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esamastation · 7 months

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Part fifty-one of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty

"Angeal Hewley speaking."

"Well, you sound chipper tonight. Is Wutai not treating you right?"

"Oh. Hello, Genesis. How are things in Midgar?"

"Things are… they are such as they are. The work of a hero never ends. And so forth."

"That good, huh?"

"Mmm. Now do tell me why you sound like someone gone trampling all over your honour."

"Heh, nothing so bad, I promise. Just, you know. Sephiroth."

"More of his glowing Alignment practice?"

"..."

"Oh, so it's something new now? Do tell! All of us in Midgar are dying to know how things are developing. How is the Healer of Worlds doing?"

"... I guess the Turks have already reported it. Well. For one, he's learned how to fly."

"... Come again?"

"Sephiroth learned to fly. Or, I guess, it's more like weightlessness? He can make himself feather-light and just jump on tree tops and glide around."

"... Angeal, my dear friend, this isn't time for jokes."

"Oh, I'm not joking, Genesis, I'm really not. He can fly now. It's really something. He didn't so much explain as he insinuated, but I think it's some kind of gravity or mass manipulation that he can now do. Because of his Alignment practice. Apparently it's bearing fruit."

"... Wonderful. Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Some of us literally."

"Suppose that's one interpretation of it."

"Tch. And I suppose by now the Good Professor has been informed, and we will be hearing of these developments from him directly."

"Probably, yeah."

"Tch. Well, I suppose it would be nice to know how to fly. How many of us will end up with our wings clipped before such heights are achieved, forever…"

"Genesis…"

"They still don't admit that there have been deaths. Janson was supposedly killed in action, but he wasn't even on a mission at the time. The others have been cadets, but it's only a matter of time."

"I'm sorry. I wish I was there."

"No you don't. Be glad you aren't - though, as G type SOLDIERs, you and I aren't compatible with these new methods anyway. Such fortune we have, such graces we have been granted."

"We all signed up for this. We all volunteered, in order to enter the program."

"Yes, and not a single one of us knew what that meant. Well, except perhaps for Sephiroth. Not that he ever truly signed up. You know, I have been looking into his history, I've dug out his medical records, trying to figure out what they are after -"

"Genesis, that's a breach of trust -"

"The lives of my men matter to me more than Sephiroth's secrets and pride. Not that the files were any help - the story they paint is more a horror story than anything. Whatever Hojo is trying to recreate, if it takes as many experiments as Sephiroth has gone through…"

"I thought they already nailed down the cause. The overdose, right?"

"That's the prevalent theory, yes. But after the first few cases of Mako Poisoning and death, they rather gave up on recreating that particular experiment at least."

"They gave up? But, aren't they still calling SOLDIERs in for extra doses?"

"They are, but there's not as much Mako in it. They're injecting something else, now - more of the carrier agent, supposedly - though Goddess alone knows how many had to be resuscitated for them to get the point."

"... What's the current total of casualties?"

"Four deaths including Janson and seven in coma, two of them SOLDIER. Oh, and one confirmed brain death, which is just lovely."

"A SOLDIER?"

"No… a cadet. What they're keeping him alive for I don't know, but… there we have it."

"... Shit."

"Angeal Hewley, is that cursing I hear?! What a day to be alive."

"Very funny. How do you know about what's going on in the labs? I thought they'd pretty much banned you from them?"

"They did, but I have my ways."

"... Right. Do your ways explain why Lazard isn't doing anything about this?"

"Not much he can do. Hojo will do what he wants, and he'd promised Heidegger a new, higher class of SOLDIER after this, so you can imagine his reaction. And of course the President is all for it!"

"Ah, I… see."

"Indeed. You know what they're saying in the labs now? They're saying that SOLDIERs were created to be the second coming of the Ancients. That we were supposed to be able to, among other things, cast spells without the need of Materia."

"I… heard something like that too, a long time ago, but I didn't put much stock in it. It sounded a bit too fantastical for me."

"Well, supposedly, that's exactly what they wanted. They gave up on it, because, well, it didn't work, and because the side effects were even more useful. Superhuman soldiers! Much better than Ancient myths, when you have a war to be fought. Only now the war is almost over, and Sephiroth has apparently figured out how to fly."

"Ah."

"I can only imagine the consequences this will have."

"Yes, um. There's something else."

"Something else? Angeal, please don't tell me you're been holding out for me."

"Well, not really, but, um. Did you know Sephiroth can speak and read the Wutai language?"

"... I didn't, but I'm not surprised. Among SOLDIERs he's spent the most time over there."

"Well, I didn't know. The Turks didn't know. I don't think it's in his file either."

"Another thing he's been keeping to himself and can no longer remember why?"

"Maybe, but, Genesis, there's… another thing. There was a group of Wutai warriors that we intercepted, and Sephiroth had a one-in-one duel with their captain - and then he spoke with him. In their language. Now, I can't understand written Wutai at all, but I can sort of follow the conversations…"

"I am duly impressed, my friend. Though more with the idea of Sephiroth having a conversation with a Wutai soldier - after having a duel with them. What, did he raise their spirit somehow?"

"Very funny, but no, he didn't kill the man. That's not the point - Genesis, the Wutai Captain called Sephiroth's accent ancient."

"... Angeal, you're kidding me."

"Not like Ancient ancient. I'm pretty sure the moniker they use for Ancients is different. Ancestor, maybe? Something like that. Anyway, Deng Yuto called Sephiroth's accent ancient, meaning really old."

"... Huh. So to recap, Sephiroth gets a massive dose of Mako, flatlines, comes back, forgets almost everything about himself, develops some new habits, has a bunch of strange questions about the way Materia, Mako, EXP and MP work… and now he's developing new magical abilities, and speaking a language like someone from a long time ago."

"That's about the size of it."

"Damn."

"... Yeah."

"... Hey, Angeal?"

"Yes, Genesis?"

"I think I have a theory of what's going on."

"I thought you might."

Lmao I have no idea where this is going 👀🍿

#Fanfiction #ff7 #svsss #angeal hewley #genesis rhapsodos

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rassicas · 10 months

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I wanted to clarify about the inkfish's blood color? I was told there is a bit in the latest art book confirming they have red blood but i am yet to see a source so i wanted to ask

Gear acquired by our researchers Red Hammertreads Anakki has caught on to the latest trends, and has presented a collection of "looting"-themed footwear. The message of "Take what you want by force!" resonated with the boom of rough and rugged Splatlandian fashion, creating some die-hard fans. The motif of the collection is a gangster octopus, which has turned deep red due to the blood that's risen to its head.** This deep crimson color is symbolic of the collection.

**頭に血が上る means to be agitated or excited, but literally something like "blood to rise to one's head". with all the mentions of dark red, this word choice connecting it to blood was deliberate so i left it in.

Turning red due to agitation in this case might be implying its like a deimatic display rather than literal blood, but regardless that is still a connection of red blood and octopuses.

regardless of if you want to take this as solid proof of inklings/octolings having red blood, there are some other things that hint at them having red blood. like this art showing some inklings with ears and noses tinted red from the cold:

or this concept art for an inkling anatomical model, with the insides tinted red

There's also how the inside of the mouths of the squid sisters is a fleshy pink/red color rather than a color connected to their ink color, but theres some weirdness with how consistent mouth colors are If you're thinking, "but wouldnt it make more sense for them to have blue blood because they're cephalopods?" this is what i thought too. While blue blood is fine for sea dwelling cephalopods to have blue blood, it's inefficient for carrying oxygen for land dwelling creatures. Inklings and octolings took on many adaptations to make them more suited for land, so why not their blood? If the concept of a mollusc evolving from having blue to red blood sounds farfetched, this exact thing has happened to ramshorn snails!

Other option is they literally have ink blood which *shrug* idk they are creatures of Flesh and Organs so Im inclined to believe they have actual blood that, like the organs, we don't see because Family Friendly Game . I mean, we know for sure salmonids have actual flesh and blood (you can literally buy their meat in mako mart) but in game they just kind of explode like ink bags. anyway in short: not explicitly confirmed what kind of blood inklings and octolings have but with the S3 artbook and these few other examples i think red blood is a real possibility.

#splatoon translations #splatoon lore #splatoon headcanon #asks #biology #inklings #octolings #i have more headcanon thoughts about inkling organs and anatomy but i dont want this to be too long so i leave it here

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myristicisms · 8 months

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@strifesoldier | Cloud Strife sent;;

' You and me. Your body near mine, close. I'm not right when you're not with me. I get the shakes ' oop zack made him codependent...

Vulnerability, no matter how small or largely given, was always a difficult thing to express; Years of forcing himself into the mold of what Zack thought was the ideal hero only further forcing him to push the overwhelming desire to rely upon someone else to the back of his mind. Being relied upon was the closest he'd ever come to sharing a vulnerable moment with anyone and it was something he cherished far more than even his own life. That much so had never been in the question though, only further proven with each moment where he took a beating to protect those he cared for most, often coming as victorious in each battle he'd carelessly chosen for himself.

Perhaps it was the hubris of a man who has lost damn near everything already or maybe it was just the delusion of someone who had grown lonely over the years, someone who felt as though nobody bothered to know who he was outside of his uniform and rank; At least not until after he'd managed to establish a connection with another person for the first time since... ( Nevermind. ) Zack has come to rely upon being needed, feeling helpful and he's long since found that purpose at the side of his blonde companion. While he'd known that Cloud was capable of taking care of himself well enough, he also couldn't scratch the desperate itch to feel helpful, to do more than just stand beside the other man silently like some brooding shadow.

Though that's what he's become, hasn't he? Bitter and violent should he feel it necessary to be so, a trained killer unafraid of ripping and rending through flesh that managed to be snagged within the maws of an enraged beast, many saw the once proud warrior as nothing more than a monster as of late; A creature that thrived on combat and the destruction of the very people that made him into who he was today, but not Cloud, never Cloud apparently. Lips curl into a gentle grin at the idea, he was helpful to someone at the very least, even if he'd grown all too protective throughout their time beside one another and perhaps he cared far more than the average friend should have, but then again; Average friends don't go through the same horrors as the duo had to endure together. That's how Zack justified it, anyways.

