’. It was killing him not knowing whether he would get the chance to clear up his mistakes and confess to you.

But all of those thoughts suddenly vanished as he waited for the nurses to let him in

You had no memory whatsoever on when you had been rescued, according to the nurses you had woken up 6 days after being rescued by the heroes, and according to one of the nurses there was a boy who constantly kept looking for you, surely it was Shindo, the nurses had said they would bring him to your room

Shock wasn’t enough to describe how you were feeling at the moment, Staring at the guy you least expected in front of you was surely not on your bucket list at all, you were going to speak first until he beat you to it

“I have a lot to say to you so just listen to what i have to say first”

“Back then, i didn’t really know how to deal with the sudden shift in my heart, watching you smile and do things we would normally do, felt so different one random day, I don’t know when it started but watching the way your eyes would shine made my heart tighten, i knew that whatever was happening to my emotions wouldn’t go well on my part”

“So i distanced myself, i never meant any of the words i said at all, i was a asshole for saying that to you, i’m not expecting forgiveness straight away, but watching you get so close to someone else made me feel uneasy, not in a possessive way, but in a way that makes me remember everything you were doing with him you had done all of that with me”

“And when i realized my feelings and had everything sorted out, i was waiting to confront you but i waited too long and you had been kidnapped, When i read your letter i knew that if i were to get you back i would tell you as soon as i could, i didn’t wanna risk you leaving without hearing what i have to say”

“I’m in love with you, I grew in love with you and your stupid smile, your stupid rants, I love you like i’ve never loved anyone before. You’re the only person that has made me smile and I yearn for that feeling and I crave you most importantly. Before i met you i didn’t understand the true meaning of what love is but being with you made me realize it’s okay to not have everything figured out and just enjoy the present” he had finished off

“You’re an asshole”

“I know that”

“You made me cry”

“I know that”

“But at the end of the day it’s you i would rather spend all the time with arguing and clearing every mistake with katsuki, I love you and i hope we can both learn more about each other”

Though he didn’t kiss you in that moment he did pull you in a hug that warms your heart. Every day you’re thankful you got to know Katsuki 700 days of knowing him made your heart warm at the thought of getting to say you had feelings for Katsuki. Things would certainly be tough from that moment on but if it was with Katsuki it was definitely worth it in your eyes.

A/N: That letter part was heavily ib the galaxy is endless on ao3 ugh i love it sm

Taglist @makaylaislovely @emmab3mma @probablylia0 @socialkid @captainshindo @yourfriendlyweeaboo @st4rf0rlife @juliii @b2mmyy @sangwooswife @sunnydaychai @peyingbills @lemon-lav @tsumuus @itzjustj-1000 @whosmarjj @lovra974 @yourmajestyqueena @scarasw1f3 @tranquilcosmos @antriimx @siraxealot

[evilminji]

You know... >.>

My Dad always used to tell me, if I get a Genuine Genie(tm)? Get a lawyer first. Before I make my Wishes(tm), so they can help me word them correctly.

Obviously, a human lawyer would not be foolproof... BUT! What about a Ghost Lawyer?

Like? Obviously Desiree would be PISSED. How DARE you twist HER wish twisting! Her THING is "what you believe is your heart's desire always comes at a terrible cost" which is what she DIED to learn.

So obviously she would NEVER, willingly, bend her Obsession for ANYONE. And you'd have to make a DAMN good case to that Lawyer for why he ISNT breaking the law by helping you. Probably some "you can: save the life of an unconscious person against their will/shove an unobservant person OFF the train tracks, even if they get hurt, to save their life" clause.

Like? Using a ghosts Obsession against them? Bad. Illegal.

Using it against their will, to save OTHER ghosts, who are in immediate danger? Not illegal, but they will be PISSED. Still not great though, you will want to apologize and fast.

So like??? Reality Bending Power. Patrick Star Method of "what if we MOVED the city... somewhere else?" Considered at 1am. Team of Ghost Laywers, acquired.

Amity and all Limnals are REMOVED from the DP-verse.

Wish worded juuuuust so. Any ghost that forms there? Yoink! Instantly removed to the Zone. Natural Portals? Cut off. Let the whole Reality fade out at an accelerated rate, as no NEW energy is fed into the system. Entropy will do, what entropy does. Exactly as they wished it.

They hated Death so much, they speed up the heat death of their ENTIRE universe by Eons. Congratulations, you guys "Won". Enjoy the wildly more fragile flora, fauna, and general ecosystems. Now that none of you have that ambient Ectoplasm strengthening your bodies. Yeah, the things you used to shrug off? Those are gonna maim or kill you now.

Doesn't MATTER if you "learn your lesson" though! Cause this is WAY past that point! This is "cutting off the tumor before it kills us" territory, and buddy? Amity ISNT the tumor. Go forth a grow, just like you wanted.

They won't be here to fix your messes anymore.

Because Danny got himself a dictionary thick "I Wish..." contract. Which was worded, as it needs to be, in one loooooooong run on sentence. Shouted "I Wish what's written on THIS, as it is currently, and without any form of editing or negotiation!" As fast as he could. Yote the document in Desiree's direction. And Flew like an INCANDESCENTLY pissed off Genie was trying to set his everything of fire.

Which she was.

Thankfully, Paulina came in clutch with her History of all things Jewelry, world fashions, and Make-Up knowledge. That, coupled with the Power Of Rich Friends(tm)? (Sam. Her mother was THRILLED to take her Jewelry and clothing shopping for something other then blacks and dark purple. They went on a jet setting whurl-wind tour. Sam actually kinda liked a some of what she found.)

They have Apology Bribes.

They shamelessly HIDE behind the mountain of Apology Bribes, while they explain themselves. Is Desiree HAPPY? No. But those bracelets are magnificent and she DOES deserve nice things. Those silks will really bring out her eyes. And she... DOES... admit...

Maybe...

That things are not... SAFE. Any longer. Danny TRIES. Everyone else can see it. And he's made incredible strides! Even convinced his lunatic parents. Though they're still not quite POPULAR. (WAY too pushy and invasive with their questions, for most people.) But the fanatics in white?

They nearly killed Box Lunch. If her father hadn't BEEN there...

And the poor man will have that scar on his back for the rest of his afterlife. Desiree can see why Danny is pushing. Does she LIKE it? No. But...

She supposes she will content herself with the suffering of the Fanatics in White and all who support them. THEIR wishes, twisted. Their ugly heart's desires.

Fine.

"SO YOU WISH IT. SO IT SHALL BE!"

And? The ghost town of what WOULD of one day grown into Amity, had the witch's there not been found by those they had fled from, which sits in long rotted ruins, amongst the trees in nowhere Illinois? Poof! Two "Towns" are switched.

The roads out of town coming to a clean line stop, meeting not even goat paths. Just trees. Old growth.

But it's not ALL of Town, is it? Faces missing. New, confused, faces from every corner of the map, taking their place. No Limnal left behind. No supporter of the GIWs genocide, brought along. Family's kept together where they could be. But by the few, scared and upset, green flashing eyes of children in the crowd?

It seemed for some, it was easier to fear and hate, then love their children.

Already they were being gathered up by school teachers and PTA parents. As everyone tried to figure out what had happened. Concerned, quite muttering a dull roar as everyone tries to coordinate.

Red Huntress joins Danny and Dani in the Sky. She doesn't get a word in. Wanted to know what the HELL was going on. She was with her dad in Chicago! Dani was in Taiwan! Literally! As in, sitting in a SUBWAY station one second, the next? Outside!

But they don't get to demand those answers. Because there is a sonic boom on the horizon. And then? Floating... weird... not ghosts?

Uuuuuuhhhh?

Hi?

That much blue... sure is a Statement. Like the cape and... bloooomers? Shorts. Bikini bottoms? It.. it's a Cool Look, dude! No, really. They are being VERY supportive here! If YOU like it? That's the only thing that matters!

Red Huntress smacks the Danny/i's Repeated upside their heads and demans to know what the Not-Ghosts are doing in their airspace.

Oh YEAH. Good point! What she said! And can it WAIT? They're kinda going through A Thing right now...

Kon? Wants it on record he loves these guys. They're hilarious. The LOOK on Clark's FACE?? He wishes he could frame it. Preserve it for future generations. Thing is? There was NOT a town here a second ago.

