English translation by canis_m. Work in progress. This post will be updated. Do not reproduce without permission.

Status: 26/42 pages
Last updated: 3/14/09

( Draft translation. Source text = Kodansha Bunko edition of _Kasho no Yume_ )

For tarigwaemir, prompt: old age. I think the one where Chihiro is finally reunited with Haku after having lived a long, full life is overrated has been written plenty, so this isn't that, quite. ( Lover's Quarrel )

For briar_pipe, prompt: something spring-like, and/or "anything you feel like writing." This is not spring-like, but uhh it meets the latter criterion. XD; In the vein of "Household God" and redundant of certain others. ( Keeping Warm )

Incredibly true adventures of dragon and girl in rabu, cont'd.

For reynardine, prompt: cry me a river ;_; ( Maiden's Tears )

For fragilistikal, prompt: househusband Haku XD ( Household God )

acchikocchi helpfully asked for an excerpt from Devil Summoner Kami Therapist Chihiro. Assume all events of film have taken place, and here we are maybe six years later. XD;

( The Kuzunoha delegation is unimpressed )

Sat down in front of a piano for the first time in years yesterday. Mostly inspired by the below. Practiced for about an hour. If I took up drawing again I could recover the full bourgeoise Victorian accomplished young lady skill set?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4tyS0Mz1_o
EPIC SPEED

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzPIINmsots
EPIC BALLAD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRLS4pWCjGw
EPIC MEDLEY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo3N0ue4OAA
NOW WITH STRINGS (I want to hug these kids)

See also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Jt1QU-n6A
Dude's hat A+

In which the Han contingent do what they do best. Many thanks to pengiesama for emergency sanity check.

Warnings: not safe for work, see also NOT APPROPRIATE

( The Song of Everlasting Joy )

A self-imposed challenge: ralph up at least 1000 words on one of the NYR prompts in one day. Basic training for Yuletide, as it were. Mission accomplished, although this is isn't a fic so much as a scene, or an extended ficbit really.

Tenika D. (aka dashre?) requested "something featuring Keiki," with option of "exploring his relationship with Youko (this can be either romantic or gen)."

( Prelude of Heaven's Pavilion )

Can anyone think of shoujo series or other by-women, marketed-to-women anime/manga (including BL, josei, and yuri) that have generated substantial fandom activity in Japan? By "substantial fandom activity" I mean not just discussion or attention but a decent body of doujinshi or other fanwork, fansites, etc. (edit: NOT limited to textual fanwork or pairing-oriented fanwork).

Sailor Moon springs to mind, but are there others on that level...?

It's bothered me for a long time that shoujo and BL series tend not to have productive fandoms--and when I try to figure out why they don't, I keep running into mental dead ends and/or premises I resent.

(Also: the author of Hetalia is a dude? A dude who lives in New York? For reals? ...Has this been proven or are we all just taking the author's word for it? XD;;;;)

In homo schoolgirl news, got my copy of the Aoi Hana Official Reader, wot the unwashed masses might call a "fanbook." ( 青い花公式読本 )

From part 2 of a joint interview between Umino Chica (author of Honey & Clover and 3gatsu no Lion) and Shimura Takako (author of Aoi Hana, among other things). Trans by yrs trly. Uhh spoilers for Aoi Hana manga Vol. 4, I guess. ^^;

----

Q: Umino-san, you mentioned that Fumi is your favorite character in Aoi Hana. What do you like about her?

Umino: I like burdened characters--characters who carry burdens in their hearts (laugh). So there I was, wondering what this burdened girl was going to say to Aa-chan, and then she goes and opens up completely! Now I'm all, "What will Aa-chan do?"

Shimura: Meanwhile Aa-chan is sort of like, "I'm not sure what to say."

U: But even Aa-chan's "Huh" response is so cute. It makes me think "Oh, she's so going to fall for her..." (laugh). When I was working on HachiKuro, I always knew that if any of the characters went right for the heart of the matter, the story would go zooming forward. That was a scary prospect, so they all spent something like 8 volumes just dawdling, not getting anywhere, but when I saw Fumi-chan plunging ahead in Aoi Hana, I was like, "Wow!" That takes amazing courage, I thought.

S: It was scary.

U: I understand the scariness. That's why I thought you were so brave.

S: On the other hand, there are some people who didn't want it to happen...

U: Ah....

S: This isn't limited to Aoi Hana, but people who just want to see girls squealing and giggling together are going to resent a character who wrecks that kind of relationship. "But...but that's what I want to draw!" is what I'd say (laugh).

U: I see what you mean. With HachiKuro, I could feel the readers' desire for none of the characters to actually come out and say anything. But I thought, "I want to let them say it," so I suppose I betrayed my readers at that point. Or not betrayed, but felt that I had to write the ending I wanted to write, and take responsibility for that. Even though it's been a while since the series ended, I still see and appreciate seeing people talking about it heatedly on the internet, saying "I object to the ending," and I always think, "I really am sorry. I'd like to apologize in person, but I can't" (laugh).

---

I FOR ONE LOVED YOUR ENDING, SENSEI
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THOSE GOONS WHO DIDN'T

...I should prolly translate the rest of this.

Survived first week of classes. Finished reading Hikaru no Go. Will now post inane running commentary on the latter.

