Update
This is what my weekend comprised of.
The Arashi boys were clearly having tons of fun.
♥ - Lots of yama pair moments! When the set changed, Ohno hid behind Sho, out of fear from the crocodile. ("I've never seen a crocodile like that before...") Later, he stood next to Sho to watch the members do their little individual sneak-reporter segments. Then for the wake-up call bazooka segment, he hid behind Sho again, in anticipation of the explosion. It was kind of cute how Sho looked a bit worried for Ohno after he fired the bazooka, which was a sharp contrast from--
♥ - --Jun! Who was so delighted to hold a bazooka! Like a little boy who just got the train model he'd always wanted for Christmas! Terrifying but somehow so very endearing!
♥ - Aiba's face when Jun had to brush the crocodile's teeth. Oh, he was enjoying this as much as Jun enjoyed the bazooka later. XD After all those TSD segments...
♥ - Degawa! They completely ignored him! adf;lk! He sat there the entire time, giving them the puppy eyes, but didn't use him at all! P-Poor, poor man!
♥ - Jun and Ohno did a great job with the flags for the rubber band snap segment. Superb reflexes! I know I would've failed instantly. And then, of course, Terry had to ask Ohno when his birthday was, causing Ohno to answer, thereby releasing the rubber band in his mouth and sending it hurling into Jun's face. XDDD The other members told Jun he couldn't blame Ohno; if someone asks a question, the natural instinct is to answer. Who thinks the little bastard Ohno knew very well what would happen if he opened his mouth to answer the question; let's see a show of hands? o/
♥ - Sho's individual segment on bar etiquette was interesting, and it was a nice change to see a member actually happy to learn the new skill, but I wish they'd send the boys out in pairs. It'd be more entertaining that way.
♥ - Funky Girls -- I still think they're completely unnecessary. |D;;
My guilt pleasure: DRRR!! dream novels
For those unfamiliar with the term, dream novels (ドリーム小説、夢小説) are a highly popular form of fanwork in the Japanese fandom. They're essentially self-insertions, where you--
--wait come back
*cough* um, well. Basically, there's a separate page where you can input your family name and first name, after which you will appear as a main character in the fanfiction piece. Sometimes it's gag, sometimes it's serious/drama, but more often than not, it involves romance with one (or more) of the characters in the series.
Y-Yes, it's shameful, I know. orz But I think it's very interesting to see what kind of Main Character (MC) they write into their stories. Every dream novel has a different kind of MC: there's one where the MC is extremely DoS (guess who MC's romantic partner is), one where the MC is a scared, jitterish sort of DoM, one where the MC is a sweet, normal OL.
The last setting I find particularly amusing! MC's romantic partner is Shizuo, and while everyone else in Ikebukuro are whispering about how, my god, Shizuo's girl is so normal, Izaya mutters to himself in his Shinjuku office: any girl who would date Shizu-chan is clearly not normal. And I thought I'd do a little translation of my favourite segment, just because I thought it was hilarious and very, very Shizuo:
Evening, 7pm
After work, MC walked over to Shizuo's workplace.
Given that it was Valentine's Day, and a Sunday, the streets were more crowded than usual.
While waiting for the lights to change at the intersection, she checked the paper bag in her right hand.
As she imagined Shizuo's reaction, she saw the recognizable tall figure and blond hair across the street.
"Ah!"
The light turned green.
MC took a step forward. "Shizu..."
Just as Shizuo turned around and noticed MC, a single bike swept across the intersection without a care for the traffic light.
The paper bag in MC's right hand disappeared along with the two riders, who zipped off at high speed on their bike.
".......... ah."
Everyone at the scene witnessed it.
Even Shizuo on the other side of the street.
"....AAAAHHHHH------!!!"
Although MC raised her voice and a man behind her yelled, "SNATCH THIEF!", it was too late.
The bike was already over ten meters away.
That bag would never come back.
That's what everyone was thinking, but the people around Shizuo on the other side of the street thought, "Maybe it'll work out okay."
".... The hell... do you think you'RE DOING!!???"
Shizuo had grabbed a white cylindrical pole.
The sidewalks and roads were lined with several of these poles, which were firmly secured in the ground and linked to one another by thick chains.
