#which with the professional setting makes him very polite and formal (which he is)

[dkniade]

I remember, years ago when I first started learning Japanese, I had no idea how Japanese first person pronouns worked or which one to choose, so for a short while I used “Dusk” while introducing myself (instead of, say, formal gender netrual 私 / watashi that, perhaps unknown to me, can be taken as feminine in an informal setting like on social media). Maybe I thought “When in doubt, use your own alias of course.”

…..meaning for a short while I spoke Japanese kinda like English dub Paimon. 恥ずかしい…

[lovecrime2]

Hannibal Lecter x Reader

summary: you begin therapy with Dr. Lecter, a man who you quickly learn much from. from his intellectuality, to the darkness hidden in the furthest parts of his mind, you become enraptured with him. will he feel the same about you? therapy sessions turn into exchanging books with notes, cooking together, and seeing more of each other in ways you both never thought possible. a love story.

authors note: hello!! this fic will have multiple chapters and i’m so excited to start this! it’s also on a03. and im creating a playlist for this!!

Chapter I: Prima

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“Dr. Lecter is ready to see you now, miss.��� the polite receptionist says, with a smile sent your way. It’s no more than a flash of positivity before she turns back to her paper work, reflected by her thin framed glasses. As her eyes scanned over the work, turning back to frantically look over her desk, presumably searching for something, she gave off an obvious air of worry. Perhaps she was new.

You were too.

Your first day of therapy. Well, your first day of therapy with this new psychiatrist. It wasn’t something you were exactly frantically nervous about- as the poor polite receptionist was. You’d been to therapy before. You were accustomed to the shallow invasion and prodding of the mind. This time, your hope was that this new Dr. Lecter would be unique. Different.

You’d heard many good things about him. Ranging from his written work and studies, to his success with patients. And after the worsening state of your mind and the life you had built around you, you decided that it was time to try again. So far, you weren’t disappointed. The office was classy. Nice chairs were set in the waiting room, where you had sat for some time. There was tasteful art, quiet classical music in the background. Bach, you had guessed. Other than the receptionist, it had emitted an air of class and calmness.

You flashed a smile back at the receptionist, returning the politeness.

“Thank you very much,” you replied.

You weren’t sure if she heard given how diligently she was scanning her desk currently. But it was of no matter, you had been polite, it was the most you could do. You stepped up to a wooden door, unsure if you’d have to knock. Before you could, the door was opened, and Dr. Lecter was revealed to you.

He was handsome. You weren’t one to judge or weigh value off of looks, but you would give him that simple statement. Looks were not the most important thing to you, and you certainly were not meaning it in a romantic way. But he was handsome. The eyes that quickly met yours were brown, maybe with a hint of hazel. His hair was brown as well, it shone in the light from his office. He wore a navy blue plaid suit, giving him an obvious air of seriousness, of class and respect. His lips curled into a smile, and yours followed suit.

“Miss L/N, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” he spoke, his voice was rich and soothing.

“Dr. Lecter, I’ve heard many wonderful things about you and your work. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well.” you replied calmly, mirroring his niceties and charm. He had a quiet suave demeanor. As if on instinct, you both reached your hands out for a handshake. More niceties. This doctor was very formal. You appreciated that. As your hands touched you felt his eyes scan you quickly. Almost like an eagle searching a field for prey. Though, there wasn’t malice behind this look.

“Please, do come in.” he said, leading you into his large room. And what a large room it was.

It had a mostly grey color palette, with the exception of the one wall which was a dark red. To your right was a large wall, with two large red and white striped curtains. To your left, a desk, obviously a professional one. Lamps and books and art decorated the top. Further back to your left was another desk and a chair, but nothing was on this one. Behind that, a fireplace. The room was lined with cabinets and bookshelves, and art (specifically paintings) were anything but scarce. Right in front of you however, were two chairs facing each other. And there was a ladder, on the wall behind them, leading up to another level of the room. This one was lined with books of all shapes and sizes and colors. You took note of the other items in the room. Your eyes scanned from the couch against the back wall, to the couch in front of the windows. The room seemed lightly dull at first, but the more you gazed, the more points of color stood out to you.

After having visually scoured the room, you summarized that the collection of books, European furniture, and art was not simply the doing of the building’s hypothetical interior designer. By his outfit and the look of the room, Dr. Lecter was a man of intellectuality, power, curiosity, and ambition. He was impressive.

“Have a seat, Miss L/N.” he said, gesturing to the two seats in the middle of the room- each sat directly across from the other. Each had small tables next to them, but one had a book (presumably for taking notes on patients) and a box of tissues. You assumed the seat that the book and tissue box adorned table belonged to: was his. So you took the other seat, smoothing the bottom half of your clothing as you sat down. He took a seat across from you, crossing his legs and folding his hands neatly in his lap.

“I have no doubt you know why you’re here.” he said politely. He was direct, eyes still piercing into you. You were afraid to look away. You wanted to maintain the eye contact but at the same time, the socially nervous part of you longed to break it, longed to gaze around the sophisticated room instead of facing his perceptive gaze.

“Yes, Doctor.” you replied, finally working up the courage to break the mural stare and look down as you smiled at him. He returned a brief smile, and nodded once.

“So then, I hope you won’t mind if I list off the reasons you put for requesting my psychiatric assistance which led to us meeting today?” he inquired, taking his notebook from the small table next to him.

“Not at all, go ahead.” you gave him an encouraging nod and he opened his book. As he looked over a page, a realization came to you. You realized how intimate the placing of his chairs was. You mirrored him and put one leg over the other. You wondered if this was a tactic of his to create a sense of connection, equality. Interesting.

“You have emotional regulation issues, accompanied by social anxiety. Past traumas, which I’m sure are accompanied by self-image problems, am I correct?” he asked at the end of his statement.

“Yes,” you said, pausing a moment. There was some more, but this was only the first session. You hated the way it sounded so labeled when it was later out like that, so shallow. Realizing your answer might’ve seemed curt, you rushed to say more. “Yes, that’s all correct.”

He set his book down on the side table and looked at you for a moment. The thought crossed your mind that he might be waiting for you to speak, you were about to say something when he spoke at last.

“How do you feel right now, at this very particular moment, Miss L/N?” he asked you, eyes endlessly boring into you.

“I feel,” you hesitated, trying to come up with the right words. “Comfortable and welcomed. Yet nervous.”

“I’m glad you feel comfortable and welcomed, I try to provide sufficient hospitality for those in my care. Though, tell me, why do you feel nervous?” he asked.

“I’ve just met someone new. Someone who will be peering into my mind, learning the most personal parts of me. It’s an odd thought that a man I met a few minutes ago will come to know my mind so deeply.” you replied, watching Hannibal process your answer. He had a good poker face.

“Are you afraid of what I might uncover in the depths of your mind?” he asked.

“I think everyone’s a little afraid of what can be perceived in the most personal parts of their mentality. We all have only so much we express. To the eye it may seem to show enough, but there’s so much hidden where we store our deepest thoughts.” you replied. You liked the knowledgeable banter.

“Knowing those parts of you is a fundamental aspect to your treatment, as it is to any patient. I am not here to judge, or to exploit. I am here to come to know your being and attempt to help it in a way that is beneficial to your mental well-being.” he replied.

“You make a good point, Doctor.” you replied, flashing him a smile. He returned it, and opened his book.

“Well then, shall we begin?” he asked, his eyes still focused on yours.

“Of course.” you replied.

And so began your session with Hannibal Lecter, your new psychiatrist.

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[thoughtssvt]

short nanami & megumi speech analysis

it's so interesting to me how nanami's speaking mannerisms translate through culture. not hating on how anyone writes him or anything, i just find it interesting.

because most of the time in fics/smaus kento speaks like he's writing a work email, right? very professional-esque, something you'd relate to a corporate setting, or just very rigid/ no slang way of speaking. when in japanese he just speaks very formally. even in fights he takes the extra time to use the polite words (which is often a longer way of saying things -- which now that i think about it would technically be how he's characterized in english if we're talking about how lengthy the sentences get i digress)

i think the only time he broke polite speech was in the fight with dagon when he called everyone to gather.

it also does make me think about megumi bc he's about the only other character who constantly uses polite speech even in the fight with dagon and any other fatal battle. with the other first years his speech is more lax and casual because they're of the same age and status but way more polite than you'd hear teenagers talk (at least in the 'verse)

in contrast he doesn't actually use polite speech when he talks to tsumiki, at least from what we saw (and i haven't fact checked myself but i also think he drops polite speech when he thinks to himself whereas i believe nanami still uses polite speech when he thinks)

this lowkey makes me headcanon that kid megumi shadowed nanami during a mission once and the way he carried himself just had megumi's eyes gleaming.

especially bc of his speech the earliest we've seen him (when he first meets gojo) he uses "あんた誰" antadare = who are you? the use of あんた anta being rude especially to a stranger. he was also in first grade so he probably just switched to using polite speech after learning, but i'm gonna stop here bc i only meant to talk about nanami but now im thinking about how itadori's speech changed just very slightly when he was talking to ozawa since he called her "ozawa-chan" and he usually only uses the suffix honorifics like -sensei--

idk how i got here

anyway good luck studying japanese, yall!

i've also been wanting to talk about the change in characters' character when they have siblings and their change in speech just across some of my favorite anime but i need to fact check myself lol

[storkmuffin]

merry half past noon it's question time :D I was thinking about leadership styles, Hongjoong and Bang Chan have both said before that they used to be quick to anger and generally it seems as if their style of leadership was (maybe is?) to set the course of the group and scold whoever gets out of line. Since you mentioned you're a team lead yourself, how does this compare with your experience of leadership in regular companies? Is it top down/authorative, more collaborative, or something else?

I'm going to be vulnerable here and acknowledge that I actually learned a lot of things that are directly usable in my career from these two kpop idols (Bang Chan and Hongjoong) and their crafting of the ideal Korean (male) professional self. Despite their being singer-dancer-musicians in entertainment and me having a job where everyone is seated 120% of the time, I have important points I can identify with in both of them. BangChan is both Westernized (he's got a strong identity as an Aussie) and yet adheres to a lot of very Korean-specific values, like me. Hongjoong is a monomaniacal perfectionist with a confrontational streak, like me. They also work in a small unit (though bigger than mine) composed of people who are all very strong personalities, who are proud, tough, and great at what they do, like me.

From actual experience what I've begun to think is that a quick-to-anger leader is a green, inexperienced one. Having to scold people is also sign of inexperience by the leader more than it constitutes a 'style.' I say this because when I first was appointed 'leader' I was exactly like this- quick to anger, and finding myself constantly saying, No, and That's Not It and Stop That. When you've been an exceptional solo performer, you believe - because it's true! - that you were given your leadership spot because of your skills and the way you deploy those skills. As a result, there is an initial urge to demand adherence to your method from the people over whom you have authority.

People, I have learned, hate this, especially coming from a 'leader' who is exactly the same age or a very near contemporary. My direct reports to date have all been 7 or more years (up to 20 years) older than me, and I'm always actually interested in absorbing other people's methodology, so I didn't resist them, but my gender, age, and weirdness were the key to allowing this to happen. The fact that for both the men and women in my group, I'm the very first or the very second woman leader they've ever had also made things more complicated.

What I learned from Bangchan is that you need to accept everyone else already knows you hold a lot of power, and have a lot of skills, and let the reins drop. You think they're reins because you're holding them, but to everyone else it's a noose. What people want from you is for you to give them space to extend and stretch themselves. When he told Hongjoong at their Kingdom meet'n' greet that he has a member (Changbin) who really 'doesn't obey,' what he does is leave him be? That's actually a great management skill and very difficult to enact. Stopping talking is so hard to do, when you actually have the organizational/ political power to say however much you want. Hongjoong expresses admiration for this, and says he still has a hard time doing that with his problem person (Wooyoung). Banchan's way of exercising power is that he takes all the blame, and the responsibility, but the credit he explicitly delegates to everyone but him. This is actually very wise - it makes it safe for people to tell you what's really going on (bc you'll take responsibility) and the act of acknowledging credit places you in the position of evaluative expert, rather than competitor who has an edge in authority, which makes for much better team cohesion.

