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newstfionline · 9 months

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Monday, January 8, 2024

Young Voters Are Voicing Discontent: ‘I Don’t Want a Biden-Trump Rematch’ (NYT) The first time Lucy VanDyke voted for president, she reluctantly supported Joseph R. Biden Jr. But she says she won’t be doing that again. Like many young voters, Ms. VanDyke, a 23-year-old independent from Grand Rapids, Mich., is unhappy with Mr. Biden’s stewardship of the economy, his support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and she has concerns about his age. Should President Biden face Donald J. Trump again, Ms. VanDyke says she would support a third-party candidate. “I don’t want a Biden-Trump rematch,” said Ms. VanDyke, a mental health research assistant. “I know people can say, ‘Your voice doesn’t matter if you vote independent.’ But the more that people vote independent, even if that candidate doesn’t win, it shows that people are unhappy.” That discontent with the party front-runners appears to be shared by many young voters, according to recent polling, and it poses a considerable threat to Mr. Biden’s re-election effort. A December poll from The New York Times and Siena College found Mr. Trump leading Mr. Biden among voters 18 to 29, which could indicate a stunning erosion of support for the president with a core part of his coalition. In 2020, young people showed up to vote in record numbers and backed Mr. Biden by more than 20 percentage points.

Police probe UK Post Office for accusing over 700 employees of theft. The culprit was an IT glitch (AP) U.K. police have opened a fraud investigation into Britain’s Post Office over a miscarriage of justice that saw hundreds of postmasters wrongfully accused of stealing money when a faulty computer system was to blame. Police also are investigating potential offenses of perjury and perverting the course of justice over investigations and prosecutions carried out by the Post Office. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 post office branch managers were accused of theft or fraud because computers wrongly showed that money was missing. Many were financially ruined after being forced to pay large sums to the company, and some were convicted and sent to prison. Several killed themselves. The real culprit was a defective computer accounting system called Horizon, supplied by the Japanese technology firm Fujitsu, that was installed in local Post Office branches in 1999.

Englishman builds wall around home after years of flooding (CBS) Nick Lupton’s riverside home in Worcester, England, has been flooded nearly a dozen times in just seven years. Exhausted by the multiple clean-ups they have had to do over the years, Lupton and his wife spent spent months building a wall to protect their home in the high-risk flood zone, he told CBS News partner BBC. They finished the wall mid-September, and when it was put to the test a month later by a flood, Lupton said it stood up to the challenge—and continues to do so. “Thankfully it did what it was supposed to do. It passed the test,” he said, adding that it also helped prevent damage when it was tested again this week. “... It’s been a very good test in many ways because it’s one of the highest floods we’ve ever had.” There are hundreds of flooding alerts across England as of Friday afternoon local time, including more than 250 warnings that flooding is expected, and nearly 270 more saying flooding is possible.

In Europe, Trains Are Full, and More Are on the Way (NYT) Paris to Venice. Barcelona to Amsterdam. Brussels to Bratislava, Slovakia. European cities could see a flurry of new rail connections in the next few years, as governments and private investors respond to climate concerns and strive to keep up with strong demand for cross-border passenger rail traffic. Patience is required: Some new connections will take a year or more to start operating, and there will be the occasional inconveniences—like the six-month suspension of nonstop service from Amsterdam to London beginning in June, as Amsterdam’s Central Station undergoes renovations. It’s all part of Europe’s ongoing rail renaissance, which is being driven in large part by strong interest from passengers. Lower costs are part of it. For example, on Thetrainline.com, a popular platform for train bookings in Europe, a round-trip rail journey between Paris and Geneva in late January starts at 63 euros, or about $69, including luggage. On Google Flights, the cheapest round-trip ticket is 148 euros, not counting fees for checked luggage or airport transfers.

Greece reopens Alexander the Great’s ancient capital (Washington Post) In Greece, Aigai, one of the most important ancient royal capitals and the place where Alexander the Great was crowned, will reopen to the public on Sunday after years of restoration. The sprawling site situated near Vergina, in northern Greece, was the ancient first capital of the kingdom of Macedonia and home of the Temenid dynasty—which would rule Macedonia for over three centuries, spawning leaders such as Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great. Aigai is a UNESCO World Heritage site and its grounds include a lavish palace—the biggest in classical Greece and three times the size of the Parthenon—a theater, banquet halls, ornate mosaics and a necropolis including more than 300 burial mounds, with the royal tomb of Alexander’s father, Philip II, thought to be among them. Under Philip II, a building spree transformed the city, which hosted sacred ceremonies, grand processions and feasts. It was at one such feast that Phillip was stabbed by an assassin, and his son Alexander became king. He would embark on a campaign to transform the Hellenistic world, and his empire stretched from northern Africa to Asia.

Israel’s talk of expanding war to Lebanon alarms U.S. (Washington Post) President Biden has dispatched his top aides to the Middle East with a critical objective: Prevent a full-blown war from erupting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel has made clear it views as untenable the regular exchange of fire between its forces and Hezbollah along the border and may soon launch a major military operation in Lebanon. U.S. officials are concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may see an expanded fight in Lebanon as key to his political survival amid domestic criticism of his government’s failure to prevent Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, which killed an estimated 1,200 people and resulted in some 240 hostages being taken to Gaza. In private conversations, the administration has warned Israel against a significant escalation in Lebanon. If it were to do so, a new secret assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) found that it will be difficult for Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to succeed because its military assets and resources would be spread too thin given the conflict in Gaza, according to two people familiar with those findings.

Cumbersome process and ‘arbitrary’ Israeli inspections slow aid delivery into Gaza, US senators say (AP) At Egypt’s Rafah border crossing, lines of hundreds of trucks carrying aid wait for weeks to enter Gaza, and a warehouse is full of goods rejected by Israeli inspectors, everything from water testing equipment to medical kits for delivering babies, two U.S. senators said Saturday after a visit to the border. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley pointed to a cumbersome process that is slowing relief to the Palestinian population in the besieged territory—largely due to Israeli inspections of aid cargos, with seemingly arbitrary rejections of vital humanitarian equipment. The system to ensure that aid deliveries within Gaza don’t get hit by Israeli forces is “totally broken,” they said. “What struck me yesterday was the miles of backed-up trucks. We couldn’t count, but there were hundreds,” Merkley said in a briefing with Van Hollen to a group of reporters in Cairo. The U.S. has been pressing Israel for weeks to let greater amounts of food, water, fuel, medicine and other supplies into Gaza.

As Gaza Losses Mount Under Strikes, Dignified Burials Are Another Casualty (NYT) For four days, Kareem Sabawi’s body lay wrapped in a blanket in a cold, empty apartment as his family sheltered nearby. He was killed during intense Israeli bombardment near his family home, his father and mother said, and in the days that followed, it was too dangerous to step outside and lay their 10-year-old child to rest. Each day, the father, Hazem Sabawi, suffered a double torment—mourning his son and unable to afford him the final dignity of a proper burial. “After the fourth day, I said that’s it. Either I will be buried with him, or I won’t bury him at all,” he said, recounting how he laid his son under a guava tree behind a neighbor’s apartment building. “Every human has the right to be buried,” Mr. Sabawi said. It has been 13 weeks since Israel’s war in Gaza began. Since then, the living in Gaza have been forced to inter their dead hurriedly and without ceremony or last rites, lest they risk the same fate as their loved ones. Civilians are being killed at a pace with few precedents in this century. The conflict has turned Gaza into a “graveyard for thousands of children,” the United Nations said.

The war on crime in South Africa (AP) Thamsanqa Mothobi was going about his life in Johannesburg when he was carjacked and taken to an informal settlement where robbers accessed his mobile banking apps. “They had guns and demanded the PIN codes for my apps. They increased the withdrawal limits in my accounts and emptied them. I was only released in the early hours of the morning,” the father of three said, adding that his one comfort was that he was not killed. It’s an all-too-common story in South Africa, a country that in the past year has seen an average of 75 killings and 400 robberies with aggravating circumstances every day, according to official statistics. While it may be Africa’s most developed country, it also has one of the highest violent crime rates in the world. Experts have warned that the South African police are losing the battle against crime—and that has led those citizens who can afford it to turn to a booming private security industry. There are more than 2.7 million registered private security officers in the country, making South Africa’s security industry one of the largest in the world. That compares with fewer than 150,000 police officers for the country’s 62 million people.

#headlines #news

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cbibankrd · 1 year

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CBiBank Research Department：What kind of drastic impact will the unmanned train station bring in Japan?

CBiBank chief East Asia research expert Keino said that A growing number of stations on Japan's local rail lines are switching to unmanned operations as rail companies pursue profitability amid dwindling populations.

The trend is evident even among the nation's biggest operators, with nearly 60 percent of the 4,368 stations operated by the six Japan Railways Group passenger companies now running without staff.

However, unmanned stations bring with them their own set of concerns, not least compromises in convenience and safety.

In fiscal 2021, DAZAI Station received an average of 1,789 passengers per day, making it one of the busiest stations in Kyushu Railway Company's entire network.

Even so, the company says its usage patterns justify its move to an unmanned state.

On JR Kyushu lines alone, 338 stations (59%) are currently unmanned. The pace has picked up since 2015, when the company decided to become a public company with an eye on boosting revenue.

Other regional companies have even higher rates, with state-backed Hokkaido Railways and Shikoku Railways operating 71% and 81% of stations, respectively, without staff present.

In contrast, East Japan Railway Company, which manages stations in many concentrated urban areas such as Tokyo, had the lowest ratio at 47%.

Unattended stations have also become the subject of legal disputes. Since 2020, wheelchair users and other parties have filed multiple lawsuits at the Oita District Court, alleging violations of their constitutionally protected right to freedom of movement.

JR East plans to expand the same system to two other stations in Chiba and Tochigi prefectures next year, while Shinano Railway, a public-private partnership in central Japan's Nagano prefecture, is also in the process of striking a deal with the post office.

"Excessive emphasis on profitability may lead to a decline in the convenience and functionality of public transport services," said Ryoji Otsuka, a professor of railway management at Edogawa University.

#cbibank #cbibank research department

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xtruss · 2 years

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Japan's Beloved Slow-motion Train! The Japanese Are Obsessed With Bullet Trains – But They're Equally Smitten By Those That Aren't So Speedy.

— By Mike MacEacheran | 4th January 2023

(Image credit: The landscape of regional cities in Japan/Getty Images)

In Japan, the line between the creative and curious is a fine one, and that morning at 08:49, my train was running late. Late by Japanese standards, if only three minutes in real time.

As absurd as it sounds, such inconvenience can cause outcry in a clockwork-run country like Japan. At Tokyo's Shinjuku Station, the world's busiest, officials have been known to issue written apologies, with conductors falling to their knees in atonement if services depart late or even early. Drivers have also been penalised for falling behind schedule.

When my train finally arrived, however, four minutes later at 08:53, every Japanese passenger on the platform softly applauded.

This was the first of many peculiarities about my experience on board the Resort Shirakami Train, which crawls along the Gonō Line through Akita Prefecture in northern Honshu's Tōhoku region. Slow by anyone's standards, it's a train purposely built for travelling tortoise-like from the city of Aomori to Akita, often averaging just 10km/h. Operator JR-East (East Japan Railway Company) calls the service a "Joyful Train", and a trip on such a leaden-footed locomotive is like few other sightseeing journeys in the country.

The Resort Shirakami is the only train to run directly along Japan's coastline

For many Japanese, Tōhoku is a lost world, part of the country that has remained unchanged in the minds of the Tokyo elite. There is no Hello Kitty theme park here. No international airport or shopping mall frenzy. There are no dazzling neon-lit Nintendo arcades, Godzilla-sized towers or robot-run hotels. No tourists, even. Here is old-fashioned Japan, pure and simple, and that's exactly why I came: to travel slow, to not watch the clock.

Besides the speed, the Resort Shirakami is unusual for other reasons. The only train to run directly along Japan's coastline, its USP is dealing in a special kind of nostalgia, and my trip on the limited-stop service was a sell-out. Three trains operate on the Gonō Line, with three return services daily, and I was on board "Kumagera". It entered service in March 2006 and is named after a black woodpecker that lives in the Unesco-listed Shirakami-Sanchi Highlands, the world's largest remaining virgin beech forest, through which the train trundles. The train also has a tangerine snub nose on the front inspired by the setting sun.

