#so yeah. i thought working on my novel that is about 2 tennis players & is partially set at wimbledon would make me feel better

[fingertipsmp3]

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[fansofvow]

Fan Spotlight 🎉

Today’s Spotlight belongs to a very talented artist, @mcbatty​. Her work is shared all over Tumblr and I’m sure you’ve come across some of her beautiful pieces at some point. She picked the following image to represent herself:

Handle: Mc Batty or Batty

Nationality? I’m French... But I don’t live in France! *laugh* Yeah, I know, that’s not nice but if you’re curious maybe you’ll know where I live. Here’s a tip: It’s an island.

Where can we find your art?  I’m currently on Tumblr (McBatty) and Instagram (McBatty0123).

How/when did you discover Lovestruck? I discovered Lovestruck the 25 November 2017. It was the very beginning of the app. For the new one who just discover the game, at this moment Lovestruck already made some Book (Gangster In Love, Astoria Fate’s Kiss, Castaway, Speakeasy Tonight and Love And Protect if I remember right) and they were entirely individual games. I mean, they were games you need to download and play and to read the chapter you needed to PAY. Then they made Lovestruck, the game you know right now.

When I downloaded, I was tired of Japanese game who always make lesbian couple ashamed of their sexual orientation (“I know we’re both girl but”, or “I know it’s wrong but”. Oh Please! For god sake!)

What was your first route? Medusa from Astoria Fate’s Kiss. It was the very first time that I saw Medusa design like a so beautiful woman who wear flannel and is a gangster but not with weird monster hair, not a strong character who is actually a bad person and is physically sexualize for a male audience. Really.

Are you currently following any route? Yvette Holte is the woman I’m searching for in my life *laugh* so yeah, I’m reading her route! Also, Amara Of The Summer who is absolutely awesome, Onyx Wren, Nora Le Fay, Lucas Charming and Jessa Flexand.

Which route is your favorite? It’s a difficult question. I can’t choose one unfortunately but from my stats it’s Vanessa Helsing.

Were you aware of the writers’ strike when it was happening? Yes, I do and I supported them. I still do but I think right now, the best thing we can do to support them more is bring new player to the game and make advertising with our friends. The strike was a success and now, it’s to us to make the next step.

Who are your Top 3 LIs according to the app? Are they still your top three?

Top 1 Vanessa

Top 2 Yvette

Top 3 Medusa

I didn’t change my mind; they are the best and I have standard! *laugh*

What artist inspires you? It was an anime made in 1988 who is actually my favorite sport anime ever. It’s more a drama than sport to be honest and I don’t know if people who read this interview ever watched it. If you didn’t please do

The name is Ace O Nerae 2 Ace O Nerae Final Stage. (the sequel). The first one wasn’t that good so if you want to watch it, you can watch the OAV who summarize all of it.

Ace O Nerae 2 and Final Stage is an anime about Tennis and a girl whose name is Hiromi Oka was pushed to the top of this sport all thanks to her coach Jin Munakata. Unfortunately, when she went to the play Final in another country, her coach died from a disease. You see her go through the death of this man who meant so much to her and play the sport he loves so much and made her love it as much as he was.

Now when it came to picking a favorite piece of art, she had skipped that. When I asked her why, this is what she asked me to answer: I don't have any favorite. I think deeply that my favorite one is the one people who follow me love most. It’s them who love my art after all.  Use this as the answer to the question because its the truth.

I then offered to pick a piece that I personally liked to showcase some of her work and she agreed, so the following the images are ones I chose as things that really appealed to me:

This is just lovely

This was a commissioned piece of Liora that I thought was stunning. But have a look for yourself at her work. You’ll see how hard it is to pick just one! And now back to the interview!

Do you have a favorite screenshot? I am not ashamed

What would you say to someone considering reading Lovestruck? To be honest, what I will say right now is not for straight girls or boys. I maybe am straightophobic (I dunno if this word exists lmao. If it is, I’m not. Most of my friends are straight and I don’t have any choice considering they are the majority in this planet) but it’s true: they have multiple great visual novel games with great stories but gay or lesbian only have a few with questionable quality most of times.

BUT This game has so many lgbt love interest (and a gay male MC) and you’re not forced to see the female MC drool over a male character because HE is the real romance in the game for her! There is no real love interest, you choose the character you want to see the route and you play it to see this romance. The MC and her even get marry and have child together most of time. You don’t see this in any other games. At least, I didn’t.

The stories are well written, the art is absolutely awesome (!), it has lgbt diversity, they talk about sensitive topic which happen in relationship or not a lot, it has +18 scene, they don’t kink shame you (because for me this is absolutely awful. Everyone is different, please respect each other), you can pay for some special choice but can also have the Hearts to unlock them without it, and… I dunno if I said it before but the writers are doing a real great job!

Give it a try! You won’t regret it!

Finally, one LI, 24 hours to do whatever you want: who is it and what do you do? To be honest, I would like to spend my day with Onyx. I have a brother myself who looks like Vinca but softer so I understand what she feels about her sis. Furthermore, she is an artist. Making fashionable handmade clothes is difficult and you need to know how to draw to do this. She’s open, smiles a lot, she reaches for what she wants…

I feel close to her somehow.

