There is a YouTuber named "命知らずのジョシュ (Josh the Daredevil)". He claims to be an American learning Japanese, and the videos on his channel are all produced in Japanese.

First, here are his two short videos.

Your response to "What's up" is wrong!!

Most Japanese people don't know the correct response to "What's up." They often mistakenly think it's the same as responding to the greeting "How are you?" However, "What's up" isn't asking about your well-being but rather means "What's going on recently?" That's why responding with "I'm good" can make the conversation awkward. Typically, people respond with "Nothing much," but it's also perfectly fine to explain what you're currently doing. Only when passing by someone can you reply with "What's up?" Additionally, since the sky is literally "up," you can give a playful answer like "the sky."

Don't forget it!

My comment

This is really helpful to me. In fact, I don't really know how to respond to "How are you?" either. We learn "I'm fine, thank you!" a lot in school, but other practical responses... I have learned a few from various materials and some friends, but responding to greetings is still one of the topics that scares English learners like me.

English words used only by "Nipponese" people

When speaking English, Japanese people often use the expression "take the plunge." Before talking to Japanese people, I might have heard this phrase once or twice in my life, but Japanese people use it extensively. When I asked a Japanese person why, they said it was because this phrase appears in English textbooks. Of course, if you want to use it, go ahead, but to me, it seems less like an English expression and more like a word that Japanese people have "made their own."

My comment

This is absolutely true. In fact, I didn't know the expression "take the plunge," and I didn't see it in any textbooks, but I had memorized Hironobu Takeoka's "Dragon 100 Sentences," so the unique expressions from that text sometimes pop up in my conversations. However, while learning English, I often listened to AVGN (Angry Video Game Nerd), and it seems that many of the expressions he uses are ones that only he is allowed to use. So I try to remember WHERE I learned a certain expression. Incidentally, I often use double quotation marks (or "「」" in Japanese) in my writing, but this is more of a personal habit than a common trait among Japanese people.

The first time I learned about him was when Toshio Okada, the founder of GAINAX (known for the Evangelion series and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt), introduced him on his YouTube channel. He mentioned that Josh’s videos are incredibly cool and that he even wants to imitate Josh’s unique way of speaking Japanese. In addition, Okada likes that Josh points out aspects of the Japanese language that even Japanese people might not notice.

However, what is even more interesting to me is not just the Japanese language itself but also how he introduces American culture “in Japanese” as an American. This is information I definitely want to know.

Know the American Spirit!

You probably already know that America is the best country in the world, but let me introduce one of the reasons why it's so great. It's called "groove." Some people say that groove is a genre of music, but to me, groove is a feeling. It's the feeling that if you dance a little, your problems will disappear in no time. By the way, there's also a verb "boogie." Its meaning is quite close to "dance," but it has a groove-like connotation. "Boogie" has a more upbeat feeling than "dance" and was often used in the 1980s. By understanding "groove," you'll not only grasp American culture but also the human spirit. For your reference, let me share some of my recommendations here.

(A long list of songs)

My comment

I also love Earth, Wind & Fire's songs and own their album CDs. Although they are quite famous, I like "September" and "Fantasy", and there is another song by them that I absolutely love, but I can't remember the name to look it up.

The word "groove" comes up a lot in the FLStudio tutorial videos, and maybe I am the one who should know about "groove" because I have not yet mastered the essence of it.

The American Custom of Saying, "Your Mom is Fat"

Your mom is fat. When she goes to the movies, everyone ends up sitting next to her.

How's that? Are you angry? This is the American way. What I'm talking about is the so-called "yo mama joke." You can't talk about American culture without mentioning these. The practice of kids mocking each other's mothers has been around for ages. The one I just mentioned is quite famous, but let me introduce two I've made up myself.

Your mom is dumb. Her intelligence quotient is around minus 10.

Your mom is ugly. When she went to the Setsubun festival, she was mistaken for a demon.

If you can, retaliate. Go ahead and mock my mother with all your might.

My comment

(^_^;)... I can't remember the name, but I've seen a scene in a movie featuring Eddie Murphy where they were exchanging such jokes. I didn't realize that "yo mama joke" was such an established cultural phenomenon. However, I know that even American kids get angry when their family is insulted, as I learned from the Teddy Duchamp episode of Stand by Me, so I don't think I'll ever tell a "yo mama joke.

Most of the content he handles is about what he realized in the process of learning Japanese, but some of it raises questions about the English language.

English Even Americans Don't Understand

The English equivalent for "女" is "woman," and "女たち" in English is "women." You might already know this, but there's an important point to note. Quite a few Americans don't know the proper pronunciation of these two words. By understanding my explanation, you might surpass them in English knowledge. Interestingly, although the fourth letter is different in writing, the pronunciation difference lies in the second letter. In other words, the plural "women" has an "o," but it is pronounced as an "e." Don't forget this.

My comment

I found an interesting explanation of this mystery in a video by "Yuru Gengogaku Radio".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45YPaKkXS6A

Originally, "woman" was "wifmann," and simply reading it as written was sufficient. Over time, however, this word evolved into "wuman," or rather, it was supposed to evolve that way, but the problem arose when it was written in cursive. The word "wuman" had too many vertical zigzags and was difficult to read. So eventually "woman" with an "o" instead of a "u" became widely used.

On the other hand, the plural form of the word, which was originally "wifmenn," evolved. As time went on, the "f" sound was reduced in pronunciation, but when writing it, to align with the spelling of "woman," the spelling "women" was adopted.

As for why the pronunciation of "women" wasn't aligned with "woman"—that is, why the latter part of the word isn't pronounced "-men"—the leading theory is that it was because the placement of the accent made it difficult to distinguish the difference.

This is a summary of Josh's explanation about the pronunciation of "woman" and "women." I hope that Josh comes across YGR or similar content someday.

Finally, I love his Japanese. His videos convey how much he studies and loves the language. Watching Josh, I am amazed at his fluency in Japanese and his deep understanding of Japan, which has made me think a lot about my own attitude toward learning English and American (and more recently, Mexican) culture. That is why I decided to write this article about him.

I found it particularly interesting that he always refers to "言葉 (kotoba; word)" as "言の葉 (koto no ha; worde?)". Although Japanese people rarely use this expression, there is a movie called "言の葉の庭 (The Garden of Words)," so I assume this word existed in ancient Japan. His Japanese often includes expressions that ordinary Japanese people would never use, and while some people may point out that his Japanese is incorrect, I prefer to see it as his unique personality rather than mistakes.

Josh posted a video explaining his philosophy.

Why My Japanese Pronunciation Is Poor

I've been told several times that my foreign-sounding pronunciation doesn't match my level of Japanese. In fact, unlike most Japanese learners, I have no interest in practicing my pronunciation at all. There are English learners all over the world, and of course their pronunciation differs depending on their native language. Russian, Nigerian, and Mexican English each have their own unique and wonderful qualities. Similarly, if I were obsessed with speaking like a native Japanese speaker, it would be unfaithful to my beloved America, and everyone in Japan would miss out on the Japanese that only Americans use.

His unique Japanese reminds me of the time when I used to refer to "lumps of sugar" like candy and cakes as "sweets," only to be surprised when a friend pointed out that this word is not widely used in America. But following Josh's philosophy, I too would like to not be too ashamed of my immature and peculiar English, but rather a little proud of it as my personality, or more specifically, my style of calling sweet candies "sweets."

In an older article, I wrote about the Japanese language used in "粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆ (Shukusei! Loli Kami Requiem)" by Shigure Ui.

https://precipitation24.newgrounds.com/news/post/1411980

In this article, I would like to once again ride the wave of trends and explain the Japanese language used in the title and the strange opening video of the anime "Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan" (My Deer Friend Nokotan), which started in Japan this July.

(Metal Cover by Little V ... metal cover????)

しかのこのこのここしたんたん (shikanoko nokonoko koshitantan)

If I rewrite this expression in a more understandable way using kanji, it becomes:

鹿の子のこのこ虎視眈々

I will break down the elements of this text and explain them.

鹿の子 (shika no ko)

It can be translated directly as "deer child." Until recently, the expression 〇〇の子 (lit. XX's child) was not so common, but since the buzz of 推しの子 (Their Idol's Children), this expression has suddenly become accepted.

のこのこ（noko noko）

"Noko" is basically the name of the protagonist, Shikanoko Noko, in that anime, and I think it is used in that sense in this song. However, when it is used in repetition, many Japanese people think of the onomatopoeia "noko noko." This onomatopoeia is mostly used in the phrase "のこのこ（と）来る noko noko (to) kuru (lit. to come nokonoko-ly?)." It is difficult to translate this into English, but many Japanese-English dictionaries translate it as "(to come) nonchalantly / shamelessly." If I were to explain this word in my own words, it could mean "to visit somewhere knowing that one is not welcome," and is typically used by the speaker in a critical context.

However, such a negative meaning does not seem particularly relevant to this song, so in this song it probably just refers to the protagonist's name, and the onomatopoeia is used purely for rhythmic purposes.

Speaking of onomatopoeia, it is not transcribed, but if you listen carefully to the beginning of the song, you can hear the singer say "ぬん (nun)." This doesn't mean a member of a group of religious women, but a kind of onomatopoeia. As can be seen from the fact that no dictionary has an entry for the onomatopoeia "nun," this expression is not commonly used. Even as a native speaker, I first encountered its use on X, which was known as Twitter in the early 2020s. Personally, I think this onomatopoeia probably comes from "ぬっ (nu ʔ (glottal stop))", which is usually used to describe someone or something coming out of the shadows. So in this song, I think it could represent the image of "Shikanoko" suddenly appearing from somewhere.

