#kazumi's rules

[kazumiwrites-fanfiction]

Rules

1. No asking me to do smut because I’ll say no. Keep in mind that I’m a minor, and I don’t particularly want to write a lot of that. Minor sexual innuendos are fine, just no straight-up smut. Go to 18+ blogs for that please.

2. Please don’t pressure me to keep writing; every once in a while is okay, but I have a life outside of Tumblr (high school wants to kill me).

3. Remember that I can and will only do things that I feel like doing. So don’t get mad if I don’t do your request.

4. I do character x reader, oc x reader, and oc x oc - no character x character (No hate, I’m just pretty bad at it; writing canon characters that are in character is hard enough for me). For a list of my OCs, go here or here (I apologize that I don't have anything on Tumblr, I just haven't had the time). To add to this, I make all of my writing gender-neutral as possible, even when gender is specified by a request (I know the feeling of being pulled out of a story when seeing the wrong pronouns, so I try to avoid it). That being said, I will do things like "how ___ would react if the reader was on their period" or something like that, but it will continue to have as few pronouns as possible. Most often, the only times that I will specify gender for a reader is if it is for a specifically trans reader (as I do have more ideas for those than cisgender readers... It's probably because I fit into the trans category haha). I will rarely write specifically for female readers as that can give me dysphoria, and I don't really like that.

5. Also, no homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia in general; I’m not going to tolerate that. To add to that, any misogyny, sexism, racism, etc is not okay (So basically, if you hate people of color (especially Asians) that were born female and are not cisgender or heterosexual, you probably shouldn't talk to me).

6. No adult x minor (because it’s illegal) and I feel really uncomfortable with that topic.

7. Please be specific in your requests for writing; include ship, what sorta plot, and what point of view (also gender of reader, if applicable, otherwise I'll make it a gender-neutral reader). Here’s a general outline:

Ship: oc x oc (e.g. Tatsuya x Kenji), oc x reader (e.g. Chisuke x female reader), character x reader (e.g. Bakugo (I love him so much-) x gender-neutral reader), character x character (e.g. Iwaizumi x Oikawa (yes my OTP))

Plot: Mood (e.g. Fluff/angst/comfort/fluff to angst), trope (if applicable) (e.g. enemies to lovers, forbidden love), actual plot (e.g. Character A and Character B get into a fight, and Character C (their mutual friend) makes them a homemade date to make them get back together).

Point of View: First person (i/my), Second person (you/your), Third person (she/he/they) (e.g. Both Tatsuya and Kenji’s point of view, changes from time to time- third person; first person, reader’s point of view; second person, Dabi’s point of view, etc)

Other: (add anything else here-) (especially any little things you want me to add (like if you want to have your pet in there or anything-)

8. I am not comfortable writing readers that are a trans female, nor am I comfortable with headcanoning characters to be a trans female (unless they canonically are). I would rather not write them at all than write something that really sucks and could be unintentionally transphobic etc. (Also since I'm already kind of struggling with trans guys (even though I'm like really close to identifying as one) I just don't want to struggle more with trying to do good representation yk.)

9. Please don't follow if you're strictly an 18+ blog? Reading, liking, and reblogging are fine but I'd rather not have blogs that aren't for minors following me, I hope you understand :)

If you’ve read these rules, like this post!

[kazumiwrites-originalfics]

Rules

1. I am a minor. Please do not come to me requesting for explicit writing. Those people will be blocked and reported. I know there are writers who are adults who will write that sort of stuff, so by all means go to them.

2. Requesting a topic or scenario for any of my writing (whether it is a topic for a oneshot, something to add to a series, anything like that) is allowed, but not guaranteed. Please do not be offended if I do not write or include it. Having your own personal headcanons and sharing them with me is fine (I'd honestly love that).

3. Please don’t pressure me to keep writing; every once in a while is okay, but I have a life outside of Tumblr (high school wants to kill me). I usually lose interest very quickly in writing, so there's also that.

4. Blatant homophobia, racism, transphobia, misogyny, sexism, and basically any other DNI criteria will not be tolerated here. I may write things that discuss these topics, but if you, for example, hate gay people, please do not interact with me (to be honest if you check all of those boxes, I do count as gay, trans, Asian, born female, etc so uh. You'd hate me :D)

5. I will not write anything containing incest, adult x minor, huge age gaps, and anything like that for personal reasons. Please do not ask me to write things that contain (or especially romanticize) these topics.

6. Please don't follow if you're strictly an 18+ blog? Reading, liking, and reblogging are fine but I'd rather not have people who do not want minors on their blog following me (as, again, I am a minor).

If you’ve read these rules, please like this post!

[kazumi-no-wonderland]

Notice

Since a lot of adult rpers as well as personal blogs have been liking/following my blogs recently:

I just want to reiterate that I (mun) am a minor and therefore under the age of eighteen.

If you are a minors DNI blog or an 18+ blog for personal reasons etc etc, I totally understand (haven't gotten any NSFW accounts yet thankfully), but please keep that in mind when interacting with me and just block + move on if you'd rather not talk with me.

