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etude-in-citrine · 7 months

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Detective Conan Drama CD: A Written Challenge from the Detective Boys

So I've noticed this drama CD has been out for more than ten years (October 2011) but the most I've seen are tidbits of it, especially regarding a.. certain scene. (￢_￢) No one has really translated the whole thing though and after taking that mantle it myself, I see why... If anyone is interested in matching this to the drama CD video, be my guest but I ask of you just to ask and credit me. ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)

So heads up before we start (warning: super long), I translate most of the terms to English but kept some Japanese terms like most honorific like -kun, -san, etc. I sometimes would switch between Professor/Prof. and hakase but they're both the same. However I have switched meitantei to great detective since it's a smoother transition in translation and it has a nice ring to it.

I also kept classic Conan phrases like oi oi, arere, barou because they're too iconic not to. (*´∀`)♪

I decided to differentiate Kaito and Kaitou Kid because Yamaguchi has a specific way of voicing them, just like how he does with Kid and Shinichi.

Italics are thoughts

Bold is codes/ciphers

*(word)* are actions

TN is translation notes to clarify riddles/codes/jokes that get lost in translation.

And I have loads of side comments in forms of SN(side notes) so apologies if it ruins your experience.

Also to make this a more amusing read, I litter face emojis in some of the dialogue, mostly those with strong reactions.

Watch out for this face specifically (◕∇◕) because that means Conan is speaking in his cute childish voice.

Now with all that mumble jumble out of the way, enjoy!

*Watching Detective Red Jacket*

Ayumi: It was so interesting!

Genta: Detective Red Jacket was so cool!

Mitsuhiko: Yeah! The action and story were perfect! It's the best movie I've watched! Number 1!

Ayumi: Yup! There's no doubt about that, right Conan-kun?

Conan: You think so?

Ayumi: Eh?

Conan: I figured out the killer in 5 minutes.

Haibara: Is that so?

Conan: And also- Ah.

Ayumi: What's wrong Conan-kun? You suddenly turned around.

Conan: Nah. It felt like someone was watching me..

Kaito: Shoot this is bad! To think these guys were watching the same movie as me. And it just had to be the seats right in front of me...

Conan: Was it my imagination?

Haibara: Well, what were you planning on saying?

Conan: Well the protagonist Sannomiya Kazunori's acting wasn't very good.

*crunch*

Ayumi: Huh? What's wrong Ai-chan? You're crushing the pamphlet very tightly.

Haibara: Uh.. a-ah-

Mitsuhiko: I know!! Why don't we all go to Mitsubo shop? If I remember correctly, the Detective Red Jacket special edition is being released today!

Genta: Let's go then!!

Ayumi/Mitsuhiko: Yeah!!

Conan: You guys seriously like it that much? Sorry but I'll head back first. See you guys!

Genta: What's with Conan? Always saying stuff and being a wet blanket just when everyone is so enthusiastic.

Haibara: I'm going to buy another new pamphlet.

Ayumi: Sure..

Genta: Let's hurry up and go!

Mitsuhiko: It'd be bad if it sold out! Especially since it comes with a special poster of the protagonist Sannomiya Kazunori as a bonus.

Ayumi: Oh, Ai-chan came back.

Haibara: Tsuburaya-kun, is that true?

Mitsuhiko: Uh yeah.

Kaito: It's true that Detective Red Jacket is super cool! A far cry compared to certain midget detective.. (SN: (≖_≖ ))

*theme song playing*

Conan: Detective Conan Drama CD A Written Challenge from the Detective Boys

Agasa: So in the end, you weren't able to buy the Detective Red whatjamacallit's book.

Ayumi: Yup that's right!

Mitsuhiko: A middle aged man with a weird hat bought the last book in stock!

Genta: That's definitely harassment!

Mitsuhiko: Right!!

Genta: Because no way an old man would be a fan of Detective Red Jacket!!

Kaito: *old man voice* Well turns out he was a fan~ Hehe. Sorry about that but I'll partake myself with the last book in stock~ (SN: childish.. (￢_￢;))

Agasa: That certainly is a bummer. *ahem* Now here comes a question!

Detective Boys: Ehhh?!?!

Genta: Another of Prof's pun quiz??

Mitsuhiko: It's so sudden as always.

Agasa: Sorry about that.

Which martial arts is most suitable for you guys today?

A) judo 受動

B) kendo 剣道

C) karate 空手

Ayumi: Eh? Ayumi has never done any of them before.

Mitsuhiko: Me too.. I'm bad at martial arts after all.

Genta: Ran-neechan would be karate though.

Haibara: The answer is A) judo

Agasa: Eh? Your reasoning behind it?

Haibara: Kendo and karate have thrusts ( 「突き(つき)」(tsuki)) but judo doesn't have any. In other words, it means we're unlucky (TN: phrase: 「月(つき) がない」(tsuki ga nai):not having luck on your side) right?

Agasa: Bravo!! That's the correct answer!!

Mitsuhiko: I see. We have no luck, huh? That's true..

Genta: But that's all Conan's fault right?

Agasa: Huh? What do you mean?

Genta: Because even though everyone was so hyped up in the movie, Conan kept saying stuff that spoiled the mood!

Mitsuhiko: But I don't think that has anything to do with not being able to buy the Detective Red Ja-

Haibara: It's related, don't you think?

Mitsuhiko/Ayumi: Eh?

Haibara: They say "Once you start finding faults, your luck/moon will leave you". I think there's some truth to that.

Genta: *whisper* Don't you think Haibara is somehow scary?

Mitsuhiko: She's probably angry because Conan-kun badmouthed Sannomiya Kazunori.

Genta: Ehhh??? Does that mean Haibara is a fan of Sannomiya?

Haibara: (ʘ言ʘ╬)

Mitsuhiko: *shriek*

Genta: W-w-what?

Mitsuhiko: Haibara is glaring at us with scary eyes..

Genta: Huh-Waahhh! Her eyes are a little..Ahhh.. I might have leaked a little...

Mitsuhiko: But that kind of expression is also quite lovely. (SN:(￢_￢;) Is Mitsuhiko an m??) But now that you mention it, Conan has just been talking down on us.

Genta: Sometimes I want Conan to be (surprised and) speechless.

Ayumi: Well then, let's all challenge Conan-kun then!

Genta: Challenge Conan?

Ayumi: Yup, let's all prepare super difficult problems and let Conan solve it.

Mitsuhiko: Ahh... but don't you think the riddles we think of will be solved very easily?

Ayumi: To make up for that, we'll have Prof. Agasa and Ai-chan to participate with us, right?

Agasa: Sure.

Haibara: That sounds interesting.

Agasa: Now that we've settled on it, let's start the plan.

Haibara: First the words for the cipher.

Genta: Hmm you're right. Okay Haibara, we'll leave you to a really difficult one!

Ayumi: No Genta! We're all going to think for it!

Genta: You're right.

Mitsuhiko: To start off..

Kaito: A challenge to the great detective huh? It's gotten interesting! I was wondering what was up so I'm glad I made the right choice to place the miniature microphon- DAAAHHHH!!!! Y-you idiot! Go over there!! I'm not a telephone pole!! \(º □ º l|l)/

(SN: I think some birds pooped on him. Poor guy, I thought you knew how to deal with them considering you own doves..)

Conan: So what business do you have with me?

Ayumi: We Detective Boys are sending a challenge to Edogawa Conan-kun!

Conan: Ha?

Mitsuhiko: In other words, it's like this. We're going to send four codes for you to solve from here on out and have you find the treasure that's somewhere around this city.

Genta: The time limit is until 5 in the evening! So you have 2 hours!

Conan: Oi wait just a minu-

Ayumi: If you can solve all the codes and find the treasure until then, it's Conan-kun's win!!

Haibara: But if you can't find it, it's Edogawa-kun's loss.

Ayumi: Here! The first code is in this envelope!

Conan: No, like I sai-

Genta: *gibberish sounds* You can't open it yet until 5 minutes passed. You got that?

Mitsuhiko: Well then, let's hurry to our designated spots!

Genta/Ayumi: Yeahhh!!!

Conan: Oiiii you guys!!! *Detective Boys run away* It's not like I agreed to this and they ran away.. Haibara, what's the meaning of this?

Haibara: Who knows? Isn't it because you don't normally treat them nicely?

Conan: Huh?

Haibara: So, what are you going to do?

Conan: Even if you tell me what to d-

Haibara: A great detective will accept any challenge, wouldn't you agree?

Conan: What's with you? You've been quite snarky today.

Haibara: You think? Isn't that your imagination? Ah, 5 minutes passed.

Conan: *sigh* Fine! If you're going to go that far, then I'll participate. *rips envelope* Is this the cipher?

"A comedian hates octopus(お笑い芸人はタコが嫌い)"?

Haibara: If you go to the location this code indicates, you'll be able to get the next code.

Conan: An octopus huh? If we're talking places that have octopus, the first things that you would think of is a fish market, a sushi restaurant, or an octopus ball(takoyaki) stall.... Ha! As if!! It's not even worth trying to deduce! Such an easy riddle! Just to add onto this, it's not just comedians, exam students hate octopus too.

Haibara: Heh...

Conan: Something a comedian and exam student both hate is failing/falling (滑る(suberu)). In other words, the location this code is pointing at is a sliding (also すべる(suberu)) octopus. If you put it that way, there's only one place like that in this town.

Conan: So, why are you coming with me? Aren't you Genta and the others' side?

Haibara: I'm here as your observer.

Conan: Ha! With such easy riddles, I'm not going to stoop so low and cheat.

Haibara: Not that! I'm here to see if you're going run away in the middle of this challenge.

Conan: Run away? Yeah right! Look, we've arrived. It's here.

A sliding octopus means that, the octopus playground slide.

Random girl: Mister, hurry up and slide down already!

Mitsuhiko: Ah, I'm sorry. I'll slide right away. *slides down* As expected of Conan-kun, to think you arrived here already.

Conan: This is only park to have a octopus slide in this town after all.

Mitsuhiko: But! This is only the beginning! Here. This is the second code.

Conan: Oi, I'm telling you in advance. I'll be able to solve codes of this level in a heartbeat.

Mitsuhiko: Muhuhuhuhu. The next code is going to be even more difficult. Well then, I'll be waiting at the location of the treasure!

Conan: Good grief. So what's the next riddle?

"Economy at Siberia(エコノミーでシベリアへ)"?

Economy...Siberia?

Haibara: What's wrong? Weren't you going to solve it in a heartbeat?

Conan: Shaddap!

Haibara: Don't hold yourself back meitantei-san!~

Conan: *huff* Like I thought, Haibara seems to be in a bad mood. I don't know what happened, but spare me from your venting.

Travel agency saleswoman: A travel ticket to overseas is currently discounted in this campaign at the moment!

Conan: It seems Ayumi and the others aren't around. It seems a travel agency would be too straightforward as expected.

Haibara: A~rere~ It can't be that with economy and Siberia as keywords, you would think it's a travel agency right?

Conan: Hufufufufufu! I was only coincidentally passing by!

Haibara: You're right! A great detective like yourself wouldn't make such a childish deduction like that right?~

Conan: Hmph, shaddap with all the nitpicking. Just you wait! I'll solve it for you right now!! (*｀□´)

Economy and Siberia, there should be a different meaning to them. First economy, other transliterations have meanings such as 「経済(keizai)」: economy/finance, 「節約(setsuyaku)」: economy/savings, 「景気(keiki)」: economic activity/marketing. Hm? Mm?? 「けいき(keiki)」? 「ケーキ(keiki)」:cake.. Siberia... Siberia cake.... I see! I figured it out! It's this way Haibara! Follow me!!

Haibara: Ah!

*opens door*

Pastry waitress: Welcome!

Haibara: Isn't this a pastry shop? Why?

Conan: Don't play dumb with me. Well whatever! I'll explain it to you right now.*in the cutest childish Conan voice* Excuse me, do you have Siberia cake? (◕∇◕)

Pastry waitress: Yes! It's right at the far end of that case!

Conan: Thank you!!~ (◕∇◕)

Hehe! This is it! A Siberia cake is sweet bean jelly sandwiched between the Castella cake. It was popular between the Taisho and Showa Era. But nowadays, you barely see it around anymore so this is the only shop in town where you can buy this fabled cake. I can't imagine Ayumi and the others to be aware of this so I bet Prof. suggested this.

Haibara: pachi pachi pachi (TN: it means clap but pachi sounds cute so I kept it)

(¬へ¬) Hmph. As expected. It was a perfect deduction, although it's very fustrating. Yoshida-san, you can come out now.

Ayumi: Okay.. Aww you found out. Here, this is the next code.

Conan: Sure, thank yo- Oi oi! We're still doing this?

Ayumi: Obviously!! This is our challenge after all!! (｀ｴ´) Don't flake out until the very end! See you! *goes out the shop*

Conan-kun is amazing as expected! We might not be able to win even with Professor's and Ai-chan's help. Ah! *bumps*

Kaito: Oops! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?

Ayumi: I'm okay! I'm sorry! *runs away*

Kaitou Kid: Now then, I guess it's about my time to shine.

Conan: Hah... what's next? *rips envelope*

The panda shop is a fruits parlor without fruits (パンダのお店はフルーツがないフルーツパーラー).

Haibara: This one is simple. You can just check all the fruits parlors in town.

Conan: You're one to talk. Judging from all the previous riddles, you can at least tell that it won't point towards the location the code writes word for word..

Hm? Word for word? I see!! It is supposed to be seen word for word!

Genta: *badge beeps* Is that Ayumi? Eehhh?!?!?! Conan already cleared it?! Are you for real?! An hour hasn't even passed yet!... Okay I got it! Wait for me at the final place! See you! *beeps* So does that mean Conan will be able to arrive here quickly then? Ooohhh!! Is that Conan?.. Hah, wrong person... AAHH!! OVER THERE IS-

Agasa: Genta-kun.

Genta: Yes?! You scared me.. What is it? It's just Prof. Don't scare me like that!

Agasa: Haha.. sorry about that.

Genta: Anyways why are you here? Aahh! Did you come here to play pachinko?

Agasa: Of course not! I came here to trade places with you.

Genta: Huh? Trade?