虎視眈々 (koshitantan)

This is a kind of four-character idiom (四字熟語; yojijukugo) in Japanese, and this expression comes from the Chinese book "Yijing."

"虎視 (ko shi; tiger's gaze)" is, as the kanji string "虎 (tiger) + 視 (gaze)" suggests, about how a tiger looks at its prey, and "眈々(tan tan; vigilantly)" expresses the caution of that gaze. Also, the character "々" does not have a fixed reading, but is a symbol used to repeat the preceding character (the reason for using this symbol is that Chinese characters often have many strokes and are sometimes troublesome to write). Of course, there are cases where "虎視眈眈" is written by repeating the same characters without using the "々" symbol, and both ways of writing are acceptable.

To get back on track, "虎視眈眈" (ko shi tan tan) means a tiger watching for an opportunity to pounce on its prey. The expression "虎視眈眈と〇〇を狙う (lit. aim for XX koshitantan-ly?)" is usually used to describe someone who is preparing to hunt or, more commonly, someone who is ambitious to win a higher position as a boss, champion, lover, and so on.

In summary, "しかのこのこのここしたんたん" means "A child deer, Noko, waits for an opportunity to emerge from the shadows and pounce." I look forward to seeing how this sentence relates to the story of the anime.

This is the end of the article. If you have any questions or any other Japanese text that you have trouble translating, please let me know. I will be happy to translate and explain the text.

There are artists on Newgrounds who draw with a kind of old anime atmosphere, and I've long admired them, but didn't know their methods. Recently, however, I finally learned a technique to create similar illustrations by combining two effects: "Chromatic Aberration" and "Saturation and Brightness Adjustment". This method was shared on these two sites:

[Japanese] Creating an Atmospheric Screen Using Chromatic Aberration

https://www.clipstudio.net/oekaki/archives/148819

[Japanese] Cel Animation Style Illustration Processing

https://www.pixiv.net/artworks/59794801

I am so happy to have learned this technique, and I would like to share it with you in this article.

STEP 1: Adding Chromatic Aberration

First, prepare a completed illustration.

Next, open the image in a photo editor (Photoshop, CLIP STUDIO PAINT, SAI). In my case, I used CLIP STUDIO PAINT,

and duplicate the layer four times. Only the top three layers will be used in STEP 1, with the bottom layer kept as a backup.

Prepare each of the top three layers and set them to "multiply layer." Then fill each layer with pure Red, Green, and Blue colors, respectively. 

Merge each of the RGB layers with their respective layers.

Change the layer mode of the top two merged layers to "screen."

When you move each of the top two layers, the chromatic aberration effect will be applied. This completes the first step.

STEP 2: Creating an Old Anime Style

To make it look like old anime, reduce the brightness and saturation of each of the three RGB layers. Lowering the brightness and saturation of each layer will make the screen duller (and darker), giving it an aged look. How much to lower them depends on your taste, but I chose random numbers around -4 to make it look more decayed.

Set the transparency of the top three RGB layers to about 90%. Adjusting this number will change the blend ratio between the old anime-style layers and the original layer.

Once you have completed the above steps, your illustration will change to an old anime style compared to the original. Additionally, to create an old anime feel, you need to choose appropriate colors and use dark shadows, but these steps are omitted in this explanation. If you find any other necessary steps, please let me know!

Recently, I read the novel Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and it was so interesting that I could not stop reading it. In this article, I would like to write a short story as a book review or unrelated fan fiction. There is no dramatic story in this novel, but I hope that I could successfully express my impression when reading the story.

I originally wrote this novel in Japanese by myself, and translated it into English with the great help of ChatGPT, but if you find any errors in English, please let me know.

========================

Holiday in District ■■

   In my dream, I was standing in an unfamiliar square. The sky was an impossibly deep blue, almost as if it was close to outer space. The square was scattered with large geometric objects made of inorganic concrete and jet-black marble-like materials, devoid of any context. I couldn’t tell what they were meant to represent. But mathematically speaking, they had complex and incredibly beautiful shapes. It was a beauty that seemed to be filled only with the most beautiful things in this world, yet it somehow felt like it was slowly gnawing away at my heart.

   Countless people were busily passing by, but I don’t remember much about them. I only remember thinking that if they were inhabitants of this world, I wanted to be one of them too.

   After walking around and looking at my surroundings for a while, I arrived at an object that looked like the top of a pyramid had been cut off.

   “It’s terrible, isn’t it?”

   When I turned around, a boy dressed in a gray hoodie, his skin as white as snow, was sitting on a bench beside the object, letting out a sigh. He wasn’t wearing the hood, and he looked about elementary school age. On closer inspection, his hair seemed to have a slight bluish tint.

   I looked around, but no one else seemed to notice the boy, so it seemed he was talking to me.

   “What’s terrible?”

   “I think it’s about time humanity got angry.”

   “At what?”

   “At technology…”

   “Technology?”

   “I think it’s about time humanity got angry at technology.”

   As he said this, the pale boy looked down and kicked his feet childishly.

   “And you?”

   When I asked, the boy just shook his head. After taking a long pause, he breathed in and murmured,

   “I love this world.”

-+-+-+-+-

   The sound of the alarm woke me up. It was the sound of an ordinary alarm clock. I could reset it for holidays, but I set it for the same time because I didn't want it to affect how I would feel the day after tomorrow.

   Ironically, my Silicon Valley colleague was particularly bad at waking up in the morning. His chronic sleepiness was apparently worse than the alarm clock, and he once complained that he wished the company would implant a company-made alarm clock in his skull. Fortunately, management was not that ethically corrupt, so it remained a joke.

   With sleepy eyes, I pressed the button at hand, leaving my shirt and hair in disarray. Immediately, the lights came on and the automatic system parted the black curtains.

   Outside the window, a giant ghostly telescope, catching the morning sunlight and piercing through the clouds, stood tall as if it wanted to crumble and attack my defenseless self. There's nothing more depressing than being looked down upon by your workplace on a holiday morning.

   Still, for some reason, people seemed to have an unconscious attraction to things that hurt them. I stood up, rolled up the sleeves of my shirt, and looked out the window in my underwear, having taken off my pants. No one can see me from the seventh floor of the apartment building, shaded by the morning sun, no matter what I wear. Below, there were numerous familiar telescope technology buildings, probably unaware of the term "zoning," all with stark glass facades and strange pipes and steel beams entwined like vines. Even though it was morning, I could already see busy figures loading goods into black pickup trucks with military insignia.

   I realized that it had been six months since I came here. Yet it felt as if I'd lived here for a long time, since childhood.

   At some point, holidays here stopped being filled with illusory brilliance. I have had a vague sense since my youth that this feeling would come, and at the time I arbitrarily decided that it was a sign that I was no longer myself. Now I can't say whether that prediction was correct.

   In essence, it felt like my entire life was being dictated by these elusive philosophical feelings, which made me incredibly uncomfortable and uncomfortable.

   Perhaps the colleague who wanted the alarm implanted in his skull suffered from the same disease as I did.

   "Breakfast..."

   After getting up and doing my usual morning routine, I made my way to the kitchen. If I wanted a healthier breakfast, I could go to the dining hall downstairs, but since the base has a supermarket run by a private company (even though it feels like the end of the world) and a well-equipped kitchen in every room, my much more competent colleagues often go there. But I just didn't feel like going out.

   The first thing that came to mind as I stood in front of the stove was scrambled eggs.

   Everything went smoothly. I didn’t go so far as to make a thoughtful salad to go with the scrambled eggs and bacon, but I had some dry bread, so it sufficed for breakfast. Besides, after moving around for the first time in a while, I felt slightly better. Maybe I should ride this momentum and do a deep clean of the room.

   It took about an hour to complete the entire breakfast process, and then I sat down at the table. To my right was the thick, huge window, the curtains of which I had opened, offering a sweeping view of Hope. It was a scene like an oceanfront resort.

   Above all, the weather is good today.

   I wasn't in the habit of playing music during meals. For no reason at all, I would pick up the neatly arranged dishes, take the knife and fork in both hands, and eat breakfast.

   Just as I was about to take a bite, the intercom buzzer rang unexpectedly.

   "Who is it?"

   "Hey, um... do you have a moment?"

   On the display, I saw my colleague, Deutsch, standing at the entrance.

   "I'm having breakfast."

   "Okay, I'll come back later then."

   "If you don't mind..."

   "Really?"

   I pressed the button for the intercom, and I saw him through the automatic door opening across from me.

   I had Deutsch sit on the sofa in the living room while I continued my breakfast within sight at the dining table. However, our conversation didn't really pick up until after my long meal was over and I joined him on the same sofa. Although we did exchange a few words, it seemed he was prepared to wait patiently until I finished eating.

   "The truth is, I have something to discuss with you."

   Deutsch's concern hadn't changed for quite some time. It was about the life exploration symposium hosted by the MITSETI Research Institute. Since the project was co-funded by the U.S. Air Force and numerous national observatories, someone had to report the observation results from Hope, the giant radio telescope on the artificial island of Barksdale, and this year, that responsibility fell to him.

   "It's tough. Every time I write the draft, I wonder if these words are familiar to the general public... well, maybe not the general public, but at least to the average scientist, and if the concepts might be a bit hard to grasp..."

   "Hmm, you worry about that kind of thing."