A rabid guard dog trapped in an endless loop of biting despite never wanting to bring harm to those unfortunate to cross into Zack's poor graces, a feature of which was far easier done than said given how low his tolerance for anyone daring to cause problems for either Cloud or himself truly had become. That dependency, as it seems to be, is reciprocated. Though that hardly came as much of a surprise, being without the blonde felt off, something so viscerally incorrect that his very being often trembled with wrath when the two were separated for too long and the verbal confirmation he wasn't the only one to experience that... ( Validating, freeing even. )

“ And here I was, stewing about whether I'm being overbearing towards you. ” He huffs out, amusement glimmering within mako stained eyes; An odd calmness kept Zack completely and uncharacteristically still. At times such as this, he'd often be pacing or doing squats, clears his mind and allows the former SOLDIER to focus on his surroundings but instead he simply sat, jaw twitching while his tongue feels at the sharp canines meant for rending through his foes and that familiar emptiness he'd been so prone to slowly seeps in. “ I'm always here though, always nearby until you tell me to go away and mean it, I promise. ”

#muse;; zack fair #strifesoldier | cloud strife #verse;; tufts of phoenix down #• answered ic!#interaction continued?#zack is also in his codependent arc i understand #also so sorry if it's all over the place #he had a lot to say i guess??

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summer-nights19 · 8 months

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I'm not her part 3

Someone requested part 3 so I decided to pick this up again lmao

f! Haruka Tenoh and f! Ko Seiya x gn! reader (angst)

For the past few weeks, you'd just been moping around at Rei's place. You'd found yourself a job working at her shrine a few days after you arrived there, and, though you meant to find yourself some proper accommodation, the thought of living alone seemed almost impossible. You knew that, without Rei there to encourage you and give you strength, you'd fall apart all over again, and the pain of having lost her would grow sharper and sharper until it was impossible to ignore. When you weren't working, you spent the majority of your time in the guest bedroom you were staying in, lying on the bed and idly scrolling through social media while you tried not to cry. Nothing seemed enjoyable or worth doing anymore- you'd tried many times to picture what life had been like before Haruka, and what kinds of things you'd done, but all you saw was blank emptiness.

Late one Saturday morning, as you were staring at the ceiling while remembering your life with her, Rei burst into the room. She looked serious.

"I know that breakups are hard, Y/N, but you can't just decide to completely bring your life to a stop because of her. Don't give her that much power over you,"

You looked at Rei, trying as hard as you could to mask your annoyance. While you appreciated her greatly, she simply didn't get it.

"Rei, I'm not choosing to feel this way. And I've just lost my entire world. How do you want me to react ? Do you expect me to shrug my shoulders and move on ? God, I swear you just don't-"

"I never said that, Y/N. Moving on, however, is a choice. It starts with your actions and your attitude. That's why you're coming out with the rest of the girls and I today,"

You opened your mouth to protest

"I don't want to hear it. I'm not giving you a choice. Now get up and put your clothes on,"

Grumbling, you got up and went to the bathroom to get ready. You knew there was no arguing with Rei when she got like this. Maybe she was right, and seeing your friends would lift your spirits. You sighed as you threw on a hoodie and baggy tracksuit bottoms. You really didn't have the energy for this.

"Y/N, are you ready ?" Rei called from outside

"Yeah, I'm coming,"

***

As the afternoon passed, it became increasingly clear that maybe Rei had been right- despite your initial reluctance, it had been the best day in a while. There were even moments, when you roamed the shops and chatted with Mako, Mina and Usagi, that made you feel like nothing had changed. They were fleeting, but precious nonetheless.

"So Y/N... I bought tickets for all of us to see three lights tonight. I know that maybe with the whole Haruka thing you don't feel like coming tonight, but they're only in Japan for this week," Mina looked at you with pleading eyes.

"Remind me... which group is three lights again ?" You asked. You doubted you'd be interested.

With stars in her eyes, Mina took a journal out of her bag and shoved it in front of your face. You took it, rolling your eyes slightly. It was full of cut outs from magazine articles and photographs. You let your gaze rest on the woman in the middle. She had long, dark hair and was very toned. What really struck you were her eyes- there was something haunting about them, something that demanded your attention.

You could feel yourself getting a little hot.

"Ok, fine. Let's go see three lights," you said before you'd even thought about it," Mina and Mako cheered and hugged you

"I take it seeing how hot Seyia is changed your mind. I can't blame you, and she's probably even more attractive in the flesh !" Mako exclaimed, grinning at you.

"No, I just want to listen to some music," you said, feeling your face grow hot

"Uhuh yea sure thing," Mina said, giggling. "Anyway, we should catch the next bus to the stadium to make sure we get there on time,"

***

You got there and found your seats, all with around 30 minutes to spare.

"Why are we so absurdly early ? We could have caught the next bus," you said as you took your seat next to Ami. Waiting around like this was making you anxious in a way you couldn't explain.

"Well, we needed to make sure. Also, maybe three lights will notice us if we get here early... they might even ask us out on dates," Mina replied, her eyes going dreamy.

"Yeah whatever. I'll get you some concert snacks," you said, standing up and heading out before the others even had a chance to reply.

You wondered around the circumference of the stadium, confused. The sign said you could get snacks around here, but you couldn't seem to find a stall. You saw some guys in suits crowding around a door not too far away from you.

"That must be backstage," you thought to yourself "Which means that this one is the snack stall,". You opened the door a few paces away from the first door and went in.

The sent of musky perfume hit you as soon as you stepped in. You looked around and realised you'd made a terrible mistake. This was backstage, as evidenced by all the clothes and makeup and mirrors scattered around.

That, and the fact that Ko Seiya was standing with the back to you, tying the back of her top in front of a mirror. She turned around, the suspicion on her face quickly replaced by amusement when she met your gaze.

"Well well, what are you doing here all alone ?" She asked, the hint of a smile on her lips.

"This is really embarrassing, but I entered the wrong door. Really sorry, I'll get goi-"

"No. I didn't tell you to leave," you turned back around immediately. Seiya continued.

"Keep me company instead. You look like you could be fun to play with,". She ran her hand from your cheek down to your chest and rested it there. You swallowed. You knew this was forbidden, that you could never truly be with her, that you didn't even know her, that your heart still belonged to Haruka... yet, none of that seemed to matter as she slipped her hands under your shirt and took it off. You wrapped your arms around her, kissing her passionately as you unhooked the back of her top. Gradually, her lips started to move down your neck, leaving a trail of small bites and hickeys as her fingers toyed with your nipples. You let out a loud moan.

"That's right, babe. Don't hold back, let the entire world know that you're my little sex toy," your breath hitched as she started to take off your trousers, running her fingers along the waistline of your underwear and snapping it against your hips. A loud buzzer sounded, breaking you out of your trance. Seyia pulled away from you and smirked.

"I'm on now, but would you be good for me and wait here until the concert finishes ? I'm not done with you yet, sweetheart,"

You nodded, your eyes wide as Seiya left, giving your ass one last smack before walking away.

You knew it would all go to shit. You knew that it was just for one night, that tomorrow reality would come crushing down on you again.

And yet, you couldn't help but hope.

Masterlist

#haruka tenoh x reader #seiya x reader #ko seiya #sailor moon x reader #sailor moon fanfiction #sailor moon #haruka x reader #gn reader

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azulas-lightning-bolt · 25 days

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sooo in regards to @korrasgonefishing’s post that I rb mentioning my fem!mako post and how I was talking about how the bending brothers’ batman ahh backstory would be even more tragic for a little girl because humans can be miserable creatures and they were like ‘oh but what if it was more chill’ and then got talking about bloodstains and I was thinking

oh. mako was orphaned at 8 years old. her mom never would’ve had time to teach her little girl about periods because why would she? they have all the time in the world.

and that’s got me thinking, damn, she wouldn’t have known anything about girlhood. maybe the prostitutes who take pity might tell her the blood doesn’t mean she’s dying, but they probably don’t have much more to teach her that she wants to know, nor would many care to spare the time. and im sure canon mako was the same, not really knowing anything about what to do when he got older, only able to teach bolin how to shave when he’s got a million little nicks on his own face from trial and error.

and that was sad again, my apologies. but it could be happy! and guess howwwwww,, momboss and daughtercop!

so since they’re the sillies ever and also chronically emotionally impaired, their girlhood bonding moment when mako fucks up. (also both of them not really having ‘girlhood’ because of shit ass childhoods… hmm beifong family angst save me…. wait lin beifong learning how to girl on her own because toph never thought to teach her… toph realizing she fucked up way too late because it wasn’t forcing her girl to be a dolly the way toph’s parents had forced her, she just wanted to learn how 2 use eyeshadow,,,, beifong angst save me)

so anyways. mako is so #silly and unaware that chronic lesbianism exists so she’s trying to comphet so hard and going on dates with the biggest fuckin douchebags ever (bcuz they’re ‘manly’ and she has a reason other than being queer for not really liking them) and trying to convince herself she does like them. and essentially she finds this one guy who realllllly fucks her over and he comes into the station to try and embarrass her too, going off about how she could use some makeup and that she acts more like a man than him and. ouch. because she’s always had this problem, she tries to make herself a role model for bolin, but she hates it because being a girl is a piece of her identity that literally cannot be taken away and she’s just letting herself lose it? my fem!mako is cis but she has so many gender feelings because. yeah.

anyway lin to the rescue! who tf are YOU to come into MY station and harass MY officer? I suggest you walk ur smelly ass right back out or you don’t want to find the fuck out what I can charge you with. cuz she’s silly.

and then cue sullen pissy mako cuz she’s like… 18. she’s still a teenager and one of her biggest insecurities just got targeted in front of all her coworkers who she knows already don’t respect her. so she’s miserable the rest of the day,,, until lin to the rescue again!!!

she pulls her daughter aside cuz she’s worried (not that she’ll say so) and is like. don’t let him get to you cuz he’s an asshole and doesn’t really have much worth saying and less worth listening to. you’re allowed to wear light makeup and stuff at the station if you want to, and if you’re really bugged I can pinch someone’s ear to get you some accommodations. because she’s mother.

but then mako is like I FONT KNOW HOWWWW and crying cuz she’s lowkey devastated she never had someone to teach her… anything. she doesn’t really know how to use pads (being broke means you learn how to make bootlegs of, like, everything), she’s never even owned makeup, she hasn’t worn a dress since she was 7, and she doesn’t know any of the girl things every girl seems to know because she has no mom‼️‼️

and lin goes. hm. I am tragically reminded of myself right now. instead of Dealing with that, I’m going to aggressively help and thus permanently insert myself as a mother figure in my favorite kid’s life. so she, over time and gradually less awkward invitations to her house, teaches mako how to use makeup, slightly enjoying being able to experiment with mako’s uniquely distinct features. she teaches her about period cycles and how to cope, and goes shopping for pretty clothes that she insists on paying for at the last second (“you paid for the food already.” “yeah, chief, from the CHEAPEST VENDOR IN RC?? I thought you hated their food!?” she does. she knew mako needed to pay for something, and felt bad picking anything pricey.) and tells mako about her own girlhood and they both are girls.

this is insane wish fulfillment for me btw. what I could’ve had w my mom if I was normal lololol but anyway. I hope that got silly enough at the end cuz I was thinking about my own comphet era writing this and it hurt my soul a little bit !!