I would like to spend my day with her and use it to make her feel better and smile for real more. If at the end of the day she had fun for real and not think about her sister once with me then it’s all I could ask for. She’s precious and I would like to make her feel she is that.

As long as she feels great then I’m good.

I’m that kind of girl.

Thank you very much for allowing me the pleasure to answer your question.

[oddcoupler222]

I think you've mentioned you've been reading more lesbian books that arent fanfic, any recommendations?

YOU BET YOUR ASS I DO

1. Behind the Green Curtain by Riley Lashea -

(legitimately the best romance I have ever, ever read. I recommend it to anyone who loves lesbian romance and if you follow me, I assume you do)

In which - Caton has a job that she doesn’t love but it pays the bills… And she has to put up with Jack, her sleazy as fuck boss. Her sleazy as fuck boss who then hires her for an obscene amount of money to be his wife, Amelia’s, personal assistant.

Caton intends to keep her head down. Just get the work done and make her money, ignoring how incredibly hot - and emotionally cold - Amelia is, but her attraction to her makes that very difficult.

Caton and Amelia embark on a torrid affair that starts with crazy hot but confusing sex, because Caton doesn’t understand where exactly she stands with Amelia. It gradually turns into one of the most meaningful/deep love stories guaranteed to hit you deep in the emotions.  

Honestly. Read it. You won’t regret it. The only caveat I can think of is technically that there is adultery, but Jack is the biggest scumbag who has affairs of his own so.

2. All That Matters by Susan X Meagher -

Blair Spencer’s life seems to be going pretty well. She’s a highly successful real estate agent and is married to David, who respects that she is highly independent and likes to live her own life. The hitch in her life is that they are struggling to have a baby, and while she is all for adoption, David desperately wants a biological child.

They go to a practice that specializes in fertility, and while there she meets Kylie Mackenzie, a lesbian surgeon. Kylie is brilliant, funny, and beautiful, but remains single because she doesn’t want to settle for anything less than that passionate, all-consuming kind of love.

Realizing that they have a lot of interests in common after seeing each other out around town, Blair and Kylie strike up a friendship. Over the next months/year, Blair’s marriage starts to crumble and their friendship grows impossibly deeper, giving way to Kylie falling in love with her supposedly straight best friend and Blair learning about what it means to really fall in love.

It’s hard to describe without going into a ton of plot detail, but let me assure you that this is really the best best best friends to lovers journey and I guarantee it will move you.

3. Who’d Have Thought by G Benson - in case you’re looking for a fake romance, don’t you worry… I’ve got you

Hayden Perez is a nurse in New York, who - for a few reasons - is struggling to make ends meet. She comes across an ad late one night in which someone is offering 200,000 dollars to get married for a year, no questions asked. She does realize how crazy it sounds and doesn’t seriously want to do it… but the money is too good to turn her back on.

It gets especially difficult when it turns out that the person behind the offer is Samantha Thomson, a neurosurgeon who works at the same hospital, who comes off as cold and rude at work, and is someone she’s never especially liked.

Now she’s supposed to convince everyone, including her best friend, that she is so in love with a woman she notoriously has disliked, that she wants to rush into marriage with her - plus the fact that you know, she has to move in with and get married to said woman - should be no problem. At all.

The book I read that got me into the rabbit hole of lesbian romance novels! Two compelling leads and an engaging plot… it’s the best fake romance I’ve found. The biggest hang up I had going into it is that it is somewhat of an age gap which isn’t hugely my thing as you may know. But there’s no other power dynamic at play or anything and I can lose myself enough in the plot.

Those are my, in order, top 3 would recommend to anyone, lesbian romance novels.

and because I’m me, guess who is going to recommend even more!

- Damage Control by Jae -

The incredibly beautiful and talented Grace Durand is an America’s Sweetheart kind of actress. Which means it doesn’t bode well for her career when rumors flair up that she’s not exactly straight - which, she is (so she thinks).

In an effort to squash the rumors, she hires a new publicist, Lauren Pearce… without realizing that Lauren is a lesbian.

Lauren has been in/around Hollywood for her entire life and has seen it all and dealt with it all. At least, she thought she had, before she realizes Grace really is a sweetheart and suddenly she might be dealing with her own work life nightmare of falling for a client.

(Honestly, I’ve never been like blown away by a book by Jae, but I’ve read almost all of them because they are all very solid and engaging. So if a book by Jae appeals to you by the plot, I would definitely recommend it)

Just For Show, also by Jae - 

Claire Renshaw, an anal retentive, compulsive yet amazingly successful couples therapist, seems to have everything going for her: a fiance that she’s been with for years and is almost done with her book about how to make it last as a couple… until her fiance breaks up with her at their engagement party, and she finds herself in a lurch with her book deal, because who wants to buy a book about making your relationship last from a couples therapist who can’t make her relationship last?

In comes out of work actress, Lana Henderson, who doesn’t realize until after her “audition” that she’d been auditioning for the role of Claire’s fiance. They couldn’t be more different, with Claire’s strict rules and serious demeanor and Lana’s more impulsive, cluttered lifestyle, but they just have to make it through until Claire’s book contact gets signed, and then they can go their separate ways. Unless opposites really do attract…

(not as great, imo, as a fake romance as Who’d Have Thought, but a light and entertaining read just the same)

- Scissor Link by Georgette Kaplan -

Wendy Cedar is an employee at Savin Aerospace with a massive crush on her boss, recent divorcee, Janet Lace. After Janet accidentally stumbles upon Wendy’s email about a sex dream she’s been having, she decides to see if the reality can live up to the fantasy. But when the relationship starts to be more than a kinky office romance, the two have to decide if they can make it as a couple or if they were better off as boss and employee.