Once you pulled one out, the rest would follow in the form of a gigantic nunchaku, and Shizuo threw that one pole with his right hand.
The pole closed in on the bike, spinning rapidly. It struck the second rider square in the back, sending the bike crashing to the ground.
.... with that.
"Here. This is what you lost, right?"
Shizuo picked up the stolen paper bag and returned it to MC.
"Sorry..."
"The contents okay?"
"I'm not sure... I'm so sorry, this was supposed to be your gift..."
"My gift?"
When he retrieved the paper bag, he had briefly skimmed the contents, but he had no idea if they were all right.
Nervously, Shizuo took back the paper bag and tilted his head to look inside.
There were two boxes inside the cute bag.
"One box contains chocolate, so I'm sure it's still edible even if it's broken, but... the other box... could you take a look at it? It'll be a problem if it's broken..." said MC, looking up at Shizuo with a troubled expression.
"If it's broken? Can I open it?"
When MC nodded, Shizuo took out the smaller box. It was strangely heavy for its size, but the weight was soon explained after Shizuo undid the ribbon and opened the lid.
"......... ah."
Inside the box was a Zippo lighter.
It was of a simple design, with a bit of leather work covering just one part of the silver body. When he gripped it, the thickness of the lighter had a feeling of familiarity to it.
"I thought something simple would be best, since you use it often... I'm glad it's not broken." Although she looked anxious a few seconds ago, MC let out a relieved sigh and gave him a happy smile.
Shizuo looked down at the lighter in his palm and imagined his girl choosing this present for him. There were many kinds of Zippo lighters, so she must have made some effort to choose one. Shizuo, who had never received presents from anyone before, didn't know whether to be puzzled or happy.
"... I'm really happy."
In the end, he chose to be honest, and the cold Zippo lighter in his palm felt much warmer.
"Thanks. I'll treasure this."
[... ... ...]
The man in front of the gang rushed forward, swinging down the iron pipe in his hands.
Idly, Shizuo caught the pipe, but another man struck out with a knife without sparing a second.
"......................ah." Understanding the situation immediately, Tom let out a small sound.
Shizuo had evaded the man's knife, but the knife had cut through Shizuo's vest pocket.
The new Zippo lighter that slid out from the slit pocket fell to the ground, snapping the lid clear off. Bouncing once off Shizuo's shoe, the lid landed next to the rest of the lighter.
Slowly, Shizuo's eyes traveled down to his feet.
Tom, who felt all the blood in his body rush out of him in that instant, fled for a safe spot faster than he ever had before.
In that moment.
Krrssshhh.
The gang heard a sound they had never heard before in their life.
They turned, terrified, to the source of the noise, only to notice that one portion of the wire-meshed fence to the left of them was bent out of shape. Meanwhile, the man in front of them was gripping the thick wire mesh in his hands like it was nothing but waste paper. And then, he ripped the wires off the pillar with his right hand like he was ripping off paper from a hanging calendar, snapping the strong pillar in half as a result. Thick veins throbbed in his right hand.
"... oh... oh shit..."
"... you bastards... the hell do you think you're doing..."
Shizuo crushed the wire mesh in his hands into a ball above his head, and started flinging them wildly.
"TO A PRECIOUS GIFT I JUST RECEIVED!!!!!"
While the shower of wire bits hit the gang like the bullets of a machine gun, Shizuo flew at them with mad rage.
[... .... ...]
"Never mind that... is your right hand okay?"
MC pointed to Shizuo's right hand with a worried look on her face.
A shallow scar, 10cm deep, was on the back of Shizuo's right hand.
"Ah... I got cut when I ripped the wired fence out yesterday. Didn't notice."
"Wire mesh? Those are quite dangerous when they stick out. I accidentally ripped my stockings once when I passed by a broken wired fence at the park near the station."
Shouldn't you focus more on the part that he ripped a wired fence out?
That's what Tom thought, but he chose not to voice it.
... that's how the two of them got along, after all.
[... if anyone's interested, the site is here.]
I am ashamed. >< SO UM to keep my mind off my damned blocked nose, stealing something that's circulating the f-list lately.
Name a fandom and I'll give you some unpopular opinions about it.
I don't actually dabble in fandoms of certain series, so I have no idea how unpopular my opinions may be. ^^;;
The Arashi boys were clearly having tons of fun.