Well, bout 30 minutes or so, but you get the idea. One moment? Tree noises. Bam! Thousands of people! Obviously the checked it out. Only to be met with two... three maybe? Heros who have NO IDEA who they are.

Clear Reality warping shenanigans. Might be time travel or multiverse. Question is... are they STAYING? And if SO? What now...

@hdgnj @ailithnight @the-witchhunter @nerdpoe @dcxdpdabbles @mutable-manifestation @hypewinter

[vashtijoy]

Hi! Pre-emptive sorry for the long ask- I don't know if you've answered this before but I was scrolling through your blog and in one of your posts you note that the brief bit we see of Akira's hometown has high rise buildings, which implies it's a city. I could've sworn there was in game dialogue calling him a country boy though or referencing him being from a rural area? Is there something in the Japanese text to suggest these are meant to be taken as jokes (I.E. protag is from a city, but it's not as big as Tokyo so he's playfully considered 'rural') or is this a case of the game devs simply not considering what buildings they had in the background of that scene?

Hello! First of all, I think it's insanely unlikely that the game devs just forgot Joker was meant to be from a shack on top of a mountain and accidentally put him in a city. Maybe they didn't have time to design a farm and shoved him in a random cityscape instead? Well, maybe. I would at least have pasted in a couple more trees.

So what do we know about this?

Sojiro calls Joker 田舎もん inakamon, short for 田舎者 inakamono—someone from the countryside; someone provincial. This is what's translated as "country boy", or "country bumpkin". Chihaya uses it about herself, and Chihaya I think is certainly meant to be very rural. The Adorable Woman and Rural Young Man in Shibuya Station use inaka a lot:

His name did not originally use inakamono or similar, by the way—he's the 上京してきた青年 joukyou shite kita seinen, "the young man who's moved to Tokyo". Note the moving-up kanji there, 上, lol—this is not a sideways move, it's a definite move up.

so what is the inaka?

In short, the inaka can be the remote countryside—but it can also just be your hometown, of any description. It can be legit anywhere that isn't Tokyo. Here's Tofugu:

My mouth was hanging open and I know I was being rude, but it was really hard to pull myself together. The woman I was speaking with was from one of the top Japanese Universities. She has had international relationships, traveled the world, and done work that most foreign anime fans would kill to see. Someone with her experiences, to me, should be open-minded about other cultures and lifestyles. Just the same, I can't help but to be bothered by what she said: "I feel like anything outside Tokyo's 23 wards is inaka." [...] Often, people usually just use what they read in the dictionary, but I learned fast that "countryside" in American English is much different than in Japanese English. For me, countryside means farms. Countryside is driving to see your closest neighbor, riding tractors for work and pleasure, and being able to immediately tell who's from your town just by looking at them. When I say this to Japanese people and ask them to explain inaka, the joke is always the same: "Inaka is anything outside of Tokyo." Osaka and Kyoto, for many, aren't inaka, but Sapporo, which is one of the few parts of the country where this legendary thing called "insulated housing" exists, is inaka. [...] So you might be wondering how "bad" it really is out here. Truthfully, I'm living in a city, at least by American standards. Great bus and train systems, tons of malls and movie theaters, some of the major stores people visit Tokyo to see, game centers, golfing… and a few rice paddies. Not many, but there are some. Imagine a fashionable mall, famous manga store, well-respected school with a strong baseball team, and major supermarket, all within walking distance, with maybe one field of rice. Honestly, the place is so city that I don't think I would willingly eat any rice that grew in that field. I swear, it's in front of a bus stop.

So, tl;dr: if you aren't in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, you're probably in the inaka—at least to someone's mind. You can be somewhere that looks to us in every way like a city, and be in the inaka. And if you pick up sticks and move to Tokyo? Then you have a good chance of being jibed about being a "country boy".

so what is joker's inaka like?

[Joker] 田舎に帰りたい inaka ni kaeritai I miss the country... [lit. I want to go back to the inaka.] Ryuji ハハ、都会の洗礼ってか? haha, tokai no senrei tte ka? Hah. Not used to the big city yet, huh? [lit. Haha, so this is your first time in the city?]

We don't get a huge amount of detail in-game about Joker's home. Besides Sojiro's "country boy", Ryuji has a couple of comments. Here's another:

Ryuji あれ? お前ン家ってわりと田舎? are? omae n uchi tte wari to inaka? Wait a sec, your hometown isn't near the countryside, is it? [lit. isn't your place relatively countrified?] Ryuji いや、大自然でランニング練習とか気持ち良さそうだなーって。 iya, daishizen de ranningu renshuu to ka kimochi yasasou da naa tte I was just thinkin' it'd be great to run an' train somewhere out where it's all big, naturey open space. [lit. no, I thought it seemed like it'd feel great to train in the great outdoors and stuff.]

(I think something may be off here with that translation of daishizen, which seems to connote "the great outdoors", "a vast wilderness", etc, as well as just meaning "nature" (the sort you get out into) more generally". The word has been split up as if Ryuji was just saying "big nature" for some reason, like if you thought "the great outdoors" meant "the outdoors is great :D".)

But we can see from Ryuji's statement that Joker's home is wari to inaka, "relatively countrified", "kind of countrified"—it's more the country than Tokyo is, but it's probably not the ass end of nowhere, either. It's somewhere Ryuji pictures getting out into nature—but even if that's accurate and not just in Ryuji's city-boy head, that again doesn't connote "ass end of nowhere"; a lot of very built-up places are startlingly close to farmland or to nature, as with the putative rice field at the bus stop that we read about earlier.

the artbook picture

There is, of course, a picture of Joker's home in the artbook:

That doesn't scream "rural" to me—though it's also not the built-up area we see him in with Shido. It backs onto a cliff, it's very green. It's clearly a row of houses on a street, maybe in a fancy suburb on the edge of the city?

It's a nice house, at any rate. Joker moving into Sojiro's attic, with his clothes in a box, will have been a harsh step down.

Another detail from this image before we move on:

Look at this board. We can make out what it says. We can even, just possibly, make out a town name there...

日立自治会 掲示板 hitachi jichikai keijiban Hitachi Neighbourhood Association noticeboard

自治会 jichikai—neighbourhood associations. As you'd expect, they tend to be organised at the very local level—so Hitachi is likely to be a small district within a larger city, rather than (say) the city of Hitachi in Ibaraki Prefecture.

his city has a name guys i can't believe it lmao

the coup de grace

But there's one question I think really puts the nail in the coffin here: WTF was Shido doing in the middle of nowhere?

It's totally plausible that Joker came from a remote farm in the country, or a tiny village in far northern Honshu. But what is there in that to attract Shido? Like... Shido seems kind of an indoor guy, y'know?

He goes where his business is. He goes where the money is. It's difficult for me to picture him going to random rural areas with nobody to schmooze, with what I'm sure he'd consider to be poor facilities and shitty hotels.

Even if he did stoop to visit somewhere like that, by the time he was on his off hours getting pissed (in both senses) and attacking women, wouldn't he have gone back to civilisation?—back to the city?

conclusion??

This place Joker is wandering after dark doesn't look like The Country. It looks quite built up. I'd say it's the centre of a regional city or large town—with those nice houses we just looked at set off in suburbs along its edge. Look at this place:

It really does look like a less cramped version of Yongen-jaya, down to the trees. I don't think they spent too long on this area, but I also don't think it's inaccurate.

By the way, that "Hometown Neighbourhood" was originally 実家近くの住宅地 jikka chikaku no juutakuchi—"residential area near home". So this is not where Joker lived with his parents; it's an area close by. Like he says, he's on his way home late.

Where was he? We never find out. He has what looks like a school bag, well before his nasty crime days. Maybe he was visiting a friend we never hear about again. Maybe he was at cram school. But he's gone to this built-up part of town to do something there.

My guess would be that he lived in some prefectural capital or other. That's why Shido is there. I'd also guess that it's one of the Kanto prefectures, since the further you go from Tokyo, the less likely it becomes that Joker would have been sent to Tokyo for his probation, whether Sojiro was a friend of a friend or not.

As ever, all of this is for information only, and if you want to do something else superior in every way, you definitely should. At the end of the day Joker's a silent protagonist player insert, who can be from absolutely anywhere and as gay as you like. Let a thousand Jokers bloom.

