#or should I go back to the original version of the english translation?

[fanartka]

Heartstopper and Jayvik crossover

I really love Alice Oseman's Heartstopper series and I think Charlie and Nick are very similar to Viktor and Jayce. Especially in matters of caring for your partner and “Did you eat well today Charlie/Vik?” So here's a crossover where Viktor and Jayce met in high school.

I'm still not entirely sure what kind of activities they were involved in, whether it was sports like in Heartstopper or maybe they are now in the back room of the laboratory. Hmm, why not, let's imagine that Viktor is not yet lame and a wonderful runner, like Charlie. Perhaps because in Zaun running fast is an excellent skill for survival. They play some Piltie game like rugby, and once a boy from a group of bullies intentionally bumps into Vik and breaks his leg so that now he not only can’t play rugby, but has to walk with a cane. I can imagine Jayce's feelings, but beyond all the despair, guilt and rage, he would be an incredibly caring and supportive partner (sorry for this little angst moment).

But for now they are happily kissing in the back room, not at all expecting that Miss Young will suddenly catch them. I really like to imagine them as teenagers in love. I absolutely adore the couple Charlie and Nick, they are such a cuties, and I am very grateful to the author Alice Oseman for showing what a healthy relationship should be.

And many thanks to my Sunshine @slasher-art , who introduced me to both fandoms, watching them with you was a great happiness❤️🩷.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to buy volumes 4 and 5 yet, they were quickly sold out in Ukraine, so I’m waiting for an additional edition, but those pages of the comic that are in the author’s account intrigued me incredibly.

Jayvik has some kind of magic of its own - they fit perfectly into any universe, any fandom, with them it would probably be possible to make a crossover with even Robinson Crusoe, even with the game Plants vs. Zombies.

And now, re-reading Heartstopper, which I fell in love with because of Charlie and Nick, I can easily imagine Viktor and Jayce in their place. Just imagine how Vik gets bullied at school because he's gay from Zaun who doesn't even have a last name (until Jayce suggests his own, of course😏), how Jayce chivalrously defends him, how they start liking each other more and more, and how Jayce desperately tries to find a book about bisexuality because Google hasn't been invented in their world yet.

By the way, when I started translating phrases from Ukrainian back into English, I realized that they could be translated differently from the original, and I started looking for the right page from the author and guess what? Some pictures in my book and the one posted by the author do not match! I wonder if it was because the book was still available for pre-order at that time and Alice Oseman later changed some pages for printing?

So if anyone here has the third volume in English, I would be very grateful if you open page 590 and write whether your pictures are the same as in my book or the same as in the author’s account (whiter version up here⬆️). By the way, I really like the softer color of the pages, so I made the background a little different. And I'm going to redraw some more moments I like there.

Fans of Charlie and Nick, Viktor and Jayce and anyone else are welcome to comment, I really love discussions, even if we have opposite opinions, the main thing is to conduct the discussion civilly.

[every-ronald-knox]

[yuurei20]

how muscle is the boy and who the most buff because i think silver gym clothes is lying

Hello hello! Thank you so much for this question! I have been hoping to talk about this for so long ⚔️

There is something special about the school uniform and gym clothes cards 👀

Summary 1) Sprites do not always visually represent what is actually happening in the game 2) Yana does not have full control over what can appear as sprites 3) Yana illustrated the gym clothes and school uniform cards from start to finish by herself!

Details/Sources 1) There is sometimes a disconnect between what the sprites are doing and what is actually happening in the stories, as the limits of the medium mean that they can only portray so much.

We will be told via dialogue that what is actually happening is different from what we're seeing on screen, which is where the "novel" part of "visual novel" has to do some heavy lifting.

(above: We are told that Idia is riding Ortho, Jack has tanned and Kalim is wearing glasses, without anything represented visually.)

This is also true of Silver being unusually well-muscled, with characters referencing such repeatedly! (especially in Book 7, for spoiler-reasons that cannot be shared on this blog)

(Ortho: "Silver is also incredibly built!")

In a vignette Silver explains he was able to beat a man in an arm-wrestling contest who had successfully beaten several "burly" members of Savanaclaw:

"All of Ruggie's burly friends had tried, but each lost within seconds. At first the owner went easy on me. Worried he would hurt me, he said. But once he realized I was no pushover, he stopped holding back...It was no easy feat, but all their encouragement helped me eke out a victory."

As for how Silver can possibly be so well-muscled, he explains it is from life with Lilia:

"I've never really struggled with anything involving physical fitness...my daily life back home was training enough. Drawing river water, chopping firewood...Chasing around the animals who lived nearby must have helped strengthen my legs as well...once I stalled while climbing a sheer cliff, and (Lilia) climbed right up beside me to show me how it should be done."

2) In a tweet posted on 2020/5/12 Yana talks about submitting her idea for Crowley to be wearing a vacation outfit in Book 4, despite expecting it to be rejected.

So it seems that she does not have complete control over how the sprites look: she designs the characters but is maybe not doing the game development work of physically implementing them, and there are others who can approve of or reject her ideas based on in-game limitations.

Was a canon-accurate Silver sprite maybe one of those rejections?

Effort was even made to give Silver muscle in the 2nd anniversary PV, so it does seem to be an important point.

3) We do not know too many details about the team that is helping Yana with card illustrations but we know they have been there from the beginning, with the recently released English-version of the first visual book (called "The official art book" in English) providing translations of Yana's notes to the colorists for the ceremonial robes and labwear art.

(Above: hand-written notes seen on Kalim's labwear and ceremonial robes base art)

She also references a graphic artist in her 2020 interview for the Magical Archives:

"As for the illustrations, this was my first time having my original drawings cleaned up by a graphic artist. I am a very rough draftsman by nature, and I make overall corrections before a piece is complete. No matter how careful I am in my original drawings, sometimes details get confused, so whenever I receive a draft back from the graphic artist, I become a useless original artist who is constantly going back to say, ‘I am so sorry, but can you please make these corrections?’" - Toboso Yana (Magical Archives game guide)

But the gym clothes and school uniforms (the original batch of R cards) were different: Yana says she did them all by herself from start to finish, as they were going to be most people's first introductions to the characters.

Disney Twisted-Wonderland has been released today.  ・Character design ・Main scenario creation ・Card illustration (all rarities / including finishing for the R cards) ・Supervision of personal scenarios (writing several as well) I handled everything above. I hope you enjoy it! - Toboso Yana (Twitter, 2020/5/8)

I felt that the initial R school uniforms and sportswear cards are special, as they are likely to be the first introductions to these characters, so I was in charge of them all. I am grateful to have been trusted with them. - Toboso Yana (Twitter, 2020/4/13)

So there we are! 🥳

If anything we can maybe consider the base card art for the gym clothes and school uniforms as more "canon" than the sprite designs of those same characters, even though the sprites are what we're used to seeing, as card art is not being forced to change the characters' appearances in order to fit the limitations of Live 2D sprites ⚔️ Maybe!

(The sprites have this same issue with height! In the game Epel is made taller while Malleus is made shorter, in order to fit his horns in the screen.)

[nmoroder]

i know benjamin had a lot on his plate already but hear me out... an au where ayin for his reasons puts ben in charge of extraction team and not the arbiter who must have deserved to be there (not stating the reason. so don't immediately hate on A and all that. see the full text below for a load of details, and also english translation of text on pics 4 & 5)

it has the atziluth sephirot swap their colors (i've already did a post on color swap btw. but purely color) and the age of their filtered appearance; the full color swap (not just color change of department and uniform but colors of their hair, their bodies too) is required for original scheme to stay, with the colors corresponding to fixed sephirot and so on. names, too, would swap to what their respective kabbalah nodes should be and former benjamin is kind of pissed about his mentor's decision to give him work which is enough to drive a meaty human to insanity, even though after his escape he returned and tried to pry ayin off the plan in the earlier time, and overall he did all he could for the man. for him, the virtue would still be about the past and the future though as he'd have to come to terms with what ayin did to him, and his meltdown would probably have not the 'i want you to stay here with me and live at least somehow, i don't want to go' but instead 'i will make this place your tomb just like you did for me'. i guess it kinda sounds close to angela's feelings in ruina and that's also why both atziluth sephirot would've probably backed up her rebellion idk. its a fun little idea which blooms into a shitton of different things to think about

oh and also pics 4 and 5 have roland converse with library version of ben (he MUST be named binah at that point but i KNOW this will just bring confusion) and it's the quote from their first talk in original game. "i've dedicated my entire life to the wish of a single person", then roland asks "and the person's a rotten egg, eh?" to which ben explodes with OH THAT'S AN UNDERSTATEMENT. they'd probably get along as well over their similar feelings about ayin, which is funny. still not sure whether the respective floors would've been swapped for them... i mean either hokma still stands for religion and binah for philosophy and ben being the current binah would take the philosophy floor, or it's just color swap and religion would be dark with stars and philosophy the white hall and all. the anomalies of both floors fit very well with the color schemes and overall topic and i dont wanna meddle into that really but ehh... food for thought ig

[asksythe]

Ah? What do you mean mpreg is built into the setting of MDZS?

I mean exactly what I said. It's part of the setting. Mpreg is part of MDZS setting.

Or rather, mpreg is part of any and all xianxia or Chinese fantasy settings. Mpreg is not impossible... or even truly rare... in xianxia setting. There are at least three different regular ways for men to get pregnant in this kind of setting, even for low xianxia like MDZS.

Xianxia is Chinese fantasy. Cultivators cultivate until immortality. The upper level of cultivation, an immortal becomes a facet of reality and bends the world to their will. Some can even create an entirely new world wholesale. What's getting pregnant compared to that?

Sure, the setting of MDZS is low xianxia. But we know at the very least a lot of MDZS cultivators are at the Jindan stage. Do you know which stage comes right after the Jindan stage?

元婴 Yuanying. The common English translation for this stage is Nascent Soul. But its real meaning is nascent / origin child/baby/infant.

How does yuanying come about? Well, a cultivator at the end of Jindan stage will go through tribulation. If they pass through tribulation successfully, the jindan (golden core) in their belly will collapse and out comes a baby. This baby then takes over the task of the jindan, circulating the cultivator's chi and feeding off of it. The baby will grow alongside the cultivator's progress, eventually maturing and potentially becoming a separate person should the parent allows it.

(Game interface from a Chinese cultivation game)

This stage is very well documented in actual real-world ancient texts by Wu Liupai, dating back to the 16th century. It's not a modern concept made up for entertainment. It's part of actual real-world Daoist practices and beliefs.

...And xianxia is the brought up to eleventh fantasy version of real-world Daoism. Think about it.

So in truth, every single high-level Jindan stage cultivator in MDZS is just one stage and one successful tribulation away from getting preggo whether they want to or not. (Yes. Every single one of them. Not just Wei Ying or Lan Wangji, but also Jiang Cheng, Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen, Xiu Xingchen, Song Lan, Nie Mingjue... if he didn't die, etc... Not Jin Guangyao, though. He's too weak to get pregnant. Jin Zixuan, maybe)

You don't even have to be a cultivator or in a xianxia setting to get pregnant (whether you are male or female or whatever). Artificially induced pregnancy has been a thing in Chinese folklore since the Summer and Autumn period (BCE). Several different classics mention a fruit called 孕果 yunguo (Lit. Pregnant Fruit). This fruit bestows the ability to get pregnant to anyone who eats it, regardless of gender. Sexual activity with a man is still required, though. Can't make something out of nothing.

And the most famous and widely known in Chinese folklore: water from the River of Mother and Child 子母河. Anyone who drinks this water becomes pregnant, regardless of gender (or even species, actually). You know the most famous person who drank it? The monk Tan Sanzang... and his disciple Zhu Bajie (a male pig), and Sha Wujing (a male fish). It's been made into several TV series and movies. In one of those movie adaptations, Tang Sanzang even carried the pregnancy to term as he wasn't willing to terminate a life and saw this as an opportunity to experience the female side of life.

In the same story, Journey to the West, a rock was pregnant with Son Wukong and gave birth to him.

You have to remember this. Ancient Chinese didn't really think of pregnancy as a biological process requiring sperm and eggs like we do today. They thought of it as a concentration and condensation of qi (breath of the world) until the 'mother body' was saturated with fetal qi and gave birth.

Real-world folklore texts are chockful of such instances where things got pregnant with the breath of the world and gave birth. And that's just regular folklore, not the brought-up-to-eleven version that is xianxia.

[sixofcrowdaydreams]

Six of Crows Russian Edition

Today I found this gorgeous gem at the bookstore!

So a few years ago I moved overseas to live in a Russian speaking country. I am not in Russia, for the record. The national language here is not Russian, but it is commonly spoken in my city.

Today at the bookstore I looked for a copy of Crooked Kingdom for the cast of Shadow and Bone to sign this May when I go to A Storm of Shadows and Crows convention in Paris. I don't own a copy of SOC or KC in English and there's no chance of finding one where I live. The next best option was getting a book in the local language and calling it a souvenir of my time abroad. To my delight I found this lovely Russian edition of Six of Crows!

More stunning artwork below.

There were multiple versions of the books to choose from. The original art and the Netflix artwork were available too. The most impressive part was finding copies of the original covers WITHOUT the Netflix sticker. (Haha, suck it Netflix.) To the right, not pictured were King of Scars and Rule of Wolves.

I've never seen this cover variation before. It was an exciting find!

The Russian version I bought is illustrated by (I assume Russian?) artist Eva Eller.

I didn't see a copy of Crooked Kingdom with illustrations by the same artist at this bookstore, but it must exist. Mine was the last copy of SOC with the Russian artwork. Maybe it was sold out?

Google Translate titles the book Six of Ravens, lol. But that's just a translation error because a little google-foo showed that ворона (pronounced vorona) means crow. Interestingly, while typing the title, I learned that вор (pronounced vor) means thief. Interesting how similar the words crow and thief are in Russian. Checks out.

Above is the art printed on the side of the pages. Love how it still includes the side of the pages colored, just like the original books.

The hardcover underneath the jacket is a crow. It's not the same as pictured on the original CK cover, but it is similar. Love the messy, broken, bent feathers, yet the crow is still able to fly. Metaphor for our six characters? Absolutely!

The book was wrapped in cellophane so I didn't realize there was even more art inside! Here is the inner cover. IT'S BEAUTIFUL! The back is the same. It captures the foggy haze of Ketterdam so well.

The flaps of the book jacket are images from the inner cover. But there's a cracked texture over them that gives it a gorgeous grittiness.

The candle is the left side of the inner book jacket. Sorry the image isn't flat, I didn't want to damage the jacket by straightening it out.

The right side of the book jacket shows all the Crows!

Let's appreciate how Matthias looks snow pale and serious. Inej is taller than Nina -- she must be standing on a step stool. No clue why both of their eyes are closed, especially when Nina is the one pointing to the paper. They are lovely. Kaz has on his scheming face. Jesper is as handsome as every version of him should be. And Wylan looks bored AF because A.) he's already memorized the map he drew or B.) he can't read whatever document Kaz has in front of them. Wait, no, Wylan is making heart eyes at Jesper. All of the above can be true.

Inside is a small illustration at the beginning of each chapter, which changes with each section.

