Day guide
Welcome to Day 42 of WiyHat?. Today's topic is "Sumireko Usami", the "Mystic and Troublesome Female Student".
She is introduced as the main antagonist of Touhou 14.5: Urban Legend in Limbo. Despite being an ostensible "normal" human from the Outside World (^{the Kanto region}), she effectively has an assorted amount of psychic powers, or just ESP in general. She creates the Secret Sealing Club (first seen in ZUN's stories with Renko & Maribel) at her high school Higashifukami and becomes its first president because of her interest in the occult (and then Gensokyo).
Sumireko is one of those characters ZUN really made a big deal out of after her introduction: to put it plainly, she was basically everywhere back during her heyday. I'll go over all of her appearances first:
Games:
-14.5 (ULiL): Sumireko is the antagonist of the game, who instigated a plot using "Occult Balls" to bring residents of Gensokyo to the Outside World for a short time so that she can learn things about them. However, every single person who came to her fought back, much to her curiosity. Eventually, Mamizou tricks Sumireko to be the one who is brought over and trapped in Gensokyo instead.
Cue Sumireko's own story mode, which has her fight everyone else to find a way back to the Outside World. Miko eventually just tells her to use the balls whenever she wants to return, albeit technically temporarily now that she's a "resident". Sumireko eventually panics, believing she'll die at this rate, and so decides to sacrifice herself by unleashing the full power of the Occult Balls, possibly destroying the Great Hakurei Barrier.
Reimu stops her, but not before Sumireko accidentally activates a Lunar Capital Ball, which links Gensokyo to the Lunar Capital, therefore setting up TH15 and Gensokyo's potential "purification" by Sagume Kishin, if she can't deal with those attacking the Lunar Capital. ^{So, yeah, even though Sumireko was stopped in 14.5, she still inadvertently put Gensokyo in grave danger later on. She's not unlike a certain trio who created a cascade of incidents back in TH10...}
Regardless, Sumireko later apologized and befriended most of the characters after this particular incident, and her tales of the Outside World intrigue most of the residents in Gensokyo.
-15.5 (Antinomy of Common Flowers): Sumireko basically stumbles into Gensokyo at a bad time, and has to find her way out of the Dream World using Doremy's help. Although this sounds like a minor issue, her "Dream soul" was released into the Outside World as this happened, which could have had dire consequences, according to Yukari. Bizarrely, Sumireko encountered 2 versions of her Dream soul, here. Eventually, she solves the problem, with Doremy confirming she was the "real" one who prevailed in the end.
-16.5 (Violet Detector): Sumireko keeps having weird dreams were she has to fight off dream world dwellers jealous of her having a "real" body. After a while, she finds and fights the real Okina. Impressed by her resilience, Okina lends her power to fight off even stronger nightmares, with the upside that if she wins, the dreams will stop eventually.
That is, until it turns out the "Sumireko" we've been playing as was the Dream version of the real one all along! Okina rescinds the power she lent to the Dream version so that the real one (which you now play as) has a fair shot at getting her body back (since the Dream one was in control of her body). Sumireko wins, and then she wakes up not remembering anything, and the player is left complaining at ZUN for not actually creating any new patterns for this game.
Oh, yeah, she also makes outrageously "hip" descriptions of the patterns when she manages to win it definitely doesn't endear her to some people.
That's all for the game appearances, which while only 3, left her with quite a bit of presence during that era of Touhou. 16.5 is Sumireko's own solo game, by the way, in case you didn't know.
As for her Printworks appearances:
-Grimoire of Usami: Basically, this is Sumireko taking a page out of Marisa, and making a Grimoire where she explains various Danmaku attacks done during a "Fireworks festival". While there's a bit of a plot in here, it's mostly just descriptions of patterns.
-Wild and Horned Hermit: Sumireko's dream souls cause trouble again in chapter 29. She also (accidentally) summons a UFO at the Hakurei Shrine in chapter 31, much to Reimu's irritation.
-Curiosities of Lotus Asia: This was basically known as "Rinnosuke's series", except after a long hiatus, it was brought back with Sumireko taking center stage in almost every new chapter, much to the irritation of some people. Put plainly, Sumireko works part-time with Rinnosuke there, which is why she's so involved.
She also had various cameos in most of the other printworks (including further cameos in WaHH).

• Wild and Horned Hermit (34, 35)
• Forbidden Scrollery (Chapter 34)
• Visionary Fairies in Shrine (Chapters 2, 7)
• Alternative Facts in Eastern Utopia (Interviews)
• Who's Who of Humans & Youkai - Dusk Edition

So, am I done summing up Sumireko? Well, no. Because I glossed over so much, I should mention that Sumireko's good friends with Mokou because she matched her blow to blow in a duel they once had, and friends with Kasen too, even giving her (and various other people) nicknames. ^{She's friends with Reimu, Marisa, Mamizou and Rinnosuke, too, but that was already implied before.}
PHEW! Now, that's a lot of canon stuff for a single character, particularly one introduced so much later into the franchise's continuity!
You might be thinking: "What about her relation with Renko Usami? They have the same family name!" Well, the truth is, we still don't know to this day what the exact relation between the two is. We assume Sumireko is Renko's grandma or something, making her one of the few Touhou characters to (eventually) canonically have a family, but even that's not confirmed for sure, so we can only theorize about it.
More to the point...what do the fans think of Sumireko?
Well, according to the yearly popularity polls, she started off decently popular, but she's dropped hard lately, going as low as 80th last year (2023). This is partly due to her diminishing presence in the canon, presumably, but...
...it's also because, not unlike other Outside World foreigners to Gensokyo like Sanae and Mamizou, Sumireko's got a bit of a hatedom who detested how much ZUN pushed her as a "regular" of Gensokyo, despite the fact she wasn't even truly living there, and that she got off too easily for almost ending Gensokyo's very existence...twice, no less!
And then there are those who are fans of Rinnosuke who hate that he has to share the spotlight with her all the time when "his" series was brought back. Or maybe the fans of Mokou who hate that instead of ZUN further expanding on her relation with Kaguya/Keine/someone else from the Windows era, she gets stuck with a generic isekai wannabe.
Yeah, I think that's the core of the issue with Sumireko for some people: She's essentially got no real relation or story to the actual core of Gensokyo's world^\1), and thus comes across as inherently boring to them. And yet, many canon stories used to revolve around her, much to their frustration.
^\1 Sumireko technically visited Gensokyo as a kid through her dreams, so technically she does have a backstory with Gensokyo, but she never remembered her experiences there back then and it feels more like lore stuff than actual backstory to most fans.)
Of course, Sumireko still has some diehard fans, and she does provide a niche hardly many other characters have, so don't be surprised to see her in fanworks involving Outside World stuff.
But, for now, let's see what you think of Sumireko. Vote or comment below about it.
Sumireko Usami is...
View Poll

