#they watch the anime in japanese and like to pretend they know the words

[charlotteslocket]

"Alright, Asriel. Are you ready to make an all-shiny tournament-ready team?"

[danieyells]

I don't know if you've done it yet but I would like to request Ren lines? I'm having tokyo debunker Ren brainrot bro 😭.

@otomelover23

You're all very welcome! I love you guys too, so far! Sorry you've been deprived of lazy boi lolol HOPEFULLY THESE SATISFY YOU A LITTLE BIT.

He's a little tsundere I think. He's one of those characters who just wants to be normal but he can't just pretend to be normal because he lives surrounded by chaos so he just complains a lot lolol. . .but i think he's a good guy. Aside from that he does not help his mother captain at all.

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Great, shift change. I'm gonna head out then... What? Do I really need to be here for that?"

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"I think you've got a notification... Aren't you going to look at it?"

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"Who did I disappoint in a past life to end up in Jabberwock... There's no general students or even a single other sane person, and these jumpsuits are a crime..."

"Why do I have to look after all these weird-ass animals? This is forced labor...  Ugh, they're so gross..."

"If you're just gonna stand there, could you go feed the animals in the aquatic zone?  I'm too busy."

"Ugh, why is that clown calling me... ... Whatever, I'll just let it ring out."

you know damn well that if you don't answer the phone you're gonna have to deal with Haru in person. Better to just answer it.

"Oh, hey... Could you open the link I sent you? No, you don't have to sign up or anything. Thanks."

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Ugh... Tell me how I'm supposed to sit through classes when I've been up since 4 AM? (yawn) I'm exhausted..."

well if you didn't stay up until 4am--oh who am i kidding i stayed up til like 3 watching a stream and reading datamine stuff and then I got up at like 6:30 to get ready for work I'm no better kekw.

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Ugh... I can't believe I'm hiding right now... Why the hell does that clown have to chase me around at lunch time too?"

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Preach about doing it for the sake of your friends or the animals or whatever all you want— I really don't give a shit. People who say that stuff are just deluding themselves."

i've known people with this kind of cynicism before. once he finds people care about him and a little more stability he'll come around a little more.

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Huh? I can't see that clown anywhere... Hell yes. Gonna get through my watch list. I hope he never comes back."

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I'm grinding this game on my phone, so could you not talk to me for a while? Crap, I think my RSI is flaring up..."

in Japanese he specifies tendonitis haha

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Don't people get embarrassed calling out those words when they use their stigmas? It makes them look like LARPers..."

in japanese he says they sound like they have chuunibyou which is much funnier imo lmao. also i guess that means he can say his in his head? since he'd feel embarrassed doing it aloud, maybe he's practiced already lol

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You think I sigh a lot? Got a problem with that? You realize trying to take away people's freedom of speech is power harrassment, right?"

you're starting to sound like ritsu. gonna hurt yourself reaching like that.

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I'm so done... I'm out of HP... Shouldn't I be exempt from missions and classes since I'm looking after all those animals?"

well based on one of Haku's chats, you can just do missions if you don't go to class, and based on Kaito you can just go to class instead of doing missions. . .but I'm sure Haru forces him on missions anyway lol. . . .

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Pfft... The video of that clown getting attacked by that hawk thing is getting so many interacts. This editing thing's actually pretty fun."

does editing count as a creative effort? i wouldn't be surprised if he switched to Hotarubi next year if so, assuming he doesn't get used to Jabberwock and the animals. Also why didn't he get stopped by Sophy for uploading a video with an anomaly? Unless he uploaded it to an Institute social media site like WickHive or something. . . .

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Gotta change the locks so that clown can't get in again. I've bought enough padlocks to start my own business by now..."

life haru finds a way. sometimes that way is "towa, break down the door" if he runs out of lockpicking equipment.

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"My head's killing me... This is the worst... Rise and shine! my ass... It's basically still the middle of the night. Guess I should padlock my windows..."

5-6am I can understand being 'basically the middle of the night' but after that you're pushing it lmao

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"The cafeteria's way over capacity... The assholes who save seats before its even noon are ruining it for everyone else..."

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Why's my pay so low... huh? What's this deduction for? "Consultation Fee: Ritsu Shinjo..." He's seriously charging me for complaining...?"

Ritsu charges for looking at him too long. i'd try venting on wickhive over complaining to Ritsu.

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"That rabbit sure has it good. All it has to do is breathe and everyone fawns over it. Doesn't even have to feed itself. Just wait till it grows up and learns what the world's really like."

WELL BASED ON THAT THE ADULT PEEKABOO WAS STILL BEING FAWNED OVER AND HARU HAD TO STOP PEOPLE FROM PETTING IT BECAUSE IT BITES. . .IT'LL PROBABLY STILL HAVE IT GOOD. Haru takes good care of the animals.

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"Sup... Huh? I'm alone today. I just got up on my own since if I don't that clown'll wake me up anyway."

yeah? it's because of haru? not because of your affinity with the pc being more than half so you wanna be up earlier to spend more time with them? sure.

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Oof, nearly missed the noon raid...  Not like I'll have any time to myself once I get back to the dorm, so I guess I should do it now..."

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"No, I'm not going to sleep yet. I'm gonna watch a horror B-movie. You don't have to think, so they're the perfect thing to watch before bed."

i used to watch/listen to mts3k to go to sleep so. i feel this.

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Well done me for surviving another day... Oh, same to you too, {PC}. I don't how you can do this stuff voluntarily."

SOME PEOPLE JUST LIKE ANIMALS DAWG.

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Huh? I'm going to the campus store to buy some stuff, where are you going? Well, I'm going that way, so...bye."

not sure if shy or asocial lmao. could be both!

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"You're being forced to help out again? Wow, a doormat out in the wild. So? Where do you want me to carry all this food?"

he's helping you even though he doesn't wanna work. HE'S GOT IT BAD.

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"This? It's a video I uploaded. People seem really into it. It's of that clown getting chased by a dog and flailing around like one of those inflatable air dancers."

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"What am I doing today? Working at the diner. Oh, if you want to keep me company, feel free to come by. As long as you serve yourself."

it's not a date or anything since he's at work but like. . .he is inviting you to hang out. . . .

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Huh? You were waiting for me to get off work? Oh... Thanks. Wait, that clown put you up to this?! I'm gonna kill him..."

NO NO WE CAME HERE WILLINGLY probably. although it does seem like Haru to be like "oh hey Ren really really likes you, you should go pick him up from work! he'd love that!!" like a real nosy mom who's trying to get his son together with his crush.

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"When did it get this late? That was horrifyingly fast... I'll walk part of the way back with you. I was gonna go buy something to drink anyway..."

excuses, excuses. . . .

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"Every day here is a fresh hell, sure, but... You're suffering through it with me, so I guess I'll stick it out a little longer..."

'this sucks but you make it suck a little(a lot) less so i can keep going'. yep, that's our tsundere alright!

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"That clown's even more slap-happy than usual lately—it's horrible. Has he got spring fever or something?"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Otonashi keeps trying to make me drink some kind of rice porridge with weird flowers in it... It's actual porridge harassment."

considering the flower Towa associates with Ren is poisonous, i think it's safe to assume he is literally trying to poison him to death lmao. also wtf is porridge harassment--i even tried looking it up in japanese and the first thing that came up was someone screenshotting it and saying "what is porridge harassment" lolol

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"All this farm labor's bad enough without all the caterpillars and weird plants that are out there now...This is harassment."

what's harassing you, nature? as someone who just had to kill a huge mosquito that came into my room, nature is harassing me too.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I hate cherry blossoms. They're like the flower version of being a legacy kid— all they have to do is bloom once a year and everyone claps."

in japanese what he says is something like 'i hate them just like people born with silver spoons in their mouths'. basically he hates people born into privilege lol i bet he'd have the potential to get along well with haku until he learns he'll be inheriting a shrine. . .then again he's getting along with Ritsu in their own little way

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"This is the worst... It's not even noon yet, how is it so hot? Summer is for extroverts and party animals, I wish it could just be over already..."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"A group trip to the beach? I'd rather die. No decent person would ever go there of their own free will."

butbutbut. think of the summer skins!!!

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Summer was our busy period back home, so I always had to kill myself helping out. Now I'm here though... nothing's changed."

. . .did Ren's family run some sort of seaside shop??? And he happened to end up afraid of the ocean and hating aquatic creatures and such?

(between 8pm and 5am)

"How can the A/C be banned in the dorm...? Who gives a shit what temperature some anomalous animal that sneaks in prefers, humans should come first..."

okay i agree with him here though what the fuck kind of rule is that. can we talk to hyde about that, that's insane haru.

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"Now it's getting colder, I nearly found myself feeling grateful for this tragic jumpsuit... Am I being brainwashed...?"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Fall, the season of the harvest—I'll stick with cup noodles, thanks. "Fall, the season to enjoy the outdoors"—screw that. I'm gonna make it the season of naps."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Look—I got bitten by some weird bug anomaly. To hell with the stupid bug spray ban, I'm buying some."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I feel like the mountains are rowdier when there's a full moon. Pretty sure my enemy encounter rate goes up when I'm on patrol too... Maybe I'm just imagining it."

is 'enemy encounter rate' here referring to people or anomalies. . .because if it's people then that's just because of tsukimi. . .although I wouldn't be surprised if there were a lot of anomalies or anomalies were more active on full moons.

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"There's less patrols in winter but anything involving water like washing up gets even worse... Ugh, I wish I could hibernate too..."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Since the climate in Jabberwock's so messed up, sometimes it's actually warm in winter. The blizzards are way stronger though..."

have you tried pissing towa off less?

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Oh god, I just saw what's in the diner's new Mystery Hot Pot... It's gotta be a matter of time before this place goes bust..."

i mean if they had ordinary health inspectors maybe lolol

(between 8pm and 5am)

"That clown broke my window so my room's like a freezer... Oh, don't worry. I just took his room instead."

lmao imagine Ren invites you to hang out and takes you to Haru's room instead of his like nah he broke my window so i'm using his room and he can freeze.

His birthday: (July 25th)

"You got this for me? That clown's been spreading my personal info around... No, it's fine, I'll still take it. Thanks."

i guess he doesn't really tell people his birthday, huh.

Your birthday:

"Happy birthday, {PC}. ...Isn't it kind of rude to look so surprised I'd celebrate your birthday? That came from the heart, you know."

I MEAN YOU NORMALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING. . .it's happy surprise!!!

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year. My resolution? Escaping the hell hole that is Jabberwock, for starters."

well you got here in like September or something so. you've got a while befor eyou can switch houses lmao but you can do it this year!