Hongjoong, being a little bit more emotionally reserved and defensive than Bang Chan, instituted a communications method he seems to have liked, which is to hold formal weekly meetings. He forced people to talk to him, until they all figured out how to communicate in a more natural way. Once I felt like I hit a depressing kind of wall in intra-group communications, I did something similar (before I knew about Ateez but still) - where I scheduled a meeting, formally, in a conference room, with each member of my group to ask, What Can I Do Better? What Do You Want More Of? and such. I didn't have very high hopes that anyone would actually answer these questions, but to my surprise, THEY DID. They had lots to say! And a lot of it was very valid and and I wanted to help them do it! And doing that just a couple times - the opening talk and then, a little later, another one to ask if they felt like we (them and I, and the group) were on the right track - made the following year GO SO MUCH BETTER.

As for the rest of the company I work in? There was an abrupt shift as each new generation came to the fore, I think, after their cautious newbie years were done, you know? Korean Boomers lived in a very up down, hierarchical, stfu world. Gen Xers started to point out the problems with that approach - important information gets lost on its way up any ladder. Millennials were the biggest jump, demanding feedback and opportunities to provide feedback. Nowadays, there's a general principle or ideal that everyone should have a voice, that all viewpoints should at least be aired, if not considered. However, in the final analysis, the ultimate decisions are still up down, and the thought process completely opaque, sad to say.

[lemonfairy-yearns]

Template by @espresso-ships

and for fun I'm going to over-explain my answers >:)

who's most likely to-

get a tattoo of their s/o's name: its Beetlejuice. bro has a lot of old tattoos of people he thought he'd be with forever but ditched his weird ass after they saw that(among other things). Pontiferous would NEVER put a lover's name on himself because in fae etiquette that would be like taking ownership of someone permanently, and that's a little too far for him.

fall for a scam: Pontiferous has almost NO digital/telephone "street smarts", but since he's usually surrounded by royal advisors or Beej(a professional scam artist), He's safe enough from wiring all his money to whoever asks nicely.

beat up someone who was mean to their s/o: both of them certainly WOULD, but Beej is more willing to use his trickster powers on a dime to amuse himself and/or on anyone who inconveniences him/Ponti. He often just starts messing with people just to make Pontiferous laugh(which works). If Ponti were to administer karmic justice onto someone being rude to his Bug(Beetlejuice), the person being rude better enjoy their new existence as a box of chocolate dipped cockroaches set on Beej's beside table. pushing Pontiferous to this point a bit harder though.

send an illicit text to the wrong person: Pontiferous is a very steamy romantic but TERRIBLE at managing his phone contacts. He has a line outside his bedroom of fairies who got the wrong text but would like to have a word with the prince if they may be so bold ;3 . Beej can barely get his phone to turn on with his greasy fingers, so he just writes Very Formal Emails on his ancient PC (because he's been a bio-exorcist for so long he has cracked getting messages to the people they're meant to get to. He's got a website and form letters and everything ooOOoh, web designer moment.)

Drink too much: Beej enjoys drinking more, and Pontiferous LOVES to spurn him on so he can see how much Beej can put away before he starts committing property damage. Also Beej is a Cocktails enjoyer, whereas Ponti enjoys drinks with alcohol added as a bonus flavor(eg: whiskey coffee, Bailys hot cocoa).

Forget an anniversary: Beetlejuice doesn't even realize that they have an anniversary(he hesitates to think they're even dating) and Pontiferous is too "polite" (read: cowardly) to remind him. but he has the exact date and time written in a book to give to Beej when they both eventually assert that they are indeed dating.

Burn the kitchen down when cooking: Beetlejuice, but make no mistake it is PART OF HIS RECIPE. he has a PLAN do NOT get in the way.

Apologizes first: Pontiferous is the king of over-apologizing, usually just to get people to shut up and because he needs to be thought of as polite, but. He's tired of being nice. He wants to go ape shit. Beej enables this.

Initiates a kiss: at any given moment, Pontiferous may need to be tied down to keep him from making out sloppy style with that freak for 6 solid hours. his advisors are so tired of his ass, why does he want that one???

[funnuraba]

I read looked through the Japanese translation of Summer Lightning! This was done by Morimura Tamaki, who also does the Jeeves translations.

Personal Pronouns:

Usually fictional characters use just one single personal pronoun to show what their personality is like. Here, most of the characters actually do it more like you're supposed to in real life, and switch it up depending on their relationship with the one they're talking to.

I'm just gonna link to TVTropes if you're not familiar with Japanese personal pronouns... I know, I know, but it's helpful to have examples of which fictional characters use which pronouns. If you already know the Blandings cast well, this won't teach you anything new about them, because the choices all make perfect sense.

-Hugo: Boku 僕, polite masculine. Uses the more assertive masculine ore 俺 when speaking to Ronnie, since they're two men and old friends. Also briefly slips into using ore with Sue, partway through his first brandy and soda

-Beach: Watakushi わたくし, extremely formal, part of his butler manners

-Millicent: Watashi わたし (ends sentences with -wa) (standard personal pronoun)

-Lord Emsworth: Washi わし (stereotypical old man pronoun. He ends sentences with -ja and generally uses old man speech, not as formal as one would expect from an earl)

-Lady Constance: Atakushi (!!) あたくし, uses -wa and -kashira (Atakushi is very rare in fiction! Basically a super formal and feminine "I".)

-Gally: Ore 俺. He very cutely switches to the friendly, non-threatening Boku immediately upon meeting Sue

-Sue: Atashi あたし. Standard, more casual and decidedly feminine than watashi. She uses watashi when undercover as Myra Schoonmaker (in fact, she uses it right away upon her encounter with Lady Constance at Ronnie's place in London: it's about upping her politeness level, not putting on an calculated fake personality)

-Ronnie: another Boku. Unlike Hugo, he doesn't switch to Ore when they're talking man-to-man.

-Baxter: Watashi in kanji, 私. I don't know exactly what this means compared to Millicent's hiragana watashi, but clearly whatever difference there is must be the difference between Baxter and Millicent. I'm sure part of it is giving him a businesslike tone, because see below:

-Pilbeam: Also uses watashi in kanji at first; he's on the job so it's the appropriate level of formality. When confronting Sue he switches to ore. He keeps using ore while Ronnie is trying to pull his head off, since this is not occurring in a professional capacity

-Sir Gregory: Ore in Galahad's memories, wagahai 吾輩 (!!!) in the present. He uses the same -ja style of speech as Lord Emsworth, but with much fancier pronouns for "I" and "you". Wagahai sounds very self-important, even considering the time period. (His "you" is onushi! Most of the other characters use pronouns you could hear in real life, but Sir Gregory's are not words people use anymore.)

Titles/styles of speech

-Lady: Lady in English

-Sir as in Gregory: Sir in English

-Miss Millicent: Millicent-jou

-The Honorable Galahad: Galahad-kakka

-Lord Emsworth calls his secretary Hugo "Carmody-kun" to show the employee relationship, whereas in English he's just Carmody

-Connie uses "ano ko" referring to Ronnie when she says he'll pick her up in London; cute

-Error: Connie and Galahad are referred to as otouto and ane. In Japanese you can't avoid referring to sibling birth order like you can in English, so the translation has taken the stance that she's older than Galahad. This is probably based on the family tree that I said some months ago was set up a little dodgily, because it seems to put the Threepwood siblings in birth order; in actuality, Constance is in her mid-40s and Galahad is nearly 60, but her age is only given in the previous book, Leave it to Psmith. (To be fair, Wodehouse himself often lost track of how old Connie is supposed to be, and this book mentions her having a "mutual nursery" with Lord Emsworth)

(Family tree as it appears in the Japanese Summer Lightning:

My Two Cents on the Threepwood family tree:

Is there some fun reason hyperlinks don't work on tumblr mobile anymore? I tried to put these into the text, but I just keep getting "OOPSY POOPSY! WE MADE A WIDDLE FUCKO BOINGO" type error messages)

-Galahad's "my dear" to Millicent: "Kawaiko-chan"

-Gally calls his older brother Clarence as in English; this is not altered to fit the way Japanese siblings address each other (a younger sibling would only call their older sibling "big brother/sister" or "name-big brother/sister". When addressing Clarence, he sometimes uses "Nii-san" to replace the English "you", and sometimes "aniki". Both mean an older brother, with aniki being less formal.

-...Lady Constance uses the respectful and formal Oniisama for Clarence, but she seems to avoid it wherever possible. When she does, it's usually while insulting him, and she really piles it on to the point to the point of sarcasm. Like Galahad, she addresses him as Clarence. (The occasions when she calls him "Lord Emsworth" when speaking to those outside the family are preserved; Gally does not do this, just calls him Clarence)

-Lady Constance switches from Carmody-san to Carmody-shi when she tells Millicent about Hugo and Sue: a more distant way of saying "Mr." that's used in newspapers and suchlike

-Hugo calling Lord Emsworth "the old boy": Oyaji-san.

-Lady Constance calls people anata

-Millicent and Ronnie call their significant others kimi; Sue calls Ronnie and Hugo both anata; Hugo calls Sue kimi, Ronnie and Hugo call each other omae

-Ronnie calls Lancelot Threepwood 叔父さん, meaning Lancelot was younger than his own mother Julia; this isn't incorrect, but we have no idea of Lancelot's age from the English text (but note that Ronnie uses -san for his uncles instead of -sama like Millicent).

-Clarence and Gally to him are 伯父さん, meaning they're older than Julia, which we know for sure.

-Millicent to Ronnie is 従姉妹, female cousin with no statement about who's older

-Sue calls her mother and father Mama and Papa in Japanese, rather cutely. However, in English she uses Mother and Father.

-Ronnie calls Sue's father the casual Otou-san, then switches to the super formal, upper crusty Ochichi-ue--not immediately when he finds out Cotterleigh was in the Irish Guards, but sort of as he goes on talking. Actually, chichi-ue is how one would talk about one's own father--Ochichi-ue is kind of a level beyond, like "your esteemed father".

-Connie to Ronnie is 伯母さん, meaning she's older than Julia; a single, rather vague line in The Crime Wave at Blandings seems to confirm this.

-When Sue says "So that was Aunt Constance!" she uses Oba-sama, but later on uses -san instead

-Ronnie's "old thing" to Sue is "kawaiiko-chan"

-Baxter calls Lady Constance "あの方" when asking Ronnie to mention him to her: super formal "he/she/that person". However, with Ronnie he doesn't use the full formal speech that he does when speaking to her and Lord Emsworth, reflecting how he only calls Ronnie "Fish"--when employed by the family, he presumably used Mr Ronald when necessary. One thing to note in ~Baxtance News~, she calls him anata as she does for everyone else, and he is so incredibly formal that he doesn't use "you" for her at all. He addresses her by name or omits the subject of the sentence entirely. At the very end of the book he gets so upset that he starts using "anata-tachi" (plural you) as a catchall for the family, but his choice in personal pronouns for Connie specifically is "none". Just "Lady Constance".

-Ronnie switches to formal honorific language when asking Lord Emsworth for money to start a pig farm.