Agasa: That's right. When you think about it, it's not proper to have an elementary schooler constantly wait in front of a pachinko (gambling) parlor. We're talking about Conan-kun. He'll arrive here momentarily. Leave this place to me and you should head to final destination.

Genta: I see! That's smart Prof! Okay I got it! This is the riddle! *hands envelope* Then I leave this place to you Prof!

Agasa: Sure!

Kaitou Kid: Leave it to me.

Haibara: How did you figure out it was a pachinko parlor?

Conan: Hm? I just followed it literally. It's because it's a 'fruits parlor without fruits'. Without the fruits, you remove the fruits from fruits parlor and it just becomes parlor. And then, you can call a pachinko by its other name parlor. Oops! *ding dong* Excuse me! We're getting off!! (◕∇◕)

*getting off the stop*

Haibara: So then, what about the panda shop?

Conan: It's the name. The pandas in the zoo further down at moment is named Lily and Xinxin. Hey Haibara, read the pachinko's name on the signboard.

Haibara: Parlor Lily...

Conan: There you have it!

*enters parlor*

Agasa: I've been waiting for you Conan-kun. You have such good timing!

Conan: Professor! That paper bag...

Agasa: Well, since I was free, I wanted to kill some time. It kept on coming out one after another nonstop! (SN:じゃんじゃんバリバリ,(janjan baribari)(￣∇￣*) Reminds me when Kaito disguised as Subaru in the New Years opening) It's a big fever dream!

Conan: 'Continuously nonstop' you say? Huh? *opens bag* it's all candies....

Haibara: Professor. What do you plan on doing with those candies? (・∀・#)

Agasa: What's this? Do you want it? Then take as much as you want! I can't eat it all by myself after all.

*realization hits*

Haibara: Is that so? You're going to eat it...

Conan: You're... not Agasa-hakase are you?

Agasa: Hm?

Conan: Haibara strictly monitors Professor's meals and nutrition. For you to talk about eating candy so casually in front of Haibara... The real professor would be trembling to his bones and would definitely never dare say something like that.

Haibara: Saying trembling was unnecessary.

Conan: I'm sorry...

Agasa: As expected of the great detective..

Kaitou Kid: Hmph, it seems you've figured it out!

Conan/Haibara: Kaitou Kid?! Σ(ﾟДﾟ)

Kaitou Kid: Well then well then~ What I have produced here is a single red rose. There are no tricks or contraptions. One two three *poof* Wow how mysterious~♡ The red rose swapped places and became a challenge notice~

Conan: Wow how mysterious~ What do you mean by challenge notice?（￢へ￢）

Kaitou Kid: Nah~ I just happened to coincidentally witness a scene of some innocent little boys and girls that wanted to make Conan-kun speechless. It looked interesting so I decided to partake myself as a contestant. (SN: Sure Kaito.. I'm sure no listening devices were involved when you happened to hear them right? (;￢_￢))

Conan: What?! (　ﾟ皿ﾟ)

Kaitou Kid: You'll naturally accept my challenge right oh great detective!? *throws a flash bomb*

Conan: So bright! Y-You bastard!! He disappeared...

Haibara: Kudou-kun, open the envelope!

Conan: S-Sure.. *rips open the envelope*

To my beloved great detective,

I will be appearing at one of the following jewelry stores at 5 in the evening today.

イ(i): Niaoka Jewelry

ウ(u): Jewel Yuki

エ(e): Crystal Gem

Now to figure out where I'll appear, try your hand at deciphering the next code.

Orion's children all know this. Four of the sons love taking a walk. Three of the sons gaze at the sky. Five of the sons are left-handed. (オリオンの子供たちは知っている。四つの息子は散布好き、三つの息子は空をみやげ五つの息子は左利き)

The end. I wish you the best of luck,

Kaitou Kid

Haibara: If it's 5pm, we have less than 30 minutes. For now, let's contact Inspector Nakamori and have the police guard all three stores.

Conan: S-Sure... *dials* *uses Shinichi's voice*

Shinichi: Hello is this Inspector Nakamori? This is the detective Kudo Shinichi. I've just received a challenge letter from Kaitou Kid.

Haibara: It means we won't be answering to Kid's challenge but it can't be helped... This isn't a game after all.

Shinichi: Yes. The place where Kid will appear? That is... I will definitely figure it out within 30 minutes. So can you please stay on standby until then?

Haibara: Kudo-kun?!

Conan: Heh.. Haibara. You told me this right? A great detective will accept any challenge.

Haibara: Hmph. You idiot.

Conan: Now that that's settled, the Detective Boy's treasure hunt will have to be put on hold. We don't have time.

Orion's children all know this. Four of the sons love taking a walk. Three of the sons gaze at the sky. Five of the sons are left-handed.

Haibara: Show me the first page.

To my beloved great detective,

I will be appearing at one of the following jewelry store at 5 in the evening today.

イ(i): Niaoka Jewelry

ウ(u): Jewel Yuki

エ(e): Crystal Gem

Isn't this a little strange?

Conan: Hm?

Haibara: Normally, the order of the katakana is generally either ア(a)イ(i)ウ(u) or イ(i)ロ(ro)ハ(ha).

Conan: Right...

Haibara: But what's written here is イ(i)ウ(u)エ(e). Why didn't he start from ア(a)?

Conan: Hm.. there must be a reason behind that. But, let's decipher the code first.

Haibara: Then let's start from Orion's children. What is the meaning behind it?

Conan: Hmmmm... Kid is aware of Ayumi and the others challenging me with riddles. If he took advantage of that opportunity, then this code is like theirs. There's no doubt it's guiding us to a specific location.

Haibara: And that's where we'll get the hint about the jewelry store.

Conan: Yeah.. now that you mention it, if I remember correctly, back then there was a movie theater called Orion Seat right? But it's already been demolished and became a plot of land.

Haibara: If we consider any other areas with the term Orion, myth「神話(shinwa)」, Beltegese 「ベテルギウス」, Orion's belt「三星(mitsuboshi)」: Three Stars).. Hm? Ah! Mitsubo shop!

Conan: That's it!

Haibara: Then what about the children part?

Conan: I'm not sure. But let's go there first. We might be able to figure something out when we're there.

Haibara: You're right. Okay.

Conan: Mitsubo shop. There should be a clue to which jewelry store Kid is aiming at inside this shop.

Haibara: The Detective Red Jacket will come out again soon. Please look-... Look....Look.........

Conan: Hey Haibara- SCARY!!! W-What's wrong Haibara? You have such a scary look on your face. Σ(Дﾟ;/)/

Haibara: I-It's nothing.

Conan: Hm? An automatic eclipse machine...(SN: it was really difficult to hear so I'm not entirely sure if this is accurate. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Haibara: Orion's... children!

Conan: Let's go check it out!

*runs*

Haibara: If that's the case then the next line is

Four of the sons love taking a walk. Three of the sons gaze at the sky. Five of the sons are left-handed.

But is it referring to three siblings?

Conan: Oh about that, don't you think it's strange then? If they were siblings, then isn't it more natural to refer them as 5th, 4th, and 3rd and follow them by age? (TN: the way 五つ(itsutsu), 四つ(yotsu), 三つ(mitsu) is used is either by numeric counters (ex:I would like 3 of these please) or comparing ages(ex: He's older than me by 3 years))

Haibara: You have a point. It's quite strange to order it by fourth, third, and fifth.

Conan: Which means those numbers doesn't mean age. It's referring to the amount. Let's first find stuff that comes in four.

Haibara: Things that come in four? *bumps into child* Ah!

Random lady: Ah! I'm sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?

Haibara: I'm okay.

Random lady: Jeez! Cut it out already! I told you it's dangerous to run around the bookcases already!!

Haibara: Bookcases? Look Kudo-kun! There's four bookcases!

Conan: There's.. four! Then what's the three referring to? There should be some type of rule that contains three. And that hint is most likely within 'taking a walk', 'sky', 'left-handed'. I see! I figured it out! 'Love taking a walk' means to walk! It's four so that means you have to walk to the fourth shelf!

Haibara: Then what does 'Three of the sons gaze at the sky' mean?

Conan: It's 'gaze' so you count from the bottom. It's three so it's the third row!

Haibara: The third row is... the children's literature!

Conan: 'Five of the sons are left-handed.' So counting from the left is the 5th book!

Haibara: One.. two.. three.. four five. *picks out the book* This? This book is.. Sans Famille 「家なき子(ie nakiko)」!

Conan: Sans Famille「家なき子(ie nakiko)」?... I see! So that's what it means! *realization* I figured it out which jewelry store Kid is aiming for!

Conan: The store Kid is aiming for is Jewel Yuki!

Haibara: There's only 7 minutes until 5pm! I'll notify Inspector Nakamori!

Conan: Sure! I'll go ahead and head towards the store!

Conan: I won't make it if I just run! Guess I'll go retrieve my skateboard then! *opens door* I'm home Ran-neechan!! Ran-neechan, I'm leaving! *door closes* TURBO ENGINE FULL POWER!!!! 🎵

Just you wait Kaitou Kid!!!

Conan: Where are you?! Show yourself Kid!!

Kaitou Kid: As expected of the great detective. Impressive that you figured out it was this place.

Conan: It took quite some time to arrive at finding Sans Famille「家なき子(ie nakiko)」 but everything fell into place after that. The biggest indication was the three options. Instead of using ア(a), イ(i), ウ(u) nor イ(i), ロ(ro), ハ(ha), you opted for イ(i), ウ(u), エ(e). (SN: I'll be utilizing the Japanese translation of the book title rather than the original because it would only make sense with this cipher)

「家なき子(ie nakiko)」. There is no イ(i)エ(e) 「いえがない(ie ga nai)」. In other words, you remove the イ(i) and エ(e). Therefore the answer is ウ(u)'s Jewel Yuki. (TN: To further explain this, the hiragana for 家 is いえ(ie). なき(naki) can mean lacking or non-existing so Kid used this word play of removing the いえ(ie) literally with his options)

Kaitou Kid: Right on the mark! Hehe, maybe it was a little too simple. (SN: For a guy who was planning alongside the rest by himself, I'm pretty sure Conan appreciates your 'easy' riddles more than what the Detective Boys and Agasa planned together. Also there's a transition to Kaito in voice here but I'll be using Kid because that's how Conan perceives him.)

Oh? They're as punctual as always. Guess I'll take my leave for today. Besides, I already got my hands on today's loot. *poof*

Conan: Eh? Is that.. Detective Red Jacket special edition? You're going to stoop so low to steal something like that?! (＃ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

Kaitou Kid: *splurts in offended* So rude!!! Of course not!!!! Σ(｀Д´#)

Conan: Hah?

Kaitou Kid: I bought it with my own money obviously! (SN: as a 'law-abiding' citizen *coughcough*)

Conan: BOUGHT IT?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!!! YOU?!?!?!?! Σ(○ﾛ○￢)

Kaitou Kid: Yeah...

Conan: A PHANTOM THIEF?!?!?!!?!?

Kaitou Kid: Nngh..

Conan: THE DETECTIVE RED JACKET SPECIAL EDITION?!?!?!!?!

Kaitou Kid: *speechless as he tries to regain his poker face* ...Doesn't matter. You wouldn't mind if a phantom thief came to like detectives, would you? (σゝω・)σ (SN:(￢_￢;)........)

Conan: Eh? (ﾟﾛﾟ) (*Conan's turn to be speechless*)

Kaitou Kid: SEE YOU!! *escapes*

Officer #1: Kid is running away!!

Officer #2: After him!! We're definitely going to catch him!!!!

*police sirens blaring*

Conan: Huh.... Ah? Another envelope. The seal is open. *opens envelope* It's Ayumi and the others' fourth riddle. Hmmm? Kid's message seems to be included in this. 'I deciphered it for you as a bonus. The answer is the bathhouse.' Barou, it's already past the time limit.

Haibara: He's arrived.

Genta: Ooohhh!! He's here he's here!!

Ayumi: Conan-kun!!!

Conan: Yo!

Mitsuhiko: As expected of Conan-kun to be able to solve all the codes. BUT UNFORTUNATELY-

Detective Boys: TIME'S UP!!!!!

Conan: I know...

Ayumo: Then you'll obediently admit defeat right?

Conan: Yeah...

Ayumi: Hmmm? I can't hear you~

Conan: It's my loss.

Detective Boys: Huh?

Conan: Like I said, it's my loss.

Genta: What did you say?

Mitsuhiko: We couldn't hear you.

Genta: Yeah not at all.

Conan: *sigh* It is my loss!

Detective Boys: YESSS!!! o(^o^)o

Ayumi: We made Conan-kun admit it!!

Mitsuhiko: We did it!!!

Genta: Now that we're here, let's all take a dip here!

Mitsuhiko: That's a great idea!

Ayumi: Ayumi loves the bathhouse!

Haibara: Good work Kudo-kun.

Conan: Haha shddap....

Genta: What are you doing Conan?!

Ayumi: Ai-chan hurry up!!

Haibara: I'll be there.

Conan: I mean, not only was I forced to run around the whole town, the true identity of the treasure is just a bathhouse called Yuu Treasure. (SN:unless I see the kanji for yuu, I'm unable to translate it) That's it?! That's all my hard work amounted to?! It's probably one of Agasa-hakase's ideas again.. Jeez he has no taste, not even a shred of it!

Haibara: This place.. was actually my idea though. (#ﾟ∇ﾟ)

Conan: Ehh? ((ﾟ□ﾟ;))

Genta: Aahhh that hits the spot. It feels so good.

Mitsuhiko: Yeah...Bathhouses are really nice once in a while.

Genta: Right? Oh yeah Conan. Since you lost, wash my back later.

Conan: Don't joke with me. I never signed up for that.

Kaitou Kid: Stop being a sore loser.

Conan: Aahhhh!! Where the hell did you come from?! Σ(°Дﾟ/)/

Kaitou Kid: I suggest you should gracefully *wash face* do what they tell you.

Genta/Mitsuhiko: Kaitou Kid?!?!?!?!

Conan: *speaking underwater* Why the hell are you here?

Kaitou Kid: Hehehe... Magicians are elusive. *sirens blaring in the background* Nah~ The policemen were so persistent you know?

Conan: You know... if you're taking a bath, you should at the very least remove your silk hat.