#I went kind of insane and wrote this all in one sitting.#I’d normally schedule this to post tmr but I felt like I had to choke it out now #and I’ve got 2 other longpost drafts that I haven’t touched since I last opened tumblr like.#two centuries ago #not counting whenever I made that dumbass post #likr #yesterday #or whatever #dying #fem mako #atla #mako lok #lok #tlok #slug’s stuff #mako tlok

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yamino · 1 year

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Quick Question

You've probably been asked this question a lot but I'll ask anyways, who's your favourite of the Sailor Scouts? (Mines Sailor Jupiter, as a trans girl I like her combination of toughness and femininity, plus, we share the same star sign and she uses lightning)

A lot of people have headcanons about trans Mako and I love that. ❤️ She also speaks to so many GNC people because she's got so many interesting layers to her. (Also she's just super cool.)

If you had asked me who my favorite was when I was 13, I would have had an impossible time answering between Uranus and Neptune, who I was completely obsessed with at the time. I still really really love them (I think Neptune is particularly interesting to explore, given that she has apparently been tormented her entire life by realistic hallucinations of the world ending... yikes) and they also have such a fun dynamic, not to mention the very important nostalgia element of my very first canon wlw ship to latch onto for representation.

Saturn is also a contender because I find her whole background fascinating (especially if you go with the manga canon of her dad turning her into a cyborg??) She has a very Stranger Things weird monster child vibe and I LOVE that. She's so many things all at once. So much to work with there.

Mercury was never my focus when I was younger, but she's popped up in almost all my recent comics so I guess I like her more than I realized. 😆 She's a great foil to everyone else's antics when they're wilding out and she's the only one with any sense. (Or shame) And she is so cute.

I also really love Mars because she's so pretty and has a lot of interesting outfits to draw her in (my favorite is her miko robes) and I also love mean/grouchy girls so she's fun to write, too. 😼 I love exploring her emotional constipation and those rare moments where she shows vulnerability. But I also like writing her bullying Ami. 😈

If I had to pick who I am the most LIKE, everyone I know says I'm Venus. She is also one of my favorites to write/draw because she is just so... ADHD 🤣 (just like me) I love her goofy side which is sometimes genuine and sometimes a mask to cover her very serious and dark thoughts. Of all the inners, she's been awoken and fighting for the longest, and although she always tries to hide behind a smile and a joke, she may be the most emotionally scarred of all. All she wants is for someone to acknowledge her, tell her she's doing a good job, but the role she's been given is a thankless one.

#sailor moon #headcanons

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codenamehazard · 8 months

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.:Port in the Storm:.

Chapter 18: Port in the Storm

Hey guys! Time to see what emotional stuff is in store for us in this chapter!

Big thanks to @rogueshadeaux for helping me out as this chapter was giving me some serious issues! If ya'll haven't checked her out, do so! Erosion is a top notch story and it's only gonna get better!

Without delay, let's jump in!

------

I lean against the HEMTT while Mako’s taking some stock on supplies and materials. I have been hanging around the convoy for some time, hoping to see Kestrel so I could ask her about the Amp, but out of all time I’ve been watching I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her. I’m beginning to wonder if something happened while I was out clearing my head.

Mako had greeted me, relieved I was okay before we got into some small talk. Chit-chatting about this and that before I found my opening to ask.

“I thought about your suggestion while I was out in the fields and you’re right, it probably wouldn’t hurt to go ask Kestrel. I mean… We already have a deal and all.” I state, Mako smiles and nods.

“That’s good to hear, I know how much the Amp means to you, so I know Kes will fix it up.” Mako replies softly, looking relieved at my answer.

“So uhh… Where is Kestrel?” I ask, Mako gives me a worried look.

“Well… She should be in the workshop… She had gone there shortly after you left to wander and she hasn’t returned since.” I raise my eyebrow at this, but I soon shrug.

“Sounds like she might be having troubles with a rogue customer. I’ll head over there and sort it out.” I grunt as I stretch. “Thanks for the info.” She nods in response as I head over to the nearest wire and hop on. Blitzing off as soon as my foot hits the cable.

—-

Bolts arc as I leap off the wire, gliding towards the door with a smooth tuck and roll. I smile and brush myself off, pleased with my landing. I near the door and soon hear the sound of muffled shouting and screaming as well as the sound of something violently venting out gas. Oh great… As if I wasn’t already nervous enough about asking Kestrel about the Amp, knowing she’s going to be in a foul mood is just making me all the more hesitant. Still, I have made up my mind. I swallow my fear and step inside.

I see the door to the forge is shut and I could now recognize the second voice. It’s Pangolin’s voice. My eyebrows furrow as I listen to the tone, it’s the same tone my father took with me when I fucked up combined with that same military brass. I growl quietly as I approach the workshop door.

“Pangolin? Him of all people?” I question in my head as I get closer. Why is he here and why is he absolutely laying into Kestrel? What did she do?

I’m about to open the door, but decide against it. Instead, I hide myself to the side. Using a small amount of my power to sharpen my hearing and listen. At first, the sound was muffled, but once my ears sharpened, I could hear clearly and what I heard made my blood boil.

“I’ve been at this stupid thing for two days straight, Pangolin. TWO. FUCKING. DAYS!! No sleep, barely eating, only time I took a break was to drink and to take a piss!! What more do you want of me?!?” My eyes bug out of my head at the sound of Kestrel’s voice. Two days straight!? Am I hearing that correctly?? “I am literally running on fumes over this, the VERY LEAST you could do is to cut me some fucking slack!!”

“How can I “lay off” when you lied about the weapon being ready, Kestrel?” Pangolin’s voice growled, I can picture in my mind the bastard circling the girl with eyes full of disdain… Just like my father did to me. This whole thing is still about that stupid gun?? The gun she warned was a prototype??

“I didn’t lie!” Kestrel balks. “I said “HOPED SO!!” How many fucking times do I have to say it?! It means it hasn’t been tested. That there’s a chance that it might not work!! The plan didn’t work anyways because it wasn’t enough to take down the Summoner!!” The poor girl’s voice was starting to sound hoarse, almost desperate. I have to wonder how many times Pangolin has harassed the Gunsmith, by the sound of her voice, I’d imagine it was a frequent thing.

More flickers of my childhood pollute my mind, memories of my father barging in when I was trying to study and berating me for some slight or another and me shouting back, just wanting him to leave me the fuck alone.

“With your behavior as of late, I wouldn’t put it past you to sabotage out of spite, especially seeing that it was your poor conduct that cost us a mine.” I silently seeth as I hear Pangolin talk about the Mine Incident. The very incident that he made Kes and I promise to drop.

Fucking hypocrite.

“Oh! So we’re going there with this, huh?!” I hear Kestrel screech. “So you’ll have me and Cole bury the Mine Incident but you get to hold it over our heads?? Use it as fucking cudgel?? Who gave you that right, huh?!” I had to pull a small piece of leather out from my backpack and bite into it in order to keep myself quiet. Keep myself from charging in sparks blazing.

“You’re acting like a child!” I hear the Spartan snap. Really?? Kestrel is being the childish one?? She’s not the one making up crack-pot theories about how your own Gunsmith, who you supposedly trust, purposely sabotaging her own work when there was a goddamn monster barreling into town??

“Do you even hear yourself, you dense fuck?!” Kestrel screams, the sound becoming more and more frantic, as if she’s on the verge of tears. “What could I possibly gain from sabotaging my own work? Do you think so little of me that I would literally break my own weapons just to spite you for rightfully calling me out on my shit? Said shit that, might I remind you, that YOU made me and Cole promise to put behind us?? The very same shit you’re holding over my head like a fucking hypocrite??”

“Think so little of me…” That… That struck a cord inside me. I have been around many people before, people don’t say shit like that unless something’s been going on that has led them to that conclusion. I know this for a fact… As this was something I would scream to my own parents. New memories rush in like a surging wave as I start to remember another issue I’ve noticed…

Favoritism…

How Pangolin has been treating Kestrel from what I’ve been seeing… How he’s currently treating her now, is very much like how my father treated me when I was young, especially in my teen years… After my brother was born…

…And how he was treating me? It was how dad treated my little brother… It made me seeth. He was treating one of his own like utter trash and treating me with kid gloves. What’s the big idea here? Is it because he feared what I could do? Or is it because of what he could gain.

“Honestly, Kestrel? I’ve been questioning a lot about you since that incident.” Pangolin hisses as I hold back my tongue behind gritted teeth and scrap leather. “I never thought you could be capable of abandoning anyone to a death you claim you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, but you proved me wrong there… Makes me wonder what else you are capable of… And now with this blunder, I now wonder how much you have lied…”

“Perhaps… You lied about how long the weapon would take? That you could have gotten it out sooner but you chose to lie instead?”

He did not just fucking say that…

There was a heavy pause, full of tension that was about to break. I could hear the creaking of twisting metal and could feel the bioelectricity in the Gunsmith’s body rise, she would be a beacon of red in my Radar Pulse.

“So…” She damn near whispers. It’s the dangerous low kind of whisper that warns those that something bad is about to happen and there was no stopping it. “It’s my fault… Is it? It’s my fault that two Conclaves are no more?” Her voice is on the brink of tears and I’m getting angrier by the second. “That the blood of thousands are on my hands because I couldn’t complete your precious project quick enough??” The last part comes out as a venom filled snarl.

Memories of the hateful gazes fill my mind, memories of being called a terrorist… Of being blamed for the death of those lost in the Ray Sphere blast… Blamed for the death of Trish’s sister… And here I am… Listening to a mirror.

“Kestrel, you’re putting words into my mouth!” I hear the brick idiot sternly say and I just want to go in there and crack some sense into his head!!

“No, I heard you loud and clear.” The Gunsmith growls. “You’re blaming me for their deaths with this…”

“Kestr-”

“If you’re going to blame me, say it.” Her voice trembles more. “Say. It.”

“No.” The moron rebuts. “I’m not going to entertain this fit.”

“JUST FUCKING SAY IT, THOMAS!!!!” She shouts with all of her might. “SAY IT’S MY FAULT!!! IT’S MY FAULT THEY’RE ALL DEAD!!! STOP PUSSY-FOOTING AROUND AND JUST SAY IT TO MY FACE!!!”