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.0 (2024/01/17)—first posted.

[writers-potion]

hi!! im working on a story that takes place at a 2012 public high school - the issue with that is that i was not in high school in 2012 lmao. do you have any tips on how to keep it feeling realistic?

Well, neither was I!! But here are some tips:

Define Your General Setting

Sure, high school has a different feel compared to an average town/city setting. However, it is still a part of the bigger community, and will be impacted by external factors.

What part of the world are your writing about? What's the general economy like? What's the most common occupation of the kid's parents? What's the prevailing fashion/art/music style?

Your teens will be impacted by the popular culture and trends of the time, so start by outlining the general setting!

Fashion

I think this is where schools have changed the most. There are going to be some overlaps between early 2010s and late 2000s, so if you think in the direction of Y2K fashion, it should fit.

On a general note, I think 2010s fashion was vibrant, with lots of colors and flashy items...

Side fringes and backcombed/straightened hair were still very popular

most girls had huge messy sock buns on top of their heads

boys had the Justin Bieber cut.

Jack Wills and Hollister were pretty popular, and a lot of girls had a Paul's Boutique jacket and a Jane Norman bag for their PE kit (or one of the Hollister bags with a topless guy on).

Converse were universally cool, and there were lots of imitation brands.

Open flannel shirt over a t-shirt was a pretty popular outfit.

Skinny jeans and band t-shirts

bright chunky rubber band bracelets.

Vans were cool among the alternative kids.

Getting different colours on your braces was cool.

Most of the boys had at least one of those t-shirts with the buttons and the mismatched cuffs.

School-uniform-wise, short ties with big fat knots were cool, and hard kids would pluck a stripe or two out of their tie.

Tucking in shirts was initially not cool, then it became cool to tuck at the front but not the back.

Lots of boys wore black trainers, and lots of girls wore those ballet pumps.

Girls doing their lips with their foundation, with a thick ring of black eyeliner and spidery clumpy mascara - and having a visible orange line where your foundation met your neck was common.

Multiple ear piercings were popular with the alternative crowd

Belly button piercings were big for girls

Just search up some pictures on Google, you should get plenty of "Early 2010s teen fashion starter pack"

Social Media

Smartphones were already popular, and with the introduction of Snapchat(2011) and Instagram(2010), the social media hype was just starting to boom

Facebook and Twitter were popular - basically everyone was on it

TikTok(2016) and Discord(2015) didn't exist yet

Pictochat

Phones were allowed in the classroom, but phones/laptops weren't an important part of school work like it is now.

Digital Devices

Phones-wise, most people had pretty basic dumbphones (although they were just called mobiles back then), and not everyone carried them all the time

Blackberry (BBM), Nokia, LG Cholate, iPhone if you're rich enough

Most kids were on PAYG phones, so you'd run out of credit sometimes (i.e. no more calls or texts) and have to go to a physical shop to top up. Nobody really had data, and there was always a moment of panic if you accidentally opened the web browser on your phone because it was so expensive. Wifi became a thing around 2012.

Nintendo DSes: Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs

iPods or another MP3 Player

Slag

Slang-wise, Urban Dictionary is a good resource.

Fleek, peng and YOLO were popular with some crowds. Leetspeak was a thing online, especially in nerdy communities. Emoji were starting to take off 

rawr" (or "rawr means I love you in dinosaur") and "xD" as a laughing face 

Music

One Direction, Jedward, Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepson, Justin Bieber, JLS, Little Mix, Beyonce, Paramour, My Chemical Romance, Bring Me The Horizon, Black Veil Brides, Ke$ha, Eminem, The Killers, OMI, Gotye, Bruno Mars, Macklemore, Skrillex, deadmau5, blink-182, Green Day, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey.

Fandom Stuff

Twilight was huge, then Hunger Games.

Harry Potter was everywhere all the time, people would go to midnight releases for the books and movies.

High School Musical was popular, then that crowd migrated to Glee and Mean Girls.

The Olympics were in London in 2012

Other Stuff

Reese's peanut butter cups, Marshmallow Fluff, Nerds, etc. 

Veganism wasn't well-known, but still there were a few

Lots of casual homophbia, kids jsut genuinely not knowing rather than truly hateful towards it

Here are some movie suggestions, that shows school like in early-mid 2010s quite well:

Easy A

The Duff

LOL

For YA Novels - Be Timeless

Before you start doing any of the things above, remember this if you're writing a YA novel: The key of this genre is to feel somewhat timless, taking readers back to their high school years no matter when and where they've gone through it.

High school is the phase where many people feel awkward, unsure of themselves, feeling special in their own head but knowing that they're not really.

And it's not like the problems just disappear when we hit adult life. A major reason why YA novels are so popular is that they address themes that are repeatedly felt by the general human being, often in a such a direct, straightforward way that provides vicarious satisfaction.

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

do you have any thoughts about the official english translations for hypmic songs? they've started releasing songs with more eng tls included. I don't speak jp, but I've been impressed by how good the lyrics translations flow (they even try to make it rhyme sometimes)

I haven't looked into them in much depth, but I generally think they are executed very well. They strike a good balance between preserving the source text's meaning and sounding like clear, natural English.

I can think of a couple of instances off the top of my head where the meaning is obscured by being overly literal (ie, Cross a Line's Ramuda line "雨のムラっ気/から能天気" is TLed as "I went from randomly rainy to totally carefree." This misses the weather wordplay (rainy -> clear skies) and obfuscates the meaning (moody pre-FP Ramuda -> happier post-FP Ramuda)). I also think some concepts are more disjointed than is ideal, and the diction tends to be more translationese-esque than is my personal preference. For instance, when I pulled up Cross a Line to grab the TL, I saw a line of Hifumi's that stood out: "to the place where you can dance to your heart's content" This sounds (to me) too old-fashioned for the source's party vibe and too reminiscent of dictionary-literal TLs of 存分に...and now that I look at it, that's an odd way to say 心踊れる (to be enraptured or ecstatic; lit. "[your] heart can dance") in general. Veeeeeery loosely paraphrased, I'm understanding this verse as "Shinjuku has everything. One minute, you're enjoying the nature--the birds, and so forth--in the Imperial Gardens...the next, you're getting TURNT in Kabukichou." So I wonder if they specified "dancing" to show that contrast, but if that were the case, why not make the jump to "partying" or "clubbing"?

But those are all nitpicks--I think these translations do a great job within the unique constraints of lyric translation and subtitling space limits. If I have criticisms, they're of the "No translation is perfect. I wonder what informed these decisions." variety and not the, like... "eXpOsEd!! Is this LAME OFFICIAL translation CENSORING the true meaning?! Here's what the ORIGINAL says! Subscribe to my Patreon for more" sort. Hahaha.

[fallatyourfeet]

Faded Shadows (Alfie Solomons x Reader)

Summary: Alfie never could have guessed how things would play out after you virtually forced your way into his office.

Word count: 1205

Warnings: Swearing, lots and lots of it. Alludes to physical abuse. And the reader is a newly widowed woman.

A/N: Okay, so this fic started off with playful intentions, but quickly grew pretty macabre. I take no responsibility for it. It just happened. It's not my fault.

Please feel free to send me a message/comment/ask, I would love to know what you think.

If you like this, please feel free to visit my blog and take a look around! You can find my masterlist in my bio.

It was true. The people in Alfie’s neighbourhood were hardly known for their fine King’s English. It's fair to say the Camden Town tongue was a little rough around the edges and not shy of curse word or two. And Alfie’s ears were certainly no stranger to the odd colourful word slipping from the mouths of the women in his life. But never, as a boy, teenager or fully grown man had he heard such brutal language coming from such a sweet-sounding voice. If everyone around him swore like sailors, then the faceless voice causing a ruckus from somewhere outside his office, surely wrote the sailor’s dictionary. 

Partly frustrated but mostly amused, Alfie dropped his pen to the desk and leaned back in his chair, listening to the string of words caught between the all the expletives. “Fucking let go of me you filthy c**ts, I’m gonna get in that fucking room one way or another... That bastard in there, had my bloody husband killed... and I wanna see his goddamn face.”  

Alfie’s amusement dissolved, replaced by an audible sigh of dread as he mumbled under his breath, “Fuck... a bloody widow.” Yelling out to Caleb, he demanded, “Let the woman in would ya, she ain’t gonna let it go.” Standing up he moved to the side of his desk, mumbling to himself again, “Might as well get this over with.” 

