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hina-the-toaster · 10 months

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Nil Admirari No Tenbin -Teito Genwaku Kitan- (Common Route - Chapter 1)

Hiii! This is my first time sharing translations and they're probably not the best that one could do since my Japanese is very lacking. But I really love this game and noticed that no other translations had been posted in years. I'm just doing this so others can enjoy the game easier but if anyone has a problem with me sharing these or has suggestions, please let me know :D

I'm doing this in my free time and as of posting, I'm still working on chapter 3 of the common route. As such, it may be a while before you get another translation. Anyways I hope this is helpful and I'll be back with another translation hopefully soon. Please support the original game to bask in the glory of Satoi's amazing art (〃＾▽＾〃)

A few things before:

The green text is what I think to be the right choice to stay on a good ending.

I translated the dialogue after both selections and if the rest is the same dialogue, this symbol (❊) indicates the start of repeated dialogue.

I put Kuze as the protag's name for translation bc that's her given name. This would be different if you changed her name.

TW! This game contains elements that may be uncomfortable so please proceed with caution

~Chapter 1~ Midnight Visitor~

Kuze: (...Hitaki? I’m so glad, he’s fine)

When I tried to run to him, he ran away

Hitaki: “Why didn’t you say anything? You were hiding it”

Kuze: “Wait…no…”

Hitaki: “Sister doesn’t like me. That’s why… you’re so mean to me”

Kuze: “What are you talking about!? You’re wrong!”

Hitaki: “I hate you sister! I won’t believe you anymore!”

Kuze: “Hitaki!!”

Keizaburou: My lady! Are you alright!?

There was a familiar voice, and a large gentle hand. I blinked several times, while being supported by Gramps

Kuze: “...Gramps? Don’t tell me, I fell asleep? I had such an awful dream…”

Kuze: “Hitaki…”

I’m too afraid to say it, I bite my lip.

But- The first thing to reach my ears, were words of affirmation.

Keizaburou: “…Unfortunately, it’s not a dream.”

Kuze: “It’s not… a dream…?”

Keizaburou: “Please calm down, My lady. Hitaki was just taken to the Teito University Hospital

Kuze: “Eh…!”

Keizaburou: “Luckily, there are no life threatening injuries. Just burns…”

Kuze: “Lies!!”

Kuze: “You’re lying! That child… Hitaki, doing that kind of thing…!”

Keizaburou: “My deepest apologies. It’s not… a lie”

I felt like I was going to cry at any moment, my body stiffened when I heard that voice and expression

Keizaburou: “If it was a lie… How good that would’ve been”

Kuze: “Gramps”

Keizaburou: “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I was there and yet… Young Master Hitaki…

Keizaburou: “I don’t know where to begin apologizing… If something could replace Hitaki-sama’s pain, then I’d like you to give it to me in place of him…”

Kuze: “That’s…”

My head is spinning. I still feel like I’m having a bad dream, I don’t even know what to think

Keizaburou: “Why… Hitaki-sama like that…

Keizaburou’s words made my eyes go dark

Kuze: “...Gramps”

Kuze: “Perhaps… it’s my fault?”

Keizaburou: “My lady?! That’s not true!”

Kuze: “But, he… he said he hated me…”

The corners of my eyes get hot and I can’t breathe properly.

Kuze: “I don’t want to think that either. But other than that, I can’t think of any other reason as to why he would try to commit suicide.

Keizaburou: “Th- That’s…”

Kuze: “My grades have always been excellent, and in my lessons… I was praised by the teachers…”

Kuze: “Or are you worried about something that we don’t know about?”

If so, I couldn’t wipe away the shamelessness from being noticed

Kuze: “I… What should I do?”

It was when tears were about to overflow and I closed my eyes tightly.

Maid: “My lady, I’m terribly sorry to disturb you at this hour, um… you have a guest.”

Keizaburou and I immediately look at the clock in the room

It’s already 1:00 AM. Not normal for a visitor to come at this time.

Keizaburou: “You fool! Don’t let guests through at this hour! My lady is very tired…”

Maid: “Th-that’s… They said they were sent by Nabari Yutaka…”

Kuze: “...Nabari Yutaka?”

Yutaka used to live in this house as a student

Kuze: (If I’m not mistaken, he must be working at a library or book facility…)

Keizaburou: “I don’t want to doubt you, but are you sure of their identity? It’s not the time to visit someone’s house.”

Maid: “It doesn't seem like it’s the police, but they said they wanted to talk about Hitaki-sama as soon as possible.”

Keizaburou and I look at each other in shock.

Kuze: “About Hitaki…? What kind of relationship do they have with Yutaka…?”

Keizaburou: “I have no idea…”

Maid: “What would you like me to do? It might be better for me to send them back after all…”

Keizaburou: “Ah, no. Let’s listen to what they have to say. For the time being, please show them to the reception room.”

Maid: “Understood.”

After the servant leaves, Gramps lets out a big sigh.

Keizaburou: “...Anyways, I should go listen to them”

Kuze: “Wait, I’m going too”

Keizaburou: “You shouldn’t, my lady must be tired.

Kuze: “It’s okay now. And now that there’s no Hitaki or Father, I should be the one to welcome guests”

Keizaburou: “Th-that’s true but…”

Kuze: “It has something to do with Hitaki, right?”

Kuze: “I’m alright. Let’s go.”

Then, when I went to the reception room with Gramps, what caught my eye was–

???: “Ah, I’m sorry we came at such a late hour.”

???: “...Hello”

The uniform was unfamiliar. It’s different from the police, but he has something like a cane on his waist

He looks a little older than me, but he looks like he’s still a student.

Keizaburou: “Ah, um? Who are you? I don’t think you’re from the police?”

Hayato: “Oh, my apologies for the delay. My name is Hayato Ozaki. I’m from the Imperial Library Information Asset.”

Akira: “...Of the same, I’m Akira Kougami.”

–

Kuze: “The Imperial… Library…?”

Kuze: “Oh, umm… I’m sorry, but what kind of job is that? What does it have to do with Hitaki…?”

Hayato: “Tsugumi-san, was it?”

Kuze: “!?”

Suddenly my name was called, and I reflexively backed away.

Even though the situation was serious, it was my first time that a man close to my age had called my name face-to-face, and I was filled with shame.

Kuze: “My name… why”

Hatato: “I asked Nabari-san”

Kuze: “Ah… ah, that’s right… I’m sorry”

Hayato: “It’s alright, you don’t have to be so nervous. We didn’t come to arrest you, nor did we come to harm you.”

Hayato: “I just have to explain a few things, so if you would give me your time.”

Hayato: “I know it’s disrespectful at a time like this, but every minute counts”

His expression and voice are both serious

Kuze: “What… is that…?”

Hayato: “I promise you that we are not suspicious people. Just in case, this is the national seal” *

*Seal picture* They both pulled out their notebooks from their pockets. A feather-like crest on navy blue leather

When I turned it over further, I found their names, the organization name, and what seems to be their addresses in detail.

Hayato: “However, I don’t think there are many people who have seen this sign itself, so the credibility is a bit lacking.”

Gramps and I look at each other again.

Kuze: (He says he’s an acquaintance of Yutaka and his identity seems to be certain, so it might be a good idea to ask him about it.)

Kuze: “...I understand. Please take a seat.”

Kuze: “Gramps, please bring a cup of tea for the guests.”

Keizaburou: “Of course, my lady.

Kuze: “That being said, I’m nervous…”

Even though I’m here on behalf of the head of the family, to be in the same place with two men who aren’t my family at a late night like this.

If an etiquette teacher at the all girls’ school found out, I would be severely punished.

I really wanted to talk about Hitaki, but I couldn’t say a word until the tea was served.

Hayato: “Um, are we that scary?”

Kuze: “Eh!?”

Hayato: “You been looked down as to not make eye contact for awhile now”

Kuze: “Oh no! I didn’t mean to do that…”

Akira: “Hey Hayato, if you just had an accident with your brother, you wouldn’t be able to talk brightly, would you?”

Hayato: “...Yeah, you’re right”

Hayato lowered his head

Hayato: “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I got a little too impatient”

Kuze: “No, it’s okay.”

Kuze: (That’s right, it’s not time to be nervous. I have to be firm.)

Kuze: “Um… Ozaki-san and Kougami-san, are you friends of Yutaka-san?”

This time, it was their turn to look at each other

Akira: “An acquaintance, he’s a colleague. I’m working in the same workplace.”

Hayato: “Hey Akira, I’m beginning to feel like Nabari-san didn’t explain anything about his work at all.”

Akira: “Don’t worry about it”

Kuze: “Is that Nabari-san’s job? Some time ago, I heard that he was doing book research at some facility.”

Hayato: “Ah, this is no good. We’ll have to start from the beginning”

Kuze: “?”

Hayato: “Um, in other words, we and Nabari-san are part of an organization that manages book with intense emotions called “cursed books”

Kuze: “...eh”

Akira: “Hey, you’re gonna start from there? Isn’t it more confusing?”

Hayato: “I hate going about it in a roundabout way.”

Hayato: “This is”

*Book picture* Hayato puts a slightly old book on the table

Hayato: “This is a little old… a handwritten Japanese bound book. Recently, they have decreased considerably.”

I couldn’t see the connection to Hitaki at all, and unintentionally frowned.

Hayato: “You won’t believe it right away, but books like this have an impact on the people who read them.”

Kuze: “...Eh?”

Hayato: “We think that your brother-”

Kuze: Wait!? Is there a book?”

I suddenly remembered that Hitaki was holding a book.

Akira: “This phenomenon seems to have existed for a long time, but there are not too many old ones left because they were burned out of fear.”

Akira: “To put it simply, it’s like, ‘the strong feelings and thoughts of the person who wrote the book remain in the book’.”

Hayato: “It doesn’t seem to happen at all in printed books, so I think it’s important that it’s handwritten.”

They don’t look like they’re making fun of me.

However, everything I hear is unbelievable, and I can’t keep up with my thoughts.

Akira: “Hey, look at her face.”

Akira: “Maybe we’re not very good at explaining things. I should have brought Tokimiya-san after all.”

Hayato: “It can’t be helped! Tokimiya-san and Hisui are elsewhere!”

After shouting, he shrugged his shoulders slightly.

Hayato: “Hmmm, you still don’t believe me”

Kuze: “Well, that’s not the case…”

Hayato: “In any case, very strong human emotions permeate the book and affect the person who reads it.”

Kuze: “That’s… I understand…. Maybe”

Hayato: “I will keep explaining.”

Hayato: “We are in charge of finding those things. Nabari-san is a little different, but he studies them”

Kuze: “...I didn’t know…”

Akira: “I don’t think he was trying to hide it”

Akira: “Until recently, it was a relatively unspectacular job, so I think you thought that even if I explained it, it wouldn’t make sense.”

Kuze: “Until recently?”

Hayato: “As I said earlier, the current mainstream is already letterpress printing”

Kuze: “...Yes, you’re right.”

I suddenly remember the inside of the bookstore earlier in the day

Certainly, all the books lined up must have already been printed.

Hayato: “Major publishers have basically moved to letterpress Western bound books, and even small publishers hardly support handwritten books.”

Hayato: “Therefore, if it is a book that is handwritten and bound in Japanese style, it is probably from the old days that have survived.”

Hayato: “If it’s new, it’s either brought into bookstores in the form of a private publication.

Hayato: “Of course, you can imagine that it won’t be published in such a large quantity, right?”

Kuze: “...The one and only book in this world…”

Hayato: “That’s right. ‘Cursed books’ is a phenomenon confirmed only in such rare books”

Hayato: “However, incidents that are thought to be caused by cursed books have happened one after another.”

Kuze: “...Is that so?”

Hayato: “Actually, just today… there have been two cases”

Kuze: “!?”

Hayato: “Your younger brother… and one other person…”

Hayato: “Son of the current Prime Minister, Shozo Ukai tried to commit suicide”

Kuze: “Eh!?”

I cried out unintentionally

Akira: “Huh? Do you know each other by any chance?”

Kuze: “No… it’s not”

Kuze: “However, this afternoon, when I was waiting for my car when I was out shopping…”

That evening, Hayato and Akira looked at each other when I talked about the journalist-like men who passed by.

Akira: “Ohh, that’s right. There’s no doubt about the time.”

Kuze: “No way…”

Akira: “Sudden suicide on the same day, and your younger brother and the Prime Minister’s son are relatively close in age.”

Akira: “I thought it might have something to do with it, so I decided to visit you late at night and I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Akira: “Also, if your younger brother’s book was a cursed book, there’s a possibility that there will be new victims if we don’t collect it quickly.”

Kuze: “...Is that so”

Hayato: “For the time being, I’ll end the explanation here. I would like to check if the real thing remains after that”

Hayato: “What do you think? Was there a book by your brother’s side?”

Kuze: “...One”

Flames blaze brightly in my mind. Definitely he…

Kuze: “It’s just as Ozaki-san said. He… he had a book.”

Hayato: “Is that true!?”

Akira: “...Just as we thought”

Kuze: “...Could you wait a minute”

Kuze: “Actually… I’m embarrassed, but at that time, I immediately lost consciousness.”

Hayato: “That’s to be expected.”

Kuze: “Calling the doctor and cleaning were all arranged by the steward.”

–ring, ding~–

Keizaburou: “My lady, how are you?”

I shook the bell on the table lightly and Gramps came right away.

Kuze: “I’m sorry for calling you suddenly.”

Kuze: ‘You see, Hitaki was holding a book at that time.

Keizaburou: “A book? Ohh, come to think of it…”

Hayato: “!”

Akira: “...”

The expression on their faces shows even more anticipation. I took a deep breath and asked timidly.

Kuze: “Where is it?”

Keizaburou: “For the time being, I’ve left it in Hitaki-sama’s room, but it’s just a little burnt.”

Hayato: “It’s okay, that’s fine!”

Kuze: “Can you bring it now?”

After Gramps left, there was a strange silence in the room.

The expression on their faces is full of hope.

Kuze: (...How can that happen in a book…?)

But honestly, my heart is beating a little easier

I don’t want to think that it was my fault Hitaki was cornered like that.

Hayato: “Um, so as a continuation of what I said earlier”

Kuze: “Yes?”

Hayato: “Is it possible that your younger brother and the son of Prime Minister Ukai are acquaintances?”

Kuze: “...Acquaintances?”

Hayato: “I heard that the Prime Minister’s son is currently attending Teito University.”

Hayato: “Also, look… I wonder if there is a lot of interaction between nobles and politicians.”

Kuze: “Ah, my father would probably know about Prime Minister Ukai, but I don’t remember hearing anything like that from my brother.”

Kuze: “Of course, I don’t know all of his friendships, but if it’s someone like that, I think he would tell the family.”

Hayato: “You’re right”

Akira: “Well, Hayato, it might be a bad coincidence. It’s just a bad coincidence.”

-knock-

Keizaburou: “Thank you for waiting, My lady. Here is the book.”

After a while, Gramps came back. But the moment I saw that book in his hand-

Kuze: “Ahhh-!?”

I immediately crouched down to escape from the flames.

*Glowing book picture* The book is on fire.

Hayato: “Hey!?”

Akira: “!?”

