#i didn’t like the way the direct tl sounded plus i found it kinda confusing so i scrounged through things online for like an hour

[jujumin-translates]

★ Main Story | Act 13 - Budding Spring | Chapter 19 - First-Year Office Worker

Company Employee A: Those intern kids are coming in today, right? Apparently, one of them is the son of the company’s president.

Company Employee B: What’s he like?

Company Employee C: I heard he’s an actor at a theater company.

Company Employee A: Well, if he’s interning, does that mean he’s looking for an actual job?

Company Employee B: Maybe he’s an unsuccessful actor.

Company Employee C: Yeah, well, he’s just a nepobaby, so we probably shouldn’t expect much from him.

*Knock on door and door opens*

Masumi: Good morning.

Company Employee A: --G-Good morning.

Masumi: I’m Masumi Usui, I’ll be a new intern starting today.

Masumi: I may be a bit of an inconvenience at times, but I will appreciate any guidance and encouragement you may have for me. I look forward to working with you.

Company Employee B: L-Likewise.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Flashback*

Masumi: A suit? Too stiff, not wearing one.

Itaru: It’s better if you do this sorta thing right on your first day. You don’t wanna self-debuff by wearing the wrong armor to your first encounter.

Chikage: If you don’t have a suit, I can buy you one from the place I usually get mine.

Masumi: I have one, but…

Izumi: A suit, huh~. They really do make a person look more mature in an instant.

Masumi: I’ll wear one every day. And I’ll have breakfast at the dorms before I go.

Tsuzuru: I thought we literally all just agreed that it’d be a quicker commute to the office if you stayed in the company dorms.

Izumi: There’s no point in you coming back to MANKAI’s dorms every single morning.

Chikage: You’ll have to get some dress shirts and ties too.

Itaru: I think I’ll leave this sorta thing to our veteran office worker.

Masumi: …Whatever.

*Flashback end*

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Company Employee D: That’s all for the explanation of both the industry and our company. From here, we’ll move on to group work--.

Company Employee D: To give you a basic understanding of what promotion is, we’ll have you experience everything from planning to presenting.

Company Employee D: Here we have created a fictitious company with a specific problem.

Company Employee D: Using this as a reference, each team will come up with a plan to solve the company’s problem and then propose said plan in a presentation.

Company Employee E: If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask questions.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Masumi: …And that’s why these data results suggest that this could be an effective way of solving the company’s issues.

Masumi: Finally, does anyone have any questions for me?

Masumi: If not, I would like to conclude here. I hope you’ll consider my proposal.

Masumi: I thank you all very much for your time today.

Company Employee F: W-Whoa… he’s one hell of an actor… He’s so dignified. And really persuasive too.

Company Employee E: He cleans up nicely wearing that suit and he’s got a different kind of mindset than your typical “I’m-going-to-one-day-take-over-the-company” kind of guy.

Company Employee D: He’s the kind of guy I wish I had coming with me to my presentation this afternoon…

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Masumi: I’m finished.

Company Employee E: Huh, already? Did you read through them all?

Masumi: I’ve also compiled everything into a rough report.

Company Employee E: …Well then, are you able to use this software? Next, you can put that in a document using that.

Company Employee E: You can take your lunch break once you’re done with that.

Masumi: Understood.

Masumi: …

*Typing*

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Masumi: …Phew.

Masumi: (Now to confirm with… Oh, they’re in a meeting now. I’ll do it later. I should be allowed to take a break now that I’m done, right?)

Masumi: (I guess while I’m at it, I’ll put together a list of promotional methods that could be used for the troupe and ask whatever questions I can.)

Masumi: (It’s interesting to study promotion like this again. I get why Director and Sakyo do it.)

Masumi: (I wonder if all the other theater companies are thinking of different ways to spread the word about the stuff they’re doing.)

Masumi: (It’s like I knew all of this existed, but I never really was aware of it. It’s the exact same world of theater, but I feel like I’m seeing it in an entirely new way.)

Masumi: (Ah, right…)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Curry has entered the chat.

Masumi: (No one’s here… I kind of hate having to be the first one, but whatever…)

Curry: thanks for the suit

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

#a3! #a3! translation #masumi usui #// hope you guys like the nepobaby line i spent forever on it #i didn’t like the way the direct tl sounded plus i found it kinda confusing so i scrounged through things online for like an hour #eventually found an article that outright said ‘ネポベイビー = 二世’ and i was like YES THAT’S IT #see this is the real reason i’m a translator actually #it’s so i can write out a line where masumi usui gets called a nepobaby by company employee c

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Hajime Chapter #7 English Translation

My translation of the 7th Ginsei no Shou chapter for Saito... It’s probably because that this is my favourite chapter from the game and one that I found especially enjoyable to read (and had more of an understanding of it before getting translations for this lol) that I somehow translated this in record time when compared to all the other things I’ve worked on.... 

