#crusade texts in translation

[medievalistsnet]

New Medieval Books: The Latin Continuation of William of Tyre

As part of the Crusade Texts in Translation series, this account chronicles events in the Near East from 1184 through the conclusion of the Third Crusade.

[pewpop]

what if jotaro was raised in Italy instead of Japan?

[thatone-churro]

honestly one of the cutest/best details in jojo is polnareff and kakyoin occasionally switching each other’s earrings. it’s never mentioned/talked about directly in the story they just do it and personally i love that

[hakugreenfinch]

Iggy the Stray Dog - ch2 (1/2)

Author: Otsuichi

Original concept: Araki Hirohiko

Originally published: JOJO Magazine 2022 Spring

*** This is a fan translation made purely for entertainment. Please do not repost/reuse/etc without my permission and credit! ***

Note: Since the next three chapters are very long and I don't want to keep you waiting forever, I decided to split them up into 2-3 parts. Thank you for your patience, I'm super excited to deliver the rest of this short novel!

Manhattan Island is located at the mouth of the Hudson river. It is four kilometers in width, twenty kilometers in length, a sandbank elongated in a north-south direction. Navigator Henry Hudson discovered it in 1609 and it is said that the Dutch East India Company purchased it from Native Americans for 24 dollars in 1626. Its name Manhattan translates to „the island of many hills” in their language.

The morning after my arrival, the air is still clouded by yellow. White steam rises from the gutters all over. I buy a toasted sandwich at a corner store to eat. Crispy bacon and fresh lettuce are held between fragnant bread.

I take the subway on my way to the city center to participate in the „stray dog hunt”. Passing ticket control and ascending the stairs, I find myself in a desolate place. It is a district with empty bear cans lying around and closed shutters of shops bearing graffiti. On one side stands a brick building, the ground floor offices of which belong to a company specializing in pest extermination.

Its name is Reliable Pest Control Services, or RPCS for short. In addition to pest control, they undertake everything from vermin extermination and cleaning up buildings to waste management. At this time, the Speedwagon Foundation has contacted the manager, requesting their help capturing Iggy in exchange for financial support.

As I state the purpose of my visit at the reception desk, a large, middle-aged Spaniard shows up. His stern face looks like it was carved from stone, and three vertical lines run down across his right eye – they seem to be claw marks.

„You’re Avdol, right? The chief told me about you. So you wanna catch that damn Boston Terrier?”

„My American friend has entrusted me with this request.”

„I’ll let you watch, just make sure you’re not bothering us!”

„All right. For now, I would like to study your work. I won’t intervene or disturb you, I’ll just watch from a distance.”

„Admirable attitude, Egyptian.”

The Spaniard leads me inside the office. It is like a labyrinth of miscellaneous packages piled up on top of each other with desks, blackboards, a billiard table, a darts board and empty liquor bottles in the gaps between them. On an old sofa set, four men are gathered, exhaling cigarette smoke and playing poker.

„These guys are my team,” introduces them the Spaniard. The men put down their cards, turning their gazes to me, as if to observe me.  They all have vulgar faces. One of them clicks his tongue, putting out the cigarette he’s been smoking on an ashtray. He is a large, white man resembling a rugby player.

„So you’re the Foundation’s buddy? The chief told us if we keep an eye out for you the Speedwagon Foundation would pay us a nice sum. But y’know, this is a lot of extra work for us.”

„I will not bother you. All I wish is to stand by and watch your work from a distance, to see how the dog could be captured. I don’t believe that would increase your work at all.”

„You coming with us means you’ll be taking up a seat in the car. We’ll have to take less equipment like that!”

They are going to drive to Manhattan Island in two cars, one of them a van equipped with dog cages. The space in the vehicles is crammed with all sorts of nets and traps, tranquilizer guns and such. It appears that with my participation, they can load a lot less into the cars. The Spaniard tries to calm down the man.

„Hey, don’t say that. It’s not like animal traps are any good against that Boston Terrier, we’d be bringing them for nothing.” He pulled me away from the men. „They’re just pissed because that shitty dog got the best of them.”

„What do you mean by animal traps?”

„Cages you can’t leave once you’re caught in them, like bear traps. You know bear traps, right? Like the Gustave Courbet painting, „Fox caught in a trap”? The iron trap that the fox’s leg is stuck in. But no such trap can catch that Boston Terrier, they were useless even with his favourite coffee chewing gum inside. I don’t know how but he just ran away with the chewing gum, without triggering the trap.”

A map hangs on the wall, the places where Iggy have been spotted marked on it. He has been seen all over Manhattan. Wall Street, Times Square, he even seems to be frequenting the ferry to Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty.

„I made some posters with his image and put them up all over Manhattan. I wrote on it that we’ll reward anyone that has any news, so we got some information from the citizens.”

He shows me an actual poster. Drawn on it is a foolish image of a Boston Terrier, drool dripping from his mouth.

„The claw marks on your face, was that also him?”

„A while ago we tried strike him down when he was taking a nap. We got a report and when we rushed there, he was basking in the sun, snoring like hell. I decided to shoot him with a tranquilizer gun from a distance. As I pointed the gun at him and aimed, he woke up but didn’t try to run away. He saw us and yawned without a care in the world. I pulled the trigger and a tranquilizer dart shot out. My aim was sure, no doubt about it.”

However, the dart didn’t hit its target. It flipped midair in front of the Boston Terrier, just as if it was being blocked by something invisible.

„I dunno why. Maybe it was a faulty dart, it changed its direction in the middle of its track. We had to try and catch him with a net, but that damn dog jumped up and scratched my face. He tore out some of my hair and farted once before escaping us. It’s a mystery what he ate that made him fart like that but it was putrid.”

I’m thinking about the invisible thing that was said to have deflected the tranquilizer dart. There was no way the dart was faulty. They couldn’t see it. Something invisible was present before Iggy and it protected him. I have a pretty good idea what that mysterious something could have been.

A bell’s sound echoes in the RPCS office. The staff member from the reception desk at the front entrance calls out to us. The men playing poker stand, leaving the room running.

„Where are you going?”

„The locker room. We’re changing into work clothes and leaving. Tha bell only rings when we get news of someone seeing that damn Boston Terrier. If we don’t hurry, he’ll get away!”

In a matter of minutes, they all finish changing into grey work clothes, getting inside both cars in the garage. I myself accompany them, getting inside the van carrying the cages. The van is driven by a slim, young Black man. The Spaniard sits in the passenger’s seat and I take my place behind them.

„The phone call came from someone living near the Harlem River, they saw that shitty Boston Terrier stealing chewing gum” says the Spaniard, folding out a map to check the route. The two cars take off, rushing towards the area facing Harlem River.

Inside the hurling car, I am debating whether I should tell the man with the strict face sitting before me that the Boston Terrier actually has a name. In the end, I decide not to do so. They wouldn’t care too much for what the dog’s name is anyway.

***

The north-eastern parts of Manhattan are mostly inhabited by immigrants. Most of the people passing us by are Puerto Rican or Mexican, the majority of the conversations I overhear are in Spanish. Many brown mansions stand by the riverside. The city of New York built these for low income citizens and they refer to them as a „project”. There are nearly 2900 of these „projects” in New York City, with roughly 420,000 people inhabiting them. Some apartments are used for drug trafficking, they are a hotbed for crime.

The stray dog hunting team gets out of the vehicles parking on the roadside and sets out looking around the neighborhood. I decide to stick with the Spaniard. First of all, he wants to meet and talk to the person reporting the dog.

The Spaniard approaches a young man of Latin American descent standing by a payphone on a street corner. He smells like marijuana.

„You’re the guys looking for the Boston Terrier, right?”

„Yeah. Can you tell us what you saw?”

„It was just now, like thirty minutes ago. A weird dog came out of that supermarket over there, it was eating something. The store clerk ran after it but it got away. It was black and white. I thought it was a French Bulldog but it had a slim body so I figured it was a Boston Terrier. I called the number from a poster when I saw that.”

The young man rubs his index finger and thumb together in a gesture of requesting his reward. The Spaniard hands him a couple of bank notes but he doesn’t seem impressed.

„Hey, this isn’t even enough for a beer!”

„If you have more info, I’ll give you more.”

The Spaniard sends the young man away and sets off in the direction of said supermarket. It is a small store standing in a dirty, graffiti-covered alleyway.      I call it a supermarket but it is nothing more than a private business, with colourful vegetables on its racks that look fresh and delicious. The store clerk, a fat Black woman, is standing there with a troubled look on her face. The Spaniard calls out to her.

„We heard a Boston Terrier stole some of your merchandise, is that true?”

„Yeah, just look at this!” she beckons. The Spaniard’s work clothes have the logo of his company embroidered, she must know he’s an expert of vermin extermination. Right as we step inside the supermarket we find a candy shelf. The goods have been stolen from it and the empty shelf is sticky with a clear liquid dripping off of it. „It’s just like ’Alien’, isn’t it? The movie. Have you seen it? The monster was drooling just like this.”

The store clerk furrows her brows. The Spaniard takes out a ballpoint pen from his chest pocket, picking up some of the liquid with its end and examining its viscosity and smell.

„It’s drool. Those shelves had coffee flavour chewing gum on them, am I right?”

„Exactly! A small black and white dog devoured it right here. I tried to catch it but it picked up the entire box and ran off. I reported it to the police as well, just in case, but I’m surprised to see that you guys showed up! Then again, there’s so much crime on these streets, the police must be very busy.”

Leaving the store, the Spaniard gets in touch with his men. Each of them carries a transceiver, making it possible to exchange information between each other so long as they are within a couple kilometers radius.

I decide to investigate our surroundings as well. I move through dirty alleyways scattered with trash, looking for a Boston Terrier.

The wind carries the stench of alcohol and urine. It is probably drunks standing in the alleys and taking a piss. A row of cars stand parking on the roadside. It is a lonely street with no people or cars passing by.

Someone from our team is questioning a vagrant, holding the handle of a large net. It is the white man that complained to me in the office and reminded me of a rugby player. It seems like his work clothes were about to burst with his muscles.

„Didn’t you see a dog around here? A small, black and white one. It has a short snout and it farts a lot.”

