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skamenglishsubs · 1 year

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Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 2, Episode 3

When Jan-Olof called August at the end of episode 2, he said August was supposed to be at the castle next Tuesday, which is when this episode ends. So we're probably picking up this episode in the weekend before that maybe?

Culture: August calls his not favourite step-dad to get some legal advice to prepare for being summoned by the Queen. But if you listen to the Swedish dialogue, Rickard keeps repeating a word - grovt - while listing the possible crimes. The subtitles struggle with this, and the word normally means coarse or thick or rough, but in the context of Swedish criminal law, it means grave, egregious, or worse than normal, and it means that if convicted, the punishment should be from the upper end of the scale.

Subtext: Wilhelm is trying some self-help for his anxiety, but it's not going too well. Baby steps!

Subtext: It's no coincidence that the "injured party" is in the image while August's step-dad mentions it, and that's of course the problem for August. If he confesses or gets dragged into court, he's got an uphill battle, fighting the royal court and their lawyers, which his step-dad might not be up for.

Subtext: Wilhelm demanded distance from his bodyguards, the Queen said she couldn't do that, but what do you know, apparently it wasn't impossible for them to back off a bit.

Subtext: This is somewhat of a theme for this episode, but also for the series as a whole. Wilhelm talked Simon into cheating to get into the rowing team, for purely selfish reasons, and because it's second nature to him. But he'll never get punished for cheating, it's always someone else who will. Simon knows what's up.

Lost in translation: My subtitles skipped this word completely, but isterband is a kind of pork sausage. I'm not a fan, so I completely understand Felice here!

Subtext: Despite Jan-Olof being set up as kind of a villain, opposing Wilhelm all the way, at the end of the day he is employed by the royal family, and Wilhelm does outrank him and can order him around.

Culture: I live in Hawaii, so imagine my surprise when I went to Sweden in 2019 and suddenly noticed tons of places selling poke bowls of all things, when no-one would have known what that even was a year earlier. Sweden has this funny ability to take a trend from zero to a hundred seemingly overnight, leading to over-establishment and people burning out on trends as quickly as they appeared.

Subtext: Simon knows that cheating doesn't work, so he has enlisted Rosh to help him out with his workout in preparation for the competition, while Wilhelm is having a lazy "room-service" dinner with Felice.

Subtext: To be fair to Simon, Wilhelm has been manipulating things in order to stay close to him, and not the other way around.

Subtext: I'm gonna headcanon things a bit about Marcus here, but this is my take on it: Since they went to the same school, I think Marcus knew who Simon was, knew that he had come out as gay, and has been secretly crushing on him since. Marcus is probably really in love with Simon, and so caught up in finally going out with his crush that he isn't exactly picking up on the fact that Simon isn't on the same level.

Subtext: Simon is wearing a purple hoodie which means he's thinking about Wilhelm according to our popular colour theory. And he's wondering why he can't fall in love with Marcus? It's a complete mystery!

Subtext: The only times Simon has reached out to Marcus has been when he's feeling hurt by Wilhelm. But right here he realizes that he actually likes Wilhelm more, which is why he ignores Marcus.

Subtext: Everyone has been encouraging Wilhelm to talk about his feelings, so this is a start, he's finally found a friend he can talk to. Ironically, he's trying to let go, just as Simon realizes he shouldn't move on.

Subtext: Ah, Nils, never change! Boris isn't like the other teachers and staff at school, he doesn't fit in with the upper classes, which is why he's got this nickname. For all his derision though, it doesn't stop Nils from seeing him.

Culture: Nils shows contempt for the concept with his air quotes, but hbtqi-certifiering is a real thing offered by RFSL, Sweden's oldest and largest gay rights organization. For a psychologist to have that certification, it just means they're equipped to deal with the unique mental health problems queer people face.

Subtext: In his own way, Boris actually does answer the question without answering it, hinting that Erik also had problems with the role of being the crown prince and the weight of that responsibility.

Subtext: He's not wrong, though. The more money and power and fame you have, the more people will want to get close to you and use you and potentially blackmail you and leech off of you. There is a legit reason for the secrecy and privacy among the upper class.

Blink and you miss it: He's talking about Erik while touching the watch he wears as a memory of him.

Subtext: This old question again, "Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?" I'd say he's lying to himself here, it hurts right now, but he is better off for it.

Culture: The authors are four very well-known Swedish authors from the turn of the century, these books are classics, and every high school student in Sweden will have read some works by these authors, if not these specific books.

First up is Den Allvarsamma Leken by Hjalmar Söderberg, which is about a couple who met while young, couldn't get together, but stay in love over many years and relationships. Obvious parallels to Wilhelm and Simon's situation. This novel has been made into a movie several times, and the 2016 version was directed by none other than Pernilla August.

The second book is Kris by Karin Boye, and as the characters explain, it is an autobiographic novel about a lesbian love story hampered by tradition, because being gay in the 1930's wasn't exactly kosher.

The third book is Herr Arnes Penningar by literature Nobel prize laureate Selma Lagerlöf, which is about a murder-arson-robbery gone wrong. I certainly hope it's not meant to parallel our story! Selma used to be on the Swedish 20-krona bills introduced in the 90's, but design was replaced in 2015 to feature another author, Astrid Lindgren.

Edit: Thank you @emberc and @richtearex for finding out the title of the fourth book!

I can't make out the title of the fourth book, but the author is The fourth book is Getting Married by the internationally most well-known Swedish author and playwright August Strindberg. Many of his works are about challenging tradition and social rules, and he was seen as very controversial during his lifetime. The book is a collection of short stories about different kinds of marriage, including same-sex ones, which was extremely controversial when it was published in the 1880's. Again, obvious parallels to the show itself.

Subtext: If you haven't picked up the super duper obvious parallels between the novel and this story by now, I have completely failed in teaching you how to pick up subtext, and you are as completely clueless as Henry, who completely misses the point of the novel!

Blink and you miss it: Wilhelm really doesn't like speaking in public.

Subtext: Given how clueless Henry is, he's probably also completely missing the tension between Simon and Wilhelm, and he's that guy in a group project, always escaping responsibility. But him bailing to get coffee actually allows our boys to have a talk.

Subtext: Earlier, Simon chided Wilhelm for not being able to talk about his feelings, and now Wilhelm flips it and criticizes Simon for his lack of honesty.

Subtext: Simon starts reactively texting Marcus about meeting up to break up. But this time it's a reaction because he's slowly realizing he doesn't want to move on from Wilhelm. In the end though he changes his mind and doesn't send the text.

Subtext: Obviously, Sara is trying to sabotage the horse sale. Unfortunately for her, everyone else realizes what she's doing and is pretty much ignoring her.

Subtext: Simon did not fool the music teacher, she immediately realized that the song was actually about Wilhelm, but gives him suggestions on how to salvage it into a proper school song.

Subtext: Wilhelm's plan of replacing August backfires some more, Vincent is his usual douchy self, and Wilhelm realizes he can't control him like he could with August.

Subtext: First Brutus, now Judas. August really sees Vincent as the ultimate traitor.

Subtext: I think Marcus is getting an undeserved amount of shit in the fandom, because up until this point he's been nothing but good. He's actually getting his heart broken here by Simon, because he thought he really had a chance with him.

Subtext: Marcus says he is willing to wait for Simon to be ready for a relationship, which is the exact same thing Simon broke up with Wilhelm about, because he was not willing to wait for Wilhelm to be ready.

Subtext: He lied, like a liar. Wilhelm is 100% the reason Simon wants to call it off with Marcus at this point.

Subtext: But from this point on, I agree with the rest of you, this is manipulative behaviour from Marcus' side and not ok! He is clearly getting ahead of himself and wanting to salvage this relationship by any means, because in his head it's this beautiful thing that was meant to be.

Subtext: August is definitely sending some mixed signals here, he says he just wants to talk, so why is he lounging around half-naked waiting for her? However, it's also the case that Sara is the only person he can talk to about the sex tape at this point.

Subtext: Everyone has been telling Sara that August is the worst person in the world, using those exact words, and here he is saying it himself. But because he does that, Sara thinks he's self-aware enough to change and to redeem himself for what he did, which is why she's encouraging him to turn himself in.