Unlike Kazama’s final Tsukikage chapter, the dialogue for this wasn’t all separated line by line in the CN TLs I found for the Saito chapters [NAMELY BECAUSE I WROTE EACH DAMN FUCKING WORD OUT FOR THAT CHAPTER], so some of the text in this remains lumped together. Also, huzzah for google translate providing the translations of place names since I wouldn’t have been able to translate the Japanese words that had been left in the original tl for this otherwise. I don’t usually make adjustments based on the original JP text until I start editing for the video... which will be done later.

All images used in this post were screencaps of game footage I recorded through vlc... also is it just me who feels that my English comes across as a lot more archaic when I stick to the original tl sentence structure...? lol. Anyway, as always, my translation may not be 100% accurate since I do not translate from Japanese.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ANOTHER GINSEI NO SHOU SAITO CHAPTER... one that I do not intend to translate right away... well I also include it in a note about what chapter it refers too. lol. it’s right below the cut.

Enjoy~! OR ELSE! MWHAHAHA!!

(jk, lol. plus, i’m too lazy to think of anything. oh and im currently working on the subtitle positioning for this now as the file got transferred recently since i finished the first round of timing [i need to do this multiple times to get the fade in/out of my subtitles to match the timing of game text’s fade/in... or to at least have them as close as possible] before having all of these tech problems.)

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

Forward Notes

Based on what I remember from tokio-fujita’s notes (sorry but I didn’t check since im kinda busy rn, and the internet on my laptop is kinda unstable as I’m still transferring files... 17.3 gb remains from the dramas transfer) on Saito’s position in the Shinsengumi after leading them to Aizu, I’ve left his position as taichou in this translation due to how the only English translation for that is ‘captain’ which doesn’t show a difference in roles from when he was the Third Division captain ‘kaichou/kumicho’ [note to self: include this along with the link to the page in the post description later. also i will probably just change this to ‘captain’ anyway when i do my subtitle video].

Chapter 6 and 7 occur in Aizu

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Hajime Chapter #7

Translation by KumoriYami

7th month, 4th year of Keiou, after the Shinsengumi left for Sendai——

The Aizu, who had offended the Satcho were engulfed in the bitter flames of war.

When Shirakawa Castle was attacked, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't worried then.

Hijikata-san, Heisuke-kun, Shimada-san, and Souma-kun.

It was no longer possible to fight alongside the people who we deeply trusted since the beginning.

However……

I still have Saito-san.

Saito-san also me, although/even if/despite how I can't fight alongside him.

We relied upon one another, setting out for Shirakawa——

Shirakawa Castle, which had become the headquarters for my father's rasetsu—— we confronted him and Kazama Chikage there.

As Kazama-san had the overwhelming strength of an oni, if the fight was drawn out, Saito-san would have no chance of winning.

But, we still had....

Comrades we could rely on.

Even if [they] leave. Even if [they/they've] choose/chosen different paths.

As long as they maintained/followed their own bushido, everyone was still heading in the same direction.

I believe that as long as we moved forward, one day, our paths will surely cross again, and we will fight to the very end.

If only/I wish that everyone could see each other one more time, I could only pray that everyone would be safe……

Saito-san once again returned to the battlefield.

4th year of Keiou, 8th month

The Aizu Shinsengumi under the command of the Aizu, fought at the Bonari Pass——

After that, they fought bravely to stop the New Government army from entering Aizu Castle.

By the ninth month however, there were not many members left of the Aizu Shinsengumi, yet they still set out to defend/protect Nyoraido [refers to chapter 6] .

This is the story of what happened while I was waiting for Saito-san after he left. 

Fourth year of Keiou, Ninth month

Fourth year of Keiou, Ninth month

Saito-san and the other members of the troop left camp to protect Nyoraido.

Following his instructions/In accordance with his wishes, I accompanied the men who were seriously injured in battle to the rear of the formation.

Yukimura: Please wait a bit longer, I will treat you immediately.

Soldier:……At the most crucial moment, to be unable to help Saito-taichou, I'm terribly sorry.

Yukimura: ……There was no way you could, you are wounded after all.

Soldier: The taicho, is he really okay?

Perhaps it was because his wounds were too painful, that the soldier continued to weakly repeat himself.

Yukimura: Saito-san will be fine. He will surely come back alive.

In order to reassure the soldier, I spoke decisively/resolutely.

Yukimura: That's why, you need to focus on recovering right now.

Soldier:......Okay, I will.

Three days later.

The soldiers who had stayed in Nyoraido, none of them had come back yet.

The news from the front lines had also been cut off.

All that we knew was was the hopeless information brought back by the wounded.

There weren't enough bandages and medicines, and the wounded kept pouring in.

