#do you prefer anime in Japanese or English? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

caineinthecorner · 2 months

Text

Language (The Demon Brothers)

★ Based on my language general hcs. Part 2 is here.

Hi. Today we have the demon brothers language hcs, brought to you by a single dumbass bilingual. :D

I include mentions of bilingual/multilingual MC, but I use the term MC and you interchangeably in the bullet points. It's the same thing who cares (you can also add whatever languages you think fit I am just going off vibes tbh)

★ Lucifer.

Since he was the strongest and highest ranked out of the brothers, his innate abilities were muddled the least.

This is to say that he remembers a lot from his innate knowledge as an angel, and can actually fare incredibly well on his own if you leave him in the human realm.

(the language he preferred back in his angel days was Archaic Latin, which is also Simeon's preferred language)

When Diavolo brought up the idea of the human exchange program he was like "(: ok" and binged human language for like two months straight like a total psychopath

He's like one of those fancy 10+ languages fluent polyglots (how)

Despite his fluency, it is rare to ever see him speak them. He has better things to do and prefers demon tongue.

Or if he does, the Loquar Ad Vos that was applied to you once you arrived in Devildom doesn't allow you to hear it.

You try to swear in your native language around him and oh boy it backfires

That is how you learn he's fluent in everything under the sun (exaggeration)

Frustrated, you grumble that you will learn demon tongue just to one up him

He takes it like a challenge. Enjoy reading a million books on the demonic language and having double the homework for your little joke.

(he gives you hard material to learn on purpose to see you fail. Enjoy hell buckoo. Double hell? Hell²)

You kept misspelling good morning in demon tongue as a demonic death threat and that somehow turned into an inside joke between the two of you.

He has to keep himself from chuckling whenever MC screws up words

Your accent is lovely though. Keep it up

★ Mammon.

Spanish and English.

Ok I actually can't justify myself further than "Mams would absolutely fucking go to Vegas" and the fact that USA has a large Latino population but hear me out

You cannot tell me that he would not watch telenovelas. Like. C'mon.

he has the vibes of a Spanish speaker is what I am saying

he was SO frustrated about having to learn human languages you have no idea

In fact he probably still struggles a bit and that makes him really mad

Why is it so complicated all of the sudden?! It wasn't complicated Before!

He unconsciously associates human languages with the trauma of the fall, and the stress and hurt and turbulent emotions it conveys

So learning new languages besides the two he knows is a touchy subject for him

(but like, he will learn MC's native language despite this. Whining to hell about it, but he will. Everything for MC)

You are actually very lucky that you have Loquar Ad Vos with you, bcs he actually switches from demon tongue to either English or Spanish mid sentence sometimes.

Not that you notice with your crusty translator (Loquar also works for human languages it supports), of course.

"Ayo can you [Spanish phrase], oh and give me a [English word], for a [spanglish nonsense]" <- Mammon's dumbass not functioning in trilingual

Also he has an accent but he's trying

The others are used to it so they don't question it anymore, but they deadass could not understand Mammon at some point because trilingual was not computing

It was frustrating to say the least

You two play charades with each other when the other forgets a word in your respective languages

"MC WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE ANIMAL FUCK THAT CHANGES HOME" "... Hermit crab?" "THATS THE BITCH"

★ Leviathan.

Japanese (very decent) and English (bad) are musts.

You cannot tell me for a second this fuck watches anime subbed OR dubbed. He's too weeb for that. He will watch the original dub version for the full emotional impact

He wanted to know what happens in the weeb world of the west (and internet discourse), so he learned English through shitty 2000s anime forums and Duolingo

Probably plays Duolingo competitively and/or cries if he loses his streak

His hearing and speaking English is okay, his writing is literally so so shit

Tried to learn a romantic language to be corny but failed miserably.

(He steered clear of languages his brothers know so he isn't self conscious)

It was probably Portuguese or something since Mammon kept talking about being good at figuring it out as a Spanish speaker (due to it being a romantic language)

The diacritical marks killed him on the spot

Meu português não é bom... (crying)

Victim of the you're* corrections

Runs his several-paragraphs-long rants about weeb stuff through Satan so the grammar is legit

Actually thinking about it would be absolutely fucking hilarious if he knew russian just for funsies. Yeah add Russian to the list

He sends you crusty Russian memes at unholy hours in the morning. Calls that bonding

Would absolutely swear in loud ass Russian while playing Valorant or smt

"ПИЗДЕЦ" "LEVI IT'S 2AM SHUT THE FUCK UP"

Ah + he knows Morse code (obviously). He was really excited when he discovered it and proceeded to obsess over it for like three weeks straight.

Although by the time he learned about it humans had already moved on from its wide-spead use at sea (post-1999), the Devildom Navy adapted Morse code for their own use as per Levi's command.

He teaches MC how to use Morse code (bashfully) and they send lil' messages to each other for fun

★ Satan.

He inherited a good chunk of Lucifer’s angel-knows-all-languages innate talents.

He doesn't have the angel knowledge of every language, of course, but he definitely has a really high count since birth; Unlike his brothers who had to relearn their languages of interest.

However, he can tell™ that the topic of languages is kinda taboo-y, as it signifies the traumatic fall he himself was not there to witness, and kept quiet about it.

The others (mostly) think he just learned languages in his free time.

He is the designated google translate person. When the other brothers need translations, they ask him.

He gets very frustrated when he has to translate something on the spot

Absolutely knows Chinese and Latin just to read fancy old human books and be a menace about it

He has a copy of the Art Of War in Chinese I will fight you on that

Actually he probably owns every important human book in its native language

Culprit of the you're* corrections

If he has to read another thesis-length essay abt weeb shit by leviathan he will actually lose his shit

You know the Voynich manuscript? He's probably trying to decode it for funsies.

If you and him (unfortunately) share a language, he will absolutely correct the living shit out of you when you speak it

Look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn't "erm ACtuAllY" MC. You can't.

His ass does not understand slang. At all. You tell him See You Later Alligator and he'll be like "tf you smoking ಠಿ⁠_⁠ಠ?"

★ Asmodeus.

French. And Korean. Maybe very mid English.

Ok so french is the language of lOVe and whatever + Korea is known for their heavy beauty-focused culture

I can see Asmo definitely picking up Korean just for makeup and self care brands purposes.

Like it is easier to browse for products he wants if he can actually browse the original places/websites himself

It's just more convenient and he's actually very good at language learning

+ Korean it is a "cutesy" language so it fits his vibe.

Like he absolutely would go "안녕 teehee (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)" to look disarming is what I am saying

He flirts to hell with Solomon in French. It is a language they both know and isn't supported by Loquar for translation so nobody can snoop their conversations

If you have the misfortune of knowing French I am so sorry for you bcs they are NASTY

Solomon is teaching him English. Asmo fakes being bad at it on purpose

★ Beelzebub.

He knows a decent amount of English.

What does he use it for? Order food. Obviously.

In fact everyone kinda assumes he just knows a few food orders and that's it but no he's actually very decent at English (borderline fluent)

He learned through clunky conversation with small restaurant owners

Beel actually makes a great effort to enunciate every word clearly, so he doesn't like speaking long sentences

"Would you like Salsa with that, sweetheart?" "... Yes," <- Beel has no fucking clue wtf salsa is but it tastes good so who is he to defy food gods (a nice Mexican grandma with a killer Pozole) whom have blessed him

I also think he would probably know some kind of sign language

Fingerspelling maybe, solely because it allows him to talk while having his mouth full or bcs his games are loud and he can't hear words very well

That and, like, the Devildom equivalent of sign language. DSL or something.

Look at him. Absolute sweetheart. He would absolutely want to include deaf or hard of hearing ppl.

★ Belphegor.

Ok so

I am going to be very fr with you

I believe Belphie would be the only monolingual (demon tongue "native") of the brothers

at most he would remember a few phrases of a few languages from back when he was an angel, but not any specifics

Like this dude has ZERO interest in human culture I cannot think he would sit down to (re)learn anything

he would fall asleep trying to learn human verbs actually

He only knows how to tell you to fuck off on 4 languages (/hj)

None which you speak. So that's kinda awkward

He doesn't know how to cast Loquar (nor has any interest in learning how)

Beel casts it for him if he needs it

He can and will deadass just remove the translator spell from you if you try to annoy/interact with him (except if Beel is who casts it on you).

(so Beel now also casts Loquar for you)

Begone >:(

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me! shall we date?#obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me hcs #caineshcs

234 notes · View notes

sadie-the-dragon-slayer · 10 months

Text

Self / Independent Learner's Guide to Language Learning From Zero

-a mini study plan I used this for Spanish, French and Italian, it is my favourite way of starting to learn. It won't teach you the langauge but if this is your first time, if you feel confused and don't know where to begin, this is for you! -this is kinda romance langauge based but might give you ideas if you are learning from a different family too -this is very notebook / writing based since i prefer learning that way Step 1: Preperation

First of all, ask yourself "do i already have some amount of immersion in this langauge?" As humans, we learn from immersion a lot. Songs, but especially visual media is incredibly heplful. I never studied japanese but after watching a few animes i picked up 5-10 random words. Passive vocabulary, being familiar to most common words will be your biggest friend. If the answer is no, before start studying ANYTHING do some immersion. e.g. I watched dix pour cent for French and learned arrêt which means stop because characters were shouting to each other all the time.

After making sure you have some immersion or if you already have some, PREPARE YOUR RESOURCES. Make a file in your computer, reblog tumblr posts, save links. Search for pdfs in google. (x language a1 pdf / x langauge a1 grammar book / x language a1 reading) Free PDF's and and useful websites. The more the merrier. Why? Because when you actually start learning you will slowly realise them half of them are not actually useful, too advance, too simple, not in your preffered style etc. You will en up using same handful amount of resources again and again but before that, you have to TRY EVERYTHING. You are unique and so will be your learning process.

Google x language A1 curriculum. (you can try adding "pdf" at the end of sentence as well) It "probably/ hopefully" exists. If you can't find that way, learn which offical exam is necessary (e.g. for French it's DELF/DALF, in english there is IELTS and so many more) If you are lucky, you can find a langauge teaching enstitute's curriculum and you can find in what order they teach things. This was very helpful for me because sometimes you don't know what to study next, or just want to visualise what do you need to learn, it is helpful. I printed one out and paste it to the back cover of my notebook. You won't need this one YET. I'll explain in a second. Keep reading.

Get a notebook. I don't prefer books while learning from zero because it will be filled with vocabulary you don't know. My pereference is no squares no lines empty ass notebook and colorful pens. I'm a person of shitty doodles. I love to draw and visualise things. It really helps my brain. In A1, your knowledge is absouletly zero and your brain is about the explode with realising GREAT MASS of knowledge you need to learn in order to be "fluent" . So keep things away from being "too much" if you want to avoid a burnout.

Set a timer. If you want to avoid burnout, the secret is always quit when you feel like you can go another round happily. Quit when you are dopamine high. If you study too much, next day you'll wake up tired, want to rest etc. and make it harder for you to create a habit. I did this mistake with French by studying 4-5 hours everyday for around 30 days. I completed my challenge, completly quit and then didn't come back for MONTHS.

You will be re-studying A LOT. Language learning is repetition. You will start by studying "the A1 curriculum". But, because this is your first time your focus will be on the vocabulary and general comprehension. You are trying to re-wire your brain, and learn a different way of thinking and living. It's not easy. It will take time. It will be painful at times. But it is 100% worth it.