People yearn to travel slowly in Japan. Life moves too fast and train travel should help capture a special place in time

Other quirks intrigued me, too. Whenever we pulled into a station, a xylophone jingle, reminiscent of the sound of a wind-up toy, played an arrival tune. The rose-pink couchettes could also be converted into tatami mat seating for passengers who wanted to sit cross-legged by the window to picnic. When disembarking at journey's end, we all received a certificate to commemorate the completion of the sensory-rewarding journey.

The "Kumagera" train's tangerine snub nose is inspired by the setting sun (Credit: Mike MacEacheran)

"People yearn to travel slowly in Japan," said JR-East train manager Naoki Ootomo, as our service began its skink-like crawl out of Aomori Station. "Life moves too fast and train travel should help capture a special place in time. And, of course, people love all the authentic sounds on board."

Perhaps, it is an answer you could only hear in Japan, but Ootomo was completely right. Many passengers did not just purchase tickets to see the sights of the astonishing Shirakami-Sanchi Highlands. Or to marvel at the train as it wriggled past the epic panoramas of the Sea of Japan/East Sea. They had come armed with recording devices to tape the sound of the train as it gently clinked and clacked along the tracks.

Many Japanese, as I've learned during trips crossing the country from Yakushima Island in the south to Sapporo in the north, are feverishly devoted to train travel. But while the country's most famous mode of transport, the technically brilliant shinkansen, or bullet train, is the most efficient way to get around, it is no longer fulfilling enough for the country's railway fanatics. The shinkansen is a glimpse into the future for many travellers, but for those of a certain vintage, its maximum speed – of 320km/h – takes the joy out of train travel as it should be. On the shinkansen, there is no plunge into nostalgia.

Three trains operate on the Gonō Line from Aomori to Akita, often averaging just 10km/h (Credit: Mike MacEacheran)

Lunch arrived – vacuum packs of pickled radish, smoked cheese and squishy dried sea pineapple from the snacks trolley – and, between window glances, I read up on many of Japan's other sightseeing trains.

First, I discovered the Sagano Romantic Train, a retrofitted steam engine that cuts through the mountains surrounding Kyoto. A favourite was Aomori Prefecture's Tsugaru Tetsudo "Stove Train", a seasonal winter express, where every compartment has a potbellied stove for cooking the dried squid that is sold on board. Japan Rail Kyushu's Aru Ressha, a fine-dining dessert train that operates from Hakata to Yufuin, is one I earmarked for later. Others were the Koshino Shu*Kura, a premium sake-tasting experience in Niigata Prefecture; and the Seibu Railway, which runs dousoukai (alumni parties) and high school reunions from its base in north-western Tokyo.

Lastly, I read about the Tohoku Emotion train, introduced in 2013 and running the length of the Hachinohe line of the Sanriku coast. It was established as one part of the regeneration and revitalisation efforts in Tohoku, with train carriage interiors taking inspiration from the artisanal traditions of each area of the region, including sashikori textiles from Fukushima, gokin-zashi stitching from Aomori and nambu ironware from Iwate.

There was something poignant about all of these: the sense being that such trains are destinations wholly in themselves, not just means of transportation. It seemed to me as though there was a train for almost every occasion.

Passengers are able to get off the sightseeing train for prolonged photo stops (Credit: Mike MacEacheran)

"One of the reasons trains have become so popular is because Japanese travel trends are shifting from a focus on the material to a focus on the immaterial," Sakurako Aoki, senior manager for Japan East Railway Company, told me. "Japanese sightseeing trains are more than simple amusement trains; they place a great importance on regional revitalisation and are created with the aim of allowing people to experience the special characteristics of each region and the hospitality of the locals."

Japanese sightseeing trains are more than simple amusement trains; they place a great importance on regional revitalisation

Indeed, it wasn't hard to delight in what slipped past outside the window: the scenery was extraordinary. The railway cruised past geometric fields of furry-brown pampas grass and flowering dogtooth violets. To the left of the tracks, the lower slopes of snow-topped stratovolcano Mount Iwaki were studded with apple orchards.

But what really got passengers excited was the first glimpse of the sea. Winds whipping in across the Sea of Japan/East Sea from Siberia have formed century-old sea stacks along the Akita Prefecture coast that punctuate the shoreline like exclamation marks. When the first foaming waves appeared, passengers broke out into excitable gasps.

We trundled south, braking for prolonged photo stops along the way in towns such as Fukaura and Noshiro, the sea changing from a wash of brown to a deep smoky blue. The train creaked past basalt-red cliffs and sparkly marinas and soon the fishing villages and boat pontoons were taken over by birch forest, the couchettes falling into darkness as light struggled to flit through the trees.

A farewell concert accompanied by a shamisen is a fitting end to the journey (Credit: Mike MacEacheran)

Up close, the Shirakami-Sanchi Highlands seemed as if straight from a haiku, as well it should. When Matsuo Basho, Japan's most famous poet, breached the wilderness north of Akita in search of inspiration, he was instantly struck by its beauty. Such landscapes inspired the poet's most famous work The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and it is one that first introduced the region to wider Japan.

"Many still come in the spirit of Basho," said Ootomo, pressing his hand to the carriage window as a swathe of forest passed by. "That makes it a melancholy trip, even for me."

Our journey neared its end in Akita, and before we slipped gently back into Japan's ultra-modern world, I was drawn to the observatory car by the sound of singing amplified throughout the carriages. A farewell concert was underway next to the train driver's cabin and the female singer's vocals, accompanied by the plink-plonk of a shamisen, a traditional three-stringed Japanese banjo, couldn't have been a more fitting end.

The artist's soprano-like vocals reached an almighty crescendo. And, while the Japanese melody was not known to me, her voice – and the lyrics – clearly had a deeper connection with the landscape we were passing through.

For the other passengers, it resulted in something akin to euphoria, and failing to take part would have been like resisting karaoke after a barrel of sake. So, I clapped along, too. On this slow, sightseeing train, I learned, everyone needed to join in.

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whitepolaris · 2 years

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The True Story of Hell House (St. Mary’s College)

The little town of Ilchester on the border of Howard and Baltimore counties is home to the most storied ruin in the Free State. This massive series of stone buildings has been the subject of countless local legends, most of them so dramatic that this place goes by the name of Hell House.

If the stories are true, it is the site of a cruel murder and suicide. The tales surrounding the building are varied-in some, the hall is a school, in others it’s a seminary for young men. However, at one point, they say, a crazed priest who taught there killed five girls in a fit of madness and then took his own life. They say the ruins echo with the sounds of their voices to their day.

Of course, these storis aren’t true, but that doesn’t stop people (including us) from retelling them. They have become such an integral part of the property that it would be wrong to withhold them just because they’re fiction. But it would be equally wrong to hide the real story behind the building. Hell House started life in the mid-1800s as a stone building owned by a member of the Ellicott family, which eventually gave its name to Ellicott City. George Ellicott hoped that the local B&O railroad line would erect a station at Ilchester, so his building could serve passengers and railway men as a tavern. But the town was at the bottom of a steep incline, and the trains needed all the momentum they could muster to climb it, so they never stopped at Ilchester.

The isolation of the place better served a Roman Catholic religious order called the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. This group, which was commonly referred to as the Redemptorists, acquired the building and the surrounding 110 acres to establish a college for training in their order. George Ellicott Jr. took the money, moved down the road a stretch, and became the first mayor of Ellicott City. Two years later, in 1868, St. Mary’s College opened as a seminary for young men and continued in that vein for a century.

By the 1960s, however, the enrollment had dwindled to about a dozen students in the graduating class. A fire destroyed the original stone building on June 14, 1968, and the order saw no reason to rebuild it. The college closed for good in 1972 and was sold off to the state of Maryland and private investors in 1987. Most of the grounds are now part of the Patapsco Valley State Park, but the remains of the college’s upper and lower houses are located on private property, behind NO TRESSPASSING signs. The impressive stone staircase is also in a no-go zone.

Anyone interested in seeing what’s left of the building without breaking the law can hike to an overlook in the Patapsco Valley State Park, on the Baltimore County side of the river. You can get to the trailhead from a parking area on Hilltop Road and along the path, catch sight of the ruins of the upper house.

(Empress Note: Don’t bother going! It has been knocked down a few weeks after I saw it in person. There is NOTHING LEFT.)

The Cold Spot at Hell House

There is a one creepy set of stairs that leads up to Hell House. A lot of people have commented on a cold spot at the top. The stairs continue after many brambles and overgrown grass. Close up, you can see evidence of the fire on the crumbling façade of the building. Another side of it looks like it was destroyed by a wrecking ball. Over the entrance on the marble above the columns are the letters GE. There is a strange pit in the foundation of the site. It looks like some sort of subterranean entrance or hiding place that leads to tunnels under the property. For some reason, correct historical information is very to obtain about this place, and maybe that is one of the reasons it fascinates me so much. -Betsy Earley

Feeling the Chill

I went with my friends to Hell House and searched all over the grounds and found the pool and greenhouse, but then when we went back to the actual school to get a second look, something kind of weird happened. We found this cold spot under the stairs.

We didn’t say anything to each other about it. Then my girlfriend started crying uncontrollably for no reason. When I put my arms around her she was really freezing cold. We looked around a little more. I began to feel these cool spots going through me. I began to feel anxious. We went back to the car and talked about what happened. I told them about the cold spots, and they all felt them too. My friend told me that when we started searching the school again he felt really dizzy and cold. -Steve Hart

Mad Priest of Hell House

There is a legend about an insane priest who killed five girls. He hung them up facing one another around a pentacle and then he shot himself. People believe the building is haunted by the girls. Sometimes at night you can still hear their tortured screams, and there is a cold spot at the top of the huge stairs. This may be an urban legend but the story refuses to die. People also believe that the Cugle family, who worked for the college for many years, is still haunting the college. -Beverly Litsinger

Hellish Priest Dabbled in Black Arts

Here is the story of Hell House, the old St. Mary’s College in Ellicott City: supposedly a priest started dabbling in the black arts. In one of the rooms he hung five girls, students of the school, and then himself over this pentagram on the floor. Supposedly this is a true story, and really happened, but records or articles about it are hard to find. -Holly

#weird maryland #type read

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halloweennut · 2 years

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one of the prompts from @fanfic-inator795 (thanks bestie)

Raph taking Casey Jr. to Teddy Bear Town (since I doubt they had teddies in the apocalypse)

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Casey said slowly. “We aren’t going on patrol.”

“Nope!” Raph said. “Heads up - our stop is next.”

The fellow passengers on the subway didn’t seem to notice or care that they were sitting next to a teen in modified hockey gear or a giant teenage turtle in disguise. It was midday in the city after all, and there was never such a thing as a normal subway car. As long as they weren’t being a nuisance, no one really cared. The speaker system alerted them to the stop with it’s chime and standard ‘stand clear of the closing doors,’ and Raph led Casey through the small sea of people entering and exiting the train.

“So what exactly are we doing?” he asked, following him down the platform and up the steps. “Are we running errands or something?”

“Sorta,” Raph said. “When you were talkin’ about how things were in your future, you said you didn’t have much in th’ way of toys or stuff.”

“I mean, I had a tetris cube,” Casey countered. “I uh...I didn’t finish it.”

“Yeah but I’m not countin’ that. I mean like...beyblades, legos, that kinda thing, y’know?” Raph looked across the street before continuing against the traffic with all the ease of a seasoned New Yorker. “Like, we all grew up with that stuff, and it’s not fair you didn’t.”

“I’m sixteen, I think I might be a little too old for this stuff-” Casey argued, running the last few steps to the next block to avoid a taxi. Raph turned to him.

“Never say that again. Trust me. I have stuff like this that makes me happy, so do the rest of the team,” Raph poked him in the chest. “Leo has his comics, Donnie has video games, and Mikey has whatever makes him happy in whatever given moment. He’s a magpie like that - after a life of verifiable BS, you deserve something too.”

“Oh...fair enough,” Casey replied. He hadn’t really considered that. Resources were scare back in his timeline, and if by some miracle a toy survived, he was usually the first to give it to someone else. “So what makes you happy?”

“I like knitting,” Raph smiled. “And teddy bears.”

“Teddy bears?”

“Yep. Got a problem with it?”

“No, not at all. But uh...what is a teddy bear?” Casey asked. Raph looked at him, positively stricken in horror.