(Plot-wise, this is admittedly not the most solid tale. It’s good! But could have been better. But honestly, Wendy as a character is hilarious and so engaging, it was easy to let go of any issues I had with anything else because she won me over completely)

- Love All by Rachel Spangler -

Throughout her long career, professional tennis player Jay Pierce has been burned by both players and the press. She’s learned the hard way that she can trust no one and nothing, especially her own judgment. So, when she starts one last career comeback, she knows the only hope she has to redeem her legacy is to go it alone.

Sadie Larsen knows virtually nothing about the world of professional tennis when her daughter, Destiny, breaks onto the women’s tour at the age of 17. She learned everything she needed to know about single parenting on her own, and she knows she can do the same now that the stakes are higher than ever—all she has to do is stay laser-focused on protecting her family of two.

Neither Jay nor Sadie expects the path ahead to be easy. Each believes she’s prepared to face every single challenge with the stony resolve of a woman who has been counted out and bet against her entire life. The only thing neither woman had counted on was each other.

As Jay and Destiny fight their battles on the court, Sadie and Jay fight their attraction off it. Can they survive the crushing crucible of competition, press pressure, and parenting, or will love all really mean no one goes home a winner?

(once again, much like Jae, most books by Rachel Spangler are pretty  good. But this is by far the best I’ve found, and also the best sports related romance)

soooo, yeah! I have some other recs but these would be my top - especially the first 3. and especially the first 1.

[irphanfic]

Moonshot - Chapter 9

I’m finally back with Moonshot! Yay! I’m sorry if the updates are getting slower, but this week has been a bit crazy and I’m struggling a bit more than usual to write so I’m sorry.

Anyways, as always, any type of feedback is welcome!

summary: Phil had a feeling that this Friday was going to be different.

That didn’t mean he was ready to meet his favourite baseball player, Daniel Howell, while he was cleaning the windows of a building. 

or the au in which Phil is a shy window cleaner and Dan is a famous baseball player. This is their story.

words: 3.1k

no trigger warnings

Read on ao3 - (x)

Chapters: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

Chapter 9: Photographs

Wednesday came and Phil was dreading going to work. Today Dan was leaving for that 'secret project' and Phil didn't want to face the fact that he wouldn't be seeing him in a week.

They spent yesterday night talking over the phone till Phil yawned like three times in less than a minute and decided it was time to say goodbye. A few other 'I'll miss you' and 'have a nice time' were exchanged, as if none of them wanted to stop talking to the other.

Sighing, Phil got ready for day and walked calmly to his work, enjoying the nice morning sun that was colouring the tall buildings in pretty oranges and yellows.

As he had done so many times, he put on his earphones and started cleaning the tall windows that were  becoming too familiar to his liking.

Sooner than expected, Phil found himself at the top floor, smiling a bit at the familiar sightings. Dan had left his flat in a bit of a mess; a few socks, a pair of trousers and two t-shirts lying on the carpeted floor. The blue eyed guessed it was because Dan was such a 'last-minute' guy he probably did his suitcase after their phonecall.

Phil smiled and shook his head, 'This guy'.

Sighing rather loudly, knowing that no one could hear him up there, Phil took out his cleaning products and was about to spray them into the windows when he spotted something stuck to them.

Deciding to investigate, Phil walked towards whatever that was, laughing as he saw a row of polaroid pictures, each one a Dan selfie where he kept making cute or 'ugly' faces, one word written  with black marker at the bottom white space of them, the familiar hand writting bringing a few flashbacks onto his mind.

Admiring each photograph Phil read every word, arranging them into a proper sentece:

'So – you – don't – forget – this – ugly – face. – See – you – soon. – ♥'

Phil wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. This was the sweetest thing someone had made for him.

Dan was such a considerate guy. He kept surprising Phil in many ways no one had ever done before and he really found this details endearing,

''Ugly face, he says, ugh.'' Phil said to himself, still staring at the small pictures, appreciating the  bush of curls and deep brown eyes that he was starting to miss already.

Could this week be over, already?

______________

It was around lunch time when Dan landed in a cloudy Ireland, quickly hoping into the car the company had ready for him just outside the airport and driving to a very lively rural-looking city. Once he left the suitcase in his hotel bedroom, the same driver drove Dan to the location where he would be working.

After almost half an hour, a beautiful landscape appeared in front of his eyes. A hill full of different tones of greens with multiple spots of lilac and yellow flowers that the wind was calmly moving, leaving Dan breathless at the sight.

Dan got out of the car, admiring the scenery in front of him. 'I would love to come here with Phil.' he thought. They would love this, it was so nice. Dan was already thinking of coming here with a blanket and spend the day with his head on Phil's lap as the blue eyed read to him for hours. Yeah, it seemed like a perfect date.

Suddenly, a strong voice startled him, ''Dan Howell, long time no see!''