After you finished studying your curriculum, you'll take a short break and then study the curriculum AGAIN. For a second time. Because you already know the basics, this time you will be able to focus more on the little things you weren't able to comprehend the last time. e.g. articles or whatever little frustaring thing your langauge has. Also focus more on basic prononciation and especially reading aloud. Find a realistic text-to-reader. Copy-paste a text. Listen and repeat.

Get a new Youtube and Instagram account dedicated to langauge study. How many good resources exists and where they are is really depens on which langauge you are learning. For english, youtube is better. For French, instagram is better. You have to see for yourself. If you get a seperate account for your langauge algorith will learn faster and you won't be distracted by other stuff. Short form engaging videos are the best for absolute beginners. Re-watch things and try to repeat them out loud. It's called shadowing and is your future best friend.

If you want to learn how to speak, you first need to how to write. If you can't write sentences without looking at google translate (or reverso) you won't be able to make up sentences in your head. If you want to learn how to write, your first need to learn how to read. You need to start in this order but also don't be perfectionist. Do it even if you do it wrong. They will be fixed eventually and won't stick. Record yourself speaking even if the text you are reading is 90% google translated. Why? Beacuse speaking will enhance your vocabulary in a way no other thing can and that's the core of reading. So this isn't a linear thing. It's actually a circle!

Step Two! Ok, Sadie, i got my notebooks and read through all the warnings where do i start? *First page: [] means written is target langauge

[x notebook] x= your target langauge

Add something cute and make you feel happy to open up the notebook. It can a drawing, a picture, anything. First page is your entrance to your new home. Make it welcoming.

*[My name is X. I am Y years old. I live in Z.] *Greetings. Main articles if there are any. Yes, no, please, thank you. *What is your name, what do you do for living, how are you, where are you from, how old are you, how many langauges do you speak, numbers from 0-100. If there are multiple way of saying these things and probably there are, just write one. You will eventually learn others. Baby steps. *write a basic ass text of two people having a conversation asking and answering these questions.

*the alphabet and how to pronounce the letters. basic letter combinations that change into a different sound. a youtube video about this 100% exists.

*personal pronouns and if there is a "am/is/are" verb the conjugation of it. (in spanish there is two unfortunately) *artciles and basic noun endings. a couple exemples of nouns in x form but takes y article. *first 5 most common verbs. learn the conjugation, try writing basic ass sentences. (e.g. to come, go, have, speak)

*three more verbs (e.g. to eat, can, to want)

*take some time to fully comprehend. check your curriculum list to look and see if you want to add anything. e.g.for spanish that can be ser vs estar, for spanish is can be "how to ask questions in french" becaue it's way harder compared to other langauges.

*take some break from grammar and learn some vocab maybe. it can be colors, or feelings. (i am sad, i am hungry etc.)

*start studying most common verbs. usually a form of categorization exists. usually it's verb ending. (unless it's a language like turkish where every verb either ends with -mek or -mak lol.) Start with 10- 15 most common verbs. You will also be learning some vocabulary by default. (try to stick to regular verbs if you can, if not that's fine) (Do not learn any verbs you won't be able to use immediately.)

*Learn basic adjectives and how they work so you can form more detailed sentences.

*After comprehending how to form basic positive negative sentences and some verbs, congratulate yourself, because you deserve it! *Learn how tell time. "What time is it? It's x'o clock."

*learn clothing and how to simply describe physical look e.g. hair color, eye color, beard, glasses...

*learn the verbs of daily routine. be able to write a generic ass "i wake up, i do breakfast, i eat lunch at school, i sleep" sort of text.

*demonstratives. this that. these. those. you can add some vocabulary you like. this is a cat. this is a tree. you can add placement adjectives now or later. (the cat is under the sofa. the bird is on the table etc.)

*Now you know a lot of things! Take some time and focus a bit more on the vocab, let your brain process things, do some passive immersion. avoid a burnout at all costs. *learn how to say "there is" (if you want more vocab transportation and city centre themes can be included.) *learn how to talk about your hobbies. This is the generic A1 curriuculum. You are able to understand basic things, you have a generic comprehension. That's all it takes to be considered A1. If you want to pass it though, what you need is a good grammar source. For French and Spanish Kwiziq was very useful. I couldn't find a good online grammar resource for Italian yet. (please ask more experienced langblrs for recs.) Slowly learn more vocab (since A1 is more vocab based. If you hate Anki and Quizlet stuff check Linguno. Actually check Linguno anyway it's a banger and i'm gonna die on that hill.)

If you don't have have native friend to ask questiones and you don't have any ethical concerns ChatGPT can be useful. I'm using it for French for months. Why are we using this particle here, why this and not that, can you give me some example sentences.... you can play guess the animal, ask for writing prompts and then make ChatGpt find and explain your mistakes to you. It's very handy.

*Don't be scared to share about your journey on Tumblr and most importantly ENJOY!

#language study #language learning #study guide #langblr #beginner #how to

318 notes · View notes

umaia3aurart · 8 months

Note

Saw that u have Pacific Rim in ur bio..? did u watch it? I do so too what are your thoughts about it? watched mech cadet as well?

And you are Japanese wow? Do u like anime? I mean it's fine if you don't.. just to me Japanese and anime are kinda kindred so felt inquisitive enough to ask

Ohh yeah! I love Pacific Rim! I usually prefer robots with their own emotions, but that movie was super exciting! I really enjoyed the way Guillermo directed the distinctive characters, robots’ design, striking visuals, and specifically music! I often listen to the main theme while using an elliptical machine during my workouts Like “Let’s go fishing!” haha

But I didn’t know “Mech Cadets.” I did a quick search, and it seems the story has a bond between humans and robots, right? Wow sounds nice! I’m curious about it! I also haven’t watched WFC yet, so I’ll check it out when I sign up for Netflix next time!

Yes, I’m Japanese🇯🇵 (sorry for my broken English!) Um, I’m a fan of Hollywood movies rather than Japanese anime, but I frequently enjoy the ones I’m attracted to! The most recent mecha anime I watched was “Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.” Plus, I grew up watching the Ghibli movies. So my art style was influenced by anime for sure!

(This information may not be necessary, but I also love Pokémon! We all love Pokémon, don’t we?)

#thank you for the ask!#pacific rim #pacific rim fanart #my artwork

120 notes · View notes

im-in-a-love-cult · 8 months

Text

Marauders era headcanons!!

The Royal court

Requested by @thestarslittleking

Sorry if you disagree with some of them!!

Regulus

Pouty

Like a pout is almost always on his face

His eyes are really telling of his emotions sometimes

Likes physical contact with people hes EXTREMELY close with

Likes being called Reg by people hes close with

If a random person calls him it theyre going to the hospital 💀💀

Bi, trans and asexual

'Its the 70s he wouldnt be-' kindly stfu 💞💞🥰🥰

This is a common one but hes practically a poet

Strong French accent

Japanese/british English/ French

As i said in the previous hcs his accent is stronger then Sirius's

Loves the water

He's actually really smiley around his friends

Classical music but when he gets into his later years in hogwarts he starts to like goth music

I can see him being good at gothic dances

Black cat animagus IDC

Barty

unhinged

Thats it. Thats the hc.

A whore tbh

Liked Reggie for a while

Until he was like 'dayum look at Evan 😼'

LMFAO

Ok I'll try not to include too many ships in these

This isnt my original idea but affectionately bites people

'Barty... what're you doing?" "Nom"

When drunk hes...something

Take that how u will

Tw for drugs in the next hc!!

Honestly more of a weed kinda guy

Ok tw over continue reading

Professional complainer

If complaining was a job he'd be the richest man alive (well not alive but..)

ROCK MUSIC

queen fan idc

Him and Sirius are actually very similar in a lot of areas

Thats why Reggie was drawn to Barty

Plays the drums

He wears tank tops a lot

Always hurts somewhere

Its mostly his fault

I can see him being bi with a preference for boys or just full on gay

Dorcas

Sirius has competition to whos the most beautiful person in the Marauders era fr

Almost always has locs or braids

Scarily good at makeup

Tall

Potential to be a 2000s Victoria secret model fr

Has the most beautiful soothing voice

Lesbian non-binary (they/she)

So many people have a crush on them

Fav alcohol is wine

Classy 😻😻

Extremely smart

Really long eyelashes

I love her

Doesn't care for animals

Really likes dragons tho

HER AND REGGIE ARE A POWER DUO IDC

Steady hands

Wears lots of rings

Ignores people a lot 💀💀

Sassy as HELLL

Barely ever means it tho

Evan

One of those scary blue eyed blondes

Kind of a less energetic version of Barty

BISEXUAL IDC

A gentleman to all girls he dates

All the boys got usual, casual dating

Barty gets to be treated like a one of those dogs that look like rats 🥰

I KNOW WHAT THE NAME IS BUT I CANT SPELL IT

Chiwawa

Ciwawa

Chiwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I can see him having really light freckles

Will punch someone in the face for funsies

"Evan why would you do that!?!" "I was bored bro"

BARELY passes his tests

He passes but only by a few marks

Loves making fun of peoples voices

Its his favourite pastime

Pandora

So unnecessarily nice to 1st years

And everyone tbh

Smiley

Pansexual

Loves animals of any kind

If shes angry shes lowkey scary 😨😨

Actually really funny

Her hairs messy 84% of the time

When shes too active or gets too hot her cheeks go really red

ME TOO BABES ME TOO 😭🤞

Spaces out so easily

Blonde blue eyed but less scary than evan 😭

A bit of a potty mouth

Also really smart

"Wow this friend groups so smart!" And then theres Evan and Barty 💀💀

Really posh accent

Has scars from thorns and animals and shit 💀

Loves learning new things

No matter what that thing it

'Knowledge has no boundaries' i feel like she says that

Or at least goes by it

Shes so real wtf

YES YOU CAN MAKE REQUESTS!! I'm new to this so please be patient 😭 i prefer requests to be put in my asks!! Thanks for the positive feedback yall :)

125 notes · View notes

crezz-star · 8 months

Text

CREZZ⭐STAR

( do not reblog. this is just a pinned post.... )

Greetings! I'm Crezz! I DRAW WHAT I WANT and what I love and give me inspiration. I found myself drawn to Isekai fantasy genres lately! I also love sparkles, color gold/yellow, cats and DMC's NERO, very very much! ✨✨✨✨

I like games / manga / anime / comic though I do have my favorites that will be stated below:

✨ Devil May Cry series ✨

✨ Final Fantasy XIV ✨

✨ ONE PIECE✨

✨ Detective Conan ✨

Hazbin Hotel

Final Fantasy VII Crisiscore

Kingdom Hearts series

Final Fantasy XV

Tate No Yuusha no nariagari

MARVEL

I like to draw on my own pace as i do not like pressure nor being hired with a deadline. I work best when i'm taking my time because I find inspirations to fuel me to make the piece exquisite.

>> Also NOTE: I like a chill environment and time so I am very much the fiction is and only remains fiction type of person, meaning i'm PROFICTION / PROSHIP, and thus can tell the difference, and DOES separate IRL from fiction. Meaning I can handle seeing most dark themes as well. Although If there's things I do not like, I tend to ignore / mute or block it to avoid it. So i'd recommend you do the same if there's things you don't like that i draw / like / make or plainly of me being proship. Because I am not anyone's online babysitter. This is my blog and YOU came here. Don't act like you own me or control what I make. You don't, so don't go acting entitled.