The soldier's and my worries became more intense.

It was at this time——

Aizu soldier: This is terrible/Bad news! Apparently Nyoraido has been completely surrounded by the enemy! The Shinsengumi in Nyoraido might have completely wiped out.

Yukimura:……!

The moment I heard such a dreadful announcement/news, it felt like the blood had been drained from my entire body. [news/information might be changed for ^^^ sentences. might use intelligence, communication]

A commotion spread throughout the entire formation [camp sounds more appropriate].

Soldier: Yukimura-san……

The wounded soldier looked at me with an anxious expression.

Previously, the instant I heard such news, I probably would have broken down into tears.

But, now——

Yukimura:……When such fierce fighting is going on, all sorts of rumours will be flying around we can't assume that everything is accurate before receiving an official confirmation.

Hearing what I said, the soldier seemed to calm down.

Soldier:……That's right. Before figuring things out, we'll still believe in/continue to trust the Taichou, and wait until he returns.

Even if Nyoraido has been surrounded by the enemy, the Shinsengumi may not necessarily be completely wiped out.

Shinsengumi——they, along with Saito-san, I don't know how many times they had escaped from death.

More importantly, Saito-san cannot die yet.

——flashback——

Saito: Yukimura, I wish to make you a promise.

Yukimura: A promise for me......? What is it?" Saito: No matter what happens in the future....... I will protect you with my life. This decision is not because of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata-san, or an order from the Aizu....... but of my own volition.

——end flashback——

At the time, he promised……

Even now, I can still clearly remember how we kissed after.

Saito-san, he made a promise to me.

He will come back to me.

I repeated those words in my heart over and over again, as if to convince myself......

But my heart was beating wildly, and cold sweat dripped from my forehead.

This wasn't able to eliminate my sense of unease.

Yukimura: …………

I truly wanted to rush over to Nyoraido, to immediately go to his side.

But, my duty right now, is to treat the wounded here.

So…… I could only trust/believe in him, and wait here.

After, I continued to focus on treating the wounded while waiting for Saito-san to return.

But, reports on the situation in Nyoraido, they never came again,

The sense of [them being] defeat[ed] became more intense, and the dreary mood gradually enveloped the entire formation [will probably use "camp"]. [The feeling that they had been defeated became more intense, and...]

Soldier 2: Yukimura-san, isn't it time for you to rest? You look very pale.

Yukimura: No, it isn't time to rest yet/it's not the time to rest.

Soldier 2:……Under these circumstances, if you collapse, once something happens, there won't be anyone to depend/rely on [for what you do]. Even if it's just a short nap…… please, for everyone's sake.

When faced with such a strong request, I couldn't refuse.

Yukimura: Okay. Then I'll go and nap/sleep for a bit.

I decided to go find a corner to go nap in .

Perhaps it was because I was so tired, but once I closed my eyes, I immediately fell asleep.

As I slept, I had a dream.

Yukimura Nn, nn......

I didn't know where I was in this dream, the surroundings were hazy as I looked around.

Where……is this?

Yukimura: Is this the Aizu's…… camp……?

……Right.

I was waiting for Saito-san to come back…… then……

My head felt numb and heavy as I looked around again……

Saito:……Yukimura.

Yukimura: Saito-san……!

The person I wanted to see suddenly appeared before me/Now that the one I wanted to see  suddenly appeared, I immediately got up.

Yukimura: You're back from fighting at Nyoraido! Where are the rest of the soldiers……

Saito:……In regards to this, I have something that I must tell you.

Yukimura: Eh……?

Hearing him say such ominous remarks, I couldn't help but feel confused.

Saito: Even now, you have always been at my side…… My gratitude towards you goes beyond words. If I didn't have you, I wouldn't have been able to continue fighting until now.

Yukimura: Thanks for what [reword later]……

Why was he suddenly saying such a thing?

Yukimura:……To speak of thanks, it's too much, I don't need it [It's too much for you to speak of thanking me/it's unnecessary for you to thank me]. Because, you and I……

We are no longer outsiders [/We can no longer be considered as outsiders/strangers...not sure what i’ll go with here] ——I just wanted to say that.

I don't know why, but I couldn't say anything.

The Saito-san before my eyes/right now, there was a subtle sadness to his expression, as if he was extremely sorry.

He…… wasn't like the one [man] I knew at all.

In this unnatural atmosphere, he spoke solemnly.

Saito: I……there is something I must tell you…… No matter what happens, no matter what you experience/encounter/face…… but now I [reword later]……

Yukimura:……!?

I was too late to ask him——

Saito-san's figure was already starting to fade away, then completely disappeared into the darkness of night.

Yukimura: Saito-san, don't go! What are saying to me——

I shouted out then/and lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, my entire body was drenched in sweat.