Also just please!! Look at "about Mun" stuff!! Especially if you know the type of people you'd rather not interact with. I always do (so I can check rules & stuff)

I don't mind having adults follow me and interacting with me/my muses (as long as they're keeping everything sfw obviously) but just. If you're uncomfortable talking with a minor, simply move on ^^

[cakesdown]

there’s no way they could ever meet in canon but it’d be really funny if they hated each other I think

[bara-to-heart]

Reminder

Crewel-sensei has explicitly told us to not share answers to the exam or what was on said exam. Additionally, it was written in the beginning instructions/rule section of the exam.

If I catch you discussing the exam with others... You know what will happen, don't you?

[ikuhara]

[measure1cut2]

It means uhhhh

Something something homo something they smooch sometimes something something

who's making these decisions to always draw them standing next to each other. what's this mean

[gamerism]

Kiryu Kazumi is an interesting exercise in fandom, in my opinion. And I wanna talk about that.

[Kazumi is the fan created drag persona for Kiryu. Often Kiryu is genderfluid or exploring identity through her.]

Kazumi places a few tiers down the "non-canon fandom iceberg". She exists in response to Goromi who is already a very minor thing in canon, and was written as a Bit/with the intent to make an offensive joke about drag/ect, the fandom were the ones who made Goromi mean more than that. So Kazumi is a layer down from all of that already.

Despite her existence being entirely fanmade, she's not a vehicle for the fandom to cannibalise the source material into something unrecognisable purely for fanworks' sake. Though she might look it on the surface.

If the fandom decided to make Goromi mean something because she's the most blatant moment of queercoding for Majima in a long history of queercoding for him, then her theme is ultimately masculinity in canon.

Which is absolutely what Kazumi is about. Kiryu sits at the very beating heart of Like A Dragon's themes about masculinity. Be it toxic, be it ideals, be it the kind of appearances you're expected to maintain in the yakuza. Kiryu shoulders the heavy burden of them all.

We see him exhibit both positive and toxic masculinity throughout the series. But what the games have rarely brought up for him, is the rejection of masculinity in any context, or at least, femininity in equal amounts.

This isn't really surprising, if they're unwilling to make Majima say he's gay with his own mouth after using queerness as a means to Other him and make him seem dangerous, untrustworthy and even scary...they're certainly not going to have their shining beacon of Honour, Kiryu, do that. (Majima's queerness and coding has changed role somewhat over time and is generally more neutral or positive in positioning now. But even as recently as Yakuza Kiwami, it was being used in a negative way.)

So Kazumi serves the purpose for fans who wish to delve more deeply into that thorny complex relationship to masculinity.

[Kazumi In Kiwami 2 On NexusMods] By kiryussideburns.

Personally I find the idea of Kiryu exploring Kazumi as a means of escape, as a means of fully free self expression (something Kiryu has never had), really really interesting. I also find the time frame she's generally written in interesting. Most people place her post-2005. Kazama is dead. This is a hugely important factor in Kiryu's willingness to take the risk to explore gender expression. Kazama is not the kind of man who approves of any (perceived) weakness in men. In Kiryu and Nishiki's lives he's who instills a lot of toxic aspects of masculinity in them. I'd also hazard a strong guess that he's homophobic, though we don't actually know that.

The next largest factor is that December 2005 is the point where Kiryu leaves the Tojo Clan permanently. Kiryu definitely still cares a great deal deep down about his image and public perception within the underworld after leaving, but his day-to-day is no longer dictated by the rules of that life.

(Some people, me included, also dabble in Kazumi in 1988. But the same things essentially apply there. Kazama is in prison & as far away as he can functionally be while alive. And Kiryu is out of the Tojo Clan temporarily.)

As someone so enamoured with this exploration of gender expression for the character, I was floored when LAD Gaiden allowed Kiryu to wear makeup. Seriously, I had to go lay down to calm down about it when playing Gaiden day of release.

(Gaiden's lighting is very contrasted, I did my best to find a screenshot where you can actually see the makeup.)

The makeup, nail polish and pearl earrings in the Boutique was kind of unbelievable to me. I know RGG didn't really mean anything by it, that they didn't make those customisation options because they were going to touch on these themes. But even the hint of that in canon, it was so much more than I ever expected....even if it did go nowhere, as I knew it would.

It kind of gives me hope that Goromi might mean something more than just an offensive joke (in canon anyway) in the future. Or if not Goromi than something else, in LAD9 or such. Either way Kazumi will continue to be fandom legacy for gender expression, presentation and what the expectations Kiryu & other characters have resting on them mean.

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Wakamiya, Yukiya and the lady ravens

So far, I’d like to commend the series composition writer Yukiko Yamamuro for reinterpreting Chisato Abe’s novel and patching up the first two volumes of the book series (and the others maybe) into one cohesive narrative while altering some things to make it more comprehensible.

If you haven’t seen the 12th episode, beware of spoilers from here on:

Yukiya

In the manga, he only showed up when Wakamiya asked him to assist him on how to demonstrate the utility of the Ue, their raven suit, concerning Samomo’s death. (Of course, it is given that he might just be in the background the whole time.) While in the anime, he’s become the stand-in for Hamayu. The writer altered the dialogue and scenes to fit to Yukiya, a sort of Jiminy Cricket to Wakamiya. His assistant through and through.

The barriers

Instead of setting up a screen between the Prince and the princesses, Anime*Wakamiya has once again broken the protocol that he can see them and talk to them without the bamboo curtains. (He is allowed to break the rules, but the candidates cannot.)

