#I guess that is just what his original design translated to though.....

[lilniina]

out of all the contestants daan looks so ridiculously out of place like he's not a fear and hunger character he's some pay to win edgy kinbait from a boydol gacha game

#I guess that is just what his original design translated to though.....

[n0maku]

Some details from the Undertale Legends of Localization book

271 pages! If the localization of Undertale into Japanese interests you, I suggest getting the book off of Fangamer yourself. Anyhow, here's some details I noted from my reading:

-"mt.ebott is "toby" backwards, inspired by mt. itoi from MOTHER" (translation note from Toby to 8-4). This detail is also mentioned at another point in the book.

-An image of the debug tool that 8-4 developed to quickly jump to points in the game has "No Mercy" as a tab...(?) selector...(?). I don't quite recall what other names have been used for the route 'officially', so found it interesting enough to note. It is also referred to as such a few other times in the book.

-The name they used for the fallen human (shown in their debug tool menu image) is "Rose".

-Toby instructed the translators to keep ICE-E somewhere, even if to keep it funny the wordsearch got changed to something else.

-It has been known by people already, but the book notes how each item has three names! One standard name, one abbreviated for battle menus, and one abbreviated for battle menus during serious scenes. I think I recall some post calling it "Serious Mode"...? For example, the Butterscotch Pie goes in the battle menu from "ButtsPie", to "Pie" in the Toriel fight from "Serious Mode" . (Though, it says they cut the abbreviating for the Japanese translation as there were less space needed for the item names. I guess that means the japanese version didn't get any 'silly' item name variations...?)

Now, this gets pretty long, so I'll just put a readmore here...

-The translation of the Wrong Number Song comes up in the book, and it actually references that the main fan theory for who the "G" is is Gaster! BUT it reveals nothing about it basically. Toby remained mysterious about the "G..." person referenced in the call, with his note on it being "Character's name beginning with "G"... Actually, it might be suitably bizarre if you leave this line completely intact in English." Disappointing, but admittedly expected that this book wouldn't give any more details about it.

Apparently initially the localization team also thought it was meant to be "Gaster" and put a "Ga--" in an early draft, but it got overruled by Toby's decision to keep the call in English.

-A section emphasizes how while Monster Kid's dialogue uses ore, a more masculine pronoun, ". . .Toby designed the character to have no clear gender," and "Monster Kid's gender is never specified in the original script." I personally found it nice how the section asserted Monster Kid's gender neutrality and emphasized the pronoun choices being more purely used to reflect character, and chosen after consultation with Toby. -Onionsan's unclear gender led to the translators choosing for them to use watashi (which the section describes as a "polite, somewhat gender-neutral" pronoun), or simply "Onionsan" (which works to emphasize their childish vibes). -There is nothing about Frisk/their name is never mentioned. A section on Parsnik only notes that Hard Mode is accessed when you "give yourself a certain human's name." -Apparently Toby says Alphys is pronounced "al-feez"

-It is noted that Toby did not mean to reference the "it's over 9000!" meme with the dialogue "OH YES! MTT-BRAND OVENS CAN REACH TEMPERATURES UP TO NINE-THOUSAND DEGREES!" -For the (slightly inaccurate) Kitchen quote CHECK text (two lovers standing over the cauldron of hell...), Toby asked the translators to just translate it directly instead of grabbing the exact lines from the Japanese version of Kitchen. The section emphasizes how Toby was so unattached to it being a reference that he specifically requested the translators to not bother with it.

-There is a section on Entry Number 17 (the wingdings one, not the unused alphys one)! However, it is not referred to as such, merely vaguely talking about it- how most people never see some of the lines in Undertale, and the process of translating the wingdings. (They wrote out the Japanese translation with English spelling, keeping the same wingdings font.)

The image examples they use are images of the wingdings "THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING" and it translating to wingdings "YAMIHA NOUDO WA MASHITE YUKU". Funnily enough, the section notes ". . .it almost feels like these messages contain dark secrets. . ." and ". . .the localization team wanted to preserve the 'dark, mysterious, and unreadable' vibe in Japanese too." "Dark" twice... ha ha, these writers, I swear...

Sadly, no mention of Gaster or any other insight on the entry. An example sentence they use for Wingdings is "I EAT BUGS EVERY DAY," so uhhh maybe that's a clue that he's a bug eater? (I'm joking...) -"Asriel Dreemurr" being an anagram of "Serial Murderer" is confirmed to be intentional by Toby. -Toby notes how the "But it refused" line has two meanings: One, that it can mean "refused to die," secondly, that it can mean "'re-fused', referring to how the heart fragments fuse back together again." It's another thing that's been noted by some people, but a neat detail regardless!

Alright, that's what I've got...! There's a lot of other stuff, like how dialogue that was referencing other games was handled, (which is a LOT), but these notes are what I found the most personally interesting and relevant to Undertale.

#undertale #undertale analysis #? sort of #legends of localization #undertale legends of localization #perhaps not the most refined post i've ever written but anyhow #hoho! undertale! #gaster #somewhat #nomakuposts

[saikolikes]

“Si vis pacem, te ipsum vince”: the meaning behind Erina’s banner

I’m sure most people have noticed it, as it was shown firstly in the trailer and then in the opening: “Si vis pacem, te ipsum vince” seems to be the official motto of Persona 5 Tactica, and is indeed present on Erina’s banner when she uses Flag of Freedom.

The slogan is in latin, it roughly translates as “If you want peace, you must conquer yourself,” and it’s an alteration tailored to the game from the most commonly known “Si vis pacem, para bellum” (If you want peace, prepare for war).

What most don’t know (myself included before digging deeper to make this post), is that even the “original” phrase wasn’t exactly born as such and is itself an adaptation of a wider paragraph from a military treaty — Vegetius’ De Re Militari or “Epitome of military science” (the following quote comes from the beginning of Book 3):

Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum; qui uictoriam cupit, milites inbuat diligenter; qui secundos optat euentus, dimicet arte, non casu.

From what I read, the author does a sort of introduction by citing war masters from the past, including Athens and Sparta, and declares his task in compiling all their teachings in one place. Then, he concludes by saying “Therefore, the one who desires peace shall be ready for war; the one who longs for victory shall diligently instruct his soldiers; the one who’s after success shall fight following the art of war, not chance.”

The concept here is clear: you can’t search for and uphold peace without being skilled in battle and ready to fight for that peace if need be… which is a pretty interesting message in the wider scheme of Tactica.

(Warning for story spoilers from here onwards)

I didn’t reflect on it much as I was playing, especially because the game never gives you any “official” translation of what’s written on Erina’s banner. But as I went back to thinking about it, I realised just how fitting this alteration is. The whole deal with Salmael is peace should be the ultimate goal for mankind, a state of existence where no conflict is necessary—on the contrary, conflict is viewed as a bad thing, because it causes hurt and is ultimately harmful. So it makes perfect sense that “Si vis pacem, para bellum” is something that goes against Salmael’s philosophy.

What bothers me, instead, is that it perfectly fits what Erina represents, as is and without any alteration: she battles Marie like rebels do tyrants because the peace in the Kingdom has been disrupted and she wants it back. Putting metaphors aside, Toshiro is the one that realises that only by opposing his father and his fiancé he can right the wrongs that his family committed, and eventually find peace within himself. “Si vis pacem, para bellum” is actually already tailored on what the game is about, so thinking back about the alteration they made, I can’t quite explain it.

It has to be said, though, that “Si vis pacem, te ipsum vince” is also fitting. Reconciling with one’s Shadow self, tame it and embrace it is what awakening a Persona is all about and what Toshiro does later on in the story, so to have “If you want peace, you must conquer yourself” written on Erina’s banner is also a really nice touch!

I guess my main point here is that both phrases go well with the story’s themes and plot, but I do have to say, removing “para bellum” kind of ends up reinforcing Salmael’s point, which is that war (=conflict) isn’t necessary. It ultimately serves P5’s whole narrative that puts individuals at the center of societal changes without questioning too much what role society at large plays: it is acknowledged society needs reform, but reforming passes through righteous people and removing bad apples rather than dismantling and rebuilding anew a system that is designed to be exploitative. More so that “te ipsum” is a bit like saying “you yourself” so I’d argue that a really great emphasis is put on the person/individual. Also worth noting that “te ipsum” is specifically male-gendered as “ipsum” is accusative cause (direct object) for both male (“ipse) and neutral (“ipsum”) pronouns, but “te” is accusative case for the pronoun “tu” which can only be used referring to a person; this means that if the phrase was to be female-gendered it would be “te ipsam vince”. So it really seems to be tailored to Toshiro.

I think what they did with Tactica’s motto is cool (if anything because it let me put my high school diploma at use again after 7 years lol) and definitely a nice addition that shows this game was made with a decent level of care for being a spinoff… at the same time, I can’t help but find a subtle contradiction in the alteration they made.

#persona 5 #persona 5 tactica #p5t #tactica spoilers #persona 5 tactica spoilers #p5 meta #meta #p5t meta #persona 5 once again brainrottimg me to the point i go fish back for my latin

[kinokoshoujoart]

hello hello i just wanted to say i love your rock art and you're hilarious and i have a question.. apologies if you've explained this somewhere before but i'm curious if you believe rock was adopted (and along with that, what's going with the picture of the child who is not rock and does rock dye his hair, etc.) and what other rock headcanons you have that you haven't shared yet, if you're willing to share them. (also thank you for doing the 30 days of hm challenge--it's making me so happy to see your daily rock art)

woah i’m so happy you like my art!!! thank you so much for the ask <33 i’m having tons of fun doing these challenges too! thanks for making em!

ohhhh man the adoption theory… i’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this for so long, this answer might get pretty long sorry about that. i’m really glad you asked so i have an excuse to talk abt it :D

⚠️spoilers / taking clown man seriously warning⚠️

i’m thinking rock was first designed as a guest at the inn, but that late in development the connection between him and tei+lou was added

looking at the concept art for tei, his bio says 「元旅人だったせいか、ナミやロックのような人物を好んで泊めるようだ。」 which roughly translates “perhaps due to being a former traveler himself, he seems to enjoy hosting people like nami and rock” uh... hosting, huh? travelers, huh?