   "Well, you know, some people can explain things very clearly."

   "Yeah, it's a kind of talent."

   "Probably the result of training," Deutsch said, taking a sip of coffee. "Ideally, I want to make my explanations so clear and engaging that they can't help but be interesting..."

   I chuckled a bit. He was a very talented researcher.

   "Isn't it a bit beneath you?"

   "No way. It's really nerve-wracking. If I leave out even one word or one key point from what I'm trying to explain, it feels like the truth will be misrepresented... Honestly, I envy the BBC. I wish we could poach one of their people."

   "Don't overestimate us."

   "No way!"

   "And even if you convey the truth meticulously and thoroughly, there will always be people who distort it. Just like me."

   Deutsch let out a deep sigh mixed with a chuckle.

   "That's true..."

   I frowned.

   "I wanted you to deny."

   After I said that, he showed more reflection than I expected, which made me feel a bit sorry for him.

   "I'm afraid of being criticized by someone."

   Deutsch suddenly smiled.

   "I can relate to that."

   He occasionally showed a deeply troubled expression. It was hard to notice unless you were paying very close attention, but even so, I thought it would be better if he didn't let it show on his face, and I planned to mention it to him someday.

   "But you couldn't have taken it that way during your dissertation defense, right?"

   I sighed deeply. Oh, I heard all kinds of things. But unlike the criticism of an art piece, which feels like a part of yourself being attacked, I didn't feel as hurt. Or maybe at that time, I was desperately telling myself that it didn't hurt.

   "Even Dr. Hawking's singularity theorem was harshly criticized by the professors at Cambridge."

   "I know... That's why I had given up," Deutsch said, letting out a big sigh. "But in his case, it might have been mixed with a bit of envy."

   "Undoubtedly."

   "When did he develop his condition?"

   "1963, two years before he published his paper."

   "Really?"

   "You didn't know that?"

   "Sorry, I only picked up bits and pieces."

   He stared out the window at Hope, looking deeply contemplative.

   He murmured as if he had just remembered something.

   "You seem to be in a better mood than usual."

   "Do I?"

   "Your demeanor is softer. Usually, you're so reserved and your words so sharp, but today something is different. If you were always like this, it would make me happy."

   My hands moved unconsciously. I've always been uncomfortable when others, especially the opposite sex, tried to get closer to me.

   "I don't like being with the same type of people for too long."

   "I see."

   I averted my eyes without thinking.

   "I get very anxious. I feel like I'll end up comparing everything with that person using the same standards."

   He looked puzzled and pursed his lips.

   "But you've been compared to others all your life."

   I found myself at a loss for words.

   "Maybe that's why it's a trauma."

   "Hmm... that's odd."

   "Aren't you the same?"

   "Not really... Even if you were ten times better than me, it wouldn't mean I'd starve. You would end up somewhere else without me, so you wouldn't even be a rival. Besides, I was never that excellent to begin with."

   I closed my eyes and shook my head.

   "That's not true..."

   Why does this feel so comfortable? As he said, I dislike being with other people intensely. Yet, for some reason, a deeply satisfying atmosphere fills the room.

   "So, you don't go to amusement parks, do you?"

   He broached the topic.

   "Well, no."

   "Because you dislike people?"

   ...Dislike people?

   "That's part of it, but mainly,..." I didn't really understand conversations. I was just leaning into his kindness. Memories of a big fight with my family at an amusement park resurfaced, further dulling my instinct for casual social interactions. "I really don't like places designed with a specific purpose."

   He nodded in agreement and fell silent.

   But after a while, his face brightened suddenly, as if he were brimming with joy.

   "Then let's go outside. Not to an amusement park or anywhere with a specific purpose, but just to the nearby airport."

   He stood up and pulled my hand. I, surprised, muttered with a neutral expression.

   "Well... that's true."

   "On a rare holiday, let's step outside the base for once."

   We passed through the lobby of the living quarters and boarded the base shuttle, which traveled freely within District ■■. The shuttle was powered by a linear motor and was fully autonomous, with no driver's seat. Unlike my workplace, headquarters was quite a distance from here, but it took less than five minutes with this shuttle.

   However, I did not ride it very often. The last time I took it was... three months ago?

   The landscape was beautiful that day. Sometimes it was the dirty coastal industrial zone lined with oil tanks, and sometimes it was a vast open field stretching to the horizon. It was easy to forget that we were inside a base.

   The midsummer sky over the southern coast of the United States remained an unchanging cobalt blue. That day, as usual, the sunlight was blinding, brightly illuminating the interior of the unlit shuttle. On days like this, it had become a reflex to sit on the left side, facing away from the sun.

   The train began to move, and through the window I could see our residence on a small hill, with the giant telescope in the background. In front of us, the monorail of the shuttle crossed the street. There were supermarkets, shopping malls, pharmacies, and it felt like a small town. There was no high wall protecting it, just a four-meter barbed wire fence that disappears into the distant horizon, making it easy to forget that this is a unified Air Force base. A perfect urban space isolated from the outside world. In fact, this base itself was like a kind of amusement park.

   Didn't I just say something about facilities made for specific purposes? After all, my idle talk was full of contradictions.

   As the scenery outside the window approached the shoreline of the artificial island, the buildings quickly disappeared. Ahead, at the end of the monorail branch, I could see a huge suspension bridge connecting to another artificial island on the opposite shore. The bridge looked like it was made of bright red KAPLA blocks. From here it looked like a scene from a dream.

   "How long has it been since you last went outside?"

   "I don't know. But it feels like a long time."

   With that, he fell silent again. Perhaps because I felt a little more at ease, I added,

   "It's troublesome... having to plan, make up my mind, and then go out."

   He made a sound of agreement and folded his arms, looking out the window again. The monorail had just reached the coastline of the artificial island and burst onto the long bridge leading to the main island. For a while, the deep blue horizon would dominate the view.

   "Making up your mind?"

   "Don’t you need to?"

   He sighed.

   "You’re so dramatic."

Did you think

That upon embarking on that journey

You would find something pleasant

To hold in your hand?

   Like many other introverted and awkward people, I had once indulged in writing poetry. However, my motivation was slightly different; most of my poems were like an insurance policy, lamenting my circumstances. They were a way to tell myself "I knew this would happen" when I returned with unpleasant experiences. I believed that by doing so, I could appease the gods and avoid their wrath.

   This particular poem was one of my favorites. Up until I was posted here a long time ago, I often wrote it in the corner of my notebook. Sometimes, I even read it aloud. It was a strange but comforting habit.

   Basically, it was the small things, but whenever I went out, I always seemed to bring back something unpleasant. At some point, it felt like I wasn't allowed to go out without being prepared to accept that unpleasantness.

   "That’s so like you..."

   He muttered. His tone was the same as before, just an acknowledgment, so I didn't pay much attention to it.

   "What do you mean?"

   "Just what I said." He looked unusually solemn. "It's like worrying is your hobby."

   I smirked a bit.

   "If so, it's not a bad hobby to have."

   "Come on, I'm worried about you."

   "I know."

   What is this feeling? Ah, yes. My father felt the same way.

   Even after I left for college and started living alone, my father continued to live in the same place. When you haven't been home in a while, you become insensitive to your family's well-being.

   To my father, I was always his beloved daughter. No matter how bad my personality was, no matter how much I hated people, no matter how much people hated me, even if I lived in this world just for my own survival, to my father, I was simply his beloved daughter, wounded and needing protection.

   Frankly, it was a nuisance. It would have been simpler if everyone but me was an enemy. For a long time, I found comfort in such a binary and simplistic view, or perhaps in that delusion. My love for living alone probably stems from a primal desire for solitude. For someone without ambition, living as a vessel for the vanity of others seemed to be one of the few reasons for my existence.

   However, my father, my enthusiastic supporters, and the world itself refused to let things be that simple. Instead, they often caused great turmoil in my heart.

   A girl named Zoe was a classmate when I was little. She praised everything I did, especially my homework, diaries, and reports. Whenever my work was posted in the classroom, she always complimented my writing.

   However, my writing was only moderately appreciated by the teachers, so I probably didn’t have any particular talent. It was just that Zoe's sensibilities resonated with mine.

   When I wrote a book review, Zoe particularly praised it and told everyone in class that they should read my review. I was mortified, but that book, which explained things in an "irresistibly interesting" way, might be the direct reason I ended up here. To me, that book was like a friend who endlessly and repeatedly narrated the vastness of the universe beside my pillow.

   Zoe called me a genius. To her, I was indeed a genius. Yet I knew many geniuses whom I could never match, and that word felt endlessly empty to me.

   But that's okay, I eventually thought. If I were to lose my job and aim to be a writer, the driving force behind my writing might be those few friends who called me a genius.

   "You said earlier that explaining things is difficult."

   "Yeah."

   "But you do have a clear idea of what you want to do, right?"

   "What I want to do?"

   "The exciting explanations you want to give. The creative simplifications. Don’t you have those ideas in your head?"

   He let out a deep, thoughtful sigh.

   "....Yeah, I suppose I do."

   The shuttle crossed the long strait and landed on Barksdale Main Island, where the General Affairs Bureau is located. The transparent glass structure of the enormous arch, which swallowed the shuttle's monorail, gleamed a brilliant blue as it reflected the sunlight. Along with this, the modest words "Main Office Station" appeared on the glass display board.

   "When you put words together, they gain traction. That's why everyone tries to do it," Deutsch said, folding his arms. "But this kind of work is like swinging a bat wildly. I think it should only be done by those with the proper license."