Shiratama

Honestly, this is the most heartwarming scene in the 12th episode. It is not a big smile, but Wakamiya has done so, perhaps relieved, seeing that Shiratama has finally listened to her heart, while Yukiya is beaming watching his cousin reunited with her lover Kazumi. The bluffing has worked, even though Yukiya thinks it is an overkill while Wakamiya insists they haven’t done the deed yet. Anyway, he has done the scrutiny with so much care and respect. He was not as brutal as in the manga where calling her out was actually a push for her to think of her own mind.

He is exercising his right to be a just ruler here, which he at first was not so sure of how would it turn out.

Yukiya: What are you trying to get out of this choice?

Wakamiya: I wonder. Heaven knows how this will go.

But in the end, he’s begun to weigh both sides, give advices, tell it what it is, and encourage Shiratama and Masuho no Susuki to see what are their other opportunities other than marrying him.

It is true that he also doesn’t have a good opinion on Sakura Blossom Palace due to what transpired and/or is transpiring there. For him it stands for prison, of human follies, a snake pit, of the way humans drag each other down to the point of wishing the other harm, powerful men using young women as mere tools to advance power and influence. He knows it because his own mother had been one.

From the novel:

The wind was fluttering the young master's black hair. His face was white in the moonlight. A handsome, unpleasant person. But affectionate. Yukiya looked at the prince for a long time and spoke cautiously a little later.

“I know that my words will sound cowardly now. But Shiratama from the North House is my cousin... When I found out that Your Highness cares about the hearts of the daughters of the four houses, I felt lighter in my heart. After all, you don't consider them as tools in the political struggle.”

He's wilful, no doubt. Sharp, often misunderstood. But being with him turned out to be not bad at all.

(Note: this isn’t an official EN translation)

Masuho no Susuki

Because they changed so much from the manga, I guess we have to wait what will happen in the upcoming episodes concerning Masuho no Susuki.

(In the novel, she wrote to Wakamiya to personally come to the Sakura Blossom Palace, asked Sumio to find Hamayū and when he did Masuho kept her in her entourage secretly.)

The way Wakamiya asks the candidates if they can foresee a future with him as his empress is devoid of romanticism. He doesn’t mince words nor let them expect heaven when it is not.

One gets the impression that he really doesn’t want to get married. It is just a stupid rule that he must have a consort when he ascends the throne.

Did I say that I love Masuho’s hairstyle? Yes, I do!

Asebi

It is amusing to read the shocked comments from the Team Asebi fans. (Sorry!) The Girl has fooled many with her demure and innocent, yet naive, face.

From Asebi’s VA, Rina Honnizumi:

Asebi is very lovely, and it makes you think, “This kind of child is called a princess,” and has a charm that makes you want to protect her. But when I auditioned, I read the original work and said, “I see, this kind of girl!” The way she looks is quite different at the beginning and at the end.

Many people still don’t want to believe that she is not what everyone thinks she is. Behind this face is a wily young woman ready to crush everyone who is on her way. And we all thought it was Shiratama.

On the other hand, her half sister, Futaba, has entered the list of characters officially. Poor girl, who suffered in the hands of her own sister.

The way Asebi answers Wakamiya, “no matter what the cost,” her cunningness, and her clear discrimination between the court ravens and hill ravens, you cannot simply excuse her ignorance. Neither Wakamiya. He hates her from the bottom of his heart. We will find out more next week the reasons he does. And it seems that it is ominous as the sound director posted on X that they “deliberately left out the music for the preview of the next episode.”

Hamayu

I am curious how will they reintroduce her to the story. Are they preparing for her mini-arc? Will they follow the novel/manga but with a different twist?

The fluttering cherry blossoms

They symbolise two different things and always in tune with the music. They can be flying softly, dancing around the characters (a positive realisation) or hitting them harshly when the wind blows (signals danger, distress).

What a nice touch.

[keiyaku-tako]

Pardon? What do you mean by “personally victimized?” I assure you that I treat all of my dormmates with the utmost care I can give. If you are not pleased with what I am doing for you, I’d be happy to discuss everything with you - Don’t be shy now. I enjoy helping poor souls who are in need of assistance. I do not bite, you know, there is absolutely no need to be afraid of me.

Reblog if

You go to NRC

Irl interaction scares you

You wish you were in Ignihyde

You are in Ignihyde (let’s trade)

You have been personally victimized by the head staff at the Mostro Lounge

Do not reblog if your last name is Ashengrotto. Or Leech.

((More info here-I can’t hyperlink it right now

[scalproie]

whatever. tekken hadesgame AU

or as I like to call it: "what if Kaz raised Jin: God Edition lmao"

so. to lay the groundwork:

They're all gods/powerful immortal beings of an unspecified pantheon (but still loosely inspired by a pretty famous one I'm sure you'll recognize)

Big Bad Thundergod King Heihachi (whom I am now realizing shares quite a lot of similarities with good ol' Zeus), after getting bored and worried he's raising a weakling unfit to be his heir, still threw his little son down a cliff, except this one was from the highest heavens to the deepest hells, to make sure that if the little godling died, well, the death would actually stick. Which it did.