>> Also 2nd NOTE: Pairings / shipping wise I have top / bottom positionals preference for very few particular characters. That being firstly DMC Nero (top only) and Roronoa Zoro (top only). While there may be times I like art that depicts them as the opposite, its more of appreciation to the art and skills of the artist itself. Nothing more.

>> Also 3rd NOTE: anywhere I go, which ever social media account. I block people. It can be the stuff they make (fanart of pairings i don't like) /say makes me uncomfortable or I see them agreeing or even doing cyberbullying and doxxing of others themselves. It's nothing personal. I just want to vibe and have a good time and avoid terrible people so I use block ( or mute ) . Especially on X where I go on blocking spree sometimes, block chain, to keep my timeline peaceful and thus peace of mind.

>> Also 4th NOTE: any anons planning to send hate in my ask box. don't even think about it. You will only make yourself look like really terrible laughable ( in a bad way ) clown because I will just delete your ask and block you. ( yes even when you are anonymous, there's an option to block, which if i recall correctly, it's your ip that tumblr blocks instead. ) save your energy. Because AGAIN in case you missed it. I DO NOT HOLD BACK IN BLOCKING. Use your energy on things that makes you happy rather than hating on people.

I hope you enjoy your stay! May the stars shine your path to a sparkling future!

----------------------------------------------------

LINKS

Gank ( with monthly art rewards )

X ( twitter )

Twitch

BLUESKY 🔞🪦🕊🔞

facebook page

pixiv🔞 🪦🕊🔞

94 notes · View notes

thewritingmagician2022 · 2 months

Note

Hi! I was wondering if you could write how the boys would react to an mc that don’t speak English very well? Spanish it’s my first language and it’s funny because some times I misunderstand what they say and I just stay like 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry for my bad english 😅 I hope you’re fine and healthy uwu

Ironically, I am not healthy - hence the really long delay. But thank you!

Lucifer: Lucifer is not impressed with himself; how did he manage to not realize that you didn’t speak English as a primary language? This complicates things just a little bit but he’s not going to feel too bad about it or give you any leeway.

His favorite thing to say is “you know what I mean!” when you act like you don’t understand what he’s saying. Sometimes you’re able to figure it out and sometimes you’re not but Lucifer doesn’t care. He pushes you to be self-sufficient; you better find a way to make it work while you’re down here.

On the low, he will sign you up for English classes at RAD or get you a private tutor to make sure you’re able to communicate well enough while you live down there.

Mammon: He is so confused sometimes. The two of you will go back and forth, just confusing each other more and more as you try to figure out what the other person said/meant.

Mammon is the kind of person who’s flipping through a pocket dictionary and trying to speak Spanish to you but he’s absolutely butchering it almost every time and ends up saying something rude/nonsensical by accident

It’s really cute that he tries though and he usually just finds it more funny than anything when you don’t understand him

Levi: Levi is embarrassed when you guys can’t fully understand each other. He feels ashamed that he obviously can’t communicate clearly and wonders why you would ever bother trying to talk to an otaku like him

He definitely hides away in the beginning because the language barrier bugs him

The more you talk, the more you both understand each other. He even starts speaking Spanish a little; he learned Japanese for anime so the least he can do is learn a little Spanish for you

Still, he much prefers texting because the phones can auto translate everything and he doesn’t have to worry about either of you being confused/a misunderstanding

Satan: Satan finds it funny in the “well, well, well, Lucifer finally screwed up” kind of way and he tends to dramatize how many misunderstandings there are just to spite Lucifer even more for accidentally choosing a human that doesn’t speak fluent english

With that in mind, Satan starts learning Spanish pretty much immediately and, once you two are on friendly terms, he starts tutoring you in English as well to make sure you can understand and communicate well while you live in the Devildom

Like Mammon, he carries around a little pocket dictionary; however, he’s much more efficient with it and can actually use it to translate

Asmo: Asmo doesn’t need to understand what you’re saying for him to understand you and vice Versa!

He thinks it’s so cute when you get confused and he loves to use gestures and dramatic facial expressions to convey whatever point he is trying to make - it usually doesn’t work well and ends up even more confusing but you both have fun the whole time

Definitely someone who will sometimes pretend to not notice you’re confused (or if he’s rambling about something he genuinely may not even notice) and he doesn’t need you to reply to keep the conversation going; he can talk enough for you both

Beel: Beel is confused and you’re confused

Like Levi, he may avoid communication in the beginning because Beel is usually quiet anyway but it sometimes feels like it’s not worth the hassle and confusion

Beel mimes things to you sometimes to try to better explain himself. He’s surprisingly good at charades and it usually clears things up well enough for you.

If he doesn’t understand you, he usually tries that nod/smile people do when they have no idea what the fuck is going on because he wants to be polite

Belphie: Belphie is too tired for this shit. You’re just going to have to figure out what he said for yourself; use your phone to translate or something

He will draw pictures sometimes, if it’s something he really wants to share with you and he can’t find the right words

When he doesn’t understand you, he doesn’t even pretend to. He just stares at you until you figure out a way to say it in English or make your point known in another way

Diavolo: Diavolo is entirely charmed by the language barrier. He loves that humans have so many different languages and loves how clever you all are about trying to understand each other

He does feel a bit bad considering it makes your life more difficult and miscommunications can be a pain in the ass

To rectify this issue, he tries to make all the demons learn Spanish and asks you to lead them in Spanish lessons and then everyone can speak your language!

Obviously that’s not realistic though and he settles for learning some Spanish himself and making sure all of your learning materials at RAD are translated for you to make things easier

Barbatos: Somehow Barbatos always knows how to say things in a way you understand and he’s always able to understand what you’re saying too

You have a sneaking suspicion that he may actually be fluent in Spanish but he refuses to admit it

Barbatos doesn’t even needs words; he understands your mannerisms and facial expressions well enough and he’s equally good about making himself clear to you

Solomon: Solomon speaks all human languages, both current and past. However, he’s not very good at it because he doesn’t practice the skill often so he’ll be a bit rusty in the beginning

Definitely uses spells and engagements to help communicate better and auto translates books and things for you so you have an easier time rather than struggling to read everything in English and he’ll translate any papers you write in Spanish to English too to make your life easier

Being the mischievous man he is, Solomon does love to laugh a little when you’re not able to understand someone, especially the brothers, and occasionally he may “misinterpret” what they’ve said to cause a bit more chaos

Simeon: Simeon actually already speaks some Spanish. He’s not fluent like Solomon but he understands enough to get by and he’s really good at helping translate between you and another person if there’s an issue

He’s asked you to teach him more Spanish so you guys can communicate better and he offers to help you with English as well

Simeon is a little ridiculous and loves playing the guessing game when he doesn’t understand something, rather than looking it up. He and Luke make a bit of a game of it to see who can figure it out first when there’s a miscommunication

#obey me #obey me imagines #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me asks #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me simeon #obey me solomon

38 notes · View notes

col-e7 · 6 months

Text

Ninjago headcanons again but my high school with no powers AU (post 1/5)

/!\ TW : traumas, E.D, depression, SH, cigarettes and dr8gs, bullying, mental health, violence, VERY long post with the worse grammar possible /!\

This will be a serie of 5 posts with 3 characters each time. Any ideas, suggestions, headcanons or anything to complete mine is appreciated !

Kai Smith

• is 17 y/o

• is in 11th grade

• uses he/they pronouns but prefers being seen as a guy

• androgyne and pansexual

• are Mexican by their mother and Japanese by their father

• fluent speakers in Spanish and Japanese

• he’s between 5’7 and 5’8 tall (somewhere between 1m70 and 1m72)

• they’re the 3rd older after Zane and Cole

• they’re born on 18 august

• has I.E.D (intermittent explosive disorder)

• has insomnia since the burglary happened (in my AU, Kai and Nya’s parents died stopping burglars who entered in the house, Kai were 10 and Nya 9)

• everyone knows him and his relation with his siblings and how you shouldn’t hurt or annoy them if you don’t want to go to the hospital (that’s what happened to Lloyd’s bullies in middle school)

• due to what they did to Lloyd’s bullies, they had to pay for the damage and the treatment. It took them almost a year and half to find the money

• has a LOT of followers on his socials, especially instagram

• is good at English, P.E., politics and social classes and surprisingly good at art (only at whatever touching fashion like anatomy, outfit sketches and drawing different textures/fabrics)

• wants to be a model or work in fashion industry

• has dated a lot of people in their life but it never lasted more then two months because of his I.E.D that their partner didn’t understand or search to understand, his habit to never seek help or say anything about his feelings

• is currently dating Skylor since the beginning of summer but they realise that they have maybe catch feelings for Cole

• is the only one with Jay to have a driver license

• always getting in trouble with school or students because they fight a lot (is easily provoked)

• work hard after school everyday (he’s overexploited by his boss and knows it but can’t quit his job because he couldn’t afford the apartment or pay any food)

• hate seeking help, see it as weakness

• his insomnia get worse due to his night job and homeworks

• hide his dark rings with a bit of makeup

• was extremely afraid to wear dresses and skirts, anything for « girls » at school but since 10th grade they found the confidence to wear whatever they want and enjoys it

• loves help Lloyd with his art project when they need a model

• goes to art galleries with Lloyd and anything linked to fashion with Skylor and Cole

• have his right eye that moves more slowly than the other and his right pupil bigger and the left one because of one of the burglar : one of them was about to hit Nya by throwing some glass at her and he got between them to protect his sister and his upper eyes take some glass and that stupid little idiot tried to remove it but only make it worse and now, plus making his vision worse they also have a scar now

• loves going out at night with Cole when they end up high and talk about life and philosophical things in the moonlight

• organise hangouts with the entire friend group to the mall when he has enough money and they always ending up to do a sleepover at someone’s house (usually Jay’s because his parents are the kindest people ever)

• ALWAYS wear one black converse and the other red that he wrote on some lyrics of Lana del Ray « Say yes to me… » and « If you dance,… » that he match with Cole’s converse

• always on energy drinks to stay awake

• have an amazing sense of style and can make a beautiful outfit with the bare minimum, and can spend HOURS in a thrift store

• is a party animal since he can rarely go to parties with his job but those parties usually finished with him fighting or being so high or drunk he can’t even go home (he already spend a night outside bcz of that)

• they hate themselves for being a such problem and « bad brother », for being not mentally stable or economically stable as well

• they stop taking their medicine for their I.E.D because he couldn’t pay for both of his treatments and Lloyd’s ADHD medication

• used to skip meals to feed Nya and Lloyd, sometimes does it when it’s the end of the month and he can barely buy enough food for two persons

• has a HUGE crush on Cole since the beginning of the year

• was afraid for Nya when she gets in her first relationship but relax and learn to trust her and saw there were nothing to be worry about

• their fav artists are Hozier and Lady Gaga

• always ask to their therapist what Lloyd said to her but she always give answers like : "Kai, would you, please, considerate to turn off your big brother mode for an hour ? "

• doesn’t know to swim since they’re hella scared of water

• can plays drums

• definitely a mama’s boy

• has a naturally hotter body temperature

Cole Hence Brookstone

• is 18 y/o

• is in 11th grade because he repeat his 9th grade

• uses he/him and sees himself as a cis man

• gay

• is Algerian on his mother side and Indian on his father side

• fluent speaker in Arabic, Hindi and French and is learning Korean and Spanish

• he’s the second tallest after Zane : he’s between 6’2 and 6’3 (between 1m90 and 1m93)

• always sleeping in classes he found boring because his sleep schedule is a totally mess (goes with Kai in the back of the class and do their nap together)

• he’s the oldest of the group, being born one month before Zane

• doesn’t know what to do after school and he feels anxious about it because all his friends have already some ideas

• writes songs/poems in class in a notebook where he writes about his life/traumas, his thoughts and draws some doodles, he considers it like his diary and never shows it to anyone

• he has been diagnosed with an E.D (boulimia) at 6 and even tho he tried to handle it, he always has like severe periods in a year where he loses a lot of weight and feels extremely tired and bad, at the point he did a depression in 9th grade. It was already hard to get ready for school and go to classes so doing homework and listening to the teachers was almost impossible that’s why he repeated the year

• he get, followed after by Nya and Lloyd when they get 16, a motorcycle licence one week after he got 16. He needed it to drive himself to school since his dad isn’t always at home because of his work and since he’s often drunk he prefers to go by himself

• he smokes and very rarely dr8gs with Kai. Lloyd often ask if he could pay them some cigarettes but Cole never does because 1 : "you’re literally a walking angel alive, you’re too pure for that shit" and 2 : " You want me dead and your siblings in jail ??"