I can’t see what’s going on, but I could feel it. Pangolin’s really stepped in it now. Metal around slowly twists and screeches. The H.R Giger decor almost looks like they are… Coming alive from the sheer rage.

The sound of panting sobs echo out before a sound that is some sort of unholy combination of a human scream and metal scraping metal rings out, forcing me to cover my ears as a cacophony of metal breaking and twisting joins the scream. Screaming like it was alive as Kestrel’s rage devolves into nonsense and the crashing of material and equipment.

She carries on in a blind fury, phrases like “You think I’m such a failure? That I’m a fuck up?”, “You think I’m just an untrustworthy curr?” and similar wail out of her as smoke starts to seep from the bottom of the door. I can’t take this any more, I need to get in there. However, before I could, I could hear the clattering of metal and the crumpling of paper.

“If I’m such a traitorous monster like you believe me to be, then you can figure this out!” I hear Kestrel snarl out before I see the door swing open violently, creating a hole in the wall. She charges out, eyes blazing like hot iron and her body so heated up, she’s causing the fake water heat illusion.

Pangolin tries to follow her out, shouting at her to wait, but she’s too fast for the lumbering idiot. Now he’s left standing there with scrap and blueprints in his arms… The scrap of the Brickzooka…

I stand up and let my power flow, Pangolin’s eyes widen.

“So… This is your idea of leadership, huh? Holding your team’s fuck ups over their heads, treating them like trash and blaming them for things they didn’t do because you’re pissed over petty bullshit?” I watch as the Brick Spartan turns around, his face pale as a sheet.

“Well? Is it?” I bark, my mind slipping back into the days where I lead an army of Conduits. My irritation grows by the minute the longer he just keeps staring at me like an idiot. He gapes like a fish, as if thinking of something to say, but falling short. I can’t help but to growl.

“W-what are you doing here?!” He stammers out in a panic.

“Doesn’t matter why I’m here, what matters is that apparently you think it’s okay to hold shit over your teammates’ heads after you made them promise to let it go” I growl deeply.

“I’m just holding her accountable, just as I asked Mako to do for you.” He tries to defend. I scoff, sparks pop off and my eyes glow crimson. I begin to circle him like a hungry predator, let’s see how he likes it.

“Oh, so it’s “rules for thee but not for me,” huh? Well I’m just holding you accountable for this little fuck up.” I continue to circle him, the sight would have been hysterical to see someone a fair bit shorter intimidate a 6’6” tree of a human if I wasn’t so infuriated. “How can I when you’re holding it over Kestrel’s and my heads, huh?” I sneer, my blood seething in my veins. “Ever thought that if you don’t let it go too, the issue can’t be dropped?”

The idiot says nothing, time to turn up the heat as the bolts grow hotter in intensity.

“And what’s with the favoritism, huh? You’re treating Kestrel like utter shit yet you’re handling me with kid gloves. What’s that all about, hm? You scared of me? You want something from me? Go on, tell me.”

He can’t give me an answer, I know I have to walk away before I completely lose it and strike him. So I decided to cut this conversation short, I have a more pressing matter on my mind anyways.

"I don't know what your end-game is here with that bullshit you pulled on Kestrel, but you look me dead in the eyes. You keep pushing her like that, you're going to lose her. She's going to get fed up and leave and don't think she won't. Everyone has their limits and from the looks of things, the bird's reaching that point and if you don't start listening, practicing what you're preaching and actually acting like a leader, she's gonna fly the coop and you'll never see her again." I hiss, a warning from my time leading the Conduit army. A warning I hope he heeds for the sake of the other Misfits. "You'll lose one of your key members and then what are you going to do?" Those last words hiss out of my mouth as I turn away and leave the shop.

With Pangolin verbally torn a new one, I rush outside, leaving him to sit in shame and among the worthless scrap and paper of the oh so precious weapon he felt was so important to push away the one who built it. Silently hoping that the Gunsmith hasn’t left Droptown.

Though I wouldn’t blame her in the slightest if she had, I would have done the same… I have done the same.

Seems like life’s wanting to toss me a bone for once as I pick up on her signature with my Radar Pulse… Huh… She likes high places too. I look up to see her sitting up on top of a building, balled up, hugging her knees and not at all looking happy. I take a deep breath to steel myself before heading up, climbing up the wall to meet her.

Once at the top, I can hear her voice again, it sounds tired and ragged. She’s sobbing…

“It’s not my fault…” She whimpers, rocking back and forth to self-sooth and muttering over and over again that it wasn’t her fault. I knew I needed to be careful, but seeing this? Extra caution is needed. I tap the ball of my foot onto the ground to alert her to my presence so I don’t startle her. She turns around rapidly, tears staining her scarred face and eyes wide in fear.

I approach her and she turns her head back to face forward, balling up more to hide her face.

“What do you want, MacGrath?” She snarls. “If it’s about the stupid gun, save it. I’ll get it made.” I shake my head at the mention of the firearm, not that she could see it. I know I need to handle this situation with care… Not one of my strong suits.

“That’s… What I wanted to talk about…” I murmur in as soft of a tone as I can.

“What, you don’t want the gun anymore? Did Pangolin get into your head too?” The Gunsmith accuses, I would have been upset by this, but I keep my composure. It’s a logical conclusion to come to. I see a glaring eye peek up from behind her arms and I shake my head.

“No, that dense blockheaded bastard has nothing to do with this.” I clarify, I can see the look of confusion form on the girl’s expression. “Something else just came up that’s… A little more important.” I soften my eyes with those words, hoping to get through the anger.

“Then what?” Kestrel questions, her confusion adding to her hostility. I take a deep breath and vent out a couple of sparks to calm my nerves before looking at her. I carefully pull out one of the tip coils of the Amp and show it to her. She looks at it questioningly.

“I want you to repair this instead of building me a gun.” I mutter before gulping. The look of disdain on Kestrel’s face both unnerved and irritated me. She scoffs.

“What?” She sneers. “Can’t fix your own damn weapon?” I clench my fists in a white knuckle grip. I resist the urge to make my displeasure known, reminding myself that to her, this weapon means nothing . It doesn’t hold the same weight as it does to me. I take a deep breath and through gritted teeth, I growl.

“I’m not the one who built it.”

I watch Kestrel’s infuriated expression soften as she lifts and cocks her head. I brace myself for whatever else might come out of the girl’s mouth, but nothing comes. Instead her eyes are focused on my face, like she’s attempting to read me but having troubles. She doesn’t say a word.

“Look, Kestrel.” I continue with a sigh. “I don’t care if having you repair my Amp means I won’t get a firearm from you. I couldn’t give less of a shit about it. I don’t need it and never did. What I do care about is this weapon, right here.” I tap my finger on the coil of the weapon.

I’m about to continue, but I hear the sound of shuffling and I see she’s scooting off to the side a bit. I look at her questioningly before she uses her head to gesture to the empty spot next to her. I blink in surprise before walking over and sitting next to her.

“You see…” I whisper, trying to keep my voice even. I don’t want to break, not in front of her. “This was made by my best friend… Hell, he was my only friend. It was the last gift he ever got to give me.” I pause to collect my words. “I don’t give a shit if this means this is the only thing you’ll do. This weapon means more to me than anything on this god-damned rock. I just want it fixed.”

The bird’s eyes widen as I watch her face fall, her eyes lowering as guilt washes over her and it isn’t that “guilty because she was caught” bullshit, it is genuine guilt. With one hand she covers her mouth and looks away. I’m surprised at how fast she dropped her rage. I would have thought she would have said something snarky or at least try to hide the guilt, but no. It’s on full display. Her eyes stay low, but they dart around some, the hand covering her mouth going to her arm to play with a small bracelet, a small black braided cord bracelet with two turtles and a blue eye looking stone in the center. Her thumb rubs the stone before she looks me in the eyes. After looking at me, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, smoke seeping out. She rubs her eyes as her face hardens and she looks up again, this time, eyes bright with determination.

“Done.”

“Done?” I blurt out in shock. Just… Just like that?

“Done.” She simply repeats. The thoughts in my head stutter and jam as I gawk at her. Surely she has some cruel words to say, something to lash out with to ease her own pain. Use me as a verbal punching bag, anything, but nothing came… Just a single word.

“Th-that’s it?” I balk, blinking my eyes in utter shock. “No sass? No pushback? No jeers? Nothing?” I can’t help but to question her, she looks up at me and tilts her head, I can see a small bit of hurt, but by the way she’s acting, I can tell she understands.

“Why would there be?” Those words come out of her mouth in a tone that is nothing but sincere. I just stare at her, looking like a fucking trout. Then she does something strange. She rolls up her sleeves and holds her hands out where I can see, showing me both the palm and the back of them before holding out her hand. “May I…?” She asks in a feather soft voice. I nod and, though with some hesitation, give her the coil.

“You’re welcome to swing by whenever you like to check on progress or to ask questions.” She murmurs softly as she examines the coil. I just gawk at her as my head is still spinning from the absolute emotional whiplash she gave me.

We sit in silence as the headache of the emotional rigamarole fades into a quiet peace. I watch her study the coil with her eyes and her fingertips. It’s almost amazing to see, I knew what those fingers could do, the claws they hid… I’ve also seen that little Doc Ock display she had going on when she was making that dumbass gun, but seeing it so close… Seeing how feather-like her fingers are as she examines the broken piece, holding it like it’s a precious piece of her grandmother’s china set.

I hate to admit it, but it is… Kinda nice. Nice to sit in silence with somebody else. Even though we have had some volatile history, it’s still… Nice… In the quiet, I remember something.

“Hey Kestrel?” I ask.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for the save, by the way.”

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #kestrel morrison #Pangolin #Mako #conduit ocs

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twilightmalachite · 11 months

Text

Machina - Test World 2

Author: Kino Seitaro (with Akira)

Characters: Mika, Sora, Makoto

Translator: Mika Enstars

"Cryptocurrency? Digital… money?"

Season: Winter

Location: Information Room

Sora: Sora’s here to play, Yuuki-sense~!

Makoto: Harukawa-kun? I thought you were gonna play outside today.

Sora: HaHa~, Sora did also play with a kite at first!

But today he ran into Mika-chan-san, so he changed his mind~♪

Makoto: “Mika-chan-san”…? Are you talking about Kagehira-kun?

Mika: Nnah, umm…

Makoto: Ahaha, so you were hiding behind the door, Kagehira-kun. Feel free to come on inside, okay?

