#Utala (S)

[kuipernebula]

instead of doing vocab or learning extra grammar to learn toki pona, i instead find myself attempting backwards-ass translations of things

anyway check in with me in like, 24 hours for a toki pona version of the chainsaw man opening

[janpalakisu]

usawi ma lon ni (Hololive Fantasy: Fantasy Reality)

y o l o l i p u u s a w i

nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni! nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni! nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni!

wi alasa mani wi tawa lon telo suli nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni!

pilin mi li pona li pilin wawa pi tawa sewi nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni!

ma pi sona ala li lon pi weka suli o alasa e ma pi sama ala

a ma lon ni, usawi lon e ma selo mute kalama mute e wile wi o mi tawa e sina lon ma pi sona ala nasin ni li kulupu e wi ni li open lon ni

nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni! nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni!

jan utala kiwen o pali kepeken wile wi nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni!

pilin wi li seli wi kepeken suwi e kon nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni!

o jo sewi e ilo kiwen la tawa jan pi kasi sewi o nasin e wi

a ma lon ni, usawi lon e ma selo mute o alasa e ma sewi o wi pakala e pake pi ma mute wi nasin ni li kulupu e wi ni li open lon ni

wi utala pi pilin pona lon telo yolo! lipu! o kute sama soweli o pana suwi yolo! lipu! pilin sewi li jo e apeja ala yolo! lipu! usawi pi tenpo pini pi toki sewi yolo! lipu!

nasin! open! a! uta-la lon! ni!

a ma lon ni, usawi lon e ma selo mute kalama mute e wile wi o mi tawa e sina lon ma pi sona ala wi ken pali lon ni nasin ni li sona ali nasin ni li kulupu e wi ni li open lon ni

[dramaplustautology]

Oh my god, why didn’t I think of it before. Police drama AU with Utala as a rookie detective who’s worked hard enough to get noticed and be placed in a task force that’s out to catch Siegfried until she finds proof that he’s innocent. 

[tissitpoispaita]

Here we go again with my Toki Pona translations of Finnish literature that absolutely no one asked for. This time it's the uncensored version of Lahtinen's toboggan monologue from Sotaromaani.

If anyone came here just for Toki Pona and is not familiar with this novel:

It's about the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union from an ordinary soldier's POV. In this excerpt Lahtinen, a communist, lashes out at Finnish military leadership and rants about the war and capitalism.

jan Lasinen/Mata/Salo/Siponen = Lahtinen, Määttä, Salo and Sihvonen, soldiers

jan Sumi/Lusi/Nijon = Finns, Russians and Japanese people

jan Lapuwa = supporters of the fascist and anticommunist Lapua movement

Even as a native Finnish speaker, I have no idea what "kyllä hän touhua on" means. "ona li jo e pali mute kin" is an educated guess.

Edit:

It's probably the "warlords" that are getting paid a lot from the people's money and not the journalists. So I changed "jan sitelen li kama jo e mani suli tan jan pali" to "jan lawa li kama jo - - ".

Corrected some punctuation that felt off

Broke apart a sentence to avoid la-stacking. Aforementioned part about the people's money was part of the previous sentence

Deleted a useless sentence that I added for no reason ("mi sona ala e ni" after "sike moli ni li kama tan ma seme")

jan Lasinen en jan Mata en jan Salo li tawa e supa tawa lon ko walo mute. jan Siponen li lon monsi li tawa e linja pini li tawa e supa kepeken palisa tawa pi ko walo. tenpo pini la, ona mute li lon poka kulupu wan pi palisa moli. taso tenpo ni la, ona li jo e supa ni la kulupu li weka. supa li jo e ijo mute mute la, ona li lon ma lon insa ko. tenpo wan la, mije li tawa kepeken palisa tawa pi ko walo, taso ona li ken ala pali ni tan ijo mute lon supa. ona li pana e palisa tawa lon supa li tawa kepeken noka. kon li lete, taso ona li pilin seli li pana e telo mute mute. ona li kon wawa li pana e nimi ike li tawa lon nasin pi kulupu ona. ona li wile lape mute mute la, lawa ona li pilin kon. kalama utala li kute lili nasa. ona li ken ala kute e ni: kalama seme li kama tan jan pona tan jan ike.

lon sinpin la, jan Salo li tawa kepeken luka noka tan ni: supa li tawa ala li anpa e ona. jan Mata li tawa li kalama ala. ona li lukin e nena e lupa la, ona li tawa pona mute. jan Lasinen li tawa e supa kepeken wawa ona ale. supa li pini tawa tan kiwen anu kasi la, ona li tawa wawa e linja li pilin ike mute li kalama ike:

