#look at that quality salt fam

[imdonewiththisblogsblog]

(Hello! Here’s some incorrect quotes!)

Kickin-Chicken : *Posts a super low-quality image to the group chat*

Bobby BearHug : If I had a dollar for every pixel in this image, I’d have 15 cents.

Kickin-Chicken : If I had a dollar for every ounce of rage I felt in my body after I read this text, I would have enough money to buy a cannon to fire at you.

Bubba bubbaphant : Actually I did the math, Bobby BearHug would have $225, not $0.15.

Bobby BearHug : Fam I’m right here....

Dogday: If I had a dollar I would buy a can of soda :)

Kickin-Chicken : while you’re there could you buy me an apply juice please?

Dogday: Sorry I only have a dollar.

Kickin-Chicken : :(

Bubba bubbaphant : Hey I just realized my friend is right, Bobby BearHug would have $22,500 because it's a dollar for every pixel, not a cent.

Dogday: If I had $22,500 I would buy a can of soda and an apply juice.

Bubba bubbaphant : You can buy anything you want with $22,500.

Catnap: Yeah and they want soda and apply juice.

Bubba bubbaphant : Apply juice to what.

Catnap: Directly to the forehead.

Bobby BearHug : Great chat everyone.

Dogday: I just got the best idea I've ever had in my entire life!

*Later*

Catnap, to Dogday: That was the worst idea you’ve ever had in your entire life.

Bubba bubbaphant : *tapping fingers on table*

Craftycorn: *taps fingers back furiously*

Bobby BearHug : …What’s going on?

Dogday: Morse code. They’re talking.

Bubba bubbaphant : -.-- ..- .-. / - …. . / -.-. ..- - . … -

Craftycorn: *slams hands on table* YOU TAKE THAT BACK!

Catnap: What do you three have to say for yourself?

Bubba bubbaphant :

Craftycorn:

Dogday: Oops?

Bobby BearHug : Are you the big spoon or the little spoon?

Catnap: I'm a knife.

Dogday, from across the room: They're the little spoon.

Kickin-Chicken : Not gonna lie, I'm kind of afraid of Catnap...

Bubba bubbaphant : As you should be.

Kickin-Chicken : No, for real, they're kind of-

Bubba bubbaphant : As. You. Should. Be.

Hoppy hopscotch : Who would you swipe right for? Craftycorn or Picky Piggy?

Catnap: I would delete the app.

Bubba bubbaphant : Do you mind if I slyly mention that you’re single?

Catnap: Do not do that.

Bubba bubbaphant : You won’t even notice!

Dogday, entering: Bubba bubbaphant , you wanted to see me again?

Bubba bubbaphant : Catnap's single

Catnap:…

Dogday: Hey, can we stay in your dorm tonight?

Catnap: Why?

Dogday: Bobby BearHug fiddled with an ouija board and cursed ours.

Picky Piggy: Craftycorn doesn't know how to banish spirits, so they just throw salt at them and yell "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A HOTEL TO YOU?!"

Bubba bubbaphant : Everyone knows that Santa is an invention designed by the big five corporations to sell tinsel and video games to an unsuspecting public.

Kickin-Chicken : The whole “childhood wonder” stage just blew right past you, didn’t it?

Craftycorn: it’s illegal to look better than me.

Catnap: I guess we’re all going to jail then.

Catnap: Sometimes I get so caught up on being gay that I forget I’m actually bi.

Dogday: Honestly, I am so evil. So full of darkness. I feed of the souls of the living I strike fear into-

Catnap: You sleep with a teddybear.

Dogday: He’s my sECOND IN COMMAND IN MY ARMY OF DARKNESS!

Kickin-Chicken : Ooh, somebody has a crush

Catnap: Pfft, I don’t have a crush on Dogday I just think they’re cool, it’s not like I stay up at night thinking about them.

*Later that night*

Catnap, very much awake: Uh oh.

Catnap: I want to kiss you.

Dogday, not paying attention: What?

Catnap: I said if you die, I wont miss you.

Kidnapper: We have your child

Kickin-Chicken : I don’t have a child? Kidnapper: Then who just asked for warm milk and made us cut the crusts off their sandwich?

Kickin-Chicken : Oh god, you have Dogday

[inoreuct]

okay okay yes chef sanji is wonderful but baker sanji. confectioner sanji. think about it.

sanji kneading dough on a saturday morning with his shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbow. he has flour on his cheeks and one of those cute canvas aprons the colour of a brown paper bag with a million pockets and he keeps getting pissed off because strands of his bangs are constantly falling into his face. he makes sourdough and cheesecake and strawberry pavlova and tangerine tarts and dried mango nougat and carrot cupcakes that everybody eyed suspiciously before they actually tried them and now they're a friend group favourite.

he makes monthly batches of those agar-agar edible crystals for vivi's entire family and ships them by the crate to alabasta. he bakes robin and franky's blue raspberry black forest wedding cake. all of the straw hats have multiple packets of his dark chocolate dried fruit and nut and oat yoghurt brittle in their bags at any one time because they're the perfect snack and they're delicious. he makes red bean matcha mochi for zoro because the mosshead can't tolerate anything too sweet.

he has jar upon jar of aromatic infusions on the shelf: vanilla, black pepper, florals, all steeped in liquor to make high-quality extracts that he has gotten MULTIPLE offers to start a business out of, but he always declines because hello. he's busy cooking for straw hats and co.. luffy and fam. he has no time he is a busy busy man and would you look at that chopper's upside-down apple crumble is ready.

usopp makes him all sorts of contraptions, a high-speed blender, a state-of-the-art stand mixer, an ice-cream machine; sometimes if he's feeling lazy he'll go equipment shopping with sanji and just modify whatever they buy. sanji has a toffee hook on the wall of the galley and a very formidable collection of cookie cutters and piping tips. he's managed to make fondant that doesn't taste like utter trash and it's legendary. his salted caramel cashew macadamia popcorn has and will continue to make grown men cry.

but sometimes, he just chucks some charcoal in a pot and plops it in the middle of the dining table with a bowl of chocolate on top and brings out the fruit skewers, or the marshmallows and graham crackers. sometimes they eat rice krispy treats out of the packaging as they huddle together on the lawn and stargaze just because they can. sometimes the almond and dried cranberry combo just can't be beat and sometimes plain toast with butter makes you see god. but you'd best believe the next day he's up and at it again; his sourdough starter's looking more and more like a sentient life form by the hour and he has seven different things going on at once with two more bowls cooling off in the fridge and the oven preheating. i love baker confectioner sanji.

[gummybearzgocrazyagain]

kinn/porsche fic rec

Fake Dating AU

Tell Me That You Love Me (even if it’s fake) by @whitewalkers [luuuuuv me a fandom as ripe with fake dating trope as kp, it never quite loses it’s charm innit. kinn has a high school reunion to attend, and of course why not use it as a ploy to sway his most annoying bodyguard into confessing his nascent feelings... well-done, tis a rec]

Vigilante/Special Agent AU

Deep Like a Coastal Shelf by @Lilla_Torg [aight so this is an author with the very distinguished storytelling pattern, that i can not help but appreciate, their world-building and characterization is usually top notch, and this particular babie is not an exception: porsche and chay were brought up by someone from the syndicate that targets organized crime, and now that people, who used to call themselves their parents, are gone, Porsche is left with the ominous List, and a black leather vigilante suit, to keep their legacy alive. korn and gun are dead, Main and Minor fams are combined, tankhun has taken over as the Leader. kinn handles their overseas ops. amazing quality of storytelling, as always. DNI if you can’t handle pairings other than kp, as this is a multi-pairing piece, as it is customary for this author. but again, the story is so good, i didn’t even skip kimchay/vegaspete bits, which is a feat on it’s own. max kudosssssss]

the house don’t fall (when the bones are good) by @bytheriveriwept [i often say that i luved some works, but there are works i luved, and then there are works i LUVVEEEEEEDDDDDDDD with my whole-ass heart, this bit of genius masterpiece is the case of the latter. kp are special agents, colleagues, parts of the same organization, cohesive unit, and all that. only until porsche decides to take on risqué assignment, and go undercover. will they still be them, when he is back....? what can i say, this was sooooooooo up my alley in so many ways, i don’t even wanna say no more, if you haven’t read this.... what the hell is you even doing]

Third person POV

First Impressions by @AirgiodSLV [oooohhhhh how i luv me some piece of delicious 3rd person pov, yummmmm, Bank is a new hire for the Major fam, and this is the first time he is present at the meeting between the families.... yumm👌]

Alternative Meeting AU

stumbling to the edge by @FireRisingOverTheHills [absolutely delightful and underrated series for those who is not looking for heavy feels: it is light-hearted, sweet, well-written and entertaining, all without being angsty or plot-twist-heavy. despite the alternative meeting, it is still pretty much in-universe compliant. kp meet at a bar under different circumstances, but end up pretty much in the same compromising position that we all love to see them in. much kudos🙏]

the less i know the better by @mslunita [yummmmm, delicious morsel of tinder hookup-turned-softness, i really enjoyed this one: kp initially meet on the apps, and yet, being themselves, immediately turn this motha all soppy and lovey-dovey, - extremely canon-complaint, if you ask me. exactly the kinda content i am here for🙏 super-well done]

For Want of Fighting by @Mara [this fandom sure does luuuuuuv it some alternative meetings aus, huh, and i ain’t about to complain. great short piece, Businessman AU, first meeting is not too drastically different to canon, but the context does slightly differ. very entertaining and def a rec]

Sports AU

Salt by @ronadnhermy [oh. my. god. what a fucking catch, luv luv luved ittttttt, so well-written, so entertaining, there is plot, there is emotional turmoil, morally dubious kinn, maybe the younger versions of them is not exactly my jam, but with such quality, who cares... porsche is like 18-19 and on the Thailand National Taekwondo team, kinn is in uni, and sees something he likes, thangs spiral from there... super recommend, ah-mazing, allllllll the kudos]

bar owner!porsche AU

like real people do by @motherfleckers [Kinn is a celeb, Porsche owns a tiny bar in a tinier fishing town, simple premise with a delightful resolution: eyebrows, usual canon levels of audacity, motorcycle rides, and, most importantly, kinn’s dick is not small. it’s very very good (the fic, not kinn’s dick, although that too). major kudosssssssss]

Now make your bed (now lie in it) by @deliciousblizzardshark [2-for-1 tropes sale, apart from bar owner!porsche, you get accidental babie acquisition, my beloved <33333 fair warning, one must brace themselves for being gutted with longing, as well as general adorableness of kinn going “i’ve only had this random babie for 1,5 days but if something happens to her imma end everyone in this establishment and then myself”, adored this one sooooo much, prolly one of my personal faves, sooooooo many kudosssssss]

Cabin crew AU

before i leave, i want it a thousand times by @mslunita [despite somewhat disparaging reputation real-life cabin crew have acquired in my city, i clearly have no issues reading porsche being one slutty flight attendant, and hey, when your client is kinn anakinn theerapanyakul, who could actually blame him for slightly loosening his morals up on occasion, right? certainly not me, you go boiiiiii]

Historical AU

Love and the Art of War by @fortunehasgivenup [oooooowwwwww yassss, this is sooooo far up my alley it ain’t even funny. first of all, this author is everything, man, love all their fics, must reads, all of them. this specific babie is sooooo precious though: set in some nebulous middle ages, it’s a war camp setting, kinn has been away from home for months, and upon returning from some battle or other, gets an unexpected visitor waiting for him inside his tent. ngl, i would have read 200k of this, but author gave me 4, and i lapped them up like a man starved. perfection, truly. not to mention the use of “anakinn” in any context just does it for me🤷‍♀️]

Sex worker adjacent AU

escort AU by @Oscarian_Flame [Porsche joins the same agency kinn has been a long-term client of, and the universe expands from there. well-written and fun to explore, with interesting oc’s, worth a read for sure!]

Cliff Jump by @AirgiodSLV [ooohhhhh yeahhh babie we talking with this one💅 soooo.... vegas is using the same agency, and it kinda triggers kinn’s competitive side, earning him a certain...  reputation. once every twink is bangkok is so exhausted that ain’t noone is able to deal with his over-the-top shite no more, the agency sends someone who has enough stamina to withstand the lengthy bounds of athletic... interactions. yeahhhhh, you guessed it. so very entertaining and plot-twisty. so very delightful]

even though you’re not mine, you’ve got that look in your eyes by @fortunehasgivenup [highly highly doubt there are people left in this fandom who have not read this masterpiece, and yet could not exclude it from the recs, it’s that spectacular. if one must create escort-by-misunderstanding AU.... do it to such level. spectacular work, allllll the kudos]

Night Call by @ziusik [one of my fav pieces in this fandom no cap, if you know this author, you know, i obvi adore every single word of both mileapo and kp this author has everrrrr written, and this particular stripper!porsche au with absolutely helplessly besotted idiot-kinn is outa this worldddddddd great. it’s like if “under the influence” by cb was a fic, the vibe is simply immaculate]

Comedy/Crack

Wilderness Camp by @housseao3 [wholesome and endearing piece of fun, i lichrally cackled multiple times, i meannnn, tankhun with his rompers, chan/tay, sugarplum/chicken, unforgettable ken/groundskeeper....? adorable, entertaining and praise-worthy attempt at light-heartedness and humour, super-well done]

School/Uni AU

let there be no barriers (between you and i) by @anakinn [being both adorable and hot is a general qualifier for ending up on my rec page, so here it goes as well. porsche has had a crush on one of his classmates for the better part of their university journey. one day being bored in class, he decides to test some random online advice, and see whether anyone of his mates is a mind-reader.... you guessed it folks, one particular person just might be. short and to the point delicious morsel of general canon-appropriate kp horniness for eo <3]

i gave a second chance to cupid by @haeseolar [omnomnomnom *chomps down on this fic with gusto* you know the feeling you get while consuming media, this overwhelming regret that the magnificent piece of work you’re currently devouring has already been perceived by you, and you never get to experience it for the first time ever again...? big time my energy while reading this one, what a mind candy, i reeeeeeeeeally enjoyed it🙏🙏🙏 kinn is 39, he is teaching lit at a private school, when the new 24yo PE teacher joins their roster fresh off uni... i dunno what to tell you, this author just gets it, when i say all the kudos, i quite literally mean all the possible kudos for this one]

Various in-universe AUs

The One Where Porsche and Kim Are Gym Buddies by @fortunehasgivenup [oooiiii, what fun, what funnnnnn: kim and porsche are both in the fights, and occasionally meet at the gym... reluctant comradery ensues. they talk to each other about their respective crushes, none the wiser that they have been railing each other’s nong and phi... what else is there to say, the author is so good i even attempted to read kimchay, which is practically unheard of, lich-rally all the kudos]