Subtext: Except Sara felt like everyone hated her at Marieberg because she was bullied, which was absolutely not her fault, whereas August's situation is totally his own damn fault.

Subtext: I'm not sure exactly how to interpret this sequence, but I have some ideas. In season 1, we saw August being an extremely selfish lover with Felice, but here he's offering to go down on Sara for her sake, so that's a nice change. There's also a parallel to Wilhelm going down on Simon, making this a mirror to that scene. Or Sara is just nervous about having sex for the first time and not ready for oral sex?

Subtext: She lied, like a liar, clearly super happy about having had sex for the first time.

Subtext: Of course the horoscope matches her situation perfectly...

Subtext: ...it's just that the jealousy drama is not her own, it's Simon and Wilhelm's drama.

Subtext: Felice thinks she's talking about Rosseau, Sara is obviously talking about August. Or both.

Culture: I described the house system back in season 1, so it's nice to see it fleshed out a bit more in this season. The inter-house rivalry is strongly encouraged by the school, and here we see Sprucewood hyping themselves up before their Quidditch match against Slytherin indoor rowing match against Forest Ridge.

Subtext: Yeah, no, that kiss clearly crossed the line, it's not what Simon wanted. But Wilhelm saw it, thinking Simon lied about him and Marcus not being together, oh shit, oh no.

Subtext: Remember the talk about cheating and who gets the blame? Of course Vincent blames Simon for it, instead of Wilhelm, even though it's actually Wilhelm's fault Skogsbacken lost.

Subtext: So Simon quits the team, which means he's gonna get lower grades, getting unfairly punished yet again. And Wilhelm's plan for staying close to Simon backfired even more.

Blink and you miss it: Aww, Wilhelm keeps a small photo album labelled "Simon" on his phone, with a bunch of private photos of them.

Cinematography: If you listen carefully, the quality of the music changes noticeably in the cut, because the show does a diegetic switch between us hearing the music come out of Emo Wilhelm's earbuds, and it being a general soundtrack. It's also a very pretty montage of Angsty Teenager Being Angsty.

Culture: In season 1 there were only some distant shots of the royal castle, but this time we're getting a beautiful close-up of it. In real life, we're looking at Stora Sundby, which is Sweden's largest non-royal castle.

Subtext: You should all have read my previous piece laying out my thoughts on this entire plot, but note that the Queen only mentions Wilhelm quitting because he can't handle the pressure, she says nothing of the issues of being in a same-sex relationship or not having an heir, so she should at least get credit for that. Also note that this is specifically what Wilhelm's outburst in episode 1 was about.

Subtext: The show continues to paint the Queen in a good light, further separating her wishes from that of the nefarious System that forces her to do this.

Lost in translation: In Swedish, she doesn't say August is next in the line of succession, she says he's closest in the line of succession, which isn't the same thing, so the original is explaining this plot point slightly better than the subtitles.

Cinematography: This entire cursed scene is a mirror of the one in s1e4, which starts by Wilhelm asking Simon to hold him.

Cinematography: It's also physically mirrored, because Wilhelm and Felice are on the opposite bed on the opposite side in his bedroom.

#young royals #young royals subtext #young royals analysis #young royals season 2

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preservationofnormalcy · 2 months

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Hi so I was going through some old books I have, and I found one that is...very not normal.

It looks like a very old but pretty well kept hardcover leatherbound. I can't open it (as in, even though I have the desire to (as unwise as it may be) I can't actually bring my hand to try to open the front cover). There's a lot of writing on the front and back covers that looks like Latin but nothing actually translates properly. It's got this sort of vibe to it, too. It's not particularly good or bad, but it's like...buzzing with it.

Not sure if this means anything, but the stack it was in was a bunch of philosophy books, like studying ancient Greek/Roman/etc philosophers.

Hi there! I'm Hazel, the intern for the Archival wing! We'll be sending someone out there as soon as we can. Do NOT open the book. I see that you seemingly can't, which is good. We don't know what will happen if you do, so its better to just leave it exactly where it's sitting. We have a couple of really really old tomes that have the same sort of thing going for them, weird writing that won't translate, the weird vibe, that sort of thing. If at all possible without directly touching the book, cover it with some aluminum foil, just lay it over top of it and curl the sides slightly so that the book is covered. That should stop the weird buzz and the weird feelings around it. Try to stay out of that room if possible, keep the door shut and just keep yourself busy doing other things.

Norm, we need to get someone out there to get that book. We have several like it in the Archives. They all have a cognitohazard level of 4 or higher when they're opened, we need to get someone out there ASAP. Miss Cece said there were books in her, uh...old library that got lost after it was destroyed. They can kill people just by opening the book..

Yeah, we can get some people from O-Sec. They have Bibliothaumic Security procedures for this kind of thing.

#office for the preservation of normalcy #ask #advice #ask hazel

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mythicalartistx · 7 months

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KH Japanese Translations Part 5

Series where I discuss fantranslations I've seen of various scenes

< Part 4 > The other parts can be found under Part 4

Haven't done one of these in a few months 😅

In DDD, Riku talks with Quasimodo about appearances and says this,

The Japanese text:

"People can't be only judged by appearance. I have a friend who saw through my heart."

*He using the term kokoro for heart here*

English: "Trust me looks can be deceiving. A good friend sees you who you are no matter what face you wear."

The line about the heart is taken out completely. They both basically have the same meaning, but the original shows people judge you by things more than just how you look and your actions. Sora saw through his heart and saw who he was despite having Ansem's face.

The English version just simplifies it instead. He states looks are deceiving and a good friend sees for who you are. They have the same meaning but one refers to the heart and more about other things to judge someone on.

At the ending of DDD after Riku returns from Sora's heart he sees Sora eating cake. Sora rushes over to hug him and Riku asks multiple things, I'm going to point out one of the specific things I thought were interesting.

JPN: Why are you having a party without me?

ENG: And why are you having a party?

I think it's kinda funny how normally he is sadden that he got left out.

In Monstro during DDD, Riku is asked if he has someone like Jiminy. He responds with this:

JPN: It seems like he's always smiling. Aitsu teaches me all sorts of things.

Now if you remember the other translation reviews I made or just know about the word in general, Aitsu means someone and can be in a romantic sense. However, it is considered rude if you refer a girl this way and often it is towards a guy. And he obviously referring to Riku as he says he and is referring to Sora.

Eng: That stupid grin he's always wearing— he's the best teacher I could ever have.

The only difference is that the English has a more teasing or playful tone when he refers to his grin as stupid, but still refers to Sora as the best teacher.

Then when Sora is in Traverse Town and is talking to Joshua he says,

JPN: That's okay! Even if we can't see each other, I'm always connected to Riku with my heart.

English: Don't worry he's with me— even when it might seem like he's not.

This is like way off 😭. Maybe it was just too gay for them to do it correctly?? Censorship I swear 😭. They both have the initial meaning of oh we're connected wherever we are. But the JPN says with my heart and it just shows how Sora connects with his heart to Riku's.

In DDD at the end of Sora's story he encounters Xigbar who taunts him and he says this.

JPN: "It's only because your heart is connected to others that you're able to wield that power. You're not a true Keyblade wielder."

"It's fine that my power comes from everyone's hearts." Sora responds.

ENG:

"You're strong because of the ties you have with other people. As if the Keyblade would choose a wimp like you"

"I'm proud to be part of something bigger— the people it did choose. My friends they are my power."

In Xigbar JPN line it shows more about the connection between hearts. And tells him he's not a true Keyblade wielder. I noticed a lot of the lines about connections of the heart get erased within translation. And in the English he taunts Sora and calls him weak. I wonder if there is a catchphrase that Xigbar says in the Japanese or this ft just didn't have it??

Now with Sora line I'm not exactly sure which part is which but I'm pretty sure it's his catchphrase. But it's interesting since in the English he just says his friends are his power which seemingly has the same meaning as the JPN. Except if you think about their hearts giving him power then when everyone lost their hearts it makes sense why he felt powerless.

Riku at the end of the Notre Dame world is told something by Esmeralda.

JPN: "Everyone has a few things they want to keep in their hearts. You should find the answer slowly for yourself."