You can also see the Crow's names written in Cyrillic. Inej, Kaz, Nina, and Matthias translate easily. Jesper uses the д (letter D) and ж (pronounced like zhe) letter combination that makes his name sound like Zhesper since there is no J in Cyrillic. It's worth pointing out (again) that Wylan's name does not translate perfectly. There is no W in the Cyrillic alphabet. (As someone who also has a W in their name, I sympathize with Wylan here.) I'm no expert in Russian, but I'm pretty sure -- with the help of google translate -- that Wylan is pronounced as Oo-ai-len. Poor boy can't catch a break.

Each of the five section of the book use different chapter art. They all do an excellent job capturing the atmosphere.

The paper is so thin that you can easily see the printing on the opposite side. Not ideal for an edition that's otherwise this lovely. Oh well.

Given that Ravka is fantasy Russia, it's not a surprise to find the Grisha Verse books in Russian.

I am so excited to bring this book to Paris for the cast to sign!

[parasolyaa]

Buckle up, we're overanalysing Mischa's name

Firstly, it just cannot be his legal name on the documents. Mischa is always short for Mykhailo (equivalent to English Michael). Secondly, Bachinski is actually the Russian spelling of his surname, and, well, there was little chance of the writers using the correct form back in 2008. Ukrainian spelling is Bachynskyi! Thirdly, in Ukrainan and some other Slavic languages every person is supposed to have their father's name attached to their name. For example, if your father is Taras, and you are Andriy, than you would be Andriy Tarasovych. We do not know Mischa's dad's name, so for the sake of this exploration I'm just gonna go with Mykola (I just like this name and it is popular enough). That turns Mischa Bachinski into Mykhailo Bachynskyi Mykolayovych (Михайло Бачинський Миколайович)

+ I'm not sure, but Misha probably is a more accurate transcription of Міша than Mischa (update: i am now sure. Misha is objectively correct)

Now onto the etymology (sorta). The name Michael was gender-neutral with Hebrew origin (vaguely meaning "who is like God" or "gift from God", the second version is less accurate but I like it cause it plays well into my headcanon of Mischa being a miracle baby since it was unlikely for his mother to have a normal pregnancy after the radiation exposure). Odesa is a city with a lot of Jewish population so yeah. And also Michael is the name of an archangel in the Bible.

But as for Mykhailo specifically, a random Ukrainian article says:

Little Misha is an inquisitive and good-natured boy. He is very independent and likes to have his own responsibilities around the house. If Misha gets into good company, then there is no need to worry about him. Mykhailo is unsure of himself, so his parents need to encourage him more often. The owner of such a name is easily offended, but not spiteful. He is in poor health. Mykhailo's main shortcomings are that he gives up easily and never admits he is wrong. In love, he is very persistent and patient. Mykhailo can pursue his beloved for years. He does not know how to make compliments and give gifts. He proves his love not by word, but by deed. Tends to slight obesity and often has poor eyesight. The name suits Sagittarius, Capricorns, Aquarius. Not suitable for Pisces.

I only picked out the at least somehow interesting stuff, cause the article is long and you can read it yourself with the help of Google translator if you'd like. Also it has a section of female names the owner of the name is likely to get along well with, and it has no mention of Natalia (Talia), but Tamara was first on the list🥹

In Russian language Mischa is a way to say bear. In Ukrainian language Myscha is a way to say mouse. This is lowkey symbolic and I should use it in a fanfic at some point. Imagine Mischa telling everyone his name means bear and technically not lying, but in his mother tongue it actually is a tiny little animal. One of my headcanons is that his mother called him myshko (the way to say "little mouse" when reffering to someone directly. The subjective form is myshka, an even more affectionate/сute version is myshenya, myshenyatko)

Literally every noun in Ukrainian language has A TON of affectionate/сute versions, here are just some of such forms for Mischa: Mykhaylyk, Mykhaylychok, Mykhaylonko, Mykhaylochko, Mykhalyk, Mykhas, Mykhasyk, Mykhasko, Mykhasyo, Myshko, Mischenka. This isn't even a half, but some are quite impossible to translate. My fav versions are Mykhaylyk, Mykhasyk and Mykhalyk, they are also the most popular but basically all of them can be used if you wanna call him affectionately hehe

thank you for your attention folks🐭

[ghostyolive]

I will always be so mad that FMA:B gave Greed a different dialogue with Bradley after the Devil's Nest massacre than in the manga because it feels like it just changes his characterization to be so much plainer and more cartoonishly assholish. Like they really wanted to rope you into thinking he was a bad guy so that his twist of caring about people would feel stronger, but it just makes me sad. In the VIZ Media Fullmetal Edition translation, the exchange goes:

Greed: "Whoa there Bradley. How could you do this to them? They were my people."

Bradley: "Feeling pity for your pawns? How pathetic."

Greed: "Pity?! Do you forget who the hell you're dealing with?! I am greed incarnate!! Money, women, henchmen, everything-- they're my possessions! They're all mine! I won't let you take away what belongs to me!!"

...And the exchange in the English dub of FMA:B goes:

Greed: "Whoa, that was a little excessive. Killing me is one thing, but they're not coming back."

Bradley: "Pitying the lost lives of your pawns? Pathetic."

Greed: "Excuse me, are you senile? Did you forget who I am, old man? I'm the living incarnation of greed! Those weren't my friends, Bradley. They were my possessions! Money, women, henchmen-- They're all possessions!"

And that difference is absolutely insane! His manga version is in some ways more obvious and in some ways more ambiguous about his care for his friends. On the one hand, he staunchly refuses to pity them. (I would say that this is because he respects their right to self-determination and what they signed on for when they followed him, but that's almost pure speculation.) But on the other, he specifically refers to them as "[his] people." This really effectively toes the line between multiple meanings-- "[his] people" colloquially would refer to friends, but it also emphasizes ownership. It sets up his arc of acknowledging friendship while also not detracting from his care for the Devil's Nest gang.

The anime just makes him... indifferent and snarky? On a surface level, it makes his character arc far more clear as somebody learning to love and care about others, but it also really devalues his experiences with his gang. I guess I can almost understand why people just forget about them aside from the bit with Bido when they only watch FMA:B considering that it absolutely glosses over just about every part of the manga that makes you care about them. Why should people consider those random guys in the beginning when he makes it clear that he never cared about them? /s

And it's more than just the writing that I have a problem with. Even the animation is so distinctly different from what's shown in the manga that the tone ends up absolutely flipped on his head.

(Note: this online scan doesn't use the official translation) Greed's expression here can best be described as one of pure rage. I think you could maybe loosely interpret the first panel as a grin, but the second panel clears up how he's feeling pretty well. It's especially poignant since the three panels preceding these two entirely obscure his expression. Any calm and collectedness has been shed in the face of his gang's massacre and his eyes are bulging and furious in a way that they haven't been drawn before. And how does the anime handle this absolute gut punch?

Um. Not good, frankly. It's definitely got the wildness of his original expression, but it conveys none of the anger. It throws off what's essentially his greatest display of hypocrisy-- That he only gets angry when his gang is hurt, just like how Ed only gets angry when Al is hurt. Absolutely nothing about his reaction properly conveys rage or frustration, and that honestly just sucks. While episode 13 served as a pretty decent and streamlined recap of chapters 25-28, episode 14 really screwed with some of the moments that made Greed's arc feel so powerful and bittersweet.

Tl;dr Please oh please go read the manga version of og Greed's arc <3

[reikorun]

KlubOutside Q&A 1-100 [Translation]

Translated by @reikorun

Q1.

2021.01.18

Could you tell us if there was any music, for instance, which became the basis for the image of each character in BTW?

A1.

I'll write about it in the set list section at some point.

Q2.

2021.01.18

How can I be a mangaka for Shueisha?

A2.

You can make a submission to Jump-mangasho. All Jump editors can speak English.

Q3.

2021.01.18

Could you give us the details around how you came up with the word "Bankai"?

A3.

Before the serialization of BLEACH, I tried to use the word "卍殺伏龍砲" (Bansatsu-Fukuryuhō) in another manga, I repurposed it from there. 

Q4.

2021.01.18

Right now, what game are you absolutely hooked on? 

A4.

Towards the end of this year, I was playing an absurd amount of Zelda Musou (Hyrule Warriors).

Q5.

2021.01.18

Is there any possibility that unrevealed Zanpakutō or Bankai will be introduced in some form in the future?

A5.

If there is a place where I feel it would be acknowledged by a good deal of readers with a suitable number of pages then I would like to draw them someday.

Q6.

2021.01.18

Are there any comedians that you have been enjoying lately, sensei?

A6.

Tokyo Hoteison and Tontsukatan.

Q7.

2021.01.18

Did Sensei come up with the idea for a fan club himself, or was it proposed by the editorial department?

A7.

This was originally a project that a former editor, who is currently working in the web department, brought forward because he wanted to work with me.

Q8.

2021.01.18

Please tell us your dog's name!

A8.

It's "Uni".

Q9.

2021.01.18

In the anime version of BLEACH, the costume designs of some characters such as Soi Fon, Yoruichi-san and Harribel-sama were different from the original work, what did you think about that?

A9.

Back in those days, there was a rule within Jump that "only works which have finished serialization will be made into late night anime." However, nowadays you can ask them to broadcast it late at night and stay true to the original work. By the way, ALPHAxOMEGA's Harribel figurine is based on the original work.

Q10.

2021.01.18

Regarding Gin, rather than a Kyoto dialect, is that an Osaka dialect with a touch of Kyoto?

A10.

That's correct.

Q11.

2021.01.25

I would like to know what it was that Renji wanted to hear from Urahara-san after turning up in the Human World during the Arrancar Arrival arc, even going so far as to do chores for him!

A11.

"Why did you choose Rukia as the hiding place for the Hōgyoku?" Kisuke told him half truth and half lie, but Renji was satisfied with it.

Q12.

2021.01.25

By some chance, I wonder if Kubo-sensei was actually the originator of Whiskrs STORE? 

A12. 

I am the originator. This is a brand that aims to put out merchandise in which I am involved in everything from conception to completion. 

Q13. 

2021.01.25

Tite Kubo-sensei, when you think about a character, do you also think about colors at the same time? Or, how do you decide the colors?  

A13.

It's pretty much done at the same time. In such cases, the color scheme is determined at the line drawing stage so there is no need to deliberate over how it should look.

Q14.

2021.01.25

What are your favorite sweets?

A14.

Inamura Shozo and Toshi Yoroizuka. I loved their Mont Blanc and mille-feuille but I can no longer find either of those anymore.

Q15.

2021.01.25

Kubo-sensei, could you tell us from your own perspective how to go about creating characters so that readers can empathize with them and find them compelling?

A15.

What's important is whether or not that character has a unique mindset which sets them apart from other characters, so it's not that I think it's necessary to empathize with a character.

Q16.

2021.01.25

Why is the phrase "nandato" (*"what did you say?") used so frequently in BLEACH?

A16.

At the time, there were many works with distinctive catchphrases for characters, so this was an experiment to create a catchphrase for the work rather than the characters, thereby giving the work itself its very own personality. I then put it to work as dialogue that does not compromise the individuality of each character, even when multiple characters are using it.

Q17.

2021.01.25

In BLEACH, "BAD SHIELD UNITED" is brought up as a Human World 'movie' but does Mille really end up dying? Since the speaker is Mizuiro, it's hard to tell whether it's his usual dark humor towards Keigo or if he's serious, I've been curious about that for quite some time. 

A17.

She dies. My first editor from back then (who was also my editor at the time of BSU) also said to me "I'm shocked though…." 

Q18.

2021.01.25

In BURN THE WITCH, there were often color illustrations which were colored digitally, but around what time did you start trying digital coloring? 

A18.

I started from BTW. As far as the order of things go, the Jump cover for chapter 1 is probably the first one that was done digitally. I was nervous until that issue of Jump came out.

Q19.

2021.02.01

Are there any parts of your characters which make you think "this is hard to draw."

A19.

When it comes to parts, large breasts are all difficult. Also, during the week where Szayelaporro's release state came up I complained the whole time whilst drawing it. 

Q20.

2021.02.01

When I was reading "BURN THE WITCH", I very often got the impression that Noel was always positioned on the left and Ninny on the right, but I wonder if there's any significance behind this positional relationship…!?

A20.

In order to generate an impression of the characters with a limited number of pages, I did this as a sort of staging effect in the sense that ‘a character's traits are incorporated in their stance.’ You have a good eye….

Q21.

2021.02.01

I believe each squad was assigned a color, I once tried to identify the location of squad barracks based on those colors. Since there are 4 gates associated with a particular color, I thought of Shōryūmon as Seiryū (east - blue), Shuwaimon as Suzaku (south - red), Hakutōmon as Byakko (west - white), Kokuryōmon as Genbu (north - black).

As I recall, the townscape was circular so I tried to arrange the colors of each squad with the ‘Yellow Emperor’ as the centre and it turned out as follows. I suspect it might be in this circular arrangement: starting from Shōryūmon with 6, 1, 11, 8, then from Shuwaimon with 13, 4, 2, from Hakutōmon with 3, 5, 9, and finally from Kokuryōmon with 7, 10, 12. ×[1]  

Moreover, I'm awfully curious about the actual line up because it is Ichimaru-san from Squad 3 who interrupted the gatekeeper of Hakutōmon, and the three individuals who turned traitor are situated close together. Is there any established blueprint for the placement of squad barracks within Sensei's mind? 

A21.

I can't say for sure without seeing an illustration but judging by what I just read, I think this is very insightful.

Q22.

2021.02.01

Are there any manga, anime, dramas, movies, etc. (other than Kubo-sensei's own works) that as a reader or viewer make you think "this work is amazing!" or "I want you to read/watch that!"?

A22.

My favourite program of the past few years has been Netflix's "The Final Table." It's a cooking competition show, but I think it's the pinnacle of Shōnen manga style cooking battles.

Q23.

2021.02.01

What is your favorite Hiroshima specialty?

A23.

Cream cheese momiji* and plain momiji with chunky sweet red bean paste. (*Momiji manjū are maple leaf shaped sweets.)

Q24.

2021.02.01

I would like to know what kind of work tools you use!

A24.

I don't really have many special tools because I'm not that particular about them … if it's okay, I'll post a photo soon.

Q25.

2021.02.01

I've read in some articles before that the series consists of arcs mainly focused on members of Ichigo's entourage like with Rukia's rescue arc, the Arrancar arc, the Fullbring arc and the Quincy arc. Was this structure something decided upon by Kubo-sensei from the very beginning of the series??

A25.

That's right. I was drawing while wondering if I could continue the series until I reached Uryū.

Q26.

2021.02.01

Izuru-kun's Zanpakutō is Wabisuke and Wabisuke is the name of a type of camellia. Does the theory that the reason why there are multiple scenes within the story where he decapitates his opponent, have its origins in the fact that the camellia is likened to a head and is described as falling?

A26.

That's correct. I thought everyone would take notice about the Wabisuke camellia but at the time it wasn't really picked up on that much.

Q27.

2021.02.01

What is your favourite Pokémon?

A27.

I've never played Pokémon so I haven't the slightest clue.

Q28.

2021.02.08

Does sensei decide the contents, continuity elements and general flow of novelized works like "BLEACH WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU" and "BLEACH Can't Fear Your Own World"?

A28.

I was the one who passed on the contents and details affecting continuity, I left its portrayal up to the two authors. Whenever they happened upon a part they didn't quit understand along the way, they would also come to consult with me. 

Q29.

2021.02.08

When is the collaboration between sensei and THE BACK HORN?!

A29. 

I'd like to do that with the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.

