Obligatory Self Introduction

Hi… Uh… Cucumis sativus here, Second Hand Scan’s newest bitch member. As Somebodyelse has already mentioned, we met on Phantasy Star Online 2, so I’ll dispense with the origin story (of our fated romantic meeting as we vanquish the ferocious dragon within a volcanic hell). When it comes to the Japanese language, it doesn’t take long for the conversation to head towards anime, manga, and ultimately porn. After a few exchanges about what we like and what we’ve read, Somebodyelse mentioned he was, well… Somebodyelse of Second Hand Scan’s fame. Long story short, I asked if I could join his merry little one man group. I know some Japanese and I have studied translation theory before, so this would be a fun little gig to stick my hands in.

So why the name Cucumis sativus? Let’s just say it’s a nod to one of my first hentai experiences, a really hardcore CG set depicting a busty girl in a bunny suit getting gangbanged by a bunch of demonic vegetables (this was just one of many scenarios). And when I say demonic vegetables, I’m not talking about anthropomorphic looking veggies manhandling a girl. They were literally vegetables with demonic faces (and tiny looking arms) going to town with this girl’s body. T’was a strange yet beautifully erotic sight to behold.

Anyway, I’m still getting my bearings straight with the whole scanlating gig. Somebodyelse is showing me the ropes in both his script preferences and editing tricks. Hopefully, the two of us will start producing some nice quality works together, plus the occasional lone wolf projects I’ll attempt. Projects will range from both naughty and safe.

I hope you look forward to it. Please be gentle.

Befriending strangers for fun and profit

I've recently been playing a bit of Phantasy Star Online 2 (a free-to-play title currently only available in Japan), thanks to the fan-made English patch having progressed far enough to have made most of the game understandable to someone who can't read more than two or three moon squiggles total. While having my ass handed to me— repeatedly— by one of the game early bosses (fuck you, rock-burrowing flame-breathing dragon thing, you're an asshole and I hate your guts), I happened to team up with a guy who could actually read all the flavor text that's still left untranslated from the patch (by the way, there's nothing of importance). We got to talking, I asked where he learned his Japanese, and chatted a while.

I got myself a new translator!

Soon-ish I'll have him introduce himself on here (after I give him access to the blog... what's the harm in giving random internet people unfettered access to your stuff, right?), and we'll detail some of the projects we'll be working on in the near future (try to take a guess? Not that you'll win anything, but I've left a hint).

Teepo header because a) it's awesome, and b) the English edition of the day-one didn't come with the steelbook. The only reason I preordered (instead of doing the sane thing and waiting for the price to drop) was to get the that goddamn Teepo-tastic case, and I didn't know it. I'm grieving.

(PS: Natsunokumo is still on, and this will have nothing to do with that.)