(SN: What the honest... what the hell are you doing taking a bath with your hat (and possibly your monocle) Kaito? Did you even remove your costume? (￢_￢;) Bruh Kid, you're sullying your dad's outfit)

Genta: You need to put more strength in it Conan!

Conan: Sure SURE!

Genta: As gratitude for us everyday.

Conan: For who?

Genta: Don't say everyone.

Conan: *huff*

Genta: Oh yeah Conan. Haibara was mad at you all day right?

Conan: Yeah... What was that? Did I do something?

Genta: ?!

Mitsuhiko: Conan-kun you didn't realize?

Conan: Heh? 'Didn't realize'... so I did do something?

Mitsuhiko: Aahh... Conan-kun really doesn't understand a woman's heart.

Genta: Right?

Mitsuhiko: You ready? Haibara-san is actually Sannomiya Kazunori's closet fan. But despite that, you decided to badmouth him in front of her!

Conan: Eeeeehhhhh?!?!?!?!? Haibara is Sannomiya Kazunori's fa-

Mitsuhiko: Ssshhhhh!!! Your voice is too loud!!!

Conan: Pah! If I remember correctly, Sannomiya Kazunori is one of the members in the Fubuki Idol group right? That Haibara?! There's no way she's a fan of such a popular idol!!! Haha!! Ahahhaha! That's a lie!! Ahahaha!

(SN: Conan is willing to dig his grave super early apparently ((( ；ﾟДﾟ))) )

(In the girl's bath)

Haibara: ( º言º╬╬)

Ayumi: Ai-chan? Where are you going with your bath towel wrapped around you? E-Eeehhh? That's the boy's bath- Hiiiieeeeee!!! Ai-chan's face.. is so scary!! ((( ；ﾟДﾟ)))

(In the boy's bath)

Conan: Kyahahaha! Because this is Haibara we're talking about! You know, Haibara! For Haibara to be an idol fan, that's impossible. No way that's happening!

Genta: Hey stop that!

Conan: Huh? Why? There's no way she's an (idol) enthusiast after all.

Mitsuhiko: Idiot!

Conan: Huh?

Mitsuhiko: Conan-kun!

Conan: What is it?

Mitsuhiko: Behind behind behind behind behind behind-

Conan: Cow? Moo moo~ (TN: Mitsuhiko is stuttering the word 後ろ(ushiro):behind and Conan stupidly mistakes it as 牛(ushi):cow.

ε-(ｰдｰ) And I thought Kaito was the insensitive one.)

Mitsuhiko: Behin-behind you.

Conan: Behind me? What's behind m- Uop-!!!

Haibara: (╬ಠิ益ಠิ) Sorry about being an ENTHUSIAST!! *SLAPS*

Conan: Ooowww!!

Kaitou Kid: Heh. The tongue is the root of calamities, great detective. (TN: A proverb meaning the more you speak, the more you'll put your foot in your mouth.

Wise words you should follow as well, our fellow magician (￢_￢;))

#dcmk #detective conan #dcmk translations #detective conan drama cd #Detective Conan Drama CD A Written Challenge from the Detective Boys #where haibara is perpetually rightfully annoyed #conan is a dense idiot #and kaito is bored and decides to be a certified stalker #also kaito lost his braincells and traded it to protect his identity(?)#also loads of kaishin moments where it became a fangirls grave to heaven #edogawa conan #haibara ai #kaitou kid #detective boys #yoshida ayumi #tsuburaya mitsuhiko #kojima genta #agasa hiroshi

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alyshiba · 1 year

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Lilagon hen zaldrizoti

Part One: Debts and stale oaths.

Read on Ao3

Summary: AU where Visenya, Rhaenyra's only daughter lives and is born as her eldest child. To all of Westeros she is seen as the only trueborn child of Ser Leanor and Rhaenyra, but in truth her father happens to be Deamon.

Author's note: Hello lovely readers! I have desappeared for a while.. life sometimes gets in the way. I have thought long and hard about this fic, and, as much as I love it, re-reading it made me cringe at some of the hearliest chapters.. so, as I have hinted in the last author's note, I have decided to rewrite everything until chapter 8. There will be some minor changes, for the better. I cannot possibily move on writing this without fixing the beginning, my brain doesn't allow me to.

Since I found transalting in Valyrian a mess (also becouse every translator gives different translation), for longest phrases I'll simply put them between asteriscs . So if you see anything that is being said formatted like this <<*dialogue*>> that's meant to be in high valyrian. So, if you are a new reader and you wish to know what happens next.. both here and on Ao3 you'll find all of the 12 chapters I've written so far. Here on Tumblr, once I'll have the rewritten chapter ready I'll delete the old one and post the new, both in the master list and in the index at the beginning of each part. On Ao3 each chapter will stay up until I've completely rewritten everything that needs to. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment them down below. I'd love to hear them and better my work!

<<Go home, pup, and tell the bitch your mother that the Lord of Storm's End is not a dog that she can whistle up at need to set against her foes>> Said Borros Baratheon with a smug look on his face.

The round hall of Storm’s End was packed with people, how many it was impossible to say. The gargantuan hall was too big and dimly lit to possibly ever count every single present. Worse still, all the nooks, pillars and columns offered the perfect hiding spot for all of those who were curious to just get a glimpse of the two Targaryens present.

The entire room fell silent for a long moment, as if holding its breath. The only sounds that could be heard were those of the raging storm outside.

Everyone was too eager to hear how the young prince would respond to such insult thrown at his mother.

That, perhaps, was why no one paid any attention to the angry footsteps that were fast approaching.

Lucerys was about to open his mouth and speak, slightly trembling between the imposing figures of the Lord of Storm’s End and the uncle he didn’t expect to find there, but he was cut off before he could make any sound by a stronger, angrier, voice. <<Then all of Westeros will know that Borros Baratheon, the Lord of Storm’s End, is an oath breaker and a man without honor>>.

She could see Borros stiffening in his seat, Luke’s back straightened recognizing his eldest sister’s voice. The young prince was bracing for impact: either her anger was directed at him, for the failure of that diplomatic mission, or at the Lord of Storm’s End. His head shooting in her direction, a wave of dark curly hair falling in front of his eyes wide opened in shock. She passed him, and just quickly, taking care that no one saw, squeezed his hand in reassurance.

Immediately she took notice of Aemond, almost hidden in the dark side of the room, not far from the stone throne at the center. She forced herself not to stare, nor think, at the silver-haired prince, and locked her gaze on the high lord in front of her, but she did not give him her entire focus. Never, that she left for Aemond alone.

A young page, drenched from head to toe, came running, halting just a few steps in front of her. He bent over for a moment with his hand on his knees catching his breath. It was a gesture of physical need, rather than a curtsy towards his liege, he was supposed to announce her presence. <<The princess Visenya, of the houses Targaryen and Velaryon, my lord>> He said, between heavy breaths, <<my prince>> he added, when he noticed Aemond staring in their direction. The young man was immediately dismissed with a wave of Borros’ hand, not to be seen again.

Visenya lifted her chin, and took note of her prey: the man on the high seat. Borros was a middle aged man, heavier in shape, but still the hint of the warrior could be seen hidden under the heavy furs. Not that she really thought the man did any sort of physical fighting in the past years. His body was tense, like a rope. He was clutching the throne’s handle so hard his knuckles became white, and she imagined the tips of his fingers would soon bleed, either from broken nails or from the scratch of skin on the rough stone. He was a proud man, like the crowned stag flappin on the banner atop his head. And the insult she threw at him had rendered him so enraged he could hardly think straight. Just as she had wanted him.

<<And worse still>> She continued, moving two steps closer to the object of her own anger, <<may I remind you that we are kin by blood? My grandmother, the princess Rhaenys is your cousin, no?>> Visenya felt now how Borros was already tasting the bitter accusation on the tip of his tongue. No one, in the huge round hall of Storm’s End had yet dared make a sound, <<what would her uncle, the late Lord Boremund think, of his son waging war on his own flesh and blood?>> His face was slowly, but surely, turning all shades of red by now, <<is that what you wish? To forever brand your house as Kinslayers? Men without honor? Is that what the men of the Stormlands wish to become?>>

Visenya had given up on winning House Baratheon over to their side the moment she landed in the yard. Parts of her had known ever since her mother decided to send Luke, just like her father had known. Still Rhaenyra was hopeful, and naive, that this man would abide by the vows of his father.

Yet even if the high lord was a better man, there was something that they could just not grant him: a marriage. The princess allowed her gaze to wander the room for a moment, three girls stood on one side of Borros, his daughters. One behind Aemond. Who wouldn’t wish for their blood to mix in the royal family?

Borros had no love for Rhaenyra, and had taken his decision long before even Luke stepped foot in these halls, but, if she played her game the right way, she could persuade his lords to mutiny. And now she was indeed winning.

She could see, clear as day, the seed of doubt in the eyes of the lords around Borros, the fear, not for her, or for her parents, not yet, but the fear for what the gods might bring them should they follow that man into war. That was her only chance.

<<Do not mistake the Queen’s offer for weakness, my Lord>> Visenya willed her voice to become gentler, softer, more diplomatic, <<my mother, unlike the Hightowers,>> and yourself, was what she didn’t say, <<does not wish to plunge the realm into war, or else I wouldn’t be here to talk>> she moved her gaze towards her uncle then, the only true danger in that room, or outside of it, <<but if her hand is forced, then I will have no other choice than to fly Balerion the dread to war once more.>> Aemond hadn’t moved a step from his position. He was standing at ease, his hands locked behind his back, a sardonic smile gracing his features, as if he was enjoying the scene.

Everyone else straightened at her words.

It was now widely accepted that at least one battle was going to be fought over Viserys’s succession. Or else the negotiation would take place among the royal family, yet no one had dared voice what, deep down, they feared: a Targaryen civil war would never be fought on land with an army. It would be fought on dragonback. And everything else might as well burn down by the time they were finished.

<<My sweet niece>> Aemond purred. His voice sent a chill down her spine, Visenya wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating Aemon’s abilities only because of the lack of one eye. She remembered seeing him best Ser Criston Cole with ease in the training yard not even a moon ago. So her hand, as useless as a gesture it was, went instinctively on the hilt of the dagger her father had given her upon parting from Dragonstone. He was, after all, the only reason she was in Storm’s End to begin with. Upon flying home, she had felt Balerion sensing the presence of Vhagar. And in that specific moment she realized she had no other choice: there wasn’t a scenario where poor Luke was going to make it back to Dragonstone unharmed, not if Aemond were in sight. Not after what had been done to her uncle, which still angered him to no end, apparently.

<> She looked between her uncle and the man still mute on the throne, whose muscles were still all contracted in rage. Aemond’s offer had been indeed an offer of marriage, as she had thought.

Visenya decided to take in his figure for a moment: he was tall, lean, and his leather clothes -riding gear, perhaps- were clean and dry, where hers were drenched by the storm outside, and her boots were covered in the mud that now flooded the yard. Her hair were equally as wet, and fell in loose waves attached to her face, neck and leathers, his looked like a straight soft curtain of silver silk. Aemond had been here for at least a day. A day he could have used to devise whatever plan to ensure his brother’s ass would sit on the throne at least a while longer. Because it was obvious to anyone that messengers would go on about every corner of the realm to ensure the support of the major houses.

She felt the grip of anxiety taking a hold of her stomach: what if he had anticipated them being here? After all, when not on Balerion’s back she wasn’t that big of a threat, definitely not to a warrior with his skills.

<<He offered his hand in marriage to the eldest daughter of Borros>> Whispered Luke in confirmation. His tone still betrayed his fear, and broke her attention by the dark pit that her mind had become. She willed herself not to be hostage of her fears <<worry not>> she whispered back, looking him in the eyes, <<you should leave>> she said. Luke didn’t listen.

Aemond’s hatred for her brothers was well known, especially for Luke, the one responsible for his, probably still very painful, injury. She noticed the way he eyes Lucerys every now and then, how he was completely trained on her brother’s every move, like a predator waiting to strike.

<<Oh>> She said, willing all of her nerves to calm down. Visenya lifted her upper lip, in a childish expression, <<then I shall order Balerion to burn the keep to the ground, and end this treason before it starts>> Aemond smirked, it was clear that he did not believe that she was actually thinking about it. Visenya was considering it as an option though. Yes, Rhaenyra wouldn’t be happy, on the contrary, she would be furious if she did, in fact, start this war. Yet Visenya couldn’t help but remembering her father’s words “you cannot allow this treachery to take root” Daemon had angrily said in the privacy of their chambers, is anger amplified ten folds after the news of the stillbirth, “they have murdered Viserys, our daughter, any faithful Lord we had in the capital. They had signed their own death sentence. Or ours, if we do not act”. In stark contrast with his wife, Daemon would rejoice greatly if his beloved daughter started a war. And, at times, she felt much more like her father’s child rather than her mother’s.

She understood both sides though: Daemon was like the dragon, fiery, proud and untamable. Rahenyra was like that too, but she was a woman: considered unfit to rule only for the missing cock between her legs, she had grown to be wiser, calmer, prone to choose diplomacy over fire and blood. For she couldn’t afford becoming also the one who started this war, even though right now, battle seemed inevitable, Visenya could hear it, what everyone would start to whisper then Maegor the cruel come again, Maegor with tits. Yet she could see the truth in Daemon’s words, if left unchecked the Hightowers will eventually eat away any support her mother has now. Seven hells, they were already doing that. <<Princess Visenya..>> Spoke Borros at last, uncertain of his own words.

The threat of Balerion seemed to have awakened him from his rage. He looked calmer now, paler. All redness faded from his face, his hands were not clutching the throne with the same strength, and, as she had imagined, she could see dried blood on the tips of fingers, where his nails had broken. He was old enough to have lived in the last year of the Old King’s reign, old enough to be at the great council in Harrenhall. Meaning that he had seen first hand the blasted ruin Balerion had made of the greatest keep that ever existed in Westeros. He saw what her dragon was capable of doing.

<> She said, playing ignorant. The high lord slowly nodded, turning his head towards his daughter. It was confirmation enough. She too looked again in that direction, only to find Aemond’s surprised expression. He knew what she was about to say, he probably thought that she would not actually go through with it.