Yukimura: Just now, that was a dream……

The foreboding feeling/premonition made my heart beat wildly.

Why was it at this time, that I dreamed of Saito-san?

Furthermore, in my dream, it seemed like he had something to tell me.

I had a bad hunch/felt a sense of foreboding, but there was nothing I could do.

Looking around everywhere, Saito-san and the others still hadn't come back.

Although/Even if I dreaded to think so……

Just now, it was just a bad dream, it shouldn't be a sign that something bad would happen.

Saito-san and the other soldiers, what happened to them?

……No, it couldn't be.

He promised me, he would surely come back.

But, if that wasn't the case?

……If I continued to wait here, would he really come back?

I……

Choices 

【Search for him】 【Believe in him and wait】 <-

Although I wanted to immediately rush to Saito-san's side……

I still remembered what he said before.

——flashback——

Saito:......As time passes, things change. The world, ideals, and even the Shinsengumi. Even so, that does not mean that everything must change. As things change with time, so too will there be things that do not change. And I...... I believe in the things that do not change.

——end flashback——

……Saito-san had never gone against the promise he made me/never broke the promise he made me.

Regardless if it was when he left the Shinsengumi to join the Guardians of the Imperial Tomb, or when he was defeated at/during the Battle of Toba-Fushimi.

Also, there was when he ended up fighting Kazama-san.

In the end, he always came back to my side [me].

So, as he promised, he will certainly come back to me.

So, I too——

Yukimura:…………

An incredible feeling swelled in my chest.

It wasn't because of panic, rather it felt like the stars were whispering to me……

This feeling pushed me out of camp.

Outside of camp was a forest that always looked the same at night [reword later].

Although I didn't know if any of the soldiers would return, I thought……

I felt somewhat dejected, and couldn't help but look up towards the night sky.

It was full of stars, quietly twinkling.

Long before I was born, these stars, they must have been watching the world in silence/been silently watching the world.

No matter how many years passed, these silver stars would always shine in the night sky.

Yukimura: Me too……

Under the allure of the dim starlight, I couldn't help but say this/I was unable to restrain my emotions.

Yukimura: I also…… believe in the things that do not change.

Even if the path forward was covered in darkness, the light that pointed towards the future still shined.

Yukimura: I believe——no matter what happens in the future, you will not change.

Just as I muttered this to myself.

There was the sound of movement through foliage.

I froze, staring attentively in the direction of the sound.

After/Then……

???: Is.…… someone there?

The moment I heard that voice, I burst into tears [or: almost burst into tears]. 

Shortly after, a single silhouette flashed in the woods, and its figure gradually became clearer.

Saito: Chizuru…… is that you?

My beloved/The man/The one I loved was calling my name, I could no longer/was no longer able to control myself.

Yukimura: Saito-san…… Hajime-san!

I shouted his name, throwing myself at him.

Yukimura: You came back……! Hajime-san……!

I wanted to welcome him back with a smile.

I didn't want to be crying when we were reunited.

If I cried, that would make it harder to see Hajime-san’s face……

All sorts of thoughts that I had been repressing came bursting out of my heart.

Saito: Ah…… I'm back, Chizuru. Didn't I promise you that I would return? Why are you crying? Could it be, that you didn't believe me?

Hearing Hajime-san's question, I shook my head.

Yukimura: How could I not trust you. However, I was always worried…… [and] when I heard the bad rumours at camp, my heart felt like it was going to crack/split open. Also…… I had a dream, a dream where you went far, far away……

Saito:……I see.

As I cried, Hajime-san awkwardly embraced me.

His uniform, it was completely dirty……

Although his uniform was black, a single glance showed that there were bloodstains and bullet holes everywhere.

Just from seeing him like this, I could tell he had seen a fierce battle. [ or "it was as if I could see a fierce battle." check jp mtl]

A moment later, Hajime-san showed a bitter expression.

Saito: When [we were] surrounded by the New Government Army, I was prepared to be completely wiped out/defeated…… At this time, one of the seriously injured/wounded soldiers told me: we've all been injured [been completely beaten... or some other word that i think of later that implies helplessness] and can no longer be of use to fight. Leave us behind and get out of here with the rest of the troop members——

Yukimura:……!

The decision that had been before Hajime-san, the weight of it left me speechless.

Saito: The me from before, perhaps I would have accepted this proposal. But…… the me now, it was impossible [reword later]. Hijikata-san entrusted me with the leadership of the Shinsengumi. Additionally, I could not leave those who trusted me and stayed/chose to fight together with me when the Aizu were abandoned.

Yukimura:……Nn.

I looked straight into Hajime-san's eyes, and nodded approvingly/nodded in agreement.

Hearing about the changes in Hajime-san's heart, I felt delighted/happy, as if it was my own affair.