Here With You by @Yeetyeetbroski [daaaaaaaamn sonnn, the tension, the tensionnnnnn..... “scrumptious” is an understatement for what a treat it was. thank you dear author, much much MUCH kudos p.s. while you’re at it, i’d recommend to go through this author’s whole catalogue, their rendition of kp dynamic is a delight to read]

The Aftermath by @Yeetyeetbroski [yippy, the softness <3333333 So this is an Ep 6 aftermath, an AU for Ep 7. absolutely lovely and adorbs. soft besotted kinn is universally accepted as one of the fandom fav versions of kinn, so in regards of delivering on this front this fic is def up there. awesome read]

Post-canon

Storm to Weather by @archay [it was soooo good, i luv this typa vibe, bitter-sweet, but hopeful <333 the theerapanyakul empire is done for, and kinn and porsche are out to fend for themselves in a real world. tis a rec]

Whittled Down by Another War by @rageprufrock [i... are there even words... abso-fucking-lutely legendary piece, the way theerapanyakul bros dynamic is portrayed in this.... damnnnnnnnnnn, if there is anyone, literally anyone left who has not read this yet... what the fuck are you doing with your life, GO READ THIS ABSOLUTELY MINDBLOWING FIC]

fell in love with the fire long ago by @builtempires [wieeeeeeeeeeee, what a tasty treat: kinn is away on business, and a certain head of the minor family decides that sending his partner some racy pics while separated by thousands of miles would help the situation... it both does and doesn’t. very entertaining, super hot, much kudos]

Magic AU

Instinct by @the-wayside [ohhhhh this bloody gorgeous muthafuckin thang.... i remember being so overwhelmed after reading initial chapters that i even dmed the author, cause it was cloying at my skin, the story is superb. not everyone, but many people got an instinct living inside of them, and what do you think happens when kinn goes to some random underground fight held at some random seedy club and his instinct meets porsche.... yeppp. something about reading how the most animalistic, primal part of kinn wants and longs for what is his is just.... maaaaaaaan, If you haven’t read it yet and there is still an opportunity for you to experience it for the first time, i am so fucking envious no cap]

Poring Down Crimson Fire by @Lilla_Torg [whatttttttt, this was fucking insane, like...??? the world-building??? i fucking can’t, off the charts, insert chief kiss emoji size of a sun. i don’t even know how to rec something like dat, just... insanely devastatingly interesting story, and yeah, technically it’s not even kp fic per se, cause the whole fucking gang be giving off main character vibes. must read]

+

bonus:

MILEAPO

......................................................................................................................

disclaimer: realizing how tricky the whole topic of rpf might seem, i myself have not dipped a toe in this pool in a long, long time, therefore do completely understand and accept any potential discomfort anyone may have with using names/likeness of real people for fanfiction writing purposes. kindly, if you are uncomfortable with the topic, do not proceed any further, thank yew. p.s. also, as it has been noted so many times before, if you didn’t want us to write/read fanfiction about you, maybe you shouldn’t look at your work colleague like dat, bruv, just saying

......................................................................................................................

Starting Ambitions by @iffervescent [abo rpf, fucking masterpiece, luv this story sm]

Marked by @oliviacirce [yeahhhhhhhh... this. this was... an experience. they are about to film the scene in pete/porsche’s room, but the special effects person is out with the stomach flu, and there is no one to apply the fake hickies to apo’s neck. mile comes up with the brilliant idea that saves the day. no words, only squeals and cheers]

Whole New Kinds of Weather by @archay [short, sweet, hot and to the point 👌 after the NYE 2023 the whole team comes back to Tong’s for an after-party (for the live of me, i dunno why is it always Tong in the fics, tis has become some kind of established fanon by now), and thangs transpire in his bedroom (sorry, phi!!! pls don’t kill them)]

obviously, every single word @ziusik has ever written, especially Limerence, your lips in the street lights, and of fucking course, just a step away, which is definitely one of my fav ma fics everrrrrr and forever fandom classic

and finally...

said you’d be coming back this way again, baby by @concernedlily [this is what i’d call an ultimate ma fic, jokes aside, if there would be a limited amount of fics a person is allowed to read in they lifetime, this would make the cut every time for me. no matter how many wonderfully written, extremely talented ma works are out there, this would always be the ma fic for me, absolutely fandom-forming, i can never praise this work enough]

[drink-tang-gang]

I posted 244 times in 2022

90 posts created (37%)

154 posts reblogged (63%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@light-koe-pinsky

@drink-tang-gang

@potatoes-tomatoes

@nebelihood

@zara2148

I tagged 216 of my posts in 2022

Only 11% of my posts had no tags

#baffy - 69 posts

#you sittin there yakkin (talk tag) - 48 posts

#isn’t that lovely? (ask tag) - 46 posts

#looney tunes - 44 posts

#daffy duck - 39 posts

#bugs bunny - 38 posts

#online shopping to fill a void (analysis) - 10 posts

#zany fam - 6 posts

#✍️ scenery! where’s the scenery? ✍️ - 6 posts

#animaniacs - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 102 characters

#the animal characters 👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️ should exhibit animalisms 👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️ i said what i said!!!!

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

If I had a nickel for every time someone commissioned me to draw LT KH, I’d have two nickels. which isn’t a lot but it’s fun that it’s happened twice. 💜🦆🐇🧡

620 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

#4

I think irl and in canon ppl are baffled by what Bugs sees in Daffy, as if Daffy’s Mr. Wrong.

But…. It’s kinda switched once you think about it??

Yes, Daffy’s flaws tend to outshine his better qualities, but his friendliness and cheerfulness is overlooked. Like, he’s best friends with one of the most temperamental yet patient everyman there is! Daffy’s selfish, but he knows how to be part of a team. In both the meta and literal sense, he has the unparalleled ability to slips into various roles to accommodate a dynamic, and still be true to himself (Duck Twacy, Duck Dogers, Porky’s Husband friend or enemy, Danny Boy) His affectionate gestures are quite sincere compared to the rest of the tune cast. (and again, as a rule of thumb any sincerity is offset by a gag, so take that with a grain of salt) Bugs on the other hand, operates in a way that teamwork or camaraderie is out of the picture. Without trying, he dominates. He’s unreachable in ways that make it hard to be friendly with him, or engage in conversation without him (somehow) talking down to an audience. Have you noticed he has that air about him?? Even with his peers, he’s always on a pedestal. And Bugs has never been cast as anyone but himself… he’s inflexible.

Bugs can be at once, affectionate and manipulative. He’s very hard to read, and his few positive relationships make it unclear when he’s being honest or not. That’s not to say Bugs can’t be kind, generous or polite, I think compared to Daffy (and most tunes) he exhibits better etiquette. He’s more charming by design. Daffy, for better or worse, has no filter for his motivations or deeper emotions. He’s supposed to be relatable in that sense.

So what does Daffy see in Bugs?? Longtime WB producer and director Tony Cervone has stated multiple times that Bugs finds Daffy entertaining, his unpredictability fascinates him. (and further cements the insinuation that team ups have been initiated by Bugs, i.e, he pursues)

So, I think for Daffy, ironically, it’s complicated. It seems what draws him to Bugs, are also what he despises him for. Ok, the elephant in the room: Bugs models the qualities Daffy lacks. Stardom, adulation, effortless appeal, knowing what to say and when (tact is something Daffy desperately needs). It’s very easy to look up to Bugs, and as I said a couple posts ago, he once and (kinda??) still does. But, Daffy also has the hidden ability to being people to his level, and after spending enough time around Bugs I think he recognizes he’s not as untouchable as he (and his audience) makes himself out to be. Bugs is the type of person who masks imperfection well. Fortunately, Daffy’s drawn to mystery (in canon and in his roles in shorts), so I can see him quietly trying to investigate the parts of Bugs that never reaches public eyes, like a case study. So, is this a positive or negative draw?? it depends on Bugs’ attitude and Daffy’s mood. I guess it can be said that the fascination is mutual, Bugs is entertained by Daffy and Bugs gets under Daffy’s skin.

And of course, we CAN’T ignore the surface level of Bugs’ appeal to Daffy. Bugs’ generosity gives Daffy many opportunities to exercise his materialism and lavish lifestyle. He gets free dinners, Bugs covers all their vacations, and (a big plus for Daffy) he doesn’t mind relinquishing treasures and fortune when they come across it. Don’t call Daffy a gold digger don’t call Daffy a gold digger don’t

So yeah, I went off on a tangent but I hope I cleared up the misconception that Daffy’s Mr. Wrong, both of them—Bugs even more so— are the ‘odd’ choice.

This clear up doesn’t help paint their relationship in a healthy light. There’s ulterior motives and mutual selfishness, but I believe there’s never a fundamental misunderstanding of the other. If they were both more introspective, they’d find to their horror no one understands them the way they do each other. For two stars with excruciatingly large egos, that’s probably the best and worst quality of their weird relationship, ‘being known’, haha.

697 notes - Posted January 19, 2022

#3

See the full post

876 notes - Posted January 20, 2022

#2

See the full post

1,088 notes - Posted January 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

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2,731 notes - Posted January 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[svnblinds]

( davika hoorne , cis female , she/her ) — amongst the faces lining the staff portrait wall, you recognize SAVINA MASOE, the thirty one year old lab assistant within the school. having spent two years as a member of the verum staff, students say that they’re reminiscent of white light passed through a glass prism, a fractured reflection in the looking glass, blooming plants in a thriving greenhouse, a dream forever just beyond reach and eyes so bright they see right through you. their perceptive and inquisitive temperament brings color to these halls, but be warned, you may also find them to be competitive and single-minded. regardless, hopefully, they’ll remain when it’s time for verum to open its doors again.

&. BASICS.

full name: savina masoe

age: 31

birthday: february 16

birthplace: unknown, but raised in cynefin

gender & pronouns: cis female | she/her

orientation: *gestures vaguely* 

residence: verum academy staff residence, often returns to their family home over the weekends or term holidays.

&. DETAILS.

education: graduate of verum academy, anima major. 

magic: khemia, anima. 

occupation: lab assistant, aspiring professor or researcher of some capacity. assists with the family textile business in the little free time she has. 

relationship status: single 

piercings: both earlobes, helix on the left ear 

tattoos: n/a

&. PERSONALITY.

zodiac sign: aquarius

mbti: INTP

likes: cool soil on bare feet; blooming plants in the spring; a new mystery to unravel; experimenting in the lab; long days in the greenhouse with her father; rolling green hills and sea salted air; people watching; the smell of freshly baked pastries; lists. 

dislikes: being away from home for too long; black coffee; losing; cheating; early mornings; big cities; accounting; conflict; places with no windows or gardens; mess, disorganisation. 

habits: chewing on the ends of her pen; dog earing pages; sleeping with a window open; sleeping through her alarm.

(+) inquisitive, perceptive, kind, sociable, ambitious, loyal, outdoorsy, empathetic, family orientated. (-) nosy, single minded, competitive, stubborn, self-indulgent, petty. 

&. BACKGROUND.

adopted as a baby, the masoes — a wealthy merchant family — are the only parents savina has ever known and ever cares to know. she loves them both dearly, though she is closer to her father due to their shared affinity for khemia than her mother. 

savina spent her childhood exploring the rolling hills of her parents property with her beloved little brother, finding all the nooks and crannies and secrets the land had to offer. as far as childhoods go, it was almost idyllic. 

growing up, savina always knew her place would be to one day take over the family’s textile business. founded by her grandparents decades ago, it’s through the ambition and hard work of her parents that the business thrives as it does now and they want to see their legacy carried on. many days were spent learning everything from managing the finances to the ideal growing conditions needed to produce the highest quality fabrics. while competent, savina never did fall in love with numbers the way her mother hoped, always preferring to be in the greenhouse.

discovering her magic changed that plan. savina followed in her father’s footsteps, studying anima at the academy and falling in love with the way she could make flowers bloom instead.  

savina travelled for a year after graduating the academy and loved every minute of it, but homesickness and duty eventually brought her home. the salty air of cynefin runs in her blood and as intriguing as the wider world is, no where else could ever be home. the crushing crowds of the city cannot hold the candle to the unforgiving fills of cynefin.

in any case, savina missed her brother, and her parents needed her. she returned to take up a position as a lab assistant at the academy with the hopes of one day making professor while also assisting with the family business on the side.

the mudslide has hit their family hard. unable to export their products any longer, they rely on the business of the academy and local townsfolk to keep them afloat. the pressure is on for savina to return home where she belongs.

guilt gnaws at her the longer she avoids making a decision — her parents are getting on, and there isn’t much time left. her brother certainly doesn’t want to assume the mantle of heir, and savina would never be so selfish as to foist that burden on him. but she doesn’t want it for herself, either. she feels like she’s letting them all down by not being who they want her to be and savina doesn’t know to reconcile her love for her family with her unwillingness to follow in their footsteps. 

TLDR; generally friendly, has an unfortunate habit of hearing the things you don’t say a little too well, can be very single minded when she’s found a new interest or theory to prove/disprove - especially if she wants to prove someone wrong. savina feels pulled in several directions and a little lost/torn on where to go. she has tendency to adopt the habits/mannerisms of people around her and honestly, she doesn't really know who she is anymore. there is tension between her and her parents over taking over the business versus her own career plans (the person she thinks they want her to be versus the person she thinks she is).

&. CONNECTIONS.

docs link template credit

[tinytourist]

Livin’ the Lemberos Life

Day 7, Thursday - Bryce & Moab

When we woke up we threw our stuff in the car and headed back to Bryce, straight to the Queen’s/Navajo Combination Loop. It was a nice little morning hike through the canyon and helped us get some steps in before the long drive back to Moab.We had to stop and charge again at Green River but it was worth it to have a full battery for Moab.

This time, we got back to Moab early enough to find a legit campsite. First, we went to check out some campsites along the Colorado River but due to all the recent rain, those sites were closed. We ended up on a scary dirt road on the edge of a canyon before we both decided to turn around. I was very glad that Aidan was driving instead of me.

I wanted to go back to Sand Flats Recreation Area for a site but Aidan was doubtful. We were in luck! It was early enough to grab a great site. After setting up camp, we went straight into town for an early dinner. Little did Aidan know, Irene would be meeting us there!

Irene and her family were in Moab for a vacation and I decided to keep it a secret. I sent Irene my location and she tracked us down to a gift shop to reveal the surprise. The three of us caught up and ate dinner at the Food Truck Park which was right next to Irene's hotel. She told us she had a pool and said we should've brought our swimsuits. Good thing we had the car with all of our stuff in it - benefits of car camping!