Q30.

2021.02.08

Please give us details about the iPad you use at work!

A30.

It's a regular iPad with a larger screen. 

Q31.

2021.02.08

Is Kubo-sensei continuing to play "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" without getting bored of it?

A31.

I stopped playing because the UI is too complicated. I'll pick it up again when the UI has improved.

Q32.

2021.02.08

I heard that Kubo-sensei was in charge of the design aspect for the anime original characters Amagai Shūsuke and Kanō Ashido, but was sensei the one who actually designed the anime original characters themselves?

A32.

All characters in the anime originals that are not expressly stated as being designed by me are the product of Kudō-san's taste. I may have done a final design check on the Amagai arc at least, but I didn't touch anything surrounding the Bount arc.

Q33.

2021.02.15

Sensei, do you prefer a girl who shows emotions clearly sort of like Ninny-chan or a girl who is cool-headed and doesn't show much emotion on the surface like Noel-chan?

A33.

I choose my favorite female characters based solely on whether they have big breasts or not, so if it's between these two, it's Noel.

Q34.

2021.02.15

Are there any plans to re-release the color illustration collection “JET”?

A34.

Re-release the art book, I wonder about that… I will try to ask my editor.

Q35.

2021.02.15

Do you play “Dragon Quest Builders”?

A35.

I played a lot of both 1 and 2. I'd like to see a remake of 1 with the technology of 2.

Q36.

2021.02.15

Have you ever felt that the sense of distance and relationships between the characters are different between the anime and the original work?

A36.

Up to around the Soul Society arc of the BLEACH anime, the whole time whilst watching it I kept thinking to myself "if they change things so much, it won't match up with the endgame of the story, but it's out of my hands." I couldn't really understand the characters so I started checking the script around the Arrancar arc.

Q37.

2021.02.15

Does sensei have a favorite designer chair?

A37.

There are many that I like. As for the ones I actually use and like, that includes the Jacobsen Series 7 chair, Eames Sofa by Eames, Magistretti's Maralunga and Maxalto by Citterio.

Q38.

2021.02.22

Chapter 162 of BLEACH (Ichigo's first demonstration of Bankai) is drawn in full color, please give us the inside story around its production during that time (such as how you managed to draw with full color for a weekly series.)

A38. 

I finished the draft in 6 days and I set aside approximately 2 consecutive weeks worth of time before drawing it. 

Q39.

2021.02.22

Sensei, who did you choose as your favorite character on KlubOutside??

A39.

I haven't made a choice yet. When I think about it seriously, I'm honestly having a tough time choosing.

Q40. 

2021.02.22

Which dialect exactly is Shinji's Kansai-ben supposed to be?

A40.

Hirako and Hiyori are both written with a rough sounding Kansai dialect, but I have been told by someone from Kawachi that "Hiyori speaks with an authentic Kawachi dialect."

Q41.

2021.02.22

Are there any plans to make BLEACH a paperback edition?

A41.

I wonder? I haven't heard anything so I guess not. 

※There are no plans at the moment. However, there is a possibility that we will consider it in the future depending on demand. <Editor>

Q42.

2021.02.22

Sensei, I heard that you play Brave Souls, but who is your absolute favorite character to use? Additionally, do you have a favorite character with a Brave Souls original costume?

A42.

The one I use the most is Masaki who is the strongest auto. If you're bad at action like me, you can rely on Masaki. I pull almost all original costumes if they are big breasted, in swimsuits.

Q43.

2021.03.01

What is your favorite flavor of ramen?

A43.

It's chicken broth.

Q44.

2021.03.01

What is the diet of a manga artist like? I sincerely wish you good health sensei!

A44.

It's pretty average. In the past year, the variety of delivery options has increased and has become extremely satisfying.

Q45.

2021.03.01

I'd like to see the design proposal for volume 31 with Szayelaporro on the cover sometime, the one which Kubo-sensei previously mentioned on Twitter...!

A45.

Hasn't this been published anywhere? I'll try and see if I have it at hand.

Q46.

2021.03.01

How are the spellings of characters' names decided?

A46.

On the whole, I try to blend in spellings from as many different regions as possible, so for some characters, I was aiming for that “demarcation where it may just be legible" before making my decision. 

Q47.

2021.03.01

Is Gantenbainne still alive after receiving aid from Captain Unohana in the Arrancar arc?

A47.

He's alive. The "god" he was talking about is Baraggan, so he is gathering Arrancar who still worship Baraggan and building a small nation.

Q48.

2021.03.01

By what age is one able to work towards becoming a manga artist? Past 20, is it indeed too late to start putting yourself forward? I would like to know what Kubo-sensei thinks about the appropriate age for manga artists!!

A48.

I think it doesn't matter how old you are. You don't need anyone's permission to draw manga, so I think it's best to just draw if you want to draw, and stop if you think it doesn't suit you.

Q49.

2021.03.01

Will Whiskrs STORE carry BLEACH goods? I would like BLEACH to come out with merchandise too like those being sold in Whiskrs STORE. I think I'd want to see merchandise which are actually worn by characters or goods that look like they could be sold in Soul Society! Also, it would be helpful if you could add more payment methods…

A49.

I'm also planning to make BLEACH goods, but I've created an inquiry form on Whiskrs, so if you can write "item request" in the header over there and send it to us, I'll consider that too! Also, if you would like to pay using a specific payment method, please contact us.

Q50.

2021.03.08

My question is, are Nemu-chan's hair and clothing Mayuri-sama's hobby? Or does Nemu-chan dress up according to what she likes?

A50.

It's Mayuri's hobby, or rather, Mayuri is the one altering it to match with his own ensemble. Whether or not it suits her is a separate matter. 

Q51.

2021.03.08

Is there any character in BLEACH that you think has become popular, contrary to your expectations?

A51.

I thought Hisagi would never really get popular, so I'm glad that he became fairly popular.

Q52.

2021.03.08

Has there been any change in your favorite characters within your own work between now and the past?

A52.

My favorite characters experience change with every scene I draw, so they're constantly changing.

Q53.

2021.03.08

What is the origin of Rickenbacker's name?

A53.

This is the name of the founder of a guitar company. All Broombuggies are named after people who have passed away.

Q54.

2021.03.08

Do you have a close friendship with Jujutsu Kaisen's Akutami-sensei?

A54.

I had a conversation with him the other day. Right now, I'm using the shampoo Akutami-kun gave me at the time.

Q55.

2021.03.15

With the anime versions of BLEACH and BTW, sensei's characters were given a voice, but to sensei's mind, are there any characters whose voices were a particularly perfect fit?

A55.

Yoruichi is the first one who surprised me, I thought "I didn't expect this character to have this kind of voice!"

Q56.

2021.03.15

Hitsugaya who had been turned into a zombie was changed into Quincy clothes, is this Gigi's hobby?

A56.

It's Gigi's hobby.

Q57. 

2021.03.15

The Quincy have made an appearance in Brave Souls, but how were the voice actors selected? 

A57.

I chose them after listening to recorded voice auditions.

Q58.

2021.03.15

What kind of clothes are your favorite clothes these days?

A58.

Over-sized, whitish sweats. They're comfortable so I want to wear them until the very last moment they're considered trendy.

Q59.

2021.03.15

Does Kubo-sensei play Brave Souls? If so, who is your favorite character?

A59.

I scarcely get a chance to use them, but the visuals for heart attribute swimsuit Nelliel and technique attribute swimsuit Orihime are extremely good.

Q60.

2021.03.22

Are there any manga or movies that influenced you, sensei?

A60.

"SNATCH'" and "300" had a huge influence on me at the time they were screened.

Q61

2021.03.22

I heard that you are also involved in the audition process for the voice actors, but I am curious about what it was like in the early days of the BLEACH anime.

A61.

Ichigo was chosen after I listened to the several audition tapes which had been recorded for him. As for the Human World gang + Rukia and Renji, I listened to the tapes that the team on the other side had selected and got them to change only those who were different from their image. It's about the same level of involvement as in the live-action movie. Any subsequent casting does not involve me.

Q62.

2021.03.22

There are two types of haori for the Captains of the Gotei, but are both options provided when they take up their new posts? 

A62.

At the time of their inauguration, they can choose between sleeved and sleeveless. They can even make modifications during the process, however they may be put off from doing so because it's expensive and this request will not be approved unless you have a very good reason.

Q63.

2021.03.22

When you were still working on your weekly series, were you reading other works in Jump magazine?

A63.

During its serialization, I was pretty much only ever checking for misprints in BLEACH. Between the desire to draw manga and the desire to read manga I only have the capacity to accommodate one, so when I draw I don't feel like reading and when I read I don't feel like drawing.

Q64.

2021.03.22

I have a question regarding the typeface of Rukia's name written on the cover of chapter 266. "Kuchiki" is written in brush strokes, but is there some significance as to why "Rukia" is not written in brush strokes? I'm curious about the covers with names on them since all the names of the other Shinigami are written by brush stroke, whereas part of Rukia's name is the only anomaly.

A64.

It does have a significance, but I might draw it somewhere else so it's a secret for now.

Q65.

2021.03.29

Sensei, is there any aspect in life that makes you think "this is the only thing that is non-negotiable"?

A65.

It has to be "don't let anyone interfere with your work." I'm hardly ever picky about anything else in my actual life.

Q66.

2021.03.29

The more Ichigo has grown, the more he looks like his father Kurosaki Isshin, huh? By the way, will Ichigo inherit Isshin's chest hair? I'm curious.

A66.

I want to believe in the power of Masaki's genes.

Q67.

2021.03.29

Can I safely assume that the description of Squad 1 Vice-Captain Sasakibe Chōjirō Tadaoki's Bankai - Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū - was referring to Tensō Jūrin?

Q67.

That's right.

Q68.

2021.03.29

I was trying to choose a favorite character, but I'm having a difficult time because there are too many charming characters! Please let me have at least three people to root for. Kubo-sensei, can you narrow down your favorite characters to just one in your favorite works?

A68.

Let me narrow it down. Hyoga from Saint Seiya, Nurikabe from GeGeGe no Kitaro and Gorō from Kodoku no Gourmet.

Q69.

2021.03.29

During the time Isshin was Captain, Rangiku was Vice-Captain and Hitsugaya was 3rd seat, but why did Rangiku remain a lieutenant instead of ascending to Captain?

A69.

This is because Hitsugaya is better suited for the position of Captain and also because he had already acquired Bankai. By the way, Hitsugaya had already acquired Bankai by the time he enlisted in the Gotei 13.

Q70.

2021.04.05

Hitsugaya often yells "get to work!" at Rangiku, but what tasks are so demanding that they require the qualities of a Captain class Shinigami? 

A70.

Checks and approvals.

Q71.

2021.04.05

Noel-chan had a guy lick some kind of device when checking to see whether or not he had come into contact with a dragon, but does she have to replace it each time it's used? Or does she use the same one the whole time?

A71.

It is returned and magically cleaned with every use.

Q72.

2021.04.05

As explained with 90s level Kidō which appears in BLEACH, the higher the number, the stronger the spell becomes, but is it the same with spells like Blue Spark which are cast in BURN THE WITCH.

A72.

It's different. The Magic numbers from BTW have simple rules and are assigned in accordance with them.

Q73.

2021.04.05

Out of Rangiku, Orihime, Yoruichi-san, Harribel-sama, Unohana-san, Isane, Nelliel and Noel-chan, who has the largest chest?

A73. 

I think I'm probably drawing Nelliel with the mental image of her being the most voluptuous.

Q74.

2021.04.05

I would like a tour of sensei's workshop!! Is that allowed!?!? 

A74.

I had never considered it. I don't mind doing this if the time and situation allows it, but we'll see.

Q75.

2021.04.12

Please tell us about any changes in the vow Chad made concerning his fists. After he swore to his Abuelo that he would never swing his fists for himself, Chad did not retaliate by raising his fists for his own sake, not even during a fight where he was being beaten. 

Then he met Ichigo and they both made this pact: "you won't have to hit anyone on your own account anymore, but in return you have to hit people to help me. I'll fight for you and you'll fight for me. If there's something you want to protect with your life, I'll stake my life to protect it too." 

From then on, he fought for Ichigo with his fists and grew stronger to protect his friends. However, in the final chapter there is a scene where Chad has become a boxer and is aiming to become champion. Why did Chad, who up until now had vowed not to swing his fists for himself, end up using his fists in a boxing match in order to become champion in the final chapter? Was there some sort of shift in his feelings that made him think that he's ready to use his fists for himself now, or is it that someone has emerged whom he wishes to protect by becoming a champion boxer?

A75.

Nothing has changed. Chad considers boxing a martial art, not violence.

Q76.

2021.04.12

Sensei, if you were to become Captain and Vice-Captain, which divisions would you prefer to be in for each?

A76.

It seems like a heavy responsibility so I don't want it.

Q77.

2021.04.12

I joined a fan club for the first time in my life. Have you ever been a member of anyone's fan club, sensei?

A77. 

It's my first time too. I am currently undergoing the unique experience of joining a fan club for the first time in my life as a member of my own fan club.

Q78.

2021.04.12

I would like to learn about Tite Kubo-sensei's family composition.

A78.

What kind of scammer-like question is this?

Q79.

2021.04.12

I'd like to know sensei's usual breakfast menu.

A79.

Aojiru, Amazake and yogurt. (*Aojiru - a green, vegetable juice made from kale. Amazake - sweet drink made from fermented rice​.)

Q80.

2021.04.12

I was curious about the origins of the names of Quincy: Vollständig (Tatarforas, Hasshein, etc.) so I tried to do some research but I couldn't figure it out at all. Could they be words coined by you, sensei?

A80.

It's not so much a coined word, but rather a regular name …. I give them a name that sounds angelic and doesn't seem to have any apparent origin even if you try to look it up.

Q81.

2021.04.19

Do you prefer raw eggs or boiled eggs?

A81.

I prefer raw.

Q82.

2021.04.19

If you were to go out for a drink one-on-one, who would you go with? Personally, I'd like to go with Ikkaku.

A82.

I don't drink so I wouldn't want to go out with anyone. As long as I don't have to drink, anyone with big breasts will be fine.

Q83.

2021.04.19

Who does Kubo-sensei admire?

A83.

It's not that it's a specific person or something, but I quite admire gag manga artists.

Q84.

2021.04.19

Kubo-sensei, what app do you use when drawing illustrations on your iPad?

A84.

It's Clip Studio Paint. I really want to use Procreate (because Tada Yumi-san is using it), but Procreate is complicated.

Q85.

2021.04.19

Kubo-sensei, please tell us what you value when composing your character designs.

A85.

Place great value on first impressions and also don't be bound by it.

Q86.

2021.04.26

Sensei, did you study calligraphy? I love your drawings of course, but I also love your penmanship!!

A86.

This question reminded me that my grandmother was a calligraphy tutor. But I haven't formally studied it.

Q87.

2021.04.26

I absolutely adore the female characters you draw sensei, but do you find it challenging to draw female characters?

A87.

It's the same. People often say that female characters are difficult because they don't understand women's feelings, but it's the same even for men because people struggle to comprehend the feelings of others.

Q88.

2021.04.26

Please tell us about a movie you saw recently that you found interesting, sensei.

A88.

I watched The Equalizer the other day for the first time in a while, but it's still interesting no matter how many times I watch both 1 and 2.

Q89.