♥ - Lots of yama pair moments! When the set changed, Ohno hid behind Sho, out of fear from the crocodile. ("I've never seen a crocodile like that before...") Later, he stood next to Sho to watch the members do their little individual sneak-reporter segments. Then for the wake-up call bazooka segment, he hid behind Sho again, in anticipation of the explosion. It was kind of cute how Sho looked a bit worried for Ohno after he fired the bazooka, which was a sharp contrast from--
♥ - --Jun! Who was so delighted to hold a bazooka! Like a little boy who just got the train model he'd always wanted for Christmas! Terrifying but somehow so very endearing!
♥ - Aiba's face when Jun had to brush the crocodile's teeth. Oh, he was enjoying this as much as Jun enjoyed the bazooka later. XD After all those TSD segments...
♥ - Degawa! They completely ignored him! adf;lk! He sat there the entire time, giving them the puppy eyes, but didn't use him at all! P-Poor, poor man!
♥ - Jun and Ohno did a great job with the flags for the rubber band snap segment. Superb reflexes! I know I would've failed instantly. And then, of course, Terry had to ask Ohno when his birthday was, causing Ohno to answer, thereby releasing the rubber band in his mouth and sending it hurling into Jun's face. XDDD The other members told Jun he couldn't blame Ohno; if someone asks a question, the natural instinct is to answer. Who thinks the little bastard Ohno knew very well what would happen if he opened his mouth to answer the question; let's see a show of hands? o/
♥ - Sho's individual segment on bar etiquette was interesting, and it was a nice change to see a member actually happy to learn the new skill, but I wish they'd send the boys out in pairs. It'd be more entertaining that way.
♥ - Funky Girls -- I still think they're completely unnecessary. |D;;
My guilt pleasure: DRRR!! dream novels
For those unfamiliar with the term, dream novels (ドリーム小説、夢小説) are a highly popular form of fanwork in the Japanese fandom. They're essentially self-insertions, where you--
--wait come back
*cough* um, well. Basically, there's a separate page where you can input your family name and first name, after which you will appear as a main character in the fanfiction piece. Sometimes it's gag, sometimes it's serious/drama, but more often than not, it involves romance with one (or more) of the characters in the series.
Y-Yes, it's shameful, I know. orz But I think it's very interesting to see what kind of Main Character (MC) they write into their stories. Every dream novel has a different kind of MC: there's one where the MC is extremely DoS (guess who MC's romantic partner is), one where the MC is a scared, jitterish sort of DoM, one where the MC is a sweet, normal OL.
The last setting I find particularly amusing! MC's romantic partner is Shizuo, and while everyone else in Ikebukuro are whispering about how, my god, Shizuo's girl is so normal, Izaya mutters to himself in his Shinjuku office: any girl who would date Shizu-chan is clearly not normal. And I thought I'd do a little translation of my favourite segment, just because I thought it was hilarious and very, very Shizuo:
Evening, 7pm
After work, MC walked over to Shizuo's workplace.
Given that it was Valentine's Day, and a Sunday, the streets were more crowded than usual.
While waiting for the lights to change at the intersection, she checked the paper bag in her right hand.
As she imagined Shizuo's reaction, she saw the recognizable tall figure and blond hair across the street.
"Ah!"
The light turned green.
MC took a step forward. "Shizu..."
Just as Shizuo turned around and noticed MC, a single bike swept across the intersection without a care for the traffic light.
The paper bag in MC's right hand disappeared along with the two riders, who zipped off at high speed on their bike.
".......... ah."
Everyone at the scene witnessed it.
Even Shizuo on the other side of the street.
"....AAAAHHHHH------!!!"
Although MC raised her voice and a man behind her yelled, "SNATCH THIEF!", it was too late.
The bike was already over ten meters away.
That bag would never come back.
That's what everyone was thinking, but the people around Shizuo on the other side of the street thought, "Maybe it'll work out okay."
".... The hell... do you think you'RE DOING!!???"
Shizuo had grabbed a white cylindrical pole.
The sidewalks and roads were lined with several of these poles, which were firmly secured in the ground and linked to one another by thick chains.