The three of us went for a swim and then got to take a shower. What a treat! When Irene's family got back from their dinner, they invited us to join them on their evening of stargazing in Arches. Somehow their car was big enough to fit all 8 of us! While it was a bit cloudy for good stargazing, we had a great time joining the Lemberos family.

Day 8, Friday - Canyonlands

As usual, we started the day by going to the Visitor's Center, this time at Canyonlands. There, they recommended a bunch of shorter walks. First up was, would you believe it, another arch trail - Mesa Arch. This trail gave us an expansive view of the canyon and another quality arch pic.

Next, we did the Upheaval Dome trail which reveals a ~mysterious~ dome shape in the canyon. There are two theories about how it formed - salt and a meteor. Aidan and I are on team meteor.

Whale Rock was next, although I don't think we followed the trail. Instead, we walked out as far as we could until we reached the edge of the canyon. There, we saw white throated swifts dive bombing the canyon. The longer we stayed, the closer they got to us. They flew so fast you could hear them soaring through the air. Something about their speed and proximity while sitting on the edge of the canyon was a little unnerving; however, it was such a special and memorable experience.

We had a picnic bench lunch and then went to the Grand View Point Overlook which gave us 360 degree views of the canyon.

We grabbed some quick tacos at the food trucks before heading back to the Lemberos' hotel for a swim - this time, with all the kids. We caught up about our days and hung out until dark. Aidan and I were looking forward to building a fire and making s'mores back at camp but unfortunately it was extremely windy so we had to take shelter in the tent and eat cold s'mores - if you can even call them that. I got a good whole body exfoliation that night from the sand whipping into our tent.

Day 9, Saturday - Arches & Drive to Denver

On Saturday morning Aidan and I went back to Arches to see the Windows. We were supposed to meet the Lemberos' there but we lost service. Aidan and I began the walk and went off to the primitive trail where Chris found us! We got to do the rest of the walk with the whole group and do a few photoshoots. Don't we blend in well with our adopted fam??

Sadly we had to head back to Denver, but at least we had a concert to look forward to on Sunday. Aidan had a great time at his first Red Rocks show! Eventually, we had to say goodbye. Stay tuned for when I go visit Aidan in London - hopefully next year and hopefully with Irene!

[bylightofdawn]

Genji is being so unbearable this morning and woke my grumpy ass up at 9 something yet again. My morning has been improved somewhat by the new Ahsoka trailer.

I'm sure people are going to find reasons to nitpick and bitch because that's suddenly become the cool thing to do with any and all Star Wars content. Which hey, I feel you fam, we have definitely seen a relative downward spiral in the quality of content versus the uptick in amount. I completely agree with people's right to bitch and moan too so don't take this as me saying "Ugh you can't please everyone, all the nerds are whinging that we broke their beloved franchise again" I just don't want us to turn into say the MCU level of fandom.

I definitely don't want to see Star Wars turned into the next MCU which is definitely a trajectory we've been headed in lately. So I totally get the concerns and complaints.

It definitely feels like we get one Andor level show every 6 series or something like that. So I'm not expecting a whole lot from Ahsoka.

But do I care if it's going to most likely be a mid at best series after this trailer?

Fuck. No.

Because we got to see live action Rebels. We got to see Ezra and it's prolly just a hologram message but oh my god after years of agonizing on where he's at, with the return of Thrawn do we FINALLY get to know what happened to Ezra?

Will we FINALLY be able to retire the "Where is Ezra, is he safe? Is he alright?" meme?

Felony knows exactly what he's doing giving us just a taste with having Zeb show up in Mandalorian. We all lost our fucking minds screaming where is Kallus. And now we're going to get the Ghost crew???

Do I hate Hera's design? Yes, am I questioning what the fuck is up with her lekku from the like 2 seconds we see of her? Yes.

Did Chopper look janky as fuck? Sure. Now ask me if I care Nope. I am hyped and easily manipulated by House of Mouse. But it's also a trailer so like you gotta take anything you see with a grain of salt.

I'm looking forward to people arguing for the next three months online on whether or not Baylan and whoever the hot goth chick whose name we have no idea is are really not Sith because their lightsabers aren't bright scarlet red. I love watching pressed pedantic fanboys (and fangirls) bickering over the banalest of bullshit.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna be in my lane wondering if Kallus will be in this so we can finally get confirmation that KalluZeb is going to be canon. Whether or not I WILL FINALLY GET MY FENN RAU CONTENT and other assorted light-hearted squeeing over silly Star Wars shit.

Because it ain't that deep at the end of the day. I could definitely make the argument that it's a silly space opera with space wizards and a questionable grasp of physics at best.

If you want nitty-gritty realism then go re-watch Andor which had no space wizards in it. But since this is going to be a Jedi or Jedi-adjacent driven vehicle, I know to turn off the critical thinking part of my brain and just enjoy the spectacle.

[allaboutthemoonlight]

10 ways to add luxury into your lives

Hey there Moonlight fam! Adding luxury into my life has been a goal of mine for this year. Luxury doesn’t have to break the bank, so here are 10 ways to add luxury into your life without spending a lot of money:

Make your bed every morning: There's something about a freshly made bed that just screams luxury. It doesn't cost anything to make your bed, but it can make a huge difference in the overall look and feel of your bedroom.

Create a spa-like atmosphere in your bathroom: Light some candles, put on some relaxing music, and draw a bubble bath. You'll feel like you're in a fancy spa, but you don't have to spend a lot of money to get the same effect.

Invest in quality bedding and towels: It may cost a little more upfront, but investing in high-quality bedding and towels can make all the difference in how luxurious your home feels.

Take a break from technology: Sometimes the most luxurious thing you can do is unplug and disconnect from the world for a bit. Put your phone on silent, turn off the TV, and just enjoy some quiet time to yourself.

Indulge in a fancy drink: Treat yourself to a fancy coffee or tea from your favorite coffee shop. You don't have to do it every day, but it's a nice way to add a bit of luxury to your routine.

Buy fresh flowers: Fresh flowers can instantly brighten up any room and make you feel like you're living in a five-star hotel. You don't have to spend a lot of money on them either – a simple bouquet from the grocery store can do the trick.

Take a relaxing bath: Add some bath salts or bubbles to your bath and soak in the tub for a while. It's a simple and affordable way to feel pampered and luxurious.

Dress up for no reason: Sometimes it's fun to dress up even if you don't have anywhere to go. Put on your fanciest outfit, do your hair and makeup, and just enjoy feeling glamorous for a day.

Use luxurious skincare products: You don't have to spend a lot of money on skincare, but investing in a few high-quality products can make a big difference in how your skin looks and feels.

Create a cozy reading nook: Set up a comfy chair or chaise lounge in a quiet corner of your home and create a cozy reading nook. Add a soft throw blanket and a few decorative pillows, and you'll have a luxurious spot to relax and unwind.

So there you have it – 10 ways to add luxury into your life without spending a lot of money. Remember, luxury doesn't always have to come with a hefty price tag – sometimes it's the simple things that can make us feel the most pampered and special.

[randomoranges]

Summer 2023 Retrospective

Once more, summer break has come to an end and once more, I am reflecting on everything that I did and that happened over the past 7 weeks.

This year felt – different. It was almost as if summer never really got into the real swing of things. The weather was a clusterfuck, what with forest fires, smog, rain and cooler temperatures. Every time it seemed like it was over, there would be another storm, another air quality warning and somehow, it impacted the overall feel of summer.

However, this summer was also filled with lots of visits from friends and family and adventures. Between people visiting me and me visiting them, it occupied a lot of time (in a good way.) There were highlights to the summer; notably, going to see the Back to the Future Musical, getting to see my uncle twice, visiting friends, making new friends, celebrating the Lizard’s 10th year, seeing the Perseids, and adopting a sunflower. I also got to go to many new places in the city I had wanted to visit.

On the other hand, there were also some downers to the summer; my dad getting hospitalised again, the never-ending debacle with my plants and the weather.

Yet, there were also so many smaller moments that were pleasant as well.  Out of the 37 days I had, I only had 6 days where I had nothing planned. (That’s insane.) I managed to go to the pool so many times, I did a lot of art and I read a lot of books. Even though I did not write at all, I still found other creative outlets, so I guess that counts. There are many things I never got around to doing, but I suppose that’s okay. Some can still be done post end of holiday and others can just be added to next year – hopefully.

I’m still not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I never like the version of me I become under the duress of teaching and it seems that no matter how hard I try, I lose myself in the process. But – it’s a new school year and at least, I’m doing the same thing as last year so I know what to expect. There is less unknown. Hopefully, that will help.

As always, below is my little list of things I did over the summer – an old habit I’ve kept for over a decade now. More for me than anyone else, but it’s there.

Here’s to more adventures!

Pool: 23

 Ice cream Hocheglacé Iconoglace Pineault Dolce Santanella Kem Coba Ca Lem

 Adventures Maisonneuve Market Biodôme Observation Deck Quai des Commencements PAC Old Port Au pied du courant Ave Mt-Royal JT Food Trucks Eye balls E’s wedding Dad Fiasco First Official White Hair TM Sugar Sammy Plant fiasco Bonjour Montréal sign Navette fluviale Berlin Wall World Commerce Building PVM Ring RAMQ Lézard Bizarre 10th birthday NYC-PVD-BST Dinner with J Gogol Bordello Power failure/playing Pictionary in the dark Sunflowers! Strawberries! Chinatown Food trucks Bota Bota Spa Nails Edmonton + camping Did art Dusted room Cleaned out drawer Perseids Esplanade Louvain Sunflowers One Started Fic and a half Adopted a sunflower Dinner at Schtroumpf’s Showed Dad how to work the laptop Tea at the Ritz

 People S visit Zia visit Les petites La gang du camp Uncle x2 S J + Fam Zia Edmonton gang T, M and errone else Schtroumpf and Aqua C

Food Chez Gérard Beaver Tails Usine à spaghetti Au p’tit doré Guillaume Les enfants terribles Oh Dumplings La beignerie Terrasse Nelligan Tea at the Ritz Bota Bota Spa

 Movies/TV shows/ Books End of Miraculous s5 Spider Man Nimona x2 Nimona comic Q Force Melting Queen Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au bon Dieu ? Barbie x2 BTTF Musical Miraculous Lady Bug Movie Gomens 2 x3 Qu’est-ce qu’on a encore fait au bon Dieu ? Best Men Christmas in Wonderland Cowboy Bebop s 1 2 Staged s1 A Dash of Salt and Pepper The Gay Best Friend Heartstopper s2 Rose à l’île Red White and Royal Blue movie Red White and Royal Blue book Around the world in 80 Days

[salzspektrum]

GOT Tag Game

I was tagged by the lovely @starkdelinquents thanks! :)

Rules: Answer the questions and then tag seven people.

The First Char I Fell In Love With: pretty sure it was Arya and then Jon

A Char I Never Expected To Love As Much As I Do Now: Cersei lmao slay me lioness burn them all I love you bby <3

A Char Everyone Loves That I Don’t: I really couldn’t give less shits about Bronn tbh?? Like?? Why is he actually still around?? Why does a tertiary character get to have so much screentime but House Martell?? WHO??? okay look I’m pretty indifferent to him but I’m pissed that the writers think he’s THAT relevant but then they slaughter House Martell and kill Rickon and like w h y i h a t e y o u c a n y o u s e e h o w b i t t e r i a m

A Char I Love That Everyone Else Hates: I really love Tywin?? he is really compelling, Charles Dance was one of the best actors this show ever got to have, he was an evil mastermind of a different sort and he was a cleverly written villain not like Ramsay who was just a sadist like... where’s the c o m p l e x i t y

A Char I Used To Love But Don’t Any Longer: I used to love Sandor but now I’m just like?? you’re fine I guess #cleganebowl get hyped...

A Char I Would Kiss: M A R G A E R Y L I K E H O L Y F U C K also Robb bc  Y E S

A Character I Would Slap: *names 70% of the characters* okay so I would slap Petyr for being a disgusting manipulative pedo who basically ruined the country bc he was friendzoned, Varys for mutilating children just so that they can be his little birds, Cersei for being a shitty mother and for fucking her brother and therefore risking many lives, Jaime for pushing Bran out of the window and for fucking his sister and therefore risking many lives, Tywin for being the main reason why his 3 children are all so Fucked Up, Tyrion for treating women like shit, Stannis for ~human sacrifice, Jorah for sexually harassing a 14-year-old and constantly lusting after her, Sandor for basically doing the same tbh, Robert for his sense of entitlement when it comes to Lyanna and for raping Cersei and who knows how many other women, Gregor for his simple disgusting existence tbqh, Ramsay for being the definition of Human Garbage, Rhaegar for being a complete narcissistic idiot and starting a fucking war bc he thought his child had to be ~The Chosen One, I also wanna collectively slap the Greyjoy brothers except for maaaybe not Aeron bc he seems to be less trash than the others, etc.....wow these are all shitty people lmaoooo #grey characters

A Character I’d Want To Be Like: .....but I don’t wanna die.....for real tho, I love Arianne a LOT, it would be kinda awesome to be like her...#goals..Asha is also kinda goals but I’d rather be a badass sexy princess in Dorne than a badass warrior who spends 100% of her time on the sea

A Character Who Makes Me Laugh: honestly Stannis and Dolorous Edd have some of the best lines in ASOIAF I kid you not, it’s actual brilliance

A Character I Miss: all the dead Starks including pre-asoiaf Starks, Cat before she turned into a merciless zombie and disappeared in the show bc the writers hate her, well I can’t miss Arianne since she never appeared in the show LMAO, Doran bc he DESERVED BETTER unpopular opinion: out of the main shady bitchez in Westeros Doran is my fave bye, Joffrey simlpy bc I miss having an asshat teenage king be the main threat instead of ancient frozen creatures with the power of necromancy tbh, it was simpler times back then

A Pairing I Love: okay so I’ll basically just name all my ships..cool? cool. Jaime x Brienne, Jygritte, Gendrya, Sansaery, lowkey Throbb and Jonmund tbh, Rickeen, Brojen is cute too, but I also kinda like Breera in the show so idk, Danyara is goals but will never happen, Missandei x Grey Worm, Sam x Gilly, Ned x Cat, Renly x Loras aka the only canon queer couple and they’re both dead and just subtext in the books wow and the most important OTP: C E R W I N E

A Pairing I Don’t Like: imagine shipping the stark kids with each other like...w o w

Tagging: @patethenovice @ripley-stark @nightsky7ibra @metaforkel @accidentalkate @frogspears @margaerry

[a-salty-alto]

As your url implies, pass me the table salt (your opinions on Dear Evan Hansen)

Truly a time to live up to my url

but like first of all, I really enjoy the original show, or at least the soundtrack (never got to actually see it myself because it didn’t come through our neck of the woods rip) so that’s where I’m coming from.