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"You got me chocolates? You're the type who does all this kind of stuff, huh? No, it's fine, you went to the trouble and everything so I'll take them."

i love when characters kinda mock you for doing getting them something but then they're like "nonono i want it gimme--" lolol from Ren especially it's very tsundere. poor guy wouldn't be straightforward about his feelings unless a damn life was on the line.

White Day: (March 14th)

"{PC}... Here, if you want them. I just bought the first thing I saw, so don't read into it..."

i bet it's actually really nice lolol

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Guess what? I got special permission to switch houses. That nightmare is now behind me! I wish..."

Halloween: (October 31st)

"I hope everyone who gets excited about Halloween lives in misery for the rest of their lives. Why the hell do I have to help out with this stupid themed tour?"

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Can I ask you a question, {PC}? You don't still believe in Santa Claus, do you? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Have a good Christmas."

i mean. . .after coming here santa is a plausible entity to believe in. . .if there's gonna be a santa i don't wanna be caught not believing and missing out on gifts. . . .

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Where'd she go...? Whatever. Guess I'll catch up on some of my games."

(13 affinity and above)

"Pfft... This edit's awesome. I'm a genius. I'll show {PC} when she gets back."

true bonding is sharing the funny memes you worked hard on. . . .

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"It's not like I was waiting for you or anything. It's just this hell hole is even more unbearable when you're not around..."

YEP THAT'S OUR UNFORTUNATE CUSTOMER SERVICE EMPLOYEE TSUNDERE ALRIGHT. His lines don't really get super affectionate but. They still have a charm to them when you realize how much he hides his feelings in the usual tsundere way. He likes you a lot but like. . .it's a bother and it's embarrassing. . .and what're the chances you're into him? He'll just invite you over to watch movies and play games with him and stuff. . .and tell himself it's fine to just be friends until it eats away at him. . .or until Haru spills the beans for him--

this took way too long because i got distracted like three times in the middle and my laptop started freaking out and i had to figure out why and close and reopen everything about 8 times hahaha. . . . OKAY TIME FOR ME TO GO TO BED! I hope this satisfies you a little bit!!

[tobifuyu]

Snowflakes In My Stomach When We’re Kissin’

RAN HAITANI x f!reader

cw: nsfw, mdni, smut, fwb to lovers, oral (male reciving), tiny bit of angsty themes with happy ending, sappy fic, ran being a simp as always to feed my “he’s a self-centered bitch until he finds the one” agenda.

wc: 3.2k

a/n: surprise… i’m back with a christmas present! this is the first fic in a three pieces installment, which can all be read as standalone but come from the same universe and evolve in the span of three different christmases. in case you didn’t know, in japan christmas is a holiday in which people spend time with their partners because they reserve new year’s for family (not only i’ve seen it in a whole lot of shoujo anime but i’ve asked my japanese coworkers to confirm eheh). it’s also customary to eat cake! ;)

“Though you said you just wanted to get a coffee.”

The only thing peeking from the red scarf is the tip of his nose, flushed with the same color of the fabric that’s wrapped around his neck. You imagine his lips curved in a smirk under it.

When he came to pick you up earlier this morning, you thought he made a bold choice pairing the red garment with the unusual color of his hair. Up until then, you always believed red and purple would clash.

But Ran made it work, somehow. Like most things in his life, he did it with a confidence that made you question your world and how you view it even if for just a second.

“Well, that we did,” He shakes his hand, his long fingers easily supporting the weight of the full cup. You can see the steam rise from it and wonder if he’s not drinking it because he’s scared to burn his tongue or because he’s not ready to go home yet.

The two of you are currently walking around Shiba Park, not too far from Roppongi Hills. The peak of Tokyo Tower is hidden in plain sight behind the trees, stripped naked by the season, and adorned by strings of fairy lights.

In daylight they look clear, void of color, and empty, they come alive at night. Just like we both do, thinks Ran.

Ran does like winter. He believes winter poses more opportunities to forgo going out and staying in bed. He loves to gaze out of his apartment’s window and spot rain pit patting against the glass, watching the water droplets leave streaks behind as he lets himself get lulled back to sleep.

He also likes that he can layer more clothes, the more the merrier, he says, it’s easier to style it. You would agree, because he looks particularly elegant with his long black coat, left unbuttoned to glimpse at the nice sweater under it. The sight of his tightly clad body alone ignites a fire inside of you, one that is meek but insistent, and will soon start to burn you inside out.

What Ran doesn’t like it’s the cold. The wind is not fair against his pale skin, it leaves it red and stinging, much like his heart when he wakes up after a night together and doesn’t find you there. He does not like the cold, the cold of the sheets around him when you’ve left hours before.

He would like to pretend he’s clueless as to why, the same way you’re staring at him now, but he knows the reason behind it.

“Are you gonna tell me why we’re wandering around without a destination in freezing weather?

“Can’t you just live a little?”

You scoff at his words, taking another sip out of your hot chocolate to bite back an insult. He’s already testing your patience, and you have very little of it left today of all days.

“We should go eat some cake, I’d love an excuse to grab a Mont Blanc for later at that bakery by your apartment. Y’know I like it there.”

Cake. You don’t like cake, and you don’t like what eating cake with him would mean today of all days.

“Why do you have to make everything so complicated, Ran?” You sigh, head shaking in disappointment.

When you decided to start this with Ran, it was because you believed the man to be on the same wavelength as you. Ran had seemed like someone who knew what he wanted, and you had been sure that was not you.

He had promised that would stay the case. Your heart could not afford to be cared for by somebody.

When you look at him this time, you don’t notice how the wind is whipping the skin of his high cheeks red because his scarf is now covering everything but the lidded eyes staring at you.

At this rate Ran might end up hating winter: you seem to get colder with the season. He doesn’t think he would pick sleeping in over you, so if he could, he would like for summer to last all year long.

He’d like for you to cling to him even when the temperature is so high you can barely breathe in your cramped room, sweat sticking to both your skin and his, like your very first night together.

Because where the holidays bring glee to most, to you they’re a reminder of times that are long gone. A childhood spent decorating the tree and wishing for the perfect Christmas gift, now turned into a life of solitude. Your fast-paced job and lonely apartment away from home don’t leave space for the frivolity of Christmas.

“Didn’t wanna leave you alone,” he speaks so clearly of his intentions you almost feel shame, “Did ya think I would’ve left you bask in your gloominess, today? ‘M not that bad of an ass.”

You don’t think Ran owns you anything. He shouldn’t be picking up the pieces of you that other people left scattered and putting them back together as if it were a kids’ puzzle.

Ran knows you don’t really have anyone, he thinks he’s much like you, and would be just as bitter if he didn’t have his brother.

“You left Rin by himself?”

You hear his muffled laughter, “‘course not. Haruchiyo’s there. Y’know how they are.”

Yes. In love, you suppose. And you wonder if Ran thinks that is what it is. And what is it between you two?

You can feel his body warmth as he gravitates closer to you, “‘M cold,” is his excuse when his now ungloved hand catches yours. He intertwines your fingers, brushing the back of your hand with his thumb, before hiding them away in his coat pocket.

Gotta warm your cold heart up, he thinks.

“Saving you from this freezing weather,” is what he says out loud.

But you know it’s because the movement brings you closer, he pulls you so you’re now shoulder to shoulder, and you’re not strong enough to keep your head from falling on his. As if you were fresh snow in the sun, you melt in his presence.

“Let’s go get cake,” your voice is but a soft whisper, running past him like the breeze through the dying leaves, the wind finally settling down.

And that’s how he ends up in your apartment. Sounds of wet skin slapping against one another fill the void as he buries himself deep inside of you.

The sweet pastries Ran bought long forgotten over your kitchen counter, as he’d much rather taste the honeyed nectar spilling from between your thighs.

He’s grabbing at them now, the hold on your flesh sure to leave marks behind as he folds your legs so that he can loop his arms under your knees, keeping you spread open for him.

Big body caging you under his warmth with his forehead pressed against yours, and open mouths a breath away from the other, sharing sounds of pleasure without ever meeting in the middle.

It had been a tantalizing dance when you first started sleeping together. Like most people in your situation, you had both concluded that it would be best if you refrained from kissing. Deeming it too intimate.

Ran had caved after the third time you ended up in his bed, lips too needy to be kept from yours. He had let out a soft plead before you met him in the middle.

From then on you made it your mission to never kiss him outside of your bedroom activities, too scared of the power his kisses held over you. He and his annoying self had taken it as a challenge, always on the edge of his seat waiting to see who’d kiss the other first.

“Oh fuck this,” Ran groans before giving in.

You catch sight of his eyelids fluttering shut, hiding that violet color that you love so much, and your lips lock in a kiss that takes your breath as much as the hips still snapping against yours.

The coarse patch of hair on his navel repeatedly brushes against your puffed-up clit, making your hips jump up to chase the friction. The man is shamelessly shallowing your moans and caressing your tongue with his, teeth closing around your bottom lip when you go to pull away.

“Ngh, you taste like cake.”

Ran had snuck a bite of one of the pieces the moment he stepped out of the bakery, and the sweet taste on his tongue was, in your opinion, way better than the real deal.

His hand grasps your chin with firmness, the tips of his fingers squeezing your cheeks and making your blushed lips pucker up.

“So you do like cake, mh?”

“No, I don-“ Ran squeezes harder, and your mouth parts. A glob of spit falls on your tongue, one that you shallow under his scrutinizing gaze.

The moan that he lets out at that reverberates through your chest as he bends so close your bodies are now completely pressed against one another, sharing body heat.

This is what sex with Ran is, a concoction of rough touches and fucking that turn soft and slow when you least expect it. He likes to tease and surprise you, stealing the prettiest sounds from your lips and making them his. Making you his.

“Y’don’t like cake, s’okay. I know you like me,” one of his hands teasingly pinches your right nipple, respective eye closing in a wink.

You like that he makes sex fun, cracking jokes as if his cock weren’t pumping inside of you. You like it, you like him, but you can’t have him know that.

“That’s not-“ he interrupts you once again, this time with the snapping of his hips. He starts fucking you like he means it. Calculated thrusts hitting against the sweet spot only he knows how to find.

Ran is on his knees now, hands firmly planted on your raised hips, guiding you back and forth over his length.

“Fuck! Ran, fuck that feels good- so good-“

Slurred words leave your panting mouth as your hands hold onto the pillow behind your head for dear life, back arched and chest exposed to the greedy eyes that are raking over your body. From your perked-up nipples, begging to be played with, to the way your cunt is stretching around his cock.

“Don’t have enough hands for the things I wanna do to you,” Nonetheless, he repositions his right one so that it’s splayed over your navel, thumb reaching down to rub tight circles on your slicked clit.