If anyone has any thoughts, advice, or if you have been/are in a similar situation, I’d love to hear about it! This’ll be long, so grab your popcorn lol.
Background info: We’re 19–22 (vague ages just incase lol). We met 2 years ago because of a shared interest. He dmed me and we didn’t talk constantly at first (although still quite a bit), but we began talking more each day, and for the last five months we’ve texted every single day. We send photos/videos/voice messages regularly and fted once before. We also know about each other’s families, and we have talked about meeting a few years into the future when it works for both of us since we live several states away.
Now here’s the part where I ramble: I always sort of had a “thing” for him, but it was easier to ignore when it was closer to a giddy crush instead of this more intense “like”. He’s just… interesting: He’s smart, he can be philosophical, he really cares about his family, we have many interests in common (shows, music, hobbies, etc.) — even a few niche ones, he’s passionate about what he believes and is a bit of a nerd, he’s interested in the same academic subjects as me, he loves animals, we have deep convos but also spam each other with dumb texts/posts and random lengthy thoughts. Plus he’s funny, witty, sarcastic, yet sweet. He has many quirks that I find endearing. He’s also my exact type appearance-wise, although I sadly can’t talk about that in-depth lol. I also really love his voice, smile, and laugh (especially his laugh — it’s a snorty sort of cackle and it’s adorable). He’s the only online friend I’ve ever had that I’ve gotten so close to, so you could say he’s special, even though I wouldn’t admit that to him. I’ve also dreamt about him almost every night for the last month, which is not helping at all lmao. I just keep thinking about meeting him and being able to show him all these cool places, and hug him, and cuddle, and hold his face, and play with his hair, and—yeah you get it lmao.
While fun, this brings up some issues, such as: A) I don’t know how to navigate this. Like… what do I do? I know he’s dated people online before but I never have, and this would only work if he felt the same way, which I don’t think he does. And idk if I even truly want that (dreams of him sending me his hoodies aside lol). Is it bad if I enjoy this sort of limbo? Not because I don’t want to commit, but because it’s fun and I want to be my best self if we ever get together, which I’m not rn. For now, we can help each other grow as friends. But I do really hope he feels the same way about me lol. B) I don’t know if I actually like him or am perhaps idealizing the idea of him, since these feelings did start before he even dmed me and maybe I wouldn’t feel this way if we met irl and I’d only see him as a good friend. The feelings are really intense, but I’ve never liked someone online before, so idk. C) Sometimes he seems to have conflicting feelings for me too, although I know neither of us would act on anything fully, even if this was the case, since we’re focused on school. I also think I might just be delusional and he’s only being friendly lmao. He’ll compliment me, give me cute nicknames, send me love songs (we give each other song recs but these ones feel different istg), and a lot of other things. He’s also going to do something with me that can be seen as purely platonic, but I’ve only heard of him doing with his exes (I have to be vague here lol). Then again, he also tells me about other people in his life who get touchy with/seem into him, about people he thinks are cute, and he’s tried out dating apps, even if he didn’t find anyone. So I really don’t know. D) This is annoying because I can’t find anyone irl, even though I’m trying to at least mess around a little to explore other options. It’s just, no one I meet on dating apps or in my classes are like him and fail to interest me in any way at all. He’s so captivating and it’s annoying and I hate it but also not really lol. I’m hoping this will change when I switch to a university but I’m honestly worried that I’m going to be stuck with this crush I can’t pursue but simultaneously can’t shake for a while. These feelings are also a bit all over the place and intensify then dip over time, but they’re always sort of present and have been for the last two years, which is confusing.
But yeah, that’s the end of this mess! If anyone has any advice or thoughts, please do share, and thank you for reading.
TLDR: I’ve developed strong feelings for my online friend over the past two years. We share deep convos, common interests, and have even talked about meeting in the future. But idk whether my feelings are genuine or if I’m idealizing him. And, despite signs that he might feel the same, I’m unsure since he sometimes talks about other ppl. Additionally, I don’t know what to do about these feelings, regardless of whether he likes me back or not, and I cannot find anyone else I like irl currently.

Hello there! This is my first time posting an ASMR script. I've enjoyed listening to ASMR for a very long time now and recently decided I finally want to start creating and sharing scripts of my own.
Summary:
The listener is the last living human remaining in the galaxy. Somehow, they ended up in a cage at an alien black market. Today, there are more aliens than usual. Potential buyers. One alien in particular attracts the listener's attention, because it is the very first alien the listener can actually understand. Likewise, the alien seems somewhat interested in this "unique" primitive...
Roughly 1500 spoken words
Script (Google Docs)
Script usage rules

• Credit me as u/VanceStubbs in the video and/or your description.
• Monetization and Paywalling are OK for this script.
• You are allowed to make changes to the script if you deem it necessary. This includes changing the speakelistener’s gender, pronouns, terms of endearment/nicknames, etc…
• If you change major parts of the script, please mention this in your description.
• Sound effects are optional, but highly encouraged for greater immersion.
• Please send me a message or leave a comment to let me know that you filled the script! I’d love to hear your work!