UNTIL another deity who's the personification of the devil gene (and who kinda look like Kazumi-but-it's-unsure-wether-or-not-it's-actually-Kazumi) took pity on him and revived him by giving him part of itself/hell aka the devil gene. So now Kazuya is "alive" and immortal again, but he's now bound to hell, aka he can't live away from it for very long. And yknow what they say, if you're stuck somewhere, might as well become it's ruler. Especially if you've gained the favors of the entity that embodies the place and that you've found a new life goal in making daddy dearest's life unbearable.

Anyway eons passed and Kaz's brothers (his adopted one Lee whom ascended to godhood on one of Heihachi's whims as a way to counter his annoying firstborn's meddling, and his heroic half-brother Lars) reached out to him one day to propose an alliance to take their tyrannical father down. Kaz only agreed on the condition that he get to expand his domain once Heihachi is out: if he cant leave hell, no worries, he'll just make hell bigger. Anyway Heihachi's children rebelled against him and with their might combined they managed to take him down, with Kaz even having the honor and pleasure to deliver the killing blow.

For the aftermath tho, when it was time for Kaz to begin his conquest, his brothers came back on their word to let him, bc Lars Actually Gives A Damn About Mortals and he knew full well that Kazuya wouldve had exactly the same rule as Heihachi if they let him, so they didnt (and Lee is more neutral on his views toward mortals but he gets along with Lars FAR better than he ever got along with Kaz so the choice on who to back up was easy). And even though Kaz 100% wouldve been as bad as Heihachi is he was allowed to rule over mortals as Lars thought he would be, and Kaz KNOWS it, that doesnt mean hes not gonna be mad that his brothers didnt keep their words to let him be evil in peace.

Well if he cant have what he wants the fair way, might as well try to take it by force. And thus Kaz resumes his battles against his brothers with his attempts at invasion of the mortal realm.

This goes on for awhile with things going great for Kaz as he is the stronger sibling out of all of them, until his aggression puts him on the path of one Jun, who counters him in a most efficient, masterful and complete manner. Basically he was doing too well at bringing evil onto the world and she had come to balance him out.

In a most unforeseen turn of events, as they get acquainted over the course of their different confrontations, they discover that they respect and admire each other's strength and actually get along pretty well, even enjoy each other's company.

Anyway being around Jun makes Kaz chill out MASSIVELY and soon enough you'll notice the amount of invasions from hell have greatly diminished.

Eventually they get in an actual relationship, with Kazuya even wanting her to become the queen of his domain. And Jun is not opposed to this proposal, quite the opposite in fact. But complications start to arise when Jun began moving in hell: she is everything it's not and vice-versa, and the environment itself even seems harmful for her the longer she stays. Even the devil-Kazumi-entity, for all that it's/she's fond of Jun as a person, cannot meet her physically for she would eradicate it/her should they come into contact.

Jun bears it as long as she can bc Kazuya Literally Cannot Leave Hell and she wants to be with him as much as he wants to be with her, and Kaz promises her that he's working on finding a solution (and by "working on it" I mean Kaz is threatening the dead soul of a demi-god known as Gepetto Bosconovitch, reknown for giving life to things that didnt have any, into fixing this).

Eventually Jun reaches her breaking point when their son dies a stillborn because he bears her blood and he is much weaker than she is, bc he's a baby. This is the last rejection of this place that Jun can take before it potentially kills her, esp since that last event took such a toll on her, and even tho she loves Kaz as much as he loves her, she has to leave and WANTS to leave. Kaz, in a rare moment of compassion, let her go and spares telling her the news that, ironically, Bosconovitch JUST finished his work and managed to make a garden, indentical to the ones she would have on the surface, grow in the deepest level of hell where she could thrive.

So Jun is gone and Kaz is miserable, so much so that he doesnt even have the mind nor heart for conquest anymore. The only thing left of her being the corpse of his child that he decides to bury in the unused garden.

But just as the tiny body touches the soil, he begin to scream as he takes his first breath and the initial shock then WAVE OF RELIEF Kazuya feels as his son is alive surprises even himself bc he didnt even want the damn baby in the first place. This is probably the most outwardly loving Kaz will be with his son as he's holding his tiny body while being hit with a fucking storm of emotions but hey we take those.

"This is great! Their son is alive and the garden works! Now Kazuya only need to reach Jun and they can-" Except Kaz Will Not bc he does NOT want to reach Jun. Not bc he doesnt love her anymore but 1) bc he now knows the pain of losing her and bringing her back into his life means getting the risk of getting hurt again and he neither wants to feel that pain ever again nor even knowing he has that "weakness" in the first place so he'd rather cut her off from his life, he'd rather deal with loneliness than heartache, and 2) even he realized that what his domain is, what he is, brought Jun pain, and some part of him does NOT like to see Jun in pain.

"Well if he doesnt want Jun back into his life, why doesnt he send her their son?" This is objectively the best course of action. But Kaz is Not A Good Person. He's selfish. And again. Their son is the last thing he has left of her, and goddammit if he doesnt have her eyes, her nose, her face.

So Kaz is now stuck with this lame baby and only partially vibe with it. Problem is, that baby cannot live in this tiny garden for the entirety of his immortal life. Thankfully the devil-Kazumi-entity offers Kaz a solution: the baby not only carries Jun's blood but also Kazuya's, and that makes him able to be a receptacle for the devil gene, binding him to hell as well, yes, but keeping him alive in there.