“Fuckin’ cunt squeezing me so good,” moans spill from your mouth at his words, his voice is strained but maintains that hint of icy superiority and poise that is characteristic of Ran.

The way your hole flutters around him is maddening, Ran can feel your walls clenching against his length so perfectly. He can feel everything.

As a matter of fact, so do you. No matter how dumb he fucks you, you can’t ever miss out on the sweet feeling of his bare skin caressing your wet cunt. The squelching sounds are filling the air around you, making your cheeks heat up and your head lull to the side, trying to avoid his eyes in shame.

Half face buried in the pillow, you beg for him, “Ran, please, please. I need to cum so bad.”

His thrusts slow down, thumb stilling over your clit, and you hear him hum, pensive.

“Maybe if you looked at me, pretty, I might think about letting you.”

Gathering your remaining strength, you open your eyes to the sight of his glorious body above yours.

The wetness of his skin shines under the light of the outside street lamp, peeking in from the window, full body tattoo so enchanting, you watch it move and bend over his rising chest.

With violet eyes fixed on yours, he stands tall, unreachable.

The purple strands that fall from his gelled-back hairstyle are the only giveaway that he’s not so perfect and pristine after all, but he still looks like a god in your devoted eyes.

“Ran,” you call his name so softly he tumbles from the skies right to you.

His body bends to lay over yours, weight supported by his arms at your sides. With a snap of his hips, he breaks the longing stare you’re both sharing, mushroom tip hitting the spot that makes your eyes roll to the back of your head.

“Oh my god, that feels so-“ “I know, baby, s’okay.” One of his hands caresses over your head, before stopping at your neck and closing around your windpipe. The pressure of his touch against your feverish skin is delicious.

Your nails are now creating indents in the flesh of his arms. You want more, you need him to break you.

Ran can’t stop thrusting, pounding, burying himself inside of you to the hilt. He’s never wanted to be this close to someone before, never needed their warmth as he does yours.

He stops you before you can reach your clit with your fingers and, wanting to be the one to take you over the edge, he uses his free hand to rub over it vehemently.

“Coming, I’m coming,” are the rushed words that fall from your lips before you hit your peak. Wanton moans are gracing Ran’s ears, making his balls strain from holding back, but he wants you to bask in the glow of your orgasm before he reaches his.

“Doin’ so well fo’ me, look at this pretty pussy. Gushing all over my cock.” He looks down as he says this, watching how good he’s splitting you open, his cock coming out of you covered with the white sheen of your arousal, then plunging back in.

Your spent body is overstimulated, twitching in his hold as if trying to run away from the pleasure.

“You’re the only one, baby.” Ran lets slip, the sight of you in your most vulnerable state makes him just as weak, “S’all yours, so take it.” And he means it, you’re the only one.

Before you, life used to be in black and white. Ran had tried everything to paint it some other color, from violence to sex, but nothing ever came close to holding you in his arms.

Color is always all around him, but Ran’s devoid of it until you touch him.

You pull him down to you at the confession, arms wrapped around his neck, chests pressed against one another, hard nipples tickling the soft skin.

The pace suddenly turns slow, and you wonder if Ran does not care about coming anymore. His focus is on you, and you’re staring back at him with just as much affection.

“Let me take care of you,” it’s what you suggest once you’ve come down from your high, fingers pressing against his shoulders to have him lay back in the sheets. Short hair sprawled over the white pillow like a halo behind his troubled head.

Both of your thighs are circling his hips, too scared to have Ran pull out, and be prevailed by that sense of emptiness and cold that comes from being away from him.

Fighting a whirlpool of emotions, you feel the need to silence your mind with his lips on yours. The clashing of your noses does nothing to stop you from kissing each other passionately.

The blame should be on Ran for making you fall for him and gifting you a brand new reason to celebrate Christmas, but you should’ve known better when he walked into your life with that snarky smirk that makes you sigh just thinking about it. You bite his lip in retaliation.

The feeling of Ran’s hands traveling over your skin and sinking with his strong grip on the flesh of your hips is what makes you separate your two halves, pussy clenching around the length that has been filling you up so perfectly. The need to make him feel just as good swells up on the inside.

“Fuck, please,” A choked whisper, falling from the pearlescent of his lips, wet with your love, blood pouring out of the bitten skin.

Purple and red do look good together, you think.

Your hands are warm, trailing up his stomach like the ink on his skin. He feels as if you’re moving too fast, scared he might blink and lose the moment, and at the same time too slow for his liking. He’s begging and he doesn’t know what he’s begging for. But you do.

Ran’s hands tighten around the bedsheets. He wants to touch everywhere you’ve been, wants to get stained in you. Like fresh paint that sticks on skin, he’s now colored in your shades.

Wet kisses are being left on the top of his shaft. Ran’s right hand finds your hair, waving his fingers between the loose strands to uncover the sight of your pretty face.

Lidded eyes are watching you glide your tongue down his hardness, caressing the bluish veins running across its sides, tasting yourself on it.

When your lips wrap around his sensitive tip you have to hold down his hips with both hands.

The peace you set is slow, taking him in your mouth inch by inch. His girth stretches your lips and he thumbs the lower one as you look up at him with tears forming at your lashline.

“Mouth feels like fucking heaven, angel.”

Ran can barely contain himself, dangling from the edge, his balls heavy with his release.

When your nose is buried in the hair at the base of his cock, you know you’ve successfully taken him whole. A huge accomplishment on your part, considering how blessed he is.

With your throat clenching around him, it doesn’t take long to feel him twitch in your mouth.

“Yeah, pretty girl, just like that. Make me cum, fuck!”

Bobbing your head at his request, you’re hasty in sucking your checks around his length, letting him come on the back of your tongue with languid moans that contain your name.

No need for him to ask, you’re one step ahead by swallowing his semen, making a show of it before leaving a wet kiss on his tip, to collect the white drop that was spilling over.

“Better than any cake.”

Booming laughter fills the space around you as you scoot closer to his tired body, laying on his naked frame and stealing all his warmth.

“I do like you.”

“I know,” Ran looks down at you, left check cutely smushed against his pecs, “Let’s spend New Year’s together.”

The faint movement of your hair brushing his skin tells him you’re agreeing, “And what about… next year?”

“Let’s spend them all together.”

You’re warm in his hold, and he figures the fairy lights might’ve come on in the park.

Ran thinks back to the rest of the untouched cake on your kitchen counter and is happy enough that the two of you have exchanged Christmas gifts in your own special way.

After all, he took away the cold, and you’ve brightened up his life.

That’s more of what you could’ve wished for.

[bittersweetorpheus]

I’ve been getting into otome game lately, and finally had some free time, so… why not integrate the mechanics with Bungou Stray Dogs? I think there’s some huge potential for fanfics! Might turn into a series depending on the response I get ^^

An isekai: a Japanese term translating to ‘other word’. Always following the same plot— the protagonist who is transported to a fantasy world, game world, or parallel universe after dying in this boring normal one (usually via truck).

Yours had been your own fault, but death wasn’t as distressing as realizing bitterly that anime worlds were, in fact, real, and you were stuck in some random anime/manga you’d hyperfixated (curse your autistic tendencies) on for years but never actually watched or read. Bungou Stray Dogs, was its name. A world where ability users, those granted a single power based on classical literature and named after real life authors, prowled the streets.

You ate, slept, worked, rinse and repeat.

Or you did. Until you accidentally changed the whole damn genre of the manga! And the title, as well. Ahem, let us present… I Got Isekaied and Accidentally Caught the Eye of Fucked Up Criminals Because of Plot Convenience?!

Ah, the classic trope of the title spoiling the entire premise. But, we’ll need a little more context then that, won’t we?

—————

[REWIND TIME TO INTERLUDE?]

*YES* | NO

—————

You, fresh out from another shift of ‘standing around the warehouse and doing nothing at all’, had been mindlessly making your way home when— distracted by some shitty gacha game on your phone— stumbled right into an active crime scene. Active as in: the murder was currently being committed.

Dead police officers, a jester in a fully white outfit, portals opening up behind you…

Shit. You’d totally interrupted Nikolai’s introduction scene, hadn’t you? Your first thought was to curse yourself for your own stupidity at being so distracted by shitty, addicting mobile games that you failed to notice a crime scene going on in broad daylight.

Nikolai, still in that creepy clown getup, slowly turned his head towards you. His eyes narrowed, as though assessing you, before a smile slid onto his face.* “Looks like we have a little mouse who’s wandered into a tiger’s den! Hehe, you’re so cute, I might play around with you for a bit!”

You cringed. Who was in charge of writing dialogue for out-of-script scenes? Nikolai’s words were along the lines of what one would expect from an awkward bedroom partner who’d only ever stuck to the more vanilla side of things. Then again, it fit his happy-go-lucky-serial-killer persona, you supposed. Characters couldn’t be fleshed out in their very first scene, that was just rushed writing.

Pretending you had dialogue options to help ease her stress, you went with the safest one. “Wow. What a horrible crime scene. Please don’t stab me.” Ok, new issue: you absolutely sucked at acting when under pressure! It didn’t sound genuine at all!

Nikolai let out a small, low ‘pfft’ at your words, his shoulders shaking with the effort of containing his laughter. “Hey, hey, hey! It’s no fun when you’re so scared and shaky like that! You’re too cute!” Did Nikolai just… break character? This wasn’t supposed to happen, was it? That smile of his widened into a full blown grin. Shit. Were they self aware?

“Say, mousey, I’m curious about something,” he practically purred out, leaning down to get in your face, “How is it that you haven’t panicked and run away yet? I just slaughtered four whole policemen, after all.” His eyes narrowed, and he scrutinized you closely, searching for something that you couldn’t see.

> Punch him! Kick him!

> Run off now that he mentioned it—

> Confuse him by going from blunt to philosophical…

Those were the three options your frazzled mind presented you with. Mentally, you clicked on the third. Perhaps impulse-decision making was better left up to other people.

“Glue trap.” You said, fucking yourself over further. “You know, ‘cause you compared me to a mouse. But, like, aren’t we all mice? Stuck in glue traps, that is. Ugh, whatever. Look, it’s a perfectly natural reaction: fight, flee, or freeze.“

—————

*➳ NIKOLAI AFFECTION +5 -> TOTAL NIKOLAI AFFECTION: 5/120 ♡*

—————

“Glue trap?” Nikolai repeated, his expression briefly baffled. Clearly he hadn’t expected *that* from you.

He seemed to ponder something, then he abruptly stepped even closer, still towering over you. Nikolai put his gloved hand on your forehead, almost a bit like he was checking for a fever. With the difference being that he was way too close now. You could practically feel his breath brush against your skin, and it sent shivers down your spine.