<<Yet he is not free to offer his hand in marriage>> She said with gritted teeth. Visenya reasoned that she could, indeed, walk out of the Round Halls, climb atop Balerion and order him to burn the keep to the ground. It was what Daemon would do. Rhaenyra, however, would try to be diplomatic. In one swift stroke Visenya could avoid the war for a while longer, in either case she would take the second largest dragon in the world out of the picture. But there could be a twisted, dark pleasure in turning Aemond against his family, just like Alicent and Otto had done.

<<What do you mean?>> interrupted Borros, with an irritated tone. His daughter, Cassandra, if she recalled correctly, instinctively moved closer to him.

<<In his wisdom, and with the hope it would bring unity back to our house, the late King Viserys, in his very last act as King, declared my betrothal to Aemond. His eldest unwed son, to me, the lawful heir to my mother’s throne>> The stormlord pursed his lip, he had been used and played, in the end, truly like a dog that had been commanded at need, yet not by Rhaenyra, but by the Greens. His pride wouldn’t allow him to let this go easily, or, at least she hoped so, <<does she speak the truth?>> he asked Aemond, rage once again gracing his features. Borros instinctively gripped the handles of the throne again, only to let go almost immediately. Probably because of the stinging pain of broker nails and ruined fingertips.

Visenya wasn’t happy to bring this up. In truth, amidst the sorrow for the loss of a grandsire, and the rage for the ease with which Otto and Alicent Hightower had usurped the throne, she had been relieved the day her grandmother had brought news from King’s Landing, for it meant that her betrothal to Aemond had no more reasons to be.

Yet now it seemed the only reasonable thing that would end this mess without bloodshed. She hoped that, at least, between a devastating war fought with dragons, rather than armies, and the prospect of Aemond eventually ruling the kingdoms by her side, the Hightowers would choose the latter. Even though she knew that a similar match had been bitterly refused by the queen dowager once.

She hoped that this one time she chose to be like her mother, the aftermath wouldn’t come to bite in the arse later.

<<We do not need your armies, Lord Borros, for I’m sure you have been thought what had happen the last time Balerion had been sent to war against other dragons>> She looked at Aemond while speaking, the one she would be sent to kill should war break out, or the husband she would have to wed, <<we came to offer you peace, under the one true Queen of Westeros>>.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke out loud, many lords, or advisors, she didn’t care to know, spoke in hushed tones to Lord Baratheon, likely weighing their options. At last a guard came, from outside, given the pools of rainwater he left at every step, surely to confirm the presence of her dark monster within the castle walls. As if she could have appeared out of nowhere in any other way.

<<Out, all of you>> Screamed at last the Stormlord, <<as I already said, the Stormlanders are not dogs to be whistled up at need>> Visenya guessed that this was the best result she would ask for. Borros would’n support Rhaenyra, but he wouldn’t either give his support to Aegon.

Once more she pushed Luke back, with more urgency now.

As long as they were under Baratheon's roof, she knew Aemond couldn’t really harm him, or at least she hoped so. But once they were out it was another story entirely. Arrax, after all, could easily fit in either Balerion or Vhagar’s mouths.

Finally Lucerys understood the message, and turned on his heels, followed suit by some of the guards that were stationed at their side. He quietly bowed to Borros, a gesture of respect that had Visenya raise a brow, and started to walk outside.

<<Wait>> Called the velvet voice of Aemond. It sent a cold chill down her spine, <<my Lord Strong>> -don’t turn- Visenya angrily thought, -keep walking- yet of course her brother had to stop and turn her head.

<<Did you two really think that you fly about the realm, trying to steal my brother’s throne without consequences?>> Visenya’s hand gripped the dagger she had hidden, praying that dark, hateful Aemond wouldn’t consider harming a woman. Not that she was afraid of her life, she had quit feeling any sense of self preservation the night she had claimed Balerion, no, she just knew that if Aemond went for Luke and ignored her, she could have an opening to push her blade right in his black heart.

<<Is it truly stealing though, when you are merely taking back what is yours by right?>> She said, stepping in the middle of the fight against all common sense. It took one look towards her brother to realize how terrified he was of Aemond. And that sent her mind spiraling again: if she wasn’t fast enough? <<Do you think yourself so inadequate, incapable, of ruling to spit like that on the prospect of sitting the Iron Throne by my side?>> She saw then the anger in his one eye, Visenya had definitely hit a sore spot.

In one swift, graceful movement Aemond stepped closer to hte siblings, grabbed his own dagger and removed his eyepatch. Revealing his ruined eye. The scar, still looking red and fresh despite the years passed, covered half of his handsome face, the eyelids of his missing eye had been cut open, she noted, and instead of an eyeball, or a dark hole, a glowing sapphire was nestled in his orb.

She would have considered it bald, even beautiful, were it not for the murderous gaze on the remaining eye.

What possessed her to move she didn’t know, Visenya heard Luke stating that <<they came as messengers, not warriors>>, and for as much as she loved her brother, it sounded too like a pathetic and fearful attempt at a quick escape. So maybe she acted because, despite the fact that Luke was trained with the sword and she wasn’t, she felt like he wouldn’t be able to cause harm to anyone. She quickly found herself inches from Aemond’s face. Her dagger pressed on the soft skin of his cheekbone, right under his good eye. Visenya was sure that, to protect her loved ones, she could turn into a cold killer. She was, after all, Daemon’s daughter.

Visenya willed herself to set her gaze on Aemond’s remaining eye, and banned all fears and all sense of doubts from her mind, <> she whispered, which was a lie. She had sworn to behave, her mother not thinking she could ever pick up a blade and use it. How naive of her. <<But I will defend myself, and my brother>> her tone was cold and angry, and her words were underlined by the added pressure she put on the blade. Aemond didn’t move, his breath appeared calm, and even, yet he didn’t dare move a muscle. Not when she threatened to blind him forever, <<Balerion made no such promises, and if my wellbeing is threatened…>> she had no need to complete the sentence. For how terrifying and huge Vhagar was, the Black Dread was ten fold. And he craved the fight. Everyone knew that.

The words, or her tone, she couldn’t say, awakened her uncle from his trance. Visenya registered the hushed footsteps of Luke, taking the bait and leaving while Aemond was distracted, just like she had told him to. <<Seems like your strong brother doesn’t share your courage, princess>> Aemond mocked when he noticed his missing nephew. They were so close now that she could feel his breath caressing her skin. He slowly allowed his hand to fall, and sheathed his dagger with a blatant gesture, to be sure that she could see it. After a long moment she decided to imitate him, and she didn’t miss the relieved huff that escaped Aemond’s lips. <<It is good to see that you can be made to see reason, uncle>> Visenya said not breaking the stare, and not moving a muscle, <<it would be a great inconvenience for me having to carry you around completely blind, should we truly become husband and wife>> he smiled, that sardonic, infuriating smile that she couldn’t understand the meaning of, he looked both furious and turned on. Visenya couldn’t decide what scared her the most.

<> He said, his voice like velvet, never betraying any emotions, <<your offer comes with terms, niece>> Visenya took a moment to think. She hadn’t thought this through when she spoke the words in front of Borros Baratheon, she hadn’t thought Aemond might actually consider the scenario, and that is why he asked. Or maybe, he liked the idea of himself sitting on the Iron Throne in place of the brother she knew relentlessly bullied him in their youth, alongside her own brothers. Or maybe he understood that he wouldn’t win the Stormlands today, and was merely buying time.

<<Your brother will bend the knee to the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms>> Visenya said in her most stern and cold tone, <<my mother is willing to welcome back her siblings, and Helaena’s children, back into her heart, for she is sure>> she decided to put emphasis into the words that Visenya heard her mother speak to the messenger she had sent to King’s Landing, <<that you have been misguided by the greed of one man. Any lord and knight who will swear fealty to their Queen will be pardoned. Our marriage will seal the deal, and in time, when I will ascend the throne, we shall rule together, like the Old king and his good Queen Alisanne>> She thought her demands would be met with a grin, or laughter. Either way she expected Aemond to dismiss them, just like Otto Hightower had dismissed any of her mother's terms on the bridge of Dragonstone.

Yet Aemond seemed to be considering it, <> it felt like the right thing to say. She couldn't know whether her uncle was a pious man, but her mother obviously was, considering how she had redecorated the Red Keep, so maybe swearing her intentions to their gods they so much loved might make the offer a little more considerable. Still, Visenya made a mental note that all of those hideous godly decorations would be the first things to disappear once they took back her mother’s throne.

<> Visenya rolled her eyes, and decided to switch to High Valiryan so that they were the only ones who would understand, was Aemond truly so thick? What game was he playing? <<*I remember the way he treated you, and I’m sure you do as well. Do you really think he would hand you over the throne?*>> Aemond opened and closed his mouth. He didn’t know how to respond, or rather, he did but he didn’t wish to speak the words, no to her of all people. Her uncle’s silence showed that this was a weak spot, and finding that out emboldened her. so Visenya stepped even closer to him, and rested her hand on his muscular bicep, <<*It is us that are offering you absolute power, not your brother, not your grandsire, not you mother. Rhaenyra is, and I. Remember that when your family will refuse the terms we offered and chose war and death rather than seeing the more capable brother on the Iron Throne*>> Visenya knew she had hit a bare nerve when she noticed how strongly he was biting his lower lip. Aemond did want the throne, now she could see it, in the way the light in his eye changed, and in the way he was forcing himself not to speak. He thought himself better than Aegon, probably better than Rhaenyra too. He thought himself Jahaerys born again, probably. <<*That is why it is to you, that I was instructed to offer our terms, and no one else*>> A lie. But she couldn’t help herself from trying, not when Visenya knew he was truly beginning to consider the terms. She couldn’t let the opportunity slip.

Visenya at last removed her hand from his harm and offered it to him, he immediately took it and kissed her knuckles. <<Do not make me wait long for a response. Uncle>> She purred. He nodded, a quick, elegant gesture, and proceeded to leave the round hall of Storm’s End. When Aemond was far away enough, she let out the big breath she had held up until now. Apparently, they all survived.

The rain outside was pouring so strongly it was hard so anything past one’s nose, and the winds were so strong that on two occasions, on the short trek where her dragon was waiting, she thought it would send her tumbling on the muddy ground.

How people chose to willingly live in such a place, was beyond her comprehension.

When she made it to where Balerion was waiting, a short walk that took twice, if not trice, as much time as it should have, she found the now familiar tall figure of Aemond standing still before him. She was about to shoot a snarky remark at him, when she realized the reason why he stood where he stood.

Balerion was blocking his way to Vhagar.

She was familiar with the old she-dragon: it had been her aunt’s for a long time. She remembered admiring them fly together in the skies above Dragonstone and Driftmark, she remembered standing nose up, somewhere on one of the two islands, and remaining absolutely speechless at how big Vhagar was, how huge, compared to all of the other dragons she had known.

Now, even in her vast, scary form, she looked almost tiny, in comparison to her black monster.

He was doing that on purpose, she could sense it. Balerion was not scared of Vhagar. In truth, he was not scared of anything, and how could he, when he was the largest living creature in the world? He could kill Aemond right then and there, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Even Vhagar would only be able to stand and watch. From the low rumbling that was coming from the she-dragon it was evident that she understood this as well, and she hated it.

<<Tell you dragon to move, princess>> Said Aemond, when she got close enough for him to sense her presence.

She could let him do it, Visenya realized, she could let Balerion kill Aemond, and nothing would happen. The dragon was known for acting out of his own accord, no one has been able to bend his will ever since the death of the conqueror. That’s why it has been forbidden to try and bond to him ever since the death of his last rider, princess Aerea. So, no one would blame her if Balerion killed Aemond, who could testify that she gave the order?

<<He rarely does what’s ordered to him>> She responded, still uncertain, <<unless i order him to kill. Then he grows obedient like a hound all of a sudden>> Visenya had never killed someone who had a name. She had been to stepstones recently, with her father and Lord Corlys, to crush the triarchy for the second, and hopefully final, time. She couldn’t avoid it, being the rider of the largest dragon in the world. Yet the men she had ordered to kill were nothing more than nameless ants, they were not her uncle, whom for good or worse she had known her whole life.

She couldn’t bring herself to do it. Balerion huffed, bored. Visenya decided to turn once last time towards her uncle, right before starting to climb atop Balerion, <<the next time I see you, uncle, could be on our wedding day. Or on a battlefield. Either way, good luck on what’s to come>>.

Taglist: @hawsx3, @readsalot73 @tempt-ress @but-i-write-so-i-must-count @arignipanja574 @scaraxmouche @softyelfdragon @avidreader73 @whore-of-many-hot-men @heavenly1927 If you wish to be added to the taglist, and notified as soon as I post any update, please comment!

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negobeauriva · 3 months

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A deep analysis of Konstrakta's "Novo, Bolje"

I know that there are maybe many articles about this song already, considering it came out a week ago or so, but I am so in love with both the song and Konstrakta herself that I needed to put my two cents on this song and why I think it's such an awesome entry. I'm also going to make a comparison to In Corpore Sano and relate both of the songs. I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Btw, I've gotten the necessary translations from here and here.

Let's start out with the title: Novo, Bolje means New, Better. It's already an indicator that sets the pace for what is coming.

Musically, the song is quite simple - It has only three chords that keep repeating in an uniform pattern, with a distinctive synthesizer that repeats itelf throughout the song as well. It's fast paced and eclectic, very modern, to fit the theme of the lyrics. It's worth noting that the backup singers are taking a very important function here. I'll explain it later on.

Now, let's get to the lyrics. Through the entirety of the song, Konstrakta is speaking to an imaginary doctor, to which she's telling of her latest affliction: She craves novelty. She only wants new things, new improvements, nothing seems to be enough for her, and she considers this as something wrong, something to be cured. This is about addiction to novelty and consummerism - modernity has made us addicted to updates, the newest phone, the newest device, the newest social media, every new thing is exciting and we eventually run for it.

The chorus is proof of it: New, better, faster, bigger, higher, prettier, stronger. The things she has aren't somehow enough, and she claims that all of this is coming. She wants something better than good. Good isn't cutting it anymore. It needs to be better.

Konstrakta proceeds to elaborate on her point saying that if she was smarter, she could turn a kilo of bread into two, and that ever since she was born, she has been knowing about better than good, which is another jab at modernity: New generations are addicted to new things since they are little. Let's think back, how many of us in our childhoods wished for better, bigger toys or electronic devices? It's an actual reality. And with the rise of phones, tablets and similar devices in infancies, this is more present than ever.