“Oh, oh my god,” he replied, quickly turning down another street. “Okay, forget F.A.O. Schwartz - we can go there another day. I am morally bound to fix this. We’re going to Teddy Bear Town.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Raph!”

“They’re joy in a small, soft, stuffed bear.”

“I still don’t get it.”

“You will, sweet summer child, you will.”

“I was born in winter.”

“We have so much to catch you up on.”

Raph pulled Casey to a stop in front of a gold and blue sign reading “Teddy Bear Town” in bright red letters. The windows were full of stuffed animals dressed in various costumes, all posed to look like they were playing or moving. It was, for lack of a better word, very cute. Casey could remember Raph when he was child, just barely, but he could recall that despite his size and teeth, the red turtle had always been gentle. It made sense that even now he still had that softness, he just didn’t need to hide it or shove it down in the face of war.

The inside was just as cute and cuddly. Bins lined the walls of stuffing-less shells, animal faces still smiling up. Various stations followed, then walls of costumes. Raph directed him to the bins. “First, you pick a shell, then you go fill it at the station, then you pick an outfit.”

“Seems like a lot of work for a toy,” Casey said, picking up a random frog.

“That’s part of the fun! The act of creation and shit,” Raph said, looking at the frog shell. “Me, I prefer a classic bear. I can’t say you seem like a frog guy.”

Casey shook his head. Raph scanned the bins quickly before finding the one he was looking for. He picked up and held out a soft, light brown bear shell. “Here, can’t beat a classic!”

He held the shell in his hands, stroking one of the paws with his thumb. The fur and velvet paw pads were soft, more soft than anything he could remember. Casey nodded. “Yeah, this is good.”

Raph helped him through the rest of the process, and despite his reservations, Casey actually felt...at ease. Happy, even, and he couldn’t stop a grin through all the silliness of stuffing the bear with a heart and all of that. Surprise to none, Casey immediately chose a hockey player outfit, complete with skates and a hockey stick.

“Beats patrol, huh?” Raph asked as they left.

“Honestly? Yeah,” Casey replied, clutching the box holding his bear. “I honestly can’t remember ever being able to do this.”

Raph wasn’t surprised. Casey hadn’t really been able to a kid, and this was the least he could have done to remedy that. “We have a few hours to kill before actual patrol, let’s grab some pizza and go bum in the arcade - whaddya say?”

“That sounds...really nice.”

#rottmnt #rise casey jones #raphael #rise raph

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thefinalcinderella · 3 years

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 9 - To Beyond (Part 1)

We’re finally here folks. After two years we’re finally at Hakone and boy is it long

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. JR stands for Japan Railway and refers to the trains operated by the company

Previous | Next

January 2nd, 7:45 a.m.

The start of the Tokyo-Hakone Round-Trip College Ekiden Race was fifteen minutes away.

After the roll call twenty minutes before the start, Prince tried to go down the subway’s pathway again. Earlier in the morning, he had been able to run on the sidewalks above ground to loosen up, but now that was impossible—there was a large crowd of people in front of the Yomiuri Shimbun’s Tokyo headquarters in Otemachi, waiting to watch the start of the Hakone Ekiden.

From the Yomiuri Shimbun’s headquarters to the Wadakura Gate along the inner moat of the Imperial Palace, the sidewalks were lined with walls of people which consisted of cheering squads from each school, staff, and Ekiden fans who were celebrating the New Year with cheerful faces. The echoing sound of drums and the school songs of each school. The colorful flags and banners in the cold wind that eddied around the buildings. The rising noise and excitement.

“Where are you going?” Kiyose, who was accompanying Prince, stopped him. “Your body’s already warmed up. What will you do if you get tired before the race starts?”

“I know, but I feel sort of uneasy when I’m not running.” Prince paced on the spot. “I didn’t think there would be so many people here.”

Kiyose never thought the day would come when he would hear the phrase “I feel uneasy when I’m not running” come out of Prince's mouth. He smiled reassuringly.

“You’ve had plenty of practice. You’ll be fine. Did you go to the bathroom?”

“Many times,” The Yomiuri Shimbun’s staff entrance was open for athletes and officials to use the restroom and change clothes in the waiting room. “It’s always crowded with the runners running in the first leg.”

“You’re not the only one who’s nervous. Don’t worry.”

He couldn't let his body be chilled by the wind. Kiyose took Prince to the back of the newspaper building. There were not many people there, and Kiyose and Prince ran lightly side by side.

The final entries, announced at 7 a.m., were posted on the wall of the building.

“Rikudou didn’t assign Fujioka-san to the second leg.”

Prince tilted his head curiously. Rikudou had put Fujioka as an alternate for the leg entry. Fujioka was the captain of his team and the best runner in Rikudou, but he hadn’t heard any rumors about him getting injured, so he wondered if he wasn’t feeling well. Each school had been paying attention, but Fujioka still wasn't announced in the final entries for the outward journey that morning.

“They probably plan on putting him in the ninth or tenth leg,” Kiyose said.

It seemed that Rikudou was trying to assess the situation carefully; it was thought that if anybody could stop them from winning again this time, it would be Bousou University. In the leg entries, Bousou had made it clear that they were taking the fight to the outward journey.

If Rikudou were to only face the elites of Bousou, the outward journey would be quite a tough battle, even for Rikudou. Perhaps the plan was to hand over the victory for the outward journey to Bousou and take the return trip and the overall victory, which was determined by the total time of the round trip. There was no doubt that Rikudou was trying to decide which leg of the return trip to put Fujioka in depending on their ranking when they reached Lake Ashi and the time difference with Bousou.

“But don’t think about Rikudou right now.” Kiyose lightly pushed Prince’s shoulder. “It’s almost time to go back to the starting point. Do you remember what I told you?”

“Yeah.” Prince nodded vigorously and took off the thick bench coat that reached his knees. The gathered spectators made way for Prince then, who was wearing Kansei’s black and silver uniform.

The cold didn’t bother him anymore. As the first runner, Prince had a sash hanging from his left shoulder—it was black with the words “Kansei University” embroidered in silver thread. The plasterer’s wife had been steadily working on it since they passed the qualifiers.

Prince gently touched the precious sash. It would connect the ten of them and return to this place tomorrow. He definitely wouldn’t let the sash be interrupted midway.

Kiyose adjusted the length of the sash and tucked the extra parts into the waistband of Prince’s shorts so that it wouldn’t get in his way when he was running.

“Prince, sorry for making you go along with us until now,” Kiyose said.

The music being played by the cheering sections grew louder. “Athletes to the starting line!” A staff member called out.

“Haiji-san, I don’t want to hear those kinds of words,” Prince laughed. “Wait for me at Tsurumi.”

Prince entrusted his coat to Kiyose and stood at the starting line along with the nineteen other people running the first leg.

It was 8 a.m. in Otemachi, Tokyo. Clear skies. 1.3 degrees Celsius. 88 percent humidity. Wind from the northwest at 1.1 meters.

For a moment, the area was completely silent, and then the starting gun sounded.

Prince started to run. There was no need to look back. Because Kansei University’s first Hakone Ekiden was only created by advancing down this road.

---

As Kiyose had predicted, the race unfolded at a leisurely pace. With Tokyo Station on the left hand side, they passed Wadakura Gate. The cheers of the spectators and the wind around the buildings tore away at their backs. As the group spread out horizontally, they moved forward along the damp road at a pace of 3 minutes and 7 seconds per kilometer. Even Prince could keep up with this.

Perhaps it was because of the wide road, but it didn’t seem like they were making much progress no matter how much they ran. Around him, he could sense people checking and restraining each other, wondering who would be the first to break out.

“Keep going slowly,” Prince recited in his mind.

The wind blowing through the gap in the buildings made the temperature feel cooler than it was. Remembering Kiyose’s advice, Prince got behind a slightly larger runner from Teitou University; it would be bad for Prince, who had a speed disadvantage, if he had to use his extra strength to secure a place. Having secured a good spot to guard against the wind, Prince concentrated on keeping up with the group.

The pace remained almost the same even after they entered the Daichi Keihin highway from the intersection at Shiba 5-chome. They passed the five kilometer mark at 15 minutes and 30 seconds.

The coaches from each school were following the runners in their coach cars. The coaches were allowed to talk to their runners over a speaker connected to a microphone at the beginning of the race, during the last kilometer, and every five kilometers. However, no coach gave instructions before the five kilometer mark; there was so much tension in the group that it was impossible to speak out carelessly.

Rikudou and Bousou were battling for the lead, but every time they tried to put on a spurt, they repeatedly got swallowed up by the group. The first leg was 21.3 kilometers long and it was only the start of the Hakone Ekiden. If you failed in putting on a spurt and got worn out here, it would trouble the runners in the following legs, and the mentality of not being able to take the plunge was swirling through the group.

Forgetting about the presence of the lead car and the TV cameras, Prince moved forward desperately, but with a composed expression on his face.

At the same time, Kiyose had just transferred to the Keihin Express after having arrived in Shinagawa from Tokyo Station on the JR line. (1) Holding Prince’s bench coat, he put the radio earphones in his ears. Picking up the sound from the TV and learning that the group hadn’t broken up yet, Kiyose let out a small shout of “Yes!” He drew attention from the passengers around him, but he couldn’t care less.

The TV announcer and commentator spoke as though they were bewildered by the slow pace.

“There has been no change in the race at all.”

“I think the stronger runners can be more aggressive and go for the record.”

“You don’t have to say unnecessary things,” Kiyose snapped without thinking. The slow pace is fine. Nobody make any moves. Run as a group for as long as you can.

His phone rang. He looked at the display and saw that it was the landlord in the coach car. Kiyose hurriedly pressed the button, wondering if Prince had begun to drop out.

“I don’t know what to do, Haiji,” the landlord said easily.

“What’s wrong?”

“They’ll be at ten kilometers soon. Should I shout something at Prince?”

“Does it look like he’s having trouble?”

Kiyose gripped his phone.

“No? He just passed Yatsuyama Bridge, but he’s holding on well. The group is still staying in a horizontal line.”

“Then you don’t have to say anything.”

The Yatsuyama Bridge was just before the eight-kilometer mark. There were gentle ups and downs as they crossed the railroad tracks on an elevated level. If they were still in a horizontal line after that, they should be able to stay like that until they reached Rokugo Bridge, the most difficult point in the first leg. Endure it, Prince. Kiyose called out in his mind.

“But what kind of coach would I be if I just sat in the car and stayed silent?” The landlord seemed bored. “It’s like I’m just driving to Hakone.”

“All you have to do is to be at the ready. If Prince is having a hard time, encourage him.”

“How? I can’t sing the school song, I’m tone deaf.”

“No coach would encourage their runners with the school song nowadays,” Kiyose sighed. “In that case, I want you to give him a message from me: ‘I have something I want to tell you. So come to Tsurumi even if you have to crawl.’”

Prince heard that message at the fifteen-kilometer mark. The landlord in the coach car, with a microphone in his hand, shouted that at him in a hoarse voice.

What do you want to tell me? Let me hear it.

His breathing was becoming more and more labored, but Prince felt inspired again. He had also been successful in receiving water, at which point he was informed by a member of the short-distance track and field team that “this kilometer was exactly three minutes.” The pace was speeding up. As expected, victory would be decided at Rokugo Bridge, which was the 17.8-kilometer mark.

After twelve kilometers, there had been a situation where the race seemed likely to move—the runner from Eurasia University had made a move and the group had stretched out vertically. However, Rikudou and Bousou had quickly followed, and the others had chased after them like they were being dragged along. Ultimately, no one dropped out of the group.

In this situation, the Rokugo Bridge would decide everything. Prince could tell that everyone tacitly understood that.

Rokugo Bridge was a large bridge over the Tama River, and it was 446.2 meters long. There was an uphill climb to reach the bridge and a downhill climb to get off the bridge. The ups and downs were physically demanding after running nearly twenty kilometers.

When he finally started to climb the slope of the Rokugo Bridge, Prince's legs suddenly became heavy; he couldn’t believe how steep the slope felt. Prince gasped and swung his arms to try to move his body forward.

At that moment, there was a change in the rhythm of the group. The breathing of the strongest runners suddenly became quiet, and right at the moment Prince realized “it's coming,” the Yokohama University runner put on a spurt. Bousou and Rikudou followed suit.