”pa… ka… la.”

tenpo wan anu tu la, ona mute li lape lon supa li kama jo e kon. jan Lasinen li kon:

”a, pakala a. kiwen moli pakala o kama o moli e mi. a, mi jo e pali mute, taso jan lawa pi ma tomo li lon supa lape li nanpa e mani pi pan pi esun pimeja. mi wile e ni: jan sona wan li kama. lawa ona li pakala ala tan toki ike ale. ona li sona taso e ijo pona e ijo suli la, ni li nasa tawa ona: mije suli li tawa e supa jaki ni tawa weka tawa poka lon ma kasi…”

jan ante li toki ala li mute e wawa, taso kon pi jan Lasinen li awen wawa. ona li awen toki li pali e toki pi ona en jan sona pi insa lawa ona:

”ona li lukin e palisa kiwen ni e ilo lupa ni la, ona li toki e ni: ’sina pali e nasin anu tomo, anu seme?’ mi toki e seme? e ni: ’a… ala, mi pali e tomo ala. mi wile tawa insa ma. mi tawa ala la jan li moli e mi.’ taso ilo suli jaki ni li nasa mute tawa ona: ’ilo pona ni li seme? jan li pali seme kepeken ona?’ ’a, mi moli e jan kepeken ona.’ ’jan? jan ni li pali ala pali ike?’ ’a… ala. mi pilin ni: ona li pali ike tawa jan ala. taso ni li utala. sina sona ala e ni, anu seme? jan lawa pi ma tomo li wile e mani suli tan pan, jan mani pi ma kasi li wile e ma kasi ni pi ma Lusi. jan lawa suli li wile e lawa e mani, jan unpa ona li wile e kiwen mani e selo soweli. tan ni la jan li moli e jan lon ma ni. tan pona pi jan Sumi. tan ni: jan pi nasin sewi li awen e jan lon anpa jan mani. jan li kute ala la lawa li ken moli e ona. jan moli li ken ala toki. jan lawa li sitelen e lipu ni: sina utala ala tawa ma mi tawa poki mani mi la, mi moli e sina lon monsi tomo seli.’ taso tenpo ni la mi wile tawa.”

ona mute li tawa. jan Lasinen li pini, taso ijo ona li pini ala la ona li kama toki. ona li tawa e supa la, ona li kon li pana e nimi jaki:

”pakala a, jan li pali e toki ike. tomo en nasin sewi en ma mama. mi lawa ala e tomo, kulupu mani li lawa e tomo mi. mi weka e kulupu sewi li jo ala e kipisi lili pi ma mama. jan utala lawa wan pi ko jaki li toki e ni: mi wile utala tawa mama mi. mama meli mi taso li lon. jan Lusi li wile e meli majuna jaki wan la, ona li ken kama jo e ona, pakala. pakala jaki a, noka kasi ni li suli sama mije lili pi mani ala… jan li ken pali e noka kasi lili, anu seme? ona li jo e pali mute kin. mi lawa la mi pana e jan Lapuwa e jan lawa utala lon tomo pi pona lawa. taso tenpo ni la, lipu pi ijo sin li jo e sitelen suli pi sewi ma ni. jan lawa li kama jo e mani suli tan jan pali.”

jan Siponen li tawa anpa. ko walo li tawa insa len luka ona. tan ni la, ona kin li pilin ike mute li kalama suli. ona li kon wawa li pana e luka ona tawa jan ike li toki:

”lon ni, lon ni. jan sona li lon ma ni. ona li utala ala. sike moli ni li kama tan ma seme. jan Nijon li utala lon monsi ona. ona li alasa ala e ma pi jan ante. ona li awen taso e pona ona.”

jan Lasinen li pini e toki pi nasin kulupu, taso jan Salo li jo e wawa ala li tawa lili e linja. jan Lasinen li kalama:

”sina kin o tawa, pakala. tenpo ni la sina pana ala e telo.”

jan Salo li tawa e linja kepeken wawa ale li kon:

”mi wile ala pana e telo. mi wile e ni taso: supa ni li tawa.”

[jigglywater]

toki pona-fying paralive | nimi Paradox Live pi toki pona

Hi! Sort of the different post, but I've been trying to get into learning toki pona, and I've been transliterating characters and such from things I like for fun, so I thought it'd be interesting to share. Full disclosure I'm not fluent

i would transliterate Paradox Live and ParaLive as Palatokusulapu and Palalapu respectively, though i'm not sure what would be a good word for it to modify 😅

Terms / Nimi:

Phantometal - kiwen/ijo pi lukin powe, "kiwen" for the actual metal substance, "ijo" for the accessory containing it. Apparently powe might be outdated/nonstandard now but I find it's easier to understand phantom as lukin powe (fake sight)? But otherwise I suppose you could write smth like kiwen/ijo pi lukin kon...? idk lol

Trap Reaction - lukin ike tan kiwen pi lukin powe (T/N: good lord)

Paradox Live (The competition) - utala Palatokusulapu

Road to Legend - utala pi nasin tawa sewi(?) (utala Lotulesen?)