So now Kazuya is raising his son whom he named Jin based on one (1) short conversation he once had with Jun but didnt forget. He is also personally training him in the art of combat, bc sadly Kaz does take a bit after his father, and he would not have the prince of hell be a weakling.

OKAY BACKSTORY ESTABLISHED FINALLY now onto the main course:

So Jin grew up and similarly as in the game, he eventually learn that his family is not just him and his dad but he also have a mom somewhere, and he wants to find her. Bc one day he steps into the famous garden that Kaz had closed off after That Day and Jin figured that his asshole dad would NOT have such a pretty garden made without reasons so after a few researchs behind Kaz's back he eventually found out the truth.

Long story short, Jin wants to leave hell, Kaz doesnt want him to, and they antagonize each other constantly.

Jin eventually comes into contact with both his extanded family and multiple allies who wants to help him leave (without anyone knowing yet that just like Kaz, Jin cannot live outside of hell for long. tho Jin can survive longer than Kaz thanks for his mom's blood)

The people from outside helping him are:

Lars: his heroic half-uncle, OF COURSE Lars was going to help him.

Lee: his adopted uncle, he does like Jin but mostly he helps him out so Jin can run a few crash tests for him on Kaz's minions, AND he gets to piss off Kaz in the same move? Excellent.

Alisa: an ascended goddess who relate to Jin due to their origin, she as well was "dead at birth" until her father found a way to bring her back (in a way) tho he was cast to hell for it.

Leroy: the grandfather-figure Jin wishes he always had.

Asuka: she insists to him they're related and that once he makes it outta hell, she'll teach him about their side of the family.

there'll be more down the line but I need to workshop this...

Anyway Jin has two goal: 1) escape dad's hell, and 2) find mom. whom he will discover has straight up disappeared from everyone ever since she left hell herself.

So Jin starts from the bottom of hell and has to climb to the top where the entrance lies, in the mouth of a volcano. Wink wink fucking nudge nudge

When he falls he ends up back in his father's home where he can meet a bunch of friendly dead souls:

Lucky Chloe: usually the first person he sees after falling down, she's kind of the court jester, she was spared damnation bc Kaz thinks her annoying people is really funny as long as its not him, thats where the "Lucky" come from.

Azucena: she provides delicacies from the surface to hell (for a price), Jin can find her as he's running up to the surface and she'll happily sell him things to help.

Jane: she provides Jin with some sort of "bestiary" and she actually does not mind that he keeps beating Kaz's minions (the JACKs among others, tho they are her favorites) bc she get to improve them thanks to the data gathered afterward.

Bruce: Kaz's chief of security. When Jin didnt trained with Kaz, he often sparred with Bruce. Bruce will let Jin try his different styles against him before climbing back up hell again. He's fond of the kid :)

"Kazumi": Jin can never get quite a good read on her/it, but she's/it's always kind to him.

and others that I will also figure out...

But that's not all the people Jin meets, as he's ascending, he also encounters a bunch of people, tho not all are friendly.

Nina and Anna: contracted by Kazuya to stop Jin. Tho they spend more time fighting each other...

A reptilian monstrocity by the name of Alex.

Some strange crystals take him to a bizarre location where he can meet Azazel, who present himself as the progenitor of the devil-Kazumi-entity, making him technically Jin's great-grandpa. Via him, Jin can fight Devil Jin and gain more access to his style (more on that later)

Xiaoyu: a phoenix Jin befriended, the only reason she's in hell is only bc she can cheat death. She is not bound to hell, so she technically can come back to life if she manages to escape, until she dies again on the surface. They often run into each other and have a friendly competition to see who can defeat the most of Kaz's minions, if she loses, Xiaoyu will leave Jin with one of her feathers, that increases his health. Jin can also meet her sometimes back at the house. It's rumored that she spend more time in hell recently to hang out with the hellish prince🧡

Hwoarang: another dead soul of a great warrior contracted to stop Jin, but he couldnt care less about what Kaz wants. He wants to defeat Jin, so he will hunt him down everytime he hears that Jin is trying to escape again. Over time he and Jin have come to enjoy their rivalry. Jin can also meet him sometimes at the house🧡

And more yknow the drill...

And of course, once Jin finally manages to come to hell's entrance, who waits for him there but Kazuya. The two have a nice little father and son fight to the death between immortals where they can work out their problems in an healthy manner: with extreme violence, and the winner get to throw the other down the volcano cliff aaall the way to the bottom (bc sometimes the best way to work out trauma is thru exposure therapy. wink)

Jin starts by only knowing his father's style, but after finally finding his mother, and after the initial story-related reunion (and the tragic realization that just like his dad, Jin cannot stay out of hell for long), they bond with Jun teaching him her style. And Jin can work his way to the top again using her style to learn more about it. When dueling Kaz with it, he's preeetty conflicted like: My traitorous son is using another style than ours👿 -> omg that's Jun's moves... 🥺 -> HE'S NOT EVEN USING THEM RIGHT👿👿👿

And basically, Jin has multiple styles: his dad's, his own, eventually his mom's, and devil style. He gets to pick the one he's going to stick with at the start of every ascend.

Anyway this is the story of a child of divorce trying to reunite his parents who are both extremely stubborn and extremely still in love with each other, bc if Jin has to live another day with just his father he's going to LOSE IT.