Ok hear me out. Felicity, from the first Style Savvy game, calls us “Sweet Tea” a lot, right? As a kid, I didn’t think much about it. I’m from the south myself, we love our sweet iced tea. But I’m realizing now that I’ve never heard anybody use it as a nickname- usually it’s sweet PEA, or sweetie.
Now, as an adult, I’ve studied Japanese for several years and even at one point thought translating video games would be super fun, right? Well, as any of you who study Japanese know, when you’re speaking Japanese and use a word that is borrowed from another language, you write it in Katakana. So, naturally, this may become confusing at times when it’s English being spelled out phonetically, because some words will be very similar or even identical, causing mistranslations to occur every now and then.
スイーツティー would be the English words “sweet tea” written in katakana. Of course Japanese has its own words for sweet tea, but again, if we are spelling the English word in Japanese phonetics, this is how it’s spelled out; for example on Lipton Tea, it’s スイーツティー, right?
Now, Japanese doesn’t use spaces much in words or phrases, so the pause is indicated by the character ツ- which, in a Japanese word is pronounced tsu, most of the time the vowel “u” making a pretty short sound but can be longer; however, when ツ is used in English words, it’s incredibly rare for the “u” part to actually be part of the word. Usually it’s in place of a consonant to indicate a pause, whether in the middle of a word like “kitty”, or at the end of a word, like “cat”. When it’s a T sound in the middle of ONE word it’s small like ッ, but if it’s stopping a word that ENDS in a T sound, it’s big like ツ.
Okay. So let’s recap. スイーツティー is how we would write sweet tea in English, in Japanese, in katakana- right? So then what is スイーッティー? Sound it out- if the first is sweet•tea… the one with the small ッ is not a full stop in the middle and is… sweetea… sweetie. Sweetie. IT’S SWEETIE.
Now, I have never played the Japanese version of the original ds game (Girls Mode), but I do know that some older Japanese games didn’t include a full keyboard with smaller characters since it was already hard enough to see the normal sized ones in pixels- so some games just assumed the players would already know the words and be able to understand what they were, I guess sorta like how some English games were in all caps back then because they couldn’t be bothered to try to make the more ~curvy~ lowercase letters when anyone could read caps just fine, and there just weren’t enough pixels to do it without making the font super big and take up a lot of space.
So these are my theories:
•Felicity has been calling us Sweetie the whole time and NOT Sweet Tea, because the spelling of the two are identical if you only have big katakana to work with- so whoever translated and localized the game read it as sweet tea, because that was the literal translation.
•If the game DID have the small katakana, either same thing as in the first theory, or even possibly whoever originally wrote her dialogue made a spelling mistake. Either way, it was a translation error- whether it was the original writers spelling sweet tea, or the localizer translating the translation.
Regardless of what happened, I think it's a very endearing silly nickname that got in the game because Felicity herself says she was named after a Southern Belle, and I can definitely see it going past someone's head since we do love our sweet tea down here- I definitely think it made her memorable. I didn't even realize it was probably a translation mistake until just now, age 25, at midnight playing the game and wondering if anyone calls each other that, only to have a lightbulb moment that it sounded like SWEETIE, which we DO use daily in the south.
Anyway, idk who is actually going to sit down and read all of this, but I had to let everyone know because this stuff fascinates me. I love learning how languages work, and how tiny translation errors go over our heads sometimes haha.
She was trying to call us sweetie this whole time. But I always loved being called sweet tea 😭

Here’s some other tiny support translations from Azure Gleam. Nothing comprehensive, just things I found either amusing or interesting :) I want to keep this one lighthearted in tone. Also, last time I used hyperlinks within the post, it created this weird thumbnail that looked awful, so if you want to look any of this up, just check out the Hopes FE Datamine that I will link in a comment.

1.) Ingrid/Sylvain

The scene begins like this in the English version:

Sylvain: ...
Ingrid: That was quite the sigh. What's the matter, Sylvain?

Meanwhile, the Japanese has this extra part to it:

Sylvain: Sigh...
Ingrid: Oh? What’s going on, Sylvain? Sigh like that…and you’ll get more wrinkles.

lmao love the cheeky banter, especially with the smiling Ingrid portrait. Also, for anyone else who is a sucker for Faerghus 4's dynamics, there's this difference too. First, English:

Sylvain: Felix and Dimitri both succeeded their fathers. They're now burning the candle at both ends, right?
Sylvain: I can't go around causing trouble with unending scandals when I'm supposed to be the mature one of the bunch.

Here's the Japanese translation:

Sylvain: Both His Majesty and Felix have succeeded their families and are toiling away...
Sylvain: It's pathetic if I, the older brother, annoy those guys so much with my stupid misconduct, isn't it?

Responsible big bro Sylvain strikes again, although the word he uses to refer to Dimitri and Felix (あいつら 'aitsura') is a really colloquial and informal/rough way to say 'those guys' or 'those people', heh.

2.) Dimitri/Yuri

When the scene begins, we see the following exchange between Yuri and a child in the English version:

Yuri: Everyone is strangely abuzz today. Is there a visiting minstrel or a mummer's troupe?
Child: Haven't you heard, mister? A funny knight's been coming to town recently!

Here's the Japanese version:

Yuri: What’s going on? The town is oddly noisy today. Are the bards even showing up?
Child: Big bro Yuri [literally ‘Yuris-nii-chan’], don't you know? There's been an interesting knight in town recently.