Saito: If I had accepted that soldier's proposal, I likely would have returned sooner…… Carefully leading the troops back, it took longer than I thought…… I'm sorry for making you worry about me.

After listening to Hajime-san's words, I shook my head.

Yukimura: I……that's not important/it doesn't matter.  As long as are you are like this, and as long as you come back to me…… that's enough.

Saito:…………Yes [alt I see/is that so. check audio].

Yukimura: What happened to the other troop members/soldiers?

Saito: Because they're moving while carrying the wounded, I think that it will probably be a while longer before they catch up. But they will certainly catch up.

Yukimura: So it's like that, that's good……

Just by/from feeling Hajime-san's temperature [warmth] and his breathing, I was already very happy.

As long as he was like this now, and alive [As long as he lived like this now]…… being at my side, it was enough.

From the way he was looking at me, I could clearly feel that he felt the same way I did.

Saito:……Even for myself, I find it/feel that it's incredible/unimaginable.

Yukimura:……?

I tilted my head, not understanding what he meant.

Saito: Previously, I thought, the ideal wish of a warrior/samurai [check audio] would be to die in battle. However, I now fight for the sake of my comrades, so as to survive [so that we survive/live. chck jp mtl].

Indeed, if it was the past Hajime-san, when faced between choosing life and death, he likely wouldn’t have hesitated.

But......

Yukimura: I.......love the you now....... and I love the you back then. No....... no matter however you are, I will always accept you.

Hajime-san's eyes narrowed in satisfaction.

Saito:……You once told me before. The answer, the one I painfully struggled to find, whatever it was, you would accept it.

Yukimura:……Nn.

Saito: The one who changed me, it was probably you, Chizuru.

Yukimura: Eh......?

Saito: At the most dire point/height of the fighting, I thought of your face…… and my determination to not die grew stronger. Furthermore, every time I thought of how you were doing everything to help the wounded at camp, I kept thinking that these soldiers must not die here.

Yukimura:…………

Carefully listening to my lover's voice, his words, made me feel infinitely happy. [Listening to my lover's voice, his words made me feel extremely happy.]

When Hajime-san was desperately fighting at Nyoraido, if I was able to provide him some courage……

Nothing could make me happier. 

After a short while, Hajime-san slightly tilted his head, almost as if he was urging something.

There was no need to ask what would happen next.

I closed my eyes, quietly responding to him.

After a pleasant wait, our lips were pressed together.

This kiss, it was very restrained, just like how he was.

My heart was beating loudly.

These thoughts became increasingly stronger in my heart, how I wish the two of us could stay in this forest at night forever. [check jp mtl. i’m probably going to go with something to the effect of: How I wish we could just stay forever in this moment, alone and encompassed by this forest at night.*this sentence is pissing me off lol.]

No matter what happens, I will never leave him again.

Saito:……From now on, I will never let you be this sad again. So, let me see you smile/your smile. In order to see your smile, no matter what happens, I will always return to you. [check jp mtl]

Before, I once asked him what he would do one day if he had to drink the Ochimizu for the Shinsengumi……

The answer that came from his lips without any hesitation, was to 【drink it】.

Yukimura:…………Nn. Hajime-san…… Hajime-san, as long as you stay by my side, I will always be happy.

He had asked me to smile, but i couldn't help but to continue crying...

As a result, I was smiling and crying in front of the person that i loved.

About half a month later, the 22nd of the 9th month——

The Aizu-han, which had been firmly resisting the New Government army, surrendered.

——End——

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

well, I probably could have made it easier for myself if I just copied the flashback text from SK/KW/EB... but I just couldn’t bring myself to look up the games to copy said text (had to uninstall them from my old pc for space to take stuff off my passport) since it’d really bother me knowing if I copied something than said it was my translation... which is why i didn’t. ah well. as a translator, the idea of taking credit on something that i didn’t translate really doesn’t sit well with me... but I still think that what I did for those parts came close to what I remember from the games...   

gotta say though: I really dislike the word 「隊士」. In both Chinese and Japanese... and that, as a translator,  i really don’t like how the Gregorian calendar names the months lol. it’s just so much easier to just leave the date as what it says based on the old Japanese calendar... with the era name and month number. let’s me not worry about doing research to ensure the accuracy of things (i require that all of my videos be precise when it comes to dates)... 

also, i wish it’d snow everyday for a week. id get motivated enough to finish a chapter with that.... tho it’d need to be a heavy snowfall so it’s very visible. lol. maintaining my motivation on one thing for a long period of time just doesn't come easy to me... especially when it’s something that has +4000 words in it.