This guy was way too damn close. The hell was he doing?

Nikolai finally pulled away, a thoughtful expression on his face. He began to circle you slowly, and his fingers drummed against his chin, as though deep in thought. “…Mousey,” he finally said, his voice quieter than before, more contemplative. Uh, what? “Have we… met before? Your voice… sounds familiar.”

You, the rizz god (maybe now wasn’t the time to use stupid internet terms), couldn’t help but ignore all the red flags that had popped up from that very same statement you’d heard far too many times before in otome games, so you could… make it into an inappropriate-for-the-situation pick up line. Well, ya missed 100% of the shots you didn’t take, though you weren’t quite sure you wanted this one in the first place. “No. But we *could* meet again, as a cute couple. Not a serial killer and unwilling witness. Only if you don’t murder me. Dating a corpse would be boring. I think.”

—————

*➳ NIKOLAI AFFECTION +10 -> TOTAL NIKOLAI AFFECTION: 15/120 ♡*

—————

Nikolai froze, wide-eyed and a strange expression on his face. Then he began to laugh. For once, his laugh wasn’t crazed or unhinged. It was a normal laugh, one full of genuine amusement.

He continued to chortle for a few more seconds, before he finally stopped and tried to compose himself again. Nikolai shook his head, but there was still a wide smile on his face. “Damn, do you have a death wish? Or do you make a habit of flirting with serial killers?” He paused, stepping even closer as if he just realized something. “Hold on, can you say something for me?”

“If it’s something along the lines of ‘I love you’, then it’s too early for the plot. And out of character, I have commitment issues. Just to be clear.” You made sure to word that a very particular way, praying Nikolai wouldn’t inadvertently confirm your suspicions that you’d ended up in one of those ‘self aware/third wall breaking’ alternate universes.

—————

*➳ NIKOLAI AFFECTION -5 -> TOTAL NIKOLAI AFFECTION: 10/120 ♡*

—————

*Nikolai chuckled, the amusement never leaving his face. He crossed his arms over his chest, still towering over you. Nikolai’s smile was just a tad bit unsettling.* “No no, mousey, not that. I was thinking something a bit less cliche.”

He paused, and that thoughtful look returned to his face. Nikolai tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at you, almost like he was trying to figure out a complex puzzle. “Say something. Anything. And don’t try to act. Just speak,” he insisted.

How the hell were you supposed to gauge whether he was self aware or not from that answer? Today just wasn’t your day. You not only messed with the plot line, but the character dynamics as well, by introducing herself into it. Damn! Why couldn’t this position have been given to some die-hard fangirl, instead of some office worker who’d only fixated on the franchise for a year or so.

“…I wish this was a shoujo instead of a seinen?” You blurted out. Even a shounen would’ve been better, with a power scaling system and hardworking main character. But, nope! Bungou Stray Dogs just had to fall into the seinen category because of heavy themes you in no way wanted to deal with.

A game over screen flashed before your eyes, at the very same time Nikolai’s portals did. Let’s hope you quick-saved, as this would be a rather humiliating end for you.

[pompomchihuahua]

Hello! Do you think Sanemi deluded himself on “keeping an eye on Genya.” What I refer to that in the manga, when Sanemi saves Genya from getting killed by Koku, he says he would have stopped demons from coming his way if Genya lived a normal life. Considering he wasn’t even able to get his brother kicked out of the Corps, aside from pushing him away, it didn’t seem like he “tried” (not saying he didn’t! But I feel he could have done more unless the author just didn’t explore that aspect much of Sanemi working behind the scenes to get Genya out. Because it doesn’t seem like Sanemi interjected during missions or maybe, could have tried talking to Ubuyashiki unless his pride stopped him? Just seems contradictory?)

So to put it short… do you think Sanemi WAS watching Genya to an extent over the years? Or considering Sanemi was alone for awhile, maybe it was after he became a Hashira that he started looking for him or finding him behind the scenes? We know Sanemi’s will to live was Genya, and in the light novel with Masachika, it is said that only good dreams was of Genya living a happy life with a wife and kids. And Masachika seemed to be a motivator for Sanemi to become a Hashira, so maybe prior Sanemi didn’t have the resources to actually watch over Genya? Leading to the delidement of him actually being unable to stop demons coming Genya’s way?

Sorry this got long, but what are your thoughts?!

HI HI HI!! Don't apologize for long asks, I love them!!

As far as whether I think Sanemi "deluded" himself, that's gonna be a yes and a no. SO from one-winged butterfly we have this line from Genya: "I had a dream that my brother came to visit me. He was standing next to my bed looking at me. I wanted to jump up. I wanted to talk to him, but I was so, so sleepy that I couldn't get up." And while its framed as a dream its very much implied that it was actually Sanemi visiting him in the hospital. From that we can interpolate that Sanemi keeps tabs on Genya at least to the extent that he knows when he is and isn't injured on missions.

As for what Sanemi did to get Genya to leave the corps!! I've scoured the anime, the manga, the books and as far I can tell, the most he says on it is this: "I don't care how much he hates me for it," Sanemi told the grave. "I'll never give him my blessing to join. He doesn't want this life."

SO, as far as I can tell, Sanemi's strategy for pushing Genya out of the corps was extreme avoidance. He disowns Genya, tells him he wants nothing to do with him, tells him to get out of his sight. I rewatched the confrontation scene in both Japanese and English and there's a lot of emphasis and words like "back off" and "get lost." He does put Genya down saying he should quit the corps of course but generally his main strategy seems to just be telling Genya to get as far away from HIM as possible.

It's definitely possible he tried talking to Ubuyashiki and was turned down but it's never mentioned and was just not an aspect that was explored. As for Sanemi keeping tabs on Genya, I agree in that I don't think he had the resources to do so before he became he hashira and definitely not before he became a demon slayer.

BUT if I'm being honest... I don't think he kept tabs on Genya at all UNTIL he became a demon slayer. See, Sanemi at his core is a very emotionally stunted character. He's very much still stuck in that moment, standing over his mama's body, blood soaking his hands and his babies lying dead on the floor. He's full of hate and anguish but also in a strange contradictory way, childish hope.

If he's killing all the demons and Genya isn't in the corps to face them, then his baby isn't confronting demons at all. He can stick his head in the sand and pretend Genya is living the life he wants most for him. It's not until Genya joins the corps that he realized he needed to actually pay attention.

And the reason I headcanon this is because, if Sanemi was keeping tabs on Genya before he joined the corps, why didn't he stop Genya from joining in the first place? And by that I mean, why not stop Genya from training to join? He had to have had SOME combat training from a trainer or had someone TELL him about demons and final selection beforehand. But Sanemi doesn't find out Genya is even interested in following Sanemi until AFTER he joins. If that makes sense with how I put it.

TLDR; I think Sanemi didn't start watching Genya until he joined the corps where he then focused his attention on avoidance and isolation strategies to make Genya feel discouraged and leave on his own.

[bogkeep]

last year i wrote my opinions on all the movies i watched on my Very Long Flights to australia, since long flights are a great opportunity to watch some movies i probably wouldn't have bothered to seek out otherwise. here's the stuff i watched this time around

the first 13 episodes of rurouni kenshin: okay so back when i watched demon slayer for the first time i asked around like "does anyone know any other Good Sword Animes. i'm in a big mood for Sword Anime" and a friend told me that they were going to tell me about THE sword anime, but with a BIG caveat. and the caveat was such that i went "ah yeah maybe i won't look into that one". i've since heard more about this series and been very curious about the story, because it sounds like My Shit. i figured in-flight entertainment is probably one of the more ethical ways to watch it, and i have confirmed that it is indeed My Shit. extremely skilled swordsman torn between his bloody past and a new life? he can win any fight, but at the cost of his soul? yeah. yeah. will say that the subtitles left in a lot of japanese terms and words that i think i would've greatly benefited to know the meaning of - like i figured it out from context eventually, but yeah. so Now I Know. at least my curiosity is sated.

the new wonka movie - it was Fine! i appreciated the sincere efforts of whimsy and trying to stick to a roald dahl-esque tone, though in hindsight it's ENTIRELY too magical and sugary sweet (hah). could definitely have done without the fatphobia - something that is very present in the source material, so i shouldn't have been surprised that it features in the prequel, too... it just made me go "nooo noooOooooo don't do that uuughhh noooooooooooooooooooo" a lot. honestly, as far as vibes go, this movie reminded me the most of the first f*ntastical beasts movie (you know, the one that came out in 2016, when we were still young and innocent) - like, decently charming, very cgi.

the old willy wonka movie - i had never seen this one before, and it provided me a lot of context for the New movie :') now THIS really hits the Unhinged Dangerous vibes the new movie lacked. easily the best played willy wonka. a grand old time. i <3 practical effects.

3/4ths of the barbie movie rewatch - is the barbie movie still fun to watch, even after a year of Essays and Takes? i think so. i was in a practical effects mood and had less than two hours left of my flight. like, it's The Barbie Movie. it will never be That Deep because it cannot escape its corporate mainstreamness, but i love the actual play-pretend whimsy and exorbitant amount of pink paint and funky outfits.

killers of the flower moon - i'd considered watching this on my previous flight, i had heard of the movie and put it on my to-watch list, but the THREE HOURS AND TWENTY SIX MINUTES runtime scared me off. not because i didn't have time (my flights were 12 hours and 7,5 hours respectively), but because i knew it was gonna be Heavy and Depressing and you gotta have the right mood for three hours of That. both of my flights had the exact same entertainment catalogues i gave it a try first thing on flight #2, knowing i don't have to finish it if i don't want. it was very good but oh boy heavy and depressing was correct! really good buildup of dread and despair as the web of murder closes in like water circling the sink. very good period piece, and everything i've read about it after indicates that martin scorsese worked very closely with the osage people to create this movie.

the lego movie rewatch - this is one of my favourite movies that i've seen many times but haven't in a while, and after the Three Hours And Twenty Six Minutes of indigenous people getting poisoned and murdered i REALLY needed something light-hearted. i was also severely sleep deprived at this point. all this to say that i was almost overwhelmed by how fun this movie is and kept tearing up at almost every scene. it's just such a good time!!!! my critique of this movie has always been that it has two tropes that annoy me - the "highly competent girl is reduced to an assistant for the clueless 'chosen one' dude" and "person who has changed their name goes back to use their ~*real name*~ because it's more valid than whatever they picked" - that only annoy me because of how prevalent they used to be at the time when this movie came out. in isolation, the story works really well and i still like it so so much. everything is awesome!!!!!!

anyway those are my movie thoughts

[phantom-honey]