Alter Trigger Company - kulupu Atateka

Metal Erosion - sijelo ike tan kon (pi lukin pone)

Groups / kulupu (pi kalama musi):

BAE - kulupu Pe

Allen Sugasano - jan Alen Sukasano

Hajun Yeon - jan Asun Jon

Anne Faulkner - jan An Pokuna

The Cat's Whiskers / TCW - kulupu Tekasuwesuka(???) / kulupu Tesitapalu

Naoakira Saimon - jan Nakila Samon

Yohei Kanbayashi - jan Oje Kanpajasi

Ryu Natsume - jan Liyu Nasume

Shiki Ando - jan Siki Anto

bonus: Tsubaki - jan Supaki

cozmez - kulupu Kosumesu

Kanata Yatonokami - jan Kanata Jatonokami

Nayuta Yatonokami - jan Najuta Jatonokami

Akanyatsura - kulupu Akanjasula

Iori Suiseki - jan Ijoli Suseki

Zen Gaho - jan Sen Kajo

Hokusai Masaki - jan Okusa Masaki

Satsuki Ito - jan Sasuki Ito

Reo Maruyama - jan Lejo Malujama

Buraikan - kulupu Pulakan

Chisei Kuzuryu - jan Kise Kusulu

Haruomi Shingu - jan Alujomi Sinku

VISTY - kulupu Wisute

Shogo Yamato - jan Soko Jamato

Toma Hikage - jan Toma Ikake

Aoi Kureha - jan Ajowi Kuleja

Kantaro Misuji - jan Kantalo Misusi

bonus: Stella(s) could just be suno, or perhaps modifying jan/kulupu. Could transliterate into Sutela

AMPRULE - kulupu Anpulu

Dongha Yeon - jan Tona (Tonja??) Jon

Chungsung Baek - jan Kunson Beku

1Nm8 - kulupu Inmeto (not even gonna try reincorporating the numbers)

Kei Miyama - jan Ke Mijama

Itsuki - jan Isuki

Rokuta - jan Lokuta

Goku Luck - kulupu Kokulaku

Yuto Inukai - jan Juto Inuka

Ryoga Tosa - jan Lijoka Tosa

Shion Kaida - jan Sijon Kata

Kenta Mikoshiba - jan Kenta Mikosipa

bonus: Shibaken - jan Sipaken (lol)

Alter Trigger Company - kulupu Alutateka

Road to Legend - nasin tawa sewi

Metal Erosion - sijelo ike tan kon (pi lukin pone)

Transliteration Notes:

Some group names could be translated in theory, though I decided to just try transliterating them all. I think translation would be more confusing ("kulupu pi linja pi sinpin soweli... the organization of animal facial hair..!???")

Transliterated Ry- sounds for Ryu and Ryoga's names to Liju/Lijo respectively. But for Chisei's surname Kuzuryu, I just transliterated to Kusulu because. Idk it doesn't feel significant as opposed to the formers' names, especially with how short Ryu's name is. Honestly Ryoga could probably just become Loka but I don't care

Originally, I had tsu (つ) transliterated as tu, though I've changed it to su, which I think sounds better for the most part?

I like how cozmez's names are basically unchanged. Deserved

[jeparletoutesleslangues]

Toki Pona Overview pt. 1 (Words)

**sources: Wikipedia and tokipona.net**

Toki Pona is a minimal conlang.

The Vocabulary (essentially these are all the words in the language)

-words may be used as nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs, therefore the meaning given in the picture is HIGHLY flexible

-writing systems: latin script (eg. “telo”), sitelen pona (i.e. hieroglyphic representation like the two waves above “telo”), sitelen sitelen (i.e. syllable based hieroglyphics), Tengwar script, and even Kanji 

-there is also a sign language format!