Nii-chan is an affectionate way to address one’s older brother. I like this more, as it shows how Yuri is actually familiar to the people in that small town!

3.) Dimitri/Rodrigue

Aka the puppy zone 🐶 For a certain u/Set_of_Dogs :>
Here's the English version for the two times he talks about Matthias returning Lambert's sword:

Rodrigue: What sort of laggard keeps a loan so long he has to return it to the lender's son? Thirty years!

and

Rodrigue: I suppose I can hardly poke fun at Matthias for holding onto that sword all those years, can I?

Here's the two Japanese translations:

Rodrigue: Returning a sword he borrowed 30 years ago, now that it's the generation after ours [literal translation: children's generation]. He's quite the lazy person, that guy.
Rodrigue: Hahaha, I can’t laugh at this Matthias guy for being a slacker, can I?

'Laggard' is actually a really neat translation choice imo! However, the Japanese makes it more explicit about him referring to the fact that Matthias is lazy which is a really cute parallel with Sylvain haha. Also, Rodrigue always uses formal speech with Dimitri, but when he refers to Matthias specifically, he uses the informal/familiaderogatory 'aitsu' word that Sylvain uses above. Also he calls Matthias マティアスの奴('Matthias no yatsu'), which is sort of like 'that Matthias fellow' essentially. Using '-no yatsu' with someone you don't know is seen as rude and demeaning, but since Rodrigue is friends with Matthias, it's more of a playful rib.
Rodrigue using that phrasing when talking about the Margrave is pretty different from the more formal speech he uses with Dimitri, which gives the feeling that how he talks to Matthias is seeping through (the scene where Rodrigue and Matthias talk after the Sreng paralogue shows a more casual grammar mode Rodrigue). If you play AM and are on Chapter 16, he refers to Lambert as 'Lambert no Yatsu" in his explore dialogue too! There's something bittersweet about him using that familiar nickname for Lambert when speaking to Byleth, as if Lambert never passed :(

4.) Extra Rodrigue Note

This isn't something exclusive to one support and doesn't have an English equivalent so I won't bother with any English. There's a Japanese suffix 殿 ('dono') that is used to convey respect to authority figures. If you watch enough anime, you might be familiar with '-sama' which is a rung above '-dono' and is still used today (Rhea is referred to as 'Rhea-sama' in the game). '-dono' on the other hand is a lot more archaic sounding and it's never used in Japanese speech anymore, just in writing for some documents.
A translation that you can use for '-dono' is that it's equivalent to 'lord' or 'master'. Again, it's never used in regular Japanese speech. However, it is used in historical media like a samurai series or a fantasy property like Fire Emblem. If you explore the monastery on the Gautier inheritance chapter in Houses, Ingrid and Dedue will both refer to Rodrigue as 'Rodrigue-dono'. On other chapters, when Felix is talking about his dad, he refers to him as 'oyaji-dono', with 'oyaji' being somewhat of a crude way to refer to a dad or older men (sort of like 'my old man'), which has a super funny contrast with the formal '-dono', LOL.
In the Japanese fandom, for whatever reason, people have really clung on to calling Rodrigue by the title of 'Rodrigue-dono' which is funny because how formal it sounds despite it being used by people casually talking about a video game on the net LOL. An example of this is something like "Rodrigue-dono keeps rushing into these other units during Felix's paralogue on Maddening 😥". From what I've seen, no other character gets the '-dono' treatment in the fandom like Rodrigue does despite Dimitri calling Gilbert 'Gilbert-dono' on the same chapter for instance. It's an endearing nickname for him.
The reason I'm bringing all this up in a post about Three Hopes translations is that in Three Hopes, the developers made the choice to have Rodrigue now refer to all the other Blue Lions with '-dono', from Shez to Sylvain to Dedue LMFAO. It's just super funny coming from this dude who is at least two decades older than most of the cast and is/was a man of noble standing, one who was probably the second biggest figure in Faerghus after Lambert or Rufus. It comes off as him being self-assured enough to use more formal titles with the cast despite his age and experience :) qt dad vibes LOL