The vagrant our rugby player is looking down to is an elderly man, leaning back onto a building’s wall as he’s sitting on the ground. He put down a piece of cardboard to make his sitting place more comfortable. His mouth seems to be mumbling something in response to the rugby player’s question, however he can’t form his words properly, having lost all his teeth.

„There... right there...” The vagrant’s words come in fragments. He points a finger at the wall right across the street. I turn to the rugby player.

„I believe this old man is pointing us to around there.”

The rugby player glances at me, turning his gaze to where the vagrant is pointing.

„There’s nothin’ there. Nothin’ strange. Not a Boston Terrier, not a place where a small dog could hide.”

„But this old man is trying to bring our attention to something.”

On the other side of the line of parking cars is nothing but old brick buildings, lined up without so much as a crevice between them. The vagrant is pointing at one of those walls.

The rugby player shakes his head.

„That’s just a wall. We asked the wrong guy. Maybe he’s hallucinating!”

The vagrant, however, keeps on murmuring.

„...weird... how...? It’s gone... I don’t...”

I decide to walk across to the other side of the road.

„Hey, Egyptian! Don’t just do whatever you like! Come back here!” I hear the rugby player’s voice but I ignore him.

I approach the wall the vagrant is pointing to, and trailed a finger along it. Its surface is just slightly damp, but also coarse. It is probably the speckles of sand dancing in the wind that stick to it.

„Hey! Egyptian!”

An odd sense of discomfort comes over me. My finger tracing the wall gets caught in the corner of a brick, which then quickly crumbles. As I try to apply some force, my hand sinks into the brick wall.

„H-hey... what’s that?!”

What we thought to be a brick wall crumbles into sand. It collects into large heaps under my feet and a small alleyway appears on its other side. It looks like there isn’t a crevice between the buildings but in reality, they aren’t stuck together at all. It simply appeared so because the sand’s fine imitation made it look like they were lined up continuously. The vagrant likely found it odd that the alleyway that was supposed to be there disappeared, and tried to bring it to our attention.

Sand speckles dance around me from the collapse. When my vision clears, I realize something is hiding in the dim depths of the alleyway. It is small, small enough for me told hold in my hands.

He is chewing on something very, very loudly. He must have been hiding himself right here all along, creating a fake wall with sand.

„Is that you, Iggy?”

The moment I call his name, the chewing noises stop.

A pair of eyes appears in the dim light. I see the whites of them clearly. Apparently he still remembers his name being ’Iggy’. His self-awareness has him reacting to me calling his name.

Someone grabs my shoulder from behind with great force. It is the rugby player.

„Hey, hey, hey! There he is! I thought it was sand dancing, but there’s a street there now?  Looks like a dead end, so I guess he’s got no choice but to come over here, huh?” He fixes the net in his hands and takes off in the alley’s direction.

„Hey, wait!”

In response to the rugby player approaching him, he gets up on his four legs in the dark. His form is that of a small dog’s, but something is manifesting behind him.

The speckles of sand in the alley rise up, defying gravity, gathering in one place, taking shape seemingly too big to even fit the narrow alleyway behind the dog.

However, the rugby player doesn’t see it. It is a projection of life energy that regular people are unable to detect. Before his eyes, there is nothing but a single small dog.

He charges towards Iggy with his net. The giant behind Iggy moves, picking him up and jumping, scattering sand as it tramples the rugby player. The moment he hits the ground, it rushes out of the narrow alley. Its large body leaps over the line of parking cars with ease.

As it appears in a vast and well-lit place, I can take a good look at it in its entirety. The giant holding Iggy has the appearance of a dog with wheels. Its two front legs are dog-like, but its hind legs are missing, sporting car wheels in their place. On its head it wears feathers resembling Native American ornaments. It is a form blending machinery and organic life, scattering speckles of sand from its entire body.

A Stand. That is what I and my American friend referred as to such entities. Something standing by one’s side like a guardian. This must be the reason behind the odd sand related episodes happening around Iggy.

Stands do not possess a physical body. It is more like Iggy’s guardian. Some would call it a visualization of his psychic powers, others might even claim it as an evil spirit.

Iggy exchanges a glance with me, carried by his own Stand, then turns away as if he’s lost interest in me already. His Stand that leapt over cars so easily rotates its wheels, dashing away on the streets.

The rugby player stands up from where he fell on the ground and calls for assistance with his transceiver.

„He-he’s here! The Boston Terrier! Come right away!” He tries to chase after Iggy instantly, but he fails. The huge mass of sand that until just now has been forming a wall is now covering the ground. Before I could have noticed, it all centered on me. The sand swallows me up to the knee and firmly hardens. Without a doubt this is Iggy’s doing. Pulling as hard as I can, I free my legs but he has already disappeared behind a corner.

„Shit... don’t let him get away!”

The rugby player runs off, and I follow him.

[drenched-in-sunlight]

one thing that i find interesting is that even though we never get to interact with Marika directly, only knowing her via obscure cutscenes and other characters' dialogue... she actually displays a wide range of emotions as much as any other NPCs.

her statues depict her as having a warm, gentle smile:

the Mimic veil description points to her playful, mischievous side:

(it's a popular theory in the JP/Asian side of the fandom that it's sth from her childhood - hence the "Marika's Mischief", not "Queen Marika's", and she used it to escape the grisly fate befalling her family.

additionally, its equivalence in Dark Souls is also something described as "the mischief of a young girl who sought relief from the solitude of the woods at dusk", aka Princess Dusk who hails from "Oolacile, land of ancient golden sorceries", but i digress)

her portrait, the story trailer's "Queen Marika was driven to the brink" and Gideon's dialogue after the player defeated Malenia pointed out her sorrow:

(back when i first played the base game, this is the portrait that drove my eyes most in Roundtable Hold. i kept gazing at her - the Queen with permanently lowered eyes, and thought "there is a girl in there")

The bat lady's song, Messmer's entire Crusade, all those conflicts to establish the Erdtree, shows her anger, and the cruelty she's capable of:

Then there's Shaman's village, the clinic underneath Shadow Keep, the golden braid, the Minor Erdtree, the sealing of Death - that points to grief, trauma, survivor guilt, kindness, and the ruinous drive for revenge that results in the above path down hell:

(there's also a theory for the Crusade's headless statue being a reminder for the Hornsent of what they put Marika's mother through, but it's not concrete canon so here is the link if you want to check it out)

The fact that all of Erdtree's incantations are heal and protection spells (with only one exception of Wrath of Gold spell which was found after the Elden Ring was shattered), the Capitol's Perfumers originally being blessed healers, and that all Erdtree blessings come in the shape of tears give the picture of Marika's gentle wish at the beginning: to heal everything and everyone.

(and to me personally, there's a kind of vulnerability and honesty in showing your tears to the world and let it be your power to heal at the same time.)

the eye she blessed Messmer with (i do think the Eng translation at some part lost the sentiment of the JP text - that the eye is always referred to as a blessing)

the blessing flask that - unlike its Dark Souls equivalent (which ranges from 6-13 flasks), only have 4 available to us player, heal all ailments and status effect, and specified as sth made for Messmer.

the Marika's soreseal in the Haligtree + the waterfall near Godwyn's final resting place

the Regal Omen Bairn (that was fashioned after the Jizo statue - sth made by grieving parents wishing for protection for their deceased child in the afterlife)

the blessing, gifts, equipment that Messmer and Godwyn's personal knights all get

the fact that Marika's bedchamber and the Impaler's Catacomb (which is the only catacomb in the base game to have the spike trap mechanic used in catacombs in the DLC) remain the proof of Messmer's existence in the base game

how Godwyn's ending is the only ending where the mending rune is placed on the position of Marika's womb (the lower arc or the Elden Ring - also referred to as the basin in which its blessings pool)

that's a whole barrage of motherhood. the love, the fear, the postpartum depression, the guilt and anxiety, (the occasional scheming for revenge with her son). and despite how flawed and tragic that love ends up being for all of them, it is there.

(there's a whole subplot about how Messmer is the only demigod to be called ugly in-game (Hornsent npc dialogue) while Boc's questline is about how his mother being the only one to always assure him he's beautiful, despite everyone else calling him ugly. and how each NPCs questline does reflect a wider theme seen in Marika and her children. but again, i digress)

every time i think of her, Marika is a constantly shifting kaleidoscope, holding everything from within (the beauty and the malign, light and dark, birth and death, she's warm and gentle, she's cruel and unjust, she's strong and kind, she's weak and resentful, she's sweet and she's bitterness made flesh)... and i could only stand there and admire it all.

[extra-vertebrae]

General interpretation of the overall sequence of events for ER and SOTE after completing the DLC and ruminating over the lore and flavour texts, plus thoughts on the ending itself:

Marika is born in what will become the Lands of Shadow, potentially underground as a budding Swordhand of Night. She has a predisposition for violence / war.

Marika receives communion from the Greater Will at some point, she enacts some kind of "original sin" under its guidance, creating Order where there was previously none (an item flavour text suggests this but I can't find the item in my inventory to double check - I don't recall what item it is) by sheering the land in two. Violence of some level is implied from the story trailer and Marika's role as a God of Death (her Rune is the Rune of Death). It is implied that her basal / original sin is the desire to do harm / creation of a tiered, forced "order" where none was needed. She ascends to the Divinity Gate and becomes the Greater Will's vessel.

The Crucible and the land itself is split apart, creating the Erdtree and Scadutree (full speculation on this, I'm guessing whole cloth), and the Lands Between and Lands of Shadow.

The Lands of Shadow become a realm of the dead / the shoreline for all things that die in the Lands Between. Everything that dies a true death will eventually go there. (Speculation, based on crypts and Godwyn's presence)

Some Swordhands of Night follow Marika to the Lands Between, they become the Numen. They conspire to make their own Lord, and are punished by the Greater Will via the destruction of their silver city by Astel. This breeds resentment within the Numen.

Marika meets Godfrey and wages war across the Lands Between.

At some point Marika starts having children.

Taking Great Rune placement as an indicator, Morgott and Mohg are born first, they are "cursed" by the Crucible, a sign of Marika's hornsent blood and / or Godfrey's own proximity to the Crucible. They are thrown away as symbols / reminders of what Marika has done / under rule of law of the Greater Will that she helped create. Godwyn is likely born second.