• genuinely DESPISE P.E. class because of the changing room mostly. When he was in 8th grade he has been bullied for being gay and “watching boys changing in P.E.” and has been beaten up by his classmates for that. The year after the boulimia didn’t help and he would constantly comparing himself to other and thought he eat too much and doesn’t do enough sport, adding to that the comments of the P.E. teacher

• never goes outside without his headphones and a pair of earbuds too in case his headphones die

• people usually think he’s tough but actually he’s the kindest and sweetest guy ever and gives the best hugs when you need it

• does sleepovers with Skylor and Vania or just Vania but Nya, Pix and Skylor often invite themselves to the party

• speaks to Skylor in Arabic just to watch others’s faces

• learns Korean to understand Jay and Spanish to understand Kai, Nya and Skylor

• plays guitar and has a band with Morro, Akita and Vania

• he does not sing because he just can’t but he can perfectly do rap and beatbox

• he has daddy issues not due to his family legacy but mostly due to his father who can’t make his grieve of his wife and drink

• can do breakdance but will never do it in high school

• protects Lloyd every times he sees they’re being annoyed

• has a ton of pairs of converse but one black with the lyrics « say yes to heaven » and « I’ll dance » that Kai and him matched

• BIG HUGE fan of Cigarettes after sex (his fav songs of them are Sunsetz and Cry)

• his fav artists are Cigarettes after sex, TV girl, Arctic Monkeys, Conan Gray and Pyo (he’s a little singer go listen to his songs they’re worth it *^*)

• his coming out to his father was an absolute disaster and is one of his biggest traumas : his dad saw him and Kai kissing each other one day, so when he explained that Kai was more than a friend and that he was attracted to men, they had a huge fight while Kai was trying to defend his boyfriend but he had to go outside to calm himself down while he heard the screams and shoutings of the two men. After like a half of an hour, his father decided to kick him out of the house. He had to sleep at the Smith’s. The next day he tried to talk to his dad but he was drunk and told him he had no son, that he was dead and that’s why he threw all his stuff out of the window. Cole just took the stuff that was still intact -which means not a lot- by holding tears and leave the house

• spend two months in a hospital because of his ED which became so severe he lost 15 or 20kg (~33 and 44 ibs), he had a constant headache, was very tired close to the dehydration

• loves skateboarding with Morro and Lloyd

• after getting out of the hospital and tried his best to recover of both his traumas and his ED he get a tattoo for this : a dragon with lilies’s petals and flames

• has a big crush on Kai since middle school and Jay was the first to noticed it

• him and Jay have the most philosophical and deepest conversations ever about love and relationships, at 3am, calling each other on discord and playing horror video games

• studies with Zane (at least tries to) and our poor Zane had to survive to a freaking out lost Cole in math : " WHAT’S x ? WHAT’S y ? WHERE ARE NUMBERS WHEN YOU NEED IT ??!! "

• goes to gym with Zane, Kai and Nya

• mama’s boy club with Kai

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon

• just turned 16 a few weeks ago

• are in 11th grade too (skipped 1st grade)

• use they/them pronouns and identify as a trans man

• thought they were biromantic and asexual but after a sexuality identity crisis that everyone has been, they discovered they were aroace

• they have autism and ADHD

• is Japanese on his mother side and Chinese on his father side

• can speak Japanese and Spanish thanks to the Smith siblings

• they’re 5’2 (1m57) will have growth spurt and be taller than Kai, being like 5’9-5’10 (1m77)

• they’re the youngest in the group

• has been abandoned by their parents in an orphanage at a very young age because their parents are criminals (i will develop this point later because i have literally no idea for now ;-;) but they ran away because of the way kids were treated. They found Kai after a month to live in the streets and quickly bonded after a talk. Kai decided to help Lloyd after heard their story and brought them home

• when they entered in the first time in a school they’re like 5 and it was in a kindergarten and they feel really different of the others kids, feel lost and overwhelmed by all the social interactions like at the orphanage but worse and cried almost all the morning before a teacher came and help them to calm down. And it was like that for a whole week, Lloyd didn’t wanted to disappoint Kai or Nya or took the risk of being rejected again so the teacher helped them to talk to Kai when he picked them up. Kai contacted a doctor who told them to see a psychiatrist for that case. So Kai contacted his therapist who diagnosed his I.E.Dto make an appointment. She was very kind with Lloyd and after a few months she diagnosed them both autism and ADHD

• are very intelligent but started getting bag grades after 6th grade because of the school system that is absolutely terrible for them with their ADHD and autism

• they’ve been bullied since 5th grade and started developing a school phobia and since they say everything to their siblings, Kai and Nya let them stay at home when they don’t feel like to go to school

• Jay helps them handle their ADHD since he has it too and also gives them tips about their transition since Jay’s also trans. Zane give them advices on their autism since they are autistic

• are extremely good at art and their whole bedroom is literally an art studio with graffiti on their walls, a lot of finished or unfinished paintings and a LOT of sheets filled with sketches and drawings on the floor or on his desk

• own like 6-7 sketchbooks, have started them all but never finished them (yet they still hope to finish them)

• have a few hyperfixations and the biggest ones are definitely sharks and video games (Jay bought them some books about sharks and gives them some of his own video games and Cole some plushies of sharks)

• have two hoodies (one green that looks like a frog and an another black that looks like a cat) that they put on when they feel overwhelmed by the noise around them

• have tried to learn how to play guitar but failed miserably so instead they just play violin and they’re amazingly amazing at it ✨

• have wayyyyyy too much plushies that they found on thrift store, theirs siblings/friends gave them or just found them in public places being lost for days. Lloyd gaves names and pronouns to each of them

• used to wear glasses but always ended up broken either by their bullies or by themselves so Pixal and Zane designed, with the help of their parents contact lenses for their 13th birthday

• vans shoes lover

• have for best friend Akita, a girl in their class and with who they have their best laughs in class. She’s their confidante after Kai and Nya

• often skating with Cole and Morro

• teach Akita how to do skateboarding

• their fav artists are Cavetown, The Neighbourhood, Feldup (mostly known in France even tho his songs are in English) and Hozier (thanks to Kai)

• always draw in class except History and English classes, their fav (they’re kind of history nerd)

• have depression episodes more or less serious but they are cutting themselves during those and try to attempt to k!ll themselves (mostly due to bullying and their poor self esteem)

• when they have nightmares they go to sleep with their favourite plushies in Kai’s bed, with Nya when she does nightmares and they both hug Kai for comfort and warmth because Kai has a naturally hotter body temperature

• often think about how they got adopted by Kai, where and who were their parents and ask themselves why they decided to abandon them, and always end up crying, feeling useless, unworthy and unwanted

That’s it for now !! Hope your day was great if not, i hope your tomorrow will !

The next characters in the next post will be Jay, Nya and Zane ! Hope you enjoyed those headcanons I may considering to make a fanfiction based on it idk anyways bye byeee !!

#ninjago #cole brookstone #kai ninjago #kai smith #lavashipping #cole x kai #lego ninjago #ninjago cole #ninjago nya #jay walker #ninjago lloyd #lloyd garmadon #zane julien #ninjago kai #ninjago zane #ninjago headcanons #au ninjago #high school au

80 notes · View notes

shadowxamyweek · 1 month

Note

Is Shadow being immortal canon? I thought it was just a generally accepted headcanon by the fandom

...Yes?

The pause and questionmark are not directed at you, they are directed at Sega.

I confess, I'm a bit of a stickler for what lore I consider canon. If it's in the games, it's canon to me. If it's anything outside of the games, including the game manuals themselves... then it's not.

I have such a narrow-bracket view of the story and these characters due to two things:

1: There seems to be a disconnect between the different 'branches' of the Sonic Franchise. There's the Shadow we see in games, there's the Shadow we see in marketing and social media (like Twitter Takeover), There's the Shadow we see in IDW, and then there is the Shadow we see Sega write about in character profiles like on Sonic Chanel and the official Sonic the Hedgehog website. This exists with all the characters to a degree, but I feel Shadow presents an egregious case of it. 2: Sega has a tendency to retcon things or change their language or act like stuff didn't happen and... I don't like it XD But they can't change games that have already been published and played. As such, to me, in-game dialog/play/story/etc is the crowning jewel of truth within the Sonic story.

But that these are *my* paramaters. They do not have to be *your* parameters.

So while there hasn't been any mention of immortality *in game*, there has been plenty *outside* of it. Lots of different official Sega sources say Shadow is 'immortal', but no examples or specifications have been provided in game. There's also plenty of times the whole 'immortality' portion is omitted. Most noticeably, it's not mentioned in the Sonic Channel character profile, nor the character profile provided on the official Sonic the Hedgehog website. At best, it is mentioned intermittently in game manuals and external sources.

(And I know we see Shadow in stasis in 06- I'm aware- but I'll also point out we don't know *when* he went into stasis. Furthermore, I cannot help but wonder if, much like Black Doom in SHtH, Mephiles took a portion of truth and twisted it to scare Shadow. (Also, like.... Shadow was under such heavy security when GUN put him down for an ice nap the first time. Why would they just leave him out and about like was shown in 06? I doubt the truth of what Mephiles shows Shadow.))

I actually reached out to @squid-in-a-party-hat, @fyeahsonicthehedgehog (x), and @forgottensonicfacts (x), as well as some friends of mine like @shadamyheadcanons for help collecting information to provide you with as well-rounded answer/opinion as I can. In fact, Squid has a video on this very subject XD They do a great job of weaving together all the different types of canon (comic, anime, social media, etc) so if that's how you prefer to operate, I really, really recommend them.

Anyway, Here are some game manual examples in chronological order.

SA2 (2001):

Sonic Heros (2003):

And...I want to take a moment to show something interesting between the original Japanese and the English translation. The japanese translation says 'unaging and undying' which gives us narrower guidelines, but the Heros profile is the only time I've seen that.

Shadow the Hedgehog (2005):

Which OUT OF ALL OF THEM you'd think it would be mentioned in his title game but like... *gestures*

Sonic 06 (2006):

Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games (2020):

Then there are these online examples, stemming from both Sonic Chanel and the Sonic the Hedgehog Website. They are both officially owned and operated by Sega/Sonic Team. Note they don't mention his age or the immortality at all.