A few years back, a coworker bestowed upon me the nickname "Poohbear," which has since been lovingly adopted by my children. However, beyond its familial affection, I've come to personally embrace the term "Poohbear" as a reflection of who I am and aspire to be, drawing inspiration from the endearing qualities of Winnie the Pooh. In doing so, I hold myself to high standards, striving to embody the kindness, simplicity, and gentle wisdom embodied by the beloved character.
I've made the conscious decision to shred my old patriarchal blessing, finding greater resonance and personal reflection in this newfound identity.
my New Patriarchal Blessing,
Brother please bear in mind from this moment forward that you are truly a cherished adventurer in the great story of life. You showed bravery and kindness in the realms before and were handpicked to
journey to Earth in these modern times, when spirits of remarkable courage and goodness are needed to spread light throughout the world. You are among those extraordinary spirits of bravery and valor. The universe has a grand quest for you to undertake while you walk this earthly path, and He desires you to ready yourself by advancing in your knowledge and experiences. Embrace the adventures of life, uphold your values, and learn all you can, so that in the days to come, the universe may call upon you for noble deeds.
Brother you are the seed of laughter and kindness, planted in the Hundred Acre Wood, of the tribe of Bears and Friends. This is truly a delightful lineage shared by all the wise leaders of the Hundred Acre Wood, from Winnie the Pooh himself to the present time. Pooh has advised all his friends, young and old, to gather as much honey and wisdom as they can, preparing for sweet adventures ahead in the Hundred Acre Wood and beyond.
Brother, the Universe is aware of you, knows of your challenges, knows of your trials, and knows of your aspiration to be an honorable, worthy individual. I bless you this day that you will feel the guiding hand of the Universe in your life because your righteous intentions will manifest. There will be a bond that lasts forever. There will be impactful missions that will serve as cornerstones for a lifetime of leadership and service in your community.
Brother , honor your parents. Be a force for positivity within your family. Be a unifying presence that brings people together in love and harmony. The Universe has bestowed upon you a strong body, a sharp mind, a pure spirit, and a humble heart, along with a desire to discern its will. I bless you this day, Brother, with the resilience and bravery to follow the Universe's commandments. You may face persecution from others. They may ridicule you, attempt to lead you astray from your path, but you must stand firm. Rise above their falsehoods and unkind words, and demonstrate that your allegiance lies with the Universe, and that it is to the Universe you turn for guidance and blessings.
Brother, You will traverse many corners of the world in your lifetime, wherever you journey, be a beacon of goodness. Never shy away from sharing the teachings of the Wisdom of Life. During your life, you will have the opportunity to mentor many young individuals, some of whom may be rebellious, yet in need of divine assistance to lead fulfilling lives. Through both your words and your actions, you will have the chance to impart the teachings of the Wisdom of Life. Brother, honor your lineage. It is a noble privilege to be part of a heritage that empowers you to fulfill sacred duties within your community. In the years ahead, you will inherit the Wise Pooh Priesthood, bestowing upon you the authority to enter the Hundred Acre Wood Grove. There, you will be enriched with blessings for all time and honey pots. The Grove will hold a sacred place in your lineage, a sanctuary where you can seek guidance, inspiration, and resolution to life's trials.
I bless you with strength of body, mind, and spirit, Brother. Honor your family, Respect and protect them. In our Hundred Acre Wood, strive to be a leader, a teacher, and a beacon of goodness throughout your days. If you dedicate yourself fully, you will find honey pots along your path. Live by the principles of kindness and compassion, following the path of reason and empathy. Remember to: Identify and uphold moral principles. Practice empathy and compassion. Engage in acts of kindness and charity. Develop your wisdom and understanding. Take moments for reflection and self-care. Embrace growth and learning. Cherish the simple joys and treasures. Lead by the example set by your friends and mentors." I solemnly affirm this as I bestow upon you this sacred blessing today. Amen

I've tried calling her Rendog but she did not like it very much. Any ideas?

Her name is Molly Rose but she mostly goes by Molly

My boyfriend and I were classmates back in 2020, freshmen students taking the same path together. He was just someone na hindi ko alam kung sino, wala akong pake sa kaniya. But I am not gonna lie, he was so good sa class and medyo crush ko siya noon kase woah, antalino! But that feeling didn't grow and progress. There are tons of things that I hated about him and he likes, yep, my friend.
The day I found out na may gusto siya sa kaibigan ko, a random tear fell from my eye. Walang reason, it was just painful. Hindi ko alam kung bakit, like may iba rin naman akong natitripan nong time na yon. And yeah, apakabilis lang niya, nawala agad. Up to this day, mystery sakin why I felt that. Ang certain lang ako that time is the fact na wala naman akong nararamdaman sa kaniya.
As the universe played with us, naging kami 2 years later. And I started to fall more and more each day sa kaniya today. I am just so happy with the fact na ano, as we spend more time with each other, narerealize ko na andami naming mga coincidence, destiny/red-string theory na naranasan.
One of them is this, I used to write stories kase so of course I name my characters. And one of the most used name sa list ko ay si Cielo, 2019 ko pa siya ginagamit. Like, i love its meaning, which is treasure sa Spanish, sa ibang lenggwahe naman ay sky or heaven.
So noong naging kami na, yung endearment ko talaga sa kaniya is mi cielo. May album ako sa gallery na yun yung title and even sa messenger ay yun yung nickname niya sakin. Tapos, one day, we allow each other kase talaga to open each other's account then, upon opening his' ay lumabas yung memories niya back in 2014, this is the exact post:
" Cielo what a nice middle name "
Name yata eto ng crush niya date pero wala akong pake, delusyonal ako.
Wala ang cute lang, we named our first stuffy as Cielo den and kapag nagkapet kami, it will be Cielo den.
Wala, the end, tapos na.

I have resorted to the Reddit forum.
So I (INFP, 30M) matched with someone (INFJ, 31F) on an app. Beautiful, genuinely kind, a little odd in a very endearing way, and we have enough in common to relate to each other but not so much we wouldn't have space to do our own thing while encouraging each other to try new things. And we've been messaging almost constantly since, even while we're supposed to be working. But after a little while, she said there was "no spark." I'm confused about that being a problem, especially in the texting stage (I decided that I like her because of all the things I mentioned. I've felt "the instant spark" before but after some pretty miserable relationships, I don't put much stock into it and think more along the lines of compatability), but I took it at face value. But then she starts not only heaping praise on me, saying I'm adorable and cute and a great guy with lots of cool interests, but she starts berating herself: calling herself a loser, saying she's not pretty, another girl would make me much happier, that I'm "dodging a bullet," etc. And this is way, way more heartbreaking than being told there's no spark. I try to tell her how great I think she is but she says "it's ok, this is the norm." This is my breaking point: I'm upset about it in the moment but I end up bawling about it later. I tell her I'm going to call later and she says she doesn't want to trauma dump when she doesn't have privacy in her home because she lives with her family, and then she spirals into shame about still living with her family. And it's just a really tough conversation.
I apologize for making her upset, reiterate how great I think she is, and tell her that it's up to her, but I still want to be friends. Because I do. I want more, but I don't want her to disappear. She says she wants to be friends too. I say we should chill out a bit on the messaging though. And we don't. Day after is maybe the most we've ever messaged. We're calling each other by nicknames (she had one already that no one was using and I started to use it, she asked me a couple times if I had one (I didn't) and then I came up with one because it seemed to matter to her). I made a damn Fortnite account because she plays and sends little highlight clips for me to watch. I had insomnia that night and I message her my own little highlight at 4:30AM thinking she can check it out later and she responds not 2 minutes later. And I'm just confused. Like, it doesn't seem like the way you react to a guy you barely know and aren't interested in. But I also don't want to press the issue too hard and push her away. I know this is a lot, but any insight from the other side would be hugely appreciated. Is she confused? Am I confused? Are we both confused? I feel like my mind is splitting over this.