The group quickly broke apart and stretched out vertically. What stamina these guys have! Prince couldn’t do anything but stare in amazement at the growing distance between him and the rest of the group. He wanted to keep up with them, but it was impossible; as they descended Rokugo Bridge, the top group was getting faster and faster.

“Don’t rush. If you can keep up with them until Rokugo Bridge, there won’t be much of a time difference. Besides that, just think about running at your own pace.”

Kiyose’s instructions before the start of the race came back to mind.

That’s right, I just started doing track. No matter what kind of spurts other people do, I can only run with all my might.

He was already about a hundred meters away from the head of the group, but Prince didn’t give up—didn’t get pessimistic—and ran patiently.

Just started, huh? So, am I going to continue doing track? Even though I’m in so much pain because I got dragged into it.

Prince opened his mouth for oxygen and a small laugh slipped through as he exhaled.

The gentle and warm morning sun shone down on him from the front.

---

At the Tsurumi relay station, Kakeru and Musa were huddled together, looking at the screen of a portable TV—an electronics store in the shopping district had lent it to them for free.

“Oh, Prince-san has been outstripped,” Musa said sadly, staring at the TV in Kakeru’s hand like he wanted to see Prince disappearing from the screen for as long as he could.

“But there shouldn't be much time difference from the top runners.” With Prince’s heroic figure properly burned into his eyes, Kakeru looked up. “Musa-san, let’s catch up in the second leg.”

“Yes. I will do my best.”

It was about time for the first leg runners to arrive at the Tsurumi relay station. Musa took off his woolen hat and scarf. The temperature was 3.3 degrees Celsius. There was almost no wind, and it was clear, but it was still bitterly cold for Musa. He had consulted with Kakeru and decided to wear arm covers that would cover everything from his wrist to his elbow; this way, if it got too hot, he could take them off and just wear his running uniform.

“Did you drink enough water? Even if you think it’s cold, you don’t want to get dehydrated while you’re running.”

“If I drink any more water, I would have to urinate standing up while I run.”

Musa laughed. This was the first time he had used words like “urinate standing up.” “It doesn’t suit you,” Kakeru also laughed.

The voices of the announcer and commentator came from the portable TV Kakeru was holding.

“In the second leg, each school is fielding their ace or ace-level runner. Eleven out of the twenty runners can run ten-thousand meters in twenty-eight minutes. Four international students are also making their appearance here.”

“Manas from Bousou University, Iwanki from Koufu Gakuin University, Jomo from Saikyou University, and Musa from Kansei University.”

When his name was spoken, Musa and Kakeru looked at the TV. They saw themselves on the screen. They looked around in surprise and saw a TV crew approaching them from behind. Musa smiled awkwardly at the TV camera.

“Kansei’s Musa is a bit unique: he is a government-sponsored engineering student and it seems that until last year, he had no experience in track and field. Kansei is taking on Hakone with only ten runners, but most of them have no experience with track.”

“I can’t believe they were able to make it this far. It’s quite a feat.”

The screen cut to the studio, where the commentator was nodding in agreement. “They must have put a lot of effort into their training.”

“The Kansei team is rich with individuality. I am looking forward to seeing how they will perform in their first ever Hakone.”

The screen cut to a commercial and the TV crew left. Oh no, Musa seems to be getting nervous again now that he got introduced on TV, Kakeru thought.

Kakeru’s phone rang. It was from Shindou, who was at the Odawara relay station to run the fifth leg. As soon as he pressed the answer button, Kakeru passed the phone to Musa.

“Musa, you were on TV!” Shindou said. He sounded very muffled.

“How is your cold?” Musa asked worriedly, and Kakeru also leaned in to listen. Shindou had gotten a fever on New Year’s Eve and still hadn't been feeling well that morning.

“I’m fine. Are you okay, Musa? You’re probably nervous right now.”

“Yes, a little bit,” Musa answered. Could Shindou see what was going on at the Tsurumi relay station? Kakeru was stunned at the depth of the bond between Musa and Shindou.

“Hey, Musa. Think about something fun,” Shindou said in a nasal voice. “Once this is over, it’s finally New Year’s for us. I’m thinking of going home to my parents’ house during winter break. Do you want to come with me, Musa?”

“Is that okay? You’ll be spending time with your family, won’t you?”

“My parents are waiting for you to come and visit. We live in the boonies where there’s nothing, so there’s nothing to do there except building snowmen.”

“What is a ‘snowman’?”

“That’s right, you've never made one. Then, it’s settled. Let’s go back to my home together.”

“Yes,” Musa nodded. “Thank you very much, Shindou-san.”

After hanging up, Musa’s eyes showed no more hesitation or fear. The cheering along the road grew even louder—they could probably see the runners now. Kakeru and Musa approached the road.

Kiyose came running from Keikyu Tsurumi-Ichiba Station carrying a bench coat. He saw Kakeru and Musa and exhaled loudly, saying, “I made it in time?”

“Musa, how are you feeling?”

“I am feeling good,” Musa assured them strongly. Kiyose checked his expression and his shoelaces, and made sure there was nothing out of place.

“Good. Prince will probably come here in last place. But don’t get shaken by that and just run as usual.”

“If we are in last place, then I will feel better, because we cannot get any worse than that,” Musa joked. “Besides, I am more comfortable chasing than being chased.”

“That’s the spirit,” Kakeru said, accepting Musa’s bench coat.

The Rikudou runner arrived at the Tsurumi relay station in the lead. The relay station was set up in front of a police box along Route 1—it was a nondescript tree-lined street, and since it was straight and level, one could clearly see the runners arriving one after the other.

The staff member who received the message hurriedly called out the school names. The runners of the first leg came in that order, so runners of the second leg went to the relay line to wait for their teammates.

Rikudou’s sash was relayed from the first-leg to the second-leg runner. His time was one hour four minutes and thirty-six seconds from the start at Otemachi. After him came Yokohama, Bousou, and Eurasia, handing over their sashes in that order with almost no time difference. It was a very close race, as the runners had been clustered together until the end.

Musa bent down. Kakeru leaned out into the road. One after another, the runners of the first leg came and handed over their sashes, and the runners of the second leg ran out of the Tsurumi relay station. There was still no sign of Prince. It was thirty seconds since Rikudou had passed.

“It’s Prince-san!”

In the shadow of the competition cars, they saw Prince, running with his teeth clenched. The staff member was calling out the names of the schools that were still at the relay station at the same time. “I am going,” Musa said. He stepped out onto the road and stood on the relay line.

Musa turned towards Prince and raised his hand. Prince was running desperately while swinging his arms, but when he noticed Musa’s figure, as though remembering, he removed his sash from his shoulder. The elastic waistband of his shorts snapped lightly against his side as though to scold him.

Just a little more, just a little more.

“Prince-san! Prince-san!”

Musa and Kakeru were shouting. Kiyose was standing next to Kakeru, waiting patiently for Prince to arrive.

After crossing the relay line, Prince put the sash he had been gripping in Musa’s hand as Musa began to run. The sash connected the two of them for a moment, and then it quickly slipped through Prince’s fingertips.

My heart hurts. I can’t even keep my eyes open. I wonder if this wild breathing belongs to me?

Prince stopped and pitched forward, almost falling, but then realized he was caught in someone’s arms.

“I take back what I said to you at Otemachi,” Kiyose’s voice was right next to him. “I wanted to say this to you: Thank you for coming all the way here with us.”

“You passed,” Prince muttered.

Kakeru and Kiyose took the Keihin Express to Yokohama and then the JR to Odawara. Since they were short of hands, they planned to go on ahead to Lake Ashi and meet with Shindou, who was running the fifth leg.

They were worried about leaving the exhausted Prince at the Tsurumi relay station, but Prince told them this:

“You two, just leave me behind and go to Hakone. I already finished running. When I can walk again, I’ll go to the hotel on my own.”

Prince had the role of keeping track of the race on TV in a hotel near Yokohama Station. Kiyose and Kakeru were also planning on returning from Hakone that night and staying in the same hotel to prepare for tomorrow’s race.

After rehydrating, Prince managed to get up, so Kakeru and Kiyose left the Tsurumi relay station.

The bench coat Kiyose had brought from Otemachi was once again being worn by Prince. Now, Kakeru was carrying Musa’s bench coat. Shindou would be wearing it after his climb. If they just barely had enough manpower, they also just barely had enough clothing.

On the second day of January, the seats on the Tokaido Line were almost all filled with people running after the Hakone Ekiden and families who seemed to be going for the first shrine visit of the New Year. Kakeru spotted an empty box seat and sat Kiyose in it. Kiyose took out a notepad and ballpoint pen from the pocket of his bench coat.

“Prince’s time?”

“One hour five minutes and thirty-seven seconds,” Kakeru answered after checking with the stopwatch function on his watch. Kiyose wrote down the data on the notepad.

“The time difference with Doujidou University, which was right in front of us, is eleven seconds. The difference with Rikudou, which is in the top position, is one minute and one second. We still have plenty of chances. Prince fought bravely.”

Kansei’s sash was handed over from Prince to Musa at the Tsurumi relay station, and they were in twentieth place out of the twenty teams competing. The Kanto Athletic Union’s selected team, which was made up of runners who had participated in the qualifiers, would use the individual times of each runner as an official record, but wouldn’t enter the rankings as a team. Therefore, Kansei was ranked nineteenth, but when they finished running the first leg, they were still unmistakably in last place in both name and reality.

But Kiyose was right: it was a time difference that could be overturned. The slow-paced development was a blessing for Prince and Kansei. The race had only just begun.

Kakeru was carrying the portable TV, but reception in the train was bad. “Try this one,” Kiyose told him, and gave him the radio. Right when he was twisting the knobs to try to get sound, Kiyose’s phone got a message. It was from King in the Totsuka relay station, who was with Jouta, the one running the third leg.

“Haiji, we’ve got a big problem! Look at the TV!”

“I can’t,” Kiyose said.

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#Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #kazetsuyo #kazetsuyo translations #run with the wind

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mitcorerbarshi · 3 years

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Interesting Facts about Japan Railways

1. World’s Busiest Train Station

Japan’s Shinjuku station has been crowned as world’s busiest train station. There are fairly high chances of getting lost in the station even if you are a regular commuter to the station. The station serves around 3.6 million passengers daily. The East Japan Railway has unveiled a new app for this station alone to get around, considering hectic nature of the station and web of underground tunnels

2. Most Number of Busiest Train Stations Are In Japan

Knowing the fact that Shinjuku train station is the world’s busiest train station, you won’t get surprised to know that 45 out of 51 busiest train stations in the world are located in Japan. Rail Network in Japan can be credited a fair share in the development of the country, considering well developed and well maintained train network. Hence, one can’t deny the fact that Japan runs on train and so the busiest train stations are. Among the first five out of 45 busiest station names are Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Umeda and Yokohama.

3. There’s A Train Station That Opens Just Twice a Year

Don’t start calculating the numbers of financial loss and gains, if I tell you that there is a station in Japan which opens just for two days in a year. Yes, Tsushimanomiya Station, on the island of Shikoku, is a small station that opens for business just two days a year. In celebration of the local summer festival at the Tsushima Shrine, it opens on the 4 and 5 of August.

4. Every Shinkansen (Bullet Train) is Fitted With an Automatic Brake for Earthquakes

Japan, being considered as one of the most earthquake prone nations in the world, the Shinkansen (bullet trains) can’t stand aloof from getting damaged by these destructive forces of nature. But thanks to Japan’s technological advancements and to the ingenious design and details, the rail network has been geared with a special safety features. The shinkansens running with a speed as high as 320 km/h can be brought to stand still with a first sign of an earthquake by disconnecting them from the system.

5. The Longest Train Bridge in The World

Known as the Seto Ohashi Bridge, this structure is a string of connected bridges that connect Okayama Prefecture on Honshu to Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku Island. Stretching 9,368 meters (5.8 miles) long, the bridge is mainly used for cars, but also has space for a shinkansen track.

6. Japan Has a Hello Kitty Train Station

In a land of Anime and Manga, no wonder you would find a train station named after Hello Kitty. The animated characters are always been close to the hearts of Japanese. Nobita, Doraemon, Hello Kitty are among the most famous Japanese cartoon characters famous across the world. Hence the Keio Tama-Center Station toward the southeast section of Tokyo, one can find a fully decked out Hello Kitty train wonderland. There is new addition to Hello Kitty fandom that recently a new Hello Kitty shinkansen service in its Sanyo Shinkansen Line, inaugurated.

