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ssnakey-b · 6 years ago

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FF8 English-French translarison, part 18: A tribe called Side-quest

Hello again, everybody! It’s been a while but we’re back! Quick refresher: last time, we went over the many differences in the concert scene and the stuff leading up to it.

And now, Squall wakes up and is being summoned to the bridge, but before that, let’s take another look around Balamb Garden and see if there’s anything of interest, shall we?

First little thing, the CC Club. For the most part the dialogue with Jack here (or Valet in French) is pretty much the same in both languages, but there is one small difference, in that in English, the CC members other than the King are described as “Card _____” whereas in French, they are just referred to as their title. So for example, you get “The Knight of Clubs” instead of “Card Knight Club” (by the way, “Knight Club” sounds like the name of a place that specializes in all-sorceress bachelorette parties).

Also, the Joker is referred to as just that, not Magician Joker, although the Jack does call him a magician once.

Here’s something interesting if you talk to Irvine. Most of lines are pretty much the same, except for one, where in French, he says “There’s no big secret to hitting on girls, you gotta look cool!” whereas in English, he gives Squall the following advice: “Like... I’ve been thinking about this for a while now... Maybe you should loosen up a bit? You’ll be sure to get girls that way...!”

Weird that only that one line would be so different. Also, thanks for your input, mister Love Doctor, but I think Squall is going to stick to the patented Loire-Leonhart seduction technique: be lucky enough that you’re so hot girls go after you, and not you after them, in spite of your massive awkwardness”. Seriously, between Laguna’s cramp and Squall’s... self, their family line would have extinguished itself centuries ago if it weren’t for their absurdly good genes and actually had to put any effort into wooing ladies.

Skipping ahead to plot stuff, this is a good spot to tell you that in French, Squall’s title isn’t “commander” but “chef”. And no, that doesn’t mean he’s a cook, that word actually just means “chief” or “boss”. The term used in English comes from the title “chef cuisinier”, which translates as “Head cook”.

But yeah, the French title is kinda lame regardless. It’s such a generic title. Don’t know why they couldn’t use “commandant”, which you know, actually is a military rank and would describe Squall’s role far better. “Chef” sounds more like something cops would call their boss in a TV show. Although I will say, now that I think of it, I so want a whodunnit series where Balamb Garden is a police headquarter.

More importantly, though, we have a very different reaction from Squall depending on the version. In English, he actually gets annoyed and asks Quistis not to call him that. In French, he’s more confused and just repeats “Chef?” as shown above.

Anyway, Squall’s filthy assistants suggest checking on Balamb but fuck that, we’re going on side quests! Yeah, I figure that now that the game world is finally almost completely opened up, it’s a good time to start doing these, and generally exploring. Plus, I’ve worked out a neat way to alternate between side quests and plot stuff at least until the battle of the Gardens, so it’s nice to have a bit of organization for a change.

First stop, Obel Lake. We have another bizarre change here as in the English text, the shadow you can meet after humming a song sends you on a quest to find his friend, Mr. Monkey (and with that, it just occurred to me how freaking weird that game can get). But in the French version, his friend is called “Ryo the idiot”.

Yeah, they’re nothing a like and I really wonder what prompted each version. Again, if you played another localisation of the game and they call it something else, I’d love to hear what it is.

After we find the idiot / monkey / idiot monkey and return to mr. Shadow (hm, is it the same one from Fifth Element?), we have another interesting difference as in French, the shadow says “Booyaka” to great you. Looks like Selphie’s catchphrase did catch on to someone after all!

Now then, you may be aware that relaying his friend’s whereabouts makes the shadow give you some helpful hints as a reward, and of them is to “take some time off at Eldbeak Peninsula”. Once you get there, you find some weird message, and the trick is to literally take the words “time” and “off” away from the message the reveal another hint.

Of course, that would only work in English, so what did they do for the French version? Well, the shadow tells you “Retire tes pompes à Eldbeak Peninsula”, which means “take off your shoes at Eldbeak Peninsula”. And indeed, removing the words “tes pompes” pulls the same trick.

Also, annoyingly, the shadow’s hint refers to the place as Eldbeak Peninsula despite being translated as “Crête d’Eldbeak” in French, and since the hint is in a very specific spot and could find it right away, I ended up wondering if I got to the wrong place at first and started looking futilely around for an Eldbeak Peninsule (or a “Péninsule d’Eldbeak”), until checking the Internet confirmed that I was in the right place at the beginning.

If you go back to the dumbass ape after you manage to skip the rock “many, many times” (or “an incalculable amount of times” in French), he’ll get angry and start yelling “Ahhh! Darn it! Y-You’re just a big loser! I’m able to skip the rock as many times as I want! So there! Ha-Hah! Loser! Dork! Idiot! Your mom wears combat boots!”

Well that certainly was creative, although I think most of the cast except Linoa and Zell is immune to “yo mama” jokes, what with being orphans and all. ANyway, he is a bit more restrained in French, going “For God’ssake! How can anyone suck so bad? What a butterfingers, really! I can skip rocks 100 more times than you!”

Do note I specified “a bit”.

Moving on to Timber, let’s see what’s new. This little girl says her mom will let her have a cat when Timber is independent in both versions, and in both versions, she struggles with the word “independent”, but they way to present it is different. In English, she slowly sounds it out. In French, she mispronounces it as “indéTendant”, with a T instead of a P. Well, can’t blame her, I’d rather have a T than a P too. Thank you all for coming, I’ll be here all week!

This guy says that his girlfriend keeps nagging him, saying he’s a loser. In the English version, he than whines that if someone had told him not to give up back then, he would have tried harder, proving his girlfriend right. Oddly, he doesn’t say that second part in the French version, so you don’t get a hint that you should have encouraged him earlier, because apparently this guy makes career decisions based on the advice of random passers-by.

Here’s a very interesting one as the dialogue with both NPCs goes in waaaaayyyy different directions. In English, the mom says “I’m so proud of my daughter. You guys help your parents out, too while you can. They may not ask for it, but it’ll make them really happy.”

Tssssss... about thaaaaat...

Let’s move swiftly on. In French, she instead says “From time to time, I feel like I am my daughter’s grandmother. Strange, isn’t it?”.

As for the daughter, in English, she says “It”s quite tough being the eldest daughter. I have a lot of responsibilities... But I love my parents who adopted me and my twin brothers.”

Gee whiz, it keeps getting more and more awkward. In French, she says “Sometimes, I feel like I’m my parents’ mom... That’s strange, right?”.

So yeah, very different and all kidding aside, I once again have to give it to the English version, as I like the mention of the kids being adopted. It goes to show that the main characters aren’t the only orphans in that world.

Back to smaller differences with these two. For the most part, their dialogue is the same, with the girl saying she used to get fired up but calmed down later on, and in English, the guy says “you were just as attractive when you used to beat me up.” whereas in French, he says “Oh! The beatings she would give me whenever I tried ti give her a little kiss!”.

Well... still a healthier relationship than 50 Shades of Grey, I suppose. Not by much, but hey...

Inside the pub, in the English version, the lady says it’s called Aphrora and that it’s related to an Aurora. However, in the French version, she straight-up says it’s called Aurora. In both versions, she then adds that it means “drink until you see [an/the] aurora,” but interestingly, in English, she tells us to come back for drinks when we’re older, while in French she jokes that “considering the décor, it should be ‘drink until you stop seeing the horror’.“

But far more importantly, this:

Alright, so in the English version, she explains that her boss and his wife are part of different resistance groups, respectively, the Forrest Duck and the Forrest Fox, and that it resembles their relationship.

In French, she says her boss is a “Canard de la Forêt”, which does translate to “Forrest Duck”... but then adds that his wife is part of a different group (which she doesn’t name) and that she always changes one letter from he name of her husband’s group.

Now, this to me seems like a covert yet very obvious reference to the word “connard” (meaning she technically changes two letters but let’s not nitpick), which is a variation on “con” which is French for “cunt”. The closest I could translate that is would be “cunter”.

So yeah, that’s some classic crap getting past the radar right there, although I’m not sure it was even necessary considering the translations of later FF games include similarly coarse language such as “merde” and “connerie”, another variation on “con”.

I should point out that the French are generally way more cool with swearing than Americans seem to be, and boy howdy do we love ourselves some cunts and variations of it. We have cunters, cuntesses, cunteries, etc... Yeah, you’re not gonna have the outraged reactions you’d get from that in America over here. We basically use “cunt” the same way you guys use “fuck / fucker / fuckery / etc”.

In fact, I remember the French dub of one of the Harry Potter movies has Harry call Ron a cunt as well, at some point. It doesn’t help that with a few exceptions, we don’t really have mild swears in French, it’s usually either tame or strong, so translators often go for the stronger option when a scene needs the extra punch, with sometimes hilarious results.

Anyway, let’s move on. I’m putting this above screenshot in English because this guy seems to have an accent or something, which is absent in the French version. Although that does seem to confirm the previous mention of accents in the FF world, which is a neat bit of lore.

If you go back to the area where two kids are playing on the train tracks, you can rescue the little girl after she falls and nearly gets crushed by a train, because apparently Squall just wasn’t sexy enough, so he also has to save adorable little girls to make women will swoon some more. More relevantly, after the girl thanks you, a model train appears to bring some news, which apparently travel very fast in Timber.

In English, it says the girl was saved “in the nick of time” by a brave young man. The French version make sit a bit more grisly, saying she was saved “from a horrible death”.