#Hakuoki #Hakuouki #Saito Hajime #Hakuoki Ginsei no Shou Translation #Hakuoki Game Translation #Yukimura Chizuru #hakuoki shinkai

[ninthextrication]

ok, it’s time to actually talk about this, so. Headcanon dump, for Junpei and his relationship with his parents.

warnings for mentions of death, emotional neglect. This one got long.

ze spoilers

First off: I decided a while back that his parents names are Gorou and Hoshiko, both in reference to his bracelet being number five. Plus, Tenmyouji Gorou and Tenmyouji Hoshiko are just nice sounding names.

That out of the way, onto their actual relationship. The first thing of note was the fact that Junpei wasn’t exactly planned for. Now, they were excited to find out that Hoshiko was pregnant- it’s just that neither of them were at all willing to give up their careers to care for a child, because they were both in very promising positions.

His mother ended up working as long as she possibly could before she had to take maternity. Even once Junpei was born, she would’ve gone back to work as soon as she could, leaving the baby Junpei in the care of his grandmother who lived with them at the time. That was all well and good, and it worked out great- until his grandmother died, when he was three. He was far too young to really remember her, so he doesn’t really miss her.

After her death, Junpei’s parents hired someone to work basically as a live-in babysitter. They would’ve sent him to preschool, but couldn’t count on being off work in time to pick him up, so this ended up being the best option.

Maybe made a little obvious by the lack of name, but Junpei was incredibly neutral on this person. They were there until he finally started grade school, at which point he was left alone.

As a young child, and at this age, Junpei still very much looked up to his parents. When he saw them (which wasn’t that often, he usually was asleep before they got home) he was always excited, and he wanted to engage them and talk to them. Usually it wouldn’t work out- they were too tired. However, he really did appreciate the excuse given, that they were working to support him and that it was for his sake. This almost started to twist into a sense of guilt- don’t mention that you’re lonely, because they’re doing this for you. Don’t bother them too much, they’re doing this for you.

His biggest happiness was when he found a runaway puppy- a little english sheepdog that he’d later name Pluto. He was overjoyed when his parents allowed him to keep it on the promise that he’d look after it, and he was a little bit less lonely now that he had his dog.

Still, though, Junpei did want that emotional closeness with his parents. He wanted to be able to talk to them more often, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t really know how to form relationships with people just in general, because he’d missed a lot of key interactions during those formative years.

Now, an easy question might arise at this point: regardless of Junpei’s opinions towards his parents as a kid, was how they handled things right? And the answer is no, not really. Junpei suffered from rather severe emotional neglect, something that started in his childhood and continued until he left home for college. Regardless of the fact that this distance was not intentional, the implications for how he developed are there. His difficulty at forming relationships, awkwardness at understanding emotions, and just complete lack of receptiveness to affection are all things that started very young. 

The latter of that trio is particularly interesting to me- he’s bad with displays of fondness towards himself not just because of the depression, but also because he’s genuinely still just not used to them. To him, affection was the occasional smile or the chance of someone else making him a meal. Physical affection is weird and odd, but it’s also why he does love being touched (platonically) by people he cares for so much- he’s starved for it. Hugs, hand holding, back pats, all of them fill a simple need he didn’t actually realize he even had.

Jumping forwards a bit to his teenage years, Junpei started to care a bit less about his relationship with his parents. They were never there, and that was just normal- he never considered any part of it neglectful, it was just life. Just normal. Still, despite everything, he wanted to make them proud of him. It was slight, but he could tell there was a different in how they acted around him at times- if they were disappointed they’d come home later and talk less, but if they were proud then he would sometimes have the chance of seeing them before gong to bed. The change was so subtle that he honestly wasn’t even aware of this fact, nor was he actually aware of his desire to make them proud.

As was kinda mentioned in the school hcs post a bit ago Junpei did well in school, so it got easier for him as he got older to make them proud of him. He more understood it as just enjoying schoolwork and being proud in accomplishment, but there was still an underlying desire to make them want to spend more time at home.

With his college education, Junpei was given the options between picking for Law, Business, or Science. He chose business for no other reason than it seemed practical enough- there was never any real choice in it for him, though. He was just following one of the three predetermined paths his parents had chosen for him.

Once at college, Junpei spoke with his parents even less. He rarely went back home, and got a job so he’d be able to keep affording food and rent (even if it was cheap food and a cheaper apartment). There wasn’t really much of a perceivable difference for him in anything.

Interestingly, post-nonary game Junpei found himself almost resenting them, in a sort of way. It was a sharp reaction to what’d happened to him- he felt like he’d completely and utterly lost control of everything in his life at that point. In the plane ride back to Japan he’d more or less determined that he was going to kill himself once he was finally back at his apartment, and the only thing that stopped him from doing that was Hazuki and Seven insisting on him going with one of them for the time being.