ENG: "We all do that sometimes. There are things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out"

They both have the same meaning mostly. However using heart here probably has more impact like it's more secretive and probably closer to hiding the darkness. His arc is about facing his darkness and still trying to overcome and not being afraid of it. They both are vague but talk about eventually figuring it out/finding the answer. And this probably refers to darkness.

Also if you ship SR this could also refer to him liking Sora and not saying anything or being afraid that he does.

At the end of DDD when Riku decides to make a second dive into Sora's heart he says this:

JPN: "It's not good if I don't go. I want to go"

Eng: "I heard him call my name. He needs me."

It's not much of a difference but the meaning is actually big by choosing want it shows he wants to do it. The localization choosing need shows he's going because he feels like he's needed just cause his name was called and not a personal choice. They're both good in different ways.

In 358/2 days/KH2, Riku fights Roxas to help Sora. It is just before he gives in to the darkness.

JPN: "You're really aitsu's nobody, after all. I guess I have to trust DiZ." I'm not going to explain the word since I already have earlier in the post.

Riku then explains he is going to have to do it, in which Roxas ask what and he responds, "The power sitting in my heart...the power suppressed by my heart... Even if I'm no longer me...the power of darkness"

ENG: "So it's true. You really are his nobody. Guess DiZ was right after all."

"I have to release the power in my heart— the dark power I've been holding back. Even if it changes me forever."

As much as I like the original way of how he said to describe the dark power, the phrasing flows better in the official localization. They both are basically the same except the Japanese describes the dark power. Also Riku calls Sora Aitsu.

Now I skipped a few lines of dialogue and this is because I want to eventually talk about the famous taunt quotes they have are significantly different in the versions

Finally for the last one, it is the taunt quote

JPN: Riku, "What's wrong, Sora? Are you done already? Pretty pathetic."

Sora, "What are you talking about? You’re the one who’s losing"

ENG: Riku, "Giving up already? Come on Sora I thought you were stronger than that."

Sora, "Get real, look which one of us is winning"

And the change is really interesting. In the JPN the first line is pretty much the same. Riku taunts him for "giving up" or not being able to and cause him pathetic. The ENG says, he thought he was stronger than that giving off the same taunting vibe.

Then Sora's line is actually more about Riku loosing. You're the one who is losing. The ENG localization is similar but it's vague on who is or who isn't winning. But saying losing shows that Riku is losing. But if he says Winning it could mean one wins but the other doesn't necessarily lose.

Also I'm going to be doing Part 6 really soon it's about Vanitas since I recently talked about his backstory in the novels.

So...I don't like most Axel ships since he's being shipped with little kids, but the JPN makes it understandable why some people might ship it even though it's weird and not good... 11 year age gap 😭

So when he was dying in kh2 he says Aitsu and then uh Roxas when he fighting Sora he says why did it have to be you but in JPN he refers to Axel sacrificing himself for him and being gone.... Yeahhhhh it's weird and maybe changing it was a good thing for this case cause don't ship them they're friends and more like guardian and family dynamic if anything.

#kingdom hearts #soriku #riku #sora #kh riku #kh sora #japanese translations #original translations #english versus japanese #dream drop distance #kh2 #Kingdom Hearts 2 #riku taunt #axel #xigbar #part 5 #sora and riku calling each other aitsu is kinda... interesting

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alien-mil · 2 months

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Royal! AU based on a dream I had. I’m making Slugs still canon

Eli is a rouge runaway (AKA SURFACE) and he has been invited to join a community gathering in the castle gardens in the Kingdom of Orientem (it’s google translate for east) Eli has heard about this Kingdom since he was able to talk and so when he is casted out from his own home he sets off to the gathering.

Walking through the gardens Eli meets a Troll, they make conversation. Kord explains how he became a knight. He is know in the Kingdom to be born from the best Blacksmiths, Kord was meant to follow in the family’s footsteps but as he was in training a customer had been attacked, Kord had fought off the attacker and saved who he soon find out was the Prince. Kord wasn’t any normal Knight he was the Prince’s first hand Knight. Eli not picking up that if Kord was there so is the Prince (he is too interested in Kord’s Story) The two talk about Slugs, Eli ask questions about Kord’s home as Eli is a new comer, Kord does the same, Eli ask what’s brings Kord to the gardens and Kord is brought to a realisation he needs to change the guards. Saying he’ll see Eli later at the festival.

Eli realising the Garden is bigger than expected because he is no where near halfway, he meets a second person well Mole person but details. This Pronto was the greatest explorer and traveler there is to know. He’s been to all corners of their globe. Monologue after monologue, Eli is finding that he enjoys it for some reason. As Eli ask Pronto what brings him to the gardens Pronto explains how this is his second home, his family live in the 99 Kingdom and has no way to go back. He explains how he is meant to be inline for the next Molanoid throne but he finds no interest. Explaining once he’s done his adventures he will return to rule and hasn’t been back since. Eli finds sadness about the story but Pronto assures him everything has been taken care of which brightens the mood. With that Pronto declares he will help Eli see the most he can around the garden and enjoy it.

After making it to the halfway point with his new companion Eli admires the white cherry blossom trees. Walking around to the biggest of the trees admiring how, compared to the others, is a bright pink and then he bumps into someone. The person who was previously standing over Eli helping him up and now talking to him was Trixie. She was a local of the Kingdom, a noble but she hates the title because she has to talk to suitors at the Royal balls. Trixie was great to talk to, her and Pronto got on like firecrackers which was kind of terrifying to witness. As Eli and Pronto moved on from the trees, Trixie did too, saying she was third wheeling her friends and wanted to talk to someone not from Orientem. And so Eli talked, probably the most in his whole life with Trixie and Pronto. Pronto breaking into monologue, Trixie butting in the question if Pronto actually did those things. It was great, if only Kord joined him. Then Eli asked Trixie what she’s doing in the garden, apart from third wheeling, she replied saying she wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms again. As the event is a once every decade experience.

The two realised they were needed for total seperate meetings. Trixie said her friends are panicking about where she is, and Pronto says that an apprentice needs help with cartography, both Trixie and Pronto leave to the right of the garden seemingly a shortcut out. So Eli accepts these reasonings with nothing but gratitude and good nature and continues to wonder. The rest of the gardens trail was absolutely beautiful, all the colours seemed the best by the end of the trail and more vibrant. Eli not realising for several minutes that no one is along the trail anymore. Even before running into the others there had been plenty of people walking around. This garden is that big, but now it’s just Eli…

And a man in a white and gold robe who is standing under a purple wisteria tree. The tree is gorgeous but Eli’s attention was on the man. He was lean and seemed to have some muscle on him, not as much as Kord, his dark hair was long and flowing in the wind. His eyes where dark brown like Eli could lose himself with in the darkness within them. But his face was pearly and sharp, covered in kindness. Eli had never seen a man like him. He introduces himself as Junjie, Eli is familiar but he’s not sure where from. Junjie says he’s been looking forward to meeting Eli, asking about what he means Junjie explains that whoever comes through the garden has potential to become the prince’s suitor if he so chooses. Eli then goes on in absolute shock that he’s got no idea who he is. It’s then Junjie’s turn to continue explaining. The whole reason for the garden is to show beauty, and look for it, but not the physical beauty. Junjie explains yes Eli is attractive but he’s also kind and curious. He was able to make friends along he garden and still gave them gratitude when they left. Junjie tells how they will be able to learn each other and become friends but at the moment Eli is a suitor for Junjie if he so wishes.

Eli explains how he wants to be friends first, or at least be able to trust each other and Junjie agrees disappointed but will try since Eli is the only suitor he has liked and maybe gets to love.

#holy shit this took to long to make #slugterra #eli shane #eli #writing #junjie #author #drabbles #was an idea but start becoming a motion #there is no dialogue I can’t explain why #was gonna be a fic but I just kept going #long post #long reads

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jokertrap-ran · 11 months

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[Kuroshitsuji Collab] 6★ William T. Spears (SUN) Translation Final Chapter: Don’t make me repeat myself

“A few days later, continuing the search for leads to return home...”

CV: 杉山紀彰 (Sugiyama Noriaki)

*Yume100 Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Name will remain as my normal ( ラン ) *Images will be added later!