[languagestudymaterials]

Japanese writing style

and how it differs from English

Have you ever wondered why reading Japanese texts is… difficult? And I’m not talking about kanji. I'm talking about...

Paragraph organization/structuring.

Different cultures equal different ways of expressing thoughts, and the Japanese way of expressing thoughts is different from my native culture and English culture.

It's also worth noting that some cultures are reader-oriented and some are writer-oriented.

Read-oriented means that the author focuses on the reader and tries to compose a piece of text that is easy to consume, and easy to understand for the reader. This could refer to:

lack of sophisticated vocabulary

short sentences

short paragraphs

lots of examples

straightforward examples and lots of contexts

Writer-oriented means that the writer, it might sound harsh, is more focused on themselves. The writer through their composition tries to, in simple words, show off. Yes, the author tries to prove to the reader that they are a competent person and that they know what they are talking about, but they don't necessarily care if the reader will understand their text. They shift the responsibility of understanding the text to the reader. You can expect:

difficult vocabulary

wordy sentences

poor explanations

the author sort of assumes that the reader knows or has a similar knowledge level as the author

Of course, it also depends on the target audience, the field, and the purpose of the composition. Some texts are written by professionals for professionals, so the author can safely assume that their target audience will comprehend their work.

To learn more about this, get acquainted with high- and low-context cultures, a concept coined by Edward T. Hall.

High and low context refers to how a message is communicated. In high-context cultures, such as those found in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, the physical context of the message carries a great deal of importance. People tend to be more indirect and expect the person they are communicating with to decode the implicit part of their message. While the person sending the message takes painstaking care in crafting the message, the person receiving the message is expected to read it within context. The message may lack the verbal directness you would expect in a low-context culture. In high-context cultures, body language is as important and sometimes more important than the actual words spoken. In contrast, in low-context cultures such as the United States and most Northern European countries, people tend to be explicit and direct in their communications. Satisfying individual needs is important. You’re probably familiar with some well-known low-context mottos: “Say what you mean” and “Don’t beat around the bush.” The guiding principle is to minimize the margins of misunderstanding or doubt. Low-context communication aspires to get straight to the point. (Source)

Now we know what may cause problems with understanding Japanese texts.

Let’s move to some basics: definitions and rules governing English paragraphs and Japanese paragraphs.

What is a paragraph?

Merriam-Webster defines a paragraph as

“a subdivision of a written composition that consists of one or more sentences, deals with one point or gives the words of one speaker, and begins on a new, usually indented line.”

Pretty straightforward, right? The most important part of this definition is that a paragraph in an English text contains ONE POINT/IDEA.

Japanese danraku

On the other hand, the definition of a Japanese paragraph (danraku) is not so clear. Kazumi Kimura and Masako Kondo of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies did research on that topic and what they managed to establish is that:

“The definition and functions of danraku are vague, and the requirements for danraku are not clearly stated in most composition textbooks.”

“According to Shinmura (2001), danraku is defined, as “a major division in a long passage”

”Matsumura (1999) also defines danraku as “a part of a long passage and a division group of the same content.”

”In other dictionaries, no clearer definitions for danraku are found, either. Moreover, no book suggests the rules or requirements for danraku.”

So, what’s the conclusion?

There are some rules and commonly accepted conventions governing English paragraphing, while the Japanese treat the idea of paragraphing in a more relaxed way. They don’t see it as a standard unit of text organization.

Japanese Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu Format

An interesting article.

Kishōtenketsu (起承転結) is how (most commonly) the Japanese structure their narratives. Why should you care? Because this pattern affects other types of narratives too!

Robyn Paterson explains what each syllable in the name stands for. Let’s take a look.

Ki – In this stage, we get a character and situation, and that character demonstrates a need, usually one based on a derivative of basic human needs.

Sho – The character makes a plan, and tries to follow a path they think will fill that need.

Ten – The character faces an obstacle to their plan, and must figure out how to overcome it.

Ketsu – The character is done facing the current obstacle(s) and now has either fulfilled their need or moved closer towards fulfilling it.

How is it different from the Western narratives, then?

Western narratives tend to write about conflicts. It is always about people struggling to win something, to become someone, to fight against someone. Stories usually start off with a problem, then the problem is followed by all the events and actions that should help solve the problem, and at the end, there’s “and they lived happily ever after.” Sounds familiar, right? Such an approach is reflected in more scientific writings too. Introduction, body, and conclusion. Rigid and organized pattern.

The Japanese way of writing stories is more about the interactions between living organisms. They don’t see the world as a constant battlefield. They see it as a cooperative system. Sure, there are conflicts, but the approach toward solving conflicts is also different.

That’s why the Japanese writing style may seem chaotic and random to us, Western people. In Japanese stories, there is no “thesis” or “problem statement” at the beginning. Japanese narratives and other writing styles are more relaxed and not problem-oriented.

I sometimes think that Japanese people just write whatever comes to their minds, but that’s just my conclusion.

Robyn Peterson summarized the differences in two short statements, and they are great!

American story – Man conquers outer space. Japanese story – Man finds his place in outer space.

Japanese paragraphs

Kazumi Kimura and Masako Kondo carried out research in which they analyzed English essays written by Japanese students. While the research focuses on English essays and the goal here is to help English teachers teach better writing to Japanese students, the two authors pinpointed some features of Japanese paragraph structure.