If you talk to this girl a couple times, she’ll tell you a story about how she was nearly hit by a train and was saved by a very handsome man named Loire (guess it runs in the family) and how he was the man of her dreams and Squall presumably starts feeling nauseated and ddoesn’t understand why. In French, she tells the same story but oddly, she can’t remember his name as well, and calls him La Gooma instead.

And now we move on to Dollet, where there is quite a bit to look at. First thing of note is this guy and his sister; they have quite a bit to say, but the reason I bring him up is that at some point in the French version (and only that one as far as I’m aware), he name-drops Corto Maltese by saying he wants to be a sailor, like him.

For anyone who may not be aware, Corto Maltese is the titular character from a cult classic Italian adventure comic series by Hugo Pratt. Even though it never really became a huge mainstream name, it was still very popular, especially in the seventies it seems. As a result, you probably won’t be surprised to hear it often gets pretty psychedelic, not to mention the art style is rather unusual (but gorgeous) to begin with.

Corto is indeed a sailor, although I don’t remember him ever actually doing much sailing (not that I have read many of the albums although I do recommend them), to the point that in the movie adaptation (which, much like the comics, is excellent yet very obscure), he claims his sailor hat was a gift, and he always ends up embroiled in massive adventures and conspiracies, somewhere between Indiana Jones and James Bond.

And as I alluded to, although the comic is pretty famous, it’s still fairly obscure so it’s pretty amazing to see it brought up in Final Fantasy of all things.

If you talk to this kid, whom is playing hide-and-seek, he tells Squall to go away in both versions, but there’s a slight difference. In English, the kid calls him “mister,” which surprises Squall a bit and he replies that he’s only 17. In French though, the kid calls the group “old guys” and Squall understandably gets more upset about it. Either way, I do love how that’s one of the few things that gets him to explicitly react to what an NPC is saying. Guess even he can’t always be above vanity.

Here’s a bit I love. When you talk to the guy in the green vest and you tell him the town hasn’t changed, he then starts to recognize you as the kids who were being chased the giant robot spider (or robo-crab, as the French version puts it). You then get two options. The English ones are fairly standard: either “don’t know” or “can’t say who, but we know.”

The French one got a bit cute with it, and your choices are “Not at all, What robo-crab?” and “It was our brothers and sisters...”. If you pick the first answer, it’s also different. In English, he just says it’s his job to make repairs. In French, he says “forget it, I got you confused with those 3 kids who destroyed the town”.

Not sure why he’s blaming it on them though, considering it’s Galbadia who did it during the whole “invasion of your dukedom that these kids actually helped stop” thing. At most you could argue Seifer disobeying orders is what led to the Galbadians launching the robot, but that wouldn’t be the other kids’ fault. Also, that’s something to think about when you talk to that little girl by the beach who says she wants her mommy back.

But anyway, if you pick the other option, he more or less says the same thing, except in French, he of course says to tell their siblings they owe the town money and on top of that, while the English version has him mention the specific sum of 1 370 000 gils, the French one rounds it out to 1 000 000.

Next is the painter’s house. Couple things here. First, in the French version, the grandpa explicitly says he’s going to spank the kid if he keeps messing with his paintings, whereas the English version had him says something about “cuchi-cuchi-coo” his neck, which frankly sounds worse. However, in both versions, in the last part of this quest, the grandpa does mention tickling the kid as “punishment”.

Also, in the English text, the kid says adding the white bones are his way of expressing himself and to be novel and original. In French, he just says that in comics, dogs always have a bone in their mouths, so why couldn’t Rex have one?

Finally, after you’ve ended the quest, the grandpa gives different lines depending on versions. In English, he figures that maybe he should have played with the kid more so he wouldn’t be so bored and trying to get his attention, but that he’s too old for sports, and is considering poker instead (so card games other than Triple Triad do exist in this universe!).

In French, he says he’ll stop including dogs on his landscapes and that he’ll try painting cats instead, though he’s afraid the kid will start painting fish bones.

Also, while the kid feels like he’s grown a little from being able to express himself in English, the French one says he’s gonna stop his pranks and that he wants to be a veterinarian, now.

In the bar, there are some changes in what the guy in the white shirt says. In English, he says it’s nice to have a drink after work, and his friend asks him what he’s talking about since he’s always drinking there. Then, if you talk to him again, either he or his friend drunkenly mentions playing ball.

In French, it’s kind of the opposite, as he asks for his last drink of the day, only for his friend to point out it’s only 7 in the morning (which still seems early to start drinking to me, but hey, you do you and your liver problems). Bizarrely, if you talk to him again, he says it’s time for his first cognac of the day, and his friends asks what he’s talking about since he finished the bottle an hour ago.

Speaking to the friend, we have a choice. In English, the prompt is “Yeah, that’s so true...” and the choices are “What is?” and “Yeah... sure...”. If you pick the first, he says life is nicer during peacetime. If you pick the second, he advises not to eat off the floor.

In French, the prompt is roughly “I needed that” and the answers are “What?” and “that hits the spot”. If you pick the first, he asks how many drinks an hour make you an alcoholic. If you pick the second, he says he doesn’t feel too good.

Boy, that sure was a rousing conversation! Let’s talk to the lady on the left.

In both versions, she laments the fact that the rich young men in the dukedom are all married, then asks Squall what he thinks of her. Surprisingly, the answers are the exact same in both versions, but the woman’s reactions are quite different.

In English, picking “you’re very attractive” has her say maybe she should go for older men. In French, it has her say that while it’s true, only perverts like her. And then there’s the much ruder “Are you really a woman?!”. In English, she tries to laugh it off, saying she’s not his type, only to turn around and mumble to herself, wondering how Squall know (s)he was a man. Her French counterpart gets more offended, complaining about all the men she spends at beautician. After she turns around, she makes the more subtle remark that he must have a 6th sense.

WELP. Not opening THAT can of worms.

Next, that female NPC who says she’s window-shopping. In English, she then asks Squall if he has a problem with that (not sure why he would, but okay). In French, she asks him if he wants to buy her something.

In the town Square, we have this guy. In French, he says that due to taxes as a result of hiring SeeD, he’s gonna have to sell his cards collection, which is far nicer than in English, where he said "Better get ma young bride and start havin’ children”. What the actual fuck, dude?!

In the hotel, the two employees have a weird accent which I think is supposed to be vaguely German, but I’m not sure. In the English version, only the one in the back has any sort of special speech pattern, and it’s just a habit of saying “y’all”. Either way, more accent shenanigans.

And here we have one of the strangest differences yet, to the point it actually caught me off guard because I didn’t remember that text in French at all, and for good reasons since it says something completely unrelated! Right, so if you beat that guy in the upper floor of the bar, he’ll invite you to his private room(or secret room in French), where he’ll give you some cards and you can find some of other stuff.

There are also several piles of books, and when checking one of them, you’ll find what is presumably the previous owner’s diary telling a truly harrowing tale of meeting a woman who kept beating him at Triple Triad, eventually marrying her and having a daughter with her, but it ends with her trying to save their daughter from drowning, only to drown herself. It ends with the bleak statement that neither the daughter or he himself can comprehend their loss. Jesus Christ! Even for a Final Fantasy game, that’s dark.

But in the French version, it seems to just be a collection of random thoughts. For example, it first says that his son is studying the Sorceress War (one of the few times Sorceresses are referred to as such in French, instead of “priestesss”), and how he doesn’t understand any of it in spite of having lived it, then he ponders why extraterrestrials in movies always look like animals, and that maybe it’s because humans are bestial in nature as well, concluding that being at the pub sometimes feel like being at a zoo.

It just fascinates me that it could be so different. I can’t fathom what caused this and it’s one of those things that really makes me curious about other versions.

To make this even more baffling, if you check another book pile, the text is very similar, including a bit about Laguna coming along and getting his ass kicked at cards. Interestingly though, in the English version, he can’t quite remember his name, simply remembering it started with Lag, and says an easy win doesn’t leave much of an impression, but in French, he calls him La Gouma and says he’s a “nice guy, but sucks at cards”.

And now we can continue onward to Deling City! First little thing, when asking Caraway about Edea, in the French text, he says that he fears her influence will lead to “a new world war”. Now, the French version does use the term “sorceress war”, so it’s interesting to see him also refer to it as a world war, and it seems fitting for a serious military type.

Another interesting tidbit comes when you ask him about Esthar. For starters, in English, he says that Esthar took over the world under Adel, which isn’t mentioned in French and I don’t remember being said at any other point. This makes me wonder if that was a strange decision on the English translator’s part, but that does make sense as Esthar making it to part of the Galbadian continent would explain why they’re even at war, why Galbadia started invading other countries and forcing them into their army, and even why Galbadian people where paranoid of Sorceresses before Edea.

At the same time, the French version also has an interesting detail, where they mention that even after Esthar went silent, relationships between the two nations remained strained, alluding to the situation turning from a world war to a cold war situation. He also theorizes that perhaps this is due to Galbadia being jealous of Esthar’s technological success and the efficiency of their democracy. Compelling, although I do wonder how Galbadia would know about “the efficiency of Esthar’s democracy” since it stopped all contact with the outside world right after Adel was dethroned.

There isn’t a huge difference in what the various NPCs say, but this one’s pretty intriguing. In French, she just says that she heard a sorceress can transfer her powers to the person of their choosing. In English though, she explicitly says that she learned in the Garden that any person can receive a sorceress’ power, and I thought that’s obviously wrong since it’s stated multiple times that only women can inherit such powers,

But just as I thought that, the next speech box has her explain that while she did go to Garden, she wasn’t a very good student, which would explain why she wouldn’t have gotten it completely right.Cleverly done. Also, I like the implication that the average person isn’t all that aware of exactly what sorceresses are and how their powers work. It’s an interesting treatise on the link between fear, admiration and ignorance.