Already smiling, Dan turned around only to see Peter Wright. He had been the director of the last campaign and it seemed like he was the one for this new one too. Great, at least a familiar face Dan could spot around.

Dan greeted him back which led to a quick conversation while Peter showed Dan around and what he wanted to do for this campaign.

Apparently, he and his modeling partner Claire would be trying different outfits of their new  clothing range. They wanted to keep a 'rustic aesthetic' as Peter described, so that's why the landscape was a must.

''Also, we want you and Claire act like star-crossed lover. Runaways who left their actual lives to continue with their love somewhere else, what leads us to living a non-approved romance in a rural village. Yeah, a bit weird concept but you will see. Expect a few sensual shots in the next few days but nothing that you haven't done before, of course,'' Peter mentioned.

Dan almost frowned but somehow managed to control his hace expressions. He could act like a 'lover' with Claire, he had done that a few times in the past, but would he be comfortable now that he was almost in a relationship with Phil? Well, it was acting. And, believe it or not, acting had always been one of Dan's passions and even though it could be a bit pretentious, he considered himself a pretty good actor at this point.

''We will make a few test-photos today and tomorrow, see what light settings, make-up and more we will work with so we can work properly in the next few days,'' Peter said, finally arriving to an open space with a few tents where a crew was franatically running around.

Peter showed Dan what would be his changing and lounging room and left him for a few minutes till he came back with Claire Vickard, who had been one of the best tennis players in the last three years. It was really a privilege to work with someone so professional.

''Dan Howell, nice to finally meet you. Claire Vickard,'' she showed him a small smile and handed him a hand which he shook.

''Hello Claire, nice to meet you too,'' Dan repeated, also smiling.

Once Peter pitched them three into a conversation Dan's mind wandered till his eyes landed on Claire.

She was tall, not as tall as Dan, but she had a pretty good height that seemed to heighten thanks to her black and sleek ponytail letting him see her face features better, making her clear green eyes look even greener.

'They are not like Phil's' Dan almost groaned at the though. Yeah, her eyes might be greener than Phil's, but her features reminded him so much of the window cleaner it wouldn't be that easy to forget about said person.

It was going to be difficult. Pretty difficult.

______________

The day was finally over. It was 9pm and Phil had managed to have a productive afternoon of developing ideas that had potential to be a proper novel, wiriting whatever came into his mind and writing a few paraghaphs or pages at least. After a nice dinner and some cereal he decided to just lay on his bed watching a movie on his laptop, browsing to see which one he could pick that he hadn't watched yet.

He had messaged Dan earlier, thanking him for the pictures and reminidng him he didn't have 'an ugly face' but he hadn't gotten any response yet, meaning he was busy or simply wanted to disconnect from the world a bit.

As if reading his mind, his phone vibrated, quickly picking it up from his nightsand Phil saw a new message from Dan, 'can you skype? wanna see you.'

'Sure, let me call you.'

Phil closed his movie folder and opened Skype, easily calling Dan who after a minute appeared on the screen, almost in the same position as Phil, leaning against the headboard of what seemed a king sized bed, some pillows supporting his back. Dan's smiley face was tinted with the yellow light coming from a nightstand lamp, making his black t-shirt stand out even more.

''Hi'' Phil said shyly, regarding the old pyjamas he was wearing, not having even tought about changing.

''Hello, how was your day?'' Dan asked from the other side, his voice sounded happy but tired, Phil hoped he wasn't keeping him up even though Dan had been the one to ask to Skype.

''Nah, nothing much, just went to work and saw your super ugly pictures stuck to the windows.'' Phil joked, making them both chuckle, ''But, it was a very nice surprise, so thank you so much.'' he said sincerely.

''You're welcome. I wanted to make something nice for you since you are letting me read your manuscript which, by the way, it's going pretty well. It has me very intrigued.'' Dan picked up the stack of papers from the nightstand and showed it to Phil. He could spot a bright green post-it note marking Dan's reading. He noticed it wasn't very advanced, but enough to at least have read two chapters.

''Yeah? Are you liking it so far?'' Phil asked worried about his response.

''I'm really liking it. It has the perfect amount of mystery and sci-fi elements I like in a novel,'' Dan said.

Phil pulled a surprised face. Dan was enjoying his novel and he couldn't be happier. ''yeah? You really like it? You are not just saying it because it's me, right?''

''Of course not! I think this is your opportunity, Phil. This is good, like, really good.''

''Tell that to publishing houses... All I have received are rejection emails,'' Phil muttered under his breath, not knowing if Dan had heard.  

''Believe me, I think this is your big chance. Just, wait a bit more, I'm sure you will get good news soon,'' Dan said, giving him a smile, hoping Phil would cheer up a bit.

''I hope so, it has been so difficult... I have been writing since I finished my degree and I just don't know anymore... Maybe writing isn't for me, after all,'' Phil didn't really want to make this Skype call so upseting, but he needed to talk about it and Dan seemed like he was willing to listen to him and give him all support he needed.

''Phil, listen, writing is your passion. Writing is your definitely your thing. You of all people deserve to be an author. And you will become one, I know. It might take a bit more of time but believe me, you will make it.''

''Thank you,'' Phil croaked out, his voice a bit emotional. Dan's encouraging words were all he needed, ''I really needed to hear that.''