Coming through the door between two of his men, you ripped your arms from their grip, giving them the filthiest look as you did so. Your face was one of the sweetest things he had ever seen, but the look was so deadly Alfie had to hold back a chuckle. ‘You were a feisty one, weren’t you?’ 

Taking a deep calming breath, you smoothed over your dress. It was well worn and long out of fashion, but you were immaculate. You obviously didn’t have a penny to scratch together, but you took pride in yourself, making the most of what you had. And Alfie found himself warming to you already. 

Running your fingers through your hair, you tamed all the locks that had escaped during your scuffle with his men, and finally looked at him. Your expression had lost almost all of its venom, nearly matching the sweetness of your beautiful features and he instantly felt a pang of guilt. One, for being the reason you were now a widow, and two, for finding a newly widowed woman so bloody attractive.  

Lifting your chin in a show of defiance; or was it pride? you held his intense gaze, and if you felt a single ounce of fear, you did not show it. Either way, he thought to himself, ‘Hmph, beautiful and brave.’  

Clearing your throat, you spoke, your words suddenly devoid of any of the foul language he heard spilling from your mouth just moments ago, “Alfie Solomons?” 

With a nod, Alfie crossed his arms before him, “Yeah, that’d be me.” 

Taking a step closer, you also nodded your head, your eyes never leaving his, “My name is Y/N Y/L/N, and your men murdered my husband, Peter, three days ago.” Alfie opened his mouth to respond, but you held a single finger in the air, a silent, but very clear gesture to shut him up. The moment he closed his mouth you lowered your hand, and continued, “Did they shoot him on your order?”  

Alfie wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Sure, from time to time he lost a bit of sleep over the number of men that were tossed into shallow graves by his order. But the reality of standing there, looking into your expressive E/C eyes and taking responsibility for killing the man you loved, twisted like a burning hot poker in his stomach. He doubted he would sleep for months.  

A moment of silence passed, and your expression shifted with a touch of impatience while you waited for your answer. Moving his arms from across his chest, he shuffled on his feet, his hands coming to rest at his hips, it was almost defensive, “Yeah, I did... He was becoming too much of a liability.” Alfie almost cringed at his words. Although true, they seemed too harsh as he heard them slip from his lips. His bluntness had never bothered him before but using it on you felt like a crime. Raising his hands in the air, he quickly spoke again, wanting to rephrase a little more tactfully, “I’m sorry, forgive my bluntness... but your husband-” 

Taking him by surprise, you cut him off, “Stop. I don’t need to know the reason.” Alfie stood there, mouth open, completely unprepared for the words you spoke next, “You don’t know how many times I stood beside that drunk, good for nothin’ monster as he lay passed out on the bed, just wishing I was brave enough to push a pillow against his face.” Honestly, Alfie was at a loss for words, but you were not. Taking a step closer, you were almost close enough to touch. Searching your eyes, he tried to understand the gratitude they held, but he quickly understood when you spoke again, “I’m thankful he’s gone... but I’m thankful I didn’t have to do it myself... because I don’t think I could have lived with the guilt.”  

And that was when Alfie saw them, the faded shadows across your arms... around the base of your neck... and along your cheekbone. The ghosts of bruises partially disguised by whatever powder you had covered them with. Suddenly, any worries he had about sleepless nights, dissolved. The only guilt he felt was for not killing the bastard sooner.  

Words finally found their way to his lips, trying to lighten the rather heavy interaction, “Well, ain’t this a fuckin’ turn of events? I thought I was a goner when I heard you out the front of my office... Remind me to never get on your bad side, yeah?” 

For the first time, you looked a little coy, “Ah... yeah sorry about the language. My mouth has a habit of running away with me when I’m worked up... and your men just wouldn’t listen.” 

Alfie chuckled, “With a mouth like that, you fit right in around here.” Speaking the words flicked a switch on inside his head. This feisty little firecracker of a woman really would fit right in, and God knows he was drowning in paperwork. It was high time he could do with some help. If he was being completely honest with himself, the thought of having you close by pleased him in ways he couldn’t explain. And under his protection he could make sure he never had to see those horrible faded shadows across your skin again. He would make sure of it. 

Moving back to his seat behind the desk, he gestured to the chair in front, “Why don’t cha take a seat Mrs Y/L/N, I’d like to make a little proposition... and if ya accept, those men out the front will have no choice but to listen to ya.” Resting his elbows on the desk, he leaned forward and asked, your answering smile, lighting up the edges of his heart. “How well do ya know your way around a typewriter?” 

[taeloke]

i an poking you in the arm give me some adult king headcanons cause i swear NONE EXIST ON THIS WEBSITE IVE LOOKED

My time has come.

This is the part where I channel my roleplay muse for this man hold on-

King's awakened personality is half-genuine and halfway an act. His maturity has improved significantly, but he still worries too much over his past mistakes. He now tries to make up for them by trying too hard to be "the best king". Thankfully, his friends and family never let him hide himself under formality around them, and Diane argued with him once to make him tone it down overall.

He still has his signature hoodie and pajamas. He misses when they suited him, but he won't admit it.

King still sleeps with Chastiefol's pillow form. In its awakened state, it can expand into a pillow for the whole family.

He will outlive nearly everyone he knows. King knows he will, but he avoids giving anyone any clues about it...but we all know how well that goes for him. The Sins all have an inkling.

Ban knows. He asked Elaine about why King wanted them to visit so often in recent years and confronted King based on what Elaine told him. It escalated in a typical fashion between them.

He has the longest list of potential baby names out of everyone--even more than Diane's list. He's a walking Fairy Baby Names Dictionary.

After meeting Dahlia in Cursed by Light, he's very disappointed in the 2nd Fairy King's attitude toward his past duties. Gloxinia became the person King respects the most since then.

He's wondered what the Sacred Tree would be like if it had an active will like the other deities did. If it would be as cruel or insistent about enforcing its definition of balance in the world as they were. If it would curse others for opposing it. He doesn't think that to doubt it. He never would. He simply wonders from time to time.

He still has issues controlling his heart reading sometimes. It's a result of his power being so filled to the brim. Sometimes it just spills a little, so sometimes he can't help reading every thought or feeling for moments at a time. It gets even worse when he drinks.

King rarely nosebleeds now that he's a married man. Nosebleeds happen when the thoughts™ are resisted. And yes, Diane asked about it. After an awkward conversation with a good resolution, King's nosebleeds ended up becoming even rarer.

He sings. King has a perfect singing voice for lullabies. Every one of his kids fondly remember him singing them to sleep after they had a nightmare.

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

Can you talk a little more about masculinity and femininity in ocelot? Sounds interesting

Hello Anon!

Sure, I can do that. I guess a good way to explain myself first (and hopefully a little better than I did in the takarazuka ask) would be how I personally perceive masculinity and femininity.

The definitions of the concepts, according to Websters dictionary, are defined as such:

Masculinity: The quality or nature of the male sex. Femininity: The quality or nature of the female sex.

As another quick note, I'll add that this isn't going to delve too hard into whether these qualities are 'good' or 'bad' in regards to Ocelot. Some of them are good qualities, but Ocelot often puts them to use in a sinister fashion, being. Well.

Ocelot. In this case 'masculine' qualities would be, say, 'aggressive, physically strong, abrasive, robust' where as 'feminine' qualities would be, 'soft, nurturing, gentle, reserved'.

Obviously, my immediate issue is that these definitions are rooted in biological sex characteristics, with the stickier territory of sex and gender correlating because biology dictates certain personality traits. I'm not going to over-complicate it by going into a deeper 'nature vs nurture' or sex VS gender argument. And, for the sake of ease I'll start by describing what one might consider how these qualities are implied/shown in Ocelot in particular.

Ocelot's personality (or what he tells people his personality is) has characteristics of the following:

Men are often considered to have more 'instinct rooted' natures. They're more often considered less feeling (something we know is very untrue but they're given less space to discuss their feelings properly). They are described as strong, daring. A lot of characteristics that get defined in the ways to which they are physically robust and skilled.

Or, in ways they can be useful based on those traits.