Sonic Chanel, 2007:

Sonic Chanel, 2010:

Sonic Chanel, 2022:

This is the character profile put up on the Sonic the Hedgehog website 2024, separate from Sonic Channel but still official.

(In talking to @forgottensonicfacts- I had asked about times Shadow had been called 'ageless' or '50.' Turns out the 'ageless' bit was written in a Scholastic's book and, so far as anyone has found.. there is no official mention of Shadow being listed as '50 years old.' I had been so sure it had been officially listed at one point in time. Really glad to be wrong on that one, frankly, because that would have been daft XD)

So this is what we have about Shadow's 'immortality' that has been put out by Sega themselves. Not the comics, not the media team, just Sega/Sonic Team.

Now... this is where I pick apart that word 'Immortal' and broaden the scope a bit.

Not to be 'that bastard,' but I popped on to the Oxford Dictionary just to get a concrete definition for you and they define the adjective use of the word as being, "living forever; never dying or decaying."

1- Shadow's already almost died. He *would* have died were it not for Eggman saving his sorry ass. We know this. It's a whole-ass plot point in his story because it's due to this he ends up with amnesia.

2- Even though Gerald was tinkering with immortality, that doesn't mean he succeeded. We also don't know how that immortality would look/work/act like.

3- In Sonic Battle (for Gameboy), several of the characters have a healing ability. Shadow is one of them. However, Shadow's healing ability is one of if not *the worst in the game.* Also, in the story itself, he get shot and is down for the count *for a while*.

4- We have not seen any of the characters physically change in game save for the big age up/design shift that happened when Sonic went 3d in Adventure. As such, we cannot personally test/see whether or not Shadow goes through any changes at all, be them aging or just changes to their body.

So... all in all... I feel this leaves a huge amount of room for interpretation.

Maybe Shadow isn't immortal after all. Nothing spectacular, it's just that portion of the Ultimate Life Form project didn't succeed.

Maybe the 'immortality' is his healing factor, and it needs to willfully be employed. As such, if Shadow WANTS to age, they need to intentionally and willfully allow themselves to do so by NOT employing the healing factor.

Maybe the 'immortality', being the healing factor, can wear down/slow down over time, especially due to overuse.

Maybe Shadow can live forever barring any really traumatic physical harm, but their body will physically change over time.

Maybe Shadow is immortal like how Oxford puts it, but there is a way to stop that perminantly if they so choose (like genetic therapy).

Maybe Shadow is immortal in the sense that they will never physically age, grow, or change. Ever.

Truthfully, that's pretty cool! Like, this gives people a lot of stuff to work with and play around with, compare notes, talk- that's the fun part of fandom! And no singular person is right! @shadamyheadcanons has this one that's fun. I personally like the idea that Shadow's 'immortality' wears down over time and gets weird, causing their Black Arms genetics to kick off (like a third eye ooooough gimmie gimmie gimmie.)

I don't know if this was the answer you were looking for. Perhaps I've just confused things further- I've been known to do that XD

Ultimately, what I'm trying to say is- it's whatever you want it to be, and nobody can stop you <3 So go have fun!

#shadow the hedgehog #shth #sonic #sega #anon #ask #op rambles #lore #thoughts #I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you #There's been a lot going on- but I really wanted to give you as well rounded an answer as I possibly could

43 notes · View notes

saltydkdan · 1 year

Note

Salty, may I ask which you recommend more: the one piece manga or anime. I wanna get into it but I also want a recommendation on which one may be better to start with depending on the pros and cons. Anyways I apologies if this is a dumb thing to ask.

Sure! One Piece is a really interesting beast when it comes to the difference between it's anime and manga, and at the end of the day it depends on your preferences- However yes, there are Pros and Cons to each! For this ask, I'll be trying my best to stick to the Official options available to you.

Also, this post specifically will be about how to best GET INTO the series, not necessarily a critique on the content of it! (I'll gladly do a separate write up on that eventually if anyone is interested in my thoughts on the Pros and Cons of the series itself)

Anyway, here are my personal thoughts:

MANGA

(This is my preferred way to experience the story)

PROS

-I'm not a manga purist by any means HOWEVER, the One Piece Manga is really good

-The pacing is really great (especially initially). In the first half, arcs are very quick and snappy! And even as they got progressively longer in length I didn't mind because by that point the story already gripped me.

-The art is wonderful in both black and white, and the official colored scans (which you can find online)

-This isn't really a "pro" per say, but it's something I enjoy doing. When I read, I like to put on some of the soundtrack from the anime. I usually find stuff like "Tense One Piece Music" or "Emotional One Piece Music" and listen to it as I read. It really enhances the experience for me personally. I also like to look up clips of arcs from the anime that I'm reading or already finished to see what they look like, and also see them in a fun new way. I feel like this sort of mixed approach is optimal for me.

CONS

-You have to read 😔

-There are many ways to read One Piece and in many different languages. There's black and white and colored manga- however just be careful. The best one TRANSLATION wise is the official release, and while you may find other options, some older "unofficial" translations are VERY outdated (I once saw one where Zoro casually dropped slurs)

-That also being said: Even though the official translation is the best, it is stuck in black and white. Many official colored scans were never officially licensed in English, and because of that aren't as accessible.

-Collecting it physically is fun, but can get VERY pricey. Like... hoo boy. Thankfully they sell compendiums that collect a metric shit ton of chapters, however the paper/print quality is noticeably cheaper. So if you want to collect them, the smaller volume releases are the way to go. That being said, I would just suggest using the Shonen Jump App by Viz Media. It's the best official way to support the series officially, as well as the cheapest for the average consumer! $3 a month for the entire library as well as other series + getting new chapters updated every week is great. I'm not sponsored or anything either, I just really like the model. So if you find yourself really enjoying the series, THEN you can go about collecting it physically if you want!

ANIME

PROS

-It's animated (obviously)

-You have a choice of either the Japanese Sub or English Dub. This also boils down to preference but from my experience they're both great options!!

-I'll get into it in the "Cons" section, but the One Piece anime is VERY long, like... kind of in a not so good way at certain points. However, I've heard that even though some parts are a bit too long, it's one of those things that if you really get into it, you'll love the fact that it feels like a never ending adventure! Not my experience, but it's what others have told me!

-This is gonna sound crazy, but Filler Arcs. A lot of people don't like these, and I get why, but they are very easily skippable if you want to look up a guide, and some of them can actually be really short and fun (as well as add a bit of extra flavor to the story). One of the best examples is an arc called "G-8". Even Manga readers recommend it, so you know it's good and gives each of the characters some fun moments!

CONS

-You may be aware already, but the One Piece anime has a very bad reputation of having HORRIBLE pacing. Now, to be fair, many people say that the pacing only gets truly horrible AFTER a very specific arc about halfway through the series (which is where a lot of anime watchers jump ship to the manga)

However, I'll be honest... I wasn't a super huge fan of the pacing from the beginning. To clarify, I STARTED with the anime. I don't have a super great attention span, so having to wait around 38 or so episodes for "Arlong Park", the arc that people suggest you get to before deciding whether to keep going or quit, was very difficult for me at first. I got through it, and I'm glad I did, but as soon as I did, I decided to switch over to the manga and had a much easier time.

-I find the show's music very repetitive at times. That's not to say the music is necessarily bad, I love the One Piece OST! It's just... over the years they have barely updated the soundtrack. Every arc you might here one or two new tracks, however a lot of the time you'll hear the same tracks replayed in the same sort of situations. ("OVERTAKEN" is an AMAZING track, but if I hear it one more time I'm gonna snap)

-This is a bit of a nitpick but I need to say it. One Piece's sound effects, while iconic, are also extremely outdated. When you start the series and hear the older-styled Toei Animation sound design, it is super charming because it fits with the older visuals. However in more modern One Piece, which visually looks incredible, THEY STILL USE THE OLD SOUND EFFECTS AND THEY JUST DON'T FIT.

TOEI, UPDATE YOUR SOUND LIBRARY!!!

ANYWAY...

Anyway, I hope my funny little list here helps!! Sorry it's so long, went a bit off the handle. But I think this is a fine enough starter guide and may help you get started!

#salty asks #saltydkdan #one piece #Manga #long boys

183 notes · View notes

prokopetz · 2 years

Note

Do you have any recommendations for TTRPGs that emulate JRPGs well, or have a very JRPG-like setting? I find the unself-conscious mixing of fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk elements that's commonplace in JRPGs very appealing, as well as the inventive combat and advancement mechanics (for reference I am playing the first Trails in the Sky game right now and I am enjoying it very much).

You've got several distinct questions there, though you may not realise it, and I'm going to tackle them in order.

First, with respect to emulating JRPGs and JRPG-like settings at the tabletop, it's hard to go wrong with, well, actual tabletop JRPGs. While English localisations of Japanese tabletop roleplaying games are admittedly thin on the ground, there are a few of them out there, including official translations of Double Cross, Golden Sky Stories, Ryuutama – Natural Fantasy Roleplay, Shinobigami, and Tenra Bansho Zero, as well as the odd partial fan-translation, of which Meikyuu Kingdom and Nechronica are probably the most notable. (No direct links to the latter two because fan-translation is technically piracy, though I'm sure you can chase them down on your own if sufficiently inclined!) There are a lot of cultural assumptions about what an RPG is and how it ought to work that aren't going to come across in an Anglophone author's attempt at genre emulation, so you'd be well served to go straight to the source.

(I vaguely recall that there are also a couple of Japanese indie RPG authors self-publishing their works in English via itch.io, though it’s late and names escape me at the moment – if anyone reading this can point us in the right direction, please do!)

Second, with respect to emulating the steampunk science-fantasy settings that Western fandoms often associate with JRPGs (though they're far from universal within the genre – their apparent prevalence is more a reflection of what gets localised than of the genre as a whole), the above-cited Tenra Bansho Zero will give you that in spades, though it's also one of the most rules-heavy entries on that list. If you have a specific desire to play in a game where the party consists of a cursed samurai, a child mecha pilot, a Shinto MiB, an oni Jedi knight, and Robocop, that it'll do.

If you'd prefer something less crunch-heavy, or more American-style in its game design approach, you might alternatively have a look at Anima Prime. It's not a localised title, but its lighter and more familiar approach may be an easier sell for your group than dropping Tenra Bansho Zero's seven hundred page rulebook on them. Aesthetically, it sits somewhere near the RWBY-meets-Final Fantasy XIII intersection.

Finally, with respect to emulating the combat of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky specifically, that’s a tough one – I don’t think any Japanese tabletop RPGs with proper grid-based tactical combat have workable English localisations at the moment, even taking fan-translations into account. In terms of non-localised games, I’d probably go with something like Valor; it’s basically an anime-themed Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition clone, but then, most games that focus tightly on grid-based tactical combat are to varying degrees these days – D&D4E is extremely good at what it does, the protestations of certain vocal grognards who don’t approve of what it does notwithstanding.

#gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #tabletop rpg recommendations #violence mention

488 notes · View notes

canmom · 8 months

Text

to beat on old drum, why should translation always be to a 'default'/'neutral', relatively formal version of a language? well you could make arguments from accessibility, injecting things that 'aren't there in the original' (or 'writing fanfic' as an angry nyaa commenter might put it), or losing nuances from the source.

but tranlsation is never going to be able to capture every nuance of the source, it's always a tradeoff. you can try to sound idiomatic in the target language, you can risk sounding plain or go for more approximate but lively expressions, or conversely you can go for something that doesn't sound like something a native speaker would write but develops a particular 'work in translation' cadence ("it can't be helped") which is worthwhile in its own right. you can even laboriously explain every missing nuance. there's no need to be dogmatic either - you can adopt a blend of strategies depending on what you think is most important.

the idea of a single 'correct' translation is an illusion. a translation is a new work designed to communicate as much as it can about the original. and if you don't have enough facility in the original language to follow along, the next-best thing is to have multiple translations that capture different facets according to what's picked up by different translators. and if you do know enough of the source language to pick up on an especially creative translation, that's a delightful thing.

this seems to be well understood in like, classics or philosophy, where it's reasonably common to produce new translations of a work. in translating modern media like anime... less so. I feel like it's a huge shame that original fansubs are made much less often today, and that so many arguments about translation seem to assume there must be one strict orthodoxy about the right way to translate. broadly speaking that orthodoxy has shifted - today the handful of still-active fansub groups like Good Job Media look with derision at the 't/n: keikaku means plan' past, and heavily prefer idiomatic translations.

is it ever 'necessary' to include honorifics when translating Japanese? probably not, you can probably find circumlocutions when they matter (e.g. have the characters argue about using titles). is that the 'best' way to translate? depends on your audience and what you want to communicate to them.

for example, in English, there's not really a 'thing you routinely say you routinely say before eating' as there is in many other languages. if we do say something before eating together, we'd probably use a loanword like bon appetit, but that would be rare and probably come across as a bit pretentious. in Japanese by contrast, people say いただきます itadakimasu as a standard ritual before-eating phrase. translators come up with all sorts of substitutions to try and find a substitute that sounds natural in English, potentially breaking the 'translate line by line' convention to insert something from elsewhere in the scene in the subtitle for itadakimasu.

and like, my feeling (from the stance of 'Japanese learner who watches a lot of anime') would be that if I knew most of my viewers would know at least that little bit of Japanese (and if they're downloading it from a fansubbing site, they probably do), I would just leave it untranslated. but leaving はい untranslated as in the above meme would be silly, because a good translation is simple and obvious (though 'yes' is not always a correct translation for はい!). however, I appreciate that there are various takes on this. it's fun to see the different ways people will translate いただきます! it becomes like a game. (the scene in Your Name where a bodyswapped character has to figure out the right personal pronoun is another fun one.)

so in this frame, I think translation targeting specific accents and dialects is really cool, because it can draw out all sorts of fascinating parallels. for example, the sentence ending particle ね is kind of like ', right?' - indicating that you think the speaker already knows what you're saying and you're looking for agreement/confirmation. it's a very common particle in Japanese, and it has a bit of a feminine connotation. how does that compare to the british slang 'innit'? or indeed the Singaporean 'lah'? you'd probably figure out a bunch about Japanese, British English and Singlish by thinking through when it would make sense to translate ね as 'innit', and likewise for 'lah'!

#linguistics #translation

121 notes · View notes

koizumicchi · 2 months

Text

はじめての二人っきり旅行 (Full) English Translation

はじめての二人っきり旅行 Hajimete no Futarikkiri Ryokou Our First Trip Alone Together

LIPxLIP 2nd Album Umarete Kita Koto ni Kansha Shinasai Bonus Anime Episode (4 min.)

Trailer 1 2

-----

T/N: Keep in mind that Japanese and English aren’t my first language. I never claim my translation (attempts) to be error-free. As always, if you’re going to use or reference my translations, please do not claim it as your own and credit me.

-----

Aizou: Hi, Julietta. This is Aizou.

Yuujirou: Hello, Julietta. This is Yuujirou.

Aizou: Today, we are going on a tour on our so-called “Trip For Two with LIPxLIP”.

Yuujirou: We came to Izumo as a reward for accomplishing our album.

Aizou: Today, we would like to share with you just a little bit of what our trip was like, so we hope you will enjoy it.

Yuujirou: Though, we have come here since yesterday; first, let’s start with the ‘waking up’ scene.

Aizou: Huh!? You’ll use that?!

00:39

Yuujirou: Everyone. Good morning. It’s late at six o’clock in the morning. It’s still too early for our regular meal time, but I would like to show you Aizou’s sleeping face starting now.

Yuujirou: He’s sleeping.

*camera zooms in onto Aizou's face*

Yuujirou: Aizou. You’ll be late. You’ll be late.

Aizou: *wakes up* Eh, what is it?

Yuujirou: It’s already 9 AM! Hurry up and wake up!

Aizou: Ah, 9 AM…?

Yuujirou: *shaking Aizou awake* We have work. I said, you’re going to be late.

Aizou: *sits up in annoyance* Why is there a camera, seriously?! You’re definitely lying! *covers himself with the blanket and goes back to sleep*

Yuujirou: Ahahahaha! Julietta! *waving at the camera* That’s Aizou’s sleeping face!

01:17

Aizou: We’ve arrived at the dining hall. We’ll eat our breakfast.

Yuujirou: *smiles* Aizou-san has woken up.

Aizou: Eh… As expected, Yuujirou chose Japanese cuisine.

Aizou: Oh! That’s Izumo’s soba!

Yuujirou: And as expected, Aizou has the Western cuisine… What, pasta in the morning?!

Aizou: I’m in the mood for it today.

Aizou: Yuujirou as well, I’m sure there are mornings when you opted a Western-style meal.

Yuujirou: Well, yeah. But I can’t eat pasta first thing in the morning.

Aizou: I’m sure Julietta who’s seeing this would think, ‘Sure enough, Japanese cuisine is for Yuujirou, and for Aizou, it’s the Western cuisine.’

Yuujirou: You’re probably right. There’s an image that comes into one’s mind. Like for coffee, I feel like this person would have something like that.

Aizou: Right. Shall we try switching our image for a while? In our regular meals.

Yuujirou: I don’t want to. Because I want to eat soba.

Aizou: *already getting ready to eat* Alright, alright.

Yuujirou: Does Julietta prefer a Japanese-style or a Western-style cuisine? Tell us next time.

Aizou: Delicious!

02:06

*walking together*

Aizou: It’s not very often that it’s just the two of us filming.

Yuujirou: Rather than not very often, this is the first time we’ve done it. Our Izumo staff is here.

Aizou: They planned and decided on various things. *has a satisfied smile*

Aizou: Then, where will we go now?

Yuujirou: Eh, I don’t know. You decide this time, Aizou.

Aizou: Me? You decide, Yuujirou. Even I do not know where we’ll go.

Yuujirou: You decide, Aizou.

Aizou: Eh. Let me think.

Aizou: *thinking hard* I can’t think of anything.

Yuujirou: It’s important to plan it.

Aizou: You’re right.

Aizou: Shall we walk for the time being?

*Yuujirou praying with his eyes closed*

*Aizou, holding his phone and looking at the camera, pointing at the displayed wooden tools*

*Aizou and Yuujirou selfie, holding taiyaki*

*taking a picture together on the shore, camera falls over*

*Yuujirou folding his pants almost up to his knees*

02:56

Yuujirou: And so, we came to the footbath this time.

Aizou: How warm!

Yuujirou: We’ve been here before too, right? Right here.

Aizou: Yeah. Before our LIVE tour.

Yuujirou: That’s right. How’s the 2nd album release going with you, Aizou?

Aizou: Of course I’m happy. The first one was already amazing.

Yuujirou: *smiles* Yes. It’s thanks to Julietta that we can release our 2nd album.

Aizou: Yeah. I really hope to meet more of their expectations of us.

Aizou: Yuujirou, how is it? The album?

Yuujirou: I guess it felt different from our first album. For me.

Aizou: Really?

Yuujirou: It’s impossible to do it on my own. Even the whispered expectations of our fans, we stood on stage. And that stage is quickly becoming bigger. I feel like it’s impossible to answer that largeness all alone.

Aizou: I also feel the same. About why LIPxLIP is composed of the two of us. Although I thought that it was better if it’s just me, but that would mean the strength of LIPxLIP would be reduced to half. I thought about it again this time.

Yuujirou: Two people are better than one. We are indispensable to each other. Surely.

Aizou: That’s right. And without rivals, it would be boring.

Yuujirou: Yeah. Me and Aizou’s principle- Wait a second- *blushing* This will be included in the bonus footage! This part is embarrassing-!

Aizou: It is. But isn’t it okay? Speaking of our true feelings like this, since it’s the two of us on a trip together.

Yuujirou: You’re right… It’s a wonderful and precious trip for the two of us.

Aizou: Yeah! Then lastly, a word of gratitude to our Julietta.

Yuujirou: For getting our 2nd album, you have my thanks, Julietta.

Aizou: Thank you, Julietta.

Yuujirou: It has become an album that is full of our thoughts.

Yuujirou: It will make us happy if you listen to it a lot.

Aizou: Listen to it, ‘kay?

Aizou: We will do our best so that we can continue to improve from now on. Come along with us, okay?

Yuujirou: Come with us.

Aizou: Well then~ Let’s meet again, Julietta.

Yuujirou: Bye, bye, Julietta!

Aizou: See you!

Yuujirou: See you!

#LIPxLIP #honeyworks #aizou #yuujirou #hajimete no futarikkiri ryouko #umarete kita koto ni kansha shinasai #lipxlip translation

36 notes · View notes

speedofsoundsketches · 3 months

Note

I'm curious, do you have specific favorite voice actors for the Sonic characters? (Like just the main few, Sonic, Shadow, Tails, etc.) if so, may we know your favorites?

Brace yourselves, this is gonna be a long one so under the cut.

Jun'ichi Kanemaru is THE standard for Sonic. The guy is passionate about the role and captures him perfectly. Plus, he's a great singer! The English VA that came closest to matching him is Jason Griffith. (honorable mention to Devon Mack. Low as my opinion is of Prime, Devon's voice is actually pretty suitable for Sonic. Would like to hear him in a better product!)

The late Chikao Ōtsuka for Eggman was wonderful, but I have zero complaints with Mike Pollack. Really, no matter what style or tone he's portrayed Eggman in, he's always done it superbly. I'd say of all English VA's that worked in this series, Mr. Pollack's probably been the one who's NEVER had a miss. Guy's got incredible range even in his work outside of Sonic (using this as a chance to shill the Pluto Anime since he starred in it. GO WATCH IT PLEASE.)

Tails is really really REALLY hard to mess up. His voice actresses have typically been great at capturing him (save for OVA Tails who talks like he has a cold). Coleen's a fine Tails and suitable replacement for Amy Palant but I may still prefer Palant just because she's the nostalgic one for me being in all the 2000's games plus Sonic X.

Knuckles voice preference is a tough call. His VA needs to be able to play up both his aggressive and gentler sides. It's a toss up between Dan Green and his current VA Dave B Mitchell. Mitchell has been doing good work in the animated shorts so I like him and he's the best we've had since Dan moved on. His Japanese VA, Nobutoshi Kanna, is great as well for the same reasons. :)

Amy's best actress is still her JPN VA, Taeko Kawata (who is also a lovely singer!) Lisa Ortiz to this day is STILL her best ENG VA. She captured Amy's youthful, cutesy appeal but can IMMEDIATELY switch to her assertive side naturally. Fantastic range and it's too bad that Amy's assertiveness has been subdued so much lately that this can't be fully appreciated anymore.