-FUN FACT: many of the words are derived from English, Finnish, Tok Pisin, Georgian, Dutch, Acadian French, Esperanto, Croatian, Chinese, and a few other languages

~ Alphabet & Pronunciation ~

9 consonants: p, t, k, s, m, n, l, j, w

5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u

-the letter sounds are very similar to English except “j” has a “y” sound (which is similar to Esperanto and German)

-vowel sounds do not change: father, met, peel, more, and food respectively represent the sounds of a, e, i, o, and u

-the first syllable of a word is always stressed

-most words have 2 syllables (70%), though some are 1 syllable (~20%) or 3 syllables (10%)

~ Pronouns/Possessive Adjectives ~

-mi: I, we, me, us, my, our

-sina: you, yours

-ona: any 3rd person identifier 

~ Nouns ~

-no NUMBER is expressed. singular and plural verbs appear the same

-lots of noun phrases/compound words must be used (eg. jan + utala = person + fight = warrior/soldier; telo + kili = liquid + fruit = juice)

-no proper nouns exist so they are expressed by noun + distinct adjective (eg. to refer to me [my name is Leeza], you would say jan Leeza [jan= person]. Note: you can also "tokiponize" a name)

~ Modifiers ~

the order is important from comprehension!

- noun + modifier 1 + modifier 2 is read as (noun + modifier 1) + modifier 2

that is.... jan pona lukin (person + good + look at) is read as ‘a friend who is looking,’ not ‘a good-looking person’

- noun + “pi” + modifier 1 + modifier 2 + modifier 3.....etc

this structure allows you to group as many modifiers as you need. “Pi” means of. Eg. jan pi pona lukin = a good-looking person

- demonstratives (ni), numbers, and possessive adjectives follow other modifiers 

~ Numbers ~

nanpa: number

wan: 1

tu: 2

luka: 5

mute: 20

ali/ale: 100

-there are two numerical systems which will be explained in a future post! They are probably the biggest drawback to the language because they're not very efficient/distinct though.

[cursivesugg]

Truth || Mikey Pearce

Requests are currently [ OPEN ]

Masterlist can be found [ HERE ]

Word Count: 1.3k+

Summary: When a game of truth or dare turns into more, neither party can bring themselves to regret it.

Dedicated too: The anon who requested this, its my first Mikey imagine ever so I hope that it’s okay!!xo

“Oh, I hope you’re joking.” (Y/N) sighs tiredly as she walks into the living room of her shared apartment and finds every single one of her bestfriends gathered around her coffee table with the football on the TV and beer bottles littered around the room carelessly. “Christ, please tell me that you guys have atleast eaten some proper food.”

Joe looks up and pats his chest proudly. “I made sure we ordered in food for lunch, because I’m the responsible adult here.”

“You’re sat on my carpet with a beer stain on your shirt and dry ketchup on your cheek.” She points out, pursing her lips in amusement as he frowns and begins wiping his face furiously. “Alright, you know what, I’ve had a shitty day at work and I have the day off tomorrow. So, what’re we drinking?”

The boys all begin to cheer as she plonks herself down onto the empty space on the couch, taking off her heels and throwing them over her shoulder carelessly, listening to them crash to the floor with a relieved sigh.

She takes the beer out of Jack’s hand as he offered it and pecked his cheek in thanks, gulping down at least half of the bottle before allowing herself to relax back against the sofa, and glance up at Mikey, who was sat beside her and was watching her with a smirk.

She gives him a small smile before looking away and hugging the rest of the beer, exhaling loudly and eying the TV obsessed boys with a groan. “God, you guys are so boring. Can’t we attract play a drinking game? You know I hate football.”

Eventually, after quite a few minutes of pleading, the TV got shit off and everyone gathered around the table in a circle, (Y/N)‘a empty very bottom lying down in the centre as she took a sip from another. “Who’s going first?”

Caspar volunteers quickly and doesn’t hesitate to lean forward and spin the bottle, watching as it landed on Joe and wiggling his eyebrows mischievously. “Joseph, truth or dare?”

Joe narrows his eyes at the blonde’s smug tone but shrugs it off and carries on with the game. “Dare.”

“I dare you to read out your last tinder conversation to us.” Caspar smirks, and (Y/N) laughs and cheers, the rest of the boys following suit causing Joe to groan and pull out his phone from his back pocket.

It turned out that his last tinder conversation hadn’t been all that great, a little awkward if you were to ask (Y/N) for her honest opinion, but she wasn’t exactly a pro at relationships.

Joe rubs his hands together with a cartoon like evil laugh before spinning the bottle, his eyes lighting up when it points at (Y/N), who eyes the bottle with a snigger; the buzz from the alcohol giving her a new found sense of confidence. “(Y/N), my dear best friend, truth or dare?”

She could’ve easily chosen dare, but decided to keep that for a little later on; too sober to even consider doing anything she knew Joe would challenge her too. “Hoeseph, I’ll take my chance with truth.”

Mikey laughs loudly at her nickname for Joe, causing her to glance over at him with a small smile. Joe hums and tilts his head to the left as he stares at her, and everyone else waits in anticipation. “Who was the last person you had a dirty dream about?”

