UN: STEADFASTSTANCE

[betheman]

[With midterms over, surely, study season is over right?

Wrong, particularly not for poor Gongenzaka, who had to take his midterms late. The timing of the supermoon was not kind- and it leaves little time to study for finals for that matter.

So what better way to put up a positive attitude than a study group! Or something.]

With only a few weeks before final exams, I think we could benefit from studying as a group! It gives tutors and staff a break from one on one assistance, and helps everyone to enjoy the study period!

[Y'know....if you're a nerd.]

I've managed to reserve one of the larger rooms, and with permission, will have tea and small snacks! We just need to keep the room clean afterward.

Let's share what classes we have exams for, and we can arrange to meet and help each other out!

[The message is initially posted in French. It is also repeated beneath, in English, and then Japanese (with some notably awkward linguistic nonsense going on.)]

I'll start; most of my classes are basic (though help for English would be appreciated...), though I am also taking classes in Cryptoliterature, and Runes!

[He does, to be fair, list all of those basic grade 8 classes though.]

Comments

[suddenlybees]

Isn't one person "enough" people?
And now we have two~
But alright, alright!
The lounge it is!!
Bring snacks, okay, Bonbon!!?!?

[betheman]

I have been told we require at least four people, so it is not.

[.....]

Be warned that they will be snacks I pick...

[Get Ready for... ...Okay it's still chips but shush.]

[suddenlybees]

LOL We could just say the other two people are in the bathroom~
Toilet emergencies, can't rush them, you know?
But the lounge is fine too~
I'll meet you downstairs in 5 minutes~!!

[betheman]

I refuse to lie.

I will see you there however.

[suddenlybees]

I'll lie for you~

[ He'll be down there in 5 minutes!!! No books or backpack or any study materials of the sort, aside from a small notebook he keeps in his jacket pocket, but that's not for school. ]

Over here, over here~

[betheman]

That is quite unnecessary, I assure you!!

[But anyway. He'll be there, with his own book and notepad and...Hey, bowl of mixed candy popcorn. Nice.

It comes with a hefty dose of absolute wariness and doubt.] Auh....

You came quickly! I, the man Gongenzaka, barely managed to get the popcorn together...

[He wanted it mixed instead of all divided like it was in his bucket....]

[suddenlybees]

Ohh, fancy snacks...

[ He was definitely expecting something easy, like a bag of animal crackers or something that can be found in any normal snack drawer, but sweet popcorn is something different. ]

Is this sweet? I've never had it before~ Do you pop it yourself?

[betheman]

Mnh? Oh...it is not that fancy, I assure you, [He laughs gently.] It is simply store-bought...have you ever seen those big 'tubs', which you can have filled with candied popcorn?

I, the man Gongenzaka, was convinced by Yuuya to purchase one not long ago... ...but there is so much of it, that it seems better shared...

[Ah. As usual, Yuuya convinced Gon to lighten up.]

[suddenlybees]

[ It can be fancy and store-bought, and most store-bought things are fancy, either decorated or packaged to make people buy them, and it seems to Kano to be the case for this too. Of course he's never bought a big tub of popcorn before; who would he share it with? And he's definitely not eating something like that by himself.

He picks a piece of popcorn and tosses it into his mouth. Very sweet. Alright!!! Payment received, he starts on his English lesson. ]

How come you always say that? Your name?

[ Lesson 1: he's going to bully Gon about his speech patterns, of course it's like this. ]

[betheman]

[Hey you don't get to tease him about this when they're speaking in Japanese Kano, you just don't.

But also, he's answering you with absolute sincerity and honesty. As usual.] Mnh?

It is how those of my dojo speak. [He'll continue to explain however.] When I say... 'I, the man Gongenzaka', [He explains rather casually,] It is a form of humbling speech- it is to say 'I am not someone who is above you, but instead beside you'. Because things such as my strength and knowledge, are not meant to be used to harm- but instead to help those who need it, yes?

I, the man Gongenzaka...am following in the traditions of my family, as one who lives to protect, and preserve others! [....that's so sappy...]

...Auh...it does not translate very well into English, naturally though...so when I speak either language, I cannot do so... [He rubs the back of his head, sighing. There's just no real equivalent in either language that doesn't sound Super Dumb! Case in point though...he really doesn't say his name all the time when he speaks English.]

[suddenlybees]

[ It's weird even in Japanese!!! Kano only had six years of it before everything was just in English to him, but also... Japanese is weird... dojo Japanese is even weirder... ]

And when you're a bear? Does it change at night?