-Beach's "sir" to Ronnie: "Waka-sama", used for the young men of a wealthy household. In English, all of his lines contain the word "sir", consistent with servant etiquette, but Japanese doesn't have an exact equivalent, so some of the sirs are dropped instead of putting waka-sama in every line. "Mr Ronald" is of course Ronald-sama. Beach uses Kenjougo, the humblest form of honorific language, to show his status as a servant. (I presume Jeeves does this as well)

-Galahad calls Constance his aneki, a rather rare word that matches with aniki, a word for big brother or an older friend that's quite common in fiction. Aneki isn't.... rude, exactly, but it's not what you'd expect someone from such a family to call their older sister. It matches Galahad's personality, but not his position. (But remember, they're not actually supposed to be older sister and younger brother!)

-Lord Emsworth calls people omae; in one case he uses kimi for Baxter while Beach is accusing Baxter of hallucinations and they're trying to be conciliatory lest he murder them

-Sir Gregory calls people omae as a young man in Gally's memories, but uses onushi (!) for the other high-borns in the present day. For Pilbeam he uses kikun, which I genuinely had never heard of before!

- He calls Pilbeam "Pilbeam-kun" instead of "Pilbeam-san" due to his own high status and the professional relationship. Note that Lord Emsworth's "Carmody" and Sir Gregory's "Mr Pilbeam" both become "(Name)-kun" even though the English makes a distinction between how they're addressed

-Gally calls Sue anata at first, then switches to kimi upon learning her true identity

-"that young poop": noutarin, simpleton

-Baxter drops the honorific speech when talking to Beach, a mere servant, but maintains his use of watashi; in other words, no matter whom he's talking to, he doesn't have an "off mode" the way Hugo does where he uses a more casual first person pronoun (for the record, he uses kimi to address Beach)

-Pilbeam calls Ronnie anta, a bit less polite than the other options, which is understandable given that their conversations happen through a cabinet door. Ronnie began the confrontation with omae, but switches to using anta as well once Pilbeam does it

-For the entire Pilbeam-getting-drunk scene, he uses ore and calls Beach kimi

-In Gally's final conversation with Connie, the one he reports to Sue at the end of the book, he calls her (Connie) anta

Other notes

-Throughout, words like bally and blasted become kuso imaimashii ("annoying damn"), and kawaiko-chan ("sweetie, cute little one") does overtime as all sorts of little endearments that don't really exist in Japanese: pet, angel, dear.

-It's marketed as "English humor", and it definitely sounds very much like something that's been translated. The original sentence structure is preserved as closely as possible, and just about every use of "he" or "she" left in, where Japanese ordinarily would drop these words as soon as the subject has been established. "Also, when," I explained, "Wodehouse splits up a line of dialogue in this particular format, the line is split at the same point in Japanese."

-I would say one thing that's slightly lost is how smart Baxter sounds in English. He has a very elevated vocabulary and uses all kinds of complex sentence structure with flawless, formal grammar that makes it clear he's on a higher intellectual level than the other young men around him who presumably went to "better" schools. In Japanese, the equivalent of how he talks is using the standard honorific style that anyone can learn at least in theory, so he doesn't stand out quite so much.

-'Tea?'

'Yes, your lordship.'

'Oh?' said Lord Emsworth. 'Ah? Tea, eh? Tea? Yes. Tea.

Quite so. To be sure, tea. Capital.'

お茶かの？

はい、お殿様

ああ？あぁ、お茶？お茶か？へ？ほ、お茶じゃ。まったくそのとおり。確かにお茶じゃの。素晴らしい。

"Ocha kano?"

"Hai, otono-sama."

"Aa? Aah, ocha? Ocha ka? He? Ho, ocha ja. Mattaku sonotoori. Tashikani ocha ja no. Subarashii."

-Lord Emsworth's "Capital": Subarashii

-"Good God!": Nantaru koto!

-"My dear": "Nou kawaiiko ya" for Millicent, "Nou, Constance ya" for Constance--used when he's addressing them using only "my dear", basically saying "Hey, (name), if you don't mind....?"

-Clarence's "my dear fellow" to Galahad: also nou.

-"(God) bless my soul!": Also Nantaru koto ja!

-"The Empress is in excellent shape" "I didn't know she had a shape": translated quite literally, to my surprise!

-"The old pest": あの疫病神

-"A Pink 'Un. A Pelican.": extraordinary research here, this was correctly translated into "A member of the Pink 'Uns. A member of the Pelican Club." Most English readers today probably don't know what those lines are even referring to. I sure didn't.

-Some references unfamiliar to the Japanese audience are cited in the text, eg "He had heard the chimes at midnight" gets a parenthetical "from Henry IV pt 2, Act 3 Scene 2."

-The line about foxes gnawing at Connie's vitals is not given a citation; I wonder how many Japanese readers know the reference to that unusually determined Spartan boy?

-Wodehouse was perpetually misquoting Walter Pater, who said that the Mona Lisa was the head on which all the ends of the worlds are come. Wodehouse turned this into "on which all the sorrows of the world had fallen". His misquotation is correctly cited to Pater's The Renaissance.

-Lady Constance's gesture that is not quite "wringing the hands" : 両手を揉み合わせる.

-"Most wonderfully capable man I ever met": バクスターさんはあたくしが今までお会いした中で、一番最高に有能な方でいらっしゃるわ. (Basically the same, but the gender-neutral 方 instead of "man" makes him the most capable of anyone, man or woman! Capable and efficient become the same word, yuunou; The Efficient Baxter = Yuunou na Baxter.

I think Lord Emsworth's witty rejoinder, "Yes, capable of anything," is somewhat lost as そのとおり。有能じゃとも。: "Yes, he certainly was capable!"

-LORD EMSWORTH CALLS BAXTER "キチガイ"?!?!!? Since the 70s, this has been like, a slur level, censored-on-radio-broadcasts word for "crazy". It would have been accepted in the 1920s, but it gave me a shock seeing it here. (And Japanese doesn't have many words that actually get censored--most of their swear words can be used even in children's entertainment. That's why you see so many amateur translations putting "FUCK SHIT ASSHOLE!!" into comics that are printed for 10 year old children.

-"He pottered off pigwards": 彼はぶらりとブタ方向に歩き出した。The "burari to buta" creates the same alliteration.

-"A dull young man, I should have thought."

"Deadly."

"Vapid."

"Vap to a degree.":

「退屈な若者だと思ってるってことでいいのかしら」

「死ぬほどによ」

「つまらない男だわね」

「かなりつまらないわ」

"A dull man." (With sentence ending meaning "right? Wouldn't you say?")

"Quite dull." (With assertive sentence ending)

Not really the same level of slanginess in Millicent's responses, but "vap to a degree" is difficult to translate!

-"I dislike him extremely." : "Atakushi wa ano hito ga, daikirai da wa." (Autocorrect tried to make that "ano Hugo ga daikirai" lmao)

-"I talk pig to him": Boku wa kare to buta-talk wo yatteiru.

-"I don't get your drift." "I shall continue snowing," said Millicent coldly: 「君がそんなに冷たいわけがわからないなあ」

「わたし、雪みたいに冷たいんだわ」ミリセントはひややかに言った。: "I don't understand why you're being so chilly." "I mean to be as chilly as the snow," said Millicent coldly.

Full original joke is probably untranslatable, but the "coldly" joke remains

-Hugo's speech where he describes himself as a brother to Sue four separate times uses a different version of the word each time in Japanese--cute trick. 兄妹みたいな、兄貴みたい、兄���愛、兄さんみたい。He specifically says an older brother in Japanese, btw.

-"He means to do right by our Nell": reference untranslatable; "He's going to do right by me."

-"If I look round" "You couldn't look any rounder if you tried" also works literally!

-"Precious angel lambkin": すてきなエンジェル, wonderful angel, with angel in English

-"Oh, my sainted aunt!" is given literally without explanation, but it doesn't really need one since the following line already explains to readers that it's a "familiar phrase"

-Comparison of Lady Constance to Apollyon straddling quite over the whole breadth of the way is not cited to Pilgrim's Progress; Apollyon is given as アポロン, which I believe is the Greek god Apollon? Possible error there

-Hugo spells out Mario's for Sue rather morbidly: M as in mange, A as in asthma, R as in rheumatism... In Japanese, Mario separates into MA RI O instead of M A R I O, so he uses Ma as in Malaria, Ri as in Rheumatism, and O as in otafukukaze: the mumps.

-"Sweet darling precious pet": kawaiirashikutte daiji na kawaiko-chan

-"By Gad, he meant to say! By George! Good Gosh!": Nante kotta! Kare wa omotta. Nante akireta! Konchikushou da!

-The Viking term Berserk and the Malay term Amok are both cited for readers

-Hugo calling Ronnie "old loofah" is translated literally: "Kono hechima tawashi yarou!", "you loofah jerk/bastard". A bit more like he's calling him out than the English, where his tone comes across like "aw, c'mon now!"

-"Poor little Sue": kawaisou na kawaii Sue, "poor cute/dear Sue" (for reference, kawaisou and kawaii are not the same word)

-"Little worm" for Pilbeam is translated literally: chibi no imomushi

-"My dear chap!": "Oi, omae!", "Hey, you!"

-"You poor fish" (Hugo to Sue): wakaranko da naa, you silly girl

-Slimy, slinking, marcelle-waved-by-product Pilbeam: ano zuruzuru kosokososhita, marcelle-wave atama fukusei seibutsu yarou no Pilbeam. Basically literal.

-"Young Parsloe": Parsloe no yarou, that jerk Parsloe. Same tone, but doesn't quite convey that Sir Gregory used to be one of the younger men on the London scene compared to Gally who's a bit older

-Funny moment: Gally says "Parsloe Parsloe kurikaesu no wa yamete". This is *not* his full surname Parsloe-Parsloe (which would be written asパースロー＝パースロー), but simply the one Parsloe repeated.

-Galahad calling George Cyril Wellbeloved "Brotherhood" is left as is. I don't know if Japanese readers would understand this.

-"As hot as mustard and as wide as Leicester Square": all the key words here are written using their loan word version. Hotto, masutaado, Resutaa Sukuea, waido.

-"Tough nut": 食えた男

-"Parsloe, you sheep-faced, shambling exile from Hell, disgorge that pig immediately!": このヒツジ��の地獄のヨタヨタ追放者めが��...「あのブタを早く差し出せ」. Basically literal

-Sir Gregory also uses k*chigai for "mad as a coot" and all synonyms

- Re Gally speculating that Sir Gregory's house will be struck by a thunderbolt: I wonder if Japanese readers would understand his reasoning, or if it seems like a non sequitur?

- When Sir Gregory says "Konchikushou" (dammit/damn him/etc) he uses the kanji! Rare to see it written like that, gives it a pretentious and old-fashioned tone (Lord Emsworth also says it like this)

- "That old fossil", "that old weasel": translated literally

- I think another Millicent-Hugo joke is lost: Hugo says she once told him there wasn't another man like him in the world, and she responds, "Well, I should hate to think that there was." Japanese: "I hate to think that there was such a time."

- Little typo: Gally, when fakelu saying that there's lots of good in young Parsloe, addresses Constance instead of Clarence as in the English text

- Constance in this convo telling her brothers about the invitation from Parsloe has been speaking a bit casually with her family members, and then in her last two sentences switches into honorific language to address Baxter ☺️☺️☺️

- Baxter's line about giving Beach the letter is more explicit in Japanese; he starts to say the word for "letter" before cutting himself off, instead of the English "I gave him a--"

- When the Empress is wondering if Millicent is the one bringing her an evening snack, we actually read her inner thoughts, which have a very distinguished and formal tone: さながら貴女のおやつの運搬人なのですか? Might you be the individual bringing my afternoon tea?

- Japanese uses the same word for mice and rats, nezumi. So when Wodehouse says, "Another rat--unless it was an exceptionally large mouse..." Morimura has to say, "A huge nezumi--unless it was an extra-large small nezumi..."