Joe knew this. Joe knew exactly what he was doing, and judging by the smug grin on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows at her: even after a few beers he was more than prepared to tease her for hours on end about the dream she’d told him about by mistake.

But she was prepared, and challenged his smug expression with one of her own, staring into his eyes and not showing a single crack in her resolve. “Danny, from Greece.”

Joe sighs and rolls his eyes as the rest of the boys eye the two in confusion, feeling as if they were missing out on something important but brushing it off when (Y/N) leans in and spins the bottle; smiling widely when it landed on Conor, who’s eyes travelled from the bottle up to her face slowly. “Oh god.”

“Con, truth or dare?”

He watches her cautiously, running his hand through his hair nervously and exhaling in defeat. “Truth.”

“Have you ever had sex to one of your own songs before?”

She was genuinely curious, and now seemed like the perfect time to ask. She was sure she’d heard him listen to his own songs before, which was obviously more than okay, but she’d always silently questioned whether or not he’d had sex with anyone whilst one of his own songs played in the background.

He laughs, his shoulders sinking in relief as he shakes his head. “I was once given a lap dance to Vegas Girl, but I’ve never actually had sex to one of them, no.”

Spinning the bottle without another word, he watches it come to a stop and squinted at Mikey, who’s eyes widen at the mere sight on the older Maynards’ face. Conor grins. “Mikey boy, truth or dare?”

“I think I’ll go for a dare, mate!” He says loudly, in perfect Mikey fashion.

Conor nods and strokes an invisible beard, making both (Y/N) and Jack snort in amusement. “I dare you to show me a picture of the last chick you pulled.”

It was a well known fact that Mikey was relatively secretive about who he hooked up with, but when he sighs and unlocks his phone, (Y/N)’s eyes widen in shock. She can’t help but look down at her hands, slightly uncomfortable as Conor takes the phone out of his hands and begins to laugh hysterically. “Holy shit, that chicks like a carbon copy of (Y/N), just a whole lot less hot!”

Looking up, she furrows her brows and holds out her hand, ignoring Mikey’s words of protest as Conor hands her the phone and she zooms in on the girls face. “I look nothing like this chick; but I swear I recognise her from somewhere.” She looks up at the ceiling as she thinks before gasping in realisation and looking over at Mikey in disbelief. “Oh my god, that’s the girl you met in Utala! Wait, you haven’t pulled in four weeks?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s absolutely ridiculous! I mean, I don’t know what’s happened. One day I was good with everyone that came along, but now? It’s like my hearts making me wait, you know what I mean?”

Joe chuckles as he takes a sip of beer. “Don’t worry mate, there’s always a girl for you. You just gotta find her.”

The rest of the boys nod in agreement, at the stage of drunkness where they lost all need to tease and instead felt sympathetic toward their friend, who glances up from the floor when (Y/N) crawls over and hands him back his phone with a small smile. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have looked at your phone without your say so.”

He shrugs and pockets the device, “s'alright. Just a bit embarrassing when people find out how long it’s been since I got a girl.”

She nods in understanding, making herself comfortable next to him as the boys began to talk between themselves. She leans her head onto his shoulder and sighs. “If it makes this situation any better for you, it’s been a while for me too.”

That night, friendship was tossed out of the window and everything they’d known previously meant nothing anymore. No longer were they just friends with petty crushes, and no longer had they both suffered without sex for a while.

They laid asleep in bed that night, (Y/N)'s head on Mikey’s chest and his hand wound up in her hair. The perfect fit, like two pieces to a puzzle. God was she glad she’d forced the guys to stop watching football.

[prazskytankista]

Babiš je ostuda! Pospíšil hřímal, Benešová ho uťala: Tady pan doktor chodí demonstrovat na ta náměstí. Kdo ty protesty platí?

V nedělní Partii televize Prima se spolu utkali ministryně spravedlnosti za hnutí ANO Marie Benešová a předseda TOP 09 a bývalý ministr spravedlnosti Jiří Pospíšil. Šéf TOP 09 se tvrdě pustil do předsedy vlády Andreje Babiše. Premiér nám podle něj dělá opravdu velikou ostudu. Marie Benešová svého vládního šéfa hájila. „Andrej Babiš tady především vyhrál další volby,“ zdůraznila s tím, že podle českých občanů tedy Babiš žádnou velkou ostudu nedělá. source http://www.parlamentnilisty.cz/arena/monitor/Babis-je-ostuda-Pospisil-hrimal-Benesova-ho-utala-Tady-pan-doktor-chodi-demonstrovat-na-ta-namesti-Kdo-ty-protesty-plati-583836

[dramaplustautology]

Lost Time Part 2/???

