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New Kjerag merchandise has been released, featuring new art!

First things first: our second piece of official Gnosis art of him smiling! Truly blessed.

I have to say I love how Gnosis apparently decided to accessorize out the wazoo: tie clip, collar pins, scarf, cuff links, and watch(?) chain on his waistcoat. Bird moment. Even his waistcoat itself has a lovely feather pattern on the lapel and elaborate buttons, and his black and white shoes are a nice touch. Hard to see, but his belt is white too. And I love the red lining of his coat, just like his Speaker cloak! He knows how to dress!

Meanwhile, Enciodes: I'm naked without my bondage harness.

Degenbrecher's horn chain is such a great touch. I love seeing the AK characters adorning their animal body parts.

She looks great. Gold highlights suit her so well, as do boots, and her high-waisted pants(?) and corset-style belt work great. The fur collar of her jacket is also a nice parallel with Enciodes. The trio wearing silver, blue, and gold also gives them the feeling that they're a matching set. Triple date?

Enya's green ribbons give the vibe of being a gift from the Duke of Caster that she has to wear for political reasons. Ensia looks extremely cute in her mini sweater dress. I also can't help but laugh at Harold being included as an honorary Kjerag, though admittedly, this merchandise is being advertised as RS merch, hence the exclusion of Kjera etc., I would presume. I, too, enjoy counting Harold as an honorary Kjerag.

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Another day in Kjerag.

(Another collab with my partner-in-crime Aelen!)

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As a follow-up to my previous post and a second follow-up to my other post six months ago, here we have the Karlan Trio's anniversary lines.

To recap: Silverash reflects on Rhodes's (and the Doctor's) capabilities (perhaps remembering that they have a business relationship as well), though I would be remiss if I did not note that in JP, he says that he's "looking forward to it" rather than having great expectations, though that's a small quibble.

Gnosis, still likely bearing a grudge over the Doctor's interfering during Break The Ice, keeps his Bitch Mode switched firmly on while he's on Rhodes Island, leaving his work for only the most perfunctory of greetings and taking the opportunity to be rude while he's at it. I love him. I wonder why this particular line sounds slightly tinny compared to his other lines, as if it was poorly recorded (or Midorikawa had a cold or something).

Degenbrecher, I'm annoyed to have to point out again, has a slight mistranslation in her line again. In JP, she markedly does not say "a certain someone": she very clearly says Enciodes. I don't know why Yostar did this when she talks about him in several of her other lines.

Furthermore, she does not say that she distrusted him, she says that she "didn't believe his nonsense at first", which in my opinion is a subtle but important difference that is more in-line with Degenbrecher's character. She herself has stated that she has "always despised self-righteous challengers, pumped up on their skills or ideals. And, without exception, I crushed them all underfoot," in BI-8. She is not a person who particularly believes in lofty ideals or unattainable dreams, and by her own profile, she doesn't particularly understand them well; they're "nonsense" to her. She did not believe in Enciodes's vision until she saw him making strides towards it in Keen-Edge, Silver Blade and saw him changing Kjerag, and she's drawing a parallel between Enciodes's aspirations and Rhodes Island's here by saying that she didn't believe it either until she saw the proof with her own eyes. "Distrust," to me, has connotations more of expecting a betrayal or ulterior motives, rather than simply thinking that the dream in question is ridiculous.

In addition, there's a subtle mistake with her final line: she isn't saying she's kept an eye on Rhodes for Karlan Trade, but rather, that she's been "guarding Karlan Trade's gates for so long" that it's natural for her to guard Rhodes now, continuing to draw the parallel between the two entities by saying it's not a big deal for her. I don't think Degenbrecher would so explicitly say that she's watching RI for Karlan Trade like that, though this is hardly the first time her lines have had mistakes, and I have some issues with some of her others (though that's a topic for another post entirely).

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The official Prelude Suite manga artist who drew Cadenza Virtuosa and Keen-Edge, Silver Blade posted new art of the Karlan Trio (and young Federico and Arturia) on weibo.

I really do love the way they draw Degenbrecher. And look, the chibis are holding hands!

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Found some higher resolution scans of Gnosis art from Concept Art 3!

He DOES have pierced ears!

He's so beautiful...

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I'm absolutely cracking up at Gnosis having Resting Bitch Face. I expected nothing less.

Also his WAIST IS SO TINY

And his LEGS? So bird of him??