This also speaks about self-pressure about being better than good, the line "the performance could've been better" is a reference to our modern perfectionism, and the wish to reach even higher heights everytime, with innovations that sometimes aren't necessary. Why would the Pacific ocean need to be more pacific, anyway? The grandiosity and the exaggeration are marketing elements to draw you in, to try and show you that you can, indeed, be better than good. It's exploitation disguised as motivation and self help.

Then she says that she feels set up everywhere, because she is seeing anomalies, which is another point. Consummerism is a social issue, but if you point it out in a consummerist society, you're most likely to get laughed at or gaslighted in the sense that you're not being brainwashed by the consummerism. Which leads us to the next line, Konstrakta asks the doctor what's wrong with her, why is she seeing anomalies everywhere? Why is she addicted to novelty and perfection? She's trying to break the cycle of self-awareness, and at the same time, she wants her head to shut up about the pressure of novelty and perfectionism. She might believe nobody else is going through this, which is, ironically, an anomaly on itself.

When she sings the word "better" over and over again, it eventually gets distorted by the end of the phrase, which shows us that she's losing herself. In trying so hard to reach better, to improve, she's losing and destroying pieces of herself to try and build something new. The backup singers are repeating the other adjectives: better, faster, bigger, higher, prettier, stronger. Another proof that her head presses her further than she can actually reach.

In a more calm section of the song, she says that everything is fluid, and if she stops, she'll fall through, stating that she needs to constantly go full speed, up, towards higher heights. This is very telling. At the beginning of the section, the music gets calmer, almost quiet, but as Konstrakta starts repeating the words "going up, constantly going up", the synthetizers and the fast pace are back again, supporting her claim and her "illness" - the need for speed, novelty, perfection. Nothing is enough. Nothing will ever be enough. Konstrakta is trapped on a cycle of perfectionism and addiction to novelty. In trying to break the cycle, she's perpetuating it at the same time. It's a vicious cycle from where she can't escape.

When Konstrakta asks again what's wrong with her, this time she doesn't even get to explain what affects her. Here is where the backup singers reveal their real role: They are the voice of society. While Konstrakta tries to figure herself out, the singers appear to reinforce her need for novelty, the need for something new coming, the thought that nothing is never and will never be enough. And in this final section of the song, they shut Konstrakta up: "For God's sake, there's nothing wrong with you". They're gaslighting Konstrakta into thinking it's all in her head, and that she needs to keep striving for more.

During the final section of the song, the singers chant, almost like madness, that it's coming. Novelty and progress are coming, and nobody, not even Konstrakta herself, can stop it. While all of this is happening, she screams, calls out for the doctor to help her, but she receives no help - she's being consumed by the spiral. She's being dragged by the tsunami of society, the fast paace of consummerism devouring her as she screams in agony. And then, she says the most beautiful phrase I've seen in a song in a while:

"The wish doesn't know about what is unreachable."

We can strive and wish for perfection all we want, but wanting something and being realistic about it are two completely different things. We can try to reach the moon, but we are too far to actually do it. And in our search for perfection, not only can we lose ourselves, but we can go to dangerous heights: Security breaches, the end of individual liberties, violence, stepping over people's heads to get whatever we want, however we want. The wish doesn't know what's unreacheable. Therefore, there are no limits to modernity. This is a hurricane, and it's going to destroy us all.

There is no escaping this. Which is why she closes by saying "it's coming" - Modernity is coming. We can't do anything to stop it.

Now, let me compare this masterpiece to her former Eurovision entry, In Corpore Sano.

It's curious to notice that both songs have the same length. In Corpore Sano, in case you need a reminder, speaks about how an artist must keep themselves healthy, appreciating our health and the moments in which we have it, to be thankful for being healthy and our body properly functioning. It's a jab at the Serbian medical system for it's negiglence with artists and the lack of medical insurance for them, also stating how health is a privilege, citing Meghan Markle's hair as an example to kick off the song and start speaking about hydration and health problems and how to identify them.

A healthy mind in a healthy body, a sick mind, a scared mind... Where do we go from this?

This song is more ominous, and the beautiful staging was also very ominous, setting the atmosphere for Konstrakta to become an advocate for Serbian artists and their health system. Art and social criticism, hand in hand.

Both In Corpore Sano and Novo, Bolje speak about health, one being physical, the other being mental. In the case of In Corpore Sano, the background singers don't take as big of a role as they do in Novo, Bolje, and when they do, they reinforce Konstrakta's message, instead of being dismissive about it or trying to shut it down. Both the songs are written in minor keys and are limited to a couple chords, keeping it simple.

In Corpore Sano is slower paced, as if trying to get people to understand the point. We also get a hint of grief - Konstrakta lost her bandmate and friend Miroslav Ničić to leukemia in 2019, which inspired this song to come to fruition. Novo, Bolje, is faster paced, showing us the chaos and the need to rush that the song tried to criticize, and it's repetitive, highly repetitive, to catch people in. The catchy tune is meant to make you forget the point of the song, showcasing how tone deaf society can be sometimes.

At the same time, In Corpore Sano has a hint of divinity. God grants us health, but I don't have medical insurance. Latin has always been a language related to holiness, to purity. Novo, Bolje, has no divinity to it, it's quite banal, vulgar if we try to compare it to Latin - in the Middle Ages, any language that wasn't Latin was called vulgar, meaning "of the people". This song is nowhere near God. Our society has killed God, and has gone beyond divinity. Holy Modernity, mother of our Society, has taken over.

In Corpore Sano is meant to be a ritual song in all of its aspects - we see Konstrakta moving and clapping her hands, cleaning them ritually with her backup singers as assistants, overseeing the process as if to take care of her. They are dressed in black, Konstrakta in white, showing herself as a pure, healthy being, trying to teach others about health and how to keep it. We haven't seen anything about Novo, Bolje's staging, but the concept Konstrakta has shown with her in blue skin and an eccentric white attire, with the caption "The Kilimanjaro could be higher" (a brilliant reference), is meant to scandalize, to be weird, to make you think about the absurdity of things. Again, there is no holiness, no ritualism, nothing. It's banal. It's empty. And that banality, along with the message, is what makes this whole concept beautiful on itself. It's what makes it so brilliant and so well crafted.

I hope you've made it so far and that you have liked this analysis. In short, Konstrakta is a genius, a musical and lyrical genius, and I can't wait to see her again setting foot on Eurovision's stage. I hope this helps you look at her song with new eyes.

She's definetely gotten newer and better.

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I'm adding a new section of this analysis, to further it, now that Novo, Bolje's staging has been revealed.

First off, I want to thank every single one of you who gave support to the original version of the analysis, from the fans, to people from Serbia, to Konstrakta herself! I'm super honored to have been shared and promoted by her. It feels amazing.

Now, onto what's important: The staging.

Many people have put criticism on the fact that "this is just the same as last time", but they fail to perceive this is the exact message Konstrakta wants to get across. Modernity promises new, better, bigger, stronger, faster, prettier... But in the end most of the things that it produces are the same that they were before. Many new phones end up being the exact same as old models, but with a very small improvement, sometimes hard to see. This is the reason why Novo, Bolje is so similar to it's eldest sister, In Corpore Sano. A sequel that doesn't feel as much as a sequel, and in there resides its charm.

I've also been pointed out to the fact that this is supposed to be a satire against returning artists and their efforts to make something "new, better", and I really like that approach. It's a very interesting artistic satire.

Konstrakta is once again dressed in white, and her singers in black - A contrast between divinity and evil. But this also reinforces the fact that she is the "odd one out", she's questioning modernity, she's the one going against the norm. She's different from everyone around her. The fact that we can't ever see the "doctor" she's referring to, also helps reinforce this message. This will come back later, so keep it in mind.

This time around, she is not washing her hands, but instead making bread. Bread has many symbolisms, but in religion, bread symbolizes the gift to God to humankind - a stark contrast to a godless modernity, as stated prior in this analysis. Bread is the most basic of meals, and one of the easiest to put together, it's universal, every culture has its own version of bread. Just like modernity, universal, basic, stripped out of all value when you truly look into it. Bread is one of humanity's turning points. Modernity is, too, one of humanity's turning points. The creation of the Internet, the introduction of cellphones and computers, the invention of social media, didn't they all change humanity as we know it, just like bread did? Also, just like bread, these novelties are "food" - a basic need, something we can't live without now that we have discovered it.

Interestingly enough, the words "Not new, not better" flash around the first minutes of the song. This "episode" is so similar to the past one, it seems to contradict its title, but then again, therein lies its charm.

In the background, we always see eyes on the sides of the stage. "Big brother is watching you" - rings a bell? Modernity has its eyes everywhere. You are constantly being watched, you have to keep on track, not question anything and just lift your head and pretend everything is normal.

Konstrakta is constantly kneading the dough, never do we see her putting it into the oven - this can also make a reference to the "it's coming" line of her song. The bread is coming, it's supposed to come out soon, just as novelty is coming. Evo sa'ce, how the song would say. Inbetween, Konstrakta lets the dough rest, covered. Anyone who's made bread or seen a bread recipe, know that this is so the dough rises up. Just like a further section of the song, rising up, constantly up. If we tie this to the political meaning I've seen people add to the song, this could also double up as the gestation of an uprising against politicians, or even the fake promises they make.

During the first part, her backup singers are huddled in a corner, and from there they scream at her "it's not enough". This is a perfect parallel to what I put in the first half of the analysis, about self-pressure, perfectionism and how they play a big part on modernity's declining mental health crisis.

In one part, Konstrakta uncovers the dough and just stares at it, along with her backup singers. They all stay there, perfectly still, like Mary watching Jesus in many religious imagery. They stay so still one wonders if something's really happening. As this section ends, a gate opens behind her as she adresses the "doctor", showing a white glow. This is the only time we get that the "doctor" is not really there, it's more like a self-reflection device. And this, once again, symbolizes the divinity amongst the profanity. Holy Modernity, mother of society. Once this happens, Konstrakta goes back to kneeading the bread. It's in the part where she talks about the need to go constantly up, putting up self-pressure and the anxiety of not being perceived as a perfect, functioning piece of society. It's a brilliant parallel.

As that section goes on, we can see one of her backup singers wave their white cloth around. The others stay perfectly still. This is also a symbolism of being the odd one out, how the one that's anxious and constantly on the grind is also frowned upon in some sense.

After the section where the singers tell Konstrakta to calm down, they start circling her while she keeps up her work. It becomes erratic and chaotic, just exactly as I had pictured in my head. Ultimately, Konstrakta is left alone on stage. Covering the dough once more, she claims "it's coming". The bread is coming. Modernity is coming. "Food" is coming.

I'm once again fascinated, throughly fascinated and thrilled by this woman's thought process. As I write this, I got the news she made it into the final! I'm so happy for her. March 3rd, I turn 26 years old. And it'd be the greatest early gift to see her win.

This was, indeed, new, better, and brilliant.

#konstrakta #novobolje #analysis #lyrics analysis #serbia #eurovision #pze #I love Konstrakta with all my being #This woman is a genius #I spent a solid half hour working on this listening to Novo Bolje on a loop #I really hope she wins #Novo bolje

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harrarthellix · 7 months

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Why I love Bg3's translation and its horny scenes

Haarlep's Scene.

First of all, the opening quote

"A thief in the night, greedy and here to take"

The first part is the exact translation (but with a diminutive, so it's more of "little thief" instead) but the second has nothing to do with the meaning. "Greedy and here to take" would be more of " Avaricioso y aquí para llevarse ", which is quite a more open sentence. The actual match in English would be more like:

"A little thief in the night, their ambition has reproach/rebuke/blame"

Huh, quite different, but not in a bad way, I actually love finding things like these. This sentence implies punishment ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

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"hmm... Raphael, all but spent himself to get that hammer. And you want to take it off him?"

Not really a dirty thing but the phrase "Se dejó la piel" means literally "Left his skin" which in my opinion is way more visceral than "Spent himself". Idk this is just taste because it's a set phrase, not literal. They could have gone with " lo dio todo" which is another set phrase for the same, but they picked the cooler option

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"This is very naughty. Whatever are we to do?"

Okay, this one makes me laugh so hard. "Cochinada de las gordas" is a very non-elegant way to talk about stuff in general. Yes, it means the same but in a more colloquial tone. Has nothing bad, just shocked about the tone.

Also, the part about "de las gordas" implies a very big naughty thing.

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" I'm Haarlep, Raphael's personal Incubus, glamoured and transfigured to look like him"

"This one is tricky. "Glamoured" itself does not exist in Spanish. You can use "Glamuroso", but it's an adjective, not a verb. The word "Encantado" is more similar to "Charmed". In dnd's translation "Encantar" is the translation used for "Charm".

This might mean the use of external magic to alter Haarlep's appearance. "Encantamiento" can be translated as "Spell". This word has more meanings depending on context but let's go to the next one.

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cw: rape and abuse

"His violating stare sees more than all of you, sees: potential"

Okay, this one is hardcore shit. I'm not sure about the implications of the word "violating" in English but it's translated as "violadora" (adjective), wich literally means Rape as in sexual abuse.

I actually like a lot this translation because it could have been softened with "mirada intensa" (intense stare) but the point of this phrase is very much that Haarlep is already thinking about how it's going to use your body after this encounter. It's not trying to go around about what is happening and it's very on-brand with other bg3 moments. 10/10, would not change anything about this implication.

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"Sometimes, when he is feeling more adventurous, Raphael asks me to change into the Archduchess Raphael"

Here is something weird. They translated "Adventurous" with "Audaz", which are different words, having a literal translation "Aventurado". "Audaz" is more like "Bold" or "Fearless" or even "Cunning".

But sounds nice I love the word "Audaz"

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"Some last thought whispers in your skull, vacated by everything else but rapture"

Here we have two interesting things. First of all, the word "Whisper" is exchanged with "resuena". "Resuena" is a word used for a noise that repeats itself inside your head, but in poetry is used also for feelings that you can't get rid of. Super cute translation imo.

