…..not even six hours later i got an offer of a well paying full time long-term job with free room and board in queens in nyc, allowing me independence and a way to escape an abusive situation and an unhealthy environment
likes charge reblogs cast, folks, this is the good luck post
the last time I reblogged this post right before I got a great job, in a permanent work-from-home position, with benefits, retirement, and a salary literally 3x what I was making before, doing something I really like.
Kinou nani tabeta, Tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna and Koisenu Futari: The holy trifecta of what I want in my future relationship
Idk man, the simple yet deep joy and comfort of sharing a homemade meal at the end of the day with someone you care deeply about is getting to me tonight.
I cry a little every time I'm browsing the Marriage Toxin tag and there's yet another post like "shonen jump would never let Gero/Kinosaki be canon" "I won't get my hopes up that a shonen jump manga could ever be queer*" because
Blue Flag is right there. Marriage Toxin is not the first queer shonen jump manga. If Gero gets to come out, he wouldn't be the first [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS]. Blue Flag is right there and it's so good please I am begging you to read it it is a crime against art and nature and me personally that such a well crafted story isn't better known
Blue Flag is about a high school love dodecahedron where half of them are queer, and the entire manga is about figuring out how to navigate what you want VS wanting the people you care about to be happy VS what society says will make you and your loved ones happy. Which is an inherently, inherently queer theme, and it is a goddamn masterclass of wordlessly showing character interority via body language, paneling, framing, and art. Frankly, the grounded tone is apples and oranges with the wacky comedic action of Marriage Toxin but Pleeeeease please please please read Blue Flag anyway both to make you feel better about the existence of queer shonen stories BUT ALSO because it's some capital L literature that literally everyone should read
I am always this 🤏🏽 close to coming out to my best friend who I live with that I'm not interested in guys at all and that romantic love makes as much sense to me as math does i.e., none.
I am always this 🤏🏽 close to coming out to my best friend who I live with that I'm not interested in guys at all and that romantic love makes as much sense to me as math does i.e., none.
This is the second part of the two-part spin-off originally streamed on Telasa and concludes my journey of fansubbing Ossan's Love Returns.
We did it!! I translated over 11k lines of fast-paced comedic dialogue and people talking over each other. I feel like I am a better subber now than I was before I started this project haha. Thank you to everyone who came along on this journey! I'll make a masterpost at some point before the episodes disappear to the depths of my blog, but this is the terminal stop.
I forgot that I also have a kofi. No pressure in this economy, though!
Tsumagoi is a town in Gunma prefecture known for cabbage.
Ikebukuro ('pond bag') is a commercial district in Tokyo.
Hotei Tomoyasu is a renowned guitarist. I think Takekawa-san was maybe trying to perform the theme from the yakuza film Shin jingi naki tatakai/New Battles Without Honor and Humanity. I don't recognise his lyrics from any Hotei song lol.
Maro calls Kikunosuke too kenage. I translated this to persevering but honestly there isn't a word in English that quite captures the full meaning of kenage. Kenage means heroic or brave but it's used to praise a weak or powerless person showing courage in the face of adversity, such as a child.
Ribbon and Nakayoshi are shoujo manga magazines.
The lifetime together line is again a reference to his old one hit wonder.
Can't believe I missed reading Blue Exorcist ch 129 and 130 real time, would have been such a blast. Here I am now trying to find crumbs of That Time. Sigh
So much of who Yukio is stems from his self-hatred.
He wants to be an exorcist because he hates how weak he is. A lot of the contempt he holds for his brother derives from a desire to be like Rin, and not like himself. The way he remembers his own childhood is distorted by his self-hatred, as he struggles to focus on memories where he isn't inadequate.
I think the reason he hates who he was as a child is because he’s associated all of his worst traits to "Pre-Exorcist Training" Yukio, where he felt truly helpless and unable to do anything about his fear. Becoming an exorcist kind of gave him a sense of power? By learning about what he’s afraid of and how to deal with it, he now has control. At least, I think that was the idea behind it. What he doesn’t understand (and what Shirou probably didn’t consider when he gave his baby a gun) is that he’s not really overcoming his fear of demons. He’s just compensating for it, and clinging tight to any source of control he can get. Deep down, the fear remains; he still feels helpless, with a whole bunch of terrible coping mechanisms as a bonus.
(I also think this is one of the reasons he has such violent reactions to losing control, specifically towards his own body, like when he stabbed his arm to prevent himself from panicking in the Kyoto Arc.)