tbh rock’s original concept art/description feels to me like. he was meant to be the annoying trust fund kid prodigal son who is blowing his rich parents money to travel on the longest vacation in the world. and everyone responsible for creating this character hates him so so so much

so i think some of the Themes about rock were unintentional at least for the first game, but were rolled with for anwl with the total revision of his character + addition of his heart events and rival heart events. especially with his 2nd rival event with lumina, ESPECIALLY with the ingame rumor lumina isn’t actually related to romana

the photo was there from awl though… so maybe the idea was meant to be hinted at in awl

stuff that makes little sense to me if rock was their son—going from well-tread to lesser tread:

shares no physical features with them aside from having darker skin tone than most of the cast

rock even brings up the fact that he looks nothing like his parents just to get defensive and say it’s none of anyone’s business

does not speak like either of his parents. more apparent in jp. he sounds. “trendy” (he tries)

tei and lou didn’t design the inn with a room for a child… his ass is NOT supposed to be in that room!! it’s for van!!

rock remembers moving to the valley for the first time but there’s not even a hint he was part of their travels, even though tei/lou were traveling until reaching the valley (you’d think rock’d jump at the chance to brag about being well traveled)

the inn is older than the farm your dad and takakura started but rock says he never met your dad (lou and even lumina did meet him)

we can now actually look at all the photos in the inn of tei and lou and their travels, none of them have rock in them.

which brings me to the infamous photo…

other than the fact it isn’t rock, we don’t know anything for sure. both the original and remake have scenes where tei talks about this picture (strange hoe / blessed milker) but he never acknowledges the kid in the photo at all, just talks about the country they visited. it’s bizarre.

the jp flavor text when examining the picture says 「夫婦ふたりの間にうつっている小さな男の子はロックではないようです…」— “It seems that the little boy between the couple is not Rock…”.

there’s a ton of room for guessing, but personally i hc they lost a child. based on what i can see of the picture, the kid has the same hair color and skin color as tei and lou, and a similar build to them…

taking into account that rock dyes his hair, rock’s / his kids’ natural hair color is actually the same exact hex color code as cecilia’s…

if the fact that he dyes his hair is meant to say he’s their son, his natural hair would be black, yeah? but instead it’s cecilia brown

rock’s son also is described oddly specifically as “looking exactly like a small Rock”. you know who doesn’t look like rock’s kid? the kid in the photo :(

funny enough even in anwl it never occurred to me that rock was a natural blond. his eyebrows are dark and … damn those roots. i guess i just assumed he was dyeing his friggin toddlers hair

i also hc they’ve known rock longer than he’s been part of their household, and that he’s either the child of a friend they traveled with in the past or a kid they met in the “country far to the south” they traveled to a long time ago. he reminded them of their lost kid in some way

phew i hope that wasn’t too long… i’ll end on some

lighthearted rock hcs :D

i don’t want to overwhelm anyone so this isn’t all of them… haha…(makes the most overwhelming post ever as a devious little trick)

thank you 4 reading this far :3 please take my OH DEAR GOD WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ROCK REAL wip as a little treat

since he says he’s an “earring and tattoo” kind of guy in anwl. he has a shitty misspelled hidden tattoo that says something like “never don’t give up”

the answer to rock’s question about why there’s no record player at the inn is because he literally yeeted records like frisbees as a kid

similar explanation as to why the guest beds are blocking both balcony doors. they literally had to rockproof the inn

moved out to live independently as soon as possible without any planning, proceeded to get fired and banned from every workplace in the world (failed salaryman)

surprisingly good vocabulary, piss on the poor reading comprehension though

his stash is in the statue in front of his southern window

#asks #long post #thank you for the ask :D i love infodumping YIPPEE #and thank you for the Challenge’ i hope you enjoy the rest of the drawings heheh #bokumono #rock tumbling (sos) #cora.txt #tumblr kept crashing (sign from god). i’ll add the rest of the images later. maybe #maybe a separate post #adoption theory #my favorite rock theory is still devil that appears once every hundred years theory #simply because the reason was ‘there’s no way human parents are responsible for something like thisi’ #creachur…………..

[housano]

Welcome to the Black Masquerade Character Quests

CW: Live a Hero Spoilers

No pics so I'll just keep it short in sweet because

Nessen

Not too much happens in Nessen's quest. Per usual, he's enjoying the baths and admiring all the details of the interiors and hopes to bring the Cloges craftsmen to his inn to update. Additionally he got into a very deep conversation about Cloges hospitality with the innkeeper. Game recognizes game. He says he feels comfortable talking with us about his passions. He's also learned a lot about himself during this trip. Particularly, he always put the customer first, but has learned he needs to have fun himself.

He then says he wants to convey something to us and asks us to transform him. He then grabs our hands and engages us in a dance. We comment how we thought he couldn't dance, and he says this form helps as his desire to dance with us seems to help him. He removes his mask as a symbolism of finally conveying his true feelings that he enjoys spending time with us and will offer us exceptional hospitality as we dance the night away.

Yohack

Next to our frosted cinnamon roll. He brought us every snack that was available at the festival as he wants us to taste all of Cloges' specialties. We comment how cute he is eating, which embarrasses him. He says how happy he is that he accepted this job as he was finally able to find out what really happened with his parents and know Astosis more than what he presented. Yohack reiterates how even though he was sad to leave, he met his master, who was a locksmith and helped him carve his path forward in life as well as his mantra. He also says that he ate too much and we should burn off the calories and invites us to dance with him.

After a while he say he's hot, but we're cold. So as a solution we both embrace each other and comment how soft and fluffy he is. Yohack says that his race's coat is designed to insulate heats which backfires during the summer months. We thank him which catches him off guard as he doesn't get thanked very often, but he is happy to be super handy to people. We then catch him off guard again by saying that we enjoy spending time with him. Yohack says he feels the same way and if we ever need anything, we can always rely on them. After admiring Luna, we end the quest by falling asleep at each other's side.

Astosis

Seems both MC and LW are hellbent on wanting us to forgive and move so I guess we're speeding up our forgiveness plans early. So side notes, I'm not sure if the translation is off, but it seems MC decided to a bit longer than what was originally thought. Astosis is surprised to see us and asked if we were waiting for them, which we confirm. Seems the townsfolk as well as several townsfolk ripped him a new one for being so reckless. However, given that he acted under extenuating circumstances, he was released with punishment pending. He said that Nessen's idea of him signing to his agency looks like it will come true. He asks he we could join him to the old museum (aka the castle) which he escorts us to.

Pauderna is on display in its full glory. Astosis comments how it feels like a cursed object as it was responsible for both his father's death, Yohack's parents being falsely accused, and learning Chassard's true nature. However, he also said because of this he was able to meet us, who changed everything for the better. He said he doesn't get to express himself like this often as he admits he doesn't have many friends, and it scares him to place his full trust and belief in someone as he always wonders if their hiding something.

He asks us to hold his hand and he says it's difficult for him to convey his thoughts and his fears, before dismissing this and childish and selfish before pulling away his hand. MC ain't having none of that, immediately grabs his hand back and hugs Astosis. We remind Astosis there are other ways to express one's feel. Astosis thanks us by kissing the backing of our hand, hugging us back with his embrace softening as time goes by. We end the quest, dancing with Astosis in the moonlit night with MC taking the lead this time.

So there you have it! We won't see Astosis or Yohack again until the Valentine Special Quests. I'm probably not going to summarize either the Housamo or Live a Hero Christmas events UNLESS Marduk or Pubraseer are on the banner respectively. Then you bet your ass i will have those up in hours.

#live a hero #ラブヒロ #liveahero #lahspoilers #live a hero spoilers

[kaythetrashcan]

Here are some of my thoughts on DN: short stories!

And it's a lot. I'm crossposting this from my reddit account. Spoilers ahead

Book cover

Why does Ryuk look different on the cover? He looks like normal in all the actual stories but on the cover he has a red spot on his chest and red lips (among other things).

I do really like his right bracelet, it reminds me of the handcuffs Light and L had. I'm not sure if it's new but it's cool.

Speaking of the cover, there is 'Death Note' written in shiny letters and I only noticed once I turned my lamp on. That's such a nice detail.

Onto the stories themselves.

C-Kira

When I read the name Yamamoto, I though it was one of Light's friends from the manga, since they have the same name and appearance (spiky black hair and glasses). But apparently they are different characters entirely, which is kinda disappointing even if it doesn't change anything.

I'm bit confused on what's up with Matsuda. He tries to justify actions of C-Kira and I'm not sure where the writers where going with this. Like he was supportive of the original Kira but I kinda thought that ended when he shot Light several times.

I like that Near's hair got a bit longer from last time. Also the tator card towers are insanely cool.

And the way he just pops out of them on page 22 XD.

When Near recalls the video chat, we see a kid with a striped shirt, who I'm guessing is Matt

I haven't seen the Relight movies (I'm planning to one day), but I saw L's monster speech and I'm guessing it's based on this scene. The manga is pretty different from it, L is more forward and cold.

It's pretty interesting to hear that L picked Near and Mello because they didn't ask him any questions, just listened. Also bc of their glares.

And if this is the only time Near interacted with L, how does he know his appearence for his finger puppet? Did he see a photo or did he just get a description from someone else?

I can't believe Ryuk got other shinigamis, including the actual King of Death addicted to apples. Good lord.

Also I love how Ryuk refers to king of death as an "old fart". Makes it sound like he's the shinigami's dad XD

Near just tuning in, calling C-Kira a murderer and then signing out was pretty badass. Rip C-Kira, you were okay.

Speaking of C-kira, we actually know really little about them. All we got was they own a bunch of anime figurines.

I noticed how many bananas Meadra has eaten. Do all shinigami's have a specific food they like? Although all seem to like apples.

I like Near not being sure if he acted like L and how Rester tells him he's L now, it's pretty sweet and adds a bit of humanity to Near.

Also how are the towers holding together? Near's breaking laws of gravity

Meadra is such a nice friend, bringing Ryuk an apple.

This was a pretty fun story and it's always nice to see Halle Linder.

A-kira

I really like Minoru's design. He looks unique but still natural and his hairstyle is bit more modern compared to Light's.

Ryuk picked Minoru rather than just throwing the death note and waiting for somebody to find it. It's a interesting shift from his first appearence.

I love Ryuk's disappointment when Minoru told him he can't read the rules and demanded translation.

Minoru is so based for just trying to sell the notebook and his plan is really clever.

Ryuk holding the sign while literaly everyone in the studio can't see him is hilarious.

Near looks gorgeous with the long hair. <3 And so does Halle Linder with the shorter hair cut

Is that Donald Trump???!!! What even is this story?!

I love how Armonia just shows up with his chair and leaves immediately.

Wait, Yotsuba??? I was wondering what the Yotsuba group was actually leading, nice to get a conclusion.

I'm also intrigued that Minoru decided to keep only a fraction of the money, but it was pretty smart and he still got a bunch of money from it.

I can't believe Ryuk met Donald Trump.