2021.04.26

At the end of the "D-TecnoLife" anime OP, Chad, Inoue, Ichigo, Ganju, Hanatarō and Ishida appear in that order, but I wonder if Ganju's bandana is white because they forgot to apply color?

A89.

This is because the character color check isn't coming to me.

Q90.

2021.04.26

In the Thousand Year Blood War arc, it was stated that no citizen of Rukongai beyond district 50 had been observed wearing sandals for over 500 years, yet as a child Rangiku was wearing a somewhat stylish pair of sandals. Did Gin provide her with those?

A90.

After meeting, Gin and Rangiku gradually moved to the safer inner districts of Rukongai. Gin's zōri sandals and Rangiku's setta sandals, which appear in the second half of the flashback, are items which each of them picked up along the way.

Q91.

2021.05.03

Is there any particular reason why Harribel and Stark are not using their first names in typical Arrancar fashion?

A91.

There is no concept of first name, middle name or last name to Arrancar. 

Q92.

2021.05.03

Please tell us the reason why Kurotsuchi Mayuri started wearing headgear. Additionally, please tell us about his reason for changing that headgear.

A92.

It's his hobby.

Q93.

2021.05.03

What is sensei's favorite manga?

A93.

When I'm feeling down, I always read "Kodoku no Gourmet."

Q94.

2021.05.03

In Bleach, Zanpakutō which possess fire abilities appear within the story, but who is a character that sensei is reminded of when it comes to fire?

A94.

Wanyūdō (from GeGeGe no Kitaro​.)

Q95.

2021.05.03

Do you still read Jump?

A95.

I read it and express my thoughts chaotically to those close to me. My editor also sometimes wants to hear my thoughts.

Q96.

2021.05.03

Is it a coincidence that BTW's release date falls on a full moon in Aries according to western astrology?

A96.

Really!? That is a coincidence.

Q97.

2021.05.10

Yadōmaru Lisa sometimes appears to speak with a Kansai-like dialect and sometimes she doesn't, what dialect exactly does Lisa speak with?

A97.

It's Gifu dialect which is closer to dialects from Aichi. 

Q98.

2021.05.10

About the unfilled drafts and such that are in the Gallery on KlubOutside, how did those come to be preserved?

A98.

Upon completion of the inking stage, I would make a copy and write instructions on it, and when I was done with the draft I would normally throw it away. However, my parents back home told me "send it to us instead of throwing it out", so I sent it to them.

Q99.

2021.05.10

The characters that appear in Kubo-sensei's works are all highly unique in appearance and personality, and I'm always deeply moved by them. Please let us know if there is anything you keep in mind at all times when designing characters!

A99.

I make an effort to try and avoid similar faces or personalities.

Q100.

2021.05.10

Is there any possibility that the BLEACH anime will be released to the world in the form of a full remake? I think that with current technology, it would be possible to depict the world-building more beautifully.

A100.

There are no such plans but I'd like to make that happen.

Translation footnotes:

×1. In Japan, Seiryū, Suzaku, Byakko and Genbu are four mythological creatures known as 'The Four Gods' originally from Chinese mythology. They represent a particular color and cardinal direction. There is also one more divine beast, a yellow dragon (aka the Yellow Emperor) - god to the center. 

[yatagarasuhonyaku]

Chapter of the Fireflies: Thoughts of the Barren Tree

Disclaimer: This is a fan-translation japanese-english of the original novel. This is a short story originally written for a japanese magazine and later compiled in one of the Ravens' Hundred Flowers books.

Blog version

For other translations, you can find them HERE

Timeline: Before the start of the series, during Yukiya's childhood

Characters (in order of relevance): Azusa, Fuyuki, Yukimasa, Yukiya, Yukichi, Yukima, Nazukihiko.

Synopsis: Yukiya and Yukichi go missing. As she waits for news on the children, Azusa reminisces about Yukiya's mother, Fuyuki, and the time they spent together.

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

It's recommended to read before the excerpts of Golden Raven I just published here, going over some details about Yukiya's childhood, before reading this short story.

Thoughts of the Barren Tree(1)

Taruhi Township Lord's second and third sons had disappeared.

It happened during the early spring, and the crepuscular breeze was still cold. The custom at the Township Lord's Residence was for everyone, from family members to its working officials, to gather to eat together, and Azusa, as the Lord's wife, was in charge of the kitchen. At that moment, she had been in the process of turning a mountain of vegetables into a tofu and white miso salad for dinner.

That is, until her eldest dashed in. He had been out playing until a moment ago.

“Chii(2) and Yukiya are gone!”

Her eldest Yukima, soon to be eleven at the time, was six years older than his youngest brother Yukichi—affectionately nicknamed Chii. Yukichi had been growing more and more independent as of late, which had translated into common fights with his caring eldest brother. He would end up running out of the house and every time, and as if following a script, their reliable middle brother would dutifully go bring him back. 

Yukima, however, was desperate. He explained that, this time, they had actually left way before midday. “It's taking them way too long! They didn't even come back for lunch. I've been searching for them, but I can't find them and…… Mother, what should we do?”

A squashed sheath of bamboo peeked out from the edge of her panicking eldest’s kimono—most likely containing rice balls for his brothers.

“It'll be fine. Now, calm down.”

“But!”

“They probably took a nap somewhere and slept through lunch, that’s all. They’ll be hungry, so I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

“Your Ladyship,” a woman meekly called out from the back. She must have been listening in on the conversation.

Azusa nodded to her. “But, that said, it is taking them way too long. So, let's get a snack and, if they aren't back by the time we're done, let's all go and search together. Don’t forget to patch things up properly with your brother when he's back, got it?”

She looked her son in the eyes.

“Yes,” Yukima nodded, his uncertainty apparent for everyone to see.

——Yet no matter how long they waited, the two never returned.

“Chii, where are you?”

“Chii, respond if you hear us!”

Azusa and the other women left the Residence first for the search, followed right after by the Township's officials, who joined the efforts as soon as they finished their dinners. Yet no matter how many places they searched, nobody answered their calls.

The Township Lord's Residence was high up in the mountains. There was a village and farms at its base, inhabited by the Township residents, with inns speckled throughout for any travelers traversing the area. Yet, when asked, the residents, who had been working the fields throughout the entire day, all had the same thing to say—they hadn't seen the Lord's sons during the entire day.

Night fell. It was pitch dark.

While it was comfortably warm when the sun was still out, the wind was still as harsh as winter. The cold would sneak down their necks and up their ankles, and the boys had left lightly dressed. Concern for their safety fully settled on everyone’s hearts.

“You should go back home for a bit and eat something,” Azusa’s husband and the Township’s Lord, Yukimasa, called out to her. She had been running around, shouting herself hoarse.

“But, my dear—”

“You know we all ate, but you didn’t have anything at all before leaving, right?”

“I'm fine. In these circumstances? I can go without eating for a while with no problem.”

“You may be alright, sure, but Yukima? Look, he's at his limit.” Yukimasa glanced in Yukima's direction. The boy, too tired to even speak, was following some officials around on the verge of tears. “With how things are looking, it may take a long time to find them. I've sent the other women back already to prepare a midnight snack, so take Yukima and go.”

Once her husband mentioned it, Azusa finally noticed the absence of the household's women. They had been searching with them up until just a moment ago. “...... Fine, I'll take Yukima back. For now.”

She may have backed down, but Azusa was sure that food wouldn’t go past her throat even if she tried. Meanwhile, her eldest, who had insisted on helping until his brothers were found, was unsurprisingly exhausted after an entire day of running around. Using the short break as an excuse, Azusa brought him to the Residence with her. Once there, he curled up instantly, falling asleep right at the entrance.

Azusa left for the kitchen to get someone to watch over him, fully planning to head back out herself afterwards. The moment her hand touched the sliding door to open it, however, she was interrupted by someone's voice on the other side.

“Not Chii, but the middle kid? I'm not surprised he has gotten himself lost like that. What’s the point in searching for him so desperately, anyway? I bet that brat is intentionally hiding away.”

“What do you mean?”

“That he’s probably having the time of his life, watching us run ourselves ragged searching for them. He's one twisted brat, after all,” the voice said. Her distaste for Azusa's son, obvious for anyone who listened in.

“Oh, stop,” another voice reprimanded across the door. 

“But it's the truth! He may put on that good boy facade of his in front of His Lordship and the others, but you know what he did the other day? He punched my son.”

“And wasn't that because your son disrespected the Young Lord? He reaped what he sowed,” the other voice retorted back, clearly fed up.

Azusa's heartbeat, however, remained on the rise. She had no idea that her second son—not Yukima or Yukichi, but her second—had been getting into those kinds of fights. It was news to her. He, who was always so calm and gentle, ever mediating his brothers’ squabbles without fail.

The woman, however, had no way of knowing that Azusa was actually listening in on their conversation, and so she kept on babbling and airing out her grudges. “Still! Her Ladyship's children are both such sweet kids, yet that kid is twisted to the core. It must be his mother’s influence, after all. He never apologized after the fight.”

“Shouldn’t you stop already? I mean, let me guess—you talk just like that at home too. No wonder your son ends up getting in trouble with the Lord’s children if that’s what he hears from you.”

“Exactly! It’s just payback at that point. No helping with that.”

Despite the others’ following airy laugh, the irritated voice remained unrelenting. “Still, why are Her Ladyship and His Lordship even willing to raise that brat themselves? I truly can't understand them. They should just send him to the Center and be done with the whole thing, everyone would come out winning. Lady Fuyuki must resent this too, I’m sure.”

——Azusa couldn't take it any longer.

She used all her strength to suddenly open the door. The startled women, who indeed hadn't realized her presence until then, fell silent immediately. “Your Ladyship.”

Panic was written all over the face of the woman who had been badmouthing her son just a moment ago. She knew the gravity of her mistake, and while Azusa knew she had to say something—both for her and her children's sake—she couldn’t. This indescribable feeling, this mix of anger and sadness, filled her and, by the time she finally spoke, it was about a different matter altogether.

“...... Yukima is sleeping out there. I'll be going out, so keep an eye on him,” Azusa quickly ordered them. She turned on her heels.

“Lady Azusa,” she heard a flustered voice call her from behind, but she didn’t have it in her to answer. To give them her attention any longer.

The Lord's second son—Yukiya. Azusa had raised him fully intending to give him equal treatment to Yukima and Yukichi. His now-deceased mother had been a princess of the High Nobility. One Azusa had personally served once upon a time.

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

They met about twenty years ago, back when Azusa was seven and Fuyuki thirteen. Fuyuki was the second princess of one of the Four Houses that formed the High Nobility, the one governing over the Northern territories. Her body had been weak from birth, however, and she was rumored to not have a long life to live.

Azusa’s father belonged to a family that had long served the Northern House. Her mother, on the other hand, came from a mid-ranking noble family affiliated not with the North, but the East. Azusa had grown up at her mother’s Residence in the Center, so she hadn’t had any chances to meet Fuyuki, who remained ever cloistered in the North’s Main Residence, face to face until then.

The chance to meet came during the New Year’s Greetings, as Azusa had been brought there by her family and Fuyuki had just so happened to be in good health that day.

“So, you're Azusa,” Fuyuki said as she sat on her bed and leaned on an armrest.

Her features themselves were unremarkable, hard to commit to memory. Her looks came from her father, but she lacked the confident aura granted by the man's strong body and magnanimity—her limbs and neck were abnormally thin, and her expression gloomy. The sound of labored, painful breaths came incessantly from her slightly opened lips and her soft-looking locks remained in a permanent bedhead, plastered to her pale cheeks.

Once the exchange of formalities was over, Fuyuki immediately took her chance to question Azusa. “Hey, tell me, do you think my elder sister will succeed in becoming His Highness Wakamiya’s wife?”

At the time, Mutsu no Hana, Fuyuki's older sister and the first princess of the North, was rumored as a candidate for the Crown Prince's legal wife. Apparently, it wasn't the first time Fuyuki had asked others this question, but everyone else had just answered with an ‘of course, your elder sister will undoubtedly be chosen’.

After some deep consideration, Azusa, on the other hand, said the following, “At my residence in the Center, everyone from the East is certain that the Eastern princess will be chosen. And I’m sure the Western people must think the same for their princess, that she'll be the one. So, to tell the truth, I can't tell how it’ll turn out.”

The second Fuyuki heard her words, she gave her a satisfied smile. One followed right after by an order. “I like you. Be my servant from now on.”

It completely came out of the blue for Azusa and her family, but the prestige of the offer was beyond question. The Northern Lord and Lady were keen on the idea as well, which led to the final decision to make Azusa Fuyuki's handmaiden surprisingly easy.

Still, Fuyuki's reputation, according to hearsay, wasn't what one would call good. The rumors talked about how inconsiderate and mean-spirited she was towards those under her. When people heard Azusa was going to become her handmaiden, they would tell her stories about ‘how she kicked out anyone the very second they offended her’. Half as a warning, half to scare her off. 

However, Fuyuki proved to be startlingly kind and friendly to Azusa once she got the chance to actually spend time with her. Still, even Azusa couldn't deny the fact that her reputation was, in part, well-deserved. Azusa once asked Fuyuki why she chose her of all people, when so many would love to serve a Northern princess like her.

“I hate idiots, you see,” Fuyuki proceeded to insult them all with no hesitation. The look in her eyes was unlike anything she usually showed to Azusa—cold, as if her eyes had frozen over, covered by winter’s ice. “The person those girls want to serve is the Main House's frail, pitiable little princess, not me. They won't ever act against my will, yes, but they won't ever sincerely speak their minds to me either. They’re all the kind of people that would gladly call a deer a horse(3) if you tell them so. There’s no worthwhile conversation to be had with them.”

Not even a hint of warmth could be felt in her voice. “I’m not going to live that long, so I'd rather spend my short time here with people I actually like and enjoy myself while it lasts. I flat out refuse to waste my precious life with a bunch of thoughtless idiots.”

——Azusa could feel the characteristic arrogance of the High Nobility dripping from every one of Fuyuki’s nonchalant words.

Fuyuki enjoyed reading to a degree that far surpassed what was expected of a princess of the nobility, and was particularly adept at board games. She would remember the contents of any book word for word after merely reading it once and stayed undefeated in all kinds of games—from Shogi, Go and dice games(4) to the Board Drills employed by warriors to learn war strategy. Azusa hadn't seen anyone beat Fuyuki even once in any of them.

Active military officials and Imperial Court officers would come over to visit from time to time and would challenge her while they were at it—they all came to share the same unanimous opinion about the princess’ strength.

While most believed that they intentionally lost against her in an attempt to curry favor with the Northern House without ever questioning that idea, Azusa had actually seen most of these men—who would go around bragging behind Fuyuki's back about how they ‘went easy on her’—drenched in cold sweat as they faced her on the board.

On the other hand, many other visitors would bring stories from the Center with them. Fuyuki was a woman of relatively few words but, thanks to that, they often carried a level of insight that completely escaped Azusa.

“The North is bad at politics, you know. They believe that getting a marriage with the Imperial Family will be enough by itself to bring the house prosperity—truly a hopeless bunch. The way our military excels, it would be easy for us to take over the Imperial Family’s position if we ever wanted to. But no, they would rather go and take a woman from the Red-Light District as the legal wife.”