( Inane running commentary on Hikaru no Go in bullet point form )

Caught up on Aoi Hana anime--conveniently all the eps are on YouTube. You guys it's so good. At first I thought the pacing might be off, but by this point (Ep. 9) it's perfect. The anime may even be doing a better job outlining the ultimate trajectory than the manga. Or not better, just...less subtle. XD; I appreciate the unsubtlety. Not sure how much longer I'll be able to hold out before I start writing Aa-chan/Fumi makeouts.

On Aoi Hana official site:
Umino Chika & Shimura Takako joint interview *
Ono Natsume & Shimura Takako joint interview ._.

* In which Umino Chika fangirls Fumi. Both mangaka gossip about other mangaka. Hoshino Lily's name is mentioned. WHAT IS HAPPENING

Note to self, official fan book out on 9/4.

Still have not seen any of the movies currently out including Ponyo orz

chofi asked for (and pengiesama seconded) archery lessons. Btw this is "atari" not as in the game console but as in kyuudo. Which I sure miss a lot.

Back to post-reunion future mode. You could read this one with gen goggles on and pretend that Gyousou and Taiki are not making magnificent clouds and rain together. Why would you do this idk.

( Atari )

You guys these prompts are all too big for ficbits D:

myaru asked for "Tasogare no Kishi never happened + um... Shouryuu tries to get Gyousou to loosen up (in a whore house) + silk and scented oils and possibly some flower petals?"

I think I got most of it, except the oils. And the actual pr0ns ahaha sorry myaru. Achieved nudity, though. -_-v

( Temperance )

First batch of Gyousou/Taiki requests, in no particular order. All set in post-reunion future, with legal!Taiki, how exciting.

jougetsu asked a lonnnng time ago for something about clothing or costume, IIRC. ( Something Borrowed )

flyby311 asked for some sort of third party POV. ( Bodyguards )

artimusdin asked for things which are much too long to be ficbits ;_; including "first night they get together," so uhh this is a prelude to that. ( Misstep )

Everyone should read motorbike's sassy fic in which Gouto may not explain IT ALL but he sure explains a lot: "untitled with cat"

The end

NO WAIT innueneko illustrated smut from mah squid fic: (NSFW)

Dunno about you all--HikaGo wank lol*--but we are having fun tiems over here in DSRKland

* I'm sorry, it's not funny really, except it is, from the outside it's like watching the quiet good-girl overachiever suddenly put down her textbook and take off her glasses and start a food fight in the cafeteria.** Obvs plagiarism and accusations thereof and the pain produced thereby are no cause for amusement, but. Lolll

** In my mental equivalent of Hetalia done w/ fandoms instead of countries. Set in Fujoshi Junior High. It is a girls' school. Across town there are other schools, some of which are coed. Possibly this is not a manga but a lesbian dating sim. You, the player, can date many fandoms and decide which fandom you want to get with. Against all expectations, HikaGo-chan has started a food fight in the cafeteria. What will you do.

A. wring your hands
B. hurl food with her
C. stand on sidelines and lol

If you choose option C. HikaGo-chan will not want to date you. I assume she has basically the same haircut as Touya Akira. But enough about that. Enough talking about something other than DSRK! Wait no actually I've been meaning to issue a general apology for going off the deep end with this Devil Summoner business. Not that I'm sorry to have this new fandom that is way more fun than yours I MEAN brings me great joy, but. ( Ugh stupid video games )

Anyway, I expect I've been broadcasting loud and clear over the last several weeks, but in case anyone missed the message, or for those just tuning in: if you do have a PS2, and a spare $35 (US), as well as any interest whatsoever in

--GAY
--DETECTIVES
--GAY DETECTIVES
--LOLS
--SUPERNATURAL MYSTERIES
--MONSTERS
--PENIS MONSTERS
--(AU) TAISHO-ERA JAPAN
--MORE LOLS
--INCEST not w/r/t gay detectives
--OCCASIONAL TRAGEDY
--MEGATEN GAMES IN GENERAL IDK
and/or
--TALKING CATS

then consider yourself encouraged to play Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Absurdly Long Title immediately.

Note that you do not have to like unicorns, there are no unicorns this time, it is still amazing even without unicorns, somehow. There are dragons though whew thank goodness.

P.S. belated comment replies coming soonish aaaah

Continued from Part 1. See previous post for header.

( The Sounding Sea (2/2) )

Cover art by innueneko

Devil Summoner 2, Narumi/Raidou + cast, postgame according to yrs trly. No major spoilers for game end, but allusions to stuff throughout King Abaddon, with shouts out to Soulless Army. Whoopee is made, but not in lurid detail. Names of actual cosmetic companies have been changed to protect the innocent.

Endless thanks to motorbike for quality control, reassurances, and whale poop. She is not to blame however for any remaining otome tendencies in Raidou. Those are my fault. Thanks also to innueneko for the fantastic art!

Comments are tasty and will be EATEN ALIVE

Summary: Devil Summoner Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The Pink Tentacle

( The Sounding Sea (1/2) )

Continued in Part 2

My otome Raidou. How I struggle to make him less otome. It is a mighty struggle.

Just a short thing. DSRK2, indefinitely postgame, again no real spoilers. NaruRai (or IS IT? COULD BE GEN? harrr) plus Tae. Hello, Tae.

( Like That )