- It still kinda sounds like Hugo and Millicent are banging on the floor of the gamekeeper's cottage 😭

- "This is pure apple-sauce": also translated literally!

- "Old Pop Parsloe": Papa Parsloe (パパパースロー). The "old Parsloe" immediately following: Parsloe-jiisan

- "This chopping and changing, this eleventh hour alteration of plans, these sudden decisions to remain upstairs when they ought to be downstairs, were what made women as a sex so unsatisfactory.": .... definitely still sounds a lil gay in Japanese

- Connie "having a fit" over Hugo and Millicent's engagement is translated literally as her having a seizure 😭 Maybe they should call it off after all....

- Millicent and Hugo's "At-a-boy!" "At-a-baby!": "Nante suteki na hito!" "Nante suteki na baby!"

- Baxter speaking to his own immortal soul is given as a direct quote, in which he doesn't use his habitual keigo. A casual relationship, one presumes.

- Lady Constance's heeby-jeebies are given directly in katakana: hiibii-jiibiizu. Billy DeBeck's 1920 coinage is cited parenthetically.

- "Potty" is given as k*chigai, so something tells me that the Duke of Dunstable is going to be off the charts with the slurs

- The March Hare and Mad Hatter are not explained; I assume 'Alice' has plenty of cultural saturation in Japan

- Connie goes from formal to casual when asking what Lord Emsworth saw vs when he announces Baxter is climbing the building and she calls him an idiot (not just baka, but oo-bakamono: a colossal fool)

- Lord Emsworth's "my dear fellow" to Baxter while holding a rifle upon him: "Nou omae-san"

- "Don't point that damned thing at me!" No honorific speech from Baxter here either

- Baxter being called Lady Constance's idol: the kind of actual physical idol that is worshipped as a deity 😊😊😊😊😊

- I can't really catalogue every switch in personal pronouns or speech style in this scene; it's all over the place depending who's talking to whom in what tone

- Connie starts piling on the "oniisama" again, still clearly being sarcastic and condescending

- "Her name is Brown!": that one line is in formal speech; after that Baxter drops all the formalities 😭 He goes back to formal speech in his next paragraph, but his last two lines to Ronnie are fantastically rude in a tone that's usually translated as cussing: どこ見て歩いてやがる？　デキの悪い大バカモンめ！

- Anyway, he'll be back next month

- Ronnie, being clueless, tries formal speech with his Aunt Constance, little knowing the jig is already up

[cellythefloshie]

ＩＭＡＧＩＮＥ: A Coworker Romance with Patrice Bergeron  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ and there's an age gap ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Celly's 300 Follower Appreciation

-you wanted to be a serious journalist

-something beyond how-to columns, or cosmetic reviews in beauty magazines

-but as a woman in journalism it was hard to be taken seriously

-so when you saw an opening for a beat writer with the Boston Bruins you had to jump at the opportunity

-you were sure you wouldn’t get the job

-especially since you were still trying to find your footing after university

-but it was exactly what the team was looking for

-they needed a young voice to help drive their viewership in younger generations

-the team didn’t know what to expect when they were told to expect a fresh face among the team of writers

-especially when you were set to start during a set of reload games

-you were nervous as you showed up with your credentials and boarded the team plane

-the rest of the writers welcomed you with open arms

-and made you feel at home in an instant

-they made you feel so comfortable that you didn’t notice some of the younger players gawking at you from their seats and speaking in hushed whispers

-whispered that would be silenced by a single stern glance from their Captain, Patrice Bergeron

-he wasn’t going to risk having one of the kids make you uncomfortable

-at the end of the day you were all part of the same team and they would need to maintain a certain level of professionalism

-but that was something even he came to struggle with

-it had only taken one interview for his composure to falter

-not only did Patrice think you were beautiful, but you were also eloquent and direct with your words

-you had a confidence that was contagious and demanded respect that was instantly offered

-you were in your element

-and he knew you were going to excel with the team

-which meant he had to assure the boys were on their best behaviour

-including himself

-which became more difficult with each interaction with you

-you were alluring, even if you weren’t trying to be

-and telling himself that he couldn’t have you made you all the more tempting

-he often had to tell himself you were just being polite and not flirting with him

-even while he oh so subtly flirted with you

-because why would you be interested in a man 10-12 years your senior?

-but you were interested

-very interested

-you had never had a man treat you so well

-he had always opened the doors for you

-listened to what you had to say

-and didn’t treat you as if you knew nothing about hockey

-what a dangerous thing it was being respected by a man

-because it had you forming a school-girl-type crush on him

-he was an unattainable, respectable man

-forbidden by the formalities of working together

-but it didn’t stop you from having your little secret crush

-your little daydreams about what it would be like to kiss him

-to imagine what it would feel like to feel his touch on your body

-and you thought of it at the worst of times

-during a game when he was on the ice

-during post-game interviews when he was drenched in sweat

-during the little coffee dates you would have while on the road that seemed like nothing more than two coworkers trying to have a semblance of normalcy while on the road

-little did you know he was having these same thoughts about you

-all the while assuring the other players didn’t make any advances on you

-because if he couldn’t have you, no one could

-but it all imploded after a huge regular season win

-one that would cement the team as one of the greatest in NHL history

-the post-game interviews were done

-but you lingered

-soaking it all in

-you stood alone in the locker room

-that was until you spotted Bergeron in the doorway 

-his hair was wet from his shower and he had redressed in his gameday suit

-you offered him a smile as he joined you in the room, offering to help you take your bags out to your car

-you were quick to protest, reaching for your bag before he could take hold of it

-instead, your hand had met his before either of you could reach the bag

-the touch rendered you both still

-you looked up and him

-and met his dark eyes that only seemed to darken further at the touch

-your lips parted to apologize, your hand ready to recoil

-but Bergeron was already taking hold of your hand

-and he used it to draw you flush against his frame

-your hands found his chest and gripped at the fabric of his button down

-and Patrice was leaning in and met your lips in a firm kiss

-it was one of desperation

-as if he had spent days walking through a desert and you were the first sip of water to meet his lips

-Patrice drank you in, his hands large against your back as he held you to him

-and when he realized you were matching his desperation

-he hoisted you up from the ground and carried you to the edge of the room

-carefully he sat down in the stall that had already been cleared of his equipment for the next road trip and only his nameplate had remained

-you rested there, straddling his lap as your lips continued to move against his

-his touch wrinkled your clothes and came down to rest on your hips 

-his firm touch angled your hips just right and help grind you down over his growing erection

-but it was only when Patrice let out a low, guttural moan against your lips that you both stopped

-not that you wanted to

-but it wasn’t the place for that

-you remained in his lap, breathless and faces mere inches from one another

-you could feel his every exasperated breath

-Patrice raised a hand up carefully, stroking your now messy hair back and out of your face

-it sent your eyes fluttering, a warm smile overtaking your features

-“i’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself-”

-and you could only blush as you tried to hide your grin

-“if we’re going to do this, we should do it properly-”

-“in a bed?”

-“after a few dates,” he hummed out and stroked a thumb over your cheek slowly, “i’m not some twenty-something just looking to fuck-”

-it was refreshing to hear

-for so long that was all you had been presented with

-with Patrice was a real man

-a man who respected you first before all else

-and together you put aside the fears of having a relationship with a coworker 

-and the fears of what the age gap between you could present and focused on one thing: each other

-for who you worked for or how old you were would mean nothing if it ended in love

[wouldntyou-liketoknow]

Miles C. Peyote and Howie Thetaxi

(I’ve already made an information post like this, but said post is pretty long; in fact, it’ll just get longer and more expansive as I develop new characters and stories for [The Future Mob Project]. And I’m worried that the sheer length will make readers lose interest when they click on a link to look for a specific character. So, I’ll be making separate information pages for each character while still maintaining the all-inclusive post. Got it? Good.)

Who They’re Based Off Of: Lewis Dawkins (Dawko) and Ryan (8-BitRyan), respectively.

Their Methods of Work: When your reputation precedes you from all the way across the pond, you’ve definitely done something right! (Unless that was never your intention, in which case you’ve done something horribly, horribly wrong.) Remember the board game Mouse Trap? Well, Miles probably played it a few too many times in his youth, if the booby traps he sets up nowadays are anything to go by. Whether the goal is to kill or simply capture someone, his designs never fail to be. . .elaborate. Howie, meanwhile, doubles as a mechanic and driver. From ditching cops to running enemies off the road, he has more than enough skill to make professional racers envious. Never, NEVER forget the importance of seatbelts if you’re getting into a car with him. (Also, never put your feet on the dash. It’s rude.)

Red Attire: For Miles, a pair of leather boots (Oxblood). For Howie, a pair of gauge earrings (Carnelian)

Notes:

These two got their start in The Marble Hummingbirds, a different mob based in the UK that has had a strong alliance with The Pentas Family for years now. As part of standard underground affairs, Miles and Howie volunteered to relocate to the US and work more closely with Murdock and the others. The adjustment was a bit difficult (especially for Howie), but they both understand that it makes several aspects of business more efficient. They both retain a good balance of loyalty between their original crew and their new one.

Miles is selective when it comes to speaking. He’ll talk freely when he’s among people he trusts or is in a place that he’s deemed safe/comfortable, but when he’s out in public, he’s just. . .very quiet. He’ll still talk a little for the sake of politeness or formality, but only a little. If an area is open or unfamiliar, he’ll usually prefer to use body language and the like. (This does absolutely NOT stop him from cackling like a maniac over his traps.)

Howie has no qualms about reckless driving. Swerving, speeding, staging accidents; he can do it all without batting an eye. Whatever it takes to get himself and his buddies (plus their cargo) from Point A to Point B without getting stopped or caught. However, this mindset only applies to his personal driving. When he’s casually out and about, he can’t stand other drivers who tailgate, block lanes, cut others off, etc. If you act rude toward him in traffic, he can and will make a side-quest out of finding a way to get back at you. And yes, this extends to when he’s on the job. It’s not at all uncommon for him to go back and forth between chatting with his passengers and yelling at idiots on the road in the middle of a high-stakes-chase.

Miles has a habit of collecting plushies; especially odd-looking ones. (For example: the creepy-yet-cute stuff you might find on Etsy.) But his plushies aren’t just for aesthetic or decoration. He’s modified each and every one of them to be soft little storage units. Some have well-hidden zippers in their backs, while others have their heads function as the lids to jars stuffed inside their stomachs. Miles uses this strategy to hide valuables, such as varying sums of money or the odd piece of jewelry taken from a target.

Howie is miraculously conscious of animals on the road. That’s one of few exceptions to his typical stance on get-away-driving. He'll always make sure to avoid hitting cats, dogs, raccoons, deer. . .or squirrels. As a matter of fact, one squirrel that he managed to spare back in the day seems to have pledged a life-debt to him. Seriously, he met this squirrel while he was still working in the UK, and by now it’s followed him to the US. Wherever Howie is, the squirrel always seems to be somewhere in the background, just watching and waiting.

Along with all the get-away driving stuff, Howie has helped The Pentas Family to form its very own chop-shop. Whenever cars are stolen from targets or enemies, Howie will be there to dismantle or sabotage said cars. Legitimate parts are sold, and certain jobs involve filling a vehicle with counterfeit parts in order to frame its owner. 

Ever since relocating, both Miles and Howie live out of The Five Seasons, a hotel near the Cove Port Inlet’s city entrance. The building is connected to the abandoned subway tunnels, and the duo rotates between sharing the hidden den; Miles will use it to build/test his traps, and Howie will use it simply to store/tamper with various car parts. The hotel just so happens to be right across the street from the car repair garage (Oh, For God’s Brake!) that Howie uses for his day-job.

Current Stories: [TBA]

@sammys-magical-au

[holly-louisexox]

Ribcage X Andy Biersack- Part 1

*Masterlist*

"There's one thing you should know about me Delia Vincent, I don't date. Got no heart to break and emptiness is safe, keep it that way."