Once the initial moment passed though, it went back to normal. He decided that resentment had been unfair- after all, they’d told him they wanted what was best for him. His choice to become a detective ended up signifying two things: one, that he’d never be able to live up to those expectations; and two, that he needed to cut ties with them so that they’d never determine him to be a disappointment. It was easier in his mind for them to think of him as dead, and in all honesty he doesn’t really think they’d be that affected by it. As far as Junpei is aware, they wouldn’t miss him.

Nowadays in citta, Junpei is filled with confused and conflicted thoughts about his parents. He doesn’t think poorly of them, not at all, but he can’t help but wonder if perhaps things could’ve been different. He wonders if he should’ve tried harder to talk to them and communicate, or of it had something to do with when he was a kid that he’s forgotten. He generally ignores thinking about them just in general, though. It’s easier that way. He still doesn’t really recognize any form of neglect from his childhood- that was just how things were. It was life, it was normal, nothing to get upset or worried about.

I feel like some of this got very rambly and maybe rather confusing, so I’ll tl;dr it right here: Junpei’s parents were emotionally distant and neglectful towards him for a multitude of reasons, and this distance led to his issues with forming emotional connections with others. He still does subconsciously want them to be proud of him, but I doubt he’ll ever be aware of that fact.

Also, on a related note- Junpei’s obsessiveness and tendency towards unhealthy relationships is a direct result of this. He never learned how to form healthy relationships and never really understood how they work, so he genuinely does not have a baseline for what a healthy romantic relationship (or even just a healthy relationship in general) should look like. Now, this has been slowly getting better within citta (he got a very good example of an unhealthy relationship watching Clover and Phi), and he’s started to understand the importance of boundaries thanks to Akane. His tendencies are still not the best, but they’re a lot better than they were. At the very least, he is capable of being in a healthy relationship by now. And personally I think he’d be able to do it now that he’s in therapy, that’s a good weekly guideline for what to do and what not to do.

#Voice from the Speakers [OOC] #headcanons #death mention #:'D

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

Something Special: Excerpt

{{ This is one of the most potently characterized scenes in one of my all-time favorite stories.

tl;dr, When Srentha discovers a race of people known for sucking the life-energies of the worlds they visit dry, invading a specially-protected Azarathean territory they shouldn’t even be able to find, his family goes to investigate... and in the resulting battle, Dove was captured and transported, with no trail to follow. How does a pacifistic father help his now-mother-absent daughter (Leyla), when his lifelong philosophies rail against pursuing conflict, which is what his wife’s half-sister (Raven) plans, and her half-sister (Kary) fully supports?

~*~

"We have to find her!" Leyla cried desperately. She held her hands to her head and was pacing a miraculously clear space in Srentha's room.

"Calm down, Leyla. please," Srentha begged. His brows were furrowed deeply over wide eyes, but he did his best to keep the quiver in his heart from reaching his voice. "Listen. We have to think, we can't just--"

"So what," Leyla half-yelled, "we just leave her?!"

"That's not what I--"

"Kary's here." Raven's announcement came before the door was fully open, urgency laden in her voice so thickly, Kary paused in the threshold to give her a supremely confused blink-- before she turned to Srentha, and Leyla, and then carefully circumvented Leyla's miniature panic attack to perch on the edge of the bed.

"So, tell me again," Kary asked, "what's going on here? You guys begged me to come. And Raven never begs me for anything."

"Mom's gone," Leyla whimpered.

Her voice was so quiet and miserable, Kary felt her own desperation rubbing off on her. "Wait. What--? Okay. Hey kid, can you sit down? Take a breath or something?" She glanced uneasily at the flickers of white static sparking trails from Leyla's hands clear down to her elbows; her own magic's heat was building at her hip in agitation.

Leyla sighed, shaking her head as she wheeled again. "I'm sorry, I can't. She's gone, Dad says we can't get her, Raven says we need to help, and they're arguing so much--! Oh, Azar help me, I have such a headache..."

"Hey. Hey, just breathe, Leyla." Kary stood up-- and hesitated, for a split second, before she stood right in Leyla's path and wrapped her in her arms, feeling the girl's tension and a prickle of power where they touched, immune by now to her magic-scar's protest.

"Listen. I know how it feels when someone you care about gets in trouble. And Dove is my best friend on this team. But we gotta remember, she can handle herself. She's a superhero-- a Teen Titan, for godsake! I bet she's been in situations fifty times worse than this, a hundred times before! And she always comes out okay. Dove's cool like that. Strong, too. And you're her daughter, so I know you have it in you to be strong, too. Okay?"

Leyla peeked up from around her shoulder.

"I am definitely planning to help you guys get her, don't worry. Because of this--" She nodded towards her hip where the cursed spiraling scar lay-- "I have this weird ability to fight magic I don’t even know about. This thing really doesn't want me to be around other power, so it's going to do whatever it takes to get rid of it. And we can use that to our advantage."

"You never told us that," Raven noted inquisitively.