🌸 How to Love Japanese Culture Without Being a Weeaboo 🌸

1. Know the Difference Between Appreciation and Obsession 🍣

Loving kawaii fashion is cute, but are you respecting the culture behind it? Japan’s culture isn’t just a collection of pastel colors and big-eyed anime characters. It’s an intricate tapestry of history, art, and spiritual practices. To appreciate it fully, don’t just cherry-pick the parts that look cute. Dive into Japanese philosophy, literature, or even the nuances of Shinto rituals. It’s about respecting everything that makes up the culture, not just the stuff that fits your Pinterest board aesthetic. 🌱

2. Learn the Language, But Use It With Respect 🗣️

It’s so tempting to sprinkle Japanese phrases into your daily convo just to sound cool. But here’s the tea: using Japanese words when you’re not fluent (or don’t understand the deeper meaning) is just cringey. Learn the language if you’re genuinely interested! But please, don’t toss in “kawaii” every other sentence if you’re not part of that culture. Japanese is complex, and it’s beautiful when used respectfully. 🌸💬

3. Stop Romanticizing Everything (Japan isn’t a Fairy Tale) 💫

Japan isn’t this perfect, mystical land that never has problems. It’s a country that’s had its own struggles, joys, and deep complexities—just like anywhere else. Instead of romanticizing Japan as a utopia of purity and peace, let’s acknowledge the real issues, like the pressures of work culture or the struggles with mental health. It's important to love the culture, but also respect that it’s not a fairy tale. 🌍

4. Consume Media Thoughtfully 🎮

Anime and manga are amazing, but they’re not the end-all-be-all of Japan. There's a whole other world of Japanese film, art, and literature that deserves just as much love. Stop reducing an entire culture to just anime, kawaii fashion, and Studio Ghibli films. Trust, there’s so much more out there—like, why not check out the works of authors like Haruki Murakami or films from Akira Kurosawa? 🖤🎬

5. Be Mindful of Cultural Appropriation 🚫

Loving Japanese culture doesn’t mean owning it. It’s crucial to remember that elements of Japan’s culture—like wearing kimonos or celebrating traditional holidays—carry significance. Don’t treat them like a costume. If you love something, take the time to understand it deeply. It’s not about collecting aspects of a culture as accessories. It’s about approaching it with respect and awareness. 🌺

6. Don’t Be a “Know-It-All” 🤡

If you’ve been to Japan once or watched some anime, it doesn't make you an expert. You can love a culture without pretending to understand everything about it. Avoid gatekeeping others who are just starting their journey into appreciating Japanese culture. Let people learn at their own pace. It’s all about being humble and open-minded.

-from a former weeaboo

[davekat-sucks]

imisshomestuck: Hold on, Anon. The team member here used the word "instinctively." The fuck does that mean? Pretending makes sense but the word instinctively implies it's in her nature to be British... a Harry Potter reference?

Nah, Miles there is comparing Calliope (a skeleton reptile anglophile who pretends to be British) to Jake (a skeleton-themed human who is just sort of instinctively British-adjacent). "Instinctively" perhaps is referring that Jake is "naturally inclined" to act British, maybe because of his love of movies or because it's just a dumb pun on his surname, English.

I guess that is Homestuck's whole deal that the characters "instinctivley" fit some category. Almost all of the trolls are stereotypical takes on different types of people you'd encounter online. I wish it just stuck with that. All this talk of racial coding is a headache. Damara being forced to dress the way she does doesn't automatically imply she is Japanese, Hussie then just forced her to speak broken google translate Japanese after as a joke. Hussie needed to learn the word "restraint."

Yeah, but that's exactly why they are stereotypical/one dimensional, you're supposed to be angry/annoyed with their behavior, they are trolls, internet trolls. Damara is a weeaboo, that's why she speaks in google translate japanese, to make fun of people that act like weeaboos online and don't know how to speak the language, just repeat some words they learned through watching anime. If the problem is why is only japanese broken google translate while the trolls speak fluent english, one can come up with multiple creative and interesting wordbuilding explanations as to why is that. Why do some aliens speak english while others some other language (besides the logical explanation that that is the author native tongue and the only one he knows), it's not worth fretting over or calling Damara a racist caricature. I've seen people say that cosplaying while not being japanese is offensive, and it's like, what the fuck. Are people not allowed to draw her either? Way to go fandom, now nobody even wants to depict Damara in fanworks, another win for "representation", policing fanart and cosplay...

As for why people get offended, it's never japanese people speaking against Damara, it's always americans with a savior complex. Why else does nobody says anything against Calliope doing the same but with english culture? The Speedy Gonzalez syndrome basically, where americans get offended on behalf of certain groups of people they think need "saving" and they don't realize or want to accept that mexicans fucking love Speedy. Do you see english speakers get offended when a manga depicts an american character speaking single sentence phrases in english? No, because they know the author maybe doesn't speak the language and it's just a joke. Do you see people insulting Toriyama because Piccolo the alien speaks japanese when his name is italian? No, because Piccolo is an alien, who the fuck cares.

And I wanna comment on Mr and Mr Davekat. They really aren't allowed to be their own characters. They are joined at the hip now.

Yeah I rolled my eyes out of my skull when I read that, if they called John and Roxy Mr and Ms Roxygen people would rightfully call that shit out as being corny as hell.

It is usually Americans that do something for minorities even if the minorities are okay with certain things. Why can't they leave us alone? Talk a bout hero complex. And not surprised that Dave and Karkat are only recognizable for just being a couple. It's about as said when Kanaya had been reduced to being Rose's wife/girlfriend. I feel so sorry to the actual Dave and Karkat fans that like them individually for their character, not who they fuck with.

[aeolianblues]

I remembered suddenly that when I was 10, in the very early days of social media, when things were way more lawless and casual, and social media did not link to real life, for all intents and purposes, I did not have internet, save for to be able to do a school-assigned summer project every summer break for which I’d hand-write info from Wikipedia (and other sites) and select some pictures to print out and paste into a scrapbook. In those days, my only real exposure to America was through television. I wasn’t really into sitcoms and whatnot, which are often American, and of course we had Hollywood films. But we also had (have) a lot of indigenous cinema, and so of course I heard a lot of media in my own accent and languages, and read a lot of work written in my own English. Owing to a long and tedious history, our English was British English. Our books were either the English editions, English imports, or occasionally Indian editions. And of course, we had a rich literature of local English-language and Anglo-Indian authors (I hadn’t read The Room On The Roof aged 10! But I would have read it by 15, which honestly is the right age).

There was some exposure to American* English and voices through Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon shows, and through American dubs of kids’ anime, however. So I grew up loving Pokémon, Beyblade, a bunch of other series that my generation at least, watched in English. (*yes I’m aware the Beyblade dub is Canadian. Only Canadians know the difference between a Canadian and an American accent.)

So here we are in around 2009, 2010, all I know about America is: it's vast, very clean (my mum’s dust allergies did not flare up for the first time ever when we visited family there, and so America must be dust-free. As an adult, I maintain my own house now and laugh at the notion that *anywhere* could really be dust-free; my mum visited me and sneezed once. Yet, I do have to concede that she sneezes more in her own house, which shall always be 10x cleaner than mine, and saying this even is a compliment to my house. I try to be my mum. I fail, regularly. (<- was sweeping at 2 am last night because I’d rather have the dust IN the dustbin that I had to take out for garbage collection the next morning. Also it’s!! the hair!!). It has Disneyland, President Obama, Pokémon and Beyblade, mindful of the knowledge that two of these were actually Japanese. No obstacle.

This is my view of America. Sounds quite nice, doesn’t it? And they speak differently to us, but the only people I’ve heard speaking like this are 1. my cousins (very sweet) 2. ‘YES WE CAN!’ A+, inspiring 3. ‘Go Pikachu!’

So I warm to this little novelty. I can still do Ash Ketchum’s voice, and at one point aged like 11 everyone thought I was going to be a voice actor because I could do accents. Never mind that my range was very limited, and I had never been ‘y’all’ed at. All I had was ‘GenAm.’ Southern exposure would come later in life.

I couldn’t just speak American, that would’ve had me cast out immediately. No way. We were harsh on ‘snobs’ that pretended they were from elsewhere, who had a ‘posh upbringing’, went to the international schools, or spoke with an accent we recognised as from the foreign English(-first language) world (read: British or American. Australians were our cricket sledging rivals: we’d done their accent a million times and they’d done ours. They were the reason why Indians have an odd propensity for the word 'mate' despite not being British. The Aussies didn’t count. Also we didn’t really have Australian schools in the country, international schools were usually IB or IGCSE, which usually produced one of two accents). But almost as a little nod, as a token of admiration, I could spell just a handful of words differently.

And so I could declare the color of pH indicators on my tests and then go home to watch my favorite animated series. It was seen simply as a mark of internationalism: what a well-read kid! You were clearly reading outside the curriculum if you were reading American editions. I don't particularly ever remember being taken aside for my spelling or discouraged from it, besides the occasional circling of 'bad' spelling in my work with a red pen by a teacher. The world continued to turn. I volunteered with organisations, my documents were notarised, my sentences ended with fullstops. My sums pointedly ignoring the 'hundred thousands' and 'millions'. I'd come home and sit in the bathroom, furiously scribbling away my Pokémon ideas, telling my mum I needed longer to shower, mental tyres screeching to a halt when she'd turn off the light in frustration. But true to character, at least the scripts retained their proper geographical localisation (localization?), albeit spoken through the mouth of a 13 year old who certainly did not live in the USA. But could put on a damn decent voice in a few specific situations.

I don't remember when exactly this stopped, it likely faded away like many childhood enthusiasms do, aided by a resigned fear of being marked down by external examiners on important tests, and the subsequent need to standardise language for the widest possible readership, but it was long enough ago that I had forgotten I ever wrote like that in the first place. I think it was definitely gone by 2016, for both reasons. I'm not sure 'American' was really 'cool' to anyone anymore. And we were coming up to 15, 16. That was when I first got a phone.

In a few short years, you'd got to a point (not gotten, note) where you had to be connected to the internet: emails from school, class whatsapp group chats, worksheets up on Google Drive rather than wasting 5 minutes of class time distributing printouts in class. Wifi was now a must, as were laptops at home, rather than just the occasional logging onto the family computer. You had to have a phone, silly. (Mine honestly was because my mum would often be an hour late in picking me up from places. We tried the rubber-button Nokia for a while, but it was increasingly becoming obvious that the trajectory for me and anyone around me still without a phone was to eventually get one. I inaugurated mine with beginning listening to the Smiths on Youtube, reading a PDF version of one of the Bourne series books, checking my email regularly, starting a Wordpress blog (which felt very antiquated at the time) and eventually ruining my eyes. Tumblr wasn't even in the picture yet).