In the end, Ryuk writes the name of Minoru in his note book. I thought the rule would kill him immediately? Or is Ryuk obligated to write it?

Anyways, this story was goofy, Minoru was entertainingly smart and I liked it.

Scribbles

I love how insane and fun everyone in this. We need more. Also Sayu has more to do. Yay :D

Why does Light think strawberries are more sexy than apples?

Misa's back!!! I missed her so much.

Her swimsuit is really bland, but Light looks great in the Hawaian shirt. He should wear it more often.

I'm not sure how to feel about Misa getting sexualized in this. I'm fine with fanservice and her being sexy, but I feel like she sometimes gets treated more as a source of fanservice than an actual character.

I noticed she's the one driving the car. And I don't think I ever saw Light drive. This leads me to a conclusion that Light never learned to drive. Headcanon that Misa just drives him around during those 5 years.

Also I live for Misa and Sayu's friendship!!!

Misa making bunny apples for Ryuk is so cute.

Somehow, "Disappointment" makes Misa and Light into a somewhat healthy couple.

In second to last strip, Light somehow pulls L up using only one arm. My boy is strong.

And the last strip, "Debate" depicts Rem holding a glass of wine (?). Since Rem doesn't have a favourite human food (unlike Ryuk, Meadra and Sidoh), maybe she likes to drink wine? Misa seems to enjoy drinking (in that one scene in the anime). Maybe she shared some with her.

L - one day

Watari narrates this like an animal documentary.

It also gives L both really bizarre and really normal traits, like he bathes in a washing machine and can't be bothered to put a shirt on, but he is fond of art galleries and theme parks.

Also L's a pop fan. Love that but I'm bit said we didn't get this in the main series. I'd love to see what interactions with Misa could come from that.

I'm glad to know that L does more than just sit in front of a computer.

L- Wammy's house

I love L, but he looks so weird as a kid. Glad he didn't stay like this forever.

So L came into the orphanage without a name. Did he name himself or did Wammy gave him that name? How do all the kids get their names? Why does Near have a normal name but then we have a guy named Mail?

How did L manage to defeat a group of kids who were trying to beat him (the new kid) up? And judging from what L says, this might be a common thing, so why isn't anyone doing anything about it?

Kids in Wammy's house share bedrooms so I wonder who did Near and Mello live with.

L and Watari's dynamic here is so hilarious.

Overall I'm not really big on this story. I know it's a matter of preference but L feels really overpowered and inhuman here. I kinda prefer when he gets some grounded moments, like his monster speech in Relight movies or even just his reaction to Misa kissing him on the cheek. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not really my thing.

Taro Kagami

This is also a pilot for the series.

I noticed that the shinigami's look more human. I'm glad their designs got changed, I don't like how they look like sexy women with weird faces.

Taro is so cute! I really like his design.

I like how he just uses the Death note as a regular notebook and accidentally kills someone. It's a pretty common concept in memes about DN so it's nice to see it in a serious story.

I appreciate Taro's reaction to Ryuk and accidentally killing people. It's pretty realistic for a kid like him.

Takagi kinda looks like Raye Penber while Yamanaka's design didn't make it into the series. Its kinda a shame, since it's pretty unique.

I also like to see Taro's mom getting involved. We never really got any reaction from Sachiko.

The conversation between Yamanaka and Takagi about how they'd use the death note is really interesting. Yamanaka makes a great point on how most people would use it.

I also love him saying that Takagi would have to kill half the world to achieve his harmonious world.

And personality wise, Takagi reminds me a bit of Matsuda.

The death eraser is a cool concept. While it probably would be too overpowered in the main series, I'd love to see what could be done with it.

I'm also intrigued by the author of detective novels. His design is cool as well and I wonder if he somewhat inspired L's character. His deductions were great.

And so we're Taru's, when he figured out Miuro is the second DN owner.

The ending itself is amazing in my opinion. Taro manages to twist the truth just right, so Miuro trusts him while he keeps the original note book. Death note becomes a legend but Taru still has it after all these years. The ambiguity is brilliant.

And older Taru looks great with long hair.

I read on the wiki that Taru might have inspired Mikami and I honestly believe that, but he seems like a combination of both Taru and Miuro.

He gets his long hair from Taru, glasses and fanatism from Miuro (who kept screaming "Die, die, die" while frantically writing names of criminals) and being bullied from both.

This was my favourite story. It flows a bit better than the A and C kira stories and it had some really cool ideas.

Final thoughts

While I'm bit sad we didn't really have any female characters (since DN doesn't really have many and as a woman I'd like to see them) I had fun with this book, the art's great and it's nice to see the pilot, shorter funny comics and what's most of the living cast up to after Light's death.

#death note #death note short stories #l lawliet #light yagami #ryuk #near death note #nate river #mello death note #mihael keehl #c-kira #minoru tanaka #a-kira #watari #wammys house #quillsh wammy #wammy boys #taro kagami

[outofangband]

language in Angband

My Angband World Building and Aftermath of Captivity Masterlist touch on this a few times and I’ve talked specifically about Maedhros and the languages of Angband (which I go into more later here too)

but I definitely want to do a full post on it and I wanted to compile my thoughts from various posts too!

Names and titles in Angband 

Note: this is obviously a purely fantasy setting however control over language and culture is absolutely a method undertaken by real life groups and governments and weaponized against marginalized communities. The languages of my culture for example have a history of being intentionally obscured, demonized, or even banned. I just wanted to say this both to acknowledge and to warn that this has the potential to hit home in this regard. Access to one's language and culture is a right.

First, an incomplete list of languages spoken:

-Avarin language and its many dialects and Primitive Quendian, in pockets of older thrall families that were never transformed or never fully transformed into orcs -Older/proto Sindarin: see above

-Earlier versions of Sauron's Black Speech including the formalized Orcish tongue which has its own alphabet, that which is used most commonly in Angband.  -A distortion of Valarin that Morgoth uses among his Maiar (primarily in giving orders to the higher ranking Maiar) -The more organic orcish blend of the distorted language of Morgoth's Maiar, Primitive Quendian and several Avari tongues. This was created by the first elven prisoners of Angband during and after their transformation into the first orcs (in larger pockets of both elven and orcish populations, usually non fighting sections of the orcs) -Later Sindarin and Noldorin Quenya  (rarer, among some groups of prisoners and more isolated throughout the fortress)

Most common in the fortress is the orcish blend that more heavily drew from Elven dialects, the formalized Orcish Sauron utilizes, early forms of Sindarin, and Morgoth's Valarin with the formalized Orcish being perhaps the most used and the language most if not all prisoners pick up on at least some. It is also the language most heavily associated with Angband and with The Enemy by the outside. It is this that elves hear from their enemies during attacks and raids and it is often this that the few escaped prisoners who make it home will sometimes be heard speaking and will be stigmatized for.The developed alphabet is what many thrall brands use, especially those given to designate specific roles (there are examples on my branding overview post).  Though Morgoth's Distorted Valarin invokes dread upon its evocation, it is far rarer for elven prisoners to hear or learn any of this.

Many prisoners especially in the mines, forges and kitchens learn the formal and informal Orcish tongues through a combination of osmosis and direct instruction by older prisoners and sometimes higher ups or orcs who have been assigned to work with them. That most are unlikely to understand the instructions and speech around them adds to the atmosphere of fear and chaos. Abandoning their own languages and picking up on that of their captors becomes incentivized for survival. Though of course it is a difficult task and there is no formal instruction.

It’s important to note that specifically the less formal blend is constantly evolving as prisoners who were not directly taught certain words guess or pick up words in context and occasionally these might be incorrect interpretations or translations that are passed down and it leads to still more branches of this already mixed language. What a word means in the forges might have evolved differently in the mines until a prisoner is transferred from one place to another. Words from original languages are added and changed and substituted when necessary. 

For example a word for blanket might be passed on as meaning clothing or warmth.

Language in Angband, as I have talked about more extensively, is an area heavily controlled. I talk about this on my post about trauma and freedom and on many of my Angband World Building posts (namely my post about supplies, rules and punishment and in individual sections of the fortress on their respective posts) but speech among the prisoners is heavily policed and often punished and this very much includes what language is used in what places at what times. 

Control of language and control of information are intrinsically linked. I mentioned that formalized orcish has one of the only alphabets used in the fortress. Very few prisoners are taught to read and write in this (though some are if their captors deem it necessary for their duties). Even the many who are branded with letters from this alphabet may not know what those letters represent. 

Prisoners are often punished for talking back, for speaking their own language, for praying or singing,  for verbally comforting others, for sharing or even having information that they should not, for simply talking when they had been ordered to work, etc.

It’s what I always inevitably return to with Maedhros; I cannot over emphasize the devastating effects of being in an environment where one cannot enact any effect on their environment by their words. The utter helplessness this inflicts on the prisoners has devastating effects that last well beyond the physical walls of the fortress. 

Advocacy, even decision making, becomes extremely difficult, even terrifying.

It would be incorrect to say that there are eyes upon each being in the fortress at all times, secret words are possible but they are dangerous and the atmosphere of mistrust organically created and intentionally reinforced means most are reluctant to even attempt them.

Temporary or permanent removal of speaking ability through hypnosis, spell, damage to vocal cords or removal of the tongue is not an infrequent event. A small number of prisoners are modified in this way prior to any infraction as a preventive measure or because their role is best served in silence (these will be elaborated on in more detail on an upcoming post)

Unless work necessitates exchange of instructions, which will be monitored by higher ups most of the time,  an elven prisoner is not necessarily placed with others of their kin of who speak their tongue and in fact, separation is not uncommon. One might go for years or decades without hearing their original language. Punishments for speaking out of turn, even and especially harmless words of comfort such as song, cultural stories, and prayer, are also not uncommon.

Knowing any elven language is not a requirement for being in charge of slaves in Angband (except in cases where prisoners are used for specific or precise enough work that instructions are clearly needed). Sometimes prisoners who have been there for a long time are given permission to speak to newer captives to inform them of rules or give them instructions. For the most part conversation in the mines is heavily policed but plenty of the slaves there have worked out systems of how to avoid detection if they choose to risk it, the overseer to elf ratio is pretty large. (as in many elves per overseer) These older prisoners are both loved and hated by their kin.

Case studies:

Maedhros learns a blend of the formal Orcish and mixed Orcish tongues. Some he picks up from context, some he’s instructed in. I’ve talked before about how him speaking these after his rescue becomes the subject of rumors and speculation. Maedhros is also among the few prisoners who learn any of Morgoth’s Valarin, albeit only a few words and phrases. I have a few other post about this but I think so much about Maedhros’s knowledge of Angband and the ways it is both vital and also highly stigmatized and his knowledge of the languages of Angband, even so incomplete, is absolutely part of this. I have one post here but I always, always want to talk more about this!