But like I get where people who don’t like it are coming from because Evan is very much the antagonist of his story and the ending mostly absolves him, but tbh I think the rest of the supporting cast and the songs devoid of context are really good.

(Maybe that’s bad for a musical but eh, j’aime que j’aime)

UNFORTUANTELY the filmmakers seem to think the audience relates to EVAN SPECIFICALLY and by all indications are doubling down on coddling his character and smoothing him over. THAT’S why he’s the only character who’s original Broadway actor is returning because the people working on this think that Evan, the white boy who lied and then doubled down for clout and also to get the girl because anXiEtY is like the peak representation of depressed kids

Even though like. EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW IS DEPRESSED. ITS THE POINT

I haven’t even seen the movie. I’m basing this on prerelease interviews and dialogue changed in the songs, fyi

Also! They changed it so not only have they removed the song where before Evan is revealed to have lied his mom and two friends call him out for acting like a selfish jerk, THEY ALSO made a the white friend Indian and gay, so like they’ve changed it so Evan who is again, a sad white boy, was helped and then pushed aside two POC and then REMOVED THE PART WHERE HE GOT CALLED OUT FOR IT? And they specifically said songs that weren’t “real” enough were removed too which is. A Bad Look.

Or removed the song about it which is telling in a musical because that implies that moment gets less focus, even though the creators said they wanted to expand on certain characters

ALSO THAT SONG (GOOD FOR YOU) IS THE BEST ONE IN THE FUCKING SHOW FIGHT ME

I’m just, they could have expanded on the stage show to give us a story about how being hurt does not absolve you from hurting others and just because you hurt someone else doesn’t mean you can’t be hurt your self

Evan could be an Anti-Hero! This could be a tragic fall from Grace!

Instead they are DOUBLING DOWN on the inspiration porn aspects so Ben Platt can get that EGOT

(Granted: award shows are meaningless and do not reflect the actual quality or impact of a film so honestly? Give him the EGOT I wanna see the film snobs lose it)

Actually fun story: one time while we were listening to Dear Evan Hansen my dad said he could imagine Ben Platt being in the tour or in a film version as the dad character which would make so much more sense than having him try and be a teenager

The creators in one breath were really like “oh this is such a powerful and relatable story” and in the next were like “ONLY Ben Platt” can bring this character to life like fam do you not SEE THE HYPOCRISY THERE

Look I know it’s cause his dad is a producer and they can’t admit to nepotism but like I SEE YOU

Also the filmmakers just seem embarrassed that this is a musical like they’re straight up calling it a “drama with songs” instead of a musical which I am so fucking tired of MUSICALS ARE POPULAR BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE SINGING. ACCEPT IT ALREADY

That’s probably not everything but that’s what I’ve got

[roccinan]

1/? simply because you have the most galaxy brain thoughts ever,,, what do you think would've happened if they waited until s5 to reveal sergio and andrés were (half)brothers?

i do know that when my fam started watching lcdp at first i was so put off. like i watched ep 1 and the prof creeped me out. ""berlin"" creeped me out. e v e r y o n e creeped me out. and i was cringing so hard becz of the short lived romance angle with alison parker. i literally did not watch s1 at all xcept for like sneak peeks. highlights being the scene where berlin discovers monica is alive and does his dramatic door by door thing? that was so SUSPENSEFUL even tho i had no idea what was going on. DOMINGO DE RESURECCION remains forever iconic.

2/? And OF COURSE the group bella ciao dance when they hit earth (hahah i thought the banda were actually like a "found family where they all love each other LOL") i am a SUCKER for found family. but anyhoo when i properly got intrigued was s2 when tokyo was kicked out (the music from that scene is still my favourite) it's just so dramatic..!! why am i telling u all this again? right, i haven't slept a wink and it's nearly 7 am pls forgive me if these rambles make no sense. i have a point with this.. i'm going somewhere

RIGHT. so when the fam actually rewound the ep cz i wanted to know WHY berlin did that (didn't fully realise how batsht crazy he can be), the russian roulette scene played. and pedro's acting. MAN. and like just that ep they made a point of showing us these flashbacks where sergio and andrés hug....

Hi anon! Thanks for stopping by- sorry took me a while to get back to you, will do my best to answer this string of messages (got all 4 parts)! Glad you like my thoughts XD

Firstly, I believe Andres/Sergio would be the biggest LCDP ship if the writers were evil enough to wait until s5 to reveal that they’re brothers asdfasdf. They’re already the two most popular male characters anyway. 

It’d be especially crazy because it’s not like they tell the actors these things beforehand either. So that means there’d probably be a Serdres vs Berlermo vs Serquel fight every 5 minutes. I mean, even if not everyone agrees on everything in the lcdp fandom, it’s the most “peaceful” one I’ve ever been in because no character really gets in the way of any other ship (like even with helermo and berlermo there’s no true conflict since Andres is dead). But with Serdres in the mix?? CATASTROPHE. Everyone out here writing essays about how much of a bastard/bitch/homewrecker/motherfucker that Andres or Sergio or Martin or Raquel is. Never a moment’s peace!! so basically, a regular fandom lmao.

Then when we find out they’re brothers, it goes from catastrophe to Apocalypse. Suddenly serquel and berlermo have the upper hand. Everyone would double down and harass the crew/cast into whatever’s going on.  Plot-wise, everything is the same though, just without Andres calling Sergio “hermanito.” Fandom however, would be a minefield! And I’m glad that’s not the case because I’d probably be an unfortunate serdres shippers XD No joke, my mother and I thought they were a couple in S1. So bullet dodged!

Secondly: haha, everyone creeped me out in S1 too, especially Berlin, I hated him, but thinking back, I think I mostly hated the fact that I didn’t hate him as much as I should have. I’ve made peace with it now but oh boy, was he a controversial figure in my head. I actually like the professor on sight though! IDK why, maybe because I thought his plans were cool or because of Alvaro’s delivery. I was afraid of an Alison Parker romance thing too- like, I do feel like she had a storyline that got dropped, but that part was quite cringey and overall unnecessary to the plot. Same with Ariadna, which was even cringier and even Less necessary to the plot. 

Domingo de resurrecion was iconic though yes! And even with all that said, I genuinely enjoyed parts 1 and 2 because it was so different from anything else I’d seen. Not content wise, but maybe tonally? IDK, they were just really bold with a lot of things, like being objectively unafraid of having the protagonists (plural because all of them did LMAO) do objectively shitty things. Really kept me in suspense from beginning to end! 

I’m usually a big fan of found families too! The funny thing is, then banda never struck me as a “family” until season 3. In 1 and 2, I was wondering what felt different about this show; then it hit me that these people remained colleagues to the end. Like, they backstabbed each other (repeatedly) and everyone was quite selfish, and only the bonds that were already there stuck. They were the opposite of a found family LOL But I think by S3, they went down the found family route and I didn’t mind because it makes quite a lot of sense for them to feel that bond after the Mint heist and almost dying/living together (and having witnessed 3 deaths together on the team). But I still doubt Berlin and Palermo were ever really part of this found family, with good reason XD

LOL the scene where Tokyo got kicked out is also among my favorites!! It was so funny and dramatic, and it was like, wow we can go anywhere with this now! Don’t worry- your rambles and thoughts are always welcome :D

I’m rolling over how you watched the Tokyo expulsion scene before the Russian Roulette scene haha. Also yes, PEDRO. Berlin may have been “controversial” to me at first, but I became Pedro’s fan from day one! Also the Hug is probably what made me like Berlin (despite my determination to hate him rip) in the first place. 

3/? ... and like now that i think about it... tokyo had real guts huh. like she KNEW berlin was close enough to el prof to know his name (fhshshs imagine if she'd heard andrés saying 'hermanito' it's unrealistic that she didn't TBH. i mean obviously they decided to make them brothers only towards the end but like in canon universe. how tf did andrés de 'i raised my bby brother since he was 12 and i'd actually die for him and his stupidly brilliant plans' fonollosa go 5 months without slipping up once and calling sergio hermanito. or like,,, i like to imagine sergio kinda gave him lots of leeway(?) sergio's a lil oblivious too but like i'm sure half of it is.. that's my dumbass older bro shut up i'm not being partial you all have city names .. andr-berlin, pass the salt. like OOF. + sergio also knew his big bro was dYiNG so like. i'm sure they were sneaking in some quality time (i hope they did 😭 gosh imagine if sergio really did not ever consider the possibility of andrés dying in the heist so he'd tell himself he needs to perfect the plan now & anyway he'll have enough time to spend w/ his brother post heist in philippines. and then ... that happened :/

Tokyo has guts in place of braincells you bet that she’d do something like this, consequences be damned XD I also think it’s unrealistic for Andres not to slip up, but I have a feeling nobody besides Tokyo really tried to spy on them in private. I headcanon that Andres instead slips up and does things like ruffle Sergio’s hair or adjust his tie when other people are around. I also think Tokyo was convinced that they were a gay couple when she saw them hug XD And if Sergio never went on to tell the banda that Berlin was his brother, everyone would be giving Palermo such awkward looks after Nairobi accused him of being in love with Berlin LMAO. 

I agree! I also imagine Sergio giving Andres leeway because he’s just so used to interacting with his brother that way haha. So either he’d go out of his way to ignore Berlin in front of everyone else or IDK, borderline telepathically communicate with him. Not even “pass the salt” has to leave his mouth- Berlin just puts salt into his food and cuts it up for him, in front of everyone who’s just staring like O.O

I actually do think Sergio never considered the possibility of Andres dying in the heist because he was just that confident in his own plan. Plus, Andres was probably the one person he expected to survive. And a lot of it has to do with Sergio’s attachment to him + Andres’ own habit of downplaying any illness/injury over the years, which I think is safe to believe canon. He was really in no condition to be in the heist, let alone lead it. Just the fact that he needs to take those injections is a big sign that he shouldn’t be there, but Sergio didn’t catch it because he’s human and blinded by faith :’) So yeah, I think Sergio was planning to spend proper time with Andres in Palawan and at Toledo, they just settled for those little moments by the fireplace. 

4/? what always also just GETS me in the feels is that el prof was shown to be this in control creepily calm dude who is miles ahead of everyone. + in the 1st Toledo class itself we see how detached,, like how impersonal he is, how professional - choosing frickin CITY NAMES?! no 'personal relationships' ? (after recruiting his older brother, a father son pair, and war cousins... oh sergio 😂 he's such a frickin nerd and i love him) but like the earlier seasons really emphasised how robotic and down right COLD he can be. it still sometimes bothers me that he put the button in the car. he lead the police to his own damn brother, his blood, who took care of him and adopted him and was terminally ill and like - UGH i try to rationalise that sergio is that cold and unbothered. or that he has strict morals. but it still bothers me becz that button really sort of tipped andres' already unstable sanity. like andrés tells denver someth like you've robbed my future and after that he just seems so much more suicidal and accepting that he can't get out of the mint alive - WHY SERGIO WHY. I KNOW THAT AT THAT POINT YOU BASICALLY DIDN'T KNOW ANDRÉS WAS GOING TO BE YOUR BROTHER YET BECZ IT WASN'T WRITTEN IN THE SCRIPT BUT WHYYYYY

That’s so funny to me too LMAO No personal relationships, then he recruits these guys. Sergio, hello?? Also can’t forget how he just recruited his own girfrleind in the second heist too. Buddy! Love this nerd.

I don’t think that cold aspect of Sergio went away in later seasons either; he just had more opportunity to show a more open side of himself + without Andres, he had to metaphorically leave his comfort zone without a safety net. But in earlier seasons, he really did seem heartless at times XD Then again, we can argue that the same goes for Andres.

To be fair, I didn’t feel sorry for Andres over the button thing lol, but once the brothers reveal happened and all of Alvaro/Pedro’s headcanons came out and we know everything Andres did for Sergio, it makes what Sergio did REALLY harsh. We really just have to explain it through Sergio’s strict morals and him believing this to be the best non-fatal punishment for Andres, who at that point had convinced him he killed a hostage. And because he knew the television interview was coming up, maybe Sergio assumed Andres would use it to “clear” his name anyway. And empathy isn’t one of Sergio’s strong suits either, so through that lens, I can rationalize it.

Also it was lowkey funny to me how Andres was there like DENVER MUST DIE until he found out Sergio put the button there, then he was like “oh hermanito, you and your practical jokes <3″

Still, like you said, Andres and Sergio weren’t brothers yet at this point. They were probably supposed to be lovers lmao and had a dysfunctional Hannibal Lecter x Will thing going on. But because they made #hermanos canon, that button moment just feels very out of place now, especially given how much the two genuinely love each other.

Guess we could also say that Sergio’s just generally kinda bratty with Andres XD Like, he knows no matter what, Andres would forgive him anything. That’s how I see it anyway! 

[fantranslatorbychoice]

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 2- The Village Hidden in Hyakumemomiji** Part 1

T/N: OK Kakuriyo Fam-fans, how are you all doing? Did the last chapter surprise you? Anyways, I wasn't surprised, Odanna-sama always takes Aoi out on a food trip date (dang it, when's my turn lololol even I am tired of eating just white rice at times T_T) so yeah, I guess autumn fruits sound good.

Anways, I sorta started doing a speed run of this chapter because I got too-excited with the date, and I tried letting out this translation as fast as I can, and hopefully by the end of the chapter you'll see why I wanted to speed run this mofo lololol

As always, I mostly didn’t translate a lot of the names of the ayakashi/youkai, as well as the proper nouns because uhm... They’re basically nouns. It’s like how some translated manga are done. Plus it irks me sometimes when everything just gets transliterated, it kills off the vibe. But that’s just me. Links to references at the end of the post.

Also if you like this translation, you can share the link, reblog, but for pete’s sake DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. I worked hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just Google-translated this whole sh**..

If you need refreshers on what happened, @kakuriyo-translations​ already had the previous translations. I’ll place a tiny index in this post somewhere, to make that easy. I’m just contributing to this fandom. Also, as previously mentioned in my other post, the 2 seasons of the anime cover volumes 1-5, so if you need a review just rewatch them all. Volume 6 starts here.