Keizaburou: “My lady!?”

Kuze: “Gramps! The book… The book is on fire! Are you okay!?”

Keizaburou: “...Huh?”

Kuze: “...Eh?”

Gramps holding the book doesn’t look in pain at all, and the other two are looking at me suspiciously.

Kuze: “Gramps? Because that book, it’s on fire…”

I rubbed my eyes again. Without a doubt, the book in his hand is engulfed in bright vermillion flames.

Kuze: “...It’s not burning?”

The expressions of the three of them fuel my anxiety even more.

Kuze: (Is it just… me? What happened to me…?)

The book in Keizaburou’s hand continues to burn silently

Keizaburou: “My lady? Umm…”

Keizaburou’s caring gaze pierced through

Kuze: “I-I’m sorry… I really…”

Kuze: “Gramps, isn’t it hot? Can’t you see the flames?”

Keizaburou: “No, no, umm… My lady, I’m not lying.”

Kuze: “...What a lie… I…”

It was when I bit my lip in reluctance

Akira: “...Huh”

Akira: “Kuze-san, maybe you’re the same as Nabari-san”

Hayato: “Eh!?”

Akira: “No, it’s a bit of a coincidence, but it doesn’t look like she’s lying.”

Kuze: “Wha… Nabari-san and I are… the same?”

Hayato: “I see, I get it!”

Kuze: “Ah, umm… that means…”

Akira: “The book is not on fire. Please take a good look.”

Hearing Kougami-san’s words, I cautiously stare at the book again.

Kuze: “...It’s shining?”

The expression may actually be slightly different

Light of the same color as the flames oozes out from the book, giving it the appearance of burning.

Hayato: “I’m surprised. There is such a thing”

Akira: “Is Nabari-san a relative?”

Still unable to understand the intention of their words, I answered

Kuze: “No, it’s not like that. Just because he lived here as a student.

Akira: “The fact that you’re so surprised now means that you couldn’t see it before, right?”

I shook my head repeatedly

Kuze: “Both my brother and I love books, and we read them almost every day.”

Kuze: “But… I couldn’t see anything like this at all.”

Akira: “It’s only natural that you couldn’t see it”

Akira: “In the first place, cursed books themselves are extremely rare, and ordinary books don’t have that kind of aura.”

Kuze: “...Aura?”

Akira: “Oh, I’m sorry, that’s what we call the light that Kuze sees.”

Akira: “And that light is the intensity of the emotions that dwell in the book.”

Akira: “Although we can’t see it at all.”

Kuze: “...Is that so?”

Akira: “The only person here who can see auras is Nabari-san.”

---Aura. I timidly glanced at the book again. Its flames are shaking.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be a mistake

Kuze: “...I understand. But, why all of a sudden?”

Akira: “...”

Akira: “Trauma, probably…”

Kougami-san seemed to be at a loss for words, so he paused for a moment and looked at me.

Akira: “I wonder if it’s because of your brother’s incident.”

Kuze: “Eh!? Ah…that…?”

Akira: “Kuze-san, you were present at the scene of your brother’s incident, weren’t you?”

Kuze: “...Yes”

Akira: “If you had lost consciousness, I think you would have received a considerable mental shock. It is in such circumstances that one’s abilities may blossom.”

Kuze: “Uh, that kind of thing…”

Akira: “I have a colleague, he has a slightly different power than Kuze-san and Nabari-san.”

Akira: “He, too, was involved in an accident, and he said that from then on he was able to use his powers.”

It was just a book, and suddenly it was hard to believe.

But the book on the table certainly emits a mysterious light.

I take a sly look, even if they try to trick me, I can trust Gramps.

As far as I can see from Keizaburou’s reaction, I’m the only one who can see it.

Kuze: “...Huh? The… the other books in the house?”

Kuze: “...Um! Yes, I’m sorry! If it’s not too much trouble, could you come with me to the library!?”

Kuze: “I want to see if there are any other dangerous books like that there!”

Hayato: “Yes, of course.”

Hayato: “However, even if there are other books that appear to be on fire, do not open them all of a sudden.”

Kuze: “...Yes. I understand”

Hayato: “It seems like this is the only book that’s suspicious.”

Gramps, Ozaki-san, and I looked around the library, Hitaki’s room, and other places where we could find books

But I didn’t find any suspicious books.

Kuze: “Ah, I’m sorry… To think I’ve dragged you around for no reason…”

Hayato: “There’s no need to apologize, it was only right that we check. Besides, not all Japanese bound style books are cursed.”

Kuze: “That’s right…”

Hayato: “Thank you for your hard work and cooperation.”

Akira: “Hayato, this author… that’s an unfamiliar name, isn’t it? Is it a personal publication?”

Kougami-san said while looking at the book Hitaki was reading

Hayato: “I guess. But the book itself looks a little old, so it’s possible that it’s an author who didn’t sell well at the time. Let’s go back and look at the records a bit more.”

Akira: “Well either way, I’m glad no one else read it until now.”

Kuze: “...Oh, that’s”

I suddenly remembered how I was the one organizing the library

Kuze: “Actually, just recently, I started organizing the archives I mentioned earlier.”

Kuze: “...It’s my father’s bad habit”

“He likes books, so he buys whatever he can find, but we can’t seem to keep up with reading so we just put them in the library.”

Akira: “Ah, there are people who are satisfied just by buying things”

Kuze: “...Is that so”

Actually, there was another reason. I thought for a moment that there might be something in the archives and storehouses that could be exchanged for gold.

Kuze: “So, since it has increased quite a bit, I thought I’d organize it a bit…”

Kuze: “I kept the old ones in my room��

Kuze: “That… that kid…”

I regret it so much

Kuze: “If… I hadn’t carelessly left the book in my room…”

Hitaki would have escaped such a fate

Hayato: “...I see. I got the gist of it. As I explained earlier, handwritten Japanese-bound books are rare these days.”

Hayato: “From a personal collection… This isn’t the first time that a cursed book has been found in a place that the person has already forgotten about.”

Hayato: “So it’s wrong for you to blame yourself.”

Kuze: “...eh”

With a straight gaze, my body stiffened.

I feel relieved and at the same time sorry for making everyone worry

Kuze: “Thank you”

Hayato: “You’re welcome”

He smiled, and this time, embarrassment welled up.

My emotions are changing so fast, I can’t help but feel restless

Kuze: “Even so… It’s scary that you can do such a thing just by reading a book…”

Hayato: “That’s right. That’s why we’re desperately looking for suspicious books”

Hayato: “...”

Akira: “Hayato?”

Hayato: “...Kuze-san”

Kuze: “...Ozaki-san? Um, wha…”

After thinking for a while, Ozaki-san stares at me with a stern look

Hayato: “Um”

Kuze: “Yes?”

Hayato: “I apologize for the sudden request, but Kuze-san, would you like to become a member of Fukuro?

Kuze: “Eh!?”

Akira: “Hey!?”

Hayato: “Ah, Fukuro is something like a nickname we made for the Imperial Book Information Asset Management”

Hayato: “As I told you at the beginning, I’m still a national civil servant, and we have an apartment style dormitory in Sendagi”

Hayato: “The uniform is provided, and I think the salary is reasonable.”

Kuze: “Wait a minute, um…!?”

Hayato: “I want you.”

Kuze: “What!?”

Those sudden words made my fingertips heat up in an instant.

Kuze: “Wh-what are you saying…”

Hayato: “Ah! That’s not what I meant! It’s my fault!! What I want is your power!!”

Kuze “...Uh…”

Akira: “I’m very sorry, my colleague is too straightforward. In other words, we would like for Kuze-san to lend us the power to see that aura.”

Hayato: “Yes, that’s right! That power is really useful!”

Hayato: “Because books don’t move, talk or assert themselves, our job is to basically gather information and search for places where books can be found.”

Hayato: “But for us and the people at the bookstores, we at least can’t judge just based on appearances.”

Hayato: “Therefore, when a new handwritten Japanese bound book enters a bookstore, it is supposed to be brought back and checked by Nabari-san… Basically”

Hayato: “However, not all stores and people are cooperative, and there may be things that are hidden.”

Hayato: “Luckily, or rather unfortunately… If someone is affected, it’s possible for them to come to pick it up like tonight.”

Hayato: “That’s after the ‘victim’ has already appeared”

Kuze: “...”

Hayato: “There is a possibility that such a dangerous book is still buried somewhere”

Hayato: “But with that power, you can tell.”

Kuze: “Yes, that may be true…”

Akira: “I wonder, Kuze-san, did you know that Nabari-san has a weak heart?”

Kuze: “Eh? Yes… That’s what I’ve heard”

Akira: “So he can’t walk outside, go on long walks, or run.”

Hayato: “...I don’t think it’s hard work, but I should add that it’s basically a job where you’re outside all day…”

Kuze: “All day long…”

Hayato: “That’s why if Kuze-san joins Fukuro, I think the chances of finding cursed books will increase.”

Hayato: “It might be painful because of your brother’s incident. But if you join us as soon as possible, the number of victims might be reduced accordingly.”

Hayato: “Besides, it’s nice that you seem to like books. I wish I had love for books”

Kuze: “...”

Hayato: “What do you think? Would you like to join Fukuro?”

Kuze: “Oh, that…”

I knew too well that they weren’t making fun of me.

I also realize that this strange power might be useful.

But…

→ I think it is impossible

Kuze: Hm… I don’t think it’s possible, to be honest…”

When I came to my senses, I answered yes.

❊ (Repeated dialogue)

→ Give me time to think

After some thought, I replied

Kuze: “...I’m very sorry. Could you give me some time to think?”

❊ Hayato: “Kuze-san…”

Kuze: “It’s not that I don’t want to cooperate…”

Kuze: “I can see that you both are serious about your work.”

Kuze: “But… To be honest, I’m still confused about my brother…”

Hayato: “Well… That’s to be expected. I’m sorry…”

Hayato: “It’s not like I’m asking you to come now, or I’ll ask you to start tomorrow. I just thought that the sooner the better.”

Kuze: “...I understand. I will consider it.”

Hayato: “Thank you very much! Since we’re here, we will take care of the book from now on.”

Ozaki-san puts away the book

Hayato: “Thank you very much for your cooperation today.”

Akira: “Thank you very much for your cooperation today.”

The two deeply bowed their heads and left the reception room.

Kuze: “...Haaaa”

Looking at the clock with a sigh, the hands are already at 3:00 AM. Some people call it night, and some people call it morning. It’s that kind of time.

I sat at my desk and stared blankly out the window, reflecting on a day that was too surreal.

Fighting with Hitaki about my marriage.

Hitaki suddenly trying to commit suicide.

Furthermore, the cause seems to be a suspicious book.

And that- I was invited to the job of searching for those suspicious books…

Kuze: “Hitaki…”

If it’s true, I want to rush to the hospital right now to talk to him. However, they said that until his condition is stabilized, he would not be allowed to have visitors.

Kuze: “Such a strange power…”

Flashback Hayato: “It might be painful because of your brother’s incident. But if you join us as soon as possible, the number of victims might be reduced accordingly.”

I cast my eyes on the bookshelves in my room

I have several books bound in Japanese style, but none of them show a strange aura.

Kuze: “I don’t want anything to do with that…”

I could see their enthusiasm. I would also like to cooperate if possible.

But

If I close my eyes, the flames enveloping Hitaki emerge so vividly

Kuze: “...I don’t want to see it”

I fell hard onto the bed

(That's the end of chapter 1 of the common route!)

#nil admirari no tenbin #this is a really bad translation but it's something #this is my dedication to hayato #otome game #there's probably mistakes but I don't feel like dealing with them

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somewhereinthepines · 1 year

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same anon here;) (i hope i’m not bothering you) i was wondering and honestly can’t come up to any conclusion, so i wanna ask your opinion - why do you think Chris x Ryan is such a rare pair? especially considering the popularity of Travis x Laura ship. i mean if it was the age gap that is so disturbing, it would apply to them as well? it’s really puzzling to me. (i love both)

oh, no worries, you don’t bother me! i honestly, a pretty chatty person, so it’s not a problem for me to answer questions or just talk about things!

and well, what i will write below is a personal guess, which is as good as any. i might be wrong on a thing or two, and i suppose that all of these assumptions can be read as separate reasons for specific kinds of folks. but ah…let’s see.

i think, that the most possible reason is that we have very little in canon to go by. a lot of chris/ryan stuff is knit between the lines of the story vs being bluntly shown. in comparison, travis & laura have a lot of moments in canon, and you can influence their relationships. you can control, if travis will kill laura/re-capture her again or not. you can determine how good/bad their relationships are. and there is literally an ending, where travis continues keeping the gal in the basement, basically. with ryan and chris, there are dozens of hints, lil bits here and there, but so very little that you can actually conjure up, esp gameplay wise. so this might be the first why. lack of basic info/scenes, when it comes to mister h & ryan. and i’ve noticed, that many people don’t actually look past what is presented to them or just don’t get interested in certain tiny plot-pockets. everyone ‘read’ the story through their own prism, after all. that’s only fair…

then, there is a bit where dylan/ryan is prob the most popular ship in fandom. it’s so hella rare to see someone writing anything else for these characters, beside them being coupled together. and dylan is clearly a ‘whump’ of the fandom too, the ‘precious baby’, so he gets more stuff by default. like ryan doesn’t seem to get any ships beside, him being with dylan, and then occasionally with kaitlyn or laura. every other ship with him is stretched thin and in-between. meanwhile, dylan got paired with almost every male character in the game, at least once. so it says smth too, i guess. like where most people’s pref lies. or what appeals to them the most. kinda same thing happens with travis/laura, where travis automatically makes people want to investigate deeper into his narrative.

lastly, i suppose that yeah big age gap can turn some folks off. and it’s actually somehow more ‘alright’ with most people, when such a thing is portrayed between male and female. or even female and female. vs male/male. not sure why. but i’ve noticed it before. and to think about it, this can also be joined with the fact, that a lot of fellas have problems with picturing mentors & their protage (even tho they’re of legal age) relationships as smth, that won’t be based/established on manipulation/power struggles. but personally, i think, that it’s one of those things, that heavily depends on how a person even views these terms or a possible dynamics on main. how they translate the power struggle, and is it always black/white or not.

the quarry did a good job with giving ‘hints’ on certain aspects, but mostly never speaking them out loud. and it’s once again individual. for me the quarry is less of ‘the wolf would kill someone they love, bc they’re outta control’, but more like ‘the wolf loves you so uncontrollably. loves you so much, that they cannot help, but be so very deadly toward you’. in fiction, love is so very much fun, when it’s the extreme kind of one. but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

anyhow, this is like my top 3 main guesses on the topic. hopefully, this helped!

#asks #quarry #i cannot speak shortly #i just cannot haha

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imnotcameraready · 3 years

Text

more than beliefs (5: mother knows best)

A/N: still trying at this ! i still don't own any tables so honestly, writing has been kinda hard :') but i'm still up to a polished chapter 7 and know VERY well what is happening in chapter 8, so we're looking pretty good. i wrote all of chivalry chapter by chapter so.....hoping this goes well :'D

WARNINGS: manipulation, plotting a murder, paranoia description, blunt force trauma, assault, amnesia, blood, graphic description of violence — this chapter’s the first doozy! if i missed anything, please let me know!