Messmer is born before Radagon's brood (Gaius's Remembrance claims both himself and Messmer were "as elder brothers" to Radahn). He is also cursed, the "base serpent" lives within him, the serpent may be a manifestation / representation of Marika's violence / destructive nature. He has visions of the ultimate end of Marika's reign: destruction of everything she has built. RE: a God of Death cannot create and maintain creation, it can only forestall the inevitable conclusion of its own existence: death.

It could very well be that Marika's sin is the attempt to control the natural way of the world - forcing order and sealing death.

Marika sends Messmer on a crusade into the Lands of Shadow to both hide him and the base serpent, and to maybe wipe the remnants of her past and evidence of the sin she enacted from history entirely.

From here shit gets muddy (moreso than it already is). It's clear that all of the fucked up customs seen in the Lands Between originate from the Land of Shadow. Marika brought with her to the Lands Between the customs of creating warrior jars, the use of barbs in denoting sin / blasphemy, and the translation of that barb into the Arc seen in crucifixion throughout the main game, as well as other things.

The presence of Metyr suggests that the original form of the Lands Between / Land of Shadow was already abandoned by the Greater Will in some capacity until it, presumably, saw a tool worth using in Marika. Mariks splits the original world into what it is, the Greater Will hopes to mould the Lands Between into what it divines as order and sends multiple Two Fingers to help guide this moulding to its desires, creating a new faith in a new world. This splitting could be considered as the "mistake" the Greater Will made as referred to by the Frenzied Three Fingers - the Greater Will divided and distinguished.

I would argue that the Greater Will is a "god" only in the sense of its powers are beyond human comprehension, and is therefor interpreted as divine. The Greater Will meddled in the lives of creatures inferior to it for its own gains - it desires a specific fate. It, like Astel and Metyr, is a creature "of the stars".

For Ranni, my overall interpretation is that her upbringing as a member of the Academy / a watcher of the stars is what nurtures what becomes resentment in becoming an Empyrean. It probably doesn't help that her brother, Radahn, seizes the stars in the night sky, preventing those who follow the stars to divine their own fate from them. To this end, Radahn is likely considered her enemy. The imposing of the Greater Will spurs Ranni to conspire with the spurned Numen, and she orchestrates the Night of the Black Knives.

Afterwards, the Elden Ring is shattered by Marika and given to her present surviving children (Messmer has no Great Rune, he is hidden away in the Lands of Shadow at this time, he has been abandoned by Marika). None can establish order.

Miquella is a madman in the same vein as his mother. Where he specifically fits in this in terms of a timeline I'm not sure, but regardless, he is not what he believes or presents himself as to others. Miquella is a manipulator as Marika was, his aims are merely "different". In order to achieve what he wants, he bewitches those around him to do his bidding without consideration for their individuality / who they really are or what they want. His entire operation is doomed to fail from the start, because Miquella is stuck within his own head, and he is surrounded by enablers (that he creates).

Personally, I find the choice of Radahn as his King Consort to be ???. There is nothing in the base game that suggests this as a thing in the barest sense. Out of anyone else in the family, I would have assumed Godwyn, because it is suggested via the Eclipse Shotel and Castle Sol that Miquella tries to "right" Godwyn's death, and Godwyn's corpse is all over the Lands of Shadow already - he has an established presence, Radahn does not. Godwyn and Miquella were evidently close and why he wouldn't choose Godwyn as King Consort is honestly a mystery to me. I did, however, break all of the NPC quests thanks to doing the Shadow Keep backwards - RE: I lost track of Ansbach entirely and that scuttled my entire playthrough. If there is some kind of additional context for why this "vow" is made with Radahn, I haven't seen it yet.

Anyway - those are my thoughts so far. SOTE's ending was... shit, honestly, worse than the basic bitch endings base ER has. That "memory" as a reward for getting through the DLC feels awful, legitimately, very "that's it? For all of that?" I don't like this new precedent that FromSoft is setting with these low effort, unfulfilling endings after massive player undertakings. None of the earlier games had this issue. The reward does not compensate the effort. The final boss and ending soured what was otherwise a really, really, really good buildup. The final boss has a lot of bullshit going on, primarily in being utterly unable to see what the fuck is happening. I lost more times to being blinded and unable to see what the boss was doing moreso than anything else. I have other thoughts regarding the boss, but overall, I hated that fight. It wasn't fun, and it was made all the worse with the ending being so feeble and slapdash, and the reward item being... fucking nothing, essentially. Neither were worth the effort. This might be a boss I never fight again out of sheer lack of enjoyment.

[crusera]

The Sultan, they said, was a good man. Soft, quickly moved to tears. Out of compassion, he bought the freedom of a Christian woman's stolen daughter. Even Walther von der Vogelweide, the minnesinger in distant Germany, praised the "mildness" of the powerful ruler in the Orient, whose name has a good reputation in the West: Saladin, a righteous man.

He was a man who always kept his word, even to his enemies.

He let his subjects drag him to court, because God's laws applied equally to everyone. Also for him, the ruler who managed to do what no one had ever managed before: to unite the Islamic world of the Middle East after centuries of discord and to wrest Jerusalem, the holy city of the Muslims, from the Christians in 1187.

His name translates as "righteousness of faith", and Saladin is indeed a devout Muslim. Nevertheless, after his conquest of the Holy Land, he allowed the Christians and Jews there to continue praying to their God. This is another reason why, more than half a millennium later, Western Enlightenment thinkers would make him the epitome of the tolerant ruler.

But this al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din Abu'l-Muzaffer Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi, known as Saladin for short, also had other sides.

He could be treacherous, vile and mean. He did not shy away from murder. Nevertheless, this man fascinated his contemporaries. He became one of the most revered rulers of the Islamic world and the most important opponent of the Crusaders.

Saladin was born in 1138 in Tikrit (in present-day Iraq), the son of a Kurdish officer. During his political career, Saladin was the first to bring Egypt's army under his control.

Saladin, a Sunni, now founds two universities where theology is taught according to Sunni theology - a signal that he is on the side of the population. He also abolished a number of taxes that contradicted the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet.

Saladin's subsequent conquests shock the Christian world. By 1174, his power extended from North Africa to the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. In 1186, he ruled from the Nile to the Tigris.

At the height of his power, the Sultan even dreamed of taking the Holy War to Europe, conquering Rome - and putting the Pope in chains.

The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099 and held it until Saladin besieged it in 1187 and handed it over to the Ayyubid dynasty, a Muslim sultanate that ruled the Middle East at the beginning of the 12th century.

Saladin wanted to recapture the city, which had previously been ruled by Muslims.

For Muslims, Jerusalem is a place where important events in the life of Jesus and other important personalities took place. It is also the place where the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven according to the traditional interpretation of the Koran and other texts.

In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina. Muslims believe that Muhammad was brought to Jerusalem during his night journey (Isra and Mi'raj).

The name Jesus is mentioned twenty-five times in the Holy Qur'an, often in the form 'Isa ibn Maryam, which means "Jesus, son of Mary". In the Quran, he is given the unique title "Messiah" (al-masih in Arabic), which means "anointed one". He is considered one of many prophets from the lineage of the Prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham (peace be upon him). Many Muslim traditions regard it as an ideal example of spirituality. Unlike Christians, who generally believe in a triune God, Muslims believe that Jesus was a great prophet who was to lead mankind on the straight path of monotheism and obedience to God (Allah).

When Jerusalem also fell, two kings and an emperor set off for the Holy Land with their armies from 1189 onwards. One of the monarchs is King Richard I of England. Even before the armed pilgrimage, he had already earned himself an honourable name: "Lionheart."

Saladin lies in wait for the Christians in the forests of Arsuf near the Mediterranean coast. But King Richard of England had anticipated the attack; on 7 September 1191, his troops won a clear victory. Nevertheless, the Muslim army is still strong enough to block the road to Jerusalem.

Saladin's reconquest of Jerusalem in 1187 prompted Pope Gregory VIII to organize the Third Crusade. From 1189 to 1192, Saladin lost Acre and Jaffa and was defeated in the field at Arsūf. The Crusaders retreated to Europe without seizing Jerusalem, but Saladin's military reputation had been damaged. He died in 1193.

[yourhavruta]

Male sex - is being gay a sin?

I've already saw a couple of those videos on my fyp, and they annoy me a little, especially the comments.

A little preface:

As we know, the original texts of the Tanakh (old testament) were written in Hebrew.

When the Romans ruled over judea, Jesus started a new current in Judaism, which became Christianity after he died.

His followers spread their beliefs, and romans became Christiana as well.

So, one if the first thing they did was to translate the Tanakh to Latin, and then years later to other languages as they continued with the Crusades.

Now, what's bothers me the most about those posts is that they say the mistranslation caused the verse to be "a man shall not lay with another man" instead of "a man shall not lay with a boy" (meaning is was supposedly meant to be about pedophilia and not homosexuality).

The this, that in the original text there nothing about a boy.

"וְאֶ֨ת־זָכָ֔ר לֹ֥א תִשְׁכַּ֖ב מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֑ה תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה הִֽוא׃" {ויקרא, י"ח, כ"ב}

"And with a male you shall not lie the lyings of a woman; it is an abomination." {Translation - Sefaria, Rabbi Shraga Silvershtein}

Nothing about a boy, nothing about a teenager {נער - sometime interpret as a young male, even if he's 30}.

If we take the verse very literally, it means that a males aren't allowed to have Anal sex with eachother.

Tho, the interpretation that it's about pedophilia, didn't came first from Christians.

[יא] "ואיש" – להוציא את הקטן. "אשר ישכב את זכר" – אף הקטן במשמע.

In verse י"א, the text says "and a man" - meaning an adult male {13 and above}, then it keeps on telling all the laws of Incest. In verse כ"ב {"And with a male you shall not..."}, it. Says a male.

According to Sfara, Kdoshim, it means a male shall not lie with any other male - minor and adult as one.

So, in conclusion, there is definitely mistranslation from the original text to the old testament in the Christian's bible, but it's not explicit about Pedophilia.

Reblog or comment if you have anything to add, this is a very big topic.

Have an easy and meaningful fast.

גמר חתימה טובה🕊️

[maniculum]

I'm doing a College class on Ancient Foods. My focus is on Honey like the different recipes and usages in Medieval era. I found like a couple recipes, a thing on religious relation ("Milk and Honey of Paradise") /Crusades, medicinal use, and possibly bees/beeswax because I was struggling to get something.