A Japanese writer’s interest is in decorating with an emphasis on surface effects to move readers rather than that in presenting a message or information clearly.

The purpose of writing is often different between the two languages (English and Japanese).

Japanese essay writers generally aim to move their readers, and they are not concerned about how to clearly convey information as English writers are.

Kinoshita’s (1981) observes that ‘most Japanese writers may end a paragraph because they think they have written a lot in a paragraph’ (p. 61).

A writer can put more than two main ideas in one danraku because the strict organization of a topic sentence and a supporting sentence is not required.

They [the Japanese] organize paragraphs as they would for danraku, without any logical combination of a topic sentence and supporting sentences. They also often place more than two main ideas in one paragraph because in danraku that is possible.

Japanese writers tend not to pay attention to stating a clear topic sentence which is followed by appropriate supporting sentences. Therefore, Japanese students should realize that danraku and paragraphs are not identical, and they should not write English in a danraku style.

During the research, one of the common problems was that more than a few students wrote their English essays only in one paragraph, and such paragraphs contained many different ideas.

The second problem was that two topic sentences sometimes appeared in one paragraph and different ideas were discussed.

The third problem was that a topic sentence was often absent from many paragraphs.

Japanese writing style lacks conjunctions and connectives. They separate thoughts with commas, and that feature bleeds into English texts as well.

(I haven’t changed the wording. The original is the same)

These are just basic differences! However, I feel like reading Japanese articles will be much easier from now on: I know the features and I know what to expect.

An interesting article on the topic here. It also tackles the conventions of spoken Japanese and argument organization.

References:

“Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu- a Japanese way to structure your stories. | RobynPaterson.com.” Site. August 06, 2020. Publisher, Web. August 06, 2020. (website no longer exists)

“Effective writing instruction: From Japanese danraku to English paragraphs.” Site. August 06, 2020. Publisher, Web. August 06, 2020. 

“Publications - Do Asian authors have a different style of academic writing from European authors? - Academia Stack Exchange.” $site. August 06, 2020. Publisher, Web. August 06, 2020. 

[soulmuppet]

📢US & UK RESTOCK!!

Rogue 2E is as if OSR & Storygames had a baby.

By Kazumi Chin

PC Features

- Pick Lists, Not Stats: Rather than stats, players select a custom list of 12 actions that they can perform at any time.

- Automatic Successes: Performing actions from your pick list allows you to succeeed automatically, unless the GM issues a challenge.

- Real-Time Refreshes: You can overcome ANY challenge by using your character's personal Ace (a phrase detailing your character's core powers), which refreshes every 15 minutes in real-time.

- Crises, Not Hit Points: Rather than using abstract HP totals, PCs manage a list of crises, such as injury, exhaustion, and incapacitation. So long as they have less than four, they are alive.

GM Features

- Hard & Soft Events: You can cause anything to happen at any time by using the GM Events table, and interpreting the results as you see fit.

- Intiative-less Combat: Combat is dynamic and relies upon the GM following the logical narrative flow, rather than an artificial turn-based system.

- Narrative-Based Monsters: Monsters are composed of a list of events, a list of overwhelming powers, and a list of weaknesses that can be exploited.

- Rulings, Not Rules: Everything from monsters to events to crises to situational bonuses and penalties is designed to provide maximum support for GMs interested in running the game with important OSR principles.

Get it now in Print and PDF

[keiyaku-tako]

Well, do what you like, I suppose… If you want to fight him, do that. I would just advise you to be wary of getting caught - which I’m sure Jade would find a good place where you won’t be disturbed.

And Kazumi-san will not fight me.

Introduction!!

Hi!!! I'm Quartz!! I'm a twst fanartist on tiktok 💪💪

I made a tumblr account to post art and just to say stupid things about twst

I go by she/her

I really love Azul and I hate Jade!!!

Octavinelle is the best (minus Jade)!!

I love Octavinelle (minus Jade)!!

Here's my tiktok if you want to see more of my content:

[keiyaku-tako]

"The song ceases, the sun sets. I extend my benevolent hand to you poor, unfortunate souls. Now, to business! It’s a Deal!"

An independent non-selective roleplaying blog for Azul Ashengrotto from Twisted Wonderland. Not spoiler free. Established August 23, 2023. Loved by Kazumi.

Rules | About Azul | About Kazumi (Mun) | Japanese Words Masterlist | Permanent Starter Call | People Masterlist | Masterlist of TWST Blogs @kazumi-no-wonderland | Follows/Other Interactions From @kazumify

Tags:

#azul replies - Azul replying to anything, whether it be by reblogging, answering asks, etc...

#kazumi speaks - Kazumi (Mun) speaking in the tags - feel free to ignore if you do not want to hear me haha. Probably shouldn't block this tag though as I do tend to just speak a lot... But all of it is related to Azul so uh. Yeah.

#azul speaks - Mostly starters for Azul, but sometimes just Azul speaking in general.

#azul doesn't speak - Mostly reblogs of art where Azul doesn't say anything. Basically I want to reblog art of Azul on here is that too confusing-

Anons with names/emojis will be tagged as either 'kantokusei-san [emoji]' or '[Name]-san' (if you sign it with a name). Anons that do not sign with a name will not be tagged.