Words: 4378

AO3 link!

enjoy!! <3

“Now, this might be a controversial opinion, but the second Little Mermaid movie is a top-tier Disney sequel,” the Director said, idly mixing a teaspoon around in his hot chocolate.

Roman scoffed. He was sitting on the Director’s couch, wrapped in a blanket while they watched 2005’s Just Like Heaven starring Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon. The Director had suggested they watch something from Disney, but while Roman loved the whole library of Disney movies lining his shelf, he couldn’t choose which one he wanted. To his surprise, the Director didn’t have a favorite, either. He’d said he was fond of the cookie-cutter damsel in distress narrative of older Disney stories, which Roman tried (and failed) to take offense to, but did agree that many modern movies like Big Hero 6 had interestingly complex and developed stories.

“I just prefer the expansion on oceanic lore. And I’m a sucker for a good parental storyline, when the former protag takes on the motherly role.” The Director took a sip of his coffee.

“And here I thought you weren’t one of my creative advisors,” Roman said with a smirk, crossing his arms upon his pillowy throne.

The Director scoffed, and as he rolled his eyes Roman could have sworn that he was blushing. Maybe he was embarrassed. “Just because I’m not David doesn’t mean I can’t have opinions on works of art,” he sounded dejected—Roman guessed that was fair. The Dragon and Damsel and Child, most obviously, had strong opinions on art yet no artistic inclinations.

It was still up in the air if the Thief did. It didn’t seem like he had many opinions on things that weren’t consequential to Roman’s direct safety, but he was very quiet. Roman didn’t rule out the possibility of the Thief just not wanting to share that information with him, which was….well. Unfortunate.

Roman wished he got to know his advisors better. Ever since they were separated from him, Roman feels like he’s been at the grinding stone with them all. The Thief had spent the whole wedding either swearing or screaming suggestions angrily, and when he wasn’t, he was comforting an incredibly distraught Bard. The Damsel and Playwright tried to help the most but... He had barely even seen the Artist outside of their creative sessions. He had barely seen the Dragon or Child, period.

The Director was an interesting one. Roman had everyone’s phone numbers, because, well, he wasn’t about to use carrier pigeons. Though that might be super cool to try one day. But the Director was just about the only advisor to casually reach out to him. He would send Roman memes. How did he even get memes? Roman and Remus had created an Imagination-version of the internet, so it was likely from their co-sponsored Imagination Tumblr or something. The Director putting in the effort and time to think of Roman during such small instances was what made Roman feel more comfortable here, though. That’s what made him trust the Director with these sorts of situations. Almost made them closer...

Was that selfish? To favor one part of oneself over others? Surely not. It was similar to recognizing flaws, or pimples and blemishes. Not to say any of the others were blemishes. Drats, even Roman’s internal monologue was demeaning to himself.

“Do you want any more coffee? I’m going to go refill,” the Director’s voice jolted Roman out of his stupor, and he looked up with wide eyes.

“No, I’m okay,” and after a small beat, he added, “Thank you again for housing me. I can’t imagine what Phillip would want to say after yesterday’s debacle.”

The Director scoffed. Roman snuggled into his blanket more, listening to the Director pour himself another mug and reply. “Anytime, Roman,” he chuckled, then put on one of the most outlandishly fake accents Roman’s ever heard. “I live to serve~”

“Sto-op,” Roman groaned, throwing his head back and shooting the Director a glare—well, glaring at the kitchen door. There were walls around all of the rooms here, unlike the Mind Palace.

The Director laughed even more when he returned, sitting on the couch with his legs crossed on the cushion. He held his mug in his hands for a few seconds before talking, tone much more sober.

“I do have to say. I’m surprised I was the one you came to.” The Director’s voice is a little more quiet. “I thought for sure you would have sought comfort with Cadence or Gavin before me.”

Roman blinks. “I guess….I didn’t want to be judged again.” He looked back down at his lap, at the blankets piled up there and his own coziness. “Every time I come back after an argument, or after making a fool of myself, it seems everyone has an opinion on how poorly I handled a situation. None of them really acknowledge….It must have been….”

He’d been a little confused about it, too. The trust issue.

“Janus has strung my emotions along enough for it to be fair that I don’t trust him,” Roman said, voice soft as he tried to put how he’d been feeling into words. “Right?”

That was as close an explanation as he could get to. Because it all boiled down to the trust issue, in his understanding of the situation. As much as Patton wanted him to let go of the situation, Patton was focusing on the mustache quip rather than the whole trust thing. Janus knew Roman had wanted to go to the callback. But Roman also wanted to be a good person, if that’s what Thomas wanted. Thomas wanted to be a good person so Roman also wanted to be a good person.

But when being a good person directly went against Thomas’ dreams, Janus stepped in. And sure, he argued that they weren’t supposed to be self-sacrificial, but wasn’t that a hero’s job? When did a hero ever get to keep anything before sacrificing everything? Isn’t that what made sense?

Janus didn’t even do a good job at explaining it, not until all the damage had already been done. This was different from just giving Roman the perfect set up for a theater display, this was Janus pretending that he wanted what Roman wanted. This was Janus pretending to be his friend but wanting Thomas to...be a bad person?

He didn’t understand. Maybe Patton was right. Maybe Roman just didn’t understand. And that’s what made his disgruntlement so confusing, because in his heart, Roman knew Janus was trying to help, he knew that, he understood. But then why did it hurt so much?

“Oh, honey, he’s gone way past that. Don’t gaslight yourself into thinking he’s been helpful,” Macbeth’s icy voice cut through the thoughts wrangling Roman’s mind.

The Director was so self-assured. It was comforting. He was sitting on the couch, arms crossed as he explained.

“And Patton, Logan, turning around just to say you should let it go and listen to him after he’s lied nine times out of ten?” the Director threw his head back and let out a sharp “Hah! No, your anger is rational. And defensible.”

“Why won’t any of the others agree with that?”

The Director starred at Roman for a minute. Just a little too long. His eyes seemed to press Roman into a corner, under a box. Scrutinized.

They both knew that “others” wasn’t a reference to the other Sides. The Director kept his distance from Roman’s other advisors, he knew that, but Roman didn’t know how far. The Director wasn’t the kind to just watch them, was he?

“They all have their opinions. About Disney and otherwise.” He took another drink of his coffee then shook his head, standing up, motioning for Roman to follow, “May I show you….something. Without you thinking I’m crazy?”

Now, that’s always a fairly worrying question to hear. “No, no, I trust you,” Roman said with a slight grin.

The Director must have been able to see how it waned, because he chuckled, smiled back. “I think we’re all a little zany. But that’s the charm. Phillip is undoubtedly the scariest, as much as Draco tries. The Prince, Damsel, whichever you want, has a noticeable villain complex.”

Wait, what?

The Director raised his hands in mock defeat. Showing his hands, like he were trying to assure Roman that he wasn’t being suspicious. But the hairs on Roman’s neck rose. He led Roman to the door just besides Roman’s room. When he first started visiting the Director, he explained that this was his study. Roman had never gone in. Because, you know, when you respect someone you also respect their privacy.

“I’ve only ever spoken to Marlowe, but, you know. I’m the Director of players I can never meet. I had to take notes,” he added the final part quietly.

He glanced over the combination button pad on the door. Roman hadn’t noticed that. What room would require a combination lock? And who would be….Was it to keep him out? Or someone else? Maybe the Playwright, the Director mentioned he’d been over before. Keep anyone out, it seemed.

“I….notes?” he was flabbergasted. What the fuck was happening?

“Yeah.” The Director opened the door slowly and motioned for Roman to follow.

Inside were papers. One wall was a large tackboard, photos and sticky notes and papers pinned up, connected with lines of colored yarn. Roman felt his mouth fall open as he inspected it. There were notes on all of his advisors, all seven of the others, even some of people Roman didn’t know. There was someone with four eyes. Someone with antlers. Who were they? How did this all fit together?

Why in Athena’s name did the Director have corkboard notes on the other advisors? That was a lot more than a little weird.

“I...You’re wonderful, Roman. So productive and pristine and princely, as you deserve to be. But there are some areas where you can stand to improve.” Roman was probably only processing some of the Director’s words as he rolled up his sleeves and pulled out a metal stick, one that looked oddly like a wand.

He held it in one hand, and suddenly it extended, until it was a pointer. The Director held both ends of it and watched Roman for a reaction, a response, something.

“I would have to agree,” Roman stumbled over his words a little, eyes still glued to the notes—there were some by the Child that read ‘Naive/Trusting/Problem?’—before he slowly turned back to the Director with a weak grin once again. “I mean, I might be pristinely princely, but those P alliterations don’t include perfect. No one’s perfect.”

“It may be an unattainable dream, but we’re well familiar with those. We can only strive for improvement! And when improving you and yourself, that means making changes to them,” the Director gestured up at the wall of photos, of the parts of Roman’s self, and smacked the Child’s photo with his pointer. “I actually only thought I would be reading these notes, so forgive me for any, er. Sharp language.”

Roman knew that self-improvement meant adopting new mindsets, but he had no idea that putting parts of himself into characters involved changing them as well, though it did make sense. Self-insert characters had to change if you were changing the self that was being inserted. Right?

If he wanted to improve….it made sense. He had to change himself, including the facets of himself.

“That’s fair,” Roman murmured, “Okay. These….You could take these notes to the other advisors. Surely they’d accept it?”

“At this point, I don’t know who would kill me faster,” the Director scoffed, then gestured at the Damsel’s notes, a cluster of sticky notes and drawings and photos of the Damsel at a well enough distance that it was closer to stalker-ish. “Phillip wouldn’t want competition. Marlowe agrees that he can be quite standoffish when threatened, and a newcomer claiming to be one of Roman’s advisors? Someone who doesn’t have his respect in a royal manner?”

The Director pointed to the Thief now, a even more grave expression adorning his face. “And Eric. Tell me you think he would accept a newcomer of any kind. Just tell me. Especially near Gavin. And the Child himself probably wouldn’t like me.”

Well, that sounded off. Roman leaned on the wall besides the door, back against his hands as he continued to inspect the wall. There were notes on the other advisors’ behaviors, their antics.

For some reason, Roman could almost imagine Janus or Logan doing this. It was something close to weird and something else close to endearing. Was that weird?

“Why not? Gavin’s pretty trusting.” Roman didn’t look away from the wall as he replied.

“In fairness, he might like me, but I don’t know if I could ever come around to liking him. He’s the root source of all our issues, especially our present issue with Janus, Patton, Logan. Even past issues with Remus, if I’m remembering them properly. What Gavin represents allows us to be easily swayed.”

That got Roman to look away, look down at the Director. He was glaring up at the Child’s photo with something fierce, which startled Roman enough. I mean, that was a whole child there. What would inspire this much hatred?

“Really now?” Roman wanted to know.

“He gets us to let our guard down. It’s at Gavin’s behest we take chances, but it’s that same honesty that leads us to broken promises, taking in lies like they’re candy. I don’t know what I would do with him,” the Director sounded disappointed.

That was a fair analysis. All of the advisors—the Playwright, the Thief, the Child, Bard, Artist, Dragon, Damsel, Director—they all represented different parts of Roman, similar to how the Sides represented parts of Thomas. In theory, they worked together. In practice, that was far from the truth, but Roman knew for his sake that they were trying their best.

They all oversaw different parts of Roman’s psyche, too. The Playwright, for example, was most similar to Logan in that he represented Roman’s research and organization, on a creative and egotistical level. The Playwright—Marlowe—could be trusted with knowing how many liters of blood were in the human body as well as every one of the Sides’ favorite karaoke songs, even the exact time and date they met Nico.

The Child was Roman’s belief, his ability to dream. It was fair to assume that that made him the most naïve part. Perhaps it was even a fair conclusion that the debacles with Janus were caused by what the Child represented.

Roman hadn’t thought of it like that. The last time he’d talked to the Child, Gavin, about the situation, he had seem incredibly disappointed.

He’d never stopped to ask what the Child was disappointed in, though. Was he disappointed in Roman? Or in himself? Did the Child know he was the one who had pushed Roman to trust Janus? Did….There was no way that this was….the Child’s fault. Was it?

“Huh.” Roman’s voice echoed emptily to himself. A pit opened in his stomach, something difficult to grasp. The root cause of his burdens couldn’t be his ability to dream. His dreams themselves, his hopes, his beliefs. He….he was the daydreamer, the creator. That couldn’t be a flaw, could it?

The Director watched him, but Roman hardly noticed. It was only for a few seconds, too, of stoic silence before the Director interrupted his thoughts with a huff, looked across the board. “This is quite a bit of insight at once. Maybe we should finish the movie.”

“Director?”

Roman and the Director both turned to the open doorway, the later slapping a hand over his own mouth immediately. With a flick of his wrist, the door closed quietly, clicking just loud enough for the both of them to hear. They also heard the Playwright in the living room, footsteps echoing faintly on the stone floor.

“Director?” the Playwright called out again.

“Fuck,” the Director whispered. This must have been an unplanned visit.

“What? We can just go out and say hello,” Roman said back, though his demeanor and body language spoke of worry, almost fear.

The Playwright was well known to be a pacifist. And the Playwright knew about the Director, knew about Roman knowing the Director. He was a little surprised to find that the Playwright didn’t know the Director’s name was Macbeth, but Roman knew the Director to be a man of secrets.

“He doesn’t know I….He doesn’t know you’re here. He barely knows we talk,” the Director looked around the room and pressed a hand to one of the walls, “Fuck. How are we going to get him out?”

The rock beneath the Director’s hand morphs into a doorway and he opens it. The Playwright was standing in the living room, close to the front door to the home. He looked up at them both, eyes widening when he met Roman’s. Before Roman could say anything, even think of something to say, the Playwright spoke with ease.

“Roman’s here? Thank goodness. Virgil’s come looking for him,” he gave Roman a small smile, strained but caring all the same.

“Ah.” Roman stiffened. Virgil came looking for him? In the Imagination? Why? How? He didn’t have his own passage into this space yet, how’d he get here?

He didn’t want to talk to Virgil. As supportive as he’d been, especially when it came to taking care of Thomas, there were still some areas where Roman wanted to be alone, wanted to process his thoughts alone. Virgil was...vindictive. Which was a strong word to use, but an apt one. Virgil’s distaste in Janus made it hard for Roman to form his own thoughts, which was why he often tried away from Virgil as much as Patton.

He wasn’t ready for that kind of confrontation, and the Director must have been able to tell, because he physically looked like he didn’t want Roman to go.

“I actually didn’t expect to find you here, though I’m not entirely surprised,” the Playwright must not have been privy to these feelings, glancing between the Director and Roman, shock still gracing his features.

“Really now,” the Director said, tilting his head, “Why not?”

“I just didn’t know Roman had met you, but of course, even I’m not as omniscient as Creativity himself,” the Playwright stepped closer, reaching toward Roman. “You have to come up, though. Virgil said everyone’s worried.”

Roman starred at the Playwright’s hand, unsure of what to do with the gesture. He knew everyone would be worried, on a baseline. Closed doors didn’t do well around the Mind Palace, especially his, especially after his splitting incident, but that didn’t mean he had to cater to everyone else’s worry. He was allowed privacy.