The topic was her own parents, yet Fuyuki spoke as if it were somebody else's business altogether. “Did you know? Our accursed relatives wouldn't shut up, insisting that if we produced a princess beautiful enough, we could manage to marry her to the Imperial Family, so my father took my mother, the best prostitute at the Center's Red-Light District, as his legal wife. But it’s not like the ones in power out there are going to care about a princess’ face or personality…… Yet father, mother, my older brother and sister all pity me for being unable to join their silly games of playing house with our idiotic relatives. It's so stupid,” Fuyuki spat out.

It was true that Fuyuki's parents and siblings failed to genuinely understand her and her feelings. They would shower her in hina dolls and hairpins she wouldn't ever use, so it was obvious they didn't even have a basic grasp on her preferences and tastes. On the other hand, they would secretly call Azusa often, all to ask her just what kind of present Fuyuki would actually like.

Azusa didn't truly believe Fuyuki's parents were as indifferent to her as she herself thought, but Fuyuki had given up on all hope regarding her family.

“If only I had been a man—or at least had a body strong enough to give up my status as a woman, live as a man and become an official, I would have been capable of raising this Northern House to the very top of Yamauchi.”

By chance, some maidservants heard her lament and grimaced. Their thoughts—that she was dreaming about something beyond her—all over their faces. But Azusa believed that it wasn't necessarily some pipe dream. That, for Fuyuki, dominating the entire Imperial Court could have actually been possible in the right circumstances.

Fuyuki was a woman overflowing with talent, so having a body that wouldn't let her make use of it had to be vexing indeed. She was terribly intelligent, regardless of her environment's refusal to admit it, and, precisely because of that, also very lonely.

“...... It’s not like this body of mine can be expected to carry a child to term anyway. I’m sure I'll spend my entire life stuck here, achieving nothing, just to then die alone.” A whisper full of resignation. A few guests had left right before that—they had been gushing about how her older sister would surely marry into the Imperial Family.

How did the world look from that tiny window of hers? Surrounded by beautiful kimonos and rare souvenirs from the Center, with her mountains of books at odds with everything else in the room.

Azusa was one of the precious few who ever understood the gloomy Fuyuki and, over time, that gave her a sense of pride. To know this woman who was cold like ice even towards her own parents and siblings, yet proved to be incredibly thoughtful and caring for the innocent and those she came to trust even once.

She would laugh ever so quietly whenever a cat got lost inside or a baby was carried there for a visit. It reminded Azusa of the breeze in early spring, and she loved the gesture above anything else.

Fuyuki was, unquestionably, a twisted woman and hard to deal with—but there was more to her than that. At the time, Azusa had been desperate to be the first to break through the many barriers Fuyuki put around herself to keep everyone at bay. Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Fuyuki either, who would watch over her attempts as she would watch a kitten trying to climb up her lap, claws latching onto the train of her kimono.

Their days were always the same, yet warm and peaceful—or so Azusa thought.

——An opportunity for change arrived. Fuyuki was eighteen, and Azusa twelve.

Fuyuki's older brother, Genki, had gone on a visit to the Center and brought back some friends he had met there to the Northern Region. Soon, they proved to be a hopelessly irritating bunch. 

“Oh, poor princess! To only be capable of remaining cloistered here.”

“The Center is such a good place! We’ll tell you all about it.”

And so, these men forced them both to listen to their incessant rambles about how their families had made a fortune in the Center and how luxurious and glorious their life was. All while paying no mind to Fuyuki and Azusa's actual reactions in the slightest. 

While Fuyuki kept a sour silence, Azusa tried to, in a long-winded manner, redirect the conversation towards the Center's politics in Fuyuki’s place, but it was to no avail. One of them immediately redirected the conversation back to a summer design made by a clothes shop he patronized.

“...… What's the point of flashy clothes if the person wearing them is of no substance?” Fuyuki finally offered them a backhanded question from across the bamboo curtains, but it didn't stop them even for a second. It was admirable. In a way. 

“Truly so, truly so, it's just as you say! But appearances are very important in order to be recognized as a noble in the Center, you see.” They even further added, “The girls in the Center apply themselves to matters of fashion too and have quite the discerning eye for it. To be fashionable is a struggle. But, of course, these matters of mundane life have nothing to do with someone like you, Lady Fuyuki. I envy the purity of heart you possess.”

They somehow managed to put an end to the conversation afterwards and chase them away, but the mere thought of their stay at the Residence made Azusa miserable.

“Don't ever approach them again.”

“No worries, I don't want to deal with them either.”

Although they all had connections to the Northern House, their base of operations was in the Center. It was everyone’s first time coming to the North itself, so Azusa had thought that maybe they would go on a trip far away and, hopefully, they wouldn't come over again. Alas, she was too naive. 

From the following day onwards, instead of visiting the region and despite coming all the way to the countryside, they got a ball and chose to spend their time playing kemari(5), arguing it was a ‘popular pastime among Center Nobles’.

“They're truly stupid!”

“Very much so.”

Carefree, incessant laughter could be heard from the garden facing Fuyuki's room.

“They should just return home already if this is how they’re going to spend their time,” Azusa argued but, just as she did so, someone's alarmed voice interrupted them.

“Careful!” 

Wondering what was going on, they turned to its direction. That very second, something big flew through the bamboo curtains, ripping them off, and into the room. They both screamed as it bounced off the wall, knocked a mirror sitting on the nearby cupboard to the floor and bounced away. Not knowing what had happened just yet, Azusa stood there, frozen. Before even realizing it, she and Fuyuki had come to cling to each other.

——A white kemari ball noisily rolled on the floor, still covered in traces of being kicked around. 

Still stunned, they saw a panicking face peek through the now curtainless handrails. “Are you alright!?”

A young, tanned man with sharp features appeared among the light. He wasn’t wearing any makeup, yet his eyebrows were so well-shaped they looked as if drawn on along with a bright gaze that denoted honesty. He was strongly built, the well-defined muscles of his upper arms visible thanks to the rolled up sleeves.

The moment Azusa came back to herself, she stood in front of Fuyuki to protect her. That done, she yelled, “Who do you think you are in front of!? Stand back!”

The young man's eyes widened for a second and, having perhaps realized who he was in front of, his face lost all color and he prostrated right in place. “Forgive the discourtesy, my lady.”

That matter solved, Azusa, worried about Fuyuki, turned around in a fluster to check on her.

“Lady Fuyuki, Lady Fuyuki! Are you alright?” Azusa's master was stuck in place, looking as if her soul had left its mortal coil. She watched the young man kneeling on the ground intently. “Lady Fuyuki?”

Azusa, concerned, called out her name, and Fuyuki seemed to return to her senses. “Ah, yes, I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine.”

“That's a relief,” Azusa let out a sigh and only then faced the young man with a fierce look in her eyes. “May I know what happened there?”

“I have no excuse to give, my most sincere apologies. I, well, kicked the ball and then…”

Azusa took a better look behind him. The Center noblemen were there, cowering further away in the garden as they watched. With the matter of the previous day's discourtesy added to it, Azusa couldn't take it any longer. “I'll be informing His Lordship of this. You'll get—”

“Wait, Azusa,” Fuyuki intervened before Azusa could finish speaking. “It's true that they made a mess of the curtains, but nobody got hurt and the mirror didn't break. Let's end this amicably.” Her voice was feeble, completely unlike her usual self. Still disconcerted by Fuyuki's behavior, who was completely shrunken in on herself, Azusa begrudgingly backed off.

“If you say so, Lady Fuyuki……” She could hear the young man breathe a sigh of relief. “Lady Fuyuki may have forgiven you, but that doesn't change the fact that you committed a terrible discourtesy. We'll consider the matter settled, but better make sure that there won’t be a second time.”

“Yes, of course,” the young man nodded earnestly.

Then, Azusa suddenly noticed something. Now that she was looking at his face, there was something different about him compared to the pale-faced bunch she had met just the other day. “You aren't from the Center, right? Who are you and from where?”

“Sorry for the late introduction. I'm Yukimasa of Taruhi, the eldest son of the Taruhi Township Lord. I came here today accompanying my father. I then received an invitation to play with them and—”

“Lord Yukimasa……” An absentminded voice muttered, much to Azusa's astonishment once she ascertained the source. It was Fuyuki, her cheeks flushed red as she wore an expression Azusa hadn't seen on her ever before.

That very evening, when the sun had set and it was already dark outside:

“Lady Azusa.”

She had been taking away Fuyuki’s tea set, walking through the hallway, when, much to her surprise, someone called her from the garden. “You're the one from today.”

“Yes, I'm sorry for what happened. I'm Yukimasa of Taruhi.”

“So, what brings you here this time?”

“I came to apologize all over again. Uhm, I'm not sure if this would qualify as a fitting gift, but here.” He bashfully offered her the present in question, which troubled Azusa as she tried to figure out how to respond.

——What should she say in this situation?

While Azusa was tempted to lean into her own irritation and tell him she never wanted to see him again, she ultimately restrained herself out of consideration for Fuyuki. “...... Aren't you the eldest son of Taruhi Township? What are you doing, coming here secretly from the garden?”

“Oh, true! My apologies. What a blunder.”

“Come over again, properly this time. I'll let you pass to meet Lady Fuyuki.”

Fuyuki hadn't spoken a word since the day's events, but once Azusa told her Yukimasa was going to come over, she let out a tiny gasp. She looked like a young girl all over again as she clung to Azusa. “What shall I do, Azusa? There’s nothing weird with what I’m wearing, right?”

Fuyuki’s hair was soft-looking, but prone to frizzing and curling. Azusa smiled wryly as she saw Fuyuki smoothing her hair down in a panic, and took a comb to slightly fix it.

“It'll be fine. Besides, he's coming over to apologize, just act with confidence and it'll all work out, Lady Fuyuki.” Azusa had thought the news would make Fuyuki happy, but she never expected her to get so flustered.

A while later, Yukimasa came for a visit. He knelt at the other side of the bamboo curtains, bowing his head. “Allow me to apologize again for what happened today. It was my mistake and I’m terribly sorry for it.”

“That’s enough,” Fuyuki replied with a voice so soft it was barely audible.

It looked like her lady would be incapable of speaking any further herself, so Azusa casually intervened to help. “Still, why was there a need to hit the ball with such strength? Was that your first time playing kemari, Lord Yukimasa?”

“No, that's not what happened. They were treating me like some ignorant country bumpkin, saying they would teach me some techniques from the Center and it really annoyed me, so…….”

He seemed too deeply ashamed of himself to go on, but it was still enough to get the gist of what had happened between them. Azusa could understand well how he had felt, so her attitude softened a little. “You have my condolences for that.”

“I'm deeply sorry for causing you princesses such inconvenience. It may not be enough of an apology, but please take this offering.” As he finished speaking, Yukimasa retrieved something from behind him. Fuyuki gasped at the sight.

A light flickered within the soft darkness of the room, as if it was slowly breathing. It was fainter than your usual fatuous fire lamp(6), and its color was more vivid. Yukimasa’s apology gift took the form of a stick-shaped something, shining with a beautiful green light.

“What's that?”

“A firefly.”

“I'm aware there's a firefly inside, but…… what's it trapped inside of? A plant?”

“You may not be familiar with it, princess, but it's a green onion head.”

“A green onion head!” Fuyuki opened her eyes in surprise. Such a silly, inappropriate name for something so beautiful. “I have seen people use bellflowers(7) before, but to use green onions……” Incapable of restraining herself any longer, Fuyuki started to laugh. “I've seen something good today. It's truly charming and wonderful, but I've already enjoyed myself enough. Please, let the firefly go.”

“As you wish.” Yukimasa took off the plug that kept the firefly from escaping. It wriggled for a moment before taking off, fluttering out of the room as if swept up by a breeze.

Fuyuki's expression as she watched Yukimasa depart left an impression on Azusa. She had never seen that on her before. To think she could make a face like that—It was refreshing. Azusa may have felt slightly left behind and lonely, but that didn’t worry her in the slightest. Not when her chest felt so unbearably tight.

——What a lovely person Fuyuki actually was.

Taken by a genuine desire to do something to help, Azusa went to visit the Northern Lord and his wife to inform them herself: ‘Lady Fuyuki has someone she likes’.

The marriage arrangement itself proceeded very smoothly.

The Northern Lord had been quite enthusiastic about the idea once he learned his daughter had fallen in love with the man at first sight, and Taruhi's Township Lord, who had been wanting to retire, was quite enthused too with the support they could gain from the Northern House if his son married Fuyuki.

“Thank you, Azusa. I got this because of you.”

Fuyuki had been the very picture of happiness and beauty before departing for Taruhi, and Azusa's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. “Please, be happy, Lady Fuyuki.”

Azusa couldn’t follow Fuyuki to Taruhi as one of her maids due to the terms set for the marriage. As a result, while Fuyuki became Yukimasa's legal wife and moved to Taruhi, Azusa went on to work in the Center.

‘It’s you, I’m sure you’ll find a marriage partner soon enough.’ Those had been Fuyuki’s words before departing, but reality proved to be the opposite—Azusa wasn't blessed with many proposals, if any at all. 

Time passed. Much like Fuyuki once predicted, in the end, her older sister didn't get to marry into the Imperial Family and instead joined a noble family affiliated with the North. Genki’s son was born as well, and so it became Azusa’s job to take care of the children at the North's Center Residence.

Then, all of a sudden, the Northern Lady came to her with an unbelievable proposal.

“——You want me to become a concubine for Taruhi's Lord?”

Five long years had passed since Fuyuki married and left for Taruhi. Fuyuki and she had stayed in contact, sending letters back and forth from time to time ever since, but she had stopped answering a short while ago. At the time, Azusa had been fearing that Fuyuki's condition had worsened significantly.

Oryou no Kata, Fuyuki’s birth mother and the Northern Lord's legal wife, pressed Azusa with a solemn look in her eyes. “Fuyuki is faced with a great dilemma back in Taruhi. Taruhi's Township Lord remains childless even now and it fills her with shame to know it is her fault.”

The Northern Lord himself spoke right after, “Please, can't you consider accepting? As those who made the arrangement in the first place, we feel just as responsible for the situation as her. Besides, Fuyuki herself has said that if a concubine is necessary, she would at least want her to be you.”

“Has Lady Fuyuki truly said that?”

“Yes, that she did.”

To tell the truth, it was a request from the Northern Lord. It wasn't like Azusa had a choice to begin with.

——However, something felt off about it.

Fuyuki had been deeply, wholeheartedly in love with Yukimasa. Would she ever truly suggest her husband take a concubine? And yet, Fuyuki was also a terribly intelligent woman. For her to worry about Taruhi Township and consider the problems a lack of heirs could bring—no matter how painful it could be to do so—and choose Azusa as the concubine wasn't an absurd idea either.

Azusa sent her yet another letter, but no reply ever came back.

She was then summoned to the Northern House’s Main Residence, and so left the Center. There, Yukimasa finally came to visit her personally. The young Lord of Taruhi was completely earnest with her.

“Fuyuki's position in Taruhi is a difficult one because of the lack of heirs. I've been somehow protecting her up to now, but the anxiety of it all seems to be affecting her health as of late. To be honest, Fuyuki isn't even in a condition to take care of the house's affairs. Couldn't you become my concubine just to help her? Even if you’re to be a mere concubine, I'll treasure you as much as Fuyuki.”

“Could I first meet Fuyuki at least?”

“That may be difficult, sadly her condition is bad right now. But I'm sure that, if you were to agree, her depression will soon fade away and you'll be able to meet in the near future.”