Sora: Is Mika-chan-san shy? Don’t sorry, Yuuki-sense~ is a very kind person~! ♪

Mika: Nna, that’s not really it… I’m also antiquated with Mako-kun.

I’m not necessarily shy… Nah, it’s really not that at all.

I was jus’ nervous if it was really okay to enter such a big security room like this, really.

I imaged an intelligence room’d be fulla specialized stuff like delicate equipment an’ personal infos, so I was thinkin’ about what if I accidentally broke somethin’…

Makoto: Well, there are quite a bit of wires and stuff around here.

But it’s strong enough that they won’t break if you accidentally step on them. Don’t worry, come and sit down.

Mika: Thank ya kindly. Then, I’ll go an’ take a seat next to you.

So, did’ja also help make this Test World, Mako-kun? Are you involved ‘cuz yer good at games, or somethin’?

Makoto: Yeah, something like that.

I used to be a member of the gaming club, so I was asked by Switch to be a test player.

The Test World is a newly created and hectic place, so they’re trying to get as many gamers as possible to play and help develop the community, y’see.

Sora: Yes! Sora can confidently leave it up to a gamer like Yuuki-sense~!

He spent winter break with Sora immersed in the Test World~! ♪

Makoto: It’s more of a volunteer work thing. But thanks to it, I wasn’t bored at all this winter break!

Anyways. The sun will set before we know if it we just talk.

Let put on the VR goggles and enter the Test World.

Sora: That’s right! Let’s go log in, then!

Use the spare goggles here, Mika-chan-san! ♪

Mika: Ah, okay. Gotcha.

How’m I supposed to wear this, umm…

Mika: !?

Nnah, where am I?! Saison Avenue!?

Mika: Hah, hah… So this is VR now, huh?

Sora: Yes, it is, but… Is something wrong with the goggles?

Mika: No, nothing like that, just… It was so realistic I got surprised, ‘cuz it was a familiar place unlike last time I did SSVRS.

Sora: HiHi~, Sora’s glad it was effective right away! ♪

SSVRS is worked on day and night, so the 3D models are much more precise now~!

In detail, the number of polygons haven’t increased, but rather the goggles have been revised, that way it feels more comfortable and there’s no load on the server~!

Makoto: It’s gotten pretty technologically advanced, hasn’t it? SSVRS’ evolution surprised me too!

So I’m having a lot of fun thanks to that… But really, I want people who don’t usually play games to give it a try.

Kagehira-kun, I’ll be joining you soon at Saison Avenue in SSVRS, so can you put your goggles back on and wait for me?

Mika: Mhm. Sorry ‘bout the fuss, lemme go on back…

Mika: …There we go. How’s that?

Sora: HuHu~♪ It was perfect, Mika-chan-san!

Let’s start off by walking around the virtual world. There’s a lotta shops in this town inspired by Saison Avenue~! ♪

Mika: Whoa… The shops here look jus’ like the real world, but they sell different things.

Trendy clothes and accessories, and furniture too, huh... Oh, and there’s yuru-charas!

Amazing… And all of this was made for VR.

Sora-kun, what’s this VL$ written here mean? Is it different than the L$ we have…?

Sora: Ah, Mika-chan-san has a keen eye! That’s VL$, virtual L dollar… A cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for real money!

Mika: Cryptocurrency?

Sora: Yup! Digital money linked to the real world~!

Mika: Digital… money?

I guess I don’t really get it… What’s the difference between that and real money?

Makoto: Money in the real world is issued by a country and is built on the trust of the country, right? Cryptocurrencies are issued in games and virtual worlds.

…Sorry for interrupting the convo. You guys were talking about something interesting, so I ended up chiming in without a greeting.

Cryptocurrencies are complicated, but in simple terms, it’s like a system where you can exchange in-game money for real-world money.

Since its value isn’t stable and has the disadvantage of crashing like stock prices, SSVRS is keeping it Test World-only as a precaution.

…Right, Harukawa-kun?

Sora: Nice assist, Yuuki-sense~!

Basically, only sales from products sold in Test World stores can be turned into VL$ and used in the real world.

The test players are super active because of that~ They’re creating tons of digital art!

And, if you use a 3D printer, you can even print the things you make in real life! So Mika-chan-san can make lots of things to play with too~! ♪

Mika: Makin’ digital art and making it real… I see. I feel like I’ll be able to keep my promise to Oshi-san then ♪

Alright, I’m motivated to create somethin’ too! Lemme try to make somethin’ in the Test World!

If I can sell it, exchange it for real world money and add it to Valkyrie’s budget, I’m sure Oshi-san will be pleased too. ♪

I’m killin’ two birds with one stone with this. Thank you fer the lesson, Sora-kun, Mako-kun! ♪

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#machina #event #translation #makoto yuuki #mika kagehira #sora harukawa

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noa748 · 1 year

Text

Avert Crisis: Intermission

Just for funsies. Getting back in the rhythm of writing all these characters.

----

Angeal

The last thing he remembered was the world being torn asunder. Unable to stop his fall, he plummeted into blue-green depths.

Mako.

He had thought that surely, this had to be the end. No one survived a plunge into pure mako. It would be like diving into a reactor core.

It was… a relief. He was so tired. So disillusioned. What use did a monster have for dreams? For honor? The ideals he had spent a lifetime upholding… were meaningless.

He was an abomination. The world would be better off without him.

So, he closed his eyes. He gave in.

----

… And then he opened them again.

“Hey, man, you can’t sleep here.”

The voice startled him out of his reverie and his SOLDIER instincts kicked in. Angeal leapt up easily, eyes scanning the environment for threats as he whipped the Buster Sword from his back.

Then he froze. What… what kind of dream was this?

The voice had come from a strange furry creature—a mole, maybe?—with a large red bow on its head. It was, absurdly, toting a garden shovel. The creature was staring at him with inquisitive beady eyes, its whiskers twitching.

“Quick to violence, ain’tcha?” It scratched the side of its head with one paw, looking like it was trying to hold back a laugh.

After a moment of floundering, Angeal lowered his sword and managed to find his voice. “I’m sorry. Who… are you?”

“Man, where do you get off? You barge into my house and don’t even know who I am? Who are you, anyway? Your mana signature is all kinds of whack.”

Mana signature? The SOLDIER was completely at a loss. He looked around, noting that they were in a cavern of some sort. There were torches on the walls, but they almost seemed to be for show; it was far too bright in here, and the typical flicker of torchlight was absent. Curious.

The creature was standing on some sort of dais. There were inscriptions on the front of it, but they appeared to be in a language that was foreign to him.

“I’m… Angeal,” he said haltingly. “You’ll have to forgive me. I don’t know how I ended up here.”

He was met with an appraising stare. “Ohhhhh, so that’s how it is, eh? Heh, what a weirdo. I’m Gnome, the summon spirit of Earth. This right here is my temple.”

A summon? Angeal’s brow furrowed. No… he didn’t recall ever hearing of a Gnome materia. He had also never encountered a summon that actually talked. Everything about this felt off. The word temple suggested an almost religious context. He hadn’t spent time stationed in Wutai the way Sephiroth and Genesis had, but he had heard about the nation’s many temples dedicated to patron spirits and deities. But if he was in Wutai, how could they be speaking the same language?

“…I’ve never heard of you,” Angeal finally admitted, straightening and returning the Buster Sword to his back.

“’Course not,” the spirit said cheerfully. “Doesn’t look like you’re from here. Too bad, but I can’t help you. Already got a pact with someone else.”

“A pact?”

“Yep. With Sheena of Mizuho. She’s pretty much got a monopoly on this summon spirit business. You want my help, you take it up with her.”

He felt his lips curling in a bemused smile despite himself. He didn’t recall ever asking for the spirit’s help, but that didn’t seem to matter. This was definitely one of the stranger dreams he’d had recently.

The creature lifted its shovel, pointing it somewhere over Angeal’s shoulder. “Exit’s that way. What are you waiting for? Get a move on, weirdo!”

Angeal turned, looking to where the spirit had been pointing. There was indeed a cave opening branching out from the area they were in. The thought of getting above ground was appealing; it was too difficult to get oriented down here.

When he looked back to give the creature his thanks, it was gone. He was alone.

-----

Back when he was a child, his mother had cultivated a small garden out back behind their house. They didn’t have enough land to grow anything substantial and what the garden did produce was meager, but it kept them from starving. He remembered the small statues she had always put out for protection. They were little bearded men that she called “garden gnomes.” They always seemed to keep the pests away from their harvest.

Angeal had to do a double take when he saw one of these gnomes walk right by him as he meandered through the caves. He nearly tripped over another one, and that one yelled expletives at him before going on its merry way. He had to wonder what his mother would think if she saw him now.

Mother…

Continuing on, he heaved a sigh as his thoughts turned down a more negative track. His mother. Gillian. Project G. Hollander.

Monster.

He had been Shinra property from birth. Everything he had thought he knew was false. The SOLDIER creed, the values he had clung to so dearly… it was all a lie. His own mother had been complicit. Even Genesis… Genesis had known, and had kept it from him.

How could he ever face his friends? He had been torn for months, running covert missions for Hollander. He hated Shinra, but didn’t want to fight SOLDIER. It left him with one leg in each camp, uncertain of how to proceed. He wasn’t sure he belonged anywhere at this point. Seeing Zack looking up at him, his eyes full of admiration… it filled him with so much self-loathing he wanted to retch.

He finally reached an area where a row of broken stalactites appeared to create a natural bridge. He hopped across easily, and after ascending a wide staircase, reached the mouth of the cave and saw natural light filtering in.

Angeal stepped out and felt the sun on his face for the first time in what felt like ages. Mountains towered over him to his right, the jagged peaks continuing on into the distance for some ways. To his left was the ocean. The only way to go was forward, through plains and forest.

Something still felt decidedly different about this place. It was so rich, vibrant – full of life. It was hard to describe, but the air felt saturated somehow. It was strangely invigorating.

He felt so present in the moment that he realized, irrefutably, that this could not be a dream. The sun on his face, the light ocean breeze, his boots making prints in the soft earth underfoot… no. Dreams were never this detailed.

Right. If this wasn’t a dream…

He pulled out his PHS. Now that he was above ground, he might be able to figure out exactly where the hell he was and arrange transport.

The screen lit up when he pressed a button on the side, revealing three missed calls, all from Genesis. One voicemail in his inbox.

Angeal frowned, hitting “play” and pressing the phone to his ear.

“Angeal.” Genesis’s voice, sounding strained. “Where are you? We need to talk. It’s urgent – please.”