   If my words are of any help.

   "Your concern is very valid and noble. If there is a limited amount, then interest and accuracy are likely inversely proportional."

   Deutsch nodded with interest.

   "So, it's possible to sacrifice accuracy to make it interesting."

   That's not exactly what I meant, though.

   "Excuse me, I'd like to get a permit to leave the premises..."

   The operators sitting side by side were all young women with sharp short haircuts, as if that hairstyle was their very identity. In my opinion, they, like me, were suffering from the same sickness.

   "Understood. May I have your ID?"

   Even though not many people would want a permit to leave, she didn't even ask why.

Without hesitation, he took out a card from his chest pocket and scanned it. Following his lead, I quickly took mine out from my bag.

   My chest ached with a prickling pain. It's probably that self-hatred again. The postal workers I disliked when I was a student were far more human than the people in this office. At least they were straightforward in their open dislike for my personality, which made it easier to understand.

   Without interrupting her data entry, the operator spoke to him.

   "If you don't mind, may I ask about your plans?"

   "I haven't decided yet, I'm just waiting for someone at the airport."

   You haven't decided, have you?

   "I see..."

   A transparent-sounding buzzer, fully managed by the system, rang out, and the permits were attached to our two cards. There’s a rumor that a very thin transmitter is attached to these permits. Well, it's just an urban legend.

   "All done. The permits are valid for today. Please present them at each gate when you leave and enter. Have a good day."

   "Thanks."

   Saying that, she waved with a big smile. That's where she and I are fundamentally different. I could never smile like that. She really seems like a competent operator.

I love English and was once good enough to become an English teacher at a Japanese junior high school. But that was in the past, and since then my English skills have been declining rapidly. So, as part of my language learning, I decided to post some simple questions and comments about the English language that are not easy for me (and that I should ask on HiNative or Quora) on Newgrounds. I am not an expert in English and may make elementary mistakes, but thank you for your patience.

"Please Kill Urself"?! | English Is Not So Easy 23

I recently found an interesting post about English on X (Twitter). It was a post by Eshtarwind (江市コム), a professional translator of English and Japanese from Indonesia, on January 7, 2024, advising native English speakers not to use these expressions to praise artwork:

“Please kill urself aren't u ashamed ugh”

“I am mentally ill”

“Ugh go die plzzzz”

“Delete this”

Fortunately or unfortunately,... sorry, whether it's good or bad, I didn't get those comments, but if I did, I would first check what it actually means, and I would probably think that my post caused a backlash for some reason and delete it immediately as they said (but this is basically a situation on other platforms than Newgrounds, because on Newgrounds comments were usually displayed with ratings, and I think there's much less possibility for such misunderstandings to occur).

As shown in the "Fortunately or unfortunately" example, I unconsciously assume that expressions that exist in Japanese (幸か不幸か) also exist in English, and I spend most of my time learning English trying to remove this bias from my mind. On the other hand, I thought that this was a general problem of languages, and that there must be some expressions that native English speakers assume are conveyed correctly even to non-native English speakers, but in fact are not.

However, in this article I will not tell you not to use them. That is not my interest. Instead, I want to ask you what they really mean. I would love to know what feelings were in the minds of the people who wrote those comments, and how they were trying to convey them. I am really interested in that.

About the "Please kill yourself" comments, there is an interesting hypothesis from the non-native speaker side. The Japanese thought that the comment writer was trying to say something like, "I love this work so much that it hurts me now. I don't want my heart to hurt anymore, so please stop showing your work. So delete it and kill yourself."

(This is off topic, but this kind of sentiment reminds me of the lyrics to "Something Comforting" by Porter Robinson)

How accurate is this interpretation for native English speakers? If this interpretation is not correct, what do these comments actually mean? I would like to know your opinion.

On the other hand, there is a similar expression in Japanese that means "I love this work so much!":

尊すぎて死ぬ

It could be literally translated as "They are so noble that I am dying," but in this context, 尊い (noble) just means "cool" or "adorable." It actually means "Their coolness/cuteness chokes me," but I think a similar phenomenon would occur if non-native Japanese speakers read it.

This is a linguistic-cultural issue (I wish there were such a science), but about the difference between the expressions "please kill yourself" and "尊すぎて死ぬ", some Japanese people interpreted that the difference is that English speakers tend to express their strong emotion as an aggression against the art or artist, and Japanese speakers tend to express it as an aggression against themselves.

Incidentally, in my case, I always want to express my intense emotions, but I only come up with weird words

Also, when I thought an artist's character was deadly cute, I once tried to comment "She's killing me (from her cuteness)," but before I posted the comment, I found some articles that said it didn't really mean what I intended (according to the article, it means "she makes me laugh a lot"), so I gave up posting it. So lately I just comment "cute!" or "adorable!", but I would really like to use more English phrases to admire other people's art.

[For Japanese learners]

I came up with another interesting Japanese word that would frighten non-native speakers, 黙殺. It is composed of 黙って (silently) and 殺す (kill), which literally means "to kill silently," but actually means "to ignore." Even as a native Japanese speaker, I am not sure why such a simple word is made up of such scary characters.

The effects study of DDCL is frontpaged! Thank you, Newgrounds! Thank you, everyone!

Introduced by @anymany, I played Doki Doki Literature Club, in the Japanese translated version (it was added in the second version), and I was impressed and shocked by the story.

As a person who once seriously tried to make a VN game and suffered from the difficulty of making it, I think creator Dan Salvato is the greatest VN game creator, and I can't believe he's the same "human being" as me. However, even though this illustration has nothing to do with DDLC, I felt like it wasn't like I couldn't do anything about making a VN game this time.

I have long loved the genre "Words You Must Never Search (検索してはいけない言葉)", and I was very excited recently when I found the English equivalent "Screamer". Guessing from the word, I thought it was just about jump scare videos, but I am not sure about the exact definition. It seems to have a much broader meaning.

What I was especially happy to see was that there are both kinds of people, an English-speaking person who digs into WYMNS, and a Japanese-speaking person who digs into "Screamer".

On the other hand, the story I want to introduce here has nothing to do with them, and there's no jump scare, it's just my (and ChatGPT's) translation of a Japanese horror story "記録 (The Record)", but I personally want to encourage their activities by introducing such works.

==========

This is the important record related to the incident.

It is a recording made with an IC recorder.

The voices recorded are mainly those of Hina Kamimura.

She is not only a detective with the Metropolitan Police Department, but also the aunt of Takayo Kamimura, the sole survivor of the IZUMO Corporation plane crash, who was thirteen years old at the time of the accident.

Takayo was long believed to be in a vegetative state due to injuries sustained in the accident, but it was recently confirmed that she has regained full consciousness.

Although she has not fully recovered to the point of being able to engage in conversation, a communication system has been established by attaching electrodes to her molars that emit electronic sounds when her teeth make contact.

For a "yes," she bites her teeth twice, and for a "no," she bites once.

To ensure Takayo's mental stability, only Hina and Takayo were present in the room, and no cameras or other monitoring devices were installed.

The following is the record:

"Hello."

Silence.

"Do you remember me?"

Twice.

"Yes, I am your aunt, Hina. Can we talk a little?"

Twice.

"The sun is out today. Feels nice, doesn't it?"

Twice.

"Do you want to go outside?"

Once.

"Do you want to stay here?"

Twice.

"All right."

"I want to talk about the accident, okay?"

Silence.

"Not okay?"

Slight pause, twice.

"Okay?"

Twice.

"All right. I'll ask you some questions. You were coming back from a trip, right?"

Twice.

"When the plane left the airport, there was nothing unusual, right?"

Twice.

"Were the other passengers normal?"

Twice.

"Did something happen while the plane was flying?"

Four times, continuously.

"Does that mean YES?"

Three times.

"Are you okay? Shall we end this conversation?"

After a while, once.

"Can you continue?"

Twice.

"Okay, please be patient a little longer."

Twice.

"Was the plane shaking before the accident?"

Twice.

"Were you scared?"

After a short while, once.

"Did you think the plane would crash at the time?"

Once.

"You didn't think it was a big deal?"

Twice.

"Did the shaking get worse?"

After a short pause, once.

"Did the shaking last?"

Once.

"That is, ... the shaking stopped at one point?"

Twice.

"And then, the shaking started again?"

Twice.

"After that, it crashed?"

Twice.

"I'm sorry for asking so many painful questions. You must have been scared, right?"

Twice.

"Let's stop here for today. You must be tired."

Once.

"Can you still talk?"

Twice.

"Okay, then, can I ask a little more?"

Twice.

"Besides shaking, was there anything else abnormal?"

After a while, twice.

"So..."

In the middle of Hina Kamimura's words, three times.

"What's wrong?"

Three times.

"Is your jaw tired?"

Five times.

"Are you trembling?"

Four times.

"Are you okay, Takayo?"

Six times, then immediately five times.

"I'll wait for you to calm down."

Three times.

A short break. Even during that time, several times.

"Are you okay now?"

Twice.

"Let's continue from the previous topic. Was there anything abnormal besides shaking?"

Twice.

"Were the engine sounds strange?"

Once.

"Did you hear any explosions or something?"

Once.

"Did you see something from the window?"

Twice.

"Does that mean you saw something hard hit the plane?"

Once.

"Do you think it is not the direct cause of the crash?"

Once.

"Did what you saw from the window cause the crash?"

Once.

"Um..."