Sun Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Final Chapter / Secret Story Normal / Moon + SS

A few days have passed since the incident where William helped you out…

We continued our investigation in the city today as usual.

Ran: It’s rather hard to gather information… William: Let’s go elsewhere. There are still some places we have yet to investigate in detail. Once that is settled, we can consider extending our search radius to other countries.

Saying so, he points in a direction and starts walking.

(He’s cool and calm all the time, no matter what time of the day it is…)

I ruminate on the things that have been on my mind recently as I looked at the back of his suit, impeccable with not a wrinkle in sight.

(His job is to examine and collect the souls of humans…) (Does he deal with deaths daily?)

Ran: Erm…

William turned back at the sudden vocal prompt.

William: Is something the matter? Ran: Do you witness people’s death every day? William: Yes, I do. Ran: Do you...not think anything about it?

William’s brow furrowed at the question.

William: What, precisely, are you trying to ask me here? Ran: I’d want to help people when I see them dying.

He then follows up with another reply, seemingly having understood my unspoken words.

William: It is just part of a job, and we are simply doing our jobs. We follow the orders from the higher-ups and act accordingly, rationally, and logically... Ran: But-

I was subconsciously about to approach him, but…

He took the first step before I could.

━━━━━━━∘◦ ✰ ◦∘━━━━━━━

He stood up close, looking straight at me.

William: Haven’t I already told you? Bringing personal emotions into work only causes unnecessary trouble.

His glowing yellow-green eyes were hauntingly beautiful.

(Personal emotions…)

His expression hardly changes no matter what he does.

(Though, I suppose his job’s something pretty unfathomable to me.)

The yellow-green light in his eyes appeared almost inexplicably ephemeral. Thus, I voiced out my thoughts in hopes of knowing what dwelled within those depths of his eyes.

Ran: So you examine souls and determine if they’re beneficial… Ran: But I think the importance of life is the same for everyone, regardless.

I felt something shift in his eyes when I mentioned the “importance” of life. Looking straight into his eyes, I attempted to decipher his true feelings about the matter. However…

William: Please do not make me repeat myself. I do not bring emotions into my work.

Curtly dismissed, I was unable to make a comeback. With his gaze trained on me, he sighs.

William: ...I think I work harder than certain vermin out there who take advantage of human’s weakness to steal their souls. Ran: What?

I slightly tilted my head, trying to catch the words he’d spoken under his breath.

William: No; nothing. William: In any case, I have neither interest in your thoughts about this matter, nor the state of the world.

He continued speaking with his gaze trained on me.

William: I simply act according to my own rules and principles. William: Regardless of what I may think of it, you can just follow your own rules and principles, don’t you think? Ran: ……!

He pushed his glasses up and turned away.

William: We’ve wasted time on useless banter yet again. At this rate, I wonder just when will I manage to return to my world...

You only smiled at his muttered complaint.

Ran: Alright then. William: ……? Ran: I’ll follow my own set of principles and help those in need. William: Is that so? Ran: I mean, I do want to help you after all. William: ……

His gaze slowly travels towards me in slight disappointment.

William: The rules and principles you have… They’re pretty inefficient if I must say.

As icy as his words may sound, I will no longer waver on this matter.

William: Come on, let’s hurry on ahead. I won’t stand for having to work overtime yet again today, for crying out loud...

He straightened up and walked off. I then continued tailing after him; this time, with the weight having been lifted off my shoulders…

The END

#夢100 #yume100 #translations #yume oukoku to nemureru 100-nin no oujisama #夢王国と眠れる100人の王子様 #otome #William T. Spears #William T Spears #kuroshitsuji #Black Butler #杉山紀彰 #Sugiyama Noriaki

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nostalgia-tblr · 4 months

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hi, I've never watched loki but i read your posts bcos meta i dont understand is fun, anyway, from what I've gathered, i feel like the maybe the most "lore-accurate" sylki real world au is maybe something alone the lines of donor conceived secret half-siblings, i think its one of the few ways you get the appropriate level of interestingly fucked-up,

ftr im also rarely a real world au person, bcos they never have the appropriate level of fucked up that the og media manages

There's twincest AUs, Anon! (Though I like to think the fact that Sylki Incest AUs have to drop the selfcest angle entirely proves that those things are Very Different. But also I can see how it could turn into Siblingcest AUs.)

I tried for SEVERAL MINUTES to think of Real World AU selfcest equivalents and one of them was "actors playing the same character" but that felt a bit too much like RPF :|

I wish there was a less-judgey-sounding term for Mundane AUs because they're a subcategory of Real World AUs (and seemingly the most popular?) in that they go for the MOST normal and everyday things like coffee shops and high schools and so on. I suppose things like Astronauts AUs wouldn't hit the same could-be-reality spot for people? I think my (usual) lack of interest in such things is just that my fandoms mostly tend to be scifi or some other thing that's pointedly not the real world and it can be hard to translate some characters into normality? Such as with the lack of a real-world selfcest equivalent, as just discussed :)

Anyway I want a handy term for those sorts of things but one that doesn't make it sound like they all suck by default.

#i did have a phase of thinking up Really Mundane Dr Who AUs where the TARDIS was a bus or whatever #mostly because it felt wrong to do that and i enjoyed having to 'translate' things poorly into real world concepts #replies

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shockersalvage · 11 months

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Salvage Showcase: Ted Chikatilo

Danganronpa Killer Killer...yeah.

If you weren’t aware of it before, I am not super fond of Killer Killer’s story. For me, it’s the worst entry in Danganronpa. If I had to describe its main problem, this showcase will probably be a good way to sum it up.

Summary

Ted Chikatilo is an enigmatic case. He’s a graduate from Hope’s Peak Academy that became known as an infamous serial killer during the Tragedy. His talent is being the Ultimate Pyrotechnician (or Pyrotechnist/Fireworks Artist according to some translations) and its unknown what class batch he was in. It’s unknown if he was a serial killer during or even before he entered Hope’s Peak.

During the Tragedy his main form of killing was by slaughtering people with his fireworks. Sometimes by shoving one into a person’s mouth and causing that to explode, more frequently by using an arm cannon that he somehow crafted himself to shoot out his deadly rockets. He’s known as a Million Killer, the same as Remnants of Despair.

Ted was namedropped in chapter 2 as being the killer Misaki and Mekuru sought after for the parasite killings (but that wasn’t actually the case, it was someone else that Takumi would kill in the chapter). From there, he makes a reoccurring appearance in chapters 3-6 of Killer Killer, acting as essentially the first real ‘boss’ Takumi has to defeat and seemingly the one to kidnap both girls. Ted wants to be the one to kill the Killer Killer and properly meets him at the Killing Festival, an underground serial killer gambling ring. He interrupts a match between Takumi and Juzo, who was disguised as Ted to infiltrate the place and confirm an investigation on Takumi’s status as Killer Killer (and was the actual one to kidnap both Misaki and Mekuru). Ted escapes the Festival and has Takumi meet him up top of a skyscraper, appearing after Takumi killed another killer - Kenji Tsuruhashi.

Ted and Takumi fight, with Ted seemingly getting the upperhand thanks to use of his brainwashing fireworks – spectacles so amazing that it leaves one immobilized, lost in a cutesy, childish hallucination of talking bunnies and bears. He even gets Misaki, one of the protagonists, trapped in it as well. But before he could kill him Takumi intervenes, having only pretended to have been brainwashed to avoid revealing his status as Killer Killer to Misaki.

Ted is ranked 65 out of 100. While Takumi admires his dedication to his craft, he points out Ted only has love for his ‘lame fireworks’. This ticks off Ted enough to shoot a barrage at Takumi, who deflects it back at Ted. As he dies in the explosion, he laughs wondering if he’ll be able to shine beautifully.

In general, Ted is a showman obsessed with his own fireworks and cruel sadism. He only wants to see them go off, killing others in a mix of gore and beautfiul explosions. He holds his talent in very high regards and its to the point that calling his craft lame is enough to set him off.

Rundown/Personal Thoughts

Now Ted here is one of many of Killer Killer’s wasted cast and best represents the manga’s main theme in a rather ironic note:

All flash and no substance.

He’s an Ultimate!!! He’s also a mad bomber that loves killing people with his fireworks and can brainwash people with them!! He’s a showman! He’s...he’s...