Have I also ever mentioned how I love his red eyebrows, they're so RED

And I love that he's got feathers on like, everything

(Waiting for my copy of the book still and I'll have something more coherent to say later, maybe)

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It genuinely baffles me how some people assume the relationship between Gnosis and Monch was a two-way street. It's blindingly evident from the very beginning that to Gnosis, she always was nothing more than a subordinate to him; a good subordinate, but nothing more than that. She was the one with the misplaced crush on a man who didn't especially care about her. Gnosis always remained focused on the only thing that matters to him: his dream with Enciodes. Nothing more, nothing less.

It also baffles me immensely how much his relationship with Enciodes is overlooked. Enciodes is, in effect, the lynchpin of Gnosis's life, around which everything is based. Enciodes saved him from despairing of Kjerag and gave him a goal to work towards, supported him and remained by his side when nobody else would, of course Gnosis is fiercely and eternally loyal to him, even if he cloaks it in a layer of tsun. Even Gnosis's EP is addressed to him. They've worked hand-in-hand towards their dream since they first became friends. You can't have one without the other.

Furthermore, it also baffles me how some people assume that Gnosis is unlovable or unloved, and play up his intellectual and cerebral traits like he's some kind of robot when the text itself says otherwise. Do his voice lines to the Doctor emphasize this? Yes, but voice lines are only one part of an operator's characterization in Arknights, and their writing in the story carries far more weight than their voice lines. Both BI, RS, and his oprec paint a very different image of Gnosis than his lines indicate, and that is an image of someone who is difficult to get along with yet cared for and appreciated regardless. Enciodes has remained by his side for twenty years and has never flinched or batted an eye at Gnosis's harsher side; Degenbrecher values him as one of her dearest friends on the same level as Enciodes; and Gnosis also cares for them in turn and lets down his facade with them. He not only has a potential long-time lover in Enciodes if you'd like to take the massive amount of subtext between them that way, but he has a good friend in Degenbrecher, with whom he's relaxed enough to bicker with (and you can take them as an OT3 too if you want).

At this point, Gnosis barely even qualifies as a mad scientist given that he doesn't even mention research once in RS, much less a hyperfocused machine who has nobody else in his life but his equipment! He has his company, his career, and most of all, he has his friends. He has bonds with other people, and deep ones at that. Yet most is made of what is, so far, his most shallow relationship (the one with Monch), while everything else is ignored.

I find it rather baffling.

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Sometimes I think about Silverweiss and I'm just overwhelmed by how much has been put into it.

Childhood friends beginning from a wild escapade involving kidnappers, rescues, and a stampede, culminating in a staggering promise of "I will change the country for you so you'll stay" and "You're my first real friend". A shared vision and shared ideals. Enciodes from the very beginning watching Gnosis watch the fowlbeasts, noticing his unhappiness, recognizing that Gnosis has similar feelings of discontent about Kjerag and reaching out to him.

Enciodes's unwavering faith and belief even when the entire country turned against the Edelweisses, swearing that he would forgive Gnosis even if he was responsible; Enciodes's promise to come find Gnosis, Gnosis's promise to come back and help him even as he himself doubted his own innocence.

The years going by and the two of them changing, worrying if the other would hold up his end of the bargain, molded by their hard surroundings, yet still finding common ground because neither of them have let go of their shared dream and renewing their promise and reforging their connection. The risky plot to gain Viscount Walden's favor, putting all of their trust in each other's smarts and daring to pull it off.

The two of them going back to Kjerag, Enciodes ignoring all public opinion and making Gnosis his right-hand man, implied to give him essentially anything he wants and asks for, because of course, that's part of his promise. Gnosis willingly setting himself ablaze as the scapegoat and utilizing his infamy so Enciodes would get off scot-free to advance their plans and their dreams despite Enciodes promising him a future and a place in Kjerag from the very beginning, always taking on as much risk as he can even if it meant he'd have to leave again, because only their shared dream matters.

Enciodes bringing Gnosis back to Kjerag again after everything, speaking up for him and risking his own reputation and word for Gnosis so he would be able to stay--giving him his position back, making him Director as well as CTO, ensuring that Kjerag will accept him because he wants Gnosis there because Gnosis holds half of their dream; Enciodes making Gnosis Speaker of the new parliament in the future for the same reasons.

There's so much space and content dedicated to fleshing out their relationship and how they feel about each other, it's truly impressive. We're given an almost complete image of how much they care and how important the other is to them at essentially every stage in their lives. At almost every stage, their dedication and commitment to each other is made clear.

From the moment they made each other that promise, they've been inextricably intertwined, because making the other happy is explicitly part of their motivation in building Kjerag up.

"If we're going to do this, we'll make Kjerag big enough for the both of us."