Women, by contrast, get considered more 'delicate' and nature based. What they can provide and offer people is given a critical eye (such as how many are described as nurturing, devoted) how they can provide, and their mental capabilities. Since the flip of the coin is that they are also considered more emotionally rooted, thus, they're described as 'manipulative and scheming' when written in a negative light.

(Also, a long time back, and never on Tumblr, I had the thought that Kaz's own story is written very 'female coded' to me. Being a scorned, jaded lover more known for his hysterical, temperamental personality and emotion being his driving force, robbed of his agency with torture and the like, and how revenge stories can often be common in female lead roles BUT that is a whole different thing so uh anyway carrying on.)

Ocelot's main, grounding root is that he is 100% endlessly devoted to Big Boss. It does not matter who suffers because of it, it does not matter how many people die, what matters is that the love of Ocelot's life is given his just due. And Ocelot remains by his side (physically and otherwise, even when BB himself is out of the picture) until his own death.

He's flamboyant. Full of a 'quirky' style of dress, makes a statement whenever he walks into a room. Does loud, bold hand gestures. Makes all kinds of crack statements, and generally draws the audiences attention in these ways. While he's more 'subdued' in MGSV, he still dresses a little 'strange' wears spurs around base, and keeps medium-length, free-flowing hair with long eyelashes and a more even-toned, level head.

Ocelot being a mediator is an extremely funny spot for him to be in, but like any of his performances, he nails it. Mum friend Ocelot, (if the mum friend is hypnotized to hell and of course, secretly antagonistic but again, Ocelot).

On the other hand, he's extremely obsessed with the 'ultra masculine' things; like guns, the American West, hand to hand combat (his CQC is some of the best in the series, I've seen it argued), men-or well, one man in particular. In any case, that's actually a different topic in it's own way, and a different essay.

I'd also note, the guns and such aside, he has a lot of his mother's personality traits, (from what we know of her anyway). The Boss was manipulative, cunning. Physically strong, robust. Driven by emotions, but physically domineering in a way that people knew damned well to take seriously.

Who else got Volgin to tuck tail?

Yet-despite this, her story is one of sacrifice. Her having Ocelot in the first place as well quietly key to her character, written on her chest in a deep scar that reminds the audience, this is a woman. Using the conventional aspects society deems relevant to women, and the ones we've all heard before.

Ocelot's story, ends on the note of reminding the world (the players) that he died for a man. That he loved and adored. His story gets slightly elevated from reminding you that 'this is a man' and more into the territory of 'this is a person with a story' which I find interesting, and a bit sad, on the Boss' part. Because while there's a distinctly 'feminine element' to that, he's not given the hammer home of 'this is a man's story!"

Because men get lots of stories. Men get all kinds of stories. That are not completely rooted in their masculinity (or their femininity, for that matter. Unless the story chooses to be about that). And I feel as if I've gone a touch off topic this way, but I know what I'm trying to say.

Ocelot, (and his mother, and so many) MGS characters are a good mix of masculine and feminine. One could make a post like this for all of the characters, but there is something to be said on the 'this is WOMAN' point getting hammered home a bit harder when it is the female characters.

But, that is another thing entirely. Once again. I feel like I'll never 100% stay fully on topic in an ask eh?

As an aside, is meowing masculine or feminine? We shall never know.

[betterthanburrow]

Fashion Designer’s Boyfriend - Instagram AU

(Bengals Quarterback! Joe Burrow x Designer! OC)

liked by joeyb_9, and 720,909 more users

yourinstagram: a dream come true @.emijay 🦋🤍

view all 229,387 comments

joeyb_9: there are not enough words in the dictionary that can describe how proud i am of you for achieving your dreams… i’m truly so happy and proud of you!

↳ yourinstagram: thank you baby 🤍

emijay: this was an experience of a lifetime!

mamaburrow: proud of you darling!

allisonkuch: i’m so glad i got to stop by the pop-up shop this past weekend!

↳ yourinstagram: i’m so happy you came by 🤍

liked by 199,875 users

Y/FNWorld: Joe Burrow’s Instagram Story of Y/FN at her pop-up shop that was opened this past week!

view all 57,180 comments

username1: the way Joe will only be active on Instagram is when he wants to post about football or when he wants to support Y/N’s business.

username2: i was at the pop-up shop earlier today and saw him clinging by Y/N’s side any chance he got when she wasn’t busy talking to customers and if she was busy talking to customer he would hang out in the back of the shop, away from the crowd… i can’t believe the Bengal’s Quarterback is such an anti-social guy when it comes to any events outside of football.

↳ username3: when i went to the pop-up shop on the 2nd day that the shop was open, it was very crowded… and with today being the last day i would expect there to be more people than the amount of people on the first day and second day of the shop being open. so it’s not surprising that Joe (who is anti-social) wouldn’t like being in that crowded environment of the shop.

↳ username4: it’s sweet to know that even though Joe doesn’t like crowded places where he’s not comfortable… he still wants to go support Y/N and her dreams just like how she has alway supported him.

liked by yourinstagram and 295,101 more users

SweetyHigh: our interview with Y/FN Y/LN & Emi Jay about their pop-up shop is available to watch on Youtube or click the link in our bio to read the article!

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emijay: thank you for interviewing us!

username1: i think this is the first time in an interview where Y/N talks about Joe and didn’t try to shut down the questions about him… it makes me happy that she is starting to be more comfortable publicly talking about their relationship.

↳ username2: most of the time in Y/N’s interviews, they’ll always ask about her relationship with Joe and never want to talk about anything about else… but in this interview, the only question that was about Joe was asked to Y/N towards the end of the interview and the question wasn’t about their relationship.

yourinstagram: this was such a fun interview to do 🤍

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joeyb_9: it’s hard being a fashion designer’s boyfriend.

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yourinstagram: oh really… it’s hard being a fashion designer’s boyfriend?! i wonder how hard it is for the fashion designer?!

↳ joeyb_9: the fashion designer that i’ve been in a relationship with for almost 5 years makes everything she does look so easy ☺️

↳ yourinstagram: well you’ll have to introduce me to this fashion designer because it’s not an easy job…

↳ joeyb_9: i never said it was an easy job Petals… i just said you made it look easy (because you’re so hardworking and talented and beautiful and i love you)

↳ yourinstagram: i’ll take that as a compliment 😊

isaacrochell: from the last time i checked… it’s hard to be a football player for the NFL as well.

↳ joeyb_9: i grew all this facial hair during the weeks of helping my girlfriend prepare for her pop-up shop 😵‍💫 i haven’t grown facial hair this fast while playing football.

liked by 200,175 users

JLB_Updates: Y/N’s instagram story.

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username1: they don’t post about each other often, but when they do… it’s always the cutest stuff 🥹

username2: if they ever break up… love is DEAD!

username3: we got so much content from Y/N and Joe today… i don’t think this will ever happen again.

liked by joeyb_9, and 555,095 more users

yourinstagram: living in a daydream ☁️

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joeyb_9: you’re the love of my life Pearl.

↳ yourinstagram: that’s good news to hear baby.

allisonkuch: break up with your boyfriend and date me.

↳ yourinstagram: okay, it’s a done deal.

↳ joeyb_9: WAIT… just like our relationship is over?!

↳ isaacrochell: damn… Joe and i just thrown out of our relationships like that 😵‍💫 no hesitation at all.

Author’s Note:

thank you all for the love and support 🤍

[don-dake]

On paper dictionaries & 那些年…

Was reminiscing recently with my cuz about old school days and Mandarin classes in particular, which led me to dig up and check out my old-school *Mandarin-Chinese dictionary again.

「字体大，方便阅读。」 ～ “large font, for easy reading.”

Not large enough now, sometimes, unfortunately! (囧)

The only major downside, now that I'm older and my eyesight has gotten even worse, is the inability to enlarge font size in a paper book. Otherwise, there's still much to love about my old-school paper dict.! ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

I actually had a much older and rattier one that got lost near the end of my official Mandarin education. So I had this as a replacement — that's why it still looks fairly new (笑), because I didn't have time to “season” it enough before I stopped studying Mandarin for a long time after.

In this Internet and App-centric age, physical dictionaries are probably near irrelevancy now. But with 漢字 (written Chinese — a system that relies heavily on knowing radicals and stroke order recall), I think it's still good/nice, every once in a while, to remember how to look up characters the old-fashioned way!