#quartz-san crossover - a limited time event where Azul stole Quartz’s identity :)

[allebooklover]

For the prompt counting clocks by @flashfictionfridayofficial.

I sort of went with the alternate meaning of clocks - clocking someone in the head, and regular clocks.

Content warnings: violence and child abuse. Character repeatedly remembers violence committed on kids, and daydreams of people getting hit in the head in multiple ways.

Edited to include the words ‘counting clocks’ (hadn’t realised I left it out).

“-the clock in the house is an antique from the Fujiwara’s grandfather’s generation. It symbolises—”

The teacher droned on, a continuous monotone that blurred the words together, until Enn could barely made sense of what he was saying. He could understand Japanese just fine, despite spending the previous few years in Italy, but he couldn’t say the same for Japanese literature. Metaphors, similes, symbolism— none of it made sense to Enn, even with Minase’s efforts. Even after a month, he couldn’t make head or tails of it, and if he was being honest with himself, he never would.

He glanced up at the clock. It was a perfect circle, painted white with crisp black numbers circling the rim. 10.15am, it read. Enn’s shoulders slumped before he could stop them—he forced them back up with a flinch, gaze flickering frantically to the teacher. Thankfully, the teacher was too busy reading the textbook to notice his slip.

It could be wrong, he thought hopefully. The clock could have been wounded wrongly, just like the old square clock they’d had back in the hellhole that ran anywhere between 3 and 8 minutes early. He didn’t have anything to compare it to, but that didn’t matter. Having allies was a wonderful thing, especially in an unknown environment. Carefully, his eyes slid to the side of the classroom. Kazumi was seated three seats aside and down, scribbling into her notebook like her life depended on it, dark shadows under her eyes. Her wrists were bare, and just like the classmates surrounding them, she looked completely focused on what the teacher was saying. A far cry from the silent, wary girl he remembered, who needed to keep everybody in sight at all times and panicked when they weren’t.

He wasn’t sure if he liked that.

Focused as Kazumi was, it was all too easy for her to die. Enn could already see it in his mind’s eye—the classmate seated beside her whirling around and punching once to the face before stabbing a pen into the side of her neck, a tactic they’d learned back when they were in the Nero famiglia’s care. Clutching at her throat, wheezing for air as warm blood slid down her fingers, staining her blouse red—

Kazumi’s eyes shifted towards his. Her brows furrowed into a scowl, eyes flickering back to the whiteboard and back to him. Pay attention, her look said, and Enn slid his gaze back to the front with a sigh.

He glanced up at the clock—10.20am. Enn resisted the urge to smack his head on the table. He peeked to the side instead, gaze shifting to the third seat beside the window.

Minase was looking down at his textbook, bangs falling into his eyes, pen held loosely in hand. There was a watch on his wrist, but the head was facing away from Enn. He gritted his teeth, thinking his options through.

He could ask the other students to pass on the message, but he didn’t trust those students not to narc to the teacher. He could approach or call out himself—Minase rolled with the circumstances like a well oiled ball bearing. He’d give Enn a questioning look but also a honest answer, but that would be against the rules. Obeying the rules was what helped them survive back then, and although the rules were less clearcut, it was helping them survive now.

Adults didn’t like rule breakers. The adults in charge of him back then had made it vehemently clear how much they hated them by kicking rule breakers in the head until their face caved in, pleading be damned. He’d counted forty two kicks, once, for an eight year old who’d stolen a ring. Could still hear the crunch of bone, the horrible hacking coughs as the kid struggled to breath through a swollen tongue and broken teeth. Kazumi was too smart to be caught, but Minase wasn’t, and Enn refused to see them go through the same thing.

He’d kill the teacher before that happened.

He’d seen some squads do it to their handlers. Enn had dreamt of joining in, when things got too much. It had never ended well, but when you were deemed failures by the lab and sent into an underground war between criminals as meat shields and fodder, striking back was worth death. It wouldn’t even be hard—it was clear that the teacher had never killed anyone in his life, unlike the mafiosi. Attention split between twenty kids and the whiteboard, the teacher wouldn’t see Enn coming until it was too late.

He wouldn’t even need a pen—the textbook they were using would do. Enn tightened his grip on his textbook. All he’d would have to do was throw it at the back of the teacher’s head with enough force to break a skull, and if that failed, he’d have his fists. He’d seen kids die of brain damage after getting clocked in the face, and the teacher would die just like they would - crying in pain, vomiting down their fronts, clutching at their heads until they fell limp and still. One strike, two, three; counting clocks to the head just like he had for the rest of the dead.

It’d get him executed by the adults in front of the others to teach them what happened to failures who fought back, but at least that meant no more Japanese literature class. No more struggle to adapt to this weirdly peaceful place, where violence was the exception instead of the rule.

(Kazumi had told him that things had changed. That the people who’d took them in didn’t want to kill them, or for them to kill anyone, or do anything that wasn’t what a regular high school kid would do, whatever that meant. It was clear that they were trying to believe it, but Enn wasn’t sure he was ready to join them just yet.)

Kazumi was looking at him, brows furrowed. Shoving away the memories of blood and violence, Enn shifted his gaze to his notes. Above them, the clock ticked on, slowly and inevitably marching towards the end of the lesson, and the beginning of a new one.