Before he formulated a response, though, the Director placed a hand in front of Roman. His smile toward the Playwright turned sour, lips pursed in a mix of thought and anger.

“He doesn’t have to go see Virgil if he doesn’t want to.” Roman felt some of the tension in his shoulder alleviate at the Director’s statement, as basic as it was.

The Playwright, on the other hand, didn’t seem to understand. He looked between Roman and the Director again, surprised even further by how familiar they seemed. There had been a fair amount of transparency in Roman’s relationships with all of the other advisors that there must be some dissonance to see him be so familiar with someone he hadn’t even expected Roman to know. Something about that surprise, the bait and switch, the lie, felt fulfilling.

“It wouldn’t be difficult to alleviate Virgil’s worried and tell him to leave again,” the Playwright explained slowly. “I’m sure, if Roman told him he wanted privacy, he would understand.”

“I’m sure, if Virgil could understand that, then he wouldn’t have tread where he shouldn’t. You can’t make him do anything.” The Director’s voice grew darker, hand unwavering.

“Make him?” the Playwright sounded so confused.

Roman was also confused where the Director’s notion came from, but it was validating to hear reminders that Roman’s decisions were his to make. But nothing in the Playwright’s tone was forceful.

For a moment, it seemed as though the Playwright would drop his confusion.

Until he took a step forward, toward the Director and Roman, with one hand outstretched. Roman didn’t know what he’d been planning, but he knew the Playwright wasn’t a sporadic man. He hated adding physicality to situations where debate and discussion could suffice. So, in hindsight, it was likely the Playwright was reaching out to make peace.

The moment passed in mere seconds.

He was taller than the Director by a noticeable few inches, so the Director bent his knees. He pushed Roman behind him with his outstretched arm, acting faster than either Roman or the Playwright could react to. The Director stuck his leg out and grabbed the Playwright by the fabric of his shirt, behind his neck. The Playwright, surprised by the sudden movements, tripped on his leg and let out a sharp gasp of surprise.

Besides them was the living room coffee table. As the Playwright fell, the Director redirected his head toward the table, shoving him away from Roman.

It felt very spur of the moment, and it happened in a true moment. The Playwright let out a scream, sharp and fearful, before his forehead collided with the edge of the metal table. He fell beneath it unconscious. Blood pooled at the Director’s feet as he stood back up.

Roman’s hands shot to his face immediately, as soon as the Playwright started falling, and he could only stare in horror at the scene. The Director, too, seemed shocked at his own reaction. He starred at his blood-stained socks for a little while, breathing heavy enough for Roman to hear. It must be the adrenaline.

“I,” the Director’s voice caught in his throat.

Roman watched. Just watched. The Director swallowed, turning around to face Roman with a mirroring horrified expression, eyes wide with surprise. “You have to make him forget.”

“What?” Roman’s voice was strained, almost a whisper, and he cleared his throat to repeat. “Excuse me?”

What kind of request….?

“If Marlowe remembers this, we’re fucked. He knows you’re here. He’s going to think I attacked him. I-I did attack him,” The Director took a slow breath, turning to look at the body on the ground before shaking his head—unable to look. “David is going to kill me.

“Make him forget. He can stay here. For a bit. We can figure this out,” he put his hands up towards Roman. “We-The other Sides’re gonna follow Virgil. We both know that. And, uh. Only Marlowe knew I was here. So we’ve got time to figure out how to, uh. Play this off.”

Roman starred at him with wide eyes. The past two days had been such a long mess, he didn’t know what to do. Physically, he could remove the Playwright memories. He’d be a blank slate of a character, only backstory. What would that do? The Playwright’s backstory was that he was the Playwright. He didn’t have some elaborate parent-death or chosen-one-esque story that he could fall back on. Poor bastard wasn’t even the one who had Roman’s memories prior.

But the Director was right, in a way. If they wanted more time to think about everything—the other Sides were looking for him? How did Virgil get in here? Why would he be looking for Roman, it wasn’t uncommon for him to stomp away from a verbal duel, why now?—then they couldn’t have the Playwright ratting them out.

When he manipulated the Imagination directly, his powers were red. Remus’ were green. It was distinctive. So when Roman sank down, put a hand on the back of the Playwright’s head, his hand turned red.

It blended in with the blood.

Roman felt vile. He had to do this, or else the others would find him. A quiet, dull part of his mind told him that didn’t matter but….he didn’t want to be found. He didn’t.

He pulled gently, as though tugging the thoughts out, and something glistened red and gold as he did. Then, Roman let it go, and it disappeared. It reminded him a little of Dumbledore pulling his own memories out in Harry Potter. Roman didn’t feel much the chosen one, either, though.

“There,” he said quietly.

The Director let out a soft breath. It didn’t sound like either of them knew what to do, to be fair. Maybe the Director hadn’t even expected this.

“I’ll….here.” The Director looked up and pointed at the wall behind the couch.

The couch scooted forward a little, enough for there to be a walkway behind it, and the room simultaneously pulled away from the couch. Then, a door formed on the wall. It clicked once, then swung open. Another room.

Roman stood still, staring at his hands—was that magic or blood?—while the Director leaned down to pick the Playwright up. The man hadn’t moved since being bludgeoned by the table.

“Under the sink in the bathroom is a first aid kit,” the Director said, voice stoic, taking the reins on the situation, “I’ll make him a bedroom and bandage his head. Then he can stay for a day or two. We must figure out what to do, about the other Sides and about Marlowe.”

That was fair. He’d only stay a little.

Dimly, Roman remembered that this was the Imagination, he mastered this world, so he could technically get rid of the Playwright’s wound. He could get rid of his memory and the wound and send him right back to his home, right back to the Artist, good as normal and none the wiser.

But….something in the back of his head stopped him. And the Director pulled him into the other room faster than Roman could overcome whatever clouded thoughts were plaguing him.

#chivalry au #roman #roman sanders #ts roman #sanders sides fic #clap clap clap clap #tw blood #tw violence #tw assault #tw blunt force trauma #tw amnesia #AND WE HIT ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES IN THIS FIC #LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THIS WAS THE FIRST CHAPTER I WROTE LKGJKHJGKJGH #marlowe goes through it #its okay he needed a cognitive recalibration

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emerald-amidst-gold · 3 years

Note

18 19 20 27 28 from the protag questions <3

Ooooo! Lots of goodies! o3o You all spoil me~! X3

Thank you so much! Let's get into it! >:D

18. What is the biggest similarity between your protagonists?

Grey morality. PFFFFT!

I'm serious. I have a habit of creating characters that have questionable methods to situations, but yet can be empathized with or even sympathized with. Fane, Rylen, and Elise all do what they have to do, and it's up to the audience to formulate whether or not they agree or disagree with their personalities and actions.

I'll say this once because I've had people in the past kind of...bash me for it, but just because your character has a specific view does not necessarily mean you as the creator share that same view. That isn't me throwing swings out at self-inserts or characters that are reflections of their creators, this is just how I feel in response to my own characters. I try to disconnect from my characters because I want them to be their own. I build the foundation, give them a name, a history, or a family to influence them, but I don't steer their minds, their decisions. They flow the way they want to flow. Simple as that. Fane is the OC that is most reflective of me, but not with everything. He has his own methods, own reasons for thinking the way that he does and so do I.

I think it has a lot of my fixation on making characters teeter has to do with how I interact with the world in real life. I just...don't see black and white. I give everything the benefit of the doubt and I hold my ground concerning my views even if others might see them as 'wrong' or 'controversial'. I'm horribly analytical and I'm always like, 'But what if...'. That's just...me. XD

But yeah! Grey characters are my vice and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right most of the time, but I try! :3

19. What is the biggest difference between your protagonists?

Mainly how they approach situations and their feelings surrounding leadership.

Fane is rash, doesn't plan, doesn't think everything through before acting or he just outright chooses not to. He tends to make decisions on his own, but mainly only in battle. In more diplomatic settings, Fane is the master of deferral. XD He divvies out tasks that he feels aren't his area from either a lack of interest, a lack of confidence in himself, or just feeling that someone else would be the better option.

Rylen has his moments of brashness, but he's pretty subdued, go with the flow type of deal, but most who know him intimately know he's pretty high strung when it comes to matters where his voice has power. Man's a ball of stress and anxiety. PFFT!

Elise is the calmest out of the three. It was practically trained into her in the Circle. She's also just inherently docile, but after the Blight she does have moments of being feral and unhinged. That mostly happens if one of her companions are in danger or if her own life is threatened. She's not afraid to make her voice heard, either. Generally, Elise is soft spoken, but she will stand up for herself and other people, despite the grief it could cause her.

20. Who handles responsibility the best? And who handles it the worst?

If Fane puts his mind to it, he can handle responsibility pretty well. His want to involve himself deeply in matters doesn't happen until after Adamant and only gets stronger and stronger after Trespasser. Fane is a force when he wants to be and Solas tries to draw that out, to make him realize he can do whatever he puts his mind to. However, Elise would be the best in terms of responsibility. She had a lot in the Circle, even more during the Blight, and a substantial amount as Warden-Commander. Does she wish she could rest? Of course! But she doesn't complain because she knows she can make change. Rylen's okay with responsibility; he becomes Viscount after all. But, he is prone to slacking off at times, but really only after the Chantry explosion. The guy is TIRED. What can I say? XD

All in all, none of them bad at handling responsibility. They just have different ways that they go about it! :D

27. What would their fears on the graves in the fade during Here Lies The Abyss be?

Yes, yes, yes, YES! The question! The big question! The question that leads to Fane and Solas' first kiss! AHAHAHAH! >:D

Elise - Betrayal. This is more in terms of Elise towards herself and her own actions. She's afraid that everything she's ever done has been one great betrayal to everyone and everything she has ever cared about. She had no choice but to witness Jowan become Tranquil, Alistair, so hurt and angered by her decision at the Landsmeet, abandoned her to face the possibility of the death alone, her faith was sundered after the Broken Circle, making her fear her magic for the first time in her life and making her wonder when she would become the very monsters she had just finished killing. The list goes on. Elise made so many decisions in service to the world, but she silently wonders when it'll all come crashing down around her, when everyone will leave her because they'd been betrayed.

Rylen - Wasn't enough. Rylen wrestles constantly with the fact that he's never been strong enough. He wasn't strong enough for Carver; the ogre ripping him from their family and pounding into pulp. He wasn't strong enough for Bethany; unable to protect her from the templars, so he opted to take her to the Deep Roads, thinking it would be safer, but it wasn't. He wasn't strong enough for his mother; his eyes focused on the horizon rather than the ground that began it all.

And he hadn't been strong enough to end Corypheus for good. We all know what happened wasn't Hawke's fault, but Rylen the master of blaming himself for everything, so that's one event he dwells about every. day. every. night.

Last, but not least, FANE. *sounds the horns* You ready? You ready?! >:D

Fane - To be forgotten. That's right.

That's Fane's biggest, deepest fear; to be forgotten. I know there's only been a few chapters of my main fic that kind of reference this, but you know how Fane constantly says to himself, 'I wish I could be forgotten. It would be better if I would just disappear and be forgotten.'? Yeah, it's a front. He's trying to convince himself that that's what he wants, but in actuality, it's reversed. He's terrified, terrified of being forgotten by the world, by his sister, by the Inquisition...

...by Solas. That's the worst person who could forget Fane. And around the time of Adamant, Solas and Fane being the stubborn fools that they are, act as if they haven't known each other for fucking centuries even though the truth literally screamed at them after Haven. They were lost together in the mountains with that truth hanging between them, and still they ignored it because it hurt and they both felt they didn't deserve the hope that they could be together. Fane attempts to unearth some lost memories, some lingering feelings, but Solas wasn't ready and guided them away from that unopened bag, refusing to let Fane in on his agenda or allowing him to help in any way. It gets to a point where Fane starts to believe Solas doesn't actually recall their relationship, who he is and he spirals pretty bad in the Raw Fade when that tombstone is glaring at him.

When Solas sees it...he cracks. Quietly, in his mind, but he realizes how stupid he'd been, how stupid they had been. The truth was looking at him in two tones and he ignored it out of fear. It's what spurs Solas to take Fane into the Fade and show his dragon the place where he had endeavored to make sure the other would never be forgotten. Solas also makes it clear that he had never forgot Fane, ever.

"I could never forget you, my dragon. Your memory lingered within the halls of my mind even as I slumbered. I am but a fool, a fearful fool. I thought it kinder to let you live a new life, unburdened by my burdens. I do not wish for the past to repeat itself, to see two tones ebb away and breath leave your lungs once more.", Solas said, eyes downcast, pained grimace housing sorrow, grief, and despair in its curves. "...But, it is not kinder. It is more agonizing to try and forget than it is to remember. Though, I have never tried to erase you from my memory nor have I tried to abandon what I felt for you--what I feel for you.'

Fane frowned, tugging on the mage's forearms to bring him closer, urgently, but timidly; Solas didn't even protest, but his eyes remained downcast. "What do you feel, Solas?", he asked and received no answer. "What do you feel, Solas?! What can't you forget?!", he repeated, voice echoing off the halls of death and remembrance. He needed these words, he needed to know!

What did the sky feel?! What did it remember?! He just wanted one damned answer in this upside down world!

Solas' eyes shut slowly, chest rising with a deep inhale. "I..", he started, but paused again, face twitching with hesitance and reservation. "No, it's not--!"

Fane growled low. "Enough! If you won't tell me,", he barked, yanking Solas forward by his arms, barely registering the grunt of surprise that left his lips, and shot his hands up to hold a bewildered face. "...then show me!"