There's something so satisfying about going through the list of radicals, matching them with the stroke count, flipping pages determinedly and finally getting the page on which the (unknown-by-phonetics) character you're looking for is (assuming you're not pressed for time that is!), like you're some kind of code-breaker! (笑) I think using this method may even help with remembering characters better too!

Part of it may just be due to aging and having a poorer memory but, I strongly believe that getting too easy and quick access to info nowadays has actually affected my brain's ability to concentrate and retain new knowledge.

Where speed and ease is gained, somehow along the way, something vital to how the human brain's long-term memory used to function is lost in this age of Too. Much. (Quick) Info.

Does anyone else find this is so too? That easier and quicker may not necessarily be a good thing?

Who here (still) uses an old-school 漢字 paper dictionary (from time to time)? Or is the majority here too young to even remember/know how to use such things? (笑)

****************************************

* I use “Mandarin-Chinese” here to make a distinction because there are Cantonese-centric (and possibly other topolects too — though I've yet to see any) dictionaries around that don't use Pinyin Romanisation for indexing characters.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Haia ga i ofyn cwestiwn, I hope you don't mind! I'm learning Welsh at the moment and wondered if you knew any resources for finding out about dialectical things like you post about? Is that just something you're aware of as a Welsh speaker, or are there books/websites etc? I just wondered as I'm originally from South East Wales and you mentioned that dialect is very uncommonly spoken now, but it would be nice to actually learn a bit about it! Diolch yn fawr

I think the short answer is probably 'not really'. But there are ways? If you look at the Say Something in Welsh course, they split that by two broad northern and southern dialects, so that helps (I know Duolingo has whole 'modules' that introduce a bunch of dialects later, but in typical Duolingo fashion, it doesn't actually tell you which is which, so that's not much use here).

The other big thing is Geiriadur yr Academi, a.k.a. Bruce. That thing is the biggest and most comprehensive English-Welsh dictionary in existence; the physical copy is the approximate weight and density of a car. It took decades to compile, so it only exists in one direction - it doesn't have a Welsh-English half. But by gods it is Thorough, and it includes a note on dialect for each entry.

For example, inspired by my recent polls, here is the entry for 'Butterfly':

(I did tell you all at the time that I didn't include all of the options. Tumblr only allows ten poll entries...)

The first two are general terms; I'm pretty sure that little "Ent" at the start means "entire country". But then gloefyn byw gets M.W. for mid-west, pili-pala and plufyn bach yr haf get S:occ for southern occasional... "A" is archaic, I think. N.W. is north west.

So, it indicates which part of the country each term comes from. Which isn't to say you don't hear them in other parts of the country as well, of course - dialects move and interbreed, and there's a butterfly house in Anglesey called the Pili-Palas. But it's good for an indication.

As for the south east, my knowledge of that comes from a lecture I attended at the Eisteddfod a few years back. They like doing lectures on the local dialect of the host region, and that year it was in Monmouthshire. Absolutely fascinating. A linguist explained the differences, and then they brought out this ancient little old lady, one of the last speakers of it, and chatted to her about her life so we could hear it in practice, except she was so ancient she was still getting to grips with the move from horses to cars and didn't understand that she needed to hold the microphone to her mouth, so she kept trying to put it down on the table. She was lush

[merrodi]

☆ Chocomimi Volume 6 English Translation / Chapter 1

Translated through phone scans and my limited knowledge of Japanese! I appreciate any and all corrections.

This series was a big part of my childhood but localization had stopped after volume five, so I’ve decided to translate as much as I can for fun. I hope someone out there enjoys!

link to purchase this book (japanese only)

Note: comments in italics are words spoken outside of the bubble. (comments in parenthesis are thought, not spoken) [comments in brackets are words contained inside a bracket]

This comic is traditionally read right to left, top to bottom.

(skipping over the character pages for now because they’re a lot to translate)

☆ Reading ☆

Choco: It’s autumn, the best season for reading! Choco: Guys, how about we all read books and write down our impressions of them?

Mumu: okay! Is a fashion magazine alright? Choco: Can you please choose something that has a story?

Mimi: okay! Is a shoujo manga alright? Choco: Could you please choose something that doesn’t have pictures?

Mikachin: okay! Is a Japanese dictionary alright? Choco: As long as you’re using it to write down your impressions…

☆ Recommended ☆ Mimi: Mikachin, I read the book you recommended~♡ (New universe theories)

Mikachin: Really? How was it? Mimi: (ehe) Difficult to get through, but interesting!

Mikachin: I see. Mimi, you’re very admirable. Mimi: (honestly, I didn’t understand any of it, but I’m glad I read it anyways)

Mumu: Woah, what’s with the difficulty in this? Mumu: I’m trying to read it, but it’s impossible.

Mikachin: Is that so?  Mikachin: Should I explain to you the parts you don’t understand? Mimi: gasp!

Mikachin: Come over to my house after school today. there’s cake, too. Mumu: huh——- okay, sure. Mimi: ((I made a mistake!!)) how nice…

☆ The Next Day ☆

Mimi: Mumu-chan, did you go to Mikachin’s house yesterday? Mumu: hm? I did.

Mumu: The two of us read the book the whole time in Mikami-kun’s room. I got sleepy. Mimi: (just them alone in Mikachin’s room?!)

Mumu: Halfway through, I fell asleep. Mumu: Mikami-kun ended up giving me a piggyback ride to my house. He’s really kind, huh.  Mimi: (A PIGGYBACK RIDE FROM MIKACHIN?!!??) AAAHHH….

Mimi: I’d also like to be an idiotic and inconsiderate human being… I envy Mumu-chan... sigh… Andrew: You’re already idiotic and inconsiderate enough.

☆ Girls ☆

Mikachin: Sometimes I just don’t get girls, y’know? Andrew: Huh? what happened?

Mikachin: on Snow White... Mikachin: If a stranger covered from head to toe in black offered you an apple… would you normally eat it? Witch: here, take this apple Snow White: oh dear

Andrew: I wouldn’t eat it. That’s way too suspicious. Mikachin: and Little Red Riding Hood, too… Mikachin: The wolf was pretending to be her grandmother in her house…

Mikachin: To not be able to tell the difference from a beast to a human… is that even possible? Red: Gramma, why are your ears so big? Andrew: That’s just how fairy tales are.

☆ Tears ☆

Choco: Speaking of emotional stories… Choco: Once in a while, I’m hit with the desire to really want to read one.

Mumu: I know what you mean! The more you cry, the better it is. Choco: Exactly! I have to read those alone, because tears end up falling from my face.

Mumu: Exactly! And that’s when I snap a pic of my crying face!

Mumu: I like verifying that my crying face is the cutest thing ever~ it’s the photo after I was reading Choco: Sorry, can’t relate to that whatsoever.

☆ Shoujo Manga ☆ 

Choco: Mimi, the manga you lent me is so interesting! I really relate to the main character. Mimi: The protagonist Shouko is really similar to you, Choco!

Choco: Isn’t the transfer student Shindou-kun also a bit like Ando? Choco: Her close friend Yumi is just like you, Mimi, and almost predictably, Matsuda-sensei is like Take-chan, too! (The manga she’s reading is called chocomint)

Mimi: [hehe… Choco doesn’t know this yet, but in volume five, Shouko and Shindou confess to each other and find out they have mutual feelings~] Shindou: please go out with me. Mimi: [and also, Yumi, the girl that Choco said looked like me]

Mimi: [confesses to her homeroom teacher, Matsuda-sensei] Matsuda-sensei: You moron! Matsuda-sensei: I’m going to use this triangle ruler’s 30-degree angle to stab you! Mimi: [that’s just horrible, honestly…] It seems so depressing...

☆ Bible ☆

Choco: Mimi, what book are you reading? Mimi: The “How to Be a Good Woman Book”! If you read it, you’ll become a wonderful lady!

Mimi: Ah, it’s essential that a good woman has an attractive lover! Mimi: I guess I’ll have to study up on the “How to Find a Great Boyfriend Book”.

Mimi: Ahhh… but there’s no doubt that a wonderful boyfriend would also be popular with the ladies… Mimi: I’ll have to research the "Affair Detection book”...

Mimi: sigh… and I’ll need to read the “Getting Back Up After a Broken Heart Book” after we split up from the cheating… I can’t get depressed now! Choco: ah... the only thing she’s learning is delusion…

Fashion tips section!