Y'all have any recommendations?

(I've brought Zoe in on this one; the following is a collaborative effort. Also I'm assuming you have access to your university library so you can get ahold of the cited material below quickly and for free.)

Can you include beverages? Honey is the main ingredient in mead, which should give you a lot to talk about. Susan Verberg is the premier researcher on medieval mead, and has some excellent works on both mead making and honey production. She has a website at https://medievalmeadandbeer.wordpress.com/ where you can find both her formal publications and her blog.

If you do want to talk about beverages, there were other medieval drinks that used honey. Some citations for you:

Breeze, Andrew. “What Was ‘Welsh Ale' in Anglo-Saxon England?” Neophilologus, vol. 88, no. 2, 2004, pp. 299–301.

Fell, Christine E. “Old English ‘Beor’." Leeds Studies in English, vol. 8, 1975, pp. 76-95.

You can also go into cultural symbolism; here are a couple on that:

Enright, Michael J. Lady with a Mead Cup: Ritual, Prophecy, and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tène to the Viking Age. Four Courts Press, 2013.

Rowland, Jenny. “OE Ealuscerwen/Meoduscerwen and the Concept of ‘Paying for Mead'." Leeds Studies in English, vol. 21, 1990, pp. 1-12.

Also you might want to look into the general concept of the "mead of poetry" from the Old Norse sources. You can find the origin story for that in the Prose Edda, I believe.

Definitely check out https://www.foodtimeline.org for recipes with honey during the period - they have more than you'd expect. There's also a few medieval cookbooks you can parse through. Here's an online one you can sort through that does a great job modernizing the translations: https://www.medievalcookery.com/etexts.html

As for honey itself -- there's actually quite a bit of research on that! Honey was quite a specialized trade, and most of the medieval world used it for sweetener, so there's a good amount of research.

A few leads:

honey as an alternative to sugar, which was expensive, imported, and could indicate class

honey grading: honey was graded based on location/provenance, type (lavender, orange blossom, etc.), and also by grade. However, their method of grading was very different to our modern one.

honey as a preservative, not just for flavor

Articles on this subject:

(DEFINITELY this one!!) Fava, Lluis Sales, et al. “Beekeeping in Late Medieval Europe: A Survey of Its Ecological Settings and Social Impacts.” Anales de La Universidad de Alicante. Historia Medieval, no. 22, 2021, pp. 275-96, https://doi.org/10.14198/medieval.19671.

Wallace-Hare, David, editor. New Approaches to the Archaeology of Beekeeping. Archaeopress, 2022. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2b07txd.

Verberg, Susan. “Of Hony: A Collection of Mediaeval Brewing Recipes for Mead, Metheglin, Braggot, Hippocras &c. — Including how to Process Honey — from the 1600s and Earlier,” 2017. Academia.edu.

If you want to look more into the medicinal usage, Cockayne's Leechdoms, Wortcunning, & Starcraft collects all the medical & scientific texts of the Old English period. It's old enough to be public domain, so it's available on the Internet Archive and HathiTrust in searchable form, meaning you can just ctrl-F "honey" and see what comes up.

Let us know how it goes!

[moociaoafterdark]

Random OC facts:

- Moira always had a big appetite. She jokes that she grew up so tall because her grandfather did the good ol' "Look at you, you're all skin and bones!". During her stay with Alaitoc, she didn't eat as much as she used to. Partially because the Aeldari were put off by Moira's voracious appetite and thought it wasn't normal for humans to eat so much (and they were technically right), partially because Moira was depressed and refused to eat. She lost an alarming amount of weight as a result. Ironically, after ending up with Neaera, she regained her body mass, mostly because Moira felt better (as in so batshit crazy she looped back to feeling normal) and because Neaera had no qualms about Moira eating corpses. Now she is towering over even the Astartes captives.

- While Neaera's appearance is more or less natural, she still tries to mimic the succubus that leads her Wych cult. It doesn't take much effort, as, weirdly enough, that succubus looks suspiciously like Neaera herself. Same greenish hair, golden eyes, even the nose is the same shape. She is also in the same cult as her brother, who is a rare male Wych. Both of the siblings are extremely ambitious and competitive, which is actually more or less natural for the Drukhari. Both wish to attain a higher rank in the cult, though Neaera is far more likely to do so, unless something happens to her.

- Maelak was trapped in Tzeentch's realm for several years and, while he was jumping in between Word Bearers and Black Legion, he has also gained some allies among the Thousand Sons. Though he never met Ahriman, he does wish to. His alliance with the Thousand Sons persists well into his servitude to Abaddon and he oftens gets their help. He also once met Magnus and had an audience with him. After the long conversation with the Scarlet King, Maelak returned to the real world with the renewed perspective. It should be noted, that it is after the meeting with Magnus that he decided to join the Black Legion and was then noticed by Abaddon.

- Caius is very good with children... if you ignore all of the uhm *points at them being a Noise Marine*. In truth, she always had a soft spot for them. Back in the Great Crusade era, she was even responsible for looking after and mentoring the aspirants and neophytes. If your world gets invaded blessed by Slaanesh and her champions come to pay a visit, Caius is probably one of the few people you can trust the kids with, right before you get dragged off to another murder coke sex party. He will look after them and will protect them to the best of his abilities. She will also indoctrinate them to the service of Slaanesh, but like... At least they will do it in the rather "safe" way.

- El'Myamal is very well spoken, naturally, as a Water Caste, but his language is also rather ~flowery~. Naturally, he is also quite fond of poetry and indulged in writing it in his spare time. This wasn't his idea, one of his friends recommended it to him as a way to cope without involving alcohol (which is almost always confiscated and kept away from him anyway during diplomatic missions). Tau poetry is... rather confusing to other races and cultures, but what El'Myamal writes is essentially the Tau equivalent of the type of stuff you would find in angsty creative teen's diary. If one were to translate his texts tho, you wouldn't even be able to guess that it was the diplomat's way of writing down his angst. Rather you would assume it is nature poetry. It's still quite good, but there's a reason El'Myamal is keeping all the poetry all to himself. Sometimes, tho, he does get an idea for a speech when writing down his feelings in creative form.

[fantasyinvader]

So, Edelgard's agency. This has been a question that has been at the core of the discourse since the beginning: does Edelgard have any control over her own decisions? Was she under duress, or does her being gaslit by her father absolve her of her actions? Some have even suggested that the Flame Emperor be a split personality threatening to consume Edelgard, and I'll admit that a recent take of mine does sound like that.

However, when you look at the text of The Girl From Hresvelg, the song that was turned into Edge of Dawn, there's lines that imply that regrdlss of which class Byleth teaches Edelgard waivers about going through with the war because of her time at Garreg Mach. Being at the academy with other people is the implied cause for this, not Byleth being her teacher, much like how Claude is a lot more mellow than the shithead he is in Hopes. However, as the song progresses Edelgard tosses this all away in order to go through with the war.

You know, just like working with TWSITD, with Hopes showing she could just kick them to the curb if she wanted to, it was her choice to do so. Then there's how when Edelgard faces information that goes against what she believes, like the Agarthans having that much influence over the Empire and the Empire having abolished it's branch of the Church over a century ago, she chooses to ignore it. The Agarthans don't have a gun to her head, as it's clear from her reaction after Arianrhod that she has no idea about the Javelins of Light. Nor did they take away her free will, because Hopes showed us they could do that if they wanted to.

It all comes down to the choices Edelgard makes, just like how Snow and Flower are about the choices Byleth makes.

Sure, she's acting on information that the game heavily implies came from the Agarthans with the intent to manipulate her into going to war, but it was still her choice to go to war. It was ultimately Edelgard who turned Edelgard into the Flame Emperor. It doesn't matter if she thinks she's doing the right thing because of their manipulations, not when she's ignoring all the red flags that pop up. And on top of this, the text is very clear that Edelgard is also using them. Sure, the translation of Cornelia's death line makes it sound that Edelgard is simply their puppet, making it sound like all the bad shit she does in Flower is because of them before they're defeated after the war and Edelgard is made out to be a better leader (and that Rhea had it coming anyway). Flower still features Edelgard lying to her allies alongside clues that she's still a tyrant despite the liberties taken with the translation. The version of Edelgard Pat wanted to create is still undermined not just by the rest of the game but by Flower itself. And at the end of the day, it's still made out that was attempting to use TWSITD to conquer Fodlan and force her beliefs on the people just like a crusader.

Not to mention, it mirrors the fact that players ultimately have to make the call to join Edelgard themselves. White Clouds still leads into Silver Snow by default, it's the natural continuation of the story alongside the devs saying they built the world to support it. It's the player's choice to ignore the story up until that point, to ignore all the horrible things seen in White Clouds and turn their sword on Rhea instead of those actually committing those deeds all due to an attachment to someone being manipulated by TWSITD. It is framed in the game as changing the story.

In short, the player's choice to walk the path of conquest with Edelgard is meant to be a parallel to Edelgard's own decision to walk down that path. It is the player's choice to become the villain. Because, remember, it's Edelgard final boss theme Apex of the World that's playing in Flower's final map.

For added measure, in the real world the idea that someone is not responsible for their actions because they were "brainwashed" or indoctrinated has been rejected time and time again. It would mean that it's possible to take away someone's free will, and the courts just refuse to entertain that idea. Edelgard can believe whatever she wants, but she's still always going to be responsible for her her actions unless she gets the mental illness label slapped on her. Considering how the trope of villains being villains because they're crazy has fallen out of favor due to it being deemed problematic, I don't think that's the route people want to go down.

Edelgard's path is still made out to be the animal path, one where she hurts innocent people in her ignorance and will lead to her being reincarnated as an animal in her next life. But in her current life, she's still human. She's still capable of rational thought, being able to control her instinct and impulses and act in a humane manner. Even with the Three Flames in contrast to Byleth representing enlightenment in a Buddhist spirtiual sense, she still has that ability. The Three Flames of attachment, ignorance and hatred can only sway her decisions, not make them for her. Even if she has a moment of clarity before her death like I've suggested, urging Byleth to kill her in order to stop the war because she realizes she won't fucking stop of her own free will, even that would not change the fact that Edelgard has free will. It will always be her decision, so long as she can fight to do so. She just realizes she doesn't have the self-control to stop herself from doing so, so she pushes Byleth to do it for her.