In fact, reading what the Deling City citizens have to say about Edea and how they blindly believe she’ll lead the country to greatness because she’s tough, promises a renaissance for their country and that even the smaller guys wild be able to make it is fascinating in general... and disturbingly true to real dictatorships.

There’s a small difference I find amusing where in English, one NPC says that people like Edea because “people follow strength, not charisma” whereas contrariwise, the same guy says in French that “Edea is much more charismatic than old Deling”.

ANd here’s a guy who straight-up calls Edea their Messiah in French!In Eglish, he just says he now know he has to abide by Edea after feeling a surge of energy during the parade (which might allude to at least partial mind control).

And finally, we finish with this NPC, whom in the English version, says she’s been sending Edea fan mail daily, but in French, she says, that she hopes Edea will publish a magic cookbook. Which does sound awesome, but unlikely. To be fair, what she says is literally “book of magical recipes”, so she may be referring to like, potions and stuff, but I prefer to believe she means how to use magic to enhance the flavour of your dishes.

And so we reach the end of our first part dedicated entirely to side content and my God there was way more stuff to cover than I ever expected. I hope you enjoyed it because I certainly found a lot of these differences very interesting. As always, if you enjoyed this post, reblogging it would be very appreciated, do not hesitate to commentate or send me asks, maybe even suggest things you’d like to see that I may have missed, and I’ll be seeing you next time for part 19, where we return to Balamb City. Have a nice day, everyone!

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thatsnotperiod-blog · 7 years ago

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television. pilot. bbc’s jonathan strange and mr norrell is my favorite show i’ve never seen because its whole thing is making an interesting concept (magic) boring by piling on a regency setting, academia, and early 19th century british nationalism.

Starts out with a raven. It seems hungry! Some guy is putting water and some other dumb crap (is that a broken pen?) in a bowl while his servants watch. He looks like a nerd. The magic didn’t work. But is he in want of a wife?

He kind of bumbles out to a side street, and, TITLE.

Sidestreet bumbler bumbles on past a bookstore and is observed in a sinister way by a man who looks really, really similar to him, but is actually a totally separate man. BBC original series are perilous like this. The sinister man is just getting a book so it’s fine though. Ah, Book People.

Then a narrator tells me that, “Some years ago there was in York a society of magicians. They met on the third Wednesday of every month, and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic.” The narrator is a dumb idea but just the phrase “dull papers” has my heart pounding. This narration is cut with Our Hero bumbling up to one such meeting, attended by the Most British-Looking Men Available, many in wigs.

Our Hero is revealed to be an anxious-voiced dilettante called Mr Segundus and he wants to know, “Why is magic no longer done in England?” and his question is greeted with derision, which tells me a couple things, in order 1. that magic may be done elsewhere but certainly is not in France, because if the French were doing magic, Horatio Nelson would be doing it too 2. that magic is probably alive and well in Scotland 3. Mr Segundus must not be in want of a wife as clearly he is not in possession of a good fortune and Mrs Bennet will have to turn her sights elsewhere!

Mr Segundus gets cornered outside by a man who introduces himself as Honeyfoot (lol) and it’s Brian Pettifer, one of the Several Actors of Britain! He was Couthon in that 2009 French Revolution movie, Mr Raggles in Vanity Fair, Wheeler in To the Ends of the Earth, Poupart (not Poptart) in the Musketeers, and many other things (Growler in Bleak House, Boycott in Garrow’s Law)! Good to see you, Brian Pettifer!

Anyway Honeyfoot (lol) is like, Mr Segundus I agree with you, people should be doing magic. But apparently the books about how to do it are super rare -- even in York! They hit up a book store, and seems like Segundus tried to reserve some magic books but the asshole store owner sold them already. Segundus, visibly deflated, asks if the guy has anything on “the nature of clouds” which, jesus, being a gigantic nerd in the 19th century is so fucking bleak if clouds is your fallback. OMG it was a ruse! While the guy is off looking for cloud books, Segundus hops over the counter and snatches the cash sheet to “find the devil who keeps swiping my books!”

Someone named Norrell, they discover, is the devil in question. They hop in a carriage to go find him. They talk magic on the way there, and Segundus says he bought a nonfunctional spell from a street magician who threw in a free prophecy: “Magic will be returned to England by two magicians.”

Honeyfoot (lol) is like, “We are two magicians. John Segundus and Mr Honeyfoot (lol)” which is the same construction as the title of the show but ... not ... the right guys. Turns out the street magician set expectations already and Segundus shoots him down. RIP, John Segundus & Mr Honeyfoot, the Show That Never Was.

They arrive at Mr Norrell’s pad and are admitted by the Sinister Bookstore Guy from earlier. Mr Norrell is a grouchy alpha nerd who has read Segundus’s publications but wants to throw out some criticism anyway. Segundus and Honeyfoot geek sweetly over Norrell’s library. Segundus repeats his question again and the camera zooms hard on Mr Norrell, who says, “It is a wrong question, sir. Magic is not ended in England. I myself am quite a tolerable practical magician.”

! O H S H I T !

Back at the York Society of Extremely British Men, this assertion is shouted down as “absolute tripe.” They decide that they’ll write to Norrell and ask him to show them some magic or shut up.

York Minster. Nighttime. The Society approaches the front steps, observing that it’s the hour and place appointed but Norrell has clearly chickened out.

“Mr Norrell concedes defeat!” says their beefiest guy.

But then Sinister Bookstore guy (his name is Childermass, and I guess he’s Norrell’s servant) appears saying no, Norrell doesn’t concede shit, he’ll just be working from home today, and also he wants everybody to sign a contract promising they will no longer call themselves magicians if he succeeds at magic. Everybody signs, except Segundus, who is like “magic is my life u can’t take it.” Bleak.

Meanwhile Mr Norrell is doing a typical work-from-home where he’s watching Real Housewives of New Jersey in his PJs. Just kidding, he’s waving his hands over a bowl of water. How do people in this show keep themselves from accidentally doing magic while shaving?

The Society wanders into York Minster. Childermass, building his character, finds stuff to lean against. Bells chime.

And then, MAGIC! Some of the carvings at the top of the clustered columns in the nave are talking, and it is real creepy because they’re talking about a murder they witnessed, until the camera gets up there and they look like Statler and Waldorf. The York Society are all freaking out.

Cut to the rood screen, which of course features statues of all the kings of England and they’re bickering. OK. There’s a Richard III joke which I tepidly laughed at. A carving of a woman with a harp is singing, and a statue of a former archbishop (as York Minster is, in fact, actually a cathedral) yells at Beefy in Latin.

Then the magic is over. Norrell, at home, collapses back in his chair, because a WFH day also involves a lot of early booze. The York Society is invigorated, then sad because they all signed the We’re Not Magicians paper.

The next day, the York Society of No Longer Magicians is taking down all their signs (lol) while Childermass, building his character, leans back in their chairs and smokes. Segundus says he’s just happy that “magic is restored to England” but then, Segundus didn’t sign shit.

“Do you think,” Segundus asks Childermass, “Mr Norrell would be offended if I wrote to the London newspapers of this?”

Childermass is like, yes he would be offended, but do it anyway: “I rather think my master has hidden his talent long enough. It’s time for him to take his place, and London is where I will take him.”

OK then Mr. World’s Worst Press Secretary.

Meanwhile! Elsewhere! A man rides a horse while Charlotte Riley (!) attends church. Horse Guy is bugging Charlotte Riley from the window, and she hilariously ignores him, but meets him on the way out.

He’s listing the ways he has reformed himself for her, not playing cards, not flirting with anybody in Brighton (but the Bennets might be there!) not drinking as much, etc. His name is Jonathan, hers is Arabella, and apparently they are in love. All Arabella wants from him is for him to find “a way to occupy [his] time” instead of “perpetual holiday.”

He gets on one knee, missing the point and saying that he sees he must act.

“Jonathan,” she says. “Do not act. Think.”

The camera zooms to him to imply that this has not occurred before.

*** IT’S DAD TIME ***

Jonathan is apparently being prevented from having any occupation by his Mean Old Dad, who tortures the servants and harangues his son for being useless. He sounds like the Mean Old Dad from Moulin Rouge a little.

But it gets worse! “You have proven yourself a failure at everything you have done,” says Mean Old Dad, “and you will have no assistance finding an occupation while I am yet living.”

Yikes! Later.

Jonathan -- It’s Jonathan Strange, ok, it’s him, the other guy in the show -- is getting a drink with Arabella’s brother and probably venting about his Mean Old Dad. And, yep, there it is: “My father delights in torturing me, as he tortures his servants ... as he tortured my mother.” Wow, that’s the same word I used like two paragraphs up!

“All I’ve ever truly wished for was your sister,” says Strange, clearly thinking that is a sweet thing to say instead of a gross one. Arabrother leaves, and Strange empties a flask into his cup. wellllllllp.

Morning. Hangover. Someone is rapping at the chamber door. Strange’s servants are here to get him because his Mean Old Dad is locked in his office. Turns out he’s mean old dead!

Funeral. Strange triumphant. He wonders how long he should wait before asking Arabella to marry him.

London! Norrell and Childermass in a carriage, reading Norrell’s press clips. He is causing Quite a Stir, which apparently is his intention, or Childermass’s. Norrell is pissed off that London is loud and expensive and that his WSJ crosshatch portrait isn’t flattering. OK, guy. They pass by a street magician who is talking about “the Raven King” and then gives Norrell the world’s weirdest stare. Norrell bitches that street magicians give the practice of magic an “such an appalling name” and Childermass does a stage mom thing where he tells Norrell that he is the only one who has any real talent and the future of his art depends on him: “This is what you have worked for. This is your great opportunity. If all goes well here, when folk think of a magician...”