He was adamant in his choices...

...But then things changed.

Not my Gif

"'Cause It's the end and I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid to die."

Finding the perfect mix and blend of any sort of music was always a challenge for any sound technician, especially when it came to live music that included a lot of electric guitar, loud drums and heavy vocals- not to mention the odd inclusion of a violin.  For Delia Vincent, this was her first big run of a sound tech career since graduating university. Sure she had done a few smaller production shows here and there and they all went successfully but this was a massive step for her, this time she was doing the sound tech for the American tour of Black Veil Brides. Safe to say she was feeling the pressure but she was determined to not fuck this up, after all, this was her lucky break; right?

As the song came to a close and ending the set list, Delia found herself clapping and cheering which brought the band's attention to her; considering the first show was a smaller more intimate venue everything echoed from the empty space and the sound desk wasn't too far from the stage.

"I'm sorry, who the hell are you?" the lead singer asks into his microphone before jumping down from stage and approaching her- the rest of the band following in pursuit of his action.

"Right, sorry, I haven't formally introduced myself yet. Hi, I'm Delia and I will be your sound technician for this tour." Delia smiles politely extending her hand for the 5 members to shake, however only 4 of them accepted her offer and introduced themselves, the front man of the band just stared her down as if analysing her.

"Aren't you a little young to be doing sound tech?" He continues to question her whilst scrunching up his nose a little- honestly, if he wasn't being such a dick Delia may have even gone far enough to say he was an attractive guy. But no matter, she had to keep thing formal and professional, even if he was already starting to get under her skin, this tour was a great opportunity and she wasn't about to let some snobby lead singer ruin that for her.

"Andy shut the fuck up!" CC whacks him around the head making the lead singer now known as Andy send him death glares whilst rubbing the spot of assault. "I'm so sorry about him Delia."

"No it's okay, actually, I graduated from a university in Italy 5 years ago. I did a Bachelor's and Master's degree in sound and lighting and after graduating decided I preferred the sound aspect over lighting so have spent the last 5 years doing sound tech for smaller productions and working up. Very honoured to be working with you guys by the way." Despite the uncomfortable feeling Delia was feeling from the harsh stare of Andy, she was adamant not to let her smile falter.  

"Right." Andy nods, although his face had softened his words remained harsh "Just don't fuck this up for us and I guess we'll be fine." With that Andy walks off and towards backstage leaving Delia and the other 4 members standing awkwardly.

"Yet again, I'm so sorry about him. Believe it or not he's a decent guy deep down, he used to be a lot nicer before... Well before some things changed for him let's just say." CC defends him before placing a hand on Delia's shoulder for comfort "Just don't take it personally okay? From my ear piece it sounded great, you've got this."

"Thanks mate, means a lot honestly." Delia nods in acceptance of his kind words not really knowing what else to say after such an awkward first encounter with her new work colleges.

"Hey, so um, we're doing drinks after show tonight just to, you know, celebrate kicking off tour. You should join us. Since we'll be working with you for the next few weeks it would be cool to get to know you." Lonny suggests sending a smile Delia's way to try and relax the tension that was surround the group.

"Yeah sure, count me in." Delia nods again unsure of how exactly to react.

"Alright! Well, great job guys, let's get out of here before VIP shows up." Jinxx cheers as the 4 guys start high fiving each other before walking the same route Andy took moments ago.

Well this will certainly be an interesting few weeks...

[darksonofsparda]

First Interaction Starter Sentences || Still Accepting

@belovedblossoms sent: " Tis not very polite to stare, you know." (from Power!)

It had been about eight months since Vergil first arrived in this world at the hands of a demon named Malvolik whom was a very powerful devil that could manipulate his own waves of energy to explode among other abilities that were similar. The demon had acquired an old magical artifact of his fathers that could open portals to other worlds called the Porvix-- the same tool that his old man had used when he forged the Yamato, Vergil's main weapon that was left to him from Sparda as a memento.

Ever since he got here, Vergil's main focus had been on trying to track down Malvolik who had unfortunately come to this world along with him, though for some odd reason, Malvolik seemed to willingly dive into this world, something that had kept bugging him ever since he first set foot here, this whole turn of events to him, felt a bit more deliberate rather than being done out of an act of desperation just from how it all seemed to play out.

After hearing Porvix had been stolen, Vergil tracked down the thief who had taken it -- that same thief being Malvolik. After a fierce battle, Vergil was about to deliver the killing blow with a final slice aimed at his neck with the goal of decapitating him, in a quick act of desperation and quick thinking, Malvolik struck the ground with his fist creating a shockwave with just enough power to push Vergil back, during those few seconds, the enemy demon sent a surge of what little power he had left from the previous bout into the device, which activated and in a flash, opened a portal to which he very quickly fled into.

Just before the portal closed, Vergil teleported towards the portal and reappeared right in front of the time glowing void just in time for the energy current to pull him before the rift completely closed. The two would reappear into a world that appeared to be an alternate version of Japan which at first glance, appeared to be normal. Vergil and Malvolik fought a second time, but the duel would only last twenty-seven minutes before the two mortal enemies would be interrupted by some people in formal clothing armed with weapons making their approach, the people in suits had a very strange and relatively powerful energy coming from the group, and Vergil knew his opponent had felt it too,

The moment this entourage made their advance towards the two, thinking fast, Malvolik quickly jumped up into the air and unleashed several large energy grenades in all directions of the empty street they had been fighting on, the very second a part of the balls of energy hit the ground, several more explosives balls of red energy would blow up, with several other smaller explosions around them following as the other pieces of energy broke down into explosive energy clusters creating a path of destruction on the road around them and disappeared without a trace.

Vergil had luckily managed to teleport away on the last minute, reappearing seconds later on a building and out of sight a he looked down upon the city around him, thick clouds of smoke coming up into the sky above where the carnage had just been down below. From that day on, Vergil spent every single day researching and learning all about this world so he could eventually blend into society here, and that he did, even making a name for himself as a swordsman for hire. Professionally, Vergil was known as The Devil's Reject, completing a whopping two-thousand jobs in a mere five months which only skyrocketed his credibility.

All of that lead him to where he was now. The Division of Public Safety had received reports of devil sightings, only these devils in particular, didn't look like your typical devil, one special report on the matter stood out as this report stated that these devils didn't appear natural, some even looked fake, almost artificial, though they were very real in terms of danger as there was unfortunately already a few confirmed casualties, as this location wasn't the only one with reported sightings. The objective for this job was rather simple, seek and destroy all seven of these unusual devils that were scattered around this area hiding in plain sight.

Because they were short on staff due to the deployment of multiple agents, Public Safety hired Vergil's expertise to assist them. In his mission contract, it stated he was to meet with the individual he was to be partnered with, this apparent comrade was supposedly a member from special division 4, one that wasn't human, which made sense, considering Vergil himself wasn't human, well, at least not completely as a whole.

With little to no information on who exactly his partner for this job would be, he decides to take a look around before he eventually finds her. A strawberry blonde with two red horns on her head. Making sure he's correct with his guess, he takes a moment to closely observe her uniform at the moment before finally confirming that it was her. They were supposed to investigate this entire park which had been evacuated not long after the first confirmed death.

The moment he's finished his observation, she's the first to break the silence. With not much of a reaction, blue eyes meet her golden-eyed gaze.

[{ 🗡️ }] - "My apologies. I was just making sure I found the right person, and that uniform confirms it."

Right away from the moment he stopped in front of her, Vergil could feel a very distinctly unique energy coming from her, it was obvious she was not human, or even a devil, but instead, a blood fiend.

[{ 🗡️ }] - "My name is Vergil. We'll be working together on this one it seems. I assume you've already been briefed on our mission objective?"

[charlesfstewart]

The Mes-en-Scene of Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai"

Author’s note - this essay was initially written in 2012. While I have not made major changes to the content of the article, I have linked the films and articles, essays, or books referenced. In some cases, I am unable to find the original sources. These sections have been italicized at this time. Additionally, some grammatical changes have been made.

Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï is not only a staggeringly beautiful film from a visual perspective, but also a great character study. Alan Deloin, in a tour-de-force performance plays Jef Costello, a professional hitman whose methodical mannerisms allow him to be a top-notch assassin. Melville's use of set design, along with lighting, and lack of dialogue create not only a crime drama, but a meditation on the violence plagued by modern society.

The scene is simple. Show Jef Costello in his room, preparing for a job. Not for any job, mind you, but an assassination. Jean-Pierre Melville starts the film with a basic shot of Jef laying in his bed, smoking a cigarette. His room is spartan, to be polite. Bare is more correct. A birdcage sits in the middle of the room, the bird chirping at a regular interval. In this first shot, the room seems small, but after a quote from the Bushido; (actually written by Melville) "There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle... Perhaps…" rolls, Melville initiates a Dolly Zoon (also known as a "Hitchcock shot" from Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 film Vertigo) which makes the whole room look a lot larger. Melville's purpose in juxtaposing Jef in these two different shots is that it shows the two sides of the character. In Jef's small world, the only thing that matters is his own codes; whether they be ethical or moral. In the larger world, where Jef is just a small part, his or any other presence makes no difference. 

Melville also uses a large amount of natural lighting, making Jef's apartment seem very dark. Not only obviously a look into Jef's own attitudes, but also his soul. Outside of killing, he does very little, except for having sexual intercourse with a woman (Nathalie Delon, Alain’s wife during production) who is probably engaged to be married. Jef does eventually get up, already dressed, and checks a wad of cash. The bird, his only company, tweets regularly, as he gets up and places the cash in a hiding place in his apartment. While not only a sign that Jef is careful, this shows his distrust of others. By eliminating personal contact, Jef is able to focus more on his work, which he seems to do be good at.

Aside from a tweeting bird and light street noise, there is no other sounds in Jef's apartment. Melville uses this to again show Jef's separation from humanity, both emotionally and professionally. The soundtrack, written by François de Roubaix, is subdued and almost funereal, possibly foreshadowing Jef's own end. While it has some jazz influence, the soundtrack is of a mostly traditional cinematic tone. Possibly due to the meta-ness of the idea of a French samurai, but also a nod to traditional noir stylings. Melville puts a lot in front of the audience without dialogue, including a scene where Jef and a woman exchange glances at a stoplight. Without dialogue, we know Jef is lonely, and misses a normal life, but he has exchanged it for this one. Melville's lack of diegetic spoken language provides a cold atmosphere perpetuated by violence.

The formal elements that compose Le Samouraï are impressive on their own, considering how much thought is placed in each area. Melville's use of stark set design and natural lighting provide an eire setting for the film to take place. Also, the successful lack of diegetic dialogue reflects the atmosphere of the film, and the soundtrack pairs well with the action in the film. Le Samouraï is not only a homage to the noir genre, it is an excellent study of a world with strict work ethics and lacking moral ethics.

[liskantope]

I don't necessarily object to everyone saying their pronouns in a circle, but I wish it were more acceptable to opt out. I don't want anybody to try to force themselves to use pronouns for me that don't seem right, and I'm not very distressed by any of the three common pronouns, so really I just want people to address me by whatever pronoun is most natural/comfortable. This is different from wanting someone to use he/she/they in equal proportions!

(When people ask me my pronouns directly, I'll explain this if I know them well/there's time, or just say the pronouns that people use most often for me. Which is fine! But I don't have some strongly-held preference for it; if anything, I kind of hope someone uses the opposite gendered pronouns for me so I can see how I react to them.)