Finally, there is no shortage of people who have been manipulated by TWSITD for their ends. The whole tragedy of Duscur was them manipulating a bunch of noble upset about reforms that would limit their powers. Even if those nobles believed they were in the right, what they did was inexcusable because in the end justice was them dressing up their own greed. The fact that Hopes showed that Miklan, fucking Miklan, could be work to make amends when given the opportunity by Dimitri while Edelgard will try to kill Dimitri for offering her a hand? Not a good look for Edelgard, is it?

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

My wife has been getting into Assassin's Creed, and brought up a decent question: Are the Templars a Religious Order?

My answer: it's complicated. There are clearly atheistic Templars (Vidic & Borgia being the first to come to mind). While they hold great respect for the Isu, they don't worship them, like the Instruments of the First Will

In real world history, the Templars were a religious order originally dedicated to protecting Pilgrims in Jerusalem. During the Crusades, they had a situationship with the Hospitallers (on again, off again, as they Hospitallers were dedicated to healing, but the Templars were a military force). They also invented modern banking, so people can get their loot totally legit treasures without risking roadside robbery. They were wiped out when King Philip IV of France charged them with Blasphemy (spitting on the Cross, worshipping Baphomet, the first reference of his existence, and so on) & Sodomy ("indecent kissing" between brothers, and homosexual acts as an initiation ritual). The Order was disbanded by Pope Clement V, after pardoning the surviving members

In Assassin's Creed, their lore goes back farther. The Order began (in its current form) with Pharaoh Smenkhkare, the successor of Akhenaten. I say in its modern form, because there appears to be a form of it in the Isu Era. Adam & Eve are real people in Assassin's Creed lore, and we happen to have a piece of Templar Mythology: the Book of Moses. AC: 2 point blank says that Joseph Smith did translate documents, Templar Documents. According to the Book of Moses, Cain made a covenant with the Devil to kill Able & get his flocks (according to Mormonism, the Devil is a being who was exiled because he believed the way to get to peace was through taking away their Freedom to Choose. Which is the Templar Belief). It's also interesting to note that the Book of Abraham was an Egyptian Text. The Book of Mormon seems more like an Assassin Text however

The Order of the Ancients spread with the Center of Civilization. Starting in Egypt, they spread to Babylon, and eventually formed the Persian Empire. They had a hold over Greece with the Cult of Kosmos, which is a blatantly religious organization. When they spread to Rome, they had a veneration for Caesar, calling him the Father of Understanding (who is a Divine Figure)

In England, we see the Order is religious. Specifically, they believe in a Trinity, known as the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom, and the Sacred Voice. King Alfred was strict Christian, and denounced the "Pagan" practice. This limited it to just the Father of Understanding

Then, they formed the Knights Templar, and we get all of Real History (except King Philip was influenced by the Assassins)

The Templars continued after this of course, despite the extermination of the French Chapter. Eventually, a Templar (Rodrigo Borgia) became Pope Alexander VI. They continued on as they were, seeking the Pieces of Eden, but not really understanding what they were, just that they were powerful, and furthered their cause

The first appearance of Institutional Atheism appears to have its roots with French Grand Master François-Thomas Germain. He believed the Templars needed to shift from Religious to Secular control. This appears not to have taken root immediately, as the American Chapter appears to still be religious 30-40 years after the French Revolution

It appears the Order took a turn under Crawford Starrick. He had control over all of London, from the Government, to the Medicine, and even the Criminal Underworld. He took full advantage of the Industrial Revolution, not only to further his own causes, but to hinder any opposition. Crawford Starrick influenced other Templars such as Edison & Ford. Abstergo Industries, and the Global Monopoly over Entertainment, Medicine, and practically everything, began with Ford. They used Hitler & Stalin as puppets, using the chaos of WWII to buy out businesses in the Wartime & Postwar Eras. They continued their usual antics in the background, but their public face was shiny. They used Anti-Communist Sentiments in countries such as the United States to further expand. Although they caused the Russian Revolution, they were also instrumental in the Fall of the Soviet Union, putting in Putin as a Puppet

In 2000, Subject 4 (Daniel Cross) killed the Mentor, leading to William becoming the new Head of the Order. However, Cross gave them the location of Assassin Cells. This led to the Near Extinction of the Assassins. Without their interference, their control became even more embedded. The few remaining Assassins were able to halt their attempts to launch the Eye (their Satellite, which would have an Apple of Eden, and amplify its effects worldwide), gain access to Atlantis & the Staff of Hermes, and Project Phoenix (recreating the Isu Genome, which was hijacked by the Instruments of the First Will to resurrect Juno & presumably Aita)

TL;DR- The Modern Templars are Secular. I'm sure they'd have no problems initiating a religious person, but we don't see any indication either way. The Templars were religious at least until King Alfred's Era. I'm going to say they probably were through the Crusades & during the Renaissance as well (although it probably wasn't a requirement during the latter, it was still overwhelmingly religious). The French Revolution appears to be the Turning Point from it being Religious to Secular (although the American Branch was still religious, as seen with Joseph Smith translating Templar Documents. But this was during the Second Great Awakening, so I'd be surprised if they weren't)

I am religious myself. When I've studied all I can, but still feel like I need help, I pray "May the Father of Understanding guide me." And I feel like it's a meaningful phrase, and want it to be used more in daily life (same with "Safety & Peace" for the Assassins)

𐐣𐐩 𐑄 𐐙𐐪𐑃𐑉 𐐲𐑂 𐐊𐑌𐐼𐑉𐑅𐐻𐐰𐑌𐐼𐐮𐑍 𐑀𐐴𐐼 𐐲𐑅 𐐰𐑊 (May the Father of Understanding guide us all)

𐐝𐐩𐑁𐐻𐐨 𐐰𐑌𐐼 𐐑𐐨𐑅 𐐲𐐹𐐪𐑌 𐐷𐐭 (Safety and Peace upon you)

[asia-likethecontinent]

Today I want to talk about the Bible. I think that my views on Christianity will put some people off, but I need to get these thoughts out somewhere. This is gonna be long lol.

I grew up going to church, singing in the choir, getting up early for Sunday school, and giving up my Wednesday evenings for Bible study. But I also loved history; it was my favorite subject in school. I always felt like we were missing some context with the Bible…like pastors and church leaders would preach on the same handful of concepts or verses out of the whole anthology, and then there were tons of different “translations” (KJV, ESV, NIV, etc.) that didn’t all say the same thing.

I learned Spanish in middle school and high school and noticed that some things wouldn’t directly translate to English and there were some meanings that would change. I learned who King James (of the King James translation of the Bible) was and some things started to feel inconsistent. I learned about things like the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades and then I wondered how we got to become Christians hundreds of years later. What was an old King of England’s motivation to translate religious text? What was it translated from? What gave those clergymen under the King’s employment the right? The people that kidnapped and enslaved my ancestors for centuries supposedly followed this text, so what does that mean?

And then I learned that our modern version of the Bible is missing a lot of books…and then I remembered things like the burning of the library of Alexandria and Nazi book burnings. Governments have stolen people’s written knowledge for social control for millennia, even today with book banning and censorship around what can/can’t be taught in schools. So is it safe to base an entire religion, an entire reason for being for some people, on this inconsistent text? What if it’s saying the “wrong” thing?

And then, from my experience, pastors spend very little time talking about Jesus and his teachings while he lived…shouldn’t that be the whole point? If we’re followers of Christ, shouldn’t we spend our time studying him and trying to live more like him? Jesus was a revolutionary and a champion for the poor and downtrodden, not for the rich. So what would kings, military leaders, politicians, and billionaire CEOs know of Jesus? Why would a nation that deems itself a Christian nation (I know the whole point of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause was to not be that, but be fr, there’s a church on every street corner here), criminalize homelessness and let people starve? Why are pastors living in mansions and driving luxury cars when their congregation is living paycheck to paycheck? When there are people in their congregations that have no safe place to sleep? When people in their congregations are dying for lack of effective healthcare? Why are billions of US taxpayer dollars going to dropping thousand pound bombs on children in various different countries hundreds of miles away?

I still believe in God and I believe in Jesus’s teachings, but everything that I mentioned makes me a little critical of the type of Christianity that people credit for giving them promotions at their jobs, Grammy nominations, and multi million dollar companies. I believe that God gave us everything we need to live in peace on this Earth and blessed us with a moral compass, but God left it up to us to care for this place and the people and things in it. I believe that Jesus was here to leave us examples and works to help us live the way that God intended, but after he was killed by the state, so many of us lost our way in money, power and glory. I think that churches need to change and start talking about this kind of stuff and our place in the world to get people thinking. To be frank, I don’t think that God cares about sexuality and “sin”, and we frankly spend far too much time talking about it. I think there should be room for more discussion and questioning without fear of being considered “blasphemous” and shunned.

Signed,

Still a Christian, I guess, but a lonely one.

[abla-soso]

They are very, very few Israelis who are genuinely anti-Israel and actively working to dismantle it, and it's really fucking rude and unreasonable for non-Palestinains to ask them to "just leave". As if that's the only solution to settler colonialism.

First of all, they are already a very small minority. Leaving Israel wouldn't affect the Zionist project in any meaningful way.

Second of all, these people denounced zionism and they're actively working to dismantle israel from the inside. They are actively working to help liberate the Palestinians and give them back all their stolen rights. They are not colonial setterls.

Third of all, these people can do much more useful activist work inside Israel rather than outside it. They are using their privilege as Israeli citizens to document the war crimes much more freely than any Palestinian, and they're the ones translating damming zionists texts and interviews and exposing them to the whole world. If they leave Israel, they will no longer be able to do any of that important work.

Lastly, anti-Zionist Jews DO have a right to stay in Palestine! They have this right according to Islamic texts! Every time Muslims conquered Jerusalem and the lands of Palestine, they're allowed the peaceful Jews and Christians to live there. Even after the Crusades! So telling anti Zionist Jews they deserve to be kicked out from Palestine - even after they've denounced Zionism and actively worked to free Palstine - is really fucking shitty.

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

English version DR:THH Gameplay Log #3

⚠️ Note that this Gameplay Log contains many spoilers, not only for THH but also for the entire Danganronpa franchise.

[Previous #2]

Finally, the introduction of the Ultimates! Yay! First, let's start with Hifumi's self-introduction, which I thought would be absolutely difficult to translate.

