#i think i might be using two different romanizations for japanese here oops

[laikaflash]

A Mirror Across Timelines: Mitsurugi

(For the September community prompt. This will also be on Ao3 with notes and stuff later.)

As strange as it had been for Mitsurugi to find himself in Beijing, he was brimming with strength. Not a moment ago, he was in a Spanish port town and what had happened there was far too invigorating to have been a dream. In a flash of white light, he was spirited away to a place lit by a strange fiery glow. All around him floated towers and arches that twisted and broke into rubble, all being pulled into a blue maelstrom. The air itself thrummed with power when he dueled the silver-haired shapeshifter Iska Acht who brought him there. Then came a voice that rumbled through the chaos like distant rapids, but its words were no clearer to him even as the second white light faded. Whatever it was that had awakened there—warrior or demon—Mitsurugi wondered if it was waiting for him in Ming.

Passing shop after shop along the wide street, Mitsurugi looked around to get his bearings. Although he could recognize many characters, his pronunciation of any of them would stand out as much as his armor did. Passersby gave him a wide berth and he caught more than a few uneasy looks from them. Mitsurugi maintained a nonchalant attitude that had served him well in his travels, but there seemed to be something more to their wariness. Was Hideyoshi carrying out his ambitions of conquest?

Amid all the chatter, he caught the word wōkòu—Japanese pirate. Mitsurugi jerked his head to his left and saw two young men hurry into an alley and disappear. He scowled, knowing it would make no difference to them that he had slain pirates on his way back to Japan several years ago. Shading his eyes as the sun glared through a gap in the dark clouds, he hastened his steps. Though the clouds were rolling northward, toward the mountains, the air felt heavy enough to rain at any moment. Much to his relief, ahead was a red-fringed banner that bore the character for wine.

He had not realized just how hungry he was until he walked into the tavern. Mitsurugi had no desire to explain in halting Chinese how he had gotten here from Spain, but the tavern-keeper had noticed the reals among his few wén coins and seemed to give a knowing nod. After a filling meal of fried rice and enough wine to ease his nerves, Mitsurugi bought a night’s stay in a small room upstairs. As he settled in and began to unfasten his armor, thunder rumbled outside and rain followed.

Whoever this new opponent is, he thought to himself, maybe the silver-haired child will lead me to him.

A white flash, like lightning striking nearby, startled him to his feet. But no sound came. A blaze of crimson light filled the room. Mitsurugi grabbed his sword, with only his cuirass remaining to shield him. His heart pounded fiercely as he recognized the power that coursed through him once more as he prepared to draw. The red light vanished as though it had been snuffed, leaving only the soft light of the paper lantern overhead.

Now a swordsman stood before him. His short, black hair was streaked with gray, as was his beard. A katana was tied at his sash, yet the top of his frayed, black kimono hung off his left shoulder like a monk’s robe. The hems of his black hakama were equally tattered. A large necklace of prayer beads hanging from his right shoulder seemed to complete his monkish look. Yet, his bare right arm bore what were almost certainly dueling scars.

“Are you here to fight me?” Mitsurugi challenged.

Sardonically, the swordsman raised a thick eyebrow. “Here?” he asked with a barely suppressed laugh. “Don’t you know who I am?” He pointed to a single, round scar just below his right shoulder.

Mitsurugi sheathed his sword and instinctively touched the same spot on his cuirass. “How…?” he gasped. “How is it possible?”

“You should know.”

There was no mistaking the scar from the tanegashima duel. Mitsurugi remembered how Iska Acht changed her form three times to test him, but it had been nothing like this. If this was a trick, he suspected that his older self would not have bothered to kick off his geta. “I mean… How did you get here?”

“Ah, that. The Astral Chaos brought me here, and there’s no telling where it can take you. I could’ve gotten lost there if it wasn’t for you. Tell me, where are we now?”

“Beijing. The outer city.”

The swordsman took a glance from the lattice window. “So it is. What year is it? You look about twenty years younger than me.”

“Eighteenth year of Tenshō, unless something happened while I was gone. Or, an Earth Ox year.”

At this, his older self cracked a wry smile. “Hm. Say, is that Shishi-Oh?”

Mitsurugi hesitated, noticing that the grip on the swordsman’s katana was black. “Yes.”

“May I see it for a moment?” The swordsman’s voice lowered to an almost reverent tone.

Mitsurugi’s heart sank at the thought that his finest sword had been lost. Even so, he unsheathed it. The older Mitsurugi gazed upon Shishi-Oh as though it were a son he had not seen in years. His expression turned somber and wizened.

“Cherish it. Hone it and wield it well.”

“Of course.” Mitsurugi gravely nodded and sheathed his sword. “I need it in top condition. There’s an opponent I’m supposed to meet. He must have something to do with this Astral Chaos. I heard something—”

Surprise flashed in the older swordsman’s eyes. “What did you hear?”

“I couldn’t make it out. That silver-haired child, what’s her name…? Iska Ahha…” He felt his throat catch on what was meant to be a guttural sound, along with slight embarrassment for it. “Acht, that’s it! I thought this Iska Acht would bring me to a worthy opponent, but well, here I am. Whatever that voice was, she had different ideas.”

The older swordsman thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “You’ll meet him, this new opponent.”

“Where did—uh, where might I find him?” Mitsurugi felt as though he had been talking to Edge Master, rather than himself.

“You won’t find him right away, but you will need one thing. Head to the fortress at Xiwei on the western border of Ming, and in time, you’ll meet your greatest opponent yet.”

Mitsurugi grinned. “That’s more like it! But what am I supposed to find there?”

“A shard of the very sword that started this. You’ll know you’ve found it when you feel it.”

With his brow furrowed, Mitsurugi wondered if it was that same power he had felt in the Astral Chaos. “If that’s so, I’ll prepare to set off at once!”

The older swordsman grinned back at him. Then crimson light filled the room once more. A regretful look crossed his face he stepped back into his geta. “I'm afraid I can’t stay much longer.”

Mitsurugi stood transfixed at the glowing portal, half-expecting Iska Acht to appear. He almost wanted to reach out to his older self, but he gratefully bowed.

“Fare well.”