Enciodes wants to change Kjerag so that Gnosis doesn't ever feel like running away from it again; Gnosis wants to change Kjerag so that it's a home for Enciodes, too--so that it's a home for both of them. So they can both live there happily.

From their childhood to their teens to their adult life, almost every new piece of content that involves one of them has a thread connecting to the other. Gnosis's module is all about how they overcame their differences and how ultimately his decision to choose their dream was long foregone; the prequel manga follows up on that by showing them post-module-doubt; Gnosis's oprec is all about how their connection began; Enciodes's module has a whole section dedicated to his sorrow at Gnosis's departure.

They truly are partners, in every sense of the word.

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I wrote about this some months ago, but now we have the official translations for the anniversary lines.

To recap, SA philosophizes, Gnosis once again refuses to socialize with Rhodes Island (he takes his work vacation very seriously and still holds a grudge), and Degenbrecher pulls out her tsun side again.

There is, however, a bit of a nuance lost in the translation for Degenbrecher compared to what she says with her JP voice: she uses the word お屋敷 (estate) hinting specifically at the Silverash estate, and the "weary faces" (顔も見飽きた連中) is more "faces I'm tired of seeing" (thank you once again, Aelen_altria). This implies much more clearly that Degenbrecher is saying she's used to celebrating just with her friends, and we already know that she does not like crowds. "Face I'm tired of seeing" also can be literally nobody else but Enciodes and Gnosis: who else would she rag on but continue to hang out with?

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It's struck me more than once that throughout the entirety of his oprec, Gnosis primarily wears three expressions: a neutral facade, a glare, or a stressed and tense distrust...

...With the notable exception of when he's talking to Enciodes. It's only then that he shows an expression of wonder and surprise, and only then that he truly, genuinely smiles.

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Wherever the snow may fall, the warmth of companionship always brings them together.

Source: AK official EN account.

This art is so lovely.

I love Enciodes being a child again and making snow kittens. Tenzin bringing the holly so all the couples present have an excuse to kiss. Ensia full of cheer and ready for a friendly snowball fight (that everyone else probably takes very seriously and turns the whole thing into a death match). An official picture of Gnosis smiling, even if he's hiding it a little (probably planning someone's murder). Degenbrecher preparing to absolutely obliterate someone with that snowball, probably tagteaming with Gnosis to do so (he plans the trajectory, she provides the ballistic missile). I love that it shows trio hanging out together on their off-time, too (Degenbrecher probably dragged the boys out of the office).

I can see the whole thing becoming a 3v3 all-out war very quickly, or at least, 2v2 with Degenbrecher and Gnosis versus Kjera and Enya (because Enya can't pass up the opportunity to try to beat Enciodes's ass, fighting avalanches is a fun day for Degenbrecher, Gnosis can use his Arts and has never lost a snowball fight in his life, and Kjera will play along with whatever Enya wants), while Ensia cheerleads and Enciodes plays commander (then goes back to making snow kittens as his seconds assure him everything is under control).

Merry Christmas, indeed.

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Karlan Trio.jpg

Thank you Aelen_altria, my partner-in-crime!

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I wasn't expecting Kjerag crumbs in Exodus From The Pale Sea other than continual hoping for a second Gnosis skin, but Courier gets a second oprec! So soon after the first, too! I can barely believe it. Will it be more Kjerag 3 foreshadowing? What is HG cooking now?! MY BODY IS NOT READY, I'M STILL NOT DONE TALKING ABOUT THE HUNDRED THINGS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT FROM RS

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I love how Olafur's first reaction to Gnosis calling him and telling him that Enciodes is with him is, "Has he caused you trouble? Oh Kjeragandr, what has he done THIS time?"

Enciodes was little menace of a child, clearly. I'm sure the train episode was only the latest in a long line of curiosity-driven incidents.

Perhaps the Silverashes were actually glad he finally had a more sensible friend to keep his wilder adventures in check...

(Except for the fact that together they would probably get into more trouble; it's just easier to get out of trouble as a duo than solo.)

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"Can I copy your homework?" - Kjerag edition

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BI Drama CD First Impressions

As I posted yesterday, the first disc of the Break The Ice drama CD was uploaded for free listening on Youtube, all 77 minutes of it. Now that I've listened through the whole thing, I think I can conclusively talk about it a bit. Beware spoilers, not for BI specifically but for the changes they made in the adaptation.