Siegfried goes after the kidnapped Captain.

No warnings and that’s going to be the last you’ll see those two words.

I want to split the first part into at least 2 and this one used to be part of an even bigger one but it was so weird so I had to break it up. I feel like my pacing is much better but now, “chapter” cuts are confusing. like there’s several climaxes in the original but when you cut them up, there’s just no climax. AAAAAAAA

Ok and also, I have so much trouble going through Siegfried’s thoughts. Just so much even when I reread those events, his fate eps, everything, but I’m trying ajdhalskg. 

Waaaay shorter this time, still with tons of talking and thinking instead of actions orz

whatever, I’m tapping my watch @ me like where’s the kink???

Barely paying attention to what his students were talking about, Siegfried began drifting, toying with his helmet when Cagliostro spoke up.

“Is it the island or Utala’s god father that’s strange?” Cagliostro toyed with her hair ornament. It hadn’t been sitting right on her head after her couch flipped over. “I was hoping a more sensitive nose could sniff it out.”

“Go ahead and call me a dog, it doesn’t matter anymore,” Vane said, genuinely guilty about almost killing Cagliostro. He glanced at the other crew members returning to the ship, whispering amongst themselves about the newcomer and the strangely silent forest. “But now that you mention it, I didn’t see any animals while we were here.”

“We arrived so soon after the storm and if those happen often, we assumed the animals were used to taking cover,” Lancelot added, looking to his former teacher. “Siegfried, you were deeper in the mansion. Was there anything strange?”

Siegfried had nothing to say. He was sure that he did, after sneaking ahead and scouting the second floor of the abandoned mansion but it had been cut short. Overhearing the conversation about Utala’s lost sibling wasn’t his intention and yet, he had become enraptured by a footnote of the past.

Of course, this wasn’t the sort of topic that come up in casual conversation, which Siegfried was also unused to handling. Still, he knew enough that despite Utala saying that the scars from growing up as a different person were small, talking about such a thing would be deeply uncomfortable for all participants.

That was similar to how, during discussions about Siegfried’s time as a fugitive, pain would flash in Lancelot and Percival’s, sometimes Vane’s, expressions.

“They really care about you,” Sara had noted to him one day. “They’re afraid that you still hold it against them for doubting you for all those years.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Is it bad to say that I’m a bit jealous?”

Did they think that he would hold a grudge? He hoped that the way he acted didn’t give the impression that he did.

In all honesty, he didn’t remember those feelings. He knew that they had existed but they were so hazy now.

Siegfried hadn’t thought about that until Utala brought up the subject. The knight couldn’t make a good comparison between something as subjective as how much spite a person could hold for others wishing that they were someone else and spite for being framed for a crime.

The closest he had returned to those dark, wriggling emotions were from Alex embracing Utala and dragging her away. But that was only because Alex’s mannerisms were somewhat off-putting, to put it politely.

Utala said that it didn’t bother her, however, Siegfried was also sure that he had only heard a part of the story. Cagliostro on the other hand, who had recognized who Rio was…

“I’ll give you the details. Most of them. The rest has to come from the Captain herself.”

That implied that Cagliostro knew the rest of the details, intimately knew them if she was so confident about separating what should be said and what shouldn’t.

The more Siegfried try to ascertain why Cagliostro knew before Utala decided to tell him, the more questions it brought up about himself. Utala had always been jumpy around him, having to calm herself down before he felt it was safe to touch her.

As opposed to Cagliostro, who could drop out of a tree, disguised as a snake but be embraced wholeheartedly anyways.

“Am I so adorable that you can’t help but stare?” Cagliostro asked, winking at Siegfried with a finger pressed to her lips. Lancelot’s wrist twitched, like he had been about to shove her over the edge of the rail.

“Ah, apologies,” Siegfried came back to reality, refocusing on the actual topic at hand. “While I was in the mansion, I didn’t come across any sign of life except for Alexander and his maid. After putting more thought into the observation, it’s strange that such a structure wouldn’t be used as shelter by the wildlife.”

“Uuu, don’t say that after staring at me for a solid five minutes.” Cagliostro playful smile sharpened into a smirk.

“Which leads me to my other observation,” Siegfried, thinking fast, continued. “You wanted to know if we smelled anything amiss. Should we be smelling anything amiss?”

Crossing her arms, Cagliostro huffed and made a big scene about her pouting. Percival, who had been staring at Alex and Utala hugging for the entire conversation, didn’t notice and spoke over her.

“The incident with my brother was fresh on my mind today. That man’s dilapidated home was similar to the depths of my home. I thought that I was imagining the smell because of my memories being stirred but, did any of you feel the same?”