P27 "A date with Odanna-sama, huh..." Yesterday's rice cooking events felt like a daze, and I felt that fairly it hasn't sunk in yet, and waking up early just made me realize it. The lovely chirping of the little birds just annoyingly grated my ears. The distinct skin-chilling coldness of autumn is also piercing my body. Incidentally, I'm also a bit nervous. "It's.... It's not a big deal, it's not unusual that I'm going on a date with Odanna-sama. Yeah." We went to Youto and ate offal hotpot, we ate chicken tempura in Gintengai, and in the port of the Southern lands we ate donburi with pickled toppings... No matter how many times Odanna-sama and I went out, why am I nervous after all this time? This is weird. Could it be that I'm going down with an illness? Firstly, I opened the shutters of the veranda, to breathe in the early morning air... "Aoi! Let's go now!" P28 "What the.. It's early! Odanna-sama you're early!" The busy bee that uneasily goes here and there and everywhere and has no free time Odanna-sama has already come here. It seemed that he cut across the inner garden towards the veranda. If so, he must have beavered to get here with incredible flexibility. But I'm still wearing my pajamas! "Speaking of, Odanna-sama.. Are you going out looking like that?" Odanna-sama changed his appearance into a younger one, like what he looked liked before, as a fish monger, and his kimono wasn't spectacular, he just looked like a commoner. "That was fast. The face I usually have in Tenjin-ya is too recognizable. What's more, Aoi is the only one that found me out, now this date isn't fun anymore." "I... I'm sure..." Although, if it's through this appearance I felt a bit nervous too. At any rate, this handsome Odanna-sama may be handsome, but the nobleman aura isn't here. Even Orio-ya's Young Mistress Nene only said that he looked reliable-ish. "But Odanna-sama, in spite of this, even this is way too early for Ayakashi! I haven't even prepared anything yet." "I'll wait for you here while you get ready." "You're not busy? Odanna-sama has some free time?" P29 "It's because it's been a very long time since I had a whole day free. Even though Byakuya has been nagging me to get some break already, I just feel that I mustn't. I may have worked too much during the matter with Orio-ya. That dude Raijuu. It seemed that he used some people from the capitol. One way or another, it smells like that all over." "Smells like that.. All over?" What does that mean? The matter in Orio-ya, the circumstance that accompanied the Southern lands, the ceremony that no one spoke of and secretly kept in the back-burner. The sea that lies in between Tokoyo and Kakuriyo wherein every 100 years an Ayakashi called Umibouzu arrives, a peculiar Ayakashi that is received and welcomed. In that ceremony, Raijuu made a disturbance and I got hindered, but borrowing everyone's strength and cooking the Sea Jewel Appetizers while bearing all that, we were able to entertain and serve the Umibouzu. I know that Odanna-sama worked hard for me, but there were many things that I don't know, could there be more things hidden? That Raijuu, I wonder if he's doing anything else right now? "Hey, Aoi, don't go absent-mindedly prepare when getting ready. Would you want to go out in your sleepwear?" When he said that, him egging me on, I went inside the room to prep up... "No, but what should I wear?" In front of me is the kimono that Odanna-sama gave me, but it's too elegant and it won't fit fruit picking. P30 There's also the blue kimono that I used back in Orio-ya, but it's too summery. "Hm?" I opened the wooden cabinet, and I became aware that there was a kimono that I haven't seen before. It was solidly very autumn, a deep red kimono, and a soft mustard yellow obi. It was laid on top of it. It looks of good quality, but it looks light and simple to wear, it's going to be easy to move in it. "Please use this on your date with Odanna-sama. Matsu, Take, Ume." The letter on it... It's the three Nopperabou sisters usual business! "I'm thankful but.. why is there a feeling of eagerness?" I closed the sliding doors of the veranda and changed clothes. From beyond the sliding doors's side, I could hear Odanna-sama chatting with the palm-top Kappa Chibi, who just came back from taking a morning bath. "Ah.. Ogre-shaaan is heeeere" "Isn't taking a bath in autumn chilly, Chibi?" "Ish not really that coooold. In Utsushiyo, the raging wavesh were mush coldeeeer. Ish eashier in heeere." "Aren't you strong... That can only be expected from Aoi's disciple..." "Yeahhh but my beak ishhh chattering... Ish very very coooold..." P31 "Come here. The ogre-fire will warm you up." It seemed that the seemingly calm and composed but eventually got cold Chibi was warmed up by Odanna-sama's ogre-fire. Somewhat somehow, after changing clothes I attached the flower bud kanzashi in my hair. "The petals have opened up considerably now..." I talked to the petals. Gah, I don't know if talking to the petals is a good thing... My impatience doesn't wane, with regards to the flower has blooming. I wanted to see the flowers open up into a round wheel, but the petals will scatter if it does. "Aoi-shaaaan! I am hungryyyy..." Chibi flungs the sliding door open and enters the room. And speaking of, I haven't made breakfast yet. "Say, Odanna-sama, you want to eat breakfast? We have a lot of cold rice left, we can make some onigiri. We can eat while we're walking." "Aoi's hand-rolled meals? Yes, that sounds good." I have just finished changing clothes, but I already wore my apron and went to the kitchen and made onigiri. I mixed the plum and Hijiki seaweed into the onigiri, and packed a lot of the salmon flakes into the onigiri wrapped in nori. There were also eggs left, so I made them into rolled omelette. P32 There's no dashi, no onions, just plain omelette. I added salt and sugar, and some mayonnaise as a faint flavoring. I cut cucumbers and pickled daikon and skewered them with toothpicks, and added these to the sides. The simple onigiri bento box is now done. I wanted to make some with more variety, but I can't make Odanna-sama wait. Today we're going with "simple is best." I stuffed everything in a box, wrapped it in cloth and brought it out with me. "I'm sorry Odanna-sama. Did you wait long?" Odanna-sama was lying down in the veranda and smoking his pipe, while listening to Chibi's stories about playing in the pond. It was about a crawfish, then about a pond skater. Whatever it was about, it's fine. "Nooo, it's not bad to wait for the new wife as she readies herself. Teehee." "Then what are you so happy about?" Odanna-sama stood up, said "Alright, let's go!" and held out his hand. I bewilderedly took his hand, and got supported as I wore my geta sandals. Along with the kimono I'm still not used to, I felt anxious of tumbling down. "Ahhh... Aoi-shaaan and Ogre-shaaaan, where are you goiiiiing? Take me along tooooo." "Well, that sounded miserly..." Even though he was always playing alone, Chibi always wants to be taken along. P33 "When you want to come with, you can come, Chibi. You'll be eating your favorite grapes." "Grapeshhh..." Chibi jumped from the veranda and onto my back. I realized that he was climbing my back as he went "Heave, ho, heave ho." "Say, Odanna-sama, are we going in the airship again?" "Ah, yes. But this time, we're not boarding one with the Tenjin-ya's crest because we'll be hiding, so we'll use the smaller ships. This time the fruit orchard Hyakumeyama, which lies in the connecting lands of the north and northeast will be our destination. The place has farms and is quiet, and you can go pick and harvest fruits at ease and in all diligence." In a bit as we went off, Odanna-sama brought me to the place where the ship was set in anchor. In that place, the Young Master Ginji-san and the Chief Accountant Byakuya-san were there, and it seems that they were going to see us off. Byakuya is a Hakutaku Ayakashi, and is Tenjin-ya's REAL Second Leader. On one hand where he's holding a fan, looked like he was tapping it on the other hand, and he seems to be in a bad mood. "Odanna-sama, don't go too far for your rest and relaxation at nightfall, it's quite perilous. That dummy Raijuu seems to be somehow releasing his stench from the capitol. Do you understand?" "Byakuya, don't be nervous. I know and I'm already serious about it." "If so, then that's nice. You too, Aoi-kun." P34 "Y.. Yes!" I unconsciously replied to Byakuya when he called my name, and it flew out of my head. "Yugao's income this month is very good, and for that I salute you. Nonetheless, you must not lose focus, try to learn to understand that when you go out, then come back here. Keep in mind that, and while at it, don't trouble Odanna-sama." "Y.. Yes!" I unconsciously bowed. It's better to listen to Byakuya-san's words. "Hey hey Byakuya. It's a rare rest and relaxation day. Don't make Aoi think about work." "Oh, don't worry Odanna-sama. I was just telling her what I intend to do." "Oh, I see." Odanna-sama looked at the clear autumn sky. "Aoi-san, be careful outside, whatever you will be doing. Odanna-sama, leave Tenjin-ya's care to me in your stead." Ginji-san was grinning and side-smiling. He seems to be his usual and formal self. "Ginji, please take care of business. Byakuya, if there's anything contact me." "Yes, I know, Odanna-sama." P35 Ginji-san and Byakuya-san, the two higher-ups in the management team bowed their heads deeply, and as we boarded the airships they sent us off. As the airship was rising into the clear sky, we bathed in the afternoon sunlight on the ship's wooden deck. The sunlight was warm, despite the cold breeze. It was a really good atmosphere. "Ahhh. Odanna-sama, the weather's good. It's great that it's clear." "Yes. That said, let's eat breakfast, Aoi." "That was hasty, Odanna-sama..." Sitting on the ship's deck's benches, we immediately opened the onigiri bento boxes. While in that great mood, the arranged onigiri tastes good. This was yesterday's scattered rice, and yet adding salt in this onigiri changed its taste. More than anything, eating this outside was a good idea. "The omelette is also good. It's simple, but it suits the onigiri." "You think so? A lot of various things are always added and used, but this time I only added a few seasonings. Because the cassowary's egg is wonderful, the onigiri which has a lot of stuff is already good. But because I added mayonnaise to the egg as a subtle flavor, just adding salt makes it mellow, doesn't it?" I was talking about a lot of things, and Odanna-sama was just enjoying his food and smiling. "Teehee. Surely it's because it's  hand made by Aoi. It's warm and feels like home." That Odanna-sama that day, he was very friendly and easy to talk to. P36 That person's impression has definitely changed. No, he did not change, he was probably like that as an ogre since the very beginning. I only noticed that he was such, whenever we met, and talked about heavy things. "But really, I thought that it was better if I made more in variety..." Also, instantly,because the opportunities are rare, I thought that if I'm going to do it, I should concentrate on making various bento kinds. Basically, for Odanna-sama I haven't made any food by hand. No, when it comes to those times, I have made more for the other employees than for Odanna-sama. "Don't worry about it. Just do what you usually cook. In those times, aren't the food that you didn't think about much also taste good? It's because in 10 minutes, they’re already delicious." "The food that I.. didn't think much about?" Probably because lately, the food and drinks that I served were continuously served everyday. Before coming to Kakuriyo, Grandpa and I only cooked for ourselves, home-cooked meals. When I came here, it changed because I served food for the Ayakashi. Even though I felt nervous here and there, my skills improved as I kept doing it, and in that time I was able to learn how to cook freely. Because of that, I was able to feed myself and my family.. "Aoi-shaaan, cucumber..." "Oh, sorry Chibi, here you go.." P37 I handed him over the sliced cucumber and pickles stuck on the toothpicks. Then Chibi held those in both hands, and like in a daze started munching and crunching on them. Even though I was nervous early in the morning, I felt comfortable and carefree right now. The evidences are because of me bringing the onigiri and the bento boxes without thinking much.