“...They will think of myself,” says Norrell, with chilling self-reverence. Childermass gives him a little more pep talk and sends him out of the carriage. What -- what kind of dynamic did I just watch?

New scene. Parliament. Somebody’s yelling, and -- is that Samuel West?! -- and Samuel West (!) is looking bored. Nobody told me Samuel West was in this show! Wow! Samuel West.

Norrell is wandering boringly through the halls.

Turns out Samuel West is the target of the parliamentary harangue (which is, from what I understand of Actual Parliament, just punching the clock for these guys) and has the decency to look a little ashamed of it. His name in the show is Sir Walter Pole, not Samuel West. He stands to rebut, and does so with all the sneering, grandstanding, and rhetorical posturing that constitute the parliamentary equivalent of “slow Monday.”

He tosses a zinger to the opposition leader on his way out, and Norrell tries to lobby him in the, uh, lobby. But Sir Walter just scoots into his office, and one of his servants shuts the door in Norrell’s face. The servant says, he knows Norrell has an appointment, but can they move the meeting to Chez Sir Walter instead of the office?

Scene change. Chez Sir Walter. There’s a lady there who tries to snob Norrell, and it works until she hits on an academic subject. They discuss “fairy servants” and Norrell explains that fairies are trouble-with-a-capital-t-and-that-rhymes-with-p-and-that-stands-for-pool.

The servant/scheduler from earlier is handing out tea, and we learn that his name is Stephen.

Norrell states his intention: to use magic to help in the war. Sir Walter is totally snowed by this, and thinks maybe magic could be used to clean up uniforms or like, entertain people maybe? He Doesn’t Get It. Norrell, clearly the IT guy of his day, heaves a sigh.

There’s a young woman coughing pathetically and curled up on a chaise longue in the background, and Sir Walter introduces her as his fiancée Emma, like it’s totally normal to be this sick in somebody’s living room. Norrell is very surprisingly sweet to her, and she says she’s pretty into magic. Norrell suggests hot tea with lemon and nutmeg for her cough. Sir Walter kicks him out with a lecture: “Magic is not respectable. The government cannot meddle in such things.” OK.

“How’d it go?” says Childermass, back in the carriage.

“Very well,” says Norrell, on the verge of tears. I’m not letting go of the stage mom analogy because it seems to get more and more on the nose. Norrell notices they’re not going home, and Childermass says nope, they’re going Lady Godstone’s house: “It’s a soiree.”

“A party?” says Norrell, looking devastated. “I wish to go home and read a book.”

Norrell at a party. It’s like those MBTI specialized hells, and this is INTJ hell. It’s crowded, people are laughing, and Norrell doesn’t know anyone, but they’re all gossiping about him. Norrell escapes INTJ Hell and shuts himself in the host’s library, or INTJ Heaven. Ah, dichotomy.

After a minute of Alone Time with Books, Norrell is interrupted by two Party People. Party Guy 1 is harassing the Party Guy 2, apparently the host, about how Norrell was promised, but no magic seems to have been did. “That gentleman is reading a book!” he says, of Norrell, to demonstrate how boring and amagical the party is.

Norrell interrupts them and kind of says hi I’m the guy you’re talking about. They both recover awkwardly. Party Guy 2 introduces himself as Drawlight, and Party Guy 1 as Lascelles. Drawlight tries to drag Norrell out to introduce him to people and Norrell slips out the back.

He’s met at outside by like the street magician from earlier, who says some creepy stuff to him: “You think yourself a very fine fellow, hoarding books like a miser hoards gold. But I have a book you won’t find in your library, or any other.”

Norrell tries to get back inside, but the doors have locked behind him.

“It’s written by the Raven King,” says the creepy guy. Norrell makes the face I make when someone tells me they saw a spider in their shower five years ago, which is to say absolute living nightmare horror. “And it tells me all about you.”

Creepy Guy introduces himself as Vinculus, magician of Threadneedle Street, so abruptly that Norrell almost pees. He goes on that Norrell’s coming was foretold, and while he’s doing this he’s leaning in and menacing him in like, kind of an overboard way?

Norrell scoots away and, feeling safer, snottily shouts that magic can’t tell the future and only total hacks make prophecies. He undermines this by continually yelling for Childermass.

Vinculus keeps going: Two magicians will appear in England, one will be Fearfulness and one will be Arrogance. Some stuff will happen, both will fail, some other stuff. Norrell is stuck on the two magicians thing. Vinculus wanders off, and Norrell shouts for Childermass again. He looks really scared!

Back Chez Norrell, Childermass is trying to calm Norrell down, and asks what Vinculus wanted. Norrell hysterics that he mentioned a book, “and if he does have a book, I want it, and then I want to go home to Yorkshire.”

Childermass plays hardball: “Do you wish to make a success of this, or do you not?”

New Day. Childermass watches Vinculus sell spells on the street. Norrell meets Drawlight and Lascelles in his house and, surprise surprise, they want a favor, to be the guys who get credit for discovering him. Norrell is refusing, he doesn’t want to attend parties or do dumb stuff, he wants to go home.

Meanwhile, Vinculus and Childermass are talking brass tacks about whether Norrell will get Vinculus’s book. Childermass chooses an odd method of intimidation by like, threateningly whipping out some tarot cards to tell Vinculus’s fortune. I mean, if that’s worked before... Vinculus tries to one-up him by telling Norrell’s fortune. Is this like, a tarot duel? Vinculus has turned all the cards to kings, and says it means that “the Raven King is coming.” Childermass is pissed that his cards are all messed up now. I know!

Chez Norrell. On their way out, Drawlight and Lascelles gleefully mention that Sir Walter’s fiancée is dead. Well, she was pretty sick. Norrell starts to mutter about how hard it is to bring someone back from the dead. Drawlight transparently eggs him on.

“I will need to send for more books,” says Norrell. He’s so into this plan!

New scene. Jonathan Strange finds some peasants doing something poor, and rides up to interfere. They explain that they’ve found a magician sleeping under the hedge. What? Sure. It’s Vinculus.

Vinculus wakes up, stares right at Jonathan, and gives him the two magicians, Fear and Arrogance, speech while stumbling around. Jonathan Strange looks very confused. He’s also holding a large stick for reasons that are obscure to me. Vinculus tells Strange that he is destined to become a great magician. Strange pokes him with his stick and tells him to choose someone else, because it sounds like being a magician sucks. Still, he buys two spells from Vinculus, probably because a nice patrician power move is to condescendingly buy someone’s wares.

That night at dinner, Strange is telling Arabella about his big plan for the farm he’s inherited, and she laughs at him because the plan is bad.

“Very well, I’m going to study magic,” he says. Arabella and her brother are shocked. They all look at the spells and Strange decides to like, do one, right there at the table. It’s a spell to discover what your enemy is doing presently. It works, and Strange sees a stranger, apparently his enemy, in a mirror.

“Good magicians conjure up fairy spirits and long-dead kings,” says Strange. “I appear to have summoned the spirit of a banker.” It’s Mr Norrell. Ha!

London, Norrell. He arrives at Sir Walter’s house with a huge book. Sir Walter gives him access to the room where Poor Dead Emma is like, dead. Norrell shuts them out, alone with the corpse, and opens his book, looking terrified.

There’s silence, and something rattles, and a man with Ziggy Stardust hair and huge eyebrows appears. He’s also got a synthed voice and a weird jacket that I can’t pause on to figure out. He is clearly a fairy, and Norrell clearly summoned him, and he acknowledges that Norrell is destined to return magic to England. He does some back and forth about “what do I get if I resurrect this woman.” He wants to help Norrell and get credit, Norrell wants him to do this one quick necromancy and never be summoned again. The fairy does the old “maybe I will take my business to your competitor” and Norrell freaks out: “There is no other magician.”

“Of course there is another magician,” says the fairy. “He is your dearest friend in all the world.”

“I have no friends,” says Norrell. I laugh. He asks the fairy again if he can do the necromancy.

The fairy says, if he gets half of Emma’s life, it’s on. Norrell looks sad, but then he asks if they should sign something. The fairy is like no, I’ll just take something of Emma’s. The shadow of his hand stretches over her. Yikes!

Cut to Drawlight and Lascelles hanging out downstairs. They hear a woman scream. Double yikes! Everybody runs upstairs and Emma is fighting her way out of her funeral shroud. Triple yikes! Her mother points out that half of her little finger on her left hand is missing. Quadruple yikes! She brushes it off, looking out of it, and asks Sir Walter to dance with her.

Norrell zombie-walks out to his carriage. Quintuple yikes!

Until next time, Favorite Show!

#jonathan strange and mr norrell

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itsdanystormborn · 7 years ago

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Sinbad no Bouken 155

A quick an Long rant by me ^^ I tried to be more careful but i’m still at work and doing this as a side task, so beware of the usual things ( missreads, typos, i tried to not miss any stuff this time) i will check it later and reblog it when i’m at home!

Update: Revised! ^^

Night 155 “Fighting determination”

(Page 1) The chapter starts where we left last time. After hearing Myers’ words, Sinbad asks: You say that Barbarossa has officially made a declaration of war to the kingdom of Sindria?

Myers answers: Yes. Soon, The Parthevian army will make their arrival towards this place.