Mitsurugi felt a chill as his older self stepped into the twisting chaos. At once, the crimson light was gone, and in one last flash of white, the room was once again as it should have been. He fell silent as the sounds of people in the tavern, noises of the street, and rain returned all at once to his ears.

“Damn,” he hissed, pressing a hand to his forehead. “I could’ve asked him what changed in his time!” But he knew it would be a long time before he reached Japan again, and he was no stranger to long journeys. Mitsurugi quietly settled on the bed and began to plan. Soul Edge itself seemed nearer than it had ever been.

[hanguk-berry]

안영~~ i just discovered your blog and absolutely love it!! I’m 16 too and hope to carry on teaching myself german (my college doesn’t offer languages as a subject ;-;) and also to teach myself korean!! How did you start learning korean? And how do you keep up with learning so many languages at once?

안녕!~~ Hallo and Hi ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Firstly, thank you so much for your kind words ㅜㅜ This made my day (although it is currently almost 9 p.m. here ... heh~) It makes me really happy to see people enjoying my blog! @.@

What makes me happy too, is that you study German?! :o That is really cool but you must be very determined ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ since German grammar can be really tough, even for Germans 💚 Keep it up! If you need help or advice (I hope these two words don't exactly mean the same thing ㅋㅋ), please do not hesitate to contact me ^-^

So, moving on to your questions (I always tend to talk too much ㅋㅋ):

I started studying Korean by learning the alphabet first. Frankly, I did not even know that romanization was a thing at that time, which turned out to be good to not to know.

1. Start with Hangeul - 한글

Probably the MOST important thing when studying a new language is getting familiar with the alphabet. I read/heard a lot of people say that "You can use romanization at the very beginning but you should not depend on it"

[DISCLAIMER: I am not quoting any specific person, so please do not be offended by my words. ♡

+

Those are all my own opinions, based on personal experience. None of these are guides on how to study Korean, but rather advice that has helped me to get where I am now. ♡]

I disagree with the quoted sentence. Be hard on yourself. Do not study to an unhealthy extend. But do push yourself to train your body and brain, as well as your mind, to actually study. Although my words might sound harsh, trust me - it is worth the result you'll get at the end.

So, to conclude my first point: Study 한글.

It is worth the time. (Actually, it doesn't take to much time. I learned it within two hours. LEARNED. That does not mean that I was fluent in reading it. It means that I understood the basic principle of the Korean writing and reading system and knew the sounds connected to each character.) (To clarify, the last sentence doesn't mean that I could read every word I saw from then on. I could - when I saw the single character written in front of me - associate a sound with it.)

2. Practice Hangeul - 한글

The key is practice, practice, practice. I assume everyone of us in the language study community was or is tired of hearing this at some point (including myself). But it is true what they say.

I practiced reading Korean by:

a) writing down basic words

e.g. months, days of the week, numbers, most common names in Korea

b) following many, many Korean accounts on Instagram

Call me a Koreaboo. (I honestly do not understand the point of that. Let people do what they want as long as they do not show disrespect towards a group of people/a culture or hurt anyone.) But I am - and always have been, and always will be - attracted to East Asian men. (In fact, I am more attracted to Japanese people than Korean, and I love the sound of Japanese more, too.) (Japanese is so hard to study, though. That's why I chose Korean.) (I am talking too much again and drifiting off. Oops. Back to the topic,heh~)

FOLLOW AND INTERACT. Read their stories. Really read their stories. Read the captions before translating. (This obviously works with official accounts [Korean musicians/actors/etc.], too.) Your first ten attempts won't be the best but after a while you will be able to read faster and recognize words that are often used. Make Korean friends. Talk to them. They will be very pleasured to see someone being interested in their culture, country and language!

(I created a whole new account where I am only following Korean people, mostly students around my age. I made it for the sake of the Korean content not drowning in the much more understandable english content ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.)

3. Basic Grammar

I started out with studying very basic grammar (sentence structure, basic conjugation, basic particles,...). For this, I took an old folder, emptied it and made it my Korean folder. Then I went through the first 10 lessons of Unit 1 of howtostudykorean.com

For every lesson I made handwritten and color coded notes. (Color coded means that I used different colors for • basic information about the grammar rule • important information �� main examples • more/own examples .)

As everyone has his/her own methods of learning languages, try to find your own and do not be afraid to experiment!

4. Follow your heart :)

Afterwards, I began studying wildly ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. I learn whatever I want or need in the very moment. I try to stick to a schedule but that does not work for me since I have a lot of extracurricular activities.

E.g. when I read Korean webtoons and notice a particle I have never seen before, I study it. When I wonder at 3 a.m. about how "What if..." is expressed in Korean, I look it up the next morning.

5. Use what you have learned

Show the world what you know. Talk (text, if you aren't confident.) (Yet.) (Don't worry, I am still too shy to speak Korean in front of literally ANYONE. Do not pressure yourself. Be comfortable. ) Post photos with short (or long) captions in Korean.

By having conversations with native speakers, you will automatically pick up natural-sounding speaking habits. (Be careful, though. Especially in Korean language, there is a rather big difference between written and spoken Korean. As long as you are casually texting, it is more every-day/conversational and informal Korean. (Except you and your chat partner both talk on a very professional level.) (Which would be weird, to be honest.ㅋㅋㅋㅋ)

If your Korean friend uses a grammar pattern or slang etc. try to use it as often as possible to manifest it into your brain. (Maybe you should warn them or else they are gonna thunk you are some psycho being all 근데 근데 근데 근데 근데.) (근데 means "but", by the way. )

♡♡♡

I think that is all for now, regarding how I have started studying Korean. And this blog is already longer than anything else I have ever posted 😳.

♡♡♡

Last but not least, you asked me how I kept up with studying languages. Honestly, I don't. And if you have other priorities, for example school, let them be your priorities. There is no rush with studying a language. (Well, except maybe some aliens force you to do so within a month or else they will destroy our lovely planet...which...let's be honest, is very unlikely to happen.) (Unless?) (Ok, I am so unfunny and it is definitely too late by now.) (Wow, I spent an hour writing this o0o it is 9:45 p.m. now.)