7. Fastest Maglev In The World

The Maglev bullet train, which runs on the principle of magnetic levitation set a record for the fastest rail speed in April 2015 at 603 km/hr, or 375 mph. Central Japan Railway (JR Central), which owns the trains, proposed these services between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya by 2027

8. The Attendants, Or “Pushers” Who Help Push Passengers Into Crowded Train Cars.

Housing the busiest train station in the world and 45 out of 51 busiest train stations in the world, Japanese train stations can be imagined as like bee hives. Around 22% passengers travel through subway, hence during rush hours passengers ride the rail every day, heavily outweighing other modes of transport like buses and private cars.

In the peak time of the day, in order to cram twice the number of passengers into a subway carriage, the stations employ uniformed staff known as oshiya or “pusher”, whose goal is to cram as many people as possible into the subway tram. These white glove-wearing personal actually pushes people into the train, so the doors can be shut. This is one of the iconic sites and has to be seen to be believed.

9. The Average Delay Per Train Is Less Than One Minute

The Japanese rail network is known throughout the world for its superiority, punctuality, cleanliness and safety. It is estimated that average delay per train in Japan is less than one minute. It is by far superior to any other train in the world.

10. No Train Accidents over 49 years

Japan being one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world built one of the safest rail networks as well. It is been reported that over 49 years, there have been no passenger fatalities, even during natural disasters like typhoons. These safety measures attributed to ‘Pointing and Calling System’ which is an indigenous safety practice in which the action taken to be spoken loudly along with hand gestures.

11. The Shortest and Longest Train Station Names

The station with the shortest and longest names is in Japan. The shortest name is Tsu Station, written with just one kanji and one hirangana character. The longest name is the Minami Aso Mizu No Umareru Sato Hakusui Kogen Station.

Want to know more about MIT College of Railway Engineering and Research Barshi, MH. Apply now @ https://bit.ly/2K2tT00

#MITCORER #MITCORERBarshi #TransformIndia #MIT #BTech #RailwayEngineering #railways

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chaoticallysapphic · 4 years

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the great divide part six

summary: Who knew that eight words would be your undoing. If you had known then what you know now you wouldn't have signed up for Suyin's dance troupe, you probably would have left Zaofu just to be safe. But you didn't and fate had branded you with a path that chained you to someone who would break your heart.

a/n: The last part! Please remember there is an epilogue, Gif is made by @stelladonna and a massive thanks to @medeliadracon for beta reading this series! And also a big thank you to @ladyxffandoms for helping me figure out what was missing.

word count: 8k

When you leave her office, Kuvira is filled with rage so hot she fears it may burn her insides. She hears the slam of her doors and the muffled conversation between guards before it’s softly shut once more. “It shouldn’t be a tough decision, Kuvira.”

The malice in your voice, the use of her full name, it shattered through the toughest of walls within her. Ones you’d never breached before. She’s never been good with her emotions, ever since she was a child she warped her sadness, her loneliness, and sometimes even happiness into anger as a way to protect herself.

She was a difficult child with a temper the size of Ba Sing Se, so difficult in fact that her parents deemed her unfit for their life. It felt like the world was ending when she first arrived in Zaofu, the way her parents spoke to her before they left, making her seem like no one would ever truly love her unless she let Suyin mold her into a model citizen.

And that was another problem, Suyin always tried to turn Kuvira into a miniature version of herself. It didn’t matter how different she was, Suyin tried to bury who Kuvira truly was with a perfected version of herself, a false one.

Up until her parent's abandonment, she always assumed love would be easy and that she would instantly marry her soulmate. She’d pull her shirt up just a bit and look at the words swirled across her hip bone in wonder. “Would you mind helping me memorize the routine?”

Those words, however minuscule and mundane, proved to her that she was worthy of love. That one day she would be loved. But as she grew older in Zaofu she felt a disconnect regarding those words on her hip, the first time she had sex she had covered it up, as if trying to shield the person she hadn’t even met yet. Hara, the name of the girl who had eyed her since the first day of guard training, didn’t seem to care at all.

Kuvira feels like she should lie and say she had her eyes on you since the first practice you attended but honestly she hadn’t even noticed the new addition to the troupe. When you had pranced over to her, still light on your feet after the routine, and spoke, she wondered what kind of soft-spoken woman would end up loving someone whose own parents hated her?

She remembers that night in the metal flower in vivid detail. When you were spinning alongside her in the air she suddenly was consumed with the desire to kiss you, she didn’t even realize she had pulled you close until your soft lips touched hers.

She knew from the moment you spoke that first day she should have broken up with Baatar Jr. But Kuvira, even though she will never admit it out loud, is a stubborn and flawed woman who can’t stop once she sets her mind to something.

The fourth night of the second month on the train after she had been uncharacteristically gentle with you, was the first time you said you loved her. She asked you to repeat yourself again and again until you pulled her into a deep kiss, pouring all your love into it. The action left her breathless, and with that kiss, you broke her first wall.

She doesn’t even realize she’s crying until she starts to think about you and all her memories of you. You’re most likely in your room erasing any trace of her there may be, completely ready to extract her from your life.

Kuvira forces herself out of her office and over to her front door, she opens it up just a few inches, enough for the guard nearby to see. She doesn’t care if he can see the tears racing down her cheeks. “Have a guard stationed outside of Y/n’s door.”

Once she shuts the door after he nods, Kuvira walks into her room where she sits on the edge of her bed. If she goes to sleep, will you still be in her life tomorrow? Kuvira shoves off her boots but otherwise stays in her uniform as she lays down and stares blankly out the window, her country needs her. They need her to protect them in a way no one has ever protected her before.

Kuvira doesn’t sleep that night, she stays awake, her gaze focused on a potted plant out in the courtyard, and imagines every possible scenario in her head. These last few years have spoiled her in a way, you were always by her side through it all. You were there cheering her on and making her feel loved and wanted. She doesn’t know if she can go back to how it used to be, to loneliness.

When rays of sunshine start to peak through her window, she pulls herself up and out of bed. Kuvira goes to the bathroom to smooth out any wrinkles in her clothes but doesn’t feel the energy or motivation to change into a fresh pair. She slept in her bun, it’s a bit frizzy now with a few loose strands that she tries to tuck into her braid, there’s a pesky curl that won’t cooperate. Kuvira eventually gives up on it, letting it stay out and frame the side of her face.

You love when she has her hair down, when it’s down you immediately run your fingers through the dark curls and let out this content sigh that fills her heart with adoration. Kuvira shoves her feet into her boots on the way out of her room, beyond caring about her appearance. The guard outside her door, the same from last night steps forward when she walks out of her room.

“Ms. Y/n left her room around one A.M, it’s been reported that she’s staying at the encampment.” Kuvira frowns, did she take too long? Have you given up?

You were her guiding hand, her moral compass and now you’re gone. “Thank you,” she says monotonously before heading towards the kitchen. Despite her desire to shut herself off from the world, her stomach is cramping in pain due to hunger. She should have eaten the food you gave her last night, now it’s strewn across the desk in her office, cold and gone bad.

She takes herself the familiar route to the kitchens, growing up here has its perks. She'd seen how you look around in a mixture of confusion and wonder when they had gone to try and negotiate with Suyin. Kuvira knows this place, she ran down these very halls when she was younger. Despite the hollowness that echoes through the halls, the lack of laughter and conversation turns the whole home into a colorless husk of what it used to be.

Kuvira hadn't noticed the lack of life within as she walked into the empty kitchen. Her guards had gotten Suyin's chef to cook breakfast and dinner, and she had given him lunch off. It was for sentimental reasons, all the birthday cakes he baked her and midnight snacks. He might hate her now but she'll keep giving him lunch off in hopes of paying him back for the happy memories. She doesn't like to owe people.

He must not be in yet, it's barely dawn. The kitchen is empty, giving Kuvira the perfect moment of respite before her dreadful day. She grabs a piece of bread, most likely baked yesterday, and an apple. Part of her doesn't have an appetite, to upset about her fight with you to want to eat. She forces it down with a glass of water, the food helps her slightly, helps her feel stronger than before.

Kuvira walks down the hall, her feet carried her out of the estate and towards the tram. “I need to get out of the city,” she says to the operator waiting for any passengers by the tram doors. He nods and briskly walks over to the operating booth, she decides to grab onto the pole at the center of the cart and stand. The machinery starts with a jolt but Kuvira remains unmoving, staring straight ahead. Slowly the scenery around her begins to change, it takes her around the outer domes where a few people are toddling about, most likely walking off to work.

The tram goes under a tunnel before entering the main dome. That towering golden statue of Toph Beifong comes into view and Kuvira sighs as a memory of you enters her mind.

You’re moving around your room on the train as the view from outside is blurred due to the speed you were moving at. You and Kuvira were beginning to get to know each other in the safety of the night, which brought you such joy. Standing in front of your vanity with only Kuvira’s undershirt on you begin to take the pins out of your hair. “What was your home like?” She had asked. A wide smile made its way onto your face as you set the bobby pins into a small ring dish.

“Just so cozy. We have a townhouse in the main dome across from the botanical gardens. I had the best view from my bedroom window,” you let out a wistful sigh as you begin to untie your locks. “Our home was directly situated to the center of it, all you had to do was walk across the street to enter. So I got to wake up with a view of every flower Zaofu has curated, it felt like it was just for me.”

Kuvira watches you fondly from the bed as you continue “my dad and I made a metal planter to hang from our kitchen window by the front door, during summertime hydrangeas bloom from it.”

Without thinking Kuvira rushes over to the emergency brake button and slaps her hand onto it, the tram stops with a harsh jolt that sends her stumbling to the side. The doors automatically open with the lights above flashing red. Kuvira stands on the edge, looking below. The fall isn’t far but it could still hurt her, so she bends two of the metal seats, ripping them out of their places screwed to the floor and warping it into a crud shape of a ladder.

She bends it to the edge, moving the nails that popped out to screw them into the floor to secure the ladder. Kuvira lets out a deep sigh before beginning her descent below. This is stupid and will most likely blow up in her face, but if you decide to say goodbye to her today, she wants to see the place that you once called home. There are a few inches between the ladder and the ground so Kuvira jumps, She bends at the ladder back into the tram so if it starts whilst she’s away it won’t break any buildings in the process.

An old man opening up shop stares at Kuvira with wide eyes, watching her walk away as the tram above stays frozen. She’s a block away from the garden she’s heard you gush about, more and more people begin to filter out from their homes to start their day and each one eyes her with disgust. Squaring her shoulders, she stares ahead and away from everyone's watchful gaze.

The gardens come into view, towering bright green trees with vines growing on the wrought iron fence surrounding it. Kuvira stops at the entrance, looking inside with hesitancy, as if worried she’ll destroy it upon contact. There’s a pond in the center with a few lily pads floating around with two benches across from one another by the pond.

Flowers of all shapes and colors are scattered around and when her gaze locks on the towering Sunflowers in bloom, Kuvira suddenly remembers once finding you tucked behind them with bloodshot eyes and a raspy voice from crying. That was the second time she had knowingly hurt you, the first being asking you to keep it a secret. Kuvira takes a step back, not feeling worthy of stepping inside such a radiant place, and begins her trek around it to your house.

Most of the homes don’t have many outdoor decorations, a welcome mat or a potted plant seems to be the theme so when her eyes lock onto that metal planter with blue hydrangeas Kuvira knows she’s found the place. It’s a two-story townhome with some sort of stick figure drawn on the second story window and when she looks over her shoulder she sees how perfectly centered the house is to see all of the gardens from above.

She doesn’t know what to do now. She never really thought through her plan, which is incredibly unlike her, but that memory came flooding back through her mind and she knew she needed to see it for herself. Slowly she takes a step forward, and then another and another until she’s in front of the door with her fist raised, rapping three times against the metal.

Kuvira doesn’t know why she does it, maybe it's the sleep deprivation or an act of desperation to feel your presence again, she honestly doesn’t know. There’s the sound of thunderous footsteps from behind the door and a masculine voice calling out “I’ll get it!”

A man opens the door with the same color hair as you, he’s a bit on the chubbier side and looks to be roughly 6’2 or maybe even 6’3.

Kuvira can see the resemblance in certain features of his and it makes her long for you even more. Your father scowls at the sight of her, his demeanor has changed from cheery to vexed in a matter of seconds. She shouldn’t be surprised.