Second, the word "rapture" is replaced by "extasis". Hear me: In Spanish, you can use the same word when you are about to cum and to express that the power of god is inside you. And that is fucking magic. Yes, Rapture has another religious connotation but trust me when I say it's not the same thing. Rapture is more about leaving one's body in spirit, not about cum.

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"Devote yourself to pleasure. Stay with me. This can be forever.

Another one with Religion stuff mixed in. "Consagrar y Devoto" are two distinc words in spanish. Devoto is about you being a believer, or giving yourself to a cause, but "Consagrar" its ritual. When something is "Consagrado" it means a priest has blessed it. it's the word used in catholicism to refer to the Transubstantiation (idk if it's written like this in eng). This implies here that sex is a ritual, in this case, to let Haarlep take your body.

Look, I love this shit, some religious kink swept in there

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"You have laboured enough, pet"

Small thing, but instead of "Pet", Haarlep calls you "puppy" or "Doggy" In Spanish.

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AAANNNDDDD That's all I'm willing to do now. Enjoy this and remember to misuse this information.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldur's gate raphael #raphael #haarlep #bg3 haarlep #text #bg3 raphael

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thyandrawrites · 9 months

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On Nagi's emotional intelligence

One thing I find interesting about Nagi's character is that he's not only bad at getting across his emotions in a way that leaves little room for misunderstandings; he also struggles a lot to identify feelings (not just his but especially other people's) for what they are, and to put himself in other people's shoes.

Both the manga and Nagi's light novel offer several examples of this, and I noticed a common denominator in most of them. So I thought it could be fun to compile them in a post.

(long ramble under a cut! Contains slight manga spoilers up to manshine city arc)

Preface: I did not study psychology, and though I try my best not to misuse words and be insensitive, mistakes in good faith can happen. Please bear with me

So, what kicked off this whole thing is a scene from Episode Nagi. This one:

Now, without context it would be easy to write off Nagi as a self-centered genius who is looking down on team Z for being "weaker". And that's exactly how Isagi, who doesn't know Nagi prior to this, takes his questions. They're just a taunt, as if Nagi is mocking Team Z's determination to overturn the scores when they're a team that doesn't yet know its own skills fully.

And the thing is, regardless of Nagi's intentions, his words are condescending. He doesn't mean them to be, but you can't deny that calling someone stupid to his face is not conductive to a polite or constructive conversation, lol.

Unless you're Nagi Seishiro, that is.

Nagi... Doesn't seem to grasp that essentially calling team Z the bottom of the barrel while asking what keeps them going is... Well, rude. Patronizing, even. Which is why he looks so puzzled when Isagi's response is negative, and when he doubles down on his hunger for goals.

In his head, phrasing it this way was perfectly fine. He was genuinely asking, and he expected a response. He wanted to know, not to piss Isagi off and be left hanging.

The reason behind Nagi's obliviousness is of course a lack of social skills. We know he tends to keep to himself, preferring video games and the silent company of a cactus over social interactions, and it shows in how stilted his ability to properly communicate becomes over time.

But in the intro I said I don't think it's just a struggle with communicating what he means. I also interpret it as Nagi struggling to put himself in other people's shoes when their experiences don't mirror his, which complicates his attempts to communicate further.

What is translated as "What's his deal?" in the panel above in japanese has a bit more nuance than that, and it clues us in to what was likely going through Nagi's head a bit more.

"What's this creature (Isagi Yoichi)"

The kanji that compose Isagi's name are transcribed with a different reading (the furigana indeed reads "creature")

Now, if you read Nagi's light novel, the words might sound familiar:

(credits to @/ hoshi801_ on twitter for this translation)

That's because we have another example of Nagi being weirded out by and puzzled at how differently he and others seem to function.

From Nagi's perspective, he's not the weirdo, others are! He keeps observing this world where everyone puts effort into things that he only sees as a hassle, and he doesn't get how anyone can find any appeal in them. In other words, Nagi doesn't really understand how other people work (how they think, how they feel, what motivates them), and he tends to use himself as a metric for understanding them better, not realizing how flawed that approach is.

I also reckon this is why he can sometimes come across as lacking tact.

"it's easy for me. How come is it not easy for you?"

What he says to Bachira during the 4v4 seems like another prime example of Nagi attempting to figure out others by comparing them against himself.

In his intentions, this little speech serves as a way to get Bachira to step up his game. After all, had he really been fine with not picking him, he could've kept his mouth shut, won the match, and picked Rin as he said he would. No need to warn Bachira beforehand, giving him a chance to prove himself in the field and compete with Rin as the best choice moving forward.

But the words Nagi uses are familiar once again.

"Do you think you'll get chosen if you lose? Still living in dreamland? [...] I want Rin, and I bet Isagi feels the same." -> Nagi to Bachira

Vs "you'd be satisfied if I chose you here? You wanna act like a team even if we're not excited about it? You think becoming best in the world is that simple?" -> Nagi to Reo

And then

"We don't need you the way you are now." -> to Bachira above

Vs, "'You're fine as you are.' That's what you said to me, Reo, but... For me to dream with you about being the best again, I want to change." -> Nagi to Reo (in his head)

Nagi doesn't really understand Bachira, either, but he understands the bond Bachira shares with Isagi. Two separate times, he sees himself and Reo's relationship mirrored in it, and that's what prompts his "pep talk".

While he might not grasp what motivates Bachira's ego, Nagi knows what motivated himself. So he offers much the same to Bachira. You want to keep playing with Isagi, just like I want to keep playing with Reo. So change, like I did. Keep working towards that dream, and don't throw in the towel, accept defeat, and wait for Isagi to pick you.

Bachira and Isagi's bond is pretty much the only time we see Nagi try and succeed at relating to someone else's emotions. He's able to do this because he can sense the similarities between them. It's a pattern he's plenty familiar with. So we could say he's still applying that flawed method I talked about above. Understanding others by comparing them to himself, assuming they think the same way.

But I'd like to point out that while he does get their bond as far as it mirrors his and Reo's, Nagi still doesn't grasp the ways in which it differs. Namely, he remains oblivious to Bachira's desire for connection. Nagi is perfectly comfortable being a loner, and while he misses Reo, he adjusts to the separation quite easily, at least emotionally. Well, partly because he caused it, but also because from his perspective, he and Reo were never really apart-apart. They'd eventually meet up again, Nagi would tell him all about his side quests, and they'd be fast besties once again.

At least, that's what Nagi envisions, because Nagi is a straightforward person who doesn't really grasp other people's perspectives past his own personal experience.

For that reason, I think, he remains oblivious to how his advice to Bachira hits like a slap where the boy's at his most vulnerable. But it all works out in the end, so in the grand scheme of things, Nagi has no reason to give it more thought past this interaction. Nagi's team loses, Isagi advances with Bachira, all is well again.

If Nagi got away with giving this as little thought as possible, though, his dynamic with Reo doesn't give him the same easy out. Not for lack of trying on his part. Reo doesn't initiate conversations with him for days (weeks?) on end, and Nagi is fine with never questioning it.

Now, normally I'd make a point here about how Nagi's major weakness is his refusal to think hard about anything unless he's forced to—or about how that's the main hinder to his development to date—but that's a post for another day. Suffice to say, for the sake of this argument, that his willingness to let things stay tense between him and Reo is part of the problem here.

Well, "willingness" might not be the right term here. From his pov, there isn't any tension at all, in fact.

Again, because Nagi had a reason that justifies leaving Reo behind, he doesn't see a strain in their relationship until Reo points it out to him. Worse yet, he struggles to see Reo's viewpoint even after Reo does point it out to him.

He's as clueless as they come, and he's closest to Reo than anyone else in blue lock. Despite this, not only does he not realize why Reo is upset with him and doesn't want to link up anymore, he also fails to grasp that Reo's angry at him at all.

I ran out of image space so I'm just gonna quote the next bit:

N: "We promised, right? To win the world cup together. I've just kept making the best choices I could for that goal. During the rival battle, I thought I could get stronger if I went with Isagi. And I chose England because I thought I could learn from Agi and Chris. So, now it's you, Reo. You're stronger now, so you and I can beat Isagi, unlike last time."

To which Reo understandably replies,

R: "Damn, you really are a selfish jerk, you know that?"

Nagi doesn't seem to realize that if you are a team, you should, you know... Communicate with your partner. Instead, he decides for himself, without even asking for Reo's input, what's the best course of action to achieve their dream, doesn't share his thought process with Reo at all, embarks on said course alone, and then one day randomly decides to have Reo tag along in it.

In his head, I think it all makes sense to him because he assumes Reo already knows all this, intuitively. After all, that's how their whole dynamic has been built so far. When Reo isn't anticipating Nagi's needs before Nagi has uttered them aloud, Nagi is instinctively following the vision Reo set up with a pass, and completing it with a goal.

I'd say that the fact that they relied so heavily on silent communication for much of their time as friends is half the reason why they are so bad at communicating with actual words. I'm including Reo in this because he's equally guilty of it too, what with him saying "do what you want" aloud, only to wish for Nagi to stay without verbalizing that thought to him.

But I digress.

My point is, in the scene above, Nagi assumes Reo would be fine with the split because Nagi himself was. It doesn't even occur to him that Reo might see it as the negation of their promise to each other, or that he would feel abandoned and forgotten about (sorry, can't post pictures, but notice his shock at Reo's accusations. Chapter 187). After all, Nagi spent the whole time thinking about all the things he wanted to tell him.

Once again, much like with Isagi in the first selection, Nagi's puzzled and surprised at Reo's angry burst in response to his pushing; he assumes the drive he feels will be mirrored or at least understood by the other person, but instead he's turned down, faced with a negative reaction he doesn't quite understand.

As Reo puts it, Nagi's imagination comes short of letting him empathize with Reo's feelings. The choice to move on without him is purely functional, then, but from his perspective it never involved any emotional distance. To Reo, however, who was left with an easy to misunderstand parting speech, the hurt of a perceived loss strongly overshadowed anything else. Nagi doesn't anticipate Reo's emotional response over rationality because Nagi himself is not an emotion-driven person. He doesn't see that Reo would be plagued by self doubt because Nagi doesn't doubt his skills. He fails to see how his actions could easily be misconstrued as indifference because Nagi's not one to read hidden meaning into people's words, and assumes others take things as face value, too.

But that's more than communication failure! That consistent lack of effort to imagine how others would feel or act in a given situation is a pattern, at least imo.

I think Nagi never had to make that kind of effort before, since he was pretty much on his own, and in a lot of ways he's still adapting to having peers he trusts and that he wants to be trusted by in response

One could say this is as much a process to him as understanding his own ego for football is, and I find that really fascinating to watch

#Bllk thoughts #Blue lock meta #Nagi seishiro #Nagi seishirou #Episode nagi #This took me way too long to type and I feel like the ending isn't as strong as the beginning #But I'm tired of looking at it so please accept it...? Thank you for reading if you hit that read more. Xoxo

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docholligay · 5 months

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Souvenir

I like people, I think it would be fair to say. Not even in the way you might describe a social butterfly, or someone who is necessarily good with people,* but in the way that someone loves art. I like listening people, I like watching them, I love hearing about what strangers do with their lives, I love eavesdropping on the little bits of people’s lives that they share into the open air and I learn things, constantly, from this**.

It’s a bit of an odd trait, I guess, and maybe could even be considered nosy, to look at strangers like this, to chat up the gal on the train to Ely***and find out that she was a translator, she’d worked translating a sailing manual, and isn’t that such an interesting thing for people to do? She offered the opening door, and I walked right through it. I will all the time. Every person I meet gets added to a bank in my mind to draw from, for writing, for experiences, for simply lying awake at 3 am and mulling over in my mind****.

In an actually fairly rare bit of lacking self-reflection, I had no idea that I constantly did this--it is not a calculated act--until Dani pointed it out to me on this trip, that I often make these little connections with strangers for no reason, and that it possibly makes me a good traveler. I had never thought of this. I suppose it’s true, though, that even when I’m somewhere my grasp of the language is, shall we say, tenuous, I have a very open sort of nature that allows me to find those little points of meeting. A conversation with an employee in Cologne, trying to buy tights, and we both ended up laughing, between my bad German and her slightly better English, and many hand motions, we got it handled! It was a very positive and lovely interaction, and though I knew my German wasn’t up to it, *I* was. That’s a mindset thing.

I like being this way, I think. Not only do I have these small moments, but I also, to creep out anyone who’s ever hung out with me, sort of memorize my friends. When I’m with them, I catch myself looking so carefully at the way their hair moves, the way they phrase things, how they walk and the exact curve of their jaw. How will I call this person up in my mind, later? I have trouble paying attention to things sometimes because I can’t stop paying attention to things. I am a good mental mapper for this reason, and I mentally map people, as well. I keep them, in a way I’m not sure other people do.*****

I do catch myself wondering if they know they have lives, still, in my head? Does Sylvie from British Airways know I think about her smile from the jumpseat? Does Ian the cabdriver know I still turn over his voice in my head? Will the girl across from me on the train know how she lifted my spirits along with hers as she loved someone? Does anyone ever know the thosuand tiny gifts I receive every day of my life, simply by the decoration they bring to my world? In the novel of my life, the background has so much texture, because of all the wonder of each and every person, even the ones I don’t like, bring to it. I am so grateful for all of them.

I like people. I hope they continue bringing their gifts to me and little weirdos like me.

*I think we can all agree that sometimes I am very Not That, and that ‘smoothing things over’ is not necessarily a gift I am given (nor do I cultivate it, let’s assign blame where blame is due here) and I can be brusque and impolitic and annoyingly self-assured in any given situation where I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.

**Just today I learned that sledding is called sledging in the UK, or at the very least in the North, if this gal’s accent is anything to go by and I’m not sucking at broad identification. I know this because she was talking about having enough snow to do it with someone she clearly loves and misses very much, from the way her face lit up as she was talking to them on the phone, and the way she leaned in toward the table as she made plans to meet up for dinner. I teared up a little bit. I love the moments we see people in connection and joy, some of my favorite little experiences in the world. I still think about the day one of my friends got married and she was walking around like a little piece of popcorn in hot oil, and there was nothing ODD or MAGICAL or WHATEVER about that, except that it was the exact kind of human magic I love, where something or someone gives you such joy that you can’t help but show it. ANYWAY.