Rog becomes well versed in both formal and mixed Orcish during his time in the mines. Through contact with older prisoners he learns phrases of the Avari tongue as well as other Eldarin dialects. He loses a lot of these during his time after Angband, due to lack of practice and the stark differences in the languages he does use. 

Gwindor learns some phrases in mostly the mixed orcish. Unlike Rog he was not recognized as an authority in the mines and largely sought to be ignored

Húrin learns a few phrases in the mixed and formal languages but mostly forgets them by the time of his release. He does occasionally hear Morgoth speak his distorted Valarin but learns very little and intentionally tries to forget it (unsuccessfully)

#the silmarillion #maedhros #angband #gwindor #Húrin #Rog #in the iron hell #musing and meta

[just-a-carrot]

Yo yo yo Carrot.

I did do research on character design a bit ago. I was just wondering if there were any specific tips/things you kept in mind while designing any of your characters. I have a general idea of where I'm heading but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. No need to push yourself though.

(Orlam has a white shirt because he's basic :). It's perfect character design. )

hhhhh... i can try 💦

behind the cut because this got long

i think the problem is i never have any specific things in mind. for the life of me i can't even think back to how i came up with any of the characters i've ever come up with. usually they are like a mish-mash inspiration of various ideas tumbling around in my head, often influenced heavily by sheer vibes and/or music i'm listening to and/or media i've consumed or images i've seen

for me i think the biggest thing i've noticed is that i develop characters incredibly slowly lol. like i have a really hard time jumping into a new story with new characters that i haven't spent a long time thinking about (i.e., literal years). they all start from like a small random kernel of an idea or inspiration and then they grow and develop as the rest of the story starts slowly turning into random scenes into my mind, and i continue to learn new things about the characters even while actively writing (i think i've said before but some of the biggest themes and plot points in OW that feel like core parts of the story i didn't even come up with until i was actively in the midst of writing it, like, post writing arc 1 and even arc 2; arc 4 in particular like i had not planned 80% of what happened in that arc until i was writing it laksjdfa)

and i feel like a big part of this is because i'm actually really bad at designing/developing characters at the drop of a hat and can only figure them out through long periods of thinking and writing

2018 vs 2023

2018 vs 2023

i first drew the OW characters in 2018, but i'd had the idea for the general story (arc 1) even before that. from what i can remember when trying to come up with what they'd look like, i would try to think about their vibes from their role in the story. iggy is somewhat soft, awkward, and anxious, so i guess my mind developed a somewhat nerdy disalarming look for him with kinda muted colors (we don't talk about the fact that his shirt/overshirt combo makes no sense laksdjfads). orlam i knew i wanted a kinda scraggly little guy with greasy hair (sooper sekrit never-before-heard!ow lore: i actually did originally design him with a ponytail but it changed to a rattail while working on arc 1)

i'm quite bad when it comes to fashion design in general so i often come up with fairly plain-looking outfits. but some of the things i like playing around with the most are things like height dynamics and color variety (i always try to use a diverse range of hair colors for instance, as i feel like it's one of the big things that can instantly differentiate characters in a group)

you can see this in easter too i guess:

admittedly with easter it was a bit different in that tho i had some mental images in my head of generally what i wanted the chars to look like, some of the details and choices got limited because i had to use a sprite generator someone had made to create the sprites for the game (because it was an RPG maker game and i wasn't good/still am not good at creating animated sprites). so their final designs were a bit of a mix between my original ideas and my ideas translated into sprite generator options, hence some of the... odd design choices lakjdfsd

going back even further to characters i designed for other stuff like novels and stories, though my art style was different back then i feel like a lot of the same types of design choices can perhaps be seen LOL:

also please enjoy this old old old old OLD carrot!art from 2005 of three chars i created as a child that i thought were the coolest things ever...

i feel like i've lost the plot here a little bit LKAJDSFLKADSF

though i guess this is simply because i can't really explain what my head does when it comes up with characters. i don't have any sort of formal training in character or game design. i do have an art degree but that was more formal stuff (and i was often told that my personal cartoon-esque style of artwork and the stuff i drew in my sketchbooks was Not Creative). so i don't really have any set sort of guidelines or rules or even strategies that i use for coming up with characters. they tend to just kinda form over time in my mind according to my own aesthetics???? like i create characters that i would like to write and draw. i create groups of characters because i really really like group dynamics. i create characters with varying heights and body types and vibes. i create lots of short loud-mouth snarky asshole characters ldkajfsldkadlfafLDJFADFAD

if you have any more specific-type questions i can try to answer them but i think this might be the best i can do for just talking about my general mindset for characters... 💦

#ow: asks #game dev asks

[singswan-springswan]

SW werewolf AU

yep, welcome back to another hyper fixated rambling! this one is heavy on found family though so it might be a bit more bearable.

Okay I've decided to center the concept on Ghost crew and slap it in the modern world just for funsies, since that means I can restructure the politics and whatever.

First off, I've decided that the jedi are all werewolves (or cats maybe? Ahsoka gives me cat vibes but she hardcore needs to be part of the pack so ig that can be left up to debate). They live human lives but have their own culture and events and get-togethers or hunts and such when they get home ofc. very strong bonds between pack members. Instead of calling themselves "werewolves" (despite that being the most colloquial and widely accepted term) some of them like to say they are "wolf bloods" because I guess that sounds more sophisticated. Almost all packs originate from the largest one in Coruscant (not a planet, just a region or somn), which has lots of intricate dynamics since also the alpha beta omega hierarchy is a thing. the way I want it to happen though is that their designation in the pack doesn't mean rank; it translates more directly to what role they play. I know that's not how actual wolf packs hash it out but think of it this way: omegas are sent out to do the nitty gritty field work, like buying groceries. Betas are responsible for caring for the overall health of the pack, and will use those groceries to make dinner for everyone. Alphas delegate everything, so they gave the omegas the shopping list and also the credit card and made sure everyone made it home from school and work on time to eat. Pack members are typically acquired through birth, though on the occasion they absorb an outsider who might have been changed with a bite.

Since Anakin and Co. would be kinda side characters in this au (but also because he's my bestie and I had to indulge him), he and Padme are like. soulmates. you know the ones. from wattpad. it only makes sense. when she found out about Anakin being a wolf blood that was a Whole Thing but she was eventually adopted by the pack and she agreed to be bitten so now the little puppies (Luke and Leia) are running around causing chaos with their abnormal and powerful supernatural abilities.

I want to say all the supernatural stuff kinda floats around the world while most humans are totally blind to it. Like Ventress has to be a vampire or a banshee or something, Sheev is an annoying breed of warlock, and Zeb needs to be a Creature not sure what kind.

anyway Kanan wanders away from the Coruscant pack because he's having a midlife crisis and wants to find himself. Depa and Mace kind of just snort and wave him off. It's pretty standard practice for young alphas to do stuff like that. Most end up rejoining the pack, but some do start their own in a different territory. Kanan finds his way to Lothal where he buys a cute lil house with his so much money (Mace is screaming Rich and taught his grandson how to invest like a champ yessir). He starts tending the local bar and decides to integrate with the nice townspeople just for a fun lil side quest.

Enter Hera, stage left. She's the captain of the local police precinct and has been operating out of Lothal for a few years now. She transferred from the Ryloth sector. Her dad is the chief of stations there. Actually, Hera and Kanan met once when she was still a detective. He thinks it's a great coincidence that their paths converge again, though her tough, stubborn attitude towards him is cold and professional (it's mostly because she remembers how crazy and fun he was and she doesn't want to be distracted from work). They dance around each other, as they do. Kanan is in love before he fully realizes. Something, something, he knows she's human, knows he can't start a pack with her, facetimes Anakin to rant about it, gets laughed at, Padme eventually bombs the call and tells him to go for it bc after all look how she and Anakin turned out (something crashes in the background. There is yelling. Obi-wan chases a Leia who is laughing maniacally while Luke complains about not being able to focus on his homework). Along the way they mention the increase in hunter activity in the Lothal area, so be careful bout that. Kanan has a hard time figuring out whether Hera knows about the supernatural side of things (she doesn't), but if she does he's starting to suspect she'd side with the infamous mandalorian hunters. She told him a story bout monsters and needing to protect the town and stuff. He's not sure how to convince her that not all non-humans are off the rails bat-kriff insane when he JUST got off the phone with the Disaster Lineage Family as they were in the process of burning their house down (you'd think werewolves would be more careful about playing with fire). He decides to go it safe for now. He'll tell her when he's ready (lol loser). 

In the meantime, Zeb and Kanan meet. Zeb runs into him like at the grocery store and they kinda just glare at each other across the fruit aisle. Zeb sniffs obnoxiously a few times "what are ye?" He grumbles. Kanan is momentarily confused. He holds up a banana. "A smoothie guy?" Zeb's eyes narrow. "Ya smell like wet dog from here." (It's raining outside) Kanan gasps, offended. He sniffs his shirt, and all he gets is old spice deodorant (the one he knows hera likes). "I do not!"

Something, something, Zeb eventually places him as a wolf blood (he uses the preferred term, which gets him back on Kanan's good side). Zeb also reveals that he's… whatever he is, some kind of bestial not werewolf thing that can also shapeshift into a human for disguise. Maybe a yeti? a werebear? 👀 Weeeeeee! Anyway Zeb's a social worker at the group home where Ezra's staying atm.

"I've got this kid." He explains to Kanan. "Maybe you can check him out for me."

"What the—I'm not a babysitter."

"Just tell me if he's like you! It's not that hard, kriff. He's got no pack. That's important for you lot, isn't it?"

Kanan agrees to test Ezra somehow. Picks him up from school on Zeb's orders, takes him to get burgers at the local diner like classic spodermun energy, figures out that there's a wolf stalking Ezra (grand inquisitor) and they've had a few run-ins for the past few months. Like Ezra would never out and out say any of that but Kanan's smarter than he looks give him some credit. Also there are shifty red eyes in the flower bed across the street (Kanan's getting really protective now). In classic creepy creep fashion, they get into a car wreck on the way back through the woods. Something, something, Kanan's tires got slashed, the car tips, Kanan's hauling Ezra out by the time he wakes up, then like, runs off into the dark to chase what he's pretty sure is that prick stalker wolf because he's new to dad-ing and didn't think to not leave his kid alone. Grand inquisitor (he should really get an actual name. Maybe we can call him GI? GI Hoe?) Circles back to ezra and attacks him (poor guy) and bites him before Ezra konks out again. He wakes up in the morning like back at the house and everything is totally normal (Kanan really finessed his way out of that) Zeb is making waffles downstairs and school is in half an hour. He'd ask to skip but he feels great. Actually, there's no sign of any injuries (wolf bloods do heal fast ya know), as if the whole thing was one big dream. Except for the fact that he's having a mild sensory overload. Sight, sound, smell are all suddenly maxed out. You know.