We got on social media too. Suddenly, America was everywhere. Suddenly, there were a million casual references to things we'd never heard before. We were taken, up close and personably, into the very houses of Americans we'd never otherwise have met. It was exciting, wasn't it? You could have friends in America! And unlike the chatroom days, there was a chance you'd see them again, because you could follow them. I personally was pretty much only on the cricket and Muse sides and of social media (remember when you didn't need an account to see everything happening on a website?) So I still think I was seeing fewer Americans than usual. The Resistance and 2nd Law periods felt like the first times a lot of Americans were discovering Muse: there were the Grammys in 2009, Kate Hudson and the resulting press hounds, Undisclosed Desires to some, and finally Madness that broke them to many. The fanbase around Muse felt largely European at the time.

But then there were memes. Memespeak. I think today with a more critical lens on what we were consuming (and notice how what used to be 'conversation' in the 00s slowly became 'consumption' of ideas), we realise that a lot of 'memespeak', 'twitter speak', and now 'gen Z talk' and 'tiktok speak' was AAVE that got removed further from its context with every new corner of the world it reached. It's happening right now! Have you heard the latest: 'very demure, very mindful'. I chanced upon the original video. She's talking about her workday makeup. People have now applied it as a lifestyle choice. It came from a black woman and now sounds like tradwife-tok. What on earth were kids in India doing occasionally imbibing their speech with AAVE? Regardless, it was still an Americanism entering our lexicon and consciousness.

Back in 2016, I was very firmly of the belief that the online did not affect your offline life. We lived so far away from it all! Once you log off, it's a different world. It's also kind of why cyberbullying had never really bothered me. What's an American troubling me online going to do, get on a 17 hour, $1000-flight about it? Even if I ever slipped up and narrowed it down to one city, was this hypothetical American going to come and find me specifically amidst 12 million other people? Get out of here. The threat of someone angry driving five hours to cause me harm was simply not the kind of reality for me compared to, well. The Americans that made up like 80% of the internet at the time and dominated the conversation.

Still we learned. Emergency helplines in the US. Safety tips in the US. What to do on the highway. We crossed the highway once in two years. For the longest time, despite all the online awareness being spread, I simply knew that my biggest path to safety was 1) to be in a group that included our guy friends 2) wear jeans rather than skirts and tops that went all the way up 3) get home by 10. (And of course, know that that would still fall woefully short. I saw friends get catcalled at 1 PM, and all I could do was wag a finger in their face and drag my friend away.) The online and offline worlds were different places.

Nonetheless, as time went on, it got a little harder to stop thinking about America in our logged-off time. American politics filters through. Initially, it's just the laughing along with late night hosts on YouTube clips. Then it's the shock and disgust at the actual headlines that would begin to overtake national news as top headlines on the front pages of the news. Slowly, you begin to see the parallels. We cannot point and laugh the way Europe does, unfortunately. We see too much of our own reality reflected in you. The ugly bits. We don't like to see them because we want to think of ourselves as progressive, but we are like you. Or are we? 'Hindus for Trump'. The Americanisation continues apace.

I think we did eventually put our foot down to occupy some floor space. To make our presence felt. To talk about a life that was not American. Deliberately looked for the things that marked us out as non-Americans. We say we are not like them. We say they are nothing like us. But you know, perhaps we don't have to be alike. But there are reflections of each other as people within ourselves. They're not always pleasant to recognise.

[kittycatpopprincess]

One thing I've noticed, generally speaking, when witnessing, or even participating in, discussions about trans narratives in media where cis people are involved is the willful refusal of any possible trans perspective in media

This is something that obviously happens a lot in discussions about anime, which has a rich history of gender non-conforming and straight up canonically LGBT characters. While I will not pretend to be an expert on Japanese culture and politics regarding LGBT topics and representation, it's clear that there is a genealogy to be made, dating back from Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight to the character of Hideri in Blend S or Astolfo in the Fate series, while including a number of works like The Rose of Versailles and its protagonist Oscar or Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena, or even Ryuunosuke Fujinami from Urusei Yatsura.

Ryuunosuke particularly came as a surprise to me. Watching the 2022 version of the Urusei Yatsura series, I went in blind, not knowing much about the series, and was struck by how her entire arc and narrative, despite her being a cis woman, is overwhelmingly transgender. Her longing to be understood and recognised by her father as who she is rather than who the father in question perceives her to be, the maladroit yet sympathetic way she experiences her first moments of feeling affirmed in her gender identity; Ryuunosuke is a trans women in every way shy of birth and name.

There's the rub however. It's difficult to say what defines a character, and this is something that probably shifts from case to case. It also depends heavily on the type of story being told. There is something to be said, however, about good characters being more than their words. Essentially, what will often define a character is not just what they say/do, and what is said of them, but it's how they do it, how they interact with the world around them, how they fit into this world or how they sometimes don't. In this sense, Ryuunosuke is a transgender woman, because the way she interacts with the world is an overtly trans one.

This is something that becomes more complicated when narratives become open to interpretation. Yume Nikki, an independent video game which has, over time, become a cult classic, is often noted as being a very disarming and confusing experience. Some themes seem clear and reoccuring throughout the game, where the purpose it to walk through the main character's dreams. Of course, many people have since then tried to draw meaning from the game, and to piece together a meanng from the dreams of this woman named Madotsuki. Particularly, a lot of those themes have to do with bodies, both yonic and phallic imagery seeming present throughout the game, and at times being an apparent source of detress for Madotsuki. From there, one of the theories that has emerged from the game is that Madotsuki might be transgender. It should be noted that, due to the open ended nature of the game, nothing has ever been confirmed as far as I'm aware, and though this theory is not necessarily the most popular one, it's not without arguments or pertinence. Sadly, as I have witnessed myself, it seems to be often met with absolute vitriol, with claims that the people recognising themselves in Madotsuki and their dreams are inserting themes of gender identity where there's none, and citing the lack of explicit references to a potential trans identity in a game where any kind of explicit reference to anything is almost non-existant.

Another work in which I have seen the trans narratives be rejected is The Matrix. Written and directed by two trans women, this is a movie that has, over the years, been subject to many analyses and theories regarding its meaning. From Plato to New Age spiritualities, the many interpretations are a testament to the richness and depth of the themes developped in the movie hereas well. The trans interpretation, one of many in this instance, (And one that Lana Wachowski has admitted was, though unintended at first, very true and related to her own experiences as a then-closeted trans woman) is one that deserves just as much regard as any other, and yet I've seen shut down immediately for lack of literal proof. Essentially, The Matrix can never be a trans allegory because Neo doesn't come into the Neb's kitchen one morning to announce he is coming out as trans to the whole crew.

So we end up with a question that seems, to me, important. What makes a transgender character trans? Ironically enough, trans characters in media are finding themselves with the burden to prove their transness. Declared cis until otherwise proven, the question remains of how to prove a character is trans. The answer, I think, lies in the function of coming out in many works of fiction. It is, on the one hand, didactic. It reassures the cis viewer that this trans character is not hostile, that they are willing to take the time and be patient enough to explain their identity as well as answer any question the cis characters, and through them the viewer, might have. On the other hand, it is othering. The character's transness becomes a thing they explain, rather than something they live. They are trans, yes, but not in the way cis characters are cis. They stop being who they are and become who they say they are, which is to say that their character is no longer defined through their themes and narratives, but has to apologetically present themselves as trans so the cis viewer might not accidentally perceive them as deeply human as any other cisgender character. For many people, what makes a character trans is how to offer themselves to the voyeuristic cis gaze.

[miraruinada]

"This country is special. Every movement, every shift, every tide in history, every cultural tie, every significant event, every important person, every true belief, every lie, every creature, every political reality, every burgeoning death, every lasting curse laid upon the world, past, present, and future, all its vestiges remain within its borders. When the world is subsumed into the abyss, when the final light goes out, when the death of all that was finally comes, it will still remain."

"So you say."

"Do you know what this country's intellectuals have? A relationship I don't believe any other has. The intellectual himself may be a passionate defender of the state or a critic of the state. The state doesn't care. The state feeds him and watches over him in silence. And it puts this giant cohort of essentially useless writers to use. How? It exorcises demons, it alters the national climate or at least tries to sway it. It adds layers of lime to a pit that may or may not exist, no one knows for sure. Not that it's always this way, of course. An intellectual might, say, leave its borders for a better job, but that doesn't mean they won't get a late-night call from someone speaking in the name of the state, someone who offers them a better job, better pay, something the intellectual think he deserves, and intellectuals always think they deserve better. This mechanism somehow crops the ears off writers. It drives them insane. Some, for example, will set out to translate Japanese poetry without knowing Japanese and others just spend their time drinking.

"The weather is good, it's sunny, you can go out and sit in the park and open a book, and then you go over to a friend's house and talk. And yet your shadow isn't following you anymore. At some point your shadow has quietly slipped away. You pretend you don't notice, but you have, you're missing your fucking shadow, though there are plenty of ways to explain it, the angle of the sun, the degree of oblivion induced by the sun beating down on hatless heads, the quantity of alcohol ingested, the movement of something like subterranean tanks of pain, the fear of more contingent things, a disease that begins to become more apparent, wounded vanity, the desire for just once in your life to be on time. But the point is, your shadow is lost and you, momentarily, forget it. And so you arrive on a kind of stage, without your shadow, and you start to translate reality or reinterpret it or sing it.

"The stage is really a proscenium and upstage there's an enormous tube, something like a mine shaft or the gigantic opening of a mine. Let's call it a cave. But a mine works, too. You can hear onomatopoeic noises, syllables of rage or of seduction or of seductive rage or maybe just murmurs and whispers and moans. The point is, no one really sees the mouth of the mine. In fact, only the spectators who are closest to the stage, right up against the orchestra pit, can see the shape of something behind the dense veil of camouflage, not the real shape, but at any rate it's the shape of something. Meanwhile, the shadowless intellectuals are always facing the audience, so unless they have eyes in the backs of their heads, they can't see anything. They only hear the sounds that come from deep in the mine. And they translate or reinterpret or recreate them. They employ rhetoric where they sense an earthquake, they try to be eloquent where they sense a fury unleashed, they strive to maintain the discipline of meter where there's only a deafening and hopeless silence. They say chirp chirp, bark bark, meow meow, because they're incapable of imagining an animal of colossal proportions, or the absence of such an animal.