I hope this helped you at least a little ^-^ If you ever have any question I am here and will try to answer them for you!♡

[robynmarkius]

Language Differences (Part 2)

Welcome back to the (delayed posting of) ramblings on memories of Amaurot; glimpses of a long-forgotten past. Now, obviously, there’s Patch 5.3 Spoilers in this, so if you haven’t gotten through Shadowbringers yet, I would suggest not yet clicking through.

This post discusses the first Echo vision we see in 5.3. It’s kinda-sorta short, but I feel like it’s very important to set up the longer vision we see in Anemnesis Anyder later; which will be the focus on the next post. (I know I said that before, but I mean it this time. lol ^_^; )

Once again, credit where credit is due, and much thanks to @xehniscreations​ and @shiro-from-cafeberry​ for the French and German Translations! We’ve got one more for me to finish writing up/formatting yet after this!

[Cut for Spoilers and Images]

Part Two: Welcome, Elidibus

The first of two Echo Visions/Flashbacks we have is on the lookout tower in the Crystarium when Elidibert shows up behind us and doesn't know why he's there. 

He saw us as Amaurotine for only a blink. After we glimpse into his memories, he asks us straight, what was it that Emet-Selch seemed to see in us. We have the opportunity to tell him what Hytholodaeus said to us or keep silent. Either way, he doesn’t seem doesn’t seem to recognize us at all.

The vision we had here, is from when he was welcomed to the Convocation; when he first gained the Seat of Elidibus.

English: ”On behalf of the Convocation, I bid you welcome to our order.

At times you will stand with us. At times you will stand against us. All that you might steer mankind and the very star upon their true course.

For yours is the seat of Elidibus, the Emissary, and by this name shall your every action be guided."

Japanese:  十四人委員会の議長：おめでとう、お前を十四人委員会の一員として迎えよう。

十四人委員会の議長：ときに我らと同となり、ときに我らに異を唱え、 人と星とが正しく進むよう、尽力してほしい。

十四人委員会の議長：調停者の座……エリディブス。 それが今より、お前のしるベとなる名だよ。

Romanization: Committee Speaker: omedetou, omae o jyuuyonnin iinkai no ichiin to shite mukaeyou.

Committee Speaker: toki ni warera to dou to nari, toki ni warera ni koto o tonae, hito to hoshi to ga tadashiku susumu you, jinryokushite.

Committee Speaker: shouteisha no gi......ERIDIBUSU. sore ga ima yori, omae no shirube tonaru na da yo.

English Translation: “Congratulations, you're accepted as a member of the Convocation of Fourteen. 

At times, we will agree, at times, we will yell at each other in opposition, I'd like you to endeavor to properly advance this star and its people.

Elidibus... The Seat of the Arbitrator From now on, let this title become your guidance.”

French: (Thanks to Xehnis) Président du Concile des Quatorze: Félicitations, to fais désormais partie du Concile des Quatorze.

Président du Concile des Quatorze: Tu nous conforteras dans nos idées ou tu t'y opposeras, mais toujours pour le plus grand bien de la planéte et de ses habitants.

Président du Concile des Quatorze: Elidibus, le médiateur. Bien plus qu'un poste ou un titre, ce nom guidera désormais chacun de tes actes.

English Translation:  President of the Council of Fourteen: Congratulations, you are now part of the Council of Fourteen.

President of the Council of Fourteen: You will consolidate in our ideas or you will oppose them, but always for the greater good of the planet and its inhabitants.

President of the Council of Fourteen: Elidibus, the mediator. Much more than a position or title, its name will guide each of your actions. 

German: (Thanks to Shiro) Anführer des Konvents: Hiermit bestätige ich deine Erhebung zum ordentlichen Konventsmitglied. Willkommen in unserer Mitte.

Anführer des Konvents: Du wirst uns zuzeiten bestärken, zuzeiten widersprechen. Du wirst unser Tun leiten, auf dass dieser Planet und seine Kinder dem rechten Pfad folgen.

Anführer des Konvents: Dies ist deine Aufgabe als Elidibus - als Fürsprecher. Beherzige sie stets.

(Note from Shiro: “Konventsmitglied” means 'member of the convocation'.) English Translation: Leader of the Convention: I hereby confirm that you have been promoted to be a full member of the Convention. Welcome to our midst.

Covenant leader: You will at times encourage us, at times contradict us. You will guide our actions so that this planet and its children may follow the right path.

Covenant Leader: This is your job as Elidibus - as an advocate. Always heed them.

From the moment he's brought in as Elidibus, he's told exactly what he held onto for the rest of his existence. He is Elidibus; his title will dictate his actions. The phrasing may be slightly different in each language, but no matter what, he is told that he may not always be on the same side as the Convocation, however, so long as he holds onto his title as his identity, he'll guide the Star and its inhabitants on the proper course, and that is what is the most important aspect of his Title. Mediation, Arbitration, Advocacy, Emissary. So long as he does this, he will fulfill the expectations and duties of Elidibus. 

After all this time, Elidibus knows what drives him. Elidibus knows what Zodiark was summoned to do. He only remembers "I am Elidibus." 

We saw this because it helped us understand his motivation, and an understanding of how it could have gotten so far out of hand. He was not a Primal when he gained his seat, that happened when he became Zodiark’s Heart; one could even argue, Zodiark himself. To quote Emet-Selch/Hades, one of “the eldest and most powerful of Primals”. He held on to just enough of himself to remember what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to save the star, save the people, save his family and friends, prevent the star from being destroyed; he was to maintain homeostasis as best he could, while trying to return things to the way they once were. The desires of those who had first summoned Zodiark.

The question Y'shtola asked him after she confronted him in the Capitol, "you who've spoken with such a cacophony of voices, how can you be so sure you still speak with your own?" is a perfect one. After all this time, how can he be so sure he retains anything that is his own? I believe we saw what was left in the last scene, the Remnant of Elidibus; his sorrow and his own hope to be with everyone again when everything was over.