''You, Phil Lester, will be a future author, okay?'' Dan repeated.

Phil nodded, trying to get those words inside his brain. ''I'm sorry for ranting, I just, I felt like I needed to get that out of my chest...''

''Hey, don't worry, you can count on me for everything.'' Dan said, his beautiful smile not fading from his face. Oh, how he wished he could be with Dan now, cuddling and maybe kissing under the blankets...

''I wish I could hug you right now.'' Phil whispered.

''I wish I could hug you too.'' Dan repeated in the same tone, grabbing one of the throw pillows he had on his bed and clutching it to his chest, yawning in the process.

Phil decided it was time to go to bed. He didn't want to keep Dan up much longer, he must had had a long day in this 'secret project' and sure he needed to rest.

''You're tired, talk to you tomorrow?'' Phil suggested, offering him a small smile.He saw Dan tried to fight his tiredness, but another yawn made him backtrack.

''Okay, good night, Phil.'' Dan waved at him, ''Miss you.''

''Miss you too, Dan'' Phil managed to say before they hung up.

Needless to say they both fell asleep hugging a pillow as close to them as possible.

______________

The rest of the week went calm for Dan. He found it really easy to work with Claire since she was so professional. Peter would shout phrases like 'hands lower!', 'caress each other's face, yeah that's it!' and they acted it as natural as it could get. While they were resting they took time to know the other, bonding so well and quickly at the same time Dan could consider Claire a friend already.

Also, he and Phil had been Skyping each night to speak about everything and nothing. Dan managed to read a bit more of Phil's manuscript everyday, even if it was just a few pages, but he really was enjoying the story.

Phil didn't get enough credit, that for sure. Oh, boy. How much he missed him.

It was Monday evening now and they were going to a lake to shoot a few of Peter's famous 'sensual photos' since he wanted to picture a ''lustful swimming sunset scene'' as he had expressed yesterday.

The lake indeed was also as beautiful as the field they had been working on till now. Dark water reaching the surprising sandy shore with tall rocky mountains to they right and left, making shadows along the water thanks to the now orange sunlight that reached the scenenery.

So, after takinga  few pictures to send later to Phil, Dan did as he was told, put on the swimsuit he was supposed to wear and left his changing room, spotting Claire in her bikini already waiting for him.

''How are you so fast on the field and so slow at changing clothes, uh?'' Claire teased him, making the both chuckle.

''Must be a baseball player thing, I guess,'' Dan replied, not managing to say anything else since Peter called at them both to go into the water.

It was cold (it was freaking Ireland, of course it was cold!) and both of them were shivering at first, but after Peter told them to swim around bit at first it was okay.

''Okay, we will do a few out of the water shots first and them underwater, fine with that?'' eh director said, who received a quick nod from both of the athletes.

Dan and Claire swam around, 'flirting' as they had been doing with the other pictures before, splashing water and giving suggestive glances to each other. Peter shouted from the shore that they needed to get closer and act a bit more 'lustful' so Claire laced her arms around Dan's neck and Dan's hands traveled to her waist, standing up with their feet touching the sand unterwater, the water surrounding them by their thighs.

Claire trailed a few kisses along Dan's jaw, reaching his ear and whispering silly things as Dan tried not to laugh, keeping a serious face for the shake of the shoot and deciding to move his mouth down to Claire's shoulder, leaving a few kisses there. Dan tried to pull her closer but somehow managed to make them both lose their balance, sending them both splashing into the water, instantly laughing.

They heard Peter's laugh cut the repetive clicking of the camera sutter from the shore, probably meaning they should be done with this part of the shot, ''Okay, let's do the underwater shoots before the light fades''.

Peter instructed them once again, meaning one of his helpers would be going underwater with them and these shots would involve kissing, like 'proper kissing, tongue included'.

When Dan heard those words he wanted to believe he hadn't heard the right. 'Proper kissing' meant the opposite to chaste-like pecks on cheeks, of course. It was acting and he knew it but Phil... Dan was sure that by the time the campaign pictures were out he would have already asked Phil to be his boyfriend, he was sure of it, so it should be fine.

''You okay, Dan? I hope I'm not that horrible to kiss!'' Claire said jokingly.

Dan chuckled. He would have told Claire about Phil, he would have, but he wasn't sure if Phil would have wanted that, ''It's just that I wasn't expecting more kissing but yeah, I'm sure you will be... okay to kiss'' he teased, getting a fake offended huff from Claire, who looked like she wanted to say something else but Peter's words cut her off.

''You two, stop bickering and back into the water, you will start kissing out of it and slowly submerge into the water. Once you feel oxygen is necessary, just come up. We can repeat it a few times, understood?''

They both nodded, knowing there wasn't any other alternative to Peter's words. A bit awkwardly, they walked back into the water, swimming further than before and latching into each other for balance, staring at each other's eyes.

Dan looked into Claire's green eyes and wet black hair, her features reminding him once again how much he wished he was with Phil right now... Maybe if Dan imagined he was with Phil instead...

He felt Claire's arms tighten around his neck, bringing him a bit closer so he did the same, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes before slowly pressing their lips together. Dan felt Claire bit his lower lip for entrance, which he allowed for a while imagining it was Phil who he was kissing.

Phil and only Phil.