☆ Feelings ☆ 

Choco: Ando, have you read this too? It’s a book about understanding your pet’s feelings! I borrowed it from Mimi! Ando: nah, I don’t need it.

Choco: Ahh.. you already know whatever Picho’s thinking, huh. Ando: Not at all, but…

Ando: Even if we never reach understanding over an entire lifetime, it’s okay. Ando: If that’s how it is, then I’d be pleased just guessing as to how I can make her smile… thinking of my beloved companion day and night…

Ando: Isn’t that the key to continuing to love other people? Choco: What’s with your dialogue sounding like it’s coming from a master of love?

☆ Returning a Favor ☆ (this is based off a japanese tale called tsuru no ongaeshi)

Bambi: Like a crane who comes to return a favor, Picho turns into a human before your eyes! Bambi: What would you do?

[One night, Picho had opened the door and returned in the appearance of a beautiful maiden...] Picho: Good evening... Ando: That wouldn’t be bad…

Mikachin: Wait, Picho is a girl? I thought he was a guy this whole time. Bambi: Oh yeah, and Picho’s also a little kid. So instead…

Bambi: One night, Picho opened the door and had returned in the appearance of an elementary school boy with a shaved head! Ando: Absolutely not.

☆ Heroine ☆

[A great man’s entire life will remain in history through books.] [His story will be read by all.]

Jin: Wouldn’t it be nice if there were books about ordinary people, not just the greats? Jin: A book written about an ordinary person’s life from their birth up to their death!

Aoi: Would that be interesting to read about? Jin: There’s a chance it wouldn’t be interesting, and there’s a chance it wouldn’t have a happy ending…

Aoi: right? Aoi: (But, if it’s Jin-kun’s book, I might be interested in reading it...)

[If it’s Jin-kun’s book, then I think it’d definitely be happy.] Jin: look, that cloud is like taiyaki! [How many pages in it will I appear?]

Aoi: (No, it’s not how many pages… how many lines?…) Aoi: (Oh…I wonder if I’ll be able to make an appearance at all...) Jin: You know…

Jin: It’s fine if I end up not reading about Aoi-chan’s life.

Aoi: (I-is it…because it’d be so insignificant?!) Jin: or should I say, I wouldn’t have to go to the trouble of reading it.

Jin: Whatever happens in Aoi-chan’s life, my eyes will have seen ALL of it, so that’s why I wouldn’t need a book. Jin: We’ll be together forever, yeah?

Aoi: ........ Aoi: Forever?

Jin: Yep, forever. Aoi: Even when we become adults? Jin: Yup, foreverrrrr. Aoi: I see…

[Then, my book] Jin: look, that cloud is a heart-♥️ Aoi: You’re right. [Will surely have a happy ending.]

[clove-pinks]

Hi! This is purely out of reaction to that Napoleonic portrait with the carrick coat and bc I recently started following (and enjoying) your blog, but is there any chance you know the name of this kind of toga-like cloak from the late 1790s? I drew one recently from a bunch of painting references but haven't been able to associate a term.

These are 1798 Louis-Léopold Boilly - Artists in Isabey's Studio and 1798 Jacques-Augustin-Catherine Pajou - Portrait of a family respectively

Either way, love your commentary on 18th-19th century fashions!

Hello, and my apologies for taking forever to answer this!! I didn't forget about this ask, I just didn't feel like I had a satisfactory answer.

As far as I can tell, these are both examples of a loose-fitting greatcoat or cloak. It feels anachronistic in an era when men's coats are getting a lot tighter and more fitted, but 1800ish men still had billowing cloaks and greatcoats (sometimes).

Men's long greatcoat of 1809-1810 at centre, from Handbook of English Costume in the 19th Century by Phillis and C. Willett Cunnington.

The same source describes men's overcoats of the period 1800 to 1810:

THE BOX COAT was a very large and loose great coat with one or more capes. Originally a driving-coat for wearing on the box of a coach this came to be worn, in cold weather, even on foot. [...]

THE CLOAK was not in fashion though often worn when travelling on the outside of a coach. It was very long and usually fastened by straps down the front.

The Dictionary of Fashion History by Valerie Cumming dates box coats to the late 18th century, so that's one possible answer.

[legendsgalore]

Research Mission

Nine ways in which you work yourself too much, one for each member of the chain

Inspired by how my brain feels like it’s melting out of my ears, but I don’t feel like I have stopped doing *enough*

Time

The first time someone was clued into your overworking tendencies, it was in a situation where everyone felt your frustration. Typically when arriving at any Hyrule’s given “Castle Town,” if no one recognized it the heroes would all split up to do information gathering. Being a group of ten, it made splitting up fairly simple.

 Two would hit the bars to hear from the loosened lips of the drunkards and soldiers there, two would head to the market center to hear from the gossiping shoppers, two would wander to the gates to talk to the guards to see what they have seen, two more would try to see if the royal family was open to talk to, and the last two would go to the library to search.

This time around, you and Time had ended up with library duty, and you were determined to do your part and find something. Generally, you were all looking for information such as whether or not a hero was part of recent history, any large wars/calamities within the last few centuries, and of course, any signs of suspiciously strong monsters.

Luckily the library was open to the public, and was even located not too far from the town square, which is not something you could say for every era of Hyrule. Way too often the information was locked in the castle, away from the public. Those eras were quite depressing, the general aura of them being downtrodden.

Back to the present, you are bouncing on your feet as Time pauses before the door to the library, a large, one-story building fashioned out of stone and trimmed with an appealing maple wood. 

The older hero looks at you, raising his eyebrow in amusement and comments, “You’re eager.”

Smiling, you tell your thoughts to the hero, “I’m just happy the library isn’t locked behind the castle gates this time!”

Nodding, Time agrees, saying, “This is certainly fortunate. Still, “ He grins at you teasingly here, “You are exceptionally excited to search books for hours.”

“Ahh I have a good feeling about this! I think we’ll be the ones to figure out where we are this time!”

You don’t tell Time that your real thought is that you will finally be the one to figure it out and contribute to the Chain.

None-the-wiser to your secret hope, Time chuckles, and pushes open the door to the library and the two of you head to bust out some books.

____________________________________________________________________________

You are actively resisting the urge to groan and slam your head on the table. Why is it so hard to find information on history and legends?

You could swear that scholars find it more important to pad their books with extravagant and grandiose words rather than fill it with useful information organized in a concise way for people to understand. 

Like yes, use higher-level language, it can help capture the meaning of your words, and provide quicker ways to say things. But don’t use it to the extent that the reader is unable to follow along without immense focus or a dictionary by their side! 

Time of course does not look like he shares your thoughts, sat in the chair next to you at one of the maple wood tables. He has leaned back in his chair, book in one hand and chin in his other, looking to be deep in thought over the contents of the book. Though certainly in a manner not like your frustration.

You don’t understand how he isn’t tearing his hair out in frustration. Definitely, after not eating lunch (library doesn’t allow food in), you felt more irritated than you should.

You want to find something so badly, to show up to the others, look them in the eyes and say “I know what is going on.”

To have Warriors clap a hand on your shoulder and say his thanks, to have one of the others tease you for enjoying a day surrounded by musty books. To contribute something here.

Gritting your teeth, you focus your eyes back to your page, and try to comprehend the sentence again.

“...though debatably those who postulate these circumstances over ambivalent second hand retellings over the theoretical existence of legends involving Heroes speculated to be garbed in viridian wear are unconvincing in their corroborations, the royal family claims that…”

You’re wrenched from your tremulous focus by Time clapping his book shut, the sound sharp against the dusty silence of the building. The librarian at the front counter narrows her eyes, but the two of you are the only ones in the building at the moment so she says nothing.

Blinking owlishly at your companion, you watch as Time stands and stretches languidly, his armor having been set aside around hour two in his bottomless bag.

The elder hero looks at you, and smiles sheepishly. 

“Ah, I have hit my limit, care to join me to meet up with the others?”

You shake your head, “No, I want to keep looking. I think this book has something, but this guy takes a paragraph to get to the point of a single sentence, so it may be a while.”

Time frowns, “You shouldn’t spend too much longer here, we have been here for quite some time already.”

You stretch yourself, feeling the truth of his words in your lower back. 