Thanks for the data point! I suppose I might not be as bothered about the "pronoun circle" thing if it were socially acceptable to opt out (which I guess is what "David" from the story in the thread of my last post was essentially trying to do, politely). But I feel nearly as cringy verbally opting out as I would saying "he/him" after my name, and in the sort of crowd that does "pronoun circles", I have a feeling what would then happen is that people would use "they/them" for me out of a (I suspect performative!) lack of knowledge about my likely pronouns, which somehow cuts to the heart of why on a visceral level I find the whole thing eye-rolling.

I have occasionally been called "they/them" in real life by people in social circles like that and haven't particularly minded it, though, just felt bemused more than anything. In a purely online context (especially when, as on Tumblr, I'm under a pseudonym, nobody is seeing my face or hearing my voice, etc.), being referred to as "they/them" doesn't feel terribly weird or bothersome to me at all, maybe just the tiniest bit strange but hardly even that.

I think what all of this is betraying in me is a (raw, not entirely endorsed, maybe semi-justifiable but only in a much longer, deeper post) wish on my part that pronouns be treated as having something to do with and some strong correlation with a person's name and appearance and presentation. The "pronoun circle" enthusiasts seem, to my strong impressions, to be trying to manufacture a set of societal assumptions where pronouns have no relationship whatsoever to anything externally perceivable about a person. This bothers me on a gut level that, again, I can't really explain or justify right here and now.

(Also, leaving aside pronouns, in the first place I find just going around in a circle just to say names in most non-professional settings to be kind of awkwardly formal and makes me feel a little silly.)

[a-rumbly-in-my-tumbly]

All right (cracks knuckles)

Professional Japanese translator time!

You're right that the way the characters talk does say a lot about their personalities-- I would say that as far as the gap being too wide is concerned, that title would go to Edmond. Especially in the earlier intimacy rooms, their interactions don't really come across well because tbh, English is REALLY lacking when it comes to translating characters whose internal struggle is the problem. Essentially, it comes across as noncon when it isn't.

BUT, on to Kuya! I wouldn't particularly say he's polite as he is very aware of how hierarchies function. Sure, he says the right words, but it's more to make sure that, when he does do something to amuse himself, his victims have nothing to point to about his CHARACTER. He's seen what happens to rude, haughty yokai--because he's often the one to do it.

So no, he's not polite. He's sardonic. Painfully cynical. Acting in a way that his life suggests should be default (which is why he gets onto Eiden for being so naive, but can't dislike him. After all, if everyone just realized their petty optimism was worthless, we'd all get along; but that would be boring, wouldn't it?). Kuya, therefore, is quite disdainful about titles (remember his reaction to the yokai falling all over him?) so his "old friend", "young master", "wolf pup" should be read with that same sardonic disdain. HOWEVER, this doesn't mean Kuya doesn't LIKE Eiden and the clan members; it's just that a part of him wishes it didn't. Wouldn't life be so much easier if he was HAPPY being "Master Kuya", benevolently doing favors for old friends, enjoying the company of others? Of course it would, and he knows this. But he also knows how pointless getting attached is.

As a related aside and somewhat of a circle back, boku as a pronoun, too, I would say is default more than formal, per se. Of course the nature of the character will change that (i.e. how Edmond's "watashi" doesn't come off as particularly polite so much as just humble, or how Rei's "ore" doesn't come off as full of himself so much as flippant). A lot of beginners from English are told about pronouns because English needs them, but Japanese really doesn't; and unless you're translating jidaigeki or something you really don't see the Truly Formal modes of address like "wagahai" 我輩 and so on; but I would argue it's because teachers from English are very aware that because pronouns are so optional, they are also still associated with gender (Megumi Ogata, nonbinary afab voice talent, refers to themselves with "boku", for example), so they don't want learners running around subtly gendering themselves without being aware of it; so it's easier just to say "watashi for girls, boku for boys" and leave it at that instead of trying to explain how "atashi" and "ore" are different, but not that different, and it's not that boys or men CAN'T use "watashi" or that girls and women can't or don't use "ore", it's just that a Japanese person from Japan will assume that you're making a mistake with your pronouns over it being a deliberate choice for many social reasons that stem from how Japan still sees the world as binary in terms of there are Japanese, and there are foreigners, and foreigners don't understand Japanese. So, it's easier, especially initially when you're still learning the language and wouldn't be able to explain your choice, to set it aside.

So. There you have it, re: Kuya. Tl;dr? Formal? Perhaps. Polite? I wouldn't say so, necessarily. Sardonic is the word here, absolutely. Though Rei can be too, because he's also Seen Some Shit in terms of "the way people are is largely bullshit", Kuya has accepted it in the core of his soul. He's not ANGRY about it, or frustrated the way Rei is. At least not anymore... except during those rare times when Eiden makes him hopeful that he may be wrong, and that's when he tests him, gets angry (like in the spring card), and tries to mess things up--he knows he's right, why can't these people see that?

As someone who kinda understands Japanese, the way the characters talk really adds a lot to their personality. I'm the type of person who really pays attention to the types of pronouns they use and Kuya's speech drives me nuts every time!!!

Okay, so first of all, we all know that Kuya has high regard for himself and that's justified. He's powerful and the wise old fox of the group plus, he's been with Huey the longest. With that being said, he talks way too respectfully and that gap in character really sells it for me.In Japanese he refers to himself as "boku" which is a very respectful term for a males. It's used in more formal settings or just situations that require more tact and manners in general. That's not all though, he uses it in its kanji form "僕" which means that it's even MORE formal! Just how cute is that?

Next, he never really refers to people with the pronouns for "you". He doesn't use terms like "omae", "anata", or "kimi" towards Eiden and the clan members but instead refers to them as titles like "wolf pup" for Garu/Karu, "old friend" for Quincy etc. This is just another show of Kuya talking very politely because using second-person pronouns can be seen as informal or rude in Japanese. As for Eiden, he refers to him as "Eito-san". Calling people by their names is just more respectful. In English, it's translated as "young master" and I think that's just a way for us to see how he still recognizes Eiden's position in some way. He also refers to Rei as such, so we can definitely see that Kuya recognizes hierarchial positions despite his personality. Even just generally, he uses "desu" and "masu" often so YES fox boy is very very respectful in his speech.

This is just word vomit so I don't know if I'm making any sense but I just cry inside everytime Kuya has new voiced lines because I also love the intonations in his voice. I don't really know Japanese fluently but I know enough to be able to play Japanese only games so if anyone wants to correct me or elaborate feel free to do so!

[donotexterminateupgradepudding]

Black Sails meta - an excellent example of show, don’t tell.

Season two of Black Sails does an excellent job during the flashbacks to tell us where Captain Flint came from, his relationship to Miranda and of course, his intimate relationship with Thomas Hamilton.  Over the course of those first five episodes we get snippets of events that run in parallel with the current timeline and why Flint is so goddamn dedicated to doing crazy shit in the name of Nassau and pirates.

The first set of flashbacks are around the first meeting of Lord Thomas Hamilton and rising star in the Royal Navy, Lt. James McGraw.  In this entire sequence we see that McGraw is wearing black gloves while everyone else in the background and Thomas have bare hands.  The fact in this far shot that you can’t see his hands is the best indication of those black gloves.

Thomas is wearing one of the super fancy long wigs and we can see a ring on his right pinky finger as well on his bare hand.  In contrast, James has his hair tied back in a simple ponytail and he wears his officer’s uniform.

James takes the naive Lord on a field trip in their second meeting to point out issues with piracy, specifically around the Caribbean. I love how Flint is just like, “the pirate is Davey something or other” with such a dismissive attitude that these men can all be lumped into one defining group.

For this, Thomas Hamilton is no longer wearing the super fancy wig but has switched it out for a little less formal one.  It results in one of my favorite conversations from the entire series.  I didn’t capture it in these shots, but our stoic Lt. McGraw is still wearing his black gloves.

This conversation also adds to the solid INTJ personality of Flint - one can have great ideas but knows that most people are likely to fuck them up; this also is shown in season one as Flint made sure to have Gates as his quartermaster for what was clearly years since he’s absolute shit at office politics.

The main point of the flashbacks in the first episode of season two want to make it clear that Flint is pragmatic, blunt and distant with closed off body language. The second episode has another flashback where Thomas starts off with the creation myth from Genesis and adds in extra bits that everyone needs a partner.  This is in his office where he’s still wearing the white wig while seated at his desk while Flint stands before him formally.  The only thing which has changed for him is the fact his hands are now bare, but held behind him.

Flint is still cautious of the man as a cold rain falls outside.

This is the only scene with the two of them - the rest of the flashback is between Flint and the Admiral who is both his father figure and professional mentor.  We learn that some time has passed between the scene with Thomas and the one at the pub as when left alone, other officers try to gang up on Flint and bully him speaking poorly of the Hamiltons which unleashes has rage, which only his mentor can stop.  These conversations reveal additional information, James is on first name basis with Thomas, indicating he’s become closer than from the opening scene above and he’s close enough with both Thomas and Miranda that he feels obliged to defend their collective honor. Admiral Hennessy has a good read on McGraw.  He knows everyone has a sort of ‘primal emotion’ in himself but McGraw’s is one that is darker and wilder than most.  Granted, he admits it is likely why his mentee has been an excellent naval officer and moving through the ranks smoothly and effectively.  But the Admiral is also concerned how deep that darkness is and what it would make McGraw capable of. 

I’m sure that this conversation stuck in the back of Lt. McGraw’s head and reminded him that when pushed he could do very dark and effective things.

Episode three has two flashbacks, the first one continues the intellectual discussion about what to do about the ‘pirate problem’ and shows how comfortable James has become in the presence of the Hamiltons and them with him.  Thomas is now without any wig or jacket and James has his sleeves rolled up and he’s comfortably seated in the chair also wearing only his military waistcoat.  This is a huge jump from episode one where both men are dressed for their respective stations and roles.

The table has half drunk wineglasses, papers and books scattered about.  We even see an empty plate with the silverware neatly off to the side indicating that James had eaten a meal with Thomas while working.  More importantly, this is a direct contrast with episode two where Thomas is seated while James is standing.  Now, James is seated and controlling the conversation while Thomas tries to determine how to fix Nassau.

True to form, the issue is laid out plainly.  The difficulty with Nassau is it is in a hard place to govern indirectly.  The anti-pirate propaganda pamphlet they look at shows that the current governor has been corrupted by the pirates and it is very easy to do.

Thomas can only listen across the table as his friend explains that the entire governmental set up for a place like Nassau is doomed to fail, due to the inherent nature of men and that anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence will do more for himself and fuck the government.

And with this Lt. James McGraw has laid out one part of the goals of the infamous Captain Flint and those he works with, and against in the current timeline of the series.  Their entire conversation, the elements around them show that these two men have grown close and are not only at ease with each other physically, but can speak very openly with each other.

Their serious conversation is broken by Miranda entering to make sure that they are still alive, apparently having worked in the office for several hours non-stop, hence the food eaten in the room and the wine to help lubricate their sticky brains. . .  What is clear is that the relationship between Thomas and Miranda is a good one.

The two of them have a fondness that may not be defined by unbridled passion but they love each other and support each other.  This is also when Miranda loans James Don Quixote to help him to understand Thomas better, which I mentioned in my previous meta about the role of books).

We then get a flashback where our stoic navy man is more than willing to open his door to his apartment without a shirt to be met with Miranda Hamilton.  He seems completely confused why she’s there as though he were expecting someone else.  Miranda explains that she got his address from the carriage driver and invites herself into his place since it is awkward standing in the hallway of the apartment building.  I’m more than willing to read between the lines that 1.) he was expecting Thomas to come to his door which is why he so willingly opened it and 2.) Thomas may have given the information to Miranda worried or concerned and wanted her to reassure him with things.  I think that by this point, James was already involved with Thomas, but that Thomas had been paying him visits to his small flat.