And he gets worse, because as he reasses the goals he had when he was a child (partly due to Toudou’s influence), he can only focus on all the ways they are selfish. A seven year old becoming an exorcist because he wants to be stronger only reinforces Yukio’s self-hatred, because it’s a self-oriented goal. Rin wants to be an exorcist so no one has to die for him like Shirou did. Shiemi wants to be an exorcist so she can protect others the way they’ve protected her. Bon wants revenge for the Blue Night and how it affected his family, and on and on and on. Yukio is surrounded by people who have experienced incredible pain, but focus on those around them. More and more, Yukio is seeing himself as the outlier, whose selfishness only serves to build upon itself. As he says, “I’m so obsessed with myself I can’t see anyone else!”
And like, that’s why I think the line “I’m strong because I had you!” holds so much weight, for both Rin and Yukio. For Yukio, it’s a realization that he loves his brother more than he hates himself, you know? He didn’t just want to be strong so he could surpass his brother. He wanted to be strong for his brother, and was inspired by him. It was that love that pushed him forward, and it’s that love that allows him to heal, a little bit.
This is best shown in the flashback he has later in Chapter 130 when they’re getting ready to square up with Satan. Earlier, I said that Yukio’s memories are distorted by self-hatred. Here, in this scene, we see a memory free of that bias, where Yukio, once shaking in fear, takes Rin’s hand. Yukio is brave, and able to overcome his fears with support, it just took him awhile to realize this.
Therefore, even though so much of Yukio is built upon hatred, he’s slowly recognizing just how much he loves and has loved.
the heartache of being aroace is so crushing. i was born to love fiercely and all encompassing. i want to cook for you. i want to take you on picnics. i want to take care of you when you’re sick. i want to sit in silence with you. i want to share my life with you.
but no, i don’t want to kiss you. i don’t want to have sex. i don’t even really like holding hands. i’m sorry. i know its not enough. i’m sorry i’m not more.
We did it! This is the last episode! This project started out of personal dissatisfaction because the subs behind a paywall did not pass the vibe check. I'm gonna miss these characters and trying to find voices for them, but I'm relieved to have been able to finish what I started. I hope this little project of mine has been able to bring some cheer to someone's day.
Having said that, I'm going to sub the two spin-off episodes too so we're not fully done here yet, haha. In the meantime, thank you for this nine-episode ride!
Do not reupload to any streaming sites. Please refrain from posting the links in public outside of tumblr.
Notes
There were once again numerous puns, word plays and funny expressions in this episode, I did my best. The squid game one was impossible however so I've explained it in the subs.
Pokapoka: Onomatopoeia for something that's nice and warm, such as a mild sunny day. I feel like this line lost some of its charm in English unfortunately. :(
Haganezawa Iruka: Iruka means dolphin. This character has a painfully fake American accent.
Okagesamade: "Thanks to you", but it's only a pleasantry, it doesn't necessarily mean anything.
The book Maika is reading is titled Heya to Y-setsu to watashi, Room and Y-setsu and Me. Y-setsu is code for waisetsu which means pornography lol.
The Japanese title for My Neighbour Totoro is Tonari no totoro, next-door totoro.
Makkuro kurosuke are the soot sprites seen in Ghibli's films.
Engacho: Maki does this to Kurosawa. It's something kids do after touching something disgusting.
Feel free to ask if you have any other questions! I'm always here to talk about Japanese language or cultural things!
Freshly baked subs!!! Notes below the cut. This is the penultimate episode, we're getting closer to the finish line. Thank you to everyone who's come this far on my subbing journey!
Ending note: This is an English word made in Japan. It's a bit like an informal will with no legal standing to reflect on your life or express your wishes for your funeral.
Toketsu: blood vomit
Tooru futatsu: two talls (Kiku-sama's rice ball size), hence the slip of the tongue
When you fall, fall forward: originally said by 19th century revolutionary Sakamoto Ryouma
Tabelog is the biggest restaurant review site in Japan.
Iura Arata & Miura Shouhei interview on Modelpress
I translated an Ossan's Love interview with Iura Arata (Izumi) and Miura Shouhei (Kiku) on Modelpress! I skipped the introduction so this is just the interview part. Full article with pictures in the source.
First, how did it feel to get the offer for Ossan’s Love Returns?
Iura: I’ve already worked with producer Kijima Sari three times on Niji-iro karute, Ano toki kiss shite okeba, Unknown, and now Ossan’s Love. Joining a pre-existing team on a show with history puts you to the test. You think you have to bring something new to the table and you wonder what you came to do here, putting these pressures on yourself. It’s no easy feat to jump into the world of Ossan's Love in the middle.
However, what the roles I’ve gotten from producer Kijima have in common is they’ve all, in one way or another, discussed themes of overcoming the grief of losing someone. In my performance on Ossan’s Love I’m exploring new approaches to this theme within the show’s world.
Miura: I also first worked with producer Kijima on Ano toki kiss shite okeba. There are a few people whose offers I never decline, and she is one of those people. I had been watching Ossan’s Love before, so when I got the offer, I remember being more excited as a viewer that Ossan’s Love was getting a sequel.