Dan grabbed Claire's hips a bit tighter before sending them both purposely under the water, trying to keep the kiss passionate and professional as possible as long as their lungs allowed them too.

After a while, oxygen became necessary so they separated their mouths and rapidly swam back up, breathing for air as they once again held each other for balance.

Heavily inhaling and exhaling, Dan looked at Claire, remainding his brain that she wasn't Phil.

She. Was. Not. Phil.

Dan's chest felt heavy. He just wanted to see Phil now, be close to him so he could feel better about all of this but he knew that was going to be impossible. He just wanted to arrive to the hotel and curl up under the blankets while he skyped the blue eyed, seeing his tired and sleepy face across the crappy webcam as he had done everyday since Wednesday.

Suddenly he heard Peter's voice calling them, saying that they were done for today so they could go back to their hotel, meaning the day was finally over.

So, with a quick 'goodbye, see you tomorrow' to Claire, Dan walked into his changing room, discarding the wet swimsuit before putting back his comfy sweatshirt and jeans, hoping into the car that drove him to his lonely hotel bedroom.

Once he arrived Dan threw himself on the bed and was ready to text Phil when a new message from said person popped into the screen, 'Work was horrible today, I'm extremely tired to Skype today, I'm sorry :(  but talk to you tomorrow? :)'

Dan was a bit disappointed but he understood. Mondays for Phil were pretty much tiring and he guessed he was going to bed early, so even though Dan felt the need to see him he understood. They could talk tomorrow anyways, he could live with that.

'Sure, no worries. We can Skype tomorrow if you are not that tired.' Dan replied, deciding to type a 'Good night. Miss you. ♥' to finish his message, but no response came in, meaning for sure Phil had fallen already asleep.

Chapter 10

[kasssiopeia]

Mynavi News x New Dangan Ronpa V3 Translation

It’s the results of the V3 characters’ popularity ranking and fans’ opinions about them from a campaign by Mynavi. You can view the original page here.

This was my first translation request and I think I flubbed at some parts (esp the mono kubs sigh) but it was a lot of fun to do! Hope it’s understandable!

(I also set up a (kinda unfinished) ko-fi page so if you’d like to buy me a coffee I’d appreciate it ♥ )

There are some minor spoilers for v3 so read at your own risk.

Results under cut (or view it on google docs here with some extra infos about the campaign as well).

Ranking results

Top 1: Ultimate Detective Saihara Shuuichi

Why he got chosen:

Even though he seemed unreliable at first glance, he acted like a proper detective and stole my heart by showing his suffering side too. Right now he’s my favorite character!

He’s good looking but can be cute too, and his deductions make him attractive. I love every part of him. His gloomy perverted side is interesting too.

The way he grew [during the game] was cool. The way he shows emotions like crying, laughing and blushing is fascinating.

Top 2: Ultimate Supreme Leader Ôma Kokichi

Why he got chosen:

I couldn’t take my eyes off the character who literally embodied the game’s theme ‘lies’!

Even though his looks and behavior are cute, you could never tell his real intentions. I loved the creepiness and air of mystery around him.

I didn’t really like him during my first play through the game but after I beat the game, I noticed that some of his lines did have different meanings. It was a lot of fun to think about his character as whole.

Top 3: Ultimate Pianist Akamatsu Kaede

Why she got chosen:

I was charmed by the way she worked hard for everyone while staying positive, and her strong sense of justice. Her conversations with Saihara put me at ease.

Kanda Sayaka-san’s voice is wonderful. Especially her whispering in the love apartment scene was memorable!

There’s no reason why I couldn’t love Akamatsu-chan. I immediately went and rented [the CD with] Debussy’s Clair de la Lune.

Top 4: Ultimate Inventor Iruma Miu

Why she got chosen:

The way how Ishida-san as Iruma uses really dirty jokes but then turns really bashful in the next moment is really cute.

Of course I liked her character design and her two faced-ness as both really aggressive and really shy [literally doS and doM but I don’t feel comfortable with translating them to sadist and masochist since it’s a bit of a different meaning in Japan].

I’ve finally met a character in the Dangan Ronpa series who struck me[? sorry not sure what they mean with “strike character”]. Thank you Kodaka-san.

Top 5 Ultimate Magician Yumeno Himiko

Why she got chosen:

Even if there’s no Boke (character who is “simple minded” in Japanese comedy) she can act as a Tsukkomi (character who lectures the boke in Japanese comedy). Also the way she worries about and believes in the protagonist and her friends while keeping a positive attitude is great. Thanks to her spectacular growth in game she’s become my favorite characters in the series.

I fell for her choice of words and tone, and the sprite where her hat flies up, her unexpectedly high self-evaluation and many more things.

Top 6: Ultimate ??? Amami Rantarô

Why he got chosen:

He seemed to have a very frivolous tone at first glance. I’m basing this off looks but he seems very honest, intellectual, and a thoughtful person.

The enigmatic air around him, his looks and personality were really to my liking! I’m dying to read the spinoff novel.

Top 7: Ultimate Robot Kîbo

Why he got chosen:

I thought he was a very cool character when his design got first released. Even though he turned out to be an unexpectedly pitiful piece of junk of a robot, he still showed more emotions than anyone else (especially his blushing expression made my heart beat faster every time). I don’t know why but I even liked that annoying condescending attitude of his.