There is an importance to this moment though. It's the first time since we gained our 8th shard that we've seen into the memory of an Ascian. Before the final battle with Hades, we saw nothing from him as much as we were around him. The argument could be that it's because Elidibus was inhabiting the body of Ardbert; the body that once belonged to a piece of our soul; that we were able to break whatever protection there was and finally see something with our Echo. It could also be argued that since we regained another soul shard, we've grown in power too. The Echo in these situations seemed different too, more static, and a brighter light when they started and ended. Perhaps because the memories were so long ago, but... maybe also because Elidibus might not even consciously recall much of his past. After all, he says we wouldn't have seen anything useful, but who's he to say what we consider useful? lol

This actually sets up the second, longer flashback we see in Anemnesis Anyder later in the patch, when we go to pick up Y'shtola and tell her that she's been in the library long enough, she should come eat this breadcake Tataru sent over before she passes out. (...only to find we were a bit late on that last part. Oops!)

This was a short-ish post but it better sets up the second flashback sequence, and I think helps understand what drove him to awaken the Warriors of Light at the end; it was just instinct. Oppose Darkness. Awaken Heroes. Save the World. He's been looking at things in such black-and-white terms for so long, he's completely forgotten the shades of gray that exist on the Moral Spectrum. Something we learned by helping the First and forestalling the Eight Umbral Calamity. We aren't perfect, but we can strive to do our best to give everyone hope even when we're no longer there; for those we have lost and those we can yet save.

I will update with a link to the next part when I’ve compiled it... it’s longer just because the flashbacks are longer, but it contains the line about the rain, which we only call back to in English.

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[pixelatedlenses]

So I’m going to make another folder, this time focused in study, for all the ALTs and folxs out there trying to make an N4 out of a your language skills. It’s in my google drive and will contain all the materials I’m personally using to prep for the JLPT’s N4 Level.

I made these considering the following:

I have the equivalent of two years of Japanese study even though I’ve only been learning for one year

I was able to dedicate three months to Japanese for at least six hours a day on week days -30 hours total- and three hours on Saturdays for a weekly total of 33 hours speaking, reading, and writing in my target language

I speak at an intermediate level

I am living in Japan and benefit from cultural immersion and language immersion on a daily basis

That gives me a really solid advantage: I see, hear, speak, and listen to Japanese daily, and while learning and comprehending are not always tied, I am doing a great deal of both, more than someone in the states could do, for example. 

However, I’m a big believe in can-do, and I hope that with these materials, you can also do what you want and achieve your language goals. I think that these files and materials will be accessible to any one who wants to achieve an N4 level of Japanese, whether or not in the country.

This year, I will be taking the Summer Test on July 2, 2017. From today, I have 141 to prepare: a little over under five months to prepare. It’s a really good, long time, and if I’m smart, will be fruitful and get me the 90 out of 180 minimum I need to pass N4 and start on my N3 studies for December 2018.

I should also add that they’re all in English and Japanese: there is no romanji because romanji does not help you in Japan, and is not good for learning written Japanese.

It just doesn’t: 99.99% of the time, when I’m reading something in Japan, it either has the name written in English, or it’s in hiragana, katakana, and kanji. I honestly don’t know any time I’ve seen romanji here in Fukushima City. I’ve received a few text messages with it, but it can be cryptic if you don’t know the meaning of words with the same pronunciation. It’s hard, yes, but necessary at the beginning, otherwise down the line, you will regret it. Romanji won’t allow you read anything in Japanese –from children’s books to newspapers to dictionaries-

(Example: if you were to write tsukeru, you could mean a lot of different things: turning on a light, furnishing a house, putting something on, shadowing someone, joining something together… you get the point. There’s 12 different tsukeru and it’s easy to confuse in romanji, and even in hiraga. Being able to use the hiragana, and better, the kanji, help distinguish your meaning in writing and avoid language confusion. The romanji only increases possible chances for misunderstanding, misreading, and frustration on your end. Plus, no one will ever translate everything into romanji for you if you say you speak Japanese: understanding hiragana and katakana are expected of you.)

Romanji also doesn’t help because Romanization can be very different: ji and zi are the same hiragana –じ– but might not make sense if you learned zi and not ji. I encountered this problem with a textbook I used in grad school: it meant I had to spend time writing everything out properly in order to memorize because in Japan, especially out of big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Senda, and Fukuoka, you’re not going to encounter it, and if you somehow end up in the countryside, you can throw it completely out the window. Break your habit early, or now: it’s essential if you want to really learn the written language.

(Honestly, Tofugu gives a better explanation for why it’s bad for you than I felt I did. Point is: get rid of the training wheels as soon as you can push for hiragana and katakana memorization and comprehension. That’s what’s on the JLPT, and if you want to read, what you’ll 100% of the time be faced with, even if it’s just furigana above or next to pages of kanji.)

I hope the materials and resources I’m making for myself can benefit you too. Testing is hard, language learning is harder, but with practice, study, and help, anyone can succeed. Study on friends: we’re all in this together.

Ah, and look for the link this weekend: I realized I never mentioned that. Oops!

[sutare-chan]

Ao Jumonji’s Roman, pt.2

Upon a closer look, apparently that first post hasn’t REALLY been noticed... Oh well! At least the text will be available for everyone to see, I guess x) Let’s go on, then!