Kanan actually brought Ezra back after the whole thing with GI Hoe in the woods (Kanan beat him up and got in the car and kept driving) then immediately dumped his car in the shop. So Zeb knows, but neither of them are totally sure that Ezra is a puppy yet so they decided to just keep a close eye on him until they know. Meanwhile Ezra's having a very weird day at school. He's not sure he can rant to any of his friends about what he's definitely sure happened last night because he has no evidence and anyway they've all got better things to focus on. Jai and Zare are stressing about midterms coming up, and Sabine keeps griping about an impromptu family reunion that's brought a bunch of really scary (in Ezra's opinion) relatives into town who have a mildly freakish obsession with hunting. Ezra's seen her basement. It's a kriffing armory down there.

Anyway classic Ezra trying to juggle all these crazy changes happening to him in the cliche textbook way except he doesn’t have a best friend guy in the chair sidekick to google obscure mythical articles about werewolves for him so he’s doing everything by himself (may or may not be skipping a few classes). Eventually Ezra runs into Kanan again. Probably because he shifted during a moonspell and ran around crazy and Kanan had to snatch him before Hera could shoot the kid. Kanan’s still got no idea how to parent so instead of calmly explaining stuff he just yells at ezra and tells him to be more careful. It doesn’t occur to Kanan that Ezra wasn’t born into a pack and has absolutely no kriffing idea what’s going on. Poor baby. Ezra figures out about Kanan “You’re a werewolf!” *cue more offended gasping* “where did you learn that slur?” “Oh my gOD you literally have fangs!” "what makes you think I'm not a vampire?" "Uh, you're not grossly pale?" "Not all vampires can be pale." "You also wear jeans" "kriff, that's true"

At first Ezra blames Kanan for all the crap he's now subjected to. He's scared and unsure and alone and looking for something to take it out on, and Kanan is convenient because he's just kinda there. But he gets defensive when Ezra confronts him "what do you mean my fault? Ain't got nothing to do with your problems, the kriff?" Ezra's shaking with all the rage trapped in his tiny body with his hands clenched into fists "yes it is! You're the one who bit me!" And Kanan's just dumbfounded and incredulous like first of all excuse you no I did not I was raised better than that holy kark. All pups are taught at a young age that it's very bad manners to Bite someone on a whim. And Kanan may be selfish but he'd never just dump the transformation on a kid with no warning. So then they're just both staring at each other like wait so then who bit Ezra and even GI Hoe denies it when they catch him and beat him up for answers like yeah he's bitten Ezra before but it wasn't The Bite so Kanan realizes that Ezra must have been born a wolf blood and the sudden appearance of a pack near his previously unoccupied home territory plus also him reaching the age where his powers start to get stronger must have triggered an awakening in his body or something. He would have manifested his wolf blood abilities much younger if his parents hadn't died and if he'd been incorporated into a large pack (he would have been so cute as a baby wolf but alas). 

On the one hand, it's reassuring to Ezra knowing there are other wolf bloods out there, but Kanan also was not looking for a pseudo son on his quest for self-discovery so he's being annoying and generally unhelpful about it. Of course, that attitude changes when GI Hoe starts to make his intentions known. He's already got a pack, which reflects the more traditional structure that we're familiar with reading about: very hierarchical, very antagonistic, glowing red eyes, often attacks humans or livestock for funsies. Tensions between inquisitors are high as always so they're constantly looking for new recruits (they kill each other all the time). He keeps trying to adopt Ezra for his ranks, sensing that Ezra could be a powerful asset. when Kanan discovers this, he goes full dad mode and claims Ezra as part of his fam. This leads to lots of confrontations with inquisitors and ultimately ends in the death of GI Hoe. Subsequently the pack is scattered and leaves Lothal territory. Auntie Soka visited from Coruscant to help with that part a bit because she wanted a vacation from spying on Sheev for Padme. She brings her mate Rex (not sure if to make him and the boys another kind of shapeshifter like dragons or just have them be Normal Guys) so they all have fun family bonding.

Kanan tells Ahsoka about how he's in love with Hera and what should he do about it and she is unimpressed with his drama "just bite her. I don't see what the problem is" he is aghast. He would never force something like that on Hera! Plus he's been dancing around the topic with her for a while and he's pretty sure she would hate him if she found out he was a wolf blood—doubly so if he made her into one against her will. Not that he's even told her they exist. As far as Hera's concerned, the mythical world is not reality. Ahsoka is still unimpressed.

Oh by the way Sabine's family are all hunters. Like wolf blood/vampire/faerie/dragon/troll/whatever else hunters which only makes sense if you think about it because they're mandalorians aka the mortal enemies of the jedi (all of whom are some kind of non-human in this AU). Sabine at her age has already learned all the skills and weapons she will need to kill Stuff, and has herself already made a few excellent plaques to adorn her room (after Ezra realizes he's a wolf blood, he starts to hate hanging out at her house. It lowkey gives him panic attacks, now that he knows what kind of wolf heads she's got mounted over her desk). She obviously doesn't talk about the mythical stuff with people outside her family, at least in specific detail. She only ever rants about their group "hunts" but never mentions what they're hunting in exact names. Boy would it be traumatic for her to realize her best friend is one of the beasts she's been trained to kill since she was small. Maximum angst if she shoots him once or twice in his wolf form and continually tracks him (lol poor guy) to the point that she considers him her trophy kill and is determined to get That One if it's the last thing she does. This makes Ezra very sad boi hours. He loves his friend but obviously he doesn't wanna die. One time Sabine almost got him (oh no!) Then Kanan stepped in at the last second and almost killed her before Ezra stopped him and yeah it's just all around a lot of violence weeeee. Hera really can't keep up with all these animal attack reports. 

When Sabine finds out she is furious and horrified and feels very betrayed and has lots of strong feelings but can't actually bring herself to kill Ezra after all because she loves her friend too and like so does her family he's over for dinner all the time and lowkey they were considering adopting him. What wins her over in the end is that he carries himself like a sad puppy all over the place which is both adorable and depressing. Her dad was also there when she found out so he gets her to keep quiet about it and not tell the rest of the Wrens yet because he knows it'd be signing poor Ezra's death sentence and he can't bear to think about that (Sabine's dad was always loyal to the family and supportive of their hunting but Ezra is Ezra and literally one of the fundamental laws of the universe is protect the baby). Eventually Sabine manages to turn her family because she's cool like that and convinces them to hunt only problematic creatures instead (cough cough palpacreep).

Somehow Maul exists. Another warlock maybe? I dunno he's annoying.

Kallus can just be human. He's probably a lieutenant who works for Hera. They're bros. They have coffee together. He doesn't get paid enough to deal with their shenanigans.

Things that need to happen in this AU:

Hera hits wolf Kanan with her car while on patrol. Horrified by having rammed an animal at country road speed, she springs into action, stuffing this larger than abnormally large wolf into her back seat and flicking the lights and siren on. When she gets to the animal hospital, the vet is out. It’s just Intern Ezra locking up the building. Hera is frantic. Thank goodness Ezra is still here! She needs his help! Ezra’s always willing to help an animal in distress, but when he sees it’s Kanan, he almost considers breaking his code. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He deadpans. Kanan glares. Hera doesn’t understand what’s going on, and Ezra needs to keep face so he reluctantly helps her cart the wolf inside, where he takes some X-rays and does some busy-body nonsense in the back. He returns to an anxious Hera in the waiting room, who has pledged to pay any bill or charge in full. “Good news! It’s not as bad as it looks.” (Kanan has broken his leg in three places and cracked two ribs but Hera doesn’t need to know that) She is relieved and vows to return as soon as she can. Ezra goes and whacks Kanan upside the head. “You can change back now. She’s gone.” He throws an arm over his eyes and wheezes. “That kriffing hurt.” The next day, when Kanan sees Hera for some reason he’s wearing the usual leg brace under his sweatpants to hide that but something, something, his shirt rides up and she sees the bruising all down his side and her brain short circuits “How did that happen?” it takes all of Kanan’s willpower not to say “hit by a car”

Ahsoka eats a man

Luke and Leia make the national news

Palpatine gets impeached and also imprisoned in a fish bowl where he is forced to live out the rest of his miserable days stripped of magic

When Kanan begrudgingly agrees to teach Ezra the basics of wolf stuff they go out in the woods together and practice shifting. Hera sees them once and is delighted to find the wolf she ran down doing well “Hello again! Aww, your son is so cute!” (Ezra is thrilled to be called cute by nice police lady Hera)

The first time Hera brings Kanan home Chopper her cat goes apespit hissing and yowling and absolutely wrecking the furniture to get away. When it becomes apparent that Kanan is to be invited back multiple times, Chopper begins the series of attempted murders. Hera can’t puzzle out why her cat is more hostile than usual meanwhile Kanan is sweating buckets because every time he leaves his scent in Hera’s house it makes Chopper lose another brain cell

Zeb is mistaken for Bigfoot by some late-night hiker

Okadiah has just always known about Kanan and everyone. He just sits there chilling like he’s not really anything Special he’s a normal human but he knows and just sits there with popcorn and ice tea watching all this drama unfold

#star wars au #star wars family #star wars rebels #ghost crew #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #kanera #kanan x hera #ezra bridger #sabine wren #garazeb orrelios #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #ahsoka tano #captain rex #jedi #jedi au #werewolf #werewolf au #star wars shenanigans

[illir]

(thisis just me rambling) the ask before this reminds me of the manga dojo miyoshi sensei and takeuchi sensei did for jump sq december issue 2022

(jump sq's caption saying something like "how to make destined rival" is sending me like bro now everyone in china knows they're soulmates)

anyway i never really read it so i finally went through it using google translate a few days ago, and most of it was just sensei going through the thought process behind william and sherlock as yuumori characters, why they're different from the original characters, how to leave certain impression on the readers, etc.

she also went over some points about the visual/character design, then there's this part from the 'point 1' on 3rd picture (once again, i used google translate!)

and this is making me ctfu because with liam's design she was like "oh a beautiful beautiful angel" and then when it came to sherlock it was almost like "just some guy i guess" 😭😭 it makes me feel super validated though because he's meant to be babygirl in the first place (´⌣`ʃƪ) (??)