So my girlfriend used to give me anal all the time. I called her, not in a mean way but rather in an endearing way ‘my little asshole’. She liked the nickname.
My parrots birthday was yesterday and my rat died the day before so I fed my parrot my rat.
One time we were playing uno and she got the uni reverse card. Then my girlfriend said that she’s tired of always giving me anal, now she needs to peg me instead. If we do this for a year then she will give me her ass again. I reluctantly agreed.
Now she says ‘where’s my little asshole? Pspsps. Cmere asshole, it’s time!’ And I say ‘no!’ And she says ‘yes!’ And I say ‘ok’ and then she fucks me.
Am I really the asshole in this relationship?

I (F, 23) have a friend I play tennis with, kind of an older guy (M, 54) who is generally very nice to me and friendly and always calling me endearing nicknames. I told our tennis team that I was trying to form a team of doubles after our current season ended and most people on the team responded positively. Later in the day, I made a couple of errors on the court and that guy (M, 54) looked me in the eye and said he would never want to be doubles with me. And a separate instance he made a really mean comment about my playing. This was so unusual and out-of-character for our interactions. He was also rude to another lady (F, 56) playing with us but generally friendly with the other players. What’s more confusing was he was friendly again later in the day but not to the same extent as he usually is and he still kept making smaller snide comments. I know people have bad days but it feels like he chose to make comments about something I was especially excited about (doubles). I’m not sure if I am just being sensitive (which I definitely can be) or if I’m right to feel offended and a little hurt. I also felt like he and I were becoming good friends and so this stings a bit extra bc regardless of how I should feel, it’s going to be challenging for me to just resume things like old times without feeling there’s a mean comment around the corner.
TL;DR Friend (M, 54) I play tennis with was unusually mean one evening. Not sure if I am wrong to feel offended or not. Comments were very rude and out-of-character.

Let's talk about your favourite terms of endearment and the books they come from.
Here's two unique ones that I loved.
"Petal" Seducing the Sorcerer, Lee Welch
"My End of Days" (referring the MC LI's last name, Doomsday): A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, KJ Charles

So I bumped into a priest with whom I’ve known for a while at dinner a few nights ago and when I saw him I said, “Hey, Father ______, how have you been doing, buddy?” After which we proceeded to have a friendly conversation that lasted for around five minutes. After we wrapped it up, the friend I was having dinner with admonished me for calling him as “buddy” and told me it was disrespectful to refer to a priest in such a familiar manner.
I took his criticism to heart, since I naturally call a lot of people I’m close to “buddy” without giving it much thought and I don’t intend it to be patronizing or offensive. So, in an effort to avoid future offense, would a priest be bothered if he met a friend in public and they said something like, “Good to see you, buddy.”?

Hey all, Katie here. My mom and grandma sometimes call me "Katie girl" and I never thought much of it, but I noticed that somebody else recently called me "Katie girl" in passing, and it made me wonder if this is a common thing. Maybe people say it to me more often than I realize, but I didn't find anything from googling it.
So, is this a phenomenon or just a coincidence? Are there other names with nicknames that follow the "____ girl" phrase?

I love how in the pilot and the first couple of episodes in SPN it was highly annoying to Sam to be called Sammy, he kept correcting Dean saying its “ Sam”. But by season 2, when Gordon called him Sammy, Sam told him Dean is the only one who gets to call him that. Awwww❤️
I loved how the show connected the brother’s bond and closeness by the usage of the nickname “ Sammy” in S2 E20 in djinn life version where Sam and Dean were not close, Sam was shocked by Dean calling him Sammy.
Of course for Dean, calling Sam, Sammy is sometimes used for teasing like when he said“ Oh what's the matter Sammy, afraid you're gonna get a little Nair in your shampoo again, huh?”
Or to show his concerns, like when Sam is missing or hurt and Dean call out, Sam than Sammy…
Or a term an endearment, like in S8 final Dean speech “ But, Sammy...come on. I killed Benny to save you….. “
And you gota love the attention details from SPN, in S6 when Dean knew that Sam was soulless, he never called him Sammy, that was a special nickname for his baby brother, not a random stranger.
Final note, in the episode “ Baby” when Dean wanted to joke with Sam, he called him “Samuel” because by that time, hearing his big brother call him Sammy, not only something he accepted but appreciated. It holds a meaning to both Sam & Dean. I love how Sam, stayed Sammy in Deans eyes until the end ❤️

i think this game has a good variety of interesting characters. most are likeable, some… not so much. that being said, who are your favourites?
personally, my top three would be towa, haru, and sho. from the four episodes i’ve read, i think these three are just so fun to interact with and they hold a special place in my heart.
towa is so cute! from his expressions, to his lines, everything about him bring me pure joy and he’s such a sweetheart. he even made a nickname for the MC and always treats her nicely. he’s so baby girl i love him sm (i also go back to episode 3 just to rewatch his scenes)
haru is likeable for all the same reasons as towa, but one more thing i love about him is his sense of responsibility. he always does the work he needs to for jabberwock. also his love for animals is an added bonus!
sho had his villain moment with leo in episode 2, but his redemption arc was amazing. he started to trust the MC more and refused to sabotage her, which was a huge yay for me. i also love his passion for cooking and his food truck i find it so cute and endearing!
do let me know your answers below :D