The frown on his face grew with every word. This was… entirely unlike Genesis. The agitated tone, the clipped sentences… the plea. His old friend never left a voicemail that was under two minutes long, padded with quotes from LOVELESS. Had something happened?

Returning the call was impossible. He had no service.

Not for the first time, his mind wandered back to the people he left behind at HQ. He had been gone for a week and a half at this point. His official mission was to provide protection while Shinra employees combed through the ruins of Corel. Unofficially, Hollander had tasked him with locating a powerful materia that was supposed to exist within the damaged reactor.

Though the reactor core had survived the explosion from a few months prior, reconstruction efforts were paused until the core’s energy readings stabilized. Sneaking past the few posted guards would have been a simple affair.

Except…

Falling.

Angeal shook his head, suppressing a shudder. He couldn’t remember. His world had been flooded with the color of mako. Had he plummeted into the depths of the chasm below the reactor? No one could have survived such a fall.

But he was here, and this wasn’t a dream. He supposed that the how of it didn’t matter at the moment. What did matter was what he was going to do next.

That voicemail from Genesis was very troubling. Despite how bitter, disillusioned and isolated he’d been feeling for the past few months… in the end he just couldn’t bring himself to abandon his oldest friend. Hollander and the Corel reactor could wait. He needed to find Genesis.

----

Since joining the SOLDIER program at the age of fourteen, Angeal had been all over the world. He couldn’t claim to have seen everything, but he had visited all of Shinra’s hubs and witnessed their architectural marvels. Though he hadn’t been everywhere, the company had charted and put its mark on most parts of the globe – even Wutai, now.

But over the past decade, he had never seen anything like this.

He was standing before a colossal bridge that stretched out over the ocean. He could just see the land mass that it must connect to, but the distance it covered was impressive. The platform beneath his feet was smooth, polished stone, and the supports and rails appeared to be solid steel, painted a bright teal that almost matched the color of the water below.

The entrance to the bridge was marked by a large archway bearing a sign.

“Grand Tethe’alla Bridge,” Angeal read aloud, crossing his arms. The name didn’t ring any bells.

He had never even seen so much as a photograph of this bridge. Judging by the street lights that ran the length of it, the bridge was connected to some kind of power source. Certainly not mako, or it would be Shinra-owned. The company’s logo was nowhere to be seen. Not to mention… this didn’t look like a Shinra product. It didn’t even seem built for vehicle traffic, which was absurd—why else would you build a bridge spanning this kind of distance?

The SOLDIER was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the creature’s approach until it skidded to a halt behind him. The sound jerked him out of his reverie and he swung around in a battle stance, coming face to face with something that looked decidedly canine.

“Whoa! Noishe, what gives?!”

Angeal jumped back to create some distance, looking up and noticing for the first time that there was something red on the creature’s back. No—not something, someone. His eyes met a pair of startled brown ones.

Then the creature started to growl, raising its hackles, and he tensed again.

“Easy, boy. It’s okay,” the youth said, dismounting in a practiced leap. The dog-like animal seemed to grudgingly relax. “Sorry about him. He gets weird around strangers.”

“It’s all right,” Angeal replied, taking a moment to size them both up.

The creature—Noishe?—was huge, larger even than a Nibel wolf. Its back came up to the youth’s shoulders, and it was covered in long white fur with blue-green markings. There was an unmistakable intelligence in its distrustful gaze.

Then there was the stranger in the red coat. He looked to be about a year or two older than Zack, with a mop of unruly brown hair. His clothing looked weathered and well-loved, the boots covered in scuff marks and the coat clearly mended in several places. Two belts crossed his waist in an X, supporting a sword on each hip.

“Hey… on your back. Is that a sword?” Clearly, the youth had been looking him over as well.

Smiling a bit, Angeal drew the Buster and held it aloft for his appraisal.

“Whoa!! That thing’s huge!” The stranger grinned, approaching him with starry eyes. “How are you holding it one-handed? How do you fight with it? That’s so cool.”

The SOLDIER let out a chuckle before he could help himself. The reaction was so much like Zack that he felt a sudden bittersweet rush of affection and homesickness. It had only been a few days since he had gotten lost like this, so why did it feel like Midgar was so far out of reach?

“Years of training,” he responded in good humor, returning the blade to his back. “And you swing with decisive strokes. When I was younger I was prone to overbalancing. I imagine it’s much different from your fighting style.” He gestured to the swords his new acquaintance carried.

“Yeah. Heh, I used to get my butt kicked because I didn’t know any defensive maneuvers. At least you could probably use the flat of your blade like a shield.” The stranger straightened a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh—I’m Lloyd, by the way.”

“Angeal.” He started to smile, but faltered as a thought occurred to him. Lloyd… why was that name so familiar? He was sure he had heard it somewhere before… Oh.

“Do you by any chance have a sister?”

“Huh?” Lloyd blinked, seeming taken aback. “No. Why do you ask?”

“Ah… I was mistaken. Pay it no mind,” the SOLDIER said, hiding his disappointment. Of course… Lloyd wasn’t an altogether uncommon name. Similar hair color, but it was just a coincidence after all.

“Uh, sure,” Lloyd said. “Are you looking for someone? You seemed kinda lost when we first showed up.”

“I am lost.” Angeal sighed. “Would you happen to know the way to Midgar?”

“Midgar…?” The youth crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. “…Never heard of it. Are you sure you’re not talking about Asgard?”

The troubled feeling that had been building in Angeal’s gut the last few days continued to grow. Lloyd didn’t strike him as a city boy, but you would have to be incredibly sheltered to have never heard of Shinra’s bustling metropolis. The blank look he was receiving, combined with the massive bridge they stood on that seemed to exist outside of the company’s control, left him more confused than ever.

“No…” Angeal pressed a hand to his forehead in a futile attempt to ward off a budding headache. “What… what continent are we on?”

“We’re on the Meltokio side of the bridge,” Lloyd replied, looking concerned now. “Sybak’s on the other side.”

“Right,” he said helplessly. None of those names were even remotely familiar.

He had felt lost in more than one way since he had woken up a few days ago in the summon spirit’s temple. His cell service had never returned, the monsters he had encountered were strange (and strangely infrequent), and none of his materia were working. Their familiar warmth was still present, but at the same time they were quiet and still—almost dormant, in a way. It was something that had never happened before.

A hand on his shoulder startled him, causing him to look up. Lloyd was offering him a too-cheerful smile.

“Hey, why don’t you just come with me? I’m on my way to visit a friend in Sybak. Maybe being in a new city will jog your memory.”

He wanted to say that his memory was perfectly intact, but at the same time he knew it was a lost cause. It felt like the two of them were on completely different pages—almost like they were from different worlds. But he hadn’t seen any sort of civilization since he woke up, and his only conversation up until now had been held with an oversized mole with an attitude. He had to admit that the thought of a traveling companion was appealing.

Angeal returned the smile. “I’ll take you up on that. Thank you, Lloyd.”

“No problem! It’s actually a relief,” Lloyd said brightly. “This bridge is super boring. You know it’s almost sixteen miles long? I was kinda dreading it. Even Noishe hates it. Right, Noishe?”

The creature whined in response.

The older man smiled, listening to Lloyd fill the silence as they begin to walk. The dynamic was very familiar and rather comforting, and he found himself feeling a little more grounded despite the circumstances. Right… he needed to keep his eyes on what was ahead of him, not cast down at his feet. The only way to go was forward. As it turned out, he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

#noa748 writing #this is the most angeal i have ever written lol

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humanmorph · 9 months

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C/W 06-09 thoughts : ]

Boy this took me a bit!!! I made the post for the first set of episodes on August 12. I said then I should take more notes while listening, & I think I in fact took LESS notes. edit: and wrote... more??? ok.whatever

Summary (short)

There's a food crisis. Orth gets kidnapped! The Chime gets an automated message to find him and they track him down to some train tracks where the train Orth was on (with a food delivery) got derailed. They get in a really long fight some people from a group called the Iron Choir (they have Orth!) and also some Apostolosians (only really due to bad phrasing on AuDy's part) . And then don't really win but do get away with Orth, so everything's fine I guess?

(more on faction game down below. too much happens in those to summarize here.)

Ground Game

This is the second (and last!) arc they play using MechNoir. I only just started the episode where they switch the characters over to The Sprawl, and I'm counting that towards the next bunch of episodes rather than this one... Anyways, this arc is like a good argument for that switch. It kind of stands out as a "oh they switch after this, right?" thing now. BUT!

The fight was honestly not as much of a slog as I remembered. Like they've done wayyy better fights since ofc especially with mechs (for me personally PZN is still the standout but PAL has had some Good Shit too) but this is like. It's ok! There's fun bits! I like Aria's mech! Part of it might absolutely be that I like. Give a fuck about mechs now and as a result am able to also imagine them better. I think in 2021, when I first listened, I was like. I guess there's Big Robots. Like transformers? (isn't even familiar with transformers) (really doesn't have a touchpoint for this at all)

I liked the snooping around bit before they got to this 2 episode long fight. I already mentioned it in an earlier post briefly, but we learn some minor details about Orth (they are looking through his office), that now really delight me because I love Orth! But when I first listened I don't think I cared very much at all about him at this point. This time around, his and AuDy's relationship intrigues me expecially with how Jack has been playing them.

Player character update...: AuDy is still my favourite. I still don't quite know what to do with Cass, but maybe I'll get there soon? Mako's funny. Though, and I thought I posted about this? But I can't find it now, an arc this episode also brings the morality of fogging robots onscreen for a bit. AuDy's upset by it. I think the notion of the robot he fogs getting more sentient is interesting...? Expecially if you draw a connection to what gives Mako the ability to do it in the first place. ... I won't say more here because I'm not actually sure but it's definitly running via Rightenousness a little bit, right? No clue if those facts are actually connected or not though. Uhm. I like Aria : ). Not many notes there so far, pretty much just the same stuff I said last time (I'm paying more attention to her where I feel like I hadn't as much on my first listen due to Ali being a little more reserved as a player this early on).

Further up I already talked about the switch to The Sprawl & I know the reasons and agree. however. I do think it's fun when they come up with adjectives, even if it messed with the pacing a bit because it took some time to do well. There's still a bit of this with other games they play later, too, like naming risks in Armor Astir or... whatever it was called to take something in Scum & Villainy (I recently relistened to the bit where Gig gets crushed and blown up and is VERY upset by it. It's still very funny).