Got nothing aside from that. It’s not even hyperbole, he just...has nothing else to him. I mean, its clear the artist had fun drawing expressions for him so good to know someone got enjoyment from doing their job?

Normally, I would divide the rundown/analysis portion and my personal thoughts, but when you have a character is this determined to be one trait only, there isn’t anything to analyze? I mean, I could say Ted is a reflection of Hope’s Peak students hyperfocusing on their talents, but literally every other entry, Hell even DR3, did it way better and had it really hit the character that suffered from it. Ted’s just a prideful douchebag with an explosive fetish. That’s the only thing Killer Killer is concerned with for him and I don’t feel the need to extract meaning for a character the writer didn’t want to give.

He’s almost insultingly shallow for a guy that’s here for, if you considered that namedrop in chapter 2, nearly half of Killer Killer’s story. The story acts like he’s important, but sure doesn’t want to spend time truly making him so.

Heck, that’s pretty much the theme with Killer Killer in a nutshell. It’s insultingly shallow and impressively ballsy with how it usually avoids wanting to flesh out its own concepts and characters. Especially with Ted, because even the other killers got at least something to explain why they’re doing what they do. Even if for some its batshit insane. And its not even an issue of the writers being unable to flesh out a character, since the very chapter Ted debuts in we get a good chunk of the story revolving around the villain of the week’s motivations. So the writer can make it work and with how long Ted was around, it could have worked...but God do they choose not to work at all.

Ted just shows up, blows stuff up, fight Takumi and dies. It’s like the writer was enamored with the ‘idea’ of a mad bomber Ultimate...but it stops there. They wanted an explosive fight and nothing else. In a series like Danganronpa, where its stories revolve around how the cast feels and develops in bleak situations, shallowness like this sticks out like a sore thumb.

Why did Ted become a mad bomber? Why’s he attacking Future Foundation or wanting to personally fight Killer Killer? Is he maybe apart of the class batch of one of the Directors of Future Foundation. Perhaps he could have connected with the Killing Festival? Be a Host of it or something? How did he make his weapons?

Interesting questions like these are stuff that Killer Killer either refuses to do in favor of pretty fights.

Eugh.

Next up, on a better note, I’ll be looking into one of the characters from the controversial Danganronpa: Togami. Hope you enjoyed the read for this!

#Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer #killer killer #ted chikatilo #takumi hijirihara #misaki asano #juzo sakakura #danganronpa 3 #dr3 #danganronpa #danganronpa killer killer #salvage showcase

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koppiki · 6 months

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I was wondering, so Saori feels like she's having a very normal reaction to finding out magic exists, with that mix of awe and feeling of isolation from her peers. What I don't get is why she isn't more apprehensive towards Enaga? I mean I'm not sure how much was explained to her off screen but she realizes she was basically poisoned right? & a bunch of other people? Or is the feeling of finding someone [like her] overriding that a bit? (Also I was a bit confused when I read the last chapter. So Saori was basically worried that she was enacting her own desires on friend? And was upset by how excited she was over it bc she's scared of being manipulative? Though im sure the "choosing your high school" thing is much more serious in Japan). Sorry if it seems like I'm asking you to explain the manga to me, I was just wondering how you interpreted the most recent chapters?

I think a lot of this can be answered by the concepts that outline the fundamental relationship between a practitioner and their Repository. One of the most important ones, and one that has been visited multiple times now (with Kuraki and Fuyugare, albeit with the latter more as a joke, alongside of course Saori), is that of the sort of... soul read that a repository gets on the person applying their magic when the magic is applied. A soul read that, notably, tends to indicate a deep sort of connection between the two parties.

Kuraki and Hazakura both have their great desire to feel wanted and as though their efforts are valued, Fuyugare and her repository both had... a shared fetish (among other things, but that's for a later chapter), and Saori and Asashimo both desire to feel as though they're in control of a situation and that their efforts are meaningful (at least, that was how I read it).

Tsuzuki and Konpeito both deal with feelings of inferiority and alienation... feeling as though everyone else is better than them, and that their own desires are somehow lesser. For Konpeito at least, I think it's pretty obvious to see how the ability to read people's minds (and seemingly, the inability to not read a person's mind, given that it's stated to be habitual) would mess you up. You'd constantly see other people's drives and desires, how much they care and how much joy and pride they have in what they do... and find yourself horrifically lacking in comparison.

There's also the second factor of consent, which is Completely Necessary for Repository-ification. You cannot turn someone into a Repository without their consent, full stop. I also think you can't trick someone into it- there's the bit with Konpeito feeling as though they tricked Tsuzuki, but as Tsuzuki stated it was "obvious they were lying" and so that doesn't really hold. Pretty sure you can't trick someone into it, is all.

As a side note, figuring out What Exactly Shinozaki's Deal Was is a pretty big plot point for the manga as a whole, both to do with the soul read aspect and with the consent aspect. It's pretty interesting to see how his and his practitioner's qualities and aspects mesh together. I honestly don't really think it's as clear there as it is with the other ones, but I haven't really read/translated enough to say for sure. I'm sure it'll get done.

ANYHOW, while I would say that Saori and Asashimo's definitions of "control over another person's life" are quite different between the two of them, there is still a shared factor there. Saori's just a kid, after all- it makes sense that she wouldn't have the same sort of... y'know, damage. I think that Saori feels pretty bad for Asashimo, honestly- she seemed to get a pretty good understanding of her in the whole soul read zone, and her push for "sticking within the bounds of the law" (as well as her repeated visits to her in prison, which are noted later, not much of a spoiler but it is from later chapters) indicates to me a sort of desire to help her out. I think that's understandable.

Side note (again), I think the way chapter 30 was framed was very interesting, in a "what part of that was real" sort of way. It's implied pretty heavily that everything from Kusunoki half-dropping the glass takes place entirely within her head (or within the shared conceptual Repository-space that has been shown previously) by the fact that when she comes to again the glass is actually on the floor (as well as the back cover of the mango under the sleeve showing her passed out with the glass askew). Pretty neat, huh? I think it is.

With regard to "what Saori felt bad about" I think some of it can be attributed to just... children feeling as though the things they've done are a lot worse/more impactful than they are. She probably felt like her desire to have her friend go to the high school she noted was selfish, and the fact that a complete third party that she didn't know about ended up deciding her choice made her feel guilty partially because of it. It's sorta similar to Asashimo's statement of "as long as it works, I don't care what happens" in that Saori felt bad because it didn't work. She was wrong. So did she feel relieved because she thought she was being selfish, or because she felt like it was the wrong choice to make? I think it's a bit of both.

I would say she's a bit scared of being manipulative, sure, but more importantly she's scared that her manipulation (if you can even call it that) will make someone worse off than they were. She feels responsible for it, and that's why she feels bad about it having a chance of going wrong (because the choice she made was actually the wrong one, or whatever).

I think it's a confusing chapter, generally. Confusing in that it feels as though Saori is making a far bigger deal out of things than is sensible, and equating herself and Asashimo in a way that feels like a bit of a stretch (because asashimo is, in a sort of legal sense, much worse than her, on account of the poisonings).

Speaking of, as for why the poisoning probably didn't bother her too much, it's possible that the soul read she got (as well as a general understanding of Asashimo as a person whose drugs work Exactly as They Are Designed To) told her that she meant no harm, and so she felt okay about it. It was just some sleeping medication, after all.

I don't know if choosing your high school is a bigger decision in Japan. I can say that high school is not part of compulsory education there, at least. So, it probably means more, since you're not required to do it. Kinda like college/university in the states (where I am).

Anything else...

I dunno, I think she just trusts enaga a lot. It's possible that there was more interaction between them that we didn't see that made her trust her more (in fact, there was more interaction, as is revealed in chapter 32), or it's possible that she's just got absolutely no sense of stranger danger (due in part to her father's peers). Either one works.

In short, I just think she's just kind of a weird kid. Simple as that.

Also, there is absolutely no need to apologize about asking me questions about the manga. I love this dang thing. I love talking about it. I have several friends that can attest to me gushing about it (and its plot points) for several hours straight when given the opportunity. Which you have now done. So, thanks for that!

Always feel free to ask me anything!!!!