And so, partly moved by Yukimasa's plea, Azusa became his wife. They had to build new chambers for her in Taruhi Township, so Azusa was told to stay at the Northern House's Main Residence but, just as he had first promised, Yukimasa visited her with fervor. Soon after, Azusa became pregnant with astonishing ease.

The Northern Lord and his wife were as overjoyed as if she were their own daughter.

“Fuyuki is overjoyed with the news too!” Oryou no Kata said to her.

“Is that truly so……?” Azusa was worried. She hadn't gotten even one single chance to talk with Fuyuki since she had arrived back in the North. She patted her own belly, the swelling still imperceptible.

Oryou no Kata, however, dismissed her concerns with a merry laugh. “Of course she's happy! Her health may not be good at the moment, but how about visiting her after the child's birth?”

To give a boy a name that included an animal’s kanji was said to help them grow up healthy, so once her son was born several months later, they named him after the temples’ sacred horses—Yukima(8). Azusa still remained at the Northern House's Main Residence at that point and that’s where she began to raise her first child. Yukimasa would fervently visit them both and the Northern House had even prepared broodmaids(9) for her, so it was very much a manageable effort.

The biggest source of trouble came after Yukima finally first took human form—he would cry constantly during the night. Azusa was left seeking whatever rest she could get whenever he stopped. She had been napping one day, lying down by Yukima's side, when a noise woke her up. It wasn’t the usual bawling—there was quite a ruckus outside. “What’s going on?”

“Lady Azusa, you must stay here!” A maid with a stern look stopped her, but Azusa could still hear a woman's high-pitched voice and the sounds intertwined with it—painful-sounding coughs.

“It can't be! Is Lady Fuyuki here?”

Just as Azusa took to the hallway with her son in her arms, however, Oryou no Kata appeared on her way to Azusa's room. Once again, she was stopped from going any further. “Azusa, please, leave this to us.”

“But!”

“It's fine. This is an order, go back to your room,” Oryou no Kata declared with the same resolute attitude. The woman left her behind and went outside as the maids pressed Azusa to return, but Azusa remained stuck in place.

“You traitor! I won't ever, ever forgive you!”

——Her legs wouldn't move. She was shaken by the other's incredible anger.

There was no doubt about it. That was Fuyuki's voice.

“What's the problem? Why the ruckus?” Oryou no Kata said all fed up, as if she were persevering through a chat with an unreasonable, irrational child. “Calm down and listen to me well. Don't you see, Fuyuki? This all happened because of your negligence. It should have been you who suggested your husband get a concubine in the first place. If you can't fulfill the bare minimum of your job as a Township Lord's wife, what option do you have left but to make someone else do it in your place?”

Faced by her apparently troubled mother, Fuyuki let out a cry so pained she may as well have puked blood, “Don't you screw with me! Then you shouldn't have given me away in freaking marriage to begin with!”

“That and this are different matters altogether. We did it because we care about you. We wanted you to get the chance to become a good wife in Taruhi, and you wasted our well intentioned efforts. On top of that, doing something as irrational as not accepting any concubines is absolutely inadmissible.”

“What do you mean by irrational? What do you mean you did it because you cared about me? It’s because of my reputation, isn’t it? Everyone, everyone just treats me like an idiot…… I'm not your freaking doll!”

Azusa's arms trembled, Yukima still cradled within them. She wanted to explain herself, to talk with her; but Fuyuki's thus far unheard screams of anger terrified her. She was incapable of moving, no matter how much she tried.

“I won't forgive you. I won't, not even after my death. No matter what!” Fuyuki yelled again. Then, Azusa heard as her coughing fits got significantly worse and the sound of her voice was unwillingly cut short. Her anger had been so great that, from the sound of it, the blood had rushed to her head and made her lose consciousness. 

Oryou no Kata ordered the maidservants to carry Fuyuki to a separate building. Only then, she noticed the paralyzed Azusa. A wry smile appeared on her lips. “She's such a troubled woman. To be so selfish, only thinking about herself after all this time…… though I guess it's also my fault for indulging and coddling her…… That's why I, as her mother, said what was her duty to say in her place.”

Oryou no Kata sighed to herself.

“—It was all a lie, wasn't it? That Lady Fuyuki wanted me to become a concubine.”

Oryou no Kata didn't answer that. “You may think me cruel, but there was no alternative. Not considering her position.”

Azusa had once heard that Oryou no Kata, being an ex-prostitute, had struggled immensely back when she first came to the North. People had recognized her as part of the nobility—as a person—only after she finally gave birth to two daughters and a male heir.

Fuyuki already had a bad reputation among the maids as things stood. In order to be recognized as a nobleman's wife, there were two requisites—to act as the leader and head of the women under her service and in doing so manage the household, and to give birth to an heir. It wasn't odd for Oryou no Kata to believe that her daughter couldn’t afford to be selfish when she was failing at both.

But—was it truly parental love? Was it sympathy born of the similarity of her daughter's circumstances with her own struggles during the early days of her marriage? 

No, it couldn't be either of those. Azusa was sure of that much.

“She already got the biggest fortune of them all—to share a life with the man she loves. What else could she possibly even want?” Oryou no Kata quietly wondered. Perhaps that’s it, Azusa, her mind still numb, thought to herself. Perhaps she had deeply loved once, the target someone different from the Northern Lord. “Azusa, you don't have to worry about any of this. Just focus on raising Yukima into a good man. Understood?”

Oryou no Kata’s words were full of fondness, yet Azusa couldn't bring herself to answer. Her arms just tightened around the now crying Yukima.

“Why did you lie to me?” Azusa pressed Yukimasa for answers, finally pushing him to the point where he blurted out his true feelings.

“I haven’t ever once wished to have that as my wife.”

“What……?”

“I already had a marriage proposal going before the Northern Lord approached me—with you. You were my desired wife from the very beginning,” Yukimasa explained with a strained voice. “But then Fuyuki interfered. I rejected her at first, told them I wanted you again and again. Did you think I found it all a timely offer because I was in the middle of the Township inheritance problems? I wanted to be recognized out of my own effort. I had no interest in using my wife's status to do so. I refused, but how could I stick with that when the Northern Lord himself went as far as to bow his head to me?”

‘My daughter doesn't have long to live, so please, at least give her this’. Those were, apparently, the Northern Lord's words back then. “In exchange, he promised that, when the time came, he would recommend you as my wife without fail.”

Azusa trembled. She remembered how her marriage proposals had abruptly died down. “You——Did you truly, genuinely think I would be glad to hear that?”

Yukimasa recoiled for a second, but it wasn't enough for him to take back his words. “...... You should have been my wife from the start. Besides, deep in her heart, Fuyuki looks down on me as well. She went as far as to berate me, saying I used her to prosper in life. Just how much does that princess have to ridicule me before it's enough!?”

“That's wrong, that's not what's happening!” Awkward and tactless as it may be, Azusa had no doubt Fuyuki had acted out in devotion.

“Whatever. The one I loved from the very beginning was you, not Fuyuki.”

——Fuyuki was an intelligent woman.

She must have noticed Yukimasa's actual feelings, Azusa was sure. Just how vexing it must have been for her, how much she must have resented everything. Everyone, every single one of them, talked on and on, insisting they acted for Fuyuki's sake, yet, in the end, none of them ever understood how Fuyuki felt, not even once—less so felt any shame for that.

Azusa almost asked, ‘then what about Fuyuki's feelings?’, but she couldn't do it. Aghast, she was faced with the fact that the main culprit of it all—the one who stomped all over Fuyuki’s heart—was none other than herself.

Afterwards, Azusa heard that Fuyuki flew into a rage once she was brought back to Taruhi. ‘I don't mind if I die, I want a son of my own even if that takes my life.’

Nobody could stop her.

Even her parents’ attempts to restrain her and Yukimasa persuading her proved completely meaningless. The rumors went as far as to say that, in the end, she had put a knife to her own neck and virtually threatened Yukimasa into sharing a bed with her. The only one to know the truth of the matter, however, was Yukimasa, who would only grimace whenever her name came up.

Time passed and, with one single egg, Fuyuki’s body reached its limit. Nobody blamed Yukimasa for it, not even the Northern Lord. A broodmaid incubated the egg, from which a boy hatched out—and so the second son of Taruhi’s Township Lord, Yukiya, was born.

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

“Don't worry so much, Azusa. Everyone is searching for them. We'll find both Yukichi and Yukiya soon enough.” Yukimasa said in a light tone. He must have decided to attempt to calm down his wife, who had just returned to their Residence with tottering steps. “Still, given the situation, it may well truly be Yukiya running away from home. It does sound like something he would do, doesn’t it?”

It was said in jest but, given the circumstances, it proved to have the polar opposite effect.

“Why are you so cold to Yukiya!? Don't you care about him?” Azusa asked as she was about to cry. Yukimasa opened his eyes wide in surprise.

“Don't say that! Yukiya is my son too, of course, isn't it a given that I care about him? But, well, from time to time, he has this look in his eyes—he may be my own son, but I can't figure out what he's thinking……” As her husband stuttered, Azusa was struck by a realization.

——What had Yukimasa so scared was Fuyuki.

Yukiya greatly resembled her, both in appearance and intelligence. He could surely feel how his father and the women thought about him. After all, Yukima and Yukichi didn't ever have that look Yukiya sometimes had in his eyes—as if he was testing people out.

Back when Yukiya was still barely two years old, they had been faced with a choice—whether they should adopt him out to the Northern House, or raise him themselves. Everyone loudly insisted to them—’don’t you feel sorry about Fuyuki's death? He’ll be left in such an awkward position if he stays with his stepmother. Wouldn't it be better for everyone involved to give him up as soon as possible?’ Sweet, sweet temptation.

Yet, in the end, Azusa rejected the offer accompanying their honeyed words. Those who wished to adopt Yukiya were, ultimately, all just interested in his status and his status alone. Azusa couldn't let Yukiya go, not once she heard Yukiya call her ‘mother’ and less so once she remembered those people's past behavior, which she witnessed when she was still serving Fuyuki.

Back then, she chose to raise Yukiya as her own son. She believed she had so far kept to that resolution, and didn't ever regret her choice. 

But, had that truly been the best for Yukiya?

——Was she actually fit for the role of his mother?

“Lady Azusa.”

Azusa had walked away from Yukimasa, incapable of handling it anymore, when one of the women from before called out to her. She was the wife of one of the Township officials and had once been one of Fuyuki's maids, sent over to Taruhi from the Northern House’s Main Residence.

“Uhm, well, you see, there's something I've never been able to share with you, Lady Azusa. It's, well, about Lady Fuyuki……”

“About Lady Fuyuki?”

After a short moment of hesitation, the woman gathered her resolve and nodded.

She had wanted to talk about that time when, after hearing the rumors about Azusa giving birth to a child, Fuyuki had forced her way to the Northern House's Main Residence. The woman confessed that, before Fuyuki’s meeting with Oryou no Kata, she had first visited Azusa's chambers.

“But you were asleep, Lazy Azusa…… and the Young Lord—Yukima was there, resting by your side as well.”

The woman had been fretting at the time, worrying whether Fuyuki would hurt Yukima. However, that couldn't be further from the truth of what happened. “The Lady, she held Yukima in her arms—and she smiled.”

“......What did you just say?”

“She smiled. Lady Fuyuki smiled,” the woman repeated, her own disbelief all over her face. “It was such a gentle, soft smile too. I hadn't ever seen her make such a face before.”

Apparently, Fuyuki didn't say anything after that. She remained deep in thought for quite a while and then went through the trouble of exiting the Main Residence and returning through the main door. That’s when she started that commotion. “I don't know what she was thinking when she did that. She was so mean to us, so I do believe she may have actually intended to give you a piece of her mind. But, at the very least, I don't think she was genuinely angry……”

Fuyuki, who flew into a rage after giving Yukima such a sweet smile. Having been a witness to such a radical change, the woman had never really been quite convinced by Fuyuki's apparent rage.

“Whenever someone bad-mouths her, I can't help but to remember that one smile…… I can't understand it.” The woman looked up at Azusa. “I wonder, Lady Azusa—why did she smile like that back then?”

The trees on the slope found at the back of the Residence had just begun to sprout leaves and still remained a grim spectacle. The pale moon peeked through their naked branches, spread out like arms through the sky. It was through them that Azusa walked alone, deep in thought.

Was Fuyuki truly the kind of woman who would waste her own life out of anger and jealousy? The kind to do something that would bring happiness to nobody?

She had been a twisted person—to say she had a good personality would be quite the lie. That said, no matter what situation she found herself in, she had proven herself to be cool-headed. She wasn't the kind of woman to act over something she felt in the heat of the moment, to let herself be thrown into despair just like that. It all must have all been, in her own way, calculated. 

Maybe——she simply wanted a child of her own?

Perhaps she had indeed been seething with anger at first, but it vanished the moment she saw Yukima. Fuyuki had been the kind to glare coldly whenever the maids were noisy, yet show not even the slightest disgust towards a bawling, inconsolable infant. She liked children—or so Azusa believed. In fact, thinking back, Azusa being six years younger had perhaps played a part in why Fuyuki had been so terribly kind to her.

However, it was clear that if she had asked for a child of her own in a normal manner, everyone would have opposed the idea. Fuyuki had surely long accepted the fact that Yukimasa didn't like her and figured out that he would listen to the Northern House's opinion on the matter. In short, he would never put Fuyuki's health at risk.

Hence, she pretended to be furious.

She flew into a fake rage, claiming that she would kill herself if they didn't let her do it. In doing so, she forced those around her to give in—left them with no alternative. She had to be fully aware that it would murder her reputation and would cause no small amount of trouble afterwards.

She must have wanted that child terribly.

It may be conceited of Azusa to think so, but maybe, just maybe, Fuyuki did so because it was Azusa who took the position of concubine. After all, Fuyuki hated her noble relatives. She would never willingly entrust her precious son to them and it had been on Azusa as Yukimasa’s wife to choose if she wanted to raise Yukiya herself or not.

That there was an element of payback to it was clear. Azusa didn't doubt for a second that Fuyuki had been furious but, if her own predictions were accurate and she wanted a child more than anything, Fuyuki wouldn't ever do anything as stupid as letting such petty feelings get in her way. To ruin everything.

Fuyuki was cool-headed, twisted and mean-spirited, yet she was—more than anything else—a deeply, deeply loving woman. She must have loved her son and trusted Azusa.

——‘If it's Azusa, she'll surely treat my child right, right?’

It had taken her quite a long time, but Azusa felt like she had finally gotten to hear Fuyuki’s true feelings.

‘Please, take good care of my child.’

“Yes, that's true, Lady Fuyuki. He's our son,” Azusa said out loud as she walked on. “That's why, please, Lady Fuyuki, please protect Yukiya and Yukichi. Bring them back home safe and sound.”

Just after she said that, Azusa felt the trees sway. There was, however, no wind anywhere. The hazy moon among the treetops softly twisted as if in response to the strangeness. A second later, its pale, blurred edges became sharper and its light brighter. A dark shadow was floating right there, its back against the massive full moon.

Azusa focused her sight on it for a while. She gulped.

——The shadow was, in truth, an unbelievably large bird.

She had never seen one as gigantic before—not even at the Northern House's Main Residence, where the most renowned horses of the country all gathered. She was busy trying to determine whether it could even be considered the same race as her, when she noticed it was coming in her direction, slowly approaching the Residence.