"Welcome, Tenjin-ya's Odanna-sama. Yugao's Aoi-dono." The smiling face of the owner who greeted us at the entrance of the fruit orchard looks familiar. Once, previously, we met at Gintengai... Could it be.. It's Rokusuke-san, the Rokurokubi. Even in Yugao, we use the fruits from Rokusuke-san's business Mizumakinouen. "Hello, Rokusuke-san." "Aoi-dono, thank you very much for always patronizing our Mizumakinouen's fruits." "Rokusuke-dono, thank you for taking care of us. I am just a commoner today, because we are doing these in secret. You don't have to be so humble." "I understand, Odanna-sama. Today we're only open for half a day, so I think there will be less visitors. Uhm.. Oh, you can see the momiji autumn leaves on the side of the mountain over there." Rokusuke-san stretched his neck towards the mountain to check, and as he moved towards a tree trunk he showed to us the place. P38 "Alright then, please come this way." We finally went inside the fruit orchard. The first portion of the fruit orchard that we went into, was the grape vineyard. "Woooow!" A canopy above our heads hanging like ivy, these drooping, purple grapes look like drops of water seemingly about to burst. They look so fresh, the colors make them look like jewels. The viney canopy allows the autumn sunlight to pierce through, and the gentle air space is filled with a mysterious life force. "This is awesome, Odanna-sama! The grapes are just so impecable!" "The size of each of these grapes are Kakuriyo's biggest and sweetest, the variety is called Daishisui. Lately, Rokusuke-san says that this seedless variety has been selling very well in the market." "For sure.. In Utsushiyo too, I've seen some seedless grapes, I wonder if the skin in these ones are edible too." "The skin isn't edible. But they're easy to peel. Let's go pick some." "Really, they look like Concord grapes, I was thinking of making some grape tarts, I wonder if they're suitable..." The grapes with seeds are really good when used, but how can these seedless grapes be said to be easier to eat, as well as easier to be used for cooking?** T/N. Yeah, I mean, the seedy ones get easier made into jams due to having more pectin, so I agree with you Aoi, I don't know any other use for seedless grapes other than turning them into raisins. The seedy grapes are, in my opinion tastier, juicer, and have more uses. But that's just my opinion lol P39 The grape's main tree is not that tall, and I could easily have fun gathering them. The farm's assistants gave me scissors, and I started to trim the bunches off the trees. These were profoundly heavy, and I was having so much fun gathering them. Store-bought grapes had nothing on these ones. After picking a lot of grapes, I couldn't resist eating one. I was shocked. "Uwahhh! It's very sweet! Odanna-sama, the grapes are very sweet, they're so delicious!" "You tried them right away?" Immediately after I ate one, the fruit's peel was a tad hard-textured, but the grape just burst in my mouth and the juice's rich taste surprised me, it wasn't that sour but the sweetness levels were high. These grapes were picked at ambient temperature, but the taste and texture were still straight up enjoyable. This is a really good product. "Aoi-shaaaan, I want to slurp some grapesh tooooo." "OK, I'll get it." Chibi got hold of a bunch of grapes and hung on one. He went with a grape, and deftly using his beak started peeling off one portion of it, before slurping up and sucking on the juice and munching on it. Chibi holding onto a grape is somehow cute. P40 "Next up are apples. We're going to go buy some to bring home as give-aways for everyone back in Tenjin-ya." "Apples, huh. There are many preservation methods for them, they store up for long time, and many varieties of recipes can be made with them. I want to buy lots for myself too." Hauling the baskets that Rokusuke-san entrusted to us, we went further away to pick some apples. The apple orchards were further inside the premises, away from the grape orchards. The trees were a bit taller than Odanna-sama. All around the trees’ silhouettes, these bore a lot of fruits. "Uwah, they're really very red!" Those apples look so lovely and so tasty. The red color was so deep, and I love the smooth, round shape. Those hanging on the tree look so gorgeous, but I couldn't help but be very interested as to how these will taste. I trimmed one off with scissors, scrubbed the freshy-picked apple's skin and wiped it, and bit into it with haste. While chewing it, the juice's sweetness and sourness spread across my mouth as well as it's strong fragrance. The fruit was crisp and made crunching sounds, as the liquid lightly pulls away. Truly, this were what's called apples. "Are they sweet, Aoi?" "Yes! The insides are sweet, there's hints of sourness, but the flavor is very deep. For sure, this are of Mizumakinouen's best quality. Oh, Odanna-sama, those apples look like they're of a different variety, let's go there, let's go over there!" P41 "Calm down, Aoi..." Odanna-sama accompanied me going here and there. There were so many varieties of apples in the orchard, each one's taste and sweetness were a bit different, and we ended up trying everything. "Hey look, Odanna-sama. Up there on the mountain a bit, there are also more apple trees!" I discovered that on that different place, the were other growing apple trees. Just about all of the trees in the orchard were basically grown in a detached and open portion of a plateau, but  when the adjoined mountain is climbed up a little, trees with seemingly fresh apples can be seen. The pink mixed with the saturated red color makes those apples shine brightly. "That's a variety of mountain apples." "Is that different from normal apples?" "Mountain apples are a bit more sour, and the fruits are hard. Up until now, those fruits are entirely inedible, but just sometime ago, Mizumakinouen has started to sell liquor made out of mountain apples. It's still an unknown product but previously, Rokusuke-san brought a bottle to Tenjin-ya, and we tasted some out yesterday. Ginji and I tried it out as we welcomed some guests." "Speaking of that, both of you were tipsy yesterday..." P42 "It's not exactly that much, but it's easy to get drunk." "Whh-at?" Mountain apple liquor. I'm interested but... I have not so good memories about liquors. Sometime ago, I had a very bad experience with the Tengu's secret sake. That has traumatized me until now, and I have never drank and liquor from then on. "Ahaha, your face stiffened. For sure, after drinking that liquor and getting drunk, you'll feel it for two days after drinking, and the next day when you wake up your mood will be better.. On the night before this rest day I drank just one cup, and I felt like my health got better. Mizumakinouen's brand-new product is something that you'll buy again and again." "Odanna-sama, you don't just merely "drink and try it out." "Ginji also likes it, I'll buy some for him as a souvenir." Just saying that, Odanna-sama just floods with elegance. I went up to where the mountain apples were, just to check. The fruits were larger than I thought. I tried biting on it, it was more sour than sweet, and the flesh was harder. "This isn't just for liquors, this can also be used for jams too." When this is boiled down with sugar, the sourness won't easily disappear, and that's a good thing. Even though the small basket on my back was already full, I tossed the mountain apples into the large basket on Odanna-sama's back. P43 Nevertheless... "Odanna-sama, the commoner's look you have now, you really come off as a plebeian. You really look good with that apple basket, you know." "You're starting to tell me that about me looking like a commoner, Aoi?" Even though I said, that, Odanna-sama seems to be ecstatic. "Let's leave this orchard in a bit. Our baskets are already full." "Ehhh? Let's stay for ten more minutes..." In a corner of the fruit orchard, it seems like there's a small hut that has a fire and is making some jam, and Odanna-sama and I started heading over there. Inside Odanna-sama's basket, in front of me, Chibi was scampering about and I could see Chibi playing with some apples. While inside the large pile of apples, he seems to be playing inside a maze. "Chibi, don't play with the apples too much." "OK, I geeet it. I'm a very shmart Ayakashiiiiii, I won't treat theeeshe appleshhh harshhhlyyyy." However, while Chibi was squirming about, an apple rolled and fell off the basket. "Awww, I made one faaallll ouuuuuut." Chibi popped his face out of the basket, and seemingly unashamed of his wreckless behavior stared at the falling apple, while I chased the apple in a panic. P44 That red apple, I was going to use that for jam. I don't want to waste even one! "What the..." The apple instantly vanished. I didn't notice that there was a large hole hidden by the grass, in front of the place where the apple rolled off to. My geta got stuck and snagged back by a tree root, and I fell head-first into the hole were the apple fell off before! "Gyaaaaahhhhhh---" "Aoi?!!" The apples on my back all rolled down and got scattered. This emergency seemed comical but without a doubt is devastating. Everywhere I bumped into hurts. "Aoi-- Aoi--!" "Ohhhh daaarn, thisshh ishhh baaaaad..." As Odanna-sama was calling my name out, it started to sound farther and farther away because of Chibi's insensitive words. Roll.. Roll.. All of the apples loaded in my back started rolling out easily like a conveyor belt as I looked on. P45 "Owwww" On the place where I landed, I was surrounded by a precipice inside the mountain, and all around was a wide place that was full of fluffy fallen leaves. The top of the hole was high, and above the gaps in between the trees, I could only see a bit of the sky. I went and looked around my surroundings, but I couldn't find the hole that I fell from. "Ohh, a red dragonfly!" But in that place, in all of that stillness, there were momiji, fallen autumn leaves. There was a small spring, where the fallen leaves were floating and coloring the water with. Countless red dragonflies were darting over the spring. Red, orange, brown, yellow. Heavily piled and packed and stacked on top of one another in many layers, the fallen leaves superbly look like a carpet. It looked somewhat like a lovely, autumn forest. Looking at these momiji, I consciously remembered an old memory related to grandpa. "Wai.... Odanna-sama... Odanna-sama, ODANNA-SAMA!!!" This is not a time to be a dummy. I loudly called for Odanna-sama, but my voice only echoes and rebounds back into the precipice's walls. It seemed that Odanna-sama is already far away. "Don't tell me.. I've gotten lost in the fruit orchard..." No matter how frequently I got lost in Kakuriyo, I always didn't feel like I was in distress, didn't I...? P46 "Gah, I shouldn't think too much of this..." For the time being, I'll just wait for help to arrive, while I pick up all of the scattered apples around me. All of the apples were fine. Even if some got bruised, there's no problem with eating them. But then that time, I felt like there were scratching sounds behind me, and I was shocked when I turned my head around. "Wh... Who are you?" From inside the forest, with masks that were as red as apples, and bodies each covered in a straw raincoat, a crowd appeared. They surrounded me, and it seemed like they're coming in from everywhere. "It's a human... A human girl.." Whispering in hushed voices, they signalled each other through the eye holes in their masks. Because the wall of the precipice was behind me, I couldn't move at all. "Wh..What is this.. Wait a minute..." The dubious beings started moving smoothly towards me. Could it be that, they're going to feed on me? But within the populace wearing a straw raincoat, a strange branch was pulled out, and they lighted it up, and towards me wafted a smoke that smelled bittersweet, it was an unfamiliar smell. P47 In a moment before I realized it, I have lost consciousness.

I had a dream. It was an old memory, with momiji and apples. In reality, back then I went with grandpa once, to his old residence. I was still an lementary school student then, and for sure it was autumn. I was sure that grandpa visited the Buddhist altar of his deceased mother, we went to this large residence in the outskirts of Tokyo, and I accompanied him. It has been a long time since he visited their family home, and he probably felt a lot of nostalgia. That home reminded me particularly of autumn season, and it seemed that grandpa had so much deep-seated emotions. "Ah, I see.. When autumn comes, this home seemingly turns into an AKIAKANE." "Grandpa, what's an akiakane?" "That's a red dragonfly, Aoi." It seemed like grandpa cut himself off from whoever was living in that home. He particularly didn't mention the place he came from, and it seems that through this I couldn't get to know him better. After a very long time, for such a reason he had no choice but to meet with his mother. P48 However, if I was going to meet my great-grandma, I couldn't instantly do it when she was still alive. Even when that person died, grandpa didn't come to her funeral, and even after that he couldn't bring it upon himself to visit even secretly. The house that we went to was the first and last time that I did, but to be honest, from how I remembered it, it was a really large residence.** Grandpa was such a monk... "I apologize, I had no way to find out, you were already at the verge of death. As expected, the role of head of the household was difficult..." "Nay, mother's death.. Seemed to be from my curse. I am truly sorry about that. You were killed by someone who didn't want to die... A strong person..." "Being someone like the lady of the house, even at your time of death, Shirou made you worry. Let us hurry now to her Buddhist shrine**." A man in the prime of his life, grandpa brought himself into the house's inner room, and in front of us we saw an imposing Buddhist shrine. A curse...? Grandpa's words were spoken in a low and hushed voice, and that time I thought that what I was continuously listening to was mysterious. But then I remembered something, it seemed that there was a deep meaning to it. T/N: At this point, it's easy to see why Shirou was living as a reckless man, he was probably raised in a stiff household, mostly because he was a member of the main family, with his mother as the house head. So he had to conduct his manners most of the time, probably. He loosened up when he got a chance to get away from the house. He was also probably bailed out a lot, which is why he at times becomes happy-go-lucky, or leaves others to clean up his messes. Think of a chaebol's son (son of a rich person lol) being bailed out a lot, and ends up not being able to clean up his messes. Buddhist shrines are tiny cabinet-like altars that contain the photo of the deceased, and they're usually opened up on death anniversaries or new years or whenever there's a day of the dead celebration something, like hungry ghost fest or something. Offerings can be placed in front of the cabinet, along with candles and incense sticks. Again, as this implies that Shirou came from a prominent family, his mother's shrine altar is probably huge AF. P49 "Aoi, come meet your great-grandmother. Mother, this is my granddaughter, Aoi." In front of the large Buddhist shrine, I was introduced to the dead. So many apples with a lovely color were offered, and as a child that left a strong impression on me. The incense stick's fragrance, within the swaying smoke rising up... The red color that was projected looked lovely. I didn't understand how to pay respects to someone that I didn't know. But the blurred vision of grandpa's side profile, up until now I didn't see it, it was a person who was suffering in loneliness... I could only remember it now. "Aoi, wait here for a bit..." After that, grandpa talked to two of his male relatives, and on the tatami floor of the residence, I waited for him. There was a garden connected to the veranda, and red dragonflies were flying in and out, dartingly through the window. I wondered why I was there alone...As I was sitting on the veranda, looking at the evening sky's madder red color, I started to ponder. Everywhere I go my heart always feels wrenched as I always felt that I was an outsider, but staying here in this residence, it didn't feel bad. It's easy for this old house to draw in Ayakashi, but I couldn't feel anything evil. Being guarded somehow, I could remember that place had a sense of calm and peace. P50 I didn't think that there would be anyone visiting or encroaching the confines of that place. "Are you.. A human?" Suddenly, there was someone at the gate. Before I realized it, a young boy was standing beside me. The boy seemed to have orange hair**, I thought that he was a humanoid Ayakashi, and my body stiffened. He's not a human-ish Ayakashi... At best, he is a lower-grade elementary school student. A child. But as I stared at the child in front of me, looking deeper at his essence, his eyes were not those of a child's. "I'm... A human too." I answered with a low voice, and as that child's face remained the same, he nodded over a serving tray that he was carrying. Sliced apples were arranged on a glass plate, and there was a glass of milk on the tray too. "Mommy told me to bring these to you." I humbly took these, and the kid frettedly ran away as if he was escaping. At that moment, he really did acted somewhat like a child. While running, what seemed like a mother's scolding voice called out "Akane, stop running!" T/N: It's not an ayakashi, it's zappy boi Zenitsu wahahaha I have zero regrets and yeah I know Zappy boi had brown hair before getting struck by lightning. But seriously, it seemed that based on the stuff here, Shirou's family can see Ayakashi, as Zappy boi Akane and Aoi can see them, like he did. Honestly, the color-name puns are just too much lololol P51 That kid, his name was Akane. It was the sky's color, and was the name of the red dragonflies. The skin of the sliced apples were made into bunnies** and they looked cute, and I could feel the love of the mother living in that house. Could the child also have eaten this everyday, I wonder. Using the fork beside the apples, I stuck this on the apples and ate them from behind. "Oh, they're sweet." Also, they were cold. These were cooled inside the refrigerator, and the coldness felt good on my throat. Somehow, while drinking the milk and eating the apples, it became a memory I longed for. A child. Yes, a child who had no idea how autumn feels like. I couldn't have it anymore. But whenever I see apples and momiji, I remember that meeting that only happened once.