I tease~ >:3

-----

28. What is their favourite location within their own game and what would be their favourite in each others?

I answered this ooooonnnneee HERE! >:D (I would just copy and paste, but it LONG. ADHDKS)

And there we have it! Beautiful! Perfect! And FUN! X3

#asks #ask #dragon age #oc: fane lavellan #oc: elise amell #oc: rylen hawke #woo! all asks answered! :3 #these were a lot of fun! the questions were different and interesting too! X3 #thank you so much again! <3 #guys i drabbled again #this is how i get my inspiration surprisingly enough #i just have a lot of solavellan feels and it's only doubly with fane and solas ;3;#solavellan

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jcmorrigan · 3 years

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001 - Kingdom Hearts

Favorite character: On the villain side: VEXEN IS BEST ORGANIZATION XIII MEMBER. Shoulda stayed evil, though. I like it when he complains and screams about everything and hates everyone. He's one of my favorite villains, just, like...in general. So fun to write. Also attached to Demyx, but I actually liked him more in III than II because it reminded me of my rawr lolspeek weeb days when I f/o'd him without knowing what f/o'ing was and then transitioned this to shipping VexDem like heck. On the hero side: MY GIRL KAIRI! But honorable mentions go to Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Xion, Roxas, Lea, Ienzo, any Disney character I loved beforehand (this is way too fuckin many to list), Merlin (OKAY I WILL SINGLE HIM OUT), Yen Sid (I'LL SINGLE HIM OUT TOO), you know what let's also single out the Mickey+Donald+Goofy power trio...just...any KH hero who isn't part of the Yozora stuff or the KHUX stuff. ...Except I also LOVE Strelitzia, and she is the only KHUX-exclusive kiddo I care about but I care about her MANY. (Oh, and there's a least fave I have who's a "hero" but that's a debatable label). I would go on about why I love all of them but...that's too many characters to elaborate on

Least Favorite character: See, I think the real answer is Yozora, but the thing is I just tend to forget about him or not care (unless I'm doing a weird AU where he's Noctis' bratty Nobody, don't ask). He kinda represents the Shark Jump and I don't like watching that scene where he literally petrifies Sora for not being strong enough. But again, I can just kinda forget about him if he's not fed to me through a social-media unit. The one I LOVE TO HATE is Master Eraqus. The man actually triggered me back in the day. He is purity culture. He is the overbearing parent who will not accept you unless you are perfect. He is by and large the reason VAT didn't communicate with each other properly. He was the one who taught Aqua to think in absolutes. He lied to Ventus for years and then insisted to kill him was the only option, and then, when Terra tried to defend his brother figure/friend without knowing WHY Eraqus was doing such a thing, Eraqus didn't offer an explanation and instead switched targets to Terra citing that the problem was Terra's lack of OBEDIENCE. Eraqus is just very "my way or the highway" and uses his moral high horse to justify doing things that utterly lack compassion in any regard, which is something that GETS to me on a deep level, and let me tell you, I hated him for so long until I realized he was actually a super fuckin fun guy to imagine as a Bigger Bad in AUs that either have the KH protags teaming up or have villain protags needing a "greater good lawful evil" figure. And I just have found too many good memes about him cheating at chess and killing children. I have to laugh. Making fun of him is fun. He's a ridiculous character. That said, this recent trend of "erase everything bad he ever did and paint him as the ultimate hero of the saga" makes me raise eyebrows for SEVERAL reasons

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): VexDem, SoRiku, Kairi x Jaune Arc (RWBY), Aqua x Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy) x Bayonetta, IsaLea, Ventus x Papyrus (Undertale), that was six but they all needed to be mentioned

Character I find most attractive: Ienzo. HOO BABY he is adorable. I saw someone make a Valentine's Day gifset of KH and FF characters shortly after III dropped and seeing his smiling face paired with a romance quote made my heart FLUTTER

Character I would marry: Probably Ienzo, see above. He's also a very kind guy. Favorite redemption in the modern era.

Character I would be best friends with: I hope the Destiny Trio would adopt me into their friend circle the way they've tended to do with every other inter-world denizen they've come across. I would love to have them as my positivity squad. Or, y'know, two positivities and one "it's okay to screw up" guy. Just. I would love to hang out with them. I often worry that I'm unlikable to my faves, but even though I would usually prefer to hang with the villains, I can pretty much guarantee these three would be open-minded about me. (Do I kiiiiinda wanna be friends with Vexen though? Of course I do. He'd hate me but maaaayyyyybe he would see me as one of his pet idiots who makes him look smarter, and we could bond over our fragile egos?)

a random thought: You ever think about that one NPC lady in Traverse Town who refused to tell you where she was from because it was none of her business? You ever wonder where she WAS from? What her world was like? How she ended up being the survivor of the Ansem Apocalypse when it hit her? All I know is that when I read her lines out loud (I used to read KH speech balloons out loud all the time), I gave her a Southern accent for no discernible reason and I stand by it. That woman has a twang.

An unpopular opinion: I don't want KHUX to be canon because I feel it's smaller-scale and takes a lot of mystery out of the worldbuilding. I always assume that the KHverse just includes ALL worlds in fiction, and that includes their thousand-year histories, meaning the Age of Fairy Tales should've happened long long long LONG LONG LONG ago and not five generations. And whatever screwed up the world should've been more than just five people having a fight, and whatever saved it should've been more than just five people getting along, and Daybreak Town really suffers from having to stick to mobile-friendly graphics and therefore is the least aesthetically attractive KH town ever, and I don't like that Lauriam and Elrena used to be such selfless people. I do still love Strelitzia because she's shy and relatable and quirky (sitting on the roof) and she questions authority and if you go with shipping subtext she's probably bi (or pan?), but I don't like the "Lauriam's dead sister for his arc's drama" bit. I liked when Marluxia was angry because he wanted to run Organization XIII but it was in the hands of an idiot who wasn't him. And more than anything I just like imagining that the Age of Fairy Tales was something bigger, further in the past, and more mysterious than something designed for a mobile game. Scala ad Caelum, however, I like a lot better because there IS a lot of mystery there and also it's a very pretty town with an amazing design.

my canon OTP: I really only count the Disney couples as the "canon" ones, so this is a question of picking my favorite Disney couple that shows up onscreen. I hope I'm not forgetting an important one, but I think the title has to go to Aladdin/Jasmine, which is always perfect in everything. (This would be an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY if KH had ever adapted Treasure Planet, and if it ever gets the mind to adapt Treasure Planet then even if I don't care about that game I will immediately declare that Amelia/Doppler takes the KH canon OTP crown. *taps watch* Get on it Squenix)

Non-canon OTP: SoRiku, which I counted as "basically canon" after DDD until III decided it wasn't sure. But I'm just a sucker for how DDD is the two of them all "HE'S GOT MY BACK AND I'VE GOT HIS AND I'D DO ANYTHING FOR HIM SO LONG AS HE'S HAPPY." It's just the best kind of Friends-to-Lovers, except when you take all canon into account it's Friends-to-Rivals-to-Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers and that's a very juicy dynamic. BUT ALSO: VexDem, which is a nostalgia ship SO STRONG I had to accept that it eclipsed my former Vexen ships by a mile and I wanted to go back to my roots. That one, I have a much longer essay about that I'll just have you refer to so I don't repeat myself for pages. To make a long story short, their scene in III was JUST DELICIOUS.

most badass character: OOF THEY'RE ALL BADASS but in the end it's between Sora and Aqua, because Sora gets the widest RANGE of abilities across the series that he masters while Aqua gets the most POWERFUL abilities due to her Mastery (Command Styles seem like they'd be the most OP things ever in-universe and I'm here for it because flashy battle moves make brain go brr).

pairing I am not a fan of: SOKAI, Xehaqus, RikuNami, Vanitas/anyone not evil

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): OH BOY. KAIRI THE MOST. YOU ALL KNOW WHY: lack of screen time, Fridging for drama, forced romance to invite death flags (they really wanted to milk that death to get people talking didn't they?), giving Alyson Stoner ZERO direction to actually follow up on Hayden Panettiere's performance. But then I remember that they made Vexen redeem and lose his entire personality and I just...uuugghhhh. I can't believe he died twice in this series. And then Demyx is FUN but also I know he's flipped sides as well, which means he won't be fun much longer! Xehanort seems to switch motivations to whatever makes him the biggest threat (and several of Eraqus' old flaws seem to be mysteriously glued onto him), Sora isn't a motormouth anymore, Riku just doesn't get anyone who cares about him anymore because everyone's distracted by Sora and Kairi, IS ANYBODY GOING TO ADDRESS THE ACTUAL ISSUES THAT DROVE THE WAYFINDER TRIO APART, oh God Marluxia and Larxene you're good guys now what have they done to you

favourite friendship: I really like each of the trios. But you know what's even BETTER than the trios? If you put...all of the trios together...meaning Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Hayner, Pence, Olette...and then you added Isa back in there...and you gave them Ienzo...and you brought back Naminé...and you say that Subject X is Strelitzia and you have her turn back up so she can have justice done...AND YOU HAVE AN ULTRA KEYBLADE GROUP OF FRIENDS. As for Vexen, any purely platonic relationship I have for him is a crossover but trust me I have many crossover pals for he

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: See everyone I listed above in the friendship question. They can either mentor me or let me be their big sis/mom. But also, I will GLADLY be Merlin or Yen Sid's daughter. (But also would I kiiiiinda wanna be a VexDem daughter? This is the worst idea. Still wanna try)

#kingdom hearts

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dangan-meme-palace · 4 years

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Do you find Saihara's characterization weird in chapter 6? Because I do :( He's become super confident, optimistic, and leader-like too fast, especially if you compare to ch5 and before...I understand that in the last chapter all protags get pumped up to end the killing game but...he's quoting Momota and he also developed a 'hunch' like him...even Harukawa says 'sometimes you're so much like Kaito' pls no I like Saihara the way he is, meaning, not like Momota :( but that's just my opinion! ^^

Shuichi's characterization is all over the place. It's not even like... "he's inconsistent because humans are inconsistent" or whatever, it's literally just that his personality changes whenever the narrative needs it to without anything but loose, barely-there excuses to try and justify why it happens.

Chapter 1:

No problems with believing in his detective work, he's actually quite shockingly confident in them for how much he downplays them.

His actual problem is not thinking his skills are where they should be according to professional standards, which is an accurate assessment if the rest of the game is anything to go by actually.

Calls Kaito a reckless idiot for doing something reckless and idiotic. This is the only time he does this.

Learns a lesson?? I guess?? The lesson was apparently supposed to be "don't be afraid to reach for the truth" but it came off more like "you shouldn't let everyone die just because you liked Kaede the most, picking favorites and having bias is bad because you have a duty to remain unbiased so everyone doesnt die"

Then everyone conveniently forgets that he was willing to let them die.

Chapter 1 was the best for his characterization except for the trial. I wish he had acted like this throughout the entire game.

Let him investigate. Dear god why doesn't the detective investigate, or even cast doubt?

Chapter 2:

Kaito is starting to become his Bro now. He's not super biased like in later chapters, but you can start to see it happening.

This is the chapter where he tells everyone not to let their biases get in the way of logic, which is funny considering what he's like in other chapters.

Big sad about Kaede, but a few of the characters (Ryoma, Tenko) comfort him so he's choosing to turn this tragedy into a growth moment. I guess it's kinda like what Chihiro did, except a girl had to die for it and he didn't get brained with a dumbbell at the end.

He's the nicest to everyone in this chapter. Don't worry, it won't last long :)

If he had kept the weird sort of optimism he had during this chapter plus the logical thinking instead of leaning into the angst he might've actually developed and Kaede's death might've been worth a damn.

Chapter 3

Maki gets the spotlight so there's not much to say except for the fact that he's gotten super awkward and is getting progressively dumber.

Honestly Maki is kind of right when she keeps calling him a dumbass for asking questions with very obvious answers.

Literally how the fuck did he ever solve infidelity cases when he can't even figure out shit that's this basic.

Smh.

Oh yeah, the odd hopefulness is gone now. It's buried next to my hope of him turning out to be an interesting character.

Put your hat back on if you're gonna angst again emo boy.

Investigation? Dont know her. I only know the Grind 💯 and hanging out with the Bros 😤👊

Chapter 4:

One of his worst chapters. I fucking hate this chapter.

Everyone patted him on the back before the trial and it felt shoehorned in. I'm not even sure why they did it honestly?

Kokichi = Evil

Kaito & Maki = Good

But dont worry guys, he's totally not biased or anything! (/s)

He's mega biased.

During the trial he has a lot of confidence, like the good kind he had back in Chapter 2. Especially when he lied and when he stood his ground against Kaito. He'll be punished by the narrative for going against Kaito, but for now I'll enjoy his limp-dicked rebellion.

Apparently he cares for Gonta except he never once talked to him during the main story and even insulted Gonta in his head during their FTEs. When did he start to care about Gonta? He didn't, but now he does I guess.

Chapter 5:

Another bad chapter. Hate this too

Officially graduated from Kaito's Bro to Kaito's Simp.

Also his confidence is entirely dependent on Kaito. When Kaito wants him to do something, he's sure Kaito's plan will work and gives him all of his support. If Kaito expresses displeasure, he's ashamed of himself and has no confidence. I-... y'know sometimes I genuinely worry about their dynamic.

Kokichi = Evil ×2 combo

No detective work or reasoning. Why would the gofer project want a cosplayer to go to space and preserve humanity? Or an ex murderer? Or an assassin? Or a detective? Are they going to be solving space crimes? Shuichi should have been so god damn suspicious- the MOST suspicious, even- but he's practically braindead at this point in the story.

Investigation skills, when will you return from the war?

Goes from suicidal to "uwu I'm a hopeful student of Hope's Peak Academy" way too quickly for someone with supposed confidence issues.

Seriously, how did he go from "the world has been destroyed and I cant fix it so I might as well die" to "yeah! we will definitely fix it! we dont know how yet, but we'll totally do it because we're Ultimates even though in Chapter 1 I didnt even think I deserved to be an Ultimate but shhhh" so quickly?

Kiibo and Shuichi kinda sounded like Kaede when they saw the Hope's Peak Flashback and it's so fucking weird because there's no justification for it

Chapter 6:

Literally what was this chapter

Why did it take Kiibo threatening to blow up the school to get him to investigate the mastermind again? 9 people have died since Chapter 1, but he acted as though he couldn't do anything about it. He even says he "can only help after people die", but Chapter 1 disproved that because he literally almost caught the mastermind without anyone dying so-

At least he investigated, I guess. It's sad that a detective investigating is considered a miracle, but here we are.

During the trial he's rapidly switching from hopeful to suicidal to hopeful again and it gives me so much whiplash, like god damn. Chill out a bit, buddy.

Much like the now-late Kaito, Shuichi tries to convince everyone to die with him to make some sort of stand against TDR. Somehow this worked and they also somehow didn't die and we aren't given justification for either.

The confidence came from the fact that the narrative needed him to be confident. That's it. There's literally no justification for this. There's no justification for anything, honestly.

What even was that ending, like what the fuck was that? None of their arcs got wrapped up at all...

So basically

Shuichi is confident but he's not but only when Kaito believes in him but he can stand against Kaito when he needs to and also he's not actually confident and Kaito needs to baby him. Shuichi is also not biased because he learned a lesson about that, unless your name is Kaito, Maki, or Kokichi, in which case he is incredibly biased to the point of putting the lives of other people on the line, but he wants everyone to survive because he learned a lesson about that. He's also incredibly dismissive of most of the cast in his head, to the point of being cold, but it should be noted that Shuichi really cares about his friends and is really nice and supportive of others. He's a big doormat except for when he doesn't want to be, unless it involves Kaito, because then he is always a sidekick except for when he isn't.

Hope that cleared things up! As you can see Shuichi is a very consistent character :) (/s)

-tech

#asks #defective detective #ive probably missed a lot but im going off my bad memory #i gotta rewatch the whole game again sooner or later #its been a while #but this is what i can remember anyway

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tsuna-sora · 3 years

Text

Hi, yes hello. Good day all my gender and none gender darlings <3 This is gonna be a long winded salt post about the current state of mlb and the fandom and if that’s not for you feel free to skip this post as you please dear. I want your comfort as a priority and you do you. And for people who disagree with me I’ll kindly ask you not to engage on this post please keep scrolling and don’t let me have any bearings on your day. I will not interact to dispute this post cause I’m kinda tired of stuff if that’s alright with you. Love you. OKAY. *breaths* As someone who when it comes to Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction only goes into the Adrienette tag and never got the urge to see other ships in fics ever since the start of this show till now, I can safely say that I am indeed an Adrienette shipper.... yah know EXCEPT FOR CURRENT CANON. Because, this may shock everyone who likes this ship, the relationship they have in fanfiction and canon is not the same thing anymore. This series canon writing has been atrocious since the start of S3 (if not the middle of S2 where I could notice things were in the start of going in a weird /later confirmed bad/ direction)

So this is just a thing I wanted to say, hey like could y'all kindly not deliberately go into tags of your notp’s and harass shippers in their own tags/blogs? Cause that’s like, not raaad my dude. \(uwu)/ And tag stuff accordingly if you disagree? Please and thank you for being an amazing human being? And be polite if you wanna debate them? And if your not sure the poster is open to it please first ask/check with them for consent for that debate? :3c

Also can we like not dismiss someone’s extremely valid points and logical points that they wrote/pointed out as flaws and/or good points and well written parts just because *le gasp* they ship Adrienette or Lukanette and/or Adrigami instead of what you ship or is endgame in canon! Blasphemy!