#shinozaki kun no mente jijou

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thinkin-bout-milgram · 9 months

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WHAT DID U GUYS THINK ABT THE LATEST MV IM GOING INSANE

tw for suicide, mention of alcohol

Admin Saturn: I now have a crush on kazui! The other admins have been trying to convince me that because his whole arc is showing why he's not a good husband to his wife but like bro... open marriage and a guy that buys me flowers and holds my hand and takes me on drives? Sounds pretty swaggy to me! Also he ate a bird! Thats kinda wack!

Overall based on the info we have and everything he's said in his VD (assuming its to be trusted cause he does have that whole lying thing going on), I would personally go with inno. Like unless his sin was suicide baiting her, I don't entirely see how this could turn into a guilty situation. Definitely not on the same level as a lot of the other prisoners. (looking at how guilty mahiru should be but isn't getting)

Admin Venus: I'll summarize what I talked about in my theory, but honestly, I feel like Kazui didn't do all that much wrong. He seems like he just kinda let life go the way other people wanted it to go for him, and somewhere along the way he realized he really didn't enjoy it. At some point he got "greedy" and took steps to try to change that, but his wife probably committed suicide or possibly got into some kind of accident or something. Either way, that's what resulted in her death.

Between that and him being useful on defense from a meta standpoint, I'm not sure why I would vote him guilty. I wish we knew more though, I feel like both half and Cat were pretty sparse on details relating to the actual death of his wife. Like, I understand your situation, Kazui, tell me what actually happened!

Side note though, it's really interesting to me in the audio drama that he says he wants Es to find out his sin. In the first trial, I'd thought his MV was giving nothing because he was purposefully burying details to hide them from us. After hearing that line in the audio drama and seeing this MV, I feel more like Kazui's repressing his feelings on whatever his sin is so hard that even the MVs can't quite get at them.

(Also, the fact that we still haven't seen anyone who he's romantically involved with (other than his wife) adds to the theory that he's gay for me. A lot of other people (Shidou's wife, Mahiru's lover, etc.) have gotten relevant characters' faces revealed this time, and while we did get that for Kazui's wife, I feel like who he was with would've been revealed to us unless there was a specific reason to hide it (ex. he was with a man).)

Admin Mercury here. Uhhh I really got nothing on my mind but shitposts tbh. When listening to his VD, I really got the impression he was still lying or at least being overly dramatic like the theater kid he is. Especially in this part:

(translation thanks to @/onigiriico) The way he delivers these lines seems so fake to me, but I realize this might just be personal bias talking. Idk yall, lemme know what you think ab his delivery in the comments below (PFFFT sorry)

Admin Neptune: I'm definitely team innocent. Although it seems like Kazui hurt his wife by not wanting to be married anymore, he tried to be a better person and stop lying to her. Unfortunately, according to him, this resulted in her death. It doesn't really seem like he did much wrong, especially compared with many of the other prisoners, and he helps keep the prisoners safe.

The part where his wife's image transforms into what is seemingly a man with an apple for a head (along with other parts such as the "I can't stop, I can't be normal") leads me to believe that he's gay. Assuming that the apple is supposed to represent something he feels is forbidden, this part could represent his desire to date/marry a man instead. I find it interesting that he sees this image through an alcoholic drink, and I feel like it represents something but I'm not completely clear on what.

Since Kazui says "I can't live unless I lie" as mentioned above in the VD, I wouldn't be surprised if he was still lying, but I do believe that he never actually cheated on his wife. I do wonder if he would consider "emotional cheating" infidelity, and it seems like the temptation might have been there when he says "it didn't even turn into infidelity."

#milgram #admin mercury #admin saturn #admin venus #admin neptune #kazui mukuhara #kazui milgram #as you can see most of us are very no thoughts on this one #idk it just didnt really give anything?#vibes of it were fs so much better than half #idk how they did it but they fixed kazui??? -mercury

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pixelquiet · 1 year

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Pixel Plays 01: Heisei Pistol Show

I’ve decided that I wanna write blog posts about games I’ve played recently, how they make me feel, and what lessons I will be taking from them moving forward as a developer. This entire thing is all because playing this game gave me a ton of brain worms and very few people are talking about it online. Lets get to it!!!!

I first heard about Heisei Pistol Show (HSP from now on) by the developer Parun in a lovely video by hazel about one of his other games Re:Kinder. She mentioned it briefly, about how it stars a boy in a lolita dress (which immediately intrigued my gender sense), and how a subbed playthrough could be found on youtube. I tried watching that playthrough, but honestly, the translation was incredibly rough, not to mention hard to follow with how busy the art style is and how fast paced the recording was. I decided to wait on it if a fan translation ever came out, and sure enough, just a year later, we got one! I was super excited that I would finally get the chance to try it out

HSP is primarily exploration based, with Heart, the aforementioned boy in a dress, exploring a strange yume nikki-esque dreamscape with his best and only friend, a talking pistol, by his side. His goal is to find and kill the top three assassins who are standing in his way from getting revenge on his ex-boyfriend. The game loop revolves around exploring to find cash, buying a new gun, and using its special properties to defeat the top three in a sort of turn based puzzle fight. There are no enemies beyond the bosses, so defeating them is more about using the unique properties of the guns to take them down before they can do the same to you. I ended up just running away from all of them upon first encounter to instead find all the money in the game, using it to buy every pistol, and then using the information memos to figure out which ones to equip. The boss fights are really clever, seeming impossible at first glace, but not too hard in the end. The game also offers an easy mode that lets you kill every boss in one normal attack, but where’s the fun in that?!

The part of the game that really gripped me is the art and story. The artwork feels very homemade, but also exudes effort. Lots of bright, flashing colors and intricate programmatic animations precede every first encounter with a boss in a little musical number. The character sprites are very charming in that oekaki sensibility as well. The characters talk to each other like good friends with a lot of history together, which makes the rest of the story that much more tragic as it unfolds.

I’d like to delve into some spoilers as I describe the story here, so if you are interested in playing this game, please please skip this paragraph. Heart’s story was really familiar and difficult to me, as a trans woman. We are shown scenes of his (I will be using he for consistency, but this is debatable in my opinion) childhood in which he wishes to become a princess, and sings along to a princess-themed idol’s song, a pastiche of twinkle twinkle little star. At first, Heart claims the singing made his father happy, but later on we are shown him being abused by his father, seemingly due to that femininity and it’s resemblance to that of Heart’s cheating mother. As the story goes on, we can see that this pain led to an inability to form healthy relationships, as Heart attached himself to his clients as a sex worker, to the despair of the Top Three, who are seemingly representations of the other sex workers, and also ambiguously trans in the way Heart is. Heart’s story is tragic, a trans sex worker, abused and clinging to love, falling to violence and eventually being killed by police. Despite all of this, Heart never loses his cheery attitude and hope that he can one day find happiness, although this takes a dark turn when he believes revenge on his lover is what will bring that happiness.

I really found the story and it’s themes of clinging to hope and happiness in the face of unending misfortune, as well as its thematic interplay of sex and violence challenging and fascinating, and I think it explores the topics it does with a level of nuance greater than many works made today, despite having been developed in 2008 Japan. I also think it succeeds in a lot of the ways recent indie darling Omori, fumbles, especially in regards to story and managing to make a dream world have consequences and meaning within the narrative.

I think some of the lessons I’ll be taking from this are in regards to the art and story. First, I think I will try to allow myself some ambiguity in the stories of my games, especially towards the beginning. For the majority of the game, I had very little clue what was actually going on, and things became more clear over time in a very satisfying “ah-ha!” moment. I’d love to replicate something like that in my games in the future. Secondly, and this is a lesson I’ve learned before, a game having “technically” bad art doesn’t make the art bad. Parun’s artstyle isn’t the most impressive, but it has a lot of charm and beauty, and is completely unashamed of itself. The game allows itself to be loud, colorful, and messy, and I think there’s no other way this game could have been made.