***See: Transit for a full explanation of how we all on the train ended up being, if not friends, foxhole comrades.

****Upon reading this back, it sounds very negative or like I’m suffering, but I have slept in ‘shifts’ since I was a small child, and lying awake thinking for an hour or two around 3 am doesn’t bother me at all. It gives me a lot of time to imagine Haruka in situations and whatnot.

*****Poetic as this sounds when I make it sound poetic using the power of making myself sound good writing, it might be fairly argued that my brain would be better served to spend a little less storage space on how often my friend wears a particular sweater and a little more on, oh, remembering a box I’ve been meaning to ship for MOTHERFUCKER I JUST REMEMBERED I HAVE A PRESENT I FORGOT TO GIVE DANI AND BEL IT’S IN MY FUCKING BACKPACK RIGHT NOW (see??? What I mean???)

#Doc Does Christmas

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indristian · 1 year

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Weirdly specific König Headcanons part 5

By an austrian for an austrian character

After the Trump speech, where he claimed that our trees were explosive König wouldn't shut up about the warlike conditions he had to endure when playing in our forest cities.

In May 2019, after the Ibiza affair, there was a solid week, where he would almost exclusively listen to Ibiza-related partysongs.

He hates being carried, he's normally the one carrying people. And most of the time when he carries people it's the fireman's carry.

He celebrates Christmas on the 24. of december in the evening. This and the food blessing for easter are the only times a year he'll go to church without being forced by his family, mostly bc he gets food afterwards.

His father would often wake him to help with the farm. If he was hungover and refused he'd get told "Wer saufen kann, kann am nächsten Tag auch arbeiten" (very loosely translated "Those that have the energy to go out and drink, have the energy to go work on the next day"). He sometimes uses the phrase just to get on his teammates nerves.

Every time someone complains about their job within his earshot he'll say "Hättest halt was g'scheites g'lernt" (meaning "Should've trained for a better job then"). When pointed out that they have the same "shit" job he just sighs and says "Yeah, takes one to know one."

Prefers colder temperatures over warmer ones bc "It's easier to put on clothes to keep warm than take them off to keep cool, especially when you're down to your underwear already"

People, for some reason, just love to tell him all the gossip and he loves it. Too bad he has no idea who half of the people he has gossip on are/forgets about the names involved immediately

Inspired by my best friend: If you go on a hike with him, he'll be standing there at the top of the mountain with his hands on his hips, not a drop of sweat on his face and he'll say "Yeah, that was a tough hike" while you're on the ground next to him fighting for for your life

If he's bored he'll go on r/austria to see if there's any "drama" like the "I ripped my 1000€ jacket on somebody's fence, can I sue them?" or the "Someone vomited in the staircase in front of my flat, do I have to clean it?" posts and the posts that made fun of them

He knows how to use a scythe (for mowing grass things, maybe also slicing up people, but mostly just mowing grass). First time his team sees him with one they take a pic, add the text "bad soldiers get reaped by the big german grim reaper" and post it on the community fridge. Within a day the german is angrily scribbled out and austrian added instead.

And not really a headcanon more like something i overheard while one of my friends played warzone: when you play the game in german and König heals you he says "Put some spit on it" (if I remember correctly)

I'm surprised I came up with so many headcanons, tho I'm kinda running out of steam.

In other news I made a playlist of songs I think would get stuck in his head/he would listen to. The playlist is a weird genre mix, but I swear I can can think of a reason for each song to be in it. I may add some new songs over time.

And I'm so happy spotify doesn't record what I'm listening to rn bc I don't want Austropop to be in my top 5 genres for the next wrapped.

Part one, two, three, four and six

#könig #könig call of duty #könig cod #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare ii #call of duty warzone #cod modern warfare #cod warzone #cod warzone 2.0

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reflectionsofthesea · 5 months

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Hiii I’m back! It's been a pretty stressful and busy time at work, so I'm less online than usual, but still learning finnish daily! It's actually being my saving grace: getting to detach myself from work,routine and stress and just putting my head into something completely different that I enjoy doing. Putting a read more because I wrote a lot here:

I've been progressing with my exercise book, and learned how to express the need to do something 'i have to...' and also the imperative tense. Really useful stuff. I also finally finished trascribing all puhekieli 'basic rules' on my notebook!

Some new stuff in my daily learning routine:

I started listening to podcasts and short stories! I was a bit intimidated at first, but now I've been enjoying doing it every day when I am cooking, cleaning the house or even when drawing/working. I'm listening to a beginner's podcast and can basically understand a good 80% of it, which is making me feel so proud and motivated hahaha. The crazy thing is that even if I don't understand a couple of new words, I can follow the conversation and the topic and I always know what the host is talking about, it's crazy. I'll definitely continue listening to podcasts and stories daily because I think it's helping A LOT and truly making me feel like I'm making huge progress and my brain is enlarging lol.

I started using LingQ! The importing videos/podcasts feature is super useful, and I imported some videos in finnish from youtubers I found and having LingQ generate subtitles in finnish for me and translation in english, so I can study them is so useful. That way I can exercise listening to more puhekieli and expand my vocabulary. It helps that the videos are super fun and entertaining themselves, so I genuinely want to know what's happening hahaha. (one was a Sims4 house building video, another one a travelling vlog)

I tried writing some 'stories' for the first time, this is also an advice I heard from a video, that helps with getting your brain used to constructing sentences and phrases. I already did this in a smaller way, writing very short sentences practicing different grammar rules to commit them to memory, but this exercise really makes you put more effort into building longer and slightly more articulated sentences, like phrases you'd say to someone when having a chat, or thinking out loud. I decided to pick some random themes and just write what I can about them! The pink underlined words/verbs/adverbs are things I had to look up because I didn't know how to say yet. I think this is a pretty fun and creative exercise to do though, and I can see how it can make your brain faster at producing sentences on the long run :) It will be fun to keep doing this when my vocabulary grows and I can say more stuff! (I saw a writing exercise idea on tumblr that was describing your Dnd characters and something about their personality/stories, and I really want to do that!)

Overall, I'm feeling really good and motivated. I remember feeling a bit stuck a month ago, and now that feeling is gone, and I feel like I improved a lot. I really think implementing new exercises like the written stories exercise and especially listening a lot has been so useful and important into me feeling like I'm growing more in this language. I'm really glad I fought my inner doubt and saboteur and just did it. I also gander at posts written in finnish here on tumblr and realized I understand a good 70/80% of what's written in there. Sometimes more or less, depending on how long the post is or how specific the words used are. But that's pretty crazy to me and really satisfying!

Also, if you need some inspiration for your language learning journey or some good tips (like the listening to podcasts and writing stories I'm currently doing), please watch this video! It really inspired me to keep going in my journey :)

youtube

#mine #langblr #suomitumblr #finnish #learning finnish

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theawkwardterrier · 6 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Blessedly tagged by @walkinginland and @flyinghome-againstthewind so I can participate in one of my favorite activities (talking about myself) during this boring workday!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

173, although I know there are a few that for various reasons I haven't posted on there

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,177,040 which...wow

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Most continuously the MCU (Captain America specifically), Buffyverse, Veronica Mars, and Outlander, but one-offs for many others

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Muscle Memory (Outlander, Jamie/Claire; 18 chapters, complete)

Wingspan (Veronica Mars, Logan/Veronica; 6 chapters, complete)

Here's All the Melting Thrill (And Here's the Kindling Fire) (Outlander, Jamie/Claire; 14 chapters, complete)

things left behind and the things that are ahead (MCU, Steve/Peggy; 43 chapters, complete)

After the War Is Over (Will There Be Any Home Sweet Home?) (Outlander, Jamie/Claire; 6 chapters, complete)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

99% of the time, absolutely. I appreciate them so much, and want to express that, even if I'm a little overwhelmed and just end up saying "Thanks so much for reading!" Sometimes, however, if the comment strikes me as really negative or is trying to start some kind of debate that I don't want to get involved in, I'll just mark as read and move on.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really write angsty endings! (Usually just angsty middles, and third act twists...) Probably my Veronica Mars fic, We Do Not Flinch, because even though the ending is definitely hopeful, not everything is fixed and the character death is not erased.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Um, basically all of them tbh! I love and reliably provide a happy ending. I guess I'll say Each Step Closer (On Our Way Together) because the whole thing is pretty light and the last section extra so.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Intellectually I know the answer is no. But I have gotten criticism, perhaps validly, about my portrayal of Peggy's emotions in Woman Borne, and also have gotten comments which express frustration with the choices my characters make, and that does feel hurtful in certain ways.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Ehhhhh, very, very lightly. Pretty much just gauzy linguistics and minimal mention of actual body parts - soulmate smut 🤷‍♀️

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haha, I've written a bunch of AUs that borrow from other fandoms and have a lot of fun with those, but I've only written one partially completed Buffy/Bones crossover

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I think that some of my fics have been included in the kind of automatic sweeps that republish on fake fic sites or ebook sites, but not by an actual person as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, although I'd be happy to give permission if someone wanted to!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Lol, no and I can't imagine I'd be an easy writing partner 😂😬

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Skipping because I've found that there isn't necessarily a permanence to it for me.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I don't really have WIPs that have been posted (because I know myself and that would be too stressful for me!) but the long planned out Chase/Cameron fic, or the Veronica Mars one where Wallace was a superhero, or the various ideas I've vaguely started writing within my head.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Mmmm...Occasional nice turns of phrase/unusual uses of language?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing visuals or action

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Nervous about it and probably I do it wrong, but I do it anyway 😬

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter back in the day

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I am my own biggest fic critic and also my own biggest fan, so they are all dear to me. I do have a particular love for my Steggy fic things left behind and the things that are ahead and all the characters and bits of the universe that come along with it.

Tagging @roboticonography, @ghostcat3000, @ckerouac, @kairosimperative, and of course my always meme pal, @lavellenchanted!

#fic memes

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ohbother2 · 2 months

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hi! so like, i might try writing smut soon enough (because why the hell not amirite?) so like, is there any advice you could give me? like DOs and DONTs, tools that could be useful to avoid orthographic errors etc etc (im used to using chat GPT to look at my horribly, horribly written texts and correct them, but i've got a feeling it will straight up censor it, and english's not my first language, so anything that would make my dirty dirty texts into dirty clean text would be dope)

Hi!

I'm sorry but because you're an ageless blog I'm not going to give actual smut-writing advice, but ig it's okay to give general writing advice?

Just a reminder to everyone, if you're a minor please do not interact with me or my posts!

In all honesty I don't really know what I even do when I write, the words just sort of appear and I'm like 'yep, that works', but that's not the most useful advice, lol

I envision the story I want to read, and then I write it how I want to read it. I hope that makes sense

I guess my main advice would be to find your own niche, like, are you a dialogue or an 'action' based writer? Ofc it's good to be good at both but people have their own strong suits. For me, for example, I'm much better at descriptive writing than dialogue so that's what I focus most of my writing around

People also have their own unique styles and formatting to their writing - I feel as though mine is pretty distinctive with certain types of vocabulary and paragraph spacing/grammar/etc - so I guess it would be good to find a style that works good for you! For example, don't stick to lengthy paragraphs of immense detail if that doesn't come naturally to you, etc

My absolute top priority when writing is to not tell the readers what's going on, but to show it. Sometimes 'They felt X/Y/Z' is a useful tool for emphasising a particular point, but sometimes it detracts from the writing overall.

As an example: 'He felt as if his heart was going to burst from his chest...' (This can be good when used in the right moments, but if that's the only descriptor the writing loses a bit of life to it)

Compared to: 'His heart hammered painfully against his taut ribs as he gasped uselessly for breath...' (This is showing rather than just simply telling, and is how I personally prefer to write a majority of the time)

It's also important not to repeat yourself unnecessarily - it can be good to repeat when you're really trying to emphasise a point, but sometimes writing can stagnate and become less engaging? It's very difficult to find the right balance but it makes a world of difference to a piece of text

For dialogue (arguably my weakest skill) the best piece of advice is that you cannot write accurately how people in real life talk. When we talk we mostly fill out thoughts with nonsense and fluff out the main point - you can't write this because the readers will become disengaged. There's an important balance to find between being too formal for speech, maintaining the main point of the conversation, and ensuring the characters still sound like themselves. I tend to really try and put myself in the characters heads, think about what they'd actually say, and then 'translate' it into a written format that works whilst keeping that characters traits.

The way I 'learnt' to write was through reading, and I'd really recommend you read in your desired writing language (I'm guessing English from your ask) to see the typical structures and vocabulary of that language when written down. Direct translations don't always work, especially with literature, because there are phrases and sayings and common slights-of-tongue that are language specific, so I think it's really useful to get used to that language in its own written form, yk?

I forgot!! But it's also important not to tell your readers everything. Let them fill some gaps in on their own - they don't need to be told how a line of dialogue was said if it's obvious in the speech and context, and they don't always need to know how a character moved across a room or what their hands are doing 100% of the time. Sometimes the best parts of stories are the bits that go unsaid :)

Sorry, this is rambling and probably not very useful, but I've never given writing advice before.