(Page 2) Ja’far, Drakon and Masrur look scared. Serendine speaks: They are faster than we assumed. Saher adds: The enemy is also impatient. And Tamira adds: No. On the contrary, they might have an ulterior motive…. (TN: There might be more to it)

Then, Ja’far tries to speak to Sinbad: Sin! What do we do? At this rate, Sindria will become a battlefield. And Vittel adds: But now even if we send a messenger to Parthevia, it’s too late… what the heck do we do? while Ja’far keeps calling him: Sin, King Sinbad!!

(Page 3) Then Sin closes his hand into a fist, and says: I understand. We will also fight.

Vittel and Ja’far are like whaaat but Sinbad speaks before they can say anything and says: No matter what we do, in this circumstances war will happen. Right now, we have no other choice ( TN: Literal: we have no choice but to do what we can) That being the case, we will attack Barbarossa…!!

But, this is not for your benefit. (TN: He’s speaking to Serendine). I have decided to do so by my own will.

(Page 4) I will not allow/forgive your selfishness any more. (TN: I won’t allow you doing your own convenience)

Serendine answers: All right. But don’t forget about it. The fact that I still have my “Zepar” inside your head.

Sinbad answers: …… That’s just fine. I’m here/I have no intention of running or hiding.

(Page 5) Then, someone comes in and says: You have finally finished your conversation? Serendine.

Then we can see Judar waking while he adds: good grief! Your talk was too long and I grew tired of waiting. Finally, it’s our turn. He says while he reaches everyone’s side, with Falan right next to him.

Sinbad says: Judar, also Falan… why?

(Page 6) Judar says: “Why” you ask? It’s because I’m Serendine’s Magi that it was decided that I’ll be together with her in this place. Manuscript says: are you an idiot? (TN: XD)

Then Ja’far starts fighting with Judar, Ja’far says: Saying “idiot” is uncalled-for. And Judar says: a? is that so? Freckles!!

While they are at it, Falan speaks: We are nothing but collaborators who approve of this reform.

The Parthevia of this moment has already been transformed into a terrifying country by means of Barbarossa’s tyrannical rule. I’m a court Magician that serves for the royal family. That is not my original purpose/intention.

Please let me assist you as well, in order to take down Barbarossa.

In that moment Ja’far calls Sin: Sin…

(Page 7) We have decided to follow you. We, the eight generals, are the faithful subjects of the King.

We will act in accordance to the decision of the king.

Sin closes his hand into a fist, and says.

(Page 8) Sinbad says: Let’s fight. For the sake of this country.

Change of Setting. Parthevian Empire. (TN: The palace to be precise)

(Page 9)

Some servants that are dressed in a similar fashion that Falan’s disguise are following Barbs on a corridor: “Please wait, Barbarossa-sama, that injury is excessive.”

One of them grabs him by the arm and says: Come back to the hospital room right now, Barbarossa sama.

But Barbs grabs his metal-vessel

The servant is confused: eh?

And then Barbs cuts his face in half with his metal vessel (TN: Holy shit Barbs he was just worried about you omg, RIP this poor guy)

(Page 10) The other servant is left there horrified.

Barbs reaches where Memphis is and asks him: How are things progressing, Memphis?

Memphis: Yes Sir, the first army and the second battle formation have already sally forth.

The third formation will take a little more time to prepare…

Barbs interrumpt him and says: Too slow, press on it.

(Page 11) Memphis says: but, your highness, the kigdom of Sindria is simply a commercial nation.

They don’t even have military troops, it’s a small country. Why is it necessary to go this far to make military preparations?

Besides, there are many doubts about this matter…

The outcome of the examination/investigation, As before, contact between Sinbad and Serendine couldn’t be confirmed for one year from this point.

Besides, that condition…It’s very similar to Rotter’s situation on that time.

(Page 12) from now on it’s just speculation but, it might only be that Sinbad was used with some kind of power. If that’s the case….

Barbs: I have known that since long ago. Because we handled that man so he would not be able to betray us.

Barbs: if you think about the circumstances, naturally, you would reach that conclusion. That man was merely used.

Memphis: if you knew this to that extent, then why…?

Barbarossa: because.

(Page 13) “To manipulate Humans” if they have such power, that is a menace. That’s why we are anticipating, we have to snatch away the thoughts of our enemy.

Whether is magic of whatever it might be, if we waste too much time we are at disadvantage.

That’s why such things are indifferent ( TN: If Sinbad was possessed or not)

Either way, if Sinbad was such a vessel they have taken advantage of like thaat to that degree then…

(Page 14) That’s a shame. After all that man was merely one of the “inferior species” too.

Then he adds: Get ready, I will also leave.

Memphis: as you wish.

Then barbs think to himself: I will exterminate the “inferior species”

I won’t leave a single one behind.

And that’s it! Sorry for the delay and sorry if the end seems a bit rushed. Things are a bit crazy today and I’m a bit sick again xD. ill check it later as usual, but I tried to be careful even if I was in a rush. There’s a break next week, they left us hanging!! Nooo!! Haha anyway, the end is coming.

Thank you for reading!!

#snb 155 #Magi #Sinbad no Bouken #snb spoilers #My Magi translation

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sadisticsmiles · 7 years ago

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Beyond a Thief’s Power Episode 12

Bundles of Stress

Inside of what appeared to be a Japanese-style home, Sayuri was standing in front of a scroll that read: "Under the blue sky, the power to heal is near but far. Yet, it is obtained through many sources."

"It's not as easy as anyone thinks," the orange-haired magician noted. There seemed to be something on her mind, but she did not let on much about it. She stared at the scroll for a few more seconds. "...I better go now. It's about time I meet up with them."

She turned around, bringing herself to the other world that awaited her, disappearing from Neon. She soon appeared inside Le Renard Noir with a sitting position and landed on one of the chairs near the bar counter. Her wings had also showed themselves again with a gentle movement, and vanished afterward. The guys and Rina had been busy setting the table up with reheated plates and dishes of food, and took notice of Sayuri's elegant arrival within a short amount of time.

"Uwa!" Kenshi's shouted in a surprised tone of voice. "Sayuri?!"

"Looks like you made it after all," Riki smiled in a pleasant manner. Something was a bit different about his usual sense of hospitality, though.

Takuto glanced at the firefighter. "Why are you so surprised? She told us she was going to be here, didn't she? There's really no need for you to get riled up at a time like this, Kenny."

"I-I know!" Kenshi stuttered. "I was just... a little out of it, okay?" His cheeks were clouded with pink blushes that made him look somewhat cute in a boyish way. "Not like I meant anything that would be a big deal, but it just happened."

Rina smiled when she saw her best friend. "Did you get your wound all healed up at home?"

Sayuri nodded. "It's not like I could get a scar from leaving it untreated, but it felt nice to be back in Neon. I suppose you went back home?"

"Well, I kind of had to," Rina smiled. She felt somewhat awkward when she brought her words up. "Mom was giving me stuff to bring to Le Renard Noir since I'm staying here. I moved out of my old apartment in this world and gave it away for free. It's always nice to be in our world again for a change, but I’m not sure about Riki over there." She turned her head to her left, looking at the government official who was sitting at the table the majority of the group was going to have their dinner at. "He's been like that for a while, so sulking's his specialty sometimes. On the other hand, he’s probably controlling his urge to drink while Mitsuki-san’s not right by him. They're always joined together by the hip, so there’s a disheartening atmosphere he emits when they're apart occasionally."

Sayuri blinked. "Like Takuji and Asuka? They're so in love that it makes the human girl living with them in Roppongi annoyed by watching their interactions with each other. What was her name? Kirie Kuroki? It's rare to see humans with vibrant eye and hair colors. But there's a dot in the center of both her eyes."

"Yeah," Takuto breathed. He was still as indifferent as ever. "That's called a pupil. Some people have a more prominent one in both of their eyes in this world, but magicians don't have them, do they?"

"That's because we're beautiful people," Sayuri replied as she turned her head toward Takuto. "Our eyes are fine the way they are."

The programmer smirked. "So I take it the girl you mentioned isn't good enough to compare to you guys because she can't land on your standards?"

"In a way, yes," the orange-haired girl agreed. "But I don't mean that she isn't attractive enough for human men in the looks department by her appearance. I get bothered by her pupils, or so you call them."

"I believe we'll be able to get along." Takuto continued to grin before giving a lighthearted smile. "Why don't you sit down with us? We could all eat together."

Hiro's eyes widened with an astonished look. "What's this? Takkun's actually being friendly to someone?"

"And not just anyone," Kenshi added. "He's being nice to Sayuri who's a girl. This is such a rare moment, I should have had my phone out to take a photo of his smile."

Sayuri tilted her head to her right side. "Is that a bad thing? We were only conversing with one another like anyone would. Don't take it the wrong way. I know your people tend to jump to conclusions, specifically with interactions between opposite sexes, but there's no need to bring up anything unnecessary." She looked up at Takuto and said, "Sorry, but I'll just sit by myself. I don't want to intrude on your dinner." She reached into the atmosphere with her left hand, which appeared to have vanished into thin air. It was definitely in an invisible pocket Takuto had taken note of before. Soon, Sayuri's hand came back out from her pocket and she was holding onto a glass cup with a cover on it; a white straw was right next to it as she held both objects near her. "Itadakimasu." She inserted the straw into the opening of the lid and took a drink of her beverage. Inside, there were clear but small spheres, and the beverage was indubitably a magnificent sight to Hiro and the other guys. Riki did not look like he was going to quit sulking, on the other hand.

"Wow, that's so cool," Hiro complimented the drink with sparkling eyes. "The drink and balls are clearer than lychee..."

Kenshi gaped at the glass. "Like a snow globe."