First off, the decision to open up with the conversation between Enciodes and Gnosis where Gnosis tells Enciodes to let him instigate the power shift is an interesting one. Rather than revealing this plot twist at the climax of the story, they lay it out clearly from the beginning that the whole thing is a play orchestrated by the two of them, and Kjera, who is the narrator, even calls it that. There's also some additional dialogue where instead of Enciodes remaining silent in the face of Gnosis's decision, he agrees and says "Let's start the play." While on the one hand, I enjoy the emotional weight of the original scene where Enciodes is unhappy about Gnosis's decision and the effects it will have on him, but aware that Gnosis's mind is made up and won't be swayed, he does not verbally protest. On the other hand, without visual sprites, I understand that they needed to have Enciodes say more in this scene, and I do in fact enjoy just how dramatic it is; I've long since referred to them as a pair of drama queens and it's actually kind of funny to see it laid out like that. It also adds a bit to the scene where Enciodes meets up with Gnosis again and proclaims that they've won, so now he's no longer against Gnosis's actions from the start. While opening with the twist changes the emotional denouement somewhat, I suppose at this point everyone already knows it from the start.

There's also a few nice bits of exposition added that I think enhance the overall narrative. For instance, Monch mentions to Gnosis that Rhodes Island has helped not just Ensia's Oripathy but Aurora's as well, and Aurora's position as one of the Karlan Trade-sponsored students is emphasized. She and Gnosis also discuss a job listing for the Browntails, explaining how she infiltrated the Browntail household. It's also explicitly stated that it was a train accident in which Olafur and Elizabeth died, something which I don't think was ever stated in that exact combination of words in the game text (simply that they died en-route to the Browntail trap house, but it can be inferred that it was a train accident). Ensia also talks at length about how Enciodes founded Karlan Trade with Gnosis and the work they've done, and even drops a date that I can't seem to recall seeing in the text anywhere--she mentions that Enya became the Saintess five years prior to present day, meaning that it happened two years after Enciodes's return to Kjerag from Victoria. I need to double-check this, but I cannot recall getting a solid date like that for when the rift in the Silverash family happened. It would also mean likely that Ensia's infection happened thenabouts too.

Speaking of Ensia, it's absolutely adorable how she rambles on and calls Enciodes and Gnosis her two onii-chan. She seems really quite fond of Gnosis despite the latter probably maintaining a somewhat detached relationship with her. I wonder if he did the emergency first-aid and treatment on her when she first got infected.

On the subject of the voice acting, it is, of course, superb. I appreciate how Doctor's voice sounds very smooth and androgynous. Ratatos and Sciurus both sound very fitting for their characters. Chester sounds somewhat young to my ears and Valais sounds older, and Gulo doesn't sound nearly as brutish as I imagined and Arctosz not as deep, but these are simple observations and aren't detractions. I was surprised how timid Enya sounds during the Tri-Clan Conference, as I'd always imagined her speaking with a frosty venom to Enciodes rather than hesitance, but I suppose it's understandable as she isn't fully sure of herself there as she is later on.

It's also a joy to hear Degenbrecher. I absolutely adore the way her JP VA plays her, and here as well she maintains a curt aloofness tempered by a hidden wry edge through which her hidden sense of humor peeps out. It's also cute how she speaks in a gentler tone of voice to Ensia.

Midorikawa and Konishi are of course great. They play their characters fantastically. Konishi renders Enciodes as stoic as he always appears, and Midorikawa gives Gnosis this perfect clipped voice that is integral, in my mind, to his character. The moment where Gnosis storms out of the conference room is the moment where Midorikawa gives him this perfect snarl, and when Enciodes is concerned for the consequences their play will have for Gnosis, Enciodes sounds distinctly softer and reluctant. He plays Enciodes with very subtle changes that you have listen closely to catch.

I've also always been a fan of Courier's voice, so hearing more of him was very nice. The decision to make Kjera the narrator was a good one as well, I think. Who better, after all? There's also a cute moment where Aurora asks Doctor if they want a princess carry this time and they decline.

I want to say that the order of events is pretty much the same, but they may have moved a conversation or two around for the sake of exposition and clarity, and I'm fine with it.

Overall, I'm very happy with it so far. I think the decision to adapt BI into a voice drama was a good one, as much as I would've loved to see it animated: it's mostly a political drama without much action, and its story is being told quite well here. Inevitably, some things are lost and gained in the transition of medium, but I'm glad that they didn't just follow the BI script word-for-word but rather have clearly adjusted and added and streamlined where necessary.

I'm looking forward to the rest!

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Oh, and another official media that went up today--the first entire disc (of four) of the Break The Ice drama CD was uploaded for free listening. While there are no subtitles, one can make do with Youtube's integrated closed-captioning function, which also has auto-translate in the language of your choice, though it is a bit spotty.

Perhaps I'll write down a few impressions when I'm done listening.