A piece of Noël nr.3 It starts off in a school (that junior school, you know, the lowest stage out of the three), where Noël is all neglected by other children, and not only because of his eyes and hair (that too, though), but also because his clothes stink. He goes home, although he isn't sure that place can be called "home" for him. He doesn't have a room of his own, so he has to sleep in the living room by the family altar. The owner of the house is a middle-aged fat ("seal-like") woman named Nuiko. As Noël tries to sneak by, she grumbles at him, because she’s received a call from the school and she has absolutely no intention to give a shit about that (which she eventually might have to, if the teaching stuff is insisting). She also asks Noël to go to the hospital and say his grand-mother to get discharged from the hospital already. Noël's glad he wasn't yelled at and decides to go for a walk, but at the exit there stands the elder son of the family, Ryuetsu, who wants to try a new hold (like in fights) on Noël. He does. Noël gets pissed and thinks that he isn't all that small, while Ryuetsu isn't all that big (even though he's several years older), so they really could just fight almost equally, but he's still too scared and misses the opportunity to answer the attack. He's irritated and wants to cry at the same time, but he holds his tears and runs away, away to the north from the town. There, among bushes there are tires, piled up together. Behind those there stands an organ that Noël hid here a year ago. The thing is all corrupted because of winds and rains, but Noël still plays it. He plays it and sings, even when it gets dark. 4. HOSHIKUZU NO KAWAHIMO Heeey, have you been missing Serge? You probably haven't, but he's back =D He's back to his wife and they have a baby. Beau is also there, conducting Serge so that he wouldn't just stand there all amazed. Natalie seems feeble and weak, because the birthgiving was very exhausting, yet she smiles and even gets their daughter a name, Étoile (because Serge is too amazed to think of such a trifle as a name himself x3). Unfortunately, soon Natalie feels worse, her temperature gets even higher and she loses consciousness never to get back to herself again. Oops. The next scene is Étoile waking up and seeing her papa right next to her, and also something dim and black next to him. Is that a guest? It moves so weirdly. Her papa says it's more like a family member, like a sister, and Étoile is all "wow, I've got a sister...". She actually wanted one forever, but she knew her parents weren't quite complete to get her one, so she was super-happy. The sister climbs up her bed and Étoile learns the sister has an extra leg (which is, according to what papa said, a tail). And so Étoile thinks of a name for the sister, which is Pleut (as her papa's forgotten about name-giving again). After this warm scene we get to know how exactly the two have lived so far. So, screw Rouen, the big city! The family got to a... um... more a village-like place, Monpain. Fortunately enough, the neighbour family consisting of a smith Édmond, his wife Ninon and their son Loic, has just lost their second baby, so Ninon was able (and willing) to feed the new-born orphan Étoile. Serge is a completely new man now. He does whatever job he's asked to do, and he suddenly discovered a talent to handle animals. He's even called an "animal magician", because he's so good. He's grieving very much about his loss, but he understands that if he dies now, he would never be able to see his daughter again, and that'd be unbearable, because he loves her oh so much. Unfortunately, it soon becomes obvious that her eyes can't really see. "Étoile had had a poor eyesight ever since she was born. What is good eyesight? That question is easy to answer: to see the shape and colour of distant objects as clearly as if they had been near. Having come really close she could distinguish something, too. On the other hand, if she couldn't come close to something, she couldn't see that at all. Say, what's "sky"? Or "clouds" that are told to float up there? Or the birds that are said to fly across it? What's Sun and Moon? Or... they say that when it gets dark, the night sky gets covered with blinking stars". Étoile used to feel quite lonely and afraid of everything, because she had to spend a lot of time alone after madame Ninon died, but now she has a sister by her side. Before that she would only rarely go outside the house, but Pleut now seems to want to have walks. Finally, after a talk with her dad, they decide Étoile will be trying to get out. But when she tried that for the first time, she just froze by the doors and only got a few meters away from it. It seemed like it was even darker than usual, so Étoile got scared that she was losing her eyesight even further and so she just came home. Serge decided he'd help her a bit, so one day they try again, now all three of them. Unfortunately, the sisters have different pace, and after some time Étoile stumbles upon a hole in the ground and falls quite badly, hurting her chin and breast. She also panics because it goes all black before her eyes. ouch. She says she hates her eyes, and Serge hugs her and tells that he personally loves every bit of her. Étoile knows he would never lie to her, and she doesn't want to lie either, but she understands her true feelings would hurt him ='C Later that night she confesses to Pleut that she hates her name, too. She sort of wants to meet her mom, though, although she doesn't miss her and doubts they would recognize each other if they met in Heaven. Pleut seems sad, and then... brings her the leash, as if wanting to go outside. Étoile snaps and throws it away and pretends to be asleep. Beau comes to visit the family! After Étoile falls asleep, he speaks with Serge and we learn that Serge found Pleut when he was driving wild dogs away from the village (without killing or hurting them!!). She was walking alone and came straight to Serge, waving her tail. He said her to go away, and she did, but she just sat down in the distance and looked at him. The next day she was still at the same place and Serge decided to take her home. They speak a bit more about Beau's business and about Étoile's eyes. Beau suggests that they go to a doctor in a university, but Serge tells that she's afraid even of going out of home, spare travelling to another town. And he doesn't want to give her false hopes either. Étoile decided she'd become more independent, never get irritated at Pleut and that she would never cry again. Her walking practice gets better with time, as she learns the ways that Pleut is telling her about all rocks and holes on the way. Unfortunately, one day she walked so far away that she actually got lost. Fortunately, the smith's son Loic helped her out, and that's where she decided to be polite with everyone, not just Pleut. She’s also become the apprentice of the smith's second wife, Carol. Now she's making stuff from clay, and the worse she sees, the better she gets at that. One day Étoile goes for a walk to the village's outskirts. She wants to visit the fruit garden that was there. The weather seems nice, but unfortunately a great windstorm flies by, tearing the leash away from Étoile's hands, but she isn't afraid, it seems like she doesn't need it anymore. And she sees, how everything dazzles around... No, she doesn't see it, she feels it. Later that night she actually comes out again to stare at the sky. She doesn't have the least idea if there are clouds or not, but she can somehow see stars. Unfortunately, soon enough there comes winter, and Pleut falls ill. She never cured fully, and was slowly becoming weaker and weaker, and nothing would help. One day she disappears for the whole day, and Étoile discovers she’s unable to keep her promise not to cry ='C Soon after that there comes a super poetic description of Pleut's dream. I'm not even trying to retell that, and it's pretty close to the song anyway. The next morning Serge wakes up in his chair (he was sitting by Pleut and Étoile, who were sleeping together on the floor) to discover that apparently Pleut is gone .