“I’m Kuvi-”

“I know who you are, you made us kneel before you.” His voice is gruff and his words clipped. Kuvira sighs, right, she did do that. “What do you want?”

‘I’ve come to talk to you and your wife about… well about your daughter.” Spirits this is awkward, your father stares Kuvira down for a few moments before frowning. Slowly he steps aside, letting her in. Your home is warm with family photos framed and hanging from the wall, the entry is a narrow hallway with an archway that leads into a small kitchen. As Kuvira follows your dad down the hall her eyes catch on a photo of you.

You can’t be any older than eight in it with your arms wrapped around your father's neck as he carries you on his back. Your mother is beside the two of you, pushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear. All three of you are grinning and Kuvira notices that one of your front teeth is missing. Both of you have lived such different lives. At eight Kuvira was being abandoned by her parents for being too out of control.

Two people who grew up in completely different environments with such clashing personalities are soulmates, in some ways, it seems like a sick joke. But she can’t be upset about it when she loves you this much, just confused.

Your father clears his throat, ripping Kuvira from her thoughts. She looks over and tenses, he’s looking at her like he wants to say something but shakes his head and enters the room at the end of the hall. Kuvira reluctantly leaves the photo behind and follows after him.

The room is a living and dining room with a small circular table that has an elegant bouquet of yellow and white flowers in a simple vase with four chairs tucked underneath it. There is a cozy looking periwinkle sofa and an unlit fireplace with a photo hanging above it, this one is larger and is of you before the performance all those years ago. You look so pretty in that costume and so happy. Kuvira swallows.

Your dad walks up the staircase tucked to the right, leaving her in the living room where she awkwardly stands. She doesn’t think he wants her to go up. Kuvira makes out the sound of aggressive whispering from upstairs, she can’t make out any of the words but soon after two people come walking downstairs. Your father and your mother.

Kuvira’s eyes widened, you always mentioned your mother being part of the guard but you never mentioned her being the Lieutenant for the main dome. Not only did she help train Kuvira, but she also placed the captain's pin onto her uniform during her ceremony. She had smiled at Kuvira, having seen her as her own, and said quietly “I’m so proud of you.”

That smile is long gone and replaced with a scowl. “What could you possibly want to say about our daughter?” Your father places a gentle hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down a bit.

Kuvira gulps as she eyes the both of them, there're so many emotions raging within her now that she doesn’t know if she can even speak. Suddenly this place somehow seems too much like you and she wants to run away from your mother's wrathful gaze. “I’m… Your daughter,” Kuvira internally groans. This shouldn’t be so hard. “ Y/n and I are soulmates.”

“So the rumors are true…” Your father mutters as he plops down onto the couch with a dumbfounded expression.

“What rumors?” She had locked herself up in her room all of yesterday and this is her first time having a conversation with someone that’s not you. Your father grimaces.

“That guards found you in her room, naked,” your mother spits the words out. Oh spirits, this is not a good first impression. Kuvira feels her face flush a deep red “that you imprisoned your fiancé because he caught the two of you.”

“It’s a lot more than that” she offers, neither seems to care. Your father seems to not want to hear any of this because he quickly stands and walks off towards the kitchen. The sounds of pots and pans being moved can be heard through the otherwise eerily silent home. “I didn’t want to imprison him.”

“I don’t care, what I want to know is why you were even with him if my daughter is your soulmate. She abruptly left with you three years ago.”

The explanation floating around her mind isn’t good enough, she can’t seem to figure out how to eloquently explain herself without it seeming like she doesn’t care about you. Suddenly as she thinks over the last three years and she starts to notice how harshly she’s treated you.

Up until now she always claimed it was for the good of the country, when you both finally got married the world would try to eat you up and chew you out for being with her. She needed you to have a perfect image and be resilient.

“I-I needed him for engineering and he wouldn’t leave with us unless he thought I loved him,” Kuvira says sheepishly. Your mother looks unimpressed as her jaw begins to clench. “I have always loved your daughter though.”

“So you hid my daughter, my beautiful, amazing, and sweet daughter away like something to be ashamed of?” She takes a step closer, scowling. Kuvira feels like the collar of her jacket is choking her.

“No! I have never been ashamed of her, I always told her how much I loved her.”

“But you turned her into the other woman for your own selfish desires!”

“They weren’t selfish, they were for the good of the empire! She understood.” Kuvira thinks you understood but right now she’s not too sure. A kettle in the background begins to whistle.

“My daughter dreamed of the day she’d meet her soulmate, she had everything planned out and I know for a fact that the woman I raised would not be okay with what you’ve turned her into!” Your father quietly reenters the room with a tray that holds three teacups with steam coming from them.

“I love her, I just want to fix everything! It's why I came here,” that’s the real reason that compelled Kuvira to come here, if anyone knew you better than her, it’d be your parents.

“How is she doing?” Your father asks, Kuvira looks over at him and notices how sad he looks. His eyes are bloodshot and a few tears fall from his eyes before he wipes them away.

“She’s healthy but upset with me.”

“As she should be,” your mother mutters under her breath. He picks up a teacup and blows on it, “why is she upset?” His voice cracks.

“She wants me to end this, told me it's her or the empire and I don’t know what to do.” Kuvira sighs and runs a hand through her hair, messing her bun up a bit.

“And why haven’t you chosen her already?” Your father's voice is calm, there’s a sadness to it but he doesn’t shout or rage like your mother who has her back turned to Kuvira as she goes to pick up one of the teacups. She can see how tense your mother is, how angry she still is.

“Because it's my country, if I give it up to Wu and Suyin then I am turning my back on the people I promised to protect.”

“You once promised to protect Zaofu at all costs” your mother snips out, he places a hand on her shoulder and softly says “honey, please.” She relaxes just a fraction as she takes the seat beside him at the table, glaring at her tea.

“These people are vulnerable and need someone to make sure they feel safe again. I’m that person, and your daughter understood that, or I thought she did.”

Your father sets his cup down and pats the chair beside him that’s situated across from your mother. She shyly walks over to it, she doesn’t want to sit down but she’s already pissed your mom off just by existing and she’d rather not give her another reason to hate her.

“They were vulnerable, but you have gotten rid of the bandits and raiders. You’ve stabilized the empire as you promised, now it’s time to let go and hand over the reins to someone else.”

“I can’t do that,” Kuvira says, her heart is racing. Let someone else rule? Give up the control she craves? The idea makes her feel unsafe, like the second she does it someone will destroy not only her but also you.

“You have to, my daughter won’t stay with you otherwise. Are you really ready to give up love for power?” He hands her the last cup of tea, the scent of jasmine wafts up and fills her senses. She slowly goes to pick up the cup, her hands shaking.

She’s so overwhelmed, none of this is meant to be happening. She’s supposed to win and you're meant to love and support her, then she proposes with a beautiful emerald ring that she’d make herself and you’d say yes. That’s how it’s meant to go, that’s how she has envisioned it since day one.

“This isn’t how it’s meant to go” she confesses, your father sets a soft hand on her own to help stop the shaking.

“How do you think it’s meant to go?” And so she tells him what she just thought, and she adds on how both of you would continue to better this country together and maybe, one day in the far future, have a child.

“Did you ever ask Y/n if that’s what she wants?” Your mother tries to keep her voice calm, tries to keep from yelling at her again. Kuvira stares down at the cup, trying to wrack her brain around the time you’d chime in with the future you wanted, or a time she even asked. “Just because it’s the future you planned for her doesn’t mean it's the one she wants. You can’t just plan everything out without including your partner's opinions and desires into the equation.”

You once talked about what your wedding would be like with Kuvira chiming in every once in a while, but that was it. That was the only time you mentioned anything regarding the future.

“Love is about equality, you both should be putting in equal effort. It’s a delicate balance that takes time to learn, give, and take. It’s not always going to be perfect even with your soulmate but you make it work for each other. If my daughter stayed with you all these years then she must love you, but for her to put her foot down shows she has had enough.” Your father's voice is soothing and calms her down just a bit.

“But…” Kuvira’s voice shakes, “what do I do if I give up control? It’ll never go back to how it was before, how am I meant to go back to everyday life after everything I’ve done? After knowing I probably could have done more.”

“No one knows what life will be like after. But I think a few years down the road you could get back to the place you were at before, maybe a new and improved version due to all the knowledge you’ve acquired over the years and due to having Y/n with you,” he takes a sip of his tea after speaking and delicately sets it down on its saucer.

“I know you need control in your life Kuvira, it’s what made you good at being Captain, but you need to let go. Everyone has to let go at some point and this is your time,” your mother says. Kuvira’s eyes glance around the room as she feels her heart begin to pound, it feels like any second it’ll leap out of her chest. Let go? The idea sends her mind spiraling with horrifying scenarios of what might happen.

“We may not like you, but if you drop this once and for all, and make our daughter happy then,” your mother lets out a deep sigh “we will be here to support and help you.” Tears glisten in her eyes as she stares at the both of them. “If our daughter loves you then that must mean there’s still some good left in you.”

Kuvira begins to softly cry, a hand comes up to cover her mouth as her shoulders hunch in on themselves. Your dad lets out a soft sigh and says “c’mere,” before pulling her into his arms and hugging her. Kuvira doesn’t hug him back nor pull away, she just sits there and cries into his shoulder. She knows what she must do and it terrifies her, fills her with doubt, and causes her stomach to clench from anxiety.

“You need to bring her back to us, please,” he whispers, and Kuvira nods. Slowly he pulls away from her and offers her a gentle, comforting squeeze on the shoulder. She desperately wipes at her eyes, suddenly embarrassed to have cried in front of them, and lets out a shuddering breath.

“You should go find her,” your mother says. Kuvira stands on wobbly legs, her hand placed firmly on the table for support. When she’s fully upright your father pulls her back into a hug, a short one this time. Kuvira awkwardly pats his back until he lets go.

Your mother stays seated, staring her down. “Don’t break her heart,” she says. Kuvira vehemently nods, her eyes wide. She will do whatever it takes to protect your beautiful heart and if you forgive her she will cherish it every second of every day.

She leaves shortly after that, your dad gives her a cookie before letting her leave which turns out to be really good and she walks over to the tram station. It’s since been fixed so when she presses the button requesting its presence it zooms by and opens its doors for her. The chairs are still messed up, just laying there a mess of something hardly resembling what they used to be. The tram takes her out of the city and to the entrance where she wastes no time hopping into a jeep and speeding off.

The midmorning sun beats down, today is incredibly hot and causes little beads of sweat to form on her forehead. When she gets to the encampment Kuvira slows just barely and everyone moves out of the way at the sound of the car barreling through. She abruptly stops it and jumps down before heading into her tent.

Inside Kuvira marches to her radio, she disregards the state of it and doesn’t even notice the filing cabinet you broke as she tunes into the main radio station the encampment uses. “Radio Freedom, what do you need?”

“Find y/n and send her to my tent.”

“Of course, great uniter. I’ll tell all my men to search for her.” The voice stutters out a reply before she switches it off. Spirits she feels like she might go crazy whilst she waits for you. She leans against the front of her desk with her arms crossed as she tries to come up with some grand speech of how much she loves you, of how your love and presence is what has kept her sane over these last few years.

She looks up at the ceiling and sighs, the idea is terrifying but she chooses you, she’ll let go of her defenses and send her men home for you.

The sound of fabric rustling has Kuvira snapping her head back down to stare into your eyes. You look pissed, you don’t have on your jacket so the white undershirt sticks to your sweaty skin and you have your hair in a messy ponytail instead of the usual bun.

Kuvira wets her lips before speaking, “I spoke to your parents.” Your eyes widen at that, Kuvira continues “I didn’t realize I knew your mom, she helped train me when I first joined the guard.” And she hates my guts which I don’t blame her, Kuvira thinks. I let her down, just like I let you down.

You finally look into her eyes and spirits, even with that furious look on your face you take her breath away. “So?”

“She’s a blunt woman, and when I told her about us neither of your parents were pleased.” You wrap your arms around yourself and frown, she wishes she could know what’s going on inside your head. “But they gave me a piece of useful advice, something I probably could have had use of hearing all those years ago.”

She slowly walks over to you, hesitantly so. When she’s close enough you look her over and purse your lips. There’s a slight look of concern written on your features and it swells her heart with a hint of hope.