it's also kinda funny because when yuumori: the remains chapter 2 dropped the other day, when i checked the japanese fans' reactions on twitter (they sometimes do nice analysis about the chapter so i like reading them) they were all just saying things like "william has a really nice face" "he's so beautiful" and i hope sensei knows people are saying this because it's all according to keikaku 😂😂 but he really is so pretty though!!! (i guess because it's basically a story that people who read the novel already knew, people probably didn't have a lot to say lol)

i also realised that sensei deliberately designed them to look the opposite of each other was because they were rivals at the beginning... but now they're on the same side so this doesn't apply to the current sherlock anymore so sensei changed his design to look more similar to liam in terms of style??? what do i know 👀

anyway i just thought this was interesting, thank you for coming to my ted talk

#i'm not saying sherlock is ugly (he does look ugly sometimes let's be fr) (<- guy with sherlock icon) but #even without sensei saying all this i notice that yuumori artists tend to make liam super super pretty #especially with the eyelashes WOW #(not me i'm bad at it so i don't give him eyelashes) #also as Size Difference Enthusiast i feel kinda stupid bc i never realised sensei has always drawn sherlock broader than liam #they're the same height and they were the same weight too but body frame/built wise sherlock has always been Thicker #do you see their necks?? oh my god their necks especially. liam's neck is so slender compared to sherlock's #he's just so babygirl #i can go on about sherliam for 5000 years so i'll stop myself here #rambles

[seeyounexttime]

Blank Page Brigade Spotlight: Assistants (6/5) + extra

6 of 5? yes, because last time I left off at 5/5 but now I have obtained scans of the Blank Page Brigade for vol.31 and vol.32

At the end of volumes of Black Clover is space for the “Blank Page Brigade.” This particular “brigade” is composed of the assistants (you know, those who help with art) and others from the Black Clover manga team, lead by “Captain Tabata.”

In each volume there’s a question that everyone answers. Assistants also include a drawing with their answers. I’ve compiled the answers and drawings from volumes 1-32, and grouped them together.

Previous answers (and drawings from the assistants):

Assistants (1/5) – Hayato Gotou, Genya Hori, Asahi Sakano. &  Assistants (2/5) – Kouki Ishikawa, Masayoshi Satoshō, Kou Shimameguri. &  Assistants (3/5) – Teruaki Mizuno, Hikaru Mizuno, Suzuki, Yōtarō Hayakawa

Assistants (4/5) – Kazuhiro Wakao, Shuutarō Koga, Seiya Miyamoto. &  Assistants (5/5) – Souta Hishikawa, Yagasa, Yuu Aoki, Tatsuya Hayashi, Ajina Yuu, Shion Kobayashi; +vol.30 Miyamoto drawing

Staff – Comic Editor Tomiyama, Comic Editor Koshimura, Comic Editor Fujiwara, Comic Editor Chiba, Designer Iwai, Media Editor Takahashi. &  The Tabatas – Captain Tabata and his wife. &  Editors – Editor Katayama, Editor Toide, Editor Iwasaki, Editor Fukuda

(( I've also gone back and updated/replaced some images with cleaner scans and in some cases with the official translation ))

You've already seen the vol.29 and vol.30 drawings from Tatsuya Hayashi and Ajina/“Witty” Yuu in a previous post, but I decided to just redo their pages with cleaner scans + the vol.31 and vol.32 drawings:

Hayashi seems to enjoy drawing demons/monsters

and Yuu is a straight-up baseball fan (also that drawing of Yuno is so cute!)

more new drawings by:

Seiya Miyamoto (present since vol.18) – Kou-chan’s 15 seconds of fame! really made Sekke look fierce in that vol.32 drawing too :0c

Souta Hishikawa (present since vol.18) – well, I have also learned that wombat dung is cube-shaped... to quote wikipedia "As wombats arrange these feces to mark territories and attract mates, it is believed that the cubic shape makes them more stackable and less likely to roll" and yes, wikipedia has a picture

Yagasa (present since vol.20) – Yagasa continues to win, that Liebe drawing is the best :>

and what’s this? the return of Yotaro Hayakawa as well! Hayakawa has been present since vol.11 and I guess was only absent for vol.29! rip lucifero

20. Shinobu KASAYA

was only around for vol.31

according to Tabata, Kasaya had a one-shot published in Jump Giga

the 20th known named individual to have been Tabata’s art assistant, even though their time together was brief, that is an expressive drawing of Zora that Kasaya left us

EXTRA: So was no one gonna tell me that the guidebook also comes with Blank Page Brigade drawings or was i just supposed to find that out while wading through possibly sketchy sites myself

Blast from the past seeing some of the original 6 again!

Hayato Gotou was really by Black Clover’s side for 29 volumes straight and the guidebook. Also, if it’s hard to see, the spell is Heat Wave Magic: “3-Meter Radius Summer Vacation”

And on god that’s the most on-brand weirdo shit Kouki Ishikawa could’ve said and drawn...

"carry your heartbeat" let me explain... this seems to be a reference to a song lyric from Exile's "Choo Choo Train" and made popular in Japan a certain dance move they called the ぐるぐるダンス ("guruguru dance") or ロールダンス ("roll dance"). Some meme examples here [exhibit A // exhibit B // exhibit C]. However it turns out this move was showcased back in the 90s in "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" by American R&B group Hi-Five

anyways your ride Valtos is here to pick you up

Teruaki Mizuno wrote the most and never used punctuation, hopefully I got the gist of what was said...

also idk what “Ashi era” refers to... Tabata was assistant to Toshiaki Iwashiro, now while you may be tempted to go it's from iwASHIro that.. well i mean idk but that doesn't seem to me the kind of nickname that would be created from i-wa-shi-ro to-shi-a-ki?? idk idk

Hayakawa bringing a new attribute to Black Clover and a crossover!

took me a while to find what 金斗雲 was but apparently it's an alternate writing of 筋斗雲 which is the name of that cloud that they use to fly around in Dragonball which Funimation translated as "flying nimbus" ☁ guess Hayakawa wasn't pure enough...

Kazuhiro Wakao really did indeed write "godfather" ゴッドファーザー now if he means like from the movie of the same name or like the position of a godfather idk but what are you doing down that bad for that gal Wakao why out yourself like this...

Shutaro Koga answered with 社長 shachou which translates to “president (of a company)” with alternate translations of "manager", "director" and "CEO" so I went with "The CEO" because it sounded more quippy :p

Captain Tabata didn't answer the Blank Page Brigade question because the question was about himself, so instead of the usual, he provided a new drawing of Asta & Yuno

what does it say within the black arrow and why didn't I replace the words? well that says something like from page 137 onward it's all about Tabata, and yeah it's like stuff about his process and questions and so on but that's not included in this post, it's a lot and my reading level is not that high *finger guns*

21.? Uemura?

according to a comment by Tabata in Weekly Shonen Jump back in April: “My mysterious assistant Uemura-kun, who hasn't been with me for very long, has a one-shot in this week's issue of Jump in Japan! What's it like?"

the one-shot in question may be Koi, Tokidoki Chounouryoku – is the assistant Taishin Uemura?

I did not find their name in vol.32, which was published in early April. Maybe Uemura will be in the blank page brigade for volume 33?

*Mike Rowe voice* We've explored the bonus pages looking for and learning about the hard-working men and women - 20(+1) assistants, 4 editors, 4 comic editors, media editor, designer, and Tabata's wife - who made Black Clover possible

ありがとうございました

#black clover #zenon zogratis #black clover yuno #zora ideale #black clover liebe #valtos #black clover asta #asta #magna swing #yami sukehiro #dorothy unsworth #vanessa enoteca #morgen faust #sekke bronzazza #long post #blank page brigade #I just saw pics of some of the vol33 assistant art #but I didn't see uemura?? #also it didn't include the rest of the team so :/

[nerves-nebula]

You do not have to answer all of these but these questions have been circulating my mind and I have been writing them down.

What would a gorilla shifter look like in human form, maybe just like a human but really hairy?

Do women moose shifters have beards?

Do women hyena shifters have pseudopenises or would that disappear because the biology has to translate to be human?

Can fish shifters become merfolk so they dont drown 500 ft below the surface?

Can all species have kids together and would they be hybrids or instead it would be a 50/50 chance between one of the 2 species of the parents?

Do they lay eggs in human form?

Would a pregnant person's fetus shift into an egg and then they can lay it early? Or would it not shift with them so they have to wait until they give birth before they can shift again?

Do they ever shift in the sleep and then like die because they were crammed into a tiny hole as a roach or something?

Does their human size relate to the species size? (As in msot elephants would be tall as humans)

Are the human body shapes always going to resemble the animal so that you can kind of guess what species they would be broadly?

Can anyone turn into a bacteria colony?

gonna adress these in order

a gorilla shifter in human form would look like a human. ive prolly done a bad job of showing this cuz i like giving characters animal traits, but their human forms are 100% human, and are only affected by their animal traits if they choose it to me. so wells in his human form would only have a tail if he decided he should, similarly Avin has simply decided to keep his sheep eyes at all points of time

some women moose shifters would have beards because some women have beards period, but i can see it being a cultural thing to keep some aspects of your animal form like that. so really it depends.

see above answers, they would be 100% human in their human forms and if a shifter had any genital differences in human form it would be unrelated to their animal forms

fish shifters can become mermaids if they want to, but they wouldnt look like fantasy mermaids and it would be kind of culturally weird. its not uncommon for shifter to mix human and animal traits, but living full time as a mermaid would definitely be seen as a strange alternative lifestyle

all species can have kids together in human form, and there's no chance of mixing the species unless you're animal forms could mix. so for example, a wolf and a coyote could have a coywolf kid, but a panther and a sheep could only possibly have panther OR sheep kids. about 50/50 is probably right.

i dont know. maybe if they really want to??? it's not a solid NO from me tho lmao

you do have to wait until your not pregnant again to shift, unfortunately. most people choose to stay in human form, especially if they're a mixed species couple. but if you were both dogs i think you could stay in dog form for however long dog pregnancies last. and some ppl chose to do that cuz the birth is easier that way.

no, your body would wake up or stop before that happened. though you can shift and partial shift in your sleep, its just not a sudden enough process to kill you.

not really? i mean from a design perspective i have a habit of taking inspiration from their animal forms to design them, but canonically i dont think the correlation is 100%. like you might have spots if your animal form does, but i dont think being a big animal necessarily means your gonna be a big human and vice versa.

also not really. sometimes they will, sometimes they wont. i think originally when i made this, they kind of did, but now i think itd be more interesting if the body types were more varied.