Oh, I see. "すべての始まりにして終わりなる者" is translated as "The Alpha and the Omega". It's a nice way of translating.

---

One thing I was very curious about in the translation of Hifumi's lines is how he refers to others, because this is related to a trick in chapter3. It seems that he calls others "Mr. + last name". I see, I see. In the original, he refers to other people as "their full name + an honorific (殿)". So if it was reproduced in the English version, he would call Makoto "Mr. Makoto Naegi", but the trick in chapter 3 would only work if the last name came first, so I guess the first name was omitted.

---

haha, I think the EN text is a bit more euphemistic and cooler than the original, but I wonder what English speakers think about this. Maybe if I translated the original text literally, it would be "In other words... things beyond sex (or sexual desires)." or something like that?

---

Leon has a lot of interesting lines for me because I have a limited vocabulary of informal English. But I think he speaks more normally than I expected. I think the original version is even more disorganized in its wording. (It is difficult to give a detailed explanation, so I will leave out the details!)

---

I think "super cool to the max!" is a good translation because it gives a silly impression. In the original, it was "マキシマム(maximum)にカッケー". I think the literal translation would be "maximum cool!" or something like that. It is a silly and grammatically odd expression that is halfway mixed with English.

---

haha, in the EN text, the fact that Sayaka bowed was removed. A literal translation of the original text would probably be something like this:

"The way she bowed is beautiful and I can't help but admire..."

Yeah, bowing is an act based on Japanese culture, so I guess it was removed to avoid confusion about what it means.

---

This is a very good translation. The original text only says that fishermen have become very popular, but the context means that fishermen have become popular as romantic partners, which is expressed in the English version as 'fishermen quickly shot to the top of every "Hottest Men" poll ', and it is very clear.

---

Ah, the word "お姉様" has been omitted, perhaps because it is difficult to translate. Actually, I am very curious as to how this can be translated. The word "お姉様" evokes images of a mature, calm, emotional leeway, and attractive woman. For example, Melami Goldmine from Rain Code is a complete "お姉様" type of person. Is there any equivalent word?

---

hehe, it's funny how Makoto's line is much harsher in the original. In the EN text he said he WAS way off, but in the original one, he said "作家としての豊かな想像力が間違った方向に働いた例だな…". If I were to translate it, it would probably be something like this:

"It's a case of a writer's rich imagination working in the wrong direction..."

Don't analyze her so coldly, Makoto! 😂

---

Ah, apparently I did not understand how difficult it is to translate Taka's lines. He's smart enough to use difficult words, so it's hard to translate that into English while keeping the word count within the limits of the line!

The translation "educational crusade" is interesting. In the original, he's just using a little difficult wording to say let's do our best to do schoolwork together. But as it is, it doesn't convey that he's using exaggerated language, so it feels like it's been largely changed.

---

Ohhh, I finally got to see the line that explains why he is called Taka in the English fandom. The corresponding line "Anyway, you can call me Taka." does not exist at all in the original text. Is Kiyotaka hard to say from English speakers' point of view, so it became Taka? I am curious why.

[Next #4]

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 74: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Here we are, welcome back everyone!! End of the month, time for another chapter leading us into this exciting finale for Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!! I want to start this post with a little foreword before diving into the chapter itself and the eventual translation differences ✨ I just wanted to say that I write this post with a sense of pride but also with even more sense of responsability compared to the previous months. You've probably stumbled upon my recent report of the latest CLAMP Space, where the authors have talked about CCS Clear Card, and their support/blessing to "people addressing the translation differences in their monthly posts on their blog, because they felt uncomfortable about them". Although they never straight up gave names, I certainly feel like they were talking about blogs like mine. And so I'm humbled (and even a little nervous) to be able to keep doing this, since I've wondered multiple times if it was even proper for me to write these posts every month, as if I was leading a crusade against the official English translation. In fact, I'm not. And I hope that's clear enough. When the ENG translation respects the vibe and original intention coming out from sensei's words in the manga panels, like this time around, I always make sure to say positive things about it. But try to understand me, the irritation runs deep because these are years of translation differences accumulating and at times even changing the perception of the story. And then, you stumble upon English speaking fans on the internet who got the gist of the story wrong or disrespecting/failing to appreciate it because of such translation mistakes (we go from Sakura calling Syaoran "Li-kun" in one of the earliest volumes, to Kaito saying that he wanted to give magic to Akiho, wtf??). And I think it's such a pity. It's not fair. The fandom deserves to know what the script is trying to say with a meaning as closer as possible to the original one. I hope I'll be able to help in that regard, for what's in my possibility and with my limited skills, till Clear Card will be over. ✨

OKAY, now let's cut the chatter and see what happened in this chapter!! I'm happy to say that this time around, translation-wise, we don't have anything impairing the correct understanding of the plot, just nuances! As usual, before starting, we can't skip the gif of the month!!

The Color Page

Oh my gosh! Sakura! You look amazing here!!! Such a fierce stare!! She looks just like a powerful and respected magician and OMG THEY GAVE HER A BLACK OUTFIT!! JUST LIKE I'VE BEEN ASKING EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING! I don't know, maybe the veteran followers of this blog can remember, but I've always wished to see Sakura in a black costume/dress in Clear Card 😊 She looks stunning...and what's more, she's once again with the gears and clocks decorations, just like in the period of the Clockland play. But, heheh, this time the clock looks different. The big clocks that were featured during the Clockland chapters (with Sakura + Syaoran, Akiho and lastly Kaito) were often "strange". They all had the same design, the one with SyaoSaku was "regular", but the ones next to Akiho and Kaito had their numbers either in messed up order, or straight up wrong (what kind of clock got '0' as the only number?). I had already assumed by then that they had a significance we had to decode along the development of the finale. This one in this color page, however, really looks like the most classical clock with roman numerals. The order of the numbers and their position seems correct. So could this be a sign that Sakura is about to restore order into this mess that Kaito's desperate wish created? The text on the JP version is the classic incantation to release the Dream staff from the key (we haven't heard it in a looooong time because she manifests her staff immediately, by now!) I also want to point out that we *still* don't have any announcement of "Clear Card ending in next chapter" or "Clear Card ends in 2 chapters!" like it's custom in these serializations, so I can say with confidence that Sakura won't surely be over in chapter 75 (at the beginning of July) but probably not even in chapter 76 (at the beginning of August). Are they aiming at chapter 77 (beginning of September)? Double 7, it's a lucky number for CLAMP ✨ For those worried about "3 chapters aren't enough to finish this!!", please consider that it's not so much about the number of chapters, but the amount of pages. This chapter for example is already longer than usual, 35 pages. That's what really matters, and we could get even an epilogue or some additional pages in the volume version! And now onto to the actual chapter!

An Important Discussion

Yukito, Nakuru and Touya are leisurely spending time at Yukito's home, with a funny scene of Yukito feeding some mikan to Nakuru (and she seems delighted by the cozyness of Japanese kotatsu!). Suddenly, Touya announces that Sakura is coming over. Yukito worries about how it's getting dark and that maybe it'd be better to go pick her up along the way, but a grumpy Touya says there's no need for that: along with Sakura are also coming Syaoran, Akiho and even Tomoyo. Yukito and Nakuru can't help but being surprised, and Nakuru wonders "The all-stars are coming? What's going on?" 😂 I found so hilarious the use of the term "all-stars", which in Japanese usually indicates a whole cast of a performance composed of famous actors, and sometimes it's applied to sports team too. But the room temperature drops immediately when Yukito looks at Touya, with a very pensive face, and it's immediately clear that something serious happened and Sakura is coming to discuss that. Touya might not know exactly what, but as we can see, he's already got a feeling.

Sakura and the kids arrive, apologizing for coming so suddenly, and they sit down, all with very serious faces (save for Tomoyo. Tomoyo never loses her calm composure 😆). Sakura starts dropping the bomb immediately: "I want to talk to you about something very weird" and "I want everyone who knows about the Cards and magic to hear this". Sakura is dead serious, and she informs Syaoran (sitting at her left side) that she's just told everything to Akiho shortly ago. She also tells Kero and Suppy to come out of her purse, for the second time (since the first was halted by the rewriting of the forbidden magic) putting an end to the farce of Kero constantly needing to act like a plushie in front of Touya!! Remember when the fandom used to point out that it was weird that Kero kept hiding from Touya, despite saying himself at the end of the Sakura Card Arc (after Touya gave his powers to Yue/Yukito) that he was perfectly aware that Touya knew everything about them? That really felt like a "plot hole" (maybe at this point the only REAL plot hole) for the longest time, and I am honest when I say that I had already given up hoping to see an explanation for it, wanting to treat it like a "glitch" in the narrative and using suspension of disbelief to overcome it! Well well well, CLAMP surprised me again! Cause in this chapter they actually tried to give an explanation to that "discrepancy"! And of course, being this about Kero, the explanation is rather silly (confession - I didn't understand Kero's reasoning very well, but I'll give my interpretation of what he said): Kero saw that even after that event, Touya didn't try to interact with him and thought that maybe he didn't consider him a cute and gorgeous magical creature, but rather something else....(was he butt-hurt?) Suppy of course is spitting fire cause why the heck did we need to keep pretending to be plushies?? and Kero's reply is "Because I thought it'd be fun pretending to be plushies together when you came over!". Now, if you remember how difficult and taxing it was for Suppy to force himself to stay still, you can understand why he's so mad! 😂 Touya says, quite annoyed, that he simply didn't try to interact with him because he thought that Kero was getting a kick out of acting like a plushie! I feel like sensei have quite reached and almost broke the 4th wall with this scene, because Sakura here says something that I'm pretty sure many of us have thought in regard to this "discrepancy": "I did wonder at some point why you kept that up despite I was telling you multiple times that I had the feeling my brother was onto you". And it's true, we've seen that in volume 4! Well, to me it felt like a stretch, but eventually we got an explanation for that situation so I guess it's better to leave it behind us! 😂

Cause we have more important matters at hand. Sakura places her phone on the table, showing Eriol & Kaho in videocall!! NOW all the "stars" of this show are present! 😂 So Sakura starts her recount of the most recent events, saying "It's really weird...but I swear it happened". After everyone listened to Sakura, of course they're all surprised. Nakuru wonders if there's any magician who can really have the power to "rewrite" a world...Eriol says that as far as he's heard, there isn't any magician among the living ones who has that degree of power. However, if said magician had access to a "medium" able to use the "forbidden magic", then it's another story. And that's the Book Sakura told them about. Sakura confirms that the one who told her all of this is the Guardian of the book herself. And then, to Akiho: "The plushie shaped like a bunny that you cherished so much was the temporary form of that Guardian. You named her 'Momo' ". Here I have to point out that the way the ENG translated it infers that Akiho remembers about Momo ("You know that stuffed bunny you loved so much?"), but actually in the JP version it's mostly Sakura informing Akiho that she used to cherish a bunny-shaped plushie, cause Akiho has no recollection of it. In fact, right after, she answers "But that's the title of a book I really love so much!". THERE IT IS! I've mentioned this many times in my social media accounts, and even lately in my "literary references" post here on Tumblr, but it turns out this simple answer by Akiho kinda confirms that she might really have named Momo after that book. And it's not only a beloved book because of its story, but also the one she was reading when she met Kaito for the first time. I've always thought that having her most beloved plushie named that way, and having precisely that book when they met for the first time couldn't have been unrelated. So I'm really happy for this scene here and I hope it'll get eventually confirmed better later.