I love Kiibo-kun! Even though he is a robot, he feels like the most human out of everyone. His strong sense of justice is really cool! I love his dryer-function!

Top 8: Ultimate Aikido Master Chabashira Tenko

Why she got chosen:

What I liked about her was that even though she said she hated men she also worried about them. Her attentive and kind ways. I liked the ‘tough woman’ aspect of her personality.

I like her clear personality where she likes what she likes and hates what she hates. A girl who looks up to other cute girls and doesn’t realize her own girliness is cute.

Top 9: Ultimate Child Caregiver Harukawa Maki:

Why she got chosen:

Because she became softer and cuter the more the story progressed.

I think she was the one who acted closest to a highschool girl in puberty. Her conversations with other characters gave me a super life-like feeling.Her sulking face is cute.

Top 10: Ultimate Maid Tôjô Kirumi

Why she got chosen:

Seeing someone who works for the benefit of the group from a naturally withdrawn point of view whereas everyone else in the killing game had such a strong personality was wonderful.

I was drawn in by her mental strength and the way she could choose someone else’s beliefs without getting carried away by her own emotions. It’s also cute that she can’t cut konnyaku [a gelatinous food made from a starchy root].

Top 11: Ultimate Astronaut Momota Kaitô

Why he got chosen:

At first I thought he is just an impudent character who uses emotional arguments without a basis only but the way he went through with his character from beginning to end left a big impression on me.

Because he showed both the main character and the player that in a game where the theme is ‘lies’, it’s important to believe in the things you want to believe in. Also everything about him is cool.

Top 12: Ultimate Entomologist Gokuhara Gonta

Why he got chosen:

Because even though he knew that he couldn’t understand logic, he still did his best to participate in the trials. His innocent points were my favorite.

Because he’s an idiot… His single-mindedness struck my heart by the way he always sought to be an excellent gentleman despite being pessimistic sometimes.

Top 13:  Ultimate Anthropologist Shingûji Korekiyo

Why he got chosen:

His appearance, calmness, cleverness, views on love, his thoughts about life and death, the way he explained his thoughts on how various situations play together in folklore and the way he seemed to always show a lot of different emotions… I love everything about Shingûji.

How he had his own philosophy, and even if he was a bit odd, the way he could hold a conversation in his own unique and funny way made me laugh. It was too funny how they turned into lessons about folklore.

Top 14: Ultimate Artist Yonaga Angie

Why she got chosen:

Her movement, her lines, and her voice totally cured me. The power of a tight hug…

Simply because her behaviour is cute. I really love the sprites where her cheeks are super squishy and the one where she stares right into your soul <laugh>.

Top 15: Ultimate Tennis Player Hoshi Ryôma

Why he got chosen:

I fell for his character in 3 seconds after seeing his too cute visuals with that dandy voice. When I talked to him during free time, i fell in love with him in seconds.

The way the corners of his hat moved up and down was too adorable! I also liked that he loves cats.

Top 16: Ultimate Cosplayer Shirogane Tsumugi

Why she got chosen:

I’m a cosplayer myself so her talks about cosplays or otaku knowledge were super funny!

Because she’s an otaku I loved to see her smiles hit home.

Top 1: Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles Headmaster Monokuma

Why he got chosen:

He’s so hateful and yet I don’t hate him… Oh it’s Monokuma again?! When actually I’ve been waiting for him. I somehow love Monokuma the way he is. He’s also cute, right!

This time there are many jokes about how unforgivingly he used his children and I felt like this was the most appealing point.

There’s nothing that can match Monokuma! For me, Monokuma makes Dangan Ronpa to what it is. I’ll always love him!

Top 2: Mono Kubs Monotarô

Why he got chosen:

I think he’s just naturally really cute. He was such a good relief during the trials.

The brother and sister midday TV drama… was really good.

I thought it was so cute when he said “Mom!”... These proud, warm feelings inside my chest… could it be motherhood?

Top 3: Mono Kubs Monodam

Why he got chosen:

While he said “Friendship” and “Don’t fight” until you thought he’s going crazy, I was very touched by the fact that he must’ve gotten hurt too at some point…

I can’t forget the portrayal of darkness where gloominess was often mistaken for being hideous, cunning and sly.

I was surprised to hear that Monodam’s voice wasn’t edited in any way. Yama-chan [his VA] is really amazing.

Top 4: Mono Kubs Monofunny

Why she got chosen:

How she said “Bye-kuma! ♡” in such a cute way and despite speaking to you in such a nice way, she still calls you bastard [kisama is just a derogatory term for “you” so I wonder how/if they’ll handle that in the EU/US version…]

She is cute, including her sounds when she throws up [“deroderoderodero”]. The only character where even them puking makes me love them more can surely only be Monofunny.

Top 5: Mono Kubs Monosuke

Why he got chosen:

Even though he has this cold, stiff feeling around him and is repeatedly told so, I still consider him the moodmaker of the Mono Kubs

He was an amazing Tsukkomi [character who lectures the boke in Japanese comedy] with his outstanding kansai [southern Japan] dialect. Especially that one time during the nighttime announcement where he was behind the food terror [sorry tbh I don’t remember this scene very well so there may be a translation error] made me laugh a lot.