“That if I love you, it shouldn’t just be me taking from you, but by asking you to hide everything and go along with my plans that was exactly what I did. I realize now I never even asked what you want, what you envision when you see our future.”

You begin to silently cry and she has to use all of her willpower to keep from reaching forward to wipe away your tears.

“It should be equal. Give and take and be there for each other. There shouldn’t be punishments or silent treatment,” Kuvira pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you want?”

You squeeze your eyes shut at her words, your bottom lip trembling. You get lost in your thoughts, something you do often but Kuvira decides not to pull you out. She’ll give you all the time you need to reply.

“I want peace,” you say, your voice a mere whisper. But she hears you loud and clear. “I want this all to end and I want us to finally be able to love one another in front of others. I don’t want any of this, I can’t peacefully live in a world where this… this mission is a success.”

Kuvira takes a step forward and opens her mouth to pour out all of her feelings, to promise that she’ll end it when something interrupts your moment. A shout and gunfire pierce through the air. Kuvira’s heart drops and she rushes forward to look outside of the tent.

Her men are scrambling around like ants, stumbling to get to their places. She makes out a clash of fire and earth up ahead and runs out, leaving you behind. She turns a corner and comes face first with one of her men, instead of informing her of what’s going on he shoots a ball of fire at her. Kuvira’s eyes widen as she bends up a wall to protect her.

“C’mon oh great uniter! Fight me” he shouts. Kuvira’s nostrils flare as she pushes the wall forward towards the man, it hits him and sends him stumbling back. As she advances with hands clenched, ready to activate his bracelet he shoots a spiraling wave of fire out of his foot that has Kuvira jumping out of the way. “It’s even ground now,” he says in a smug tone as he raises her pant leg to show a naked ankle. What?

Her heart races as she stands back up, cracking her neck to the side. She fought the avatar, she can fight this puny fire bender. Kuvira gets into stance, smirking as she shoots out two pieces of metal, one wraps around his ankle and the other around his neck, and with a twist of her wrist, he’s flying backward, slamming into the metal wall of one of the guardhouses.

“Kuvira!” She hears you spit out, her head turns as she watches you desperately run over with an enraged look on your face. You bend the metal off the poor man, he falls to the floor with a groan. “Leave him alone.”

“He is defying me!” Her eyes widened in rage, how could you defend him? “He is one of my soldiers and he just tried to kill me.”

“He was never one of your soldiers!” Your fists are clenched as you try to control your anger, “you forced him into this!”

With both of you distracted he raises once more, letting out a pained groan before shooting a small, weaker bolt of fire. You shoot up a wall for the both of you, keeping your gaze trained on your lover. “It’s him or me.”

Kuvira lets out a growl of anger at your words, loyal earth empire soldiers rush past towards the battlefield, ignoring the lover's quarrel as they shout out commands to one another. “Why are you defending him!?”

“Because Kuvira what we did back then wasn’t right, because I made a promise to myself to protect them and I will not break it!” Her eyes widen, stumbling back a step. There’s so much going on in her head, she just wants to silence all the anger and confusion that burns within this situation.

“You freed him?” She asks incredulously, you thickly swallow before nodding.

“I freed all of them.” Your wall begins to crumble, the fire bender has since left, leaving the two of you to stare at one another. “And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I should have never let you cage them in as you did. You asked me early what I want? I want you to let this war go, I want you to leave them alone and surrender!”

“I can’t do that!” Not now, not after being attacked, not after seeing that her men are in some sort of danger. Your hands reach up to cup her cheeks, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Yes you can, I know you can Kuvira.”

She rips herself out of your grasp, suddenly feeling like your touch will poison her. Poison her resolve and burn away all of her control. She needs this war to thrive, she needs it more than air itself.

A deafening boom is heard from behind her, once more she leaves you behind but this time she feels you hot on her heels as she runs towards the battle. Kuvira vaguely makes out something moving in the air, she squints her eyes to figure out what it is and the object swoops down just a bit to drop down soldiers that aren’t hers. It’s a sky bison she realizes, that must mean Korra is here.

She sees that one of the people that dropped down is Bolin as he lava bends a circle around him and his team to protect them from her soldiers. He wastes no time as he bends up a chunk of earth and hurls it towards the soldiers, most don’t jump out of the way in time, the force of it knocks them down and causes them to pass out. She hopes they are just passed out.

The others around him are all different kinds of benders donning makeshift armor under their shaggy and ripped clothes, Kuvira realizes with a stunned expression that it’s the reeducation camp uniforms. Her heart pounds as more of her men fall all around her, the comforting words of your father worm their way into her head as she squeezes her eyes shut. The young dictator stumbles back and pulls at the roots of her hair in frustration, she can’t let this go, can’t give up.

This is the most in control she’s ever felt, she no longer fears for her life or for her future, it was within reach and exactly what she imagined it to be. With her rule, she thought she erased any chance of reliving her younger years, alone and heartbroken as the longing for someone to hold her ate her up. Suyin’s comforting words never worked, but the sound of her men marching did.

When Kuvira opens her eyes she sees that more of her men have fallen and Bolin’s group has moved on, she surges forward to eradicate them when your hand wraps around her forearm and pulls her back. She looks over her shoulder with a snarl, not realizing it’s you.

“Don’t make me choose between you and my country.”

“It shouldn’t be a tough decision, Kuvira.”

But if she does choose this war, this overabundance of control she will be alone and heartbroken because you will leave her. You made it clear yesterday that you won’t stand by and support this anymore, that you won’t stay by her side if she chooses this path. Your fingers through her hair work too, your soothing words are like a balm to her soul and your smile eases her into this warm state of calmness.

With you, she doesn’t need the marching of her men or the rush she gets when getting someone to sign over their land. You give it to her without a second thought, you give to her because you love her and your love doesn’t come with a price or consequences.

You tug her to the trunk of a jeep and force her climb onto it. When she stands up on the hunk of metal you grab her cheeks and force her to look at the battle ahead. More and more of her men are falling as air benders use their full force and mecha suits shoot them down. Kuvira then notices the lack of mecha suits on her side and how in the middle of the field there’s a clash of green uniforms going against one another. The field lights up with all forms of bending as each man readily gives their life to her cause.

“If you surrender your men will be fine! Kuvira be the woman I know you are, stand down!” You pull her eyes away from the scene so she can look at you, look into your eyes that are full of fear and desperation.

“Bu-” Her heart begins to race, she feels like she may vomit.

“I need you Kuvira! I need you more than them, so surrender,” you bite your lip. “For us, please Vira.”

You pull her into a breathtaking kiss that's anything but romantic, your fingers squeeze a bit tighter at her cheeks as you slant your lips against her own, she shakily brings her own hands up to grip your waist in a bruising hold.

When you pull away, there’s a tear racing down your cheek as you stare into her eyes. “Please.”

“Fine!” She spits out, her throat feels like it’s closing up as her fingers begin to shake. This is everything she’s worked towards for three years, every agonizing day spent pouring herself into documents and threatening governors and mayors into submitting to her will.

Every kiss she ever gave Baatar, every time she ignored your pleading eyes.

She’s about to give it all up for you and feels panic scrap through her as if it were wrapped in barbed wire and she doesn’t know what to do, her whole body shakes as she looks around at the mess she created.

“We need to get to the fro-” Your eyes widen, trained on something behind her.

“Watch out!” You scream, pushing her out of the way. An icicle bolts through the air, it all seems so slow and yet happens so fast. Kuvira goes stumbling back, barely able to keep herself up, her gaze moved from you during the push so when she hears the sound of you letting out some sort of strangled sound her head whips over to see the icicle lodged in your lower left stomach. Your white shirt begins to turn red as blood spills out. She’s frozen in place as she watches you slowly lift a hand to touch your wound as a pained whimper leaves your lips.

That terrible noise rips her out of her frozen state and she dashes over to hold you as you begin to fall to your knees. When Kuvira looks over to see where the icicle came from she looks into the wide, terrified eyes of one of the rebels. It’s one of the ones you helped free.

Before she can even think of all the ways she’s going to kill that woman you croak out “Vira?” Her gaze flickers back to yours, tears are welling up in your eyes and Kuvira feels the warm blood begin to spill onto her hands.

“I’m gonna save you, gonna find someone to heal you.” Her voice is high pitched and cracking but she doesn’t care. “You are not going to die.” Kuvira looks around for someone to help save you, her one chance at happiness from going up in flames. She feels her vision blur as she desperately turns her head in all directions when it lands on the blue robes of the water benders fighting on Korra’s side.

One of them has to be a healer, she thinks. “I need to lay you down so I can drive,” you grip at her wrist, your eyes widening at the idea of her letting go of you. “It’s the only way I can save you, I’m so sorry.”

Suddenly she doesn’t care about anything but you, her fear of losing control has been replaced with the fear of losing you. She can’t lose you, you're the light in her life and without you, she’ll once more be the abandoned, unlovable ward of Suyin.

She quickly leans down to press a firm kiss to your forehead before gently setting you down in the trunk of the car before clumsily jumping into the front seat and turning the key. The jeep roars to life, the only problem is how her pathway is blocked.

Kuvira stands in her seat and pulls two large walls from the earth, soldiers stumble out of the way as she pushes it through the battlefield, offering a small, clear pathway for her to drive through. She floors it and hears you groaning in the background, causing her to grip the steering wheel harder.

Her hands keep slipping from being soaked in your blood, she fights with all her might to not look down at them, knowing she needs to focus on the road ahead. Her wall ends halfway so with one hand she bends two walls again, it takes a bit longer and these walls are much shorter and less sturdy but it does the trick.

Suddenly Korra appears at the end of the pathway, her hands once lit with fire extinguish at the frantic look on Kuvira’s face. She makes it to the end of the pathway, Korra jumps out of the way as Kuvira slams her foot on the brakes. The car comes to a screeching halt and without a second to lose Kuvira is scrambling out of the front seat to where she left you.

Kuvira lets out a loud, strangled sob at the sight before her. Your skin is so pale and there’s so much blood, the floor of the trunk is coated in the deep red and Kuvira bites back a sob. You look up at her, softly saying “Vira?”

Kuvira’s wet hands go to rest on your cheeks, she looks up at Korra and screams “I need a healer!” Her scream snaps Korra out of her daze and she rushes over to the jeep, when she opens the door of the trunk and sees blood begin to trickle off the edge, her heart drops.

She’s never met you before but Suyin told her enough to know you're the one who helped them. She climbs into the truck, her brown pants slowly sticking to her skin from the blood.

The icicle has melted now, leaving in its wake a gaping hole as she summons water from one of the vats they brought for the benders and encases her hands in it. She’s only ever healed herself and it was never something so severe.

“Please,” Kuvira says to the avatar, her wet words scraping out of her throat as she continues to cry. “Please save her.” Korra nods, keeping her gaze on your wound as her hands begin to glow and hover over the gaping hole.

Neither of them notices how the fight has halted, Kuvira’s soldiers waiting for her to end the avatar due to how close they are. Their leader begins to sob as she desperately holds your neck so she can lift your head and set it on her lap. The metal probably isn’t very comfortable. Your cheeks and neck now have bloody handprints on them as Kuvira repeats like a mantra “You’ll be fine, you’re gonna be fine. I love you so much, you’re gonna live.”

Korra calls over her shoulder “I need another healer!” Two waterbenders rush over, water already bent around their hands as they climb up to help. All of their hands glow as they hover over your wound, “she’s lost a lot of blood” one of them says to the other.

“Just fix it!” Kuvira demands, her heart dropping at his comment, neither of them acknowledges her as they continue to work on her soulmate, one of your hands weakly grab at her wrist so she’ll look at you, her gaze snaps to yours and she softens in an instant. “Everything’s gonna be okay, my love. Okay?”

“Okay,” you weakly reply. Kuvira rests her forehead against your own, trying to keep from screaming out. “I love you, Vira.”

“I love you too, y/n. I love you so much.” She continues to repeat herself, you look up into her eyes with a small, adoring smile.

It feels like hours go by as they work on you. Whilst the three water tribe members try to save your life, Suyin walks up with a solemn look on her face. “You need to end this, Kuvira.”

Her eyes pull away from yours to look into those of Suyin’s and she angrily spits out “I don’t care, end it. So long as Y/n lives I don’t care.” Her men at the very front of her army hear her though and all let out differing noises of surprise. “I surrender.”