__. He wakes up his daughter, she cries, and then Serge discovers that apparently Pleut was pregnant. Was that after that one day when Pleut ran away? Most probably. Anyway, Serge explains Étoile what he sees and says he'd need to cut Pleut open. He asks Étoile to leave, but she says she'll stay anyway and Serge wonders whenever Étoile became so strong. There was only one puppy, but it was still alive. Étoile says she can see a light inside him. She also asks if she can think of a name for him. Serge hasn't thought about that (yet again), yet since it does have life, even if it will end soon, the puppy deresves to have a name. And so Étoile names the poor doggy... Gilles. A piece of Noël nr. 4 Noël's sitting in his class in the middle school (or was it called junior high in English? that second stage, you know). People still get to discuss his unusual looks, but he just gives them a stare and they shut up. He listens to the noise of the school and sort of makes it a musical composition in his head, when suddenly a tall boy with dyed orange hair (he looks like an orangutan because of that) starts to speak to him. "Hey <...> I'm talking to you. Don't you want to answer?" "To answer?" "Yes. Be so kind. <...>" "Um. Well, who're you?" "What kind of an answer is that? You could say Hello or something. Or is it that you don't understand our language? You're not Japanese, are you? You don't look like one." "Fuck off" "Wha? What did you say? I couldn’t quite hear that! What language are you speaking? Is that even Japanese?" "Get lost" "What?" "Don't you understand Japanese yourself? Let me repeat that at a slower pace. 'Get lost' stands for 'silence you brat'". "You!.. <...> Your name's Noël, right?" "So what?" "Noël means Christmas, you know! Frankly, you're Chris Masuo! Huh! Go get your name changed, Noël! <...>" "What's yours?" "Huh?" "What's your name?" "Kurikigawa Kakehiro!" "What a name" "Not worse than yours!" <end of the quote> After that Noël finally snaps and they start a fight. Or rather Noël starts to punch the poor guy 8D He was very pissed by the noise already and Kurikigawa just really got in his way. Kurikigawa tries to apologize, but in vain - he gets beaten up and cries, covered with nose-blood. Finally Noël stops and says: "My hand hurts now. How did I deserve that, Kurikigawa?" 5. NOROWARESHI HOUSEKI It's Hiver and F!Noel time! So, we start at a goldsmith's workshop, where Hiver is arguing with the goldsmith (his master) that he wants to give up the apprenticeship. The situation is quite difficult. Because of certain reasons Hiver only started at this workshop when he was 16. The thing is, his father [a gloomy man with a round lense upon his eye... wait, was that a Savant reference? O.o yes, it was, the guy's name is Christoph] the doll-maker disappeared without a trace, leaving his two children all alone [their mom went away from home when they were small, she was an almost blind lady that still could somewhat se-... ..... Jumonji-san, are you really making Hiver and Noël Étoile and Christoph's children? 8D]. Hiver was helping him all along the way, but wasn't able to inherit his business, so at the age of 16 he discovered himself a grown up young man without a job or education. The goldsmith, Frêmon, agreed to take him as an apprentice, but Hiver has also become the oldest in the workshop and doesn't feel very confident or skillfull. To make matters worse, his little sister is now 17 (Hiver being 20 years old), which is quite an age. There's a young man, Alban Touchard, wanting to marry her, but the guy originates from a rather well-off family of merchants. Hiver just can't let his sister get married without a dowry. What if the rich father-in-law wants a more suiting wife for his son and insists on divorce one day? Hiver also must make all the relatives-to-be accept the bride, so he needs a lot of money. Being an apprentice can't bring him that, and even if he becomes a goldsmith soon, the chance of getting rich is rather low. After some argument the goldsmith agrees and lets Hiver go. When Hiver's home, he checks the room where their father used to work. It's all just like when it used to be when the father was still around (except that his favorite tools disappeared with him). But there's also a mechanical doll. That's not their father's. Must be Noël's. Noël herself comes shortly after with her groom, Alban. Apparently, Hiver only told her about his plans this morning, so she brought Alban to talk him out of it. Unfortunately, it's all too late already x3 Here we learn that Hiver’s planned to go to work to mines. Alban says it doesn't suit him, but Hiver argues that he knows best and "there are things that only I can do, or it becomes meaningless" (he isn't talking about digging out Michele, not at all....). Noël's also trying to insist she can work, so Hiver doesn't need to go, but both Alban and Hiver disagree. The thing is, there aren't many options for a girl to work in a town. Oh, and Noël is shown very naive here ='D Apparently she doesn't even know what is, um, working at nights ("to sell spring" is the Japanese euphemism for being a prostitute, but she doesn't get it). Soon after that Hiver leaves. Noël sleeps very soundly when there's no sunlight, and Hiver uses that to secretly sneak away without partings. Before leaving, though, he still visits his father's workshop just to throw a final look at it. He suddenly notices a box under the table and feels the urge to look inside. There he finds twin-dolls. As the father was a master of mechanic dolls Hiver was expecting to find some mechanisms on them, but he sees none, even though their members move really well. Hiver is about to put the dolls back into the box, when he felt they didn't want it, so he sets them by the window instead and asks them to help Noël out. After that he leaves and goes away from the town. It takes him 7 days to arrive to the miners' town. The town is very young and noisy. No habitant, be it men or women, is above 30 years old. That's because the town was formed around the mine and serves its purposes only. Soon enough Hiver starts working too. He pretends to be not a complete rookie to get a better loan, and he learns quickly anyway. The job isn't that complicated, although hard as hell. He is trying to spare as much as possible. He works hard and only leaves at evenings to breathe some fresh air and have some sleep at the cheapest inn. The mine-keeper, monsieur Mayard, is giving some food to miners. Like, a bit of soup, bread and cheese mostly, sometimes ham, and that's not nearly enough for a hard-working grown-up man, but oh well, one can bear up with it without spending money on extra food. Co-workers don't really like Hiver. Like, they're all rude miners, so it's natural they're bullying the newcomer a bit, but Hiver ignores them completely. Because of that and since he does't drink wine or, um, hire women for special services, they think he's a weirdo workaholic. It's not like Hiver doesn't want warmth, but he doesn't want to sleep with a woman he doesn't love. He is also trying to spend as little money as possible, thus he needs to keep his life here ascetic. For a while the action