"More like a glittery diamond," Takuto commented.

While Rina smiled at the three of them, Sayuri blinked twice with her mouth on the straw. She stopped sucking up the transparent liquid shortly afterward. Pulling her lips away, she answered them. "They are diamonds."

"Huh?" Hiro was perplexed along with Takuto and Kenshi.

"Like I said," Sayuri continued, "The balls and the juice are diamonds. The balls themselves have solid coating like ice, but are more like a crystal. They're also very edible and delicious. I guess you can say when I'm drinking this it’s similar to when you restore your vital energy with water, since most of your bodies are made of it."

Hiro smiled, getting the gist of it. "So it's basically how a magician's body, blood and heart are made out of gemstones? I see. You're drinking that juice to refill your stamina and whatnot while you're here." He laughed, closing his eyes at the same time before reopening them. "I'm such a dummy; how could I not realize this sooner? Of course there were gemstones in there!"

Takuto sighed, looking down. "I feel like we all are for not remembering magician logic. Even the pocket is there for all of them!"

"Man, do I feel stupid," Kenshi belittled himself. "I haven't thought about any magician facts in a while when I could have."

"Don't feel too bad about it, Kenshi. It's not like you're going to die or anything," Rina assured with soothing encouragement. "You can do better when it comes to gaming, anyway."

Kenshi sweat-dropped. Then, he closed his eyes. "In real life, you mean. I had a hard time trying to escape from that anatomical model in one of the classrooms." He opened his eyes and sighed stressfully. "Do you know how many times I died trying during my current replay of the game?"

"Forty-two times?" Takuto guessed. "I'm not surprised."

Kenshi's eyes were ready to pop out from the sockets holding them in place. "How did you know? I didn't even say anything yet!"

"It's the meaning of life, Kenny," Takuto retorted. "If you want to live after dying in the game, you gotta aim for that number. That's why that game's a troll in the first place."

Again, Sayuri cocked her head to her right. "What game is this?"

"Oh, it's Mutilation Party1," Hiro answered. "It's one of Kenny's favorite horror RPG games for the PC, but got a remake for the GSP2 which has been renamed to Repeated Tale of Dread3. It's where a group of high school students and their homeroom teacher assistant are suddenly transported to another dimension that takes the form of an elementary school that used to be where their high school currently stands. It's full of gore and is also pretty gruesome. Anyway, let's eat together, Sayuri. You look so isolated by yourself." He grabbed Sayuri's free hand, escorting her to the table.

"Wait, Hiro—" Before she could completely object to the notion of sitting and dining with the Black Foxes, she was quickly taken to the table and was seated between Rina (on her right) and Hiro (on her left), placing her drink on the table in front of the orange-haired college student.

Atsumu dropped by with a delighted smile on his face. "The more the merrier, right? It's nice to have more company at the bar if I do say so myself. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sayuri. I'm Atsumu Kashiwabara. I'm like the guys' caretaker since I've looked after them when they were kids. I don't participate in the missions as much as I used to, but feel free to help them in their times of need. I'm counting on ya!" He beamed with glee like he was already high on laughing gas. It was even funny; although, no one really had an urge to spring out giggles.

Sayuri, Takuto, and Riki were the ones who could not find any humor from seeing the wavy-haired brunet's happy visage, and Sayuri froze in place. "..." Her expression was as stiff as a piece of cardboard when held in place. Within a matter of seconds, a blast of heat came to and from her face, giving it a bright red color, and her eyes began to spin counterclockwise. "Th-There's another human male here?!" Shortly afterward, she fainted, plopping on to Rina's left arm.

With the others (except for Rina and Takuto) stunned to see Sayuri collapse, Takuto said, "Hey, look. She died because of Beardy. That's new."

Peering into Sayuri's face from their seats, Kenshi and Hiro articulated simultaneously, "So cute..."

"Ahhh~!" Hiro squealed with ecstasy. "Can I wait until she wakes up so we can eat together? She's just too adorable to leave alone! I'm practically dying here!" He was putting in his best effort not to move around too much in his seat.

Riki stopped eating and placed his chopsticks down on his celadon green bowl. His eyes had been closed after the orange-haired magician had her own black out. He then opened them with a strict stare directed towards the youngest group member. "Hiro, quit looking at Sayuri's face and get back to eating. Your food will get colder each second you delay the process. Don't be childish at a time like this. You're an adult, which means you have to act like one. Therefore, do what you're told before going off to play." That was all the leader of the Black Foxes said before picking up his chopsticks once more, and going back to finish his meal. It didn't take long for him to complete the task of consuming his food and downing a glass of water. "Thanks for the meal." He stood up and picked up his dishes, setting them down in the kitchen sink. Next, he washed them quietly, dried them off with a towel, and put them back on the rack in which they belonged. Once that was over, he walked upstairs and went to the room he was staying in, sliding the door behind him.

Hiro pouted. "Riki's such a meanie. He's so unlike his typical self without Mitsuki around to keep him on a leash. Bummer."

Kenshi smiled gently. "Look on the bright side. It's not like he doesn't care about any of us. He's just really attached to Saionji. That's all it is."

"It goes to show that Riki's a kid himself," Atsumu proclaimed. "On the contrary, love is a powerful thing, even when you've been with the person you love for a long time. Nine years have already passed by, and before you know it, they'll be together for a whole decade. Each moment you spend with your lover is precious, and Riki's sending signals to everyone about how much he loves Mitsuki. Let him be. He had to let go of her hand so she can cook and help out with LRN. She'll be back in no time at all."

Hiro had puppy dog eyes as he looked at Atsumu. "I hope so. Mitsuki's presence tends to balance things out for all of us." His expression reverted back to normal in an instant. "See, women are so powerful. While Riki can lift a cupboard, Mitsuki has the ability to pick it up and throw it at a target. It makes me wish I could give him a piece of my mind with that."

Rina smiled as she glanced at the youth. "You don’t need to be stronger than Riki in terms of physical ability, Hiro. He hasn't done anything to deserve a fist fight, and he's not someone who would want you to waste the time you have to fill your stomach when it's empty, so it probably can't be helped that he had a harsh tone towards you. I'm sure Sayuri would've said something similar to Riki's words."

"Speaking of which," Atsumu brought up, "we should probably get her to bed. I'll save her drink in the fridge."

Kenshi grinned. "She'll like it better if it's cool, right?"

Takuto stared at said beverage. "Man, those diamonds are tough. They're not melting."4

"I'll go take Sayuri up to the room I stay in during the daytime whenever I’m here," Rina told the guys. She looked at the resting magician. "She's likely to be out for an hour or two, but she'll be fine. Boss only startled her a bit since she it's possible she didn't expect him to be part of our team." The blonde magician stood up from her seat, holding onto her best friend's body, carrying her like a princess or bride and taking her upstairs.

Takuto looked down. "That's not fair, and the drink's still on the table."

"Maybe you'll get another chance later," Hiro said. "It just wasn't the right time with Sayuri being knocked out."

"Whatever," Takuto mumbled, "It's not like I have any feelings for Rina anymore."

Kenshi laughed with a broad grin. "Hahaha! As if. You're totally heads over heels for her." He looked at the hacker of their band of thieves in the eyes and continued to smile with a lighter touch. "It's not like you two forgot about that kiss you shared a few days ago. You should be more honest about it since you're the one who planted your true feelings on her lips."

"Now you're just teasing me," Takuto grimaced.

"Hey, you deserved it," the firefighter threw back.

The hacker had to give in to that comment. Witnessing the other three go on with their lovely banter, Atsumu smiled silently, enjoying the time they spent together, but also noticed Takuto's soft smile and felt at peace.

So Takkun can smile after all when it comes to being cornered about his true feelings for Rina, he thought. Perhaps, they can both overcome the obstacles ahead of them and find comfort in one another the more their love shows. I would like them to resume from where they left off years ago, and become connected with the touch of their hands once again.

XXX

Later that night, Sayuri woke up in one of the spare rooms and saw Rina's visage in front of her, as if the latter were in deep thought. Without another moment passing by, the blonde smiled contently while she was still sitting on her lower legs.

"Looks like you're faring finely now," she told her best friend. "You've been out of it for some time. How about I bring your drink up for you?"

"What about you?" the orange-haired magician asked. “You didn’t go home after I fainted. I would’ve been fine if someone like Hiro or Takuto looked after me. I don’t need Mitsuki-san or Riki to, and I don’t trust the brunets in your group.”

Rina nodded. "We’re best friends, Sayuri. You’ve done more for me than I’ve ever done for you."

Sayuri sat up. "…Your circumstances and life are significant to my presence in this world, but I won’t abandon the things I’ve come to do for all the other magicians." At that time, she moved out of the bed away from where Rina was. She then faced the bed and smoothed out the sheets and pillow before she slid the door to step out in to the hallway. Hiro was about to slide it himself, and was caught by surprise when he saw the orange-haired magician; he was holding Sayuri's beverage in his right hand. Sayuri felt a sensation of gratitude flowing into her body as she stared at the young man who was under her age. "Hiro."

Hiro's smile did not waver as he gazed back into the Magician of Fate's eyes. "Yeah. I wanted to see how you were doing, so I’m glad you’re awake and feeling better. Boss said he’s sorry for giving you a scare at the table."

Rina glanced at the orange-haired pairing over her right shoulder and smiled gently, but faintly. Afterward, she faced the bed once again, and took her yellow and light brown cell phone out from her invisible pocket; the yellow portion was a strip in the middle while the light brown framed most of the area apart around the former color. The device gave a silent flip open for Rina to message someone in particular: Takuto’s name appeared on the screen.