It landed with ease in front of the petrified Azusa. The wind raised by its flapping winds made her hair dance in the air. After watching it up close, Azusa could confirm that it actually was an incredibly large crow, easily about three times larger than your average Yatagarasu. Its beak was the color of black steel and very sharp.

She should have been terrified at the sight, yet, strangely enough, she wasn’t.

It looked at Azusa with sparkly crystal-like eyes, its feathers so glossy they shone in purples and lapis lazuli blue even under the faint moonlight. Even putting its size aside, there was something different about it—the atmosphere enveloping it was just different from your average Yatagarasu.

Azusa was looking up in astonishment when, moments later, she noticed the crow was holding something in its beak. What could it be?

——It looked like a basket.

Just as she realized that much, the giant crow gently placed the item on the ground.

“Are they your sons?” a surprisingly high voice asked her. He sounded like a mere boy.

Azusa took a better look when asked. Within the basket, made of flowering wisteria vines, were her sleeping sons. “Yukiya—! Yukichi!”

She ran to them, hanging onto the basket. There was Yukiya, covered in mud from head to toe, hugging his little brother tight. Yukichi’s eyes were bright red and puffy but, as far as Azusa could see, he was completely unharmed.

“Don't worry. I made them sleep for a bit but they should wake up soon. I'm sorry for everything,” the massive crow spoke in clear Words of Within(10). He then bowed his head. “I did such a sloppy job with mending the Barrier that the children tripped into the Tear.”

His explanation, on the other hand, made no sense to Azusa. She looked at him with her mouth left open as the crow tried again, “What I’m trying to say is that these children got caught in a place they couldn’t escape by themselves. It was my fault so, please, don’t scold them for it.”

Azusa, having fully forgotten herself by that point, nodded. “Are you—a messenger from Lord Yamagami?”

“...… Ah, well, something like that.”

“Thank you for saving my sons.”

“It was my fault in the first place. There may be a chance these children and I meet again in the future, they’re good kids. Please, raise them well.” With those words, the crow flapped his wings again and took off. Once more, the moon twisted ever so softly and, in a matter of seconds, the massive crow vanished, melting away into the sky as if it were all an illusion.

Azusa remained frozen for a short while. However, just moments after the crow disappeared, she saw Yukiya starting to stir. “Yukiya, Yukiya! Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Mother……?”

Azusa knew it wasn’t right to scold him, yet she couldn’t quite help herself. “You idiot! Where did you even go? Do you have any injuries? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine—”

“Ah, I’m so glad you’re safe.” Azusa tightly hugged the still dazed Yukiya.

But their hug didn’t last long, as Yukiya came to himself and screamed, “And Yukichi?!”

Yukichi awoke right then and there, perhaps prompted by his brother yelling out his name. He seemed just as utterly confused, but the moment he recognized Azusa’s face, his daze was replaced by bawling. “Mother!”

“Yukichi!”

“I’m sorry!” As his little brother latched onto Azusa, Yukiya naturally moved back a little. “I tried to come back after a bit, but I couldn’t find the path I had used for the way out.”

“I see.”

“But why? I mean, this is the back of the Township Lord’s Residence, isn’t it?” Yukiya, who had figured out where they were after taking in their surroundings, looked utterly baffled at the situation. “Why did we get lost……?”

“You must have snuck into Lord Yamagami’s garden. Still, you were a good older brother and took care of Yukichi, didn’t you?” Pointedly ignoring the fact that Yukiya had moved back in some form of restraint, Azusa squeezed the boy close. “Thank you.”

Yukiya’s furrowed brow relaxed completely. His expression at the moment was no different from the one he once wore as an infant. “...... It actually was… scary.”

“It was, wasn’t it? It had to be so, so scary.”

“I wanted to return but I couldn’t! Yukichi was crying and I was so hungry—”

“And yet you still protected your brother, didn’t you? You were such a strong boy. I’m proud of you, very well done.”

The second Azusa said so, Yukiya unexpectedly burst into tears. He wept just as loudly as Yukichi had.

“I’m hungry! I want to go back home! I’m going home!” Yukiya yelled between sobs, his face completely red. It was such a shock, Yukichi’s own tears stopped. It had been such a long time since Yukiya had last cried like that, now that Azusa thought about it—so unlike the eldest and the youngest, who would fight and cry over any little thing.

“I’m sorry, Yukiya. Let’s go back.” Yukiya had to endure so much over the years, Azusa realized. She felt so apologetic but, at least, if he was still capable of crying out like that, there was still something to be done about it. 

Having heard Yukiya’s cries, people rushed from the Residence in a panic. At the head of the group was Yukimasa, sprinting towards them as fast as he could.

“Yukiya, Yukichi! Where did you go!? We were worried sick,” her husband yelled with obvious relief. Her eldest too was right behind him, running and tumbling down towards them.

There was still time. It may never be smooth sailing, but Yukiya was still her son and they were all a family. Azusa, more than anything, was glad for realizing that much before it was too late.

Legends said that Yatagarasu went on to serve under Yamagami after death. Perhaps Fuyuki now worked for Yamagami and, having realized things couldn’t remain like that, had given her a chance to realize her mistake.

——The wind blew between the trees. It sounded like Fuyuki’s gentle laugh.

—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—---

1: The original title (ふゆきにおもう, or Fuyuki Ni Omou) is an interesting one. Fuyuki's name is translated in the title because I find the imagery of the barren tree extremely important to Fuyuki's story. Fuyuki is also a Karina, or alias, not her birth name. Much like Asebi at the start of the story, this is a name that was given to her later in her life. It’s very purposely selected and so this choice is made with the intention of highlighting it. As for the “Thoughts of”, おもう is very interesting. おもう can be 思う and also 想う, as in, ‘to feel (emotions)’, which used in this kind of context mostly means ‘to care’ or ‘to love’. 

2: Yukichi’s nickname among the family is チー坊, Chiibou, with the bou or 坊 being a kanji for a young boy and used in words like 坊や or 坊主, both meaning “boy” with different connotations, or 坊っちゃん, which is a relatively affectionate way to talk about the young son of a good family.

3: This is a wordplay used by Fuyuki. The word idiot, baka (馬鹿), in japanese is an ateji: essentially, it was given kanji that fit it pronunciation-wise but not meaning-wise. The two kanji? “Horse” (Ba) and “deer” (Ka). She’s layering the insults.

4: The narration is referring specifically to the gambling game that Wakamiya played in the Ravine back in The Raven Doesn’t Choose His Master.

5: Kemari refers to a ball game practiced in Japan since ancient times, a form of primitive football. It was indeed historically popular among courtiers and people of the nobility at the time.

6: Fatuous Fire Lamps refer to the type of lamp Yukiya uses when going into the cave during Golden Raven. In short, they use 鬼火 (Fatuous Fire), which within the story’s lore consume sugar to light up instead and don’t risk burning your house if left unchecked or broken. This makes lamps using Fatuous Fires desirable and expensive—they’re a common sight in nobles’ houses and in places where the risk of a fire would be too great like libraries and archives.

7: Bellflowers have been actually used in Japan as temporal ‘cages’ for fireflies, to the point their japanese name is 蛍袋 (hotarubukuro), meaning ‘firefly bag.’ Green onion heads aren’t nearly as popular an option as far as I know, but being empty inside makes them suitable for the purpose too.

8: Yukima (雪馬) and Yukichi (雪雉) both use, as said here, the kanji of animals. The Ma in Yukima means horse and the Chi in Yukichi green pheasant. Yukiya is the exception, as the kanji of his name isn’t that of an animal and is instead inherited from his grandfather (Gen’ya or 玄哉). One could argue that 哉 being part of the word for a japanese male sparrowhawk (悦哉) kind of keeps the theming, but the animal is the meaning itself of the kanji for both the Ma and the Chi, but not the Ya.

9: The original term for Broodmaid is a pun. The word for nursemaid is 乳母, or ‘uba’, and uses the kanji for milk and for mother respectively. In this context, 乳, or milk, is read ‘u.’ There’s another kanji that can also be read ‘u’—羽, feather. And so, the women who help incubate and take care of a noblewoman’s child in this setting are also ‘uba’ but written 羽母. Hence I went with ‘broodmaid’ as an adaptation of ‘nursemaid’.

10: As alluded to here, the language spoken in Yamauchi is referred to as 御内詞 (Miuchikotoba) by the Yatagarasu. The “Mi” is essentially a prefix showing respect to the “uchi” which is the uchi from Yamauchi and means “inside”, and finally the “kotoba” isn’t using the usual kanji (言葉) but 詞, which also means words but it’s used more in the context of poetry or music lyrics. Words of Within is my take on the idea, as it mostly respects the spirit of the original while being understandable.

[maniculum]

Do you have any books or sources for learning Olde English? I want to write a medieval-based story but I don't know how to write the characters speak the language.

That depends -- when you say "Olde English" do you mean Old English, like pre-1066 English? That's pretty far from modern English and it's unlikely that readers will be able to understand it easily. If that's what you're looking for, the texts I was taught with are:

Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader

Quirk's Old English Grammar

Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader

They're all from a while back -- and, as you can see, some use the now-deprecated term "Anglo-Saxon" -- so you can find older editions free in the public domain. More recent revised editions can generally be found in cheap paperback form. I believe there are some more modern textbooks that are quite good, but I haven't looked at them, and I don't know how affordable they are.

I have also consulted with Zoe (@meanderingmedievalist) on this, and she recommends Baker's Introduction to Old English, as well as the related resource Old English Aerobics:

The reason there are textbooks for this, though, is because you genuinely have to treat it as a foreign language. It's very different from modern English. As a sample, here's the beginning of Beowulf:

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon hu ða æþelingas      ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing      sceaþena þreatum monegum maegþum      meodosetla ofteah egsode eorle syððan aerest wearð feasceaft funden he þæs frofre gebad weox under wolcnum weorðmyndum þah oð þæt him aeghwylc þara ymbsittendra ofer hronrade      hyran scolde, gomban gyldan      þæt wæs god cyning.

So if you put a lot of it into a story for a modern audience, most of them will be a bit lost.

If when you say "Olde English" you mean "English that sounds archaic and medieval, but is comprehensible to a modern audience", you're probably looking for Middle English.

I don't have any direct references for learning the language there, as I was mostly taught through immersion (i.e., here's a Middle English text, read and translate it, now do another until you get a feel for it), but Zoe recommends Fulk's Introduction to Middle English, so that's a good bet if you don't want to go through that process.

However, I do think the "just read the texts" method also works fine -- especially since, if you're writing a medieval story, you'll want to read some of the literature anyway for inspiration. Here's what you can do to use that method outside of a classroom setting:

Step One: Get a Middle English text with a facing-page translation. Armitage's edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is good for this. Read the Middle English text, referring to the Modern English translation on the facing page whenever you don't understand it. Do this with a pencil in hand, so you can annotate the text with definitions, translations, and notes about how the sentences work.

Step Two: Get a Middle English text for which modern translations exist. Don't get the modern translation. The Canterbury Tales works for this: it's a classic and you should be able to pick up a copy anywhere. The version on my shelves is Baugh's Chaucer's Major Poetry -- which is heavily footnoted with definitions, potentially saving some time with the dictionary -- but it doesn't really matter as long as it's in the original. Read it. Every time you don't know a word, look it up in the Middle English Dictionary (available free online, in searchable form, here) and write it down. Again, best to annotate directly on the page with a pencil. Trust me, it helps to do it that way. Once you're done, get a modern translation and check your work.

At this point, you'll probably have picked up enough of the language that you should be able to write in it to some degree, though you'll want to continue making reference to the Middle English Dictionary to make sure you're employing period-appropriate usage and spelling. If you have access to the Oxford English Dictionary (if you're at a university, you almost certainly do, otherwise check with your local library), use that to check when the words you're using originated -- the OED has that listed, and that'll keep you from accidentally dropping an 18th-century term into medieval dialogue. You can also use their Historical Thesaurus to find period-appropriate equivalents for terminology.

Optional Step Three: Keep reading more Middle English literature with the dictionary open, annotating as you go, to get additional practice. If you can get through Le Morte Darthur in the original (get the P.J.C. Field edition), I think you'll be set in terms of "writing convincing medieval prose". Not because it's particularly difficult -- it's late medieval, so the language is actually more modern than either of the texts mentioned in steps one and two -- but just because it's long, so you'll get a lot of practice working through it. As a bonus, reading Malory will familiarize you with lots of good knightly vocabulary in case that's the kind of story you want to write.

Optional Step Four: Read scholarly articles on Middle English language and literature to get a more in-depth understanding. Again, check with your local library, or if you're at a university, a university library will have a vast amount of resources on this subject you can browse through.

[artist-heart83]

You know what? Today I wake up to yap about my smg4 fanfics, about the process and stuff, so get ready guys, prepare to read a lot.

SMG4 Fanfics made by Lilac_Heart, aka, me but with a different username

Disclaimer. They’re 8 fics at moment, but only gonna talk about 6, mostly because there is nothing special to say about the first one and the new gen fic is still uploading, so it’s not finished.

I care about you (BoMG1)

The idea came out when I was brainstorming comics ideas, but I only got this funny drawing:

Then I got an idea: “a comic where Bob got badly injured and One heal his scars, that’s sound like an amazing idea”.

Buuuut, I was brainstorming the ideas of how the comic should go A particular idea made me realize this work better as a fic, I say: “fuck the comic, let’s make a fanfic”.

Can’t remember if the idea that Bob could get badly injured in one of his business was based in Guns Don’t Scare Me from @briandraws, but I do know I have a few bomg1 fics from him as reference for descriptions and other stuff once I did the english translation.

Bob bring back the nickname of “pretty eyes” to One, is a reference to Glowing Eyes.

Scrap content that I found in the spanish draft!

Instead of Smg2 going by himself to find some pills for Bob, originally it was Smg1 who sent him.

A lot of scenes were extended: Bob and Smg2 conversation about the blades; the “confession” of smg1, which was thanks to Two; Two constantly teasing the couple; the ending.

An actual conversation about if the date would happen, which was between Two and Bob.

Human touch (Marware)

Marware but they just start their relationship. Also, Puzzles touch starved.

Original title from the spanish draft: “Besos para ti” translated into “Kisses for you”, which the original idea was Mario kissing Puzzles.

Just because I really need more fanfics where they are just being soft, and when Mario kisses Puzzles and hugs him ough… So that was the main idea, but I need a “how?” And “why?” Then boom, touch-starved Puzzles.

Obviously I made this fic way before we know about Puzzles family, so let’s pretend when Puzzles have affection of his dad was when he was very young, alright?

The idea of Puzzles not having a hug or any kind of affection since long time ago was based on a prompt I found on Pinterest, and I have a bunch of tabs of how to write a touch-starved person.

Desiring to become a human, so I can kiss you properly (Marware)

Before anyone ask. Yes, me putting the HDR Trio was necessary for many plot reasons as you can see in the fic.

Also, first time I straight went to doing the english version instead of doing a spanish version to then translate it. Huge thanks to my uncle who give a huge boost of confidence when he told I managed english perfectly hehehe.

This fic was a pure excuse just to finally write them making out, so imagine my surprise when people love it and one of my favorite artists made fanart and I swear to god every time I remember it, it feels like this:

Also hi @lizaluvsthis

The illusion disks are from fnaf and I had to look up for any info that could explain to me how they work, just understand the basics and then I did whatever I want because I couldn’t understand it correctly.