Writing really is all down to the author finding their own 'voice' within their texts, and I'm sure you're writing will be great!!! I hope this helps! :))

#writing advice I guess?#im really not qualified for this #sorry if this makes no sense

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exitwound · 9 months

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I would really like to know what goes through your mind before you write and as you write. From one writer to another.

i think it’s like just my train of thought but when i’m writing it’s like i have something to hold onto when i think which makes it very different from just thinking and not writing. Like i can hold on in the wind and not get blown away. Like a sail. Instead of just being plankton. but i skip all the train cars of my thoughts that are too boring and sometimes i stop and run back and forth down a train car checking all the seats for the jacket i think i left behind even though i know i left it on a difffedsnt train. Or something. Like i stay in one place for a while or I also move really fast and go back later. Producing language is like.. dancing maybe. Idk. My thoughts when writing are sometimes concepts that i try to put into words (this usually is very difficult and what comes out is clumsy but also a lot of times it’s very worth it to translate them to words if you find the right ones it can be so magical like taking a shortcut to the heart of things but finding shortcuts requires luck and time and trying. It’s like getting to the association without the associative cascade that language is a scaffold for. So in that way it can be slower but if i can’t just think of a shortcut like just think of a translation via e.g metaphor then I just keep revising my word for word translation until you can’t tell it was originally in the languageless language of Conceprs and part of the idea there at least for me is also like You take the writing to the edge of the cliff and the reader jumps off. usually i don’t want the words to do the jumping itself. This is how i think about poems when i love something but i don’t know why it’s falling flat and not fun for me it’s usually because i jumped off the cliff after i got to the end of it and gave the reader nowhere to jump. because part of the magic is the reader can jump in any direction you want especially ones you could never think of so i usually don’t want to jump yourself bc in doing that i feel like i determine the only direction that can be jumped. but do whatever you want forever.) the other part of my thoughts when writing is just words themselves instead of concepts i have to translate into words this is the sweetest way to have thoughts.. But its still not like “writing” itself because frequently the first few words that come i pass on because i fall back into the grooves of common sayings instead of keeping the thoughts stretched out and in those spaces the water of the associative cascade rushes in which is like the thrill seeking part of making poems to me :) and when i pass on a word or phrase it’s to let new more interesting and unexpected words come up in their place it’s like suggested text i guess. Or like the opposite of suggested text like im trying to get the text to suggest the thing that I’m the least likely to say . And also i just let my mind wander or i like lean really hard into randomly generating things in my head or letting my mind go blank. or i remember something else i read and then i know what to say next . Idk it’s hard to describe but i hope some of these descriptions answer your question

#anon

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wowerehouse · 3 months

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I was talking about this with my partner earlier: One thing that's being pretty nicely highlighted in Reunification is the difference in how each of my Horde characters is multilingual.

Because they all are, to a degree--if they weren't they wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with Tyrande at all. But how they approach that, and the mistakes they make or don't make, are intentionally different, and it's really interesting to me to write as well!

For example: Vaz. Vaz is an extremely gifted linguist (and, separately, a gifted linguist, ladies). She is a full-on polyglot, she speaks like seven languages and is conversational in several more. She calls herself a diplomat, most people call her a spy; in reality, her role is as a linguist and translator/interpreter who also turns into a giant tiger and kills people sometimes, something that I feel we should implement more fully in our own world as it would make government functions much more interesting.

She could hold a functional touristy conversation in Gutterspeak easily--Hello, My Name Is, Where Is The Bathroom And/Or Portal To Orgrimmar, I Have Been Infected By Blight And Require Emergency Medical Treatment, numbers from 1-20, you know, basic necessities--and considers herself not to speak it at all, by her own standards.

She's an excellent interpreter as evidenced by her facilitating conversation between Kemm and Tyrande in Chapter 14. She doesn't translate word-for-word; she uses the culturally appropriate equivalent greetings, stops to explain a translation where it's relevant, leaves untranslatable words intact, and overall slips seamlessly in and out of both languages' cultural contexts in order to preserve the connotations behind everyone's chosen words. She even clarifies why she won't use the Zandali 'equivalent' of some terms, instead passing them on in Darnassian, because their connotations are so different.

So: Vazkri speaks with confidence, she doesn't stumble over conjugations, she can tell jokes fluidly and make puns. Kemm, on the other hand, does not have a gift for languages. He's already a shy, sensitive, deeply autistic soul who's uncomfortable with conversation in Orcish, languages don't come naturally to him.

So Kemm speaks foreign languages like a student--he didn't learn naturally by immersion, he has to put real effort into it. He's studied the languages and is doing his best to learn them by memorizing rules that he has to actively apply in his head, he's thinking in Orcish and mentally translating the sentences before speaking.

As such, Kemm speaks...not more slowly, but with more hesitance. He holds a conversational pace but isn't as quick out of the gate, essentially--and he's more inclined toward pauses. He sometimes drops articles, fucks up verb tenses and conjugations, and is much more confident and fluent when using more common social phrases that he has both used himself and heard used by others extremely often. If/when we get Kemm speaking Orcish from the point of view of someone who also speaks Orcish, his cadence will be very different!

Vaz's little cousin Ihz on the other hand is a lovely, pure-hearted fucking disaster of a woman.

Ihz learned solely by immersion. She's not a linguist by inclination and she also doesn't travel with her cousin like Kemm does, so she's not exactly getting a formal education. However, Ihz also travels a lot, she's literally a supply train--and she's been exposed to a LOT of neutral factions and joint operations, as well.

Ihz is common in Orcish and Zandali, which she grew up speaking; conversational in Darnassian; and is, also, fully fluent in Common! She's worked with a lot of Alliance, especially in Northrend and the Plaguelands, and she's smart--she picked up the language from being around it and listening to interpreters.

(Ihz can say "mule" in fourteen languages and "fuck off, mate" in ten. This is the extent of her formal education in such matters because it's all that's really important.)

The thing is, and I try to portray this with mixed success: Ihz speaks fucking weird. Not in the sense of The Warcraft Linguistic Racism Bingo problem, this is Ihz-specific; she's not a natural linguist but she IS a natural POLYGLOT with the end result being that she picks up vocabulary, pronunciation, slang, and even grammar constructions from, like...every language on Azeroth? Except maybe what the Naga speak, and frankly, if the Naga have any good swear words she might add those to her personal lexicon.

It's why I, ages ago, gave Ihz the verbal tic of using "aye," she got it from the dwarven paladins she worked with in the plaguelands--it's got a good mouthfeel and fits with Zandali phonemes, she ended up liking it as a general verbal acknowledgement. She incorporates a lot of loanwords. She also, though this is very difficult to convey in text, sometimes picks up...interesting....pronunciations. Like, there are definitely Common words that she consistently pronounces with a Darnassian accent, because she got them from kaldorei who were themselves speaking, inexpertly, a second language.

(When I lived in Germany, I had a classmate who had a DISTINCT and distinctively Irish accent--not just in pronunciations but in a grammatical lilt that's hard to put into words. She had NO IDEA her accent was Irish and in fact assumed she had a noticeable GERMAN accent until I told her--turns out, she'd done an exchange-student program in Dublin a few years back and was DELIGHTED to learn that she'd successfully picked up their accent, because she hadn't noticed it happening! That's Ihz.)

So basically: Kemm studies languages, Vaz learns them, and Ihz gets infected by them like a disease or some kind of perhaps fungus.

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llondonfog · 1 year

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Briar Valley's Education System

"I learned all of this in middle school. Briar Valley is superior even in its educational curriculum."

I haven't been able to get this line from Sebek's Lab SR out of my head for the past day, and now you all get to hear about it.

I. The Students

Sometimes I wonder if the following is a plot hole, a 'lost in translation' effect, or if we're deliberately being fed unreliable information and Ch.7 will finally reveal the missing pieces— but how on earth is there a middle school in Briar Valley if Silver and Sebek were the only two children of their generation?

Perhaps I'm taking the terms 'middle school' and 'generation' too literally, but it doesn't make sense to me when we know that Sebek has siblings, wouldn't they have been considered the same generation as him? (The only other possible explanation I can think of is if his siblings are fae, thus potentially much older, and he was the only child from his mother/human father, but I'm not sure if that's already been disproven— someone correct me if so!)

I guess it's possible that Sebek could have been privately tutored or still attended a 'school'-like setting with a private instructor, but the real point I'm striving towards is that there was a supposed public institution for education, and Lilia deliberately did not send Silver off to attend as we know that Silver was homeschooled— why? Wouldn't he have wanted Silver to engage with children his own age, even if that was only Sebek? Which of course, raises more questions to me in particular about what is the real state of how humans are treated in Briar Valley?

II. 'Superior' Curriculum

This phrasing got a chuckle out of me especially with the current Scalding Sands event. I understand that at every opportunity, Sebek will find a way to extol the virtues of his culture and kingdom, but Briar Valley is actually so far behind in its understanding of the world around them. We know from Malleus' lines in the event and in his card that what he believes to be true about the Scalding Sands is information that is practically decades, if not centuries, old. I'll reiterate from a previous post, but it is astounding to me that Malleus is allowed to represent his country with misinformation that could make him look foolish to other nation representatives— however, that's not his fault, but a byproduct of the fact that Briar Valley is so insular despite having such tensions with their neighboring human nations. One would think that they'd be keeping tabs on what the humans are up to, but it's rather strange that they're not after such bloody history.

So, is their curriculum actually superior if it doesn't even teach the most up to date information about the current events in Twisted Wonderland? I'd hardly say yes, especially when being aware of what's going on around you, particularly for those in leadership positions, is of utmost importance. Again, I just wonder if these views of 'superiority' are ones held mostly by Sebek as he tries to navigate his identity, or are still widely held by the fae population of Briar Valley? Is that why Lilia isolated himself with Silver to educate and train him away from judgmental fae eyes?

There's just a lot of underlying tension I think that can be seen in many of the Diasomnia voice lines that make me wonder what life is truly like in Briar Valley, and if we'll ever get to see it through a human perspective.

#twisted wonderland #twst analysis #twst chapter 7 #twisted wonderland silver #twst silver #sebek zigvolt #twst sebek #lilia vanrouge #twst lilia #diasomnia #that was a lot of rambling ahhhhh #but i hope it made sense where i was going with my thoughts??#im just really curious how humans fit into the fae world #especially with our only viewpoints being silver and sebek's father #I'D LOVE TO HEAR OTHER OPINIONS THO

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tokidokitokyo · 2 years

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Tips for Writing Sentences in a Foreign Language - for Beginners

Having studied 3 foreign languages at varying degrees of intensity and success - Japanese (I flatter myself to be fluent), Spanish (I can ask some simple questions and possibly crudely insult someone), French (I can say a few well-sounding phrases and then smile & nod when you respond). When beginning studies in languages, one of the most challenging things is to jump from the set beginner phrases from the textbook into creating your own sentences (gasp).

From my own language studies, plus experience TA'ing first year Japanese, I have a few tips for beginners on taking that leap into creating your own sentences. These will probably lean heavily on Japanese because that is the language I have the most experience with, but they are applicable to other languages too.

1. Just start making sentences!

It sounds simple, but it's the best way to start. Writer's block? Write about what you are doing, what you want to do, or write an introduction. Worried about speaking? Talk to yourself about what you are doing, what you want to do, or introduce yourself to yourself. You don't have to write or say anything world-shaking, but getting started is the first step. You can start by modeling sentences you've already seen. If you have an example textbook sentence, try modifying it to make your own similar sentence.

PS. Your sentences don't have to be perfect either. If you notice a mistake later, just go back and correct yourself!

2. Don't try to translate the phrase from your native language EXACTLY into your target language.

Languages don't always translate exactly, but also, sometimes your skill isn't advanced enough to say the same things you can say in your native language. If you don't yet know the appropriate grammar, vocabulary, or syntax of what you want to say, not being able to say exactly what you want can be frustrating and lead you to feel defeated (personal experience here). Instead, think of how to put the idea you have into a sentence using the knowledge you DO have.

If you have just started learning a language, it might be too much to directly translate "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily" (thanks, Ockham's Razor). Instead, why not try to translate "Simple is best"?

3. Avoid heading straight for the dictionary if possible when there is a word you don't know in your target language.

If you don't have the vocabulary word you need in a sentence, you might be tempted to go to the dictionary and look it up and throw it into your sentence. Whilst TA'ing first-year Japanese, this led to me puzzling and scratching my head over what the student was trying to say in their homework (hey, it's not my first language either!).

While using the dictionary to learn new vocabulary is obviously a must, when you are just starting out with sentence building it can also be a roadblock. When conjugating verbs is new to you, try using the verbs you do know to explain your idea. If you don't know a vocabulary word, selecting the right one for your context from a list of words with similar definitions can be difficult. If you don't quite know how to explain what you want to say, try rephrasing it until you can compose a less complicated sentence. Or break it into several sentences - you can work on complicated sentences when you're more comfortable with simpler ones!

Another bonus is that learning to explain what you want to say in your target language when you don't know the vocabulary is a helpful lifelong skill (that I still use today in Japanese). It can be frustrating to not be able to say exactly what you want to say in your target language at first, but if you just keep practicing you will get there.

4. Practice making sentences on the fly.

Writing allows you more time to think out the sentence, go back and make changes, and work things out more slowly. Speaking, on the other hand, is more challenging because you have to make your mouth form the words you are thinking, and do your best to make the sentence make sense to your listener. While writing sentences helps me to remember how to write hiragana/katakana/kanji and reinforces grammar (I learn best by writing it out!), speaking out loud helps your brain and your mouth learn to work together in your target language.

Don't have anyone to talk to? That's ok! Talk to yourself. Talk to your imaginary friends. Talk to your pet or your houseplant or your favorite figurine or stuffed animal. Just practice putting sentences together out loud, in real time. I promise you will notice improvement if you practice daily!

5. Don't be afraid of making mistakes!

But even if you do just throw in the dictionary word and your professor/study buddy/language exchange partner has to ask you what you were trying to say, that's ok! Making mistakes is ok! That's how you learn. Don't be afraid to be wrong, to be mocked and ridiculed.. ok, you most likely won't be mocked and ridiculed. (If you are, please find new language friends.)

Language learning is about making mistakes. Even now, after YEARS of studying and speaking and even doing interpretation/translation... I make mistakes (gasp). And it's ok. Ok, sometimes I think about the mistakes I have made in conversation in the middle of the night, but I'm working on that too. One day, you'll look back, and realize that agonizing over particles and which kanji to use and whether or not you would sound dumb when you were speaking to a native speaker is not the part you remember. You will remember when you could barely write your name in katakana, and realize that suddenly you can talk about your favorite hobby in exacting detail.

6. Don't practice in a vacuum.

Practicing sentences, written or spoken, on your own is fine! It's a great way to learn and improve your language skills. But I would recommend not spending all your time studying and practicing in a vacuum. There are lots of online ways to get your writing or speaking corrected (paid or not), and I would recommend taking advantage of them. I have gotten into the habit of using certain words that are too informal or that are not correct in the context I wanted to use them in, and it took a native speaker to point them out since I had become so used to using them (and so sure that I was right). So make sure to practice your language outside of your own head, and you will be able to improve even more.

So, what next?

Get out there and start making sentences! Write them, say them, and just practice. Don't stress about being perfect or making sentences that will change the course of history... instead, just start making sentences!

頑張ってね！

#日本語 #japanese #japanese langblr #japanese language #langblr #studyblr #writing sentences in japanese #writing sentences in a foreign language #japanese for beginners #tokidokitokyo

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