To: Takuto Hirukawa

Subject: Leaving the Human World

Takuto, I’m going home for the rest of the night. I’ll message you again soon.

Rina stood up and teleported back to Neon, leaving Hiro and Sayuri to continue conversing.

Meanwhile, Kenshi and Takuto were in a separate bedroom. The spiky-haired brunet looked and smiled at his roommate, who had his fossil gray5 cell phone out. "Whatcha staring at on your phone, Takuto?"

Takuto did not return his friend's gaze, only stared at the phone. "Rina just messaged me."

Kenshi smiled, pleased with the response. "Wow. I haven’t heard you say that in a while. In fact, none of us have."

Takuto's eyes lowered with a hint of depression and sadness. "Even so, it's not like she's shown that she loves me. It’s only a message about her going home."

“Haha, what are you getting so disappointed for?” the spiky-haired brunet laughed. “You know what they say: Women are supposed to be mysterious. Us guys can’t figure out what’s on their minds!”

Kenshi frowned, entering his mind with thoughts that could not be spoken. Now that I think about it, I wonder how Sayuri feels. Is she interested in any guys right now? He was already blushing, but shook his head quickly. Maybe she’s still asleep. What should I do when I see her tomorrow? I don't think I'll be able to speak to her properly!

"Oh, and Hiro's girlfriend is doing well, if you're wondering," Takuto glanced at the flustered man. It seemed as if the twenty-four-year-old was back to his aloof self.

Kenshi was surprised. "Hiro has a girlfriend? Since when?"

"Kenny, you're so dense," the computer genius commented. "It should be as plain as day to you."

"Huh?" Kenshi didn't understand what Takuto meant, but it wasn't nothing. There had to be something behind the light blond's statement. However, he couldn't figure the answer out.

XXX

Rina was back home in Neon. Her mother, Mami Tokuhara, saw her appear in her (Rina's) bedroom. Said parent was also holding onto a light green laundry basket filled with her daughter's clothes, and had the same long blonde hair tied into a single low ponytail, but the hair length was longer and went past to her knees; she also had eyes the color of persimmons and a youthful appearance for her age since she was immortal [as all magicians were].

"Ara? You're home early," she said, puzzled at her daughter's return. "I thought you were going to stay at Le Renard Noir for a while."

Rina looked at her mom, turning her head to her left. "It’s a bit complicated, but I’ll be going back and forth soon."

"Well, are you hungry?" Mami inquired with the same expression. "Spending time in the Human World drains us of our powers and capacities to stay there for long, after all."

"I'm fine for now, Mom," Rina replied. “I’ll have dinner once I’m through with what I need to do.”

Mami placed the laundry basket on Rina's bed. She was staring at her daughter's clothes and began to fold each and every article from shirts to pants, skirts, dresses, and underwear. "How is Takuto doing these days?"

Rina's shoulders dropped slowly and she looked at the floor with a dispirited expression on her face. "I don't know anymore... It's hard for me to be around him since I went back to the Human World. He's not the same person he used to be, but..." An array of emotions shimmered in her eyes. "He really takes me by surprise."

I had no intention of seeing him again, but when it comes down to it, I really do love Takuto, she admitted to herself. More than anything and everyone else, he's the most important person in my life. I wonder if I'll be able to tell him how I feel about him again. It's been a few years since I said those special words. What makes me sad is that he keeps letting the things other people say to him get to him and denies them. I wish he would at least say how he feels around everyone else like how he used to.

She thought back to a short memory from a few years ago, to which the days were still warm and loving through the year.

~June 16, 2003~

It was a summer day back then. It had been two months and two days since Takuto and Rina started their romantic relationship with one another. Everyone was gathered inside Le Renard Noir, and they were helping out with the customers due to the amount of heat outside. The air conditioner was on full blast, but the blazing torridness didn't consummately dissipate from their skin.

Rina walked over to a table and was wearing the restaurant's uniform, while carrying a tray with a glass of iced tea on it and a bowl of katsudon. Once she arrived at the destined table, she set the drink and food down in front of the elderly man sitting there.

"Here you go," she smiled brightly; her smile flattered her pale skin that seemed to shine beautifully. "I hope you enjoy your meal."

The older man reciprocated the blonde's smiled and closed his eyes with satisfaction. "Thank you for always giving everyone your kind service, Rina-chan. If you weren't taken, I would have asked you to be my granddaughter-in-law."

Rina gave an eye smile. "What are you talking about? Your grandson already has a girlfriend. I couldn't possibly do something that defies my code of conduct. Otherwise, I would be a disgrace to my family. You should know by now that having feelings for a man who has a lover and going behind said lover's back with the same male is a felony for female magicians, and vice versa for male ones."

An arm wrapped around Rina's waist. It was Takuto who had a confident smirk and unlike his present self, he wasn't showing any snippy behavior with it. "Rina's heart belongs to me. She can't date anyone else, so she can only be friends with other guys. I won't let someone steal her away because her type is right here."

The old man opened his eyes, looking at both of them with light brown ones. Then, he chortled. "Hahaha! Is that so?" The laughter soon transformed into a concerned expression. "But Takuto-kun, Rina-chan's not suited for you, as well. Not only is she twelve days older than Hiro-kun, she’s a magician. It would be a bad occurrence if her parents found out about your relationship since she's still a minor, and at the age of seventeen! You're already in college, and she's still in high school. She hasn't turned eighteen yet, so she has to graduate from high school first, doesn't she? Aren't you two breaking the laws in her world? I'm worried something may happen to her if word gets out about it to the other magicians."

"Don't worry!" Hiro beamed as he went to the table. "Takkun will protect Rina at all costs! You can believe in him, so everything'll be A-okay!"

Riki smiled mildly. "Like our little mascot said, things will be fine for the both of them. As long as we can convince Rina's parents to approve of them dating, nothing will go wrong."

Hiro frowned, discouraged by the government official's first sentence. He turned his head to his right. "Hey! I'm the one who introduced Takkun to Rina, so why do I have to be the mascot?"

"Hehe. Isn't that what you are?" Takuto snickered evilly. "You're the one who looks like a little kid, and you're the youngest. Doesn't that title belong to you, anyway?"

The orange-haired high school student puffed his cheeks out. "Takkun, you're so mean! I can't believe I was on your side."

"Well, you are cute in everyone's eyes, Hiro," Kenshi stated. "It can't be helped that you're put on the spot."

It wasn't getting any better for the youth. "Kenny, not you too!"

Mitsuki came over and patted Hiro's head with her left hand. "Heehee! You're so adorable, Hiro. I don't think anyone could resist fawning over you." Her hair was longer, reaching to the middle of her lower legs.

Atsumu also joined in on the agreement with a nod, and his left hand was curled in. "You could work here forever after going off and finishing your college years. I'd love to have a full house every day after you attract more customers here. You can even bring a girlfriend if you'd like."

"That's not what I care about right now!" Hiro cried out in comical exasperation. "I don't want to be seen as a cute candidate for a mascot! I'd rather be known as an awesome and handsome young man!"

Everyone in Le Renard Noir burst out laughing when they heard that. The members of the Black Foxes and even the customers were amused by Hiro's desire to further mature his appearance. After catching their breaths, Rina and Takuto glanced at each other and smiled tenderly. Then they laughed again. Hiro felt embarrassed and awkward to be in the Le Noir Renard—so much that he ran out in tears. Atsumu and Kenshi sprinted after him, with Atsumu exclaiming, "Hiro, come back!," and Kenshi shouting, "Yeah! We didn't mean it!" Simultaneously, they said shortly afterward, "We're sorry!"

"Stay away from me!" Hiro was so fast he was out of sight in less than a minute.

The two brunets could not find him and had to give up on their chase. They felt bad for the humiliation the orange-haired member went through, and returned to the bar, waiting for him along with the others.

XXX

Back in the present, Rina closed her eyes and gave out a sigh.

"I really miss those times," she began.

Mami looked at her and tilted her head. "What's wrong? Do you want to go on a date with Takuto like you used to?"

Rina lifted her head and gazed back at her mother. "Yes, but I wasn't thinking of that."

"And?" The woman folding her daughter's laundry blinked once. "When are you two getting back together? It's been three years since your father and I received permission from Haonowa-sama to remit your punishment. Kousuke-sama was also there to plead for you to be excused. You know how compassionate he is. He couldn't have forsaken a fellow magician who loves Neon. Asking his grandmother6 to reconsider it was something he could do for you since he also knows the feeling of loving someone."

Rina nodded. "I know. It's not like I've forgotten but to ask a question like that, don't you think you should give me more time to reply to you? It's not like I don't want to get back together with Takuto; it's not as simple as you think, Mom."

Mami frowned. "Since when did you become so hesitant about your feelings? It's like you've changed all of a sudden."

In an instant, the kiss Takuto placed on her lips came to her mind, and Rina blushed. "D-Don't remind me of the reason!" Rina's eyes widened further when she saw what her mom was holding. "And this a bad time to be folding that!"

Mami's hands were softly gripping a single piece of light pink panties which were also lacy. She glanced at Rina with an unmoving expression. "It's only your underwear. I don't understand why I can't handle your laundry at a time like this. Besides, Katsurou isn't in here at the moment, so there's no need to get flustered about it. You must be thinking too much about Takuto that you've become stranger than before." She went back to folding the clothing that were still undone.

Rina was still flushed as she averted her eyes to her left without a movement from her head. "...I’m going back to the Human World now."

True to her words to her mother, Rina teleported back to the other side. She appeared downstairs in Le Renard Noir where it was dark. At a table, she sat down on a chair and took her flip phone out to type another message.