All in all, please give this game a shot! It’s free and pretty short, less than an afternoon’s time (also I need more people to make fanart of Heart he’s so cute).

https://patchy-illusion-team.itch.io/heisei-pistol-show

#pixelquietplays #heisei pistol show #parun

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rise-my-angel · 2 months

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I really like how in the Modern AU it's not "the characters are in our world" but rather "this is future Westeros where everyone is seemingly reborn". Howland Reed lives in a swamp. Dire wolves are perfectly normal pets. People still use swords because they look cool. But everyone has phones, laptops and cars so it doesn't take days to visit each others houses. I don't know how to explain it but this is exactly the kind of Modern AU I've always wanted. Also, OMG Margaery, hi ~ 💕❤

Trying to come up with the world was actually so much fun! Figuring out what would translate, what wouldn't, how do modern day amenities effect the characters without changing them entierly. The world is what makes the characters the way they are and I wanted to maintain that about them. Which is why highborns are still a thing, but it's more a symbol of very ancient families who were there in the building of the society we recognize as the original series. Why the Wall and the Nights Watch exist but their function isn't the exact same.

It was just so much fun coming up with ways to modernize the world of asoiaf instead of just bringing the characters into our world. It forces me to be a lot more creative in how I go about designing the world building so I'm glad you liked it!

#also i absolutely was going to include margaery i constantly wish i had an excuse to write her #but never did until now and was like BABE ITS YOUR TIME TO SHINE

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alivehouse · 2 months

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Okay, so I mentioned it in the tags to one of your posts last night and it hit me it might actually be up your alley: "Snail on the Slope" by Strugatsky brothers (it's easily piratable, I checked, can't say anything about the quality of the translation though). It has themes of:

being trapped in a seemingly normal place with unclear rules;

contamination and rot;

the big forest that's obviously a metaphor 'consuming' things;

the same forest integrating humans into itself.

It's about a guy in a something resembling research station on the verge of a huge and mysterious forest who wants to get in and a guy who lives in the forest among forest people who wants to get out.

Generally the vibes are quite weird, but not especially scary.

that does sound very up my alley actually. i just started a new book like, yesterday, but once im done ill check it out. thanks!

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waters-bane · 1 year

Text

|| Nolir, Sea’s bane ||

Name —

Nolir (male presenting)

Minél (female presenting)

Nicknames/ aliases —

Sea’s bane

Morënén (Blackwater), occasionally Úcalimanén (Murky water)

Falmarin (sea-fae)

Gender —

Fluid

Sexuality —

Pan demisexual

Age —

Unknown - immortal

Species/ kin —

? Partial wraith - assumed to be Maia due to cloaking

Abilities —

Mana manipulation, his mana grants him the ability to communicate and influence sea monsters such as water drakes who dwell in deep water to do his bidding as well as breath and survive underwater, something that is unknown to seemingly everyone save for Vanimóre.

It also grants him the ability to more easily cloak his nature, especially from beings who are able to manipulate pure mana, possibly on accounts of his mana being partially corrupted. It does not, however, allow him to change his appearance aside from between the one that he normally takes and a more female appearance which he also frequents, likely also attributed to his only partially corrupted mana and weaker control over any sectors that do not relate to the sea and those that reside in it.

Weapon —

He usually relies largely on his mana but it almost equally adept with a sword or dagger

Affiliation —

Vanimóre

|| Appearance ||

Height —

7’8

Eyes —

Black with a blue-ish tint to them and permanently wider, oval shaped pupils on account of having adapted after centuries to living in deep water to the darkness and light refraction.

Hair —

Long, black hair - once again with a slightly blue-ish tinge to it - usually kept in a high ponytail while he keeps a part loose in front of his left eye.

Other —

His skin has an almost blueish green tinge to it - as if he was a drowned corpse that’s only just about been revitalised - and there are a few stripe-like markings on the back and sides of his neck as well as his back and upper arms. He usually wears clothing that covers his neck and most of his body in various shades of blue-grey or black, with the intention of bringing as little attention to himself as possible at all times.

The stripes create actual indentations in his skin whenever he is in water and his teeth all sharpen as well, skin also gaining a more obvious green-blue tinge.

His eyes having naturally wider pupils causes him a few issues in lighter areas and his eyes are often only half open to prevent himself having to squint to prevent the light from hurting his eyes.

His appearance stays largely the same between his male and female forms but he looks more human in his female form, the stripes and greenish tinge gone from his skin and his hair and eyes look slightly more brown than blue-ish black.

Face claim — He Xuan (TGCF)

|| Personality ||

Very dismissive of most things and very often annoyed with everything and everyone that surrounds him, there are very few positives that most people would use to describe him other than the fact that he’s very intelligent and calculating, studious even, as he spends much of his time holed up in the library or study whenever he’s not needed for anything else.

Nolir’s dismissive attitude is seen to border on cruel and he is horribly disloyal, more than happy to watch everything burn so long as it benefits but doesn’t negatively affect him though he takes no pleasure in causing harm unnecessarily. Something that he refers to as a waste of time and energy.

He’s very easily agitated, especially when on land and surrounded by the living. He isn’t, however, quick to lash out - almost lethargic in that sense and unwilling to do much other than leave the situation. This seems to only be the case when he is under the impression that Vanimóre would hear about any time that he lashes out and is rather unwilling to be near him when in his presence. This dislike for the general translates to a tendency to cause as many problems for the general as possible and disagree with him every chance he gets, constantly at his throat.

Without such restraints as the general, his anger is more easily sparked and he lashes out very, very easily on accounts of his constant simmering annoyance. This is often times verbally as, due to his intelligence, he’s very easily able to pick up on minute details about a person and take advantage of them - though he isn’t so great with emotional cues - and the fact that he’s very judgmental and doesn’t like to keep his mouth shut unless it’ll cause him any long term issues.

|| Background ||

A being close to a wraith and yet not so corrupt as to be considered one, Nolir doesn’t actually recall what his life was like before he presumably died, only ever feeling a vague sense of belonging when deep underwater or surrounded by scolls and books in a library or his study. He resigned himself to spending several centuries in the depths before coming to the shore and meeting Vanimóre who was able to sense Nolir’s nature.

He fled before returning several decades later where he found Vanimóre waiting for him, the Maia having been keeping tabs on him for reasons unknown to Nolir. Much more adept at cloaking himself now but not so much that the Maia didn’t recognise him, he was forced into loyalty with the threat of having his nature exposed, knowing that there would be no way that he could protect himself in the event of this happening.

An assumed to be maia of an unknown origin, little is known of him to other beings other than he had had no connection with any of the Valar nor the Ainur, something that no one was able to understand the cause of though it is something that was attributed to several centuries in which he was assumes to have been ‘trapped’ in the depths of the sea from the moment that he arrived in the world.

Very few are able to get anything out of him as he so seamlessly managed to integrate the story that they had all fabricated for him into his life. He is seen to be unwillingly attached to Vanimóre who was the one who recommended him to be given a position monitoring the activity of water drakes and overseeing any ships and naval activity to account for Melkor’s lack of control over the domain. However, Nolir himself has no loyalty of any sort to Melkor and stays only to ensure that Vanimóre doesn’t reveal anything that the two agreed would be kept between them if he was to join their forces.

Other than the blackmail that Vanimóre had to use against Nolir, he was also indebted to the general for covering for him whenever he needed to return to the sea on accounts of him not being suited for the land and unable to stay on land for longer than a few months. Despite knowing that it would put him further in debt as Vanimóre would have to expend more time into overseeing Nolir’s duties as well as his own while Nolir was gone and having to deal with Melkor’s displeasure in Nolir’s stead, he would often leave for longer than necessary, deepening his debt every time.