Top 6:  Mono Kubs Monokid

Why he got chosen:

I liked it when he didn’t spew garbage[?]. I couldn’t get his “Hell yeah!” out of my head.

He made the Mono Kubs’ dialogues more interesting with his violent behaviour. I loved his jokes the most. His appearance was also the best.

[junker-town]

When was the last total solar eclipse in the United States?

And, just for fun, what sports stuff was going on at the time?

Hey, there’s a total solar eclipse happening on August 21, 2017. You might’ve heard about it. It’ll be the United States’ first coast-to-coast total eclipse in almost 100 years. Here’s how to tell exactly how much of it you’ll be able to see.

At least a couple eclipses are visible somewhere on earth every year. That somewhere might be the middle of an ocean, but these aren’t as rare as they seem. It’s just rare that they can be seen where you live.

I was also curious what sports stuff was going on during the last times these things happened. So let’s look it up as we go.

The last total eclipse visible from anywhere in the United States: Thursday, July 11, 1991.

Wikimedia Commons

Hawaii had a great view. So did parts of Mexico, but that was it for North America.

The Angels’ home loss to the Yankees was the closest major American sporting event, and one eventual Hall of Famer worked that for all it was worth.

Dave Winfield offered a novel explanation for the Angels' getting only one hit off Scott Sanderson Thursday in a 2-0 loss to the New York Yankees at Anaheim Stadium.

"I think we must have looked at the eclipse today and messed our eyes up," Winfield said.

Nice excuse, but it can't be used again in this lifetime.

Winfield and his Angel teammates could come up with few other reasons why Sanderson (10-3) mastered them so easily, or why they have been shut out three times in their last four games and held to three hits in their last two games.

The last total eclipse visible from the contiguous United States: Monday, February 26, 1979.

Wikimedia Commons

People flocked to the Pacific Northwest, the only part of the country with a view. Via NASA:

The last total solar eclipse viewed from contiguous United States was on Feb. 26, 1979 whose path passed through the northwestern U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

Forrest Thompson, who pitched in the majors in the ‘40s, died that day at 60.

No NHL games were anywhere nearby. Otherwise, the only American sports thing I can find word of from that day: a new issue of Sports Illustrated came out. In it, we learned the NBA wasn’t doing so great at the time, maybe because it didn’t do games on Mondays. That’s what I’ll choose to blame it on.

Elsewhere, the USSR had an Olympics planning meeting. I hope it went well.

The last total eclipse visible from a large portion of the United States: Saturday, June 8, 1918.

Wikimedia Commons

There were games at eight MLB stadiums: Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. The Yankees’ win over the St. Louis Browns (now the Baltimore Orioles) in Missouri was the closest to the eclipse’s path, but it doesn’t appear any Hall of Famers blamed any batting struggles on the lunar event.

Yeah, this means the Yankees have a total-eclipse winning streak going (so do the A’s, Braves, Pirates, and Twins), but eclipses aren’t perfect.

So what’s the sports schedule during 2017’s eclipse?

Nothing huge is likely to be interrupted — the MLB schedule is full of evening games, with even the earliest game, Twins-White Sox in Chicago, hours after the eclipse passes the area around 2 p.m. ET — but it’s still something to think about for a bunch of teams across the country:

Oakes and the Winston-Salem Open won’t be the only events in the sports world having to account for the solar eclipse. The Connecticut Open, a Women’s Tennis Association tournament, will play matches in New Haven, Conn. The Saratoga Race Course in New York has a full slate of races scheduled. The Little League World Series has games on deck for the day in South Williamsport, Pa., and at the East Coast Surfing Championships at Virginia Beach, a watch party on the boardwalk is planned.

Outside of those events, several Power Five college towns and professional franchises fall in the direct path of the eclipse, raising the question of how the eclipse may affect practices.

Hours before Oakes takes in the solar eclipse in Winston-Salem, Oregon State’s football players will experience one of the earliest totalities. In Corvallis, the start of the total eclipse is estimated for 10:16 a.m. local time, and it will reach its peak about a minute later. It will be about 25 minutes before the Beavers begin practice.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Southern Illinois’ band prepares for the campus’ eclipse event at the football stadium

Alabama football coach Nick Saban hasn’t had time to think about whether he cares or not.

We’ll set it up so if the players wanna go out there and look at it and get some sunglasses, I guess they can. That’s not something that I’m really that focused on right now. I watch the Weather Channel every day. They’re already saying what it’s gonna look like in every city in America, so what’s gonna be significant?

Just watch the Weather Channel. You see what it’s gonna be like in Portland, Oregon. Clayton, Georgia’s the No. 1 place in the country. They have a hundred percent. There are all kind of people there.

My house will probably be the only empty house on the whole lake. So I’m gonna watch it on TV. Maybe we should have a team meeting about how we’re gonna do this. I haven’t thought of that yet.

Neither has Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh. From a back-and-forth with reporters:

When is it? It’s Monday?

Can you see it from everywhere? Can you see it from here?

Eighty percent? It’s not 100 percent here? We’re chasing perfection here, alright?

So you’ve got to go to North Carolina for 100 percent? Nah. I don’t know. You’ve got to wear glasses or something, don’t you? I don’t want to blind anybody.

We’ll be in meetings. It’s going to be tough.

So! Football coaches don’t care, but everybody else does!