Boom, boom..... When I woke up, within that pitch blackness was an old banquet hall inside a grotto. T/N: Bunny apples are fun to make and fun to eat, try them out. I think I saw some in Kaicho wa Maid-sama once, but that was ages ago lol P52 A large alter was built, a while ago, in front of me. All around it were countless food offerings. Countless candle flames were lit, flowers and fruits and a pig's head**, deer horns and other stuff were arranged there as offerings too. "Wh... What is this?" In front of me, the drummers were also dancing, they seem to be holding and continuing a ceremony, and these were the mysterious Ayakashi with monkey masks. "Miko-sama" "You have awakened." They were all whispering in a low voice. Miko-sama? "Uhm... Are you.. worshipping me?" Having no idea what was happening, I asked them in a courageous voice. But the gathered Ayakashi that were wearing a straw raincoat and monkey masks, why did they all went "yes, milady, yes milady" and turned around? "Human girl, you are the Kaku-zaru** village's priestess." "You shall save us from calamity..." These Ayakashi called Kaku-zaru, for a while have been worshipping me. I don't feel anymore danger, but this situation has gone nuts. T/N: They got hold of Inosuke's boar head lolol I still have zero regrets Nihongo fun fact, when forming compound words, the first syllable of the second word gets a tenten, which looks like a quotation mark. For example, the word HIDARIGAWA (left side) is made up of 2 words: hidari=left, and kawa=side, and because the syllable KA becomes GA when you add a tenten, KAWA becomes GAWA. Another example, the word for three thousand, SANZEN, is made up of san=three and sen=thousand, but because SA becomes ZA when you add a tenten, SEN becomes ZEN. Which is why I made it KAKUZARU here, there's no furigana in the text so I just assumed that this rule works. I could have just made it into Kakuriyo Monkey but then where's the fun in that lol. I'll probably put shit like this here, so that by the end of however much chapters my body can upload here, we've all learned some tiny Nihongo bits. I'ma gonna drag you all with me bwahahahahaahaa! P53 "Uhm.. I came from a fruit orchard along a mountain. I would want to go back now..." The monkey masks suddenly stared up. The masks had a strong impact on me, and I unconsciously gulped. This has a different atmosphere, compared to when I'm with the usual Ayakashi I have met. In a way, this unexplored region seemed to house a tribe. "You're a Miko." "No, I'm not a Miko, because I'm just a human." I flatly refused them, but they started to gather as they were whispering. "Miko-sama, with our offerings, we are requesting of you. This is our sacrifice..." "Uhm.. Sacrifice?" After saying that, is seemed that they didn't listen. Nevertheless, when they pulled out a rope I was shocked, they were pulling along a handsome, black-haired guy with a long piece of rope... "What the... They tied up Odanna-sama like a slave!" In front of me, surely without a doubt, they have brought along Tenjin-ya's Odanna-sama, the younger version. That appearance doesn't give off his aura of being Tenjin-ya's master, after all, they don't know who it was. B-b-b-b-but, isn't that disrespectful? If the people in Tenjin-ya saw this they'll bring upon a wrath of a sea of fire! P54 Speaking of Odanna-sama, he was restlessly looking around, and once when he found me on the bluish altar, he smiled at me childishly. As expected from someone so composed. It's better to be cheerful. "Miko-sama, we found this person loitering around outside the village." "Please have your way with this sacrifice. We can boil, then roast, then eat him." No no no, a human girl can't eat Ayakashi! "Then quickly untie him! That person is a distinctly emiment man!" "Yes, milady--" While the Kaku-zaru were being told what to do, they unfastened Odanna-sama's ropes. "Hmmmmph. Could it be that when you saw me tied up, you were surprised?" "You don't have a face that looked surprised. Might you have been enjoying yourself? Speaking of, how did you got captured so easily?" "I was looking for you, and I ended up in the Kaku-zaru's village. I thought it was easier to get caught as an adult in order to get in. As a result, I got here. When I met you here, everything went OK." "So it's OK to meet Odanna-sama here.." When the Kaku-zaru saw Odanna-sama and I, they started to talk in hushed voices. They were an eerie bunch. Why on earth did they bring me here, what do they plan to do? "Oh dear..." P55 Odanna-sama hit his hand on his waist, and it transformed as he dispelled it. Normally, people would be surprised and exclaim "It's Tenjin-ya's master!", but, here, the Kaku-zaru  only shook their heads questioningly. What the.. They only kept silent and didn't say anything, so Odanna-sama only cleared his throat with an "ahem". "Aoi, this place is the heart of Hyakumeyama. I knew that inside this mountain, there is a hidden village of the Kaku-zaru, but this is the first time I've taken a visit. At any rate, the Kaku-zaru's village is in the territory of the Northern Lands." "Whaaaa-t. So.. We're already in the Northern Lands?" "Now that you mentioned it, yes. But the North-eastern lands were supposed to have a boundary..." Upon hearing loud drumming sounds again, Odanna-sama stared at the ceremony that the Kaku-zaru were performing in front of the large altar. "These Kaku-zaru were from an old era, wherein they were taken here by a Miko, a human priestess, which is now forbidden. Each time a human girl comes here, she becomes a replacement for the Miko, and she becomes worshipped by them." "So in this case, I was kidnapped to become worshipped here?" "But, well, this curiosity is rather odd. No matter how many human girls they worship, if it's against their will, being taken here feels like a punishment. But for this, I wonder what their probable reasons were for moving and leaving the village..." At the same time, the drumming sounds suddenly stopped. The door of the old tomb opened, and an old Kaku-zaru came in. P56 "The respectable elder... Has come!" That person has the longest straw raincoat in the bunch, and somewhat wears a necklace made out of bones, as well as having a mask of an old sleepy monkey. While walking with a cane, he was supported by a Kaku-zaru who was near the offerings, and sat in front of the altar where I was. "Miko-sama, we are the humble descendants in this village. For today, we beseech you." Everyone went "Yes, milady--", and bowed deeply once again. What the heck is going on.. "Uhm.. Respectable elder? What is all this For a while now, you've been saying stuff about worshipping, why on earth is that?" "Brigands from the far north has come to our village, and has looted and plundered." "Bandits?" Odanna-sama and I looked at each other's faces. He suddenly seemed to remember something instantly, and he placed his hand on his chin as he narrowed his eyes. "Bandits came from the far north.. Could it be that, they're the Ozuma gang?" "Odanna-sama, you know of them?" "Yes. They came from the Great Glacial Mountain Range of the Far North, and I've heard stories that in nearly every mountain here and there they were wreaking havoc and violence. But unexpectedly, you're asking for help from the North-eastern lands connected to the mountain of Hyakumeyama?" Aa a Hachiyo of the North-eastern lands, might he have not noticed of their situation? His facial expression suddenly became grave. P57 "Say, what on earth did the bandits do to this village?" After I tried asking, each of the Kaku-zaru started groaning in low voices. It was a bone-chilling sound and it pierced through my body. "We already have become the Ozuma-gang's minions." "Hm, in what way?" "The Ozuma-gang are bandits composed of about 20 individuals that move around. Each one has a jurisdiction over one mountain, as well as a minion that goes in each of the mountains, and like the other mountains we have become under one group that only keeps on increasing." The respectable elder has started to retell the story emotionally. "The day when those brigands came to this village,they broke through everything and pillaged, they violently wounded our villagers. We have no means or ways to retaliate so we just surrendered, and we became under the control of those thugs. After that, those brigands started to enter this village's stronghold, and every night they celebrated in our banquet hall. They just ate all of the village's food in reckless abandon, drank our liquor dry, and became even more violent when drunk. Half of the food we were saving in this village has already been eaten. At this rate we will not even last until winter." "Oh, I see. To summarize, you have been deeply troubled by it." Because of that, they have explained why they have abducted me, and why they were asking help from the gods. "Miko-sama. Please, we beg of you, save us---" The other Kaku-zaru who were also bowing down and worshipping me, also beseeched and prayed. Even though they show signs of just imitating what they think what a god must do, the surrounding atmosphere of desperation made me want to help them, but regarding that, I am just a normal human girl who has no means to easily resolve the issue. P58 "Respectable elder, have you gotten in touch with the Hachiyo of the North?" From here, Odanna-sama asked the question with a commanding voice. The respectable elder raised his face, stared unblinkingly at Odanna-sama's majestic pose. "Oh my.. You, are you not Tenjin-ya's Master?" "Indeed, I am. Finally, you have taken notice of me." "This is a bit too bad, isn't it, Odanna-sama?" After having his fun hiding, then finally being found out, Odanna-sama's face got a bit bored and sullen. But the respectable elder took off his mask, and bowed his head deeply. His monkey face seemed to have remained the same, but there were deeply-etched wrinkles on it, which definitely showed his very old age. The other Kaku-zaru didn't seem to be fazed with Odanna-sama. This was as otherworldy, remotely and as detached to the outside world as it can get. "Please give us your permission, Odanna-sama!" "Oh, do not worry, it's fine. However, the North's Hachiyo.. Can he not do it?" "Yes. We have not received any help from the North's Hachiyo. That is out of the question right now, as the Hachiyo has turned a blind eye on the arrival and movements of the brigands." P59 "I knew it..." "What, how can you say that, Odanna-sama?" I couldn't follow how the conversations flowed. During such times, when called for, a Hachiyo doesn't comply with the wishes of the people of the land? It seems to be like that here, in the Northern Lands. While placing his hand on his jaw, Odanna-sama explained to me the situation. "Apparently, the Northern Lands have a problem in their hands. The other name for this land is called "The Land of Glaciers", and is Kakuriyo's largest land area, and in this land there is a historical giant ice castle. But because the nature of this place is harshly cold, it is undoubtedly the most difficult to live alongside that harshness. The current Hachiyo holds a strong influence as a distinguished Ayakashi, and has been able to create stability within the boundaries of the Northern Lands.. But after countless years, that Hachiyo has succumbed to an illness." Really-- Prior to this, the Southern lands were deeply concerned with handling a unique problem, but even here in the Northern lands they also had problems. "Well,now that the entirety of the land is in chaos, from now on we must strike back at the bandits that have been having their ways in expanding their territories in the mountains here and there. But the Ozuma-gang.. They're an especially powerful bunch. Nonetheless, since I came from the North-eastern Lands which I have control over, I think we can apply some mugwort and moxybust them out." Odanna-sama said all of those standing tall and with a suave look. As if holding on to those words, the Kaku-zaru's elder who was previously losing hope suddenly, and with fire opened his eyes. "We cannot call upon the North's Hachiyo anymore. But can we impose upon the master of Tenjin-ya, along with the Miko-sama? P60 Please, for the sake of our village, make those bandits leave us!" "Ohh. But you kidnapped my new wife who fell inside a hole, isn't that request a bit selfish? And what's more, you also restrained my hands." It's not like that, that was pretty much my own fault, and it's why Odanna-sama's behavior was incomprehensible. "It's a rare chance that we got to enjoy apple-picking, but you have interrupted our date, Aoi and I. If Aoi hated me because of what I did, what then? Hm?" "Odanna-sama, right now you're being too selfish and holding grudges. Moreover, at this point I can't hate you..." "Really, Aoi? If that's the case, do you like me?" "Nah, I don't know." I replied a considerably appropriate answer to Odanna-sama, who was brimming with expectations. With such a frank answer, Odanna-sama felt dejected and with a disheartened look hunched his back and sat alongside the already sitting Kaku-zaru. Well, that was indeed depressing... "Well then, where is the Ozuma-gang right now?" Odanna-sama continued the conversation with a blank face. "They were in a nearby mountain territory yesterday, and tonight they announced that they will be coming here, to eat and feast in the banquet hall." P61 I caught a glimpse of Odanna-sama agreeing and nodding. "Aoi, what do you think we must do?" "Ehh? Me?" Him seeking for my opinion was very unusual. I thought for a bit, and answered in all honesty. "These people, I think it's a pity that the food they have now won't last until after winter.." "Hahaha, as expected of you, you were worried more about their food. Even though my companion was kidnapped to be worshipped, you were still the same, your nature of involving yourself with Ayakashi and their food still came out." "Even if I fell and rolled down a hole and everywhere hurts, I don't think I'm in any other kind of danger." "What the.. You got hurt?! Let me look at you to see if you got bruised--" "Odanna-sama, this isn't the time to talk like that--" This time my words were taken as a harsh reply by Odanna-sama, and despite the conversation getting derailed due to inappropriateness, I returned it to its original traction. Seeing the situation as such, the Kaku-zaru seemed to be perplexed. "Ahem, Well, I am also a Hachiryo. This may be the Northern Lands' problem, but I wouldn't know if the bandits may have brazenly invaded the North-eastern Lands. As such, repelling them from here is my job. I have a deep consideration of Aoi's heart, but I can lend you my hand." P62 "Ohhhhhh.." Hearing Odanna-sama's words, everyone seemed to have more hope, and they raised their voices with relief. "A normal ogre would always back out and retreat, but now you have become Kakuriyo's dark hero!" "My soon-to-be wife wouldn't like that." "You've said that already, why are saying that again?" "There are two chairs for two people on that altar, it somehow vaguely seems to be for a king and queen." "Well, that seems to be a fun situation, isn't it Odanna-sama?" Odanna-sama's reception may have been weird and without familiarity, but I think they were sincere. But... "Alright then. Since you said so, Aoi go back to Tenjin-ya." "Whaaat?" All of a sudden, Odanna-sama commanded me to return! Even though he said "I have consideration for Aoi”! "Wh-- Why? I wanted to help in any way too--" "That's out of the question. Those bandits are armed, and a despicable bunch. Having a human girl's body, you'll be in danger, and that is terrifying--" "So that being the case, Odanna-sama is not in danger?" "What's that? Are you.. Worrying for me?" P63 As Odanna-sama was peeking at my face, his face immediately showed a naughty smile. "I'm an ogre. I am different from the weak Aoi. This time your cooking skills can't resolve it." "Th... That I can understand.." Surely, I wonder if I can't get any stronger. Until now it was different, and I wondered if there's a possibility that I can fight with arms? But.. "But, I was thinking of helping up with the cooking back at the banquet hall..." "Again, when it comes to that you're still planning to cook..." Odanna-sama looked at me with a puzzled look, and I prepared myself. "But.. Ah, I see, there's more, if we add sleeping drugs to their food, when they get sleepy won't it be easier to beat them?" "What?" Hearing a mediocre yet dangerous suggestion, Odanna-sama got startled. Even the Kaku-zaru got shocked and couldn't move. As expected, the tactic was such a cliche. 'What the.. What is this atmosphere? I know it's too common. It's a joke." "No, it was so you, Aoi. I guess, you being Shirou's granddaughter, you thought of that." "You guess?" P64 "No, Aoi you had suffered and fought in so many battlefields that you have become resourcefull all around, that's a housewife!" "What the.. You don't have to follow me around against your own will, Odanna-sama--" I realized that this was much like Grandpa's style, and I saw that I have come so far. "However, this isn't exactly classical, so I don't think that it's diabolical. Yes. The mountain apples that we picked, and when we use the Hyakumeyama momiji branch, we can probably make it good." Despite my cliched suggestion, Odanna-sama seemed to have openly agreed to it. He tapped on my shoulder with his hand, and his face turned into an evil ogre. "Aoi, you can definitely depend on your special skills."

End of Chapter 2, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 1    Next - Chapter 3

Volume 1 Translations by Kakuriyo-translations

Prologue               Chapter 1             Chapter 2       Chapter 3        Chapter 4

I translated Volume 1  Chapter 5 here

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations  and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

[mcfuckinachilles]

Okie so My beautiful Lyra (@marwankansari) has tagged me in this and I’m sorry that I’m late but I’m gonna do it now. Thank you so much Lyra.

1. what is the color of your hairbursh? baby Blue

2. Name a Food Never eat:idk honestly I love food too much

3. are typically too warm or too cold?usually I’m too warm

4. what were you doing 45 mins ago? honestly I have no idea 😂😂 I don’t remember sorry

5. what’s your favorite candy bar? cadbary dairy milk plain

6. have you ever been to a professional sports game? parkour and CrossFit

7. what was the last thing you said? “baba enta kont ayz el iPad?” “Dad did you want the iPad?”

8. what is your favorite ice cream? idk really 😂😂

9. what was the last thing you had to drink? coffee

10. do you like your wallet? yeah but I need to change cause it worn out

11. what is the last thing you ate? an apple

12. did you buy any new clothes last weekend? nope

13. what’s the last sporting event you watched? I don’t remember

14. what is you favorite flavor of popcorn? just plain popcorn just salt on it

15. who is the last person you texted? a classmate of mine

16. ever been camping? nope I’m open to try it tho

17. do you take vitamins? nope

19. do you regularly attend a place of worship? nope.