shifts back to Noël. She's alone in the workshop, remembering her father. How he used to work there all day long and how concentrated he was. And how she used to admire his work. All of a sudden she notices twin dolls sitting by the window. How weird: she thought they were packed in the box under the table. Was that Hiver? Or was that a hidden mechanism?.. Comparing to the dolls she is trying to make herself these are... ok, they are simply not to compare. Her father was truly an artist. She remembers when one time she was all alone home. Suddenly there came a guest, who named himself W. That was a pale man with folds on his forehead. He asked whether her father was home, but the father had suddenly gone away just before that. The pale (and a bit frightning) man seemed to believe her and left, saying: "I'll come again, Noël". She has no idea, who that was, and she never told anyone about that man. She's missing Hiver a lot ='( In the meanwhile Hiver's given a very nice proposal. Since he's such a hard-worker, Mayard is thinking about raising his loan. After that Hiver gets a bit crazy. He's become a complete outcast by now, he works alone and he doesn't even spend money on inns anymore, because there are free dormitories inside the mines. He also gives up on bathing and cutting his hair (Hiver?..). He doesn't really get paid better yet, but his hopes are high. One day, when the winter has come he falls a bit ill. He wakes up just to discover he can hardly move. Ok, this needs to be quoted."He frightened, but, moaning, he managed to reach the place where they were given food. The breakfast warmed him up a bit, and now he could stand on his feet. Hence he could work. When a man doesn't move his blood stagnates. To the work, then. That will make him feel better. Who said it's better to have a rest and sleep? Sleep only draws powers from the body. Isn't that a waste of time?" Hiver had also arranged that he is allowed to stay in the mines at night. He works and works like a madman, he even laughs occasionally of his triumph and superiority over others. But at one point he stands still, suddenly aware of his own condition. What is he doing all this for? For what has he become a living skeleton? Is that in order to give his beloved precious sister to some other man? Isn't that ridiculous? But he doesn't have any other choice, really. He needs money to make her happy. Because their father, their genius skillful father, didn't care about money nor his children, and left them but a small fortune. And even as small fortune as it was, it was actually Hiver's accomplishment. He was the one to spare money, he was the one decreasing all costs. Their father never gave a damn and because Hiver had to help him he ended up without a profession after their father disappeared. "Hiver hated him with all his heart. There was no other person that he had hated as much. But his sister loved him. And admired, she admired him a lot. He abandonned them, but she still believed in him. Hiver could hardly tolerate that. But in her presence he couldn't even dare to scorn their father. It's not like she started to object, but he could see his words injure her. She was becoming sad, as if about to cry. "Noël, why can't you see it? It's all that man's fault! <...> All, all his fault! Had he been normal, he wouldn't have let this happen! If only he hadn't abandonned us!.."" After that he feels dizzy and is about to fall. Everything blurs before his eyes. When suddenly he notices his feet are surrounded by mysterious white fog. It's supposed to be dark around, but the fog somehow looks white anyway. Half-unconscious, Hiver follows its track and discovers a narrow hole. He manages to squeeze in and there...There he sees an amazing gem, glittering in the darkness. He can't remember digging it, but after some time he wakes up on the floor, embracing the stone. It has become warm of his body's warmth by now. Hiver realizes he needs to get out. He has no idea whether it's night or day - there's no one in the mines. Alas, when he gets out he stumbles upon Mayard, the mine-keeper. The man looks frightening, and if Hiver tries to escape, he'll kill him for sure. So the only choice left is to show him the gem. Mayard seems happy like a child and promises to give Hiver as much gold as he wants. Oh the joy! But ouch! Suddenly Hiver does fall. He sees Mayard licking Hiver's blood from the stone, all while saying that since he, Mayard, is but the keeper, this gem actually belongs to the owner of the mine, that being some count. But if no one ever learns about the gem, Mayard can have if for his own! Right before losing consciousness Hiver recalls something about his mother. She didn't just go away. She fell ill and died all of a sudden and was buried far away. It seemed so unreal, that in the end he made himself and his sister believe she was just gone... Noël is sitting in the workshop again. It feels so cold.She's still waiting for Hiver. She hasn't seen Alban in a while. Last time they saw each other he said she was only talking about her brother and that's just unbearable. She wonders if he's mad at her. Not that it mattered, anyway, as she's noticed that she feels lonely with Alban, and they probably aren't really meant to be. A chain of short excerpts begins. Meet a new character. A jeweller named Buisson. He's had quite a dark past. He had a... um... friend and they were making a lot of illegal business, including rapes (of prostitutes apparently). Those times are long since gone, he has a jewelry shop of his own now, but that friend of his wasn't as successful and in times of need he comes to blackmail Buisson a bit. That friend being none other than Mayard. This time he wants Buisson to shape and polish the gem, as he is the only one he can trust such an important mission. Buisson was a bit skeptical at first, but as soon as he saw it, he agreed to pay any money to have the thing. The money will come back anyway. Because Mayard isn't going home 8) No one's going home after he gets poisoned, huh Then we come to meet our old friend master Frêmon. He has a certain problem. There's a jeweller who always comes when their workshop is in a terrible need for gems and no one except that bastard sells those. The bastard sells them for an unbelievable price, obviously. That bastard being none other than Buisson, of course. He comes again, acting a bit strange this time. Buisson doesn't owe him anything at the moment, so he agrees to hear the guy out. Buisson wants him to make a dressing for a certain magnificent gem. You know which one. And as soon as Frêmon sees it, he's completely insane. He can hear the voice of the gem, as if it's lamenting or something. So after some time, Frêmon says: "I only need one thing before I start" - "Yes, of course, anything you'd..." - "It's YOU" and he breaks Mayard's neck and kisses the precious gem, laughing 8D Some person comes to a museum in Bareland town. It's apparently somewhere in England. There they’re walking around and finally see the infamous necklace, Reine Michele. Right next to it there stands a weird man with folds on his forehead and names himself W (or if that's inconvenient, one can call him Walter, Warren, or even White or Winter). This W has a very strange voice and tells a bit about the gem and the necklace. Later that (?) evening W is standing in the shadow of a building not far from the museum. It's raining, but he's waiting for someone or something. Suddenly he raises a finger to his lips and says Shhhh. Two young robbers dash by. Without spending too many words, they rob the museum and run away with the necklace, although the alarm is set off and it might