Another thing I'm noticing more is that I'm occasionally a bit wonky on the factions, even super major ones ( OriCon vs. the Diaspora). I think it's because I didn't listen to the worldbuilding ep... I remember it having pretty rough audio (though probably not worse than that epispde of AiH where you couldn't hear Art at all), and also I skipped it back when I first listened, too (I'd bounced off before. I feel like I've mentioned this). It made some stuff in these episodes a bit hard to keep track of, expecially talking about the food crisis, and who is affected, and who is blamed, etc. (& I very much enjoyed all that! Like oh! We're getting into it now! Space factions and their politics and their effect on the world our characters move in! This rules. Friends at the Table rules)

Faction Game

Sylvi is so ON it with the faction game it's crazy. The other day while listening I remembered this was her first season on the show, like... damn!!! Just a ton of great ideas. It's really fun seeing them all be so enthusiastic about this.

Really good and fun faction game. I'm enjoying these a ton. A lot of my favourite scenes (or very memorable ones) from my first listen is faction game stuff, so I knew I'd like it, but I'm like REALLY really enjoying it. I've already said this in my other post, but I'm pretty sure it's due to the fact I can pay attention better & parse information.

It's a real big one too with a ton stuff getting set up. RIGOUR, Ibex, the Hands of Grace (hi Vicuna), some first September Institute stuff (like how fogging works!), and Loyalty gets introduced in that episode (hi Kobus, also). A lot of Divines, really! I'll get to this very big and important thing first: Rigour getting dug up!!! I totally didn't remember Austin immediately namedrops it at the end of the episode, lol. That probably wouldn't happen now, but these early seasons are more. informal? just less produced? And I really don't dislike it, it's simply a different vibe. And I'm liking it. (The rough-ish audio is also part of it IMO. Love to hear the static white noise if a mediocre mic under their voices.) I do still really like that scene though. Very effective. The image of a worker getting out of his mech to dig the last bit with his hands... It's good shit. Also just. RIGOUR. It maybe even hits more this second time around, because I know just What has been uncovered here and the consequences it will have.

Another is Ibex getting introduced! Hi!!!! : ) Apparently he's something called a "seductress" (or well. seductor) in the games rules, which I extremely forgot and made me laugh when I heard it. And then they proceed to come up with pretty much his whole deal, which Austin's performance is gonna finetune & shape more later on. I'm just excited! I like this guy! (Something I'm trying to do more this time around is take notes to look stuff up later, like what animals the Candidates are named after. I didn't do this for Ibex until sometime last year! Cool animal.)

This faction game also has the first appearance of Diego Rose who I have in mind as sort of Sylvi's special little guy? He's a pretty important guy in the faction that she plays, so I'm just gonna assume he'll show up way more in the future. But really I just loved that scene of him offering a prisoner they took after he shot their ships down to join the Odama Fleet while also threatening him. And he's soooo cunty about it it's so funny to me. Great job.

Tacking this on the end here: I had to look up the summary on the fatt.wiki because it's really been a while since I started this ep vs. finishing it, and this is like the first scene they play through. (The new season got in the way...!) But yeah this episode also has Grace's first real major appearance (& her Candidates, Vicuna). And it's a great scene! I think it's the first Divine onscreen? And showing one's influence on people ("People in the crowd, some of them begin crying and wailing. It is a religious experience for many."). It's good shit!!! I love Divines!!! They've never stopped being cool as fuck as a concept and there really wasn't a point when they weren't. It's just SO good and it'll only ever get pushed further and in even more interesting directions. And it's nice to be back here, at the start.

????

This is neither here nor there. Not anywhere really. But at some point Jack says "no that's undertale" (I didn't note down what about.) %& it really threw me for some reason like ik the years match up. But I just have C/W in mind as like... ages ago... (it was) and Undertale. Is Undertale. /I/ played Undertale! And that wasn't ages ago (lie) (it was)! Like I was probably playing Undertale when they made this season! Strange to think about.

Grace's arrival(?)

I want to try and draw a little image for each of these sets (though this one took me a bit longer than I would've liked). Here's Grace('s feet, because she's so big) and the sculpture park on Gemm

I'm not actually sure why (I don't think it gets mentioned in the episode???) but I've always imagined that planet (Gemm) as like, really foggy. Maybe because fog + ruined statue park looks really cool? + Graces light through the fog? Yeah, I don't know. The park is also empty here, when of course there's a whole parade and stuff in the episode, but this is just an image (an approximation of it.) I have in my head...

#i wrote the most on the faction game bc i finished the last few mins Today. and listened to about half yesterday #counterweightposting #i like counterweightblogging better it sounds more right but for the sake of being consistent.....#i structured this but I don't know if I'll keep that. though it does look nice!

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dragon-of-timeless-blue · 1 year

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About the Latin Spanish dubbing of Free!

OK HEAR ME OUT

I have always loved dubbing, I think that one of the things that excites me the most when an anime or show that I like is popular is waiting for the L.A. Spanish dubbing to be announced, I have a lot of fun watching interviews with the dubbing actors and practically one of my dreams in life is to get an autograph from Mario Castañeda (the voice of Goku in Latin Spanish)

Anyways, someday I would like to make a post to express how much I love dubbing, BUT THAT WILL BE LATER BECAUSE JUST TODAY I HAVE COME TO COMPLAIN

And it is that, leaving aside how much I appreciate that dubbing it has even been considered, I will always scream on the air when I remember that there is a latino dub of Free! and to say the least, it's... not that great

Ok, I'll try to order my thoughts and make them seem logical, but the truth is that the anger that this dubbing produces in me could be just because of my own interpretation of the series and how much i'm used to the Japanese voices, so dont expect much this is mostly a rant and babbling:

First here are some reviews through the voices of our beloved main cast

Haruka : Not the best thing that could have been done, i think the best way to describe his voice is GOOD, like not great not bad just good, they managed to capture his calm tone, but he comes across as too condescending at times and lacks the necessary nuance in some comic scenes and sometimes his voice sounds too whispery so yeah, like I said: good

Rei : A voice as deep as the one they gave him might not have been the best choice, but in any case it would have worked if the way of speaking had been a little more mannered? like not so much in a way of manners (even though this also applies cuz Rei is mostly polite) more like in that dramatic tone that Rei usually uses to show off or express his love of beauty, I feel that the voice was more in "just a dude" when Rei is more like: "Im finally the star!!!"*says moments before tripping and falling with a crash*

Makoto : Strangely, I don't have much to complain about with Mako's voice, it's probably one of the best of all, soft and with a paternal tone, I think Mako's essence is very easy to capture and there is no major difficulty in interpreting it, maybe I could start complaining on how he ALWAYS sounds nice but that's something the original Makoto does too so it doesn't count. I will say that 9.8/10

Now, please excuse me if I start to get violent here but I seriously lose my temper with these last two:

Nagisa : Oh, my child, my sweet cinnamon roll, what have they done to you??? HEAR ME OUT, It's not that Nagisa's voice in the dubbing is especially horrible or anything like that, BUT, the biggest problem and one thing that can't do more than make me mad is that the voice sounds excessively forced, like I literally couldn't get through two minutes of the episode without wanting to shut up my beautiful little penguin boy's mouth PORQUE POR TODOS LOS SANTOS, I know that many people complain about the sometimes annoying voices that the characters have in the anime, but it is worse when a voice that is not annoying is made annoying. And I think the huge mistake that they made with Nagisa (and that they often make in current anime dubbing) is that they tried to imitate the Japanese voice, that is, that childish and imperactive tone that why lie i think it can only sounds truly good in japanese. The dubbing is an adaptation, not an imitation. and it is much easier and more pleasant that, despite the fact that the character does not have, let's say, "the same voice range" if they have the same emotion and a similar tone, that makes you think "hey if he was from latin america he would probably sound like that", ANYWAYS I WAS JUST SO PISSED THE MADE MY BOY SO DIRTY WHEN HE' S ACTUALLY A SWEETHEART.

Rin : Rin is (along with Haru) my favorite character and im totally bias by Mamoru Miyano's interpretation so there's no need to say that i felt half fed, all the while i felt something was missing and the performance didn't convince me at all, i don't want to say i hated it but i think it's the closest to what i feel. At first I had a lot of faith in it, really a lot, but as the series progressed I felt like the actor never got to the point. He got very close to a perfect balance in tone and then BAM pal suelo, Rin is distinguished by being passionate and having a certain tone of flirtatious disdain in his voice when challenging a rival (a.k.a Haru) and, specifically in this season, Rin's tone sounds like a lump in the throat, that voice that tries to contain and ignore the painful and frustrating feelings he's going through and to me at least, most of the time in this dub, Rin sounds more angry than frustrated and doesn't seem to convey how hurt he actually sounds in Japanese.

I will give him this, in the gate scene the part where Rin says he can't go on if he doesn't swim with haru sounds really vulnerable, but on the other hand, I think the worst I heard was, ironically and painfully, the cherry tree scene, THE CHERRY TREE SCENE, yes, exactly, the same one that is one, not to say, the most important scene in the entire season, the voice sounds I don't know if it's exactly the right term but something like grawling(? like as if he was making a lot of space inside the mouth and he swallowed his voice (sorry for that kind of expressions but I'm in a choir so they tell us to avoid "eating our voice" and, ah... at this point i dont know if i make any sense) . The thing is that the main reason why this performance really left a bad taste in my mouth is that it could have been great but it just wasn't and that's a lot more painful than just a miscast.

Ok, now that i rant individually, time to go into the big picture, read as: "The two reasons why I have a problem with this dubbing "

1. Adaptation

When I speak of "adaptation" here I am referring more than anything to the translation and interpretation of some dialogues, even tho this does not seem to be a very big problem, it can become an issue at the time of delivering the message that the series tries to leave in the viewer, not to go any further, I feel that even though they didn't get to the point that the main message of the series was lost (the importance of friendship/bonds, how much fun it is to share the joy of practicing a sport with friends and never losing sight of your path despite the obstacles you may cross). Some important points were lost based on the modification or directly the replacement of dialogues in some parts. As far as i know the dubbing was done from the script in English so basically it's more of an adaptation from English to Spanish than from Japanese itself which makes things even more difficult

For example, and again taking the scene of the gate as an example:

In this part when Haru tells Rin "don't embarrass yourself" the phrase used is "No hagas el ridículo" which, within the context of the scene, sounds perhaps more jaded than it should, sounds like Haru is saying "Please don't make a scene, it's annoying" rather than "Please, I don't want to see you hurt again" and it can give a wrong idea about what Haru thinks about Rin and the whole situation that happened between them.