Suyin begins to spit out orders on how to arrest her men, she sends the other Beifongs back to Zaofu to clean up Kuvira’s mess whilst everyone else stays on the battlefield to help her arrest and detain the earth empire loyalists. Kuvira places a kiss on your forehead and closes her eyes so she doesn’t have to watch it all be ripped from her, she focuses on your breathing as she tunes out the youngest Beifong sister.

Every once in a while you groan out in pain and Kuvira’s heart clenches with fear each time. “We’ve done all we can for now,” Korra says softly from behind her. Kuvira looks over her shoulder at the Avatar and sees Suyin walk up to the edge of the trunk with her arms crossed over her chest. “You can send me away to prison once she’s better, just don’t take me away from her just yet.”

“I made a promise to Y/n and I may not like it but I will stand by it. By ending this war you will be put under house arrest, we need Y/n awake before we can do that though.” Suyin sighs, Kuvira’s gaze shifts to your own at Suyin’s words but she finds them shut.

Frantically, fearful that you won’t ever wake up, she places two fingers on your pulse. It’s weak, but there. “She’s just sleeping, she’ll need lots of it.”

“Y/n said she’ll choose the city for herself, for now, we’ll need to cuff you and take the both of you back to Zaofu so she can get the rest she needs.”

She pulls your body up and into her arms so she can hold you, your head lulls onto her shoulder and you let out a soft groan at the movement.

She places a kiss on your forehead and closes her eyes as she hears orders being given by the younger Beifong sister. She doesn’t listen, too focused on your breathing to care. She has willingly given up her army for you, and she’d do it again if it means saving your life.

#kuvira #kuvira x reader #kuvira/reader #kuvira fanfic #lok fanfic #legend of korra fanfic #legend of korra #lok #fanfic #the great divide

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eralisse · 3 years

Text

Brothers Conflict: Season 1 LN - Ch17, Sec2 & Sec3

*_* I have upgraded to being able to translate the light novels [slowly, very slowly] (and am very proud of myself right now).

Continuing on with my quest to translate materials relating to the Iori/Kaname conflict and their characterizations, I bring to you this translation from Volume 5, where Kaname withdraws from the competition for Ema's heart.

This is not the whole chapter, because that would take too much effort, and the other sections touch on the other conflicts. (If you're looking for the whole thing, there might be someone else who's translated all of it before.)

Comments and discussion at the end of this entry.

Brothers Conflict Translations Index

That day, it was late when I left school.

Because of what happened with Azusa-san, I was completely late for class, so much so that, after school, I had to receive supplementary lessons.

(It’s gotten completely dark.)

Even though it was the end of summer, the sun went down at this time. Conversely, the city lights were starting to illuminate the night sky.

From Hinode High School, until the nearest JR train station, Iidabashi Station, there was a small slope down. I began to walk down that street.

Then, right after that, from behind me, I heard a car horn.

???: “… That’s no good. Having a cute girl walking down the street at night all by herself.”

The car pulled up beside me, and a blond man leaned over from the driver’s seat.

Kaname: “It’ll be too late once something happens. Here, I’ll give you a ride.”

Ema: “Kaname-san.”

I gave a small sigh.

Ema: “I think it’s more likely that something will happen when you’re with someone.”

Kaname: “Haha, as always, Imouto-chan has a good sense for clapbacks.”

Ema: “I should think that Kaname-san would have had plenty of experience by now.”

Kaname: “Well, enough of that. Anyway, get on in.”

Ema: “It’s fine, I can walk.”

Kaname: “... Get in.”

(Ehh?!)

That was in a super serious voice.

Kaname: “It’s not my style to be pushy when inviting women. However, my preferences don’t matter right now.”

Ema: “... Kaname-san?”

Kaname: “This is the last thing I’ll ask of you. Please, get in.”

He said, and then came out from the car.

(Kaname-san…)

Kaname-san had an expression I had never seen until now.

Neither angry nor sad, much less his usual easygoing manner… I had never seen such a face before.

(Th-this is…)

What should I say? I held myself back…

At that moment, the word “determined” came to the front of my mind.

Kaname: “… Here.”

Kaname-san opened the door to the passenger’s seat. I gave a small nod, and got into the car.

---Then, Kaname-san turned the car east and started driving.

It was in the complete opposite direction from Kichijouji, where our apartment was in.

Ema: “Kaname-san, where are we going?”

Kaname: “You have time, right?”

Ema: “Eh?”

Kaname: “... It won’t be long, but it’s impossible to be done within an hour. If you have dinner prep or something like that, please ask Kyou-nii.”

Ema: “Ah, no, I’m good for today.”

It happened to be that, when it was clear that I would be at supplementary lessons after school, I called Ukyo-san during lunch, and got it to be that he would make dinner instead.

That’s why I had time this evening.

Ema: “But, what is this conversation about?”

Kaname: “I’ll tell you when we get there.”

Kaname-san said, while continuing to look straight ahead.

Kaname: “I want to go to a place where there’s nobody else. A place where none of our brothers will go… When we get there, we’ll talk.”

Then, Kaname-san glanced over at me for just a second.

Kaname: “Today… Just for now, please trust me.”

Then he looked forward again. After that, Kaname-san continued to drive, and said no more.

---

(......)

Outside the window, Tokyo’s night scenery flowed past.

Eventually, the car began to turn south.

Kaname: “...... Here’s good.”

When Kaname-san opened the passenger seat door, there was the smell of salt and the sound of waves.

Kaname: “Well, come on out.”

Ema: “... Alright.”

Tokyo Bay spread out before me. It appeared to be a place open to the sea, with not much to obstruct the view.

A cool wind that started to blow.

Kaname: “Humans are interesting, aren’t they.”

Kaname-san said, and began walking slowly to the beach.

Kaname: “Even though there are people of all personalities, when it comes to having important conversations, for some reason they will want to go to the ocean. I wonder why that is?”

Ema: “......”

I remained silent, following a little ways behind.

Kaname: “When you look at the ocean, do you feel at ease? Or, do you think that it bestows some special strength?”

Kaname-san stopped and faced me, turning his back to the ocean.

Kaname: “If it has that kind of power, I would really like to have it right now.”

Behind him, I could see the large seawall that protected Tokyo Bay from the waves.

Kaname: “Hikaru came today, you know.”

Ema: “... Yes.”

Kaname: “He said this cheerfully, ‘With this, she’s at 12 wins, 0 losses, and 1 bystander.’”

Ema: “Eh?”

Kaname: “...... Such a terrible thing to say.”

Kaname-san murmured.

Kaname: “However, he’s really perceptive about that sort of thing. He sees through to the most important parts intuitively. That’s why he can be an author, I guess.”

There, Kaname-san smiled bitterly.

Kaname: “However, unfortunately for Hikaru, that score is already outdated. It’s 11 wins, 0 losses, and 1 withdrawal now. And soon, it’ll be 10 wins, 0 losses, and 2 withdrawals.”

Ema: “W-what are you saying?”

Kaname: “Do you love Iori?”

Kaname-san said suddenly.

Ema: “Eh…”

Kaname: “I’ll ask one more time. Do you love Iori?”

Ema: “Uh, um…”

Kaname-san smiled faintly. It was a sad and pained smile.

Kaname: “I want to know if I should apologize or not for what happened at the summer festival.”

Ema: “... Ah.”

I remembered what had happened in that tree grove back then.

Iori-san’s body heat as he touched my cheek. The feeling on my lips. And finally, Kaname-san’s face.

Kaname: “I was the one who invited you there. However, as a result, at the time, at that place, that happened. That’s why I was thinking I had to ask you--”

Kaname-san cut himself off.

The surge of a rather large wave could be heard.

Kaname: “Ask you if you loved Iori, and if that kiss was a lover’s kiss, for instance.”

Ema: “Um, that’s…”

Kaname: “Answer me.”

Kaname-san stared at me intently.

The wave earlier hit the seawall, and a crumbling sound was heard.

Ema: “... I don’t know.”

I answered.

Ema: “That was… It happened so suddenly… And afterwards, I haven’t had a chance to speak with Iori-san properly.”

Kaname: “In other words, it was a one-sided action on Iori’s part?

Ema: “...”

I nodded.

I didn’t feel like I could only deny Kaname-san’s words.

Kaname: “In that case, I’ll say this.”

Kaname-san’s voice got even lower. It was a low, yet distinct… and sad voice.

Kaname: “If you don’t love Iori, stay away from him.”

Kaname-san clenched his fist tightly before his chest.

Kaname: “Iori has not yet returned to being human.”

(Eh!?)

My eyes widened in surprise.

(Hasn’t returned… to being human?)

Kaname: “Iori is… still, unable to love another person. He hasn’t returned back to that stage yet.”

Kaname-san’s each word echoed deeply to my heart.

Kaname: “Iori is struggling desperately right now. To use a metaphor, he is like a drowning man. That’s why, if you heedlessly go to save him, you will be dragged in… and will drown together.”

Then Kaname-san looked straight at me.

Kaname: “I don’t want that to happen to you.”

Kaname-san’s face looked extremely pained.

Kaname: “Loving someone means-”

Kaname-san turned away from me, and looked out at the ocean.

Kaname: “-to understand your partner, recognize them, and then, to accept them. It is not to make you understand, recognize, and accept yourself. …Such a thing cannot be called love.”

Another wave came in. Then the sound of it crashing into the seawall could be heard.

Kaname: “I think you are a very kind and attentive woman. And you won’t be too picky at your partner. I think that’s wonderful. … However.”

Kaname-san turned toward me.

Kaname: “You can’t be that for Iori right now. If you do anything like that with compassion or sympathy, let alone simply good intentions, you will get pulled in and drown.”

A slightly larger wave than before came in. The sound it made crashing was just as loud.

Kaname: “Even so, my job is to listen to people’s souls.”

Kaname-san lowered his gaze slightly.

Kaname: “Since that incident in middle school, I have always watched over Iori. And, protected him. In the hopes that he can become a person who can love another once more.”

Falling silent there, Kaname-san then slowly raised his head, and spoke in a clear voice.

Kaname: “Because… love is mightier than the sword or the pen, mightier than anything else, and is the single most important thing.”

Kaname-san stepped forward. The distance between us narrowed.

Kaname: “However, I need a little more time. It is still too early right now.”

Kaname-san put his hands on my shoulders.

Kaname: “Please leave Iori to me. And, give your kind heart to someone else. That is my wish for you.”

Ema: “Kaname-san…”

Weight and warmth came from the hands on my shoulders.

It felt as if they reached the center of my body.

Kaname: “Iori is my precious little brother. That’s why, I want to protect him. And, you are my precious little sister.… That’s why, I will protect you.”

Kaname-san’s arms dropped from my shoulders, and wrapped around my back and waist.

I felt Kaname-san’s warmth and the strength of his embrace through my whole body.

Kaname: “... With all that I have.”

The loud crashing of waves echoed all around us.

At Kaname-san’s back, I saw the seawall blocking the large waves that rushed from the open sea.

---

Comments:

1. As a novice translator, there's a running metaphor going through this section that I got super excited to notice. Did anyone else see it? Either in the actual text (if you have the light novels) or in a previous translation elsewhere? Anyone? Okay. It's the seawall and the waves. The waves and the sound of the waves change as Kaname speaks, with the loudest impact being at the end. And at the end, Ema is relating Kaname to the seawall, protecting her from waves coming in from all over. In terms of literary analysis, it's a little obvious because there is no description of anything else, but still. I hope I got it translated properly.

2. There are a few lines where I scrapped the literal Japanese wording and rewrote it because the dictionary definition I got didn't make sense at all. I used context to guess at what was meant. This applies to the line Ema says about Kaname's experience with clapbacks, and the sentence Kaname says about being picky at partners.

3. Story-wise, if I'm not mistaken, this is the only time Kaname tells Ema exactly WHY she needs to stay away from Iori. Before, in Vol3, he only tells her she has to stay away. And to anyone who's ever had to ask anyone to do anything, if you don't say why, you run a high risk of your words being ignored because you didn't convey the urgency.

4. If anyone's read the light novels, and would like to correct any of the above, please do so. It's difficult for me to read the text without spending a lot of time with the dictionary, so it's very possible for me to miss something. (In other words, I haven't read every section in the LNs thoroughly yet.)

5. Gahhh, I love Kaname so much.

#brothers conflict #asahina kaname #kaname asahina #translation #season 1 chapter 17 #iori asahina #asahina iori

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