"The roars keep coming from the opening of the mine and the intellectuals keep misinterpreting them. In fact, they, in theory the masters of language, can't even enrich it themselves. They're sick, and from time to time they invent hideous words and there's a spike in their mortality rate. When the workday ends the stages are closed and they cover the openings of the mines with big sheets of steel. The intellectuals retire for the night. The moon is fat and the night air is so pure it seems edible. Songs can be heard in some bars, the notes reaching the street. Sometimes an intellectual wanders off course and goes into one of these places and drinks mezcal. Doesn't think anything. He just drinks and sings. The next morning it's nice out. The sun shoots sparks but doesn't burn. A person can go out reasonably relaxed, with his shadow on his heels, and stop in a park and read a few pages. And so on until the end."

"I don't understand a word you've just said."

"Really, I've just been talking nonsense."

"You truly have gone mad, Jorjais."

[trishacollins]

Miraculous Card Captors

Look I just have to let you guys know that this is purely indulgence and boredom. The moment I saw my first MLB episode, I wanted her to meet one of my favorite anime heroines of all time. So this is self indulgence.

*~**

Marinette stood up, letting Fei take her place. "I don't recognize your authority."

"Marinette!" Fei hissed. Wow, he loved that girl.

“Do you know who I am?” The Chinese teen started.

Marinette shifted, shoulders straightening, planted between him and the teenager who was apparently rich enough to just casually pay for damages. “No.”

It was one word, but it was said with enough force behind it that anyone who was pretending to be busy in the background stopped and turned to gape at the face off.

“Nor do we.” The Japanese girl moved very calmly to the side of the boy, presenting her side to Marinette and facing the boy, laying her hand on his arm. “We are not here to fight.” It was as much a command as a reassurance, the Chinese teen was taller and more solidly built than she was, but he knew from the way the fabric at her shoulder was bunching that she was exerting considerable power in pushing his arm down.

It just looked effortless if someone wasn’t used to watching for the barely there hint of movement.

The boy growled low in his throat, and the girl shifted, hand dropping to the bag at her side. “Fine.” The boy grumbled.

The part of him that was always Chat Noir, even outside of the mask, wanted to snarl in response.

Marinette didn’t shift as the girl turned, walking towards her and smiling softly. “We would like for you to come with us, as guests. So we can talk without an audience.” She explained in gently accented English. “But we understand if Meiling’s greeting has left you closed to that possibility.”

“The new Clow is prettier than the last one.” Plagg muttered against his chest. “Tell pigtails to go with her, kid.”

Fei was half standing, eyes wide and panicked.

“Mari.” He slurred.

She didn’t turn to look at him. “It’s ok, Adrien.”

“It is.” He agreed. “We all reacted. Let’s hear them out.”

She turned her head slightly to look at him. “Adrien-”

“If we don’t like it, we can leave. But we can hear them out.” Adrien encouraged.

He had a million questions for Plagg. Who or what was Clow? Were they Miraculous holders? Who were they?

Why had Plagg bit him?

Marinette frowned, but nodded.

“Can someone please get our new friends a change of clothes?” The girl asked airily over her shoulder.

“What should we call you?” Marinette asked.

The girl smiled warmly. “I’m Sakura, and this is my husband, Syaoran. The young woman who approached you is our cousin, Meiling. She is very sorry for startling you.” Meiling also had a bloody nose and a blooming bruise on the side of her face, but nodded grudgingly. “Wouldn’t mind a spar.”

Marinette scowled. “If you think I’m going to let you lay a hand on Adrien -”

“Not him, Chrysanthemum. You.” The girl looked pleased. “That was a good throw.”

Marinette’s scowl fell apart in place of a blush.

*~* Someone had found him a fresh shirt and an ice pack, and really he wasn’t sure the ice pack hadn’t been doctored in some way because the blood stopped as soon as it as much as touched his face.

Plagg didn’t act like anything was going to kill him, so he let the (maybe) magical ice pack rest against his face and the swelling to go down as someone who was clearly a bodyguard from the smooth way they moved knelt to serve them tea.

If he’d not left the Gorilla at their hotel, he’d bet they could have a staring contest.

“Thank you.” Sakura stated, smiling as she leaned to take the tea from the hands of the bodyguard. “You can go.”

“Sakura.” Syaoran didn’t look pleased.

“I know. But if you and I together are not safe enough, then there is no point in involving anyone else.” Sakura said, voice cheerful. “I do not think they are here for harm.”

“Who do you think we are?” Marinette asked cautiously, looking ready to bolt.

Adrien, bolstered by Plagg’s confidence, was willing to relax and accepted the small cup of tea, bowing over it.

“It’s not difficult for those trained to feel magic to pick up the presence of a Miraculous on a person.”  Syaoran stated blandly.

Adrien almost dropped his cup, eyes darting to Marinette.

Marinette had gone white and wasn’t looking at him. “How do you mean?”

Sakura smiled. “A powerful enough magic can be felt halfway across the world.” She said mildly, pressing a cup of tea into Marinette’s hands. “Your magic is less familiar, but the Li’s investigated the presence of the Parisian magic user in Shanghai last year, so we know you, Wu Fei.” She inclined her head slightly.

Fei looked uncomfortable. “I had no idea the Li’s were looking into it. I apologize for any trouble we may have caused.”

Sakura smiled. “When your magic does damage that sticks, then you can apologize.”

“I mean, that was Ladybug. I can’t take credit for that.” Fei protested.

Syaoran was staring straight at Marinette, not looking away as he was handed tea of his own.

Adrien shifted, trying to draw the attention to himself. Why were they focusing on Marinette if they could sense Plagg?

Sakura relaxed, feet tucked under her as she took a deep breath of the tea. “Magic is coming back to the world.” She mused. “Just as my predecessor foresaw…”

“You don’t think-”  Syaoran started.

Sakura flicked her eyes to him. “Lord Plagg is here.”

Syaoran sighed deeply, but nodded.

Marinette blinked. “He is?”

Oh shit.

As one, Syaoran and Sakura looked first to Marinette, and then to him, and then once more to each other.

“I presume, then, that you do not know that you each have one of the set?” Sakura asked slowly.

They what? His eyes darted to his girlfriend, only to find Marinette staring back at him, eyes wide and panicked.

“...kitty?” She whispered, as Plagg darted out of his shirt.

Adrien knew fully well that he was already sitting down, but felt the need to sit down more firmly as everything he knew about the world abruptly turned upside down when a Kwami – Tikki – came out of Marinette’s purse.

Fei groaned softly.

[psychewritesbs]

When Opposites Attract, part 3: Standing guard

Uh.... not much happening in episodes 32-38... but whatever gems I was able to gather are all beneath the cut.

The things I do for blorbo and my OTP!

But mostly I’m just fast forwarding through all of the bullshit... 

Athrun

Ok so we fast forward to episode 34 where we get to see Athrun engage with his daddy issues Chairman Patrick Zala. 

What I thought was interesting about this moment was that Athrun at first addresses his father as 父上 “chichi ue”, which is like a super formal and polite way of addressing one’s father in Japan. Even if you don’t speak Japanese, if you’ve been watching anime long enough, you’ve surely heard the word “ottosan” or simply “chichi” being most commonly used to address one’s father.

I think the purpose of having Athrun say “chichi ue” was to show the audience both the level of respect that Athrun has for his father and, most importantly, the emotional distance between them. I mean... “ue” literally means “above”.

... and even that is not enough distance as Papa Zala demands even more emotional distance from Athrun as he reprimands him for calling him “father” even though there is no one else in the room with them.

Like... is it any surprise that our favorite Zala boy is constantly emotionally constipated given the lack of a mother figure and his own father’s emotional frigidness?

It is then that his father confirms that Lacus gave Kira one of the new Gundams and that their engagement is therefore broken off.

Athrun, I beg of you... there’s a whole fandom that thinks you were heartbroken about Lacus getting with Kira! Do you mind at least pretending that you were, in fact, heart broken or unhappy about it?

Idk... look sad... argue with your dad... SOMETHING, ANYTHING!

Ok but in all seriousness, going back to the idea that both Athrun and Lacus got to know each other and became friends who cared for each other as a result of their arranged marriage, I really appreciated seeing Athrun be in complete denial about Lacus being involved with the new Gundam being stolen. 

I like to think that Athrun knew that for someone like Lacus to do such a thing, she must have had a REALLY good reason for it. 

That or maybe he just totally overestimated her intelligence and cunning. After all, when Athrun thinks of Lacus he seems to find her whimsical nature... burdensome?

Flashback from who knows what episode earlier on.

Thoughts?

Anyways. Like Cagalli, Lacus challenges Athrun and his propensity to following orders blindly just as she tells him that she’s on Kira’s side.

Then there’s a gun fight, Athrun protects Lacus who is technically now an “enemy” (yay for character development), yadda yadda yadda, and as Lacus says goodbye, Athrun can’t contain himself with how in love he is with her and therefore does not go with her. 

True love I tell you. TRUE LOVE!

So Athrun gets on his shiny new Gundam and takes off for the Earth with a new perspective on his blind devotion, which means it’s time for Athrun to become a conscious human being with a free will of his own. That Oedipus Complex is about to have its ass kicked to the curb.

To whom and what Athrun becomes devoted to defines the rest of his character arc.

Cagalli

As for Cagalli... well she’s already had development so all we get from her is that she’s happy to see Kira is still alive, Mwu totally steals the Strike from her rude, and she actually asks for permission now.

Speaking of character development...

She even learned military strategy and is in charge of directing this battle. Nothing beats 15 year old teenage girls directing a country’s military. These Gundam Seed writers sure know how to write realistic battle scenes.

Fast forward... fast forward... and we get to our next asucaga encounter...

Bridging the gap

After Athrun helps win the battle to protect Orb against the crazy Earth Fed pilots, Athrun and Kira stare each other down, proving once and for all that Kira looks about as threatening as a French Poodle or a Pomeranian. 

At least he’s not crying so that’s always a win.

But I have to say that I loved Cagalli realizing that the pilot in that other sparkly Gundam was none other than Athrun who is now walking towards the one person he thought he had killed.

Also, why is everyone so surprised and acting like they know what is going on?? Like even the random soldiers behind Cagalli are like “oh my gah! *GASP*”!

Little side note here: Dearka has about as much depth as a kiddy pool but I have to admit I like his personality when he’s not letting himself be influenced by everybody’s favorite Mean Girl™, Yzak. I also have to admit that I wish he wouldn’t have gotten paired up with Milly because it feels like the writers are just pulling ships out of their asses at this point.

But anyways... as the Orb soldiers point their guns at Athrun, that look he flashes them is so...

Like is that a smile? Is he sad? What’s going on here?

I’m in a shippy mood so I’m going to go ahead and gatekeep the fck out of this scene and officially claim that he’s looking straight at Cagalli.

Whatever that look communicated, Cagalli takes notice and bridges the seemingly irreconcilable gap between Athrun and Kira.