Okay now for the serious note, Marinette is always punished for shit she didn’t do to the point her embarrassment and distress in Truth made me cry and have an attack that later made me finally quit the show. (if you want to see that distress post it’s here) One of my bff’s who writes Adrienette fics on AO3 also hates the writing and destruction of characters in this entire show at this point and agrees that the writing for the characters has been shit, Marinette is both a great person and then suddenly a freak for plot reasons, Adrien is a saint except he literally is not and him not learning lessons is the worst representation and image for young boys ever, every single character has been distorted to fit plot instead of providing it, but they keep watching for lore for their fic and have been explaining to me what happened since then. So yes I know about Lies through them and osmosis of bloggers I follow. And some of them holy molly are Lukanette or Adrigami and even Marigami blogs because that doesn’t matter to me one fucking bit because they’re freakin’ darlings of people who tag stuff properly and aren’t rude to others or have ever been rude to me and the points they make are valid. Just as I also follow a lot of dedicated Adrienette only blogs and in fact what all of these have in common is that when I interact with them or ask stuff they all have been nothing but fluffy bunnies I wanna kidnap into my home.

Just as some other people have also pointed all these things out even tho they are also Adrienette shippers.

( Tipo EU, e outras pessoas muito giras que só shipam Adrienette )

Who have been silenced by the other majority. If you don’t agree with me that’s FINE. That’s why I put that first part of the post informing you that if you read this till this point I don’t want to debate out my experience of Miraculous if it doesn’t mirror yours. And you don’t see the same things I did. That’s okay my dude. :c

IT’S FINE I LOVE YOU ANYWAY AND I WANT YOU HAPPY.

MY POINT IS *deep breaths* someone being a Lukanette shipper saying that Truth is a bad episode and presenting reasons outside their ship for it is valid. An Adrigami shipper pointing out that Lies is badly written and posting logical points that have nothing to do with the ship is valid.

You know what’s not valid?

Dismissing someone’s argument cause you went into their blog and noticed they shipped a certain ship even tho their debate/post had no ships involved as points of argument to begin with and then decided to harass/dismiss them and their post directly at them.

Guys we need to be kinder to each other. We need to respect each other. We need to understand that some people only like the shipping in a show. Some people only like to discuss writing of shows. Some people like to salt, others not at all. Some post things as an outlet not wanting different interaction/debate, others do want people to discuss and debate. ALL OF THIS IS GREAT AND FINE. BUT WE NEED TO RESPECT AND BE KIND TO EACH OTHER.

I have not been a perfect example of this and I am a mature person who can admit this. So if I unintentionally did this to you? I’m sorry. I will hear the person speaking to me and check myself and correct my behavior for next time. And so can you because I believe you are a good person.

I had proof of this very recently where me and someone else had a misunderstanding within a post and we ended up talking and we cleared up stuff. Turns out that person did not want to make me feel bad at all. We just had a case of me being a none English speaker and not being able to make my entire point super cohesive and them getting a wrong idea and it snowballing from there.

Which is also something I wanna point out. Please don’t forget that some people aren’t native English speakers and may not be able to explain themselves fully to you or cohesive enough. Be patient and before you think they are debating something without pointing out this thing or x forgot to point out something in their post ask them about it politely if they have an opinion on it or if maybe they forgot to mention? Jesus where am I going with this post at this point. Okay what I want everyone to take away from this is that we shouldn’t be fighting each other. We shouldn’t be dismissing and harassing each other. You know what we should be doing? Beating up Thomas Austruc and his writing team with sticks and DEMANDING BETTER WRITING FOR THIS SHOW AND ALL OUR SHIPS BE THEY CANON OR NOT ALL OF US TOGETHER---- Okay pitch fork revolution idea aside I just wanted to stop people from using a ship as a means to hurt each other. We all liked or still like MLB and I want us to be above this stuff. I believe in us cause I’m a stupid shounen protag whose hopes die last when it comes to people. I love you all okay? I seriously do. I’ve had a lot of fun when it comes to the fandom of MLB. I love seeing people post cute art of my ship. I love seeing cute art of Lukanette, I love seeing cute art of Adrigami and Nino and Alya, and Nino or Adrien and JuleRose. I love the gifs, the salt, the cute content, the mostly lore debated stuff etc. I LOVE IT ALL. And I’m not giving up on us. And I bet 100% that you aren’t either you stupidly beautiful human being. *kisses your cheek with your consent* This has been again a very rare self post. And I bid you all goodnight.

#miraculous ladybug #Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir #ml salt #ml positivity #personal post #All ships are valid #I love you #I believe in this fandom #We will get there #Don't let others dictate how you feel about this show and that includes myself #I have no idea what to tag and it's very obvious #Can yall tell this was written very poorly thought out cause my brain is fried?

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cornerstonc · 3 years

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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE;

Mun & Muse - Meme

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OCs still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK (i mean look i really doubt it considering he’s a literal cat and less humanized and dapper than baron but who knows)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Are they underrated? YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO (if his world is the cat kingdom, that is)

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL

How strictly do you follow canon?

considering there’s very little canon to work with, i think i stick to it pretty well thinking emoji i usually like to incorporate bits and pieces from various canon sources into my portrayals, so honestly natori here is a bit of a mix between the dub, the original sub, and the manga (tho i have yet to read it orz in that case, it’s more the setting and the rules of his ‘universe’ that have the potential to change)

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.

He's trying his best, ok. He's courteous and strives for professionalism most of all in all his dealings outside family but he doesn't always manage it. Overwhelmingly loyal, devoted, and Tolerant of those who worm their way into his Circle

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).

Honestly I think Natori is just one of those characters that people just don't give much thought to, which. u know, fair. He's a background comic relief character who isn't even named in the dub hhhh

What inspired you to rp your muse?

i uh. hides face i happened to spy him in a clip during a review of the movie and thought ‘oh my god, that cat’s design is adorable Who Is He.’ and like. that night, no joke, went out and tracked down the movie lmao

watched it that same night, too, and his character, on top of his design, i thought was funny and cute, and. yeah. that’s how i ended up here lies down

What keeps your inspiration going?

at this point i think i’m just Stubborn rip rewatching the movie always helps, of course, and music is an ever-present inspiration for all of my muses lmao

also it helps sometimes to be able to just drabble fics and such on the side thinking emoji sometimes threads aren’t really exploring something i’m interested in atm, so it’s nice to be able to just write it myself and get it out of my system, ha

Some more personal questions for the mun. Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO (thinking emoji i feel pretty comfortable with natori, tbh. he is kind of a character archetype/trope that i enjoy writing, but also one that i feel i’m Not Bad at writing, too. also there’s just something Easygoing about the tcr universe, like the kfp one, that makes me feel at home `~`;; )

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO (i try wheezes)

Do you think a lot about your muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO (see above on the first bullet point tbh)

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO (scratches head?????)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

tbh, i’ve never really gotten criticism on any of my portrayals ._. constructive or otherwise. i did get an anon once admitting they thought my writing is pretentious sometimes, tho. but i’ll admit, since i do primarily RP as a hobby, i’m not terribly interested in polishing my writing skills to. idk, ~professional~ levels, but i certainly don’t mind hearing what people think. in fact, i’m always curious about that!

when i think about it, i’m sure i’d probably be pretty high-key embarrassed by criticism, but! i feel i’m old enough now to know to step away when something like that happens until i can look at it without being too emotional and instantly jumping to my own defense lmao

Do you like questions which help you explore your character?

yES pls ask me any and all questions. even if they’re weird, i’ll find a way to answer even if i have to twist the meaning a la whis jffkd;aei

If someone disagrees on a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

also yes! so long as the conversation remains respectful and friendly, i love hearing other people’s headcanons on my muses :> especially duplicates-- i love Love getting to discuss a muse with someone who also writes the same one. it’s not very often i get to share that love for a character with someone else aaa

and it fascinates me how we all arrive at our different headcanons, how we can watch the same exact scene and yet come away with wildly different interpretations. it’s my favorite thing

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

honestly, i’d probably feel kinda guilty, ehe. the characters i tend to write for don’t. usually. get many duplicates, so in the past i’ve often felt that i have to be The Best One There Is and please everyone (or at least attempt to), bc i’m all there is lies down

this is less pronounced with natori, i’ll admit, bc i’ve gotten the very clear idea i’m the only one who thinks this hard on him laughs so it feels less like i’m disappointing anyone with my own headcanons

that said, i’m a. stubborn and independent creature, and depending on what the disagreement is over, it may just result in a shrug and ‘agree to disagree’ aha orz

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?

oof, it’d make me sad, i can’t lie. i haven’t run across anyone saying they hate natori, but i did see someone say they didn’t think they liked him laughs

just that vague dislike made me feel like i swallowed an ice cube lmao but, as always, i won’t like. go after them or anything. no character has a 100% approval rating lbr :v

i will probably post block or otherwise avoid reading more negative opinions tho thinking emoji especially if it’s particularly. uh. vehement aha

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?

i am! i especially am okay with this if it’s a constant mistake, bc, while i’m not looking at writing as a career or anything of the sort, i do just. enjoy learning new things :y

Do you think you are easygoing as a mun?

i am extremely easygoing when it comes to annoying me or things of that sort. ngl u literally have to go out of your way to be rude to me for me to like. lash out or something idk. i cut strangers on the internet a lot of slack

that said, i am a nervous ghost who sometimes needs a lot of reassurance orz and also time to destress lies down

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

#;dash games #g o d it took me like half a year to finish this lies down

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alterofnaught · 3 years

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after finishing ch1 of watching the lp I just wanted to write out some thoughts about the protag switch (something that has been talked to death but I’ve never really wrote out my own opinion on the matter). but i’ve seen a lot of people bring it up as an example of bad DR writing so.

that protag switch was actually spoiled for me before the western release and being completely honest it soured my excitement for the game a bit. I didn’t know much about the characters or circumstances at all I just knew female protag got executed and male protag took over. and I am not a big fan of “girl dies for manpain” trope AT ALL so i was not super excited to hear thats what they were doing with the her. especially since i was excited to have a female protag in one of the main games (I love Komaru but its definitely different and I was excited for FTE’s and things like that with Kaede). I didn’t play right on western release because I was going through a really rough time and wasn’t very online. luckily I managed to not get spoiled on anything else which was nice when I finally did play.

when I did finally play I still didn’t work together how she did it until the actual trial so that was still a surprise even though I knew she did it and that she was definitely being cagey. it also surprised me how emotional it actually made me. they do a good job with Kaede and Shuichi forming a meaningful bond in such a short time. and it didn’t feel like Kaede just existed for Shuichi’s benefit, he helped her as well as her encouraging him. he is the one who came up with the plan for the cameras, found the door and all of that. after she collapses after realizing Rantaro wasn’t the mastermind, he is the one who picks her off the ground. they both relied on each other. like she didn’t feel like plot device solely for Shuichi’s character development but an actual character even if it was short-lived.

while danganronpa writing is far from perfect and hardly free from sexism and issues with how it deals with its female characters, I personally don’t think this is the most egregious case of it. it does fit into the overdone trope but that doesn’t make it inherently bad. overdone tropes are not necessarily always Bad. and characters dying to spur on another's character development is kind of the whole point of the series. Kaede’s death also served way more of a purpose than just making Shuichi develop. it sets the stage for the themes of the game to develop. which is why when I see the argument that Kaede would have been a better protag I actually disagree (in the context of the story that V# is). while it would be interesting to see her as one and what that story would have been like but it would not be the story of V3 at all without changing her as a character. she is enthusiastic, determined, and believes in the power of working together. while she obviously lies, she doesn’t have that bit of character they gave to Shuichi about how awful facing the truth can be. Shuichi is key to the theme of the story about truth and lies, Kaede’s character just doesn’t fit that. her story would have been a completely different one.

personally I found the protag switch to be really good. it subverted expectations and does a really great job setting up the story and is a great mirror to the last trial as well. it’s not the pinnacle of amazing video game writing or anything like that, but it’s interesting and engaging storytelling. of course there is nothing wrong with not liking it, but I don’t think its just “garbage” writing because it fits into the trope of female characters dying to encourage male characters development. I’ll never love that trope but I don’t mind its execution in V3 (and some other media as well).

whether you like it or not is personal preference of course but personal preference ≠ bad writing. typically people who hate the switch also dislike V3 in general. and if you don’t like Shuichi as a character or protag it makes sense you wouldn’t like V3′s story since they are pretty much tied together.

#shuichi saihara #kaede akamatsu #nothing wrong with disliking it #or how kaede was handled #i just don't think its necessarily TERRIBLE WRITING #this probably doesnt make a ton of sense but i see this take a lot so this is my 2 cents on it #more incoherent thoughts on ch1 later #mythoughts!

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kazumahashimoto · 3 years

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OKAY. haru. HARU. i have many thoughts on haru. haru is the protag so naturally the story is centered around him. kazu is OBVIOUSLY my favorite character and i am WILDLY biased towards him and i recognize that. so since my depressed kazu journey i've definitely started to. dislike haru. which i do think is fair BUT i really don't want to put all the blame onto haru. at the end of the day, YES haru not realizing there was something wrong with kazu DID cause him to go through a lot of shit. BUT. haru is not a mind reader!!! and kazu is a great actor!!!! like it's a complicated situation and i am frustrated that he didn't notice anything. fur like ten years of being friends. but kazu never TOLD him anything so it's not like haru is like a horribly despicable person. i DO think haru genuinely cares about kazu but they have. a LOT of shit to talk about. like. they were friends fur probably a bit over TEN YEARS since they met when they were young. they were kind of each other's only friends. and yet.... kazu had this big secret the entire time and haru could never tell. how much of their friendship was a lie? i can bet haru would be mad at the very least initially. it's a lot!!! again i am SO fucking biased but i definitely see how haru specifically could feel like he had personally been lied to. of course, kazu wasn't lying because he Hates haru, he was doing it because of his OWN issues, but it's still like. that's so much time spent pretending to be happy and enjoying things. they would both need to apologize i think. like.... even with all this i still think haru would need to apologize. the other side of this is kazu right. severely mentally ill, dealing with so much bullshit, you know the list. kazu so desperately wants to not be a burden while also craving attention so so much. like. in his eyes, he's alone. he has no support system, no one to fall back on, he doesn't even have a pet. he's a young adult with no family. he puts on a front because he wants people to like him, he wants attention, he wants positive reinforcement, he doesn't want to be the guy that's always sad and whining about how lonely he is, but that's how he feels. so he's lying and pretending and just acting happy while also just so fucking desperately wanting someone to talk to him. to ask how he's doing and actually want a real answer. when no one does that, he feels worse. it's not really anyone's fault. kazu just needs therapy. but 1 can this bitch even afford therapy and 2 he's not thinking about that!!! like i don't want to make it sound like any of his friends are LEGALLY OBLIGATED to notice every mood shift kazu has or else they're HORRIBLE FRIENDS >:( but. kazu needs that push!!! and a level of emotional awareness of your friends is not a bad thing to have. especially if you've been friends since you were like eight years old. and like. we know kazu wasn't a Perfect Actor. saku knew this guy fur all of like. THREE months and he was able to spot not ONLY that something was wrong, but also that kazu was not about to tell any of them about it, so he dug just enough to get a gist of the situation before handing it off to haru since he knows him better. like. i'm just saying. and so it would take a lot of time before they could go back to being Best Bros. it would be hard. but admittedly i do want them to be friends!!! they're sweet and they really could have a cool dynamic!!!! the moments of genuine silliness we get from both of them at times is very nice and i like that!!! i want that!!! i want them to be friends!!!! but it's gonna take a LOT of time.