Context: You've made a friend at work. His dark sense of humor and earnestness make him a good companion. Enough that you've finally given the idea of hanging out with him after work a go! Wonder how it will turn out?
Setting: Silas's home
Tags:[M4A][Established Relationship?][Yandere Co-worker Speaker][Level-headed Listener][Pin-Up/Pinny Nickname][Flirting][Captive][Cute]to[Creepy][Assassin?][Photography][Horror Elements][Open-Ended][TW: Mention of MurdeDrugging/Kidnapping]
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[Scene opens in an office building, shortly after work]
[SFX: The Listener packing their things up/ footsteps approaching them]
“Hey, Pin-up! Happy Friday afternoon, post-work. Still feeling like hanging out?”
[Your coworker smiles at you as you grab your things, his usual nonchalant, pleasant self]
[Pause <3]
“Nice! First time hanging out outside of the office, huh? Oh, I can’t wait to do each other’s hair and nails, talk about all the boys we like, talk mad shit about our boss…”
[Pause!!]
[He laughs as you try and hush him]
“Of, c’mon, Randy isn’t even in today! Besides, I had to rile you up a little bit. You look like you’re cosplaying a braindead zombie…”
[Pause…]
“Pssh, here. Because I am amazing.”
[SFX: Him holding out a coffee]
[Pause <3 <3 <3]
“Here, some coffee, extra strong for my work bestie. Can’t have the night ending too soon, can we? It took AGES for me to convince you to be my pin-up model for the night… I appreciate it, by the way… You putting your trust in me…”
[Pause…]
[He smiles, walking you to his car]
[SFX: Office chattethem heading out to his car]
“No need to be nervous… It’s just playing dress-up and snapping some pictures that no one else but us will ever see, right? Don’t worry… I’m very respectful of my models.”
[Pause…]
[SFX: Them getting in the car and heading off/ if you want to include radio music, he is 100% the guy that puts on classical in the car, but feel free to mix it up]
[He drives for a bit while you two drive… You’re surprised by how comfortable and warm you feel with him… At least, until you realize you’re exhausted…]
[Pause…?]
“You’re sleepy? Take a little cat nap. I’ll wake you up when we get there, OK?”
[Pause…]
[SFX: Fade out on everything growing muffled, little by little]

• -

[An unknown amount of time passes before you rouse from a deep slumber to the sound of… a camera, you think]
[SFX: An old camera taking pictures]
“Ah… Welcome back to the realm of the living.”
[Your friend stands a few feet away, the room impossibly dark save for a single spotlight above]
[P-Pause?]
“I wouldn’t try to move, you are tied up. Do me a favor and don’t speak, either. I will explain myself, I promise.”
[. . . ]
[He takes more shots of you as you try to test your bounds. They are impossible]
“There we go… Mmh, I am fond of the ones that listen to me. Ooh, but that makes me sound like a serial killer, doesn’t it?”
[. . . ?]
“. . . You’re honestly a natural behind the camera, my cubicle Cupid.”
[. . . ]
[His voice is soft but stitched with an intoxicating passion]
“C’mon, now… We’re just friends, taking some silly pictures together while you’re a little zooted, right? You’re just being my little pin-up model… Do you like it…?”
[Pause…]
“Outside of your comfort zone? You didn’t speak but, your expression is rather obvious… Aww… That’s cute. You’re cute. Hold still.”
[SFX: More photos being taken]
“So… Let’s get the obvious out of the way. ‘Why me?’, I am sure you are asking. The long answer is that you are intertwined with an active interest of my own, and I happen to have grown fond of you. The short answer? I really like you.”
[. . . ]
“Hmm? You feel a little sleepy… My Pin-Up?”
[P-Pause…?]
[SFX: More photos being taken]
“That would be what I put in your coffee, yes. I didn’t want to risk more than I already am. Though I can’t elaborate why, I can tell you I am mixing business and pleasure in a very dangerous way…”
[. . . ]
“Oh, that expression… Beautiful… So afraid… Was my serial killer comment earlier not helpful, love?”
[. . . ]
“...Whatever would you do if I were a serial killer…?”
[. . . ]
[He gently tilts your face, this way and that, nonchalantly]
“...I’m going to tell you a little secret, Pin-Up. I know you won’t tell anyone, after all.”
[He kneels, lips an inch from your right ear as he whispers:]
“You’re my favorite...”
[P-Pause…]
“Haha… Why did you shiver so hard…? Sensitive ear, or… did you just really, really like what I said?”
[Pause…]
“Hmhm… You didn’t speak. See, that’s just another reason I’m so enamored with you, Pinny. I asked you not to talk and, even though I asked you a question, you remembered. You’re so attentive, so smart… Even when you’re terrified. ‘What did I do to deserve this fate?’, you’re thinking… Nothing. You did nothing wrong… But, then, none of the others really did either. They slighted me, were rude, even abusive, certainly… But, in the grand scheme of things, is it really worth murder? I don’t think so…”
[. . . ]
“...But I did it anyway.”
[He chuckles]
“I guess I’m not quite as boring and predictable as our coworkers thought, hm? Hmhm… I’m surprised I haven’t nabbed one of them, yet. It’s practically a buffet of stab victims, waiting to happen. I’ll franchise it! ‘Stabbies!’.”
[. . . ]
“Hehe, you almost laughed. Being in shock is kind of fun, huh? The absurdity of the situation setting in. ‘Of fucking course my Friday night is me being photographed by a serial killer! Of course!’. Hehe…”
[SFX: Him taking a few more photos with his older model camera]
[Pause…?]
“It is an older camera, yes. You didn’t say anything, I know, but I saw your eyes on it with a perked eyebrow and guessed. One of the older models that can instantly develop the photo. Cumbersome and primitive… but I find it endearing when I do my job…”
[. . . ]
[The room goes silent for a bit while he continues to snap pictures]
“...You know what? To hell with it. You have my permission to talk. Just don’t be an idiot and start yelling for help, alright?”
[Pause…?]
“Oh, you’re very welcome.”
[SFX: Him continuing to take photos of you]
[...Pause…?]
“Am I going to kill you…? Heavens, no… You’re the only person who can match wits with me at work… Believe it or not, my dear, my behavior isn’t quite as erratic as the ‘experts’ are trying to paint it… There is a pattern in my kills…”
[Pause…]
[He pauses and gives what sounds like a genuine laugh]
“Ha! Your humor always gets me! ‘Trying to study clues you give me feels like a trap’? Heh… Oh, Father would have adored you. Come now, think about it… You’re quite shrewd, though you doubt yourself…”
[. . . ]
“Ms. Otaru was first… The daughter of an influential businessman. Then Mr. Yoshia, then that airheaded twat who was Prince to some small nation…”
[Pause…]
[He pauses, almost giving away his surprise. Almost.]
“...They’re all people that others would pay a lot of money to have killed… ‘Am I an assassin’, they ask, hmm… Well… I don’t know, darling…”
[SFX: A few more pictures]
“...Am I an assassin…?”
[Pause…]
“...Or a psychopathic serial killer?”
[. . . ]
[He chuckles at your answer]
“What’s the difference? The pay, usually… Other than that, well… How we choose to spend our free time…”
[P-Pause…]
“What’s the deal with the camera? A guy like me needs a hobby, sweetheart. I’d go crazy otherwise.”
[P-Pause…]
“Oh, sweetheart… With what you drank tonight, methinks you’re going to be having a tough time remembering what happened tomorrow…”
[. . . ]
[His cold, yet soft, laughter fills your mind as it wavers in and out of consciousness]
“Oh, of course, you’re going to stop me. Of course… I look forward to our battle when you wake, Pinny… If you recall, of course.”
[SFX: Fade out on the Listener, well… fading out / the occasional camera flash]
[To be continued?]
Note: His name is Silas. He is a living red flag.