James is able to get his undershirt on but his entire body language is super awkward.  He’s not keen on the idea of going to visit some other members of the aristocracy in lieu of her actual husband.

He’s quite cheeky in his reply with a large smirk as he tries to dissuade her until she cuts him off to explain that he’s worried how it would look to the rest of civil society.  Though the amount of flirting between the two of them is just - wow - kind of adorable how cheeky it all is. They try to outwit each other while making smirks at each other.

Of course, Miranda won’t be defeated by his concern for appearances and she changes her argument to ask is he is happy.  And man - does this question cause his brain to come to a grinding halt.

I think that this argument is how Miranda is setting James up to agree with her and allow himself to experience what she calls happiness.  She is incredibly straightforward and makes it clear to him to not worry about all the rumors and that she loves her husband and it is obvious that they do love each other. 

The flashback concludes with them in the carriage and James admits that he told the carriage driver to take her back home.  Miranda tells him theory of the two types of men who make their life at sea 1.) those who out of sense of duty are willing to leave their identity behind to and 2.) those who find the loss of identity to be the attraction of the career.  James playfully asks her which of the two men he is and she replies that he is very good at managing how people perceive him.  With this skill he is able to get what he wants without anyone realizing he set everything into motion in the first place.  She tells him that he’s concerned about what people think he might be doing behind closed doors; as opposed to the actual acts that he is doing behind those closed doors.  He’s not a prude who doesn’t do things because of morality or propriety - he just wants to appear so and he does exactly what he wants in private. 

The two flirt a little more as he takes her hand in his and they kiss in the carriage.  However, Miranda is the one who makes the move to sit on him as the flashback ends, showing that she is the one driving the physical relationship between them.

He doesn’t have an issue per se with kissing her, but when they briefly pull back, Miranda is eager while he seems distant.  By this point in the show, we know that Miranda is a very sexual woman and she has a high libido.  No judgement - just fact. 

She is more than willing to meet those needs but it is also clear that it is still better to be involved with someone who has a good relationship with Thomas.  We already know from the first season that Captain Flint and Mrs. Barlow are still sleeping together, but it is entirely for her and out of habit.  I can’t help but think that there is a sort of guilt or need to sleep with her out of obligation to Thomas when he was alive or how he promised to take care of her.  Honestly, if I were him, I’d see the logic of sleeping with her; Miranda is intelligent, attractive, and fun. 

Even if you weren’t madly in love with her, she’d be a good fuck.  He still loves her, but not in the same way that he loves Thomas.  The two of them have ten years of hardship and suffering and their lives are incredibly intertwined, you can’t just sever than and not have it impact the two of them.

Episode four has the flashback when things start to go wrong in regard to Lord Hamilton’s plans to deal with Nassau.  Thomas calls James over in a rush because he wants him to talk him out of his plans.  I love the casual flirty reply that James gives him at first before realizing things are more serious.  He flippantly replies that they don’t have a problem and even laughs a little.

But oh no, this is more serious as Thomas states that he has grown close to him and trusts him deeply.  And that is when James begins to look concerned.  Again, James is seated in a chair with his sword as they go over the plan.  Until Thomas says he wants to pardon all the pirates and that look on James’ face of ‘oooohhh fuuuccckkk’ as they know that Lord Alfred Hamilton is coming over for dinner and they will have to discuss this with him.

Interestingly, Thomas is the one standing while again, James is seated trying to be the voice of reason, aware of the situation in Nassau, in Whitehall, in the Navy etc.

When he gives his advice both as a member of the navy and then as a friend.

His words cut Thomas to the core and we end with a scene where he looks like he’s about to cry looking at James.

This is followed by the awkward dinner scene where Thomas’ father begins to argue with him over the plan Nassau.  Miranda tries to speak up and is cut down ruthlessly by Lord Hamilton as he can’t help but remark on her sexual activities making the mood worse.  Honestly, I don’t know why this is such a big deal; countless members of the upper classes had all sorts of affairs and as long as heirs were produced it wasn’t a horrible scandal.  But I don’t know exactly why the writers took this direction. 

It all comes to a crashing halt when James explodes in a very polite fashion (for him) telling the Lord of the house to leave his own home as Thomas laughs at the situation.

To try to prevent the plan from failure before even reaching the floor for debate, Thomas, Miranda and James try to rally support from his intellectual salons (which were likely a delight for Flint even if he didn’t speak, just watching and thinking through everything).

Only one person is willing to assist, Peter Ashe, who finally is formally introduced to Lt. McGraw, though they must have seen each other in these various salons and other events.

Episode five has too many flashbacks that are interrupted in my personal opinion, but I guess they were going to the frantic pace that is set by the concurrent events.

First off, we learn that some time has passed since the flashback left off.  Thomas has been fighting for his political cause while James was away to see Nassau for himself.  This is reflected in his new facial hair and highlighted by Thomas’s comment that it has been three months but felt twice as long.

Okay, we get it, you really missed him Thomas and I’m sure the feelings are likewise - but James has no good news for you.

None of the news that our Lieutenant has is good for the cause.  The governor got in a fight with a pirate over money and it resulted in punishment - the governor’s wife and son were drug out into the street and killed but he was kept alive to spread the word.  Yet, despite all of this we learn that James remains dedicated to Thomas’s plan, even emboldened by what he saw he reveals to Miranda.

However, everyone’s emotions are roiling.  Even before James had returned, Miranda wanted to leave town to take the heat off of Thomas . . . and with their continued push to fight back at Alfred Hamilton, James also is naive about things.  He falls back on the idea that he can still do what he wants ‘behind closed doors’ because he thinks the truth itself is too much to risk being made public.  This is where he’s wrong - it is the very truth (well through a not quite well known source) that ruins his career and he and Miranda are forced to accept the affair story and leave London. 

The bitterest part is that Admiral Hennessy assigned James McGraw to this because of his pragmatic attitude; unfortunately, since McGraw has been ‘swept away’ by the silly ideas of Thomas Hamilton and worse likely seen as seduced by him intellectually and romantically, the Admiral berates him.  Honestly, it is the most heartbreaking scene in the flashback for me, since the Admiral never considers that James saw the logic and promise in the plan, thus throwing his full support behind it.  He is the most skeptical and realistic person and seeing Nassau in person hasn’t shaken him from the plan it only causes him to double down.  This is even more bittersweet and ironic in season three when Woodes Rogers shows up with a ton of pardons and tries to use a variation on the plan that Thomas and James had originally created in 1705. 

Only at the end of the episode do we have a return to the awkward dinner scene where Thomas seeks comfort and support in James at the dinner table as Miranda simply sits there as they begin to make out.  You damn well know that the two of them likely retired elsewhere for a bit before trying to rally more support.  Come on, there is no way that anything that James has started is going to stop until well, it is the full stopping point.  The man never does anything halfway.

Miranda returns the copy of Meditations to James as we finally learn it was gifted and dedicated to him by Thomas.  That Thomas did not want James to be ashamed of their relationship, but this is directed to a man who wanted to craft a careful image of himself before others.

Was he ashamed of things?  I honestly don’t know, it really could go either way.  All of his actions are for Thomas and his vision for Nassau in his mind.  We never hear the conversation he had with Miranda when they were told to leave, but it is clear that he convinced her to join him in Nassau as they fulfilled their role as the fallen Lady and her Naval lover.  Personally, I like the INTJ angle that James preferred total privacy in regard to his relationship.  It is clear that Thomas was someone he let into his inner world and thoughts and he might just be doing the classic ‘I don’t talk about my relationship ever.’ but very INTJ move.  How he truly felt about Thomas was for him and Thomas alone. I think more of his anger would stem from how their lives were ruined, his career destroyed, all punishments of ‘civil society’.  Obviously, the logical solution to this is to say ‘Fuck you England!  I’ll just go to Nassau and become a very successful pirate instead and use my power and influence to fix Nassau without England.’  Yeah  . . . I guess that’s an option most people would take a hard pass on, but not when you can create Captain Flint to do it for you.

Our last dramatic flashback has another glimpse of a flashback as James reflects on his soft moments with Thomas; making out in his room, listening to Meditations read aloud by Thomas. 

They are all so - soft.  Incredibly soft and this is through the eyes of the man who would become the feared Captain Flint.  One of the few instances of true softness in the entire show.  I love how gently he caresses the book before opening it to see the little note to him.  Awwww, again so soft.

Another point that I’d like to bring up here is that with this soft book scene, we see Flint wearing his two rings.  I about drove myself nuts in the first two seasons spending too much time trying to track them to glean any additional information.  Season one episode eight shows his starting set up for the rings below.

In short, there is something there, but I’m not sure how much we can read into it compared to all of the book related plot points and character development.  There is a ring on his right ring finger and one on his pinky.  We know that he’s from a working class background so he wouldn’t have a family ring or anything like that.  I’d guess it has something to do with being a seaman or some sort of professional thing, since people are inclined to wear professional rings.    Furthermore, in all of the flashbacks to 1705 he wears ZERO rings.  Never.  Nothing.  The rings are clearly something that are a part of Captain Flint. 

I’m not expert on ring meanings but the ring finger one could have the lazy interpretation it is representative of a relationship.  Since he’s very careful about how others perceive him, it likely could double internally as a link to Thomas and externally to Miranda since those in the know, think she is his woman.  In season three he will outright refer to her as such to rile up his own crew.  Was she actually his woman?  No, but having people think that his ring is linked to her helps shape his image.  Aka our Captain is involved with a bookish Puritan woman . . .  Plus, Miranda still wears what is likely her wedding ring on her left ring finger from 1705 to her death in Ashe’s estate.

After Gates death, Flint moves the two rings over to his left hand.  They stay there for most of season two until he and Miranda go to meet their old friend Peter Ashe.  Again, with my limited knowledge of things the left hand is more about his intellect and feelings while the right hand is about power and presentation.  After they take the unnamed Spanish Man O’ War, we see him thinking in the background as he devises his return to Captain before they reach Nassau.  I think while he retools and revises things he’s going for the more subtle ring position; that he’s focused on what to do next and how to move forward now knowing that the Urca gold is practically theirs.  As long as they can turn around and do so.

So, maybe he’s regained his bravado and needs to really impress upon Ashe that he’s fully in charge of things and his willingness to seek out a compromise. Which is why only at the end of season two does he wear the rings on the right hand again.

I wasted too much effort trying to determine if his pinky ring is the same one that Thomas has in the flashbacks but that is not the case.  Thomas has one that he always wore on this right pinky and it also had some sort of gemstone set in it. As you can tell I’m totally into jewelry and know all sorts of things about them - I hope you can read my dripping sarcasm as I’m not sure if I could even stand to wear a ring in the first place. 

Flint’s pinky ring does not have any sort of stone set in it.  It would have been a clever detail to have him wear Thomas’ ring, but in no way in hell would have happened with how ruthless Alfred Hamilton was.

They were swiftly removed from London and Thomas was spirited away before Miranda or James even knew or could do anything about it.  And you’d guess that Thomas was likely wearing his ring when he was taken sooooo, yeah, cute fanfic idea but not supported by what the show has shown us visually.  I’m sure the most important gift from Thomas to James was that book above, since we know to quote Dufrense, ‘he likes his books’.

Overall though, Black Sails is a show that excelled in showing you what was happening in addition to telling you things through conversations between characters.  What confuses me is anyone who was watching this show and then got to episode five in season two and was completely shocked by the visual reveal that Thomas and James were deeply in love.  You can go all the way back to the sex scene with Miranda and James to know that it wasn’t romantic love there.  The fact that James wraps his arms around Thomas, yet can’t bring himself to even touch Miranda makes it quite clear how he saw his relationships with both of them.  Well, that is all for now.

[cursingtoji]

Royals

Pairing: Gojo x Roality/Sorcerer!Reader

Summary: Yuji was told by his sensei that someone very special was coming to evaluate his new cursed energy.