#wooo!!!#cheer danshi

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courage-a-word-of-justice · 4 years

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Still chugging away at these summer and spring anime...sorry for the delay...(LOL, that rhymed without me meaning to.)

Also, I’ve been on the fence about whether to keep Golden Kamuy, since almost no one I read the reviews of follows it now and it’s a week’s wait (when accounting for my AniList challenge)...so I’m putting it on pause so I don’t have to suffer later.

Deca-Dence 4

“…who possesses the will to fight.”

…Great. Kurenai is absolutely tethered to Kaburagi in a one-sided love. Just when I thought Natsume had an independent role model to look up to.

Maou-jou 2

Oh, this is from Shonen Sunday? Didn’t know that until now.

“Demon Shroud: A demon with 99 clans. A cloth demon that puts on airs that it won’t be used before it’s finished off, due to its wonderful fabric. It is full of beautiful ghostly power, so its skin is smooth. However, the hero (who commonly uses things he finds in his surroundings) caught one, so now the princess has zeroed in on them. The princess doesn’t need the hands or the head of these demons, so it’s a cycle of killing and taking revenge for them. Their fighting style is squeezing the life out of things.”

Apparently, the teddy is acceptable, LOL.

I like how the window stopped displaying text at one point.

I saw someone with a huge plait in the ED. The queen, maybe…?

I noticed the laughs dropped off significantly in comparison to last time, but it’s still good. I can flex my translation skills even if I can’t laugh at one part.

Fruits Basket 2 24 (49)

…jumping to the 2nd-last episode in a season is pretty unprecendented, but I’m going to watch this for the sake of Jon’s Creator Showcase…then again, I need to finish this anime anyway, so it’s just cutting and changing the order for something I already know the outcomes of.

I used to lose myself in movies so much that I would lose all sense of who I was and would have to “regain the bearings of myself”, so to speak. I would have to reconstruct who I was, even though I technically hadn’t “been broken” and I knew once I did that, it felt different. Like I’d travelled through time and past me would never be the same as present me. That’s why I kind of get what Machi means.

Oh, I didn’t listen to this OP much…probably because I’m emphasising bingeing the spring and summer series I left behind and now that I can skip the ads on most of my anime, I’m leaving behind the anime I’ll be slower on.

The manga was written when there weren’t as many cell phones around, much less smartphones.

Rin’s on bad terms with everyone…

…if I remember the year of the dragon correctly, the last one was 2012, then the one before that is 2000…around the turn of the millennium, huh? Froob is showing its age here, albeit unintentionally.

Now that I’m closer to the Musketeers’ age, I can kind of empathise with their scenes a bit more.

“If I always blame someone or something, I’ll never change.” – True. I realised I’ve been a bit too haughty lately (what with the HypMic anime going on and it being the first thing I could research extensively before the anime’s debut, my feelings are of course reaching fever pitch – combine that with continued COVID lockdown and you get me being all defensive of HypMic, for better or for worse) and so I may have acted like a jerk to someone, but since I only know them online and generally when I try to apologise to people online they don’t see the things I apologise for as things in need of apology, I know the fault lies with me to rein myself in. I guess this means changing yourself is the only way to move forward.

I wonder how Hatori did his doctor training while avoiding hugs from girls who aren’t Sohmas…?

Shigure vs. Gentaro (of HypMic, of course)…a writing competition! That would be fun.

…Crow’s note here makes sense (<- this is why I changed the order). Shigure was clearly asking a question there.

Come to think of it, HypMic and Froob have some similar characters. The stoic doctor is Hatori/Jakurai, the energetic smol one is Momiji/Ramuda, the teasing author is Shigure/Gentaro…that could make for some good fanfic material, really.

Magatsu 1

…that title is an absolute killer, man. Anyways, I’m here for the director, who also worked on Hataraku Maou-sama.

Is this a no guns thing, like IWGP is a no drugs thing?

…this OP has lyrics?! I just hear strange squeaky noises, the kind you hear on some autotuned sogs to make them seem more ominous (I can’t remember if there’s a similar sound in G-Anthem of Y City or Yokohama Walker, but one of the MTC songs has similar noises).

I kinda guessed Leo’s package was the one Schaake and her partner were looking for. I was right.

That CGI (on the truck) is…kinda conspicuous.

These backgrounds are gorgeous.

“The definition of in dubio contra reum is "in doubt, against the accused", meaning that, where there is doubt, the accused in a trial is not given the benefit of that doubt; they are assumed guilty.”

I wonder: how many protagonists start out as absolute wimps, unwilling to fight because they either know or don’t know their own power? It’s a pretty standard introduction for things with fights.

This battle track is nice. I listened to some of the Magatsu music under Masaru Yokoyama’s name on Spotify and it’s pretty cool, but since it’s background music, there’s not a lot of demand to listen to it (from me or anyone else, I don’t think).

Why is there only a single shield if they know the enemy has heavy artillery?

…what the heck is a Zeits? Update: You can see a “Zeits” (or however it’s spelt) in the credits list, suggesting Zeits is a character in this.

I knew this was my last premiere and this might have made or broken my entire watching schedule, but this is just a pretty down-to-earth premiere for a fantasy mobile game. While that cliffhanger compelled me to continue, I don’t think it’s good enough to beat its competition in the long run.

IWGP 2

I know I said Magatsu was my last premiere, but just to be sure, I’m watching this one.

This dance scene is beautifully orchestrated. The fact there’s no music means you focus entirely on the motion.

The OP seems to trade more in colour and spectacle than actual “cool factor”.

…wow, $2.90…? That’s some cheap food.

You know I hate 1st person cam with a passion, right? So…uh…

Eyyyyyyyy…this is basically McDonald’s, curry style.

I think I can almost see Ichiro of HypMic in how the G-Boys seem to mostly be reformed delinquents or actual delinquents.

…yeah, but what’s your name, random messenger guy? Update: We find out later his name is Isogai.

“It’s because I suck at working and communicating.” – Yep, that me.

Ikebukuro licence plate. I still have no idea exactly what places get licence plates in Japan.

There are actually 2 characters before “Hospital”, but no one confirms the reading of those characters…which is probably why they’re omitted.

…oh gosh, if this were a BL, Mitsuki and Masaru would be star-crossed lovers…*sigh*

Maybe it’s an unrelated 3rd party??? (In mysteries, you can never dismiss the work of a 3rd party.)

You can tell exactly which group is which based on the colours they wear. Makoto isn’t affiliated with anyone, so he’s wearing black and had yellow earlier.

I think an anime is cowardly – or trying to save budget – if they deliberately choose an angle where they can’t show the moment of impact clearly.

E! News, LOL.

Archangel, huh? So like a 2nd in command?

I think IWGP is moving in the direction of pushing the gangs against each other in the way Makoto describes in ep. 2.

As for what I think of it now, it's decent if you want something down-to-earth, but it seems to be missing some kind of "wow factor". Like it's afraid to commit to deeper characterisation, even though it has Makoto as the ostensible lead/viewpoint character.

Koi to Producer 11

“Cognitive Science Association” - I thought it was the Cognitive Psychology Association…? (Psychology is shinrigaku, science is kagaku.)

My boy (Lucien)…why must you be so evil??? Why do I keep falling for the tall but mysterious doctor??? (<- guilty as charged re: Jakurai)

…that’s some funky seatbelts.

What’s that look in Victor’s eyes…? Fondness, or something more…?

…ah, so there is “Science” in the place’s name. It was just being less loosely translated then.

Oh dang. Stuff escalated really fast, huh?

You actually set this in 2020, huh, staff? What happens ten years from now and people watch it, only to realise 2020 and 2030 aren’t so different? That’s what happened when people had the Y2K bug.

That yellow sign on the side says “exit”. It’s not of any use.

That’s not a recoloured Kiro, is it? It’s not Shaw, either (who I think we saw somewhere in the previous episodes)…so then who is it?

…geesh, they even changed Helios to Ares. I guess it makes sense: Helios is the god of the sun, but Ares is the god of war.

Koi to Producer 12 (FINAL)

I read on the wiki Lucien’s power is copying powers. No wonder I couldn’t get a solid handle on it!

So that Helios wasn’t a mistake in the credits list in the previous episode???

Can we even hear what Helios says when Protag-chan is pulled away? Based on the lack of subs, probably no, but I wanted to ask anyway. (Or maybe he said “Watashi”, since that’s the pronoun Protag-chan goes by?)

…so that really is Kiro, huh?

Military…what? When did Protag-chan’s father have a military squad???

LOL, at the very end you can see Gavin gesturing at Greenie (the pot plant, presumably a succulent). I logged on to the game 7 days straight (they have a Discord channel!) and got a Gavin R card with Greenie on it, which is how I know about it.

Anyways, that was a fun show. Not the best, but still fun.

HypMic 3

*snickers* Just look at my boi! He’s so tall, he has to bend down for kids! (I don’t mean that teasingly, I mean that endearingly, but lately I’ve been no good at expressing myself…Must be the lockdown.)

If TsudaKen was a guest last time, then Degarashi and Irihatoma could be voiced by guest seiyuus too…

What is Jakurai, hmm? (A Transformer, LOL?...I’m kidding, of course.)

All I knew about this episode going in was that it was an MTR episode. Maybe they’ll cover the stalker story from the manga…?

More literally, Hifumi’s sign says “will you monopolise me until morning?”. This reminds me of the MTR truck one of the servers I was in was talking about…it looked like a giant billboard.

“The most notable thing about Doppo is that he has no notable characteristics.”…and yet, he’s still one of the most popular characters of the series.

Suddenly, HypMic becomes a mystery…? I’ll take it!

Yup, “Doppomine” is now confirmed as “Doppo-chin”.

If all the mysteries I’ve consumed say one thing, it’s “never forget there might be someone out there with a grudge against you willing to pin a crime on you”…or alternatively, “never forget there may be an unrelated 3rd party who would be willing to pin a crime on you”.

These guys (Tom etc.) are just food critics, I swear…(LOL)

Oddly enough(?), googling “Shinjuku waffles” reveals there are several waffle places in Shinjuku…you wouldn’t expect so many waffles away from the home of waffles (probably Belgium), but there you go.

All the results on Shinjuku French toast point to this Café Aaliya (give or take an H at the end). Apparently, it’s so popular, people line up for it on weekdays.

Oh, so Tom’s a (street) photographer…what are Iris and Rex then?

The CGI on that car looks really bad, man. It may be dark to disguise it, but it still looks bad.

Jakurai’s dad car strikes again!...Was it white? I don’t remember, but I’m pretty sure it was a lighter colour than this.

I was quite worried about how much swearing they were going to throw in the MTC episode, but then…they kicked it down a week. So…start worrying about next week, folks!

I…thought he would call Jyuto for some reason. (giggles) I’ve never seen Samatoki look so happy in relation to Jakurai, but maybe that’s because he’s just chilling. (Or maybe he was meant to have a neutral but slightly happy face and they messed up the angle. I know I do that sometimes in fanart.)

There’s Jyuto, right on cue…LOL, that kick to the guts was so random it became epic!

Uwabami…what sort of snake is that, again? *checks* Giant snake. That’s no help. (That host could have a guest seiyuu too.)

Ooh, I’m fairly sure that’s an automatic car.

Jakurai went Jitsu wa kyoumi bukai desu ne?. “Fascinating” isn’t a wrong translation, but they did forget “In fact…” or “Really…” from the start and possibly the “?” at the end (depending on interpretation). Update: It might actually be Jitsu ni, but same deal.

They struttin’ down Kabuki-cho all fancy-like…Doppo sure does get a lot of punchlines, though.

This random guy at the club could also have a guest seiyuu…

…what’s with the random Tahoma?

…oh, hey. If Hifumi’s jacket acts as a security blanket of sorts against women and he gave it to Doppo for extra warmth (presumably), then…he’s trying to protect Doppo, even in his own sort of unique way.

Mimimi vs Hifumi? This is gonna get confusing…(hey, did they actually make a flourish noise when Hifumi put on his jacket? Does the distinction need to be that clear…?)

…see, never forget the presence of an unrelated 3rd party.Wait, so we have motive…what’s the relationship of Mimimi and the dude she killed? Who is that dude? Update: We find out later.

Notice Mimimi says “Hifumi-kun” – she’s still on an outside layer compared to Doppo, who just uses Hifumi’s name. Also, I noticed Mimimi called herself Hifumi’s “onna” – “woman” – explicitly, as if she belonged to him. The subs reflect that, but it seems to have less meaning in English because they outright translated it as such.

Well, they got to demonstrate Doppo’s snapping. I’m more than happy with just that. Also, Hifumi calls Doppo with a -kun here.

LOL, this song is gonna be known as “catchy”, ain’t it? Anything with an easy-to-sing-along chorus like “nananana” is. Update: Or maybe not even a chorus, it’s just lyrics.

Hmm…I noticed the “use Mr with me” line isn’t actually reflected in the subs, but the lyrics are so fast, I don’t know how they are reflected.

Did you notice the da in the lyrics in romaji?

…and s*** goes ka-blooey, as you’ve come to expect by now.

Mimimi-kun…?

Oh, so the background from Hypnosis Mics can get caught in photos? I never thought of that.

It’s almost as if they’re nodding at the Doppo fans through the 4th wall regarding his appeal.

It seems they’re not switching out this Buster Bros track, which is…okay, but I was hoping for an MTR ED. (Tofubeats was on this track IIRC and the anime website didn’t list a future ED, so that’s why I’m okay with it.)

…Okay, so Irihatoma is Mutsumi Iwanaka, who’s a rookie in the seiyuu world. *goes to consult Anime News Network*

Oh! Mimimi Hibakari! I get it! (It means “me, me, me all day” when written differently to her name.)