2. Use of suffixes/honorific

One of the things that attracts my attention the most in anime dubbing is seeing the ways they find to replace the constants honorific that are used in Japanese, and that, well we know, can recontextualize the nature of a relationship or the dynamics in it. For example, in Inuyasha when Jaken and Rin address Sesshomaru they call him "sama" which in Spanish ends up being adapted to " Amo Sesshomaru" and "Señor Sesshomaru" respectively (honorable mention to the classic and legendary "Amo bonito") They work well and show the respect that both have him in a clear way for the viewer.

NEVERTHELESS It seems that in this case they where just lazy af to find an alternative to these suffixes, since they keep these as they are in the original, being the most marked (and annoying) example of all Nagisa's, who in the dubbing continues to use "chan" to refer to his friends (random but the way he pronounce "Haru-chan" It ends up being so close together that it sounds like he's saying "Maruchan" like the instant soup lol) and leaving aside that it sounds unorganic and too fast to fit the timing it's also completely useless if you don't know the meaning of the chan, imagine being someone new to anime and you see this in the dub, one is left wondering: ¿Por qué chuchas el rubio este dice chan chan al final de cada nombre?

Rei is another one that this affects a lot, because being as formal as he is, he keeps saying honorifics with practically everyone in the show (Haruka-senpai, Nagisa-kun, Makoto-senpai, Rin-san) and god freaking damn, the scene where Rei yells at Rin would have turned out so good, REALLY GOOD, if it wasn't for the constant "Rin-san" over and over again, seriously the voice actor was giving it his all yelling at Rin (whose voice wasn't the best but not too bad either) and having the "san" "chan" was like a pebble in the shoe.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, it's not that the dubbing is completely bad or unwise, it's simply that the care taken in the execution was perhaps not as much as I expected it to be, obviously this is not a hate post for dubbing directors and much less for dubbing actors. I'm just here ranting a little, Free! is one of the first projects that Crunchyroll dubbed so nothing to do when we compare this dubbing to the current dubbing of Chainsaw Man or Spy x Family (OH ONE DAY I WILL TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH I TOTALLY LOVE THE DUBBING OF DR.STONE)

The actors that participated in this project are really talented, for example:

Miguel Ángel Leal (the actor who voices Rin) is the voice of Draco Malfoy in "The Prisoner of Azkaban" and he does an excellent job

Bruno Coronel (the actor who voices Nagisa) is also Near in "Death Note" and the cold but childish voice he gives the character is perfect and i really like it more than the original.

I think that, more than anything, as it happens with most of the projects, they were not very aware or involved in the plot and well that always takes away the emotion in some parts because they do not have the context of the weight that the scenes have in the story, However, I am not going to say that it was all a mistake to hear because I repeat that there are parts that I really feel are good and have quality.

I think i might just being picky bc of how much I love and appreciate Free! but, yeah, here it is whatever the frick is this post.

BONUS: RiiIiiiiiIinNnNnNN

Honestly i don't know whether to laugh or cry ಠ⁠◡⁠ಠ

#free!#doblaje latino #dragon tries to explain #ramblings #kind of a rant #I'm not someone who publishes analysis the just stay stuck in my head but I HAD to talk about this #long post

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jemtokall · 1 year

Note

zack for the hcs ask post?

Oh gosh I didn't expect someone to ask me anything from that post LMAO but I can never say no to spewing my thoughts about mister Zack Fair <3

Headcanon A: what I think realistically —

Has ADHD!

Zack's favorite stim is doing squats!

He catches social cues but will ignore them (exhibit A, the girl at front desk who didn't care for his flirty advances until he became 1st class. Zack probably asked her on a date before and got rejected, and he didn't try again) (exhibit B, very often people tell him that Shinra/SOLDIER is in the wrong and

Gets the zoomies (which is a great quality for a SOLDIER operative)

Gets distracted easily! Look at how many side and fetch quests he has piled up...

2. He gives the gentlest of hugs to his friends, but when it comes to Angeal he gives him the bear crushing hugs

3. BISEXUAL KING <333

4. Naturally had brown eyes before he joined SOLDIER and got mako blue eyes

B: what I think is fucking hilarious —

Zack thought of Angeal as his dad. Sephiroth and Genesis were secondary fathers, so the entire events of Crisis Core felt like a huge divorce (I mean, the events of the game are still painful, but it hurts less by thinking of it as a divorce)

He shows to be grossed out by bugs in game, but I believe he ate them as a child. Gongaga was full of them! He outgrew it when he moved to Midgar and there weren't as many bugs everywhere

Zack adopted several pet fish in his lifetime, all of them eventually died due to Zack being gone for long periods at a time for missions. But Angeal didn't have the heart to break the news to Zack, so he replaced them fish with a googly eyed rock. Zack never knew the difference.

Takes a lot of selfies because he knows he'd gorgeous

C: what is heart-crushing and awful but fun to inflict on friends —

After the events of Nibleheim, the only thing Zack had were Cloud and Aerith. One comatose, and another a memory.

Cloud only due to circumstance since they were in the same boat of being science experiments. Normally we see Zack suspicious towards those in Shinra, even if they were friends before (Cissnei and Kunsel are the two prime examples. Cissnei eventually earned his trust, but Kunsel never got the chance to because there's limited things he can do through text.)

Aerith was his only connection outside of Shinra, if anything, he sympathized with her since she was under the Turks watch. The two never talked about it, but they didn't talk about a lot of things. There was always an unspoken escapism that they found within each other. But 4 years is a long time, and the reality of that hit him when he found her 89th letter.

He couldn't even reconnect with his parents, who he hasn't seen since he was 14yrs old. Shinra took that away from him too.

2. After the Wutai War and Angeal disappeared, Zack ate apples more often to feel connected to him. (He couldn't find Dumbapples so he made do with red apples.)

3. After Angeal's death, Zack changed his hairstyle to represent his growth, but it's slicked back to resemble his late mentors hair.

4. He really wanted to see Sephiroth as a friend, but Sephiroth closed himself off too much for them to make a real connection. But that doesn't mean that Sephiroth didn't care, just that he kept Zack at arms length.

D: what would never work with canon but the canon is shit so I believe it anyway —

I would've loved to see him in a team setting! Because I headcanon that he's so used to working as a lone wolf (or in a unit) that he has a hard time working as a part of the team. He's always given or taken orders! He would likely butt heads with whoever else tried to give orders, if he didn't ignore it entirely and run in head first.

I said it before but BISEXUAL KING I would love to see him flirt with a guy in canon :') he came close with Kunsel but it was written off as a joke ("I love you man!" @Kunsel )

I hc him as native american because I'm indigenous and he's just like me fr look at his black hair its practically canon

#I did not proof read this #help i wrote way more than i expected to

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neptunesnow · 2 years

Text

Hi Stalkers

mermaids and mermen, welcome back to Mako

Mako Mermaids was a great show ( and still is ), it marked a lot of people's childhood and stayed in memory: maybe with a coherent name, or sometimes just as unclear images. And you're lucky if you've picked the first one. Any how you managed to pop up here, today even after all those years, it's seriously good to have you. I'll be direct, I need your help. I don't know for you, but to me Nixie was the best one. She was funny, cute and so herself. Ivy Latimer seemed truly into the character. It was a shame when she just disappeared after the first season, yet no big deal. Don't get me wrong, I knew whatever Ivy was gonna do later I would love as much as I did with mm. Too bad for me, she never came back.. or at least I thought so.

swim with me 🌊

it all started a long long time ago.. may 2022, as I said long time ago.

I had a crush (hm.. still have). we had that show in common, and we both fell in love with Nixie when we decided to watch it again. as a good boy, I searched for her gram or whatever I could find to see what she was up to. I found that old BBC show, but it wasn't really for me nor for my N crush. But none official social medias, and we didn't look for the rest of the cast's @. might be strange, yet 2013 is far away in the past, sure thing a lot of them don't have those apps, right? it didn't sound stupid back then, now this hypothesis is so dull

august 9, still 2022

I started everything again, I need to find something. and this time, all by myself. unfortunately? yes, probably

1st information (a bit suspicious?): Ivy Latimer was a transman!

link: fandom Married Biography KIDDLE FactBoyz

august 2020, a highlighted story labeled Very Trans on her Instagram, ok. which Instagram? they never put the @. then I didn't really know if I could trust those pages. the fandom seemed pretty reliable tho, but I didn't have any screenshots or nothing to prove actually

2nd: his new name

link: reddit reddit2 facebook

Wyatt J. Ivy on facebook, Ivy Joy on reddit. Wasn't Joy his birth name too? according to IMDb it is. and for Wyatt, there's an IG account but the person doesn't match (nor the dates), and 5 facebook accounts (can't enter, don't have facebook). but, the post on facebook was from august 30 2020, the date is so close! yet, not lucky for us.. kidding, reddit is AWESOME!

3rd: other works

link: Saturday Night Fireworks

I put Ivy Latimer on youtube, found her: she was on a video clip 3 years ago (december 2018, gram post). then the reddit3 comment (bellow) gave me another video clip, 1 year ago. it's because of that one I'm not using he/him here, because she sounded very feminine to me with that alter ego Ivy Bernier. but yes, maybe she has a woman alter ego, Idk.

4th: IG profile

link: reddit3 + the reddit's links above

nixieswasaboy or blue31101994, and how if both of them were accurate? nixie one no longer exists, but she was tagged in this post (firework singer) with that account. yet, blue follows them and is followed back. blue also follows/is followed Zack and Evie, plus Bridie Connell and Edan B Lacey (saturday's singer and director)

5th: nixiewasaboy

how to see a deleted account? Idk, but I searched the profile in the Wayback Machine, pretty sure that no-one would have saved her profile there. I was wrong, and I've never been so glad about being wrong in my whole life (maybe I'm overdoing, shush). 2 snapshots in June 17, 2021 (the date matches!) yet everytime I tried to access the link, I got a "http 302 response at crawl time". check it. I've been redirected to the same day login IG page, every single time.

6th: blue

could be a fan. yes could, but why? there's a lot of fake accounts, the person behind blue could have done that too. and why the hell so many people she might have spoken to and still speaks with follow blue back? so I requested to follow. I'm not sure she'll let me in, and anyways the account doesn't have any posts. thing is, 28 thousand people follow it, maybe there's a reason to that.

that's it!

thanks to all the sea creatures who stayed until the end, actually.. I hope it won't be the end, I do hope we find lot more infos about Nixie, Ivy or whatever. don't hesitate to contact me!

stay hydrated, and see ya soon

— taylor c.

#where is she #mako mermaids #nixie #nixie mako mermaids #h2o mermaid #ivy latimer #ivy bernier #mermaid #merman #h2o #ivy joy latimer #lgbtq #trans man

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