Warning: fem pronouns, slightly suggestive, hickeys, established relationship.

a/n: naruto's anbu uniform is what i based reader's outfit off, so keep that in mind i guess? i apologize if i forgot some tag in the warnings, feel free to point anything out to me. thank u and enjoy <3

“How pontual” Gojo smiled when he felt your presence on the top of the building he was standing along with Yuji.

“Huh?” Yuji looked around confused till he saw a black silhouette behind him.

“Hope you don’t mind Yuji-kun, I wanted a professional opinion and called a friend”.

“Are you sure this is the best place to do this Gojo?” You asked going around the boy with pink hair staring at his figure and sensing his cursed energy.

The building you agreed to meet him was one of the tallest in Tokyo, you could barely see the people on the streets from here.

“Sensei, is your friend a ninja?” Yuji asked, staring back at your figure, your black outfit left no skin to be shown while the kitsune mask covered your whole face and two swords remained crossed at your back.

“You worry too much Princess, don’t you believe I am the strongest?” You frown upon the use of the pet name. Yuji tilted his head to the side.

“I just don’t want things to go out of control” you moved your hands to remove the kitsune mask, your identity would still be protected by the mask that covered your nose and mouth beneath it, but Gojo stopped your hands as soon as you approached him.

“Keep it on until we finish okay?” He smiled, although he did not say anything else this was enough for you to understand he did not want the curse inside Yuji to cross eyes with you. “I’ll explain later, Yuji, now can you give us ten seconds with Sukuna?” Gojo stretched his arms preparing for a quick battle.

You moved to the corner of the building to give him space but still keeping an eye on the pink haired kid.

He was so young...

Black marks soon appeared on the kid’s body and the new cursed energy overwhelmed you making a shiver run up your spine.

As the heir of a clan that for centuries has the ability to control cursed energy, this scared you.

Sukuna’s energy was enough to destroy a big city like Tokyo as easily as a snap of a finger. In the past your clan helped Sukuna by increasing his cursed energy during battles but in the end, your clan also helped destroy Sukuna by suppressing his cursed energy as much as they could. Gojo asked you to come watch a quick demonstration, if the plan succeeded and Yuji managed to live long enough to eat all Sukuna’s fingers, it would be just a matter of time until the king of curses took control of the vessel and attempted some kind of mass destruction. If the time comes you wanted to be able to perform the same act that your clan did in the past.

Although, since Sukuna’s downfall your clan did not act as sorcerers anymore, instead they turned into rulers and politicians, living in big cities as Tokyo and controlling cursed energy just by existing there, a natural balance to the modern world, they would tell you, but none of this changed your mind when you decided to break the chain and become a sorcerer almost ten years ago.

The fight started when Sukuna ran towards Gojo murmuring something about seeing him again. Gojo controlled the situation fast by immobilizing Sukuna on the floor, far enough to not harm you.

“So?” Gojo asked, looking at your direction.

“You asked me to not do anything so I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s possible” you answered the white haired man.

Sukuna’s attention now was brought to you, he tried to read your cursed energy, you sensed that, but with the kitsune mask covering your face and eyes you doubt he recognized you as part of the clan that caused his downfall one thousand years ago.

Gojo again smiled at you, proud of you being able to take such a fast reading without messing with Sukuna’s energy, which he asked you to not do.

It would be better for everyone if Sukuna doesn’t make a target of you so soon.

“Alright, guess we are done for now” Gojo raised as soon as Yuji took back control of his body. You watched amazed as the cursed energy came back to a normal level.

Gojo asked Ijichi to drive Yuji back to the school and promised to talk to Yuji in the morning.

“I don’t know, Satoru. There’s only so much I can do alone, and I’m sure the rest of my clan won’t get involved with Sukuna if he returns. This is a huge responsibility for me...” you stopped talking, not even wanting to consider the possibility of such a powerful curse having complete control to do whatever he pleases and you not being able to do much by yourself.

“I won’t put you in danger, but for now it would be good if you could stick around Yuji, just to observe... I can put a good word for you with Yaga” Gojo dropped his arm around your shoulder playfully.

“You really want me to stay at jujutsu tech Tokyo just to keep an eye on him?” You removed the kitsune mask, now allowing Gojo to see your teasing eyes.

“I have my own selfish reasons too”.

The next morning Yuji crossed his path with Nanami around the school, having worked together once Yuji felt comfortable with asking Nanami about his sensei’s friend.

“Oi Nanami, do you know Gojo-sensei’s ninja friend? I met them last night but still don’t know what happened”.

Nanami stared at Yuji like he was speaking some foreign language “...Ninja?”

The elder was about to ask him to elaborate when the said sensei turned around the corner with you by his side.

“Gojo-san, Ojou-sama” Nanami bowed low when he noticed you coming closer.

“Ojou-sama?” Yuji looked at the person walking to them alongside Gojo. He did not recognize you at first, you now were using a colored Yukata and nothing covering your face.

“Nanami please, you know me long enough to drop this title” you smiled at your friend.

Yuji quickly made the connection between Nanami using the princess title and Gojo calling you Princess yesterday.

“Oh sensei, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. You two make a beautiful couple” Yuji smiled.

“Itadori, show respect, Y/n-sama is an actual royal” Nanami whispered to Yuji.

After the downfall of Sukuna your clan reigned for a while, being the heir of the main clan branch and if your clan was still reigning that would technically make you a princess. Nanami insisted on referring to you as Ojou-sama in public even though you two attended school together years ago and long passed the formal titles.

“Sorry” Yuji bowed, still confused.

“It’s okay Itadori-kun, we will have enough time to get to know each other” you assured the pink haired boy.

“You are moving here?” Nanami asked.

“Isn’t it great?” Gojo smiled widely, now placing his arms on your shoulders and Nanami’s. “It will be like old times again”.

“Yaga accepted my request to stay on the campus and assist the kids,” you explained Nanami. Of course he knew that by ‘the kids’ you mean Itadori and his new found cursed energy.

“What a great set of teachers you will have Yuji-kun” Gojo tight his grip around you and Nanami “Why don’t you go find Fushiguro and Kugusaki while I show y/n her room?”.

“Yes, sensei!” Yuji smiled and bowed again before leaving to find his team mates.

“Let’s keep y/n secret between us, okay Nanami?” Gojo asked now that the three of you were alone. “Sukuna might not find out about y/n’s origins if she doesn’t mess with his or Itadori’s energy, the elders agreed to keep her around for now as protection”.

“I see… Well let me know if you need anything, Ojou-sama” Namami replied and fixed his tie.

“I need you to stop using that title, Kento” you smiled again at your stubborn friend and dropped Gojo’s arm from your shoulder going back to the path that led to your dorm.

“Always so polite, Nanamin” Gojo teased “Just don’t forget I’m the only one allowed to get on my knees for her” he released Nanami’s shoulder leaving his fellow sorcerer flushed.

“What did you tell him?” you asked Gojo when he got back to your side.

“Nothing he doesn’t know already” his large palm touched your lower back.

Your arrangements with Gojo were something known only by the heads of your clan, the two of you and few close friends. A promise made almost ten years ago allowed you to attend jujutsu tech and become a sorcerer if the only descendant of the Gojo clan married you by the time both of you got to your thirties. There was nothing in it for Satoru, but he agreed even though he barely left his teenage years.

“Satoru, What are we gonna do now?” you asked looking at your feet.

“We can start by getting you a pretty uniform, maybe a short skirt and a v-line” the hand that wasn’t at your back moved to the collar of your Yukata exposing more of your neck and collar bones and all the purple and blue marks painted there “A masterpiece like that has to be shown”.

“You are shameless” you slapped his hand away and adjusted your Yukata back. His flirty personality taking your mind away from the new responsibility of being Yuji’s guardian. “You know, we are two years away from the arrangements and I still wonder why you accepted it” you confessed, stopping in your tracks.

“Oh Princess, I’ll always be taking the side of rebel soul and you so happened to be the one that stole my heart from day one, you are not getting cold feet now, are ya?” he leaned and placed his arm on the wall behind you, an old habit that made you flushed when you two were younger, but now you can only bite your lips and raise a hand to lower his blindfold and meet his shining eyes full of admiration.

“Marrying the prince that saved me and the strongest jujutsu sorcerer? How could I get scared of that?”.

“Prince huh? I can get used to it”.

© all content belongs to cursedmoonchild. please do not modify or repost; if you find reposted content please let me know, i have not consented to the repost of my content

[stormblessed95]

Hi Stormy, I always appreciate your take on things so would be curious to hear your thoughts on Jungkook calling Jin ‘yeobo’ - twice I believe?

No, not a Jinkooker here! 😝 And don’t think it means anything other than he clearly calls someone (Jimin) ‘yeobo’ frequently enough to slip up. Just curious as to why you think it wouldn’t have been cut from official content (which it was in, right? correct me if wrong) because it certainly exposes that Jungkook has *somebody* special in his life!

The delulu in me thinks by having that on record, if Jungkook ever slips and calls Jimin that on something live, it can be discounted but… delulu?

(Apologies if you already covered this somewhere! I think I’ve read your whole blog 😄 and don’t remember it being discussed.)

Lol hello anon 💜

JK calls Jin "Yeobo" (여보) (honey) Twice. Where he corrects himself afterwards to Hyung. I think all this shows is how close the two of them are. I don't think it hints that he slipped up and called Jin what he calls his partner. I don't think this proves he is dating Jin. I think this just proves what we all already know. Lol that BTS call each other pet names fairly consistently 😂 and the reason he corrected himself is because both of these times were in interviews where JK felt or looked more comfortable in them. But he corrected quickly to the more formal and polite "hyung" after he slipped because they are in a professional setting. It wasn't a causal place or time or thing, it was a professional interview about their work, and while they were still having fun and chill, polite speech is what you should use in a professional capacity such as this, which is where the correction came from.

And like I said, pet names between the members isn't anything new. I often very affectionately like to say that Jin is to JK what Tae is to Jimin. And the amount of pet names between vmin that they often use is, well its a lot. Lol not just soulmate, but your my angel, penicillin, little prince, etc etc etc. Or Hobi constantly refers to the maknae line as HIS baby's or HIS dolls.

And Jungkook calling Jimin Aegiya. Which is a more cuter and sweeter way of calling someone baby. Like term of endearment next level up baby wise, essentially like saying "babe" in English. And they have done this many times to each other.

Or when JK calls him Dangshin, which they other members have also used in reference to each other. This is basically a very formal "you" or a very informal "dear/darling" and considering the rest of speech used, it was leaning more towards informal

Here is a very long thread of all the members calling each other baby on multiple different occasions through the years lol

Or here is Tae calling Hobi Jagiya:

Jimin calling Yoongi baby:

Yoongi calling JK baby 3 times. (Also note here how they use Aegi, not Aegiya)

And I'll also just include this moment here, where during the 170226 fansign, JK was asked "what is Jimin's existence to you?" And JK replied "Honey❤"

When asked what they want to be called by their future girlfriends during a fansign, this what the boys all answered. Note JK/JM just want to be called Jimin-ah and Jungkook-ah here too. And how often JK drops honorifics with Jimin to just call him casually like that.

JK also said in the early years that he would want to call his future girlfriend Honey or Darling.

But basically what I'm saying here is that pet names is just bangtan together as a whole at this point. I don't think this is anything that can be used to define a relationship between members as its a group dynamic. So no, I don't think this is proof for Jinkook being boyfriend. I don't think this is proof of JK being in a relationship with anyone else and slipping up either, girlfriend, boyfriend, Jimin.... lol and everytime the members call each other pet names I think it's the cutest thing in the world, but it's not what makes me think one is in a relationship or not. And sometimes with certain pet names, context matters too.