Repeatedly in the middle of Hina Kamimura's words. (Number of times unclear)

"Are you okay, Takayo? Are you scared?"

Repeatedly.

"Relax. There's nothing to be afraid of. This is a hospital, you won't fall."

Seven times.

"Calm down."

Five times.

After a while, she recovered.

"Are you okay, Takayo?"

Twice.

"Can we continue?"

Twice.

"What did you see?"

Silence.

"Oh, sorry. Did you see something from there, um, like another plane?"

Once.

"Let me change the question a bit. Was your seat by the window?"

Twice.

"Could you see the wing of the plane from the window?"

Twice.

"Was there something wrong with the wing?"

After a while, twice.

"Was the wing broken?"

After a while, twice.

"So, did that cause the plane to crash?"

Waited a while, but silence.

"The wing was broken, but that didn't cause the crash, right?"

Once.

"So, that caused the crash?"

Twice.

"Do you know why it broke?"

Twice.

"Did something hit it?"

Once.

"Did it break by itself?"

Once.

"Did someone break it?"

Twice.

"Was someone there to break it?"

Twice.

"So..."

While she was asking, repeatedly.

For a while there were no questions, just continuous sounds.

"Are you okay?"

Once, once, once, with intervals.

Waited until she calmed down.

“Was that someone only on the wing?"

Once.

"Were they not alone?"

Twice.

"Were there many?"

Twice.

"Did they break various parts?"

Twice.

"The window was..."

Twice.

"Does that mean they broke in through the window?"

Twice.

"Did they do something terrible to the passengers?"

Twice.

"Did they hurt you?"

Repeatedly.

"Saliva from the wound..."

Repeatedly.

"Did they have fangs?"

Repeatedly.

"Were they slimy?"

Repeatedly.

"Eyes were pitch black, tiny like grapes, densely packed..."

Repeatedly.

"small like children..."

Repeatedly.

"hands, no, feet? lots of them, like crawling around..."

Repeatedly.

"weird noises, like rubbing something..."

Repeatedly.

"crawling out from very small holes and gaps..."

Repeatedly.

"sticking to your body..."

Repeatedly.

"climbing up..."

Repeatedly.

"biting..."

The electronic sound stopped.

"eatin..."

"hurts..."

"help..."

The above is a recording of a conversation between two people.

In the latter part, various sounds such as rubbing, sucking, and dragging were mixed together, but the details remain unclear.

It is also uncertain whether there is a connection between the fact that Kamimura Hina's voice trembled in the latter part and something else.

This recording is being kept by the prefectural police as an important piece of evidence in the case of the double murder of two women at the Sakurami Red Cross Hospital.

The truth behind this incident remains shrouded in mystery.

 https://w.atwiki.jp/2ch_terror/pages/62.html

Lately I have been obsessed with writing text instead of drawing illustrations and making music. This time I would like to experiment with posting one on Newgrounds.

Before that, I love English, but I am not that good at it, so if there is anything you think should be grammatically corrected, please let me know.

========================

Clouds at the Beginning of Summer

                Shuichi shielded the sun with his right hand as he looked up at the sky. It was a cloudless day, the sky was incredibly blue, especially the celestial blue closer to space, as if it could swallow everything. Suddenly, the familiar electronic sound echoed. Shuichi was accustomed to that sound. It didn't startle him, but the wave of cheers carried his gaze off into the distance. The sound emanated from the area around the electronic scoreboard that said "42nd Kyoto So-and-so Track and Field Record Meet" in black letters. As a signal, female athletes in different colored uniforms ran toward him, avoiding the shade of the roof above their heads, showered with cheers from the crowd in the deep orange track. They finished their prescribed distance run, then lingered on the course for a while, walking, before finally taking their designated positions, each bowing respectfully before dispersing. The announcer's voice reverberated, informing the audience that there was a tailwind of 2.4 meters per second during the race. During the dispersal, some athletes exchanged shoulder bumps with teammates in the same school uniform, some disappeared into the dressing room without changing expressions, while others happily bounced along, exchanging friendly gestures with someone in the audience.

                Shuichi sat on a light blue bench warmed by the bright sunshine, merely watching the repetition. He positioned himself slightly away from the track. The area around Shuichi was sparsely populated with spectators, likely members of the track team from various schools, clad in white sports attire or jerseys, either attentively watching the performance of friends and seniors or chatting leisurely, perhaps bored with the proceedings.

                "Simple," A familiar girl's voice suddenly came from behind. It was Hinako's voice, with her unmistakable Hokkaido accent, always seeming to be planning to amuse someone with her tongue-tied speech.

                Shuichi, upon glimpsing the white thighs extending from deep green running briefs atop the light blue bench, immediately turned his gaze to the photographers positioned closest to the athletes instead of looking at the speaker. They all wore sashes bearing the name of a magazine or television station written in unreadable characters. Clad uniformly in dark-colored clothing, unusual for the day's temperature, the white sashes stood out conspicuously.

                "Simple, don't you think? That's Katagiri-chan. The girl with the ponytail in the same uniform as me. She's talking to the coach right now," Hinako said. "Since that girl joined, we've seen a lot of guys like that."

                Shuichi offered perfunctory agreement to Hinako's words but couldn't muster the interest to search for the player matching her description. He didn't remember what uniform Hinako wore or what the advisor looked like.

                "It's just your imagination," Shuichi muttered under his breath. "You're overthinking."

                According to Hinako, the girl had joined the track team this year and could run the 100 meters in under twelve seconds. But Shuichi couldn't quite grasp the significance. When Hinako mentioned it, he feigned interest, saying things like, "So she runs the 50 meters in under six seconds," but apart from understanding that it was a running ability far beyond his own, Shuichi didn't really get it.

                "They're always there," Shuichi said with a faint smile. "And you're not just doing this to get their attention, are you?"

                "That's a mean way of putting it," Hinako pouted. "You've never been praised by anyone in your life, so you can say that."

                Shuichi felt annoyed. It was probably her way of getting back at him.

                "You're right," Shuichi said. "I've never won in any competition measured by cold-blooded numbers."

                Suddenly, Shuichi noticed a figure limping away from a long-distance track; although her expression was unreadable, it was clear from her behavior that she was crying.

                "Obsessed..." Shuichi muttered, not feeling sorry for her, but thinking about it.

                "Is that like, 'I'm not bound by the standards set by adults'?" Hinako asked. "Sort of rebellious?"

                Shuichi sighed and said, "Yeah." There wasn't much else to say in response.

                "That sounds... you know, kinda like sour grapes."

                "Yeah. I know."

                I averted my gaze from the figure. It seemed pitiful to keep staring at her forever.

                "You seem to be low on energy again today," Hinako sighed. Hinako was wearing a white shirt with a cheap, colorful logo that was probably designed by some of the kids on her track team. She probably had pants that we would wear for gym class, but she didn't wear them, opting instead for briefs that looked like a swimsuit, which made her muscular legs stand out oddly.

                "Do you want to see me energetic?" Shuichi asked.

                "Of course." Hinako answered.

                Upon hearing that response, Shuichi suddenly thought about how he must be lamenting his own smallness compared to those standing on the sunny stage, and he considered saying something to please Hinako, but just as those words were about to come out, he noticed other athletes crouched in a row at the starting line over there. For some reason, he blurted out, "Let's bet on who will win." From the moment he uttered those words, their meaning eluded Shuichi himself, but surprisingly, Hinako chuckled lightly and said, "This isn't horse racing." Hinako had a sense of humor.

                "I bet on the red one all the way to the right. Now bet, bet. If you win, I'll buy you a sports drink," Shuichi said.

                "What if I lose? What should I give you?"

                Shuichi thought for a moment. And he was surprised at himself for thinking about it. It was strange to him that he hadn't even considered winning the bet.

                While they were talking, without waiting for them to place their bets, the starting signal echoed across the track and field, and the athletes, once again bathed in similar cheers, all began to run.

                "How cold of you," Shuichi sighed deeply. "It was a chance for me to treat you."

                "I said there was no guarantee I would win."

                Shuichi shook his head.

                "There was. Anyone I support always loses. Whether it's the basket team, the swimmer, anything. I'm bad at betting. The worst in the world. That's why I hate 'spectating'."

                "You hate gambling."

                "I curse my own fate," Shuichi sighed deeply again. "I've heard a rumor. There are 'lucky spectators' in the world who, at the first game they've ever attended to cheer for, see their favorite team win a heated match in the end. It's like an urban legend... At least to me, those people are urban legends."

                "You're funny..."

                Hinako laughed oddly, and somehow, Shuichi found that very comforting.

                Suddenly, Shuichi took out the Mintia (a brand of sugarless mints) he had in his pocket, and with a trembling hand, he put two or three pellets in his palm and threw them into his mouth.

                "Looks tasty," Hinako said, extending her hand to Shuichi. "I'll have some too."

                Shuichi looked puzzled. "Are you really going to eat food that was in someone else's pocket?"

                "You're exaggerating," Hinako laughed. "You're so meticulous."

                "It's the opposite. Because I'm so careless that I don't understand other people's standards."

                Once again, Shuichi accidentally dropped about five pellets into Hinako's palm and, ashamed, turned away before she could put them in her mouth.

                For a while, he imagined her throwing them like beans into a distant truck at the Setsubun Festival as soon as she received them, and he smirked.

                Suddenly, from behind, Hinako's voice came.

                "By the way, were you watching me on the track?" Hinako asked with a mischievous smile.