[ Does he become "I, the bear Gongenzaka"?? I have no idea what the original phrase is or how it's interpreted, Kano probably can't do a direct translation either, Gon's way of speaking is just so formal and weird and maybe this is why he has trouble making the switch to colloquial English, who knows. ]

[betheman]

Hmm? Of course not! ...Ah... [Oh no he's realizing the issue.

He coughs.] 'Kono otoko no'...it is not literal- that is why it cannot be translated properly into most other languages after all; when I say 'man', it is 'man' in the sense of being human. I am but another person, and nothing more than that.

When I, the man Gongenzaka, am a bear...it does not change that I am still myself- my heart, and my mind...they are still the same.

[suddenlybees]

[ He wants to laugh... so bad...

He's doing his best to keep it in, honestly, but sometimes when you're trying very hard to keep something in, it just becomes 50932323x more obvious and this is the face Kano makes when he's trying to hold back laughter, his "Don't say another word or I'm going to explode" face.

Gon has probably seen it many times before. ]

[betheman]

....

This was a mistake, I see.

[He looks unimpressed.

Also he's picking up the popcorn bowl you better stop 'm Kano,]

[suddenlybees]

Nonononononoooooooo—-!!

[ Kano launches himself forward to throw the entirety of his body over that popcorn bowl, Gon will have to pick both of them up if he wants to take his leave. Or leave but also leave the popcorn. ]

Wait, don't go!!! I didn't say anything, right!!??!?

[betheman]

[He can, in fact, lift both- ...But he won't.

Instead, he is carefully going to try prying him off actually-] I recognize your expression..! You are trying everything in your power not to laugh, I am certain of this..! If you are going to quietly mock me for how I speak naturally then how can I, the man Gongenzaka, expect you not to do so when I am struggling with English?

[suddenlybees]

I tried my hardest and maybe I should be commended for it???!?

[ He could have laughed! But then Gon might put him through the wall— not that he would, but that he's very capable of it despite his insistence on strength not being used for such purposes, and Kano always sort of suspected he might be the one to make Gon snap someday. ]

Me laughing, it's not a bad thing, you know!! It's endearing? It can be thought of endearing?? The way you speak? But we're working on it, right? Don't be afraid to laugh about it too!

[betheman]

[He pauses in trying to pull the other off the popcorn, sighing. You'll not make him snap today buddy.]

If you are referring to how I, the man Gongenzaka, am speaking now- in my native language- that is not something I intend to change. It is the way of my family- and it is indicative of the things that I stand for; and I am not going to laugh about that..! [He huffs.]

...I, the man Gongenzaka, can certainly laugh if something is truly amusing.

...To myself however, amusement cannot be found in the struggles of one practicing in another skill.

[...But that's probably getting a bit too heavy for their sort of interactions. So with another sigh, he sits back on one of the nearby chairs, dropping the matter.] ...How did you intend to help with my English, Kano....

[suddenlybees]

[ Oh thank god he's sitting down, so Kano can also sit down— he chooses one with an armrest, so he can sit on the armrest and have his feet on the seat, still clutching that bowl of popcorn to his stomach and probably getting his shirt all sticky, but that's okay, he doesn't intend to eat any of it. ]

Heh~ We gotta work on your sense of humor along with your English~ But it'll be like this! From now on, Japanese is BANNED!!! French is BANNED!!!!! It's practice, right? So long as you're in this room with me, you're only allowed to speak English! And you'll stay here until you laugh!!!

[betheman]

AUH- Ba- [He catches himself before he breaks that rule immediately.

It doesn't help the confusion however.] Banned..?

I suppose, I can see why this makes sense...but...

Why, 'banned', until I laugh?

[For all that his english is broken as heck it's. Actually still understandable! Yay. It's just really choppy so far.]

[suddenlybees]

[ Kano switches to English too, since it'll help Gon if he listens to how Kano speaks. It's basically the same as his Japanese, very casual, very long winded; Gon should not try to talk like him, even though it'll be funny. ]

Because I want to hear you laugh~ Now, go on~ Why won't you tell me a joke? The funniest one you know~!

[betheman]

Auh....a joke, in English..?

[kano no he doesn't

he doesn't think he knows any,,,]

[suddenlybees]

A joke in English~!! It can be anything~ A knock-knock joke, a pun, one of the classics, whichever one has made you laugh in the past, that's the one I want to hear!!

[ Start of with something small... Come on, Gon, you can do it, he believes in you. ]

[betheman]

Auuh....I...auh...

[He thinks. And thinks. And seems to just have more and more trouble, given the steady furrow of his brow.

Except-] I, bearly know any 'sayings', let alone jokes, in English though..!

[did he just-]

[suddenlybees]

[ Did he just!!! ]

A good start~! I'm curious, Bonbon~ How do you do it? When you speak English? Are you thinking in Japanese first and then translating to English, or do you go straight to English?