What do you think makes Ossan’s Love so charming?
Miura: These older men are so serious and pure in their love. It’s both adorable and heartbreaking, it warms your heart to see it. As a regular viewer I was simply enjoying the show, but as soon as I entered the set, I understood the Ossan’s Love team is brimming with love, the cast and the staff all come together as a team to create this show. I understood the reason why Ossan’s Love is so loved by fans and resonates with audiences.
Iura: It’s a wonderful show first of all, one that has left its mark in our time, so entering the set made me feel even more strongly that I need to come prepared to face this work. Even so, the Ossan’s Love team took us in with open arms, and I feel the love and passion they have for this show.
You have worked with each other before. Were there moments when you felt reassured by each other’s presence amidst the pressure of filming?
Iura: I first worked with Miura-kun on Ano toki kiss shite okeba. We kissed on that show, so he’s my first same-sex kiss.
Miura: We’d already kissed before Ossan’s Love, haha.
Iura: Yes, haha. We also play a father and son on Hikaru kimi e, so we’ve been working together for about six months, and as our work together increases, we start thinking we want to try something new next time, putting these pressures on ourselves again, haha. But truly, with Miura-kun I don’t have to worry about a thing, but I don’t want to feel safe, that’s my mindset. It feels reassuring to be able to maintain that kind of a relationship, we can try new things, so working with him is a lot of fun.
Miura: Exactly. Conversely, I wonder how the relationship between our characters would’ve turned out if we’d been strangers. It’s already quite intimidating to join a team where everyone already knows each other to play a romantic relationship, and if your romantic partner is someone you haven’t worked with before, that makes it that much harder. But since my partner was Arata-san, I was safe and secure, haha.
You said you were welcomed with open arms on set. How was the filming?
Miura & Iiura: It’s such a wonderful environment!
Miura: Of course, there have been plenty of friendly shoots, but I hadn’t really experienced a filming like this before where the laughter is never-ending. It was probably the most hilarious shoot of my career. I mean, the director is howling of laughter behind the camera.
Iura: You hear laughter during the actual shoot, haha. Everyone is chitchatting right up until the test shoot. In my younger days I might’ve snapped at that and become a bothersome person, believing the set should be more charged, but Ossan’s Love makes me see this kind of shoots are good, too.
The cast and staff are all artisans with their own decks of cards, so when the cameras start rolling, it becomes a game of who plays their trump card. Everyone is so focused on their performance you start to wonder what was that happy chatter just moments earlier. This ability to switch between modes is what keeps the shooting fun.
Miura: It’s a fun but also a very balanced environment.
Do you have any anecdotes or scenes where you felt like you had entered the world of Ossan’s Love?
Iura: On my first day, I filmed a scene with Kei-kun’s Haruta where he does his “what’s going on???” reaction. I didn’t understand what was happening at all, but behind me Kei-kun was moving a lot, the world of Ossan’s Love and Haruta that I’d seen before were right there, and it made me think, “Oh, we’re filming Ossan’s Love! I’m filming Ossan’s Love!”
Miura: Mine is also from the first day, when I entered the shoot at a different time from Arata-san, I saw Kei-kun gracefully emerge from the studio bus, followed by Koutarou-san, and that’s when I thought, “Ahh, this is Ossan’s Love!”
Can you tell us more about your feelings towards your roles?
Iura: To Izumi, Kiku is someone whose presence he takes for granted, whose presence makes him feel so at ease he’s like air, like a married couple. But Izumi hasn’t caught on Kiku’s feelings at all, so even when their eyes meet and Kiku looks at him like a puppy, Izumi believes that’s just Kiku’s personality. Izumi hasn’t yet realized how grateful he should be that Kiku continues to be there for him and see him even though Izumi does nothing, but as an actor I feel the continuous love pouring out of Kiku.
Miura: Right now, Izumi-san can’t survive without Kiku, haha. He was incredible in the police force, but Kiku has seen his hopelessness since losing Akito, so Kiku feels like he should support him. In addition, he’s also in love with Izumi but bottles up those feelings, and as they spend time together, the lid on those feelings begins to crack open… I think that’s when this interview will come out, haha.
Miura: Izumi and Kiku’s story is going to unfold moving forward, but while grieving Akito Izumi also appears develop feelings for Haruta-san… How will this rice ball ball shaped love-triangle turn out?
What can we look forward to in the relationship between Izumi and Kiku?
Iura: Haha. Seriously a lot is going to happen, but what’s going to happen to Kiku… In any case, Kiku is hurt inside.
Miura: Since taking this role, I’ve mostly looked hurt. I make a heartbroken face at least once per shooting day.
Iura: Izumi and Kiku are both hurt in different ways, so they’re always heartbroken, haha. What will happen when they face each other? Or will they face each other? I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the story, this aspect included .