                "Of course, I was," Shuichi said, showing her a booklet with the running order Hinako had given him beforehand.

                "Well," Hinako sighed exaggeratedly, as if she were in an old comedy show, "it must be because of that."

                "I'm sorry."

                "Don't apologize," Hinako said with a wicked smile. "It's a joke. Just kidding."

                "I'm really sorry."

                Also Shuichi wanted to keep the conversation as a joke as Hinako suggested, but gradually her punches felt more like body blows, and his expression darkened.

                In the midst of a brief silence, the noise of the audience filled the air, adding to Shuichi's sense of loneliness. Just as he was about to say, "Don't you have to go back to your friends?" Hinako suddenly, as if she had seen through him, said in a voice that clearly intimidated her interlocutor, "I have something to tell you."

                "Please, please don't," Shuichi said. "I'm the worst person to tell."

                "I'm thinking of quitting the club," Hinako said.

                Shuichi found it strange why she would confide this in him. It was both strange and infuriating. Not that he was angry with her, but he was angry with whatever had prompted her to say it.

                "Why?" Shuichi asked gently.

                "Are you disappointed?" Hinako said.

                "I don't understand what you're talking. Why..." Why does everyone I support, why does everyone I wish success for...

                "I want to quit the club," Hinako said.

                Her voice was intermittently drowned out by cheers, and even that sound was drowned out by the noise of the helicopters flying overhead. Shuichi didn't know how to react at a time like this. Should I smile? Should I cheerfully comfort her? Or should I get angry and say, "Don't talk nonsense! I have envied you for a long time," while tears welled up in my eyes? He didn't know anything.

                Suddenly, Shuichi envied those who could pretend to see through human emotions and speak as if they understood everything.

                "Sorry. I could not tell anyone else," Hinako said.

                Shuichi found all the noise around him irritating. He thought about suggesting that they find a quieter place to talk.

                "You don't need to apologize. There's no way I, of all people, would be disappointed in you," Shuichi said. "If anything, I'm the one who's scared."

                "Scared of what? Me?" Hinako asked, her smile dropping like lead in the hearts of those who witnessed it.

                Contrary to his true feelings, Shuichi shook his head.

                "I used to think that everyone but me was surely running smoothly on a more ordinary, more 'general-purpose' and more excellent operating system than mine. I unconsciously believed that without any doubt," he said.

                "Put it in simpler terms."

                "Isn't it simple enough?" Shuichi argued. "I always thought that everyone was living much more peacefully than me."

                After a moment of silence, Hinako spoke again. "Everyone isn't that strong."

                "I see."

                "At least, I'm not that strong."

                Surely, Shuichi imagined, to someone who didn't understand Japanese, her words would sound like a clear rejection. But in reality, Shuichi felt his own thoughts being oppressed by other invisible resident programs. That feeling of not being able to reach even simple answers.

               "This is the first time I've seen someone who isn't strong, Kanzaki. That's why I'm afraid."

                "You should get used to it soon" Hinako said. "You'll probably experience it so much from now on, Shuichi."

                Shuichi smiled awkwardly.

                "Kanzaki isn't the bad one. Everyone is filled with 'horribleness.' They just hide it."

                "I want advice. I want you to listen to me," Hinako said, as if she were about to add 'definitely' after every other word.

                "Advice...?" Shuichi stumbled.

                "I'm like a malfunctioning computer as you say. So, if there's a way to fix it, I want you to tell me. You're good at that, right?" Hinako's tone was unusually upbeat. Shuichi thought normal people, at least people like Hinako, would stake their lives on hiding such emotions.

                If there were a 'correct' response to this question, it would undoubtedly be encouraging words to brighten her mood. She must be waiting for that. But such words, even if said by himself, would only feel lukewarm. Shuichi agonized over which was more sinful, to be defiant or to stammer.

                "You shouldn't blame yourself for not being able to do it alone," Shuichi said. "It's not your fault if you can't muster the effort. It's not your fault if you want to quit the club. There are plenty of people who'll try to blame your problems on you... but you shouldn't believe them. Maybe your unhappiness is someone else's fault. Perhaps it's your advisor's or your sempais', or maybe even your friends'. ...It doesn't have to be 'someone'. It could be something's fault."

                "They're all good people," Hinako interjected. "That's why it's hard. If there were someone I disliked among them... I wouldn't be so troubled."

                "If you're tormented by guilt, you should just discard it... That's what I read in a book yesterday."

                "Thank you," Hinako offered a strained smile. "Those are words typical of you."

                "You're welcome," Shuichi sighed. He felt like her words were prefixed with various curses like 'uncooperative (you...)', 'unable to get along with anyone (you...)', 'unable to make anyone happy (you...)' — types of dull pain he'd never experienced before, which he completely masked with his apathy. For him, it was undoubtedly a cowardly act to protect his own pride.

                "Now, Kashizaki... why do..." Shuichi's words were interrupted by Hinako.

                "What kind of scenery can you see right now?"

                Hinako gently placed her hand on Shuichi's right hand. Her hand felt sweaty, warm, more human than any other human's touch. It was a comforting yet painful sensation. He should react by brushing it off, being surprised, or jumping up. But because of the deep wound he'd just received, Shuichi couldn't move his body or utter a word.

                "You're not interested, are you?" Shuichi said.

                The scorching sunlight seemed to be deliberately blocked by the cumulus clouds at the beginning of summer, making the surroundings slightly less dazzling.

                "Hey, tell me. What kind of world can you see?" Hinako leaned closer to Shuichi's ear and said, "I'm interested in that."

                She seemed about to entrust her body to Shuichi.

                "Hell," Shuichi said with a sad expression. "It's enough for me to see this scenery alone. At least..."

                Hinako wrapped her arms around Shuichi's shoulder. Through his sweaty shirt, Shuichi could feel Hinako's breasts. Even through the fabric, he could discern the outline of her bra.

                "At least, I don't want to show it to you."

                "As a thank-you from me, show me that world too."

                Suddenly, Hinako leaned into Shuichi, then burst into tears loudly. And like a drowning kitten, she clung to Shuichi's body and cried. And Shuichi began to be plagued by the most sinful fantasy in the world.

In Japan, there is a format of horror stories called "Roa (ロア)" (possibly derived from the word "folklore"), which generally includes the following characteristics:

• Each story begins and ends with the phrase "Believe it or not— (信じようと、信じまいと―)".
• Each story consists of four lines.

Interestingly, this format began with a famous thread on 2ch, a Japanese online community. In this article, I would like to introduce the origin of the "Roa" stories.

It all began in the Occult category on August 24, 2003. A user suddenly started posting a series of short stories, which later came to be known as "Roa", with the phrase "Believe it or not—".

================

Believe it or not—

There is said to be a mansion in the Eisenach region of Germany that seems to be alive.

It is said that each time you enter, the positions of the rooms and the shapes of the hallways change.

In 1972, when a university research team visited, one of the students accidentally damaged a wall.

Then, a sound resembling a loud scream echoed through the mansion, and no further strange phenomena occurred after that.

Believe it or not—

In 1922, bullets and the bones of a Stone Age man shot to death were unearthed at a Stone Age site in Mexico.

The following year, Mr. Carnarvon, the discoverer, died from an accidental discharge of his hobby crossbow.

The arrow hit his temple just like the bones he found.

Today, the cause of death of the Stone Age man is considered to be blunt force trauma.

Believe it or not—

In the North Carolina region of the United States in 1960,

a certain woman claimed to have been abducted by aliens.

There was nothing physically wrong with her body, but strangely, when the woman later became pregnant,

although her water broke, nothing was ultimately born.

Believe it or not—

On September 3rd, 1902, a boy was born in a village in Yamagata Prefecture.

As soon as the midwife and his mother saw the child, they covered his right eye with a bandage.

The man continued to wear the bandage until he died at the age of 40,

and in the end, no one ever knew what had happened to his right eye.

Believe it or not—

In London, a man who had been missing for five years was found in the same attire as when he disappeared.

According to his account, he discovered a button for the third floor in the elevator of a two-story building,

and out of curiosity, he pressed it and found that five years had passed when he emerged outside.

The building had been expanded to three stories during the five years the man was missing.

Believe it or not—

There is a famous taxi ghost story where a passenger suddenly disappears. This is the true story behind it.

A man who had killed his lover and disposed of her body in a lake called Jogasaki suddenly noticed a foul odor while driving home.

Upon checking the trunk, he found the body. Terrified, he went to dispose of it again, but this time found the body at his own home. Fearing for his life, he turned himself in to the police.

According to the landlord of the apartment where he lived, the man hadn't left the building that day. Was he just dreaming? Or...

Believe it or not—

================

On August 24th, the original poster submitted these six stories, writing "See you tomorrow" in the name field, suggesting that he would post "Roa" again the next day.

And the next day, he appeared exactly at midnight.

================

Believe it or not—

It is said that there is a moving doll in a certain region of South Africa.

When a British journalist went to the place where it was, he found it standing motionless.

When he reported this to the locals, they immediately turned pale. The doll should be sitting.

When the journalist returned, the doll was sitting and smiling.

Believe it or not—

In 1989, J, living in Colorado, USA, stumbled upon a murder threat on an online bulletin board.

On that same day, J accidentally ran over an unfamiliar elderly woman.

When the police investigated her identity, they found out that she was the intended victim mentioned in that murder threat J had seen.

However, even after searching, no such post as J described could be found anywhere. What did J see?

Believe it or not—

In the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo, there is a manhole near Inokashira Street that never opens.