all end very nasty for them. W has seen everything and says: "Ah... so "she" got released into the world again." Then he looks up to the rooftop of the museum and grins: "What, have you seen it all too, doll?" A piece of Noël nr 5 Noël (who's still in the middle school) has an electric guitar now! It's old and the strings are rusted, but he changes them and tries to play. Oh gosh, what a delight! It's just like he imagined it, but now it actually has a sound!!! That boy from the previous piece, Kurikigawa, is also there. He's asking all sort of questions, among them - where'd Noël learn to play guitar like that. To that Noël answers that it's the first time he's holding an actual guitar. Kurikigawa's shocked, but believes him. After that he's about to throw away a cigarette he was smoking, but Noël stops him and tells to go and throw it out properly, in a trash can. After a short timeskip we see Noël playing in a school band along with Kurikigawa and other boys. They're in a club room, ‘cause one of the boys managed to get a permission to have rehearsals there. It's a metal band. And Noël just can't bear how bad they are, so he kicks a chair and everyone stops. Their vocalist says the band is shit and leaves. Boys are annoyed, but Noël takes the microphone and takes his place. After the rehearsal all boys except for Noël are sitting near a convenience store, drinking coffee, or yogurt, or cola and discussing why the heck is Noël so self-confident and tells them around how to play. Except for Kurikigawa. Kurikigawa just says that the guy is obsessed with music, and it's been but a couple of months since he first tried to play guitar. The other two guys get even more annoyed (just two months!!!), and one of them throws his can away, but Kurikigawa tells to cut that and to find a proper trash can for that. Another rehearsal. Noël is really trying his best not to snap, but at some point it’s just beyond him. He yells at the drummer, so that he yells back at Noël and hits cymbals in rage. Quote: "So you actually can play good, when you want to! Why aren't you playing like that?" "Cut off! Because you piss me!" "So what? There're lot of things that piss me, too." "Don't you understand human language?!" Toyokado rushed to punch him, so Noël immediately hid the guitar behind himself, but he didn't even bother to move to dodge the punch. He clenched his teeth instead and let his cheek get hit, but then he pulled the drummer by his hair and, having stopped him, punched him with his knee. Toyokado bent. "Don't use your fists, dumbass! How're you going to play if you hurt your fingers?!" (end of the quote) After that the drummer abandons the room immediately, and soon after that the boy that had arranged the room tells Noël to leave. And so he does, without saying much. Soon after that Noël and Kurikigawa are sitting on a slope. Noël is playing his guitar, while Kurikigawa's humming along. He has quite a nice voice, actually. They talk a bit, then Kurikigawa smokes another cigarette. Noël asks if Kurikigawa wouldn’t give up smoking, but Kurikigawa doesn't really think he should. He tells Noël that Noël isn't going to get a band if he acts like that and that he does need a band, because people can't do much on their own. Noël doesn't really listen and just plays on. Kurikigawa's cigarette burns out and he’s about to throw it down the slope, but he stops at the last second. 6. HONOO (beware of the shock x3) A graveyard. There's some kind of a big funeral processing. At the same time there's a small cart, accompanied by a single woman, who's holding a baby. When this cart reaches a grave, the woman asks the old man drawing the cart to leave her alone. The old man loads off a small coffin, makes sure she doesn't want any help and leaves her be. She opens the lid, but there's no body. Instead there are twin dolls. Finally she lays the baby into the coffin and grieves that the coffin isn't big enough to hold her. How could some dolls replace her? She takes the baby back, because she just can't say goodbye, but suddenly a very pale man in a black cloak speaks to her in an odd voice. They talk a bit, and in the end she asks him to help her put the coffin into the grave etc. She hammers nails herself, but he helps her fill the grave up with clay. Along the way she confesses that her husband is at war right now and he's probably never going to learn about all this. She doesn't really understand why'd he marry her in the first place. Neither does she understand why'd she marry him either. Then they talk in quotes from the song a bit. The woman is left all, all alone. She was afraid. Afraid of love, of loss, of getting burnt, of wants, of needs, of the life itself. Finally she starts to cry and the man calms her a bit. She asks whether they have met before. They probably have, although a long time ago. "You resemble my father a bit. He disappeared without a trace, you know" "No, Noël, I'm not your father". "I guess not". "That person isn't here I suppose..." Having said that, the mysterious W goes away. YANEURA NO ROMAN (yes, it's here!!) This one starts off as a reflection of Asa to Yoru. The same you-prospective, but this time you wake up beneath a window, lit by the moon.You don't walk, you just lie there, pretty unable to move. A man comes to you. A man with a stick, a weird voice, mustache and something round and transparent upon his left eye. He has two girls with him. Not girls, but dolls, actually. There's an actual girl around there too, though. She's drawing, using three colors, throwing away brushes, with her fingers. Everything around here is filled with her drawings. Or rather overfilled. The paintings themselves are overfilled, too, some images just splash outside the canvas and move. She draws all possible things. Suddenly a dark man appears and starts to strangle her. She sort of says to him, though: "You look so sad... Papa, what's wrong? That's right, I'll draw your happiness". She touches his face with her tainted fingers, and the man's getting stroked by red paint, then he gets all screwed, he bends, he folds - and becomes a new canvas (...). The set suddenly changes. It's a corridor, and you see a girl with lips as scarlet as the canvas in which that man from before had turned. That corridor ends in a dead end, and that's where the girl stops. Suddenly another dark man appears and starts to struggle her, too. Then he starts to pull her dead body somewhere... But then you notice that he's actually pulling himself, while the girl's watching you both. Now you're buried. When you somehow manage to get to see some light, you notice you're on a stage, where a young woman with scarlet lips and a violet dress is singing. You were buried under 12 corpses. You're the 13th. There are so many people sitting in the hall. Some of them seem familiar. The woman sings and they all applause. She bows, then she bows to you and utters that another 11-letter message (be so kind to die). You're back to that window from the beginning of the chapter. The lady now wants you to be born. It turns all black, you're falling, swirling in your fall. Suddenly the mustache man catches your hand and lifts you to some cave edge. He's talking in riddles and basically asks whether he should let you fall or get from out of there. Because that's the roman that leads to your birth. You're about as confused as the reader is, and then the man just gets you lifted from the abyss without asking anything else. Then the first part of Asa to Yoru repeats, almost word-to-word. The one about you walking under the torn sky. Except that you also ask who's the liar and there follows an answer: "I am". END OF VOLUME 1!