"Never had the chance," she shrugged. "Besides, I'm still kinda trying to work out how to control it, exactly."

Srentha shot Raven a frantic look-- sure, she and Dove had told him about Kary's magic, but if she couldn't even control it--?

But she was steadfastly focusing on Kary. "At least you have it. If we're going to approach her captors, we need every magical force we can get."

"We're definitely going to need it," Srentha emphasized, "need it a lot. Like, have-it-or-die type need it."

This time Raven gave him a look, utterly unimpressed.

"What do you guys need me so badly for?"

"These people know magic," Srentha started, voice breathlessly rapid. "Not just using it. They've been around using the same artform since at least half a millennium before Azarath even existed."

"So... What is that, a thousand years?"

"More like eleven thousand. Plus their beginning generations..."

"Oh wow... That is some OOOOOOOLD magic." The force at her hip stirred with glee at the thought of challenging, and experiencing that kind of primal power.

Kary didn't like it one bit.

"No wonder you need me..."

Srentha nodded.

"So what's the plan then? We are going to rescue her, right?"

"Can we...?" Leyla asked softly.

Her voice was so quiet, her hope so delicate... Srentha swallowed, shocked breathless at how much she sounded like her mother just then, and reminded himself how to breathe. "I..."

"We can," Raven spoke up. "And we will. I promise."

Srentha found himself actually glaring at her.

This time she felt his gaze and turned to meet it.

Leyla huddled close to Kary when she felt the harsh tension tightening between them again, and remembering Srentha's odd behavior... What if he got angry at Raven and tried to hurt her, and she hurt him back? Not that he had ever lashed out in anger before-- but with everything that had happened lately, she couldn't help wondering... and it made her gnaw her lip in discomfort at the new depth of darkness in her concern for him.

"At least do the justice of making it realistic, and add 'or die trying' to your promise," he finally said. "Don't give her false hope; they work with lethal spells as an afterthought. We can't take this lightly."

"Fine," Raven relented, voice rigid and steely, "we'll save her, or die trying. Although I don't intend to let any one of us die from a flimsy Faunimage death-chant."

Srentha bowed his head at her stubborn confidence, and ran his hand through his hair at the touch of condescension in her voice.

"We WILL find her," Raven added-- her voice softened, as she directed it to the wide-eyed child still hiding behind Kary's arms. "Don't worry. We'll find a way save her."

Srentha only sighed heavily.

"I understand why that's hard to believe," she conceded. "For you..."

"No. You don't. Not really."

"Srentha..." Raven paused. (There had been a time when the other Titans didn't understand how powerful her father was, a time when she had been utterly frustrated by friends she trusted with her life not trusting her about theirs... and she decided to reconsider his point.)

"Okay. So they are powerful, but what if we could contact some of Earth's most powerful mages..."

"Raven, pretty much the only people in all the worlds who stand a chance against the entire Faunimagian tribe would be Azar, or your father."

"But united--?"

"The Faumimage have forces in populations bigger than all of Jump City."

"So it's hopeless," Raven concluded, rhetorically.

"No, it's impossible."

"What if we borrowed some of Azar's magic?"

Only then did Srentha lift his head to look at her-- and she was surprised to see tears glistening in his eyes.

She needed a moment to swallow down the swell of hopeless grief and desperately rapid-pace thought flooding off of him when she spent just a moment too long contemplating that, and cast her gaze aside so she could think.

"Your own power," she began, "the crystals, all of us? Who's to say that our magic is weaker than theirs, just because they have more people?"

Srentha blinked.

"You've said it yourself, many times," she continued. "Azar's magic is one of the most powerful, stable forces in all the dimensions."

"We can't exactly use the crystals in a forest surrounded by hundreds of warriors that want to kill us on sight..."

"We might not be able to perform it there. But what about a preemptive spell?"

"Like what?"

"Shielding. Invisibility. Intangibility. Healing. Those crystals are powerful enough for the spells to last as long as we need them to. Definitely long enough to get there, get Dove, and get out."

"Okay," Srentha conceded, the crushing grief in his inattentive mind giving way to frantic thought and analysis, "how would we get there undetected? You saw how quickly he responded to our magics-- he knew where we were by the energy alone!"

"You're not very confident in your own abilities. Are you."

"Not when it comes to using pacifistic abilities in a potential war, no!"

"But what if they didn't have a way to detect our energies... because they don't stick around to be detected?"

Srentha's eyes widened. "You... Are you-- You don't mean you want me to..."

"Need you to."

He sighed and his shoulders dropped, all wonder and doubt and concession. For a moment, just a moment: he found it reasonable to entertain Raven's resolute and unyielding hope.

~*~

#rhs writings #teen titans fanfiction #rhs fanfics #My OCs are many and come with long-winded backstory. But if anyone's interested: I am WAY happy to elaborate..........