“Is that why you were so uptight today?” Vane asked, like Percival wasn’t high maintenance at all hours of the week. “I thought you were just being jealous.”

That got Percival looking, sputtering angrily trying to find a dignified way to reply.

“Jealous of that vulgar display?” The crease of Percival’s brow was so deep that it must have been burrowing into his skull. “If I saw a father handle their child in such a way, I would turn him to ash on the spot!”

“Haha! Tell us how you really feel, Percy!” Vane laughed but it didn’t get Percival riled in the normal way.

“I’m serious.” Percival shot a scathing look at the way Alex was practically spooning Utala where she stood. “There’s a difference between a ‘fatherly’ hug and harassment. No wonder Lyria and Vryn were pushed aboard first.”  

“I can see it,” Lancelot agreed. “I didn’t want to bring it up since she seemed happy but there really is a difference between the way he’s been touching her and say, how Siegfried touches her.”

“Is that so…” Siegfried trailed off, a part of him wanting to correct him but he didn’t know why and in what way. Somehow, Cagliostro also knew how to correct that.

“Yes there is but not in the way you’re thinking.” Cagliostro snorted. “Come now, pat my head like you do with Utala.”

Lancelot and Vane were shaking their heads at Siegfried and Percival was looking at him like they were meeting for the first time.

Curious, Siegfried patted Cagliostro’s head and the alchemist rolled her eyes.

“How are you as clueless as my niece? Pretend that I am the Captain, and I mean really pretend that I’m your Captain.”

Hearing Percival tighten his crossed arms, straining the straps of his armor at Cagliostro’s intonation, made Siegfried cautious. Did Percival see a trap that Siegfried couldn’t?

Either way, there was nothing that hinted at harm so Siegfried closed his eyes and reached back out. He ran his hand over Utala’s forehead, weaving his fingers into her hair until his palm cupped her temple.

Feeling Cagliostro lean into the touch, Siegfried opened his eyes and found that the alchemist was batting her eyelashes at him, lips pursed. Jerking his hand away like he’d been bitten, he realised that Lancelot and Vane had lost the ability to speak and Percival’s confusion had turned to clenched teeth behind pressed lips.

In such awkward mishaps, Siegfried would look to Lancelot to keep them on base but his eyes darted to Utala down on the island. Her god father’s hand was splayed over her chest, thumbing at the collar of her dress as she gazed up at him.

An ugly emotion writhed inside him, boring into his chest as Alex rested his chin on Utala. Siegfried turned his back and started for the way under the deck.  

“Siegfried?” Lancelot tried to go after him and expected the other knights to do the same.

Lyria began to scream.

All at once, everyone was on the move. Percival was the first on the gangplank with Katalina at his flank. Lyria held her hands out to the air as Vryn clung to her shoulder to brace for what was to come.

Then, the deck of the Grandcypher tilted ninety degrees. Siegfried stabbed his greatsword into the deck and grabbed Lancelot’s arm before he was swept into the nightmarish wind.

Another storm had picked up with vicious speed, forcing the summoned Tiamat to right the Grandcypher instead of coming to their Captain’s rescue. She couldn’t stop them from being thrown so high into the thundering clouds that Lancelot’s nose was bleeding from the sharp change in atmosphere.

The pouring rain washed it away and all around Siegfried was the chaos of his crewmates struggling to understand what had happened. Katalina had been forced back on deck, shielding Lyria and Vryn as they shouted for the Captain.

Thrown to the other end of the ship, Vane had his arm curled around the rail and the other curled around Percival, trying to keep him from thrashing out of it. He was shouting and the lightning crashing all around them made it impossible for Siegfried to hear him.

He couldn’t hear anything, only the white noise and the Captain’s absence telling him to make a mistake.

“What are you doing?” Lancelot yelled as Siegfried donned his helmet and began to run.

The Grancypher’s rail came at him fast and he jumped on the wood divider, and off the side of the ship.

“Siegfried!” He heard Percival call out, the monstrous wind devouring what might be the last voice he’d ever hear.

He dove into the flashing storm and its freezing torrential rain, fearing nothing but what he would find on an island that had disappeared from view.

That long winding conversation that had led nowhere had taken a little more than twenty minutes, and they had lost Utala and Siegfried in under twenty seconds.

“I should have known he was lying about knowing Utala’s father!” Vryn wrung his hands as Lyria hugged him, wincing at Percival slamming his fist on the railing. “All of those sketches and those stories fooled me. I should have waited for Rosetta to wake up.”

