Underneath the Open Sky.

Zeki Week Day 1: Irreplaceable Partners.

《Zeki Week 2017》

《Zeki Week 2017》 

↳  Day 2: Misunderstandings/Deep Dark Forest

《Zeki Week 2017》 

↳  Day 1: Natural Connection/Irreplaceable Partners 

Can you get rid of me? Just because you say you’ll throw me out, can you? No matter what, I’ll find you again, 

VK related, probably not gonna tag it though because it’s more of a ramblings post about my thoughts on Zeki, the chapter in relation to Z + Y and the reception the chapter has received. I’ll put it below the cut which is below this dope gif of Jon Sn– Kit Harington having a sippy sip. Read if you want friends, or just scroll past, either way enjoy the gif. 

I respect the opinions of those who disliked the chapter but I have to respectfully disagree with some of the criticism I’ve seen.

I love Zero as much as the next person but he is a grown man, not a child who needs to be coddled. His feelings in VKM9 are the result of his own decision to stay by Yuuki’s side. Yuki felt guilty for “leading him on”, but the truth is she has been as honest as possible, and her being vocal about her feelings for Kaname is part of it. We as a fandom should know better than to feed Yuuki’s guilt complex; that’s what Kaname did and we all know where that lead them. Zero knew exactly what he was getting into by deciding to stay by her side, she made it clear for him. He could’ve left at any time, she was not keeping him chained in her basement, but he decided to accept every part of her – including the part of her that is occupied by thoughts of Kaname.

I personally would hate it if Yuuki hid her feelings and pretended she doesn’t think of Kaname just to make Zero happy. Both Yuuki and Zero deserve more than a relationship built on lies and pity.

Yuuki is as good a lover as she can possibly be in her situation. She’s letting him know that she wants to be with him, that he makes her happy and she wants to make him happy, but she’s still a pureblood and she will still give her life to revive Kaname eventually. That’s why she mentions Kaname before asking him out; it’s not because she doesn’t love him enough, on the contrary, it’s because she loves him a lot and doesn’t want to trap him in a relationship that will let him down. She wants him to start this relationship while aware of her issues, and only if he’s okay with them (which he is).

She cannot change the way she feels nor is she obligated to have a more intimate relationship with Zero if she’s not comfortable with it yet. It doesn’t matter if he waited decades, centuries, millennia; she does not owe him intimacy simply because he waited. She can make as many baby steps as she wants for as long as she wants, and Zero is free to leave if what she has to give is not enough for him (but, again: Zero loves her and understands).  

I know the Zeki fandom adores Zero and has mixed feelings about Yuuki. I do too. I find her to be a lackluster heroine and still wish Zero had moved on to someone else. But expecting her to be more intimate with Zero than she is ready to be is disturbingly close to the “nice guy” rhetoric. Zero doesn’t think that she owes him anything simply because he’s waited a long time for her. Kaname did. Kaname was aggressive in his demands, asked her for more in the relationship than she could give, took advantage of her guilt. I love Zero because of how understanding and noble he is, and don’t want him to start acting even the slightest bit like Kaname – to be entitled and demanding like Kaname was in his relationship with Yuuki.

Find someone who looks at you the way Yuuki looks at Zero

Thank you for saying you’re fine with me the way I am… Zero…

Vampire Knight Memories 10′s rough translation is now available! As usual, please take my translations with a healthy grain of salt, given how difficult Hino’s writing is for someone who is an intermediate translator such as myself. ^_^

I’m trying something a little different this time. I’ve updated the viewable dropbox account with the translations in comments by their respective images for side-by-side viewing. If that’s of interest to you, please check out the first link below. Otherwise, please enjoy the translation below the cut!

VKM 10 Translation & Raws side-by-side: [view] 

VKM 10 Full LQ Japanese Raws: [download]

Note: All character thoughts are placed in brackets [] for convenience. My translator notes are in {italics}.

sHE’S BLUSHING VISITING ZERO’S PLACE