Its security is so tight that lead has been injected into its interior.

Moreover, some claim to have heard noises coming from inside the manhole.

Beneath it, there are neither sewers, nor gas pipes, nor subway tunnels. What could it possibly be covering?

Believe it or not—

This is a story from shortly after the end of World War II. Unidentified creature footprints were discovered in the forested area of Yanhe Village, China.

Despite the efforts of a Chinese government investigation team, which conducted surveys under strict surveillance, the footprints only multiplied.

In the 1960s, a thorough investigation was conducted again, this time using surveillance cameras.

The recorded tapes revealed something astonishing: footprints were walking on the ground where there was nothing above.

Believe it or not—

================

On the 25th, after posting these stories, the original poster wrote as follows:

"Right now, the Roa (rumors) I'm writing about are not originally from my own knowledge.

Not even fabricated stories. These are things I've been informed about almost forcibly.

Currently, I know 52 other Roa besides these, but it takes courage to speak about them further.

Because — well, I'll talk about it tomorrow night."

================

Believe it or not—

In a certain location within Tokyo, there is a closed-off spiral staircase in a girls' high school.

Descending down where there isn't a single window, you'll find a small room also devoid of any windows.

In the middle of the floor, for some reason, there is a telephone.

Of course, the telephone line isn't connected, but sometimes when passing by the closed door, a ringing sound can be heard.

Believe it or not—

On February 4, 1966, in Hokkaido, a family was traveling by car towards Chitose Airport. Strange events of that day.

Despite the road being almost straight to the airport, they found themselves somehow driving in the opposite direction.

No matter how many times they changed direction, they were always redirected back to the original location, ultimately missing their scheduled flight.

However, the plane they missed was the one involved in the All Nippon Airways disaster off the coast of Haneda, which crashed into Tokyo Bay on the same day.

Believe it or not—

In 1689, in Oregon, USA, a potato farmer named A murdered his friend and buried him in a large hole near his own field.

The following year, when A ate the harvested potatoes at home, bones from the murdered man's fingers were found inside them.

Various parts of the man's bones were also found mixed in with other shipped potatoes, and A was subsequently arrested.

The burial site was somewhat distant from the field, and no one knew why the bones ended up mixed in with the potatoes.

Believe it or not—

In the northern part of Belgium, there is a place called the "Forest of Disappearance." Local people are afraid to approach it because whenever someone goes there, they inevitably disappear.

This incident occurred when a group of Japanese university students visited there for fun.

They entered the forest and when they came out, the five of them confirmed with each other that no one had disappeared and felt relieved.

However, when they were packing up at their accommodation before returning home, they found an unfamiliar Japanese-made bag left behind. Whose bag could it have been?

Believe it or not—

In the village of Cambre in southern France, there was a well that produced clean water.

The water was abundant, and the villagers had valued it greatly for many years.

However, in 1862, the water suddenly stopped flowing, so the villagers descended into the bottom of the well.

To their surprise, there were no traces of water veins, let alone evidence of their existence, only a stone floor. What had they been drawing water from?

Believe it or not—

================

On the 26th, after posting these stories, the original poster wrote as follows:

"The beginning of it all was a letter I received a week ago.

There was no sender's name on the letter, and with suspicion,

as I opened it, there were 62 Roa typed on it.

And at the end of the letter, the following sentence was included:

'Believe it or not—

Add one Roa you know to this letter and send it to one person.

And, you can only share up to 10 of these Roa with others.

If you break this rule, this letter with your name on it will start circulating.

My name is Roa. Until the day I conquer reality—

I am the darkness, the underground, the unseen.

I am chance, fate, and miracle.

And I am both meaningless and meaningful.

My name is Roa. Until the day I conquer reality—

Believe it or not—'

Perhaps they want to imply that something bad will happen to me.

However, I am not someone who believes in these kinds of stories at all.

So, I have no intention of sending chain mails, and I probably think this content is made up.

However, this Roa itself is very interesting, so I created this thread to let everyone enjoy it.

Even though I'm like that, I was still a little scared to post more than 10 stories.

However, since I've already shared them, even if this turns out to be true, there's nothing I can do about it now.

If something happens to me, I plan to report it as well.

That's the situation. So, please continue to support me from now on."

================

Believe it or not—

In 1958, archaeologist Prole excavated the ruins in India and discovered a stone sphere with a diameter of about one meter.

However, it disappeared while he was briefly distracted calling his colleagues. Intricate patterns were left on the ground.

Three days later, a similar object appeared suddenly in the square of Nizamabad, India.

The city planned to transport it by truck, but this time, the truck vanished along with the sphere. Similar patterns were left on the road.

Believe it or not—

The Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 1 was successfully launched but failed during landing.

Its crew member, Colonel Vladimir Komarov, became a casualty.

What's mysterious is what happened afterward. The Soviet government inexplicably added a biologist to the spacecraft recovery team.

Furthermore, in the forested area where it crashed, red mysterious lights were reportedly sighted repeatedly for the following three months.

Believe it or not—

In 1995, a study by the Korean Institute of Communication Technology revealed astonishing results.

It claimed that there was a time when the total number of accesses worldwide was about 120 times the total number of PC users.

Considering the specifications of PCs at the time, it seemed impossible for one computer to access so many sites.

Who could have slipped through the cracks?

Believe it or not—

On a day in June, the pocket watch of British MP Barry Church suddenly stopped at 8:20.

Unable to determine the time, he hurriedly made his way to Parliament.

Upon his arrival, he glanced at the Parliament clock, which showed exactly 8:20. At that moment, his pocket watch began ticking again.

Since then, he earned the nickname "Hasty Church."

Believe it or not—

================

On the 27th, after posting these stories, the original poster wrote as follows:

"Status Update:

Nothing particularly unusual has happened.

If I had to say something, the only thing would be that there were misbound pages in the novel I bought today."

At exactly midnight on the following day, the 28th, he appeared again.

================

Believe it or not—

The story of the man who emerged from the elevator five years ago has another continuation.

Another man who heard this story went to the building with his friend, prompted by the news that the building was to be renovated again.

They discovered a button for the 4th floor and decided to press it. However, before the doors closed, they heard something terrifying—that the renovation plans had been canceled.

While his friend hurriedly got off, the man never returned.

Believe it or not—

An incident occurred in 1854 in the prestigious Yorgen family of Turkey.

In an attempt to escape the flames of the Crimean War, the Yorgen family planned to migrate to Central Europe.

While packing belongings for their escape, their eldest son Roy, then six years old, discovered a portrait inside a box in the warehouse.

The portrait depicted a boy closely resembling Roy, and its title was "1854."

Believe it or not—

In 1895, German medical researcher Schubert, while experimenting with an anti-inflammatory drug developed under the study of traditional Chinese medicine, encountered an accident when he applied it experimentally to a patient with tenosynovitis.

Shockingly, the patient who applied it to both arms committed suicide by strangling himself with both hands.

The patient who applied it to only one arm narrowly escaped danger by restraining the arm that tried to strangle with the other arm.

Many of the organisms used in the traditional Chinese medicine imported by Schubert are currently unidentified.

Believe it or not—

There's a story about an Italian mathematician named Eriko who claimed to have proven that 0 equals 1.

He confidently wrote out the proof on a piece of paper in front of his friends and explained it.

When he finished explaining, his friends looked up from the paper, utterly perplexed, only to find Eriko had vanished.

Upon returning their gaze to the paper, they discovered that the equations he had just written had also disappeared.

Believe it or not—

In the year 1991, the president of a construction company in Gunma was found dead in his home from exhaustion. His diary contained the following:

One year prior, I murdered a councilman who intended to expose my collusion with the mayor and buried him in the wall of the newly constructed auditorium.

However, due to opposition from the residents, the demolition was decided. The fear of the murder being exposed was terrifying, and I tried to gain the support of the residents, but it was in vain.

However, what's even more terrifying is that no matter how much we demolished the wall, the body never appeared.

Believe it or not—

In the 18th century, in a region corresponding to present-day Austria, a woman named Camille became pregnant, but the man disappeared.

The woman resolved not to give birth until the man returned. Over the next several decades, the man never returned, and the woman's abdomen swelled endlessly without giving birth to anything.

In the end, the man never appeared, and Camille died. And it is said that the body of an old man emerged from her abdomen.

Believe it or not—

Around 1970 in a fishing town in Spain, a woman dressed in a bright red raincoat would always appear on stormy days.

Despite the eccentricity of her behavior, everyone in the town knew about her, yet no one had ever seen her face.

One stormy day, a fisherman spotted the woman and tried to warn her about the danger.

However, when he approached her, he found that there was no body inside the coat; it collapsed to the ground, empty.

Believe it or not—

There was a man in Ireland named Chris who was troubled by dreams of being a prisoner.

He sought help from psychiatrists but showed no signs of improvement. Unbeknownst to him, this man, actually named George, was a prisoner, and Chris was his dream self.

Nevertheless, he continued to believe he was Chris until he died in prison.

Are you really awake right now?

Believe it or not—

================

On the 29th, after posting these stories, the original poster wrote as follows:

"Status Update:

Has something terrible happened? Or is it still just a premonition?

There are four things.

First, it might just be my imagination, but in this thread, some characters appear garbled. Perhaps it's because of my old computer, but it's eerie, especially given the timing.

Another thing is about the misbound pages. I was concerned and reread the pages with misbinding today, and the misbinding has spread. At least, when I saw it the day before yesterday, only one character seemed smudged, but now whole lines are faint. It would be okay if it were just the ink smudging.