“Yeah, but I don’t feel quite up to admitting defeat just yet!”

Looking at the old man, you reassure him, “I’ll catch up with you later, just this chapter left, alright?”

Time meets your gaze, and you have to hold yourself back from swallowing. His one eye stares at you, and you almost feel like he can see your real thoughts, which is ridiculous, but still.

Eventually, he nods and looks away, and you almost wipe your forehead free of hypothetical sweat. 

Time gathers his books, and turns to head to put them away. He casts one last glance over his shoulder and you wave and smile with as much energy as you can muster. He huffs in amusement and heads off.

Your smile falls and you turn back to your book.

____________________________________________________________________________

When you and Time had entered the library, it was mid-morning. He had left just as the sun was starting to set. It was dark out now, and the librarian had brought you a candle before she changed shifts with the night time one. 

You’re really grateful the library is even open this late, who the heck would be here this late really?

You, that’s who.

Your upper back aches with how long you have been hunched over the book, head barely propped up in your hand, and face bent so low your nose almost scratches the page.

That first book you were on had led you to opening another, and here you were.

Your stomach growls, audibly, and you would feel embarrassed if you had the energy to do so.

You….probably missed dinner, huh.

____________________________________________________________________________

The candle you had been given was half burnt, and you were on your, fourth book, was it?

The second book led you to another, and that one seemed worthless, but then it mentioned that there was a compiled collection of abridged fairy tales the royal family told, though each one was heavily annotated, and you were now reading that one.

Or one could claim you were reading. If they were generous. 

Your arms were folded and your head was using them as a pillow, the scent of dusty book filling your nose. It was so much effort to lift your head and turn the page.

But you didn’t want to give up. This was it, this was the book full of the information that was going to be useful, you were sure.

You were sure, you were suree……that your eyes were closing shut, and you could tell but also, you were so cozy…………

A voice is low, next to your ear, and it calls your name.

“Hey.”

Your eyes flutter open, heavy with the effort. You grumble, struggling to lift the massive weight that was your cotton-filled head.

“It’s time to head out.”

“H-huh?” You manage to eloquently stutter out.

A hand is on your back, steadying you.

“You missed dinner, didn’t you?”

The empty pit that was your stomach seems to sharpen at those words, bringing your brain to awareness.

“Ah, yeah I guess..”

You trail off as you look up and see that Time was standing above you. His expression was clearly a mixture of disappointment and worry, and you felt your heart sink.

“Ah Time, I-” You’re about to say some excuse when you realize, you had actually found something from staying so late!

You pick up your book and whip it around to show the blond haired man, beaming.

“Look! I found that there is a collection of old legends donated by the royal family! And it does have the information we are looking for, I think, I may have stopped paying attention a chapter ago..”

If only you could see what Time was seeing right then. You were curled up in the chair, shoulders heavy with exhaustion, shadows blatant under your eyes, which were red with the strain of reading for so long. 

Recalling the excited girl this morning, Time felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion. What drove you to this? To push yourself so hard? There was nothing dire about finding the information right this instance, why did you read until you fell unconscious? Was it because he quit too early?

Not that you could read his mind, but you watched as Time’s calm concern deepened into visible worry and frustration.

“Uh, Time? You okay?” You hazard.

“Why did you try so hard?”

Blinking, you go, “Huh?”

The old man looks at you, “This is important, sure, but not to this extent. And you know this. You have been in here for over twelve hours.”

Looking down, you mutter, “I wanted to help.”

“You did by searching with me earlier. But the others were helping too. Sky and Wild were able to secure us a meeting with the princess of this time in two days.”

An ugly feeling curls around your heart. So not only was your search not that helpful, but it only served to upset Time, and likely the others too.

“Sorry.” You say, your voice sounding blatantly flat, and you wince at that.

Time sighs, and puts a hand to his forehead. “Not that I don’t wish for you to see the mistake here, but I would like to feel confident you won’t do this again.”

If you were less exhausted, you would have been able to look the Hero of Time in the eye and lie and say you understood your error and wouldn’t do it again.

But as it was, all you could think about was how you couldn’t do anything, anything right, anything to help, and the least you could do was to just try harder.

So you just purse your lips and avoid eye contact with the hero standing before you.

Another sigh sounds, and Time crouches so that he is in your line of sight.

He puts a hand on your shoulder, and asks, “Can you tell me your thoughts here?”

You brace yourself for the inevitable anger and turn to look at the Chain’s unofficial leader. Searching Time’s unwavering gaze,  you expect to see disappointment, anger, frustration, and instead just see…tired concern. His expression is not unkind, and he holds your gaze, patient as ever.

Seeing that, you steel yourself and admit to Time, “I just wanted to be the one to help today.”

He continues holding your gaze, his eye oh so sharp, and you purse your lips and continue.

“I, I can’t contribute anything to you guys, and I thought that maybe, if I just kept looking, I could do at least this. And that I would be of some value to you all.”

Time’s expression changes minisculely at this, and he says, “But we do value you.”

Frustration rushes inside of you, and you have to keep your volume down as you rebuke, “Yes but I can’t do anything for you! I can’t cook, I obviously can’t fight, I don’t know first aid or healing, in fact, I was just saddled on you all by your enemy and it’s just because you all feel guilty for my displacement in time that you don’t just drop me off in a friendly village and call it a day!”

Time stares at you, and you feel your cheeks flush as your words catch up to you.

You look away, feeling the weight of Time’s gloved hand burn your shoulder. 

“Really, the least I could do is help you figure out what time you are in, and if I can’t do anything well, I will just try harder to make up for it.”

Time is silent for a moment, and you almost feel at peace, sitting there under his scrutiny, slightly swaying with exhaustion.

“That’s not true.”

You’re really doing this a lot tonight, but you just go, “Huh?”

The hand grasping your shoulder grips tighter, and Time brings up his other hand to your other shoulder so he can bring your gaze to meet his.

“Your value isn’t what you can give us, you know.”

You evidently make a face at that, as Time shakes you lightly and continues.

“We value your presence, not despite those things you mentioned, but simply because you are you. In fact, it’s almost refreshing that you are not another fighter like us.”

Tilting your head, you ask “What do you mean?”

Time’s expression lightens, and he explains, “Each one of us is an accomplished fighter and traveler. We are all used to fighting, and wounds, and the scenes you see on an adventure. But you are not.”

“So?” Those words hurt, being told directly that you were less capable.

“If you must have something tangible to see your value, that is one of them. You see the beauty in the scenery we have grown used to, still are unhardened to the casualties and upset of battle, and are fascinated by each of our respective skillsets, in the way that it is refreshing. Refreshing to be reminded of why we fight, to protect people like you.”

You gape at Time, and he gives you a soft smile in return.

“It’s a lovely thing that you didn’t experience the same tragedies that we did, to shape us into hardened warriors.”

You blush, and try to look to the side, but Time’s hand is too close to your neck and you just end up resting your head on his hand, still making eye contact with him.

Really, this is embarrassing, and you are tired, and Time seems to know this, as he huffs in amusement and stands up.

He looks at the book you were reading, and notes, “Parables witnessed by the Light?”

You stand and nod, eager to drop the previous subject, “Yeah, no wonder this one didn’t jump out at us, with a title like that. It really should have been named ‘Tales of the Royal Family’. “

Nodding, Time tucks the book under his arm, and picking up the candle, heads to the front counter, where the librarian is giving the two of you a bemused glance.

Once you two get there, Time asks her, “May we leave this with you? We want to come look at it again tomorrow?” She agrees, tucking it out of sight, and the two of you leave the library.

The cold night air hits you, and with it the realization of just how long you spent in that building. Your legs seem to fail you then, and you stumble, Time having to catch you.

He chuckles, and really could your pride fall any further tonight? Apparently it can, because instead of steadying you, Time just picks your form up, carrying you like a child in his arms, bridal style.

“Uh Time?!” You gasp out, twisting to stare at the hero.

He looks down at you, with an expression that says he is not to be fought with on this. “Really, this is easier than you stumbling every few feet.”

You blush again, unable to deny that, and just bury your face in Time’s shoulder, glad he was not wearing his armor for once.

Chuckling, Time heads to your inn without another word, and if you have fallen asleep in his arms before he even arrives, who is anyone to judge you?