To: Takuto Hirukawa

Subject: Come Downstairs

Takuto, I came back. I’ll be waiting at one of the tables.

Takuto immediately saw his ex’s text, closed his phone, and glanced at Kenshi. “I’ll be back.”

The spiky-haired brunet blinked twice. “Where are you going?”

“I can’t say,” was all that came out of Takuto’s mouth before he stepped out and closed the sliding door. He was not in a rush, but he was calm and walked down the stairs to the first floor of the building. Once he was all the way down, he saw Rina’s back on his right and travelled to the other side of the table she was at, so they would be across from one another. Before he took a seat, he glanced at the table and saw a bronze, thick book and Rina’s full name on the cover. He stared at it for a few seconds, glanced back at Rina, who was already gazing at him, and finally sat down. “What’s this?”

“My book,” the blonde magician replied.

What’s with the short answer? Takuto thought.

Rina breathed slowly. “Takuto, our meeting here is for the sake of our roles as members of the Black Foxes. If we’re going to work on progressing forward,” she placed her left hand on the book, “you and I must prove our partnership to each other.”

“With your book,” the light blond flatly commented. “We’re already partners. Does it really take more than the words we’ve shared to each other after you came back?”

Rina added, “It’s because we’re partners that I want to do something to help out more.” A soft but small smile appeared on her face. “Since I came back to this world, I’ve done nothing to protect you and everyone else. I—“

“That’s not true,” Takuto cut his ex’s words off. “You’ve always been the one to protect all of us. In the past, it was always you who kept us from getting in trouble.”

Trouble with the missions and Neon, the light blond thought.

“We could’ve died several times before,” he continued, “but with you back with us, we were saved from death again during our missions. Yet, you’ve become weaker than when you left years ago. I don’t know what happened during our time apart, but I…” His gaze was more intense; there was something that had to be conveyed. Yet, he could not for the sake of lifting Rina’s burden of the love he held for her.

The magician gazed back in wonder. “…Takuto?”

The light blond looked down in response. “It’s nothing.”

Rina’s eyes continued to be fixated on her partner. But then… She gradually reached her left hand and arm towards the programmer, and held onto the back of his right one. Takuto looked back up at his ex-girlfriend in a somewhat astonished manner.

As they gazed again into each other’s eyes, Rina began to blush a bit. “Uh, I…” Once more, the memory of their last kiss flowed into her mind and her eyelids slightly raised. Yet, she reminded herself of her objective as a member of the Black Foxes, specifically of her role as Takuto’s partner. She glanced own at her book, pulled her left hand away, and placed it on the item before returning to look at the man in front of her with her flustered state. “A-Anyhow, I took my Book of Neon out to combine it with your laptop, Takuto. This book is what every magician has since their birth along with their cell phones, but these two items start a process of manifestation once the magician is conceived. As with many books, the purpose of the Book of Neon is to store information; however, the events are summarized. The cell phones contain memories along with information, but my book is the best option for aiding us. After all, communication other than telepathy is much appreciated7.”

“I see,” Takuto answered.

I was sort of hoping for something else to happen between us, he thought.

“Guess I have no other choice,” the light blond agreed to the procedure. “Let’s begin.”

Rina smiled; her blush had gone away by then. “Okay.”

As though their connection to one another had some unthinkable effect, the programmer’s laptop had teleported from the room he and Kenshi were lodging in, and appeared next to Takuto’s right hand and Rina’s Book of Neon. Takuto’s eyes widened while Rina smiled again. Simultaneously, the book and laptop resonated together emanating the sound of a heartbeat, and a yellow light glowed and encased from within and around them. Rina moved her hand away and they slid into the other—or rather, it seemed the motion was the laptop absorbing the entire book. Then, the former ceased in the center and the yellow light dissipated.

“Now,” the blonde magician spoke, “it’ll be easier for you to access the database.”

Takuto had been staring at the whole fusion process and felt amazement from it. His laptop gained a new source of knowledge waiting inside of it for him. The euphoria whelping up in his boy was because of Rina, the young woman he had an inseparable bond with. He turned his head toward her. “Thanks, Rina.” It was a rare sight, but he smiled with a fond facial expression that showed his serene eyes. He extended his right hand out and placed it on the Magician of Power’s head. “I owe my life to you.”

Rina felt the attraction they shared and her shoulders relaxed to go with her softening smile. “Of course.”

I’ve finally done something worthwhile for Takuto, she thought.

XXX

Sayuri and Hiro were still seated next to one another on the bed inside the room the former had rested in when she finished her drink. The two of them stood up, and Hiro smiled.

"Well, I'll be heading to my room now," he said. He put his right hand up and showed his hand in a motionless wave. "Goodnight, Sayuri. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Sayuri nodded and Hiro went to his destination, sliding the door open and shutting it behind him. The Magician of Fate squeezed her left hand and the bottle shattered into several tiny pieces of glass, landing in a trash bin in Neon.

Soon, Hiro was lying on the spacious bed in the room he was lodging in. He was on his right side next to the wall and giggled with a comfortable expression; the lights were turned off and the room was dimly lit by the moonlight from the slight crevices of the closed-curtain window.

"Ah, it feels so nice and cool," he commented while hugging the pillow his head was on with outstretched arms. "I'd like it to be this cold every time I stayed over here! Mm~." Just as he said that, he heard and felt something going into his sheets like the sound of a bird flapping their wings mixed with the lifting of the very same bedsheets. He opened his eyes gradually and saw Sayuri laying next to him; she was on her left side and her eyes were shut peacefully to fit the expression on her face. Astonished by her appearance, Hiro lifted his head and arms from his pillow a bit, and his eyes widened as he whispered, "Sayuri?! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping in the other room that's between where Kenny and Takuto are staying in and my room?"

Sayuri opened her eyes. "I wanted to stay with you tonight, Hiro. Out of everyone else, I feel at ease with you the most. Am I not allowed to be with you?" Her voice was soft when she confessed those words.

It was innocently charming and adorable how Sayuri wanted to be with him, and Hiro could not agree any less.

The younger man blushed. "W-Well... It's not like you can't sleep here, but if the others find out, they'll... misunderstand the situation."

"If that happens, I'll tell them it was because I was lonely," Sayuri replied.

Hiro put his head on his pillow and gazed at the magician by his side. "Really?"

"Un," Sayuri confirmed. "After all, I actually felt that way." She closed her eyes haggardly. "Goodnight, Hiro." Immediately, she drifted off to sleep, silently breathing.

Hiro felt his heart pounding as he looked at her visage. She was truly a beauty to behold.

Kenny's right, he thought. Sayuri really is a beautiful girl. Up close like this, I would had never known the real exquisiteness that she emits if she hadn't exposed her true appearance the night we went to get the cymophane. Rather than her look from when she worked at the café, the sides of her I never saw before until now don't feel as false as back then, and it warms my heart to see her the way she is, instead of the front she's had to put on in order to play the role of a girl who's unlike her character. I believe I finally understand that about her... A smile formed on his drowsy face. And there's something I just realized about myself along with that. How could I have not figured it out before? Kenny, you're a genius during the worst times, you know that? I should've said it sooner—that I...

His sleepiness soon caught up to him, cutting him off from finishing his thoughts.

XXX

The hours flew by and it was 7:45 a.m. that morning. Atsumu strolled down the hallway after washing his face, brushing his teeth, and arranging everything else in place for his facial appearance. He felt refreshed and was in a jolly mood as he went to wake everyone up, starting with Hiro. It didn't take a long walk before he was in front of the sliding doors to the college student's room. He knocked with the back of his left hand.

"Hiro~, are you awake?" he chimed. "It's almost time for me to prepare breakfast. Would you like to help me with getting everything ready?"

There was no answer, indicating that the youth was probably still asleep in his bed.

"Guess it can't be helped," the wavy-haired brunet smiled. Without another moment's haste, he slid the door open, and was shocked by what he saw.

Hiro was still in bed, of course. But he wasn't alone. Sayuri was lying next to him, and they were sleeping tranquilly next to one another. This unfortunately caused a misleading thought to manifest in Atsumu's mind.

"Hiro..." The thirty-five-year-old felt crushed on the inside.

Shinobu, he called to his late wife, our little boy's... become a delinquent. He's finally snuck a girl into bed with him. What do I do to fix this? Act and pretend it's nothing? Yeah, I think I'll do that. I'll just... make breakfast in the kitchen as always.

He turned around and walked away from Hiro's temporary room. Then, he slid the door shut as to not disturb the "lovebirds." The only thing he was blind to was the obvious fact that fabrics of clothing could be seen on Hiro and Sayuri’s bodies the time he saw them lying together.

XXX

1) A shout out to Corpse Party. With the remake Kenshi mentions, I'm just making the name for it up even though I know the remake is the PSP version of the game.

2) An obvious rename I did for the PSP; it was inspired by the slight name change seen in some of the anime, manga, video games, and visual novels I've watched, read and played/seen.

3) The remake for Mutilation Party is a shout out to Corpse Party Blood Covered: …Repeated Fear.

4) Takuto’s observation is straightforward and adds another fact to my magician logic in the story, as the clear balls do not melt like ice cubes.

5) I chose this particular color to match with Takuto’s pessimism.

6) Magicians refer to their grandmothers with the word sobo (祖母).

7) Rina means that she enjoys the convenience of having a cell phone.

#Takuto Hirukawa #Hiro Sarashina #Kenshi Inagaki #Riki Yanase #Atsumu Kashiwabara #love letter from thief x #LLFTX #voltage fanfic #voltage fanfics #voltage inc.

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