Sakura takes Akiho's hands (she'll do that a lot this chapter and I simply love it) and reassures her about something that I was SURE she was going to say:

JP: "The fact that we became twins is an effect of the rewritten (world), but the fact that you are an important person to me didn't change at all, Akiho-chan"

I've preferred putting the JP version here because once again we have the usual stuff that I complain about lately: Sakura in JP used 大切なひと (important person) to describe her relationship with Akiho, and this is absolutely coherent with all the previous times. In ENG they used "you're special to me", but the adjective "special" in Japanese (特別な) in relation to a person has been consistently used in the latest chapters to describe the person Sakura is in love with (and not only Sakura). So they shouldn't have used that adjective in particular. They should stick to the literal translation. Especially cause that "special person" will come up in a few pages. I know I sound pedantic with this separation between "important person" and "special person", but I mean, CLAMP sensei are consistently keeping that distinction so I'm convinced the translation should do its best to keep it, because it's a guide to lead the readers among the relationships of CCS. Which sometimes can be quite complex.

Touya teases Sakura again with the sis-con joke, and Yukito teases him back by saying "Are you talking about yourself now?" (I love how Yukito always teases the big and grumpy Touya 😂they're really made for eachother). Tomoyo comments that it's been "a sight for sore eyes" (the term used in JP is 眼福, ganpu, and it's used when you see something precious) to see Sakura in the role of the big sister and Akiho in the one of the little sister. Akiho is moved by the fact that, despite everyone knowing the truth now, nobody shunned her or rejected her presence, and exactly like I imagined, I'm 100% sure Sakura will keep thinking about her as a sister (not a blood-related sister maybe, but surely with the same importance of one) even after everything will be solved later. Cause the bond between her and Akiho was never a fabricated thing, but always been genuine from day 1. Even if they got close in such a short period of time, it's just what happens normally in real life too. Sometimes you bond very tightly with people over a short period of time, cause you feel you're so compatible.

So Sakura continues. She says that for this reason, she wants to bring (someone) back. She's convinced that what the Record Card showed to her is not everything. She feels like there is someone who is missing from both what the Record Card had shown to her and from this rewritten world as well. Syaoran is confused, "they're missing, and yet you're sure they're there?". Sakura understands that confusion and says "It's weird, right? I can't really explain how I know it, but I just do." And then, towards Akiho: "That person....is your special person, Akiho-chan". There it is, the infamous "special person" again. It's clear what Sakura is meaning here. "This is the person you're in love with, Akiho-chan". Of course Akiho's face cannot be any other than a dismayed one at hearing that. And then the pain comes, all at once, piercing her heart and leaving her speechless. Sakura says that the Record Card wasn't showing anyone with Akiho in one of the scenes, and yet she saw her extremely happy. That was enough for Sakura to know that someone was indeed there with Akiho.

I'm Always Searching For Someone

We're shown one of the most important scenes for anyone liking Akiho and Kaito (and their bond), the night that Akiho was so brave to confess her feelings to him through a covert (and very local) way, claiming that "the moon is really beautiful". And in the same occasion he accepted to spend some time strolling and talking to her. It was clear from the moment that scene happened that it would've become important later. And the readers who know what happened and what we lost are feeling probably the same pain Akiho is feeling right now, only that she's unaware of what is causing it. Akiho says "I'm really happy to live with you, Sakura, and everyone in the Kinomoto household, but...I've been in pain. Because I'm always looking for someone who's not there...". So Akiho did feel the effects of that void. The void that only your most important person can leave when they're gone. It's just that, we've seen her being so happy with her "new" family, and yet exactly like most of the fandom imagined, that didn't really work to fill the void Kaito left. It's impossible to fill that void because that person is just irreplaceable. This scene of course stabbed my heart but I had imagined that we would've seen it sooner or later. Sakura gets more confident with the confession of what Akiho's been feeling, and tells her that she thinks the one she didn't want to lose and the one who rewrote their world are the same person. "So I'm going to bring them back". Sakura announces with a smile, but Kero just wonders in dismay how she's going to do that. Sakura believes that the pocket watch in Akiho's possession will show her how. As if on cue, Akiho takes it out of her purse and places it on the table in front of Sakura's phone, where Eriol and Kaho can see it. They recognize it's a magical artifact specialized in time magic, but they also recognize that in order for a magician to be able to use it, they would need to have a tremendous amount of magical powers. Akiho suddenly panics. It dawns on her. I think the mental connection she's made is "if Sakura wants to use this to bring my special person back, she would need to achieve an amount of magical powers that could put her in harm's way". Aside, of course, from all the other dangers that a "mission" like that could pose to our heroine. And of course she'd never be okay with that. But Sakura reassures her. "You aren't making me. I want to." Sakura explains that both when she was dealing with the Clow Cards (and we see a scene of the Final Judgement, the one where Kaho gives her the Moon Bell) and when she was transforming them into her own Cards (they show us a scene from the last battle with Eriol), she was able to overcome her troubles thanks to all of the people who loved her and cared about her.

Sakura, JP: "Therefore I want to do what I can for my important person, too"

Again the use of 大切なひと (important person) in relation to Akiho. I think this panel in particular is pretty important (and the big font indeed suggests so). I feel like it's the core, the heart of Clear Card Arc. Sakura, whom until now was accustomed to be cherished and pampered in a protected environment by her loved ones, is starting to take the first steps towards self-assertiveness and maturity. Sometimes those loved ones would overdo it with the loving, and ended up depriving her of her own agency. Sakura is finding herself, she's starting to trust her instincts and capabilities more and more, and that leads inevitably to a question: "what do I want to do with these gifts life gave me and blessed me with? What can I do to give back to the Universe all this love I'm receiving?" Searching for her self-identity will inevitably make her step out of her comfort zone. She'll take risks. Even on herself. She'll need to assess situations, make decisions. And here she decided that she wants to use her natural gift (her magical powers) to help someone in need. Someone important to her. Someone dear who lost someone irreplaceable and lacks the means to bring him back. Sakura decides to step in, help her "sister", doing exactly what she herself told her during last chapter: if I happen to be good at something that you can't do, I'll help you out. That's the beauty of being all unique and different.

I've seen people often wondering what's the purpose of Clear Card Arc, if we really needed to this arc and such. Well, to me the answer was made manifest in this chapter. 🙂

But back to our story, Tomoyo understands that moment has finally come, so she says that maybe she can't use magic, but she felt it was best to bring along with her a certain big bag (that we all know what contains, right??). She also says that she had the feeling she had made an asymmetrical costume before, but when she went to check, she realized she hadn't made it yet...

Listen to me well, because this is the solution to the mystery of the cryptical thing Ohkawa sensei said in relation to one of Sakura's costumes, during the latest CLAMP Space! Basically, she hinted that there was a reason why we hadn't seen Sakura wearing officially (for a Card battle) this costume yet, and that we would find out why soon. I know the ENG translation here talks about "complementary outfits" (referring probably to how Tomoyo will later reveal complementary outfits for both Sakura and Syaoran), but that only shows that they misunderstood the word アシンメトリー (lit. Asymmetry). Tomoyo here was literally talking about asymmetry because the "costume she thought she had made, but didn't find in the end" was precisely the one Ohkawa was hinting at during the latest Space, the one Sakura was trying on in chapter 36 and 37! Tomoyo had a sense of deja vu, about having made an asymmetrical outfit before, but actually couldn't find it because...well, the forbidden magic had removed any reference to the Clear Cards! (including, apparently, the costumes!) So that goes to show that Tomoyo, despite not having a crumble of magic, was also subjected to the deja vu and weird feelings of "discrepancy" that such rewriting of the world would cause. But hold on tight, cause another reference is on the way!

Tomoyo continues saying that while she was sewing the sleeve of the outfit, she had the strong feeling that this costume would turn into a very special one. And what do we have here? OH YES, it's THAT sleeve, the one we've been waiting for so eagerly! The one that Sakura saw in a dream with MCF once! Sakura back then asked to MCF if they would meet outside the dream when she'd be wearing that outfit, and MCF only cryptically said that it would be "the beginning of the end". Considering now we know that MCF has been mostly a byproduct of Lilie trying to communicate with Sakura and inadvertently messing things up, I do wonder about that MCF. Was Sakura, by any chance, actually was supposed to see Kaito and she saw the robe instead, because of Lilie? Or is that an actual member of Akiho's clan? Only this finale can tell us the truth. Sakura will certainly meet someone, with that costume.

Sakura thanks Tomoyo, always so ready to show her support, and she does something very sweet, as a result of regaining all of her rewritten memories: she tells Tomoyo that she'll do her best to come back without getting the costume dirty, but if it eventually starts fraying, she knows that Tomoyo will be there to repair it.....yeah....doesn't it remind you of something?? Of course I bet any Tomoyo fan knows very well what scene Sakura is referencing with this line....