Cream's had far fewer options to choose from. I like both her actresses in JPN (Sayaka Aoki) and ENG (Rebecca Honig) honestly. I do like the almost whispery gentleness to her ENG voice particularly. Just helps her feel very soft and sweet.

Shadow's JPN VA, Kōji Yusa, is so good. You really can't go wrong here. For the ENG VA, this might be a bit controversial because while I appreciate David Humphrey as Shadow's debut in SA2, I'm still partial to Jason Griffith purely because once he got accustomed to Shadow as a character, he really elevated the role. I think his performance in 06 was one of the best moments for the character overall.

Rouge might one of the few times where I actually prefer her current ENG voice actress, Karen Strassman, to her older one. Her JPN VA, Rumi Ochiai, is THE standard tho so Karen just suits her best as a close match! Youthful yet still mature and her flirty quality doesn't sound too forced.

Omega's JPN VA (Taiten Kusunoki) IS SO AMAZING. It's hilariously deeper than I expected but still robotic so something about it just WORKS. His ENG VA is alright too. But I just love the JPN Voice, I don't know why.

May do a part two if I have time for the others!

#sonic the hedgehog #Dr. Eggman #Ivo Robotnik #tails the fox #miles tails prower #Knuckles the Echidna #Amy Rose #Cream the Rabbit #Shadow the Hedgehog #Rouge the Bat #E-123 Omega #team dark #text #anon #asks #ramble #voice actors #voice acting

34 notes · View notes

tangledinink · 1 year

Text

third chapter of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is here!!! read it on ao3 or below the cut-- my tag for this au is here if you wanna lookit all the other bits and boobles ive got for this story.

[ prev chapter ]

Amongst the Hamato family, there were four different languages known, to varying degrees of fluency. Quite obviously, all five of them knew English. To be fair, only Donnie and Leo were in any advanced literature classes, but that was beside the point.

The first additional language the boys learned was Japanese. Donnie remembered when he was five, their Dad offered to teach them. Many people were surprised that he managed to get four young boys interested in language lessons, but they had been so thrilled to learn to speak the same way their Dad could-- to speak the ‘Ninja Language,’ as he had pitched it back then. It's not like they had picked it up right away, but between Japanese cartoons on the TV and their Dad speaking in his native tongue at home, they all eventually got pretty good at it. Nowadays the skill was mostly used for watching anime together, keeping secrets from classmates, and making far-fetched requests from their father. He was more likely to say 'yes,' they found, if requests were made in his first language. He usually still said no anyway, but it did help! Donnie had the statistics to back it up.

The most recent language to enter the household was Spanish, and that one was all Leo and Donnie. Leo had started taking Spanish in middle school to meet a requirement, and, to the surprise of everyone except their father, who remembered how quickly he picked up languages in the past, took to it like a fish to water. He was quickly moved to advanced classes in the subject, and then later began sprinkling Spanish into his everyday vocabulary for the express purpose of showing off. Donnie couldn't allow his twin brother to outdo him in anything academic, so shortly after, he began learning Spanish as well. Quite frankly, they were probably both as fluent as they were simply because they were both so determined to be better than the other.

In between Japanese and Spanish, there was American Sign Language, and this one had been entirely for his benefit, Donnie recognized. Everyone in his family could sign. April had even learned, back when they were little. April didn't participate in his and Leo's unspoken Spanish competition, despite Donatello's numerous invitations, and she didn't know more than a few simple words of Japanese that she had picked up over time. But she was fluent in sign language.

Nowadays, Donnie considered himself quite eloquent, actually, and his entire family could certainly tell you that it could be hard to get him to shut up sometimes once he got started. But that hadn't always been the case.

Look. Talking was... hard sometimes. It was a difficult concept to explain to someone who didn't get it . It wasn't like he hadn't known how to talk, or he didn't understand language. The words were there, at least, they were in his head. He always knew exactly what he would say, if he could, always had thoughts and feelings on every situation he walked through as a child. But when he tried to speak, a lot of the time, the words just wouldn't make it out. They'd be gobbled up in his throat-- caught up in a traffic jam and clumped together in this thick, sticky glob that he couldn't swallow around, making his entire head feel all warm and fuzzy.

So usually, he just didn't try.

He could do short sentences and key phrases by the time he was four, most of them echoes of phrases he had heard in the past, but he could still remember how he would go weeks without saying a word. To be fair, when he was little, it wasn't like he was averse to sitting by himself and playing alone or reading. He still wasn’t, actually! He kind of preferred it at times. And it wasn't like he and his family didn't communicate. His brothers never really seemed too worried about the fact that Donnie didn't talk, (though he could tell even then that his Dad was,) and nods, gestures, or noises were usually enough to get the basic point across. His twin was especially good at interpreting the various clicks and trills and squeaks that he was inclined to make at that age.

But it could be... frustrating, to put it lightly. There were so many things in his head all the time, and he had nowhere to put them. If someone didn't understand what he was trying to tell them, he didn't have any other options to turn to. Chirping didn't work? Neither did pointing? Well, guess what, we've exhausted all possible choices. Cowabummer.

Yeah. It was... admittedly, the source of more than a couple of meltdowns.

Things had changed when they moved to New York.

His memories from back then were pretty fuzzy, and Donatello was pretty sure that there were more than a couple that were fabricated or exaggerated, but he remembered when they moved-- at least parts of it. He was sure his father did, too. Because at first, Donnie had hated it.

---

Yoshi muttered a few curses in Japanese under his breath, hunched over the kitchen counter and scribbling furiously in his planner. He swore he must be forgetting something, but everything seemed accounted for. Get the kids to school, meeting with his lawyers, conference call after that, he had to talk to his agent, still, there was that parenting class, then he had to pick the kids back up. The renovation guy should be around this afternoon so he could finally corner him-- wait, had he actually submitted that paperwork to the city this time, or had he forgotten again--?

The chaos in his schedule was reflected in his home, his four children loudly chasing each other around the living room in various states of dress and disarray, playing some game or another and most definitely not getting ready for school. Yoshi sighed softly, rubbing his temples. Right... first things first. Get the kids to school. Then tackle the rest.

"Red! Help your little brother put his shoes on, please." He instructed primly, raising his voice to be heard over the racket. To his credit, Raph perked up and responded immediately, grabbing Mikey's hand and dragging him off to help wrestle his sneakers on. "Leo, I laid out your clothes on your bed. These are not it. Go and change."

"This outfit is better!" Leonardo defended, gesturing proudly to his swim trunks and dress pants, layered over top of each other on his stubby legs. Shirt not included.

"Tomorrow, we can pick an outfit together. Today, you will-- Purple!!! "

He was mid-lecture with one twin when he spotted the other out of the corner of his eyes, having planted themselves in front of the hallway mirror, Sharpie marker in their hand and poised to begin writing on their own face. Yoshi managed to pull the pen from his grip just in the nick of time, though he nearly fell on the floor in doing so. Not a good back feel.

"We do not write on our faces with markers, Purple." He explained, and even he could hear how exhausted his own voice was. This was only their first week of school. He already got enough looks as it was, he could not show up to kindergarten with one of his children's faces having been Sharpied- -

Donatello stared up at him with wide eyes, blinking slowly from behind his glasses. His lower lip wobbled slightly, and, after a moment, he pointed at his own eyebrows with both hands, tapping a few times.

Yoshi sighed softly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Right. Of course. This thing Donnie had started doing several months ago, though he still had no idea why-- Drawing eyebrows onto his mask each morning.

"My son." He said slowly. "You already have eyebrows."

Donnie stared at him.

And then promptly started to sob.

Yoshi's heart clenched. "Donatello--"

His son plopped down onto his butt on the floor and screamed. Ah, one of those, then. His sympathy didn't leave, but he would admit, a thread of exasperation did join it. This was the last thing he needed right now.

"Okay! Okay, alright, fine. We will get you your eyebrows, Donatello. You will have proper eyebrows." He tried to soothe. Donatello's screaming lessened slightly, but the tears didn't stop, hiccuping and taking deep, heaving breaths that shuddered his entire frame. Yoshi took the chance to spit out some quick instructions to his remaining children. "Leonardo, go get dressed, now, and put your shoes on. Raph, Mikey, grab you and your brother's bags, let's go."

"Come on, Purple. Get up. Come on." He slowly eased the child to his feet, and Donnie, in response, latched onto his father's arm and refused to let him go, his bottom lip still trembling, tears and snot dripping down his face. Okay, sure, fine. He could carry him. His purplest child didn’t care for being touched except for when he did , he had found over the years. "It is okay. We are getting eyebrows..."

He didn't bother with getting shoes or socks onto him, just shoved them into his purple backpack to deal with later and gathered up his remaining sons, and got them out the door. Halfway down the street, he realized he forgot his phone on the kitchen counter, went back, retrieved it, and then left a second time. And the five of them made their way across and down the block to CVS.

With a short order to his eldest to keep an eye on Mikey and for them not to leave the aisle, he made his way down the make-up section. Balancing a teary-faced and barefooted Donatello on his hip he picked his way through the various products and displays until he found what he was looking for.

Eyebrow pencils.

Selecting one in an appropriate shade, (he was an actor, do you think he doesn't know make-up?) he quietly held it out to his son.

"Here. Will this work?"

Donatello took the pencil into his hands, turning it over a few times. He glanced up at his father again, tapping on his eyebrows once more.

"Yes. You can draw on your eyebrows with this."

He stayed quiet for a bit longer, and then he nodded. Thank god.

"Good. Here, sit, and I will put on your shoes, okay?"

Donnie nodded again, and Yoshi kneeled down, setting his child down on the linoleum floor and digging his socks and shoes out of his bag. Slowly, he rolled his socks onto his feet, one at a time, and then got his shoes onto his feet as well, velcroing them tightly the way he knew his son preferred. Donnie watched him silently as he did so. Once he was done, he picked himself up off the floor, and then picked Donnie back up as well, holding him up so he could see himself in one of the little mirrors they had tacked up on the product displays.

"Can you see?" He asked softly.

Donnie nodded a tiny bit, examining himself in the mirror for a moment before he got to work, very slowly and purposefully filling in each brow, his nose scrunched up with focus.

Yoshi let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. For a little while, he just let them be quiet. In the background, he could hear Leo, Mikey, and Raph chattering about something or another, stacking up shampoo bottles in the aisle like bowling pins. At least they were being quiet.

"Donatello."

Donnie hummed softly in response, not pausing in his task.

"I know that things have been very different lately. And you don't like it very much when things change."

Donnie nodded slightly.

"And I know that you want to go home. But this is our home now, my son. You will get used to it. I promise."

Donnie frowned slightly, moving one hand to tap at the side of his head, tugging on his ears.

"Yes, it is louder up here sometimes, isn't it?" He sighed. "... I know you don't like the traffic or the crowds very much. Or when the renovators work on the apartment."

Donnie shook his head fervently, his frown deepening.

"I know. I know, my son. But I promise it is temporary. And soon we will have a very wonderful new home."

He knew his kid wasn't quite convinced.

"There are many things to love about the city, Donnie. Like school. You like school, don't you?"

Donnie shrugged a bit, looking down at his feet. He had been so excited when he came home the first day, but Yoshi could tell that his enthusiasm was waning over time as things became more and more overwhelming.

Yoshi sighed softly. "We will work on it." He assured. He paused a moment, hesitating just long enough to convince himself that he actually did believe the next sentence out of his mouth. "I wouldn't have brought us here if I didn't believe it was truly for the best. This is the best place for our family, Donnie. Including you. Can you please trust me?"