Uwabami was Shugo Nakamura and Degarashi was Mitsuaki Hoshino. I’ve never heard of these guys – except for Nakamura’s role as Teru in Idolm@ster Side M – so it’s interesting they contrasted TsudaKen with them…eh? Heilong? Whossat? (Probably the guy whose…parts…almost got crushed by Jakurai with a billiards cue.) This Hiroya Eto is even more underground than those guys.

A-hah! Today’s new song is “WELCOME U” (that’s how it’s spelt, don’t diss me for it!) by Kohei from SIMONSAYZ.

Update: I thought that kid at the beginning was Yotsutsuji, so it scared me for a second.

#simulcast commentary #Hypnosis Microphone #Hypnosis Mic #HypMic #ikebukuro west gate park #IWGP #deca-dence #Fruits Basket #maou-jou de oyasumi #sleepy princess in the demon castle #magatsu wahrheit #Koi to Producer: EVOL x LOVE #Chesarka watches Koi to Producer #Mr Love: Queen's Choice #Chesarka watches Furuba #chesarka watches deca-dence #Chesarka watches HypMic #Chesarka watches Maou-jou

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simplysparrow14 · 4 years

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“Shadows Of The Dark Crystal” Book Review

So, I'm going to say this write out the bat: I gave this book ⭐⭐⭐

And I give it three stars, mostly because it wasn't a bad book by any means, but I found myself really disappointed with this book on a number of issues. I felt that this book had really great potential, but it merely stays in the lane of “It's a first book in a series.”

To sum up the entire book:

“Shadows of the Dark Crystal” takes place within the world of Thra, The home planet of the Dark Crystal. We see the gelfling empire thriving. Everything is peaceful, there are no wars to be fought, every clan is living their best lives, and they are prospering alongside their benevolent rules, the bird-like creatures known as The Skeksis.

In “Shadows”, we follow a young gelfling tomboy by the name of Naia. Naia is the daughter of the clan Maudra, or leader, but she kind of resents her status of future maudra. She once had dreams of being called upon to serve The Skeksis, these fair rulers who claim to be the Protectors of Thra, but her dreams were dashed aside when The Skeksis came to call upon her twin brother Gurjin instead. Because of this, she mostly spends her days training to be the next future maudra, to harness a healing fire that has been passed through the Drenchen bloodline for generations.

One day, while patrolling through the swamp, Naia finds a visitor walking making their way toward her home. Because of how thick and large the swamp is, Visitors are not common within the swamp, so she;s very on edge as too why this silver-hair, fair-skinned gelfling is trooping through the swamp like an idiot. Following the visitor, it turns out that the visitor, a Vapra gelfling by the name of Tavra, had arrived with a message from the ever-powerful All-Maudra, who sends a message that Gurjin has been branded a traitor to the Skeksis, and is now to be put to trial at the Castle of the Crystal.

And then everything goes from there….

So from the get-go, I’ve always been hesitant about reading this book. It's mainly because of how deeply I would compare and contrast the TV Show vs The Books.

I was very afraid that my high-expectations and Love for the show would taint my reading experience throughout the book, and thankfully, for a majority of the book, it did not taint it. I found myself enjoying it. but that doesn't mean that I don't find myself really disappointed with the execution of those ideas.

As usual, I really found myself loving the world of Thra. The way the landscapes and locations are told is absolutely spectacular and i can see everything very clearly. The way J.M Lee encorperates “Clan Life” in the narrative is also wonderful--I absolutely love the snippets we get, like the drenchen putting their dirty food plates in small hanging baskets and leaving them out to get washed in the rain, or the Sprition having a small communal cooking fire and their relationship with the podlings is fantastic.

The Skeksis were goofy and horrifying as always. and the climax of the book was very intense and action pact. The dialogue for the Skeksis, however, was very jarring at first, especially with the other Skeksis that wasn't the chamberlain. I'm so used to hearing that very lyrical, very quotable dialogue from the show.

“All the better to hold on life, no matter the cast.”

“All ready a solution lies within the Scientists very grasp.”

“We are the lords of the Crystal-- We have ruled for a thousand trine, and we shall rule for a thousand more--We are Eternal!

“I plant lies in the ground--Watch grow into Truth.”

“Two questions answer each other.”

“Gelfling have always been ruled--heads down, backs bent!”

The characters were quite pleasant--They did the job they were given.

Naia and Kylans friendship was so soft and so pure. Just the way the two bonded and cared for each other really made their relationship all the more adorable.

I loved the rivalry that Tavra and Naia sort of formed, it felt very pure to the conflict within the show, with them allking each other “Drenchen” and “Vapran” with such hatred and disdain.

I also loved the amount of clan racism that was in this book. I loved the ways that the gelfling treated each other, with one of the most prominent encounters being with Naia and Maudra Mera. I love how J.M Lee wrote the dialogue for the scene--It was very passive aggressive in a way, with Mera basically telling Naia “Alright now, I'm giving you a meal and a place to sleep, but as soon as the sun rises over those mountains, you need to take your dreadlocks and swamp-smell and get out of my clan”

But im afraid thats where my praise for this book ends, Now onto my complaints.

So, the book is written in very short chapters, each with maybe 8-10 pages each. It makes for avery quick read, but thats where one of my complaints with the book lies: There's not enough time within the chapter to fully flesh out the scenes. We do get confrontation on some scenes that come in later chapters, particularly the scene where Kylan explains to Naia that he himself experienced the same vision-residual echo as she had within the dark wood and their dreamfast, but it wasn't enough for me. It felt as if the book was holding me back with the end of a fairly long pole. I really wanted to dive deep into scenes, explore these characters thoughts and feelings about whatever was happening, but the book wasn't allowing that unless it was directly needed.

It absolutely felt like the Aughra and Brea scene within The Dream-Space where Brea was like, “Hey--What's wrong with the Crystal?! Why is it cracked?!”

And Aughra’s just like, “We don't have time for that! We’ll get there when we get there! No time for emotional scenes, we need to get this plot moving!”

Another thing that kind of ties up with my first point, is that while the Characters were good and they played their roles well, they’re relationships and dynamics were not fully fleshed out. Everyone felt confined to a role and no one felt fully able to push against those roles.

One of the reasons why I love the protags in the TV show is that the writers gave them a chance to push against their roles:

Rain is supposed to be a guard of the castle, this impressive force of strength and bravery, but in actuality he’s very much a coward and like what the chamberlain says, he runs the first chance he gets. Throughout the season we see him learn from this fight-or-flight mentality, we see him lean to stand his ground and grow a pair in facing the skeksis.

Deet is a happy little farm child who has a positive outlook on life, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't experience doubt and fear about her journey and her meaning to this big quest. We see her start to view the world differently, and in the end, we see her take a life, something she would have never had done in her lifetime (Granted she took the life of a diseased dodo-overlord, but given that deep is literally a sunshine child, she would have loved Skeklash, warts and all. )

Brea is a princess who loves to learn, she boasts about how she’s read certain books more then once and how she lives in complete luxury, but we also see her being a smartass. She’s manipulative and quick-witted and kind of conniving in the most endearing way.

In “Shadows,” I never got any of that. I get that its a first book in a series and that as the books go on, the characters character-development will start to come into play, but I feel as though, at the end of book one, your characters should be at least a little bit different than at the beginning.

In the end, Naia still felt like Naia. Yes, She discovered that the Skeksis were killing gelfling and yes her wings came in at the last second, but in the end, Naia still felt the same as she did in the first page. She had changed, yes, but not enough for me to be really be pumped to see where her character goes from end.

Same with Kylan. He felt changed, but not enough for me to be excited for him.

One last thing I need to say is that I wanted the background characters to be more fleshed out.Obviousl, again, I know we have more books in the series to go through to get some development, but i really wanted them to feel real enough for me that when they do come back in the later books, Im absolutly excited to see where they go. I love Naia’s family--I love Laesid. I love Bellanji. I love Naia’s little sisters. I love them all, but I wanted them to have more agency on the plot. I love how protective Bellanji and Laesid are of their Children, especially when this silver-haired stranger comes tromping through their swamp and just spits out, “Hey i'm sorry for bothering you during your lovely dinner but your only son is now a traitor to the skeksis and if he doesnt turn himself in we’re going to hunt him down like a nebrie.”

And both Laesid and Bellanji are like “eXuSe mE tHe FuCk?!”

But that also what bothers me is that they do all their negotiating and planning within this scene in Laesids room. There's never a time where Naia and Lakeside and Bellanji and her sisters are gathered AS A FULL FAMILY to discuss what the hell they are going to do about this situation. They’re only son, Gurjin, has just been branded a traitor to the crystal and If they dont bring him home and let him have an audience with the All-Maudra, they themselves are going to be branded traitors as well. I feel as though with those prospects, the entire family would have taken a few moments to talk about it, instead of Laesid just going, “Okay Bellanji, take Naia with you when you go to the All-Maudra because plot demands her to go.”

And that's where I think my biggest issue with the whole entire book lies. It fleshes out things, but not enough to where it really packs a punch. It never fully brings it home for me. When I read, I want to be invested. But with this book, I was invested, but not in the way that I wanted.

Some miscellaneous things:

The Skeksis take Naia to a part of the Castle known as the All-Maudra’s guest Quarters. This suggests that the All-Maudra spent the night within the caslte, thus making it canon that the All-Maudra had seen a naked Skeksis walk the halls of the castle before.

Tavra just causally popping her arm back into its socket like it was normal Tuesday for her.

Bellanji flirting with Laesid while she tents to his wounds.

Laesin having (1) leg and being more badass for it

Gurjin being more interested in hunting in the swamp and wooing “Lassi-wings” up into trees for some fun times.

That (1) podling definitely called playfully insulted Naia on her way to the village.

Neech being best eel. 11/10 would fetch anything.

#Bring your tea cups because i brought the tea #the dark crystal age of resistance #dark crystal #The dark crystal #review

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mautadite · 4 years

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february book round up

13 books this month. (haha, half of what i read in january, but i knew i wasn’t going to duplicate that, no way.) a pretty mixed bag.

in praise of shadows - junichiro tanizaki ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ a really really interesting non fiction work on japanese versus western aesthetics, the use of shadows and light, darkness and exposure. talks about architecture, art, people, culture, theatre... i enjoyed this a lot.

beneath a scarlet sky - mark sullivan ⭐️⭐️⭐️ a good story, extremely badly told. it’s a novel of italy in wwii, following a young man who falls in love, guides jews to switzerland, becomes a spy... a lot happens. it’s heavily based the true story of pino lella’s life but man the author should have stuck to bare facts (even if there weren’t many) because his writing is... not good. not structurally, or narratively, or just his prose.

the fever king - victoria lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this book gave me the always frustrating horror of showing kids being manipulated by adults and the kids don’t know it but you the reader do know it and it’s AGONY. queer teen scifi in a dystopian future where magic manifests as a sickness and those who overcome it develop powers. the world-building was really really interesting, the writing was tight, the characters were amazing. THEY’RE MY KIDS NOW. really looking forward to the sequel.

yellow crocus - laila benjamin ⭐️⭐️⭐️ another well meaning book, lovingly told, but badly told. a novel about an enslaved black wet nurse and her charge, the white daughter of her master, with whom she develops a deep motherly bond. the novel follows them from lisbeth’s (the child) birth to the birth of her own child.you can tell that a lot of research and care and love went into this book, and it didn’t skeeve me off in the usual ways that books about slavery written by non-black people usually do... but it just wasn’t very well written.

boystown 2 - marshall thornton ⭐️⭐️⭐️ second set of stories about a gay private eye solving mysteries in the 80s. in this instalment, nick juggles things with his sort-of-not-really boyfriend, gets complicated feelings about his ex-boyfriend, and has bunch of sex with a bunch of guys who aren’t either of those men. interesting mysteries once again, though one of them kinda ticked me off.

no two ways - chi yu rodriguez ⭐️⭐️⭐️ contemporary f/f romance about a bi girl who hooks up with a lesbian and starts falling for her pretty quickly... but then finds out she’s a huge biphobe. this was good...? but the leads had almost no chemistry, it took too long for jackie to get an attitude change, and when she did, she got off way too easily.

northanger abbey - jane austen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ fun stuff, very enjoyable. i really like how austen does humour, and there’s some good stuff in here about sexist microaggressions and the art of novels. and i really liked the hero.

proper english - k.j. charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ AHHHHHH. i really like k.j. charles, and i was SO EXCITED when i found out she’d dipped her toes into f/f romance. this was wonderful. a very satisfying mystery, the kind that gives all the right hints and clues and allows the reader to figure it out if they’re paying attention, but introduces just enough doubt that you’re not sure. and the characters! the romance! i loved these two women in their first appearance in ‘think of england’ I LOVED THEM EVEN MORE HERE. pat’s assertiveness, fen’s flirtiness... gah.

perfect rhythm - jae ⭐️⭐️⭐️ contemporary f/f/ romance with an ace protag. very cute, if a bit... idk wooden at times? in the writing, the way asexuality was talked about, some of the delivery of the jokes. it definitely wasn’t bad; the characters were complicated and flawed in real ways, and i feel like their romance progressed very naturally, and it was super fulfilling in the end. it just needed a little something more, writing-wise. also, did not enjoy the way it treated the closeted side character. :/

the gentleman and the rogue - bonnie dee & summer devon ⭐️⭐️ this book made me realise... i don’t think i’ve ever read a fiction book written by two authors that i thoroughly enjoyed? i just don’t gel with most people’s approaches to co-writing. not that that was the only thing wrong with this book. historical m/m romance between a veteran lord and the guttersnipe he hires as his new valet. i don’t like rich/poor romance where the rich person doesn’t buy a clue, i don’t like structural inequality played straight, i don’t like plots that are so thin it seems like the author didn’t want to write one. and the writing itself left much to be desired.

scrap metal - harper fox ⭐️⭐️⭐️ really sweet contemporary m/m romance set on a small scottish island, between a phd student who has suddenly been called back to work on the farm he grew up on, and the mysterious man who shows up on the farm in the middle of the night. i really like harper fox’s writing; she can sometimes have the loveliest way with words. and the romance was super well done. my nitpicks with this book are kinda silly but i had them all the same. it hit some squicks of mine and also i really don’t like when harper fox slips in the paranormal as a side-element int he books. why? i don’t know! but i don’t like it.

switchback - s.w. andersen ⭐️⭐️ i only got this audiobook because i really like nicol zanzarella, the narrator. and i mean it’s lesbian romance featuring a mountain bike rider and a chiropractor? neat right? wrong, it was boring and badly written. alas! man i hate omniscient pov, especially for romance.

mama black widow - iceberg slim ⭐️⭐️⭐️ semi-biographical novel of a black drag queen living in the ghettos of 1960s chicago. follows him from childhood to his prime to his decline, with a heavy focus on his childhood and relationship with his mother and the many tragedies that befell him and this family. heavy focus on race, sexuality, and violence. (don’t go into this without hella warnings.) i enjoyed it, mostly, though i felt that doylist misogyny coming through hard. it was written in the 1960s and it shows lol.

and that’s it for february. i started a new job today and probably won’t have a lot of reading time, but i’ll continue to do as much audiobooking as i can on public transportation. currently doing a reread of the hobbit, which i 100% started as a self comfort thing, and will probably be ready very sparsely throughout the month. going to start a hundred little lies.

#book talk #long post

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