What follows then is the conversation between Athrun and Kira on how Kira has chosen to fight moving forward. Now that Kira has earned his status as Kira Jesus Yamato, he’s unlocked new levels of Buddhahood previously not available to him and has chosen the “middle path”.

This gets Athrun thinking (yay! finally!) about Chairman Zala’s extremism but still appears to be torn as to where his allegiance lays and whom and what he will seek to protect.

And like ok. This is one of the gems in Gundam Seed and why I think that EVERYONE needs to watch at least ONE Gundam show. In the end, Gundam is about human conflict and how the gap can be bridged between two opposing sides. 

If I’m honest, with the way our world is so divided nowadays, we could use some cute bishonen and jiggly boobs to remind us that the “enemy” too is human. And Gundam Seed got that right, jiggly boobs and all.

But I digress... back to what REALLY matters: the melodrama.

Athrun gets challenged time and time again by others to make a call and decide his place in the war. In the end, if there’s one thing that everyone wants, it’s to end the war--even if they have different approaches for it.

And since I’ve been writing about Athrun and Cagalli “meeting in the middle”, I thought it was a cute detail that both of them mess with their hair when burdened by their own thoughts.

Also, if you know Scorpios, then you know they are stubborn af. Hence Athrun being mega indecisive about how he wants to contribute towards ending the war.

But none of that matters because Cagalli is there...

... standing “guard”.

I think one of the things I’ve grown to really like about Cagalli is that she’s this “steady” source of optimism and support for others. 

I also like to think that as a result of all of these conversations he’s been having, Athrun is beginning to break through that Oedipal Complex of his. He realized that at the core of his own father’s extremist attitudes is the pain of having lost his wife.

The problem is that this senseless hatred has spiraled out of control as is shown in this episode when the idea of the nuclear-powered Gundams becomes a point of contention.

It is thus then that Athrun will seek to return to space to try to “kill” his own father, which is in itself a metaphor for Athrun finally overcoming his own rigid mental barriers in favor of a new perspective influenced by his heart as “conscience”.

This also means I’ll have about 10 episodes left before I move onto Gundam Wing and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, which I want to watch because it was written by Okuchi Ichiro who also wrote Code Geass and whom I know is a CLAMP fan.

[darkarfs]

I need to learn to love how I look post-shower. Fucking rained-on St. Bernard. (That's a Drumstick, which I got from my neighbor's freezer. I'm watching her cat this week while she's on vacation, and she said I could have a few.) I'd never been to a show at a college campus before. It was a 4,000 seat venue and it was almost completely full. And the crowd was exactly what you'd expect at that kind of show: the Venn diagram meeting place between anime nerds, stoners and metal nerds. We got there for opener Jason Richardson, a guy who did shred instrumentals with programmed blastbeats. Every song was indistinguishable from the other. He went on for too long. Totally admit going in that I only knew 5 or 6 Babymetal songs, but the ones I knew I more or less liked. I'm not a person who sees them as a novelty act, either, like "oh isn't that interesting, these Japanese pop-idol singers are fronting this riff-heavy metal band." The songs and performances speak for themselves, honestly, and the enthusiasm and energy are absolutely there. They choreograph the shit out of it, and they take it seriously, and yet...it's objectively very silly, and I like that. There's a video vignette at the start about how the infinite universe needs more love and free will and heavy metal in it, and these people want to bring it to us. There's footage of ruins, the desert, the world as seen from space, the Ouroboros, animals chasing one another. It dissolves into this vague "the universe at play, the cosmic ballet" sort of thing, and I take solace in the fact that metal never lets go of that imagery, ever. It shouldn't. Pretend metal is the music of the universe loving and strangling itself, always, because it really is, and I always wanna lose myself in that mess. They didn't do "KARATE," my favorite song of theirs. But they were giving 100% of themselves, and I admire commitment, even if I only knew 5 or 6 songs. Dethklok are currently Brendon Small, a tiny woman in spandex whose name I missed (I think it was Nili?), a bass player, and drumming legend "Atomic Clock" Gene Hoglan. And they are...listen, I've been going to metal shows since 1997, since my freshman year of high school. I've seen Cannibal Corpse, Opeth, Sepultura, Between the Buried and Me, Megadeth, Mastodon, Gojira, Slayer...these are maybe the tightest metal band I have ever seen play. And I think that has everything to do with the fact that they have to play to match the visuals on a giant screen behind them, and it was millisecond-precise, airtight. They're basically playing note-perfect live versions of every Dethklok music video you've ever seen, in real time. You'd need Gene Hoglan for that. FaceBones addressed us twice on the monitor, reminding us to stop being such dickfaces for not showering when going to shows and that we're all friends because we smoke weed. Smalls also took the time to address us as every character he voices on the show. He could do Pickles and Skwisgar, but his Nathan suffered because he had just sung 7 songs beforehand. Not blaming him for that! This is probably the only show I'd ever been to where I knew the words to EVERY song, too, which is weird to think about. Like, even when I saw bands I loved like Motorhead or Gwar, there's always a song I don't know, or a deep cut they do that I'm not familiar with. I knew all the Dethklok stuff.

So much fun. Good to be among the enthusiastic metal dorks, universally the best and most accepting crowds on Earth. Did a shirt count, and other than the two bands performing, the most represented band that I saw, weirdly, was Megadeth. Shout-out to the girl dressed as Dr. Rockso. People being let out to get back to their cars looked like the opening to Gravity's Rainbow. On our way back to the car, I overhear this conversation: Guy behind me: "Those visuals on those two songs were from the movie that just came out." Other guy: "Oh, there's a movie? Where can I watch it?" Me, turning around: "KIMCARTOON DOT ELL-EYE!" GBM: "Well, I'd like to pay them to watch it, yeah?" Me: "Oh, well, in that case, you can rent it on iTunes." Other guy: "Oh, well, fuck that, I'm not going through all of that." Me: "Y'all can't have it both ways, dudes!" An incredibly fun and lovely evening. Glad I did it, glad I had good company for it. I'd do it again.

[canmom]

Lol I know that scan. I read Slam Dunk with the official Brazilian release, but if I want to go look something up quickly it is easier to look for scans than to go through my collection. So it was a bit of a surprise to see a random Japanese word being thrown as if it was normal, it is very silly. I too am not a proponent of over localizing everything. I don't want foreign literature to pretend to be on my own country (much less the US). But when there is such an equivalent word it is ridiculous

yeah lol. if you can write 'tensai=genius' in three words like that, you really should just write genius. (although i saw a discussion of whether 'genius' is always the best translation of 天才 on a fansub server the other day - sometimes 'naturally gifted' or 'prodigy' or the like might be a more apt translation - but I think it's probably safe to say that the authors of Tensai Manga Project aren't really thinking of that kind of nuance and are just feeling weeby).

but yeah. I get the appeal of a slightly looser, more natural translation, and it's definitely a good thing to aim for idiomatic phrasing in the target language. there is something to be said for a very creative localisation like what FFXIV has, as a new work in its own right that's kind of a companion to the Japanese version. (though that's kind of a special case because Koji Fox and the rest of the English localisation team are fairly involved with the writers from the start). but in general if I'm going out of my way to watch watching a fansub of anime, donghua, cdrama (etc.) rather than TV from my own country, I very much don't want you to hide its specific Japanese, Chinese (etc.) qualities - I'd rather take the opportunity to learn something about another place or language. 'course, it's a bit easier in something interactive like a visual novel where you can hide the cultural notes on another screen.

when to call attention to the translation, and when to just pick something that sounds natural (or deliberately unnatural) in the target language, depends on all kinds of factors - the style of translation you're doing, the target audience etc. regular anime viewers will probably know what いただきます means (at least if I write it itadakimasu), but it probably isn't a great idea to leave that untranslated if you're writing subs for a major theatrical release lol

[seyaryminamoto]

Hey! Not related to your story but rather to your native language. Do you’ve got any tips for learning Spanish in a (possible) fast way? Any sites or recommendations for learning techniques? Anything that makes it easier.

That would help me a lot. Gracias 🙏

Related to my previous ask. Any tips how to learn the right pronunciation?

For efficiency's sake, I piled both asks into the same one, haha.

In all honesty... learning a new language is kind of particular to each person. Some people respond to some methods, some to others. The most popular current method to learn a new language is Duolingo, I have parents who are unhealthily hooked on it (?) (okay but for real, they keep going to war with total strangers to stay in the top 3 of the diamond league or something?? who'd have thought my parents would join anything that feels like a battle royale game... certainly not me!). But for some people, it might be easier to take a proper class with human instructors rather than a green owl (?)

Personally, I learned English extremely early in life, which made it so I picked it up and never really put it down. The great, sophisticated method through which I learned... was watching TV in English as a little kid :'D I couldn't watch Disney shows in Spanish because we only had access to the USA Disney channel in my youth, therefore, if I wanted to enjoy my cartoons and my animated movies, I had to figure out wtf anyone was saying, and through a mix of asking my parents and my older sisters what each word meant, I somehow started picking it up a lot more than I ever realized I had.

This might sound a little impossible for you now since, yes, kids pick up languages faster than adults, and better, usually, since it becomes kind of instinctive to them. But it's not completely pointless advice: while I'm a HUGE advocate for watching TV shows in the original language they were created... I suggest that you watch shows dubbed in Spanish. Whether Latin American or European Spanish, you pick whichever accent and style you prefer, haha. But watch TV shows or movies, whether produced in Latin American countries or in Spain, or simply dubbed, and you'll be practicing while having fun! Put on subtitles while you're still not confident in your knowledge, it's wild how that actually helps you pick up words and meanings without your awareness. In this case, I bring up my years of experience being the weaboo I proudly was: I can understand a lot more Japanese than I realized simply because I've been watching anime in Japanese with subtitles since I was 11-years-old. That certainly helps in making certain things click in your head without your awareness. It's so real that when my mom started watching K-dramas, and made me watch them with her, I took to picking up a few simple elements of Korean structure, some basic words, obviously not enough to pretend I actually know/understand Korean, but enough that I was surprised to find that, with zero intent to learn the language, I still picked up a thing or two by instinct!

The other major advice is basically the same thing but a little more sophisticated and deliberate: read a book translated to Spanish. Preferably, a book you already know by heart. Find a translated version of any books you're really attached to... and keep your English copy nearby, too. If something is confusing? Take your English copy and find the same scene. Use a dictionary too in case you're confused about the exact meaning of the words. But when you're revisiting something familiar in another language, you pick up a lot of things, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not so intentionally.

I don't know if I had other ideas on how to help beyond taking a class or so, but for now, I think this should be a good starting point and my best advice based on my own experiences learning other languages. So... good luck! Hope you learn plenty! :D