It took a bit, but eventually, he nodded in response.

At least that was a start.

"This weekend," He began, slowly, because he still wasn't entirely sure about this. Was it too soon? Would it be too much for him? But God knew he could use the help-- "I'd like for us to go meet some people together. Just the two of us. I've been speaking with some folks who'd like to talk to you," he explained. Donnie stared him down, and Yoshi internally scrambled a bit, because he always struggled a bit with Donnie. He was five, but he was so goddamn smart, he was never completely sure how much he should or should not try to explain things at times like these...

"They're doctors." He continued. "But different from Dr. Davis. I promise no shots or touching. Just talking. Can we do that?"

Eventually, Donatello nodded, and Yoshi's shoulders sagged slightly with relief.

"Okay." He said. "Are your eyebrows done?" A nod. "Can I put you back down?" Another nod, and Yoshi set Donatello back down on the floor, who went to go fetch his backpack and wrestle it onto his back.

"Boys! Come on. Put those away, it's time to go." He said, turning to begin to round up his other sons.

"Already!?" Mikey cried.

"But we didn't get anything!" Leo protested.

"I've already got--"

"How come Donnie gets something and not us?!"

"No fair!"

"I want something too!"

"Dad! I want a pencil too!"

Oh for God's sake. Yoshi sighed deeply, tilting his head back, staring up at the ceiling for several moments, questioning the course of his life.

"Fine. You may each get one item from this aisle. You have five minutes. Go. And if there is any fighting, you will not get anything ." He warned, and the three remaining children squealed, racing down the make-up aisle to pick out their prizes.

They were definitely going to be late to school this morning.

---

Nowadays, with years of speech therapy and social skills group and therapy behind him, Donnie found talking to be easy. Non-verbal episodes were relatively infrequent and short-lived, and even then, he and his family could always sign with each other instead. Even if he was still verbal, he and his brothers still signed often.

Whenever words were difficult, it was just easier to sign instead.

Donnie had opened his mouth and closed it about five times now, considering what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it in between packing up his bag, having already changed out of his Gi and back into street clothes. Eventually, he just decided to use his hands.

'Is something going on with Dad?'

Mikey paused, looking up from his own duffle bag, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"What? Why?"

'Didn't he seem weird to you today?'

"Well..."

"He's kinda got a point." Leo hummed from the nearby locker room bench, lacing up his sneakers. "He's been out of it all weekend."

'Ever since Mikey lit his room on fire.' Donnie corrected, and Mikey bristled in defense.

"I told you I didn't set my room--!"

"Hey." Raph interrupted, frowning a bit, before he slipped into ASL as well, his bag already packed and his hands free. ' Maybe it just spooked him. You know how he worries.'

'Not like this.' Donnie protested, wrinkling up his nose a bit. ' Every time I looked at him the entire tournament, he was just staring off into nothing. He's never like that unless re-runs of Baywatch are on.'

"Maybe he's tired," Leo suggested. "I don't think he's really been sleeping that much. Have you seen the bags under his eyes? Plus, I caught him up in the living room the other night going through some papers or whatever at, like... three in the morning."

"And what were you doing up at three in the morning?" Mikey asked dryly, not looking up from the zipper he was trying to muscle shut.

"Hey. Look. This isn't about me. This is about Dad." Leo said quickly, getting to his feet and slinging his duffle over his shoulder, beginning to sign once he had the hands to do so. No point in risking anyone overhearing them when they didn't have to... plus, he knew Donnie liked when they all signed instead of mismatching. 'But what are we supposed to do anyway? Confront him? You know he won't talk to us about it. He's, like, the king of weird spooky secrets.'

Donnie frowned a bit, shrugging. He was loathe to admit it, but Leo did have a point. Their Dad hated to talk about himself or his past outside of trivia about his acting career. Donnie had tried to ask him about their extended family once, and he had just totally shut down. He wouldn't even tell them what his parents' names were. And the four of them had always tried to respect that. I mean... they knew it was all really complicated. I mean, jesus, he had basically been kidnapped and presumed dead for, like, twelve years. That had to be traumatic, right?

Most of what Donnie knew, factually, about their move to New York, he had gotten from old magazine articles and talk show segments that he found online later in life. He knew what all the reports and stuff said, sure, about the abusive ex, (their mom, he thought dimly in the back of his mind, whose face he couldn't even remember,) the going into hiding, the forced isolation. But none of them had ever talked about it. He had been really little back then, so he couldn't really remember very much. His memories were more just general feelings or ideas rather than any actual events. He remembered playing pretend games with his brothers more than anything else. He used to think that that was odd, because he had never been much of a 'pretend' kid as compared to his siblings growing up, but his therapist noted that it was common for small children to use fantasy or make-believe to 'escape' from bad situations or explain away trauma. So he supposed maybe that was it.

He remembered it being dark most of the time. And he remembered his feet being cold a lot. There was this sound that he heard in his head a lot when he thought of it, but he had no idea what it was. Shhhh shhhhh.

But that was about it. He and his brothers, in turn, didn't really talk about it amongst each other either, or with other people. It just felt... weird. Or wrong, somehow, he supposed? Whatever.

'Maybe he's just having a bad week or something,' Raph shrugged. 'Or it's just one of his things. I know you wanna help, but maybe we should just mind our business. Let him work it out.'

'We could just ask.' Mikey's hands were free now, too. 'We're his family! I'm sure he'd at least appreciate knowing we care! Even if he doesn't wanna talk about it.'

Leo wrinkled his nose a bit. 'Okay, fine. How about this? If he's still being weird by the time we get back from the swim meet on Wednesday, then we'll ask,' he suggested, a hand on his hip.

'Sounds like a plan.' Raph confirmed, nodding a bit. 'Until then, everyone better be on their best behavior! The last thing we need is to stress Pops out even more! No skipping classes. No fights. No explosions or fire of any kind. '

Donnie wasn't going to lie, there was something kind of satisfying about sharing Raph's pointed look with Mikey. His littlest brother was absolutely scowling, glaring at his oldest brother's back as they filed out of the locker room to go find their dad, weaving past the crowds of other competitors and parents as they went.

At some point, Leo fell into step beside him. His twin brother tilted his head at him slightly, one brow raised.

'You good?'

Donnie nodded a little, conjuring up his voice again to reassure the other.

"I'm fine. Not nonverbal. Just worried about Dad." He explained shortly, and Leo's stance relaxed slightly.

"Okay, cool. Just checking, Hermano." He hummed. "... I mean, I was a little worried that my incredibly awesome ninjocity today was so brilliant and amazing that you were just too shocked to speak, or something. Did you notice, by the way? That I took first place in the lightweight category? What place did you take again? Just wondering."

Donnie rolled his eyes, looking down his nose at the other and pursing his lips. "Right. Also, unrelated, which one of us was victorious at that gymnastics meet on Friday? I'm having a bit of difficulty recalling, dear brother, perhaps you could help jog my memory..."

"Psh! Please, that's in the past , Donnie. You've gotta live in the now . And right now, I won, and you lost, and everyone should appreciate how amazing I did, and also the fact that I totally kicked your ass! God , tournaments are the best. It’s the only place where I’m legally allowed to kick you in the head."

“And what about the rest of the time? When you kick me in the head anyway?”

“Be gay do crime, Donnie,” Leo said with a shrug. “Also, it’s usually revenge for you kicking me in the head.”

“Fair enough.”

---

With how much Donatello had fidgeted with them at first, Yoshi had been a bit afraid that he wouldn’t be willing to wear the headphones, or that they’d do more damage than they helped… but he seemed to have finally adjusted, his arms hanging limply at his side.

And Yoshi was starting to think that the people at the Counseling and Testing Center were on to something. Because his son wasn’t flinching or fidgeting, wasn’t pulling at his ears or whining or scrunching up his face.

This was the calmest he had seen him in weeks.

Thank god.

A part of him was thinking, how in the world had he never thought of this before? But most of him was just relieved to see his child without any discomfort or pain. Waving to him slightly to get his attention, he offered his hand to Donnie, and they took it immediately, clinging on fast to their dad’s fingers.

“Ready?” He questioned, making sure he was loud enough that Donatello could hear him through the noise-canceling headphones.

Donnie nodded firmly, and so off they went.

Yoshi felt a bit bad for taking Donatello out on his own for the second weekend in a row, leaving his other sons behind with a babysitter, but quite frankly, he felt like the purple one deserved it. He would simply have to arrange one-on-one time for the others later to make up for it. Today was for Donnie.

If he was ever going to adjust, he needed to have things to love about the city. Proper things.

Every step of their journey out of the apartment, Yoshi was impressed over and over with his child. With his headphones on and his dad’s hand held tight, he faced the city streets, the traffic, and the crowds alike bravely. When they made their way down to the subway, he stayed close to his father the entire time, not wandering off or straying. On the train, he sat quietly with his book in his lap, flapping his hands as he read. And when a woman with, quite frankly, far too much perfume boarded the subway, he pulled on his dad’s sleeves until he understood so they could move to a different train car.

The whole way to Manhattan, Yoshi was proud.

They eventually approached their destination, and honestly, it took a bit longer than he had expected it to because Donnie kept wanting to stop and examine things. He stopped to investigate the relief out front of the lions, and the sculpture of Theodore Roosevelt and his horse. He was fascinated by the many tiers of stairs leading up to the building, as well as the four massive columns framing the main entrance. He dragged his feet through the line for tickets, rubbing his hands up and down the velvet ropes, a tiny smile on his face the entire time as he explored the texture with his fingertips.

But it was fine. The day was for him, and it was nice to get to see him enjoy everything properly now that he wasn’t quite so overwhelmed. And it was worth the wait, because when he finally managed to herd Donatello to his end goal, he was rewarded with the most overjoyed, elated squeal he had ever heard out of his child as he took in the glory of the American Museum of Natural History’s space exhibit.

Yoshi chuckled softly, hurrying his pace a bit to keep up with them as they darted forward to the nearest model and plaque to begin reading.

“Dad!” He shrieked excitedly, turning around just long enough to make sure his father was still behind him, pointing excitedly up at the diagram in front of him, scaled replicas of their galaxy’s planets hanging overhead. Donatello kept looking up, and then back down, and then up again, and back down, like he was too thrilled to decide what he wanted to look at first.

‘Universe. Galaxies. Stars. Planets.’ the diagram read.

“Yes, I know. Do you like it?”

Donnie nodded so hard, his headphones nearly fell off.

“I was hoping you would.”

‘The observable universe contains as many as 100 billion galaxies and extends billions of light years in every direction.’

“I had a feeling you would enjoy museums.” Yoshi continued, squatting down so he could be on the same level as the five-year-old. “And we have all day to explore the entire place if you’d like. It’s quite big.”

Donnie’s eyes widened a bit, as though it had just sunk in that there was more still to see.

“Don’t worry, my son. We can come back as many times as you’d like.” Yoshi assured. “And when we’re finished with this one, there are lots of others. Libraries, too. All sorts of things I think you’ll like. And we have plenty of time to see all of them.”

‘What is the Universe? The universe is all the matter, energy, and space that exists. We can observe only a part of it— the observable universe. The entire universe, including the part we cannot see, may be infinite.’

[ next chapter ]

#sorrywhatnowaufic #sorrywhatnowau #sorrywhatnowfic #tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt human au #fidgetwing #rise donnie #rottmnt donnie

316 notes · View notes