The third is about the posting time. I usually aim to post at midnight for clarity and a certain sense of dignity. But yesterday, I overslept and hurriedly posted at 0:05. It's true. But why does the posting time show as 0:00?

Finally, it's about Roa. When the envelope arrived, I looked into some Roa. I was merely searching online though. At that time, I couldn't find anything about Soyuz, the spaceship, but now there are search results, and it's in my memory too. Could it be that Roa is becoming real? No way!"

================

Believe it or not—

Los Angeles. In 1992, a man was taken to a mental hospital. Here's his story:

Last night, when I went to the convenience store, there was a bright red surveillance camera. Because the color stood out, I became curious.

Then, I noticed it at the laundromat and public phone I visited afterward. And when I saw it on my home's front door, I fainted.

The man later died in mysterious circumstances. His face was turned towards the ceiling, appearing as though he was frightened by something.

Believe it or not—

This is a story of a Japanese photographer who stayed at a hotel in Novokuznetsk, Russia.

He stayed there to capture the beautiful lake visible from the window.

Despite it being February, he spotted a young man swimming in the lake through his lens.

Thinking he would make a great subject, he went out from the hotel to the lake. But when he arrived, there was no sign of anyone, and the lake was covered with thick ice.

Believe it or not—

In the western part of Greece, there was a pond known to locals as the bottomless pond.

In order to survey the country's terrain, government surveyors measured it by lowering a wire from a boat. However, even after lowering it 100 meters, the wire never reached the bottom.

At that moment, the wire was pulled down with great force, causing damage to the boat. Deeming it dangerous, the government decided to fill the pond.

They poured soil into it using trucks, but strangely, it immediately filled up, and now, even when digging into the ground, there is only soil as far as one can go.

Believe it or not—

In 1812, a man named Arold in Italy self-published about 100 books.

He placed around 50 copies in nearby bookstores and kept the rest in his possession.

However, just a week after publication, his house caught fire, resulting in the destruction of the books and his death. Furthermore, all the books in the bookstores were infested with insects.

Currently, not a single complete copy exists. The title of the book was "How to Create Miracles."

Believe it or not—

There's a story about a "box that trapped the devil" in a certain church in Marseille.

When you shake the box, you can hear something like wooden balls rattling inside.

In 1988, a female reporter from an American TV station visited there and opened the lid without the pastor's permission.

However, nothing was found inside the box.

Believe it or not—

This is a theory proposed by a Scottish biologist.

He states that genes exist in animal cells. During cell division, the telomeres at both ends of the chromosomes shorten, and eventually, when they disappear, cell division stops. This is aging.

However, if the genes are in a ring shape, they do not shorten, and theoretically, the organism becomes immortal although unable to reproduce.

According to him, based on probability, at least five such humans have been born to date. Where are they now?

Believe it or not—

================

On the 30th, after posting these stories, the original poster wrote as follows:

"I'm scared. Really scared.

Today, when I showed my friend the novel with misbound pages, he said there were no misbindings anywhere.

I nervously looked back at the fallen parts, and sure enough, there were no misbindings.

However, the words written there had changed. It said this:

'Roa will find you, and you will become Roa.'

I got scared and threw the book away and came home.

Could it have been a mistake? Probably, I think.

I've been thinking about Roa a lot lately, so maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.

Yes, that's what I'm thinking now.

Since yesterday, random things have been popping into my head and disappearing. For example—

We have knowledge of almost everything about the world, even though we haven't seen everything.

But perhaps Roa might be included in that knowledge.

And maybe it's sitting somewhere in reality, pretending like nothing's wrong.

Since yesterday, I've been scared of the dark. It feels like Roa is lurking there.

The area under the desk with the computer scares me. Because it's dark there.

And the computer scares me. What if the garbled characters I'm seeing now turn into terrifying words, like in that novel, without me realizing it?

Becoming Roa—

I can't help but feel this is what it means.

If Roa has the power to become real, then wouldn't my own existence, in turn,

simply become a "story"?

Lately, I feel like my memories outside of writing on this thread have been fading.

Like what I ate for lunch today, or where I went.

My friend who I showed the novel to doesn't seem sure either. Did that even happen? Did I even have the novel?

Tomorrow, I really plan to go to the hospital. This is bad. Really bad."

================

Believe it or not—

Nine birthday cards were sent to the French nobleman Oriol.

However, five of them were lost due to accidents during delivery. Three did not reach their destination due to address errors,

and the last one, which was supposed to have been sent, somehow returned.

Oriol died the day before his birthday. He never reached that day.

Believe it or not—

In 1994, a man named Ozro underwent a corneal transplant in Romania.

The following year, he disappeared. It was reported that all mirrors, glass, and any other reflective surfaces in his house were shattered into pieces.

A diary was found on his desk, filled with a significant number of entries since the day of the transplant.

One phrase was repeatedly written: "My right eye is glaring at me."

Believe it or not—

================

After writing this far, the original poster disappeared. After that, Netizens hoped for the poster's return, but he never came back. Many believe that the poster became a "Roa" as predicted by the letter.

Following this, the format of horror stories called "Roa" became a major trend in Japan, with various netizens posting numerous Roa stories. It is said that the total number of Roa stories now exceeds 2000. If time permits, I would like to introduce some of them as well.

This is the end of the story of "Roa". If you found Roa interesting, please feel free to create and share your own Roa.

Thank you very much for reading the article through to the end.

I love English and was once good enough to become an English teacher at a Japanese junior high school. But that was in the past, and since then my English skills have been declining rapidly. So, as part of my language learning, I decided to post some simple questions and comments about the English language that are not easy for me (and that I should ask on HiNative or Quora) on Newgrounds. I am not an expert in English and may make elementary mistakes, but thank you for your patience.

Is "very good" offensive? | English Is Not So Easy 22

There is a hot topic in Japan right now about the English language. This question started with a video from the group Kevin's English Room.

This is a video in Japanese, so I will try to translate as many content as possible.

Narrator: "'Very good' actually sounds like this to native speakers."

[From a Japanese point of view]

Female voice: "Hey, how was my pasta?"

Male voice: "Oh, very good."

[From an American point of view]

Female voice: "Hey, how was my pasta?"

Male voice: "Oh, not bad, considering YOU cooked it." 

At the end of the video, they suggested using “so good” instead of “very good”.

The problem is that another native English speaker responded to this video shortly after it was posted:

Interviewer: "Is 'very good' offensive to native English speakers?"

Respondent: "No, not offensive at all. No way!"

Interviewer: "Someone said that 'very good' sounds offensive, so you should use 'so good.'"

Respondent: "That's not true."

Interviewer: "Doesn't 'so good' sound more polite?"

Respondent: "No. They are the same. I always say 'very good.'"

Interviewer: "Is there any situation where it sounds offensive?"

Respondent: "No. There's no such situation."

Interviewer: "No one finds it offensive?"

Respondent: "No one! Whoever said that doesn't understand English. I cannot even imagine one American being offended by this."

Interviewer: "So a Japanese can use 'very good' in the U.S.?"

Respondent: "No problem." 

But I am confused. The first person who said that "very good" sounded offensive is certainly a native English speaker, Kevin, from California, and the second person who objected to it is also a native English speaker from the US (I couldn't find out exactly where he was from). I wonder why there is such disagreement between the two native English speakers.

So let me ask you: Does "very good" sound offensive?

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

[Edit & Conclusion] 

I am grateful to the native speakers for their warm and precious comments on the question in this article. Regarding this question, I have a certain hypothesis from your comments, so I would like to write about it.

Based on your comments, I concluded that "very good" is rarely considered rude, but it is a phrase that I should be careful about using in practice. Because it may not be appropriate to use it against people who have long been culturally familiar with it as a phrase used by adults to praise children, for example on British children's television.

As an example to illustrate what I am trying to say, there is a conversation between a parent and a child that has recently become a hot topic in Japan:

Mother: “How was my pasta?”

Child: “9 out of 10!”

The child probably used the same phrase that is used to rate food on YouTube. There is no doubt that the child said her cooking was great, but the mother found this comment unpleasant. This may be because the child felt that the mother was cooking to get a better rating from her child. That cannot be her intention.

My hypothesis is that there are probably people who have a similar impression of "very good" as "X out of 10," and that is what Kevin was trying to say.

On the other hand, why did Kevin say that "so good" did not sound rude? I have my own hypothesis on this. But of course, if you have your own thoughts on this, feel free to share them with me.

According to the English I learned for the college entrance exam, "so" has the effect of emphasizing the fact that the speaker is mentioning something that is right in front of the speaker's eyes or something that the speaker has experienced. If we use the fact here, "so good" emphasizes the speaker's "experience" and means that the speaker enjoyed the experience, so the receiver probably doesn't feel "evaluated" by the speaker. This is my hypothesis.

Philosophically speaking, I think that first of all, "praising someone" is basically the same as "evaluating someone", and "the feeling of wanting to be praised" is the same as "the feeling of wanting to be evaluated". If this is true, even a non-native speaker like me can fully understand that "very good" can be a rude expression.

On the other hand, I feel that this discussion contains a thorny issue: How can we praise others without being rude in our daily communication? I am not sure, but I believe that people who do not consider "very good" to be a rude expression can live a more comfortable and fulfilling life. However, as a foreigner from Far East Asia, when I visit the United States, I would like to try to use "so good" to properly convey my respect for others.