Once you pulled one out, the rest would follow in the form of a gigantic nunchaku, and Shizuo threw that one pole with his right hand.
The pole closed in on the bike, spinning rapidly. It struck the second rider square in the back, sending the bike crashing to the ground.
.... with that.
"Here. This is what you lost, right?"
Shizuo picked up the stolen paper bag and returned it to MC.
"Sorry..."
"The contents okay?"
"I'm not sure... I'm so sorry, this was supposed to be your gift..."
"My gift?"
When he retrieved the paper bag, he had briefly skimmed the contents, but he had no idea if they were all right.
Nervously, Shizuo took back the paper bag and tilted his head to look inside.
There were two boxes inside the cute bag.
"One box contains chocolate, so I'm sure it's still edible even if it's broken, but... the other box... could you take a look at it? It'll be a problem if it's broken..." said MC, looking up at Shizuo with a troubled expression.
"If it's broken? Can I open it?"
When MC nodded, Shizuo took out the smaller box. It was strangely heavy for its size, but the weight was soon explained after Shizuo undid the ribbon and opened the lid.
"......... ah."
Inside the box was a Zippo lighter.
It was of a simple design, with a bit of leather work covering just one part of the silver body. When he gripped it, the thickness of the lighter had a feeling of familiarity to it.
"I thought something simple would be best, since you use it often... I'm glad it's not broken." Although she looked anxious a few seconds ago, MC let out a relieved sigh and gave him a happy smile.
Shizuo looked down at the lighter in his palm and imagined his girl choosing this present for him. There were many kinds of Zippo lighters, so she must have made some effort to choose one. Shizuo, who had never received presents from anyone before, didn't know whether to be puzzled or happy.
"... I'm really happy."
In the end, he chose to be honest, and the cold Zippo lighter in his palm felt much warmer.
"Thanks. I'll treasure this."
[... ... ...]
The man in front of the gang rushed forward, swinging down the iron pipe in his hands.
Idly, Shizuo caught the pipe, but another man struck out with a knife without sparing a second.
"......................ah." Understanding the situation immediately, Tom let out a small sound.
Shizuo had evaded the man's knife, but the knife had cut through Shizuo's vest pocket.
The new Zippo lighter that slid out from the slit pocket fell to the ground, snapping the lid clear off. Bouncing once off Shizuo's shoe, the lid landed next to the rest of the lighter.
Slowly, Shizuo's eyes traveled down to his feet.
Tom, who felt all the blood in his body rush out of him in that instant, fled for a safe spot faster than he ever had before.
In that moment.
Krrssshhh.
The gang heard a sound they had never heard before in their life.
They turned, terrified, to the source of the noise, only to notice that one portion of the wire-meshed fence to the left of them was bent out of shape. Meanwhile, the man in front of them was gripping the thick wire mesh in his hands like it was nothing but waste paper. And then, he ripped the wires off the pillar with his right hand like he was ripping off paper from a hanging calendar, snapping the strong pillar in half as a result. Thick veins throbbed in his right hand.
"... oh... oh shit..."
"... you bastards... the hell do you think you're doing..."
Shizuo crushed the wire mesh in his hands into a ball above his head, and started flinging them wildly.
"TO A PRECIOUS GIFT I JUST RECEIVED!!!!!"
While the shower of wire bits hit the gang like the bullets of a machine gun, Shizuo flew at them with mad rage.
[... .... ...]
"Never mind that... is your right hand okay?"
MC pointed to Shizuo's right hand with a worried look on her face.
A shallow scar, 10cm deep, was on the back of Shizuo's right hand.
"Ah... I got cut when I ripped the wired fence out yesterday. Didn't notice."
"Wire mesh? Those are quite dangerous when they stick out. I accidentally ripped my stockings once when I passed by a broken wired fence at the park near the station."
Shouldn't you focus more on the part that he ripped a wired fence out?
That's what Tom thought, but he chose not to voice it.
... that's how the two of them got along, after all.
[... if anyone's interested, the site is here.]
I am ashamed. >< SO UM to keep my mind off my damned blocked nose, stealing something that's circulating the f-list lately.
Name a fandom and I'll give you some unpopular opinions about it.
I don't actually dabble in fandoms of certain series, so I have no idea how unpopular my opinions may be. ^^;;