20. do you have a tan? yeeee when you live in Egypt you always have a tan

21. do you prefer Chinese or pizza? pizza 🥺🥺

22. do you drink your soda through a straw? nope I try not to when I can

23. What color socks do you usually wear? red and yellow ~griffindor~

24. do you drive above the speed limit? I don’t have a license yet

25. what terrifies you? dolls, clowns, patterned or cluster of small holes or bumps (trypophobia), and no sequels for The Old Guard

26. look to your left, what do you see? my finished coffee mug

27. what chore do you hate there most? I hate sweeping or vacuuming

28. what do you do when you hear an Australian accent? “oh, An Australian”

29. what’s your favorite soda? 7UP

30. do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? I usually go, but if there’s a drive thru I’ll use it

31. who’s the last person you talked to? My dad

32. Favorite cut of beef? idk but a cut that doesn’t have too much fat in it.

33. last song you listened to? Indigo Night - Tamino

34. last book you read? It’s either ‘The Odyssey’ or ‘The Illiad’

35. favorite dat of the week? Friday! It’s a holy day and a day off so win-win

36. can you say the alphabet backwards? fam, I barely know how to speak.

37. how do you like your coffee? with creamer or milk but not to light so it has like a dark brown to it.

38. favorite pair of shoes? I think it would be Adidas dragon shoes.

39. time you normally get up? time is an illusion but usually depends if I have something that day

40. what do you prefer! sunrise or sunset? Sunset 🌇

41. how many blanket on your bed? 1? Are you suppose to have more than 1?

42. describe your kitchen plates. idk they’re different sets I guess?

43. describe your kitchen at the moment. messy but not too messy

44. do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? I don’t drink sorry 🥺😂

45. do play cards? Yeah, but I haven’t played in a while

46. what color is your car? I don’t have a car myself it’s parents’ car’s there’s a red one and a white one

47. can you change a tire? yup I just haven’t gone the change to do that

48. your favorite state? a state of ✨confusion and Anxiety✨

49. favorite job you’ve had? never really had a job before. For I no qualities that would anyone

50. Tagging: @theoldkenzari @there-a-tv-joe @nicolodestati @scimitar-and-longsword @goalkeepernerd @just-a-dream-x @nickykaysani @nickygenovas @nico-di-genova @nicelytousled . It absolutely fine if you don’t want to do it and if you already did it then ignore it please. Thank you 💕

[ggomo]

Hey 👋🏼👋🏼 my name is Kai and I'm a huge Mamamoo fan (and a soft wheesa shipper). I don't know if you write any fanfictions but I was scrolling through your blog and I saw your tags under the MAMAMOO 'Windflower' concept video about the potential characters each of them would be in the story and it sounds SO GOOD. I personally don't have time to write but if you do it or know anyone who would do it that would be so cool! I'm totally not expecting it to happen but I loved the idea. That's all🤗

this you mean? you and me both fam. i would love me to sit down and write something. LMAO

megan’s fantastic gifset

# 1980s HK AU

The rolling greens of the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club stretched endlessly in the New Territories. Its very existence clawing back some of the most expensive real-estate in the world for a moment of indulgence in a busy city. The pearls hung heavy against her neck clinging to her skin in the humidity as Yongsun fanned herself with gloved hands. As the new wife to Consulate General of South Korea and a generally high ranking diplomat afforded her many luxuries - not all of which were fully appreciated in this moment as she melted in the July heat.

“The grass is imported from Cairo, marvellous really.”

A chortle was heard nearby as her husband laughed it up with a friend. Her caddie was a wiry thin boy who alternated between keeping her drink topped up and fanning her carefully, abashedly. In the sweltering heat she began to forget the difference between the night markets she had weaved through in Kowloon just a few days before.

The light silt that was barely noticeable in marble monolith mansions of Deep Water Bay took on a grittier quality in Kowloon and covered absolutely everything, getting wedged into her satin heels as she walked through narrow alleys, her knit suit gently steeping in menthol smoke. Through the neon signed pawnshop, past the open air butchers was a well-hidden haunt manned by a local legend, the Lioness of Kowloon. She had her hand in all the best imported alcohol and was left well alone by racketeers as she traded in the most important commodity of all, secrets. Few entered via the front entrance, and even fewer left from it. But Yongsun hadn't known that.

Yongsun had been led through the frantic markets by a flash of blonde hair and an unexpected phrase uttered in an even more unexpected language. A slight woman in tweed jacket and scholarly demeanour expertly weaved and ducked through the crowds, leaving behind a faint scent of sea salt and lavender. Yongsun watched enraptured as the woman effortlessly vaulted over a small vegetable display on the ground, brown leather loafers landing gently on the other side.

***

“Professor Moon!”

Moon Byulyi stiffened, half a rice noodle roll still at her lips. She looked directly past her faculty assistant enthusiastically waving her down, adamant not to see her. She was sick today. Technically, she had given sick notice to the board today for something minor. Pneumonia, was it? There was yet another gala event in the University tonight with some influential politician looking to make a mark. Out of personal morals and her understanding of political nuances Byulyi had decided not to be seen supporting said political figure. Her eyes wandered to the outside courtyard, where the main thoroughfare of the market congregated. Her eyes caught a fish out of water, a 20 or 30 something woman of means, idling in the flood of market-goers.  Byulyi wanted to shout at her that two pickpockets were winding their way through the crowds toward her as the woman clutched her purse tightly in hand, expression slightly vacant. The more she observed, the more she sensed a feeling of familiarity. The two pickpockets looked no older than teens, but under the midday sun she caught a glimmer of steel...blades.

씨발.

Byulyi vaulted over the bannister and grabbed the woman by the wrist as she lead her deeper into the crowd away from danger.

There's a small gasp after she swears and Byulyi realises she's said it out loud. For the first time Byulyi turns around and looks at the woman face on.

"You."

***

The dark interior of the bar opened up behind a velvet curtain to reveal an empty backroom dominated by a singular mahjong table.

“Hyejin, won’t you teach me more Korean?” Wheein bats her eyelashes. Manicured fingers expertly rearranged rows of tiles as she rested one elbow on her knee. Hyejin smirks as she leans against the doorframe lazily overseeing grunts ferry in boxes and crates of botanical gin and some truly delicious single malts. There's the slight din of her refrigeration unit that drowns the summer insect chorus. Wheein shrugged slightly as she swung her legs on the edge of the table.  

To say Ahn Hyejin was beholden to the Sun Yee On triad would be false, but it would be just as inaccurate to claim no affiliation.  Most knew Jung Wheein as the daughter of high ranking triad lieutenant and some Korean woman he had met, but not wed.  But only those privy to the more lurid details could truly appreciate her formidability. Jung Wheein had handily become her father’s favourite above siblings and established her own place in the organisation dabbling in gambling, moneylaundering and other less savoury endeavours.

The front entrance slammed open. An angry pattering of leather soles hit the tiles reverberating. Tearing open the curtain with one hand a flurry of blonde entered the parlour with heavy shoulders and an uncharacteristic scowl. Byulyi picked up a crystal tumbler and poured herself some respite, finally slowing down to take a seat. She motioned for the other two to look to the door behind her. Seconds later, crisp white heels descended the stairs to the underbelly of Hong Kong.

“Start the game Hyejin! I’ve found you a fourth.” She spat, raising her glass in mock salute.

[artificiary-fr]

ok so arti’s unnecessary opinion time

Just wanna give a disclaimer that these are just my sort of thoughts in general, and are in no way an attempt to demean, attack, or cause drama about any artist or staff member, or community member. Just kind of what I’ve observed and come to the questions/conclusions of. I got a little opinionated at the end but I tried not to single anyone out save for I think, one unnamed example? 

I’ll put everything under the cut here, because I know I have a tendency to get wordy (and spoiler: It did. This is a super long post, I’m sorry). So, here we go...

TL;DR: I like the gene, I’ll wait for the revamp before giving a concrete opinion, there were definitely some issues, I appreciate that staff took note/action, more communication like this or the dev streams is good (though communication between staff/community is a Thing unto itself of which I probably have a Disliked Take on and that was the really long part that isn’t necessary to read)

Okay before anything: the familiars. They’re super pretty! I like the recolors, and now I’m gonna have to grind the Kelp Beds for those boss fams. Dang. I love the kitty golem recolor.

With that out of the way, here we are - the subject of today’s discussions... Glowtail.

So, my first opinion: It’s not a bad gene! I can see some curious use for it, certainly. But there are some problems with it (and yes; I am aware staff has addressed this and pulled it to fix those problems! That’ll be more relevant later on here c: )

Note One: I think I do understand why it is a gem gene. Yes, design/thematically it does appear to fit the bill of a Baldwin Gene more. But I’d like to posit it’s the completion of a gem-gene set - Wasp/Bee/Glowtail. So in that regard, it makes sense!

Note Two: My personal opinion with the gene is that I like it, but it feels... hm. Plain isn’t correct. Like it’s missing something, I guess? I wish the segmenting was a little more prominent, and that the glow or gradient had a little more glitz/glamor, maybe some glitteries around the hips, to really sell it as a gem gene. I do like the glow we have on the other bits of dragon like light reflection, though, because it adds a little bit of dimension! All in all however even so, I do like it, and I won’t cement my opinion until we see what their updated version looks like in the future.

Note Three (The Problems): The art errors. What... what happened here?

As we’ve noticed, male snappers and male tundras are the two big offenders, with large chunks of color erroneously sitting outside the lineart quite noticeably. There is also part of the ‘glow’ (the aforementioned light reflection) that doesn’t make sense - being on parts of the dragon where it shouldn’t be, like on the front of wings where the tail is not in front of said limb, but behind.

But like... how did this not get caught before it got posted? Was it a time crunch, or it just... didn’t get quality checked before this happened? It’s really unfortunate. :c

Something I do with my art - and this is just my own process/thoughts - is when I’ve put down the base color, before I do any shading/highlights/big details, I pop a layer underneath the entire drawing and fill it with a high contrast color to the palette. That way any bits where I missed coloring in - or didn’t clean up outside the lines - becomes super noticeable, and I can fix it then instead of being a problem later. Maybe doing something like this before throwing the gene through the color automation process would’ve helped?

Last Note:

I feel like part of why these errors went unnoticed is because of how often, and sometimes how rushed, some of these updates have been - and this has been more noticeable in this year than otherwise. Is it because of community dissent with wanting more updates creating more crunch? Due to low-attention reticence creating a need for pushing more ad revenue / more “come to the site there’s new”?

I’m unsure, but it’s unfortunate nonetheless. I think staff, and FR as a whole, would benefit from like... hm. How to word this...

Maybe taking more time on updates / a more extended schedule so things aren’t as crunch (of course this being said, I don’t know what the workload is like so I can’t even say if crunch is applicable), and more open communication? Like how the dev streams were going - that was pretty well liked and everyone I know got pretty excited to see em and how the art was doing. It also opened up the avenue for more open communication / more nuanced opinions or thoughts.

---

But herein lies the huge issue, I think, with communication. This is the part where I’d like to reiterate, this is just my observations, and is not intended as an attack, a vaguepost, or deliberate callout at anybody. There’s no malicious intent here. This bit could also be construed as drama I suppose, and I apologize for that because again - not the intent. Just my take.

I’ve noticed posts going ‘no drama please’ or being tired when new updates come out of like, ‘oh boy here comes the negativity’ so I don’t think it’s just me who’s seen it, but have you guys noticed when anything new comes out, there’s an immediate rush of extreme salt and negativity?

And I don’t mean posts where its like “it’s not for me” or “I don’t like it but here’s [detailed/explained reason why]” - those are the nuanced opinions I mean. Those are fine. I mean the ones where people in forums, or on the more prolific drama blogs, are just.... mean/empty? Like “FUCK staff I hate how lazy they are with this it’s shitty looking” - that really vocal generally super salty in general minority of the community. Just hate without explanation, or just kind of aimless generalized attack/complaint.

I think that’s where communication with Staff fell off the bandwagon. The really loud, really vocal minority of folks who throw super salt or yell “This Sucks You Suck” completely overshadow the people who are well intentioned with sharing their opinions or problems/criticisms. The toxic bits and really vitriolic words are what gets seen and noticed. I think this is the majority of what gets heard, which is why communication got so closed off / shut down unless positive, in recent times. Do I agree with that? No, I don’t either - but I’m just looking at this from the outside. Idk how staff feels or thinks.

And this goes for both people who don’t like the content, and people that do.

Remember that the Keel thread got locked because someone who was white-knighting started getting real nasty with people in the thread, and going to extremes insulting artists who did mock-ups to help visualize their thoughts/opinions and was just being a real douche?

What I really wish was that we could have more open communication. Some of the things I really liked to see were like: Dev Streams, Community Updates/Q&A, Opinion Polls, That Update Progress on Breed/Gene Progress from a while back. All of that was excellent. And I like to see the community responding in well thought out ways! I like to see staff more hands on too! We’re only human and love this site and our dragons and want to see it at it’s best - but they’re also only human, and make mistakes, and we don’t know what’s goin on in there, just out here.

Trello is a really good way to kind of show that communication, and is transparent, but isn’t free-to-use for businesses, so... of course I also don’t know how Stormlight Workshop runs their business/hours so I’m just blowing hot smoke. But anyway, I think everyone would benefit from slowing down and opening up. If things are going slow, that’s okay - if Staff opens up to the community and says “This is taking longer than expected, but here’s upcoming releases / current in-progresses” I think we’d be like oh okay things are happening and it’ll be nice! As compared to everyone gets super antsy, nothing’s happening, no-one is talking... and then we get hit with a bunch of updates, some of which, like today’s, have... issues.

Of course then I worry that with more open talking or “we’re experiencing delays” the more vitriolic will get even angrier/saltier which doesn’t... help... but I mean... yeah. 

ANYWAY so I’ve written a full dissertation essay here without really intending to (see? I warned y’all! I ramble/don’t shut up ahahaha) so I’m gonna just stop myself here before I start going in circles. This last chunk I don’t really know what the meat of what I was trying to say was, now, I think. Sorry about that. It was just “here’s my stream of consciousness” apparently ^^;;;;

Have a good evening y’all! Thanks for listenin’ to my (rant?) if y’all made it this far. You’re appreciated and thank you for letting me bend your ears! Stay safe in this crazy world, hang in there, and have a good one!