SADLY no. nothing that small

anyway, THANK YOU FOR BEING INTERESTED FASHDFSADFHSDAGA i was obsessed with this story when i was like 12 and i thought no one would ever care about it agsdhugshd

#nnstuff #ask #shifters story

[pokerninja2]

Rabbid Luigi's vamp powers have only gotten stronger since the first Mario + Rabbids, and by the time he joined the volleyball tournament with his other Rabbid friends, he's turned into a full vampire! Try not to get bitten on the field, or he'll steal your stats to make his even better!

I just finished Rabbid Luigi today, so I guess I can break him down now! First and foremost, I actually had this idea for quite awhile, and it started a few months ago when I saw my good friend @bramble-scramble post this:

(by the way check her out she makes good art)

But this post gave me an idea for what I should do with Rabbid Luigi here. The Rabbids tend to be way more extreme in their new designs and abilities than the standard Mario characters, which fits because they're already insanely wacky. So for this guy, he's fully embraced his unique vamp abilities from the first game!

Of course that's only half of it - Paper Mario fans must surely recognize him wearing Mr. L's outfit! I thought this was really fitting - he was already a dark alter-ego of Luigi, so Rabbid Luigi's vampire getup being considerably darker than his normal look made total sense. Only thing is his logo doesn't have a black patch like Mr. L's, but him using his actual team emblem felt more important, heh.

As mentioned, his vampire abilities are pretty much entirely based on his Vamp Dash from the first Mario + Rabbids, especially his Vamp Rush. Anyone he attacked with it would get damaged, and he'd heal himself by some of the damage he dealt. So translating that as him stealing opponents stats, their life force as it were, is both fitting and really fun for a unique gameplay mechanic. His stats are already good, but get in his way, and they'll just get even better!

Vampire Punk is mostly original, just being a silly breakdance with those purple bat things that appear whenever someone uses vamp. The idea of the dance itself did come from his weaken ability in Sparks of Hope though!

That's about all I have for him. Like all Rabbids, bringing out the most insane aspects of him for this was really fun, and it made for a character who plays pretty unique compared to the rest of the cast. What's not to like?

EDIT: two of my friends pointed out that the vampire wings resemble the Vampire Candy from Mario Party 8. I actually didn't intend for this, and in fact the wings were a bit more designed after Ridley's. Still, fun coincidence that there was a vampire form that's pretty identical in function to how I made these vampire mechanics work!

#mario #super mario #mario fanart #super mario fanart #rabbids #raving rabbids #rabbids fanart #rabbid luigi #mario + rabbids #mario and rabbids #mario + rabbids fanart #mario rpgs #Super Mario Spikers #mr. l #super paper mario #paper mario #spm

[illustrious-slimeman]

Anon from earlier today! Sorry if that worded weirdly it is just not a ton of people (at least from what I’ve seen) take notice that Otto and Compton are fat. Although I could be wrong (And not at all trying to be mean to other people!) it is just rare for me to see people take notice of that and when they do it makes me super happy!

I'm actually glad you messaged me again because it gives me a better chance to talk about this, because that is something I have noticed too! And this isn't just something people tend to do with these two, it's just part of a running trend of artists either not knowing how to or actively choosing not to draw fat characters/people accurately.

Now I am using Otto and Compton as an example here for this because those are the two we were originally talking about, but they are also a PERFECT example of how stylization of characters plays into this. So look at this:

This is just a simple breakdown of these characters and their most basic body shapes. Compton is really simple, but Otto has a bunch of layers that obscure his body. Thankfully there is that one concept art turnaround of him that exists where you can see how his proportions are supposed to work, but if you haven't seen that I can understand making some guesses when drawing him. Compton, on the other hand? That guy is just shaped like a gumdrop, there's no arguing that.

The thing about Psychonauts characters in general though is that they are INCREDIBLY stylized and their proportions are exaggerated to the utmost silly degree. A lot of them have arms that hang down well past their knees (Compton's hands practically drag on the ground when he walks). So when you go to draw them, unless you are leaning heavily on the existing style and shape language (which is what I prefer to do) it can be quite difficult to translate those proportions into something more realistic, lets say.

Being able to portray characters accurately and recognizably in drastically different styles is a skill that only comes with practice, I've taken classes on it and it's still a struggle for me, but drawing every character with the same or similar "standard" build is a cop-out and it will do nothing to help you grow in the long run.

And I'm not saying this to discourage anyone, quite the opposite! Like I said before, this is not just an issue with Otto and Compton, it's with portraying fat people in art in general. All of the characters in Psychonauts have such fun designs and there are so many different body types between them, just like in real life! So if this is something you notice yourself struggling with in your own art, really the best advice I can give is to spend some time doing figure drawing of real people.

Attending a figure drawing session in person is really optimal, but there are so many online figure drawing websites that are absolutely free that will achieve the same goal. Really, it's just practice drawing different body types. I know drawing real people in a studio isn't necessarily as fun as drawing stylized characters, but it really is an important tool to have in your belt as an artist.

#psychonauts #psychonauts 2 #otto mentallis #compton boole #im so sorry this is so long #i got a little into it im afraid #i hope im not coming off as like a snobby art student here like #oh you need to take a life drawing class to learn how to draw #but seriously this is an incredibly creative fanbase and i just want to see characters with different body types portrayed accurately #please and thank you

[aquariaries]

Shin Tsukinami Heaven Story - Chaos Lineage

***I do not mind if you use my translations as a base for another language, I just ask that you credit me if you do!***

PLACE: Shopping Mall - Indoors

Shin: Wow. As expected, it's crowded because it's a holiday.

Yui: Yeah that's true.

(Today I'm out shopping with Shin-kun at the mall.)

(Shin-kun said he was going to buy new earrings, so I followed him.)

(Because it's been so long, I'm really happy. I wonder how Shin-kun is feeling ... ... ?)

(Is he having fun?)

Shin: Hey. What are you staring at people's faces for?

Yui: Eh! I-I'm not staring!

Shin: Don't lie. I can tell right away when I see that grinning face of yours.

Yui: Am I really grinning that much ... ... ? It's been a long time since I went on a date with Shin-kun, so I'm just really happy.

Shin: Hmm, is that so.

Y'know, when you say such cute things like that ... ...

I'll end up attacking you instantly?

Yui: Sh- Shin-kun ... ... !

Shin: I'm kidding. Let's go over there next. A new shop has opened up.

Yui: O-okay!

*They start walking, followed by a slight time skip*

*Shop bells ring*

Shin: Heeh. So this kind of design is popular now.

Yui: (Shin-kun has been absorbed in the accessories for awhile now.)

(It's nice to see Shin-kun having fun but, ... ... I'm feeling a little lonely, I guess.)

Hey, Shin-kun. Did you find something you like?

Shin: More or less. There were various ones after all.

Hey, look at this! They're earrings in the shape of nuts! How interesting.

Yui: You're right, how unusual!

(After all, Shin-kun loves nuts.)

Shin: Then, these ones are in the shape of fangs. Nice.

Fangs can also be used as talismans. In particular, the wolf's fangs are said to ward off evil spirits.

Yui: Heeh, I didn't know that. Is that so.

(Shin-kun has real fangs, so his are much stronger.)

Shin: Originally, accessories like these are stronger as talismans than as decorations.

Yui: You know alot huh? Shin-kun, do you also like accessories?

Shin: Of course. Just looking at them is tons of fun.

Yui: What kinds do you like?

Shin: Hmmmm. Let's see ... ...

I especially like things that sparkle I guess.

Yui: Now that you mention it, you've been picking up nothing but sparkling things since a while ago.

Shin: They just really attract me. They're so eye-catching.

Yui: Maybe I have something in common with you Shin-kun.

(It's like he's a dog that will suck something glittering into its mouth ... ... How cute.)

Heheh.

Shin: Hold up, what are you laughing at? You weren't thinking of something rude just now were you?

Yui: Nope! I wasn't, not at all!

Shin: Hah ... ... I wonder about that. Well whatever. More than that, it's boring if I'm only choosing ... ...

Yui: ... ... ?

Shin: I'll choose something perfect for you.

Yui: Really? Shin-kun will pick something out for me?

Shin: Yep.

Even with this, I sometimes choose accessories for my brother.

Yui: Eh! For Carla-san!?

Shin: Yep. Something flashy and rugged that is suitable for the Founder King. Well, I ended up being turned down for no reason in the end though.

Yui: (I-is that so ... ...)

Shin: But, I'm pretty confident in my sense of style.

So, it's perfectly fine if you leave it to me.

Yui: (I don't think it's okay if he were to hear what you just said though ... ...)

(What if he chooses a very flashy accessory? It surely won't be suitable ... ...)

Shin: You're making such an uneasy face. You really are too easy to read.

Yui: (Ah ... ... I let my uneasiness show on my face.)

Shin: Don't worry so much, I'll find something that suits you perfectly.

Or is it that you don't trust me?

Yui: That's not it at all!

Shin: Then it's fine.

Yui: ... ... Yeah. Well then, may I ask to leave it up to you?

Shin: Yes, it's been decided!

Let's see ... ... For now, what do you think of this choker?

Yui: Wow ... ...

(It's much cuter than I thought it'd be. It's not too flashy either.)

(The hydrangea-colored cloth is bordered with lace, and the top has pearls like morning dew!)

Shin: You do like this sort of thing don't you?

Yui: Yeah! I like it! It fits my taste perfectly! You know me well.

Shin: Well yeah, it's not like we aren't dating or anything so.

Yui: ... ... Th-that's true.

(... ... I'm more happy than I expected I'd be that he was thinking about what I like.)

Shin: There's still plenty of things to try and match? Here, this is next.

Take a look at this necklace.

Yui: Wow ... ... ! This is cute too!

(This time, the motif is a small lily of the valley flower. It has such a small and cute feel to it.)

Shin: Look, this hairpin and the design are the same!

Yui: Wearing them together would be really fashionable.

Shin: Right?

*He comes closer*

Shin: I'm putting it in your hair.

Yui: ... ... Ah.

(Ah, he's touching my hair ... ...

... ... It tickles ... ...)

Shin: Then I'll put the necklace on and try matching it.

Yui: Ah ... ...

Shin: Hey now, don't move, you have to stay still.

Yui: (Just thinking about Shin-kun putting it in my hair and putting the necklace around my neck makes me sensitive to his touch.)

Shin: There. They're both cute.

*He backs up*

Yui: Th-thank you ... ...

(I'm happy that he put these on me, but my heart is really pounding ... ...)