Hello! Writing a story and one of the characters is from England, exactly where is not specified. He has a daughter he loves a lot, and I’m trying to find British pet names parents use for their children, but every online list seems to be romantic pet names with no nuance. Was going to get some feedback from people here to see if they could tell me if “duck” is an acceptable endearment term for a father to call his 3-5 year old daughter? Thanks!
ETA: this has been one of the sweetest threads I’ve ever read. I love all the things people’s parents have called them. For ambiguity, I’m going to have him call her, “my duckling” with the reason being that she’s little, and waddles like a duck might when she’s very little, and the nickname stuck. Also, yellow is a significant color to the story, so that might be fun to play with, because of yellow fuzzy ducklings.

It's 3:30am and I'm crying because all of a sudden I'm having all these flashbacks to all the horrible names my entire n "family" called me. It was always as a "joke" or teasing. I was never allowed to get legitimately upset when I was called these names. I, as the scapegoat, was expected to just laugh along with them, and accept the names they called me. I endured these names for years. I still do. They seem silly and innocent but I buried the rage my entire life and today it comes out. Today I remember why these evil people are not in my life anymore. Some of my "nicknames" they used below:
Platypus - my favorite Pokémon was psyduck. They thought it was weird. When I cried, frowned, pouted, or showed any sadness or anger I was called platypus. "Don't be a platypus" "stop making a platypus face" fuck them. What kind of mother calls her own child this?
roti surat - an urdu phrase that literally translates to "crying face" aka crybaby. Used in the same context as above
button eyes - used by nMom when I couldn't find something that she could. Like she would send me to the basement to get things from the pantry down there and if I couldn't find it she'd call me button eyes. My siblings adopted it too.
teddy bear - emerged after years of being called button eyes, because that's what teddy bears have. Siblings also loved that one.
tummy - my siblings nickname for me. Many forms of it like tummynems or the tummy. It was because I had a baby tummy well into my teenage years. I guess I was a little on the chubbier side too compared to my siblings. I don't even think I'm fat or chubby, I have a healthy amount of tummy fat like most people do. But they just loved to make fun of my tummy. As an adult I am most self conscious about my tummy now too. I've always had body dysmorphia because of it and feeling like I am fat when I'm not.
dishwasher my mom called me this in front of guests. Like "don't worry about using too many dishes we have our dishwasher right here" WTF IM NOT YOUR FUCKING SLAVE BITCH.
purposely mispronouncing my name I have a somewhat hard to pronounce name if you're not a PoC. Many people mispronounced it the same way and it is a lifelong struggle having to correct people. Imagine your own family purposely mispronounced your name because they knew it annoyed you. Fuck them, especially my dickhead brother for that
angry asteroid - because I would get angry or upset at their abuse and often it would come out as lashing out or just being irritable and angry in general
goomba - same reasons above, although i have reclaimed this one and embrace this one proudly. My husband and I even laugh about it now, because i can be an angry Goomba sometimes.
tattletale anytime I would complain about my brother's abuse to my mom, I was called a tattle tale. Nmom would side with brother, laugh at me with him, and join him in teasing me. Every. Single. Time.
chipku - urdu phrase that means clingy/sticky because I would be clingy with my mom...as.. a..5 year old child...
Funny how every single one they thought was cute and endearing. Funny how I thought it was too. Until I woke up to what it really was. It's not cute. It's hurtful. It's fucking hurtful and now I understand why my body intuitively keeps them at a distance. Because as long as I was the butt of every joke, everything was fine. And the day I stopped being their doormat and they couldn't call me these names anymore...the day I finally walked away and decided to cut them out of my life was the best decision I ever made.
EDIT: thank you everyone for sharing your support and experiences. It doesn't surprise me that we've all been through this, it truly is heartbreaking but I'm glad to know I'm not alone. Take care of yourselves yall, so grateful for this community 💛