Also, I don’t if it’s just me, but I feel the fight was forced for some reason, is either that or I just feel like this every time I reread the fic:

The Dilemma (BadgeHunter)

The biggest one at the moment, and this one have a lot to unpack here.

Original idea from @ominus-potato, which I expand and change a few things:

List of the headcanons that were used for the story:

Mirror headcanon, come from this post. Huge thanks for @izbiz12 for coming with this one.

Hal Jr. having a body comes from the idea of @blu193, which was the high inspiration to him give him a body.

Hal overworking himself is a common thing I found out scrolling in both Blu and Bear profiles, bring by IzBiz.

With “fresh scars” I really wanna implied that Shroomy already have some previous scars, another call back to Blu because she was the one who have the idea of Shroomy having scars for the bear encounter.

Junior being in scouts is actually an idea from Potato, which cool idea.

In the scene when Shroomy and Hal went to the office of the police officer, there was meant to be a scene where Shroomy looked at the picture frame that was on the desk, which was a family picture of Hal, his wife, and Junior. Cut off for unknown reasons.

Shroomy, Hal, Karen, Swag, and Chris being friends is a personal headcanon of mine. Also, Hal leaving Junior to Karen to take care of him is my favorite headcanon, and Brian and I share the same brain cell lmao.

Cozy and soft (BoMG1)

Purely made this because I was craving for BoMG1 content, thanks to this drawing I got inspiration as well, Brian marware fic which has the same concept.

It’s the shortest fic I made after a while, which was the main idea, didn’t want to do something long.

A few references to Glowing Eyes (again):

One got scared by Bob eyes.

Bob getting a copy of the apartment keys.

The mention of a broken window.

Nightmare and Comfort (BadgeHunter)

Idea that I got when I wake up at 7 am. Which the general idea was Hal comforting Shroomy about a nightmare/memory from his past.

This is time I used @bear-boi-5 headcanon about how the aftermath of the bite was. Nothing like Shroomy told in Mario Babies, of course.

I decided that Anti would have control of the body, mostly because he was the most affected of the accident for obvious reasons, also I love Anti, so I would used this opportunity.

I have to avoid mentioning any alcoholic drinks name, because I drink but I have zero idea what are they, soooo… yeah only beer was mentioned because is the one with less alcohol by volume, at least what this post say.

Anti laughing when he gets drunk, is actually based in one of the effects that happened to me.

The dynamic between Anti and Hal is quite complicated, considering the personality of Anti. They tolerate each other and they have to resolved their differences because of Shroomy and Hal hanging out more.

Important to say that after this, Anti would start having feeling for Hal after he understand what Shroomy see on him. Would this cause problems? Not sure, but until further notice, probably yes :)

— — — — —

Hahaha I just love yap about my fics and all the process behind them, is super fun and I actually wanna share this with all of you because you guys are cool and also there is a inspiration behind those stories.

Now, if you excuse I have to get back to do some stuff :]

[howlsofbloodhounds]

Any headcanons for passive Nightmare?

And if he were to meet Killer/young dream tale siblings?

Aw man I don’t check my inbox as frequently as I should. Too many unanswered questions going unanswered for too long. (Like 9 hrs to 2 days long)

Now the twins aren’t my main focus at the moment (and I beef with corrupted nightmare I hate him most of the time ong) but one HC I always had was that Dream keeps well kept, decorated wooden boxes filled with Passive’s favorite books. Ink paints the boxes with gorgeous colors and Swap carves in pretty symbols and decorations.

He tries to maintain the original copies and add new books written by Passive’s favorite authors, even if Passive died too young to read the books himself. Maybe in hopes that he’ll get his brother back one day and Passive will get to read them himself.

Because it’s been like 500 something years, I can see Dream painstakingly going through the trouble of writing down the written words onto paper and binding them himself every few years.

Or at least requesting/paying for someone to help him do so. I can also see Dream going through the trouble of translating the books into different languages, such as English, Old English, Spanish, etc, etc. any language that he knows Passive knew.

I also like to think that Ink draws pictures of Passive and young Dream and maybe how Passive would look if he were able to live and grow older for Dream. Dreamtale didn’t have the technology to take pictures, but luckily Dream is/was friends with an artist who is the protector of AUs & is also hyperfixated on AUs im pretty sure.

And Dream cherishes these a lot, not only because they’re accurate and it’s a way to further remember his brother, but because it’s a very sweet thing for Ink to do for him. I think Dream also cherishes these pictures as memories of his friendship with Ink, even after their falling out.

So I like to Hc that similar to the way people hc Nightmare/Corrupted to have a library in his castle, I like to think Dream maintains a little library of his own for Passive.

And maybe he entrusts the boxes of books to either Swap or Ink, keeping it somewhere safe in the Doodlesphere perhaps. And like Ink made sure to write down where he left the boxes on their scarf so he doesn’t forget where they put them.

And also Ink and Swap helps Dream hunt down any books that Passive liked that were lost in the 500+ year passage of time.

Now if Killer were to meet Passive, assuming Passive and Corrupted are the same person, I doubt his thoughts about Nightmare would really change. Passive would probably think Killer’s a weird, cryptic individual who is oddly interested in the black apples and yet seemingly unaffected by them too.

Passive would probably get the vibe that Killer knows something he doesn’t and is mocking him for it (regardless of if Killer actually is or not, Passive was a heavily bullied 6 yr old, most people he interacted with were often mocking towards him). I doubt Passive would feel comfortable around Killer, and Killer would enjoy making any version of Nightmare uneasy around him.

(Given how Killer projects his own shit with his Chara on to even Underswap Chara, despite eventually realizing that Underswap isn’t actually his Chara, I don’t doubt he’d do the same with Passive and Corrupted.

If Passive and Corrupted are separate entities, and assuming Killer knows that, at most he might give some cryptic “avoid doing this” bullshit type of advice.

If Passive was never meant to survive or grow up, which certainly seems the case just by going off the name of the AU—Dreamtale—then I doubt Killer actually believes he can do anything to change it. And why would he care to, his allegiances don’t lie with Passive in this case.)

[lalune9x]

Note about this blog

I use this blog to post my translations of certain chapters of the novel '내가 키운 S급들' (S-Classes That I Raised / My S-Class Hunters). Currently I'll just be posting random chapters out of order, mainly from my favorite parts of the story.

A few notes about my translations:

Each chapter is done with a mix of MTL and manual translation.

I try to stick with names and terms from the official English webtoon, except where I think a term should be translated differently for better literary effect.

I try to include Korean honorifics, except the intimate form “-ie/-ah/-yah” unless intimate address is significant.

Translations reflect the original webnovel serialization. However, I'm happy to update based on the edited e-book if someone sends me a non-DRM version.

I do not guarantee that my translations are accurate or that I do proper proofreading of everything (sorry!). I gladly welcome corrections of my errors.

I often sometimes go back to edit wording/fix errors, so please forgive any changes you notice.

Feel free to repost any portion of my translations.

LIST OF TRANSLATED CHAPTERS BELOW:

Chapter 399: Sunset (3)

Chapter 400: Sunset (4)

Chapter 401: Sunset (5)

Chapter 402: Sunset (6)

---

Chapter 462: I'm a Fan! (2)

Chapter 463: I'm a Fan! (3)

Chapter 464: I'm a Fan! (4)

Chapter 465: Even a Good Person (1)

Chapter 466: Even a Good Person (2)

Chapter 467: Even A Good Person (3)

Chapter 468: Even A Good Person (4)

Chapter 469: Selfish

Chapter 470: Letter (1)

Chapter 471: Letter (2)

Chapter 472: Letter (3)

Chapter 473: Inside the Drawer

Chapter 474: The Owner of the Letter (1)

---

SIDE STORY chapters (after the end of the main story)

Side Story 117: The Time That Doesn't Disappear (1)

[rainbow-journalist]

What do you think about sick au?

I find it interesting and cute, I was recently looking at some art of yuma beging sick. (And The others too), I was already interested in making a drawing about it, but I had no ideas on how, this time I managed to do something, not the best thing in the world, but here.

Yes, this would definitely happen in the Discord roleplaying I do, but the reasons are different, in the drawing, Yuma looks quite cold, On Discord, he was pretty mentally broken.

To be honest, I love these two together, whether as just friends, or as family, on Discord, I make them like family, and a lot of angust things happened there.

It's not the best translation, because I wrote it in my original language.

Context: Shuichi had died in the story, and somebody brought him back with consequences, Yuma suffered mentally for Months and was hospitalized. Yuma blames himself for this, and thinks he should have died instead of Shuichi.

Doing those scenes there hurts me, because they became my comfort, and I cry along with them, I feel sorry, especially for Yuma, I started play as him last year, I'm trying to do a little post game Yuma, but it's a little difficult not to make him be the Yuma in game, especially in these scenes, I make him have a lot of problems hiding what he feels, especially in front of children, and still wanting to be a perfectionist and a loner. While others force him not to isolate himself again.

I'm sorry if I end up making OOC, They're clearly going to be alternate versions of the canon ones.

My English is bad.

He's fine, I assure you. I think I will die for them.

[spirithunter]

Fan-translation Plagiarism for DM Vol.1

I've noticed similarities between a Death Mark manga translation that is currently being worked on by @lamentations-lighthouse (aris on Discord) and a translation done by @kasmis, posted on Tumblr in 2022.

Enough similarities that I suspect kasmis' existing translation has been lifted directly in parts of their translation. I spoke with kasmis about it and she’s aware of the situation and shared some more info from her side.

You can view kasmis' original translation here. On the first page, you can see the disclaimer about working with an existing scanlation group with plans to publicly list the final version on an ad-free manga sharing site (added once she was made aware of the situation). I won’t go over all similarities, but this second translation in question is available on a public Discord and can be compared there. I wanted to point out three instances that I think are particularly noticeable, but I encourage anyone who is curious to look for themselves.

Pictures & Evidence under the cut.

1st comparison: translation notes

The translation notes shared between the two versions regarding the way characters speak is similar both in content and flow. They also both come at the end of Chapter 2.

kasmis' translation:

other translation:

I think this is also worth mentioning considering a comment made by lamentations-lighthouse in their Discord where they make a very blatant error determining who is speaking during a panel in a Vol 2 extra, when they spent an entire translator’s note going over how the characters talk. They incorrectly assume Banshee is the speaker, when it’s obvious with a working knowledge of Japanese that the speaker is female and likely Yasuoka, the only woman in the panel (again, aris is lamentations-lighthouse, Kiu is the current editor who is not on Tumblr):

2nd comparison: "guess we're in the same boat"

One of the lines from Chapter 2 is lifted directly from kasmis' translation. This isn't a matter of translating the same material and coming to a similar conclusion, as the original Japanese line is completely different.

In the bottom left corner, Mashita uses the expression "腹をくくる" when talking about the Mark. His line (very) literally translated would be something like "Looks like I should prepare for the worst, too"

kasmis has gone on record with me saying she took some creative liberty when translating this bubble, using it as a callback to a line of his from the actual game (the scene from the car ride back to the mansion where they're having this same conversation). Additionally, she was very clear in stating this change was purposefully made to act as an indicator of if someone was using her translation without her permission, as a translation not referencing hers would likely translate it differently. In her words: it’s a phrase that doesn’t get spit out neatly when put through machine translation, but also is easily understandable to anyone using a dictionary for reference. The term for “being in the same boat” as someone is entirely different (一連托生) and is not a logical conclusion when going solely based off the text. Here is a link to the site in the second screenshot showing an explanation of this phrase by native Japanese speakers offering English advice. The phrase has the same translation when entered into a Japanese dictionary as well.

kasmis initially didn't translate the line such a way either. Here is a comparison from her first draft (which was copy-pasted from her individual chapter translations she did back in early 2021) and the eventual change later that same year. The part in question is underlined:

Here's the comparison between the most recent version of her translation and the other translation:

Even if this group were employing a similar strategy, the chances of the "indicator" line being exactly the same is hard to believe.

3rd comparison: XX/XX/199X

This observation is somewhat minor, but the date format used throughout Chapter 2 is the exact same one used by kasmis in her translation, just with the order switched around. In the raws, the dates are written as "O (Month) X (Day)," aka censored placeholders for month and day, with no mention of the year. kasmis stated she decided to use the 199X/XX/XX format to better relay some of the info from the game (the year 199X being mentioned in the diary seen after the final confrontation). While this team may be doing the same, it's odd how it's exactly the same.

Raws for comparison:

kasmis' translation:

other translation:

Public Bashing of kasmis and Proof of Knowledge of Her Translation

kasmis was contacted by @buffaloborgine about using her translation in their project, but she stated she was working with a separate group and that she did not give them permission to use any of her translation in their own project. This user is currently working on a translation of Volume 2 of the manga. For transparency, in the 3 day gap between messages seen below, buffaloborgine joined lamentations-lighthouse and Kiu’s group, so the relationship was not established initially. buffaloborgine did not disclose however they were collaborating/in contact with lamentations-lighthouse, when in fact both are now moderators in the discord where the new translation is being uploaded. kasmis followed up with buffaloborgine once she was made aware of this connection. Below are her initial answer to the offer (note dates) and the follow-up messages (screenshots taken on 4/24):

buffaloborgine discussed their conversation in the Discord server (screenshots taken on 4/24):

They later followed up complaining about kasmis’ reply publicly in the Discord while omitting similar relevant details (screenshots taken on 4/24):

Again, note that kasmis’ reply was only 3 days after this initial explanation, not 1-2 weeks as they originally stated. Though this gap doesn't really need an explanation in my opinion, kasmis agreed to allow me to share that she was in fact in preparation for a medical procedure and was not available to answer messages at the time. She sent her follow up message regarding lamentations-lighthouse's translation because I informed her of buffaloborgine's presence in the Discord server.

The messages from buffaloborgine to kasmis also appear to show the team had direct knowledge of her existing translation, as the editor in question is Kiu. At no point did any individual besides buffaloborgine reach out to her about potentially collaborating or using her translation in any way. aris/lamentations-lighthouse claimed to have no knowledge of the translation and similarly shamed kasmis in their public (reiterating this fact) Discord, where all of these messages are available to anyone who joins (screenshot taken on 4/24):

For this reason kasmis decided not to reach out to lamentations-lighthouse directly as they already publicly denied knowing anything about her translation.

I think it’s also worth pointing out, since the SH Reddit has been mentioned, that kasmis shared her translation there as well last year. The comment can be found here. As a relatively inactive subreddit, this post and her comment are not hard to find.

If anyone mentioned in this post wants to go on record in response, something as simple as posting the version history from their working draft (as seen in kasmis’ Google Docs screenshots, for example) to show that they aren't simply modifying her existing translation could help clear up any confusion. lamentations-lighthouse stated in the Discord that they use Google Docs to communicate with their editor, so showing their process should be fairly simple (screenshot taken on 4/23):

Disclaimer: kasmis and I are friends and she provided input and helped write parts of this post. This post is not meant to be an outright accusation, nor is it implying that lamentations-lighthouse’s translation is a one-to-one copy of kasmis’. I wanted to draw attention to the similarities between the two translations, kasmis’ experience, and the available information we have. All screenshots and images shared here are unedited besides cropping, redacting the information from third parties, and marking relevant points. Time stamps marked as “today” have the associated date attached to them in the description. The relevant Discord server is publicly available at the time of posting and all conversations screenshotted are available in public channels.