(Shin-kun's face, it's so close ... ...

When I saw the reflection in the mirror, it looked as if our cheeks were almost stuck together.)

(To where even my own sigh would hit my cheek.)

Shin: Hey, how about something like this for a change?

Yui: These are, earrings with wolf motifs?

(Wow ... ... The earrings is just like a wolf's face.)

(Wearing a crown of roses, it's kind of cool ... ...)

(Besides, this wolf has the same fur color as Shin-kun, it's kind of embarrassing because I feel like I'm looking at him in a way ... ...)

Shin: Did you not like those?

Yui: Eh, ah! Not at all! I just thought that they were too cool ... ...

*He comes closer*

Shin: What? Have you fallen even more in love with me?

Yui: ... ... Ah! G-geez! Shin-kun ... ... !

Shin: Eheheh ... ... Your face is red!

Well, you're so cute when you get like that.

Here, I'll put them on for you so stay still.

Yui: (Ah ... ... Again ... ... !)

(Shin-kun's fingertips are touching my ear and it tickles ... ...)

... ... Nnn.

(Oh no, I let a weird voice out ... ... !)

Shin: I said not to move.

Yui: ... ... R-right.

(Even if he tells me not to move ... ...)

... ... ah.

(If you touch me like that, on the contrary, I will end up unconsciously letting my voice out ... ...)

(His fingertips are moving back and forth around my ears many times ... ...)

Shin: Eheheh ... ... Which angle is the best I wonder~, I can't decide~

Yui: ... ... Shin-kun ... ... Again ... ...?

Shin: ... ... Hm? What? You can't wait? But, I want to put the prettiest on you after all.

Yui: (Ah, there he goes again ... ... He stroked behind my ear. Even if I endure it, my shoulders start to sway a little ... ...)

Shin: Ehehe. What's wrong? You're swaying. You have to stay still.

Yui: That's because ... ... ! Isn't Shin-kun tickling me on purpose?

Shin: What are you talking about? I'm not. I'm amazed, have you been thinking that I was doing that for a while now?

Yui: (No way ... ... ! He was definitely touching me on purpose and enjoying my reaction.)

(I want him to put it on quickly and finish!)

*He backs away*

Shin: All done. Here, take a look in the mirror.

Yui: (Haah ... ... My heart was pounding ... ...)

... ... Wh-what do you think?

Shin: ... ... *gasps* !

Yui: (... ... ?)

*He blushes*

Shin: N-nothing. It's nothing. Well, it does suit you well, doesn't it?

Yui: Really? Thank you ... ! I'm so happy ... ... !

Shin: What's with that shy face ... ...

Yui: (Unexpectedly it matches my hair color amazingly!)

This one is my favorite.

Shin: Ah ... ... ... ...

Yui: ... ... ?

(Somehow, from looking through the mirror I can tell that the atmosphere around Shin-kun has changed--)

(I wonder what happened? Besides, things may have even become a little ... ... strange.)

Yui: Shin-kun?

*He comes closer and blows in her ear*

Shin: ... ... Fuu *blows*

Yui: ... ... Ah!

(J-j-just now, he blew into my ear ... ... !)

Shin: ... ... Nnn *kiss*

Yui: Ah ... ...

(What's wrong, why is Shin-kun suddenly like this ... ... Nn.)

Shin: I've been holding back since a while ago, but now that I put them on I'm already at my limit.

Yui: ... ... Wh-why is that?

Shin: 'Cause those earrings make it look as if I was the one biting you.

Yui: Eh, a-as if you were the one biting me ... ...

(C-could it be, that it's like ... ... When he sucks my blood?)

Shin: Hey, you know it don't you?

What it is, that I want to do right now?

*He bites her ear*

Shin: Ah ... ... Nnn ... ... , Nnn ... ...

Yui: (Ah ... ... He's sucking ... ... From my earlobe ... ... !)

*Continues to bite her and blushes*

Shin: Nnnn ... ... , Haah ... ...

Yui: Sh-Shin-kun ... ... ! Wait!

Shin: *Sucks* Nnn ... ... Haa? Why?

Yui: Really ... ... Ah ... ... Wait!

Shin-kun ... ... ! Because we're in a shop after all ... ... !

Shin: Well then, keep your voice down so that the store clerk won't notice.

Yui: Th-there's no way I can do that ... ... !

Shin: It's fine. Because the face you make when holding back, is really cute.

Yui: But ... ... !

(Does he really want to suck my blood here!?)

Please Shin-kun ... ... Can we at least wait do it until we get home?

Shin: No can do, I can't stand it. It's your fault for luring me in with that sweet voice.

Yui: Such a thing ... ... Nnn.

*Bites*

Shin: Nnn ... ... See, even now.

Yui: ... ... Ngh.

(If he asks me like this, I can't refuse ... ...)

Shin: Do you not like being sucked by me?

Yui: That's not it at all!

Shin: Then it's fine after all.

Yui: But if it's in a shop I said it's no good ... ... ! Look, the people around us are watching!

Shin: Then let them look. Let everyone know how cute of a voice you can let out.

Even though you really get aroused from being seen. Why don't you just be honest with yourself and be happy about it?

Yui: (It shouldn't be like this way ... ... But when Shin-kun says that, I feel happy ... ...)

Yui: (However ... ... This situation is troubling to me ... ... I just don't know what to do anymore ... ... !)

-END-

#diabolik lovers #diabolik lovers translations #shin tsukinami #chaos lineage #dialovers #heaven story #heaven scenario #yui komori

[everygame]

Atlantis No Nazo

Developed/Published by: Sunsoft Released: 17/04/1986 Completed: 01/02/2024 Completion: Finished it via the quickest route.

Everything changed for gaming in September 1985 with the release of Super Mario Bros. in Japan. The design hegemony of Xevious and The Tower of Druaga was no longer the only game in town, and now Japanese designers needed to do more than just make power-ups invisible or hide progression behind obscure actions (though they’ll still do that, even Nintendo just have.)

But Super Mario Bros., what’s the key feature that you can rip off to make sure your game is a success? Is it tight action? No, not that, I mean the original Super Mario Bros. isn’t that tight. Oh, I’ve got it!

It’s warps. Warp zones. Get as many of those in your game as possible and you’re sorted.

I joke, but this does seem to have been the mindset of Japanese game designers as soon as they were tasked with making the “next Super Mario Bros.” with 1986 seeing releases like Atlantis No Nazo, Mighty Bomb Jack, Milon’s Secret Castle and more, all of which make warping around a key feature. What’s interesting is how little research into warp zones as a game feature exists online. Being able to “skip” levels has existed since Atari’s “SkillStep” system with Tempest–does that count as a warp, or does a warp need to be found during gameplay? With what I have to hand here I seem forced to conclude that Super Mario Bros. was actually the first to do it–but I’m not sure if I’m fully convinced.

Anyway, hot out the gates in spring 1986 Sunsoft release (in their own words) “The Game That Surpassed Super Mario” Atlantis No Nazo, which translates as “The Mystery of Atlantis.” (Lotta mystery in April ‘86, I guess.) Featuring 100 levels that are explicitly called “zones” the player takes the role of Wynn, an amateur adventurer/casino developer (I assume) who heads to rescue his missing master from the recently re-emerged island of Atlantis with nothing but an infinite supply of dynamite that causes tiny, crappy explosions (slowly) and a weird floaty jump with next to no air control.

The first thing you’re going to notice about Atlantis No Nazo is it… well, it’s immediately crappy. The controls aren’t great, the graphics are weak even for the era (and never, at any point, feel “Atlantean”) and the level design has you bumping your head off the ceiling from literally the second level. I mean the second level–sorry, zone–is so immediately bad I wasn’t sure it was possible to complete–a monotonous trudge through what seems to be a loop of the same area avoiding snails that take an age to kill. When I finally saw that there is a door in it to the next zone, I was almost surprised.

The second thing you learn about Atlantis No Nazo is that unlike Super Mario Bros. you can’t just play it beginning to end. You quickly begin warping around, and if you’re just trying to beat it by playing as much of it as possible, to enjoy all that lovely ~content~ you are not playing it correctly at all. The goal of Atlantis No Nazo is to play as little of it as possible. You’re trying to find the most efficient way to the end of the game by learning which door gets you where and hoping each time it’s “really far through the game.”

The lessons of The Tower of Druaga remain vital here, because the quickest way through the game is to find all the hidden warps and doors. Throw yourself into the right pit? That’s a warp. Throw a bomb at the right place? That’s a warp. Kill yourself in the right position? You better believe that’s a warp.

Something like The Tower of Druaga has a kind of predictability, admittedly. You have to chew through the entire thing in order, so you know at X level, you need to do Y stupid thing. With Atlantis No Nazo… I almost pity the people who had to map this out, seven lives and no continues at a time. With a hundred levels and countless warps back and forward, any map of the game is a hilarious spaghetti, and there are so many amusingly cruel twists, like levels with no light (so you need to make sure you hit a level where you can get a lamp power-up from first) and levels that just throw you unavoidably to your death over and over–which I really want to believe are inspired by Jet Set Willy’s “Entrance to Hades” but probably aren’t.

As with The Tower of Druaga, I can’t really imagine anyone trying to brute force this game on their own, not least because the final level seems basically impossible without an invincibility power-up that requires you get to the end in one life. I’m sure at the time everyone just bought a guidebook, and once you have one to hand the game goes from “baffling spaghetti” to “execute your plan perfectly.”

The funny thing is, I had quite a bit of fun trying to do that. Don’t get me wrong. The controls are bad. But I became interested in trying to get the “smart bomb” power-up which requires playing level 2 literally perfectly, and I got into it. Of course, I found it hard because I hadn’t realised you could run past the snails when they were under their shells, but I still enjoyed the challenge, and then using that practice to get to the end of the game in one life via the path that takes less than ten levels… it was like signing up for one of those courses where you get to be a racecar driver for a day, but it’s actually a “be a speedrunner for a day” course. You’re never actually going to be a speedrunner, but it feels like you are, for a bit.

So, you know, I enjoyed Atlantis No Nazo once I “got” what you’re supposed to do with it (learn how to play it and then follow a guide book). I don’t think that’s actually… good, but it’s something!

Will I ever play it again? If this was an arcade game, now I know the path I’d definitely try and do it to show off. At home, I’m good.

Final Thought: Atlantis No Nazo is legendary enough to be the challenge in the first “real” episode of Game Center CX, and it was rather pleasant to give the episode a rewatch after finishing the game. You really shouldn’t bother playing this, but you should watch the episode, if you can find it!

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