When Sakura told Tomoyo she repaired her torn costume with the Repair Card in chapter 40, Tomoyo expressed the wish to be her the one repairing those costumes, with her own hands. Because she had created them specifically for Sakura, so she would also want to be the one to repair them in case they'd get damaged. Basically telling her "I made these with all my love for you, and I'd prefer that a Card didn't take my place even when needing to repair them. I want the costumes that you wear to be made completely by my own hands". Always reminding us that making something with your own hands for your loved one is the greatest proof of love for any character in CCS (which is something I find truly wholesome and beautiful). Sakura here shows to have understood and accepted that wish fully, therefore acknowledging Tomoyo and her feelings. Tomoyo is uncharacteristically surprised for a second, and then with the happiest smile she confirms that of course she'll be there to repair it!

Sakura looks at her brother Touya, who only grumpily tells her to respect the curfew. Sakura is confused because they never had a curfew time at home, but her brother replies "Come back before dad gets worried. That's our curfew". (in ENG there's an additional part here, I guess to fill in a bubble that would be left empty) Sakura confidently replies "Got it".

Nakuru is all giddy, excitedly announcing that they decided to go to war and they need to decide the formation!! Suppy mocks her, telling her she's talking as if she were playing one of her warring states games (in JP the term used here is 戦国ゲーム - sengoku game - and I've found there's a specific game called indeed Sengoku, but it seems the same term extended to indicate all the war games set in the Sengoku era), but that doesn't deter Nakuru, who says that if she gets chosen, she will certainly participate actively (here the ENG uses game language from what I can see - not an expert - but good job!)!!

Sakura's plan is different, though. She says that tonight she'll be going only with Syaoran. She knows that if everyone could go with her, she'd feel more confident and reassured, but...

Sakura, JP: "If I want to find Akiho-chan's most important person, I have the feeling that it'd be better for me to go with my most important person"

Here we go. We temporarily leave aside the "special person" terminology to go back to the more famous and loved "my most important person" term, to indicate THE ONE person someone loves the most. 一番大切なひと (ichiban taisetsuna hito). The term we all learned because it's been so crucial to indicate the person someone was in love with during the old arcs of the story. The term Sakura eventually used for Syaoran at the end of CCS volume 12 to finally give a "definition" to the love she felt for him. Now she uses it to define Akiho's feelings for Kaito. This is "the" term that takes precedence over all the other terminology used, and also goes to show how important and solemn the moment is. Sakura's intuition tells her that in order to find Kaito, Akiho's most important person, she should go with Syaoran, her own most important person. This is probably because her magical intuition (let's remember that Sakura got the power to see the future) grasped that her bond with Syaoran will be absolutely pivotal in order to have a positive outcome for the mission they're about to embark on. They will probably have to put that bond at work....maybe to explain, show, help someone understanding something that he still doesn't seem to grasp perfectly? Or rather, a stubborn refusal to understand it, which caused them all to be in this situation they're in right now? What's for sure is that if Sakura and Syaoran manage to find Kaito, and if they'll also manage to free him from the Seal of D. + the artifact with all the magical books that Akiho had engraved in herself, their job won't certainly be over like that. Kaito needs to talk to someone. He needs to understand many, many things. Some of those things, Sakura and Syaoran can at least try to introduce them to him. Because while it's true that Sakura wants to bring him back for Akiho, she also needs to make sure that coming back is also Kaito's wish. Because they can't force him if he isn't 100% convinced himself. I'm sure this is a very important thematic for CLAMP, respecting someone's self-determination. And since his state of mind, last time we saw him, was that he was perfectly expendable and that he was absolutely not necessary in Akiho's life, they need to change that perception. And there's also the fact that, despite being so different, Kaito and Syaoran are pretty similar in several aspects too. So maybe the role Syaoran can have in "communicating" with Kaito could be very important and impactful. Maybe that's what Sakura's intuition was trying to tell her.

Here, the ENG translation decided to translate that "most important person" with "favorite person". I have definitely turned up my nose at seeing that (why not leaving the iconic term?) but in the end I decided to relax because, at the end of the day, the result is similar. It indicates a person for whom your preference and importance is above everyone else. What really *mattered* in this scene - and lo and behold, it seems ONLY the English and Portuguese versions got it right (let me know about the Chinese one, cause I can't read that one) - is that Sakura used the same term to describe what Akiho feels for Kaito, and what SHE feels for Syaoran. "I am aware that this missing person is for Akiho an existence of the same importance Syaoran-kun has for me. Therefore, I will do everything in my power to bring them back, because I fully understand that kind of bond and I understand the void they leave in your life when they're not there" She knows, to some degree, what it feels like to miss your most beloved person, due to the period she had to spend apart from Syaoran. And they could still have phone calls and writing letters. Akiho's situation can only be worse. Sakura's understanding of that bond is also what causes her intuition to suggest her to go only with Syaoran. It's all connected. So it's of utmost importance that the translations use the same term when both talking about Akiho and Sakura. Then, about this scene, we could also say that it was a beautiful demonstration of how much Sakura (but also Syaoran) has grown up, now fully confident to declare in front of everyone that Syaoran is THE most important person in her life. Without blushing and without any drama. It's just a fact. After all they've been through, I think Sakura can feel confident enough in her relatinship with Syaoran, and there's no shame nor embarrassment in stating that aloud.

The people present here can only accept and show their support, and Eriol encourages Sakura to follow her intuition (remember the whole discussion about listening to the stirring of your heart, the so-called intuition? Yeah, a great lesson from Mama Yelan which will also be applied to another character soon). Sakura tells Kero that if she needs him, she will certainly call, and the guardian beast reassures her that he'll certainly hear his master's voice, same for Yue.

Then, lastly, Sakura takes Akiho's hands and holds them tightly. They share another sweet forehead touch (seriously, I love them so much ❤️). Akiho is worried, so worried, but also very resolute. She wants this as much as Sakura does. Sakura tells her that there'll surely be a moment when she'll request Akiho to do something only she can do, and asks her to please wait here with everyone till that time comes.

I'll admit it, I was really disappointed when I've read this scene the first time around. Not only because I had imagined all kinds of scenes in my head (included Akiho wearing one of Tomoyo's costumes) and they shattered that possibility (but oh well, I am prepared to that), but also because I feel like this isn't a good choice from a character development POV. I understand it, I really understand it, this is Sakura's story. She's the one who gets to shine in the finale. And we've talked about it before, there's no doubt that Sakura in this story goes through a journey to find her identity and what she wants to do. So now it's time to let her do that. But Akiho has been slandered for the whole manga, accused of all kind of things because of prejudice, and one of those was "she's weak and passive, she does nothing". Seeing her "on the sidelines" once again, when we're talking about rescuing her most important person, feels extremely off. Letting someone else do "the job for her" doesn't even feel like Akiho.

Then, as hours passed by, I thought...

Maybe Sakura wants to take care of the first part of the mission, because it'll certainly be the one where it's most likely to encounter some magical danger (dragon-chan???). And Akiho wouldn't be able to defend herself from that, devoid of magical powers as she is. She could potentially end up risking her own life. And then all of this would've been for nothing. And then I thought, wait, maybe Akiho knows that. She knows it very well, since she's a girl with a pretty good understanding of herself and her own limits. And this is certainly a limit she does have. So what she can do is to wait safely at home, as hard and painful as it can be, for the REAL, big moment when her presence will be absolutely necessary. Sakura said it with great confidence so it's 100% sure it will come. Therefore, as an Akiho fan, I will swallow this pill and wait together with her. 🫤

But the chapter isn't over yet, as Touya and Yukito go outside in the garden while Sakura and Syaoran get dressed for their departure! Yukito teases once again Touya, telling him that his face is scary and that Sakura's earlier statement ("most important person") must have caused him "damage" (still seemingly talking in game language). Touya of course doesn't reply, so Yukito continues, giving finally confirmation to the suspicion I've been having ever since this "rewritten world" started: Touya did notice something was off. He didn't know precisely what, but he knew it had something to do with Sakura. Yukito also gives us the opportunity to see just how kind and generous Touya is: he purposely didn't go back home often because he wanted to reduce his presence around Akiho as much as possible. Not because of negative feelings, quite the contrary: he was worried she'd get even more hurt if she established a bond with him, only to end up finding out that they weren't really brother and sister. (Meanwhile, we see a very cute panel of Akiho talking to Kero, Suppy and still in videocall with Eriol and Kaho!) And then, to follow the leit-motiv of this chapter, very centered on calling back stuff that had already happened in the original world, Touya says that he won't allow anyone to hurt his close ones (they used "family" in ENG, but the word 身内 can indicate also friends and such, the common characteristic is that they're very close). Got the feeling you've already heard these words, especially with the use of the word 身内 ? Yes, of course, it's vaguely the same threat he made to Kaito back in chapter 54, during the double date! 😂 Hmmmm, I have the feeling that if they manage to bring Kaito back (of course they will!), someone will want to have a word or two with him....let's hope he'll just stick to words! 😂 Jokes aside, it's very heartwarming to see how even Touya warmed up to Akiho, and took her under his protective big brother's wing! In fact, Yukito can't just miss the new opportunity to tease him (stop flirting so shamelessly in front of us, Yuki! 😂), telling him he's so overprotective for his sisters!!

The two lovebirds have finished changing their clothes, and we're all left staring at them agape, together with Nakuru: they look stunning, in their complementary outfits!! Sakura even got heels ❤️ And yes, dear readers, as already hinted when Tomoyo was speaking, this is IT, THE costume with THAT sleeve that appeared in Sakura's dream! It is the biggest indication that it's finally time for the last confrontation. Both Sakura and Syaoran look so resolute and ready to make a mess of space and time to bring Kaito back!! 😂 As many have noticed, Sakura got her Dream Staff with her, despite the Clear Cards have disappeared: my theory is that the Key was never removed by the forbidden magic, only the Cards, or maybe that the key came out now that Sakura got her memories back.

And this is where the chapter ends, with another huge cliffhanger!! Will we see Kaito, next time? Being a chapter number ending in -5, and being in the very last volume, I expect big things from it! Chapter 75 will be published on CLAMP's Youtube channel on July 1st, while the relative Nakayoshi magazine will be released on July 3rd (by the way, we'll have Sakura ONCE AGAIN on the cover and ANOTHER Sakura furoku!!). As usual, when I have less translation mistakes to talk about and more space for my feelings towards the chapter, I go overboard! Another freaking long post 😂😂 So I'll just leave you here, as usual I'll wait for your asks in my inbox! Bye Bye!!