“No, he probably wasn’t lying,” Cagliostro, sitting in the corner of the deck with her knees against her chest, pressed her palms against her eyes. “If Utala’s father is anything like her, history’s just repeating.”

“What are you talking about?” Katalina asked, arms still shielding Lyria and Vryn long after the storm had gone, taking the island with it.

“I knew the smell inside that mansion but I wasn’t sure until now. Maybe I was blocking it out,” Cagliostro dragged her hands down her cheeks as the others approached. “It’s the same way I smelled after you freed me from my prison.”

“Then, does that mean—“Lyria coughed, clutching her side.

“Are you alright.” Katalina knelt, holding Lyria’s shoulders as coughs wracked her body with trembles.

They grew louder until everyone on deck turned their heads, just in time for her to collapse.  

There were limits to what humans could do. Surviving a four hundred foot fall was a stretch that even some primals couldn’t reach.

But, as the puddle he lay in rippled from his stirring, Siegfried had discovered that a dragon could.

Fafnir’s blood had saved him a second time.

He awoke to a dimming violet sky, the stars twinkling above the gap in the forest canopy. Siegfried’s fall had been broken by branches that lay shredded to pieces around him, floating in the remnants of a storm’s rain.

There was no telling how long he had been asleep. Being stabbed by Hagan had taken days to recover the blood lost. He didn’t know how long it took for shattered bones to heal and if they did so correctly.

Raising his arm, Siegfried flexed his fist. The test yielded piercing pain but he held his breath, enduring. Slowly sitting up, the water flowing from the gaps in his freezing armor, he checked his surroundings as his spine creaked in protest.

The woods were so thick that it felt like he was sitting at the bottom of a well where the light leaking into the hole he had punched into the branches was fast disappearing. Water was still dripping from the branches, either meaning that the storm that attacked the Grandcypher had just ended or Siegfried had slept through a different one.

And during his time asleep, something could have happened to Utala.

Siegfried forced himself to calm, spying his greatsword stuck into the base of a tree trunk nearby. It had struck the middle, sinking until the half the blade was sheathed, and gravity had helped the weighty weapon slide further until it touched the ground.

Utala had deflected that sword, the first time they met and the numerous times they sparred. Alexander wouldn’t be facing a helpless child.

He ignored the ugly crackling his legs made when he stood. Finding his stride, Siegfried tugged his sword from the tree, hefting it on his shoulder, and found himself in a familiar landscape.

Like back then, there was no time to dwell on fears. The likeliest place for Utala to take shelter as in the mansion and in the worst case scenario, Alexander would have her imprisoned there. Siegfried just needed to know which direction it was.

As if a higher power was sending him a sign, the bitter smell of something burning reached his nose. He looked up and saw thin wisps of smoke wafting over the gap. Judging from the way it moved and the thickness of the plume, the knight knew which direction he needed to go and estimated that it wasn’t going to be a far walk.

Beginning slow, Siegfried went from a walk to a sprint, clearing distances that would’ve taken much longer with the uneven ground and foliage obstructing the way. He traversed the sodden landscape, snaking around the trees and the rotting husks of the ones that had fallen to the storm.

The blanketing darkness barely did much in slowing him down. It would have done a lot less several years ago. It had been a long time since he had to move through this kind of terrain with such urgency. Ironically, he was running towards a fire instead of away from it.

Being able to go so far, his shadow moving through the night, he supposed he hadn’t stopped being an inhuman beast.

“Leave it!” He heard a man hiss, coming to an abrupt stop.

It came from up ahead, where Siegfried could see the trees stop at a craggily wall of stone. He sped towards it, beginning to climb up the slick moss covered rocks.

“It never stops raining on this godsforsaken chunk of hell. If the fire spreads, it’s not going to go far.” Siegfried heard the sound of a window slamming shut and waited at the edge of the wall’s top. Footsteps scurried into the distance, and a door creaked open and shut before Siegfried thought it safe to pull himself over the ledge.

He had reached a barren terrace, the looming figure of the mansion standing beyond it. There were lights glowing in the third floor windows, and below in the corner of the terrace farthest from the mansion, was a brick incinerator.

Alexander had his maid burn garbage.

A deep sense of dread filled Siegfried’s stomach; an overwhelming creeping dread that had only taken him over a single instance in Feendrache Castle.  

He approached the incinerator, reaching for the iron door like he had when Isabella had summoned him to the King’s chambers.

The fire inside was already dying down and a memory of Utala from outside Fafnir’s cave, shaking in fright and awe of Siegfried, edged into his mind. Hand shaking, he opened the incinerator hatch.

Laying on scattered ashes away from the small flames were patches of Utala’s dress, singed bits of her gloves, and what remained of her charred bones.