He took little part in any form of politics and put in only minimal effort when it came to threats to Melkor, even after his fall. After Vanimóre fled to Valinor, he returned to the sea in the hopes that he would never have to see the Maia again, too paranoid and insecure and knowing that they both had all too much to resolve between the two of them and yet neither one being willing to address it. From there, left the sea only to enter Valinor as Minél on occasion to keep tabs on Vanimóre where she met Amaurë and the prince’s attendant, Linnadis.

|| Relations ||

As a general rule, he has very few positive relationships what with knowing that the only reason that he’s still alive was because no one knew that he was at least part wraith. At least, no one who would kill him immediately for it

Vanimóre — (@edensrose’s oc)

Nolir despises him for blackmailing him and more so for being such a constant annoyance to him. There is no one that he could ever hate being indebted to more and yet no one he trusts more with his life, something that bothers him greatly and often prompts him to distance himself from the general

Amaurë — (@edensrose’s oc)

Nolir tolerates him the most of all of the Ainur and most Maiar. He finds his presence calming in a way that infuriates him and the way that he is adored so widely would have induced jealousy in him perhaps a few centuries before he actually met him. He knows him only through observing Vanimóre on occasion to ensure that he isn’t trying to seek him out

Linnadis — (other oc)

He thinks him overly excitable but finds himself respecting his loyalty to the prince of Valinor likely because he shows no loyalty himself. He’s annoying but easy to get along with, even if he was borderline forced into a friendship with him by his incessant nagging and his presence constantly appearing in his life

Melkor —

Like with all of the other Ainur, Nolir is indifferent to his existence. He knows that he has no chance against him but has no form of loyalty or care for his cause.

#[🌊] — weathered scrolls

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katyspersonal · 2 years

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🅱️loodborne creativity tips

- Don’t take for granted a word from a youtube loredigger that barely scratches the lore surface, he is probs wrong anyway. People who care usually lurk on hellsites like this one.

- Don’t feel pushed into accepting a most popular interpretation of a character, or most popular theory, or most popular ship. Try to sit and reflect and understand what you want. Trust me it’ll pay off.

- That’s me if I had a coin every time someone whitewashes Henryk:

(you get the point. check the face datas: ( x ))

- The more you neglect the ‘but it is a videogame logic’ and ‘creators maybe were lazy’ and instead use what you are given - the more interesting ideas open!

- Don’t rely on localisation team and instead always consult direct retranslation ( x ), you really don’t wanna trust people who created ‘Even the Doll, should it please you’ or made Kos (or some say Kosm) sound as though she is connected to the concept of ‘cosmos’ when that’s L + not true, or said that Emilia was Amelia or missed god knows how many nuances. HIRE FANS FDJHDSsdfsd

- There IS a timeline, Miyazaki is just a sick sadist even if he swears he is a masochist! Communication with other fans is a key.

- Don’t be scared to interpret Eileen as not black (only one of her like 5 VAs is black, nor VAs bind the character), or to interpret Maria as bi/pan/straight/aro (canon says jackshit about her orientation) or to interpret Yurie/Julie as not asian (not only her name is Julie, but also her data suggest a blonde gal) or whatever. Trust me normal fans at worst just won’t care is all. Ones side-eyeing you are aggressors that think most common interpretation = obligation and you don’t NEED approval of people like this. Just don’t insult the more accepted versions because if you call them “token diversity character!!!!! >:(” I will evict you from this plane of reality.

- Try to write your Adeline as if Maria didn’t exist. And try to write your Edgar as if Micolash was instead a stereotypical super ultra crazy 12 year old anime girl. And try to write your Henryk as if Gascoigne never knew him nor cared. TLDR; make sure characters are still interesting and written even if their popular ships are not possible.

- If you love Dark Souls a lot and want to connect the verse with Bloodborne, there are actually many incentives, not just Chester seemingly being a Hunter and ‘Deep Sea’ theme! Like go for it, the ‘well AKTUALLLLLY’ territorial redditors don’t know shit.

- If you check ‘Gehrman the first hunter’ tag know it is often lore inaccurate hate anyways and you risk just getting upset. However do post good stuff under this tag if you have something good to say about the character. We’ll weed em out eventually lets go lore accurate fans lets go

- It is absolutely ok to have "generic” design on Laurence or Adeline or Rom or whatever! Obscure characters we never seen as humans are a hassle to draw the fanart of, so more or less popular designs just speed up communication through fanart.

- If you want extra lore, check translations of latin lyrics and/or internal filenames! Did you know Ebrietas’ lyrics both refer to Mensis ritual and have ‘fair maiden why do you cry’ in it, or that Amygdala is ‘evil god’ but One Reborn is ‘failed evil god’?

- Don’t ever do the ‘but nobody cares about this character so...’. EVER. Post that character. POST them. Post ideas about them. Talk about that character. Huge chunk of Bloodborne cast is neglected. It’s been seven years and still no coherent stuff with Henriett, Gratia, Forgotten Madman, Yahar’gul Hunters, Dores, Research Hall ladies that kick your ass before you enter it etc etc. Trust me supply creates demand. Post that obscure character. (Please post them dsfghgfds ;-;)

- Shipping Adella and Arianna is the same as shipping Alfred and Annalise. No ship-shame here but if you adore one and hate another, think about why you do. Overall avoid the biases that boil down to ‘the wrong thing is only wrong if it is hetero’.

#bloodborne #/hs #text

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johannwolfgangvongoethe · 1 year

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reading yaoi for the plot

recently i seemingly entirely stopped my life for a week to read the visual novel Slow Damage.

i dont really play vn’s (reading in front of my pc is HARD) nor do i read that much boys love (i am a bit of a gayboy by nature, so im not opposed to it) so what drove me to absolutely devour this one.....i honestly dont know. i would never have bought it for myself but my bestie gave it to me. so here we are.

slow damage is a game that you Could play. maybe should and maybe shouldnt. its sad and since it deals with self harm, suicidal thoughts, violence, sexual violence and rape, child abuse and just about every other bad thing you can imagine.......... man that shit can be depressing as hell. and since its a eroge, they are out there sexualizing shit they really SHOULDNT.

AND I HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!! all those “fiction doesnt affect reality” talk some people do is bs in my opinion. yes, you probably wouldnt hurt people irl bc youre reading this rape scene. but YES, bad porn will still condition your brain negatively in the long run.

anyhow. slow damage is pretty damn self-aware. dont get me wrong man, i love the game so much. and yet, and yet.

its so deeply important to me how the game really pictures.... unconditional love between friends and multiple different endgames that finish the story Well for the protag. he can attain salvation and peace. whether it means never touching the wounds of his past or confronting it headfirst. either way he can go through the worst of the worst and end up better. or worse. its all so fickle but thats the good part right. mental health is very sensitive and as a chronically sick person, he is so so vulnerable. (not madarame. fuck everything to do with him. i think theres a storytelling and character study merit to his ends as well but this paragraph wasnt about them)

ive been thinking about talking about it but theres probably people who have. better more informed takes than i do. here are my 2 cents anyway

id love to talk about the ludonarrative dissonance that is a yaoi game with rape scenes taking a stance against rape

im also really intrigued by the setting; a very desensitized city with desensitized people, which we are supposed to see as sad, yet a lot of scenes are there for shock value

CAN WE TALK ABOUT GENDER. WHY IS SLOW DAMAGE SO FILLED WITH GENDER. ITS EVEN GOOD WITH GENDER. I LOVE THE AMOUNT OF GENDER IDENTITY TALK!!!!! WE LOVE TO SEE CIS PEOPLE TALK ABOUT GENDER. WE LOVE NORMALIZED DYSPHORIA TALK. BUT ALSO I LOVE HOW SENSITIVE THE TRANSLATION WAS ABOUT ITS TRANSFEM/GNC CHARACTERS

the fact that the game has an Entire big arc about gaslighting and an abusive relationship, that makes the protag really really internalize selfhate and doubt and makes that mindset smth that he wears like a protective “its just us two against the world” shield. its so sad yet so close to life

the protag, though horribly abused and traumatized, has the advantage of having a very functional very very loving support system in the form of his two best friends, one of which happens to be a doctor. can you imagine how much worse this could be. im constantly aware of it

thinking a lot about how much class plays a role in the last route and towa and fujieda only start to get along once their perceived differences are lifted, in fact them being “the same” is of fundamental importance - but also undermines how unbridgable their differences would have been otherwise

deeply in love with the fact fujieda, as someone who studied law and has been dealing with courts professionally, is this huge vigilante. bc he doesnt trust justice to happen unless he does it himself. and towa is important to him, but ultimately his own goals are just a bit more important than towas comfort. i love when characters have spines <3

on a related note, i also love when characters dont have spines. taku is literally my fav. the fact hes a human sanctuary contrasts so beautifully with him withholding vital info, constantly telling white lies, being conflicted about Everything, but eventually going to jail bc he thinks he Deserves it

how and why is eiji a metal gear solid character stuck in a pokemon characters body

#slodaposting

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